2018 New York Jets Coverage Stats: Week 8

For the second straight week, Darryl Roberts graces the title image of the coverage series, and deservedly so. Thrown into extended action in relief of Trumaine Johnson, he’s been playing some great football over the past two weeks.

Let’s take a look at the numbers!

Previous editions: Pre 1, Pre 2, Pre 3, Pre 4, W1-DET, W2-MIA, W3-CLE, W4-JAX, W5-DEN, W6-IND, W7-MIN

RULES

• The coverage numbers include only legitimate targets into the general area of a receiver/defender; throws in which a defender in coverage was directly involved the outcome. Throwaways and deflections at the line are excluded.
• The stats for each individual are that of the quarterback’s passing numbers when targeting the individual’s matchup. A player could receive coverage credit even if a teammate finished the play. For example, against Denver this season, Morris Claiborne tipped a pass in this direction that ended up being intercepted by Marcus Maye. I credited Claiborne with that interception.
• Penalties and pass breakups counted are only those accumulated in coverage. Penalties/PBUs picked up on blitzes, or penalties tackling another player’s responsibility, are not included. PBUs and INTs in the box score are not exclusive to one another.
• “Burns mitigated by opponent miscue,” or “miscues” (M) are included in charting to attempt to knock defenders who benefited from an egregious error by the offense (drop, horrible throw) and give perspective to the validity of their raw stats. A defender can still register an interception or incompletion to his credit on a miscued play.

First, here’s a look at each targeted player’s total numbers in coverage against Chicago.

Next, let’s take a look at the coverage numbers broken down by individual player-vs.-player matchups and man coverage vs. zone coverage.

Some takeaways:

• Darryl Roberts keeps balling out. After flashing against the Vikings last week with a performance in which he allowed only 96 yards on 16 targets, Roberts allowed only 15 yards on 5 targets against the Bears. He’s closing quickly on balls underneath and sticking tight on go routes. While his performances these past two weeks have not correlated into any victories, his play has been perhaps the primary reason the Jets have stayed in each of these last two games into the fourth quarter.
• Morris Claiborne has not had that game yet in which he has been utterly destroyed, but he’s inching closer. He continues to do a solid job overall, but the miscues he has benefited from continue to pile up, while his overall production has dipped over the past three weeks. He allowed 142 yards, 2 TDs, and 6 total first downs on 19 targets from Weeks 6-8, compared to 135 yards, 0 TDs, and 8 total first downs on 25 targets from Weeks 1-5.
• Buster Skrine was iffy in his return, most notably allowing a touchdown in the red zone to Anthony Miller.
• Avery Williamson has done a solid job overall in coverage, rarely allowing anything catastrophic, but he did allow a season-high 3 first downs this week, all in zone coverage.

FILM

Roberts likes to play a lot of off coverage so he can take advantage of his 4.38 speed to make plays like this one. (Outside left, top)

This snap is another display of Roberts’ speed. He makes the correct read on this throw being a go route, and beats Taylor Gabriel to the spot (in spite of the overthrow). Roberts is on the bottom the screen outside left.

Here’s a look at the season totals for the Jets over the first half of the season.