I remember that first series against the Ravens in Week 1...right after we murdered Flacco... Admit it...at that moment we all thought this defense was going to be one of the all-time greats. Then Jenkins got hurt and it was all downhill from there. Fuck.
I see a defense that has the talent and scheme to succeed. However, they aren't playing w/ the same physicality, intensity or speed that they were earlier in the season..and it's clear as day on tape.I believe this is due to a lack of confidence as well as a veteran front 7 that is severely banged up. Guys like Scott,Pace, BT, Taylor, Ellis and Price could all use some rest so that they can come back fresh against KC. This combined w/ hopefully some brand new blitz packages should give the pass rush and run D a much needed jolt for the D to get back on track for a playoff push One critique I have is if the veterans upfront are banged up and are ineffective rushing the passer...why not give some of the younger guys a few snaps? Westerman,Kroll,Gilbert and Satele are all players who should know the system by now who the CS is supposively high on. They may lack gametime experience and may not have the kind of talent that the vets do..but at the very least we could use constistently healthy bodies attacking LOS if nothing else.
I think they really are lacking on defense talent wise. Taylor, Scott, Pace, Thomas and Ellis all seem to have lost a step. The linebackers are really lacking in speed across the board. They do not have a single pass rusher on the team that can beat someone one on one. The secondary is under a ton of pressure because the front 7 is not getting any pressure. I also think having a very old defense hurts this time of the year. As you said why aren't the young guys getting snaps? Can Mauga and Westerman blitz? I know that other teams defenses are built completely different but if you look at the team speed on the back 7 of the Saints and Falcons versus the Jets it's night and day. The Jets rely so heavily on man to man coverage with Revis and Cromartie.
I really think Westerman should be taking some of JT's snaps at this point. He looks so old and slow out there. He made a nice play for the safety in the Steelers game using his smarts, but for the most part he's a liability out there. I'm also hoping getting Pryce back helps ...
Agreed 100%. Taylor should be playing 15-20 snaps at most and none of those snaps should involve him doing anything but rushing the QB.
Point well taken particularly on Thomas. As another TGG writer pointed out, he is not getting as many snaps as last year and he is improving steadily. Pouha and Devito seem to get more winded in the 4th quarter. Perhaps that is a function of the D being on the field too long. Pace has been disaappointing this year.
Well there's a very real possibility that the young guys like Mauga, Westerman, Kroul, Dixon, and Gilbert are just not very good at this point-and there's also the possibility that they're never going to be good. They're all undrafted guys and waiver-wire pick-ups; even Rex Ryan can only turn so much dross into gold.
Teaching fundamentals is a good thing. Hell, if it catches on, we might even start seeing this in the offseason and training camp. Might really help.
Wide receivers should practice fundamentals as well this week like catching the ball. We can't give away points in the playoffs or first downs due to drops.
Practicing fundamentals is NEVER a bad thing, and probably should be done more often at the pro level.
Well the Jets coaches do see them practice and decide not to play them, so you can infer something from that. There's just no reason to think that undrafted guys who can't ever get on the field are good.
I know we all hate on VG but I brought this up back in the Lions game. All Rex did was talk about this guy and yet he never plays him and when he does he is really the only guy who I've seen either push his guy back or shed the guy. He penetrates and you'll see a close sack or pressure and then hes pulled from the game... I dont get it.
That would be nice. Imagine the uproar we'd see on here if Braylon Edwards was the one who dropped the TD or 4th down pass? We've seen far too many drops by our receivers this year.
Suprisingly I think Braylons hands have been more sure this year than Santonio and Cotchery. But yeah based on his history he would get killed.
I was being funny in the way I gave my answer but I was very serious, this team was looking like shit all last year until we got into the playoffs, this year the team has been stronger and the D has fallen apart big time in the last month, but we still won more games without any help(Peyton Manning) and we had an easier schedule last season and stumbled to 9-7. We dropped from #1 in defense to 4, and jumped from 20 in offense to 13. We still have a fairly strong defense and a much stronger offense.
