I don't see it that way. I think having those 2 guys as 3-4 DEs is complete overkill, as while they will have good individual seasons, that approach doesn't really utilize their abilities to their fullest potential. It's like paying for 2 ferraris to haul a trailer. All a 3-4 D-Lineman needs to do is eat up blocks and space and allow the talented linebackers behind them to make plays. We don't actually have talented linebackers behind them, and even if we did, we still wouldn't need all that talent up front to free them up, so we are wasting all that talent, and will be wasting a lot of money if we resign several of them in the future. What we should've done, in my personal opinion, last offseason, is trade Wilkerson for a first round pick, and use our first round pick and that one to draft a couple of speedy pass rushing DEs/OLBs, then switch to a 4-3, with Richardson at 3-technique, Snacks at NT, and the 2 ends on the outside applying pressure. Obviously, we would ve still had to nail the picks and all that, so it's not a guaranteed thing by any means, but that approach conceptually makes more sense to me, rather than stockpiling uber talented D-Linemen in a 3-4.
Problem is with 100,000 other things a HC deals with on a daily basis he probably thought about his as long as it took you and me to read it. Playbooks and installs are done in Training Camp, and it seems every team struggles with changing ANYTHING once the season starts.
You don't even specify what kind of 3-4 system Jets should have tried. Think very hard about it for good year or two - and then maybe [just MAYBE] some idea will dawn on you. Having 2 capable 3-4 DE is a starting point for potent 3-4 defense system, not an overkill.
watching the film on NFL replay the reason stands out like a sore thumb. no one is winning their 1 on 1 matchups. not when we rush 4, not when we blitz. not the big guys on lineman, not the backers or secondary guys on backs and tight ends. the only time guys are getting through is when we get a free rusher. there have been a handful of times somebody one their matchup, but the amount of time guys are getting stone walled is alarming. sure an edge rusher would help a ton. but guys really need to start looking in the mirror as well. high picks being paid high money but not winning their 1 on 1s very often
Wilkerson has been winning his 1 on 1s. That doesn't change the fact that this team needs an edge rusher (like a lot of teams) but let's not lie about Wilkerson. He has been playing well. The rookie Leonard Williams has struggled the last couple weeks
Leonard will probably continue to struggle as he hits the rookie wall. He played like his hair was on fire the first few weeks. Now reality is setting in!
I agree, they both need snaps. Relentlessness in getting to the quarterback goes a long way in these league. Look at Terrell Suggs and Dumervil. They're not gifted athletes in terms of measurable or speed, but they display the fact that they will live and die trying to get to the quarterback. Dumervil is 5'11" with short arms for christs sake although he does have better pass rush moves than Suggs. While Suggs has refined his arsenal as he's been in the league longer, he came into the league as a raw effort player. Coples doesn't really have that drive, and Pace doesn't really have the skillset or stamina for it anymore. We need to throw some youth into our linebacker core. You can live with that knowing the younger guys need to make an impression to keep getting snaps. It's starting to piss me off when we keep throwing the old dogs out there and the results are the same. Not that Coples or Davis are old, but Coples isn't productive and Davis makes the same mistakes in not tackling and over pursuing on every rush that isn't an A gap dive play. It's too easy for runningbacks. Run away from Harris, pick him off with an interior lineman and gain the edge with confidence that the running back will make Davis miss with a simple cutback. Damon Harrison also needs to be taken off the field in passing situations. It's painful seeing him barely move a yard off the line of scrimmage in pass rushing situations. There were articles all season in him wanting to be given a chance to pass rush. He's been given enough time and he gets no push. Time to line up Wilk/Richardson/Williams and either Reilly/Mauldin and even Coples off the edge. Hell go with a 3 man rush and send Harris. Something needs to give as the pass rush has been atrocious since the first half of the New England game.
It's a simple formula though, make sure you double Wilk or chip him with a back because he's the only threat in the pass game thus far outside of a Richardson sack when Brady broke the pocket. Someone needs to step up. I anticipate Williams is going to struggle a bit with conditioning from here on out in a down to down basis. He said it himself that he wasn't in good enough shape at the beginning of the year. That's OK as that will come as he progresses in this league and I fully expect him to develop into an excellent player. For now, his snaps need to be more limited on early downs IF we can sub Douzable or another hog in and still stop the run effectively so that Williams can be at full strength in pass rushing situations.
That's what's frustrating about everyone calling for an edge rusher like we haven't been trying. It's one of the most premium positions in the NFL. There were 18 players in the league with double digit sacks last year. Two were interior rushers (Watt, Dareus) and the other was Clay Matthews playing an inside linebacker/outside linebacker hybrid, so that leaves 15 pure edge rushers with double digit sacks. It's an incredibly hard position to draft for because the majority of these players are going to struggle early in their careers when they're facing 320 pound tackles every snap that have ten times the quick feet than they faced in college. EDIT: sorry for the triple post it's a pain in the ass to quote everyone and reply in the same post.
Who'd take Demario Davis spot? It's not sarcasm, it's a real question, with whom would you replace him? Henderson? Lattimore? They're old too.
The real problem lies with the linebackers not the front 4....We don't have any skilled linebackers when it comes to pass rushing ability.The front 4 can open up plenty of holes for the linebackers to get thru but look who's back there,Coples,Pace,Harris and Davis.Davis has the speed and is a solid tackler but doesn't have great pass rushing ability.If we had even one stud linebacker it could change everything
