Not used to reading decent analysis on Sportsline, but this article is pretty spot-on. http://cbs.sportsline.com/nfl/teams/report/NYJ/10595726 For some reason, I'm a little optimistic after reading it. O-line, OLB's, WR, are trouble spots. This can be fixed in one offseason. QB is iffy. Maybe I'm just desperate for good news.
Defensive line. The Jets don't have anybody there who is high quality in a 3-4 and only a couple of passable players.
We certainly could improve on the DL. However, I think a pass rush from the OLB position would improve our defense immensely without making any other changes. I don't think our D is that far from being great. I liked our rotation at DT (Pouha, Robertson, Moseley). I know it's less than optimal to use 3 players to fill one position, but the production from the DT rotation was better than passable, I think. Well, in the second half of the year, anyway. I agree with the author of the article that DeWayne is miscast in a 3-4, and if the right deal comes along (2nd or 3rd rounder?) he should be traded, but he IS an above average football player, despite his bust reputation, and if he sticks around, we could do a lot worse. At DE, I think Coleman is fine. Ellis needs to be replaced soon, but again, Coleman, Ellis, and a player of similar skill level would, I think, make for a productive rotation at DE. The HUGE hole, I feel, is at OLB...Pass rush. One impact pass rusher will change the entire dynamic of our defense.
The Jets ranked 29th against the run and gave up 791 yards rushing in the 7 games after the bye week. This included games against Miami and Kansas City who were missing their starting tailbacks at the time of the game. Until the Jets can stop the run they're not going to be successful in the 3-4 and at no point in the last two years have the Jets been able to stop the run well. In a 3-4 that comes down to defensive linemen not doing their jobs, which are to maintain their position and allow linebackers to make plays behind them.
Again, I preface my statement by saying that I welcome improvements everywhere. I'll take upgrades at DT and DE if we can get them. Having said that, I think our run D may be better than you think. Teams ran against the Jets 517 times last year, good for 2nd overall. Isn't it possible that teams emphasized the run against the Jets, correctly anticipating our low point total on offense? Why throw, when all you need is 17 points to beat us? And the bye week split is impressive. 1365 yds in the first 9 games-151.7 ypg. 791 yards in the last 7 games-113 YPG. That's a heck of an improvement. I don't know why it took so long to rotate the front seven, but the results were positive, I feel. 113 YPG would have put us at 19th on the year. Not too impressive until you consider that 14-17 were Green Bay, Indy, San Diego, and Tampa. I just think the key problem on our D is the TOTAL lack of a pass rush from the outside. Hobson and Thomas combined for 4 sacks. That's 3-4 poison.
Given our current spot in the draft, looks like you could be a happy man on draft day. I heard Pouha was coming on well at the end of the season. If we don't address the NT position (highly likely since they are so hard to find) I sure hope Pouha takes his game to the next level. We def'n could go OT in round 1 in the draft....but another young/inexperienced guy on this oline doesn't leave me feeling good no matter his upside. I guess it's time for me to jump on the Gholston/Groves/whatever difference making defensive player bandwagon...but nothing matters if we don't shell out the dough to address the 2 gaps in our oline.
More accurately to the poster you quoted, the Jets lack front 7 guys who can penetrate and swarm. The defense improved instantly when Harris started playing because he is one of those guys. I think our DL would look a lot better if we improved the LBs, rather than the other way around. Whenever the DL wasn't making the tackles, it was either Harris or the safeties, which means the other LBs weren't getting the job done.
This is whats making me get on board with the Ghoulston supporters. I'm kinda torn because I think we desperately need a pass rush and he may be able to provide that, but I don't think he'll help out as much against the run. From my pov, there was nothing more frustrating last year then the lack of pressure the Jets put on opposing QB's on passing downs. It was simply horrible. I'd feel better about picking him if they Jets went out and got a solid DB to play opposite of Revis afterwards because the improvement we'd see on passing downs might make up for the below average rush defense. Thats if and only if the D starts out playing the way they did after the bye week. The Jets D is one of the few things to get excited about at this point. The laundry list is so big for this team that I'd prioritize getting the big time play maker for the offense lower then the number 2 DB and a pass rushing DE/LB for the defense. The D will be what keeps us in games next year.
The article is good, but it is hard to restate what is so blatantly obvious about our team. One does not have to be an expert to put their finger on exactly what this team is missing.
we need O line help...... its obvious thats number 1 then sign Suggs and a new DC..... Another playmaker on O would be nice but.....how do we realy know what we got if we cant block for them
Our needs are very apparent with this team. You would need to be football retarded not to get it. I am optimistic though because I think this offseason has so much promise for our needs. You look at our areas of concern, then you look ahead towards FA, and the draft. I cant help but smile because I honestly feel this offseason is stacked just for our needs. Might just be me, or I am to optimistic, but surely we will make the effort to improve ten fold this offseason. Hopefully...
