NFL.COM: New York Jets Plan to be Less Conservative, Blitz More

This is going to be great! Going to put much less pressure on the safeties who I have no faith in whatsoever. If we can get to the QB fast, the safeties won't have to run up and down the field chasing receivers/tight ends that are faster than them.

If we can get back to that 2009-2010 blitzing frenzy that we had, I can see us beating Brady this year at least once.

 

I don't think we need to blitz more than any team in the league this season, but I wouldn't mind blitzing more.

Those 2009-10 teams had defensive linemen who could not get after the QB, except for Shaun Ellis on rare occasions. This team has more guys who should be able to get after the passer than those teams did. So we shouldn't HAVE to blitz more. But if we do blitz, we should have better personnel to be able to get to the quarterback.

 

Teams countered this with a lot of max protect. Hopefully our all first round d-line can make some noise.

 

It would be amazing to only have to send 4 and just have everybody else sit back. Sort of like the Giants in 2011-12.

 

I would much rather send 4 to get to the QB. Surely - Wilkerson, Coples, Richardson and Ellis can push the pocket back, and with Sapp making plays in practice why can't we just send 5 at the most? Bringing the kitchen sink stopped working after the first season with Rex.

Putting too much pressure on the safeties to cover much of the field.

 

Kenrick Ellis was a third rounder.

 

this all comes down to the coverage. if our LBs can't cover then we'll get crushed over the middle. this does make me extremely happy though because i DO think we can get pressure and tom brady becomes extremely mediocre when his pocket is collapsing.

 

I was referring to Wilkerson, Coples and Richardson. Ellis kind of blows.

 

Good point, it will be interesting to see what Davis's role will entail with a heavy blitzing defense. He can be pretty valuable in the middle of the field. It would be cool to see him go after the QB on some plays also.

Max protecting will worry me a little bit, but at the end of the day can limit the amount of play-makers on the field because you have 2 TEs or an extra offensive lineman protecting the QB.

 

Max pro hurt the Jets front seven once the DL could not get the necessary lateral movement going (1) Also, Jets had a very capable slot corner in Strickland, who could 1. cover and 2. tackle - and who was lost promptly afterwards (2)

1]

Once the DL could not get athletic movement up front, they had to play more conservatively and traditionally as in Fairbanks/Bullough 3-4 DLs, usually on the bubble and rushing upfield exclusively; and they are not the towering monsters that F/B 3-4 requires. Disaster waiting to happen.

One of the glowing positives Kenrick Ellis gets is his quick feet. This element applies to all four Jets DLs; Jets DL got as athletic as they could get there. This means, they can basically fool the offense into walking straight into the trap they have set up.

For instance, imagine an offense with 11 personnel, lined up at shotgun. Naturally, the TE would line up at one end, and the RB would be lined up at the weakside.

With athletic and fast DLs, Jets can set a nasty trap here; with a normal 3-4 set up, Jets can overload the weakside with NT and DE. OLB lines up wide at the weakside, then shoots straight into the backfield, right at the RB.

The snap decision from the QB would be 1. to run away from the impending pressure (to the strong side) or 2. throw hot at the weak side, once the OLB vacates.

Now, instead of normal DL play, if they stunt and flow to the strong side, with OLB sealing the edge from the other side, run toward the strong side is doomed to failure even before it starts.

2]

I never realized the value Kyle Wilson brings to the Jets defense until very recently. He's a slot cornerback, sure; some even seem to think he is of lesser value to the outside CBs, but I have to tell you, my friends, it ain't so. Instead, I tend to think Jets should do very well to develop a few more slot cornerbacks that can do Kyle's job; sure, there will be a drop-off in quality but I am just hoping it isn't as dramatic.

What kind of steaming bullshit am I spewing out? I am talking about the next evolution that came to the zone blitzing in general. Yes, it happened already, and yes, it is with us at this very moment as well, and finally, YES, it is here to stay.

As anyone whoever studied the history of football defense would recognize, zone blitzing was born out of the desire to pressure without compromising the coverage behind. It was basically a dynamic amalgamation of blitzing with zone coverage behind.

What followed afterward is the fast up-tempo offense that attacks the soft spots in zone coverage; the ball is in the defense's court again, and they have to come up with new way to deal with the prolific passing attack without sacrificing the sound pass coverage. Enter pattern-matching.

Pattern-matching is basically throwing down the gauntlet, saying "I will not be fooled by your bullshit motions. Show your move, and I will match it." In pattern matching, DBs do not respond to the initial movement of the WRs. They simply observe (and stop any blatant ones) then when the WR shows his true move, they follow up.

What's even better is, there is some of the zone coverage concept behind it too; if the WR moves too far away from the DB, he simply bumps the WR off to the nearest defender and he covers the zone; in short, there is both man-coverage and zone-coverage both present in the defensive assignment, only the best of both worlds.

In order for this strategy to work, however, capable slot cornerbacks are a must; they are usually called SCF, since their primary responsibility is to cover the Seam -> Curl -> Flat route of the slot WR. He has to be intelligent, quick and good at tackling. As you can see, in the newer version of defensive tactics, the presence of capable slot CBs are huge.

Back to the example above, if the QB decides to throw hot at the weakside, that's where Kyle Wilson comes in; he is responsible for Seam/Curl/Flat routes on the weakside, and if the QB is oblivious about Wilson's presence, there is a pick waiting (with the chance to go all the way.)

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It became much longer posting than I would have intended to make it, but things are very clear; Jets DL will be able to create motions and flows along the trench, and LBs will get their free lanes. Not only that, Jets D will rely heavily on capable slot CBs that they have. (They have built up crazy depth at CB for a reason.) If anything, this year will be very exciting to watch for the defensive performance alone. The opposing QBs will not like it. I personally guarantee it.

P.S. I have omitted the role Davis could play in the pass coverage; since he is quick, he is also very important piece in the defense. Just, his role is not something that revolutionized the zone blitzing that SCF cornerbacks does, so I decided to skip that part.

 

The Jets will be generating enough pressure, that Sanchez will get his hands on more balls than a pats fans mother during Fleet Week,

 

I think we'll be able to more often generate a rush without blitzing, therein making when we do blitz more effective. I think we'll see a bit of everything, overload, 46, 34, 43. There is great potential with this group.

 

Of course.

And this time around, the DL will carry the torch, unlike in the past. If you ask me, that's how it is supposed to be. This defense is built right for the first time in ages. (Or that's my two cents about it.)

 

The odds of us winning a Superbowl next year are extremely small. Now, if the cards are right, we can win the division.

That being said, great post Zach. I look forward to seeing what our defense can do.

 

I hope you guys are right. I thought we've been guilty of over-blitzing in the past. It was never much fun watching the likes of Brodney Pool and Eric Smith attempt to stop a big gain up the middle when the assignment failed.

 

They're still on the team?