Lets put this argument to bed right now. In 2009, we had the #1 defense in the NFL. Who was our premier pass rusher? How about above average? We simply did not have one, yet our defense still shut down people's passing game and did good against the run. Our corner tandem was weaker that year as well. We did have better safety coverage, so that's definitely part of it, but people are having a very difficult time understanding that good pass rushing can make up for weak coverage and vice versa. Plus, with shutdown corners you can blitz more often. We didn't get exposed that year until we faced Peyton Manning and our #2 and #3 CBs got exploited. We fixed that and beat the Colts the following year. There's no set formula that has to be followed. 2009 was our best defensive year, we should try to duplicate that. An elite pass rusher would complete our defense, but we can't afford it, and so we try to address it in the draft and hit gold. IMO that's the best way to get pass rushers, without overpaying. If Coples and Wilk break out this year, we'll be set and will back to #1 status, provided we can stop the run. Either way it's all up to the offense, though. Our defense is stacked, even if we repeat last year's #5 rank (I think we'll easily be top 2), it will all boil down to the offense putting points on the board. When that starts happening, all the little details about our defense will become less relevant. I'd like to see our D become 2000 Ravens style, but we are indeed missing a Ray Lewis caliber player. Last year it was the big plays that killed us, which is directly on the safety unit, which we have vastly improved.
No but we had a 17-6 lead late in the 1st half at Indy and in the '10 title game they allowed Pitt to dictate that game, Pitt's O had a long TD drive to open the game and they pushed our D around all 1st half. The D played well in the 2nd half allowing our O a chance to come back wich they did but once we needed them to get a late stop to give the O the ball back w/ a chance to win they failed.
Ugh that opening drive against the Steelers was killer. Some say we should have taken the ball (we won the coin flip), because the Steelers arent an offensive team, so them opening the 2nd half with the ball wouldnt have been a huge factor, unlike going against like Brady or Manning.
To that point we would always defer, I always want the ball to begin the 2nd half and we scored a quick TD to get back in it early. The team just looked out of it early for some reason, I don't think the coin toss made a difference but who knows?
The main point for me is that the defense clearly wasn't up to winning either of those AFC title games and given that Rex is a defensive coach and had the player he considered to be the best for his defense that is a worrisome sign. You could look at the last 3 drafts as a reaction to what happened in '09 and '10. The Jets took a 1st round defensive player each time and they reacted to what had happened in those title games. In '09 Darrelle Revis was a non-factor in the title game because after a period of adjustment in the first quarter Peyton Manning always found an open man against the Jets secondary. So the Jets drafted another CB and traded for one also. In '10 the Steelers basically ran whenever they needed to and beat the Jets despite Roethlisberger having an off game. The Jets couldn't get to Roethlisberger on the last drive before he ran around for 6 seconds and found Brown so the Jets drafted a defensive end who could both apply pressure and stop the run. In '11 the Jets couldn't apply enough pressure and weren't stout enough to stop the run consistently so they went out and got another two-way lineman to help.
Did the Giants beat SF b/c of their great pass rush or b/c they got 2 STs TOs and a quick whistle on a fumble by Bradshaw? The differnce btw the jets making it in '10 and the Giants in '11 was the Jets close call went against us(the Sanchez fumble for TD which could have gone either way) and the Giants close call went for them(the Bradshaw fumble).
What does this have to do with Rex's defense not being up to the task of stopping Peyton Manning in '09 or Ben Roethlisberger and Rashard Mendenhall in '10?
I think in '09 the Jets just lost to a better team (at the time) in the Colts. In '10, I think it had a lot to do with the post-victory hangover after knocking out the Pats. But yeah, it seemed like what the Jets leaned on all year in both of those seasons (defense, run game) sort of disappeared at the most critical moments.
It's the perception, if we get that call we have a great chance to win and the perception of the D is very different, if the Giants don't get TWO STs TOs and that call in their favor they don't win and their perception is totally different.
The Giants gave up 31 points in two games against the most prolific offense in the history of the NFL. They sacked Tom Brady 7 times in the 2 games and hit him another 14 times. The Jets defense gave up 17 points in the 1st half against the Steelers before the Jets first turnover. They gave up a lead and 17 points in the 2nd half against the Colts. Sorry, there is no similarity between the performance of the Jets and Giants defenses in those 4 games and a turnover that went the other way wouldn't have changed that perception one bit. Rex needs to have his defense play at a higher level when the season is on the line. So far it's the defense that has cost the Jets a chance at 2 Super Bowls.
in both games they need a last minutes miracle drive to win on a neutral field, we beat up NE in Foxboro.
Yeah but beating up New England in Foxboro wasn't the end-point. The end-point was in Pittsburgh and our defense came out flat and looking like a bottom third of the league group. The entire first half the Jets didn't look like they belonged in that game on either side of the ball. For a topflight defense that was unacceptable and it cost the Jets the game.
The D did come out flat but agin if that call goes our way we likely make it, it didn't but it did for NYG a year later.
You would think and for anyone who remembers the game that the loss to the Colts in 09 is hardly a case for having less stelar cb's against a passing attack like the Colts had. And let's be clear even Manning did not want to not throw to his number 1 receiver. his lesser wideouts stepped up that second half, but they were losing that game before they did. If the Jets had Cro that game, which is why they went out and got him that off season, they probably would have won. I don't get how the performance the Colts had against the Jets in the 09 Champ Game is an argument AGAINST having high quality corners. The loss the following years was more about the front seven inexplicably not tackling well. That it happened when it did was very unfortunate, as any Jet fan knows, but it was not like the D was poor at tackling all year. It was not like the D couldn't tackle because they had Revis on the squad. Nobody here defending Revis should be required to argue that he singlehandedly should be able to win every game. That is not the standard. The question which Brad will not answer because he wants to be in some never never land of dreams and fantasies is, given the current roster, what is the best strategy going forward? I think the answer is clear. Recognize the strengths of the team, build on them without trading away people like Revis in some crazy hope the team can be made better without him, and hopefully get the O to score more. As for the 10 Champ Game, yea we all know about the poor tackling, but Sanchez put the ball on the ground for a TD return, and then there was that four downs from the Pitt 2 the Jets failed to convert. They only scored 19 points, too. Yet Brad thinks that loss is all the D. Brad is just being an apologist for Sanchez and the O by blaming all those losses on Revis and the D. It's too obvious. Let's not forget how the Jet D intercepted Ben in the third quarter, and the Jet O went three and out, with two incomplete passes by Sanchez. Or how the Steelers were first and ten on the Jet 42 and had three straight plays for losses. Or how DeVito got two of those points on a safety against Ben.
I think it's important to note the injuries to our secondary both leading up to and early in the '09 Colts AFC Championship game. It wasn't the Colt's #3 and #4 receivers torching our #3 and #4 DBs, it was their 3,4 torching our #6 and #7 DBs..... Doesn't seem fair to say that was a flaw in Rex's D that we needed to address in the draft....more like injuries: happens to everybody.
Come on people. If we have stepped up our placeholder skills in 09 and 10 we would have been superbowl bound for sure.
I don't think it's about being up to the task. Peyton's one of the best to ever play the game and we shut him down in 10. Pittsburgh is a very good, very physical team. Our problem that game was consistency. With this new safety unit and younger D line I see our defense much improved over both years, but honestly you have to give the Steelers props for coming out on fire in that game. The Jets played great in the 2nd half on both ends of the ball, unfortunately we got owned in the 1st half.
