This has been a subject we've gone over in the forums. Interesting article about in the NYTImes, as follows: September 15, 2011 Advantage, Tight Ends, Against the Jets By BEN SHPIGEL FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — By Rex Ryan’s count, the Jets made seven glaring defensive mistakes in their victory over Dallas, and one of them seemed more than a bit familiar. Like many tight ends before him, Jason Witten burned the Jets over the middle, exploiting a mismatch in coverage to rumble for a 64-yard gain in the fourth quarter. The Jets know that such plays are coming. With Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie, two superb cornerbacks on the outside, teams often test the Jets toward the middle of the field. Preventing them has become a weekly challenge, as it will again on Sunday, when another elite tight end visits MetLife Stadium. Marcedes Lewis of Jacksonville is as big (6 feet 6 inches) as Witten, 10 pounds heavier at 275, and, according to Ryan, faster. The Jets feel that they can concentrate on stopping Lewis and the dynamic running back Maurice Jones-Drew, a luxury they did not have when preparing for the Cowboys, who also have two elite receivers and running backs with receiving skills. Lewis did not practice again Thursday because of an injured calf, but the Jets are preparing as if he will play. The Jets want to be physical with Lewis, but not to the point of vicious collisions off the snap. Mike Pettine, the defensive coordinator, said he would tell his players not to crash into Lewis because players of that size and strength bounce off. A good shove off the line of scrimmage, by a linebacker or a defensive end, should work, helping the player actually assigned to cover Lewis. While watching tape on Monday morning, Pettine noticed that the Cowboys lined up Witten at receiver, a change that curtailed the defender’s ability to disrupt his route. He expects the Jaguars to do the same with Lewis. “Anytime you play a tight end like that, they don’t want you putting your hands on them,” safety Brodney Pool said. “It messes with guys if you bump them, rough them up, so they don’t run freely.” Pass-catching tight ends present matchup nightmares for defenses. Deploying a cornerback to cover a Witten or a Lewis might appear an easy solution, but on rushing plays the tight end, bunched closer to the line of scrimmage and in full blocking mode, has a size and strength advantage. So the Jets, like many teams, prefer a linebacker or a safety, players who in theory can cover them while holding their own in run support. On Witten’s big play Sunday, that responsibility fell to safety Eric Smith, who was left alone in coverage. Witten juked him off the snap, beating him inside, and gained separation about 5 yards from the line as he ran a seam route. The Jets’ troubles with tight ends date to last season, when some of the league’s best — Todd Heap, Ben Watson, Aaron Hernandez — shredded them for long gains and touchdowns; in all, 10 posted catches of at least 20 yards against the Jets. That list included Joel Dreessen of Houston, who is not considered an elite tight end, but amassed 106 yards and a touchdown. Rough games against the Patriots, whose tight ends combined for 19 catches and 286 yards in the teams’ three meetings, accentuated the problem. Yet, there exists a chance that their shortcomings might be at once overstated and misleading. According to game charting by Football Outsiders, in 2010 the Jets ranked ninth in defending tight ends, down from fourth in 2009, allowing 44.8 yards per game. That figure could be as low it is because of a stroke of good fortune; they faced teams like Green Bay and Denver at points in the schedule when their top tight ends were unavailable. Even so, a week after allowing 110 yards to Witten, the Jets are aware of their perceived deficiencies and are determined not to let Lewis have similar success. For starters, they know what Jacksonville intends to do. “They’re going to try to get the ball to Marcedes in the middle of the field,” Revis said. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/16/s...ts-defense.html?ref=football&pagewanted=print
Bob Sutton is our Linebackers coach....let's blame him. It'll be a nice change of pace from Schotty, and we haven't taken a shit on Sutton as a collective in a long time. :smile:
If I see Eric Smith, alone in coverage, on Marcedes Lewis this Sunday....I'll be lighting houses on fire.
I noticed they said in effect it's not so bad a problem since the Jets ranked ninth against TE's for the whole league. Well, in addition to not facing some of the injured TE's they mentioned, it should also be noted that the Jets were sixth overall against the pass. So, compared to that overall ranking, defending TE's is a relative weakness.
That play was a screw up, but i think it was Smith's only bad play of the game. Yeah, it was very bad, but Witten is one of the top TE"s in the league. The problem is, which LB would you have cover the TE? The Jet CS apparently wants Smith on that coverage rather than Leonhard, and apparently instead of Pool, too. So, which LB should go there instead?
I don't care if E.Smith is white, black, purple, or floral print. That dude has lead feet. Watching Witten rape him last Sunday was painful to watch. Yes, let's hope the blitz is effective.
Does it have to be a LB? I know Lewis is huge and would probably truck any of our DBs....but our LBs really aren't that great in coverage. I think Donald Strickland might be able to cover Lewis, but Lewis would just run him over. Eric Smith certainly has the size, just not the speed.
I think Pool is the answer here... none of our LB are good enough in pass coverage to keep up... i like smith for run support and pool in coverage.. so its pretty much a cat and mouse game for the opposing qb... a smart qb would audible to a pass if smith or a LB was on a top notch TE, and audible to a run if pool is out there on him... were pretty much screwed in this situation... i think a zone defense might be a better option for us in pass situations
Not great? Hm. I think there's a question there whether you are being too kind. Maybe see how Westerman does? It's a thought. I don't think there's anyone on the squad who's good at it, LB or safety.
Other teams go at the TE more against the Jets because the Jets corners are pretty decent and usually have the wideouts in control Oop...that was in the article. I usually dont read the article before I post. Just the headline. I get bored by the second sentence in the article
Maybe Cromartie is the answer with Wilson on the outside - I know Cromartie isn't anything like physical enough at the LOS, but he has the size, speed and ball hawking skills to make a throw to a tight end a much riskier proposition for the opposing QB.
Eric Smith is a Hard Hitter, pure and simple and for that reason is a Rex type player. Yes he will give up the odd play, but overall over the course of a game, hes going to keep jabbing away at anyone who comes near. Is he an elite SS? nah, not by a long shot, but I'll tell you what, hes bloody good at what he does, hitting and intimidation. The opposite of Eric Smith is Kerry Rhodes.....which one you want now?
If they are gonna stick a corner on a TE I would rather it be Wilson. He might have a chance at tackling Lewis one on one or at least holding on until someone can help him.
He's got more chance than a linebacker or safety who's five yards away because he has been done for pace or has fucked up the coverage. Even if Cromartie can't bring him down he at least has a chance to slow him down enough to get help there - it's a much more appealing idea than watching the sort of move that Witten put on Smith.
Anyone who watched Kerry Rhodes not even try to play the correct coverage on one of the big plays the cards gave up on Sunday is still glad Rhodes is gone.
