Dan breaks down the Jets secondary

It’s really hard to be too critical of the secondary in a game that they allowed only 10 completions. Dan looks back and ahead with the secondary in this extensive breakdown.

Darrelle Revis had eight tackles against the Pittsburgh Steelers, second on the team to David Harris. While Revis deserves credit for tackling well, it also shows you how often the Pittsburgh runners got to the second level.

Brodney Pool was also one of the team’s top tacklers with six stops, another testament to bad Front Seven play. 

Revis also had a near pick on a deep pass to Wallace down the deep right hash mark early in the second quarter.

Antonio Cromartie was wildly inconsistent, and probably cost himself a little money in his contract negotiations. On third-and-seven, on the first series, he was called for an illegal hands to the face on WR Emanuel Sanders for a first down, prolonging this eternal drive. This was on the first third down of the game.

On the second third down of the game, a third-and-five, he was beat for a gain of six on a square out by WR Mike Wallace. So he was responsible for the first two Pittsburgh third down conversions.

On a third-and-three, late in the third quarter, Cro was called for an illegal hands to the face on Wallace, extending a Steeler drive (and burning valuable clock).

Eric Smith did some good things. He had a PD on TE Heath Miller down the right seam on the first play of the second quarter. He also had a PD on a pass to Sanders, on third-and-two, in the middle of the second quarter, forcing a field goal.

One play Smith would want back was in the middle of the third, when RB Mewelde Moore beat him for a gain of nine over the middle, on third-and-six.

Drew Coleman really is an outstanding tackler, and has a lot of guts for his size. On a play in the middle of the second, Big Ben dumped a pass to RB Isaac Redman in the left flat, and Coleman, one-on-one, with no help, brought him down. The 230-pound Redman outweighs Coleman by 50 pounds.

But then, the other side of Coleman’s game, which still needs to some work, reared it’s head. He was beat for a gain of 20 on an out on the left side by Sanders. He needs work on his route recognitions. Too often guys leave him behind with sharp cuts.

Pool had an interception, late third, on a pass down the deep left side for Sanders, in the red zone.

One play Brodney would want back, was when he missed a tackle on RB Rashad Mendenhall, on a short pass in the left flat, on the last play of the first quarter. Pool got an earful fromcoach Dennis Thurman after this play on the sideline.

The Jets pass coverage was pretty good in the second half, but two 14-yard completions on the last possession, iced the win for the Steelers. 

First, on second-and-nine, Ben rolled right (his favorite thing to do), and hit Miller for a gain of 14 on Pool. And then a few plays later, on third-and-six, he rolled right, and hit WR Antonio Brown, for 14, to ice the win. This was in a zone, and David Harris was the closest player.

But there is no way I’m going to lay this loss on the pass coverage.

This loss was the fault of the Front Seven, and poor run defense (with a backup center playing most of the game).

Cromartie didn’t have a great game. He’s got to do a better job avoiding these ticky-tacky penalty with his hands. But I would absolutely bring him back. He’s a terrific #2 corner, and with his inconsistency and the fact that he’s a little high maintenance, it shouldn’t cost the Jets a fortune to keep him on board.

The Jets have major decisions to make a safety where Eric Smith, Brodney Pool and James Ihedigbo are all free agents. With Jim Leonhard coming back, and Dwight Lowery now a safety, it’s possible they bring back only one or two of these guys. Smith really came on at the end of the season, and Mike Westhoff loves the guy, so I think he’s the leading candidate of this group to come back.