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After the game, Jets coach Jeff Ulbrich was asked about the play of his defensive line after the team finished with eight sacks in their 21-13 win over Houston.
“That is a good offensive line and that’s a really good quarterback; A quarterback that can not only navigate the pocket, but also extend plays,” Ulbrich said. “He can beat you with his arm and his legs. The way they hunted him all night, it was exhausting. It was hard, but they came through in the end. It was really cool to see. Whenever you get that sort of sack production and get him off the spot that often, they are doing their thing.”
They were doing there thing as a pass rush and in pass coverage, no doubt, but the run defense, once again, left a lot to be desired.
Aaron Rodgers was asked about the team’s defensive effort
“They stood on their head,” Rodgers said. “They were incredible.”
The pass rush was incredible, but the run defense was not.
The Texans ran for 187 yards. 187 yards!
If you think the Jets are going to dig out of the 3-6 hole, and make a run at a wildcard spot, and play this kind of run defense, you are likely howling at the moon.
And to allow 187 yards rushing against an offensive line that has been struggling, and lost a starter in the game, guard Kendric Green, makes this even more problematic.
Jeff Ulbrich, and his defensive staff, have 10 days to try and fix this. There are too many players getting velcroed to blocks, running past plays, missing tackles.
Maybe Joe Douglas needs to go out and get a run-stuffing defensive lineman, like former Jet Quinton Jefferson, who is now in Cleveland and might be available.
And while the Jets’ pass defense was good in the Houston game, with QB C.J. Stroud, going 11-30 passing, let’s not forget the Texans were without two starting receivers – Nico Collins and Stephon Diggs, two NFL stars.
I know a lot of people don’t like to write about run defense because it’s boring, but unless the Jets fix this, it’s going to be very hard to make a run.
The Jets can’t get too full of themselves after breaking their five-game losing streak with their win over Houston.
They have a lot of work to do with a big project being fixing their run defense . . .
The Jets faced Stoud two years in a row.
After seeing him twice at MetLife Stadium against the Jets, it’s hard to understand why people are so high on him.
He’s pedestrian at this point.
Granted he had two starting receivers out, but he had several overthrows to the group of receivers he was throwing too on Thursday night. His accuracy was bad.
I know two games is a small sample size, but how could any Jets fan or reporter watch these two games and think this QB is elite? . . .
Garrett Wilson had one of the best TD catches perhaps in NFL history, and it’s been compared to Odell Beckham’s famous circus catch with the Giants.
Jets need to learn from history.
So much was made about that Beckham catch, it might have affected his attitude as young player with an overabundance of praise and accolades.
The Jets can’t go overboard about one play with their media operation.
And Jets receivers coach Sean Jefferson needs to keep things real with the player and tell him not to go for the cheese, and let the hype over this play go to his head.
Wilson and Beckham are different cats, so this probably won’t be a problem.
But as philosopher George Santayana once said: “Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.”
So they need to work on keeping things even-keeled in the player’s world after he just made one of the greatest TD catches in NFL history.
And it should be pointed out, after that note we ran on Wednesday about the body catching issue he has sometimes, that certainly wasn’t a body-catch – LOL.
November 1, 2024
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