Content available exclusively for subscribers
Remember this quote from the other day –
“Saleh loves defensive linemen and he went to a Super Bowl because of a defensive line, not because of the scheme,” said former NFL GM Mike Lombardi on his podcast. “He is about the talent of the Front Seven. One thing about the Pete Carroll scheme you have to understand – is they typically don’t want to invest in corners because they play 80 percent zone. They had Richard Sherman. They got Richard Sherman in the fifth round. To play this defense effectively, you’ve got to dominate upfront.”
Well as Bob Dylan once sang, “The times they are a-changin.”
The Jets picked Cincinnati cornerback Sauce Gardner at 4.
Something to keep in mind. Yes, what Lombardi said is historically accurate in terms of Carroll’s defense, but Carroll is now tweaking that system. He hired former Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Sean Desai as associate head coach. He’s a Vic Fangio disciple, and they are going to putting in a lot of Fangio concepts into the Seattle defense.
“We’ve been a little bit arrogant over the years (with) the way we do it. … It’s not that time (anymore),” Carroll said.
And keep in mind that Dan Quinn, another Carroll disciple, after he got fired by Atlanta, did a deep dive into his defensive playbook, and changed things when he landed in Dallas.
Also keep in mind that right before the Jets picked Gardner, the Houston Texans picked CB Derek Stingley. The Texans run Lovie Smith’s defense. He has played that Tampa Two system for many years, similar to the Carroll system, a lot of zone, and he picked a man-to-man CB.
The bottom line is all the guys, from this defensive coaching tree are tweaking, their approach, updating it.
Gardner is an elite man-to-man cornerback. The Jets’ pass coverage was not very good last year. The division is loaded with explosive passing game weapons. It’s time to get a true #1 CB, and stop getting cute at the position and relying on scheme corners. Time for a guy who can shut down one side of the field, and that is what they landed in Gardner.
And then at 10, they picked Ohio State wide receiver Garrett Wilson. So instead of sending this pick to San Francisco (with other stuff) to get Deebo Samuel, the Jets added perhaps the best receiver in the draft, and won’t have to spend $25-30 million-a-year on a contract.
“Much cost-friendlier,” said former NFL GM Mark Dominik (SiriusXM Radio) on the Jets getting Wilson instead of Samuel.
Wilson has world-class speed, and as he puts it, is good at “making people miss” in the open field. He’s very smart and should pick up Mike LaFleur’s complex system very quickly. He also said he’s good on “50-50” balls, something the Jets need.
As Dominick said before the draft, “I think the Jets should stay put (at 4 and 10) and get good players.”
They did just that.
These are two difference-makers. Two guys other teams need to worry about entering a game. The Jets got three of those guys last year – Alijah Vera-Tucker, Elijah Moore and RB Michael Carter. It looks like they just added two more.
We will have more on Jermaine Johnson on Friday.
April 28, 2022
Premium will return by 11:30 pm on Friday.