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Florham Park – This is a big game for a lot of Jets. This is never about one man. But there is a player on defense who needs to come up big for the Jets this week. Tom Brady could target him. Let’s see how he does . . .
The Jets need a big game from their linebackers in New England.
The Patriots put a lot of pressure on linebackers with how involved their running backs are in their passing game.
Two Jets linebackers played really well against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Jets need a similar effort from each in Week Two.
David Harris, coming off an up-and-down season, really stepped up in the opener.
Here are a few of the good things Harris did.
*Early in the second quarter, he drew a holding call.
*Stopped a screen pass for a loss of three.
*Caused a fumble with a big hit (recovered by Tampa Bay).
*Had a QB pressure forcing Josh Freeman to throw ball out of bounds.
*Had a good coverage on a pass to Vincent Jackson over the middle causing the WR to grow alligator arms.
OLB Antwan Barnes had a nice debut in green.
*On Tampa Bay’s first possession, he blew by TE Luke Stocker, leading to a blindside sack of Josh Freeman.
*Was one of the players who pressured Freeman into kicking the ball out of the end zone for a safety.
*A Barnes QB pressure led to a sack that was shared by Calvin Pace and Sheldon Richardson. However, this play was caused by Barnes, and the other two players cleaned it up.
*The 17-yard gain by RB Doug Martin late in the game should have been called back. Barnes drew a holding call on guard Gabe Carimi, but the officials missed it.
The Jets need big games from these guys against New England. That goes without saying.
But I’d also keep a close eye on is DeMario Davis. Remember, last year in New England, he struggled a little, especially in overtime.
He’s obviously come a long way since then.
New England really tests linebackers mentally when they spread you out in their passing game
The last couple of days in Jets practice, linebacker coach Brian van Gorder, was giving the linebackers a tutorial on the different sets his charges should expect in this game.
Davis had a pretty good game against Tampa Bay, but the Pats offense is a lot more complex than what the Jets faced in Week One.
As I’ve mentioned before, some scouts were concerned about Davis’s instincts coming out of Arkansas State. This game will certainly challenge his instincts. Let’s see how he deals with it . . .
With Jeremy Kerley out this week, it was smart for the Jets to bring back WR Ben Obamanu.
He’s a good, not great receiver, but he knows the Jets system, which is huge this time of year. It wouldn’t be a big help to the Jets right now to bring in a street free agent, who they have to teach their complex playbook from scratch. Obamanu comes in ready to roll – system friendly and has worked with Geno . . .
September 10, 2013
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