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New Jersey – Can the Jets make a run. I certainly think they can, if they clean something up. If they don’t clean this up, I don’t think they can make a run.
1. With the Jets having won two in a row to get to 3-5, what is the optimism level that the Jets can make a playoff run in the second half of the season?
Leberfeld: They have got to get better secondary play if that is going to happen. There are just too many blown coverages.
If they can tighten-up their coverage, they are certainly capable of a run. They had one of the tougher schedules in the league over the first six weeks, and that certainly contributed heavily to the 1-5 start. You can’t play pass defense like they did, and have the quarterback lead the league in interceptions, and beat that kind of competition.
They have certainly played better the last two weeks, but it wasn’t a murderers row of opponents. They beat Baltimore (with seven starters inactive) and rebuilding Cleveland.
The game against the improving Dolphins will be a be a good litmus test for who they are.
2. Has Ryan Fitzpatrick shows signs of his 2015 form since being reinserted into the lineup?
Leberfeld: Yes, because he was much more careful with the football. He didn’t throw a pick in the last two games. He wasn’t forcing the ball into double-coverage like he did during the Jets’ losing streak.
Also what helped him revert back to this 2015 form was the Jets’ running game was solid the last two weeks. Fitzpatrick needs a running game.
Two big problems for Fitzpatrick during the Jets four-game losing streak – no running game and the team’s pass defense was bad. These two factors led to him having to throw too much. The reason the team’s pass defense hurt Fitzpatrick was they were giving up so many big plays, it created big deficits, so he had to chuck the ball all of the lot. When he’s forced to be Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers, and has to put the team on his back and throw 40 times, he gets in trouble. He’s not that kind of quarterback. He needs a good defense and running game, and then he can just manage the game, which is more in his wheelhouse.
3. What kind of impact has new running back Matt Forte on the offense?
Leberfeld: He’s a very patient runner and has good vision. He’s also a very good receiver out of the backfield. He’s not going to break as many tackles as the Jets’ former featured back, Chris Ivory, but Forte is more of a slasher with great vision. He really had lost anything after all these years in the league. He’s still a very good back.
4. What has made the Jets so successful at stopping the run?
Leberfeld: They have a lot of talent on their defensive line with three first round picks – Mo Wilkerson, Leonard Williams and Sheldon Richardson. All three are freakish quickness for their size, and do a nice job of penetrating gaps. Also helping the Jets’ running game is free agent addition, nose tackle Steve McLendon, a former Pittsburgh Steeler, who is a very good run defender. Long-time insider linebacker David Harris also does a really nice job against the run, as does safety Calvin Pryor.
5. Darrelle Revis has been one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL for years but has drawn criticism for his performance so far this season; how would you assess his play?
Leberfeld: His play has slipped a little. He recently admitted to Newsday that his “body is breaking down.” He doesn’t have the long speed he used to, so receivers with speed are consistently getting behind him. Also, his short-area quickness isn’t what it used to be, so really quick receivers can cut away from him at times.
And because Revis can’t hold up on an island like he used to in his prime, the Jets need to give him a lot double team assistance, so Jets coach Todd Bowles can’t blitz as much as he’d like.
The Cleveland Browns targeted him last week, and expect the Dolphins to do the same thing.
November 2, 2016
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