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This narrative continues about how great the Jets defense was last year. Yet, they struggled to stop the run. How can you be a great defense when you have a substandard run defense?
Haason Reddick said today, people aren’t ‘ready for what’s about to happen’ with the Jets’ defense.
What is that? The pass rush should be good, but Jets fans should hope the team plays the run a lot better than last year.
I’m not being sarcastic. That has to happen. They must ignore the hype and fix that part of the defense that was suboptimal last year.
This narrative that the Jets had an elite defense last year but was let down by the offense has gained way too much traction. The defense was certainly better than the offense, but when you can’t stop the run, you aren’t an elite defense. There is no way around that fact.
Somebody wrote a story about defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw, and how he might have a limited role because the Jets are so loaded on defense.
Headline – “Javon Kinlaw ‘not worried’ about role in loaded Jets defense.”
The premise he’s basically joining the “Purple People Eaters” and it’s going to be hard for him to get a lot of playing time is absurd.
Kinlaw’s not worried about that nonsense.
“I’m not worried about starting or anything like that,” said Kinlaw. “I’m just here to fit in where I fit in.”
Somebody wrote – “Kinlaw’s contract with the Jets tells us he will be more than a rotational pass rusher.”
Rotational pass rusher?
Don’t people understand why Kinlaw and Leki Fotu were signed?
They were signed to help plug up an interior Jets run defense that wasn’t very good last year.
Both guys are in the 6-5, 320-pound area.
Somebody wrote, “It’s still unknown if Kinlaw will be an every-down piece for a Jets defensive front.
Every-down piece?
Robert Saleh and Jeff Ulbrich have been lording over the Jets’ defense for three years now. Don’t people at this point understand their defensive line philosophy? They want their defensive linemen to run a lot to the ball, not just two-gap, so they rotate the big guys a lot, to keep them fresh.
What does “every-down piece” mean in a defense where they rotate their defensive lineman like crazy?
So no, he’s not going to be an every-down piece, but neither is Quinnen Williams.
People can continue to ignore this issue on the outside, but Saleh and Ulbrich better figure out a way to become more stout up the middle against the run, and improve their goalline defense, which was almost non-existent last year.
There were so many times last year watching Jets games and you saw opponents near the goalline, and the Jets rolling with undersized defensive linemen. It was almost like waiving the white flag. It made very little since.
Whatever happened to the “jumbo” package by the goalline?
I’m not going to name names because it’s not the player’s fault, they are not putting themselves out there, but when you go with undersized D-Linemen around the goalline, how do you think that is going to work out?
Can Kinlaw get a few interior sacks for the Jets? Absolutely.
But the most important thing he can do, along with Fotu, is fix a major run defense issue the Jets had upfront last year.
April 2, 2024
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