No defense for such dismal ‘D’
This isn’t how it was supposed to be; it isn’t what Erin Henderson had pictured in his mind a month ago.
This was supposed to be a Jets defense that built on last year’s success, Henderson said, a group that could force turnovers and harass quarterbacks. A season ago, Gang Green finished third in the league with 30 turnovers forced, emerging as one of football’s best defenses. This year? “We haven’t lived up to what we thought,” Henderson said Thursday. “We’ve let ourselves down as far as defense goes.”
“Yes, we have struggled early on,” added corner Darrelle Revis. “But it’s still a long season.”
It’s pretty much a lost season for the 1-5 Jets at this point, and interception-happy deposed starting quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick has borne the brunt of the blame. But he’s hardly the lone Jet who’s declined, because the once- playmaking defense hasn’t made enough plays either. The Jets rank dead last in the NFL in turnovers forced, tied with New York’s other messy football team with three.
And none of this makes defensive-minded head coach Todd Bowles happy, which is why Bowles said changes “could be” coming to the defense this week against the Baltimore Ravens.
“Lack of turnovers right now,” he said. “We’ve got to get our hands on more balls, whether it’s tipped passes, turnovers or anything. Last year we got a bunch of turnovers. This year, we haven’t gotten them yet.
“You try everything, either blitzing, dropping back in coverage. You practice turnovers until you’re blue in the face. I’ve practiced a ton of them where they haven’t worked. I’ve practiced a ton where they have worked. It’s just a matter of them coming in bunches and for us to keep working at it.”
Nothing has worked yet, though, so six games into a season that’s already off the rails, there could be defensive experimentation.
“Everybody’s getting reps right now,” he said. “I haven’t told anybody if they are doing one thing, one way or the other . . . Everybody’s getting reps and I’ll decide who goes where.” It’s an experiment that can’t hurt, and Jet defenders know it. They realize they’ve completely underachieved, failing to do their part to take pressure off the offense and the predictable decline of Fitzpatrick.
When Revis hasn’t battled injuries, he’s seen his once-dominant play continue the slide that began last season. The maturation of a star-studded defensive line that includes three former first-round picks was supposed to help offset that, disrupting QBs before the secondary could be exposed. But since a sevensack explosion in the season-opening loss to the Bengals, that unit has managed five total sacks in five games, and on Monday in Arizona, it barely breathed on Carson Palmer.
“It’s obvious, we’re not playing up to our potential,” said linebacker Lorenzo Mauldin. “We’re trying to figure it out. We’re in a lull right now. We’re in a hole. Basically, we’re just digging ourselves out of the hole.”
They can’t try too hard, though, said Revis, because sometimes, turnovers just happen.
“You can’t force plays,” he said. “You gotta let them happen. They (turnovers) haven’t happened for us at the start of the season. At the same time, we still have to focus and do our job. And when they come, they’ll come in bunches.”