Young energy has bolstered Gang Green’s ‘D’
Jets defensive coordinator Kacy Rodgers sees one major difference between his unit from 2016 and this year’s group. “It’s just the youth and the energy,” Rodgers said Thursday in Florham Park after practice. “Just a breath of fresh air.”
The Jets have surprised many in football with their 4-5 start to the season, and the defense should receive a good deal of the credit. General manager Mike Maccagnan replaced one of the league’s worst safety tandems with two standout rookies, Jamal Adams and Marcus Maye. Jordan Jenkins and Darron Lee, both second-year players, have shown considerable improvement and have helped anchor the Jets’ linebackers. And up front, former No. 6 overall pick Leonard Williams is building off his first Pro Bowl appearance — albeit without the traditional stats to back it up.
The youth and energy Rodgers describes was on full display last Thursday night against the Bills when the entire defense (outside of Jenkins) was dancing together during a commercial break. Adams, the Jets’ first-round pick last spring, brings a unique type of passion and joy to the field. He was perhaps the most enthusiastic dancer of the bunch.
Rodgers thinks the display was a perfect example of that “youthful energy.” “The funny thing about it is sometimes we sit there and watch them practice and they just kind of start going,” Rodgers said. “It’s nothing rehearsed or anything.”
In most statistics — like yards per game allowed or points per game allowed, for example — the Jets don’t differ much from their marks in 2016. But there’s one telling stat that shows why the Jets defense is vastly improved this season: takeaways. The Jets already have 16 takeaways through nine games in 2017, two more than they recorded all of last season. They forced the Bills into three turnovers last Thursday.
“That’s one of the first things we talked about once everybody got here in OTAs — just taking the ball away,” Rodgers said. “When you study the NFL year in and year out, teams that win are up there in the takeaway margin, so we really, really place a lot of emphasis on it. Every day in practice, we’re talking about taking the ball away.” Raiders, and he landed back on the injury report this week.
Running back Matt Forte (knee), center Jonotthan Harrison (hand), defensive lineman Ed Stinson (neck) and defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson (shoulder, foot) didn’t practice Thursday.
Safety Doug Middleton, who was placed on injured reserve in August with a torn pectoral muscle, will not be returning this season, Todd Bowles said. Wide receiver and special-teamer Charone Peake (on IR with an ankle injury) is still a candidate to return, according to Bowles.