Avery getting comfy in Bowles’ defense
It was near the end of the first quarter on Friday night when Giants quarterback Eli Manning saw wide receiver Cody Latimer race past Jets cornerback Morris Claiborne. Manning launched a 54-yard completion to Latimer, and the Giants were in business at the Jets’ 6-yardline.
Then, Avery Williamson stepped in.
The Jets’ new inside linebacker made his presence felt with a strip of running back Jonathan Stewart. Leonard Williams recovered the fumble, and the scoring threat was ended.
“It’s just second nature man,” Williamson said after the game. “You feel that ball, you go for it. The goal is to not just get tackles, you’ve got to make the big play. That’s what wins games. Sudden change like that can flip a whole game. The more turnovers, the better.”
The Jets signed Williamson to a three-year, $22 million deal in March after he spent his first four seasons with the Titans. The Jets believe they are getting a tackling machine, who can go sideline to sideline for them. On Friday, he looked the part. He led the team with nine tackles along with the forced fumble.
“The first two weeks I was thinking a lot,” Williamson said of the preseason. “But this is the first week that I actually felt like I was still thinking, but not as much. I felt like I was flying around. That’s what I do. That’s my game — flying around, making plays all over the field.”
On the Giants’ first offensive series, Williamson showed what he could do. He sliced through the offensive line to stop Stewart for no gain. Later, he delivered a crushing hit on tight end Evan Engram that looked like it might result in another fumble. The play was initially ruled a turnover, but Engram was ruled down after a replay review.
Williamson, 26, could be a huge signing if he can patrol the middle of coach Todd Bowles’ defense. He said he has gotten more comfortable as training camp has gone on, but still feels like he has room to improve.
“I feel like onascale of 1-to-10, it’s about an 8,” Williamson said of his comfort level with the defense. “I’ve still got somethings I’ve got to work on, just some plays where I’m still like, ‘ OK, what do I have to do?’ It takes time. The more reps I get, I feel like the more comfortable I’ll be.
He said he was at a 6 a week ago, but every day brings improvement.
The Jets’ defense has yet to allow a touchdown during the preseason. They gave up 344 yards to the Giants on Friday, but held Big Blue’s offense to five field goals. The Giants’ lone touchdown in their 22-16 win came on a punt return.
“After a big play, we continue to not let them score,” Williamson said. “That shows signs of a tough defense. You get in the red zone and some guys just kind of give up and say, ‘OK, they’re down here, they’re going to score.’ We held our ground.
“As long as we’ve got grass at our backs, we can defend it. You never know what can happen. I’m proud of the defense for not allowing a touchdown.”
The Giants were 0-for-3 in the red zone. Overall this ”preseason, Jets opponents are 0-for-8 in the red zone. The Jets also held the Giants to 2-of-12 on third down conversions.
“Communication,” Williamson said about the key to this defense. “That’s something we’re always preaching on is communication. We’ve been doing it well in practice. We continue to do it better in games. I felt like we communicated a lot better [Friday]. We’ve got to continue to keep doing that. Communication’s got to be key and it’s got to be on point every week.”