Pressure point
Jets need Williams to apply more pass rush and get sacks
LEONARD Williams knows what Jets fans think of him.
He knows many are frustrated that he has not been able to get more sacks in his career. He knows they want him to be Aaron Donald or J.J. Watt. The 25-yearold defensive end gets it.
That is why he sat at his locker Wednesday and acknowledged he needs to get more sacks, but he also believes outsiders may be missing some of the other things he brings to the defense.
“I know my value,” Williams told The Post. “I know what I bring to the table. I know that I’m still a good player. The fans, especially in a business like this in New York, they want to see you get 30 sacks a game.”
That’s an exaggeration, of course. Fans would settle for one or two from Williams right now.
He has no sacks through the first two games. He has no tackles for loss, three quarterback hits and seven tackles. Those are not the numbers you expect from the player with the highest salary on the team this year. Those are not the numbers anyone expected when Williams was drafted No. 6 overall in 2015 with the label of “best player in the draft” attached to him.
But here we are in Williams’ fifth season still wondering what kind of player he is and whether the Jets should invest big money in him this offseason, when he becomes a free agent.
Williams is not a bad player. Talk to opposing offensive coordinators and they will tell you one of the first things they tell their teams is to account for Williams, often with two people. He is strong against the run. He can be disruptive at times.
But Williams leaves you wanting more. Fans want to see dominance. Williams has just two multi-sack games in his career and has 17 total sacks.
For years, previous coach Todd Bowles talked about how Williams was double-teamed. Guess what? So are all the best defensive linemen, and they figure a way around it.
Wednesday was coach Adam Gase’s turn to evaluate Williams. To his credit, he did not make excuses for Williams.
“He’s trying to be impactful within the system,” Gase said. “I think he’s doing a good job of doing his job. Hopefully, we can keep working him to the point where sacks and hits and hurries and all those things just keep increasing as we go.”
Impactful is the perfect word. The Jets need an impactful Williams on Sunday at New England. Williams has faced Tom Brady eight times and sacked him just once.
This is an undermanned Jets team going to New England. They are on their third quarterback. Your guess is as good as mine as to who the No. 2 outside receiver will be Sunday with Quincy Enunwa on the shelf, and Demaryius Thomas and Josh Bellamy both nursing injuries. C.J. Mosley may miss another week. Jordan Jenkins is almost certainly going to miss this one.
It is time for Williams to carry this defense. The Jets are paying him $14.2 million this season. It’s time to earn that money.
The Jets faced mobile quarterbacks in their first two games, which hindered Williams a bit. He could not just rush upfield and let the Bills’ Josh Allen run through the middle of the defense. The Jets used Williams as an outside contain man when they blitzed up the middle against the Browns’ Baker Mayfield.
Those are legitimate reasons for his lack of production early.
“I’m doing what I can to help the team and not complaining about it,” Williams said.
This week should be a different story. Brady is less mobile than a flagpole. It is time to make Jets fans say, “There’s Leonard again,” instead of, “Where’s Leonard?” again.
“The fans can get a little frustrated sometimes,” Williams said. “My coaches and my teammates see that I work hard, they see that I help the team and make plays. It’s different for the fans. They only see the stat line and things like that. I definitely don’t think I’m far off.”
If the Jets have any prayer of keeping this game close on Sunday, they need Williams to plant his face mask between the 1 and the 2 on Brady’s jersey more than once.
The Jets need Williams to carry the load. It is time for him to deliver.