After Further Review: 3-And-Out
I’m trying to bring back an old column from last year where I would examine one aspect of the Jets game in detail. This week we’ll look at the Jets ability to force a three and out.
Jets 7 – Bengals 7
Bengals Second Drive 7:38 left First Quarter
Drive begins at CIN 23
First Play: Offset I Formation weakside w/ 2WRs
Analysis: Jenkins uses his left hand to slap the Center to his right and tangles with the rising Right Guard off the snap. Jenkins pushes the Guard two yards into the backfield while Chris Perry stutters his step trying to avoid his own Guard and find a hole with only half the line to work with, he pushes into the area vacated by Kris Jenkins. Jenkins disengages from his blocker and spins to help the gang tackle with David Harris and Shaun Ellis.
Result: Gain of two yards.
Second Play: Offset I Formation weakside w/ 2 WRs (TE motioned right)
Analysis: Fitzpatrick takes the snap and after a quick look in the pocket, rolls right. Fitzpatrick had a split second where he could have lofted a short pass to Houshmanzedeh crossing the field left to righ, but Kerry Rhodes covered up the receiver quickly. A better QB might have recognized the open receiver and made the pass. Fitzpatrick was brought down by Eric Barton from behind.
Result: No gain.
Third Play: Shotgun w/ 4 WRs and 1 RB
Analysis: Bringing just three rushers spread wider than the Jets base 3-4, the Jets drop the rest of their players into zone coverages and the pressure provided by the front three forces a holding penalty by the Bengals.
Result: Ten yard penalty, repeat of down.
Fourth Play: Shotgun w/ 3 WRs 1 TE
Analysis: Again the Jets bring three and provide some pressure on Ftizpatrick who completes a short dumpoff pass, but with 18 yards to go, the zone collapses on the receiver and the Bengals manage to get back to the original line of scrimmage on the drive.
Result: Eight yards, Bengals are forced to punt
Although the successive drive by the Jets didn’t score points. Punter Reggie Hodges pinned the ball inside the 5 and the Bengals returner fair caught it as there was already a gunner standing behind him if he didn’t. Working from deep in their own territory, the ensuing Bengals possession yielded a turnover for the Jets, and what turned out to be the go-ahead score. Getting stops on first down early is key to working to your scheme advantage on later downs, and ultimately gives your team better field position to work with. The Jets are improved at stopping drives early, but they need to get better to become a truly tough defense.
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I don’t think I can recall a defensive player on the Jets being as dominant in the game as Kris Jenkins is being this year. He should be a shoe in for the pro bowl.
it is really funny how one player can do so much and yes i hope he makes it to a pro bowl. its aslo nice to see a players who isnt some d bag like pac man coming back being better than before
If Kris Jenkins does not make it to the Pro Bowl, it will be a bigger snub than any in recent Jets memory, including Kerry Rhodes.
I’m glad you broke down that sequence. So many fans criticize the CS for not blitzing enough and here we see the D being very effective rushing three. If I remember correctly, that holding call was due to Shaun Ellis’ penetration between the guard and center with Jenkins out, a great new wrinkle. I detailed in another thread that on the Bengal’s lone scoring drive the Jets rushed five or more on virtually every pass play and brought the house twice, including on the 4th and 2 completion that kept the drive alive.
I’m not saying the Jets shouldn’t blitz, they should. Often. But the true advantage to the 3-4 is the ability to effectively mix blitzes and coverage schemes to keep the QB constantly off balance.
Great breakdown.
A lot has been made of Favre’s INTs, but to me, the first one looked like the receiver (was it Franks?), didn’t battle at all for the ball. Seemed to me like if he did, it would have been an incomplete pass. Anyone agree?
sub – you are right on … it was the center who was flagged on the play.
My only complaint about Favre’s ints was showing the play on the Cotchery one. That stupid lil arm wiggle cost us at least 3.
Jenkins is the man. Glad we got him at a reasonable price. I knew we needed a big man to anchor the line and he has exceeded all of my expectations. Yay run defense!
Bassett:
Without Big Jenk and the “D” we would be 1-3 and fighting for our football lives.
Correction: 1-4. Jenkins, without a doubt is our MVP !!!
Believe it or not, they also had a three and out in the third with the Coleman-Pouha-Devito line in and Jenkins getting a rest.
I like Jenkins, a lot, but I also watched Jamal Williams on the Chargers simply destroy the Pats OL on Sunday Night, especially on the goal line stand that sunk the Pats. Jenkins did not have the same impact against the Pats. I have to give a slight nod to Williams for the All-Pro NT spot (if there is one), but Jenkins and Williams should make the Pro Bowl with either Hampton (who doesn’t deserve to be named because of injuries..but the team always has “legacy” players) or Wilfork (still good, but the Pats can be run on). The point is that D-Rob wasn’t even in the discussion for the Pro Bowl. And, the only 3-4 NT in Jets history that has been better was Klecko.
Also, let’s not forget Calvin Pace, who so far has been best Jets all-round OLB since Mo Lewis retired. Most teams run to the strong side and Pace has locked down the strong-side along with a rejuvenated Shaun Ellis, who is also flashing Pro Bowl form.
I have to admit that I did not want the Jets to draft Gholston (although, as the draft developed, he was the logical choice and I am an illogical Jets fan). My fear, that he is a good athlete playing football, not a football player, is coming true. I know the Jets have to give him time to develop, but he has been, literally, a non-entity on the field. A good defensive player usually gets some defensive stats, even a 1/2 tackle. Keller and Lowery made the 2008 draft; they look like cornerstone players. But, VG has not come close to my low expectations.
I am neither surprised nor worried by VG’s struggles so far. It would be nice to see him throw the fans a bone though with a morale boosting impact play in the next game or two, though.
I am neither surprised nor worried, too. But, I thought Gholston would be a bust and I also thought BT could rebound, so all the Jets lose from VG being who I thought he was is cap space. How about a VG special teams tackle? Or, maybe he can bring water bottles out to the defense during timeouts? Anything to actually help the defense. While it takes most players time to adjust to the NFL, it is that VG is doing nothing, nada, ugatz that does not augur well for his NFL future. But, I may be wrong…..
Jenkins might be our best FA pick up sinse Curtis Martin.
VG actually had a QB pressure (ok, not in his face but in the vicinity) that led to an incompletion. Relax, we’re 5 games into the season. VG came out as a junior, right? Give the boy (who will in a year or two be a man) some time.
I did overstate a bit; VG has 3 solo tackles and 2 assists. He had 0 stats against the Bengals, but the 3-man line swallowed up the Cincy offense, so there weren’t many plays left for the weakside OLB. It’s really more that he hasn’t flashed any of that speed or strength that made him a top 6 pick.
Jenkins is a force to be reckoned with. I cannot remember the last time we had a d-linemen toss around offensive linemen like rag dolls. This guy is freakishly powerful and athletic.
I still have hope for VG. They say that making the transition from 4-3 DE to 3-4 OLB is very difficult. He is strong and quick and while he does not have a sack I have seen him drive LTs 4-5 yards deep on several plays. With some tuning of his technique I believe he can become a very good player.
Pleasantly surprised by BT considering I was screaming about how bad and lazy he is. Be nice to see if he can be productive the rest of the season and next.
I do not place too much blame on Favre for either of those throws. Both were right on the sideline. Franks did not fight for that ball at all and Cotch did not make a great play on his either and most of time that pass winds up getting tipped out of bounds.
Jenkins wasn’t a free agent pickup though, ramble. He might be our best trade pickup since Leon for Herm though!
Gholston was ST player of the week against the Cards, he had like 4 tackles. At least he is making a bit of a contribution here and there.
Gholston is certainly taking his sweet time, but like some of you, I don’t mind. I am perfectly happy with BT and think Pace is an absolute monster! Let’s let Vern learn at his own pace, and if he is still invisible during camp next year, then we can worry.
aside from the talk about VG, i’d like to second all the thoughts on jenkins. he has been great. also, this was a very good post–nice, thoughtful analysis that goes beyond headlines.
A little off-topic, but has anyone noticed who is second in the NFL in tackles made? One spot above the vaulted Patrick Willis?
wait for it….
wait for it…
why its none other than Jonathan Vilma!
The guy is still a stud!
Bubby, he had a lot of tackles with the Jets too. Alot of his tackles are with the RB moving forward gaining yardage. He doesn’t have many where he stuffs the run. That is a huge difference.
Bubby-
Vilma is no. 2 in the NFL (but 1 in the NFC) in tackles. But, while he’s racking up the numbers, the list of the top LBs in tackles includes some of the worst defenses in the NFL (not a surprise, good teams tend to stop more plays at the line, especially in the 4-3), individual stats are skewed until every team has a bye and there’s no doubt that Willis is having the more complete season–he has a sack, and INT (for a TD) and 6 passes defended, while Vilma has no sacks and no passes defended.
The 4-3 is better for Vilma, but I watched him against Minny and when I see him actually meet an RB in the hole with a perfect tackle for a loss, then I’ll say he’s a stud, like Marvin Jones was (remember his tackle on Jarrod Bunch, who was a load? It looked like Bunch was hit by a cannon ball) or David Harris is.
Sack – I see your points, except for your view that Vilma is not a stud yet. But that’s okay. Does Vilma’s good play help with our draft pick from the Saints?
Im so sick of listening to people complain about Vernon Gholston. This is guy is playing behind 2 OLB’s (Pace & Thomas) who are both playing at pro bowl levels. So why should a rookie, regardless of how high he was drafted, play over two good veteran players? If the jets were getting no production from one of the OLB spots then this would be a big concern but as long as Thomas and Pace play at this level it doesnt matter if gholsten makes any plays. If anything I think its exciting we have such a talented athletic young player on our bench for the future.
Mario Williams started every game as a rookie and only recorded 4.5 sacks, last year he had 14 and at this point hes pretty much averaging a sack a game. Use this as an example that sometimes players take time to develop, even ones who are drafted very high.
Gholsten can still become a stud, so far he hasnt had a chance to show what he really is.
Mike G-you lied to me and told me your name was jesusrevis. I know this becuase what you said to me in my backyard was the exact thing as MikeG posted, which also happens to be your first name and last initial.
Ny Giants superbowl 42 champions losers.
Gholston is disgracing the #56.
PS – Those titans jerseys are scrappy
Sack/Bubby – I posted this about Vilma the other day:
“Vilma this week against the Raiders was awesome. He made plays in the backfield. Solid, knock-back hits, the likes of which we never saw out of him in the 3-4, whether that be because of dicomfort with the scheme or his knee. And he played deep into the fourth quarter even though it was a blowout. ”
So, are you prepared to say he’s a stud Sack or do you have to see it with your own eyes?