Gang Green vs Gang Green

Game Preview

On Sunday we face the NY Jets. That name sounds intimidating when you think of Rex Ryan, Darrelle Revis, Bart Scott, and their power running game. Reality shows the team not to be the juggernaut that some thought they might turn into.

They were 9-7 in Ryan’s first year. They improved to 11-5 last year. Now they’re 8-5, but sure don’t appear to be a team poised for a postseason run. They have one win against a winning team – Dallas. And the Cowboys had to hand that game to the Rexies for them to win.

The Jets allowed 236 points in 2009, #1 in the league. They gave up 304 points last year. This year they’ve given up 270 and have 3 games left, making it likely that the total will rise once again. The vaunted Jets defense is heading in the wrong direction. They’re still good, but not as strong as you might think.

NY has been very streaky this year: 2 W, 3 L, 3 W, 2 L, and now 3 W. Are they at the end of a win streak or about to extend it to 4 games, which would be their longest streak of the year? This is a team you can’t figure out. They look very good at times, but mediocre at others.

The Eagles are on a 1-game win streak. Are they at the end of a win streak or about to extend it to 2 games, which would tie their longest streak of the year? This is a team you can’t figure out. They look very good at times, but mediocre at others, and outright bad on occasion.    

PHI OFF vs NYJ DEF

The Jets don’t have a great pass rush. They only have 29 sacks. The leading sacker is Aaron Maybin and if you watch him, most of his sacks are of the coverage variety. The QB holds the ball for several seconds and Maybin is able to run around blockers long enough to get free and hit the QB.

The Jets do blitz really well. We don’t handle the blitz all that well. This is where things get interesting. The Jets love overload blitzes. They send 4 guys on one side and design it so you’ll have 3 blockers for them. This isn’t the old Buddy Ryan system where 8 rushed and you had 7 to block. Rex isn’t into high-risk, high-reward. He tries to be aggressive, but smart at the same time.

I don’t worry about individual matchups between our OL and their front seven. We can block them. Confusion and missed assignments due to blitzs/exotic alignments is another story. They excel at that stuff and it has caused problems for us. Mike Vick doesn’t always read those situations well. We’ve had skill players get confused and block the wrong guy. We’ve also had OL get confused. The good news is that Howard Mudd faced the Jets twice in 2009 and has seen Ryan in other years when he ran the Ravens defense. Mudd has to make sure everyone has an idea of what is coming.

Vick is a mystery at this point. He looked good in the 2nd quarter last week, but struggled in other parts of the game. I’m hoping that was him shaking off rust and also dealing with pain from the ribs. There’s no more rust. If Vick struggles this week, it is because he’s just not playing well. We need him to be smart and not force the ball into coverage. The Jets have 15 INTs. They play the ball well and love coming away with turnovers. The Jets use a variety of coverages. They do a lot of complex things. And they do them well (as opposed to Dallas and Rob Ryan who just do complex things sloppily). Vick must make good reads and be decisive. I wonder if this is a game where you’re better suited to go with max protect and then limit Vick’s options. If no one is open, run or throw the ball away.

My guess is that Darrelle Revis will cover Jeremy Maclin and then Antonio Cromartie will shadow DeSean Jackson. Revis can physically overwhelm Maclin. I am looking forward to seeing how the guys fare against Revis. You can’t look at is “he’s gonna shut us down”. You have to make him prove it. Test him. Revis does in fact shut down most of the guys he covers, but Stevie Johnson fares well against him. You never know until you try.

Safety Jim Leonhard is out. Brodney Pool will take his place. They’ve had a week to prepare, but Leonard is an invaluable member of their secondary. That has to hurt them.

I think the key for our offense is LeSean McCoy. The Jets don’t have a super-fast front seven. We need to attack the edges and try to get Shady out in space. The Jets run defense is better against inside run guys. They struggled with the Raiders run game / speed earlier in the year. Darren McFadden lit them up. McCoy can have success. We need him to bounce back from Sunday’s struggles.

And keep Brent Celek involved. Good things happen when he gets the ball.

PHI DEF vs NYJ OFF

The Eagles could not handle Marshawn Lynch and Seattle’s power run game. Now comes a chance for redemption. The Jets have a big RB that loves to break tackles and wear down a defense. Shonn Greene is exactly what the doctor ordered. Let’s see if the team fares better after having Lynch run over and around them.

The Eagles have shut down some power runners this year. Beanie Wells and Brandon Jacobs both struggled in recent games. Greene is the most physical of the trio and will be a major challenge. I’m glad. I want to see who can step up and handle the challenge. This is a problem that needs to be solved. Let’s see who can do it and who can’t.

I think we’ll do a solid job vs the Jets offense. They play pretty conservative. Their offense is built not to turn the ball over. They prefer ball control to big plays. I do have some concerns about them spreading us out and then running LT vs our Nickel D. Reggie Bush had success in that situation last week, but LT doesn’t have Reggie’s speed or elusiveness, but he’s still effective.

Jason Babin has a chance to build on his 15 sack total. RT Wayne Hunter is not a great pass blocker. You can beat him with speed and he’s also susceptible to inside move. KC got a sack vs him last week with a good inside move.

I think the real key in this game is the Red Zone. The Jets are the #1 RZ offense in the league. They score TDs. They run well. They mix in trick plays. Both Jeremy Kerley and LT can be the Wildcat QB. They throw to the TE. They also have great RZ receivers. Santonio Holmes has 7 TD catches. He has very good hands and great body control. He can adjust to passes, up or down, in or out. Plaxico also has 7 TD catches. With him, size is the key. My one hope is that Nnamdi and DRC can match up with them in the RZ and limit their success. There is an x-factor. Sanchez. He’s run for 5 TDs this year. He is good on QB draws from the spread set and QB keepers on the bootleg (scored that way vs KC).

I am curious to see how the guys respond to last week’s game. Phillip Hunt played his best game. Same for Casey and Keenan Clayton. DRC played pretty well. Akeem Jordan had a good game. Do these guys stay hungry and focused? Do they build off last week? Was it simply an anomaly against a pedestrian Miami offense (although one that had been on a roll in recent weeks)? Sunday is a big test.

STs

The kicking game will be crucial. The Jets blocked a punt vs Dallas in the opener. We just had one blocked last week and Miami got close on another. We must tighten that up.

The Jets lead the league in KORs. Joe McKnight is at 32.4 per KOR, which puts them out at the 25 or 30 most of the time. That’s important for a ball control team. It would be nice to have Colt Anderson for this game. His replacement, Tom Nelson, did okay Sunday. Let’s hope he’s better this week.

MISC

The Jets are a bad 1st quarter team. If we get up 10-0, that won’t phase them in the least. They are built to win in the 4th quarter.

The Jets have never beaten the Eagles in a regular season game. Odd streaks like this that span generations fascinate me. Literally hundreds of players and multiple coaches have come and gone for each team, but the result is the same. Weird.

We’re awful at home, 1-5. The Jets suck on the road, 2-4 with only wins at WAS & BUF.

For some reason, I expect the Eagles to play well (proof I didn’t quit sniffing glue, right?). I am curious how the team would be affected by DAL and NYG. If both teams win, we’re officially out of the playoff hunt. If one or both lose, hope is alive. Dallas plays on Saturday night (Go Bucs!!!). The Giants play at 1pm on Sunday vs the Skins. We’ll know the outcome of both games (barring overtime) when we kickoff.

Put on your Josh Freeman jersey Saturday night. Then break out your London Fletcher jersey for early Sunday. Cheer for them so that our game still has relevance. The playoffs are a very distant goal, but it is fun still having a goal to chase. Gotta enjoy that while it lasts.

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I wrote about the LB platooning for my SB Nation Philly column.  If you don’t have 1 good LB, find a way to use what you do have.