NFL Update: A less aggressive defence could be the answer for the New York Jets
One of the absolutes of modern football is adaptability. A team that is rigid in the way it plays the game can win its division and a playoff game or two maybe but what it cannot do is win the Super Bowl. To do that, a team must have a versatile offense
and defence. Winning teams adapt to challenges. Not only do they prepare differently for different opponents but they are even able to change their game in half time. That is the kind of team that can go far in the NFL and that is exactly the kind of team
the New York Jets are trying to be.
Jets head coach Rex Ryan thinks of himself as a stubborn person but even he has shown the ability to adapt. He has been on the receiving end of Peyton Manning’s offense and year after year he used the same tactic to crack the quarterback and year after year
he was defeated. This time he changed gears and was finally able to overcome his nemesis.
Where Ryan’s aggressive defence failed him, a more cautious and slow paced offence was able to overcome the Colts. That however doesn’t mean that Ryan is a changed man. Who knows what he has planned for the New England Patriots this weekend. Last time the
division rivals clashed, Ryan threw everything he had at the Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. That did not work for the Jets. Brady was able to see through the defence and led the Patriots to a spectacular (embarrassing if you are a Jets fan) victory over New
York. The Patriots scored 45 points and allowed the Jets just a field goal.
New England has as good an offense as any team in the league. In fact, it is better. On average, the Patriots have scored a mind boggling 32.4 points per game. That is 17.1 points more than they allowed their opponents to score. In addition, they didn’t
just perform well against teams who weren’t doing so well. They decimated the Chicago Bears in the regular season a week after handing the Jets their most embarrassing defeat of the season. The Bears are no pushovers and their defence is one of the strongest
in the league. On average, they allowed just 17.9 points per game but the New England Patriots were able to score 36 points against the Bears.
Brady has proved that he is not a quarterback who can be made to crack under pressure. On the contrary, it actually feels like Brady thrives when pushed against the wall. When facing the Jets, it was the added attention on Brady that allowed him to find
open receivers and put the 45 points total on the board. Not that the Jets didn’t have breakthroughs. Brady was sacked three times in the game and received a few other blows inside the pocket.
Against any other quarterback that might have been good enough but Brady just bounced right back. The Jets need to change their tactics but they can’t entirely abandon putting pressure on Brady. Ryan’s zone coverage effectively slowed down Peyton Manning
and the same technique could work against Brady. The Cleveland Browns used that same tactic against New England and won 34-14. The Browns ran down New England’s receivers and running backs.
The Jets have to find a balance between pressuring the quarterback and making sure he cannot make big plays. They need to find the same patience in them that they used against the Colts to great effect. If Brady can’t find his receivers there is a good chance
that he would end up making a mistake or two that Jets defence or quarterback Mark Sanchez can exploit. New York can defeat the Patriots. Their win over the Colts has given them the confidence they need and the defeat they suffered at the hands of the Patriots
in the regular season gives them the motivations. They already have the skill. The combination could be lethal.
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