In-depth analysis - Bucs at Jets (Preseason Week 1): Defense

Over the course of these past few days, we've been breaking down the performance of every player that took the field in the Jets' preseason game against the Bucs. We'll conclude today with a look at the defense.

Edge Defenders: Voorhis a jolly good fellow

Most of the attention was on David Bailey in his first Jets game, but it was Will McDonald who made the biggest splash with his first-series sack on an impressive power rush.

Bailey almost got there too on the same play, but that was on a stunt. Credit to the Bucs backup right tackle, who otherwise kept him from generating any pressure in their few one-on-ones. Bailey slipped coming off a spin move on one and was redirected upfield after getting an outside leverage advantage on another but his best rep saw him collapse the pocket on a double-team.

The Jets didn't have much depth on the edge otherwise, with undrafted rookie Nathan Voorhis, international pathway player Paschal Ekeji and the more experienced Braiden McGregor splitting the rest of the reps.

Voorhis made a bit of a splash with two stops at the line of scrimmage. One of these saw him drive his man upfield and react to the jet sweep. He also drew a holding penalty on a pass rush. However, he had one negative on a read option quarterback keeper that had him fooled.

McGregor was in on one stop near the line and had one good edge rush where he ripped through to generate outside pressure, but was generally quiet.

It was fascinating to see Ekeji adjusting well to the physicality in the trenches in his first ever (!) football game. That's often where rugby converts struggle the most but he did well there, bottling up a run on his best play.

Where he struggled was actually in coverage, as he was exploited three times. Whether the Bucs knew he was a rugby convert and actively sought to test him is uncertain. It may just have been that the Jets were unlucky he was the guy who kept finding himself in that situation.

On one play, the Jets blitzed and Ekeji dropped into coverage, but he was confused by some pre-snap motion and clearly went to cover the wrong guy in a bunch, leaving one open over the middle for an easy first down. On another, he reacted late to the tight end leaking into the flat as he was the only defender on that side so it had to be his responsibility. He gave up a third first down on a slant route as he matched up in the slot and got beaten cleanly.

On the whole, though, he really didn't look as raw as you might expect from someone with literally zero experience.

DNP: Joseph Ossai, Kingsley Enagbare, Kingsley Jonathan, Tyler Baron

Interior Defensive Line: Jack on the Attack

The starters operated out of 4-2-5 nickel formations all of the time with David Onyemata and Harrison Phillips inside. However, the team did operate out of a 3-4 base on some running downs over the rest of the game. The most interesting thing here was that Jowon Briggs saw his first action as the backup nose tackle rather than in with the starters.

Payton Page and rookie Darrell Jackson also each played a few snaps at the nose tackle position while Ben Barten played there on the third unit.

Onyemata and Phillips both only played eight snaps but Onyemata was driven off the line once. Phillips had one pressure.

Briggs looked good, with two pressures including one on a bull rush. He also bottled up a run near the line against a double-team.

Page's influence seemed to increase as the game went on and he spent a lot of time in the backfield in the second half. He had a couple of pressures and was in on a couple of stops near the line but did miss a tackle in the backfield and was handled at the point of attack on the 12-yard touchdown run that the Jets gave up.

Jackson was less impactful but drew a hold and held up okay at the point of attack other than on one play when he was driven off the line.

Barten was controlled at the point of attack a few times but did get in on a couple of stops near the line towards the end of the game.

Also in the rotation at defensive end were Junior Tafuna and Jack Heflin. Tafuna got downhill well to stay in front of one run but was sealed off on the touchdown. Heflin had an active game, though, with a couple of pressures, and almost had a clean-up sack but missed the tackle. His most impressive play, though, was this one as he split a double-team for the run stuff.

DNP: T'Vondre Sweat, Mazi Smith

Linebackers: Loose McCrary-Ball

Demario Davis and Jamien Sherwood played just those first two series (eight snaps), and neither recorded a tackle, so we can't really learn too much about their burgeoning partnership yet.

At least we know there won't be any coverage breakdowns this year with Davis and Minkah Fitzpatrick holding down the communications in the defensive backfield.

Except...yeesh. Davis and Fitzpatrick were the two players not on the same page here. At least that gives them something to work on.

Off the bench, Mykal Walker, Marcelino McCrary-Ball and Kiko Mauigoa all played extensively and combined for 15 tackles. McCrary-Ball and Walker were also each credited with a forced fumble, although in each case they just slapped the ball loose as a ball carrier was going out of bounds so there was no danger of a turnover.

Walker and McCrary ball each had a few stops near the line and weren't blocked out of many plays, but Walker gave up a first down in coverage when he got caught up in traffic.

Mauigoa was also exploited in coverage as he dropped off too far on one first down, gave up a 35-yard pass in zone coverage and got blocked out of a screen play.

Jaden Keller was in on one stop at the line, but Chase Wilson played just three defensive snaps. He was credited with a tackle, though.

DNP: Nobody

Cornerbacks: Neverending Mory

On the face of it, the starting secondary help up well, as both Azareye'h Thomas and Jarvis Brownlee forced incompletions. However, the latter was a cautionary tale as Thomas vacated the outside to pick up a receiver over the middle who was already covered, leaving Brownlee in a situation where he didn't want his man to sneak behind him but didn't want to leave the underneath receiver to get an easy first down. Brownlee ultimately played it about as well as he could but a better throw or a highlight reel catch could have made that a big play.

In terms of being confident that the secondary is buttoned-up and no longer going to have those breakdowns, it's clearly still a work in progress and Thomas' positional sense may need some work too, otherwise teams will exploit that.

For the record, the other starting cornerback, Brandon Stephens, was not tested.

Tre Brown actually led the team in defensive snaps with 55. That being the case, he did well to only give up one first down. He was also in a good position later on an overthrown downfield pass.

Of course, it was Mory Bamba who made all the headlines, with four second quarter pass breakups and, although he didn't actually get a hand on two of those, he still disrupted well at the catch-point.

It was an impressive debut for Bamba who also had a pressure and made some good tackles. There were only minor negatives, including that he had to recover late on one of those breakups having initially been beaten. He also got beaten for a first down that was dropped and gave up a first down on a short pass where the receiver drove him past the marker.

Jordan Clark also saw plenty of action, primarily at the slot cornerback position, although he also filled in on the outside when Bamba missed a few plays. It was an active performance from Clark, who had six tackles and a pressure, with three stops near the line, although he did have a missed tackle and gave up a first down.

This was his most impressive play and, especially given the number he was wearing, was strongly reminiscent of prime Jamal Adams:

DNP: Qwan'tez Stiggers, Nahshon Wright, D'Angelo Ponds, Samuel Womack

Safeties: Clark-infested Waters

As noted, Fitzpatrick was involved in one coverage mix-up but we got a sense of how versatile he is because the Jets employed him all over the place. On one play he blitzed and had a pressure, and on another he run-blitzed but missed the tackle in the hole.

Starting alongside him was Andre Cisco, who then also played on the second unit with Dane Belton, suggesting Cisco may have the lead in the race to start. Malachi Moore didn't play until the third unit got on the field, so maybe he has fallen behind.

None of them made any obvious mistakes as they had one tackle each but Cisco's and Belton's came at the end of the play that went for a first down and Moore's came nine yards downfield on a play that was negated by a penalty.

Off the bench, Jarius Monroe made an impact as he led the team with seven tackles, including a goal line stop. However, he missed a tackle on the touchdown run and gave up a first down in coverage.

Finally, Dean Clark also saw action and made a good run stop near the line on his best play.

DNP: VJ Payne

We'll be back to cover the defense tomorrow...