In-depth analysis: Jets at Washington (Defense)
After the opening game shutout, Kacy Rodgers' defense crashed back to earth on Thursday night as Washington moved the ball on them pretty consistently for most of the game and drove for the winning kick in the last few minutes.
There were a few plays where there seemed to be breakdowns that will need to be fixed. Hopefully this is a case of them ironing out the kinks, but that's an optimistic way of looking at it.
Let's review who stood out:
Defensive Line
Oh Leo my (I'm a fool for you baby)
LEONARD WILLIAMS had another quiet game with just two tackles, but at least made a few good plays, stuffing two runs and bottling up at least one more. He continues to see a lot of double teams.
Rookie NATHAN SHEPHERD continues to look good, perhaps benefiting from Williams drawing so much attention in some instances. Shepherd was mostly solid at the point of attack as he was credited with two tackles and a quarterback hit but had a couple of welcome-to-the-NFL moments where he was handled well and taken out of plays.
HENRY ANDERSON continues to be the next defensive end off the bench, playing sub-packages with the starters and in the base with the second string. He only had one tackle, but bottled up a few runs and was disruptive as a pass rusher again.
A nose is still a nose
With STEVE MCLENDON still out, MIKE PENNEL remains the starter at nose tackle. Like Anderson, he only had one tackle, but that doesn't tell the whole story because he did a solid job at the point of attack, bottling up four runs.
DEON SIMON also saw some action at nose tackle and was credited with a tackle for loss in the fourth quarter.
I knew you were waiting, Foley
Rookie FOLEY FATUKASI also saw action this week in a nose tackle role as well as his usual end position. Todd Bowles said Fatukasi was an end when they drafted him but nose tackle would seem to suit his skill-set. He was solid at the point of attack, penetrating into the backfield a number of times. He did miss a tackle, but only after having got into the backfield to force the runner to change direction.
A potential concern with Fatukasi remains that he will penetrate into the backfield but then won't leverage into the path of the ball or get off his block to contact the runner, perhaps because he doesn't see the play unfold that well. However, this can still be disruptive and Bowles has spoken about wanting his linemen to play like this and trust the players behind them to clean up, so it might actually be a solid fit for what they want.
XAVIER COOPER continues to do a solid job off the bench. He had a couple of pressures and some good play against the run, as well as a nice play on a dump off pass where he dropped off to stop the receiver for no gain.
KENDALL REYES was the other defensive lineman to see time and he showed some flashes too. A nice inside move led to pressure on the quarterback, drawing a holding penalty that negated the resulting scramble. He wasn't credited with a tackle but held up well at the point of attack and was disruptive as a pass rusher on a few other plays too.
MYCH THOMAS did not play this week.
Outside Linebackers
Baby I Luvu
Rookie FRANKIE LUVU was flying around making a lot of plays, but also showed some recklessness as he was flagged for an illegal hit with the helmet and a roughing penalty that could have come under the same category.
Luvu did bounce back with a tackle for a big loss on a reverse and was in on another tackle in the backfield later on. However, he also made a couple of mistakes in the running game.
Back with the starters, JOSH MARTIN had a solid game this week, generating some good pressure with a couple of bull rushes off the edge and a nice inside move. One of those bull rushes forced the quarterback to step up into a JORDAN JENKINS sack.
Jenkins and Martin each also bottled up a few running plays but Martin missed a tackle in the backfield and Jenkins was drive off the line once.
BRANDON COPELAND came off the bench this week and was in on a couple of run stuffs while adding a late pressure. He lost contain a couple of times though, although there was one play where he got upfield well to force the run back inside.
DYLAN DONAHUE didn't get as many reps this week but almost got to the quarterback a couple of times in the fourth quarter. OBUM GWACHAM didn't get into the game on defense, though.
Inside Linebackers
A brand new Lee
During the week, DARRON LEE was talking about how badly he played in the Oakland game last year - a game in which he repeatedly got caught up in traffic or overran plays. He noted that he was determined to play more disciplined football from that point on and did ultimately achieve that.
It's worrying, therefore, that there were a few situations in yesterday's game where he was caught out in a similar fashion. The immediate concern - and, again, the optimistic viewpoint would be that this can be fixed - is that there seemed to be lapses in defensive communication yesterday.
Interestingly, it was AVERY WILLIAMSON, not Lee, who was wearing the headset on defense. Before we overreact too much to that, having previously said Lee was going to take on more playcalling duties this year, Bowles reiterated recently that the plan was always for them to share those duties and that Lee did some last year already.
Nevertheless, whether it's a sign that Lee wasn't getting it down so they reverted to Williamson, or a sign that perhaps Williamson was getting new responsibilities this week and struggled with them, there were some things that needed to be fixed.
On the first series, there was a good example of a coverage breakdown. It's impossible to know whose fault this is but basically the deep safety gives support to the cornerback who also runs with the outside receiver on a go route. That means that the other safety has to drop off and pick up the player who runs a deep crosser in behind the two linebackers. Lee looks like he passes off the H-Back on his route out into the slot, but then realizes too late that the safety has already had to drop back:
If everyone has their roles efficiently communicated to them then either the cornerback drops off his man to pick up the crosser, enabling the strong safety to stay at home in the flat or Lee would have known he's responsible for that receiver and followed him out there.
Another screw-up later on saw the back leak out completely uncovered for a big play. Again, on this play, if the safety and edge rusher on the left side are both going to blitz then Lee is the only conceivable player that can be responsible for the back. By the time he realizes this, he's caught up in the wash:
Communication issues aside, Lee was in on a couple of stops but didn't have a good game overall. Williamson fared slightly better, doing a good job of breaking up a pass on a wheel route.
If he can cover like that, then that means he can play an every down role and frees him up to call the defense all the time ... if indeed he's the best candidate to do so. For what it's worth, he has played an every down role in preseason, although maybe that's because the most likely candidate to step in as a cover linebacker is KEVIN PIERRE-LOUIS, who has been injured.
Off the bench, NEVILLE HEWITT had another active game as he led the team with eight tackles including a few run stops and some good open field tackling. He also added a couple of pressures but gave up a few plays in coverage and missed on some tackle opportunities though.
KEVIN MINTER joined Hewitt with the second unit. He disrupted a juggled pass over the middle but did not record a tackle. Rookie third-stringer ANTHONY WINT had some good blitzes up the middle in the closing stages and made a nice run stop on the edge, but gave up a costly first down in coverage on the last drive.
Defensive Backs
Find out what it Skrines to me
The starting cornerbacks held up reasonably well in yesterday's game. TRUMAINE JOHNSON wasn't challenged, but contributed a stop against the run. MORRIS CLAIBORNE just gave up one first down, although he arguably was also late getting over on the pass that was intercepted. Slot cornerback BUSTER SKRINE got the offense off the field on the first drive with a nice third down pass break-up in the end zone. However, he did get beaten for a third down conversion later on.
I Maye a little prayer for you
At safety, MARCUS MAYE was rested again, although he seems like he'll be ready soon. In his absence, DOUG MIDDLETON made the most of his chance with the interception and was also in on a run stop, although he gave up a first down in zone coverage and had a missed tackle.
JAMAL ADAMS was in on two run stops and had a pressure with no real negatives other than, perhaps, his tangential involvement in the two breakdowns mentioned earlier.
TERRENCE BROOKS and JJ WILCOX saw action off the bench. Brooks came up to make a couple of good open field tackles on scrambles, one of which was credited as a sack. However he was a bit overaggressive on a couple of plays and late getting over in coverage once or twice. Wilcox had a quiet game but was in on one run stop.
Interestingly, JEREMY CLARK has apparently also started working at safety. However, he pulled his hamstring before he got any defensive reps.
I never loved Coleman the way I love you
With XAVIER COLEMAN and PARRY NICKERSON out, TERRELL SINKFIELD got into the game much earlier this week. He made a couple of good open field tackles on short passes but there was one play where he was matched up with the tight end who ran under the formation and was wide open because Sinkfield collided with Hewitt trying to get across to him. Later on Sinkfield was beaten over the top by a step but the pass was overthrown.
DARRYL ROBERTS also saw action with the second unit, getting beaten for a big third down conversion and a touchdown which was negated by an offensive penalty.
Juston little bit, oooh baby, Juston little bit
JUSTON BURRIS, KACY RODGERS and BRANDON BRYANT were all out of action, but RASHARD ROBINSON and DERRICK JONES saw action in the second half.
Jones was targeted once, making the third down stop just short of the marker on a crosser with 22 seconds left. Unfortunately, Robinson's (dubious) holding penalty negated that stop. Washington really went after Robinson on that drive and he actually held up quite well, only to then allow the catch that set up the game winning field goal.
Prior to that, Robinson had disrupted a few passes and made a couple of nice tackles but also overpursued on a long running play.
Don't go away because we'll have some special teams analysis and final thoughts this afternoon.