QuickFix: Saucy Nuggets from the Jets' Loss to Jacksonville
We're going to kick off today's analysis with some things you might not have noticed from yesterday's loss to Jacksonville:
Zone coverage? More like alone coverage
A constant factor in the Jaguars' passing success was receivers coming wide open underneath on crossing routes. On nearly all of these, Buster Skrine was involved on some level.
Skrine got caught up in a rub route on two plays where he tried to stay with the receiver running the crosser, stayed at home a few times on plays where nobody picked up the crosser and three or four times went with the receiver who was picked up by someone else, leaving another receiver alone in the flat or an open scramble lane.
While, at first glance, Darron Lee appeared to be at fault, Skrine running with a receiver who was already covered seemed to be a primary reason for TJ Yeldon's easy touchdown:
While this doesn't mean all these plays were Skrine's fault - and to his credit, he did have some positive plays too with a turnover, two pass disruptions and a blown-up screen - the Jaguars were targeting the confusion within the back seven and Dede Westbrook was the main beneficiary.
Again, though, defensive players don't know whether they're in zone or man, or who they're supposed to be covering. That's an indictment on the coaching.
However, you also have to wonder why the Jets have actively targeted cornerbacks who can play press coverage but then never seem to play any. Even on the touchdown he gave up where Trumaine Johnson was up at the line, he bailed out at the snap and never tried to jam the receiver.
Shep to the Jive
The eagle-eyed among you will have noticed Nathan Shepherd working hard to get upfield to pressure Bortles on that above gif. For the rest of you, we'll wait while you scroll up and have a look. Done? Okay, let's move on...
It's been slow, but Shepherd does seem to be a player who is making gradual progress. This was the first time he flashed some pass rush abilities in the regular season. He also had this effective bull-jerk move to get a hit on Bortles:
Shepherd only had one tackle, but he also made an impressive play against the run, standing his man up at the point of attack and extending his arms to penetrate and force the run back inside where it was bottled up for a short gain.
Shepherd's contributions have been overshadowed by those of Henry Anderson, who has been much more impactful. However, the Jets aren't noticeably losing anything when he's in the game and these flashes are encouraging signs that hopefully indicate he's going to develop into a more disruptive player with time.
Stressed Eric
Eric Tomlinson didn't play much on Sunday, mainly because the Jets were passing a lot while trailing. However, he was involved in some interesting plays.
On this run, Tomlinson does a great job of controlling his block on Calais Campbell to enable Bilal Powell to pick up a first down. It's a testament to Tomlinson that he's able to handle such an assignment:
However, two plays later, Tomlinson was again tasked with blocking Campbell, this time on a passing play. On that occasion, Campbell got upfield on him and Tomlinson was called for a hold as he pulled him to the ground, negating a big gain.
It was difficult to see, but the call looked like it might have been a little harsh. Furthermore, it may have been unnecessary as Jordan Leggett was on his way over to give some help, so Darnold probably would have still got the throw off.
Earlier in the game, Tomlinson also had a key block on Powell's nine yard run, this time having lined up at fullback to kick his man out of the hole. Other than those two runs, the Jets running backs gained just nine yards on 10 carries.
This underlines Tomlinson's importance to the running game, but also shows how you can't always rely on context-free grades to evaluate performance because if Tomlinson had one positive and one negative play against someone as formidable as Campbell, that's a lot better than most other tight ends would fare.
Much more analysis to come later today and over the next few days. Please let us know who you'd like to see us feature in more detail in 3-on-D and 3-on-O.