Oct 21, 2012; Foxboro, Massachusetts, USA; New York Jets defensive end Quinton Coples (98) before the game against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

OK, maybe the Jets are NOT going to move to a base 4-3.

Thursday, Jets’ second year defender Quinton Coples confirmed that he will be switching to OLB for the 2013 season.  He was advised of the switch on Monday.

As a defensive lineman, he led Jets’ defenders with 5.5 sacks. As a pass rushing outside linebacker, big things will be expected for a team that has had many years of trouble creating a pass rush. Quinton, for what it’s worth, feels good about it:

“I feel good,” Coples said of the move. “I think it’s definitely going to open up more opportunities for me to get to the quarterback and also show my athleticism and coverage.”

He is thinking that the move will be permanent:

“We got depth at the d-line position,” Coples said. “I think it would be more of a permanent job than a back-and-forth thing, but you never know. A package could come up where I play defensive line as well. Either way, I’ll be prepared.”

This move comes as no surprise. If you remember, Rex worked Quinton Coples out at both defensive end and linebacker at his Pro Day prior to the 2012 draft. Frankly, I was expecting Quinton to be moved around a bit last year, so moving to OLB is no surprise. Rex, I am sure, is pumped about the idea.

The Jets need to create pass rush, somehow. They didn’t address it in the draft, so they had to figure something out. They loved Coples’ pass rushing skills, now standing him up, they can give him a chance to attack from the outside. He will have to get accustomed to dropping back in coverage as well. He has also discussed needing to work on making tackles in space.

The move is exciting, because this will give the Jets a lot of opportunity to get their three first rounders: Mo Wilkerson, Quinton Coples, and Sheldon Richardson, all at the same time. Leaving Coples on the line was going to make that a bit more difficult. Yes, they could go to the 4-3, but there is only so much space for all of them. Getting Coples on the outside will give him a lot of chances, as well as for Richardson, Wilkerson and company.

It should be exciting to watch all of these guys work at the same time in 2013.

Dec 23, 2012; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets defensive end Quinton Coples (98) rushes San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers (17) during the second half at MetLIfe Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports

Rex Ryan is never one to shy away from lofty comparisons, and he won’t stop now. At his press conference from Indianapolis at the Combine, he talked about Quinton Coples, his improved performance as the season went along, and comparing how they work with him to a guy from Baltimore:

He’s a young man who I thought really came on. As the year went on, I thought his play started to take off a little bit. He’s certainly a guy that we’re excited about. He’s just scratching the surface. We’re kind of approaching him the same way we approached Terrell Suggs (in Baltimore). I remember Ozzie Newsome coming to me and saying, “Rex, we’re going to put Terrell in your room. So you take a guy that’s a rush linebacker-type guy and you put him in that defensive line room. We did the same thing with Quinton. I see him as a guy that can maybe be more of an edge presence than he was that first year, but having him go through that, putting him over a guard, putting him over tackles, even over centers, I think it’s good because when you put him over tight ends, it’s a lot easier to knock those guys back and you have a lot of confidence when you face those double-teams. That was kind of what we did with him, but I’m expecting big things from him. Like I said, I think he’s just now scratching the surface.

Pretty high company to put Coples in, Mr. Terrell Suggs.

As Jets fans, we can only hope to be so lucky.

Over the last several days, we have been talking about reasons that the Jets can return to the playoffs as soon as 2013. We have been discussing why, even though the Jets are rebuilding their roster, they can be back in the “tournament” this upcoming year. So far, we have talked about:

The Offensive Line
Rex Ryan
Marty Mornhinweg
Jeremy Kerley

So that is where we have been so far (click on the links to catch up)

And now, (in classic David Letterman voice), the number one reason the Jets can return to the playoffs in 2013 is………………

THE DEFENSIVE LINE

This group is rapidly becoming a major force on this defense, and they are only going to get better.  They already began reaping the benefits of Karl Dunbar as the position coach, with the emergence of Mo Wilkerson.  You can just look at the stats from our friends at Pro Football Focus to see what I am talking about.  The Jets had three defensive linemen in the top 20 of 3-4 defensive ends, Mo Wilkerson (2), Mike DeVito (10), and Quinton Coples (19).

Wilkerson’s second half run of dominance brought him to PFF rating of 49.1, second only to JJ Watt.  In the second half of the year, he made a run for the Pro Bowl, even blocking a field goal attempt late in the season.  Mo will be a force to be reckoned with for many years to come.

As will Quinton Coples, who improved vastly as the year went along.  Quinton posted a 4.9 grade in pass rushing, which placed him in the top 10 in pass rushing among 3-4 defensive ends.  His 1.0 grade in pass coverage shows the development of a versatile defensive football player.  He posted a negative grade against the run, but that will get better with experience and more snaps against the run.

Mike DeVito has been a big part of the plans, and so has a healthy Sione Po’uha.  DeVito was in the top 10 as we mentioned before, and Po’uha is always a tough run stopper when healthy.   We probably won’t see Sione back in 2013, and there is a decent chance that Mike DeVito will be gone as well.  However, with Kenrick Ellis and Damon Harrison waiting in the wings, the youth movement will continue to be just fine.

That is why the Jets defensive line will continue to be a force on the Jets.  And that is the number one reason why the Jets can get back to the playoffs in 2013.

I hope you enjoyed the five part series.