The New York Jets Secondary Isn’t to Blame

The New York Jets have had a tumultuous start to this season. It hasn’t been pretty folks! I am here to tell you the secondary isn’t to be blamed. This unit, considering the fact that they aren’t the biggest, strongest and fastest, have managed to hold on for brief periods of time. Thanks to the help of the defensive line and what has turned into a solid line-backing core the secondary has managed to not look completely inept, at least not as much as the offense. Time of possession, a lack of play makers, and players being forced into positions they are not accustomed to has made this secondary unit look atrocious, but they do not deserve the brunt of the blame by any means for the Jets current situation.

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Rex Ryan’s plan of attack for football has always involved controlling time of possession, but due to the lack of execution on the offensive side of the ball the defense has been on the field longer than the offense this season. The Jets average 28 minutes and 40 seconds in time of possession per game. This is not even breaking even and it certainly isn’t controlling time of possession. The defensive line fortunately has a very workable rotation so the stars have fresh legs, but this is not true for the secondary, the starters are out there until the game is out of reach. Often forced to be out there for long periods of time breakdowns happen and this has been the case. In Green Bay the defense was holding for as long as the offense was keeping them off the field. Once on for long periods Jets defensive backs looked beaten and battered.

Furthermore, the athleticism is not there to begin with. The New York Jets secondary is comprised of a rookie, a second year player seeking redemption and avoiding injury, a 6^th round draft pick who turned into a serviceable safety, and journeymen. There are no big names(yet), the rookie and second year man could definitely have big names down the line but they are still learning. The journeymen are looking for a solid finish to a career of mid to slightly above average play. Some guys lack athleticism but have the intelligence, some lack the intelligence but have the athleticism. Every member of the Jets secondary is limited in some way.

A lack of depth has also contributed to the inefficiency of the Jets secondary. When second year man Dee Milliner went down the Jets staff decided to convert S Antonio Allen into a cornerback. The results were mixed, he is a smart football player and can put himself into a good position, as a safety, as a CB, not so much. Rookie safety Calvin Pryor has been playing at the free safety position when his strengths lie in the strong safety position. The reason being the next best safeties on the Jets are also natural strong safeties. This lack of depth, coupled with a lack of big name talent, has been an even further detriment to this unit.

These contributing factors stack near insurmountable odds against a unit that stands no chance. If the Jets could hold the ball longer on offense, control the tempo of the game, this unit could have been a successful underdog because of their success in short spurts. If there was a playmaker or two the turn over differential would be much more in the Jets favor. If there was a semblance of depth players wouldn’t be forced to play outside of their life long positions. The Jets are a flawed team this year by leaps and bounds with a lack of talent at an amalgam of positions. However, the secondary deserves little blame because there wasn’t much they could do in the first place. A lack of depth, talent and too much time on the field has doomed this unit to being over scrutinized.

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