Jets fans will love Jon Gruden’s creative praise ahead of Patriots showdown

Luckily for longtime NFL coach Jon Gruden, he witnessed the New York Jets’ Week 5 defensive showcase without worrying about his quarterback getting knocked down.

David Bailey, Darrell Jackson Jr., and an oft-criticized Jets unit recorded eight sacks, broke up seven passes, and notched 13 total hits against Cleveland’s Deshaun Watson. Bailey, the No. 2 pick this past April, led the way with three sacks en route to earning Defensive Player of the Week.

Speaking on his Gruden Family Football Show this week, Gruden raved about the Jets and what he called their NASCAR package. He specifically highlighted how the Jets use Bailey, Will McDonald IV, Joseph Ossai, and Kingsley Enagbare as pass-rushers, with one of the defensive ends then dropping into coverage. 

As a result, one of the opposing linemen is temporarily distracted, and the Jets can send either a linebacker or defensive back — he used Demario Davis and Jarvis Brownlee as examples — to rush the gap. 

“So it’s a four-man overload with Palms coverage, dropping the defensive end,” Gruden explained. “Kaboom! It’s awesome. They did it six times!”

Jon Gruden’s colorful praise of the New York Jets’ defense should have fans hyped 

Gruden’s entire breakdown is fascinating, and it’s desperately needed amid an NFL media world built on hot takes, nonstop complaining, and outright misinformation. We’ve spent months calling out commentary designed to generate clicks or not rooted in reality, especially when it came to star wide receiver Garrett Wilson or former Jets coach Robert Saleh.

Our summary can’t do his segment justice. Even without a telestrator or the actual game film, Gruden used a whiteboard to perfectly illustrate (pun not intended) how the Jets’ defense terrorized Cleveland’s offensive line. 

We’ll always be amazed at how quickly an early-season win can change the narrative. At this time last week, Jets fans were gradually preparing to wave the white flag ahead of a potential fourth straight loss. The injuries were piling up, and social media users were strangely losing patience with Bailey.

Not only are those same fans now optimistic about Bailey’s Defensive Rookie of the Year chances, but some haven’t ruled out upsetting the Patriots on Sunday afternoon. We personally won’t go that far, even with New England running back TreVeyon Henderson (ankle) and left tackle Will Campbell (knee) expected to sit.

The Jets’ defensive line won’t be at full strength, either; Aaron Glenn confirmed on Friday morning that Ossai’s ankle injury will keep him sidelined. We’ll see what that means for backup defensive end Nate Lynn, who impressed this past preseason and joined the active roster last week.

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