New York Jets Strength Is Weakening In Recent Weeks

The New York Jets had a couple of goals this offseason. One of them was to improve their secondary, which was abysmal at times in 2014 because of injuries and ineffectiveness. That goal was accomplished by general manager Mike Maccagnan, as he reloaded the Jets secondary.

The reload was highlighted by the return of Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie, who paired with the Jets for three seasons from 2010-2012. In addition to the reunion, the Jets brought in slot corner Buster Skrine and saftey Marcus Gilchrist to pair with second year player Calvin Pryor. That is an impressive group to be assembled, as the Jets still had some decent players that were holdovers from the last regime, such as former top pick Dee Milliner, last year’s draft pick Dexter McDougle, Darrin Walls and Marcus Williams.

That group flexed it’s muscles throughout the early part of the season, as they were slowing down no matter who was put in front of them. They shutdown Andrew Luck and the Colts in Week 2, and were strong against Ryan Tannehill in London Week 4. The good times kept rolling after their bye week, as they overwhelmed Kirk Cousins and the Washington Redskins in Week 6.

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But, then the wheels began to come off. In Week 7, the Jets had to go up against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. That is a tough matchup no matter who you have in the secondary, as Brady picks apart even the best defenses with precision. Week 7 was no different, as the Patriots essentially abandoned the run game and put the game squarely on the shoulders of Brady, who responded with 355 yards on 34-of-54 passes.

That game can be chalked up as a fluke normally, as Brady can beat any team in the NFL on any given night. But, that seems to have been the start of a troubling trend for the Jets, whose secondary has come up woefully short of expectations in the weeks following.

In the next game, Week 8, against the Oakland Raiders, the Jets were lit up by Derek Carr. Carr is having an outstanding sophomore season, with 19 touchdowns and only four interceptions on the season, but what he did against the Jets is not something you would expect to see. Carr made his NFL debut against the Jets last season, but this is not the same guy they saw Week 1 of 2014.

Carr picked the Jets apart, completing 23-of-36 for 333 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions. What was most troubling about the game was not Carr’s precision, but the struggles the Jets had doing simple things like making a tackle. Taiwan Jones‘ catch and run for a touchdown was tough to watch as the Jets missed numerous tackles.

They also made Michael Crabtree look like the top pick people projected him to be when he was drafted in 2009, as he torched the Jets for 102 yards on seven receptions and a touchdown. Andre Holmes also had his way, scoring two touchdowns on his only two catches for 59 yards.