When your team goes 4-12, chances are your defense was far from elite that season. That’s putting it mildly for the Jets, who’s defense ranged from mediocre to abysmal in 2018.
But with Gregg Williams running the show now, the Jets defense has already shown promise after only three preseason games. The additions of C.J. Mosley and Quinnen Williams have bolstered areas of need and the return of Jamal Adams, Henry Anderson, and Leonard Williams provide a solid base for New York. The secondary remains an issue, and both linebacker positions are facing questions about depth, but Williams has already concocted new ways to mitigate the problems.
With that in mind, here are four statistical areas in which the Jets will improve based on their 2019 preseason matches.
Points per game allowed
The Jets gave up the fourth-most points in the league in 2018 (441), but their starters have played extremely well so far this preseason. Against starting offenses, the Jets have only given up 13 total points – zero to Eli Manning and the Giants, three to Matt Ryan and the Falcons and 10 to Drew Brees and the Saints.
It’s hard to gauge exactly how good a defense is playing in the preseason since offenses rarely show their full playbook and the starters play limited snaps, but even still, the Jets’ starters have looked tremendous against some of the more veteran teams in the league. If the team can continue to play this well (and avoid more injuries) it could translate to the regular season.
Rushing yards allowed
Blame Todd Bowles, Kacy Rodgers or anyone on the Jets defense in 2018, but New York could not stop the run last season. The Jets gave up an average of 126 rushing yards per game in 2018, which was seventh-worst in the league.
But that’s changed this preseason.
The Jets only allowed 40, 87 and 80 rushing yards over the past three games – which averages out to 69 yards per game, or about half their 2018 average. Granted, the Jets didn’t play against Saquon Barkley, only saw one rush from Devonta Freeman and a couple of snaps from Alvin Kamara, but it’s still encouraging to see the team hold firm against the run.
Sacks
Pressure on the quarterback is crucial for Gregg Williams’ defense, especially without a stable secondary. Though the Jets only have eight sacks in three preseason games, a five-sack performance against the Falcons proves New York is capable of wreaking havoc behind the line of scrimmage to disrupt a game.
The Jets were third in the NFL with 114 quarterback hits in 2018 but only finished the season with 39 sacks. With a beefy defensive line of Leonard Williams, Quinnen Williams and Henry Anderson, the Jets should be able to turn more of those hits into sacks in 2019. The pass rush is still a weak link in the Jets’ front-seven, but a creative plan from Gregg Williams could turn role players like Frankie Luvu and Tarell Basham into nice defenders for the Jets.
Takeaways
The hallmark of a great defense is being able to force turnovers. Unsurprisingly, the Jets weren’t one of those teams in 2018. The Jets tallied 20 turnovers last season, but already have five this preseason.
It isn’t all that surprising to see Gregg Williams’ defense force takeaways – his Browns defense finished second in the league with 31 in 2018. Four of the Jets’ five preseason takeaways were fumble recoveries, which also makes sense given 21 of Williams’ 31 takeaways with the Browns were fumble recoveries.
