Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Miami Has Best Defense in AFC East - Part 3

I saved the Jets for last as I knew it would be the hardest argument, but before we get into that, it's worth noting that since I wrote part 1 (Buffalo) and part 2 (New England), both teams have lost their middle linebackers to injury.  Jerod Mayo and Paul Posluszny both suffered injuries during the Pats vs. Bills matchup that could keep both out for 6 to 8 weeks.  The Bills also lost DE Chris Kelsay who sustained a knee injury.  Word is, Terrell Owens' ego also suffered a mild injury but is expected to play next week. 

Now, on to the Jets.  They hired former Baltimore Ravens Defensive Coordinator and all-around dumbass, Rex Ryan, to be their head coach, and so far they've been successful, winning game 1 versus Houston by the score of 24 to 7, and their defense totally stopped the Texans.  Or did they?

I needed to wait until after their first game to see if there was any meat on the bone of this defense.  We've all heard the bragging and all know what Ryan is famous for.  We knew they would blitz the s*** out of their opponent by giving tons of different looks but attempt to get good pressure without throwing the kitchen sink.  Baltimore was a team that under Ryan never blitzed 6 or 7 guys, and never sent the same guy twice.  This kept the field covered as well as keeping the opposing o-line and QB on their toes on every play.  The Jets continued this gameplan against Houston.  They would send 4 or 5 on every play but would move the D-line and LBs around constantly, on several occasions lining up four all the way to one side.

Now, in theory, this sounds like a great idea, and it is, as long as you can execute it.  And let's be honest, this kind of practice can wear down the defense as much if not more than the opponent.  So one thing needs to happen in order to keep this scheme working - The Offense.  

The offense needs to stay on the field as long as possible, and needs to give the Defense plenty of rest.  Baltimore did it by running the ball 3.5 yards at a time, slowing churning the first downs.  This worked two ways - keeping Ed Reed and Co. fresh, while also keeping the opposing offense cold.  The Jets managed to do this, running 42 times for 190 yards and racking up 462 yards overall.  Mark Sanchez had an over-rated, but solid day, completing 18 for 31 for 272 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT.  He was not sacked once.  And the most telling stat of all, time of possession, fell in the Jets favor by 38:46 to 21:14.  

So what does this have to do with the defense?  Well, a lot, actually, because they were hardly on the field.  The Jets were even 2/2 on 4th down conversions, proving they were in no rush to take their offense off the field.  And ST were vastly in the Jets favor as well, kicking off 5 times, they accrued 4 touchbacks.  The punting NET average was 41.0 yards.  

But let's compare the Jets 'D' straight up against the 'D' of the Dolphins. 

Rushing attempts faced                          MIA  27      JETS 13
Yards allowed per rushing play                 MIA  2.5     JETS  2.9    
Yards allowed per minute on the field       MIA  9.1     JETS  8.6
Yards allowed per play                            MIA  4.47   JETS  3.98
Sacks                                                   MIA  2        JETS  2
Players with more than 3 tackles               MIA 6           JETS  2
Passes defensed                                    MIA 5          JETS 3

When you look at the numbers, the thing that jumps out at me is the time and total number of plays.  Miami has a much better 'testing sample' if you will.  It's hard to judge the Jets on such a small sample.  One thing that is noticeable is that they didn't get a lot of sacks or turnovers, and Vernon Gholston still looks lousy.  And Houston's O-line had a worse game than Miami's did.

So, at this point I'm going to leave the debate open.  I know, another trilogy that has no ending.  Well, there is an ending...we just haven't reached it yet.  If you look at the games we've struggled in, including the entire 2007 season, our defense was on the field much longer than the offense was.  Four turnovers may seem like an offensive statistic, but in truth, it's a team statistic.  It stops the offense from putting points on the board, and it makes the defense have to go right back in the game after they already had their turn, often times a minute or two after forcing a punt or giving up a score after a long drive.  

Despite Miami's turnover woes, their defense stacks up versus the Jets who had to play only a third of the game.  If Miami's offense can do what the Jets did in week 1, I have no doubt our defensive stats will be twice as impressive.

32 comments:

  1. Nice job Tin

    Rushing attempts faced stands out themost to me to prove your point
    Miami 27  NY Jets 13
    and Miami passed the rushing attempts test with flying colors in game 1

    ReplyDelete
  2. The Knight who says Ni!September 16, 2009 at 8:41 AM

    Well done Tin, and thanks for reminding me that our team needs to run the @#$%ing ball more.  >:o

    My favorite quotes:

    "They hired former Baltimore Ravens Defensive Coordinator and all-around dumbass, Rex Ryan"

    "and Vernon Gholston still looks lousy"

    LOL, and the reason Gholston still looks lousy is because he stinks and he's a bust.

    ReplyDelete
  3. great job again tin.  you ought to see if the SS is hiring, they can use some help lataly.

    ReplyDelete
  4. But then I'd have a press pass and access to Dolphins team members and
    personnel....what could I possibly do with all that?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Tins,

    Great post.  It's a very large credit to our defense that the Falcons didn't score at least 30 points the way our offense played.

    BTW--Excellent point about not being able to judge how good the Jets defense is based on the fact that they weren't on the field for very long.  Ryan is basically just a fatter & dumber Bill Parcells since he employs the exact same strategy which is to control the time of possession by running the ball as much as possible.  Not only does this help the defense stay fresh but it also helps Sanchez enormously.  The less Sanchez throws the ball, the less mistakes he's going to make.  It's not rocket science.  It was done last year with Flacco & as long as you have a solid O-line & a few good backs you can win a lot of games.  It's not the most exciting brand of football but Parcells' Giants were boring as hell & he was pretty successful in NY.  I just wish we had the O-line to do it in Miami & I'm also not pleased with Henning play calling.  When did Henning become Don Coryell all of a sudden???  Especially with a QB who not only has a weak arm but he doesn't get rid of the ball as quickly as I'd like to see a QB do.   Last year I started to notice that he looks sluggish but it was even more obvious in the Atlanta game.  He looks like he's stuck in quick sand after he gets the snap. 

    ReplyDelete
  6. you could find out that answers to intriguing questions such as 'who would you want to have your back in a bar fight?"

    ReplyDelete
  7. Either Pennington needs to drink a case & a half of Red Bulls before the games or we're going to have to hook him up to an Intravenous Starbucks machine.   The choice is his but he needs to stop playing like the whistle has already blown the play dead!!! 

    ReplyDelete
  8. WHP,

    but they didnt score 30 cause 'ryan the great' missed wide open wr's.  it had nothing to do with our defense, it was only cause of the falcons mistakes they didnt get 49 points. (tongue in cheek).

    i think that is so lame, well, if ryan hadnt missed a wide open wr they would of scored, well, yeah, and if smith hadnt made a mistake in coverage, he wouldnt of been wide open. 

    ReplyDelete
  9. Fins,

    I heard Ginn lost a fight to a stripper last night so he's out!!!  LOL!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Yes I've been saying that since game 1 in 2008...Pennington takes too damn
    long to throw the ball! He does not seem to have a problem throwing the
    ball away if no one is open, but he takes too long to realize no one is
    open, or maybe he trusts the WRs too much, thinking they will get open.
    truth is, if you don't get the jump at the LOS, it's a lot harder to get
    open, so the QB should be able to see that right away.

    ReplyDelete
  11. How about, "You're an NFL player, why would you BE in a bar fight?"

    ReplyDelete
  12. Plus let's not forget, Roddy White is *going to get open* a few times per
    game. It's not like Smith was covering Ted Ginn.......oops.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Tins,

    I think I was just so happy last year that we weren't losing every single game every week I was willing to look past his shortcomings.  Chad has his strengths as a QB but watching Ryan & then watching Phillip Rivers the truth is just too obvious, he's too slow in everything he does.   Rivers has really impressed me b/c he used to be sluggish too & his mechanics left a lot to be desired.   He was very unorthodox in his delivery & I thought he'd be okay but nothing special.  Let me tell you he's come a LONG way & he barely even looks like the same QB that they drafted.  There was one play against the Raiders when as soon as he received the snap he rifled a ball to a receiver right at the line of scrimmage & the receiver was able to gain 4 yards b/c it happened so quickly.  The DB on the play had no time to react & I was like, "Wow!  You can't stop that!!!"   

    I also think that Pennington will struggle this year without having a "competent" receiving TE that can create mismatches down the field & provide him with a security blanket.    There is no doubt in my mind that a great receiving TE makes a QB look better than he is.

    ReplyDelete
  14. The Knight who says Ni!September 16, 2009 at 10:56 AM

    Tin, is that you on the SS? tinshaker.myopenid.com

    ReplyDelete
  15. uuuhhhh, i am telling...i am telling jahndoh you made fun of his ginny.....wait what am i thinking, i dont need to tell god that, he knew what you were thinking, he is god

    ReplyDelete
  16. Yes & I also think Michael Jenkins is a very underrated WR.  He's a tough match-up for a CB.  Will Allen got beat too & had a big penalty on a 3rd down play.  Aside from one or two plays Smith played okay.   Contrary to what Home said, Smith was not the problem.

    ReplyDelete
  17. The Knight who says Ni!September 16, 2009 at 11:01 AM

    ffr, are you a silhouette in real life?  :-P

    ReplyDelete
  18. If Skolnick has a job working for them then there's a very good chance Tins could become their editor.  Ethan is clueless when it comes to the NFL.

    ReplyDelete
  19. yes, having major issues trying to comment on there.

    ReplyDelete
  20. The Knight who says Ni!September 16, 2009 at 11:06 AM

    The defense was not the problem. Good offenses are going to make plays. You have to match them so you have a chance to win the game late.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Fins,

    LOL!  Trust me if Jahndoh were God he'd know Ginn is a first class cissy.

    ReplyDelete
  22. LOL @ Knight!   A crusty, negative sihouette!

    ReplyDelete
  23. you wouldnt want it any how, you would have to grow some dreds and shrink to 5'6"

    ReplyDelete
  24. Which would be very difficult seeing as how my hair is thinning and I'm
    6'4".

    ReplyDelete
  25. "thats a tall biach"

    ReplyDelete
  26. i told you, i am a bit hungover today, that is how i feel today

    ReplyDelete
  27. hey, i am not negative.  i am positive, i am positive that i stopped one drink to late last night

    ReplyDelete
  28. The Knight who says Ni!September 16, 2009 at 11:59 AM

    ffr, did you get your Ginn jersey yet?  :-P

    ReplyDelete
  29. i got it, just dont like to wear it, i dont look good in pink

    ReplyDelete
  30. and btw, did you see him on that end around how when the defender looked at him he fell down. 

    ReplyDelete
  31. They may very well have the best defense in the division.  They made a lot of moves on that side of the ball and all of them appear to be the right ones at this time. 

    They also did a good job last week agaist a supposedly solid offense, that had every break they could get from our spurtering sffense.  Please don't rate the offenses in our conference.  I know where we will rate in that category. :(

    ReplyDelete