Brothers Rob and Rex Ryan square off again, which always provides some family fun.
Pass Defense
The Saints defense continues to play above expectations this year. As a whole, they have been very good, but they’ve been even better in the passing game. They rank 10th in the NFL in pass defense, allowing 222.1 yards per game. The pass rush has been outstanding, which has helped them force turnovers and get to +8 in the turnover margin. New Orleans is tied for 10th in the league with 24 sacks on the year. Cam Jordan is the team leader in sacks with 6. Keenan Lewis made his 3rd interception of the year against the Bills last week, which is the most on the team. As two different aspects of the pass defense, both the pressure and the coverage have complimented each other very well, which is the number one reason for the defense’s success.
The Jets have to feel pretty good with their 4-4 start. Although they’re two game back in their division, four games was probably about the most that many people saw them winning in 2013. Even with a raw, rookie quarterback who was thrown right in to the fire from the start, he has led them to a .500 halfway through the year. Geno Smith has been equally up and down this year, just like the Jets’ record. It’s been fairly simple, New York wins when Smith plays well. On the other side, they’ve lost badly when he’s fallen on his face. Smith has a 8/13 touchdown to interception ratio to go along with his 59.3 completion percentage. He’s an athletic quarterback who was great at using his legs in college, but has only mustered up 154 yards on the ground.
The Saints have done a great job getting to the young quarterbacks they have faced this year. The top two that come to mind are Ryan Tannehill and Thad Lewis. Against both, they got constant pressure and forced turnovers. Last week, I talked about how important it would be for the defense to get to Lewis early and they did just that, forcing a fumble on the first play of the game. The same goes here. If they can get to Smith with an early pass rush and force a turnover or two, the offense should have no problem helping them get out to an early lead.
Rush Defense
Heading in to the bye week, the Saints were giving up the highest yards per carry average in the NFL. They were still ranked in the middle of the pack in yards allowed per game, though. That’s largely thanks to the offense and it’s ability to score points, which has forced teams to abandon the run late in games against New Orleans. Last week against Buffalo, the Saints improved that trend. Against a Buffalo team that had been relying on their running game, New Orleans held them to 3.5 yards per carry. They also held the Bills under 100 yards rushing, which allowed them to force Thad Lewis to throw and make mistakes. The rushing defense comes in to their match-up with the Jets at 19th in the NFL, allowing 110.3 yards per game.
The fact that the Jets have played their way to a 4-4 record is due to getting back to what they like to refer to as “Jets football”. Their game is running the ball and playing strong defense. It’s easier to rely on your running game when you have a rookie quarterback and it’s also easier for a rookie quarterback to manage a game when he has a good running game backing him up. Former Saint Chris Ivory is part of New York’s rushing attack, along with Bilal Powell. Ivory, who was traded to the Jets as part of a draft-night trade, provided his best game of the season two weeks ago against the Patriots when he had 34 carries for 104 yards. The 34 carries are by far a career high, as the 3.1 yards per carry average is about normal. Ivory has dealt with injuries so far this year, which is no different than this time in New Orleans. Powell is the team’s leading rusher, averaging 3.9 yards per carry on his 385 yards rushing. Although New York, as a team, has provided good yardage numbers on the ground, they only have 3 rushing touchdowns and only 1 of those is by a Jets running back. Powell has the lone touchdown, while Geno Smith has produced the other two.
The Jets will certainly look to establish a presence in the running game today. They’ll need every bit of “Jets football” to be able to pull of the upset. The best defense New York can play is keeping Drew Brees off the field and that all starts with the running game. As long as the game is within reach, I’m expecting them to run the ball 30-35 times today.
Players to Watch
Cam Jordan
Jordan is a good name to watch because he excels in both aspects of the defensive game. He has predominately been a run stopping defensive end throughout his playing career, but he has turned in to a very good pass rusher as well. This match-up will call for both, as he’ll look to put pressure on the rookie quarterback, while also helping slow down the Jets’ bread and butter.
Curtis Lofton
Lofton continues to lead the team in tackles, much like he has done since coming to New Orleans a year ago. Lofton’s ability to shoot the gaps and cut down Jets running backs before they get a full load of steam will be crucial in stopping them from getting things going on the ground.
The Safeties
As Roman Harper nears coming back, Malcolm Jenkins is in jeopardy of missing time. Jenkins quietly injured his knee against Buffalo last week and missed the entire second half. He is questionable to play and likely a game-time decision after missing practice all week. On the other side, Harper was limited in practice all week and will also see how he feels pre-game. Kenny Vaccaro also took things easy this week after a late game collision with a teammate last week gave him a sore neck/back. He practiced in limited fashion late in the week, but should be able to play. Regardless, both Rafael Bush and Isa Abdul-Quddus look to get extended playing time with the starters ailing. Without the presence of a strong passing attack, the safeties will play a key role in coming up and making plays against the run.
Saints – 27
Jets – 17
Who Dat?!
