I can't wait to see our defense of 2011 take the field.

[JetsFanFromQueens]

I believe that 2009 was a sign of things to come with Rex leading the way. Now, last season we had minor set backs when compared to our defense of 09 (Pool was trying to replace Rhodes, Jenkins went down yet again, Revis was banged up, Pace wasn't really healthy, Wilson as a rookie wasn't really ready, Jim Leonhard went down, Gholston did nothing yet again etc etc), those are all excuses, but now I'm hopeful that Rex can lead our Jets defense to greatness this up coming season.

When I look at our defense as a whole, being realistic, I'm hopeful that our defense can rank #1 in yards allowed per play, total yards allowed on the season, 1st downs allowed per game, #1 against the run (average yards allowed per attempt), #1 against the pass, top 5 in sacks and most importantly... #1 in points allowed.

If our defense can combine for what we've done solid over the past two years during 2009 and last season, implement it onto the football field this season, I see no reason why we can't lead the league in just about every defensive statistical category known to man kind. If Jet fans have ever dreamed of featuring a defense that could go down as one of the greatest D's of all-time, now is the time to dream with Rex leading the way. The man is a defensive guru. I just wanna see a Jets defense that dominates for 4 quarters strong. One that physically manhandles opponents like never before.

In 2009 we ranked 1st in points allowed (14.8 per game), 1st in yards allowed (252.3 per game), 1st in yards allowed per play (4.2), first in 1st downs allowed per game (14.8), #1 against the pass in yards allowed (153.7 per game), #1 with an average of only 5.4 yards per pass attempt, #1 with only 8 TD's allowed on the year and then last season we ranked 3rd in average yards allowed against the run (3.6) and 8th in sacks with 40. If our defense can get back to where we were in 2009, and improve our run defense from last season, while getting after the QB with an improved pass rush... The sky is the limits for our defense heading into 2011.

We've all seen signs over the past two years under Rex Ryan himself, hopefully our defensive unit can come into it's own during this up coming season.

[Thor99]

Gammy loves me.

[JetsFanFromQueens]

I just can't help but see plenty of promise with our starting defensive unit.

We all know what we have in Revis, which is an all world corner, one who has the ability to completely shut down one side of the field, while eliminating opposing #1 WR's from the game at the same time. That's something that only the Jets can do. I'm also expecting big things out of Cromartie this season. This is the same Cromartie who picked up 10 INT's back in 2007, that's the type of season I'm expecting out of Cromartie this year. The best of Cro with the Jets has yet to come, he's just getting his feet wet. As a 2nd year player under Rex and the Jets defense, he should know and understand our defensive system alot more when compared to last year. He should also know exactly what to expect playing opposite of Revis, which is plenty of opportunities. Opportunities to come up with and create game changing plays. Playing opposite of Revis will never be easy, he'll get tested more than any other #2 CB out there, but I'm hopeful that he's ready for the challenge. Same goes for Kyle Wilson. I've heard nothing but strong reports surrounding the overall improvements of Wilson this offseason, when compared to his rookie season of last year, it seems as if he's ready for take off as our nickel back of the future. With Revis and Cromartie working the outsides, if Wilson can 'come into his own', we could feature a pass defense that ranks as good (if not better) than our pass defense of 2009. We lost Coleman, but we replaced him with Donald Strickland, who played outstanding for us back in 2009 (when healthy).

Our safeties should also be much improved this season. Pool is heading into his 2nd year with the Jets, which could be huge, especially considering the fact that he should have a much better understanding of our defense. Leonhard (the QB of our defense) is coming back 100% healthy and ready to go. Eric Smith has earned plenty of playing experience over the past two seasons and Dwight Lowery could end up becoming a diamond in the rough. All in all, I'm enjoying our safety depth. These safeties have experience under our defense, and hopefully Dwight Lowery can provide the ability to ball hawk, which could take our defense to another level.

Now, it doesn't get much better than David Harris and Bart Scott as our two IMLB's. I consider these two as the heart and sould of our defense. We need our two MLB's to lead this defense for the 3rd consecutive season under Rex Ryan. It's also a breath of fresh air knowing that we have Calvin Pace 100% healthy heading into the season, unlike last year, and unlike 2009, he's not facing a 4 game suspension heading into the season. We may have lost as aging Jason Taylor from last season, but with our revamped defensive front, I'm expecting Calvin Pace to not only pick up the slack as our featured pass rusher from the outside, but also have his best season as a Jet thus far. One thing is for sure, we need an improved pass rush from the pass rush we seen last year (or lack there of). We have a project pass rusher in Jamaal Westerman, I can't even predict the type of season that he'll have for us, but I can almost guarantee it won't be any less productive that what we've seen out of Gholston over the past 3 years. As of right now, I'm considering this an addition by subtraction. With Pace getting most of the reps as our right outside linebacker, hopefully both Bryan Thomas and Westerman can contribute/hold down our left side. I'm confident in Bryan Thomas though, I'm also amped about this linebacking unit.

It's no secret that we have some question marks in regards to our defensive line, but it's a defensive front that I cant wait to see take the field. We've been old and aging for way too long. Yes, we lost Shaun Ellis, who was a very good veteran leader for us, but I trust that our coaching staff made the right decision. We've replaced an aging Ellis with a rookie DE in Wilkerson, who's already been named a starter by Rex Ryan himself. If this first rounder is anything as advertised, he could really give our defensive front a much needed shot of adrenaline. After Jenkins having back to back season ending injuries, Pouha has been our NT who's pretty much been forced to do it on his own over the past two years. Hopefully the addition of our rookie in Kenrick Ellis, backing up Pouha, can do nothing but improve our entire defense. The 3-4 NT could very well be the most important position when running a 3-4 defensive scheme, Pouha and Ellis is a duo that I'm excited to see work as a tandem. This kid is huge at 6'4/346 lbs. I'm also pumped about Mike DeVito starting opposite of Wilkerson. Heading into his 5th season and coming off a season where he put up 59 tackles last year (S.Ellis only put up 36), I'm anxious to see what DeVito can do as a full time starter. At the age of only 27, he's still pretty young. Other than Pouha, who's 32 years of age, we're full of nothing but youth and potential in DeVito, Wilkerson, K.Ellis and Pitoitua. It's a weird feeling having this much youth on the defensive front, but it's a unit that I can't wait to see take the field.

Last but not least... Our coaching staff. We're all expecting Sanchez to break out, all because he's heading into his 3rd year. Same goes for our head coach and defensive coordinator. I'm expecting big things out of our defense with both Rex Ryan and Mike Pettine leading the way. Together, they've built this defense over the past 3 years, they know exactly what to expect, they know what they have in their players... Hopefully our defense can turn some heads, as a force to be wreckin with this up coming season.

[T0mShane]

I agree.

[CTM]

If the kids on the dline pan out we have a very good chance IMO

[Blackout]

i have a feeling our defense might not be as solid as the last 2 years

[JustInFudge]

Defense. Wins. Championships.

[T0mShane]

I agree.

[JetsFanFromQueens]

If the kids on the dline pan out we have a very good chance IMO

I couldn't agree with you any more myself. It's all about the defensive line. I'm extremely confident in both our secondary and linebacking units, they seem prime for a strong run, but we need our two rookies and Ropati Pitoitua to develope and develope quickly. When thinking about it, it's all about Wilkerson though. This kid will either make or break our defensive front.

We all know what we have in Pouha, which is one of the better 3-4 NT's around. Pouha ranked 5th amongst DT/NT's last seasson with 59 tackles. More importantly, we've featured top 5 D's during consecutive seasons with Pouha anchoring our defensive front. Enough said in regards to our NT position. As long as Pouha can stay healthy, we're good at NT regardless. Now, if Kenrick Ellis can provide solid depth, being able to spell and backup Pouha... we're locked in stone at NT.

From what I've seen over the past two years out of DeVito, especially last year where he put up 59 tackles (ranking 11th amongst DE's in tackles), it seems as if DeVito is built for the 3-4 defense. He's 6'3"/305 lbs who can not only tackle, but he's also able to take on blocks, giving our OLB's the opportunity to make plays. One thing I've noticed about DeVito over the years, is that he's played with a drive and motor that's very fun to watch. Pouha and DeVito are built for the 3-4 defense, it's all all Wilkerson in my eyes.

Ropati Pitoitua is expected to backup both Wilkerson and DeVito at DE. I haven't seen enough of this kid to make a judgement call, but hopefully at 6'8", 315 lbs he'll be able to handle his own. It'll be nice to have Wilkerson, Pouha and DeVito holding our defensive front down, with both Ropati and K.Ellis proving solid depth. Only time will tell, but it would become ideal if we could have Ropati backing up both DE positions with K.Ellis playing everywhere on the defensive line.

[JetsFanFromQueens]

i have a feeling our defense might not be as solid as the last 2 years

Lets provide some detail. I'd appreciate an in depth analysts on why you feel this way. Is it because we failed to resign Shaun Ellis, Trevor Pryce, Jason Taylor, Drew Coleman, James Ihedigbo and Vernon Gholston? Because that's all we lost on the defensive side of the ball. Are these 6 players the reasons why we've formed top 5 D's over the past two years? I sure hope to god not.

I can understand having concerns about losing Ellis, he's been here for a long time, but lets not act like Ellis was the reason why we've ranked as a top 5 defense over the past two years.

Trevor Pryce isn't coming back, but then again... He only put up 4 tackles and 1 sack for us last year. How can you consider Pryce a loss? when we also ranked as the #1 defense in 2009, a year where Pryce was playing for the Ravens.

Drew Coleman finally had a solid year for us, made some big time plays, but we replaced Coleman with Strickland, which is a huge upgrade for our secondary. Coleman had no chance of playing ahead of Donald back in 2009, thats because Strickland is the much better defensive back when compared to Coleman. How is Coleman considered a loss, when he's already been replaced by Strickland?

James Ihedigbo isn't a defensive loss either. Nothing more than a very fine special teams player. Leonhard, Pool, Smith and Lowery would have all seen more playing time at S than James would have seen to begin with. How is he considered a defensive loss?'

How is Vernon Gholston considered a loss? The man did nothing for 3 years. Zero production.

Who's that leave? A 36 year old Jason Taylor? We ranked as the #1 defense without Jason Taylor back in 2009. Proof that he wasn't the reason why we ranked as a top 5 defensive unit last season. Jason Taylor pretty much did nothing for us during our last 7 regular season games + 3 playoff games. 18 tackles, 1 sack and 0 forced fumbles during our last 10 games. Thats an average of only 1.8 tackles, 0.1 sacks and 0.00 fumbles forced per game during our last 10 games of the season last year. That's pretty much zero production. I'm sure Bryan Thomas and Westerman can put up better numbers than the numbers put up by an aging Taylor.

What have we gained? Two rookie defensive lineman in Wilkerson and K.Ellis, Jim Leonhard (our defensive QB) is coming back from being injured after missing the last 8 games, Ropati Pitoitua is returning from the IR, Calvin Pace is 100% healthy, Pool, Cromartie and Wilson all gained experience under our defense last year, all 3 are returning as 2nd year players under Rex Ryan, Darrelle Revis is 100% healthy as of right now and Dwight Lowery could break out as our best ball-hawking safety since Kerry Rhodes.

I'm just not sure as to why some Jet fans think our defense has taken a step back, when all signs point to a much improved defensive unit.

[TNJet]

Jetsfan from Queens you don't talk enough.

[Obrien2Toon]

Jetsfan from Queens you don't talk enough.

lol.

But I agree, I see no reson for the D to take a step back. The O might be a different story.

Their only real loss was Ellis and Wilkerson replaced him. I think Wilson will be much better, Rex found a nice home for E. Smith as the LB/S hyprid, Revis and Pace at full speed for a full season, Devito and Westerman's progression, etc.

Their biggest weakness will be, like in the past few years, their LBs inabality to play in coverage. D. Harris is the stiffest LB in coverage I've ever seen and it is a travesty that he is on the banner over B. Scott.

[JoeWillie]

Defense. Wins. Championships.

I hate this saying because it's so overused, and it's also so wrong.

For the most part, you have to have balance to win a championship.

There have really only been 3 or 4 teams in the history of the league that have won Super Bowls with an overpowering defense and a sub-par offense, and even in these cases, two of those offenses were in the top half of the league.

Those are (Final Rankings Off/Def):

1990 Giants (15/1)

2000 Ravens (14/1)

2002 Bucs (18/1)

2008 Steelers (20/1)

On the flip side, 2 teams in the past 5 years alone won Super Bowls with much better offenses than defenses. Those are

2006 Colts (2/23)

2009 Saints (1/20)

In fact if you look at the last 41 Super Bowl winners, 24 of them had offenses that ranked higher or the same as their defense for that year.

Even the legendary '86 Bears had an offense that was ranked #2 in the league for that particular season. Even as good as the Packers defense was last year, they also had a tremendous offense.

Now I will admit, if I was going into a season, and I had a choice of having a better defense or a better offense, I'd want the better defense. Especially if there was a big difference in the quality of both.

But "Balance Wins Championships".

[Apache 51]

Take the field? I can't wait till someone cleans Romo's clock.

[gangreenman]

I hate this saying because it's so overused, and it's also so wrong.

For the most part, you have to have balance to win a championship.

There have really only been 3 or 4 teams in the history of the league that have won Super Bowls with an overpowering defense and a sub-par offense, and even in these cases, two of those offenses were in the top half of the league.

Those are (Final Rankings Off/Def):

1990 Giants (15/1)

2000 Ravens (14/1)

2002 Bucs (18/1)

2008 Steelers (20/1)

On the flip side, 2 teams in the past 5 years alone won Super Bowls with much better offenses than defenses. Those are

2006 Colts (2/23)

2009 Saints (1/20)

In fact if you look at the last 41 Super Bowl winners, 24 of them had offenses that ranked higher or the same as their defense for that year.

Even the legendary '86 Bears had an offense that was ranked #2 in the league for that particular season. Even as good as the Packers defense was last year, they also had a tremendous offense.

Now I will admit, if I was going into a season, and I had a choice of having a better defense or a better offense, I'd want the better defense. Especially if there was a big difference in the quality of both.

But "Balance Wins Championships".

Good write up, but you just wasted you're time. The post you quoted had nothing to do with his feelings about the defense and everything to do with the identity of the OP.

[Drums]

This whole team better be playing with a chip on their shoulder.

[Mattyandthejets]

i have a feeling our defense might not be as solid as the last 2 years

Gotta disagree with this one, I think Rex really swallowed a lot of his personal pride last season in the way he coaches and that will make the defense better. Last year we were getting torched at times because of Rex's obstinate will to blitz all the time in spite of the fact that we simply could not get to the QB (see Chicago Bears game) After the bears game I think Rex realized he had to swallow his pride and lay off the blitzing for the time being and this directly led to a brand new defense we had not seen all year and we ended up beating manning, brady in back to back weeks and made roethlisberger look like crap in spite of losing the game.

I think this season we have a better defensive line, continuity in the secondary which we did not have going into 2010 with cro and pool being the two new starters. We should expect Rex to utilize both the blitz happy defense and the 2010 playoff defense through out the season to persistently keep the opposing offense guessing.

[JetsFanFromQueens]

Gotta disagree with this one, I think Rex really swallowed a lot of his personal pride last season in the way he coaches and that will make the defense better. Last year we were getting torched at times because of Rex's obstinate will to blitz all the time in spite of the fact that we simply could not get to the QB (see Chicago Bears game) After the bears game I think Rex realized he had to swallow his pride and lay off the blitzing for the time being and this directly led to a brand new defense we had not seen all year and we ended up beating manning, brady in back to back weeks and made roethlisberger look like crap in spite of losing the game.

I think this season we have a better defensive line, continuity in the secondary which we did not have going into 2010 with cro and pool being the two new starters. We should expect Rex to utilize both the blitz happy defense and the 2010 playoff defense through out the season to persistently keep the opposing offense guessing.

I approve this message. Excellent post man. I think we'll see a really balanced defense this season. A defense that keeps opposing O's off balance during the entire season.

[New York Mick]

Biggest thing on D I'm looking forward to seeing is the Dline. I can't ******* wait to see how they do. Hopefully our rookies step in and make an impacted.

[Thor99]

Philly Statz is back. And he is bad!

[gsnts725]

great post.... i'm getting really hyped for the season.

[#27TheDominator]

Good write up, but you just wasted you're time. The post you quoted had nothing to do with his feelings about the defense and everything to do with the identity of the OP.

I'm sure he knows, but it was still worth saying. I had a long PM fight about that with a (different) banned poster. I gave up when he explained that the running game counted as part of the defense. You win by scoring more points that the other team. You win championships by scoring more than the other teams in the playoffs. It doesn't matter if it's 42-0, 10-9 or 54-48, the W counts the same.

[SenorGato]

Defense. Wins. Championships.

I rotfl'd.