Tyson Rauch: Jets Need Physical Ground Game to Beat Bills

[flgreen]

Jets Need Physical Ground Game To Beat Buffalo Bills

 

November 12, 2013 7:00 AM

 

 

AFC East, EJ Manuel, Geno Smith, Local football bloggers, Mario Williams, New York Jets, NFL, Rex Ryan

 

By Tyson Rauch

 

ORCHARD PARK, NY - 

 

On Sunday the New York Jets (5-4) travel north to face the Buffalo Bills (3-7) at Ralph Wilson Stadium. These two teams met back in week three with the Jets winning 27-20 as Geno Smith threw for 331 yards while Bilal Powell grounded out 149 rushing yards. This week Gang Green enters the match-up rejuvenated coming off of a bye while the Bills are trying to regroup following a disappointing loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

 

 

Stick to the game plan

 

 

The Jets offense has had the most success when the game plan is built around the power running game. When the ground game gets going it wears down the opposing defense and takes pressure off of rookie quarterback Geno Smith and the passing game. Buffalo enters the game with the 23rd ranked rush defense, which should make New York’s plan of attack very obvious. Look for the Jets to pound running backs Chris Ivory and Bilal Powell early and often against the Bills.

 

 

Protect Geno

 

 

While the Bills defense may struggle against the run, they have no problem getting after the quarterback. Buffalo is ranked 15th against the pass and second in the NFL for sacks with 33. The Jets offensive line must do an excellent job in terms of blitz pick up and pass protection. Keep an eye on right tackle Austin Howard and left guard Brian Winters as they will be tested by Mario Williams (11 sacks), Jerry Hughes (6 sacks), Marcell Dareus (5 sacks), and Kyle Williams (5 sacks).

 

 

Playmakers return

 

The Jets passing game should get three playmakers back on Sunday as Santonio Holmes and Jeff Cumberland return from injuries and Kellen Winslow comes back from suspension. The return of Holmes should offset the injury to wide receiver Jeremy Kerley while Winslow and Cumberland will provide Geno Smith a with a safety valve that can take advantage of mismatches in the middle of the Bills defense.

 

Stop the run

 

Defensively the game plan for the Jets is pretty obvious: stop the run and get after rookie quarterback E.J. Manuel. The Bills seventh-ranked ground attack is led by running backs Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller. Gang Green’s front seven must do a consistent job of controlling the line of scrimmage and getting into the backfield. This could be another big day for New York linebackers David Harris and Demario Davis.

 

Contain Manuel

 

The Bills passing game has been a mess as quarterbacks have been coming in and out of the lineup due to injury. E.J. Manuel returned to the lineup last week but struggled against a physical Steeler defense. The Jets should take the same approach as Pittsburgh by playing aggressive at the line of scrimmage and forcing the rookie into bad decisions. Gang Green must remain aware of Manuel’s ability to scramble and move around the pocket.

 

Throw the records out

 

When these two division rivals play you can throw the teams’ records out as they mean next to nothing. This will be a hotly contested game between two teams that do not like each other. It is safe to expect a very physical match-up that will put a lot of pressure on the rookie quarterbacks. The outcome of the game could be determined purely by the play in the trenches.

 

For more Jets news and updates, visit Jets Central.

 

Tyson Rauch is a freelance writer covering all things NFL. His work can be found on Examiner.com.

[Freemanm]

Kyle Wilson better not implode and nearly cost the Jets the game

[SweetLee83]

I think the key will be just shutting down our offense again. This team plays really good at home, 2 of the 3 wins are at home, and every home game has been close. Manuel is coming off his worst game of the season, so he's got a huge challenge ahead against Rex's D. 

 

I think it'll be close, but the Jets win. Which is fine for me, I'm more worried about seeing good things from Manuel. We aren't going to the playoffs, so seeing progress from young guys, while still getting a nice high pick is what I want. 

[bitonti]

 their big wins come in games where they can run on the other team's defense and take the ball out of geno's hands. When they find themselves against teams they can't run against, the offense is a turnover machine. 

[Integrity28]

Personally, I think the Jets need to score more points to win. I could be wrong, it happens from time to time.

[flgreen]

 their big wins come in games where they can run on the other team's defense and take the ball out of geno's hands. When they find themselves against teams they can't run against, the offense is a turnover machine. 

 

Got to agree.

 

Pettine isn't an idiot.  He knows how Rex likes to win, and what Smith has done so far this year.  The Bills are going to do everything possible to stuff the Jets' running game, and challenge Smith to beat them.

 

If he doesn't get cute and turn the ball over the Jets win.

[Greenseed4]

Maybe Hill shows up this weekend.  He seems to only play big against the Bills. 

[GREENBEAN]

Maybe Hill shows up this weekend.  He seems to only play big against the Bills. 

good point

[Jettington]

I don't want Rex to get too over aggressive against Manuel. Manuel has played scared, he won't give his receivers a chance to catch the ball down field at times, I've seen passes of his just sail out of bounds. I'm just worried Rex is going to get overzealous and sell out on a blitz when he doesn't have to leading to big plays. We can create enough pressure without throwing the kitchen sink at Manuel.

[Integrity28]

Got to agree.

 

Pettine isn't an idiot.  He knows how Rex likes to win, and what Smith has done so far this year.  The Bills are going to do everything possible to stuff the Jets' running game, and challenge Smith to beat them.

 

If he doesn't get cute and turn the ball over the Jets win.

 

 

Ah yes, our head coaches achilles heel... the desire to win.

 

LMFAO wut?

[JiFtheOracle]

I don't want Rex to get too over aggressive against Manuel. Manuel has played scared, he won't give his receivers a chance to catch the ball down field at times, I've seen passes of his just sail out of bounds. I'm just worried Rex is going to get overzealous and sell out on a blitz when he doesn't have to leading to big plays. We can create enough pressure without throwing the kitchen sink at Manuel.

 

No doubt.  I dont think Rex will be blitz happy vs. Manuel.  He'll have everyone hovering around the LOS but I bet you more often then not, they're in coverage on Sunday.  Manuel cant throw the ball over 5 yards...like at all.  I've seen those same passes.  The one he tried to throw to Stevie Johnson last game on a fade route was pathetic.

 

Shut down the run, make Manuel beat you.

 

Interestingly enough, the Bills have the same exact game plan for the Jets.

[BroadwayJoe12]

 their big wins come in games where they can run on the other team's defense and take the ball out of geno's hands. When they find themselves against teams they can't run against, the offense is a turnover machine. 

 

I can certainly see them going forward taking the ball out of his hands, but he's still averaged 28 attempts in all of his wins and 33 in his losses. While 5 attempts per game is a decent number, 28 attempts per game isn't exactly like they're having him just hand off. I don't think it was an aspect of them giving him too much to handle, it was him going outside the scheme and trying to make a big play on his own and that's what cost him. Even when they put the ball in his hands 30 times, as long as he stays within himself it's been okay. I personally don't want to see the coaching staff Sanchez him and make him just hand the ball off and throw it once in a while, I actually want to see the kid develop, which I think he has and is.  A good ground game will help this, but being one dimensional is never a good thing.

[dbatesman]

I can certainly see them going forward taking the ball out of his hands, but he's still averaged 28 attempts in all of his wins and 33 in his losses. While 5 attempts per game is a decent number, 28 attempts per game isn't exactly like they're having him just hand off.

Yeah but on the other hand look at this thing from Grantland

[neckdemon]

Ah yes, our head coaches achilles heel... the desire to win.

 

LMFAO wut?

 

 

"how" doesn't have the meaning that you are reading the sentence with here. try substituting the words "the manner in which" for the word how or "in what way"

[Larz]

that and lots of pressure on D

 

johnson and spiller are the types of players that give this team a hard time

 

jets will need to kill clock, but more importantly cash in the red zone

[Integrity28]

"how" doesn't have the meaning that you are reading the sentence with here. try substituting the words "the manner in which" for the word how or "in what way"

 

Double entendre.

 

 

Google it.

[JohnnyLV]

 their big wins come in games where they can run on the other team's defense and take the ball out of geno's hands. When they find themselves against teams they can't run against, the offense is a turnover machine. 

 

 

I think I disagree with almost everything you post. 

[neckdemon]

Double entendre.

 

 

Google it.

 

 

i know what it means. doesn't change the fact that you read it the wrong way

[4HCrew]

thank you for sharing this FL!

[LionelRichie]

I think the key will be just shutting down our offense again. This team plays really good at home, 2 of the 3 wins are at home, and every home game has been close. Manuel is coming off his worst game of the season, so he's got a huge challenge ahead against Rex's D. 

 

I think it'll be close, but the Jets win. Which is fine for me, I'm more worried about seeing good things from Manuel. We aren't going to the playoffs, so seeing progress from young guys, while still getting a nice high pick is what I want. 

 

Interesting that Bills are favorites in this game.   

 

Jets have been terrible on the road, Bills are good at home.   Jets are starting to talk about playoffs which is always a disaster for this team.    30 years as a Jet fan tells me that this one has SoJ written all over it.   

[Integrity28]

i know what it means. doesn't change the fact that you read it the wrong way

 

I read it the right way, but then took saw it as an opportunity to make a wise crack because of the double entendre. 

 

I guess I should have realized that since you didn't get that, you would need this spelled out for you as well.

[SweetLee83]

Robert Woods is out Sunday. Stevie hasn't practiced all week. That could leave us with Graham, Goodwin, and Hogan as our top 3 WRs going into Sunday. That's really, really, bad. 

[neckdemon]

I read it the right way, but then took saw it as an opportunity to make a wise crack because of the double entendre. 

 

I guess I should have realized that since you didn't get that, you would need this spelled out for you as well.

 

 

hey what do you know......second day in a row someone has said double entendre

[Integrity28]

hey what do you know......second day in a row someone has said double entendre

 

Second day in a row someone has actually had a double entendre joke go over his head.

 

It's cool, I NEVER purposefully give responses to the alternate, contextually irrelevant meaning of posts due to the double entendre in them. NEVER. 

[neckdemon]

Second day in a row someone has actually had a double entendre joke go over his head.

 

It's cool, I NEVER purposefully give responses to the alternate, contextually irrelevant meaning of posts due to the double entendre in them. NEVER. 

 

 

these jokes must be so exceptionally funny that the humor is just beyond the comprehension of my small mind

 

you must be a blast at holiday celebrations

[Jetsfan80]

 their big wins come in games where they can run on the other team's defense and take the ball out of geno's hands. When they find themselves against teams they can't run against, the offense is a turnover machine. 

 

Against the Bucs, we couldn't run the ball (with our RB's) for sh**.  Geno threw for 256 yards, ran for another 47 and only had 1 INT.

 

Against the Falcons,  we got a very modest 97 yards out of our RB's.  Geno completed 80 % of his throws, threw 3 TD's and 0 INT's.

 

 

Yes, it's true that in every other game, we either run the ball well and win or Geno struggled and we lost.  Hopefully the return of Santonio Holmes and Kellen Winslow can help buck this trend for him and he can win games for us without needing to lean heavily on his RB's.  Either way, it's amusing how often you push your agenda.

[Integrity28]

these jokes must be so exceptionally funny that the humor is just beyond the comprehension of my small mind

you must be a blast at holiday celebrations

The point when I crack double entente jokes is not to be hilarious, but to express through a tongue in cheek wit how dumb some of the conversations are here.

It's called not taking things too seriously.

Why you so mad about sh*t going over your head?

[Jetsfan80]

you must be a blast at holiday celebrations

 

Of course he is.  He's the Ape.  He brings bananas and makes noises and stuff.

[Jacked4JetsFB]

Jets need to do one thing to win, be there.

The jets are south better than the spills it's not even funny.

This is going to be a route, something like 31-6 jets win easy.

Geno is going to throw for two TD's and the d will get one as well, than one rushing Td.

[neckdemon]

The point when I crack double entente jokes is not to be hilarious, but to express through a tongue in cheek wit how dumb some of the conversations are here.

It's called not taking things too seriously.

Why you so mad about sh*t going over your head?

 

i'm not mad at all. just busting your balls. but let's be serious here, you didn't mean that as some smooth double entendre joke. whats more likely than your double secret probation joke having gone over my head is that you just misinterpreted what he said. i might have actually believed you if:

 

this supposed "tongue in cheek wit" actually contained a semblance of wit.....

 

there's no way you read that and said "man this is just begging for a double entendre joke......i aint letting this opportunity pass me by"

[nycdan]

Maybe returning to BUF will fire up Hill again.  He could sure use the wake-up call.

[Integrity28]

i'm not mad at all. just busting your balls. but let's be serious here, you didn't mean that as some smooth double entendre joke. whats more likely than your double secret probation joke having gone over my head is that you just misinterpreted what he said. i might have actually believed you if:

 

this supposed "tongue in cheek wit" actually contained a semblance of wit.....

 

there's no way you read that and said "man this is just begging for a double entendre joke......i aint letting this opportunity pass me by"

 

You obviously don't know me very well. Bad double entendre jokes are second only to bad puns, and slated just above purposefully lame takes on acronyms.

 

For instance, JIF = Just in fudge.

 

If you actually knew what you were talking about, you'd know that with those three words I redefined this: