Jets defense preps for little-used T.J. Yates

[Gas2No99]

Jets defense preps for little-used T.J. Yates

 

T.J. Yates threw his first touchdown pass since 2011 on Monday night in relief of an injured Brian Hoyer to help the Texans upset the Bengals. AP Photo/Frank Victores

• 
  Ohm Youngmisuk, ESPN Staff Writer

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. –- While much of the quarterback attention will surround Ryan Fitzpatrick looking to make Houston regret trading him, the other quarterback in Sunday’s Jets-Texans game is flying under the radar.

T.J. Yates is expected to make his first start since his rookie season in 2011, in place of the injured Brian Hoyer (concussion). The New York Jets defense knows it has to take care of business against a quarterback who was literally sitting on his couch drinking coffee when the Texans called him three weeks ago to return.

“He can run, he’s big, he has a strong arm,” Jets coach Todd Bowles said. “We know that he can run, he’s a good athlete that way. He’s got a cannon of an arm. He can throw the ball in there and he’s started some games in this league. So you’re scared about any starting quarterback coming into the league and can start in the game the next week you’re playing him.”

Yates threw his only touchdown in the past four seasons on Monday night in relief of an injured Hoyer to help the Texans upset the Bengals.

In 2011, Yates played in six games and completed 61.2% of his passes for 949 yards and three touchdowns, with three interceptions, and fumbled four times. He helped lead the Texans to a playoff victory over the Bengals that season.

Since then, he has played in nine games and attempted a total of 47 regular-season passes.

Bowles says the Jets won’t go back and watch old film of Yates, but rather prepare by studying Houston’s offense.

“We’re playing against the scheme,” Bowles said. “You can’t go back and look. We know the guy can throw the ball. We know he’s a good football player, so you work on what you see on film.”

Bowles added, “If there was a vast difference between a running quarterback and a throwing quarterback, you kind of look at some things. But he’s a true quarterback. He can throw the ball. He’s not too far behind Hoyer, so we’ll just get ready to play Houston in general.”

The Jets won’t need to watch a ton of film to know who Yates will be looking to throw to. DeAndre Hopkins is the most targeted receiver in the NFL thus far, and Darrelle Revis will likely have his hands full.

“One of the best in the league,” Revis said of Hopkins. “He kind of reminds me of Anquan Boldin. They give him a lot of targets. They move him around, he is a go-to-guy.”

“You see some plays on film and they throw the ball up to him and you figure the DB is coming down with it and he ends up with it instead,” Revis added. “He definitely has great ball skills. Every time the ball is in the air, you can tell he feels he wants to go attack it.”

Revis did not sound like he was taking anything for granted with Yates.

“You got to go back to previous games that Yates started and try to pick up tendencies,” Revis said of how to prepare for Yates with little film to go on this season. “That is how we got to look at it.”