C.J. Mosley revealed a changed scope of his responsibilities in the New York Jets defense

[ARodJetsFan]

I thought this was a pretty good read;

New York Jets LB C.J. Mosley reveals drastic change in his role (jetsxfactor.com)

C.J. Mosley revealed a changed scope of his responsibilities in the New York Jets defense

The New York Jets’ defense is supposedly all about rules. With how elite it’s been in recent seasons, no one talks much about the downsides to those rules. However, in 2021 and the early part of 2022, the uncomplicated defensive looks the Jets presented to opponents drew scrutiny.

Linebacker C.J. Mosley, the captain of the defense, shed some light on what may have changed for the defense from Year 1. Kay Adams of the “Up & Adams Show” asked Mosley about the freedom he has in the Jets’ defense. His response was eye-opening.

This may not seem earth-shattering, as most middle linebackers are defensive captains and can make checks. However, it was clear in the first year-plus under Robert Saleh and defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich that this was not the case for Mosley. The incident most clearly illustrating this limitation came during the Jets’ 27-24 overtime win over the Titans in 2021. It was Saleh’s first victory as the Jets’ head coach. Jets X-Factor’s Andrew Golden explained that Mosley made a defensive check from Cover 1 to Cover 3 in recognition of a play the Titans had run earlier in the game.

Golden wrote, “After the game, Saleh explained that players in their system aren’t allowed to check into new plays at the line and that Mosley had done something no other player he had coached had ever done before by doing it anyway.”

Saleh said, “He got us into another defense and the entire sideline, all of us coaches were like, ‘What is he doing? What is he doing?’ We’re just yelling at the linebacker coach and he got us into the perfect play call and we got a sack because the quarterback hitched. I was like, ‘Well, that’s why he’s an All-Pro.'”

Golden further demonstrated a check Mosley did not make in Week 4 of the 2022 season.

 

Golden lamented, “Sadly, Mosley likely didn’t even notice Burrow’s lack of audible himself. He knows he isn’t allowed to change the play even if he is tipped off to what’s coming, so why bother? Instead, he likely focused on timing his drop and being ready to pick up Boyd over the middle, since that’s all was required of him on that particular play.”

This clearly elucidates the fact that Mosley was not allowed to make checks to the Jets’ defense. Therefore, Mosley’s assertion that he has free rein to do so represents a paradigm shift in defensive philosophy.

One wonders if this is truly the case. After all, Mosley did hesitate a bit when Adams initially phrased the question slightly differently. “Does Saleh sort of give you the rein to switch things up and do what you want out there?” Adams asked. Mosley’s response was, “Uh… in a quick answer, yes.”

However, his elaboration inspires confidence that he does, indeed, have the freedom to make significant changes. “[It’s] Year 3 and 4 of pretty much all our defense being together. So we kind of understand the basic of our defense, and so now we’re trying to find every next step, every little inch, cheating one little gap to try to make us better to win that play,” he said.

“That’s where we’re at now. My biggest goal that the coaches gave me this year is just being more demonstrative in calling out what I see. The coaches are giving me a lot of confidence to do that.”

That was the context of his answer about having free rein. This shows maturity on Saleh’s and Ulbrich’s part in being able to trust their five-time second-team All-Pro veteran linebacker to set up the defense in the best position to succeed.

Furthermore, depending on when the coaches took the training wheels off Mosley (which is funny to even say), this may be one of the biggest reasons the Jets’ coverage has improved so vastly. Sure, bringing in Sauce Gardner and D.J. Reed will do that for a defense. Still, the team has dealt with consistently below-average safety play and still succeeded mightily as a unit.

One of the main assets of the Jets’ defense is their back-end communication. They don’t blow many coverages relative to other teams. Mosley’s captaincy may well promote this seamless performance.

Even though Mosley’s physical skills have declined from his peak, his football mind remains as sharp as ever. His discipline filters down to the rest of the defense, making the unit stronger as a whole. It’s encouraging to hear that Saleh and Ulbrich recognize this, possibly leading the defense to even greater heights in 2024.

[Fantasy Island]

Covering TEs?

[Larz]

Universally respected and highly regarded league wide. 
 

everyone knows he’s one of the best linebackers in the game 

[JetPotato]

Wait. Is Mosley coaching? Or Rodgers? And sometimes Saleh?

[Joe W. Namath]

Our defensive leader!!!  Big season upcoming for cj!!!

[Beerfish]

If you are an opposing team you attack mosley in coverage.

And no this team does not yet have an elite defense, very good, yes elite no.

Teams with elite D's make the playoffs.

[Warfish]

37 minutes ago, Larz said:

Universally respected and highly regarded league wide. 
 

everyone knows he’s one of the best linebackers in the game 

@Sperm Edwards

[ARodJetsFan]

38 minutes ago, Beerfish said:

Teams with eltie D's make the playoffs.

Yes @Beerfish with at least average QB play, through the course of a season.

We haven't had that yet with our defense.

[FootballLove]

Remember CJ's first game here? He literally ruled the field that day (until his injury late). We were all amazed at what he could do. Then the injury....then the covid hold out....Maybe Saleh's D will rejuvenate him back to what he can be (dominate)? He still led the NFL in tackles and stuff like that.

I also thing Quincy Williams has learned a ton working next to him. Quincy was a cast off, came here, and dominated.

[Prodigal Syndicate]

1 hour ago, Warfish said:

@Sperm Edwards

Sperm:

 

[shawn306]

3 hours ago, Larz said:

Universally respected and highly regarded league wide. 
 

everyone knows he’s one of the best linebackers in the game 

Except Jets fans

[shawn306]

3 hours ago, ARodJetsFan said:

I thought this was a pretty good read;

New York Jets LB C.J. Mosley reveals drastic change in his role (jetsxfactor.com)

C.J. Mosley revealed a changed scope of his responsibilities in the New York Jets defense

The New York Jets’ defense is supposedly all about rules. With how elite it’s been in recent seasons, no one talks much about the downsides to those rules. However, in 2021 and the early part of 2022, the uncomplicated defensive looks the Jets presented to opponents drew scrutiny.

Linebacker C.J. Mosley, the captain of the defense, shed some light on what may have changed for the defense from Year 1. Kay Adams of the “Up & Adams Show” asked Mosley about the freedom he has in the Jets’ defense. His response was eye-opening.

This may not seem earth-shattering, as most middle linebackers are defensive captains and can make checks. However, it was clear in the first year-plus under Robert Saleh and defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich that this was not the case for Mosley. The incident most clearly illustrating this limitation came during the Jets’ 27-24 overtime win over the Titans in 2021. It was Saleh’s first victory as the Jets’ head coach. Jets X-Factor’s Andrew Golden explained that Mosley made a defensive check from Cover 1 to Cover 3 in recognition of a play the Titans had run earlier in the game.

Golden wrote, “After the game, Saleh explained that players in their system aren’t allowed to check into new plays at the line and that Mosley had done something no other player he had coached had ever done before by doing it anyway.”

Saleh said, “He got us into another defense and the entire sideline, all of us coaches were like, ‘What is he doing? What is he doing?’ We’re just yelling at the linebacker coach and he got us into the perfect play call and we got a sack because the quarterback hitched. I was like, ‘Well, that’s why he’s an All-Pro.'”

Golden further demonstrated a check Mosley did not make in Week 4 of the 2022 season.

 

Golden lamented, “Sadly, Mosley likely didn’t even notice Burrow’s lack of audible himself. He knows he isn’t allowed to change the play even if he is tipped off to what’s coming, so why bother? Instead, he likely focused on timing his drop and being ready to pick up Boyd over the middle, since that’s all was required of him on that particular play.”

This clearly elucidates the fact that Mosley was not allowed to make checks to the Jets’ defense. Therefore, Mosley’s assertion that he has free rein to do so represents a paradigm shift in defensive philosophy.

One wonders if this is truly the case. After all, Mosley did hesitate a bit when Adams initially phrased the question slightly differently. “Does Saleh sort of give you the rein to switch things up and do what you want out there?” Adams asked. Mosley’s response was, “Uh… in a quick answer, yes.”

However, his elaboration inspires confidence that he does, indeed, have the freedom to make significant changes. “[It’s] Year 3 and 4 of pretty much all our defense being together. So we kind of understand the basic of our defense, and so now we’re trying to find every next step, every little inch, cheating one little gap to try to make us better to win that play,” he said.

“That’s where we’re at now. My biggest goal that the coaches gave me this year is just being more demonstrative in calling out what I see. The coaches are giving me a lot of confidence to do that.”

That was the context of his answer about having free rein. This shows maturity on Saleh’s and Ulbrich’s part in being able to trust their five-time second-team All-Pro veteran linebacker to set up the defense in the best position to succeed.

Furthermore, depending on when the coaches took the training wheels off Mosley (which is funny to even say), this may be one of the biggest reasons the Jets’ coverage has improved so vastly. Sure, bringing in Sauce Gardner and D.J. Reed will do that for a defense. Still, the team has dealt with consistently below-average safety play and still succeeded mightily as a unit.

One of the main assets of the Jets’ defense is their back-end communication. They don’t blow many coverages relative to other teams. Mosley’s captaincy may well promote this seamless performance.

Even though Mosley’s physical skills have declined from his peak, his football mind remains as sharp as ever. His discipline filters down to the rest of the defense, making the unit stronger as a whole. It’s encouraging to hear that Saleh and Ulbrich recognize this, possibly leading the defense to even greater heights in 2024.

When Salah allows Sauce to cover a teams best WR no matter which side he is lined up on then I will believe Salah believes.

[Barry McCockinner]

[Jet_Engine1]

CJ Mosely's best asset is his IQ (its not his speed lol) and ability to read and set the Defense.... and it's the one thing Saleh DIDN'T let him do?? 

 

WTF?

[Sperm Edwards]

23 hours ago, Prodigal Syndicate said:

Sperm:

 

Mosley sucks at any amount. The idiotic contract only made it 10x worse, but he should have been  benched long ago.

I’ll allow he’s probably a slightly better than average depth piece. Probably.

[ARodJetsFan]

58 minutes ago, Sperm Edwards said:

Mosley sucks at any amount. The idiotic contract only made it 10x worse, but he should have been  benched long ago.

I’ll allow he’s probably a slightly better than average depth piece. Probably.

Based on what?

Present facts to support these statements.

[Sperm Edwards]

1 hour ago, ARodJetsFan said:

Based on what?

Present facts to support these statements.

His poor play, he’s slow running, slow to react, takes bad angles, gets dragged past first down markers (if not the endzone), you can visibly see he dogs it a lot when they show replays, and more. I couldn’t be certain he’s even the Jets’ 3rd-best LB, but more likely than not he isn’t.

[ARodJetsFan]

7 minutes ago, Sperm Edwards said:

His poor play, he’s slow running, slow to react, takes bad angles, gets dragged past first down markers (if not the endzone), you can visibly see he dogs it a lot when they show replays, and more. I couldn’t be certain he’s even the Jets’ 3rd-best LB.

Those are your opinions, not facts.

Mosely's 2023 statistics:

Year Year	Team Team	COMB Tackles	AST Assisted tackles	Sack Sacks	INT Interceptions forced	YDS Yards gained by interceptions	TD Touchdowns scored via interceptions
2023		152	71	0.5	1	0	0

 

For a 32 year old LB'er that's respectable production.

Mosely's statistics certainly don't support your opinion.

[Sperm Edwards]

3 hours ago, ARodJetsFan said:

Those are your opinions, not facts.

Mosely's 2023 statistics:

Year Year	Team Team	COMB Tackles	AST Assisted tackles	Sack Sacks	INT Interceptions forced	YDS Yards gained by interceptions	TD Touchdowns scored via interceptions
2023		152	71	0.5	1	0	0

 

For a 32 year old LB'er that's respectable production.

Mosely's statistics certainly don't support your opinion.

Seeing him get dragged extra yards is most definitely not an opinion. Seeing him stop running in the middle of a play is not an opinion. These are “opinions” like  saying water is wet is an opinion.

These stats you listed prove nothing other than playing a lot of snaps at MLB. A tackle after the first down marker after he gets dragged or is late to the location is recorded the same as one where he’s instantly on the ball carrier and sticks him for a loss.

He's awful. They may as well have put Zach Wilson at MLB.

[Larz]

This guy sucks at football 

 

5× Second-team All-Pro (2014, 2016–2018, 2022)

5× Pro Bowl (2014, 2016–2018, 2022)

PFWA All-Rookie Team (2014)

2× BCS national champion (2011, 2012)

Butkus Award (2013)

Unanimous All-American (2013)

Consensus All-American (2012)

SEC Defensive Player of the Year(2013)

2× First-team All-SEC (2012, 2013)

 

It was a bummer when he got hurt after looking like he was going to have an MVP season after week 1 and super disappointing that he opted out during covid but I possess the ability to separate that when judging his ability and play. 
 

He’s not perfect. He can be exploited like Flacco / Njoku last year. 
 

His mental ability offsets this in my opinion. Pretty mind blowing that Saleh didn’t trust him to make calls but that’s our Bobby. 
 

Getting back to the topic, if Saleh lets him do his thing this defense can easily be top 3 and make a run for #1. 

[Sperm Edwards]

1 hour ago, Larz said:

This guy sucks at football 

Preach!

[ARodJetsFan]

1 hour ago, Larz said:

Yeah, this guy sucks at football 🙄

 

5× Second-team All-Pro (2014, 2016–2018, 2022)

5× Pro Bowl (2014, 2016–2018, 2022)

PFWA All-Rookie Team (2014)

2× BCS national champion (2011, 2012)

Butkus Award (2013)

Unanimous All-American (2013)

Consensus All-American (2012)

SEC Defensive Player of the Year(2013)

2× First-team All-SEC (2012, 2013)

 

It was a bummer when he got hurt after looking like he was going to have an MVP season after week 1 and super disappointing that he opted out during covid but I possess the ability to separate that when judging his ability and play. 
 

He’s not perfect. He can be exploited like Flacco / Njoku last year. 
 

His mental ability offsets this in my opinion. Pretty mind blowing that Saleh didn’t trust him to make calls but that’s our Bobby. 
 

Getting back to the topic, if Saleh lets him do his thing this defense can easily be top 3 and make a run for #1. 

I ammended this first line of this post, to make the actual intended message a little more apparent.

Other than that, I agree with this 100%

[CanadienJetsFan]

Maybe he could remind the defence not to make any stupid penalties?

[Larz]

 

@Sperm Edwards

I’ll save you a seat at the ceremony 

[Sperm Edwards]

1 hour ago, Larz said:

 

@Sperm Edwards

I’ll save you a seat at the ceremony 

He’s just being polite. Like people who claim Carlin’s material was actually funny. Meanwhile he’s already a better LB than Mosley. Probably so are you. 

[rangerous]

On 8/3/2024 at 11:46 PM, Sperm Edwards said:

Seeing him get dragged extra yards is most definitely not an opinion. Seeing him stop running in the middle of a play is not an opinion. These are “opinions” like  saying water is wet is an opinion.

These stats you listed prove nothing other than playing a lot of snaps at MLB. A tackle after the first down marker after he gets dragged or is late to the location is recorded the same as one where he’s instantly on the ball carrier and sticks him for a loss.

He's awful. They may as well have put Zach Wilson at MLB.

idk.  granted he's overpaid but he did have as many ints as sauce.

[Joe W. Namath]

A CJ Mosley bashing thread.  Truly pathetic.  

[Sperm Edwards]

19 minutes ago, rangerous said:

idk.  granted he's overpaid but he did have as many ints as sauce.

Yeah well you and I each had as many interceptions as Sauce last year, too. What of it?  

[Larz]

3 hours ago, Sperm Edwards said:

He’s just being polite. Like people who claim Carlin’s material was actually funny. Meanwhile he’s already a better LB than Mosley. Probably so are you. 

Carlin is a genius.  
 

 

[Larz]

 

[Sperm Edwards]

12 hours ago, Larz said:

Carlin is a genius.  
 

 

You actually so much as smiled  - let alone laughed - at any part of this supposedly best-of-level routine? Seriously??

There are any number of posters on this site who are far, far funnier -- which is to say they are actually funny. 

Also I made as many game-winning plays as CJ Mosley last season, and fewer game-losing plays the season before, all while drinking on my sofa.

[Jet Nut]

On 8/2/2024 at 5:01 PM, Beerfish said:

If you are an opposing team you attack mosley in coverage.

And no this team does not yet have an elite defense, very good, yes elite no.

Teams with elite D's make the playoffs.

Yeah, top 3 Ds aren’t whatever you feel like calling them, they don’t get teams into the playoffs with an average offense.  
The adage only works for other teams.  

The Jets D gave 19 points per game on average last season, 18 the season before.

Rodgers is 80-10 when his team gives up 20 or less.

[Sperm Edwards]

On 8/2/2024 at 5:01 PM, Beerfish said:

If you are an opposing team you attack mosley in coverage.

And no this team does not yet have an elite defense, very good, yes elite no.

Teams with elite D's make the playoffs.

The Rams had an elite defense last year? Eagles? Lions? Packers?

Teams without elite Ds make the playoffs, too, and a lot of good-enough defenses wouldn't look good enough if their team's offense was like the Jets' offense.

This was/is at least a playoffs-level defense. Their stats were also badly affected by the offense's ineptitude - particularly as the year wore on - that kept putting them back on the field after quick one-series possessions, on short fields, and they were still good enough on that side of the ball to reach the playoffs. Almost 20% of the 2023 Jets' touchdowns occurred with their offense on the sideline ffs, and they still won 7 games. 

[Larz]

Elite 

 

 

[ARodJetsFan]

6 hours ago, Larz said:

Elite 

 

 

Can't argue with Madden.

Case closed.