Sutton and the defense

[Flash73]

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=AvS8CwXrYUzuZ1A3iIpvMA05nYcB?slug=ap-jets-suttonsdefense&prov=ap&type=lgns

Jets' Sutton working to find answers with struggling defense

By DENNIS WASZAK Jr., AP Sports Writer

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (AP) -- Bob Sutton has developed a thick skin during his coaching career.

It's a good thing, too, because many fans and the media have been on his case for most of his two seasons as the New York Jets' defensive coordinator.

"Coaches are no different than players," Sutton said Friday. "You put a lot of time and effort in and you want to win. If you don't get the result you want, it's disappointing, but at the same time, if you believe in the pillars and things that you really believe in, those are the things I think that have to stay constant."

Sutton and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer meet with the media on alternating Fridays, and both have come under fire for their units underperforming and having mental lapses. With a 1-5 start, there's been plenty to find fault with.

"Like I tell the players all the time, there are no quantum leaps in this deal," Sutton said. "It's inches. It's me as an individual coach improving 1 percent. It's a DB improving 1 percent."

Sutton, 56, speaks in calm tones as he peers over his glasses with his steely, blue eyes. His white hair and friendly smile give him a calming, grandfatherly appearance. He likes to talk at length about defense and his philosophies, and has a successful football resume to back it up.

Sutton has been a coach since 1972, when he was a graduate assistant at Michigan under Bo Schembechler, and made various stops at the college level before he became the defensive coordinator at Army and then the head coach from 1991-99. He joined the Jets as the linebackers coach in 2000 and was promoted to defensive coordinator by Eric Mangini before last season.

Mangini installed a 3-4 base defense that he brought with him from New England, and Sutton had to adjust.

"It wasn't hard because I've been in 3-4 systems before," Sutton said. "I was here in 2000 and basically doing the same system and in college, and that was kind of my background, so that part hasn't changed."

The biggest effect the change had was on the players. Sutton and Mangini were highly criticized for using the 3-4 with the Jets' personnel, which many so-called football experts deemed not suitable for that type of scheme.

"The most difficult thing is to invest and not get the returns you'd like," Sutton said.

Players like Jonathan Vilma and Eric Barton struggled to feel comfortable in the system, but the Jets buckled down in the second half of last season and were one of the league's stingiest defenses.

Poor play has seeped back in, though. The Jets are ranked 28th in overall defense -- 27th against the pass and 23rd against the rush.

"I was just talking upstairs with Vilma and Kerry (Rhodes) about this," Sutton said. "You'd like to just turn a button and it's all fixed. That just isn't how it works."

Especially when poor tackling has been one of the prime culprits. Last week, Philadelphia's Kevin Curtis avoided two tackle attempts and turned a short pass into a 75-yard touchdown. The play was the difference in the Jets' 16-9 loss.

"You have to tackle," Sutton said. "You're not going to be good on defense if you don't tackle well."

So, Mangini and Sutton reverted to some training camp tackling drills the past two weeks. The Jets also need more pressure on the quarterback. They had three sacks against Philadelphia last Sunday, doubling their total from the first five games combined.

"My emphasis is always stay the course, keep doing the things that you know are going to give us an opportunity to win," Sutton said. "And if we do that, as hard as it seems ... that is how you're going to win."

Some have wondered if Mangini, a former defensive coordinator himself, would become more of a factor in the defensive game planning because of the unit's struggles.

"For me, it's a great sounding board," Sutton said, adding that Mangini hasn't altered his input. "He understands our issues that we're trying to do. It's a great in-house resource for me and, obviously, he's the head coach. If he wants to do something, we're going to do it."

The Jets clearly need to get better on defense in a hurry if they expect to compete for a playoff spot.

"You've got to improve the little things because there's not a lot of difference between winning and losing in this league," Sutton said. "That's what you can't lose track of when you're not being successful."

[JetCane]

"My emphasis is always stay the course, keep doing the things that you know are going to give us an opportunity to win," Sutton said. "And if we do that, as hard as it seems ... that is how you're going to win."

Consissency agin?

"For me, it's a great sounding board," Sutton said, adding that Mangini hasn't altered his input. "He understands our issues that we're trying to do. It's a great in-house resource for me and, obviously, he's the head coach. If he wants to do something, we're going to do it."

He's done a crappy job calling the plays and picking the wrong spots to go to back and forth from 3-4 to 4-3. That is on him. Looks to me like his bathwater will be thrown out at the end of the year.

The Jets clearly need to get better on defense in a hurry if they expect to compete for a playoff spot.

PLAYOFFS? PLAYOFFS?

[lancemehl]

He's blaming the tackling?? hahahaha

One of the worst things we, as jet fans will watch is Vilma go to another team and be a perrenial pro-bowler. That's going to make me sick.

I think this coaching staff may finally be the straw.This is disgusting.

Isiah,Torre and these clowns. WOW.

[Irish Jet]

He's blaming the tackling?? hahahaha

One of the worst things we, as jet fans will watch is Vilma go to another team and be a perrenial pro-bowler. That's going to make me sick.

I think this coaching staff may finally be the straw.This is disgusting.

Isiah,Torre and these clowns. WOW.

Hahahaha????

Did you watch Vilma bounce off of Brian Westbrook this week like he'd jsut been hit by a bus!!!!!

[JetCane]

Hahahaha????

Did you watch Vilma bounce off of Brian Westbrook this week like he'd jsut been hit by a bus!!!!!

Did you watch harris get buried on the play, and Vilma come across the field to knock Westbrook out of bounds?

Sure, he got the worst of that collision, but he succeeded in knocking the guy OOB, AFTER the highly acclaimed and overrated rookie got blown up on the play.

[Irish Jet]

Did you watch harris get buried on the play, and Vilma come across the field to knock Westbrook out of bounds?

Sure, he got the worst of that collision, but he succeeded in knocking the guy OOB, AFTER the highly acclaimed and overrated rookie got blown up on the play.

I wouldnt call Harris overated yet. hes a lot younger than Vilma, Vilmas tackling style and awareness should be much higher than Harris' at this point. Im not complaining about Vilma really and I never even mentioned Harris. im just saying, I saw him bounce off Brian Westbrook (203 pounds I believe) like as though it was Jerome Bettis he was hitting.

Personally I think Vilma is overated, I have watched 4 seasons of him and I never ever really thought he was as good as people make out, to call Harris overated at this stage in his career is ridiculous.

[JetCane]

Maybe you should watch more than the ball during the plays.

I usually watch the Jets, whether they are on offense or defense, so i try to see who is in, and how they are reacting to the play. Sorry to tell you that harris has been blown up on a number of plays, and has blown coverages while he is in.

Tomorrow, try to watch the LBs more on every play and see things from a different perspective.

Harris was buried on that play and Vilma came from across the field to make the play. Sure, he got knocked down which mean he doesnt get style points, but he made the play by covering the other guys' zone, but no one sees that.

They just see him get knocked down and think they saw the whole play.

[genom]

Sutton will be gone at the end of the year, but who steps up. Promotion from within or someone from outside? I really can't see anyone on our coaching staff currently taking over for Sutton.

[Irish Jet]

Maybe you should watch more than the ball during the plays.

I usually watch the Jets, whether they are on offense or defense, so i try to see who is in, and how they are reacting to the play. Sorry to tell you that harris has been blown up on a number of plays, and has blown coverages while he is in.

Tomorrow, try to watch the LBs more on every play and see things from a different perspective.

Harris was buried on that play and Vilma came from across the field to make the play. Sure, he got knocked down which mean he doesnt get style points, but he made the play by covering the other guys' zone, but no one sees that.

They just see him get knocked down and think they saw the whole play.

Your kidding right????

Vilma gets blown out of more plays than any LB Ive ever seen. He cant shed O-lineman, he just cant do it.

[JetCane]

Your kidding right????

Vilma gets blown out of more plays than any LB Ive ever seen. He cant shed O-lineman, he just cant do it.

Vilma needed to put 10 pounds on during the off-season, and he didnt do that.

But when the OL are routinely getting to the second level because of an inept DL, it doesnt help the LBs.

[Irish Jet]

Vilma needed to put 10 pounds on during the off-season, and he didnt do that.

But when the OL are routinely getting to the second level because of an inept DL, it doesnt help the LBs.

I agree, tahts why Ive always said he could be a "decent" LB with a Big NT, but right now he cant do anything. His best year came with J.Ferguson in front of him, he made it much much easier for him.

Im pretty sure vs Miami I saw Harris shed a guards block twice, I have never seen Vilma shed a gaurds block. Once they get their hands on him, he's out of the play, unless it goes for a 10 yrd gain.

A 3-4 LB should be able to take on O-lineman, otherwise he cant play in it IMO. Unless he has a superb 3-4 NT in front of him. D-Rob is far from that.

[JetCane]

I agree, tahts why Ive always said he could be a "decent" LB with a Big NT, but right now he cant do anything. His best year came with J.Ferguson in front of him, he made it much much easier for him.

Im pretty sure vs Miami I saw Harris shed a guards block twice, I have never seen Vilma shed a gaurds block. Once they get their hands on him, he's out of the play, unless it goes for a 10 yrd gain.

A 3-4 LB should be able to take on O-lineman, otherwise he cant play in it IMO. Unless he has a superb 3-4 NT in front of him. D-Rob is far from that.

In a 4-3, guards should not routinely be getting to the next level.

Vilma has always been more of a speed/finesses LB, which has been completely neutralized by playing in a 3-4 with a little schmoe for a NT.

Chalk it up to another mangini clusterfvck.

I hope they do trade him to a 4-3 team and he tears it up, especially when he plays against the jets.

[Irish Jet]

In a 4-3, guards should not routinely be getting to the next level.

Vilma has always been more of a speed/finesses LB, which has been completely neutralized by playing in a 3-4 with a little schmoe for a NT.

Chalk it up to another mangini clusterfvck.

I hope they do trade him to a 4-3 team and he tears it up, especially when he plays against the jets.

:Ban:

[JetCane]

I didnt say I wanted the Jets to lose- just that I want to see Vilma tear them a new A-hole to shut up all the bigmouths who think he's no good.

Go ahead and ban me- I'll find other things to do with my time.

[Lil Bit Special]

I didnt say I wanted the Jets to lose- just that I want to see Vilma tear them a new A-hole to shut up all the bigmouths who think he's no good.

Go ahead and ban me- I'll find other things to do with my time.

I just dont get this hard-on you have for Vilma. Care to explain???

I dont care how much I love a player, I would NEVER root for them to get traded and "tear it up" against the Jets.