New York Jets Secondary Passes First Test Against Oakland Raiders

There is always a lot of uncertainty about how a team will look in the first game of the season, but when it comes to the New York Jets secondary, "uncertain" is putting their current state kindly. 

Starting two players who were either buried on the depth chart or playing other positions at the start of training camp, the maligned secondary for the Jets was up for the challenge in Week 1 against the Oakland Raiders. In their 19-14 win over Oakland, the Jets allowed just 151 yards through the air and limited Raiders' top wideout, Rod Streater, to just 46 yards.

While there was plenty of reason for Jets fans to be concerned about the state of the team's defensive backfield heading into 2014, they have just as much reason to be encouraged. Starters Darrin Walls and Antonio Allen are unproven—not incapable. 

Yes, playing against the likes of Derek Carr in his first regular season start is hardly resume-worthy, but the Jets proved, at least for one week, the secondary may not be in as much peril as was expected.

Player	Thrown At	Receptions	Yards	Quarterback Rating vs.
Darrin Walls	2	2	35	158.3
Antonio Allen	6	5	26	75.7
Kyle Wilson (slot)	2	1	3	56.3

The biggest play the Jets gave up came on a spectacular catch by James Jones late in the fourth quarter with Darrin Walls draped all over him. Outside of that play, the combination of Walls, Allen and even the maligned slot cornerback Kyle Wilson was about as good as it gets. 

The Jets also tackled as well as they covered—a statement that few predicted would be a compliment. Allen in particular was stellar in this area, preventing first downs by using his techniques from his days as a safety to limit potential big plays in the open field. 

Allen and Walls were not just effective because they were playing against a rookie quarterback. Neither of these players have given any indication that they are not up to the task of playing at a caliber expected from a starting NFL cornerback. However, they are viewed as inferior players by most simply because they were playing behind a pair of starters, Dee Milliner and Dimitri Patterson, who were hardly an impressive pair to begin with. 

In fact, in the short term, the Jets may be better off with the combination of Walls and Allen than the tandem they were expected to open the season with. 

In his first start ever at cornerback, Allen had a tremendous outing against A.J. Green in the second preseason game, giving up just one catch. Meanwhile, all Walls did was finish second in Pro Football Focus cornerback ratings—a year after leading the league in the same preseason rankings.

Tony Tribble/Associated Press

The Jets secondary thrived in Week 1—but the real tests are still yet to come.

For one, the competition from the opposing quarterbacks will take a dramatic jump in the coming weeks. On the menu are the likes of Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Philip Rivers, Matthew Stafford and Jay Cutler.

There are Harvard Law students with easier schedules than what the Jets have over the next two months.

Derek Carr was a nice warm-up game, but the Jets are kidding themselves if they believe they can maintain this quality of defense against such great offenses.

When the schedule does start to ease up, the tests for Rex Ryan's secondary does not stop. As the season wears on, players are inevitably going to succumb to injury and depth will be tested. Even when the Jets eventually get Milliner back from injury, there is little talent available on the other side of Walls (pun intended).

Should Walls or Allen go down, third-round bust Leon McFadden will be forced into a meaningful role, leaving them with journeyman backup Phillip Adams in the on-deck circle. As satisfying as it must have been for general manager John Idzik to sever ties with Patterson and his erratic behavior, the veteran did give the Jets another layer of depth that they will not be able to replace until next offseason. 

The teams that find ways to go on late postseason runs are both lucky and good. With its depth, the Jets secondary has to be extremely fortunate and stay injury free to endure an entire season.

The Jets can worry about their secondary when it inevitably becomes a bigger issue. For now, all Allen and Walls can do is take things one game at a time. As Walls told Newsday's Kimberly Martin, Sunday's game was satisfying but their work has just begun:

"

You can say we shut the critics up, but we've got to do that every week. This is just one game. We have to perform every week and show we're not the worst group in the world, as they make us out to be.

"

The Jets passed their first "test" against the Oakland Raiders with flying colors. If it can put forth that caliber of performance at Lambeau Field against the great Packers passing offense, this secondary could transition from being a weakness to its accustomed status as a strength of Ryan's defense. 

If this maligned position can find a way to come together and outperform all expectations, the Jets defense—and the team's season—has a chance to be truly special.

Advanced statistics provided by ProFootballFocus.com (subscription required).

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