Detroit Lions vs. New York Jets: Breaking Down New York's Game Plan
Staring at a 1-2 record on the heels of a loss to the Chicago Bears on Monday night, the New York Jets find themselves in desperate need of a win to pull back to the .500 mark. Their task gets no easier this week as they take on the Detroit Lions fresh off a convincing win over the Green Bay Packers.
The Lions have developed a brand as a high-flying offensive team under Matthew Stafford's watch, but the 2014 Lions have been winning with defense more than anything else. Currently No. 1 in total defense, the Lions allowed just one touchdown to Aaron Rodgers and the Packers—leaving us to only imagine to what they can do to the much-less prolific Jets offense.
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However, as much as their defense has improved, Stafford and the usually productive offense has been less than impressive, averaging just over 20 points per game.
Going against a stout defensive squad is not exactly the formula for getting an inconsistent offense back on track, but the Jets certainly have a chance to come away on top in this game if they use the favorable matchups they have to their advantage.
Attack the Slot
With players like Darius Slay developing into stars alongside the additions of Glover Quin at safety, the Lions' secondary has come a long way over the past few seasons, leaving the Jets with few matchup advantages.
However, there is at least one glaring Achilles' heel in Detroit's secondary: the slot. Anticipated starter Bill Bentley was lost for the season with an ACL injury. His replacement, Nevin Lawson, dislocated his foot a week later. The Lions responded to his sudden lack of depth by adding journeyman Danny Gorrer.
Gorrer was adequate in his first start with the Lions. According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), he allowed three receptions on five targets, equating to an 82.1 quarterback rating.
While Gorrer has been a solid find for the Lions so far, the Jets have no choice but to continue to test him with the star of Monday night's game, Jeremy Kerley.
While he has great speed (4.4 40-yard dash) Gorrer struggles in particular is at the top of routes, anticipating where a receiver is going to go. Here, he lets Randall Cobb get away from him easily on a crucial third-down conversion:
This weakness plays right into Kerley's hands, who wins most of his battles with lateral quickness instead of straight-line speed. Lining up Kerley on the interior to give him as many one-on-one matchups with Gorrer will be key to getting him involved, especially if Eric Decker sits out another game.
Balancing Coverage for Calvin Johnson
Every week, some poor defensive coordinator is tasked with trying to cover Megatron—but so few are able to devise an executable plan that can slow down this superhuman receiver.
With a ragtag group of defensive backs, the Jets seem ripe to be exposed by the best receiver in the game, but there is a way Rex Ryan can properly balance giving help to Johnson without exposing himself to the rest of the Lions offense.
First, Ryan must assign Antonio Allen to cover Johnson the majority of the time. The converted safety has experience handling the likes of Jimmy Graham and Rob Gronkowski—not totally unlike the power Johnson possesses.
Allen may be the strongest of the Jets' corners, but leaving him on an island with Johnson is a touchdown waiting to happen. At almost all times, Allen must be given safety help.
Ryan may use more safeties in coverage than his usually aggressive ways would normally allow, but sitting in Cover 2 all game would expose his defense to other aspects of the Lions' offense. Throwing in a balanced mix of blitzes and Cover 1 looks will keep the Jets from being too predictable and easy to plan for.
When the Jets play with just one safety over the top (that will almost certainly lean toward assisting in covering Johnson), Ryan should feel confident in his matchup between Darrin Walls and Golden Tate. While he lacks ideal ball skills, Walls has shown the ability to cover well. He allowed just two receptions against the Chicago Bears on Monday night, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
Other teams have seen some success using more aggressive looks against the Lions this season. In this Week 2 play that results in a sack, the Carolina Panthers are in a Cover 1 look, blitzing the rest of their players.
Ryan may have alluded that his defense will be in a reactionary mode against such a great receiver, but Ryan knows that there will be times where he will have to roll the dice and send extra pressure to prevent his defense from being too predictable.
Give Brian Winters Help
Whether Eric Decker plays or not, the Jets are not going to fix their inconsistent passing game until they give Geno Smith enough protection to go through his progressions.
By far, the weakest link in the Jets' offensive line is left guard Brian Winters, as his struggles from his rookie season have carried over into his sophomore campaign. A powerful run-blocker, Winters has been abysmal at times, getting beat handily at some point in each game.
| 1 | Oakland Raiders | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2 | Green Bay Packers | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | Chicago Bears | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Until he proves he can hold his own, the Jets need to give Winters consistent help in protection, especially as he faces a heavy dose of Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley this week. According to Pro Football Focus, Suh already has two sacks and eight hurries on the season—odds are his production will only increase against the struggling Winters.
The Jets can counter this by giving Winters help from center Nick Mangold, just as they do on this long reception to Chris Ivory.
Mangold slides over to help double-team the defensive tackle, resulting in a clean pocket for Smith. Smith takes several seconds to go though all of his progressions before settling on his check down. Ivory has a ton of space to work with (partly because the defensive backs have been running down the field for so long), resulting in a big gain.
Had the Jets left Winters on his own, Smith would have never had a chance to take as long as he did to find Ivory at the end of the play.
The Lions will not be an easy matchup for the Jets simply because they have many strengths that can exploit the weaknesses in the Jets' roster. However, if the Jets prepare well and follow a plan that minimizes the weaknesses they have on their own roster, they stand a good chance to get a much-needed win and draw back to within striking distance in the division.
Advanced statistics provided by ProFootballFocus.com (subscription required).
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