Jets Big-Name Defensive Front Must Step Up Its Game

The New York Jets don't have much to hang their hat on, but their defensive line has been a sole beacon of light in an otherwise disastrous season—but it has not been quite good enough. 

Armed with three first-round picks and four former Pro Bowlers, the Jets have as much talent as any team in the league on the defensive front. Even those without decorated pasts have been dominant players, as nose tackle Damon Harrison was graded as the top run-stuffer at his position last year by Pro Football Focus.

The Jets defensive line was not just good last year—it was young with plenty of room to become one of the scariest groups in recent memory. Though its production in 2014 is difficult to criticize relative to other units in the league, New York's defensive front has yet to live up its full potential and, as a result, the Jets defense this year has fallen from last year's elite status. 

Individually, most of the members of this Karl Dunbar-coached group have performed up to standard. The "Big Three" along the line—Muhammad Wilkerson, Sheldon Richardson and Damon Harrison—have graded out well relative to past seasons:

Player	Position	PFF Rank (by position)	Sacks	Stops
Damon Harrison	DT	14	0	15
Muhammad Wilkerson	DE	2	4	24
Sheldon Richardson	DE	3	3	11

Yet, the Jets sit with a 1-6 record, sporting a run defense that has dropped seven spots since last season and a pass defense that is mercifully ranked 16th in the league. 

Players along the Jets defensive front are playing well, but nowhere near the level that would command the league's attention. Wilkerson is on pace for just over nine sacks this year, two lower than last season's total of 11. Richardson is set to finish with just under seven on the season. 

For most two-gapping defensive ends, these numbers are more than acceptable. For a Jets defense that had huge aspirations before the season, the level of dominance needed to mask the lesser areas of the defense (the secondary) has not been there. 

If the Jets' defensive line was as great as its preseason hype, the group would have stolen a couple of games on its own. Instead, the line has garnered a reputation for never coming through when needed most: The defense has yielded long, momentum-destroying drives at the most inopportune times.

After allowing three 90-yard drives in weeks prior, the Jets surrendered another two long, backbreaking drives in their Week 6 loss to the San Diego Chargers. That same afternoon, unheralded rookie Branden Oliver went off for 114 yards rushing. 

Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

Yes, it was hot in San Diego that afternoon. Yes, the offense could not stay on the field. These are excuses reserved for less-than-stellar defensive lines, not those who are chasing accolades such as "elite" and "dominant."

The Jets were always set up for failure because of their well-documented lack of depth in the secondary, but simply blaming the defensive backfield because of its lack of recognizable names would be shortsighted. 

While hardly a strength of the team, the Jets secondary has, for the most part, at least been serviceable. Pro Football Focus ranks the Jets pass coverage as the 24th best in football—not quite the "Legion of Boom" but a truly great defensive line should be able to work with such numbers. 

Meanwhile, PFF ranks New York's supposedly vaunted pass-rush 15th best. 

How is such a talented group of players not seeing the results in the box score? Frankly, a few members of the defensive front have underperformed to the point of flirting with the "b" word—bust. 

Former first-round pick Quinton Coples has no choice but to endure the bulk of the blame for the Jets front seven falling short this year. In his second season at outside linebacker, with no injuries to blame for his ineffectiveness, Coples has been less of a factor this year than ever before. 

Slowly but surely, Coples has all but been replaced by veteran Jason Babin, a late-summer addition who was supposed to be nothing more than a placeholder for fellow pass-rusher Antwan Barnes as he recovered from ACL surgery.

Part of the reason Babin was available in the first place was because of his questionable play against the run, but even he has done well enough to keep Coples, a former defensive tackle, on the bench. 

USA TODAY Sports

Babin has played better than expected against the run, but it is not has if he has played so well to make removing him from the lineup virtually impossible. A pass-rushing specialist, Babin has only two sacks on the season. 

Whenever a former top-20 selection is replaced by a player on pace for less than three sacks in a season, the "bust" label may be well deserved. 

Player	Snaps	Rank vs. Run	Sacks
Quinton Coples	308	28/48	1
Jason Babin	173	4/48	2

Babin is not going to get much better at age 34. To help the front seven reach its aspirations of greatness, the third-year Coples needs to play like a superstar, not like a rookie still trying to find his locker. 

One player, however, cannot be held solely at fault for the Jets' quietly underwhelming front seven performance. Rather, all of unit's players need to be clicking on all cylinders week in and week out. 

Instead, the Jets are getting virtually the same output from their defensive front as they got last year: flashes of potential but still mostly promise of what could be. 

The season may be over in terms of playoff hopes, but there is still time for this defensive line to assert its will against the rest of the league, especially if it wants to keep playing for the same coach next season. Percy Harvin might give the offense a much-needed shot in the arm, but defensively, things are as precarious as ever. 

As well as Darrin Walls and other New York reserve DBs have played in keeping the team's decimated secondary afloat, the leaks are starting to burst in the defensive backfield. Safety Antonio Allen and cornerback Phillip Adams, both seventh-round draft picks, were relieved of their starting duties last week. 

Against a lighter schedule for the rest of the season, the defensive front needs to dominate games as expected and help the team steal enough wins to save the career or its beloved head coach.

After all, if these young, hungry defensive linemen are not going to start taking over games now, when their team and coach are in a desperate situation, when will they?

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

Follow @Ryan_Alfieri