Defending Rodgers

[oldmanfan]

I think you’ll see Rapp as a 6th DB a lot of the game.

[Maynard]

Rodgers knows Hackett quite well, so it’s not really a new OC for him. The Jets O-line looks quite bad though, so it will be interesting to see how the old man handles that. 

[SCBills]

Hard to say, because I’m not sure what our defense is under McDermott..

 

I’m sure he had to be somewhat in lockstep with Frazier for the past few years, but McD’s defense as a coordinator were not at all like Frazier’s.  
 

Im not sure if we’ll blitz a ton - wouldn’t rule it out, but I think the pass rush will be more creative.. overloads, dropping DE’s and sending LB’s/DB’s etc.. At least, I hope that’s the case.  
 

One thing is for sure, this matchup is incredibly intriguing because our defense has been elite against mediocre/bad QB’s and Lamar Jackson, but has been exposed in big moments by the top QB’s.  
 

I thought they were good against Mahomes last year, but they also had Von for that game… and he clearly made a difference. 
 

Im sure McDermott is going to want to make a statement in his first game as HC/DC.   

[Utah John]

This is all going to come down to which O line is less bad against the opponent's strong D line.  I think our O line is somewhat better than the Jets' but the Jets D line is better than ours.  Rodgers is mobile in avoiding the pass rush, and he's been a good runner in the past, but I don't think that's his game anymore.  Josh will be Josh, hard to contain and a dangerous running threat.  Overall I think we have the edge but it's going to be close.

25 minutes ago, oldmanfan said:

I think you’ll see Rapp as a 6th DB a lot of the game.

Could be the Bills best D is a strong D line, 6 DBs with Rapp playing the large safety usually close to the LOS, and 1 LB (Milano).  This puts the green dot on someone's helmet who's not used to having it.  But still against a weak O line the Bills strengths are anywhere except MLB.

[SCBills]

9 minutes ago, Utah John said:

This is all going to come down to which O line is less bad against the opponent's strong D line.  I think our O line is somewhat better than the Jets' but the Jets D line is better than ours.  Rodgers is mobile in avoiding the pass rush, and he's been a good runner in the past, but I don't think that's his game anymore.  Josh will be Josh, hard to contain and a dangerous running threat.  Overall I think we have the edge but it's going to be close.

Could be the Bills best D is a strong D line, 6 DBs with Rapp playing the large safety usually close to the LOS, and 1 LB (Milano).  This puts the green dot on someone's helmet who's not used to having it.  But still against a weak O line the Bills strengths are anywhere except MLB.

This is a great point and without Von, I agree completely.

 

The Jets DL, on paper, is better than our DL.  However, our OL should be better than theirs. 
 

I think we’re going to lean on the completeness of our DL in hoping our DT’s can push back their interior, while we play games with the EDGE rushers as Floyd, Rousseau and Epenesa are all extremely long and athletic and can drop if we send a CB or LB in their place. 
 

 I’m optimistic that our IOL can hold up against Q and company, but I really need to see Dawkins and Brown show out against their speed off the edge.  Expect to see Knox paired up on the end of the line quite a bit to help out in pass pro before releasing into routes. 

[hondo in seattle]

46 minutes ago, SCBills said:

Hard to say, because I’m not sure what our defense is under McDermott..

 

I’m sure he had to be somewhat in lockstep with Frazier for the past few years, but McD’s defense as a coordinator were not at all like Frazier’s.  
 

Im not sure if we’ll blitz a ton - wouldn’t rule it out, but I think the pass rush will be more creative.. overloads, dropping DE’s and sending LB’s/DB’s etc.. At least, I hope that’s the case.  
 

One thing is for sure, this matchup is incredibly intriguing because our defense has been elite against mediocre/bad QB’s and Lamar Jackson, but has been exposed in big moments by the top QB’s.  
 

I thought they were good against Mahomes last year, but they also had Von for that game… and he clearly made a difference. 
 

Im sure McDermott is going to want to make a statement in his first game as HC/DC.   

 

Your game plan makes sense as an approach for the season, but I'm dialed in on the opening game.  

 

Coaches preach to their players, "one game at a time."   But sometimes guys like Andy Reid try to put things on film so future opponents have to worry about them.  Like chess grandmasters, the best coaches are thinking several moves ahead.

 

I think it makes sense to stress-test the Jets OL because I think they'll fail.  But, also, it'll be advantageous to put an aggressive D on tape.  McD is not known as a heavy or creative blitzer.  So we go heavy and get creative in Game One and win.  That'll give future opponents more to think about and prepare for.  

[Alphadawg7]

8 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

Don't blitz Aaron. Every time we have one of these threads on almost any QB the answer from fans is "BLITZ."

 

Play our defense. Be disciplined in our rush lanes, control our gaps. Don't let the Jets establish a ground game, put it all on Aaron, shade coverage towards Garrett Wilson and let him throw 5 yards to Randall Cobb in the slot as much as he likes. 

 

Thats the thing though, what does "Play our defense" mean this year?  We likely won't be playing the same defense as last year, throughout camp all the reports have been about how much more aggressive the defense is.  So while I also expect us to "play our defense", I don't expect that to be the entirely same defense and style as the past few seasons under Frazier either.  I think "our defense" is going to feature more aggression upfront, especially with the secondary healthy again buying those boys more time.  

 

Doesn't mean I think he is going to go all blitz happy either, just that I expect on the season as a whole to see McD look to get more pressure on the QB.  

[CSBill]

Answer = How did we beat him last year when he had a better O-line? That’s your  plan.

 

if I recall correctly, GB mysteriously kept running the ball. Why? To keep the Bills offense off the field. As has been pointed out in this thread, the best defensive is a great offense. Yes, I know the Jets gave us two fits last year. But I still think this team is capable of 25+ points, even against a good defense. 
 

I’m not convinced A Rod and his left-over GB gang, can match that. 

[SCBills]

26 minutes ago, CSBill said:

Answer = How did we beat him last year when he had a better O-line? That’s your  plan.

 

if I recall correctly, GB mysteriously kept running the ball. Why? To keep the Bills offense off the field. As has been pointed out in this thread, the best defensive is a great offense. Yes, I know the Jets gave us two fits last year. But I still think this team is capable of 25+ points, even against a good defense. 
 

I’m not convinced A Rod and his left-over GB gang, can match that. 

I think people are operating under the assumption that 1) Rodgers may have been injured last year 2) Wilson and co. are better weapons than he had in GB and 3) Jets likely aren’t worried about our Offense being on the field based on past success. 
 

It certainly should be noted that his OL in Green Bay is likely better than what the Jets are protecting him with. 
 

Interesting thought experiment though.  Everyone seems to just think the Jets of ‘23 will be the Jets of ‘22 but with Rodgers at QB.. which is certainly a formidable team.  Every year is different though… 

[GunnerBill]

45 minutes ago, Alphadawg7 said:

 

Thats the thing though, what does "Play our defense" mean this year?  We likely won't be playing the same defense as last year, throughout camp all the reports have been about how much more aggressive the defense is.  So while I also expect us to "play our defense", I don't expect that to be the entirely same defense and style as the past few seasons under Frazier either.  I think "our defense" is going to feature more aggression upfront, especially with the secondary healthy again buying those boys more time.  

 

Doesn't mean I think he is going to go all blitz happy either, just that I expect on the season as a whole to see McD look to get more pressure on the QB.  

 

I think they will play a little bit more downhill (especially the linebackers who I think are gonna play vertically more and horizontally less) but I think our defense will be extremely similar to what has come before. It will be about discipline and control first before it is about aggression.

[78thealltimegreat]

15 hours ago, hondo in seattle said:

How do you guys think we'll defend the Jets on Monday night?

 

Our defense is different in a few ways from last year.  The most obvious and meaningful are a new DC calling plays and a new MLB.  But there are some other interesting differences, too, like having Rapp on the roster and creating intriguing options (Big Nickel, anyone?).   And Leonard Floyd spicing up the pass rush (though, disappointingly, Von will be out).  

 

I don't follow the Jets closely but I do know what Rodgers brings.  Besides his arm talent, he reads defenses and moves around the pocket well.   Teams only blitzed him 21% of the time last year (7th lowest rate in the league) because historically he's been effective against the blitz.

 

But Rodgers is in a new city, with a new OC, surrounded by new players, protected by a subpar OL, and using a playbook that he can't possibly have mastered yet as thoroughly as he did the one in Green Bay.    Should we put Rodgers under siege with a non-Bills-like and unexpected heavy blitz package?   At his age, and at this point in his Jets career, can Rodgers respond as effectively to the blitz as he has in the past?  

 

If you don't like the blitz idea, what would you do?  

Rogers running his old Packers offense you must always chip the TE and shutdown the run. If you do those two things he can’t get away with things he did before and will often times get frustrated and start forcing balls to his number 1 receiver.

Also he lives by the taking a deep shot every quarter philosophy that even if he overthrows a guy it’s to make the safeties think that might be coming again 

Edited September 3, 2023 by 78thealltimegreat

[Alphadawg7]

31 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

I think they will play a little bit more downhill (especially the linebackers who I think are gonna play vertically more and horizontally less) but I think our defense will be extremely similar to what has come before. It will be about discipline and control first before it is about aggression.

 

I can see that, just more going off the camp reports that consistently talk about the hieghtened aggression under McD and what we saw from him when he has taken the play calling duties over from Frazier earlier on.  

 

It is honestly one of the most things I am excited to see come week 1, how the defense looks and differs from the past few years.  Very curious and optimistic 

[akcash]

Do whatever it takes to shut down the run. They pop a few big ones on us it will be a long night. 

 

Take away one threat.

 

Let the chips fall where they may against the pass. We're a good defense. We will win some and lose some. But we'll lose alot more if they get the running game going. I would just play conservative against Rodgers. Don't let anybody get over top of you. Limit big plays and have our offense limit turnovers. Its gonna be a tough game. We need to just play a clean game. If we get this one without Von its huge for our season.

[akcash]

6 minutes ago, akcash said:

Do whatever it takes to shut down the run. They pop a few big ones on us it will be a long night. 

 

Take away one threat.

 

Let the chips fall where they may against the pass. We're a good defense. We will win some and lose some. But we'll lose alot more if they get the running game going. I would just play conservative against Rodgers. Don't let anybody get over top of you. Limit big plays and have our offense limit turnovers. Its gonna be a tough game. We need to just play a clean game. If we get this one without Von its huge for our season.

With all that said I kind of like that rush 3 package to try to knock Rodgers out of the pocket and have Milano half spy and chase.

[akcash]

I feel like if our OTs and Gabe Davis can have really good games that's a recipe to win this game. I feel like our interior matches up decent against their DTs.

 

I feel like if Brown can have a career game that's really big towards a W.

One underrated matchup is Quinton Jeffersons experience vs Torrence's inexperience. Which will win... savy vs youth and athleticism? That's a big key.

 

Quinten William's will get his against Edward's or whoever. I feel alot better if McGovern is ready to go... but hes a little tender right now. 

[akcash]

Dawkins needs to have a solid game.

[BuffaloBillyG]

Honestly, I would like Elam on Wilson to press him a bit and take him off his route. Make Aaron take that extra split second so our pressure can get there. 

[akcash]

1 minute ago, BuffaloBillyG said:

Honestly, I would like Elam on Wilson to press him a bit and take him off his route. Make Aaron take that extra split second so our pressure can get there. 

That'd be really interesting if Elam could hold up doing that. I don't know enough about Wilson and his separating skills if that would affect him (effectively). He can separate on Sauce so in guessing Elam would wiff or hold on too long for it to be effective but it's an interesting thought.

[benderbender]

13 minutes ago, BuffaloBillyG said:

Honestly, I would like Elam on Wilson to press him a bit and take him off his route. Make Aaron take that extra split second so our pressure can get there. 

Yeah but he wouldn't get the Sauce Gardner rules where you can grab every play for the entire route without flags

[Giuseppe Tognarelli]

I think the Jets offense is not going to be great this year.

 

They are VERY thin at receiver.

 

Their offensive line doesn't seem to be good.

 

Rodgers is old. He's going to take more sacks and miss more throws than he used to.

[BuffaloBillyG]

59 minutes ago, akcash said:

That'd be really interesting if Elam could hold up doing that. I don't know enough about Wilson and his separating skills if that would affect him (effectively). He can separate on Sauce so in guessing Elam would wiff or hold on too long for it to be effective but it's an interesting thought.

Elam is very good at pressing a WR off the line. Did very well on Tyreek last year doing the same. I believe it's actually his greatest strength.

49 minutes ago, benderbender said:

Yeah but he wouldn't get the Sauce Gardner rules where you can grab every play for the entire route without flags

Doesn't need to. Jam at the line. Legal. Throws the timing off and may knock him a fet feet away from his route.