Not up to par, not up to standard, doesn't fit with the team's personality.
Two days after the Jets' thumping 32-19 win over the 49ers, head coach Jermaine Johnson used that word to describe the Jets' defensive performance in Week 1, adding the word “embarrassing” for good measure.
“That was not our standard. Obviously it's embarrassing, but that's the way things are. That's the reality,” Johnson said. “Now, how are you going to take this?”
To him, at least, the answer was completely unsatisfactory.
Sure, it's only a week and it's a road game against a very strong 49ers team, so no one is panicking, but the Jets understand that wasting eight consecutive scoring drives is not the way to start the season.
In fact, given the Jets' defensive track record and the 49ers being without Christian McCaffrey, it was pretty shocking that San Francisco rushed 38 times for 180 yards.
“As a team, we have to make sure we get up the field on third down,” Johnson said. “In the run game, we have to set an edge on not only their defensive line, but the second and third level as well. It was pretty easy to understand.” [the 49ers’] Their goal was to play us with a numbers advantage, especially in the run game, to make us run left and right, and they did a good job of that.
“With that in mind, as a defense we need to set the edge, give the stop sign and get the ball back to the rest of the defense. I felt like we didn't do a good job of that as a team. For me personally, they had some very creative ways to get on the edge and I definitely should have stopped them. Looking at the film, there are definitely some things we can fix.”
The Niners may have employed creative solutions to open holes for Jordan Mason in the run game, but Johnson noted that other teams will likely use the same tactics now that they're caught on video until the Jets prove they can stop it.
“It was a little surprising because we pride ourselves on discipline and workmanship,” coach Robert Saleh said. “It felt like we were a little off-kilter in that regard. I won't go into specific details, but [we’ll] We have to fix that. At the same time, know that we can do more. It's not a physical issue, it's just that the players are trying to do a little too much.”
Visiting the Titans this week is a much easier challenge than playing San Francisco.
Tennessee looked good in last week's loss to the Bears, rushing 26 times for 140 yards, but Will Revis looked like he still had a long way to go, finishing with just 127 passing yards and two interceptions.
If the Jets don't play well this week, it'll be a lot harder to ignore.
“How they broke those runs, it was all [the 49ers]”They have very talented players on the offensive end. It's all about strategy and technique. It's not a lack of talent. That's why I'm confident,” Johnson said. “The personality of the guys in the locker room, my own personality, I can watch the film. I know what we can fix, what improvements we need to make to get it done.”
Johnson has been at the forefront of helping the Jets improve since earning his first Pro Bowl selection last season.
“It's something that I take very seriously and the first thing I said was [to the team]”I stood up and said, 'I'm sorry. I let everybody down. On my part, the edge wasn't what it should have been,'” Johnson said. “All I can do is give it a thumbs up, watch the film and see how I can fix it. That's what I'm doing and I'm sure everybody in this locker room is doing too.”
