For New York Jets, success starts and ends with their best unit

The 2014 New York Jets are noticeably improved, on paper, off a very average 8-8 campaign. Quarterback Geno Smith has new weapons on offense and the young defense continues to grow and get better together. But the boisterous roster is not without vulnerabilities.

On the offense, the team’s wide receiver group is improved with Eric Decker’s addition, but that may not be enough given the unproven talent that accompanies him at his position. The offensive line collectively continues to age, while the youth in the likes of guard Brian Winters has not inspired optimism. Of course, there’s the near-always spotlight on Gang Green’s quarterback, on whom much of the team’s wins and losses may hinge.

However, it is a militia on defense that should be the team’s determining factor, as Rex Ryan has seemingly intended. The team’s fearsome defensive line is almost without flaw. It’s what a GM would hope for, given the first-round value invested in headliners Muhammad Wilkerson and Sheldon Richardson.

I’d be remiss to not recognize an UDFA in Damon ‘Snacks’ Harrison who worked his way up to one of the best nose tackles in the league in 2013. This brigade garnered league-wide recognition last season, with both Wilkerson and Richardson earning spots on NFL Network’s Top-100 Players of 2014; Richardson also earned Defensive Rookie of the Year honours.

The team’s success beginning with the defensive line is almost a given. How is it then that this group could be responsible for the team’s success ending, given its wealth of talent?

Simply enough, the defensive line has the mission to compensate – possibly beyond their capabilities – for a frightening secondary behind them.

As reported Sunday, the Jets’ top trio of cornerbacks are all currently injured. Third-rounder Dexter McDougle is out for the season with an ACL tear; Dee Milliner is out for a few weeks with a high ankle sprain; Dimitri Patterson has multiple nagging leg injuries which have limited him throughout camp.

But even when healthy, they have collectively failed to inspire confidence for week one and beyond. Milliner may have had some bright spots, but this setback is a tough pill to swallow as the lack of depth from top-to-bottom at the position is well-documented.

If (or when) the corners struggle to play the press-man schemes without the backend help that Rex Ryan has earned his acclaim for, the onus will be on the defensive line to create enough pressure on the opposing QB to force mistakes. While impressive, the line was not at a high enough level in 2013 to compensate for the kind of pressure they will be put under in 2014.

In terms of run-stopping, Wilkerson and Company deserve a medal, allowing just 88.2 yards on the ground a game (3rd in NFL). However, it was and is their pass-rush that sees room for continued improvement. They finished tied for 13th in sacks (41), 19 less than the league-leading Carolina Panthers. It is that differential that keeps Rex Ryan awake at night, in his quest to be better than an average of the best sacking and worst sacking teams in the league (45.5).

How do they add to the pass-rush, without sacrificing the success they’ve had against the run? Once again we look to the Carolina Panthers, who also finished second in the league in rushing yards allowed per game (86.9).

Would I trade the Jets defensive line for the Panthers’? Nope.

I firmly believe Gang Green’s potential is to be the best in every category available, based on what has been put on tape in such an early juncture in their careers together. What makes the Panthers front men so successful goes beyond talent. It is their commodore.

What Ron Rivera did in North Carolina was to successfully piece together men that complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses, as Rex Ryan has done with the Jets. Ryan, however, may have the advantage in terms of character, as talented Panthers DE Greg Hardy is embattled in a domestic violence case.

What the Panthers do have that the Jets do not, is an even better linebacking core. With quickly accelerating players like LB Luke Kuechly, Carolina’s line can just as easily open holes for their linebacking teammates to finish off.

The Jets have “the most underrated player in the NFL,” per Rex Ryan, in LB David Harris, and a third-year man in LB Demario Davis who has showed increased promise in the offseason. On the outside, converted defensive end Quinton Coples hopes to prove a second year at OLB will equal production. Calvin Pace is the veteran of the group, following a career-best 10-sack season.

Perhaps the most optimism can come from another veteran, Jason Babin, who is three years removed from an 18-sack season with the Eagles. The hope is to allow him to focus on pass-rushing in designated situations, capitalizing on the potential left in his 34-year-old tank.

If the linebacking group improves as a whole, the defensive line may have less responsibility on their plate, but they’ll remain the deciding factor in terms of opposing points on the board.

The offense, regardless of the level of improvement, will continue to rely on low-scoring games to pull off late-quarter victories. That means maintaining a bend-not-break approach on defense, allowing a few big plays in risk-reward sacking scenarios, while holding firm for field goals in the red zone.

It is only then that the Jets can hope to return to the postseason after three disappointing seasons.