Do the have the best defense in football?That's the question observers are asking after watching coach Todd Bowles' squad suffocate opponents through the first few weeks of the 2015 season. Gang Green's defense ranks and , and the team has the third-most takeaways (15) in the NFL.Given that an elite defense can fuel a championship run, it's time to consider the legitimate contenders in the AFC. To see how the are getting it done, I reviewed the -- and came away with three reasons to fear New York heading down the stretch:1) Todd Bowles' creative schemes mesh well with the Jets' personnel.For all the accolades Bowles' predece sor, Rex Ryan, received for his defensive wizardry, Bowles deserves kudos for his brilliant scheming in New York. Not only has the first-year head coach cleaned up some of the fundamental flaws that torpedoed the ' playoff chances in previous seasons, but he's crafted a chameleon scheme that ideally suits the individual and collective strengths of his defensive personnel.While studying the , I saw the use a 3-4 and 4-3 base defense while trotting out an a sortment of nickel defenses (4-2-5, 3-3-5 and 2-4-5) on pa sing downs. In fact, Bowles' creative game plans have resulted in the lining up in some form of nickel defense on 62.7 percent of their defensive snaps. Granted, the increased utilization of "11" personnel might've dictated the increased use of nickel personnel, but it's also po sible Bowles is simply maximizing his personnel by showcasing his five-defensive back look. The ' defensive advantages lie in their ultra- Garrett Richards Jersey talented line and veteran-laden secondary, and it makes sense to keep those units on the field as much as po sible.The nickel package in particular allows Bowles to effectively handle the myriad spread formations and empty alignments opponents have leaned on to create quick-rhythm pa s opportunities for suspect quarterbacks. Additionally, the various nickel packages and personnel deployments allow Bowles to attack quarterbacks with blitz pre sures from all angles. From cro s-dog blitzes from a 3-3-5 alignment to "in-out" hit its from 2-4-5 formation, Bowles will dial up creative pre sures to force the quarterback to get the ball of his hands quickly -- or run the risk of taking a big shot in the pocket.In the play depicted below, from New York's over the , the send a Mike Pick C blitz to hara s into making an interception. attacks the C-gap with the sole intention of knocking off his block on . Davis bumps Castonzo off Douzable before rushing through the gap to pursue Luck. Douzable works around the left guard to create penetration up the middle. With the pocket collapsing around him, Luck fires an errant pa s to the sideline -- and cornerback falls back into the play to snag his first interception of the season (TO VIEW THE PLAY, SCROLL LEFT TO RIGHT ON THE IMAGE BELOW):With Bowles willing to attack opponents from multiple fronts with a variety of different pre sures featuring a number of second-level defenders, the ' defense creates headaches for offensive coordinators and quarterbacks attempting to decipher the scheme.2) The latest version of the "New York Sack Exchange" is downright scary.The ' sack total -- eight, in the NFL -- doesn't attest to the dominant potential of their defensive line. The truth is, few NFL teams can match the talent, athleticism, versatility and disruptive impact created by the unit. It features three first-round talents -- , and -- with explosive skills as trench warriors. It has one of the best run-stoppers in football () at the point of attack. And there's a deep collection of hybrid players (, , and ) with complementary skills as edge defenders.Sacks aside, the line has the atop the charts in several defensive categories, including scoring defense (allowing 15.0 points per game), yards per game (269.2 allowed) and three-and-out drives (21)
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