The need for the Jets to avoid mistakes against the 49ers and their mistake-avoiding philosophy

The Jets could have an edge in Week 1 because of their defensive philosophy.

I came across an interesting chart from our comments section posted by Gang Green Nation member Jets012.

The chart might be a tad difficult to understand. It provides information on how quarterbacks did last season where there was a blown coverage. You want to be on the top and to the right. The higher up you are, the better you did at targeting the open receiver in blown coverages rather than throwing it somewhere else or running. The productivity of the play runs left to right.

As you can see, Monday night’s opponent Brock Purdy was at the top of the league. Of course, offensive success is a team affair. We might say the 49ers made opponents pay for coverage mistakes as much as any team in the league. With the kind of offensive firepower they have, it is easy to understand.

The Jets always must avoid coverage mistakes, but that is particularly true this Monday night.

This got me thinking a bit about the way Robert Saleh runs his defense. It is practically a cliche at this point to note that Saleh takes pride in a system that is not overly complicated. This has been mentioned in stories essentially since he took over as defensive coordinator for this week’s opponent prior to his tenure as Jets head coach.

Despite the results, running a simpler scheme does earn Saleh the occasional criticism from the media and the fanbase. The Jets generally aren’t going out there trying to fool their opponent. They are focused more on executing on a high level than in deceiving the opponent.

It’s tough to argue with the results. One of the primary reasons the Jets defense had so much success in 2023 was its ability to limit the big plays. The 49 plays against that went for 20 yards or more were the second fewest in the league.

Of course defenses that are multiple can work to great success in the NFL. But there is something to be said for keeping things relatively simpler. It might be simpler for the offense, but running a handful of concepts over and over can help defenders execute them at a really high level. If you keep doing the same thing, soon you instinctively know how to respond to every situation, and you can play fast as Saleh likes to say.

This obviously isn’t meant to say the Jets never throw a new look out there. In fact the coaches have discussed the comfort level of the players in year four of the scheme offering them a chance to go deeper into the playbook this year than in years past.

Still, the Jets’ philosophy (along with their overall talent level) could be the type of thing that helps them from providing openings for an offense as opportunistic as San Francisco.