Lost in the New York Jets' blowout victory over the Buffalo Bills, but not forgotten by coach Rex Ryan, was the Jets' poor tackling.
Gang Green gave up two huge runs by Bills tailback C.J. Spiller -- a 56-yard touchdown and another 40-plus scamper that put Buffalo just outside the goal line and set up another score.
"You have to get off blocks and I thought the intensity went down a little," Ryan told the media, according to the team's website. "That wasn’t New York Jets style of defense and certainly we weren’t happy with it and I’m sure the players weren’t happy with it.
"You have to get off blocks and I thought the intensity went down a little," Ryan told the media, according to the team's website. "That wasn’t New York Jets style of defense and certainly we weren’t happy with it and I’m sure the players weren’t happy with it.
"But you have to give that young man credit. That’s the kind of ability he has. If he’s even with you, forget about it. He’s one of the fastest guys in the league and he has the home run ability, the big play ability, and certainly did it against us."
The Jets' defense had a chance to wrap up Spiller behind the line of scrimmage on a few of his chunk runs, but New York's defenders went soft after taking a big lead.
"That’s where you have to keep the focus and you have to keep in mind the old saying that we’ve all heard in high school or anywhere else, 'It’s 0-0.'" Ryan said. "You have to approach it that way or things like this can happen. That’s a good offense. This was an offense that overcame several big leads last year to win games.
"...We’re going to talk about it all the time. Is it hard to practice? Yes, because you’re not going to tackle your own guys to the ground. But you have to do drills, you have to emphasize it. We thought we were ready. We tackled extremely well in the preseason, then you come back here and you get a big lead. If you get these guys on the ground, you’re going to be more comfortable."
Ryan said the Jets would do a "tackling circuit" this week in practice to reinforce their takedown skills.
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The Jets' defense had a chance to wrap up Spiller behind the line of scrimmage on a few of his chunk runs, but New York's defenders went soft after taking a big lead.
"That’s where you have to keep the focus and you have to keep in mind the old saying that we’ve all heard in high school or anywhere else, 'It’s 0-0.'" Ryan said. "You have to approach it that way or things like this can happen. That’s a good offense. This was an offense that overcame several big leads last year to win games.
"...We’re going to talk about it all the time. Is it hard to practice? Yes, because you’re not going to tackle your own guys to the ground. But you have to do drills, you have to emphasize it. We thought we were ready. We tackled extremely well in the preseason, then you come back here and you get a big lead. If you get these guys on the ground, you’re going to be more comfortable."
Ryan said the Jets would do a "tackling circuit" this week in practice to reinforce their takedown skills.
Follow Nick @NickStDenis
Follow AFC East Daily @AFCEastDaily
