New York Jets: Defensive line should have big day vs. Dolphins
With Josh Sitton out, the Jets defensive line should have another big day against the Dolphins, just like they did in Detroit.
Miami Dolphins guard Josh Sitton tore his rotator cuff, and he is now out for the season, and the team has place him on injured reserve. The New York Jets allowed the Lions to only have 2.6 yards per carry, including -3 yards for a Jets killer, LeGarrette Blount.
Sitton will be especially missed in the Dolphins running game. While Sitton has long been a solid force in the running game as a blocker, his replacement in Ted Larsen has struggled to this point in his career in that regard.
According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), the Jets had 15 run stops against the Lions. Jamal Adams, Darron Lee, and Buster Skrine tied for the team lead with three each. That said, with the Dolphins weaker up front, we should expect the athletic linemen to be able to penetrate the Dolphins offensive line and make some stop at or behind the line of scrimmage.
Without Sitton in the lineup, the run blocking is going to be below average at best across the board. This should allow the Jets to get into the backfield at times, and also force the Dolphins to be one-dimensional.
Sitton’s absence will hurt the passing game as well. Without a premier edge rusher, the Jets want to create pressure up the middle. In the last two seasons, Larsen has shown improvement in that area, but had been a below average pass blocker as well.
As we saw with the center position of the Jets last season, when one offensive linemen goes down, others have to pick up the slack. Often times that leads to attempting to do more than you’re capable of.
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In the end, this is going to be a big loss for the Dolphins the negatively affects the line across the board. So, it’s time for the defensive line to have a big day against the run and the pass.
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