Throughout the season, NewYorkJets.com will provide a Stock Report focused on Jets players and themes trending after their most recent game and ahead of the team's next matchup.
This week's report features the Jets' edge defenders, Will McDonald IV and David Bailey, as well as the team's tight ends and the pass protection of the Green Bay Packers, the Green & White's Week 2 opponent.
📈 Jets Heavy Tight End Sets
Before the season, Jets offensive coordinator and play caller Frank Reich told the media he was "excited" about "all the options" the Green & White's four tight ends give the team and plans to use them all in the regular season.
Reich stayed true to his word in Week 1, calling 11 plays in 13 personnel (1 RB, 3 TE, 1 WR) and one play in 14 personnel (1 RB, 4 TE, 0 WR).
Mason Taylor, Kenyon Sadiq, Jeremy Ruckert and Jelani Woods each made an impact within and beyond the box score.
The quartet combined for 5 receptions, 35 yards, 2 first downs and a rushing touchdown. And in heavy tight end personnel sets (13 and 14), the Jets averaged 5.1 yards per play including 8 rushes for 48 yards and 2 touchdowns.
On the Jets' first offensive possession, Sadiq scored on a 3-yard rushing touchdown after taking an end-around handoff from QB Geno Smith. On the scoring play, the team lined up in 13 personnel and blocks from Ruckert and Taylor sprung the rookie TE.
"It was just surreal," Sadiq said. "We had a good look, and Mason and Jeremy both made great blocks. They made my job easy."
Midway through the third quarter, Breece Hall took an outside handoff from Smith, reached the edge and strode into the end zone to extend the Green & White's lead to 17-3. Reich, again, elected to run the ball to side with two tight ends, this time Woods and Taylor lined up on the left side of the offensive line.
By featuring all four tight ends in a variety of ways, Reich demonstrated how the position group can be a driving force behind the Jets' offensive identity.
📉 Green Bay Packers Pass Protection
The Green Bay Packers, the New York Jets' Week 2 opponent, lost to the Minnesota Vikings, 39-22, in Week 1. Minnesota sacked QB Jordan Love 4 times and pressured him on 54.3% of his dropbacks according to PFF, the highest rate in the NFL in Week 1.
For the sake of transparency, Love and the Packers faced defensive play caller Brian Flores, who is known for his notoriously pressure-heavy scheme. According to ESPN Research, Minnesota blitzed on 71.7% of its defensive snaps, 43.7 percentage points higher than the Week 1 league average.
In the end, Green Bay's offensive line struggled to contain Flores' unrelenting attack. Minnesota held Green Bay to 6 first downs in the second half and outscored its NFC North rival 29-3.
Love & Co. will face another blitz-heavy scheme when they visit MetLife Stadium for the Jets' home opener on Sunday. Head coach Aaron Glenn, who assumed defensive play-calling duties this offseason, sent a blitz on 46.2% of the team's defensive snaps against Tennessee, according to Pro Football Focus, the third-highest rate in the league.
While one week is a small sample size and Jets and Vikings could end up employing different defensive philosophies as the season progresses, Green Bay's Week 1 issues against pressure could create similar problems in Week 2.
📈 Will McDonald & David Bailey
Will McDonald IV and rookie David Bailey set the edge for the Jets defense in Week 1. The new pass-rush tandem totaled 5 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 quarterback hits, 2 tackles for loss and 9 pressures. Tennessee also found little success running outside, averaging just 2.8 yards per carry on five 5 handoffs directed at the pair, according to TruMedia.
"[Bailey]'s a rookie and he's still learning," HC Aaron Glenn said Wednesday. "I thought he's shown flashes of him being able to get off the ball and get after the quarterback. Then being able to set an edge and do all the things that we ask those edge guys to do."
Bailey's first career NFL sack came late in the third quarter. After pressure from McDonald flushed Titans' QB Cam Ward to his right, Bailey tracked him down and forced him out of bounds for a 1-yard loss.
McDonald corralled Ward for his sack in the fourth quarter. He beat Titans right tackle Dan Moore with a filthy spin move and put the second-year signal caller on his back.
Bailey had 14.5 sacks his final season at Texas Tech before being selected No. 2 overall by the Jets last April. One of the few questions NFL analysts had about the former Red Raiders was his ability to stop the run.
In Week 1, Bailey and McDonald proved effective both in setting the edge against the run and generating pressure.
