Shutdown Countdown: Defense still rules New York Jets’ world

Shutdown Corner is previewing all 32 teams as we get ready for the NFL season, counting down the teams one per day in reverse order of our initial 2015 power rankings. No. 1 will be revealed on Aug. 8, the day before the preseason begins with the Hall of Fame Game in Canton.

NO. 27: NEW YORK JETS

Todd Bowles was an interesting hire for the New York Jets, because he didn’t fit the formula.

When teams fire a coach, they’ll almost inevitable hire someone who was the opposite of the guy they just let go. Bowles is fairly soft spoken, so in that sense the Jets went in a completely opposite direction from old coach Rex Ryan. But stylistically Bowles and Ryan are similar in basic ways.

Both men are aggressive, creative, smart defensive coaches. That seemed surprising just because the Jets seemed like the team screaming for an offensive guru to take over. But all offseason, the Jets took the approach to make their strength stronger.

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The defense wasn’t a problem, and won’t be again. Bowles was the hottest defensive coordinator in the league with the Arizona Cardinals, and should make a very good head coach. The biggest free agent this offseason, aside from perhaps Ndamukong Suh, was cornerback Darrelle Revis and the Jets spent $70 million ($39 million guaranteed) to bring him back to New York. Then they signed two more cornerbacks, Antonio Cromartie and Buster Skrine. With the sixth overall pick the Jets took defensive end Leonard Williams, even though they have two of the league’s best 3-4 ends in Sheldon Richardson and Muhammad Wilkerson, though Williams will have to contribute early on as Richardson serves a four-game suspension.

And yes, the Jets still have Geno Smith at quarterback and an offense that won’t scare anyone.

New York didn’t completely ignore the offense. The Jets traded almost nothing to Chicago for receiver Brandon Marshall, though you have to wonder about a player who has been traded three times in his career for a cheaper price each time. Still, it’s an offense that doesn’t look capable of bringing the Jets to the playoffs.

Perhaps that changes if Smith turns a corner in year three. It’s not unprecedented for a quarterback to need a couple years on the job before breaking out. Smith is skilled. He throws a nice ball and will stand in and deliver against the rush. But everyone knows about his issues with decision-making and turnovers. If he can’t get it done this year, the Jets need to start over at the position. And if Smith can’t get it done, it’ll be on the defense to carry the load.

Luckily for the Jets, they don’t have many issues on that side of the ball.

2014 review in less than 25 words: The Ryan era ended following a season in which the Jets lost eight in a row and 11 of 12.

Is the roster better, worse or about the same?: There weren’t many notable departures aside from short-time receiver Percy Harvin (what a strange trade that was for the Jets) and they added a cornerback in Revis who will be in the Hall of Fame someday. They also added potential impact players like Marshall, Cromartie, Skrine and Williams, who some experts thought was the best defensive player in the draft. Don’t let the questions at quarterback overshadow that the Jets are a better team around that position.

Best offseason acquisition: Revis is back after cameos with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New England Patriots the past two years, and he’s one of the greatest to ever play his position. He’s absolutely dominant in man-to-man coverage, and having a player of his ability has a positive impact on an entire defense. The Jets spent a lot of money on Revis, and they got a star for that cash.

Achilles heel: The Jets could be a team that plays a very conservative way, grinding out low-scoring wins with a strong defense. But to pull that off, they need to avoid turnovers. Can Smith do that? He hasn’t shown that he can, though maybe a 358-yard, three-touchdown, no-interception game in the 2014 finale at Miami was a sign he’s getting it. The Jets don’t need Smith to be great, but they need him to not give the ball away.

Position in flux:  The Jets have seemingly been trotting out no-name or uninspiring backs since Curtis Martin. Chris Ivory is powerful and explosive at times, but he’s just a committee back. Stevan Ridley had his moments with the Patriots, but he contributes little in the passing game and is coming off ACL surgery. No other back on the roster is a star. That’s not to say the Jets won’t have a good rushing attack – they were third last year in rushing yards per game with Ivory and Chris Johnson doing most of the work – but they’ll need to figure out how all the pieces fit.

Ready to break out: Bowles likes using safeties in creative ways. Ask Tyrann Mathieu and Deone Bucannon, who played all over the field in Arizona. Calvin Pryor, the Jets’ first-round pick a year ago, didn’t have a great rookie season. But he clearly has talent, and bet on Bowles getting it out of him.

Stat fact: The Jets’ over/under for wins this season in Las Vegas has moved from 6.5 to 7.5 because people have bet heavily on the over, and over 7.5 is still a fairly heavy favorite (the under was plus-135 last week at the Cantor sports books). Bettors really like the changes the Jets made this offseason. I’m still not sure this is an eight-win team, especially in the AFC East. 

Schedule degree of difficulty: The Jets are in a tough division. The Dolphins and Bills had splashy offseasons, and the Patriots are the Patriots. A stretch between Week 2 and 4, when they play at Indianapolis, vs. Philadelphia and against Miami in London, looks particularly daunting.

Burning question

This team’s best-case scenario for the 2015 season: In a perfect world, Smith puts it all together in his third season and the Jets live happily ever after. More realistically, they’d probably take an efficient, more careful Smith under center, and let him and a strong running game score just enough to win games with a stellar defense. We’ve seen that formula work in the NFL.

And here’s the nightmare scenario: The offense could be bad again, if Smith doesn’t do much and the Ryan Fitzpatrick experience starts. It might get really ugly if that happens and the running game regresses a bit, too. That would put tremendous strain on the defense, and it won’t matter how good that unit is. Jets fans know all about that.

The crystal ball says: It’s possible the Jets could be a better team but we won’t see a great improvement in the standings. They’re clearly the fourth-best team in the division on paper, and they probably will be in reality too. The defense should be pretty nasty and steal a few games, but the offense just won’t be good enough to make a playoff push.

Previous previews
32. Tennessee Titans
31. Jacksonville Jaguars
30. Washington Redskins
29. Oakland Raiders
28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab