Aaron Glenn was in the middle of rattling off the endless list of weapons the Lions offense possesses when he acknowledged what’s at stake.
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what → rattle → stake
Take flight with the Jets
Text with Brian Costello all season as he brings Sports+ subscribers the latest Jets intel from on the field and off.
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he → take → field
tRY IT NOW“Man, this will be a good one to really check and see that barometer,” Glenn said before practice Friday, “of how we’re going to go up against a really good offense.
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we → try → offense
Though Glenn came under intense criticism for his decision-making as the Jets blew a 10-point, fourth-quarter lead in their loss to the Packers in Week 2, he deserves credit for how the defense has looked after taking over play-calling duties this year.
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defense → come → duties
The unit leads the league in total defense, having allowed just 394 total yards through the first two games of the season — the first time in team history they’ve held each of their first two opponents under 200 total yards.
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they → lead → yards
For a defense that the Jets invested heavily in over the offseason, the early numbers are extremely promising.
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numbers → invest → offseason
But Sunday in Detroit has the potential to be a reality check.
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Sunday → have → potential
The explosive and multifaceted Lions offense — much more so than the dysfunctional Titans and crumbling Packers units — will provide the Jets with a measuring stick test that will reveal just how legitimate their defense is.
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defense → crumble → test
With quarterback Jared Goff, whom Glenn labeled “one of the most accurate quarterbacks I’ve ever been around,” a dual-threat running back in Jahmyr Gibbs, a do-it-all receiver in Amon-Ra St. Brown and his speedy counterpart in Jameson Williams, along with a matchup nightmare in tight end Sam LaPorta, the Lions have as much firepower as anyone in the NFL.
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Lions → label → NFL
They scored 31 points in each of their first two games.
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They → score → games
“It’s one of those things, you got a hole in the boat and you plug it and it opens up another hole, right?
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it → ’ → hole
There’s a lot of guys you have to cover,” defensive coordinator Brian Duker said.
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Duker → ’ → guys
“So every time you put resources somewhere else, it opens up an opportunity in a different place.”
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it → put → place
It’s a challenge that should have extra meaning for Glenn, having taken control of the Jets defense this year after its disastrous showing last year and now going up against his old side in the Lions, where he served as defensive coordinator.
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he → ’ → coordinator
“This will be one of the most explosive groups,” Glenn said, “that we’ll go against, to me, probably all year.
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we → say → me
What makes the Lions so difficult to play against is how well they play off each other.
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they → make → other
Load up against the pass and Gibbs will kill you on the ground.
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Gibbs → load → ground
Stack the box against the run, and their receivers will burn you in space.
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receivers → stack → space
There hasn’t really been any blueprint that has worked against St. Brown, a receiving machine who leads the league with 19 receptions through two games.
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who → work → games
Along with Williams and LaPorta, it provides Goff with four lethal options all over the field, all of whom provide different skill sets and different threats.
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all → provide → sets
“I think they complement each other really well,” defensive tackle Harrison Phillips said.
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Phillips → think → other
“What’s really impressive is that they air out the ball as much as they do, but they have one of the best, if not the best, running backs in the NFL. …
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they → ’ → NFL
They have dynamic playmakers all over the field, so you can’t focus all your attention on one star player, regardless of the position.”
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you → have → position
Added linebacker Demario Davis: “It is a tough challenge when you’re facing a running back that can do it all.
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that → add → it
Very good between the tackles and outside the tackles, very explosive runner, of course, can run all of the routes out of the backfield and not afraid to throw his pads around and be left in on third down and block.
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runner → run → down
“When you’re having to deal with a running back like that, but you also have to worry about a tight end that can get the ball in all situations, whether it’s first or second down, third down, red zone, it’s just a challenge for your linebackers and your safeties.”
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it → have → linebackers
Goff at times goes under the radar given all the talent around him.
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Goff → go → him
He certainly knows Glenn and his defense well, having gone against it in practice in Detroit.
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He → know → Detroit
And Phillips knows Goff, having played him twice a year when he was with the Vikings.
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he → know → Vikings
He described Goff as “cerebral.”
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He → describe → Goff
“There will be some mental gymnastics going in,” Phillips said, “about not necessarily playing checkers like some of the quarterbacks, he’ll be playing chess.”
A game of chess where the opponent has more than one king.
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opponent → go → king
The Aporia
