New York Jets strong safety Marcus Maye has taken on a new position and done so in dominant style to open the 2020 NFL season.
Question Adam Gase. Showcase concerns over young Sam Darnold. Wonder aloud how Christopher Johnson and Joe Douglas are running the ship. Just make sure you leave Marcus Maye out of your negative mouth.
The man who stepped into the Jamal Adams role of the New York Jets defense was absolutely phenomenal in the team’s season-opening 27-17 loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 1. He simply did everything.
Rushing the Passer
Meet No. 20, Marcus Maye, the NFL’s league-leading sack artist. (Well, at the very least, he’s tied for the league lead.)
Maye was sent to rush the quarterback a career-high seven times, per Michael Nania. Instead of a more interchangeable safety look, the way Gregg Williams has deployed this defense blatantly features Maye as the strong safety and Bradley McDougald as the free.
Maye’s first sack featured patience. Needing to remain in respective lanes, in the effort to keep Josh Allen in the pocket, Maye makes sure to not give the quarterback a crease.
Coverage is really the reason this one works. That, mixed with Allen’s pocket impatience, allows the five-man rush to patiently hit home while the cover defenders play the sticks correctly.
Take note of Brian Poole. He loses balance and falls, which allows the slot-wheel to run clean, but that’s a tough ask for the quarterback to hang in there and hit that option so far into the play.
His second sack of the day comes courtesy of a nice Gregg Williams concept. Rushing off the boundary-side edge, Maye finds himself as a free-runner en route to the quarterback.
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