Lack of hustle? Aaron Glenn tries to explain away Jets’ breakdowns

After Dak Prescott found Javonte Williams for his fourth touchdown pass of the game on Sunday, New York Jets fans had seen enough. It was the third score of the day that saw Dallas waltz into the end zone with a runner untouched.

Some fans accused the defense of a lack of hustle. On several plays, it appeared to some that the Jets’ defenders were jogging to the football.

Following a 37-22 blowout loss to the Cowboys, New York’s defense has come under fire again.

Head coach Aaron Glenn has spoken about wanting to build a team the fanbase could be proud of, but Sunday’s performance was a stark contrast.

Aaron Glenn explains breakdowns

Glenn made it clear that the defense did not lack effort on Dallas’ untouched scores. They just blew their assignments.

“Sometimes players want to do a little too much and their eyes can be in the wrong spot,” Glenn explained. “So, we got to do a better job of just doing our job and focusing on that and not trying to do too much, because that’s what happens when teams are moving the ball.”

One such play that defends Glenn’s perspective was Dallas’ first touchdown of the game. On a screen pass to tight end Jake Ferguson, the Cowboys faked a run to Javonte Williams to the far side of the field.

Jets linebacker Jamien Sherwood, instead of reading the offensive line or watching, bit on the fake and was out of position.

That allowed Ferguson to waltz in for a 26-yard touchdown in which he was barely touched by a Jets defender. It was a play the linebacker should have been able to stop, but he was completely out of position.

There were many additional plays that highlighted Dallas’ ability to use New York’s aggressive defensive nature against them.

That doesn’t mean the Jets aren’t hustling. It just means their speed isn’t being used in the correct way—whether through their reads or schematically from their new coaching staff.

New York’s head coach isn’t the only person to make a case regarding missed assignments.

All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner gave up a 45-yard touchdown throw to George Pickens in the third quarter of action. After the game, Gardner talked about a “broken coverage” that allowed Pickens to win deep.

The implication was that Gardner expected safety help that never came.

Whether Gardner is right is irrelevant at the end of the day. It still leaves additional questions to be asked regarding potential changes coming for the unit.

Jets’ defensive woes

Glenn made it abundantly clear both immediately after the game and a day later that he wasn’t going to make any changes to the coaching of his defense.

Steve Wilks remains the team’s coordinator and play-caller.

That doesn’t mean the rest of the unit is safe, though. Speaking to reporters Monday morning, Glenn stated that the roster was going to be looked at across the board.

As it always is.

“You earn your keep,” Glenn explained. “That does not mean that we’re just having wholesale changes week in and week out, but I do expect the players to earn their keep during the week.”

Glenn believes the defense isn’t suffering from a lack of effort, just a lack of execution. Players appear to agree with him at this point.

Unless something is fixed soon, though, the Jets’ defense will only be getting worse as the season progresses.