Jets Will Need To Air Things Out Against Tough Viking Run Defense
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Chad Pennington watched film of the Minnesota Vikings’ stingy run defense and was thoroughly impressed.
“It’s ridiculous,” the Jets quarterback said with a laugh yesterday. “Fifty-four yards a game is just ridiculous.”
And pretty good, too. The Vikings have the NFL’s top-ranked run defense, giving up 703 yards on the ground through 13 games — an average of 54.1 yards.
Minnesota has a shot at breaking the NFL record of 47.2 yards rushing per game, set by Chicago in 1942.
“It’s something they’ve been doing well all year long, and we have to work on it in practice,” the Jets running back, Leon Washington, said. “It’s definitely a challenge.”
The Vikings have not allowed a 100-yard runner this season. Washington hopes to change that Sunday at the Metrodome.
“You always have to keep your composure and don’t fire yourself up that much,” Washington, who has two 100-yard games, said. “But when you get a defense like we have this weekend that’s good at stopping the run, you definitely want to do well against that kind of challenge.”
Because the Jets have struggled at times with their running game, it would be no surprise to see them go to the air early and often against a pass defense that’s ranked 27th in the league.
“It’s up to us to execute well to make sure their offense doesn’t stay on the field that long and we make their defense stay on the field longer than what they’re used to,” Pennington said.
That’s easier said than done, but the Jets insist they’ll stick to their game plan — whatever that ends up being. Just because four of the Vikings’ last five opponents have thrown 41 or more times against them doesn’t necessarily mean the Jets will take the same approach.
“We’re not paying any attention to what the other teams have done in the past,” wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery said. “We just go out and try to execute what we’re doing. A lot of teams get caught up in trying to eliminate one thing from their game plan by watching film. They say, ‘Well, we can’t run on these guys, so we have to pass,’ but that’s when they force you into doing things they don’t want you to.”
Pennington has had success in regular-season games in domed stadiums during his career. He’s 53–of–76 for 629 yards and eight touchdowns and one interception for a 124.3 rating at Detroit, Indianapolis, and St. Louis — but is 1–2 in those games.
Coming off perhaps the best twogame stretch of his career, Pennington struggled against Buffalo last Sunday. He went 22–of–35 for 182 yards a touchdown and two interceptions, and knows he needs to bounce back at the Metrodome.
“That’s the toughest part, is not to wish this week to get by too fast because I have a lot of preparation to do,” Pennington said. “I have a lot of improvement, a lot of self study I need to do, make sure I do everything I can to help us win. Anytime you have a loss, you’re looking forward to the next game to hopefully get that bad taste out of your mouth and put together a winning effort.”
Although his career completion percentage of 65.0 is second to Kurt Warner’s 65.5, Pennington has 14 touchdowns and a career-high 15 interceptions this season.
“I have to concentrate on what I can control, and that is decision making, being more consistent in decision making, making sure that if I don’t make the perfect decision, let’s not make the worst decision to put my team in a bad spot,” Pennington said.
But the running game needs to have a presence, even against a stout defense, to keep the defense honest at the very least.
Washington had 55 yards on seven carries last week against the Bills, while Cedric Houston gained 50 on 18 rushes. Kevan Barlow was inactive for the second straight week.
The unpredictability of the Jets’ running back rotation might work in New York’s favor.
“You know their defensive coordinator is looking at us, and they have to be like, ‘Okay, yeah, they’ve got 29 and 32 and 34 and 23 and you never know who’s going to be out there playing,'” Washington said, calling out the numbers of the Jets’ running backs.
“It’s something teams can work on, but at the same time, they’ve been doing good all year against the run and I’m sure they’re going to do some things they need to stop our running attack. We just need to do whatever gives ourselves the best chance at winning.”