The Dolphins face the Jets this week, and the knee-jerk thought is that it's a not an ideal situation for Jay Ajayi. We know the Jets are terrible, but they're worst against the pass and fairly tough against the run. Or are they?
A year ago the Jets ranked 11th in run defense, plus they shipped off Sheldon Richardson in the preseason -- plenty of talent up front without shelling out big money for him. But perhaps because they're not as tough at linebacker, that run defense has slipped. They gave up 180-plus rushing yards to each of their first two opponents, with 4 TDs on the ground. And even last year (when the team still had visions of being competitive) they struggled against the run in the second half of the season.
Last year New York allowed 592 rushing yards and 3.3 yards per carry in the first eight games; they had the league's top-ranked run defense. But in the final eight games, they allowed 989 yards and 4.0 yards per carry. No team allowed a greater rushing yards differential.
| 2016 RUN DEFENSES (1ST HALF VS. 2ND HALF) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Yds(1st) | Avg(1st) | Yds(2nd) | Avg(2nd) | Yds(Diff) | Avg(Diff) |
| NY Jets | 592 | 3.3 | 989 | 4.0 | 397 | .7 |
| Chicago | 806 | 3.9 | 1144 | 4.8 | 338 | .9 |
| Green Bay | 606 | 3.3 | 909 | 4.7 | 303 | 1.4 |
| Buffalo | 947 | 4.1 | 1183 | 4.9 | 236 | .8 |
| Carolina | 620 | 3.3 | 845 | 4.5 | 225 | 1.2 |
| Minnesota | 745 | 4.0 | 966 | 4.4 | 221 | .4 |
| Baltimore | 609 | 3.4 | 821 | 4.0 | 212 | .6 |
| Denver | 939 | 4.3 | 1146 | 4.4 | 207 | .1 |
| San Diego | 688 | 3.8 | 879 | 3.9 | 191 | .1 |
| Atlanta | 751 | 4.0 | 921 | 5.0 | 170 | 1.0 |
| Tennessee | 660 | 4.0 | 753 | 4.0 | 93 | .0 |
| Indianapolis | 918 | 4.5 | 1008 | 4.9 | 90 | .4 |
| LA Rams | 789 | 3.7 | 871 | 4.1 | 82 | .4 |
| Miami | 1089 | 4.6 | 1158 | 5.1 | 69 | .5 |
| Pittsburgh | 797 | 4.2 | 803 | 4.5 | 6 | .3 |
| Tampa Bay | 943 | 4.1 | 932 | 4.7 | -11 | .6 |
| Cleveland | 1150 | 4.8 | 1133 | 4.4 | -17 | -.4 |
| Cincinnati | 929 | 4.4 | 883 | 4.4 | -46 | .0 |
| Dallas | 695 | 4.2 | 641 | 3.6 | -54 | -.6 |
| Kansas City | 996 | 4.8 | 942 | 4.1 | -54 | -.7 |
| Philadelphia | 857 | 4.4 | 795 | 4.0 | -62 | -.4 |
| Washington | 990 | 4.9 | 926 | 4.2 | -64 | -.7 |
| Detroit | 885 | 4.4 | 816 | 4.3 | -69 | -.1 |
| NY Giants | 751 | 3.6 | 666 | 3.5 | -85 | -.1 |
| Seattle | 790 | 3.5 | 697 | 3.2 | -93 | -.3 |
| New Orleans | 868 | 4.4 | 758 | 3.8 | -110 | -.6 |
| Arizona | 817 | 3.9 | 701 | 3.3 | -116 | -.6 |
| Oakland | 1000 | 4.8 | 881 | 4.1 | -119 | -.7 |
| Jacksonville | 935 | 4.0 | 768 | 3.6 | -167 | -.4 |
| New England | 813 | 4.1 | 604 | 3.5 | -209 | -.6 |
| Houston | 1006 | 4.4 | 589 | 3.5 | -417 | -.9 |
| San Francisco | 1544 | 5.3 | 1110 | 4.4 | -434 | -.9 |
Some of this is relative; since San Francisco was comically bad in the first eight games, it had the most room for improvement. But the bottom line is that New York's run defense has slipped steadily from what it once was. Not the kind of defense anyone should hesitate to put a running back up against anymore.
--Andy Richardson