IN A TIGHT SPOT: Jets safety Yeremiah Bell (37) tackles Steelers tight end Heath Miller during a Week 2 loss in Pittsburgh. Bell and fellow safety LaRon Landry will get tested this week by the explosive Patriots’ tight ends. (AP)
The last time Jets fans saw Rob Gronkowski, he was embarrassing the Jets safeties.
The big Patriots tight end had eight catches for 113 yards and two touchdowns as New England ran over the Jets. It was apparent that night that the Jets needed to make changes at safety. The undersized Jim Leonhard and Eric Smith were unable to cover Gronkowski.
That’s why the starting safeties on Sunday will be Yeremiah Bell and LaRon Landry, the two biggest free agents the Jets signed this offseason.
And they’re ready for Gronkowski.
“We ain’t going to let him just run down the field. I can tell you that,” Bell said Wednesday. “We’re going to put some hands on him. We’re going to try to frustrate him, and we’re going to beat him up a little bit.”
This is music to Jets’ fans ears, who have watched elite tight ends batter coach Rex Ryan’s defenses. Both Bell and Landry said when the Jets were recruiting them this spring, the front office talked about the team’s struggles against tight ends.
“They mentioned it,” Landry said. “It’s definitely going to be a challenge for us. We’ll see what kind of calls they’ll dial up. I’m not going to say I’m going to be covering [Gronkowski] all the time, but if I do, I’m going to be ready for it.”
The Patriots have not only Gronkowski at tight end, but also Aaron Hernandez, who returned last week after missing three weeks with an ankle injury. He played a limited number of snaps against the Seahawks last week, but the Jets expect him to be a full go this week.
Bell said the Jets will test Hernandez, though, since he has been injured.
“He’s just trying to get back into the groove so we’re just going to play with his head a little bit,” Bell said. “He hasn’t been out there quite as much. We’re just going to play with him and see once we settle in what’s working and what’s not.”
The lasting image of that 37-16 loss for the Jets at MetLife Stadium last year was Gronkowski beating Smith then running over Leonhard in the end zone for a touchdown. Smith is now the team’s third safety, although he is hurt and may not play Sunday. Leonhard is now a Bronco.
Landry and Bell have given the Jets defense a stronger identity on the back end. Ryan said Monday that he never stops thinking about the Patriots, and the organization even makes roster decisions based upon how to better match up with New England. Make no mistake: The signing of two physical safeties like Landry and Bell has everything to do with slowing the Patriots down.
“They have said that they’ve had some trouble guarding tight ends here,” Bell said. “I’m sure that was a big part of bringing me and LaRon in. With that being said, it’s a challenge for us on Sunday to kind of erase some of that. That’s fine with us.
“One thing about me and LaRon, we’re always ready to face a challenge, no matter who it is. We’re going to give it our all, and we’re going to be physical with people.”
Gronkowski has 29 catches for 356 yards and three touchdowns this year, not quite the season he had last year when he had 17 touchdowns and more than 1,300 yards. He has been slowed by a hip injury.
The two tight ends are just an element of this potent Patriots offense, which is No. 1 in the NFL in total offense. The Jets are 10 1/2-point underdogs, but Landry is unfazed.
“I’m not saying we’re going to beat them, but they can be beat,” he said. “We’ve just got to play our football and execute well.”