After the Jets’ offensive line was largely overwhelmed last Sunday in Buffalo, they know they’ll face a pass rush almost as daunting Sunday in Baltimore. It will come from the right, from the left and up the middle, and how the Jets handle it may well decide their pivotal game against the Ravens.
“Certainly, we got beat on one-on-one battles more than anything, that was the key [in Buffalo],” coach Rex Ryan said. “So, every guy has to step up and has to get better individually. Then, collectively, we missed a couple of calls, slide protection calls or whatever. But the mental part, I have no question we’ll improve in that area.
“The physical part, the one-on-one matchups have to get better, and they’ve been better. Some of our guys have been absolutely terrific all season, and then laid an egg last week. I think we’ll rebound from it, and we have to against the type of rushers [Baltimore has].’’
Those types of rushers are outside linebackers Terrell Suggs and Elvis Dumervil, who have combined to make Baltimore’s 3-4 defense one of the most withering pass rushes in the NFL.
Baltimore hammered Mark Sanchez two years ago, forcing him into four fumbles, including a nasty hit by Haloti Ngata. The Ravens’ 34 sacks this season are tied for fourth-most in the league, just three behind the Saints and the Bills team that humbled the Jets 37-14 last weekend.
“Even though last week wasn’t our best outing against Buffalo, earlier in the year we had a very good outing against them, and that’s an example of another front that has a lot of talent,” left tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson said. “We’re used to the challenge. We definitely lost in Buffalo, no question.
“The things we can change and correct are the things that we do, that we find weren’t necessarily caused by the opponent but this is something we caused or that we didn’t do well. We’re very cognizant of what role we play.
“Self-inflicted wounds, whether it be penalties, it could be turnovers, it could be just missed assignments, when you look at the tape can really turn into big things. That’s something we have to be very aware of, not giving our opponent an opportunity to exploit things we can do better.’’
Ferguson will line up on Geno Smith’s blind side and have to block 5-foot-11, 260-pound Dumervil, whose 8 ½ sacks are tied for 10th best in the NFL. At right tackle, Austin Howard has the unenviable task of trying to handle Suggs, whose nine sacks are tied for seventh-best in the league.
“[That’s] a huge challenge, not just for our line, but anybody’s line,’’ said Ryan. “Those are some of the top pass rushers in the league, especially Suggs. And Dumervil’s always a guy that doesn’t seem to get the credit, probably because he’s short. But he’s been a tremendous pass-rusher, even going back to his days at Louisville.
“Without question, that’s a big challenge. And they have some guys inside, too. Arthur Jones is an underrated pass rusher as an inside presence as well.’’
The Jets allowed four sacks and eight other quarterback hits in Buffalo, and a harried and harassed Smith melted down with four turnovers. They know they have to do a better job protecting Smith against the Ravens.
“We respect what they do, respect who they are; but we’ve had a solid week of preparation to make sure we focus on the little details, especially being on the road,’’ said Howard, who admitted “things weren’t good” in Buffalo, but said the Jets need to keep ahead of the sticks and stay on schedule Sunday.
“We do things as an offense which we prepare for [but] for some reason or the other, not on a consistent basis. … We have to gameplan to our strengths, what we do well. They have two outside rushers, but that’s not going to determine what we do. We’ve got to run our offense as we see fit, and we’ve got to get it done, face the challenge to do things well. We’re not going to shy away from anything.’’