The Jets led the NFL in penalties for much of the season after a 20-penalty day in Week 3 against the Bills. Lately, though, they have been able to cut down, and now are fifth in the league.
However, they still lead the league in pre-snap flags. They have 47 pre-snap penalties — 13 of which have been defensive offisides, a league high. As good as defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson has been, he has jumped five times, tied for most in the league. Linebacker Quinton Coples is right behind him at four.
Other culprits have been offensive guard Willie Colon, who has five false starts. The Jets have also been flagged three times for having 12 defenders on the field, tied with the Broncos for the most in the NFL.
“There’s a lot of factors,” coach Rex Ryan said. “Defensively, it’s just focusing on getting off the football better. We have to do that much better. We’ve had a couple offsides. We even had a corner offsides a few times. That’s discipline. That’s focus. Focus on that snap. You don’t have to jump it. Let’s focus on that ball, that thing moves, we take off.
“And then offensively, you sometimes expect it a little bit when you’re putting in a brand new system. You may have a few more pre-snap penalties than maybe you would the following year when guys get used to playing with each other. I think a lot of that, or some of it, has to do with picking guys up. You’ve had several receivers that we’ve picked up that really haven’t spent a whole lot of time [with the team]. Hopefully, those numbers will go way down now, and we expect them to.”
Over his past five games, Coples has registered 24 quarterback hurries to bring his season total to 39. He had a sack last week against the Raiders, giving him three for the year. Coples has shown some positive signs lately, constantly getting into the opponents’ backfield.
“He’s talented, and our expectations is that guys continue to get better with playing time and experience,” defensive coordinator Dennis Thurman said. “As I’ve stated a number of times, you’re looking for that improvement, you’re looking for guys to take the next step. He’s beginning to take that step and he’s playing well for us, as are most of the guys up front, playing well for us. We just hope it continues this Sunday.”
The Jets are 3-2 all-time against the Panthers. The last time they won at Carolina was Oct. 28, 2001, when they won 13-12. The game had no offensive touchdowns, and John Hall kicked a 34-yard field goal to win the game for the Jets. The Panthers’ first franchise win came against the Jets on Oct. 15, 1995. Carolina, which started 0-5, beat the Jets, 26-15, in Clemson, S.C.