Jets safety on Brady: 'You prepare the same way you prepare for Kirk Cousins'
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — It’s as tough a test as there is in the NFL, so how exactly do the New York Jets gear up to face one of the best quarterbacks in the history of the NFL in Tom Brady?
“You prepare the same way you prepare for Kirk Cousins,” safety Marcus Gilchrist told USA TODAY Sports Thursday from the team’s facility.
Yes, you read that correctly.
The Jets (4-1) are coming off of a 34-20 victory last week in which they limited Cousins, the Washington Redskins quarterback, to just 196 yards and two interceptions.
But Brady is a three-time Super Bowl MVP and one of the most decorated quarterbacks of this generation. He has thrown for 54,957 passing yards and 406 touchdowns against just 144 interceptions in his 16-year career.
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The same exact way?
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“You don’t change,” Gilchrist added. “It’s like turning the light switch on and off because it’s a different person. Kirk Cousins could have easily come out there (last week) and we could’ve not played sound football and not been where we were supposed to be and he could’ve looked the same way (like Brady).
“We can’t allow one game to be bigger than the other. Do we realize the type of player we’re playing against? Yes, we do. But you don’t change. We’ve got to be 1-0 this week, regardless of who it is – Brady – regardless of who we’re playing.”
Gilchrist stresses that he’s not trying to disparage anyone. The way he sees it, it’s more about the Jets than it is about Brady or the Patriots. He thinks New York’s best bet to stop New England (5-0) Sunday is to focus internally on executing its game plan.
For the Jets defense, that has meant completely dominating in the third quarter.
Through five games this season, the Jets have prevented opposing offenses from scoring one point in the third period, the only team in the NFL to do that.
“We just amp it up a notch, honestly,” safety Calvin Pryor told USA TODAY Sports. “We go in (at half time), talk about what the offense has been doing the first two quarters and then make our adjustments. We still follow the game plan, but I think we start playing harder. The third quarter has been good for us so far and hopefully we can continue that.”
That’s not the only category New York leads in the NFL.
The Jets also rank first in scoring defense (15 points per game), total defense (269.2 yards per game), and red zone defense (33.3 % touchdown scoring rate), among others stats.
But as good as New York has been in the third quarter, there’s no question it needs to get better in the fourth. Of the 75 total points the Jets have allowed this season, 31 have come in the final quarter.
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The Patriots, by comparison, have scored 51 points – most in the NFL – in their third quarters this season. How the Jets defend Brady and New England, who has the league’s top overall scoring offense (36.6 points per game), will undoubtedly be the deciding factor Sunday afternoon.
Expect New York to be aggressive and swarm the ball.
The Jets rank third in the NFL with 15 takeaways, but Brady has only thrown one pick so far this season.
Cornerback Darrelle Revis, who played with the Patriots last season, joked Wednesday that he has “notes” on Brady from his time in Foxborough, but forcing the Patriots into giveaways is easier said than done.
“You just made my stomach want to throw up,” defensive coordinator Kacy Rodgers said when asked how exactly he plans on stopping Brady, tight end Rob Gronkowski and receiver Julian Edelman.
“But really, it’s hard. It’s very hard. When you look at them on tape, they pose a lot of problems, you kind of see it on their film with the match-up issues they create. They really do. The guy running the show is outstanding, too, so it’s a difficult task.”
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