The Jets defense looked unprepared and overwhelmed in their season opener against the mighty 49ers on Monday night, and Keith isn’t sure if that performance was just a blip on the radar.
Sure, Jeff Ulbrich’s unit likely won’t give up 400-plus yards of offense every week, but Keith doesn’t believe the Jets D is as good as many believed them to be heading into the season.
“The defense has been good, but I don’t want to give all that credit to Robert Saleh. We’re too quick to say that he’s a defensive mastermind,” Keith said. “I think we’re too quick to say the Jets defense is elite. What was that on Monday? That wasn’t elite. That wasn’t a masterful performance.”
The Jets have plenty of talent on that side of the ball, from Sauce Gardner to CJ Mosley and Quinnen Williams, but as a group, they were thoroughly outplayed by San Francisco and backup running back Jordan Mason, and Keith didn’t see any kind of change in scheme in the second half that would suggest an “elite” defensive unit or defensive guru in Saleh.
“Where was the adjustment at halftime?” Keith said. “If you’re a defensive guy and back at your old stomping grounds and know that offense…you should have some kind of answer. There was no answer.
“You thought you were in their weight class. You were not.”