- 8 hours ago
Dan Leberfeld previews Browns vs Jets, Todd Monken's impact, Deshaun Watson vs Geno Smith
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00:00Covers the Jets on Jets Confidential Magazine, also on SiriusXM NFL Radio.
00:04Good friend Dan Leberfeld joining us now.
00:07Dan, what's going on?
00:09Not too much out here in Jersey waiting for the big game.
00:14Must win for the Jets, and the Browns have put themselves in a position
00:18where it's not necessarily a must win.
00:20If you ever call an early team, a game, a must win.
00:23But if the Jets drop to one and four, and then they're at New England after that,
00:26it could spiral out of control.
00:28Yeah, it looks like it could get a little bit ugly.
00:30I'll ask you right out of the gate, Dan.
00:32Jets all week favored in this game against the Browns.
00:35Were you surprised to see that?
00:38No, I don't think so, because I think the Jets were probably a little undervalued,
00:44and the Browns were a little overvalued.
00:46I don't mean that to be disrespectful to the Browns,
00:49but the Jets lost a close game in Detroit, lost a close game to Green Bay,
00:56and then obviously last week against Chicago, they weren't as good.
00:59But they're a much more talented team than last year compared to their roster in 2025.
01:06And I just think that when you look at the Browns, they've played well,
01:09but I just think it was maybe a little bit of a market correction.
01:14Now, last week was interesting, because I thought the Jets had looked competitive in games
01:18that maybe nationally people wouldn't have expected them to be competitive in.
01:22Geno looked good.
01:23What happened last week against the Bears, where I think Chicago got to run like 80-odd plays,
01:29almost 90 plays in that game, and the Jets' offense wasn't finding any success?
01:35Yeah, I mean, some of the stats on the stat sheet after the game,
01:40you had to look at them twice, like the Chicago Bears holding the ball for about 43 minutes,
01:45and the Jets having the ball for 17 minutes.
01:48You don't see that very often.
01:50And the Jets were 0 for 7 on third down.
01:53But the biggest problem for the Jets in that game, and also in the Detroit game,
01:58is their run defense has been terrible the last couple weeks.
02:01So maybe the Browns get the running game going with Judkins this week,
02:05because the Jets are getting gashed up the middle.
02:08And to me, when you play the run like they have the last couple weeks,
02:13I think it's demoralizing to your team.
02:15I think good run defense sets a strong tone for the rest of the team,
02:19and they have not played the run well the last couple weeks.
02:22And while their offense was not good in Chicago, they actually ran the ball well.
02:28But I think one of the issues was that Geno Smith, who's having a solid season,
02:34really had issues with the coverages that Dennis Allen,
02:38the veteran defensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears, was dialing up.
02:42It was a lot of disguised coverages, and I think it gave Geno some issues.
02:46Yeah, I mean, you take a look at, obviously, bad run defense for the Jets
02:50through the start of the season.
02:52Browns' run offense also hasn't been good.
02:54I mean, you look at this Jets defensive line, the linebacking core,
02:57is this a team that you think personnel-wise can be good against the run,
03:02or are they maybe just a little bit flat there after last year?
03:05I know Jets sell off a lot of pieces on that defense.
03:09Yeah, as far as the run defense, David Onyemata,
03:13who was brought in from Atlanta, a defensive tackle to help with the run,
03:20he's been out for about a month now with a groin.
03:23He's on short-term IR, so that didn't help.
03:25And then some players you're familiar with, Juwan Briggs, the former Brown,
03:31is a good interior pass rusher, but sometimes he has issues getting off blocks.
03:37He has short arms.
03:38I'm not making fun of him, just saying it's hard to shed blocks sometimes.
03:43So he's struggled against the run,
03:45and they brought over Tavondre Sweat, the massive nose tackle from the Tennessee Titans
03:51via University of Texas 6'4", 366.
03:55I thought he'd be a force against the run for the Jets this year.
03:58Not the case so far.
04:01Harrison Phillips has been inconsistent against the run.
04:05So there's a lot of issues with the interior,
04:07but I don't blame the linebackers because what's going on in Damara Davis,
04:11as I mentioned, players you're familiar with in Cleveland,
04:15he struggled last week against the run, but I don't blame him
04:18because what was going on was the offensive linemen didn't feel they needed
04:22to double-team any of the Jets' D linemen,
04:24so they were pulling to the second level,
04:26and they were just engulfing Demario Davis and Jamie Sherwood.
04:30So I blame the run defense issues more on the D-line than the linebackers.
04:35Interesting.
04:36Flipping over to the offense for the Jets,
04:38I mean, defensively you can obviously talk about it too.
04:42You talked about David Onyemata.
04:44Injuries are just piling up, it feels like, left and right for the Jets.
04:49Brees Hall, Adonai Mitchell, Tim Patrick obviously is on IR,
04:52your rookie Omar Cooper Jr.
04:54How much has the injury kind of derailed what Jets fans were hoping
04:58the start of the season would be?
05:01Well, it's interesting because in Detroit they actually played well on offense,
05:07and the passing game was very, very good.
05:10It was the defense that was more of a problem.
05:13And then last week, obviously the offense was really bad.
05:17They should get back Patrick this week.
05:19Patrick has been out for the whole season with a groin.
05:23He got ramped up in practice this week,
05:27and he looked to me today, he looked like the player's probably going to play.
05:30You don't know until the pregame, but they could get him back.
05:33He'll give them a big target at 6'5", 210, very good on 50-50 balls,
05:38and a really good run blocker.
05:40And I think they're really going to focus on the run this weekend.
05:43I was listening to your update before I came on about the Browns' injuries
05:47on their defensive line.
05:49No Mason Graham, no Hall, and obviously, as you guys know very well,
05:54right is out for the year.
05:56So a lot of injuries on the D-line.
05:58Jets' offensive line is very talented,
06:02and I really do think with all the injuries the Browns have on the D-line,
06:07I think the Jets are going to be able to run the ball this week,
06:10and I think you're going to see a heavy dose of Braylon Allen,
06:12who is a sculpted 6'1", 250-pound powerback,
06:17you might remember from the Big Ten at Wisconsin.
06:20So I really think the Jets, one of the keys to a Jets' win,
06:24if they can pull it off, is I think a strong running game against the B.
06:33Dan Leberfeld with us here on the hotline.
06:35Dan, I like that you point that out,
06:38because I actually think as much as the run defense maybe statistically
06:41is a massive problem for them,
06:42it feels like a lot of teams have just kind of walked away from the run
06:46in a lot of moments, and then the pass rush gets going over the,
06:49especially the last two weeks against Carolina and against Pittsburgh,
06:53and really it was after the Mason Graham injury,
06:56it was after Mike Hall went down,
06:57they were still creating pressure in a way that we did not see
07:00over the first two games,
07:01and Browns fans feared after losing Myles Garrett.
07:04How do you feel about the Jets' offensive line
07:06in pass protection for Geno Smith right now,
07:09going up against guys like Jared Versa,
07:11and now a little bit of a weaker pressure coming from the interior?
07:15Yeah, I feel pretty good about that offensive line.
07:19You've got the two first-round offensive tackles,
07:23bookend tackles, and you have Joe Tippman at guard,
07:29who's a really good run blocker,
07:31and Josh Myers is a solid center.
07:33The issue to a degree has been the left guard spot,
07:38because Dylan Parham, who came over from the Raiders to man that spot,
07:42who had a good summer and a good early season couple performances there.
07:47He's out with a leg injury,
07:49so they have Jordan Meredith in there, a backup swingman,
07:53so maybe that's a position the Browns can target
07:56in terms of the interior pass rush.
07:57But I heard the Quincy Williams soundbite leading into the segment,
08:02and I think, you know, I covered Quincy his entire time with the Jets.
08:06He's a really good run defender.
08:08He's a tremendous blitzer.
08:11But he was very inconsistent in pass coverage with the Jets,
08:16and I think the Jets are really talented at tight end,
08:20so I think you could see a heavy dose of throws to the tight end.
08:23I don't know how Quincy has held up in pass coverage with the Browns.
08:26I haven't paid too close attention to that particular stat.
08:31Maybe you can fill me in on that,
08:33but I think the Jets might target him in terms of throwing at him a little bit.
08:38We know what he is as a run stuffer and a blitzer.
08:40I'm just telling you what I saw when he was at the Jets.
08:44Very inconsistent in pass coverage.
08:47Maybe.
08:48I mean, off the top of my head,
08:50no individual plays stick out to me of him in pass coverage.
08:54So, I guess you consider that a good thing.
08:56Like, he's not making plays there.
08:58It also doesn't feel like he's been getting absolutely blitzed there.
09:01So, I guess I'll take that as a positive right now,
09:04but definitely something to keep an eye on as we move forward.
09:08And obviously a guy you're familiar with, too, Mike Rutenberg,
09:11from being over there in New York.
09:13It's just, what were the feelings of him coming over,
09:17readiness to be a defensive coordinator?
09:18Because I think there were a lot of questions leading up to the season,
09:21a lot of questions after week one, and the defense has just bounced back
09:25in such a massive way and answered the call that I feel like Browns fans
09:28are feeling really good about him right now.
09:30Yeah, and just my experiences with him.
09:33I don't know if you've had a chance to interview, but a heck of a guy.
09:36Really good person.
09:38Very hard worker.
09:39Went to Cornell, and it's interesting.
09:41He played, I don't know what it's called,
09:44but there's this level of college football.
09:46There's like eight schools in the Northeast that play it.
09:48And it's like under a certain weight.
09:51You might want to look it up on the internet, but it's interesting.
09:53He played in this unusual football league that eight schools participated in.
09:59Cornell's one of them for players under 200 pounds.
10:02So that was his playing experience.
10:04But, you know, very energetic, very enthusiastic,
10:08obviously very smart as a Cornell graduate.
10:11So I thought he'd be at D.C. one day.
10:14The one thing about if he's running that he might have learned under Robert Sala
10:20and under Jeff Ulbrich, what I remember about that scheme is it's very aggressive.
10:25You know, remember the old mantra from Robert Sala and all gas, no brakes, right?
10:31So it's run around, make plays.
10:34The D linemen run all over the place, you know, sideline to sideline.
10:37They don't have to just stay in gaps.
10:39And it's very aggressive.
10:40But the other thing I do remember is it's not overly complicated.
10:44It's more of like you know what we're going to do,
10:46but we're going to do it really well, and you're going to have a hard time stopping it.
10:50So the reason I bring that up is, as I mentioned before,
10:53Geno Smith struggled a little bit with the complicated looks that Dennis Allen dialed up
10:59as the Chicago Bears defensive coordinator last week.
11:02I don't know exactly what – I was going to call him Rudy.
11:07Yeah, that's stuck here already.
11:08Yeah, it has.
11:09Okay.
11:10I don't know what Rudy's dialing up with the Browns.
11:13And when I say it's a simple system, it doesn't mean it's not effective.
11:16It's just not maybe as complicated as others.
11:19It's like we're going to do what we do, and we're going to run to the ball.
11:22We're going to make it impossible for you to do what you do.
11:25So it's more of that than tons of disguised coverages like Geno saw last week.
11:30So I could see Geno Smith having a little bit of a bounce-back game this week
11:34as far as not having that issue, trusting his eyes like he did last week.
11:39And again, Dan Laberfeld with us here on the hotline.
11:43Dan, I know you cover the NFL in Mass, obviously, too, paying attention to all of these.
11:48If you had to give – between the two quarterbacks, you're going to watch play on Sunday.
11:52Who do you kind of give the edge, the better quarterback right now,
11:55Geno Smith or Deshaun Watson?
11:58Well, I think – I know it's always a cop-out when you say it's a tie or it's close,
12:03but I really do think it's close.
12:04I think they're both guys that need a running game to sell the play action.
12:08They both have really good play calls, Frank Reich with the Jets
12:12and Monken with the Browns.
12:14I've been a Monken fan for a long time, going back to southern Mississippi.
12:18I think this guy – I had pushed the Jets.
12:21When I say I pushed the Jets, they don't listen to me.
12:24But, like, in articles when they had openings, I mentioned Todd Monken as a candidate.
12:29I think that was a heck of a hire by the Cleveland Browns.
12:32Really, really smart guy.
12:33Really good play call.
12:34I mean, look at the University of Georgia.
12:37They won their two championships with him in recent times calling the plays,
12:41and they haven't won one since he left.
12:44And he did a great job in Baltimore.
12:45So, I really think it's a very even matchup for quarterback of guys
12:50that definitely get some good play calling from their OCs,
12:55in the case of the Browns, OC slash head coach.
12:58And Frank Reich, as last week wasn't a great game for Frank Reich,
13:01it wasn't good for anyone associated with their offense.
13:04But Frank Reich has done a good job overall for the Jets this year.
13:07So, I think they're both guys that can manage the game
13:13and work best when they have a running game.
13:15Dan, I don't know if you saw this quote from Monken today,
13:18but you might really like it because apparently he was asked about something
13:23from the Jets interview process when that job was open when he was talking to them
13:26back in, I think it was 2019 off the top of my head.
13:30But somebody in the interview process told him,
13:33don't ever forget that you're a Mercedes when you look in the mirror.
13:35You can't control if they want a Lexus.
13:38Right. Oh, he said that about the Jets interview?
13:42Somebody during the Jets interview process from the Jets gave him that advice.
13:48Yeah, I don't totally get that.
13:51But when you look at it, he was a guy that I think the league,
13:57before he got hired by the Browns, when he missed out in a couple of the prior hiring cycles,
14:02I think the league was trending younger with the head coaches.
14:06And I think that hurt him.
14:07I always thought he was a great candidate,
14:09but teams were going young with a lot of these candidates.
14:12So it hurt him in the process.
14:14And the Browns showed a great vision by saying,
14:16we don't care about his age.
14:17With age comes wisdom.
14:19And he's providing a lot of that kind of wisdom.
14:22And, you know,
14:23maybe it's going to start trending the other way with the age of the coaches,
14:26with the job that John Harbaugh is doing with the Giants
14:29and Monken's doing with the Browns.
14:32Dana, if you look at this Browns team right now,
14:34sitting at 3-1,
14:35they're obviously trying to play for 4-1 this week.
14:38Do you look at this team and think the success is real,
14:41or maybe just a team that not necessarily got lucky,
14:45but found their way with a 3-1 record
14:46that won't find themselves in a similar spot later down the line?
14:51Well, like the great GM of the Dodgers famously said,
14:55Branch Rickey, luck is the residue of design.
14:58And I think with Monken,
14:59there are certain coaches that you can manufacture wins with.
15:04And as Parcells like to say,
15:07there's a way to win every game.
15:09And I think the Browns have one of those coaches now
15:11where it might not always be pretty,
15:14but he's going to manufacture some wins with his mind
15:17and with his staff and, you know, with his strategy.
15:22And, you know,
15:22it sounds like I'm going to be the guy inducting him into the Hall of Fame
15:25one day with what I'm saying about Coach Monken.
15:27But I'm a huge fan of the guy, and I never met him.
15:31I know I'm a big fan of his cousin, too,
15:34down the road from here at Army,
15:35who does a great job,
15:37his cousin Monken at Army.
15:40So when you look at the head coach,
15:43I think he's going to help them win some games
15:45that people say how'd they win that game.
15:47And there's not a lot of coaches like that,
15:49and I think the Browns have one of them.
15:51All right, real quick before we let you go, Dan,
15:53do you have a prediction of which team you think
15:55actually walks away as winners on Sunday?
15:58I think the Jets are going to win.
16:00I think what you saw from Tampa Bay last night,
16:04I think the Jets are so desperate right now.
16:06They have to win this game.
16:07Enormous pressure on the head coach.
16:09I can't sit here and say he's on the hot seat.
16:11That's only something the owner and his right-hand man know.
16:16But if they go out to one and four,
16:19you know what's going to be happening in this market
16:21as far as people saying maybe it's time to make a coaching change.
16:24To get to two and three, you know, you're still viable.
16:27You still have a shot.
16:29And I do think all those injuries on the Browns-D line
16:32is going to benefit the Jets this week.
16:34Because not only when you throw in the analysis
16:37of the Browns-D line,
16:38obviously you have to say no Miles Garrett.
16:40I know that was a few months ago.
16:41But without Alex Wright and Mason Graham
16:45and obviously some of the other injured players, Hall,
16:49it's not the D-line the Browns thought they were going to have
16:52entering the year.
16:53So I think the Jets will run the football.
16:55Gino will be able to sell those play-action fakes
16:57that he has his most success doing.
17:01They'll stay away from Denzel Ward,
17:03and I think they'll figure out a way to win a close game.
17:06Dan, we appreciate you being so gracious with your time.
17:0915 minutes with you flies by like it's five.
17:12And we really appreciate, you know,
17:13jumping on with us and giving us some good insight into this one.
17:17Anytime, Jake.
17:18It's always a pleasure to be on with you.