Jets defense starting to give opponents fits

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Kerry Rhodes and the rest of the New York Jets' defenders were frustrated. They were tired of hearing about having trouble making the switch from the 4-3 to the 3-4 scheme. They also had enough of teams running all over them. So they got together during their bye a few weeks ago and vowed to change things. "We went back to the basics with everything and whatever we did wrong," Rhodes said Monday. "We pointed it out -- it didn't matter what it was in any situation. We just knew we had to stand up for each other and be accountable." And the defense certainly has been the past three games, showing the sort of smart and aggressive play that coach Eric Mangini and defensive coordinator Bob Sutton hoped for. "We've been for real," defensive end Shaun Ellis said. "Now, we're just starting to jell a little bit more and we've just got to play more consistent and just get better every week." After blitz-filled game plans the previous two weeks held New England and Chicago to a total of 27 points, the Jets (6-5) stuck to their base defense Sunday and still constantly harassed Houston's offense in a 26-11 win. "The defensive line played real well," linebacker Victor Hobson said. "They were able to put pressure on the quarterback and that makes it easier for the whole defense." A major target of criticism was the line's inability to create much of a pass rush. Until recently, Rhodes, a safety, led the team in sacks. But defensive Bryan Thomas sacked David Carr twice, giving him a team-leading five, while Ellis had 1 1/2 sacks and tackle Dewayne Robertson had a half-sack. "We have guys that can rush the passer -- B.T. can rush the passer, Dewayne can rush the passer -- we have guys that can rush and beat one-on-one blocks," Ellis said. "We got a lead, they were passing the ball a little bit more and we were able to tee off on them." An alarming trend was the Jets' inability to close out teams in the fourth quarter, allowing opponents to remain in games New York should've had well in hand before the final minutes. There was no such worry against Houston. "We weren't holding up our end of the bargain as good as we would've liked to," Rhodes said. "We had our stretches where we'd play good, and say, the fourth quarter a couple of games, we broke down. We just wanted to come in and put up a complete game and a complete effort, and we've been doing that lately." If the Texans were expecting the Jets to send linebackers and safeties into the backfield more often, they probably were surprised to see them hanging back and faking blitzes. "You see now where week in and week out the game plan changes," Mangini said. "We're not pressuring as much, playing the base defense, the core stuff we've been doing for a long time, doing that effectively, but disguising and giving looks that create confusion offensively." So, the 3-4 defense is finally kicking in? "We just feel better and more and more comfortable each and every day with everything that they call, which allows the coaches to feel more and more comfortable with us," Hobson said. "It gives them more freedom to call different plays." Carr threw 54 passes for 321 yards, but it was mostly because the running game was rendered ineffective and Houston was playing from behind. The Jets held the Texans to 25 yards rushing -- a week after Houston gained 188 yards on the ground against Buffalo. New York had allowed 147 yards rushing against Cleveland before the bye, 143 to New England two weeks ago and 173 to Chicago last week. "It's a good thing that we had a game where we controlled the run," Ellis said. "Now we've just got to put two games together." The Jets' next opportunity will come at Green Bay next Sunday. "If we play like we've been playing, we can be OK," Rhodes said of the defense. "Everybody's doing the right thing right now. We're in the right spots, where we're supposed to be, and everybody's been accountable. If we keep doing that, we have a chance to be good."