1. Inside Pressure On Brady
Tom Brady is 4-2 in six career Super Bowls. Why did the man lose two Super Bowls? Well, simply put, he faced the New York Giants and their relentless pass rush.
Michael Strahan, Jason Pierre-Paul and especially Justin Tuck (inside pressure during 2007) wrecked havoc against Brady. They were so good that the coverage behind them could still drop seven while not allowing Brady to ever get comfortable.
Furthermore, there’s nothing Brady hates more than inside pressure. Sure, edge pressure is the gold standard in the league these days. It’s a lovely thing to possess.
However, Brady and his well-trained bookend tackles deal with edge pressure quite well. He actually gains purposeful passing windows by funneling the edge guys down the field. Brady’s weakness is pressure coming right at him – up the middle and at his legs.
He absolutely despises this type of pressure because he can’t step into his throws like he loves to do. The guy isn’t a mobile QB by any means, but he does tend to climb the pocket and step forward with most passes.
Because he also gets rid of the ball in record time, it’s a tough chore to send six or seven guys at him and come away with consistent positive results. It’ll be up to Sheldon Richardson, Leonard Williams, Damon Harrison, and Muhammad Wilkerson to create a substantial amount of pressure on their own so Bowles can keep seven in coverage and have them tackle stoutly after the catch.
If this gameplan falls through, so will the Jets chance of winning.