DETROIT – This is more like what the Jets envisioned when they selected defensive ends Shaun Ellis and John Abraham in the first round of the 2000 NFL Draft.
Abraham established himself last season with 13 sacks and a Pro Bowl start. Ellis, after a strong rookie season, struggled last year, but is emerging as one of the Jets’ most consistent linemen this year, though his lack of statistics is a bit deceiving.
Ellis was praised by Herman Edwards and defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell for his play in recent games. Though he’s produced only a half sack this season, the coaches have noted his strong play against the run and a number of quarterback pressures.
The Jets, probably above anything else today against the Lions and their mobile rookie QB Joey Harrington, need strong and disciplined play from the defensive line, which needs to pressure Harrington and try to contain him in the pocket.
“You want the sack,” Ellis said, referring to his meager stats. “I haven’t been getting them, so I’ve been trying to do my job, put pressure on the quarterback and focus on the run. That seems to be our success lately: stopping the run and putting teams in throwing positions.
“I feel I’ve been getting close,” Ellis said, referring to getting sacks. “I’ve been getting pressure sometimes. I’m just going to keep pushing and playing and hopefully it’ll fall into place.”
Ellis, hurt last season by the coaches’ experimentation with him at DT in training camp, said, “I had a bad taste in my mouth” from last year. My main focus was elevating my game. I’ve got a lot of room for improvement. My main focus is to be consistent.”
He has been, and the people closest to him have been noticing.
“He’s a totally different player than he was last year,” Abraham said of Ellis. “He has more emotion. He has more feeling on the field. You can tell he wants to be on the field. Last year, you couldn’t really tell.”
Abraham, meanwhile, has been critical of his own play, with only five sacks in nine games so far.
“I don’t think I’ve been the impact player I was last year,” he said.
Abraham called his two-sack performance last Sunday “a little flash,” adding, “I don’t think it was the best I can do. I had two sacks, but I could have had four.”
