Ryan Fitzpatrick's public game of chicken with the New York Jets has left the club with a burning question mark on offense.
Gang Green's defense, though, doesn't plan to skip a beat come September. Asked Monday if New York's secondary can be among the league's best, cornerback Buster Skrine didn't back down.
"Just building off of last year," Skrine said, per NJ.com. "Second time in the system. I think we're gonna have a great secondary this year. I thought we were good last year, but we can be even better."
The Jets finished 13th against the pass last season, but Football Outsiders ranked New York as fielding the NFL's ninth-best DVOA against opposing air attacks.
Aging cover man Antonio Cromartie has been released, putting the versatile Skrine in position to play outside opposite Darrelle Revis. We also expect promising corner Marcus Williams to compete for snaps after pulling down six picks in limited time last season. Meanwhile, fourth-round rookie Juston Burris was added as a press-coverage specialist, which might be enough to send the enigmatic Dee Milliner packing.
There's also the case of first-round linebacker Darron Lee, who coach Todd Bowles plans to use as a hybrid inside linebacker/safety because of his juicy speed and passing-down prowess.
"Just seeing him run around ... in the league, all they do is pass nowadays," Skrine said of Lee. "You've got a couple teams with good running backs, so it's important that we got him."
When NFL Media's Lance Zierlein listed the six teams that improved their defense most through the draft, the Jets were mentioned just behind the Jaguars. With Lee and Burris likely to see action right away, Bowles has plenty of options when it comes to battling Tom Brady and other denizens of the AFC East.