Five questions on the Jets with Gang Green Nation

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To get ready for Sunday's Detroit Lions game, I sent five questions to John B from Gang Green Nation, SB Nation's New York Jets blog. You can check out his answers below.

1. Geno Smith has seemingly had a pretty up and down start to his second season in the NFL. How would you rate his performance so far, and do you think the Jets need to consider going to Michael Vick at some point?

I think he's improved from year one. He's making better reads and his footwork is improved. There still are times when these things fall apart for him, though. He's taken some really bad sacks. Throwing late is also a bad tendency of his. He looked so lost at many points last season that I think an improvement was almost guaranteed. That said I don't think he's where a second-year quarterback should be. Games one and three were almost mirror images. The offense put up 19 points in both. Geno also turned it over twice in both, one of which set up an opponent touchdown both times. He also took bad sacks in the red zone in both games in which he exacerbated the problem by retreating when under pressure.

There might be a point where the Jets turn to Vick, but I'm not sure that point is right now. A lot of the things Vick does poorly are the things I just mentioned about Geno, so I'm not sure how much a change will help things.

2. The Jets have the top rushing defense in the NFL right now. What makes them so tough to run against?

The Jets have three young defensive linemen who are a handful to block, Muhammad Wilkerson, Sheldon Richardson and Damon Harrison. They control the point of attack, keep the linebackers clean and get off blocks.

3. How has the Jets pass defense performed so far this season?

The secondary is a mess. The Jets were among the leaders in salary cap space entering free agency. They left it with over $20 million in cap space and only journeyman Dimitri Patterson as a signing. Patterson didn't even make the Week 1 roster. Dee Milliner has been hurt since preseason, first with an ankle injury and now with a quad. It's so bad that the Jets have tried to convert Antonio Allen from safety to corner. Allen was actually converted from linebacker to safety originally. Statistically he's been one of the worst corners in the league so far. Starting across from him is Darrin Walls, who really profiles as a dime back.

With that in mind, the Jets are one of only four teams to have allowed at least seven touchdown passes so far. They are only giving up 6.4 yards per pass, though, and that's a credit to the pressure the linemen I mentioned above have been able to bring. The sack totals haven't been high, but the pass rush is the only thing keeping this defense remotely competitive against the pass.

4. On the other side of the ball, the Jets offense has the NFL's second-best running game right now. Which running back should the Lions be most concerned about on Sunday?

Chris Ivory is the most explosive back on the roster. Last year he had one of the highest averages after contact in the league. He also has a surprising second gear. Chris Johnson obviously has a bigger name, but he's off to a slow start. Thus far he's looked like a guy who struggles to create his own yardage.

Don't count out Geno Smith either. He's very athletic. The Jets will likely put in a designed run or two for him, and he is capable of making plays with his legs if nobody accounts for him on a dropback.

5. With the Lions firing Jim Schwartz after last season, Rex Ryan is the only one left from the 2009 head coaching class. What do the Jets need to accomplish this season for Ryan to remain the head coach going into 2015?

I would guess the Jets need to make the Playoffs. Missing this year would be four in a row, and coaches usually don't survive that. Then again, coaches usually don't survive three, and Rex is still around. The owner does seem to be quite taken with Ryan, so oddly it's not completely clear his job is actually on the line.

Editor's Note: SB Nation's partner FanDuel is hosting a $350,000 Fantasy Football Contest for Week 4's NFL games. It's only $10 to join and first place wins $30,000. Starts Sunday, September 28th at 1pm ET. Here's the link.