On a night of more heralded debuts for the Jets, Quinton Coples didn’t garner nearly as much attention.
But maybe he should have.
The first-round pick had five tackles, two for losses, a strip sack and a batted pass in his first game with the Jets.
Coach Rex Ryan said Coples had “a tremendous game,” via Jenny Vrentas of the Newark Star-Ledger.
“Some real encouraging things,” Ryan said. “That’s not surprising, but I was happy to see it nonetheless.”
Coaches told Coples to plan to play all four quarters. He didn’t start in the base 3-4 set, but worked with the starters in the four-man front as well as in their 4-3 sub package.
“I did very well,” Coples said. “I don’t have a grade for it, but I was very productive. I also have a lot to improve upon as well. It starts on Sunday when we go back to practice. I look forward to looking at this game on film and correcting my mistakes.”
If Coples proves to be more than a physical specimen, the Jets have the potential to have a dangerous defensive line, whether it’s three or four men up front.
And if they continue to fiddle with backup quarterbacks, they might need their defense to be dominant.