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As you all know, over the last two days, the Jets have released cornerback Antonio Cromartie and wide receiver Santonio Holmes over the last two days.
The two moves save the Jets just under $18 million in cap space.
Let’s start with Cromartie.
It was time to move on.
If he’s not going to be physical at the line of scrimmage, consistently jamming receivers, it’s time for the Jets to find a replacement who will.
He gave too many receivers a free release from the line, and seems allergic to press coverage.
This is unacceptable in Rex’s heavy man-to-man defense.
Coaches grew frustrated with him, for a stunt that he pulled way too often. He’d be on the line, seemingly poised to jam the receiver, and then right before the snap, he’d drop off. Why?
Perhaps, as one Jets coach once told me, “he’s a track guy.”
Another words, he’s a finesse player.
“Cro is one of the finest athletes I’ve ever coached,” Rex said today in a released statement from the team today.
No question about it. He has world class speed and great leaping ability.
But here is the problem.
Tall corners, long-legged corners, need to be physical at the line.
Look at Seattle’s corners, led by 6-3 Richard Sherman, they beat you up at the line. Look how they manhandled the Denver receivers in the Super Bowl.
Here is the issue for tall corners if they don’t get a jam –
When you have long legs, and you are often chasing around smaller, quicker receivers, who change direction effortlessly, it’s hard for the tall corners to change directions like their smaller foes.
Long-legged corners often need to gather themselves before they change directions, and lose steps on the receiver.
Cromartie was called for a lot of holding penalties over the last four years with the Jets. This shouldn’t come as a surprise. He often ended up playing catch-up to receivers who cut away from him, and many times grabbed their jerseys, leading to red flags.
So why didn’t the Jets coaches demand that Cromartie stopping bailing off the line – demand that he play press coverage the right way?
That is answer is simple. Troubling, but simple.
Cromartie doesn’t like getting yelled at. He had a shouting match with Mike Pettine a couple of years ago when the coach tried to, well, coach him.
The defensive coaches felt that if they yelled at Cromartie, he’s so sensitive, that it would make him play worse.
Some coaches felt he especially didn’t like getting yelled at by men.
So the coaches walked on egg shells when dealing with Cromartie, rarely calling him out.
There is no question “Cro” had some great moments with the Jets, including 13 picks.
But if you aren’t going to physical at the line of the scrimmage as an NFL corner, and you aren’t going to stick you face in the fan as a tackler (another issue here), it’s time to move on.
This is football.
You can’t play it seemingly trying to avoid contact as much as you can.
March 10, 2014
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