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It wasn’t just a bad play-call
but a poor personnel decision.
Talking about what happened on the Las Vegas Raiders’ game-winning 46-yard TD pass from quarterback Derek Carr to wide receiver Henry Ruggs.
The blame for this shocking plays goes to Gregg Williams AND the personnel department.
Obviously, the play-call from Williams was shocking, to blitz, and leave rookie free agent cornerback, Lamar Jackson, on an island against speedster Henry Ruggs.
Even Bill Cowher of CBS, who likes to take the high road, and rarely criticizes players or coaches on the air, was critical of Williams play-call on that play – Jackson on Ruggs – with no help.
“Is this really true? Are you really doing that?” Cowher said about how the Raiders must have reacted to seeing that coverage.
So obviously this was a very poor decision by Williams to dial about that play-call.
But the Jets personnel department also deserves some criticism here.
Jackson, an undrafted free agent from Nebraska, should not be starting this year, under any circumstances. He should have spent the entire season on the Jets’ practice squad.
This is not a player you start at cornerback during his rookie year under any circumstances. He entered as a major project, and I’m not even sure if he’s a corner. With his size (6-2, 208) and limited speed (4.58), he probably should have been moved to safety. You saw his speed issues on that Ruggs.
According to an NFL.com scouting report on him before the draft: “He was rated as one of the best safety recruits in the country coming out of the Sacramento area.”
So he was even considered a safety coming out of high school. Yes, he played a lot of corner at Nebraska, but that was by necessity. Nebraska isn’t exactly a cornerback factory. They needed him to play there.
For this player to be starting at cornerback for the Jets as a rookie isn’t only unfair to the team’s defense, but also to the player.
And I’m not looking to pick on him. He seems like a fine young man. He’s a victim here, being put in a position that’s hard for him to handle right now.
Now you might say they had no choice, but they did. I’m not saying that Pierre Desir was playing well, but he is a veteran, and did lead the team in picks with 3. Even with his shortcomings, he is a much better option than Jackson.
And, honestly, one of the reasons Jackson was forced to start, was a slew of dubious personnel decisions at the cornerback position, perhaps influenced by a former Colts executive, now with the Jets. The team signed Desir as a free agent last off-season, and also made trades Nate Hairston and Quincy Wilson. All three game from the Colts. None of them are still with the team. The Jets were counting on Desir, Hairston and Wilson at he cornerback position this year, and they’re all gone. The Jets need to do some self-scouting on what led to these moves. Perhaps Douglas needs to stop deferring to the lobbying of his underlings moving forward, and just go with his own inclinations.
Relying on these three veterans entering the year was clearly a mistake, and with all of them now gone, the Jets are painfully thin at corner (the Bless Austin injury didn’t help), and this led to Jackson starting.
“He will lose valuable positioning playing the deep ball,” wrote NFL.com draft analyst Lance Zeirlein in his report on Jackson before the draft.
And he certainly did on game-winning pass.
The play-call was worse than the coverage, but he should never have been put in that position.
And he should have never have played his year, and if he did, he should have been strictly on special teams.
To start Jackson at cornerback, at any point this year, shouldn’t have even been on the table.
And I’m not picking on him. He’s a victim here as well, a player being prematurely thrust into a role he wasn’t ready for.
Douglas better use some of his draft capital, and cap space, this off-season, at the the cornerback position.
December 6, 2020
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