Brian Bassett on the secondary: Analysis: I know that many think that the grade is too soft, but let’s face it, we’ve been spoiled by stellar play at the cornerback position. I’ll argue that by the end of the season, the front seven’s ability to pressure will make life easier on the secondary. I’ll also argue that the current concern is more glaring because of our recent bias. The Seahawks Legion of Boom was a major reason that Seattle hoisted the Lombardy Trophy last February, but let’s look further back. In 2012 Baltimore had the 13th best secondary when they won, in 2011 the Giants had the 19th best. In 2010 New Orleans the 10th best while Pittsburgh the 14th best in 2009. My point? While secondary play matters and might be accelerating in importance, recent history would say that Super Bowls are won with other position groups. Those groups were not the first or even second most important groups on four of the last five Super Bowl champions. All of those teams had efficient, or in some cases, prolific offenses. A team like the Giants had an unmitigated wreck in their secondary, but were still able to rattle future Hall of Fame QB Tom Brady in the Super Bowl based on the strength of their defensive line, not their corner play. Even if the Jets secondary is bad, this group won’t end the season ranked in the 20s. It is true that the Jets secondary failures might be systemic and wholly avoidable had they brought in a high-priced veteran like Alterraun Verner or Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie during free agency, but there’s no going back now. The hurricane is upon us and when I look at this group, I would argue that the Jets have decided to steer into the storm. It’s hard to know when Milliner will be ready to come back to the team and it’s even harder to say when he’ll be back at 100% but he’s ready to play the lead dog role as he demonstrated at the end of last season and in his short time on the field against Andrew Luck in the first preseason game. Kyle Wilson will finger wag himself off the team next year, but for now he’ll do his normal erratic work in the slot. Darrin Walls seems primed to be the man to step up as the second boundary corner. Lankster can fill in on the inside or out as needed. It’s hard to know what we can rely on from LeQuan Lewis, but I don’t expect the Jets to be throwing him up against Alshon Jeffrey or Randall Cobb any time soon. Rex also feels confident about charting the hardest course with this group because he’s been gushing about the depth of his safeties for months. Can he get away with playing Big Nickel extensively instead of using/exposing his third corner until Milliner returns? We’re about to find out. Antonio Allen is a player on the rise and Rex’s confidence to switch him to corner was eye-opening. Allen is still recovering from his concussion, but could be ready for Week 1. Regardless, Dawan Landry and Jaiquawn Jarrett are capable of making contributions while Allen recovers. If the Bengals game was any indication, Calvin Pryor’s range of real estate in which he can impact a play will be a building block for the rest of the unit. Many have scratched their heads at the inclusion of Josh Bush over Rontez Miles, but Bush might not be long for the roster anyway should the team find a veteran or waived defensive back they prefer. For now, it is wholly the team’s decision to bring as much coverage skill as they can into group. While Miles is a great story and might make the active roster at some point this fall, the Jets are in crisis mode until Milliner is healthy. The Jets cornerback situation isn’t great, but it could be worse. Once Milliner and Pryor are on the field together, the rest of the pieces will fall into place … and as recent history indicates they won’t even need to be the league’s best to win the Lombardi Trophy.
Posted on: Mon, 01 Sep 2014 04:23:03 +0000