Did everyone suddenly forget how unbelievably dreadful Milliner was in 2013? Like, historically terrible. I'm not saying he can't develop, but he didn't exactly show much last year. A little something at the end of a truly embarrassing season for him, personally. Now we are suddenly okay starting him against #1 WRs? Yeah. Sure.
This speaks to the main gripe I have with Rex -- his stubborn reliance on CBs during an era when the position is always behind the 8-ball. Whether it's Pass Interference, or Illegal Contact, or Unnecessary Roughness, or even just getting picked by the WRs -- the CB position is extremely difficult and no longer suited for coverage that is predominantly man-to-man. So, this is what it's come to: Either you need 3 or 4 studs at CB, or you find a more realistic way of constructing a sustainable top tier Defense.
Wilson hasn't done a thing to justify his draft position. He commits bad penalties in crucial moments of games, haven't seen him cover anyone adequately even when the ball is thrown elsewhere, and he should be getting called for more penalties than he has been already. Do I need to say more?
He was terrible for the first 12 games or so, but there are a few mitigating circumstances that give us reason to believe that he could be much better than that. First, it's hard to make the jump from college CB to NFL CB, harder than at most positions. Guys run better routes, and you can't be as physical, and you have a huge playbook to memorize compared to college, and even the bench WRs are bigger and faster than 90% of the guys you covered in college. If you mess up twice out of 70 snaps, that's two TDs and you just cost your team the game. So- steep learning curve. Second, Milliner was recovering from an injury, and that prevented him from doing all the preseason practices (or at least most of them). So he had to learn on the job, and he made some blunders. Third, Milliner stepped up in a huge way the last quarter of the season. Rex had said something like "wait till he gets a few interceptions, he'll be just fine" and although few of us believed it would happen (I was a nonbeliever), he racked up an impressive amount of interceptions in December, and he didn't look incompetent anymore. He could end up being bad, but he did enough in the last month of the season to suggest that with a full offseason to prep, he will be more like the Milliner of December than the Milliner of September. He won't be Revis, but he has the potential to be really good.
Yep. I loved how Milliner seemed better to end the season, much more so than Smith improved. But it's a gamble with next season to count on him jumping up to #1 Cb. Unless of course he ends up playing zone most of the time, to which I would say WTF? The Jets are going to change their defensive schemes because in two years they've gone from Revis and Cromartie to Milliner and some JAG?
While I am not sure I agree with you that coverage is no longer suited to man to man (I think that depends on the talent of the CB's you have), it is clear enough to me that WITHOUT that talent at Cb, Rex's basic defensive scheme is much less effective. I am not saying Rex cannot change his basic D. He's got the people up front to have a wicked DL. But if you really want to shortchange your secondary, you need fast LB's, good in pass coverage, and of course a very good pass rush. As great as the DL is, and could become even better, I don't see the Jets' present roster amounting to a very good pass rushing D.
Milliner won defensive player of the month for December. That is pretty impressive for a rookie CB who was thrown into the fire with little to no training camp. His stock is on the rise and with a full year underneath him I expect big things from him. Don't be surprised if we draft a CB and roll the dice with who we have now. If you look at our CB group as a whole, there is good depth. The team was very high on Berry before he got injured. Walls played pretty good man coverage and almost had a couple of picks. Wilson is good in the slot, one of the best if you look at PFF stats. I think people are over-estimating Cro's abilities, CB's can drop in productivity really really fast. Look at Nhamdi, out of the league. He was burned so many times last year. The situation is not as bad as it seems. If Idzik can get one of the remaining CB's at a reasonable deal he will pull the trigger, if not he will look to one of our 12 draft picks.
Yeah, for me personally, I would put more value on strength & speed in the Front 7 than value on outstanding CBs. I didn't mean to imply that Man coverage is impossible. But I do see it growing increasingly more difficult, to such an extent that it doesn't seem like a way to build a Defense with sustainable success -- unless, of course, you have those dominant CBs. I just strongly question whether it's worth it to constantly chase those players due to the fact that they're "necessary" in Rex's Defense.
Good post Uniform. Rex is a football coach who is responsible for creating a defense suited to the talent he has. There are many ways to play defense in the NFL. Sticking to one system is a sure way to be outsmarted. Maybe Idzik is telling him that now.
So, Idzik is better suited to determine what type of D the Jets should be playing than Rex Ryan? Or is it more that Idzik for whatever reason can't get players suitable for Rex's preferred D?
Oh I agree. Against play-off talent he is not the answer, but were not going to the play-offs, and he's good enough for regular season talent and may come cheap.
Not sure I get this comment lol what's the difference between playoff talent and regular season talent? A receiver is a receiver. Whether his team makes it to the playoffs or not, the guy is either talented or not. We face Denver, Kansas City, New England, San Diego, etc. All of which either have awesome receivers or likely will have.
Rex works for Idzik. Rex is a football coach not a savant. He doesn't have special knowledge that no one else does. Many good teams play different defenses. It is the GM's job to set the direction of the team. A top coach will play to the strengths of his club and hide the weaknesses. You never have top players at every position.
ya there's still a few options out there, hope we get at least one, but at the current pace, it looking bleak
