2011 Starters: Darrelle Revis – 5th Year: Revis has become the poster boy of everything a starting NFL cornerback should be. Consistently takes on the best WR’s in the game and shuts them down. He has a big contract for this season and then the numbers drastically go down, so his contract will once again need to be re-negotiated after the season to make sure that he does not have an ugly hold out again prior to the 2012 season (which he made a passing comment about after signing his current deal). Revis really does not have any notable weaknesses to his game, he covers, tackles and plays the run as good if not better than anyone else at the position. Antonio Cromartie – 6th Year: Physically speaking, probably the most gifted DB on the team. As the season wore on, Rex started to figure out how to best use Cromartie with his Defense. Cro started to draw the team’s best deep threat and naturalizing them which allowed Revis (once healthy) to shut down the quicker receivers that were eating up the Jets earlier in the season. Cro has knack for the ball. He also possesses a great return ability as well which was used late in the season subbing from Brad Smith. He does struggle against quicker receivers and will get burned from time to time. Does not like to play up at the LOS to bump the receivers and often gives too much space on short yardage plays. All in all, he is a solid and gifted no. 2 corner to Revis and locked up for the next 4 years. 2011 Backups: Kyle Wilson – 2nd Year: Wilson looked great in training camp last season, but then got picked on early and often when the season began, which got into his head and destroyed his confidence, leading to a benching late in season. He seemed to regain some of his confidence towards the end of the season. Wilson possesses the ability to be an above-average starting CB for this team, in college he was a play maker, showing good foot-speed and anticipation. He also displayed good hands with the ability to return a pick-6. His punt and kick-off return ability, which was amazing in college, has not been as notable in the NFL as he has had issues holding onto the ball. I was encouraged that Wilson locked himself in a room with Revis for four weeks this off season, I am hoping that it translates to his play this season. He needs to develop better play-reading and add some more muscle to his frame to help him take on receivers at the line. I always give a player 3 years to develop, so I am still high on Wilson and hope that Rex and co. will develop him into the player that we all envisioned. Donald Stirckland - 8th Year: Resigned this year after spending last season with the Chargers. I remember Strickland, when healthy, as being a very good 3rd CB for the Jets two seasons ago. If he stays healthy this year he should be a good role player for the team. A tough, aggressive defender. Tackles well for his size and is very solid in run support. Has great instincts and field awareness. Always around the ball. Plays well in zone coverage. Can play anywhere in the secondary. Has had a few major injuries through the years. A little undersized with average speed. Will lose track of the ball in the air at times. Still raw in man coverage. http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/players/2120/donald-strickland Marquice Cole – 3rd Year: Cole’s improvements between his rookie year and last year were huge. He plays with a lot of heart and energy. Possesses great speed and awareness that also enable him to be a gunner on special teams. He seems to hang well with receivers and is a hard hitter. He does not possess the ideal size for a CB, may never develop into a starter, but could be a solid nickel back for this team while contributing regularly on special teams. Ellis Lankster – 1st Year: Former 7th round pick of the Bills. In college he showed good intelligence, instincts and anticipation. Did well stepping up to stop the run, was a well rounder CB. At 5’-9” he lacks ideal height and bulk for a CB, he is more quick than fast, probably does not project into anything more than a nickel back at best. Julian Posey: Posey is a compact player with good physical skills. Ohio seems to have a lot of insecurity and inconsistency in terms of the development of talent at peripheral positions, but Posey seems like an interesting project. He’s a good fit for Rex’s style as well. http://www.nyjetsdraft.com/2011/07/jets-rookie-free-agent-signings/ 2011 Unrestricted Free Agents: Drew Coleman – 6th Year: Coleman is a fan favorite, just kidding! He actually had a great season for the Jets last year, but I think that he had gotten burned and made so many mistakes in the past, that we all were waiting for the other shoe to drop. Coleman is a small CB in stature, but is very quick, athletic and versatile. He showed some big play ability this last season as well. Might have shown enough last season for the Jets to resign him, especially since they did not draft any additional DB’s in the draft. Signed with Jacksonville, his Jets tenure comes to an end! 2011 Outlook: This group going into the off season was full of if's and without a lot of depth. Now that Cro is locked up for four seasons with Revis & Wilson, and the addition of Strickland, the group is once again one of the strongest positions on the team. 2011 Cuts: Will Billingsley – 1st Year: Practice squad player with a lot of red-flags in his past. I could not find any scouting reports on him, so not much to talk about at this point. Glad i didn't take more time to find information about him as he has been cut prior to training camp starting. Jeremy McGee - Rookie: Didn't last long... Note: The scouting reports for the lesser known players were copied from several websites and posted here to give some information about the player. If anyone has any additional or better information about a player, let me know and I will add it to the post.
I love Drew Coleman What was the extent of Kyle's workouts with Revis? I for one dont feel confident giving him the number two spot right now. But what do i know.
Wilson spent two weeks with Revis in Arizona. They trained together and watched film. Revis was teaching Wilson about conditioning, preparation and worked on footwork and other coverage skills. It was good to see Revis step up and take on a leadership role and also that Wilson is eager to learn from the best.
I remember Coleman saving many games last year. Two come to mind, the strip fumble on Chansi Stuckey in the Browns game, and a game winning turnover against the Vikings. He's not great in covereage, but he's worth keeping.
With Cromartie signed for 4 years, teaming up with Revis and Wilson, Rex and Co. should have a strong group of CB's for the next few years.
