I agree with most of what you said except Sean Smith is hot garbage. Cromartie is a better player than this guy. Maybe it's from being down here, but there are tons and tons of complaints about this guy. Remember Jason Allen- who makes Drew Coleman look like D Sanders, beat him out as the #2 and basically played the first 8-9 games ahead of him.
Too funny. You claim it's an unintelligent question, then you try and answer it. I would concede Cro sometimes played five yards off, too often in fact. Generally, though, when he played up he could get physical, and I have to wonder when he played back, I doubt that was totally in his discretion and the CS didn't care. As far as the guys you mention, I genuinely appreciate your argument. I think putting T Williams in there is a bit problematic, since yeah he had a very good year last year, but it was his first quality year in a very effective D that imo was better than the Jets, at least arguably so. The other guys I'd like to consider a bit, since none of them are clearly better than Cro imo. In any event, despite your hissy opening, I appreciate the post. While on the subject a friend sent me this: The status of New York Jets cornerback Antonio Cromartie(notes) remains up in the air. There have been conflicting reports about his outlook. Several New York outlets have reported that the Jets haven't made up their mind on whether they'll bring back Cromartie, who's a free agent. And NFL Network has reported that Cromartie is unlikely to be back. After the season, Jets general manager Mike Tannebaum sounded noncommittal at best about retaining Cromartie. “By and large, he had a good year on the field,” Tannenbaum said. “It wasn’t perfect, but I’m glad he was a Jet.” Plus, Cromartie did sound off several times during interviews, including cursing in reference to New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady(notes) as well as NFL and union officials regarding the collective bargaining agreement dispute. Cromartie has been a controversial figure over the past few seasons, which led to his exit from the San Diego Chargers. As for Cromartie, he has broken his silence. He wrote the following message on his Twitter account: "U know I could careless about a rumor because as of now and until me and my business partners are told otherwise I'm a JET to the end. Gang Green baby. Plus it's just a rumor." My take: Cromartie is someone the Jets could take or leave depending on who they can get to replace him. Over the year, Jets coach Rex Ryan has repeatedly expressed his admiration for Oakland Raiders cornerback Nmandi Asomugha. Asomugha is a free agent after his contract voided. http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?sl...o_cromartie_says_hes_not_worried_about_rumors
Yeah, well, we were having a nice civil debate yesterday about this or the Vlad thing and you got hissy first, chief. I'm not really talking about when Cro plays off the LOS, because most times that's a playcall from Pettine or Rex... it's when the guy is right in the receiver's face and the ball is snapped and Cro takes a step back and turns his hips instead of squaring up and jamming the guy in his tracks. We're not talking about an undersized receiver here, or a weak, skinny track star. The guy should be able to get that job done. I know you dispute this, but I'm going to be going through each game and spending a bit too much of my personal time breaking down each 5 yard bump that Cromartie had in each game this year, including the postseason. I won't be paying any attention to the plays where he wasn't within 5 yards of the receiver. We'll see who's right, and I'll be fair about what I see. This is what infuriates me about Antonio Cromartie. Such a waste of potential, probably because he's been told for the past decade or so how physically gifted he is, that he never bothered to hone his skills to become great. The man is a physical specimen, he should be able to jam receivers even better than Revis, but he lacks that killer instinct. Last season Revis had a quote that I loved so much, I can't remember if it was the Deion Sanders interview or somewhere else, but I can't locate it. He was asked about how he approaches the 5 yard bump rule, and he says something like 'That's my 5 yards, I OWN that 5 yards.' It's his territory. You never see Cro approach a bump like that. I've seen Revis jam Antonio fucking Gates at the LOS. And before you say it, no, I don't expect Cromartie to be Darrelle Revis. But damn, at least learn something from the best in the game, who happens to be wearing the same uniform as you. I'm not saying that any of those guys I listed are better than Cromartie, either. But I think their styles of play, compared to what we saw of Cro in 2010, just fit what the Jets do on defense better. If Cromartie was a more physical player, if he actually applied his gifts to the game with focus, no one would ever throw outside the hashmarks against this team. It's a crying shame.
I don't approve in general, obviously, of the idea that a player on the Jets is not playing as well as they can, but realistically it's the utility of the end product, and imo I cannot recall the last time the Jets had a tandem this good at cb. They're maybe not as great as Hayes and Haynes for the Raiders back in the 80's, but they are very good. Most players have a weakness, and I concede that being less than super physical on the line is Cro's. But he's got good speed, a sense for the ball, long arms and doesn't sulk when he gives up a pass. But mostly I felt the Jets lost to Indy last year because the Jets were too thin at cb, and that is why they brought Cro to the team, and it worked as far as it went. I do think it a telling stat that they gave up two fewer passing TD's in the playoffs despite a woeful pass rush, Rhodes gone, and facing better Qb's than the year before. I credit much of htat to adding Cro. I certainly can't think of any other variable that better deserves the credit. I'd be less concerned about the whole subject if I had more confidence in Wilson. I don't. And as long as they can bring back Cro or someone equivalent, they can focus with picks on the front seven, where help is needed. In short I think the Jet roster is better with him on it that off.
