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Grading the New York Jets at the Bye Week: Safeties

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By @GregSulik

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The secondary has been a big problem for the New York Jets all season, and even though the cornerbacks get most of the attention, the safeties have had their share of struggles. There has been a lot of inconsistency in playing time and roles this season, causing some of the problems. The Jets have to find a way to get the back end fixed, because unlike at corner, the safety position has the talent to make an impact.

One guy who hasn’t been a problem is Dawan Landry. Landry has 71 tackles this season, ranking 14th overall in the NFL and 1st among defensive backs. He has chipped in 1.5 sacks and a pass deflection as well, and he is a leader in the locker room and guiding presence for the very young secondary around him. Landry has his issues in coverage, but he is a very good run stopper and has been easily the Jets’ best defensive back this season.

Interestingly enough, however, you can make a pretty strong argument that Landry’s presence as the in the box safety is actually hindering the development of Calvin Pryor and Antonio Allen, both of whom fit best in that role. Landry is scheduled to be a free agent, and it will be interesting to see if he is let go in favor of youth.

Speaking of Pryor, the team’s first round pick has frankly been a disappointment. He has just 36 tackles, 2 pass deflections and 0.5 sacks this season, and he has struggled to keep his starting job throughout the year. However, the coaching staff has done Pryor no favors. He is a hard hitting, run stopping, in the box safety, but the Jets have forced him to play in coverage and man the deep middle part of the field frequently. Pryor has had plenty of struggles, but until the coaching staff actually plays him in the right position and gives him a chance to succeed, it’s best to reserve too harsh of judgement.

On to Allen, whose cornerback play was evaluated in the previous installment of this series. Now we will strictly look at his safety play, which has obviously been better than his corner play. The Jets see Allen as a player who can cover tight ends and play in space, but he hasn’t been as good in that role this year as last year. Part of that is certainly due to the fact that he’s been yanked back and forth between positions and hasn’t been able to get in a rhythm, part of it is because he is better in the box. Frankly, the coaching staff is dangerously close to derailing Allen’s career at this point. The fact that they are crippling two promising young safeties speaks very, very poorly of Rex Ryan and Dennis Thurman.

Finally we have Jaiquawn Jarrett, who turned in an enormous breakout game last week to completely change the narrative around him. He responded to being given the starting role with 10 tackles, 2 interceptions, a sack, and a fumble recovery. However, this is much more likely to be the outlier rather than a precursor to future success. We have 37 previous games of evidence that clearly suggest Jarrett is a backup/special teams player, a role that he is good at and is certainly nothing to be ashamed of. However, it will be interesting to see if he can continue to produce as the season goes on.

The frustrating thing at the safety position right now is that the coaching staff is more of a problem than the players. When you carry four strong safeties who prefer to play in the box, someone is going to get forced to play out of their comfort zone. Pryor and Allen have been the unlucky nominees, and their development is suffering for it. The grades here are definitely a reflection of some subpar performances, but you can’t help but wonder what could have been with better coaching.

Final Grades:

Dawan Landry: B+

Calvin Pryor: C

Antonio Allen: C

Jaiquawn Jarrett: : B

Greg Sulik is a New York Jets writer for Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @GregSulik or add him to your network on Google

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