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You hear this stat all the time . . .
Cornerback Sauce Gardner didn’t allow a receiving touchdown during his three years as a starter at Cincinnati.
Don’t expect that to be the case during his Jets career.
And that isn’t being negative, just trying to lower the bar a little for the kid.
People throw around the term “shutdown corner” a lot, but they really don’t exist anymore in the NFL.
So we shouldn’t expect him to be that with the Jets.
With all the strict rules in the NFL favoring receivers, and making it very difficult on defensive backs, because you can’t redirect receivers like in the past, it’s impossible to be a shutdown corner anymore.
Even highly-regarded Los Angeles Rams Jalen Ramsey isn’t a shutdown corner. You saw that in the Super Bowl when he was beaten for big receptions by Cincinnati Bengals receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.
The point here is that while Gardner is a heck of a prospect, don’t expect him to walk on water at the NFL level.
Not only does the rule book favor the receivers, but remember, Gardner, dominated in the American Athletic Conference, not the SEC. One of the Pick Six’s you see in his highlight package was against East Carolina.
As the late Philadelphia Eagles coach Buddy Ryan once said to Jimmy Johnson when he took over as Dallas Cowboys coach and was struggling in his first year – “There are no more East Carolina’s on your schedule.” Johnson came to Dallas after coaching the Miami Hurricanes.
To Gardner’s credit, he played well against Alabama in the national semi-finals.
But week-in and week-out in the AAC, he wasn’t challenged as much as he wouldn’t have been in a bigger conference.
So with rules favoring the receivers and competition level, all I’m saying is to lower the bar on the player a little. Don’t expect Deion Sanders.
With all this being said, he should be a major asset to Gang Green.
Yes, they have a front-driven defense, but even with that being said, they need better cornerback play. You can’t always wait until late in the draft like San Francisco and get system-fits.
Yes, you need system-fits, but you also need some skilled, instinctive cover guys, whether you are in zone or man-to-man.
And Garder not only has a great-speed ratio, but a great feel for the game. Also a lot of confidence, which is key at that position.
“He expects nothing but success when he hits the field,” said Joe Douglas about his confidence (and preparation).
But on the NFL level, he’s likely going to get beat more than he did in college, so he will need thick skin and a short memory.
“I think Sauce is wired like that too,” Douglas said. “He’s not going to let anyone bring him down.”
There is no doubt people are going to make a big deal about the first TD he gives up in the NFL, which will likely happen at some point.
But people shouldn’t do that.
To expect him to continue his college streak of not giving up a TD, now in the NFL, is ridiculous.
Remember, the days of the NFL lockdown corner are over.
July 20, 2022
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