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He struggled, there is no doubt about it . . .
I’m talking about Jets rookie defensive tackle Nathan Shepherd.
It was a rough year for the raw Canadian from tiny Fort Hays State in Hays, Kansas.
A play that kind of epitomizes his season was in the first Jets-Patriots game at the beginning of the second half.
Shepherd was locked up by Patriots left tackle Trenton Brown, could not get off block, and running back Sony Michel was off to the races for a gain of 31.
Shepherd’s struggles were totally understandable. He was rushed into the starting lineup by former Jets coach Todd Bowles.
I have mentioned before that I was flat-out shocked by Shepherd already starting in mini-camps last spring that followed the draft.
This isn’t second-guessing. I wrote it at the time. I’m not patting myself on the back for writing this at the time. To me, it was common sense to question this.
This was an incredibly raw prospect coming out of a small school and from Canada, with a lot of potential, but needed “a year in Joplin” to borrow a favorite line of Bill Parcells. That is a reference to baseball legend Mickey Mantle having to spend a year in the minors in Joplin, Missouri.
While there are no minors to send Shepherd to in pro football, when Parcells would use this quote when he was coaching, it was about taking it slow with a raw rookie.
Shepherd could win battles in college against low-level linemen with his size and strength. You can’t win that way in the NFL. The offensive linemen are too good. So you need great technique on the NFL level. Shepherd needed a ton of work on technique when he entered the building at One Jets Drive after being picked in the third round in 2018 draft.
So for him to be put right in the starting lineup was bizarre.
For some reason, Bowles viewed Shepherd as a player who was ahead of fellow rookie Foley Fatukasi, who the Jets took it slow with last year. To me, the only reason for this was because Fatukasi was picked in the sixth round, and Shepherd in the third round. But forget the rounds they were picked, they were both equally as raw.
Putting Shepherd right into the starting lineup was a REALLY bad decision for the Jets and the player.
But aside from his need for “a year in Joplin” to work on his technique – hand technique, footwork and so forth, he had another issue.
I know I buried the lead here. But finally I’m going to tell you what else I found out about the player.
A source told me that Shepherd was playing hurt most of last year.
He wasn’t listed with this injury, but he played with a hamstring problem for a big chunk of last year.
He played with his hamstring heavily wrapped.
He wasn’t listed with it because he played full-time with the malady, but it was a problem, hurting his mobility.
It will be interesting to see what Shepherd can do in Year Two, with better technique and a healthy hamstring.
March 4, 2019
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