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Interesting personnel philosophy.
Jets coach Robert Saleh was asked about rolling with the young corners all spring and not signing a veteran.
“I think the difference between player A and player Z in the entire league, I’m not talking about superstars, I’m not talking about the Aaron Donald’s of the world, they’re unique, but the difference between player A and player Z is minimal,” said Saleh.
So unless Deion Sanders in his prime is walking in the building, maybe you just let the young guys get the reps and develop.
“The only thing that keeps player Z from becoming player A is an opportunity and reps,” Saleh said. “Let’s see what happens. Does it always happen? It doesn’t, but unless you’re willing to be bold enough to coach your tail off and to invest as much as you can into these young men and give them the opportunity to be seen, give them the opportunity to get reps, and give them the opportunity to get better, you’ll never know what you might find.”
So in the spring, the Jets rolled with guys like Bryce Hall, Isaiah Dunn, Jason Pinnock and so forth. Bless Austin was also getting a lot of quality reps before he got hurt, but it doesn’t seem serious. He was doing a lot sprints on the rehab field during minicamp.
All four of these guys are long corners who fit the template of what Pete Carroll, one of the architects of the Jets current defense (Robert Saleh and Jeff Ulbrich are Carroll disciples). I’m talking about outside corners in this story – guys like Michael Carter II, Brandon Echols and Javelin Guidry are more slot guys.
“One, we want fast guys, and long guys, that’s what we’re looking for, then, they’ve been indoctrinated into the system,” Pete Carroll told 710 ESPN Radio in Seattle a few years ago.
The indoctrination process is huge, and probably why Saleh isn’t into operating a bus station at corner, with guys constantly being brought in off the street and starting. A big part of corners being successful in this system, aside from having certain athletic traits, is playing certain techniques with regularity and not straying from them.
Jets cornerback coach Tony Oden was training these young corners diligently all spring on the techniques.
I’m not going to sit here and act like an expert on the specific techniques, but Carroll, and others who have run this defense, feel that if you create chaos up front with your pass rush, and the corners don’t have to stay on an island for long, and they play their techniques correctly, this defense can work, even if you don’t have a bunch of first-round corners.
So Saleh and Joe Douglas decided to go with the young guys in the spring, some new, like Pinnock and Dunn, and others they inherited, like Hall and Austin, and give them quality time learning the system and techniques, and see what they have.
“That’s just the belief and the philosophy of not only our coaching staff but the entire organization and that’s something we’re committed to,” Saleh said.
And it’s not like there are a ton of great corners on the street right now, and Richard Sherman wants to go to a contender. The Vikings were looking for help, and just signed Kevin Peterson.
Kevin who?
And undrafted free agent from 2016, now on his fifth team.
I’m not taking a shot at Peterson. I’m sure he has some talent, and hat-tip to him for his perserverence, but it just shows you how thin the free agent cornerback market can be.
June 18, 2021
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