Lowery Staying in the Mix … and for Good Reason
Although people might wonder about Dwight Lowery, it’s clear that Mangini likes him, and expects him to continue contributing on the field for this team. Thus spake Mangini:
“We have been rotating them through and putting other guys in different packages. It’s important that Dwight continues to progress and to fix some of the things that have come up. He’s a young kid. He’s been given a lot of responsibility for a young kid and there are going to be a lot of mistakes and there are going to be a lot of growing pains.
“There’s a lot of pressure on him because so many people work towards him, instead of working towards Darrelle , which is understandable … it’s pretty unique for a young guy in the fourth round to come in and play as much as he has played.”
What’s lost in this whole thing is that for as much trouble as we think he might be having … for a fourth round rook, the kid is ROLLING. Swipe already has 13 passes defensed (Revis has 14) and would be tied for 12th (not bad when you consider there are 64 starters) in the league .. if it showed up on the NFL site correctly. Although he’s yet to grab a pick, he has three forced fumbles so far .. not bad either.
I love this time of year, because it’s now that we get to see if all the preconceived notions coming into the season were way off base, or close to the mark. Here’s what I wrote back before the start of the season when Miller was injured and looked to be sidelined, paving the way for Dwight Lowery to start.
Mangini seems to be pretty demanding when it comes to his young secondary players and we’ve seen some guys languish on the bench after big mistakes – Drew Coleman vs. the Bears in ‘06 and Eric Smith vs. the Eagles in ‘07 come to mind. If Mangini really wants Lowery to play, he should let Lowery play through some his mistakes, and he’s gonna have them … he’s a rookie. There’s no need to rush Lowery into the game only to then yank him when something goes wrong.
I’ve loved this about Mangini this year. Lowery is his guy and he’s going to let him grow into his role by playing through some tough times. That doesn’t mean that he’s immune to getting yanked though. Mangini is ready to insert other players if needed.
That’s why the Law signing was so masterful. Law isn’t going to make this team world-beaters, but he makes the third corner on any given that much of a better player, be it Lowery, Law or Revis. Law won’t be an every down player for this team, but he’s providing a hand, and his presence Thursday (mugging Randy Moss by the way) freed up Revis to play Welker (who still had a big day) and it allowed Lowery to work with Gaffney.
Now as far as Gaffney, I’m aware he had a big (8 REC, 86 YDS, 1TD) day, but I think that was an outworking of the scheme. When you take away something, it’s naturally going to free up something else. Moss was a mostly (3 REC, 26 YDS, 1 TD) non-factor, while Welker gashed the team, yet again.
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“When you take away something, it’s naturally going to free up something else”
Exactly. Cassel had a load of rushing yards because Barton was keying on Faulk out of the backfield. Watson was open all day because both safeties were needed to help on Moss/Welker, so he was left with a LB on him. The comeback would have been curtailed if Cassel didn’t get in a big rhythm (which will often happen when an NFL QB throws over 50 times) or if he made a mistake (which he did a few times, but Swighp dropped one and several tipped passes fell just out of reach).
I might add that I don’t think they would have had the personnel to do this without the Ty Law signing and I do consider it a success despite the big yardage, since most of it came whilst trailing, a bit like the Cards game.
Lowery, Rhodes , Cotchery, and LW , they we are 4th Rd picks and look how good they are , we should trade all our picks for 4th rd picks
ok seriously , this kid has the potential be a Champ Bailey , yea he is going to make mistakes , but this guy is a 4th Rd pick , look how many CB’s picked in the 1st Rd and Lowery is playing better than all of them
By Lowery making these mistakes, hopefully he will learn from them and doesn’t repeat them too often, he will only get better by playing not watching on the bench. He should end up being a decent #2/#3 CB. Have no problems with the Law signing as Drew Coleman was not cutting it, why is he and Eric Smith still on the team? I think Elam has done a very good job and should continue to start even if Smith comes back from the concussions.
I disagree that Welker “gashed the team.” Most of his catches were pretty meaningless.
Swizzle,
Agreed, I really hope Mangini cuts Eric Smith because I am afraid he will be tempted for whatever reason over Elam. Elam has been great in his position, hes been putting up points, creating havoc on the defense, and brings some life and hostility to this defense.
Lowery has been spectacular. Period. Mistakes have been made but great plays have been made to offset those mistakes.
We need David Harris back!
Joe B. he had that huge reception for like 50 yards
yes, there was alot of garbage yardage gained, BUT, a good team must be able to stop the Offense when it matters, and they couldn’t, I am sure they will try to fix that this upcoming week.
I have a feeling that we will be the first to beat the Titans this year
I don’t know what games most of you are watching but, Lowery is playing horribly. Oh, he was good in pre-season and in game one and he makes the occasional play but — he has gotten torched out there. He dropped a game winning interception and got beat the majority of the time that NE threw at him. I believe he had similar results in the Buffalo game.
He may turn out to be a good player, in the future, but right now he is toast.
Fred -
Weren’t we up 11 or something when he had the 29-yard catch and run to like the Jets’ 40? That’s a big deal?
That’s one of the strengths of this FO and CS- they know how to scout where other teams are unwilling to. Many teams refuse to look beyond height and 40 times.
I remember reading a while back that Swipe had barely received any contact from teams after he finished his season at SJSU. If you watch his performance against Hawaii in his senior year, you won’t understand why the 31 other teams weren’t looking into him.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_LKUYxnkaI
Obviously it was a big deal. Casseell escaped pressure and passed it to Welker who got by a jet defeder and ran for another 20 yards. Yea it was when they were down 11 but how the hell does that make the catch any less important? It was his 2nd longest reception of the game for the Pats and helped them come back to tie it up.
i didnt time it or anything but on the td lowery gave up before the half it seemed cassel had all kinds of time, its got to be extremely hard to stick with any receiver for that long! speaking of eric smith, on yahoo sports there is an article titled “what we learned:farve delivers when it matters” in which albert breer of sporting news lists some points about thursday nights game, under number 3 he goes onto say how the secondary has issues,and points out how the jets are playing without mr smith(implying this may be why the secondary stuggled), and also says “maybe smiths return changes everything”! the national media loves this guy
As I said yesterday, I believe Lowery’s problems are strictly technical. In effect, getting his feet (hips) crossed. With the help, faith, and experience he’s getting, he’ll get it straight. His learning trajectory is similar to the team’s as a whole. He’s got the focus and drive and an animal desire to rise to the challenge. He will grow, have pains (ours too), and get better. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him have a bust out game soon. ( just as Keller did.)
dont worry about it Dwight,we love ya…keep PLUGGING away! Your doing FINE!
lowery is great .hes been making plays.
Lowery is good young corner, Ty Law gives them versatility against different types of recievers, but Swipe will start every game for the rest of the season and be a part of the Jets for a real long time….
Completely agree. I’m a big Lowery supporter, and although it hurts watching him give up a play or two, I realize it’s pains and that he’ll be fine in the long run.
IM SURE THE CORNERS WILL LEARN FROM TY LAW. EVEN REVIS. IT WAS A GREAT PICK. TENNESSE WILL BE A GREAT TEST FOR US. THEY DNT THROW TOO MUCH. SO WE CAN FORCE THEM TP THROW AND THROW INTOS. THIS COULD BE A SURPRISE GAME FOR US. IF BRETT STAYS KOOL FOR THE FIRST HALF WE WILL WIN THIS GAME.
The problem with the game for our CB’s was that because the Pats were down by so much and due to the under 2minute drill at the end of both halves, the Pats were in a no huddle offense that started at the end of the 2nd quarter and they mainly stayed with it for the rest of the game. Our CB’s had less time to catch there breath in between plays, coaching couldn’t make substitutions, they were trailing so there were barely any running plays by the Pats, Pats were in spread offense- so we barely blissed- meaning hardly any pressure on Cassell which made him look like a Pro Bowler, and also the Pats went for it i think 5 times on 4th down and converted it 3-4 times. So with so many plays being throwing plays, and lowery being in single coverage a lot -the QB has been throwing his way. 3PD in one game is pretty good, but dropping that pick was horrible- this guy was known in college for his interceptions! Time to get one!
The difference between us and the Giants is puttin pressure on the QB in crucial situations. I loved that we brought the heat at the end of the game with like 3 minutes left and made them go 3 an out. We got the ball back, ran it 3 times- was in favor of the run on 3rd and short- But did anyone notice, seemed like faneca slipped and fell or he just got lit up by someone cause he was on the ground on the replay and TJ was running right behind him and thats why he didnt get the first down in my opinion! The pats get the ball back, and we stop with the pressure on him. The Pressure just made him go 3 and out, why not continue with the pressure! We got burnt by the soft defense at the end of the first half, and then we did even a softer defense at the end of regulation- got burnt again- yes it took a great play- but we got burnt! If it wasnt for a coin toss- we might of lost the game! Still a great game, just cant stand this prevent defense!
joe b
look at they play by play and you’ll see many of welker’s catches were drive sustaining …
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/playbyplay?gameId=281113017&period=0
1st and 10 at NE 28 (15:00) M.Cassel pass short middle to W.Welker to NE 37 for 9 yards (set up first down)
1st and 15 at NE 26 (9:06) M.Cassel pass short right to W.Welker to NE 43 for 17 yards (first down)
(14:09) (No Huddle, Shotgun) M.Cassel pass short left to W.Welker pushed ob at NE 46 for 14 yards (first down)
1st and 10 at NE 22 (2:25) (Shotgun) M.Cassel pass short left to W.Welker to NE 30 for 8 yards (set up a first down to welker on next play)
2nd and 2 at NE 30 (1:59) (No Huddle, Shotgun) M.Cassel pass short right to W.Welker to NYJ 41 for 29 yards (first down)
2nd and 10 at NYJ 42 (:36) (No Huddle, Shotgun) M.Cassel pass short left to W.Welker to NYJ 25 for 17 yards (first down)
Brad points out that if any other coach can watch film, the prescription for beating our team is out there. Spread the offense, don’t waste time with the run, taking Jenkins out of the game, and hit the TE and WR not covered by Revis.
If I know this, Suttoni better have a response by this time next week.
harlan
I welcome Tennessee to try going hurry up & junking their running game
Tennessee will not abandon the running game next week, that is there bread and butter, they will not make Kerry Collins when games for them, and the reason they are 8-0 is because of the running game and stout defense. This will be the best test yet for the Jets O-line and D-line.
Harlan, good point. I don’t know if the Titans can run the hurry up effectively like NE, though.
Toon, our strength on D is our effectiveness against the run, I wouldn’t want TN to junk their run game. I think that this is where they can beat us, unless Sutton can bring the heat.
Lowery has a tremendous upside, which in my eyes is his prowess for making big plays. With some refinement and maturity, he should be a great complement to Revis as the #2 CB.
OFF THE SUBJECT A BIT- DEFENSE NEEDS TO MAKE AN ADJUSTMENT- HOW ABOUT MARQUESS MURRELL.
I would love to see Murrell play during the game as OLB. That would of been an adjustment during the game that the coach should of tried and should try in the future! I saw him in on special teams, so i kinow he was activated! Pace kept getting burnt playing Watson- should of tried Murrell in there- his speed on Watson could of helped things out i think!
Think we need him in there in general, because we have been vunerable by the TE all season. We need a big OLB and a Speedy OLB. I thought BT was the quicker one of the two, dont know why he hasnt been covering TE’s. But i feel it would be smart to rotate Murrell in, to add speed in coverage of the TE and to add a quick speed rusher at the QB. Pace and BT got off to a great start, but havent had much pressure on the QB in the last few games, maybe they are getting tired. Since the Bengals game, Pace 1/2 sack and Thomas 0 sacks in the last 5 games.
Those who say Murrell is too small, well what about James Harrison of Pitt- Harrison is on his way to the pro bowl with 11 sack already. Pitt also has the same defensive scheme 3-4! Actually Murrell is bigger than harrison by 2 inches and 8lbs.- 6′2″ 250lbs!
NOT SAYING START MURRELL, JUST SAYING MAYBE ITS TIME TO ROTATE HIM IN TO SEE HOW HE PLAYS!
Great idea Brad! Murrell is burried under Gholston which is why we don’t see him and even worse is that Gholston isn’t even playing. Pace shouldn’t be droping back into coverage and they are doing a pis poor job of rotating the LB’s. Our biggest glaring weakness of this coaching staff is the poor use of personnel.
If Murrell had a breakout game then they’d look really bad for drafting Gholston. I’m willing to give gholston a coupple of years before we can call him a bust.
Thanks Reprocity!
Since im in a venting mood, another thing that is killing me is that we let Chad Pennington go and got nothing for him; and now he is playing for the phins who are playing very well.
I understand the deal for Brett Favre happened real quick, and the team needed to cut someone by 4pm that day. But why cut chad. We should of cut someone else that had no trade value or would of been unlikely to been picked up by another team, pretty much meaning, anyone that is on our practice squad now is whom we should of cut at the time!
It would of been nice to of gotten a 5th to a 3rd round pick depending on his performance this year.
Dont we get a couple of conditional picks by the league for Chad?? I believe we do. They would be around 3-7 with Chad Henne at the helm. Chad could start for about 10NFL teams
Jeff: No -we will not get any conditional picks for Chad. He was cut, not picked up as an unrestricted free agent. In any case, the number of conditional picks is based on a formula which accesses your free agent losses against free agents you have signed. With all the acquisitions the Jets made this offseason, there’s no chance whatsoever of any conditional picks. (The other kind of conditional pick is for a restricted free agent that gets picked up and we haven’t had any of those either.
Brad: The Jets had to release Chad not to get under the roster limit, but to get under the salary cap. Remember? He was basically the only guy they could release that gave them enough of a saving to afford Favre. The only other alternative would have been to release several other players (including guys who have made a contribution this year). They really had no choice.
Brad: (Again!) Murrell might be an option, but bear in mind that he is an undersized former 4-3 DE which means he would probably struggle against the run and in coverage. However, I would like to see them use him as a situational pass rusher in passing situtations (and in fact they did for a few plays against the Rams, ahead of Gholston), as he has quickness off the edge that nobody else on the team (except maybe Trusnik) can match. Note, however, that Cimini said last week “don’t be surprised to see Murrell in the mix at inside linebacker”.
Thanks for the info Bent! Might have to agree with u on Murrell, but against the run, isnt harrison of the Steelers pretty good! Dont know about Murrell’s coverage skills but seeing how often the other options have been getting beat, when teams stop running the ball, like the Cards and Pats did, might be nice to give him a try in coverage on TE’s and RB’s