Harris will play through anything, and it doesn't sound serious. I really hope Revis is on CJ the whole game.
CJ is a freak of a talent, but I would have no worries about Cro beign on him. Cri's done an excelent job so far and been very good against the bigger receivers he's faced.
And he gets beaten consistently by the smaller receivers and isn't that great in zone schemes. I know the Jets have REVIS CHRIST but football is about match-ups. You put the tall, rangy corner on the tall, rangy receiver, even when you have Revis on the other side. Run lots of zone since Burleson doesn't really merit Revis' full attention and keep in mind that their main receivers this year beyond Johnson are Pettigrew and Scheffler. The game plan should involve heavy run blitzing and hitting the TEs at the line with Revis retreating into a deep half or third from his corner position most of the day and Cromartie shadowing Calvin Johnson and making his entire day miserable.
But Cromartie is bad against the small, shifty WRs, which does not describe Nate Burleson. So, the only reason I wouldn't put Revis on the #1 guy is if Cro can't handle the #2 (like the Pats when they had Moss and Welker.) Cromartie can easily handle Burleson.
Cro on Johnson leaves a bigger potential for big plays going both ways. We all know Revis will have textbook coverage and break up most anything that comes his way. Cro relies more on his athleticism and will probably take some extra risks going for INT's on a jump ball. With a guy like Johnson I think he will always have a better chance of coming down with it over Cromartie. Give Johnson a one way ticket to Revis Island and let the rest work itself out.
This. I'd rather have Revis hold him to 4 catches, 40 yards than Cromartie have an interception and allow him to have 6 catches, 90 yards, and a TD. ...I'm not downplaying Revis' ability to get a pick, he has crazy hands/ball skills as well. Put our 16 million #1 CB in the NFL on the top WR as long as Cro can handle the 2, which he can. A lot of Jets fans are acting like Chargersfans with Cro now, thinking the only way to shut down tall receivers is so put a tall CB on him...Revis can handle any WR in the game, he is complete.
I'm not saying Revis can't shut down Johnson. I think both players would do very well against him. It's just that Revis can take Burleson out of the game. I don't think Cromartie can. Even with Revis on Johnson, I would expect coverage rolled towards him fairly often, so I would rather shut down the other side to cover the tight ends better, since we all know Leonhard can't cover a TE in man coverage and Pettigrew and Scheffler are going to be the top targets aside from Johnson up top and Best on the checkdown. Running the linebackers and safeties in zones would also help them break on the checkdowns better and limit Best's effect on the passing game. It's for the above reason that I would be fine with a 6-90-1 line on Johnson (though I don't think it would be that high) with Cromartie being more likely to both let up and make the big play. He really isn't that much more likely to let up the big play, though - You're probably thinking of that TD to Moss in the Vikings game. That was perfectly thrown by Favre and perfectly adjusted to by Moss. There was no defending that ball, even if Revis was in coverage. Making Burleson non-existent makes the rest of the team able to ignore that deep half (sparing Scheffler on the flag/corner routes, which I don't see being thrown that often by anyone at the TE position). Restricting Burleson and Johnson to sub-par games would leave the Jets vulnerable to the Lion's TEs and Best on checkdowns and screens, which is the biggest part of their passing attack not named Calvin. Calvin Johnson will get his catches, even with Revis on him. Force the throw to Johnson and Cromartie will get two easy pick opportunities (though he won't necessarily catch them) in the game. Play it the other way and we're letting the Lions play small ball, which is how they move the chains. CJ has Stafford throwing to him. The kid isn't elite. He isn't Favre or Brady or Manning. He isn't going to throw a perfect game. Force him to take chances and he will make mistakes. You know, like what every team does to the Jets - Letting Braylon get open deep and trusting Sanchez to not hit him, which he routinely doesn't - Except the Jets have Cromartie as their #2. They don't have to worry about him getting beaten deep. He gets beaten underneath - Where all that zone coverage will be there to help him. Err, and yeah, David Harris.
I understand your thinking behind this..they definitely have dangerous TE/RB's in the passing game...but why don't you think Cro can shut down Burleson?
Because Burleson has been getting open underneath this season. He was a true non-factor in the beginning of the season, but even with his games against the Rams, Skins and Giants, he hasn't been hit for a deep ball. He isn't going deep. The Lions pray for man coverage - he even mentioned this in a recent interview - and work him underneath along with the TEs and Best with CJ opening up the field. The only thing is that you don't want to play zone against CJ. The Jets have Cromartie, though - Playing zone with Cro shadowing CJ the whole day will shut down the Lions passing game, I'm perfectly confident of that. The Lions shouldn't be able to run on the Jets, so how they play the coverage is the key factor. If the Jets allow Burleson to work underneath and start playing man coverage on Pettigrew, Scheffler and Best, then the Lions will move the chains. I'm not saying they'll have a big day. I'm just saying that they will be much more successful overall. If you force them to pray for the big ball to CJ with Cro over the top and a safety underneath, then Stafford will throw picks and all the offense has to do is play ball control for an easy win. Do you trust any of our linebackers or Leonhard to man up on Best, Pettigrew, and Scheffler? I sure as hell wouldn't. It would be that same successful formula that we saw with Revis last year, only Cromartie is playing the Revis role here. Lito Sheppard and Revis would often start head-up on receivers and retreat to deep halves with the safeties dropping into curl and hook zones (~12 & ~8 yd zones, respectively) very often, leaving the linebackers to blitz and cover the flats. When Sheppard was injured, we didn't have a corner that could play that deep half from a head-up position so we moved to Revis Island, which was simple - Take away the deep threat with your best suited CB and shrink the field for the rest of the offense. Revis is the best CB in football, no doubt about it, but that's because he does everything great. Cromartie is downright average at covering underneath throws. Most corners get help over the top. Cromartie needs help underneath. He'll stop the post, the fade, the corner, the go, the deep outs and crosses, just help him out with curls, comebacks and slants. Cromartie on CJ forces CJ underneath into situations where he'll be taking big hits from linebackers and safeties. With Revis on him, Cro would need help with Burleson on those underneath routes anyway. That's why I say Cro on CJ, Revis on Burleson. It allows for the team's strategy against the Lions offense as a whole to not be changed by CJ's presence on the field.
Not when you look closer, he's making 16 million until Aso's deal is done then it bumps down to $12 million, after year 4 we'll be doing this all over again.
That's the price he pays for being so reliable. I don't think anyone is concerned about him playing and playing at a high level.
Not to mention Revis still gets thrown on if the pass rush is there. Stafford will definitely try to hit CJ even if Revis has perfect coverage. We've seen in countless times with other top WRs. We've seen it with top QB-WR duos still trying to connect on Revis and turning the ball over to him. The best have to be covered by the best. CJ is a top 3 receiver in this league.
Exactly. CJ might even make a play or 2. Revis is very good this year, but he's not yet at the level of last year. But we do know he'll have great coverage. I remember the Denver game, he had great coverage almost every time, but the Broncos' receivers made some great catches.
Revis on Johnson with occasional safety help over the top. I'd like to believe Revis could handle him all by himself, and maybe he can, but it's not a chance worth taking. CJ is the best receiver in the game.
There is another guy named Johnson that may want to dispute ya there. They both are amazing physical talents. Oh but one is taller and we all know its impossible to cover tall receivers. Damn I guess yoru right. :smile:
