Ryan gives Geno, Jets’ rookies an ‘A-plus’ grade
Rex Ryan is feeling pretty good about his struggling rookie
class.
Sure, Geno Smith has been mistake-prone, and so has Dee
Milliner. But Sheldon Richardson has been outstanding, and the fact
the New York Jets have five rookies starting, well, the coach
thinks that bodes well for the franchise.
”If this is not an A-plus class,” Ryan said Wednesday, ”I
mean, I don’t know what you’re looking for.”
Richardson, the No. 13 overall pick, was the Jets’ second draft
selection and has had a terrific first season as one of the NFL’s
top playmakers among defensive linemen. But Milliner, No. 9
overall, and Smith, a second-rounder, have had major issues and
been benched at times.
Milliner, the first cornerback drafted, has been beset by
injuries and inconsistency, leading to three benchings. Smith,
after a solid start, is going through a brutal stretch in which he
has thrown just one touchdown and 11 interceptions in his past
seven games.
Brian Winters, a third-rounder who’s starting at left guard, and
fullback Tommy Bohanon, a seventh-rounder have also had some tough
games.
The Jets’ two other draft picks in April – offensive tackle Oday
Aboushi (fifth round) and guard Will Campbell (sixth round) – have
been inactive for every game so far this season.
”For us to criticize or be critical of a draft class that has
five starters in the National Football League, as rookies?” a
defiant Ryan said. ”I understand it’s New York media, but this
might be a little tough. This is a bit of a stretch to criticize
this draft class.
”This class is about as strong a class as I’ve ever seen.”
Ryan has a point, that it’s way too early to truly know what
they have in any of the seven drafted players. But, the early
overall returns – other than Richardson – haven’t been great.
Smith became the starting quarterback when Mark Sanchez was lost
for the year in the preseason with a shoulder injury. He had four
winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime in his first seven
games, the only player to accomplish that feat since the 1970
merger.
Things have gone bad for Smith since, and the team went from
alternating wins and losses for an NFL-record 10 weeks to a
three-game skid that has them nearly out of the playoff picture.
Smith’s shoddy play has been a major factor, and he was benched
last Sunday in favor of Matt Simms in the Jets’ 23-3 loss to
Miami.
”Like I expressed to my coaches and teammates, I never want to
come out of a game, never, no matter what,” Smith said. ”It did
motivate me. I think, like I said, in hindsight it could be a good
thing later on down the road.”
Ryan gave Smith another opportunity to work himself out of his
funk, naming him the starter earlier this week for the team’s home
game against Oakland on Sunday.
”We’ve got a lot of young guys on this team, especially on
offense,” Smith said. ”We’ve just got to continue to get better
and just move on and use a lot of these tough stretches as
motivation. It’s all about learning and that’s something that we’re
learning as a whole.”
Ryan acknowledged that Milliner has had rough moments this
season, but also refused to say he is disappointed in the former
Alabama star.
”Dee, I understand has had some struggles, and I’m not making
excuses for him, but he’s a rookie corner,” Ryan said. ”I don’t
know any other rookie corner that’s come in the league, outside of
probably (Darrelle) Revis, that jumped right in. I think we’ve been
a little spoiled here with the corner play.”
Meanwhile, Richardson has been a force, tag-teaming with
Muhammad Wilkerson to give the Jets one of the league’s most
dynamic defensive duos on the line. Richardson leads NFL rookies in
backfield stops with 3 1/2 sacks and 8 1/2 tackles for loss, and
was selected as the NFL’s defensive player of the month for
November.
”I don’t know how many other rookies are getting drafted and
actually starting on teams right now, but it’s not that many,”
Richardson said.
Winters became a starter after Vladimir Ducasse, the team’s
second-rounder in 2010, lost the job after four games. Ryan,
however, believes Winters could be a 10-year starter in the
NFL.
Bohanon has been up and down with his blocking, and is ranked
last among the league’s fullbacks by ProFootballFocus.com, a
stats-based site that analyzes and grades players. Ryan defended
Bohanon, a former college teammate of general manager John Idzik’s
son at Wake Forest, as a ”good player” – especially for being the
team’s last draft pick.
”I think this class is an outstanding class, top to bottom,”
Ryan said. ”Will they all make it? I don’t know. When you watch
them, I see improvement. … I think it’s going to be a real
strength for this franchise moving forward.”
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AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org