The New York Jets announced late tonight that they have reached agreement with the San Diego Chargers to acquire cornerback Antonio Cromartie in a trade.Details of the trade were not available but more information is expected to be released Friday. Published reports said the Jets would send a 2011 draft choice to the Chargers to complete the deal, but that could not be confirmed.
Cromartie (6'2", 203) was the Chargers' first-round draft choice, 19th overall, in the 2006 draft. He had a quiet rookie season with no starts and no interceptions, then exploded on the scene in '07 with a league-high 10 interceptions, earning both a Pro Bowl berth and All-Pro status.
Blessed with scary speed, Cromartie has demonstrated the ability to be a shutdown corner - when motivated. If the Jets get the '07 Cromartie, they will have a dynamic tandem with him and Darrelle Revis. Clearly, this was a move Rex Ryan made with Peyton Manning in mind.
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For those of you unacquainted with my other team in green, the New York Jets are notorious one-and-doners. Once a decade they make it to the AFC championship game, and then they are finished. I'm not talking about the kind of finished where you play OK the season following the title game. I'm talking about falling off the map.
Pundits have been speculating, however, that Rex Ryan and his Lombardiesque drive might break this trend. Then combine this with the fact that traditional one-and-doners in the NFL are often quarterbacked by someone who had a career year and is unable to duplicate that kind of season a year later. Mark Sanchez clearly did not have a career year last season. He threw a lot of picks during the regular season, and had a very ordinary QB rating.
But the Sanchez we saw in the playoffs was much more efficient and much more effective. So if the Jets top-ranked defense actually improves with the acquisition of Cromartie, and the Sanchez we see is the one we saw in the playoffs, NFL Team Green may have a second run left in them.
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Curiously, Rex Ryan wasn't made available on the conference call to discuss the Antonio Cromartie trade, but he released this statement through the team:
"He’s got great man cover skills that are unusual. It’s rare to see a corner with his ball skills. He’s a difference maker. There’s an old saying when you evaluate corners - ‘Can they find it? Can they catch it?’ - and he can do all that.
"He’s got long arms where he can press you at the line of scrimmage. He’ll fit perfectly into our system. Now, we don’t necessarily have to always put Revis on the toughest guy. We can switch it up. This pair gives us even more options on defense. We should be able to disguise what we’re doing a little better than we’ve done in the past.
"He’s going to be a huge, huge addition for us because what he’s going to bring to the table from a physical standpoint is going to be tremendous. He’s got some unbelievable gifts and we’re just fortunate to have him on our team. When you combine him with the players that we already have, we’re going to be really tough on defense.”
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/jets/#ixzz0hQy0cWdx
Spoke to former Chargers and Jets defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell, always one of the good guys in football. Cottrell coached CB Antonio Cromartie in 2007, when he dominated the league with 10 interceptions and a Pro Bowl berth.
"He's one of the top five athletes in the league," Cottrell said. "He's a tremendous, tremendous athlete. I think he could be one of the top wide receivers if he wanted to be
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/jets/#ixzz0hQy6i2nL
If Cromartie is motivated this was a good move. If not then it was a waste, we'll have to see.
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