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Milliner Called out For Lackluster Play


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Milliner called out for lackluster play

 

 

August, 18, 2013

 

Aug 18

 

 

4:46

 

 

PM ET

 

 

By  Jane McManus | ESPNNewYork.com

 

 

 

 

Rookie Dee Milliner may have been tapped to start at cornerback this season opposite Antonio Cromartie, but it has been apparent in the preseason that he has a long way to go before he merits comparison to Darrelle Revis.

 

 

During Saturday night's preseason game vs. Jacksonville, Milliner didn’t go hard off the line of scrimmage and allowed too much space in man-to-man coverage as the Jaguars scored on their first possession of the game.

 

 

“For him it’s a learning experience,” Cromartie said. “For this game, it’s the second preseason game for him and we expect more from him than we saw tonight. That’s something that he needs to learn from and he has to come out with a great attitude and get ready for the next week when we get ready to play guys like Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz. When we come to Week One, we have to play two of the best receivers in the NFL with Vincent Jackson and also Mike Williams.”

 

 

For most other rookies, there might be time to grow, but Milliner was taken with a first-round pick during the offseason that Revis left for Tampa Bay. Incidentally, the Buccaneers are the very team the Jets will face in the first game of the regular season, and the comparisons between Milliner and one of -- if not the best -- corners in the league will be stark.

 

 

Even Ryan, who loves nothing more than a solid corner, iterated the flaws in Milliner's game against the Jags.

 

 

“I didn’t like the way we competed and challenged on the outside -- not so much Cromartie, but from Dee,” Ryan said. “When we call on him, I want him to get up there. Let’s go. Let’s play.”

 

 

Clearly, the Jets would like to see more aggressiveness out of Milliner, who played for Alabama last year and had shoulder surgery during the offseason. The 6-foot, 201-pound rookie briefly held out before signing his contract, and the Jets brought him along gradually at first.

 

 

It wasn’t long though until Ryan said Milliner would be opposite Cromartie in man coverage, while CB Kyle Wilson will play a more versatile role as a safety and nickel.

 

 

Ryan and Jets general manager John Idzik have said that Milliner will be judged on his own merits, not in terms of filling Revis’s cleats, but if the Jets' defense continues to struggle as they did against the Jaguars, Milliner could take some heat.

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I don't know if the kid is playing afraid, or if he is being told by the foot genius to play soft, but that cushion he is giving to people he is just as fast as or faster is impossible to overcome. 20 yards from the end zone and playing 10/11 yards off? Come on.

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people forget but even Revis wasn't mistake free as a rookie. These things take time. 

 

True, but Milliner looked terrible. The Jags ran a lot of two WR sets with the WR's on the same side, so that the slot CB has to play off (Dee wound up in that spot). But what bothered me is that he was lackluster and looked disinterested. And when the WR's were on separate sides, he did play too far off.

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What's this?  Has Rex turned over a new leaf?  That makes two young players he has actually criticized so far (Geno and Milliner).  Is he starting to hold players accountable?  Wonder of wonders.

 

 

What's this?  Has Rex turned over a new leaf?  That makes two young players he has actually criticized so far (Geno and Milliner).  Is he starting to hold players accountable?  Wonder of wonders.

 

 

everyone but you-know-who

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I don't know if the kid is playing afraid, or if he is being told by the foot genius to play soft, but that cushion he is giving to people he is just as fast as or faster is impossible to overcome. 20 yards from the end zone and playing 10/11 yards off? Come on.

That should be easy stuff to pinpoint and reason through in a film session. We'll know pretty quick by watching next week - good to see you post D.
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What's this?  Has Rex turned over a new leaf?  That makes two young players he has actually criticized so far (Geno and Milliner).  Is he starting to hold players accountable?  Wonder of wonders.

 

As long as a player's name doesn't rhyme with Kranchez or Marris, the new Rex is going to be tough on them all.

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That should be easy stuff to pinpoint and reason through in a film session. We'll know pretty quick by watching next week - good to see you post D.

Thanks John. 37 years of watching this team, you would have thought I was immune to the nonsense. But last year just got to me. Thoroughly disgusted. I did not even watch the second half of the season.

 

But being a Jets fan is incurable. I'm back. :-)

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Hey, maybe instead of  handing Millner the job - they should have made him earn it via the "competition" they've been selling the fans all off-season. I dunno, I'm just a dumb Ape, probably shouldn't expect them to do what they say they are going to do.

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Hey, maybe instead of  handing Millner the job - they should have made him earn it via the "competition" they've been selling the fans all off-season. I dunno, I'm just a dumb Ape, probably shouldn't expect them to do what they say they are going to do.

Stupid ape. Stay out of the forbidden zone.

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Rex Ryan criticizes NY Jets’ defense, particularly rookie Dee Milliner, after win over Jaguars

 

 

Bringing up a player’s shortcomings during a press conference is a tactic Ryan has used before — almost always with young players. In the past he’s criticized Quinton Coples, Jeremy Kerley and, most recently, referred to one of Geno Smith’s practices as 'brutal.'

 

Comments (20)

 

By Seth Walder  / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

 

 

Published: Sunday, August 18, 2013, 7:02 PM

 

 

Updated: Sunday, August 18, 2013, 10:50 PM.

 

 

 

 

Rex Ryan wants to see more from rookie defensive back Dee Milliner (27).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Though the Jets may have come away with their first preseason victory since 2011, the centerpiece of the team, the defense, took more than its fair share of lumps. Rex Ryan’s first-team defense looked helpless against Blaine Gabbert and the Jaguars offense on Saturday night. Yes, that’s correct — Blaine Gabbert bowled over the Jets defense.

 

 

Jacksonville ran a lot of of hurry-up offense to start the game, and it exposed the Jets. The defensive backs were beaten too often and linebacker David Harris in particular was continually a step behind in coverage. Ryan did not have kind words for the defense after the game.

 

 

“Our defensive intensity in the first half I thought (was) not to Jets standards, to New York Jets standards certainly (with) the poor tackling,” Ryan said. “I never liked the way we competed on the outside to start with, which is another trademark of us.”

 

 

Veteran linebacker Calvin Pace didn’t think it would be the last time the defense would be hearing it from Ryan on its performance from Saturday.

 

 

“I’m pretty sure there’s going to be some F-bombs thrown around on Monday,” Pace said.

 

 

Ryan was particularly critical of rookie cornerback and first-round draft choice Dee Milliner, calling him out by name.

 

 

 

 

“I didn’t like the way we competed and challenged on the outside — not so much (Antonio) Cromartie, but from Dee (Milliner),” Ryan said. “When we call on him, I want him to get up there. Let’s go. Let’s play.”

 

 

“I played all right,” Milliner told the Daily News. “Lot of room for improvement. I feel like I had a bad game because I didn’t make the plays I should have made when I had the opportunities.”

 

 

The Jets only allow one touchdown Saturday night — to Jacksonville tight end Allen Reisner — but Rex Ryan is not happy with his defense’s tackling against the Jaguars.

 

Corey Sipkin/New York Daily News

 

 

The Jets only allow one touchdown Saturday night — to Jacksonville tight end Allen Reisner — but Rex Ryan is not happy with his defense’s tackling against the Jaguars.

 

 

Ryan addressed Milliner personally about his performance.

 

 

“He just was saying the plays, because I make them at practice, I should have made them (in) the game,” said the first-round pick.

 

 

Bringing up a player’s shortcomings during a press conference is a tactic Ryan has used before — almost always with young players. In the past he’s criticized Quinton Coples’ work ethic and Jeremy Kerley’s ability to stay on the field and most recently referred to one of Geno Smith’s practices as “brutal.”

 

 

For Kerley and at times for Coples, it seemed to kick them into gear. Milliner vowed the same would happen to him.

 

 

“That’s the type of coach Rex is. That’s why I like him,” Milliner said. “He’s straightforward with you. He’s gonna tell you things that you need to work, things that you should do better. And I like that in a coach, because if he doesn’t, I’d say he’s not coaching.”

 

 

If Milliner likes straightforward, that’s what Ryan was in talking about the starters as a whole.

 

 

“I don’t understand it. Clearly, our focus has been good in practice and things like that. It just seemed like, for whatever reason, it wasn’t there (tonight),” the coach said. “Poor tackling was a great indication of it. I was a little upset with some of the mistakes we made.”

 

 

Ryan will have to rejuvenate this defense without one of its young starters, Quinton Coples, for now. The DE/OLB suffered a hairline fracture in his ankle during the Jaguars game and will have a medical procedure on it Tuesday. The team declared Coples out indefinitely. Antwan Barnes and Ricky Sapp will be hitting the field more often in Coples’ absence.

 

 

Twitter.com/SethWalderNYDN

 

 

 

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jets/rex-jets-f-win-jags-article-1.1430328#ixzz2cQKZjkYQ

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Thanks John. 37 years of watching this team, you would have thought I was immune to the nonsense. But last year just got to me. Thoroughly disgusted. I did not even watch the second half of the season.

 

But being a Jets fan is incurable. I'm back. :-)

Glad to see you back Den ... I'm concerned it's going to be another tough one but if the D gets pulled together there's a chance they can keep it interesting this year. M2's offense may be able to put up a couple or 3 TD's a game which might keep us in a lot of them. We'll see.  

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Seems like putting Milliner in as the starter on the depth chart and saying he will play man coverage is a case of wishful thinking.  And the giants have good receivers, so I totally expect another bad game from him this Saturday.  I wonder how much real man they will use him in.

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Seems like putting Milliner in as the starter on the depth chart and saying he will play man coverage is a case of wishful thinking.  And the giants have good receivers, so I totally expect another bad game from him this Saturday.  I wonder how much real man they will use him in.

Asking a rookie CB to step in a start playing man right away should be one of the easiest transitions to the pros any player can have. If he possesses the skills -and the 9th overall pick in the draft should- he should be able handle #2 WRs fairly well. I think the fact that he's coming off some offseason surgery has slowed his progress, but the only way to get him up to speed is to keep sending him out there. If he's really not getting it by next week, you put Wilson back out there until he's ready.

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the new Rex call out the rookies-on  the veteran QB he stays silent

 

I think his non-commitment to a week one start is pretty loud.

 

Asking a rookie CB to step in a start playing man right away should be one of the easiest transitions to the pros any player can have. If he possesses the skills -and the 9th overall pick in the draft should- he should be able handle #2 WRs fairly well. I think the fact that he's coming off some offseason surgery has slowed his progress, but the only way to get him up to speed is to keep sending him out there. If he's really not getting it by next week, you put Wilson back out there until he's ready.

 

Yep!  Let him get live bullets and put it on tape.  He'll see that he doesnt have the make up speed at this level to be giving that kind of cushion.  That said, even with the cushion, he did come close to get his hands on a couple of balls for the break up the other night.  

 

Not overly concerned about it to be honest.  He'll be fine I'm sure.   

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What's this? Has Rex turned over a new leaf? That makes two young players he has actually criticized so far (Geno and Milliner). Is he starting to hold players accountable? Wonder of wonders.

It's ok to criticize them if he wasn't at least consulted before drafting them.

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Asking a rookie CB to step in a start playing man right away should be one of the easiest transitions to the pros any player can have. If he possesses the skills -and the 9th overall pick in the draft should- he should be able handle #2 WRs fairly well. I think the fact that he's coming off some offseason surgery has slowed his progress, but the only way to get him up to speed is to keep sending him out there. If he's really not getting it by next week, you put Wilson back out there until he's ready.

 

I don't disagree with your post, but whether Milliner should be able to play man against the #2 wideout is not the same as saying he is up to the task.  The surgery is probably a factor.  And I am not a fan of Wilson in man coverage on the opponent's #2 wr.

 

Milliner may turn out to be a great acquisition, and I am hardly saying there should be any signficant doubts at this point about the pick.  But that doesn't mean he's ready to do a competent job right now.

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