TheSage Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 Jets' pick Dwight Lowery film buff BY RICH CIMINI DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER Sunday, May 4th 2008, 11:02 PM Antonelli/News Dwight Lowery impresses Jets with film study. There are junkies, and there are obsessive film junkies. Jets rookie cornerback Dwight Lowery belongs to the latter group. Get this: In a pre-draft interview with Chargers coach Norv Turner, Lowery was quizzed on his Xs-and-Os knowledge as he watched tape of the San Diego offense. Remarkably, he recognized a play Turner ran 14 years earlier when he was the Cowboys' offensive coordinator - a play-action pass to the "Z" receiver, who executes a stutter-step move on an 18-yard comeback route. In 1994, Turner called the play for wide receiver Alvin Harper, who made the catch on 49ers cornerback Deion Sanders. Lowery knew it because he has studied Sanders' career closely, but he refrained from blurting it out to Turner. "I didn't know if it was the right situation to say anything," the former San Jose State standout said at the Jets' rookie minicamp, which ended yesterday at Hofstra. To call Lowery a student of the game would be an understatement. He's "just dead serious about being a good player," San Jose State coach Dick Tomey said. The Jets, duly impressed, picked him in the fourth round, thinking he can join Kerry Rhodes and Jerricho Cotchery as recent fourth-round gems. In February, Eric Mangini bet Lowery a dollar that he'd stand out in his scouting-combine interview with the Jets - "and I won," the coach said. They showed Lowery defensive tape, and he was able to explain every player's assignment on each play. "He saw the whole picture from the corner spot," Mangini said. "A lot of times, those corners come in and they say, 'Okay, I got that cat,' and that's pretty much it. You want them to see the big picture." In college, Lowery watched film five days a week, performed daily footwork drills on his own, weighed and measured his food and worked out in a weighted vest. Like his coach said, the man is dead serious about football. Lowery finished with 13 interceptions in his two-year career at San Jose State, the kind of credentials that usually warrant a first-day selection, but he fell to the fourth round because of a poor 40 time. At the combine, he ran 4.54 and 4.7. A mild hamstring pull, suffered 10 days before the combine, probably hurt him. A month later, he ran only 4.52 at his Pro Day, confirming his marginal speed. "People put a lot of emphasis on the 40, but I don't play to my 40 time," said Lowery, who will get a chance to compete for playing time opposite left corner Darrelle Revis. "I have good football speed." And an uncanny knack for intercepting passes. Mangini compared Lowery's ball skills to those of safety Kerry Rhodes and two corners he coached in New England, Ty Law and Otis Smith. Lowery has soft hands and the ability to anticipate, born from extensive film study. "There's nothing better as a football player than going into a game, knowing and understanding what a team wants to do," he said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CapeCoralJetFan Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 Now that's what I call a "player". Maybe he's not the fastest "Speedwise" but I'm sure he makes up for it in knowing where the ball is going based on all the film he watches. Sounds like a GREAT pick to me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sperm Edwards Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 We'll see what his game-speed is at the NFL level, but that's a pretty encouraging article. Particularly for a guy who got benched for a while last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUorangefootball Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 We'll see what his game-speed is at the NFL level, but that's a pretty encouraging article. Particularly for a guy who got benched for a while last year. He is very much a Eugene Wilson clone, a guy who can play CB or FS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sperm Edwards Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 He is very much a Eugene Wilson clone, a guy who can play CB or FS. We don't know what his best position is yet. Time may prove him to be totally adequate or a total liability at CB. I like the film-studying attitude, particularly for someone who's just a kid. But until he's proven that he can match up with NFL talent every week, we don't know that he's suited to play anywhere. He's not a CB or a FS. He's just a prospect right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stonehands Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 There have been a lot of good corners who did not have stop watch speed. The article details one in Otis Smith, remember James Hasty? You can't teach anticipation. I think this guy is going to be a playmaker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSage Posted May 5, 2008 Author Share Posted May 5, 2008 The article makes him sound like a number of all pros drafted in the mid rounds because they were too slow, to small or another reason. Also sounds like free safety material. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khesanh Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 He is very much a Eugene Wilson clone, a guy who can play CB or FS. He's a field General...a players coach Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetsrule128 Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 he added me on facebook Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flgreen Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 There have been a lot of good corners who did not have stop watch speed. The article details one in Otis Smith, remember James Hasty? You can't teach anticipation. I think this guy is going to be a playmaker. It's speed you can't teach. Anticipation can be taught just the way he is learning it. Film study. When a player sees a certain scenario developing on the field, and he has seen it before on film, he anticipates where the ball is going. Frequently results in an interception. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.