Kentucky Jet Posted August 24, 2010 Share Posted August 24, 2010 McKnight Adds New Element to His Story Arc By Randy Lange Posted Aug 23, 2010 a a Joe McKnight began the process of changing his storyline on Saturday night. " 'Hard Knocks' got to me a little bit," McKnight, the fourth-round rookie, told newyorkjets.com right after the Saturday night game at Carolina. "I didn't watch the show that night [Wednesday], but I caught the rewind. I've got some more progress to make. I'll come in Monday, keep working hard. I don't want to be labeled as a scatback. I want to be labeled a running back." Can he also be labeled the Jets' answer at punt returner? McKnight should get a good mention on this week's HBO episode after ripping off his 67-yard return — the second-longest by a Jet in any game since 2000 — in the fourth quarter against the Panthers. He showed his effortless athleticism as he ran through the Carolina coverage and flipped the Jets' field position, even if temporarily, from their 24 to the Panthers 9. "I just got lucky," McKnight downplayed his part in the return. "All my blockers were in the right spot. All I had to do was run. They opened everything up for me." One secret perhaps on that return and also on offense was an emphasis on being more aggressive. Although McKnight's second-half rushing totals (11 carries, 28 yards) didn't show it, he seemed to get a little more head of steam going as he honked it up in there between the tackles. This may have been the result of consultations he had in the days leading up to the Panthers game. LaDainian Tomlinson told him "to attack the defense. You can't make a cut on everybody." And RBs coach Anthony Lynn offered similar advice wrapped up in different words. "The main thing Coach Lynn told me is you've just got to commit to your cuts. If you do that, everything will be all right," McKnight said. "Just try to be a force, try to run hard and run strong." It's all about NFL growth, and McKnight may be in the process of writing an uplifting story arc for one of the three remaining episodes of Hard Knocks and for the season beyond. Here are the Jets' four punt returns of 60 or more yards in all 211 pre-, regular- and postseason games since 2000: Season Returner Type Opp Yards 2004 Santana Moss PO @PIT 75t 2010 Joe McKnight Pre @CAR 67 2002 Santana Moss RS CLE 63t 2008 Dwight Lowery Pre @ CLE 62t Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Integrity28 Posted August 24, 2010 Share Posted August 24, 2010 It would be great to have a good return game again... and I like this attitude: "I just got lucky," McKnight downplayed his part in the return. "All my blockers were in the right spot. All I had to do was run. They opened everything up for me." He understands "team." He also seems to give a sh*t about getting better. Oh, but I forgot... he's a bust already according to the experts here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StraightCash Posted August 24, 2010 Share Posted August 24, 2010 Even if he's paying lip service, he's taking a step in the right direction here. Not bad that he's learning from LT too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jbro22 Posted August 24, 2010 Share Posted August 24, 2010 It would be great to have a good return game again... and I like this attitude: He understands "team." He also seems to give a sh*t about getting better. Oh, but I forgot... he's a bust already according to the experts here. Stop wasting your time man, he'll never be as good as Leon Washington. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JiFtheOracle Posted August 24, 2010 Share Posted August 24, 2010 Even if he's paying lip service, he's taking a step in the right direction here. Not bad that he's learning from LT too Though I dont think very highly of McKnight...I agree with this post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentucky Jet Posted August 24, 2010 Author Share Posted August 24, 2010 It would be great to have a good return game again... and I like this attitude: He understands "team." He also seems to give a sh*t about getting better. Oh, but I forgot... he's a bust already according to the experts here. I agree with you. I think this kid will eventually be a big time player for us. He obviously has the talent and REX on his side. Then watch all his critics jump on board the bandwagon. I'd say he is surely in great shape. He ran the ball 67 yards and was not breathing hard. Lets hope that he gives our return game a big boost this year. GO JETS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Banner Posted August 24, 2010 Share Posted August 24, 2010 That big punt return in the second preseason game was weird. He made some cool moves that most running backs couldn't make but then at the end all he had to do was sprint for the corner and he would have had a TD but instead he just screwed around doing god knows what. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Integrity28 Posted August 25, 2010 Share Posted August 25, 2010 I agree with you. I think this kid will eventually be a big time player for us. He obviously has the talent and REX on his side. Then watch all his critics jump on board the bandwagon. I'd say he is surely in great shape. He ran the ball 67 yards and was not breathing hard. Lets hope that he gives our return game a big boost this year. GO JETS! When I watch him play... all I see is a RB, that hasn't adjusted to the speed of the NFL game yet. So he's struggling with following block and committing to his cuts... because he's doing that whole mental snapshot thing that Gholston does too. Its called overwhelmed. Fortunately, you can't coach the type of speed he's got and I've got complete faith that he'll figure out a way to leverage his ability at this level... once he can process it all intuitively. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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