2013 New York Jets: Safety Mystery

Has second year Safety Antonio Allen done enough to win the starting safety job?

No matter what way you look at it, last night game against the New York Giants was ugly. The QB play was poor, the defense gave up an 84 yard rushing touchdown on the first play of the game, even old reliable Nick Folk missed a game winning Field Goal. But in this article, I am going to focus on the safety position. This is a position that is a very important piece of Rex Ryan’s defense. With Rex calling plays, it is safe to assume he will dial-up a bunch of blitzes, which results in added pressure on the safety position. What we know so far is this, Dawan Landry will be one of the starting safeties. The question is whether Antonio Allen, or Jaiquawn Jarrett will be the other starter. Lets take a look how both faired in last night’s game.

Antonio Allen– Before camp began, it was assumed that the 2nd year safety from South Carolina would be the starting safety. As time went on, it became clear that Jarrett was going to make it a full-blown battle. Last night, Allen had a poor game. Allen was a key reason why Giants running back David Wilson was able to break off an 84 yard touchdown run on the first play the G-Men ran. Allen was caught out of position and was unable to get away from the blocking receiver. Allen was also beat badly by WR Hakeem Nicks, but was fortunate that Manning overthrew him. I think Allen has the ability to help the Jets defense as an “in the box” type blitzing safety, but I do not think he is the answer as a starter.

Jaiquawn Jarrett– Before camp, it was unlikely that Jarrett was even going to make the roster. It is funny how things work considering that at this point Jarrett might be the favorite to win the starting safety job. The former second round pick of the Philadelphia Eagles has really impressed Rex and the Jets with his play in training camp and the 3 preseason games. The thing that I like about Jarrett is his physicality. Jarrett can really hit and has had made some nice tackles so far. Jarrett was never strong in coverage in Philly, or even in his college days at Temple, but up to this point it looks that his coverage skills have improved. Last night Jarrett also recovered a fumble caused by LB Danny Lansanah late in the game. While I do think that Jarrett has some flaws, I think he should be the starter week 1 vs the Bucs opposite other safety dawn Landry.

Overall, I think Jarrett is a better option to start at safety for the Jets. I do think that Antonio Allen can be valuable asset for Rex, but I do not see him being starting material. Who do you think will be the starter? Let me know what you think!