New York Jets: Calvin Pryor steps up to the plate

By Paul A. Esden Jr. | Sep 22, 2015

The New York Jets selected Calvin Pryor 18th overall in the 2014 NFL Draft to fill a giant void in their secondary. Pryor’s rookie season was filled with mistakes, disappointment and a lot of questions if he could develop into a quality defensive back. From the opening game of the season last year where Pryor had an opportunity for a pick-six and dropped it with no one in front of him, it continued to go downhill from there.

The Jets have been in dire need of safety help for the last several years mixing it up with a variety of veterans trying to find some stability at the position from Jim Leonhard, to LaRon Landry, to even Eric Smith.

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After a so-so season for Pryor in which he ended up with half a sack and one interception, his trademark was his ferocious hits but playing out of position due to injuries he was never able to truly reach his potential.

It led some analysts and Jets fans to write him off as just another infamous first round draft bust. But the ‘Louisville Slugger’ entering a new coaching regime and returning back to his original position has found new life with the Jets.

In Week 1, Pryor immediately let his presence be known in a star-studded secondary, by getting the first impact play of the season for the Jets. Absolutely laying the lumber against Cleveland Brown’s starting quarterback Josh McCown and forcing the fumbled ball and changing the course of the game for the Jets.

Then in Week 2, Pryor put on an encore performance and set the Jets up for their shocking upset over the Indianapolis Colts with a first quarter tipped interception off star quarterback Andrew Luck. The Jets’ defense is on a historic pace through two games, look at this fascinating fact via the Media Relations Department of the Jets:

Takeaways:

The Jets defense forced five takeaways (three interceptions and two fumble recoveries). The Jets now have ten takeaways in the first two games of the season, the most by any Jets team in history since 1969. Last season, the Jets defense forced 13 total turnovers, the fewest in the league. The team has converted those ten takeaways into 31 points this season, besting their 2014 total, when the team scored just 20 points off turnovers.

Sep 13, 2015; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets safety Calvin Pryor (25) rallies fans against the Cleveland Browns during the first half at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports

Pryor can certainly take credit for putting the Jets on the right path for this historic start. The Jets are 2-0 for the first time since 2011 and are tied for first place in the AFC East (technically speaking they’re in second place because the Patriots have played an AFC East divisional game already). But regardless of their standing after two weeks, in the words of Bill Belichick, ‘off to Philadelphia’ as the Jets play host to the Eagles on a short week this coming Sunday.

In the post-game press conference, head coach Todd Bowles said the Jets aren’t where they want to be, but are certainly on their way to where they do want to be. They are taking it one day at a time which is the best thing to do. I don’t know about the rest of the Jets fans around, but this new “we’ll do our talking on the field” approach is working just fine with me.

Next: New York Jets: Colts got lost on Revis Island

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