ALL ON THE MALIGNED
DOUBTED CB ROBERTS IGNORING THE CRITICS
Jets cornerback Darryl Roberts is not listening. He is not reading. He is not paying attention to the tweets.
All spring and into the summer one of the main storylines around the Jets has been whether the team can count on Roberts to go from backup to starter. He has been called a weak spot, a question mark and plenty of things in between. Not that he’s paying attention. “I ain’t never heard that,” Roberts said when asked last week about people believing he could be the weak spot of the defense. “I don’t listen to what people say. That’s my main thing. I just focus on what I have to do and just come to work every day and try to execute and be consistent. I don’t wake up and be like, ‘ What are they saying about me?’ I don’t be on social media like that. I don’t even really block it out. I just don’t pay attention to it.”
It looks as if Roberts will have a chance to prove his doubters wrong unless general manager Joe Douglas pulls off a move to acquire another cornerback before the season starts on Sept. 8.
Roberts has been running with the starters all spring and training camp. In the first nine days of camp, Roberts has had some good moments and some moments when quarterback Sam Darnold picked on him.
It is not as if Roberts is completely new to this. He has started a combined 16 games in three seasons with the Jets, including 10 last year. But those starts all came as the result of an injury to someone in front of him. Last year, he stepped in at corner for an injured Trumaine Johnson and played pretty well. Later in the season, he moved to safety when Marcus Maye was injured and had a tough time.
Roberts, a seventh-round draf t choice of the Patriots in 2015, said he is confident he can help this Jets defense.
“I know I’ve been in the league, going into this year this is my fifth season, and I’ve played a lot of football,” Roberts said. “One thing I know is a coach isn’t going to start someone he thinks is sorry. They have confidence in me to be able to start. I just have to come out and execute my job regardless of what anybody says.”
The cornerback position overall is the thinnest spot on the roster. Johnson struggled last season in his first year of a five-year, $72.5 million deal. Roberts is a bit of an unknown. The Jets signed Brian Poole to play slot corner, but it is fair to wonder why the Falcons gave up on him when he is relatively cheap. Beyond those three, the Jets have really young, inexperienced players.
It feels as if the Jets are in trouble now with this cornerback group and could be sunk if they suffer an injury to the top three players.
Coach Adam Gase has expressed conf idence in Roberts, but he also spoke glowingly about center Jonotthan Harrison and that did not stop the team from replacing him with Ryan Kalil last week.
“I think Darryl is improving. I think he’s getting better,” Gase said. “Every day we come out here, he’s challenging those guys. He’s done a really good job because with what [defensive coordinator] Gregg [Williams] does and the variety he has and the different coverages and these guys have to do all these different techniques that they’re using, he’s really good at all that stuff because he’s played so many different positions over his career.”
Roberts will be under the microscope during the preseason games. The 28-yearold said he is ready for this role and he believes the Jets secondary can be something special.
“I think we could be really good as long as we continue to prepare like we prepare and come out here and be confident and challenge receivers,” Roberts said. “I think we can be a great secondary in this league.”