Role diversified, Gipson expecting better things
JACKSONVILLE — Long before the frustration of his first Jaguars season boiled over with a scathing critique of how he was used, free safety Tashaun Gipson faced with an issue at home that really cut deep.
“I had to deal with my son having another favorite player instead of his own dad,” Gipson said.
Receiver Allen Robinson was Tashaun Jr.’s choice.
It was that kind of year for Gipson, who signed a fiveyear, $36 million contract in March 2016 to stop the free safety revolving door that has plagued the Jaguars for years. Simply put, Gipson did not make many plays. He had one interception and two pass break-ups.
Gipson’s turnaround is crucial for the Jaguars’ defense.
Yes, cornerback A.J. Bouye and strong safety Barry Church got the offseason attention and definitely, cornerback Jalen Ramsey is arguably the team’s best player. But if Gipson can use his range and nose-for-the-football ability better this year, there is no chance the Jaguars again finish with the NFL’s fewest interceptions.
To that end, it was refreshing to see Gipson — back from off-season surgery — on the field Thursday and not exclusively playing the deep middle of the field. On one play, he was covering slot receiver Marqise Lee. On another, he was playing an offthe-ball strong safety role. Retained defensive coordinator Todd Wash envisions Gipson and Church being more interchangeable than Gipson and Johnathan Cyprien were last year.
And Gipson sees a 2017 that is much better than 2016 and has told Wash and general manager Dave Caldwell as much.
“With the style I’m allowed to play this year, I don’t see why I won’t be back in the Pro Bowl,” Gipson said.
Heady talk from Gipson, who made the Pro Bowl in 2014 after finishing second in the league with six interceptions. Nothing wrong with heady talk … if you can back it up.
Deployed to different parts of the field and playing aside one of the game’s top corner duos (Ramsey/ Bouye), Gipson should be presented takeaway/backup-the-talk chances. Heck, he may even pressure the quarterback a little bit — we charted only six blitzes by him last year.
“We went through growing pains in Seattle with [Earl] Thomas his first year and the second year, he made great strides,” Wash said last month. “That’s what we think we’re going to see from Gip.”
Last year, it was tough to see Gip. He was durable (1,070 of 1,075 snaps) and a sure tackler when he got the chance (only four misses). But he didn’t jump off the tape.
Gipson expressed his disappointment after the season-ending loss at Indianapolis, when he questioned Wash’s scheme, believing that his deep-middle-of-thefield station robbed him of play-making chances. Eight months later … “I regret the way I did that and the way I went about it,” Gipson said. “I pride myself on having great relationships with my coaches and never want to burn anybody and disrespect no man. But like I told Coach Wash, it was out of frustration. He understood what I was going through, but there are certain things you don’t do.
“In the heat of the moment, guys say things out of anger. Not to say that wasn’t how I felt, but I should have gone about it in a different way.”
Aside from the interception, Gipson’s most memorable play last year was colliding with cornerback Prince Amukamara to waste a sure interception at Kansas City.
“Coming in here, I had high expectations, obviously, after signing a big contract,” Gipson said. “There was the burden of, ‘I can’t let the people of Jacksonville down.’ I felt I let the fans down and myself down. I understand certain things are out of my control, but there were things last year I could have done better.”
A league source told the Times-Union that early offseason surgery was why Gipson missed all of OTAs and mini-camp. Gipson deferred to coach Doug Marrone about the nature of the injury (”I don’t want to be fined,” Gipson said), but offered he played through it last year. His last appearance on the injury report was in Week 10 (hamstring).
“I had some nicks, but that’s part of the game,” he said. “I battled with stuff [starting around] Week 11 or 12, but again, that’s not an excuse for what I put out there last year.”