The Jets are depending upon Kyle Wilson to fill the void of the loss of CB Darrelle Revis. (US Presswire) |
When a starter goes down, you have to make adjustments. When a starter like CB Darrelle Revis goes down, well, you've got to make some serious adjustments. CB Kyle Wilson is the next man in and will start for Revis.
And while he certainly has a lot on his plate, at least he's not Joe McKnight who doesn't know whether he's coming or going. Last week McKnight was a running back and a kick returner. This week he is a running back, a kick returner ... and a cornerback.
With Revis' season-ending ACL tear, the Jets are doing some shuffling and McKnight is one of the shufflees. Coach Rex Ryan, whose personal motto is, "You can never have too many corners," wants to see what McKnight can do. Although he retains his offensive role, for now McKnight is attending defensive, rather than offensive, meetings.
"I think offensively, he's got a good enough grasp of our system where he can do that," Ryan said. "On defense, he probably can't tell you anything."
McKnight agreed and admitted there's one bright spot, "Defensive terminology is easier than offensive terminology."
DC Mike Pettine said that converting McKnight to cornerback is something that the defensive coaches have been talking about for a while, "We've been planting the seed with (coach) Rex (Ryan) for a long time," Pettine said. "This was kind of in the works already."
And, McKnight might be closer than you think to getting on the field on defense. "Could he got out and play some snaps for us this weekend?" Pettine asked rhetorically. "Absolutely."
This is not McKnight's first go-round on defense. In high school he played both cornerback and safety and then in 2010, his rookie year, the Jets used him on a few plays at cornerback. But, it's been a while. So, is he looking forward to making a tackle? "Yeah," he said with a smile.
Asked who on his own team he would most like to tackle, the 5-11, 205-pound McKnight cast his eyes around the locker room and landed on RG Brandon Moore at the next locker.
"Brandon Moore," McKnight answered gleefully. "I'll run right through his chest."
In response, the 6'5", 305 lb Moore simply smirked and rolled his eyes.
With all of that said, the question remains as to what McKnight's actual role will be on Sunday. "When you find out what I'm doing, let me know," McKnight laughed as he headed off to a meeting. On defense.
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