NY Jets Spotlight: Antonio Cromartie

Welcome to the Jets Spotlight.   Here we spotlight one key player for each game of the season, hopefully putting a different player in the spotlight each week. Today's player in the spotlight is cornerback Antonio Cromartie.  Cromartie  is a 31 year old, 6' 2", 210 pound cornerback out of Florida State University.  He was originally drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the first round as the 19th overall selection of the 2006 NFL draft.  Cromartie has been a four time Pro Bowler and one time All Pro selection in his career.

Antonio Cromartie was eased into the lineup in San Diego and did not earn a starting role until his second year.  It was that second year that remains the highlight of his career, as Cromartie led the NFL with 10 interceptions and earned his only All Pro honors in 2007.  His next two years with San Diego were not nearly so successful.  On March 4, 2010, the New York Jets traded a 2011 second round draft pick to the Chargers in exchange for Cromartie.  The Jets added Cromartie to a defensive backfield which already included All Pro cornerback Darrelle  Revis coming off what was arguably one of the greatest single seasons of cornerback play in NFL history.  Adding the former All Pro Cromartie was expected to give the Jets the best cornerback tandem in the NFL, and for a while it may have been just that.  But Revis held out, then was injured for parts of 2010. Revis also suffered a devastating knee injury in 2012 that wiped out nearly his entire 2012 season and effectively ended the first chapter of Revis' Jets career.  Consequently, the Jets had only a limited time to enjoy the fruits of a dynamic Cromartie/Revis tandem, and by the end of the 2013 season both players had moved on to other teams.  After the disastrous 2014 season marked by the complete lack of anything resembling an NFL caliber player at cornerback for much of the season, new Jets GM Mike Maccagnan, on a mission from the Almighty, got the band back together when he re-signed both Revis and Cromartie, albeit somewhat diminished versions of themselves.

After a good 2013 season, Cromartie has struggled in his return to the Jets.  However, he played perhaps his best game of the year last week in Revis' absence, an echo of the 2012 season when Cromartie played substantially better than at any other time in his Jets career after Revis was lost for the season.  Perhaps Cromartie needs the challenge of being the number one guy to bring out the best in him.  Or perhaps it is just a coincidence.  Regardless, if ever there was a time when the Jets needed to see the best in Cromartie, today's game is that time.   Across the line of scrimmage will be Odell Beckham Jr., one of the greatest wide receivers in the game and the Giants' best weapon on offense by a wide margin.  If Cromartie needs to be challenged to bring out his best, he certainly should show up for today's nightmare matchup.

Here are Antonio Cromartie's NFL statistics:

Year	Games	Passes Defended	Interceptions	Tackles	Assists
.
2006	16	5	0	20	4
2007	16	18	10	39	5
2008	16	9	2	60	4
2009	16	10	3	31	2
2010	15	17	3	41	1
2011	16	12	4	36	9
2012	16	13	3	30	5
2013	16	10	3	35	7
2014	16	12	3	46	6
2015	10	8	0	20	3

Antonio Cromartie was once as freakishly fast and athletic as any cornerback in football.  He used those tremendous physical attributes to make up for a somewhat less refined technique as a cornerback.  Now, at the age of 31, and in his 10th NFL season, time and hits have done to Cromartie what they eventually do to every football player.  Cromartie is no longer able to consistently rely on being a superior athlete than his opponent.  As a result Cromartie's play has suffered.  As shown by last week's game Cromartie can still come up with a very good performance on occasion; it's just that those occasions have gotten more scarce as the years have taken their toll.

In today's game Cromartie is most likely to get the lion's share of the cover assignments against Beckham.  Now would be a really nice time to pull another vintage performance out of the hat, because if Cromartie is not at the top of his game, Beckham has gifts that will make opposing cornerbacks pay dearly.  Given that the other outside cornerback position will be manned by some combination of Buster Skrine, Darrin Walls and possibly Dee Milliner, the Jets will likely be in for a very long day if Beckham is not at least somewhat limited in the damage he does.  Under 100 yards receiving and a single touchdown is acceptable, if not inspiring, but if Beckham torches Cromartie for substantially more, and the other cornerback matchups play out, as they very likely will, in the Giants favor, it is difficult to see how the Jets will be able to keep up with the Giants' aerial assault.

If this were 2012 the Jets could have some confidence that Cromartie would be able to fend off a monster performance by Beckham.  In 2015 that is a much dicier proposition, but one the Jets are reduced to wishful thinking about, because there aren't many good alternatives.

No doubt the Jets will send whomever is covering Beckham help for much of the game.  But if the Jets devote too many resources to trying to limit Beckham, the other less than stellar Jets cornerbacks become huge liabilities against the Giants' other weapons.  If Cromartie can limit the Beckham damage without constantly rolling a ton of help his way, then the rest of the Giants'  offense is unlikely to present a formidable challenge for the Jets.  A limited Beckham likely means an excellent shot at a Jets victory.  On the other hand, if youth is served and the uber-talented Beckham makes Cromartie look every bit of his 31+ years, it may well be a long and fruitless day for the Jets.  Likewise, if the only way the Jets can prevent Beckham from a monster performance is by constantly rolling plenty of help to Beckham's side, leaving the other cornerbacks on an island, the secondary Giants' weapons are likely good enough to make the likes of a Walls or Milliner or McDougle or even Skrine pay dearly and often.

Antonio Cromartie has been a star in the NFL.  He has been an All Pro.  He has performed admirably when thrust into the number one cornerback role for the Jets.  Cromartie was brought home to help Revis anchor a revamped Jets secondary and provide the kind of shutdown cornerback coverage mostly missing since their respective departures.  Today's game provides Cromartie the opportunity to turn back the clock and play like it's 2012 again.   In an away game in front of a hometown crowd, Cromartie stands in the spotlight, lining up against a cornerback's nightmare. This is Antonio Cromarties' moment to shine.  This is his time to once again remind people of just how good he can be.  This is the time to bring home a much needed win against the Jets' local rivals.  Cromartie in the spotlight offers a chance to justify the investment the Jets made in him, and a chance to state his case to return to the Jets next year.  Antonio Cromartie has been known to rise to the occasion in the past.  Let's hope he shines bright on Sunday.

Jets' Antonio Cromartie on Ryan Fitzpatrick: 'Our leader'

Ryan Fitzpatrick has exceeded expectations as the Jets' starting quarterback this season, and with the Jets at 7-5 and in the thick of the AFC playoff race, it's safe to say he's won over the locker room.

Tuesday night on SNY-TV's "SportsNite," cornerback Antonio Cromartie was asked how the Jets view Fitzpatrick, whose Total QBR of 68.5 ranks eighth in the league this season.

"As our leader," Cromartie said. "He's a guy that we honestly do believe can come out and take over a game."

Witness his performance in Sunday's 23-20 overtime comebacker against the Giants, when Fitzpatrick threw for 390 yards, led the Jets back from a 10-point deficit, and at one point in the fourth quarter and overtime completed 18 of 24 passes.

"That's what it's really all about, from a quarterback's standpoint," Cromartie said. "He has the belief in himself, and the belief in his teammates, and we believe in him. And he goes out and has fun and plays the game like he's been playing it since he was five years old."

Not bad for a 33-year-old journeyman who was brought to the Jets to be a backup, and who only got a chance because presumed starter Geno Smith had his jaw broken by a locker-room punch.

Right guard Willie Colon, in an earlier appearance Tuesday on SNY, expressed a sentiment much like Cromartie's.

"The bottom line, we believe in him," said Colon, who's on injured reserve with a knee injury. "He drives, he's confident, he knows what to do with the ball."

Jets' Antonio Cromartie says Eagles' offense seems slower with Sam Bradford than Nick Foles

FLORHAM PARK — Chip Kelly ideally wants his Eagles offense to move at a fast tempo. But it's hard to do that when you can't stay on the field.

Through two games, the 0-2 Eagles rank second-to-last in the NFL in third-down conversions (21.7 percent). 

The Eagles' struggling offense must face a formidable Jets defense on Sunday. One of the Jets' key defenders, cornerback Antonio Cromartie, thinks there is another reason Kelly's offense isn't moving as fast this year — new quarterback Sam Bradford. 

"Honestly, I think when you look at the offense, their up-tempo actually has slowed down more with Sam Bradford than it was with Nick Foles," Cromartie said. "It seems like it. 

When you're watching the game on TV, and then you watch the games from last year with Nick Foles and those guys, it seems like the tempo was a lot quicker. To me, it looks like it's slowed down a little more with Sam Bradford, because he's still trying to grasp the offense. I think Nick Foles understood the offense, so they were able to move at a faster pace." 

For that reason, Cromartie doesn't expect to see his old pal Mark Sanchez on Sunday. 

Sanchez used to be the Jets' starting quarterback, and is now Bradford's understudy. 

Actually, the Eagles' offense isn't slower this year, compared to last year. It is slightly faster, according to information gathered by ESPN.

The Eagles' real-time average gap between snaps is 30.6 seconds this season, compared to 31.5 last season. The Eagles lead the NFL in that category this year, just like last year. They are 3.5 seconds faster than the Texans this year.

Facing Sanchez "would be like practice [from 2009-13 with the Jets]," Cromartie said with a smile. "It would be like the old days.

"Honestly, I don't think Chip Kelly would ever pull Sam Bradford, because he wants him to get the grasp of the whole entire offense, to get him comfortable. I don't think we will see [Sanchez on Sunday]."  

Despite the Eagles' slower pace, Cromartie said they're still structurally using "the same offense" as last season.

Cromartie played for Arizona last season. Jets coach Todd Bowles was the Cardinals' defensive coordinator back then. Arizona beat the Eagles 24-20 last year, though Philadelphia gained 521 yards and was 9 of 20 on third down. 

Stopping the Eagles on third down is critical, Cromartie said. 

"I think that's the biggest thing," he said. "I think if you look at their first two games, Atlanta did a great job and Dallas did a great job of getting off the field on third downs, so they couldn't go up-tempo. I think that's what we have to try to do as a defense, to try to keep them out of the up-tempo mode." 

When studying an up-tempo offense like Philadelphia's, Cromartie likes to watch the TV copy of the game, rather than the coaches' tape. That's because the coaches' tape edits out the time between plays. So it's impossible to ascertain how quickly an up-tempo offense snaps the ball after its last play. 

"I try to watch the TV copy all the time, especially with up-tempo offenses, because it just gives you a better look at when they're snapping the ball," Cromartie said. "You'll get some up-tempo offenses where they get up-tempo, but they might snap the ball until eight seconds on the [play] clock. But [the Eagles] are snapping the ball at 17, 16 seconds. But right now, [the Eagles] can't really get into up-tempo because they're not catching a rhythm yet and getting into everything."

Wife of Jets' Antonio Cromartie faces tinted windows, cell phone charges

The wife of New York Jets cornerback Antonio Cromartie, who claimed she was the victim of a racially biased traffic stop in Madison on Friday, has been accused of operating a motor vehicle while on a cell phone and having tinted windows, according to the Madison police chief.

Meanwhile, Madison police have "proactively referred" Cromartie's allegations "to the proper county authority as per the New Jersey Attorney General guidelines," Chief Darren Dachisen said in a statement released late Monday afternoon.

Terricka Cromartie took to Instagram following the incident Friday morning, saying she was "pulled over for driving black in Madison."

Cromartie on Friday claimed she had been pulled over for no reason, asked to roll down her windows and asked why she was in Madison.

She posted both a video of the officer talking to her and her own comments but later both were taken down.

Following the incident Friday, a Madison police spokesman said the department would be "looking into" Cromartie's charges, and that was confirmed in the five-sentence statement issued by Dachisen late Monday afternoon.

Dachisen said the department "discovered" Cromartie's complaint "through a media inquiry and social media," and referred it to the unnamed county agency.

The summonses for the tinted windows and cell phone use will be "adjudicated" in Madison Municipal Court "in the near future," Dachisen said.

Meanwhile, he added, Cromartie's "allegations will be thoroughly and objectively investigated to their logical conclusion."

Dachisen was not immediately available for further comment on which county authority received the complaint or the date of Cromartie's court appearance.

After the Jets' loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, Antonio Cromartie was asked about his wife's profiling allegations against the Madison police.

"Nah, I'm not talking about that," he said.

Antonio Cromartie’s wife films ‘driving while black’ cop stop

Jets cornerback Antonio Cromartie’s wife, Terricka, says she was pulled over Friday for “driving while black,” accusing New Jersey police of racial profiling in a string of posts on her Instagram account.

Terricka Cromartie recorded multiple videos Friday, both during the traffic stop — which apparently occurred in the town of Madison — and then afterward.

“So apparently you can’t be black, you can’t drive a nice car in Madison at 11 in the morning. I mean, who cares if you just came from the nail shop, you didn’t get a ticket, the police let you go and say have a nice day. Like that’s OK,’’ a clearly exasperated Terricka said in the post-stop video.

She also posted two videos from the stop — which elicited numerous comments from followers — with the following messages:

“Driving while Black… I’m thankful to be able to even make this message so many weren’t as luck. But how do you deal with a police office who is simply just harassing you.”

“When you get pulled over for driving Black in Madison.. Why are you in Madison??? What did I do officer. Roll your windows Down.. SmDH. FYI I was pulled over for no reason, just to ask me to roll my windows, and why am I in Madison. Like how you don’t know I live here. What am I doing in Madison is freaking 11:30a.m.”

Cromartie claims she asked the officer multiple times why she had been pulled over, and she has been stopped three to four times per month. She presumes it’s because she’s black.

A spokesman for Madison police gave NJ.com two different reasons for not addressing the incident when reached Friday.

“We haven’t even looked into it right now,” Acting Lt. John Miscia told the website. “We have no comment on it right now. I’m not at liberty to talk about it.”

Part of Cromartie’s dialogue with the officer that was captured on video.

Cromartie: “…roll my windows down in my car.”

Officer: “For safety reasons.”

Cromartie: “For safety. But I’m not authorized to do that, either.”

Officer: “You don’t have to, which I explained to you.”

Cromartie: “So now I have to tell you why I’m in Madison?”

Officer: “You don’t have to.”

Cromartie: “But why are you asking me why I’m in Madison?”

Officer: “Just curious.”

Cromartie: “You don’t have to be curious about why I’m in Madison.”

Officer: “OK. All right. Just hang tight, ma’am, for me. And I’ll be right back, all right?”

The officer presumably returns to his vehicle at this point in the footage. Cromarite claims in responses under her Instagram post she was not ticketed. Further details about the traffic stop — its genesis, the precise timing and whereabouts, or the outcome — were not clear.

Antonio Cromartie re-signed with the Jets this offseason for $32 million.