Good article. Interesting Jets were the worst against TEs in the NFL last year, giving up 75% comp and 14 TDs on throws to TEs (worst in football) and 0 INts.
Also note they (SD) had him covering Welker, Edelman, Crabtree, and Amendola in the games referenced below...I think he can cover TEs if he can cover them and cover them well. Still very happy with this signing.
http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/jets/post/_/id/49980/can-marcus-gilchrist-solve-jets-te-woes-dont-bet-on-it
By Rich Cimini | ESPNNewYork.com
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The AFC East is turning into a tight-end hot spot.
In addition to New England Patriots' star Rob Gronkowski, who has terrorized the East for a few years, the division added Jordan Cameron, who signed with the Miami Dolphins. Charles Clay could be changing addresses, as he signed a five-year, $38 million offer sheet with the Buffalo Bills -- and the Dolphins have seven days to match. There's also Jace Amaro, who has a chance to be a pretty good player for the New York Jets
[+] EnlargeMarcus Gilchrist
Kyle Terada/USA TODAY
While Marcus Gilchrist is a versatile player, he may not be able to handle the division's elite tight ends.
The bigger issue for the Jets, however, is defending the tight end. In case you forgot, they weren't too good at it last season. They allowed a league-high 14 touchdowns and a 75-percent completion, third-worst in the league, according to ESPN Stats & Information. They didn't intercept a single pass intended for a tight end.
Enter, Marcus Gilchrist, their new safety.
Team officials haven't commented yet, but we can only assume that one of his jobs will be to cover the tight end -- and that's not in his wheelhouse. As far as I can tell, Gilchrist didn't cover too many elite tight ends last season for the San Diego Chargers.
I studied the tape of four games -- two against the Denver Broncos, one against the Patriots and one against the San Francisco 49ers. I picked those games because of Julius Thomas, Gronkowski and Vernon Davis, respectively -- three of the league's most dangerous tight ends.
Conclusion: You can count on one hand the number of times Gilchrist was in single coverage against one of those guys.
Against the Broncos, Gilchrist didn't play much safety at all. He was the nickel back, spending a vast majority of the plays covering Wes Welker in the slot. He did a very good job, as Welker caught only four passes for 21 yards in the two contests. You could tell he played cornerback at Clemson; he was smooth with his hip turn and back pedal. He looked comfortable with his back to the quarterback in man-to-man coverage. His one hiccup occurred in the end zone, where he was flagged for a holding penalty that nullified an Eric Weddle interception.
As for covering the ultra-athletic Thomas, Gilchrist got beat once, maybe the only time he covered him -- a shallow crossing route that went for 17 yards.
Gilchrist played a variety of roles against the Patriots, but he wasn't involved in any Gronkowski coverage. He covered Danny Amendola in the slot and, occasionally, tight end Tim Wright. In this game, he was used a little away from the line of scrimmage, as the Chargers used some two-deep safety looks against Tom Brady.
Actually, Gilchrist was lined up as a single-high safety on his worst play of the game -- a 69-yard touchdown pass to Julian Edelman, who beat Brandon Flowers on a deep seam. Gilchrist provided deep help, but he took a bad angle and got turned around, allowing Edelman to break into the clear.
Against the 49ers, Gilchrist was used mostly in a traditional safety role, occasionally providing over-the-top help on Davis. He covered the slot on a few plays, matching up with Michael Crabtree (two nice plays) and Anquan Boldin (a 10-yard catch). His signature play was a blow-up hit on fullback Bruce Miller, who fumbled at the goal line.
In short, the Jets are getting a versatile player whose man-to-man skills are good enough to defend No. 2 slot receivers (i.e. Welker and Amendola) and No. 2 tight ends. It's a misnomer to say he's a safety; he's really a safety/nickel back hybrid.
Gilchrist's skill set will create game-plan flexibility for Todd Bowles, but he doesn't appear to be a lockdown safety that will solve the Jets' tight-end issues. This isn't to suggest he can't do it; he just didn't get many chances last season.
John Schmeelk @Schmeelk · Mar 12
Joe Caporoso @TurnOnTheJets · Mar 12
Manish Mehta @MMehtaNYDN · 2h2 hours ago
Marcus Gilchrist @mgilchr · 29m29 minutes ago
Aaron Wilson @RavensInsider · 3h3 hours ago
Corey Griffin @CoreyGriffinNBC · 3h3 hours ago
