Over the past three weeks, few cornerbacks in the NFL have covered as effectively as Brian Poole has for the New York Jets.
Brian Poole allowed a 37.5 passer rating on throws in his direction from Weeks 4-6, sixth-best among 77 qualified cornerbacks over that span. After a shaky start to the season, he has gotten back to providing the elite slot coverage that Jets fans were used to seeing from him throughout the 2019 season.
Let’s dig into Poole’s hot streak over the past three weeks.
Week 4 vs. Denver
Broncos quarterback Brett Rypien completed 2-of-4 passes for 20 yards, one first down, and one interception on throws in Poole’s direction. Poole dropped into coverage on 31 snaps, allowing 0.65 yards per cover snap (the average among cornerbacks this season is 1.23).
On 2nd & 8, Poole lines up with outside leverage against tight end Nick Vannett and takes him man-to-man. Vannett runs a dig route over the middle. There is almost no chance for Poole to get over top of it due to the presnap leverage, so he decides to undercut the route. He can do this since he knows he has help over the top from either the outside corner (Pierre Desir) or the middle safety (Bradley McDougald) since there is only one downfield route run to that side of the field – McDougald is the one who ends up driving on the ball. Rypien forces the ball out late while under pressure from Steve McLendon and Poole picks it off. Excellent display of awareness to make this play, understanding he could (and should) get aggressive.
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