Scott said Gardner is not quite up there with a historical New York Jets cornerback
New York Jets Pro Bowler Sauce Gardner is certainly protective of his status as an elite cornerback. So much so, in fact, that it’s no longer only his play that is reminiscent of all-time great corner Darrelle Revis.
Over the years, Revis has been known to get in the face of anyone who questions his legacy. His beef with Richard Sherman during their playing days was legendary. Gardner is not as vociferous, but he certainly makes his presence known when anyone has questions. In the offseason, Revis defended Gardner against some barbs from Asante Samuel, which Gardner had already rebutted.
Now, it’s Revis’ former teammate getting on Gardner’s back. Bart Scott’s words may be mild compared to some of the other criticisms leveled Gardner’s way, but the reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year won’t let them slide.
On Jets Game Plan, @BartScott57 and @JeaneCoakley assess the Pro Bowl season for Sauce Gardner https://t.co/ot7qKQiu5U pic.twitter.com/eooTbIj6qr
— Jets Videos (@snyjets) January 5, 2024
Scott interlaced praise of Gardner with some next steps No. 1 can take to establish himself as an elite cornerback in the NFL. He expressed that Gardner could use some more interceptions, especially when he gets his hands on the ball since opponents rarely throw his way. Another suggestion was that Gardner needs to travel with the opponent’s best receiver to cancel them out the way Revis once did.
However, it was Scott’s final words that caused Gardner’s objection: that Gardner is still chasing Patrick Surtain as the top cornerback in the NFL. That was the last straw for the Jets’ corner, who fired back on Twitter in a since-deleted post.
This is what the post read: “Bart I rock witchu but you be losing me. Don’t tell me I’ll always be tryna chase nothin. Look at my numbers. I played 1k snaps and have only allowed 250 yards in 16 games. CD just had 200+ in ONE game. I’m as humble as it gets, but ion like how you said that.”
Calling himself “as humble as it gets” is an interesting choice on Gardner’s part considering the context. (A discerning eye will also note that Gardner did not respond about gaining weight to become a more surehanded tackler.)
From a statistical standpoint, Gardner is not wrong about outplaying Surtain. Here are their head-to-head numbers (out of 69 qualified corners, min. 400 cover snaps):
- Gardner 251 yards allowed (3rd), Surtain 627 (50th)
- Gardner 8.7 yards per catch (4th), Surtain 12.5 (42nd)
- Gardner 20% forced incompletion rate (3rd), Surtain 12% (33rd)
- Gardner 1 TD, Surtain 3
- Gardner 0.46 yards per cover snap, Surtain 0.99
- Gardner 5.0 yards per target, Surtain 7.6
Though Scott invoked Surtain merely because he was the No. 1 starting corner on the AFC Pro Bowl list, pointing at the Denver corner as superior to Gardner is erroneous. In his typical style, Gardner let the SNY host know it.
Who were the CBs that were better in those categories where Sauce was 3rd or 4th? Clearly Sauce is closer to being the #1 CB than Surtain is, but who are those other contenders?