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Is Calvin Pryor In The Doghouse For New York Jets?

By Kenneth Teape

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Calvin Pryor came into the season as a much hyped rookie out of Louisville. He was supposed to bring some toughness to Rex Ryan’s defense, the type of player that would flourish in a system that would showcase his hard hitting and playmaking ability. Instead he has wilted thus far this season, even being benched for this past weekend against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Could the 2014 first round pick be in the Jets’ doghouse?

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His play hasn’t been up to par with his draft status, as he is yet to record an interception, forced fumble or fumble recovery this season after being toted as a playmaker and heavy hitter coming out of college. It would be hard to fault the Jets for benching Pryor if the reports that surfaced are true. According to a source Monday, Pryor has constantly been late for meetings this season, which finally boiled over to the point Pryor was benched Sunday against the Steelers.

Being late to meetings has been something of a story for the Jets this season. You’ll remember that Geno Smith made plenty of headlines for missing a meeting the day before a matchup with the San Diego Chargers. He was not benched, but maybe should have been after he put up a train wreck of a performance. Benching him would not have paid many dividends more than likely, as backup quarterback at the time Michael Vick said he was not ready to play anyway.

But this time, the Jets may have been able to get the message across, and find a player capable of playing well in a decimated secondary. This week Jaiquawn Jarrett got the start for Pryor, and had a career day. Jarrett was the biggest factor in the Jets pulling off the upset victory, as he recorded two interceptions, one sack and one fumble recovery slowing down the most potent offense in the NFL over the prior two weeks.

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Jarrett was impressive in his performance, and it resulted in him playing every defensive snap in the game. He kept Pryor, who had played 75 percent of the Jets’ defensive snaps in the previous nine weeks, on the bench and relegated to special teams duties.

Rex Ryan delivered a ‘read between the lines’ statement after the game, explaining why they started Jarrett over Pryor. It sounded like a direct shot at Pryor, as he said, “We were trying to line up guys that we think deserve it, whether it’s in the classroom, on the practice field, or in meetings, being on time for meetings. [Jarrett] does a great job. He’s dependable and has been playing well. Those are the reasons we do that. We thought we were going to play all of them, but it really never turned out [that way]. We just played the hot hand.”

The Jets won, so it is hard to argue against the decision Ryan and the coaching staff made. After the game, Pryor said all the right things when talking to reporters.

"“It’s not about me. I’m trying to enjoy this victory. I’m trying to enjoy the guys in this locker room. I’m happy for Jaiquawn Jarrett. He played an outstanding game. Only way I can learn from this is see what he did, learn from [my] mistakes and try to get better.”"

That sounds good, but you know it is killing him that he got benched and was outperformed badly. Jarrett put up more impact stats in one game than Pryor has all season. He has a lot of work to do to live up to his first round draft pick status.

It also has to be a little disappointing that Pryor was benched but Smith was not after it was nationally recognized he missed meetings. That type of double standard is what will drive a stake through and divide a team.

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