Dee Milliner will start at cornerback for the Jets again this week against the Raiders. The question has become: Can he finish?
Milliner was benched last week against the Dolphins, his third benching this season. Defensive coordinator Dennis Thurman said Milliner will start. He also explained why the coaches have given the rookie the hook so many times this year.
“Well, here’s the thing: We’re trying to win the game,” Thurman said. “You’re always going to try and win the game, and at that point, you’re looking at the reaction of the player. And, there’s times where you look at him, you look in his eyes, you say, ‘You know what? This isn’t a good look.’ And you say, ‘OK, let’s make the move.’
“It’s no different than a baseball pitcher. Hell, if he’s given up two home runs and you pull him, well, he got pulled and they put in a reliever. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t make his next start. That’s how we look at it.”
Thurman acknowledged it could be an overreaction by the coaches when Milliner has been benched. Against the Dolphins, he missed a tackle on Mike Wallace, who then scored a touchdown. Milliner did not play after that.
“You take away that one play in the game and he actually played a really good game,” Thurman said. “But you can’t take that one play away and it affects his overall performance and it affects the overall perception of him. But really, he was playing well. He had pass breakups, he actually was tackling pretty well and he misses that one tackle and it goes for a touchdown.
“For a defensive back, a young defensive back, it’s out there for everybody to see. There’s other young players that are playing other positions that make mistakes, but because it’s in the trenches or it’s not as out there, then you think that, that they’re playing well. Whereas, they may be making more mistakes than he’s making, it’s just that his mistakes are that they’re out there and they’re glaring.”