How Todd Bowles ruined Sheldon Richardson
Have you ever tried to fit a circle into a square peg? This is exactly what happened to this star player on the New York Jets.
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Richardson Ready for Any Defensive Role After Performing Admirably at OLB, Talented Defender Expected to Stay Up Front |
| Source: www.newyorkjets.com/news/article-6/Richardson-Ready-for-Any-Defensive-Role/b05288d0-27f4-4127-a7bd-81357c1bbd3b | |
The usual position for defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson is in the trenches where he can disrupt the offense. In the 2015 season, head coach Todd Bowles experimented with him at outside linebacker. Part of it was because he wanted the awesome talent of Sheldon, Muhammad Wilkerson and Leonard Williams together on the field at the same time and the other half was because Quinton Coples was a bust for them at linebacker. Richardson would drop into coverage, which would make his pass rushing absence felt, giving quarterbacks ample time to scan the field and throw to his receivers. There were also many times when he didn’t have the athleticism or physique to defend tight ends,receivers and running backs as they sped past him down the field, giving opposing offenses a fresh set of downs. He just didn’t have the speed of a linebacker that was needed to make plays in space.
Another negative of Sheldon playing out of position was that the defensive lineman who replaced him was a 3rd tier backup with minimal talent. As Richardson was dropping back, the sub would either not have the swim moves to get past the center and guards or the sub would flop and get pancaked by the offensive line. Either way, the QB wouldn’t have Sheldon come up in his face and would have time to make his reads. It was disheartening to see the passers drive down the field at key points of the game as Sheldon looked like a chicken with his head cut off. Even Richardson admitted “I didn’t get to make as many plays as I do inside”.
So then, why did Bowles still play him at linebacker even as the season progressed? He was so stubborn in his ways although there was mounting evidence that it wasn’t working. Todd was also risking injury to a player who is not supposed to be moving sideline to sideline at 320 pounds and then Gang Green would be out a player who plays both DT and LB. The head coach should just have been humble, accepted the void at LB, played the 3rd tier LB and have Sheldon play his natural position. Thankfully, he didn’t get hurt and this atrocity is finally over. Let us not see this still green coach get cocky and play another key player into a square peg in the future.
