NFL

Jets’ Cromartie sustains concussion

The Jets suffered one potentially significant injury in Sunday’s 37-27 victory over the Raiders.

Cornerback Antonio Cromartie suffered a concussion, coach Rex Ryan said Monday. Ryan did not sound overly concerned, but Cromartie’s status will be something to watch this week as the team prepares to face the Panthers.

“I think he’s going to be in the concussion protocol and things,” Ryan said. “He felt better [Monday], so I think that’s a positive thing.”

Cromartie did not exit Sunday’s game early, but Ryan said Cromartie complained after the game about having a headache and the trainers examined him. Ryan was unsure when the injury occurred, but Cromartie appeared to get shaken up when he collided with teammate Ed Reed in the third quarter on a play that resulted in a 48-yard touchdown by Raiders wide receiver Rod Streater.

Rookie cornerback Dee Milliner may have played his best game of the season Sunday. Ryan said it was a direct result of the way Milliner practiced last week after he had been benched.

“He never gave up a completion so I think that would be an indication that it was a much better game,” Ryan said. “He had that game based on his preparation. I think this was a terrific week that he had on the practice field and in the classroom.”

Ryan also credited Reed with helping Milliner during film sessions the defensive backs have held on their own.


The Jets’ defense has been No. 1 in the NFL against the run for most of the season, but it dropped to second this week after giving up 150 rushing yards to the Raiders. Most of that came on a 63-yard touchdown run by Marcel Reece that had Ryan fuming Monday.

“That long run, it’s actually embarrassing,” Ryan said. “Anytime you give up a run that far and things like that … sometimes you give up a pass that way and you feel bad about it. It almost rips your heart out when you give up a run of that distance.”

Ryan said the defense simply did not stay in their gaps and the Raiders hit them for a big gain. Defensive lineman Sheldon Richardson said they heard about it.

“[Defensive line coach Karl] Dunbar ’s a little hot at us right now, but most definitely we’ll get that corrected,” Richardson said.


The Panthers will face a Ryan-coached defense for three straight weeks. They played the Saints and defensive coordinator Rob Ryan on Sunday, get Rex’s Jets this week and then face Rob’s Saints again the week after that.

“I’ll be talking to him for sure,” Ryan said. “It could be worse. They could face my dad for a fourth week or something.”


Ryan gave a rare Tim Tebow reference Monday without actually saying his name. When talking about Geno Smith’s running ability, he said it will force opposing defenses to spend extra practice time preparing for it — a familiar refrain from Ryan when Tebow was a Jet in 2012.

“We’ve talked about it when we had somebody else,” Ryan said with a smile. “Trust me, it’s real. It does take a lot of time preparing for the different scenarios and working your defenses against certain calls.”