Giants Country

How Giants CB Adoree’ Jackson Turned Around His Game

Giants CB Adoree' Jackson has been playing a lot better of late. He recently explained why.

Patricia Traina

How Giants CB Adoree’ Jackson Turned Around His Game
How Giants CB Adoree’ Jackson Turned Around His Game /

 

With great contracts come great expectations. 

But for New York Giants cornerback Adoree’ Jackson, who signed a 3-year, $39 million contract last off-season, his deliverance of great expectations took a little bit of time to fall into place.

In his first five games as a Giant, Jackson allowed 22 of 32 pass targets against him(68.7 percent) to be completed for 234 yards(46.8 yards/game) and one touchdown with just one pass breakup.

In his last four games, Jackson, the 18th overall selection in the 2017 draft by the Titans who struggled through some injuries while with Tennessee, has allowed nine of 18 pass targets (50 percent) against him to be completed for 36 yards (9 yards/game), and one touchdown. He's also recorded two of his three pass breakups on the season during that four-game span.

What has been the difference in the 5’11” 185-pounder’s play over the last month?

“I think the biggest thing that we harp on about is just having that edge, being more aggressive by attacking the ball and different natures. Just going out there and playing fast,” Jackson said Monday.

“Other than that, we work on that throughout the week of practice. Just being comfortable being who I am, playing fast and playing free. You take everything in, and you hear everything from what they coach you and tell you to do and just try to implement it in practice and keep getting better and constantly improving.”

Jackson could have blamed a late training camp ankle injury for his slow start, but he didn’t. And he could have also pointed to the defense being a bit too complex at the beginning of the year until defensive coordinator Patrick Graham streamlined it to help improve communication between the players.

But Jackson, who never did seem comfortable speaking about himself, pointed to his teammates coming together as a unit as the primary reason for the improvement.

“I think us clicking together and being cohesive. I think us understanding the situation that we weren’t excelling or doing well at, which was third down, two-minute and then the red zone and trying to correct those things,” he said.

“I think by that aspect and us coming together and understanding what we wanted to do and what we needed to do to get the job done and it started working for us.”

Jackson, who said he spent the bye in the area resting, eating right, and getting in some much-needed video game time, also admitted that the coaches have been after him hard of late and that he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I love it. That’s the only way that you should want to be coached,” he said. “Understanding that no coach wants to put you in a situation to fail, they just want to see you succeed and play well. That’s how I always look at a coach trying to coach me.

“They wouldn’t put me out there because it’s not just their name on the line, the team’s name on the line and ultimately, it’s me out there, so at the end of the day you’ve just got to go out there and prepare yourself and compete.”

If there’s one thing that Jackson would still like to improve in his game, it’s his stat line under the interception column. Not known as much of a ball hawk—he has just two interceptions in 359 career pass targets thus far—Jackson is trying to become more of a complete cornerback.

To that end, he recently spent some time after practice catching balls as a receiver from a quarterback.

“That was just me working on just trying to catch the ball and use my hands really and attacking the ball,” Jackson said, adding that he also had a staff member throw him some more passes after the quarterbacks called it a day.

“Pretty much was just getting some extra work in where I could before I went to the crib,” he said.

And pretty much looking to deliver on those great expectations that come with his contract.

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Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants. In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.

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