Chris Ivory Becoming New York Jets Top Weapon
Chris Ivory has come a long way from Division-II Tiffin. In his second season as a member of the New York Jets, Ivory’s strong play has often become overshadowed by the media circus that surrounds Geno Smith.
The Jets acquired Ivory during the 2013 NFL Draft, sending a 4th Round selection, 106th overall, to the New Orleans Saints. After rushing for 716 yards in 12 games as a rookie with the Saints in 2010, Ivory battled injuries over the next two seasons and appeared in just 6 games during each.
Since landing in New York, Chris Ivory has been the punishing runner that Rex Ryan covets in his ground-and-pound philosophy. On Thursday night against the New England Patriots, Ivory was the catalyst of the offence as he rushed 21 times for 107 yards and a score.
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Outside of a dud against the Denver Broncos that the entire Jets team wishes they had back, Ivory has clearly been the best option out of the backfield in 2014. Chris Johnson has still seen his share of play, however, with 78 touches on the season compared to 100 by Ivory. This narrow gap in playing time does not truly represent the gap in effectiveness between the two runners.
On pace for just under 1,000 yards currently, Chris Ivory could easily surpass the mark if the Jets continue to feed him opportunities like they did in Week 7. It would not surprise me to see Rex Ryan slowly give more trust to Ivory in the passing game, as his pass protect skills were not well developed prior to this season. Chris Johnson and Bilal Powell have handled the majority of 3rd-down duty thus far.
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After being targeted just 11 times in the passing game through the first four years of his career, the Jets have targeted Chris Ivory 18 times in 2014 alone. With CJ2K 2K miles from the player he once was, it could be time for Rex Ryan to move Ivory out of the “co-starter” role that he has held for much of his career. Developing a consistent run game, especially considering how hard it is to bring down Ivory, will flood the box with defenders and allow Geno Smith a much greater chance of success on the outside.
If the New York Jets were even 3-4, I’d consider this a much more urgent matter. At 1-6, however, the Jets may soon consider Ivory’s role in 2015 and beyond to be of greater importance than increasing his workload this season. If the Jets continue to circle the drain, it could be beneficial long-term to keep some tread on Chris Ivory’s powerful tires. Regardless of the QB situation for the New York in 2015, Chris Ivory could develop into a dominant bell-cow back, and give Jets fans a reason to cheer once again.