After a two-fumble performance against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 8, the New York Giants decided to go with cornerback Adoree’ Jackson as their punt returner.
It was a decision that not many fans agreed with, likely remembering back to the Jason Sehorn fiasco of 1998. That decision backfired on the Giants instantaneously and altered the course of Sehorn’s entire career.
In a 31-18 loss to the Detroit Lions on Sunday, the Giants repeated history. Jackson went down hurt on an early punt return and was eventually ruled out of the game with a knee injury.
Extremely early reports suggest Jackson suffered a sprained MCL, which isn’t nearly as severe as the injury Sehorn sustained. But it’s still damaging to a player who was performing at a Pro Bowl level and a team that was in the hunt for the playoffs.
Despite that, head coach Brian Daboll says he has no regrets about using Jackson as a return man.
“No. Look, it’s football. Obviously, it was unfortunate. But we’ll see where we’re at here tomorrow and later tonight,” Daboll told reporters after the game.
“You never want to see anybody go down, but that’s the nature of the NFL. There’s injuries every game. You feel bad for the guys that do go out, but you got to get ready to play.”
Even if an MRI on Jackson comes back clean, it’s unlikely he’ll be ready to go on Thanksgiving against the Dallas Cowboys. That lends a clear advantage to their NFC East rivals, especially considering several other members of the secondary are also hurt.
“I’d say there’s a risk playing every player, regardless of what the position is. I told you before: I’ve been part of a lot of teams where starting receivers, starting DBs played. You just try to do what’s best for the team. And hopefully, he’ll be back as soon as he can,” Daboll added.
Daboll may not regret it, but losing Jackson will have a ripple effect.
“It’s tough. That’s our guy, he’s been playing at a high level. To see him go down, that’s very tough. For the game, we need young guys to step up and throw them in the fire, which is a tough thing for any team to do,” safety Julian Love said.
“It’s tough for a defense, for our secondary in terms of our execution and playing the game. It’s tough personally — those are your friends, those are your guys who you go to battle with each day and to see them banged around, it’s tough.”
Jackson refused to offer any details on his injury after the game but insisted he would be all right. He stopped short of saying he’d play in Dallas, however.
“Next man up mentality. Just have to be ready. Regardless of the situation, what may play out. Just keep fighting, keep battling and don’t let the level of play drop,” Jackson said.
Whenever Jackson does return, you have to believe Daboll and the Giants won’t punt him back there returning punts.
