Quinton Coples wasn’t upset by Jets coach Rex Ryan calling him out for lagging in the weight room and he isn’t sweating one aspect of his transition to outside linebacker either.
While the Jets will be looking for Coples to rush passers off the edge, he’ll also have to drop into pass coverage on some occasions. When he does, he’ll often be charged with covering a tight end and he told reporters that he’s already come up with a strategy for dealing with one familiar face that is on the Jets’ schedule twice this year.
“Dustin Keller? I wouldn’t let him get off the line,” Coples said, via Seth Walder of the New York Daily News. “That’s the best way to cover, ain’t it?”
Coples offered a similar answer when asked about Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, although he allowed that he’d have help with that matchup. Coples’ approach is likely to be the best one for him to use in his first days as a linebacker. At 6-foot-6 and 285 pounds, Coples has the size to be physical at the line of scrimmage in hopes of keeping tight ends from getting into their routes.
It won’t fit every situation, but it chould work well enough for a successful switch as long as Coples pressures quarterbacks consistently.