"I'm letting receivers get too many free releases even when I'm in press (coverage)," he said. "I think last year, I was doing a better job of making sure I got my hands on the receiver at the line and tried to disrupt the timing of the route.
He has done a good job of putting that "soft" label aside during his time in New York, but Cromartie knows he can do more.
"That's something I haven't been doing in the first six games, and that's something I've got to get back to."
"That's the only part that's been disappointing to me."
For a guy who has some built-in excuses — a hip ailment early this season; a knee injury last week; getting little help at times in coverage — he refuses to use any of them,
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"I think he's playing well enough," Thurman said. "When you're going against a team's top receiver most every game, the other guy is going to be good, too. He gets paid just as well. I think he's performing pretty well, but we can always do better."
But he has also given up a few big plays, including Emmanuel Sanders' 55-yard touchdown catch in New York's loss to Pittsburgh last Sunday. He has also allowed two other touchdowns this season, both against Tennessee three weeks ago.
One area,
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"I'm the guy who's supposed to be leading this group and supposed to be playing at a high level every single week," he said. "That's disappointing to me. The young guys are looking to me to come out and play the way I'm supposed to be playing. That's something that I haven't been doing.
When Revis went down with a season-ending knee injury early last season, Cromartie stepped right in and there was very little drop-off.
"My thing is trying to be the best I can be for this football team and playing at the All-Pro level I know I can play at," he said. "I haven't been playing at that level. I don't feel like I have. I'm always going to be hard on myself, make sure I'm doing the things I need to do to and not just for me, but the guys on the back end.
"I can't say that I'm doing something and I'm not doing those things and expect the younger guys to do it also."
"It's been a tough year for me," he said. "I don't consider this being me playing at a Pro Bowl-caliber level at all. I definitely want to pick my game up and make sure I'm playing to the best of my ability."
Cromartie, who has replaced Darrelle Revis as the team's top cornerback, has routinely taken on teams' top receivers,
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Still,
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Not that he needed any proof of that, but Ryan said Cromartie confirmed just how good he's feeling by making a spectacular one-handed interception in practice Thursday,
It was perhaps the best performance of his career, one that resulted in his second career Pro Bowl appearance and made the Jets feel a bit more comfortable with parting ways with Revis before the draft in April.
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Antonio Cromartie refused to sugarcoat his subpar start.
Cromartie was refreshingly candid and brutally honest talking about his season.
Cromartie insists that despite a knee injury last week in practice that he initially feared was a torn ligament, he feels the healthiest he has all season.
Cromartie doesn't want his team's confidence in him to waver one bit.
"Everybody gets beat," Ryan said. "There's no question I'm glad he's on our team, though. I'll say that. He takes the tough down and never flinches."
While many of those "younger" players — rookie Dee Milliner, Kyle Wilson and Darrin Walls, to name a few — look to Cromartie for guidance,
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"Yeah, I did that," Cromartie said with a big smile. "But you've got to transfer that over to the game."
The New York Jets cornerback expects a lot more from himself
