All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey wants to cover the No. 1 receiver each opponent has to offer. He welcomes the challenge. He even requests it.
In the AFC championship game at New England on Sunday Authentic Mike Remmers Jersey , it’s a tight end. Rob Gronkowski is considered the NFL’s best at the position, a 6-foot-6, 265-pound behemoth and a daunting matchup for nearly every defender in the league.
Not for Ramsey, who might get a chance to test his skills against the fellow All-Pro.
”He hasn’t played a corner like me before,” Ramsey said Friday.
Ramsey has held his own and then some against a handful of the most dynamic receivers in the league: DeAndre Hopkins, A.J. Green, Antonio Brown, T.Y. Hilton, Keenan Allen, Larry Fitzgerald, Doug Baldwin, Marqise Goodwin and others.
The 6-foot-1, 208-pound Ramsey has the size, speed, athleticism Authentic Danny Shelton Jersey , instincts and body control to stay with anyone. Gronkowski would create other issues, mainly because of his strength and agility.
Asked what advantage he would have against Gronk, Ramsey replied: ”Everything.”
The Jaguars certainly have faith in their trash-talking, second-year pro.
”If I had to bet on a corner to cover (Gronk), I’d put money on Jalen Ramsey for sure,” quarterback Blake Bortles said. ”I’ve been impressed with everything I’ve ever seen out of him. His physical tools and obviously his mental toughness and what he’s able to do throughout the game and kind of getting in guys’ heads and doing different things.
”I think it’ll be awesome, and I think it’s a great challenge for him, and I think it’ll be a cool experience to watch those guys go head to head if they get the opportunity to.”
It wouldn’t be the first time a cornerback has lined up across from Gronkowski. Teams often do it when he shifts wide in hopes of getting a favorable matchup against a linebacker or safety.
Jaguars defensive coordinator Todd Wash, as expected, offered few hints about what could be in store for Gronkowski, who caught 69 passes for 1,084 yards and eight touchdowns in the regular season.
”We have to get the right guy on him in man situations and obviously know where he is at in zone coverage,” Wash said. ”Nobody around the league has stopped him, so we have to have a plan. We feel very confident with our plan and we have to go in there and execute it.”
Is Ramsey covering Gronk part of the plan?
”In a basketball game, I think we would Authentic Jason McCourty Jersey ,” Wash said. ”But Jalen is a corner and we’re going to run our system. I think the last thing you can do is to go into a game like this and you try and reinvent the wheel. … Jalen is a good corner and he plays against wide receivers.”
Gronk is as dangerous as any receiver in the league, and the Jaguars know it. So don’t count out seeing Ramsey across from him at some point.
”Jalen is a freak,” Jaguars veteran tight end Marcedes Lewis said. ”Tall, rangy, long arms and physical and can run. It’s tough for a tight end because a lot of us are long striders. When you get a guy disrupting stuff and punching you and messing up your stride, it can be tough.
”Even if you come off the line and try to do something early, he’s probably going to punch you in the mouth right back. He doesn’t shy away from anything. It’d be a matchup that would be interesting.”
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The Seattle Mariners have made a habit this year of mounting comebacks, winning by one run and prevailing in extra innings.
They combined all three of those traits in a rousing, drama-filled matchup with the Baltimore Orioles.
Denard Span hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the 11th inning after Kyle Seager delivered a two-run homer in the ninth, and the Mariners pulled out an 8-7 victory Wednesday night.
Playing without injured Nelson Cruz for a second straight game, Seattle got a home run from Ryon Healy and collected 14 hits while improving its record in extra innings to 7-0.
It was the Mariners’ major league-leading 25th one-run victory, and it marked the 16th comeback win in which they have taken the lead in the seventh inning or later.
In this one, Seattle gave up a deflating three-run homer to Chris Davis in the eighth inning before rallying.
”We’ve had some great wins this year. We’ve done a lot of this at home,” manager Scott Servais said. ”To do this on the road, after giving up the big home run in the eighth inning Authentic Trent Brown Jersey , it’s how we’re wired. We play all 27 outs, guys don’t quit. They figure out and find a way.”
The Mariners came to town having lost six of seven. Now, after winning three straight over the lowly Orioles, they can complete the first four-game road sweep of Baltimore in franchise history.
Seattle has never swept a two-game series in Baltimore, and its last three-game sweep of the Orioles on the road was in 2007.
Cruz has been bothered by a sore lower back, but the Mariners have done just fine without him.
Jean Segura led off the 11th with a double against Mychal Givens (0-5), and Span drove in the go-ahead run with a deep fly to center off Donnie Hart.
Chasen Bradford (5-0) worked the 10th and Edwin Diaz got three outs for his major league-leading 30th save, a club record before the All-Star break. He has earned the save in each game of this series.
”We have stepped up and started playing great baseball,” Diaz said. ”Our defense, hitting and pitching are all doing great. We’re in a good moment right now.”
The Orioles trailed 5-4 in the eighth inning before Davis interrupted his season-long slump with a shot off Alex Colome. The drive, on a 3-1 pitch, soared onto Eutaw Street far beyond the right-field wall.
Davis entered the game with a .147 batting average, and on Friday returned from an eight-game hiatus in which he worked to get his swing back. This was his second home run since coming back, and it produced a rare feel-good moment for a struggling team and its belabored slugger.
Then, in the Seattle ninth Authentic Tre'Quan Smith Jersey , Mitch Haniger singled off Zach Britton and Seager delivered his 15th home run and second in two nights.
Britton, who has pitched in only eight games this season after returning from surgery on a torn Achilles tendon, said, ”I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. I didn’t want it to be like this, but it is what it is and I’ve just got to push through it.”
Much earlier, Seattle made up deficits of 2-0 and 4-2 to take a 5-4 lead in the fifth inning against Alex Cobb.
Baltimore has lost four in a row overall and 14 of 15 at home.
DO THE HUSTLE
Orioles shortstop Manny Machado heard some boos Tuesday night when he trotted to first base after hitting into a 4-6-3 double play.
Manager Buck Showalter promised the matter would be addressed, and he did so on Wednesday.
”He’s better than that,” Showalter said. ”It’s a really bad presentation, and he knows that. The toughest thing about it is that it’s a poor presentation of what he’s really about.”
ALL-STAR ENDORSEMENT
Machado leads AL shortstops in fan voting for the All-Star Game, but Servais believes Jean Segura is playing well enough to be a backup.
”There are a lot of good shortstops out there, but our guy ranks top five in almost every statistical category,” Servais insisted.
Segura is batting .338 with 44 RBIs. He’s got nine errors but has displayed exceptional range.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Mariners: Servais says Cruz ”is moving in the right direction” and could return Thursday.
Orioles: RHP Darren O’Day (hamstring) and OF Craig Gentry (rib fracture) were placed on the 10-day disabled list.
UP NEXT
Mariners: Mike Leake (8-4, 4.11 ERA) gets his 17th start in the series finale.
Orioles: Recalled from Triple-A Norfolk on Wednesday, Jimmy Yacabonis will make his first major league start Thursday in place of injured Dylan Bundy.