Jaguars Don Carey shouldn't be starting at safety, but maybe at un-safety.

Don Carey played college football at Norfolk State. He was scouted by the Jaguars heading up to the 2009 NFL Draft but was selected by the Cleveland Browns in 2009. He was subsequently "released (injured)" by the Browns and the Jaguars claimed him off waivers. This was seen as a faux pas by many across the league, but most fans just said "Oh, watevs." and lauded Gene Smith for making a savvy move to steal a draft pick.

I guess it's savvy if you think stealing a defensive back who is both bad at coverage and tackling, sure.

This is probably a bit harsh, but I'm just being honest. Don Carey shouldn't be starting in the secondary. Do the Jaguars have anyone better? I don't know, but my question is do they have anyone worse. Carey was brought in and placed on injured reserve (IR) in 2009 with a shoulder injury. He came back in Jaguars OTA's and mini-camp and played the starting corner position across from Derek Cox in place of Rashean Mathis, who was skipping voluntary practice for contractual reasons.

Carey was hyped, undeservedly, by many while he was at the corner position. I was there for nearly all of the practices and didn't understand what I was missing. He looked slow in rocovery and often took bad angles. Sure enough, Don Carey was moved to safety at one point while getting toasted all pre-season and training camp. I thought due to his size he'd make a decent fit as a project safety, but in no way did I imagine he'd be a starter. Due to the trading of Anthony Smith and the cutting, re-signing, and cutting again of Gerald Alexander Carey is now a starter at free safety.

When the initial move was made we were told we'd go through growing pains and mistakes. Well, those growing pains and mistakes aren't getting better. They're getting worse. Don Carey's interception against the Oakland Raiders was the first play he'd made all season and it was off a Kyle Boller pass that hit him in the chest. In the same game Carey missed at least 3-4 tackles, including getting stiff-armed to the ground by Raiders runningback Darren McFadden, yet I believe won the poll for "Player of the Game" on Jaguars.com. Carey routinely blew coverages and took horrible angles.

This has continued all season he's started, including last Sunday. As pictured above, he and Sean Considine were both victims of Donald Brown of the Colts. DONALD BROWN OF THE COLTS. Donald Brown had nearly a third of his rushing yards on the season due to the bad tackling/bad angles of Don Carey and Sean Considine.

It's time for Carey to see the bench. I don't understand why his leash is so long while players like Smith and Gerald Alexander's leash was so short. Is it because Gene Smith doesn't want to look like he erred when he burned some bridges when he did what's considered a "no-no" in the league?

Give Michael Hamlin a chance. Give Tyron Brackenridge a chance. Someone. The Sean Considine problem will be solved when Courtney Greene returns from injury, but the other safety position is almost worse than it was when Reggie Nelson was starting. The position Don Carey plays shouldn't even be called safety, because it's dangerous. In no way do I feel safe with Carey being the last line of defense.