Jets' Lowery eager to roll with different roles

CORTLAND, N.Y. - Dennis Thurman knew he had to have a father-son chat with Dwight Lowery, understanding that the cornerback would question what was happening around him.

The Jets had made a few moves within their secondary, trading for Antonio Cromartie, signing Brodney Pool and drafting Kyle Wilson.

"I'm a cornerback going forward going into his third year, who played quite a bit a year ago," the defensive backs coach said. "I would be wondering, 'What's my role,coach? How do you see me?'"

So Thurman called Lowery into his office just before the Jets began their Organized Team Activities in May, going over the finer details and breaking down the Jets' plan for the 5-11, 194-pound corner.

"We sat down and talked about it," Thurman said. "And after I explained how we planned to use him and the way that I think best fits his talent, and what we need on this defense, he's been full speed ahead. He's done everything we've asked of him and he's got to play well for us this year if we are going to be successful."

Rex Ryan said he expects "a great year" out of Lowery, mostly because the 24-year-old may have finally found his niche. The Jets intend to use Lowery at what they call an "X" position, which is basically a rover that plays all over the field. He can be an extra linebacker and guard an athletic tight end. He could be an extra defensive end, or you may see him as another defensive back.

He could be on the field in nickel situations and might also be featured in the dime package. This, of course, was all determined before Darrelle Revis' holdout situation. But Lowery is already penciled into that role, one that he seems to enjoy because he's finally sure of what the staff wants from him.

"Last year, I wasn't really preparing myself," Lowery said. "I mean, one week I'm starting at corner and one week I'm playing nickel. So it's tough to prepare for that when you don't know coming into that season. But now that's happened, now that I know what to expect, I'm going to be more prepared for those situations."

Lowery played 13 games last season, starting five, and had three interceptions. But he was repeatedly targeted, and opponents were licking their chops when they saw him lined up on the outside at cornerback. This year, though, he'll be roaming more around the hash marks.

"Playing in the middle of the field is the most comfortable for me," Lowery said. "I can go outside and play, and I can be successful. But it's something that in terms of coming naturally, it's not as natural as when I'm playing the middle."

Thurman said: "To ask Dwight to go out on the corner and play 70 snaps of one-on-one football is not his strength because he can do so many other things well.

"We are all believing and thinking that Dwight is going to have a great year," Thurman added. "Not a good one, but a great year."

Now that he's in his third season, Lowery knows it's time to show a little consistency. He's aware he has to get back to using the physical gifts that Thurman say are more than enough to be a solid defender in the NFL.

"I just feel like I do have ability to start in this league and it's just about finding where that's at and where it fits exactly," Lowery said. "It could be here playing safety. Just depending on how the year goes, it could be here or when I'm a free agent, it could be somewhere else. So I'm just really trying to soak it all in playing around a lot of great players, having great coaches and just learning from them, and what they say, and really just taking it from there."