While I'm not one to typically believe in media quote's, this sounded entirely plausible. If true, I see a bit of a problem to accept constructive criticism from coaching. If this was already pated, or I'm off base, please disregard... http://nypost.com/2014/08/12/jets-should-give-rookie-jace-amaro-a-serving-of-tough-love/ Jets should give rookie Jace Amaro a serving of tough love By Bart Hubbuch August 12, 2014 | 10:22pm Modal Trigger Jace AmaroPhoto: Neil Miller MORE FROM BART HUBBUCH Goodell diminishes women by only handing Rice two-game ban Johnny Football and the top NFL preseason storylines Browns have already made first mistake with Johnny Football Immaturity becoming a major draft concern for NFL execs The advantage of the Texans trading top pick CORTLAND — It’s not too soon for the Jets to tell Jace Amaro to get his act together. While the big tight end is a rookie and it’s only the middle of August, Amaro is too important to their hopes this season for the Jets to let him keep practicing and playing in what too often seems like a disinterested fog. The Jets thought they were getting the 6-foot-5, 265-pound matchup nightmare who set an NCAA record for tight ends last year with 106 catches for 1,352 yards. What they’ve gotten so far instead is a guy with unreliable hands who comes off as both passive and overwhelmed by the transition from the Big 12 to the NFL. The Jets were hoping for their own version of Rob Gronkowski, but that seems like a pipe dream if Amaro keeps up this aimless pace. Rex Ryan tried to send the message nicely last weekend after a couple of halfhearted displays in the preseason opener, saying Amaro should go watch old tapes of Mike Ditka to see what a tight end can do when you marry desire with Amaro’s skill set. But Amaro brashly dismissed Ryan’s suggestion Monday, telling The Post “I’m not going back 30 years to see how Ditka played” because Amaro’s ultimate goal is to be imitated and not do any imitating himself. Bad move. As well as being a poor student of NFL history (Ditka’s Hall of Fame playing career with the Bears, Eagles and Cowboys ended in 1972), Amaro showed poor form in brushing off his well-meaning coach. And where is that attitude on the field? Amaro was kicked out of Texas Tech’s bowl game two years ago for throwing a punch, but he hasn’t shown much fight in practice or in the first preseason game when the ball is in the air or he’s expected to block someone. Amaro’s poor blocking — incongruous to his huge frame — was no secret. It’s the main reason the Jets were able to get him in the second round and why two other tight ends, Eric Ebron and Austin Seferian-Jenkins, were taken ahead of him in the draft despite Amaro’s record numbers. The Jets were willing to accept Amaro’s blocking deficiencies because he can line up all over the field and they had visions of him posting Gronkowski-like receiving numbers in an offense that has lacked weapons for far too long. Amaro could still do all that, obviously, but the early returns are disconcerting. It became even more worrisome Tuesday when the incumbent tight end, Jeff Cumberland, left practice with what the Jets later said was tightness in his Achilles tendon. Not what the Jets wanted to hear about a player who recently tore his other Achilles. If Cumberland is out for any significant length of time, tight end could be an even bigger black hole than it was last season and for what seems like forever with the Jets unless Amaro gets his head on straight. The trio of Cumberland, Kellen Winslow Jr. and Zach Sudfield combined for 62 catches for 849 yards and six touchdowns last year. Three tight ends around the league had more catches than that by themselves in 2013, while five tight ends singularly posted more yards. So it’s not as if Amaro has a high bar to climb, and the 138 catches he had in just 2 ¹/₂ college seasons shows he has the talent to be the reliable outlet Geno Smith desperately needs. Offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg indicated Tuesday Amaro’s biggest problem has been learning the playbook, saying “smoke was coming out of [his] ears and eyeballs” early in camp. That’s positive, because familiarity comes with time and Amaro is considered a sharp guy. But the Jets’ public soft pedal with Amaro should stop. It’s not too early for some tough love.
I never liked or wanted Amaro, but I'm rooting for him because we need him. Hopefully, this is a case of just one sportswriter trying to make something out of nothing to make a name for himself, and Amaro will get the offense learned and start contributing in the way the Jets expected him to. That said, I'm not gonna hold my breath on it. He basically had one season of production in college, was a lousy blocker, and played in a spread offense designed to get the ball to him. Something like 80% of his catches were round the LOS and he never had anyone covering him. I always prefered ASJ, Fiedorowicz, or even Crockett Gilmore over Amaro. I hope the Jets passing on some higher rated WRs or OLBs in favor of Amaro doesn't wind up biting them in the butt. If it does, Idzik deserves raking over the coals.
This was already covered in the other Amaro thread. http://forums.theganggreen.com/threads/amaro-redshirt-year.81358/page-6 He obviously needs a red shirt year. If that doesn't work, we can threaten to take away his scholarship and put him on the shitty meal plan. To me, it's just another example of us and the media tearing down another player before we've given the kid a chance. Create drama out of nothing and blow it up, create a controversy that becomes the kid's identity, weigh him down with that off the field pressure, and then pick at him for every mistake by attributing it to his off the field "issues" until he's no longer on the team. Then all the brilliant naysayers can shout from the rooftops how they called it on draft day. Yay failure!
Hope this isn't sarcasm but I am biting anyway. This makes no sense dude. He doesn't need a red-shirt year - the kid obviously showed he can make plays in the week 1 debut. He needs to play bigger and hopefully he does. I think Rex Ryan will def tell the defense to hit him a little harder
Just to be clear, I am not a chicken litte/sky is falling kind of guy. Most of the posts on this board are like that. To my fault, I didn't research the quotes and article out enough to see if they were taken out of context. That said, I was more curious to see if you guys thought A) he's just mouthing off (as 1 of u pointed out). B) The kid doesn't take kindly to coaching. Sorry that this was already covered, so much volume that it makes it a little tough to find...
It was very sarcastic, poking fun at the other thread that suggested a red shirt year for Amaro. I was merely pointing out that if we are considering a magical red shirt year for rookies, we should also consider loss of scholarship, meal plan, books, on campus housing etc.. I think Amaro can contribute in the passing game right now, as that is his strength, and he showed it on a few plays against the Colts. IMO, the team should focus on that strength and develop a limited set of packages on passing down where we can take advantage of those skills and create mismatches. Since we are primarily a running team though, he needs to develop his blocking skills to stay on the field for more plays where he could also be utilized in play action. He is nowhere near ready for that, and we should all realize that it is a work in progress that has only just begun. We should be patient as he learns that part of the game.
Excellent points on his skill set. I agree that patience is key, and that there are elements of his game that need to be developed. In regards to my initial post, a little more digging sets the context, though his remarks still show a little immaturity, regarding studying the greats of the game; http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2014/08/rex_ryan_wants_jace_amaro_to_play_more_like_mike_ditka.html There's still more Ryan would still like to see of Amaro. Specifically, Ryan pointed to two passes from Thursday's game he thinks Amaro should have caught—one that was well beyond his reach, and another Amaro had to jump for but couldn't pull in. Ryan said Amaro should be more aggressive in getting after any throw that's near him. "That’s something where he’s got to realize, ‘Hey, you’re a huge man,’" Ryan said. "Give him tapes of Mike Ditka or something and say, ‘This is how we want you to play. Recognize you’re a big guy. You need to be a bully out there. When that ball’s thrown up, you’ve got to go catch it. I don’t care where it is.’ So he needs to have that kind of mentality." http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2014/08/12/amaro-on-rexs-advice-to-watch-tape-of-ditka-im-good-thanks/ “I’m not going back 30 years to see how Ditka played,” Amaro told the newspaper on Monday after practice at SUNY Cortland. “I know the way he played and the kind of character he is.”...“You don’t really want to look into it too much,” Amaro said of the comparison between himself and Ditka. “You want to be your own player. You don’t want to (imitate) anyone else who has played. I want to be the guy who someone decades from now says, ‘That guy plays like Amaro.’"
Above is how Mr. Bart Balsac is taking quotes out of context to make for a story that isn't there. That and talking about Amaro's college career means "poor attitude". I am just livid right now at how they get paycheck to write this stuff. What would happen if we just stopped clicking on their stories? Do you think that would make enough of a dent that the editors of these websites/papers would change their tune or are we just going to keep reading this crap year after year and pretend its real reporting?
Writing paper letters (not e-mails) to the editor can have an impact. Companies take real letters way too seriously and tend to assume that for every letter they get, thousands of other people feel the same way. On the other hand, people are too lazy to write real letters. Emails get ignored.
What a silly article. Not only is that quote, downright reaching, it's just him saying the right thing. He wants to set his own standard. That article is basing his "poor" play so far off training camp and 1 single preseason game. C'mon man!
JACE "THE HOUND" AMARO...says what he feels. He probably called Ryan..."Rex the Bitch of New York" Now someone get this man a fucking chicken to eat.
No, I don't need to see how Ditka played because I'm as good as it gets, there's nothing left for me to learn. I'm very proud of myself and people need to look up to me, not somebody who played a long time ago.
I'm surprised that no one has taken the opposite stance. Rex really wants his new receiving TE to play like a fossil? Ditka barely knew how to run a route.
it's a nice way of letting him know he looks like fruit salad out there. if you want to be great, you're going to have to get tough, physical and aggressive. that's what we need. who better than Ditka for some inspiration on what that looks like? apparently the nice message didn't get through. time for Rex and the coaches to take a different approach.
