I'm not crazy about Atogwe, but we straight up don't have a free safety on the roster. Unless anyone has a better idea (and blowing our first round pick on Barron isn't a better idea, btw,) I'd be OK with giving him a shot.
Atogwe is a part time player at this stage. You could likely get good production rotating in Smith/Leonard/Atogwe depending on the situation. Problem is, someone is gonna play him and pay him as a starter b/c the safety well is dry.
If we sign Atogwe, I'd like to see the safety from boise groomed. Then again that goes if we re-sign Jim.
If we manage to sign Atogwe for anything under $2.5 million, it would mean that Atogwe + Landry would cost less than Reggie Nelson in 2012... I like.
People against the Atogwe signing gotta realize that just 1 year ago he got a monster contract, and is a turnover beast. If he pans out on a 1 year flyer we lock him up. If he doesnt, well then we have a draft with far better safety prospects, and a free agency period where we have way more cash. I mean if we can address OLB WR and Guard this draft (all of which we can easily do), then next year we can load up on whatever strengths the draft has
DCM, I agree with you 100%, we would be in great shape going into the draft with nothing but flexability.
I'm all for signing Atogwe. If they can stay healthy (Atogwe and Laundry), the Jets may have the best secondary in football in 2012. I also wouldn't be against trading down in round 1, or up back into the end of round 1 from round 2 of the draft to pick Barron (I would be upset picking him at 16).
I compared Pool and Smith becuase some sizeable number here were more for getting rid of Smith than Pool. But imo Pool was worse than Smith, and on top of that was an FA while Smith is under contract. I agree they did not play the same role. Smith's role was to tackle, while Pool's was to get poor position and try to catch up with his admittedly faster speed. Nice. I don't talk much about VD because he sucks. I think it more likely the Jet FO has kept him more because they just don't want to admit yet that he's another Gholston. And you're right, maybe you're not an accross the board FO Homer. Just when they support Sanchez.
The off season is always fluid, lots of moving parts, timing affects decisions, as timing affects the cap, and holes not filled in FA feed into drafting strategy. I myself have always been interested in the chessmatch that is the off season, but lately have become increasingly skeptical of Tanny. "seems like they have a plan" - yeah, but is it a good plan? They had a plan when Pete Kendall acted up about his contract. They let him go and "replaced" him with Clarke and Bender. It killed the season. The Jets had a plan to back up Chad with Fiedler, who before that missed even more games than Chad due to injuries. Chad and Fiedler both went down in the same game, Bollinger had gotten hardly any snaps, and another season went down the toilet. Last season R. Turner got injured in pre-season. Partly because VD was sucking the wind out of one roster spot, and they gave Hunter good money to start, they essentially did nothing to replace Turner, and the season got knocked off kilter when Mangold went down and no one could even call the signals, let alone play decent Center. I know there were other things going on. I know Jet FO Homers will want to jump in here and say all FO's make mistakes. But these kind of situations, where they seem to "have a plan" that is based on hope more than real expectations, are becoming way too common a problem in the Tanny era.
Pool was our best coverage safety. He wasn't good in run support. Completely different player than Smith. How do I qualify as a "FO Homer only when they support Sanchez"? Do you find it necessary to classify anyone who says positive things about Sanchez as a "homer"? I've criticized Sanchez for some things and given him credit for other things. Apparently you hate him so much you can't reason much further than "OMG SANCHEZ HOMER" when someone has something positive to say about the guy.
He is visiting with the Lions today http://www.theredzone.org/BlogDescr...we-visiting-with-the-Lions-today/Default.aspx
Mike T just said the Jets are looking for versatile players for the secondary, wonder if someone like Marcus Trufant or Tracy Porter could play FS? Still Atogwe and Reggie Smith out there at the moment. What do you all think?
Actually I did mean to refer to you as an FO Homer more generally, since on several occasions you defended admittedly crappy moves by the Jet FO with the excuse that all FO's make mistakes. Yeah, and some mistakes are worse than others. I don't hate Sanchez, anyway. He's just a grossly overpaid Jet player who has been holding back the team, losing games, not progressing at anywhere near an acceptable rate, who can't read defenses, and who has a guaranteed contract for another two years. Other than that... As for your Pool and Smith comment, all players are different. Pool backed up Smith on the depth chart, and they are both safeties even when Leonhard was out. That's all I was referring to.
