First and foremost if the likes of Revis, Mangold, Harris & Decker could all get it, then i believe and feel that anyone can get it. And if we're to utilize 2017 as a year to review and scout our younger players in order to learn more about and see what they've got from within, then i see no way possible that a career journeyman type of backup who's soon to be 38 years old in Josh McCown will be named our 2017's opening day starter. Right now i don't see it and have a gut feeling that it's Hackenberg's job to lose as a 22 year old 2nd rounder out of Penn State. If the writing of a youth movement is truly on the wall well then McCown is simply and only here to backup both of our young gun kid QB's in Petty and Hackenberg. With that being said our GM & Head Coaching duo of Maccagnan and Bowles are now both full throttle and committed to a culture change through a youth movement. It appears as if our Owner in Woody Johnson is now in full support of one too, but from the outside looking in. It just seems as if he's finally given in and has submitted to his front office while allowing our GM in Macc to both roll the dice and call the shots at the same time. Woody looks to be aboard. Now as a Jet fan I've been through change before. Change of GM's. Head Coaching changes. Multiple coaching staff & QB changes. Stadium changes etc. But this is different. This is the clearing of a house within a three year time span (and still counting). The days of Fitzpatrick, Brandon Marshall, Eric Decker, Mangold & Ferguson, Revis, David Harris and Gilchrist are gone. And it's (potentially) all led up to this.... QB: Hackenberg (22). HB: Bilal Powell (28). WR 1: Quincy Enunwa (25). WR 2: Robbu Anderson (24). WR 3: ArDarius Stewart (23). WR 4: Charone Peak (24). WR 5: Chad Hansen (22). WR 6: Jalin Marshall (21). TE 1: Jordan Leggett (22). TE 2: Seferian-Jenkins (24). LT: Kelvin Beachum (27). LG: James Carpenter (28). C: Wesley Johnson (26). RG: Brian Winters (25) RT: Brandon Shell (25). DE: Leonard Williams (22). NT: Sheldon Richardson (26). DE: Muhammad Wilkerson (27). OLB: Lorenzo Mauldin (24). MLB: Darron Lee (22). MLB: DeMario Davis (28). OLB: Jordan Jenkins (22). CB 1: Morris Claiborne (27). CB 2: Juston Burris (23). CB N: Buster Skrine (28). CB D: Marcus Williams (26). CB 5: Jeremy Clark (22). FS: Marcus Maye (24). SS: Jamal Adams (21). K: Ross Martin (23). KR/PR: Jalin Marshall (21). P: Lachlan Edwards (25). Those 31 players create for an average age of only 24.3. Are there NFL teams out there from top to bottom who are projected to field this much overall youth and if so, which one's because out of curiosity I'd like to take a deeper look for myself into their respected rosters. Now of course that specific number of 24.3 years of age could be skewed both ways, although i don't think so by a lot. It's all depending on if... Petty (26) or Hackenberg (22) plays. How Powell (28) vs. Forte (31) is used. If Brandon Shell (25) claims a starting spot on the O-Line or not. Will Rontez Miles (28), Ronald Martin (24) or Doug Middleton (23) become our 3rd Safety behind our two starting rookies? Who out of McLendon (31) and either of Deon Simon (26) or Lawrence Thomas (24) earns more time as our 4th Defensive Lineman behind our top trio? Will Bruce Carter (29) challenge DeMario Davis (28) for our 2nd IMLB spot opposite of Lee? Will guys like Josh Martin (25), Dylan Donahue (24), Julian Stanford (26) or Connor Harris (23) get any playing time or not on defense. And if so, how much. Which one of Ross Martin (23) or Chandler Catanzaro (26) will be our FG kicker? Etc. If it's true that McCown is here to be a backup, then outside of a long snapper in Tanner Purdum (32) there are only two players 30 years of age or older in which will see a significant amount of playing time. Those two players are Matt Forte (31) and Steve McLendon (31). And if Powell starts at HB we would not have a single starter on our roster older than 28. I'm not sure how many other teams look this young on paper but i know it's a first for me when scouting or overseeing a Jets roster. For those who have asked for a youth movement in order to become younger at all positions... The time has finally arrived. It's here. I'm kind of excited too because i just think. What if this current roster, combined with impactful FA additions and future draft classes is full of young talent. This regime could then be pretty good, for a very long time. And it could be happening with perfect timing as well because Tom Brady finally turns 40 come August of this year which means one of either N.Y, Buffalo or Miami will be prime to claim the AFC East over the next 2-3 years. Wishful thinking yes, but how cool would it be to actually see N.Y as a team on the rise (comimg for the East) while N.E's dynasty comes to a Storybook ending. Just like Buffalo after Kelly and Miami after Marino; N.E will soon be moving on without Brady. The time to strike as a Jets Franchise could be now (very near future).
Can't agree with this more. I am so excited to see what we have time and time again the Jets have drafted players and hid them under "journey-men". Let the kids play and see who sticks. It will all be obvious to the eye test who is performing like an NFL player this year because we don't know how many of those we have
I think that's why he moved on from Harris/Decker. They'd have to play essentially and that won't tel is anything about guys behind them. Now just make sure McCown doesn't play and we're in business.
I think this is going to be a very fun offseason for us Jet fans. And i think we're on the verge of seeing the most intense preseason in quite some time under coach Bowles and his coaching staff. Unknown quality. Untapped potential. These young players within a youth movement could end up giving this fan base excitement due to the unknown. And with veterans gone such as D'Brick, Revis, Mangold, Marshall, Harris and Decker there now becomes a window of opportunity for players such as Jamal Adams, Leonard Williams, Quincy Enunwa, and Christian Hackenberg to take on leadership roles and by my account all good kids. Mo Wilk is now in prime position and has a real chance to grab a strong hold of team leadership. It's even waiting for the likes of Sheldon & Lee if they both want it. Also if scouting reports are correct that Marcus Maye out of Florida is a natural born leader well then that 2nd round draft selection just got better over night.
I just posted a very similar reply on the Tanking thread. I think the closest roster as far as age would be Cleveland with 2 o lineman over 30 but also a very young roster. A little older with their second contract FA pickups but not far apart. I may be crazy but I can actually see the Jets and Browns being top teams come 2020. Two young talented rosters who are on the way up.
The coaching staff will have a ton of work to do. Not a bad thing, cuz the Jets bets never led them anywhere. But with a very young team it's up to the coaching staff to coach-up these youngsters.
One could only hope. Strange things have happened in sports (Cubs vs. Cleveland World Series). The Jets and the Browns as the class of the AFC or as yearly AFC contenders? That'll shake up the NFL world for sure.
This current coaching staff? The one where the team is unprepared every game. Good luck with that. Bowles and Rodgers couldn't coach a veteran team expecting them to coach up young guys is a joke.
I wouldn't write Bowles completely off YET. I'm curious to see how he can work with a very young team who are almost all jockeying for a roster spot. Last year we had plenty of vet players just check out and could care less about what this coaching staff was trying to do. Many of them are gone. This team looked lost almost every game. Who knows it could be worse with inexperience but it could be exactly the opposite with young hungry players buying all in. Will be fun to see what happens.
All we can do is wait and hope. Bowles has a new staff, Rodgers is actually going to be the DC as opposed to Bowles being the DC. Bates has a solid reputation as a QB coach and we know Morton has done a great job with Recievers and TEs. He designed alot of plays for the Saints so the receivers should thrive. The players seem to love the offense he is installing. How it all translates on game day remains to be seen but there is hope. Greene is a highly respected LB coach. Let's at least see one game before we crucify this coaching staff.
What i love about this youth movement is that we're now also on the verge of having a ton of cap space, which will be needed in order to plug in FA pieces (while still building through the draft). QB: Kirk Cousins. (28). QB: Derek Carr (26). QB: Teddy Bridgewater (24). HB: Le'Veon Bell (25. HB: Devonta Freeman. (25). WR: DeAndre Hopkins (25). WR: Allen Robinson (23). WR: Jarvis Landry (24). WR: Alshon Jeffery (27). WR: Sammy Watkins (23). WR: Jordan Matthews (24). WR: Martavis Bryant (25). These are just offensive talents (since we rarely draft them) and who are all up coming UFA's and potential 2018 Free Agent's. For example. If Hackenberg fails come 2017 and we're still not in position to draft one of the top three college QB's... I'd then go nuts if we were to land Kirk Cousins as our prized FA QB of the future. I'm a longtime FSU fan and have always loved Devonta Freeman. I'd lose my mind if we added him to Green & White's backfield as another weapon for Hackenberg and a new toy for our offense. I'd be estatic to re-unite Hack with former PSU WR in Allen Robinson as our #1 WR. Etc. Etc. These are just offensive examples while still building around a youth movement. We're projected to have top 3 cap space come the offseason. What if Hackenberg looks good come 2017. And then Maccagnan splashes on offense with two big time FA WR's and also goes offense 1st & 2nd rounds? Our offense could then become deadly. The sky is the limit when dreaming of a futute through a youth movement. QB: Christian Hackenberg. RB: Saquon Barkley (1st Round). WR 1: DeAndre Hopkins. WR 2: Allen Robinson. WR 3: Quincy Enunwa. WR 4: Robby Anderson. WR 5: ArDarius Stewart. Although that's a pipe dream, I'd love nothing more than for Maccagnan to surround Hackenberg with powerful offensive pieces in hopes of giving Hack a great opportunity to enjoy success under Center as a potential FQB. And this offseason with Barkley as an HB coming out along with potential stud receivers becoming FA's? Next year could really become the year that our GM in Macc re-vamps our offense after going defense for so long.
I get cutting Harris, even though I don't think Davis is any kind of replacement. At least the defense FAST for the first time in a long time. Just compare Lee, Davis, Mauldin, Jenkins, Adams, and Maye to the guys Rex had at those positions circa 2010: Scott, Harris, Thomas, Pace, Brodney Pool, and "Black" Eric Smith. You can't say this defense isn't loaded with speed compared to those guys. I just hope these new guys can still shed blocks and make tackles--I'm not holding my breath. I do not get cutting Decker. I'm all about developing our young WRs, but somebody reliable has to be out there if you're going to develop these young QBs. If the Jets have already given up on developing a young QB, and they're already moving on, in June, that tells me they made a mistake in this past draft, when they could have easily picked up Mahomes or Watson. Adams was the best value pick, and the one I wanted, but that pick only makes sense if the team is going to give Hack and/or Petty a through evaluation. It's not a thorough evaluation if they don't have genuine receivers to throw to.
If Hack doesn't prove to be the guy AND we aren't in position to grab Allen or Darnold then I'm going after Jimmy G.
Exactly, good posts. We are on the same page DWC! This by no means was coincidence. I believe Mac has done a great job getting the Jets to this point. Not only the addition and subtraction of young vs old talent, but changing the overall culture of this team. Most fans view 2017 as a throw away year and they couldnt be more wrong as the very foundation of the NY Jets will be laid out this season. This 2017 season is as important as any in recent memory and those that do not tune in every week to watch our young team grow will miss the beginning. Even in a scenario where Pettenberg only amount to a backup .. Due to the amount of cap money freed up, We still have a chance to aquire a starter QB through free agency (avoiding a possible bust and growing pains) and still reap the rewards by selling a high draft slot (if we have a bad record). At least the flexibilty is there and I dont recall being in a position where we were able to do both. I really cant wait to see the kids play on both sides of the ball!
The staff has only what 3 new coaches in Morton, Greene and Bates everyone else were there last year. I would feel alot better if there was more of a turnover than just those two. Morton has never called plays and that can be an issue. Keeping Decker should have been paramount to moving forward. We have Enunwa as the veteran and a bunch of 1st and 2nd year kids. The morale of the team has to be shaken and I'm not confident in Bowles holding it together. If it were cost cutting why was McCown signed for so much? This is really helter skelter times and doing a full tank and rebuild at the same time never works. The Jets will be spinning their wheels until they find a QB.
