I agree. We should keep TJ. I would personally like to see all three RB's return and to have the duties spread out. Use Leon for returns and tosses and stretches, use TJ mostly at the beginning of the season and then use SG towards the end of the season with fresher legs. Plus we have depth if there's an injury. My friend who's a Jets fan as well disagrees and thinks we'll ditch TJ.
I don't think he will be back, because if he was back, he would be the highest paid 3rd stringer in the NFL. JMO, but I don't think its a bad assessment.
Unless some team is willing to overpay for him (unlikely), the experience and depth he adds to the backfield is simply too valuable to release him just because of a bonus.
I think TJ's importance to this team goes beyond his play on the field. He is a proven leader with Superbowl experience coming off one of his best years as a pro. We need to sign him.
If we can get anything in return for TJ we gotta just wave goodbye and embrace whatever we get. TJ has less than 2 good years left, unless we think TJ is the key to winning the superbowl next year we gotta look to the future and find us a player that actually has a future. Plus if we got rid of TJ, we could always trade down one of our earlier picks and just pick up a guy like Blounte. Oh and as for Jones being "awesome" last year, in addition to him looking 100% useless in the playoffs, his numbers were inflated due to the fact he played Buffalo ( the worst rush defense) twice in a season. You take out his numbers from Buffalo and his yards per attempt ends up around 3.7. Which puts him in the company of guys like Brandon Jacobs, LT,Jamal lewis, and Matt Forte. Not to mention Jones has the BEST rushing offensive line in the nfl helping him out. Not saying Jones is terrible, but no way is he a necessity.
TJ has been a warrior for this team....but we just witnessed what happens when he's given a bigger load to carry this past season......we're a run first team....TJ doesn't have the endurance to take us deep into the playoffs....and we all know the goal for this team is a SuperBowl. just my .02.
If you're going to start taking out games against the worst run defenses you better be prepared to do that for every RB in the NFL. TJ had another solid year for us. I find it amazing that Jets fans continue to shit on him. Hopefully Shonn Greene can stay healthy so we all can forget about TJ when he's gone, but if not, you'll quickly realize how big of an impact he had on this team. As for the playoffs, sadly he had a rare (for TJ) injury and it showed. I have a bad feeling age and wear and tear have caught up to him and he's done. That said, unless we can get something for him I see no reason to unload him in an uncapped year where we have such heavy restrictions on free agents.
i hate when people say take out this game or take out that play.it's an average you can't take out games you want to prove a point.why not take out one of his bad games too. me personnally,i'd like to keep him and use him in fourth quarters.he doesn't fumble and could be very valuable closing out games.
They should bring him back. He's not only played real well as a Jet, he's also a team leader, which is a big plus. Team Chemistry very important.
TJ is expendable....the good news is, he might still have some value where we could probably steal a 4th or 5th round pick from some other team for him. I'm not shitting on him....i just see the writing on the wall in regards to his play. He's not explosive, he crumbles to the turf on first contact....granted, he doesn't fumble a lot.....but still, he's replaceable. And really...how much of his success is due to having four 1st rounders on our oline? I think the exact opposite you do, Willie....i think some fans over-value the shit out of TJ on this board. I know what you're going to say to...."Who do we replace him with?".....my answer is "a younger veteran with less wear n' tear <insert your favorite HB available here>....and hand the reigns over to S.Green/LW".
You know damn well we can't pickup free agents unless we lose one of equal or lesser value. Have you seen our list of UFA's? We aren't getting anything in FA. We don't have a heck of a lot of draft picks either. TJ's value has always been his reliability and consistency. He was never flashy and that's why people don't like him. Now if he truly is done, then he's probably expendable as you suggest. But without a viable replacement, why take the risk of simply releasing him? If we can get a pick, that's another story. The last thing I want to see is for us to release TJ without a replacment, have Greene go down and our backfield consist of Washington and the white midget.
I never mentioned anything about FA....why do we have to find a replacement in March? We could wait till somebody becomes available after the preseason cuts in Aug.....this new HB would probably be the 3rd stringer anyway. You know TJ wants a new contract...he wasn't happy last year....i don't think that's going to change this year. After what happened to Leon last year, the possibility of Jones pushing for a new contract will be high. This team doesn't need another potential malcontent. If Leon doesn't come back 100%...then i could see a case made for TJ as a stopgap till the 2011 season (if there is a 2011 season). But i believe Leon will make a full recovery. I agree with you there....nobody wants to see that white hobbit in the backfield.
When Greene went out against the Colts, and Jones had to come in, I knew we were screwed. That's how much confidence I lost in TJ. And the coaches did as well, or did you notice how many times we threw the ball in the second half despite trying to maintain a lead, then keep it close and keep the ball away from Manning? He was used up, and I don't even think he was even trying anymore. My name for him became five-step-dive, and that's all he did in his last game as a Jet. Not only that, but he now has 2 RBs that are clearly going to both get more carries than he will going forward. A guy like that getting less than 10 carries a game for the money he's making is going to be nothing but a distraction, and maybe even become a locker room cancer. Why even have him if you're not going to use him, pay some kid half the salary to keep his mouth shut and take his opportunities when he can get them. Like Greene did.
During any other NFL offseason I would have no problem releasing TJ and bringing in a younger cheaper replacement. In this NFL offseason with no salary cap and limitations on their FA signing there is absolutely no reason not to bring him back as the 3rd RB/insurance. If we can get a pick back for him that can be used to improve areas of greater need then I'm all for it but it is unrealistic to think that we would get a high enough pick to make it worth it.
After the numbers TJ produced in the last 2 seasons....do you honestly think he'll take a demotion to the 3rd stringer insurance policy from Rex?....c'mon man. he'll ask for his release before that happens.
The guy was done by the end of the season, his days of 300 plus carries are over. He'll get his carries in this offense, he is not just going to rot on the bench. Besides he isn't going to have a choice if the Jets decide they want to keep him, he is under contract.
