I think its 1) the Thomas Jones was unwilling to be flexible contract wise (as most people have already said) 2) Having LT gives us more flexibility with Leon Washington. TJ and Greene have similar run styles (thus the constant comparisons), and having LT gives us a back who can catch and do those short explosive burst plays (hopefully) similar to Leon. So now that we got LT, if Leon so happens to get scooped up so be it. It gives us much more flexibility to go BPA in the draft @ hb, rather rather than being FORCED to draft a receiving back to replace Leon.
Schotty has had experience coaching him as well....and knows how to use LT. LT had some of his best years when Schotty was in SD.....before Norval was hired and ruined LT.
Re: Source: LT to visit Jets on Friday How did I miss that one? Oh, and I think you mean "Gary Hues".
LaDainian Tomlinson still meeting with NY Jets By Dave Hutchinson/The Star Ledger March 12, 2010, 4:10PM Still waiting to hear word on how the Jets courting of veteran unrestricted free agent running back LaDainian Tomlinson went on Friday. I'm hearing that ``LT'' was absolutely wowed by the Vikings during his visit on Thursday and the Jets will have to blow him away to lured him to Florham Park. It'll take more that the chance to help christen the Jets new stadium next season. Simply put, I can't see the Jets paying Tomlinson any real money. I mean, they wouldn't pay Thomas Jones, who had been a good soldier for three years and had a career-year last season. I would bet my mortgage that Jones gave the Jets a chance to match the two-year, $5 million deal he signed with the Chiefs. Do you think the Jets would offer Tomlinson more? If they do, they don't have a loyal bone in their body. At 30, Tomlinson appears done, having had a heavy workload early in his career. At 31, Jones is still fresh because he wasn't a featured back early in his career. It seems like a no-brainer.
lol... i posted LT's passing stats in a different thread....he's more effective as a pivot than Kellen Clemens at this point.. :smile:
Think its safe to say that they didn't match TJ's deal for the same reason they released him in the first place, they decided they'd rather have LT. He brings more versatility out of the backfield. As the new guy in the house, he's less likely than Jones to object to having a smaller role than Greene. And he brings a big name to the Jets, along with all the excitement, headlines, and jersey sales which that entails. Call me cynical, but there's a lot of green and white Favre jerseys out there that I think prove my point. The Jets love adding the big name. If Tomlinson can return to something close to his former self in the Jets offense, the buzz that would surround this team would be enormous. I think that's the way you have to look at this thing. Jones would continue to be a steady presence in the backfield, but Tomlinson could potentially bring a whole lot more. This could be the next iteration of Moss reviving a career most left for dead after his days as a Raider. Is it likely? Most people don't seem to think so, but it's worth wondering. I think that's the Jets gamble here. Worst case scenario, he's a slightly less productive third back than Jones might have been. If so, who cares, he's the third back in a loaded backfield. Best case scenario, he's Ladainian Frikkin Tomlinson again, and the Jets are heavy Superbowl favorites.
I'm still trying to find a legitimate source that says the Jets had a chance to match the offer that TJ got from KC. Not just some rumor on PFT that got deleted from their site after it was linked by multiple media outlets as a source.
agreed with the entire post. and you're right worst case he is a little less productive then TJ would be but you forgot that we still would be adding another receiving threat which we need.
hutchinson forgot 2 things 1) sources said jones would not come back out of pride after being cut 2)jones was gonna cost us over 5 mill this year. not 5 over 2 like the chiefs got him at
I think timing has to do with it, at the time they didn't expect the events that happened would. They underestimated TJ's value and now they are left with little on the free agent market. So they lost him. Now the demand is high for a Vet back and Minn is a contender now, i think we are backed into a corner and may have to over pay for LT, but now we just have less options. 12 TDs last year the guy can still find the endzone and his work ethic would be a great motivator to Greene and also the leadership role that comes with LT may make up for what was lost with Jones.
Lets not forget that LT is a much better pass catcher than TJ. And maybe Schotty has some crazy wildcat ideas that involve LT / LW. Since LT can throw the ball... somewhat.
i still dont get all the leon love, considering he is almost as old as tomlinson, and has had a worse injury than tomlinson ever had. look at leons stats, other than ypc its not so great...there are better change of pace backs, and he is not our # 2.....if he is we will be in trouble. Season Team Rushing Receiving Fumbles G GS Att Yds Avg Lng TD Rec Yds Avg Lng TD FUM Lost 2009 New York Jets 7 0 72 331 4.6 33 0 15 131 8.7 33 0 1 1 2008 New York Jets 16 1 76 448 5.9 61T 6 47 355 7.6 40 2 3 2 2007 New York Jets 16 4 71 353 5.0 49 3 36 213 5.9 18 0 4 2 2006 New York Jets 16 8 151 650 4.3 23 4 25 270 10.8 64 0 3 1 TOTAL 370 1,782 4.8 61 13 123 969 7.9 64 2 11 6 370 carries, 1,700 yards would be great in one season, but he will never get 100 attempts in a season ever again. if he does that means our starter is injured and we are screwed. tomlinson would be a step up from washington, even with his high mileage. i would say that washington is not in ryans future plans, whether we get tomlinson or not. sorry about the copy and paste staggering on leons stats, they came from the nfl website.
I think various people have separately raised the reasons, so to put them all together: (1) We don't actually know that the Jets didn't offer Jones something similar to this contract. (2) Tomlinson gives the Jets an additional receiving option that they can use. (3) Even if Jones is the exact same runner he was last year, he wasn't going to have anything like the same year, since he would be going from #1 to #3 on the depth chart; given that, the difference between him at Tomlinson on the rushing side is likely to be small anyway. We should note, however, that the Jets certainly didn't know for sure that were even going to get a shot at Tomlinson, and they still might not get him, so obviously thet were willing to let Jones go and have no one at this time.
Agreed, and I think most people are failing to consider just what LT is going to be capable of if he comes here and runs behind our O-Line and T-Rich. His potential to catch the ball is going to have him on the field more than many think. He'll be our #2 back if he lands here, for sure, and would undoubtedly be the one to fill the #1 spot if/when, which sucks to consider, Shonne Greene is unable to fully carry the load (ie, small, short term injuries). I'm thinking that if we sign LT, Leon sticking around becomes immediately and substantially less likely.
