I wanted to keep Leon and the Faneca thing is just stupid. He mostly paid and it's silly, even if he was on the bench, that's a hell of a backup. We all knew his pass blocking was suspect but not his run blocking. Leon I just loved so I don't have rational thoughts when it concerns Leon.
His pass-blocking was the worst in the league. Saying it was suspect is like saying Ben Roethlisberger is "aggressive" with women. His run-blocking was suspect. His pass blocking was non-existant. He was the worst starter on the team last season. That's why he is gone.
I guess that's another way to put it- lol I don't know about worst in the league though. Since he was mostly paid anyway I don't think it would've been harmful to hold on to him. They all could've competed for the position and just raised the level even higher.
I like hearing that about his STs ability. As far as offensive utilization in 2010, I would look at the Conner situation in the same light that the Ravens used Le'Ron McClain in 2008. He was a RB/FB hybrid while Lorenzo Neal was the starting FB on the roster. Conner is going to be eased into the FB position. Kind of like we did with Sowell, only it will take much less time. Interesting note - I caught the tail end on an interview on ESPN radio on Saturday, and whoever was speaking was a former Charger (I only caught part of the interview, didn't hear his name), who said that he had spoken with Lorenzo Neal and Lo told him that earlier this offseason the Jets had contacted him about possibly coming in and playing FB for the Jets. I assume this happened before the Jets brought TRich back into the fold.
Greedy? Give me a fucking break. The guy was a game-changer for us for years. For the salary of a 4th round draft pick. He had FAR outplayed that contract. The Jets played the odds, smartly, and treated him like a player who played a position with a short half-life in the NFL. He got out-maneuvered by the Jets because he picked a dipshit agent. It's his own fault, but it's no reason to kick him in the ass on his way out the door.
The Jets showed Faneca respect by paying him next year during an uncapped year while giving him a chance to play out the end of his career as a starter for another team. They also did that to give themselves an insurance policy if an OL prospect that they had rated high didn't fall to them in the first 2 days. Keeping him here as a backup would have been slapping him in the face. The guy is probably going to the HOF. That would not have gone over well in the lockerroom.
That's true, I read that article on the Jets site pertaining to letting him go where he wants. For some reason I just found it hard to believe that a FO would be that nice, but in this case that seems to be the case. Think he winds up in Miami??
Well, since the Jets gave him the Chad Pennington treatment as far as cutting him loose the moment they found a replacement, it wouldn't be a far stretch. But I'd guess Buffalo.
Not a fan of letting either guy go, especially Leon. We'll see if we replaced Leon, to me that's pretty difficult to do.
Sproles, MJD, Reggie Bush, Felix Jones. There are guys like Leon. Joe Mcknight can be that guy. Leon was awesome... I'm going to buy his jersey in honor of him being here (when I buy a players jersey, they always leave. So now I wait until they leave to pick it up). But it was a good move trading him. John Conner reminds me of Mack Strong.
I loved Leon, but which Leon are we trying to replace - the Leon with the badly broken leg who may start the season on the PUP list? Frankly, the Leon trade was an absolute no brainer. Even if he is able to make a complete recovery (which is a big IF), that probably won't be until sometime in the middle of the season at best and, at the end of the season, he'll be gone because of his agent. If you listen to Tannenbaum's press conference after the draft it's pretty obvious. He stated that they the Leon trade was driven by long term concerns (i.e., that he was going to leave at the end of the year). Leon may again become the player he was, and I hope that he does, but given the severity of the compound fracture it's not likely to happen when he would have still been with us for any length of time. I loved Leon, but trading him was absolutely the right move.
This is pretty much what I thought of as well when we selected Conner. First thing that popped into my mind was, he's going to be OUR McClain and we would use him just like the Ravens use him, in possible 3rd and short or goal line situations. I wasn't aware he was also a great STer so that certainly adds to his value. With regards to Leon, I think people underrate him. Maybe he wasn't anything special league-wide (tho he did establish a name for himself), but he was certainly pretty special within the organization. There's a reason why Leon Washington struck fear in the eyes of Dolphins AND Patriots fans and for good reason. He was a game-changer plain and simple. I'm happy we have McKnight who has the same skill-set as LDub, so hopefully that translates well on the field. But given Leon's injury, I think we did the right by letting Seattle worry about it, rather than us. I'm gonna root for Leon in Seattle, he was def one of my favorites. Like NDMick said, I'm gonna go out and get his jersey as well as a sign of appreciation for what he did here with us.
He was literally the worst pass blocking guard in the league. No one gave up more sacks than he did, and we passed the fewest times out of every team in the league. I hope to God he does. Chad Henne would be out of the game by week 4 and Pennington would be on the IR by halftime.
Where are you getting your information from as far as no other guard giving up more sacks? I agree that he's a terrible pass blocker, but it's hard to believe that he gave up the most sacks of any guard in the league.
Here: http://profootballfocus.com/by_position.php?tab=by_position&season=2009&pos=G&stype=r&runpass=&teamid=-1&numsnaps=25&numgames=1 Their ranking formulas are suspect but I trust their basic stats more than most other sites.
That's what I've seen too. 7 sacks was the most given up at his position in the league last year. I haven't verified the validity, but it's been quoted enough now that I believe it. I haven't read the whole thread, but really, I can't believe anyone is that upset with these two being gone. Faneca was a great run blocker, but a poor pass blocker. We have a young QB who has already had one surgery. Ground and pound whatever. Protect the QB! As for Leon, he was an "exciting" player, but a role-player. He wasn't a starter, and he was automatically third on the depth chart, at best. I heard Tanny said they think he might not even be ready come camp. I don't have a problem with getting rid of either player. Their replacements were just brought in over the weekend.
Neither would keeping him at releasing him at the final cuts as I've heard suggested. The jets treated him well on his way out the door.
Faneca, I can see. To me the whole Leon issue comes down to this....If week one rolls around and he isn't Leon...Jets get the win. If Seattle is averaging better offensive starting position than we are...Jets get the Fail. I was more appreciative of the move till I saw Jets nation. Watching his highlight clips is unfuc*ingbelievable.
We drafted a corner who is very good in the punt return game. We drafted a running back who will take the third RB spot, who is much like the same player. Basically, we replaced him and got younger, all while eliminating the risk that comes with chancing how he comes back from his injury. You can't judge anything by comparing average starting field position though. Seattle is in arguably the weakest division in football. The Jets are in the strongest. Even without the draft Leon was the third RB on the depth chart, and may or may not have been the guy in the return game. Personally, I like Brad Smith as KR, and we'll see Wilson as PR. I'm not shedding a single tear over Leon. He overplayed his hand. Now he can go enjoy the rain.
