+1. The reverence for Thomas Jones is fucking hilarious. I mean, the people I work with that think TJ is a loss for the Jets are one thing, they're casual football watchers. But for these 'journalists' (in the loosest sense of the word) to not see that TJ basically was the beneficiary of amazing blocking last year are retarded. And I am sure that LT will not touch get more than 10-15 attempts/targets per game, but at least a couple of times he'll get the Jets out of a long 3rd down jam. This is a loaded backfield that will see fewer yards this year, but probably more yds per carry due to a more balanced offence. BTW, it's probably going to be a pain in the ass fantasy wise because you won't know who's getting the yards/TDs each week, but that's fine by me.
Strictly as featured runners maybe that's true. But in today's NFL featured backs don't exist anymore... The best thing about TJ was his durability and consistency. Last year it was important because we had 2 RBs (Leon was out fairly soon and Greene was a rook). But with Greene in his second year and another healthy RB in McKnight we don't need a guy wose best asset is being consistent... we need a guy that in fewer touches can be explosive. Who do I want to carry the ball for 20 carries a game? TJ, no matter what the OL is. Who do I want to carry the ball for 8-10 carries a game? LT, if he stays fresh he can still be explosive. On top of that LT adds versatility to this offense in the passing game whereas TJ in a one trick pony.
Yet you say Jones will be better than Tomlinson based on a comparison of Jones behind one of the best OLs vs. Tomlinson behind one of the worst. I guess you think your opinion is pretty pointless too? I have no idea how Tomlinson will do with the Jets, but there were many reasons why Jones was not going to stay with the team. (1) Jones was due $5.8 million for this season, way too much for a backup RB. (2) He refused to renegotiate his contract. (3) He made it clear that he expected to be the starter (or at least compete for the starting position), something that was never going to happen. (4) If you look at his rushing numbers, he would often start slowly, and then get his yards in the second half when he wore down the opposition. This is obviously the worst possible pattern for a backup RB. (5) He is not a good receiver, something that is important for a situational/backup RB. He ultimately signed a contract with the Chiefs for less money than the Jets gave Tomlinson, and less than he would consider from the Jets. This hardly suggests that the Jets were undervaluing his potential contributions, and doesn't support in any way that the rest of the NFL has a very high opinion of him. The additional irony is that he probably won't end up being a starter with the Chiefs (Jamaal Charles will); if he had been willing to take on the same role for the same money with the Jets, he'd probably still be on the team.
The next time you are at a bookstore, look at the NFL season preview annuals. One of them has a list of the current top 50 players in the league. Thomas Jones made the list! I know it is not the Pro Football Weekly one. It was either the Lindy's, Athlon, Sporting News, or USA Today annual.
LT is definitely a shell of his former self. I don't know how anyone can debate that. What's funny is we have yet another dunce who can't recognize that Greene is replacing TJ and did at the end of last season. LT's impact will likely be minimal for the Jets this year on the field. This guys is a shitty beat writer who obviously looks for any opportunity to write a negative article about the Jets without investigating or thinking things through. Anything that can possibly be a negative will turn into a negative article from this cock. He's like a TGG troll writing for the post.
Here is the thing: Thomas Jones was gassed out in the playoffs. He had nothing left. Watching Jets-Chargers, it looked the same for LT. When Greene got hurt in Indy, TJ could do nothing, so I did not mind losing him. I think LT is the better risk of the two right now, but people need to start focusing on Greene.
Man we can tell we are in the slow part of the season. We discussed this LT TJ thousands of times when this happened months ago. Statjeff and Whitewilli nice posts
l.t wasnt brought in to be the l.t of old, he was brought in to be a backup, w/exp, whos determined to win. i think l.t will have around 500 to 600 yards rushing, 200 yards receiving, and 10 total td's, is that so bad for a backup?
Yep, yep. That's what we are looking for from LT, well that and that and that big gray animal sitting on the 50 yard line that rhymes with we-yes-sell. I do however, think we are taking a much larger gamble on the running game than most fans like to admit. I have always said TJ was nothing more than a JAG+, but he got it done...and NEVER got injured. The Shonnmower has shown a propensity for getting banged up and missing significant time, a deal-breaker for a starting RB. His running inspires to be sure...unitl he goes down. We are starting the season with a guy who has problems staying on the field, a shell of a former superstar, and a rookie. This is cause for concern regardless of how hack writers and fans choose to paint it. I would feel much better with another solid guy around...oh how I'd take Chester Taylor over LT in a heartbeat! In the absence of another guy being added to the squad, Connor turning out to be the next Payton Hillis would go a long way toward confidence in my mind. I'm just saying that we are nowhere near as set with the running game as we have been in the past. OK, so he has a nose for the endzone, I'll give you that. But lets look at what was really going on around '07-'08: San Diego's line went from being ranked 26th in run blocking in 2007 to 18th in 2008 according to Football Outsiders. At that same time, LT's YPC went down from 4.7 to 3.8, a huge difference of almost a yard per carry. He also posted his lowest total yards in his career to that point. I am aware of the injury factor, but the timeline of his career, the curve of his stats, and simply watching the guy play points heavily toward a guy who is a question mark to perform at regular levels, much less his own lofty standards. This would be fine behind a guy like *ahem* our former starter, but when our current starter hasn't shown the ability to stay on the field for a full season; it is definitely a concern. I know the data on Shonn is limited, but he was injured in TC to start the year, and injured again when given a full load in the POs. Not exactly inspiring.
You're still not giving him any credit as a receiver or as a pass protector - two areas where he's much better than Thomas Jones. Oh, I already did. 2007: 1949 total yards and 18 TDs 2008: 1536 total yards and 12 TDs Total: 3485 yards and 30 TDs plus 112 receptions and zero fumbles lost after 719 touches. I'm not saying that he's going to be an elite back. I expect him to be a hell of a role player in New York. I just thought it was a little ridiculous when you said he's been done for years - when he clearly hasn't been.
So, Jones is done... but LT isn't? I agree that Jones won't do much in KC. But I'd definitely argue that he'd do more in NY that LT will.
...and I'd definitely argue that you're a Dolphins' fan, so you don't know what the fuck you're talking about when it comes to Jets' football. GET THIS THROUGH YOUR HEAD: Shonn Greene is taking Jones' job, not LT. Tomlinson will fill a completely different role on this team than Jones would.
Please email this douche, provide a link to the article and tell him he's a scrub writer! People should not be writing garbage articles. http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/jets/face_facts_jets_ladainian_is_pretty_qxy5KHbjF4z2bgyOcurpAO bhubbuch@nypost.com
I think he, like me is just tired of hearing about l.t replacing jones. cause thats not the case, we all should know by now, that greene is replacing jones, and l.t is taking greenes spot. jones didnt wanna be a backup, and l.t doesnt mind. l.t is a receiving threat, jones or greene arent. jones the last couple of seasons has been a td machine, l.t has been a td machine his whole career. may i remind people that l.t had his worst season last season, but still scored 12 TD'S. l.t also played on a team that was DEAD LAST in rushing attemps, and played on a team thats o-line was not a great run blocking o-line.
