It's probably 50/50 Heyward falls to the Jets. I could see Heyward going to the Chargers (if Watt & Jordan go early), New Orleans, Baltimore or New England before the Jet's pick.
I'll be watching NE's first pick VERY carefully. If someone bites on Jordan and Watt before they pick, I'll get nervous. NE is almost certain to go OL at that point.
I like to see a different train of thought, and also mocked Dareus to Carolina. Love the Dolphins pick of Pouncey. Would be a good move by them, and i like keeping him away from both the Patriots and Giants. The Texans i think are pretty locked in on Smith, unless the prince falls to them. Quinn's coach even said he projects better as a 4-3 DE, and compared his skillset to Strahan. Denver may be hard pressed to pass up Peterson if Dareus goes 1. Would create a great DB backfield, and give them a nice future once Champ retires. I'd feel pretty good about Heyward at 30. Great job overall.
Guess time will tell which of us has the better clue. I watch games, not look at stat sheets. Gholston was a workout warrior and had a big game against Jake Long (Mich) and a couple others. He disappeared in many games like OSU's Bowl Game. Sorry nothing like Houston at all and a hell of a lot like Ayers. Ayers is a good player and I expect him to be a good player. Houston has the chance to be a great player. As I said, time will prove one of us correct.
A pile of my dog's shit knows more about football than you do. Go ahead and say that I don't know anything and that's why I resorted to "insults". It has nothing to do with me not knowing how to back up arguments... You always bitch about people not listening to your opinion. I'll tell you why no one takes your seriously: because you have no idea what you're talking about. For the last time, Akeem Ayers is nothing like Vernon Gholston.
I would be absolutely shocked if Buffalo at 3 passes on Newton unless they are so sure Kaepernick will be available in early round 2. I am fine with the Heyward pick...OSU defensive players for the most part have sucked for a while but I liked what I have seen out of Heyward in the games I have watched for OSU.
re the posts about how bad (or good) Carolina are - you could make arguments about how pretty much any team in the NFL is not that bad - that's the beauty of the parity that the NFL's model encourages - but Carolina are (relatively speaking) a pretty bad team and are likely to be picking in the top 5 again next year regardless of who they take #1 overall
OK, sorry, I guess I should have addressed the comment that "Ellis is gone." I don't think he is gone, at least I hope not, not if they plan on making another run at the SB. That makes a difference. We can still agree to disagree. That's what makes these boards interesting. It would sure be boring if we all thought alike and spent all of our time agreeing with each other and slapping each other on the back congratulating ourselves. I could be wrong, of course, but I don't think the Jets will ask Ellis to take a huge pay cut. They may ask him to take a pay cut, but I don't think they'd insult him by asking him to come back for the vet minimum or anything like that.
I have no problem disagreeing, cause at least you offer reasons for your opinion. It isn't Jets asking Ellis to take a paycut, the Jets wouldn't pay what he wants. Ellis would have to give in, the Jets won't. I have no idea who the Jets are going to draft. I just offer my opinion on the direction Tanny will take.
If the Jets take Heyward, I sure hope you're right about him. I'd rather have Cameron Jordan, JJ Watt or maybe even Muhammad Wilkerson, but would "settle" (LOL) for Heyward. I don't think DeVito is horrible. He has certainly been much better than I ever dreamed he would be, but I think is still an over achiever best suited to a backup role and rotational player rather than as a starter. Why can't you see Ellis coming back? Is it a cap issue because of his age and the Jets' desires to re-sign Harris, Edwards, Holmes and Cromartie, or do you think his skills have deteriorated too much? Do you think he'll want too much money? I think that Ellis was the 2nd best defensive player the Jets had last year and over the last several years after Revis. He has been a career Jet and deserves to retire a Jet. He can still play at a very high level as evidenced in the playoffs. Unless he asks for a crazy amount of money, I can't see his not coming back. I think he wants a chance to go to and win a SB and that's more important to him than making more money elsewhere and not having a chance to go to a SB.
I'd rather have Watt or Jordan too. Let's be realistic, it's not going to happen without giving a king's ransom.
I don't know that I could either, or that they will. I could see them trading for Kolb or making up their minds to woo Hasselback or Bulger and still taking Newton allowing him a year or two to learn without pressure. Hasselback or Bulger will likely only play another year or two anyway. Kolb could be around longer, but they could always keep Kolb as a backup if he doesn't play that well, or trade him for a pick or picks if he does, so it wouldn't be like it was a wasted thing to make both moves. If Kolb comes in and lights it up, they could always then trade Newton later or use him in a "slash" type role ala Kordell Stewart.
Why do you think he will ask for a "king's ransom"? I don't think that's his nature. He's a quieter, soft-spoken guy, has been a great Jet, and is all about team. He's made his money. He knows the cap situation the Jets are in with all those FAs. He knows that if they give him all that money, but lose most of the rest of their FAs, the team will be hard-pressed to go back to the AFC Championship Game. He knows if he goes elsewhere only for big bucks, he could wind up with a horrible team that loses most of its games. He's never impressed me as the type who's only about the $s. I think he wants to win. I think he knows that the Jets offer him the best chance of getting to and winning a SB shy of his going to GB, Pittsburgh or NE. I think he also know he is slowing down and his skills are eroding somewhat, and that he may only have another year or two tops left, and may even need at some point to only being a rotational player. He's made a good bit of money already. Unless he's blown it all or had it stolen by his financial advisor, he has plenty of money. So why should be absurdly greedy and ask for a ton of money? Maybe I'm naive/wrong about him, but I just don't see him doing that. I know I wouldn't. I wouldn't want to go somewhere else for my last year or two in the game. I'd want to retire a Jet. Everything isn't about money.
Good point about how many FAs they have. The thing is that Richardson hasn't been that cheap historically. I think part of the reason he was so cheap last year is that he knew how many FAs he had coming up this year and next. Here's the list of FAs this year: Matt Moore, QB 26 (bye-bye) DeAngelo Williams, RB 27 (probably gone because he is a luxury, they still have Stewart and Goodson) Jeff King,TE 27 (no loss) Dante Rosario, TE 25 (no loss) Ryan Kalil, C 25 (keeper) Charles Johnson,DE 24 (Keeper) Ed Johnson, DT 26 (?) Nick Hayden, DT 24 (?) Thomas Davis, LB 27 (keeper) James Anderson, LB 26 Jamar Williams, LB 26 Richard Marshall, CB 25 (keeper) C.J. Wilson, CB 25 (?) 2012 FAs Gary Barnidge, TE 24 Mackenzy Bernadeau, OG 24 (?) Jon Beason, MLB 25 (Keeper) Dan Connor, MLB 24 (keeper) Charles Godfrey, S 24 (definite keeper) That IS a lot of quality players. Out of that group, the must keepers are Kalil, Charles Johnson, Davis, Marshall, Beason, Connor, Godfrey and maybe 1-2 others (Bernadeau & Hayden, maybe CJ Wilson, I don't know him). Those guys are the core of that team along with Stewart and Goodson. I don't know for certain what his cap is like, but with the players he let go, he should be able to re-sign most, if not all of these guys even without a rookie cap. I think a rookie cap is almost a slam dunk. I see no reason why either side wouldn't want it. I also think they'll probably be able to keep most of the other 2nd tier guys too. None are making that much money. Even if the Panthers lost I think if it hadn't been for the lockout, the Panthers probably would have tried to trade Steve Smith to a contender (or a team like Cincy needing a WR) for a pick in this draft. That would have given him even more cap space to work with. It definitely will be interesting to see what happens there.
I think WW was talking about giving up a kings ransom in order to aquire JJ Watt or Jordan. I don't think he was referring to, Ellis. I personally don't think Ellis will be back because it wouldn't be a wise move financially. Ellis is capable, he had a strong year, and nothing is really showing that he is going to slow down next year. The problem is, we need some youth on that line in a bad way. Ellis isn't getting younger and to give him a fairly big contract for a year or two isn't wise, when you could plug some youth in there and still get good production. Ellis isn't going to play for vets minimum, we all know that he is worth more then that, and I don't think the Jets are willing to give him what he probably deserves. It's a business. Tanny has shown us time and time again, age is a factor in this business. If we didn't have so many younger players in need of a contract, I could see us easily paying Ellis what he's worth. Not this year though. I hope I'm wrong, but I don't think I am.
