Good teams part ways with aging veterans all of the time. This is nothing to lose sleep over. The Jets have already decided that Mo Wilkerson is starting. This confirms to verities: 1) The Jets are very high on Wilkerson from what they have seen from him thus far, and 2) They believe Ellis is/was expendable. Clearly, the Jets have made getting younger in the front 7 a priority (something I adamantly support and agree with). They offered Ellis a Vet minimum contract out of respect. If they thought he was worth more or that he was an essential part of the team, they would have offered him more, because, as many people have pointed out, they COULD have offered him considerably more. The bottom line is, the Jets had no obligation to pay a 34 year old defensive lineman more than they sincerely believed he was worth, and similarly, Ellis had no obligation to sign a contract he wasn't implicitly amenable to signing.
Wonder where we will find his one or two sacks a year from..perhaps by committee. Besides giving BB a chance to run him out as a captain against us, meaningless.
I can't get into this 'dead to me' thing. Sure it's the worst possible team for him to sign for but if you were in his position...someone wants you and you've got a chance at a championship. I'm happy with the effort he made for us for such a long time and dissappointed he won't be back. But maybe I just don't hate the Patriots as much, not being a New Yorker and all!
If the Patriots offered him the veteran minimum? I absolutely think he would leave, yes. As far as those doubting whether Ellis needs the money - are any of you his accountants? Yes he's earned a lot, but lots of players aren't super smart with their money early in their careers. It's quite possible that between his own spending and helping out/being scammed by friends and family, he doesn't have so much left that a few hundred thousand doesn't make a difference.
You're not alone. I will always remember Ellis as a great Jet. Doesn't matter to me where he finishes.
This is unreal. 1999 was a long time ago, thats the last time the Jets didn't have this guy. I always thought he'd be a Jet, would retire before he went to the Pats. I know expectations for Mo are high, but d-lineman is the hardest position on the field to make an impact as a rookie. I HATE talking about the "business" side of sports eg money and contracts, but the Jets couldn't have offered him more than league minimum? A 12-year vet who has started his whole career? This is a harsh reminder of how most sports players are more like robots. They aren't "fans" of any team, they do their job good enough to get by, get paid, and move on. Anyone think Shaun is sitting at home right now worrying about what us Jet fans think of him betraying us? May cross his mind, but he doesn't care. I would just think that if you prepare to fight against a team 2x a year (3x in 2006, 2010) for 11 years and they were responsible for your team not winning the division a number of times because they were so good, you would build a hatred for them like we have. Guess not
This I have a little problem with though, if you don't hate the Pats you're not a Jet fan. Doesn't matter if your from NY or not. Hating the GIANTS is a NY thing, but NE is in our division, they're good, and they hate us too.
What the ****. Dead to me? Not really. But come on Pats. The only thing i can think of is getting info out of him. Hopefully he keeps his mouth shut.
I always liked Ellis, still do, but I can't go crazy over this. I just hope the Jets know what they're doing, lately they've made good decisions and I certainly understand wanting to get younger on the DL. My only concern is New England also has a good idea who can help them, having a rival like this always leaves the door open for this any time you have to make a decision on a good player.
He's forever loyal to green...not the Jets jersey, just weed and money. A pox on him and all those he loves.
Yes I doubt that brady would do that. Only because Brady has made about 3 to 4 times the money Ellis has made in his career so a couple hundred thousand would not matter to old tommy boy.
Still my favorite Jets player in a long time. I had the same feeling when Victor Green did the same thing. But no matter what, Ellis will always be remembered as a Jet.
You need to start a thread and explain all the rules and how everyone must think to be a REAL Jets fan. I'm a Pats fan and I've never HATED the Jets. I'm certainly never going to root for them, and I dislike some of their players a whole lot... I actually like the rivalry. I HATE the Dolphins because they used to beat us 40 to 0 twice a year when I was a kid. I hate the Steelers and their fans most of all! I used to hate the Raiders... now I just sort of feel bad for them (Not their fans though, they're assholes in general and think they're bad asses, but it's all a bunch of bullshit).
