I think people are going way overboard thinking Hunter is on the bench... Otah is a roll of the dice to see if he can even make the team and pass a physical... I also think Hunter is better than advertised... THIS play is Hunter and the Jets offense of 11' in a nutshell... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPBi4OCzzDg I picture Schotty all giddy for weeks leading up to this game so he can call his pump fake Deep pattern to Holmes as the jets score an 80 yard TD and Stamp out Ground and Pound forever.... No worry about the DAL Defense - We're just going to flex our high power offensive muscles. Just one of a ton of plays I blame on Shotty - If it's me, I go into this game concerned about Ware, my RT and my QB not getting hiy AT ALL!!!!!! I call plays accordingly until the OL gets it's feet wet - I start off the season feeling things out. Granted Peyton Manning audibles out of Schotty's horrible play call - But, bottom line, I blame Hunter maybe 20% of this play - He should never have been left in this situation... That play could have been nice if it wasn't a fake and it went immediately to Tone... But, NO Schott wanted it ALL....
Agree with all except this. Sanchez is getting crushed regardless of the 3 yard completion to Holmes, Nothing could make this play "nice". WH against DW is a gimme 9/10 times. Ware was probably chuckling to himself, and licking his chops, the second holmes went into motion.
As much as I think Shotty was not very good, you really can't blame him for Hunter on this play... the very first offensive play of the year. No one knew Hunter was going to lay an egg that soon. I do however blame him and the rest of the coaches for every game after that. I don't think Hunter can let the defender to the inside on a 3 step drop, he has to force the guy to the outside. Hunter started backpeddling as soon as the ball was snapped, 1 second into the play he was 3 yards behind the LOS and off balance.
Now that some time has passed to digest this deal there seem to be three major takeaways: 1. The FO/Coaching Staff actually think Wayne Hunter sucks. Nice to see an acknowledgement of what everyone else on the planet has noted for some time. It's now clear that the optimism from DeGuglielmo and other coaches/players was indeed just confidence hyping fluff. 2. The FO/Coaching Staff has completely given up on Vlad at RT. Honestly, I'm surprised by this. If there is ever a chance for Vlad to become the RT that I assume we drafted him to be, it is now. Full off-season, new offense, glaring hole at RT. Yet, the coaching staff clearly has no confidence in him out there. I'm not ready to give up on him as an interior lineman just yet, but we are officially teetering dangerously close to "bust" territory on this one. 3. This is an extremely low risk, very high reward move from Tanny. If Otah's healthy, he will start at RT and serve as an upgrade at the position - our greatest position of need. If not, we are literally right back where we started - worst case is the loss of a 7th rounder. Also, I didn't see it noted yet in this thread, but I read somewhere that Otah must pass a physical before the trade is even made official. So he would have to be healthy and then re-injure himself (admittedly a very real possibility given his history) for us to even lose the pick. Not to mention, this trade (if Otah stays healthy) makes Hunter available for the jumbo TE role where he flourished.
Well with the first game of the season going against Buffalo and M Williams,, I feel a lot better for MS then with WH in there. Lets get by the first game and see what kind of player we really have. But I also agree this is a boom or bust move.
Not really the same thing. Woody hardly missed a game most of his career, and started 32 straight when he got hurt in 06 and missed the rest of the year. Otah has missed 28 of the last 32 and has never played more than 13 games in a season (29 of 64). Maybe Sparano and Rex can light a fire in this guy, but he just seems like someone who isn't that committed to staying in shape to play football from most of what I've read. There's no doubt that if the Jets can roll this guy out on a regular basis, he's a top 10 tackle in the league. Here is a dig from a Carolina writer. "If Jets doctors have a cure for soft, they have a steal," quipped Gantt, a longtime Panthers beat reporter.
all we heard from oppsoing fans on boards like this was how we overpaid for Woody, how he couldn't stay healthy(only started 13 games the previous 2 seasons) and how he couldn't play tackle after having been a C or G his entire career until 2007 w/ detroit. Guys w/ his talent aren't available for this cheap w/o baggage. There aren't any guarantees he even beats Hunter out but it was still a good move to improve competition and depth at our biggest need position.
I think this move says more about Vlad than hunter. This means they had no confidence in Vlad to push Wayne. Now they have someone that will.
I don't know about the Dr.s and soft, but I know the coaches have no cure for SUCK, and Hunter has a bad case of it. The worst that happens is, he's no better than who we have currently.
It took me a while to find it but I finally found an article discussing the injuries on this guy. His first injury was from a torn meniscus, the article doesn't say which. The second surgery was an arthroscopic follow up procedure. The encouraging news is that it wasn't an ACL or MCL tear which means the knee is stable and for a big man that's critical. The bad news is meniscus tears take time and patience to heal which is likely what the Panthers doctors felt was needed when the placed him on IR last year saying he didn't need further surgery, just rest. The cautionary news is his knee swelled in mini camp which tells you its not completely healed. The question is did he take the proper steps to let it heal and did the Panthers medical staff give him the right routine to help it heal. I read on the panthers various blogs / sites etc. that its a conditional 7th round choice. Its not much to give up and well worth the shot to get him. The Panthers medical staff apparently has the same reputation or similar from what I could pick up to the Mets medical staff. If the Jets medical staff looked at his knee and they're doing the deal then its certainly encouraging. I hope he's in shape and the jets medical staff can get him ready
Now THIS is why Jet fans are often called delusional. On his best day Otah is not one of the top 10 OT's in the league. What has he done in the past that would remotely cause anyone to characterize him as a top 10 OT? Why can't Jet fans be willing to acknowledge that if he can overcome the injury and attitude problems he's had, he COULD be an upgrade over what they've had last year, not that that bar was set very high. This comment would be like if I said there was "no doubt" that Trevor Scott was going to be at top 10 DE/OLB for the Pats this season, just because in 2009 he showed flashes of becoming a top notch pass rusher. I would be laughed off the board for making such a ridiculous comment, and rightfully so. And as for Vlad, he was always destined to become an OG coming out of college, I don't understand why some Jet fans are surprised and/or disappointed that the Jets has settled on him as an OG. Its his best chance of making an impact on the roster. With Furgeson, Hunter, Otah, and the new guy from Oakland the Jets now have 4 OT's who have starting experience on their OL. That's 2 more than last season. That's a huge improvement in you overall depth and enables Ducasse to concentrate on OG, which is a much better situation for him.