This, while he was a good find for cheap at a position of need last year he isn't a great LT.. Maybe he can take a step up this year.
I really hope he can continue to progress. Any shot of playing respectable offense will depend on the line this year. Howard, Colon, and Winters......I'm not quite sure yet what we have with them. i like the potential, and will be keeping an eye out in camp/preseason.
I just like the fact that for the first time in a long time I see maybe 7 guys who could start on the o-line for the Jets. 8 if they get lucky on all the rookies. It doesn't have to be a great line to stabilize the Jets chances, just one that doesn't have a gaping hole or a couple of under-performers dragging it down. Tom Brady is the most important player by far in New England but their offensive line has been competent to good for more than a decade now.
Who's threatening his job? I don't remember us bringing in any OTs that pose a legitimate threat, but I might have missed them like I did with the Colon pick up. If you're suggesting that a guard might take the tackle job, I have my doubts. Isn't this Austin's 2nd year playing in the league? I feel like he exceeded expectations last year and should only improve. Ah, still anticipating the #10! Hurry up NY POST!
The Jets have at least one other person in camp who has been a quality RT in Colon. Let's say that Winters and Peterman are doing well in camp but Howard is struggling a bit with pass protection. It's not too far a stretch to see the Jets deciding to go with their 5 best pass protectors and those guys being D'Brick, Winters, Mangold, Peterman, Colon. It's much more likely that Howard takes the RT slot but if he's struggling in pass protection in camp, well that's something you don't want at RT with either Sanchez or Smith at QB.
The competition in the O-Line is a very good thing, but what I've been thinking is that Howard will almost definitely have the RT job come opening day, and Colon will be at LG. I think theres a pretty good chance Brian Winters will win the RG spot over Stephen Peterman, so that leaves Peterman and Ducasse as depth/midseason competition. This will be Ducasse's last year, so I think he is likely a goner this coming Free Agency. Peterman and Colon were both only signed to one year deals, so that leaves Winters and Will Campbell as the only guards signed through next season and Ferguson and Oday Aboushi the only tackles of note signed through next season. So I think this year the line looks like: Ferguson, Colon, Mangold, Winters, Howard And next year we will have to re-assess the line again, because I wouldn't rely on a 5th and 6th round pick to be ready to be plugged in after one year on the bench.
Here we go. Jeremy Kerley at #10. I guess that moves the mystery (ellis/pace) position to higher. I originally projected Kerley around 12, but he stepped up last season. If Holmes can get healthy, Kerley and him will be a dangerous combo.
Chances are if Howard is solid at RT he's gonna get re-signed by the team. Rex likes him & it's hard to find solid young RTs. If that happens, under this same scenario you'd have Campbell & Aboushi(can also play guard) competing for 1 starting spot rather than 2 next off season. Moving forward the team could focus more on OL depth rather than starters in the draft kind of like this past year. They'd likely need another swing tackle to replace Ducasse (And Aboushi if he wins the RG job) as well as a long term replacement for Mangold.
Not saying we should sign him, but why is Eric Winston still a free agent? From what I saw he was pretty solid last year.
i think you have it backwards. colon is penciled in at rg i believe. winters may win out lg which is better since you would rather have the rookie between mangold and fergie vs mangold and howard. as far as howard goes, i believe his pass pro will be much improved with mm's system. its alot of quick passes so he will not have to hold his blocks for very long.
Ivory plus Goodson is a pretty nice looking RB unit. It will certainly be an upgrade from last year if it works out. We've needed a back like Ivory for a while.
Same reason Brandon Moore is still available.Teams are staying away from overpriced agiing O-linemen. For one the injury risk climbs drastically once they hit 31 or so & secondly teams have learned their lesson w/ what happens to an OL unit when one of their veterans suddenly "Loses a step".
True enough. For that reason though, i don't see Moore getting paid past vet minimum. I'd rather Moore here than Peterman in terms of veteran insurance and leadership. What if Colon gets injured again? nothing wrong with a combo of youth and older vets in my opinion....just as long as you are not aging across the whole line w/o promising prospects in the works.
I don't want to get off topic, but while we are on the subject of ranking our top players, I wanted to point out some positive attention that our top offensive player (IMO) has received: bleacherreport. com/articles/1696208-the-most-dominant-player-at-every-position-in-the-nfl-today/page/8 Sorry if this was already posted, but as we get nearer to the season I am getting more and more excited for the re-tooling of our offensive line, and it starts with its cornerstone. Mangold has consistently been the best center in the game, and though he had some rough moments last year, keep in mind he routinely plays through injuries and has been at the top of his game almost since day 1. He's strong, tough, agile, fast, and intelligent. He's a dominant interior run blocker, gets to the second level, and plays through the whistle. He more than holds his own against the elite NT's in, typically obviating the need for a double team. He will have a tough task ahead of him in helping out our new pair of guards, but this guy is one of the best we have had to play the position and I thought I would give him some well-deserved recognition. As for my prediction of our top 5: Mangold Wilkerson Ferguson Cromartie Coples
I can't figure out how Pace or Ellis could be in the top 8. Do they know something we do not? I think it's a given that Cro will be #1 and Wilks #2. They were clearly the 2 biggest impact players last season. Mangold has fallen down in the ratings in recent times, granted it's not all his fault. The line has been shaky the past 2 years, especially in pass protection. He'll be #3 if not Ferguson. From there you have to take Harris over Coples for the top 5. He is the signal caller for the D. That leaves 3 positions: Coples, Holmes and mystery man. Watch it be Ducasse!!!
