I basically agree with only a couple of minor quibbles. I think we need more than just depth at LB. Pace had a good year numbers wise, but still isn't winning any foot races and his numbers are more a product of the DL. If we have to, I can live with keeping him for one more year, but think he should be replaced if possible. I don't ever want to see the Jets run the wildcat again. That's why I bolded the last part of your post. I wouldn't mind having Cribbs back as PR/KR, emergency WR, just don't want to see the wildcat ever again. You said we need offense, I assume that primarily means WR and TE. If Goodson comes back, I don't think we need another RB, but if he isn't coming back, then it might not be a bad idea to add another RB late in the draft. I also hope they draft a QB in the middle rounds rather than keeping Simms. Finally, Idzik needs to start thinking about the OL with more urgency. Brick doesn't look to have a lot left. It would be nice to get his replacement on the team and begin grooming him. If someone else offers Howard crazy money, the Jets might be forced to address RT in FA or the draft. At OG, hopefully Winters develops with an off season in the weight room. The Jets seemed high on Dalton Freeman, and at the least he could be their backup C and backup OG, and possibly even a starter at OG. They seemed pretty high on Campbell too. It will be interesting to see what they think about his development this year. I wouldn't use a high pick on an OG, but I'd love it if they sign Asamoah away from the Chiefs (if he doesn't cost too much). He's good, young and can play about any position on the OL. I think he should be a priority. If they can get him, they won't need to re-sign Colon. They can plug him in at LG and move Winters to RG. Sanchez and Holmes should definitely be gone, and maybe even Cro and Harris too. The only reason I wouldn't cut Harris is if they can't find a replacement or it would lead to a big cap charge, but I think cutting him would actually free up some more cap $.
This. It hurts my brain to think of how many quality QB prospects we skipped over so Sanchez could feel all safe and secure in his starting role.
So the consensus seems to be.... (1) Revamp the WR corp (2) Fix the O-Line (3) Cut Cromartie and replace him with (?) (4) Pick up a free safety (5) Get ready to replace our aging linebackers And do this primarily through the draft, soon. Good thing we've tempered our expectations.
They don't have to extend Mo yet. I wouldn't do it this off season. They have more pressing needs for that cap space. IMO Reed should never have been signed in the first place, much less brought back. I think Idzik will stay away from the big splashy signings, but one I think he ought to make is Jon Asamoah, OG of the Chiefs.
Waiting until his contract runs out is a terrible idea and he has earned a new contract with his play. We also have no idea how much cap room we'd have in 2015 why even risk it. Not to mention its a terrible business practice to play hardball with your loyal young star players who are way out producing their contracts. Ed Reed definitely deserves to come back he still has gas in the tank and is our only true FS not counting Josh Bush. Allen will probably get the nod at SS next year but his zone coverage skills are awful still and he's still a bit late diagnosing plays. Jon Asamoah is a good player but I think he's going to stay in KC unless they don't want him but I'd love to have him at RG.
Need to get a good FA WR, also draft one, plug holes on offensive line, Cromartie replacement, a safety, an OLB, what's the deal with Barnes?
I couldn't possibly disagree more with your first paragraph. Any QB needs weapons, but especially a young QB. The top WRs and TEs go early for a reason. TEs are becoming more and more of a weapon in the NFL. You used to could settle for waiting until the 4th or 5th round to grab your TE. If you plan on having a TE that creates mismatches and is a great safety valve for your QB, you can't any more. It's been eons since the Jets have had a true, quality #1 WR (not counting Bray). They need one to build a true offense. We saw this season what happens when you try to plug in a bunch of mid and low-round WRs and UDFAs. No thanks. Using high picks on them is not wasting the picks. Winslow was a pleasant surprise, but with his being older and more brittle, never a great blocker anyway, and not practicing much this year, not to mention being suspended for 4 games, I don't see the point in bringing him back. Yeah, bring back Cumby and Sudfeld, but I'd like to see them grab a TE in the 1st or 2nd round. You speak (wrongly) as if WR or TE positions aren't hard to fill. That's hogwash. The playmaking positions are much harder to fill and much more important than the OL grunts. Using a 1st round pick on an OG or a C is what I call wasting a pick. One winds up like the Jets did several years ago with too many high-paid OL and they couldn't afford to sign any quality playmakers in FA and hadn't really drafted any until they got Kerley in a draft day steal. I don't think they can afford to skip the LBs this off season. If they don't cut Harris, they need to find his replacement. If they don't re-sign Mauga, they'll need a replacement for him. There's no guarantee that Barnes will be as effective next year coming off a knee injury and being another year older. Similarly, Pace was a stop gap this past year. He played much better than expected, but most, if not all, of his sacks were coverage sacks and due to the pressure of the DL and the occasional good coverage by the secondary. He isn't getting any younger or faster. His spot could really stand being upgraded with a younger, faster player. If they can sign a Worrilds in FA great. If not, they need to draft one somewhere. We definitely need a FS. I agree about taking a QB in the draft, except maybe not early. If they can get Brick's replacement on board, great.
We'll just have to agree to disagree. You're the only one who said anything about playing hardball with Mo or about waiting until his contract expires. Not only does Ed Reed not deserve to come back imo, he should never have been signed in the first place. He's just hindering the development of Antonio Allen. He may be our only true FS at the moment, but hopefully Idzik remedies that.
His contract expires after next season so either extend him this off-season, during next season, or after his contract expires in the 2015 off-season. As to Reed how in the world did he hinder Allen's development when he plays FREE SAFETY and Allen plays STRONG SAFETY, if anyone hindered his development it would be Dawan Landry. Ed Reed can still run and is one of the most cerebral and instinctive players in NFL history how could you possibly not want him back for vet minimum.
I would let Mo know that they love him and definitely will be extending him long term, but they need to re-sign some of their own players and seriously address some holes in FA. I'd talk with him and make sure he didn't have a problem with the contract being negotiated during the 2014 season. If he did, then I'd go ahead and do it now, but hopefully, he'd want to see the overall team improved around him. As long as you let him know for certain that he was in their long-range plans and they wanted him to remain a Jet for his entire career, hopefully he would be fine with it. He's never impressed me as a greedy Revis type. There will be cap space in 2015, because Sanchez' contract and I think all the dead money is hitting the cap this year. In addition, Harris' contract will probably be gone as well as Cro's and there will be an increase in the cap. The bottom line is that they can plan accordingly. They don't have to use all their available cap space in FA, either. If they miss out on some players that they'd hoped to sign, then they could quite possibly finish his extension earlier and have some of the costs hit the 2014 cap. Reed hindered Allen's progress because it wasn't Landry that was benched, it was Allen when Reed was signed. We all know that Rex doesn't use his safeties as the typical FS or SS, he wants two identical safeties, and values their run-stuffing more than their coverage abilities. Reed looks pretty shot to me. He's a shadow of what he once was.
Most players even if their heart is in the right place understand the business side of things and right now is the best time for Wilk to get a good contract for him and his family. Injuries can happen at any time ask Henry Melton over in Chicago. Antonio Allen is a nice young player but Rex brought in Reed for a reason, he wanted a safety who can take care of the middle of the field and smart enough to diagnose plays that's why Jim Leonhard was here for so many years. Also Reed has never been known as a run stuffer he's an instinctive centerfielder who's a student of the game.
Fair enough. If they need to extend Mo now, so be it. I think Rex brought Reed in because he loves Reed. Rex is blinded by loyalty. He doesn't see the negatives in the play of "his guys." He thinks Reed can still take care of the middle of the field. I don't, and I don't think most Jets fans think he can either. I'm sure Rex will want him back, so he probably will be. I just hope it's for the vet minimum and not a sweetheart deal for Reed. For me the bottom line is that they're building a team for the future, and will still be somewhat in rebuilding mode next season. I don't see the point of playing a FS who's at the end of his career rather than playing a young guy who can grow and develop and help the team down the road.
(1) Sign Jeremy Maclin via FA, draft Marqise Lee in the 1st round, Jarvis Jones in the 3rd and TJ Jones in the 5th (2) Resign Vlad, sign Kevin Booth and draft JuWaun James with our second 3rd round pick. (3) Resign Walls, sign Corey Graham and draft Kyle Fuller in the 2nd round. (4) Draft Kurtis Drummond in the 4th round. (5) Sign Jason Worilds
I agree I think Allen should start at SS next season and we should try to get a young centerfielder at FS but Ed Reed for vet minimum is a win win situation, he's at worst a depth signing who can play in nickel and dime packages. Reed had 3 picks for us in about 6 or 7 games played and also made a few key plays for us he's no scrub.
What's wrong with Ed Reed? He played well for us in the final months. For a team that couldn't get turnovers he was a nice guy to bring in to help generate some. And he did just that with 3 picks. With a big time pass rush like the Jets have you need a ball hawk back there in the secondary. The Jets D-Line creates a lot of bad throws from QB's. The secondary needs to turn them from incompletions into turnovers. Antonio Allen saw 34 and 48 snaps the last 2 weeks. The 2 games prior to the Ed Reed signing he saw 39 and 40. He's still out there, you need more then 2 safeties nowadays, the guy who Ed Reed really took snaps away from was Jaiquan Jarrett. He went from seeing 30+ snaps a week to less then 10. Against the Dolphins he only was on the field for 1 play.
We're totally in agreement about Allen at SS, a young centerfielder at FS, and Reed as a backup at vet minimum.
He's played better for us than he did for the Texans. I just think the team needs to find and develop a young FS for the long term. If Reed will re-sign on the cheap and be willing to be a backup or spot starter and role player, then fine.
