I'm pretty sure the goal of GM is to make a solid plan, solid foundation and solid team - not provide fodder for message boards based on making a lot of transactions.
Are you for real? First you question why I said it was a reactive move, and then say every move is reactive. Really? Putting aside the categorical here, the real question is whether the move was in keeping with "The Plan" or instead reacts to an unanticipated and adverse situation that, quite simply, calls for a CHANGE IN PLANS. I don't recall anyone who is, focusing on the word general, a general supporter, fan, homer, idolator, of Idzik who acknowledged, back before Opening Day, that the Jets were entering the season without a #2 WR. Yes, even the homers had to acknowledge that after Decker and with Kerley, who btw has done very little this season, in the slot, the wideout position would have to be filled with someone who was not widely seen as a top talent. Instead it would be filled with one of Nelson, Salas, perhaps one of the draft choices, but someone already on the roster. I do not recall a single homer who said there was something wrong with Idzik not going after another veteran receiver, whether in FA or a trade, after Decker. I specifically recall DeSean Jackson being available, and how the Jets made no effort, did not even inquire, about his availability, to take one example. Instead many posters here complained that Jackson had an attitude problem, would be a bad mix on the Jets roster, in the locker room, and in any event cost too much. Idzik, we were all told, wants to build through the draft. Surely one of the three draft picks he hoarded and then spent on wideouts would pan out, and we always had good old David Nelson, who btw is a genuine good guy off the filed, from what I gather. No, let's pass on Jackson, or any of the other wideouts available, including potentially by a trade. Idzik already has hte position covered. So, the Jets go 1-6, Idzik is seen as tanking the season with a weak roster and near $21 mil in unspent cap space, and what does he do? Does he wait to fill the position in next year's draft? Does he wait, as he seems prepared to do with Smith, to see if Nelson, perhaps the currently banged up Salas, might come around with more nurturing and finally show he deserves to be a starting wideout in the NFL? Does he save the cap space money to roll out next year? Does he keep a player like Jackson out of the locker room because he's a bad guy? No, none of those things. Instead he trades for the right to pay $7.1mil to a player with a bad attitude, a locker room problem in the locker room of the defending SB champs (who have no other signs of a locker room problem), cuts Nelson, and will have that much less money to roll into next year. But according to the FO Homers here, that is all according to The Plan. Bullshit.
Umm, I don't think that was the position of Idzik or his supporters. The position wasn't that we had a #2 receiver, it's that we made moves to address that, and would have to see how they work out. The moves were drafting 3 WRs this offseason, and to a lesser degree, giving Stephen Hill one last chance in his 3rd year, and signing a guy like Patrick Ford. That would've been the ideal way to address our #2 receiver issue, with a young player on a cheap contract. But, as we know now, and didn't know during the offseason, those guys haven't worked out (in Evans and Enunwa's case so far at least). But there's obviously a key difference between doing something and it not working out and not addressing the issue at all. This is no different than if we signed another WR, say Maclin or Jackson, and they just sucked for us. Not every move is going to work out. Another part of the Idzik position is that we didn't have to get a #2 receiver this offseason. It would be nice, but we had a lot of holes, and you dont have to fill every one of them right off the bat, for a rebuilding team. When Idzik saw that the WR draft picks didn't work out, by that point all of last year's FAs were gone, and that's even if Idzik wanted any of them. So he would have to address the problem in a different way. The most probably way would be to wait until the next offseason, and bid on the available FAs against other teams, possibly ending up having to offer a lot. So when Harvin became available for peanuts, it became a much better way to address the issue. And yes, it is all according to the plan, because Idzik's plan since the beginning has been to be frugal and maintain cap flexibility for just these kinds of moves.
Thanks for the humor! Yes, when his "plan" did not work out, his "plan" was "to address the problem in a different way." Which you think is all part of the same, original plan. "My Plan is to do things a certain way, unless and until it doesn't work, then I change it!" Face it, there is no consistency here. Ftr the Harvin deal might very well work out. But let's not pretend it has anything with building through the draft, or avoiding locker room problems, or rolling over cap space into next year. It reminds oe of Apocalypse Now, when Captain Willard is asked about Colonel Kilgore's methods. He responds that he doesn't really see any method. You are Colonel Kilgore, in case you don't follow the analogy. Well I think the time has come to take a mid season break here. Later, homers.
No I question what makes this move reactive? Because the only I understand this to be a reactive move is if its to fill the #2 WR position. But every move is to fill a position so hence my original question, can you explain the line of thinking this was a reactive move? A lot of people said similar things of how this was reactive, panic, last ditch move etc. I don't get that line of thinking with his move. The rest of your post is just kind of expanding on your own thinking, not what I wrote. Like I said, the other argument is the season is over why make this move? Again it's not part of some master plan, a talented player became available at a price idzik and the jets felt comfortable with and contract they seem to be with fine. In my mind, it's just another nfl move, not some secret master plan and not some panic move either.
Plans tend to be general for complex tasks like rebuilding a franchise. No one becomes a GM with a set of exact moves they will do over the next several years, instead people come with a general approach, and then apply it, and adjust as some moves work out and some don't, which always happens, since no one gets everything right. Not sure why you have such a problem with this.
As the Idzik regime goes on it gives me a better perspective on Tanny. He inherited a decent team and made some decent trades at first, but like Idzik drafted a motley QB. Then Tanna tried to reload the team while staying competative. It cost him his job. Woody probably wanted someone completely different. IdIk's hiring did this. (This happened by accident because Woody is the most incapable person since Calvin Coolidge.) So IdIk's sits on his hands and waits for a day that never comes and the perfect draft. In comparison, was Tanny really that bad.
The Really, its best to not engage bb. All his argument are are broad speculations stretched out over 3 paragraghs, a couple of "heh"'s and him declaring himself the winner because "you are a homer".
The idea isn't exactly to be a front office 'homer' rather rationalize with what Idzik is doing. Maybe he should've addressed cornerback and wide receiver more urgently this offseason but at the same token it's tough to predict two out of five corners going down along with Decker's hamstring bothering him all year and Davis Nelson virtually disappearing, and drafting Calvin Pryor to help the secondary out. He also took three receivers in the draft one of which who got cut and another who was placed on injured reserve immediately. It's tough to predict these things and just because these positions weren't addressed to the liking of all the virtual general managers here, doesn't mean that the positions were ignored. To acknowledge that there is a plan in place is just reasonable rather than everyone calling for the general managers head before his plan is fully put into action. His idea was to not sacrifice the future in lieu of pushing for a 8-8 or 9-7 first round playoff exit while holding onto his cards long enough into next year when is the real year we are expected to compete. If anyone thought that this team with a 2nd year quarterback was going to make any damage in the playoffs they're really blind to how football works. We caught lightning in a bottle with Sanchez the first two years and fans were hung up on that like it was going to strike again this season. Sometimes you need to sacrifice the present to compete in the future. If we remain a non playoff team next year then it's understandable to want Idzik how. But at least give him and his philosophy a chance. If it doesn't pan out by the end of next season with at least a playoff berth then fans have a legitimate beef. And once again it's not being a front office homer to just be patient with what's taking place.
Let's separate the haters from the homes and Harvin from no Harvin for the moment...reactionary, fortunate luck...whatever. Let's target a few unmitigated Idzik facts. JI has drafted 19 players of which 5 are no longer on the roster...so 26% of his draft is no longer on the team. Fact right?? Still Here: Of the 14 remaining draft picks on the roster 10 have had little to NO impact...removing Geno Smith from that number and moving him to full blown NEGATIVE IMPACT...and Winters is borderline right behind him...but he counts against the 10 for right now. A few of these players had injury histories in college so yup...they count. Should NEVER have been drafted... Aboushi - still determining impact Amaro - Impact Bohanon - IR Dozier - No impact Enemkpali - No Impact Enunwa - PS Evans - IR McDougle - IR Miliner - Injury issues - Little to no impact Pryor - Still determining Impact - potential to be very impactful Reilly - Who? Richardson - DROY - Pro Bowl player Smith - Nearly the worst QB in the league Winters - IR - When playing, one of the worst Guards in the leage Gone: Boyd Campbell Dixon George Saunders Essentially, this is a HORRIBLE draft record for a man that touts his "main" plan is to build through the draft. If he is unable to back up his "main" plan then where are we? Essentially 74% of his draft total has little to no to full blown NEGATIVE impact to the New York Jets...and that is simply unacceptable. Now, I know the list below is not complete but is as accurate as I can think of while I whittle away here at work...as far as FA's go. I'm missing someone but can't put my finger on it...I did NOT include in-season additions as these are purely reactionary to an issue or situation. The below are players who you would THINK Idzik put a reasonable amount of thought into before signing them as opposed to "off the cuff." Of this list only 3 of the 6 have had solid contributions and Giocomini's penalties directly helped in shooting ourselves in the foot early on. The two not on the team were flagrant DISASTERS! So he's batting a straight 50% on FA signings... Ivory - Solid find... Giocomini - Solid find...penalty problems early on Decker - Solid find... CJ - Great game one has disappeared since Goodson - Gone Patterson - Gone With math like that maybe he needs to hold on to a few less draft picks and wheel and deal for more F/A's. Having said all that and getting past the "proof in the pudding" as it is... John Idzik has thoroughly stunk up the draft. Period. If you go back and look...and I did by the way...teams who build through the draft, like the Packers for instance, hit on far more of their draft picks. Especially if that is how you are going to "sell" your plan to the team and fans. It was clear insanity to think he was going to find our #2 receiver that far down in the draft. Stupidity at it's best...ESPECIALLY considering his draft record from the previous year. Unlike other GM's in the league...he is not necessarily a "football" guy per se... He needs to be money in rounds 1-4...end of story. And he hasn't been. Insult to injury...Richardson was a Rex Ryan pick...he lobbied hard...or so the papers state. So, you can potentially take one more positive player from Idzik. This is not going to get it done. On the heels of all that. You all keep talking about this year being the "shit" year. I have news my little chickadees....when Rex Ryan goes...and he is going...it is going to take TWO years for the new staff to establish themselves. So, you are not looking at a 2014 rebuild and then 2015 dominate the world. You aren't going to see the Jets dominate shit until at LEAST 2016 and possible '17. And, that is ASSUMING Idzik sucks his head from his ass and starts drafting at a more reasonable 40 - 65% positive hits on the players he brings in. Now, on to the Harvin trade and it being "reactionary." Damn skippy it was reactionary! NOTHING about this pick up is according to Idzik's "plan." Not to mention the damn player is a head case, on his 3rd team in as many years and couldn't stick on a damn Super Bowl contender with the ability to "fracture" the locker room at a single moments notice...ESPECIALLY on a, fragile at best, ONE and SIX team! Real brilliant. It's not even a "low rent" trial. $7MILLION dollars is NOT Low-Rent. $2 million is... But I will tell you one thing...as bad as Geno is he can get a whole lot worse with an asshole for a receiver in his ear. Of THAT you can bank on. Oh yeah...the two more year plan after this one...it goes to FOUR if we have to draft another god damn QB next year...wait...what am I saying...I mean WHEN!
Your "unmitigated" facts are not by definition unmitigated. First of all, late round pick are not equivalent in value to early round picks, and while saying 26% of the players he drafted are not on the team, significantly less than 26% of the value of his drafts are not on the team. You're ignoring a number of other facts as well. Assuming the 5th rounder used on Jeremiah George was wasted is not necessarily true. It is equally possible that AJ Edds is actually highly promising, and finding a UDFA who is better than a player on your team is fine. It happens across the league. Time will tell which is true, but it could be the case that in a couple years we will be applauding Idzik for finding Edds and not being to stuck on George just because George was a draft pick while Edds was a UDFA. George is on an active roster at this point so it's not like he's out of the league. While being on IR is not helpful to the team, you can't say this is Idzik's fault, and you can't say it's on him just because some of them had injuries in college. You know who else had injuries in college? Sheldon Richardson David Harris Antonio Cromartie Jace Amaro Cam Newton Jake Long Chandler Jones AJ Green Logan Mankins Frank Gore Justin Tuck Haloti Ngata Johnathan Joseph Greg Jennings Jason Hatcher Chris Johnson Brandon Flowers Jordy Nelson Matt Forte DeSean Jackson Michael Crabtree Brian Orakpo Ndamukong Suh Mike Iupati That's merely a few of the prospects with injuries in college taken in the first 3 rounds since 2005, and I can easily go on and on. This constant prattle about not picking players with injury history is idiotic, every team takes players like this and many of them turn out to be excellent. All of your other ramblings are garbage topped with speculation seasoned with melodrama. No GM is perfect, and all make moves that don't work out.
Come on man, sounds mostly like unhappy ramblings from a disappointed fan. If we don't get the brutal schedule early on, and the rash of injuries, and the bad officiating, I think you would feel very differently. As far as your points: - It is kinda pointless to judge Idzik's drafts right now, because one of them has had less than a year, and the other slightly over a year. The consensus in the NFL is that you need at least something like 3 years to judge a draft fairly. - With that said, even if we only end up with Richardson and Amaro as impact players, and maybe Pryor, Aboushi, Bohannon and Dozier as starters (which doesn't seem unreasonable now), is that so much worse than a typical NFL draft? Did you expect to get 3 impact players per draft year or something? Go and look at our draft history through the years, Idzik's drafts so far have actually been far from the worst. A year when you get Sanchez, Greene and Slauson, or Wilson and Ducasse, now that's a bad year. Or some of those years under Parcells. We've had many years where we got literally zero long term contributors to the team from the draft. To put this in perspective, if Idzik can get only one impact player per draft, and then one or two impact players from free agency and trades per year (which is his current pace with Ivory, Decker, Harvin), that means he can assemble 10 impact players in 4-5 years (2-3 years from now) or roughly half the team's starters. His pace might also pick up since we ll have more cap money available going forward than we had in the past. And he is doing this in a way that preserves cap flexibility, so that if any of these deals don't work out or we find something better, we are free to act. - Your point about his hit rate on free agent signings is absolutely irrelevant, because unlike draft picks, you are not limited with those, you can sign as many as you want, as long as you don't lock yourself into bad contracts. All of those "bad" signings you mention are guys he brought in on small budget contracts with little guaranteed money, meaning they were all either stop-gap solutions or guys brought in to show what they have. If they don't show anything, they are gone, and we've lost nothing. All the signings like CJ, Goodson, Patterson, etc are just low risk, high reward moves to bring in temporary parts to help the team while Idzik looks for long term solutions. - the bolded part, are you implying that 40-65% success rate on all picks in the draft is a reasonable goal? how many teams in the history of the NFL do you think achieved that kind of drafting success?
I just dont understand why people praise idzik for having a ton of money in cap space and a ton of weaknesses on his roster. That goes hand in hand. You know why other teams don't have that money? B/C they play GOOD players that make a GOOD team... not one that "could be" good, not one that in the future might be good, but a GOOD team, ready to win games on any given sunday.
I like what Idzik has done in controlling the cap up to now, far better than Tannenbaum who kept trying to re-enact the Curtis Martin signing every year. Jury is out on his talent evaluation. It's way to soon to pronounce judgement on that and it would be a mistake to fire him after this year. It's not too soon to pronounce judgement on Rex, though. He's had six years, two quarterbacks, three offensive coordinators...and two GMs. Great defensive mind (especially if you happen to be able to get him the best cornerback in football). Great motivator and inspirational leader. Bad sideline manager. Bad clock manager. And he leaves his entire offensive side on an island. He's not really a complete head coach. He's "Co-head coach/defense" while either Schotty/Sparano/Marty is "co-head coach/offense". So there's no real head coach on the sidelines with Rex, which is why you get that timeout fiasco vs. GB. Of course, if Rex wins 6 or 7 times from here on in, I might just forget about all this and go back to thinking he's OK. Hey, he might yet learn (I thought he did last year). Good thing I'm just a fan and don't get paid to manage a football organization, or, even worse (gasp!)..write about a football organization!
So you say...my "ramblings" are based off of experience and "know how" of professional football and from the average time it takes the average coach to be successful. I'll tell you, for sure, what isn't speculation is that John Idzik fielded an XFL football team with $21 million in his back pocket and we are all sitting here wondering why our team sucks big ass this year. Hmmm....I wonder.... The spotty draft, to this point, is only cream in the coffee...
