Hey guys, i know we are all hurting here, but i still think we have a bright future and i'll explain why. calvin pryor - 22 eric decker - 27 percy harvin - 26 jeremy kerley - 25 dee milliner - 23 darrin walls - 26 demario davis - 25 jace amaro - 22 quinton coples - 24 muhammad wilkerson - 25 sheldon richardson - 23 damon harrison - 25 chris ivory - 26 (also doesn't have a lot of miles) These are all core players that are of young age. players don't usually hit their prime until you're 25-26. this isn't a team on a downward spiral because of age, it's actually the opposite. this team has young talent that is only going to get better, especially on the defensive line. Also, with time shaq evans and dexter mcdougle will come back (we honestly don't know what we have in them yet so no one can comment on them) and ikemefuna (IK) enemkpali, dakota dozier, trevor reilly, oday aboushi, will improve. although antonio allen has been pretty bad this year, he can improve. He was a 6th round safety who took strides in the position he was drafted to play, but through crappy CB play he had to switch. He's an athletic freak who can improve. If we end up with a top 3 pick (which is starting to look likely) we will have a solid, YOUNG nucleus for either Mariota or Winston (assuming we select one of them). Even if we slip and pick 5-7, amari cooper could still be on the board, which would make this offense full of weapons. I understand people are FURIOUS with Idzik for not doing well in the draft, but I honestly don't think people know what the draft is all about. I don't say that as insult, but let me prove my point with the greatest GM of the last decade, Ozzie Newsome. Here are some of his missed picks 2003 Kyle Bowler (1st round) Musa Smith (3rd round) 2004 Devard Darling (3rd round) 2005 Mark Clayton (Solid player, didn't live up to 1st round expectations) Dan Cody (2nd round, cut within two years) 2006 David Pittman (3rd round, cut within two years) I could go on and on, but you understand where I am coming from. His most recent draft class hasn't been that great as Arthur Brown (2nd round) has 0 snaps this year and Matt Elam only played 22 snaps two weeks ago. You're not going to hit on every pick. Another example of a great GM making a mistake is John Schneider (who many consider the best GM in football) signing Matt Flynn to a 3 year- 20.5 million$ deal with 9.5 million guaranteed. He has also basically admitted the Percy Harvin trade was a failure. They traded a 1st, 3rd, and 7th for him and are AT MOST getting a 4th rounder for him. Not good The Jets are projected to have a lot of cap space next season with roll over as well. This will give us flexibility in the future to resign our own upcoming stars and to flesh out the roster. I understand people are mad Idzik didn't spend, but I think he made the right move, there has just been a lot of bad luck. DRC hasn't been that good for the Giants this year and they gave him a big contract. Going into the season, Dee Milliner, Dimitri Patterson (4 INts the season before) Dex McDougle, and Darrin Walls doesn't seem awful. Overall, there is a reason to be excited for the future. With a new QB and a new HC, I think this team could be in for a quick turnaround potentially. Remember, Bill Parcells said you lose a game for every rookie you start. That's been proven true with how young this team is.
How far into the future are we talking...2020? That's 6 years down the road. Not bad in "Jet years" all things considered..
good post. i always felt that a bottom out, never in contention year, was coming. truthfully it should have been last year. as you said, the good news is we aren't bad and against the cap. we are in as good a position as a bad team could be. fwiw
I like the optimism, but can you really see us contending in 2015 with a rookie qb and a new head coach? I mean, we did it in 2009 but our O-line isn't good enough for that... and it doesn't help that Mangold and D'Brick are getting older and older. I think our best bet is 2016; let our new qb sit for at least half a year, and start contending as soon as Tom Brady is in full regression mode (and/or Belichick has traded him away).
it's been done before. RG3 and mike shanahan. Luck and Pagano. Joe Flacco and Harbaugh. It's not inconceivable, this isn't a team like the jaguars where we are completely void of talent also i had no idea nick mangold was ranked the #1 center by PFF coming into the week. he can be apart of the future plans, he's only 30. interior lineman can be effective until 35-36. Brick I do worry about, but I think he is better than he is playing
But what do the people who picked players for the Jets 30-40 years ago have to do with whoever may be picking players for the Jets this coming offseason???? Logic Fail.
Yeah, good post. People are too impatient. It's kinda like if you are building a skyscraper or a large building. In order to do that, first you have to tear down what was already standing there. If someone comes in at that point, without seeing the bigger picture, they will say "oh this is even worse than before!". Then you have to dig out a large hole in the ground for the foundation. Again, if someone comes at that point, they might go "oh no, it's just terrible now!". Then you build the foundation, which doesn't look like much, so again, there is nothing to celebrate ye. Only after that's all done, can you start building the actual structure. And the structure won't be built instantaneously, it might still look like crap until a large part of it is complete. Rebuilding an NFL franchise after it has been decimated by "going all in" for a short-term window (with the salary cap hell and all the aging overpaid veterans who can't play anymore) is a similar thing. While some impatient fans are whining, Idzik and the FO are slowly rebuilding the whole thing. They already got rid of the dead weight (Holmes, Sanchez, the huge contracts), are continuing to do this (Harris's contract will come off the books this offseason), and are gradually filling the team with young talent. Because of the nature of the business, not every move will succeed, and you have temporary setbacks, but their direction and general approach are spot on. As far as the draft, it's one of those "the grass is greener on the other side" things. I saw a post today here where someone was criticizing Idzik for his terrible draft record, and wondered why we can't draft like the Bills, cause all of their picks except EJ Emanuel have been spot on. So I was curious about this, and went to look up their draft record. It wasn't in any way better than Idzik's. They've, in the last few years, generally gotten one impact guy per draft, just like Idzik, except because they sucked so badly lately, most of those impact players came on really high picks, as in top 10, and some really high (4th or 3rd overall). That's not to mention them trading away a 1st rounder to move up to get Watkins (something that might come back to haunt them since they still don't have a franchise QB), or drafting Emanuel in the 1st round.
It's a trend I said past 40 years- that includes 1 year ago, 2 years ago etc. I didn't say from 40 years ago
Dom, I understand what your saying and I agree. That doesn't make watching the shit show that has been this season any easier to watch. We have a lot better team than what we're seeing every week. That's the frustrating part, and that all falls on the guys wearing sweeter vests...not jerseys. Our whole is not as good as the sum of our parts.
The logic is the same. 40 years ago, 2 years ago, 1 year ago . . . whatever. If we clean house as we should and hire a new GM and coach, what possible impact could the years of futility preceding their arrival have on the choices they make next offseason? Also, regardless of who is making the picks, draft picks always matter. Even a broken clock is right twice a day. The draft is somewhat of a crap shoot anyway. Idzik picked Sheldon Richardson. IF he is still employed in April, is it beyond comprehension that he could pick someone else just as good next off-season?
People want fans to be patient. I am sorry but it's evident that we are going in the WRONG direction. What good is having cap space with no talent. Idzik has done a poor job of evaluating talent. For those who think it's too soon to evaluate him, look at literally every rookie WR making impacts across the league. We had 12 picks ! 12! You need to ask yourself if you really want Idzik handling another draft. You want Idzik handling finding a new coach? And Jesus you want him to handle Wilkerson? This guy is going to balk at paying him what McCoy just got 51mm guaranteed. He'll trade him for a first and then find an inadequate replacement ( a la Revis situation). I know we are supposed to be patient but if your GM is bad, the talent we have today will only get older or become FAs and well be constantly running in place. Idzik has set us back, and he knows it too.
I hope you're right. After choosing the right HC, and choosing the right QB, I think free agency is key; if we can get a solid RG and (depending on how Aboushi/Dozier/etc pan out) a solid LG in FA -- and we can keep a few critical free agents -- I could see it happening.
