-Jace Amaro -Marcus Williams -Percy Harvin -Eric Decker -Chris Ivory Jace the Ace looks like he can be a better version of Dustin Keller that is more durable and more physical. I like the way he plays, and with the right QB, he is a nice piece to have. Marcus Williams has come on strong making nice PDs and often showing good cover skills. Although it has been a lost cause at CB this year, the late addition of Marcus Williams has been the only positive there. Percy is debatable since he ended up injured again but was showing flashes of his old self. He certainly looked like one of the only playmakers on offense with breakaway potential (as well as on Kick Returns sometimes). Then again...the WR free agent market is filled with gems this year, so maybe it's best not to re-sign him. It eases the mind to know that Decker is the WR that was advertised. He doesn't have Peyton inflated stats, but he is still the same talented WR and by no means a fluke. To know that this guy can be reliable and create separation is a huge positive since he's on a multi-year contract/ Where CJnoK has failed, Ivory has succeeded. The Jets found themselves a diamond in the rough. Ivory is a top back in this league and has been playing behind a suspect offensive line. The way he fights until the very end of plays and gets yards after contact is Marshawn-Lynch like. He's not exactly the total package since his blitz protection skills are iffy at best, however, the Jets won't need to go out of their way to find a RB in the offseason. (bye bye CJ).
An awesome positive, you listed offensive skill players. I think Decker and Harvin are great additions and hope we keep Harvin. If we get a WR through the draft or FA, even better. If not I think our WR group has improved greatly. going forward we actually have a good set of offensive players unlike 2012 and 2013. It should help whoever the coach is going forward.
Here's a positive, in just 34 days, the Jets will be undefeated, sitting on some monster cap space, with a young not-entirely-bereft-of-talent roster, a new GM/HC, and, hopefully, a re-energized fan base. /happynewyear
Let's add Aboushi and Dalton Freeman. Those guys really stepped up down the stretch. Hopefully it's a sign of more depth on the o line than we thought previously.
Chris Owusu seems like a player. Geno Smith might not be a complete turd if you just let him throw down field.
- Geno Smith showed a little life and that he can at least compete for the starting job, hopefully with at least two other quality QBs - Jeremy Kerley started to play better again toward the end of the year - Sudfeld and Cumberland make for solid depth at least - Oday Aboushi looks like a starter at OG. I'd say one immediate starter on the other side and at least one highly drafted young OT to groom and this line doesn't seem so bad. - Dalton Freeman was good in relief. Hope they keep him around as long as possible. - The defensive line... Even the backups - Babin was pretty good, actually, and Coples is decent too. - Gotta be pleased with Demario's development over the last few seasons; he was good again this year - Unless they want to draft an ILB very high, I'd be fine with Harris starting another year or so. - Really like Marcus Williams and wouldn't be surprised if he beats out Milliner and McDougle for a starting job (opposite a top FA corner...) - Dawan Landry actually had a great year; I might sign him back for a year and make Pryor sit if he keeps playing so out of control - Jaiquawn Jarrett has been good too; at least looks like a nice depth player - Ryan Quigley has actually been good too - Agree with the OP too, though I'd like to see more out of Amaro. Ivory was an amazing pickup - thank you for that, Idzik. And Owusu is a guy to watch for the 4th WR spot Aaand that's about everything I can think of.
I'm intrested in seeing Mcdougle and Shaq Evans on the roster next year,imagine there solid starters and we fired Idzik
For me the end of the year positive is that I'm not thinking penalties and sidelines gaffes and bad timeouts will be a normal thing next season. Watching the Jets this year was embarrassing.
Someone mentioned it in a different thread about a week or so ago but the Jets should've been plugging in undrafted free agents all season long at corner til they found someone who has seemingly stuck like Marcus Williams. Walls and Wilson are both 4 and 5 corners on a roster and AA is just atrocious at the spot. Did we really have anything to lose before we were 1-8 in trying a bunch of unknowns at the spot? This is seemingly what Idzik's forte was supposed to be and we didn't try anyone else until Phillip Adams against the Chargers and finally some more no names against the Chiefs. The problem is that it took too long but it really looks like Marcus Williams can play.
And of course John Idzik is the guy known to play his vets into the ground and be resistant to giving young players a chance, even in the face of veteran failures, right? The Jets pass defense wound up decent over the last quarter of the season. That makes you wonder exactly where the coaches were for the first 12 games. Rex Ryan's Achilles heel is his love for *his* players. You can't get away with that in the NFL. If you love a star, well that's different but if you love the guys who grind for you year after year, well you're very likely to look the other way when they fall out at 29 or 30 and you're very unlikely to give a young guy a real shot unless he looks like a star.
Not to say it was Idzik but the combination of the two. Rex didn't want to play the younger guys which in turn disallowed Idzik to drop some of these guys that couldn't play. If you discover Williams sooner do you let go of Walls or Wilson or even Adams sooner and try to plug and play someone else? Maybe but we'll never know.
This was the problem with Idzik being focused on future and Ryan on the present. If we wanted to see younger guys play, Rex needed to be fired at the bye.
Decker/Amaro/Harvin/Kerley/Ivory is a good group of offensive players. Draft a RB (Duke Johnson) and a WR(Cooper) and I think the Jets will be set on offense. Mangold was awesome. Abushi seemed good. I dont know how good he was individually, but once he replaced Winters the OL looked exponentially better. Hopefully Dozier can come in and effectively replace Colon. Hell maybe even Winters could, but I doubt it. Draft an offensive lineman in the second round(Dont know who) and maybe we can gain some stability on the line. CB was an area that had next to no positives attached to it. Didnt give up the ridiculous amount of yards the media would lead you to believe, but didnt force any turnovers either. That isnt ok. Marcus Williams played pretty damn well this year all things considered. Certainly earned a spot over Walls/AA next season. If Geno plays every game like he did against Miami we have found our franchise QB. The odds of that happening are like one in a million (so I'm saying we have a chance). Kidding aside, I'm pretty sure Geno isnt the guy we were hoping he would be. He'll probably be the starter again next season, or at least be competing with a Hoyer type QB, while a rookie sits on the sidelines. I love Geno's arm talent and potential, but watching him play can be maddening. I have no problem giving him one more offseason to see what he's become. He actually has to win the QB competition though this year. DL is ridiculous, and LB's are serviceable to decent. Could use an upgrade, but I dont think its super imperitive. Coples may not rack up as many sacks as we were hoping, but he does get into the back field quite a bit and makes the QB uncomfortable.
I can't agree that the Jets would be "set" on offense until the Colon/Breno tandem is upgraded. The OL played flawlessly--at least in pass protection--I don't think it's a coincidence that Geno had a "perfect" game. the OL has pretty much been a sieve in pass protection for the majority of Geno's starts (and Vick's for that matter). I don't think people accept that the OL is the foundation for an offense and for the last 3 years it has sucked. And I think not having a young/dynamic OLB is part of what keeps the turnovers created low. I'd like to see an impact player drafted for OLB.
Geno Smith- he had an up and down year and didn't quite develop at the rate we'd all hope. But he did show some improvement and there's enough there to at least bring him back and have him compete with a veteran. Chris Ivory- he has been a beast all year. His pass catching even improved. Eric Decker- had a solid year, while I wasn't fond of the signing he's shown he can be a legit option. Percy Harvin- he provided a deep threat option we hadn't have in a looooong time. I'm really hoping we can keep him. Jace Amaro- arguably the best rookie TE this year. While people complained that we didn't draft a WR that contributed as a rookie, yet Amaro was steering them in the face. Jeremy Kerley- mr reliable always doing the little things. Making blocks down field for others, running his routes regardless of whether the ball will be thrown to him or not. I'm glad he was rewarded with an extension. Nick Mangold- he had a dominant year at center before he got hurt. Possible future hall of famer. D'Brickashaw Ferguson- he had a solid year. Oday Aboushi- after Winters got hurt he stepped in and instantly made the oline better. Hopefully we're set with him at LG.
Obviously they arent perfect everywhere, if they were, we wouldnt have 4 wins lol. But as far as 4 win teams go, Jets are solid in a lot of areas. When I said "set" on offensive I was more referring to WR/TE/RB if we drafted Cooper and Duke Johnson. OL obviously isnt perfect, and Colon has had some crippling penalties. My idea was that with Dozier/Free Agency/2nd Round Pick I think we could really upgrade this OL. Brick has lost a step, but he's still serviceable. Abushi seems like a starter. Mangold is Mangold. RG is open to competition. Breno is an average RT, but there is nothing wrong with upgrading. An impact OLB across from Coples would be great. But with only 6 picks(unless they move down), I dont think OLB will be addressed. I think this will be an offense heavy draft. Maybe towards the end of the draft we address FS/OLB. Plus, I'm going to keep an eye on IK. I dont know how many snaps he got against Miami, but he only got 12 the prior week, and made a play in like 4 of them. Obviously they arent set, but a well played offseason, I think the Jets could surprise.
I wasn't disagreeing with your basic premise. I was just trying to state that I think the OL is THE major problem on offense...and has been for entirety of the Jets decline. And, while the Jets only have six picks, they have CA$H they can judiciously spend on any of the problem areas. The Jets COULD surprise. But it will take a spectacular offseason.
Mohammed Wilkerson- another good year for Mo. Sheldon Richardson- was even better this year than last year. He might be our best dline player by next season. Damon Harrison- was quietly solid taking on blockers and opening things up for others to make plays. Quinton Coples- was solid this season, he was asked to do multiple things which didn't always show up in the stat sheet. He's better on the dline than playing OLB. David Harris- ever steady ever dependable. He's tackling machine and the leader of the defense. DeMario Davis- he's just gotten better every year, he was pretty good this year. Dawan Landry- he quietly had a good year. Marcus Williams- he emerged late in the year and it was no secret that as soon as he was brought in our pass defense improved. He could be a potential diamond in the rough.
It sounds like Shaq Evans was an absolute disaster during camp. Hope he's a player, but I might be more surprised if he made the team than if he didn't. McDougle, on the other hand, seemed to be doing well and I liked what I heard about him. I'm much more hopeful with him, but not holding my breath either..
SMH. Kerley had 409 yards, and we're paying him $4 million per year....the guy dissapeared all year. 10 out of 16 games with 2 catches or less. Ferguson is rapidly declining, and we're paying him $10+ million the next 3 years. Aboushi is one of the worst pass blockers in the league, he's only an upgrade over Winters because Winters is also one of the worst run blockers in the league.
