To bad other Jet coaches weren't this smart, especially considering how awful this team is at picking a QB
There were more rounds back then but that's still impressive. And smart. As a more recent example look at DC in 2012. They traded the farm for RG3 but they also took Cousins in the 4th. Now Cousins is their guy.
What this proves is that the SUREST path to a SB is to have an elite QB, but you can get there without one although in that case you need elite players at most other positions - a much harder thing to accomplish, especially with FA and salary caps. What this means to the 2017 Draft is that there is no consensus elite QB, so I see trading down and being able to still get a couple elite OL prospects, and then maybe look for secondary help in Rounds 3-4, or an edge rusher. I don't think they'll find a QB in this draft.
They also had to contend with the possibility that their guys would sign with the NFL team that picked them. Namath was also drafted by the Cardinals, Huarte was also drafted by the Eagles. Both signed with the Jets, and choosing to go with the AFL over the NFL was a huge deal. Could have gone the other way-- Craig Morton was drafted by both the Raiders and the Cowboys, and went with the Cowboys.
1. If you don't have a HOF QB, emphasizing the OL over other position groups isn't going to give you any extra benefit. Look at Dallas last year. Great OL, no QB, and a 4-12 record. 2. Neither am I but I'd take him in a heartbeat. Mariota is the main reason the Titans look good now. Murray and their OL are secondary. 3. A good example of other things than the OL teams can focus on.
The biggest difference between then and now is that there were two drafts that day. There was no guarantee all of your guys weren't going to sign with the other league so you needed to backup your backups.
One of my colleagues is a huge Titan fan and he told me the rushing game for the Titans is what has made a difference. So I decided to do some research, guess what? The titans are the 3rd best rushing team in the NFL averaging 144 yards a game. They are 23rd in passing even with Mariota, but that could be because they don't have excellent WR. To say that it's secondary is misleading, the truth is that a team needs 4 phases to work, ST, defense and a balanced offense, that's why you see more teams trending towards running the ball more. The Giants who don't have a great oline or great RBs have been running the ball up to 35 times a game, that's why they have been able to have success, it allows them to keep the defense honest and eliminates them from becoming one dimensional, and it also allows their defense to stay rested. Can we also stop using the 2015 Cowboys as an example of why you don't focus on building the oline. They were a top 10 rushing team in 2015, they lost Tony Romo and Dez Bryant after starting the season 2-0, they were on their way to having a successful season. Their backups Brandon Weeden and Matt Casell were just terrible and with no elite WR it was a perfect storm for their passing game to become nonexistent. They did not need a franchise QB to have a successful 2015, what they needed was a top 10 QB which Brandon Weeden and Matt Casell are not.
As a Tennessean, I see every Titans game live, unless the Jets are on. I can tell you, the Titans don't actually look good. They look good on highlight reels and stat sheets. Well, that, and almost everyone looks good next to the Jets. That team has a long way to go. They've had some luck and they're in an awful division. I do think they are building a good foundation, though.
It's still not very good, imo. Tannehill's had games this season where was destroyed by the pass protection, such as the Ravens game. I'm not suggesting that you pass on an elite OL early. If Tunsill fell to #20, I wold have wanted the Jets to take him. All I'm saying is that following the The Cowboys blueprint sounds great in theory, but building that dominant of a line requires luck. Yes, they scouted well and were patient, but even the teams that scout well don't land three all pros in three straight drafts. I feel as if the best strategy for a rebuilding team is to draft BPA(with common sense) and then as the core of the team progresses, they'll develop an identity. Maybe the identity of the core will be a top tier OL.. maybe they'll be a team led by a superstar QB or a dominant defense. I don't there's an tackle worth a top 5 pick this year, so it would be silly for the Jets to trade down/force a pick at the tackle position, when there will be several blue chippers on the defensive side of the ball.
Every team that builds a super bowl contender, has gotten lucky in the draft. I'll give an example here: The Cardinals in 2015 drafted David Johnson, but their main target in round 3 was Abdullah. At one point , they thought he was actually going to fall to him, but the Lions surprised them and took Abdullah. The Cardinals basically "settled" for David Johnson. It turns out that David Johnson is one of the best running backs in football and that Abdullah is mediocre NFL player. People will give them credit for picking the right player, when in reality, their main target was the mediocre RB, who looks as if he' ll bust. They were fortunate that the Lions took the prospect they desired. I say this to say that we don't even know if Tryon Smith or Zach Martin were even the Cowboys main priority. Maybe they were attempting trade up/down , or it's quite possible that a team picking ahead of them and surprised a prospect they desired. Yes, good scouting comes into play, but luck plays a major role in rebuilding an professional sports franchise.
The less contact, less time with the coaching staff (more vacation time effectively) provisions were concessions to veteran players in the CBA. You could sell it to them in the new CBA by limiting it to players with less than 1 year vested in the pension plan. It would be for first and second year players effectively and if a guy was actually on the game day roster often enough to vest his first year he wouldn't be eligible in his second year. This basically would make it for rookies prior to their first camp plus projects like Hackenberg up to their second camp. You could expand the practice squads (using the same as the current eligibility rules) from 10 to 15 players - adding 5 low-end jobs per team in the process and letting the teams potentially have 22 guys available for walk-through action in the extra practice sessions. You'd have to jimmy the requirements a little bit so that a rookie who was IR'd before his camp remained eligible despite vesting a year in the plan as a result of the designation.
Would that Cowboys line have made Mark Sanchez better than he turned out to be? You either have it or you don't. If you have it then a great line is a big boost on that but if you don't then the best line in the NFL still gets to watch you stare at your dayglo wristpad before every play. The Cowboys got lucky as hell with Prescott. They passed on him 3 times before deciding he was worth a bite and so did everybody else in the NFL. That numbers-crunching stat guru team in Cleveland passed on him 4 times.
I think their record would be close to the same right now if Sanchez was behind center. They are 12-2 right now? maybe they'd be 10-4. I'm not a big Sanchez guy but he is a good example because he went 11-5 with a very good offensive line before. Prescott is good but he's not that good that they were complete shit before he took over. A game or two better than mark sanchez makes sense to me.
Right because there's no difference between a guy throwing 4 picks in 14 games and throwing 13 picks in 16 games, nor between a guy completing 67.7% of his passes and 54.8% of his passes, leading to 7.83 yards per attempt instead of 6.49... Seriously, has it been that long that you've forgotten how mediocre Sanchez was even when the Jets were winning (sort of) big with him at QB? At the time it was easy to get behind the young kid growing into the job and winning some clutch games meme that we mostly had. But Prescott just skipped that entirely and moved to the Aaron Rodgers in the making stage.
I don't think you need a great OL to succeed. You just need an average one. We don't even have that and won't next year either.
While I'm not ready to anoint Dak yet, when his development is complete he will be head and shoulders above Mark Sanchez. Dak is on his way to becoming a franchise QB. I believe there are 3 groups of QBs in the NFL, elite, good, and average. Mark was in the average category, those guys hang around like Matt Casell but that's all they are a security blanket to hold down the fort until someone better comes along. Dak is good, on his way to being elite after a couple of years of refinement and experience.
Cardinals got Johnson when Abdullah was gone and that could be considered luck but they took the guy on their board and he worked out for them. However the Cowboys drafted not only the best LT in the league but the best Center AND RG. That's not luck that's great scouting and development within their organization. If we are going to sit back and wait to get lucky then we'll suck for a very long time.
Absolutely, they would have made him better. Not better enough to have been considered "good", but certainly better. Sanchez was certainly better with Damien Woody at RT than he was with Wayne Hunter at RT.
THIS Mark Sanchez? Not a chance. Mark,I think back in his first 3 yrs could've achieved a 11-5 record as a starter, before the hits and before the major regressions. Not the version we see today.
