I have no real argument with that at all, maybe a CB in there somewhere also, we still desperately need one of those. Is there going to be the OL talent hitting the market though? That may well be the only problem with your plan.
There are plenty of guards and right tackles. Left tackle is bare (as usual) and center is pretty bare. We can also flip that combination any other way. We desperately need another pick or two.
Totally agree. Thats why I like trading down. I love Lamb, but I think Higgins and a LT or Center or whatever will be better.
Of course I don't have inside knowledge of what goes on at 1 Jets Dr., but what else answers the question: Why have the Jets struggled over such a long time, regardless o f GM or HC? Maybe they're just unlucky.
Yeah, I remember all this but citing a meager handful of instances in twenty years doesn't qualify as meddling or interference in my book, especially when you consider that some of what is quoted here was simply reinforcing decisions that had already been made as in the case of Fitzpatrick. I'm actually of the belief that neither Johnson gets involved enough to the detriment of the team. Understanding we see very little of what actually goes on behind the scenes I get the distinct impression that the Johnsons are barely on the fringe of NFL insiders. By insiders I mean owners, general managers, head coaches, coordinators and maybe high ranking scouts - the guys who all talk to one another and develop a "competitive friendship" if such a thing can exist. Do we ever see pictures of them schmoozing with the Maras or Rooneys or playing golf with Ross or Lurie? How many times do we read that they had dinner with owners in Houston or Denver while at league meetings? While it is mostly conjecture I think this is the kind of thing that hurts the organization when it comes time to hire key personnel. Do we know if Johnson even talked to Steven Ross or one of his golfing buddies before hiring Gase? Have they been forced to use recruitment services or search committees and advisors because they don't have strong enough relationships within the league to develop their own sources of information? Phil Simms had an interesting comment Friday evening on his appearance with Chris Russo on SiriusXM about those search committees that allegedly are to find the best candidate but charge a lot of money and hire their buddy anyway. He didn't name any specific team but it sounded to me like he was talking about the Jets. Restaurant owners talk among themselves about what chef could help someone, general contractors share information about roofers and manufacturers talk about trucking companies, they don't need search committees; who do the Johnson have to talk to about coaches and managers?
See above...I hadn't seen your response when I answered KO'B. Just conjecture as I said but all the more reason this team should have a football operations guy who does travel in those circles if there's any credence to my theory.
@Ralebird a nice long post and a nice reasonable read but my citing of a couple of incidences, were only an answer to your original quandary of did Woody interfere with the Fitzpatrick and Revis signings. He blatantly did want them both signed at any cost and that is interference enough in that situation. Making a point from your post about them being uninvolved with other owners etc this makes any interference from them 100 times worse as they are what is known in the game, a pair of clueless twats.
So, what's your theory about why, despite different GMs, CS, etc,. the Jets have failed to become a winning franchise? And by winning, I mean winning a SB and be in contention regularly? If the Johnsons are as benign as you say, what else could be the reason for that consistent failure? Serious question.
I mean it's kind of split though. They did win for ten years. For the last ten they've been terrible. I don't think they're good owners. But I also think they just cannot under any circumstances pick the right football people to run the show. And they've refused to stay out of football operations the past ten years. Which is so confusing to me because they fucked off for their first decade of ownership in meddling with it and all of a sudden they have stipulations for whomever they hire. Stipulations keep better candidates and organizational people away. Your guess is as good as mine as to why they created stipulations such as the new GM keeping Rex, what to do with Revis, what coordinators must be hired, etc. So I agree with you. And I don't understand why they let the football people do the football stuff for a decade and now suddenly think they're the football people. But that's the real issue.
Actually my original input into the question was in response to someone who used the word meddle or interference or something similar in describing what I view as a few rare cases of simple involvement. The "meddling" comes up from time to time but to me that or "interference" would need to be far more prolific to be an accurate portrayal. Those sons of entitlement should not be excoriated for what I see as mainly marketing decisions that also have an affect on the playing field. If Revis, for instance, had not gone comatose with his resigning there would be no issue. Their uninvolvement with the movers and shakers in the league is indicative that they're not even sufficiently active when they could benefit the team by being so.
I think it's as simple as the Johnsons being content to ride the bus, collect their revenues, watch the investment appreciate and not be of the competitive nature needed to demand better of the team. That is why they have ignored what many of us believe would be the most productive move, hiring a head of football operations. The problem is how would the make the right choice? Even Leon Hess got pissed off after a while but it only inspired him to make a horrible decision. Maybe something will happen in another eight years when Woody is eighty; but will it be positive?
Maybe he'll go senile like Al Davis, but instead of actually losing so much knowledge of football and just over paying players for being strong or fast, he will actually learn about football.
Well, what you call "winning for 10 years", I don't. Sure they came close, but those were overachieving teams, they really didn't have great teams even then. And what about the firing of Mangini? I was not a Mangini fan, but why was he let go so quickly, especially after a winning record in his last season? Not saying he was a great HC, but that seems like a quick hook, and who else would've done that but Johnson? Te Johnsons are the worst kind of owners - interfere when they shouldn't, don't interfere when maybe they should, and it's because they don't know football, but think they do.
Occam's Razor: When there are several possible answers to a problem, it's usually the simplest that's right. When you have a team not succeed consistently over a long period, regardless of GM or HC, look at the things that ARE consistent: the ownership.
Exactly. And I believe the status quo is fine with them. They don't have the competitive spirit that most here are looking for. And as much fun as we can have with the Bezos thread, there is nothing compelling to make the Johnsons sell. The numbers I put up about a week ago showed how appreciation alone of the team in the last twenty years broadly outperformed all the major market indicators and they've also had a pretax operating income that has increased to over 100 million dollars for the past couple of years. They are content where they are. Simple.
