http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/jets/ March 7, 2008 Rating 'The Big Four' Now that the first wave of free agency is in the books, let?s pause to analyze the Jets? performance. Here?s a breakdown of The Big Four acquisitions, with a risk/reward rating based on past performance, projected role, amount of the contract, etc. (We?ll use a 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest.) LG Alan Faneca (Five years, $40 million, $21 guaranteed) Ordinarily, a 31-year-old guard shouldn?t get a contract this big, but it?s a unique situation. In addition to being a very good run blocker and a solid pass protector, Faneca is long on intangibles, which should stabilize an offensive line that was in turmoil after the Pete Kendall mess. He will help LT D?Brickashaw Ferguson immeasurably. One line coach told me, ?It?s a bad move (for the Jets). He spent a lot of time on the ground last season.? Maybe Faneca slipped a bit - hey, it happens - but he?s still a tremendous upgrade. As Bill Parcells likes to say, he has the pelts - seven Pro Bowls and a Super Bowl ring. He always plays (only two missed games in 10 years) and he can play in space, which should bring a pulling and trapping dimension back to the running game. The way his contract is structured, Faneca has to play at least three seasons. Because his signing bonus was only $4.2 million, they could cut him after the third year with minimal cap impact. Reward: 9 Risk: 1 Overall: 8 NT Kris Jenkins (Five years, $30.3 million, $9.5 guaranteed) In many ways, Jenkins is the most intriguing of the four big-money additions. In 2002 and 2003, he was one of the most dominant interior linemen in the league. Then injuries hit and conditioning became a major issue. At the end of last season with the Panthers, his weight ballooned to the mid-390s, I?m told. Jenkins has dropped a few pounds, but I suspect the Jets want him around 360. There?s plenty of incentive - $750,000 a year in workout and weight clauses. Eat your heart out, Jenny Craig. He has a lazy streak in him, people have told me, but they also believe he could be revitalized by a change of scenery. The Jets showed him some love, tearing up the final two years of his pre-existing deal. A bribe to play the no-glory position of nose tackle? Perhaps. The other big question with Jenkins: Can he make the switch to nose tackle in a 3-4? One of his former coaches believes Jenkins, despite his baggage, can be effective on the nose. He?s a space eater and will draw double teams, providing a new dimension to the defense. The Jets didn?t advertise this, but they plan to use Jenkins in a rotation with Sione Pouha. In theory, this should keep Jenkins fresh. I suspect Jenkins, with something to prove, will play well in 2008. Beyond that, it?s iffy. He?s going on 29, and you don?t see many 360-pound guys over 30 in the league, performing at a high level. His signing bonus was only $4.5 million, so there won?t be any major cap issues if they want to bail out after a couple of years. Reward: 8 Risk: 3 Overall: 5 RT Damien Woody (Five years, $25.5 million, $11 million guaranteed) The Jets have been fascinated by Woody since last October, when they almost picked him up before the trading deadline. Frankly, I don?t know why. Eric Mangini knows him from their days together in New England, but that was 2003, a lifetime in the NFL. He missed 11 games in ?06 with a foot injury and he was benched last season at right guard, re-surfacing late in the year at right tackle - a desperation move by the Lions that actually went reasonably well. Woody, who hadn?t played tackle since high school, drew positive reviews, especially for his performance against Packers sack artist Aaron Kampman. At 6-3, 335 (his listed weight), Woody isn?t your prototypical right tackle, but new line coach Bill Callahan likes ?em big. Remember his old lines with the Raiders? This is a buyer-beware move because of the position change. No one, except for the Jets, rated Woody as a top-tier free agent. At 30, he?s at the point in his career where tackles usually slide into guard, not the other way around. He will add some punch to the running game, but pass protection could be an adventure. Like Jenkins, he?s a guy with weight issues; the Jets have included $400,000 in annual workout and weight clauses into his contract. If he bombs at right tackle, he could move to right guard, putting Brandon Moore out of a job - assuming the Jets come up with another viable right tackle. Woody?s signing bonus was only $2.55 million, but nearly all of his base pay for 2008 and 2009 is guaranteed. Which means he?d better not stink. Reward: 6 Risk: 4 Overall: 2 OLB Calvin Pace (six years, $42 million, $12.5 million guaranteed) This contract was different than the other three because the Jets doled out some serious up-front money - an $11 million signing bonus and a $9 million roster bonus in ?09, which, for practical purposes, increases the total guarantee to $21.5 million. It?s mind-boggling. Pace was a first-round disappointment for four years (he was overdrafted by the Cards), finally flourishing as an outside linebacker last season when the Cards switched to a 3-4. Pace recorded 6? sacks last season (2? came against the pitiful Lions, who couldn?t protect the QB), and suddenly media types are referring to him as a ?big-time pass rusher.? Huh? This sounds like the Bryan Thomas story. Thomas parlayed a breakout season in 2006 into a big contract and, for an encore, he regressed. The Jets should?ve learned a lesson from that, but the player they really wanted in free agency - Ravens OLB Terrell Suggs - got the franchise tag and they had to formulate a Plan B. On the upside, Pace is only 27 and, except for a freakish arm laceration in 2005, he hasn?t missed any time due to injuries. Some believe his development was impeded by coaching instability in Arizona. He can replace Victor Hobson in the base package, becoming a down rusher in nickel and dime situations. Because of his versatility, Pace can move around (shades of Adalius Thomas in New England), making it difficult for the opponent to key on him. The Jets think he can be their best edge rusher since John Abraham. Unlike Abraham, Pace is solid and improving against the run. Clearly, the Jets are investing in his potential. At worst, he?s a six or seven-sack player, but for this kind of money, he needs to be a double-digit sacker. In a pure football sense, he?s less of a risk than Jenkins and Woody, but his enormous contract has to be factored into the final grade. Reward: 9 Risk: 3 Overall: 6
You're right. But Cimini can still be summed up with the following equation: Don Banks + Todd McShay divided by the number of sweat beads coming from the testicles of a goat.
But, Cimini, what about the intangibles? What if, like he says, Pace just LOVES the 3-4? When Pace gets his hand off the ground he discovers ANOTHER COUNTRY of aggressive?! Sutton whispers in Pace's ear -- and now he's in short pass protection, and now he's in the backfield dragging down the RB, and now he's stunting over the middle and knocking down the center and the FB, and now he's over the top of the TE and onto the QB once more. What about the "intangibles," Cimini!!!?
What he skipped about Woody is he can play all 3 positions on the line and is at the very least depth we don't have.
Ya know, I'm not an avid reader of Cimini's, so maybe some of you more well informed Jets fans can fill me in, but he seems to have a slight bias against the New York Jets. He exclusively covers the Jets, right? Is he the in-house reporter? I feel like he tries to slant his articles to what he perceives to be a neutral viewpoint, but he overslants regularly. I say, if you're covering the Jets, kiss some Green ass and let us watch ESPN for our anti-Jet journalism.
So basically you want him to claim everything is going great and never dare criticize the Jets? Having a beat reporter who is a bias ass-kisser/glorified PR man for the team is just as bad as someone who is bias against the team. If you want coverage that will ignore the negatives, I'd suggest sticking to the articles on the Jets web site. Maybe my view on this is a little slanted since I am a sports writer, but I think Cimini is the best of the team beat writers. I'll admit that he is a little too cynical about the Jets, but in terms of information and updates (especially in terms of his blog), Cimini is clearly the best of the group. Canizarro couldn't carry his laptop.
Good read. Cimini is right on just about everything, we overpayed for Pace but he was the best available Pass rushing LB/DE on the market so I don't disagree with the signing I think a duo of Gholston-Pace would be sick.
Yea I just saw Cimini on Daily News live- He claims we have no need for Gholston since we signed Pace- I dont understand where he comes from- Our need for pass rushers isnt satisfied now that we have Pace
I agree I think Jenkins is going to be the gem of this FA class. This guy may not have played NT before but he is surly in a NT's body, and even when he was making Pro Bowls in a 4-3, he played like a NT. At most positions he is right about 360 # players going down hill at 30, but not NT. See Adams and Washington. For the most part a NT is not required to run players down. They do need a decent first step, but what is required is power, and bulk. Jenkins has that, plus at this point he seems to have a very good 1st step. His written analyst of the other players is very good, I think his final grades are a bit low, but otherwise a fair review.
One more comment I think Woody was signed to play guard not RT. he lost his job at RT last year because he ballooned up to 390 because of his foot injury, when he lost 30 # he came back and played RT well. He will be at 350-360 come camp and move back to guard which is his natural. A RT will be taken on the first day of the draft. This OL will be a super unit IMO
