Team Speed

i can agree with this list in exception of:

Kerley and Holmes. Kerley is not above average speed wise. Holmes never was either he's just quick and makes sharp cuts not the same thing. And reality is, coming off of that severe injury his biggest asset will be hindered. He's never going to be the same.

Kellen Winslow?? Not anymore man. He's not a seam stretcher anymore he's simply a possesion receiver at this point if his knees can hold up.

 

We are definitely a faster team, something we lacked the past couple of seasons was speed.

 

Speed is a function of age in most cases. One of the downsides of having a free agent heavy strategy is that you begin to lose steps across the board much more quickly than you do with a draft based strategy.

Sign a half dozen prime time free agents in a short span of time and you almost guarantee a slowing of the team as those guys begin to go post-prime.

 

For me the clearest example of where the Jets fell into the trap was at LB.

In 2007 they had David Harris as a rookie and Bryan Thomas as a now established OLB. Both of them had some speed but were not burners in any sense of the word.

In 2008 they added free agent Calvin Pace to the mix. Pace was another prime player and fit well, albeit not at the salary he commanded as a UFA.

In 2009 they added Bart Scott another prime-time free agent.

So as of 2009 they had David Harris, young but not fast, Bryan Thomas, late prime and not fast, Calvin Pace, prime and not fast and Bart Scott, late prime and not fast.

By 2012 they had snails because that's what the guys in 2009 turn into 3 years later.

 

Bart Scott instantly came to my mind too when I first read the thread.

 

Exactly. The Jets have been slow on defense for years. That caught up to them in 2011 and 2012. It's not just about who was added either, losing Thomas and replacing him with Barnes or even Sapp is a speed upgrade. Replacing Scott with Davis is night and day in terms of athleticism.

Who gives a crap what Kerley's 40-time was anyway. 4.52 is more than fine, and he's quick enough to make up for it. Hill is fast. Holmes is fast when he's healthy. Gates is very fast. Cumberland has above average speed for a tight end, though losing Keller isn't an upgrade speed-wise. Safety also may be a little slower, but it's not like we're putting Eric Smith back there..

Goodson and Ivory are both more athletic than Greene and Powell. Most of the OL we brought in are better athletes than Slauson, and Moore was on the downside of his career at this stage.

The Jets don't have blazing speed at too many positions, but they're at least adequate at every position now, and have plus speed at several places. Make no mistake, that helps.

 

Hopefully this team can put together a good run and we will see. They are young and inexperience so you TRULY can't make a argument for either good nor bad. The speed is alot better; hopefully it will show in 2 important phases of the game Running the ball because I couldn't STAND how pedestrian our run attacked looked ... and Run Defense nothing need to be said about this 2011 AFCG until now it has been embrassing to watch at time watching bart scott and co. chase down runners but look like they were jogging.

 

Speed was definitely a factor on both sides of the ball in the Rex Ryan era. It was a theme Rex talked about all of last preseason..."we need to get faster...."

They addressed it rather aggressively this offseason, which should make quite a positive impact. The jets have some nice pieces to build on.

 

Imagine if this team had a fast sideline-to-sideline Patrick Willis esque (yes there's only 1) linebacker........ hmy:

 

oh god, he used to look so awkward pulling and blocking. sometimes hed just hurl his body into the guy and like hit him with his rib cage haha