As someone said, I would resign him to a Pace-like contract (budget) if he is willing, otherwise go with younger guys if they are ready (Jeremiah George hopefully), or maybe sign a younger free agent without breaking the bank. I dont think ILBs are a particularly important position for us (compared to other teams), because with the 3-4, and with Rex's usually keeping safeties close to the line, each inside linebacker has much less ground to cover, and with the dominant defensive line, they usually have a clear path to the ball carrier, so we should not be spending a ton of money on it. I think David Harris is a bit underrated by a lot of fans, yeah he isn't fast, but he s always been very productive for us, so for a good price, I would like to see him end his career here, maybe mentoring younger guys that replace him. Gotta disagree with you there. I thought Davis played well overall. The one knock against him is that he wasn't able to cover tight ends as well as his speed would suggest, but other than that, he was making some really nice tackles all over the field. Not bad at all for a 2nd year guy, first year as a starter.
I voted yes assuming its not signing him at all costs. If he wants to stay the jets should keep him but if he is looking for his max earnings I'd rather take the possible comp pick and stay out of a bidding ccontest. We can do worse at ilb but he is upgradeable
up to this season he's been an overpaid but valuable leader to the defense being top signal caller and all. theres a comp pick if he's let go and signs elsewhere I believe, but the question is does his value as signal caller outweigh any downside about his post 30 career? play it by ear I say, just wait till march and don't even think about signing him till free agency is officially begun. if he's available give him a ring and maybe a one year deal, if he goes elsewhere, hey Comp Pick! if all goes according to plan davis will have taken over his role and has shown enough that we can try to extend HIM. no extension for Harris though, wait it out unless you know what he brings is hard to replace which is what happened with Pace.
The role that Bart Scott played is a bit diminished in our defense now for a couple reasons. The biggest reason is the quality of our front 3 defensive linemen, who can get off blocks very well. In the past, our linemen were counted on to take up blocks, leaving Bart Scott to quickly diagnose a hole and fill it in 1 of 3 ways, he either took on a lead blocking FB or pulling guard, simply filled the hole and forced the runner to bounce the play outside, or made the tackle himself. Our defensive linemen now do a very, very nice job of totally disrupting running plays by getting off blocks to either fill the hole and force a bounce outside or make a tackle themselves. As a result, our defense generally needs one less body (which would have been an ILB most of the time) to accomplish this, and Harris and Davis are a bit more free to spend most of their time trying to make the tackle. Situationally, the ILB's will still have roles like that, but more often than not that would be on an off-tackle run (an outside run, usually with a FB or TE lead blocker). Davis would still usually be the one to take on the lead block. Because of his speed, he gets there quickly and can take an angle at the lead blocker that forces the ball carrier to be funneled slightly towards the would be tackler, whether that is Harris or a safety. But generally, our defensive linemen are so good at getting off run blocks that they have changed the basic way Ryan schemes his run defense.
I agree that he makes more than he misses, but that's hardly a ringing endorsement. I would be ok with his being re-signed if it's for a deal similar to Pace's and with the understanding that he was going to no longer be the starter, but a backup and situational player.
I would think that Davis or another player could step in and handle calling the defensive signals. If the new ILB the Jets drafted (forget his name) proves to be a good player, perhaps he can even take on that role. Either way, Davis and the new kid need to be learning all they can from Harris this season in case he isn't back next year. At his age, I'm not sure what kind of comp pick Harris would bring. I would think nothing higher than a 5th and maybe not even that high, but you never know. Some team could sign him as a one-year stopgap. If the rookie doesn't pan out, Idzik should be keeping his eyes focused on next year's FA crop and draft prospects, and be targeting some potential replacements.
Harris isn't a flashy guy or a big time stat guy so his contributions to the team aren't fully appreciated by the fanbase. People have been negative about him for the past 3 years based on his contract alone. He's a very important piece of our defense, and won't be easy to replace. I'm all for signing him, just don't break the bank over it. He's a solid dude. Think about this. He's the #16 linebacker in tackles. That includes all OLBs and ILBs. Considering that each team has 2 ILBs (or 1 MLB) and 2 OLBs, that is pretty damn good. Stop under rating Harris. Top 16 out of 100+ LBs in the league is good.
Thinking Harris will easily win out the starting position in camp, and is highly underrated by your standard. Harris, proves year in and year out that he is not only a leader in the league (on and off the field), but also one of the most physical and intelligent players at his position. We are really lucky to have #52 leading the D.
I had high hopes Davis would have developed more than he has by now. The way these things work that probably gives Harris a bit more leverage than he otherwise would have. In any event the answer to the question depends on the cost, as always. Over time i have been somewhat less enthused with Harris than the average, but he did seem to have a better year in 13 than in 12. H's got something left in the tank, and no obvious replacement on the depth chart.
Don't follow college football but maybe next years draft will be deep with LB's. But then again with this team maybe it won't have to be deep.
I find this questionnaire incomplete - without proper pay scale, it is not possible to gauge the option properly. I strongly believe Jets should re-sign Harris - just, he should come back at vet min, or figure comparable to those. His age, and his declining skills dictate as much - but his presence as a mentor will prove invaluable to Davis and George.
Vet min would be a slap in the face to Harris. Don't get me wrong, he should make a lot less than he is but vet min? C'mon man.
Yeah...sadly I thought of this AFTER I created the poll...and you can't go back and edit a poll. Ce la vie....
the jets should be looking to bring him back on a deal similar to pace. he is a valuable veteran and you need at least a few of those on your team. he konws the defense inside and out and that kind of experience is invaluable. he should be resigned as a hold the fort type of player until the younger guys are ready to start in his place
Better to cut bait a year early than a year late. We've been getting killed over the middle for the last 10 years. Soon to be 11. that's enough. Get younger or get out. Plus with MoWilk, Snacks, and Sheldon, no one's running up the middle on us. I'd prefer a leaner IMLB that can cover the new age TEs and slot WRs than a mack truck built to stuff the run. Thanks for the memories. Now get out.
