I don't mean to piss in anybody's Cheerios here: Winters has been MUCH BETTER THAN EXPECTED, but that isn't the same as GOOD. If his starting job is safe, it is only because this team has so many other holes. Of course, if he improves as much by next year as he has since last year, he'll have become an above-average guard. I am happy to cross my fingers on that if it helps.....
for what? he's over 30, this team needs to stop signing/trading players that are old. I'm sick of it, joe thomas needs to be on a good team looking to make a run, not a garbage dumpster like this team is.
Yeah as that is why you draft players. In order to get better and they could last longer as long as they do not get injured.
LT-Draft LG-Carpenter C-Mangold RG-Winters RT-Qvale Qvale can play either right or left side. Get one stud tackle to solidify each side.
That makes zero sense. This team is going nowhere next season. They need to clear out all the older, slower, more expensive and more brittle players. No effing way I'd give a 2nd round pick for him anyway. The only thing that makes sense is for the Jets to draft their LT. Enough with the old vets.
The most important issue this team needs to address is QB. Over history, the great QB's were great because they had great talent not because they had great blockers. Thinking of Tom Brady and his great O-line he had when he started, well that O-line is completely different now but Brady is still great. Brady is who makes the Pats offense go, not the O-line. Same can be said of Peyton and Favre. Everyone said how great the Dallas O-line was last year, but they were 4-12. You gotta nail down that QB position first, then you can work on the support people. Upgrading the O-line without addressing the QB situation is just a recipe for more mediocrity.
He might be able to play either side, but not well enough. He is a "hold the fort" type. We need a better pair of OTs than one that would include Qvale starting. The last thing we need is to have Petty prove himself to be a quality starter and then have him seriously injured because Qvale was substandard. Winters needs to be upgraded as well, and Mangold may not be back, either. The entire OL needs to be redone with the exception of Carpenter.
If Mangold is healthy I would be happy if the Jets upgraded the Left and Right tackle positions. I'm less worried about the interior of our line thanks to Winters solid improvement.
I hear ya Westie, but by the same token, it doesn't matter how good/great your QB is if he can't stay upright, healthy and on the field. The LAST thing the Jets need is to discover they have their QB of the future in Petty or Hack only to see him go down with a season-ending (or worse, career-ending) injury because of a crappy OL. The receiving corps should be above average, if not very good. The RB corps is already pretty good. If Khiry Robinson can come back from his injury and be the power back we need, then the backfield could be pretty good, although it would be better to add a stud RB. For the offense to work, the OL HAS to be upgraded. Aside from Mangold (and he may not be back next season, or even if he is, his play might fall off a cliff as Brick's and Revis' did) Carpenter is the only quality starter the Jets have on the OL. Winters is a good, maybe very good backup and spot starter, but can be upgraded, and he will be a FA and may not even be back. We know how awful Giacomini is, and Ijalana and Qvale are average or below average "hold the fort" types. I'd like to see the Jets add a 2nd tier CB in FA, add Ryan Schraeder at RT, and maybe an OG that would upgrade Winters position, and then spend their entire draft on the offensive side of the ball unless a stud pass-rushing OLB falls to them.
Thomas is 31. He's probably got 5 or 6 years left of playing at a high level. Any team, rebuilding or just starting out, could use a reliable, pro bowl caliber LT like Joe Thomas. That's why the Jets wouldn't be able to get him for a 2nd round pick and the Browns who are rebuilding more than anyone probably wont even trade him. Its absurd to me though, to suggest you would want him. You want young skill players to develop? they need an offensive line to foster that growth and you aren't going to draft young studs in one offseason
They shoulda moved hell and high water during the draft to move up when Tunsil was falling. A real missed opportunity there. Especially now that he is in Miami. The good news is that Cam Robinson of Bama will get the same treatment Tunsil did. there will be concerns about his character and he will fall. The Jets should ignore the noise and take the kid. We dont need to grab headlines by taking Fournette or something, we need an offensive tackle.
totally agree--the only reference to "second round pick" with the jets should be in an ACQUISITION, not in forking out one of theirs. If anything, the jets should be looking at moving B. Marshall, Richardson, Revis, Fitzpatrick, and Harris (the first two by trade, the last three by release). And please do not keep revis and move to safety--safeties need to tackle and Revis already thinks he is too important to have to tackle someone.
Why is it absurd to not want Thomas? He's older, more expensive, more injury prone at his age, and his skill/ability could evaporate over night. The Jets need to build their team through the draft and cheaper, 2nd tier FAs and forget going after big-name players. How old are Brick, Mangold and Revis? How quickly did their ability start to decline? Granted, Revis is a different case than either Brick or Mangold or OL in general, but still the point remains that after 30 players become more brittle, more injury-prone and their playing skill scan seemingly evaporate over night. IMO the Jets have gone enough with older vets who are expensive and who wear out sooner rather than later. They aren't going anywhere next season. Having an experienced, proven LT like Thomas, while important, is probably more of a luxury than the Jets can afford right now with their cap issues and all the other holes they have. I'd really like to see them commit to a full rebuild and youth movement. Draft and develop a pair of bookend tackles, let the team develop and learn together. Trying to retool on the fly just isn't working. What good would it do to give up a high pick to add him, have the rest of the roster younger, and by the time the team develops and is ready to compete, Thomas's skills have evaporated or he's ready to retire, and then the Jets would be having to scramble for a LT? If the Jets did acquire him, I'd want it to only be for a year or two at most, and the Jets draft a young LT and let Thomas mentor him. I wouldn't be willing to pay for that year or two-year rental with a 2nd round pick.
He's graded out better than that. He's not bad at RG. We could definitely upgrade. But we have a lot of areas on the O-Line we need to address. We have to prioritize. It's hard to replace 3 offensive lineman in one off season.
We haven't missed Brick and we haven't missed Mangold in the games that he has been out. We have given up only 17 sacks which is 20th on the list and it's not like we have a fleet-footed qb keeping that number down. I am all for using high picks on LTs but only after we have a franchise QB. To waste those picks now seems absurd..we did that the year we drafted both Brick and Mangold in the first round and how many duperbowls did that win us?
Thomas is not injury prone, he hasn't missed a game in his entire career. He is also not expensive - under contract through 2018 at $8 million a year, a damn bargain for a LT of his caliber in today's NFL. Which is why Cleveland will gladly hang onto him. Anyone would want that on their team. --- Also there is nothing stopping the Jets from still "building the team through the draft" with a guy like Thomas. He actually helps that philosophy - younger skill players won't get killed and there is no rule that they can't draft young lineman. He would help the young linemen learn how to be professional. It's all for naught though- the Jets aren't getting him and nobody is getting him for a 2nd rounder
