Regarding this past draft: The one thing that must be realized is that , knowing what JD inherited, a team badly put together by Idzig and Maccagnan, they have literally no depth in any position. Too much pressure has been put on his picks to perform at a high level. It's unfortunate that the key picks like Mims and Davis have been out. This past draft needs to be given more time. Becton and Mann both look like the real deal.
Ultimately the big part of evaluation of a 27 year old veteran as opposed to a draft prospect who only played in College is by what they do on the field in NFL. And on the field Robby was pedestrian #2 receiver. Much like Perriman last year, who showed some promise too. It's tough for GM to say that our franchise QB hopeful, top 3 pick, along with coach's play calling is so bad, they make a top 3 NFL receiver look pedestrian. So, I wouldn't lose confidence in JD over this, though this in hindsight was a mistake, but I did lose some confidence in Sam as a result, and I already lost all confidence in Gase long time ago. Baring miraculous turnaround, I see both of them gone next year.
Thats the issue i have as well. This guy is making John Idzik look smart. He now has had 1 1/2 Free Agency and 1 Draft and this is the type of product they put out there? Its inexcusable and if Joe Douglas was fired with Gase and Williams this offseason, i wouldnt care. Thats how bad he has been as far as putting talent on this team. No one is expecting this team to have top level talent but the fact that under his watch, this team is the worst team in the NFL and its not just all the coaching.
Everyone knew Becton was going to be good, he fell because guys of his size are an injury risk. And here we are with him injured. As for Mann, that's great but he's a punter.
At least Idzik and Macs teams werent laughingstocks. This is an entirely new low for this team. The likes they havent seen in 25 years. The GM cant just sit back and pass blame. He had this offseason to improve the team and help Sams progress. He has failed on all accounts. I personally wouldnt fire him this soon but if he was fired with everyone this offseason, it would be warranted unless some of his picks show some serious progress later in the year.
The other part in building through the draft is creating a culture and atmosphere with a coaching staff that actually has a system. The Steelers draft receivers later in the draft and often take vertical threats. They spend tons of premium picks on linebackers (inside/outside) and take zone coverage corners. Their system is built to create a pipeline of good edge rushers and a vertical passing game. The Vikings always take a lot of corners which up until this year had worked very well. They get zone blocking offensive lineman. Coaching staffs can only coach to what their system is. Obviously the system should be flexible for injuries and what not. But we're constantly round peg square holing the roster because we switch systems every couple years as well. For some reason too - Rex Ryan's ideal 'system' was to build the 1985 Bears with 300 pound monster 5-techiques up front in a league that was moving towards passing and edge speed. Gase doesn't really seem to have a system that makes much sense. But granted - half the roster is hurt all the time. And the organization really bent Gase and then eventually Douglas over by letting Maccagnan finish the draft and off-season with a coach he didn't pick. We need a culture changer pretty badly. Douglas also needs to pick the coach. For all of the missteps he may have taken, the only way to mimic the great NFL franchises is to have continuity throughout the organization and a system that works.
RA is just the headline for a bigger issue which is the complete mishandling of the WR position,when it was the biggest weakness on the team & has been since one blip on the map in 2015. Even if they brought RA back they still needed significantly more.They got cute & cheap,put a another band aid on the unit & put all their eggs into a 2nd round pick who A.Hasnt been healthy for a single game B. Was never gonna be more than a 3-4 route guy & a RZ threat yr 1 anyway as he learns to properly run routes. They couldnt have handled the WR position worse. JD is not getting a pass for it when his precious OL rebuild has been a joke
I'm kind of tired of the celebration over good first round picks. Becton, Ruggs, Lamb, Jeudy and even Wirfs all would've been good picks. Wirfs is better than his showing last week too. And while he looks great we also need to wait before we annoint him. But honestly franchises should be hitting on first round picks.
I understand your doubt and skepticism and anger. I too share much of it, and it may be that you're right to be so hard on Douglas, but at this point that's where we disagree. I won't repeat all of NC's post, but he laid out a good case as to why Douglas shouldn't be judged so harshly after only having 1 FA and 1 draft under his belt, especially when we can all see that he has a plan - which of course we're not privy to - and he seems to be sticking to it. That alone is much better than any of our recent GMs. Also, you can't look at last year's record, especially how they ended, and say that that roster was better. This year's schedule is exponentially harder. Last year they never even had to travel out of their time zone, and most of the teams they played were bottom of the barrel. This year they have the 2nd or 3rd hardest schedule, so even if all the moves Douglas made panned out, they would've still been hard pressed to equal last year's record. The ONE thing that is a constant is shitty coaching. Unfortunately Douglas can't do anything about that, it's the Clueless Brothers's choice.
That's the whole point, WRs have been good. Robby is a beast, he proved it this year. Had more yards before Sam when he was youngster and top 3 after. Crowder is good too. I feel the problem with WRs is coaching and also having subpar QBs every year. But given what Robby has done for Teddy B, you cannot deny the talent we had at the position last year. It was just wasted, that's all. Now we need to see what Mims brings and hopefully Perriman, and upgrade further, while getting a good QB to pass them the ball and getting rid of the coach. As far as OL, DJ got Becton and Font, that's a huge upgrade over last year. Even McGovern may be OK, if we move him from center, not all lost there yet. Every year I expect more upgrades, but so far these two guys are core pieces and allow CAP flexibility once majority of the core is in place. JD also got a lot of picks for next year. There will be more pieces then. It cannot all be done in one year, but line has been clearly upgraded in talent from year before in at least 2 positions.
WRs have been good?! GOOD?! Thats it for me guys.Ill check back sometime around week 17. I cant listen to excuses for a terrible offseason & talk of this Excuse for the WR group being anything beyond D- level on a good day. A 7-9 team is worse than a potentially 0-16 team? You guys listen to yourself? Gase eats babies & Douglas heals the blind & sick.Is that what you guys really think? Dont answer.The poor standard for winning extends beyond ownership to the fan base who will always back the honeymooner no matter how idiotic or clueless they appear in their infancy. I understand why..bc its the only notion to cling on to for hope.But F false hope & wishful thinking.Last offseason from a GM perspective was simply awful
Last year, yes. We had Robby and Crowder, who are good receivers. Robby, turns out, one of the best in NFL. Don't be outraged, look at what Robby did for a decent QB this year? Heck, the guy was almost a 1000 yard receiver with the shit we had before Sam, but then his progress was retarded. You need a good QB to pass to these WRs, that always was and still is the biggest problem with this franchise.
That's not saying much. Those coaches are history and so will Gase be. I'm not defending JD. All I'm saying is that you can't put too much into what he has done to this point. You can't predicate performance on players that are not on the field. Gase has been a disaster as coach,. If JD picked him then it's a good argument. All you have to do is see what he is doing during the plays - he's got his f$kin head buried in the cards instead of seeing what is taking place on the field. If there's any good news out of all this I hear that Gase may decide not to call offensive plays any longer. It's about fu#kin time.
Yes I get that...but we’ve been on this merry go round for close on 20 years now... I agree that you need a core, and to me that core starts with OL and QB, even more than defense, because today’s league is all about offense...I’m not advocating signing Clowney, and I honestly don’t have a huge issue with trading Jamal...I like the player but hated that pick because it should have been Watson or Mahomes, but we should have kept Robby in my opinion... I think JD is the best GN here we’ve made since Parcells honestly based on resume and pedigree, but he’s made some good and bad moves so far...hopefully he’ll look better once his rookies start playing, and then into next draft...
Well said......It's the same old story. You name the coach and GM and the fanbase refuses to acknowledge early signs of ineptitude. It's super easy to sit back and say "let's wait and see" until one day you are proven right so you can pound your chest and say "I told you he was great." I'm done with this wait and see and be patient garbage. AND TO BE CLEAR - I am not saying fire Douglas. But this excuse making for him is driving me bananas. The problem is the losing has been so commonplace that this fan base is ok with waiting and giving people passes and making excuses until Year 3 and the pitchforks come out. I have friends that root for the Steelers and great franchises that lose it with an 8-8 year. Us? We cheer on the accumulation of cap space and draft picks like it's a division championship.
Exactly right. If the Johnsons fire Gase now, they would have to pay his replacement AND two ex-coaches until the end of this year (Toilet Bowl and Gase). I don't care how much money they have, they are too proud/vain to fire Gase until Todd Toilet and MacIdiot are off the payroll (end of this year).
It isn't when the player doesn't want to be here. As some posters have speculated, Adams could have realized the team was in for a rebuild and didn't want to go through that. He may not have liked Williams since Williams had the audacity to bench him and didn't treat him like he was someone special. He may have realized what an incompetent dumbass Gase is and so didn't want to stay. I can't blame him for the latter, the previous two things I can fault him for. Regardless, when the player doesn't want to stay you don't keep him and allow him to become a cancer in the locker room. It takes two to come to an agreement and Adams obviously didn't want to come to an agreement. If he had, he wouldn't have run his mouth the way he did trashing everyone.
NC I agree with you that once Jamal started acting like an ass, JD had no choice but to move him and get the haul he got. But how did it get to that point? I think the negotiations were botched and communication was absolutely terrible. Whether Adams heard wrong etc about a possible extension, JD stopped communicating with his side and that lead to Jamal and his camp wiping their ass all over the situation and making it unsalvageable. And we can say whatever we want about his contract and need to honer it etc., but the Browns and Carolina and KC (of course) and Houston ALL did their stars deals early from the same draft class. Say what you want, but Jamal is the best safety in football, a difference makers, a culture changer and a player to build around despite being a safety. And he was OURS. YES now its easy to say he was a whiney bitch and good riddance etc. but if that negotiation was managed better I bet he is still here and a piece that could be part of the solution.
I can fully agree with this sentiment. I've expressed it often myself in the past. But as far as working up to say "Fire Douglas!" (and yes, I know that's specifically NOT what you said, but others have), I'm not ready to go there. I can see the POV that sees some of his moves - or non-moves - as very concerning, especially when seen as part of a small sample size. But I'm inclined to look at these moves as part of a bigger picture that I believe Douglas has. That said, I could be completely wrong and he's simply another in bad choices made by the Clueless Brothers. If that's the case, I think we'll see that clarified after this upcoming FA and Draft season. In the meantime there is NO DOUBT that Gase is a more pressing and bigger problem every day that he remains as HC. That's where fan anger needs to be directed. But overall, I completely agree that Jets fans have been far too patient and accepting of a mediocre team. So many here still think that Rex's teams were "great", when in fact they were merely above average and rode a lucky streak that covered up their shortcomings and bought the Johnsons another decade of owning a shit team that pays them handsomely. And I may be counseling some patience with Douglas - for now - if he proves himself to be as bad as you and Kurt and some others have decided he is, then I won't stick around to see if the Clueless Brothers correct their mistake with his successor.
