I think its shocking that we were in a place where they patched together an offensive line full of passed their prime short-term contract guys with McCagnan and we thought at least we'd be passed that with Douglas and yet here we are. Duane Brown is no different than Kelvin Beachum. We didn't win then and we wont now.
The problem is that with the exception of AVT the entire OL is fairly likely to be subpar in two years. It's like we've done *nothing* effective in rebuilding the most important unit on the offense in the last half decade. Mangold and D'Brick left after 2015 and 2016 and we're still scrambling because we didn't understand then that building your OL around late career players is a bad idea. We don't understand it now. We keep doing the same silly things and winning the same silly prizes. This is one of the major reasons the Jets are a laughing stock.
I was on board with having faith in Becton and doing what the Jets did in the draft instead of taking a top OL with their first pick. At the moment though it looks for 100% that it was a really bad idea to pass on Wirfs to take Becton, and taking Sauce instead of a top OL is also looking a little leaky at the moment. I think if the Jets could go back in time now they'd probably (albeit reluctantly) make a few minor tweaks in strategy.
These comparisons are crazy off base. LT - Brown... a vet who we needed to sign because our third year LT went down LG - Tomlinson... pro bowl player in his prime C - McGovern... 29 years old, grades out to be a perfectly viable starting C despite what the super educated fanbase tells you RG - AVT... second year stud RT - Fant... just turned 30 coming off the best year of his career Pretending this is anything like the Macc days or even the early JD days of Khalil is a stretch at best.
Allright, time for me to vent, fire away. So now Brown is subpar, Tomlinson is subpar, Fant who the same critics think was outstanding last year is sub par, AVT after that, we didn’t win with Mitchum, blah, blah, as if he was responsible for not winning, should I go on. This is utter and massive BS. All accerbated when Becton reinjured his knee and that of course is all on JD as he should have forecasted it and drafted someone in lieu of Becton, someone again with the first pick this year, and someone again next year, ignoring everything else with the premium picks. It was a calculated risk with Becton, a risk that went wrong and JD knows that, but to blatantly say he ignored addressing the OL is 1000% rubbish. Injuries happen, Cleveland lost both centers for the year including a rookie and had fuck all to do with being over weight or a history of injuries and all the other lame excuses we bring forward. People are still fucking using ancient history like Kalih as an example ignoring that the rest of the team was crap, good lord. Can’t wait to move on with this season and enjoy watching the youngsters grown into prominent roles, be competitive, see Zach at the helm at some point, and oh yes, win or loose, fuck reliving the past. Life is two short to second guess every fucking move. Go Jets.
It's just what some people do. As for their motivations, who really knows? It's become trendy to be a "Darksider" these days. It gets more attention, I guess. I'm not one of those guys that thinks everything is rosey. Wilson is still a big question mark. The coach is a question mark. But I do like the direction the team is going. I believe Douglas has a vision for the team and he's sticking to it. People will cite the team record while he's been GM but he took over a real dumpster fire. I'm not sure how you could have fixed it in a few years. Douglas could have signed/traded for a vet QB and got us into the 8 win category but for what? He's trying to build a long term solution and that starts with the QB. He took a swing and we aren't sure if it's fair or foul right now. I still have faith in his vision.
Unless you declare right now he is a bust, you do! That's really the mindset of some people here. I don't think too many of us are saying Zach is a sure star. Most of us want to wait and see how regular season plays out, and want to find out one way or the other by watching it, while hoping he will take a marginal leap this year. But no, that's seems to be unrealistic rose colored glasses view by some people. To merely not be convinced at this time that he is a total bust. Still, I feel this is a minority of people, most have some sort of hope, which is not unreasonable at this stage.
23 excellent perspective. Agree completely. We still have a lot of unknowns, starting with Zach, the talent of the CS, but is hard not to like the direction this team is going and the talent JD has brought in. Time will tell, but I remain positive. I didn’t expect a miracle, albeit I was disappointed in last year, and hope for far more competitiveness this year. But I do like the long term plan JD has set in motion.
I have criticized JD in the past for not protecting Zach last year, when he failed to get RG, and earlier this off-season when I felt Tackle and also LB position was thin. But he managed to get Kwon and then Brown, who are legit starters. Granted he did sign Brown after Becton went down, but in all fairness he had him in for a full physical (not just a chit chat visit like others) before it happened, and that means must have had talks even before that, so that signing was imminent. Probably was made even harder when Mekhi went down as it gave Brown leverage, but JD, given latest signings of Kwon and Brown, I feel did deliver a solid roster that can win. I would have preferred a veteran WR, and with Mekhi out another veteran OT, but I think the roster is decent. It is time now for Zach and Saleh to deliver. They did get a pass as rookies, and I think this was fair. But this time I think expectations should be higher. Zach doesn't need to be a star, just an average middle of the pack serviceable QB, which would constitute a leap for him, like Josh Allen in second year, and if Saleh is a good coach, I feel we can finally start winning some games and play meaningful games late in the year. I believe that's what's going to happen this year. Another 4-5 win year is just not going to cut for me, and I think we will do better.
I was just going to post this. Brown didn't sign early because he still wanted to start. Unfortunately, Becton got hurt but fortunately it happened early and Brown was available with fewer starting options. If Becton had been healthy and got injured vs the Giants, we wouldn't have Brown as he would be in Dallas or another team needing OT. At best, we would be in a bidding war for him. Our OTs have not exactly looked great this preseason. I think our best backup option for this year may not be on the roster right now. At least we will have waiver priority over many other teams or JD works a little trade magic with Mims or one of our line who doesn't make our roster.
If there was any silver lining in Becton injury is that it happened early in the camp, and we were able to get Brown. Otherwise, looking at how back-ups performed, we are in huge trouble. Heck, even now we are not out of the woods yet. Line had one practice together, and we are two weeks away from the regular season. Back-ups stink, and Fant is still somewhat injury prone, and Brown, as durable as he was in the past, is 37 years old.
If this OL turns out to be another POS, I may just return to full Dark Sider mode. Having Becton's replacement sitting there for the taking in the draft and passing on him is hauntingly reminiscent of Macc passing on Mahomes and Watson to take Adams. For the moment I'll wait and see, but don't have a good feeling about this at all.
Be careful, I made a thread about this exact thing and apparently now I’m a Giants fan amongst other names and virtual shoes throws at my head
