http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jets/story/399856p-338810c.html But Jets want Schaub, not Leinart By RICH CIMINI DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER If Matt Leinart gets his wish, he will playing in media capital of world next season. Matt Leinart has told people in his inner circle that he's dying to play for the Jets. A door opened yesterday that could make it possible, but the Jets have their eye on another, less heralded Matt ? Matt Schaub, the Falcons' backup quarterback. On a hit-and-miss day in free agency ? the Jets agreed to terms with defensive end Kimo von Oelhoffen, but lost out on quarterback Jon Kitna to the Lions ? their most intriguing offseason opportunity was hatched 1,300 miles away in New Orleans. The Saints, once thought to be targeting Leinart with the second pick in next month's draft, signed free-agent Drew Brees. No longer desperate for a quarterback, the Saints are reportedly shopping the pick. The Jets, picking fourth, are in position to make a blockbuster play for Leinart, the former Heisman Trophy winner from USC. But they apparently have other ideas. With Kitna off the market, and with a possible trade for the Redskins' Patrick Ramsey stuck in the mud, the Jets are "looking down other avenues" for a quarterback, a person familiar with the team's thinking said last night. That avenue is named Schaub. The Jets and Falcons are engaged in trade talks, and the Jets are offering disgruntled defensive end John Abraham, the person said. The Falcons want Abraham and appear willing to meet his huge contract demands, but they're not willing to include Schaub in the package, ESPN reported. That could be a deal-breaker. The Falcons have two attractive commodities ? Schaub and their first-round pick (No.15) ? and it's hard to imagine the Jets settling for a deal that doesn't include one of those. The Jets probably would take Schaub and a second-round pick for Abraham, who arrived in Seattle yesterday for another stop on his recruiting tour. Abraham, a free agent with the franchise tag, is on the trading block. The Jets have been trying to deal him for several weeks. Abraham has told friends he'd love to play in Atlanta, close to his home in South Carolina. Schaub, 24, isn't a household name, but the former third-round pick from Virginia is highly regarded. In college, he played for former Jets coach Al Groh, who worked with Jets coach Eric Mangini. Groh gave a glowing recommendation of Schaub. If the Jets get Schaub, they wouldn't take a quarterback with their No. 1 pick. They'd go with Schaub, Chad Pennington and Brooks Bollinger. But if they decide to use the draft to find their QB of the future, they could trade up and have their pick of Leinart, Jay Cutler or Vince Young. Evidently, the Jets aren't too high on Leinart; otherwise they wouldn't be chasing Schaub. They could stay at four and hope that Cutler still is on the board. Leinart likely will be gone, and Young isn't believed to be a strong consideration for them. By landing von Oelhoffen, the Jets bolstered their run defense, signaling a switch to the 3-4 alignment. He played right end in the Steelers' 3-4, anchoring the position for the last seven years. The Jets gave him a three-year, $9.2 million contract, including a $3.2 million signing bonus ? a large investment for a 35-year-old lineman. Presumably, they will use von Oelhoffen and Shaun Ellis at end, raising questions about the futures of tackle Dewayne Robertson and end Bryan Thomas. Notebook MAWAE SIGNS: Former Jets C Kevin Mawae, who said upon his release that he wanted to play for a Super Bowl contender, signed with the Titans, who were 4-12 last season. A $4 million signing bonus, part of a four-year, $13 million contract, apparently changed his mind. He was due to make $2.8 million with the Jets. ... DE John Abraham, searching for a team willing to trade for him, was scheduled to arrive in Seattle yesterday for another stop on his recruiting tour. ... Former Cowboys TE Dan Campbell, who visited over the weekend, signed with the Lions. The Jets responded by bringing in Jerame Tuman (Steelers) for a visit, although he is expected to re-sign with Pittsburgh. They also visited with Titans LB Brad Kassel and Packers WR/PR Antonio Chatman. Stay or go for it? They Jets have a chance to move into position to draft Matt Leinart. The question is, should they? WHY THEY SHOULD * The Jets need a quarterback to build around. Chad Pennington used to be that guy, but his surgically-repaired shoulder is iffy. * The Patriots have Tom Brady, the Dolphins just got Daunte Culpepper. The Jets need a franchise-caliber passer to keep up with their rivals. * The Jets need a drawing card, especially with all those luxury suites to fill in a new stadium, assuming they get one. WHY THEY SHOULDN'T * Leinart's arm strength is a question mark, which could be magnified in the nasty winds of December. After Pennington, do they want another touch-and-timing passer? * The Jets have too many other needs to surrender picks and/or players to trade up. According to the draft-pick value chart, they'd have to trade the equivalent of the 21st overall pick to move up only two spots. (Could they acquire the 22nd pick from the Broncos in a trade for John Abraham?) * Leinart might be too Hollywood for a meat-and-potatoes coach like Eric Mangini, who wants a quarterback who can fit in with the rest of the team. (See Brady.) Originally published on March 15, 2006
Uggggh...this type of article is just the kind that gives you a bad case of blue balls. If the Jets are not interested in Matt Leinart I think that is a huge mistake. I really hope we trade down
It is heavily scrutinized because it is the only aspect of his game that isn't at a superstar level. http://www.trojanfb.com/usc_gladiator_wmv.php After watching him flick the ball aroound in this video I am convinced arm strength will not be a problem for this guy.
I have seen him play at least 6 times in varied field conditions. His passes do flutter and sail in the wind; no doubt about this at all. I would rate his arm as a slightly stronger arm than a completely never injured and healthy Chad Pennington. I think that is very fair. He is definitely more mobile than Chad at his best. While Lienart is intelligent, there is some slight doiubt about whether he could handle the pressure of NY and dealing with the days where he is absolutely getting beat up. Remember, he was surrounded by incredible talent at USC. Infact, it could easily be argued that if you took last years USC team and put them in the pros, they would win some games. I won't say they could go to the playoffs, but USC as a team was better than some pro teams last year.
I don't understand why everyone thinks the signing of Kimo brings Dewayne's future into doubt. I said elsewhere that DRob reminds me of Casey Hampton: human fire hydrant - that's perfect for playing the nose.
Huh??? This thread has nothing to do with Dewayne or kimo... edit: oh you were referring to the article...my bad
Trade down and get more picks. We must address our OL & DL needs to build a viable contender. We can get our QB next year in the draft!
I am sure he has green dreams, more like this type of green: $$$. Which college QB would want anything to do with the Jets right now, just looking at their offensive line, or lackthereof, scares me. Plus the media and of course the fans :breakdance:
If you watch this video very carefully, you will notice that there is absolutely zero wind, as is typical in southern Cal. In looking at all of the passes, there were a fair percentage that did not have a tight spiral on them. Some of the catches were flat out great by the receivers and could have gone either way. Leinart was surrounded by outstanding college talent in virtually all positions on the field. If you could get a hold of the USC/ UCLA game that would be worth viewing. There was a significant breeze that day; not even close to some of the days he would experience in NY in Novemeber and December and Leinart clearly struggled big time. His passes were off target and sailing all over the place. Conversely, Drew Olsen actually threw the ball much better than Leinart. If it weren't for the fact the Reggie Bush ran for 247 yards in the first half of that game USC would have been in trouble.
I have heard he was off in the UCLA game because of his emotions...not just the wind... his arm isnt that weak!!! His arm is stronger than chad's when he was healthy and chad never sr=truggled due to wind...
Well there is my point...why do we have to address some parts of the team first? We can add some players to all positions. Not just the olines and dlines, which by the way is a two year project in itself...
Yes, I think his arm is somewhat better than Chad's. I watched the USC/UCLA game and I do not recall anyone talking about Leinart's emotions. Like I said, it was breezy and he struggled.
There have been many discussions about his arm strength, we might be looking at a slightly upgraded Chad.
http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/sports/college/usc/reportcards/article_873829.php Read what he said about the QB's...
