What better way to Restart than the NFL Draft?

With the disarray among NY Jet fans of whether or not Mike Tannenbaum and Eric Mangini have indeed made this team better, I feel I would move away from football 101 and talk more about the success or failure of our front office.

Contrary to perhaps popular belief, I am not an optimist. I feel the NY Jets as a franchise are about 3-4 years (of good drafting and transactions) from a possible Super Bowl run. With that in mind, I want to see signings, releases, re-signings, reformations, and drafts with what I believe as beneficial.

This may be repetitive, but I honestly feel a franchise should be built on one adage.

The first and most prevalent is ?Build through the Draft.? I am ardent and staunch supporter of this statement. Not only are rookies younger, faster, stronger, and less expensive and coach able, they also carry considerably less baggage. In fact, I would have taken Roy Williams or Larry Fitzgerald over Randy Moss if it were 2004. The draft provides different players with a wide and versatile set of skills. It is where teams can find their cornerstone for the next ten years or the final piece of the puzzle.

One of my favorite aspects of the new personality of the front office is what it looks for in players. Character! I want an OT who takes it as a personal insult if he does not pancake and squash his target to the floor. I want a RB who will show grit and toughness for every play. I want a DE who wants to make the QB as scared as a two year old is scared of the dark. There was a dearth of passion in the 2005 squad and I will be pissed if that happens again. It may not affect everyone the same way, but as a football player fire means something to me.

The draft also gives the rare but magnificent possibility of drafting five to six starters at one go. Personally I want an OT (D?Brickashaw) as the player at the 4th pick. He has the passion and fire I look for.

"I'm a beast. I see myself as a bodyguard. I'm personally responsible for the health and welfare of my quarterback, and I'll do anything in my means to protect him."

Many people will dismiss this pick as too insipid but I follow the exemplary Pittsburgh model. (**Note: The Patriots are too hard a model to follow as we are not getting a HOF QB in the 6th round). Build the team around the Quarterback and then plug in your leader. Also, the NY Jets seem to be set moving into 2006-07 with either Chad Pennington or Patrick Ramsey at the helm. I am wary of the fact that a Quarterback takes 2-3 years to develop, but the potential to get a need as well as the best player available in one shot is too high a price to pay.

Even discarding that, the NY Jets can move into a new chapter with a sound base as well as three top picks in one of the deepest drafts in recent memory. In fact, let us move through the Pittsburgh defense this previous year. A majority of the players on that team were drafted by the Steelers. Players who play for one team have a loyalty to that team and will buy into the team concept.

Teams that build through free agency are transient and rarely ever successful. Rookies provide the priceless benefit of chemistry due to a ?TEAM? concept. May the player we pick be an exemplary model for others to follow.

This is an exciting time for Jet fans and I hope whoever we draft will be the pillar in which our Super Bowl run leans on.

Now to the success if our front office. As you can see above, I think that the front office have done splendidly in being frugal and not overpaying for anyone. Kimo will prove to be a player that younger players will look up to and can be a serviceable player who can play many different positions. For anyone who actually feels he is a player for the long run, I am sorry to say you are sadly mistaken.

John Abraham in a Falcon uniform will be tough to bear but the fact still remains that he did not want in on what the Jets were building and I wish him well for his new endeavors. We in return got what is truly amazing value for him. Considering that Daunte Culpepper, Corey Dillon, and Terrell Owens were all traded for second round picks, the Jets flat out did brilliantly to acquire a first round draft pick which gives excellent value considering the depth in this draft.

Kevin Mawae?s release is still an enigma to me but I trust Tangini?s assessments more than I do mine.

Tim Dwight is an excellent package player as he brings excellent hands as well as speed to the offense. There is not much I can say about Chatman but he has good hands on experience with the playbook.


Thoughts?

 

This is a good point, but the fact is unlike Pouha, D'Brick has given results. The aggresiveness comes in part due the running game where he could be more physical but this kid is a diligent worker and its shown through his weight gain since a freshman. He was originally aroun 266 lbs.