Feb. 19, 2008 Home > The Way We Hear It ~ ~ ~ NY Jets Feb. 15, 2008 Rumor of Samuel going to the Jets makes little sense With an estimated $28 million in salary-cap space, the Jets are equipped to make a considerable splash in the free-agency pool. On the heels of a 4-12 season, they need to. With pressing needs on the offensive line, defensive line and linebacker, many of the marquee free-agent names ? Titans DT Albert Haynesworth and Steelers OG Alan Faneca to name a couple ? have surfaced around Jets camp. The latest name to hit the rumor mill is Patriots CB Asante Samuel. On the surface, it seems like a natural fit. With three secondary positions already in capable hands, the Jets appear to be one top-flight cornerback away from fielding one of the league?s top defensive backfields. Furthermore, head coach Eric Mangini has intimate knowledge of Samuel, having worked with him as both DB coach (2003-04) and defensive coordinator (2005) in New England. And, unlike most other star free agents, the Patriots are contractually barred from franchising him. However, there remains a lingering suspicion that Samuel has achieved his lofty status because the Pats? scheme plays to his strengths. New England employs almost exclusively zone coverage, a scheme in which heady, instinctive cornerbacks can thrive even if they lack elite physical skills. Word out of New York is that Mangini is itching to institute more man coverage, and while there?s little doubt Samuel can be a serviceable man corner, the prospect of sinking boatloads of money into a player who has yet to prove he can be a standout in Mangini?s preferred system likely will convince the team to invest its money elsewhere. > http://www.profootballweekly.com/PFW/The+Way+We+Hear+It/default.htm
Wow. An article that speaks sense 100% of the way. I agree with this analysis completely and really hope the Jets don't make a baffoon move and waste cap space on this guy. We can get an excellent #2 corner in the draft in the 3rd round. No need to waste cap on a non need.
Samuel is arguably the best player in free agency. He's made such a name for himself in New England, that if he does sign with the Jets, Darrelle Revis will most likely become a star playing opposite Samuel. His name alone will strike fear into the hearts of offensive coordinators. QBs will throw away from Samuel and go towards Rhodes and Revis. Great success!
considering mangini has coached him...he should know samuels strengths and weaknesses...he will be the best judge of if he will work or not and if it is worth it to pay him
I think some Jets fans are forgetting that this current defensive backfield ranked 9th in the NFL last season.
those stats will change if we ever play with a lead...no one throws the ball on a terrible run defense when they have a lead i think we are decent, but we need another corner....it doesnt have to be samuel though
Ok... Lets see here... Your telling me we can find a GREAT #2 CB in the 3rd round? lol... WHO? A.Samuel is not a need? Are you kidding me? I guess everyone is just perfectly fine with J.Miller, H.Poteat, A.Dyson, or D.Coleman as our #2 CB... Gotta be kidding me
where is Erik Coleman I have no idea. even if we get a cheaper corner to add some depth as opposed to a big name guy would be very interesting
Our secondary as is is better than the team that just won the SB. The aquisition of rabid pass rushers is the way to go. Forget Samuel...
The more i look into this the more i like the idea of Asante as a jet. At first i was like no way we need help with d-line to get some pressure on the quarterback but we are like 3 people short of that happening. I think the quickest way to upgrade the pass rush is to have a dominate secondary, giving our D-line more time to get to the quarterback. Mangini knows if he fits the system best, so if the price is right and we do have the cap room, i would love the idea of picking him up.
In case you missed it, the NFL has a fairly strict salary cap. The Jets have a lot of cap room right now, but that will NOT last if they are spending tons of cash on players that they don't NEED. We don't NEED Asante Samuel. Don't get me wrong, I think Asante is an exceptional player in the right system (who isn't in the Patriots system?) however I don't feel he is worth the money he will command... especially because he IS most likely the top available free agent. The kind of money Asante Samuel is going to ask for is money I would give to ONLY Champ Bailey... no one else in the league holds a torch to Champ, or should get paid that high, especially when they are cashing in on performance in a system that gave him more support at the corner position than probably any other corner in the league had, with the exception of the corner lining up opposite of him. So in the salary cap era, you avoid players just like this. EDIT: Notice something too about the way the Patriots have built their undefeated loser squad... by UNDERPAYING everyone in sight. Hell, Tom Brady even took a pay cut for them, and a lot of people feel he is the best player in the entire NFL today. With the exception of last year's aggressive attack at FA, they consistently bring in solid bargain players who do a job, trade down in the draft and acquire great value picks as well as more picks, and ONLY give money internally to the very best of the best on their unit.
He also plays alot of zone coverage, isn't very disciplined, and played with some amazing and well coached talent. If theres a guy who might hit FA that I want to sign it's Jacob Bell.
I don't know if you can call Rodney Harrison, Ellis Hobbs, Randall Gay, and Eugene Wilson "amazing" talent. Isn't our head coach the guy that turned Samuel into a Pro-Bowler? If he doesn't fit our defensive scheme, Mangini won't bring him here -- but he knows if Samuel can play man coverage or not. Way to knock a guy because he's had success in zone coverage... You know our FO can bring in more than one free agent right? I'm pretty sure an offensive lineman like Jacob Bell isn't going to demand top dollar.
Thats why I added "well coached." I think Seymour, Thomas, Warren, Wilfork, Green, and Vrabel shouldn't be ignored here. Well yea...thats kind of why I don't want us to sign him, and why I don't think we will. How am I knocking him? It's not like I don't acknowledge he's still a top 10 corner, I just tend to evaluate guys we're going to get Then you haven't been noticing the value being placed on young, athletic, good offensive linemen.... And Samuels would never be worth his contract. It does little to us in the short term or long term.
I agree with the general premise of this post. Samuel is not a bad corner, but salary cap wise vs actual production he just won't give the Jets the best bang for their buck. Even if the cap space isn't used this offseason, it would still be better served being kept open to address needs next offseason that are more important than #2 cornerback.
Green and Vrabel are so overrated because of the team they play on...(and you still said he was surrounded by "amazing" talent) You didn't say that he was a top 10 corner in your post -- you said that all he does is plays zone coverage -- which to me sounded like: He won't be able to play man coverage, because all he does in NE is play in a zone system. Jacob Bell IS NOT going to make big money. I don't care how young and talented he is. He's a semi-unproven offensive guard. No one is going to pay a non Pro-Bowl type of player big bucks.
