ALL ABOUT THE GREEN REVIS, KENDALL NO-DEALS HURT TEAM FULL CONTRACT: August 3, 2007 -- AS of yesterday, Darrelle Revis, the Jets' holdout top draft pick, had missed seven days of training camp practices with no end in sight to what has become an unnecessary and silly stalemate. Yesterday, too, marked the seventh consecutive day of left guard Pete Kendall's personal hell as he grudgingly practiced and waited for his seemingly imminent release. The question that must be raised in relation to both of these contractual impasses is this: Are the Jets being a bit too arrogant for their Kelly-green britches? The answer here is a resounding "Yes." The Jets appear to be a pretty sound, good team with a chance to at least put a scare into the Patriots for the AFC East title, and they're certainly a favorite to compete for a playoff berth. But they're not good enough to mess with their product the way management is doing with both Revis and Kendall, two key pieces to the playoff-bound model Eric Mangini is trying to construct during these dog days of summer. The Jets traded up 12 spots in the first round to draft Revis with the hope he'd win a starting cornerback spot right away. Revis wants a five-year contract, the same as almost every draft pick in the first round has signed (including the two players drafted before and after him). The Jets want Revis to sign a six-year deal. Is that one year really worth squabbling over while Revis misses out on all this valuable developmental time? That missed time is certain to stunt his growth and ability to contribute right away this season. If Revis ends up being a non-factor this season from falling so far behind, will this contract dance seem worth it five or six years from now? Of course not. As for Kendall, by everyone's assessment last season (including that of management) he was not only a key factor in the development of D'Brickashaw Ferguson and Nick Mangold, but a solid starter on a line that was gaining success with each game. But Kendall and this Jets regime are not a good fit, because Kendall is a player who, while not disruptive, speaks his mind - not the kind of player the Jets want to fill their roster. Control is one of the common denominators for all NFL head coaches and, based on the fact football teams need 11 guys on each side of the ball to work in unison to be successful, that's understandable. But Kendall spent some four months in silence before spouting off in frustration publicly for the first time at last month's minicamp. And, knowing that management is ignoring his wishes of either being paid fairly (at $1.7 million this year, he's underpaid) or being released so he can find another team, his vitriol deepened once training camp began. Kendall, who conceded the only reason he's here is so he doesn't have to pay the team $14,000 a day in fines for missing camp, has been treated by coaches and management like an outcast since he arrived. And, if you think his being assigned to a rookie dorm upon his arrival was a mere "mix-up," then we have some lovely farmland in Flatbush to sell you. It's always easy to side with players over management. But in this case, it appears so simple for GM Mike Tannenbaum and Mangini to have avoided these bumps in their training camp road. Specifically, one fewer year for Revis and $1 million more for Kendall and their team would be better today and for the season. The Jets are toying with two significant elements to their potential success in 2007, and they're not good enough to mess with those things and still challenge the likes of New England and the rest of the AFC elite. mark.cannizzaro@nypost.com
Thank you for your esteemed opinion.... you jackass. It's a bit early to tell how much this mess is really going to affect the team.
I disagree with him. Tannenbaum and Mangini have my confidence until I see something on the field to suggest they're getting things wrong.
I can't see why he's said they've screwed anything. If they are doing these things with the teams best interest in mind then whats the problem. There has to be a middle ground with revis, as for Kendell - while I can't sympatize with someone making a million bucks for playing a game, if he truely feels lied to then either walk or shut up. Take the fines and leave or play, but shut the hell up. Its possible that if he hadn't bitched and moaned that he may have had the ability to work something out, but because he wants to be heard so badly by the world he lost leverage and the ability to renegoicate without one side 'losing' out.
I think that's a fair statement. They moved up to get Revis, they must think he had game breaking potential. Clark may be playing well but we know what we have in Kendal. If Kendals happy we move Clark to the right side.
What an idiot. 5 or 6 years from now what do you think will be more important? The fact that he was no longer on the team or that way back in his rookie season he missed 7 days of training camp. Certainly, for right now, it would be very beneficial to get Revis in camp so he can contribute right away. But to say that 5 or 6 years from now, these missed days of TC will still be hindering Revis is just absurd.
Ridiculous, plain and simple. To think having Revis in early to training camp is a key to the season is just plain stupid logic.
I surprised he did not add this to his article: "If this was a Herm Edwards run team, Kendall would have received a 3 Million dollar raise. He would have been made head cook at the Jets BBQ and given a gold plated exercise bike. The Jets would have then taken the 10 million left on the cap to give to Revis in a 2 year deal, with the 2nd year voidable. Yes, mark my words Edwards would have had these deals done."
Nice job Mark. He's so non-disruptive that this is the first we're hearing of him. We haven't heard any stories of him standing apart from the rest of the team when he isn't directly involved in a scrimmage, nothing like that. Go back to your sammich.
I just like the point that if Revis doesn't contribute this season because of the holdout...Does the 5 and 6 year deal make a difference?
The New York media has to take their shots when they can, because it comes so infrequent these days. They don't undestand, we believe in our GM and coach who do not make decisions for the short term.
I don't agree with Cannizaro all that often but I think he's at least half right here. The Jets need Revis in camp a lot more than they need that 6th year on the contract. Kendall they need to release or pay, but having him in camp as a disruptive influence is not helping things at all. Given that he and Revis share an agent the ball is really in the Jets court to resolve one or both of these situations before they become a major drag on the team. I, by the way, have one foot poised to jump off the Tannenbaum bandwagon. I disliked the way the Jets handled the draft, as I feel they missed major opportunities to add quality depth on the offensive and defensive lines, and I hate the way they're handling the contract situations for Revis and Kendall. Cannizaro is right, the Jets are not the Patriots and for them to presume that they can hardball two players because Belichik and Pioli have done that in the past is asinine. The Patriots win the Super Bowl last year if they sign Deion Branch instead of letting him run himself out of town. The Jets unfortunately are not one or two players away from a Super Bowl, their stumbles will really hurt.
It's easy to say we'll see how badly this affects the team once they're on the field..but who actually wants to see that? Go with the better safe than sorry attitude here. Why exactly is this so much of a big deal, 5 or 6 years. If it were between 1 and 2 years or 2 and 3 years I could see it.
I thought you were smart? You seriously believe that Tannenbaum is handling he negotiations the way he is because he saw the Pats doing it in the past??? The guy has earned the job he holds through hard work and being capable, not through mimicking others. I would be utterly stunned if the Jets thought, said or implied that they were working this way because it worked in New England. The simple fact is that MT is the GM, he gets to make his own decisions based on his own expertise. Given that we have minimal information on the negotiations, and what we do have is all leaked from the players' side, I'd be wary to comment at all. The issues will ultimately be resolved and it's Mangini's job to make sure the rest of the roster stays focussed and plays to their abilities. The holdout and the Kendall thing really aren't big deals at all, and only seem to be because the media loves a controversy. The time to judge the GM and the coach are when we see the product on the field. If we flop badly then there will be pertinent questions, but if we're successful then they will be vindicated. The same would be true if Kendall was cut 6 weeks ago and Revis signed the day after the draft.
I saw a lot of things I liked about the way Tannenbaum handled himself and the Jets last season. I'm seeing some things I really don't like now. At the moment there's a bit of a balance but it's not the kind of balance that suggests to me that the Jets are about to become the really good team in the AFC East. I do think the Belichik confrontational style of player management is a part of what Tannenbaum and Mangini have instituted with the Jets in the last year plus. My point was just that the fact that it seems to have worked in New England doesn't mean it has any real possibility of doing the same in New York. And I question whether it really has worked as well as we think it has in New England. The Patriots have had a bucketful of draft picks over the last 6 years and that more than any other factor has created their talent advantage over the competition. That factor is what should have been imported from New England. The Mickey Mouse confrontational stuff has never worked in football for any period of time. If you have an issue with a player and his demands you work out a trade or cut him fast. That's the Bill Parcells (no softie himself) approach and it works.
