On paper Plax was an upgrade but I don't think the end product supports that opinion. Plax did one thing well, which was catch TD's in the redzone. Was this Plax being that much better than Braylon in that category or the redzone offense as a whole improving? I'm not sure that the answer is one or the other but it is something to think about. What Plax didn't bring was the constant deep threat. I heard claims that Plax was getting doubled but it certainly wasn't the same way that we would see Braylon get doubled because he couldn't get deep on anyone. Braylon was good for at least having a shot at making one long catch a game. He complimented Holmes much better than Plax did this year with the deep ball capability. The only thing that makes me think that Braylon wouldn't have been a big boost to this offense is the fact that the offensive line still probably would have been shit, butterfly effect aside.
Someone above criticized Pace, which to me is just not a fact based analysis. It's not Pace's fault there was not a greater pass rush since, once Thomas was out for the season, Pace had to take over primary responsibility sealing the edge. Plus he's under contract, and is not going anywhere. I also doubt that Scott is going anywhere, ftr. But I will be very surprised if Thomas is back. Replacing him is the best opportunity to improve overall speed at linebacker. But what about Maybin and Westerman? Both showed promise, although Maybin obviously was mostly showing his pass rushing ability. Can Westerman keep up with TE's on pass patterns? If he could you would think we would have seen more of it this past year. But... he was mostly good. In other words it is possible but not likely that the Jets focus first on other areas than LB. What do I think about that? Well safety and help at OT are up there as at least two of the top three needs (especially because if Leonhard's condition means he's not coming back, they will need two, with Pool almost certainly gone). Wideout must also be addressed. What if the Jets feel they need to get two safeties, replace Burress and get quality help for the OL? How much will they be able to do at linebacker?
