I like Powell and Ivory as a platoon also but the odds are 50/50 one of them is hurt by mid-season next year and I don't like either of them as the mainstay in a WCO. The other thing is that neither of them really catches the ball well enough to be featured in a WCO. Between them they kind of hold the job down and as long as they are both there the Jets will probably be ok at RB. Off of your original list I don't think Harris, Cromartie, Allen, Nelson or Cumberland are building blocks at this stage in their careers and I also don't think either of the backs above is a building block.
While I agree with you that half the people on that list need to be replaced, I disagree with you that Mangold is a building block. I'd say he has a couple of good to decent years left and that's it.
To me the question is who they put around him on the line. If they create a strong offensive line he's probably going to be Kevin Mawae-like into his mid 30's. If they keep fitting in one year solutions at guard he's going to be toast by 33 or 34 at the outside. If you don't protect your assets they degrade over time and they do it with great consistency. Mawae, BTW, was very good for the Titans after he left the Jets. Mangold could be going strong out to 35 or 36 if the Jets create the context in which that could happen. If they do that he's a building block sitting right in the middle of the offense.
I disagree I think Harris and Cromartie can give us at least 4 more seasons of good play. Allen was solid this season and will only get better. Nelson is a good 4th receiver and Cumberland can be a good 2nd option. Not to mention we have other players that can breakout like Hill, Sudfeld, Berry, Bush etc. We need to find good 1st and 2nd options and a lot of these players we have now can add great depth to our team.
I think Powell catches the well. His problem is that he is not the kind of guy that can carry the load for a full season.
Do you remember Mo Lewis and Marvin Jones? Lewis had his last plus season in 2001 at the age of 32. Jones had his last plus season in 2001 at the age of 29. David Harris is 30 next year. The odds are that he is going to be retired by 2016 or so. That's just the way the NFL works. Most LB's who are not superstars cannot maintain a plus level of play much past 30. They degrade 10% a year and wind up at replacement level fairly quickly. It's called losing a step and it's a fatal disease for an NFL LB's career. David Harris actually took a step down this year from his established level of play. I'm using the AV number from pro-football-reference.com to make this determination. Harris had established an AV number of 10 (4 straight years), this year he was an 8. That's right where Lewis and Jones were in the first years of their decline. Look at Bart Scott. Same thing as Harris only Scott is four years older than Harris. Last year was his retirement year at the age of 33.
Bold - need upgrade OR replacement OR cap relief [OR all of them combined.] If Jets can replenish the talent at both OG positions, Mangold will have longer career than Ferguson will.
You may be right but I don't think he should be discarded quickly because he's 30. I actually felt that Harris played better in 2013 than he did in 2012. He looked quicker. I think based on what I've seen I think he can play at a steady level until he's 35.
If he looked quicker last season, probably he played slower the year before. You do not want to engage in long term relationship with old LBs. They all lose step here and there. Remember Bart Scott.
David Harris is not Bart Scott. Their career arcs won't mimic each other at the same age. Don't get me wrong I'm not saying the Jets should hinge everything on Harris. They do need an insurance policy in case Harris falls off a cliff. But I do think he has a few more good seasons left in him. The emergence of our d-line and Demario Davis should help as well.
How many non-star LBers actually do this? Play to 35 productively? If you drill down and start looking at the numbers it's very discouraging. The way you manage (or should manage) aging in the NFL environment is to look at all players critically after 29 or so and then make the occasional exception for players of very high proven ability or who are somehow making Father Time ignore them. If David Harris has the same season next year that he had this year then he's just stepped down the 10% from very good player to good player and you maintain him if the cap cost is acceptable, which it appears to be. If he steps down again though you probably have to replace him fairly quickly and the odds are about equal each season from now on that he'll maintain his performance or step down. Every now and then an aging player has a rejuvenation year in which he suddenly plays much better than his declining play would otherwise suggest. These years are almost always followed by a tumble back to his declining level. LaDainian Tomlinson is a perfect example of the latter case.
It's why it's key the Jets hit an offensive lineman through the draft or FA. The picks under Tanny like Vlad and the lack of depth are coming back to hurt the Jets still. Powell is a good complimentary back. He's not a game breaker, but he can wear a defense down, block, and catch reliably. He can also break out for a big gain or two because of quickness, but I wouldn't take him in a foot race over defenders. This is key. Too many times, my untrained eye, has seen Mangold having to cover for somebody else on a play and stretching himself too thing.
Mawae may have been very good for the Titans after he left the Jets, but he wasn't very good for the Jets his last several years. I don't want any 35 year old center on my team. Seattle's average age is 26.4 years old.
I totally disagree. Why should the Jets want to keep him that long? He misses a ton of plays because of his lack of speed. It is one of the things that has hurt this D for years. Harris can pretty easily be upgraded. He can't cover anyone and he just isn't worth what he's making.
That was an impressive beat down. Haven't see a team dominate another one in a Superbowl like that since I became an NFL follower. The thing is, Seahawks didn't just dominated an ordinary team. They dominated statistically best offense in the league history. How do they compare to 1985 Bears defense? Since I didn't follow NFL that early, I will rely on your comments.
great performance but the bears let up 10 pts in 3 games in the 1985 postseason. Keep in mind peyton's O's have a tendency to gag in big games. Never trust Peyton in a big game. Yes he has a few big ones including 2 this season in the AFC playoff but in the biggest one he played as poorly as possible.
I think having Davis will cover some of Harris deficiencies. Harris can roam the intermediate area and Davis can drop back into coverage. Harris is very smart and is a great tackler. He's consistently led the Jets in tackles. The guy still has some years left in him. I do believe they need to add a LB in the draft to develop behind Harris and Davis. But I'm not willing to give up on him.
I agree that the Jets need to draft an ILB this year. I really wanted Perryman, but he returned for his senior season. Maybe Borland or Bullough in the 4th-5th.
Mawae was quite good for the Jets right up until 2005, the season he got injured. He was a Pro Bowl center four straight years from 2001 to 2004 and deservedly so. He was an All-Pro center in 2008 at the age of 37 with the Titans. I don't believe that you watched the Jets in the early part of the 2000's. Nobody had any doubts about how good Kevin Mawae was right up until he tore his shoulder and pectoral up in 2005.
