No, you're quite right about that. But I guess my general point is that I really like what I see now as opposed to trying to deal with The Herm and Abe Show. To me, there's no comparison. Good riddance to Abe, we don't need him. We're playing lights out defense nowadays under Ryan and I don't have to worry about poor Abe's injuries anymore. God Forbid we should squeak into the playoffs. Ryan is my kind of coach... expecting everything from his players and then some. Kerry Rhodes isn't stepping up? Oh Lord, what do we do now? "A coach can't force a player to play." Well, no, he can't, but he can suit up Eric Smith and start him. Now all of a sudden Rhodes wants to play! "Well, hold on," says Ryan, "let's let this play out." My kind of coach. So good riddance to Abe and Herm both. We've got enough problems without worrying about guys taking themselves out of crucial games.
In this case I will agree that the coach has the power to bring in guys like Leonhard, knowing they will go to the wall. Still, there was nobody close to Abraham's ability that Herm could have gone to like Rex did with Eric Smith. Abraham didn't need his on-field performance improved, he just needed to be on the field.
Yeah, and that's my point. It's about desire. Rhodes lost the fire, the drive, and I suspect Abe lost it too (or conveniently, selectively had the flu and injuries, etc). Or maybe it's more like, "I've arrived now and don't need to hit as hard anymore, and it's more about watching my career and guarding my next paycheck now than it is about putting out 100%. True, Herm had no one else even close, so I guess what you're saying is, Herm had no choice but to go with it and keep his mouth shut. I'm just glad we've got Ryan now and guys like Scott and Leonard and Pace and others who'll go to the wall. One less thing to worry about. Putting in Smith is the best thing he could have done, even if Rhodes is more talented.
its just another example of the jets not being able, for whatever the reason, to get the maximum value/performance/results from a 1st day draft pick........ a very disturbing trend in the early to middle part of this decade. however, it does appear that may be changing right now with guys like mangold etc. the only guy that comes to mind in a positive way is sean ellis. jil
The rumor at the time was that the "flu" was actually Abe hungover from the night before. I don't know if it was true but their were enough sources at the time to make the story believable. I have never forgiven him since then, keeping himself out of the biggest game of his life for fear of sacrificing his future didn't win many fans either.
I was as big of a john abraham fan as the next guy but he showed a lot of what he was about by sitting out of some of our biggest games, including championship games. I hope Dbrick shuts him down come sunday.
We used that cap room we saved w/ Coles towards the top 5 pick and we THOUGHT we filled that hole at DT and we did but only for about 2 years instead of a decade like it should have been. We had guys that would play through anything(Chad) and guys that wouldn't(Abe) just like we do now. I love Ryan, I think he's a good combo of Herm(dealing w/ the media and great personality for the team) and mangini(Xs and Os).
I agree and think Ryan can only get better from here. This was his first season. We ain't seen nothin' yet. I like several things he's stepped up to so far this season, in chronological order: 1) Picking over the bones of his former team and bringing in the best, yet most affordable, players to fit our needs (Bart Scott, etc.). 2) Endorsing the acquisition of Braylon Edwards. 3) Starting Sanchez over Clemens. 4) Starting Clemens over Sanchez, despite Sanchez being pissed off. 5) Showing Kerry Rhodes that no one is above the team.
Yeah, he only had 1100+ yds and 10 TDs in 2003 and despite missing time and playing hurt in '04 he had over 800 yds and 5 TDs averaging 14.9 in '03 and 18.6 in '04. You don't create cap room just to say you have cap room, you create that room to spend it in and get better in other areas.
...and look what he did in 2005 with a QB that could actually get the ball downfield without fear of hitting a Seagull...1483 yards with 9 TD's. Besides, those were all Vinny's TD's. Now back to reality: Moss is an oft-injured, boom or bust guy, who couldn't be counted on week in and week out. Coles may not have had as much upside, but he was the guy for the Jets at that time. Mainly because of the WC offense and Noodles's arm problems.
Yep, his average per rec went DOWN from 18.6 to 17.7 and his 9 TDs were still one short of his career high in 2003. 6 of his 9 TDs came w/ Chad in 2003 and prorate that over 16 games and he was on pace for 11 TDs from Chad in 2003. People just need to bash Chad for some reason. Good guy, good player, all he did was win but we need to bash.
