You just changed the argument - I did not compare what the Jets did in their entire history with what the Steelers did. That is a straw man you set up. Obviously the Jets have sucked because their front office has stunk it up and to compare them to the Steelers over the past 35 years takes my argument purposely and completely out of context. WHAT I did say was that SINCE 2006, specifically when Tannenbaum became GM, this is what the Jets have done and why it is unfair to compare them with the Colts, Steelers, Pats DURING that timeframe. Once again, in each team you have used - Pats, Steelers and Colts, it all stems from the franchise QB. Each of those teams have been successfully building through the draft because they had the most important position filled. I fully expect Tannenbaum to do the same thing in April 2010 IF he believes Sanchez is the guy. With a deep draft, I expect the Jets to trade down a lot, compile picks and start plugging holes. This may not be a "sexy" draft filled with skill position picks, but I think you will see a return to what he did in 2006 by building depth in the trenches.
The Jets have been doing this since 2001 and it is perfectly fair to compare the Jets and Steelers strategies over the period from 2001 to 2009 and see where both teams have been in the process. The Jets have executed 58 draft picks since 2001. They have 8 current starters out of 22 who were not either drafted or developed as UDFA's by the Jets. The number would be 9 except that Kris Jenkins got hurt. The Steelers have executed 69 draft picks since 2001. They have 3 current starters out of 22 who were not either drafted by or developed as UDFA's by the Steelers. Since 2001 if you remove all the years the Steelers have made the playoffs from consideration their 20-22 record is STILL better than the Jets over that span. The difference between the Steelers and the Jets is not Ben Roethlisberger. The difference between the Steelers and the Jets is that the Steelers have a rational view of the game of professional football and they have developed a strategy that works beautifully to keep them in contention year after year and make sure the lows don't look too hideous. The Jets, on the other hand hop around like a frog in a frying pan and usually wind up in boiling water even after they've gotten out of the pan.
And the Steelers have had a stable ownership, stable front office and THREE freaking coaches the past 35 years. They have been running the 3/4 defense for the past 20 years between Cowher and Tomlin. Since the end of the 1999 season, the Jets have had an ownership change and 5 Head Coaches (not inclusive of Belichicken). Of course the Steelers ahve a rational view of professional football - that is why they have won 6 Super Bowls and appeared in another. Everything comes down to the front office management - something the Jets haven't had a competent person run in their entire history since the 1960s. If you believe Tannenbaum isn't the answer than say it so right now. But to blame him from 5 years of crap under Bradway and Herm isn't fair AND especially comparing him to a team that has been one of the most stable franchises in football with a significant head start on the crappy team we root isn't fair either. The problem is you just keep "shifting" the time frame to suit your argument. Now it is Jets versus Steelers 2001-2009. Ummm, sure if the Jets had Roethlisberger in 2004, they wouldn't have had to waste 9 draft picks & players to fix the QB problem during the last 3 years. Even if HALF those guys pan out as starters, then the Steelers 3/22 starter argument would be at 5/22 starters. (Incidently one of the Steelers starters is none other than James Farrior). The Steelers lucked out in getting Roethlisberger when he fell to them. What were the Jets supposed to do? Wait another year and not get a QB? Who gives a flying f^&k that they traded up with their "precious" draft picks to select Sanchez? IF he is a franchise QB that leads them to a Super Bowl, whatever it cost is worth it - just ask the Giants about Eli. Do you think Giants fans care how much they gave up to get Eli? Nope they won the freaking Super Bowl. Unless the Chargers win TWO with the players they got and Eli never wins anthing else, it will be advantage Giants. What are supposed to do? Sit around and wait for the next Tom Brady in 2010 with our 57 6th round picks? We have done that and they all SUCK. Troy Taylor - Glen Foley - Browning Nagle (could've had Favre but they didn't want to trade those precious draft picks). Don't forget the Jets could have been set at the LT position had they drafted Orlando Pace. Instead he was traded down for a bunch of JAGs and James Farrior. Shit if the Jets had just told Manning they were going to take him instead of Parcells being such a smart ass, we wouldn't even be here right now. Geez, the Jets sit with the thumbs up their ass for years and people bitch. Now they make a concerted effort to get better and people still bitch. You simply can't have it both ways. I truly understand in concept what you are saying BUT everything you say doesn't apply to the Jets because are shitty franchise is in a completely different situation than the Steelers. You can make all these arguments with 20-20 hindsight but you offer no solutions to what ails the Jets, only unwarranted MMQB criticism.
And the Jets had Leon Hess for how many years before 2000? Seriously you cannot compare the Jets and the Steelers as organizations. The Steelers are Filet Mignon and the Jets are Corned Beef Hash and there's nothing you can put up in the way of results that is going to change that basic picture. The Jets are just a lousy organization. They have no coherent plan to win at this point and even the moves they make that look like they might be the beginning of a coherent plan are usually in opposition to each other. You spend $140 million+ dollars on veteran free agents to go for it right now and then you trade up to draft a rookie QB? How does that work in real-life as opposed to in the fertile imagination of the current management team?
Agreed. So tell me what do you do? Keep Chad Pennington? Been there and done that. The guy has a $1 million dollar QB brain and a $1 QB arm. He can't throw the 20 yard out and that is why he was toast in the playoffs. That was why Sparano came up with his gimmick wildcat offense to cover up for the lack of passing game that Pennington brought. Keep Brett Favre? I like Brett and think he played well for the Jets at times last year. But bottom line is he got hurt (it happens to 40 year olds) and his heart really wasn't in it despite the press clippings. Start Clemens? I think the guy didn't get a fair shake in 2007 BUT he really didn't show anything in pre-season this year and since I haven't seen anything of camp or practice I am assuming there weren't any flashes then. Ainge or Ratliff? Well we traded Ratliff and he can't beat out Anderson or Quinn so that should speak volumes. As for Ainge, other than his pre-season performance that was strong (is he the next Ratliff or Clowney pre-season hero) he was suspended for 4 games for PEDs. So, that left us with the Jets trading up for Sanchez. It appears based upon your comments that you are not happy with that selection. Fine, you are entitled to your opinion. So IF the Jets had stayed put what should they have done? Let's hear it now - it is great to make the MMQB call but now you have to put a viable alternative. POINT BLANK - NO excuses, what should the Jets have done. You are the GM Br4dw4y5ux. Tell me what you would do? Take Freeman? Sign a vet - which one? Hope for the best with Clemens and Ratliff? Those are your options so lets hear it unless you can come up with something else. It is great to sit back and snipe without the responsibility to come up with a better plan. Depending on how things turn out, there may be posters changing their name to "Br4dw4y5ux_Sucks."
You make an excellent point about not having to throw picks at the QB position. However the root of the problem with not having the QB position locked down is that you don't have all your draft picks to use to build the rest of your roster. Tanny, in his own way, is forcing the Jets to deal with this problem regardless of the QB position in that he trades away numerous draft picks and gives the Jets frequently small rookie classes. Late round draft picks becoming successful are generally central to a team's success. Look at guys like Leon Washington, he's only a 4th round pick and is the most dynamic player on this team's offense. The Giants have had similar success with runners like Ahmad Bradshaw in the 7th round, or Jacobs in the 4th. The Patriots are perhaps the ultimate example as Brady was a very late round pick and has been very successful. You need to hit on late round picks to be successful.
It looks like I had Rhodes pegged. As soon as Ryan benched him, Rhodes blew up and had his best game of the year. They guy has talent but our coaches need to motivate him to get his best game.
Let's not go jerking ourselves off yet, eh? Rhodes has always had that talent, what he has lacked it focus lately. But Kerry hasn't yet this year put together a solid game like Eric Smith did yesterday, although Kerry will always be better in coverage than Smith is. What I saw yesterday was Rhodes playing the ball instead of playing the player, and in a couple of instances put himself in position to make a turnover. He's done that before and I am not surprised at it. But he's getting paid to do that and only put it together when he got slapped in the face. Let's see if he can win back his starting job now.
I had no problem with the trade-up for Sanchez. I thought it was one of the few coherent things the Jets had done in the last 7 years (2006 pick D'Brick and Mangold, 2009 pick Sanchez - that's a natural progression.) I have a huge problem with a front office that spends most of it's draft picks trading up (and yes I like Darrelle Revis but Champ Bailey didn't help the Redskins get over the top and they traded DOWN to get him), signs veteran free agents and then trades for more and somehow magically expects all of that to turn into anything but a rebuilding team that by the way is going to need lots more rebuilding. I'd go on a trading binge in the uncapped season and see what kind of draft picks I could get for Alan Faneca, Damien Woody, Bryan Thomas, Lito Sheppard, Kerry Rhodes, and if it was possible Kris Jenkins (although it won't be because of the knee.) I'd do this to recover some picks (and not likely very good ones except Rhodes) and more importantly to open up the space to rebuild in a hurry. None of the players above are likely to ever have more value (other than Jenkins who like I said is not tradeable) in trade than they'll have after this season and good teams let those players go when they're in that condition instead of hanging on to them until a year too late. I'd keep a few vets around who might otherwise be on that list, like Shaun Ellis, Bart Scott and Brandon Moore, because you have to have some consistency in the trenches when you're trying to fill other slots. Not to mention Shaun Ellis is a very good 3-4 defensive end and very under-rated. I'd resolve the main talent questions among the younger players, primarily Vernon Gholston and Dwight Lowery, as quickly as possible and move on if it was necessary, maybe with a trade involved if lucky. I'd rebuild the defense around the emerging base in the trenches, which includes all the defensive tackle rotation crew plus a reinforcement from the draft, Ellis, Harris, Pace, Revis, Leonard, Smith and Strickland, with another reinforcement at linebacker to try to finally get a ROLB for this 3-4 - moving Pace to LOLB. I'd try to slot Westerman in as Scott's replacement long-term although Scott would be the guy next year unless Westerman blew the team away in training camp. On the offensive side Mangold, Ferguson, Moore, one of the young guys at LG, a draftee at RT (tackle is one of the highest success rates for an early draft pick, right tackle is particularly stable for rookies), Sanchez, Greene/Jones (5.8 million for the season or a cheaper veteran back cut loose in the free agent frenzy next year - there will be a lot of them), Cotchery, Edwards (franchise for one year to see if anything is there or a much cheaper veteran receiver let go in a numbers game somewhere else - there'll be a lot of those too), Keller, Clowney, maybe Woodhead there. Leon Washington will either come back strong or he won't. He's a bonus player for the year if he does. The entire posture would be to resolve the emerging flaws in the Jet's free agent strategy over the last few years: those being that the team is aging quicker than you'd like and is somewhat brittle since it has not developed talent on either line outside of Mangold and D'Brick since 2003 when McKenzie came into his own. The problems at LG are entirely predictable, the Jets have had the following people manning the position since Kerry Jenkins left town: Dave Szott, Pete Kendall, Adrien Clarke and now Faneca. Faneca was signed as a necessary stabilizing move because the Jets screwed up getting a long-term replacement for Jenkins. It's time to do that now - both D'Brick and Mangold will benefit from having something good and homegrown in the gap between them. I'd take the gambles that Tannenbaum has made over the last few years and hedge them down heavily in favor of the team that Mark Sanchez will try to take to a Super Bowl in 2011 or 2012.
uhhh...... 10 years? Didn't he become GM in 2006? Also looks like he may have found one in his 2nd draft. :breakdance:
BRICK is not a problem on this team. The Jets have one of the best OLs in the NFL. The QB has by far been the weakest link on the O and hopefully Sanchez improves to make the QB a strength of the O. The areas to be addressed through the draft are on the DL.
Great post ... I spent the summer telling my friends, my wife, hell anyone that would listen that Rhodes was going to blow up the league alla Ed Reed .... I have spent the season with egg on my face. The talent is there ... Kerry needs to stop worrying about makin movies and twittering all the damn time & just play ball.
