http://www.ravens24x7.com/forum/showthread.php?t=35790 I checked a ravens board to see what they thought about leonhard, as I'm not completely sold on him and there's rumours flying he's headed this way. Ravens fans seem pretty much in agreement.
It seems like the Ravens fans like what how he played for them but just dont think he is worth a long term investment. I agree. I'm just not sure about this guy. He played with Ed Reed, and those Ravens LB's with a strong pass rush that makes his job easier. Like I said I dont have a problem with Jim Leonhard being on this team but I wouldnt invest a ton of money in him.
this kid is so completely overrated it is disgusting. too many people are going head over heels for him around here. he is an average safety and nothing more we need to NOT spend a ton of money on a guy who will be exposed quickly. arent we already spending a shit ton of money on one defensive no show? not that leonhard would be a no show he just wouldnt show for what he is paid.
Who is overrating him? He is never going to be a pro bowl safety but he is a damn good role player who is always around the ball and very good on specials. Oh and he also happened to excel in the very same D that his former defensive coach is trying to install over here. I highly doubt he is going to cost all that much and even if he does that would tell me even more than my own eyes saw about him. If his former defensive coach targets him as one of his first players to bring over that says alot about him. Ever since Rex was named HC, Leonhard and Scott have become a match made in heaven for this Jets D.
Where do you get this over rated thing? Like Vision said, I think everyone understands he is just a solid role player, no future pro bowler. I suspect that Ryan simply has enough confidence in Leonhard to be able to turn Rhodes loose again. If Leonhard can play well enough to get Rhodes back into pro bowl form, he'll be a fine pickup. I haven't gotten the impression that anyone is going head over heels about it. I've seen some increasingly annoying stupidity around here like that, but not about Leonhard.
There's no way he can be worse in coverage than Elam or Smith. If he's not too expensive, it won't hurt to bring in someone familiar with RRs system. Plus, less Eric Smith is a positive anyway you look at it.
Safety killed us last year. Elam was out of position alot. If Leonard does ir half as uch we will be better.
Leonard is exactly the kind of player Parcells would want so be happy we may try to sign him. In fact, if we don't he probably will.
Hey, it seems like he would be a definite upgrade over Elam/Smith, so let's get him as long as the contract is not ridiculous.
I don't really worry about how most fans feel. Just look at this board, as soon as it becomes clear we are losing a certain player everyone hates him and says how much he sucked.
Not a Pro Bowl guy by any means but, one of the guys on the field to help teach what Coach wants to do AND THAT CANNOT BE OVERRATED!!!!! You want / need 2-3 guys just like Parcells had "His Guys". He has more worth to the Jets than any team in the NFL - He'd be a another coach on the field. But, yeah, don't overpay.
Ed Reed has not had a "great" year for awhile now. He exploded back on the scene when Leonhard was next to him. I'm not expecting this guy to put up huge numbers, but I think adding him as a starter will solidify our starting safeties.
Your right about this. With their pass rush and those other guys surrounding him there was plenty of opportunity to make plays. It is a different ballgame when your the one expected to make the plays.
message board doesn't like him and your sold? wow. the level of intelligence has really gone down here.
Reading that thread in the link posted, I think the general consensus is that Leonhard is a good football player with a lot of heart. What I like to hear is that he is an effective PR, because while our KR unit has been very productive, we haven't had the greatest PR productivity. I'd like to see a spark in that department. Our problem is, if the guy isn't a hard hitter in terms of being a constant tackling machine, we will still lack that physical presence on the starting safety unit. Because we've already seen Kerry's lack of physical presence. I'm not sold on this guy, but reading what some of the more intelligent Ravens fans had to say in that thread is enough to make me give this guy a chance. The majority of the response there has been positive about Leonhard.
Leonard is not going to be a savior and as many of the Bird fans pointed out he was a nice surprise and a solid heart and gut player. So if the Jets don't over pay him and offer him a fair contract to a player who was almost a walk on last year, I say bring him in. Yet, let me add that we may have a couple of solid guys already on the team. While I have never been overly impressed with Eric Smith, I think Elam has a really good upside and is still developing. I am really interested to see just what this new coaching staff can bring to the table with this group. Let's face it the way Mangini and Sutton were playing defense, it was no surprise to any fan they played not to lose rather then played to kick ass and win. I have to think the classic example of that was when Rhodes was blitzing from 25 yards out,,, how stupid was that. So while many of us wish to fault the players for what we saw last year, maybe it was more the system they were playing in. So let's just see what's on the team right now, we all know Rhodes is more then capable of being a terror when set lose and allow to attack I have a feeling Elam and to a certain degree Simith's play( if he is not cut) will improve noticeably in the coming year with the installation of the new defensive system...
