Ryan has eye on former Baltimore pupils By Matt Sohn - Feb. 20, 2009 When the Jets tabbed Rex Ryan as head coach, they outfitted him with a roster reverberating with Q-rating, but with little salary-cap maneuverability with which to operate. Yet general manager Mike Tannenbaum and Ryan have been busy trimming the roster fat to give them themselves some much welcomed breathing room. Make no mistake about it, the retirement of Brett Favre was more a blessing than a curse, not the least of which was because of his salary. His retirement freed up approximately $13 million in cap space. Next, the club waived TE Chris Baker in a transaction almost a year in the making. The next player on the chopping block appears to be ORG Brandon Moore, whose $5.5 million salary for '09 isn't commensurate with his solid but unspectacular performance. At the very least, he'll be expected to agree to a reduced contract. As to why it's particularly imperative the Jets carved out some cap wiggle room, look no further than to the club they pulled Ryan from: Baltimore.Five of Ryan's 11 defensive starters with the Ravens ? the club he served as defensive coordinator for the past four years ? are free agents. Those players include OLB Terrell Suggs (Baltimore's franchise player), ILBs Ray Lewis and Bart Scott, CB Chris McAlister and S Jim Leonhard. On Feb. 20 at the NFL Scouting Combine, Ryan affirmed the notion that the Jets' current defensive personnel isn't quite up to snuff, saying, ?If we bring in the kind of players we're talking about, we only need to add one or two guys.?Although a lockdown cornerback to plug in opposite Darrelle Revis is the most critical get, the word we're hearing is that Lewis and Scott are the players Ryan is most smitten about reuniting with. The Ravens will be able to re-sign only one, and the expectation is that the Jets will make a strong play for whichever inside linebacker the Ravens don't keep. With all that the Jets have done regarding cap space, they're now positioned to make a singular splashy move in free agency and still allow themselves enough flexibility to sign their draft picks and execute some lower-profile veteran acquisitions. Especially considering starting ILB Eric Barton is likely to jet the Jets, Lewis or Scott tops the wish list for that one big name. > http://www.profootballweekly.com/PFW/NFL/AFC/AFC+East/NY+Jets/WWHI/2009/wwhi022109.htm __________________________
i really believe we bring in scott or lewis.. most likely scott to take over for barton. i think leonhard would be a great pickup and a huge upgrade over elam and smith
The guy second from the right has this look on his face that says "the jumping thing was not my idea."
It's just nice to have a coach talk about the team without any of that Mangini secrecy bullshit. That way the players know where they stand, rather than all the backstabbing behind the scenes and the team callapsing late in the season. I always wondered if Mangini stayed so tight-lipped because he was scared someone would find out he really didn't know what he was doing.
I hope the Jets end up with Ray Lewis. I know his age is up there, but he brings so much to the team -- first and foremost, leadership. He is like a player/coach/motivator out there. He is much more valuable than just a player, inside the locker room and outside in the field. The Jets need that. And -- you may not like this part -- but he brings the Jets headlines again, just like Favre. I personally love that part. The Jets always play second fiddle to the Jints, and signings like Favre and Lewis make the Jets newsworthy, like they were when Joe Namath was at the helm. I wouldn't mind Scott, but I want Ray Lewis, and I hope Rex makes that happen.
