I don't necessarily think fans are "freaking out", I think that was an exaggeration for emphasis by Glenn. To put it into my own words, I would say that this is all based around a disdain for Mac by a large portion of the fanbase who is going to cry foul and never give credit where it's due because it would be fly in the face of their pre-formed assessment of him and they can't entertain the thought that they might be wrong. If fans want to be upset that this process has taken too long I would remind them that this has only been 3 years since the failed Fitzmagic experiment that was approved by ownership and the coaching staff, which Mac had no control over. Mac has made mistakes and he has made some great moves. Is this team better than when Rex Ryan departed and Mac came on board? Yes The fact is this will be the best Jets team we have fielded since 2007 and 50% of the fanbase can only bitch and moan. For prospect fans looking for a team, rooting for this team now is the equivalent of buying Amazon stock back when they only sold books. This train is leaving the station, get on or get off (you could always be a Giants fan). Either way we're full steam ahead.
Where are you looking or not looking then? All the specifics on Polite have been laid out here ad nauseum and I am sure you have seen them if you're replying in these threads. Here's what's already been well established about him. "May have had the worst combine ever" "Jachai came in with a ton of added bad weight, looked sloppy, wasn’t explosive (1.71 10-yard), forgot to fake a hamstring injury before announcing he had one, and bailed on rest of Combine. Not great." "Undersized for the position, lacking the ideal height, arm length, and lean weight of the prototypical OLB." He "bombed" the combine and pre-draft process according to everyone. Put himself out there irresponsibly when he was dealing with a hammy injury for 10 days prior. Ran a horrible 40 time. He was extremely immature during the team interview process and couldn't handle answering basic questions like every other prospect does. He said teams were "bashing" him when this is SOP for all teams looking at all prospects. What do you think is going to happen the first time the NY media "bashes" him? How will he handle that? Told another interviewer he's never watched tape of himself. Seriously? He's a big-time SEC player getting drafted and never watched tape of himself. I've never heard of that before. That's unimaginable. Then his Pro Day was just as bad. Sounds like he got by on just raw talent in college. That's a major Florida foible actually with a lot of their recent picks. Great talent but not a lot of mental fortitude. Whatever you want to call it that's baggage. These are all major immaturity/lazy signs that the Jets did not need to take a chance on. If you watch a lot of college football then you would see that Winovich did it all year against just as good comp, is a model citizen and a great teammate by all accounts. He will be a difference maker in New England and we could've had him. Hell I loved Ferguson at that spot too as he has all the tools and production throughout his entire 4 years of college to be a contributor. These are valid reasons people don't want to take a chance on a prospect like Polite. Sure we can "hope" that he gets it together like the media keeps writing since we drafted him. However hope and the Jets usually don't work out well for each other. Go for the solid pick there. Mac continually makes the basic into rocket science. For 5 years now he has made horrible, reach picks and it shows in our lack of roster depth and talent at key positions. This is just another in a long line of those picks that should've been avoided in favor of a prospect with much less baggage/risk who also has plenty of upside. Mac will never understand the draft. He is not a GM. He's a scout with a poor eye for talent.
Always difficult to counter against the "I wanted this guy instead" argument. Here, let me try: Polite fell from the first to the 3rd round because even though he has first round talent, he had a terrible combine, which isn't ever going to be an accurate predictor of football playing ability like actual game film, but can be used as a supplement. Winivoch fell to the third round because he is a third round talent
My take is All true, we got him in the third round he's 21 years old. Gholston had a great combine, we got him at 6 overall. FYI Murray the first pick in the draft didn't run or do any drills at the combine. He didn't run at his pro-day. He has 1 year of great play at the college level against a no defense division. Almost every draft guru had him as the No. 1 QB in this draft and many had him as a generational talent who should go No. 1 overall. They're all prospect, they're all at different development in their lives. They all have different issues. This is a process that includes development. You have reasons not to trust the process but this wasn't a reach pick.
It's all over social media. Granted it's not everyone or a majority, but many are still freaking out over nothing. That is an absolute fact.
It's been acknowledged that he was totally unprepared for the combine, both physically and emotionally but he didn't get the help in doing so that the average guy does his agent failed him. I'm looking for specifics about what are being depicted as character issues and baggage. I don't find them and you haven't related any here. L. Williams, from the same high school, can be a great mentor for Polite and I wanted that word banned here over the past few years.
You're being obtuse. Go back and re-read what JetsNation06 posted in response to your original question. If you don't want to hear answers you don't like, don't ask the questions.
I read it, I understand it, but it's not responsive to my looking for the character issues some people claim exist. That's not being obtuse. Since you're so anxious to jump in here why not post something to support the contention that Polite is a problem child. His showing up fat and not being prepared to be interrogated don't fill the bill.
There are plenty of people out there who are complaining that they didn’t fill each and every hole. Maybe not on here (I haven’t been reading enough lately to give examples) But Twitter is loaded with a bunch of people who are complaining like impatient children. This team has really sucked for a long time and have been tanking/rebuilding for like 3-4 years now.
IDK how you can say that showing up at the Combine out of shape and performing the way he did in the interviews and then whining that "Everybody's out to get me" don't point to major character concerns. If you don't think so, fine, but why don't you explain your POV. And please go back and review the behavior of guys like Mo Wilkerson and Sheldon Richardson and Geno who were late to meetings and had a lousy attitude to see what the potential for Polite is. I'm NOT saying he WILL be like those guys, but the potential is there and is definitely a red flag whether you think so or not.
Honestly, Polite’s “character issues” just may be a blessing in disguise for the Jets, much the same way Alshon Jeffrey was for the Bears years ago. He would’ve been long gone otherwise as his play on the field was first round caliber.
The only reason he was making excuses is he had a huge blood sugar spike and needed a nap before going out for cake and ice cream.
My POV is that character issues refer to criminal and other anti-social behavior, not being unprepared for the combine. There is no indication such a thing exists; no arrests, no problems at school or at home and appears to be looking to take care of his family. When people say he was overweight, underperformed, blew the interviews and has character issues, I'm looking for those character issues in addition to what we know about the combine. Ultimately he is responsible for his performance at the combine both on and off the field but he appears to have gotten no preparation from his agent for what to expect and having been blindsided, reacted inappropriately and also added weight the wrong way believing he was improving his prospects. That makes him badly advised but not a bad guy. Nothing indicates he has a history of behavior problems, being late to meetings or has a lousy attitude. The potential for that exists with every single guy but nothing indicates his potential is higher. In fact, I believe his potential for such is lower due to his probable relationship with Leonard Williams, by all accounts one of the good guys. Let's hear from Lenny.
Okay, I better understand your definition of "character issues", although I disagree. Being as unprepared as he was, and then blaming his failure on others is a classic "victim mentality", and people who carry this mentality almost never look to themselves for improving, and see the world as "out to get them and hold them down". Saying that his agent should've prepared him as an excuse for his failure is weak. Unless he's mentally deficient (which would be a whole 'nother issue), he should be fully aware of what he needed to do to prepare himself for the biggest interview process in his life. That he did not is a huge indictment on his work ethic and character. No, he hasn't killed, raped, or beaten anyone but that doesn't mean he has good character.
