In the winter of 2003 the Jets decided no guard was worth top dollar, letting Randy Thomas go to the Redskins and beginning a period in which one or the other of the Jet's guard positions would be temporarily stocked by an aging journeyman every season with the other manned by as cheap an option as the Jets could find. The remark Terry Bradway made at the time was "you can't keep everybody." And thus the Jets began a 5 year period in which the guard position was manned by no fewer than 8 people who started games at one point or another (Dave Szott, Brent Smith, JP Machado, Jonathan Goodwin, Brandon Moore, Pete Kendall, Adrien Clarke and Will Montgomery.) Not surprisingly the Jet's offensive line declined from the strongest unit on the team to the weakest during this period. You can't pay everybody, but you're in real trouble when you keep letting offensive linemen go and acquiring non-trench players in free agency. With the Alan Faneca signing the Jets have turned their former position on it's head. They just made a guard the highest paid offensive lineman in football. Presumably it's the beginning of the ressurection of the Jet's offensive line into a highly competitive unit. That has to be good. Here's hoping they sign that Right Tackle they're talking about and make it one of the best units.
Maybe Faneca will be the key acquisition in the Jets resurrection just like Mawae was in 98(or whatever year)
Let's hope so, but I'm hoping the right tackle spot is filled with a young player, doesn't have to be a draft pick, but somebody around 25 who can grow and develop with Mangold and Ferguson. I would also like to see the Jets draft another guard (preferably a mauler type), who can be groomed to step in for Moore or Faneca in a few years. Let's never let the O-line die again.
The lines are where the smart teams spend their money and picks. The Jets under Tangini have finally realized that. This game is played in the trenches.
The Steelers and Jets are pretty much were in the same boat. It's not that they didn't want them, or didn't appreciate them - they just couldn't match the money they were going to get on the market.
I think the point is that instead of spending the money on other positions they should have made sure that the lines were taken care of first.
Im guessing the RT we sign is Olivea since Woody can only play Guard or Center(I believe)...Olivea got cut because he wanted a chance to start.
One thing for certain is we can finally put to rest this idea that Bradway is still making the football decisions. Breaking the bank for Faneca would not have happened with Bradway calling the shots..
Bradway had a great offseason that year 1. Loses Thomas, Coles, Hall and Morton (duh, how DO I match an offer sheet?) 2. signs Curtis Conway 3. passes on Reed for Bryan (invisible) Thomas 4. Then realizes safety is a need area and drafts Jon Mcgraw in round 2 5. Signs greybeards Martin and Chrebet to 8 and 7 year contracts (hello salary cap) no wonder we stunk in 2003
I don't agree with you often GSourJr, well that is not true I have never agreed with you. But this post is dead on and I agree 100%. Faneca is great, but the RT needs to be younger and signed long term. We can't stand pat though, we need to draft an Olineman high in the draft still. Let him sit behind Faneca for 3-5 years and soak up all that knowledge. Now that would be a long term return on our $40million investment!
That's not completely fair because once Brandon Moore has stepped in at RG he has become a really solid lineman. Who was our LG when Thomas was here?
No doubt! Bradway is locked away in a dungeon 100 yards under Hofstra so that he may never torture any team in the way he tortured ours. That or he's the person that has been Tannenbaum's coffee gopher. By the way Tomdeb, that's a nice recollection ability you got there. Painful though.
agree, Bradwaysux. im also of the opinion that we still need to draft a young OL somewhat early in this draft (R2 or R4). either RT or G, it doesn't really matter, as long as we add depth.
We should kept Randy Thomas and Kareem McKenzie, combine them with Brick, Mangold, and Faneca we have the best line in the league easily.
Agree completely. This O-line is shaping up to be a monster of a unit. We need to keep it that way. Even if we get anotehr FA lineman I would like ot see us pick one up to develop later in that draft again. Its and on going process, not a fix it and forget it type of thing.
You just wish they would find a plan w/r/t the line and stick to it though. One year Pete Kendall isn't worth an extra mil, next year Faneca is worth 8m a year. Faneca is an upgrade, no doubt, but do we have a plan for the O-line 2 years, 3 years, 4 years down the line, or do we just hop from 1 plan to the next year after year? You saw an emphasis on the O-line in 2006 with Brick & Mangold, and that seemed to be working. Last year...the focus seemed off of the O-line and we paid for it. This year, hopefully the line will be a focus again, but one year we plan to mix and match a line together and that's good enough, next year we're paying top dollar. Consistency would be nice.
