The Jets...now, this off season and next year...

So I'm sitting here, last night, and decided to take a step back and give it some serious thought...from a coaching and FO stand point. I've read every comment in a number of threads and there are some serious insights to some of the posts. Let me see if I can offer some light and sum up some of your thoughts based upon my musings and thoughts from last night.

Now, some of you know me a long time and some know I used to play football in the NFL. Believe me or not...I do have some unique experience to the insides of a locker room. But forget that. Let me tap into everyone on here who played High School football...because it applies as well to the conundrum that many are wrestling with.

Think back to your days on the H.S. gridiron. More specifically...practice. Unless you were a number 1, think long and hard. Remember how you kept telling yourself "if only you had a chance to show something in practice you might get into a game." Now, remember how many chances you got in practice to do that. I'd be willing to bet you NEVER got that chance. You always got kicked to the curb...never got much more than a snap or two in between the starters catching a "blow". Unless you did some amazing miraculous thing that totally blew their hair off you were back to the sidelines/bench. And that was WITHOUT the FO, or in this case the principal, breathing down the coach's neck.

Fast forward to the NY Jets today. A lot of you have speculated about Tebow and McElroy. Well, we already know about Tebow. He has enough of a body of work that they, and all we fans, know that he may win us a game or two or three but he is not a long term solution in any form. Until he goes and fixes his mechanics...a big IF he CAN fix his mechanics, then he is what he is. As far as McElroy goes, he's that H.S. third stringer that MAYBE gets a couple snaps a WEEK to show what he can do. Per my experience and what we the fans already say, during the pre-season, "it's only pre-season". Anything McElroy does in pre-season is relegated to an after thought because hey, it's only pre-season and they were the scrubs. Only a very few get extended real looks based off a pre-season performance. Everyone in the locker room knows it. One of the reasons that training camp is so important...because it's really the only time you get somewhat even time. McElroy was doomed with the loss of training camp last year, on top of the hand injury. That essentially ended his career, barring injury, to be anything more than a career backup. Not 100% of the cases but 99.9%.

Now, let's bring the FO into the fray. Johnson is concerned about one thing and one thing only. Revenue. It's quite clear by his moves. You know, I know it and the players know it. To reference a link, from another thread, from the NFL guys...Marshall Faulk summed it up correctly. This is bigger than Rex Ryan. He is a fantastic coach...but you can only do so much when your boss is telling you how it's going to be. Then, demanding that you conduct such trades as going after Tebow. He knew that would generate media buzz and plant butts in the seats etc... Screw any rational football reason to bring the kid in. That was not important. And, as many of you already speculate...the entire team knows it. Including Tebow. Tebow's only action plan can be to be the good soldier so that he might have value to another team as a FA later down the line. As far as Mark Sanchez goes...he may be a good QB. But, like David Carr and many before him, his confidence is shot. His first two years he had the talent around him to make mistakes but still succeed. At this point in time he has nearly no talent around him and what he has gained in experience is lost in "no confidence" in his teammates on the offensive side of the ball. You can count the teams, on one hand, who have won in spite of the QB. As recently, Baltimore is one of those examples...although, Trent Dilfer was a far better game manager and had a bit more talent on the offensive side of the ball.

The shining example of how to manage a football team is the Pittsburgh Steelers. The owner almost never gets involved and allows his "football" people to run the ship. There is a reason why they are consistently competitive. All owners should go to the Rooney school of ownership. Look at some of the examples. Dallas and Washington come to mind immediately. Johnson isn't quite a vocal as those two but no less meddlesome.

A prime example of what we SHOULD be doing is most recently reflected in San Francisco. When the elder York had his hands all in the bucket they sucked. They give the reins to Baalke and let the more "hands off" York son run the show and let Harbaugh run the team and the result is obvious.

I'm not telling you anything any of you don't already know but hopefully directing you to think of other things you might not have.

My solution (unlike the recent elections, when I bitch about something I offer up my ideas/solutions):

1. Firstly, W. Johnson needs to sit down, shut up and write checks. End of the story.
2. Rex Ryan needs to be maintained as head coach. He has done NOTHING to indicate to me that he cannot handle the job. Most facets of the team, on the field, are fine and continuity must be maintained He hasn't "mailed" it in and he wants to win more than some of these players...as far as I can tell.
3. Tim Tebow must be released at the end of the year...if not mid-season. We have far better uses for his roster spot than 10 plays a game that result in less than 30 yards. This needs to happen unconditionally. Boo hoo about the draft pick etc... Let Woody eat it. Sorry kid, but unfortunately you are the fallout of dysfunctional ownership. Good luck in your future career.
4. Depending upon the outcome of the college football season, go after Chip Kelly...hard! For the Offensive Coordinator position. Throw some big bucks his way but also rationalize with him that, in recent memory, almost every single supposed "super genius" college football coach to come out and be a NFL head coach ends up back in college after huge failure. Explain that to avoid such humiliation he come in and get into the "flow" for a few years as an OC. Get up to speed. Have some success. Be a part of a SB winner first. At that point it's not foreign to him. He would turn the 'O' around I'm confident. Let him be the one to determine if Sanchez is salvageable, if we have something in McElroy or if we need to go out and change direction.
5. Santonio Holmes must be removed. He is not conducive to winning. He is so much about "me me me". More so than the average football player. They all have ego's but he is off the chain. EAT his salary. I'd rather have two marginal WR's doing their job than one supposed star tearing up the offense.
6. RT, G. These positions must be addressed. Quickly. I really do not need to expand on this.

Contrary to popular belief I think we can win with Greene, Powell and McKnight. You can only do so much in the off season. But, fix the line and the running game will follow.

Our first round draft choice, depending upon the new OC's input, should be a WR. Much like we are seeing with QB's now...colleges are preparing these kids far better and they are much more likely to be able to start. I would have taken A.J. Green's rookie campaign production this year...hands down. We need a WR to compliment Hill. On that note, Hill needs to hit the Jugs machine every single day this coming off season.

Obvious needs but the key is Johnson. He needs to shut it and sit down. He doesn't know football and, most importantly, needs to realize that he is in NY. If he were to LET the football people field a competitive team the revenue would be there! There's been a waiting list for years for season tickets. If the Jets were to field a SB winning team the revenue would be there! Just sit down, shut up and let the football people do what they do.

 

No kidding! LOL!! Honestly I'd be happy to have a few of them. But, those were simply my solutions.

You are probably right about Chip Kelley but, as you also mentioned, it's worth a shot. But that merely signifies my thought process. I'd go for some decent "top gun" in the college ranks. Someone who isn't afraid to let it all hang out and balls to the wall.

I really am not sure how much value Tebow will bring. When he was out there only Jacksonville had much interest. But, you never know. He MIGHT bring a 7th rounder but I wouldn't waste a great deal of time on it.

Also, I still think we have a serviceable running game if the o-line is upgraded. As well, that will only help the passing game too. There is only so much that can be done in a single off season but, to me, WR is a far bigger need than RB at the moment. Of course, RB could be looked at in the later rounds...but just setting my priorities for this off season only.

You know...I'd call into the various Sirius shows...I listen to a bunch of them. Really like the P.K. one. Problem...every single person who calls in it seems they are on hold for hour(s)! I don't have that kind of time to simply bullshit football!!!! :breakdance: