Knee-jerk overreaction. Jones started slow last year too and went on to become the AFC's leading rusher. Give these guys a chance to get going... good things will start to happen for everyone on the O including Jones. It isn't like they played like this against the Lions and the Browns...
I'm not a huge TJ fan based on last years production. What TJ does give us is durability and carries. This team is going to run more out of tight formations rather than the spread which means significantly less YPC but more options on third and shorts when we ran empty backfields all the time last year. We will also have more attempts and less YPC which will help Sanchez in the passing game.
you have to figure the more the season goes on the more the oline will get better and better. remember this is only the second year they are together and with players being banged up during the preseason they didnt really get to play as a whole unit that much. as teams start to respect the pass it is also going to open up the running game a lot more so you figure as the oline gets more comfortable and teams respect the pass more as the season goes on we will see a big difference in the run game. bottom line is im really liking this offense. if sanchez can get better every week if the pass doesnt kill teams then the run will. and with this dominate defense i think were starting to put somehing really nice together here boys
I think they are trying to save shonn Greene to bang at the end of the season when defenses are beaten up. They are not suiting him up bc they don't intend putting miles on the tires.
This is not a new position I am taking. I've been one of the most vocal proponents of shipping TJ out since the end of last season. The fact is, the clock is working against him. At 31, could this be the year that he falls off? Next year? Who knows. His trade value will never be higher than this year, though.
Greene probably isn't 100% yet... and if he's not... why rush him? It's not like he's going to be the difference between us having a running game and not this year. He'll be utilized for garbage time carries at most this season, unless Jones or Washington go down... and if one of them do go down, I'd bet we do see him very soon.
All the teams we face will be in "stop the run first" mode... They aren't putting 8 men in the box sometimes... they are doing it always! ALthough TJ and Leon could do better let's give them time, hopefully with the development of Sanchez teams will be forced to be worried about both the pass and the run. In Houston as soon as they stopped stacking the box we got of to some big runs, so I'm confident. Having said that I thought yesterday Fred Taylor showed he is clearly a better player then TJ. I know he's a work-horse but I think there are better work-horses in this league. Let's see what Shonn Greene does, next week he should get some touches. What I really didn't like yesterday was that all the running plays in the first half were directed exactly INTO Wilfork... I'm not saying you have to run it on the outside everytime... but don't go against the strongest player they have on run defense! I know they were trying to exploit the lack of Mayo in the middle but we never even got to the MLB with Wilfork in the way!
A lot of people, including myself felt that moving Jones now could be good for optimizing the value we can get for him... but realistically speaking, neither you nor I know what his TRUE value is around the NFL, or what teams would be willing to give up to get him. Don't forget, we only had to move down a round in order to get him, which isn't a whole lot. Chances are, no team out there is offering anything which would trump the value the Jets feel he has to the team now. For fans, our way of thinking makes sense but ultimately it's about winning games, and the Jets feel he can help the Jets win now and that any future compensation they can get for him won't equal the value he brings this year. As for his production, it will be just fine. Once teams begin to respect Sanchez / the pass (something they did last year with Favre on the team) lanes will begin to open for the running backs... and the flashes of long carries we've seen the first two weeks will become regular plays instead of just flashes.
