Top free agents for next season

braylon edwards

 

There is no shame in missing on a second round pick even if your reasoning is unquestioned. God knows the Pats have missed on enough. But the fact is, your 2nd round pick SHOULD at least be able to be in the situational rotation at his position (unless he's a QB) He should never be inactive, on most special teams, and gets some snaps in the regular offense or defense. Ideally you'd like him to be a starter by his second year, especially at a position of need.

Chad Jackson was perfect example of a great 2nd pick that simply didn't work. out. Great speed, better hands, came from Florida where BB was tight with the HC, so he had the "inside scoop". He wowed them in the OTA's and passing camps. Showed some promise in his first year. Regressed in his second, and was gone by his third year. You just don't know.

Unless he comes in and becomes a solid starter at RT or RG next season, he's a bust. Live with it and move on.

BTW- the Jets have more to do on their OL than just find a RT. You have to rebuild your entire OL beyond your 3 signed starters - Don't you guys get it. You lost ONE player for 2 games and your entire OL fell completely apart for about 3 games.

OTOH, the Pats had to start 4 different C's, lost their RT for most of the season, and lost three games each from their LT and LG....and still were in the top 3 in just about every offensive category. Only one guy (Brian Waters) started every game.

If Jet fans are unhappy about their offensive line, think about how it would have looked f they had matched what the Pats had to go through. No Jet fans, you have to get better at RT, but you also have start to rebuild your overall OL depth with players you don't hold your breath with, if they have to play.

 

A. That one starter happens to be the best center in football who makes all the line calls.

B. Rob Turner the steady long term interior back-up will be back from IR, as will Ducasse who will continue to improve, and at the end of the preseason they traded for Caleb Schlauderaff who the team likes long term. That's 3 potential contributing back-ups with FA as well as Draft weeks away. Jets need a piece or 2 up front, but in no way is this a 2005-like disaster when seemingly the whole unit needed rebuilding.

I know you're trying your damndest to curb our optimism and to keep us down. What you fail to realize is if the locker room can be restored this team is fine shape. They went 8-8 not 4-12.

 

Ducasse had a consensus 2nd/3rd round grade heading into the draft so it is ridiculous to argue he was a reach.

It was also written about him: "Final Word: After just six years of playing organized football, Vladimir Ducasse has developed in to one of the more intriguing prospects in the 2010 draft class. An AP All-American, the Haitian native showed glimpses of being a dominant force within the trenches while participating in the Senior Bowl down in Mobile. It is easy to notice how raw of a player he is, as his technique in space is very inconsistent and he does not always appear to be comfortable on the edge. However when he is moving downhill, there may not be a more powerful interior lineman in the country. A move to guard is likely where he will need a year or two to refine the technique portion of his game. But his strong work ethic and ability to respond well to NFL coaching could evolve him in to a top notch guard at the next level. He carries a 2nd or 3rd round grade across the league but the upside here is higher than any interior lineman in this class."

edit: Everyone recognised Vlad was going to take time and be a project. Given the shitty 2nd round picks we have made over the years I dont see this one as being any worse than average (and has the potential - still - to be a lot better).

 

The Jets lost their center, probably top 2/3 in the league and their backup in the offseason. It is still their fault they were not prepared, but it was not just one player going down.
Now the Pats had starters go down, but look who they have at QB and the system they run. They use the short pass as runs and use their TE's down the seams to open up the running game later. On his worst days you have a top 3 QB.
Yes the Jets would have been screwed, and that is why many people are calling to sign a RT and than also draft a G to fill in behind Moore. In theory if this happens, we would have our starting 5, Turner coming back who can play all positions I believe, a backup G and then finally Ducasse who we don't know can take advantage of going away from a zone blocking scheme.

 

It was the specific combination of Turner going down in pre-season followed by Mangold getting hurt, followed by facing the Ravens, that was the Perfect Storm for the Jets this past season. Turner's absence meant the Jets had no real backup for Mangold. And even after Mangold came back, there were a few games where he was not playing up to his normal level.

Elsewhere in the line I did feel like Ferguson had a bad year, too, for him, anyway. Was it an aberration? He will have to be looked at next year, imo, and hopefully he will bounce back.

Slauson is no better than average at this point, and honestly he's less than average, although he should show improvement. I was disappointed in his level of improvement this past season from the year before, when he was the weakest starter on the team. Bottom line, LG is still a bit shaky.

Moore started to show his age this past year, although he seemed to steady as the season went on. He'll probably be decent to good again this coming season, but after that...

Hunter was inadequate although over the course of the season not as bad as some here saw him. Still I doubt he comes back as the starting RT next season.

And VD continues to be not much more than a wasted roster spot.

Going forward I expect they will bring Turner back. Perhaps he can begin to take over Moore's place. Ferguson hopefully returns to past form. Hunter maybe returns as the backup tackle. But the Jets will have to get a starting RT, and add to their bench by changing out VD for a real backup.

In short, while there are problems to be sure on the OL, it only will take bringing back Turner and getting a new RT to make the OL quite serviceable.

 

OK, it seems pretty obvious the Jets don't have a ton of cap space. They aren't in cap hell like the Raiders or anything, but it's clear they don't have a ton of space to operate with. People here also need to get real about getting rid of Holmes, Scott, or Pace. All those guys have way too much guaranteed money coming their way to part ways with them. All three will be on the Jets roster in 2012 and they will be carrying large cap figures.

So here is my take on what the Jets' MAJOR needs are going into the off-season, from browsing this thread I don't think there will be too many here that disagree.

1. There isn't one starting caliber safety on the team, they are gonna need to pick up two.

2. OLB

3. Pass rusher. In a perfect world the new OLB would be a good pass rusher, but quality three down players are hard to find at that position, and when they are available they cost way more than the Jets can afford.

4. NT. What happens to Pouha is one of the most important story-lines this off-season. I know he isn't going to command premier money, but quality 3-4 NTs are hard to find. It wouldn't shock me to see a team with more cap space to blow overpaying him and pushing him out of the Jets' salary range. The Bills and Chiefs are a couple of teams that jump to mind.

5. RT

6. WR

So that's seven players the Jets need to acquire at what I could consider critical positions. That also doesn't touch upon the depth concerns they have at TE, OL, RB, D line, and ILB, all of which could be upgraded. Obviously no team is perfect, and if they can do a good job with MOST of these positions, they can probably cover up the rest. But still, this is a very daunting off-season for Ryan and Tannenbaum, anyone who thinks this team is one or two moves away is seriously missing the boat IMO.

 

holmes is a great slot receiver just like cruz and welker has been this year. wich is his natural position. when you have to big receivers on the outside or even one big receiver on the outside it opens up holes for him in the middle. hes quick in and out of cuts and can shake d-backs just like he did on the steelers. Now that hes the number 1 hes drawing double coverage. Plax was no threat to anyone this year nor was he drawing any kind of double coverage or a safety look over the top at him. hes to small to be on the outside if he works the middle of the field such as quick slants curls ect. hes great. What we need is a guy that can take the top off the defense and give some room for Tone to work with. Maybe a reveiver like Robert Meachem and Braylon on the outside would open things up and we all know Sanchez first look is underneith or the quick out and if we can get that to Tone it can be a very dangerous match up for opposing D's.

 

Solali is a pipe dream IMO. He's gonna command big time money, tons of guaranteed and up front money. The Jets aren't in a position to offer that.

 

1. Draft a safety in round two and another in day two (rd 5-7). Sign another one in free agency ($500K-$2MM don't break the bank)

2. Resign Bryan Thomas
3. Mario Williams or the best available free agent (we may have to wait on this one)
4. Resign Pouha - give him whatever it takes to keep him
5. 1st round (if we use our first rounder on a guard we can plug in a free agent and draft a tackle in Rd 3)
6. Braylon Edwards or Brandon Lloyd

 

As opposed to just filling holes, you have to look at scheme. On defense, our line is meant to stop the run and suck up blockers. Right now, they are doing a decent job of that, and I think Wilkerson will improve and DeVito is definitely going to be starting in 2012. We really need Pouha back, because he does his job very well, and is clearly the leader of our D-line. Our linebackers are more iffy, obviously Harris is great at ILB, and even though Scott is loosing a step in coverage, Mauga is stepping up on that front, so we are ok in the middle. Pace is still a good player, just not nearly as dominant as he used to be. The other side is the bigger question. BT won't be back, and I really believe we need to use our 1st round pick on a really dominant OLB like Courtney Upshaw who can do it all. Linebackers are the ones who apply pass pressure and cover outside runs in our scheme, and they were not as solid at doing that this year. I'm not even sure if it is worth bringing Maybin back, although he probably will be pretty cheap considering he has only had one somewhat decent year. CB's play a huge role in our scheme, but fortunately we are totally set right there. We have needed a replacement FS since Smith began starting games in '09, but Leonhard was always in the right place at the right time. If he had the physical skills, he trully could have been one of the very top safeties in the league, but he is older and more injury prone now so we need replacements for both safety positions now. Especially since the Pats now have their TE tandem, we absolutely need players w/ the physical abilities to cover them. It might be very worth it to use our second round pick on a safety, and then trade up picks to take a second safety in that same round. Jim Leonhard is one of my favorite players, but IMO it's time for him to take on a coaching role.

 

Needs

#1-Pass rushers/Safeties/Impact players on D. Defensive linemen. LBs. They need to put pressure on the QB. The Jets haven't had a pass rusher since John Abraham.

The Jets need the Texans 2011 draft.

JJ Watt
Brooks Reed

3-4 D

Two big studs on D

The Jets need to go D with their first two picks

#2-RT. Depth on the OL.

#3-Another RB to share the carries with Greene. Ground and pound.

#4-WR. Holmes is here to stay. $$$.

#5-Competent back up QB. Put pressure on Sanchez. Burnell is 100 years old.

 

You can probably take Wetherford off the list too as I would guess that is a bit unrealistic now too.

 

1. Not an unlikely scenario, but that still leaves safety as a huge question mark going into 2012. How much time do you want a rookie on the field going against Gronk and Hernandez? That's assuming he can even understand the playbook and get on the field, if he can't what's the backup option? Last time Tannenbaum took a shot signing a cheap safety he went for Brodney Pool, how did he turn out? What if whoever he chooses this year isn't any better? How good of a player can you really expect to get in that salary range?

2. Also not a terrible decision. But you're still relying on a 33 year old LB coming off a major Achilles injury to play an important role in your defense. The only upside is he would almost certainly sign for the vet minimum. It's a real gamble hoping age or injuries don't catch up with him.

3. and 4. You clearly are not understanding the ramifications of the salary cap on the Jets here. You aren't in a position to be able to sign Mario Williams or any other of the best free agents. Those guys are gonna cost money the Jets don't have. Same thing with Pouha. With all the money they've invested in their top tier, they can't afford to give Pouha say, 15 million over three years. But other teams might be able to. Ryan and Tannebaum can only hope some other team doesn't get desperate. Considering how good a year Pouha just had, I don't like their chances. Don't even get me started on how royally fucked I think the Jets D line gets if they lose Pouha.

5. Consider Tannenbaum's drafting record since he started looking for the kind of guys Rex Ryan wanted. How many instant impact players can you really count on him drafting with 7 picks? If the Jets are gonna turn things around in 2012, they aren't gonna do it with rookies. They might find a couple that can help along the way, but be careful of expecting too much from a rookie class. It's almost always a guaranteed road to disappointment.

6. We'll see who they manage to bring in. Considering the state of their passing game last year, I wonder how free agent WRs are gonna view playing with Mark Sanchez. If I'm gonna sign a short term "prove it" deal with someone, I'm gonna want to go somewhere where I feel like I have a good opportunity to put up good numbers. The Jets' ground and pound philosophy doesn't really invite that.

The only way to Jets are gonna take a step forward is if Mike T can figure out a way to get good football players here on the cheap. Quality GMs can do it (look at the contributions from Andre Carter, Mark Anderson, and Brian Waters, they made less than $6 million combined) and now Tannenbaum is under the gun.

Sanchez, Revis, Holmes, Ferguson, Mangold, Scott, Harris, Pace, and Cromartie combine to make just under an $86 million cap charge. The only one of those guys you can even think about restructuring is Sanchez, and even that won't save more than a couple million. That's the way Tannenbaum built this team, and now he has to live with his choices.

From this viewpoint, I would say the Jets' near future is looking pretty grim.