I said it already in another thread...I think losing TJ severely hurts our offense. I don't follow the GM side of football that much, but the only way I understand releasing Jones is if it was a money issue. I had absolutely no problem with TJ's production. Late in the season he slowed down, he was also playing with an injury and carried the football 331 times throughout the season...not to mention protected the ball in all of those carries except for 2 carries. TJ is an absolute workhorse on and off the field. He is probably as healthy a back you can have on a team. I love the power of shonn Greene, but I think the organization is asking a lot of him at this point in time. As simple as this, we now need another legitimate back.
I love TJ as much as anyone else but I simply can't fault the Jets for this move. It's always better to get rid of an aging player 1 year too early as opposed to 1 year too late. Shonn Greene deserves his shot at being the feature back, and assuming Leon comes back strong, this move was a no-brainer. Also, don't forget that this is supposedly one of the deepest draft classes in years (including being particulary deep at running back) and the running back position is inherently one of the most replaceable positions in all of football.
this. Unfortunetly....another 10 TJones threads will have to be created before people on this board understand this logic.
The offensive line is a huge part of our run game but there are special running back like AP and Chris Johnson who would be great no matter what line of fat asses were in front of them.
that's ridiculous. The quality of your oline is integral to "whomever" is carrying the rock for your offense. Minnesota and Tennessee's olines are both pretty stout....which i'm sure AP and C.Johnson are quite appreciative for.
Let's go so far as to say that those lines aren't that good and that those two particular players are just that phenominal. Thomas Jones, at no point in his career, was ever on the same level as those two.
good point. TJones is a "reliable" HB.....but in no way shape or form....is he on the same astral plane as the other two.
he was just a workhorse back that churned yards. The word we are not using is "dynamic" TJ was never a dynamic player. AP and CJ are.
5.8 million for TJ is a lot of deniero. But he was asked to restructure his salary and he said no. So where is his heart? He had $13 million up front for the first two years, then made $900k this past season. Don't get me wrong, he's a hard player, but I think if he really wants to stay with the Jets, he would have restructured. He's all about the benjamins and football is a business. Just my 2 pennies.
Obviously, there are such things as elite runningbacks. Peterson and CJ are the two right now that fit in that category. If you think Jones is in that category, I'll have whatever you're smoking. Denver won for years plugging anyone and everyone at runningback. If we can get a guy who will be an elite runningback for years to come, sure, that would be great. But Greene and Washington should be one of the best tandems in the league. Washington, if he comes back healthy, is explosive, a big play waiting to happen. Greene is the power back. It's a fantastic combination that would have a huge year if both stay healthy. Without a shadow of a doubt, the best parts of Thomas Jones were that he never got hurt and that he rarely fumbled. Those are runningback qualities that are always good to have. That doesn't necessarily make him a better runner though. I bet if you put LaDainian Tomlinson behind the Jets line last year, he has a similar season. It's a gamble going into next season with two runningbacks with some injury problems, but the Jets drafted Greene last year fully expecting to dump Jones. It all went according to plan, and Greene met expectations. I'm excited to see him back there for a full season.
You're right, if TJ really wanted to stay, he would have restructured. However, I can't blame him in the least that he didn't take a pay cut. He just had back to back seasons where he broke the team's touchdown record. Why would he agree to a pay cut? It's slightly similar to the Johnny Damon situation with the Yankees.
So... two of our very effective, overpaid offensive line veterans (Faneca and Woody) are upset about the release of our very effective, overpaid running back veteran. Makes sense. I think a big part of the outrage is the fact that guys like Faneca, Woody, maybe Ellis, Jenkins... they're not going to be here in a couple years and they know it. They're getting a big whiff of their own professional mortality. FTR, I don't agree with the assessment that this was entirely a "business decision." It's a football decision, too. If TJ got more than a third of the carries in 2010, that would be too much. And frankly, Jones has made it emphatically clear, verbally and performance-wise, that he's a back who needs 20-25 carries a game to be productive. Forget the millions; 25 is the number we can't afford in 2010.
Gotta agree. If Jones had performed exactly how Green performed during the playoffs (minus the injury), I think he'd be back next year.
Sure, but there's exceptions like Steven Jackson in St. Louis (the Rams line is far "stout" but he still put up 1400 yards last season)
Steven Jackson is certainly an exception....I'd love to see what he could do behind the Jets oline. SJax's numbers from 2009 -rushing attempts = 324 -yards = 1400+ -yard avg per carry = 4.4 his numbers are similar to TJ's......the only difference being...the quality of the oline.
This feels to me almost like I imagine cutting Curtis Martin would have felt after Lamont Jordan's rookie year. First of all, because it cuts out the heart of the team. Jones was the engine that made this team go, the leader that made people care about what they did on the field. Maybe somebody else can fill that void, maybe not. Second, because the decision is being made based on a very, very limited data set on the new guy. Lamont Jordan looked great in limited action too, and went on to be a complete zero as a featured back. Maybe Greene will be better than TJ. Maybe he'll continue to bruise a rib or twist an ankle every two weeks. I haven't seen enough out of Shonn Greene yet to feel comfortable leaning on him for 250+ carries next year. So to sum it up, I don't like relying on Greene to fill Jones shoes as a rusher next year, and I have no clue who's going to fill his shoes in the locker room.
I hate the anonymous quotes though. If you truly feel that way then put your name on it and say it. Otherwise its really just kind of like people talking behind someone's back.
I always thought that at least 65% of anonymous quotes are made up by reporters for the sake of sensationalism
Agreed. His pride and sense of self worth is also why I'm guessing he refuses to come back even when he fails to earn his perceived value on the open market. In other words, I'm sure the team would love to bring him back at a price around $3 million, and I'm not sure anyone gives him much more than that. I doubt he takes that deal from the Jets in any circumstance, though. I hope I'm wrong.
