I was very angry when the Jets let Woodhead go. He always reminded me of a running back version of Wayne Chrebet. A scrappy kid who seemed to break tackles and gained some big yards. A typical bonehead deal from Rex. McKnight shows up to camp out of shape and puking during drills and we keep him and trade Woodhead, a freaking joke.
And as other posters have said, Joe McKnight would make LT look bad with Tom Brady as his QB. Good QBs elevate other players. Sanchez isn't there and may never get there. Do you really think Victor Cruz would be as good as he is with Sanchez? Kolb? Fitzpatrick?
The real answer here has more to do with "Thinking outside the Box" (Although it could be ego too..) Year in and Year out we see a JETS CS who fails to do it. They are constrained by their own ideology and vision of what a Football player at X position should be.. You can go as far back as Bruce Coslet getting rid of Terance Mathis because he was "Too Small" for what he wanted in a WR. Look at Rich Kotite.(Not that I want to but) The guy Kept Chrebet when no one else would even give him a shot. Now you have Woodhead who about 90% of JETS fans loved and saw what he was capable of in Preseason games.... NOPE.... too small...argh. Now, Devil's advocate here says that there is No Way Woodhead would have been successful with this O-line that we have... Others would say, he is exactly what we needed....
Worst article I've read in a long time. "Durrrrr, Rex doesn't care about winning, only his ego". GTFO. We had Greene, LT, and McKnight when we let Woodhead go. Besides, do you really think Woodhead would be as effective in our system? The Patriots are a pass first team that lets the passing game open up the running game. Danny Woodhead has one good game and now he's a world beater. :lol: Desperate times for the media I guess with no real Tebow stories. Woodhead is a great RB in a system where teams constantly play the pass.
As effective as Greene? Yeah, probably. Look at Gholston, Conner, Hunter and now Sanchez. These are the guys Rex has heaped praise on, only one of them is still on the team and Rex stuck with them all for way too long. NE had a pretty solid group of RB's, TE's and receivers but they saw what Danny could bring and jumped on it.
If the Patriots were a run first team, Woodhead wouldn't survive there. Brady IS that team. History has shown that you can surround Brady with almost any group of receivers and running backs and he'll still get the job done. They switch them around almost every year. Brady is a master at his craft as much as I dislike him.
As others have pointed out, this is ridiculous. Woodhead just didn't fit the Jets offense -- and, despite the revisionist history, they did try to get him touches -- and his release was about not carrying a 4th runningback who provides next to no value. If Woodhead wasn't a short, "scrappy" white guy who sportswriters and fans try to use as a vessel for their failed sports dreams, nobody would give a shit about him. He'd just be another scrub who became a stud from playing on an offensive juggernaut with a Hall of Fame QB.
Rex's ego wasn't the reason Woodhead was released, it was this organization's flawed scouting/priorities. For whatever reason, this decision makers on this team are putting too much emphasis on potential/abilities, and less on consistency/leadership/results. It's why we see them draft too many projects, its why they've let guys who were consistent go (not going to list them - way too long). And replaced these guys with players with a higher "ceiling" than actual production. Brady's quote about Woodhead: "He's just come in and done such a great job. He's the ultimate team player and teammate -- dependable, consistent, you always know the level of play you're getting from Danny." Those are great words and speaks to what the Patriots value, but that's not good enough for the Jets brass. They lose sight of that kind of stuff and focus more on things like his speed, his size, if he has the potential to become something special. McKnight is faster, quicker, probably has more ability, but he doesn't have it together like Woodhead. Dependability, consistency, etc, are his weaknesses. He is the opposite of Woodhead and the Jets have a team full of guys like this! That's why they lack depth, the lack consistency and they have a framented locker room - because they don't value these things. Woodhead didn't get cut because of Rex's "ego"- Woodhead got cut, because organizationally the NYJ brass has flawed values, poor scouting and a lack of foresight on how to build a winning organization.
He's becomes a decent third down/receiver type running back. There are times he looks pathetic but then there are times he'll adjust his route when Brady is scrambling and help turn a potential sack into a really nice positive play. Yeah he's a cog and no all-pro by any means but he's earned his way into starting offense.
While the above is correct, Woodhead got cut because we were thin at WR, if you remember, Rex on Hard Knocks complementing his play, but saying 'but at the end of the day, it's that size' Woodhead is not a product of Brady, he's a product of a team that actually employs offensive minds. Now, As for the Sanchez bashing, keep in mind that he's barely had anytime to work with the same set of skill players since Sparano took over. (And Austin Howard has been....ahem...underwhelming)
I don't know how woodhead is getting production but I had no problem with Rex's decision to cut him. Everyone's a genius in hindsight but who would guessed this small uncharateristic rb would have had success? no one
Correct, he was waived for WR David Clowney in the 2nd or 3rd week of the 2010 season. And as we all know, Rex drafted and loved Clowney and was just protecting his ego!
Woodhead is great in the Patriots offense. Most players are. He wouldn't be doing anything in the offense that the Jets run.
I distinctly remember when woodhead was cut everybody on this board was like "Watch he go to new england and become this annoying little RB Welker type" seriously, go back in the archives
I am not saying he is terrible, but its hardly as though we let go the second coming of Barry Sanders that would actually warrant such a ridiculous article.
Let's be honest the short white guy was cut in favor of the tall athletic black guy. A move that works out probably 99.9% of the time.
