I think part of the reason the Jets haven't been able to address their OL is their cap space, or lack thereof. 3 of the top 10 cap numbers belong to offensive linemen, and fourth member (Hunter) is a $2.5MM. Compare that to the Pats situation. Outside of Mankins ($7MM) there isn't a single member of the Pats OL who has a cap cost of more than $2.2MM. The fact is that the Jets cannot afford to add a quality FA offensive lineman. The only reason the Jets could afford Otah was he is on his last year of his rookie contract. No BB, in the future about the only way the Jets can improve their OL is through the draft. Hill might be the sexy, popular pick, but perhaps maybe an OT in the 2nd round might have been a better long term investment
Taking Coples in the first round may well pay off, but I did not have the DL as a top priority in the draft, or in the whole off season, for that matter. Yes, the logic of the cap was that OL, preferably OT, should have been handled with a first or second round pick. Of course they did that two years ago and ended up with a lousy case of VD.
There it is right there. If the issue was cap space then why wasn't OL a priority in the draft? That's what I don't get. As much as I like the Coples/Hill picks I still can't help wondering if they didn't fuck up by not taking an Olineman. I'm sure they were aware that there wasn't going to be much available on the FA market so what exactly were they thinking? If they were thinking that WFH was going to step up this season, the Otah trade says otherwise. I just can't figure out how they expected this situation to be resolved outside of the draft. I guess we'll now just have to wait and see how it develops...
1. Guaranteeing 2.5M on WFH is a colossal stupidity at its best. 2. Because of that, when Eric Winston came free, Jets couldn't go after him either. 3. Not drafting future RT with this draft is another example of colossal stupidity.
THis was a horrid year for O-linemen when you remove Decastro from the discussion. Everyone is bitching that the Jets didn't address the O-line in the draft...but reaching for need is no way to build a team. Especially in the trenches. That's how you end up w/ guys like Mike Haight & Dave Cadigan. The Jets went w/ a best player available approach and still managed to fill many of their needs w/ promising young talent. Furthermore, the Jets made an OL draft pick "for the future" 3 years back...and people have been calling him a bust since the second he walked onto the practice field..His name is Vlad Ducasse.There's no pleasing some of you
So, because when they do use a high pick for OL and get VD, that means they can't be trusted to use a high pick for OL again? I used to think you were kind of a sunny side, uh, what's another word for homer? No offense. You're a good poster.
Somebody has got to have some positivity on this board. I take no offense as I'm sure I've called you a dark sider a time or 2. All I'm saying is this idea that the Jets completely shun the O-line/future of O-line is off base. The Bradway/herm administration was definitely guilty of that..but Tannenbaum has made efforts to keep the unit strong. This year just stunk for O-linemen & furthermore it doesn't make sense to reach for need. Especially considering all the other needs the Jets had and were able to fill with better overall players at other positions.
I don't know about that BB. I think it would have been very hard no to have picked a defensive player at #16, whether it was Coples, Jones, Ingram, etc. IMHO the best value at that point of the draft was with the defensive players. Now looking back on it with perfect 20-20 hindsight. Perhaps the best thing the Jets could have done would have been to trade down and load up on picks in the 2nd and 3rd rounds. If the Jets, for example had traded into the bottom of the 1st round or into the top of the second, they could have gotten one of the 2nd tier OT's, like Mike Adams, Mitchell Schwartz, JMartin, or Cordy Glenn, and STILL have enough ammo to pick up a pass rusher like Upshaw, Curry, or Brown, or a Quality DLman like Still, Reyes, or Worthy, AND a WR like Hill, Randle, or Jeffery With the kind of ammo the Jets would have gotten by trading down into the 2nd round they could have had turned that into 3 picks in the 2nd.....at least, and have wound up with say Cordy Glenn, Upshaw, AND Hill, and if they wanted to trade into the 2nd round like they eventually did anyway, they also could have added a nice DL prospect like Still, Reyes, or Worthy. Can you imagine the Jets coming out of the 2nd round with Glenn, Upshaw, Hill and Reyes?......and still have 5 more picks. As a Pats fan I wouldn't have liked THAT. The only way teams can afford to keep costs down in with the draft. The Jets took a first step this year, and a lot of those picks are going to stick. For a couple of years the Jets need to take a lesson from the "other BB" and go for quantity and hope for the best. The Pats OTOH will have to be satisfied with slimmer pickings for the next few years before BB decides to unload an established player in exchange for some picks.....Maybe Welker after this season.
Jake Steinberg @Steiny31 It was reported that former Dolphin Vernon Carey was on the #Jets short list if Wayne Hunter were to struggle. Well, Carey retired today.
I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure it was mentioned that the Jets did want to trade down in the first. The problem is, if nobody wants to trade it's a moot point.
It seems almost impossible to me that the Jets can't replace Hunter. He's a serviceable backup, but an AWFUL starter. I can't believe there isn't a Fathead or a cardboard cutout somewhere better than WFH.
the jets passed on decastro in the draft, so the steelers were able to get him. unless couples turns out to be a beast, that could be the wrong choice.
It's hard to get above average O-linemen without drafting them or paying way above market value. For the most part they don't make that much money, so if team's have good ones, they keep them until they are no longer useful. So if you have a turnstyle on the O-line, like WFH, the only way you are really going to replace him is via the draft. I'm sure we'll see a few guys picked up in preseason tossed off of other team's rosters, but we'll just be stuck hoping that some other team's WFH comes here and produces better than our WFH.
Stronger interior line play helps the unit, somewhat fortifying the weakness of the outside....... and allowing Slauson to potentially move to RT (where he had some collegiate experience) * *Woody made the transition from G to RT If Couples turns into a stud, then the JETS defense could be nasty, but DeCastro was my choice. Also in regards to the "trade down" scenarios, like someone else said, it's not a guarantee, you need a willing trade partner to do so. The JETS using up their clock on the pick, tells me they were working the phones.
QFT. With OTs, it's hard to even find any as FAs in most years. This past off-season, I think just about every decent OT re-signed with his team for a hefty price increase. Demetress Bell was on the market and signed with Philly, but he's mediocre at best and injury prone with bad knees which is why the Bills decided they'd rather draft a couple of young ones than over-pay for Bell. The best a team can expect to get from TC cuts would be a young guy with potential that another just doesn't have room for. That might pay dividends down the road, but it's unlikely to help this season. Any "quality" veteran OTs that are cut will have to go through waivers, so it's unlikely that the Jets would actually have a chance at them.
I am really hoping that Hunter will benefit from having Sparano as his OC instead of Schittenheimer. From what I have read, Sparano is more of a hands on coach so hopefully Hunter can be his project to straighten out.
