Eric said:
There were 13 teams that picked ahead of the Jets. Looking at the list, I'd say only calvin johnson, joe thomas, purple jesus, and patrick willis are ones I would take above him, and that's not even a sure thing.
I look at the draft largely as a crapshoot. Some decisions seem like guaranteed success and then turn out to be busts. Hindsight is 20/20, but did anyone honestly think Charles Rogers was going to be as bad as he was? Wasn't Plaxico supposed to be a bust-in-waiting? While he has had issues, he's been productive overall.
So maybe Gholston was a bad pick. Maybe Ferguson was questionable. There have been good picks too like Revis, Mangold, Washington, Cotchery, David Harris, etc. I think those players are viewed positively, but I don't watch the Jets much.
I suppose what I'm saying is that no team bats 1.000, so be happy that you have some players who have stuck. I grew up in Minnesota, and no matter how many CBs they drafted, they all stunk. It's possible not to get any good players in the draft.
I agree with you about all that. Revis is the kind of player who comes along once every ten years where it is obvious that barring injury, he's going to excel in the league.
That is pretty much what I mean about trading down. By "obvious pick" I pretty much mean someone who is a relatively safe bet for first round money. I will concede that this is subjective, but with certain players like Darrelle Revis, when there isn't a single negative scouting report, it's relatively safe as opposed to using the #6 pick on Gholston about whom the best reports said something to the effect of "he's a physical fitness freak who may be able to be converted into a football player."
To trade that #6 pick to another team for a later first round pick and maybe a second or third would allow us to bring in two guys that are not high first rounders and thus have to work for their jobs rather than expecting it to be handed to them. It's a matter of playing the odds. If I can draft 5 guys or 9 guys I will take the 9 guys thinking the competition for the jobs will be stronger. Afterall, we all know by now that late round guys can be just a productive (if not more so) than the first rounders (Tom Brady being the most obvious example).
The other problem is that Tannenbaum is often "extremely careful with money," and that's why even though he was smart enough to draft Washington, we will now lose Washington. Leon was the single most dangerous offensive threat in the league in 2008 and was paid the league minimum. The time to address this was over the off-season. Instead, Tannenbaum ignored it, hoping it would go away. Now this year comes along, Leon has the decency to not hold out for long, and comes to play assuming he will get the money he deserves. And note, Leon was not asking for top-pick money, just more than he was getting which he surely deserved. Instead, he breaks his leg while still under this pitiful contract. I am pretty sure he will be a free agent after this year and if so, why would he come back to the Jets when other teams will be more than happy to pay him what he's worth? This Tannenbaum mistake will have consequences. Leon was the answer for third down conversions and would have made Sanchez's life much much easier.
Eric said:
It's all of his pompous trash-talking to players and coaches. He seems to be this arrogant jerk. The defense is very good this year, which may be due to Rex Ryan.
Well, he is Buddy Ryan's kid so a certain level of arrogance is to be expected, no? Honestly, that's what I love about him and why I was praying the Jets would sign him as their coach. I want a coach that thinks his team should win every single game.
And all credit for the change in defense goes to Ryan. These are his schemes and his game plans and his in-game adjustments. Basically, everything he did in Baltimore for ten years he brought to the Jets and the players took to it in about four weeks. Once they bought in, the opposition stopped scoring.
I'd say they're a bit better than "very good." They lead the league in least points allowed and least passing yards allowed. The only defensive stat in which they aren't number one is rushing yards allowed and that has a lot to do with losing NT Kris Jenkins for the season to injury. Even so, they are still in the top 10 in run defense.
Eric said:
Maybe you can help me out, since I was about to say I don't know -- does Tannenbaum control who the coordinators are? I know it sometimes works out that the head coach has to do battle with the ownership/front office as to who calls the offense/defense (Redskins are a good example of this). If that's how it is with the Jets, then yeah, Tannenbaum deserves a bit more blame for having a predictable offense.
It's my understanding that Tannenbaum is in charge of the coordinator staff. I think Rex had input, but ultimately Tannenbaum has the final say, which is why Schottenheimer was held over for this year.
Eric said:
As far as that possibly being intentional, bear in mind a couple of things:
1) They have a rookie quarterback who has the potential to throw tons of picks. They may be right to keep it simple for him.
2) Different teams do the matchup thing differently. I know in the late 90s, Denver was a big-time matchup team, where they'd exploit things in other teams. The mid-90s Packers, not so much; they'd just do their thing and force the defense to adapt, which usually resulted in GB winning. It's a philosophy, and both have the potential to work.
I'm all for keeping the offense simple to help Sanchez learn the ropes and not put too much pressure on him. This sunday will be his 15th pro game, only one short of the number of starts he made at USC, so I know he's got a long way to go.
That said, when blocking schemes for the run don't work week in and week out, it's time to try different plays. If they didn't work last year, and the offensive line is the same five guys, it won't work this year either.
The other thing that gets me about Schottenheimer is his insistence on calling passing plays of inadequate yardage on third down. For example, if it's third and seven, they will throw a five or six yard pass. If the receiver catches is and gets hit immediately, what was the point? Why not go seven yards so if he catches it he already has the conversion?
He also calls a lot of passing plays on third and short. We have the number one ranked rushing attack in the NFL and a power back like Thomas Jones. On third and two I feel a lot safer giving it to Jones than giving it to Sanchez hoping he finds a receiver and said receiver makes the catch.
Eric said:
Rex Ryan does not strike me as someone who, when faced with a lack of power, would approach it in a mature manner and try to make it work. Just from outward appearances, he seems like sort who would be a jerk until he gets his way. Is it Tannenbaum's fault for hiring someone not willing to work with him as the GM? Absolutely. So maybe it does fall on him, but for different reasons.
I actually think Rex is doing an admirable job in his first season as head coach. He's made some mistakes and he hasn't repeated them, so he can learn which is good. When the Jets blew some games they should have won (particularly the second Miami game) he took all the blame (which was clearly not his to take as that loss was entirely the fault of the special teams coach for twice kicking off to Tedd Ginn instead of squibbing the second kick). In general, it seems like Rex instilled in the Jets that Ryan attitude that this team should win every single game. That's a far cry from where we were with Mangini who seems to just not care.
I don't think there's any tension between he and Tannenbaum. I just think the Jets would be better served to give Ryan more of a say in personnel decisions. He seems to know what he's doing. He developed a defense that allowed Baltimore to win a game with Trent Dilfer at QB. I live in Tampa so I know Dilfer's limitations. If a Ryan defense can win a Super Bowl with him at QB, surely Rex can work up something to benefit Sanchez.
All I know is that in his first year, with a rookie at QB and a brand new defensive scheme, he has this team in control of their own playoff destiny. Hard to ask much more of a first year head coach.
