Crazy first day of FA...

The Washington Redskins have made the most ridiculous free agent and long term contract moves for years upon years. There was a stretch where they developed a creepy stalker like fascination with the NYJ, signing free agent players like Chad Morton, John Hall and Coles (and traded for Santana Moss). They gained the nickname the 'Jetskins', and there spending and taste for mediocre players with any type of name recognition (Randle EL, London Fletcher, Archuleta, DeAngelo Hall... ect) has no limit or end in sight. They signed the afore mentioned Hall to a 50+ million dollar deal today. Hall has a reputation for being a locker room cancer. The Raiders, of all teams, paid him millions to terminate his contract just to be rid of him, and released him mid season in 08'. Not exactly the type of player most teams would want to throw money like that at.

Halls ill advised massive contract was not the biggest or most absurd of the day for the Skins. They also signed Albert Hanesworth to a 100 million dollar contract that could max out at 115 million!!!!! Now, Hanesworth is a very good player and a great addition to a defense that needs an identity. But the size and details of this contract are BONKERS! He has 41 million guaranteed, meaning if Hanesworth suffers a career ending injury in the first game of the 09 preseason Washington will have to absorb over 40 million against their salary cap in future seasons. Also, he will receive approximately 32 million dollars of this contract in the first 13 months!! I'm flabbergasted. I like Albert, but there is a reason why a young, 27 year old player with over 5 years of NFL experience was allowed to walk by the Titans. They know him the best and we all can see he is one of the most dominate defensive player in this league. One must ask, why did Tennessee let him leave with little to no fight? I don't know the answer, but there must be a reason they didn't lock him up over the past few years. Just for the record, all totaled up the Skins have handed out over 180 million in contracts in the first 24hrs of free agency. WOW

So, onto the NYJ and their crazy first day of free agency. We signed Bart Scott. Amazing move by our new head coach and Mr. Tannanbaum. I never thought Baltimore would let him walk, and never thought we would take him instead of Ray Lewis. He's a much better pick up than Ray Ray, and thinking of him and David Harris together in the middle really makes me feel we have a legitimate LB corps, for the first time in years. If Gholston can step up this year we could arguably have the best LB squad in the league. I am thrilled with this pick up. One final note on this subject, I hope our new coaches respect the fact that our #1 ILB is Harris; he has been here longer and has a lot of good years ahead of him.

I am also thrilled that the deal with the super overpriced guard from Pittsburgh fell through. The front office re-signed Brandon Moore and our O-line stays intact! I know Mr. T loves 1st round draft pick, big money O-linemen, but even though Moore is not flashy or exciting, he's our best run blocker and a homegrown Jet. Welcome back big man!

We need all the help we can get at cornerback, so I can't really knock the trade for Lito Sheppard. He's not a shutdown #1 guy, but playing opposite Revis could be good for him. I guess the dream of scoring my first round pick this year (Alphonso Smith) is dying quick. The details of this trade are a bit shady; it contains another one of Tannanbaum's "conditional" draft picks he is well known for. I am not naive about the fact our team needs to win now, and the business related to the new stadium. I know how a "winner" makes the PSL's a lot easier for the public to swallow. However, these big contracts that are being handed out, and the draft picks that are being given away scares me. I feel no one is thinking about the future. We could end up in salary cap prison and without a good foundation of young players built through the draft. See the SF 49ers of the past ten years as an example of what I mean.

I have been singing the praises of Mr.T and our front office. They have had some solid draft picks and been very aggressive in free agency for the last few years. However they have made some horrible mistakes. For those who are not familiar with the Vilma trade, we got a conditional draft pick for Jonathan. If the saints signed him to a contract extension we would get a 2nd round pick. If he played 2008 with them and they did NOT pick up his option we would only get a 3rd. This looked brilliant on paper considering J-VIL was coming off a knee injury. There was an obvious loop hole the Jets overlooked. The Saints could let his contract expire, let him become a free agent and re-sign him the same day dropping our compensation from a 2nd rounder to a 3rd.

So they get an amazing MLB, a former 1st round pick and rookie defensive player of the year for a 3rd round pick. He has great character and is an amazing leader... and he's young! Harris and Scott fit our system much better and we are set very well without Vilma, but he was worth much more than a 3rd. This type of mistake is unacceptable and frankly embarrassing. The Saints simply fleeced us. We have a lot of people on the payroll that write these contracts and are suppose to cover us. Someone should loose their job!

One final quick note. The Pats picked up Chris Baker, and that gets filed in the ‘who cares’ department, but they also picked up Fred Taylor. He signed a 2 year 5 million dollar contract. I have no idea how the Pats get these guys to sign reasonable, fair contracts when the rest of the league is signing away boat loads of cash. I am sure Taylor's agent could have got at least 30 million from Washington for this washed up fossil...... sorry I couldn't help myself!

The Jets get an A- for day one of the offseason! Keep it up Mr. T

J.Wagner

Goodbye Coles!

Mike Nugent will be testing the free agent market “The Jets have been really cool about the situation and gave me time to decide whether to stay,” Nugent told The Star-Ledger in response to an e-mail Tuesday. “They approached us last week to re-sign, and also called again this week, and gave us a chance to talk about making a decision.

“I have so much respect for the organization and my teammates, but I feel it might be time for me to move on. (General Manager) Mike (Tannanbaum), (director of football operations) Ari (Nissim) and the coaches have been incredibly understanding of my decision process and I am really grateful to them"- The Newark Star Ledger

Let me translate this: The Jets are offering him the league minimum like the mediocre player that he is. That would create a scenario where we could bring him to camp to compete and cut him with no cap penalties.

Speaking of players who have chosen to move on, Laveranues Coles renegotiated his contract basically giving up his final year and six million guaranteed dollars. His best years are behind him and frankly the cap space is more valuable than his services. I was impressed by Cole’s comments about new coach Rex Ryan and how he felt very positive about their meetings. He said he would be open to coming back. Basically Rex said 'Hi I'm your new coach..... get out' and Coles said 'thank you sir, you are a hell of a guy!'. I guess that’s the difference between knowing how to handle players and being a complete non-personality like Eric Mangini (who is really charming the media and his new players in Cleveland). For the record I see Coles signing with Jacksonville not Miami.

Now the question is who will step in as our #1 receiver? In my opinion there is not a potential #1 WR in free agency. Houshmandzadeh is simply too old to contribute for more than a couple of years. He's going to demand a long term, big money contract and we have more than enough "past their prime" overpriced players... see Sean Ellis, Damien Woody, Alan Faneca, and Brett Favre( Ok, I guess #4 doesn't count anymore... has he filed those retirement papers yet???)

So that leaves the draft and trades. Kenny Britt from Rutgers would be a great addition, but a new quarterback trying to establish himself in NY needs a true number one. Obvious names on the block are Boldin from Arizona, Chad Johnson from the Bengals, and Burress for the G-men. Johnson and Plax are simply have too much baggage and Boldin would require most of our day one draft picks to make a trade happen.

That leaves no other options. Trades, free agency and the draft, that’s the only way to find a number one guy. I think Mr.T has painted himself in a corner right now and I don't feel optimistic for who ever takes over as our signal caller next year. My hope is that the Jets have planned this out and have some sort of trade worked out that is not obvious to an outsider. That requires a lot of hope, Obama-esc hope!

As a final note on the WR dept, I would pursue RFA Miles Austin from Dallas. Austin and Britt would compliment Cotch, Stuckey, and Clowney well. There isn’t a ready made #1 in this group but there might be a future #1.

Playing QB in NYC is unlike any other city in the NFL, our new signal caller needs a go-to-guy who can strech the field!

J.Wagner

Moore is less I guess...

Brandon Moore is on his way out. He's been our starting guard since 2004 (the year C-Mart won the rushing title) and has grown into a very solid lineman. Considering he was a DT at Illinois and was named All-Big Ten in his senior season, making the move from D-line to O-line is very impressive. He's 28 and entering his prime. Our O-line developed good chemistry and played well pass blocking and run blocking. So what does all that equal? Rumors are the Jets will release Moore this week and move Damien Woody our LT to LG and try to find a new starting tackle. Keeping with the age old Jets philosophy if it ain't broke, tamper with it and try to fix it.

Think of the 03' off-season when the Jets had a young quarterback (Pennington) who had completed a break out year leading the team to a division tile and a big post season home win vs. Peyton Manning and the Colts. On cue the Jets allow his top young receiver Coles to walk as a free agent, breaking up the WR corps of Chrebet, Coles and Santana Moss. In 07' we traded Kendal, a veteran guard who mentored our two 1st round draft picks and was the unquestioned leader of our O-line because of a minor contract disagreement. We had no suitable replacement and the line collapsed. A 4-12 season followed.

Knowing that we will have a new signal caller behind center it should be our number one priority to maintain the integrity of our O-line. It should also be important to hold on to a pet project player. We suffered through he growing pains, lets enjoy the harvest.

Now lets turn our sights to "the nuge". The 2005 season was a real turning point for our NY Jets. It was a 4-12 year and the end of the Edwards/Bradway regime. I remember our season opener in Kansas City, and more specifically I remember KC's opening drive when Holmes and Larry Johnson simply ran the ball down our throats. I also remember our top draft pick, Mike Nugent missing 2 short field goals.

Overall Nugent is an 81% kicker. He is 3-9 for field goals over 50yrds, and has even missed a few extra points. He is the second highest drafted kicker of all time, and was our top pick of the 05' draft. Those numbers reflect an undrafted journeyman kicker who plays for the league minimum and moves from city to city. So, hopefully we will cut ties with him now that his deal is up, and allow him to fade away into mediocrity.

Graham Gano form Florida State is probably obtainable with one of our two 4th round picks and looks like he has a big league leg. I am also sure that the Giants will release John Carney who had a great year in 2008. He's old, but has a year or two left in him. That being said, what ever direction the Jets decide to go in regarding our 2009 kicker, there is no question that Nugent needs to go.

Finally regarding the draft, I am on record that I don't want Sanchez or any QB in this draft and I would like to use our #17 pick on CB Alphonso Smith. However I hold RB Knowshon Moreno from Georgia in the highest regard. I had a co-worker who lived in Middletown NJ and watched Moreno from pop warner through to college. He gave me great insights into his upbringing and how he started at the bottom and worked his way to the top.

He has great character, amazing natural agility and instincts, impressive strength (25 reps on the bench press at the combine), and is an every down bell cow back. I pay little attention to the 40 yard dash, so Moreno's slow 4.60 time doesn't dissuade me. He is FAST, it's that simple. If this 40 time lets him slip down to #17, I would look very hard at this player. I know we don't have a real need at RB, and I am weary of 1st round big money backs, especially because there are so many good backs available. That being said, this guy is exciting and will be a real impact player for years to come.

The first round should be about game changers!

J.Wagner

The 2009 NYJ team needs/ draft and FA analysis...

Welcome to J-E-T-S-JETS.blogspot.com!

I plan on posting weekly observations and analysis of the New York Jets Off season, Pre season, Regular season and potential Post season, or lack-there-of. Things will hopefully stay analytical and I will try to post the bare minimum of angry emotional rants.

So, to start lets address the Draft and specifically the 2009 NFL Combine. Our draft break down as follows: 1st (17), 2nd (49), 3rd (78), 3rd (81), 4th, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th. The popular opinion seems to be that the NYJ should be addressing the QB position in this draft and possibly moving up in the 1st round.

The Jets have not been shy about draft day moves since 2006 when Mike Tannanbaum (Mr. T) took over the reigns as GM from Terry Bradway. In 2007 they targeted Revis and David Harris and were very aggressive about moving up in the 1st and 2nd rounds to get their men. Last season they quietly targeted Dustin Keller and moved up to insure he would wear the green and white. It also deserves mention that in 2006 the Jets resisted the pressure to move up from the #4 overall spot to #2 to draft Reggie Bush. They would have had to give up their #4, early second round pick and the following years #1. That would have cost us Ferguson, Clemens, and Revis.

That being said, if the front office should decide to target a QB in the top 10 and make a move to get him it's hard to criticize their past moves with picks like Revis Harris and Keller. My script for the 2009 NFL draft doesn't include a QB... in any round, and places our top pick at a position where we already have a young probowler.

I am a believer that an upper echelon team needs an identity and a dominate 'squad'. By 'squad' I mean linebackers, O-line, D-line ...ect. I feel you need one A+ squad to cause match up problems and win consistently. Our O-line is a B+ at most, and they are our most complete 'squad'. Drafting a playmaking dynamic CB in the first round to compliment Revis would make our secondary a real force.

Alphonso Smith will be available at #17 and is the perfect fit. He had 22 picks in college and has all the intangibles you look for in an NFL CB. A nickel package with Revis and Smith as bookends, Lowery as the nickel and Rhodes and Elam in the safety spots would be an A+ squad and reminiscent of Rex Ryan’s secondary in Baltimore. A dominate secondary and a quality O-line can help any team win on a regular basis.

Next I feel our WR squad needs a boost and the strong aggressive wide out from Rutgers Kenny Britt (6'3" 218lbs) should be on the board at #49. Consider an O-line that can run and pass block well, two productive backs in Jones and Washington, and a dynamic WR corps. including Coles, Cotchery, Stuckey, Clowney and the young Britt. Who ever ends up behind center couldn't ask for a much better environment.

I think our D-line is our weakest squad. Rumors are swirling about Sean Ellis's future with this team. After his arrest for drug possession last season, his lack of production, his age and his huge cap number, it's not far fetched to think he has played his last game for the NYJ. That covers our LE position and we have had no identity at the RE spot for years. The obvious rock of our line is Kris Jenkins. He is amazing. However, he has some durability issues. Therefore I would look a DT and a DE with size speed and upside with our two 3rd round picks.

I'll drop two names, Dorell Scott from Clemson: this 6'3" 312 pounder had a very productive sophomore and junior campaign. His lackluster senior year has let a potential 1st or second rounder slip to a late 1st day pick and a quality value. He would be able to play alongside Jenkins in the nickel and dime, and could provide good depth coming from a school that has produced a ton of NFL D-linemen.

I also like Rulon Davis DE from Cal: He's 6'5" 280lbs and a former Marine. He would possibly have been a 1st round talent but a car accident in 2005 injured his leg and his perception among scouts. He recovered and played well his senior year, but his past injury issues push him down the board. I see his speed and strength as a real mis-match problem for opponents, and his leadership would be valuable.

All four of these players, Smith, Britt, Scott, and Davis are playmakers, could contribute in year one and have no character or off the field issues. They also should be available with the picks we already have.

I won't go deep in to our day 2 picks, but I would address our O-line depth and look for an interesting half back. Cedric Peerman from Virginia should still be around in the 4th round. He has prototype size for a RB 5'10" 216 pounds, 4.45 40 yard dash time, 27 reps of 225 pounds at the combine, and can even return kicks. He and 'Neon Leon' could be a nice one two punch a couple of years down the road, both in the backfield and the return game.

I would address CB, WR, DT, DE, and HB with our first 5 picks. There is obviously still some glaring needs on our D-line and LB corps that could use some experienced free agents, and of coarse our field general and leader, our quarterback, still needs to be addressed.

I really like UFA's Chris Canty form the Cowboys and John Thorton form the Bengals. It looks unlikely that the Cowboys will let Canty walk, but trust me when I say that the Miami Dolphins will take a shot at him. Parcells drafted him, and it would be advisable to fill a gaping hole on our d-line and at the same time keep him away from a division opponent. Thorton could play anywhere on the D-line and can be a real menace in the trenches.

There is a lot of talk about Ray Lewis and I think his days in Baltimore are done. I see him landing in Dallas or here. I like Calvin Pace and David Harris and I am not nearly prepared to give up on Vernon Gholston after his unproductive rookie campaign. I think Ryan can turn him around and our new defensive coordinator is Rex's former linebackers coach from the Ravens. I feel confident Gholston will make an impact this year. Harris, Pace and Gholston need one more quality LB to fill out the squad. Lewis, in a limited role and serving as an ambassador for the two gap system could be worth his price tag. He really could be the X-factor as the #2 ILB. I don't think we absolutely need him, but he couldn't hurt and it's not my money!

Finally, after examining rookies and blue-chip draft choices, unrestricted free agents and the different "squads" strengths and weakness’ we are left with the 'one man' squad, the quarterback! We have Kellen, Brett (#5 not #4) and Ainge. I like the idea of an open competition, and for the record I have a feeling about Clemens. I think he can be our guy.

But, with a payroll like ours and the spotlight of New York we simply can't afford to go into the OTA's and preseason without an experienced veteran as part of this open competition. If Kellen can't make it happen in 09' he'll be gone. There are lots of free agent names out there like Warner and Collins, and a bunch of possible trade scenario’s with guys like Bulger and Kitna.

With all of the choices available my pick would be Jeff Garcia. Other than his time in Detroit which is well know as NFL purgatory, he has been productive and a winner. He has led the 49ers, Eagles ad Tampa to the post season. This team is not a lot different from the 2006 Philadelphia team that Garcia had success with. He and Brian Scottenhiemer would be a great match, and I think with him behind center we at least make the playoffs. Basically he would be signed to short money (1 year 3million) and he would be a stop gap insurance policy if Clemens falls on his face and Ratliff is not yet ready. This team is built to win now.

That covers our needs via the draft and free agency. In the coming weeks I will be focusing more on the draft and the QB department, but I will also be addressing some other topics like my take on the Vilma trade debacle, the PSL debate, the Westside Stadium and Woody's broken promise, and the Jets curiously celebrating the 40th anniversary of Super Bowl III, and not realizing how it puts a spotlight on the fact we have been unable to win a championship for 4 decades.

Being a Jets fan is a blessing and a curse, J-E-T-S-JETS!

J.Wagner

Perfect first post....

... enjoy the video =) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-6Tn0Ie-AQ