and by the way...the o-line should not be judged antil after we witness tj run behind it ...lets face facts, tj is the most physically gifted back the jets have had in quite some time ... blocks will not have to be held quite as long before he explodes through them.we can also expect quite a few more passes in the flat with he and washington...westbrook type plays thare really just extended hand offs.those 2 and chad will execute those type of plays more frequently than we've seen in the past due to tj's skill set ...
They drafted Harris in the 2nd round not the 1st. And Tannenbaum stated after the draft that they didn't expect to trade up once nevermind twice. The deal in the 1st round with Carolina came to them and the deal in the 2nd was only done after Harris dropped. Obviously they had those 2 players rated highly, but I don't know if they went into the draft targeting them specifically looking to make trades to get them. Unless you are talking about a K or P, no one is "targeted" in the 7th. Not sure I get the logic here. Granted Jones' ability will help the run game. But if the run blocking sucked, evidenced by the 25th ranking last year, and nothing was done to the Oline (maybe even losing a starter in Kendall) I don't see how it will be better. Unless the RB's name is Sanders, he is going to need some gaps consistently to run through. And right now, with the right side of the Oline the was it is, that is going to be a problem. Look I do think the team got better from last year. With Revis, Harris, Jones, Coleman, and the additions to the coaching staff, this was a productive offseason. But there was a BIG BIG need to improve the run blocking and continue upgrading the Oline. And for whatever reason it wasn't addressed. As of right now the Oline is the weakest unit on the field. I have enough faith in the CS to work around this for a year. But I think it is naive to that there is going to be as vast of an improvement in the run game this year as some people are saying.
Im just saying first off, a OT drafted #4 overall should be able to run block, and he cant. Second off, hes had problems in pass pro to. I've gone over and evaluated Brick a million times, and people think I'm ripping into him. I'm just being honest, he has the skillset to be a premier pass blocker but he does have obvious flaws in his game so me giving him the benefit of the doubt is hard to do. still too early to judge but I'm not gonna say hes performing up to standard. especially if he still weighs under 300 lbs. and as stated overall our run blocking isnt good at all. were pretty good at pass pro but I laugh at the fans who think our run attack will improve simply because of Thomas Jones.
How's about putting things in prespective. In 2006 we had a two rookies start at the two most critical spots on the OL. Our RT was a FA pick-up in his firts year in the system. Our LG is an undersized, albeit heady, FA pick-up from the previous regime. Our RG was serviceable if not spectacular. Our main RB was injured and his replacements couldn't fill half of his shoe. The starting QB has played less than a season together with his OL. Given these conditions, to achieve the level that the offense achieved last year was nothing short of encouraging. The OL got stronger as the season progressed. The coaching staff managed to get by and squeeze the most out of this group in order to stay competitive. Now with one year's worth of the Mangini system under their belts, the addition of Thomas Jones and Chad not having to go through rehab during the off-season could only spell better things for this season. Add the fact that we're way below the salary cap limit and a perceived stronger crop of O-Linemen coming out for the 2008 draft and you could have a recipe for a strong (if not) dominant unit by the time the team is ready to consistently appear and advance in the play-off in a year or two. The OL a joke? Maybe you should reconsider your position.
The running game will improve not just because of the addition of T. Jones but also by having the OL play under the same system for one more year. +
it will help, but i still question bricks run blocking ability (questioned it out of college so its not a "hes just a rookie" problem) kendalls weight/age mangold is a mammoth only thru and thru keeper on the line. moore is avg which doesnt say much. and clement is better than moore but not as good as mangold. im just saying looking ahead for the future of the team we have a very questionable OL unit. i liked our draft but i was one of the fans clamoring for at least one OL pick in the first two rounds.
He was a huge dissapointment from day one in Miami. He never seemed particularly strong and got overwhelmed all the time. I remember at Carolina watching him excell in space, on the run in front of Stephen Davis, but our Schemes, and lack of O-Line talent wouldn't allow those types of slow developing plays. I think the guy is done, and shouldn't be added and expected to provide anything more than depth at a bargain basement price.
The run blocking ability concerns me too. I do however, think Clement played alot better by year's end and was turning into an anchor. We also have one of the best OL coach's out there and the continuity(returning at least 4/5 starters) should really improve things. As for Brick, he's obviously an average drive blocker at best, and always will be. He can be a good trap blocker, and great at pulling, but he was brought in to do one thing: to be a blue chip pass protector for the next 12 years. He is well on his way to be being just that.
If as you say he was "coming" on at last seasons end they why did nobody pick him when he was a UFA this off season?
Truthfully b/c he hasnt had much exposure throughout the league. He played in Zona his first 6 years, started most of the time, but any success he had was overshadowed by the franchise's obvious mediocrity. His first season w/ us, he was extremely inconsistent. At the beginning of the year, he was our worst linemen, and was WAY to finesse and passive for his size. By year's end, he was really becomming an anchor, but i'm sure the inconsistency scared some teams off. He supposively has had a great offseason, continuing where he left off, and has some competition behind him...so we'll so where that leads. He was highly touted coming out of college, and Parcells was on record that year stating that Clement was his # 1 target, and if he had been available when we selected, he would've been a jet(We settled for Dorian Boose).
Well last year he surely did not excel. MHO is that 31 other GMs vs one is bad odds that he would ever be more then medicore but time will tell I guess as quality OLman like DLman just do not fall off trees . Ah Boose the king of the xhibition sackmaster & when real time began he disappeared. Another one of our #2 draft choices that we just plain garbage
