I have tons of faith in Tanny, Rex etc and I'm sure they'll do an excellent job... however this doesn't mean I don't have a personal opinion on who should be retained. Who should be kept: Wayne Hunter, RT: I poured hate on the guy as much as I could last year for his performances against elite DL/OLB such as M. Williams and C. Wake but, as he got used to playing, he actually performed pretty well. In a perfect world Woody would be able to come back and play another season at a good level but achilles injuries are tough, especially on a 30+ yrs old player that has been having weight problems his whole career. Hunter is a capable starter and provides competition for Ducasse moving forward at what should be an honest price. Let's not forget he's also been on this team a while so he knows perfectly how we play on our OL, an aspect that shouldn't be overlooked. Chemistry is very important in the trenches. Robert Turner, OG/C: This guy is our first reserve at both guard spots and C. He is very underrated in my opinion and would be a starter on some NFL teams. You might remember him on Hard Knocks for: a) Screaming at Ducasse what his assignements were and explaining them to him on the sidelines over and over again. b) Not giving a fuck and starting a fight with Gholston. You might remember him on the field for: a) Playing with a mean streak and really well in place of Mangold or in sub-packages. b) Getting stupid penalties as he tries to kill people after the whistle is blown. Like Hunter he's been here for 4 years and knows what we do up there really well. Brodney Pool, FS: Athletic ability has never been the problem. His issue was he wasn't the fastest guy to understand Rex's D. But can we blame him? Playing FS for Rex isn't the easiest thing in the world as players are left a lot of freedom in deciding what to do (unlike other Ds where it's more of a mechanical read-and-react). Down the stretch, and especially in the playoffs, he played very well showing he finally understood what his role on D was. I think he's on track for an extremely productive season as a starter. Eric Smith/James Ihedigbo, S: They're very similar players in size (6'1" 207 vs 6'1" 214). One is more disciplined in terms of on field assignements (Smith), the other one is faster but also less of a defender against the pass. Both are good tacklers and excellent ST players. Considering how we like to confuse teams we need a physical hard hitting S that won't disappoint if also lined up with the LBs. They aren't complete players by any means but in their role they do their job very well. In a perfect world we'd be able to keep both... my opinion is Smith is more important to this team than Ihedigbo. But he shouldn't ask for a lot of money, if he wants anything more than 1.2 mill per season then we should try and develop Ihedigbo better vs the pass. PS: I consider Lowery a S, if the CS still thinks he is a CB then there's a good chance both Ihedigbo and Smith are retained. Drew Coleman, CB: As a #2 no way, as a #3 meh we could do better but as our #4 CB and key STer he holds his own, especially on a team tha puts a lot of emphasis on DBs. Like Smith/Ihedigbo you can't ask him to do too much but he has a place on this D and on ST. He's also an excellent team-mate and a team first guy. Fastest guy on the team too I think which never hurts. Rex should consider moving him to OLB as he can get to the QB when we blitz . Shaun Ellis, DE: One more year to help Wilkerson come into the league smoothly and to give everything he has left in the tank (especially vs NE). I'm not sure this is going to happen considering the Jets policy is "better let a player go a year too early than a year too late" but in my opinion with reduced playing time he can still be productive. Has played his whole career as a Jet, I don't think he wants to bother and go somewhere else for a little less money so I can see him taking a hometown disocunt. Pryce could be an option to fill this exact same position. He'd command less money, however I feel he'd also be less productive. Let's not forget we have some up and coming guys on the DL (Tevaseau, Dixon, Pitoitua, Gilbert) so it's not a given a veteran is retained. Steve Weatherford, P: Let's face it... this team is going to punt the ball quite a bit. Weatherford has been money in the regular season and I think he deserves another chance in the post-season before being thrown under the bus. Not saying he should get BIG money but he's proved his worth for this team. Players I don't mind if we get rid of: Clemens, Brad Smith (although if he doesn't get big money somewhere else I'd like having him back), Laury, Pryce, Richardson (great career, time to go with youth), Folk, Taylor, Jenkins, Woody. PS: I know this list basically shows I'd like to keep most of the players we have on our roster. This is because 1) we are a talented team with excellent coaching and good back-ups at certain positions, 2) with the lockout I think players that don't change uniforms this off-season have an edge on FAs, especially in the backup department and 3) I don't think neither of these guys will be all that expensive. The most expensive will probably be Hunter (who projects as a starter) and Ellis (a part-time starter).
Eric Smith and Dig will be a tough choice but like you said, I hope both come back. Both are very physical although Dig uses his brains a lot more than E.Smith. I would feel a lot more comfortable with Dig on the field in most situations, but they both have their strengths and weaknesses. We need Weatherford, Pool and Big Cat back, though.
I absolutely love Hunter, but don't know if we can afford the going rate for the "best backup O-lineman in football." I'd prefer Dig over Smith but obviously Pettine and DT know something I don't because the guy never sniffs the field other than ST. I'd take Pryce back for depth or (ducks for incoming abuse) JT. Would love Ellis too if the cap allows for it... Who thought six months ago we'd be looking at a crowded DL rotation? Coleman...meh. Replaceable. Folk's gotta go. Weatherford has earned another year unless someone blows his doors off in camp.
Good write-up. Folk needs to get cut, I can't take another season of biting my nails whenever he lines up to kick. I wouldn't mind keeping Pryce if he was cheap.
Great post. Eric Smith better return. And I think the staff will ensure he does. Sure he makes the occasional bonehead penalty, but they are usually aggressive penalties. I don't think hes dumb, he realizes that they are illegal hits or facemasks or whatever he just gets caught up in the moment - I'm okay with the occaisional 15 yarder if most of the time he is punishing people out there. Also, what should never be underestimated is the game he had in the N.E. divisional. He played phenomenal in that game, a huge recovery from the earlier game in Foxboro and was a big reason why Brady's lobs across the middle to Welker, Gronkowski, ETC. didnt work.
Why all the folking Folk hate saying he has to go? His kickoffs last year were pretty garbage yes and he had a little slump where it look like he would be stuck with it all season but the coaching staff stuck with him, he kept his composure and got right back on track. Not to mention one of the bigger clutch kicks in NYJ history @ Indy. Oh that's right we like place kickers who miss in the playoffs but if they can tackle it makes up for it. Now if we wanted to bring in someone for a competition and let them duel it out fine but a straight up cut? Do we know who else is going to be available?
There's already someone we signed before the lockout to compete with him. If he wins I won't shed a tear. I've watched the replay of the Indy game about five times and to this day I STILL have to cross my fingers and pray he makes that kick. It was clutch. It was also hideous. Without the Braylon catch, or even a 5 yard shorter Braylon catch that kick is no good. Like I said, if he wins in camp, great. But no way does he get the job handed to him.
Eric Smith? I was hoping we'd see an end to the on-field ill discipline. There must be better replacements surely? Oh, and roughing the punter penalties should be punishable by death. From AIDS and fire.
Sure, if you've got the money. But finding a guy who's stayed healthy, will play ok on defense in 2011, has started 20 games, and plays some special teams is going to cost some money. Who do you want? Atarai Bigby? 38 year old Lawyer Milloy?
Westhoff is going to do whatever it takes to bring Eric Smith back to the team. He's our best special teamer along with Brad Smith who we are likely to lose. Don't want to rip apart our special teams, plus he's a really good 3rd safety to have.
Weatherford - for the shake weights. Ajay - Not nice to dig on Feely - they did rush the kick on him @ Indy. I'm with Milo - I hate the Dolphins fans so much that i am hoping JT wins an SB with the Jets. It would make hating on them even sweeter.
Agreed, wasn't as much a dig on Feely. I loved him when he was here and love the mentality that he plays with. That being said he was an average place kicker. It was more towards the fans who swore the front office up & down at the front office for letting him go in order to get J.T. Just don't agree with cutting Folk just like that. Who else out there is that reliable and we knlw we can get? If Folk loses a competition in camp and pre-season then by all means let him go. If he's back another year and repeats another mid 70's field goal percentage I wouldn't be complaining.
We need to keep Brodney Pool. Brodney is getting some love from yahoo. Named to their all underrated team. http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/sh...-The-all-underrated-team-defen?urn=nfl-wp2907
I also like Smith and his play (other than the penalties) BUT I would say we could get Pool and Ihedigbo for a little more than resigning Smith. As much as I like Smith, Dig is my boy and if it comes down to one or the other I like Digs physicality and his hands and awareness get better every year. I also like Drew Coleman but I would rather use his cap space for Wayne Hunter if it comes to that.
