We basically agree regarding the OL, but I don't think that your claim that "Left tackle, center and right tackle are the 2nd, 3rd and 4th most valuable positions in the NFL." is even remotely accurate. LT is the 2nd most position on offense unless unless your QB is a southpaw, but C and RT are less important than WR, RB, pass rushing OLB, NT, and cases could be made for CB, TE and MLB.
I don't see that at all. I think it's questionable whether Brick will even be in the league next year. His play is deteriorating and his contract for next season is outlandish. Mangold is having a hard time staying healthy this season, and at his age will be more injury prone. Why should either try to hold on for 5 more years? After you've been a starter or one of the top players in the game at your position (Mangold), why would you want to be a "hanger on" and a backup for minimum salary? If either of them have any pride or desire to walk away from the game in relatively good health, they'll both retire within the next year or two tops.
I disagree. While DeCastro is obviously a much better player than Coples, imo the last thing we needed was to tie up more cap space with a high dollar OG. Make no mistake about it, when DeCastro gets his second contract, it will be for big money. IMO, if the Jets ever hope to win a SB, they need to start building the team around their play makers and let that be where their big contracts go. They can have a topflight OL without having a ton of cap space tied up in it.
Unless Bowles proves to have the same disdain for young players as Parcells, I don't agree that the 2015 team will be better than the 2016 or 2017 teams. While the play of the older players will certainly decline, hopefully, many of them will be replaced int he starting lineup. It's entirely possible that the Jets could draft an LT and/or RT in next year's draft and add an OG either via the draft or FA and the OL be significantly better. I expect OL depth to be improved. I think the offense will get some love during the draft. Devin Smith will hopefully have developed. Petty could seize the starting job in TC and never look back. Think the team will have Ivory, Powell, Ridley and Stacy at RB next season? I don't. I expect to see a speedy RB with good hands added. Think the TE position will still be as abysmal as it is now? I don't. Cumby will probably be gone. It will probably be Amaro's last chance to prove himself. I doubt if Kerley is back and expect the team to have a better option at PR. Cro will in all likelihood be gone. Demario Davis could be gone or at least replaced in the starting lineup. Pace won't be starting. Mauldin will see more playing time or start and the Jets could add a quality OLB or ILB in the draft who excel in coverage. If nothing else, I expect the pass rush to be improved, and for there to be more speed at the LB positions. In short, I think the team will continue to improve with each successive off season and as Bowles and the CS learn and improve.
I agree with most of what Jason says and think it an excellent analysis of the team. I do think a few of his statements are ridiculous, but overall, I think he is spot on. I think this is spot on. Many got carried away with the team's hot start, and because of the low quality of the team's opponents in those games, the team's flaws were less noticeable. The secondary isn't as good as advertised. Most here want to see Cro on the bench or cut. Skrine played very well at first, but misses tackles and has been beaten badly on some plays. While Bowles has been very complimentary of Gilchrist, he's not exactly setting the world on fire. That Bowles and the CS have made some questionable coaching decisions is not earth shaking or unexpected. They're humans, and humans make mistakes. Bowles is a rookie HC. Gailey had been away from the game for several years. The DC and STs coaches are rookies in their jobs, I believe. He contradicts himself in saying, "the team never looks prepared to start a game." If that were the case, the D wouldn't have played so well nor the team started out 4-1. This is a concern and bears watching, but it's too early to panic on this point. He's spot on that the team has little or no depth. Prior to the season we thought we had great depth at RB, DB, and the DL. The season has proven that with the exception of the DL, the team's depth is no where as good at the other positions as was thought. TOs are not just a matter of luck. They come from the D being aggressive, going after the ball, and by pressuring the QB. I don't think that it's any coincidence that the early season TOs disappeared once the Jets started playing teams where they could get little or no pressure on the opposing QB. Again, I think this is spot on. Just because the early season opponents were weak and most of the teams the Jets play this year aren't very good, doesn't mean the Jets will have a cake walk into the playoffs. The Jets aren't very good, either. They're improved, but still have lots of holes and weak areas. All spot on. His comments about the drafts over the last 10 years are spot on. This is going to be a rebuild that takes at least a couple of more years. At least Mac has the team relevant and competitive this late in the season, and hasn't mortgaged the future in doing so.
I'm positive you will see heavy investments in the OL and LB core this offseason....through both the draft and FA. Another RB will be added also......
Sorry, but a great o-line is the basis for a great offense. if a QB is a solid 6 behind an avg o-line, he'd be a solid 10 behind a great o-line. if a WR is a solid 7 with a QB having 2.4 seconds per pass play, he'd be a solid 10 with a QB having 3.4 seconds per pass play if a RB avgs 60 yrds/game behind a good o-line, he'd avg 100+ yrds/game behind a great o-line. we've all heard about great QBs elevating everyone around him. It works the same for a great o-line. Can a team win with an avg o-line? Sure, occasionally. But everything on that side of the ball becomes SO much easier. When you control the trenches, you control the game.
Never said Brick and Mangold 'should' or 'will' move down in the depth chart to stick around on the Jets or even some other team. Just that many great players do. It's not easy for these guys to walk away from all they've ever known and get started on phase 2 of their lives. Heck, even Peyton Manning has just said he wants back for another year. Seems the longer these guys play, the harder it becomes for them to walk away.
You're making a straw man argument. I never said anything about having an average OL. In fact, I've said in numerous posts lately how the OL needs to be an off season priority, that the RG and RT positions need to be upgraded, Brick's successor found and the depth upgraded. Does that sound like an average OL? One can have a great OL without considering the LT, C and RT the #s 2-4 most important positions in football. That's just silly.
You know I am not so sure about the value of any specific O-line position anymore. I think we are moving into a football age where all the O-line positions are approaching equality in value. The days where your Left tackle exclusively matched up with the best pass rusher are essentially over. LTs do not move around the oline to match up against the best d-line man and those pass rushers are increasingly moved around the front 7 to exploit mismatches. Additionally, the advent of the spread offense has minimized to an extent the disruptive impact of the outside speed/pass rusher. The focus now has been to generate an inside pass rush to disrupt the timing of the QB and his footwork. Passes come out so quickly now in the spread offense that the fastest way to get to the QB is that straight line down the middle. Certainly there is value to that outside pass rusher when your team can force 3rd and longs, thereby requiring the QB to hold the ball a bit longer to pick up the extra yardage. However I am not sure that exactly translates anymore into the need for an all-world LT. I think Belichicken has picked up on that with rotating his o-line men this past year. In his case he has the extra benefit of Brady's quick release and an offense designed to get the ball out quickly. Of course those factors are maximizing what is allowable by the todays offense-slanted rules which prevent hits on QBs, hits across the middle and physical CB play. Plus Belichicken runs a lot of picks and basically tells his O-linemen to hold every play knowing that the officials won't throw a flag every play now.
RB is the least valuable position on offense, unless you still use a fullback. agree on the others though, C/RT arent nearly as valuable as LT.... overall you need a solid unit, but you dont need stars outside of LT
