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New Jersey – A lot of pot holes on the roads after a rough winter. And there are certainly a lot of pot holes on the low road because it’s traveled on so often by a variety of people writing about the Jets.
There are a number of people, on the local and NATIONAL level, that never seem to give this team the benefit of the doubt.
I’ve never been a big proponent of destroying clubs in the off-season. Every team is undefeated, and obviously nobody knows how free agent signings and draft picks are going to work out.
So it stands to reason that I find some of the Jets coverage this off-season troubling.
ESPN had a blog with the headline – “Penny Pinching,” about the Jets off-season spending.
Actually, it was even worse than that. The story that linked to the blog page had a headline – “Cheap.”
What players did the Jets miss out on this off-season that are going to ruin their chances of competing this year?
We will find out, but if you want to look at Dominique Rogers-Cromartie from “Money Ball” standpoint, an analytics standpoint, when a player has been on four teams in seven years, and talks about retirement last season, do you break the bank on him? Probably not. Idzik offering him a one-year deal seemed pragmatic.
I read a recent tweet from a Daily News writer, “Jets whiffed on top free agent RB choice: Donald Brown.”
Jets “whiffed” on Donald Brown?
Wow, stop the presses.
I like Donald. He’s a great kid from the Jersey Shore. He’s a solid player who chose the San Diego Chargers in free agency. Players have choices, and he made one. Big deal.
Whiff?
He chose another team. The Chargers gave him a three-year deal for $10.5 with $4 million guaranteed.
The Jets have two very good backs in Chris Ivory and Bilal Powell, who both quietly did some very nice things last season. Also in the fold is the underrated Alex Green, a former third round pick of the Green Bay Packers with a nice size/speed ratio. Mike Goodson is probably coming back.
Was there a need to break the bank on Brown? I don’t see it.
I just don’t understand all the vitriol for the Jets this off-season.
I don’t want to be a hypocrite and grade their off-season. I just said you have to wait until real football starts to really evaluate off-season additions.
But on paper, it looks like the Jets have done a decent job. They lost Austin Howard in free agency. The Oakland Raiders made an offer the Jets probably would have been foolish too match. The Raiders are in an overpaying-mode this off-season. The Jets got a comparable player, Breno Giacomini, for much less.
The Jets also re-signed Willie Colon for just $2 million for one year. I love the way Willie plays – he plays like you would expect a guy from the streets of the Bronx – he’s a brawler. He needs to cut back on penalties, but he brings an attitude to the Jets’ offensive line, and is a road-grader as a run blocker.
They also signed Michael Vick to compete/backup Geno Smith. He’s a good system-fit for the Jets. He and Marty are on the same page.
They also brought back Calvin Pace at a team-friendly deal.
And added a starting receiver in Eric Decker.
Let’s not forget they have 12 draft picks, so there are a lot more players on the way.
We will see how it works out, but my gut feeling is this off-season hasn’t been the abject failure some in the media would like you to believe.
Here is one reason for the vitriol . . . . Idzik doesn’t give the media ANYTHING to work with.
With the media you often have to buy love by being a leak.
That isn’t going on here, and Idzik is taking it on the chin, in part, because of that.
Look, if the season starts, and the Jets play poorly, I will be the first one to trounce on them.
But now?
March 31. 2014
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