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The acquisition of Santonio Holmes could turn into a masterstroke by Mike Tannenbaum, but the move comes with significant risk. JC’s Dan Leberfeld breaks down the positives and negatives of Holmes being on the Jets . . .
Q)What are you early impressions of Santonio Holmes?
Ryan: There are times when he looks like the best player on the field. Some of the catches he makes (wow). He’s not a body catcher. He comes and he’ll get a lot of comeback throws where the ball, the toughest ball is to catch right here where you’re in-between, “Do I catch it here? Do I catch it here?” He literally will go back and he just will take it with his hands away from his body. He’s got great confidence in his hands. He’s just a naturally gifted receiver. He’s been terrific for us, (especially) when you combine him with a Braylon Edwards, Jerricho (Cotchery) and those guys, there is no excuse for our offense [not being] as dominant as our defense. I believe that. Well, close to it (smiling).
Leberfeld: Holmes is a rare talent. There is no way around that. He has great hands and world class speed.
With his impressive wheels, he has the ability to blow the top of the defense, and that will certainly open up opportunities for other targets. And he will be a huge help to the Jets running game, getting an extra defensive back out of the box because of his world class speed, and ability to get way down the field.
And considering some of the issues he had off-the-field, it’s a smart to acquire him in a contract year. He knows he needs to be on his best behavior and play well to get his next contract. That is a great motivator, even for players with checkered pasts. If Holmes slips-up this year, he’s going to cost himself a lot of money, and will get a long suspension.
Also, as I’ve said before, the four-game suspension might be a blessing in disguise for a couple of reasons. One, he gives him an extra month to learn the offense. He wasn’t always on top of the playbook in Pittsburgh, so that extra study time will be helpful. Considering he was running wrong routes at times last year in Pittsburgh in his fourth season in the offense, it stands to reason he can use the extra study time in his first New York season.
Secondly, he’s not a big guy, so a 12-game season, for a guy with a slight build, might actually be good for his durability. 12 games, instead of 16 games, for a small guy by NFL standards, isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
But the scary part of the four game suspension, is all the down time for a guy who has an issue with marijuana. Remember, he can be around the team during his suspension. What is the old expression – “idle hands do the Devil’s work”.