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The Jets signing of TE Shawn Nelson is part of the new Mike Tannenbaum philosophy, not the old Mike Tannenbaum philosophy.
When Eric Mangini was the coach, Tannenbaum would stay away from guys with Nelson’s background, due to their “core values” philosophy. We heard about this endlessly.
Now, Tannenbaum embraces these kind of risk-reward prospects.
I’m not sitting in judgement here. I believe in second chances for people. To err is human, to forgive in design.
I’m just pointing out the 180 degree turn Tannenbaum made from Mangini to Rex Ryan.
Tannenbaum clearly views Ryan as a Father Flanagan-type figure, who can handle players with some trouble in the past.
Nelson, a 2009 fourth round pick of the Bills, was suspended for the first four games of the 2010 season for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy.
Mangini and Tannenbaum wouldn’t touch this kind of guy.
Ryan and Tannenbaum have signed a number of them.
Nelson has outstanding triangle numbers (height, weight, speed). He is 6-5, 240 and ran a 4.56 forty at the 2009 combine. He’s as fast as Dustin Keller (pictured above).
Nelson also registered a vertical leap of 33 inches in Indianapolis.
“He is a good athlete with long arms,” said PFW’s Nolan Nawrocki. “He can get vertical and separate down the seam. He is slippery at the line of scrimmage swimming off the jam. He adjusts well to a thrown ball, has good balance in his feet and fine body control. He is a natural catcher. He’s competitive with a good upside.”
The big concern with Nelson coming out of Southern Mississippi was his blocking, but it wasn’t a lack of effort. He tries hard as a blocker, but needs to improve his technique and get stronger.
It’s interesting that the Jets signed DE/OLB Ricky Sapp (practice squad) along with Nelson on the same day – another gamble on greatness-type prospect.
Sapp was one of the better DE/OLB prospects in the 2010 draft. Things didn’t work out with him in Philadelphia, He had knee issues at Clemson, and then suffered another knee injury in the summer of 2010 with the Eagles.
He was accused of quitting the Eagles at one point, clearly frustrated over his knee problems.
So, once again, it’s going to take Rex’s magic touch to get this guy’s head right. If his knee is okay, he has a lot of natural ability, but he walked away from the Eagles, so that has to raise some red flags.
Like I said, I believe in second chances, and I’m happy when guys get them. It’s just sometimes I don’t know what Tannenbaum stands for.
We know what Mangini and Ryan believe in, but what does Tannenbaum stand for, in his heart of hearts?