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The mainstream media isn’t allowed to interview this man,
but the Jets website is allowed to, as are their documentary makers.
Talking about Jets Senior Football Advisor Phil Savage.
Is it unfair that the mainstream media isn’t allowed to talk to him, but the Jets’ in-house content providers can? Of course it’s unfair, but there is a lot of unfairness in the world with much bigger stakes these days, so let’s just dive into what he said, and not make this post about complaining.
Savage, the former Cleveland Browns GM and Senior Bowl Director, is a really, really smart player evaluator, and clearly a boon to Joe Douglas’ personnel operation.
He doesn’t work in Florham Park, but instead in his home base of Mobile, Alabama, just like a scout. Jets scouts don’t live in Morris County and work at One Jets Drive. They live all over the country, and while they come in for meetings here and there, and are in town for the draft, most of the year, they are not working out of the Atlantic Health Training Complex.
While he’s ranked above the scouts, his M.O. most of the year is similar to a scout. This past college football season he scouted 22 games in person. So a good way to look at Savage is he’s like superscout for the Jets, like the Giannis Antetokounmpo of scouting.
Every time you hear the guy interviewed, you can tell, he’s a true scouting intellectual.
Savage knows those four picks in the top 38 the Jets have, are a rare opportunity to improve a football team.
“It’s an enormous opportunity for us to change this roster and upgrade and improve it and bring in players we really want,” Savage said. “We are going to get four guys if we don’t do anything, if we don’t move up, move down, if we just sat still, we are going to get four players that we really like. That’s a huge opporunity for us to improve the team.”
Four potential impact starters. Savage using the words “enormous” and “huge” in describing this opportunity aren’t overstatements. Having two high first and second-round picks, for a team that needs more difference-makers, could be quite impactful in the Jets becoming a true playoff contender.
And like we wrote about the other day in relation to some saying the Jets should make a run at wide receiver Amari Cooper, who some in the league view as an individual who might not love football, all these picks need to be used not just on talented player, but players who are head over heels in love with playing football.
“Obviously some of the best players I have been associated with over the year, I wouldn’t say they would play for free because it is pro football, but it wasn’t the millions that motivated them, it was ‘I want to be the best player on the field at my position,'” Savage said.
Savage continued – “Everyone has their own individual motivation, but I do think you can sense why a guy is wanting to play and what is his real motivation because it does have to go beyond the dollars. It’s such a long season. If you don’t love the game, you won’t last very long.”
You would be surprised at how many guys are in it for the money, and don’t want to “put their face in the fan” as Al Groh used to say. In other words avoid big hits.
But having Savage should help the Jets have some big hits in this draft.
His value to the Jets can’t be minimized.
Smart football dude.
March 7, 2022
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