Bowles Bites

Todd Bowles spoke today in Indianapolis at the NFL Scouting Combine. Here is some of what he had to say, and our analysis.

Bowles was asked about whether the Darrelle Revis signing in 2015 was a good idea in retrospect.

“I think it was a good idea,” Bowles said. “I think it was a good call at the time. Obviously, he didn’t play as well this year. Neither did anybody else. He’s a good football player.”

It wasn’t a good idea, but what do you expect him to say? Do you expect him to throw Woody Johnson under the bus? The Revis signing had the owner written all over it.

Why not keep him and try him at safety?

“Trying to project a guy or move a guy from corner to safety with that kind of salary is tough as well,” Bowles said. “It’s just part of the business side of the organization.”

Very fair point. It’s hard to justify paying Revis big money to play a new position. And plus, he seemed to develop an aversion to hitting and tackling in 2016, so that made a move to safety perhaps not the best idea. Cornerbacks who move to safety need to be top-shelf tacklers/hitters.

Will the Jets sign a veteran quarterback?

“We’re looking into it,” Bowles said. “I can’t say we will or we won’t, but we have our eye on a few people.”

They will. I’m surprised that Bowles made it seem like it’s up on the air. Bryce Petty looked like he might be best suited in a backup role based on his play last year. Christian Hackenberg is a mystery. And keep him mind, when you throw a new playbook at young quarterbacks, it can really set them back. Just as these two guys were getting comfortable in Chan Gailey’s system, now they need to learn John Morton’s playbook. This could take some time. The Jets are going to sign a veteran quarterback well-versed in the West Coast playbook they are installing. Or they could trade for Philly’s Chase Daniel.

Right now, the Jets look like are rebuilding, but Bowles shot that down.

“No, we’re always trying to win,” Bowles said.

This isn’t just window-dressing. They are trying to win this year, regardless of what some in the media are saying. Aside from a few teams, the league isn’t loaded with juggernauts. You handle free agency and the draft right, you can be competitive.

True they got rid of some veterans over the last few weeks, but most of them had bloated salaries and/or injury issues.

Free agency hasn’t even started. Let’s see how the roster evolves over the next few months. A lot can happen in the NFL hot stove league.

“We don’t have the names that we had in the past but that doesn’t mean we won’t have the players,” Bowles said. “Right now, we’re unproven but free agency hasn’t started and the draft’s got to come around.”

Exactly. Let’s see where this ends up.

March 2, 2017

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