He can do the job

Sometimes it’s easy to just be dismissive of people, but sometimes you have to look past the name, and give the person a chance . . .

The Jets declined to pick up the roster bonus of left tackle Ryan Clady. It was first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Here is what ESPN’s Rich Cimini wrote . . .

“Not surprisingly, the Jets have declined to pay a $1 million roster bonus to injury-prone LT Ryan Clady, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter first reported,” wrote Cimini. “Clady, 30, is a free agent and the Jets save $10 million in cap room. This will be the first of a few significant salary dumps by the Jets, who are trying to get younger. The problem is, there’s no heir apparent at left tackle and the free-agent market is thin. They are trying to re-sign LT Ben Ijalana, a pending free agent.”

Clady’s contract option this year was ridiculous for an injury-prone player. If the Jets can get him back on a team-friendly, make-good contract, I’d bring him back.

But I have to respectfully disagree with the tone of what he wrote about Ijalana.

In my opinion, Ijalana can do the job.

But it’s almost like some people don’t think it’s cool to say that because some fans might react – “What are you talking about – he’s a backup.”

I don’t care about that.

Ijalana can handle this job.

He did a pretty good job taking over after Clady hurt his shoulder last season.

Was he perfect? No.

But neither was Clady and neither was D’Brickashaw Ferguson in 2015.

You can’t expect perfection at left tackle, unless we are talking about Hall-of-Famers like Orlando Pace and Jonathan Ogden.

Left tackles face the best pass rushers week-in, week-out. It’s a really hard job. I think Ijalana held his own.

Rememeber, when he came out of Villanova in 2011, he was considered one of the best left tackles in that draft. He was picked high in the second round by a Hall-of-Fame GM, Bill Polian, a very good judge of talent.

Ijalana never got his sea legs in Indianapolis because he kept getting hurt. With the Jets, he’s been able to stay healthy.

He has quick feet, really long arms, a nice thick build and is very smart. He’s very strong and gets a lot of push in the running game. He has a nice kick slide to get out in front of edge rushers.

He can handle the job.

Now, would I bring in competition for him – no question, but it’s going to be hard to find a good left tackle in free agency. Most left tackles worth their salt are locked in team’s facilities and they throw away the key. Teams don’t let those guys walk. They are really hard to find.

Like I said before, I’d re-sign Clady if he’s willing to sign a team-friendly contract with incentives predicated on staying on the field.

I’d draft another tackle. I don’t think Brandon Shell is an NFL left tackle. I really like him at right tackle, but last summer he looked over-matched at left tackle.

But if Ijalana is the guy at left tackle, I think the Jets can do a lot worse.

February 15, 2017

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