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The news cycle is weird these days, so it you are fan, it’s hard to know what information to latch on to . . .
In his own way, Manish Mehta is a news cycle savant.
Anytime he throws out a nugget from an unnamed source, the national aggregators, like NFL.com and Pro Football Talk, jump all over it, like Pavlov’s dogs.
So not only does the Daily News get the natural hits they would get from people going to their site, they get the hits from the links on the aggregate sites provide.
With websites, traffic is key, and Mehta drives a lot of traffic.
Mehta had an item today that a team source told him that the Jets are “very intrigued” by Florida State wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin, with the source adding, “You can’t teach 6-5.”
This story was all over the internet.
I want to ask everyone a question – Do you think with John Idzik’s close to the vest approach, somebody from his staff, is letting a reporter know how they feel about a prospect?
Idzik is a very focused man, very focused on getting the Jets turned around. Appeasing people in the media with information isn’t very high on his priority list. The media is a necessary evil to him.
Remember, Idzik came in after a major leak scandal leading to the departure of Mike Pettine, who was considered a source.
So not only was it Idzik’s mission to turn around the Jets football operation, but also to tighten up the ship.
I just find it really hard to believe, that somebody underneath this very serious, very focused, very disciplined GM, is telling people how the Jets organization feels about prospects.
I can’t prove this, but my gut tells me that through semantics, agents turn into “team sources,” with some reporters.
As for the Jets and Benjamin, honestly, he’s a reach at 18. I could be wrong, but reading the tea leaves, it seems like his landing point is more likely late in the first round.
As for the “you can’t teach 6-5.”
That sounds like a basketball coach.
While he’s tall, he doesn’t have great speed, and has issues separating.
The Jets have a very good 6-5 receiver in David Nelson. They also have 6-3 Eric Decker. Another player to keep an eye on his former North Carolina star, 6-4 Dwight Jones.
The Jets have more of a need for a quick, shifty, receiver who is dynamic running after the catch. They need a guy who creates separation quickly because quarterbacks like Geno Smith and Michael Vick aren’t big on “throwing guys open.” They like to see that separation and then fire a rocket.
That is why Marquis Lee, Odell Beckham and Brandin Cooks make more sense for the Jets at 18, than Benjamin, who has a huge upside, but is built more like a tight end, and takes a while to build up to full speed.
April 3, 2014
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*Throwing guys open means throwing to a player who is covered, and hoping he can win a jump ball. Quarterbacks often do this with tall receivers.
