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Boca Raton – A couple of items and observations from the NFL Owner’s Meetings at the Boca Raton Hotel and Resort. Let’s get into it . . .
Arizona Cardinals coach Bruce Arians was asked a lot of questions today in Boca Raton about trading for Chandler Jones, who had 12.5 sacks last year for the New England Patriots.
He couldn’t hide his excitement about the deal.
“If you ain’t got one, you are begging for one,” Arians said about landing a dynamic edge-rusher.
Arians has the same defense as the Jets. Remember, Todd Bowles ran the Cardinals’ defense in 2013 and 2014. Last year, with Bowles coaching the Jets, James Bettcher ran the Cardinals’ defense, essentially running Todd’s system.
And the Cardinals just didn’t enough from their edge pass rushers. You saw that rear it’s ugly head in that blow-out loss to Carolina Panthers in the playoffs.
It’s something you need in this defense.
So Bowles has to be jealous of what his mentor (Arians coached Bowles at Temple) now has in the fold.
And it’s no secret at One Jets Drive, that the Jets personnel department needs to get Todd an edge guy who can wreck a game . . . . like Chandler Jones.
You know darn well that Bill Belichick wasn’t going to trade Jones to the Jets. No way. He sent Jones out of the conference . . .
One thing I respect about Mike Maccagnan is that he doesn’t worry about hooking up NFL media insiders.
He didn’t as a scout.
And he doesn’t now.
So anything you are hearing about free agent stuff, like on Ryan Fitzpatrick, is definitely not coming from him.
He was talking to somebody recently, and referred to the ESPN’s NFL Insider as Adam Schechter. He didn’t even know his name.
Jets fans should be very happy about his absolute disinterest in helping out the information mill.
The man is totally focused on his job, and this insider stuff isn’t on his radar
I was at the NFL Owner’s Meeting in Boca Raton the last three days, and without naming names, you see the GM’s and coach that are buddies with the insiders, and hook them up with stuff. Some of it was in plain sight.
Maccagan is not part of any of this, and perhaps that is why it took him a little longer to get a GM job.
A lot of times, the “hot” GM candidates are scouts and personnel directors who are sources for insiders, and the insiders, in return, promote their names nationally for jobs.
How many of you even heard of Maccagnan two years ago?
I have to admit, I didn’t.
I wrote in the magazine about how I observed him at the Senior Bowl with a laser beam focus on the drills, and not socializing. I can’t tell you how many personnel guys were yapping with other personnel guys during drills. Maccagnan was off by himself on the field looking at players. No socializing.
You have to respect his focus on what is important . . .
Agent Drew Rosenhaus was working hard in the lobby pitching his new client Johnny Manziel to teams.
Obviously the Jets should stay away. Not just because of his off-the-field issues, but because he’s not very good right now.
Rosenhaus was talking to Sean Payton, and I happened to be walking right by them, and heard the coach say, “I’m all about second chances.”
Speaking of Payton, I was at his table at the media breakfast, and experienced something I’ve never encountered before – a coach announcing his own contract extension.
At the media breakfast, out of the blue, said he had a contract for a five-year contract extension in his brief case, which he had at his side.
That was an unusual way of getting the news out . . .
March 23, 2015
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