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Mike Maccagnan just finished his second season as Jets GM.
His predecessor, John Idzik, was fired after two seasons.
So who did a better job in their first two-year window?
We ran a poll asking this question over the last two days on jetsconfidential.com, and 87 percent of the respondents said Maccagnan did a better job in his first two season. So obviously Idzik got 13 percent of the vote. 487 people voted.
How would I have voted?
I might not have, because I feel it’s pretty even.
No doubt Idzik drafts were suspect headlined by his selection of Dee Milliner, which was a no-no medical reasons. The Geno Smith pick in the second round wasn’t necessarily bad, but hitching your wagon to him immediately was a mistake.
But Idzik did add a number of players who have helped the Jets. Sheldon Richardson has had some off-the-field issues, but he’s a very good player. Brian Winters, who just re-signed, was a good third round pick, as was Quincy Enunwa in the sixth round. Brent Qvale was a good undrafted addition. Marcus Williams (who had six picks in 2015), Ben Ijalana and Wesley Johnson were also good additions.
In terms of veteran free agents, Eric Decker was a good signing, Breno Giacomini was a good signing early and the trade for Chris Ivory was a steal.
As for Maccagnan, it’s probably too early to judge his first two drafts too harshly, but the impact of the his classes has been minimal, aside from Leonard Williams, which was a no-brainer pick.
In free agency, Maccagnan’s 2015 spending spree on defensive backs didn’t work out that well based on the results. Now you can blame the owner for the Darrelle Revis signing, but you also have to blame the GM. He should have put up more of a fight. Do you think Woody would have fired him just after he arrived, and eat what I believe is a four-year contract? No way. Also, they could have played a little more hardball with the contract. There really weren’t any other serious suitors.
The Ryan Fitzpatrick and Brandon Marshall trades looked good in the first year, but not in the second.
The Ryan Clady trade looked good for a while, but then he got hurt again.
I’m sorry if this offends some people, but right now I can’t say Maccagnan has done a better job than Idzik in his first two years.
I know that might shock people, but that is how I see it.
The Jets were blown out SIX times this past season. That should not happen in a league set up for parity. It’s easy to blame Todd Bowles, who didn’t have a great season coaching, for 2016, but to me, Maccagnan deserves just as much blame. The roster was very average, especially when it comes to pass defense. IN a passing league, when you play pass defense as poorly as the Jets (and not just the corners, but the safeties and linebackers), you can’t win.
Maccagnan needs to take his game to a higher level this off-season. 2017 is a seminal year for Maccagnan.
February 4, 2017
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