Although this may not be a popular thread, I applaud Mike T's flexibility in signing K Folk and not jumping (yet) at bringing back Thomas Jones. While I understand nothing is final and Jones and Feely could be back, Tanny's moves of keeping it open and exploring others is a refreshing change. For way too long, the old jets of the prior decade hung on to guys past their prime when they should have moved on to other players. I don't think Jay Feely is beyond replacement. I appreciate his punting in the Bengal game, but that's yesterday not tomorrow. Yeah, he will tackle on kickoffs, but a K is paid to make sure no one needs to tackle on a kickoff (touchback). Feley also missed two key field goals in Colts game (indoor stadium) when we were tied or ahead. Thomas Jones is another warrior whose best days are behind him. Tanny would be smart to go with Greene and Leon and whatever else he can pick up on the cheap at RB. As mentioned above, the old jets signed long-term deals to the likes of Marvin Jones and Wayne Chrebet, etc. when they were way past their prime because of what the guys had done in the past. The jets ended up eating those contracts. The Pats are not afraid to let go of guys like Deon Branch, Mike Vrabel, Matt Cassell, K Adam Vineteri, Assante Samuel, etc. when they feel they are not worth the $$$$ or they haven't got much left. Good teams put sentiment aside and move on and don't pay guys for past accomplishments.
In the bad old days we have always been poor at the 'behind the scenes' stuff, but with Mike T, hes always looking to squeeze every drop of value in all transactions. He is as dedicated as any fan in making this team dominant, not just now, but for as long as possible. Where I park at work, there is a car with SOJ in its number plate, it used to depress me, I laugh at it when I see it now.
There's a chance that letting TJ go could leave us thin at RB. What if the Chargers/Redskins/whoever go after Leon Washington?
I don't know, a lot of backs who'll be around in the 2nd have the injury bug. I hope T makes a good move.
I tend to agree with ya here. While I love my Jets, there is always a time and place to let go of your old heros. If Jones is gone... so be it. His signing could help bring us another FA, same goes for Feely (though I hate letting go of a seemly money kicker). This should be a big season for the current Jets roster and anything we can do to improve it through FA, draft and trades so be it.
Letting TJ go is an unnecessary gamble. Our current (he's still a Jet as of tonight) backfield is proven, talented, and deep. Sometimes it seems like people forget why we saw all that good stuff from Shonn Greene this year. It was because one of our top two halfbacks got hurt. That happens in the NFL, like all the damn time. Not that you always have to have three starting calibre players, as we currently do. But it's important to have at least one with proven durability. Leon is a great player, but not a workhorse, and Greene has passed the 20 carry mark twice so far as an NFL player. They need to hit the press with the what and why of this thing. If this is really just about money, it's a stupid, stupid move. If it's about Jones being unwilling to make room for Leon and Greene, that's more understandable, but I doubt thats the case. Who knows, maybe they'll turn around and try to resign him to a new deal once he sees whats available on the market. But I've got a nagging feeling that LT could be wearing green and white next season instead.
This, plus his recent comments on Braylon show why he's one of the best GMs in the league. This is probably the first draft I've headed into with near-complete confidence in our management to make the right decisions. Should be an exciting draft. :jets:
Tanny is simply playing the odds, which are (factually backed) that RBs decline drastically once they hit the age of 30. The fact that TJ was able to put up 1,400yds last season makes him the exception to the rule, nothing more. The odds of him being anything more than a ~800yds/yr, or strictly short yardage back, are highly unlikely. Considering we already have a bruising back in Greene, there's really no need to hold onto TJ, especially with Leon coming off a serious injury. Had Leon not gotten injured, I'd concede that we could at least take a risk on TJ for another season. But that's not the case. To willingly head into next season with a 32 year old RB (most likely on the verge of decline), a RB coming off a compound fracture, and one who's shown signs of durability concerns, just isn't smart GM'ing. I think the other factor in Tanny's thinking is that this draft is full of quality 2nd, 3rd, and 4th round RB talent. Losing TJ (which isn't 100% guaranteed, even with his release) and/or Leon for a 2nd round pick isn't the end of the world, as we could easily make up for it in the 2nd or 4th round.
Yeah I am not for letting him go after such a fantastic season he had last year. He has more years to play since he ddin't get that much time when he first got in the league. But I do believe in Tanny and if he has another idea in mind then we shall see but I would like TJ to stay...he is also one of our biggest leaders on the team... i hope this doesn't hurt us but how can it not
Hey how did Thomas Jones do... Against Atlanta? Indy's 1st team? Cincinnatti Week 17? All three playoff games? The guy hit a wall...So long man.
Well if its about the money, i think its retarded to give it tomlinson, because he will want at least what TJ was going to get and to top it off he is even further along in his decline than TJ is.
What do you think LT's going to command? I don't think he even rushed for 800 yards. Anything more than 1.5mil I'd be surprised. LT commanding 5.8 million is laughable to think that. How can he ask for that when Jones almost doubled him in yardage?
Yeah. The key with aging players and especially running backs is to discard them the offseason before they crumble. The way Jones played down the stretch (not awful mind you, but certainly not good) and his age are strong indications that he's on his last legs. Could he be pretty good in 2010? I guess, but if I was helping to make the decision, I'd strongly suggest to Tannenbaum to not bring back Jones. Let some other team worry about him.
So, having a 'bruising back' in Greene renders TJ unnecessary, but going into next season with these three would be 'not smart GM'ing' because of Greene's durability concerns? Your post isn't just contradictory, it's kind of naive. You don't 'easily replace' proven NFL players with draft picks. A 2nd round halfback might 'replace' Leon. He might be Barry Sanders. He might be a complete washout who never sees the field. So I'd hate to have to rely on that player to to fill a gaping hole in our offensive lineup. The fact that Thomas Jones may only be capable of being a part time player next season isn't a reason to cut him at all. Even assuming it's a certainty, it's still not a reason to cut him, exactly because of the way he complements the other guys in the backfield. Greene's talented and young, but he's unproven, might be too easily dinged, and has displayed some ball security issues. Jones is a warrior who never gives up the rock. Leon is a dynamic playmaker, but hasn't got the size to wear teams down, passblock effectively, or take 30 carries in a game. See what I'm getting at here? The current Jets backfield has, between those three players, every attribute you could ask for. So losing a big piece of that puzzle and hoping to find somebody who can fill the same shoes, in the name of saving 2 or 3 mil in a year with no cap, is just silly.
How was this not awful? Atlanta 2.7 ypc Indy 4.6 ypc (we'll get back to that) Cincy 2.9 ypc Cincy #2 2.3 ypc Chargers 2.9 ypc Colts 2.3 ypc And we all know Jones starting lighting it up when Indy pulled their team... That is...AWFUL.
He didn't want to restructure his salary... So you'd be okay paying a backup RB/part time player 5.8 million? We aren't Oakland man.
I would call it less than adequate. Did he have a fumble in there anywhere? Maybe he did, maybe he didn't- I don't recall. He was severely outplayed by Greene for sure, but I didn't think Jones was a detriment to the team. If he went all Cleveland Gary or young Tiki Barber on us and was fumbling all over the place and was also not gaining many yards when not fumbling, then I would say he was awful. Maybe it's just a semantics thing because I am certainly agreeing with you that Jones was not good.
