Typical Jets cheapness, except that we need to give contracts to both Revis and Mangold. Everyone likes to forget that though.
You guys are killing me. This guy is "more explosive" ... that guy is "more explosive" ... how many guys in the entire NFL ran for MORE YARDS than TJ last year ???? Three??? Its amazing to me that a guy can run for 1,400 yards and people somehow think he's done. WE NEED TWO PRODUCTIVE BACKS to go to the Superbowl.
I definitely wouldn't mind bringing TJ back at a discount, but he deserves to start last year and with Greene's emergence, it won't be here. He was great for us for 3 years, but RBs break down so quickly and suddenly (even the best, like LT), that you don't really want him here when he's doing that. Could he have another huge year? Sure. But he looked so gassed late in the year and in the playoffs that the risk might not be worth the reward, unfortunately.
I know this is a two back league and if you read the whole thing I said bring him back at bargain price thats it. I love Thomas Jones but the fact is he was done by the end last year. Thats the nature of the business If the 49ers can let JERRY RICE walk then we can let thomas walk especially for six million. I know woody has a lot of money but six million is still six million to much for a locker room presence imo.
That's true ... and mabe it has alot to do with TJ running out of gas late in the season. The team asked him to carry Sanchez on his back and he did that for us. Now everyone wants to toss him in the trash. Pay the man. He's earned it.
We have the best offensive line in football. I'm sorry. 1400 yards is great. He had a very good season with us. He had two very good seasons with us. He did nothing when the offensive line was bad. He did great when the offensive line was great. That's what a solid runningback should do. That's what Jones is. He's a good back, a workhorse who never fumbles. But he's also going to be 32 years old, and runningbacks typically fall off precipitously in their 30's. It is a little bit cheap that they let him go, I admit. It was a monetary decision. They easily could have paid the man extra since there's no cap. He would have been overpaid for what we would need him to do. Did you watch the playoffs last season? Greene outperformed Jones by a longshot. Now, part of that could have been Jones was worn down from getting the ball all season long, and that's fine. But that's proof of his age, and that he can't handle the workload as much. He had 1400 yards last year as a 31 year old. Curtis Martin had 1600 yards at that age. The next season was his last in the NFL. Jones has less mileage, but both backs were considered durable workhorses. You never know. You say we need two productive backs to win the Super Bowl? You're right. 1. Shonn Greene 2. Leon Washington Washington is coming off a broken leg, so there's obviously risk involved there. Right now, it looks like the Jets are banking on him this season to be the #2 back. The fact of the matter is: if Leon Washington didn't break his leg, we're probably not having this discussion. Either people would be happy going forward with Leon and Shonn Greene, or we would be fine with letting Jones go the way he wore down at the end. You say we need two productive backs to win the Super Bowl? You're right. The problem is in the playoffs last season, we had only one. And his name wasn't Thomas Jones.
I agree with this 100%. In his first year here, in the first half of the year, I was on this site questioning his eyesight. It seemed like he could never hit the holes. It became apparent over the past 2 seasons that it wasn't his eyesight, it was the size of the holes..
Thomas Jones is a pounder back at this point in his career. He pounds at the defense for half of the game and softens them up. The fact of the matter is that any 215#-230# back with decent quickness and average vision can fill that role, for a hell of a lot less than 6M a year....and the younger the better. Greene and Washington are the RBs with the better YPC and the big plays. Both are far quicker than Jones. That may be shitty....but it's also true. TJ has some milage left in him. It is just a matter of economics. He will probably be worth more to someone who has a glaring weakness at RB, than he is here.
Once Jones realizes he wont get big money being a FA, he will come back and finish out his career with us at a decent price. Everyone calm down and just let him play the market a bit. He is a Jet and wants to win the big one with us.
You should be very excited that this organization learned it's lesson about OVER-PAYING for people in the twilight of their career. You should be doing back-flips and somersaults. Instead your in here with a foldgers can trying to take up a collection for TJ. TJ is going to be ok in the last couple of years of his shelf-life - and the Jets will be ok without him.
