Hear comes the Drama.......:up::beer: http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/Jet-engines-are-rumbling.html There’s a bit of trouble in paradise (if you consider Florham Park, New Jersey paradise). The Jets flow of positive vibes this offseason – beating out the Vikings for LaDanian Tomlinson, trading for Santonio Holmes and the, uh, productive Antonio Cromartie, signing Jason Taylor and having their stadium selected as a Super Bowl site – came to a halt yesterday as two or the team’s core players voiced some rumbles of discontent. Along with the inevitable contract gripes of this time of year -- “me time” as I call it -- there appears a hint of distrust of the front office, something more worrisome. Player discontent – some of it fueled by the unique rules associated with the uncapped 2010 – is a growing epidemic around the league (Reggie Wayne of the Colts is the latest), a subject I will address in detail next week. Every team faces it; if a team says all its players are happy, it is lying. I dealt with it annually in Green Bay and last year in Philadelphia; now Mike Tannenbaum, experienced in contract management and player discontent (we have talked about it often) has it front and center. Nick Mangold is present for the team workouts, yet put the front office on notice that his situation is fluid depending on the temperature of the now-frigid negotiations between his agents and the team. Darelle Revis has advanced the displeasure by skipping these workouts and may ratchet the stakes further training camp approaches. Rex’s position Rex RyanAPRyan may have to deal with mixed allegiances soon. Jets coach and spokesman Rex Ryan is saying all the right things, how this camp is voluntary (I wonder if he feels it is voluntary for all players?), no need for worry, etc. At some point, Ryan is going to be in the awkward and sensitive position of both supporting his players and also aligning with management, a difficult position that a experienced coaches – Jeff Fisher, Andy Reid to name a couple – handle well. This is where we may see less bravado from Ryan. The difficult conversation There has been much in the air about contractual promises made that went unfulfilled, with now-former players such as Leon Washington, Pete Kendall, Chris Baker and Laveranues Coles. Having been there, I empathize. Players hear what they want to hear and sometimes the memory of conversations is selective. I learned the hard way that there was no substitute for open and honest communication. The hardest part of player-management relations, in an environment where both sides work in the same building, is having difficult conversations. It is easier and less stressful to tell players and agents broad statements about “taking care of you”, working out a deal favorable to both sides, etc. At some point, however, the difficult conversation has to happen. Revis reaction The Raiders distorted the cornerback market in 2009 with the stunning three-year $45.3 million contract fully guaranteed contract for Nnamdi Asomugha. The Jets probably responded negatively to Revis’s agents’ using that deal as a guide, and that reaction – along with feelings that he’s been painted as greedy -- has caused Revis’s retort, as true positions have been revealed after the preliminaries. Hiding behind 30% Rule With Mangold and Revis, the Jets have the comfort of a rule in place due to the uncapped system, the 30% rule, explained here. Just as the Titans are doing with Chris Johnson, the Eagles with DeSean Jackson, the 30% rule prevents teams from providing top-of-market contracts for top young players without 80% or more of the deal in signing bonus, a structure untenable for teams. Agents understand that. A game-changer, however, may have been the deal between Patrick Willis and the 49ers. Although Willis, with an escalated salary, had a bigger number to jump off of than that of Revis or Mangold (or Johnson, Jackson), the 49ers gave Willis a second bonus, a “supersede” bonus next year not subject to the 30% rule. When the 49ers-Willis-deal surfaced, there was irritation around the league. I was even told that the 49ers received a call from the NFL wondering the reasons behind taking that unprecedented step. Was their second superseding bonus a clever way to structure around the rule or circumvention of the rule? That is a matter of interpretation, but it is not a structure that other teams want to follow, despite a road map laid out for teams like the Jets to follow with players like Revis and Mangold. So the low rumbles of discontent begin with the seemingly happy Jets begin. As if scripted for an upcoming episode of HBO’s Hard Knocks, stay tuned.
There has been much in the air about contractual promises made that went unfulfilled, with now-former players such as Leon Washington, Pete Kendall, Chris Baker and Laveranues Coles. I can't imagine the players on the team look at these as reasons to think they won't get paid. Let's look at each one Washington - rejected a very fair offer through the advice of his idiot agent, the guy then breaks his leg. I'm not sure how that falls on management Kendall - Was a loudmouthed malcontent who wasn't nearly worth what he thought he was. He was productive while he was here but he was getting up there in age and was begining to decline. Baker - Again, ran his mouth and wasn't nearly worth what he felt he was. The fact that he was cut after just one year by a team that needs TEs shows he wasn't worth it. Coles - One of my alltime favs but it was always about the $$$ with Coles. He was begining to slow down and was quite banged up towards the end. The major difference with those guys vs Mangold and Revis is that they were never elite or near the top of the league at their position. Revis and Mangold are the best CB and C in the league. They'll get paid but the Jets like the Pats with Brady are going to wait until they know the terms of the new CBA before they handcuff themselves to 2 players.
There was also Vilma who was a good 4-3 MLB but not a good 3-4 MLB and was traded. John Abraham, great pass rusher when healthy, healthy being the key word, he can't play through nagging injuries. Traded for Mangold. Richmiano covered everyone else I could think of. The truth is, we do not have a history until recently of drafting franchise players.
paraphrasing i think magold from a ny post article today: "like when someone buys a bunch of tv's and then complains about thier electric bill. They got themselves into this mess and now they expect the players to bail them out?" ouch. now the players are a bunch of tv's!
I couldn't find that quote but I did find this one. "I have a good faith that the organization will do the right thing when it's my time," Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/jets...t_others_HnydUCWN7apXhq4z0hyFYM#ixzz0pzDAKnFE
that's an asinine analogy and I hope he didn't say anything that even remotely resembled that. the Jets have to carry a 53 man roster, so the quantity of players isn't the issue. the issue is how much money each player wants and how it affects the Jets ability to keep other players, or have to downgrade those players to cheaper players simply to pay another player more. essentially, he is criticizing the Jets for drafting great players who deserve to get paid but may not feasibly be able to pay them all their full worth. I'm certain the Jets aren't low balling the players to maximize their profit, they are doing so to establish a foundation where all the players they want to keep can get paid reasonably.
I believe they really need to take care of those guys soon. Rex said before, players would love to come to the Jets. If the core players are not being taken care of, what players would want to come to the Jets. Throw in all core players were promised to be take care and it's not happening. The Jets will look real bad. I know the cap situation is crazy, but the Front office shouldn't not have made those hollow promises.
The Jets need to cut through the bullshit about 2010 and make progress in negotiations with Nick Mangold. There's just no argument, literally none, for them to have anything other than a speedy resolution with Mangold with a record contract (for a center) coming out of the works on the other side. Do a superseding deal, like the one the 49ers did with Willis, and get the damn thing done. There's literally no percentage at all in this for the Jets if they drag out negotiations and have to deal with that alongside the other distractions this off season. Mangold sits at the very heart of the Jets Super Bowl chances over the next 5 years and not to recognize this and get a deal done in his walk year is ridiculous and potentially very bad management. The guy is 26 years old and a two time pro bowler all ready. He's going to the hall of fame if he stays healthy and he's worth every penny of the record setting contract he'll eventually get, hopefully from the Jets. Tannenbaum never should have breathed a word about Revis or anybody else until he had Mangold locked up. He has a very short opportunity here to make things right and stop the one player on the Jets with a legitimate gripe from empowering all the others who don't have one yet.
If every team has dissatisfied players, as the article states, then this is neither news nor drama (not meant to be a dig at the OP; rather the article's author). Having said that, I agree that Mangold needs to be restructured and inked to a long-term deal ASAP.
More Grumblings: -Beer just never gets cold enough. -My BLT has too much L and not enough T. -I can never seem to get the right mix of rum and coke together for a truly enjoyable beverage. -The hot girls who change with their lights on and windows open always move into the apartments across from the other bedroom. -It's fucking hot out.
