Yep. I'm sure they've got something extra in it for all the rookies, but as a rookie RB, he's going to get the brunt of it. I'm just glad he's in the Jets fold now so they can whip him into shape.
I find your statement as over the top as you're accusing me of being. Again, you people have short memories. Leon was the biggest impact playmaker the Jets had even without getting regular touches. So he struggled early in his rookie camp, look what he did when it counted for years afterwards. I'll say it once more--best case scenario is McKnight does the same thing and becomes what Leon was. To me, if you're best case scenario for a move is breaking even with what you had, don't make the move. Tannenbaum for the most part has made good moves--Leon being one of the first ones--but he's also made mistakes, like drafting Gholston #6 overall. I'm hoping this isn't one of those, time will tell. But don't sit there and tell me Leon was a replaceable spare part, he's one of the best pure runners in the game. Period. We had him on our team and now we don't.
Leon was fucking awful in camp. The CS hated him during camp because it took him so long to get his head on right. But please, don't let facts and history get in the way of your obsession with a kick returner/change of pace back. So tell me how his ass tastes.
Why all the anger because I disagree with you? Facts and history are that Leon quickly turned into a weapon we haven't had since Bruce Harper. I'm glad you're so convinced McKnight will be 1/10 the player Leon is, I choose to see if he can make a habit of practicing with the team first. Call me crazy...wait, you already did. Never mind.
In 2008 Leon did lead the league in most combined yards. 2009 was supposed to be a big year for him, until that disgusting injury.
Cato, you know we do have room for more than one opinion on this board. Seafood, why is Leon the best McKnight can be? McKnight is bigger and was considered one of the best prospects coming out in high school. Why can't he be an even better version of Leon? And you're also assuming Leon in 2010 is Leon of the past. Leon is a speedy scatback who is coming off a broken leg that he's still recovering for. He's also going to be 28 years old when the season starts, so it's not as if he's entering his prime. If anything, he's about to be leaving it.
Hopefully he can. I'm not saying it as a knock on McKnight, to me Leon was as good a pure runner as there is in the NFL, so I don't see how one could be much better. He just didn't get the ball enough, not much he could do about that. That's possible too. I'm thinking Leon's chances of recovering are as good or better than McKnight's chances of being as good as Leon. To me Leon's vision and instincts are what make him a great runner moreso than just flat out speed, I don't think a broken leg changes that.
I'm not trying to be a dick, but do you watch any other teams besides the Jets? That's just such a ridiculous comment when this league has backs like Adrian Peterson, Chris Johnson, Maurice Jones-Drew, Steven Jackson, DeAngelo Williams, Jonathan Stewart, Frank Gore, Ray Rice, Michael Turner...I'm going to stop here, because I could go on and on.
I have Sunday Ticket and watch all the replays and highlights, so I see most of the league. When the Jets are home I do miss a lot of the other games because that's a whole day on one game, tailgating and such, but I do know what's going on around the league. I didn't say the best RB, I said the best pure runner with the ball. Doesn't matter if it's on a run, a screen, a kick return, whatever. You look at the amount of touches he gets vs the amount of big plays he breaks, I don't know that anyone has a better ratio. I'm a Jet fan and focus primarily on the Jets, so I'm not pretending to be totally objective, but I don't know of too many guys who are more dangerous with the ball. Of course every down backs are going to rack up more numbers, I thought Leon should have been that his rookie year when we had no #1 RB, but then they got TJ so it never happened. Also, I loved Ray Rice at Rutgers and wish we had drafted him, but you can't have everyone.
I don't see what's so terrible about it. When was he ever not very effective running with the ball? He changed a lot of games for a guy who didn't get the ball very often, we all know the list unless you really want me to rehash all of it.
Well, for starters it's a poorly defined quality. What exactly does "best pure runner" mean? He could make people miss but Adrian Peterson was better. Yea, he got stronger and could knock people over until his leg snapped but Maurice Jones-Drew was better. He could catch but LT was/still is better. He can get you yards after the catch but Chris Johnson is far better. Shit, Johnson is superior to Leon in every other aspect. I'm not saying Leon didn't produce for the team but to say he's the best at anything in the league is a stretch. He wasn't even the best KR. Devin Hester has him beat on that front, easily. EDIT: While I'm at it, the two comparisons made to Leon that I heard most often were Reggie Bush and Brian Westbrook. Reggie Bush had better hands, was more flexible as a WR and could actually return punts, and Leon, without the injury, would have been lucky to become anything close to what Westbrook was for the Eagles.
brad smith looked just as good, if not better, than leon in the wildcat and returning kicks and greene looked better than him as a RB ... sooo, he actually was a replacable spare part
Those guys may be better at one aspect or the other, Leon was great at all of them. What I'm saying is very simple--I look at the game pretty simply--put the ball in his hands and I'll take my chances he can make a play over just about anyone else, regardless of how/where you get him the ball. Plus, we had Leon on our team, if we had one of the guys you mentioned I'd also be pissed if we traded him for a 5th round pick, injury or no injury.
I love Brad Smith and what he brings, too. You're allowed to have more than one good versatile player, in fact that's the idea.
More than Chris Johnson? Are you fucking kidding me? This is beyond ridiculous. Everyone has a right to their opinion but you also have a right to be called out for crap like that.
No, but we didn't have the "best pure runner in the league" on the team either. You are the one who put him above every other back in the league based on a poorly defined qualifier. Actually, you said so I guess that puts him above every WR and TE with the ball in their hands as well. Given that qualification, I'd say he wasn't even the best on the team given what Brad Smith can do with the ball in his hands from any spot on the field. I could go all day explaining to you why that's wrong simply by listing names but neither of us have that kind of time so all I will say is this: I get that Leon was your favorite Jet. He was a great player for this team when while he was healthy. But you're putting him on a pedestal he never even attempted to climb. Stop blowing him up to be the some type of super-weapon.
