ScotsJets post in the receivers thread got me thinking. This is a rambling post, but it's 5 in the morning, so get off my back and respond to anything you find interesting. The Jets offense is so wide open almost across the board, it's pretty interesting, yet scary. Young players across the board, unproven players almost across the board. A wide range of potential for this team, and you could see lots of different players stepping up. Sanchez, Greene, Connor*, Keller, Holmes and Hill is the most likely set of skill players we'll have out there at one time. But... Sanchez is coming in with a lot of question marks. If he struggles, Tebow could possibly come in and be the guy if things go a certain way. While Greene has shown promise, he's also been inconsistent and injury-prone. Behind him, we have a rookie, a 2nd year guy who has barely played, a 3rd year guy who has been a bit player offensively, and a 4th year guy who has been totally inconsistent. All young with some potential, but all unproven as NFL backs. By the way, the Ganaway pick makes it extremely likely that McKnight is the 3rd down back. At least I hope it does because I don't want to see Greene trying to catch any more passes. Unless the Jets cut Ganaway or Powell, which I don't see happening, these are your 4 RBs, which makes McKnight more likely to step up into the LT role. Keller is a good but not great receiver, though he's young enough where he can improve still. His contract situation is up in the air in the future. Hayden Smith, Cumberland and Baker all have talent but, like the runningbacks, they've proven very little. Still, Cumberland showed some impressive receiving skills when healthy last year and Baker wasn't bad at all down the stretch. Smith is an impressive physical specimen, we'll see what he brings. Holmes is Holmes. A very good talent who can make a lot of big plays, but who knows how he'll react after last year. Behind him, Kerley showed promise, but he caught 29 passes. Schilens is rarely on the field, though he always seemed to show promise in camps in Oakland. Turner has contributed at times, but very little at the end of the day. White, McKnight, Riley and Payne are all battling for the last spot(s). Even right tackle, the Jets seem to be relying on a Wayne Hunter/Vlad Ducasse/Austin Howard war to find a winner. Between Hunter, the reliable old backup whom the Jets think can't be as bad, and the 2 young projects, they hope someone, preferably one of the young guys, will assert himself and take the job and improve it. The Jets have some talented players offensively. Best case scenario, a couple step up, and we have a good offense with a lot of receiving weapons. Competition should be good with all these young players to see who can step up. I'm really excited about Stephen Hill. He can stretch the field and open up play for Keller, Holmes and the running game if things go well. What I'm curious about is what packages we use. Obviously, it will depend a lot on who plays well. If Cumberland or Smith steps up, we could use a ton of 2 TE sets. I think there's a good chance we bring in another TE. And this brings me to John Conner. Conner intrigues me. Tannenbaum said he's on the roster "for now." What does that mean in the future? Sparano dumped Lousaka Polite when he was in Miami. I could see him dropping the Terminator and using Josh Baker as an H-Back type. It's all going to depend on who impresses in camp. I could definitely see the Jets bringing in another tight end who can block because, especially if we get rid of Conner, we don't have too many pure blockers among our skill players. Schottenheimer used a lot of OT-eligible formations, I could see that happening some more. There will be a ton of competition in camp this year. It's possible we have to make some very difficult cuts around cut-down day, especially at receiver, and I could see a lot of different players on this offense eventually making an impact. Bottom line, QB, RB, WR, TE, and OL all have some question marks at this stage, but all have multiple ways where we could not only solve the problem, but uncover a diamond in the rough in the process. Tannenbaum is rolling the dice, putting faith in his scouting department in finding guys to step up and contribute. Of course, for all I know, the Jets could sign a blocking TE, a 3rd down RB, and find an upgraded OG or OT before training camp.
It really doesn't seem like we are focused on what this offense is. And since we don't know what Sparano hopes this offense will be, its all the more confusing. Add to that, this Rex tendency to use veterans instead of young guys, and I'm not sure who the heck is on the team. We still don't know what we have in Greene and he's about to go free agent. Keller is also about to go free agent and I don't think he has yet to "arrive" or be used properly. Holmes is paid like a number 1 but has yet to get the ball like he's being paid. McKnight seems exciting but he never gets the ball. Powell, just nothing, not even dressing. Cumberland has all this promise but never sees the field (even when he wasn't injured). Etc, etc. edit: Now connor is apparently on the bubble at the same time we are commiting to ground game. Tebow, just blah, just ugh. Patrick Turner, why is he here if we never intend to ever throw him the ball? Hopefully someone get the reins and starts running this thing.
Seems like we're throwing a whole bunch of shit at the wall and seeing what sticks, while still planning to be a ground and pound offense. We'll see if it works out. There are enough talented players where it could conceivably work out, but I worry about the OL letting us down.
There are only so many carries to go around. If Greene gets 250, which is light to moderate for a one, and Tebow gets 75 which is heavy for a wildcat, and McKnight gets 100 which is ok for a change of pace, and Sanchez gets 25 which is probably on par for some scrambles... we are at 450 carries. 100 more and we are barely passing. That 100 more could be 50 Ganaways, a few Powells, a few end arounds, option tosses, etc.
I like the way our O is shaping up, just because we finally have physical specimens at every position. No more relying on Dedric Ward to be your deep threat. You know? We've never had a tall, fast true deep threat and we've never really had a size back (though I look at ganaway and I don't see a true power back) and we've never had such a diverse wildcat offense with so many players that can run AND throw - Tebow, Kerley, and I think McKnight are all possible passers. Now having a bunch of athletes is not the same thing as having a football team, but I like what we've done here.
The offense is a mess right now. The question is whether the Jets can turn all the broken eggs into an omelot or whether we're going to be eating scrambled eggs all year.
You see a mess. I see x's and o's dancing all over the place with lines for potential assignments covering the whole page. True dynamic potential. We have a sick deep threat that is almost surely going to mature into a pro-bowler if he doesn't bust. Very sharp route-runners in Holmes and Kerley. Backups include deep options, possession WR's...good mix. OL is the shakiest but if DuCasse develops into the pick we made we'll have a top 5 line. Might be able to make due if he doesn't and hang in there with a top 10 OL. Tebow adds so many permutations every single play it's going to be a DC's nightmare to account for all of our weapons in the first place...then you have to account for those options going through Tebow instead of Sanchez besides. Then they can both lineup out there so you don't know what you're supposed to be defending. We seem to have pretty much all of the pieces in place to be a vicious, efficient offense. There are obviously questions about whether guys like Sanchez/DuCasse/Hill can live up to their roles right away...but if they can we're going to have a more potent offense than we've seen in a long, long time. Don't forget we still have FA/trade possibilities on the table. We could easily add a good OL/OLB/S into the mix to make our roster that much more powerful. I really like where we're sitting coming out of the draft.
Offensive picks: 1. Stephen Hill - Blocking WR that can burn. 2. Terrance Gannaway - Really big and strong RB that's surprisingly nimble 3. Robert T. Griffin - Mauling OG 4. Jordan White - Productive possession WR. If you had to put these into a pattern, it looks like we're going to be running a whole lot and passing off of play-action. Isn't that what ground-and-pound is? The crop of TEs were pretty bad this year, otherwise I think we take one.
I see a backfield & O-line built for the power running game w/ alot of athletes on the outside. This fits what Sporano wants. He likes ground & pound w/ alot of vertical routes to stretch the field. Makes perfect since to me.Are there lingering questions?of course..but there is no deficiency of talent anywhere with the exception of a blocking tight end which the jets tend to use as an opportunity to use 6th O-linemen.
If the offensive line stays healthy and we find an answer at right tackle, we have a good chance to be successful offensively. We have potential answers at QB, RB, WR, TE, and OL. We still have question marks at all those spots, too, for now. It will be fascinating to see who actually steps up and wins and keeps those jobs.
If Hayden Smith can step in mid year and be effective I think it really helps this team. Dude is an athlete but needs to learn the position. Got high hopes for the kid but those always almost end up being shattered by reality as these projects never seem to pan out (i.e. Justin Miller, Kellen Clemens, Vlad, etc.)
don't forget Cumberland - I was expecting great things out of him last year and then he got hurt so early. We may be lacking a true blocking tight end, but we may have three pretty dynamic players.
The offense is a mess right now. The question is whether the Jets can turn all the broken eggs into an omelot or whether we're going to be eating scrambled eggs all year.
Greene and Kellers contracts end I believe, Keller will be very high priced being he might be the best FA TE on the market next year.
you belong to the school that not only think that pre-season rythm down't mean anything, it is taking a step further; that a really crappy pre-season actually means a stronger regular season.
You come from the viking school where they don't teach you about thread bumps and/or the Gregorian calendar. Btw, Hunter is finally gone so if we can get RT sorted the offense will be just fine when the WR's actually play.
