TO clarify, my point about last year was in terms of how the then upcoming season looked at this point last year. Yes, the injury to Holmes, and later Kerley, significantly hurt the performance of the group. But going into the season you don't know where and how injuries might affect the team. That's too much of a variable for this discussion.
I understand, and of course some think that Decker should not have been the only wideout the Jets should have signed in FA. Imagine the excitement if DeSean Jackson had also been signed. And I do wonder if the Jets might have done something different that would have made that happen. But in fairness it sure looked like Jackson wanted to go to the Redskins, and perhaps it was simply not reasonable to expect the Jets to have gotten him. But could they have gotten someone else? Traded for someone else? The FO homers here would defend hte lack of action, but I will merely say I don't know the answer.
My response would simply be ... how do we know there was in fact a lack of action? I would say we have no idea if the Jets attempted to trade for someone, and probably never will. I would point out that the Jets in fact did sign two WR's, and possible didn't feel the value was there to bring in what else was out there in free agency (though I thought there were reports of the Jets trying to sign James Jones). I must be a homer, becuase I am actually excited to see how this WR situation shakes out, and I am fairly optimistic the Jets will improve by quite a bit on last year.
Yeah I went into the future a bit too much there. But I do believe Holmes becoming active before game 1 was a surprise? He was expected to be still rehabbing and not at full health heading into the season. I don't think that's too far into the future. So the fact that so far our top WR is healthy I think can be used as an upgrade. I mentioned Kerley injury to show Gates was not buried in the depth chart, he actually was the #4 WR. And I guess thinking back, I didn't think Winslow would be that valuable to Geno, but I was wrong there. Again, that's forward in the future.
I am actually pretty happy with the Jets' Offensive Weapons from 2013 to 2014. RB: Chris Ivory, Chris Johnson, Bilal Powell TE: Jace Amaro, Jeff Cumberland WR: Eric Decker, Jeremy Kerley, David Nelson, Stephen Hill, the draft picks. If one of the WR's drafted can step up, or God-willing Stephen Hill does, the Jets should be pretty good on offense.
Yes, Vick or 2nd Year Geno will definitely be better than 2013 Geno too. The offense should be much improved.
Jordan Matthews could have been ours. All we had to do was give up our original 4th (#115). Eagles moved up 12 spots in round 2 (from #54 to #42) to grab him, and it only cost them their 2nd (obviously) and their 4th (#122), which was worse than ours. Not only that, but the Eagles' 2nd rounder (#54) they used in the trade was significantly worse than ours (#49). So instead of the guy with Jerry Rice bloodlines we have Jace Amaro and Shaquelle Evans. I would have preferred ASJ or Lee to Matthews, but this is the obvious silencer to anybody who claims Idzik couldn't do a deal because teams ahead of him were "asking for too much."
trading up for Jordan Matthews would have made this draft an A for me.. still upset they didn't do it, although I'm thrilled they didn't trade up for Lee. so it is what it is. Amaro could prove very valuable in the passing game. I just hope he can play inline, and be a complete TE.
So what if he has jerry rice's blood flowing in his body, it means nothing. I like Matthews but I believe jace amaro makes more of an impact to this team than Matthews will. People keep underestimating amaro. He should have been the first tight end chosen.
He's also a good player who works his ass off. He has the record for most receptions in SEC history. He's 6'3" and runs a 4.44. Before the senior bowl, he called Phil Savage asking for tape of the DBs he'd matched up against so he could be prepared. When he got to Mobile, he called Phil Savage @ 6 in the morning asking for the film room to be unlocked. Jace Amaro is a plodding stiff (who hasn't shown he can play / block inline) who racked up inflated numbers in a spread offense. Time will tell, but that's quite a statement to say Amaro should have been chosen ahead of ASJ or Ebron (and I hate Ebron).
I like jordan Matthews game and I'd be lying to you if I said I was happy with the receivers the jets drafted. I think we missed out on a number of wrs it it pissed me off but I believe in Amaro and I think you'll come around once the season starts
I followed a lot of amaro'is games. Mismatch nightmare. Teams knew exactly who they were going to and he just could not be stopped.
Yeah, I'm not holding my breath, but hopefully he gives the offense at least something in year 1. If he can sit down in a zone or be a nice sure-handed safety valve, I'll take it. You could say this about receivers, too, but I think it's equally if not more true of TEs: it takes them a few years to develop, even the good to great ones. Jimmy Graham barely played his rookie year. Same with Jordan Cameron. Vernon Davis didn't really break out until his 4th year. You have a much better chance of a dynamic rookie WR impact than a TE. Nobody they would have taken in round 2 is as good as AJ Green, but for example: In AJ Green's rookie year, he put up: 65 Rec, 1057 Yards, 7 TD, 43 First Downs. I think we all agree this Jets' offense is desperate for guys who can make an impact right away. That is a big reason why I wanted Seferian-Jenkins. The guy can come in and be a red zone monster immediately. Look at what the Lions were able to do last year with Joseph Fauria (if you play fantasy football, you probably know the name). The guy had 18 rec, but 7 of those went for TDs. From inside the 10, hey would just throw him jump balls in the end zone. And ASJ is 10x more talented than Fauria on his best day.
Agreed in particular about Winslow. Can't speak for anyone else, but I don't recall expecting much from him given where he was with his career when he came to the Jets. He made some plays. Holmes? I thought he either would be ready or in the first couple of games, but yes, he was still rehabbing at this point last year. I don't think I would call it a suprise he played opening day.
The day that Jordan Matthews can potentially play outside and in the slot at the same time on the same play I'll consider taking him over Amaro and Evans. There are virtually no appropriate players on the 42 pick that would justify giving up the 49 and the 115. That's just not how football works. It's not a 16 man game like baseball. It's not a 7 man game like basketball. It's a 35 man game where you need 35 good players to be a good team. The other 18 guys mostly have to be usable also. Anybody who thinks they can cherry pick in the NFL and get ahead should go be a sports agent somewhere instead. You'll have a better career in the latter field.
I don't want to relitigate the whole cap space issue. And I do not know there was any lack of effort where an attempt was warranted. But I do think those were fair questions. It will be interesting to see what happens at wideout, but I can't say I am excited in the positive sense about it. As it stands now a positive development in enough areas, wideout being one of them, along with Vick could make htis a playoff team. But I am not all that optimistic about it. Which I guess makes me not a homer.
I don't know, man. I want to see it, but I just don't, as far as how his game translates to the next level. I'm not saying he's gonna be a complete bust. All I'm saying is I don't see the "playmaker" or "seam threat" or difference maker some are touting him as. I think he can be decent. He has good hands. As far as the passing game, I see him as a more athletic version of Heath Miller. Which wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.
Chip Kelly disagrees with you. I think he knows a little about how NFL offenses work. You're saying he should quit coaching and become a sports agent? If you were talking Mike Evans, fine. No argument here. But Shaq Evans is as likely to be lined up on the outside or in the slot in the arena league as he is on an NFL field in a meaningful game.
The day that Jordan Matthews can tear an ACL and keep playing because he has two other good knees I'll consider taking him over Jace Amaro and Shaq Evans. The NFL is not a 16 man game like baseball. It's not a 7 man game like basketball. It's a 35 man game where you need 35 good players to be a good team. The other 18 guys mostly have to be usable also. BTW, I'm going to keep posting the same thing over and over again because it's the truth. Chip Kelly is a one year coach in the NFL who dumped his biggest play maker over a personality conflict in the off-season. He needed Jordan Matthews for a bunch of reasons that don't apply to a normal NFL situation. He'd probably have been better off waiting for Davante Adams though. He'd have another good prospect in hand right now if he'd done that. Next reply from me will be When Jordan Matthews can get suspended and still keep playing because he has two separate rap sheets...
