If Gregg is staying here, maybe it would be a better idea to give HIM a chance with decent OLB prospects. If he can make a decent defensive unit out of Basham/Hewitt/Burgess/Copeland, just imagine what he could actually do with semi-decent prospects, a.k.a. mid-level draft picks. With Gregg coaching up the kids and calling the shots, splashing on the defensive FA is about the last thing this team should be doing. If HE wants someone, maybe. (Like Spag wanting Mathieu at KC, for instance). And what encourages me to say this is, he doesn't seem to prefer the kind of slow behemoth of LBs that Rex just loved. He surely didn't employ one during his recent tours at NO or Cleveland for all I can tell. Thus I am inclined to think that maybe he understands the importance of speed at LB corps. And I'd say same deal with CBs. Thank god we are set at both safeties. If Gregg gives us a chance (I can hardly think it will work the other way around) he will fix up this fucking defense once and for all within the next 3 years or so without spending 3 straight 1st round picks on DL. Can Gase fix up the offense in the same time span? That remains to be seen.
I don’t care for Williams play calling at times, giving up too many big plays but he does develop these players. Definitely want him back with a full defensive crew and CBs.
As much as I would love for them to secure the pass rushing hole with a monster pass rusher, I think they'll have to pay too much - if they can even convince such a player to play for them - in FA. And unless a true stud falls into their laps, I'm more interested in them vastly improving the OL. And the reason I say this is because what they REALLY need to do is find another guy like Jenkins who can get 8+ sacks, (assuming Jenkins can duplicate or better this year's total). With that kind of pressure, it enables other guys (Q. Williams) to get to the QB and apply good pressure. That would be a good step in the direction this year, and they can then look to find that stud pass rusher in 2021. Bottom line: The resources HAVE to be applied to the offense this year.
I still believe Dupree is the exact same Fowler. Their sacks and everything are identical. Not sure why we would over pay either. We already have Jenkins and he could be the same player. We have a good front 3, and in Jenkins... Ngakoue would change it but dupree would just be like having 2 Jenkins. Both are good at the Calvin Pace type role but neither will be a premier pass rusher.
Martin and Mawae were both allowed to hit free agency before free agency was well understood. Parcells got both of them by signing them to poison-pill deals that their former teams could not afford to match. The poison was in the form of regional incentives (e.g. if Martin played more than 2 home games in New England in '98 he got a huge bonus.) Teams had been using poison pills to get tier 1 free agents for several years at that point with the Steve Hutchinson Vikings deal being the poster boy. The NFL banned poison pills with a new rule that the terms of any deal had to be equal for both the signing team and the potential matching team. Maynard washed out of the NY Giants program. The Jets got him as a true free agent. He was cut by the Giants in '59, played the '60 season in the CFL with Hamilton and then signed with theTitans in '61 when the AFL came into being. The Titans signed him because he had some name familiarity with the fans they were trying to win over. Free agency is a completely different deal than it was 20 or 60 years ago. In this era the best players are not allowed to hit free agency under any circumstances. They are either tagged until the cost becomes prohibitive or traded before the fact. The only way to find a great player in free agency is to pay through the nose for their current value and then get lucky as hell.
It's hard to tell exactly what you're saying with this post. Your first and second paragraphs seemingly contradict themselves. Your final paragraph adds to the confusion. It seems to be saying that we don't need to spend high draft picks on the defense, yet in your second paragraph you dismiss the idea of using FA to get a faster OLB or CB. Greg Williams definitely deserves better talent to work with, but that will mostly have to wait another year. 10 of the last 11 drafts have focused primarily on defense, and the offense has by and large been ignored or had low-round draft picks thrown at it or older, nearly over-the-hill vets. Enough is enough. Our D was able to compete and not only not be an embarrassment, but to play effectively this season. With Mosely and maybe Williamson back, the experience/development of several of our younger defensive players (Austin, Cashman, Phillips, Fatukasi, Shepherd, et al), and better health and progress from Quinnen Williams, the D should be even better. The offense was often totally non-competitive and an embarrassment. It is woefully lacking in talent. I don't believe that any high draft picks should be used on the defense this draft. I do believe that Douglas should look to sign at least one, maybe 2 CBs in FA, and then maybe draft one in a mid or lower round. To get the faster OLB you speak of, we'll have to draft him, so that will either have to wait, or we'll have to settle for signing a FA like Matthew Judon or Bud Dupree who will improve the pass rush, although they're the bigger, stronger types and not that fast. I believe the majority of our FA $s should be spent on re-signing Poole, Jenkins, Anderson and a few others, and then on the OL and a better backup QB than Siemian. Siemian looked totally lost every time he took the field for the Jets in preseason and his lone regular season game. It wasn't just the awful OL, either. He was indecisive, and looked confused.
We'll just have to agree to disagree. You can't compare looking at just stats. Dupree has been more consistent and is better at setting the edge. Fowler has basically had one good season, this past season, and that's it. I believe that Fowler's is faster. Dupree is 15 pounds heavier. To begin with, you overpay any top tier FA. That's just the reality. You overpay because other teams are trying to sign him too. You overpay because the Jets have a bad history and aren't that competitive, so the player knows he isn't going to be playing in a SB any time soon with the Jets. You overpay because the NY/NJ area is so expensive to live. We would do it to improve the pass rush and as insurance in case we aren't able to get an elite type in the draft this year or next. We're not getting it done with just Jenkins, Basham and our DL. No, it's not ideal since we wouldn't have an elite edge rusher, but it would be better than what we have at present and would also make our run D better. Douglas' choices are either break the bank and sign Ngakoue (which could prevent us from signing any top tier FA OL or CBs, or perhaps even any outside FAs if his contract was big enough and our own FAs wanted more money than expected), sign one of Judon/Dupree/Lawson, or do nothing to address the pass rush this offseason. If Greg Williams has no problem with waiting until next year to address the pass rush in the draft, great. Then we can try to get an elite, speed pass rusher. Perhaps most Jets fans won't like waiting, but that's ok. I just strongly believe that the focus this offseason HAS to be on protecting Sam and upgrading the talent around him. If he doesn't develop, then it won't matter how good the rest of the team is. We'll be starting over looking for a QB and we can forget about going deep into the playoffs any time soon.
But while having a great pass rusher is desired, they can improve on an already pretty good "D" with another Jenkins-level pass rusher for next year, rather than paying a king's ransom for someone like Ngakoue. I'd rather see that money go to the OL and skill players, or even an upgrade at CB.
"Free" Agency in football is a mirage as you point out. The players need to apply some leverage to get this to work in their favor, as it should.be. After all, the whole idea of free agency was for players to not have to be tied to one team, and have to accept lower salaries because of that, in short, competition of services. But as of now, the NFLPA and the players don't seem to have the courage to pull a complete walk out or shut down to get the leverage they need. Given the pay scale, pro football is maybe the worst sport an athletic kid could aspire to play in.
That's what I'm hoping though. Get Jenkins back, sign someone like him to an equivalent deal. No need to over pay Dupree. Get 2 Jenkins and a cb that could be decent but cheaper and resign/sign the depth we need then focus on offense. No need to splurge this year on defense. Get the offense fix... defenses no longer win superbowls, when need a solid d with a good offense, and a kicker.
Why isn't it working in the players' favor now? Teams either have to tag them, in which case they get a huge salary, or they sign with another team for bigger money. I disagree that it isn't working in their favor.
What is so hard to comprehend? I have said the following: 1. If Gregg Williams is staying (looks that way) then maybe it would yield a better result to give him some LB prospects out of the mid-tier draft picks. This was specifically clarified at the end of the first sentence too, just in case you missed it. 2. I am even against splashing big FA LB signings either. Just give him draftees and see what magic he can pull off. [He worked wonders with even less than that - so there's a plenty of room for hope, just in case you missed it.] How is that contradictory? Care to explain? 3. The mold of LB Gregg has shown is pretty much the polar opposite of Rex Ryan prototypical LBs - decent sized, but with speed. vs big, slow tackle machines. I figured this mold will have a better shot at today's NFL than what Rex favored. How does this line cause any confusion? Care to explain? 4. And I have been saying [maybe we wouldn't have to waste another 1st round pick on DL] specifically because I figured we need that 1st round pick to address the offense. Meaning - the defense will have to get a scrap heap, as the offense will need all the help it can get, starting from high draft picks to FA pick ups. Kinda consistent with what I've been saying all along, no? Does this sound confusing to you still? How? Care to explain?
Sorry, I must have been half asleep when I read your post earlier. I don't think we'll find the type of OLB you're looking for in a mid-round, however. I want that type of OLB too, but they're usually only found in the 1st or 2nd round, and I definitely don't think we should use a high pick on an edge rusher this offseason. We've waited for over 10 years. We can wait another year. IMO the priority must be on addressing the OL in a major way, adding some quality WRs in the draft, and perhaps adding a CB or two in FA and/or the draft.
I can see using a 3rd or later. If they use a 1st or 2nd it just mean the offense will be poor again next year... I'm hoping we got ot, we, og/c within the first 4 picks.
With all due respect, I'd beg to differ. If you take the top 5 sack artists this season, one was undrafted (Shaq Barrett) and the other was 3rd rounder (Danielle Hunter). The trend goes on throughout the entire top 10 too; about half of them are 3rd or below while the other half comes from 2nd and above. With a good coach that can literally raise up the kids, we CAN have good pass rushers without having to spend a top pick. Obviously it helps to have a high draft pick to select that coveted edge rusher, but we can't afford that luxury yet. Gregg might be the saving grace for this team.
FWIW, Walter Football has us taking Curtis Weaver in round 3. Would be a dream scenario if he fell that far.
It may seem like it works for some, but even then they do't get as much as they might. And they can't become a FA until 4 or 5 years, but when the average career length is 3.5 years, that's not really a good deal. And for those who aren't superstars, the salary structure is much less lucrative. Moreover, look at Bell: he got tagged twice, and then had to sit out in order to get free. But the owners hold all the power so it's not going to change.
Hey, if Douglas can find a kid with a lot of talent/potential in a lower round or as a UDFA and Williams can develop him into a player, all the better. I'm not opposed to using a lower round pick on an edge if they think it's a great value. I just want the first 4 rounds all going to offense.
He sounds like a great prospect, but if Sam wound up getting hurt because we used that pick on him rather than an OL, it wouldn't be so great.
