First of, I think our centre is one of the best in league and won't be surprised to see Mangold at the probowl soon. Watching Kevin Mawae last night for the Titans reminded me of his contribution for the Jets over the years, he was and still is a rock, great feet and great concentration. I know he was gutted when he was cut by the Jets and wish we could have seen him retitre in New York.
Mawae was an inevitable casualty of the regime change in 2006. He had all the hallmarks of a declining star including increasing vulnerability to injury brought about by aging, excessive salary and strongly promoted self-image in the media. The Jets made the right move with him. All of that said he was still a good player when healthy at the time the Jets let him go and I'm not surprised he landed on his feet in Tennessee and kept on trucking. Mawae was one of the four players that most defined the bulge of success for the Jets that started in 1998 and continued through 2004, the others being Curtis Martin, Jason Ferguson and Jason Fabini.
I can't remember, did we get anything for him. I think he may have just been released, and he was still very good.
Let me rewrite that given that I was foggy-headed when I wrote the first time. Hehe. He had all the hallmarks of an declining star including excessive salary, strongly promoted self image in the media and increasing vulnerability to injury brought about by aging and years spent in the trenches. Thanks for catching that. I should never post before I've started the second cup of coffee in the AM.
Haha..ok, that I'll agree with I just think he was a warrior for the Jets and the primary reason we had such a great running game for years. I still love the game the referee kept threatening to throw him out because he kept clubbing defensive lineman with the cast he had on his broken hand. Classic.
Mawae was the Jet's best player for a long time. Curtis was great but Mawae was the key to that entire string of respectable seasons. It really does all start on the offensive line.
If we could've won just one SB...no doubt in my mind Mawae would be a hall of famer. He was the best center in football for a good 5 years.
Should've kept him instead of wasting a 1st round pick on a position that wasn't a need at the time and still wouldn't be. Maybe we'd have a passrusher or solid LG
Wha? Mawae has 2 years left tops in the league and is not the player he used to be. Meanwhile we added Mangold he will be a top center in the league, barring health issues for likely the next 10 years. Mangold is cheaper, young, and at this stage, flat out better. By the way... we've had a pretty long line of good centers over the years..
By far the best player the Jets ever had, IMO. Name another Jets player that was the unquestioned starter at his position in the probowl every year. He gave us an attitude. Other teams were scared of the guy. Every game someone on the other team was going to get steamrolled and pancaked. Think Zach Thomas. Say what you want about his big mouth, or John Abrahams lack of heart, but they both had superb talent, which is what is missing on both lines these days. If we had Abes instead of Ellis we'd be a much better team. Mawae, not so much because he's up there in years and we have Mangold. I would draft 7 lineman next draft if I were Tanny and have a battle of the lineman in TC next year.
The Jets could do far worse than this idea. It'd require a total commitment to rebuilding though for them to make a move like this. It'd also require a lot of movement down in the draft to make sure you weren't just drafting a big body at an inappropriate slot.
I could see you making this statement on Draft Day 2006, but in Sept of 2007, it's a stupid statement. Tanny took a risk getting rid of Mawae and drafting Mangold...a risk that paid off. Mangold is young and on the way to a pro-bowl career. Mawae WAS a great player, and has a couple of years left of tread on his tires.
