Can we just wait and see how this plays out? I think we are all jumping to too many conclusions. Remember Tangini did give Brandon Moore an extension he was promised. Right now they may not be ready to negotiate with coles just yet. Why you ask? Perhaps they are going to be aggresive in free agency and Tangini and the rest of the staff want to wait to see how much money the have left over to give to coles. A bit of a weird thought, but I just wanted to put it out there. Bottom line is this, we're going to learn quite a bit about Tangini this offseason because I feel it is make or break. If they spend and do the right things this team can make some noise in the playoffs. If this team is frugal it could be a long LONG rebuilding process.
Wow, This is amazing. The majority of this board says that you cannot judge Clemens because he was without Coles, his #1 receiver. Now you are saying he is a bum and dump him.
We should pay Coles. It's the right thing to do for a number of reasons: (1) he's a great receiver and will be well and ready to go for training camp. (2) Many NYJ players look up to him and follow his lead. (3) If such a warrior at 30 is not safe, this will melt down commitment to the team from NYJ players. (4) Coles deserves to play with an OL that pass blocks and run blocks WELL -- this coming season the team has to succeed with an OL -- otherwise every skill player's contract is worthless. All NYJ skill players will know they can have no success here, and fans and other teams will brand them over-the-hill busts, and so time to leave. Pay Coles. Fix the OL for real. Fix the DL for real. And we have a real chance on 08, in my opinion.
That's all swell in theory, but are the funds there to actually get it done? There's a reason teams can't just Steinbrenner the FA market.
It's a tough situation. Any other skill position player and I would say that the Jets shouldn't cave because they need the money on the lines. However, with Coles, it's complicated. He means a lot to the team and he is a very good WR. However, it seems like he's never happy for more than two seasons and it is getting tiring. I'd like to see him on the team and I don't want the Jets organization to get a worse rep for player relations. So, I think they have to pay him.
Yes keep him , but his contract will most certainly be renegotiated. Kendall was the bench mark. Tannenbaum and Mangini have made their statement of intent , that sentiment goes out the window in football , which whilst you have players like LC who 'deserve' their pay day at the end of the day its about winning and whats best for the team. Keeping LC is most definatley something the Jets need to try and do , but not at any cost.
Ding! You are the winner. bad biz tactics will make big time free agents look elsewhere because of shady dealings. This will hurt us for some time. kendall got effed. Noe LC getting effed. Bad, just bad
I don't think Coles deserves more money as the Jets renogiated his deal when they brought him back BUT if the FO gave him a promise that they would and are going back on that word like they did w/ Kendall then I've had enough w/ this regime. You can get away w/ stuff like that when you win Championships not when you go 4-12 w/ a healthy team. I am tiring of the mangini act, I think he has the potential to be a top flight HC but all the other nonsese needs to stop. be your oen person, stop trying to be Bill Belichick. He is being Belichick from Cleveland not Belichick NE.
What he says is right. The team asks him to make sacrifices and they tell him that they will rework his contract. So he does what they ask and plays fearlessly all the while. Then, when it comes to contract time, you tell him his #'s are down. That's not a good way to treat your employees. I'd feel stabbed in the back, too.
I tend to agree. It was the giving of long term deals to aging players that got us into the mess we are in. If he has 2 more years on his contract he should honor them. Plus it is not like the guy won't make any money. I, for one, do not like his stance on this issue.
Dave Hutchinson of the Star-Ledger...... Coles on the situation… “I don’t want to seem like another greedy player, but I feel I’ve earned the right to know where I’ll finish my career. I’ve done everything this organization has asked me to do and I’m asking them to do this for me. I think I’ve earned that much. I’ve put it all on the line every Sunday for this organization. They’ve told me for the past two seasons that they would take care of me and now I feel they’re stringing me along. I’m not going through this for another year. I’ve played hurt. I’ve been a leader in the locker room. I’ve held the team together in bad times. I was an intermediary between management and the players. I sacrificed my numbers for the good of the team. … I don’t want to be a disgruntled player. I want to be someplace where I’m happy.” “The Jets told me they would take care of me with a long-term contract and now that time is here. I don’t want this to be a Pete Kendall situation. I don’t want to be like Brandon Moore and sit out a practice to get a new contract. It shouldn’t have to come to that point.” “They said my production is down. But some of the best wide receivers in the league don’t have their best seasons until they’re in their 30s, such as Terrell Owens. I think I have four or five good years left. I just want to know where I’m going to end my career and I’ve made it clear I want to retire as a Jet.” My own thoughts are this..... Coles is/was a great player with a fire and intensity that younger and spurned receivers often have to compete at a higher level. Having seen this in his first tour with the jets, i feel at this point, his heart and desire are still there, but his body simply has suffered the toll of the years. I still think he is a quality receiver, but not the one of old, and therefor look for upgrade at that position rather than "sentimentally" spend more money on an extension, as he will continue to be battered around for the next couple of seasons. My emotions are mixed on this because I like what he has brought to the table over these years and he is passionate jet, but reality sets in and........
Trade him and Pennington together. He's never going to be happy with Clemens because of that special relationship he has with Chad. We already have a #2 receiver in Cotchery. Coles and Cotchery are both #2's period. As much of a warrior as Coles has been (and I'm a Noles fan and I always love my Nole-Jets more than any others), and he is one Jets that I can honestly say plays his heart out every play he's on the field, it's still not smart spending giving him #1 WR money. Let another team give him #1 WR money as a true #2 WR. I'll bet that team already has a true #1 WR. We don't. We need one. Randy Moss is obviously not going to be available, but if he is and the Jets blow their third chance in landing him, then they might as well trade the rest of the receivers too, for more Flag Girls. Signing a chad Johnson or any other Terrell Owens-type personality that has #1 WR skills is worth considering based on supply and demand in the league. Until the jets sign, draft, trade for, or find a true NUMBER ONE WR, Clemens can throw laser beams and the line can miraculously find a way to block all they want...but DBs will still dominate us in the open field. If they do trade him, I know I'll miss him. I'll cheer for him wherever he goes. But I will not miss having my heart in my mouth once a week with him lying on the field because of this injury or that injury. Seriously. Every week there's a Coles moment where he's lying on his back and I think his career might be over.
When you limit the WR's options to short routes, the defense can do like Buffalo does and sit on it, never minding the long shot. Without time, even Tom Brady can't get it out there. You guys are evaluating WRs' performance (and their vulnerability) when they are forced to play with their left hand tied to their right ankle. And another thing... you have to wonder whether any of the people on these blogs have ever played football. The quarterback isn't futzing around back there trying to decide what to do so the poor WR is murdered. The quarterback has no time when the OL is not pass blocking, and not picking up the blitz. It's a dirty little secret to the fans at large that the so-called "skill" players are given the time to ply their "skills" by the OL's pass blocking and run blocking. You cannot judge the "skill" players until their are given adequate opportunity by their OL. It's a team game, you know.
Couple of things here: -Kendall stopped being a team player. Thats why things turned out the way they did for him. Sucks for us but we are better off without him in the long run. -What has Coles done the last few years to warrent more money? He is one of the least threatening #1 WR in the league.
Huh? Yeah when he got told, "we aint gonner pay you what we said we would." 2nd point Are you freakin serious? Hes not threatening? Give him a QB who can lob one for 30+ yards. I'll tell you I hated playing against tough WRs , and I'll bet most CBs feel the same way about LC.
I'm torn on this as well. I'm a huge Coles fan and I agree with a lot of what he said - he is the team leader and is one of the toughest football players we've ever had (no offense Klecko). I also feel he is still good and can get us at least 3 maybe 4 more years of solid production, as long as we dont have Chad throwing lobs up to him in traffic. But on the flip side, He has got to stop bitching about his contract every single damn year. It would be one thing if he was a guy who had been underpaid his whole career and never recieved the "big contract" (Andre Reed style), but hes been fortunate and made loads of money both with us and the Skins. So he kind of should shut up. In the end, I reallly really hope this comes to a comfortable conclusion. If we have another Pete Kendall situation with a player like Coles who might be our best player- then it would make us look really bad around the league.