Let's face it, one injury and this OL can be quickly headed in the same direction we saw last year. If (god forbid) a guy like Faneca went down in '08, we really have no competent backup to fill in. I know that the party line is that your backups are never as good as your starters, but you at least have one, possibly two guys standing by who can help move things along. We don't even have that. Bender from last year hasn't shown a thing. The new guy Nate ... is lighting up the "suck" column in the stats sheet. It's not paranoia, just coming to grips with reality that behind QB, the OL continues to be the weakest link on this team. I'm really hoping for some of the reserves to show us something, anything in TC (we didn't see a damm thing last year) or for some late pre-season cuts, but with nothing on the horizon you can't help but think just how bad things could get.
Agreed. OL depth is the Jets achilles heel. One guy goes down for any significant amount of time and we are royally screwed. The one redeeming thing is the fact that if we have ANY depth on the oline it is at T, so if someone on the interior goes down then it will be Woody's job to slide in, while one of our "depth" guys steps in at OT. That still doesn't inspire much confidence though.
Especially when you consider that Damien Woody and the phrase "consistently good play" can't yet be placed in the same sentence.
Why do you say Garner is lighting up the "suck" column? I haven't heard anything about him yet. He sounded like he could be a good pick.
So this was already declared in May? Give the guys a chance to play, then call them out. I agree more depth couldn't hurt, some vets may be available soon.
No, they just started camp a few days ago. Sometimes players improve, but they are not even given a chance to play in a few games this preseason to prove themselves I guess.
mvn.com/nfl-jets/2008/07/28/jets-monday-morning-recap-ripping-pro-football-talk/ Offensive Line - The most encouraging news has been that backups Will Montgomery, Clint Oldenburg, and Wayne Hunter are having strong camps. Damien Woody missed one practice with an eye injury but should be fine. D?Brickashaw Ferguson has added weight and has looked good, especially against rookie Vernon Gholston.
A relieable vet would not stand in the way of any of the young guys. If one of them developes into the player we hope he does, he?ll pass that vet and maybe even Woody or Moore on the depthchart without a problem. But if none of them becomes at least a solid Backup, we?re screwed if one of the starters goes down.
It's not just the OL- what if jenkins goes down? There is no other dominant NT on the team. If revis goes down it will mess up the secondary. Every team needs to avoid injuries to key guys. It's part of the war of attrition as the season goes on.
The OL and DL have varying depth. I'd venture to say that if one of our D-linemen goes down that we still have enough "hold the fort" type players where the dropoff wouldn't be as bad as if we lost an o-lineman. Will Montgomery v. CJ Mosely etc... Every team needs to avoid injuries to key guys but every team also needs to have competent depth, not just warm bodies. The Giants showed us last year that losing your starting guys in the secondary is not going to cost you the season if you have enough qualified players waiting in the wings.
As soon as you start comparing coaching staffs, you get in trouble. The biggest issue the Jets CS has is that they do not make good adjustments, either in game or regarding personnel. They are rigid, as was proven last season, and are unable to adapt their systems to the strengths and weaknesses of particular players. They demand that each player fill a spot in their system and arent good at making changes on the fly. It may ultimately prove to be their downfall.
