I'm still torn on Leon, but we did improve our running game. Obviously, the argument that the 4th rd pick was better used on another position with Leon on the roster has some merit, but it's hard for me not to be excited about the improvements to our running game. McKnight could turn out to be an absolutely fantastic pick, and I think he will. Once the Jets took him, their best option truly was to trade Leon for whatever they could get.
He did allow the most sacks among LGs, though. Your stats show that. And like Shaun said, he was not normally facing the best pass rushers, but Brick was.
I've already said their ranking formulas are suspect. Go look at who the #5-7 DTs are. The basic stats are right. Faneca gave up more sacks than anyone in the league on an offense that threw far less than any other team in the league. This one doesn't take a beautiful mind to figure out.
2 mil will surely help us next year, because our CAP hit will be 2 mil less. And, yes I factored everything when I mentioned players that I mentioned, not just base. 2 mils is significant by any measure. And by the way, we are actually saving more than 2 mil. It is 2.5 mil plus whatever amount Faneca will sign with another team (likely veteran minimum). So, we are probably looking at the total of about 3.4 mil. Only 10 players or so on the team make that much (with the bonuses and everything). So, what we saved with Faneca is actually pretty decent savings, not pocket change as you make it sound. It's obvious he was not the same guy he was earlier in the year, but we can't assume that's because of injury. As you said yourself, there was no serious injury. You are speculating there was a minor injury that prevented him from hitting the holes, but this is an excuse more than anything. A more logical explanation is that TJ just got old. He is 31 after all. He could not produce when it mattered without any serious injury. At the end of the season everyone has nagging injuries. Players are expected to play through these. TJ showed he can't quite get it done anymore. LT had more carries, but he is younger. It's a wash. The fact is, TJ could not deliver when we needed him to deliver. Maybe LT will. TJ already showed he can't. And I am not sure why you bringing up TJ SB appearance. Is there any debate who is a more accomplished player here? LT is a sure HOFer. TJ is nowhere near that status. I'd much rather our 2 youngsters to learn from the HOFer than from a very good player, but nowhere near the same statue.
I knew once they announced that pick they were moving on from leon and it was bittersweet b/c I think McKnight can be a good player and I think he can fill leon's role. I just hate giving away leon for nothing and using a pick to replace leon(even though the mcknight pick came before theb trade we obviously picked him knowing we were getting rid of leon). next year absolutely and that is what this move was made for b/c we have so many guys we need to pay that we needed every dollar of cap room going forward but it's weird how they make so many moves designed for this year then let go an important piece of the Ol for next year. He might be our 5th best OL but that unit was a top 2-3 unit in the NFl last year. LT is older in football tersm than Jones b/c he has so many more carries in his legs. carries and recs: Jones: 2569 LT: 3410 LT has never delivered when his team has needed him, the only only success they had in postseason was when LT was hurt in '07 and they made the title game. LT in his postseason career has averaged 3.4 YPC and he has just ONE 100 yd game, Jones has averaged 4.15 YPC in postseason and that was w/ his bad postseason #s w/ us this past year. I hope all these moves work out, I just think we allowed too many good players and good guys in the LR to walk in one offseason.
We did not give away pick for nothing. We got much needed young FB in return. Some say one of the best in the draft. With Leon having career threatening injury, let's face it, we were lucky to get what we got fro him. Leon is damaged goods. We replaced him completely in the draft and got a much needed young FB in return. I don't see much to complain about here. Yeah, but the guy was not playing well though towards the end of the year. Line was good in spite of him. It was as much a football decision as it was financial one. His pass protection was a disaster. We have 2 young guys who will do better than Faneca next year for a lot less money, and will give us a stable offensive line for years to come. Why hang on to Faneca, who is a shell of his former self, for another year when he wasn't even good last year? Now we got 2 mil in CAP next year plus somewhere between 2.25-3.5 mil in saved money, while cutting the weakest link. Great move if you ask me. I wouldn't count both carries and receptions though. Receivers can play till they are old. It's carries that I agree has some significance. TJ has 2300, LT 2900. But it's not just that. It is also the number of years in the League doing one of the toughest jobs. It is also the age, as it gets harder and harder to do it as you naturally become older (even without carries). LT is younger, managed to stay injury free (injures add a lot to wear and tear) had less years in the League. So, I don't know who has more left in the tank now. I do know though that LT had more in the tank to begin with as his career has shown, and TJ actually showed towards the end of last year that he is not able to contribute much when he backed up Greene. Maybe LT can. Also, as you saw yourself LT is a MUCH better receiver than TJ and adds the dimension to our 1-2 punch at RB that TJ and Greene did not have with both of them being pure runners. I just feel much better overall about Greene+LT than I did with Green+TJ, But the problem is, his bad postseason was LAST YEAR backing up Greene, the exact job we need him for next year. I just don't see him doing any better next year. I also like the fact LT can become extra receiver for us whenever we want. TJ can't. As far as LT's accomplishments, do you really believe TJ had a better career? If so, you are probably the only one.
We could have moved up to get that FB w/ a low rd pick for next year, we gave away leon for nothing. Faneca was fine, the problem is people expect all-pros at every position. That's not realistic, our Ol was one of the best in the NFL- I hope w/ the new G it remains that way. Carries are #1 and he has alot more carries in his legs. Again, I don't hate the LT move- I'm actually ok w/ it but when you have that move w/ the others that got rid of team leaders and good LR guys it is alarming. LT's bad postseasons have been every year w/ the exception of one game in '06. I never said TJ had a better career but he ahs been alot better in recent years.
How is that really a better move? Leon is going to be gone next season with no compensation for us. We already have McKnight who could prove to be the best pick in the draft and we still have 6 out of seven picks for next season. Continuously trading away our future picks leaves us with little ammunition to stock depth on the team and it puts Tannenbaum in a worse position to move up to acquire the players he wants that season. We gave Leon away for a special teams beast and a future anchor for our running game for the next 5 years, minimum. He'll instantly improve a weakness in our coverage unit from last season and he'll help maintain one of our biggest strengths. For the #3 RB on the roster, that's a pretty good deal.
If leon could help us this year I'd rather get one really productive year out of him than getting a 5th rd pick that may or may not be able to play in this league. We are really close to being a championship caliber team, let's say hypothetically leon makes a huge play in the afc title game and we win the SB- would it have been worth it to lose him for nothing after '10?
By the way, let's look at our 5th rd picks since 1997(out of the dark ages): 1997: Lamont Burns, Raymond Austin 1998: Casey Dailey, Doug Karczewski, Blake Spence, eric bateman 1999: Jermaine Jones 2000: windrell Hayes 2002: Jonathan goodwin 2003: Derek Pagel, Matthew Walters 2004: Erik Coleman 2005: Andre Maddox 2006: Jason Pociask 2008: Erik Ainge That's 15 picks and 2 quality football players- one of which did nothing for us. be careful annointing guys before they have done anything, I heard great things about 90% of the guys on this list when we drafted them.
Just so we're clear: The chance of us getting one productive year from a HB who might not even be healthy enough to play by the season opener and could finish TC on the PUP list > one year of a sure-fire special teams force and a potential anchor at FB? You are operating under the false pretense that Washington is going to immediately regain his old form. While not career-ending, a double compound fracture is devastating for a HB and it typically takes over a year for a player to fully rehabilitate it. Leon cannot even cut yet. How can you assume that he is instantly going to return to be a pro-bowl return man or a phenomenal backup when he has that to deal with?
I agree IF they know he's not going to return to form at any point in the season. if he was regular leon by November than he could have helped our chances to make a SB run. Imagine if the Giants didn't have David Tyree a few years ago? one play can make it all worth it. There's no guarantee either way but I would have kept him if they believed he would be close to normal at any point in 2010. That doesn't mean I am right but that's my opinion.
I disagree with this reactive mentality. TRich is almost 40 years old. The time to get a replacement is now. Let's not wait until TRich sucks before replacing him. Granted FB is not the moost valuable position in NFL, but hey, that allowed us to get best FB in the draft to replace the guy who will need a replacement very soon, if not this year. That's certainly not "nothing". Not all pros, but Faneca was getting worse each game. If we can release him now, save 3 mil cash and 2 mill of CAP next year, while replacing him with young 2nd rounder, sounds like a wise move to me. I hear your point about LT loud and clear. He is no slam dunk, he got worse than before. But carries, age, years int he League are all a factor, not just carries. And the bottom line, you are ignoring (excusing) the fact that TJ failed to deliver backing up Greene in play-offs and declined dramatically towards the end of the year. At least LT might be successful with better line and reduced role. TJ ALREADY FAILED. Plus LT brings passing dimension. I think LT has a fairly decent chance of giving us a good back-up next year. TJ already showed in play-offs that he can't.
You mean imagine if they had a receiver with good hands who actually knew how to run routes? I'm guessing that catch is nowhere near as spectacular but a lot more fundamentally sound without any possibility of a "did it touch the ground?" argument.
I like thinking a year or 2 down the road as well but we could have done it w/o giving up Leon and I don't count the FB as what we got in return, we got a 5th rd pick and had to give up a 7th w/ Leon- that's giving him away for nothing. Did we lose any games down the stretch b/c of poor blocking from our LG? I don't recall that.
w/o that play they don't win the SB, it's quite possibly the greatest ctach in SB history and not one that any good WR w/ good hands could have made under those circumstances.
Moving from almost undrafted FA territory to the #8 in 5th round and getting the best FB in the draft is not nothing. You have to give up an asset to make it happen. We were lucky this asset was damaged Leon, who had a career threatening injury and still wanted a huge contract. Fortunately we did not lose many games down the stretch. With that said, we need to strive to improve nevertheless, because other teams are improving too. Faneca sucked, we dumped him, replaced with young talented guy in the draft, and saved money and CAP space in the process. Things are good. The only guy whom I regret losing somewhat is Feely. But even he failed us in the most important game of the year, and his loss allowed us to get a pass rusher.
