This may be a bit early, but the board needs some more action before training camp begins. Here are my grades: Coaching: B Although our coaching staff is young, it has looked very promising so far. I like almost every single move the new FO has made thus far including fixing our salary cap situation, deciding what players stay and go, restructuring contracts, and drafting a good base of players for our future. Their attitude and positive influence on the players has been exceptional. The only downside I can see at this point is their inexperience. Special Teams: A- Graham is the toughest punter in the league and has a very strong leg. His rookie year was unbelievable, and he was one of the few bright spots we had last season. Nugent had a slow start last season, but really picked it up in the second half. His kicks are becoming more and more consistent, but he still has to work on the distance of his kickoffs. Quarterback: C+ We all know Chad's injury history, but one thing remains clear: When healthy, he makes our team a winner. This is a make or break year for him, and if he truly is recovered, I expect big things out of him. Ramsey is a young QB with a good amount of upside. He never got a fair chance in Washington, but has proven to be very tough and durable. He will challenge Chad for the starting spot in training camp. Bollinger played under terrible circumstances last season, and showed that he has some game. He's probably the best #3 QB in the league. Clemens was a good draft choice for us, but I think he will be riding the bench for the entire season unless we are in the same situation as last season. Overall, the QB position on our team is very deep. Runningback: B- Curtis is less than two years removed from a rushing title. An injured knee in Week 2, no passing game, and third stringers on the OL last season ruined his chances of another 1000 yard season. If he is healthy, expect him to regain his form and be a decent starter for us. Houston showed great promise last season, and I expect him to take a bigger role this year. Now that his thyroid condition is fully treated, I wouldn't be surprised if he does some damage to opposing defenses this season. Blaylock is a speedy, change of pace back that I never really liked. I don't see too much upside with this guy. Washington is likely not see much playing time, but hopefully he will be groomed as our change of pace RB for the future. Fullback: D I wish we still had Sowell. Hopefully Askew can take over, but things are not looking good at this position. Luckily, FB is the one of the most insignificant positions in football. Offensive Line: B+ We addressed many pressing needs during the draft in regards to Center and Tackle, and the future looks very bright. It will take some time for D'Brick and Mangold to become a true force in the league, but Kendall, Moore, Jones, Teague, and Clement provide the veteran leadership we need until that happens. Wide Recievers: C Coles is a very good reciever, but it can be debated that he is not a true #1 reciever. He is a great role player and possesion reciever, but lacks playmaking ability. McCareins is terrible IMO, and should be a #3 at best. The guy cannot hang on to the ball for the life of him, and shows no courage in making the difficult catch. Cotchery needs to step up and fill the #2 spot. I like his size, and in brief action last season, he was impressive. Tim Dwight is a good #4 reciever with speed. Tight Ends: C+ Baker is a solid run blocker and pass catcher. He has shown flashes in the past, and I hope he can continue to develop into a good TE. Jolley was never given a fair shot here and has been a target for criticism. In any case, he is a decent passing option, but his run blocking is terrible. He's only useful in clear passing situations or two tight end sets. Defensive Line: C- The loss of Abraham hurts, but I'm sure we will manage just fine without this one dimensional crybaby. Ellis has been solid for his entire career, and typically performed better when Abe was out of the lineup. Let's hope that trend continues. Robertson has been an underachiever thus far in his career, but he is still young and under the right system, he may flourish. Kimo is a solid pickup and brings us some necessary experience in the 3-4. Pope and Pouha are backups, but hopefully they can come up big if called upon. Our lack of a true NT brings this unit way down. Linebackers: B+ Vilma is a beast, enough said. Add a healthy Barton, Hobson, Kassell, Schlegel, and Thomas to the mix, and we have ourselves a solid LB corps. I expect much of our pass rush this season to come from the LB's, and I hope they can hold our defense together and make them strong. Cornerbacks: B- The loss of Law is not as bad as most think. Dyson will fill his shoes nicely, and has Superbowl experience to lead our defense. Many people do not like Barrett, but I think he is an average CB. Miller must step up this season, and live up to his potential. Mickens was a very nice veteran addition. Safety: B- Coleman and Rhodes are a solid safety tandem. Coleman has a couple years under his belt and should be entering his prime pretty soon. Rhodes was a standout as a rookie last season, and I expect big things out of him.
Better to use average below average as its more uniform. Letter grades are different depending on who is using them. But here goes. FO Far below average. Inexpereinced, no football people or direct football knowledge and lacking in relationships and contacts with NFL people. CS Far below average. Because of his inexpereince and lack of contacts Mangini has not been able to hire a qualified CS. Possibly the worst CS in terms of expereince and skill in the league. QB Average Even if healthy it will take Pennington a good deal of time to be mentally ready to play, adjust to the speed of the game and foer the new CS to adjust to his limitations. RB Average OL Below average. Possibly 2 rookies starting. Moore is well below average. Kendall is an aging guard and our RT is a second year question mark who will be learning on the job. WR Below average One number 2 WR, One number 3 WR and the rest are at best number 4 WR's. DL Average LB Below Average Pretty bad when Thomas is your best OLB. If we play a 4-3 then our LB's look a lot better and are most likley average to above average. CB's far far below average. Bascially we have 3 nickel cornerbacks of which two will end up starting. Special teams Above average. Safety Average
Um how do we grade the team and the coaching staff before they play a game? If I had to base my grades off of last year mine would look like: F F F B+ F F F F F I threw in a B+ for Vilma. Even with offseason aquisitions and draft picks I cannot say that we have improved one iota until we play some games.
Coaching: B+ Special Teams: A- Quaterbacks: B Runningbacks: B+ Fullback: C+ O-Line: A Wide Recievers: B+ Tight Ends: B D-Line: B+ Linebackers: A Conerbacks: B+ Safety: A
QB: between D- and B. It depends if we get Pennington of old(B) or a new Ramsey(B) or the injured Pennington and old Ramsey(D-). RB:C+. Lots of depth but noone whose really going to be the main guy and intimidate the D to make the passing game easier. WR: B-. They will probably perform more around a C because of the QBs, but with a better QB they are probably a B- talent. TE: D+. Doug Jolley is quite possibly the worst TE in the league. The only reason the grade is this high is because if Baker plays like he can, he can make a very good TE in the league. OLine: C-. Too young, too raw. This is not the year our Oline is going to turn it around. Dline: C+. If Ellis plays like he did 2 seasons ago and DRob can play to his potential, it will be a very solid line. LB: B+. Vilma is on of the best LBs in the league, plus Barton and Hobson are above average, and who ever the 4th might be will bring us down a little bit. CB: B. Depending on Clement, but i like Miller, Barrett, Mickens, and Strait. S: B. Rhodes and Coleman are still devolping but both are very talented. K: C+. Probably should be rated higher but i have a feeling we will be seeing much more of Graham than Nugent. P: A. Unfortunately we have to see him soo much, but at least he is great at what he does.
We are grading on talent alone, bigger than that is team chemistry, and experience. If you include these factors the team grades could go up. The personality of all our draft picks was very good, because of this i feel that the chemistry will be good. Experience is some positions like o-line the grade would go down but in positions like RB, QB (if Chad starts), D-line, and even linebacker (Vilma and Barton are very experienced).
As far as front office dealings, I'd give Mangini a strong B+ for moving out as much dead wood as possible, fixing the cap and adding some promising young talent. But as far as coaching, when I went to college, when you didn't have anything to show for your work it was graded an incomplete. The coaches have to fall into this category until they at least step out onto the field in a real NFL game, dontchathink? I also agree with others who don't expect too much out of the running game with all of the line inexperience and the lack of a breakaway back. This will be a team that will get better over the course of the year but I don't see how the Jets will score many points this year with the group of offensive skill players still on board. Good year to have a great punter because field position and defense will be what wins games for the Jets this year. The running game will still be hampered by the tight end situation as well. Love him or hate him, Curtis Martin LOVED running Anthony Becht's way on cutbacks and the Jets haven't replaced that blocking ability. Jolley could surprise in the passing game but so far his deal has been nothing short of a disaster. I think the defense could be very good as long as the interior line can stop the running game. That will be the key. The hope for Jets fans is that the offense can at least help the D by using a slow ball control offense that will eat up enough clock so the Jets D doesn't get worn out and then the offense can take advantage of opportunities presented by D takeaways for easy scores.
Coaching: A- Special Teams: A+ Quaterbacks: B+ Runningbacks: A Fullback: C- O-Line: A Wide Recievers: B Tight Ends: A- D-Line: B- Linebackers: A+ Conerbacks: A+ Safety: A
^Typical RobA! How did you find the gut to give us a C? QB- C Because of the uncertainity of Penny/Ramsey and youth of Clemens. HB- B- Having 3 or 4 guys that can carry the rock decently is good, but we lack a true #1 option. FB- F Askew is more of a HB, and his blocking skills out of the backfield scare me a lot. Askew is a talented young kid but he isn't a FB and we don't have a FB on the roster WR - B No matter what the retarded "casual" fans say, Coles is a great #1 option. When you catch 75 passes with a 3rd string QB throwing to you most of the year, you're in a great position to be a 100 catch guy if we can find a QB. McCariens and Cotch have potential, but at this point they're a duo of #3 options. Brad Smith is very interesting and will either be a dangerous deep threat or a huge bust. TE - C+ Baker is a very talented TE who can be considered in the top 10 of the league easily, but he has to stay healthy. Jolley showed that he can be depended on as a pass catcher in a more wide open offense (see the Miami game) and will make a decent #2 option in the passing game. OL - B The weakness of the team has quickly become the strength. No DE is going to touch our QB from the blindside with D'Brick blocking, and Kendall, Mangold, Moore, and Teague/Jones are all starter quality players. With a perfect blend of youth and experience I think this line will get better as the season goes on and will be the key to the O this season and beyond. DL - C- Whether we're in a 3-4 or a 4-3 this line is really nothing special... I think Ellis will bounce back but we have no NT (unless Pouha is the guy :wink and the push up front defensivelywill be the weakness of the defense - and the team. LB - A- Vilma, Barton, Chatham, Hobson, and Kassell are all veteran LBs with starting experience that will make for an excellent group this upcoming season. CB - B+ Will wind up higher if Dyson can recover well from the injury, but with Dyson, Miller, Barrett, Strait, and Mickens our CB depth is unmatched in the NFL today. Dyson and Miller are both capable of covering faster receivers, while Barrett, Mickens, and Strait can all be very effective as long as they don't have to face blazing fast WRs. S - C Another position with depth, but none of this players are going to make a huge impact. Rhodes and Coleman make for average, middle of the road starters that will help a ton with the run support but really not slow down any pass catchers. The rate at which Coleman gets beat is ridiculous and very scary. K BThe Nuge showed flashes last year and is going to be a top kicker in the NFL when he develops a little consistency P A+ Enough said. I need to see a little out of the coaching during in-game situations to decide their grade... but the FO would earn a B because they have done a good job rebuilding a very poor OL this season.
Coaching- Nobody knows but i like wat theyve done so far. QB- Average. So much depth but with no definet starter RB- Aabove average.martin will shine once again with a revamped O-Line WR- Average. Coles is a playmaking #1 WR who will show that this season. I think because of last years complete breakdown everyone through our playmakers under the bus such as Martin and Coles. Im not sold on the rest of our recieving core though. OL- Slightyl below average. Will be one of our strong points in the future but not quite yet DL- Below Average. Not one proven starter except for ellis. CB- Above Average. Yes i said it. our corners are one of our strong points. Dyson was a starter on a pretty damn good seahawks D. Barret is a great corner who will make sure he gets his respect this season and justin miller is one of the best up and coming corners in the league. S- Above average- I think that is hard to find a better safety tandem then coleman and rhodes. with a few exceptions.
Your post is very well-written and I agree with most of it. IMO, and it's only my opinion, I would propose the following tinkering: 1. Cut Jolley--I know he's not much on the cap, but as you said he can't block and we need it. Martin didn't win the rushing title behind Jolley--he got it thanks to Becht and Kareem. You GOT to have a good blocking TE in the NFL. 2. Reduce/ phase out Martin. I know he is a hall of famer, probably the greatest jet ever. But his good days are behind him. Put sentiment aside, the guy is 100 and he's coming off major surgery. Don't waste a whole year rebuilding with grandpa in the backfield. 3. Keep Robertson and Thomas on a short lease. Give them a chance, but don't spend the whole year trying to justify their draft status if they continue to underachieve (big time). 3.
