I don't get it either. He does have a high salary which may need to be reworked but he still makes less than Pace or Scott.
Harris could be restricted. Under the old CBA, players with 4 or less years of service in the NFL were restricted free agents. That would be ideal. You tender him at the first round level it's a moderate cap hit and if somebody signs him to an offer sheet you get a first round pick back. Perfect. If that happens, I would franchise Cromartie and take whatever you can get on the trade market for him...3rd round pick would be my guess. He's a good player but he's not worth a big contract which is what he'll get on the open market I would sign Dawan Landry to play safety and draft a 3-4 end with our first round pick. Re-sign Shaun Ellis and hope that Tanny wasn't just talking in gm-speak when he said that Dixon would be a big contributor for us. As far as OLB goes...I have no idea how to shore up that position. Hopefully somebody gets cut that we can take a look at. Maybe use the older guys up front on the line for another year and use the first round pick on an OLB instead.
I doubt we'll see a huge turnover on the starters- maybe 2 or 3. Another option might be to sign a bunch of superstar FA's at a low contract rate, and pay them extra under the table in IROCs and bitchin' Camaros.
Assuming we can't land Tamba Hali and both Cactus and Jason Taylor are goners, another guy we could give a shot is Ernie Sims from Philly. He's only 25/26(?) years old, so he still has some upside. His production decreased this past year, but if we're looking to acquire young, inexpensive talent, he's probably a realistic option.
Probably less organized that I'd like but... DLine NT: I can see Jenkins getting cut and the Jets offering a smaller contract. He cannot stand up to the wear and tear that a starting spot is going to put on him. Brining him back as a 3rd down NT would be a great idea if he can stay healthy for that. Pohua has played himself into a starting spot but given his age I think the FO should be looking for a replacement for the future. We may have that in Tevaseu already. Between Pohua, Jenkins and Tevaseu I think we have our main candidates for next season, granted Jenkins' contract is reworked in some way or another. We'll probably look to bring in a UDFA as well but unless a major prospect falls in our lap the Jets will likely downplay this position this season. DE: Ellis, in my view, has likely played his last down as a Jet. Bringing him back will mean minimum money, especially after his knee injury. I hope we are targeting DE early in the draft, although we have a lot of projects at DE, I could figure at least one of them making contributions next season a la Mike Devito - looking at you, Ropati. Devito has one starting spot locked down. Between his motor and his production, he's earned Rex's respect which means he's earned a job. Ropati was supposed to be a major force on the DLine and hopefully he can come back from his knee injury. A young stud player would also be great, we need a rotation at least 4-deep to keep this DLine effective late in the game. Ropati-DeVito-Rookie-Kroul/Steinkhuler/Gilbert would be a nice weapon. Wisconsin's JJ Watt is one of the top prospects for this position. He was a great 4-3 pass rushing DE in college but has the size and strength 3-4 teams like to see in a rookie. Cameron Jordan has been making a name for himself at the Senior Bowl and is likely to climb after the Combine. Ohio State's Cameron Heyward was last year's 3-4 DE favorite but has seen a drop in accolades following the 2010 NCAA season. Still, the guy is a solid prospect who may be available later in the draft(2nd round?). LB corps OLB: I think Bryan Thomas is on his way out. He played well for the Jets this season but he's underperforming in his role as the WOLB. He's supposed to be the pass rusher in this Defense but he's just not getting the pressure on a consistent basis. Given his age and his inconsistent play following his breakout season in 2006, it's time to part ways with him. Pace was marred by a foot injury this season but he has to step up. He's a good player and a great fit for SOLB but he's overpaid. He shouldn't be the one getting all of the pressure on the QB but 5.5 sacks isn't going to cut it. Taylor was a one-year rental, nothing more. This corps has to get younger and keeping around a 36 year-old PSR isn't really going to help out. As for the rest, they're just that. The Jets need to target this position early in the draft. I've made no secret as to who I would love to see selected with that pick(JABAAL FUCKING SHEARD, PLEASE!!!!) but Sheard, Aldon Smith and Jeremy Beal are names Jets fans should get used to hearing in the lead-up to the draft during the first round. If we cannot land the prospect we want here, then someone like VaTech's Steve Friday could be a possibility in the 3rd round. Dontay Moch of Nevada has shown up as an interesting prospect for the later rounds, but due to his raw ability and his lack of knowledge for the game overall, it'll be at least a season before he can be a consistent contributor. ILB: Between Scott and Pace, I think the FO is going to be asking for some money back between the two. Rex really wants to keep David Harris but we're going to need to scale back on the salaries between Pace and Scott(probably Scott). We cannot afford to have the amount of money we're projected to be tied up in ILB. Scott continued to fill his role at WILB perfectly but remains overpayed for the position. He's making the type of money that Harris should be. CB Bye bye, Cro. A second round pick would be a steep price to pay for one year rental but given Tannenbaum's lukewarm comments regarding our #2 CB, I don't see much a future for him on the Jets. We're most likely looking at Revis and Wilson starting next season. I'm disappointed with Wilson's lack of playing time this season(that one's on him and his struggles to adjust) but I'm confident that an offseason and TC with Revis will help him grow immensely. We saw some of that growth already in the playoffs. We still need a better nickel back on the roster than Coleman/Cole. Neither guy has the coverage skills to stay with an elite slot WR and both do their better work rushing the passer - Coleman especially. This will either be a mid-round(4th or 5th) pick or an unheralded FA signing. We're not breaking the bank for anyone here. If the FO plans on going after free agents, pay attention to the CBs the Ravens jettison. They know Rex's system and could probably step in quickly. Saftey Sure starters: Jim Leonhard and ?. Leonhard is the only safety with a guaranteed role next season. Brodney Pool was a stop-gap signing who lost his starting job at one point. E. Smith looks like the Jets' version of Roy Williams with slightly better coverage abilities. He's a flag magnet on the field(warranted or not) but he found a great role filling in for Bart Scott on passing downs to cover TEs. Dwight Lowery is still trying to find a solid position on the defense after being drafted to play CB in 2008. He has shown promise as a safety but has not proven he can be an every-down player yet. He may well wind up climbing the ladder to a starting position but at the moment his best position looks to be as a backup. Given the number of high value FAs we have I wouldn't be surprised to see the FO tag-and-trade one of them for a 3rd(Cro) or 2nd(Edwards/Holmes) pick and trying to target a starter in the draft. The Jets have shown interest in the safety position at the Senior Bowl practices, particularly in Nebraska's Eric Hagg. The 6'01" prospect is a solid player against both the pass and the run.
This isn't hate. But there is a lot of hate for BT on the board. He's been better than Pace all year. I'd rather cut him if we could, but the cap number makes that not feasible.
^^ This is how I see it, save Cro. I imagine we'll negotiate with him while looking at other options.
With the CBA up in the air right now, who knows whats going to happen. My gut feeling is that some-things going to happen where we end up from benefiting , don't ask me how/what/why , its just a gut feeling. If it doesn't we could well be fucked for next season x 2.
Pace was hurt. He started to play better as the season went on. I'm basing his worth more on 2009 than 2010.
Probably these: -He's 31 years old -He was a career underachiever under Herm -He followed a breakout 2006 season(8.5 sacks) with sack totals of 2.5, 5.5, 2.0 and 6.0 in the next four seasons. Not the production or consistency you want out of a 3-4 WOLB who is supposed to be the pass rushing threat in a 3-4 defense. He's JAG at best. Time to part ways.
Pace is the better linebacker. Thomas has been an underachiever his whole career save for two seasons. Pace underachieved in a 4-3 as well he has better instincts than Thomas and he's stronger and, before the foot injury, faster. As the SOLB, he's not supposed to be the dominant pass rusher. Between the two, Pace has a better chance of bouncing back after the down year that both he and Thomas had. I do agree that he's getting far too much money, though. Between his production and the foot injury, I would be all in favor of Tannenbaum reworking his contract and putting some of that guaranteed money into incentives. If he can bounce back from it and make the plays he needs to, pay him more. If the foot injury fucked his playing career, I don't see any reason for the team to pay him like a premier player.
Pace had a sack in each of the playoff games. He's def. way overpaid tho. I think opposite a more dynamic pass rusher he'll be a better player. Finding that dynamic pass rusher is the problem.
ughhhh do yourself a favor and Google Image Ernie Sims and then Google Image a real 3-4 OLB like Terrell Suggs, Woodley, or even Pace. Which one doesnt belong?
Ernie Sims has no place in a 3-4 defense. At 6'0" and 230lbs he's already undersized for a 4-3 and he has a career sack total of 4.5. He'll get destroyed by OTs in every game. No.
Sanchez made him look like a fool in the Browns game. Rogers had him wrapped up and Sanchez squeezed out of it completely. It was glorious. So no.
Not sure why, but for some reason I thought he was bigger (especially heavier) than that? Either way, we need someone who's fast coming off the edge. I think we've all seen enough of these prototypically sized OLBs who can't get to the QB quickly. Sims is definitely undersized, but we need a speed edge-rusher. It's easy to say Woodley/Suggs/Ware/etc but those guys are who they are because they're rare. There must be other options, otherwise, we're SOL again next year when it comes to pass-rush coming from the OLB spot.
Defensive Line: NT -> Pouha, Tevaseau, maybe Jenkins. Pouha is the starter and I'm fine with that. If you activate a player for an AFCCG it's because you must have some confidence in him... I think Tevaseau will make next year roster and back-up/spell Pouha. It would be great if Jenkins realized he's been stealing (not his fault) money from the Jets these past 2 seasons and agreed to play next year for vet min. If he doesn't agree let him go... DT -> DeVito, Dixon/Kroul DeVito has proven this year he can start for the Jets... and Tannenbaum is high on Dixon. There is a reason if we kept him on the roster all year long. Not saying they will be superstars but they'll get the job done and take 2 blockers. Kroul might be an option in case he shows more than Dixon (or Pitoitua) through TC. DE -> Ellis, Gilbert, Pitoitua/Kroul Ellis will either retire or stay with the Jets at a smaller contract than the actual one (if he doesn't agree let him go). When another team tried to snatch Gilbert from our PS we activated him to the 53 man roster so he'll get every chance to show he can be a contributor... the talent is there so I'm hopeful. Pitoitua suffered a serious injury but remember the CS was VERY high on him coming into the season... it would really help to have our poor mans Ngata back... Draft -> The more I think about it and the more I'm hoping our 1st rd pick is a DL. DEs like Jordan/Watt/Heyward might fall and if not there are still solid options like Liuget and Wilkerson. Even a NT like Taylor might not be a bad idea considering Pouha can rotate at DE as well as NT. If we take Taylor then one between Jenkins and Tevaseau is gone. If we take a DE one between Dixon, Ellis, Gilbert, Pitoitua is gone. In both cases it might come down more to contract/age/injuries than actual talent.
Bart Scott should be easy to replace. Sure, he brawls out there with RB's and TE's to give Harris the chance to stuff the run, but let's not forget he is just another one-dimensional, 3-4 run stuffing ILB. Guys like those are easy to find in the draft. Example: Desmond Bishop, replaced Nick Barnett this season and did a solid job of it.
