I don't care what kind of lemonade Mangini squeezes out of the lemons he's got this year. Regardless, the same fundamental problems remain with this team, that need to be addressed, in addition to the obsolescence of older players. What is the bottomline? Personnel, Personnel, Personnel. Whipping a horse will only go so far. Eventually that horse needs to be taken to the trough. Pumping this team up with boxing videos worked last year like a steroid. At some point this team is going to have to function dispassionately, without using inspirational motivation as a crutch. It has to begin utilizing its personnel, relying on itself and only itself : proper personnel in proper schemes for that personnel, put in places to succeed. And then executing. Yes, organizations need motivation, inspiration. But the rush can only take you so far, and then when the rush bottoms out, and you bottom out, you are exposed to be the mediocrity you are. This organization needs to take that horse, that dog, out to the shed, and behind that shed, put it out of its misery. Start fresh. Really, genuinely start fresh. Coaches and players. There is no such thing as "rebuilding", and what I am saying is not to rebuild. The only relevant frame of reference is the process of continual building. Of sharpening the blade when it gets dull. I don't care how many 0-2 teams the 07 Jets beat. The only lesson to take from last year is that this team accomplished what it accomplished on fumes. Those fumes ran out in january and let me ask you fellow jet fans, have we been competitive since then? What a fall from grace. The Jets have lost three straight, going back to last year, all against playoff caliber teams, teams that the jets have no right being mentioned in the same breath as. Go ahead, drink your lemonade. Things have yellowed in Jetland. This Jet is a lemon. While things looked good at the end yesterday, don't be fooled. There are so many of the most important pieces out of place for this team to compete on the level we want, and so many more ready to fall out of place, due to age. Therefore, fellow jet fans, keep a close eye on this season to watch our guys grow. Maybe they can string enough W's vs 0-2 teams together, and maybe beat a good team. Maybe they'll squeak into the playoffs again, heroically. Good for them if they do, it won't last long. Keep one eye on the future fellow jet fans, this isn't the same team you'll be watching for the years to come. Its ornery top has to be dismantled, and the foundation built up. Herm and his entire vestige has to be exorcised. The Herm guys that are designed for another system but are still on this team have to be absorbed into the Mangini way, or phased out. Bottomline. If mangini wants to win with his system, he needs his players. And he needs to play HIS players. Find out who works here and who doesn't. Work on those that work, and discharge the rest. Parcells leftovers: Pennington (who belongs with the Herm guys) Ellis Coles Herm leftovers: B. Thomas Baker D-Rob Hobson Vilma Cotchery Adrian Jones E Coleman Cavka R Washington Nugent Miller Pouha Rhodes Dreeson Barton (FA 2004) Barret (FA 2004) Brandon Moore (FA 2002) Tangini: correct the mistakes. There are almost too many problems to address at once, and I fear for this. Tannenbaum has made some really egregious mistakes that have really grounded this team. I'm not sure there is an excuse, but they all fall in the spilt milk category. Free agents unsigned, players let go. lack of diplomacy and nuance. These problems are in the past, and we have to deal with them now. Tannenbaum has made his fair strokes of genius ala Abe, but what have we learned? Mr T is not infallable, and his overconfidence, his hubris has really hurt this team. he needs to be 1- accountable but 2- we should realize that he is no veteran, he's young and he'll learn. he'd better. Mangini. Mangini has the tools to be successful coach. But he has to himself stick to his principles, his Manginiisms, his core Jet values. And he may learn that he himself has to evolve and be versatile. Trust, Communication, Focus, Finish. Add his laundry list of what makes a Mangini player: Smart, Tough, Versatile, Football-Is-Important-To-Them. Revise it to include Talented at the top, and Nasty right below it. One of his defensive mantras is versatility. He himself has to remain flexible with his personnel. They aren't a fit for his 34. Why the stiff immovable stance from the 34? Be flexible. Show some versatility with the scheme, and not just peppering it in there. Show a committment to attending to developing plausible ideas. The 34 is an implausible idea right now. It's broken, therefore, fix it. Trust your personnel to execute the jobs they were brought in for. How about Smarts? I don't care if a player isn't smart enough to write his own name. If he plays like Ray Lewis, or like Adalius Thomas, or like Randy Moss, I want no stone left unturned in getting them on this team. I want a competant nasty team. I want to watch football, not a ballet chess match. Mangini really needs to learn that there is no substitute for skill and talent. No level of brains can replace it. Another Manginiism is Focus. This team seems to completely lack focus, and sharpness. They are sloppy. Not even remotely close to being as polished a team as last year's squad. Has Mangini himself lost a little bit of his focus? I think he has, and it shows in the team lack of execution. Finish. The. Job. Mangini. He rested on his laurels. He did it. Last year it was every position open, let the best man win. It was winning on inspirational fumes and freshness of persepective. Today, we have pieces in place that are complete liabilities, and a team that platys scared, can't tackle, can't blocck, and apparently, can't coach. Turn over the roster to find what works. Why did we draft David Harris if he's not going to play? Pat Willis is able to come in a play, Poz, but Harris -- who has looked pretty phenomenal when in -- can't get in the game over all of these Herm guys? Brad Smith? Leon Washington? All of a sudden, positions are set, andnot up for grabs? Fundamental football -- tackling, blocking, pursuit, on and on, all sorely missing from this team. Scheme. No pass rush. Where's the creativity? Where's Rhodes, Bryan Thomas? Why haven't they been a focus schemed into the games? That is all on focus and finishing. The OL and DL get pushed around like a leaf in the wind. And there is no short fix. The secondary is perforated. As is the run game, pass-pro, and the strategy... The immediate problems: Defense: Secondary needs attention Drafting Revis looks brilliant until you look across to the other CB spot and the rest of the defensive roster. Revis is a powderkeg waiting to explode. But all a team has to do at this point is throw the other way. Revis will get his tackles, but he won't get tested when barrett, miller, or whomever is a willing sacrifice on the other side. The respect revis is getting is amazing. Two games in, he's our #1 CB and QBs avoid him. Look at McCalister. Look at Asante. What makes those secondaries successful? A shutdown CB with the additional competant CB opposite him. Hobbs and Rolle make those secondaries dangerous to pass on. Right now, Revis can't do anything from where he is. It sounds crazy, but if Dyson can't stay healthy, CB has to be a priority to addressed -- and soon. No one on this board will argue against this. We've all seen what Barrett and Miller have done to this team. They are the weakest link. Rhodes needs to be schemed into the game. And he needs to get with it in coverage?he hasn?t been sharp. 2008 FA: Randall Gay, NE, Chad Scott, NE, Tory James, NE, BJ Sams, BAL DL needs attention D-Rob. Time to say goodbye. It really is time. Unless we switch back to a 43. he really needs to go, but it is so hard to find NTs and then to develop them takes years, that again, there is no short way around. The defense will be mediocre for some time barring a major event. Ellis = serviceable. I wonder if his faults are partly due to Drob?s inefficacy. I mean what if he had Wilfork next to him? Coleman. He?s here for good. He?s ?a mangini guy?. Build around him then. Pouha. Mosely. Are these guys going to play? Or do we cut them? Your move Eric. 2008 FA: Justin Smith, CIN (only 275 but stout), Jared Allen, KC, (LB?), Tommy Kelly, OAK, Paul Spicer, CAR LB corp Look at what NE has done, what SF has done, what Balt has done. They are big, relentless, nasty, talented, they crash the LOS, they shuck guards, they get to the QB. Some of them like Pat Willis are drafted. Some like Junior Seau are revived. They probably couldn?t fold a paper airplane with their collective IQ. Its not that it matters, this game isn?t paper airplanes we?re playing. Or is it? The LBs are supposed to be the strength of this defense. Where?s the strength? Why do we bring in Brad Kassell and Matt Chatham when the other guys are bringing in Adalius Thomas? Why are we drafting Harris and not playing him when the other guys are drafting Pat Willis and starting them? This guy is 34 model LB? Play him for crying out loud. Trade Vilma and play Harris. Quit fricking *****footing! 2008 FA: Terrell Suggs, BAL, Justin Smith, CIN, (I doubt he could be converted to LB but he's prototypical size...), Karlos Dansby, ARZ, (6'4" 250), Jared Allen, KC, Teddy Bruschi, NE (yeah riiight)
Lemonade anyone? Offense: WR Coles isn't going to last forever, he'll be 30 and 9 months -- pushing towards 31 entering next September. Cotch is coming into his own, but McCraphands has terminal dropsies and Brad Smith is obvuiously not developing fast enough. This team sorely lacks a big target, and a downfield target. it means so much for a QB to have some semblance of size and speed as one of the options. Stuckey isn't that guy. WR is pushing itself higher and higher on our laundry list. 2008 FA: Bernard Berrian, CHI, Bryant Johnson, ARZ (6'3"). OT, OG This team desperately needs an infusion of size and talent. I don't care where it comes from, but it has to come. I wanted Blalock in rd 1 of last year. Kendall, of all the Herm guys, was the least replaceable. Nothing else to say but we stink. if there's one place not to stink its at OL, especially in a division with Jason Taylor, Schobel, and the Patriots. 2008 FA: Rubern Brown, CHI, AL Faneca, PIT, Ryan Lilja, IND, Max Starks, PIT, Floyd WOmack, SEA. Among others. I hope to sign at least one big name OL. It *needs* to be done for pass-pro, for running, and to cash in on the Thomas Jones trade... RB Thomas Jones is also getting up in age, he's 28 now and will be 29 going into next September. We got used to Curtis's consistency, but RBs in this league have a short life. We essentially have no 3rd RB? ~ hopefully we'll get to watch Clemens develop, but with Chad entrenched... Don't fool yourselves. this team is a lemon. enjoy the lemonade, if you can find some sugar! In all reality, jets fans, it's back to the drawing board.:up:
I like our QB's. I like our RB's. I like our WR's. All could be upgraded, but I don't think any of them are big needs. Our biggest needs are the same as last year, offensive line, and defensive line. Both are just getting manhandled by the better teams. I don't think we were running on fumes or anything and can't do it anymore. We'll be fine against the lower teams, and will probably win most of the games against teams that are right at our level because we are well coached. But when you are getting physically dominated there's not much coaching you can do. Getting Thomas Jones was a good move, but outside of that it doesn't look like we had a good offseason in free agency, at least so far.
And I fail to see how this team is unfocused. I agree with some of your statements, but the situation you're painting really isn't bad at all. I think Thomas and Lewis were drafted for the 4-3 anyway. I know Lewis was.
WR is a good position for us, i don't see it on our list of needed upgrades. But then again, you've put virtually every position on that list.
He's got the right idea. The Jet's mix of talent right now really is not that strong for what they are trying to do. It's not going to get much stronger in most areas without moving a lot of the dead wood out and replacing it with live growth. Here are the positions the Jets look to be fairly strong at for the next three seasons: QB, HB, C, FL on offense and LCB and SS on defense, K on special teams. That's really not a lot of plus positions at this point. Here are the positions they look weak at: FB, LG, RG, RT on offense and RE, NT, LE, ROLB and RCB on defense. The positions they are neither weak nor strong at when projecting out 3 seasons are: LT (D'Brick is a coin-flip at this point and I have no idea how it lands, neither do the Jets) SE (Coles is aging) and TE on offense, LOLB, RILB (counting as Barton now and Harris then), LILB and FS on defense, P on special teams (Graham is aging). That makes the Jets a middle of the road team with huge issues on the lines moving forward.
I couldn't agree more. Our problems rest on both our lines. We look small, and we play small. We can't pressure the QBs and we can't hold back the pressure against ours. It is horrifying seeing how long the other team's QB has to throw the ball. And to see Brick get thrown around like a rag doll... It's not a pretty picture
