I had a long conversation with an insider on the deal this evening. Really fascinating series of events... Midnight of opening of free agency - Eagles call them with immediate interest, tell them that they want him and want him bad. 9am next morning - Eagles private jet is waiting for Asante in Florida (offseason home) to take him to Philly 11am - arrives in Philly, everyone is waiting...owner, Reid, the whole thing. They put the deal in front of him, 6 years, 33mil, 23 guaranteed. They basically agree in principal, they start talking contract language 12:30 pm - Agent has to call NFLPA, they have some questions about language, tipping them off that he is in Philly with an almost done deal. 1:00 pm - Tannenbaum calls the agent, gets him on the cell at that point, tells him they want Asante bad...Agent says you should have called at midnight, we have a deal in principle with the Eagles. Tanny asks what do I have to do to make it happen, agent says if you aren't past the 33/23, don't even waste the time. Tanny says give me 5 minutes, need to get to Woody. Same time this is happening, Asante's cell rings, it's Mangini saying how bad they want him. Asante is literally walking around the Stadium with Eagles management as Mangini is telling him they are sending a car to pick him up. Tanny calls back, offers 36 over 6 with 24 guaranteed. The agent says he needs it in writing, Tanny sends it within 5 minutes to his Blackberry. At this point, the agent tells the Eagles that the Jets are upping the offer, which makes Eagles go ballistic. The agent huddles with Asante, who says that he felt really wanted by the Eagles, the midnight call, the plane, etc..and he ultimately turned down the Jets offer. Interesting to hear how the little ego strokes mean a lot...
I was this close to barfing. 11:39pm - I click on theganggreen.com New York Jets Forum 11:40pm - I read that Asante Samuel was almost a Jet 11:40pm - I picture him as a Jet in my mind, and begin to dry heave. 11:41pm - I rush to the bathroom, but I regain my composure. Phew!
When he is in a D that is not getting constant pressure on the QB his production will drop way down. He has the skills but they were also enhanced by the D he was playing in.
Asante Samuel is a very good corner but he's not Champ Bailey by any means. If the Jets had gotten him on a reasonable deal and still had the money to spend on the lines then I'd have been ok with it. I keep looking at that 6 pick and thinking the Jets may have to take a corner there and that makes me ill after the premium they spent to get Revis last year.
That's pretty much exactly how I feel, except I don't mind seeing us take the best corner at 6 if the draft pans out the wrong way. We needed the money to spend where we did.
Agreed. Blessing in disguise. Samuel is overrated and the CB position in general is overrated. Fuck him and anyone else who has gone through the Pats system. We're gonna have a solid CB2 this season one way or another.
It's not the same money, and we offered him more. If we signed Asante we wouldn't have been able to afford one of either faneca or jenkins. Calvin Pace 3/3/2008: Signed a six-year, $42 million contract. The deal contains $21.5 million guaranteed, including an $11 million signing bonus. 2008: $750,000 2009: $750,000 (+ $9 million option bonus) 2010: $3.75 million 2011: $3.855 million 2012: $4.585 million 2013: $5.81 million 2014: Free Agent. Cap charge: $2.83 million (2008). Asante Samuel 2/29/2008: Signed a six-year, $57.14 million contract. The deal included a $6 million signing bonus. Another $4.5 million is available through incentives. 2008: $645,000 (+ $7 million in bonuses) 2009: $1.9 million (+ $7 million roster bonus) 2010: $8.895 million 2011: $5.9 million 2012: $8.4 million 2013: $10.4 million 2014: Free Agent. Cap charges: $9.145 million (2008) $10 million (2009) $9.995 million (2010) $9.335 million (2011) $9.5 million (2012) $11.5 million (2013).
There is no corner in this draft even close to being worth the #6. For a corner to go that high they have to be really something special. None of these guys come close to that. Deion Sanders went 5th and Champ Baily went 7th in their drafts. No way do these bums even come close and it wasn't like those two weren't well known coming out. Just one more reason why the Jets can't fall into that abyss. BTW, have the Jets even worked out McKelvin or Cromartie? I haven't heard that they did and that may tell a lot.
What you are really saying is that the Jets wern't really that close at all: Didn't call at Midnight Didn't sent a plane for him Asante actually is on record as saying he wanted to be an Eagle etc etc etc As alwasy with the Jets...a day late and a dollor short
Here is what I find interesting about this. Samuel got a 57 million dollar contract. A #6 pick in this years draft will get well over 40 million. Landry, a safety got 42 million last year from Washington. Do you really think there is even a chance we would draft a CB and pay a rookie that kind of money when Samuel only got 57? I don't. The other interesting thing about that article is that Johnson is calling all the shots here. They can't do a thing without checking with him first. You can deduce from that he will also be making all the decisions on what they do on draft day too.
The top of the thread. "Tanny says give me 5 minutes, need to get to Woody. Same time this is happening, Asante's cell rings, it's Mangini saying how bad they want him. Asante is literally walking around the Stadium with Eagles management as Mangini is telling him they are sending a car to pick him up." "Tanny calls back, offers 36 over 6 with 24 guaranteed."
You got all that from that? Damn. I'd think most GMs have to make a similar phone call. And the way we've drafted the past two years I highly doubt Woody digs himself into football operations like that.
To tell you the truth, I would have rather had him than Calvin Pace. Samuel and Revis could have made a devastating duo. Not only that, I feel that this class is deep in 3-4 rush linebackers and we could have easily picked up one that could immedialtely contribute.
Great story, I?m just not apt to believe that if we wanted him that bad we only call at 1PM that day. Any way you can shed a little light on your source.
I'm almost positive every single move that a GM makes has to be approved by the owner. I mean, they are spending the owner's money.
