Here's the text Penny just linked to on #32: <<<32. New York Jets Another new head coach in Eric Mangini who comes from the Patriots. The Jets went from a team that was a missed field goal away from playing in the 2004 AFC Championship Game to a team that won only four games in 2005. The Jets need a running back to replace Curtis Martin, who for the first time in his career did not gain 1,000 yards. The hope is that Chad Pennington is able to return to his pre-injury form. I like the Jets' draft -- D'Brickashaw Ferguson and Nick Mangold should start for a long time. The steal of the draft could be QB Kellen Clemens. The Jets will play Buffalo twice, Tennessee, Oakland, Houston, Detroit and Green Bay, which should give the team a chance to win some games.>> I disagree with his certainty about the need to dump Curtis Martin, whom I have strong hopes will return in 2006, but I agree with the gist of this. The Jets have holes and some promising young talent, not to mention a new coach. I will be surprised if we finish anywhere other than last in our division, and will take anything better than 4-12 as a positive step forward, provided we find stability at QB.
I think he makes sensible points. I don't know that we are dead last, but we are near the bottom, and he's pointing that out. These predictions aren't coming down from Mt. Sinai. He did pick the Arizona Cardinals to win their division last year, and they were 5-11. They're just markers, and I think his are more reasonable than many I've seen. I want the Jets to be picked lower than last, if at all possible. I'd rather sneak up on people and give the younger players and coaches some time to relax.
Why do you have to be an idiot? I don't think we are the worst team in the league either, but a new Head coach, new offensive Coordinator, new defensive coordinator, new defensive scheme, QB question marks, and other major factors could lead to the Jets having a top 5 pick in the 2007 Draft.
Right now I have no reason to argue with Brandt's take on the Jets. I think he's got the Eagles too low.
32. New York Jets Another new head coach in Eric Mangini who comes from the Patriots. The Jets went from a team that was a missed field goal away from playing in the 2004 AFC Championship Game to a team that won only four games in 2005. The Jets need a running back to replace Curtis Martin, who for the first time in his career did not gain 1,000 yards. The hope is that Chad Pennington is able to return to his pre-injury form. I like the Jets' draft -- D'Brickashaw Ferguson and Nick Mangold should start for a long time. The steal of the draft could be QB Kellen Clemens. The Jets will play Buffalo twice, Tennessee, Oakland, Houston, Detroit and Green Bay, which should give the team a chance to win some games.>> whats wrong with this? we still dont have a definite answer once Martin leaves, we wont see how good they drafted for 3 yrs. we lost almost all the players analysts ever gave us credit for. nobody knows anything about our team with the new FO. dead last? i dont think so, but his reason for putting us there is fine
These pre camp off season rankings are meaningless. Sure there fun to read but football is just to unpredictable
Every sportswriter in the country would be justified in ranking the Jets that low at this point... and since it's the Jets, many will. But hoobash is right as usual, preseason rankings are always meaningless.
Oh they are certainly meaningless since they are always incorrect. I just thought it was a pretty good read since he went over every team.
Yeah, we're a soft target right now. The funny thing is that we could also win 8 games with a bit of luck and I can't think of another poorly ranked team in recent history who had that chance.
Interesting stat he had. Kicker Sebastian Janikowski connected on only 20 of 30 field-goal attempts and only 7 of 15 from 40 yards or longer. Janikowski was a #1 pick.
Taking kickers on the first day is usually a waste of value, even if they turn out to be fairly good. The only kicker I can think of recently who would have been worth a first day pick was Viniateri. Ray Guy and Reggie Roby might have been worth picking on the first day as punters. The Nugent pick was a clear waste of value and probably cost Bradway his job in the end. Taking a good young offensive lineman in the 2nd round might have saved the Jets a year on the rebuilding process.
How is it a waste of a pick, when you see teams like the Dallas Cowboys who have these crappy kickers missing 27 yard Field Goals. Nugent was on fire by the end of the season. If he can keep that going he will be one of the best kickers in the league. It will be argued forever, but I think it was a good pick.
The argument will be over when he definitively proves himself one way or the other. We'll see. I liked the pick. Yeah, yeah, go ahead and throw stuff, but I know the logic behind the anti.
I said this until I was blue in the face last year, and I'll say this up to and including Mike Nugent's Hall of Fame induction day: Taking a kicker on the first day of the draft is always - ALWAYS - a waste of value in the draft. The proof? Take a look at all the best kickers, not just now, but in the history of the game, and see how they were acquired. Not a single one was taken with a draft pick in the first three rounds. None! Nada. Not a one. Nobody. Never happened. Zip. Zilch. I can - and have - listed all the present day kickers and how they were acquired. I'm sure it's still somewhere in my archives, but it shows the arrogance of the Nugent pick. I remember arguing with some young mooyack, who told me how Nugent was much better than Janikowski coming out of college, and how he was the exception. Geebuz - the arrogance of that. Look, this is the rule: you never EVER EVER EVER take a kicker on the first day of the draft.* *unless thd kid can hit field goals from 60 yards without fail! In the 2005 draft, we were saying that Mike Nugent was the missing piece to the Superbowl-challenging puzzle. In the 2006 draft, we were commenting on how many holes we needed to fill, and how best to map-out our draft strategy. What changed?! How did we go from "just a kicker away" a year ago, to 32nd in the league (see other thread) a year later. The answer is, you're NEVER "just a kicker away," because, unless you're adding depth to your team, you're losing ground. Mike Nugent may be a great kicker, but he was a waste of value in the second round. And, the proof is that we had to spend TWO first round picks on offensive linemen this year, when we still had needs at running back, receiver, tight end, linebacker, defensive back. . . . . . . . and so forth. That pick set us back two years in the draft. Spin it however you want - but THIS is why I hated the pick a year ago.
I totally agree with you on Curtis. The man had one bad year, and now everyone says he sucks. He probably could've gotten 1,000 yards but didn't play the last 4 games of the season. All he needed was 66 more yrds a game and he would've had 1,000.
