The jenkins deal looks even better now as Cleveland gave Shaun Rogers more than $20 mil in guaranteed money.
I agree. And the fact that Tannenbaum and Mangini romped and stomped all over Free Agency very early was really important this year in particular. I gave Tangini a grade of B, but the more I think about it, I'm going to give them an "extra credit" for having gotten these guys signed so quickly. Upgrade from B to B+.
That's what makes me laugh, I doubt 95% of this board has any real working knowledge of our cap situation but they are freaking out about the money. Why? Because jackasses like Rich Cimini said so.
Overall A (I won't go into specific players). We went from a playoff team to a laughingstock and our front office is trying to change that. As long as we don't get into cap trouble I am all for spending this kind of money and we really brought in some good players.
Well, these are a priori opinions, or feelings, or intuitions. But to really grade these FA picks / contracts, it will take next season's performances, won't it? Yeah, I think so.
Have you heard anything about us being in cap trouble because of these signings? Have you actually looked at the contracts and seen whether they'll destroy our cap? I mean, I'm not even sure many (if any) fans knew for sure what the Jets cap looked like. We all knew they had 20+ million free, but an exact number existed. It doesn't seem our GM, who gets alot of shit for being "only" a bean counter, is too worried about the cap right now. Another reason money shouldn't matter: No one complaining seems to realize just how crazy the FA market actually is. Theres ALOT of guaranteed money going around. There are very few elite or even very good teams in this league and those rebuilding/bad/in transition have a shitload of money to spend. Because so big name guys are either franchised or locked up, teams are pretty much being forced to sign a player with less of a track record for insane amounts. We saw it with the Coleman, Docker, Davis, Walker, Kelsay, and whoever else last offseason...the Tommy Kelly contract...the Gibril Wilson contract...
IMHO this has been one of the best FA periods for the Jets since Curtis Martin. Its always been difficult to have someone come to our house. Signing a veteran all pro lineman, anyone that questions this move no matter the money is sniffing glue. Faneca might be the next Bruce Matthews with the way he plays. Jenkins is going to bring attitude to the line and fills a need we have had for years. Some people have got to go, but looking at this like we are mortgaging our future is silly. Look at this teams record every year, its like a roller coaster. If our high note can get us in the playoffs.......so be it. I have been through worse seasons than 2007 as a 25 year Jet fan. Overall, I would give the FO a A-. I am looking forward to the draft to see what other holes can be filled. We need to address the Rhodes situation, he will be gone more than likely next year.
I agree with everything but the Pace and Vilma grades. Pace may be a 50/50 in terms of boom or bust, but I don't know much about him enough to make a prediction. However, the fact that he gets a ringing endorsement from Cakes, who not only seen a crap load of Cards' games but is also a decent judge of talent, makes me a bit optimistic. If he can bring his impact from Arizona to the Jets, then he'd easily be worth the money. If things work out, we could also expect BT's production to sky-rocket again. I'm also pretty satisfied with the Vilma deal. This forum has gone over it ad nauseam...bad knees, doesn't fit the system, good lateral speed but not tough, missed a good share of tackles even when healthy, etc. I would've liked more in return, but a 4th rounder this year, and a potential 2nd or 3rd rounder next year seems decent enough.
We became a laughing stock? Despite our record, teams weren't exactly dying to play us. They didn't shit their pants, but we didn't roll over and die.
