This is a good signing. He might be something, he might be nothing BUT at one time he was a very good player. Lets see if he can regain that form.
I think this guy will be good at the DE in the 3-4 the best part about this whole situation is that we have depth now. In the begin of the offseason I was mad we werent making much moves but now i feel like we mad power moves. One more piece we need is that NT and we can go into the season feeling like we are number one in the afc east conference
Jets sign DE Hicks, release DT Marshall May 22, 2007 HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (AP) -- The New York Jets bolstered their defensive line Monday by signing defensive end Eric Hicks, a free agent who spent his first nine seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs. Keyonta Marshall, a defensive tackle on the practice squad, was released. ADVERTISEMENT Hicks, who turns 31 next month, ranks fifth on the Chiefs' career sacks list with 40 1/2 , including a career-high 14 in 2000. The Jets have been busy renovating their defensive line this offseason, signing defensive ends David Bowens, Kenyon Coleman, Andre Wadsworth and Michael Haynes. Kansas City released Hicks on May 1, three days after taking defensive lineman Claude "Turk" McBride in the second round of the NFL draft. Hicks, who made the Chiefs' roster as an undrafted free agent out of Maryland in 1998, became a full-time starter in 1999. But his role diminished in recent years with the emergence of Jared Allen and Tamba Hali. Hicks had just seven tackles, two solo, in 16 games last season.
I think there's an obvious discrepancy w/ the guys we have signed. Some wll be trying out at OLB, others at 3-4 DE... Coleman/Haynes/ Hicks/Ellis/Hamilton/Kimo/ D rob(if pouha steps up)- 3-4 DE Wadsworth/ Bowens/Hobson/Barton/B Thomas- OLB Look out for some bigtime competition at these 2 spots. 2 guys who really excite me and I predict will step up: Haynes and Bowens.
QB's beware... This team has made it a point to put some teeth back into the Jets pass rush. Let's see who pans out. If one of these dudes can take some attention away from BT he'll get 13 sacks this season...
Another has been DL so to speak, we've got alot of them now. If even one of them turns out to be half as good as they were, I'll call it a great move by Mangini.
Hello fellas, just a Chiefs fan here to give you some honest perspective. Hicks is a great guy. His veteran leadership is something that can only help your team. His technique (at least as a 4-3 DE) is pretty good and he's helped develop two great DEs that have essentially replaced him (Jared Allen/Tamba Hali). I hope someday to see him as a defensive line coach really. Still, there are reasons why he got replaced. He is not a missing piece to the puzzle. Many Chiefs fans thought getting rid of him was part of our road to the SuperBowl (they're overreacting, but still worth noting). Guys at the board I go to couldn't help but laugh at how excited you guys are about this signing. Hicks never was a good talent from the beginning. He was an undrafted rookie free agent who lacked the speed to be a serious sack threat. However, he did have a solid motor and never gave up on a play. When he was first playing with KC, we had alot of other pass-rushing threats (Derrick Thomas anybody?) and it helped make him look better than he probably was and was part of how he first earned a starting spot. Surprisingly to everybody, his best season came as our defense was starting to fall apart. He put up 14 sacks in 13 games in 2000. He only played 13 games because of a knee injury. Like I said, he was a little slowish to begin with, but this injury was the icing on the cake. From then on you could notice a considerable drop in his play. Sure, he had 9 sacks in 2002, but it really looked more like luck or sheer persistence than anything when he actually got to the QB. It's only got worse as he's gotten older. Don't get me wrong, he tries hard and is a good player against the run, you just really should hope nobody runs a counter or bootleg at him. He overpersues constantly as he's trying to compensate for his lack of speed. I don't know how well he'll fit in as a 3-4 DE, but I think he's either barely worthy of a starting spot (assuming there's no one else to step up) or a backup. There are also reasons not many Chiefs fans are tore up over this. In between Jared Allen (up and coming on the verge of being an elite DE, awesome at chasing plays down), Tamba Hali (our rookie 1st rounder last year that actually had more sacks than Allen), Turk McBride (our 2nd rounder this year, appears to be a very similar player to Hali, can play either inside or out), and Jimmy Wilkerson (Can play either inside or outside for us and generate a pass rush from either) not only will we not notice Hicks is gone, there really was no room for him. We had 4 players at his position that were better than him. That probably doesn't bode well for his chances here. Like I said, just trying to be honest. I honestly think considering he's a cheap pickup who can at least be a stopgap at the position it's a good signing. I hope he succeeds for you guys, but I have my reservations. At the very least you guys signed one of the few true NFL good guys to be in your locker room. You should honestly be proud that your coaching staff appears to care about character. Thanks to any of you that bothered to read my rant and best of luck to you guys! :up: EDIT: When I stop and think about it, he's probably better suited physically as a 3-4 DE. Just something to consider.
Thanks for the write up, but I don't think anybody's getting excited. This is generally being seen as a depth signing at best. I honestly thought he hadn't played the last couple of years. I don't think anybody here is falling into to "missing piece" trap anymore either, it just doesn't exist.
Sometimes players are in the wrong defense for them to really shine and then there are other times when they want out of there organization and after a while they just stop playing as hard in hopes of being traded... when the season starts and if he is still around people will warm up to him and be like he was the best thing to happen to us. Jets fans love results over paper stats!!!
Brother it sounds like you are simply trying to SPIN something and make it seem favorable for your beloved Chiefs. Don't get me wrong, I mean you no ill-will (although your coach will do nothing but talk talk talk and produce jack sh*t). Hicks was THE BEST DEFENSIVE PLAYER ON YOUR TEAM FOR SEVERAL YEARS! Herm came to town, and the guys numbers went right down the toilet. You state that he lacked the speed to be a serious sack threat and lucky to get the sacks he did due to whom he was playing with?? The guy is one of the Chief sack leaders of ALL TIME?!?! I guess it was all luck then right? He was just in the right place at the right time? Kind of like Ty Law always being their to pick off a pass because he knows where to play and how to read the offense? I know Hicks from my time at Maryland, and watched him play. I had classes with the guy and he was always nice and approachable (even though he was a big dude). He was a STUD when playing in college. So what he was an undrafted Free agent? We know quite a few of those who have made it big in the NFL. This guy has the motor, and always seemed to be in the right place at the right time. When the Chiefs defense sucked year in, year out, he was one of the only bright spots they had. A change of defense, some solid coaching, and new city can work wonders. He is only 31 and might have a few good years left. Good luck with your defense chiefs fan, and thank you for leaving Erick Hicks for a team who actually knows how to handle talented players. This is a SICK signing! :up: Mark my words. When he makes the team I will get my Hicks jersey and wear it with pride. Go Jets! Fitz (aka JetTerp)
Oh, and I forgot this: Hicks played on the same defense as Barton and Chad Scott while at Maryland (Lamont Jordan was the Freshman RB and Kris Jenkins was also a Freshman Hick's senior year). The coaching staff was crap while he was there, but the defense recruits where solid.
How can anyone look at this signing as anything but a positive one. From what has been said about Hicks, he seems to fit the team's core values as an individual. As for his playing ability being diminished at age 31, all that will come to pass once training camp ends. If he can survive TC, he certainly would be a valuable asset for the team in terms of his experience and attitude. I think that we have to look at the "sum of all the parts" brought in by the FO (Coleman, Bowens, Wadsworth, Haynes, et al) instead on focusing on each individual's short-comings. All these moves also has to be looked at not from a long-term perspective but rather on a season-to-season basis. In my eyes, I think the Jets' D line is off to a good start before TC starts. We can pretty much assume that the starters on the line will be Ellis, Robertson and Coleman. The TC battles that would determine who emerges as the contributors would certainly be interesting to watch. Most intriguing of all the posibilities could be the potential flexibility that Wadsworth and Bowen can provide the defense if they're able to contribute both as linemen and linebackers. The signing of a solid and positive locker room presence like Hicks certainly bodes better for the team than signing up a washed WR with a big mouth and oversized ego.
Um, Mr. JetTerp, first off, no need to yell. I don't know if you always post everything in massive type in bold or not, but I've got a hangover and can't deal with that right now. Tone it down. Joking aside (I'm not really hungover), I didn't come here to argue as you probably think I did. I came here with the intentions of giving my honest opinion on Hicks. Nothing more. I'm sorry, but it's you who sounds like you're trying to spin this to make your beloved Jets sound better, not me. I loved Eric Hicks as a person, but he was never the best player on our defense, yet alone "several years". When he first started for us he wasn't anything special and we had Derrick Thomas. When he started doing well Donnie Edwards was the undeniable cornerstone of our defense (people who can get over 100 solo tackles in a season and be a vocal leader tend to be important, perhaps you're noticing that with Vilma). Since then he's been playing okay at best as the team wandered around searching for an identity on defense, which I think we've finally found. He was a stand-up guy who took the flak of being a vocal leader both to the players and to the media on a terrible defense. If not for his high cap number (his deal was made after his 14 sack season) I believe we would have kept him and I'd have been perfectly fine with that. He's the type of guy you want in your locker room. I'm kind of sad to see him go. If we hadn't have drafted Turk McBride I still think he would have been in KC. I love how you take a stab at Herm. Hate to break it to you, but Hicks' numbers went down the toilet because he wasn't starting. Had he have started, I would have expected his normal 6 or 7 sack season and a decent number of tackles because he is a solid run defender. I would have expected his normal never give up attitude which I like. I would have expected him to be decent as a whole, as he had been. Instead, I was treated to see Tamba Hali get 8 sacks, generate plenty more pressure than Hicks and do an even better job at run support. 58 tackles is pretty damn good for a rookie DE, hell it's more than Hicks ever got and run support was what he was best at. Damn Herm for making me see that! *sarcasm* I'm not going to lie. The guy is one of the leading Chiefs sack artists of all-time. 44 1/2 sacks is halfway impressive, but he got a third of that in one year, before an injury that has hampered his play since. It's really more of a testament to a lack of longevity for pass rushers in KC than a testament to his level of play. When I say it's "luck or sheer persistence" what I'm really saying is he never nailed a QB as they were finishing their drop. He got them by never giving up on a play. It's not unfair to say a good portion of his sacks are coverage or clean up sacks. If you must know how KC fans feel about our odds on defense without Hicks, I assure you not it's not much difference than with him. He wasn't even starting and we've drafted two new linemen while signing another and resigning more. Defensive line is actually the most improved segment of our team over the last couple years. Even the most negative fans seem to be excited about out defense. Let me say this again. I seriously wish your team and especially Eric the best of luck. He's a great guy and deserves the best. Hell, he is probably better suited as a 3-4 DE anyways. Still make no mistake that you're getting at best a decent starter and more likely a backup. His play has unfortunately been declining for years and he is getting older. The stats don't show things like how often he overpursued (ask a Broncos fan about Hicks and if they remember him the first thing they'll say will be "bootleg"). Of course stats don't show how great of a guy he is either. They don't show how good of a coach on the field he is either. I think this is a good signing for you team. Seriously. No joke.
You never know, we may find a little lightning in the bottle. After a year a camp marshmallow, the guy was probably out of shape and his production fell. Mangini will whip him into shape if he wants to play and then we will see. I do see your point - if he is 280, that is undersized.
