Getting MJD is absolutely essential for the Jets right now. He can carry this offense by himself, like he did for the Jags. He'll be Sanchez's best friend on the field. Tebow too. If this season is a disaster, I could see Tanny and Rex not being here in 2013. So I bet they're on the phones right now.
Ground and pound would have instant credibility with MJD. He can also catch passes, unlike any current RB on the roster.
One thing that would be great with MJD is that we could still give Greene a decent amount of carries to prolong MJDs career... And that’s Greene’s best role. It would be awesome, but I dont see how we give them anything with the holes that we have or the lack of cap space.
Facts time: MJD averaged 4.7 yards per carry. Shonn Greene averaged 4.2 yards per carry. Do the Jets want to break the bank for a back that gets you 18 inches more per rush? MJD rushes for one and a half feet more per carry than Greene. Is that worth millions and millions of dollars? I'd say no, use the money to get a decent RT instead and you'll get 18 more inches per carry out of Greene...
He's got 1,484 carries so far which actually is not a huge number for a back in his prime. The problem is he got 343 of them last year and averaged a bit above 300 the two years before that. Still he's got more tread on his tires than most franchise backs do after their 26 season. He's not injury-prone, having missed just 3 games in a 96 game career so far. That's where Curtis Martin was after his 6th season. He's probably an excellent bet to be good for at least 3 more prime or near-prime seasons at this point. It's hard to find comparisons for him though because it's very unusual for a RB to be used as an excellent change of pace back in his first 3 years and then become an excellent starter after that. Some of the few who did that were Tiki Barber, Gerald Riggs and Stephen Davis. Barber retired at his best at the age of 30. Riggs was destroyed by 353, 397 and 343 carries from 24 to 26. Stephen Davis suffered a season ending injury at 30 that ended his run of excellent play. The lone active player who kind of has MJD's pattern of use early on is Thomas Jones. I think he's a great comp for the wear effect but I think MJD is a better player. MJD is kind of unique. I think there's an argument for him playing until 32 or 33 and winding up high on the list of all time backs.
Here's the argument for doing it: you're not just getting the extra yardage out of MJD. You're getting the ability to take 300 carries and get that extra yardage. That leaves Shonn Green only having to take 180-200 carries as the change-of-pace, a role that he is much better suited for.
Wait, you MIGHT get the extra yardage and you might not behind the current Jets line. The question is then, would MJD be able to continue to gain 4.7 ypc behind this current line? My guess is no. He might be no better than Shonn Greene if the Jets signed him. Better off getting a starting quality RT with the money and hope it increases your run game output with the guys you have on the roster.
Greene's still on his rookie contract so not all that much would be freed up. Also the reason the Jaguars are doing this is because they don't want to pay a lot for MJD. They won't want to take on any of our high salary players either.
Also gotta consider that MJD was the only threat full stop on that offense yet still put up 4.7 yards per carry.
You give Greene 190 rushes and MJD 260 rushes and that would be a great “ground and pound” attack while preserving MJD’s body for a long term deal. Greene is at his best when he’s splitting carries with someone else... Obviously this has about a 1% chance of happening and we are all getting our hopes up, but oh well.
He's good but I just don't see how he could make it happen. As it is we're set to purge a decent amount of vets next year to get under the cap. How does another big contract fit in?
Even if MJD is only as good as Greene behind this line that's 500 carries the Jets get at that level between them. It doesn't look like the Jets have more than 250 tops at that level this year and then a bunch of unknowns who are pretty bobbly looking. An extra 250 carries at 4.2 yards a carry might well make the difference in the Jets having a 10-6 year and having a 5-11 year. Not to mention MJD is an excellent receiver out of the backfield, unlike Greene.
I don't know, but MJD's one of the top 10 or so players in the game so I'm sure that's what they'd be asking for.
A couple cuts and a bit of that classic Tannenbaum magic and we'd be right there. And MJD would have a much bigger impact on that team than a mediocre RT and non-starting caliber WR, which is all that's available at this point.
And something that is overlooked, he is a great blocker. I remember watching him mike’d up and hearing him talk about how he loved to block and that he could block anybody. That is also something that could be very valuable (helping out with WFH).
MJD gets 300 carries if the Jets make a deal like this. He takes the Thomas Jones role in the offense to a new level. Jones from 2007-2009 = 310 carries, 290 carries, 331 carries in 2009 when the Jets were best with him in the offense.
