No he's not, Brad is a good all-purpose guy and I'm happy we have him but he's not the gamebreaker that Leon was/is. Yep, one injury in 4 years makes a player injury prone We gave him away for nothing but again Tannenbaum has rarely made bad moves(Favre, Gholston, Leon) so it's hard to be mad at him. We drafted McKnight to replace Leon so we wasted a pick(as it looks now, that could change though) then gave away leon for nothing. You realize leon is been better than Sproles, right?
Here is the thing with Leon He played in 7 games for us last year and he was stats wise was having his worst season. His avg yard per carry was down from the previous two years, his average per reception was up but he had a lot less passes thrown his way as well. His KR yards were also his worst since his rookie year. Now Brad Smith is no Leon on the KR but he has made some very big plays for this team and when we line him up in the WC he is much more dangerous then Leon ever was because he can throw the ball unlike Leon. Now since Smith has taken over the fulltime KR duties he is averaging 30.8 yards per return which is a full 5 yards better then Leon's career average as a Jet. Oh and for the record Leon has exactly 0 touchdowns for the Jets last year.... I'll take the much cheaper and much more versatle Brad Smith over Leon.
he waas getting alot more carries and the more carries you are getting the harder it is to keep up a very high YPC. he had almost as many carries(72) in just over 6 games last year as he had in 2008(76) and his YPC was an excellent 4.6. Leon would have been big in the apss game mid season and down the stretch w/ a young QB looking to dump the ball off. His KR average was down abou a yard but he hadn't broke one yet and you know he would have broken multiple big gains- remember, they just changed the wedge rules so there was an adjustment especially early in 2009.
Worst move of the Tanny era, I didn't like it then and I don't like it now. Leon deserved the chance to resurrect his career with the Jets. We gave him away for nothing, in that case I would rather have lost him next year for nothing and gotten one more year with him in our run to SB.
If we keep Leon, we don't sign LT. I would much rather have LT resurrect his career with us during an SB run than Leon Washington.
From a player morale stance...Leon was a locker room risk with his contract/injury. Why would we want Leon hanging out with Revis, Mangold, Harris, Cromartie, Edwards, Holmes, Pool...and others at the beginning of training camp? Imagine the interviews and comments that would have been published coming from Leon and his wife regarding the FO and the contract situations... From a fairness stance...it was in Leon's best interest to showcase his talents with a RB needy team (Seahawks). Yes we lost value...and I think Ryan could have had him playing at his best--but it was best for Leon and not worth the risk for our team.
You don't think management already had it in their heads that Leon was going to be a goner one way or the other? Technically, you're right. But I'd find it very hard to believe the staff and management would sign LT with Leon still in the fold.
I am still a huge fan of Leon, and I was really happy about seeing his kick returns yesterday. But the role that i think they have envisioned for Leon to play in the offense is now being played by LT, and much better than Leon is capable of. The Jets had been working Leon into the 3rd round back/dump-off option early in 2009. Thomas Jones was never a realistic option for that role. Once Leon broke his leg, that was out the window. I miss the dude, but there's no place for him on this team outside the KR role, and we're doing an okay job in that department with Brad Smith at the moment.
Jets FO isn't stupid, the guy was coming off a major injury. No way they are going into the season with Leon serving as the main backup to a possibly injury prone Greene. I don't think LT had anything to do with Leon. I understand they wanted to get something for him rather than lose him for nothing after this season but they essentially got nothing for him now. I would have rather had one more season with him. Whatever, I'm not going to kill Tanny for this, the guy has had far more good decisions then bad but this one falls into the bad category.
Leon Washington is a damn good football player. I bought an authentic Washington jersey last year I like him so much, and I was very unhappy that we traded him. But looking at things right now, can anyone here honestly say we'd be better off with Washington then we are with LT? Brad Smith may not have Leon's breakaway speed, but he does well as a KR. And I'm sorry, but LT is a much better RB than Washington. I don't think Washington could carry the load that LT is carrying right now.
Every positive thing you list for Leon can be done by someone currently on the Jets roster. I love Leon and was screaming for the Jets to give him his contract at the beginning of last year. The way things worked out shows why Tanny and Co. actually run the team and we just talk about it on a message board.
The only real official numbers on either of these would be from the 2006 combine, here's how their 40s stacked up: Player / 40-1st / 40-2nd Brad Smith Missouri QB 4.45 4.52 Leon Washington 4.43 4.58 Seems pretty close to me. If you have newer numbers though I'd be interested in seeing them (I couldn't find anything more up-to-date). Edit: Here are the sources btw - http://forum.ninercaphell.com/archive/index.php?t-643.html http://forum.ninercaphell.com/archive/index.php?t-362.html
There's a big difference btw straight line speed and being able to cut and maintain speed. leon is quicker, it's not really that close. I love Brad, he's very valuable for us but leon was a much better KR and is a bigger playmaker.
the simple thing is money. we dumped leon not becuase of the injury, not becuase smith is better, we dumped him becuase he wanted 5 mil a year and the FO knew they had to resigned revis, mangol, brick, and harris and also that they have holmes, BE, and cromartie on 1 year deals. letting go of leon means we get to keep 1 more of those players and all of those players are move valuable then leon.
Leon was a great Jet. However in this league it's what have you done for me lately. Leon suffered a compound fracture for a running back that's an injury not many players recover from. I hope he gets his money because he deserves every penny.
I'm in the mood to write: Leon had 1 attempt on sunday. One. Zero yards. Leon has not caught a pass out of the backfield, something he was pretty good at. So Jones-Drew money for this KO returner? Yeah, no. I think I'll trade him for John Conner and be set for the next decade and a half. Good trade. 3rd string to Justin Forsett and Julius Jones. Washington now sits behind the brother of Thomas Jones. Jones-Drew money? Really Alvin? Alvin Keels is a pair of clown shoes. Great fucking trade Tanny. Thank You so much for seeing the forest through the trees and understanding the business and your job is to analyze players and understand where they are at currently in their careers. You job isn't to "miss them." You made this team better by finding a player who will seamlessly carry the load from T-Rich and added a RB through Free Agency who has done exponentially more than LW ever will. and FTR, I owned a Leon jersey before I handed it to a kid who is a mutual friend of mine to get it autographed and then I let him keep it for free. See? Mick can be a swell guy. Forget Leon Washington. Thank him for what he has done, but move on. Break up with him.
