I suppose we can all make an argument for anything this time of year. Winston IS a respected poster whose opinions I value and this doesn't go unnoticed in the "I'm gonna rip this thread apart" category. I suppose (and let's get real optimistic here) if Penny gets real good protection, he can put together drives like some of the ones we saw Friday night against the Giants' 1st team. The O-line would really need to gell further and eliminate the costly false-start penalties, etc. Building on that, some of the better blocking we saw could magically turn back the hands of time for Blaylock to a time long ago and a land far away in which he had a good line and ran admirably, whetting our very appetites to acquire him in the first place. But oh, how I still miss a good blocking FB like the Sowell-man. Now, if this were so and we could sustain drives with stellar performances from our almost non-existant TE's as well as firing on all four cylinders with our WR's, I suppose we could put some decent points on the board. We're going to have to be innovative, however, as in bringing in guys like Dreessen and benching Jolley, using Cotchery and bringing in Brad Smith more to share time with McCareins. That would put some points on the board. Defensively we have to hope that our LB's can raise enough hell to overcome the lack of a legitimate, one-man, pass-rushing wrecking crew, which we lack. Our DB's have enough skill to keep us close, but they need to turn their cockiness onto the playing field and completely eliminate the stupid, costly penalties. I'm talking about the unneccesary ones, the idiotic taunting and after-play nonsense that absolutely kills you. Nugent, who still needs more ass IMO, needs to do what we hired him for, make the difficult FGs. And I'm confident Graham and the rest of our special teams are capable of being compared to any in the NFL. The schedule IS easier this year. So if we can't do it this year, shame on us, rebuild or not. I'm building the case for optimism here. If everything were to pan out, possibly we're looking at 10-6?
I'm not angry with you Champ. I'm not angry at all with any of this stuff concerning the Jets. I asked you to explain what you would have done different since the Jets got rid of Herm a few weeks ago,and you didn't answer. (maybe you did,i was out of town since then). You are seemingly negative with everything Jets,and i just want to know how you would have started this new regime off different. what have they done wrong so far since the addition if Mangini? I can understand rooting for the team for years and feeling the frustration,but you wanted a change from Herm,and you got it. Why not have a little positive enthusiasm? Unless you have specific moves that you would have made that you are upset with,i don't understand. Was there a QB,RB you wanted them to pick up in a trade that was available? Did you not like the draft picks? Coordinators?
Cincy, Pitt, NE, Jax, Ind and Denver are clearly better than us Baltimore and Miami are not clearly better than us. The rest is up for grabs. I think we have a better D than Ind, Cincy and maybe Denver. Defense wins games in this league. Chad is going to get burried by the good Defense teams but he is going to do much better against the mediocre defenses than people think. We went up against TB, Washington and the Giants all very good Defensive teams with a young and inexperienced O and a tentative QB just trying to get his legs under him. The Jets of 04 couldn't move the ball against big time D's either and we still did fine against the rest of the league. Martin has been a very consistent and durable back. He is not Terrell Davis, he is replacable with RB by committee. I see us burying TN week 1 and a completely different attitude on this board.
While I concur with your premise in part, I must dissent in part as well. Mawae/Martin mising is a downgrade, and in 04, we had more established systems on both sides of the ball. The establishment of the offense and defensive systems could lead to growing pains.
OK we will C but Balt with Mc Nair IMHO is now a force & they have D so does MIA even though they are somewhat long in the tooth & they now have Culpepper who is like a wild card right now. At this moment in MIA case Saban is light years ahead of Man IMHO so I have to give the edge to them over us. Also if you are resting your case on 3 PRE SEASON games whomever they were against is another reason that your proposal IMO goes off the track. I'm sure you know many teams take pre season games as just a chore & lets get out without any injury. Lets wait to the gun goes off & see what we do then & what the other side does to us.
You have to look at the big picture. We are rebuilding and the smart move if your rebuilding would have been to put Penny on the PUP and start Bollinger with Clemens getting some time against teams our OL was standing up to. I think these guys came in and looked at the talent on D and said wait a minute, this team can stop people. They than looked at the schedule and starting getting the proverbial "Woody" They started looking for a RB that could do some damage and they went out and got the first guy that doesn't fit the Tangini mold becuase he's fast and big and they wanted to take a chance. They are going to make a couple of other moves that will seem surprising because they know if they can steal a game early they have a shot to make a little noise. Now while this is no SB contender, nothing would be better for the young players and the veterans like Vilma and DRob than a taste of late season playoff run pressure and maybe a playoff game.
In 04 Henderson was a new DC and installed a new D. If I'm not mistaken Herm Edwards was the HC and Paul Hackett was the OC. Case closed.
Hmmm... You're scaring me because this is starting to make sense. But it makes even more sense if you look at it from a coaches viewpoint and not from where the average fan is at. And that, in a nutshell, is what really counts anyway. So, from that perspective (the big picture, as you put it), it does explain the Barlow trade (although I swear to God.. and I don't care how many people tell me to "get over it"), until I see this guy get us some consistent yards, I'll be pissed that we spent our 4th on him without giving Blaylock and Houston a lot more touches. Of course coaches have to win. Everything else is secondary. We're rebuilding, a huge priority no doubt. But if you were Mangini, would you want to ANY season under your watch to go 4-12, even if it's your first? So yes, I do see your point. But this is nothing new. Of course Mangini does not want to lose games. I suppose, given everything that this franchise has been through in the last several years, that I should be satisfied with where we are today. And I am, to some extent. In fact, I think we've made more progress in fixing things around here than I expected we would, looking at it last January. But I still think the Barlow trade was done because Tangini knows Martin is positively finished, despite the hope the press still hypes us about. That, in my mind, was the only reason we acquired Barlow, so that we could expect to run the ball with some reasonable degree of success and not be totally embarrassed. I can understand where they're coming from (maybe win another game or two by season's end) but it still bothers me that we couldn't save that pick, bundle it next year with one or two others and get ourselves the honest "heir apparent" to CM.
Of course Martin is finished but why bring in a Head Case when you allready have Blaylock and a group of guys who are more than capable of holding the fort, not to mention there will be some decent RB cut that can be picked up next week. They think Barlow has potential to be more than a hold the fort guy and they were willing to bring in a HC because they like the team.
winston youre the man but your entire thought process is flawed...youre getting excited because you think the coach thinks all of a sudden the Jets can go to the playoffs. every year theres about 20 coaches left scratching their head after missing the playoffs in what they thought would be a playoff year....In bringing in Barlow and starting Penny, theyre just trying to be repectable and compete while rebuilding. The notion that they came in thinking rebuild but then saw how great the team could be is silly....this is all in your head bro, unfortunately
I want to believe! I want to believe! I'm willing to do anything... anything... I'm even willing to look foolish on boards. Any board, for God's sake! Jesus, it's like still believing in Santa Claus. That damned Patti Poppazinski... that Polish girl down the block... she had to go and break my bubble. I remember dragging her all the way home and running up the back stairs with her right behind me... then I find my mother and I say to her... "Patty says there's no Santa Claus, Mom! Tell her there's a Santa Claus, Mom!" And my mother just looks at Patti and she goes, "Don't you believe in Santa Claus, Patty?" And I'm like... well, this isn't getting the job done. At least Winston is getting the job done for me today. God Almighty, I WANT TO BELIEVE! Hear me, Oh Father in heaven!
I think you should have far better things to ask for such as your long term health, health family etc, etc rather then asking such a busy person to assist something that in no way affects your life whatsoever like the NYJs
