Patriots' Brady : Jets whiffed on Woodhead ~ ~ ~

[kelly]

Patriots' Brady: Jets whiffed on Woodhead

Tom Brady hardly shies away from taking a shot at the Jets, and he took a soft swipe at his AFC East rivals again yesterday during his weekly radio spot in Boston.

Talking to WEEI, the Patriots quarterback was reveling in the talent of his teammate Danny Woodhead, whom the Jets released two years ago. Woodhead scored twice in the Patriots’ 37-31 victory over the Bills on Sunday, the 5-foot-8 running back catching one touchdown and running for another.“I remember his first game,” Brady said. “We kind of joked on the sideline, [former Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien] and I, we kind of said, ‘The legend is born.’ We saw him that week in practice, what he was capable of doing, and said, ‘Why did the Jets release that guy?’ They had him playing receiver and he was a running back in college.”

This season, Woodhead is second on the Patriots with 49 carries and fourth on the team with 23 catches. He has played a big role in the offense, ranked first in the NFL, averaging 430.3 yards per game.“He’s just come in and done such a great job,” Brady said. “He’s the ultimate team player and teammate — dependable, consistent, you always know the level of play you’re getting from Danny. He had a huge game [sunday] for us. We really needed it, because as an offense, I’d say everyone really didn’t have their best day but Danny. He really saved the day for us.”

Woodhead won the Harlon Hill Trophy as the best player in Division II college football while at Chadron State, and the Jets signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He played in a total of 12 games for them (including two playoff games), running the ball 15 times and catching 10 passes.

The Jets and Patriots play Thanksgiving night at MetLife Stadium.

> http://www.nypost.co...tm_content=Jets

[Matt39]

Cameron Wake - “Prior to the 2009 season the Jets scouting department wanted Cameron Wake badly and the team was in a position to sign him, Tannenbaum personally overruled the move and said he didn’t want him.”

[#27TheDominator]

Yeah. The Jets really didn't recognize his talent. I mean when they were the only team that signed him when he was an UDFA. When they kept him around after he had reconstructive knee surgery. When the other teams all let him sit on the Jets practice squad, the Jets certainly were the one and only team that didn't realize he could be a player.

[glenn212]

A Mangini find. Belichick knew this and swooped him up. How did that work out for the NEP's

[kelly]

In Analyzing Jets’ Failings, Start at the Top

• Contrary to popular belief, the Jets have not been mathematically eliminated from postseason contention. It only feels like it. Their 28-7 loss to Seattle dropped the Jets to 3-6 and into 11th place in the 16-team A.F.C. The notion that they could surge toward the playoffs over the next seven games is based entirely on other teams, not on the quality of their own play.
  

The list of culprits is lengthy: Mark Sanchez, Rex Ryan and Mike Tannenbaum, to name a few. If the Jets continue to fade, there are bound to be repercussions, and those three will most likely bear the brunt. But in a season that is quickly spiraling away, there is plenty of blame to go around.

Quarterbacks

By the day, the situation grows less and less sustainable. The trade for Tim Tebow has been a debacle. His presence is a distraction. That is indisputable, and perhaps the most damning assessment of this failed experiment came after Sunday’s game, from Mark Sanchez.“It’s something that we’re all just getting used to,”Sanchez said.So, to sum up: the Jets acquired Tebow in March, and after a full training camp and nine regular-season games they are no closer to knowing how and when to deploy him than they were eight months ago.A resolution satisfying for all parties seems impractical.The evidence suggests that Tebow is more afterthought than asset, making it hard to believe that Rex Ryan fully endorsed the trade. Perhaps he was aware that obtaining a backup with his own constituency, with a fervent fan following, might undermine Sanchez.It took some intense self-scouting during the bye week for the Jets to glean that maybe, just maybe, Tebow might be a boon on third-and-1. Or that asking him to throw a few passes instead of just bulling up the middle might open up the offense a bit, forcing teams to account for that possibility.

However, if the Jets really trusted Tebow, he would have more than six pass attempts. He poses no genuine threat to Sanchez, who with every loss invalidates the Jets’ longstanding defense of him. Ryan and Tannenbaum used to point to the number of games Sanchez has won. Not anymore. With Sanchez, they have now lost 9 of their last 12.Ryan often says that he makes decisions for the good of the team. It is fair to deduce that the Jets believe that Tebow would perform worse than Sanchez. There is no other possible conclusion.Several mistakes Sanchez continues to make are unconscionable for a fourth-year quarterback. He has eight fumbles, two shy of his career high, many from holding onto the ball too long. Of his nine interceptions, four have come in the red zone, the latest on Sunday. “That’s a rookie move by a veteran player who knows better,” Sanchez said Monday. He has amassed no better than a 46.7 completion percentage in five of nine games. It is hardly coincidental that Sanchez’s two best games this season — against Buffalo and New England — came against two of the N.F.L.’s worst defenses. Of the Jets’ seven remaining opponents, four (Buffalo, Jacksonville, Tennessee and New England) rank among the bottom eight. It would be more than a bit discouraging if Sanchez cannot rebound against them.

Rex Ryan

Make no mistake, Ryan was angry Sunday. His eyes were red. His voice cracked. But he was also frustrated and deflated, looking very much like a coach who knows that his team is not good enough but is unsure what else he can do.“That never crosses your mind as a coach,” Ryan said Monday, but here it is, nine games into the season, and the Jets are no better than they were last season and, for the most part, are even worse.Ryan has learned from his errors, becoming more involved with his players and regaining the pulse of the locker room. It is, on the whole, a much tighter group than last season. But his players, however inadvertently, have all but ignored the coaches’ pleas, making the same brand of mistakes for the last 14 months.The Jets commit too many turnovers. They do not tackle well. They do not execute. When Ryan bemoans how the offensive ineptitude extends beyond Sanchez, he is not merely spreading blame among the line, running backs and receivers. Also included is the first-year coordinator Tony Sparano, who replaced Brian Schottenheimer. The disconnect between Schottenheimer’s philosophy and Ryan’s — a stout running game, a vertical passing offense predicated on play-action and the occasional Wildcat formation — was too vast to overcome. But the Jets’ performance so far might make fans yearn for Schottenheimer, who holds the same job in St. Louis, where the Jets visit this week.

Through Sunday, the Jets rank 24th in points (19.4); 25th in first downs (18.1); 30th in yardage (302.7) and yards per play (4.8); and 32nd, perhaps, in inventiveness and creativity. Against Seattle, they gained a paltry 3.7 yards a play. They had two weeks to prepare for the Seahawks and could not score an offensive touchdown. Imagine if they had only one week.The average margin of victory in the Jets’ six losses has been 17 points, a clear indication that they are not of playoff timbre, despite their public proclamations to the contrary. Some of them, at least. Ryan, at times, has been a walking contradiction. Last Monday, he said that his team was not even “sniffing” the playoffs; two days later he asserted that a postseason berth was in reach. His bluster doubled as a great motivating tool his first two years, in part because the team could back it up. The Jets were more talented then. When he promises victory now, as he practically did before their overtime loss to New England, the words reek of dramatic irony: as if everyone but Ryan, and the organization, knows the truth.

Mike Tannenbaum

In April, about a week before the draft, Tannenbaum cited several players living on the fringe of the roster. One of them was guard Caleb Schlauderaff, who Tannenbaum suggested was a candidate to become the next Jeremy Lin. Schlauderaff has been active for two of nine games. He has yet to take the field for a snap.If Tannenbaum actually believed what he said seven months ago, it is no wonder how the Jets’ talent base has eroded. The team’s 11-14 record since the beginning of last season reflects a flawed approach to building the roster. Swapping draft choices for players has cost depth; in four drafts with Ryan as the coach, the Jets have made 21 picks, tying them with New Orleans for fewest in the N.F.L. They have overvalued some players and misjudged others, mostly on offense, where Tannenbaum’s acquisitions — or, in some cases, lack of them — are most glaring.Seemingly minor moves have backfired, including their failure to adequately replace the valuable backup lineman Rob Turner after his season-ending leg injury in the 2011 preseason. But so have major ones: waiting too long to address the right tackle position, opting not to obtain a proven receiver and, in what appears a gross miscalculation, extending Sanchez’s contract. Instead of improving in his fourth season,Sanchez has regressed.By guaranteeing the $8.75 million he is owed in 2013,the Jets are all but committed to bringing him back next season.The fans may revolt if Sanchez returns without genuine competition for the starting job.Still, it is not as if a rotating cast of receivers has helped Sanchez. Even before Santonio Holmes was lost for the season in Week 4, that group was unproven and inexperienced. Now, with Clyde Gates and Jason Hill and despite the emergence of Jeremy Kerley, it is less appealing than overcooked broccoli.

Compounding those troubles is the responsibility they have heaped on a project like Stephen Hill, their second-round draft pick.It may yet prove shrewd,but their expectation that he contribute immediately, after they chose not to add another veteran receiver to account for his inevitable adjustment, is, at best, misguided and, perhaps, downright foolish.At least Hill has kept his roster spot. Of the 67 players on the roster, a group that includes the practice squad and injured reserve, 37.3 percent (25) were acquired through the draft, the fourth-lowest percentage in the N.F.L., according to the Elias Sports Bureau.Stockpiling homegrown players is not a harbinger of success; Tennessee has the fourth most, at 52.1 percent, yet has not reached the playoffs since 2008. But it is more than a bit revealing that the perennial postseason teams Pittsburgh (56.9) and Green Bay (52.9) have the highest percentages, with the rising powers Atlanta (52.2) and San Francisco (51.6) rounding out the top five.

Woody Johnson

During the election cycle, Johnson, a major backer of Mitt Romney, regularly mixed football with politics. His comments on the presidential race were largely innocuous. His remarks about the Jets were usually provocative. He chose country over the team he owns when asked on Bloomberg TV in October whether he would rather the Jets have a winning season or Romney move into the White House.He has said he expected Tebow to remain with the team for the duration of his contract, through 2014. He admitted surprise that their acquisition of Tebow attracted significant news media coverage. A week before the season he said, “I think you can never have too much Tebow.”The sporadic usage of Tebow has only reinforced the notion that his acquisition was not unanimously endorsed, fueling the belief that it was, after the Jets’ own miserable 2011 season and a Giants Super Bowl title, a publicity stunt, a trade to change the conversation.

Which it did — for a brief while. Since Johnson authorizes Tannenbaum to add players, he is also accountable for the talent drain. Tannenbaum is among the league’s most aggressive general managers, and given an opportunity — and the resources — he will make splashy deals. Despite several areas of need, the Jets were bit players in free agency. They are living with the consequences.

> http://www.nytimes.c...ner=rss&emc=rss

[PFSIKH]

Yeah. The Jets really didn't recognize his talent. I mean when they were the only team that signed him when he was an UDFA. When they kept him around after he had reconstructive knee surgery. When the other teams all let him sit on the Jets practice squad, the Jets certainly were the one and only team that didn't realize he could be a player.

That is fair and true.

I would be more concerned, if true, why were the Jets using him as a receiver?

[JustInFudge]

Danny Woodhead would have no use on this team. Sanchez would over throw his little shrimp ass by 10 feet.

[unbanmadmike1]

Woodhead isn't an impact player. He's a player that is a chance of pace from impact players. The Jets have none of those.

[#27TheDominator]

That is fair and true.

I would be more concerned, if true, why were the Jets using him as a receiver?

It was true. The Jets had Greene and LT/Thomas Jones. They had some injuries at WR and didn't have an effective slot WR from when they traded Stuckey until they drafted Kerley. Woodhead was used to replicate Welker during Pats week drills and supposedly was good so they tried him there when they were short due to injuries. They were primarily looking to save a roster spot and keep Woodhead over Clowney who was the de facto #3/#4 WR. It made perfect sense and even with the Pats he spends more time running routes than running the ball. His 3.7 ypc don't scream effective RB to me.

[Maxman]

That is fair and true.

I would be more concerned, if true, why were the Jets using him as a receiver?

Other than the fact that they weren't, I am not sure.

[Jet27]

Patriots' Brady: Jets whiffed on Woodhead

Tom Brady hardly shies away from taking a shot at the Jets, and he took a soft swipe at his AFC East rivals again yesterday during his weekly radio spot in Boston.

Talking to WEEI, the Patriots quarterback was reveling in the talent of his teammate Danny Woodhead, whom the Jets released two years ago. Woodhead scored twice in the Patriots’ 37-31 victory over the Bills on Sunday, the 5-foot-8 running back catching one touchdown and running for another.“I remember his first game,” Brady said. “We kind of joked on the sideline, [former Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien] and I, we kind of said, ‘The legend is born.’ We saw him that week in practice, what he was capable of doing, and said, ‘Why did the Jets release that guy?’ They had him playing receiver and he was a running back in college.”

This season, Woodhead is second on the Patriots with 49 carries and fourth on the team with 23 catches. He has played a big role in the offense, ranked first in the NFL, averaging 430.3 yards per game.“He’s just come in and done such a great job,” Brady said. “He’s the ultimate team player and teammate — dependable, consistent, you always know the level of play you’re getting from Danny. He had a huge game [sunday] for us. We really needed it, because as an offense, I’d say everyone really didn’t have their best day but Danny. He really saved the day for us.”

Woodhead won the Harlon Hill Trophy as the best player in Division II college football while at Chadron State, and the Jets signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He played in a total of 12 games for them (including two playoff games), running the ball 15 times and catching 10 passes.

The Jets and Patriots play Thanksgiving night at MetLife Stadium.

> http://www.nypost.co...tm_content=Jets

And that's all on Rex.....

[PFSIKH]

Other than the fact that they weren't, I am not sure.

It was true. The Jets had Greene and LT/Thomas Jones. They had some injuries at WR and didn't have an effective slot WR from when they traded Stuckey until they drafted Kerley. Woodhead was used to replicate Welker during Pats week drills and supposedly was good so they tried him there when they were short due to injuries. They were primarily looking to save a roster spot and keep Woodhead over Clowney who was the de facto #3/#4 WR. It made perfect sense and even with the Pats he spends more time running routes than running the ball. His 3.7 ypc don't scream effective RB to me.

[#27TheDominator]

They tried him at slot. I'm not sure if he every actually played there, but he even switched to #83 because he was being used at WR. It was more of a practice thing and it might have been because Holmes was on suspension which was probably why they eventually picked up Clowney over him the week the Pats signed him.

[PFSIKH]

They tried him at slot. I'm not sure if he every actually played there, but he even switched to #83 because he was being used at WR. It was more of a practice thing and it might have been because Holmes was on suspension which was probably why they eventually picked up Clowney over him the week the Pats signed him.

NY Post is obviously desperate for news.

The Patriots needed him because Faulk was injured. The Jets had plenty of option at RB (LT, McKnight) and WR.

I am sure plenty of teams would love to keep the hard working, over achieving, outside the specs player, but you are only allocated so many roster spots.

[stoicsentry]

You guys crack me up. Now you guys try to cover yourselves by blaming Rex or Tanny when in reality you were the idiots who were saying he was slow, weak, etc.

[dbatesman]

In April, about a week before the draft, Tannenbaum cited several players living on the fringe of the roster. One of them was guard Caleb Schlauderaff, who Tannenbaum suggested was a candidate to become the next Jeremy Lin.

Actually, it was the next Victor Cruz.

[JetsFanInDenver]

The JETS have really got into Brady's head. He is not even focusing on next week's opponent and already thrash talking about his matchup wit the JETS the following week!

[kay_gee]

Brady's trolling the Jets now?

[sirlancemehlot]

You guys crack me up. Now you guys try to cover yourselves by blaming Rex or Tanny when in reality you were the idiots who were saying he was slow, weak, etc.

Not me bro. I loved me some Danny woodhead. Couldn't figure out why we moved up for joe McKnight when we already had that little beast on the team capable of handling that role. But hey, at least we gave him away for nothing and spent two draft picks for a player with less impact and character to take his place.

[#27TheDominator]

Actually, it was the next Victor Cruz.

I would take either one at this point.

[RutgersJetFan]

Woodhead. Wake. Wilson. Wins. Maybe Tannenbaum has a thing against W's.

[jack48]

Woodhead is average. The Jets did not utilize his talents properly. Right now they could use an average player or two.

[stoicsentry]

Woodhead. Wake. Wilson. Wins. Maybe Tannenbaum has a thing against W's.

John Abraham is still playing football, still racking up the sacks. Sigh.

[Jared]

The JETS have really got into Brady's head. He is not even focusing on next week's opponent and already thrash talking about his matchup wit the JETS the following week!

Sounds more like a reporter asked him about Woodhead.

[RutgersJetFan]

John Abraham is still playing football, still racking up the sacks. Sigh.

Just so you know, your actions this past week are the greatest turn I've seen since Hulk Hogan joined the NWO on prime time national television. It's been that big of a deal for me.

[PatriotReign37]

It was true. The Jets had Greene and LT/Thomas Jones. They had some injuries at WR and didn't have an effective slot WR from when they traded Stuckey until they drafted Kerley. Woodhead was used to replicate Welker during Pats week drills and supposedly was good so they tried him there when they were short due to injuries. They were primarily looking to save a roster spot and keep Woodhead over Clowney who was the de facto #3/#4 WR. It made perfect sense and even with the Pats he spends more time running routes than running the ball. His 3.7 ypc don't scream effective RB to me.

Didnt the Jets keep McKnight over Woody?

IIRC, Rex wanted to keep Woody but got over ruled by Tanny because Mickey was a draftee.

[PatriotReign37]

Brady's trolling the Jets now?

Stirring the pot a week early before Rex makes his bi - annual guarantee.

[#27TheDominator]

Didnt the Jets keep McKnight over Woody?

IIRC, Rex wanted to keep Woody but got over ruled by Tanny because Mickey was a draftee.

They kept Sanchez over him too. Woodhead was on the roster and they cut him to add Clowney. McKniight was never really on the bubble like those two.

[Larz]

we all agreed at the time, dumb move

who did the jets keep instead of woody ? is he even in the NFL amymore ?

[neckdemon]

tannenbaum overruling on football decisions is really disturbing. i just wonder how in the world anyone gave this clown power over people who actually know football. it reminds me of this hvac company i used to wrk for where they let some clown who had zero hvac experience run the commercial hvac dept. the idiot who owned thew company wound up selling it 2 years later for a fraction of what he payed for it just to cut his losses.

[HessStation]

I'm waiting with open arms.

[JetsFanInDenver]

Stirring the pot a week early before Rex makes his bi - annual guarantee.

Where do you get the balls to criticize Rex. You were one blown referee call away from being embarrassed in your own crib!

[kelly]

I'm waiting with open arms.

really...

[kelly]

Why did New York Jets cut Danny Woodhead ? Rex Ryan's ego

Associated Press

I can answer Tom Brady. I can answer him in spades. I can talk rings around him with my answer. I can give it to him backward, forward, in different tongues and even in hieroglyphics.

I can tell Brady why the New York Jets let go of Danny Woodhead. And my answer will shed light on one of the 3-6 Jets' biggest problems.

Playing Danny Woodhead would have meant Rex Ryan admitting a mistake, and Rex doesn't like to do that. It's why the Jets are where they are.

In the 2010 NFL Draft, Ryan was coming off a surprise AFC Championship Game appearance. He had a grand plan and the momentum to fortify the roster with players he wanted out of the draft. The Jets dealt Leon Washington to the Seattle Seahawks and traded up to draft running back Joe McKnight in the fourth round, expecting the USC product to be one of those sleeper picks who make coaches and general managers look smart in retrospect. McKnight was going to be a game breaker, both on special teams and out of the backfield. It was a role Woodhead could have excelled in, as he had been involved with the team for two years at that point, having been signed three different times.New York went into the summer of 2010 with a running back cadre of Shonn Greene, LaDainian Tomlinson, McKnight and Woodhead. McKnight was more famous for vomiting during his first minicamp than for anything he did on the field. He wasn't in shape and he couldn't hold on to the football, fumbling three times in the preseason. He was inactive the first month of the regular season. When he made his debut, it wasn't just at running back, but also at defensive back -- a role he's cropped up in again this season.

In the meantime, Woodhead was waived and picked up by New England, and has since become an invaluable weapon at Brady's disposal.

So tell me if this makes sense : A fourth-round pick shows up out of shape, struggles with ball security and changes positions before he's been with the team four months, yet the team keeps going forward with him. Normally, this kind of player would be waived in a millisecond. To McKnight's credit, he has become a terrific kick returner. But you can get a kick returner in plenty of places.

Why did things unfurl the way they did ?

Because keeping Woodhead (a player Ryan inherited) would have meant drafting McKnight was a mistake, and Ryan never cops to personnel mistakes. He's loyal to a fault, but is it out of his responsibility to his players, or his ego ?

How many times did we see him drool over fullback John Conner -- a Rex Special -- on HBO's Hard Knocks? Conner never proved he was ready for a big role with the Jets, but they stubbornly stuck with him for more than two years before finally admitting they needed to go in another direction. Now Gang Green's stuck with journeyman Lex Hilliard.Ryan said he knew he was going to draft defensive end Quinton Coples in April's first round after testing him in drills for five minutes during his pro day, despite questions about his motor. Coples has been underwhelming so far. Ryan wanted to sign receiver Plaxico Burress after seeing a tape of his best plays before going to prison. Really ? That's how easy it is to make those calls? That's like proposing to a woman after seeing her profile on a dating website.I'm not blaming him for continuing to stick with quarterback Mark Sanchez. At this point, you have to play out the season and get a do-over at the position. But Ryan has been a Sanchez backer because Sanchez was his hand-picked quarterback in the 2009 draft, not because of his work on Sundays. Yes, all NFL head coaches live and die by the guys they bring in to be franchise signal-callers. But Rex, having been to two straight AFC title games, had the rare opportunity to say, "Know what? My guy isn't working. Let's move on." And his job wouldn't have been in jeopardy. So it's ego. No one wants to be told they're wrong, especially after repeated swings and misses in the draft. The earlier you admit a mistake, the easier it is to recover from it. But if you*never do so? Good luck.

When Ryan said before this season that this could be his best team yet, I thought at the time that it was just something he liked to say. But now ? I think he felt he had to say it to back up all his hand-picked personnel. It's ego that prevents you from seeing the faults on your team. It's clear that the Jets -- and Ryan -- overvalue their players more than anyone else in the league.

I constantly say this in the NFL.com newsroom: If the Jets waive Mark Sanchez tomorrow, and money isn't a factor, which team picks him up to be a starter ?

[insert cricket sound effect here.]

This doesn't mean Ryan is a bad coach. It means he, and Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum, are bad talent evaluators. So that task should fall to someone else. Rex is a great coach, but to borrow a little bit from Bill Parcells, sometimes the cook doesn't buy the right groceries.

Jason*Smith hosts "NFL Fantasy Live" on the NFL Network and writes fantasy and other pith for NFL.com. Talk to him on Twitter @howaboutafresca and listen to his "NFL Fantasy Live" podcast with Michael Fabiano and Elliot Harrison every week on NFL.com.

He only asks that you never bring up when the Jets play poorly.

[HessStation]

really...

WHAT. ARE. YOU. *opens arms* *closes* *opens* *closes* *opens* *closes* *opens?