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An Objective Analysis: Terry Bradway


Jack Straw

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Terry Bradway came in to New York and was left in salary cap hell. Bradway deserves kudos for alleviating the cap hell of the Jets by basically giving away Ryan Young, Aaron Glenn, and Marcus Coleman.

However, I am not in the business of defending Terry Bradway. In fact, I have been overly critical of the way he has handled the Jets on several occasions. His work in free agency has left much to be desired. The Antoine Winfield fiasco nearly killed me, although, it doesn't seem like such a bad thing now.

Some good things Bradway has done in free agency include the signings of: Pete Kendall, Ty Law, Eric Barton, David Barrett, & Ben Graham.

Some bad moves would be the signing of Justin McCaerins (I won't knock Bradway for giving up the 2nd rounder b/c McCaerins has produced like a 2nd rounder, albeit an overpaid one), Lance Legree & Sam Cowart. The Pennington contract was a difficult situation because if he didn't get paid and walked, Bradway would have been killed. I do blame him for giving Curtis Martin and Wayne Chrebet ridiculous contracts for two players who were close to or past their prime.

Let's focus on his drafts because as we all know, this is where GM's earn their money.

Starters

Santana Moss - likely pro-bowl selection

LaMont RB Maryland- solid starter

Kareem McKenzie- very good starter

James Reed- below average started (James Reed can be a very good backup. He doesn't have the stamina to play 40 downs per game, but, he can play extremely well in a limited role)

Chris Baker- Average starter who has showed promise in the passing game.

Dewayne Robertson- Average starter who has shown flashes of brilliance. Hasn't lived up to the hype of being the 4th pick in 2003.

Victor Hobson- Solid starter on the strong-side who does a lot of the dirty work playing over the Tight End. Doesn't have a whole lot of speed, but is a punishing tackler and extremely strong at the point of attack.

Jonathan Vilma- Bradway's best pick. Vilma has very good speed, leadership qualities and great instincts for a MLB. Must get stronger at the point of attack, but is on his way to being a perennial pro-bowler.

Adrian Jones- Has played pretty well at Left Tackle for someone who didn't move to the position until his senior year of college. Has very good feet and athleticism, but needs to get stronger and gain more experience. With proper coaching, the Jets could have a true left tackle that it seems they've never had.

Erik Coleman- Erik Coleman was the Jets prized "steal" of the 2004 draft. He went through some slumps as a sophomore in 2005, but has come on strong as of late. He should continue to play solid football from the Free Safety position.

Mike Nugent- Don't believe the naysayers; Mike Nugent is the real deal. It took some time for him to get used to the K-Ball the NFL uses, explaining his early struggles, but he has come on strong as of late. An off-season in the weight room improving his leg strength for kick-offs and field goals of 50+ is the only thing stopping him from being one of the better kickers in the game.

Kerry Rhodes- What more can you ask of a 4th round pick? Rhodes has come in and simply played solid football. He doesn't get beat deep, is a strong tackler, and has great size at 6'3 200+ lbs. If he can continue to develop, he may be on his way to a few pro-bowls in the coming years.

Brandon Moore- Although Bradway didn't draft Moore, he basically found him and turned him into a solid Right Guard. Solid move.

Solid Contributors

Jonathan Goodwin- A versatile backup who can play four positions on the line. He has played, at best, average football for the Jets this year and is probably best suited to play Center.

Derrick Strait- Probably best suited as a nickle back, Strait has played pretty well in a limited role.

Jerricho Cotchery- Hasn't has a whole lot of opportunities, but when he has, he has played extremely well. Jerricho does a lot of the grunt work, making catches over the middle and reminds me of a more athletic and bigger Wayne Chrebet. Very nice pick by Bradway.

Darrell McClover- The Jets best special teams player who has speed to burn. If Eric Barton isn't back next year, we may be seeing a lot of McClover, which certainly isn't a bad thing.

Derrick Ward- A great draft pick by Bradway. Too bad the Giants stole him away from the Practice Squad. A short, powerful runner who may have his chance to shine, assuming Tiki decides to act his age in the near future.

Rashad Washington- Very good special teams player who has played some safety. Nice Back-up

Brooks Bollinger- Has proved that he can play in the NFL. What more can you ask for from a 3rd string Quarterback? With a strong last two games, he could make an argument that he belongs as a #2 (he has to win some games, not just put up flashy stats)

Cedric Houston- In only two games of real action, he has shown ability. The Jets still need to see more of him against live action, but so far, so good.

Justin Miller- An explosive kick-returner who can catch a punt. Has looked up and down at Cornerback, but that was to be expected. He is very fast and extremely strong, however, and could be starting next year assuming that TY Law is gone.

The Jury is Still Out

Marko Cavka- Many of you should begin saying your prayers for whoever our starting QB is next year because I believe that the New York Jets think that their starting Right Tackle in 2006 is already on the roster. Yes, I am talking about Marko Cavka.

Sione Pouha

B.J. Askew

Andre Maddox

Busts

For the record, if a player was a 5th round pick or lower, I did not include them in the "Bust" category. I consider these rounds a "wild card," where risks can be taken without too much fault to the GM. To be a successful GM, good players must be found in the lower rounds. I believe that Terry Bradway has found enough quality 5th-7th round players that we cannot fault him for the players who did not pan out.

Bryan Thomas- Every Jets Fan knows this story...Ed Reed, nuff' said.

Jon McGraw- Lots of talent, glass jaw. At least Bradway dumped him before the start of 2005.

Dewayne Robertson? - Some of you will argue that he belongs on this list. I don't, but I think he must improve to justify giving up two 1st rounders and a 4th rounder for him.

I think the problem people have with Terry Bradway is that when he makes a mistake, it's a HUGE mistake. Signing Pennington to $64 million, trading two 1st rounders and a 4th for Dewayne Robertson, drafting Bryan Thomas instead of Ed Reed or Lito Sheppard. In my honest opinion, I believe that Terry Bradway has an excellent eye for talent. He just needs to cut back on the "HUGE" mistakes. The majority of players who he has picked are solid to very good players who all are capable of improving because they're young and relatively raw. I think Bradway has done some stupid things, no doubt. But, when I look at the complete body of work, I believe he is a good GM. That's all folks.

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I'm still not 100% sure Bradway has much blame in all of this. I tend to lean towards the thinking that many of the picks he made that ended up being busts were picks made to either make Herm happy by picking players that fit his idiotic idea of running a verion of the Tampa Two(B Thomas, D Fat, J McGlass - or FA's A Beasley, S Garnes, D Robinson, and S White) or to cover Herms ass (M Nugent), also it was Herm who I believe fell in love with J Mac - if you read his quotes after that monday night game you would see that Herm practically wanted to have J Mac's baby. I have read in the past that Bradway is an excellent talent evaluator who has been know to get lazy from time to time. Not sure if this is true. I do know that he has found some very good diamonds in the rough and is very much the reason for producing a playoff team last year by picking up good bargains like D Barrett and E Barton.

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Jonathan Vilma- Bradway's best pick. Vilma has very good speed, leadership qualities and great instincts for a MLB. Must get stronger at the point of attack, but is on his way to being a perennial pro-bowler.

Who doesn't like this guy? He'll be a Pro Bowl starter very soon.

Erik Coleman- Erik Coleman was the Jets prized "steal" of the 2004 draft. He went through some slumps as a sophomore in 2005, but has come on strong as of late. He should continue to play solid football from the Free Safety position.

I've drafted Coleman a few times on my FFL team. He does a great job in my opinion.

Jerricho Cotchery- Hasn't has a whole lot of opportunities, but when he has, he has played extremely well. Jerricho does a lot of the grunt work, making catches over the middle and reminds me of a more athletic and bigger Wayne Chrebet. Very nice pick by Bradway.

I work at NCSU, so, I know that he's a good receiver. He was Rivers goto receiver for a couple of years. I wish we had both of them back.

Brooks Bollinger- Has proved that he can play in the NFL. What more can you ask for from a 3rd string Quarterback? With a strong last two games, he could make an argument that he belongs as a #2 (he has to win some games, not just put up flashy stats)

He's a solid #2 quarterback. Miami's defense is very aggressive and has gotten better each game. I came away very impressed with him. Is he a #1 QB? I'm not too sure, but he did hit open receivers down the field very well.

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One thing that jumps off the page-MCgraw, Pagel, Coleman, Washington, Strait, Miller, Rhodes, Maddox-a lot of picks, some okay, but nobody who jumps off the page at you as a great player. Then you add in FAs-Ty Law, Damien Robisnon, Beasley, Donnie Abraham, Garnes, Barrett.Now Law is a Hofer, though he's been okay this year. This FO has put a lot of picks and coin into DBs, and the secondary still sucks worse than it did on the day Parcells left.And with all that "talent" Bradway picked Thomas over Ed Reed, and made that ROberston deal(whih on draft day '04 I liked) when he could've picked up Polamalu and a lower pick DT makes it even worse.

Bradway seems to fall in love with guys rather than looking at the value of players in the draft and FA market. And there's always some of that going on, espcially later in the draft and when you need to fill a hole with a FA. But doing it in the first round is just killer. And he's done it twice.

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