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Keller wants to stay a Jet


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Keller wants to stay a Jet


            

  • By BRIAN COSTELLO
  • Last Updated: 11:55 PM, March 2, 2013

The Jets are the only NFL team tight end Dustin Keller has ever known. That may change soon. Keller is scheduled to become a free agent March 12, and all indications are the Jets will let him hit the open market. The 28-year-old does not know what to expect from the free agency process.

 

“I kind of view free agency like the draft, at this point I don’t know where anyone stands, including the Jets, but everything will take care of itself,” 

 

Keller told The Post in an email. “I’m not stressing myself out about where I’m going to be, I’m just going to continue to work my butt off
this offseason so I’m ready no matter where I’m going to be.”

 


Still, Keller made it clear he would love to be back with the Jets.  He remains close with quarterback Mark Sanchez as well as others on the team that selected him in the first round of the 2008 draft out of Purdue.

 

“Yeah, I’d like to return,” he said. “I have a lot of great friends on the team, and I’ve always thought of myself as a key
piece of the offense there, but if I’m not there that’s fine, too. There are no hard feelings. I understand it’s a business for the Jets, but at this point it’s a business decision for me as well.”

 

Keller hoped to get a long-term extension before last season, similar to what he saw teammates Nick Mangold, D’Brickashaw Ferguson and Sanchez receive. But former general manager Mike Tannenbaum declined.

 

“Did I want to sign a new deal before last season? Yes,” Keller said. “Am I angry about it? No. Like I said, I understand the business side. I signed a five-year deal and I played through that whole contract, even though recent first-round picks have re-signed with a year left. So I think I deserve the right to see what else is out there.”

 

Keller’s agent met with the Jets brass at the NFL scouting combine last month, but Keller remains unsure just how much the team wants him back. He has not spoken to new GM John Idzik, but has heard from new offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg.

 

“I have talked to Coach Mornhinweg and he made clear to me that he would like to have me back, but the guys upstairs may have different thoughts than the coaches,” Keller said.

 

The 2012 season was a rough one for Keller. He played in just eight games while dealing with hamstring and ankle injuries, and was limited to 28 catches and two touchdowns. That could hurt his value as a free agent if teams question whether he can stay healthy. But Keller never missed a game before last season and says he is 100 percent now.  Keller should generate high demand as one of the top tight ends available in free agency.

 

“The thing I wants teams to realize is that I played my first four years in the NFL without missing a single practice, let alone a game,” Keller said. “I’m not some injury-prone player that teams have to worry about.  Both of my injuries were non-contact injuries, so they were just fluke incidents. I don’t think people realize that there is a 100-percent injury rate for players in the NFL, and my injuries were minor.”

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Sounds more like he doesn't want to be here at this point - but is saying the politically correct thing. 

 

I am going out on a limb and will say that he will want to play for whatever team offers the most money. Call it a hunch.

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I like Keller, never got the hate, sure he's not a meat head blocker, but he's athletic and would have been great in the new WCO. Marks numbers dropped like a stone without him.

It's just a waste pick replacing what we already had. Plus he's not costing a ton of brick.

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I am going out on a limb and will say that he will want to play for whatever team offers the most money. Call it a hunch.

"...but at this point it’s a business decision for me as well.” and "...I think I deserve the right to see what else is out there.”

Are both nice ways of saying that he is not particularly excited about resigning with the Jets - but obviously would at the right price. 

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Keller is overrated crap. Let him walk. There are a bunch of FA TE's who aren't overrated garbage and have some upside:

 

Fred Davis

Jared Cook

Brandon Myers

Dennis Pitta

Will Heller

John Phillips

Dante Rosario

 

 

Keller is like a race horse in a field of 12 horses, but he gets the 250 pound jockey and somehow still manages to run.  Put one of those aerodynamic midgets on him like the other horses have and I think you will see him win, place or show.

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Keller is like a race horse in a field of 12 horses, but he gets the 250 pound jockey and somehow still manages to run. Put one of those aerodynamic midgets on him like the other horses have and I think you will see him win, place or show.

I feel like Crusher just Francessad JN.

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Keller is like a race horse in a field of 12 horses, but he gets the 250 pound jockey and somehow still manages to run. Put one of those aerodynamic midgets on him like the other horses have and I think you will see him win, place or show.

You're blaming Sanchez for Keller sucking while ignoring that Keller just doesn't do anything all that well.

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Not my intention. I just feel it's silly to call Dustin Keller over rate crap considering he basically had Helen Keller throwing him the ball the last four years.

It was a good point and an apt analogy!

Mike, like most Jets fan, constantly and consistently think the grass is greener elsewhere. Horses eat grass, right?

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You're blaming Sanchez for Keller sucking while ignoring that Keller just doesn't do anything all that well.

 

 

He is playing with one of the statistically worse QBs in the league.  He was also the go to guy for him and probably played best with him than anyone.  Can't be easy is all I'm saying. 

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Not my intention. I just feel it's silly to call Dustin Keller over rate crap considering he basically had Helen Keller throwing him the ball the last four years.

I'm in this class of thinking, myself. It's hard to quantify how much Sanchez cost in terms of production for everyone around him, but it would seem to be significant. Keller, on the Falcons, could catch 80 passes and nab 8-12 TDs. He's talented, but he's been wildly misused here.

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It was a good point and an apt analogy!

Mike, like most Jets fan, constantly and consistently think the grass is greener elsewhere. Horses eat grass, right?

The Jets were one of the worst 3 offenses in the NFL. So yeah, their offensive players suck. That's how you get to be a bottom 3 offense.
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I'm in this class of thinking, myself. It's hard to quantify how much Sanchez cost in terms of production for everyone around him, but it would seem to be significant. Keller, on the Falcons, could catch 80 passes and nab 8-12 TDs. He's talented, but he's been wildly misused here.

 

 

Agreed.  Yet again hard to properly use someone when his usage is dependent on a player who is one of the worse at his position.  Like putting a carburetor from a lawn mower in an Indy car. no way you can judge how good the driver is.  That was my only point. 

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Agreed. Yet again hard to properly use someone when his usage is dependent on a player who is one of the worse at his position. Like putting a carburetor from a lawn mower in an Indy car. no way you can judge how good the driver is. That was my only point.

Except Keller is a Honda accord, not an Indy car.

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Except Keller is a Honda accord, not an Indy car.

 

 

In my analogy he was the driver dependent on the carburetor to give him the gas and air to go fast. Sanchez is the carburetor and the car itself is the anemic offense.  I'm not by no means one of the bright football minds here. Matter of fact Max limits the amount I'm allowed to post in the NFL forum.  But just how I see it.

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keller should be what hernandez is for ne, he just has a low football iq. think he would excel in a west coast offense with a decent qb. wouldnt be shocked if atlanta offers him a deal now that gonzalez is gone

Except he's not as big. Not as fast. Not as good a route runner.

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Sharp analysis as usual, no doubt, but that offense is bottom 3 largely due to one bottom one QB.

The offense was never great with Sanchez, but it got worse last year, with the same terrible QB play. as the rest of the talent on offense got worse, as it did every year Rex has been here. I'm not sure why you're in denial about that fact. 

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Not my intention.  I just feel it's silly to call Dustin Keller over rate crap considering he  basically had Helen Keller throwing him the ball the last four years. 

  

You mean they're related?

Except Keller is a Honda accord, not an Indy car.

Honda Accords are solid, reliable cars. I'd be happy to have one at TE for a reasonable contract.

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Then draft one in the 4th round, don't give one their second, free agent contract. 

I think this falls under the devil you know for me. If he hits free agency and finds the offers aren't coming, I wouldn't mind him back at all for a modest deal. They need a TE even if they keep Keller. If he goes, they need a couple. And they have other needs as well.

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Keller is an undersized TE with great athleticism.  Because of his ability in the slot he has become Mark's safety blanket over the years, and as such, (with the exception of his injury riddled 2012) he has received more targets than any other receiver on the team. This, in essence has made him the #1 receiver on the team.  The thing is, he has a pretty shoddy catch rate for a #1 and his blocking is still suspect.  Call me crazycarl, but I come from the school of thought that TE's should be large enough to help out in pass pro, and be legitimate threats in the red zone.  Keller has never scored more than 5 times in a season.  We can replace his role on this team with a slot receiver, for far less money...and get a traditional TE to play TE.  If we had a talent like Tavon Austin receiving the amount of targets Keller has, our offense would be light years ahead. 

 

Keller's catch rate:

2008: 78 targets, 48 receptions = 61.5% catch rate

2009: 82 targets, 45 receptions = 54.8% catch rate

2010: 100 targets, 55 receptions = 55% catch rate (I didn't use a calculator for this one)

2011: 116 targets, 65 receptions = 56% catch rate

2012: 36 targets, 28 receptions = 77% catch rate

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Sharp analysis as usual, no doubt, but that offense is bottom 3 largely due to one bottom one QB.

 

Sanchez made it difficult for supporters to defend him this year; he made a lot of bone-head plays late in the season.  But early on, I recall a couple games where he threw for HOrriBLE comp pct. as a result of his receivers just dropping the ball.  It didn't help that as injuries added up, he was throwing to the likes of Clyde Gates, Mardy Gillyard, Jason Hill, Dedrick Epps, Konrad Rueland, Hayden Smith, Tim Tebow, sh*t Antonio Cromartie was catching balls for us.   

 

Even when he had his "studs" Santonio caught 3 of his 11 targets in week-2.  Some of this falls on Mark; he rarely throws his receiver open, and has trouble taking some mustard off  the fast-ball when his guy is ten feet away.  But a lot of it falls on his receivers.  Granted Mark threw a bunch of wobbly wobblers, an NFL caliber WR should be able to catch a ******* football.

 

The offense was bad because Mark couldn't overcome the adversity this team was dealt (No Holmes, No safety-blanket Keller, No Cumberland, Raw Rookie with dropsies and hammy issues).  But also because we were fielding a junior varsity team in a new offense.    

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