Looks like it will be Powell if Ivory can't stay healthy

[Jetsfan80]

  There is a rumor that he's in some Rehab program for like a month.   Good for his case in the long run.  What that means for the jets, who knows.    

 

 As far as Ivory,  I don't get it.  People never pay attention to the realities of a situation. The guy has never really played in college or the pros due to injury.  So that fact he's not healthy now is a surprise?    It's no different than Garrard.     When you bring on guys who don't play due to injury, it's not just a small risk, it's closer to being a bad move.  If Ivory can't stay healthy and Goodson is MIA for a long time,  Idzicks offseason moves look terrible.

 

With our limited cap space, who would you have brought in that are better than our acquistions?

 

Colon and Peterman were must-get types with our OL situation as it was (the fact that Brandon Moore retired makes those moves seem VERY wise in hindsight).

 

Garrard was the veteran QB who was going to take the starting job away from Sanchez before handing the keys to Geno.  Its easy to knock it in hindsight but what other veteran QB out there would you have liked to bring in?  Besides, now there's a distinct possibility we get to see Geno right away, which is a very good thing.  I don't get the hate on Idzik for doing what Tannenbaum failed to even ATTEMPT to do for 4 years.

 

Ivory was a pure upside move.  And Saints fans were pissed to see him go.  Remember this? 

 

I think Idzik has done a fantastic job with his limited resources.  The Revis deal was smart.  He then went BPA in the draft and got us the top QB prospect, top CB prospect, and top/2nd best pass-rushing DT.  The Brian Winters pick was also very underrated.  He may have shored up our offensive line in 1 offseason, giving the position a complete facelift after years of basically ignoring the OL (other than the failed Ducasse pick).  He went bargain hunting elsewhere and I think he did pretty well.  I don't think there's a single hole on this team Idzik didn't at least address, if not ADEQUATELY address.

[slats]

Garrard was the veteran QB who was going to take the starting job away from Sanchez before handing the keys to Geno.  Its easy to knock it in hindsight but what other veteran QB out there would you have liked to bring in?  Besides, now there's a distinct possibility we get to see Geno right away, which is a very good thing.  I don't get the hate on Idzik for doing what Tannenbaum failed to even ATTEMPT to do for 4 years.

I wanted Jason Campbell. Or Matt Moore. I'd've settled for a Bruce Gradkowski. Garrard was going to potentially be a good choice if he was healthy (which he clearly wasn't), and even then, he was a risky pick for how long he'd been out of the league.

Seeing Geno right away is not necessarily a very good thing, which is why Idzik wanted to bring Garrard in in the first place.

 

I think Idzik has done a fantastic job with his limited resources.  The Revis deal was smart.  He then went BPA in the draft and got us the top QB prospect, top CB prospect, and top/2nd best pass-rushing DT.  The Brian Winters pick was also very underrated.  He may have shored up our offensive line in 1 offseason, giving the position a complete facelift after years of basically ignoring the OL (other than the failed Ducasse pick).  He went bargain hunting elsewhere and I think he did pretty well.  I don't think there's a single hole on this team Idzik didn't at least address, if not ADEQUATELY address.

Safety? TE? Hell, right now RB doesn't appear to've been addressed.

Idzik gets a massive incomplete from me right now. I liked his draft, which was patient and seemed to be value oriented straight down the line. That's good. His offseason moves, though, deserve some scrutiny. Ivory, Goodson, and Garrard were the three big moves for an offense that needed some big moves, and so far they don't look so hot. One is gone, another might be, and the third is riding a stationary bike. He went higher risk to keep costs down, but those risks haven't started to pay off yet.

I wasn't thrilled at all with the Ivory trade. I'll be interested to see the careers of Johnathan Franklin and Marcus Lattimore, two RBs taken in the fourth round by teams running offenses similar to the Jets. Just not a fan of trading picks for players, and with those previously mentioned limited resources, it makes the move more questionable. And the tender hamstring... ?

[Jetsfan80]

I wanted Jason Campbell. Or Matt Moore. I'd've settled for a Bruce Gradkowski. Garrard was going to potentially be a good choice if he was healthy (which he clearly wasn't), and even then, he was a risky pick for how long he'd been out of the league.

Seeing Geno right away is not necessarily a very good thing, which is why Idzik wanted to bring Garrard in in the first place.

 

Safety? TE? Hell, right now RB doesn't appear to've been addressed.

Idzik gets a massive incomplete from me right now. I liked his draft, which was patient and seemed to be value oriented straight down the line. That's good. His offseason moves, though, deserve some scrutiny. Ivory, Goodson, and Garrard were the three big moves for an offense that needed some big moves, and so far they don't look so hot. One is gone, another might be, and the third is riding a stationary bike. He went higher risk to keep costs down, but those risks haven't started to pay off yet.

I wasn't thrilled at all with the Ivory trade. I'll be interested to see the careers of Johnathan Franklin and Marcus Lattimore, two RBs taken in the fourth round by teams running offenses similar to the Jets. Just not a fan of trading picks for players, and with those previously mentioned limited resources, it makes the move more questionable. And the tender hamstring... ?

 

 

Lattimore has HUGE injury concerns, way more than Ivory!  He's HOPING to return by Week 10 this year.  If we made that pick we'd be screaming right now about our lack of depth at RB. 

 

I'd rather use the 4th to get a young RB that HAS shown flashes he can enter "beast mode" at the NFL level.  Ivory understands blocking schemes and can start right away.  We're 1 week into camp and people are already writing him off?  Please.

 

Safety has never been a crucial position to our defense's success, and we DID bring in Kellen Winslow at TE.  I'd like to see what he has left in the tank before saying Idzik failed to address it.

[slats]

Lattimore has HUGE injury concerns, way more than Ivory! He's HOPING to return by Week 10 this year. If we made that pick we'd be screaming right now about our lack of depth at RB.

I'd rather use the 4th to get a young RB that HAS shown flashes he can enter "beast mode" at the NFL level. Ivory understands blocking schemes and can start right away. We're 1 week into camp and people are already writing him off? Please.

I was never as on board with this trade as others were. Johnathan Frankin was there, too, and he was being hyped as an ideal WCO RB. Even if they liked Lattimore, you take him knowing what you're getting, and you work around it. With him, he'd have three or four years to prove himself. Ivory has to prove his worth within two years, otherwise he's gone -with nothing to show for it- $4M later.

I liked the patience with the rest of the draft, but I don't like trading picks for players. Especially RBs, who I feel are pretty easy to plug and play.

I'm not writing Ivory off, but he needs to prove that he can be "the guy," and he needs to start doing that soon.

Safety has never been a crucial position to our defense's success, and we DID bring in Kellen Winslow at TE. I'd like to see what he has left in the tank before saying Idzik failed to address it.

Post draft try-outs are hardly an example of addressing the position. The TE position is critical in the WCO, and critical to a young QB. I hope Winslow has something in the tank, but he's another guy you simply can't count on. There were a couple TEs I liked in the fourth round, too.

[JiFtheOracle]

I wanted Jason Campbell. Or Matt Moore. I'd've settled for a Bruce Gradkowski. Garrard was going to potentially be a good choice if he was healthy (which he clearly wasn't), and even then, he was a risky pick for how long he'd been out of the league.

Seeing Geno right away is not necessarily a very good thing, which is why Idzik wanted to bring Garrard in in the first place.

 

Safety? TE? Hell, right now RB doesn't appear to've been addressed.

Idzik gets a massive incomplete from me right now. I liked his draft, which was patient and seemed to be value oriented straight down the line. That's good. His offseason moves, though, deserve some scrutiny. Ivory, Goodson, and Garrard were the three big moves for an offense that needed some big moves, and so far they don't look so hot. One is gone, another might be, and the third is riding a stationary bike. He went higher risk to keep costs down, but those risks haven't started to pay off yet.

I wasn't thrilled at all with the Ivory trade. I'll be interested to see the careers of Johnathan Franklin and Marcus Lattimore, two RBs taken in the fourth round by teams running offenses similar to the Jets. Just not a fan of trading picks for players, and with those previously mentioned limited resources, it makes the move more questionable. And the tender hamstring... ?

 

This...and there's a little homer in this statement but I would have much rather the Jets drafted Mike Gillislee than trade for an injury riddled player and the contract that came with it or just sign a FA...there are plenty of hold the fort types out there until Idzik found a permanent solution.  

 

Hopefully Ivory gets healthy and lives up the hype...I'm just not holding my breath.

[Bleedin Green]

Uh-oh.  Do you know what you just did?

 

You just wrote the first post in Jets history that says Idzik might not be a great acquisition or a breath of fresh air.

 

I don't know what board you've been posting on, but all of Revis' long-lost lovers around here have been trashing every single move Idzik has made since he dare even consider trading their almighty hero.

 

Not to mention, there were plenty of people trashing the hire itself from the moment it happened.

[Integrity28]

It's not the same, because Leon didn't sign a $6M contract when we spent a fourth rounder on him. And Leon did a lot, returning kicks and punts as well as rushing and receiving. In fact, Leon rushed for more yards in his first three years with the Jets than Ivory has so far in his three year career.

If Ivory only produces at Washington levels, he'll be cut before his third year (along with his $2M salary), whereas with Leon, the Jets enjoyed his services cheaply for four years before trading him for a fifth round pick.

It's not the same, it's completely different. That's why I hated Tanny trading picks for players. If Ivory can't be "the guy," this was a bad trade. So far, he can't even get out on the field.

 

 

LOL, too easy. 

[pedro55]

What was he supposed to do?  The roster was so full of holes it resembled swiss cheese and had little depth.  He had no cap space to work with.  He wanted to draft BAP in the draft because that was the smart way to go.  Therefore, he needed to try to address as many holes as he could with cheap vet FAs so he wasn't forced to draft from need.  Vet FAs aren't cheap unless they suck, have had serious legal troubles, have an injury history or all of the above.

 

Of course any time you sign a player with an injury history, it's risky, but every year players are drafted who were injured  several times in college, and they stay healthy in the NFL. Conversely players who were never injured in college, suffer serious injuries in the NFL, some of whom have a hard time staying healthy in the NFL.  There are also vets who have had injury problems who get healthy, go to another team and stay healthy.  It's a violent game.

 

What moves would you have made that you think would have been better than Idzik's?

  

 He's getting paid the big bucks with a team of scouts and coaches.  I'm not.   So he should know more than me.  But the reality is the joke all offseason has been the Jets seemed to sign every guy that has missed seasons.  It wasn't like some random injuries here and there.  They seemed to sign guys that haven't stayed healthy at all.  

And there are a ton of RBs available and in the draft.  People are just slurping every move the guy makes and slurping Ivory like he's actually been a factor at any level.  It's one thing if Ivory was a beast for years. It's another that he's never actually been healthy enough to play at any level.  When you trade for guys like that,  you are relying on luck.  That's not smart moves. That's just praying to god the injury prone guys you signed don't do what they normally do.  

 

I never liked the Garrard signing because he's been out of football for a few seasons.  That wasn't a game or two or some freak injury. It was a guy who wasn't healthy enough to even be on an NFL team.  So like it or not, Idzik made a bad decision to sign a guy who couldn't even make it to preseason.  I mean come on.  If this were a Tanny move, people would have been killing him for it. But because Idzick is new, everybody is slurping the kook aid.

 

 Goodson, Ivory, etc are not even career backups.  More like guys who don't even play.  Michael Turner was a backup to LT.  People were talking about keeping him over LT. And this wasn't just fan forums.  It was the coaches and gm.  But LT was LT and there was still hope LT would be the old LT.  Turner went to ATL and wound up being a beast. But people were expecting him to be the next Larry Johnson or better.     Goodson and Ivory are expected to be what?   Ivory never stays healthy and Goodson couldn't even win a job on the awful Raiders team.

 

  At the end of the day I hope Idzik's moves work out, but lets be real.  If this were Tanny and there was a real possibility that out of the few free agent signings the jets made, 3 of those guys never even play or hardly play, people would be killing him.    A bad move is a bad move no matter how you look at it.   I mean say what you want about Seattle, but if Percy Harvin barely plays for them after all they gave up to get him, it was a bad move.   Sometimes crap happens like that.    With Goodson, who cares. It's a short contract and they didn't give up anything.   Ivory they did trade a draft pick for.   LIke it or not,  sometimes 4th round picks do turn out to be Leon Washington.  If Ivory never plays or winds up some 60 carry per season kind of guy,  it's a bad move.  

[Gastineau Lives]

 He's getting paid the big bucks with a team of scouts and coaches.  I'm not.   So he should know more than me.  But the reality is the joke all offseason has been the Jets seemed to sign every guy that has missed seasons.  It wasn't like some random injuries here and there.  They seemed to sign guys that haven't stayed healthy at all.  

And there are a ton of RBs available and in the draft.  People are just slurping every move the guy makes and slurping Ivory like he's actually been a factor at any level.  It's one thing if Ivory was a beast for years. It's another that he's never actually been healthy enough to play at any level.  When you trade for guys like that,  you are relying on luck.  That's not smart moves. That's just praying to god the injury prone guys you signed don't do what they normally do.  

 

I never liked the Garrard signing because he's been out of football for a few seasons.  That wasn't a game or two or some freak injury. It was a guy who wasn't healthy enough to even be on an NFL team.  So like it or not, Idzik made a bad decision to sign a guy who couldn't even make it to preseason.  I mean come on.  If this were a Tanny move, people would have been killing him for it. But because Idzick is new, everybody is slurping the kook aid.

 

 Goodson, Ivory, etc are not even career backups.  More like guys who don't even play.  Michael Turner was a backup to LT.  People were talking about keeping him over LT. And this wasn't just fan forums.  It was the coaches and gm.  But LT was LT and there was still hope LT would be the old LT.  Turner went to ATL and wound up being a beast. But people were expecting him to be the next Larry Johnson or better.     Goodson and Ivory are expected to be what?   Ivory never stays healthy and Goodson couldn't even win a job on the awful Raiders team.

 

  At the end of the day I hope Idzik's moves work out, but lets be real.  If this were Tanny and there was a real possibility that out of the few free agent signings the jets made, 3 of those guys never even play or hardly play, people would be killing him.    A bad move is a bad move no matter how you look at it.   I mean say what you want about Seattle, but if Percy Harvin barely plays for them after all they gave up to get him, it was a bad move.   Sometimes crap happens like that.    With Goodson, who cares. It's a short contract and they didn't give up anything.   Ivory they did trade a draft pick for.   LIke it or not,  sometimes 4th round picks do turn out to be Leon Washington.  If Ivory never plays or winds up some 60 carry per season kind of guy,  it's a bad move.  

Who was Goodson supposed to start over, McFadden or both Stewart and DeAngelo Williams?

 

I'm not arguing against your post as a whole, just this aspect of it.

[JoeKlecko]

 He's getting paid the big bucks with a team of scouts and coaches.  I'm not.   So he should know more than me.  But the reality is the joke all offseason has been the Jets seemed to sign every guy that has missed seasons.  It wasn't like some random injuries here and there.  They seemed to sign guys that haven't stayed healthy at all.  

And there are a ton of RBs available and in the draft.  People are just slurping every move the guy makes and slurping Ivory like he's actually been a factor at any level.  It's one thing if Ivory was a beast for years. It's another that he's never actually been healthy enough to play at any level.  When you trade for guys like that,  you are relying on luck.  That's not smart moves. That's just praying to god the injury prone guys you signed don't do what they normally do.  

 

I never liked the Garrard signing because he's been out of football for a few seasons.  That wasn't a game or two or some freak injury. It was a guy who wasn't healthy enough to even be on an NFL team.  So like it or not, Idzik made a bad decision to sign a guy who couldn't even make it to preseason.  I mean come on.  If this were a Tanny move, people would have been killing him for it. But because Idzick is new, everybody is slurping the kook aid.

 

 Goodson, Ivory, etc are not even career backups.  More like guys who don't even play.  Michael Turner was a backup to LT.  People were talking about keeping him over LT. And this wasn't just fan forums.  It was the coaches and gm.  But LT was LT and there was still hope LT would be the old LT.  Turner went to ATL and wound up being a beast. But people were expecting him to be the next Larry Johnson or better.     Goodson and Ivory are expected to be what?   Ivory never stays healthy and Goodson couldn't even win a job on the awful Raiders team.

 

  At the end of the day I hope Idzik's moves work out, but lets be real.  If this were Tanny and there was a real possibility that out of the few free agent signings the jets made, 3 of those guys never even play or hardly play, people would be killing him.    A bad move is a bad move no matter how you look at it.   I mean say what you want about Seattle, but if Percy Harvin barely plays for them after all they gave up to get him, it was a bad move.   Sometimes crap happens like that.    With Goodson, who cares. It's a short contract and they didn't give up anything.   Ivory they did trade a draft pick for.   LIke it or not,  sometimes 4th round picks do turn out to be Leon Washington.  If Ivory never plays or winds up some 60 carry per season kind of guy,  it's a bad move.  

 

I'm not disputing that they signed a number of guys who have had injury histories.  What I'm disputing or asking is who was out there that was better and just as cheap as Garrard and Ivory?  Yeah, Idzik could have spent what little cap space he had on 1 or 2 players, but that would have left even more holes.  I wasn't wild about giving up a draft pick for Ivory.  I killed Tanny a lot for trading away draft picks.  Ivory definitely has a history of injuries, but he also had more speed, power and ability than any other RB that was available to my recollection.  Turner is pretty much done I think and probably wants a whole lot more money than Ivory costs.  I understand Idzik wanting a veteran RB to start, so he opted for a more proven, veteran RB with the 4th round pick rather than drafting a RB.  I understand his wanting competition.  IMO, neither Goodson nor Powell are starting caliber RBs for a whole season, but in a rotation, they're fine.  Ivory is the only one out of the group who has the talent to be a quality starter.  Of course, the big if with him is his staying healthy.  But with three RBs who can play in a rotation, Ivory's injury history was less risky.  IMO what has caused the real problem was Goodson.  If you had said that Idzik and the Jets didn't do a good enough job checking out Goodson's character, I would probably agree with you at least to some extent.  I'm not counting Ivory out yet.  It's still early in TC.  There will undoubtedly be some pretty good RBs who will be available later as camp cuts.  If it turns out that Ivory is never able to contribute much to the Jets, then yes it will have been a bad move, but imo it's way too early to say that.  The same thing goes for Goodson.  If he comes out of rehab and gets here in time for the season and turns in to a valuable player, then it will have been a good move, unless he gets in legal trouble again.  If he doesn't get to play because of legal troubles, then yes, it will have been a bad move.

 

Yes, Garrard was out of football, but which veteran QB would you have signed instead?  IMO you can't fairly say Garrard was a bad move unless you can point out someone better and healthier that they could have signed for about the same money.

 

Let me ask you this...Would they have been better moves if Idzik had signed healthier players,yet who weren't as good as Ivory and Garrard?

 

I may eventually agree with you, it's just that right now I think it is too early to judge, save for Garrard, and again, I don't know of any other veteran QB that was available that the Jets could have afforded or was worth bringing in.  If my memory is correct, most were pretty bad.

[bitonti]

 

Yes, Garrard was out of football, but which veteran QB would you have signed instead?  IMO you can't fairly say Garrard was a bad move unless you can point out someone better and healthier that they could have signed for about the same money. 

 

How about Matt Hasselbeck or Ryan Fitzpatrick. 

[JoeKlecko]

I wanted Jason Campbell. Or Matt Moore. I'd've settled for a Bruce Gradkowski. Garrard was going to potentially be a good choice if he was healthy (which he clearly wasn't), and even then, he was a risky pick for how long he'd been out of the league.

Seeing Geno right away is not necessarily a very good thing, which is why Idzik wanted to bring Garrard in in the first place.

 

Safety? TE? Hell, right now RB doesn't appear to've been addressed.

Idzik gets a massive incomplete from me right now. I liked his draft, which was patient and seemed to be value oriented straight down the line. That's good. His offseason moves, though, deserve some scrutiny. Ivory, Goodson, and Garrard were the three big moves for an offense that needed some big moves, and so far they don't look so hot. One is gone, another might be, and the third is riding a stationary bike. He went higher risk to keep costs down, but those risks haven't started to pay off yet.

I wasn't thrilled at all with the Ivory trade. I'll be interested to see the careers of Johnathan Franklin and Marcus Lattimore, two RBs taken in the fourth round by teams running offenses similar to the Jets. Just not a fan of trading picks for players, and with those previously mentioned limited resources, it makes the move more questionable. And the tender hamstring... ?

 

I would have liked to have added Jason Campbell too or even Bruce Gradkowski, but could the Jets have afforded either of those guys?  If they had, would they have been able to sign Colon, Peterman, Barnes?

 

I really liked Jonathan Franklin and would have been really happy if the Jets had drafted him, but I can understand Idzik wanting a veteran RB rather than a rookie.  Ivory has power and speed.  I don't think Franklin has the injury history Ivory has, but neither do I think he has the ceiling Ivory has if Ivory can find a way to stay healthy.  Talk about a health risk.  Marcus Lattimore has all kinds of talent, but he wouldn't have played a down this year, and who knows what kind of shape he'll be in next year?  If healthy, the Jets would have had to take him in the 1st round.  I would have loved to see a healthy Lattimore on the Jets, but taking Lattimore is almost as risky as getting Ivory was.

 

As far as S and TE go, we ALL knew that Idzik couldn't address every need/hole the team had in one season.  It was simply impossible with the limited cap space they had.  Which S or TE would you have signed, and who would you not have signed instead?

 

I understand giving an Idzik an incomplete on his FA moves.  He definitely rolled the dice, but again, I don't think he had a lot of options.  I'd like to see which FAs you would have brought in complete with $ amounts so that it's realistic.

[JoeKlecko]

How about Matt Hasselbeck or Ryan Fitzpatrick. 

Matt Hasselbeck is what, pushing 40 and how cheap was he?  No way on Ryan Fitzpatrick.  He's as bad as Sanchez.

[dbatesman]

The Garrard signing was a big-time whiff. Everything else Idzik has done has been fine.

[slats]

I would have liked to have added Jason Campbell too or even Bruce Gradkowski, but could the Jets have afforded either of those guys?  If they had, would they have been able to sign Colon, Peterman, Barnes?

 

I really liked Jonathan Franklin and would have been really happy if the Jets had drafted him, but I can understand Idzik wanting a veteran RB rather than a rookie.  Ivory has power and speed.  I don't think Franklin has the injury history Ivory has, but neither do I think he has the ceiling Ivory has if Ivory can find a way to stay healthy.  Talk about a health risk.  Marcus Lattimore has all kinds of talent, but he wouldn't have played a down this year, and who knows what kind of shape he'll be in next year?  If healthy, the Jets would have had to take him in the 1st round.  I would have loved to see a healthy Lattimore on the Jets, but taking Lattimore is almost as risky as getting Ivory was.

 

As far as S and TE go, we ALL knew that Idzik couldn't address every need/hole the team had in one season.  It was simply impossible with the limited cap space they had.  Which S or TE would you have signed, and who would you not have signed instead?

 

I understand giving an Idzik an incomplete on his FA moves.  He definitely rolled the dice, but again, I don't think he had a lot of options.  I'd like to see which FAs you would have brought in complete with $ amounts so that it's realistic.

Campbell signed for around $2M/year. So if the Jets don't trade for Ivory, he's very affordable, plus they have a fourth round pick that they could spend on Johnathan Franklin. And I'd've probably taken TE Luke Willson in the fifth over Aboushi. That's not hindsight, those are the moves I liked during the offseason at QB, and in real time during the draft. I might've taken TE Jordan Reed in the third instead of Winters, too.

You're right, you can't fill every hole. I'd've probably let safety for last, too, knowing in had a couple young guys to compete there. But I would've definitely drafted a TE at some point. It's a critical position in the WCO and for a young QB, and the Jets had a huge void there. Not the kind of position you skip over.

And I just don't like trading picks for players, especially RBs, who I see as very replaceable.

[JoeKlecko]

Campbell signed for around $2M/year. So if the Jets don't trade for Ivory, he's very affordable, plus they have a fourth round pick that they could spend on Johnathan Franklin. And I'd've probably taken TE Luke Willson in the fifth over Aboushi. That's not hindsight, those are the moves I liked during the offseason at QB, and in real time during the draft. I might've taken TE Jordan Reed in the third instead of Winters, too.

You're right, you can't fill every hole. I'd've probably let safety for last, too, knowing in had a couple young guys to compete there. But I would've definitely drafted a TE at some point. It's a critical position in the WCO and for a young QB, and the Jets had a huge void there. Not the kind of position you skip over.

And I just don't like trading picks for players, especially RBs, who I see as very replaceable.

 

Yes, after I did the research, I saw that Campbell signed for approx, $650k more per year ( 2-year deal) than Garrard. I agree, I would have made that signing instead of Garrard if I wanted a) to definitely replace Sanchez as starter, and had no plans to start Smith this year.  I could be wrong, but I think perhaps Idzik viewed Garrard as a better mentor, and it would have been easier to bench a 35 year-old QB in Garrard (or it been necessary due to an injury) than a younger QB in Campbell who might have been playing at a higher level. I definitely think Idzik envisioned Geno starting before the year was out.  I think he was counting on Garrard only to get them through the rough first half schedule and mentor Smith, then allowing Smith to take over unless Garrard was playing lights out and the team in the playoff hunt.  I had forgotten, but I think before Idzik was even hired, I wanted the Jets to sign Campbell to be the new starter if they could afford it.

 

It's hard to say what I would have done, but I probably would have opted for Franklin over Ivory unless I thought having a veteran starter was important.  If Geno was starting at QB, then I think the case for starting a veteran RB became stronger, but perhaps not critical, since it's pretty easy for rookies to step in and start at RB.  I can understand idzik's trading for Ivory however.  He has power and speed and is a playmaker, something we all have been saying the Jets desperately need on offense, and I'm not sure that Franklin has the playmaking potential that Ivory does.

 

Supposedly, Idzik drafted solely for BAP.  In the first 2 rounds that's readily apparent, but much less so from the 3rd round on.  From that point on, it seems he was focused on the OL, which was very important.  I can't argue with that at all.  I didn't know anything about Winters before the draft, but loved the pick after I read about him, and with Colon's injury history and Peterman's having such a bad year last year, I think drafting an OG was definitely in order.  I think I definitely would have tried to grab a TE somewhere, but in taking a TE, perhaps you have to forego Winters or Aboushi as you said.  That might have been a better choice, but perhaps the Jets had Aboushi rated much higher than any of the TEs left at that point.  More importantly, I think Idzik felt first and foremost that he had to stabilize the OL to protect Geno whenever he did take over, and that I wholeheartedly agree with.  I'd rather have him safe int he pocket and have lesser weapons at TE and RB than have better weapons there, but not be able to utilize them because Geno was flat on his back or running for his life on every other snap.

 

Where I definitely agree is I don't like trading draft picks away for any reason. If you are gonna trade one, however, Ivory seemed like a pretty good way to use one.  It's a big IF, but if he can get healthy and stay that way, he could do a lot for this team.