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John Idzik boxes himself into a cornerback


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http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/jets/post/_/id/36721/idzik-boxes-himself-into-a-cornerback

 


DRC picks the New York Giants over the New York Jets, and suddenly you get the feeling that Jets fans are ready to go "DNR." Relax, it's only March 17, too early to panic.

But not too early to be concerned.

Rex Ryan needs cornerbacks to operate his man-to-man defensive system, just like human beings need water to survive, and the Jets are perilously thin after losing Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie to the Giants. It was their toughest loss to the Giants since Dec. 24, 2011. The DRC snub came after (in chronological order): They released Antonio Cromartie, failed to lure Vontae Davis away from the Indianapolis Colts and watched with indifference as Darrelle Revis joined forces with the gray hoodie in New England.

Now, suddenly, there's a hysterical over-reaction, with some people floating the conspiracy theory that Jets general manager John Idzik is sabotaging Ryan because he never wanted to extend his contract in the first place and wants to fire him after the 2014 season. That's ridiculous. Idzik is operating from a long-term plan, and he refuses to deviate from the script. He won't be swayed by the fickle nature of the free-agent market and the whims of his fan base.
 

That's admirable, of course, but here's the thing: Idzik has boxed himself into a corner (no pun intended). If he doesn't re-sign Cromartie, what then? The free-agent market is barren. With no Cromartie, he'd have to swing a trade for a proven starter -- like former GM Mike Tannenbaum did in 2010 with Cromartie -- or be held hostage by the draft, praying he can land Oklahoma State's Justin Gilbert or Michigan State's Darqueze Dennard with the 18th pick.

Praying is never a good way to approach a draft. It leads to reaches and mistakes.

Idzik's lack of aggressiveness has fueled frustration at One Jets Drive, a potentially troubling issue that outweighs what the fans or media think. Ryan wasn't happy about losing Rodgers-Cromartie, and he wasn't the only one. The feeling is understandable.

"I'm not sure if it's stupidity or calculated," a person familiar with Ryan's thinking said. "But neither helps the Jets."

The Jets began free agency with nearly $40 million in cap space, leading many to believe they'd be plugging holes on an 8-8 roster that overachieved. After a week, what do they have to show for the cap surplus? They re-signed a handful of middle- to bottom-of-the-roster players and added two starters from other teams, wide receiver Eric Decker and right tackle Breno Giacomini. Decker is part of the solution, but he's not a difference-maker. He's a more expensive version of Brian Hartline. They saved a few bucks on the right-tackle swap, but Giacomini-for-Austin Howard is a wash in terms of playing ability.

Now they're staring at a crater-sized hole at cornerback. The Jets made an offer for Rodgers-Cromartie, but they let him out of the building and now he's wearing Big Blue. This will be his fourth team in seven years -- red flags, anyone? -- but he was regarded as the best-available corner in free agency. The Giants got him for five years, $35 million, including $15 million in guarantees -- basically, a Decker-type deal.

"Yeah, I think he screwed up," a longtime front-office executive said of Idzik.

Idzik can save face if he re-signs Cromartie, who has told friends he wants to return. Obviously, it would be for less than he his previous contract, although his leverage improved with Monday's DRC news. A Cromartie-Dee Milliner tandem would be fine, assuming Cromartie's balky hip has healed and Milliner improves in his second year. If Cromartie signs elsewhere, it'll be an egg-on-the-face moment for Idzik.

The GM's job is to get players for his coach. In Ryan's case, he needs cornerbacks. Do you see the Jets' secondary last season?

That said, no GM should be graded after only a week of free agency. Let the man execute his plan, which is based on the upcoming, talent-rich draft -- a draft in which the Jets could have as many as 12 selections. It doesn't matter if the Jets win March. They've done that plenty of times in the past, and where did that get them?

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That said, no GM should be graded after only a week of free agency. Let the man execute his plan, which is based on the upcoming, talent-rich draft -- a draft in which the Jets could have as many as 12 selections. It doesn't matter if the Jets win March. They've done that plenty of times in the past, and where did that get them?

 

This is the only part of that article really worth reading, but that's probably the only part of the article you didn't read.

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While it's a position that still likely needs to be further addressed, the bold really sums it all up regarding the point that has been repeatedly made to all of the chicken littles around here for the past week.  There are two players who the Jets showed interest in at the position who signed elsewhere, with them clearly being far more interested in Davis than they ever were DRC, who they had never even bothered with for days.  The rest of those guys they were never even connected to, so we'll see have to see where it goes from here.

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They're also white.

 

I always thought Hartline had a mixed ethnicity, didn't know he was white until a year or so ago. Regardless, while I think Decker is the superior player, I think Hartline gets a bad rap as he has quietly put up two straight 1000+ yard seasons. If Decker can give us 1000+ and be a target in the red-zone, we definitely got our money's worth.

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While it's a position that still likely needs to be further addressed, the bold really sums it all up regarding the point that has been repeatedly made to all of the chicken littles around here for the past week. There are two players who the Jets showed interest in at the position who signed elsewhere, with them clearly being far more interested in Davis than they ever were DRC, who they had never even bothered with for days. The rest of those guys they were never even connected to, so we'll see have to see where it goes from here.

Reads like a shot at Manish

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http://turnonthejets.com/2014/03/patience-jets-fans-cant-grade-john-idzik-yet/

 

 

You are a New York Jets fan, and you have been for some time. Youare  used to seeing the team suffer heartbreak. Then, Rex Ryan and Mike Tannenbaum came to Florham Park and changed expectations. For once, it was expected that the Jets, behind an “ancient” philosophy of playing great defense and being able to run the ball, would compete for a Super Bowl…coming one win away from the big game back to back years only fueled that excitement.

 

The last three seasons have seen the Jets miss out on the playoffs despite being in contention every year Rex has been here. Tannenbaum butchered the salary cap, and now former Seahawks executive John Idzik was brought in to clean it up. Jets fans were excited because this was a change from a “shop till you drop” philosophy to a more measured approach that could potentially lead to sustainable contention. The belief was that, if Idzik could clean up the cap mess, the Jets could finally field a consistently successful team.

Idzik has spent the last year, in what was once described as a job that “couldn’t be given away”, doing exactly that. He traded franchise player Darrelle Revis for a first round pick (that became Defensive Rookie of The Year Sheldon Richardson) and what is now a 4th round pick. In a deep draft class, the Jets have a chance to draft as many as 12 potentially good players. Idzik wasn’t paying Revis $16M per season, especially when Ryan’s defense still finished number one in passing defense without Revis for most of the season. It was a business move, for sure, but here was Idzik showing faith in his head coach’s defensive acumen. Idzik believed that the Jets, and Rex’s defense, could survive without Revis. Gone are Santonio Holmes and Antonio Cromartie. Mark Sanchez, most likely, will follow shortly.

This cleared up a ridiculous amount of cap space. Yet, fans want to question why Idzik hasn’t spent money freely. In fact, they wanna know why Idzik won’t spend like Tannenbaum. This is made worse when players the Jets were “in” on sign elsewhere.

Revis, after being released and playing the media game perfectly, signed with the Patriots for $12M per season. Jets fans were outraged: why didn’t Idzik make an offer? How could he let Revis sign with the Pats? I admit I fell for it too. Brandon Pettigrew and Emmanuel Sanders sign elsewhere and Idzik gets bashed. One CB after another signs, and Jets fans wonder if Idzik knows what he’s doing.

It seems that he does. In the last year, he traded a 4th round pick for a feature running back and signed him to a 3 year/$6M deal. For comparisons sake, the Browns just paid Ben Tate $3.5M per season and the Colts traded a first round pick for Trent Richardson. He signed David Nelson, who was a contributor his first season. He, also, signed Mike Goodson who brought a different dimension to the Jets offense before tearing his ACL. Greg Salas and Zach Sudfeld were, also, quality additions that bolstered the depth of the roster. Willie Colon brought a nastiness to the Jets line, and he could be back with the team. He drafted Dee Milliner who, after turning a corner in Week 9, finished strong and looks ready to take that next step. He drafted Brian Winters, who ended the season on a high note as well. Then, he added his potential franchise quarterback (Geno Smith) with a second round pick and a defensive cornerstone in the aforementioned Richardson. Fans seemingly forget this because they want Idzik to spend.

Then, Idzik signs the top offensive free agent in wide receiver Eric Decker for a contract less than what everyone speculated. He arguably upgrades the RT position for half the price. Idzik, also, seems like he wants to make sure there’s enough cap space going forward to pay the Jets’ own players, like Muhammad Wilkerson and Jeremy Kerley. He’s already resigned Nick Folk, Leger Douzable, Jeff Cumberland, Darrin Walls and Ellis Lankster. Yet, there’s still panic.

New York Jets fans, breathe. I know that part of our fandom forces us to play armchair GM. This isn’t Madden, where you can sign everyone and not even worry about next season cause you can restart your franchise. There hasn’t been one move yet that Idzik has made that hasn’t been done diligently. Don’t fall into the trap of reading reports with anonymous sources, because Idzik operates in the Florham Fortress. No leaks spring from there. It’s March 16th. No Super Bowl was ever won by the team that won free agency. You can’t grade Idzik’s moves yet because he’s not done working.

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They're also white.

 

You know, some of us are above seeing such silly little things as skin color.  Maybe you should learn to be a little more like that.

 

That said, I do think that Decker and Hartline do have a little something in common, I just can't quite put my finger on it.  It's just one of those special qualities that is hard to really define.  Just one of those "It" factors.  The same kind of thing you see in guys like Wes Welker, Danny Amendola, Julian Edelman, Jordy Nelson, Jordan Shipley, and Riley Cooper... just to name a few.

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You know, some of us are above seeing such silly little things as skin color. Maybe you should learn to be a little more like that.

That said, I do think that Decker and Hartline do have a little something in common, I just can't quite put my finger on it. It's just one of those special qualities that is hard to really define. Just one of those "It" factors. The same kind of thing you see in guys like Wes Welker, Danny Amendola, Julian Edelman, Jordy Nelson, Jordan Shipley, and Riley Cooper... just to name a few.

That's awesome

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Cromartie was one of the worst rated corners last season.  Looking at PFF he was behind Johnny Patrick and Lankster.  He was actually ahead of a couple of guys I heard moans about us not signing, Cortland Finegan and Tracy Porter.  Interesting thing to me in their rankings was that Vontae Davis had a 98 QB rating against, Talib was in the negative and Revis was head and shoulders the best.  Terrell Thomas is still kicking around.  What I remember about him is that he was good or injured.  The kind of guy I'd consider, but he wasn't too hot last season and is getting a little old. 

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So when the JETS sign the #1 WR available in free agency this is the response.

 


http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/jets/post/_/id/36721/idzik-boxes-himself-into-a-cornerback

 

Quote:

 

Decker is part of the solution, but he's not a difference-maker. He's a more expensive version of Brian Hartline.

 

But when we don't sign the guy who we were not even interested in to begin with and who has been plagued by inconsistent play and is injury prone the response is

 

http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/jets/post/_/id/36721/idzik-boxes-himself-into-a-cornerback

 

Quote:

 

Now they're staring at a crater-sized hole at cornerback. The Jets made an offer for Rodgers-Cromartie, but they let him out of the building

 

I wonder what the response would be if we signed this guy. I think it would along the lines off  "In a move reeking of desperation the JETS sign a guy who is not as good as Revis for a long term deal. Idzik caves when he could have waited for draft day with all the picks the JETS have"

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So when the JETS sign the #1 WR available in free agency this is the response.

 

 

But when we don't sign the guy who we were not even interested in to begin with and who has been plagued by inconsistent play and is injury prone the response is

 

 

I wonder what the response would be if we signed this guy. I think it would along the lines off  "In a move reeking of desperation the JETS sign a guy who is not as good as Revis for a long term deal. Idzik caves when he could have waited for draft day with all the picks the JETS have"

 

LOL, you're probably right on that!

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i am not going to lose any sleep at all over not signing DRC. what is concerning is that once again, idzik could not close the deal. but whatever. i don't think the jets have a real interest in Antonio cromartie. idzik tried to sign not 1 but 2 different cb's & flirted with a 3rd. i think if the jets believed that his hip wasn't a problem, they still might have went after davis, but i don't think they would have went after drc.. when healthy Antonio is the truth, DRC is not. just my thoughts

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It's easy to bash Idzik for not signing DRC but who knows how that signing will pan out for the Giants. It conceivably could be a great thing we didn't get DRC.

It doesn't matter. The new breed forgot Tanny and think we're the Yankees. They dont care or understand how a salary cap works. Losing a JAG like Austin Howard to them was tantamount to treason and Idzik will hang

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While it's a position that still likely needs to be further addressed, the bold really sums it all up regarding the point that has been repeatedly made to all of the chicken littles around here for the past week.  There are two players who the Jets showed interest in at the position who signed elsewhere, with them clearly being far more interested in Davis than they ever were DRC, who they had never even bothered with for days.  The rest of those guys they were never even connected to, so we'll see have to see where it goes from here.

So we should be surprised that Idzik offered DRC a prove-it contract after the guy sucked for years and played hard in his walk year?  Cannot wait to see DRC get toasted this year with his guaranteed money salted away.  Maybe he plays hard Year Two before they cut him.

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"I'm not sure if it's stupidity or calculated," a person familiar with Ryan's thinking said. "But neither helps the Jets."

This is my favorite source: he got someone familiar with Ryan's thinking (dear Abby?) to comment on Idzik's dealing with Rog- Cro - unbelievable.

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Rumors are that Rex is PISSED.

Idzk is trying to get Rex fired.

Yeah....this is a man who wants Rex fired. Do you all forget the end of year speech Idzik gave in front of the team and Rex. Idzik and Ryan are in it together - Ryan is learning - there is no more $10 million stop gap players anymore. Rex will make this secondary work - just watch. When you don't have FA security blankets you coach your ass off and use the talent you have.
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