ESPN Grades the Offseason

[CrazyCarl40]

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/15492554/bill-barnwell-offseason-report-cards-buffalo-bills-miami-dolphins-new-england-patriots-new-york-jets

New York Jets

What went right

They didn't acquiesce to Ryan Fitzpatrick's demands. As badly as the Jets need a quarterback (and we'll get to that in a minute), it was never going to be a good idea to give a journeyman like Fitzpatrick an eight-figure salary after a career year at 33.

The Jets need Fitzpatrick, but Fitzpatrick also needs Brandon Marshall, Eric Decker and (in particular) offensive coordinator Chan Gailey to reproduce those numbers. There's a middle ground where a deal makes sense for both sides, but despite Fitzpatrick's public posturing, it's closer to the Jets' number than the one he might be looking for.

What went wrong

They still don't have a quarterback. Well, that sure wasn't a long list of things that went right. As much as the Jets shouldn't give in to what Fitzpatrick wants, they haven't been able to convince him to lower his demands and come back to town. In the meantime, the Jets lost out on Brian Hoyer, a comparable quarterback to Fitzpatrick who just signed a one-year, $2 million deal with the Bears.

The move they did make seems ill-fated. Christian Hackenberg is the exact sort of quarterback who teams overrate: a passer with prototypical size and arm strength who struggled with accuracy in college. As much as teams will point to his freshman tape with Bill O'Brien and Allen Robinson in town and suggest that Hackenberg was on pace to be a possible No. 1 pick, we now have twice as much evidence from the ensuing two seasons that he isn't a great quarterback.

The Jets might be able to turn him around if they give him the reps and he gets the sort of coaching he needs, but it's hard to think of a quarterback this inaccurate who has succeeded as an NFL passer in recent years.

They didn't solve the Muhammad Wilkerson problem. Despite hopes that they might be able to finagle a discount after their star defensive end broke his leg at the end of the season, the Jets franchised Wilkerson and haven't locked him up on a long-term extension. Despite suggestions that they would look to trade Wilkerson, no deal ever materialized. Wilkerson's $15.7 million cap hold has prevented the Jets from doing more in free agency, and with an even more untenable $18.8 million franchise tag looming for Wilkerson in 2017, it's hard to see Wilkerson sticking around past this year.

They used most of the money they had on ... running backs? WithChris Ivory and Bilal Powell forming a productive one-two punch at running back last year, Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan could have looked at his dangerous duo and remembered how cheaply they were acquired. Granted, they both arrived in town before Maccagnan, but Powell was a fourth-round pick and Ivory was acquired for a pick in the same round. Even in 2015, their combined cap hit was less than $5 million. That's a smart way to put together a running back duo.

Maccagnan couldn't afford to bring back Ivory, but let's give him credit for being smart enough to stay out of the running when the Jaguars offered the bruising back a five-year, $32 million deal. Ivory is talented, but he's best in a two-down role and has the sort of running style and body type that tends to age poorly. Ivory was a risk the Jets are better off not taking, given their cap situation.

The choices they made, though, seem ill-advised. Matt Forte does have the sort of running style and skill set that age well, but that aging might have already happened. Forte is already on the wrong side of 30, has more than 2,000 carries on his body and the Bears let him leave in free agency when they had more than $50 million in cap room and easily could have chosen to retain their longtime starter.

Forte's rushing average has dropped to an even 4 yards per carry over the past two years, down from 4.6 yards per attempt over the previous four-year span, while his role as a receiver declined dramatically. His three-year, $12 million deal might work out, but there's chance the Jets just gave $5 million guaranteed to a running back who ends being replacement-level next year.

 

Forte would make sense as the veteran receiving end of a platoon, similar to the role that somebody like ... well, Bilal Powell played for the Jets last year. The only problem is that the Jets re-signed Powell, too, giving him a three-year, $11.3 million deal. Maccagnan kept the deal cheap in 2016 out of their desperate financial straits, but the Jets will pay Forte and Powell nearly $10 million combined in cap hits the following year. They would probably be better off applying most of that money to a new deal for Wilkerson instead.

What's next

Sign Fitzpatrick. It's the obvious move for all parties involved.

Grade: D

[Fibonacci]

ESPN

What do they do right? Nothing.

Who do they employ? Idiots.

Any in depth sports analysis? No

Final Grade? F

 

Die ESPN die.

[nyjunc]

I think this offseason has been almost perfect outside of not having a resolution w/ Mo.  they have handled Fitz perfectly, made some nice low $ moves and hopefully this draft turns out to be a good one(too early to evaluate obviously).  

[Warfish]

38 minutes ago, CrazyCarl40 said:

What went wrong

They still don't have a quarterback.

Don't they know we have Geno Smith, and we're finally going to give him a "fair chance" and put "talent around him"?

What could go wrong, we're all set!

[drdetroit]

Same folks that gave Seattle a C- for drafting Richard Sherman in the fifth round in 2011

[JiFtheOracle]

I dont know how anyone could expect anything other than a terrible grade?   They did nothing to improve the team.

Signing RB's?  haha It's almost they expected to let Fitz walk and put a premium on the run game instead yet didnt get better upfront. 

They left Mo unsolved, they let Snacks go with no replacement, didnt address Qb, didnt address losing Cro, didnt address the OL other than signing an injury prone LT to replace a guy who never missed a snap, didnt address TE, didnt address anything really.

Oh well.  This season will be ugly but it's all good if they hit on the draft. 

 

[drdetroit]

1 minute ago, Warfish said:

Don't they know we have Geno Smith, and we're finally going to give him a "fair chance" and put "talent around him"?

What could go wrong, we're all set!

So we're supposed to give Fitz a $15 million per year contract because a career loser made of glass got $38 mil from Philly?

 

 

Hate on Geno all you want he's better than the scrubs available out there

[Larz]

I thought all they had to do was cut brick and it would be ok

Sent from my E6782 using Tapatalk

[drdetroit]

3 minutes ago, JiF said:

I dont know how anyone could expect anything other than a terrible grade?   They did nothing to improve the team.

Signing RB's?  haha It's almost they expected to let Fitz walk and put a premium on the run game instead yet didnt get better upfront. 

They left Mo unsolved, they let Snacks go with no replacement, didnt address Qb, didnt address losing Cro, didnt address the OL, didnt address TE, didnt address anything really.

Oh well.  This season will be ugly but it's all good if they hit on the draft. 

 

Considering the lack of cap space they did a good job.  Mo can be resigned or traded next year.

 

If your a Paxton Lynch-lover you hate our offseason.  I am not a fan of low rent Colin Kaepernick but I like getting younger and faster at LB

 

[JiFtheOracle]

2 minutes ago, drdetroit said:

Considering the lack of cap space they did a good job.  Mo can be resigned or traded next year.

 

If your a Paxton Lynch-lover you hate our offseason.  I am not a fan of low rent Colin Kaepernick but I like getting younger and faster at LB

 

I didnt expect much but if you're giving an objective grade than it's fair.  The team got worse, no? 

[Warfish]

11 minutes ago, drdetroit said:

So we're supposed to give Fitz a $15 million per year contract because a career loser made of glass got $38 mil from Philly?

Absolutely not.  

Why does criticism/doubt of one (Geno) require one to support a grotesque over-payment of the other (Fitz)?

You do know one can be displeased over both issues, right?  That Fitz won;t accept 8 million/year, and that because of that Geno is almost assuredly our starting QB in 2016.

11 minutes ago, drdetroit said:

Hate on Geno all you want he's better than the scrubs available out there

What you see as "hate", something personal and irrational, I see as rational observation/projection based on prior performance by the QB in question, decidedly impersonal.

[nyjunc]

4 minutes ago, JiF said:

I didnt expect much but if you're giving an objective grade than it's fair.  The team got worse, no? 

not really, too early to say that.  outside of Harrison and Brick(beyond our control) where have we really got worse?  we are as good or better at RB, better at WR(assuming Smith is healthy), better at TE w/ health of Amaro, OL is similar and maybe better depending upon health of LT.  DL got worse but it had too, we had a surplus of talent there, better at LB, similar in secondary.  Obviously the QB situation is unsettled but I still expect Fitz back.

[JiFtheOracle]

2 minutes ago, nyjunc said:

not really, too early to say that.  outside of Harrison and Brick(beyond our control) where have we really got worse?  we are as good or better at RB, better at WR(assuming Smith is healthy), better at TE w/ health of Amaro, OL is similar and maybe better depending upon health of LT.  DL got worse but it had too, we had a surplus of talent there, better at LB, similar in secondary.  Obviously the QB situation is unsettled but I still expect Fitz back.

That's fair though I think banking on Smith and Amaro are stretches.  If Deck or Marsh goes down, who's up?  They got rid or Kerley.  I think the loss of Snacks is big.  I think the loss of Brick is big because I have zero confidence in Clady even making it to the regular season.  Cro is addition by subtraction but it does leave some depth concerns IMO.

This year was all about the draft which is impossible to predict at this point.  If they hit, all is good.  If they miss (which this draft as a huge potential for) it's very bad for the future of this team.  It's nice to have new young LB'ers but to say they're adequate replacements is purely hope driven.

No QB in May hurts too.

Where they're going to get lift is, hopefully some of last years draft steps up and maybe they actually have a few starters out of this draft but it doesnt look like it right away.  We shall see. 

 

[Beerfish]

The grade is harsh but the unresolved problems are legit.  No QB, Hoyer signs on the cheap, I agree with the Hackenburg assessment.

[Integrity28]

30 minutes ago, nyjunc said:

I think this offseason has been almost perfect outside of not having a resolution w/ Mo.  they have handled Fitz perfectly, made some nice low $ moves and hopefully this draft turns out to be a good one(too early to evaluate obviously).  

Good post.

I also love that they rebuilt the entire RB corps on the cheap through FA. Smart economics there, the RB position is cheap. Pay them, draft the positions that command huge contracts.

[nyjunc]

Just now, JiF said:

That's fair though I think banking on Smith and Amaro are stretches.  If Deck or Marsh goes down, who's up?  They got rid or Kerley.  I think the loss of Snacks is big.  I think the loss of Brick is big because I have zero confidence in Clady even making it to the regular season.  Cro is addition by subtraction but it does leave some depth concerns IMO.

This year was all about the draft which is impossible to predict at this point.  If they hit, all is good.  If they miss (which this draft as a huge potential for) it's very bad for the future of this team.  It's nice to have new young LB'ers but to say they're adequate replacements is purely hope driven.

No QB in May hurts too.

Where they're going to get lift is, hopefully some of last years draft steps up and maybe they actually have a few starters out of this draft but it doesnt look like it right away.  We shall see. 

 

I wouldn't say we are banking on Smith or Amaro but anything we get out of them is a big positive.

if Decker or Marshall go down we cannot replace them- who could replace them? especially a guy like Marshall.

I am not worried about loss of Snacks even though he was an excellent, underrated player.  I am concerned about loss of Brick even though he was a declinging, overrated player at this stage of his career.

hopefully we hit on this draft, we'll see.

we didn't have Fitz last May either and I don't think he is the difference in making the playoffs or not, I don't think this is a playoff team either way but I hope I am wrong.

[Mainejet]

The author is 100% correct, but he's not telling all of the story either.

The fact is, that after this "D" graded offseason, the Jets are in for an awful season comprised of a lot of losing. They are simply not good enough to beat the teams on their schedule in 2016. The END result is a 6-10 season. In other words, our GM and HC SUCK at simultaneously filling holes and making the team better. After this season, there will be a LOT of fans questioning Mac's ability going forward.

[BurnleyJet]

I need to borrow a crystal ball. We don't know what we have outside Geno. We spent a 2nd on Hack.

It would be so Jets if he turned out to be a real QB. Like the RB additions, Peak and Anderson at WR, Love the punters. The LB upgrade on both picks and the FA signings.

Lets see if they can play?

[JiFtheOracle]

9 minutes ago, Integrity28 said:

Good post.

I also love that they rebuilt the entire RB corps on the cheap through FA. Smart economics there, the RB position is cheap. Pay them, draft the positions that command huge contracts.

How do you rebuild the entire RB core with a 30 RB, a one year signing and Khiry Robinson?  lol

That's a position they'll have to look at as soon as next season. 

[JiFtheOracle]

9 minutes ago, nyjunc said:

I wouldn't say we are banking on Smith or Amaro but anything we get out of them is a big positive.

if Decker or Marshall go down we cannot replace them- who could replace them? especially a guy like Marshall.

I am not worried about loss of Snacks even though he was an excellent, underrated player.  I am concerned about loss of Brick even though he was a declinging, overrated player at this stage of his career.

hopefully we hit on this draft, we'll see.

we didn't have Fitz last May either and I don't think he is the difference in making the playoffs or not, I don't think this is a playoff team either way but I hope I am wrong.

At the same level?  Nobody.  But they dont have a professional WR on the roster after them since they let Kerley go.

The rest is fair but again, it leaves a ton of questions.  Which is why I think a C, D, or F is fair. 

[Jetdawgg]

ESPN is still on air?

[nyjunc]

14 minutes ago, JiF said:

At the same level?  Nobody.  But they dont have a professional WR on the roster after them since they let Kerley go.

The rest is fair but again, it leaves a ton of questions.  Which is why I think a C, D, or F is fair. 

I like our WR corps, I think it is as good or better than any we have had in my decades of watching this team.  if decker or Marshall go down long term it will kill us but remember we have a great receiving option out of the backfield in Forte which we didn't have and Powell can catch passes too.   I don't think we will rely on those  as much as we did last year.

[Jet Fan RI]

1 hour ago, Fibonacci said:

ESPN

What do they do right? Nothing.

Who do they employ? Idiots.

Any in depth sports analysis? No

Final Grade? F

 

Die ESPN die.

Couldn't agree more. One reason I've stopped visiting espn.com and instead go to the cbs sports site.

[TheMagicRat]

Ndamukong Suh and Ryan Tannehill extension give Dolphins top offseason grade

Jun 19, 2015

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  James WalkerESPN Staff Writer

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With offseason workouts and minicamps in the rearview mirror and training camps just a few weeks away, we assess the Miami Dolphins' offseason moves and assign a letter grade in the video above.

Best move: Is there any debate on Miami's best move? The Dolphins landed the biggest catch in the free-agent market by signing Pro Bowl defensive tackleNdamukong Suh to a $114 million contract, which is an NFL record for a defensive player. Miami broke the bank for Suh. But the Dolphins landed a dominant defensive tackle in his prime and a new anchor of their front seven. Suh has been impressive and disruptive in offseason practices. He has a very good first step combined with the strength to penetrate the offensive line. An underrated aspect of Suh's game is the ability to make others around him better. Players such as Pro Bowl defensive end Cameron Wake and Miami's linebackers should benefit from Suh's presence in the middle of Miami’s defense.

Riskiest move: The Dolphins’ riskiest move this offseason is not solidifying the guard position. Miami has two major question marks at guard. Unproven linemen Dallas Thomas and Billy Turner began the offseason as early favorites to start. However, the positions remain wide open. Miami signed part-time starter Jeff Linkenbach in free agency and drafted Jamil Douglas to add competition. Eventually, the Dolphins must choose between two of these four players. There is a chance the Dolphins could pursue Pro Bowl guard Evan Mathis, who was recently released by the Philadelphia Eagles. But Mathis is looking for a sizable, multiyear contract that likely is too rich for the Dolphins, who already spent plenty of money this offseason.

In-house business: The Dolphins didn’t just focus on outside additions. Miami also took care of major in-house business with its star players. The Dolphins made a shrewd move to quickly sign quarterback Ryan Tannehill to a $96 million contract extension. Miami was the first team to extend its quarterback from the 2012 class and kept Tannehill under the $100 million threshold. Waiting until fellow Class of 2012 quarterbacks Andrew Luck andRussell Wilson likely get their extensions would have only raised Tannehill's price tag. The signing signifies that the Dolphins are Tannehill's team. Miami also made a big move on its offensive line by signing Pro Bowl center Mike Pouncey to a $52.15 million extension. Tannehill and Pouncey are two franchise building blocks in Miami for years to come.

Training camp outlook: The Dolphins are in very good standing heading into training camp. By all accounts, the offseason program was a success and, most importantly, the Dolphins avoided any major injuries that could cost them in the regular season. I've covered Miami and the AFC East division since 2011, and this is the most optimistic I’ve seen Dolphins players and coaches entering a season. There is a quiet confidence about this group knowing it has the most talent, on paper, that it has had in several years. The key between now and September is for Miami to make sure its "paper" talent translates well on the field.

[Augustiniak]

the guy went to northeastern, he's probably from boston and a huge patriots fan.

[Jet Nut]

Let's face it the Jets whole offseason grade is going to be decided by the writers opinion of Hackenberg.  If you look at Hackenberg and overthink his completion percentage numbers, you'll hate him and therefore hate the Jets offseason.  

Completing a few more passes, getting rid of the countless drops his shltty WRs contributed with, shoring up his OL, he goes from inaccurate to accurate. It's a pretty fine line but some keep rolling with he's inaccurate and that's that, why? 

I get its an unknown, but really there should be a way to hedge bets on the score if the Jets know more about QBs than an ESPN writer piling on with the Hackenberg criticism. 

[Rangers9]

They are cash strapped with the cap because of bad contracts. So if there were mistakes it was done last off season esp the re-signing of Revis. I don't see anything done drastically wrong unless they fail to sign Fitz. That could be the game changer. Good franchises don't lose their starting Qbs it just isn't done. You can rip him apart but it's just plain stupid to say the team isn't better with Fitz than they were before he came aboard. But I think Mac is smarter than this plus he knows what he's dealing with. Already fans are complaining about him because they don't like something he did or a player he drafted. They think they know more than he does. Yeah, right.

[dbatesman]

this Dumbass doesnt know football, Macca is leading us to the promise land aka SUPER BOWL

[chirorob]

1 hour ago, drdetroit said:

So we're supposed to give Fitz a $15 million per year contract because a career loser made of glass got $38 mil from Philly?

Hate on Geno all you want he's better than the scrubs available out there

I'll take Geno over Hoyer

[Rangers9]

Look Mac didn't ignore the Wilk situation. He franchise tagged him which was probably the only smart thing to do at this time. 

[Integrity28]

46 minutes ago, JiF said:

How do you rebuild the entire RB core with a 30 RB, a one year signing and Khiry Robinson?  lol

That's a position they'll have to look at as soon as next season. 

Are all 3 of them playing this year? 

From an economics standpoint, it still makes more sense to sign 3 established RBs and pay them collectively what they are getting for 1 year... than it does to pay one FA CB the inflated $14mil or whatever they commanded this year.

Even if you "rebuild" RB each year or two on short-term contracts for veterans, your money goes much, much further. It also leaves your draft picks to be spent on higher priced positions like CB, WR, etc.

You may not love the approach, but the economics of it are inarguable.

[Augustiniak]

1 minute ago, Integrity28 said:

Are all 3 of them playing this year? 

From an economics standpoint, it still makes more sense to sign 3 established RBs and pay them collectively what they are getting for 1 year... than it does to pay one FA CB the inflated $14mil or whatever they commanded this year.

Even if you "rebuild" RB each year or two on short-term contracts for veterans, your money goes much, much further. It also leaves your draft picks to be spent on higher priced positions like CB, WR, etc.

You may not love the approach, but the economics of it are inarguable.

next offseason the focus will probably be OL and wr/te.  this assumes they're not in the market for a qb in the draft again.  hopefully next offseason will be the start of mccags' system working where the guys he brought in are producing so he doesn't have that many needs every year.

[Jet Nut]

34 minutes ago, Rangers9 said:

They are cash strapped with the cap because of bad contracts. So if there were mistakes it was done last off season esp the re-signing of Revis. I don't see anything done drastically wrong unless they fail to sign Fitz. That could be the game changer. Good franchises don't lose their starting Qbs it just isn't done. You can rip him apart but it's just plain stupid to say the team isn't better with Fitz than they were before he came aboard. But I think Mac is smarter than this plus he knows what he's dealing with. Already fans are complaining about him because they don't like something he did or a player he drafted. They think they know more than he does. Yeah, right.

Its not bad contracts.

Stop already, the team went from 4 wins to 10.  When the excitement of a playoff push and winning streak was going on the contracts were great and getting results.  Now a year later when the excitement of a year ago is gone the internet GMs come out complaining about contracts.  

 

[BowlesMovement]

36 minutes ago, dbatesman said:

this Dumbass doesnt know football, Macca is leading us to the promise land aka SUPER BOWL

Is this what your super special high powered math is projecting? Is Mac a fast twitch or slow twitch guy? What was Idzik?

[mphtrilogy]

This article seems written by a guy who's just reading the bleacher report headlines.

barnwell is not a jet hater like the Walter football guy is, but he is a ne fan, and this is a hack piece.

 

the team was cash strapped and within budget added a dynamic runner in forte who has plenty of tread on the tires left imho, resigned Powell which I thought was huge since he looks like it has clicked for him, and played really well last season, replaced ivory with khiry Robinson who is another tough inside runner, all rbs together close to the price of ivory.  I like those rb moves

i don't think they were caught off guard by brick, but the clady move was a nice recovery and salvaged the left tackle position.  Would have been nice to have moved up for Tunsil, but Mac stuck to his price point.  I think they overpaid for shell, but what do I know.. At least they added another olineman to develop.

 

Bowles said at the end of last year the team needed to get faster, seems like they did that at the lb core, so imho that was mission accomplished.  The d should be solid again, and even a little more dynamic which should be fun to watch.  Now Bowles can really blitz at will and cover the shifty slot wrs ...

 The hack thing, why does everyone ignore the coaching change and the lack of top college talent around him.  I trust our scout gm on this one, and also can't blame him for towing the line on fitz.  Hoyer? Pulease.. That playoff game was so bad, I don't know how any team could sign him as anything but a backup.  

 

You have to keep drafting a qb until you hit one, and i expect him too draft another one next year if hack looks like a bust, you gotta do it.

 

would have liked to add a tight end, and more o line and a d l ineman in the draft, but I would at considering the draft and free agent resources at hand, it has been a B+ off season.