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Shocking, An Article From Mehta That's Not Childish!!!


KRL

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1 hour ago, KRL said:

An actual informative football article from Mehta:

Yeah it only takes for him to get a scout who knows his ass is fired right after the draft basically to spoon feed him Joe Douglas’ whole playbook for all to see, this might be the biggest scumbag article MM ever written though I can’t fault him for it in the world we live in today I more fault the scout for being so unprofessional.

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8 minutes ago, FidelioJet said:

It’s a puff piece.

He must want something from Douglas.

There is nothing in this thats a puff piece.  Its a piece on how JDs system works.

And is a really interesting insight to how JD runs his office

I know, its wrong and Jets fans are over enthused with the guy.

Oh and the team is worse off in every way.  

And Perriman, Fant and whoever all suck

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1 minute ago, Jet Nut said:

There is nothing in this thats a puff piece.  Its a piece on how JDs system works.

And is a really interesting insight to how JD runs his office

I know, its wrong and Jets fans are over enthused with the guy.

Oh and the team is worse off in every way.  

And Perriman, Fant and whoever all suck

Come on....

“He is a careful, patient soul with a singular purpose to pull a wayward outfit back from the margins”

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1 minute ago, FidelioJet said:

Come on....

“He is a careful, patient soul with a singular purpose to pull a wayward outfit back from the margins”

Oh come on, thats the defining line of the article?

Careful and patient is puff?

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Seems to me this approach works if you're the Ravens and are able to keep the same coach for 10+ years.  If your coach bombs then you either have to restrict your search for a new coach for one with similar schemes or you will need to change over the majority of your roster.  

I would be fine with Harbaugh as my coach, not so much with Gase.

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1 minute ago, BettyBoop said:

Seems to me this approach works if you're the Ravens and are able to keep the same coach for 10+ years.  If your coach bombs then you either have to restrict your search for a new coach for one with similar schemes or you will need to change over the majority of your roster.  

I would be fine with Harbaugh as my coach, not so much with Gase.

Yeah, but when it comes time to hire a new coach, I'd be looking for the guy who can make chicken salad out of chicken ****, and not a guy who's going to demand yet another complete roster overhaul. 

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The emphasis on fit for scheme in the evaluations is very interesting. I get the feeling that this will lead to OTs like Josh Jones or Ezra Cleveland being valued more than guys like Andrew Thomas or Becton. 

Gase's history indicates he likes smaller, quicker WRs too - potentially putting guys like Ruggs, Reagor and Hamler higher up the Jets' board.

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27 minutes ago, BettyBoop said:

Seems to me this approach works if you're the Ravens and are able to keep the same coach for 10+ years.  If your coach bombs then you either have to restrict your search for a new coach for one with similar schemes or you will need to change over the majority of your roster.  

I would be fine with Harbaugh as my coach, not so much with Gase.

But you can say this about any GM drafting for a HC.  This system doesnt add changes to the idea that GMs keep in mind the type of system a HC implements

Thats the part that suck when you have to change a HC.  Is the same no matter the grading system

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Not happy to hear this.

Time will tell and he can hardly be worse than McCagnan but as some have speculated he is drafting purely for system.

Has grades for only 150 players?

People better be prepared for this team to pass on a whole lot of players they think are good for lesser players in their mind.

 

 

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44 minutes ago, slats said:

I've been saying for awhile now, that while we're all talking about the top 4 OTs or the top 3 WRs, that Joe D and the Jets could have them ranked much differently. 

Be prepared for the usual first round groans: how could he pass on Player X, who I love, for this guy? 

The knives are all ready out and waiting!!

knife GIFraul julia GIFknife throwing bravest of 2015 GIF by Digg

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1 hour ago, Doggin94it said:

I'm simultaneously astounded and completely unsurprised that "fit on the team" is a new concept in Jets draft grading. It's absence is how we ended up with Leo and Quinnen

No that is positional value and player value not fit the system value.

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42 minutes ago, mrcoops said:

The emphasis on fit for scheme in the evaluations is very interesting. I get the feeling that this will lead to OTs like Josh Jones or Ezra Cleveland being valued more than guys like Andrew Thomas or Becton. 

I hear this a lot. Are Josh Jones and Ezra Cleveland that much more athletic (and long) than a more proven name like Andrew Thomas? How exactly are they better fits than Thomas?

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33 minutes ago, Beerfish said:

Not happy to hear this.

Time will tell and he can hardly be worse than McCagnan but as some have speculated he is drafting purely for system.

Has grades for only 150 players?

People better be prepared for this team to pass on a whole lot of players they think are good for lesser players in their mind.

 

 

Yeah, Joe Douglas should have given you a call. He really needs to get with your program.

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42 minutes ago, Beerfish said:

Not happy to hear this.

Time will tell and he can hardly be worse than McCagnan but as some have speculated he is drafting purely for system.

Has grades for only 150 players?

People better be prepared for this team to pass on a whole lot of players they think are good for lesser players in their mind.

 

That you actually believe GMs draft players that might not fit their HCs system is kind of alarming.

And why should we "be prepared for this team to pass on a whole lot of players they think are good for lesser players in their minds"?  

 

 

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46 minutes ago, Beerfish said:

Not happy to hear this.

Time will tell and he can hardly be worse than McCagnan but as some have speculated he is drafting purely for system.

Has grades for only 150 players?

People better be prepared for this team to pass on a whole lot of players they think are good for lesser players in their mind.

 

 

I don't think you understand marginal value

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1 hour ago, Lupz27 said:

Yeah it only takes for him to get a scout who knows his ass is fired right after the draft basically to spoon feed him Joe Douglas’ whole playbook for all to see, this might be the biggest scumbag article MM ever written though I can’t fault him for it in the world we live in today I more fault the scout for being so unprofessional.

Playbook?  I think this is the same grading system used by the nfl.com draft profiles.  It shouldn't be a newsflash to anybody.

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Maybe teams like the Eagles are over complicating matters with their investments into analytics etc. But while this is a nice article and it seems Douglas values guys who like football/coachable... the concern still stands that the Jets will never dedicate the resources to truly build a sophisticated personnel eval team. The owners want to be too involved.

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Another inference from this article is that standard mock drafting where you pick the best guy at his position from a general point of view (without consideration of actual fit or knowledge of a coach's scheme) is an utter waste of time. It also explains why when we watch the draft, we scratch our heads at so many picks because they don't fit the ranking charts that have been pushed by media sources. Those lists are generic and vague frames of references at best.

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2 hours ago, KRL said:

An actual informative football article from Mehta:

 

https://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jets/ny-joe-douglas-draft-scouts-evaluating-roster-grading-20200407-lo6l56dqjnesndljbhvs6wlani-story.html

 

He had just landed the job of a lifetime when the thought surely crossed his mind last summer: We all have to speak the same language.

Jets general manager Joe Douglas has a massive undertaking to re-chart a course for an embattled franchise. He is a careful, patient soul with a singular purpose to pull a wayward outfit back from the margins. He is devoid of glitz and glamour, a slow-and-steady-wins-the-race kind of guy, who knows exactly what is required to reach the NFL mountaintop.

Douglas’ biggest challenge after taking over for Mike Maccagnan 10 months ago was aligning the organization’s vision. How could he teach the same people how to analyze the same problems in a different way? What could he impart to make a tangible difference?

Joe Douglas has overhauled the manner in which Jets scouts evaluate talent.(Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

Coronavirus restrictions have prompted the NFL to turn the 2020 draft into a virtual experience with team decision-makers selecting players from home. The cancelation of most pro days and workouts will put a premium on the Jets’ year-long evaluations and reveal how successful Douglas was with implementing a new scouting philosophy and grading system.

Sixteen of the 20 people tasked to evaluate college prospects are carryovers from previous Jets regimes, but they’ve been taught to find solutions in a different way.

Douglas drew praise from former and current employees and co-workers, who spoke to the Daily News, for his ability to master an adopted draft grading system. He knows it like the back of his hand. Douglas’ charge was teaching his new colleagues to evaluate through a different lens.

“He knows this scale inside and out,” said one colleague. “He’s really good about placing guys in it. He understands roles and value. He’s a really good evaluator.”

Imparting his wisdom was pivotal.

The Cleveland Browns model

Douglas’ core scouting beliefs stem from the old Cleveland Browns draft model that places a premium on a prospect’s specific value and role for his team’s current offensive/defensive systems.

While Maccagnan implemented a round-specific scale, Douglas’ grades are based on how a player fits into his coaches’ schemes.

Embracing a role-specific focus was the biggest adjustment for Jets scouts, who had become accustomed to rate and review players before determining which round should be attached to the evaluation. Douglas’ system does not make any such conclusions. So, they no longer scout a player as a “first-round talent,” for example.

Douglas, who was introduced to the system 20 years ago as a Ravens scout, laid the groundwork for his scale last summer, making sure that every Jets talent evaluator not only understood the tenets of the new system, but was aligned on how best to approach college coaches/NFL liaisons during scouting trips to maximize the type of information that mattered most for the Jets.

Besides, there was no real value for an area scout to claim that a cornerback was a “second-round talent” without a firm handle on how the position looked nationwide. Once scouts purged the round mentality from their minds, they could be freed to truly dissect how valuable a player could be in the Jets offense or defense.

What role would he fill?

A more streamlined approach

The Jets’ new grading scale technically maxes out at 8.0, but it’s highly unusual for a prospect to ultimately earn that score. In fact, none of the evaluators who spoke to the News recalled anyone receiving that mark. For all intents and purposes, a 7.0 is the gold star in this scale.

Here are the five tiers of the grading scale that differentiate whether the prospect is a starter, backup or just a warm body:

Day 1 starter

Starting-caliber player with limitations (that might or might not be correctable)

Role player (aka — spot starter or significant contributor in sub packages)

Low-level roster player and/or practice squad

Training camp/preseason roster filler (aka — Camp body)

A 7.0 is reserved for elite Day 1 starters. The rest of the prospects are graded on what scouts believe the player will ultimately become in 2-3 years. It’s essentially a weighted score.

Most Day 1 prospects earn 6.7s. Although they’re penciled in as Day 1 starters, they still need to make improvements (like strength or technique) to realize their full potential.

Players that score a 6.1, 6.3, or 6.5 are typically taken in the Top 100 (aka — premium players).

Any prospect with a 5.8 or above grade is considered draftable. A 5.6 or 5.7 player would fall under the practice squad/training camp body category.

The numerical grades come with “alerts” or “types” to highlight potential hurdles.

A “Z” alert, for example, signifies an undersized prospect. So, a “6.7 Z” identifies an undersized starting-caliber talent. A “T” alert means that a player offers special teams value in addition to his offensive/defensive position.

A “M” type signifies a mental alert if a team has concerns about whether a prospect will be able to grasp nuances of the scheme. Can he learn what is being taught?

Character, or a "C" alert, plays an important — and sometimes nebulous –— role in the grading scale. A “C” alert could have multiple layers that play a part in the overall grade. Character matters, but there are always exceptions and amendments if the value becomes too great. It’s not as if Douglas only drafts choir boys.

The new model is much more targeted to your team’s makeup. Douglas has a clear sense of what he’s looking for, so expect the Jets draft board to be around 150 players. Maccagnan’s boards that he kept close to the vest (on his laptop) were anywhere from 300-350.

Some people felt the large number was simply window dressing, while others rationalized that Maccagnan didn’t have a firm handle of precisely what he wanted.

His successor will have a more streamlined approach.

Everyone has a voice

Douglas has contractual control of the 53-man roster, but he’s hardly an autocrat.

Part of his gift is making sure everyone is heard during this critical process. He isn’t the lone voice even if there’s a sliding scale.

Douglas’ and Maccagnan’s systems overlapped in a fundamental way. Every prospectis graded on basic qualities like strength, speed, quickness and balance. Maccagnan asked his scouts to attach pass-fail, checks-minuses or numerical grades (on a 10-point scale) depending on the year. Douglas requires his scouts to give straight letter grades — A through F — for what he calls “core traits” for every prospect.

Both Maccagnan and Douglas (and virtually every general manager) also ask scouts to give evaluations on position-specific traits. But how they determine the specific qualities differs.

These “Critical Factors” in Douglas’ model are guidelines that vary by position created in collaboration with the coaches. It’s an inclusive process that helps scouts better understand exactly what coaches prioritize at each position. For example, pass protection is a critical factor for a tackle, but not necessarily a center. How a cornerback plays in zone and man coverage is a critical factor.

There are no hard and fast rules on what the critical factors are each year. Instead, the system allows for flexibility to better meet the desired goal: Finding the best players to fit your schemes.

Collaboration with coaches

There’s an art to managing egos that not everyone can master. Although Douglas isn’t going to force players on Adam Gase or Gregg Williams, he’s not ceding control of the most important part of his job.

Douglas was entrusted to build the roster. His task is to create a path that makes the most sense for sustainable success. He’s well-versed in dealing with opinionated coaches (see: John Harbaugh), so don’t expect him to be significantly influenced by Gase or Williams.

“Joe is very convicted in what he thinks,” said one league source.

However, there’s nuance that shouldn’t be ignored. Douglas has never subscribed to the my-way-or-the-highway school of thought, according to people who have worked with and for him through the years. So, he will make every effort to supply Gase and Williams with players who possess the skillsets that the coaches say that they want.

When Gase describes specific attributes that he’s looking for in a wide receiver, for example, Douglas will deliver a player that fits those parameters even if it might not necessarily be the specific guy that Gase wants.

“You want a player who can do A, B and C?” Douglas might say to Gase. “Well, here’s a guy who can do all those things.”

Although Douglas’ draft board is continually evolving, the coaches’ evaluations will not prompt a significant move up or down the board.

Douglas’ most commendable trait is his willingness to learn from those around him. He might have a strong belief in his own evaluations, but he’s amenable to co-workers’ points of view as long as they are precise.

A big part of Joe Douglas' philosophy revolves around implementing the thoughts and needs of his coaching staff into his decision-making process.(Seth Wenig/AP)

Douglas doesn’t sit on the fence in his grades. He doesn’t want his talent evaluators to, either. If scouts can justify their grades with clear points, Douglas is willing to review his own evaluation. Dissenting opinions backed by smart evidence are welcomed.

“Just because he’s the GM, he’s not going to say you’re wrong if he has a different opinion,” said another source. “If you can back it up, he’s going to go back and look at it again and see if maybe he was wrong. He’s a man of few words… but when we start talking players, he’s much different.”

The conclusions in the Maccagnan and Douglas models also differ. For Maccagnan’s final draft, he wanted scouts to review a player’s strengths and weaknesses and where he fit in the league. (He changed what he wanted from the previous year).

Douglas is consistent. He isn’t looking for scouts to write an opus. Instead, he wants a 10-12 sentence synopsis highlighting a player’s pros and cons. Scouts are required to add a bottom line section laying out A) the prospect’s specific role for the Jets, B) comparisons to any players on the Jets or around the league and/or C) players that the scout has evaluated in the past.

Douglas will take care of the rest.

It’s a thorough, consistent process that has helped Douglas for the better part of two decades. He’s hoping that the people around him now can help by looking at the same picture in a different way.

Just Don't Blow It!

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40 minutes ago, RichardTodd27 said:

I hear this a lot. Are Josh Jones and Ezra Cleveland that much more athletic (and long) than a more proven name like Andrew Thomas? How exactly are they better fits than Thomas?

I keep hearing about Josh Jones athleticism, but he didn't test that way.  For some reason, Thomas is always the guy they push down because of it.  Thomas is considerably longer and had 2" more vertical.  Thomas was .05 faster in the 40, though Jones was .02 better in the 10 yard split.  According to SPARQ they are right next to each other, but Thomas is like 54th percentile for the NFL, while Jones is 45th.  Bottom line, I don't think athleticism keeps the Jets from drafting Thomas. Wirfs, Wills, Cleveland and Jackson are all considerably more athletic than either of them.  So is Peart.

1 hour ago, Beerfish said:

Not happy to hear this.

Time will tell and he can hardly be worse than McCagnan but as some have speculated he is drafting purely for system.

Has grades for only 150 players?

People better be prepared for this team to pass on a whole lot of players they think are good for lesser players in their mind.

 

 

Where did you get that he only grades 150 players?  It says his draft board is 150.  That is not the same thing.  There are 150 players that he wants.  What sense is a 350 player board when there are only 255 picks?  I am not worried about him passing on players that the board thinks are better.  It's his ******* job.  If he didn't and just takes the chalk pick, he sucks. 

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