Shorter offseason makes it hard for rookies to prove themselves

[Warfish]

12 minutes ago, slats said:

.......they really won't know for sure until they start getting some reps together. 

So just for clarity, is it your view that the entirety of Training Camp and Preseason is not enough time for this Coaching Staff to identify the best-5 starters and give them sufficient reps to be a competent, professional O-line on opening day?

[slats]

1 hour ago, Warfish said:

So just for clarity, is it your view that the entirety of Training Camp and Preseason is not enough time for this Coaching Staff to identify the best-5 starters and give them sufficient reps to be a competent, professional O-line on opening day?

Lol, couch it however you like. 

I like the pragmatic approach Joe Douglas took, spreading the money around on a lot of smaller, often one-year deals in an effort to fill the OL, CB, and WR positions in one year. The result of that, though, is not too many sure things. That kinda plan would've worked a lot better with a rookie camp and OTAs to give some of the younger guys a chance to show themselves, a chance that's going to be harder to come by in a normal training camp - if that's what they have this year. On the OL, the real concern is getting the whole group to operate together, and the longer they had together, the better it would be. They'll still be shuffling players around in training camp, rather than just getting everyone acclimated. That's a disadvantage. 

It's worse at CB. They brought in a couple well regarded UDFAs. Would've really been nice to get those guys some spring reps. Instead, they're going to be fighting for reps with a handful of guys like Hairston and Austin. A rookie camp would've been great for both evaluation and opportunity there. They're going to wind up cutting players there who never really had a chance, unfortunately.  

[Warfish]

10 minutes ago, slats said:

Lol, couch it however you like. 

It was a strait forward question, with a strait forward yes/no answer.

Quote

On the OL, the real concern is getting the whole group to operate together, and the longer they had together, the better it would be. They'll still be shuffling players around in training camp, rather than just getting everyone acclimated. That's a disadvantage. 

So "Yes, it is your view" was the answer.

Cool.  Agree to disagree.  Unless Camp is cancelled, the O-line has plenty of time.

So many preemptive excuses this off-season, seems like not as much faith in JD and the new players as it seems.

[slats]

5 minutes ago, Warfish said:

So many preemptive excuses this off-season, seems like not as much faith in JD and the new players as it seems.

Yes, I understood where you were going. 

[Warfish]

13 minutes ago, slats said:

Yes, I understood where you were going. 

I'd have been disappointed otherwise.

I'm curious, is there anything about the 2020 Jets you feel legitimately confident about?  Because, and perhaps it's just my perception, you seems quite worried about almost everything at this point.  It seems like you think we're going to have a very poor season.

[slats]

38 minutes ago, Warfish said:

I'd have been disappointed otherwise.

I'm curious, is there anything about the 2020 Jets you feel legitimately confident about?  Because, and perhaps it's just my perception, you seems quite worried about almost everything at this point.  It seems like you think we're going to have a very poor season.

I've said many times that I expect another slow start, and the abbreviated offseason is a contributing factor. Too many holes that they're trying to fill with not so many proven solutions. Depending on rookies to solidify an OL and WR corps that were really bad last year. 

I like the way JD went about things, but the pandemic ****ed with that plan. He didn't spend on a bunch of plug and play replacements, he bought a bunch of band-aids. The #4 WR isn't just depth, that's a guy who's gonna see offensive snaps every week. Who is that gonna be? Vyncint Smith as the returning vet? Josh Doctson as the former first rounder? Does Tiny Hands Cager get a shot? Same with the CBs, and the Jets are only maybe settled on two of their starting three, with one of them being their slot corner. In a normal year, a guy like Lamar Jackson would have a much better shot at going from UDFA to starter. 

With the shortened offseason, potentially shortened camp and/or preseason, I could easily see a lot of shuffling of personnel thru the first month of the season and then some. 

I'm looking to see a strong second half again, too, though. I'm not nearly as concerned about stat totals for the year as I am seeing a team at the end of the year that no one's looking forward to playing. 

 

[slats]

Sucks for all the fringe guys across the league this year. I'd be surprised if the Jets came to camp with less than 90 players, but not surprised at all that some more established teams might do that. 

Some teams may take fewer than 90 players to camp

Posted by Mike Florio on June 17, 2020, 2:09 PM EDT

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The roster limit for NFL teams in training camp is 90. It’s not a minimum; however, they can bring fewer than 90. And some may do just that.

Per a league source, some teams are considering taking 80 or 75 players to camp in order to make it easier to comply with physical distancing guidelines and other requirements aimed at preventing the spread of the coronavirus.

The question then becomes which players will be cut? Draft picks surely will be there. Will undrafted free agents be jettisoned, or will teams worried about cutting costs in a season that possibly will unfold without fans jettison members of the middle class? If young replacements don’t or can’t step up, the team could then bring back a more expensive player, at a lower rate.

Regardless, there could be smaller rosters during training camp, in order to better ensure that the virus will be out of the building.