Rank the Triumvirate

[Jet2020]

11 hours ago, Warfish said:

Zach - Bust as of now.  Future 100% TBD.  Has potential, and I am rooting for him to take a huge step in 2022.  Low Confidence, need to see it first.

Saleh - Bust so far, owner of worst Defense in Franchise history.  Future 100% TBD.  Loved his hiring, now, 50/50 on that in hindsight.  Like Zach, hoping for a big step in 2022. Low Confidence, need to see it first.

JD - Great trader of assets away, pretty darn good drafter (on paper), poop in terms of Free Agency and new contracts, especially the first few years.  Future looks pretty bright if he can field a team that wins some games, and he cuts back on horrible FA signings and 1-year JAG placeholder Vets.  Medium to High confidence, but maybe that's just cause I loved the 2022 Draft class.

If Wilson is a bust, nothing else will matter. We will win maybe 4 games this year (if Zach is a bust). And that would bring JDs record to 10-40. Tannenbaum wasn’t a good drafter but he bought wins. Short term success. Fielded multiple playoff teams. Point being, if you can’t win, your long term perception is useless if you’re still losing four times for every win after 3-4 years. Same goes for Salah. He’s only as good as his QB cuz his defense was historically terrible last year. Not a good sign for a defensive minded HC. 

However, we will get a far better picture where we are headed this year. Last year was a development year and we all (hopefully) expected that. 

[OilfieldJet]

I thought this would be a Wilson - Hall - Wilson assessment.

[#27TheDominator]

11 hours ago, Warfish said:

If some of you were HS teachers, no one would get any grades till the final day of their senior years, when they either graduate or fail out, lol.

That was law school

[Dcat]

15 hours ago, Jet Nut said:

Busts

After one season?  

I think the implication is that we can call it a 'rookie-year bust'.  Also, the post does say "future is 100% TBD". To me that means that he is not yet a bust.   I guess we are not to take the term "bust" literally.  That's ironic... considering the post came from captain literal himself.

[UntouchableCrew]

To be clear, this wasn't intended to be giving a hard assessment or "grade" of these guys. Obviously it's "incomplete" for all of them, especially Saleh and Wilson who we have a very small sample size.

For me:

Douglas is easily number one. I had the highest conviction in the hire when it was made and he's generally backed that up.

• He seems to have a process and a plan. He has a vision for what he wants to do.
• There's no organization in the league who I respect more from a talent evaluation standpoint than the Ravens and he cut his teeth with them before moving on to two other orgs and gaining that experience.
• Seems to be highly thought of throughout the league.
• Seems to understand positional value and prioritize positions like QB, WR, LT, EDGE, and CB.
• Seems to be a good negotiator who gets great value on trades
• Understands the value of acquiring draft capital 
• His last two drafts seem strong
• He's cleared our cap and set us up well for the future.

Negatives:

• 2020 Draft looks like a pretty big whiff. It's convenient to blame Gase but if we're being honest it looks a lot like most Mac or Idzik drafts.
• FA has been hit or miss. He hasn't given out any awful contracts but a lot of his small deals or stopgaps have been whiffs

Saleh I'll put number 2 slightly over Wilson. Liked the hire when it was made but not completely sold on him now.

• Came from the 9ers and has been around good, successful orgs for most of his career
• Definitely has as presence and seems like a leader. Seems like a smart guy.
• Is big on building culture and his attitude seems to jive well with modern players.
• I like his OC hire and generally philosophy on offense. The offense under LaFleur was frisky last year and I think the scheme is well situated to maximize talent.

Negatives

• A defensive coach stepping and having the worst defense in the league (and the worst in franchise history) in year one is very troubling. If your scheme's strengths revolve around having elite players, it's not much of a scheme. You can blame personnel but whether it was Rex, Bowles, or Williams we usually seemed to get something out of what we had talent wise. Last year was a disgrace.
• While I like the LaFleur hire, the coaching staff in general lacks experience and seems to be filled with his buddies.
• You definitely wonder if he's too much of a "players coach" for a very young roster that might need more structure and intensity

Wilson goes third, because he was just flat out bad most of last year. I was cool with the pick when they made it (even though I preferred Fields)

• He has great traits -- strong arm, quick release, mobility and athleticism. The ability to improvise and throw "off platform" the athleticism to take off as necessary. You can see the upside
• Seems like a smart, hardworking guy who knows how to handle the media

Negatives

• Really struggled most of last year. Really had a hard time dealing with pressure and seemed to be pressing/feeling it a lot.
• His short to intermediate accuracy was awful at times -- felt like it was mental too. Makes me worried as there will always be a lot of pressure playing QB in the NFL
• Slight/slender frame doesn't bode itself well to a beating. Glad he seems like he's bulked up this offseason.

[Jet Nut]

5 minutes ago, Dcat said:

I think the implication is that we can call it a 'rookie-year bust'.  Also, the post does say "future is 100% TBD". To me that means that he is not yet a bust.   I guess we are not to take the term "bust" literally.  That's ironic... considering the post came from captain literal himself.

Yeah, I guess but I just dont think that much thought went into it.  I think taking the stance that everyone is a bust until theyre not a runaway, bonafide hit is weak.  

[Warfish]

4 hours ago, Jet2020 said:

If Wilson is a bust, nothing else will matter.

Depends on what you mean by "matter".

Winning games in 2022?  You're 100% correct, if Zach sucks, we'll likely suck and not win much.

But beyond just W/L in 2022, no, I wouldn't agree. 

Building a capable organization, coaching staff and GM who makes good picks and builds a deep team very much matters.  They'll just have to draft (or sign) another QB for 2023 and beyond if Zach or horrible.

But lets hope he isn't

4 hours ago, Jet2020 said:

We will win maybe 4 games this year (if Zach is a bust). And that would bring JDs record to 10-40. Tannenbaum wasn’t a good drafter but he bought wins. Short term success. Fielded multiple playoff teams. Point being, if you can’t win, your long term perception is useless if you’re still losing four times for every win after 3-4 years. Same goes for Salah. He’s only as good as his QB cuz his defense was historically terrible last year. Not a good sign for a defensive minded HC.

All depends on the Johnsons.  If they have, as some theorize, truly bought in for the long term, and it's Zach who is the bust, I could see the Johnsons sticking with JD and Saleh if the other aspects of the team show marked improvement.

4 hours ago, Jet2020 said:

However, we will get a far better picture where we are headed this year. Last year was a development year and we all (hopefully) expected that. 

Agreed, 2022 is a "show me" type of year to some degree for this regime (JD/Saleh/Wilson). 

Not as much as 2023 will likely be, lol, but still.

[#27TheDominator]

16 hours ago, OtherwiseHappyinLife said:

8. Free Agency mixed results .. had to take some chances early, some bad injury luck, but finding its groove .  Looking at $5M+ per year contracts-- missed on Perriman, J Davis, Rankins; hit on McGovern, Fant; TBD on Lawson, C Davis; promising 2022 class looks best on paper).  GVR was what we paid, a $3M per year stopgap. ** All contracts structured with low impact escape clauses **

I agree with most of what you wrote, but I have his free agency grade fairly low.  His first move was a vast overpay to get lure Kalil out of retirement.  A worthy attempt, but yuck.  I don't think he has signed a single free agent that has really moved the needle.  No plus plus guys.  Fant has been solid. McGovern too IMO but plenty of people were ready to run him out of town last offseason and the cry for Linderbaum was mainly based on a dislike of McGovern.  He has is barely getting starters in positions of need - Pierre Desir and Breshad Perriman I am looking at you.

My guess is that, as you pointed out, now that he has a system in place and is in step with Saleh, things will be better.  He has not been good at big ticket free agents, but now that the system is in place and the holes less glaring he can take smaller bites and hope for a gem.  Reed, Whitehead, Martin, and the TEs seem to fit in that mold.  It's much easier to fit guys in than to expect them to carry a team.  He can save his big ticket moves for true studs like Tyreek Hill.  Tomlinson seems like a smart move, but he is the one guy that has to work out.  I applaud his dislike of the big deals, but the fact that he hasn't made them makes the draft of primary importance.  There don't seem to be any major gaping holes, but we will see what happens.  They have to actually win some games and he does have the flexibility to take some future swings without worrying that a miss will destroy the team.  

Basically, I think his free agent deals have made sense, but not been impressive. He hasn't made any huge mistakes, but he hasn't really taken many/any big swings either.  I found the JFM deal a big curious.  Happy there was an extension, but it didn't seem like a home team discount.  Seemed high money, but I think everything probably seems high to me - I still want to sign a plus starting QB for $12M.

[OtherwiseHappyinLife]

1 hour ago, #27TheDominator said:

I agree with most of what you wrote, but I have his free agency grade fairly low.  His first move was a vast overpay to get lure Kalil out of retirement.  A worthy attempt, but yuck.  I don't think he has signed a single free agent that has really moved the needle.  No plus plus guys.  Fant has been solid. McGovern too IMO but plenty of people were ready to run him out of town last offseason and the cry for Linderbaum was mainly based on a dislike of McGovern.  He has is barely getting starters in positions of need - Pierre Desir and Breshad Perriman I am looking at you.

My guess is that, as you pointed out, now that he has a system in place and is in step with Saleh, things will be better.  He has not been good at big ticket free agents, but now that the system is in place and the holes less glaring he can take smaller bites and hope for a gem.  Reed, Whitehead, Martin, and the TEs seem to fit in that mold.  It's much easier to fit guys in than to expect them to carry a team.  He can save his big ticket moves for true studs like Tyreek Hill.  Tomlinson seems like a smart move, but he is the one guy that has to work out.  I applaud his dislike of the big deals, but the fact that he hasn't made them makes the draft of primary importance.  There don't seem to be any major gaping holes, but we will see what happens.  They have to actually win some games and he does have the flexibility to take some future swings without worrying that a miss will destroy the team.  

Basically, I think his free agent deals have made sense, but not been impressive. He hasn't made any huge mistakes, but he hasn't really taken many/any big swings either.  I found the JFM deal a big curious.  Happy there was an extension, but it didn't seem like a home team discount.  Seemed high money, but I think everything probably seems high to me - I still want to sign a plus starting QB for $12M.

Amen, I think that's fair and well written!  I forgot about Kalil and Desir.  Good adds to the list and yes, it lowers the overall grade.  The good thing is that he is doing a good job learning and adjusting on the job, and setting the foundation to add the right pieces to.  He had no foundation at the start.  It felt he was just trying to patch some things up as he gutted the roster.  Meaning it's tough to grade his early free agent pick-ups on the same curve as his most recent ones.  They intentionally served different purposes.

I do respect him for not going after wins early and instead building for the long term.  I mean he could have won some more games keeping Leo Williams, Robbie Anderson, Jamal Adams or by throwing money at whoever the hot free agent name was.  Instead he collected chips for the future and waited until it was time to invest in the right long term pieces.  That's why some of these earlier guys had 1 year deals, because they were stopgaps.  Now, we're seeing 2-3 year deals on young or experienced guys who are core to our sustained success.

It all starts with a plan and strategy.  That's what feels different about JD when compared to the bozos of the past.  

[munchmemory]

20 hours ago, Joe W. Namath said:

Best young GM/Coach/QB combination the league.  These 3 are bringing us multiple Super Bowls over the next 10-15 years.

Get ready Jet fans!!!  Its happening!!!!!

[peebag]

21 hours ago, HawkeyeJet said:

The greatest trio since TLC, imho.

Don't go chasing waterfalls.