Jets' GM isn't fazed by critics

[TaborJet]

Jets' GM isn't fazed by critics

Saturday, March 25, 2006

By RANDY LANGE

STAFF WRITER

Some reviews on Mike Tannenbaum's first seven weeks as the Jets' general manager came in recently during his trade negotiations with Washington and Atlanta.

They weren't the kind he'll put in his scrapbook.

"Mike's getting greedy," one players agent said about the then-stalled talks with the Falcons.

"Everybody tells me the Jets are very hard to deal with," another said, "and it hasn't changed."

And one Atlanta source said a member of the Falcons' hierarchy labeled the Jets bringing Seattle into the trade "a little amateurish" and said, "We've never seen a team behave like this."

But if Tannenbaum was happy, disappointed or irritated by these fast blasts from around the NFL, he won't let on. And he dismissed the notion that the Redskins and Falcons were testing the new GM on the block.

"It's just like any negotiation," said Tannenbaum, who took part in every negotiation as the assistant GM during Terry Bradway's regime from 2001-05. "It's about being prepared, being a good listener within the building, understanding what we're trying to accomplish, getting a complete understanding of exactly what our head coach is looking for.

"Then when there's value presented to us, acting on that value."

Mr. T did that in the trade for Patrick Ramsey, when even up until the day of the deal some Jets insiders thought they might have to part with a fourth-round pick. But the final price was a sixth-rounder for the former first-round QB who has a chance to beat out Chad Pennington for the starting job.

And while the value on the John Abraham trade wasn't eye-popping -- they got Denver's 29th overall pick after seeking Atlanta's 15th -- the Jets held firm on getting a first-rounder and not giving up a first-day pick of their own to balance the deal.

In other words, the first two deals of the new Gang Green regime were good ones.

How good remains to be determined, but they were indicative of the style the 37-year-old GM will bring to the table: plenty of, as one insider said, "statistical analysis," a "methodical approach," as Tannenbaum called it, in formulating a decision and a patience seemingly beyond his years in letting the deal develop.

Then when one transaction is done, there won't be any champagne or high-fives -- maybe a good dinner, then on to the next problem. Tannenbaum and Mangini already have established their work schedule, arriving at Weeb Ewbank Hall early, occasionally staying past midnight, sometimes sleeping at the complex.

The next big test for them likely will be the draft. Agent Alan Herman believes Tannenbaum has inherited significant expectations, because of the Giants acquiring Eli Manning two drafts ago, to select a QB of the future such as Southern Cal's Matt Leinart.

"I like Mike," Herman said. "I think he's knowledgeable. His expertise at administering a team? We'll see. He'll have ideas on the right fit as far as personnel. That doesn't mean there's not great pressure on him, but he does have an opportunity his first year to make a huge mark on the franchise."

Recent rumors have said the Jets are interested in doing just that, trading up with New Orleans for Leinart. But new whispers suggest the Jets may not be as hot for Leinart or Texas QB Vince Young and may just allow the draft to come to them.

As Tannenbaum said in his typically unrevealing GM-speak this week, "We're not going to rule any scenario in or out."

And as Herman put it, "I hope Mike is up to the task. I think he is."

[TaborJet]

I think Mike T is doing an excellent job. Screw the rest of the league or be screwed yourself.

[StillerPaul]

I think Mike T is doing an excellent job. Screw the rest of the league or be screwed yourself.

I agree. The Jets have made some pretty sound decisions the past couple of months and it shows. Alot of the fanbase is now excited about the teams future. When that happens, they must be doing something right.

[Bugg]

Falcons didn't want to give in and they did eventually anyway,as did the Skins. What's really amatuerish is whining to reporters about how another GM forced a hard deal like Tannebaum did.So as per Mckay, the jets should've rolled over and given in. Rich Mckay thinks he can schmooze reporters right into the Commissioner's office.

[Mavrik]

So basically, the rest of the league is pissed now and whining because the Jets aren't a bunch of pushovers anymore and want to actually get equal value in their trades. Yeah, Tennebaum is a horrible man.

[SoFlaJets]

And one Atlanta source said a member of the Falcons' hierarchy labeled the Jets bringing Seattle into the trade "a little amateurish" and said, "We've never seen a team behave like this."

"amateurish"? I call that one being creative-as to the behavior?...good I wanted change AND foward thinking-one thing we old guys (baby boomers) are looking at is how the Generation Xers have started changing this world -in a GOOD way IMO-Mike T is a loyal guy and I've been giving him props for years now-ever since he got all our 1st rounders from the 2000 draft signed,sealed and delivered with no problems or holdouts

oh yea BTW screw the friggins Falcons OK?

[JETSFAN5180]

regardless of what the rest of the league thinks or not does not matter.

i think we got screwed in the Abraham deal he was worth way more than a 29th pick. 15th would have been alot better.

[faba]

The thing I like most after reading this article is the work ethic Mangini and Tannebaum have - come early stay late -the type of players they want to have on the team to follow that approach

[RSJ]

I think Mike T is doing a great job, not just a good one.

[Bugg]

regardless of what the rest of the league thinks or not does not matter.

i think we got screwed in the Abraham deal he was worth way more than a 29th pick. 15th would have been alot better.

I've heard a lot of the same thing,and I don't get it. Abraham wanted and got a huge contract. Cap flexibility is no small thing. And he's a one dimensional, selfish jerk. He's not going to be the face of anyone's team in public and yet the Falcons are going to pay him like he is. When you say "they should've got more", other than the Denver angle(and for that the Falcons had to give up 2 midrounders).

Name me the team that's giving up a top 10 pick for Abraham. Because there isn't such a team.

It happens a lot on this board and boards in general; fans overvalue their own players. Most teams think with a top 10 pick they can draft the next John ABraham, 6 years younger and a whole bunch cheaper. Stop being blinded by the "Pro Bowl " talk; he's not a Pro Bowler, in fact he's a liability against the run.In 3 of the 5 of the playoff games the Jets played while he was here, he didn't play at all for basically because a "stomachache"(HANGOVER) in one and his own decision in the two others. He didn't want to be here and Mangini has seen his act up close and didn't like it. Please get over it and move on.

[JETSFAN5180]

im over it i just hope the 29th pick brings us a player of Abes calibre.

i am not satisfied with ellis or robertson as of yet.

Vilma cannot do it alone.

Abe put alot of pressure on the opposing qb and with a weak secondary this is much needed in the scheme of things.i dont see us having any pass as of now.

Do they go for Williams with #4 depending whos on the board?

I dont see them passing on Leinart or Young at 4 but if they are both gone i can see Mangini taking Williams.

[Green DNA]

I love how the Falcons are whining like little bitches because they couldn't get their way. Eff them and anybody else that doesn't like it, there's a new sheriff in town get used to it. I love it.

[madmike1]

BOUT TIME when every other GM loves you aka bradway you know you're doing somthing wrong...

[Writeguy]

"Everybody tells me the Jets are very hard to deal with," another said, "and it hasn't changed."

And one Atlanta source said a member of the Falcons' hierarchy labeled the Jets bringing Seattle into the trade "a little amateurish" and said, "We've never seen a team behave like this."

The NFL has lost its doormat. They'll just have to wipe their feet someplace else.

[Tennessee_Jet]

Jets' GM isn't fazed by critics

And one Atlanta source said a member of the Falcons' hierarchy labeled the Jets bringing Seattle into the trade "a little amateurish" and said, "We've never seen a team behave like this."

Hmmmm, Atlanta source. You're offering me a #47 pick and Seattle offers me a #31 pick and that's amateurish? Sounds pretty damn wise to me.....It made you step up your offer, didn't it?

[Bugg]

Just heard ANOTHER Jet caller on Jody Mac say "JOHN ABRAHAM IS AN ALL PRO". On what planet, or did he dress up like Mike Strahan and Julius Peppers and not tell anyone? Did any of thee people WATCH John Abraham play? The wide angles, the nonagression vs. the run, the disappearing acts, the bull****?

[JETSFAN5180]

A 29th pick is not going to bring in a player of Abes calibre i hope im wrong but Abe did put alot of pressure on the opposing qb.I watched the games live at the stadium.Abe did alot to disrupt the opposing offense.He also played most of the year with a not so well supporting cast.

We can all only hope for the best.

[Maynardrules#13]

Jets | Some unhappy with the way Tannenbaum works trades

Sat, 25 Mar 2006 09:32:30 -0800

Randy Lange, of the Bergen Record, reports some team officials from around the NFL are unhappy with the way New York Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum works trades. One players' agent said, "Mike's getting greedy," while another agent added, "Everybody tells me the Jets are very hard to deal with and it hasn't changed." An Atlanta source said a member of the Atlanta Falcons hierarchy labeled the Jets bringing the Seattle Seahawks into a trade as "a little amateurish" and said, "We've never seen a team behave like this." Despite receiving some mixed reviews, Tannenbaum has been active, acquiring QB Patrick Ramsey from the Washington Redskins for a sixth-round pick while some Jets insiders thought the Jets would have to give up a fourth-round pick. Tannenbaum also acquired a second first-round draft choice in the 2006 NFL Draft when dealing DL John Abraham to the Atlanta Falcons. Thus far, his two first deals have been good for the Jets.

[madmike1]

BRAVO teams are used to the jets being a doormat. Those days are OVAH

[thejetsaddict]

Maybe someone could explain to me how you are SUPPOSED to negotiate a trade!?!? Are you supposed to just bend over and take it like a man? The whole point of negotiation is to gain leverage. EXACTLY what T did. And its ****in bull**** that they have "never seen a team behave like this" Give me a ****in break. Atlanta officials are the biggest god damn pansies. They are just pissed we arent like the Bradway days of just giving players away and getting hosed.

I guess Runyan was amateurish by bringing us into the deal just to up the Eagles contract for him. ITS CALLED GAINING LEVERAGE........I need a drink

[Cmart28Coles87]

F*ck those people. Were not letting people push us around anymore. Were making good descisions and people are getting mad. Like were not allowed to. Bunch of *******s.

[mudcat21]

An Atlanta source said a member of the Atlanta Falcons hierarchy labeled the Jets bringing the Seattle Seahawks into a trade as "a little amateurish" and said, "We've never seen a team behave like this.

Did Atlanta think they were still dealing with Bradway. After Atlanta refused to give up a first rounder what did they expect the Jets to do just accept the 2nd rounder. Amarteurish because they tried to get more than what Atlanta was offering? What were they suppose to do pull Abe off the market after the 2nd rounder was turned down. Sounds like Atlanta is the amateur here.

[GREENSMACKS]

in other words under bradway we were the loose nympho chick anyone could bang, now we are the tight as a frogs a-hole chick that you couldnt pry open with a crowbar

[Sperm Edwards]

A 29th pick is not going to bring in a player of Abes calibre i hope im wrong but Abe did put alot of pressure on the opposing qb.I watched the games live at the stadium.Abe did alot to disrupt the opposing offense.He also played most of the year with a not so well supporting cast.

We can all only hope for the best.

For the love of Bradway the Jets did not swap John Abraham for the 29th pick. We got the 29th pick and $50M in cap room. Abe would have to be more valuable to this team than the #29 pick AND the 2-3 other veteran starters we get, or will later be able to re-sign, with that money. Moving abe is addition by subtraction.

[serphnx]

lol, these idiots always need to write stuff, no matter how retarded it sounds apparently. As usual, I wonder about these "sources"

[serphnx]

For the love of Bradway the Jets did not swap John Abraham for the 29th pick. We got the 29th pick and $50M in cap room. Abe would have to be more valuable to this team than the #29 pick AND the 2-3 other veteran starters we get, or will later be able to re-sign, with that money. Moving abe is addition by subtraction.

Ehhhh....I wouldn't bother with that line of reasoning if I were you. In that case, everytime we cut a player and someone else signs them, you could claim we "Traded" instead of released.

[deadringer]

Jets | Some unhappy with the way Tannenbaum works trades

Sat, 25 Mar 2006 09:32:30 -0800

Randy Lange, of the Bergen Record, reports some team officials from around the NFL are unhappy with the way New York Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum works trades. One players' agent said, "Mike's getting greedy," while another agent added, "Everybody tells me the Jets are very hard to deal with and it hasn't changed." An Atlanta source said a member of the Atlanta Falcons hierarchy labeled the Jets bringing the Seattle Seahawks into a trade as "a little amateurish" and said, "We've never seen a team behave like this." Despite receiving some mixed reviews, Tannenbaum has been active, acquiring QB Patrick Ramsey from the Washington Redskins for a sixth-round pick while some Jets insiders thought the Jets would have to give up a fourth-round pick. Tannenbaum also acquired a second first-round draft choice in the 2006 NFL Draft when dealing DL John Abraham to the Atlanta Falcons. Thus far, his two first deals have been good for the Jets.

good...what are we, supposed to let other teams walk all over us?...looks like a new day really is dawning in jets land:yahoo:

[SoFlaJets]

merge them up Maxie

[Bugg]

This was a good deal. The Jets need bodies everywhere. They needed the cap space they got by not paying Abraham upwards of $ 8 million. Giving up a 3 and a 4 to get to 15 wasn't such a hot move if the draft is as deep as we've been told.

I will ask again-what team in the top 10 would have traded such a pick for Abraham and his salary, piss poor attitude and nonexistent runstopping skills straight up? Yes, the Gary Meyers and Peter Kings of the world throw around "All Pro" RE-Abraham, but that doesn't make it so.

Look, Jevon Kearse is still living off a contract he got as result of 2 good years at the beginning of his career. The Eagles went out and signed a guy this offseason to cover his butt on running plays. John Randle did the same thing. The career trajectory for guys like Abraham, Randle and Kearse-guys who rely on speedrushing rather than strength and technique-isn't very good after around 29. Once the speed dissipates-and it will go fast- if that's all there is and you don't work hard-it's over. And Abraham, spare us the "working hard in South Carolina"-isn't a gym rat and hasn't done one thing to improve his technique. I'd bet game tape from his rookie season is identical to last season-push him wide, let him take a wide angle, and once in a while he'll get there. But on the run he's always been useless.

You might hate this, but the truth is guys like Strahan and Peppers keep working, are there in minicamp and camp, and are constantly refining their technique. Abraham has never done that. He's not suddenly going to do it now.

[Preston Howley III]

Just heard ANOTHER Jet caller on Jody Mac say "JOHN ABRAHAM IS AN ALL PRO". On what planet, or did he dress up like Mike Strahan and Julius Peppers and not tell anyone? Did any of thee people WATCH John Abraham play? The wide angles, the nonagression vs. the run, the disappearing acts, the bull****?

Abe was all hype from the word go. Here's the facts:

In his 6 seasons here, the Jets made the playoffs 3 times, and all three times He created more drama from what happened off the field than what happened on the field. Other than 2002, his contributions in those winning seasons, and playoff victories (all two of them) were either negligible or non-existent.

In 2003, and 2005 the team was an absolute disgrace, particularly the defense. And Abe was allegedly the superstar.

Remember the Cowboys game in 2003? Parcells first time back? The defense laid down like a rug. The pass rush was non-existent. How about the Bears game in 2002? Was Abe on the field that day? How about that 2-10 regular season record against the Pats? Boy oh boy, Tom Brady is finally going to be able to sleep good at night.

The Predator.

Give me a f'n break.

[raffyD]

This was a good deal. The Jets need bodies everywhere. They needed to cap spaace they got by not paying Abraham upwards of $ 8 million. Giving up a 3 and a 4 to get to 15 wasn't such a hot move if the draft is as deep as we've been told.

I will ask again-what team in the top 10 would have traded such a pick for Abraham and his salary, piss poor attitude and nonexistent runstopping skills straight up? Yes, the Gary Meyers and Peter Kings of the world throw around "All Pro" RE-Abraham, but that doesn't make it so.

Look, Jevon Kearse is still living off a contract he got as result of 2 good years at the beginning of his career. The Eagles went out and signed a guy this offseason to cover his butt on running plays. John Randle did the same thing. The career trajectory for guys like Abraham, Randle and Kearse-guys who rely on speedrushing rather than strength and technique-isn't very good after around 29. Once the speed dissipates-and it will go fast- if that's all there is and you don't work hard-it's over. And Abraham, spare us the "working hard in South Carolina"-isn't a gym rat and hasn't done one thing to improve his technique. I'd bet game tape from his rookie season is identical to last season-push him wide, let him take a wide angle, and once in a while he'll get there. But on the run he's always been useless.

You might hate this, but the truth is guys like Strahan and Peppers keep working, are there in minicamp and camp, and are constantly refining their technique. Abraham has never done that. He's not suddenly going to do it now.

[Preston Howley III]

You know, I'm trying to think of all the big plays Abe made over the past six seasons, and I keep drawing blanks. Remember, this is a team that has lost more games than they've won. This is a defense that has, more often than not, sucked eggs. And for all the hero worship of this guy, the best argument I get is "It's not all Abe's fault". Exactly. It's not the superstars fault, it's everybody elses. That's a nice way of saying, they all suck.

If you paid alot of money for a concert ticket, and the band came out and were all out of tune, just going through the motions, putting on a shtty performance I bet you'd be upset.

And yet, you can year in and year out pay for your season tickets and sit through six years of AT BEST mediocrity out of John Abraham, and then still defend him. It's amazing. I'm glad the SOB is gone. Maybe, just maybe, we can finally have a home opener where the team does not completely embarrass us and humiliate us fans. Because with the exception of 2004, thats what we got for six years from players like John Abraham.

[stormshadow19]

merge them up Maxie

Well... I merged them... is that good enough?

[faba]

Abe was a one dimensional player- if he did not get to the QB he is otherwise a liability for your defense- taking himself out of position on his rushes or nonexistent on running plays straight at him. Also the biggest games of the Jets seasons in the playoffs-he was on the sidelines for the most part- real go getter there

Better for all concerned for him to be with Falcons

[SeniorFlaJet]

Jetmo and Raffy, excellent analysis of the situation.

What is not always talked about is why did the Jets wanted to get rid of

him? Think about it. If he was such a GREAT player why did they

knock themselves out to get rid of him. There had to be something

that caused it.

It wasn't the money. They would have been better with their cap

if they gave him a long term deal. Spread the 15mm or so over a number

of years and with their current excellent cap position they could have

easily handled it.

Actually there weren't that many teams knocking on the Jets door

for a supposedly pro bowl player. Lesser talents than him have drawn

more suitors this season.

So no matter what your feelings are on this I say trust the FO

on this that there was something that they felt was going to

be detrimental to the team if they had to keep him.