POLL: Are you satisfied with the direction of the Jets?

[nj meadowlands]

To see people like sherry, JetMoses, and Sperm Edwards uncharacteristically upbeat about the way that the Tangini era is looking to go, I figured I'd create a poll. YES OR NO: Are you satisfied with the way that things are going so far, and are you optimistic for the future?

[Sperm Edwards]

I have the same position that I had even when Herm was hired. It's better to have some new blood in there than an old retread who got fired from somewhere else. During 2001, I allowed that as a first-time HC Herm was learning & let 95% of the blame go to the coordinators for a weak rush defense and a never-go-for-the-throat offense. When things do not change year after year (save a short run when Chad first took over), you must ask yourself who is the common factor in each equation. Football is a young man's sport, and you can't waste the premiere years of your best players' careers waiting for the man in charge to "get it" finally.

As far as Mangini, basically he got handed what was considered a lousy job with a bad situation that no one wanted other than Mike Tice, Jim Haslett, and our own 3 coordinators (who no one else wanted as a HC themselves). He had to jettison a lot of familiar faces for age/money reasons. He has since had an open competition for EVERY position (unlike the previous HC who would say that but then the incumbent starter would still get all the snaps in practice at every position anyway).

HOWEVER: this is only "so far so good" - let's be realistic. We've never seen him coach so much as a preseason game. But other than a few reaches in the draft (all involving players I've never seen myself in a single game), and of course the never-ending extending of Curtis Martin's contract (had to sneak that in there) I'm as satisfied as I can be at this point.

[124]

Yes.

We have solidified the Offensive Line for years to come with 4 guys who are 26 and under and who have very good starting talent in Ferguson, Mangold, Moore and Jones.

The QB situation is bright with a proven starter in Patrick Ramsey backing up Chad and a very good young prospect in Kellen Clemens.

The LB unit is as strong ever with Vilma, Barton, Kassell, Chatham, Hobson, Thomas, McClover, Schlegel, etc.

The Defensive Backfield unit with Dyson, Miller, Rhodes and Coleman should all be big players back there for the years to come with guys like Barrett, Washington and some others we'll draft along the way as well.

RB situation with 2 young RB's looks bright and maybe Houston and Washington can form a good young tandem when Curtis hangs up the cleats after 06 (most likely he will). If not, there are some very good RB prospects in next years draft to gobble up.

Areas of concern that still need addressing:

Nose Tackle

Wide Reciever

Defensive End (Kimo should only be around for 2-3 years and he needs somebody to mentor in the process)

Pass Rushing OLB Specialist

[PatsFanTX]

The QB situation is bright

You got to be kidding me.

How can you say the Jets QB situation is "bright"?

You have one QB with a noodle arm coming off his second major surgery, another who has thrown as many interceptions as the number of games he has played in the NFL, a third who completely flopped last season and a friggn' rookie.

How the hell does that look "bright"?

The Jets could possibly (maybe the Bills) have the worst QB situation of any team in the NFL.

[BwanaZulia]

Yes. It all seems good. But really, we are too close to the situation.

Last year and the year before that, it all looked good going into the season. It always looks like some holes have been filled, some new good players have been drafted.

The proof is on the playing field, in the season and in the Championship.

So far, so good.

BZ

[124]

You got to be kidding me.

How can you say the Jets QB situation is "bright"?

You have one QB with a noodle arm coming off his second major surgery, another who has thrown as many interceptions as the number of games he has played in the NFL, a third who completely flopped last season and a friggn' rookie.

How the hell does that look "bright"?

The Jets could possibly (maybe the Bills) have the worst QB situation of any team in the NFL.

Never cease to amaze me fool.

Take your man crush Pennington out of the equation for once in your life and realize that Patrick Ramsey has talent and Kellen Clemens does as well. Ramsey never got his fair shot in Washington, NEVER, and the season he started the majority of the games he performed well. Clemens in a year or two will be ready to start and has all the skills that you like from a QB with a strong arm, good placement with the ball (or accuracy for better term) and he can also scramble around the pocket but he's not like Michael Vick at the same time.

[PFSIKH]

Never cease to amaze me fool.

Take your man crush Pennington out of the equation for once in your life and realize that Patrick Ramsey has talent and Kellen Clemens does as well. Ramsey never got his fair shot in Washington, NEVER, and the season he started the majority of the games he performed well. Clemens in a year or two will be ready to start and has all the skills that you like from a QB with a strong arm, good placement with the ball (or accuracy for better term) and he can also scramble around the pocket but he's not like Michael Vick at the same time.

There is something about people in glass houses that is appropriate here.

First, there is the declaration in a year or two Clemens will be ready to start. At least wait until he plays a real, if you can call preseason real, game.

Last, my left nut has talent to, but it does not mean I should be in porn. Ramsey has had 30 starts over his 4 year career. He is what he is. An average QB. Maybe he has a Scott Mitchell season in him, but he is not going to lead the Jets' to multiple titles and be enshrined in the HofF.

[NIGHT STALKER]

I didn't vote in this poll...should have been another option. Something like, too early to tell.

I would like to think we're heading in the right direction...I'm taking a wait and see attitude going into the season and still, waiting to see how this staff and players react. Only then can you really tell what direction we're headed.

Honestly, it's a poll that should be presented after the season.

[Preston Howley III]

Gee, I wonder who that 1 "No" vote belongs too? cough-Rajensen-cough.

[rajensen088]

Hiring coaches based on close personal friendships has turned out disastrously for the Jets. Mangini was hired ONLY because he is Mike Tannenbaum's best friend in the world since their days as interns under Bill Bellichek in Cleveland. He was not qualified, had no other offers from any of the nine teams looking for new HC's last year and in his only year as a defensive coordinator, he was a flop.

Leon Hess absolutly loved Richie Kotite like a son when he was a TE coach with the Jets before moving on to the Eagles. The day he was fired from the Eagles, the Jets fired Pete Carroll in order to hand the keys of Hofstra over to a coach Leon Hess loved as much as any of his own sons.

Longtime Jet fans will remember when Weeb Ewbank retired and the Jets handed over the HC position to Weeb's son-in-law Charlie Winner. Winner didn't make it through two seasons.

Nothing wrong with hiring people who have worked together in a professional relationship, but a too close personal relationships leads to errors in evaluations of the competencies the candidate may bring to a position.

Mangini will end up like Kotite and Winner in my opinion.

[Preston Howley III]

Hiring coaches based on close personal friendships has turned out disastrously for the Jets. Mangini was hired ONLY because he is Mike Tannenbaum's best friend in the world since their days as interns under Bill Bellichek in Cleveland. He was not qualified, had no other offers from any of the nine teams looking for new HC's last year and in his only year as a defensive coordinator, he was a flop.

Leon Hess absolutly loved Richie Kotite like a son when he was a TE coach with the Jets before moving on to the Eagles. The day he was fired from the Eagles, the Jets fired Pete Carroll in order to hand the keys of Hofstra over to a coach Leon Hess loved as much as any of his own sons.

Longtime Jet fans will remember when Weeb Ewbank retired and the Jets handed over the HC position to Weeb's son-in-law Charlie Winner. Winner didn't make it through two seasons.

Nothing wrong with hiring people who have worked together in a professional relationship, but a too close personal relationships leads to errors in evaluations of the competencies the candidate may bring to a position.

Mangini will end up like Kotite and Winner in my opinion.

rajensen, your signature is stupid.

[Sperm Edwards]

Hiring coaches based on close personal friendships has turned out disastrously for the Jets.

We'll see how many superbowls it brings to KC for Carl Peterson.

[quietjets]

Hard to tell.... it is just all talks... I am not going to jump in pretending that I know the Jets' future... There are several things that remain concerning me but I dont know how well players will respond to new coaches. The names sound good but their talents are unproven... It is up to us whether to faith in them or not.

I prefer to wait and see the coaching action/movement first.

Also, it is not easy to get a team to Super Bowl and win there.. Mangini can get Jets into playoff for many consecutive years but no SB.. Will that satisfy you, I dont think so but if he did then he would be a good HC anyhow.

[PatsFanTX]

Never cease to amaze me fool.

Take your man crush Pennington out of the equation for once in your life and realize that Patrick Ramsey has talent and Kellen Clemens does as well.

Dude, Clemens has yet to take one snap in an NFL game and Ramsey has thrown more interceptions than games played.

How the hell can you say these guys have "talent"?

[Green DNA]

This is simple addition by subtraction: Herm is gone, therefore the Jets are moving in the right direction.

[Sperm Edwards]

Dude, Clemens has yet to take one snap in an NFL game and Ramsey has thrown more interceptions than games played.

How the hell can you say these guys have "talent"?

Duayne Starks is on line 2. He says Tx is an idiot who doesn't know what he's talking about & Chad Jackson is a bust until proven otherwise.

Tx is there a message you'd like me to relay back to him?

[PatsFanTX]

Chad Jackson is a bust until proven otherwise.

I happen to agree with that.

It's all about what you do on gameday.

Nothing else really matters.

[ThunderbirdJet]

The question was if you like the DIRECTION the Jets are heading towards. How can it be too early to answer that?

For me, yes, I like what they have done to date. Not every position could be fixed in one off season!

Clemens MAY be the future.... Chad MAY be healthy.... Ramsey MAY give his feet some tranquilizers. It doesn't have to be resolved yet.... by 2007, yes, but NOT now.

I see the CS eyeing several players and positions before they make a move in those areas. The positions and players on the hot seat this year:

QB's: All of them, although Clemens will be the recipient of more patience than the other two. It's possible that by this time next year, both Chad and Ramsey are gone.

RB's: Houston will have a chance to prove he can be the guy. Blaylock and Washington.... one of them is gone by this time next year. I look for the Jets first pick next year to be an RB, if it's high enough to get one of the top two.

Rush/OLB: This is the position Bryan Thomas has the right skill set for. Can he perform in this role? This CS wants to find out, and they will. I CAN see Thomas coming into his own at this spot.

NT: There was a reason they didn't renegotiate DRob's huge contract. If he proves he can't play NT this year, he's gone. He's much more "cuttable" without redoing his contract. In the meantime, they will live with him, Pope and Pouha.

WR: They will live with what they have, but this position was put on the back burner while they addressed other spots that were in worse shape, like the O line. Coles, McCariens, Cotchery could all be gone by next year. More likely, only one, possibly two of them.

So, yes, I definitely like the direction.... and we aren't talking about the destination here yet.... it's much too early for that.

[RSJ]

I have found it extremely difficult to be negative about anything lately concerning the Jets. I really do like the foundation that is being built here and feel confident in the people making the decisions. This will not be an overnight turnaround though. Herm really screwed this team up. Even Mangini said in response to a question concerning if this team had rust "You guys saw the bags today where the guys ran to the bags at the beginning of practice. I've watched that pretty much since I've been in the league. We did it early on, it was some of the worst I've ever seen. It was horrible." If that isn't a testament to how poorly this team has been coached I don't know what is. So there is work to be done. With that being said I do think the Jets will surprise some opponents this year and win some games.

[RSJ]

Hiring coaches based on close personal friendships has turned out disastrously for the Jets. Mangini was hired ONLY because he is Mike Tannenbaum's best friend in the world since their days as interns under Bill Bellichek in Cleveland. He was not qualified, had no other offers from any of the nine teams looking for new HC's last year and in his only year as a defensive coordinator, he was a flop.

Leon Hess absolutly loved Richie Kotite like a son when he was a TE coach with the Jets before moving on to the Eagles. The day he was fired from the Eagles, the Jets fired Pete Carroll in order to hand the keys of Hofstra over to a coach Leon Hess loved as much as any of his own sons.

Longtime Jet fans will remember when Weeb Ewbank retired and the Jets handed over the HC position to Weeb's son-in-law Charlie Winner. Winner didn't make it through two seasons.

Nothing wrong with hiring people who have worked together in a professional relationship, but a too close personal relationships leads to errors in evaluations of the competencies the candidate may bring to a position.

Mangini will end up like Kotite and Winner in my opinion.

You mean like when Bradway hired his old boyfriend from KC Herm?

[Sperm Edwards]

The question was if you like the DIRECTION the Jets are heading towards. How can it be too early to answer that?

For me, yes, I like what they have done to date. Not every position could be fixed in one off season!

Clemens MAY be the future.... Chad MAY be healthy.... Ramsey MAY give his feet some tranquilizers. It doesn't have to be resolved yet.... by 2007, yes, but NOT now.

I see the CS eyeing several players and positions before they make a move in those areas. The positions and players on the hot seat this year:

QB's: All of them, although Clemens will be the recipient of more patience than the other two. It's possible that by this time next year, both Chad and Ramsey are gone.

RB's: Houston will have a chance to prove he can be the guy. Blaylock and Washington.... one of them is gone by this time next year. I look for the Jets first pick next year to be an RB, if it's high enough to get one of the top two.

Rush/OLB: This is the position Bryan Thomas has the right skill set for. Can he perform in this role? This CS wants to find out, and they will. I CAN see Thomas coming into his own at this spot.

NT: There was a reason they didn't renegotiate DRob's huge contract. If he proves he can't play NT this year, he's gone. He's much more "cuttable" without redoing his contract. In the meantime, they will live with him, Pope and Pouha.

WR: They will live with what they have, but this position was put on the back burner while they addressed other spots that were in worse shape, like the O line. Coles, McCariens, Cotchery could all be gone by next year. More likely, only one, possibly two of them.

So, yes, I definitely like the direction.... and we aren't talking about the destination here yet.... it's much too early for that.

Excellent assessment.

[StillerPaul]

Yeah, i kinda like the direction they are headed. Mangini appears to have started to build this team from the trenches out. And i kinda like that theory. Investing early round picks in O-linemen is not a bad thing IMO. To be competitive in the NFL, there are two simple rules to follow IMO. You must be able to run the ball decently, and you must be able to stop the run decently. Mangini's early moves to address both front seven's is proof enough for me that they are headed in the right direction.