Looking back, we should have never let Randy Thomas and Kareem Mckenzie walk

[Matt39]

You know why the COlts, Steelers etc have such successful offensive lines? Because they've been together forever, not to mention, they're pretty good playes.

Thomas and Mckenzie were both solid for the Jets and are having good years in and out for their respective new teams.

You just dont let solid young offensive linemen walk, even if you have to overpaid a tad.

We sure as hell havent been able to replace them.

[serphnx]

Oh man I have been saying that for years. I loved K-Mac. I still do not understand the rationale for letting him go. Bradway claimed he wanted too much, but Bradway gladly played Drob, Chad and CuMart. I would rather have signed K-Mac long term. If we had K-Mac on the right side Brick would actually not be the liability he is right now for us, since we can just run to the right. Now we need Faneca and to pray.

[JETSFAN5180]

Agree 100% continuity and longevity look around the league.Expecting rookies to do what some offensive linemen do in an entire career is senseless. Losing Kendall hurt this line tremendously.

Im also big on size and we lack it.Look at the Dallas line to name an example.

[Matt39]

Oh man I have been saying that for years. I loved K-Mac. I still do not understand the rationale for letting him go. Bradway claimed he wanted too much, but Bradway gladly played Drob, Chad and CuMart. I would rather have signed K-Mac long term. If we had K-Mac on the right side Brick would actually not be the liability he is right now for us, since we can just run to the right. Now we need Faneca and to pray.

Kareem Mckenzie is a solid starting NFL RT. Bradway drafted some solid players, but once their contract expired, he let them walk without hesistation. Insead he signs a 30+ Curtis Martin and Wayne Chrebet

[Maxman]

They thought they would be able to replace them easily. They were wrong.

[#27TheDominator]

I agree it was a big problem letting those guys walk, but I'm pretty sure MacKenzie got a VERY large contract from the Giants. The Jets were butting up against the cap and he got big money for a RT. They **** the bed on Thomas. The 'skins gutted us that year. I'd add that bull**** deal of letting the Texans pick Ryan Young in the expansion draft for taking Glenn and Coleman (our two starting corners). Talk about not using the strength of your team, rather than fit a square peg (cover cbs) into a round hole (cover2) they gave them away and threw in a young cheap starting o-lineman to make sure they were taken. ****ers.

[Thai Jet]

You know why the COlts, Steelers etc have such successful offensive lines? Because they've been together forever, not to mention, they're pretty good playes.

Thomas and Mckenzie were both solid for the Jets and are having good years in and out for their respective new teams.

You just dont let solid young offensive linemen walk, even if you have to overpaid a tad.

We sure as hell havent been able to replace them.

I don't think we had to much control over Randy Thomas leaving. That pig Daniel Snyder and his open wallet heisted us pretty good right at the opening hour of free agency that year.

[nyjunc]

You know why the COlts, Steelers etc have such successful offensive lines? Because they've been together forever, not to mention, they're pretty good playes.

Thomas and Mckenzie were both solid for the Jets and are having good years in and out for their respective new teams.

You just dont let solid young offensive linemen walk, even if you have to overpaid a tad.

We sure as hell havent been able to replace them.

thomas was a really good player but we effectively replaced him first w/ Dave Szott then w/ Pete kendall. pete should still be here. Mckenzie is an average player but we haven't really replaced him. We've had 3 years and it should have happened in that time, both players were severely overpaid and we were wise not to overspend on them.

[Sperm Edwards]

I agree it was a big problem letting those guys walk, but I'm pretty sure MacKenzie got a VERY large contract from the Giants. The Jets were butting up against the cap and he got big money for a RT. They **** the bed on Thomas. The 'skins gutted us that year. I'd add that bull**** deal of letting the Texans pick Ryan Young in the expansion draft for taking Glenn and Coleman (our two starting corners). Talk about not using the strength of your team, rather than fit a square peg (cover cbs) into a round hole (cover2) they gave them away and threw in a young cheap starting o-lineman to make sure they were taken. ****ers.

The mistake with McKenzie wasn't that we didn't outbid the Giants after 2004. The mistake was in not extending him prior to - or even DURING - the 2004 season. At the time, we balked at the $10M signing bonus he wanted. They waited until he was a UFA & got into a bidding war with every NFL team seeking a new RT. Only a fool does that if there's genuine interest in retaining the player.

Then they compounded the issue by not drafting a (legit) RT prospect to groom for the 2004 season & take his place should we not reach an agreement with McKenzie. That draft pick instead went to Justin McCareins...along with almost the same damn size contract that we refused to give to McKenzie! There were options like moving up a bit (Snee was an early 2nd-rounder) or staying pat & taking Smiley. Both are outstanding guards; we decided that we were better off with Brandon Moore & nobody (only dumb luck landed Kendall on the team in August). A round later we again opted-out of doing what was necessary to secure a McKenzie-clone in Max Starks. We stayed pat & took Derrick Strait.

So the 2004 season came & went. And then a line that should have included Snee or Smiley plus McKenzie or Starks ended up being Brandon Moore & Adrian Jones/Jason Fabini for 5 games/Anthony Clement.

Bradway could teach a class in how NOT to secure a solid OL for the long term. Actually he may have, b/c it sure looks like Mangini took that class; the only difference is Bradway inherited solid players at LT & C who weren't nearing the end of their careers.

[124]

thomas was a really good player but we effectively replaced him first w/ Dave Szott then w/ Pete kendall. pete should still be here. Mckenzie is an average player but we haven't really replaced him. We've had 3 years and it should have happened in that time, both players were severely overpaid and we were wise not to overspend on them.

Is every move the Jets organization makes a great move to you, other than letting Herm Edwards go? Kareem McKenzie is a great run blocking RT. If you didn't notice how Tiki Barber improved when he got there or how Derrick Ward suddenly was running for 100 yards a game, then I'm sorry.

Kareem McKenzie played a big part in all of that. He also isn't called for stupid penalties. I agree with you with letting Thomas go, who cares about him. But McKenzie, looking back on it, we definitely should've re-signed him.

[Kentucky Jet]

They thought they would be able to replace them easily. They were wrong.

MAX, "they" are wrong about a lot of personnel issues! It really is getting annoying to watch the Jets try to play football! excuses can be made but I am tired of excuses and no meaningful football games played by the JETS! We need a ring! IMO Buffalo is closer to one then we are! We are in the same category as ARIZONA & DETROIT! Yet they are starting to "get it". When will we?

[Green DNA]

I don't think we had to much control over Randy Thomas leaving. That pig Daniel Snyder and his open wallet heisted us pretty good right at the opening hour of free agency that year.

The Jets had complete control over the situation. Thomas wanted to stay and wanted to get a deal done during the season but Bradway would not talk to him. I think he extended Jason Fabini instead

[Matt39]

Randy Thomas WANTED to remain a Jet.

We threw money at all the wrong people during Bradways tenure.

[drago]

brick ___ Mangold _____Mckenzie

i don't care who the guards are, adding on mckenzie would have been huge for us. I'm not sure how it isn't obvious that teams need good to great O-lines for long term success.

BTW, i heard on MNF this week that we let jeff saturday walk? when the crap did that happen?

[madmike1]

Letting Mckenzie go was almost as bad as letting jason furgeson go...

[pjam76]

Why does it seem like deja vu all over again. I mean like Kendall or not, the fact they never bothered to replace the guy speaks volumes. The Colts replace a pro bowl OL while the Jets can't even replace an avg OL. Go figure why one team always is a contender and the other can't get out of their own stupid way.

[nyjunc]

Is every move the Jets organization makes a great move to you, other than letting Herm Edwards go? Kareem McKenzie is a great run blocking RT. If you didn't notice how Tiki Barber improved when he got there or how Derrick Ward suddenly was running for 100 yards a game, then I'm sorry.

Kareem McKenzie played a big part in all of that. He also isn't called for stupid penalties. I agree with you with letting Thomas go, who cares about him. But McKenzie, looking back on it, we definitely should've re-signed him.

So b/c of Mckenzie is why tiki's YPC went up from '04 to '05? Is that why Curtis' YPC went down when Mckenzie became the starter in 2002? why did Tiki have the same YPC in '01 he had in '05? Kareem was a GOOD player for us, you are making himout to be alot better than he is/was. He is not irreplaceable and the Giants severely overpaid him just like Wash did w/ thomas. We haven't really replaced Kareem but that is on the FO. They have neglected that area but we did effectively replace Randy Thomas.

[Sperm Edwards]

I forget which year - it might have been 2004 - but the take-what-the-OL-gives-me Martin (or the team in general) averaged more than a full yard per carry more running to the right than to the left. Don't know if it was more than one year, but citing McKenzie's first season as an NFL starter as a reason for a decreased ypc, and therefore as an argument for a career-long mediocrity, is silliness.

He was a good all-around & penalty-free RT who we drafted ourselves & never should have let him hit FA. When we didn't extend him before 2004 he wanted as much as $10M in SB. We balked. The next year, the Giants offered him $12.5M up front, which we wouldn't match after nixing a smaller amount.

[#27TheDominator]

Well, you have to agree that while KMac was good, he was not a monster irreplaceable offensive tackle. They didn't replace him, but they could and should have. It's kind of strange to blame the Mangini crowd for MacKenzie and Thomas. I blame them for letting Kendall walk, but that's hardly the same thing.

Offensive line needs both talent and cohesion. I'd prefer not to replace too many guys at once. That's why I was in favor of keeping Clement, but that was before they ditched Kendall. They acted like Clarke and/or Bender could replace Kendall. So far that hasn't worked out, but I think Clarke has been looking better lately and the running game has been looking up. Some of that is quality of opposition, but hopefully he's fitting in. Of course, if they thought all it would take was time in the system they wouldn't have benched him for a small school 6th round pick OT.

[nyjunc]

I forget which year - it might have been 2004 - but the take-what-the-OL-gives-me Martin (or the team in general) averaged more than a full yard per carry more running to the right than to the left. Don't know if it was more than one year, but citing McKenzie's first season as an NFL starter as a reason for a decreased ypc, and therefore as an argument for a career-long mediocrity, is silliness.

He was a good all-around & penalty-free RT who we drafted ourselves & never should have let him hit FA. When we didn't extend him before 2004 he wanted as much as $10M in SB. We balked. The next year, the Giants offered him $12.5M up front, which we wouldn't match after nixing a smaller amount.

I don't know the #s for which side of the field curtis was more successful running at, the other poster made it sound like Tiki's explosion was all due to kareem when in fact tiki had averaged the same YPC a few years earlier. i liked kareem, he was a solid player but not worth the amount of mony the Giants gave him and he was penaty free his first year and a half or so but he committedalot his last year and a half and alot of Giant fans have comlained about him the pastfe wyears(I haven't watch him enough to know if he's been bad or good).

Getting rid of kendall was alot worse than letting either thomas or Mckenzie go. those guys were offered insane deals(though like someone noted we should have locked up RT earlier) and we wisely didn't match but we had Kendall under contract and even w/ a slig raie he still wouldn't have been overpaid but instead to prove a point we dealt him w/ no real backup plan in place.