Jets full of dough and ready to splurge

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Jets full of dough and ready to splurge

BY TOM ROCK

tom.rock@newsday.com

February 28, 2008

The NFL equivalent of the day after Thanksgiving or Black Friday arrives tomorrow, complete with crazy store hours, consumers handing over huge sums of money, and, most likely at some point in the coming weeks or months, a little bit of buyers' remorse.

Free agency begins at midnight and the Jets, coming off a miserable 4-12 season, should be among the most active shoppers in the league. They certainly need to be. After a forgettable season in which the players and the systems rarely meshed, the Jets have already started to unload some of their mistakes. Now it's time for them to pick up the replacements.

With about $28 million of space under the salary cap -- and that's before any deals that could ship cap-heavy players such as defensive tackle Dewayne Robertson, who was shopped at the combine last week; linebacker Jonathan Vilma, who has been given permission to seek a trade and has already visited the Lions and Saints; and Chad Pennington, of whom general manager Mike Tannenbaum said he would listen to offers -- the Jets are in good position to spend their way away from 2007's disaster.

There are needs, and there are wants. The Jets have both.

Their primary need is an improvement in the offensive line. They already admitted to some faulty decision-making by waiving left guard Adrien Clarke, the player they thought would be able to take the place of Pete Kendall. And they hired offensive line guru Bill Callahan as an assistant head coach, hoping that some of his knowledge will rub off on players like D'Brickashaw Ferguson and Nick Mangold. The Jets will almost certainly try to lure free agent Alan Faneca of the Steelers, a seven-time Pro Bowler who opened lanes for Steelers running backs Jerome Bettis and Willie Parker. If they are unable to acquire Faneca -- money should not be an object for the Jets but the free agent's history with Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt could lure him to the desert -- they may take a look at Jake Scott of the Colts or Reuben Brown of the Bears. The Jets also will be looking for a right tackle, although the incoming draft class seems to offer more solutions at that position than the free-agency group.

As far as wants, the Jets surely are interested in Patriots cornerback Asante Samuel, who played under Eric Mangini in New England. Samuel reportedly is looking for a contract worth about $10 million per year, which may be a bit steep, but with Samuel and Darrelle Revis the Jets could have the best cornerback combo in the AFC. They could shift their attention to Randall Gay, another Pats corner with Mangini ties. The Jets met with Gay last year when he was a restricted free agent and while they didn't sign him to an offer sheet, that could change this year.

The biggest changes for the Jets before the 2008 season begins likely will be the defensive front seven. The Jets learned that having the right type of player in their system (David Harris) can pay dividends and they are likely to part ways with several of their big-name defenders in exchange for draft picks or players who fit the 3-4 scheme.

Last year, the Jets' biggest move of the offseason came in the first week of free agency, but it wasn't a signing it was the trade for Thomas Jones.

This year they can afford to splurge. And after a 4-12 season, perhaps they can't afford not to.

The best available

The top unrestricted free agents available beginning at 12:01 a.m. tomorrow:

Asante Samuel, CB, Patriots. Excellent ball-hawking cornerback. Has totaled 16 interceptions the last two seasons. Jets, Saints and Browns will be in the hunt.

Randy Moss, WR, Patriots. First preference is to return to New England, especially after a career year in 2007 with league-record 23 TD receptions.

Alan Faneca, G, Steelers. One of the top run blockers in the game. Steelers considered him too expensive. Jets could be a good fit after Pete Kendall disaster in 2007.

Lance Briggs, LB, Bears. Top play-making outside linebacker. Appears headed for the 49ers, but Redskins could be in play.

Justin Smith, DE, Bengals. Underrated pass rusher will get plenty of looks from teams starved for sacks.