F.Chowds Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 The New York Jets have only one safety signed for the upcoming NFL season, but he's a damn good one. Jim Leonhard is shockingly unappreciated by NFL fans. Again, I'm a Patriots fan, so this isn't easy for me to admit, but Leonhard might just be one of the top 10 safeties in the NFL right now. He just brings so much to the table. I beg you, don't look at his stats. Just look at this: First game against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots (with Jim Leonhard): Win, 28-14 Second game against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots (without Jim Leonhard): Loss, 45-3 Now, were there a lot of other factors involved? Yes. Did the Jets avenge that second loss without Leonhard with a 28-21 playoff victory (also without Leonhard)? Yes. But Leonhard got injured right before that second meeting. Just like when the Celtics lost Kendrick Perkins at the beginning of Game 6 of the 2010 NBA Finals, it sucked the life out of the team. There aren't many players in the NFL who would have as strong of an emotional affect on their team as Leonhard did that day. Leonhard is not only a superb safety, he's an extraordinary punt returner. As for Pool and Smith, they aren't too shabby either. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/757296-nfl-power-rankings-rating-the-best-safety-tandems-of-2011 On Brodney's Rotoworld page, there is a fascinating statistic. Pool allowed zero touchdown passes in the second half of the season. For a guy who most people haven't even heard of, that is pretty nifty. Smith, despite Jets fans pleading for his release, did a solid job in relief of both Pool and Leonhard last season. His versatility should be enough for New York to resign him this offseason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T0mShane Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 The only stats I care about are HEADINESS and GRIT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleedin Green Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 The only stats I care about are HEADINESS and GRIT. Leonhard / Smith, #1 safety tandem in the NFL in these categories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RutgersJetFan Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 Leonhard is not only a superb safety, he's an extraordinary punt returner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt39 Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 I know the cute thing these days is too tweak fun at white guys by using "grit" and "high football IQ" but Leonhard is a good football player. Outstanding punt returner is a stretch but the guy will catch it in a monsoon. Catching punts even at the NFL level seems to be an issue. Brodney played well down the stretch also-is he going to be back? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMaynard Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 Jim Hudson and Billy Baird were a pretty good combo. I wonder if they are still in shape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F.Chowds Posted July 16, 2011 Author Share Posted July 16, 2011 Brodney played well down the stretch He was money in the INDY game! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigL Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 The New York Jets have only one safety signed for the upcoming NFL season, but he's a damn good one. Jim Leonhard is shockingly unappreciated by NFL fans. Again, I'm a Patriots fan, so this isn't easy for me to admit, but Leonhard might just be one of the top 10 safeties in the NFL right now. He just brings so much to the table. I beg you, don't look at his stats. Just look at this: First game against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots (with Jim Leonhard): Win, 28-14 Second game against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots (without Jim Leonhard): Loss, 45-3 Now, were there a lot of other factors involved? Yes. Did the Jets avenge that second loss without Leonhard with a 28-21 playoff victory (also without Leonhard)? Yes. But Leonhard got injured right before that second meeting. Just like when the Celtics lost Kendrick Perkins at the beginning of Game 6 of the 2010 NBA Finals, it sucked the life out of the team. There aren't many players in the NFL who would have as strong of an emotional affect on their team as Leonhard did that day. Leonhard is not only a superb safety, he's an extraordinary punt returner. As for Pool and Smith, they aren't too shabby either. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/757296-nfl-power-rankings-rating-the-best-safety-tandems-of-2011 On Brodney's Rotoworld page, there is a fascinating statistic. Pool allowed zero touchdown passes in the second half of the season. For a guy who most people haven't even heard of, that is pretty nifty. Smith, despite Jets fans pleading for his release, did a solid job in relief of both Pool and Leonhard last season. His versatility should be enough for New York to resign him this offseason. Eric Smith sucks. Everytime he is on the field we are prone to give up a big pass play to whoever he is supposed to cover. His run support is decent because he's not afraid to put his head in there, but even then he is average at best. Poole is better then Smith but still on a defense like the Jets run we need a playmaker at safety, which we do not have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirlancemehlot Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 The only stats I care about are HEADINESS and GRIT. I prefer to rate safeties on GUMPTION and STICK-TO-IT-TIVENESS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T0mShane Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 I prefer to rate safeties on GUMPTION and STICK-TO-IT-TIVENESS. This post smacks of RACISM!! You wouldn't happen to be a COP, would you!?!?!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirlancemehlot Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 This post smacks of RACISM!! You wouldn't happen to be a COP, would you!?!?!? No. I'm actually an undercover civilian with a pepper spray fetish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Integrity28 Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 Eric Smith sucks. Everytime he is on the field we are prone to give up a big pass play to whoever he is supposed to cover. His run support is decent because he's not afraid to put his head in there, but even then he is average at best. Poole is better then Smith but still on a defense like the Jets run we need a playmaker at safety, which we do not have. I tend to agree with this. In fact, other than Revis, all of the important players in our secondary that came in under Mangini (Drew Coleman, Eric Smith, Dwight Lowery) seem to have one thing in common. More often than not, they play a style of defense which can best be described as "let the WR catch it, then tackle him" and what ends up happening is usually more like "let the WR catch it, then chase him down the field an additional 5 yards... unless its Wes Welker then chase him 15 yards". I've never seen DBs so consistently let WR get free in an uninterrupted route, let WRs make uncontested receptions, and then tackles missed. They drive me nuts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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