The Week From Hell?

[MikeJetsWord]

This past week has been one of the strangest I have witnessed as a Jets fan. Losing two of the longest tenured players is always going to be a shock to the fan base, as we have watched these guys spend their entire careers here. All in all, after the initial emotions that come from something like this, I think its important to take a step back and look at the situation objectively.

I will say first, that I trust Rex and Tanny's vision for the team, and any sort of plans they have for how they want to make up the roster. If they see players on the roster that fit their vision obviously they are going to make the necessary moves to ensure we keep them. Take a look at the longer contracts we have given out over the past 2-3 years: These players are the "core" of Rex and Tanny's team. Holmes, Revis, Harris, Mangold, Sanchez, D'Brick, Scott, Leonhard, Cromartie, Pace. These are players that have long-term contracts with the Jets, and are absolutely a part of the future. It could be argued that most of these players have the pro-bowl potential, and with that kind of talent, we should almost always be competitive.

That being said, I think it is obvious that the players that left this week were not part of the future. Cotchery, as much as I loved having him on the team (my favorite player), the fact that we brought in two big name WRs while he was here meant that he was not part of the plans. Cotchery obviously felt disrespected, and wanted out, simple as that. Shaun Ellis was getting old, and honestly had no future here after the draft. I actually think that the contract was a sign of respect in that he was obviously not part of the future, but gave him a chance to play here to finish out his career. Shaun had to do what he could to maximize what could be his last contract, and I have no ill will towards him. The Pats were the only other team interested, and he obviously made more money/bigger role. It is a no-brainer. No matter what people say, I believe we are still loyal to our players -- letting Cotchery go to do what he wanted was a sign of respect (look at Palmer in Cincy) as was offering Ellis a contract despite the minimum offer also.

We have a lot of young players with potential. The sky is not falling, and if some of these guys can prove to be productive (Westerman, Wilson, Wilkerson, K. Ellis, Kerley, Keller, Lowery, P. Turner, Ropati, Devito, Ducasse.. etc.) we will just fine, and no worse than last year. These players may never reach all-star status, but if they can at least be somewhat productive, they will have filled their role in Rex's system. This shows Rex's confidence in his system and in these players, and I for one am still excited for the season. No matter what, we all root for the laundry and not the individual players. I think no matter where J-Co ends up I will always root for him to do well, just not against the Jets. But this team is still stacked, and I think will surprise some of the doubters.

J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS!

[JetsFanFromQueens]

Excellent post MJW.

[MikeJetsWord]

Excellent post MJW.

Thanks.. I try to keep a level head sometimes haha

[JiFtheOracle]

Great post...what all these silly "must have probowler at every position/must sign every big name free agent" bozo's dont realize is that this team is all about its core. We win and lose games at the LOS, which is why we have one of the best OL's in the league and why we are moving toward having one of the bigger beefier DL's in the league.

When your core is Mangold, DBrick, Moore, Sanchez, Greene, Holmes, Keller on offense, you're going to win games despite your 2nd/3rd WR - eventhough Plax and Mason are luxuries and great options.

When your core on defense is Pouha, DeVito, Harris, Scott, Pace, Leonhard, Cro, Revis and then a bunch of young talent looking to step up (Wilk, Wilson, Ellis, etc) - you're going to have a hard time scoring on the Jets.

The players who WIN the Jets Football games, are here locked up for a long time. The pieces you put in around that core are going to come and go and are a very small piece to the puzzle.

[Sperm Edwards]

Great post...what all these silly "must have probowler at every position/must sign every big name free agent" bozo's dont realize is that this team is all about its core. We win and lose games at the LOS, which is why we have one of the best OL's in the league and why we are moving toward having one of the bigger beefier DL's in the league.

When your core is Mangold, DBrick, Moore, Sanchez, Greene, Holmes, Keller on offense, you're going to win games despite your 2nd/3rd WR - eventhough Plax and Mason are luxuries and great options.

When your core on defense is Pouha, DeVito, Harris, Scott, Pace, Leonhard, Cro, Revis and then a bunch of young talent looking to step up (Wilk, Wilson, Ellis, etc) - you're going to have a hard time scoring on the Jets.

The players who WIN the Jets Football games, are here locked up for a long time. The pieces you put in around that core are going to come and go and are a very small piece to the puzzle.

Agreed except for one player.

I don't think that Pouha can be lumped in with the "core" players you mentioned. He's a core player, in that he's a starter, for 2011. After this season he'll be a 33 year-old UFA. So if Ellis develops as we think/hope he will, the Jets are likely going to get Pouha signed for a reasonable amount (probably 3 years in the $2-3M or less range) or he's going to be signing elsewhere for more if other offers are significantly higher.

Leonhard is also a UFA after this season. Barring some other team unexpectedly swooping in with huge dollars for him, or injury or unexpected sharp decline in his play this season, I believe he'll get a decent-enough offer from the Jets to stay with Rex for another contract.

[Smashmouth]

The Jets FO did a great job of resigning their core players and to be honest I think we all expected they would pull that off with minimal losses. We did lose a very good special teams player who will be very hard to replace BUT the key here is Mike Westhoff, Im sure he will work some magic with our return team and our coverage teams. So losing Brad Smith may not be that bad a deal no way we were paying him 4 mil per with our cap situation.

I think we Did a fantastic Job in the draft, solidifying our DL and our WR and RB depth obviously this reamins to be seen but its looking good from the camp reports so far. When it comes to our WR's I think we are taking a huge chance, Plax has not seen action in 2 years and Mason slowed down considerably at the end of last year and was non existent in the playoffs. These guys are just way too old for my liking and they still have to get used to our QB and the way we run our offense. If the Jets did not want Braylon thats fine, but I think we did a really poor job replacing him, really poor. If Mason and Plax can stay healthy, Consistent, and not hit a brick wall late in the season I'll be a very happy Jets fan but to say its not a little concerning is just plain silly IMO.

I think we Improved on Defense and have A lot of questions on offense. Not trying to be negative here just trying to be as honest as I can be.

Last but not least I can not believe Brian Shottenheimer is still a coach in this organization. Its obvious someone here does not fully trust him or Callahan would not be the assitent head coach and Tom Moore would not have been hired to help out as a consultant. Bottom line, no matter how many people are helping, sh*tty is still calling plays on sunday. He can be horribly predictable at times and call totally boneheaded plays in the wrong situations at others. I said it last year in the beginning of the season that one botched series by Shott could cost us in the playoffs and sure enough it very well might have with those 4 horrible calls at the goalline in Pittsburgh.

[JiFtheOracle]

Agreed except for one player.

I don't think that Pouha can be lumped in with the "core" players you mentioned. He's a core player, in that he's a starter, for 2011. After this season he'll be a 33 year-old UFA. So if Ellis develops as we think/hope he will, the Jets are likely going to get Pouha signed for a reasonable amount (probably 3 years in the $2-3M or less range) or he's going to be signing elsewhere for more if other offers are significantly higher.

Leonhard is also a UFA after this season. Barring some other team unexpectedly swooping in with huge dollars for him, or injury or unexpected sharp decline in his play this season, I believe he'll get a decent-enough offer from the Jets to stay with Rex for another contract.

True...I just really like Pouha and always have...I forget he's actually older than me because he's only been around for like 4 or 5 years. I guess with that sad, maybe he's able to play a little later into his 30's...less wear and tear, etc. I listed him because in the now, he's a HUGE part of the defense.

I'm pretty sure Leonhard and Rex do it, so unless some scourned lover scenario plays out, I'd imagine him getting another contract from the Jets.

[Sperm Edwards]

True...I just really like Pouha and always have...I forget he's actually older than me because he's only been around for like 4 or 5 years. I guess with that sad, maybe he's able to play a little later into his 30's...less wear and tear, etc. I listed him because in the now, he's a HUGE part of the defense.

I'm pretty sure Leonhard and Rex do it, so unless some scourned lover scenario plays out, I'd imagine him getting another contract from the Jets.

You ALWAYS liked Pouha? He used to suck big-time including at the time we gave him a then-stupid extension that has worked out unbelievably well for us in a way no one could have predicted. Somehow the light went on, went on bright and stayed that way for the most part, when Jenkins went down in '09.

His play the past 2 years has been one of the franchise's best surprises over the past decade or more.

[Bleedin Green]

You ALWAYS liked Pouha? He used to suck big-time including at the time we gave him a then-stupid extension that has worked out unbelievably well for us in a way no one could have predicted. Somehow the light went on, went on bright and stayed that way for the most part, when Jenkins went down in '09.

His play the past 2 years has been one of the franchise's best surprises over the past decade or more.

Yeah, when you're 320+ lb and backing up a 280 lb player at freakin' NT, you know you're just not very good. He's certainly turned things around dramatically since then.

[JiFtheOracle]

You ALWAYS liked Pouha? He used to suck big-time including at the time we gave him a then-stupid extension that has worked out unbelievably well for us in a way no one could have predicted. Somehow the light went on, went on bright and stayed that way for the most part, when Jenkins went down in '09.

His play the past 2 years has been one of the franchise's best surprises over the past decade or more.

Yes, I've always liked Pouha...he used to get some time during the Mangini era and I thought he showed promise. Dont know why you thought he sucked big-time, I thought he was always stout vs. the run...seemed to me like he always give us good minutes and I always liked what I read of him out of camp reports. Never thought he could be a full time NT, that is definitely a nice surprise, but I always thought the kid had promise.

[rollingrock49]

love this post. thank god there are still level headed people out there. Ooh we lost Shaun Ellis the sky is falling? people who said that are the same people last year complaining about him starting and how we needed to get young blood in there.

Cotchery is also one of my favs but honestly he wanted out so good for them to respect him enough to let him move on. D Mase may be a whiner but living in Baltimore I got to watch an amazing receiver who was flaccos go to guy. He will fit right in and has been a better producer on the field compared to jerricho for the past few years. the only thing that really upsets me about him leaving is that I need a new jersey. Hunting down wayne chrebet jerseys if anyone has any tips?

[Jared]

Speaking as a Pats fan, I think the Jets had a pretty solid off season. Not spectacular, but not bad. They locked up some of their own key FAs, and upgraded where they could (Plaxico instead of Braylon). I think going after Nnamdi was a waste of time, personally, and it didn't cost them much (in the sense that they still managed to re-sign Cromartie).

I think the Jets would have had a better off season if they were able to keep Cotchery (that guy kills the Pats every game it seems), but I can understand why they decided it was easier to just let him go than try to placate a disgruntled player who could cause locker room turmoil otherwise. Ellis I am happy to have as a Pat (I recall a team made up of veteran FAs like Anthony Pleasant and Bryan Cox having some success once upon a time), but I agree with those Jets fans who say he was going to be phased out sooner or later, so it isn't worth getting upset about.

I don't like judging draft classes until I at least see SOME of them play a little, so overall I give the Jets a "B" for the offseason.

[Jetsfan80]

Speaking as a Pats fan, I think the Jets had a pretty solid off season. Not spectacular, but not bad. They locked up some of their own key FAs, and upgraded where they could (Plaxico instead of Braylon). I think going after Nnamdi was a waste of time, personally, and it didn't cost them much (in the sense that they still managed to re-sign Cromartie).

I think the Jets would have had a better off season if they were able to keep Cotchery (that guy kills the Pats every game it seems), but I can understand why they decided it was easier to just let him go than try to placate a disgruntled player who could cause locker room turmoil otherwise. Ellis I am happy to have as a Pat (I recall a team made up of veteran FAs like Anthony Pleasant and Bryan Cox having some success once upon a time), but I agree with those Jets fans who say he was going to be phased out sooner or later, so it isn't worth getting upset about.

I don't like judging draft classes until I at least see SOME of them play a little, so overall I give the Jets a "B" for the offseason.

Can you get any more middle of the road with your opinions than this?

[Jared]

lol, what can I say, I'm a middle of the road kind of guy, and the Jets had a middle of the road kind of offseason. I take a similar approach to the Patriots off season by the way, except I'm more inclined to give it an "incomplete" until I see how Ocho and Albert play.

One of the reasons I don't like posting at Patsfans is that so many people who post there, in part because they are so passionate about their team, are also very extreme about their opinions (either positive or negative). I like having reasonable discussions with people who have different perspectives.

[#27TheDominator]

Yes, I've always liked Pouha...he used to get some time during the Mangini era and I thought he showed promise. Dont know why you thought he sucked big-time, I thought he was always stout vs. the run...seemed to me like he always give us good minutes and I always liked what I read of him out of camp reports. Never thought he could be a full time NT, that is definitely a nice surprise, but I always thought the kid had promise.

Disagree. I'm with Sperm. Pouha blew under Mangini. That could have been Mangini misusing him, but he seemed to get pushed around significantly more than everybody's favorite whipping boy, Dewayne Robertson. It was extra annoying because his advanced age was supposed to mean that he came to the team ready to see the field. He lookes 500% better to me now.

[flgreen]

Yes, I've always liked Pouha...he used to get some time during the Mangini era and I thought he showed promise. Dont know why you thought he sucked big-time, I thought he was always stout vs. the run...seemed to me like he always give us good minutes and I always liked what I read of him out of camp reports. Never thought he could be a full time NT, that is definitely a nice surprise, but I always thought the kid had promise.

I agree. I've always liked Pouha also, and don't think he ever sucked. He always did what was asked of him as a back up, and that's why they gave him a new contract.

When he was given his chance when Jenkins went done he again did what was asked of him, and played well as a starter. What's not to like?

[Sperm Edwards]

Yes, I've always liked Pouha...he used to get some time during the Mangini era and I thought he showed promise. Dont know why you thought he sucked big-time, I thought he was always stout vs. the run...seemed to me like he always give us good minutes and I always liked what I read of him out of camp reports. Never thought he could be a full time NT, that is definitely a nice surprise, but I always thought the kid had promise.

Except that he wasn't always stout vs the run. He'd get pushed backwards, especially when he dropped down to 305 lbs a few years back.

[JiFtheOracle]

Disagree. I'm with Sperm. Pouha blew under Mangini. That could have been Mangini misusing him, but he seemed to get pushed around significantly more than everybody's favorite whipping boy, Dewayne Robertson. It was extra annoying because his advanced age was supposed to mean that he came to the team ready to see the field. He lookes 500% better to me now.

Except that he wasn't always stout vs the run. He'd get pushed backwards, especially when he dropped down to 305 lbs a few years back.

Interesting...you both saw it differently. Felt like I thought he was doing good when given the chance. Either way, who cares, he's a damn good player now and is vital to the defense. Maybe not a core guy for the future...but extremely important today.

[Sperm Edwards]

Interesting...you both saw it differently. Felt like I thought he was doing good when given the chance. Either way, who cares, he's a damn good player now and is vital to the defense. Maybe not a core guy for the future...but extremely important today.

Nobody likes you.

[JiFtheOracle]

Nobody likes you.

Tell me something I dont know.

[THE ILK]

.

[Jared]

Can't we all get along?