The Official 2012 New York Jets Offseason Thread

[Rich Rane]

With a record of 8-8, this team has missed the playoffs, starting the Jets's offseason early this year. How do we improve the team?

I think this team carries two many corners. Revis, Cromartie, and Wilson are the dependable ones. Marquice Cole, Donald Strickland, Ellis Lankster, Isiah Trufant...I've seen each and every one of them outmatched and look lost on both man and zone coverages. I think we should carry 5 at most.

With Revis and Cromartie alone, not many offenses threw at the corners. Instead, it was the middle of the field for huge gains where we were torched. I was sick of Eric Smith last year. I still don't want him on the team. I can't even count the number of times Revis or Cromartie thought they had safety help and Smith leaves their man downfield for the big gain. I'd like for the front office to pick up a free safety (or both safety spots with Leonhard being a UFA). Pool is also a UFA. Bring in Leonhard back for another year and bring back Pool in for another year or revamp both spots entirely and keep in mind that the draft isn't exactly full on safety prospects. Tyvon Branch might be available if he wants to leave Oakland. He's not great in man coverage, but plays well in zone. Michael Griffin has been incredibly inconsistent over his career, but he too is a UFA this offseason as well.

Now for the front seven. As far as the line goes, I expect (more hoping than expecting) a lot from Kenrick Ellis next year, especially if Pouha (UFA) decides to sign elsewhere. A line of him, DeVito (although I've noticed more offenses running the ball with more success at him), and Wilkerson is fine with me (though I prefer we keep Pouha). The backups are fine as well with Dixon, Tevaseu, and Pitoitua.

I still like our starting linebackers, but it's hard keeping Bart Scott and Bryan Thomas (who's a UFA this offseason) fresh. Aaron Maybin turned out to be a solid passrusher. Bellore did well for a rookie. I still like Mauga. I don't mind if they brought back Westerman as well. The name in free agency to look out for is Mario Williams. He suffered a torn pectoral muscle in Week 5, ending his season early, but I'm sure the market will still be out of the Jets's price range. In other words guys, I still like our defense, but this team severely needs safety help. For all of the blitz packages with the front seven, a accurate quick trigger QB always burns the Jets in the middle of the field.





Offense...the Jets got the ball rolling already with cutting Schottenheimer, but my goodness, somebody address the offensive line. Wayne Hunter played like someone who should be put on the practice squad, let alone be a backup on any NFL team. Ferguson regressed this season as well, but I have not given up on him at all. Moore is still solid. Slauson had some bad games and some good ones, but I'd be more comfortable with him as a backup than a full starter. Mangold is the only constant force on the line and when he went down, the line became doormen to defenses to Sanchez. Run blocking was awful as well and has been downgrading every year of Rex's tenure. I pray this changes with Sparano.

Jets front office better not call a Mulligan and allow him back this year. I want to see what Cumberland could do. Another solid blocking tight end and I'll be satisfied.

Sanchez and the receivers I'm still fine with. Like I said, I'm willing to give Sanchez one more year under a new OC and hopefully a much better line (this is where I see Jets fans divided on most). I'm pissed at Holmes, but I doubt the front office lets him go with that new contract. If they decide not to bring back Plax and they can afford it, they should go after Dwayne Bowe hard (I think more than Vincent Jackson and DeSean Jackson).

LT I don't mind if he decides to retire. Greene has been pissing me off since last season with his damn stutter steps. There's McKnight and Powell, neither are ready to take a good portion of snaps (More reason not to like the Powell pick last year). Conner is still a solid versatile fullback.





Folk earned this season with his kicking in last season's playoffs. This year...Josh Scobee's a UFA this offseason...Conley did very well this season. Now if McKnight will learn how to properly field kicks, I'll be very happy with him as a returner.

Now, for all the names in free agency, I'm not exactly sure what our cap situation is like so...yeah.

[Flaming Mo]

Good post! I try to give my take on some of your points...

The Jets carry so many corners because Rex loves to play small ball and a lot of corners. Heck, we got two big time starting corners (Cro is atleast paid as one) and we still drafted Wilson, not many teams do that. Strickland and Cole are really really good as 4th or 5th corners, actually I think Cole is in a bad spot cause he rarely gets playing time despite always looking good when he's out there (remember last year at Pitt or the season finale against Buffalo). Another reason for our deep cornerback group is that Westhoff has a big say in the last ten or so spots on the roster. Cole and Trufant are our gunners and they are great at that. Lankster is another very good special teamer. I agree with you though that we could let one of those guys go.

As you said, the safety position has been the biggest problem with this team for years. Don't even get me started about Eric Smith, I think he is horrible as a starter. He's a solid special teamer and a decent "rover" where he comes in as a LB in passing situations. Other than that he is awful, slow, late to the play and just not athletic enough. In the offseason this position will carry the most question marks. Pool and Leonhard are free agents and Jim is coming off his second major injury. Not good even though he's our best safety. The free agent class is very deep with guys like Michael Griffin, Chris Hope (both Titans), Laron Landry (Redskins), Reggie Nelson (Bengals), Tyvon Branch (Raiders), Charles Godfrey (Panthers) and Dashon Goldson (49ers) hitting the market. I think Nelson would be nice as a center fielder but basically everybody is an upgrade over Eric Smith. I expect a big shakeup at the position as the league and especially NE are emphasizing the tight end position more and more.

At other positions I dont see a lot of options for the Jets in free agency. There are some decent OLB but only ones who really wont solve our pass rush problems. I think we will draft a young rusher and see how Maybin develops. As a stopgap Ahmad Brooks would be very good as he is basically a younger version of Bryan Thomas who we really missed last year. Right tackle has been a desaster last year and Hunter was so bad that he needs to replaced. The free agent class is horrible (Khalif Barnes, Levi Brown, Demetrius Bell and Kareem McKenzie are the best options) but the draft should offer a lot of players who would fit Sparano's wish for big, massive maulers. Think of Cordy Glenn (Georgia), Mike Adams (Ohio State), Levy Adcock (Oklahoma State) or Kelechi Osemele (Iowa State) among others.

The wide receiver position is another big question mark and after what went on last year, we need fresh blood and more talent at the position. Dont get me wrong, we are a run first team and dont need a receiving corps that is five or six players deep. I dont know what will happen with Santonio but he is virtually uncuttable and untradable but you never know. Plax is done and has to go, we need a guy who can stretch the field (something like Braylon Edwards did when he was with the Jets). With our run game we need someone who can take shots and who we can address when we want a big play. Robert Meachem fits that mold and is a free agent. He should also come at a reasonable price being a role player in NO. There are some big names hitting the market with Dwayne Bowe, Stevie Johnson, Vincent Jackson and DeSean Jackson, I doubt we invest much here though. There will be plenty of good receivers available later in the draft like Dwight Jones, BJ Cunningham, DeVier Posey or Marvin McNutt. We also need another tight end, Josh Baker looked good but we need someone we can really count on when we run two tight end sets.

There are numerous big time questions the Jets face this offseason:
Will Bart Scott return for another year as the starter next to David Harris?
What will happen with Santonio Holmes?
Do we give LT another contract?
Will we finally add speed and athletisism to a defense that Rex had performing way above its talent level for years?
What playmakers will we bring in on offense?
Which hole will we fill first in free agency? RT, S, WR?

[Stannis]

Peyton Manning.

[DowNY]

Who do y'all think we can realistically get in Free Agency?

I feel like if we restructure a few contracts and extend Revis, cut Wayne Hunter and Brandon Moore ( try to sign Moore to a cheaper deal) then we can have a good amount of money to work with.
Re-sign Pouha & re-sign Leanord to a much cheaper deal.

I think we can realistically knock out major needs in 3 moves and then just head to the draft with great confidence to pick BPA with our first pick.

If the Giants win another Superbowl, there's going to be even more pressure to make some noise by Woody & Tanny. I'm sure tons of fans would love the Peyton Manning signing but not I.
I think we can make that major move by signing first, Mario Williams and turning into into our OLB to go opposite of Pace.
Due to the Texans needing to fulfill other obligations to other positions of need with their own players.
They did great, even without Mario and the franchise tag would be too high to tie into him. He can definitely hit Free Agency and that's the major move we need to make to establish we still mean business.

2nd - , I would look to lock up a Safety who can actually play. I say either Michael Griffin, Reggie Nelson, Tyvon Branch, or Goldson gets the contract. So now we can go into the draft and take one in the middle rounds instead of so early. 4th rd sounds about right. Especially if Leanord is back for cheap and Pool or Smith is back for cheap.

3rd - , I say we go for a OT obviously. Still would take one maybe 3rd rd. But, as far as a veteran I say we target either Demetrius Bell or Anthony Collins

We lock up these 3 and we're in perfect position heading into the draft.

Draft comes around,
I think at pick 16, a young WR. I say we go with Michael Floyd.
He has #1 WR potential and if Santonio acts up one more season, then we send him packing and have Michael Floyd & Jeremy Kerley just slide up the depth charts to 1 & 2. Both have potential to be very good. Jeff Cumberland is also back and him and Keller will be doing damage in double TE formats and be dangerous with the likes of Santonio & Floyd. Plus, I hear there's some people that would accept Braylon back for cheap at the 2nd WR spot & I say no. Couldn't even stay healthy for the 49ers, knowing he's in a big contract year and didn't like how he didn't take less from us in the first place. He can say all he wants on twitter how he miss NY and the fans but that's where it stops. Let's get young for once at the WR spot. Young and talented. Braylon isn't getting younger.

Round 2, we can go after Bart Scott successor and grab an ILB. Who? Don't quite know. But it would be a smart choice, whether he's back or not.

After that, I think we should target more O-Line help in the 3rd and Saftey help in the 4th.

Also just found out we have extra compensation picks. So I believe we have 2 5th rounders, 3 6th rounders, & 3 7th rounders. Depth, Depth, Depth.

We should easily be back in the Super Bowl talks with this Defense and Mark snapping out of it. Also if him & Santonio have a sit down and squash whatever immature beef there is between them for the better of their legacy and our franchise.

[DowNY]

Not saying this plan for signees are good &/or draft choices but I like this guys breakdown of salary cap impact to different cuts and re-constructions.

http://www.footballsfuture.com/phpBB2/v ... p?t=478394

[Stannis]

I disagree, if the Jets can get Peyton Manning they should. Mark Sanchez is awful.

[DowNY]

Yeah, that's smart.
Let's tie all of our money into Peyton Manning instead of defensive players &/or OLine help. Let's hope all the rookies we draft are able to start. Let the Patriots or Bills sign Mario Williams so he can go beast mode on one of the rookies and hit Peyton and officially end is career in the middle of the season.
We'll be in great shape then.

[Stannis]

He is not going to get that much money as you make it out to me. If he is healthy, why would you miss out on a chance for Manning. What if he goes to the Dolphins? Jets will miss out on the playoffs next year too.

[DowNY]

If Manning goes to the Dolphins, coming off a major injury at his age & Mario comes to the Jets (Along with a vet safety like Nelson, Branch, Griffin, LaRon) then I'm willing to take my chances with our Defense. Especially if we get a good ILB in the 2nd or 3rd of the draft to be the successor of Bart Scott. Hopefully Vondaze Burfict falls to us in the 2nd rd & we're back in the Top 3 defense right off the bat.

Better chance Manning ends up in Arizona anyway. Fitzgerald to throw to, no pressure from the media outlet like it is here, and it's in the NFC where he has a better chance to compete and win. Makes sense to a guy like Manning to want to go somewhere like Arizona and stay low.

[atribecalledrch]

Wait. Mario Williams is a free agent? And we need a DE? And who knows if Peyton will even ask for megabucks. He does alot of endorsements and prob has 3 good years left. Arizona sucks though and have no defense and no interest. The AFC South was a more interesting division than the NFC West. Now Imagine him in Green and White. Playing his rival Tom Brady twice a year and seeing his other rival Eli fighting him for the NY spotlight every week. Peyton is an extremely competitive guy and the Jets are the team that gives him the best chance to win with a top 5 defense, a good TE, a good O Line, good developing slot receiver. BTW If Sanchez really wanted to get better he would endorse this, take a pay cut and watch one of the greatest QBs ever get it done and learn from him. Have us a lil Montana-Young situation going on.

[Stannis]

Not sure how the NFL works things, but if the Colts cut Peyton Manning, does he still get his money or not?

[DowNY]

Won't command much money? This isn't the NBA. He's gonna command enough money that can be put to better needs. I'm sorry. Manning is a legend but I doubt the Jets take this route again(Farve).They're not giving up on a QB they traded up in the first rd to get & has taken them to 2 AFC championship games in his 3 yr career over a player whom health is still in doubt coming over his 3rd neck surgery at the age 36, especially with our OLine not at it's best of late. The first sack on him, we would all cringe and pray he isn't out for the season. Our season would be over just like that. So would the future of our franchise because I can tell you right now, there's no way in hell we can afford to sign Peyton & keep Mark as a backup. We would have to rely on McElroy to be our QB of the future? No.
Get real.
A fused neck vertebrae will limit any great QB.
He's a Mario Williams hard sack away from being in a wheelchair.
ESPN is even reporting, at best he'll only have 80% of his arm strength back.

Believe in Mark, for at least one more season. Give him a better OLine(right side) & let's see what he can do without Schotty screwing his game up & a young mobile #2 receiver (not Braylon), Kerley in the slot, & Cumberland back to go double TE sets with Keller. Compare Peyton's third season with Mark's. You can't keep resetting your roster.

You restructure some contracts and go full steam at Mario Williams, get a S in FA, S in the draft somewhere and a ILB early in the draft (2nd or 3rd rd) & we'll have the #1 defense like 2 seasons ago, barring major injuries.

[DowNY]

@Mark_Sanchez @Pouha91 Hope your getting as antsy as me for the 2012-13 season to start. One more day til we start to make that journey

about 1 hour ago via Twitter for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite
@santonio10
Santonio Holmes

This was floating around on varies football sites earlier as well. Tweet from Tone to Mark & Pouha.

[Stannis]

Osi is a free agent, I do not think the Giants are going to resign him to his commands with JPP and Justin Tuck. Jets should definitely make a push for him though.

I hope the Giants keep him though. Put Justin Tuck at a DT or something.

[Rich Rane]

Osi is a free agent, I do not think the Giants are going to resign him to his commands with JPP and Justin Tuck. Jets should definitely make a push for him though.

I hope the Giants keep him though. Put Justin Tuck at a DT or something.

I'm not so sure Umenyiora can play the 3-4 DE or OLB.

[Stannis]

Osi is a free agent, I do not think the Giants are going to resign him to his commands with JPP and Justin Tuck. Jets should definitely make a push for him though.

I hope the Giants keep him though. Put Justin Tuck at a DT or something.

I'm not so sure Umenyiora can play the 3-4 DE or OLB.

Better than what you have.

[Rich Rane]

A what could very well be a minimal production upgrade here probably wouldn't equal the type of contract Osi would command.

[DowNY]

Like I said, we need to target Mario Williams at all cost. I know we can make cap room for him, a safety like Tyvon Branch or Reggie Nelson, & a decent RT in Free Agency. Then fill the rest cap space with draftees.

Really like Michael Floyd potentially next to Santonio & throwing up his Flight boy TD celebration.

Also like Vondaze Burfict. May have to trade up in the 2 or late first for him.

Also get a few compensation picks, so it'll make up for a trade up in the draft.

[Stannis]

They definitely need to give Sanchez a legit receiving core before judging him.

[Rich Rane]

They definitely need to give Sanchez a legit receiving core before judging him.

It's not the receivers (though not all of their fault). It was the damn O-line. Hunter belonged on a practice squad this season. Ferguson didn't do well this year either and Slauson had some horrendous games of his own.