I knew he had the potential to be OK in this role, but had concerns over whether he could make the transition, having invested the first three years of his career into learning to play as a 4-3 end, including adding weight. He seems to have handled it well and is now a reliable cog.

Does anyone else have problems with the Vilma pdf automatically downloading again and again while they’re logged into this page?

On another note, it is hilarious to me that some ESPN/CNNSI writers, when analyzing the playoff race, fall back on stuff like “despite a favorable schedule, the JETS just do not have enough playmakers on offense…” Has anybody clued these guys in as to what Coles & Cotchery have done this season?

Would like to see Baker a little more involved in passing game.

We will be in a decent position cap wise, but not waaaay under because a lot of Chad’s money was NLTBE* and therefore deferred into next year. However, the key is that we now don’t really have any important UFAs to re-sign so we can explore the market without having to dump guys to make room.

* = not likely to be earned

http://video.on.nytimes.com/?fr_story=be27ff638d21e7dec8fe983f675430d9c29e5012&rf=bm

“Bryan would have had many opportunities in the free agent market and the possibility to earn more money,” said Mackler. “With the direction that Coach Mangini and the Jets organization are taking, Bryan decided that this is where he wanted to be.”

I really like that last sentence.

Now, 5/$25M/$9M is real money, and not exactly a bargain for a player with essentially an 11 game track record. But, a comparable player was McGinest who is quite a bit older but obviously has a longer record of success, got 3/$12M/$6M from Cleveland earlier this year.

The Thomas re-signing is good because:
1) It shows that he’s really bought into the role and the coaching staff.
2) It demonstrates to other players that an ability to be flexible and give up the potential for gaudy stats (pure sacks ala Abraham) and contribute more consistently and soundly in several aspects of the game will be rewarded (in this case, Thomas plays a much bigger role in run defense, pass defense, and pass rushing than he would as a 4-3 DE.) For a similar theme, see the quotes from Mangini after the Houston game. He gushes about McCareins taking on special teams duties and contributing immediately.

Does anyone know the salary cap ramifications of getting this done this year instead of waiting until next season? I assume some of the prorated bonus money stays in this year. Any thoughts? If so, its also a great use of the remaining salary cap room for ’06. Unlike in past year, I expect Tennenbaum to keep some cap space every year to allow these kind of mid-season moves.

All in all, I’m happy with the move.

Bryan Thomas 5 years, 25m, 9m guaranteed (11 games, 58 tackles, 5 sacks).

Dilemma…Thomas and Mangold or John Abraham. Hmmm….*evil laugh*.

They can get a DE pass rushing monster instead. Or, not. Lately, everyone is getting into the QB-pressure game for the Jets: Barton, Hobson, Rhodes, Ellis and Robertson. Robertson is becoming an all around monster.