Kendall will be packing, Clarke will be blocking!
Adrien Clarke, a 6-5 330lb mauling left guard, seems to be the replacement for 2006 starter Pete Kendall if his contract dispute is not resolved. If Clarke does assume the role of starting left guard, he will have big shoes to fill. While in college he played alongside a familiar face in center Nick Mangold at THE Ohio State University. When Clarke was a senior and Mangold a sophomore, the Buckeyes just missed out on a National Championship run. Clarke was a Philadelphia Eagles 7th round draft pick in 2004. In 2005, he appeared in 14 games for the Eagles that season. However after earning playing time in 2005, Clarke was set back in 2006 by sitting out the season due to back surgery.
On January 22, 2007, the New York Jets signed Adrien Clarke to a Reserve/Future contract. Going into mini camp, coaches were unsure of what Clarke could handle. Coming off major back surgery is no easy task for anyone. With Kendall causing problems with front office management, Clarke split the first team reps with him during mini-camp. As training camp was approaching, Kendall’s situation was getting worse, frequently bad mouthing the organization and team management. Clarke continues to this day to be getting most of the first-team reps in training camp taking full advantage of Kendall’s situation. From what I been hearing, Clarke is fitting in just fine. He is a hard-worker, and is spending extra hours in the classroom. Schottenheimers’ system is very complex and Clarke is trying to pick it up as quickly as possible.
It is unsure of what is going to happen with this Pete Kendall drama. It seems that Tannenbaum has a very hard headed approach when working out contracts for his players (negotiations with Kendall and Revis). If Tannenbaum is not willing to budge, it is safe to say it is the last time we will see #66 line up in a Jets uniform. So that raises the question, Is Clarke ready to join the BRICK AND NICK SHOW up front?
What do you guys think, who would you prefer Kendall or Clarke in 2007?
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I don’t think we have a whole lot of choice in the matter.
I am still pissed about not having Eric Steinbach. Neither of these two are quality solutions for this problem. The more the cap money remains around ten mil (while carrying Barrett and Barton without making them take a hit), the angrier I get.
Hopefully, we draft our RB of the future and OG next year. Or at least our OG and RT (figuring we get an extra year out of TJ).
Harlan
Friend who’s a Bird’s fan on Clarke:
Personally, I always had high expectations for him when he was with the Birds. I remember creating a hypothetical offensive line of the future and I thought it would be him and Shawn Andrews as long term guards. He had the size, the pedigree, the big game experience with Ohio State, etc. But for some reason things didn’t break right when he was in Philly, he didn’t see many opportunities to play and that system quickly zeroes in on their favorite random guys and doesn’t look back. They’ve left behind talent that has started around the league (Jeremy Bridges, Bobby Williams, Artis Hicks, Hank Fraley). The thing is with CLarke, the upside is big..
My thesis has been that Clarke will help the running game (because I never thought Kendall was the type of interior mauler that a team usually wants from an LG), but he’ll weaken pass protection (Kendall was a good pass protector and Brick’s weakness is the inside speed move attacking the LT/LG gap). Here’s a 2004 Draft analysis from KAC NFL Draft Profiles for Clarke (which bears out my thesis…and I hope Clarke learned his lesson about proper nutrition):
The senior laden Buckeyes could send as many as four offensive linemen in this April’s draft, with Clarke perhaps the most interesting prospect. Weight is the biggest issue here, Clarke was approaching four-bills during the 2002 season while also being hampered by back trouble. Did get himself in the best shape of his career before this year and arrived at camp in the 325-lb range. The potential is there, Clarke was a top-ten offensive lineman coming out of high school and has been a four-year starter. Is a very powerful player who will overpower defenders , especially in the run-blocking game and is a very valuable in short-yardage situations. Has great footwork and does well athletically for his size. Doesn’t have great range and tends to have problems reacting or getting out in space. Tends to get his pads high pass-blocking, and there are questions about him getting fatigued and going all-out on every play. Has played both guard and tackle in his career, but projects as a guard in the pros – especially if he measures shorter than his listed height (as many suspect). This will be a player who will be watched very closely in the pre-draft festivities. Clarke will really have to convince prospective teams that he will not eat himself out of the league as well as play up to his immense potential.
Harlan, I think we established that the actual money remaining for signing FA after compulsary roster bonuses and signing the rookies was closer to $2m.
Dunno if that makes you more mad or less mad!
Offensive Line Thoughts
About LG
Kendall is getting older, but he is talented and experienced. His run-blocking may be average for an NFL starter, but it is NOT below average. This whole situation has been ugly, but let’s not let that cloud the reality of the on-field situation. Adrien Clarke was a 7th round draft pick in 2004, was a backup for two seasons, and then was cut by the Eagles prior to the 2006 season. Let’s not get crazy about upside — we will be lucky if he is a serviceable, stop-gap LG. Expect the drop-off from Kendall to Clarke to be large and expect the Jets coaches to find ways to hide the weakness.
About LT
The jury is still out on Ferguson. While 305 lbs is better than 295 lbs we must remember that San Diego LT Marcus McNeill is listed at 336 lbs!!! At the end of the day Ferguson’s on-field performance in year 2 must improve greatly to justify a #4 overall salary slot.
Any news on where rookie OT Jacob Bender has been lining up? Has he been seeing most of his reps at RT? Any reps at LG? Any signs that he might be able to crack the starting line-up by mid-season?
Clarke’s draft position is utterly irrelevant when talking about NFL starters at OG. And, Kendall IS below average at run-blocking for an NFL guard; it’s his pass-blocking that raises him to average overall (as I’ve posted before, Kendall is ranked at 32 in the NFL by Scouts Inc.). The only drop off to Clarke will be in pass-blocking and Nick has to take control of that. If Clarke is average at run-blocking, that would be a net gain for the running game (and with his size, there’s a chance he could be much better). As for some stats, 19% of NFL starting OG’s are first-rounders and 19% were drafted in the 8th round or were UFA’s (for comparison, the gap at QB is 59 (1st) to 16 (8th or later)…draft position matters for QB, not OG).
And, if Clarke doesn’t pan out in pre-season, there’s always a cap casualty or late cut around for the Jets to sccop up. The Kendall effect on the offense is the most overrated story in camp. PK’s not a Pro Bowler, is only average at his position and is old. Replacing him will not be difficult.
The reason Pete Kendall isn’t getting his raise is because he is NOT going to be the starter and for good reason. Pete is weak in the running game. Our lack of yardage on the left side is more due to PK and not DBF. Remember all those times the defense blew right through PK and was on top of our RB just as he got the handoff.
Pete has been a solid player for the Jets the last couple years but the fact is at 34 he does not represent the future. He shouldn’t represent the NOW when it comes to the running game.
We need a road grader at LG, not a weed wacker. I hope Adrien Clarke can get the bulldozing done. If he can’t we need to find someone who can.
Interesting counter points…
I like the draft position stats. Where can I find those?
Would love to find the % of LGs drafted in the 7th round that are considered above average NFL starters?
And what % of cut OGs (non-salary cap issue) become above average NFL starters?
My gut tells me these are likely low, but let’s see what the numbers say.
Also, while Kendall is not the move-the-pile, goalline run blocker, I must disagree with the analysis of his run blocking, which I view as average for NFL starters. Watch the tapes to see how he blocks on WR screens and sweeps. The team that picks him up will have a better LG than Adrien Clarke in 2007, but maybe the Jets are betting that they will have a LG that is better than Kendall in 2008 and beyond (Clarke or other).
By the way, I am not sure how to interpret the Scouts Inc ranking. If he is ranked 32 out of all NFL starting guards (28 x 2 = 56) then this puts him in the middle of the pack, which is still better than 24 other starting LGs.
The bottom line is that whoever is playing LG will get a good test in weeks 1 and 2 against the defensive front 7 of NE and Baltimore.
Kedall is best in a zone blocking scheme. He is very good in pass coverage, an above average pulling guard, and below average straight ahead blocker. Above average overall, but has back problems and is 34. Plays the second least important position on the team, with right guard being the least.
Clarke is immensely (no pun) talented, but dropped due to concerns about his weight and chronic back. He was one of the top high school recruits in the country, so there is upside.
He couldnt stay on the field in Philly due to those issues, which prevented him from performing up to potential. Had surgery to correct the disc and has his weight down to a reasonable level. If the light bulb has truly gone on he could be a find.
Obvioulsy Philly thinks his back and eating habits will prevent him from ever reaching his potential, but they would not be the first team to be wrong about a player. Perhaps the shock of being cut, along with surgery to his back and a good talking to about his weight by that surgeon, has caused a revelation.
We can hope.
PS- is there any way to platoon at Guard? Substitute a pass blocker in obvious passing situations.
A note on Bender at end of OConnor article.
DE Michael Haynes looked strong while repeatedly trouncing rookie OT Jacob Bender.
Unfortunately, this thread is becoming stale, but I wanted to respond to GBNG, the draft position stats were in ESPN’s Draft Guide and are very interesting stats.
There are 32 NFL teams (64 starting guards) and being no. 32 at LG is nothing to write home about (and PK’s tied there with 11 other OG’s and, honestly, PK’s not at the top of that list, I would put him around 38-40) . I’d say PK is in the bottom half of starting OGs and probably in the bottom third for LG.
Wayne, the Landry Cowboys in the 70s would shuttle in plays with rotating OG’s…something that I haven’t seen before or since then…goes to show you how important Landry thought OGs were.
If it wasn’t for the JETS, Brandon Moore would be an overweight construction worker making $75,000 a year. With the JETS he is making a cool million this year. And that for a guard who cannot run block.
I am for trading/cutting both he PK, who’s moaning is getting obnoxious. I notice that he didn’t give any of his salary back when he played poorly in 2005.