Erik Ainge “Couldn’t Be Happier” About the Jets
The Jets newest Quarterback Erik Ainge told a local Tennessee paper that he was happy to be heading to New York.
“It sounds cliche to say that I didn’t care what round I got drafted in. Being as competitive as I am, I wanted to be the first pick in the draft. That’s just how it works. The round regardless, I couldn’t be happier about going to the New York Jets.”
Ainge (6′5.5″ 225 lbs) was selected No. 162 overall and will likely be the Jets third Quarterback, giving the team a four year starter (which Football Outsiders will tell you is a helpful key to success in the Pros) in the SEC who made major strides in his junior year and saw that success translate in his senior season.
Diligent commenter seanmac noted that his offensive coordinator, was also Eli & Peyton Manning’s coordinator, and foresees a future in the NFL for Ainge. Working with QB Coach Brian Daboll and OC Brian Schottenheimer, Ainge has the potential to be a player that the Jets draft and then determine a future for, whether it’s with the Jets, or trading him for a higher pick in a few years.
The fact that the Jets took a QB to develop in this manner (a la Hasselback, etc.) shows me that they are feeling pretty confident with their roster. Sure the Jets could have re-signed Tui, but there’s no eventual payoff in it, so investing the pick they gained from moving back in the fourth round after missing out on CBs Justin King and Tyvon Branch was the right move.
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I LIKE THIS PICK TO BE HONEST BECAUSE EVERY QB.IN THIS WEAK CLASS IS A WORK IN PROGRESS ITS LIKE WE GOT HIM FOR FREE AFTER THAT TRADE WE HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE.
I still think this was a wasted pick. We could have gotten Goff who may have started at ILB in a couple of years. And then we could have drafted colt brennan who will have a future in NFL. All in all JETS draft was ho hum at best and unlike last year I am not sure we improved ourselves.
That’s one interpretation (looking through green tinted sunglasses). The other interpretation is that the Jets have seen enough of Kellen Clemens.
He is, after all, last of all 33 NFL QB’s who qualified for inclusion of QB ratings. And he was at the bottom in virtually every passing category the NFL keeps track of.
He needs every excuse in the book to see him as a potential NFL QB.
The 2008 draft coverage by TJB and SNY Jet Nation was fantastic!! You guys must be exhausted. I really appreciated the updates, film clips and lively blog discussions… It made following the draft remotely enjoyable and a great investment of my time unlike other years where all I really had was ESPN. Thanks again, I’m sure I speak for many fans.
Editor….I agree with you with regard to the Ainge pick. The Giants picked Goff, and as they showed us last year ,their FO knows how to pick.Carl Nicks went just after.
Moreover,……Jonathan Vilma for Lowery? Oh no!!!!
“giving the team a four year starter (which Football Outsiders will tell you is a helpful key to success in the Pros)”
Technically that only relates to first or second round quarterbacks. The theory not only relies around the experience the quarterbacks get while playing, but also that scouts have a deep body of work in which to evaluate the quarterback. If a quarterback starts a ton of games and scouts still think he’s at least second round material, then there might be something there. The fact that Ainge lasted until the fifth round says that scouts found a ton wrong with him.
That said, it was only a fifth round pick, and he’s gotta be at least as good as Brooks Bollinger was, so using a flier on a backup with some upside isn’t the worst thing in the world. Let’s just not get ahead of ourselves in what we expect from this kid. I’m happy if he develops into a cheap backup.
great draft coverage from jetsblog, thanks.
but, re: ainge. that is really terrible logic to say he will be good because he had the same offensive coordinator as eli and peyton manning. john david booty had the same OC as carson palmer and matt leinart. does that mean booty will be as good as carson palmer? really, it’s ridiculous. i mean under that logic you could draft any RB from oklahoma and say that he will be as good as adrian peterson.
basically, i’m not sold on ainge or any of the picks other than gholston. (not guaranteeing he will be great, but that gholston was a risk worth taking given the circumstances.)
I second Doug’s opinion above. TJB’s coverage was superb and the efforts of all connected is sincerely appreciated. SNY TV did a decent job as well.
The more this draft sinks in, the more I miss Jonathan Vilma . I could see a LB line as
Pace, Vilma, Harris, Gholston. Tremendous potential!!!!
They could have kept him at least one extra year, till they find a more than adequate replacement. The free agency signings raised my hopes, but i get the feeling that drafting is a weakness of this FO, even though I like Gholston and Keller. If in every draft we pick just two starting players, while we unload, the older, do not fit, big mouth, no charcter players, then building the team will take forever.
Nobody said that just because he played for the same OC as eli and payton, that he is going to be as good as them. What was said was, a guy who has worked with talent in the past feels that Ainge has a future in the NFL. Nothing more.
Ainge’s arm looks more injured than Pennington’s and it’s not even injured. He must be a Rhodes Scholar Finalist.
Ainge sucks, but I think the JETS had a second draft in a row that was VERY top-heavy, but that will go down as a success if Gholston and Keller are useful and/or very good players… this is what they got out of last year’s draft: 2 very good, perhaps great, starters… and a couple of turd burglars.
I’ll take it. You also kinda gotta consider Kris Jenkins as a starter that came from this draft.
I think we should calm the talk about having top-heavy drafts. Yes, the Jets had only two 1-3 round picks in the last two drafts but the hope is that these guys will all become staples on this team for the next 5 years if not longer. The other thing to recognize is that with the upside to the Vilma and Robertson trades the Jets could have 4 picks in the first two rounds next year. With the massive money spent on free agents and the $20 million they will have to guarantee Gholston, I imagine the FO thought it prudent to restrict the number of draft picks this year while looking towards the potential haul next year. With the conditional pick for Kendall factored in the Jets have 9-10 draft picks to use in ‘09.
llan, why should we “calm” talks about what is clearly two top-heavy drafts the past two years?
I am not complaining about it, as I think if you could get 2 very good-to-great starters from each year’s draft, you are in very good shape. Granted, you can’t do it forever b/c you need to be able to draft depth for backup positions, some special teamers in the middle rounds like Leon Washington, etc., but if you are going to go top-heavy, last year’s draft is a perfect model of how to do so.
In addition, Kris Jenkins was their 3rd round pick this year… not too shabby IMHO. Gholston, Keller and Kris Jenkins is a very good draft haul IMHO, on top of last year’s top-heavy, but effective draft.
llan, “top-heavy” is a descriptive term, not an opinion!
I hope we didn’t make a mistake by passing on Woodson and taking Ainge. From everything I have seen, Woodson was a much more successful QB and has great arm strength, size, and decent mobility. I hope I’m wrong, but I don’t think so.
Woodson has a terrible release and will struggle in the Pros. As for Colt Brennan, he basically throws sidearm, meaning he is more prone to hit his lineman in the ass than hit an open receiver, not to mention if the twig ever gets hit, better have a helicopter nearby.
Kris Jenkins is definitely better than any option the Jets would have had in the 3rd round this year, so that was an excellent move by the Jets. Nobody expects Ainge to pan out more than a backup and if he does then the Jets lucked out, dont forget his weapons were pretty bad down in Tenn.
I think the Ainge pick is a good pick, low risk = low expectations=higher reward if he turns out to be the next Tom Brady (and before everyone jumps on me, no I’m not suggesting that he is). And because he is low risk, if he doesn’t pan out, we didn’t give up much to get him, so I am okay with that. Looking at the limited film I have seen on him, he looks like a younger Chad with a slightly stronger but less accurate arm.
The other reason I am okay with this is Clemens. I still think Clemens will be our starter, but he already has a ton of pressure given last year, do you really think adding a Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco or Brian Brohm would make things any better? You think the back pages were bad last year over Chad vs. Clemens, what do you think would happen if you added a new top pick QB to the mix? Not to mention our salary chart would be too heavy at QB because you’d basically be paying three starter’s salaries at once. This gives Clemens a year to deveop and show what he’s got and if it doesn’t pan out then, then I agree you move on.
Colt Brennan got decimated by a defense that Ainge picked apart year after year. SEC competition is the best there is. With his size and stature, he was worth the risk in the 5th.
Ainge is a project, he needs to get stronger, but he has lots of potential. The ESPN guys noted that he didn’t have the usual array of weapons his senior year, but still had a very good season. Besides the 31 TDs to only 10 INTs, he was sacked just 3 times in 519 attempts…that’s sick. And, he had a 7 TD game on the road at Kentucky to go with a good bowl win against Wisconsin. He also had an excellent Senior Bowl, leading the South to a last second win:
Holding a 16-10 lead, North coach Lane Kiffin of the Raiders opted to go for it on 4th-and-1 from the South 14. Cal RB Justin Forsett was stopped for no gain, though, leaving a window open for Ainge. He completed six passes, including an 18-yarder to on fourth-and-10 from the South’s 14, as his team marched 86 yards in 2:48.
Will he pan out? I think he will and it’s tough to go wrong with a tall accurate QB from a great conference and a good program. For a 5th round pick?!? A steal.
I love this pick. Had to be made. Cole over at Yahoo agrees with some here that this was a wasted pick. I just sent him the following question:
Do you have a sports editor who looks at your work before it’s published? I mean, calling Ainge a wasted pick has to be the most ignorant comment by a “professional” that I’ve read thus far on the ’08 draft. Aside from the fact that the Jets need a 3rd QB, the kid hasn’t even reported to the facility yet, and you have no idea how good or bad he will be. No clue. Odds are he’s a flyer pick, but to say it was a waste of a pick is just dead wrong. Why sign a retread whose limits are well known, when you can roll the dice on finding the next Tom Brady, and fill a roster need?