Link: PFW Says Jets Will Weigh RB Options
I was just surfing the net for some interesting ideas for my post today, and I came across an interesting tidbit from the guys who believe the way they hear it is the way everyone hears it, Pro Football Weekly. It was just a one paragraph report on what the Jets plan to do with Thomas Jones. Here’s part of it:
Some saw the Jets’ decision not to draft a running back as evidence that the team is willing to give RB Thomas Jonesa mulligan on his uninspiring first season in the Big Apple. The way we hear it, that’s not entirely accurate. Although he may well get a second chance at the starting job, the Jets are, in fact, peeved with Jones’ inability to get on track in ’07 — a season that netted him 1,119 yards on a whopping 310 carries (a dismal 3.6 average) and just a single touchdown — and are quite willing to give diminutive scatback Leon Washington and free-agent acquisition Jesse Chatman larger roles in the offense.
What type of sense does this make (if any at all) to the average Jet fan? Don’t get me wrong, it was a good idea to go after some free agent running backs this year, and we did that by adding Chatman. However, does anyone think he or Washington has a realistic chance to get more carries than Jones this year? Absolutely not. This (in my opinion) is nothing more than just another provocative piece that the writers hope to get readers interested in. Yes, they do go on to say that Jones has solidified the job with the new additions on the offensive line. But those additions didn’t necessarily instill anymore confidence of the Jets brass in Jones as a starter. He was still going to start no matter who was brought in to further solidify the o-line.
I’m quite used to PFW reporting these types of baseless speculations. If you remember back when I started here, there was a report by PFW that the Jets may have been looking to trade Bryan Thomas in the draft. It couldn’t have been a worse assumption on the part of PFW. And the story’s the same here.
26 Responses to Link: PFW Says Jets Will Weigh RB Options
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314row18 says:
Guy is definitely an idiot. We had one of the worst OLines in the NFL this year. It should be a lot better now. 1100 yrds working as a basically smash-mouth running back, lets see what he can do when he actually gets a hole opened up for him
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Well, here are the next few sentences from the PFW piece:
“However, it bears mentioning that the Jets should boast a considerably better run-blocking offensive line in ’08 after bringing aboard Alan Faneca and Damien Woody, and we hear there’s a strong feeling in Jets camp that Jones is their best option at running back when a strong line is in place. Jones is a tough runner to bring down when able to generate downhill momentum, whereas Washington, with his tremendous speed and wiggle, is more adept at creating on his own when his line fails to open consistent holes.”
Sounds pretty reasonable to me. Besides, it’s worth asking if all of TJ’s woes last year were the line’s fault. Leon ran behind the same line and was much better on a per-carry basis than TJ , and Chatman was as well, running behind an equally bad line in MIA. Obviously, TJ had a big advantage in workload, and we don’t know if either Chat or Leon could handle 200+ carries. But if Leon continues to be the spark he’s been, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if TJ’s carries went from 310 last year to, say, 220 this year, while Leon and Chat got around 100-150 each.
If we want to be a ball-control offense, that’s a pretty good way to do it, because you keep three RB’s fresh into December. That’s esp important this year, when 4 of our last 5 games are going to be in cold weather.
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LONGTIMEJETFAN says:
The fact that Jones even got 1,000 yards with that O-Line shows how good he is…that writer over at PFW is a tool with a Patriots sticker on his tool box….
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billvv says:
Yeah, I don’t buy the Jets FO taking such a position without more evidence to the contrary.
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When I first saw Jones run in those first few games, I thought he looked fast, strong, and decisive. The holes just weren’t there. I’m sure his yds.per carry will go up with the improved line. That said, I’d be happy to see Washington get more carries this year.
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Butterball says:
He is a good running back but he can’t break a long run which is aggrevating to say the least
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Harvlis says:
If the coaches get the starting O-line on the same page, for the start of the season, T Jones will be just fine. If you remember, last year, our offense was Vanilla with a capital V. This year we will have a real FB and a quality recieving TE. That will give us the ability to mix things up. We did a much better job in 2006 and, as a result, were in the playoffs. Every Jets fan is hoping to see the parts of the puzzle come together. I believe that, we have the personnel and it is all on the coaching staff, at this point.
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Mars says:
Didn’t we have a “real” full back last year (at least to start)? Darian Barnes.
Granted they may have scrapped that idea when they realized there was a matadore at left guard. Or maybe he underperformed as an individual.
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JustAGreenGuy says:
Woodhead!!! Thats right he will come from left field to be a quality starter. We didn’t cut him yet right?
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j says:
1000 yards is 62.5 per season, anyone can do that.
Just play the game, enough of this non story news! -
Darrell says:
I think Chatman may be asked to be a short-yard/goal-line back. I think the FO thought they were set for just a spot last year until Cedric Houston decided to retire.
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BaltimoreJet says:
The Jets do not have a problem at RB. They have an everydown back and a “scat” back behind a much-improved offensive line. All is well.
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KC says:
Do not forget how the “running back by committee” faired us in 2006. TJ should definitely be our “main” back, but if we have Leon and Chatman, and maybe even Woodhead, splicing in carries as often as possible, it can be not only an effective tool in keeping our RBs fresh throughout the season, but also throwing teams off guard with the pace of one running play to the next.
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Reprocity says:
Is anyone unhappy with swaping 2nds with Chicago for thomas? Im not! The dude is solid and they need to get him on track and not have RBs dodging defenders in the back field!
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jeff i says:
maybe i’m in the minority here but i think leon washington could be a feature back. he’d likely be a 20-25 touch guy vs. 25-30 but he’s tougher than most are willing to give him credit for. while he’s a bit diminutive, he’s pretty darn durable. remember tiki barber was questioned as an every down back bc of his size. in short, i’m pretty happy we didn’t draft a RB bc i’ve always been of the mind if you put a good RB in front of leon he could be an all-pro RB (a poor man’s marshall faulk) — save the laughter please!!
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Bum-Knee says:
I would like to say this, there shouldnt be too much worry about our RB situation this year. Jones will carry the load and (try to) earn his big paycheck while Leon and Chatman see spot duty. Theres always the options of Woodhead and Caulcrick waiting in the wings to make the roster, and I hope to see Caulcrick smashing skulls in Jet green this year as he would be one hell of a weapon as a FB. Throw in Richardson and we have a ton of options to utilize in our ground attack, so I cant imagine we wont have a very good running game. Unless, the unthinkable happens and our O-line sucks again……
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Jeff I, I don’t think it’s crazy. I’m at least for allowing for the possibility for LW to be all that, as they say. First, get him more carries, more touches, see how he goes from there.
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SackDance99 says:
Off topic, KC Joyner’s article on TEs in ESPN Insider was real interesting. Baker was second in the NFL for percentage of “flex” receptions (split out as a WR) out of all TE receptions. 71.7% of his receptions were as a “flex.” No. 1 was Kellen Winslow at 74.5% and third was Dallas Clark at 66.0%. Baker was also 14th in WR YPA at 7. 5 yards. Joyner uses these facts to say that maybe Baker was more valuable than the Jets thought. I have the opposite conclusion. If 3/4 of all TE receptions on the Jets are “flex” receptions, then Keller is a better option. He’s faster and has better hands. Also, I wonder what formation was Baker primarily used as a flex…double tight? When an H-back was in? Or, did the Jets decide to send the TE out, but keep the RB in on passing downs? This stat surprised me because I thought the TE was kept in a lot more, or maybe Schott wants to use more of a San Diego offense (even with injuries limiting him, Gates was flexed out 68 times, second to Winslow). Maybe that’s Schott’s offense, but he wasn’t able to flex the TE out more. This year, with a better OL, I expect Keller and Baker to flexed out a lot more. Also, with the TE being flexed out so much, who cares about blocking prowess? Food for thought.
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dakar says:
JEFF I
I AGREE…I’VE SAID THAT BEFORE…i always thought leon could carry the load…BARRY and EMMIT proved that size is meaningless when it comes to running backs…so has tiki…DUNN has as well…WESTBROOK and LT are proving it these days…LEON can be effective if given the opportunity…behind this o-line and about 20 carries a game…he will prove to be a play maker with his speed and elusivness…just my thoughts…
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James in TN says:
Let’s just be honest here. What team in the NFL only uses one running back exclusively and is successful? That style is about dead and gone. I like having thunder and lightning.
Go Jets, run the ball ,control the clock and keep the opponent under 16 points and we go to the playoffs. -
pat d says:
Thomas jones’ lack of production was not only a result of a weak line. The fact that the jets had no one that could stretch the field at wide receiver and Chad, with his weak arm, could not stretch the field resulted in defenses stacking the line. Also when Kellen came in he showed no pocket presence. As a result the running game had no chance. Thomas Jones will be fine this year behind one of the best offensive lines in football. Quarterback is still an issue this year. Next year we will have Brady Quinn and all will be good. Leon Washington as a featured back is a pipe dream.
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pat
explain why leon is a pipe dream…do you think he’s not skilled enough…or do you think its due to his size…
he’s the only player we have on offense thats been making plays for the past 2 years…and still hasn’t really gained any respect from the fans…i just dont understand that…obviously his team mates acknowledged it by making him the most valueable player last year…even though i think TJ will have a really good year…LEON is our homerun hitter…and should split carries with TJ…BY HALF…just my thoughts…
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ralphinHP says:
As bas as the O line was, Thomas Jones never complained. He’s a workhorse. Leave him alone and he’ll be fine. We have other backs to give him a breather. Expect another 1100 + season from him.
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Michael Lombardi has a piece in SI that says, basically, that winning teams pass early, run up the score, then run to kill the clock. Last year the Jets couldn’t pass early, or run up the score! I think the next option is to run and run and run, to keep the score low and see if you can, essentially, not lose! Last year the Jets couldn’t do that either.
Winning teams also have a pass rush to hurry the QB. The Jets didn’t have much of a rush and relied on keeping the play in front of them and not giving up the big play, counting on inertia to stall scoring. Pretty much that worked. A couple of high scoring games, blow outs actually. In most games the Jets lost by a touchdown or less. I thought the defense did their job and the offense failed to score a reasonable total, say mid-twenties.
Looking at the rebuilt Jets, I think they have all the weapons to be a winning team. If they can come together and play as a unit, or two, if you count offense and defense separately. That we will see!
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Dakar
Leon is not an every down back because of his size.ralphinHP
1100 is not enough yards for Thomas Jones.
The guy is an idiot….