Jets Sign Preseason Rushing Leader RB Marcus Mason and Squad Safety James Ihedigbo
Well … looks like I got every single possible move wrong. Not one right. There ends my storied career as a GM. The Jets have signed RB Marcus Mason from the Baltimore practice squad and promoted practice squad Safety James Ihedigbo to the active roster.
Here’s my thoughts on the moves:
Marcus Mason RB (Youngstown State) – I am THRILLED at this signing. Mason was the 2008 preseason leader in rushing yards for the Redskins. With guys like Clinton Portis, Ladell Betts, Rock Cartwright, the Skins had an embarrassment of riches, so Mason lost his job and the Skins signed Shaun Alexander. Even during the discussion of Alexander, the Skins were in deliberations to bring Mason back … I know Alexander is D-O-N-E, but to agonize over which player is a great sign of his promise. With Mason, the Jets also have Ratliff and Clowney (all players who did well in the preseason) on their roster. The Outsiders did a great article on preseason leaders and how they project that’s a good read if you want to know a little about Mason. Mason is a stout 5-9 220, so he’s probably similar in build to Chatman. He might have some fumbling issues to look out for though. You can watch some of his college highlights here. Losing Chatman might end up been a blessing in disguise if this kid’s upside proves worth the payoff.
James Ihedigbo (Jets Practice Squad) – Eric Smith has shown two things this season: that he’s not consistent, nor is he healthy enough to play this year. Ihedigbo is a guy the Jets have been carrying on and off since last year. Ihedigbo needed to bulk up some as a rookie and did. He’s 6′1″ and added the lean muscle to play in the 215+ range. He’s extremely smart and was born in Nigeria. If the Jets have one guy on their roster who could project to being a future starter at Safety next to Rhodes, it’s Ihedigbo.
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Could be a good addition with Mason. I liked Ihedigbo and he will replace Smith. He is a big hitter and was around the ball all summer in camp.
Here’s some info from Mason’s college career, he started at Illinois, and played his final 2 years at Youngstown state:
Mason, who rushed for a school-record 1,847 yards in 12 games as a senior, becomes the first Penguin to sign a contract with the Redskins since Quentin Lowry in 1981. Mason averaged a school-record 153.9 yards rushing per game and scored 23 touchdowns as the program reached the NCAA playoff semifinals for the first time since 1999.
After transferring from Illinois prior to the 2005 campaign, Mason had a memorable two-year career with the Guins. In his two seasons, he played in 21 games rushing for 2,739 yards on 478 carries. He had 31 touchdowns and set a school record with a 95-yard touchdown run at Western Illinois in 2006.
He was a first-team All-America selection by The Associated Press, the Sports Network, the Walter Camp Foundation and the American Football Coaches Association. He was named the 2006 Gateway Offensive Player of the Year and set a school record with 10 100-yard rushing games during the ‘06 campaign, including six straight at one point.
With the signing of Ihedigbo, and not a TE or LB, hopefully this means Baker and Harris are both fine.
Mason had a nice game vs the Jets this summer. 9 carries for 55 yds. Hey you never know.
Good additional info Pete. Looks like Mason is worth a good look for the team.
Anybody know what his 40 time is?
4.65 in the 40 according to:
http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/dsprofile.php?pyid=9805&draftyear=2007&genpos=RB
I like the Mason signing. Let’s hope is works out as well for us as it did for the Giants after signing Derrick Ward off our practice squad a few years ago.
The best news about these signings is they indicate that the injuries to Harris, Bubba and Baker are probably not that serious.
I liked Cummings a lot in preseason and hoped to see him get the call but that probably would have meant Harris being down long-term. That would have been a big bummer.
Ihedigbo had some good moments in the preseason but also looked lost in coverage at times. Hopefully, his work on the practice squad has sharpened his game. If Smith is unable to play, or if Mangini has finally soured on him, Ihedigbo would probably split time with Barrett, initially. No matter what else he does, he can’t possibly be a worse blitzer than Smith.
I imagine Mason is primarily insurance right now. It will take him a little time to learn the protections coming in off the street and TJ and Leon each seem to warrant getting more carries.
Like most of you, I like the signing of Mason, the only problem is we do not have a coordinator who knows how to incorporate the run game into his game planning is does not even know how to properly manage pass/run ratio’s. I just don’t see how he will be able to manage a 3rd running back into the offense.
FINALLY, SCHOTTY GETTING SOME PRESS COVERAGE about his inabilities as a OC.
NYPOST.COM
For those of you on a mission to create more noise about this, thejetsblog.com seems to be a GREAT place to do it!!
btw.. unnamed players are speaking out..
and Ihedigbo is a smash mouth player, hopefully he was able to wise up and learn how to cover as well as tackle
I was underwhelmed by Chatman, both in the preseason and since his return, and although I understand he contributed on specials, it’ll be interesting to see if Mason is a solid upgrade. A lot less mileage as well as wear and tear, it seems.
Sounds like a nice pickup. And I’m for almost anybody other than Eric Smith at safety.
Agreed R in Ct. I am excited about the prospect of Ihedigibo for no other reason then it means someone new might get a shot at the second safety position. If you know A sucks, you have only a little to lose and a lot to gain by trying B.
Ahhh, how the world turns! Shottenheimer is a god the first year, called to Miami to interview. Now four and three gets you a seat next to Cottrell.
You guys just can’t get enough, can you….
bill .. i’m with you … riding the rollercoaster is not what I try to do.
but i’d submit that schotty was visited by huizenga to back-channel for the ultimate hire and his mentor … Cam Cameron, who were in the playoffs at the time and were ineligible to talk.
shouldnt our starting safety next to rhodes be Elam. The game he started when Smith was out due to suspension, Elam played well! I remember seeing Ihedigbo at hofstra this past year and he just looked big, muscular; be nice to have an enforcer on the field next to rhodes.
Dont know much about Marcus Mason, prefer the other Marcus; Marcus Henry since we can use someone with Height for Farve to throw to when he just chucks the ball up for these jump balls that keep getting intercepted. As for RB, what we are truely lacking is a Pounder for short yardage, and i dont think someone under 6′ should be the guy for short yardage. Be nice to get a decent RB thats 6′1″-6′3″ thats big and powerful.
Schotty’s first year he had Pennington at QB, and less weapons than he does now. So, similar to Miami now, his game plan called for alot of trickery to help the offense along, hide weaknesses. Now he’s got a much more solid team to work with, which should call for a different, more conventional approach. Of course none of us know the inside information which will cause him to come up with his game plan week to week, but it APPEARS to be lacking at this point. I’m not calling for his job just yet, but I would not be upset if at some point Callahan is named OC.
In watching film on Mason he reminds me of Ray Rice. Similar size, and similar burst through the line. He gets to the second level in a hurry.
How about that?
One Penguin (Mason) for another Penguin (Mangini)
Wow! Now we have 11 DBs on roster? Bassett, you should run a contest to see who will be # 12 DB added to roster.
[...] can discuss Leon here or for more information go to Leon Washington’s JetNation Wiki [...]
[...] Mason was the NFL preseason rushing leader. TheJetsBlog has some more information about [...]
love the signings mason has a great upside,and ihedigbo was always around the ball in preseason.(plus anyone is better than smith)
Brad – I don’t agree that we need a tall RB. The best running backs are usually 6′ or less. Any taller than that and you (a) can’t get as much leverage when driving for yardage and (b) usually run high, with increased risk of injuries.
There have been exceptions – Erik Dickerson for example, but the bigger guys tend to get banged up a lot sooner (this has already been an issue for Adrian Peterson).
5-9 220 should be a decent power back, built to pass protect, play tough special teams and carry the ball in short yardage situations, or – if called for – as a workhorse back.
Note: remember Mason cannot be released for at least three weeks, so let’s hope he doesn’t get hurt.
Marcus Mason is a diamond in the rough – given the chance Marcus will turn a lot of heads in NY – the Jets will have one of the premier backs in the league if they give him a chance to show his stuff
Mason is a great guy and I wish him all the luck in the world!
I like the Mason signing, but what do you ladies think about dropping Miller for Law?