Tannenbaum Takes Time to Not Answer Your Questions
Reader Marc E. was on a VIP/internal con call Tuesday with Mike Tannenbaum and was kind enough to ask me if I had any questions for Mr. T.
I offered a half-hearted question to Marc about WRs at 17, but let’s face it, it’s not like Tanny was really going to give any real answers on the call … right?
Here’s Marc’s reaction in bold, mine in italics, after the jump:
Well, you were right. Tannenbaum managed to answer questions for 40 minutes without answering a single question. The call was for suite owners in the new stadium and I think in-house Jets employees. He stuck to his “best player available” philosophy over and over, and obviously did not give any specifics on who they were interested in.
At least early in the draft, I think that for Tanny it is fair in sticking to his guns, but historically the truth is that he’s proven he’ll do anything as required by the situation. Best Player Available (Gholston, please don’t laugh) as well as need (Brick & Nick) as well as moving to get their targeted player (Revis, Harris, Keller, Clemens). This year with the moves the team has made, I think that BPA is the way to go, especially if they can’t move off 17. There’s going to be some good players that slide down to 17, whether RB, O-Line, etc. that the Jets would be foolish to overlook, even if the need isn’t immediate. The Chargers are a team that prove that BPA can work out very well in building a talented team for the long run.
I asked about the WR class and the other guy on the call, Joey Clinkscales (VP of College Scouting), said that the position is very deep but if the best player available is not a WR, they are very happy with the in-house receivers, particularly Clowney and Stuckey (mentioned in that order). Nothing new.
I’d agree with his assessment. No one is sending Stuckey or Clowney to the Pro-Bowl yet, but Randy Moss, Marques Colston, Dwayne Bowe, those are the exceptions rather than the rule as rookie WRs. To expect a guy to come in Year One and make a significant contribution (let’s say 60 plus catches) seems to be a stretch for most rookie WRs. The Jets should go for the guy who helps this team most in 2010 and beyond rather than just grabbing a WR for the sake of getting one.
Someone asked about the depth of the TE position, and if drafting Pettigrew was consideration. At least Tanny confirmed that they needed a TE, but it’s actually funny how broad the answer was. He said “We do think he’s a fantastic player and will be a good NFL player but lots of guys in this draft will be good NFL players. We do see that we need depth at TE, which we will address through the draft, free agency, or even a trade… but obviously the tight end position is something we’ll need to address at some point in time”
(he didn’t even mention Kareem Brown)
They have to address this at some point during the draft , moreso in my mind than QB. Having Kareem Brown play TE is an interesting curiosity to me, but to actually have him line up come this fall would probably be a big mistake. I’d like to see the team address TE in the draft, but they’ll have to see how the weekend plays out and pick their spot. There are a number of players who fit the mold of what they need and as good as Pettigrew might be, I think adding him might eliminate the possibility of adding another pass-catcher early in the Draft.
Lastly to note, they specifically stated that they do not anticipate adding a veteran QB, but mentioned Matt Cavanaugh again as the veteran QB [they] brought in, which I think is stupid.
I agree. It’s a nice thing to say once or twice, but trotting out this aphorism again and again is getting stale … quickly.
We’ve all heard and thought it was cute the first time, now it’s just sounding tired and overly cliche. We’ll know for sure after this weekend what the team does with their picks, but I just don’t anticipate the team moving up for one of the top three (Stafford, Sanchez, Freeman) before their pick at 17.
8 Responses to Tannenbaum Takes Time to Not Answer Your Questions
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Peter says:
So you are upset about what? Did you expect the GM of an NFL team to reveal every detail of his draft strategy to a guy interested in buying season tickets?
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If you want answers go talk to Rex Ryan or Bart Scott…..There really should be no one else being spoken to this year….. lol
Classic Mr T….You got to love him
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I don’t think anyone’s ‘upset’ here, it’s just amusing that there is typical gladhanding to VIPs that shouldn’t have even been undertaken in the first place … why bother to have a call with the folks and allow them to ask questions if they’re not going to answer the questions anyway?
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The Ed(itor) says:
Maybe someone should have asked him about all the JETS Public Relations screw ups in the past 6 months:
1. PSL fees to pay for a stadium none of the fans wanted. No dome on stadium for inclement weather. At least the Steinbrenners paid for their own new stadium.
2. Offering fans the upper deck with no PSLs but having parking for these seats assigned about a mile away from stadium.
3. Scheduling 2 2009 home games on Jewish holidays so their Jewish fans can’t attend. This is brilliant PR move. The Giants by the way are away for these two holidays. Shows the difference between a class act and an also ran (JETS).
4. Moving training camp out of state so none of their NJ fan base can see the practices. Offered some training dates in June, when most of their young fans are still in school as a compromise. Some compromise.
5. Drafted bust Gholston in 1st round. -
sec108 says:
Ed(itor)
I can agree with the rest of your list, but #3 is just piling on, the Jets don’t make their schedule, the NFL does, and once the issue was brought to light the Jets acted quickly to try and rectify it as best they could.
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lafflin says:
Gholston wasn’t a bust he was a rookie, that’s not to say that he won’t be a bust, but saying at this point that he is a bust seems to me to be a statement that only someone who doesn’t understand the complexity and speed of this game could make. The kid’s a kid, give him a few years.
Also, moving training camp out of what state? They are the NY Jets, keyword York, not jersey. Were they out of state at Hofstra all this time too?
And yeah, if you purchase cheaper seats then you might not get the all the benefits of the premium priced seats, does that really require an explanation? Perhaps if the mile is too much for you you might qualify for one of those scooter vehicles for big boned people?
It’s official. Today marks the opening of “DON’T BELIEVE ANYTHING YOU READ SEASON”.
Today through Saturday night, you just can’t believe anything you read. Until picks are made, journalists will provide nothing but rumor and innuendo without any facts based proof, so don’t bother reading it. Maybe afterwards, someone will get lucky with something they say, but in the overall universe of content, probably one percent accuracy of their prognostications will be realized.