Ainge and O’Connell: Where You At?
As the Jets head into the offseason, quarterback is still one nagging issue that will not do down quietly. Sure we have established Mark Sanchez as the “Chosen One” but what about his backup? Many of our readers have been asking what will happen this offseason and why haven’t Ainge or O’Connell shown up.
After three years of less than impressive production from Kellen Clemens, a pink slip seems imminent but who would be competent enough to keep the team afloat should something happen to Sanchez (knock on wood)?
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The first contestant is Erik Ainge: Ainge has an “above average” frame standing at 6-5 and 221 pounds. According to scouting reports on Ainge, he has NFL-caliber arm strength, he can throw deep, he has solid mechanics and excellent down field vision. However he does lack consistency and mobility.
It is my hope that Ainge has outgrown some of these issues that plagued him but without seeing him perform for a longer period of time, it is a mystery as to where he truly stands. Essentially, the skills are there but the consistency is questionable.
The second contestant is Kevin O’Connell: O’Connell was to be Brady’s heir presumptive however New England quickly fell out of love with O’Connell despite his noted early improvements and left him to fend for himself. According to scouting reports I’ve dug up, O’Connell has great arm strength, has some mobility and rarely makes the wrong decisions. However it’s his lack of mobility that was of much concern.
He seems to have a slight edge on Ainge in my opinion but because he came to New York for the intel (and had a poor preseason showing in NE), the Jets probably didn’t take much time to get a taste of his abilities.
The bottom line here is this: Ainge and O’Connell both have the skills to become backups of decent quality. However they will have to do some work before I trust either of them to quarterback the team in case of an emergency. Hopefully we will be able to get a better idea of both quarterbacks come August.
22 Responses to Ainge and O’Connell: Where You At?
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mole57 says:
What I want from the backup is the guy who will not lose it by making dumb mistakes. It’s a given that he will not be as good as the starter, so the best one can hope for is someone competent and careful. However, I haven’t seen enough of either of these guys to know which one better fits these criteria.
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Ainge just screams of a backup QB. he reminds me of Todd Collins. If he gets in the right system he can be on eof the quality backups for years.
OConnell seems to have more tools overall. Lets just pick one and hope whoever it is never sees the field
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Old Rich says:
Get a veteran to replace KC, then trade either Ainge or OC.
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Jets-Fan-4-Life says:
I say go with Kevin O’Connell.
It’s time to let go of the remaining QB’s from the former regime. Once Mark Sanchez was picked Erik Ainge should have done everything possible to make Rex Ryan rethink his decision so he could compete with Kellen Clemens for the #2 spot.
Who are we fooling Kellen Clemens did not impress anyone during his stay in NY, and Eric Ainge in my opinion didn’t get the job done and it’s time to move on.
As for Kevin O’Connell he spent all year learning the playbook and if I recall from another post on this blog he was rated better and drafted sooner then Erik Ainge?
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Oh and I agree with most here…We need a vet QB on this team to help the young bucks develop!
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JetObsessed28 says:
i bet we tender KC.. Try trading him, but nobody takes him.. therefore, we go into camp/pre-season with all 4 QBs..
Then, one gets cut after a pre-season game or 2..
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nyj2010 says:
Sidepoint- there is a report that the Jets signed Nick Folk- Why?
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MEL31602 says:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4938775
Yeah here’s the link nyj2010- I know Feely’s a free agent, but Folk??? Really???
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SackDance99 says:
The Folk signing is strange. It could be the FO wanted insurance in case Feely walks or, like the article said, wanted to sign a K before prices for them went up. Folk had a bad case of the yips with the Cowboys and my guess is that the new stadium won’t be any easier to kick in that the old one. Plus, Folk doesn’t get many touchbacks. Just a weird signing.
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Bent says: Doesn’t mean they won’t bring Feely back. It’ll be a one year non-guaranteed deal and if they sign Feely, he can be cut (although most teams at least take two kickers to camp, so they might give him a shot at his job).
Relax, it’s not like they committed to a long term deal, they’re just securing his services for camp (for all the same reasons they tried him out in the first place – competition, cover, a fallback option, upside, the option to let Feely go and sign a UFA) which he obviously earned with an encouraging tryout.
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Brendan says:
Before Folk had the yips he wasn’t bad. But I think this is, as SD said, insurance in case Feeley leaves.
As for the Vet QB thing, that means one of these guys is gone, if it happens.
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I just don’t understand why they would rush to secure a guy who clearly is a headcase over feely, who brings toughness and leadership, kicks in all conditions and you are confident, atleast during his time with the jets, that he can rebound from a kicking setback because of his tough mentality. Folk isn’t that guy, he couldnt kick in Dallas in November, imagine kicking in Jersey! I just don’t get why him before locking up our guys.
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EssentialEducator says:
I hate the criticism that Ainge is not mobile. His senior year at Tennessee, he was sacked 3 times in 519 attempts. 3 times! I don’t care how good your offensive line is, that shows some serious pocket awareness and ability to avoid the rush. I loved him coming out of Tenn for that reason, and I think he will be a solid QB.
I actually thought he would turn out to be the best, or top 3 QB out of his draft. Wonder if he would’ve somewhere if given the chance.
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PA Matt says:
I really liked what I saw of Ainge late in Preseason last year. I definitey prefer him over KC, who has no pocket presence at all.
Please keep Feely. He’s just a cool guy!
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Zartan says:
Im 60/40 on QB talent and think that both the two are starters.
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Harvlis says:
Anybody who can speak about the professional potential of Ainge or O’Connell obviously knows more than Schottenheimer, as he went with Clemens, after Ainge ate his lunch, this past pre-season. I think it is very important to have your back-ups ready to step in. I don’t feel Schotty did a good job of that.
I don’t think we need an aging QB to come help Sanchez. Why have a QB coach and an OC, if you need to bring in a mentor. What should have happened is, in regular season games that were out of reach, the back-ups should have seen some action. In this way, they would have been prepared to step in, which is a big possiblity in the NFL. I know it was important to groom Sanchez but, after he had thrown three or four INT’s or after we took a big lead — get these young back-ups some experience. Once again, Schotty did a poor job here.
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TeamJets says:
Did anyone see Ainge in the pre-season last year ? The guy can play I have no problem with him being the back up.. And whats all this talk about vets..? Who backed up Falco(T.smith) who backed up Ryan(redding) .. I’m concerned with someone picking up Kellen so we can atleast get a draft pick(I’d take a 5th rd) for that sorry excuse for a second rounder ..
As for folk kickers get cut & picked up evry other week I could care less.. I bet none of you guys were Feely fans when he choked in Indy.. I like my kickers to chill at 50 yrd line on kick offs & be the last line of defense not be overly aggressive(Miami) trying to be “super tackle kicker man”..
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correction “flacco”
my iPhone does crazy spell corrections sometimes ..
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Marvel says:
Teamjets,Harvlis
You both make good points.Personally I would like to see Ainge & O’Connel fight it out for the back up spot In training camp/pre-season,I feel that the victor would make for a capable back up. Veteran back up qb’s are overrated because no matter what they say they all secretly want the starter to go down so they can get one more shot.Besides what is there a QB coach for?
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Lance Mehl says:
I agree.. I like Ainge and I think this will get settled in Camp .. of course I’m sure we are looking at a Veteran to come into camp as well …
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How can anyone say that Ainge isn’t “consistent”. How many games has he played in the last few years? That is just someone reciting a pre-draft analysis. The kid has played quite well in most of the pre-season games he’s been in…certainly better than KC. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt that he’s learned a thing or two in his 2+ years since the draft. Give him a shot in the pre-season to fight it out with O’Connell and give the back-up the to the winner, with the loser at #3. It can’t be any worse than KC was last year.
Speaking only of this coming season, I would like for us to acquire – as I know many would – an older guy who started in the league for a long time and would like to stay in the game a little longer and help out a young up-and-comer.
Is there any possibility that the Titans could do away with Kerry Collins, because that’s exactly what we need. A veteran mentor for the ‘Chez.