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Jets vice president of college scouting Joey Clinkscales is out of the running for the GM job in Saint Louis, per Jenny Vrentas of the Star-Ledger.
Clinkscales has had some previous interviews with other teams, but nothing has worked out for him so far. Clinkscales does a great job of running the draft program, for the Jets, so I’m happy that he’s staying on for at least another year. Sooner or later a guy as smart as Clinkscales will get a job elsewhere, but in the meantime, I’m happy the Jets can keep him in one of their most important draft classes since 2006.
It’s a stats analytics bonanza today! The good folks (and fellow Jet fan) Sean McCormick at Football Outsiders writes a Four Downs on the AFC East, and while there’s a lot of great content there, Sean has highlighted one specific area where the Jets have to address this offseason … and it’s the Right Tackle spot.
Ferguson’s struggles went relatively unnoticed, however, because of Wayne Hunter’s spectacular meltdown on the other side of the line. Hunter was charged with 8.5 sacks and 11 penalties according to ESPN New York, and his inability to handle the outside rush essentially took every deep pass out of the playbook. An upgrade here is a necessity. Better blocking out of the tight ends would also help New York re-establish its running attack.
It’s a great point. The Jets have to address the running game not solely with a stud running back, but with at least 1.5 more blockers in the form of a Right Tackle and a Tight End. For as good a set of personnel as the Jets have had on the line in the past, they have to be wary. Brick is a great pass blocker, but run-blocking has never been his game. That means the Jets are going to run right a lot more than they are going to run left, so when a team knows where to key those linebackers, then it makes it even harder when the Right Tackle and blocking Tight End can’t block they way they need to.
It would be one thing if a team expected the Jets to do something and couldn’t stop them from doing it, but last year proved that the Jets running game couldn’t over-execute the tendencies of their plans. That has to change. Sparano will help, but for that to make a real change, it means the Jets need to get better personnel to run-block.
Now I will oddly snap my head around like Papa John.
Better ingredients, better running game.
With the Jets now looking towards 2012, so are we. As we think about the needs the Jets have to fill before getting to training camp, we wanted to hear your thoughts on the most critical positions that the team needs to address with potential starters this offseason. Of course this list will fluctuate as the team cuts, extends or signs players, so we’ll try and update it regularly. For now, here’s the first shot.
1 Safety (Same)— Rex Ryan is demanding on safeties. He likes flexible players who can cover or play up in the box — oh and they have to be really smart. Jim Leonhard is the only player the Jets had on their roster that fit all those criteria, and he did it at a size and range smaller than most anyone else in the league. Again, the reason it’s so critical is because the team should really address at least two spots one way or another. The consensus seems to be that Jim Leonhard wants to return … but he’s a free agent and it’s risky. He’s also had two season ending injuries in the past two years. The Jets are going to have to bring in at least one maybe two outsiders in 2012. (more…)
Our friends over at PFF looked at the AFC East and some trends they noticed on each team this year and mentioned three players from the Jets who are trending.
Most improved player? John Conner. (more…)
Here’s part of an email I got yesterday from a college buddy, Tim S., who grew up in Philly.
I am 95% sure Eskin posted about Plax just to get under Philly fan’s skin and push them to yell at him more on his radio show. Eskin is an idiot.
So he’s like the Mike Francesa of Philadelphia, with the one major difference being that he basically caused a murder. OK, that makes more sense now.
Either way, I don’t expect Plaxico to return to the Jets in the role of $3 million dollar man. We saw enough last year to know that he has his place in an offense, and it’s in the red zone. But beyond that, he can’t do enough as a #2 to help out a #1 receiver who needs all the help he can get.
Here’s a quick check-in on Sanchez! Girl. I think she’s still not sure who is the quarterback of the Giants.
- Todd Haley gets introduced in Pittsburgh. [SI]
- What’s the future look like for Mark Sanchez. [ESPN]
- Wherefore Wayne Hunter? [AFCE ESPN]
- Where’s Manning’s best chance? [AFCE ESPN]
- Jets have depth at RB going into the draft. [NewYorkJets]
- Is Mikey T. slipping? [B/R]
- Penning thinks it’s time to file his retirement papers. [Palm Beach Post]
Oh no … what ever will the Jets do without a tall, slow receiver, who made over three million dollars last year and who can’t catch a pass between the 20s?
Actually, with DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, LeSean McCoy and Brent Celek already in-house, that setup might suit him better … he wouldn’t have to be the #1 or #2, he could be a role player as I think we all saw he needs to slide into at this point of his career.
So what happened with Wayne Hunter … wasn’t he supposed to have some big news yesterday? The Jets are going to need every dollar this offseason to re-sign players like Sione Pouha as well as bring in some outside help, but here’s a few suggestions on how the Jets might have looked at a few things about the Hunter situation:
1) They didn’t want to cut the one guy who actually had the stones to stand up to Santonio’s hissy-fit the very same day that Holmes got his money guaranteed.
2) They figure that whoever they would get as the next backup Tackle would cost just as much as Hunter did.
3) Even though his money is guaranteed, maybe there’s some loophole to getting him to take less against the cap this year even so to which I’m not privy.
4) Sparano thinks it’s correctable.
Honestly, I thought it was a dicey move when the Jets signed him last summer as their starter, and a year of him in such a role has not disabused me of that notion. So for me, it’s not a great sign that he wasn’t cut, but the loophole here is that the team could still see if he’s willing to restructure in some way to make his presence more palatable, or maybe they have restructured him already without anyone having knowledge of it openly – though with the hounds on the trail on this one … I kind of doubt it.
Generally, Mike Tannenbaum operates by a “I don’t throw away what I don’t need to throw away” policy, so the fact that they didn’t cut him outright for the gained savings it would have offered tells me everything I need to know about Vladimir Ducasse and his level of readiness for 2012. Whatever bill of goods they tried to sell us last offseason isn’t working, and not cutting Hunter is proof enough.
It doesn’t make sense for me to come back and try to play. I know I can get healthy. I know I can be ready for training camp and do all those things. But can I take a hit? After four shoulder surgeries, that’s a question that’s hard to answer right now. That’s something that’s out of my control. I can control being strong enough, accurate enough, and smart enough. But I can’t control not being able to take a hit in the wrong angle.
With the Jets now officially back to 0-0, the business of rounding out the deeper parts of the extended offseason roster is well in hand for the Jets as they worked out three potential free agents this week.
The New York Jets tried out three players this week, according to a league source with knowledge of the situation.
They tried out former UCLA kicker Justin Medlock, former Illinois defensive end Jerry Brown and former Northwest Mississippi Community College wide receiver Michael Lindsey.
None of the players was immediately signed to a contract, though.
Justin Medlock is a journeyman kicker. He’s had some experience as a kicker back in 2007, his first year in the NFL when he was drafted by the Chiefs in the 5th round. He was shaky in the preseason and the team eventually cut him in favor of Dave Rayner. Since it’s been cups of coffee in the NFL and game experience in the CFL. Last year Medlock kicked for the CFL’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
Brown was a Defensive Lineman at Illinois, and would likely play linebacker for the Jets based on his size (6’5″ 265 lbs.), but he didn’t test well last year speed-wise (4.84) so that might limit his ability to play the edge spot. Last year he played with the Jacksonville Sharks in the AFL.
Lindsey was a rookie in 2011 with the AFL’s Tampa Bay Storm. He had a solid rookie season on the way to breaking the team record for kickoff return yards in a season. Learn more about Lindsey here and here.
That’s big of them, no question about it. When the Jets went to the AFC Championship Game the last two years, I was rooting for the Jets to win. They’re a good football team. I’d like to thank them for their congratulations. Better luck to that football team and organization next year.
- Jets guarantee RT Hunter’s 2012 salary [Newark Star-Ledger]
- Jets Free Agents for 2012 – Who Should Stay and Who Should Go? [Jets Gab]
- Caption This! [PIC]
