Drinking the Green Kool Aid

The Big Apple Core In Place, Mercenaries Are Just Icing On The Cake April 26, 2010

The Jets have grabbed most of the headlines this off-season, and the thing I heard and read over and over again is that the Jets are “making a run”, and “there’s no way they can re-sign everyone after this season.”  Both are true…but they are not mutually exclusive.  If anything is clear to me it is that, yes, the Jets are making a run to the Super Bowl and can’t re-sign everyone…but they are building a contender for the long haul, not just 2010.

First, let’s take a look at what the Jets did this past weekend as evidence of this “add pieces to make a run to Dallas, yet build for the future” model:

• Joe McKnight and John Connor: Leon Washington, a fan favorite for good reasons, was not part of the long-term plans.  A 28-year old coming off an injury and looking for a bigger payday, there was just no way Washington was going to ever become a guy who would take a significant number of carries from Shonn Greene.  So, the Jets drafted a cheaper (but potentially as explosive) alternative in Joe McKnight, who can spend his rookie year getting 0-5 touches a game until he’s ready to take on more responsibility.  They then used the pick they got for Washington to grab the best fullback in the draft in John Connor, who will be the starter next season when Tony Richardson retires.

• Vladimir Ducasse: Alan Faneca, another popular player among fans and teammates, was also not going to be a Jet past this season.  The reason?  He was the weak link last season, and we are better served in the long-term by letting Matt Slauson or 2nd-round behemoth  Ducasse develop into the answer at guard.
• Kyle Wilson was close to being the #7 pick in the draft and everyone agrees that getting him at 29 was a coup.  Now, the Jets have a guy ready to be our nickelback immediately, and possibly be our #2 CB if Cromartie is a goner at the end of the year.

Those 4 picks should be contributors, or even starters, for the next half-decade, perhaps even longer.  Next, let’s look at how the “hired guns” fit, or don’t fit in to the long-term plans.

• Antonio Cromartie: Already discussed, but if he doesn’t fit under the cap in 2011, Wilson looks like he might even be an upgrade at CB2 if he develops as expected.
• LaDanian Tomlinson: He probably will last 1 year, 2 years tops.  A great addition in the short-term, and not an answer in the long-term.  However, if Greene and Tomlinson can handle a 20-15 carry split this year, there’s no reason that next season can’t look something like 22-9-9 with Tomlinson and McKnight sharing the backup duties.  If not, McKnight should be ready to be the backup in ’11, and for a while after that.
• Santonio Holmes: Jets Nation knows that 2010 will basically be an audition for the Jets WR1 of the future between Holmes and Edwards.  Both will play hard this year to earn the big payday, but the other will most likely be done.  In the short-term 2 great receivers will push each other.  In the long-term this team will have a Pro-Bowl caliber #1 target for Sanchez.
• Jason Taylor: Well, there’s no real way to sugarcoat this one.  He is a hired mercenary to help the team get to a Super Bowl this year.

The point is, the core of the team will be here for a long time.  Mark Sanchez, Nick Mangold, D’Brickashaw Ferguson, Shonn Greene, David Harris, Darrelle Revis, and Kyle Wilson will be the Jets core going forward, and every year the organization will complement these guys.  That is a pretty freakin’ good core of players.

Take a look at the projected starters for 2011.

QB- Sanchez

RB/FB- Greene/Connor

WR: Holmes/Jerricho Cotchery

TE: Dustin Keller

LT/LG/C/RG/RT: Ferguson/Ducasse/Mangold/Brandon Moore/2011 Draft Pick

LE/DT/RE: 2011 Draft Pick or FA/Jenkins/2011 Draft Pick or FA

LB’s: Pace/Harris/Scott/Westerman

CB’s and Safeties: Revis & Wilson/Leonhard and 2011 Draft Pick or FA

Except for the Defensive Line, age is not an issue.  There will be some needs there that the team will have to draft or sign, and adding a safety would be a good idea of Poole can’t avoid injury.

So, while everyone is saying the Jets are trying to win a Super Bowl this year, they are absolutely right.  But the rest of the league would be making a huge mistake to think the Jets won’t be contenders for years to come with the core they have in place.