Jets Sign Tomlinson

The Jets have agreed to a two year deal with Ladainian Tomlinson.  This deal will bring in one of the best running backs in recent history to be the 3rd option on the Jets roster.  Tomlinson should excel in the role of getting 5-10 touches a game behind the best offensive line in football.  Although he has lacked production in recent years, behind this Jets offensive line and with a reduced role I believe that he will get his YPC average up over 4 and be a great boost to an already good Jets running game.  I am excited and overjoyed by this move as it provides an insurance policy if Leon Washington is unable to return to his old form after the broken leg.  Great signing by the Jets.

Scouts Inc. is a Joke: Kerry Rhodes

So, I'm on ESPN.com today on the AFC East blog looking at their analysis of the Kerry Rhodes trade to Arizona.  While there I run across this Scouts Inc. profile on Rhodes that I would like to comment on:
"Rhodes has size, athletic skills and functional play strength. He has deceptive speed and physical toughness. He shows good speed and quickness as a blitzer. He has been a very physical and productive player coming off the edge in zone dogs. He has good closing speed underneath. He takes good angles when supporting the run but can be inconsistent in this phase of the game." 


Let me do a little analysis of this critique on Rhodes.  Rhodes was consistently half a second late on every single play and usually ended up either throwing his body over a pile or standing around watching.  This "deceptive speed" is bullshit and doesn't actually exist.  The only time he shows any speed is when he is rushing around the edge and this has resulted in 3 sacks in 3 years.  This last year he registered 0 sacks while playing in a Rex Ryan defensive system that sends more blitzers than anybody in the league.  As far as "good speed and quickness as a blitzer", I can't really see how this is actually  helping him out if he is getting absolutely not sacks.


They then make the claim that Rhodes is "very physical".  Do they know the reason that Rex Ryan benched him midway through the season and then proceeded to run him out of New York.  He was benched because he was soft on tackling Wes Welker in one of the Patriots games earlier in the season.  This was a trend that we had to deal with all season.  Rhodes consistently misses tackles and doesn't show any of this toughness that Scounts Inc. claims he has.  As far as taking "good angles to support the run", it seems to me that this is some bullshit that can be said to appease any fan because there really is no argument against it.  I don't have the access to the tapes of all of Kerry Rhodes games to analyze whether he really does take these good angles.  What I do know is that he will consistently miss the tackles after taking these good angles.


I am not a huge Rhodes fan anymore but I do not hate him like the majority of fans.  However, I will never take anything Scouts Inc. says seriously after this joke of an analysis.  They clearly have not watched enough footage on him and are basing this review off a season that was 3 years ago.  If you can't pain an accurate picture, don't even try.

Kerry Rhodes Traded

The Jets have traded Kerry Rhodes to Arizona for a 4th round pick this year and a 7th in 2011.  My first reaction to this news was that I am not very happy that this trade was made.  Rhodes is a great talent who never seemed to be comfortable in the Rex Ryan defense.  The compensation doesn't seem to be enough for a player who is going to step right in and start.  This should open up the possibility of the Jets drafting Myron Rolle in the 3rd or so round or picking up a free agent safety like OJ Atogwe.  I would be a huge fan of picking up Atogwe but I am not sure how the final four restriction rules will play into this.  I am a bit concerned about giving up a starter on defense for unproven picks but Rhodes made too many enemies in New York and it was time for him to go.

Offseason News

As the beginning of March passes there are two HUGE moves that the Jets have made in recent weeks.  I will start with the move that happened today as the Jets acquired Antonio Cromartie from the Chargers for a conditional third round draft pick which could turn into a second based on playing time next year.  This trade will give the Jets the best pair of defensive backs in the NFL.  Cromartie has come under fire the past few years as he has not produced like he did in his all-pro year 2 years ago.  However, playing opposite of Darrelle Revis I can see Cromartie getting many opportunities to become a game changer.  Quarterbacks cannot complete passes to Revis's side and Cromartie has the explosiveness to take advantage of any qb that targets him.  I expect great things about the Jets secondary come next season.

The second big move of the offseason is the release of Thomas Jones.  I am a huge Jones supporter and he put in some very, very good years with the Jets.  He was extremely under appreciated by the majority of Jets fans.  He was consistent, stayed healthy, and put up a few huge seasons.  However, the Jets have decided to move on in the running game with Shonn Greene and Leon Washington both coming into next season healthy.  It is a move that I think had to be made with the way Greene ran in the playoffs.  There is some risk involved with Greene seeming a little injury prone and Washington coming off a horrible injury but the Jets should sign a veteran #3 back as an insurance policy.  Thank you Thomas Jones for what you brought to this team in the past few years and I hope he has another few good years in him for somebody.

Season in Review: Defense and Special Teams

Defensive MVP: Darrelle Revis

Defensive Line:

Shaun Ellis had another good season anchoring the defensive line.  He finished with 53 tackles and 6.5 sacks which are pretty good numbers for a defensive end in the 3-4.  The longest tenured Jet should be returning next year in the same role.

Season Grade: B+

Sione Pouha played great this season filling in when Kris Jenkins went down with an injury.  Many thought the Jets defense would suffer greatly without last seasons defensive MVP but Pouha was able to step in and play great.

Season Grade: A-

Marques Douglas was serviceable at the defensive end position this year and I expect that we will see him back next year in the same role.

Season Grade: B

Linebackers:

Calvin Pace- A-

Vernon Gholston- F

David Harris- A

Bryan Thomas- B

Bart Scott- B+

Defensive Backs:

Darrelle Revis- A+

Lito Sheppard- C+

Dwight Lowery- B

Donald Strickland- C

Kerry Rhodes- C

Jim Leonard- A-

Eric Smith- B+

Special Teams:

Jay Feely- A

Steve Weatherford- C

Brad Smith/Leon Washington Returning Kicks- B-

Coaching:

Rex Ryan- A

Brian Schottenheimer- C+

Mike Pettine- A

Mike Westhoff- B+