TANK GETS THE GREEN LIGHT
Cuts mean Jets going for No. 1 pick in ’17
Tank you very much. Connect the green and white dots: Black Tuesday in Florham Park is the final piece of an unsightly 0-16 season that leads to USC quarterback Sam Darnold with the first pick in the 2018 draft. In the process of flushing away the stench from last year’s 5-11 disaster – and saving Woody Johnson lots of money – Mike Maccagnan, in his third year as Jets GM, purged the roster of anybody old enough to drink. He is putting together a team that is going to have a hard time winning a game.
Tanking? “That’s not our focus,” Maccagnan said Tuesday after cutting David Harris and revealing that Eric Decker has bene told he will be cut as well if the Jets can’t trade him.
It’s all semantics, but the reality is the Jets are tanking as they develop their young players and then slide into position to draft Darnold, Wyoming’s Josh Allen or UCLA’s John Rosen, whoever is considered the best quarterback following next season and then the grueling draft evaluation process.
Tanking is not a terrible strategy if it finally gets the Jets a franchise quarterback for the first time in 50 years. If you are going to stink, you might as well really stink so the place has to be fumigated.
Finishing with four or five victories and picking sixth will get terrific foundation players like Leonard Williams and Jamal Adams, but it won’t ever get the best quarterback in a strong quarterback draft.
I feel bad for the loyal and long-suffering Jets fans who paid lots of money for their PSLS and recently wrote checks for their 2017 season tickets to watch a team that would have trouble beating Alabama. But it could pay off big in the long run. The worst thing is to be mediocre in the NFL. It’s beneficial to be really bad for a year or two if the right decisions are made in the draft, free agency and with the high priority on waiver claims.
The Jets might have the worst roster in the NFL. Even worse than the Browns and 49ers. But that all changes one year from now if all the young guys – they have only four players 30 or older — take a big step forward and the Jets get their franchise quarterback. First, they must be sure that Christian Hackenberg, the second-round pick from last year who didn’t step on the field as a rookie, is as bad as everybody fears. That can’t be determined until he has an opportunity to play.
What will the Jets gain from playing Josh McCown, who is 18-42 in 15 seasons and will turn 38 on July 4? Why wait until the Jets are 0-6 with injuries potentially piling up to put in Hackenberg? Go with him when he has the best chance to succeed at the beginning of the season. If he’s a dud, then the Jets can draft Darnold, Allen or Rosen.
It’s hard to find many victories on their 2017 schedule regardless who starts at QB. Only the 2008 Lions have ever been 0-16. Close your eyes: This could be worse than Rich Kotite’s 1-15 in 1996. Instead of Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker at wide receiver – they combined for 189 catches, 2,547 yards and 26 TDS in 2015 – they have Quincy Enunwa and Robby Anderson. Yikes.
Truth is, Maccagnan should have torn things apart two years ago when he was hired to replace Hall of Fame GM John Idzik, whose parting gift was more cap room that Maccagnan could spend.
Instead of ripping through the roster back then, Maccagnan went for the competitive rebuild and it nearly worked with a near-miss of the playoffs at 10-6. GMs in New York are afraid fans will never embrace a complete overhaul and the ugliness that comes with it. The owners and GMs need to have more faith that all the fans want is for their team to be steered in the right direction and be able to eventually compete for a title. If Maccagnan went young in 2015, the Jets would be better off today.
Two years ago, Maccagnan signed Darrelle Revis and traded for Marshall and Ryan Fitzpatrick and last year signed Matt Forte. Revis is gone after two years with $39 million guaranteed in his pocket. Marshall was also cut, along with Nick Mangold.
Fitzpatrick wasn’t offered a new contract. On Tuesday, it was David Harris’ turn as he was cut right after an OTA practice when talks on a reduction from his $6.5 million reached a stalemate. I can already see him in Foxborough, by the way. Then Decker, coming off shoulder and hip surgery that cut off his season after just three games last year, was told he will be cut or traded. Gone: His $7.25 million salary. That’s a $13.75 million savings for Johnson in cold, hard cash on Black Tuesday.
Salary cap rules require him to eventually spend the money, but Johnson can save it for another year when it will have an impact on wins and losses. Maccagnan said the moves Tuesday were not financially motivated. He said he’s trying to build a competitive roster.
The six core players who have been removed have combined to play 61 years in the NFL. That’s a lot of experience and leadership. That’s not counting the departures of Geno Smith, Nick Folk, Breno Giacomini, Ryan Clady, Calvin Pryor and Marcus Gilchrist.
As they used to say about the ’62 Mets, as soon as enough of their players were spread around the National League, the Mets would be good. Seven years later, they won the World Series. The same may one day be said about all these ex-Jets.
This is going to be a painful season for Jets Nation.