Fair assessment on Geno's move. No signing was above mediocre.
http://truluvsports.com/grading-new-york-jets-free-agent-acquisitions/
This has been a horrid season for the New York Jets & especially for it’s fans. Some of that can be blamed on the lack of said ‘free agent acquisitions’ by the New York Jets, especially at the cornerback position. The season isn’t over for the New York Jets, but by now we’ve seen about all we’re going to from this free agent class for the New York Jets. Grading the New York Jets free-agent acquisitions will be based off a variety of categories from statistics, to impact, and how they fit systematically.
Starting off with the proverbial elephant in the room, Eric Decker, the New York Jets’ prized fish out of the free agent pond. The New York Jets haven’t had a 1000 yard receiver since the 2007 season with Jerricho Cotchery barely reaching that figure. To say this receiving core has been anemic is an understatement. So with that being said Eric Decker signing with the New York Jets came with lofty expectations even considering the quarterback situation. The reason Eric Decker said he signed with the New York Jets was to shed the label of a ‘product’ of the system. And also NFL analysts and skeptics alike said Eric Decker was a really nice ‘#2 Option’ so he wanted to prove he is really a #1 receiver. Well, 14 games into his inaugural season as the New York Jets #1 option. He has really disappointed, throughout the course of this season there always has been something. From early in the season dealing with the hamstring issues that limited his ceiling. Missing several games and whenever he tried to play through it he was ultimately ineffective. His season statistics so far this season include: 62 catches for 720 yards and 4 touchdowns. Pretty pedestrian numbers compared to his time with the Denver Broncos with Peyton Manning at the helm. No one, expected him to transition those 1,400 yard seasons and double digit touchdowns immediately. Another reason those numbers are so small is, because of the mental lapses he’s had throughout the season. From not making the kinds of plays #1 receivers are supposed to make. To simply dropping easy passes and not helping your quarterback. We saw this most recently against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, Geno Smith threw an absolute laser on a deep comeback route. Hits him right in the hands and lands on the turf, these are the plays that New York Jets fans remember the most. With all that being said I give him a solid B, he hasn’t been spectacular but he hasn’t been horrid. New York Jets fans are disappointed, but hopefully another year in the system and with some consistent quarterback play on it’s way. Perhaps Eric Decker will be the one to end the 1000 yard receiving streak next season.
Next on the slate the New York Jets had to address the Right Tackle situation by either bringing back Austin Howard or replacing him. GM John Idzik decided that Austin Howard wasn’t worth the money that the Oakland Raiders had offered so he decided to move on. John Idzik has received a lot of flak for his moves and the moves he didn’t make and rightfully so. So I have to give him the nod on this move, let’s do quick comparison. He could have matched Oakland’s offer and paid Austin Howard, a five-year, $30 million contract, with $10 million guaranteed. He decided to reach back into his Seattle roots and grab Breno Giacomini for four years, $18 million, including $7 million in guarantees, according to ESPN data. In terms of simply money comparisons from their sample size, the New York Jets made out. Almost their entire statistics are the same from career starts to age. The New York Jets saved a bunch of money from what appears to be a simple-swap. Looking at how Breno Giacomini has done this season he’s seen his fair share of highs and lows. But ultimately this is a high C+ grade, it wasn’t a downgrade, but it certainly wasn’t an upgrade either.
With the signing of Chris Johnson this New York Jets team looks like a 2009 all-star team. But with all jokes aside this addition was highly praised when GM John Idzik made this happen. As Chris Johnson ended up being a cap-casualty with his high cap number. It’s been a mercurial season for the artist formerly known as CJ2K. Another case of the New York Jets expecting more than they got, some of this can be attributed to the Jets not giving him enough carries. This will most likely be, (I never say never but…) Chris Johnson’s first season where he doesn’t eclipse the 1000 yard mark. Currently through 14 games he has accumulated 613 yards rushing with 1 lone touchdown rushing. While the game the New York Jets thought they were adding to the offense would be his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. But Chris Johnson only has 22 catches for 151 yards, it seems his early season struggles with catching the football also contributed. The past several weeks he has turned it on, but in a 3-11 season it is a case of too little too late. Who knows if Chris Johnson will be back next season, with the impending regime change on the horizon for the New York Jets. But grading this signing would be another C+ grade, the intent was there and so was the potential for this to be a match made in heaven. But much like the entire 2014 campaign for the Jets, for some reason or another it just didn’t work out.
Well right off the bat this is a bad sign when all the rest of the signings are lumped together at the end like this. But these are the signings that seemed like low-risk high reward signings that were praised, but looking back look like colossal mistakes. Or more so ‘desperation’ moves, the first signing that is under the microscope is, Dimitri Patterson. Dimitri never played a regular season snap for the New York Jets and that should tell you all you need to know right there. The New York Jets failed to acquire a top-tier cornerback to replace the departure of Antonio Cromartie. That obviously was a major factor why this team fell off the face of the planet. On top of the fact that the New York Jets were ravaged by injuries throughout the pre-season & regular season to their secondary. From their rookie Dex McDougle tearing his ACL, Dee Milliner going out for the rest of the season early, Kyle Wilson failure to live up to original 1st round pick status, a lot contributed to this. But the reason that GM John Idzik is catching all the flak from the billboards, to the towels, to the t-shirts wishing for his resignation or his firing. All is encompassed by John Idzik just not putting Rex Ryan in a position to succeed from a defensive perspective. This move gets an F for a multitude of reasons that was already discussed, but this could ultimately cost him his job. Honorable mention is Jason Babin who came in late for depth purposes he has made a nice impact as a rotational pass-rusher notching 2 sacks.
http://truluvsports.com/grading-new-york-jets-free-agent-acquisitions/
