I have a theory and its not good, in fact its infuriating

[Green Jets & Ham]

What if the Jets, who were recently accused of tampering and so far as I know that case is still pending, decided they are going to follow the letter of the law in this "three day window" and not even attempt to actually get anyone signed or bound to an agreement in principle, lest they even create the appearance of impropriety, and make no mistake about it, that was supposed to be the spirit of the arrangement, you can talk to free agents and prepare the groundwork to make your offers at 4PM on Tuesday, but nothing more than that, no actual contracts discussed much less agreed on, and it appears as if the Jets were trying to follow the rules here, while other teams were saying "F THAT!!" and the free-for-all was unleashed, a stampede where only some teams were playing, the ones who said F the rules.

Later in the day the league tried to put the kibosh on what happened, but by that time it was too late for the poor saps who tried to follow the rules, you can't put Pandora back in the box, once all of these top level free agents have agreements, who gives a shit if the league steps in afterwards, we're already screwed.

I'm not saying that happened. I'm just hypothesizing here and thinking out loud, but if this did happen, the Jets (and other teams who tried to follow the rules) got royally shafted simply for obeying the rules, and that can't stand, the league has to step in and nullify all of these deals that were agreed on prior to Tuesday and let everyone start from scratch, on the same even playing field, otherwise I would be screaming HOLY HELL if I was one of the owners who tried to do everything right and got ram-rodded for it.

 

[Jet Blast]

You can't nullify the deals. Everyone will say "OK, we'll nullify the deal", then at 4:00 this afternoon all the deals will magically reappear. You can't even penalize the teams who jumped the gun since it's nearly impossible to prove anything.

It's too late to salvage this year. Next year they need to drop this silly "legal tampering" period.

 

[Jet Setter]

They've been linked to Hoyer and still in talks last night as well on top of reports of heavy talks with Iupati before losing out to him. This tampering period is legal. They have a right to participate.

Keep in mind that FA negotiations are new to Mccagnan. As I mentioned in another thread, most fans and media glossed this over as unimportant. Missing horse-trader skills like TBaum had is big when you're sitting on over 50M that must be spent by 2016. We've been long spoiled by Tanny's uncanny ability to land anyone and everyone in the past. Idzik found this exceedingly difficult last year in his first real year on the job in FA. It's not that easy. And a lot of teams have to spend money as well.

 

[Green Jets & Ham]

They've been linked to Hoyer and still in talks last night as well on top of reports of heavy talks with Iupati before losing out to him. This tampering period is legal. They have a right to participate.

Not everything that was done here is legal, setter, thats a huge misperception, thats why the league stepped in yesterday, when reports of these deals started breaking, and made it clear that this is NOT legal and it needs to stop, but by that time it was too late, you already had a slew of top level free agents who had agreements in place, and thats the part that wasn't and isn't legal, that was not supposed to happen in this three day window ... talking, yes, but no actual contract offers ... so its possible we were doing plenty of the former, while other teams were doing the latter and locking these free agents up prior to Tuesday ... in fact it was just announced on Mike & Mike that the league is investigating all of these reported deals on Monday, and the league is pissed about it.

 

[Green Jets & Ham]

Keep in mind that FA negotiations are new to Mccagnan. As I mentioned in another thread, most fans and media glossed this over as unimportant. Missing horse-trader skills like TBaum had is big when you're sitting on over 50M that must be spent by 2016. We've been long spoiled by Tanny's uncanny ability to land anyone and everyone in the past. Idzik found this exceedingly difficult last year in his first real year on the job in FA. It's not that easy. And a lot of teams have to spend money as well.

This part I totally agree with, setter, and in fact I posted about exactly this just yesterday. NFL free agency is chaos, its a free-for-all, the moment the bell rings all hell breaks loose, and patience is NOT a virtue, its punished.

 

[Jet Setter]

This part I totally agree with, setter, and in fact I posted about exactly this just yesterday. NFL free agency is chaos, its a free-for-all, the moment the bell rings all hell breaks loose, and patience is NOT a virtue, its punished.

Ahh, yes. I read that. It's accurate. Patience IS punished. And I recall those who reflexively defended Idzik last year with everyone labeling him as "patient". They all missed the boat. He wasn't patient, he just couldn't sign anyone. We learned later how many prospects came and went. It wasn't at all about patience or some grand plan. He was disillusioned into thinking he could get maximum value on all FA's. Good luck with that. The nature of FA is that you MUST pay market value or better or you will become a spectator.

 

[Jet Setter]

Not everything that was done here is legal, setter, thats a huge misperception, thats why the league stepped in yesterday, when reports of these deals started breaking, and made it clear that this is NOT legal and it needs to stop, but by that time it was too late, you already had a slew of top level free agents who had agreements in place, and thats the part that wasn't and isn't legal, that was not supposed to happen in this three day window ... talking, yes, but no actual contract offers ... so its possible we were doing plenty of the former, while other teams were doing the latter and locking these free agents up prior to Tuesday ... in fact it was just announced on Mike & Mike that the league is investigating all of these reported deals on Monday, and the league is pissed about it.

Okay, I gotcha.

The biggest violator of this has to be Philly. Dock their picks, I say. Can't stand the Eagles.

 

[Green Jets & Ham]

Ahh, yes. I read that. It's accurate. Patience IS punished. And I recall those who reflexively defended Idzik last year with everyone labeling him as "patient". They all missed the boat. He wasn't patient, he just couldn't sign anyone. We learned later how many prospects came and went. It wasn't at all about patience or some grand plan. He was disillusioned into thinking he could get maximum value on all FA's. Good luck with that. The nature of FA is that you MUST pay market value or better or you will become a spectator.

Exactly right, anything I add would be redundant.

 

[HYATT™]

What if the Jets, who were recently accused of tampering and so far as I know that case is still pending, decided they are going to follow the letter of the law in this "three day window" and not even attempt to actually get anyone signed or bound to an agreement in principle, lest they even create the appearance of impropriety, and make no mistake about it, that was supposed to be the spirit of the arrangement, you can talk to free agents and prepare the groundwork to make your offers at 4PM on Tuesday, but nothing more than that, no actual contracts discussed much less agreed on, and it appears as if the Jets were trying to follow the rules here, while other teams were saying "F THAT!!" and the free-for-all was unleashed, a stampede where only some teams were playing, the ones who said F the rules.

Later in the day the league tried to put the kibosh on what happened, but by that time it was too late for the poor saps who tried to follow the rules, you can't put Pandora back in the box, once all of these top level free agents have agreements, who gives a shit if the league steps in afterwards, we're already screwed.

I'm not saying that happened. I'm just hypothesizing here and thinking out loud, but if this did happen, the Jets (and other teams who tried to follow the rules) got royally shafted simply for obeying the rules, and that can't stand, the league has to step in and nullify all of these deals that were agreed on prior to Tuesday and let everyone start from scratch, on the same even playing field, otherwise I would be screaming HOLY HELL if I was one of the owners who tried to do everything right and got ram-rodded for it.

3 day "Legal Tampering" season until then.
The League just cautioned everyone about NOT inking any deals until the official UFA signing period opens, but in reality these deals, (which largely depend on the word of both players and management), are in fact all BUT inked already.
Of course, the exception that proves it's STILL not officially ink time is Gore suddenly telling PHI he's changing his mind and might decide to go to Indy instead.
I dunnoe if that's Gore's agent leveraging a better deal from PHI, or Indy, or both - or idle speculation by some bobblehead.
It's evidence you had it right and were just misinterpreting what other people in the media were interpreting as GOING TO happen, but sadly using their piss-poor journalism skills - or rather lack thereof - to appear as though they got a scoop first when in fact they are just speculating too.

The SPIRIT of the rule was supposed to be drinks with dinner and maybe some consensual sex after, but absolutely no conversation about money or contracts.
But, pillow talk is pillow talk and even super duper double-naught spies blab crap they shouldn't beneath the sheets at times.

 

[Green Jets & Ham]

Hyatt, thanks for the feedback, but the main point can't be lost here, while other teams were talking actual numbers and getting these handshake agreements in place, what if the Jets, who are currently under investigation for tampering thanks to Woody's big mouth, were being extra careful not to go there?

Just think of the disadvantage that put them at, and any other team that was determined to follow the letter of the law.

 

[ucrenegade]

What if the Jets, who were recently accused of tampering and so far as I know that case is still pending, decided they are going to follow the letter of the law in this "three day window" and not even attempt to actually get anyone signed or bound to an agreement in principle, lest they even create the appearance of impropriety, and make no mistake about it, that was supposed to be the spirit of the arrangement, you can talk to free agents and prepare the groundwork to make your offers at 4PM on Tuesday, but nothing more than that, no actual contracts discussed much less agreed on, and it appears as if the Jets were trying to follow the rules here, while other teams were saying "F THAT!!" and the free-for-all was unleashed, a stampede where only some teams were playing, the ones who said F the rules.

Later in the day the league tried to put the kibosh on what happened, but by that time it was too late for the poor saps who tried to follow the rules, you can't put Pandora back in the box, once all of these top level free agents have agreements, who gives a shit if the league steps in afterwards, we're already screwed.

I'm not saying that happened. I'm just hypothesizing here and thinking out loud, but if this did happen, the Jets (and other teams who tried to follow the rules) got royally shafted simply for obeying the rules, and that can't stand, the league has to step in and nullify all of these deals that were agreed on prior to Tuesday and let everyone start from scratch, on the same even playing field, otherwise I would be screaming HOLY HELL if I was one of the owners who tried to do everything right and got ram-rodded for it.

nice theory but the fact is none of these reports came from the actual team it is just the media doing their job to me it sounds like manish and the others don't have the big mouth to feed them intel on the jets which is a good sign it means bowles and big mac are in control of the circus atmosphere that we had under rex the last 6 years.

 

[eaglenj]

A more plausible theory (although what the original poster said isnt that far fetched) is that due to a combination of the gross mismanagement of the Rex/idzik years, Woody's incompetence as an owner, and Geno's incompetence as a QB, that Free Agents are not going to sign here if the money is equal.

There is virtually no other explanation as to why there hasnt even been a single top player linked to this team when we have $50+ million in space. We really couldnt outbid buffalo for jerry hughes by $1-2 million for the edge rusher we have lacked for 5 years? We now have to settle on James Carpenter instead of orlando franklin who was a better fit for a zone team?

I dont know what is going on behind the scenes, but have holes to fill and the money to do it - and if we dont come away with some combination of Revis, Rahim Moore, or Jabaal Sheard this FA period is going to be a colossal failure

 

[hobson54]

i don't find this theory credible. they were reported to have been talking to iupati (or lupati his evil twin), with hoyer, with cary williams, and they reportedly just agreed to a deal with carpenter (this news may have broke after you started this thread). i can't say how far into contract talks they got with some of these guys, although the hoyer reports seemed to indicate that the jets and texans were bidding for his services, which leads me to believe they talked numbers.

 

[jetfandreamer]

Not everything that was done here is legal, setter, thats a huge misperception, thats why the league stepped in yesterday, when reports of these deals started breaking, and made it clear that this is NOT legal and it needs to stop, but by that time it was too late, you already had a slew of top level free agents who had agreements in place, and thats the part that wasn't and isn't legal, that was not supposed to happen in this three day window ... talking, yes, but no actual contract offers ... so its possible we were doing plenty of the former, while other teams were doing the latter and locking these free agents up prior to Tuesday ... in fact it was just announced on Mike & Mike that the league is investigating all of these reported deals on Monday, and the league is pissed about it.

I dont think the league was upset at the teams being linked to deals ..it was the TERMS of Deals being released which was wrong...they release deal info..and then..other free agents at same position can use that info for leverage in their individual negotiations

 

[Parcells123]

Ahh, yes. I read that. It's accurate. Patience IS punished. And I recall those who reflexively defended Idzik last year with everyone labeling him as "patient". They all missed the boat. He wasn't patient, he just couldn't sign anyone. We learned later how many prospects came and went. It wasn't at all about patience or some grand plan. He was disillusioned into thinking he could get maximum value on all FA's. Good luck with that. The nature of FA is that you MUST pay market value or better or you will become a spectator.

Can some posters please calm down. You don't win an NFL title in March. How did the Saints do this year after spending big in free agency last year? Free Agents don't get you to the promised land especially when you overpay like Philly did with Maxwell. If the Jets use their abundant cap room to sign a whole bunch of under the radar quality players that will increase depth and foster competition, that would be much better then signing a few big ticket guys that will eat up cap space and who's contracts will handicap the club going forward.

 

[hobson54]

Can some posters please calm down. You don't win an NFL title in March. How did the Saints do this year after spending big in free agency last year? Free Agents don't get you to the promised land especially when you overpay like Philly did with Maxwell. If the Jets use their abundant cap room to sign a whole bunch of under the radar quality players that will increase depth and foster competition, that would be much better then signing a few big ticket guys that will eat up cap space and who's contracts will handicap the club going forward.

+1000

it seems like so many want to see big name signings. the daniel snyder (and now stephen ross) method of free agency doesn't work.

how soon we forget when the dolphins were proclaimed the march super bowl champions after signing wallace, ellerby, wheeler, keller and others while letting long, bush, dansby and others walk out the door. now all they are left with is the awful contract of the pouting mike wallace.

 

[nycdan]

Okay, I gotcha.

The biggest violator of this has to be Philly. Dock their picks, I say. Can't stand the Eagles.

But those are supposed to become OUR picks in the MM trade!

 

[flgreen]

IMO Ham is pretty close to the truth here. This 3 day period, by rule, is supposed to be a bit of a get to know you session. Just see what area of compensation a player is looking for so they can formulate an offer, and get down to negotiating at 4pm today . It is forbidden to actually, do any negotiating now, or to make any kind of offer.

Clearly, this has been totally ignored, and teams and agents are negotiating contracts, and joining into finalized, unsigned contracts. Think the Eagles started the stampede.

Macc as a rookie GM was trying to to abide by the rules. The player it may have cost them IMO is Jackson. I read earlier, after he was signed, that the Jets were very, very, interested in him, but didn't offer a contract. The Texans saw their former personnel guy , wooing their FA, and stepped in and gave him what he was looking for. if the Jets had offered a contract, that might not have happened. I'm blaming that on Graves. He is a former GM, and the cap guy. He is here to advise the Rookie GM, who is a personnel expert on the intricacies of being an A H cut throat GM.

The Jets seemed to have recovered, figured out what was going on, and seemingly have gotten Carpenter to an agreement.

The good news about all these pre FA contracts, is they don't mean spit. If a GM really has his sites on a player, even though it has been announced he has reached an agreement, can step in at 3:30 to make an offer that blows the player away, and the "agreement" is out the window.

Most of these agreements will stand, but I strongly suspect, some shrew GM's, will steal some players away at the 11th hour.

Unfortunately, Jackson, who I wanted, isn't in that category. He is legally signed.

 

[BlindsideD'Brick]

Can some posters please calm down. You don't win an NFL title in March. How did the Saints do this year after spending big in free agency last year? Free Agents don't get you to the promised land especially when you overpay like Philly did with Maxwell. If the Jets use their abundant cap room to sign a whole bunch of under the radar quality players that will increase depth and foster competition, that would be much better then signing a few big ticket guys that will eat up cap space and who's contracts will handicap the club going forward.

Yes. It's always funny reading fans make all these assumptions about what they THINK is happening behind the scenes. Philadelphia nabs Maxwell (and also overpays for him) and everyone in the Jets front office is incompetent, too slow, doesn't have their head in the game, ect.

What if the Jets were never even in the conversation to begin with? What if the Jets contacted Maxwell, and his agent said "no thanks, Byron's interested in the Eagles ONLY". What does that say about our assumptions regarding Macc, Woody, and anyone else we want to blame? It says the fans are wrong.

 

[hobson54]

it seems like rod graves is becoming the new whipping boy for anything that fans perceive as a mistake by the jets.

sorry but this doesn't fly. maccagnan is the GM. it's his responsibility to get deals done. if the jets fall short in some posters eyes, then he should get the blame, not some convenient whipping boy who was here under the prior regime.

i've now seen graves blamed for not signing FAs and for giving only the 2nd round tender for harrison. if macc doesn't know how to play the game or understand the RFA tender rules, then he shouldn't be the GM. now i do not think this is the case, but the scapegoating of graves is silly and completely unsubstantiated