Marcus Williams sprained MCL

[Fenwyr]

I know Brick has regressed over the past few years, but is he really below average at this point compared to other LT in the game?  It used to be a rarity for him to ever get beat, now it happens a lot more, but have we just been spoiled so much by having him there so long that average play seems atrocious to us? 

To me, the big issue is not his play, it's his pay.

Bolded part is the correct answer.  Brick is fine, and is easily still well above average.  He's not top 5 like he used to be, and should take a pay cut that reflects that.  I expect to see him and Mangold around for awhile.

[Italian Seafood]

Cut everyone!

And then sign everyone!!

For less money. Get it done, Idzik.

[AlioTheFool]

I know Brick has regressed over the past few years, but is he really below average at this point compared to other LT in the game?  It used to be a rarity for him to ever get beat, now it happens a lot more, but have we just been spoiled so much by having him there so long that average play seems atrocious to us? 

To me, the big issue is not his play, it's his pay.

Bowles basically said the same thing today.

The Jets should start drafting new OL players to groom, but Brick and Mangold still have a couple of solid years left.

[Heismanberg]

Ferguson gets his derriere kicked on a lot of running plays, but he's still strong in pass protection.  It'd be a great idea to add a young tackle to groom behind him.

Play that rookie on the right side until Ferguson is done. 

[Miamipuck]

The single most under rated trait of Brick's is his durability. I can not overstate that enough, he has been as reliable as pretty much any player you can think of at that position. I can make a laundry list of players that had a higher peak but were injured so much as to make that peak negligible compared to Brick's.

[AlioTheFool]

Ferguson gets his derriere kicked on a lot of running plays, but he's still strong in pass protection.  It'd be a great idea to add a young tackle to groom behind him.

Play that rookie on the right side until Ferguson is done. 

I'm 100% behind you here.

Now here's a question, because I'm not going to pretend I have a clue. How feasible would it be, if the Jets drafted an elite tackle in the Spring, played him at RT and he excelled quickly, to move Brick to another position on the line where his responsibility was less? Could he transition to guard or could he make a good RT?

[Coach K]

If Brick is willing to take a paycut. Fine.

Cromartie is definitely not worth 8m/yr though no matter how you cut it .

[AlioTheFool]

If Brick is willing to take a paycut. Fine.

Cromartie is definitely not worth 8m/yr though no matter how you cut it .

Cro is definitely not worth $8M, but if he takes a pay cut I'd keep him. He's certainly not the same player he was the first time here but he's still pretty good.

[Derek Smalls]

Cro is definitely not worth $8M, but if he takes a pay cut I'd keep him. He's certainly not the same player he was the first time here but he's still pretty good.

My guess is we cut him after the season and wait to see how that market plays out. If Cromartie wants to take a pay cut and come back if the market isn't there, then maybe we bring him back. But I think I'd rather start Williams over him on the outside next season, and I don't know how Cromartie would do as a backup.

[Pope]

I'm not sure I want him at all after this year. He's a liability in coverage. I always wonder how he'd pan out as a free safety though

[Johnny English]

I'm not sure I want him at all after this year. He's a liability in coverage.

That's my instinctive view as well, but then I try and think of how many of his bad plays have hurt us this season (I can think of maybe two, although I accept that my memory is excrement) and I watch other games and think that relative to a lot of other teams' CB2, he's really still quite good. He's just way overpaid.

I always wonder how he'd pan out as a free safety though

His ball skills and athleticism suggest it would be a good idea. His tackling, not so much.

[AlioTheFool]

That's my instinctive view as well, but then I try and think of how many of his bad plays have hurt us this season (I can think of maybe two, although I accept that my memory is excrement) and I watch other games and think that relative to a lot of other teams' CB2, he's really still quite good. He's just way overpaid.

His ball skills and athleticism suggest it would be a good idea. His tackling, not so much.

It's exactly the bolded that makes everyone so hard on him. 90% of the time you don't even notice he's on the field (which is a good thing) but once in a while he completely gets blown off the line or he looks like a matador against a charging bull and suddenly everyone thinks "Cromartie is garbage--he gets one opportunity to do something and he screws it up!" The reality is, he's been shutting down his assignment the entire rest of the day.

In fairness, I can't legitimately talk about other people because I do the same thing with Demario Davis.

[Heismanberg]

In order to fairly assess a cornerback, you need to take into account that the people running the NFL have set them up to fail because big plays sell more tickets.

The passing game has been gassed up since Ty Law worked Peyton Manning in 2003. 

Illegal contact is one of the worst things to ever happen to this sport.  It's not as stupid as targeting, but it definitely has more impact on the game.