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New Jersey – The New York Jets have a little problem from a PR standpoint, and it’s not of their own doing.
They are constantly linked to free agents in the press, whether they are interested or not.
So when the player goes elsewhere, they get ripped for not landing him.
It’s a tough spot.
They have been connected to Chris Johnson for weeks in the press.
“The Giants, Cowboys and Jets are expected to pursue Johnnson, Chris Wesseling of NFL.com reports,” according to an aggregate website called “The Red Zone.”
So let me get this straight.
Wesseling is speculating on potential suitors for Johnson, and he’s being quoted on it by another website.
I don’t get it.
Neither one of them knows if the Jets are interested in Chris Johnson.
Last time I checked, John Idzik isn’t inviting reporters into his personnel meetings.
And here is the problem.
Because local and national writers are constantly attaching free agents to the Jets, when the player signs elsewhere, the Jets get destroyed by some reporters and fans.
And it leads to writers like Rich Cimini labeling them “penny-pinchers” like he did last week.
Chris Ivory and Bilal Powell both did good work for the Jets last year.
They were both ran hard and broke a lot tackles, and even with their violent running styles, neither missed a game. Ivory averaged 4.6 yards per carry, and Powell was at 4.0. Those are good averages. And remember, they did this with a lot of eight- and nine-in-the-box situations because the team started a rookie quarterback who didn’t really scare opposing defensive coordinators.
I’m a huge admirer of Ivory. He and Marshawn Lynch are the two most violent runners in the league. One of the offensive highlights for the Jets last year was when Ivory broke five tackles on a touchdown run against the Oakland Raiders.
Powell is also a very good receiver, and hauled in 36 catches last year.
These two formed a nice tandem last year.
If the Jets give Johnson big money, it could wreck the morale in the running back room
How would you feel if you were Ivory and Powell (who is still on his rookie deal), and Johnson, comes in making much more than you?
Johnson will turn 29 in September. He isn’t a big back (listed at 203) and he’s carried the ball 1,742 times during his NFL career.
The Jets gave Curtis Martin big money in his late 20’s, and he started to break down. Same thing about in Seattle with Shaun Alexander.
Giving running backs large contracts in their late 20’s isn’t good business.
It’s a position that beats the heck out of you, and most guys don’t have long shelf lives.
And honestly, the Titans didn’t get a lot of bang for the buck on the four-year, $53.9 million deal (with a $10 million signing bonus) deal they gave Johnson in 2011. His last three seasons have been okay, not great, and certainly not worth the money he got.
There has been speculation around the league that he started to shy away from contact once he got that big-money deal.
Look, if the Jets can get him on a one-year deal for $4 million, why not?
Much beyond that is probably too much.
But I can’t even confirm they are interested in him.
I’m not in the Jets personnel meetings like some of the reporters who have been claiming the Jets have been interested for weeks.
But one thing I can tell you for sure – if the Jets don’t sign him, they are going to get attacked by the same people who claimed they were interested, even though they didn’t know that for sure.
It’s a vicious cycle.
April 4, 2014
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