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Franklin, TN – It’s time for a heaping helping of Sunday Whispers from Music City. We have a couple of interesting notes today – let’s get it rolling . . .
Watching Atlanta-Giants today, it made me think of a questionable move by the Jets personnel department that doesn’t get enough attention – the trade of John Abraham to Atlanta.
He’s still going strong at 34, and the Jets have yet to replace him as a pass rusher, and keep in mind he was traded in 2006. So this has been a void for six years now.
Why did they trade him – he didn’t fit Eric Mangini’s core values. He had a DUI.
Those core values are now a thing of the past.
Can you imagine what Rex Ryan could do with a John Abraham in his defense?
It wasn’t a smart trade. Granted, they used the first round pick (29 overall), to pick a terrific player – Nick Mangold.
But while Mangold is a unique talent at center, centers are easier to find than pass rushers.
Since leaving the Jets, Abraham has 64.5 sacks
I’m sorry – this was just a bad decision . . .
On the surface, Braylon Edwards playing on Monday doesn’t make a lot of sense.
“We thought he had a three-week injury or so and it was going to be a while before he was back and we weren’t sure if he would make it back,” Pete Carroll said on Wednesday.
Obviously the Jets don’t agree with this timetable.
But even if they don’t – think real hard about this – how can one team view a hamstring injury as perhaps a three week injury, and another team view it as a miss no time injury. Edwards suffered the injury last week in Chicago.
I’m sorry. I understand that different doctors might look at the timetable on any given injury differently, but how could two organizations have such divergent views? Three weeks compared to no weeks?
Here is the deal – clearly the player has a hamstring injury. He hardly practiced this week.
And the practice issue is another problem. Think about this – a player arrives on Wednesday to join a new team, at least one he hasn’t been on for two years, that changed their offense since he left.
Bottom line – a player facing this challenge needs EVERY practice rep he can get leading up to his first game?
So when you combine the injury, with the limited practice time, Edwards should not play on Monday.
But he’s going to for two obvious reasons.
While he will be limited, he can act as a decoy.
Secondly, the Jets are very much into public relations. They don’t want to get trashed by the media for claiming a gimpy player. You know Rich Cimini, their long-time nemesis (almost 25 years on the beat), will lambaste them if Edwards is inactive.
This teams image is in a bad place right now, they don’t need another PR hit.
So he will be out there – even though you can make a strong argument he shouldn’t be.
But I will say this – I like the waiver claim, but not necessarily to be the panacea for their receiver position down the stretch.
They never should have let him walk two years ago. It was a big mistake. They should have signed Edwards over Holmes.
So now that he is back, they need to keep him around for a few years. Start working on a contract now –a two or three year deal that won’t break the bank. He’s only 29 years old. Look at Reggie Wayne, Roddy White – there are so many receivers on the other side of 30 making major contributions.
Bringing him back wasn’t only a good football move, but it made their fan base happy.
December 16, 2012
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