The Fans Speak Up About the Draft

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Randy's Radar

The Fans Speak Up About the Draft

Published: Mon, April 30, 2007 - 5:14pm EDT
Randy Lange

By Randy Lange

Lange is editor-in-chief of newyorkjets.com. He covered the Jets for 13 years for The Record of Hackensack, N.J.


File Under: Radar, Darrelle Revis, David Harris, blogosphere, Paul Zimmerman, Adam Schein

04/30 — Happy Day after Draft. And thanks to everyone who helped us get Randy's Radar off the ground. It's the first time I've done a live blog and it's awesome to get the amount of immediate feedback and passion from all you Green & White fans out there in the blogosphere.

I wanted to recognize a number of you who took the time to comment about the Jets' picks and trades, the Patriots, the draft in general, my blogs in particular. The tradeups to get CB Darrelle Revis and LB David Harris seemed well received. Here are some of your remarks, with individual styles preserved as much as possible.

From Sid*the*Kid: "Trader Mike gets an A+. Thomas Jones and two of the best defensive draft picks, Revis & Harris."

I lowercased JOHNNYJET's all-caps comment and pared back his exclamation points so you don't flinch when you read it. "The Jets hit a grandslam with their draft picks this weekend," he wrote. "They will become Pro Bowlers before you know it. I'm not scared of the Patriots because Gang Green will take them down hard this year!"

And this scouting report from Ian in western Pennsylvania: "I am from Pittsburgh and the Jets are immediately one of my new favorite teams. I watched Darrelle many times at Pitt and you guys are getting a H.O.F. caliber Dback. And he isnt too shabby on special teams either."

And Joe B. reasons: "While the lack of picks is something us Jets fans aren't used to in recent years, its hard to argue with who we've drafted so far. Revis fits our defensive scheme perfectly, and Harris will be a contributor for years to come. I also agree with Tannenbaum, how he said Jones was like a 5th pick."

These raves go along with some of the strong grades I've seen from national media voices. Paul Zimmerman, Sports Illustrated's venerable "Dr. Z," for example, gave the Jets a B+ today.

But not everyone had unconditional love for Tannenbaum and Mangini's second draft for the Jets. Scott argues: "I think that this is great that we fans are getting well thought out moves but this is a win now business. Sometimes quantity trumps quality and from what I saw out of last years playoffs we need quantity on both sides of the ball. The Pats are raising the bar. WE NEED TO FOLLOW SUIT."

Rudy Iacono was even harder on the Green & White: "Worst draft in Jets history. Choir boys are now a prerequisite for becoming a Jet. Lets give Mangini and Tannenbaum one star for last years playoff berth but lets not get ahead of ourselves and make these guys out to be Batman and Robin."

Everyone's entitled to his/her opinion, of course. But I would just remind that as much as we all try to make the draft into a science, it is still very much an art. Mike T and Eric M have shown the flexibility to let the draft come to them, as they did last year, or to make things happen as they did this time. They will have 80-plus highly competitive players suited up for camp, 53 on the final roster. Tannenbaum and Mangini have stressed for two years that they will improve the roster in every way possible. The draft is one way. NFL Europe (four Jets are there now) is another, undrafted free agents another.

As James Fantini summed up about the two trades: "Was it worth the price? That remains to be seen. ... I think we shoulda kept the picks but ... "

Matt B hit on something else that may have been in play during this year's draft: "Looking at the 4th and 5th rounds unfold, NYJ didn't miss out on much."

Matt B also likes Bender, and Dan said the more he checks out WR Chansi Stuckey's bio, "the more i like it. This is a whole different dimension that he brings to the offense."

The Patriots' Randy Moss signing brought in the comments. Oldtimegreen was disappointed with Chris Mortensen of ESPN for "his near giddy handoff of the Lombardi Trophy to New England. It was unnecessary, he should know better."

And Larry sees the AFC East balance of power shifting: "It looks like the former HC of the NYJ is moving away from his successful strategies to make a quick hit for one more Super Bowl and to be able to cash in afterwards. His mindset is now short term. I think Tangini is moving in the right direction in building for the long term by filling some obvious needs in this draft. I like our front office leadership as well as our chances to improve on last year. I see a championship coming somewhere in the next several years and maybe a string of them."

Brian had praise for Adam Schein of Sirius NFL Radio, foxsports.com and, of course, the SNY shows Jets Nation and Jets Extra Point, who predicted before the draft that the Jets would trade up to get Darrelle Revis. "Adam Schein nailed it.....traded up for Revis!" Brian praised. "Get that guy a job as an everyday contributor....good call, and good move for the JETS."

Finally, Jeff took me to task for playfully suggesting Jacob Bender was awfully light at 225 pounds for an offensive tackle entering college, considering he hailed from the Maryland town of Mayo.

"I think the Mayo joke was wrong, especially seeing as how I am from Mayo," Jeff wrote. "We have heard those 'jokes' all our lives and now something good happens to the community and you blow it with a joke like that. IGNORANT! Congrats Jacob! Show 'em what we are all about."

Jeff, sorry to offend you and I'll lay off the Mayo jokes, as long as you promise to switch to decaf.

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Fans Respond

Here's your chance to tell Randy what you think! Add a Comment | Show All (16)

Mikey S. Said:

Tue, May 1, 2007 - 2:35pm EDT

"The only bones I have to pick with the Jets are: 1. Sure hope they get more depth on the OL or Pennington is going to be running for his life mid-season. 2. What about getting a free agent QB as an insurance policy in case of injury to Chad?"

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John Said:

Tue, May 1, 2007 - 5:40pm EDT

"I think the sight is a home run, and I am a season ticket holder for the past 18 yrs and have been a fan for 40yrs i cant wait for the season to start I AM PUMPED UP!!!!!!!! GO J -E-T- S"

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mike Said:

Wed, May 2, 2007 - 4:58pm EDT

"what a joke..you jets fans make me ill.several championships?try going to a superbowl first,before winning several.im thirty and i dont remember watching any superbowls involving the jets.care to refresh my memory?"

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