Can the New York Jets Restructure Mark Sanchez?

1.)  Jarvis Jones slipping to the Jets ?

As far as Mocks go, most people really don’t pay them that much mind and for good reasons but for the most part they’re a good indication of what teams NEED to do and what direction they should probably head towards, so they’re not totally useless.  I myself entertain them for time to time for more than one reason, one reason being if a mock has a top prospect falling further than we think said prospect should fall and that is the case with this particular mock……

Though Jarvis Jones is considered the best pass rusher in this year’s draft, he doesn’t come without some risk.

This Mock has Georgia’s DE/OLB Jarvis Jones, easily the best most dynamic pass rusher out of this year’s group of pass rushers, falling to the Jets at 9, not impossible or improbable but probably not likely either but just to entertain the thought briefly;  is Jones potential fall going to be based on the uncertainty of his medical condition?  There’s simply no denying Jones’s ability to rush the passer and to play the LB position and there’s no denying the fact that the Jets are in desperate need of an edge pass rusher.  I know there have been mocks that have the Jets possibly going after a NT or DT in the 1^st round but lets not kid ourselves here, the Jets are losing Calvin Pace and Bryan Thomas, their primary OLB/edge rushers and replacing them will be critical and a player like Jarvis Jones will definitely go a long way in not only replacing Pace/Thomas but probably and most likely providing infinitely  more production in sacks than Pace and Thomas COMBINED over the past 3 seasons but as dynamic a pass rusher as Jones is, he does come with a risk.  Jones suffers from a condition called Spinal Stenosis , an abnormal narrowing of the spinal canal that may occur in any of the regions of the spine. This narrowing causes a restriction to the spinal canal, resulting in a neurological deficit.  Now to be fair, Georgia Doctors cleared Jones to play and there’s no doubt in my mind that they didn’t reach that decision without much examining, research and discussion and there isn’t any reason NOT to trust their decision to clear him but there SHOULD be some legitimate concern about his long-term durability due to this Spinal Stenosis condition, the same ailment that has caused some players like Marcus McNeill, Chris Samuels and Michael Irvin to retire earlier than they wanted to.

Miami of Ohio QB Zac Dysert played in a West Coast System and would make an ideal option for the Jets in this April’s draft.

2.) Best way to handle the QB position for the Jets this year?

When discussing the Jets this offseason, many people will find themselves either avoiding the 8.25 million pound elephant in the room or simply trying to find a way to flush said 8.25 million pound elephant down the toilet and quite honestly, neither option will fix the issue.  Simply put, Sanchez’s $17 million dollar cap hit if cut all but seals his spot on the roster for the 2013 season.  It also virtually guarantees that he’ll get a legit chance to start and in fact I’d say the chances of Sanchez starting is probably better than 70%.  This doesn’t mean that the Jets need to head into this season as unprepared as they were this past season.  The Jets watched as Sanchez and his erratic and inconsistent QB play brought the entire offense and in some cases the team down simply because they didn’t have a viable and legit option backing up Sanchez.  Certainly one of many reasons former Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum is the FORMER Jets GM.  This CANNOT happen this season…..the Jets actually have to approach this “Sanchez” situation expecting him to FAIL  (not rooting for him to FAIL) and need to be prepared for it but unfortunately because of the cap situation and the depth issues at key positions, the Jets have to approach this with minimal finances to spend at the QB position.  That means trading for big cap hitting QBs like Matt Flynn or picking up soon-to-be FA QBs like Alex Smith may be out of the question considering their price tags.  It also means they shouldn’t sacrifice talent in their search for a backup in the Free Agent market because of their limited resources, meaning other FA options like Tavaris Jackson, Drew Stanton, Matt Moore, Jason Campbell and Seneca Wallace shouldn’t be considered as serious and legit options to threaten Mark Sanchez for the starting job, they just shouldn’t.

In my opinion the Jets should for CYA purposes, sign one of the aforementioned FA QBs (preferable Matt Moore) but they should undoubtedly be prepared to spend anywhere between a 2^nd – 4^th round pick on a QB in this April’s draft and the 2 QBs I would love for the Jets to consider is FSU’s EJ Manuel and/or Miami or Ohio’s Zac Dysert.  Manuel, the Senior Bowl MVP is a dual threat QB that has the intangibles and upside that is hard to ignore.  Dysert on the other hand isn’t a dual threat like Manuel but he’s not lacking in the mobility department and knows a thing or two about QB-ing a West Coast offense, the offense the Jets will go with now that Marty Morninweg will be coordinating the offense.  Both of these QBs are not only making competition in camp very interesting for Mark Sanchez but have the talent to come in and legitimately replace him if he starts throwing the football like he’s point shaving again.

3.) Brandon Jenkins

The Jets have issues at more than a few key positions on both sides of the ball so as bad as they need a pass rusher, its certainly no guarantee that they will even go pass rusher or even defense in the first round. I like to assume that they won’t go pass rusher as I’ll just utilize the “anything can happen” mantra.  If the Jets decided to not go pass rusher in the first round,  I would like to throw a name in the Draft Board Hat that I would like to see the Jets go after in the mid/later rounds; FSU’s Brandon Jenkins.  Yes THAT Brandon Jenkins.  The Brandon Jenkins that played only ONE snap this past season….. The 6’3 260 pound DE was THE premiere pass rusher in college football in 2010 as he emerged as one of the nation’s best speed rusher at defensive end tallying 13.5 sacks and 21.5 tackles for a loss. His junior and senior years were not as productive as he and Florida State would have liked because of various injuries that cut his season short.  Jenkins was looking to continue his dominance this past season but suffered a season ending foot injury that put an end to his FSU career.  Despite the injury, Jenkins is still a formidable pass rusher and had it not been for the injury, he’d of been the TOP pass rusher coming into April’s draft I have no doubts about that.  Jenkins may or may not participate in the combine or workouts but even without doing so I believe that he’s still worth taking a flier on from round 3 and on….

4.)Restructuring Mark Sanchez?

I’m seeing a lot of people suggesting that the Jets somehow get Mark Sanchez to restructure his contract.  Let me make this perfectly clear; AIN’T HAPPENING!

Sanchez has NO reason to agree to that…..NONE and could practically DARE the Jets to cut him and get hit with that $17 mill cap charge….he isn’t a locker room cancer (at least not by the definition of the word) so there isn’t any pressing need to separate himself from the team by that stand point so they won’t do it.  Another reason they probably WONT ask Sanchez to restructure is because they, the Jets, have probably decided that 2013 will be Sanchez’s last season as a Jet EVEN IF he plays great in 2013.  I’m already on record stating that anything short of a Tom Brady/ Drew Bress –esque type season from Mark Sanchez and he’s all but gone and when restructuring a player it’s a “give and take” type of deal and if they take money from Mark Sanchez when he has NO reason to give in to their demands, they have to give him something in return and in this case, it’ll be more guaranteed seasons beyond 2013 and that’s something that the  Jets may not be willing to do or at least I don’t think they should.  Sanchez will be on this roster next season and his cap hit will most likely not change.

Jets WR Jeremy Kerley had a “breakout” season last year but was held back by inconsistent QB play. Jets need to get Kerley better QB production.

5.)  Jeremy Kerley’s value to the team

The bright spot on offense for the Jets this past season was undoubtedly 2^nd year WR Jeremy Kerley.  Kerley established career highs in receptions (56), yards (827), and touchdowns (2) this past season despite being victimized by horrid and abysmal QB play the entire season.  Kerley has an uncanny ability to get open and has big play ability, it really is that simple.  Kerley was tied for 5th in the league with catches over 40+ yards and opposing CBs found it difficult to really stick with him for the most part.  Kerley biggest game last season came in the Week 7 loss to the Patriots in which he torched them for 7 catches for 120 yards.  Kerley probably makes the pro-bowl this past season with better more consistent QB play from the Jets and hopefully that’s what they get next season as its CRIMINAL to continue to waste the kid’s talent with the abysmal play at QB.

6.) Adequate yet inexpensive replacements for Shonn Greene.

It’s probably safe to assume that Jets RB Shonn Greene who is an UFA has probably seen his last days as a New York Jet.  It’s also probably safe to assume that new acquired Offensive Coordinator Marty Mornhinweg will most likely push for a more versatile player to use out of the backfield.  The FA market this year for RB is skimpy at best and the Jets will have to get creative in order to find any useful talent out of the pool of RBs that’s available.  I for one would love to see them bring Danny Woodhead back as he has been able to fine tune his game these past 2 seasons in New England.  Woodhead is very versatile out of the back field and wouldn’t cost that much to acquire.  Having said that, the Jets should definitely consider drafting a RB anywhere between the 2nd round and on.  Two RBs I would love for the Jets to look at who I feel would be excellent RBs for the West Coast offense are Oregon’s RB Kenjon Barner and Notre Dame’s RB Theo Riddick.  Both RBs are backs I feel the Jets can target with mid-round picks and both have the versatile skill set to come out of the back field either running or receiving, 2 skill sets that is crucial in running the West Coast offense. Barner had 1,767 yards and 21 touchdowns and averaged 6.4 yards per carry this past season while also snagging 20 receptions for 256 yards and two touchdowns.  Riddick rushed for 917 yards with a 4.8 avg and 5 TDs.  He also caught 36 passes for 370 yards with a 10.3 YPC avg and 2 TDs.  Both Barner and Riddick have the skill set that tends to be a matchup problem for opposing defenses as they can run the ball effectively and spread out in the passing game and take advantage of mismatches which is something Morninweg loves to do.

Jets will have an every down back in Blial Powell, they just need that change of pace back that can come in and run the air out of opposing defenses at opportune times and these 2 RBs are ideal for that job.

7.) Dumb and Dumbererer-er?

Richard Sherman and Titus Young have both stated that they are “better” than Darrelle Revis and Calvin Johnson respectively. I admire their cockiness and after looking at the numbers and doing some comparison, I found some surprising info…. here’s my detailed analysis….

Darrelle Revis’s REPORTED contract demands are ABSURD until you realize that they aren’t.

8.)  Revis $100 million dollar demands is ABSURD!!!!!!…..….Or IS it?

All reports indicate that Darrelle Revis is asking for $100 million and about $50 guaranteed.  Whether the reports are true are not is probably irrelevant considering Revis and his people have a history of asking for a King’s ransom but for the sake of this argument, we’ll just assume that Revis $100 demands are accurate.  Just HOW absurd is Revis’s asking price? Well, probably not as absurd as you think.  For the record let me state that I believe Revis has every right to ask for what he is reportedly asking for, for all intense and purposes I just don’t think the Jets can afford him but that doesn’t mean its impossible.

Briefly what I would suggest is;

– A 10 year deal, $2 million salary every year with a $10 million signing bonus.

-$10 million roster bonus due the first day of camp every year starting in year two.

– Guarantee the first 5 years for all but injury, and a hold out clause that he loses $50.0000 for every day if he holds out.

The rest would be funny money that he’ll most likely never see, but can brag about anyways. In about 6 years you cut/trade him or move him to Safety. That’s essentially $12 million dollars a year in cap hits, that’s right in line with the top CB salary. If the cap ever becomes an issue, they can convert the roster bonus into a signing bonus to spread out the hit.

9.) Don’t cut me bro!!!

Bart Scott, Calvin Pace and Jason Smith will all be the first round of cuts for the Jets.  Smith was fodder but Scott and Pace will need to be adequately replaced.  I for one wouldn’t mind seeing Scott brought back at a reduced price and role but I might be the only one in JetNation that feels that way.  Demario Davis wont have any problems replacing Scott and a Jarvis Jones STANDEE from Champ Sports wont have any problems replacing Calvin Pace.

10.)Revis and Landry

I know its a long shot to have BOTH LaRon Landry and Darrelle Revis roaming the Jets secondary next season but I would LOVE for the Jets to find a way to keep at LEAST one of them.  The league is predicated on passing more than ever and yes having a pass rusher that can consistently beat one on one matchups is vital to any successful defense but lets not start discrediting what advantages a solid secondary can bring to a defense and a team as a whole.

KEEP REVIS AND/OR LANDRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!