Decisions, Decisions

By Tyson Rauch

Picture this scenario: You are a fifth year free agent linebacker coming off of a productive season and are deemed by many to be on the verge of a breakout Pro Bowl season.  You have the following teams to choose from.
 
Team A
1)  Starting spot available
2)  Acceptable financial commitment being offered
3)  The roster consists of strong players considered by most to be competitive and possible playoff team
4)  Veteran coaching staff with successful history in place.

Team B
1)  Starting spot available
2)  Acceptable financial commitment being offered
3)  The roster is in the midst of an overhaul, the upcoming season could be a struggle
4)  Veteran coaching staff with successful history in place
 
Team C
1)  Starting spot available
2)  Acceptable financial commitment being offered
3)  The roster consists of strong players, if everything falls in place could have a very competitive season
4)  A young coaching staff in place with average results but appear to be on the right track.

Team D
1)  Starting spot available
2)  Acceptable financial commitment being offered
3)  The roster is in the midst of an overhaul, the upcoming future could be a struggle
4)  The head coach and the offensive and defensive coordinators are in the first year at their position in the NFL. 

So where would you go?  The obvious answer is Team A but what about after that?  The Jets front office is going to be facing many challenges other than becoming acclimated to their new titles.  One major challenge is going to be the perception of the team and its direction.  Bill Parcells gave this franchise a winning attitude.  More importantly he provided hope.  Herman Edwards rode those benefits.  Now the Jets could be deemed as borderline rock bottom with questions across the roster as well as what the new coaching staff is going to bring to the table.  In many circles the new regime is being given the benefit of the doubt due to the pedigree of the coach and the success of their mentors.  Every move made now is supposed to calculated and reflect what others have done in the past.  The truth is no one really knows what is going on behind closed doors or what this staff is thinking.  The free agent signings could be one sign of how things are going and the impression the Jets front office is giving off.  Sure the Jets do not have a lot of money to flash around but they are not bottomed out either. It will be interesting to see what the players across the NFL think.

One Sidenote:  Thank you Woody Johnson for raising my season ticket prices coming off of a 4-12 season.  The only one thing you have done consistently is raise ticket prices, so I guess if you have to be good at something keep at it.  I will continue to ignore the fact that you refuse to open the bank for a big time coaching staff, are scared to open the vault for a big time player and wasted a ton of money on a failed stadium campaign. It is obvious you do not care about the fans, but why should you with a long list of eager fans ready to scoop up departed seats. So from here on out I request that you call all of us sucker ticket holders, as that is what we all are.    

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