Thomas Jones will be released tomorrow to avoid paying him his $3.3 million roster bonus and $2.8 million salary. But that might not be the end of his run in New York. ProFootballTalk reports that the Jets will try to re-sign Jones once he becomes a free agent.
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It was a good run while it lasted. After three straight 1000 yard season in a Jets uniform, Thomas Jones will be released in the near future. The Jets want to avoid paying him his $3.3 million roster bonus and $2.8 million salary.
The move is bittersweet since Jones probably deserves the cash based on his previous contributions. At the same time, the Jets can get a more-than-adequate replacement for less than the $5.8 million Jones was owed for 2010. Last year, Jones earned a measly $900,000 base salary along with a $100,000 “workout bonus.” Clearly, this deal was structured in a way that was unlikely Jones would have ever been paid for the final year. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Jones will not restructure the contract in an attempt to stay with the team.
With Jones on the way out, the Jets still need to find a third running back. A few realistic unrestricted free agent candidates include Mike Bell, Chris Brown, and Larry Johnson. Out of that group, Mike Bell seems like a good fit to me. There are also a handful of restricted free agents that could make sense for the Jets. That group includes: Le’Ron McClain, Jason Snelling, and LenDale White. LenDale would work and the Jets could get him cheaply — but he also was not a fan of backing up Chris Johnson this year. That’s not exactly the best attitude for a potential RB3.
The Jets also have a number of running back options in the draft. It might make sense to take Javarris James (6′0″ 212, 4.56 40 time) in the fourth round or Keith Toston (5′10.5″ 213, 4.65 40 time) in the late rounds. Bruising backs LeGarrette Blount of Oregon and LSU’s Charles Scott could also be decent late-round options. Both weigh close to 240 pounds and clocked 40 times around 4.7 over the weekend. Toby Gerhart may have priced himself out of the Jets’ plans by clocking a 4.53 over the weekend.
Tags: 2010 nfl draft, contracts, cut, football, free agents, new york jets, NFL, release, running backs, thomas jones
The Jets’ season was headed in the wrong direction after a red hot September. In the previous eight weeks, the team had only managed one win (against the Raiders) in the last seven games. Cliche aside, the Jets had a must-win game on Sunday with the Panthers in town.
A less educated fan might believe that the matchup with the Panthers was an easy one. However, Carolina came into the game having gone 4-3 in their past seven. That included a game in which they were beating the Saints by 11 at halftime before being outscored 24-3 in the second half. The Panthers rely on lockdown pass defense to go with their strong rushing attack. Like the Jets, Carolina ranks in the top five in both pass defense and rushing.
Facing their doppleganger, the Jets managed to come out on top. Mark Sanchez limited his mistakes and managed the game admirably. He outdueled Jake Delhomme, who threw four picks including two to Darrelle Revis. On one of his picks, Revis snatched a lucky bounce off of Steve Smith’s foot and took it the distance for a score (video below).
Thomas Jones had a workman-like effort with 25 carries for 75 yards and added three catches for 11 yards. Dustin Keller was the Jets’ leading receiver with four catches for 68 yards. Even though he was benched, Kerry Rhodes chipped in with two interceptions. The safety was used mostly in dime packages.
In an effort to avoid rookie mistakes, Rex Ryan instituted a color-coded system to let Sanchez know when he should be conservative or aggressive. The plan seemed to work out since the rookie only had four incompletions and one interception. Unsurprisingly, New York reverted to a more basic passing attack and Sanchez targeted wide receivers only six times in the game.
Before their trouncing of the Raiders, the Jets had indicated that they’d limit the playbook for Sanchez. It’s worth noting that the Jets are 3-2 when Sanchez attempts under 25 passes and 2-4 when he has over 25 attempts. Additionally, Sanchez had a 76.5 completion percentage which is the best of his career. It was his second game where he completed more than 60% of his passes. Sanchez also surpassed the 60% completion mark when he beat the Patriots earlier in the season. Both Carolina and New England are ranked in the top 5 in pass defense. Clearly, the Jets need to stick to the simple stuff with Sanchez.
The first time I ever saw Meagan Good was when she was dressed up as a Hooter’s girl for Halloween a few years ago. Clearly, I liked what I saw. Fast forward to today, I didn’t even realize she was Thomas Jones’ girlfriend until I saw pictures of the two at his birthday bash.
I guess Meagan decided to hit up the left coast this weekend. She was spotted leaving the club Wonderland in Los Angeles. I’m not sure who Good’s friends are, but apparently they all like to wear cardigans. I guess TJ doesn’t have much to worry about.
You can check out a few more pics of Ms. Good after the jump.
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Both New York City NFL teams are among the better teams in the league. On Sunday, the Jets made an effort to come back from their recent slump while the Giants showed vulnerability. Neither team looks quite as good as they did early on in the season. Though, it seems like both teams are on track to challenge for a playoff spot if they can maintain consistency and overcome injuries.
Everything went right for the Jets in the shutout of Oakland on Sunday afternoon — at least in terms of football. The Jets rolled up over 300 yards on the ground and Mark Sanchez had an impeccable (9 for 15 w/ 143 yards and a TD), though limited, performance. Thomas Jones and Shonn Greene both went for over 100 yards while Greene scored his first two NFL touchdowns.
On defense, the Jets were formidable forcing JaMarcus Russell into three turnovers before he was benched in favor of Bruce Gradkowski. The one thing that did bother me is that both Russell and Gradkowksi seemed to have limited success targeting receivers downfield. Dwight Lowery and Donald Strickland seemed to have a hard time locking down their men and Darrelle Revis even blew an assignment or two. Though, it’s likely this was part of Rex Ryan’s defensive strategy. Oakland is so bad that they depend on a basic passing game that relies heavily on tight end Zach Miller and running backs as receivers. Last week, the Eagles allowed Miller and Gary Russell to catch 11 balls on 16 targets. The Jets held Miller and Russell to just four catches on six targets for only 17 yards. So Rex Ryan’s plan worked out — it’s just annoying to see Louis Murphy and Heyward-Bey actually making plays.
Unfortunately, the injury bug that’s plagued the Jets reared its ugly head again. Leon Washington suffered a gruesome lower leg injury in the first half that was classified as a compound fracture. The bone broke through the skin and required immediate surgery on Sunday night. Rich Cimini of the Daily News thinks that the injury could be “career threatening” and that it likely means the Jets will bring back Thomas Jones. However, that’s basically a knee-jerk reaction. There’s no indication that Washington’s compound fracture was any more serious than a typical open fracture. The Jets didn’t even put him on injured reserve immediately with hope that he could return this season. With Leon likely out for the rest of the season, the Jets will have to make adjustments in the passing game and pick a new return man. It also shakes up the running back situation for 2010. Next offseason, Thomas Jones is due a $3 million roster bonus. TJ is quality and you have to respect what he brings to the table. Though, guys like Mike Bell, Correll Buckhalter, Fred Jackson, etc. are all useful RB2 types that make less than Jones’ potential bonus. The Jets could even target LenDale White, who’s scheduled to be a free agent, or they could simply draft a new running back instead of pay the hefty price for TJ.
The Jets seem to have righted the ship for now. The Jets schedule is seemingly favorable for the rest of the season. In the next three games, the Jets will play their most important (and two of the last three) divisional games against Miami (next week) and New England (week 11). You can bet that Rex and co. will be studying the Patriots during the week nine bye even though they face Jacksonville in week 10. If the Jets can beat the Pats, they can make a push for the best divisional record in the AFC East. The Jets face both Tampa Bay and Carolina in their remaining games and finish with a brutal stretch against Atlanta, Indianapolis and Cincinnati. The most interesting matchup may come on December 3rd against Buffalo in Toronto when Mark Sanchez gets a chance to make up for the worst game of his career and potentially move the Jets into a favorable standing in the division.
Facing the man that kept the seat warm for Eli Manning, the Giants fell to the Cardinals in the Meadowlands last night. It was seemingly a favorable matchup for New York since the Cardinals were banged up at receiver and lacked a true primary running back.
The good news is that Hakeem Nicks is emerging as the go-to receiver for the Giants. The rookie is averaging a whopping 19.7 yards per catch and now has 315 receiving yards while scoring a TD in each of the last four games. It’s also worth noting that Steve Smith was targeted 10 times but only made four catches. Due to watching the Yankee game, I’m not sure if this was the result of coverage or drops. Though, it seems to indicate that Smith is getting much more attention than he was early in the season.
It’s likely that the Giants faced the inevitable slump brought on by a rash of injuries. The Giants were already without LB Michael Boley (knee), DT Chris Canty (calf), and S Kenny Phillips (knee) while Aaron Ross (hamstring) also missed the game. Other than injuries, Eli Manning’s poor overall performance contributed to the New York loss. The former number one overall pick was just 19 of 37 and threw three picks.
The Giants are certainly a power in the NFC East and should be a decent bet for a playoff berth. However, they’re not quite as good as advertised (hyped?). Injuries are the primary concern at this point and it’s hard to believe they can be a contender with Ahmad Bradshaw seemingly outperforming Brandon Jacobs. At the same time, the Giants are 5-2 and that record includes four “gimmes” against Tampa Bay, Kansas City, Oakland, and Washington. It’s likely the Giants will be pretty close to .500 during the next nine games of the season. The schedule is considerably more difficult with opponents including Philadelphia (twice), San Diego, Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, and Minnesota.
Tags: ahmad bradshaw, brandon jacobs, bruce gradkowski, eli manning, football, hakeem nicks, injuries, jamarcus russell, leon washington, mark sanchez, new york jets, NFL, Rex Ryan, Shonn Greene, steve smith, thomas jones
Thomas Jones loves to party. Well, picture would have you believe as much. TJ got together some of his buddies, his girlfriend Meagan Good, and some body-painted women to celebrate his birthday. In one picture, TJ is surrounded by models doing his “who’s bad?” pose and is seen yelling/pointing to the sky in another. I don’t think this party was as wild as it looks. I saw Jones at Playboy’s Super Bowl Party in Detroit in 2007. He actually seemed like a boring dude. He and his brother Julius were just sitting in the corner of the VIP area — talking to each other. I guess Thomas Jones had reason to celebrate though. If I were him, I’d be celebrating the fact that I’m dating Meagan Good on a daily basis.
Via JerseyChaser:
The New York Jets opened training camp in Cortland, New York and expectations are high. Rex Ryan has injected his hard-nosed attitude into camp and it has both players and observers abuzz. Most of the attention has centered on first-year quarterback Mark Sanchez and his competition for the starting job with veteran Kellen Clemens. Rey Ryan stated that Clemens is currently penciled in as the number one QB while Sanchez will be given an opportunity to win the job. After the jump, we’ve got a training camp photo gallery, Rex Ryan’s full press conference transcript, and links to more training camp coverage.
Tags: cortland, football, kellen clemens, kris jenkins, leon washington, mark sanchez, new york jets, NFL, Rex Ryan, Shonn Greene, thomas jones, train camp, vernon gholston
