Impact Effect

[4bubba]

I wanted to start doing a little thinking about the regular season coming up.

Two factors that are important are coaching changes and player changes.

I would like people to respond here as to how teams might change. Try to be as objective as possible.

 

[4bubba]

For example


NY Jets WR Laveranues Coles to Washington

I heard it mentioned that Coles was one of the most important people that the Jets couldn't lose. So I decided to look into it.

Pennington didnt start until the 4th game last year.
Coles played for 2 seasons before last year.
Pennington was on the Jets for two years before last year.

I believe they were drafted the same year (but I havent looked that up yet).

Pennington played a lot during preseason since Testaverde was an aging veteran.
Coles and Penninton practiced a lot together for the 3 years they were together.

Last year Pennington played the last 13 games of the regular season. Coles became the GO-TO guy.

In 13 games, Coles caught 83 passes for 1218 yards from Pennington.
Thats 6.4 catches for 94 yards per game average. That is the definition of a GO-TO guy!!!!!
The minimum catches per game was 5.

Pennington spent a great deal of his time passing to Coles and the RBs Martin and Anderson.

I highly compliment the Jets for signing Curtis Conway of the Chargers. He was the Chargers GO-TO guy, but he is over 32 years old and has slowed down quite a bit. The Jets should have signed WR Boston from Arizona to stretch the defenses like Coles.
But as I mentioned before, Conway will not get any way near the repetitions or friendship that Coles had with Pennington.

Now the Jets have WRs Chrebet(30) and Conway(32), two possession WRs that can't stretch the defense.

I would like to hear about this from any Jets/Coles fans.

 

[4bubba]

p.s.

Was it a coincidence that Washington picked up Pennington's favorite receiver (Coles) when they play the Jets the 1st game on week 1?

 

[Vegas Dave]

I watched Santanna Moss play last year, and if he continues to improve he will be just as good as Coles. Coles is a go to guy on that Jets team, in that specific offense. He might not fit in as well in other systems.

Moss and coles look like virtually the same player. Not very tall, both with great speed. I don't think they'll lose much there.

 

[ChuckyTheGoat]

Dave:

I think the guy they'll really miss is Return Specialist Chad Morton. Does that mean Santana Moss will assume all the return duties? I don't see any of their acquisitions taking over for Morton. I really think the dual loss of Morton/Coles will tie Edwards' hands, by having to use Moss in the return game and not so much as a 3rd/4th receiver.

 

[Vegas Dave]

Conway and Moss can both return punts.

Its just something they will have to adjust to, but Moss is a pretty good return man right now. I'm sure the'll find somebody.

Morton is a pretty good guy though.....

 

[4bubba]

Of course its not just about Coles.

WR Coles -to- Wash
-----Argueably the best young receiver for the Jets

KR Morton -to- Wash
-----One of the best KRs in the NFL. Remember what he did to
BUF in the season opener.

OG Thomas -to- Wash
-----One of the best interior lineman in the NFL. A stalwart of the
Jets Oline.

Its hard if not impossible to lose 3 quality offensive players and
expect to continue like nothing happened.

 

[GlobalTrance]

Hi 4Bubba ,
How about Junior Seau going to the fish ? Thought I read something here that miami "might" play him on the outside , where he would have to cover more . Having lost a step or two , might that hurt the fish more then help ? Adding that hes' a MARQUEE player , could the line be shaded just a bit in the first few weeks ? My thinking is : there are MANY people out there who bet , saying ,"the fish signed Seau ? WOW , i'm gonna be all over that !!!" As a side note , if I did read it here , my apoligies to the poster for not remembering his/her name .

 

[Vegas Dave]

4bubba

4bubba

clearly you make good points about losing 3 key guys, but this type of 'turnover' happens each year.

There will be an impact, but it doesn't mean that somebody won't be able to step into those roles.

My point was that Coles, what most people think is the biggest lost to this offense, has a replacement waiting to fill his shoes. Moss is a very similar player, and could produce the same numbers. As for Morton going, I think that is a secondary loss. Although its nice to have a great returner and it can often give you momentum in a game, its not something that every team has. Actually few teams have good returners and the Jets will probably just mess around with their speed guys, and try to find somebody to replace him.

Losing Thomas also might not be so 'insignificant' seeing is how their whole offense is based on running the ball. That loss could cause big problems for this team unless they find somebody to fill his shoes quick.

 

[4bubba]

Vegas Dave

The type of turnover losing 3 key players on one side of the ball does not happen very often. (I count kickoff return as offensive because it can determine where your offense starts from). Good teams wont let one good impact player go.
I do agree that losing OG Thomas will be the biggest loss of all. He was a SUPER run blocker. His loss will hurt a lot.
WR Moss will be able to almost replace WR Coles, but what team only uses 2 WRs? Who will replace Moss as the 3rd receiver?
It takes time to replace an impact player. Maybe the Jets will find someone for 1 or 2 of the positions by midseason.

GT

LB Seau was traded to Miami because of the respect the Chargers have for him. Seau is pedestrian. If the Chargers cut him, he may not have been able to find a team willing to give him a shot. By the 3rd game, Seau will be a "role player" and help off the bench. Miami gave up a conditional pick in 2005, but it will never happen. Expect Seau to join the Chargers after this season and retire a Charger.

 

[Wolftaz]

NO OT Kyle Turley to St. Louis

I think that Turley could make the biggest impact this coming season with the Rams.

The Rams would have arguably the best pair of OT's in the league with Turley on the right and Pace on the left side. A starting line-up that consisted of: K. Turley RT, A. Timmerman RG, D. Wohlabaugh C, LG up for competition and O. Pace LT could turn out to be one of the best groups in the league.

This all spells good news for the likes of M. Faulk and especially K. Warner. If Warner stays healthy, he should have plenty of time to throw the ball and possibly regain his all pro form.

:shrug:

 

[Vegas Dave]

4bubba, between Conway, Chrebet and Moss they have three decent guys. I think all three guys can be 'third' receivers on any given day, I think they are hoping that one of them steps up.

The Rams are still a very good team. The only problem they had last year (be it a very big one) was their O-line. They could be back in form this year, but they need some more targets for Bulger errrrrrrr I mean Warner.

Seau going to Miami is a move that will make every single Joe Public think Miami's defense is once again the best. He is still ok, and will probably chew up development minutes of some younger guy, but he can still contribute some. Problem is that somebody should let Miami know that they need a better QB if they plan on going anywhere this year.

 

[Hoops]

Moss is more dangerous than Morton returning kicks/punts. Doesn't have the hands that Coles has, nor does he look comfortable going over the middle of the field and making the tough catch and taking a hit like Coles did time and time again. Conway is a decent replacement, nothing more.

Seau has lost a couple of steps. Unless he gets back some of his old magic, he won't be an improvement over Rodgers or whoever else Miami would have used at LB. More of a "name" addition to the team as opposed to what his current playing form is, which isn't that good.

 

[ChuckyTheGoat]

Wolftaz:

Right on the $. I thought the Turley acquisition was the best under-the-radar move in the offseason (if his head is screwed on straight). That tackle spot was a clear weakness on the Rams, even in the preseason. If your QB has to hurry and is worried about getting hit from the blindside, your offense will stall. Plain and simple.

 

[GlobalTrance]

Alright , here's one , (i can't comment cause i'm biased ), what about the KANSAS CITY CHIEFS ? With the addition of Holliday , Barber , and McCleon , our D improves . Add to that Sims was hurt early on last season . Question is : How much does the D improve ? Yes , we are still weak on the corner BUT , opposing QB's "shouldn't" have the same ammount of time to exploit our cb's . I won't get into the Holmes situation as this is about IMPACT (new additions) . So , wadda ya think people , we DO move up defensively , BUT , HOW MUCH ????

 

[AR182]

i'm sure everyone saw the self destruction of the giants in the 2nd half playoff game vs. the 49ers. the two units that were the culprits of them blowing the big leads were the special units & the defense.

they up-graded the special teams by getting seasoned vets. they signed jeff feagles as punter, mike hollis as place kicker, ryan kuehl as long snapper, & brian mitchell as punt & kick off returner. some of these players may not be statistically better than those players they replaced, but they are experienced enough to know how to handle unexpected situations that might occur during a game. in addition, i understand that mitchell is a very big asset to have in the clubhouse, in that he will help keep the team focused at all times.
it seemed that the def. line got winded in that 49er game, so in the draft, they grabbed a few def. linemen that should be able to offer the team much needed depth. the other major change that they made on def. was dumping an over-rated jason sehorn, who seemed to either be out of place or beaten on plays.


4bubba,

thanks for keeping the football forum active during the off season.

 

[Vegas Dave]

GlobalTrance

GlobalTrance

KC Will always be dangerous as long as their offense keeps going, but for them to be considered a contender I think they have to get a few stops at some point in the game.

I'm really not sure about drafting Larry Johnson with their first round pick. There are question marks about Holmes' health but they could have done better than Johnson. They need all the help on defense they can get. I haven't really heard much about their second and third rounders but if they can contribute KC will be a decent team. They are improving, but their defense needs to overachieve at this point for KC to get into the playoffs.

 

[4bubba]

Great hearing from everyone.
As I feel , there is the NFL and then the other sports.

This year I hope everyone frequents MadJack's NFL weekly MatchUps forum.

http://www.madjacksports.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=26

As before, I want it to be used for information, but everyone is invited to participate and add info, trends, etc pertinent to a game.

Lets make this a season where we help each other make some money.

 

[djv]

4bubba how you doing youngster. I hope to have more this year for the Matchup's. I got lazy last year. This off season watching the money caps make teams move people around. I some how get the fealing that in only a few cases does it show up in regular season. I mean there is the break through player that has a hot year. But it seems some of these players that are lost. The teams play it down like no big deal. GB lost Vinny Holliday. Many thought he was really good. GB acts like well we hated to lose him. But last two years he really did not do that much. Nagging injuries bothered him. We lost what us fans thought was a very good LB.
But in minny camp replacement including No.1 draft pick had them smiling. If I rememebr right. Some of these teams if they do not make salray caps. May have to rework contracts or end up letting good playes go between now and season openers.

 

[kcwolf]

Chiming in on the Chiefs:

LB's look better, made a few comments last year on the young secondary that should improve. Jury still out there. I might be a bit more optomistic than I should be.

Positive's, LB's. Running game, very much in question. Way to much "no talk" about Priest Holmes. Penn ST first rounder Johnson won't hurt the team.

I see a WR controversy if everyone stays healthy and not sure Trent Green can handle it without a lot of support from the coaching staff.

Chief's have been down for 5 years + now, somewhat by the changes in how the NFL schedules games and.........I'll comment on the other things later, I don't need to get started in May.

Chiefs schedule, on paper, looks better than I have seen it in several years. Time will tell as that can backfire in a heartbeat.

Bottomline, defense will have more speed this year, but will there inexperience on defense show up again, as last year...probably.

I see some improvement in the team, but not anything to get exited about.

The one thing that shows promise is their schedule, and they had no control over that.

kcwolf