Where will LT be in 2012? And if the answer is "not on the Jets roster" what should Tanny do? The guy is getting old, but he can still be effective as a 3rd down back, is the leader of this offense (and one of the few veteran leaders of the whole team) and is our best RB in pass protection. Another asset he brings is that he is versatile enough to play on 1st and 2nd downs when Greene gets hurt during the game (often). However McKnight is showing improvement game after game (mainly not as a traditional RB but on STs and in plays designed to fit his abilities) and Powell looked good coming out of college... while neither of them were drafted very high they're both interesting projects. There are 4 possible scenarios in my opinion (all with 4 RBs on the roster, FBs excluded): 1. We keep LT one more year while developing McKnight and Powell behind him (and Greene). As the coaching staff sees progress from the youngsters they'll be put in the rotation. 2. We keep LT and draft a 3rd down/speed back... in this scenario the Jets don't see McKnight as a viable RB project and want him to concentrate on ST/other roles (or just want to give him some competition). The newly drafted RB shares reps with LT as the 3rd down back. 3. We let LT go and give room to McKnight and Powell as the #2 & #3 RBs (not necessarily in this order). a $th RB is added somehow. 4. We let LT go and draft a stud 3rd down back/speed back to compliment Greene in the rotation. Powell becomes the main backup for Greene and McKnight backs up this new young RB while concentrating on special teams. What would you do? Personally I would like to have LT back for one more year. I like option #1 the most... I think we can go on one more year with those 4 in the backfield and believe that, with a full off-season, McKnight will develop into a good 3rd down back. In the draft I would focus more on bringing in talented OL and a fucking competent blocking TE (god I hate Mulligan on offense).
He is still the best 3rd down back on the roster by quite a big margin. Why get rid of him? The Jets don't need anyone else next season they need McKnight/Powell to step up...........pretty simple.
Mmm... if we don't win the SB I think he'll continue one more year. He's going to be 32/33, not 40. In terms of personal achievements he'll be in Canton no doubt but he wants a ring so badly and can still be effective. I disagree. We're a run first team and, as McKnight shows you, a RB can be very useful on ST too.
The Jets may want to give Powell a chance, and increase McKnight's role/workload next season. Whether LT wants to stay or not, I believe the Jets will be moving forward.
If he doesn't retire, then I'd say the first one. Until Greene and McKnight become reliable starters, we need LDT on the field and in the locker room. By the time Greene's contract is up, we'll either have a starting RB or buy one in FA letting Greene and LDT go.
While this season LT is getting 80-90% of the 3rd down carries, next season I'd expect him to split 50-50 with McKnight. Also I agree that Powell will get the chance of spelling Greene more, so LT won't be asked to do that as much.
All depends how he finishes up this year and how the team finishes up this year. I'd like to see the team give McKnight a few more reps at RB to see if he can be a viable replacement or not. I like him a lot and think he could be our best playmaker, but LT brings so much to the table. He's the most respected player on the team, he's an excellent pass blocker and has saved Sanchez's ass a ton of times, and he's smart as a receiver out of the backfield. He understands what the defenses are trying to do and how to help out his QB as an outlet receiver. These things don't show up in the box scores, but they're a big part of what make LT so great. If he can still perform at a somewhat high level for a minimum salary, there's really no reason to not bring him back.. unless of course McKnight proves himself that he can absolutely handle all these duties.
LT can stay on with a $1 million deal or something, but there is no way he is going to be a prime RB for us
Btw, has anybody heard or read anything about Bilal Powell this year? Obviously he hasn't been on the field at all, but I haven't heard anything at all.. nothing about his progression, their plans for him, anything..
I went with none of the above because you gave no thought to the possibility he retires after this season. Obviously i am not the only 1 that thinks this is likely. I would like to think he has some left after this year and would like to keep him, but also don't want to stunt the growth of others that could replace the position. My answer, he leaves and Powell/McKnight are forced to put up or shut up. I do not see a free agent or high pick used on a RB next year. It would be last day pick up if any.
Everyone who thinks LT is gonna go to another team next year, does that mean he'll get that team's logo tattooed on his arms?
I would like LT to retire this year....with an SB ring. That being said, I think he should come back. He's a great veteran presence and still have a lot in the tank . If the CS continues to use him sparingly, he should be fine for next year. However, it also depends upon how he ends up this year. McKnight is LT's replacement - but not yet. He's extremely versatile and shows the potential is there and already has abilities. I'm for Bilal hanging around even with limited snaps. These 4 RBs can be good for the roster and allows us to avoid wasting a draft pick on another RB. Develop what we have and skip drafting the RB position this year. Although the BPA is always the mentality, I would rather a 3rd or 4th rounder be packaged up and we go get a good cover safety.
Sign me up for that . Of course this thread was made on the assumption that LT won't retire this year... if he did the Jets would be forced to look into other options and it wouldn't be their choice.
LT is the best 3rd down back on our roster by a very large margin so if he wants to come back by all means he should be back, hopefully we can slowly transition McKnight into that role next year
either 1 or 4. LT is still good enough based on his hands alone to keep around. not to mention what he does for a locker room and mentoring offensive players only catch is with Greene/Powell/McKnight in the wait youd have to think one of them other than Greene will develop to steal carries. we have too many needs above RB unless they see another value pick rd 4 or later
Exactly... I think it's not the RBs fault if they haven't put big numbers up this season. The OL play is still coming together and we have no backups (Schlauderaff & Ducasse? Please) or a decent blocking TE (Mulligan sucks on O). Also this is the first year we almost never use 6 or 7 OL formations. That said as the season progresses I'm sure McKnight and Powell will have the chance to show what they can do.
Yeah really, together with what Honcho said earlier, which is it depends on the rest of the year. I think it's hard to draw conclusions about the running game this year so far, because it mostly has suffered from overall execution. It would be different if LT sucked while Greene was doing great, or vice versa. LT is still the better option on passing downs, but what concerns me is he was not even as good toward the end of last year compared to earlier in the year. He seems to be slowing down, but those overall execution problems make it hard to isolate on him. Meanwhile if one of the other RB's develops more and demands more touches, that could make LT expendable. Right now he does not appear to be, but much will depend on the rest of this season.
