Green Rewind: Jets Should Pass On Cousins And Big Four

David Harris Retires!
I have to start this week with a tribute to linebacker David Harris who just announced his retirement. Harris was a real pro’s pro who came to work everyday and did his job. He was an underrated player who would have probably made a few Pro-Bowls if he was on a winning team. He was a quiet leader who led by example. It was normal for Harris to have games being involved in 15 or more tackles. For a team that is notorious for messing up second round picks, David Harris was one of the best they ever had. He was taken out of Michigan in the 2007 draft.
Here is one of my favorite David Harris highlights. Watch the move he puts on Tom Brady making him eat turf!

The NFL or YouTube blocked the clip. Here is the link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E25z_Zy5QFI

Jets Should Pass On Cousins And Big Four
Jets have an incredible opportunity to build a solid foundation this year and for years to come. We all know the NFL is a quarterback driven league and the Jets have not even sniffed close to a long term franchise quarterback for years. With that said and Kirk Cousins looming big as a team changer, is signing him as a free agent for 150 million dollars worth it? Or should the Jets fill the holes in their team via free agency and the draft and worry about the quarterback later? With free agents linemen like the Panther guard Andrew Norwell, Dolphin tackle Ja'Wuan James and draft prospects guard Quenton Nelson and center Billy Price the Jets can make a dramatic shift on offense. Also with a draft heavy in running backs, the opportunity to build the Jets the way a football team should be built is a no brainer. Even if one of the four college quarterbacks (Darnold, Rosen, Allen and Baker) are around at the 6th pick, the Jets will be better off going in a different direction. The abundance of quarterbacks in this year’s college crop doesn’t stop with these four. If you look at the Super Bowl for the past 30 years, of the 60 quarterbacks that started each game, only half (30) were first round picks. If you look at where the teams got there quarterback below, half of them were not first round picks. Some came by way of free agency (Kurt Warner, Jake Delhomme) and even in the 6th round (Mark Rypien, Stan Humphries, Matt Hasselbeck, Tom Brady) and all the other rounds but the first round. Of course there are a well represented bunch of blue chip first draft picks that won Super Bowls but there is never a guarantee that quarterbacks taken in the first round will take their team to the Super Bowl. For every Peyton Manning there are multiple Ryan Leafs’ who were picked early in the first round and did not become that franchise quarterback.

Look at this partial list of first round QB draft picks:

JaMarcus Russell 1st overall pick,
Art Schlichter 4th overall pick,
Heath Shuler 3rd overall pick,
Rick Mirer 2nd overall pick,
Andre Ware 7th overall pick,
Akili Smith 3rd overall pick,
Todd Blackledge 7th overall pick,
David Klingler 6th overall pick,
Tim Couch 1st overall pick,
Kelly Stouffer 6th overall pick,
Jack Thompson 3rd overall pick,
Joey Harrington 3rd overall pick,
David Carr 1st overall pick,
Vince Young 3rd overall pick,
Rich Campbell 6th overall pick,
Jeff George 1st overall pick,
Byron Leftwich 7th overall pick,
Matt Leinart 10th overall pick,

In all fairness some of the players were not put in the best position to succeed like a David Carr. But would the Jets be putting Kirk Cousins or Baker Mayfield in a position to excel? I think not. As I mentioned numerous times in the past few weeks, the Jets administration is fighting for their jobs this year and will probably do anything for a quick fix but this is not the way to go. What should the Jets do as far as their quarterback situation? I will address that as we get closer to free agency and the draft. And I will do it in logical way that will give the Jets a great infrastructure for years to come with a chance to find that missing franchise quarterback.

Super Bowls Quarterbacks in the last 30 years.
Thirty (30) of them were not first round picks.

1988
Doug Williams, Washington Redskins-Drafted 1st Round
John Elway, Denver Broncos- Drafted 1st Round

1989
Joe Montana, San Francisco 49ers Drafted 3rd Round
Boomer Esiason, Cincinnati Bengals Drafted 2nd Round

1990
Joe Montana, San Francisco 49ers Drafted 3rd Round
John Elway, Denver Broncos Drafted 1st Round

1991
Jeff Hostetler, New York Giants Drafted 3rd Round
Jim Kelly, Buffalo Bills Drafted 1st Round

1992
Mark Rypien, Washington Redskins Drafted 6th Round
Jim Kelly, Buffalo Bills Drafted 1st Round

1993
Troy Aikman, Dallas Cowboys Drafted 1st Round
Jim Kelly, Buffalo Bills Drafted 1st Round

1994
Troy Aikman, Dallas Cowboys Drafted 1st Round
Jim Kelly, Buffalo Bills Drafted 1st Round

1995
Steve Young, San Francisco 49ers Drafted 1st Round
Stan Humphries, San Diego Chargers Drafted 6th Round

1996
Troy Aikman, Dallas Cowboys Drafted 1st Round
Neil O'Donnell, Pittsburgh Steelers Drafted 3rd Round

1997
Brett Favre, Green Bay Packers Drafted 2nd Round
Drew Bledsoe, New England Patriots Drafted 1st Round

1998
John Elway, Denver Broncos Drafted 1st Round
Brett Favre, Green Bay Packers Drafted 2nd Round

1999
John Elway, Denver Broncos Drafted 1st Round
Chris Chandler, Atlanta Falcons Drafted 3rd Round

2000
Kurt Warner, St. Louis Rams Undrafted Free Agent
Steve McNair, Tennessee Titans Drafted 1st Round

2001
Trent Dilfer, Baltimore Ravens Drafted 1st Round
Kerry Collins, New York Giants Drafted 1st Round
XXXVI

2002
Tom Brady, New England Patriots Drafted 6th Round
Kurt Warner, St. Louis Rams Undrafted Free Agent

2003
Brad Johnson, Tampa Bay Buccaneers Drafted 2nd Round
Rich Gannon, Oakland Raiders Drafted 4th Round

2004
Tom Brady, New England Patriots Drafted 6th Round
Jake Delhomme, Carolina Panthers Undrafted Free Agent

2005
Tom Brady, New England Patriots Drafted 6th Round
Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia Eagles Drafted 1st Round

2006
Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers Drafted 1st Round
Matt Hasselbeck, Seattle Seahawks Drafted 6th Round

2007
Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts Drafted 1st Round
Rex Grossman, Chicago Bears Drafted 1st Round

2008
Eli Manning, New York Giants Drafted 1st Round
Tom Brady, New England Patriots Drafted 6th Round

2009
Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers Drafted 1st Round
KURT WARNER, Arizona Cardinals Undrafted Free Agent

2010
Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints Purdue Drafted 2nd Round
Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts Drafted 1st Round

2011
Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers Drafted 1st Round
Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers Drafted 1st Round

2012
Eli Manning, New York Giants Drafted 1st Round
Tom Brady, New England Patriots Drafted 6th Round

2013
Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens Delaware Drafted 1st Round
Colin Kaepernick, San Francisco 49ers Drafted 2nd Round

2014
Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks Drafted 3rd Round
Peyton Manning, Denver Broncos Drafted 1st Round

2015
Tom Brady, New England Patriots Drafted 6th Round
Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks Drafted 3rd Round

2016
Peyton Manning, Denver Broncos Drafted 1st Round
Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers Drafted 1st Round

2017
Tom Brady, New England Patriots Drafted 6th Round
Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons Drafted 1st Round

2018
Tom Brady, New England Drafted 6th Round
Nick Foles, Philadelphia Eagles Drafted 3rd Round

Jets QBs Who Started At Least One Game Since Joe Namath
Richard Todd
Matt Robinson
Marty Domres
Ken O'Brien
Pat Ryan
David Norrie
Tony Eason
Kyle Mackey
Tony Eason
Boomer Esiason
Jack Trudeau
Bubby Brister
Frank Reich
Neil O'Donnell
Glenn Foley
Vinny Testaverde
Ray Lucas
Rick Mirer
Chad Pennington
Quincy Carter
Brooks Bollinger
Kellen Clemens
Brett Favre
Mark Sanchez
Greg McElroy
Geno Smith
Michael Vick
Ryan Fitzpatrick
Bryce Petty
Josh McCown

What the Jets Scribes Are Saying
Rich Cimini, ESPN
Longtime middle linebacker David Harris, who was a defensive pillar for the New York Jets before signing with the rival New England Patriots last offseason, is calling it a career.

"After 11 years of having played the greatest team sport at its highest level, it's now time for me to announce my retirement from the NFL," Harris said in a statement on his agency's Twitter account.
…..He will be remembered for his decade with the Jets (2007 to 2016). Drafted out of Michigan in the second round, he played 154 games and finished as the franchise's second-leading tackler.
…..Harris never made the Pro Bowl, but he was regarded by coaches and teammates as the backbone of a once-formidable defense. In 2009, the Jets ranked No. 1 in total defense and fewest points allowed.
…..Jets coach Todd Bowles said of Harris: "Players like David Harris don't come around very often. He's one of the best players and people I've ever coached. I have nothing but the highest respect for him as a person and a leader. He is an example of everything you want from a player. I am proud to have coached him and wish him and his family the best."

Brian Costello, NY Post
The bidding for Kirk Cousins’ services officially begins in three weeks. On March 12, NFL teams can begin to speak with the agents representing this year’s free-agent class. Cousins is at the top of that list, and expect the Jets to be one of the first teams to call his agent, Mike McCartney. League sources believe the Jets are going to be particularly aggressive in their pursuit, willing to spend big bucks in the hope the soon-to-be former Redskin can be the franchise quarterback they have been searching for all these years. The view around the league is that the Jets’ main issue regarding Cousins won’t be money, but whether he wants to play for them after saying winning was his priority. While March 12 is the official opening of the window when teams and agents can talk, the unofficial negotiating period happens next week in Indianapolis at the NFL Scouting Combine. Technically, teams and agents are not allowed to speak about free agents other than their own, but the hotels, bars and restaurants in Indy are filled with winks, nods and more as teams begin to line up their free-agent targets. Players can’t officially sign their contracts until March 14. McCartney represents both Cousins and Josh McCown, the Jets’ own pending free agent, so the Jets likely have a meeting scheduled with him to discuss McCown in Indianapolis, where the topic of Cousins could come up. The Jets could get creative with their contract offer to Cousins with all of that cap space. The expectation is he is going to exceed the $27.5 million per year that the 49ers just gave Jimmy Garoppolo. Many people think that could mean a five-year, $150 million contract with a good chunk of that guaranteed. One league source speculated the Jets could front-load the contract and offer Cousins $60 million guaranteed in the first year of the contract. That would still leave them with about $30 million in cap space this year and then allow them to build around Cousins with lower cap figures in the remaining years of the contract. Pro Football Talk reported they spoke to people who believe the Jets might be willing to guarantee the entire contract, something unheard of in the NFL for long-term deals.

Manish Mehta,NY Daily News
The speculation surrounding the Jets’ eventual pursuit of Kirk Cousins has prompted some much-needed comedic relief during the NFL’s silly season. There have been some whoppers in the past week or so. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think Woody and Christopher Johnson were willing to offer an ownership stake to the soon-to-be free-agent quarterback. Heck, why stop there? Why not just change MetLife Stadium to Cousins Coliseum?
After all, that would be as probable as some of the unfounded stuff I’ve read in recent days that paints a wholly inaccurate picture of this situation. First and foremost, the Jets absolutely would love to sign Cousins in the coming weeks, according to team sources. He’s a win-now AND win-later quarterback entering the prime of his career. There’s a large enough window (at least five seasons) to win with the soon-to-be 30-year-old signal caller to make it more than worthwhile to make a strong investment in him, but let’s be clear: The Jets are not going to try to bring him aboard by any means necessary. The notion that the organization will go to any lengths to sign him is patently false. There’s a difference between making a strong and aggressive move for a player (aka – an all-in mindset) and actually recklessly overspending. The Jets aren’t going to hand Cousins a blank check, according to team sources. That would just be plain ol’ dumb business.Truth be told, some folks on One Jets Drive have gotten a kick out of the unfounded rumors that they’re willing to break their budget for Cousins (even though they have prioritized him). There’s a distinct difference between paying the man and adopting some of the tactics being proposed in recent days………Gang Green believes that there will be about three other strong suitors. On the surface, the Broncos, Browns, Vikings, Cardinals and Bills have their own quarterback dilemmas, but will they all be serious bidders for Cousins’ services? The Jets don’t think so. Some of those teams will address their signal caller needs in the draft.