NY Jets Say Rewards Outweigh Risks With Santonio Holmes
[b]Jets Say Rewards Outweigh Risks With Holmes[/b]
Doug Mills/The New York Times
Published: April 12, 2010
Jets General Manager Mike Tannenbaum said Monday he understood the risks of making receiver Santonio Holmes part of the off-season makeover, one that already added a player of questionable character, cornerback Antonio Cromartie. But when he discovered Holmes could be had from the Pittsburgh Steelers for a fifth-round draft pick, Tannenbaum said the upside of adding a dynamic, potentially game-changing 26-year-old receiver made those risks palatable.
“With Santonio, we know there’s been bumps in the road to this point,” Tannenbaum said. “We hope he has learned from them. But it’s up to us to make it work.”
The N.F.L. announced Monday that Holmes would be suspended for the first four games of the season for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy. In 2008, Holmes apologized after being cited for marijuana possession. He is also facing a civil lawsuit by a woman who accused him of throwing a glass at her face at a nightclub in Orlando, Fla.
The issues were too much for the Steelers and they were reportedly ready to cut Holmes when the Jets made their offer.
“Obviously without any of the problems, a player of his caliber who is 26 would not be available,” Tannenbaum said. “We understand the risks, but the price was right for us.”
Tannenbaum said he was confident that a core of what he called the Jets’ character players — a group he said included Bart Scott and Darrelle Revis — would maintain a cohesive atmosphere in the locker room. He also said he thought Coach Rex Ryan was skilled at dealing with potentially troublesome players.
Cromartie acknowledged he has seven children with six women in five states and faces several paternity suits. Last year, the Jets acquired receiver Braylon Edwards, who could face discipline for his role in a Cleveland bar fight.
Holmes was the most valuable player from the Steelers’ Super Bowl victory in 2009, the player who made the unforgettable toe-tapping, game-winning touchdown catch with 35 seconds remaining. Holmes said he considered his arrival in New York a fresh start, despite its being delayed four games by his N.F.L. suspension.
“I know I have to be accountable for my actions,” Holmes said. “I’m willing to do that and to move forward.”
Holmes said he was ready to turn a page, specifically with drug use.
“Given a second opportunity, I understand to go back and do the same things, to make the same mistakes will not be accepted here,” he said.
He did not say what led to the drug suspension. He said that he was at a loss to explain his string of disciplinary issues, but added that he felt as if he had let people down, including Commissioner Roger Goodell, who had lauded him after the Super Bowl victory for apparently righting his career.
“I do feel like I let him down,” Holmes said. “Guys are young. We make mistakes. We always will. It’s hard to pinpoint the mistakes and the reasons why for the fans. It’s just being young.”
The Jets are clearly making a run at a Super Bowl, a goal they fell a game short of last season when they lost in the A.F.C. championship game. In addition to adding Cromartie and Holmes via trade, they signed running back LaDainian Tomlinson. And they did all this in an off-season also marked by the end of the salary cap, which was supposed to hamstring teams seeking this kind of makeover.
Tannenbaum, though, said he did not see it that way.
“We knew what the restrictions were going to be in February,” Tannenbaum said. “We knew we could take a look at the restricted market as well as look at some trades. I look at it as what we could do and not what we couldn’t do. I look at the glass as half full instead of half empty. We don’t sit around and lament what we can’t do.”
Now the Jets have to work on what to do with what they gained.
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Re: NY Jets Say Rewards Outweigh Risks With Santonio Holmes
The bet is on. I just wish the bet was with a team over in NFC.
Re: NY Jets Say Rewards Outweigh Risks With Santonio Holmes
[quote=SteelAbility]The bet is on. I just wish the bet was with a team over in NFC.[/quote]
:Agree
i'm surprised we would trade Sanstonio to a team we play next year and strengthen an AFC divisional rival for what...a 5th round draft choice?
Re: NY Jets Say Rewards Outweigh Risks With Santonio Holmes
The Jets have nothing to lose with Holmes.... a 5th and some cash is nothing compared to what they gain.
Re: NY Jets Say Rewards Outweigh Risks With Santonio Holmes
[quote=hawaiiansteel][quote=SteelAbility]The bet is on. I just wish the bet was with a team over in NFC.[/quote]
:Agree
i'm surprised we would trade Sanstonio to a team we play next year and strengthen an AFC divisional rival for what...[color=#00FFFF]a 5th round draft choice[/color]?[/quote]
I wasn't happy about it. The problem, from what I'm hearing is that that was the best they could get for him. However, that being said, I would have preferred a high 6th from an NFC team than a low 5th from the NYJ. The dropoff there is minimal. The potential of Santonio making their offense more dynamic makes them scary, given they had the #1D in 09.
Re: NY Jets Say Rewards Outweigh Risks With Santonio Holmes
The funniest thing I heard about this was when Tannanbaum was talking on ESPN radio the other day. He said that the Jets could afford to take on a bad apple (multiple actually, when you consider Braylon Edwards and a couple of other guys on their roster) because of the strong high character leadership in their locker room. He proceeded to spout off three guys names who would help him. Seriously, Mike? We are talking about the Steelers organization who couldn't harness the ego known as Santonio Holmes. And your three guys is supposed to get it done? Really?
There is a huge upside talent wise for the Jets in this one, just say that. You got a steal fo a player for a fifth-rounder. Just say that. Don't try selling that your three players are going to curb his ego, because we all know there ain't a chance in hell of that happening.
Re: NY Jets Say Rewards Outweigh Risks With Santonio Holmes
Basically Tannenbum just said that he and his organization can't build a team through sound drafting and proper financial moves, so they are taking cast offs from other teams hoping to keep them all out of jail.
Its one thing if they just took Holmes, but they are banking their whole franchise on these types of moves to hurry things along. As we've seen with other franchises, it doesn't work. They'll have a bump of a couple solid seasons on the field, then the wheels will fall off again.
Re: NY Jets Say Rewards Outweigh Risks With Santonio Holmes
[quote=proudpittsburgher]The funniest thing I heard about this was when Tannanbaum was talking on ESPN radio the other day. He said that the Jets could afford to take on a bad apple (multiple actually, when you consider Braylon Edwards and a couple of other guys on their roster)[color=#00FF00] because of the strong high character leadership in their locker room[/color]. He proceeded to spout off three guys names who would help him. Seriously, Mike? We are talking about the Steelers organization who couldn't harness the ego known as Santonio Holmes. And your three guys is supposed to get it done? Really?
There is a huge upside talent wise for the Jets in this one, just say that. You got a steal fo a player for a fifth-rounder. Just say that. Don't try selling that your three players are going to curb his ego, because we all know there ain't a chance in hell of that happening.[/quote]
i wonder if Alan Faneca is helping to provide some of that "strong high-character leadership" in the NY Jets locker room?
do you think Faneca can control Santonio? [img]http://www.pittsburghsportstavern.com/forum/images/smilies/weedsmoking.gif[/img]
Re: NY Jets Say Rewards Outweigh Risks With Santonio Holmes
[quote=aggiebones]Basically Tannenbum just said that he and his organization can't build a team through sound drafting and proper financial moves, so they are taking cast offs from other teams hoping to keep them all out of jail.
Its one thing if they just took Holmes, but they are banking their whole franchise on these types of moves to hurry things along. As we've seen with other franchises, it doesn't work. They'll have a bump of a couple solid seasons on the field, then the wheels will fall off again.[/quote]
They were drafting well the past few years (the Vernon Gholston pick not withstanding): D'Brickashaw Ferguson, Nick Mangold, Leon Washington, Darrelle Revis, David Harris, Dustin Keller, Mark Sanchez, Shonn Greene, etc. I think moves such as bringing in Braylon, Cromartie, LaDainian, Santonio, etc. may actually do more harm than good to what appears to be a solid young nucleus of players.
Re: NY Jets Say Rewards Outweigh Risks With Santonio Holmes
Can you imagine if they still had Favre? Favre to Holmes would be a wicked combo!