The Do Over

 Millions of men and women love sports. In fact, many are obsessed with their favorite sports teams. I understand this because I am the same way. I am obsessed with my favorite sports team (the New York Yankees and New York Jets). Unfortunately, many times in our love of our sports teams, we forget the importance of loving God. So I write this blog as a reminder to focus first on loving God, before we love our sports team.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.   - 2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV

 

It has been far too long since I have written my blog.  It troubles me. That, however, is life. It is easy to start things. Not so easy to sustain or finish things. I continue to love the Lord and I continue to love my New York sports teams.  As I begin again, my oldest daughter has finished her first year of kindergarten, I can finally understand almost everything my youngest daughter says and my wife works a lot more than I would like her too. There are so many stories this year that I would have loved to tell in this blog. But I failed to keep it up. Fortunately, I can start again. I have the ability to do it all over again. I may not get the time back, but I get a second chance to try again. As a kid I called it a "do over."  If God allows you to wake up in the morning, he too gives you a chance for a "do over." I may not be able to get the year back that I lost of my blog. There could be something you lost that you may not be able to get back. But if God woke you up, you have a chance to start again. He is so good that not only does He give you another chance, He also forgives and forgets any mistakes you may have made in that time. So I am going to take this opportunity that God has given me start over. You should too.

Most of the draft discussion is over, but in my world it is never too late to discuss the draft.  So with training camp starting this week, I will give you my New York Jets draft do -over.  The fun thing about a draft do-over is that unlike a pre-draft mock, you know who is off the board and who is available at every pick. I can now have a do-over knowing exactly who is off the board at each pick. I promise not to cheat by looking ahead and knowing who is available for my next pick. In other words, when I make my first round pick, I will not assume Jace Amaro will be available when I pick in the second round.

Here goes my do-over:
Round 1 pick 18- Marquis Lee WR
     My first option would be to trade this pick to move down in the first round or acquire additional picks, an additional 2nd rounder would have been nice. That being said if I fail, I go with Marquis Lee. I know this is a risky pick for the 1st round -but there is no way I am not picking a WR or offensive player with this pick. I like Lee over Cooks as a safer 1st round pick due to his longer body of work and the fact that before his senior year he was a consensus early first round pick. But I would be very tempted to pick Cooks, Benjamin or Dennard (if I went defense).
     Jets pick - Calvin Pryor-FS-  I cannot argue picking the top rated player at his position. The Jets have done this recently with Quinton Coples, Geno Smith and Sheldon Richardson (although none slam dunk consensus top players at the position). Richardson seems like the real deal, the verdict is still out on Smith and Coples.

Round 2 pick 17- Jace Amero TE
     I would have been feeling desperate for a cornerback at this point. I would have considered trading up to get one if there was one worthy of trading up for. There really is not. The only possibility would be LaMarcus Joyner out of Florida State, but that is a stretch. If I was the GM of the Jets I would have resigned Antonio Cromartie for the same money that he signed for in Arizona.  However, if I have to make the pick and not trade it - Jace Amaro is a no brainer. The top rated pass catching TE in the draft.
     Jets pick - Jace Amero- Good pick, fills a need with a player who should contribute early.


Round 3 pick 16  Donte Moncrief WR
        I would have been mildly surprised to see this guy still on the board. A big deceptively fast wide receiver who has experience catching the ball unlike Stephen Hill.  He is a bit of a risk, but better on a third round pick for a guy with huge upside than the second round like Hill.  I also feel like I have adequately addressed the wide receiver position. Just a note, I was hoping OLB Marcus Smith would be available in the 3rd round with this pick. I was shocked the Eagles took him in the first round. Same thing happened last year, I was hoping E.J Manual would be available in the second or third round and the Bills took him in the first round. Happy to get Geno Smith last year nevertheless.
         Jets pick Dexter McDougle-CB I never heard of him and read very little about him.  It seems like he did well in OTA's and Rex loves him. I hope they were right on this kid. There were a lot of good WR's, Guards's and serviceable TE's on the board at this pick

Round 4 pick 4 David Yankey- G
      I must be missing something. Don't know why this guy went in the 5th round. But in the 4th round I see him there and know he can start for the Jets next year in place of an ailing Willie Colon. Two time All- American- no brainer. And I just took care of my guard issue. He doesn't even need to learn the guard position, he was rated one of the top guards coming out of college.
       Jets pick Jalen Saunders-WR- An undersized slot receiver, but probably the best slot receiver in the draft. Hope he can be an explosive punt and kick returner.

Round 4 15 pick Pierre Desir - CB
      I can now address my cornerback issue with one who should thrive in man to man coverage. He may not be much of a tackler but I can live with that. Not going to be happy to see Mike Pettine turn him into a Pro Bowler with the Browns
      Jets pick- Shaquelle Evans- WR If you wait until the 4th round to start addressing the wide receiver position, you hope guys like this become steals. Of note Martavis Bryant (drafted by the Steelers) is still on the board here. Lets hope this is not Alshon Jeffrey part two.

Round 4 pick 37 Ed Reynolds- FS
       A pure centerfeilder with good instincts . Allows you to move Antonio Allen back to SS to work in the box. Give the Jets two safeties who can cover TE's.
       Jets pick Dakota Dozier G- I absolutely love this pick by the Jets. Wish we could have traded the pick to move up, but I think this guy is the real deal and will be able to create big rushing lanes after he adjusts to the switch from tackle. I just don't need him in my do-over because I have Yankey. Good pick by the Jets.

Round 5 pick 14 Ronald Powell OLB
      There are injury concerns but he is a pass rusher and hard worker . He could probably play inside. The Jets need young OLB and if he can stay healthy will be a steal.
       Jets pick- Jeremiah George ILB- the Jets need depth at ILB as well. He is a bit small at 5'11 - 231lbs but he seems like a gamer.

Round 6 pick 19 Laurent Duvernay -Tardif T
       With your 8th pick in the draft you have a opportunity to swing and hope to hit one out of the park. If you don't- no big deal. This guy has a chance to be an excellent tackle. He has great physical tools. Worth the draft pick- was actually projected to go 3rd or 4th round.
        Jets pick- Brandon Dixon CB.  This is what I will begin to refer to as "William Campbell" pick. This applies when the Jets waste a draft pick on someone nobody wants and you could acquire as a rookie free agent. This guy has no chance to make the team. A wasted pick.  Better off trying to trade the pick to move up or picking my guy Duvernay- Tardif.

Round 6 pick 33 Trevor Reilly - OLB
        Surprised he was available for the Jets in the 7th round. There must be some medical issues or real concern about his age (26 years old).  NFL.com had him projected round 4-5. I have seen hm projected as high as second round. I take him here with my second 6th rounder giving me 2 pass rushers.
         Jets pick Quincy Enunwa- WR- I like this pick. He is big and played for a big time program at Nebraska. He was a reliable receiver. Will probably only make the practice squad

Round 6 pick 34- Quincy Enunwa WR
         See above
        Jets pick Ik Enemkpali- OLB/DE.  Will be fun watching him compete against Trevor Reilly. What a shame to even draft these guys-there will be no room for them on the 53 man roster (especially with Jermaine Cunningham on the team). 

Round 6 pick 37 Taj Boyd QB
         A winning QB with a large upside used to playing on a large stage. Mobile QB with good arm. Great 6th round pick.
          Jets pick Taj Boyd QB- Sound practice to try and develop young QB's for future trade or use.

Round 7 pick 18 Jeremy Gallon WR
          I love guys who played for big time programs (Michigan). This guy you can try to use in a variety of roles, WR, RB, returner. Not bad for a 7th round pick.  New England may unfortunately find a spot for him.
         Jets pick Trevor Reilly-OLB- I picked him in the 6th round, so I obviously feel like it's a steal in the 7th. Another good job by the Jets and Idzik

The New York Jets get a B+ for their 2014 draft. Their biggest failure in my eyes, and I am sure a few others, was the inability to address the WR position until the 4th round. I addressed that in my do-over by securing the receiver position in the first 3 rounds.  I have also potentially addressed some of the uncertainty around the guard position. If Stephen Hill reaches his potential and becomes a WR worthy of a second round pick, the Jets will look like geniuses for waiting so long. I hope they are right.

Speaking of do- overs I am sure Brian Cashman would love a do-over to his off season moves. I know I wish he could get a do-over. Strangely enough it has nothing to do with our starting pitching. We lost 4 of our 5 starters and I wish he could get a do-over because of our pathetic offense. This is most evident in the  lack of production from the 3rd base position, Right Field and NO back up first baseman.  First let's look at his failure to address the back up first baseman position. Mark Teixeira missed pretty much all of last year and the Yankees got more than anyone would have expected out of Lyle Ovebay and Mark Reynolds.  So keeping in  mind Teixeira's  age and the fact that he missed all of last year due to injury; keeping at least one of those guys would seems like a wise move.  Reynold's can also play third base making him even more valuable as a back up.  Considering the fact these are the New York Yankees and they started the year without a true third baseman or back up first baseman a logical deduction would be to keep them both. Even if it meant paying a little more. Someone should have told Brian Cashman that Kelly Johnson is a second baseman. Would you ask Robinson Cano or Willie Randolph to play 1st base and  3rd base? Evan Roberts of WFAN radio suggested Carlos Pena as our back up first baseman. I would take him over Kelly Johnson.  Now for right field I will give Brian Cashman a pass on this one because with Beltran, Soriano and Ichiro, the Yankees started the year with a surplus of outfielders.  However, once you cut ties with Soriano that is at least 25 hr and 85 RBI's you are now trying to replace. It is the GM's job to replace those numbers, and they are not coming from Ichiro.  I understand letting Soriano go, but I honestly wished Girardi had played him everyday to give him a better chance to break out of his slump.  Finally, let's look at 3rd base. Alex Rodriguez's position.  Although the party line was "Alex is on our team until we hear he is not," the Yankees needed to acquire a power hitting 3rd baseman.  Even if Alex was on the team, that type of hitter would have been needed (see Mark Teixeira).  The signing of Tanaka was great but these other issues should have been addressed in the off-season. After enduring a half a year of  the current struggles of Beltran and MCann, this is looking like a bad off season for Cashman. He needs a do-over because with 4 out of 5 starters not pitching for the team, it is the offense and weak infield defense, not the pitching that has us a .500 ball club. 

This just in the New York Yankees have signed 3rd baseman Chase Headley from San Diego.

Please watch for my next post that is for my oldest daughter, "When your life changes."