Nnamdi Asomugha: Why Signing with the Jets Doesn't Solve Their Problems

The free agency white noise that surrounds Nnamdi Asomugha is thinning as the New York Jets are considered to be front-runners by many members of the media.

Respected NFL Network reporter Michael Lombardi tweeted this earlier today, "I keep hearing from well placed relible NFL sources that this Jet talk and Nmandi Asomugha is serious and I mean serious."

The Jets do not have a lot of salary cap room but Lombardi eased those concerns "The Jets can make room to sign anyone they want—with a five year spread of bonus money and option money they can make his 11 cap number low."

Nonetheless, Asomugha will still come at a cost and a cost that will affect their work elsewhere. The Jets may be comfortable to throw a lot of money at Asomugha now that they have re-signed Santonio Holmes to a five-year deal but he did not come cheap.

Holmes signed a five-year deal for $50 million, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. That is a significant figure which is sure to affect their chances at re-signing other important pieces to their offense.

Guys like Brad Smith and Braylon Edwards may not be anywhere near as good as Holmes but the offense cannot expect to function with just Holmes, Jerricho Cotchery, Dustin Keller and an average running game.

Mark Sanchez is not a good enough quarterback to work with lesser receivers and turn them into stars a la Peyton Manning, Philip Rivers or Tom Brady. The Jets need to improve their offense from last season and simply re-signing Holmes does not do that sufficiently.

The Jets are a playoff team—there is no doubt about that—but they are not a Nnamdi Asomugha addition away from being the Super Bowl team they believe that they are.

Of course not all signings have to be the final step to the Super Bowl. But when it comes at the cost Asomugha will be, then it should.

The Jets are in desperate need of an improved pass rush. Their front seven is a strong run stuffing unit but lacks playmakers as guys like David Harris and Bart Scott are the standout performers. Neither Harris nor Scott is a sack specialist or is going to get five interceptions each season.

The biggest impact player the Jets had last season was Shaun Ellis. Ellis had 4.5 sacks from defensive end and was a constant disruption in opposing backfields.

However, Ellis is a free agent and while he is old, there will be other suitors looking to pick him up. He would probably prefer to return to the Jets but the offer of more money elsewhere is sure to tempt him.

Okay, pairing Asomugha with Revis would be excellent. But how much better would it really make the defense?

How much of a drop-off is there between Asomugha and Antonio Cromartie?

There is no doubt that Asomugha is the better shutdown corner and it would be very difficult to consistently move the ball down the field against him. However, good offenses would be able to manipulate the defense and make use of its tight ends and slot receivers.

With Cromartie in the side, offenses wouldn't fear throwing the ball at him. This is actually a good thing for the Jets because Cromartie plays good coverage and has a knack for coming up with interceptions.

The difference between having Cromartie and Asomugha is obviously palpable but it is by no means significant enough to justify a blockbuster deal.

Even if the Jets didn't re-sign Cromartie, they still chose Kyle Wilson with their first overall pick two seasons ago. Wilson may not be an NFL star yet but he obviously has the talent.

The Jets should look to spread the talent around their defense by improving the front seven, rather than upgrading talent over talent that is already there.

Having Asomugha and Revis together on the field will lead to average and poor offenses imploding when they face the Jets.

However, stronger offenses such as the New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, Indianapolis Colts and even their neighboring Giants would be able to prevent them from making the jump to the Super Bowl.

The Jets will likely never have an elite offense with Mark Sanchez at quarterback. However, they should be doing all they can to put elite playmakers around him to aid their defense on the scoreboard.

At the very least the Jets should identify their areas of actual weakness on defense and addressing them, rather than building on that which doesn't need to be built upon.

Nnamdi Asomugha to the Jets will be interesting should it come to fruition, but by no means does it improve their chances of being in Indianapolis in February.

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