DMN: Jets, 'Skins, and Information Men

National Football Post

QUOTE: “A learning experience is one of those things that say, ‘You know that thing you just did? Don't do that.’”—Douglas Adams

 

Information Men

The Jets traded for Kevin O’Connell (have you ever seen a team more obsessed with the Patriots than the Jets?), and the ‘Skins signed former Giants quarterback Andre Woodson, so now both players will face their former teams in Week One (Woodson) and Week Two (O’Connell) of the season.

Does this mean the new teams will have insight and privileged information coming from the two quarterbacks? Yes, they’ll know all the calls and all the checks, and they’ll know the philosophy behind the schemes. But will it help their new teams win? In my mind, knowing what will happen and preventing it from happening are two different things.

The Jets have had a personnel obsession with the Patriots, often claiming players the Pats let go, but rarely do those players make significant contributions in helping the Jets win. Many thought it was because former Jets coach Eric Mangini knew the Patriots players who were available, so it was a natural process. But the obsession has not ended, as evidenced by some recent claims.

Now, the Jets are carrying four quarterbacks on their roster. With the exception of starter Mark Sanchez, carrying three backups fits perfectly with the John Madden creed: “When you have a lot of something, you got nothing.” You have to wonder what the Jets’ real motivation is in acquiring O’Connell.

Will Andre Woodson and Kevin O'Connell provide their new teams with an edge against their former clubs?

The last thing they need is a another weak-armed quarterback who’s best suited to play the shotgun and didn’t look good in any preseason game. The Jets will claim they had a high grade on O’Connell coming out of college, so it made sense to them to make the trade.

But does this make sense at a time when you have two players suspended for the opening game? This means you roster is light on kicking game players and could use a little help. I’m not against the trade for O’Connell, but what I don’t understand is why a team would carry three quarterbacks with very little game experience. Isn’t two enough? Something seems a little fishy here.

The Lions-cut-CB-Smith-to-make-room-for-OConnell.html" target="_blank">Lions put in a claim for Kevin O’Connell knowing two things: One, they really didn’t want him, and two, they knew that among the Jets, Browns, and Broncos, one of those teams would be willing to give them a late draft choice. Clearly, the Jets, Browns, and now the Broncos are very predictable with their personnel acumen.

So can O’Connell help the Jets learn more about the Patriots’ personnel and scheme? I’m not sure he can offer any more than former Patriots coach Brian Daboll could during his stint with the Jets.

O’Connell can help Jets coach Rex Ryan understand their protection patterns and how they might block certain looks, but that information is nothing that Ryan or Mike Pettine, the defensive coordinator, can’t determine off game tape. So the claiming of O’Connell must be talented related or obsession related, but not insider information related.

The ‘Skins did the same thing claiming Woodson from the Giants, and by the sound of the reaction from the Giants, it’s clear that Woodson has information about the opening game. This is probably because the Giants spent a large portion of their training camp preparing for the opener with plays and formations they never showed in the preseason.

Woodson being on the ‘Skins will now force the Giants to make changes—taking no chances on Woodson sharing their calls, checks, and ideas. As with O’Connell, the information that Woodson has about the Giants only pertains to the offense; neither can affect the other side of the ball.

The question remains, do these moves help in terms of information or are they solely personnel driven? When I was in the NFL, my sole thinking was improving the talent level of my team. If, by chance, that meshed with a player who could share some insight, then it was a bonus—but it’s not what drove my thought process. I learned a long time ago from George Allen to “evaluate the evaluator.” I urge the Jets and ‘Skins to do the same.

Follow me on Twitter: michaelombardi

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