Transcript of the Jets' predraft news conference, with Mike Tannenbaum, general manager, Joey Clinkscales, vice president, college scouting, and Terry Bradway, senior personnel executive, taking questions from reporters at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center this afternoon:
TANNENBAUM: Welcome and thanks for coming. Before we get started, I want to publicly acknowledge a good friend we lost, Gary Wichard, a good friend, a really good agent, a better person, really an excellent husband and father. He inspired me to be better in all aspects of my life. I just want to publicly say we'll miss him. He was an outstanding person.
Also I just want to take a second to look back to last year. There were some positives that came out of the season, getting to the AFC Championship Game. In 2011 we're going to start 0-0. It's up to us as an organization to improve the team to give us the best chance possible to be successful in 2011, try to look back the last couple years, try to look at what we did well, look at areas where we can improve.
As far as where we are today, as I said this before, I knowledge this sincerely, I look at the offseason as a big continuum. From where I sit, I think Ari Nissim and Jackie Davidson [director and manager, football administration, respectively] in particular have done an outstanding job to get our 2011 offseason off to a great start. Last year they extended D'Brickashaw Ferguson, Darrelle Revis and Nick Mangold. David Harris in February signed a one-year contract. The two of them spearheading our negotiations have started our offseason off in a tremendous way.
The draft is the next step. We're excited about the draft. We're going to continue to bring our 2011 offseason based on what Ari and Jackie have started for the organization.
I want to thank all our coaches, all our support staff, all our scouts. It's truly a collaborative effort here. Everyone has done a great job. Two people in particular, Dan Zbojovsky and Kathryn Smith, I don't think they've had a day off since February. Their hard work is a big part of the process.
With that, I will turn it over to Joey.
CLINKSCALES: I'd like to take a moment to thank all my staff for the hard work they've done, tell you a little bit about who they are, what they do.
Michael Davis, who is the assistant director. Jim Cochran, who is our national scout. Jeff Bauer, who kind of covers the Midwest. Joe Bommarito, West Coast. Matt Bazirgan covers the Midwest and the West Coast. Dan Zbojovsky, who is our scouting coordinator. And then Kathryn Smith.
Jesse Kaye is also a part of the process. He is part-time, does a lot of the things up in Wisconsin. Jay Mandolesi in the South. Brock Sunderland, who will be taking over for Gary in a short period of time. We're grateful to have those guys still working for us.
As you all know, we're in the stretch run of this process preparing for the draft. It's always good to have the coaches' info, the medical exams, security info. Whatever happens during the draft, I'm confident we'll be prepared on every level. It's nice to have six picks for a change and we'll see how long we have six picks.
BRADWAY: I don't have a lot to add to that. Just to piggyback on a couple things that Joey said, I'm big on these numbers. If you look at our scouting staff, combined 223 years of NFL experience with our scouting staff, of which 166 of that are with the Jets, which is pretty amazing. I just think that adds to the continuity, to the chemistry of the group as we go through this process.
We wrote over 5,500 reports, evaluated over 1,200 players, visited over 250 schools. So a lot went into this starting back in August, actually starting back last May through August, through the all-star games, through the combine, through the pro workouts, culminating in the draft next week.
I would just like to thank Joey because I've been in his shoes before running these meetings. I can just tell you the last few weeks have been enjoyable. We've gotten a lot done. I believe we're ready.
On whom the Jets will draft...
CLINKSCALES: I don't know. Who should we draft [laughter]? We're going to draft the best player available. That's been our stance the past few years. That's who we are. However the board falls, we'll be able to draft the best player available.
On if it's fair to say that after taking one defensive player the past two drafts, the Jets will place a greater emphasis on the defensive side of the ball...
TANNENBAUM: Yeah, I think if we could add some depth, competition on the defensive side, that's something we'd like to accomplish during the offseason, if the right opportunity comes along. I know the number you're referring to. Of the seven picks, six have been on offense. [Rex Ryan will] tell you how good of a coach he is on defense. So that doesn't really matter. That is something we certainly are looking at. In a perfect world you balance it out. It never really works that way. In a perfect world, you try to get that to be as balanced as possible.
On if he thinks the Jets' first pick will be a defensive player...
TANNENBAUM: We'll take the 30th best player, whoever that is.
On how not having free agency before the draft affects this year's approach...
TANNENBAUM: You know, we signed 18 future free agents towards the end of the season last year. Scott Cohen, Brendan Prophett, they did a great job with that. Not to say those players are going to necessarily fill needs. I really do look at it as a continuum. I feel a lot more comfortable sitting here saying Brick, Nick, Darrelle and David are all under contract, with the exception of David, for years to come. I do think the offseason started last year. The longer I'm in this, the more you realize the only part you can control is the preparation.
They're telling us we're going to draft now, so we're prepared for that. When there's veteran free agency, we'll be prepared. When we can trade players, we'll be prepared. This is the next step of what I would say is an opportunity to improve the team. Whatever the next step is after that, we'll go for that.
On if the Jets will keep all six draft picks they have for this year...
TANNENBAUM: We have run scenarios. We've looked at a lot of different ways to look at opportunities. We'll continue to do that. Maybe we'll move up, maybe we'll move back. We'll be ready to go. Last year we added Marcus Dixon, I believe it was Sept. 6. I believe Marcus Dixon is going to be a good football for us. Is that as noteworthy as the draft? Obviously it isn't. But again, it's a long continuum. When opportunities present themselves, we'll be prepared. That's the only part of the process we can control.
On if the lockout has changed the Jets' preparation going into the draft...
TANNENBAUM: Really, this time of year for us. In the building it really feels the same. The flow of the day, just the meetings and the schedule, really, that's kind of been the same for us. Obviously, if it's free agency, there's phones and visits, stuff like that. For the most part, the preparation, it's really for the draft for us, all hands on deck, it's medical, psychological, security.
On if the team will be set back because of the uncertainty surrounding money and trade issues that affect the draft...
TANNENBAUM: I think that's fair. That old saying: Measure twice, cut once. We'll look at it really carefully. Again, if there are opportunities, we think it's smart, we'll go. Really, quite frankly, sometimes I'm the last one on board. These two guys up here deserve all of the credit, 99 percent of the credit, that Shonn Greene is a Jet. Last thing I wanted to do [in 2009] was make two substantial trades in one draft. There's no book that will ever tell you to do that. When that opportunity presents itself, we're sitting there with the 76th pick. At the end of the day that made good sense.
It's an organizational philosophy, not just me. We have good debate. We don't all agree. At the end of the day, what's the best decision for the Jets?
On how being able to trade only selections, not players, will affect the draft...
TANNENBAUM: There's other ways to get creative — future picks, swapping years. If you're trying to solve a problem, you still have other clubs in the bag to use. You may not have your driver. If you've ever seen me play golf, that's probably a good thing [smiling]. You use your utility club, figure out ways to solve problems. If you're a good listener, figure out what the other side wants. I'm the optimist. I feel like there's deals to be made if both sides are trying to accomplish something.
On if it will be more of a challenge not being able to trade players ...
TANNENBAUM: We actually looked at that. I don't know the exact numbers but over the last few years I don't think there's been a lot of players traded on draft day. The notable was with Mark [Sanchez in 2009]. The other team knew the players. I don't think it happens a lot.
On if there is more of an inclination to keep the six picks this year as opposed to other years...
TANNENBAUM: Yeah, I understand. We always look at it much more we're sitting there with Rex, looking more at the depth chart, what we think our needs are. It's really more just checking the boxes off. If we can do that with three picks, great. If it's nine picks, that's fine. I don't think we're ever fixated on the number of picks. It's solving the needs, trying to get this done, here is what veteran free agency is. That's how we stack our decision-making in terms of those variables.
On drafting Kyle Wilson from Boise State in last year's first round and if there is any pause about concentrating on BCS players...
CLINKSCALES: Not really. I think we try to find a guy that's the best fit for what we're trying to get, especially defensively. Whether he's at a BCS conference, whether he's from the CAA or wherever, along with the coaches, we sit down, talk about it, try to find the best fit.
On not being able to assume any of the Jets' high-profile players who could possibly become free agents are going to return...
TANNENBAUM: Well, I guess the threshold part of that would be we're not sure what the rules are moving forward. How many of our guys we'll eventually be able to keep, it's hard to say. ... Again, whatever the rules are, when they're decided upon, we'll go from there.
On the mindset about undrafted free agents...
TANNENBAUM: Really, our plan is once the draft is over, we'll wait to get more information on what we can do and when we can do it. Scott Cohen and Brendan did a great job. We signed an unusual number of high guys, going back to January, 18 I think was the number. We did that to try to fill out the roster the best we could, back at the turn of the year, January into February.
On heating lobbying from the head coach and his assistants during the draft process...
TANNENBAUM: Zealous advocacy? Organizational momentum? I have no idea what you're talking about [smiling]. Mike [Pettine] is a great evaluator. I think they do a great job of facilitating discussions. They'll say, "Mike, how does he get to the game?" ... Whatever his role is going to be, that's a big tiebreaker in the middle rounds. What's the vision for the player? But we'll sit in the draft room and we'll talk about our 45-man roster as we're drafting. Again, that's where Rex has great vision for the team, how he wants to see the team.
Again, if you think about what Rex did, it was really unbelievable. We played the Patriots in a playoff game. One out of every four players was a defensive back. For us to do that organizationally, he's constantly talking to us and Scott and Jo-Jo [Wooden, assistant director, player personnel] in terms of how we're going to build the team. In the kicking game, how does that translate?
I think those discussions go all year long. Let's face it, there's a lot of good passing attacks that we have to defend to get to where we want to go. How we build our team is definitely within "Hey, here's our division, here's our conference, how are we going to get to where we want to go?"
On how integral special teams coordinator Mike Westhoff is in shaping the Jets' middle- and low-round picks...
CLINKSCALES: He plays a big role because he looks at linebackers, he looks at safeties. His vision for a player may be different from the secondary coach because he's trying to find a player that has an opportunity to play R5, be a gunner, go in and be a vise. When we're trying to build this thing, he is a part of helping us get the right player that not only can get to the game as part of the 45 but also if he's got a role on defense, that's almost a plus for a guy that's down the line.
BRADWAY: To add to that, both Mike Westhoff and Ben [Kotwica], Mike's assistant, have evaluated close to 150 players. Throughout the draft, they've identified guys they felt could come in and contribute on teams. In certain rounds, whether it be the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh round, the special teams could be a tiebreaker when we're dealing with two or three names on the board.
On if over the years the draft input from the coaching staff has gone up or down...
BRADWAY: It's been steady. We want the coaches to be involved. I think our coaches do a great job, along with our scouts. There's a mutual respect. I talk about this every year. It's not that way in every program. But they know what we want and they do the work, they watch the four games, they visit with the player, worked them out. They can tell us basically how they see that player fitting in. Taking that information with what the scouts give us back, you know, we feel like we've got a good handle on what we're looking at.
I think now in Rex's third year, there's a greater understanding among the scouts and everybody just exactly what we're looking for. I know Mike and Joey feel the same way. There's a great deal of respect in that room when it comes to the coaches and the scouts. Best that I've ever been around.
TANNENBAUM: Let's face it, with Rex, a lot of humor as well.
On if he knows what a "Rex Ryan player" is now...
BRADWAY: No doubt about it. "Play like a Jet."
On the things looked for when considering a defensive end that might be projected to linebacker, such as Arizona's Brooks Reed...
CLINKSCALES: The first thing we're looking for is can he rush the passer? Because in the defense we want to play, Rex wants a guy that can rush the passer. For a rush 'backer, dropping in coverages is probably only 15 percent of what he does. He needs to be smart, he needs to have good hand use, he needs to have quick feet. Again, have the demeanor to be hungry to get to the quarterback.
On if the Jets are gunshy because a conversion with a "pretty high pick" a few years ago didn't work out...
CLINKSCALES: Projections are always tough. But it's good when you can see a guy line up at a certain position and it's not a huge projection. A guy like Brooks or any other guy that may be a little bit undersized, hopefully you've seen them play linebacker a little bit, and he gives you an opportunity, or you see the opportunity to do a lot of different things with him, the versatility the player may have. Along with that, that player may also have to contribute on teams.
On how the Jets are evaluating whether to take a wide receiver in the draft...
TANNENBAUM: That's a great question. There's no magical answer. It's the judgment of the best player on the board versus what's going to happen in free agency. Again, even if you don't get your first or second choice in free agency or the draft, there's going to be other opportunities. Again, those are great tiebreakers for us. If we feel like down the road we're going to have trouble getting a player back, that may break a tie in the draft room. But those are really hard judgment calls to make that you do when you're on the clock or formulating a strategy to go up a couple spots or move back.
On if, because so many teams are looking at quarterbacks, the Jets may feel they're in a position at No. 30 to be more flexible...
TANNENBAUM: Yeah, we've seen a lot of that same speculation. If the right opportunity comes along, we'll listen to any opportunity to go up or back. We're not going to rule anything out. When we moved up for Mark, that turned out be a good decision. A lot of work went into that. He was able to start from day one because of Matt Cavanaugh, Brian Schottenheimer, and his work ethic. If those scenarios play out, we'll see what happens when the phone rings on Thursday night.
On draft-day deals and if he doesn't usually hear about that proposal until that day...
TANNENBAUM: Yeah, that's interesting. It's gone a couple ways. I know in some of the bigger ones we've done, like Revis and Mark, we did have discussions the night before where they were maybe like 90 percent done. There's been other situations like Dustin at the bottom of the first, we did that fairly spontaneously. It goes both ways. I think with first-round trades, there is a little bit more of a planning, like "I got a player, if he's there, we'd be interested," those sorts of things.
On how morale has been kept up with the Jets scouts taking 25 percent paycuts...
CLINKSCALES: I'll just say this. First of all, we love what we do, OK? A lot of us especially who are football junkies, who have most of our life been a part of football, we'd almost do this for free. We feel blessed not only to be in this business but to be doing what we do and being paid for it. If it's 25 percent, if those are the rules we're playing under, then that's what we do.
TANNENBAUM: To add to that, that's a decision Mr. Johnson made. He's been a great owner. He would sincerely like being here. Terry mentioned before, if people realize how much fun we have doing this, you'd be shocked. We have great people in the building. That decision has been made. Where I sit, everyone is happy. We're in a great situation. We went to the AFC Championship Game two years in a row. We have a great head coach that is great to work with every day. We have an owner that provides unbelievable resources for us. We think we're in a great situation and we're going to move forward from there. My door is open. The pulse I have on the organization I think is pretty good right now.
On if the Jets would hesitate to take Baylor DT Phil Taylor due to the condition of his feet...
CLINKSCALES: He probably does have some feet issues. I get if you're talking about a guy that was once 380 pounds, 335 pound pounds now. He's a good player, strong, physical. He's been at Baylor a couple of years, after Penn State. He's a good football player. I don't think in the long term, if you're looking throughout a contract, the feet would be a big issue. But again, you're looking for a guy that can help you now. He and many others have a chance to do that.
On if intelligence, instincts and learning are more important in draft picks than ever because it's unknown when the rookies will arrive...
BRADWAY: That's a good point. We've always stressed the character/intelligence part of it anyway as it is. Not knowing when those players may be here, it may factor in in some cases where we're pitting one player against another player of equal value. I think it's only natural. It's been big for us. We do a lot with football intelligence. Our coaches get involved with these players at the combine, whether it be in a formal interview, whether it be at the training station at Indy. That's really the number one thing we want to find out is how quickly they can learn. We're going to put a premium on that in a normal situation. Like I said, in this situation here it could make a difference between one and two players.
TANNENBAUM: Terry brings up an interesting nuance point. Somebody graduated, you think they can learn, sometimes they can't. Someone who is out as junior, who was 40, 50 points away from graduating, may be a great learner. That's a fun part of the process, to see how it translates to the field. I think that's where our coaches do a great job with the evaluations.
On if the Jets at No. 30 have a rough number of players they'll be looking at or may figure will be available when they pick...
TANNENBAUM: Yeah, I mean, give or take eight to 10. We've been in a lot of different scenarios. Our guess is as good as anybody's. When you're 30, there's going to be a few trades ahead of us. We try to be as prepared as possible, see if we can move up a few spots or back a few. I think you have to have a pretty good number to start with just because you're sitting at 30.
On if the league has given the teams any guidance regarding possible scenarios for rookie salaries...
TANNENBAUM: Exactly. We don't know what the rules are as of now. We'll make the decisions with the information we have. But that's something we don't have as of now.
On if a team trades up into the top 15, what its assumption would be as to how it will have to pay such a player...
TANNENBAUM: Again, we don't know what the new system is going to look like, years of the contract.
On if such factors aren't part of the tradeup process...
TANNENBAUM: Sure, that is a factor. You may have to take a best-guess estimate, look at it. Obviously it's not going to be an exact science. You take the best information you have, put it on paper, go from there. But yeah, you may not have all the information. Again, when we make trades, you have what you have and you go from there.
When we traded up for Shonn Greene, there was a really good chance he wasn't going to be there when we were picking in the third round, and we really wanted him. We didn't want to take that risk. We paid, in my mind, a pretty big premium for it. Going into it, we didn't have all the information.
