Joe Douglas has built a fantastic team full of young talent. He is a good, maybe even great, general manager.

But…

His inaction at the NFL Trade Deadline this week was inexcusable. Especially considering all of the needs that were able to be addressed and all the pieces he has to work with.

Let’s start with the holdovers. Dalvin Cook is non-factor on this team. The way the Jets offense is currently built, Zach Wilson does not scare teams enough to play anything less than 8-man boxes and the Jets offensive line is not good enough (or healthy enough) to say screw it, we can run it anyway.

Any running lanes that might open rightly belong to Breece Hall. He is one of two offensive weapons the Jets have that should worry opposing defenses (Garrett Wilson obviously being the other). Breece Hall put all medical questions to rest through the first seven games this season and the Jets should view him as close to a bell cow running back as exists in today’s NFL.

So, get rid of Dalvin. He is obviously unhappy. Teams are inquiring about running backs, who cares if the best you get is a sixth-round pick? Having him on the team does nothing but take away touches from guys like Michael Carter and Izzy Abanikanda, who frankly, might do better than Cook’s putrid 2.8 yards per carry.

Carl Lawson is a good pass rusher on a team filled with good and great ones. He can help teams and, like Cook, is only a rental. He is unhappy with his role on the team, and he should be. Why not get an asset for him? There are very few teams that wouldn’t want an above average defensive end.

Speaking to the media after the deadline, Joe Douglas seemed to think Lawson and Cook would be useful to the team going forward. “We had talks with a lot of teams,” Douglas said. “Ultimately, we did what we felt was best for the team. Those guys are great teammates and great players. I have a feeling we’re going to need those guys a lot down the stretch.”

On the other side, the fact that the only upgrade made on the team at the deadline was signing a 35-year-old guard in Rodger Saffold who was one of the worst players on a bad offensive line last year is inexcusable. The Jets have glaring needs at the offensive line, even when healthy.

Joe Douglas gave his perfunctory press conference yesterday where he dropped all the “I didn’t do anything” cliches. “I won’t get into specific conversations but I will say we had a lot of talks with a lot of teams about a lot of players at a lot of different positions,” Douglas said. “Ultimately, we did what we thought was best for the team and we’re excited about the guys we have.”

“I feel confident that we have the pieces to improve and I think you’re going to see us improve as the season progresses,” Douglas added. “We played some really good defenses to start the year. I know you’re going to see us get better every week and a lot of that is going to be the little things, the little details, everything we do at practice, eliminating self-inflicted wounds, being on top of every single detail. I know we have the right people on that side of the ball.”

This is not good enough. We saw a lot of teams around the Jets get better, or obtain assets and the Jets essentially stood pat. Ezra Cleveland, a good offensive lineman, went from the Vikings to the Jaguars for a sixth-round pick. The Jets couldn’t make that deal? This is a guy that could not only help you in the immediate, but he could be a starter next season and beyond. Cleveland is only 25 years old.

Joe Douglas is made a big gamble this week opting to trust the development of cheap, bottom of the barrel players, and others returning to form from injury. For the sake of the Jets I hope it pays off, but I’m not sold on the approach.

Jets ugly win over Giants shows true trade need

Ok, that was ugly. The New York Jets won. The New York Giants lost. Nobody should be happy about it. There is very little that both teams should be happy about after that game. The Giants can say they hung around on a team despite being down to the third string QB, a guy who […]

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