JetsFix Mailbag 2017 #1 (Part 3)

by Site Admin

We've been responding to your mailbag questions. In case you missed it, part one was here and part two was here.

Remember, everybody had to ask one Jets/NFL question and one non-NFL question.

Here is part three (of three). Questions are in italics and the responses are in normal text:

Guy Incognito • Jets Question: What do you think is the minimum amount of success needed for us to clean this "Same Old Jets" stink off of us? Like, what if we win a superbowl next year but then go back to wildly fluctuating levels of success? Or would we need a SB win and continued success for some period of time (if so how long?)

They have to reach the Super Bowl. We saw recently that almost getting there isn't enough, but I think getting to the big game would help. Then again, people have short memories as it wasn't too long ago that the 49ers were in the big game. Win a Super Bowl and that would shut everyone up for at least 10-15 years, I reckon.

Non Jets: what is your favorite simpsons bit, or if you can't choose one, favorite simpsons episode?

This was an impossible question. Does this count?

Here were 10 classics that jumped immediately to mind.

  • "I am tired of these jokes about my giant hand..."
  • Twenty seven!
  • The rakes.
  • "Le grille? What the hell is that?"
  • "and yet I feel a great sadness ... in my bosom"
  • This...
  • "Marge, may I play devil's advocate for a moment?"
  • This...

  • "Come along, Bort."
  • "I'm laughing in the last one because the cat fell down the stairs"

R in CT • Who wins the kicker battle between Catanzaro and Martin?

This is an interesting one. I believe Martin may be slightly ahead. What's interesting about Catanzaro is that he's exactly like Folk was when the Jets got him - a guy who had two great years and then got the yips. Folk got over it - and much of it was injury related anyway. If Catanzaro can return to how he kicked in his first couple of years, then Martin might find himself edged out by the veteran again. Whoever they pick is a cap neutral move, so the best man should win.

We both know who the Jets placekicker SHOULD have been for the last decade or so, though...

Why in 7 years has Sandy Alderson and the Mets failed to develop more than one "starting" everyday player? Seriously—aside from pitchers, there's only one player in their starting 8 who has come from their own system (Duda), and he's mediocre (at best). And Conforto doesn't count because even though he's good enough for the NL all-star team, apparently he can't earn a starting nod over Terry's BFF Curtis Granderson if not for injury. And guys like Flores and Rivera seem to only be able to get part-time work.

Bravo for the rant. The obvious answer is because everyone keeps getting injured. I would imagine that they'll add and bring up some pretty good prospects over the next year or two but since the likes of Reyes and Wright came through over a decade ago I guess the team has been more focused on staying in contention in the short term than building from within. There are some parallels with the Jets in that regard, although the Mets have been in the mix a bit more over the past few years.

tsjc68 • Political scientist Kenneth Waltz recently argued that the conventional goal of nuclear nonproliferation is not worth pursuing as a feasible strategy, as increasing nuclear rivalries paradoxically help keep peace as they “discourage states from starting any wars that would lead to the use of such weapons.” In his view, nuclear arms are thus inherently defensive, not aggressive; the countries that want them do so for good reasons; and a more nuclear world–-even in the Middle East, South Asia, and the Korean Peninsula--leads to greater restraint and caution, causing irresponsible regimes to behave more responsibly.

In your view, should the West abandon nonproliferation as a foreign policy aim, and how would such a shift in strategy alter the relationships with India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, and the larger global war on terror?

That's an incredible coincidence because I was playing one of those multiple choice pub quiz machines last night and this was the jackpot question.

Easiest £10 I ever earned.

What’s Jamal Adams's training regimen like?

A training regimen is a schedule or plan of exercise activities and, as such, is not capable of independent thought. I therefore can only venture a wildly uneducated guess as to what it does or doesn't like.

I reckon his training regimen probably likes picnics, romantic walks by the beach and auto-asphyxiation.

Assuming that's halfway accurate, he clearly has a training regimen that is high maintenance and therefore I expect him to show up in good shape.

levi • Jets/NFL: With Le'Veon Bell asking for a huge contract and the recent trend of drafting RBs early do you think the value of RBs are going up and do you think they should?

Bell might be worthy of a huge contract, but I don't know if that means that a guy not on Bell's level should benefit from the market accelerating as fast as it has at certain other positions and I don't know if the recent trend for high picks will continue.

I still think it's pretty much a plug-and-play role at the NFL level and that the running game usually hinges more on the line than the backs. However, it will be interesting to see if anyone can successfully start to emulate Bell's patient style and also whether backs start to increase their value by become more versatile in the passing game by doing things like contributing more out of the slot.

Why does it hurt when I pee?

I don't know...have you checked to make sure you're not standing in a field full of nettles or urinating onto an electric fence?

JetsJerk • Does Hack keep the team from drafting a QB in 2018?

I'm not sure where the line is. Say he plays well and the team goes 8-8 then you almost have to stick with him because you're out of range of the top quarterback prospects in terms of draft positioning. However, if he shows some minor promise but the team only wins four, then I doubt that will be sufficient to dissuade them from addressing that spot.

Do I believe he's likely to even be as good as that in his first year of getting a chance to play? Not really. If there's any doubt, they shouldn't be afraid of a situation where they have two potential franchise quarterbacks, because that still beats a possibility of none.

What's the meaning of life?

It's all about elevating your mind, freeing your soul, feeling the feeling and letting your body take control.

Brendan • Jets question: Better hair: Leonard Williams or Kevin Greene circa 1996?

Greene certainly made the flowing locks work for him because he was a fantastic player. Pass rusher is the perfect position for this because if you've got a swashbuckling young go-getter chasing down quarterbacks with the hair flowing, it can be reminiscent of Mark Gastineau. The questions is, will Dylan Donahue remind us more of Clay Matthews or Jeff Lageman?

Williams' hair is amazing and, off the field, gives him an instant star quality that I can't remember any Jet since Gastineau having. However, you can't see it when he's got a helmet on, so I have to give the edge to KG.

Non-Jets question: Is George RR Martin going to finish the books or is he just [screwing] with us at this point?

Yes.

Thanks everyone for your questions. Hopefully this was fun and not too disturbing. We must do this again some time.