Don't know if you're on JI, which IMO is the most robust and objective jets forum, but there's a 15 page thread reaction to Hill being cut. Naturally with that many responses, the opinions are diverse and blame-assessments varied, but the general consensus is that he is a good guy who tried hard but just failed. According to those posters, the team actually gave up a their 2, a 5th and 7th to trade up for him. Is that accurate? They almost universally blame Tannenbaum for that and some also blame him for trading a 4th to get Tebow that year. (however I agree with the contingent who believe Woody ordered Tannenbaum to trade for him and is a dick for then telling prospective GMs that BabyJesus was forced on him.)
When you factor in that Terry Bradway was a huge Russell Wilson supporter, urging Tannenbaum to draft him, considering that he could have been had anywhere in the second without a trade or even trading up in the 3rd and that it apparently fell on deaf ears while Mike instead, was putting the team in cap hell by extending a butt hurt Sanchez after PManning ignored a recruiting call from Woodie, then hell, that was a bad omen for Tannenbaum and the Jets of things to come.
Not to say that Ireland didn't also screw the pooch often but in an analogous example, trading up for Daniel Thomas. :idk:
Your correct on what the Jets gave up for Hill. It was a huge error. Tannenbaum got off to such a great start as the Jets GM draft wise. He drafted Ferguson, Mangold, Brad Smith, Leon Washington, Drew Coleman, and Eric Smith in his first draft. Some guys were better then others but a lot of those guys contributed to the Jets or some other team (in Leon's case) for a good while. Then he drafted Revis and Harris the following year. But from 2008-2012 his drafts left a lot to be desired. I've said this time and time again. Tannenbaums legacy to me comes down to having the number 6 pick in 2008 and number 5 pick in 2009. With those picks he selected Vernon Gholston and Mark. You can't strike out in the top ten in back to back years in this league. Eventually that will catch up to you and it did.
You can't go back and play the what if game, but if Gholston became the type of player the Jets thought him to be when drafted, like a Aldon Smith or something, that does wonders for their defense. They would have really been hell on wheels in 2009 and 2010. If Mark turned out to be worthy of the number 5 selection overall, that would have solved a lot of other issues on the offense. But obviously neither happened and those picks killed us in the long run. To be fair in Mark's case, he was the consensus #2 rated QB in that draft class, the Jets didn't reach for him. Lots of teams liked him. Gholston, I remember people questioning his toughness and lots of scouts thought he was just a guy with a great physique and natural ability who (like Hill) wasn't a "football player".
The Hill pick was a huge gamble because the guy was not a pure receiver. He caught 49 balls in 3 years at Georgia Tech. Tannenbaum drafted him based off of potential and put us in such a bad spot cap wise by that time that Hill was rushed into the starting lineup because the Jets had no other options to really go with. I'm still not totally sure who takes the majority of the blame for Tebow. I believe Tannenbaum has said since getting fired that he takes full responsibility for trading for Tebow. I don't know if he's covering for Woody or not. I don't see the reason for him to now that he's not employed by the Jets anymore though. His reasoning (which I actually kinda believe) was that the Jets felt they lost a lot when Brad Smith left the team after 2010, they were so caught up with trying to get Nmandi that they let some good guys walk out the door who really were important pieces of their 2009-2010 teams. They thought Tebow could come in and take Brad Smith's WC role, while contributing on specials as well. The problem with that is the media hype that Tebow brings. He could be similar to Smith as a player, but not as a figure. If I had to guess i'd bet Woody brought up Tebow to Tannenbaum and Tannenbaum told him he could make it work. But who knows.
The overall drafting of offensive players under Rex has been very bad. Rex, his OC's, and the scouting department headed by the Tannenbaum have to take blame for that. It's to early to really judge Idzik's draft yet but the offensive guys drafted by Tannenbaum have been especially bad. The only offensive guys drafted under Tannenbaum, still on the team, of any merit are Ferguson, Mangold, Kerley, and Powell.
Ferguson and Mangold are both very good O-Lineman. Kerley is a nice slot player and Powell is a quality third string RB who can step in for a guy who gets hurt. Tannebaum missed big with...
Mark- 1st round, 5th overall
Vlad Duccasse- 2nd round O-Lineman
Stephen Hill- 2nd round WR drafted ahead of Alshon Jeffrey
