John Idzik Press Conference: Initital Impressions

John Idzik's first press conference as Jets general manager is in the books. These events are full of standard cliches that people like to hear. He avoided specifics and spoke in general terms for the most part. These pressers rarely provide anything of substance. Saying what you are going to do is one thing. Actually doing a good job is another. I only have three big takeaways.

• If you read between the lines, Idzik seemed to hint that the Jets are going to focus on trying to unearth bargain bin players. He noted that there would be a special emphasis on the Draft, and there would be constant looking for value players anywhere they could be found. This is standard fare, but nice to hear given this team's recent free spending ways. Hopefully Idzik is better at it than Mike Tannenbaum, who tried and failed.
• Idzik refused to directly answer questions about the status of all of those on the team with one exception. When asked whether he anticipates changes to the front office, he answered point blank, "No," and then heaped effusive praise on Terry Bradway and Scott Cohen having met with them at the Senior Bowl. Asked about everybody else's status, Idzik said he had not been around long enough to form an impression. It seems telling.
• On the same token, when asked about whether he has the personnel experience to make the final call on players, Idzik talked about him viewing his job as building consensus in the front office. He said he will hand in the card, but he wants everybody on board with a pick the team makes. This all paints an unpleasant picture. Idzik makes it sound like he is going to build the team by having a committee of the people find under the radar talent. This committee will be comprised of the people who failed to do just that in the last regime.

So the Idzik Era is off to an underwhelming start, but it's too early to say how things will turn out. Had he hit it out of the park, I still wouldn't be ready to declare an era of greatness in Florham Park underway. Introductory press conferences are mainly dog and pony shows. Idzik should have stuck with the, "Everybody is being evaluated," line regarding the front office, but he will soon see how competent everybody is up close and who needs replacing. Whether he makes the right changes then will help determine how successful he is.