James Carpenter: Winning In The Trenches

Manish Mehta of the NY Daily News had a really good article yesterday, looking at the performance of first year Jet James Carpenter, speculating that his performance up to this point is worth of Pro Bowl consideration. We always say that if you don't hear a guards name during the game, he's doing a good job, and Carpenter has certainly done that.

The simple fact is, James Carpenter is used to winning. Whether that's winning a BCS National Championship with Alabama or winning the Super Bowl with Seattle. He's allowed a single sack this year, and just 6 QB hits. I wouldn't say that the Jets run blocking has been all that good this year, despite Chris Ivory racking up the yards, but his overall performance has been very encouraging.

"He's a Wookiee," Mangold said. "He's quiet, he's powerful, he's loyal as all get-out... and he's got a lot of hair."

One of the big concerns about Carpenter before he came over to the Jets was his conditioning. Did he get run down too quickly, personally though 12 games, I've not seen any indication of this.

"He understands what it takes to win and the preparation you have to have to be successful in this league," said Marshall, who coached Packers Pro Bowl left guard Josh Sitton last season. "You never take anything for granted. He has prepared like that every week... He's kind of set the tempo in that regard for a lot of our younger guys and even some of the older guys. He doesn't back off an inch."

Carpenter signed with the Jets on a four year deal this off-season for $19.1 million with $7.5 million in guarantees. It's a good contract for the Jets, who can move on from Carpenter after the 2016 season without much consequence, however with Carpenter playing at the level he is, there is no talk of that. Simply the Jets have a fine OG on a very reasonable contract.

I encourage everyone to click over to the NY Daily News to read the full article.