CrazyCowboy
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Slow season sacks Abraham
BY RICH CIMINI
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
John Abraham began the season with a numerical goal in mind: 16. Not sacks, games. Stay healthy for an entire season, he figured, and it would convince the Jets he's worthy of a long-term contract.
Now he's not so sure.
The Pro Bowl defensive end has conquered the injury demons from his past, but his relatively low production (5-1/2 sacks) and the Jets' disastrous season has him wondering if there's a big contract in his immediate future. Asked yesterday if he believes he has proven to the club that he's worth a blockbuster deal, Abraham replied without hesitation.
"Probably not," he said. "We're 2-9. If we were winning, it would be easier for them to say, 'Let's write this check for this guy.' But we're not winning, so they could be like, 'Hey, he's not really helping us that much because we're not winning.'
"It's always going to be something. Hopefully, it'll get handled. If not, it's just part of the game."
If Abraham sounds frustrated, it's because he has learned a lot about the cold side of football over the past 10 months. The Jets, showing no willingness to negotiate a long-term contract, slapped him with a dreaded franchise tag. Abraham protested, sitting out nearly the entire preseason, before signing the franchise tender - one year, $6.7 million.
Understandably, the Jets didn't want to give $18 million in guarantees (Abraham's asking price) to a player who missed a total of 13 games in 2003 and 2004. Abraham showed up in August, determined to squash his reputation as a brittle player. So far, he has succeeded.
Still, he wonders.
"Everybody said my main thing was staying healthy," Abraham said. "If I stay healthy these last five games, what's the excuse going to be? We'll find out after the season is over. If (the injury situation) was the excuse, we'll find out what the new excuse is now."
Abraham isn't racking up his usual sack totals - he had 9-1/2 in 12 games last season - but he doesn't feel like his play has dropped off from previous years. Nevertheless, he will take a three-game sack slump into Sunday's road game against the Patriots. He's never gone four straight without a sack.
"He's due for a breakout game, so maybe we'll try to hold off for another week on that, and let him kill the quarterback on the next team they play," the Patriots' Tom Brady said. "I'm going to take care of my left tackle this week. I'll take him out to dinner a few times."
The Jets attribute Abraham's low sack total to limited opportunities. Teams are throwing less against the Jets because they get a lead and play conservative, running the ball. The team has only 16 sacks and could threaten a franchise mark for futility (22 in '78 and '79). "It's not just me," Abraham said. "I have 5-1/2 and I'm leading the team. That's kind of terrible."
Abraham claimed his numbers are misleading, that he's generating good pressure on the quarterback. The stats suggest otherwise. He has 18 pressures in 11 games. A year ago, it was 33 in 12 games. What does the future hold? The Jets can franchise him again or sign him to a long-term deal or trade him. Abraham is irked by whispers that he's playing cautiously just to stay healthy. "Yeah, right," he said. "I guess those people haven't watched the film. Look at the Jacksonville and Tampa Bay games; I ran through some of their backs. I'm definitely not playing cautiously."
This guy would look good in Dallas at a reduced rate!
BY RICH CIMINI
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
John Abraham began the season with a numerical goal in mind: 16. Not sacks, games. Stay healthy for an entire season, he figured, and it would convince the Jets he's worthy of a long-term contract.
Now he's not so sure.
The Pro Bowl defensive end has conquered the injury demons from his past, but his relatively low production (5-1/2 sacks) and the Jets' disastrous season has him wondering if there's a big contract in his immediate future. Asked yesterday if he believes he has proven to the club that he's worth a blockbuster deal, Abraham replied without hesitation.
"Probably not," he said. "We're 2-9. If we were winning, it would be easier for them to say, 'Let's write this check for this guy.' But we're not winning, so they could be like, 'Hey, he's not really helping us that much because we're not winning.'
"It's always going to be something. Hopefully, it'll get handled. If not, it's just part of the game."
If Abraham sounds frustrated, it's because he has learned a lot about the cold side of football over the past 10 months. The Jets, showing no willingness to negotiate a long-term contract, slapped him with a dreaded franchise tag. Abraham protested, sitting out nearly the entire preseason, before signing the franchise tender - one year, $6.7 million.
Understandably, the Jets didn't want to give $18 million in guarantees (Abraham's asking price) to a player who missed a total of 13 games in 2003 and 2004. Abraham showed up in August, determined to squash his reputation as a brittle player. So far, he has succeeded.
Still, he wonders.
"Everybody said my main thing was staying healthy," Abraham said. "If I stay healthy these last five games, what's the excuse going to be? We'll find out after the season is over. If (the injury situation) was the excuse, we'll find out what the new excuse is now."
Abraham isn't racking up his usual sack totals - he had 9-1/2 in 12 games last season - but he doesn't feel like his play has dropped off from previous years. Nevertheless, he will take a three-game sack slump into Sunday's road game against the Patriots. He's never gone four straight without a sack.
"He's due for a breakout game, so maybe we'll try to hold off for another week on that, and let him kill the quarterback on the next team they play," the Patriots' Tom Brady said. "I'm going to take care of my left tackle this week. I'll take him out to dinner a few times."
The Jets attribute Abraham's low sack total to limited opportunities. Teams are throwing less against the Jets because they get a lead and play conservative, running the ball. The team has only 16 sacks and could threaten a franchise mark for futility (22 in '78 and '79). "It's not just me," Abraham said. "I have 5-1/2 and I'm leading the team. That's kind of terrible."
Abraham claimed his numbers are misleading, that he's generating good pressure on the quarterback. The stats suggest otherwise. He has 18 pressures in 11 games. A year ago, it was 33 in 12 games. What does the future hold? The Jets can franchise him again or sign him to a long-term deal or trade him. Abraham is irked by whispers that he's playing cautiously just to stay healthy. "Yeah, right," he said. "I guess those people haven't watched the film. Look at the Jacksonville and Tampa Bay games; I ran through some of their backs. I'm definitely not playing cautiously."
This guy would look good in Dallas at a reduced rate!
Anything is possible for the right price. I think he will be to expensive for the Cowboys. They have to save money for Ty Law. 