The Reality Of Peyton Manning To The New York Jets

We might as well get this out of the way now. Let’s talk about Peyton Manning and the New York Jets by starting with a few clear realities -

1. Peyton Manning isn’t going back to Indianapolis.

2. It remains up in the air whether or not Manning is going to be healthy enough to play this year or ever again.

3. If Manning is medically cleared for the 2012 season, the New York Jets will absolutely explore the option of signing him.

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You are kidding yourself if you think Woody Johnson, Mike Tannenbaum, and Rex Ryan aren’t going to do their due diligence on Manning if he is available and healthy. It would be negligent for them not to.

Before we even examine if it is smart for the Jets to sign Manning. First, you have to answer if he would even want to come here. From what we have heard Arizona, Miami, and Washington are all viable options for him as well. Arizona offers warm weather, Larry Fitzgerald, and a team that played very well down the stretch last year. Miami also offers warm weather and a team that played very well down the stretch, along with a new head coach who will embrace a pass heavy system. Washington has a Super Bowl winning head coach and a very capable defense. I would say the Jets have an equal or maybe slightly lower, and definitely not higher chance of getting Manning than either of those three teams.

The outside perception of the Jets right now is that they are in complete disarray in the locker room. I doubt that scares Manning entirely off but does he really want to come to a cold weather team and share New York with his little brother? Could he handle being paired with a personality like Rex Ryan? What about new offensive coordinator Tony Sparano, who wants to predominantly run the football?

From the Jets side of things, if you don’t think there is a recipe for potential disaster in signing a quarterback of Manning’s age with neck issues you haven’t been watching the past 40 years. Beyond that, forget Ground and Pound or anything Sparano wanted to implement, this becomes Manning’s offense, which means you now have dueling philosophies between Manning and Ryan.

For as great as Manning has been, he hasn’t played in a full season. It would be silly to assume he will come back and immediately be 100 percent of the player he used to be.

You will also be saying good-bye to Mark Sanchez. The Jets won’t be sitting on his salary alongside Manning’s and by bringing in Manning they are throwing in the towel on Sanchez as their franchise quarterback. He isn’t going from starting for three years to sitting on the bench on a first round draft pick’s salary to serve as an apprentice under Manning. So if Manning injuries himself or does the Favre one and done, you are back to square one in finding a quarterback.

Ultimately, everything I wrote above is to point the ignored the negatives in the hysteria of potentially adding one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history. In reality, I’d say Manning to the Jets has about a 5% chance of happening. If it does happen and he is healthy, would I be excited about the potential of it? You are damn right I would be. Yet, we would not know the answer on whether or not it was the right decision until Manning got through a whole season and took the Jets to and past the AFC Championship Game and that is a hell of an if.

For whatever Mark Sanchez and the Ground and Pound is, it has gotten the Jets within a few plays of the Super Bowl two of the last three years. If Manning Ball can’t get them past that, then it will always be viewed as the wrong decision.

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What I want to see is the Jets front office making football decisions, not media decisions. It was a media decision to sign Brett Favre and it failed. It was a media decision to bring in Plaxico Burress and Derrick Mason, while letting Braylon Edwards and Jerricho Cotchery walk and it failed. The chase of Nnamdi Asomugha was a media decision and it failed while hurting the Jets off-season last year. Football decisions this year would seem to be based around building a stronger offensive line, rushing attack, and split end option for Mark Sanchez coupled with a ball hawking safety and a pass rusher for the defense. A media decision would seem to be adding Manning at all costs, so you could see why I am skeptical.

Tags: New York Jets, Peyton Manning

What Is It With Jets Fans and Braylon Edwards?

Ever since it became apparent Braylon Edwards wasn’t coming back to the New York Jets this past off-season, fans have been clamoring for his return to the team. I am consistently surprised by how frequently Edwards is mentioned by so many different fans on Twitter or Facebook, or in different articles mentioning the Jets needs on offense.

Many people who don’t follow the Jets are perplexed by a desire to have Edwards on their team. The common thought process on him is that he is an overhyped bust, who can’t catch. His brief tenure in San Francisco this past season did nothing to help change that stereotype.

However, Edwards was a very good player for the Jets in 2010. Arguably a better one than Santonio Holmes and one of the few receivers who ever demonstrated any type of chemistry with Mark Sanchez. Who else do you recall Sanchez ever connecting with on deep passes with besides Edwards? He also provided the necessary threat on the opposite side of the field to keep Holmes in single coverage most of the time. As we saw this past year, Holmes struggles when there isn’t a legitimate threat opposite him.

Is Edwards coming back to the Jets? I wouldn’t put it out of the realm of possibility. Nobody is signing him to anything but a veteran’s minimum deal so financially it wouldn’t be a problem. The question is if Edwards could swallow his pride and come back to New York after the low amount of interest they showed in bringing him back prior to this season.

The Jets need a new split end and if they could get 2010 type production from Edwards this year on a veteran’s minimum deal, they are successfully filling a need in the cheapest way possible so they could focus their financial assets on other problem areas.

As for fan’s ongoing interest…think about it. We just spent a year watching the Jets have 2, yes 2 pass plays of 40 yards or longer. Fans remember this -

Tags: Braylon Edwards, Mark Sanchez, Rex Ryan

New York Jets: The Disappointments, Part 2

Yesterday we looked at the New York Jets players on offense who disappointed. Today we will focus on the defense and special teams. Unfortunately these two lists combine to be much longer than the players who exceeded expectations in 2011.

Bart Scott – Over his first two years with the team, Scott was praised for his ability to do the dirty work alongside David Harris at inside linebacker. He was a reliable tackler, was comfortable in Rex Ryan’s system, and a supposed leader on the team. This past season he struggled so much he was reduced to being a situational player, leading to reported dissatisfaction in the locker room from him. The Jets owe Scott about 4 million dollars in guaranteed money next year but it is still being reported that he will likely be cut.

Calvin Pace – For the amount the Jets paid Pace before the 2008 season, they aren’t getting a quality return on their investment. Pace is a pretty good three down linebacker in the Jets 3-4 system but can’t consistently get pressure on the quarterback and fails to make an impact in too many games. The Jets lack speed at linebacker and Pace is a big part of that.

Eric Smith – I think most of us did a double take when the Jets gave Smith a seemingly big contract to return as their starting safety this past year before they brought back Brodney Pool. He had always struggled in pass coverage and often look over stretched in a full time role. 2011 emphatically proved that Smith is not a capable NFL starter. Apparently, the Jets have an out on his contract and it is hard to see him back in a starting role or in any role at all next year with the team.

Jim Leonhard – It was disappointing to see Leonhard suffer a season ending injury for the second year in a row. Prior to that, he was average at best. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Jets brought him back on a veteran’s minimum deal to play alongside the new safety or two they bring in via the draft and free agency this year.

Antonio Cromartie – When you think about Cromartie’s 2011 season, what do you remember? I remember two muffed kicks, Miles Austin ripping the ball out of his hands for a touchdown, and Brad Smith beating him for a ridiculous touchdown catch. Outside of a big game against Jacksonville in week 2, when else did be bring the big play element to the Jets defense that he was supposed to? He settled down in coverage towards the end of the year but on the whole it wasn’t a very good season for #31.

Nick Folk – It was just an okay year for Folk who took a small step back this year and missed key short kicks against New England and the Giants.

Tags: Bart Scott, Calvin Pace, New York Jets

New York Jets: The Disappointments, Part 1

Earlier in the off-season, we looked at the New York Jets players who exceeded expectations this past season. Today, we look at the players who fell short of expectations on the offensive side of the football. Tomorrow we will look at the defense and special teams.

Mark Sanchez – He did make statistical improvements in some key areas this season, notably touchdown passes, total touchdowns, and completion percentage. However, he struggled heavily down the stretch and didn’t play well in the biggest moments of the season. Instead of solidifying himself as the quarterback of the future, Sanchez is now facing a make or break year as the Jets quarterback. He needs to improve his play on the field, fix a broken relationship with Santonio Holmes, and work towards assuming more of a true leadership position in the locker room.

Shonn Greene – After watching Greene’s body of work for three years and him spend this whole past season as the Jets lead back, it is hard to come to any assumption other than that he is a fairly average player. He isn’t explosive, doesn’t create big plays, and hasn’t broken enough tackles. In a run heavy system that I anticipate the Jets to have, they need another back to pair alongside him. It will be interesting to see how they approach free agency and the draft in regards the running back position.

Hard to read this now, considering the failings of Sanchez and Greene in year three.

Santonio Holmes – You want a frustrating stat? On Victor Cruz’s 99 yard touchdown catch against the Jets, he had more receiving yards than Santonio Holmes has had in any game this season. You can blame some of that on coaching and quarterbacking but sometimes you need to break a tackle and take one to the house, especially if you are supposed to be a number one receiver. Nevermind the whole thing about the everybody hating him in the locker room and him quitting on the team.

Plaxico Burress – He was productive in the end-zone but couldn’t get open between the 20s and faded down the stretch. Burress will be one and done with the Jets.

D’Brickashaw Ferguson – For whatever reason, this was an off year for the Jets left tackle. Ferguson was shaky in pass protection from the beginning of the year and never was able to get into a rhythm.

Wayne Hunter – A revolving door at right tackle and arguably one of the worst starters in the NFL. At least he stood up to Santonio Holmes in the huddle though.

Matthew Mulligan – Holding. Offense. Number 82. 10 yard penalty. Repeat first down.

Tags: New York Jets, Offense

Stop The Pity Party Jets Fans

I am not going to sit here and act like it doesn’t completely suck to have the Giants and Patriots playing in the Super Bowl for the second time in five years, because it does. The New York Jets have scrapped and clawed to relevancy and respectability since the Giants and Pats met in the big game after the 2007 season and now it feels like they will begin back at square one next season.

All the ground they seemed to be making up has disappeared in a highly public flame out and locker room meltdown, coupled with their two natural rivals winning their respective conferences.

That being said, the constant complaining about the luck received yesterday from the Giants and Patriots needs to stop. A win is a win. A playoff win is a playoff win. Also the endless whining about how awful this is for Jets fans doesn’t help the situation.

Look at it this way, either the Giants and their rightfully annoying fans who surround your daily life will be disappointed in two weeks or Brady, Belichick and everything we hate about New England, Boston, their city, their sports fans, and their franchise will be disappointed. Personally, I’d rather see the Giants win. If you have your own personal reasons where stomaching a Patriots win would be easier than root for them, if you want to root for neither and hope for the impossible scoreless tie than do that instead.

Yet, endless whining only increases the pleasure for Giants/Patriots fans and perpetuates the ongoing negative stereotype of Jets fans.

Our team is back to starting at square one in the 2012 season. The underdogs. The clear cut little of brothers of New York and the AFC East. No hype. No expectations. Just another 8-8 team who needs to make a few moves to get themselves back into the playoffs next year. I am excited for the off-season to start and to see if Rex, Sanchez, and everybody else in this organization can pick themselves up off the mat.

For now, I love the game of the football. The games were terrific yesterday. The media coverage will be tough to endure the next 13 days but I will keep you distracted with articles about our team here. In 13 days, I will watch what should be a great football game. I will be happy to see Shaun Ellis and James Ihedigbo get a shot to play in the Super Bowl. I will be curious if Eli Manning can get a win to proclaim full dominance over New England and start the debate if he is a better quarterback than his brother or see if Tom Brady can continue his revenge tour and if New England can actually win a Super Bowl with a defense that bad.

It sucks, but hey life could be worse…what do you think Ravens or 49ers fans feel like today? What do you think Kyle Williams and Billy Cundiff feel like today? Poor Williams is getting death threats to his family for dropping a football in a game.

Regardless of what happens in the Super Bowl, you will still be excited when free agency starts. You will still be counting the seconds until the draft. And you will still be in front of your TV or at the game when the season kicks off next year.

For now, stop the complaining and crying. Nobody feels bad for you, nor should you want them to do.

Tags: New York Jets

Accepting The New York Knicks Reality

The Knicks are attempting to implode midseason instead of waiting till the end of the year like the Jets. At least they can talk about real pressure being in Madison Square Garden and not in the swamps of Jersey, but at this point it’s semantics. Amare can’t own the paint because Tyson Chandler plays Center, Carmelo doesn’t want to pass, and if I have to watch another six seconds of him giving jab steps before throwing up a bogus three again I’m going to personally find James Dolan and whisper something to the tune of “you know Chris Paul isn’t going to win a championship with the Clippers, Carmelo wants to go solo, so um, Jimmy, just imagine Chris Paul in the run and gun D’Antoni system. It’ll be 105 a night, and I hear Phil Jackson is getting bored out there if it all falls apart”.

At this very moment, I’m getting to watch some weird bizarro foursome going on in the NBA right now. I have NBATV, but because Dolan The Emperor is a fascist you can’t watch that feed, and you watch the MSG feed. Thank god I have Optimum or I would be forced to go illegal in my watching of the least together team in basketball (excluding the Wizards, whose antics are akin to a halfhearted light comedy show and may in fact actually turn it around if they toss out about 60% of their roster). The Knicks are playing the Nuggets, who should go ahead and beat on the Knicks in the fourth quarter as Knick fans get to look forward to stepping in puddles of slush for the next two days. That’s right folks, the Knicks are 20-27 since the Carmelo trade, and paying for Tyson Chandler who has approximately 0 all star appearances has only compounded the need for something better than an 8 seed in this years playoffs. That’s if they MAKE the playoffs.

Meanwhile George Karl looks healthy and feeling like he’s got a team that could make a legitimate run to a playoff appearance. Who got the better deal? Maybe Donnie Walsh is going to reappear in Denver and retool that franchise while bragging to the press about how he worked over that Blues Daddy Dolan. I can hear it now: “Oh yeah well I told Jim they want MORE! More players. Italian. Russian. American. They want players from every continent.”

And then you have the antithesis of the Knicks. The Thunder. A thing of purity and beauty NO ONE WILL BE ALLOWED TO TALK ILL ABOUT. Every time I hear someone criticize Russell Westbrook I remind them that he is 23 years old, as is Kevin Durant, and that they will be together for the next five years. I’m not a holy man, but I pray to whatever god exists that they both play their whole career together and they get at least one NBA championship to offset the pure evil that teams like the Heat and the new look Knicks represent. I’m still trying to figure out what the Miami Heat are, and how anyone can create any sort of narrative regarding them without invoking the book of revelation at least five times.

The fact that Russell Westbrook didn’t want the extra $10 million and strong arm the franchise makes it clear they want Harden to get a long time deal as well. If they can keep those three, and keep Perkins, I’ll give this team a shot at a title every year. And that’s the greatness of it. Small town. No commercials. No crazy business ventures. Just basketball. All day every day.

Let me make one thing clear. If I ever see Russell Westbrook in a Lakers Jersey I will never watch a single Lakers game for the rest of his career. It’s bad enough watching that blur of purple and yellow stomp out everyone in the league for the last five years, but I can’t get on board with that sort of soul crushing power play that would only be hatched because of a potential Durant/Westbrook fallout.

Tags: Justin, New York Knicks

What The Jets Can Learn From The Rangers

One of the ways I’ve been able to distract myself from the ulcer-inducing aftermath of the 2011 New York Jets has been to focus on another New York team that I’m extremely passionate about: the New York Rangers.

In case you don’t know (and you might not, since “the worldwide leader in sports” has chosen to bury hockey for the last decade, especially now that it no longer broadcasts hockey games), the Rangers currently stand tied with the Chicago Blackhawks for the best record in the entire NHL.  Say what you want about the Giants, but the New York Rangers have been this city’s most consistent winner since October.  Still, it was no easy task to get to where the Rangers are, and they really aren’t all that close to the ultimate goal of winning a Stanley Cup anyway; almost three months of regular season, plus four grueling playoff series stand between them and hockey nirvana.

However, I began to think: maybe the Jets could learn a thing or two from the Rangers, despite the fact that hockey and football are two entirely different sports.  The history of these two teams is not all that dissimilar.  Flashes of past glory, but a tradition that consists mostly of disappointment for a large, passionate fanbase.

For those of you not well-versed in Rangers history, here’s the Cliff Notes version:  They have won exactly one championship in the last 72 years.  For the last two decades, the Rangers have largely built their team by bringing in high-priced free agents with flashy names (sound familiar?), with only one instance of success: 1994.  After Mark Messier, the Rangers inked the likes of Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Holik, Pavel Bure, Jaromir Jagr, Scott Gomez and Chris Drury, with results ranging from one-and-done playoff appearances to complete and utter disaster.

So, it was time to shake things up.  Sometime within the last six or seven years, the Rangers have instead focused on building their roster through the draft and minor league system.  They brought in a coach with a specific style and personalty and have stuck with him (rather than firing him for missing the playoffs in the 2009-2010 season), allowing the players to mature.  They have supplemented a very young roster with shrewd trades and yes, one or two big-money free agent acquisitions.

Here are five lessons the Jets can learn from the Rangers:

Lesson 1: Patience

When the Rangers hired coach John Tortorella in the winter of 2009 after firing Tom Renney, the organization began to change its philosophy.  The changes were subtle at first, and they would take time to implement.  The first lesson the Jets could learn?  Patience. Tortorella knew that the roster he inherited in 2009 was not one that could win a championship. The goal was, instead, was to simply improve the team on a day-by-day basis, not only in hockey terms, but also in terms of how it was built (read: slowly, and through the draft). “One step at a time” might be the most insufferable sports cliche of them all, but it has become the Rangers’ mantra. Now in 2012, three full years later, they are seeing the results of that approach.

Lesson 2: Leadership

One of the organization’s goals was also to cultivate an internal leadership group among the players so that “the locker room could sustain itself,” as Tortorella likes to say. Sounds like the complete opposite of the Jets, doesn’t it?  One of the most direct comparisons between the two teams across completely different sports is the choosing of captains. Football has even gone so far as to copy hockey and put the letter “C” on the designated player’s uniform.  Tortorella’s choices for captains (one player gets a “C” and two get “A”‘s as alternate captains, for the uninitiated) were easy:

Ryan Callahan, captain – a player who embodies the Rangers’ aggressive yet responsible style of play and leads by example; 4th round pick (127th overall) in the 2004 draft.

Marc Staal, alternate – when healthy (he missed roughly the first half of the season with a concussion and is just getting his feet back under him after about 10 games now), one of the best shutdown defensemen in the NHL; 1st round pick in the 2005 draft.

Brad Richards, alternate – Richards was the Rangers big free agent splash last summer, but he played under John Tortorella in 2004 with the Tampa Bay Lightning.  That team won a Stanley Cup; Richards was the playoff MVP, awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy. Tortorella felt that Richards was the perfect veteran role model that some of the younger Rangers needed to show them how to be a professional, on and off the ice.

Lesson 3: Identity

Perhaps what doomed the Jets even more than their locker room squabbles was the loss of their identity as a team that wanted to dominate the line of scrimmage, run the ball, and play great defense. Ground and Pound was forgotten. The Jets were all of a sudden slow at linebacker and were gashed by opposing running backs more than anyone could have predicted.  What could they learn from the Rangers in this regard?  Pick your style, embrace it, stick to it, and build your team around it.

The Rangers have become one of the toughest teams in the NHL to play against.  They’ve allowed the 2nd fewest goals in the league.  They are built from their net out, with goaltender Henrik Lundqvist providing the foundation that the team stands on. If quarterback is the most important position in football, goalie is that position in hockey. The Rangers are covered there, as Lundqvist is putting together another Vezina Trophy caliber season as one of the league’s best goalies.

The similarities between the teams are more obvious than you’d think. Neither the Rangers defense-first approach nor the Jets “ground and pound” mantra will consistently score style points or entertain the masses. They leave open the possibility of close, late losses, simply because the offense might not generate enough goals or points.  But they are both effective philosophies that, applied over the long-haul, can lead to consistent winning.

Lesson 4: Narrow the Focus

Earlier this week, Madison Square Garden Chairman James L. Dolan made a bold proclamation that the Rangers were “close” to winning a Stanley Cup. John Tortorella quickly fired back, calling that “a bunch of bullshit”. Tortorella wasn’t trying to embarrass his boss, rather, he was trying to keep his team’s focus where it should be: on the next game. Cups are not awarded in January.

Super Bowls are not awarded in June.  I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that the Jets often let their focus stray too far down the road.  I’m not saying the Super Bowl shouldn’t be the goal every year, because it should be.  But it might be time for Rex Ryan to shelve some of his dramatic predictions (no matter what their motives actually are) and just focus on winning the next game.  In all professional sports, there’s an element of “grinding” through a long season to get to where you want to be.  The 2011 Jets were not a team that was willing to grind (their losses to the Raiders and Eagles are great examples of this, I think) through the less exciting parts of their schedule.

Lesson 5: The Right Amount of Swagger

There’s a fine line in all sports between confidence and cockiness. A team is in danger though, when it begins to believe its own hype. Part of what made the Jets successful in 2009 and 2010 was their brash, “we can beat anybody” attitude. The other side of that coin is the overconfidence that this cultivates, and results in a season like 2011.

The Rangers are never going to be guaranteeing victories in the media before games (unless Mark Messier laces ‘em up again), but the belief in their ability is there.  The team plays with a quiet confidence. Young defenseman Michael Del Zotto has said repeatedly that coach Tortorella urges him to play “with swagger”.  The message is there, it’s just not broadcast.

So there you have it: five lessons that the Jets would be well-served to learn from their unlikely hockey counterparts before they kick off their 2012 campaign.  There are plenty of football-specific moves that need to be made, and will be discussed ad nauseum here and plenty of other places.

In the meantime, I urge even non-hockey fans flip on MSG (provided you’re not subject to the Time Warner Cable/MSG Network mess) and take a look at a team that has been New York’s most consistent winner since October. There’s a lot to like.

Tags: New York Jets, New York Rangers, Rob

TOJ Championship Week Preview

It feels like a hundred years ago we were preparing for the New York Jets vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship Game. This year’s version features the two team’s top rivals, as the New England Patriots have reasserted their dominance of the AFC East and the Baltimore Ravens have finally maneuvered further in the playoffs than Pittsburgh.

At first glance, it is hard to convince yourself that Baltimore can win this football game. Yet, you then need to remind yourself that New England hasn’t beaten a team with a better than .500 record all season and that they lost to a similarly constructed Jets team in the playoffs last year. Baltimore has the talent on the defense to disrupt the Patriots mighty offense. The question is really whether the Ravens offense can do enough to pull off the upset?

New England’s defense is garbage but the simplicity and mediocrity of the Ravens offense may not be able to take enough advantage of it to pull the upset. In the end, I think the New England revenge tour continues another week and they knock off the Ravens in a game closer than most expect.

In the NFC, the Giants and their fans have got the match-up they have wanted in San Francisco. I would offer a word of caution from experience however. I remember a New York team and their fans being incredibly hyped after knocking off the consensus best team in the regular season on the road in the divisional round and then being understandably confident against a team they looked good against earlier in the season in the Championship Game, just to suffer a major let-down.

From the sounds of things, the Giants have already punched their ticket to the Super Bowl. I wouldn’t sleep on San Francisco in the Mud Bowl that the field should be on Sunday. Regardless, in this year of NFL misery for Jets fans it only makes sense we would have to suffer through a Giants/Patriots rematch, so why pick against it?

Tags: AFC Championship, NFC Championship

Nine Moments When You Knew This Wasn’t The Jets Season

It was easy to remain somewhat optimistic all the way to the end of the New York Jets 2011 season. Despite their ongoing struggles, they remained viable playoff contenders all the way until the final minutes of their schedule. Yet, throughout the year there were ongoing moments, where you had to say to yourself “this just isn’t our year.”

1. Oh What A Start – Most people forget the Jets season started with Dallas marching right down the field on their defense and scoring a touchdown as Dez Bryant ripped a fade route away from Antonio Cromartie. Their first play on offense was then DeMarcus Ware ripping past Wayne Hunter and nearly killing Mark Sanchez. We should have known right there this defense would be a disappointment and Hunter would be a disaster.

2. Oakland Meltdown – The Jets were in control against Oakland week 3, up 17-7 and looking like they were headed to a 3-0 record. Yet, what followed was a complete meltdown which showed a mentally weak team that lacked character. Missed tackles. Muffed kicks. And just like that a 3 game losing streak was underway.

3. Accept Losing – The way the Jets locker room treated their week 5 loss to New England should have raised red flags. They sounded all too content to have lost a relatively close game. The confidence that they were better than New England was clearly gone.

4. Brady/Tebow – In retrospect, the Jets season was summed up by their two ugly losses in a four day span to New England and Denver in the middle of the season. There was something particularly soft about the way they went down against Denver that really drove the point home.

5. Pathetic Win – Considering how bad the Buffalo Bills were playing before their week 12 match-up with the Jets, it is was kind of embarrassing that they needed a late drop by Stevie Johnson to preserve a win at home.

6. No Show – How do you no-show in Philadelphia the way the Jets did with a playoff spot on the line? Calvin Pace thanked the Eagles after the game for showing mercy because he admitted the Jets had no chance of stopping them.

7. No Tackle – The Jets were in complete control of their game against the Giants until they failed to tackle Victor Cruz on a 8 yard out route that turned into a 99 yard touchdown. If you had watched this team all season, you knew the game was over after that play…and it was.

8. Bubby Brister – Anytime you throw not one, but two interceptions to a defensive lineman, in a single game…you aren’t a playoff team.

9. Quit – Captain Holmes wanted no part of the Jets come back.

Tags: New York Jets

New York Jets Locker Room: We Get It…

In case you haven’t received the memo yet, the New York Jets locker room was an ugly situation this past season.

We have heard the same story reiterated every three days or so since the season ended. Whether it is a current player, an anonymous player, or an ex-player. Everybody has come out of the woodwork to drive home how completely dysfunctional this organization is.

Does it not feel like the Jets went 2-14 last year?

Their locker has been portrayed as having been such a disaster scene that it is mind blowing to think they actually were 8-8. Could you imagine if Mark Sanchez and Santonio Holmes could move from being 2pac to Biggie to just a couple guys who generally didn’t like each other next year?

The point is that this story, like most surrounding the team, has been beaten to death. Chemistry was a major issue for the 2011 team but there were other problems, notably a lack of talent in certain key spots and questionable coaching.

Plenty will be made out of the Jets going back to Cortland this year as a team building exercise. I am sure Rex Ryan will be talking all the time about he feels the 2012 has improved chemistry and is getting along. You can already see the team motto being “One Team. One Direction” or something like that.

The reality is that unless they improve their safeties and linebackers, they won’t be able to stop New England and won’t win the AFC East. If Mark Sanchez doesn’t improve, along with the protection around him, and his running game, the Jets won’t be a playoff team even if they are having slumber parties and making popcorn together.

Tags: New York Jets, Off-Season