Can Tony Sparano Turn Joe McKnight Into Reggie Bush?

Joe McKnight was brought to USC in 2008 to be the next Reggie Bush. Instead, those sky high expectations in following the nation’s top RB, contributed to McKnight’s decision to forego his senior year.

“My career was OK. It was good, but not like Reggie. There was a constant pressure to be like Reggie.”

Gang Green took McKnight in the 4th round of the NFL draft that year. Perhaps the stage could be set again for McKnight to get get another chance in trying to be “the next Reggie Bush.” This time as a top tier NFL back under the guidance of new Jets OC Tony Sparano, who coached Reggie for much of his breakout year with Miami in 2011.

The Jets rushing attack needs an infusion of speed and the threat to gain big time yardage outside. Before looking outside of the organization for this solution, the stage could be set for a real hard look at McKnight as a split carry back. After all, he showed what he could do in the open field this past season on special teams.

Score touchdowns.

RB Trent Richardson of Alabama has been a name that has been tossed around as a potential first round choice for the Jets who may want to press reset in the feature back department of the new rushing attack altogether.

Should the Jets choose NOT to take a RB in April’s draft, opting to stay with Shonn Greene and McKnight as their top duo, then an attempt to mirror the rise of Bush in Miami with McKnight, may be the Jets best path to an increase in production on the ground. With Greene being the straight ahead compliment, who already owns a solid resume of late game knockout blows.

Bush made some big game breaking plays over his first four seasons as a Saint, but rushing attempts went from a Saints high of 157 in 2007 to 216 in his first year in Miami. A number that would have been higher had he not taken weeks to wrestle the feature back job away from Daniel Thomas.

More touches and a game plan better suited to revolving around HIS strengths helped Bush go from the perimeter ornament he was in the Big Easy, to one of the NFL’s top feature backs by seasons end. This despite the knock on Bush that he was too small to handle the increased workload. Especially inside the tackles.

The same label that McKnight currently faces.

Following Bush’s act as a USC Trojan was asking too much. Could McKnight obtain similar numbers in games to Bush’s in 2011, with twenty or so carries a game? We bet plenty of those who follow the Jets would love to see McKnight get the chance to.

New York Jets: Any Stars In Hiding?

We have seen two local sports teams pull stars out of the back of their roster in the past few months. First Victor Cruz for the New York Giants and more recently Jeremy Lin for the New York Knicks. Do the New York Jets have an opportunity to have such luck this season?

The real answer is who knows? You can never really see these things coming. Regardless of Cruz’s monster pre-season performance or Lin’s success at Harvard, nobody thought they’d produce the way they have been or they wouldn’t have spent any time on the bench to begin with.

However, the Jets might have a few young players who have the potential to become game changers in 2012.

The first one who comes to mind is a guy who you are going to hear plenty about in the coming months here, Jeremy Kerley. He showed enough in limited action last year to make us believe that with a bigger role, he could be one of this team’s top playmakers on offense. Kerley has something that many players on the Jets offense lack…straight line speed combined with excellent short area quickness.

Tony Sparano had a successful slot receiver in Miami with Davone Bess and there is no reason to think Kerley won’t be a large part of the Jets passing game. Beyond that, Kerley has the ability to run the Wildcat, while being a threat to complete passes down the field. Hey, the guy completed a pass to Matthew Mulligan last year…that takes talent. Kerley also showed flashes of being a very good punt returner last year and he should only grow in that role.

Outside of Kerley, Joe McKnight showed some big play potential last year and might be able to thrive in a Reggie Bush type role for the Jets. Austin Howard could turn into a capable right tackle. On defense, maybe a role player like Josh Mauga will turn into a quality starter to replace the missed tackle machine Bart Scott or Gerald Alexander will match his Twitter ability with on the field play at safety. You just never know.

Who do you think could be the Jets star in hiding?

New York Jets: Wait…What The Hell Just Happened With Wayne Hunter?

Lost in the commotion of Santonio Holmes being guaranteed his contract for the next two years and the Linsanity in New York City, is the fact that the Jets didn’t release right tackle Wayne Hunter yesterday. As a matter of fact, they guaranteed his 2.45 million base salary for the 2012 season.

Yes, the same Wayne Hunter who was the human turnstile this season, nearly got Mark Sanchez killed on multiple occasions, and was ranked the fifth worst offensive tackle in football by Pro Football Focus. One of my main memories of this past season was watching the Jets/Eagles game with my good friend who was an All-American college football lineman and is currently an offensive line coach for a prep school in Philadelphia. After watching Jason Babin embarrass the Jets entire line, he commented he had never seen a NFL lineman both look so confused and have worse technique than what he saw from Hunter that day.

So…

If your initial reaction is that Mike Tannenbaum is 0-1 to start this off-season, that is okay because he very well may be. Yet, let’s try to figure out the real motivation for keeping Hunter since I have to assume somebody in the Jets building watched some game tape this year.

Depth was a major problem for the Jets offensive line last year. Hunter was a very good depth player the few years leading up to him being a starter. He can handle being a backup tackle and playing in short yardage packages. With Robert Turner coming back, the Jets have the potential to have two quality backups on their offensive line. Nevermind if Caleb Schlauderaff and Austin Howard develop in any way or if that Ducasse guy ever becomes good enough to be a #7 or #8 lineman on a NFL roster…hey it isn’t like we spent a 2nd round pick on him, right?

More seriously, I think Tannenbaum realizes free agency isn’t going to be filled with quality right tackles and he probably isn’t spending a round one or round two pick on one. He needs to pay a backup quarterback, wide receiver, linebacker and safety this year. Unless the Jets swing a trade, there aren’t getting a big money, top-tier tackle this off-season. Most likely, they will sign a middle tier player and spend a mid-round pick on one and have the two compete with Hunter, who will provide insurance. They are also likely hoping that Tony Sparano can have some type of positive impact on him. Hunter has been decent in spurts, he has just had no consistency and can’t handle elite pass rushers one on one. Sparano might…might be able to coach around his deficiencies by doing a better job giving him help.

You can’t have it all this off-season Jets fans. You aren’t getting a big time WR, a backup quarterback that pushes Sanchez, a premium right tackle, another running back, a ball-hawking safety and a pass rushing outside linebacker all in one off-season. Be prepared to be disappointed in some areas. Right tackle just might end up being one of them.

New York Jets: Keeping Santonio Holmes Is No Brainer

There are plenty of New York Jets fans calling for the head of Santonio Holmes today. It isn’t happening. It was never going to happen. Yes, they are now on the hook for not just his 7.75 million this year but also his 7.5 million next year and honestly it was a no brainer for the organization not to release him today.

You have every right to be pissed off with his 2011 season, in particular with the way he quit at the end of the Miami game and the reported problems he had in the locker room with quarterback Mark Sanchez. Holmes still needs to prove that he can be this team’s number one receiver and needs to earn the respect back of many of his teammates.

Yet, this is an offense woefully short on speed and playmakers who already has salary cap issues. There is no way to improve the offense by cutting ties with Holmes, eating his 7.75 million of cap space this year and then trying to find both a number one and number two receiver, along with a right tackle, backup quarterback and running back depth.

Let’s not act like the 2010 season didn’t happen and Holmes didn’t make the game winning play in four regular season games, and make two huge touchdown catches during their playoff run. The existence of chemistry between him and Mark Sanchez isn’t a lost cause.

Holmes was saddled with an inefficient number two receiver opposite him this year, who had no ability to create separation between the 20s, an average running game, an inconsistent quarterback, and questionable playcalling. He handled these problems poorly both on and off the field without question but let’s not write off his career yet.

Let’s see Holmes with the “C” taken off his chest and in an improved offensive system, hopefully paired with a split end who can stretch the field along with a dangerous slot receiver in Jeremy Kerley.

The Jets have enough holes to fill on offense this year without creating another one by releasing Holmes, while simultaneously limiting their ability to fix their other problems by taking on his cap hit. Locker room problems can be fixed easier than finding receivers as talented and clutch as Holmes.

New York Jets: Bring Braylon Back!

Ok, so I may be by myself on this one, but I’m giving it a shot anyways. I want to see the Jets make an attempt to bring back wide receiver Braylon Edwards.

Overall I was pretty happy with the production we got from Plax this year, at the end of the day I just didn’t think he had the burst he used to have back when he was with the Giants. He was a huge threat in the red zone, and was a big reason why the Jets were tops in the NFL inside the 20 this year, but I just felt that at times he didn’t have the speed to get by defenders anymore. I mean think about it, the Jets had just one play go for over 40 yards this year. Where was that down field threat?

I guess I just could never get over losing Braylon because he fit into our system very well. I realize that he was basically a non-factor in San Francisco this year, hauling in just 15 balls for a total of 181 yards and no touchdowns, but I do hope the Jets try and pursue him again.

Mark Sanchez and him started to develop a good relationship on the field, and make no mistake about it, Braylon played an enormous role in those 2009 and 2010 playoff runs. In those two seasons with Gang Green he compiled a total of 88 receptions for 1,445 yards and 11 touchdowns, while serving as a legitimate down field threat.

Plax coming back next year is something that isn’t going to happen. The Jets need to move in another direction, which is why going after Braylon and potentially picking up a receiver in the upcoming draft may not be a bad idea. Last year I thought the Jet front office did a poor job at recognizing the importance of chemistry. Not only did the Jets part way with Edwards, they did so with Jerricho Cotchery and Brad Smith as well. Burress came in with no chemistry whatsoever with quarterback Mark Sanchez, and we all know what the chemistry was like between Mark and Santonio. Add rookie Jeremy Kerley to the mix and you’ve got yourself some uncertainty.

We also saw that as the season went on, Burress started to run out of gas. In the last four games of the season, Burress was able to make just eight receptions.

So like I said, maybe I am alone on this one, but why not try and make an attempt to bring him back if it is for a cheap price? I leave you with highlights of Braylon’s two years in Green and White. Perhaps that will be convincing enough.

New York Jets: Is Shonn Greene A Lead Back?

I have been consistent in my support of Shonn Greene as the New York Jets lead back since he burst on the scene midway through the 2009 season. Unfortunately, after watching him finally spend a full season in that coveted lead back role it is hard to believe that the Jets offense doesn’t need to add another back to take co-ownership or full ownership of that job.

His stat line of 253 carries, 1,054 yards, and 6 touchdowns is somewhat disappointing enough. However, a closer look at his stats from Pro Football Focus paints a clearer picture of Greene’s shortcomings in 2011. They have something called an “elusive rating” which breaks down like this -

“We combine a runner’s carries and receptions to give a total ball handling opportunities figure.  We then combine the number of missed tackles that player forced against both the run and the pass to get a total missed tackles forced figure, which is then divided by the ball-handling opportunities.  This figure then gets multiplied by a player’s yards after contact per carry average (*100) to get the final Elusive Rating.  In essence the rating is a combination of how often players force missed tackles and how much yardage they generate after contact on a per carry basis.”

Greene ranked 47th in this category among halfbacks in the 2011 season and finished 24th in rushing missed tackles total. If you watched every Jets snap this season, this shouldn’t come as a surprise. I am aware of the struggles on the Jets offensive line but the bottom line is Greene simply doesn’t make enough people miss and doesn’t make enough big plays. His longest run since the 2009 playoffs is for 31 yards. He only had 4 runs of 20 yards or more this past season.

Greene is a good, not great player who some offenses could get away with being their lead back. Not this offense. Michael Lombardi made a great point the other day when discussing the Jets in 2012

“If they want Mark Sanchez to be a great quarterback, they need to have a blue-chip running back around him. If they want to be ground and pound, then you can’t be ground and pound and [tight end] Dustin Keller can’t block anybody. It’s tough to be ground and pound when everybody knows the tight end isn’t going to block anyone. So now you have to substitute to get the blocking tight end in. And, oh yeah, by the way we’re going to run now that [Matthew] Mulligan is in the game. Why don’t you just put up a red flag that you’re going to run it? I think they need to change their roster to suit that [style]. I don’t think Shonn Greene is the guy to be the blue-chip running back.”

This argument also supports potentially moving Dustin Keller. Yet focusing on running back, if the Jets want to have a dominant running game to support Sanchez, they are going to need more at running back than Greene, Joe McKnight, and Bilal Powell.

Getting a “blue-chip” player isn’t going to be an easy process. In the draft, they’d have to move up to acquire Trent Richardson. In free agency, they would have to put a mammoth offer together to acquire a franchised Matt Forte in a trade. They could also explore engaging other teams who have a surplus at running back (Carolina, New Orleans, Houston to name a few) but teams don’t just give away big time backs, it is going to cost the Jets. Mike Tannenbaum has got creative in the past and he may have to do it again.

A cheaper scenario would be the Jets adding a running back in the middle rounds and then adding a mid-level free agent, maybe a Ryan Grant or Tashard Choice. You then have the new additions compete with the current backs on the roster and find the best committee approach possible.

When you are a “Ground and Pound” team, 22nd in rushing yards per game doesn’t cut it.

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.

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 -

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.

New York Jets Top Priority Will Be Sanchez

I wouldn’t bank on Peyton Manning coming through that door, New York Jets fans. What I would bank on is General Manager Mike Tannenbaum doing everything in his power this off-season to prevent his franchise quarterback, Mark Sanchez, breaking in his make or break year.

The last thing Tannenbaum and this organization want to do is be forced to concede after this season that trading up for Sanchez was a mistake and then undergo the task of finding another quarterback to build around. The main priority for this off-season will be adding as much around Sanchez on offense as possible to help him have a productive season.

The hiring of Tony Sparano brings back the mentality of running the football along with a needed emphasis on protecting the quarterback. There is no way the Jets are sending Sanchez out there for another season with Wayne Hunter as a starter. Finding a competent starting right tackle is the first order of business this off-season. The free agent list isn’t crawling with them, which means the Jets may have to get creative in terms of swinging a trade.

Expect the offensive line to receive support through the draft in the middle rounds and for maybe a second veteran to be added for depth purposes. After what he saw last year and with Sparano now in house, Tannenbaum won’t short change himself at this position.

Supporting Sanchez goes beyond protecting him with the starting five offensive lineman. There are some rumors of Dustin Keller not fitting in with the new offense but his chemistry with Sanchez can’t be ignored. Instead look for the Jets to replace the hapless Matthew Mulligan with a quality blocking tight end who could also handle catching 20-25 passes. Keller’s role could be altered as he spends more of time split out or at H-Back than in-line at tight end but expect him back in a Jets jersey this year.

Along those lines, the Jets will likely add another running back and wide receiver to the mix. You can’t Ground and Pound with their current depth chart at running back and you can’t stretch the field for chunks of yardages with their current depth chart at receiver. There isn’t enough proven talent and durability at running back and there isn’t enough top end speed at receiver. Expect a veteran and a draft pick added at each of the two positions.

Finally, Tannenbaum needs to find a veteran to push Sanchez in training camp. Chad Henne makes the most sense on paper or somebody similar to him with recent starting experience.

We all know safety and linebacker are major needs for the Jets but don’t surprised when most of the focus this off-season is building around Sanchez on offense so he can flourish in Tony Sparano’s system.