New York Jets: Quarterback Coach Remains A Problem

When the New York Jets brought in Tony Sparano as their offensive coordinator, it was a more than a welcome change from Brian Schottenheimer. However, the original perception was that Sparano would be coupled with an offensive coach to oversee the passing game and quarterback position.

The first name being thrown around was Todd Haley…didn’t happen. He is now the offensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Then we heard about Brian Daboll…didn’t happen. He is now the offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs. Most recently, Karl Dorrell…didn’t happen. He is now the quarterback coach for the Houston Texans. Which leaves the Jets with their quarterback coach from the previous three years, Matt Cavanaugh who was rumored to be as good as gone a few weeks back.

While I think Tony Sparano will bring a necessary fresh approach to the Jets offense. It is hard to imagine the majority of his time won’t be spend with the offensive line and running game, his professed expertise. All this does is leave Mark Sanchez with the same quarterback coach he had for his entire career. A career that has been successful at times but looked like it needed a new voice teaching him, along with a new approach by the end of the last season.

A competent back-up will provide some needed pressure on Sanchez but his quarterback coach is even more important. Staying with a guy in Cavanaugh they weren’t rumored to be thrilled with because your other options turned you down is an approach that deserves a closer look. The Jets should consider thinking outside of the box here, taking a long look at former players (cough, cough Chad Pennington), other team’s assistants or in the college ranks.

Where Is Mark Sanchez?

It hasn’t been the best few months for New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez. Although I suppose there are people who have it worse than running around between Kate Upton and Kim Kardashian. He has been publicly thrown under the bus by anonymous teammates, questioned by every media member in America, is dealing with Peyton Manning speculation, and hearing his team ripped to shreds by everybody who could get a word in. Beyond that, the only offensive coordinator he has ever had was fired and has since been replaced.

We have heard Rex Ryan, Mike Tannenbaum, Nick Mangold, Darrelle Revis, Greg McElroy, and others speak this off-season…yet not a word from Sanchez.

The only thing we have heard is that Sanchez is avoiding the Super Bowl.

You know what I would like to see? A media appearance from Sanchez when he answers his critics in the locker room, particularly the ones who called out his work ethic. I want him to welcome any challenge the Jets bring in for him at quarterback. I want him to say he is going repair his relationship with Santonio Holmes and say that he will be holding Jets West camp again and wants Holmes there in attendance, no excuses. I want to hear his thoughts on Schottenheimer and Sparano and most of all I want him to take ownership of this team, this offense and say he hears what everybody has to say right now about him and this team and he is going to make sure he fixes it.

Words only do so much. He needs to produce on the field but Sanchez needs to play with an attitude and the edge that he is playing for his life this season. You want to be a backup for the next 5 years in Seattle or do you want to be a starting quarterback in New York? Are you going to be Matt Leinart or are you going to do what Eli Manning and Drew Brees did after their third year?

Am I saying Sanchez will ever be on their level? No. But I am saying, those two guys produced at the same rate or lower than Sanchez did in their first three years and they grew up in year four and took their career to another level.

It is make or break time for Sanchez, so where is he?

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 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.

New York Jets: The Art Of Exaggeration

Perhaps the market makes the New York Jets conducive to exceptional amounts of exaggeration surrounding their team. Maybe it is their coach. Their history. The media. Or their fans. Most likely it is a combination of all the above.

Whatever it is, there is no middle ground with this team. They are either world beaters or the sky is falling. You would swear from the conversations this past week that they went 3-13 this past season, not 8-8 and a handful of plays away from a playoff spot.

This season was a disappointment, without question. Yet, everybody is ready with the punchline that Rex Ryan will be on Inside The NFL instead of a NFL sideline by this time next year instead of a sideline as a head coach, when they forget a year ago he was being lauded for completely undressing Bill Belichick in a playoff game.

You have heard it all: Mark Sanchez is a hopeless failure the Jets can’t win with as a starter. By the way, his career record as a starter is 27-20. The defense is old and slow. The offensive line is awful. The receivers can’t get open and are plagued with the cancer of Santonio Holmes. The running backs are average. There is no depth throughout the entire roster.

All of the above concerns are very valid but they are frequently overstated. This isn’t the St. Louis Rams or the Jacksonville Jaguars. There is a quality base of talent on this team and they are a productive off-season away from being one of the AFC’s elite teams, which isn’t saying much these days in a conference that is suddenly watered down and wide open.

How about looking at the 2011 New York Jets like this? They underachieved and despite a toxic locker room, erratic quarterback play and playcalling, along with let-down seasons from about half the starters, they still managed to win 8 games. Imagine a little chemistry comes back to that locker room? Imagine a group of the starters respond with better seasons and the rest who struggled last year are replaced?

The Jets have money to spend this off-season and finally have a draft pick in every single round. They have already made the right choice by letting go of Brian Schottenheimer and bringing in a new offensive staff, led by Tony Sparano. Mike Tannenbaum is in need of a bounce-back year and if he could respond with a solid off-season there is a good chance Rex Ryan will be back to being adored by the same media members who tear him to pieces right now. The criticism of Mark Sanchez will subside and all of the sudden the roster, which still has players like Darrelle Revis, David Harris, Nick Mangold, D’Brickashaw Ferguson, Dustin Keller, and Brandon Moore won’t suddenly be so pathetic and talentless.

Step back from the cliff Jets fans, the Giants and Patriots season will hopefully soon be over and you will have an active off-season to look forward to. This team isn’t rebuilding and is closer to 11-5 than 5-11. And if that can’t cheer you up, remember this was only a year ago…

Nameless Criticism: What To Make Of Mark Sanchez

Mark Sanchez has taken it on the chin from a nameless selection of players in an article full of nameless sources that was somehow allowed to run in a major newspaper. It is an obviously cowardly move to throw somebody under the bus and then not put your name to it. Multiple teammates of Sanchez have since stood up to rebuke the article, most notably Nick Mangold, Dustin Keller, Antonio Cromartie, Matt Slauson, Sione Pouha, and Wayne Hunter. What is there to really make of the this situation?

First off, if I was to take an educated guess, I would say the player who gave these quotes was an individual like Bart Scott. A defensive player, coming off his own subpar year that is likely out the door after this season and knows it. For all we know, the quote could have came from somebody on the practice squad. To say that Sanchez has lost the locker room based on an anonymous source when other prominent players have stepped up to defend him is crazy.

What really hurt the credibility of the source was the assertion that Sanchez is lazy. I have never been inside the Jets locker room or Jets facility. Yet, I have read every word from every person who covers the team since he was drafted and by all accounts Sanchez is arguably the hardest worker on the roster and is constantly the first one in the building and the last one out. The lazy comments have been rebuked by a large group of media personalities around the team and from every player who has stood up for Sanchez.

I have been an ardent defender of Sanchez, who I do believe takes on way too much unfair criticism. People ignore the reality of his accomplishments through his first three years as a starter and how it compares to other currently successful quarterbacks in the league. Sanchez has started out his career identically to Eli Manning, except Sanchez has had more playoff success early in first three years. I am not saying Sanchez will ever be a top five quarterback in the NFL but to adamantly state they can’t win a Super Bowl with him, when he has already been within a half of the Super Bowl twice in his brief career is insane.

Could you imagine the ESPN orgasm if Tim Tebow threw 3 touchdowns, had zero turnovers and beat Tom Brady in New England this Sunday? Then could you imagine everybody acting like Mark Sanchez didn’t do the exact same thing exactly a year ago?

Sanchez is going to face excessive scrutiny from being a quarterback in New York. People will point to him doing magazine spreads and dating super models as an issue, but in reality that doesn’t affect his performance on the field. Critics like to ignore that Sanchez has been given a different pair of starting receivers every season of his career, a progressively weaker offensive line, and an incompetent offensive coordinator, that has been a factor in his performance.

Despite being a defender of Sanchez, I won’t put my head in the sand, hide behind a few statistics and say he improved from last year to this year because he didn’t. Sanchez played better in bigger spots in both 2009 and 2010, particularly in 2010 he was clutch when it mattered the most. This season he wasn’t that. He flamed out down the stretch and the issues with his body language, being skittish in the pocket, and being inaccurate were accentuated down the stretch of the season.

The Sanchez who spouts the company line to the media and is concerned about everybody liking him needs to go. The best quarterbacks can be assholes a large part of the time. It is time he demands more from himself and this offense. The scapegoat of Brian Schottenheimer is now gone and Sanchez will have more of a disciplinarian in his face with Tony Sparano and potentially Todd Haley. Sanchez needs to embrace this and become a more mature player and more mature leader.

The signs of leadership have been there in past years but just like his quarterbacking skills, it needs to be more consistent. We have seen Sanchez make every throw he needs to make. We have seen him lead fourth quarter game winning drives at home and on the road. We have seen him beat Peyton Manning and Tom Brady in the playoffs. The skill set is there but now with himself pushed into a corner of a make or break season, Sanchez must truly take over this offense in 2012 or be sent to the curb.

If Santonio Holmes doesn’t want to show up to team meetings or wants to pout in the corner. Get in his face and demand proper behavior from him or tell him to get off the field, just like Wayne Hunter did in the Miami game. Sanchez’s teammates will respect the hell out of him for that.

Peyton Manning isn’t coming through those doors, Jets fans. Instead look for somebody like Chad Henne or Jason Campbell brought in to push Sanchez and provide a competent backup. Sanchez is the guy next year and if he rebounds from this past season, will be the guy for the long term.

Cooler Heads Must Prevail for the Jets

Right now, the world of the New York Jets is spiraling out of control in ways that couldn’t have been imagined in the Rex Ryan era; purported to be one of continued success and stability for an organization that has seriously lacked both of those things for the better part of 50 years.

Driven by a dysfunctional locker room and a bloodthirsty New York tabloid media, the perception of the Jets is such that everything is in flux and no one’s job is safe.  Outside of Rex Ryan being the team’s head coach, what can be counted on for this team as 2012 get underway?  It appears as though Tony Sparano and perhaps Todd Haley will be brought in to revamp the offense, while fans and – if the suddenly unprofessional and irresponsible Manish Mehta of the Daily News is to be believed – some players have called for Mark Sanchez to be replaced by Peyton Manning.

What really needs to happen?  Cooler heads must prevail.

It’s time for Rex Ryan to call a press conference, diffuse some of this media-driven chaos, and most importantly get his players in line.  Credit should go to Jim Leonhard and Nick Mangold, who have already come to Mark Sanchez’s defense on Twitter.

The Jets were a flawed bunch on both sides of the ball and their record reflected that. Rightfully, much of the blame fell on the quarterback because of the offense’s struggles at key moments during the season. But remember, the Jets were 8-8, not 2-14.  Mark Sanchez threw 26 touchdowns and 18 interceptions, not 5 and 24.

The point is, things are bad for the Jets right now, but they’re not as catastrophic as they seem.  Changes, particularly in offensive philosophy, needed to be made, and are being made (whether or not Sparano is the right move is another debate for another day).

Perhaps more importantly, a new leadership group must emerge for the Jets amongst the players themselves.  Rex Ryan, Brian Schottenheimer and the rest of the coaches can only take so much blame for the Jets’ dysfunction. Players must police themselves, and guys like Nick Mangold, Darrelle Revis, Sione Pouha, and most importantly, Mark Sanchez must become the ones who keep order, especially when things don’t go right.

New York Jets: Schottenheimer Out, Sparano In, Sanchez Ripped

You thought the New York Jets would stay out of the headlines just because their season was over?

Think again.

First off, as expected Brian Schottenheimer was let go as offensive coordinator. It is being painted as a resignation but common sense here people, the Jets pushed him out the door. This is a move that will be celebrated by 99.9% of Jets fans and was the proper thing to do. The Jets needed new voices and a new philosophy on offense badly, which they will get with Schottenheimer gone, Bill Callahan gone to coach in Dallas, and wide receivers coach Henry Ellard also fired.

Secondly, it sounds like basically a done deal that former Miami Dolphins head coach Tony Sparano will becoming the Jets new offensive coordinator. Sparano has an offensive line background and will favor a run heavy style that should please Rex Ryan. However, it is expected that former Kansas City Chiefs head coach Todd Haley could join the Jets offensive staff as an assistant head coach/passing game coordinator. Haley and Sparano are old friends who have expressed an interest in working together. The combination sounds good on paper, but there is always dangers in having too many voices in the room.

Finally, Manish Mehta dropped this bomb in the Daily News this morning, where unnamed players and sources around the organization rip Mark Sanchez to pieces, basically saying he is coddled by the organization, doesn’t have great practice habits, and that the team should replace him with Peyton Manning if possible. I will go into more detail on this later in the day, but it is always a cowardly move to throw quotes to the media without putting your name behind it. The debate will now rage, who said these things? How much validity is there to them? Can Sanchez really be brought back as a starter?

It will be a busy day Jets fans, stay tuned.

The New York Jets: A Failure From The Top Down

The New York Jets failed from the top down this year.

It started in the off-season with a handful of perplexing and ultimately season killing decisions.

First off, Mike Tannenabum evaluated Wayne Hunter capable of starting at right tackle and cut ties with Damien Woody. Tannenbaum failed to learn from a previous mistake of undervaluing a veteran lineman, when he did the same thing with Pete Kendall prior to the 2007 season and nearly got both Chad Pennington and Kellen Clemens killed. Nevermind in that same year, Tannenbaum underestimated the value of a right tackle by starting Anthony Clement all season, who combined with Kendall’s replacement, Adrien Clarke, to add to the quarterback’s pain.

Second, the Jets got caught up in “names” instead of “needs” in free agency. They didn’t need Nnamdi Asomugha but they chased him to the last second anyway because it sounded exciting to pair him with Darrelle Revis. This failed chase cost the Jets valuable time and assets in the free agency period. They settled to stand pat at safety by bringing Eric Smith back, despite him coming off an average at best season. Then, even after his market value had made him affordable, they replaced Braylon Edwards with Plaxico Burress.

Burress provided a better story. Edwards provided better production. I don’t give a damn what anybody says about Edwards after his disappointing year in San Francisco, he had chemistry with Mark Sanchez and produced in the Jets offense as a downfield threat. You build continuity with your young quarterback, you don’t switch his starting receivers every single year.

Later the Jets exacerbated this mistake by replacing Jerricho Cotchery with Derrick Mason. Cotchery should have been handed the starting job opposite Santonio Holmes, while Burress should have came in as a role player who needed to earn more time. Yet, the Jets went the opposite route and isolated themselves from one of their most respected players in the locker room and instead brought in a known trouble maker in Mason.

The New York Jets then got cheap on defense and shuttled off one of the last respected veterans in the locker room, Shaun Ellis. No Woody. A retired Tony Richardson. No Cotchery and now no Ellis, there went four of your key leaders from the year before.

Finally, Rex Ryan clumsily threw around captaincies instead of letting members of the team vote on it. He made Santonio Holmes his pet project and Holmes failed him and the team miserably. It is easy to be a good locker room guy when you are winning, not so much when the team is struggling and needs you to set an example.

Putting Holmes as a captain started out a disappointing and mismanaged year by Ryan, who admittedly never had the pulse of his team and remained too entrenched on one side of the ball. Can you imagine Bill Belichick expressing confusion over why his team threw 59 times when they are supposed to run first, or not knowing why his number one receiver was pulled off the field?

The days of being a defensive coordinator are over Rex. It is time to coach your entire team and know every detail of what is going on with every unit. I don’t buy the caricature people want to paint of Rex as a bumbling clown because those two AFC Championship appearances in his first two years mean something, but he played into the stereotype this year and needs to earn some credibility now in 2012.

The failures of Tannenabum and Ryan were matched by the players they assembled on this year’s roster, starting with quarterback Mark Sanchez. I spent a good chunk of this season, even up to the previous few weeks defending the Jets often unfairly criticized quarterback. Yes, Sanchez progressed in a number of statistical categories, despite playing behind a weak offensive line, wit underachieving wide receivers, and an awful offensive coordinator but if you want to sweep Sanchez’s statistical shortcomings from previous years under the rug because of his ability to win the big game and play big in clutch spots, you better be ready to rip him for failing in all those spots this year. The quarterback turned in three of his worst performances in the three must win games to end the season. He also clearly hasn’t asserted enough leadership in the offensive huddle yet. Do you think Saints or Packers players would be bickering on the field in their huddle?

Sanchez isn’t the only one who underachieved on offense. Holmes couldn’t handle the double teams and pressures that come with being a true number one receiver. Burress couldn’t get any separation between the 20s. Mason was a disaster on and off the field. Shonn Greene looked very ordinary in the lead back role and never broke any big plays. D’Brickashaw Ferguson had a down year. Wayne Hunter was awful at right tackle. Matthew Mulligan caused more problems than any number two tight end should be able to.

The defense wasn’t without their letdowns. Bart Scott fell from being a very good run stopping inside linebacker, to a below average situational player. Calvin Pace was paid to sack the quarterback and he never did that. All of the safeties, namely Eric Smith, had abysmal seasons. Special teams chipped in too by muffing an uncountably high number of kicks and having Nick Folk always come up with untimely misses.

This was a team wide failure that started at the top and has no carried into the off-season. Santonio Holmes quitting performance at the end of the Miami game led to a chain reaction of criticism of both him and a cancerous locker room that was likely spearheaded by his actions. When your third string rookie quarterback is talking about how selfish and disastrous your locker room is, the problems likely go past one guy.

The Jets failed all the way from the top, Woody Johnson and Mike Tannenbaum, down to the bottom, Greg McElroy, who has no business throwing his teammates under the bus to the press. They failed and so did just about everybody in-between.

So what now?

That is what the off-season is for and is an article for another day. It will start with a long look at the organizational culture around this team and it will end with some much needed releases and an infusion of not just youth, speed, and talent but also character. Some of that character will have to come from players on the team growing up and asserting their presence over the locker room to prevent a situation like this from ever happening again, I am looking at you Mark Sanchez and Darrelle Revis, and some of it will have to come from new individuals being brought on the roster.

The grace period is over Rex, Mike T and Mark. This is New York and the seat is hot in 2012.

New York Jets: Assessing The Situation After Yesterday’s Nightmare

Third and ten from the 1 yard line. The New York Jets held a 7-3 lead and had put together an encouraging performance so far. One ten yard out route, two missed tackles, a poor angle, and 99 yards later. The game was over. If you have watched the Jets this season, you knew at that moment they didn’t have the character or the team this year to overcome that type of play.

I remember from the Oakland game when they couldn’t bounce back from a muffed kick. I remember from the New England game when they were ripping down the field on the opening drive but had to settle for a short field goal, which they missed and couldn’t bounce back from it. I remember defenders purposely staying on blocks to avoid tackling Tim Tebow on Denver’s game winning drive. I remember last week when a Santonio Holmes fumble gave the Eagles a quick 7-0 lead and the Jets didn’t have an answer.

The 2011 New York Jets don’t have the fight they did last year. They don’t have that irrational confidence that made them such a dangerous team in Rex Ryan’s first two years. The problems started in the off-season, which we will look back on as one of Mike Tannenbaum’s worst and it has carried through with a disappointing defense and a perplexing awful offense led by the perpetually incompetent Brian Schottenheimer.

Yesterday was the final nail in Schottenheimer’s coffin. Rex Ryan can lavish all the false praise on him that he wants but this team can’t be managed through his rose colored glasses. Change is needed and the first move this off-season must be letting Schottenheimer go and putting a competent NFL offense together.

Mark Sanchez was bad yesterday…very bad, yet we need to see him with a new offensive coordinator in a system that plays to his strengths. The strategy to drop him back 65+ times and only throw 6 yard passes inside the hash marks doesn’t work. Get the guy a NFL quality right tackle and help at the skill positions, where the Jets are good but lack explosion. Forget about the Peyton Manning pipe dream rumors, you want to focus on a big move the Jets should make? Go get Maurice Jones-Drew or Matt Forte. I like Shonn Greene but can you think of one game changing play he has made all season?

The Jets offense doesn’t make big plays. Part of that is on Schottenheimer. Part of that is on Sanchez. Part of it is on their receivers not getting the necessary separation, breaking the necessary tackles and their running backs never ripping off big runs. Everything seems so hard for this offense. It is time to rebuild it.

The defense is solid but not spectacular and they won’t be until they improve at safety and linebacker. As you could imagine this will be a huge off-season for Mike Tannenbaum who needs to sit down and honestly assess the talent level on this roster, which is that of a borderline .500 team not that of a team who will win a division and host a playoff game.

It is easy to be down and throw around hysterics about Sanchez and Rex Ryan being on the hot seat. Even his biggest supporter can admit Rex came off like like an idiot yesterday and his words are starting to ring hollow. Ultimately, he is who he is but that kind of embarrassment is hard to shake off. Can Rex and his team rise off the mat? Only time will tell but you are kidding yourself if you think both Rex and Sanchez won’t be back next year and yes the year after.

Think about how awful you feel like the Jets are right now and then remember they are 8-7 and not 3-12. They aren’t that far away. Some years aren’t going to end in playoff berths and two upset playoff wins. This year hurts more because they were swept by New England and lost to the Giants and because just like it is more enjoyable to watch the Jets win because of Rex Ryan and his antics, it is more painful to watch them them lose because of Rex Ryan and his antics.