New York Jets – Can Joe Douglas Have The Parcells Touch?

Stephen Russo on if Joe Douglas can have the same impact on the New York Jets as Bill Parcells

It was more than 23 years ago that Bill Parcells made the infamous quote “If they want you to cook the dinner, at least they ought to let you shop for some of the groceries” as he left the Patriots to become the Jets Head Coach and General Manager. And if you’ve read my work before you’d know that I typically reference the 1997-2010 era of Jets Football as the “glory gears.” It’s no secret that Bill Parcells was the catalyst for those years of perpetual success (because to Jets fans perpetual is a relative term). There is no denying the success that the organization had during that run. In those 14 years, the Jets had 11 seasons where they finished 8-8 or better, made 7 playoff appearances and had 8 playoff wins. What would we give up for that kind of success again?

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New York Jets – The Time is Now

Stephen Russo with why it is the New York Jets time to finally make a move in the AFC East

Everything new Jets General Manager Joe Douglas has done this offseason proves that he is a man with a plan. He’s also a man with a 6-year deal. He realizes that the years and years of short term band-aids and quick fixes that came before him won’t get this team anywhere, and the way to build is to be smart and methodical and invest in places that need it – not out-flash every other team with big money signings that never amount to anything (Goodbye, Trumaine Johnson).

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New York Jets UDFA Profile – DB Lamar Jackson

Stephen Russo with a closer look at New York Jets UDFA defensive back Lamar Jackson, from Nebraska

Following the completion of Joe Douglas’ first draft as the New York Jets’ General Manager, he made some noteworthy UDFA signings as well. Among them was Nebraska Cornerback Lamar Jackson (I promise not to make any jokes referencing the League MVP with the same name). Jackson, a 2nd team all Big 10 player in his senior season at Nebraska, has the potential to make some noise in a seemingly wide-open cornerback room.

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New York Jets UDFA Profile – Georgia WR Lawrence Cager

Stephen Russo with a closer look at UDFA WR Lawrence Cager, from Georgia

6’5” and 220 pounds. That’s pretty much all you need to know, right? Well, it may be his size that has created a lot of buzz for undrafted free agent Lawrence Cager, as the Georgia receiver has caught some significant attention following his joining the Jets on Sunday following the conclusion of the NFL draft. Cager clearly brings his size and physicality to the wide receiver position with the Jets, who need bodies to compete and his potential could lead to a surprise roster spot.

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New York Jets – Final NFL Draft Advice for Joe Douglas

Stephen Russo with final advice to New York Jets GM Joe Douglas on night one of the NFL Draft

Draft day is finally upon us. It’s time for Joe Douglas, our white knight, our savior, our only hope to prove his worth. His first real crack at building the foundation of this team starts Thursday night. He will be fine, as long as he listens to my five keys to a successful draft weekend. Here we go!

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The Top 5 New York Jets Jets Offenses In The Last 25 Years

Stephen Russo ranks the top five New York Jets offense of the past 25 years…

For far too long it feels as though the Jets have been stuck in the stone age of offense. As the rules changed, the game changed, and the way coaches called the game changed, the Jets stayed the same. They always found a way to have that conservative, defensive minded coach who was ecstatic to call 3 runs and a punt with five minutes to go while leading by 4, just to put it in the hands of his defense. They seem to have a knack for being behind the times when it came to offense, either due to being hamstrung by an inept quarterback or an antiquated system or, even when the team was solid, the “ground and pound” mantra.

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New York Jets – A Closer Look Breshad Perriman

Stephen Russo with a closer look at new Jets WR Breshad Perriman

There have been a few buzzwords tossed around thus far to describe Joe Douglas’ approach to his first Jets’ offseason: strategic, disciplined, and tone-setting to name a few. No argument here. That has been exactly what Douglas has done, and for the most part, it has been somewhat of a breath of fresh air. While there is still work to be done, the moves have been smart, low-risk, high reward signings. Good for Joe and good for the Jets.

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New York Jets – Adam Gase, 3 Up & 3 Down

Stephen Russo goes 3 up and 3 down on New York Jets HC Adam Gase

With week one of Free Agency off to hot start around the league, Jets GM Joe Douglas has taken a simple, understated, and intelligent approach to put his stamp on the team. His best move thus far is undoubtedly Connor McGovern, the versatile interior offensive lineman from Denver – smart, durable, and penalty free – I like the sound of that! Douglas has taken other measures (George Fant, Josh Andrews, Greg Van Roten, re-signing Alex Lewis) as well to stick to his promise of bolstering a struggling offensive line unit from 2019. The bottom line is that he has placed focus in arguably the most important area of a team, when his predecessors spent years neglecting it. Now, will these moves pan out? Time will tell. But there is nowhere to go but up for this unit.

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New York Jets – What Can Joe Douglas Learn From 2013?

Stephen Russo on what Joe Douglas can learn from the 2013 New York Jets…

The longer your Jets fandom tenure, the more opportunity you have to draw lines of similarity between past coaches, players, games, or seasons altogether. How many of us have uttered the words “I’ve seen this movie before” while watching a Jets game? I’d be willing to wager it’s a high percentage. The current playoff drought has us all clamoring for change and hoping that history doesn’t repeat itself, even though the worst fears of Jets fans seem to always become reality.

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New York Jets – The Rebuilding Myth

Stephen Russo on the myths around rebuilding in the NFL

The rebuild. It is a term that has found an all too comfortable home in the vocabulary of every long-suffering Jets fan over the last decade. There are all types of rebuilds, too. Look no further than the Jets teams of recent history to see how many different ways you can do this thing:

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