“June was pretty slow but I’m looking to have a big July. Lets go! I would love to have a new deal in place for Leon Washington before camp starts as well as locking in on a deal for rookie Andre Smith.” - Keels
I know, of course that’s his goal, he gets paid when Leon does and finally he is publicly making it a goal of his. With guys like Maurice Jones Drew and Greg Jennings getting deals from the same draft, Keels better get moving on Leon’s deal and stop using the CBA as an excuse.
Ulterior motives? Yes, albeit when you have a player that can impact your team [or your credibility] sometimes people are willing to push the boundries. I highly doubt Mike Tannenbaum is willing to throw away Leon’s services but with the signings of Jennings and Jones Drew, ‘T-Baum’ is going to find it increasingly difficult to play hard ball.
I’m not sure if this is a parallel universe or what but the groundskeeper for the New York Jets, Matt Henn is talking about how it is important to keep everything just so to prevent any injuries. Has Mark Sanchez even gotten this much attention in the tabloids?
Matt Henn, the Jets groundskeeper, is in Cortland right now attempting to get the field into the best shape for when the team arrives at the end of this month …
“You don’t want anybody to trip or fall or cause any injuries. You want the best playability. If you’ve got good healthy grass it’s stable enough for the players to run their routes. It’s basically safety for the players,” says Henn …
Garry VanGorder, the director for the Cortland County Chamber of Commerce (say that five times fast), wants the Jets to have the best possible time in Cortland this summer. Why you ask? He wants them to come back. “If we don’t do the job the right way they won’t come back. So, we need to make sure they do come back,” he says.
All about the money and all about the grass – From Cortland w/ love.
Calvin Pace has put up a post on his Yardbarker blog, and in which he essentially says the same thing as his statement to the NFL, but in which he does a little more explaining.
I’m sure you’ll hear this news eventually, and I’d rather you hear it from me first. I have been suspended for four games by the NFL due to my mistakenly ingesting a banned substance. I apologize to my family, the jets organization, my teammates, fans and friends. This situation occurred purely by accident and was in absolutely no way a result of my trying to cheat the system put in place by the NFL. However, as a man and a public figure I am aware that I must take full responsibility for everything I do. I also know that it’s just as important to learn from my mistakes and help others avoid them in any way that I can. In the future, I will be more proactive in knowing what substances are banned and EXACTLY what is in everything I put into my body. I truly hope that my mistake does not bring unwanted distractions to my teammates and our ultimate goal of being a championship team. I also hope that you, my fans, will forgive this accidental indiscretion.
It’s clear he’s taking this as head-on as his agent, lawyer, whatever will allow. I do want to think that it was more about just not knowing what he got from GNC, but he’s not saying what it is, so it’s hard to really know. Still, more than anything I’m disappointed because I wanted to see him knock Brady around Week 2.
Andrew Davie who was signed by the Jets as a UDFA in April was recently cut by New York and has been taken by the Carolina Panthers. Obviously the Jets didn’t see much in Davie that was worth adding him to the depth chart. The [Charlotte] Observer continues to point out that Carolina has three TE’s already and it looks like Davie will only be the ”help” in training camp.
Dustin Keller is definitely going to be the go to guy but there is still pressure for him to get up to speed on his blocking skills. Bubba Franks is helpful with blocking and catching a few passes here and there but only when healthy and currently Franks is still recovering from last season’s injury. No question the Jets need more depth at tight end although I know this is not a top priority, it could be a problem in the long run. Hopefully some of the other rookies such as J’Nathan Bullock will prove their worth and silence the issue.
Former Jets center and current NFLPA President, Kevin Mawae was previously against the large contracts rookies signed but now his heart has changed and Kevin is even congratulating Mark Sanchez on his ‘phat’ contract.
“I looked Mark Sanchez in the face the other day and said ‘congratulations, man. More power to you’. It’s the nature of the game. They’re fortunate enough to be in it at a time when the game is making that much money where I guy can come out and get a contract that guarantees him $30 million dollars. I’m not going to hate him for that, and I’m not going to hate the system for it.
“Rookie salaries only comprise four percent of the salary cap so it’s not like every guy is making that kind of money and they’re taking it from the veteran players. The reality is no team spent up to the entire cap last year. God bless the rookies coming out, they deserve it.”
That’s a pretty swift change but Mawae does make some solid points, the teams didn’t go over the cap and being that the rookie salary makes up a small percent of the cap means a less of a hit to the FO’s pocket. Of course being a second rounder can do that to you I suppose.
I’ve got to say, that the Calvin Pace suspension really sucks. Here’s some of my thoughts about what it means to the Jets in 2009.
It’s Final — If you look at the team’s statement they are not going to fight it at this point. If they did it was already done behind closed doors. Don’t look for any appeals here, Pace won’t be playing until the Miami game, it’s that simple.
Here’s the statements on the news of Calvin Pace’s suspension.
STATEMENT BY AN NFL SPOKESPERSON:
Calvin Pace of the New York Jets has been suspended without pay for the team’s first four regular-season games of 2009 for violating the NFL policy on performance enhancing substances.
Pace’s suspension begins on Saturday, September 5. He is eligible to return to the Jets’ active roster on Monday, October 5 following the team’s October 4 game against the New Orleans Saints.
Pace is eligible to participate in all preseason practices and games.
STATEMENT FROM CALVIN PACE
This is a situation that resulted from an over-the-counter dietary supplement that contained a substance that I did not know violated the League’s policy. I am responsible for what I put into my body and I should have paid closer attention to the League’s guidelines. I regret that this has happened and apologize to my teammates, the entire Jets organization as well as the fans. Hopefully, this does not distract from our ultimate goal of winning the Super Bowl.
STATEMENT FROM THE NEWYORK JETS
We respect the League’s decision and look forward to Calvin’s return for our Monday Night game at Miami.
One of my favorite movie lines of all time has to be in Ocean’s Eleven, when Linus asks Rusty ‘Are you suicidal?’ to which Rusty answers, ‘only in the mornings.’
I guess ESPN caught me in the morning.
ESPN the Mag has done their annual team fan experience rankings again and they asked yours truly to comment back in March. While the pall of Brett Favre still lingered over the team, and while the Ryan regime was underway, the sense of optimism was slowly growing. With what many consider a good draft, those concerns seem further behind.
Still ESPN asked me to comment on a few areas, most specifically stadium experience & affordability because of their poor ranking, my point was to emphasize the fans and tailgate experience as better than the in-stadium experience.
Here’s the Jets Ranking in the Ultimate Standings, followed by my answer to ESPN.
With guys like Maurice Jones Drew and Greg Jennings getting deals from the same draft, Keels better get moving on Leon’s deal and stop using the CBA as an excuse.
Why you ask? He wants them to come back. “If we don’t do the job the right way they won’t come back. So, we need to make sure they do come back,” he says.
Obviously the Jets didn’t see much in Davie that was worth adding him to the depth chart. The [Charlotte] Observer continues to point out that Carolina has three TE’s already and it looks like Davie will only be the ”help” in training camp. 
They’re fortunate enough to be in it at a time when the game is making that much money where I guy can come out and get a contract that guarantees him $30 million dollars. I’m not going to hate him for that, and I’m not going to hate the system for it.
