Monthly Archives: November 2005
A quick trip around the Jets blogosphere leaves us with some good bits to read, mostly because I am lazy and took an hour making gourmet chicken salad this morning before work… don't ask… I don't know why either…
- The Sports Blog – Our buddy Matt Cerrone writes his thoughts on gunning for draft picks… hey, I thought he was a contributor here! :D
- Zany Ramblings – The author makes picks this weekend, and weeps for Jets fans everywhere…
- Jet Nation – Getting a little ahead of themselves, JetNation takes a look at next year's crop of running backs… too bad the Jets won't pick one up early…
- Jets-Blog – Bungaard says it better than I can when he states: “SÃ¥ledes var Jets bare et enkelt touchdown efter Panthers helt frem til 4.” 'Nuff said…
- Jetstream – I get the feeling that Bob Bullock is about to jump off a high bridge… good thing there are no high bridges in Florida…
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Questions surround the Jets, and Bob Bullock posted some great ones on his Jetstream blog on Sunday after the game. I liked Bob's idea, so I am riffing off it… and I would encourage you all to do the same if you like.
1) Who's the starting quarterback in 2006?
It really depends on what tack the Jets take with the revamp/demolition of the offense… will they keep some pieces intact? Or will they do an overhaul like the defense underwent two years ago… I am inclined to think that they will keep some core players and try to bring in a veteran. Also, a lot will depend on draft position and cap room. To answer the question, though here is my list from likeliest to least likely.
Chad Pennington
Drew Brees / Phillip Rivers
Billy Volek
Jon Kitna
Patrick Ramsey
Matt Schaub
Joey Harrington
Jay Fiedler
Brooks Bollinger
Ryan Leaf
(yes the last one was a joke…)
2) Who's the starting running back in 2006?
Would it suprise you if I think this organization will allow it to be Martin again? The Jets need to get young, and quick. If they aren't willing to give Houston a shot with some carries in the next few weeks, I don't expect him to be a challenge to the crown next season. Although there are other dire concerns, I would rather see them use their first round pick on a RB rather than a QB. This will bear more investigation in the offseason…
3) Who's the play-making wide receiver in 2006?
The guy they just traded for and paid big money. Laveranues Coles. Can it be his fault he hasn't seen the ball as much as he normally would?
4) Who are the starting offensive tackles in 2006?
Jones at LT and a free agent or high draft pick at RT.
5) Does Mawae come back?
Definitely, for at least one more year.
6) Does Law come back?
It is possible, but I would highly doubt it. Although his ability to cause turnovers is astounding, I don't know that the Jets can afford his cap number, and his recent run ins with Donnie's scheme doesn't bode well.
7) Does Abraham come back?
It's clear the guy loves his teammates, and he loves to contribute in New York. He proved that when he finally showed up to play this season, he was in shape, and his numbers have proven his desire to do his job. The “character” questions have quicjly died down and it appears that the biggest knock on Abraham has been his ability to remain healthy… let's hope it stays that way.
8) Does Martin come back?
Where would he go? With more dynamic running backs coming out of college, and the potential for upper echelon guys like Edgerrin James or Shaun Alexander being on the market, Martin's options would be limited. I fear that he will still be the starter, or at the very least split carries with Cedric Houston or whoever they bring in.
9) Can Pennington ever play effectively again?
As much as it pains me to say so, I don't foresee it, but I hope it does happen.
I just don't think anyone can be very effective if they can't make it through a season without missing games. As an aside, I truly think that Ben Roethlisberger might fall into this trap too… how is it that a guy who barely throws more than 25 passes in any game he plays ever make it through a season if he can't make more starts than David Carr?
10) Can Bollinger be a backup QB?
As long as he only plays behind other backups in second halfs of games, he'll be fine. Bollinger has some ability, but the struggles he has had during the time he has played hasn't helped.
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Happy birthday to Brooks Bollinger who turns 26 today… make a wish!
All the kiddies want to know… did you wish you had those last seven throws back? :D
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The Jets seem to be all over SI's Truth & Rumors page today… but mostly it's pub that we have already addressed here.
The only real bit of news is that Herm has said he wants to stay with the Jets as long as he can.
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Another player, Jason Fabini has been put on the injured reserve
yesterday.. so what else is new? This latest news now makes the
offensive lineup 6 players different than it did Week 1, with four of
five starters on the line having changed or swapped positions.
See a graphic showing all the new starters (in yellow on the second row).
***
Apparently, Carolina cornerback Ken Lucas said that the Jets gave up on the game, stating:
“It's good when you can make a team quit on you…You
thought at the end of the game that they would at least try to throw
the ball for the end zone, but they just ran the ball and ran the clock
out.”
This apparently has Panthers coach John Fox backpedalling for Lucas, and even calling Herm about the comments. Fox and Edwards were both Aztecs on the same team and have a respect for each other. When asked about Lucas' comments, Edwards replied to reporters:
“I wasn't going to put that quarterback in harm's way any longer.
I'll
let the quarterback leave the game with some dignity, I know how he
felt. I know how the team felt. I used to be a player. I'm not going to
put the quarterback in harm's way, go back out there, line up in the
shotgun, try to throw passes and get him killed.”
Which then begs the question then… at what point do you stop playing to win the game?
OK, it's time to get some things out on the table.
Once the Jets
lost Pennington and Fiedler, it was clear to most anyone that the
season was over. Any hope I extended was more for “entertainment value”
from the Jets after the Jacksonville game. After yesterday's game, I
firmly believe that this team can't even play spoiler, which makes the
next few months even more grim.
I hoped that Brooksy might be
able to provide a spark, and bring the Jets to some level of
respectability, or at the very least manage well enough to give the
Jets a chance to contend in games, it turns out that was not to be the
case. Maybe the Jets can contend against lesser teams, but when it
comes to a legitmately good team, the Jets are just plain outclassed.
So
what is the state of the union for us fans? What are we, the fans, left
with to “cheer” for, other than a horrible (though lovable) team that's
winning from now to Week 17 can only undermine an early pick? Pride can
be had by winning games, this isn't a 2nd grade soccer team where “it's
how you play the game” is the mantra.
The trouble is, there are
some truly terrible teams out there. Houston is by far the worst, but
there are a number of lurkers in the 2-7 realm.
New York: 2-7 (NO, OAK, @ MIA)
Green Bay: 2-7 (MIN, DET, @ BAL)
New Orleans: 2-7 (@ NYJ, DET)
San Francisco: 2-7 (@ TEN, ARI, HOU)
Baltimore: 2-7 (HOU, GB, MIN, CLE)
Tennessee: 2-7 (SF, HOU)
Houston: 1-8 (@ BAL, @ TEN, ARI, @ SF)
The
funny thing is, since these teams are so bad, the only foreseeable
easily winnable games these teams play are against each other… so no
one really knows how the final schedule will work out… even Dr. I Don't Know is clueless (wait… I guess he would be anyway..)
From
some qiuck glances though, I think the Jets have one of the tougher
schedules left of these teams, and a few of the contenders won't be
looking for QBs (GB & San Fran) or RBs (Tennessee & Houston?)
but this all really could go in any direction…
Bring on the Leinart/Bush/Young talks…
What really can you say about this game? I wanted Bollinger for weeks, and sweet merciful crap did we get him yesterday. I guess all that fancy schmancy stat breakdown stuff I did last week showed why he doesn't get many reps in the first half of the game…
I will do some more in-depth stuff at lunch time…
Although the Panthers are a few teammates short, what with a few cheerleaders short on their roster…
Anyway, for the remainder of the game, here is the place to post your thoughts!
Cimini reports this morning that Martin had ligament damage in Week 2, and there were times when the Jets didn't know if Martin could realistically go, day of game…
Said Drack on this topic:
Martin's
fortitude should be admired, no question. But Edwards seems so caught
up in Martin admiration that it's affecting good judgement.
I have resigned myself long ago to the fact that Edwards just refuses
to see the benefit in playing anyone other than Martin. As much as I
love the guy, it seems reasonable to start to send him off into the
sunset.
Beyond the obvious decline of a great player, it's clear that the Jets
just did not address the protection and blocking needs, which has led
the Jets down the slippery slope to where we now are.
As soon as
the Jets did not make a legitimate offer to Jordan, it was made
abundantly clear that the organization has chained themself to Martin,
with no real plan that has been made public for a replacement to him.
Many of his contemporaries, Eddie George, Jerome Bettis, Marshall
Faulk, and Priest Holmes has accepted a diminished role.. why should
this be different for Martin?
Thanks to Drack for the tip…
***
Anyone else see the story yesterday about Michael Vick saying he wouldn't mind playing with T.O.? This is one of the underrated stories of the year in my opinion.
Said Owens of Vick in 2004:
“Vick would be the Michael Jordan and I would be the Scottie Pippen.”
Heh…
if he means a loud obnoxious Scottie Pippen who has an archetype for an
agent, and badmouthed Michael's guts, physical conditioning, and sexual
orientation. As “helpful” a player like T.O. would be to the Falcons,
what I find most amusing is that T.O. might find his match in the ego
of Michael Vick.
“This is my team,” Vick said Wednesday.
OK Michael, fair enough, but further down…
“We
understand that it takes 11 guys to win a football game,” Vick said.
“We do not have any selfish guys on the football team. That is fine
with me.”
Uhh, but now I am confused… so this is his team, but there are no selfish players…
That makes total sense to me…
For what it's worth, here are some more “sources” on Edwards possible exodus to the Kansas City Chiefs.
More on the powwow…
With the Jets playing one of their toughest opponents of the year, it's good to know the defense is amped up for the game.
“I just pretty much told the team that I came back simply just for y'all,” Abraham said yesterday. “I didn't come back for the organization, I didn't come back for the contract. I came back for my teammates. That's why I'm here.”
Remember that article the other week that I pointed out about someone thinking Pete Carroll was going back to the pros?
Don't expect that to happen any time soon.
According to the article this blog references, after getting bounced by the Jets and the Pats, he cracked a book, got a purpose to his life, ran off 2 straight championships and is headed for five.
…some believe he has his sights on winning five national titles, which would eclipse the four won by legendary USC coaches John McKay and Howard Jones.
Since they are the best game in town, there is no reason Carroll can't continue to get recruits to go there. How hard would it be to tell a prospect “hey… our current QB dated Alyssa Milano as well as some starlet from MTV's Laguna Beach” or “our backup RB's biggest fan is Snoop Dogg.”
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