Monthly Archives: August 2006
power (pou' er) n. 1. ability to do, act, or produce. 2. the ability to control others; authority; influence; strength.
With the final exhibition game hours away and the regular season looming larger on the horizon, let's check in and see who has the juice in Jetland this week.
1. Tangini - With final cutdowns this week, this is when the young coach and GM will combine their Wonder Twin powers and create what will be known as the 2006 Jets.
“Form of . . . a champion. Shape of . . . a juggernaut.”
Okay, I'll be happy with a Competitive Team, but why not dare to hope they can be better than advertised? Last August, NONE of the dozen NFL experts at ESPN had the Bears winning their division, and although two had the Seahawks making the playoffs, no one had them in the Super Bowl. Like with the lottery, “you can't win if you don't play.” (Or is that, “Hey, someone has to win”? Maybe “Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son”? Whatever.) Obviously, with the Jolley trade, the wheeling and dealing has begun.
2. Chad Pennington – Mr. Pennington:
As the “newly” annointed starting quarterback, it is your honor-bound duty to stand up strong behind a rebuilt offensive line with two rookies, to rely on a running game featuring a cast-off back from a team that finished worse than the Jets, and to throw to a group of receivers that demonstrate no great speed or game-breaking ability. All this with a twice-repaired shoulder, which also needs to be strong enough to carry the football hopes and dreams of a vast, rabid legion of green-and-white fanatics, who admire your courage, tenacity and champion's heart, but will just as quickly scream for your banishment to Bogeyland upon your first miscue.
Godspeed, Mr. Pennington. Godspeed.
— Signed, All of Us
3. Brooks Bollinger – I know there's been all sorts of sniggering in the press about Bolly, derisive comments that his chances to make this team are about those of the new Mets stadium being referred to as “The House that Victor Zambrano Built,” but when you step back, why wouldn't the Jets want Bollinger around? He's totally in the Mangini mold: a classic overachiever and college team captain who is a gamer and can make plays inside and outside of the pocket, with his arm and his feet. It seems no one gives him a shot (outside of the coaching staff), but I would be surprised if they kept Ramsey over the Plucky Badger, considering his game experience from last season, and especially if he does well with the first-teamers versus the Iggles.
4. Ben Graham - With the Jets pronounced lack of offense, the left-footed Aussie may be the hardest working man in Special Teams this season, which you know is fine by Mike “Mickey” Westhoff.
Westhoff: “Okay, kid. I knows you ain't afraid of nothing, what living with them dingoes, convicts, platypussies and all down under, but that ain't nothing compared to an NFL rush. Did you see how McClover destroyed Dorsch last week?”
Graham: “Aye, mate. Scary stuff.”
Westhoff: “Yeah, that was because I had him locked in a dark basement all last year while he was rehabbing, chained to a Bowflex and only watching an endless loop of films of blocked punts all the time. I fed him once a day, a plate of protein gruel, and slowly transformed him into some types of inhumane special teams beast, I did. I also told him that unless he wanted back in the basement, he had to go out and wreck the punter each week this year, completely ruin him, devastate him to the point of making him cry.”
Graham: “That's great, mate. So why should I worry?”
Westhoff: “Well, you see, I didn't tell him which punter to do it to, now did I? So keep hanging 'em high or . .. well, let's just say you don't want to be McClobbered, kid.”
5. D'Brickashaw Ferguson - Rumor has it that if D'Brick has another false start penalty that Mangini is going to have him run a lap … around Long Island!
6. Kevan Barlow - Clearly given a pass after the fumble and uninspiring play in his debut for the Jets, the new #32 better step up his play and focus or he could find himself joining Ferguson running laps around the island, or worse, finding out that Nolan was Mother Theresa compared to Mangini.
7. Dewayne Robertson - With yet another season-ending injury to a defensive tackle, the talent behind the former No. 4 overall pick in the draft is thinner than Nicole Richie after a steam bath.
The simple waif?
With improved play, D-Rob–who, unlike Ms. Richie, hasn't met a sammich he didn't like–will take the pressure off what remains of the interior of the line behind him. Speaking of–
8. Dave Ball – Apparently, unbeknownst to many, Ball was part of a well-known one-hit wonder band back in the 80s. They've recently re-formed, modifying the lyrics to their biggest work. A sampling:
Once they ran at you (they ran)
Now they run from you
This tainted D you've given
Give all a tackle could give
Making plays and that's not nearly all
Oh . . . tainted D
(Oh-ooh) tainted D
I'd put that on my iPod, if I had one.
9. & 10. Chris Baker & Bryan Thomas – Mangini is more spare with praise than Ebenezer Scrooge was with money, so either Baker and Thomas (both of whom received relative accolades from the coach this week) are having a strong impact on the team or he's just using them to push other players. With the Jolley deal, it seems like the latter; Baker's stock has risen like a loaf of bread, while continued strong play by Thomas helps take some of the sting out of the former regime's first-round reach for him.
I can't help you with the sting of having read this, but your comments are always welcome!
According to the New York Jets website, the Jets have dealt tight end Doug Jolley to the Bucs for an undisclosed draft pick. And just as quickly, an undisclosed pick (the same one?) was shipped off to the Cowboys for third-year tight end Sean Ryan.
Ryan, 6-5, 265, is in his third year in the NFL after being drafted by the Cowboys in the fifth round of the 2004 Draft, 144th overall. Ryan has played in nine games with two starts. The Boston College product started his career as a defensive end, but moved to tight end with 75 catches for 950 yards and 12 touchdowns. His 12 scores rank second for tight ends in the school's history.
I guess that head-butt stamped Jolley's ticket out the door.
Andrew Gross of the Journal News is also reporting that the Jets claimed wide receiver Sloan Thomas off waivers from Tennessee, a seventh-rounder from Texas in 2004 who saw limited action (one game) on special teams last season.
- Hooray Bollinger!!!
- Smarmy PK notes that the Jets should get Branch since the team has taken everything else that isn't nailed down from Foxboro… hee hee, that's funny King.
- PK also drops a best case scenario for all the NFL teams.
- Chad drops some thoughts about his relationship with the potty-mouthed Brian Schottenheimer.
- Cimini and T-Rock read into Bollinger's being named as the starter in the least meaningful game of the year.
After some quiet from the Jets journal pages on the NFLPA site, two players dropped posts in the past few days. Derrick Blaylock and Patrick Ramsey both shared their thoughts on their situations (Ramsey's seems to be before he knew about Pennington, which he posted Monday).
Clearly things have been a bit nutty around here lately, for that we apologize, know that I am working on some projects in the background. To that end, there have been a lot of things flying around that we haven't had the time to set right, most especially in the TJB Snarkies category. If you are unfamiliar with TJB Snarkies, check here. To start, here are some snarkworthy articles lately that Bent and I are doling out points on.
- Cimini made the old mistake of claiming that Jolley was acquired for a first round pick – again. Leaving the multiple other picks out of consideration. (2 snarkies)
- The Journal News noted that Trey Teague is now a cornerback … jeez, Mangini must thinks he is Lombardi after his work with Troy Brown. (1 snarky)
- Glauber's piss-poor article imploring CuMart to retire. Hey Glauber, why don't YOU retire?!? It's also worth noting that Bob does have a blog now, do I have to consider him a more credible read now? (3 snarkies)
And suprise, the Daily News is back in the lead. Mostly for Cimini's work in ripping the name of the granddaddy of Jets blogs from Bob Bullock.
I am treating this as a TJB Snarky amnesty message, and asking if you have any nominations for putting papers in their place, to comment on them here. Please make sure to tack a link into the message so I can go back and read. One thing, now that these guys are all rocking the interweb with their blogs, here is something to consider: I am less inclined to give out points for what the guys write there than in their columns and articles.
Well, the saga surrounding the Jets starting QB is over. Chad is Mangini’s man and will start the season under Nick Mangold’s derriere in Nashville.
Lost somewhat in the media hysteria and subsequent chatter concerning Mangini’s “late†choice of Pennington as the starter is the fact that he chose Pennington as the starter at all. Many here and elsewhere left Pennington for dead after his second shoulder surgery. I guess he showed us.
Now, one could make a valid argument that if a signal-caller other than a cast-off, rookie or converted wishbone QB were in camp Pennington would be holding a clipboard. However, the mere fact that this guy fought his way back from two, career-threatening surgeries and earned himself a NFL starting job is worthy of considerable praise.
I don’t believe Pennington is an A-list quarterback, but my respect for him as a competitor is off the charts.
Water = Wet
Fire = Hot
Ice = Cold
Pennington = Jets' starter
The Jets announced this morning — amidst media suspicions the offense's ability to score points mind you — that the team has determined Chad Pennington will start versus the Titans in the season opener. I wrote a quick post about it on AOL, but what strikes me the most about this is why the change of heart from Mangini in less than two day's time? Yesterday papers were reporting that Mangini was still looking for someone to distinguish themselves. I understand what Mangini is doing, and that he probably needed time to review film and whatnot, but it sure seems like some mixed signals to me …
Just to give you a sense of what AOL is up to this week, here are a few articles that have been posted on the AOL Sports new venture. I am trying to figure out how this is all going to work so I appreciate your patience … Right now, I feel split between both, and unable to do either properly.
We are rapidly approaching Saturday's deadline to cut-down to a 53 man roster, and the Jets have at least 2 serious decisions to make with regards to injuries.
The Jets must decide whether to move RB Curtis Martin and C Trey Teague to the active roster, leave them on the PUP list, or move them to injured reserve. All signs indicate that the two will be on the PUP to start the season. That is significant, because it requires them to sit out of practice and games for the first 6 weeks of the season.
I think C-Mart is a lock to stay on the PUP… His restructured contract gives the Jets some salary relief but offers him incentives should he return to the field and play for the team this season. If this is the case, we'll be starting a very sad countdown: after 6 weeks, the Jets would have exactly 21 days to move Curtis to the active or release him.
Teague is a little more interesting. Granted, if he's not ready to practice or play week one, having him on the active roster means releasing a player who can practice and play. Yet, 6 weeks is a very long time in the NFL, and after last year it may be a gamble worth taking. Say we have the same problems on the OL in the first three or four weeks this year that we did last year, being able to play Teague in week 4 versus week 7 is a big difference. Of course, the status and severity of the injury will dictate, and you can imagine how little info there is on that. Your current backup centers are Norm Katnik and (I assume) Pete Kendall. Lets hope Mangold is a true champion.
Otherwise, injuries to the players still with a chance to make the active roster are few and far between. David Barret (undisclosed) missed the Giants game but is back practicing. Tim Dwight and Tui Alailefaleala (legs) are not currently practicing. Pouha is out. Mansanto Pope has not yet run out of singles.
In other news, as predicted by Bent, it seems the Nick Mangold myspace page has been closed. We'll recap the Mangold drinking game rules before week 1.
If you will remember last summer, there were some rumblings about doubt with the offensive line.
Had we known now what we knew then …
All the same, now less than two weeks away from the Jets opening game against the Titans, how ready do you think this team is for play that actually counts? What are some of the questions that this team seems to have put to bed and what are the, as of yet, unresolved issues that this team faces in your mind?
Former NFL journeyman (and Jet player) Glenn Cadrez locks up a former Playmate / Baywatch babe Brande Roderick.- T-Rock looks at some of the stories of the Giants game. He likes Clemens long-term, and was amazed by Kerry Rhodes guts.
- Blaylock says he isn't taking the trade personally, but he might be playing like it is.
- Cimini looks at the reasons for why Mangini might not have named a starter yet on his blog.
- I swear, Herm's PR people must write this story for reporters year after year…
- Nick Fierro starts off his article with “expectations are as low this season for the New York Jets as they've been since the Rich Kotite era.” Except for the fact that Kotite isn't the coach of the Jets …
- Brian Ettkin of the Albay Time Union looks at the time fans might have taken Curtis Martin for granted.
Cannizarro must be on vacation this week, because Serby is working overtime on the Jets lately. In his most recent column, Serby shows us the fun of banging your head against the wall by asking question after question to Pennington & Co. about the lack of an announced QB for the Jets. Serby raises some interesting points, but doesn't get the satisfaction he wants in any of the questions that he asks. Chad had to know what the story regarding his status with the team would be from the time he renegotiated his contract. You have to credit Chad with his willingness to dive in headlong to the new system.
