Bent’s Thoughts from Across the Pond – Week 9
The forgotten man of thejetsblog.com is back! Following my trip to the Jets-Bills game last week (which I’ll tell you all about in the offseason), where I got to meet Bassett at the tailgate, I have returned to the UK suffering from vertigo due to a blood clot in my head (nothing serious). Can I blame that on the Bassett curse? Perhaps not this time. It was good to meet our (as a community) “maker”.
Anyway, I am have been dizzy, disorientated, confused and not functioning on all cylinders, hence the lateness of this piece (although it may be convenient, because I’m not doing one to recap the bye week, but don’t worry – this is a bumper edition). On the bright side, at least I now know how Brooks Bollinger feels. If only the line of scrimmage when the Jets are on defense was as congested as my head.
For all the fallout from the Skins game (that’s last week’s overtime loss to Washington, not some pro-celebrity golf event), join me after the jump.
The Jetsons
This week’s signing of Marques Murrell, the baby brother of ex-Jets RB Adrian Murrell – a move which I enthused about and nobody else did – reminds us that nepotism, or in this case jetpotism, in the modern workplace is king and gives me an excuse to look at some of the second generation Jets who could soon be NFL stars.
Already in the league are Cowboys RB Marion Barber III and Colts DT Dan Klecko, who fathers played for the Jets in the eighties. Barber has already carved out a more successful career than his father, whereas the only chance Klecko will have to say that, is if he makes a few cameo roles that beat Joe’s appearances in Heat, Cannonball Run and Smokey and the Bandit and then he can say he had a better career as an actor. This shouldn’t be too hard.
Also in the league, Tampa LB Ryan Nece is Ronnie Lott’s son, but can we really claim him as a Jet? Similarly, ILB Zak DeOssie’s father (Steve) played just seven games as a Jet, with most of his career spent, like his son, at the Giants. Finally, WR Jabar “Kaz Matsui” Gaffney’s pops (Derrick) was a WR for the Jets for six years, but that was slightly before my time (although apparently he returned for two games, after two years out of the league, during the strike shortened 1987 season, but I can’t say I recall his solitary reception). Also worth noting, Gaffney Sr. currently trails me by two yards in the career rushing annals.
As a wrestling fan, I enjoy my “second-generation superstars” so I have been keeping my finger on the pulse of some that are coming up in the collegiate and high school ranks:
* Penn State TE Mickey Shuler Jr. certainly looked like his father in his first career game against FIU, as he made a catch on the outside and beat a defender to go in at the pylon. Since then, he hasn’t played much, but has recorded 6 catches for 75 yards on the year and looks set to get some reps at FB following an injury to Matt Hahn.
* Wisconsin WR Nick Toon has also headed to his father’s Alma Mater, although with the Badgers deep receiving corps, they are putting a redshirt on him this year. Already 6’3″ and 200 pounds, Toon has experience returning kicks and decent speed, so I’m looking forward to seeing him in action next year.
* J R Hasty has quit the Washington football team over a lack of playing time. Hasty has great potential, but incurred the wrath of coach Ty Willingham when he was declared ineligible for his Freshman year. As a Sophomore, Hasty, a running back (unlike his father James who was a CB for the Jets) had carried just six times for 18 yards and will now transfer to another school.
* Coming to Penn State next year is Michael Zordich Jr. whose father was a defensive back with the Jets. Zordich Jr. plays middle linebacker, where he is rated by Scout.com as the 7th best prospect in the Nation, and also plays fullback. He already stands 6’2″ and weighs 225.
* Finally, (and if you know of any more, please let me know), Jake Ryan is a quarterback, whose father (Pat) was mainly a backup QB for the Jets in the eighties. He is currently deciding where to attend college and has been rated just outside the top 100 QB recruits in the Nation by Scout.com and just outside the top 350 by ESPN.
David Harris needs a nickname
A real bright spot over the last few weeks has been David Harris, who has stepped in admirably for Jonathan Vilma. As I noted in preseason, he was doing JV’s job better than JV was and it was only a matter of time before he took it off him (albeit only when an injury forced the coaching staff’s hand). Playing the two of them together didn’t seem to do much for Vilma’s production, so right now David Harris is the MIKE. Good luck to Vilma, who is going to get lots of time to watch more film, which he apparently enjoys so much.
41 tackles in two games is pretty stunning, but the NFL doesn’t really keep official records for numbers of tackles. It’s a shame so many of them were probably as a result of someone better placed not making the stop. So, there are no records to look at, but I dug up some stats which show he’s in pretty good company if he keeps up this pace:
* The unofficial NFL record for tackles in a season is 214 by Hardy Nickerson (a rate of 13.4 per game) in 2003.
* Despite this, some sources state that Victor Green had 221 tackles for the Jets one year (presumably mostly after big gains).
* Patrick Willis was on target for the record earlier in the year, but has cooled off to a pace of 11 per game and he only had 19 tackles in his first two games.
* David had twice as many tackles as anyone else on the day and three times as many as any other Jet.
* Tom Zbikowski (Notre Dame safety) had 21 tackles against Navy last year, but they run on virtually every play.
* A J Hawk only has one double digit tackle game so far this season. He had four last year, with a career high of 15 tackles.
* Brian Urlacher had 25 tackles in a game against Tampa Bay last year, eclipsing his previous career high of 20. However, he was initially only credited with 19 tackles by NFL.com so I smell shenanigans.
Bottom line, David needs a nickname. Hitman or Hammer aren’t going to cut it, but the best I have come up with so far is Harrison Thud or D H Logjam. Terrible…told you I was ill. How about we just call him “The D. H.”? Come on – the designated hitter? That’s perfect!
Kotite for your right
One of the craziest things I have seen written over the last few weeks is that these Jets are worse than the Kotite-era Jets. Insanity! To illustrate, I dug up some more stats. My asterisk button is going to be as worn out as that of whoever types out the Pats media guide next year.
* After he went 3-13 in his first year as Jets coach, Rich Kotite had a career record of 39-41. That was identical to Herm Edwards’ record with the Jets. (Mangini being 11-14 hardly helps my case, but bear with me).
* This year’s team has lost seven games in a row where they still had a chance to win deep into the fourth quarter. In 1995, the Jets lost 8 games by 10 or more points, including 38, 37, 19 and 17 point defeats.
* 12 guys on the 1995 roster never played again in the NFL after the 1995 season. This included some decent veterans at the end of the line like Brad Baxter and Wilber Marshall, but also included no-names such as Lou Benfatti, Curtis Ceaser and Terrence Wisdom.
* In 1996, the Jets went 1-15, which they may match this year, but lost 7 games by 14 or more points (and remember there were no two point conversions in those days), including three consecutive defeats of 25, 25 and 24.
* A mind-boggling 27 players on the 1996 roster (over half) never again played in the NFL after the end of the year. This included some solid veterans at the end of the line, like David Alexander, Kyle Clifton and Nick Lowery, but also included no-names such as Aubrey Beavers, Kwame Ellis and Sheridan May.
* Jets WR Henry Bailey played in five games in 1996 and rushed for minus four yards, putting him just below Derrick Gaffney on the all-time list (and two places behind me).
That’s it for this week. I expect Abram Elam’s big mistake this week will just be to leave the oven on too long or something. When he returns to action after the bye, so will I.
I hope the room has stopped spinning by then! Til the next time!
3 Responses to Bent’s Thoughts from Across the Pond – Week 9
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Prince says:
Aubrey Beavers. Now that brings back memories. According to this source, he had exactly 3 more interceptions than tackles in his career. Of course, his interceptions to tackles ratio was infinite. I think you see what I’m getting at.
http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=BEAVEAUB01
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Doh… misread that line score. My bad. Guess its not funny when its not true.
The “DH” I love it.
So let it be written,
so let it be done.