Monthly Archives: August 2009
Based on the preseason and some initial cuts, here’s my first go at the Jets’ 53-man roster. We’ll be hosting the roster competition later this week, so stay tuned for that!
NOTE: As was pointed out, I counted Dearth twice (once as a TE, then once as a specialist) so I added Jehuu Caulcrick and updated the RB Analysis. Cheers!
Quarterback (3): Mark Sanchez, Kellen Clemens, Erik Ainge
Analysis: Pizzotti’s already been cut, and Ainge has demonstrated that he’s got the arm and the poise in-game to be this team’s scout team QB. Pizz might be back on the practice squad, but if Ryan didn’t even let Pizzotti throw a ball in his one series … maybe not.
M.A. Mehta reports today that Shonn Greene was back on the field in practice this morning.
Shonn Greene, who missed Saturday’s preseason game against the Giants due to cartilage damage in his ribs, looked fine in the 40-minute portion of practice open to the media Monday morning. Greene was injured during the Week 2 Monday night loss in Baltimore. Two weeks ago, Ryan said that Greene would miss the remainder of the preseason due to the rib injury. But we’ll see if that’s changed after the coach speaks to the media later Monday.
Greene seems like a good player, and it’s clear that Ryan is overly cautious with some of the guys he wants to be ready to go for a full season, but if Greene’s been this dinged up in camp, it’s hard to know how healthy he can be for the course of an entire NFL season.
Keep an eye on this and who the Jets keep at running back going into the season.
Some postgame reactions from the other night via SNY of Sanchez, Ryan and Leon Washington.
In his article on Stuckey, Hutchinson relates some of what he’s heard on the Jets potential interest in Eagles Wide Receivers — a topic we wrote about last week. What Hutch hears is that even though the Jets have shown interest, they might not have interest in the guy who’s likely to get pushed out the door.
There have been rumblings that the Jets are eyeing the Eagles’ roster, which has a surplus of wide receivers. But Reggie Brown appears to be the odd man out and the Jets aren’t believed to be interested in him. Hank Basket is a possibility but his price tag may be too high.
Baskett would be the obvious first choice for the Jets. He’s tall (6-4), physical and is quick enough (timed 4.5 in the 2006 Combine) for how the Jets would want to use him … deep. Seemingly though, the Eagles aren’t ready to part ways with the young receiver just yet.
At a party Friday night, I was talking to my friend Dan (super duper brand expert, check their cool work) who is a big Eagles fan. I wanted him to lead me through the list of their receivers.
Dan told me that Curtis has been injured while DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin were already coming on strong. Brown was his most likely guesses on the odd man out of the situation. Personally, I like Jason Avant’s game, but at 6-0, with 4.5 speed, I’m not sure he offers the team much more than they already have with Stuckey, et al.
Is the Defensive Line even more dinged up than it was at the outset of the Giants game? Cimini noted a rather concerning injury from the Saturday night game.
DE Mike DeVito injured his hamstring in the second quarter and did not return. It was wrapped after the game. This is no insignificant injury. With Ellis suspended the first game, DeVito figured to be the starter. If he’s out, they have a serious depth issue.
DeVito is a player for whom Ryan has stated the team is trying to get a new contract. As Cimini notes, with Eills and Pace suspended, this makes an already undermanned defensive front even more of a concern for the start of the season. Hamstring injuries are tricky things, and serious ones can take a few weeks for football players to get back on the field.
Stay tuned …
Looking forward to the Eagles game this week, Andy Reid is wondering how he’ll use Vick against the Jets.
In five plays as a quarterback from the shotgun, he completed all four of his passes — one of them right-handed — for 19 yards and ran the ball for 1 yard. He even lined up as a decoy in the slot for one play.
So how will Eagles coach Andy Reid use Vick in Thursday night’s preseason game against the New York Jets at the Meadowlands?
“I haven’t thought about that much, but yeah, I’ll be curious how he does if and when that happens,” Reid said Saturday. “There’s a chance, and I have the confidence he can do that. He’s played a couple years in this league.”
I know, I know … there’s no starters so who cares? The truth is that the Jets will have a great opportunity to see how well their second team linebackers (Murrell, Westermann, etc.) can contain or harry a mobile QB like Vick. This will be a real test to see just how deep our linebackers are.
Mike Lombardi wrote in the National Football Post that the Jets might have to to come to terms with their pick of Vernon Gholston and what to do with them.
The Jets have a huge problem with Vernon Gholston. The people I’ve spoken with know the term “bust” is in order, but because of his contract, he can’t be cut, or even traded. The Jets guaranteed him $17.4 million if he doesn’t play in 45 percent of the plays in any of the first four years. That numbers grows to more than $21 million if he does. He played in 16 percent last year. What would you do? The more he plays, the more he earns. Ouch. I can’t imagine the Jets starting him in place of suspended Calvin Pace.
But the truth is that Ryan will start Gholston for Pace … because he’s already told us as much. Now does he start all four game? I can’t say for certain.
We all know that Lombardi has been against Gholston for a long time now, and he might well be proven right before it’s all over. Lombardi loves to throw around the word “bust,” and I know he’s eager to tell everyone “I told you so.”
As far as his potential, Bart Scott spoke up with some sage words about folks who are ready to give up on Vernon Gholston just yet.
- Randy Lange relates an interesting discussion he had with Dwight Lowery in the locker room.
- Lebs notes he saw some Romo in Sanchez’s play, and is stuck on Stuckey.
- Fanhouse’s Dave Goldberg warns, don’t overanlayze the preseason.
- The Jets benefitted from some dropped passes by the Giants.
- Boomer had some strong words for Mangini.
- Schefter with a no news update on Brady.
- Was it wise of the Patriots to cut Kevin O’Connell? Do they have AJ Feeley on their mind?
- Tedy Bruschi retires from the Pats.
With cutdowns due in two days, the Jets have made some moves to pre-emptively get under the threshold by cutting LB Craig Kobel, S Nate Ness, QB Chris Pizzotti and WR Huey Whittaker.
None of these come as surprises and don’t be shocked to see some of these players might back shortly. A number of teams are already making their cutdowns, and the Jets are likely looking to have some flexibility to snap up a player or two they might have had their eye on from another team’s dross.
Were the whispers aboutTom Brady’s potential should injury from a Friday night roughing up via Albert Haynesworth a tad premature? Quite possibly.
Per Christopher L. Gasper of the Boston Globe, a source close to the team says that “there is no need for hysteria” regarding the mild injury Brady suffered when he was smushed on Friday night by Redskins defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth.
Though the source admitted that the shoulder is sore, the source added that “there are not any concerns at this time.”
Gasper’s source also sort of disputed coach Bill Belichick’s contention that Brady’s removal from the game was unrelated to the shoulder.
“If it’s sore there is no sense going out and antagonizing it,” the source said.
As Jets fans that will see him Week 2 without the help of Calvin Pace, you know I’ll be watching how Brady plays against the Bills on the Week One Monday Night Football game.
Every Jets fan has two sides. We are all schizophrenic; we alternate between paranoid, neurotic, sobbing Suzys and rabid, take-on-the-world hope mongers. That’s why I think it’s so interesting to look at our prospects for the season through the lens of the paranoid fan, and through that of the optimistic one.
Just as there is the paranoid and optimistic fan, I think that there are two Brian Schottenheimers. On the one hand there is the offensive mastermind who schemed the Jets to a 10-6 season in 2006 with dazzling gadget plays and subtle offensive trickery. On the other, there is the “what was he thinking” Brian Schottenheimer who throws on first down and runs on second and long and seems to be trying to break up the offensive’s rhythm with his every play call. So now that Schotty is going to be the new sheriff in town when it comes to calling the offense, which side of him are we going to see this year? Lets see what the Optimistic and Paranoid fans have to say. (more…)
- A full 4:34 of game highlights from the Jets 27-25 win over the Giants.
- Mark Sanchez isolated highlights.
- The scramble and throw to Stuckey downfield for a TD.
- Erik Ainge’s long (underthrow) to Aundrae Allison for a walk-in score.
