Category Archives: Interviews
Recently, Joe Namath spoke with Vincent Malozzi of the New York Times’ Fifth Down blog. He delivered some realistic pessimism that I hope is dead wrong:
Q. The Jets have appeared in the last two A.F.C. championship games but were eliminated each time. Are they talented enough to get to the Super Bowl this season?
A. I have my doubts, and I don’t want to get on the wrong side of people because I’m a real Jets fan. But I’ll tell you what; to get there three years in a row against all that competition, with Lady Luck and injuries involved, uh, the odds aren’t as good as you’d like them to be. I looked at their schedule from Day 1 with the Dallas Cowboys coming to town, and whoa, man, do they have some monsters.
All the more reason to rise to the occasion.
Tagged joe namath |
In this week’s “Four Quarters” (video link here), Mike Westhoff described the design of the game-changing punt block by Joe McKnight, and how even he was surprised by the outcome:
Tagged joe mcknight, mike westhoff, punt block |“I thought strategically we would have three guys on two. If we did this exactly correct, we may get that,” Westhoff said. “I didn’t think it would necessarily be Joe. I thought the fullback would step in and take Joe, and we’d get 2-on-1 on the corner. As it turned out, they actually moved out a little bit better than I thought, although the fullback probably went further out than what they’d like him to, and Joe came clean and we blocked it.”
Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com and Calvin Watkins of ESPNDallas.com pose a few very important questions to the Ryans here.
4 years ago, Braylon Edwards promised 100 Cleveland 8th graders if they kept their grades up and did at least 15 hours of community service a year, he’d pay for their college tuition. Now, those 8th graders are graduating high school, and Braylon’s keeping his promise, sending a newly-minted Jets fan into Patriots territory along the way.
(Cap tip to Erik Manassy at Jets Twit for this story.)
Even though he hasn’t read Rex’s book, James Ihedigbo shares the same tone as his coach, saying this in an interview with Metro about the Jets and its chances in the future:
I really do love this team, I love the Jets and being with the Jets organization. [General manager] Mike Tannenbaum gave me a shot to join this team as a walk-on when I wasn’t drafted, Woody Johnson is a great owner and treats us all well. I love this team, we’re put in situations to succeed and do well and we can win Super Bowls here, I believe that.
About his looming free agency, Ihedigbo chose his words a little more carefully, saying that he needs “to cautiously weigh and see what’s best for me…but I’d still love to be a Jet.”
Still, it’s great to see Rex’s players sharing his brash attitude and saying things like: “We don’t expect to lose, to be the team that people expect to be that same Jets team from years past.”
Despite the workouts he’s been hosting, it looks like the lockout is leaving Mark Sanchez with a lot of free time on his hands, since he’s taken in a few Broadway shows and chatting about them with the New York Times.
As part of its Tony Award coverage, the Times has been interviewing New York celebrities, asking them about the theater and their picks to win it all. Not quite as brash as his coach, Sanchez shied away from making any real predictions, but he seemed to think “Catch Me if You Can” would get the top prize this year, saying that “It had a happy ending, and everybody was smiling when you walked out…” Kind of like what happened when I watched the Jets beat the Patriots this past January at my local bar.
When asked about football, Sanchez showed a bit of his intelligence about the unpredictable nature of the game and the amount of planning that goes into preparing for the unplanned:
Being onstage takes so much preparation. That’s very similar to football, the way you study and critique yourself, and how you think about an opponent and what they’re trying to do. Lots of times things don’t go the way they’re supposed to. If something happens on the field that wasn’t supposed to, you have to switch plays.
It’s nice to see that even during the offseason while he’s going to plays, Sanchez has studying on his mind (or knows to tell reporters he does).
Quiet confidence isn’t the first attribute that comes to mind when thinking of an NFL wide receiver’s personality — but it is the most accurate way to describe how Jerricho Cotchery carries himself.
Secure in his steps and sapient in his speech, the seven-year veteran rarely hesitates to echo the brazen bravado more characteristic of head coach Rex Ryan. Cotchery is deliberate when he speaks, but always modest; he’s confident without arrogance, proud without sin.
When it was time for Cotchery to make his acting debut last Wednesday in the 12 Angry Mascots’ long-running, sports-themed comedy show, he appeared as comfortable acting as he would catching a pass in traffic on a Sunday afternoon.
In character, Cotchery stormed the stage, took on the character of a diva receiver, promoted a reality show, and launched a rap career within seconds in Chelsea’s Gotham Comedy Club. Kevin Armstrong summed up the sequence nicely on Manish Mehta’s “Jets Stream” blog.
It was all routine — executed as seamlessly as the precise routes he runs. And that’s when the master of ceremonies, Scott Rogowsky, called an audible at the line of scrimmage.
The Jets may be wearing the offseason crown of a paper champion after all their headline-nabbing transactions, but Mark Sanchez is confident he has the formula to turn that momentum into on-field chemistry.
Banking on the second-year quarterback’s progress, Gang Green added two offensive weapons for Sanchez in receiver Santonio Holmes and running back LaDainian Tomlinson. And the 23-year-old Sanchez is dedicated to running with it and building a familial dynamic on offense.
“When we’re not throwing and working out, it’s important to just hang out,” Sanchez said. “Not just in the film room and in the facility, but you [have to] go to dinner with them. Not as a chore, but it’s something you want to get to know these guys.”
That means planning to vacation with his receivers this offseason, “either in California, or somewhere else,” Sanchez said. Developing a rapport with his teammates and learning his receivers’ preferences takes as much precedence as forging the friendship.
“When it’s the heat of the moment, it’s the fourth quarter, tensions are raised, [and] guys are yelling back and forth, you know it’s never personal. … You know there’s that deep bond — that love between you guys — and know that it’s all about winning this game. Nothing’s ever personal.”
On Miami Dolphins trading for Brandon Marshall:
Well, everyone is watching what we’re doing right now, so they know they have to step it up another notch. We’ve made a lot of additions this offseason. We’ve been improving our team drastically. I think other teams see that and now they’re trying to make their moves accordingly.
On expectations for 2010:
Well, we made the AFC championship game last year, and we’ve gotten better. On paper, we’ve gotten better with the additions that we’ve made. And with the quality of players that we’ve brought in, it’s not a stretch by any means to say that we’re not going to be better. But we understand what type of work we need to put in. That’s the key to it. We have a very close-knit group and those guys are going to fit in well.
We look forward to having another great year. Our goal is to win a Super Bowl. Anything short of that is going to be disappointing for us, because that’s what we’re setting out to do right now – that’s what we’re working towards. We’re not taking anything for granted. We’re not complacent, at all. We’re just going to work towards our goal.
On Kerry Rhodes being traded to Arizona last month:
I was shocked. He’s a very good friend of mine. I’ve known him since the 11th grade. But sometimes changes need to be made for both sides. You can’t keep going back and forth, who’s right and who’s wrong, sometimes you just need to part ways.
But I think, in the end, Arizona will be a great situation for Kerry. He has the opportunity to go out there and play with Adrian Wilson, team up with him in that secondary at safety and be able to do great things.
He’s a hardworker. He’ll be able to bounce back and have a good year.
On if Rhodes’ “Hollywood” image was overblown:
Well, yeah, I really haven’t seen him in too many movies. A lot of people say he’s into the movie thing and modeling thing, but I don’t see him everywhere. I don’t see him everywhere, but a lot of times, though, that perception can be created by outside individuals. Obviously, he is involved in those things, but you don’t see him everywhere.
Football is important to him and he has a chance to prove that. He has a chance to prove that, and it’s going to be up to him.
Feel free to follow me on Twitter @fittedhatlow.
With the Jets’ acquisition of Santonio Holmes from Pittsburgh last Sunday, the run-heavy philosophy that drove 2009′s success is officially in question, and Jerricho Cotchery is ecstatic about the possibilities.
After spending Wednesday morning showcasing Reebok’s ZigTech sneaker for the media at the Reebok Sports Club in Lincoln Square, the seventh-year receiver beamed while discussing the offensive possibilities with the Jets’ wealth of weaponry.
Cotchery never wondered if the Jets’ additions — Holmes and former Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson — would negatively impact his role. Instead, he challenged opposing defenses to figure out how to stop an offense that boasts three receivers who have primary-target ability.
“When you have your third guy — your third cornerback playing one of us — what are you really going to do with that?” Cotchery asked. “It’s going to create a lot of problems, a lot of problems for defenses and I’m just thrilled to be a part of it.”
TheJetsBlog was invited to attend UbiSoft’s event in the Nintendo Store at Rockefeller Plaza where Just Dance was showcased with help from Nick Mangold, Giants center Shaun O’Hara, and Knicks forward Danilo Gallinari. Angel Navedo caught up with No. 74 to discuss his thoughts on the 2009 season, hopes for 2010, and much more.
Believe it or not, but Nick Mangold is the same affable, 6’4″, 300-pound man I spoke with last summer (Part I & II), who loves gaming and technology, but remains driven by football.
Sure, my BlackBerry caught his eye, sparking a brief discussion about the merits of the 9700′s trackpad over the trackball on other devices. But that came second to a subtle display of Rex Ryan’s contagious confidence.
With an even more extensive résumé, now featuring a second-consecutive trip to the Pro Bowl, a postseason charge to the AFC Championship game, and a league-leading rushing attack — aided by the grunt work of the offensive line he commands — the 26-year-old center from Ohio is exactly as I remembered him, only with more accolades.
Maintaining and building upon greatness looks to be the goal in 2010, and although Mangold won’t be the first to boast, he knows what he wants and he believes this team can get it done.
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