Here are –

The Top 5 Things That R in CT Has Learned From Reading TJB the Past Five Years

5. That TJB has changed the world! The passion and interest of non-traditional media — aka “blogs like TJB started by fans” — has dramatically changed how football is now covered. Five years ago, what you read in the paper from August to January — and then around the draft — is what you got online. But the fans’ interest in their teams, and the ability for guys like Bassett to create their own sites, and thus, find and share news (and eventually cover the teams) around-the-clock, year-round, has forced the mainstream media to follow suit. Every reporter now has his own blog, they give us blow-by-blow updates from hereto previously unreported activies such as mini camp and training camp, and work 12 months a year to keep up.

Sure, us fans had a part, but it was the bloggers like Bassett that have lead the charge.

4. As they say in Avenue Q, the internet is for … pics of the Flight Crew! Yes, gratuitous pics, but pics none the less. Enjoy boys, enjoy.

3. Jets fans rock! There are lots and lots and lots of Jets fans out there who are not drunken Gate D troglodytes, but intelligent, articulate and passionate individuals who know and love football, know and love Jets history and know and love the Jets.

And to be honest, as much as I love keeping up with the Jets news, I love keeping up with this community. When something happens, I look forward to hearing what Bassett or Bent has to say, or any one of the hundreds of regular posters here, from sackdance99 to Nikolas to Harvlis to Harlan Lachman (I will get a kewpie some day, I swear!)

2. When the Jets win, all is calm, but when they lose … look out! I don’t even have to look at the final score of a game — one glance at the number of comments on game thread on a Monday morning will tell you the story. To paraphrase (okay, outright steal) the catchphrase over on TJB’s sister site, metsblog: “One team, one million GMs.”

1. BB is king! No one in the blogosphere works harder, nor is as fair and open-minded as Brian Bassett. Not only is he the founder and creator of this esteemed site, but its heart and soul. His enthusiasm, good humor and affable sensibilities are what have made TJB so great, while his commitment to providing something new to read EVERY SINGLE DAY is as strong as our commitment to the green-and-white.

Congrats on five great years Bassett! Here’s to being able to celebrate a Super Bowl win here (sooner rather than later), and much more success …

Hey all –

The rain stopped and it was clear skies for the afternoon session here in Cortland, drawing a bigger and more enthusiastic crowd. The team practiced for about two hours in shells — helmets and shoulder pads with shorts.

If you want to see my pics from the morning session of the opening day of training camp, click here.

The afternoon images are after the jump …

The Golden Boy, striking a pose in response to the fans cheering him when he came out for the afternoon session. Again, nothing truly great from either quarterback, although Clemens connected to Brad Smith on a long TD bomb when the defensive back slipped.

Definitely a much looser camp across the board as Kerry Rhodes and Sean Ellis square off in mock fisticuffs.

Coach Callahan working with the backup offensive lineman.

The four quarterbacks of the apocalypse!

Coach Callahan giving direction.

The special teams guys — Jay Feely, T.J. Conley, Reggie Hodges and James Dearth. Yeah, they stand around a lot.

Clemens handing off to Thomas Jones. Like the morning session, Clemens worked pretty much exclusively with the first team. He had the play of the day with the aforementioned TD to Smith, that drew a great response from the crowd.

Sanchez handing off to Washington, who was more involved in the afternoon session over the morning session. Guess he got his wind back!

Sanchez tossing a pass.

The starting defense, which worked out of the 3-4 most of practice.

To no one’s surprise, Coach Ryan spends a lot of time working directly with the defense.

Unlike training camp the past few years, there was no music blaring, so it was great to hear the coaches and players communicating.

Warming up!

Clearly, Jim Leonhard is one of Ryan’s guys.

Marques Murrell ready for action in an interception drill.

The Mad Backer himself in the same drill.

No pressure on Reggie Hodges with Westy staring over his shoulder.

Leon and Leonhard fielding punts together. Although Leon is a great weapon, Leonhard does have amazing hands.

David Harris working the blocking sled while Coach Sutton looks on.

The linebackers running a tackling-type drill.

The left half of the offensive line. A quiet day for them, which is good, right?

Clemens talking with Dustin Keller, who looks like will be a major part of the offense this year. Definitely creates mismatches.

Coach Schottenheimer was constantly in Sanchez’s ear throughout the practice, almost after every play.

Sanchez, Greene and Keller: The offensive core of the future?

Lito Sheppard squared off against Jerricho Cotchery, who had a solid day as usual.

Coach Westhoff was in mid-season form, barking at the troops!

Clemens with his top three wideouts — Clowney made a nice catch or two, but also dropped a few easy passes. Maddeningly inconsistent! Stuckey was solid.

Look, I don’t know what the deal with Leon’s contract is, but this guy is the closest thing this team has to a true superstar, especially with the fans. Every time the guy touches the ball, it’s electricity in the crowd, even in practice! Please, Jets, do the right thing with this guy!!!

Sanchez uncorking a fast ball — Sackdance99, your mechanical analysis, please.

Clemens loading up the Gun Show!

Leonhard and Leon fielding punts again.

An atta boy for Leon from Danny Woodhead, who did not practice in the afternoon.

Clemens tossing a pass before Calvin Pace crushes him.

Sanchez letting one fly.

The wideouts in a stretching circle.

Sean Ellis and Kris Jenkins comparing pass-rushing techniques near the end of practice.

The outside linebackers getting some extra schooling.

At least Vernon is paying attention — say what you want about his football ability, but he’s certainly no dog.

That’s it for tonight! See you back here tomorrow …

Hey all –

Greetings again from what was a very soggy Cortland this morning. I took a bunch of pictures, although I admit right up front that I’m far from an expert, and only after I was done, did I realize that I didn’t really have my camera set right for an overcast and rainy day. Sorry!

Still, there should be enough here to give you an idea of what it was like here this morning, you know, aside from freaking wet. (The forecast is for better weather this afternoon.)

And let me just say the oddest thing about this compared to other camps was the QUIET! No music blaring, so we were able to hear the coaches and players pretty clearly, including when Brian Schottenheimer dropped an F-bomb after a fasle start penalty. Also heard players chirping “Run a lap!” after mistakes, although with Eric Mangini gone, there was no lap running.

Anyway, let’s get on to the images!

Coach Ryan chatting with Coach Westhoff — nice to see Westy without his cane!

Sanchez and Mangold, no doubt both worried about their hair in the rain.

Kellen Clemens and Mangold.

Sanchez and Mangold.

The fans, although few, were vocal, including the guy in the Rhodes jersey who led the crowd in the J-E-T-S JETS! JETS! JETS! chant.

Sanchez working out of the shotgun with the offense.

Coach Ryan addressing the defense. He was very hands-on with the defense throughout the practice, and it was cool to actually hear him interacting with the players. He did spend time watching the offense, also.

Sanchez and Coach Schottenheimer — obviously, B-Schott had a lot of constructive criticism for Sanchez, who looked okay in practice.

Clemens under center with the first unit. He was behind the first unit almost the entire practice — unlike Mangini practices where the QBs would rotate in with the units, it was Clemens and the first team pretty much all the time. He looked okay — nothing special today.

The running backs warming up. Notice the presence of #29!! Oh, and get to the back of the line, rook! Funny that Woodhead #22 has seniority over Greene #23.

Westy barking at the special teams unit.

The rain kept the morning crowd sparse. Most along the front wall, a few up in the stands.

Leon, in the flesh, on the field and running drills!

Dustin Keller working on blocking. The players were working under this scaffolding to practice keeping low. Keller had a good day on the field — he is a major part of this offense as he saw the ball often.

Defensive backs squaring off — Ahmad Carroll and Rashad Barksdale, I think.

Kris Jenkins working on an agility drill. I didn’t get a picture of it, but during 11-on-11s, Big Jenks blew through the line and destroyed Shonn Greene. Welcome to the NFL, rook!

Sanchez under center.

The inside starting linebackers, David Harris and the Mad Backer himself, Bart Scott — who did a fair share of jawing throughout the morning.

The two quarterbacks slugging it out. As others have reported, Sanchez did have a nice TD to Stuckey, after which he went over and high-fived him. Othewise, a very pedestrian day. Clemens was solid but unspectacular, one long interception. By the way, let me say this about Erik Ainge: He. is. HORRIBLE! Seriously, don’t be shocked if he was cut and they kept Harvard’s Chris Pizzotti, who looked okay.

Gholston mixing it up in special teams drills.

Gholston and others again.

I don’t know who this kid is — probably a coach’s son — but he made a nice diving catch in front of Revis, who Scott then ripped! Revis then came back and scored a pick — of course, Ryan was throwing to him.

Clemens eyeing Cotchery and Stuckey in drills.

Clemens and the first unit, handing off to Tony Richardson.

Sanchez under center with the second unit.

Cotchery chasing a pass with Lowery shadowing him. It was incomplete.

Thomas Jones running around left end.

Coach Westhoff in the middle of the coverage unit.

Clemens in 11-on-11 drills.

Sanchez taking a shotgun snap in 11-on-11 drills.

Rain rain go away!

Okay, that’s it for now. I’ll try to get some images up later from the afternoon session.

I got here to Cortland in one piece, and now I’m getting ready for camp tomorrow! A few things I thought I’d share with those planning on making the trek out here …

• Cortland is welcoming the Jets and their fans with their arms wide open! The whole town is Jets-centric at the moment — green-and-white banners are festooned from the light posts in downtown, there are Jets logos painted in traffic circles, and pretty much every business has some sort of “Welcome Jets Fans” sign or banner in front of it. In more than one business, employees are decked out in Jets jerseys and caps, and the Chamber of Commerce has printed nice Jets-themed fold-out flyers with all sorts of local attractions and restaurants. It’s a virtual Jets village here, and quite frankly, sort of puts Hempstead to shame. (In the words of ’80s hair band Cinderella — “Don’t know what you got, till it’s gone …”)
• From any direction you are coming, once you get off the highway, the way to SUNY Cortland is marked very clearly with large green-and-white “NY Jets Training Camp” signs pointing the way. I think I should mention that the main road in — Route 281 — is in the midst of being torn up, with lanes closed and lots of orange cones, so there’s a potential for traffic troubles. Give yourself a few extra minutes to get here.
• Speaking of traffic — apparently SUNY Cortland will be charging each car $5 to park, “to help defray costs.” By NFL rules, a team can’t charge fans to  attend training camp, but I guess that doesn’t cover the host or parking. The fields and surrounding areas are already blocked off by security teams, so don’t think you’re going to be able to sneak in early!
• There seems to be lots of Jets fans here already — the real test will be what the crowds look like tomorrow morning, and if they are sustained throughout the duration of camp. I don’t doubt it may be heavy this weekend, then tapering off as the weeks pass.

Anyway, I hope that helps any of you on your way up here! If I think of or notice anything else, I’ll pass it along.

Like the rest of you, I’m absolutely stoked that the start of another NFL season is only hours away. As we sit here on the eve of training camp, I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve, with visions of the sugar plumped (aka Kris Jenkins) — sack-dancing in my head.

As a matter of fact, I’m so fired up for football, I’m actually going to be making the long trek out to Cortland to be there for both Friday sessions and the Saturday morning session. Yeah, I’m a football geek like that. Must’ve been all the pep talks by Rex Ryan!

Chances are as you’re reading this, I’m already making my way through upstate New York — of course with Damned Connecticut-inspired side trips to the see the Cardiff Giant and the grave of the Old Leather Man. (The cross-promoting never ends!) If everything goes to plan and I don’t get lost, I’ll get to Cortland tonight, be at training camp tomorrow morning, and have some photos and observations to post during the day.

In the meantime, here are –

The Top 10 Things I’m Looking Forward to Seeing At Training Camp

10. The punter battle — With all the other changes on the team, one thing that seems to stay the same is the team’s inability to find a consistently good punter. Or any punter, really. Ben Graham, Reggie Hodges, Toby Gowin, Dan Stryzinski, Matt Turk, Tommy Parks, Daniel Pope, Tom Tupa and Jeremy Kapinos have all had tours of duty as Jets punter this decade alone — 9 guys in 9 years! If Mike Westhoff is truly a special teams guru (as I think he is), shouldn’t this problem have been solved years ago? Let’s hope this is the year they find a keeper …

9. The return of the Flight Crew — Obviously.

8. Cortland itself — Okay, I know that upstate New York isn’t exactly the most dynamic or exciting place, but I’ve always enjoyed my visits there. No crowds, open roads, pretty countryside … and “the Crown City” seems like a friendly college town. I’d probably go bonkers inside of ten minutes actually living there, but to visit for a few days should make for a nice little vacation. (Plus, I’ve heard great things about Dinosaur BBQ just a short ride up the road in Syracuse!)

7. Looking forward to seeing “Boom Boom Pow” in action — Okay, I’m calling this here and now as the official song for the Jets running backs this year!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FrslP7p5-c

You’ve got Thomas Jones and Shonn Greene — the BOOM and BOOM — followed by the POW of my boy, LEON!! Can’t you picture it, the stadium being shook by the thumping bass each Sunday, the crowd getting fired up … everyone is dropping the beat, the Jets are running over opponents one after another. Eventually, there’s Sports Illustrated photo shoot with each of the backs wearing a jersey emblazoned with appropriate moniker (sort of like Snap! Crackle! Pop!).

As the Boom Boom Pow backs “blow up on the spot” (’cause I’m street like that, yo), the defense then co-ops the song as part of their new attitude, and just like “The Super Bowl Shuffle,” a true team-wide theme song is set and it’s off to the playoffs! And then — cut to next year, and when the Jets are hosting that opening game on the first Thursday of the season next year as Super Bowl champs, they have Fergie and the Black-Eyed Peas performing it as they run onto the field! (Okay, not as cool as Ozzy doing “Crazy Train” for the Patriots for the 2005 opener, but still pretty awesome.) And of course, Fergie will be in a Flight Crew outfit, clumsy because she’s fallen in love with TJB!

Seriously though, Thomas Jones is a music producer — he can make this happen, right? And anyone out there who can do a mash up to these three running backs to the song, I encourage you to do it, and send it along before we’re so 2000-late.

6. Hearing Bart Scott with my own ears — A lot of has been made of the (off- and) on-field loquaciousness of the Mad Backer, so I’m looking forward to the show! After all his smack talk during minicamps, I expect him to be especially jacked and jawin’ for the first few training camp practices as the bullets are flying for real now. Let the verbal assault begin!

5. The flashers — One of my favorite moments of my visits to camp the last few years was during one of the first seven-on-seven series when I witnessed — with Bassett standing next to me — Kris Jenkins absolutely destroy Nick Mangold repeatedly. I remember we turned to each other, jaws agape, and just said, “Oh. My. God. This guy is a BEAST!”

I’m looking forward to that moment in the next few days, when during camp, a new player — be it an import like Scott or Jim Leonhard, or a rookie like Shonn Greene or Mark Sanchez — steps up and does something special, or when a lesser-known player like a Marques Murrell starts turning heads. (I remember watching Jerricho Cotchery hauling in a few long passes in training camp in 2006 just before he became a starter and thinking, “Wow, who is this guy? Does anyone else see that he’s really good?”)

Personally, I’m hoping it’s the Invisible Man, Vernon Gholston, active and visible, making big plays in the neighborhood of the quarterback!

4. Rex Ryan in action — His players allegedly would run through walls for him, and everything I’ve seen from the press conferences and read from the beat writers tells me that this guy is the anti-Mangini — a fired-up, spirited, old school ball coach who relies on his team simply lining up and knocking the crap out of opponents. The candor, the confidence, the attitude — all should be fun to see in the (abundant) flesh.

3. The team’s energy and demeanor — I’ve been to the last few training camps under Eric Mangini, so I’m familiar with the tempo, rhythm and feel of his camps and the team during them. Now I’m curious what camp is like under Ryan, how the team reacts to his motivational ploys, and how they play away from their home base at Hofstra. Do they play hard like a pack of rabid dogs, or without having to run penalty laps, are they just going to be dogging it?

2. All the Jets fans — They post YouTube videos that mock and malign us, the national press uses us as a punchline to the “same old” jokes, and football fans around the country tend to think we’re a bunch of drunken Gate D troglodytes. And maybe we are at times, but generally, you won’t find more loyal fans who want to root hard for their team.

After four decades without a championship, there are no frontrunners here (say like in *cough cough* New England *cough*), just dedicated hardcore green-and-white fans. Plus, I just love being around a lot of people who all have the same interest, which is …

1. JETS FOOTBALL, baby! I enjoy the summer and baseball (despite how brutal the Mets have been), but I LOVE the NFL even more, and after seven seemingly endless months, it’s time for the Jets to take the field again! WOOOHOO!!!

So yeah, I’m stoked. And hopefully, I’ll see a bunch of you out there! I’ll be the guy who looks nothing like Bassett.

Enjoy, my friends — our long wait is nearly over!

On the eve of the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11’s landing on the moon – which some conspiracy theorists contend never happened – I thought I might take a look at some of the most famous conspiracy theories surrounding the Jets. (Especially since there ain’t much of anything else going on in the next few weeks.)

So adjust your tin foil hats, make sure the bunker is stocked and let’s have some fun with …

R in CT’s Top 10 Jets Conspiracy Theories

10. Led by the nefarious Hooded Claw, the Bilder-chick Group – aimed at global and NFL domination — has placed its Patriot agents into every American business entity, including GNC, and as such, was able to slip Calvin Pace a tainted nutritional supplement.

9. The sports media is run by a single, powerful entity who controls all the information and runs every sports news outlet, including ESPN, Pro Football Talk, The Sporting News, Sports Illustrated and Dead Spin, as well as the local New York tabloids – and thus, in reality, Mike Florio, Peter King, Len Pasquarelli, Vic Carucci, Rich Cimini, Dave Hutchinson and all the others are commanded by one shadowy, Jet-hating overlord, a twisted individual who employs every fiber of their being to keep as much negative light on the Jets as possible. And that person is …

…. Bea Arthur!!!

Hah! And dont’ try to sell me on that “She’s dead!” dribble. If I had a dime for every evil super genius that has faked their death … I can practically hear her nefarious guffaw now as she rubs her palms together. “Mwuh-huh-huh …”

You’re not fooling me, Bea. I know your endgame … I also know she runs the Canton Cabal, who has been working for decades to keep Joe Klecko and Winston Hill out of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

8. If you repeatedly watch the film of the infamous Dan Marino fake spike, you’ll realize that although the attention was on him, there was a lot of movement on the artificially grassy knoll of The Meadowlands. As a matter of fact, you’ll notice there was a second receiver on the field — some say it was Russian agent Irving Fryar, others say it was Cuban defector O.J. McDuffie, others still claim it was mob hitman Bernie Parmalee. But all eyes were on Mark Ingram as he ran into the back of the end zone, and to the right. Back, and to the right. Back, and to the right…

7. The Jets have no stadium of their own as they are waiting for the return of the space aliens who directed the ancient Druids in building Stonehenge to do it. Expect a round stadium with lots of giant blocks where the sun will shine directly through the goal posts and on the 50 yard line during sunrise on the first day of the season.

6. Global warming is a direct result of all the hot air coming from Bart Scott and Rex Ryan in the form of endless smack talk. That, and the copious amounts of hair spray used by the Flight Crew. Wait, did I say “copious” and “Flight Crew”? I meant “gratuitous” and “Flight Crew.” Here ya’ go!

5. Leon Washington is a direct product of the supersecret Jets cloning program — back-engineered from the UFO that crashed in Roswell, New Mexico in 1947, of course — where they have taken the speed of Wesley Walker, the elusiveness of Freeman McNeil, the big-play ability of Don Maynard and the blue-collar work ethic of Curtis Martin, and blended it all into one green-clad uberplayer.

4. When the Jets fired Sonny Werblin prior to the 1968 season, “The Curse of Sonny Werblin” didn’t affect the actual team but the punter position; consequently, the Jets have gone through punters like Spinal Tap has gone through drummers, each one meeting a more ignominious demise. Steve O’Neal was eaten by a yeti during an ascent of Mt. Everest. Duane Carrell fell into a vat of Billy Beer and drank himself to death. Chuck Ramsey was abducted by scientologists and sacrificed into a volcano. John Prokop disappeared backstage during a Kajagoogoo concert and was never seen again. Dan Stryzinski blew out both ACLs while signing his last name on the chest of a Hooters waitress in Tallahassee. Toby Gowin spontaneously combusted during training camp. And the list goes on …

3. Vernon Gholston was a participant in the Florham Park Experiment last season, where a team of scientists attempted to turn him invisible to better help him elude blockers. Unfortunately, as we all saw — or not — the process worked a bit too well.

2. Joe Namath sold his soul to the Devil to win Super Bowl III, and obviously, Satan has collected on the bargain by damning old #12 to a long post-spotlight life of playing golf, appearing at charity events and youth football camps, and being forever worshiped by Jets fans. The horror! The horror!

1. “And even if the Jets win, if the Jets win, HAH! Even if the Jets win! Even if they play so far above their heads that their noses bleed for a week to ten days; even if God in Heaven above comes down and points his hand at the Jets’ side of the field; even if every man woman and child held hands together and prayed for them to win … it just wouldn’t matter because all the really good looking girls would still go out with the guys from Camp Mohawk because they’ve got all the money! It just doesn’t matter if they win or we lose. IT JUST DOESN’T MATTER! IT JUST DOESN’T MATTER! IT JUST DOESN’T MATTER…”

Annnd … speaking of summer camp, hopefully I will see a few of you up in Cortland in a few weeks — I’ll be the guy who looks nothing like Mel Gibson (or Julia Roberts), snapping photos for this blog.

P.S. If you enjoy a little conspiracy, as well as anything unusual, odd or weird, feel free to stop by my site, Damned Connecticut, which Bassett is always kind enough to let me pimp out here.

Like today!

Now although I’ve been occupied getting my new site Damned Connecticut up to speed [Bassett-approved shameless plug], and haven’t been posting as frequently, trust me when I say I’ve been following the team — and this beloved site — just as closely as ever. And I don’t know if it’s all the big changes or my own eagerness to put last season behind me, but I am already very excited for the upcoming season — only 185 days until kick off, baby!

But who’s counting right? Okay, we all are! Why? Because we all want Jets football back, and to that extent, here are —

The Top 10 Things I’m Already Looking Forward To

10. No more “Mangenius/Mangidiot” – I’ve made no bones about the fact that I was an Eric Mangini supporter — a local Connecticut boy who worked hard to make his way in the NFL, starting out as a lowly ball boy and making his way up to head coach of the NFL’s New York Jets by age 35. Objectively, it’s a nice story.

And I understand both sides of the debate about his coaching and leadership skills — the team was always prepared, avoided big mistakes, etc. vs. no passion on the sidelines, a lack of communication, etc.

What I absolutely never cared for, however, was the nickname he picked up in his first season: “Mangenius.” Unless you’re Albert Einstein or Weird Al Yankovic, being branded a genius usually turns out to be a burden (see Coyote, Wile E.). And when things go wrong — as they did in his forgettable second season — what started out as a compliment can change in a, well, New York minute.

9. A real quarterback competition – Okay, okay, I know that last season, the whole Favre debacle notwithstanding, it was supposedly an open competition for starting quarterback between Chad Pennington and Kellen Clemens. And although it never came to an on-field conclusion, coming off of what happened in 2007, Pennington would have had to blow Clemens out of the water to win the job (in my opinion). The deck was stacked toward the kid from Oregon, as he was Mangini’s hand-picked favorite.

Cut to 2009, both Pennington and Favre are gone, a new coaching staff is in place, and what do you have now? At this point, what looks to be a legitimate competition for the starting slot between Clemens and Brett (“Call My Wife Mrs. Ratty”) Ratliff, with the Jets organization split down the middle as to who they want to win the job.

I’m all about competition, so truly, let the best player — and ultimately, the team — win!

8. More of the Flight Crew – It wouldn’t be a Thursday Top 10 without a little gratuitous Flight Crew action, right? Here ya go!

7. No more Laveranues Coles’ whining – Not only do I not have to worry about spelling Laveranues wrong all the time, I don’t have to hear his constant rants about not being respected, not being paid enough, not getting the ball enough, having to practice too much, there’s no tutti frutti in the cafeteria . . . . Look, I appreciated his toughness and his penguin dance, but all the off-the-field stuff? Good riddance, and good luck trying to out-complain your new teammate, Ocho Cinco!

6. And with the 17th pick in the draft . . . – If you have any idea what Mike Tannenbaum and Rex Ryan are going to do on April 25 & 26 in New York City, then feel free to share it — and this week’s Powerball numbers! We have yet to see Ryan run a war room, while the past few drafts have shown us that Mr. T has no qualms about trading up, trading down or trading out. Big-play wide receiver? Defensive line help? Franchise quarterback? I want to joke the only thing I know they won’t take is a punter, but . . .

5. The defensive back carousel has finally come to a stop – You can unbuckle your safety belts — the ride is over! Rather than a seemingly never-ending (and never-improving) rotation of Abram Elam, Eric Smith, Drew Coleman, David Barrett, Ty Law, Hank Poteat, Ahmad Carroll, J.R. Reed, James Ihedigbo, Cameron Worrell, Dwight Lowery, Dwight Shrute, David Wright, Larry David and Erik Boland, you can now write these four names down in the starting lineup every week from now until next January (barring injury): Darrelle Revis, Lito Sheppard, Kerry Rhodes and Jim Leonhard. Done.

4. Less turnovers – I know there’s a lot of people who happily accepted that interceptions were part of the game you got with the gunslingin’ antics of ol’ No. 4 last year, but I was not among them. Unlike Eric Mangini, who was forced to bite down and swallow his displeasure 22 times last season, I was not so encumbered — I literally almost kicked in my TV about a dozen times in December alone! Walt Harris, Andre Goodman, Josh Wilson … ugh. (I actually made myself sick looking back any further than those last few games.)

I don’t know who the starter will be, but chances are that Rex Ryan won’t let him pile up 22 picks before showing him the pine.

3. A more aggressive defense – As a big fan of defense, I’m especially looking forward to seeing Jets defenders going forward to meet the other team’s offensive players, be it ball carriers, receivers or — especially — quarterbacks. No more read and react, bend-but-don’t-break, prevent-friendly schemes. Blitz, baby, blitz! Attack, attack, attack! Kill the carrier! Tippacanoe and Calvin, too!

Sure, they may get burned on occasion, but judging by the Ravens’ defensive prowess under Ryan over the past few years, I have to think there will be more quarterbacks flattened than defensive backs burned.

2. Lots of Bart Scott quotes – The Mad Backer is an amped quote machine, is he not? Just from his introductory presser:

• “We won’t back down from anybody. We won’t take a step back from anybody.”
• “You can expect to see a very physical, violent defense. I don’t know if this division has ever seen a violent defense. It’s one thing to be physical and make a tackle. It’s another thing to be violent. Violent makes guys stay on the sideline when they’re getting hit…”
• “I’ve been a violent, angry player ever since I was in Little League. I always played that way. My high school coach helped develop that and Baltimore taught me how to control that.”
  
• “It’s one thing to be violent and passionate without being reckless. We call it ‘organized chaos.’ There’s a lot going on, but you have to know where to draw the line. But you have to be violent. Football is physical game you have to go in with bad intentions.”

I hear he plays some good football, too!

And if that all isn’t enough to fire you up, then how about …

1. Ryan’s Hope – Promises of White House visits, a more aggressive style of play and better communication with players all aside, to me, what lies ahead for the Jets boils down to this quote from the new head coach: When a reporter asked what the Jets will be “up against” in the AFC East, Ryan replied, “I’d rather focus on what they’re up against.”

And that, my friends, is what winning football should be about!

Feel free to mention anything you’re pumped up to see in the week ahead.

Hey, it’s your old buddy R in CT. I know I haven’t written you in a while (thanks again for that 10-speed bike!) and this is your busiest night, but I thought I’d sent you a short missive on behalf of myself and my fellow Jets fans after that lump of coal we got in Seattle last Sunday.

Let me say first that game was one of the worst Xmas gifts I’ve ever gotten, with the exception of the half-raw brownies and book on organic gardening that the horrid woman in my office gave me a few years back (she didn’t even bother to remove the letter from the public relations firm addressed to her from inside the front cover — talk about a thoughtless re-gift!). That game was the toughest gut-punch I’ve had in a long time, and a devastating, maddening, soul-crushing loss. It was so upsetting that all this week, I couldn’t bear to read the papers, watch NFL-related programming, listen to sports radio or even read this beloved blog. I was so down, I couldn’t even muster the energy or focus to do my weekly “TJB Scout.” (Sorry — I know you enjoyed perusing it from time to time, mug of eggnog in hand, while making preparations for tonight’s flight.) I didn’t even post so much as a single comment this week.

But why, I asked myself. Why was I so distraught? And as I stewed in my own burning juices, I realized that I think  a good part of it had to do with the anger, vitriol, venom and absolute hate it provoked my fellow fans. Stirred feverishly by the local media, it was particularly upsetting to me to see all the fans so upset, so vexed, so bitter and lashing out at anybody and anything — the players, the coaches, the owner, the front office, the Flight Crew ….

Okay, no one is angry with the Flight Crew, although if you wanted to bring them some special holiday outfits for Sunday — without distracting bottoms for Bassett, thanks — that’d be good by everyone.

I mean, I understand being disappointed after a potential season-ending loss, but it was off the charts this week. And so, as I contemplated this pervading anger and frustration, I realized what I wanted to ask you for . . .

No, it’s not for a win against the Dolphins, or even for a loss by the Ravens or Patriots.  (Although, if you could send a case of explosive diarrhea to Coach Belichick, it’d put a holiday smile on my face.) I understand that randomly distributing wins and losses is not really how you work, and to be honest, if the Jets can’t win the most critical game of the year without your help, then they don’t really deserve to, now do they? No, what I had in mind that you could bring to is a little bigger than that, in a way.

Santa, my jolly old wool-clad friend, what I’d like you to bring to me and my fellow Jets fans is this: Peace.

Now, I’m not talking about the dirty hippie, flowers-in-gun-barrels type of peace. I’m talking about the simple peace of mind, the kind where we all sort of realize that the Jets, as much as they consume our lives at times, are really just entertainment. That, even when they lose or don’t make the playoffs or make bad personnel moves or don’t use Leon Washington nearly enough, that we are somehow able to temper our disappointment and frustration by keeping it all in perspective — it is just a game, after all.

By the way some fans react, you might not know that — you’d think the team specifically went out of their way to wreck their lives or had physically assaulted them. I understand that this blog in particular, is a fine place for fans to vent, but lately it seems that the discourse has boiled over from civil discussion to hateful name-calling and vicious personal attacks — both on the Jets and fellow fans. And I think that’s the most upsetting part. That the fans, rather than rallying together after a tough loss and spurring the team on to victory, seem to be more focused on spreading the overwhelming negativity and inflicting further hurt on anyone and everyone who dares to be involved with this seemingly star-crossed franchise. Not to get all rah-rah on you, but it’d be nice if we could clear our minds of all the swirling self-inflicted suffering so we’d be more ready to cheer when something goes right than boo at the first sign of adversity.

Anyway,  if you could just give a little peace and perspective to myself and my fellow fans, I’d appreciate it. Instead of wallowing in negativity, if somehow you could remind us all that although it’s disappointing when the team loses, it’s not the end of the world — our families still love us, our friends will still support us (after some razzing usually), we live in a world where we can watch football on Sundays, and that generally, life is pretty good. It is the holiday season, right? Goodwill to men — and that should include Jets fans.

Okay Santa, I know you’re busy tonight. I just thought I’d try a Hail Mary of sorts here — just hope it comes down as if Chansi Stuckey caught it rather than Kelly Jennings.

Thanks again. Happy holidays to you and all the Jets fans out there!

R in CT

P.S. If you could throw in a stylish sweater or a brand-new futon for my buddy E-Bola, that’d be nice too.

Can you feel it? After what seems like a bajillion years, we’re almost through the darkness and to the light that is the return of Jets football! Just one short week — 7 mere days — until the team is back on the field and getting ready for another season.

As Bassett has mentioned, TJB is planning on being out at Hofstra next Thursday (myself included), and as such, here are –

The Top 10 Things I’m Looking Forward to Seeing at Training Camp

10. The green-and-white clad fans eagerly cheering on the team. I know the media and NFL tend to forget, but none of this works without us! And one of the joys of training camp is that it’s a place teeming with boundless optimism and positive vibes, of truly devoted fans emerging from the long off-season slumber to see their heroes return to the gridiron and inspire with feats of athleticism. Like the old commercial, today everyone is 0-0, and hope springs eternal — and that sense of it being a fresh new season is nowhere more apparent than in the stands at Hofstra.

9. GenJets Fest. Okay, I know it’s for the kids, but it’s nice to see families of Jets fans out together having football-related fun without having to shell out hundreds of dollars for tickets and then having to endure dozens of drunken tailgaters (not that there’s anything wrong with it). I love the look in a kid’s eyes when he kicks a field goal or tosses a perfect pass, how he high-fives his buddies or his father. For a second, you can see that gleam, that momentary “I can do this” flash. I also enjoy the whole initiation experience of it, sort of cultivating another generation of Gang Green fans. Even more selfishly, I also want to get more Titans of New York merchandise — maybe another sweatshirt — to add to my growing collection, and this is the place to do it without having to pay for shipping!

8. The Flight Crew! I’m hoping that they might be on hand getting ready for the upcoming season, you know, working out in green-and-white bikinis, glistening in hot summer sun, then deciding to cool off with a spirited water fight . . . but as it turns out, although the lovely ladies of the Flight Crew will be on hand at opening day, they will just be posing for pictures and signing autographs — not using super soakers on each other (or eager bloggers).

7. Meeting TJB readers and other Jets fans. If any of you have met Bassett, you know he’s a great, gregarious, outgoing fellow who loves the Jets and is always eager to meet new people and talk football. I’m also always eager to talk football, but am not quite so at-ease when attempting to meet new people or striking up conversations. Okay, I have near paralysis-inducing shyness when you get right down to it, and all the verbal eloquence of Gilbert Gottfried — still, I try to work through it because I love being around my own kind (dozens of knowledgeable Jets fans) for hours on end as opposed to my normal day, which involves being surrounded by Giants and Patriots fans and having to endure constant belittling smack talk and Super Bowl taunts. Ugh.

6. The field itself. Okay, I don’t know how to explain this without sounding like a complete idiot, but there’s something a little magical about seeing the empty field for the first time, the vast green expanse of pristine turf stretched out and quietly waiting for the team’s arrival. The fresh white lines, the solitary goal posts, the equipment all lined up and ready to go, the sense of anticipation . . . “I love the smell of FieldTurf in the morning . .. it smells like … victory!”

5. Viewing position battles with my own two eyes. One thing that I’m sure we’ve all learned about the Jets beat writers is that they all have their own agendas and will report things with their own spin, which was on display during OTAs when Cimini was pushing for Pennington to win the quarterback battle while Hutchinson and Boland sort of saw it differently. Okay, I know I may have my own biases and agendas, but I also know that I can trust my own eyes to objectively tell me how a player is performing. Who is throwing the best passes? Who is the 2nd best corner on the team? Who is getting pressure on the quarterback? I want to see it all myself and make my own assessments, thanks!

4. The new additions. Again, I don’t mean these guys — I’m talking about all the new shiny toys the front office has given us: Faneca, Jenkins, Woody et al. I want to see Pace’s motor and Gholston’s guns, as well as if Keller is the beast he looks to be and whether Richardson still has a few crushing blocks left in the tank . . . man, I’m getting pumped . . . because I’ve . . .

Been working so hard
I’m punching my card
Eight hours, for what
Oh, tell me what I got
I’ve done this feeling
That time’s just holding me down
I’ll hit the ceiling
Or else I’ll tear up this town
Now I gotta cut
Loose! Footloose!
Put on your football shoes–

* * *

Oh, sorry. Sorta got carried away again. *Ahem* Now where was I? Oh yeah . . .

3. The one-on-one tackling drill. This was a big hit — literally, with the players, and metaphorically, with the fans — in years past, and something highly anticipated as major portions of public training camp don’t involve the actual popping of pads and crunch of bodies colliding. This makes up nicely for that.

2. The interaction between the fans and players. Training camp is a great place for fans to get close to the players, to get autographs and to be up close and personal, but it’s also a place where the players can get a bit closer to the their fans, sans helmets. It’s where football goes beyond something we see on TV once a week (and discuss ad nauseum online) and becomes a living-and-breathing tangible experience involving actual people we can look in the eye, talk to and shake the hand of. It becomes real, for lack of a better term, when they can see us, hear us, and even acknowledge us.

On a side note: I was looking forward to seeing D. Rose taunt Woody Johnson and his purple helicopter again, but with D. Rose off on vacation, I can only hope he sends a robotic proxy wearing an Eric Barton jersey and rigged with some sort of remote-controlled bullhorn. “Turn back to the fence, David.”

1. Jets football, pure and simple. Cause after everything is said and done, it’s all about the football, baby!

See you all out there next week!

Whoa, ’80s flashback there . . . sorry.

Now I was never a girl scout, but I did date a few former ones back in the day (even married one), and one thing I always remember — aside from their sweet, sweet cookies — is their motto: “Make new friends but keep the old; one is silver and the other is gold.”

Well, the Jets dumped some fool’s gold (McCareins, Clement, Clarke, et al) and then went out and struck a mother lode of silver this off-season! Or what they hope will be silver — some of it could turn out to be just a bunch of shiny worthless rocks. One way or another, the team will be depending on its new acquisitions, hoping that their collective impact will raise the team up from its 4-12 finish last season.

Individually, let’s look at –

The Top 10 New Additions to the Jets Who Should Have the Biggest Impact
(And No, When I Say “New Additions,” I Don’t Mean These Guys)

10. Dustin Keller. If Keller is the weapon he was at Purdue, he should create mismatches aplenty and provide a big downfield target. Ideally, that should help stretch the offense while freeing up the receivers and creating space for the running game. He’d be higher on the list if rookie receivers and tight ends didn’t traditionally struggle in their first year. If the Chris Baker situation gets resolved in such a manner that Baker is no longer a Jet, then Bubba Franks is 10a.

9. Jesse Chatman/Musa Smith. It was either Greg Buttle or Ray Lucas who pointed this out on a recent episode of “Jets Nation” but anyone who thinks these guys may take touches away from Leon Washington isn’t paying attention — these two guys’ skill sets more closely match Thomas Jones’, and are more likely to find themselves in situations where Jones would normally be used (like at the goal line), and on first and second down. If the offense is indeed gearing itself to key on the running game, the more fresh legs it has, the better. And as the Giants demonstrated last season, you can’t have too many quality backs.

8. Tony Richardson. See above in regards to improving the running game, as perennial Pro Bowler Richardson is a tremendous blocking back, having led the way for Larry Johnson and, last season, for Purple Jesus himself, Adrian Peterson. Plus, as a Mangini type of guy (and Mangini contemporary), he’s another hardworking professional who should provide leadership to a young team. He also catches the ball well coming out of the backfield — another wrinkle for the offense.

7. Damien Woody. I’m in the camp that tends to think the Jets may have overpaid for Woody, but that may be because I thought Clement was so bad, anyone — even the untested likes of Clint Oldenburg, Jacob Bender or Nate Garner — would be an upgrade. As I’ve posted before, I tend to see Woody more as a one- or two-year starter while a proper replacement is being groomed, while also providing quality depth since he plays every position on the line. As the guaranteed part of his contract is in the first two years, it’s possible the team is thinking the same way. Either way, a big body (6’3, 340 lbs.) with blocking skills, he should help out the running game.

6. Vernon Gholston. I know he was taken sixth overall, but I have fairly low expectations for a rookie who will be learning a new position and most likely be used at first primarily as a pure edge rusher. The reason he’s up higher on this list is because of his potential, which if he does fulfill to some extent, will have a big impact on the defense. He has a big upside, as the kids like to say. Let’s hope he explores some of sooner rather than later.

5. Calvin Pace. Victor Hobson was not quite on the level of Anthony Clement in my mind, but I’ve been underwhelmed by his play the past few seasons, especially against the run where it seemed like time and time again he would easily get blocked out of a play. He was decent against the pass and seemed to have a nose for the ball, but his ability to rush the quarterback — a must in the 3-4 for an outside linebacker — was average at best, mainly due to his lack of foot speed. Pace is bigger (6’4 vs. 6’0), faster, more versatile, better against the run, and coming off 6.5 sacks, better at getting to the quarterback. If there were no other changes in the off season other than swapping Pace for Hobson, I’d say the defense was significantly improved on that move alone.

4. Kevin O’Dea. Okay, I know I’ve beaten this to death, but one of the keys to the Jets success has been the great play of their special teams under Mike Westhoff, especially the return game. Field position is always critical — even more so if you have an untested offensive line and possibly a young quarterback — so O’Dea needs to make sure the team continues to start in a good position when it has the ball. He’s got Pro Bowl-quality returners in Miller and Washington, as well as a fairly accurate kicker in Nugent, a decent punter in Graham, and a front office who understands the importance of special teams and has provided him with a number of players who have excelled there. He needs to make sure it all continues to work better than the rest of the league, or he will be gone faster than green-and-white lightnin’.

3. Kris Jenkins. Any time you add a massive Pro Bowl-caliber lineman to the interior of your defensive line, it’s a gigantic plus to the team, and if it’s a guy like Jenkins who can dominate when properly motivated — which he appears to be — then all the better. He is the long sought-after missing piece for Mangini’s 3-4 defense (a large nose tackle), and now that he’s in place and doing the dirty work of taking on multiple blockers in the middle, it should free up the linebackers to make plays. Big skilled man + key position = much improved defense. I hope.

2. Bill Callahan. Every Jets fan out there knows the team’s biggest problem last year was the underwhelming performance of the offensive line. Sure, a big part of the problem was replacing Pete Kendall with a swinging gate at left guard, but even then, the unit definitely went backward from 2006 — specifically Nick Mangold, who didn’t seem nearly as good as his rookie year; D’Brickashaw Ferguson seemed about the same in that he did a good job handling speed and finesse rushers, but struggled with bull rushers. Bottom line: Neither improved upon their rookie season. Enter Callahan, who is more of a scheme-blocking coach than his predecessor Tony Wise, and who’s got his work cut out as the team was 19th in rushing and gave up the 4th most sacks (53) in the NFL in 2007. Nowhere to go but up, right? If he can get this unit to gel together — especially around the goal line, where I’ve seen women giving birth push harder than last year’s group — than that should bode very well for the offense. If not . . . well, let’s just say it’ll get uglier than anything he saw at Nebraska.

1. Alan Faneca. By simply replacing a swinging gate with a seven-time Pro Bowler who has won a championship, you have already made the biggest impact imaginable on your team. Not only does Faneca bring vastly improved play to the line, he also adds a high level of professionalism and solid work ethic, as well as provides veteran leadership that was so sorely lacking last year. Immediately, he makes the two young players on either side of him better, and ideally, he improves the offense as a whole by upgrading the run game and pass blocking. And accordingly, by making better the unit which struggled the most, he has the most impact on the team. Let’s just hope he lives up to the responsibility or it’ll be another loooooong season.