The New York Jets select...

The Jets have found a way to keep draft junkies on their toes this off season.  With the new additions of Cromartie, Tomlinson, Pool, Holmes and Taylor there are few holes that need to be filled on this team.  The reality is no one really can predict what will happen when the 29^th pick of the draft is announced tonight. 

               
So after much thought, speculation and arguing with myself (come on you all know you do it too).   I’m making a bold prediction:  


          The New York Jets will draft a cornerback within the first two rounds.


Now that you’re done saying “this girl doesn’t know what she’s talking about” … let’s take a look at why I think a new CB will be drafted in the next two days.

                

It’s a well known fact that the more cornerbacks you have the better off a team will be.  Cornerbacks are the equivalent to pitchers in baseball.  You can never have enough good ones.  The evolution of the passing game makes this fact even more true.  Mike Tannenbaum himself admitted “Rex loves corners”.   Rex is one of the defensive coaches that believe the mantra that you can never have enough depth at that position.   

                
Cornerbacks get injured all the time due to the speed at which they play and the constant cutting they have to do to be effective on their feet.   The Jets felt the impact of injuries last season most at this valuable position.  Aside from Revis, there were many games in which two of the Jets cornerbacks were sidelined with injuries.

                

So let’s recap our current CB situation:   Strickland and Sheppard are gone.   Their names were on the injury list most of last season anyway so good ridden.  The Jets made a great move by acquiring ProBowler CB Antonio Cromartie.  With him opposite Revis, I can confidently say the Jets have the best cornerback tandem in the NFL.

Despite this, they still lack depth.   Our only other CB’s on the current roster are Dwight Lowery, Drew Coleman, and Marquice Cole.   Without going into the specifics of each player, it’s obvious that this position could use some more talent.

                

Still don’t believe me?  Let’s take a look at last season.  We know that NFL teams are going towards more of a pass-oriented system.   With that being said, it’s not rare to see up to four corners on the field at the same time.   The Jets need to be prepared to face those 3 or 4 wide receiver sets that more and more teams are using.  The Colts are a perfect example.   Think back to the AFC Championship game and tell me that having more talented depth at the cornerback position wouldn’t have helped us win that game.

                
In thinking about next year’s regular season games, Baltimore and New England (pending Welker’s return) are three games in which cornerback talent and depth play a key role in winning these games.

                

This year’s draft class has some great cornerback talent.   The latest Top 5 draft rankings at this position are:
          1.       Joe Haden – Florida
          2.       Kyle Wilson – Boise State
          3.       Devin McCourty – Rutgers
          4.       Kareem Jackson – Alabama
          5.       Patrick Robinson – Florida State


I think 3-4 cornerbacks could be drafted in the first round.   Leaving a lot of talent to be picked up in the second round as well.   While I’d be more than happy to see any of the names listed above fall to the Jets, I'd be ecstatic to see local Rutgers boy Devin McCourty become one of our very own.  Brandon Ghee (Wake Forest) and Perrish Cox (Oklahoma) are two picks that would also make me very happy to see wearing Jets Green.


In a few hours we’ll see if my prediction is right.    I do think Mike T will also address depth at the OLB/DE spot and we could very well hear Jerry Hughes or Jared Odrick’s names from the podium.  


This year proves to be an exciting draft. 


Trade up, trade down, or stay at #29…..it will be a great draft that will only add to our trip to Dallas next season.

               

               

For a fith-round pick....and two water coolers

Many fans across Jets nation are waking up to some good news this morning.  Yes it's true – Mike Tannenbaum the trade king himself has done it again.   Santonio Holmes is now a New York Jet.   The trade news broke late last night.   The Jets have acquired the Superbowl MVP in exchange for their fifth-round pick in this year’s draft….and two water coolers.

This is a great move by the Jets.  I’ve been a huge fan of Santonio since he entered the league in 2006.  The 26 year old former first-round draft pick, has 3,835 receiving yards since entering the league 4 years ago.  The guy’s a playmaker period. 

While most Jets fans couldn’t be more happy about this trade, the haters from the “teams in blue” started coming out of the woodwork quickly spewing their jealous hate.

Congratulations to Giants and Patriots fans for passing elementary mathematics.  Yes you are correct:  16 – 4 =  12.  The notion that an organization would stay away from stealing a player like Holmes simply because of a pending four-game suspension is ludicrous.    

The Jets have a decent receiving corps without Holmes.  They made it to the AFC Championship game without him.   This four game suspension will not make or break this deal.   It’s a win-win situation really; the Jets have had far worse “busts” over the years.  This low-risk, high-reward move by Tannenbaum is one of the best this off-season by far.

Some say Holmes is the next Ricky Williams of the NFL?   I hardly think so.  He violated the substance abuse policy, that’s all.   The domestic violence charges from 2006 were dropped.  The latest “glass” incident is a mess of a case and charges have yet to be filed.   It’s your typical gold digger making an accusation to make some quick money.  

Spare me.

Up until this month, Santonio Holmes was not a name thrown into the mix as one of the “bad guys” in the NFL.  I could name players on one hand that have had more serious off-field “issues” than he has.    I’ve been quick to say that I don’t want players who are cancers to the team on the Jets.  In my eyes, albeit no angel, Santonio Holmes is not one of them.  

I’ll take Holmes’ harmless stupidity any day of the week.  He’s an angel compared to Brandon Marshall.  No training camp hissy fits, no DUI, no multiple arrests for domestic disputes, no altercations leading to a murder.  He’s no Randy “I’ll play when I want to” Moss, or Chad “I punched my coach” Johnson.  They exemplify the type of players you should worry about. 

Drug use is Holmes’ crime of choice, the same situation our beloved Shaun Ellis was in not too long ago.  

Some Steelers fans are mourning their loss by the famous “his off-field issues were a distraction to the team” excuse.   Yes, his distractions hurt the team so badly that he ended up making one of the greatest catches in SuperBowl history.   If the Steelers were worried about distractions they should look at their very own starting QB.  Now that’s what I call a distraction.

The Steelers didn’t let go of Holmes because of a four game suspension.   They aren’t making a statement about what they stand for.  History has shown that Dan Rooney is all about football and nothing else.  Did he allow Jerome Bettis to walk after being accused of forcing a girl to perform sexual acts?  Nope, he extended his contract.  Did he fire Bill Cowher after his alleged affair with his secretary?  Nope, he extended his contract too.  

Be happy Jets fans and be prepared to defend all the hate.  It’s been a long time since teams considered the Jets as a threat, so embrace it and get ready for one hell of a season to come!

The Unsung Hero

It’s been a busy week in Jets land.  I’ve been glued to ESPN, hanging on Adam Schefter’s every word waiting to see what moves will be made this off season.  I’ll be the first to admit that never in a million years did I expect the Jets running back corps to be the object of so much potential change.

All this movement has sparked many discussions and debate regarding the merits of players like Thomas Jones and Leon Washington.  With all this talk revolving around the Jets running game, Jets fans have let me down by not ever worrying about one key component to its success – Tony Richardson, until today.   

Richardson has been on the top of my list of Jets players that must be back next year.  Each and every discussion regarding the success of the Jets rushing attack should always include his name.  While the cohesiveness of our offensive line has led to great success, his contributions must be noted as well.

The fullback is by far one of the most undervalued positions on a football team.  Some refer to them as “football’s forgotten position”.  Unfortunately, the fullback position has diminished in importance over the past few decades as modern offenses such as the spread offense have become popular.

That being said, traditional fullbacks in the NFL are some of the fiercest and most physical players in the game.  They are physical lead blockers who specialize in paving the way on power runs.   The Jets are lucky to have one of the league’s best fullback take the field for them week after week.

Rich Cimini of the Daily News may have referred to Tony Richardson as “ancient”, but after 16 years at such a brutal position, T.Rich still plays like a 25 year old.  There are only 3 players left from the 1994 rookie class  - Kevin Mawae, Issac Bruce……and Tony Richardson.

Surprisingly enough, T.Rich entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent and was signed to the Dallas Cowboys practice squad.  He signed with the Kansas City Chiefs in 1995 and played there for 11 years before joining the Vikings in 2006, and spending the last two seasons on the New York Jets. 

He’s played an integral role in the careers of some of the most notable running backs in the game including Marcus Allen, Priest Holmes, Larry Johnson and Adrian Peterson.  He has blocked for a 1,000 yd rusher seven times in five years.  The most recent being in 2008 blocking for former Jet Thomas Jones.

The four-time Pro Bowler has been an emotional leader in the Jets locker room and has been an “unsung hero” in helping the Jets become the number one team in rushing this year.  

While I’d love to have him continue to be our lead blocker for years to come, the reality is that Richardson’s retirement is looming in the near future.  On an interview this January on a Kansas City based sports radio show, T.Rich was asked when the end of his football career would be.  He responded “within the next 16 months”.

In my opinion, the Jets organization has not prepared well enough for this loss.  Has Tannenbaum completely forgotten to take notice of Richardson’s impact on the team as well?  History has proven that tailbacks often struggle when adjusting to a new fullback.  Both Larry Johnson and Adrian Peterson both suffered decreases in their average YPC once they were no longer running behind Richardson.

Tannenbaum stated today “re-signing Tony Richardson is a priority” and I couldn’t agree more.   Knowing that the veteran fullback wouldn’t be around forever you would think that they would have had a young player learn from T.Rich last season.  All pre-season, through training camp, Richardson mentored Jehuu Caulcrick.  Caulcrick never made the 53-man roster for reasons I still do not comprehend, and has now been signed to the San Francisco 49ers.

Jason Davis is the only other fullback on the Jets roster right now, and has been on the practice squad all season. Tannenbaum has spoken highly of Davis’ “physicality and upside” today,  but no way no how is a young player who’s spent the majority of the past 4 years on different practice squads,  remotely ready to take over the role of one of the league’s best fullbacks.  

The Jets better hope and pray that T.Rich has one more season in him and need to make sure that he finishes his career wearing a Jets uniform.  Our running game would not have had the success it did without the offensive linemen, or fullback we had last year.  If the Jets want to repeat this success, they will need Richardson to block for Greene, Washington (fingers crossed) and whoever is named as Thomas Jones’ replacement.

Still having a hard time seeing his value to the team?  I’ll leave you with this:

Remember the Jets vs. Chargers game when the Jets were faced with a 4^th-and-1 at the Chargers 29?  Who landed the key block on that play that sealed the deal on the 17-14 victory? 

You got it…..the one....the only .....#49 himself - Tony Richardson.