N.Y. Jets: Deep Sixed at South Beach

From the desk of: WALT MICHAELS' REVENGE

Third Winningest Coach

WEEK SIX
Jets              0

Dolphins    24 

FINAL

JOHNSON & JOHNSON: The Brothers Grim

We presently live in an age of unprecedented offensive achievement.  It seems as if the NFL record books get rewritten every year.  Playing defense has evolved into a prohibitive endeavor.  Today's

quarterbacks receive more protection than ever before and passing for 30,000 yards in a career has become common.  Receivers these days can make snow angels in the hail of pass interference flags being thrown in any given game.  

Yet, the New York Jets all-time leading passer remains Joe Namath who last donned a Jets uniform in 1976.  The club's all-time receiver, Don Maynard, retired after the 1973 season.  Their all-time ground rusher, Curtis Martin, retired from the Jets fifteen years ago.  

The Jets winningest head coach till this day remains Weeb Ewbank with 71 victories.  Joe Walton is second with 53 wins and Rex Ryan is next in with 46 wins.  Outside of Bill Parcells and Al Groh (no coincidence here), every head coach in Jets history has posted a losing record - every one.  By the time 2000 rolls around, there is one common denominator as to why Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick and Al Groh all ran from the Jets like the joint was on fire: Woody Johnson.

Since 2001, the Jets have been through five head coaches and five general managers.  The program on average changes every four years.  Meanwhile, the team is presently in the hands of Woody's brother,  Christopher Johnson, who makes his head coach and general manager report directly to him, separate and equally, and rarely in tandem.

Because this makes sense ...

Just as letting former general manager Mike Maccagnan conduct the draft and spend free agent money, then firing him made total sense ...

The Brilliant One, Adam Gase, on Sunday loses his twelfth game by double-digits as head coach of the Jets, seven times last season and five so far this season.  In Jets history only two coaches have posted a worse winning percentage than Gase:

• Adam Gase  7-15 (.318)
• Lou Holtz  3-13 (.214)
• Rich Kotite. 1-15 (.125)

Lou Holtz was so bad that he quit.  

No such luck with Adam Gase.

On Sunday the Jets lose to the rival Dolphins by a 24-0 margin.  Ryan Fitzpatrick torches his former team for three touchdowns.  The Fish rush for 106 yards.  On offense, Joe Flacco completes less than half his passes, throws an INT and is sacked three times.  The Jets rush 21 times for 115 yards but it gets them nowhere.  Sorry, but the availability of LT Mekhl Becton is far from being the reason for their woes.  In fact, Miami was so inspired by the Jets ineptness that they inserted their rookie QB with the safety of mind that the opposition really sucks.

Gang Gase is the lone remaining team in the NFL this season without a win.  They are now 0-6 and the schedule only gets tougher from here on out. 

N.Y. Jets: Gang Green Airing Their Grievances

From the desk of: WALT MICHAELS REVENGE

WEEK NINE

New York Jets

vs.

Miami Dolphins

FROM

Humidity Stadium

Jets -3 DOLPHINS

Man, is it going to stink at Miami where the NFL's two most offensively inept teams will go head-to-head in a Toilet Bowl of gastronomical proportions.  The Sea Mammals are averaging a league low 11-points per game.  The Jets come in at 11.1 points per game.  How compelling!  But whereas the Jets are actually trying to wins games and failing miserably, the Sea Mammals are trying to lose and doing a damn good job.  Miami is yielding upwards of 34-points a game.  But make no mistake, the Sea Mammals can't wait to inflict damage against their former coach.  I still give Sam Darnold and Gang Spleen the benefit of the doubt.  Jamal Adams will be playing angry.  That may work for or against him.  And expect a heavy, heavy dose of Le'Veon Bell.  Should Adam Gase and the Jets lose, we all know the local media will descend upon them like flies on a steaming cow patty in July.

An Unhappy Maladjusted Gang Green Airs Their Grievances

If nothing else, of this I'm sure: Christopher Johnson is even worse than his brother.  These highly dysfunctional dynasties just don't get it.  Look at the Wilpons; look at James and Daddy Dolan; then look at the Brothers Johnson.  All fail to implement a firm chain of command.

I always thought Woody Johnson was a terrible front office participant.  But Christopher takes the cake.  Instead of entertaining Jamal Adams' meltdown, Christopher Johnson should have been directing his employee down the hall to see the president of football of operations, or worse, the general manager himself.  Having an open door policy is one thing; undermining you're entire operation is another.  You can not have disgruntled coaches, general managers, and players, all bum rushing the owner's office every time they're unhappy with their life situation.

You would have to rewind back 13 years to Eric Mangini/Rex Ryan under Terry Bradway/Mike Tannenbaum for the Jets last state of complimentary front office competence.  Everything thereafter has been and remains today completely disjointed and dysfunctional.  Clearly hiring Todd Bowles and Mike Maccagnan out of order (again) taught the Brothers Johnson nothing.  Lest we forget after spending over $100 million dollars on free agents general manager Mike Maccagnan hires Adam Gase, who in turn convinces Christopher Johnson his general manager sucks and needs to be fired.  Johnson then empowers Gase with the authority to hire the next general manager.  Outside of perhaps, Daniel Snyder, who does that?

Trick or Treat!

This week Adam Gase will be disguised as the guy pissing off Le'Veon Bell, who's first seven games as a member of the New York Jets can be summed up with two words: rock bottom.  Bell and Gase apparently talked it out.  Unlike the jilted Jamal Adams who is no longer on speaking terms with his general manager nor his head coach.

N.Y. Jets: Brothers Johnson Foster Subversion From Within

From the desk of:  WALT MICHAELS REVENGE

THE WATERGASE SCANDAL

Firing Mike Maccagnan was the right move.  But it's the Brothers Johnson whom must ground themselves if the New York Jets are to fly.

Truth be told Mike Maccagnan deserved to be fired.  However, the timing and mysterious  circumstances surrounding his dismissal - not to mention the great folly of it all - are just too typical.  Hence the fan and media outrage.

I agree with those who believe Maccagnan and Todd Bowles should have been relieved as a pair, just as Rex Ryan and John Idzik were relieved together of their respective duties.  Despite enjoying a measure of success during his first season working with Bowles, Maccagnan purged a gaggle of talented players during the ensuing off-season.  But like John Idzik did (or didn't do) with Rex Ryan, Maccagnan spent nary a dollar of his salary cap reserves during Todd Bowles' last three seasons as Jets coach.  And like John Idzik, much of Maccagnan's drafting also left much to be desired ... save for Sam Darnold.  And just as John Idzik didn't hire Rex Ryan, Maccangan similarly didn't hire Todd Bowles.  To the subjective observer it seemed as if both general managers did everything possible to sabotage their respective head coaches.

To that I say look no further than the Brothers Johnson.  This is their standard operating procedure working to the letter.  It's the Jets way.  For the Brothers Johnson have long provided a direct line of communication for their head coach and a workplace environment whereby both head coach and general manager invariably wind up putting more effort into saving their own respective jobs rather than working jointly towards a common cause.  The fact Adam Gase is here and Mike Maccagnan is not only further confirms this dynamic.

Under the Johnsons the Jets have lacked long term vision, front office commitment, and operational discipline.  Each passing administration merely piles on to the growing scrapheap of failed short term ideas.  That's because Woody nor Christopher have never ordered a definitive course of action.  They never once gave a general manager and head coach specific orders and tasked them with seeing things through.  Neither Johnson brother has ever said strip it down; rebuild; or get me to the Super Bowl or else.  For better or worse, the Brothers Johnson have effectively left those decisions to the mix of overlapping regimes they themselves marry together then leave them to go about their business.  Meanwhile behind the scenes the head coach and general manager are at each other like spy vs. spy until their contracts come up for renewal.

This process has repeated itself over and over, and yet again this past Wednesday.  Through it we've learned how the Brothers Johnson front office model fosters subversion from within.

Mike Tannenbaum was the presiding general manager when Woody Johnson and the Jets fired Eric Mangini then handed over the controls to Rex Ryan.  That was the last sound decision made by either brother.  Because when Tannanbaum was fired, Idzik was forced by Johnson into retaining Rex Ryan.  When both were let go, Christopher Johnson ponderously hired his head coach first, then his general manager second.  Fast forward and Todd Bowles is let go, but Maccagnan is retained.  He in turn partakes in the decision to bring Adam Gase on board.  But in the absence of a chain of command, or any semblance of command and control, Gase promptly circumvents the general manager and successfully politics the owner for Maccagnan's removal (I don't care what Christopher Johnson says.  In fact, his version only worsens matters).

If the plan to fire Maccagnan was already in the place, then why allow him to spend the team's salary cap reserves, and preside over the recent draft.  In that regard I sing with the chorus: Same Old Jets.  And why not?  Just when the organization seemed in the midst of positioning themselves in a more positive light they've recast a chilling shade upon the entire operation.

What in the name of Weeb Ewbank is Christopher Johnson doing handing over controls of Gang Green Airways to a man with a sub par record in three seasons as head coach of Ryan Tannehill and the Miami Dolphins?  They're not even fish; they're mammals.  What the hell good is living in water if you're consistently having to come up for air!?  And why the hell is a head coach hired four months ago suddenly in a position to hire the Jets next general manager?

I'm sure somewhere even Rich Kotite is laughing at this one ...

Stop this vicious cycle of pitting incompatible head coaches and general managers against each other.

The Brothers Johnson need to hire an alpha executive and get out of the way.

N.Y. Jets: Rex's Last Stand

From the desk of:  WALT MICHAELS' REVENGE

New York Jets: Woody Johnson Dropped The Hammer; Announces The End Of D-Generation Rex.

The top five reasons Rex Ryan is no longer head coach of the Jets are Bret Favre, Mark Sanchez, Tim Tebow, Michael Vick, and Geno Smith.

Next on the list are two bean counters hired as general managers.

Further down the list: talking Braylon Edwards away from Marc Sanchez, trading Darrelle Revis - losing both Revis and Antonio Cromartie without bringing in competitive replacements, and Rex's overall disconnect with the offense.

So what happened?

Rex took Eric Mangini's and Mike Tannenbaum's team to another level with back to back AFC championship game appearances.  Then ground and pound lost its juice, Mark Sanchez regressed, personnel decisions failed to keep pace, and Geno Smith has yet to satisfactorily fill the position as the next, next guy (no matter what you think of his performance against Miami).

After Mike Tannenbaum was fired, you might say GM John Idzik effectively conspired against his head coach - the one forced upon him by Woody Johnson.  That right there was a recipe for disaster. Idzik wound up hoarding tons of salary cap money, and entered office already predisposed to firing Ryan after the 2014 season no matter what.

John Idzik also had 12 draft selections at his disposal last draft, and exhibited absolutely no creativity with them, not to mention, that in a draft rich in wide receivers, Idzik couldn't pick one.

On that note, Eric Decker and Geno Smith waited till Rex Ryan's final game to have their best days as Jets.

John Idzik most definitely needed to get fired.  Maybe this will finally clear the air traffic over the Jets practice facility.

Rex Ryan?  I'm not so sure.  Yes, he had his flaws, but his strengths were clear.

There's no escaping however, a team in regression screamed for changes.

Woody Johnson did the right thing.  Now he just needs to make better decisions.




Mike

N.Y. Jets: John Idzik's Retrofit Proceeding Slowly

From the desk of:  Walt Michael's Revenge

NEW YORK JETS: John Idzik's Patience Has Organization Riddled With Anxiety.

He just wasn't that good.  He wasn't.  Five years ago, the winning coach of the most recent Super Bowl champion Seahawks, Pete Carroll, said Mark Sanchez wasn't ready.

Things no doubt started well for Mark Sanchez, but only with Braylon Edwards, Jerricho Cotchery, and tight end Dustin Keller by his side, not to mention a decent running game behind him as well. Mark Sanchez peaked quickly, then devolved just as fast.  For Mark's sake, he and the Jets needed to part ways.

That still doesn't absolve the Jets from doing Mark Sanchez wrong.  They made him rich, but little else.  At the time, Mark was playing for a head coach who didn't involve himself with offensive matters.  By 2011-12, Sanchez was bereft of weapons to work with.  And by 2012, a deteriorated offensive line, otherwise left him on his back, or fleeing for his life.  Why add (literal) insult to injury by bringing up last season?  Playing for two different offensive coordinators, and having to learn a new system under duress, no doubt, additionally made matters worse.

Unfortunately for both Mark Sanchez and Rex Ryan, the head coach already squeezed everything out of what Eric Mangini and Mike Tannenbaum had previously started.  Unfortunately for Rex, the need to rebuild came during his watch, regardless of Sanchez.  Even the players Rex wanted imported, and received, were already older.  By the 2011 season, I feel the Jets were disillusioned by their fleeting success.  Mark Sanchez' contract extension was part of it.

Moving forward, if Geno Smith wants to gain perspective into what it will be like to have Michael Vick around, I suggest he call Kellen Clemens and Brad Smith.  Not only did both have to cede the floor to Sanchez, but, the last time the Jets put their football in the hands of a QB drafted by the Atlanta Falcons, Clemens stood witness while Brett Favre abetted in lighting the fuse that helped implode Eric Mangini's lone gig as a head coach.  Will this latest former Atlanta Falcon quarterback precipitate Rex Ryan's dismissal from the only head coaching gig he's known?

Geno Smith will be operating with the expectations of a second year QB - little.  How he performs in camp, I believe will become inconsequential.  He'll have exactly four games to show something, then the Jets will hand the ball off to Michael Vick.  Barring few exceptions, that's the way I see things transpiring next season.

If you can get beyond the dogs, Michael Vick and the Jets have a real football need for each other. If you can't get beyond the dogs, then as a Jets fan, you're having a hard time reconciling Woody Johnson's organizational morals.  In either case, the media will be descending upon Jets camp in late summer like flies on a freshly laid steamy cow patty.  Woody seems to enjoy chaos though.  I can't say the same of the general manager he hired.

John Idzik has been catching heat lately, for appearing reluctant to sign any number of formerly available free agents that would have addressed a few needs.  Part of the criticism stems from indeed having the money to spend, being in great salary cap shape, yet laying low.  I'll defend him, and say, just because one has money in hand, doesn't mean it needs to be spent.  I'll side with Idzik's patient approach for now, although I know it clashes with Woody Johnson's sudden petulance.  With extra draft picks to work with, how Idzik does in this year's draft will better define his tenure thus far.

Why fire a guy players love performing for, especially while your team is in rebuilding mode. Therefore, Rex Ryan's job status is a matter best left for, if and when Geno Smith starts to struggle and Rex calls to the bullpen for Michael Vick, or the end of the season, when Idzik's hammer likely falls.

Either way, it's going to be a long season for Woody Johnson, who says he wants to win now. Idzik says he's a patient man, and the more Woody talks about DeSean Jackson, the more he's A) - tampering according to NFL rules, and B) - stepping all over the toes of his new general manager. Naturally, there are rumors circulating that Woody supposedly isn't too crazy about John Idzik.

Funny how cow patties roll down hill, as everyone is still speculating whether John Idzik really likes Rex Ryan, or if Woody even still likes Ryan.  But on the other side of the coin, everyone in a uniform loves Rex Ryan, maybe except Geno Smith, who can't be happy about being placed in a revised (no win) situation.  While John Idzik is a patient man, Rex Ryan may not have the luxury of patience to operate with.

The divergent flight patterns of the Jets triumvirate spells nothing but J-E-T-S trouble, trouble, trouble, ahead.  Therefore, I'm making an early call, and telling Jets fans to keep their seat belts fastened, and trays in an upright position.  The trip from point A to point B is certain to be a bumpy one.




Mike.BTB

N.Y. Jets: Rex Ryan Survived John Idzik's Hiring To Coach This Game

From the desk of:  THE JOE KLECKO CONSPIRACY

NEW YORK JETS: Rex Ryan Survived The Hiring Of John Idzik To Coach This Game.  His Defensive Reputation Is On The Line.

The Art of War teaches, know your opponent.  When it comes to Bill Belichick, that's no easy task.  The man under the hoodie is aware of every play ever devised dating back to the 1920's.  While the Patriots can also largely thank Tom Brady for their prolonged success, it's their offensive system that has allowed many different cast members to seemingly seamlessly step in and out over the years, and contribute at high levels.  With respect to Mark Sanchez and Geno Smith, the Jets should only be so lucky.

But unlike his wife, Tom Brady's legs haven't improved with age.  The book on the New England Patriots quarterback was written long ago, and still speaks truth today.  He' a virtual statue.  Disrupt the pocket and the game will change.  And if Gronk plays, defend him as Coach Bill Belichick  himself would - assign one person to hang out with him all day.

If you think that sounds simplistic, then try this one - above all, expect the expected.

If the Jets head coach is worth his mettle as a defensive mind, no one person should have more  knowledge of Gang Green's chief division rival than Rex Ryan.  As a matter of fate or destiny, or what - he survived the hiring of new GM John Idzik for one reason - to coach this game.

The Jets greatest moment under Rex Ryan came on January 16th day in 2011 when they went to Foxboro and defeated the Pats by a 27-21 final.  Including their Week Two match-up, the Jets haven't beaten the Patriots in their five meetings since.  The Jets are still in reasonably manageable shape with a 3-3 record.  But the Pats are getting away from them, and there is still Miami to hurdle first.

If only for a week, Rex Ryan can stand on top of the mountain again, after being dragged through the valley.  The Jets could conceivably spend their beings on this one game, because Rex makes players want to do that.  Whether that propels the Jets beyond Week Eight or causes them to run out of gas matters not today.

Beating New England still may not save Rex Ryan's job.  But today's game here in MetLife Stadium will once again define, if not redefine Rex Ryan's legacy as Jets head coach.  His defensive acumen is on the line.

Offensively, if there was ever a time for Ground and Pound to come through, this would be the week; to keep Tom Brady on the sidelines.  If Geno Smith and the Jets do not turn over the ball, they could conceivably spark a whole new Monday morning conversation.




Mike.BTB

N.Y. Jets: Mike Westhoff Offers Insight Into Jets Dilemma

From the desk of:   A BLUE BLOODED GIANTS FAN


NEW YORK JETS - Former Coach Mike Westhoff Airs Jets Dirty Laundry.

I Say The Jets Next Move Should Be....

The old saying goes thus - Things must get worse before they get better.  Except if you're part of the Jets that is, where things tend to go from worse to catastrophic.  For Gang Green, the arrival in Dis was thought to be the end of the 2012 regular season, and the subsequent house cleaning.  But then came the recent, and now laughable Ren and Stimpy routine called a press conference.  And today, this....


It was an absolute  M - E - S - S   Mess  -  Mess  -  Mess!


In an interview on a Miami radio station, former Gang Green special teams coach Mike Westoff, characterized the Jets handling of Tim Tebow as an absolute mess.  This just exacerbates the question of who wanted Tim Tebow.  Coach Westhoff offered the Jets neither planned to incorporate, nor practiced to utilize Tim Tebow on offense at any time.  Sure, the Jets talked about it.  But they never followed through.  Or, does this raise the question of whether Rex Ryan and Tony Sparano together, were clueless in their struggle to fit him in?  Westhoff also intimated that Rex and Sparono kind of dumped Tebow on him to make use of.


In my opinion, the more damning aspects of Coach Westhoff's comments strike at the organization's very core.  His words reveal the true state of the Jets and speak poorly of them.  Why?  Because for long Mike Westhoff has been one of the most respected assistant coaches in all the NFL.  Originally, you had to take Mike Westhoff on his word that he was retiring from coaching.  It can now be safely assumed Coach Westhoff was running from the Jets as if the team's practice hangar were on fire.  What is also clear to me at least after grasping the whole of his interview, is he no longer wanted to be a part of the utter chaos that presently consumes the Jets.  Mike Westoff also appeared on the Michael Kay Show Friday afternoon to further clarify himself.  And he continued to bomb away.


Woody Johnson is the genesis of said Chaos.  It is his team.  He is the owner.  However, blame shouldn't be that simplistic.  The organization lost its semblance of normalcy somewhere between the extremes characterized by their two most recent head coaches.  Eric Mangini brought in talent and disciplined them.  But A) - the team underachieved under him, and B) - he was a media cold front.  At the other extreme, Rex Ryan is a turbulent tropical warm front consumed with, and by the daily media maelstrom.  At first, his team overachieved FOR him.  But the talent level under Rex has depleted over the last two seasons, not to mention, they have become quite an undisciplined bunch under his reign as well.


Woody Johnson might be committing a huge mistake by making a new General Manager retain Rex Ryan for at least one more season.  Several very good candidates, one from the Giants who took the Panthers GM position, are already off the market, and rumor is they would have nothing to do with the Jets present situation.  So what exactly is the Jets present situation?


Woody Johnson purchased the team in 2000, and inherited an agreement whereby Bill Parcells would move into the front office, and hand over the head coaching reigns to Bill Belichick.  But Belichick in turn immediately handed Woody Johnson his letter of resignation as HC of the NYJ and bolted for New England.  Al Groh was forced to step in and coach the Jets, which he did for one season and salvaged a respectful 9-7 record.  After the 2000 season, both Bill Parcells and Al Groh left the organization.  Overall under Bill Parcells the team achieved a 39-26 record, and a 1-1 mark in the playoffs.  Bill Parcells left behind Mike Tannenbaum who was originally brought on board to be the team's salary CAPologist.


Woody Johnson then made what many considered a good football decision when he hired Terry Bradway from Kansas City to be the team's new General Manager.  Bradway ushered in the Chad Pennington/Herman Edwards era.  Very simply, Herm may have been a victim of Chad Pennington's limited health and overall arm strength.  I do not want to dig too deeply into those five years.  They were good years by Jets standards even though the era only amassed a 39-41 regular season record.   The Jets made the playoffs in 2001, 2002, and in the 2004 season.  After the 2005 let down, the Edwards and Bradway tandem ceased to be.  Herm Edwards left for Kansas City.  But Woody Johnson retained Terry Bradway within the organization, albeit with a demotion.  But twelve years with the Jets now, he still currently serves as the team's Senior Player Personnel Executive.


By 2006, Mike Tannenbaum had progressed enough through the front office ranks to where Woody Johnson felt compelled to name him the next General Manager of the Jets.  Eric Mangini was then hired out of Bill Belichick's staff in New England to replace Herm Edwards as head coach.  The first season under Mangini was terrific.  The rest of his three year reign was not.  Mike Tannebaum, Eric Mangini, and the Jets compiled a 23-25 regular season record.  Whether inspired by Tannenbaum, or perhaps against Mangini's better judgement or not, the era went down in a blaze of glory with Brett Favr%#!?$vre at quarterback.


Eric Mangini was out.  Mike Tannebaum got to stay.  Rex Ryan is in.  The Jets then trade up to draft Mark Sanchez.  Four years later Rex Ryan stays, Mike Tannebaum is pushed out the door, and Mark Sanchez is the poster child for futility.  The assistant coaching staffs are decimated by firings and mass exodus.  The roster is riddled with questionable talent and bad contracts.  Additionally, the Jets are capped out.


Meanwhile, the office of General Manager has been filled in Jacksonville, Carolina, and San Diego, by who many in the media consider to be stellar candidates.  The Cardinals promoted from within.  Not only have the Jets not settled on a candidate yet, Woody Johnson will let Rex Ryan exercise a measure of approval over the potential hire.


Ponderous!  The Jets hired a firm to line up candidates.  At this point, Woody Johnson is just throwing his money away.  Here's the deal.  Woody Johnson or a firm should not be conducting a GM search.  His President of Football Operations should.  Oh wait!  He doesn't have one.  Exactly.  Because if he did, Rex Ryan and Mike Tannenbaum would have remained linked together.  The hiring and firing of the General Manager is perhaps best left to good football people.  Not Woody Johnson.


As things stand right now, Terry Bradway is the senior most football executive Woody Johnson has.  And next to Rex Ryan, Bradway is the only football mind Woody has left.  If the Jets keep missing out on qualified candidates for their GM position, it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if the Jets are forced to promote from within, and perhaps elevate Terry Bradway to the office of GM once again.  In my opinion, that would be the way to go, and here is why.


Woody Johnson needs to clean up his entire organization and fill it with better football minded people.  Terry Bradway has been here since the 2001 season.  Since then, the Jets are exactly 96-96 over that time.  If you add in Al Groh's 9-7 record from the prior season when Woody first purchased the team, the Jets are now 105-103 in the Woody Era.  But once the Parcells Era ended, thank Rex Ryan for elevating the team to a .500 record because both Herm Edwards and Mangini posted sub .500 marks.  So far Rex Ryan has posted a 34-30 record in four years.  Bradway has been the only constant member of the Jets, more so than Tannenbaum, who's work directly contributed to the product on the field over the last twelve years.  Woody should now attach Rex Ryan and Terry Bradway at the hip and let them sink or swim together.


Why take on a new General Manager from outside the organization at this point?  If Rex and Terry succeed, Fine!  But if they fail Woody can rid himself of both of them, then truly rebuild his organization from the ground up.  He would have a clean slate to work with, and have the luxury of being methodical and getting it done right.  Therefore, his first move should then be recruiting a qualified Team President of Football Operations, and let that person hire the next GM of the Jets.


Why a team president?  Because the Jets have posted a .500 record over the last twelve years!  Because Woody Johnson is an heir of a very different world from outside football.  He is not a Rooney, or a Mara.  In the absence of a good Team President, an unlearned owner operating on his own behalf risks exposing the organization to dysfunction.  Without the GM, the owner is alone.  Look how long it took Daniel Snyder of the Redskins to realize that.  Sometimes this dysfunction  manifests itself in the owner firing his General Manager but leaving his teddy bear head coach on board for the next guy to worry about.  That's not the way to build football teams.  That's the way companies operate in the corporate world.  That's why the economy and the Jets are so messed up.





Mike.BTB

New York Jets: A Blueprint for Disaster

From the desk of:   A Blue-Blooded Giants Fan



NEW YORK JETS:  Striking Out In Their Bid To Secure Nnamdi Asomugha Sent Gang Green Into Tailspin.

How Do You Like Brian Schottenheimer Now?

Tim Tebow is a good place to start this discussion.  Why was he brought here and who wanted him?  The only four suspects involved are Coach Sparano, Rex, Mike Tannenbaum, and Woody Johnson.


Somehow Tony Sparano actually made Coach Brian Schottenheimer look good.  Schotty's departure shed light on Mark Sanchez' game.  Evidently there was a reason Schotty never unleashed Mark Sanchez.  Coach kept the QB, who Pete Carroll claimed was not ready for the NFL, within his limits.  Without Schottenheimer, Mark Sanchez was a complete disaster in his fourth NFL season.


Being methodical and play-calling within an offensive unit's means is easily confused with being boring, unoriginal and/or displaying lack of creativity, and things of that nature.  So in a town like NYC, Schotty wore on the fan base; naturally.  In obvious hindsight, I offer Schotty gave Sanchez structure, in-game management, and direction.  Save the issue of talent surrounding Sanchez for Mike Tannenbaum.  But perhaps it was Schotty who squeezed and manipulated Sanchez into being a capable enough QB that could HELP his team qualify for back-to-back AFC title games.  Clearly by 2011, the talent level around Sanchez started to erode.  And today it is very clear the coaching Mark Sanchez received under Tony Sparano was substandard.  Matt Cavanaugh has been his Mark's QB coach under both offensive coordinators.  If Matt has been the constant for Sanchez, the difference in his performance under Schotty and Sparano are made even more stark.  Tony Sparano was fired in Miami and helped make the Jets worse.  Schottenheimer was fired by the Jets then helped make the Rams better.  Go figure, right?  Schottenheimer had previous experience as a QB coach with the Chargers.  Sparano did not.


The Jets claimed all along Tim Tebow was the back-up to Mark Sanchez.  And to their credit, they handed Mark the season.  They even avoided giving Tebow the ball late in the season.  Even though  Sparano utilized a wildcat system in Miami, whatever the plan for Tim Tebow was, it became very clear to me Tony Sparano had no idea how to implement a two QB system.  There is a big difference. And based on the way Tebow was utilized this season, there was indeed no plan for Tim Tebow; at least no evident plan exhibited by Tony Sparano.


So did Tony Sparano want him around?  Doubtful.  Ditto goes for Rex Ryan.  I do not subscribe to the Wes Welker Effect.  When with the Miami Dolphins, Welker repeatedly burnt the Patriots.  So Bill Belichick traded for him.  Because Tim Tebow was instrumental in defeating the Jets the year prior doesn't make me believe Rex lobbied his GM to trade for Tebow.  Everyone has already chimed in about Rex's ignorance with regards to offense.  But even as the head coach, he strained and often found himself at a loss for words when trying to rationalize Tebow's existence, much less his role.  Rex Ryan straining for words?


The truth about Tim Tebow lies somewhere between Woody Johnson and Mike Tannenbaum.  Whether the GM was just acquiescing Woody Johnson and his bottom line, or whether GM Mike Tannenbaum instigated the trade himself are no longer important.  The GM is gone.  The offensive coordinator should be shown the door shortly.  Tebow will soon be gone too.  And you can't fire the owner.  Rex however, might survive to coach another year depending on the next General Manager.


But what wreckage the former General Manager left behind.  The talent he and Eric Mangini assembled served Rex Ryan well during his first two seasons as coach.  The talent assembled by Rex and Tannenbaum over the last two seasons have not.  Or, they did a poor job replacing outgoing players.  Pick your poison.  But in my opinion, the Jets really did themselves a disservice when they cleared players and cap room in an all-out effort to secure cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha.  By the time Nnamdi signed with Philly, quality players left on the open market, much needed by the Jets to fill other holes, were all gone.


And that's how I think the Jets have arrived upon today.


The defense has been solid enough.  But they were asked to do way too much for four seasons.  Their window is now just about closed.  Offensively, the Jets have problems at QB, offensive line, receiver, and with the running game.  If you include Dustin Keller's contract status, the Jets have problems at tight end too.  Great.


The next General Manager of the Jets better eat his Wheaties and brew a lot of coffee.  He has lots of work to do.



Mike.BTB

New York Jets: Flight Cancelled At The Gate

From the desk of:   A BLUE BLOODED GIANTS FAN

 

NEW YORK JETS:  Half Way Through The Regular Season, D-Generation Rex Is Caught In A Downward Spiral.  With The Bye Coming Next Week, The Jets Have Two Weeks Of Decision Making Ahead.


The storm of all perfect storms descended upon Met-Life Stadium Sunday afternoon.  Tried as they might to fly through adverse conditions, the Jets never had a chance.  Sunday's flight was doomed from go.  The plane never even made the tarmac.  The pilot never made it to the plane.  Marc Sanchez was stopped at the gate.  Fans are starting to suspect their fly boy is playing under the influence of Performance Depleting Drugs.  Maybe Tim Tebow is diabolically flaking Marc's food at the buffet table?  That's called not-so-very-creative fiction and a poor attempt at humor people!  But the reality of the Jets condition is the quarterback is playing as if he was on dope none the less.


In an ever downward spiraling season filled with worse upon worse efforts, Sunday's was the worst performance by Marc Sanchez of perhaps both his entire college and professional career.  Aiding and abetting in four sacks-against due to horrible presence in the pocket, an interception, a fumble, were only what the box score show.  To watch him Sunday, made Jets fans eyes bleed.


Before we get to all the other inclement elements of Sunday's humiliating loss to the Miami Hurricanes Dolphins, first let me give credit to Head Coach Rex Ryan.  He stuck with Marc Sanchez all game long.  This was Marc Sanchez' game, and Marc Sanchez' failure at quarterback alone.  Waiting on the sidelines was Tim Tebow.  If there was a game which needed handing off to the next guy, it was this one.  But Rex denied Tim Tebow the opportunity of stepping into, on, or over, Marc Sanchez' downfall - not with the Bye Week coming.  That was a great move by Rex.  One, Rex's decision kept the situation very clear cut, and unpolluted.  It leaves the team with two weeks to deliberate over what to do next.  Any decision they make going forward should now be met with very little resistance.  For nothing else has worked.


Make no mistake, this was a perfect storm.  They are now 3-5 this season, with a 2-2 division record.  They barley defeated the Dolphins in overtime in the first match-up.  The Jets opening week game against the Bills stands as their best season effort so far.  Then their win over the Colts was just that, against the Colts.  But the Jets are now thoroughly exposed.


If you take away Shonn Greene's thirty six yard romp, the Jets rushed twenty times for only sixty nine yards.  Marc Sanchez was forced to attempt fifty four passes, and wound up throwing twenty six incompletions.  But should any offense they generated in the 4th quarter really count considering this game was effectively lost in the first quarter?  If you're going by the actual score, the Jets lost the game within the first eleven minutes of the game.


Part of this overall ineptness must fall on the offensive coordinator.  Here's a question - what is he doing?  Marc's worst season is coinciding with the coordinator's first season.  Sparano waited until he faced his former team in Week Three to inaugurate the first hints it might be Tebow Time.  Since then, many fans have gotten lost with how seemingly Coach Sparano incoherently implements the Jets weapon of mass disruption.  The plan has done more to interrupt Marc Sanchez' flow and promising drives, than anything except for their poor offensive line play.  But not Sunday.  Sunday was all Marc, all day.  He didn't take care of the ball.  He had no feel for the pocket.  He couldn't even complete a simple screen pass.


Defensively, the Jets still can't stop Reggie Bush.  He and Daniel Thomas combined to rush twenty nine times for 101 yards.  It was enough.  The real defensive blow to the ego was losing to back-up quarterback Matt Moore.  Miami's starter, Ryan Tannehill's day didn't start out too promising.  But after he pulled a quad muscle via an actual Jets sack, the game took a not so funny football bounce against the Jets.  Their special teams, and everything else, feel apart like wet toilet paper.


How bad was New York's start against Miami?  Mike Westhoff is known for coaching superior special teams units.  Sunday, his teams were repeatedly embarrassed all game long.  All players have one bad day at work they would prefer to forget.  When one suffers, the others cover.  We all get that.  Against Miami, all special teams players shared in having their worst day together.  That spells doom.  An on-side kick and a blocked punt returned for a touchdown in the first quarter alone were  the start of a miserable afternoon for Jets fans.  Yet another blocked field goal attempt before the half just about disenfranchised everyone in attendance of their pursuit of happiness.


How did they start the 3rd quarter? - By allowing a fifty seven yard kick-off return.  By then, the score was howling in the Jets faces with 27-0 winds.  Then came a near Marc Sanchez pick, followed by an actual Sanchez pick.  Then another sack.  Then more and more and more....


The 30-9 final score is hardly indicative of the damage.  The Jets played far worse.  They suffered poor special teams play, which to be fair, will no doubt be corrected.  The Jets defense are having their troubles.  They are still a good defense.  But they are being asked to do too much now.  To be fair, they are without Derrelle Revis, and were without Bart Scott, and so on.  But despite injuries, the defense was already proving to be somewhat suspect.  And then there was the offense.  There was none.  With one or two exceptions, the offensive line is inferior.  Shonn Greene is trying, but the running game is sub-standard.  Additionally, with Santonio Holmes out, and even with Dustin Keller in, there are no game changing receivers to speak of.


All this ultimately brings us to Marc Sanchez and Tim Tebow.  The Jets have given Marc Sanchez a fair shot at securing the job without having to look over his shoulder, except for stupid conceptual plays here and there.  The job has been his.  Tim Tebow has not had the pleasure of starting at quarterback yet.  I believe he was afforded one partial drive all season under center.


I do not believe, at all, Tim Tebow will change the Jets fortunes.  Not in a box, not with a fox.  Not here, nor there, not anywhere.  However, at this point, asking why not give the offense to Tebow after one half of a season spent spiraling out of control, is the most valid question in the NFL right now.  An independent, yet relative question is, why is he here?  There is one fact towards that end which justifies everything.  The Dolphins dominated.


All is not lost.  Not by a long stretch.  The season is ONLY half over.  The Jets have two weeks to get back in the lab and conjure a solution.





Mike.BTB

New York Jets: Soul Searching Is Taking Longer Than Expected

From the desk of:   A BLUE BLOODED GIANTS FAN

NEW YORK JETS:  Rex Can't Help Them Now.  The Season Is Up To The Players On The Field.


If there was a game Coach Rex was going to win by himself, it was this last one.  Through pure preparation, coaches are usually good for one game in which they are directly responsible for winning or losing.  Rex did everything right in this game - right in the sense the Jets could have won.  Strategy is another story.  Even though, for the Jets control of the game was never really more than a dropped, deflected, or tipped pass, and an interception away.  It is a tough break because the Texans were beatable Sunday.  Rex had a good plan - I think.  Apparently, some of the Jets didn't get the memo.


Rex gave his team two days off after the previous week's debacle against the 49ers.  An extra day off is usually doled out as an award.  When coaches do that after a loss, it is because they will be sequestering themselves in their labs, trying to come up with new formulas for victory.  So as Rex sent his team off in search of fortitude, truth is, coaches need the extra time to prepare.  In this case, perhaps letting Week Four's loss eat away at his team one extra day had its effects.  It just wasn't enough to change the outcome of Week Five.  That doesn't mean things won't change down the line.  The Jets players will just have to do it themselves now.  Rex just used his Get Out Of Jail Free card, and his players blew it.


With a couple of breaks, this is a different conversation.  However, many thing about the Jets remain the same.  And in the NFL, all that matters is they lost.  The next logical question is why..(?)


How about..., Shonn Greene isn't even averaging fifty yards per game this season.  This is clearly not the same guy many thought two years ago could be the Jets next feature back.  At this rate, Tim Tebow can very well become the Jets leading rusher.  In the grand scheme of things, that can not be a good thing.  Bilal Powell hasn't exactly separated himself from the pack either.  And so, the Jets become more reliant on Marc Sanchez' ability to safely and accurately throw the football.  And there's the rub.


And this just in...., Week Six is on the way, and no one is yet to figure what to do with Tim Tebow.




Mike.BTB

New York Jets: Return Mission to Pittsburgh

From the desk of:   A BLUE BLOODED GIANTS FAN

 

Rex Ryan's War:

 

 

NEW YORK JETS: BACK TO PITTSBURGH

 

Battles Of 2010 Still Fresh In Both Team's Memory

 

Week Two Picks

 

Since the AFL/NFL merger, the Jets have faced the Pittsburgh Steelers twenty-one times overall.  Prior to 2010, the Jets managed a mere three regular season victories over one of the eldest franchises in football history.  All three wins came at home.  Back in 1998, the Jets were 24-20 victors. In 2003, the Jets pitched a 6-0 shutout.  And in 2007, Gang Green squeezed out a 19-16 win.


Gang Green's fourth and last victory over the Black and Gold came in December of 2011, when D-Generation Rex defeated the Steelers in Pittsburgh for the first time in Jets franchise history.  To the chagrin of many, the Jets achieved an improbable 22-17 victory.  The 2010 Jets would eventually play their way into the AFC Championship Game.  Similar to the way the Jets season series played out against New England, perhaps a second encounter against Pittsburgh was in the cards.  For the Steelers also managed to play their way into the AFC title game.


For the second time in just a little over a month's time, the Jets flew back to Pittsburgh to play in the final American Football Conference match-up of the season.  The winner would go on to play in Super Bowl XLV.  Back in 2004, the Steelers defeated the Jets in the AFC Divisional round.  In this, their second ever playoff match-up, the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Jets once again, this time by a heart crushing 24-19 margin.


The Jets flew back to New York a broken team.  Repairs to Rex's Jets squadron lasted throughout the 2011 season while Pittsburgh went on to lose Super Bowl XLV 31-25 to Aaron Rodgers the Green Bay Packers.


This coming Sunday, the two teams will meet again in Pittsburgh.  For the Jets, the team's futility in Steel City should be a non-issue.  That December 2010 win should still be fresh in many Green minds. But so should that AFC title game loss.  After all, it was D-Generation Rex's second consecutive championship game loss.


Losing Super Bowl XLV wasn't too catastrophic to Steel City's collective mental health; I don't think. They have a whole display cabinet filled with Lombardi trophies. Their Sunday opponents however, only have one trophy, obtained in upset fashion, going on what will soon be forty-three years ago.  The head coach of today's Jets, in word at least, has practically guaranteed a second.  But his time to get it done is running short.  Presently, Pittsburgh is no better off.  They are a rapidly aging team.  And after dropping this season's opening game to the Denver Broncos, and after last season's incredulous loss to Tim Tebow and those same Denver Broncos, the Steelers are as desperate as any team in the league, which includes the Jets.


Both teams are up against the proverbial wall.  But while time might be running out for each team, consider only one coach's job may wind up in peril.  Say Pittsburgh and the Jets both have miserable seasons, odds are the Steelers stick with Mike Tomlin, while Rex Ryan's future in New York becomes far more doubtful, or precarious at best.


D-Generation Rex is on a mission.  Coach Ryan is the first to admit sometimes there are setbacks and sometimes there are unexpected victories.  Rex and a few others have been on both ends.  But outside of Rex, Marc Sanchez, Bart Scott, Mangold, and a select few, I don't know how many Jets share the same level of understanding into the immediacy of their situation.  Somehow, Week Two doesn't seem to carry with it the sense of desperation Gang Green's overall season does.


In Week Two, I think the Steelers are (collectively) the more desperate team and will respond in kind.  For one day at least, I feel they will play with a greater togetherness.  Many current Steelers have been together for a very long time.  So many of their players march to one beat.  Rex Ryan historically has received that kind of unyielding support from his players.  This season's dynamic still needs to prove to what degree.  But that's just my impression as an outside observer.  The Steelers are desperate to keep themselves from starting 0-2, while the Jets are trying to win their second game.  So which team's edge is sharper coming into Sunday?


Make no mistake, Big Ben has the rings Marc Sanchez is still hopeful of being fitted for one season.  Therefore this is Marc's game.  This is his season.  However, even should Marc Sanchez and the Jets play a near perfect game Sunday, history shows us the Jets do not score more than twenty or so points against the Steelers.


What ever the Jets plans for Tim Tebow, if Marc Sanchez plays like he did last week, he will force the Jets to limit Tebow Time, and continue playing the hot hand.  BOOM!  There it is.  This is all in Marc Sanchez' hands.  The Jets road record in Pittsburgh, and Tim Tebow's last second playoff victory last season with Denver be damned.  Marc Sanchez won in Steel City before.  And Pittsburgh's defense is compromised enough to allow him to do it again.  He may have to.  Marc may be forced to out-score the Steelers. However, he will have to do it without Dustin Keller.  That means without his safety net Marc Sanchez will be forced to make better initial reads.  Last week Marc Sanchez masterfully incorporated a head fake and pump into his game and threw touchdowns.  That's what quarterbacks get paid to do - not what Tim Tebow brings.


The Steelers are currently injured at their strengths; linebacker and safety.  Two of Pittsburgh's biggest defensive guns will be missing from Sunday's game.  Word is, Safety Troy Polamalu and Linebacker James Harrison are highly questionable; doubtful; or just plain - out.  Any way you dress it, they are compromised.  As such, Pittsburgh's situation on defense is an invitation for Marc Sanchez to repeat his Week One performance against Buffalo.


Of course surrendering twenty-eight points to the Bills raises its own set of questions.  But lets assume the Jets defense plays this Sunday, and throughout the season, as well as they are projected to be. Consider this about Week One.   Buffalo never blitzed Sanchez, and Mario Williams never got his hands on Sanchez.  No Buffalo Bill ever touched Sanchez.  It is safe to assume, that will not be the case against Pittsburgh.  On defense, the Steelers still field a formidable front seven.  The Jets O-Line had a good week against the Bills.  The Black and Gold are a different animal though.  Marc Sanchez and the O-Line both will most likely have to repeat their efforts, and outscore the Steelers.


Here is the biggest problem facing the Jets this Sunday - Ben Roethlisberger and the absence of Derrelle Revis.  Without Derrelle Revis, there goes whatever pass rush the Jets had.  It's well known Rex relies on his corners to indirectly get pressure on the QB.  Still without a legitimate individual pass rusher, Rex relies on coverage and a bevy of blitz packages to pressure the passer.  That's where Big Ben comes in.  He always seems to bust loose from the pocket.  Just ask Santonio Holmes.  He's the baby Huey of the NFL.  I mean that in a good way.  He's so big, he is hard to bring down.  But what this stumblin', bumblin', rumblin' steel worker does best is thrive on busted plays.  That's why these recent games between the two teams are always close.  And that's why the Steelers usually come out on top.  The Jets defense is already compromised heading into Sunday, but even when healthy, Big Ben still does just enough to foul the Jets best laid defensive plans.  Pittsburgh it seems, is always only a late 4th quarter possession and a busted play away from potential victory.  This Sunday, I think the Steelers sneak by.


I think it is going to be a great game.  Can the Jets win with some turnovers or breaks?  Yes, and don't rule it out.  A win would also work particularly well considering the Jets play Miami the following week.  Losing great games however are no consolation...; as if there were such a thing in the National Football League.





Mike.BTB

New York Jets: System Check Reveals Faults Before Take-Off

From the desk of:  A BLUE BLOODED GIANTS FAN

J  -  E  -  T  -  S

Just - Endure - Tannenbaum's - Signings

NEW YORK JETS:  If You Really Want To Know What Woody Johnson's Priorities Are, Fire Mike Tannenbaum.


This is all just one man's opinion of course.  As such, I believe Bill Parcells departed the Jets, and left behind someone who at the time was put in place because of his salary cap savvy.  He was someone however with a limited football background.  That person, Mike Tanenbaum, was eventually promoted to the office of General Manager.  He and Eric Mangini actually started to build something credible.  Their drafting was hit or miss.  But together they generally brought in quality people and good players.  Eric Mangini's personality and coaching style left much to be desired though, so his team stopped responding to him.  No wonder there.  Needless to say, the Jets made a switch and hired Rex Ryan.  And it was a good hire.


I believe Rex Ryan took what was left over from the Mangini era, and with some tweaking by him and Mike Tannenbaum, elevated the Jets into AFC Championship contenders.  In the newest era of Jets Football, the 2009 season was best.  The 2010 season less so.  And then we all know what happened last season.


The differences in personnel from the 2008-2009 Jets to this season are stark.  And many fans are still undecided as to whether the changes have been for the better.  This is what I feel.  There is a certain measure of quality control a GM must maintain.  There is also a certain degree of direction they must exert over their Coaches as well.  The team vision must come from the General Manager; not from the Head Coach, up.  More on the owner's role later.  But for now, Mike Tannenbaum fails on all counts.  Instead, the Jets GM is Rex Ryan's biggest enabler.  For three years he kept feeding Coach Ryan's hearty appetite for controversy.  The newly adopted tact he teamed up with Rex was diametrically opposed to the way he and Eric Mangini conducted business together.


At the heart of the matter, Mike Tannenbaum's transactions have brought discord into the clubhouse for the last two seasons running.  In 2009, less behaved athletes were still kept in check by guys like Kris Jenkins, etc.  For the most part, those safeguards fail to exist today; not in decent numbers anyway.  His locker room refurbishment has also earned him a full range of criticism.  And the Jets as a whole dominate the tabloids sometimes for all the wrong reasons.


There is no coincidence regarding the down tick, or the fall off if you will, from 2009 to last season.   As more Mangini era players fell by the way side, Mike Tanenbaum kept importing increasingly questionable talent and difficult characters.  He in effect transformed the locker room; not Rex Ryan.  Tannenbaum was the one who relaxed quality control.  A head coach, be it Mangini or Rex Ryan, can ask for the moon.  That doesn't mean they'll get it..., if you catch my drift.  It's up to a GM to keep a Coach's whims in check as well.


Lastly, for a man once considered a CAPologist, I believe Mike Tannenbaum's spending savvy has devolved right along with his quality control.  He wastes his Jets dollars most unwisely these days. So overall, I'd have to conclude by saying instead of progressing, the Jets are now in the midst of regressing under Mike Tannenbaum.


I do like Rex Ryan as a coach.  There is only so much of what ails the Jets that I'm willing to put on him.  Aside from all the other extraneous stuff Rex brings to the table, I believe he squeezed every bit of success he possibly could from the last three rosters he was given.  This season however, he really, really has his work cut out for him.


Will the hiring of new Offensive Coordinator Tony Sparano help the Jets?  With regards to former Coach Schottenheimer, yes.  Will he help with regards to the Offensive Line?  If you limit the discussion to technique, accountability, and preparation, he might.  But if we're talking about ability, don't make me laugh.  It is very simple.  The Offensive Line has to prove they can protect Marc Sanchez better; if at all.  Because if they don't, and make Marc Sanchez look bad in the process, the organization is going to quite literally hand the ball off to Tim Tebow.  And in my view, if Tebow takes over the helm, the Jets will crash and burn.


With all the positions that needed attention this past off-season, and depending how much you like Sanchez, Mike Tanenbaum acquired the one player the Jets needed least.  Ponderous.  At the same time Mike Tannenbaum is devolving by his own doing, the Offensive Line caused Marc Sanchez to devolve as a quarterback as well.  Upgrading the Offensive Line, and finding Sanchez a suitable receiver should have been the GM's concentration; not acquiring Tim Tebow.


In effect, Marc Sanchez took a step backwards last season, partly of his own doing.  But others definitely contributed.  Tannenbaum certainly helped.  He took away Sanchez' favorite receivers, and gave him headaches.  Coach Schottenheimer helped.  He gave Marc Sanchez misdirection.  Then if you want to point at not having an able running game to supplement Sanchez last season, I will point right back at the Offensive Line.  Not only couldn't they protect the quarterback last season, they equally failed to provide any daylight to run through.  It is all relative.  It all starts up front.


If the Offense is inefficient this season, the Defense in turn won't be able to hold up.  They can only do so much.  Outside of the obvious lack of a pass rush, there are no real concerns for the Jets on Defense. They will be good.  But if they are consistently having to retake the field after repeated three-and-outs, or something to that effect, the Defense will surely wear down.  No conditioning program on the planet will prepare Bart Scott for Jets ineptness on Offense and the toll it will take on his own body when the Defense is asked to do too much.


If acquiring Tim Tebow is a sick way of circumventing an ineffective Offensive Line and their plan for shaking free of their bigger problems, they are running directly into a fire.  If things go awry this season, Mike Tannenbaum must go.  It will be then, and only then, Woody Johnson reveals his true priorities.  He's the one in the Control Tower.


So what to make of the man who champions "one can never have enough Tebow....."?  I'll say this about Woody - he is making it increasingly difficult to decipher whether he wants a top flight football team, or a second rate headline maker.  For truth be told, Mike Tannenbaum is also Woody Johnson's biggest enabler.  And therefore, Mike Tannenbaum is in a conundrum.  The GM himself also made it difficult to determine whether the he is commitment to bettering the team, or finding unique and imaginative new ways to sell Woody's undersold tickets.  He is good at skirting the issue because he speaks well without saying much.


If things go badly this season, I'd like to see the GM talk his way out of this one.  But I say if you really want to know what Woody Johnson's priorities are, Mike Tannenbaum needs to be fired.  But who fires Tannenbaum?  He serves Woody so well.  And there-in lies the biggest problem facing the Jets - not personnel.


Good luck this season Jets fans.  Try really really try hard to..........

Just  -  Enjoy  -  The -  Season

Mike.BTB

New York Jets: Please Clean Up After Your Dog

From the desk of:   A BLUE BLOODED GIANTS FAN

SNOOPY BOWL PREVIEW ~ Giants vs. Jets

NEW YORK JETS:  Oh No He Didn't?!

The Sanchise Calls Out His O-Line.

The Only Thing I Can Think Of, That Is Big, Green,

And Entertaining, Is GUMBY Damn It!

Did Marc Sanchez call out his Offensive Line on TV during the second half of Saturday's game against the Giants?  Upon further review, I think he did.

"....they gotta stop a four man rush.  It's that simple." - or something to that effect, is how he phrased it.

Those are biting words my friend, and an easy way to lose friends.  As a matter of fact, almost everything he said into the microphone Saturday night was directed at the Offensive Line.  The Giants sacked Jets quarterbacks seven times in last night's exhibition.  They got to Sanchez three times, and got hold of Tim Tebow another four times.

At least Sanchez got caught by the Giants' starters.  In the first half, he was greeted in the backfield by Jason Pierre Paul, Osi, and Justin Tuck, which is quite understandable.  But in the second half, the Offensive Line allowed the Giants to corral Tim Tebow another four times by guys named Adewale Ojomo, who had two sacks, William Hill, And Matt Broha.  To get run over by that line-up guarantees a week chock-full-o criticisms.  And the only way the criticisms will stop, is if the Jets take the field next week, and actually show they can play this game.

Poor guy.  Marc Sanchez is trying really, really hard to exert himself now that Tim Tebow is here, isn't he?  His words might carry some more weight if he hadn't thrown that pick-six though.  The Jets QB may have single-handed won a place on the Giants' roster for rookie, #38-Jayron Hosely, with that play.  Jayron Hosely took Sanchez, to-the-house.  He returned a Marc Sanchez INT seventy-seven yards for a touchdown in front of Gang Green's crowd.

Marc Sanchez had six offensive opportunities to matriculate the ball up the field.  Six times, the Jets failed to score points.  And on their way to halftime, Steve Weatherford reminded his old team just how huge of a mistake they committed by not signing the now Giants Punter.  In this Giants fan's eyes, Steve Weatherford was Big Blue's runner-up MVP of last season.  In the first half of Saturday's game, the Jets watched their punter, T.J. Conley, shank punt after punt after punt.

In the second half, at least Tim Tebow moved the Jets close enough to score a field goal.  And on the passes he did connect on, he looked a little crisper than Sanchez as well; just a little.  There was the obligatory interception, of course.  But at face value, there were a lot a cheers for Tebow when he took the field for the first time.  Like Sanchez, even Tebow had a word or two for his Linemen.  On one occasion after getting sacked, he popped up and got pretty animated, and seemed to be directing his ire towards his front guys.  The QB controversy only gets worse from here.

I put much of the blame for this mess on Mike Tannenbaum.  And if I'm ranking the one's most responsible, indeed Tannenbaum is number one.  But then comes his boss, Woody Johnson.  After the owner I start blaming players.  And at the bottom of my blame list, would be Head Coach Rex Ryan.

Since reaching back to back AFC Championship games, the Jets have done more to devolve back into the green primordial ooze of futility than assembling a squadron of qualified Jets.

Right now, I can only think of one thing that is Big, Green, and entertaining.  And that would be Gumby damn it!  I'm not a Jets fan, but even I was annoyed at Gang Green's play Saturday.  That goes for all of them.  The Jets have a potential disaster on their hands.  So buckle up, make sure your trays are in their upright positions.  When the oxygen masks drop on Opening Day, kiss your season good-bye and brace for impact.

And by the way, the Giants are upset the Jets didn't clean up after themselves after pooping in their house.

Mike.BTB

N.Y. Jets: Still Trying To Paint The Town Green

From the desk of:  A BLUE BLOODED GIANTS FAN 

J - E - T - S

Just - Enjoy - Tanenbaum's - Signings

OR

Just - Enjoy - The - Shenanigans

NEW YORK JETS:

Was It Over When The Germans Bombed Pearl Harbor?

When we last saw them in December of 2011, the frat brothers of D-Generation Rex were in the process of getting caught red-handed, holding brushes and spray cans, while trying to paint the town Green.  The way last season ended was just the latest in a series of setbacks.  For at their zenith two years ago, Gang Green threw a most debaucherous toga party in New England, and did things which they'd eventually forgive themselves for.  You should have seen them.  They felt so ashamed - an all time low.


In retaliation for snide remarks a Patriots' nerd made regarding Rex Bluto's best gal, and her pretty feet, Bart D-Day Scott, and Boon Sanchez, retrofitted the Jets, and unleashed an aerial bombardment down upon Wes Welker, and greater Beantown, that some fans in Foxboro are still hiding from.  Then for good measure in the after-party, they imposed themselves and danced with other people's dates, served alcohol to under age women at the party, and performed acts so heinous decorum does not permit me to discuss them here.


Indeed, the more raucous residents of Big Blue House on the Prairie never felt more high than on that night against the Patriots.  But since that game, all their grade point averages have dropped, and more and more, it appeared as if seven years of college were heading down the drain; especially after they killed that horse last season.  But you can't keep their spirit down, now can you?  At least not Rex Bluto's you can't.  Because for him, it wasn't over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor, now was it?  For Rex, not talking about about himself, the Super Bowl, or how great his team stands to be, is a conversation not worth having.  That said, Rex Bluto, Hoover Tanenbaum, Woody Otter Johnson, and the rest of the Jets are back.  And this time, D-Generation Rex is rolling with their newest pledge, Pinto!


If you're a Jets fan, you can't help but admire with bewilderment, the thoroughness of the job, fraternity president and Jets General Manager Hoover Tanenbaum has done with this team.  Make no mistake.  This most motley collection of class clowns, entitled brats, and media dramatists exists by design.  But why?  Well?  Being that Hoover Tanenbaum sits at the head of his own class, he'll be made to stand in front of the Dean's desk.  Problem is, there is no Dean!  Woody Otter Johnson is the one with the twelve inch check book in that black doctor's bag he keeps behind the bar.  In other words, this is Woody's cucumber, and if he thinks his is bigger than yours, that's all that matters to him.  And so far, he seemingly likes the way the semester is going.


Regardless of what I think, here they are!  View them in all their Green incredulity.


There are players on this team that pollute the atmosphere down to a molecular level.  Good luck with that.  However still, the 2012 Jets will perhaps be the most unique gathering of fifty-three players dressed in green shirts and tight white pants you might ever witness as a fan.  Of which, I'm not one.  So let's get this out of the way before the season begins.  I am a Giants fan.  But I am not a hater.  I have never harbored ill will towards the Jets.  But I will be covering the Jets this season the best I can as a source of entertainment.  Because heaven knows they are a major source of material.  Are you guys happy about that?  ....I digress.


Of course, there is the newest pledge, Pinto Tebow.  He's the one running around camp with a devil on one shoulder scheming for Boon Sanchez' job, and telling Tebow to take off his shirt in the rain.  And on the other shoulder sits and angel, getting him to say all the right things to the media, and stick to his core values.  Boon Sanchez is dejected already, so look out.  His main supporter, Rex, hasn't been too faithful lately.  And should Boon Sanchez fail at any point this season, that could very well open the door for Pinto to take his job.  That's when things will get totally out of control.  That's when kegs start crashing through the windows.  And if Woody isn't really careful, Pinto Tebow just might deliver his daughter to the doorstep of his house in a shopping cart, ring the bell, and rush away.  Because after all, isn't rushing the ball what Tim Tebow does best?


In four months from now, don't cry when someone puts their arm around you and says, "You f#cked-up!  You trusted us." Or, if luck has it, as Otter once championed, "..what's needed is a real futile and stupid gesture be done on some one's part....."  And the Jets feel they're just the guys to do it.

SATURDAY,

AUGUST 18, 2012

Pre-Season Game Two:

Battle in the Swamp

NEW YORK GIANTS

@

NEW YORK JETS

FROM

Giants Stadium!

Mike.BTB

N.Y. Jets ~ 2012 Guaranteed to be a Memorable Season

NEW YORK JETS:  Write This In Stone; The 2012 Jets' Season Will Be One of the Most Tumultuous Campaigns in Team History.



Jet Fans, let's get right to the heart of the matter.  The triumvirate of Rex Ryan, Mike Tannenbaum, and Woody Johnson, are turning your team into a circus.



Let's lead off with the Head Coach, shall we?  In just speaking of this last season alone, Rex Ryan remained disconnected from the offensive side of the ball.  He antagonized his "little Brother" and paid a Big Blue price for it late in the season.  Then on the heals of back-to-back AFC Championship appearances, Rex's team failed to make the playoffs for the first time since taking over.  Once the season ended, certain players started airing out their dirty laundry to the Media.  And when questioned about his team's alleged grievances, Rex Ryan denied knowing problems existed amongst his players and pleaded ignorance to any simmering locker room animosities.  It just never occurred to him that his locker room was in dire need of an attitude adjustment.  And to me, that's a failure to capture the pulse of the team.  But how could he, when he himself was involved in a falling out with his offensive coordinator and was constantly jostling with the Media and creating his own controversies?



He remains unaccountable for a team that continues to lose it's identity - an identity (see Ground and Pound) that he never truly established, or, committed to, in the first place.  Over all, what the Jets have achieved so far under Rex has been arrived at more so through his words, than through deeds.



That's the outsiders view.  But I'm a local.  I get Rex Ryan and I like Rex Ryan, even though you folks know I'm a Giants Fan.  None of this should come off as hatin' either.  I understand Rex's in-game, and his methods.  He's cool with me.  But the record speaks for itself, and sometimes you need to be called on the carpet just to keep you honest.  I will say this though - his style has a short life span.  And a General Manager can only exasperate the situation by continually bringing in the wrong kind of players.



Mike Tannenbaum deserves his third-share of blame; if not more.  I believe Mike Tannenbaum bears the most responsibility for last season's disappointment.  And it is precisely because there has been no philosophical consistency from him.  I get no sense he has a coherent plan.  What I see is more of a Fantasy Football approach these last two seasons.  He also strikes me as a swinger.  When Eric Mangini was still coach, Tannenbaum operated with a more conservative and business like tact.  With Rex, Tannenbaum has again taken on his Head Coach's persona; if not in similar fashion to Rex's overt brashness, but through his splashy, risky, yet fearless transactions.



He put together a fine team in 2009, but has literally spent the last two seasons sabotaging it.  More and more he's proving himself to be exactly who Bill Parcells thought he was bringing to the Jets; a CAPologist - and nothing more.  He is nifty with numbers, and is extremely well spoken.  But with each passing season as GM, he's proving himself to be an inadequate team builder.  I say that because I feel he caused this team to take a series of backwards steps.



Somewhere in between Rex Ryan and Mike Tannenbaum lies the curious case of Braylon Edwards. By the time of initial his signing, Tannenbaum was already committed to taking chances on players with a checkered past.  As things worked out, Braylon would have run through walls for Rex in addition to working well with Mark Sanchez.  The Jets then decided Santonio Holmes was who they really wanted.  But with Santonio in, and Braylon, and Jerricho Cotchery out, Peace; Love; and Harmony; left the building.  That, if anything, seems representative of Mike Tannenbaum's plan.  And well, in two short seasons, his transactions have polluted the locker room.  And now the Jets are considering a return of Braylon Edwards again.  That's what you call a circle folks.



Look what the decent from 2009 has done to your quarterback.  Mark Sanchez took major strides backwards last season.  But if you dig a little deeper than just the prevailing opinions about him, you would know so many things around him failed or broke down; to include his offensive coordinator.  But only QB's get blamed.  While everyone is busy dumping on Mark Sanchez, a sub-par offensive line goes largely unspoken about.  And now through their actions, the head Coach and the GM have given every indication they are about to turn on their quarterback.  In football terms, the contract extension the Jets gave Sanchez was more like a kiss of death.  The organization can spin this any way they want.  Mark Sanchez is now walking a tight rope without a net.



Sometimes locker rooms get polluted because you populate them with the wrong kind of people for the wrong reasons.  There's always the business side of Football to contend with.  And that's where the owner comes in.  Many believe Woody Johnson is the instigator of some questionable moves made by the Jets.  After all, he has a brand to sell.  And many think he encourages his organization to conduct it's business in a manner that strikes me as more flamboyant, than fundamental.  Overt attention grabbers and trying to win the back pages of the tabloids are not what winning football teams are made of.  But this is exactly what the Jets are being accused of.  Starved for attention in the shadow of the N.Y. Giants, many accuse Woody Johnson himself for taking the team down this path.



THIS IS THE WORLD....  Tim Tebow is now a part of.  And the fact Rex Ryan, Mike Tannenbaum, nor Woody Johnson were on hand at Tebow's press conference was plainly and simply - negligent; if not laughable.



What starts now is something of a completely different matter.  What dynamics Tim Tebow will, or will not bring to the Jets' offense, remains to be seen.  It is only March, and what we already know is that the Jets' 2012 season will be one of the most tumultuous campaigns in the organization's history.






Mike.BTB