Season's Greetings...from Eric Mangini

by: Jim Hildebrand

It seems Eric Mangini helps the Jets more as someone else’s head coach.

First, it was the Mark Sanchez trade, revitalizing the organization and fan base by sending the Jets a legitimate quarterback prospect. Heading into the season, the only hole big on the team appeared to be at wide receiver. However the Gang Green has played a quarter of the season looking every bit the part of a playoff team by starting 3-1 and still, the only hole seems to be at wide receiver.

Enter Braylon Edwards.

The Jets traded for the disgruntled wideout by parting ways with WR Chansi Stuckey, LB/special teams ace Jason Trusnik, two draft picks, and a thank you card.

Basically, New York weakened itself, slightly, in one area: special teams coverage. Trusnik was the special teams player of the week for his play against the Tennessee Titans and will be missed. However, special teams players are replaceable. Edwards presents a major upgrade over Stuckey. Although I like Stuck a lot, he was a third down, possession receiver playing the part of a bonafide number two. We replace Stuckey with a guy who caught 80 passes, including 16 touchdowns, for 1,289 yards just two years ago. Edwards' big play ability should open up the running game, as more teams will have to respect the deep threat. Throw Edwards into a group that includes Jerricho Cotchery, up-and-coming tight end Dustin Keller, and pro bowl running backs Leon Washington and Thomas Jones and you have the possibilities of a dynamic offense.

The big downside to this trade is giving up two more draft picks. General Manager Mike Tannenbaum has made it a habit in giving up draft picks the past few years. Over the last two and a half years, they have given up picks to nab Sanchez, Lito Sheppard, David Harris, Darrelle Revis, Kris Jenkins and Dustin Keller, in addition to Edwards. While all those names play key roles for this 2009 Jets team, the lack of draft picks in recent years could leave the team severely thin for quality backups in the future.

All in all, this team is better today than it was yesterday. What looked to be a playoff team through four games just got better. This trade makes former number one wide receiver Cotchery better, it makes the running game more formidable and, most importantly, it makes life easier for rookie Mark Sanchez.

Only one question remains: Does Hallmark make cards that say, “Thank you Man-Genius”?

For real?

WHEW.

That’s the sound you probably heard at roughly four in the afternoon this past Sunday. A collective sigh from an entire fan base echoed through the metropolitan area, a sound that signified a wide open race for the AFC East title. The New York Jets defeated the New England Patriots by a score of 16-9 and in doing so, put themselves on the NFL map.

After not allowing an offensive touchdown in week one, week two provided evidence that Gang Green’s defense in 2009 is one the NFL’s elites. Rex Ryan’s boys produced a rerun of sorts—again, no offensive touchdowns—while backing up their trash talking. Remember, when Rex Ryan first got hired, he made comments about “not kissing Bill Belicheck’s rings.” Then Kris Jenkins declared that week two was the Jets super bowl. Follow that up with Kerry Rhodes boldly stating that the Jets defense wouldn’t be as forgiving as the Bills were a week prior and would hit quarterback Tom Brady more than six times.

Check. Check. Check.

For the first time since the beginning of the decade, the Jets beat their rival at home. And while this was only week two, it certainly has elevated the confidence and moral of a once silent locker room a mere year ago. Through two games, the whole team looks loose, they look like they are having fun and, most importantly, they’re winning.

The defense wasn’t the only bright spot. The offense, stagnant in the first half, came to life in a matter of three plays to start the second half. A short pass to Jerricho Cotchery, a missed tackle, and a Mark Sanchez-to-Dustin Keller hook up from 9 yards out proved the difference. The offense moved the ball well enough in the second half, picking up two Jay Feely field goals to finish off the scoring. Sanchez looked like a veteran in the second half, helping the Jets stay undefeated—and atop the division—early in the NFL season.

There might have been yapping months, weeks and days prior to the game from the Jets side. Finally, Gang Green sent a message loud and clear, this time on the field: this is a new Jets team ready to legitimately challenge for the division.

by Jim Hildebrand

Broadway Mark? by Jim Hildebrand

Why do I not work in an NFL front office? Because I wanted Michael Crabtree when the Jets traded up to number five in this past April’s NFL draft.

Shame on me.

Mark Sanchez looked the part of a seasoned NFL veteran. Not only did he lead his team to a convincing opening day victory, he did so against an up-and-coming Houston Texans squad who were 12-4 in their last 16 home games. The Texans held one of the league’s best offenses last year, including game-breaking wideout Andre Johnson. Johnson was a non-factor all game long, being held without a catch for over 2 quarters and finishing with just four for 35 yards. The offense was shutout (the Texans scored their lone TD on defense) and held to less than forty yards on the ground. Gang green looked legit.

But let’s get back to Sanchez. Coming out of USC, it seemed like the pressure never got to the rookie. He displayed poise and leadership when most rookies would crumble. After he threw a fourth quarter interception that Houston’s defense returned for a score, he was staring adversity in the face. What does he do? Completes a 40 yard pass to Dustin Keller that seconds later would result in a Thomas Jones 38 yard TD run to ice the game. Sanchez definitely showed us he has the three “C’s”: calm, cool and collected.

Before you even say it, yes I know it’s only one game. But looking back to day one of the preseason, this game exceeded my expectations for either Kellen Clemens or Sanchez. The same formula holds true from that first practice this summer in upstate New York; control the ball and don’t turn it over on offense and force mistakes with aggressiveness on defense. Everything wasn’t perfect, but it was certainly good enough to win a road game in the NFL in a hostile environment. It will only get tougher with the Patriots visiting town next Sunday, but it looks like the Jets finally have a bona fide quarterback of the future.

I guess we can put to rest the “rookie-quarterbacks-can’t-win-in-the-NFL” talk…at least for another week.

photo courtesy of sitv.com

Savage Beating...Season Sa-l-vaged? by Jim Hildebrand

After the Labor Day debacle against Cincinnati, Rutgers needed to come out early Saturday and erase the memory of that dreadful and embarrassing loss. Enter Howard, a Division 1-AA opponent. To Rutgers fans however, they are known as “The Remedy.”

The most important thing to come out of Saturday’s rout of “The Remedy” was not necessarily erasing the memory of that Cincy loss, but erasing the goose egg in the win column. Rutgers proved they are still indeed a dangerous team in the Big East, but not because they played so well against an inferior team. No, they are still a Big East championship contender because they didn’t play well against a weaker squad.

Yes. You read that sentence correctly. Look, their next league game is against Pittsburgh, who will likely be a ranked opponent when they visit Piscataway in October. Before they play the Panthers, they host Florida International, head to Maryland, and come back home for a tilt against Texas Southern. In other words, two more “gimme” wins and a tough road test in a non-Big East game. They have three more games before conference play starts up again. Three games that all present something different. FIU is another game that freshman can gain valuable experience. Maryland is the one that will test the team in a tough ACC facility. Texas Southern is the one to end by halftime and rest your starters for the upcoming game against Pitt.

The same thing that makes me believe this team is still a BCS contender is what is so alarming about them. Make no mistake about it; the Scarlet Knights were embarrassed on national television by Cincinnati opening day. You would expect this team to come out with fire no matter who they were playing. Yes they won 45-7, but they didn’t look crisp in doing so. This is a Howard team that went 1-10 a year ago in, for all intents and purposes, NCAA’s minor league of football. Let’s not forget, they scored merely three points in the second half. Three!

Any way you slice it, Rutgers is only one game out of first place in the conference two games into the season. I’m a Mets fan. I’ve seen worse collapses then losing a one game lead with eight to play. With plenty of time to bounce back, I’m certainly not concerned with this team yet. Lucky for them, their scheduling genius booked them for three games against the same team: “The Remedies.”

The Sanchez era begins by Jim Hildebrand

Kellen Clemens finally had a legitimate chance to be a starting quarterback in the NFL. Brett Favre had retired. The Jets drafted a rookie quarterback rather than signing a veteran. He had game experience. He practiced in the same system for three years. He was the Jets quarterback of the future.








Keyword: WAS.








Clemens finally had a fair chance to be the Jets number one signal caller. In 2006, he was a mere rookie when he was beaten out for the job, badly, by Chad Pennington. Last year, Favre was traded for and Clemens took a back seat again. But this was the year. This was the year he was supposed to show maturity. This was the year he was supposed to take the reigns. This was the year that he has been waiting for since he first put on shoulder pads.








Yes, the Jets love Mark Sanchez and always did want him to be their starter on opening day. However, it wasn’t so much that Sanchez won the job; no, it’s just that Clemens was more underwhelming than Sanchez was overwhelming. Let’s not discredit Mark Sanchez. He had a solid training camp and deserves to be the number one QB on this team. And even though the Jets wanted Sanchez to start, it was a fair battle all training camp. Clemens was practicing with the first team constantly, more than Sanchez. And maybe that was the problem for him.








When Favre retired earlier this year, Clemens was the starter. He was the starter when the Jets drafted Sanchez, too. Let’s be honest, this team is built to win now. You don’t groom a “quarterback of the future” when your team is built to win in the present. The only thing the Jets really need from the quarterback position this year is to not turn the ball over. However, that’s precisely the thing that Clemens can’t seem to grasp. Whether it was in his past NFL experience, during training camp or the preseason games, Clemens couldn’t (and doesn’t) seem to understand the concept of ball control.





Conversely, Sanchez hasn’t turned the ball over much at all over the past month in a Jets uniform. He has displayed leadership qualities, learns from his mistakes and, most importantly, shown the Jets what a starting quarterback should look like. Grab your clipboard (again) Kellen Clemens. You’re gonna need it.