I’ve gone from being dumbfounded to angry to depressed to optimistic to hopeful to “holy crap, we didn’t really give up that much.”  I do not, or I guess I should say, did not like the personality I saw Mark Sanchez put on display the weeks leading up until draft day.  He struck me as an egotistical jock who’s spent the past few years playing sports in Southern California.  When asked about workouts he did for teams he pretty much said “I wowed them with my arm, with my football brain, and with my stunning smile.”

“I threw it really well. I was spinning it all day. I knocked down all the throws. It was great…  As soon as I sat down with their team and their playbook, they were like, ‘Wow, this kid has a natural feel for the game. He understands our offense very well.”

That was right after his workout with the Jets a few weeks ago.  Ryan Leaf had more modesty.  I don’t know why everyone in the media thinks the Jets did an incredible thing by trading up for Sanchez.  They gave up three players and a 2nd rounder to move in on a young guy who’s played 16 games at USC.  He’s an unproven commodity with an air of arrogance about him.  I pray Rexenbaum know what they’re doing.  Bargaining with Mangini is akin to dealing with the Devil…  I’ve got a bad feeling about this.

Did you see the way Sanchez was fixing his sideburns on National TV two seconds after donning a green and white hat?  My doomsday draft had unfolded right before my eyes.  I can’t stand football players who preen.  They are two things that just don’t mix.  Preening football players in Jet’s hats make me want to puke.

Abram Elam will be missed even if it’s only by me.  Kenyon Coleman?  I liked him but he’s replaceable.  Remember the quarterback battle between Clemens and Ratliff?  All those people in the blogosphere arguing that Ratliff was a superstar waiting in the wings with an incredible cannon that would stretch the field all the way to the  Superbowl?  Well now we know how much Ratliff must have impressed Rex Ryan during those workouts.

It’s true.  We really didn’t give much up in terms of personnel.

We have the offensive line to propel even a mid-level quarterback deep into the win column so if Sanchez is half as ready for the pros as he thinks he is we should be able to score points.  We’re a run first team right?  Ground and Pound baby!  Speaking of Thomas Jones… I loved the way we moved in on Shonn Greene.  One way or another we’ll have a bruiser to share carries with lil’ Leon Washington next year.  Anybody else smell a Thomas Jones trade brewing in Rex’s laboratory?

We’ve addressed the quarterback situation (hopefully).  We’ve still got to find a blocking Tight End and a dangerous receiver.  I would prefer said receiver to only be dangerous on the field but the Jets front office doesn’t seem to mind where their prospective players set it off- they’re talking to Plaxico “I shot myself in the leg” Burress.  We can’t pick this guy up until 1) we find out if he can still run and 2) we get him a pistol with a safety.  He might also need an IQ test and a background check.

D-Rex sure likes to hit the throttle doesn’t he?

Somehow I lucked into a split season ticket situation for next year.  4 games, I get to pick which ones.  Basically, a father and son like the Jets but don’t want to go to every game.  The only catch is that the Carolina and Jacksonville games are spoken for.  Is that a catch?  With the AFC East being once again incredibly competitive and Rex Ryan’s promise of a new style of football, I’ve spent some serious time debating which games I should go to.

First choice- and this one’s a no brainer- the Patriots are coming to town in week two for the Jets home opener.  Rex Ryan vs Bill Bellicheat, round one- FIGHT!  This game will bond coaches, payers, and fans for we will stand together against the tyranny of that state just North of Rhode Island.  Tom Brady’s twice surgically repaired knee will be tested as will our revamped secondary I’m sure. Maybe they’ll actually serve beer at this game.

One player I truly can’t stand is Terrell Owens. The guy is either certifiably crazy or just a big dumb jerk.  He’s as divisive a presence in the locker room as anybody and a crybaby to boot.  I hope to God that he obliterates any semblance of chemistry the Bills had and I’d bet $$$ that he won’t be able to deal with playing alongside Lee Evans.  October 18th the TO circus roles into town when the Jets host the Bills and this is another AFC East smackdown.  I’m sure Rex feels the same way I do about Owens.  Bart Scott is calling his new team “Swaggerlicious” but I’m not buying it until I see TO lit up like the Statue of Liberty on the 4th of July.

My next game will be another eventful one.  It will be the first time that I’ve ever been able to root against Duck Pennington.  Chad and his gaggle of  Wildcat buddies are coming to town on November 1st and I’m confident that this will be a fun one.  Did you see what Rex’s defense did to Chad in the playoffs?  Yeah so did I.  It was pretty much a beat down.  Reminded me of my days as an Indian Leg Wrestler but I digress… The Dolphins had a cakewalk for a schedule last season.  Next season?  Not so much.  Their first five games are against the Falcons, Chargers, Saints, Bills and Colts.  I could easily see the Dolphins limping in to Giant stadium with a 1-4 record.   Staggerlicious.   “Welcome home Chad!”  CHOMP!!!  Did I mention that this is a Monday Night game?  Oh…  Hell…   Yes…

So I’m barely two months into the season with only one game left to pick.  This one is another nobrainer for both personal and historic reasons. It is also the only non-divisional game I’ll be at next season.

Personal-  Laveraneus Coles is coming back to town with the Cincinnati Bungles.  I still don’t understand why he turned down the guaranteed money he was owed but I don’t care.  That salary cap space cleared room for our recent free agent madness and now I get to watch him drop balls for another team while wearing a tiger costume.  This is the last game of the season so it’ll be cold as hell.   The Bengals play in a dome.  Juicy.

Historic-  The Jets/Bengals game on January 3rd will be the last regular season football game to be played at Giant stadium. Finally Jimmy Hoffa will be able to rest in peace without all those enormous men jumping around on top of him.  If the Giants or Jets secure a home field game in the playoffs then, sure, there’s more football to be played.  It’s the NFL.  Parody is rampant and there are no guarantees.  So for now, this is the last coin flip, the last kickoff, and the last chance to watch LC get another concussion at Giant stadium.  OK… so that’s maybe a little too mean.  Coles has been a real turd burgler recently though so I don’t feel too bad.

Just a quick question here:  anybody else sick of hearing Mark Sanchez talk about how great he is?

It was the best of times, it was the… uhhh, best of times.  Thomas Jones led the AFC in rushing.  Leon Washington finally made the pro bowl and achieved the respect he deserves.  Both are focal points of the Jets’ game plan.  Both are looking for new contracts.

The best times are going to get ugly.  Or at least a tad personal.

My gut feeling is that only one of these guys is going to get a contract extension and it’s not going to be the guy who gets the tough yards or who carries the ball the most.

Thomas Jones had a great season last year.  Running behind what might be the best offensive line, Jones once again looked like the runner who carried the Bears to the Super Bowl a few years back.  He’s under contract for another two years but has expressed displeasure at the fact that he’s only due $900,000 next season and isn’t showing up to mandatory workouts.  His thinking (or his agent’s) seems to be that he had such a good season last year he’s worthy of a new deal.  My thinking is that he front loaded his contract so he can make a ton of money in the first two seasons (like 4 million clams a season) in case of injury.  After all, those bi-ceps have been in the league for a little while now .

Leon Washington is also coming off a great season.  He scored six touchdowns as a change of pace back/return man.  Where Jones is a straight ahead bruising runner, Leon is greased lightning with tap dancing shoes.  He’s hard to catch and even harder to hang on to.  Washington’s drawn comparisons to Barry Sanders, Brian Westbrook, and Darren Sproles.  I like to compare him to a pig greased in oil at a rodeo.  Ever watch kids try to catch a greased pig?  It’s good action but I digress…Washington is also still playing under his rookie contract and he knows he’s due.

Last season Jones carried the ball 214 times more than Leon and he scored 13 touchdowns to Washington’s 6.  Some people might say that Mangini’s biggest mistake was not giving the ball to Washington enough.  He might be the only player on the Jets entire roster with big-play potential.  Any time, any play that Leon’s involved in could be a touchdown.  The stats even spell it out for you.  Jones’ longest run in 219 attempts was a 59 yard run.  Leon’s?  61 yards. He averaged a gaudy 6 yards a carry (5.9- close enough) and when he touches the ball it looks like the guy has been shot out of a cannon.  In short, Leon Washington is impossible to replace.  He’s worn the Green and White his entire career and has overachieved since his first game.

The Jets will (hopefully) present Washington a new contract in the near future to keep him with the Green and White faithful.  I don’t see them doing the same for Thomas Jones.  He might be the main back in our offense but he’s easier to replace and despite this year’s salary he’s already gotten the type of contract from Woody that he’s holding out for and he’s still playing under it.  The 900 grand he’s due is twice what Leon’s supposed to make next year.  Leon should get his juice and a contract extension lest there be a revolt in Jet Nation.  I’m talking storming-the-Bastille-kind of revolt.  Did you read what happened in the blogosphere when Washington’s name came up in trade talks for Cutler?  Heads would have rolled for sure.

Next up… we discuss next year’s just released schedule.

On one hand, he’s the best young quarterback in the league.  He’s got an accurate cannon for an arm and he can complete passes in the most epic weather conditions.  Many feel that Cutler is the type of talent rarely seen in the NFL.

On the other hand, Jay Cutler is a jackass.  At least he seems like one to those of us who don’t know him personally but read his stupid comments in the papers and hear him on TV.  He just comes off as an egotistical tool.

That’s where we are right now.  Possibly the best quarterback in the game is begging to get out of Denver and the Jets have a giant ? under center.  Cutler’s an obvious solution if he didn’t resemble a smarmy used car sales man.

Since day 1, Rex Ryan has been adament that the Jet’s “quarterback of the future” is already on the roster.  That was before whatever happened between the Bronco’s and Cutler went down.  While I for one would love to see Kellen Clemmens get his chance, Cutler’s talent is tough to ignore.  He’s just too damn good.  Physically, Cutler’s as gifted as they come.  His heart, his brain, and his leadership are what we call into question.  One thing’s for sure (in my humble opinion), if the Jet’s grabbed JC, Thomas Jones will have another monster season.  Nobody- not even Belicik- cheats off of Cutler’s receivers.

The question in most of our minds is, “What would it take to get him here?’  Normally I’d think he wouldn’t be worth it but Cutler’s throwing a temper tandrum over there and that tends to speed things up.  Our first round pick (number 17)?  Do it.  Our second round pick and Kellen Clemens? (sorry KC) Do it.  What about our 1st rounder and Leon Washington?  Wow, that’s a little harder for me to swallow.  That’s also the most recent trade rumor floating around the internet.    I feel like Leon is such a little piece of Bad Ass that his best is yet to come.  But isn’t a quaterback more important than a return-specialist/change-of-pace back, especially one that changes the pace of the AFC’s leading rusher? hmmmm… What if he’s the best quarterback in the NFL?  But what if Leon’s the best return-specialist/change-of-pace-back ever?  I JUST DON’T KNOW ANYTHING ANYMORE!!!  When did Leon become expendable?!!?  I guess it’s justified but I’d feel better if we sent them Jones for Cutler straight up.

I feel like it’s important to note that Buffalo is also rumored to be gunning for Cutler.

Cutler + TO= a headache for you, me, Dupree, Chad P, BB, Rex’s D, and everything else AFCE.

When the clock struck midnight last Thursday, many Jets fans turned to the internet for immediate news of the moves their team was making.  Despite NFL propaganda, the Jets had created tons of room under the salary cap to play with.  They had even more money to throw around then they expected thanks Laveranues Coles‘ sudden generosity- he pretty much gave back the 8 million bucks he was guaranteed so he could go play ball with Chad in Miami.  Problem with his strategy is a big ol’ fat man named Bill Parcells who eats little wide receivers for lunch.  Thanks Coles.  Only time will tell if you’ve dropped the ball… again.

Well, the Jets apparently waited ten whole minutes before descending upon Bart Scott’s house,  dragging him all the way to Jersey, and signing his “violent” butt to a six year contract.  Then the Jets went back to Baltimore (or made a phone call anyway) and have now signed Jim Leonard as well.  Sweet.

The Jets even came up looking rosey after releasing long time lineman Brandon Moore.   Around the inter-web, Jets fans weren’t too happy with the release of Moore.  He was a rock-solid presence on the line.  Dependable.  And now he’s cheaper than he was.  Brandon resigned with the Jets for $16 million for the next four years.  The big $7 million hit we were going to take this year is no Moore.

TJ Houshmanhowyouspellhisname ended up in Seattle which means he won’t be coming here (boo), but it also means that the Seahawks probably won’t use their #4 draft pick on another wide receiver (yay!).  Drafting a wide receiver is an option for the Jets especially since they grabbed the two-time probowling Lito Shepard to help out at cornerback.  We really need a speedy #1 Wide Receiver that commands a double team.  Thoughts?

Remember how last year we showed Pennington some “respect” by unconditionally releasing him so that he could be free to find his own deal?  Remember how he stayed in our division and kinda sorta made us look stupid?  Well Bill Belicik remembered and there was no way in hell he was letting Matt Cassel even sniff the Atlantic Ocean again.  The franchise tag was placed on him not to keep him a Patriot but to control where he landed.  Vrabel to Kansas City made me smile.  Both Vrabel and Cassel?  KC looks to have gotten a stellar deal.  The Patriots will be drafting a platoon of new young players in this draft.  Also, something tells me that Tom Brady’s rehab is going exceptionally well.

The frenzied opening days of Free Agency are over but rest assured Rex and Tannenbaum still have plenty of cards to play.  I expect them to sign a tight end that can block to replace Chris Baker.  Jay Cutler’s name is being kicked around probably by every team in the league.  You know, the way he was blindsided in trade talks last week, I almost feel sorry for him.  Then again, if he didn’t act like a constant jerk-off every chance he gets maybe the Broncos wouldn’t be trying to get rid of him.  I would love to have his arm in a Jets uniform… just not his attitude.

Laveranues Coles has been the Grumpy Smurf on offense for awhile now.  He wasn’t happy with Mangini’s training camps, he hates having to catch balls that are thrown too hard, and he missed his good buddy Chad Pennington.  I think his sensitive hands miss Chad’s lobbed passes more than anything but hey that’s just me.  After meeting with Rex Ryan this week, they’ve agreed to part ways amicably.  Coles has been released and the Jets no longer owe him the 7 million bucks he was guaranteed (if I understand it correctly we’re now going to take a 1 million dollar hit).  Halleluja.

This off season is off the hook.  The list of recent non-Jets reads as such:  Brett Favre, Mike Nugent, Chris Baker, Brandon Moore, David Barrett, Eric Barton (probably anyway), David Bowens, and now Grumpy Smurf.  We’re clearing cap space faster than Bill Belichik can grab our unwanted players.  You gotta know Chris Baker’s been targeted by the Pats right?  I’ll bet anyone 50 bucks right now that Coles ends up with Chad in Miami.  This is unbelievably…. something.  I don’t know what but I just hope Tannenbaum has a Plan A, a Plan B, and a Plan C.

The team that just 3 weeks ago was reported to be in “Cap Hell” is now at least 22 million under and I bet that number will continue to grow until the start of Free Agency this Friday.  That’s a ton of money to play with.  Who are we targeting?  Who does Rex have his eye on?

I’ll go out on a limb here and guess that a large chunk of Baltimore’s defense will be making the move to Jersey this spring.  The Ravens pretty much made Terrell Suggs unatainable but beyond that, I don’t think there’s anything stopping Bart Scott, Ray Lewis, or Jim Leonard from coming here.  So Ray Lewis is old and he wants to play in Dallas… perfect.  Pick up Scott and Leonard.

As of right now we officially need a Wide Receiver.  I’m hoping for TJ Houshmandzadeh as well as a player in the draft. Isn’t Ocho Cinco dying to get out of Cincinatti too?  Coles really wasn’t the receiver he has been in the past.  Between the dropped game breaking balls and the concussions he was starting to have, his whining really started to irk me.  We’ve still got Jerricho Cotchery and he’s tough as nails.  Even if it’s Clowney who lines up at least we’re putting some speed on the field.

Friday will hopefully reveal some of the Jets plans for free agency.  Good players go quickly so I’m hoping (praying) that Woody has the checkbook raring to go.  This is no time to sit on our butts and watch.  By all indications the Jets have some $$$ burning a hole in their pocket and are ready to pounce.  This is the Jets we’re talking about though, so you know it wouldn’t surprise me if we ended up getting Terrell Owens.  Let me be clear, this is in no way an endorsement of TO.  He’s a punk and I’m glad Jet’s fans aren’t even mentioning his name on team websites.  Except I just kinda sorta did…

The 2008/2009 football season refuses to end for the Jets.  To be honest, the past few weeks of the offseason  have been more fun than that winless December when the Green Folk were underachieving on a monumental scale.  First, there was the immediate firing of Cangini, followed by the hiring of D-Rex, and now Brett Favre has announced his plans to retire.  Finally, all of our questions have been answered right?  Not so much actually…

By retiring, Favre released the Jets from paying him 13 million buckaroos next year.  Last week we were about 4 million dollars over the salary cap.  Now, depending on who you’re listening to, we’re somewhere between 5 and 17 million under.  That’s a pretty big swing and I wish I had D-Rex’s ear for an hour or so.  Free Agency is suddenly fertile ground for a Jet fan’s imagination what with all those corner backs, all of those Ray Lewis’s, and all of those veteran quarterbacks milling about.

Debates on the Jets quarterback situation are raging across the interweb.  Some people are demanding that we pick up a Byron Leftwich or Jeff Garcia.  Others are claiming that Brett Ratliff is the second coming of Johnny Unitas after he burned several 3rd string defenses in the preseason.  Me?  Part of the reason the Favre acquisiton looked so great was that Kellen Clemens has a similar skill set.  Clemens spent enough time watching Pennington be the “onfield general” that couldn’t ever beat a tough defense.  Last year Clemens backed up the anti-Pennington. I would hope he’s learned from both and I for one would be happy with him taking the snaps under center.  Ratliff had some great highlights but Kellen’s faced live bullets and he looked better than Duck Pennington doing so.  I just hope he picked up a little of the Favre-ness he saw last season, specifically the part that never gives up on any play until the whistle blows or you score a touchdown.

Last week when Ray Lewis mentioned the Jets as a team he’d like to play for I didn’t see how we could justify getting an aging linebacker that would further push us over the salary cap.  Now that we might be able to afford him I can’t help but see his upside.  “YOU MUST PROTECT THIS HOUSE!”  He knows the defense better than Sutton ever did.  You want an onfield general?  That’s exactly what Ray Lewis is… a pitbull/water buffalo mix that understands the hard hitting side of football as well as the strategic.  One thing’s for sure when Lewis is on the field, his teammates are in position and that’s one area where we truly stank last season.

If I were sitting in Tannenbaum’s seat, I’d be intent on patching up the holes in our defense- namely the secondary.  We stopped the run last season thanks to Jenkins, but our secondary made a bad habit of turning crappy QB’s into probowl contenders.  Mr Tannenbaum, I beseech you sir, please go forth and make a run at Nnamdi Asomugha. Two shut down corners would free up our safeties to ball hawk.  Kerry Rhodes sure talks a big game after having an utterly forgettable season.  Let’s see if he can back it up… otherwise, we’re paying him too much money.

First of all, if you’ve never read “The Tell Tale Heart,” you should stop reading this dinky little blog post and go to your nearest bookstore.  It’s a short story, it’ll take you 30 minutes at the most, and it’s directly related to what we’re talking about here. We all know the story so I’m not going to recap.  Quick tangent though- out of the 104 names on the “anonymous” list of steroid users in Major League Baseball from 2003, it’s one heckova big coincidence that the three we know happen to be the biggest named pitcher, slugger, and fielder of the past twenty years.  They also happen to be a white guy, a black guy, and a latin guy.  Somebody is strategically dropping tactical steroid bombs and covering all his bases. We’re going to touch on those players that haven’t been named, the ones who are still “anonymously” listed somewhere together as steroid users in 2003.  They must be sweating bullets wherever they all are.  Now that we know select names, it is inevitable that the other hundred or so will come out and if you’re one of the guys on that list you’ve probably figured that out by now.  At least A-rod’s already out in the open.  The worst is over for him (at least on the steroid front- Torre’s book?  not so much)- I saw him on ESPN this afternoon apologizing.  And I have to agree with those of you who think he wears lipstick.   Those other guys, the names we’re going to learn at some point in the future, they’re going to have to go on ESPN one day and apologize too.  It’s just not fair to everyone else in baseball who wasn’t juicing.  They’re all guilty by association until the names are made public and it’s only a matter of time before someone cracks and they start to fess up. In the meantime, what kind of crazy defense mechanisms must be going on.  This is the reality TV I want.  Some hidden camera action on these dudes going about there lives as if nothing is going on just waiting for the day when their fifteen minutes of infamy is “breaking news” on Sportscenter. Another dude who’s up a creek is the guy who was supposed to have destroyed the test results.  If I’m not mistaken, he’s part of the player’s union and now I think he might be the 5th Cylon.  “With friends like these…” At least now we know it was Roid Rage that prompted Clemens to chuck shards of wood at Mike Piazza.  Funny though that when Clemens went to the National League he wasn’t targeting batters with the same intensity.  The DH is so lame- especially when steroids are involved. In England you can bet on everything.  I mean everything.  You can get odds on the first red card in the 2018 World Cup or how many months “Dirty Dancing- The Musical” will run.  If only this “anonymous” list was big news over there, the odds would be hysterical.  If I had 50 bucks burning a hole in my pocket and I had to place a wager on who I think is on that list… well no offense Mr. Sosa but you’ve veins growing out of your eyelids.   Your earlobes have muscles for cryin’ out loud. Who would you put your money on? I feel like I’m contributing to the downfall of America…

So the Super Bowl has come and gone and despite the annual beerfest at my apartment, it managed to leave a few lasting albeit fuzzy impressions upon me.

First and foremost, the game rocked. After what I thought was the beginning of a blowout, Kurt Warner and his crew showed up to prove that the Cardinals weren’t just a Cinderella team that had played above it’s level. As hard as it is to believe, the Arizona Cardinals belonged in the Big Game.

The officiating was horrendous. I must admit it was fun at first, watching the Cardinals get screwed. Fun because I’ve been watching the Jets get hosed at the hands of the officials for years and it was nice to see someone else get “no respect” for once. Kind of a sour grapes type fun.

Maybe it was the beer, maybe it was the tequila, or maybe it was the bacon explosion; but after awhile my entire Super Bowl Party was convinced that the officials were throwing the game. I wasn’t taking notes but it started early on and carried all the way to the final play. For instance, Pittsburgh was called for Roughing the Kicker in the second half. Isn’t that penalty always a replay of the down with yards tacked on? How come when it happened Sunday the penalty was assessed after the change of possession? I’d like to add that earlier this very same officiating crew called the Cardinals for a very bogus Roughing the Holder on a Pittsburgh field goal attempt and that penalty (on 4^th and 22) resulted in an “automatic 1^st down.” You’d think that the NFL would want top-notch officiating in the mother of all Marquee games but that’s just not the case. The NFL is, in my opinion, the best League in all of Sports. No huge steroid scandals (at the moment anyway), no cheesy NBA veteran hook-ups, teams go from 1-15 to 12-4, the salary cap is enforced to ensure parady… I could go on and on as to why I love watching the NFL. It’s major beef is the refs. Why are they so bad? Why wasn’t Warner’s so-called fumble reviewed at the end of the game?

It seemed to me that the Steelers were getting the respect and the calls because of the franchise’s history. As much as I can appreciate how well the Steelers consistently play in a league designed to prevent dynasties, I thought it was all about two teams playing American Tackle Football against each other at a neutral location. There should be no favoritism.

Also, something happened Sunday that made me smile more than any touchdown or field goal, more than any big hit, and yes even more than The Boss rocking out South Jersey– er, I mean South Florida. Matt Cassell was pissed on. Yes, there was pee aimed at Matt Cassell and it landed on him. As reported by the Daily News, an incident in the line for the Men’s restroom resulted in a drunken fan urinating on the Patriots newest Golden Boy. My first thought when I heard this- “No way, what are the odds of that happening to Matt Cassell of all people?” My second thought- “Those odds get exponentially better with every Jets fan let into the stadium.”

If tailgating in the Meadowlands is a beer flavored affair every Sunday, can you imagine what a Jets fan might consume in the parking lot before the Super Bowl? My guess is that I would probably have to pee really badly too and considering how the season ended, Cassell’s top five on my list of things I’d like to urinate all over. Now imagine the surprise when that Jet fan, with a beer filled bladder at the Super Bowl, turns to the guy mouthing off to him in line only to discover it’s the freakin quarterback of the New England Patriots. What choice did he have really? Fate put the two of them together for a reason and it ain’t to play twister…. The dude had to do what he had to do.

Classy? No.

Funny? Very.

The Jets officially have a new coach and while his pedigree is fierce, he lacks chops when it comes to head coaching experience. Jets fans got what we wanted- a fire breathing quarterback killer who’s defense promises blitzes from any postition at any time.  We can expect kitchen sinks, safes falling from the sky, cornerbacks hiding behind referees, and hopefully a tenacious ball hawking D.  By all reports Rex Ryan is ecstatic about this opporunity and he floored the front office when he interviewed.  Despite being in the AFC championship game, Ryan not only came in prepared- the man came in with a full on PowerPoint presentation.  The next few weeks will be interesting for Rex, he’s got lots of stuff on his plate to deal with and some of it needs to be addressed sooner rather than later.

First of all, Rex will have to bring in a new Defensive Coordinator. Bob Sutton’s been as good as gone for months now and Ryan surely will be bringing in somebody he trusts to build his trademark blitz-happy soon to be Patriot-destroying defense. Since he’s made it sound like this is his dream job, I can only assume Rex already knows who his new coordinator will be.  Interestingly enough, Romeo Crennel is still floating around as a free agent coach after being fired by the Browns.  He’s proven himself to be a great Defensive Coordinator but I think Rex will be tapping someone he’s worked with rather than another big-name defensive mastermind.  Would be interesting though wouldn’t it?  I feared Mangini would team up with the former Browns head coach and further humiliate all of us over here in Jet’s land but it looks like that’s not happening.  He’ll probably find a way to humiliate us all by himself.

What about the Offensive Coordinator?  It makes no sense but by every report I read or see Brian Schottenheimer appears to be returning.  He must have gotten someone in Woody’s family pregnant because otherwise he would have been canned right after the Jets almost lost to the Bills but before the offense didn’t take the field against Seattle.  The only other scenario I could come up with is that maybe Mangini secretly made all the bad play calls last season and let Schotty take the blame.  Maybe Brian’s been telling Woody for the past few years that “there is no Mangenius” and “it’s his fault we keep throwing the ball on 3rd and inches.”  It’s a stretch I know but there is no other explanation why Woody and Tannenbaum are so madly in love with Schottenheimer… they share a serious Bromance those three and I just don’t get it.

Rex also must make some personnel decisions and none of them are more important or immediate than the Brett Favre situation.  Will he retire?  Should he retire?  Does Ryan even care?  Woody, Tannenbaum, and Schotty all have expressed their hope that Brett returns but what if Ryan doesn’t even want him?  On one hand, he’s a Hall of Fame quarterback that never gives up (on a play or his career) and has thrown way more touchdowns than anybody ever.  On the other hand, he looked like dog puke for the final month of the season and has thrown way more interceptions than anybody ever.  It also needs to be said that Rex just finished a run deep into the playoffs with a rookie at the helm of his team’s offense.  What did Coach Ryan learn from that experience?

Once the curtain falls on the Favre situation, Rex will be able to focus on his new baby; our beloved broken 3-4 defense that just can’t stop the pass and the run during the same season.  He’s going to assess what pieces of the puzzle we do have (Jenkins) and what we need (some serious help in the secondary).   I honestly think this is why Ryan got the job.  According to ESPN, a large part of Ryan’s presentation highlighted Vernon Gholston’s potential.  Rex seems to think he has the ability to be another Lee Suggs.

The overall message to Jets fans and to the candidates for head coach has been that Woody is looking to win now.  He’s not looking for a coach to come in and start from scratch but instead for someone to come in and work with the infrastructure we have in place.  Rex fits that bill to a D.  By choosing a coach who will embrace our 3-4 Woody’s brought in someone who could conceivably win the AFC East next season.  We’ve got 7 pro-bowlers and Tom Brady’s looking pretty shakey to return next season.  That other QB in the East that everyone likes to throw in Jets fans’ faces?  It was Ryan that engineered Pennington’s 4 interception demise just three weeks ago.