2009 Draft Preview

"With the 17th pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, the New York Jets select..." The answer to that question is still up in the air, there has been much speculation as to what
the Jets will do with the 17th overall pick in this year' draft. There have been rumblings that the Jets might try to trade it along with a later round pick in order to acquire the much maligned Cardinals wide receiver, Anquan Boldin. However, many believe that is too steep an asking price for Boldin and think that the Jets would be better suited filling the hole at wide receiver through the draft. At pick number 17, many, if not all of the top tier receivers such as Michael Crabtree and Jeremy Maclin will be gone. Leaving the Jets to pick among the likes of North Carolina's Hakim Nicks, Darius Heyward Bey out of Maryland, or perhaps the speedy Percy Harvin coming off a national championship with the Florida Gators. Then there are others who believe that the Jets should address their aging defensive line and select LSU's Tyson Jackson, a 6"4, 296 pound defensive end, who many experts have dubbed the best 3-4 defensive end in the draft. Another player who could potentially be available is the tenacious defensive tackle, B.J. Raji out of Boston College. The 6"2, 337 pound Raji, struck fear into opposing defenses while at Boston College but many feel that he is too small to play the two-gap nose tackle in the 3-4. Originally, Raji was projected to be a top 15 pick but due to a few "character violations," he could slip to the Jets at 17. It was also rumored that the Jets would look to take a quarterback but at pick 17, there are no guarantees that they would even be able to acquire a franchise quarterback like a Matt Stafford or Mark Sanchez. Many analysts are enamored with Mark Sanchez, however I am not convinced, he does not have the strongest of arms and did not really do enough in college to be labeled as a franchise quarterback. However, it looks as though Head Coach, Rex Ryan believes that the team can win with the quarterbacks they currently have on the roster, so I would say that the chances of the team drafting a quarterback are slim. The logical choice would seem to be Tyson Jackson, he is a perfect fit for Ryan's defensive system and provides a better alternative to the ineffective Kenyon Coleman at defensive end. Alas, no one can ever be quite certain as to what the Jets will do in the draft and I guess we are going to have sit back and watch with our fingers crossed and hope that this years draft will be one to remember and not one to forget.

No Cutler, No Problem

Well, it is official Jet fans, Jay Cutler will not be dawning the green and white after all, he is headed to Chicago where I am sure he will have loads of fun playing behind a porous offensive line while throwing to who? Devin Hester? Although the Jets did not get the prototypical franchise quarterback they had been so desperately searching for, things are not as bleak as they seem. What alot of Jet fans fail to realize is that there are three very viable options at quarterback presently on the roster, one more so than the rest, Kellen Clemens. However, the Jets have proven that they have little faith in the former University of Oregon standout, trying to find every possible alternative in order to keep him from becoming the starter. Clemens has only eight career NFL starts, all of which came in a 2007 season where he was set up to fail, playing behind an ineffective offensive line unable to run block or pass protect and yet he managed to eek out three wins, one of which came against the 10-6 Pittsburgh Steelers. In that 2007 campaign Clemens showed flashes of greatness but had trouble maintaining his consistency, but its hard to be consistent while constantly trying to evade the pass rush. Let's face it, Clemens is by no means a Jay Cutler caliber quarterback however, he does have what it takes to win games for this team and potentially take the Jets back to the playoffs for the first time since 2006. He is now in the final year of his four year contract and this is the Jets last chance to find out if they really have something in Clemens or if they should just cut their losses and move forward. Just give him a shot, what is the worst that could happen? All the Jets need is someone who can manage the game and not turn the ball over, one thing you can be assured of is Clemens will not throw 22 interceptions like another former Jet quarterback. He may not be the Pro Bowl caliber quarterback the Jets were looking for but yet again, maybe he is, and at the rate things are going we may never know.

The Wide Receiver Cannundrum

February 25, 2009, the Jets decided to part ways with eight-year, veteran wide receiver Laveranues Coles and the obvious question that Jet fans raised was, quite simply: Why? The man consistently put up solid numbers when the ball was thrown his way and was one of the premier posession receivers in the league. Yes, his production slumped slightly since 2006, where he put up over 1,000 receiving yards and caught six touchdown passes, but he was still a consistent target and threat that opposing defenses had to account for. The one, two punch of Coles and Cotchery was a very formidable receiving tandem, so why break it up when you don't have what one would call depth at the wide receiver position. The obvious assumption Jet fans made was that the team would find Coles' replacement in free agency or by way of trade in the form of either: Marvin Harrison, Torry Holt, Anquan Boldin, or Braylon Edwards. However, the Jets have yet to make a move for a wide receiver, which leads one to believe that the team will address the issue by means of the draft, all indications are that the Jets will use the 17th overall pick on a wide receiver, potentially someone along the lines of Percy Harvin out of Florida or Hakeem Nicks, the talented play-maker out of the University of North Carolina. Currently, the Jets are lacking a receiver with real big play ability, aside from Cotchery the other slots are question marks. Right now, going into the 2009 season the wide receiving corps looks like this: Jericho Cotchery in the number one slot and a combination of Brad Smtih, Chansi Stuckey, David Clowney, and possibly Marcus Henry, who was a second day pick in last year's draft. The lack of talent at wide receiver could prove to be a real detriment to the offense, considering that the team is still devoid of a quarterback, which will in turn cause opposing defenses to completely disregard the Jets passing game, or lack there of and stack the box and show alot of 8 man fronts in order to stop the two headed rushing threat of Thomas Jones and Leon Washington. If things don't change in a hurry, this year's offense will make last year's week 13-17 offense look like the 2007 Patriots. Personally, I don't see why the team did not make a move for Torry Holt, he has proved he still can play and will come at a reduced price because of his age, he would provide that "homerun" threat the Jets are searching for. One receiver the Jets should have on their radar is Ramses Barden, a 6"6, 228 pound Senior out of Cal Polytech, he would be a great late round pick and has the potential to mature into a Plaxico Burress type player, (minus the shooting himself in the leg part). No one is quite sure what the Jets will do to address the wide receiver vacancy but one thing is certain, they better do something soon or we could be looking at a miserable 2009 season.

Vernon Gholston; Mario Williams or Ryan Leaf?

"With the sixth pick in the 2008 NFL Draft, the New York Jets Select...Vernon Gholston" are the words Jet fans heard NFL commissioner Roger Goodell utter on draft day almost one year ago and something amazing happened that day, for the first time in recent memory, the normally raucous Radio City Jet fan constituency did not boo, as a whole they were relatively subdued and some would even go as far to say cheery. The 6"3, 264 defensive end out of Ohio State was a pass-rush specialist in college, his big "claim to fame" was the fact he was the only one to beat the number one overall pick, Jake Long, for a sack in his senior season. The thought of having a pass-rushing specialist coming off the edge in the 3-4 had Jet fans salivating and even nostalgic to the days of Mark Gastineau and the New York Sack Exchange. Gholston came in with alot of hype surrounding him and high expectations, maybe even too high. Being the sixth overall pick in the draft will do that to you and in his rookie campaign, he failed to even come close to his astronomical expectations in fact he recorded a lowly 13 tackles in spot duty over 15 games. Gholston's rookie season has fans and pundits screaming bust but if you really think about it, Gholston was set up to fail. What fans do not realize is that, not only was Gholston faced with the rookie adjustment period from college to the NFL but he was forced to learn a new position, (stand up outside linebacker), in a new system (3-4)all while trying to cope and adjust to the speed of the professional game. Calling Gholston a bust after his rookie season may be rash, considering all the adversity he had to overcome, the criticism facing Gholston is reminiscent of Mario Williams' rookie season where he was comparably unimpressive to Gholston's. However, in Williams' sophomomore season he recorded 59 total tackles and 14 sacks while starting all 16 games, if Williams could do it with a mediocre supporting cast, then the question must be raised: what is stopping Gholston from doing the same, surrounded by a host of proven veterans and Pro Bowlers. New Jets head coach Rex Ryan will assuredly take the young Gholston under his wing in an attempt to turn him into the dangerous pass rusher everyone thought he would be coming out of college, it has yet to be seen if Ryan's influence will inspire a Williamsesque turnaround in 2009 but one can only hope so.

Why Jay Cutler Is the Missing Piece to the Superbowl Puzzle

As I am sure many of you already know, there has been a falling out between Denver Bronco's quarterback Jay Cutler and new head coach Josh McDaniels, which came as a result of McDaniel's effort to trade his proven quarterback,(coming off a Pro Bowl season mind you), for his one-year wonder, Matt Cassell. Cutler, for lack of better words, was less than appreciative of being shopped around by McDaniels and has since demanded a trade from Denver. However, McDaniels asserts that "Jay is our quarterback", but Cutler does not see it this way and has already put his Denver area home up for sale and is adamant about being traded. There certaintly is a market for the 26 year-old franchise quarterback, among the potential suitors are the Bears, Vikings, Buccaneers, Titans, Browns, and as of Tuesday the Jets threw their hat into the ring and announced their interest in Cutler. No one is quite sure where Cutler will end up but one thing is certain, he will not come cheap, any team interested in Cutler must be willing to part with their first round draft pick and at least another first day pick, if not more. If there was a front-runner for Cutler right now, it would be Cleveland because they have the most to offer, with two viable quarterbacks on their roster, as well as star wide receiver Braylon Edwards, who was reportedly being shopped around. However, if there is one thing the Brett Favre debacle proved, its that you should never count out the Jets because you can be assured that if there is a chance Jay Cutler will be dealt, then General Manager Mike Tannenbaum will do everything in his power to bring him to New York/Florham Park. But semantics aside, the Jets would be an ideal destination for Cutler, the team is bult to win now, coming off a 9-7 campaign, where they fell two wins shy of making the playoffs. The defense has the makings to be one of the best in the league, with nose tackle Kris Jenkins coming off a Pro Bowl season, in which he was the anchor of the leauge's sixth best rushing defense. The linebacking corps should see a marked improvement with the acquisition of middle linebacker Bart Scott, rookie head coach Rex Ryan is looking to employ his K.I.L.L (Keep It Learnable and Likeable) philosophy with the defense. The team has also addressed the issue of the Secondary, by going out and acquiring Eagle's cornerback, Lito Sheppard to go opposite Darrelle Revis, who is coming off of a breakout season. They also signed Raven's safety, Jim Leonhard to become the everyday safety opposite Kerry Rhodes and re-signed the hard-hitting Abram Elam to give them more depth at the position. And now to the offensive side of the ball, where the Jets are returning all five starting offensive linemen for the first time since 2004, a line that led the way for Thomas Jones, in his campaign for the AFC rushing title. The Jets have a running game that opposing Defenses cannot help but be afraid of, with the Hustle and Muscle combination of Leon Washington and Thomas Jones, which will help set up the passing game for whoever the quarterback is. However, the one spot where the Jets are really lacking is the wide receiver position, which was not helped by the departure of the resilient veteran Laveranues Coles. With the absenece of Coles, the Jets are looking at a receieving corps consisting of: Jericho Cotchery, Brad Smith, David Clowney, Chansi Stuckey, and tight end Dustin Keller. Aside from Cotchery, the Jets do not have a legitimate downfield, homerun threat, a need that will probably addressed through the draft. But the most blaring hole on the team is the spot under center made vacant by the retirement of Brett Favre, with no real viable option to fill the spot, the three quarterbacks on the roster: Kellen Clemens, Bret Ratliff, and Erik Ainge all have a combined eight NFL starts, all of which came from Clemens in a miserable 4-12 season in 2007. If the Jets could somehow lure Cutler away from the Broncos, it would provide the proverbial "missing piece" to the Jets Super Bowl puzzle, a puzzle that has been unsolvable for the better half of 40 years. Nothing would make Jet fans happier, than to have a 26 year-old, Pro Bowl quarterback, with an arm that he claims can contend with John Elway in his prime. Take it from one Jet fan who has to endure the annual 16 games of misery, bliss, and futility perched atop the upper deck;


GET JAY CUTLER!!!