Tuesday, March 31, 2009

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.

Saturday, March 28, 2009

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!!!