Report From Inside the Draft

The Night Before:

Being that I live in New York, only a ten minute subway ride from Radio City and given the historic nature of this year's draft taking place during a lockout. I decided that this was the year to go and attend the draft amongst the unwashed masses that call ourselves Jets fans. For those of you who have never been or are unfamiliar with the process, in order to procure tickets for the draft you have to wait outside Radio City for a minimum of three hours. The way the NFL distributes draft tickets separates the real fans from the front-runners or band wagoners (or at least in theory). According to the NFL website people are not allowed to start lining up until 10:00 PM on Wednesday night, only the "gringos" show up at ten.
The truth is people start lining up before 8:00, so if you come at 10:00 you jeopardize your chances of getting in at all. I showed up at 9:00 only to find a mob of football fanatics lined up as far as the eye can see down 50th street. Naturally I had to represent the green and white and showed up sporting a Nick Mangold jersey, the reception was mixed but us Jets fans are well represented so overall the reception was positive.

I got in line and the countdown to midnight began because midnight is when the NFL distributes the wristbands that guarantee you a ticket. The NFL's sponsors are good to the saps who wait in line to hear the commissioner say the name of a soon to be under-achieving player. Free Pepsi and Doritos were definitely a plus but the surprise of the night was getting the opportunity to meet Commissioner Roger Goodell. Due to the circumstances surrounding the NFL's recent labor negotiations, the Commissioner was doing his equivalent to "presidential baby kissing" by shaking hands and talking to the fans waiting outside Radio City. It was a great PR move and I had the liberty to talk to him for a little bit but ultimately unless these labor negotiations are settled and we the fans are guaranteed football, it doesn't matter how many hands he shakes. One would think that waiting outside, standing in line for three hours would be extremely monotonous. Actually to the contrary being amongst hundreds of people who are just as crazy about football, the time just melted away. It was 11:30 and the line began to move, we approached the entrance and before I knew it, wristband accomplished.

Draft Day:

Although the draft starts at 8:00, the doors open at 6:00 and tickets are traded for wristbands on a first come, first serve basis. Wanting to get good seats, me and my compatriots decided to arrive promptly at six and...so did everyone else. It should probably come as no surprise there was another rather long line outside Radio City to get in and guess who was there to entertain the fans waiting in line. If you guessed Roger Goodell, you would be right. For the second straight day, the Commissioner of the NFL was trying to ingratiate himself with the fans, perhaps as a last ditch attempt to avoid getting booed by the Radio City faithful. A little over an hour later, we got in the door with tickets in hand. It turns out that we were relegated to the upper deck, but not to worry we were there and with the real fans in the cheap seats, even though admission was free. As we approached our seats, we received the coveted "swag bag" full of sponsored out free stuff including a radio, a t-shirt, program, and a bunch of other free goodies.
The radio provides the audio feeds for the ESPN and NFL Network telecasts that were being broad casted on the massive screens flanking the stage.

As the Commissioner approached the stage all of the hand-shaking he did could not save him from the "boo birds" and the now famous "we want football" chant ensued, to which he responded: "I know, I feel you." It was nice to see that the Commissioner was able to take it all in stride and before long he found himself announcing Cam Newton's name as the first overall pick in the 2011 draft. Name after name and player after player came off the board with a few surprises. Among the most shocking was the Vikings pick of Florida State Quarterback Christian Ponder and equally surprising was the free fall of Clemson defensive end Da'Quan Bowers from potential number one overall pick to not even being selected in the first round.

It is unusual to wait so long for the Jets to draft but as the first round went on Jets fans including myself were looking their chops as certain defensive linemen began to fall down the board. When the Saints traded up to get Alabama Running Back, Mark Ingram it became apparent that the Jets would be able to get their pick of Muhammed Wilkerson, Da'Quan Bowers, or UCLA linebacker Akeeem Ayers. As soon as the Jets were on the clock, we rushed to be with our vocal constituency chanting Da-Qu-an Bo-wers however; it appears as though the Jets had the same concerns about his knee as the rest of the league and chose Wilkerson. The reaction was not boo's or cheers but a palpable air of satisfaction, knowing that it was the right pick to make. Although there were two more picks left, for all intents and purposes our night was over, we knew who our first round pick was but we did not know if and when we would see him play, we're looking at you Roger.

Learning From Lucas

Since the NFL owners and Players Union are still engaged in their "you know what" measuring contest, I'll hold off on the hot stove talk until the labor situation clears up. Instead I thought we should examine the problems NFL Players should be concerned about through the lens of a popular ex-Jet and current analyst Ray Lucas.

For most of use Ray Lucas is that familiar face alongside former Jet linebacker Greg Buttle, who breaks down Jet games on such SNY programs as Jets Nation and Jets Extra Point. However; for those of us who are old enough to remember, Ray Lucas was a standout quarterback at Rutgers before being signed by Bill Parcells and the Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 1996. Lucas followed Parcells from the Patriots to the Jets where he served as the backup to Glen Foley and Vinny Testaverde. Lucas' crowning achievement in the NFL was in a Jets uniform during the 1999, season where the Jets were among the pre-season Super Bowl favorites, coming off their loss to the John Elway and the Broncos in the 1998 AFC Championship game. However; in the first game of the 1999 season, starting Quarterback, Vinny Testaverde ruptured his Achilles Tendon and the ball was thrust into the hands of former Notre Dame bust, Rick Mirer. Mirer was woefully ineffective, leading the Jets to a mediocre 4-6 record before the job was handed over to Lucas. Lucas came in and lost his first two games but finished strong, winning the last four enroute to helping the Jets salvage an 8-8 record.

Lucas left the Jets after the 2000 season to become the back-up for the Miami Dolphins. After two years with the Dolphins, he was let go and then picked up by the Baltimore Ravens. While in training camp with Ravens, Lucas suffered a devastating neck injury that cost him his playing career at age 30. Much like most retired NFL players, Lucas was left with little-to-no benefits, a minuscule pension and not nearly enough health care coverage to pay for the treatment of the injuries he sustained during his playing career. Lucas' injury left him with impinged nerves in his neck that made simple every day life into a constant struggle. The pain in his neck was so unbearable at times that Lucas even contemplated suicide. Although Lucas' condition was correctable, he could not afford to pay for the operation and when he went to the NFL Players Union, they said "there was nothing they could do for him." Lucas lived for the better part of seven years with debilitating pain, popping pain-killers like tic-tacs and ultimately and inevitably developed an addiction.

It was not until this past September that Lucas actually received help for his issue, in the form of Pain Alternative Solutions and Treatments' Retired Athlete's Medical Resource Group, which offers pro-bono consultation and treatment for retired athlete's whose insurance plans do not cover such procedures. PAST surgeon, Sebastian Lattuga performed Lucas' surgery free of charge in hopes that it would help alleviate his pain. Five months had passed since Lucas' surgery but he could not shake his addiction to pain killers and checked himself into rehab following the Super Bowl.

Unfortunately, Lucas' story is not an isolated incident, thousands of retired NFL players develop crippling physical injuries and become dependent on pain killers. In Lucas' case, he was taking an average of 300 pills a month, (around ten a day) and wore a morphine patch at all times. The NFL is a nine-billion, BILLION, dollar per year industry and the players that helped develop the game are left by the way side once their playing days are over, destitute, crippled, some aren't even capable of chewing their own food. In a game where the injury rate is 100%, players sacrifice their personal well-being and years on the ends of their lives, and the contracts are not even guaranteed. As it stands right now, the average life span of an NFL is around four years. In that finite amount of time these players need to accrue enough money to support themselves and their families for the rest of their lives, while accepting if that an injury could leave them unemployed with nothing more than a small buy-out and a boot in the rear.

The owners have the audacity to complain about the 56-44 players vs owners revenue breakdown, which mind you does not include the one billion dollars in guaranteed television revenue that the owners take off the top. Despite what the owners and players would have you think, there is more than enough money to go around and there is certainly enough to establish better benefits for retired players. However; the owners are not entirely to blame, the current players are extremely short-sighted and don't realize that their playing days will end someday and maybe even tomorrow considering how prevalent injuries are. It is the Antonio Cromartie's of the world that are too ignorant to realize that any moment they could become the next Ray Lucas or Dennis Byrd.

The notion that the owners want to add two more regular season games without increasing compensation or the creation of retirement benefits, while taking away revenue from the players is simply absurd and sheer greed. However; the owners command a considerable amount of leverage over the players. Although both sides stand to lose a considerable amount of money, there are around 500 free agents this year, otherwise known as unemployed unless an agreement is reached. The Players Union has an emergency fund but it is not nearly big enough to outlast the one billion dollar war-chest the owners posses. It will be hard for the players to remain united when 500 players, many of whom have families to provide for are job-less. It is obvious that concessions will need to be made on both sides but if the players can learn anything from Ray Lucas, its that they cannot take for granted their health and well-being because although Antonio Cromartie would have you believe different, life goes on after football.

Short Memories in the NFL

It seems that fans and experts alike tend to have short memories when it comes to the NFL. This trend has never been more apparent than the lead up to the AFC Divisional match up between the Jets and Patriots. Despite the fact that the Jets handily defeated Tom Brady's Patriots in their Week Two meeting. In the "what have you done for me lately" environment that is the NFL; fans, analysts, and even Vegas odd-makers got swept up in the hype machine surrounding the Patriots that stemmed from their 45-3 drubbing of the Jets in Week 13. In the week leading up to the game everyone and I mean everyone with the exception of former Jets wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson buried the Jets saying they had "no shot." Even the well-respected, former Super Bowl-winning coach of the Steelers said the Jets had a "snowball's chance of winning, a perception only exacerbated by the preposterous 8.5 point spread.

Yes, the Jets did lay an egg in Foxborough the first time around however; there are number of factors to take into consideration aside from the final score.

Leonhard goes down:

First and foremost, the injury to strong safety and "quarterback of the defense," Jim Leonhard. The injury occurred on a Friday after the Jets had already installed their gameplan, leaving backup Eric Smith with limited time to adjust which was evident by the blatant lack of communication in the secondary, exemplified by his killer pass interference call in the end-zone, which led to a New England touchdown.

Questionable Coaching Decisions:

It was arguably Rex Ryan's early coaching mistakes that caused the game to "snowball" and get out of hand so quickly. First, the decision to take the ball first and not defer until the second half despite the Patriots high-powered offense and the Jet's inability all year to score points in the first quarter. When the offense sputtered early, Ryan unsuccessfully challenged the spot of the ball only to go for it on fourth down. He later opted to have the shaky Nick Folk attempt a 50-plus yard field goal in the swirling wind, needless to say he missed terribly, giving New England a short field which they then turned into points. We would be remiss if we did not mention Brian Schottenheimer's questionable play-calling, opting to go with the hurry up, pass-first offense that yielded 3 points.

Special Teams:

Jets fans figured out why its called "Special" Teams, both kicker Nick Folk and Steve Weatherford were dreadful, which gave Patriots a short field several times and each time they came away with points.

Belichick and Brady run up the Score:

After Mark Sanchez threw a back-breaking redzone interception to Brandon Spikes, the team just gave up opening the door for Brady and Belichick to throw salt into the wound by running up the score. The game was already in hand but the Coach and Quarterback combo were relentless in their onslaught, resulting in the 45-3 score that won over the hearts of almost everyone in football, who were convinced that the Patriots were the best team in the league, bar-none.

The Rematch:

The Jets were not phased by the 45-3 beatdown, the 8.5 point spread, Tom Brady, or Bill Belichick and went out and shocked the football world. Rex Ryan and his defensive think tank that included the aforementioned, Jim Leonhard, devised a scheme that baffled Brady by combining and disguising zone and man coverages while only sending three and four man rushes. Brady had all the time in the world to make a play but the coverage was airtight, allowing the Jets defensive line, led by "Patriot Killer," Shaun Ellis to rack up five sacks and rattle the sure-fire MVP. Brady was uncomfortable all game and it showed, making some uncharacteristic, arrant throws.

The Jets offense was equally impressive scoring 28 points in the air and on the ground. Mark Sanchez thoroughly out-played Brady throwing for a shade under 200 yards and three touchdowns. None more pivotal than when he connected with Santonio Holmes on a perfectly thrown fade to the corner of the end-zone and an equally spectacular catch by Holmes that put the Jets up by 10 in the fourth quarter. The "Greene Machine," Shonn Greene provided the knockout blow when he scampered down the right sideline for a touchdown giving the Jets a 28-14 lead with under two minutes to go. The win flaberghasted the fickle-minded football world and has the Jets 60 minutes from their first Super Bowl appearance in 42 years.

Looking Ahead:

The Jets travel up to Heinz Field to take on Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers for the right to go to Super Bowl XLV. The Jets beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh 22-17 in Week 15 however; as we have already seen regular season success means nothing in the playoffs especially with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line. Look for an extremely physical game this week as it will be a matchup of strength on strength, the Jets offensive line against the Steelers tenacious front seven. For Rex Ryan this will be his third straight appearance in the AFC Championship game, the second straight with the Jets and the second against the Steelers hopefully the third time proves to be the charm. Ryan himself admitted "For myself, I’ve been there three years in a row, I don’t know if I can handle not winning it. I need to win this game," whether that happens or not will be determined come 6:30 on Sunday.

Jets vs Colts Game Balls

After yet another where the "Cardiac Jets" tested the intestinal and cardiovascular fortitude of their fans, its time to hand out some Game Balls:

Braylon Edwards: Edwards looked the Pro Bowl receiver the Jets thought they were getting when they traded for him early in 2009 instead of the stone-handed hot head he was for most of last season. The now sure-handed Edwards may have earned himself a new contract after arguably the most clutch catch in Jets postseason history, when he elevated for a sideline catch at the 15 yard line that set up Nick Folk's game-winning 32 yard field goal.

Eric Smith: Despite not starting at Free Safety, Eric Smith played the game of his life, lining up at both safety and linebacker at times, racking up ten tackles and two passes defensed ,while defending upstart tight end, Jacob Tamme.

Darrelle Revis: It was just another day at the office for "Revis Christ," who shut down Peyton Manning's favorite target, Reggie Wayne limiting him to an eye-popping one catch for one yard.

Shonn Greene/LaDainian Tomlinson: Both backs looked fresh, rushing for a combined 152 yards on 35 carries, while keeping Peyton Manning on the sideline for the majority of the second half. With two fresh backs, the Jets were able to get back to their "Ground and Pound," ball-control offense, which will serve them will with a rematch against Tom Brady and the Patriots looming.

The Jets Offensive Line: I would be remiss if I praised the running attack without mentioning the offensive line. The line was able to man-handle the Colts under-sized defense, creating sizable running lanes for Greene and Tomlinson. It all starts up front in the running game and the big men were able to win at the point of attack and for that, they get the final game ball(s).

Take a Lap!: now that we've rewarded the standouts it is time to address those whose performances were less than stellar in an ode to Eric Mangini and Coach Boone from "Remember the Titans," if you screw up, you take a lap.

Antonio Cromartie: Cromartie's issues in man-to-man coverage continue as he was victimized by Pierre Garcon all night, allowing the Colts only touchdown when he was torched by Garcon on a deep post, allowing Peyton Manning to connect with him for a 57 yard score. Although Cromartie did redeem himself with his 47 yard kickoff return that set up the game winning drive, he needs to step up defensively if the Jets are to stand a chance against the Patriots.

Mark Sanchez: Sanchez looked erratic all game, missing several wide open receivers including Braylon Edwards and Dustin Keller. The second year quarterback capped his lackluster first half by throwing a red zone interception to Justin Tryon. Sanchez missed receivers high all night however; he seemed to calm down in the second half connecting on key passes down the stretch, especially in the game-winning drive. Despite his overall mediocre night, Sanchez did what he has done all season and stepped up when it mattered orchestrating another come from behind victory, while calling and executing the key pass to Braylon Edwards to set up the game-winning field goal. I hate to say it but Mark Sanchez, take a lap.

Santonio Holmes: Overall Holmes played pretty well however; he dropped a key third down pass that could have very well cost the Jets the game. If Holmes makes that catch chances are, the Jets are able to run out the clock without the need for any last minute heroics. If you are an NFL receiver and you drop a ball that hits you in the hands it is simply inexcusable and for that, "Tone" will be taking a lap.

The Long Road to Glory

After their shellacking of the Bills by their JV team, the Jets finished the regular season at 11-5 and clinched the six seed in the AFC. Despite Rex Ryan's goal of being able to host a home playoff game, the Jets are now forced to take their show on the road ,a road that goes through Indianapolis and New England respectively. In a rematch of last year's AFC Championship game, the Jets will go to "Peyton's Place" to face arguably the best quarterback in the NFL and the Indianapolis Colts. This is not exactly the match-up Ryan and the Jets were hoping for considering how easily Manning was able to carve up the Jets number one defense in the second half of the AFC Championship game denying the Jets a trip to the Super Bowl. The Jets would have much rather faced Matt Cassell and the Kansas City Chiefs who sputtered into the playoffs after losing at home to the Raiders.

However; these Colts are not the 2009 Colts who came within a half of being crowned Super Bowl Champions. These Colts are very banged up, missing major weapons Dallas Clark, Austin Collie, and Anthony Gonzalez as well as All-Pro Safety Bob Sanders. Peyton Manning has looked human this season turning the ball over in big spots but was able to engineer a team turn-around, rallying the Colts to four straight victories, finishing 10-6 and clinching the number three seed in the AFC. Peyton Manning will always be Peyton Manning but the Colts have become increasingly one dimensional, ranked first in passing offense but only 29th in rushing. The Colts defense is still formidable with the most dangerous edge-rushing tandem in the league with Dwight Freeny and Robert Mathis.

By the same token, these are not the 2009 Jets, Mark Sanchez has matured considerably, showing tremendous poise and a great command of the offense while significantly reducing his turnovers. The Jets offense comes into Indianapolis with more fire-power than last year, with the addition of Santonio Holmes and Ladainian Tomlinson coupled with the emergence of Shonn Greene and Dustin Keller has made the offense more dynamic. The offensive line will be back to full strength as well, with right tackle, Damien Woody returning to the lineup after under-going knee surgery in early December following the Dolphins game. He will be able to help neutralize the Colts tremendous pass rushers.

Although the Jets defense has taken a step back statistically, they are deeper especially at cornerback, with the acquisition of Antonio Cromartie. If Cromartie and Revis are able to shut down Reggie Wayne and Pierre Garcon, it will make life much easier for Rex Ryan's defense. What is most troubling is the Jets inability to get consistent pressure on the quarterback without blitzing defensive backs. The lack of a conventional pass-rush has made the Jets vulnerable in the secondary, elite quarterbacks like Manning or Brady will be able to exploit those weaknesses as we saw in the 45-3 debacle in New England.

Recently Safety depth has been problematic for the Jets after losing Jim Leonhard for the season, coupled with injuries to Eric Smith and James Ihedigbo. The Jets have been forced to play Brodney Pool and converted cornerback, Dwight Lowery at safety, which has caused communication issues on defense. Eric Smith and Ihedigbo are expected to return to the lineup in Indianapolis on Saturday giving the Jets much needed depth.

The Jets are also much healthier than the last time they faced the Colts. In the AFC Championship game both David Harris and Bart Scott were hobbled by leg injuries, defensive end Shaun Ellis was playing with a broken hand, nickelback Donald Strickland left the game with an injury, running back Shonn Greene left the game with a rib injury and Thomas Jones was playing with a hurt knee. This time around the Jets are considerably healthier at key positions than the Colts and hopefully that will be reflected on Saturday.

If the Jets are able to beat the Colts it will put them on a collision course with Tom Brady and the top-seeded Patriots. The Jets will be out for revenge, with the 45-3 drubbing still fresh in their memory, where Bill Belichick seemingly ran up the score with the game already in hand. It is a very tall order to go on the road and knock off the reigning conference champions and the likely MVP in succession however; if Ryan's Jets want to accomplish their goal of winning the Super Bowl, it is a necessity. In typical Rex Ryan fashion he refuses to be intimidated or back down from the challenge saying, "regardless of who we play, we think we're better than any team out there, we got to go prove it though." The Jets will attempt to back up their coach's words on Saturday night at 8:00.