The Past Tense
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////
That said, his lack of awareness has often disappointed me, and his technique is inconsistent at a position where with respect to positioning — the calculus for success or failure is centimeters.
He’s a real good football player, and if you want to say he has time to do so, say it, but he really needs to work on his polish.
Some people will say that he handled TO well today. I don’t think the game was ever in reach, and the Cowboys took the foot off the gas. When they put the foot down, finally, to drive the stake through, it was TO destroying Revis for the TD.
That play was for me the statement of the game, where the Cowboys said, “We’ve just been toying with you the whole time. This is what you’d have seen all game had you even dressed to play today.”
Revis hasn’t quite disappointed, but he sure as hell hasn’t played up to par either.
Over the course of the year this player has got to improve his consistency in technique, his awareness, and his playmaking ability.
originally published here.
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////
This kid has 2 of the three things nailed square.
1. Size, Strength and Body Type.
2. Incredible Tenacity and Motor.
Does he have the Sheer Athleticism and Explosion to stand up at OLB?
IMO this is the TYPE of player we need to look for to play 34 OLB. We can’t think to put smallish types in there. We need a 275 lb wrecking ball. A Joe Klecko clone at OLB.
For Reference:
Compare Merriman’s size and measurements: 6′4″ 272 (yeah I know he’s the cream of the crop and few will ever have the times/metrics he has)
Compare to Adalius Thomas: 6′2″ 270
Compare to Willie McGinest: 6′5″ 270
Compare to Greg Ellis: 6′6″ 265
etc.
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Ellis, Abraham, Pennington, Becht.
All four of these players have been instrumental to the success of this team (don’t even give me Becht’s hands. His blocking was ridiculously good.); all of them gave Herm Edwards GREAT working material for his tenure. He should have won a superbowl with the teams he inherited, and a great testament to his inadequacy is precisely that failure. He took a team that had been to the AFC championship game in 98, and had 4 1st rounders in 2000, changed the scheme and went backwards…
The current incarnation of the Green Team is at the nadir of the talent pool dissipated from Parcell’s inheritance due partially to bad management, partially to Herm’s lack of player development ability and scheme switch, partially to father time, and partially to Mangini’s switch back to the 34.
The talent Parcells brought in though, continues to drive this team. Ellis, at 30, is still a decent 34 end, and although inconsistent, he could feasably start for this team for several more years. 2006 was Pennington’s swan-song. What a courageous career. Some players aren’t remembered for their success, but for their intangibles. He continues to pilot this plane, but may actually in fact be at twilight in his career. He could easily be the best backup in the league for a couple of years if his value can’t be recouped. Abraham is no longer physically in the equation, but his value was recouped, perhaps upgraded, in Nick Mangold. And Becht is not in the equation as he left via FA. Coles was however our 2000 3rd rounder out of FSU.
The talent has basically taken us as far as it can to this point, with only Mangold turning the flywheel into the future. Factor in most of Bradway’s 43 defensive selections along the front 4, who are not ideal fits for the 34, and we have a real vacuum of talent.
IMHO this team needs a fresh infusion ala that 2000, or even like the 2006 draft, for 3 significant reasons. All of them relate to the danger of falling into a continual, terminal loop of mediocrity — or worse — that is currently hanging over this team.
a) replacement contingency for the older/injury prone pieces when they are done
- Ellis
- Thomas Jones
- Coles
- Dyson
- Barrett
b) immediate replacement and value recouperation of ill-fitting parts — these parts simply need to be replaced. Parcells did it with Hugh Douglas, Mangini did it with John Abraham, but there are inoperative pieces still floating around in the system.
- Vilma
- Pennington
- Robertson
- McCareins
c) immediate upgrades to the weakest links on the chain.
- Brandon Moore
- Clement
- Clarke
The Jets need to continue turning the flywheel. We need a qualitative leap to get over this transition period. This upcoming draft NEEDS to build upon the previous two. I really think we could have at least 5 eventual pro-bowlers from the previous two drafts in D’Brick, Mangold, Leon, Revis and Harris.
The ill-fits need immediate recouperation of value. Vilma needs to be traded because he is abysmal in the 34, which tragically squanders all of his talent. Drob needs to be traded if we can’t find a gap-shooting role for him within the scheme. Pennington needs to be traded, we have his replacement and his bank value is suffering if we dissipate all of his value. McCareins needs to go. Moore, Clement, and Clarke all need to upgraded.
Here’s the scenario:
Lets say that come April, we have just such a bounty as in 2000. Or similar. Lets say that we’ve successfully been able to stockpile picks.
- Our Original picks 1-7 rounds: 1st Rounder — lets say we pick at #10
- Kendall’s 4th rounder via Washington
- We are able to recoup a 1st round pick for Vilma*
- We are able to recoup a 4th round pick for Chad
- We are able to recoup a 5th round pick for McCareins
- We decide or have to keep Dewayne Robertson, at least until draft day
Our first 2 picks would be in the top 20, our top 3 picks would then would fall inside the top 42
1st round
#10
#20
2nd round
#42
4th round
3 picks
5th round
2 picks
6th round
1 pick
7th round
1 pick
From here, with multiple early day two picks and Dewayne still hanging in the balance, there’d be plenty of room to maneuver up again if we had a dance partner.
The bottomline is that I think we need to be EXTREMELY aggressive in the 08 draft. We hear the mantra, “there is no such thing as rebuilding.” Mangini and Tannenbaum IMO have done an above average job in identifying the market’s strength, targeting talent and executing strategy via the draft. It would be even better had they addressed the OL more effectively last year — I’d have said superior.
But the job is not done. We HAVE to pare away the layers that are holding back our growth. We have to molt players like Pennington and Vilma and Jmac. And we need to capture value in return.
Lets say we have the above scenario. Who do you draft (likely to declare juniors fair game of course)?
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////
What a revelation. The Bills out-man the Boys by one incredible “extra man”.
The place is absolutely electric. Bills look awesome in those throw-backs.
BTW they need to have more MNF games in Buffalo. Is there a better fan base outside of Wisconsin?
Not that the Bills will definitely win, but football is great in Buffalo folks…
props to them.
NYC is a baseball town, and will always be…
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////
No halftime adjustments; continually trying to get to the edge, and getting nowhere. The corner was never ever there.
The Deep Back Set: the stat Simms quoted during the first half was when the Jets line up in a deep single back set (7 yards back) — we run 96% of the time.
Poor game-planning; terrible execution in the run game.
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Every week, with intensifying volume, the “undefeated Patriots” story will continue, like a broken record.
On and on and on and on.
There will be no end to it.
The PATRIOTS have scored 148 points in the first four games while allowing just 48 points. They have by a VAST stretch, the #1 Defense in the NFL — a complete, and completely dominating defense, top 3 or better in each category.
The PATRIOTS also have the #1 Offense. I don’t care about a measly 40 yards or so that Dallas has over and above what NE has. The Patriots are unstoppable on offense. UNSTOPPABLE. Brady is shooting at nearly 80% completion rate (79.5+), with 13 TDs to 2 INTs…
As our season spirals out of control, and this “Undefeated Patriots” vomit will pour out of your ears, just remember one comfort: a top five draft choice, if we’re lucky….
But bear no doubts about it: The Story of the Year will be The Quest for 16-0. And IMO humble opinion, it will be a relative cakewalk.
And Spygate will be but a whisp of wind from the land of lost things.
The next (and one of only two) big game IMO will be Oct 14th, in Dallas.
The other is in Indy, Nov. 3rd.
Everyone in the league must set special sights on this team not allow them to go undefeated.
But they will.
And probably 19. And you can thank Mangenius for this outcome. This team has only been emboldened by Spygate. Before they were just a 3 in the last 6 years Superbowl winners that just lost in the AFC Championship game by one half, and that just upgraded their roster immeasurably.
Now — now they are a 3 in the last 6 years Superbowl winners that just lost in the AFC Championship game by one half, and that just upgraded their roster immeasurably with a mammoth sized nasty chip on their shoulder.
{Go Browns!}
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////
1} What would it do to the locker room? I ask this objectively and sincerely. Consider Chad is a Captain. He wears that “C” on his shirt. Although we see what we see as fans, that whole team — each member — feels personally responsible for that loss, and this season. Do you think that Jonathan Vilma, or Bryan Thomas, or Kerry Rhodes, or Darrelle Revis, or Thomas Jones, or Nick Mangold, or Brick Ferguson feels like Chad, and only Chad, let the team down, and was responsible for the loss — and for everything? This is no argument for a “statistics-approach”, but what Jet besides Jerricho Cotchery (rec; yds; yds/game; rec 20+; rec 40+; 1st downs), and Laveraneous Coles (TDs), is in the top 5 of anyone positional category? Pennington, in one less game than the gross majority of QBs is 2nd in % (76.8), behind Brady’s abnormal near 80% year; were it not for the Brady Bunch Passing Attack, Penny would be #1. Tied for 6th in TDs (5). 3nd in 1st down % (43.9%). And 5th in rating at 105.8. He has done this because he has had an ABYSMAL running game. He has simply been forced to pass his way into the endzone, and down the field.
The point here isn’t to project a statistical illusion onto the actual field of performance. The point is to point out that on a team of both collective failure and individual inefficacy, there are a lot of guys — each one, to a man — not pulling their own weight, and more than that, they are all individually aware of this fact. There is plenty of guilt to go around on this team, starting from the top, going through Chad, and dispersing some sh!t into everyone’s bowl.
We’ve all come to a breaking point. Somethings got to give. Someone’s got to to offered up as a sacrifice to us, the rabid bloodthirsty fans, the True Gods of football. If you give us Chad Pennington now, we will undoubtedly tear him up alive limb by limb. And then wash our guiltless hands of it all.
Chad’s got to go, he’s the only martyr we’ll accept. he’s the flavor of the week. Not Vilma, not Drob. Not Sutton, no, he bought himself a week’s reprieve. Not Mangini, although he’s next in line. Chad’s got to go. But how? The break we make now may be dangerous, and decisions like this are not made lightly. They are made in contexts, and the ramifications of them occur in a context.
The major fallout of such a decision may be that the locker room be split by Chad-loyalties, which are much much more durable than they are on our message board here — to the point of friendships, and perhaps, combined with that ever-prevalent (but latent and waiting to pounce) anti-Mangini sentiment. Its a two-way street: Management-Labor. If the players don’t buy in, or fall out with the system, the system is worthless, and the players have little incentive…they’ll give up, or won’t put it all in, they’ll throw in the towel. They’ll force management to accept the responsibility. And then heads will roll. And leashes will get tight around the CS and FO. And looser around the players’ necks.
At Baltimore, there was a legit injury excuse, and Chad with glee took up the pom-poms. But “Benching” Chad in favor of the kid — quite a different story. A dour Chad on the sidelines and in the locker room would not be good for this team. And even if he takes it like a man. His friends may not…
Just for example, consider other playes not playing to potential and with much less statistical goods to show for it: Jonathan Vilma, another under-performing and miscast Captain, self-described as “the QB of the defense”. There are other under-performing Jets with much less statistical goods to show for their failures, and at junctions in their careers. Will this foreshadowing stir up sentiments in the locker-room, stir up mischief? Might players feel like the wrong guy got burned here, and become more vocal about their discontents with the system, and the management?
Could Benching Chad let all hell loose? I think it could be potentially harmful, and this season could become as painful one to follow as any in Jets memory.
2} What would it do to Chad’s economic value, now or in the future? Benching Chad drastically lower the Jets negotiating leverage with another team. Whereas before, we may have salvaged a decent pick from a really desperate team, post-benching, does Pennington really have any real value in a trade? In other words, do we undermine our own leverage by benching him for good, and not simply TRADING him NOW — as in this week? Which the FO, I don’t think for the above mentioned reasons, has the balls to do…and perhaps wisely.
Therefore, those who are following me, we may be screwed: we are in a catch-22.
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////
#1 - address the Left Interior Side of the Line. Get UFA G Alan Faneca from the Steelers. Faneca has declared that this is his last year as a Steeler. He’s been an ELITE G and he wants out. I would be aggressive in obtaining Faneca at least as a stop-gap. Put him next to Mangold and you’ve got a dynamic duo, hopefully for several years. Although Faneca is not a monstrous man, he’s a real good. 2006 wasn’t his best year, and he is getting older, so what he does in 07 will be a good barometer of what he is offered and for how long. Ruben Brown, former All-Pro UFA G from the Bears is a aged vet who could come in if he decides to leave CHI, probably unlikely. He’d be a nice stop-gap for a year or two, to tutor a young rookie, and keep the seat warm, the QB clean, and Thomas Jones happier than he is now. Either of these players would provide vet leadership on the left side and on the whole.
#2 - address defensive front 7. NTs aren’t going to be found anywhere on the open market outside of a trade. It will be difficult to draft one and plug in. Ellis is getting older and there is little depth behind him. If he got injured, we’d have who in for him? Mike Devito. Get OLB Terrell Suggs if there is any possible chance to do so. That said I doubt that he is NOT re-signed. Consider Karlos Dansby — he’s young, fast, explosive. Will he fit into our system? Consider young 6′6″, 270 UFA Jared Allen, who has fallen out with KC management, and think of standing him up as pass-rushing OLB. Can he do that? Has he changed at all since the DUIs/suspensions? If so, he could come cheaper because of them. Look into 6′6″ 300 26 year old, Tommie Kelly, DE OAK, RFA. See what happens there, at the very least for depth. UFA DE Justin Smith CIN, will probably be signed long term by next year. he might be too small anyway at 270-5 and isn’t athletic enough to stand.
#3 — address the secondary. We could use depth — or a flat out playmaker at S opposite KR, but what we have there is serviceable. CB: The good news is that Darelle Revis through two games is clearly our #1 CB, and QBs will already avoid him. The bad news is that weak link on the other side. The only way to really capitalize on Revis’s complete value is to put someone adequate opposite him, someone that isn’t chop-meat. A Dyson-Revis combination might be fantastic if Dyson is healthy and sharp. If not, and moreover, because of the injury history at CB with Dyson, Barrett, and now Miller, we are going to need to address this. Randall Gay has been brought in to Hofstra before, but his injury history is not good. He’s got decent upside and is young. But can the Jets develop anyone on the roster, aka Drew Coleman, into a serviceable vet? The situation isn’t going to be any good if David Barrett is the starting CB opposite Revis next year. Simply put.
#4 — WR…Coles and Cotch aer absolute gamers. The future is now for Laverneous though. A player like Marvin Harrison or Jerry Rice plays well into
his mid to late 30’s. Coles has been battered as a player though. His role has never been to just run open down the field and catch a TD, hopping untouched into the endzone. This needs no further elaboration. We have to aqcuire depth. End of story. If the situation presents itself, more than just depth. Dropsie McCrappins deserves to be fired. He may yet blossom. Who knows? Once he figures out how to catch the ball, the sky’s the limit they say. I guess… This team has two outstanding tough WRs. Neither is a big target. Both could theoretically be downfield threats, Coles is FAST, and Cotch slippery, a great route runner, like Rice. Chad or Kellen could use a BIG dependable target as a third WR. If we part with McDroppins, can Frisman Jackson be that guy? Brad Smith? Stuckey? UFA Bernard Berrian isn’t huge, but is a FA burner, a young 26 year old VET that might come in handy this offseason. He would be a veritable upgrade over McCareins — and everyone else on our roster. If Brad Smith doesn’t step up, I don’t know what to tell ya. We need contributors, Brad, not do-it-all, do-nothings. Young UFA WR, 6′3″ 216 Bryant Johnson is stuck behind Larry Fitzgerald and Boldin. He’s a 2003 first round pick, and he’s going to get an opportunity to get out of Arizona after 07. He is a BIG WR we could really use, but needs some polishing.
2008 Draft Prospectus & Synthesis.
There are a couple of options. This early in the game it is hard to tell where we will end up. We are already 0-2. I think we are either in the top ten of the draft if we bottom out or we are in the top twenty if we tread water. We are not a playoff team. Rather, it isn’t in our best interest — draft position-wise — to overachieve again…
If we are a top 10 draft picking team, we should be licking our chops. We have some pretty nice talents there. If we are a top twenty pick, we should be licking our chops. We have needs all over, we’ll have a nice choice — with the option of trading up using players as fodder. There are several players on our roster that fall in the category of “game-chips”. If the FO is smart, they’ll cash some of them in.
I don’t think the Jets will opt for a LG — by far, our biggest need — in the top margin of the first round. This team doesn’t have good habits as far as drafting, developing and then keeping high draft pick linemen by signing them after their rookie contracts expire. After drafting 2 OL two years ago in the first frame, and then passing on so many last year, I get the feeling, just a feeling, that we’re done there for a while. It is possible to trade down or back up, and most likely, hopefully, I think we will be active in FA, getting either Ruben Brown or Al Faneca to make up for the Kendall Faux Pas. This draft is going to assume that we sign Alan Faneca to a hearty contract, probably overpaying.
If we are in or close to the top ten, I would expect to get a really great player. A five star elite blue-chipper. I think that 6′8″ DE Calais Campbell will come out, but I don’t think we will be in a position for him. We’d have to trade up. We will have the opportunity to trade our pick plus Jon Vilma for a potentially special someone like Campbell. The FO was successful in their draft strategy last year: aggressively trading up multiple times to cherry-pick “their guys”. Don’t be surprised if it happens again. If not at the top of the 1st frame, then perhaps at the middle, bottom, or in the second.
If not, shucks. We’ll settle for one of the other outstanding college DE juniors: Derrick Harvey, Tyson Jackson or Vernon Gholston. Or Senior, electric Quenton Groves. Of this group all would be LBs except Tyson Jackson, who would stay at DE, eventually replacing Ellis.
Round 2 will have some OL prospects drop, like most every year they do. And we could have some choice yet to pounce on the likes of Will Arnold or Tevaga, even by trading back up, or Schuening or Grimes by staying pat. With Faneca we’d have leverage here. An OG draft pick could compete with Brandon Moore for the starting spot. And Jake the Snake Bender won’t have to transition to guard. Hopefully he is the RT of the future, but there’s also Gosder Cherilous and Barry Richardson that we’d consider here.
Without further ado, here is the read out:
major FA signings: Al Faneca, LG; Bernard Berrian, WR.
trades: Jon Vilma will be traded for a second rounder, or compounded with a draft pick to move up. Mccareins for beans. Perhaps Pennington for a hubcap.
Draft:
1: Vernon Gholston, OLB/ILB, OSU. Terror from the edge (at around 12)
2: Jasper Brinkley, ILB, USC. 6′2″ 258. Along with David Harris, will make running up the gut a little tougher. (Vilma’s Pick, @ 33 - 39 )
2: Mike Jenkins, CB, USF. Injuries make this a necessary pick. Plus he’d be a steal here. Great Size, Huge upside. (@ 44)
3: Kendall Langford, DE, Hampton. 6′6″ small school guy who I think has major upside, but might fall due to lack of experiene at high competition. (@ 70)
4: Maurice Purify, WR, Nebraska. 6′4″, Big Strong WR.
5: Doug Legursky, C/OG, Marshall. Experience at G and C, nice size and upside.
6: Mike Fladell, OG, Rutgers. Our future starting guard for decades… 
7: Frank Morton, NT, Tulane. Yeah Hello.
loosely considered opening day roster:
offense:
WR: Coles
WR: Cotch
WR: Berrian
WR: Purify
WR: Smith
WR: Stuckey
RB: TJ
HB: Leon
FB: who cares
QB: Clemens
QB: Penny
QB: Tui
TE: Baker
TE: Ryan
LT: Brick
LG: Faneca
RG: Fladell
G/CR: Legursky
CR: Mangold
RG: Moore
G: Clarke
RT: Clement
RT: Bender
defense:
CB: Revis
CB: Jenkins
CB: Dyson
CB: Coleman
S: Rhodes
S: Coleman
S: Coleman
S: Washington
OLB: Gholston
OLB: B. Thomas
OLB: Hobson
OLB: Bowens
ILB: Harris
ILB: Brinkley
ILB: Barton
DE: Ellis
DE: Coleman
DE: Langford
DT: DWR
DT: Mosely
DT: Pouha
DT: Morton
sound plausible?
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////
What is the bottom line? Personnel, Personnel, Personnel. Whipping a horse will only go so far. Eventually that horse needs to be taken to the trough.
Pumping this team up with boxing videos worked last year like a steroid. At some point this team is going to have to function dispassionately, without using inspirational motivation as a crutch. It has to begin utilizing its personnel, relying on itself and only itself: proper personnel in proper schemes for that personnel, put in places to succeed. And then executing. Yes, organizations need motivation, inspiration. But the rush can only take you so far, and then when the rush bottoms out, and you bottom out, you are exposed to be the mediocrity you are.
This organization needs to take that horse, that dog, out to the shed, and behind that shed, put it out of its misery. Start fresh. Really, genuinely start fresh. Coaches and players.
There is no such thing as “rebuilding”, and what I am saying is not to rebuild. The only relevant frame of reference is the process of continual building. Of sharpening the blade when it gets dull.
I don’t care how many 0-2 teams the 07 Jets beat. The only lesson to take from last year is that this team accomplished what it accomplished on fumes. Those fumes ran out in January and let me ask you fellow jet fans, have we been competitive since then? What a fall from grace.
The Jets have lost three straight, going back to last year, all against playoff caliber teams, teams that the jets have no right being mentioned in the same breath as. Go ahead, drink your lemonade. Things have yellowed in Jetland.
This Jet is a lemon. While things looked good at the end yesterday, don’t be fooled. There are so many of the most important pieces out of place for this team to compete on the level we want, and so many more ready to fall out of place, due to age. Therefore, fellow jet fans, keep a close eye on this season to watch our guys grow. Maybe they can string enough W’s vs 0-2 teams together, and maybe beat a good team. Maybe they’ll squeak into the playoffs again, heroically. Good for them if they do, it won’t last long. Keep one eye on the future fellow jet fans, this isn’t the same team you’ll be watching for the years to come. Its ornery top has to be dismantled, and the foundation built up. Herm and his entire vestige has to be exorcised.
The Herm guys that are designed for another system but are still on this team have to be absorbed into the Mangini way, or phased out. Bottom line. If Mangini wants to win with his system, he needs his players. And he needs to play HIS players.
Find out who works here and who doesn’t. Work on those that work, and discharge the rest.
Parcells leftovers:
Pennington (who belongs with the Herm guys)
Ellis
Coles
Herm leftovers:
B. Thomas
Baker
D-Rob
Hobson
Vilma
Cotchery
Adrian Jones
E Coleman
Cavka
R Washington
Nugent
Miller
Pouha
Rhodes
Dreeson
Barton (FA 2004)
Barret (FA 2004)
Brandon Moore (FA 2002)
Tangini: correct the mistakes. There are almost too many problems to address at once, and I fear for this.
Tannenbaum has made some really egregious mistakes that have really grounded this team. I’m not sure there is an excuse, but they all fall in the spilt milk category. Free agents unsigned, players let go. lack of diplomacy and nuance. These problems are in the past, and we have to deal with them now. Tannenbaum has made his fair strokes of genius ala Abe, but what have we learned? Mr T is not infallible, and his overconfidence, his hubris has really hurt this team. he needs to be 1- accountable but 2- we should realize that he is no veteran, he’s young and he’ll learn. he’d better.
Mangini. Mangini has the tools to be successful coach. But he has to himself stick to his principles, his Manginiisms, his core Jet values. And he may learn that he himself has to evolve and be versatile. Trust, Communication, Focus, Finish. Add his laundry list of what makes a Mangini player: Smart, Tough, Versatile, Football-Is-Important-To-Them. Revise it to includeTalented at the top, and Nasty right below it.
One of his defensive mantras is versatility. He himself has to remain flexible with his personnel. They aren’t a fit for his 34. Why the stiff immovable stance from the 34? Be flexible. Show some versatility with the scheme, and not just peppering it in there. Show a commitment to attending to developing plausible ideas. The 34 is an implausible idea right now. It’s broken, therefore, fix it. Trust your personnel to execute the jobs they were brought in for.
How about Smarts? I don’t care if a player isn’t smart enough to write his own name. If he plays like Ray Lewis, or like Adalius Thomas, or like Randy Moss, I want no stone left unturned in getting them on this team. I want a competent nasty team. I want to watch football, not a ballet chess match. Mangini really needs to learn that there is no substitute for skill and talent. No level of brains can replace it.
Another Manginiism is Focus. This team seems to completely lack focus, and sharpness. They are sloppy. Not even remotely close to being as polished a team as last year’s squad. Has Mangini himself lost a little bit of his focus? I think he has, and it shows in the team lack of execution.
Finish. The. Job. Mangini. He rested on his laurels. He did it. Last year it was every position open, let the best man win. It was winning on inspirational fumes and freshness of perspective. Today, we have pieces in place that are complete liabilities, and a team that platys scared, can’t tackle, can’t block, and apparently, can’t coach. Turn over the roster to find what works. Why did we draft David Harris if he’s not going to play? Pat Willis is able to come in a play, Poz, but Harris — who has looked pretty phenomenal when in — can’t get in the game over all of these Herm guys? Brad Smith? Leon Washington? All of a sudden, positions are set, andnot up for grabs? Fundamental football — tackling, blocking, pursuit, on and on, all sorely missing from this team. Scheme. No pass rush. Where’s the creativity? Where’s Rhodes, Bryan Thomas? Why haven’t they been a focus schemed into the games? That is all on focus and finishing.
The OL and DL get pushed around like a leaf in the wind. And there is no short fix. The secondary is perforated. As is the run game, pass-pro, and the strategy…
The immediate problems:
Defense:
Secondary needs attention
Drafting Revis looks brilliant until you look across to the other CB spot and the rest of the defensive roster. Revis is a powder-keg waiting to explode. But all a team has to do at this point is throw the other way. Revis will get his tackles, but he won’t get tested when Barrett, Miller, or whomever is a willing sacrifice on the other side. The respect Revis is getting is amazing. Two games in, he’s our #1 CB and QBs avoid him. Look at McCallister. Look at Asante. What makes those secondaries successful? A shutdown CB with the additional competent CB opposite him. Hobbs and Rolle make those secondaries dangerous to pass on. Right now, Revis can’t do anything from where he is. It sounds crazy, but if Dyson can’t stay healthy, CB has to be a priority to addressed — and soon. No one on this board will argue against this. We’ve all seen what Barrett and Miller have done to this team. They are the weakest link. Rhodes needs to be schemed into the game. And he needs to get with it in coverage…he hasn’t been sharp.
2008 FA: Randall Gay, NE, Chad Scott, NE, Tory James, NE, BJ Sams, BAL
DL needs attention
D-Rob. Time to say goodbye. It really is time. Unless we switch back to a 43. he really needs to go, but it is so hard to find NTs and then to develop them takes years, that again, there is no short way around. The defense will be mediocre for some time barring a major event. Ellis = serviceable. I wonder if his faults are partly due to Drob’s inefficacy. I mean what if he had Wilfork next to him? Coleman. He’s here for good. He’s “a Mangini guy”. Build around him then. Pouha. Mosely. Are these guys going to play? Or do we cut them? Your move Eric.
2008 FA: Justin Smith, CIN (only 275 but stout), Jared Allen, KC, (LB?), Tommy Kelly, OAK, Paul Spicer, CAR
LB corp
Look at what NE has done, what SF has done, what Balt has done. They are big, relentless, nasty, talented, they crash the LOS, they shuck guards, they get to the QB. Some of them like Pat Willis are drafted. Some like Junior Seau are revived. They probably couldn’t fold a paper airplane with their collective IQ. Its not that it matters, this game isn’t paper airplanes we’re playing. Or is it? The LBs are supposed to be the strength of this defense. Where’s the strength? Why do we bring in Brad Kassell and Matt Chatham when the other guys are bringing in Adalius Thomas? Why are we drafting Harris and not playing him when the other guys are drafting Pat Willis and starting them? This guy is 34 model LB? Play him for crying out loud. Trade Vilma and play Harris. Quit fricking *****footing!
2008 FA: Terrell Suggs, BAL, Justin Smith, CIN, (I doubt he could be converted to LB but he’s prototypical size…), Karlos Dansby, ARZ, (6′4″ 250), Jared Allen, KC, Teddy Bruschi, NE (yeah riiight)
Offense:
Coles isn’t going to last forever, he’ll be 30 and 9 months — pushing towards 31 entering next September. Cotch is coming into his own, but McCraphands has terminal dropsies and Brad Smith is obviously not developing fast enough. This team sorely lacks a big target, and a downfield target. it means so much for a QB to have some semblance of size and speed as one of the options. Stuckey isn’t that guy. WR is pushing itself higher and higher on our laundry list.
2008 FA: Bernard Berrian, CHI, Bryant Johnson, ARZ (6′3″).
OT, OG
This team desperately needs an infusion of size and talent. I don’t care where it comes from, but it has to come. I wanted Blalock in rd 1 of last year. Kendall, of all the Herm guys, was the least replaceable. Nothing else to say but we stink. if there’s one place not to stink its at OL, especially in a division with Jason Taylor, Schobel, and the Patriots.
2008 FA: Rubern Brown, CHI, AL Faneca, PIT, Ryan Lilja, IND, Max Starks, PIT, Floyd WOmack, SEA. Among others. I hope to sign at least one big name OL. It *needs* to be done for pass-pro, for running, and to cash in on the Thomas Jones trade…
Thomas Jones is also getting up in age, he’s 28 now and will be 29 going into next September. We got used to Curtis’s consistency, but RBs in this league have a short life. We essentially have [B]no 3rd RB…[/B]
~
Hopefully we’ll get to watch Clemens develop, but with Chad entrenched…
Don’t fool yourselves. this team is a lemon. enjoy the lemonade, if you can find some sugar! In all reality, jets fans, it’s back to the drawing board.
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////
But there was a code of silence: either teams couldn’t catch the fly, or they didn’t mind the bug too much. Maybe they were also doing it. Maybe its endemic to the league. Maybe they just didn’t have the time. We do know this: there was a code of silence that has now been shattered.
Bellichick and that whole organization now has to pick up the shards of that mirror broken into a pile of sh!t, and their hands will get bloody and dirty.
How is it possible that they did not conceive of this contingency if they did not presume the code of silence would be broken. That Mangini would rat on the Godfather?
Obviously, Mangini will be seen as a rat by that organization. Fine, who cares. A rat is a greater creature than a pile of sh!t.
But I want to know what the other teams will view this. Do they see Mangini as a Hero — I mean this would be on the level of…Eliot Ness busting Al Capone. And Capone wasn’t even caught red-handed. They got him for tax-evasion. Did the Jets soar to Heroic levels in brining down this beast?
We all know that whistle-blowers aren’t loved in the industries and games they blow whistles in. They often need governmental protection…It is also possible that the league may view this as a matter of fact. Ala Tomlin, “We all knew they did it.” But they didn’t talk. Mangini talked. Mangini broke the mirror, and the illusion has splintered. Some will say the integrity of the game is damaged (who knows how this will effect the league long-term???), and that it was better to leave an unbroken system unfixed, and just turn the head, after all — “did the jets actually think they were going to win, they lost and would have lost regardless“, they’ll say. They’ll say, “for this little internecine feud, a petty thing among petty men, the entire league has been damaged…” And to them, it may indeed appear a petty, inter-family fight that has now gone and set fire to the entire neighborhood…
Additional thought: Is it possible that there were others (owners, coaches)complicit in the counter-ops ring whose mission was to nab this snake?
In other words, did others in the league give support to Mangini beforehand, possibly saying like: “this is your house to put in order Eric, you’re the only one who can do it, and have it come off clean”? That would be incredible.
Finally, regardless of the W or L, this victory on the field was a pyhrric one for the Patriots. And it may have brought down this beast for good. We don’t know. The organization’s heroics go far beyond the field, or the stat-book.
This is potentially the final tragic chapter for that Paper Dynasty. A Final complete victory for Mangini in the war he didn’t begin, but finished like Bruce Lee on Kareem Abdul Jabbar.
Would this be the {second} greatest Victory in Jet’s Annals? Ironically in a game we got demolished in?
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////
If leon washington couldn’t get throught the six-inch holes, a “normal” RB wouldn’t either.
What do you do then? You get a wrecking ball to smash open a hole, and drive the civic through.
In other words, it’s on the OL.
Did anyone see Brian Westbrook today? Is he a “real-type RB” everyone is craving, whereas Leon isn’t?
No he’s not.
Runyan went back to Philly, and he would have been our biggest, most impactful FA signing, hands down. But it wasn’t meant to be.
Get a John Runyan type football player on the OL, and your problem is solved.
But why? If we had 5 guys like Runyan, or rather of Runyan’s size, on the line would we be getting beaten up and down the field by the Patsies? And we did. We got a good ol fashioned butt-whooping - on both sides of the ball.
Why, the reason is simple. Lets examine the Philadelphia Eagles line and compare it to ours, your beloved Jets.
EAGLES:
RT: John Runyan - 6′7″ 330 lbs
RG: Shawn Andrews - 6′4″ 340 lbs
C: Jamaal Jackson - 6′4″ 330 lbs
LG: Todd Herreman - 6′6″ 321 lbs
LT: William Thomas - 6′7″ 335 lbs
JETS:
RT: Anthony Clement - 6′8″ 320 lbs
RG: Brandon Moore - 6′3″ 295 lbs
C: Nick Mangold - 6′4″ 300 lbs
LG: Pete Kendall - 6′5″ 292 lbs
LT: D’Brickashaw - 6′6″ 312 lbs
It should be plain and obvious that there is a massive disparity in size. The Eagles smallest lineman {Herreman 321} is larger than our largest {Clement 320}.
The Eagles Gross Tonnage is 1656 lbs. to the Jets Gross Tonnage 1519 lbs. which may not seem so salient until you view the teams’ average lineman.
The Eagles Avg. Lineman’s Weight is 331 and one-fifth lbs. and very consistent across the entire sample.
The Jets Avg. Lineman’s Weight is 303.8 lbs., but is heavily skewed by Clement’s size {320}.
In fact, upon closer analysis, the Jets have two lineman — interior lineman, Kendall and Moore — that are below the 300 lb watermark. And Mangold is right at that 300 lb. watermark.
The interior of the lines are possessed of the sharpest distinctions:
The Eagles interior - 340, 330, 321 - {991 Gross}, Avg 330 and one-third lbs.
The Jets interior - 295, 300, 292 - (887 Gross}, well below the watermark, Avg 295 and two-thirds lbs.
***********
The Team, Jets fans, need desperately to shore up our OL with some weight. This doesn’t mean our guys aren’t good. But as a composite, as a 5-point constellation, as a whole unit, the Jets don’t pack the punch and are weak in girth at two key spots. As individuals, we have some talent, some, albeit long-in-tooth, which means that all the more so, do we need to address the issue promptly.
Or we will continue to get punched in the mouth by bigger, tougher fighters like the Patriots…
To all of you who think that a “Real” RB is going to make the difference, that the root of the disease is the RB we have, I believe you are sadly mistaken.
If you think otherwise, riddle me this:
How do you drive a pick-up through a three-foot alleyway?
When a honda civic can’t get through it?
Wouldn’t it be wiser to bring in the construction crew with a wrecking-ball to open that hole?
If you’ve got no hole, you’ve just wasted, your time, your money, and your effort on a bigger back, who will be running, all the more so, into walls.
Don’t mistake a symptom for the actual disease.
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////
The same can be said for the Safety position which appears to have fortified itself the past few weeks with Kerry Rhodes playing All-Pro ball, and Eric Coleman playing in 2004 form and Eric Smith flashing some brilliance {that was ES on the {FF} on Benson that was reversed…}
So, I’m curious what people think. Where has the most pressing concern shifted to on our team?
Here is where I think priorities have shifted:
#1: With a defense that emphasizes attack, it leave the CBs on an island — with less S help. The past 2 weeks Brady and Grossman have attacked Drew Coleman hardcore, especially when we are blitzing. Naturally of course, he’s a rookie, and a mediocre talent. Additionally, Andre Dyson is fragile and we completely lack depth at CB. Miller has proven to be unreliable, and Barrett, I wouldn’t expect back eith the Jets next year. Buuut. If we had another truly sound cover corner opposite Dyson {or in case of injury}, One, our attacking style defense would cause much more havoc on offenses, giving less of an outlet, and Two, when QBs try to make that throw on a blitz or on third down, we have much more likelihood of PD or INT.
Right now, CB is borderline liability. DC could develop, as could Miller. But what if we had a blue chip talent like Asante Samuel? Or Darrelle Revis? Or Leon Hall, or Hughes, McCauley, or Josh Wilson?
#2: While we have seen a dramatic turn around in terms of stoutness from the front three on defense, especially from Dewayne Robertson, all three positions appear to be underperforming. The one player that needs immently to be replaced is KVO. Flat out: We need a 3-4 end, and we need one bad. I’ve been impressed with Rashad Moore’s effort, with Ellis’s effort, but lets be real, all positins along the line can get better. Starting with one at a time. Although I am a big Alan Branch advocate, I don’t think we’ll be remotely in the region to draft when he comes out. If he declares this year IMO he’s a sure top ten pick. If next year, a legit #1 overall…
But there are plenty of capable DTs and DE’s that might come in as impact players. Pitcock, Alford, Okoye, Tyler, Carriker, McDonald, Atkins, etc. are the best of the lot.
If we can improve Kimo’s slot, i think we are in infinitely better condition, and will put our guys in the bets shape to make plays.
#3: WR. Was Brad Smith supposed to be a WR? Because he’s not. He’s a ST standout that has a more and more diminished role in the normative offense. Coles and Cotch are both very nice players playing lights out selfless ball. But neither is a match-up nightmare for opposing defenses. Neither is a deep threat per se. What if we had say, Jeff Samardjiza as our #2, or #3 WR? Think Pennington/Clemens would like that? What if we had a true burner like Johnnie Lee Higgins? We’d all love Calvin Johnson, and a handful of other JR WR talents out there. It would open up our latent passing game immensely, which has fallen into the realm of pure possession. But it could be explosive.
#4: OLB: LB play is the most improved group outside of OL. Barton is a good LB, 4-3 or 3-4, he is the heart of our LB corp. Hobson has played the best of all LBers the past two weeks, and it’s hardly close. If I were to mentione the name Farrior to you in the same context as Hobson, what would you think? It has been a pleasure watching this guy develop. And remember — he’s still so young. He can play OLB or ILB, and he’s a keeper. BT — another blossom on the branch. In a contract year. Vilma, an underperformer but yet the brain of our LB corp. And we have capable backups in Chatham and Kassell. But this 07 class is so deep in Pass Rush OLB, we cold use the depth and we can use the play maker. Woodley, Crowder, Bazuin, Spencer, on and on, there are guys out the wazoo deep in this draft worth noting…
#5: if not higher, K. Nugent is a bust and the CS doesn’t trust him. End of story. We need to replace Mike Nugent. He affects both field position — the silent killer, as well as the fundamental approach of an offense. We saw twice today Mangini opt — in a possession game!!! — to leave it to the defense rather than try a FG….
–> I really think Mangini and Co. are going to build a dominant defense first and an explosive offense. We need to upgrade several key positions of blatant weakness, and upgrade a few more of liability.
originally published here.
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Chad Pennington Will Win Comeback Player of the Year in 2006
6/22/06
PREFACE
In the beginning was a mystery, of which nothing was known but the shape of the frame the puzzle would go in.
CHAPTER ONE
Last year was a freak-show anomaly death-scene mass-suicide. For the Jet-world it was a violent process of unlearning what we previously thought we knew. The data we possessed was outdated, and irrelevant. It was pure and unadulterated, simple, utter negation in one fell-swoop, from the moment the season began, from the very first play, coupled with a slow, drawn out atrophy for the remainder of the season, as each wheel was loosened and careened away into the crevice of a burning canyon winding down into the parched nothingness of death, some thousands of miles below where Brooks Bollinger was found throwing darts, and where Curtis Martin chased after wind. Eventually, the angry scorched earth consumed the entire team, its boob for a GM, the evil shepherds that led this flock and called the plays, even the Manhattan stadium; all dropped into nothingness, and everything was thick, black and dark.
Then, there was the sound of sirens, of feet and scribbling hands, of rain and thunder. A posse of cops measured out a form and then drew a figure in white chalk on the damp, dank, grainy sidewalk. Yet soon they also left the scene, disinterested and puzzled….
This is true, perhaps, as a generalized statement and it is most true in a highly specific way - but a healthy and full-go Chad Pennington is still the ideal starter for the NY Jets in 2006.
CHAPTER TWO
The natural assumption that the vast majority of the world is now making is that the Jets must suck in 2006. No ifs ands or buts. Pennington or no Pennington. Jets must suck. They are not earmarked for success in any regard. They do not have license to be successful. They are “predetermined” to be a terrible, despicable, wretched team. Any deviation from this dispensation would surely be a “Cinderella story”. That is the corporate response to the mystery. And it makes sense.
But — and this essay doesn’t posit a cinderella story — it’s no stretch of the imagination to say that there are usually teams that surprise, and players that surprise, each year, year in, year out; teams or players that no one has previously earmarked for success (or failure) that flourish.
Teams or players can come out of nowhere, their ascents not telegraphed, their successes and dominions nothing short of surprising. Drew Brees, Kurt Warner, Tom Brady and the Pats franchise, Rich Gannon, Phil Simms, Lofa Tatupu, the Bears last year.
Likewise, the media tries, year in, year out to telegraph certain player’s breakouts, or a team’s rise to dominance. They’ve been telegraphing the Cardinals wrap-up of the NFC West for several years in a row, but it never pans out (but this year…). The Bills are supposed to breakout every year and topple New England and make the playoffs. The Cowboys are always inflated with hot air. JP Losman is the next John Elway; Mike Williams is the new paradigm, Ki-Jana Carter is a beast….
CHAPTER THREE
Back to the Jets, summer of 2006. All is well. After the storm; calm, quiet, a slight drizzle. The Kool-Aid is long gone. Pitter-patter of youth and rebuilding, of Mangini’s fat new face, of the first infantile steps of a new order. But, yet, this is still a team defaced, deranged and scarred from the sound and sober team that defeated the Chargers in SD in the playoffs, and pressed oh so close to the AFC championship game two years ago, and had such high hopes entering last season. Not even the deafening silence Mangini wields can mask this un-eluding fact. And Chad Pennington was the QB of that team; he led that team into SD and into Pittsburgh. He was also playing those games with a torn rotator cuff that required surgery. He accomplished what he accomplished with the aforementioned as an asterik attached, like this: Led team in Playoffs to the cusp (an inch, see Doug :barf: Brien) of the AFC Championship Game*.
If you’ve been able to bear me out thus far, we’ll get to the essence of the matter now. All the talk lately has been will Ramsey beat out Bollinger. Will Ramsey secure a roster spot. Bollinger is as good as Eli Manning. Clemens has looked impressive. Can Pennington start a whole season.
Now, while TC is just the tip of the icberg, the tip of the iceberg alludes to the rest of the hulking form. It informs the body of evidence, and discloses the initial shading and character of the mystery. We are no longer left completely in the dark about the QB situation. We have several facts and perhaps even tendencies, clarified:
The first of which is that Chad is capable of holding a football, moving his arm behind his head, and chucking the ball. And still pretty good at that. Very important that this has been established as a fact. I cannot emphasize how important this fact is.
The second fact is that Kellen Clemens is the real deal. He is the future of the franchise, who probably could, while not ideal, start this year. This fact is of similar, though not equal import, as the fact of Chad’s arm.
The third fact helps to clarify the QB situation greatly, and add form. The fact is that Patrick Ramsey has not been transfigured into an inspirational leader, nor into an accurate passer, and that in all likelihood, he is much closer to Brooks Bollinger than he is to Chad Pennington or Kellen Clemens. Patrick Ramsey, a) because Chad has proven that he still has an arm and b) because of Kellen Clemens’ performance thus far, and c) because of his initial difficulties in TC has become irrelevant. As has Brooks Bollinger, by default:
The fourth fact is that Brooks Bollinger is still the whipping boy of the staff, regardless of the change-over, yet he still won’t go away. This latter fact, combined with the variables that are causing Ramsey’s irrelevance, mean that Brooks will probably battle Patrick Ramsey for the third QB job.
Now that I’ve separated the four Qb’s into two separate strata, we can begin to glimpse the picture I am seeing:
CHAPTER FOUR
If Pennington is even 85% of his old self, he will be the starting QB for the 2006 Jets. And that will be the best thing for the team. For now and for the future. For himself and for Kellen Clemens.
Why Chad, and why not Kellen?
1. Symbolically. Chad Pennington is the symbol of this team. By that I don’t mean he’s the logo or the icon. Well, I really do. But I mean it in the sense of him representing and crystallizing the essence of the Jets Franchise. He is the team, personified. He is given no shot to succeed. He is toughened, burned and scarred from defeat and humiliation, all on the cusp of grandeur. He is the miracle turned into curses. He is the war-veteran with two tours of duty in hell. The pretty boy with a black eye. He is the player with a force of conviction, with the gravity of unfinished business, with a zeal and demeanor of passion. He took the pay cut. He accepted the challenge. He is the connection to the success of the past, and he is determined to reclaim what is his. The team will follow him, unquestionably, he will command their allegiance, and they will crystallize behind him. They will see what this guy has accomplished, and they will assume his gravity, his intent, and his mission. They will play for such a symbol. The QB on roster best suited to take this team to the next level, to the level at least where it was two years ago, the QB best suited to symbolize the entire team and franchise, to inspire his peers and galvanize his younger teammates is Pennington. Chad is the only QB on the roster capable of leading the Jets to the playoffs, and winning there. Moreover, he’s playing for his career at this point. He’s got Clemens and Ramsey breathing down his back, he’s making less money than a golden boy is supposed to. This is his moment, or he’s got nothing, nicht, nada. This is it for him. Under said pressure, I like his chances. Kellen is the symbol of newness, and youth. But also of vast inexperience. His lack of experience coupled with the general inexperience of the “New Order” could prove disasterous for the rest of the team, and painful for the fans…
2. Organizational inexperienceas alluded to above. Pennington, at this point in my construction of the concept of him, would be an invaluable resource for Mangini and for Schottenheimer. A first year HC, and a pubescent OC (a man of some faith, apparently). Pennington would command from the huddle, echoing and reflecting “the new order” to all of the players on the field. Leaders like this are not found everywhere. His experience and savvy will surely ease the transition of the coaches into their new roles, as they are adjusting. He will take pressure and responsibility off of their shoulders, shouldering the burden, and serving as the middle man between them and the rest of the offense. Remember, and this cannot be emphasized more: Mangini and Company are wet behind the ears, and having a successful, experienced, capable QB to manage games, and to synthesize the offense is IMMEASUREABLE.
3. Pennington, as mentor to Kellen Clemens. I am enamored with Clemens. But he should not be starting as a rookie. For his own development, and for the ease of transition of the new regime into their roles, he should be holding a clipboard and watching the Chad Pennington Film Noir Hour, hanging on his very line, studying his every scene. Matt Leinhart has Kurt Warner, Pennington had Vinny, etc. Throwing Clemens into the fire to burn may not be a wise idea. His team is expected to suck, and the line, so heavily invested in, while surely galvanized, could use some time to gel. Pennington, I have always fashioned, would be a great coach. He may be, some day, and it should start this year.
4. Brees and Rivers. Simms and Hostetler. Bledsoe and Brady. Montana and Young. Vinny and Chad. Chad and Kellen. You get the point. Two good Qbs are better than one. All the more so after the season, if Pennington proves capable, and we have two starting, franchise caliber QBs on the roster. This is a point of value. If Pennington is relegated to back-up duty, he will be worth next to nothing. He could be traded after this year, and value could be gained, as opposed to being lost.
CONCLUSION
What Pennington is attempting to do has never even been attempted before. This will be history. It may seem illogical and unreasonable, but the tendency of things, if they follow the paths disclosed recently to their logical ends, Chad Pennington will be the starting QB for the Jets in 2006.
No one sees it coming, but this is like the story of The Phoenix. It will hit them like train screaming out of blackest midnight, like that movie, The Natural.
This will be the solution to the mystery that began as a golden boy came from nowhere to play like Joe Montana.
The chalk-outline that we all see, the chalk we can even taste, the secret to the Jets franchise, is Chad Pennington. The player everyone was forced to forget about.
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Jay Cutler is already the best NFL QB to ever snap on his chin strap
4/28/06
Vanderbilt #19 passing offense in the nation
SEC rushing offense….Cutler doesn’t get much help from his run game…
NCAA player passing, Cutler #5
– –
SEC defensive rankings
passing efficiencey defense
-> notice national rank. 1 of the top 3 teams; 2 of the top 5 teams; 3 of the top 15; 4 of the top twenty; 6 of the top 30….
SEC total defense
-> notice the stat all the way on the right, national rank. 2 of the top 3 nationally; 4 of the top ten in the nation; 6 in the top 20; 9 in the top 35…
SEC passing defense, national rank
-> notuce national rank. 2 of the top ten {3 in 11}; 4 of the top 15; 8 in the top 40.
– –
PAC 10 defensive rankings
passing efficiencey defense, none in top 20
total defense, none in top 40!
pass defense, non in top 65 nationally!
– –
Big 12 defensive rankings {now we have to subtract Texas from these b/c VY never played his own team. {texas is best in conf}}
passing efficiency defence, 4 in top 20, 5 in top 21
total defense, 2 in the top 15, 4 in the top 35
passing defense, 1 in the top 15 nationally.
– –
Draw your own conclusions.
*originally published here.
