NFL Draft 2009 – Round 1 #5 – NY Jets by the way of Cleveland – QB Mark Sanchez

The Jets make a trade with the team whose head coach, Eric Mangini, just worked for them last season. With Bret Favre retired this time for good, NY takes the best quarterback on the board.

Jets trade their second round pick to Cleveland in addition to exchanging their #17 pick in the first round for Cleveland’s #5 pick. There were players exchanged also. I’ll update the post when I get the details.

ESPN writes- Sanchez doesn’t have as much arm strength or the same body of work as Matt Stafford, but on the other hand teams have fallen in love with his intangibles and arm accuracy during the off season. There?s a lot to like about his pocket presence and ability to elude the rush. We are concerned about rushing him into the starting lineup, but if any of this year?s quarterback prospects have the mental toughness to learn on the fly, Sanchez is the one.

Jewish NY Jet fans unhappy about 2009 NFL schedule

Oi Vei!

The New York Jets’ first two home games are against two of the AFC’s elite teams — the New England Patriots and Tennessee Titans. A large segment of the team’s fans might not be able to attend the heavyweight matchups, however.

The Jets’ home opener against the Patriots is scheduled during Rosh Hashanah. The next week, the Jets host the Titans hours before Yom Kippur starts. The conflict with the two holiest holidays on the Jewish calendar may keep the team’s Jewish fans who observe the holidays from attending.

New York boasts the country’s largest Jewish population.

On Wednesday, the Jets called the NFL to complain about the scheduling conflict, according to the New York Daily News.

Howard Katz, who oversees the creation of the NFL schedule, took full responsiblity for the oversight.

“The Jets are hearing from their fans,” Katz, the NFL’s senior VP of broadcasting, told the newspaper. “There was miscommunication between the Jets and the NFL office, for which I take full responsibility. All we can continue to do is look and see if there is a solution to this.”

The Giants requested they play on the road on the two holidays. The Jets did the same, but the message didn’t get through to the league office, Katz told the newspaper.

Rosh Hashanah, which is the Jewish New Year, is observed in 2009 from sundown Sept. 18 (Friday) until sundown on Sept. 20 (Sunday). The Jets play the Patriots at 1 p.m. ET on Sept. 20.

Yom Kippur, which is the Jewish day of atonement, begins at sundown on Sept. 27. The Jets host the Titans at 4:15 p.m. ET on Sunday, Sept. 27.

Is it too simple a solution to change the Sept 27 start time to 1 p.m. so the game won’t be in conflict with the Jewish holiday? Overall I’m in sympathy with the fans, for I grew up following the Jets(Oh those Al Woodall and Rich Caster days) and I have a Jewish brother-in-law.

WR Laveranues Coles signs with the Cincinnati Bengals

A source says the deal is four years and for 28 million dollars. From ESPN-

A day after losing wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh, the Cincinnati Bengals replaced him by agreeing to a contract with former New York Jets wide receiver Laveranues Coles.

Coles agreed to a four-year, $28 million deal, according to a source.

For Coles, it was a victory. He turned down a $6 million guaranteed salary from the Jets. To obtain his freedom, Coles voided the final year of his Jets contract and became a free agent.

*****

“The Bengals were very aggressive right from the start in talking to us,” Coles said, in a statement released by the team. “And when a team makes you feel really wanted, that’s a factor you’re not going to ignore. They said, ‘Let’s get this worked out,’ and we did.”

The 31-year-old Coles caught 631 passes during his nine-year career with the Jets. He had 8,095 yards and 44 touchdown receptions during his career in New York.

****

Houshmandzadeh’s departure left Chad Ocho Cinco and Chris Henry as the two most experienced receivers. The Bengals quickly focused on Coles, who caught 70 passes for 850 yards last season and led the team with seven touchdown catches. He’s replacing one of the NFL’s most reliable receivers — Houshmandzadeh had 112 catches in 2007 and 92 last year, even though Carson Palmer was sidelined for most of the season by an injury to his passing elbow.

Coles is a very good wide receiver but the Bengals stink. I don’t see how this can be considered a good match. Laveranues went for the money and I won’t fault him for that. At least he spared the media and sports fans the usual cliches about picking team because he liked the potential they had.

Bret Favre retires…..again

Is it for real this time?

Without the tearful public ceremony that accompanied his retirement announcement from the Green Bay Packers just 11 months ago, quarterback Brett Favre has told the New York Jets he is retiring.
Best of Mike and Mike

Chris Mortensen and Ed Werder break the news that Brett Favre is retiring from the Jets. Plus, Steve Phillips on A-Rod and Bob Knight on college basketball.

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Favre had instructed his agent, James “Bus” Cook, to inform the Jets on Wednesday that he is retiring. Jets team executives and coach Rex Ryan confirmed the retirement in a statement, saying they talked to Favre on Wednesday morning about his decision.

“I have great admiration for him as a player and a person. I wish him only the best in his life after football,” Ryan said.

In an e-mail to ESPN’s Ed Werder, Favre indicated he had no regrets about finishing his career with the Jets rather than with the Green Bay Packers franchise he represented for his previous 16 NFL seasons. He specifically praised Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum, team owner Woody Johnson and fired coach Eric Mangini — and even mentioned Thomas Jones and Kerry Rhodes, both of whom were publicly critical of Favre after the team’s collapse in the final month of the season prevented the Jets from making the playoffs.

Favre wasn’t the first athlete to retire and then unretire and he won’t be the last. The chance for further glory or more monetary riches, causes men and women alike to give it another try. It is sad when some of them keep playing well past their prime, and end up tainting what was a great career. Favre didn’t get to that point, but could have if he continued to play. Good luck in retirement.

NY Jets hire Baltimore asst Rex Ryan to be next head coach

He replaces the recently Eric Mangini. From AP-

The New York Jets are confident Rex Ryan was worth the wait. The Baltimore Ravens’ defensive coordinator was hired Monday as New York’s coach, three weeks after the Jets fired Eric Mangini following a late-season collapse. “We got the right man for the job,” owner Woody Johnson said in a statement.

It became apparent the 46-year-old Ryan was at the top of the Jets’ list of candidates when several other teams filled their coaching vacancies and New York’s remained open. The Jets needed Baltimore’s season to end — which happened Sunday with a 23-14 loss at Pittsburgh in the AFC championship game — before offering him the job.

Ryan, the son of former NFL coach Buddy Ryan, will be formally introduced at a news conference Wednesday at the Jets’ facility in Florham Park, N.J.

“It’s been a dream of mine to become a head coach in the NFL,” Ryan said in a statement. “Coming here to the New York Jets, where my father once coached and was part of the Super Bowl III staff, is fantastic. I look around at the facilities and the people they have in place and see a first-class organization. I’m just proud to be part of it.”

The Jets announced the hiring, but released no other details. The contract is for four years, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity earlier Monday because the deal had not yet been announced.

Ryan will become the 14th person to take over the Jets and try to repeat Weeb Ewbank’s 1969 Super Bowl III triumph. The first thing New York needs to do is find a quarterback. Bret Favre is no solution.

Cleveland Browns name ballboyEric Mangini head coach

He replaces the recently fired Romeo Crennel. From ESPN-

Eric Mangini, who began his NFL career as a ballboy for the Browns, was introduced as Cleveland’s 12th full-time coach on Thursday, less than two weeks after he was fired by the New York Jets.

After Bill Belichick failed in Cleveland, and Romeo Crennel failed in Cleveland, what could the Browns possibly expect from Eric Mangini? The disciples of Bill Belichick haven’t exactly fared well in the NFL.

The 37-year-old Mangini signed a four-year deal with the Browns, who are rebuilding once again following a 4-12 season that ended with the firings of coach Romeo Crennel and general manager Phil Savage.

*****

Mangini began shagging balls with the Browns in 1994 under then-coach Bill Belichick, who liked the kid’s work ethic and quickly promoted him to a public relations assistant before adding him to the scouting department. Now Mangini’s taking over the job from Crennel, one of his best friends in the game.

*****

Mangini had a tumultuous three years in New York. When he arrived, Mangini inherited a 4-12 team and led them to 10 wins in his first season, prompting New York’s tabloids to dub him “Mangenius.” By the end of his run in the NFL’s largest market, he was being called moody, dour and controlling.

He went 23-25 with one playoff loss in three seasons with the Jets, who started 8-3 this season but lost four of their last five games and missed the playoffs.

Bill Belichick Assistants haven’t had a exemplary record as head coaches in the NFL.
Years W-L Playoff
Romeo Crennel 4 24-40 0-0
Eric Mangini 3 23-25 0-1
Nick Saban 2 15-17 0-0
Al Groh 1 9-7 0-0
Combined win pct: .444

Mangini may have more talent(Brady Quinn) to work with in Cleveland than he did in New York and won’t have the Big Apple media circus to deal with either. Still I’m predicting the Browns to be in the market for another head coach in no more than four years.

NY Jets fire coach Eric Mangini

The NFL regular season isn’t 24 hours old when the first coaching casualties are already taking place. From ESPN-

Eric Mangini is out as head coach of the New York Jets after the team lost four of its last five games to finish out of the playoffs.

The clincher was the Jets’ 24-17 loss to Miami on Sunday that gave the Dolphins the AFC East title.

“We don’t take this decision lightly,” Jets owner woody johnson said at a Monday morning news conference. “We respect Eric for what he’s done but we want to build on the successful foundation he has laid.”

Mangini, 37, was 23-26 in three seasons with the Jets, including 0-1 in the playoffs.

“We’ve made the decision to move on,” Johnson said.

The Jets acquired Brett Favre before the season started and ran off to an 8-3 start. But losses to Denver, at San Francisco, at Seattle and Sunday to the Dolphins left New York on the outside of the playoffs for the second straight season.

The Favre maneuver didn’t work out short term for the Jets, and could be a long-term disaster is Pennington has a few more good years in a Miami uniform. Mangini paid the price for the dumb decision made by Jets management.

Basement to the Penthouse- Miami wins the AFC East with 24-17 win over NY Jets

What a ride the 2008 season was for Dolphin fans after the despair of last season. First I must mention my pre-season prediction for the Fins.

I safely think they can win 4 or 5 games. More is possible because the schedule is weak, but Miami on the other hand has too many gaping holes still.

Miami’s win today makes the team 11-5 for the year and headed to the playoffs for the first time since 2002.

Some notes about today’s, the playoff picture, and next week’s game.

*- Bret Favre threw two costly interceptions and three INTs overall. One was run back for a touchdown by Philip Merling, the other ended a Jet drive with less than five minutes to go in the game.

Both were terrible throws. The first Favre was trying to complete a screen pass to a running back that was covered. Merling was all over Leon Washington and the pass should have never been thrown. The late interception came when the Jets were running the hurryup offense and trying to catch the Dolphins unprepared. Instead the Jets wide out wasn’t ready and Favre threw it straight at a Miami defensive back. Dumb, dumb, dumb! The Jets had plenty of time and there was no need to run the hurryup.

*- Chad Pennington made it through an entire 16-game season for only the second time. Favre is on the AFC Pro Bowl team with the same amount of INTs as touchdown throws and Pennington isn’t going. What is wrong with this picture?

*- Miami ties the biggest single season by a NFL team. Ten wins, which was also done by the Indianapolis Colts.

*- Dolphin special teams were a mixed bag, which I guess is a improvement over the disasters early in the year. Two bad snaps on punts, one that Fields couldn’t come down leading to excellent field position by the Jets were in a negative column, on the plus side was a blocked punt by Miami. When was the last time the Dolphins did that?

*- Ted ‘Draft bust‘ Ginn had two catches for 71 yards. They were big plays. A bomb from Pennington, and a touchdown catch. 56 catches for the year, 790 yards and two touchdowns. Brady Quinn on the other hand threw 2 touchdowns, two interceptions and had a passer rating of 66.6 this year. If I got to eat crow for my wrong pre-season prediction, Dan Arkush should too.

*- Will Bill Parcells be back next year to help run Miami’s front office. ESPN reports the ‘Big Tuna’ has a out clause in his contract.

*- The AFC playoff picture for next week.

Baltimore at Miami
Indianapolis at San Diego/Denver winner

The first game’s winner will then play at Pittsburgh. Whoever wins the second game will play at Tennessee.

*- Head to head versus other playoff teams in the AFC, Miami is 1-1. They beat San Diego and Denver each, only one of who will be playing next week, and lost to Baltimore. Miami also lost to the only NFC bound playoff team it faced.(Arizona)

*- Miami achieved 11 wins, but the schedule at the end of the year was weak. Games against KC, Seattle, Oakland, San Francisco, all teams that struggled mightily this year. Denver, NY Jets, and Buffalo all came in at .500 or better this year, but weren’t exactly impressive when their spot on the Miami schedule came up.

*- Can Miami sell out the playoff game to prevent a local blackout? The last two times the Dolphins played a home playoff game a sellout didn’t take place.

*- Why was the broadcast breaking up early in the first quarter? I’ve seen this happen in other Dolphin games this year. The problem wasn’t with Directv(which I have) because the local television put up a station page during a outage that took place. Whatever the problem is, CBS is at fault.

Mike Holmgren wins last home game as Seattle coach, beat NYJ 13-3

It has been a rough final for the only coach to ever take the Seahawks to the Super Bowl. From AP-

Seattle’s Maurice Morris sliced through the snow like a sled for a season-high 116 yards and John Carlson scored the only touchdown on a short pass from backup Seneca Wallace as the lowly Seahawks ended New York’s stay atop the AFC East with a 13-3 upset Sunday.

“Three points is obviously not enough. There are a lot of reasons for that,” Favre said. “We are well aware of what opportunities that have been there for us. That’s what’s disappointing.”

Holmgren, who’s taking a sabbatical from football in 2009, walked around the edge of the field with tears in his eyes immediately after the second win in eight games for Seattle (4-11). Green Day’s “Time of Your Life” blared over the public-address system amid a weird scene of snowballs pelting down around the 60-year-old coach.

The Jets go to 0-4 for west coast games this year with this defeat. The slumping Jets who were once 8-3 and atop the AFC East can only make the playoffs if they beat the Miami Dolphins and Buffalo beats New England next weekend.

I grew up following the Jets, so whenever they and Miami play I have mixed feelings. Its my hope either one of Jets or Dolphins win the AFC East and the cheating defending champs are knocked out of the picture by Buffalo.