"Neon" Leon Washington...

#29 Leon Washington was a 4th round pick in 2006. At the end of 05' Herm Edwards was effectively traded to the Chiefs and we received this pick that was used on Washington. He has been an excellent value contributing on offense and special teams. He deserves a modest contact extension, but his name being mentioned with someone like Maurice Jones-Drew is ridiculous. Lets break it down. 

MJD has averaged 1300 yards rushing/receiving since his rookie year which was also 06'. He has proven to be an every down back who can run up the middle. He had over 500 yards receiving last year and is a true dual threat.  The Jaguars dismissed Fred Taylor and gave MJD a proper contract extension. 

On the other hand, Neon Leon had approximately 900 yards rushing/receiving his rookie season, and his numbers have declined since then in these categories. He has emerged as a pro-bowl special teams player and can change a game in one play. Punt returners don't get 6 million a season. Washington should accept a modest raise from 500 thousand to maybe 1.5 a year. A four year 6 or 7 million dollar deal with 2 to 3 million signing bonus is fair.

If Leon wants his 25 million dollar pay day he needs to show this year that he can put up at least 1,000 yards on the ground and 500 catching the ball. He needs over 200 carries and to prove he can take the pounding. He simply has not shown enough. Until he takes Thomas Jones starting job this organization is crazy to pay him.

I have faith in Mr washington. I'm not saying he can't be the next Brian Westbrook... but I need to see some proof before he gets paid. 

  

You are not Bill Belichick.. you're just his caddy...

Does Tiger Woods caddy think that he can walk on a coarse or into a club house and command the same respect as the big guy? I'm sure he does not. Why is it that every Belichick disciple who gets a chance to head up a football program walks in like they have his reputation and juice? If your name is anything but 'Billy B' you can not turn your nose up to the media and the players and expect them to fall in line. If you have two or three super-bowl rings by association they don't count for anything. They might get you an opportunity, but thats it. 

What's happening right now in Kansas City, Denver and Cleveland is very sad. Players are being traded, demanding trades, not showing up to OTA's, and are generally miserable and alienated. Let me explain why Billy B is who he is, and why he can act they way he does. Please don't mistake my view of B.B.'s stature as respect. I have no respect for him or how he got to the top. 

Belichick was a very well respected defensive coordinator for the world champion NY Giants and got a shot to be a head coach for the Browns in the early 90's. He was fired after a few seasons because of his lack of personality and a very public falling out with QB Bernie Kosar the fan favorite. He had a promising start in Cleveland but eventually lost the team and the ownership had no choice but to dump him (does this sound familiar Mr. Mangini?)

He re-established himself as the best defensive coordinator in the league building and running two amazing squads in New England and here in NY. He worked his way back up to the top of the list of potential head coach candidates. After a weird turn of events in NY he landed back with the Pats. His first season was nothing special. In 2001 his starting QB went down and Tom Brady took over. 

It is a proven fact that the Patriots video taped defenses so they could pass on their opponents defensive calls to the QB during the game. This can make a very average QB with a strong arm into a perennial pro-bowler and a super-bowl champion. This type of advantage is invaluable. Brady emerged and Belichick became a legend. Therefore he can behave however he likes because this league is all about being number one; no one remembers who lost the super bowl.

Thats the whole story. Belichick is a brilliant coach, but he got to the top by cheating. The video taping and the 'spygate' scandal are proven facts. I am confident Billy B has bent the rules in many other ways that have been covered up. Make no mistake, Roger Godell and the NFL covered up the extent of the 'spygate' scandal in order to preserve the integrity of those 3 super bowl wins.

So on this mans coat tales his assistants, or 'caddys', are spread out across the NFL and college football and for the record... they haven't won a thing. Maybe they should steal their own championships before they become monsters.          

Brian Scottenheimer...

Brian Schottenheimer is a good young coach. Rex Ryan is a very good coach and a people person. After the 2005 season which was Herm Edwards final as our head man (Thank you Jesus) the Jets had their sights set on one target: Eric Mangini the defensive coordinator of the New England Patriots. Well, we know how that played out. 

Our biggest problem heading into the 2006 season was our new head coach trying to assemble a coaching staff. We ended up with Bob Sutton as our defensive coordinator (by default) and we lucked out by landing a young QB coach from San Diego with quite a nice pedigree to take over our offense.

I realize now that Eric's total lack of a personality did our team a disservice in more than one way. Top assistant coaches from around the league avoided this block head and the only way we could score any quality free agents was by paying them ridiculous amounts of cash. Our new coach has a magnetic personality and it is already paying dividends.  

Not only did we score Bart Scott, Jim Leonard, Mike Pettine, and Denis Thurman from the Ravens, he also retained Schottenheimer who was disgruntled after being passed over for the head coaching spot. Brian had one foot out the door and made calls to over a dozen colleagues who had worked with Rex trying to get one bad word or any negative feedback. After that failed he went for a meeting, again intending it only as a formality. After 10 minutes with Rex he was on board 100% and our coaching staff was complete. 

Rex is giving Brian the freedom and respect that he was given last year in Baltimore. He focused the meeting on what the two men had in common and made him realize that he was going to be working for a winner.  As I watch player after player demanding new contracts in Cleveland and trying to abandon the ship like rats I breathe a sigh of relief.

Rex has a long way to go to prove he can be as good a head coach as he was a coordinator, but one thing we know for sure.... we are better off now than we were last season. 

Bad character and off-the-filed issues...

I was thinking about some of the high talent, low character players in this league. One of my favorite running backs of the past decade was Travis Henry. The former Bills/Broncos/Titans stand out is the poster child for what not to do as a professional athlete. He has 9 children with multiple different women, he has had child support issues, was suspended indefinitely for multiple violations of the NFL drug abuse policy and was arrested in September for drug trafficking. I love the way he plays the game. He's a hard nosed back who has amazing vision and looks for contact. He really ruined what could have been an amazing career. 

Chad "Ocho Cinco" Johnson from the Bengals is another player who's stock has dropped dramatically. I wonder if he has gotten a bad rap. I know he's flashy but he seems sincere about wanting to win. I think a change of scenery could make a difference for this diva. The Bengals are one of the most mismanaged and poorly coached teams in this league. Maybe he's not crazy for wanting out. Would I take him here? I'd give up a 4th round pick or Thomas Jones straight up. He could probably help Sanchez's learning curve. If you can 'buy low' in this scenario it could pay off much like the Randy Moss trade did for the Pats. 

Apparently Chris Henry, the other troubled WR from Cincinnati, is gaining favor with Carson Palmer. He recently said he feels Chris Henry and Laverneous Coles have taken over the #1 and #2 spots on the depth the chart and they don't plan on giving them up. Henry was a 1st round draft pick. He has all the talent in the world and one of the worst attitudes to go with it. He was released and re-signed by the same team, and I have to think he has show them something to have earned a second chance. So far he has been one big waste of talent. 

I keep debating this Mike Vick situation and where he fits the best. I don't think it is a crazy idea for the Falcons to keep him. Matt Ryan has taken the reigns in Atlanta so I don't think Vick would be a threat at QB, but using him as a slot WR and in the backfield could be a huge advantage for the 'dirty birds'. He's going to take a big pay cut so why not keep him, as unlikely as it sounds?

The Bills seem to be the front runner for Vick according to the rumor mill. I don't like the direction the Bills are going in. I don't think for a moment that I know more about football than the Bills legendary GM and former coach Marv Levy. However, he has drafted some real questionable characters and obviously rolled the dice on T.O. Putting Vick into the mix would create a real media circus during this years training camp. Their strategy seems like it would work fine in the Madden video game but it creates some risky real world problems.  

The only chance we have at a post season birth this year if the Bills and Dolphins crash and burn. If the wildcat becomes more than a one season wonder and if the Bills offense blows up in 09' we will be the odd team out.  At least it won't be a boring season for the AFC East this year.

J.Wagner

My worst 10 moves of the offseason...

#10: The NY Jets ignore two glaring needs; wide receiver and defensive line. They made a flashy move by picking up the 1st round USC signal caller. It was a trendy move but who is he going to throw the ball to? A rookie QB without a legitimate #1 target and a defense with a patch work defensive line equals disaster to me. But, I'm a Jet fan so the sky is always falling. Hopefully I am being much to critical. 

#9: The Broncos fire Mike Shanahan. This dude is a genius. He won two superbowls in the late 90's and has rebuilt the team through the draft with amazing young players like Brandon Marshall, Jay Cutler, Tony Scheffler, and Eddie Royal. He runs a brilliant zone blocking system that was ahead of it's time and produced half a dozen 1000+ yard rushers. To put it in persepctive, Shanahan had a great run at the end of the 90's, then he had to rebuild after losing Elway and Terell Davis. From 03' to 05' he got things back on track and had a top 10 offense/defense and double digit wins. In 06' he needed to rebuild again and proceeds to have a lights out draft scoring a franchise QB and an elite TE/WR in the following two rounds. He averaged about 10 wins per season over his 14 years as the Broncos main man. The only reason this impulsive poor choice by the Broncos owner is not higher on the list is because no one knows what he has in Josh McDaniels. He might also be a great coach, but he has put himself on the hot seat right away by trading Cutler, as if living in Shanahans shadow wasn't enough. 

#8: The Redskins. That says it all. You can point to the absurd Hanesworth/Deangelo Hall contracts, the Jason Taylor debacle, or the way they played head games with Jason Campbell by flirting with Cutler. That is a mis-managed organization in every way. That being said, I like their coaching staff and they might be a force this year despite themselves. 

#7: The Oakland Raiders 2009 draft. Yep, the whole thing. If the Heyward-Bey pick wasn't ridiculous enough(#7 overall) but their 2nd round pick (#47) Michael Mitchell, safety from Ohio University, not theeeee Oho State... Ohio University. He is a player who was not ranked by anyone as a top 50 safety, was expected to be an un-drafted FA, and was not even invited to the NFL combine. Every team, from time to time, will have a player who is considered a 'reach', but this was just plain stupid. You may like Heyward-Bey more than Crabtree or not, the point is DHB would have been available much later in round 1, and Mitchell would have been there in rounds 6 and 7. If you target these guys you need to trade down to pick them up in the right spots. It's simply wasteful to mis-use valuable draft picks. 

#6: The Cincinnati Bengals retaining head coach Marvin Lewis. This was the worst non-move. This team is a mess. Lewis is not a leader and runs a sloppy program. Countless arrests, distractions from players like 'Ocho-Cinco' that would not be tolerated by any other head coach or general manager, and vanilla game planning has turned this franchise into the tackling dummy of the NFL. I really feel bad for Carson Palmer, this dude is in career prison. Lewis needs to go!

#5: The Rams release Tory Holt. I know he is older, but I don't understand what or where things went wrong for St Louis and Holt. He still has a few years left in him. I would have dumped Bulger before I parted ways with this game changing WR. They should have kept Holt and drafted Sanchez. That would have sparked their stagnate offense and awoke Steven Jackson. 

#4: The Browns fire one useless Belechick assistant and sign another. Mangini is a fraud. The owner from Cleveland obviously has a infatuation with the evil empire in New England. This was a knee jerk decision that he will regret. Mangini's first order of business was to alienate as many of the Browns core players as possible. Thats Mr Personality for ya!

#3: The Patriots let Cassel walk for a second round pick. If Brady doesn't fully recover or re-injures his leg early in the season the infallible brain-trust in N.E. will look pretty foolish. This is a case of believing your own press. Everyone says Brady is superman, when the Pats find out he's really human they may regret dumping Cassel.

#2: Marvin Harrison requests his release from the Colts. What??? Dude, re-negotiate. Does he really think he still has another big pay day out there? Does he have a manager or an agent? He could have finished his career with Manning and the team that drafted him. Now he's sitting on a shelf getting dusty hoping for the phone to ring. This situation reminds me a lot of Coles who had a guaranteed contract requesting his release from the Jets to go off to greener pastures in Cincinnati's dysfunctional family. 

#1: The Eagles let Brian Dawkins walk. Is he getting older? Yes. Has he slowed down a little? Yes. Is he the unquestioned leader of that defense and a rare player? No doubt! This move makes no sense. The Eagles are weaker without Dawkins and the Broncos are stronger. This single move could be the difference between the Eagles winning the NFC east and making a run for the Superbowl, and them not making the playoffs at all. 

My top 10 moves of the offseason...

#10: Tampa signs Kellen Winslow Jr. and adds a real weapon to their ultra vanilla offense. He is a game changer and has a ton of baggage. However, they gave up a 2nd round pick and a 5th next year. Pretty fair price. 

#9: The Cleveland Browns wheel and deal on day one of the draft. In true Belichik form Mangini made a bunch of moves including #10 on this list to acquire 4 of the first 52 picks in this years draft including 3 in the second round. He picked a Nick Mangold clone in the late 1st round, 2 interesting WR's and CB Alphonso Smith from Wake forest who has been described as Pac Man Jones without the baggage. I hate Eric Man-Gi-nah, but great teams are built through the draft. 

#8: Dallas drops the hammer on T.O. He is a cancer and Jerry Jones was quite aware of this before he made him a Cowboy. But, in true 'what have you done for me lately' form, the Cowboys owner dumped the diva wide out after a considerable drop in production in 08'.  

#7: Chiefs trade for Matt Cassel. A franchise QB for a second round pick? Must be nice to be buddys with Kraft and Belichik from the evil empire. Oh and we will throw in Vrabel for the hell of it! What a bargain. 

#6: Jets trade for Lito Sheppard. We gave up a 3rd rounder for a player who can compliment one of our best players. We went from a C plus secondary to an A minus secondary with this move and the acquisition of Leonhard. 

#5: Bears trade for Jay Cutler. Again, a ready made franchise QB available via trade... in his prime. You don't see that everyday. The Bears paid a hefty price but they finally have the big arm, big name signal caller who can sell some jerseys. Be careful what you wish for. 

#4: Giants dump Plax... #17 needed to go. After the way the G-men's offense tanked late season it took real brass ones to pull the trigger on him. Kudos to them for sending a message to the whole team. 

#3: Cardinals re-sign Kurt Warner. If you break down the contract in great detail he could end up with almost 20 million for one season if he retires at the end of 09'. Is he worth it? He is to the Cardinals. They were one of the worst franchises in professional sports, and they had the lead in the Superbowl with less than a minute left. If he would have walked to the 49ers, that would have been unacceptable. I must admit that I was a little shocked at how the ultra-religious Warner took the Cards for every penny they had.  

#2: Chargers hang on to L.T. This underachieving group has one or two years left with the Tomlinson/Gates era players.  They have a very interesting mix of veterans and youngsters, and even though the former 'best overall player in the NFL' has hit the wall he is still the face of that franchise.  I don't expect huge numbers but he could be a factor down the stretch. His carries need to be limited in the regular season so he can be fresh for a playoff run. 

#1: The Lions draft Mathew Stafford. They resisted the pressure to take the better value offensive tackle and swung for the fences. That team needs a major league face lift and the #1 overall pick should provide that. They had a very solid overall draft and are on their way to maybe getting a win this season.  

Predictions, Questions, and Observations...

First off a few random predictions. 

• The Most impact-full defensive acquisition of this busy offseason will be Lito Sheppard not Bart Scott. David Harris is younger and better than Scott. The luxury of playing the #2 corner spot will pay huge dividends for this Eagle import. He's a pro-bowl lock in 09'.
  

• Favre will continue to humiliate himself by staging another comeback. Players like Kerry Rhodes did our team a huge service by calling him out as the lazy pre-madonna that he is and running him out of NY. He's not our problem anymore. Frankly we would have been served a lot better using last season to see if Kellen Clemens was the real deal. I say that now and I said that the day Favre arrived. Good riddens. 
  

• Thomas Jones will not be in the green and white on opening day. Frankly a package of Jones and Sean Ellis should be more than enough to score Braylon Edwards. There is no way Mangini and Edwards will co-exist in Cleveland and the Browns really want to move him. If 'Dirty' Sanchez has any chance of being successful as a rookie starter he will need a target like Edwards. 
  

• Plaxico Burress will get jail time and will play in the NFL next year. I feel there is zero chance he will be a Jet, although I stand by my opinion that it makes perfect sense to acquire the rights to him. I see him landing in Dallas, but I think Philly would be a much better fit.
  

• Neon Leon Washington will get his big contract extension. He has earned it and if he should get paid like his fellow 4th round counter parts Rhodes and Cotchery. If he ends up being the next Brian Westbrook that would be great, but he can not carry the load alone. Shonn Greene is a nice addition but we will need another big battering ram in the backfield. Musa Smith was in camp for us last year but was dropped before the season opener. This former 3rd round pick should be yet another Ravens import who could fill out our backfield nicely. 
  

And now for my most bold prediction...

• The red hot GM from the NY Jets Mike Tannenbaum will be replaced after the 09' season. The Favre debacle will be blamed as the turning point were things went down hill for him. That ill advised, brash gamble came up craps and in the NFL risks like that can cost you your job. I see no way we make the playoffs this year and that will be 3 out of four years with Mr T that we miss the post season.

He has spent huge amounts of cash on old past-their-prime cast offs. If you are going to make moves like that you need to back up these geriatric starters with solid draft classes. Instead we have shipped out players like Vilma for little to no return and traded away draft picks like Tic-Tac's. This creates a salary cap nightmare. For Mr. T's sake I hope Mark Sanchez is the second coming or he will probably end up in Cleveland re-united with his man crush Mangini. 

I hope I am wrong about Mr. T because I do like him. But I think he has dropped the ball too many times and our owner, who is mostly hands off, expects one thing... to win games. He has a monstrous pay roll and a new stadium to fill with fans. Three consecutive seasons with out a playoff birth will send Mr T packing. 

Some questions about this past offseason: 

How is Tory Holt a Jaguar? He couldn't have found a home in New Orleans, Cincinnati, or Dallas? Why did he make a move before the draft? I don't get it.

Why did Jeff Garcia end up in Oakland? I know he is a bay area guy, but the NYJ seemed like such a better fit. With the pressure Mr. T is under and the way he spends money you would think he would have landed the veteran signal caller as an insurance policy. 

How did the Bengals miss out on T.O.?  They don't have a history of being concerned about the character of players they pursue, so why not give Palmer the one two punch of the two biggest divas in football? 

How stupid does Daniel Snider feel after the Jason Taylor ordeal? He gave up a 2nd round pick for a guy who put up 3 sacks and missed most of the season with injuries. Washington recieved his services for one season and now he is right back in Miami playing for a fraction of the salary. Wow, thats as bad as it gets. Makes the Favre and Vilma trades not look so bad LOL!

One final observation. In the 07' season Mr. T got very cocky and fielded a team with a swiss cheese offensive line. Obviously the O-line and D-line are the foundation of any NFL team. He traded away Pete Kendal and we ended up 4-12. This season he is putting us in the same position. He fixed the problems with O-line, however, now we have a swiss cheese D-line and he hasn't addressed it in free agency or in the draft. A great secondary and a quality LB corps is useless with a C minus Defensive line. 

J.Wagner    

Risk vs. Reward

The NY York Jets have quietly shown interest in Adam 'Pac Man' Jones. Why would you want to take a player who has had nothing but off the field issues and throw him into the NYC lifestyle? If he couldn't keep his nose clean in Tennessee, what makes anyone think he can make it work here under the bright lights of the NY media? 

That being said, imagine if Revis, Sheppard and Jones all clicked and became the most dominate game changing secondary in football. Maybe thats what the powers that be in the NYJ front office are thinking. Those 3 players are all ball hawks and there is no QB in this league that would get very much sleep the night before facing this trio.

Another way to look at this scenario is if we don't take him the NE Patriots very well may. They have a history of turning around talented players with bad attitudes.  So as crazy as it may sound, it may make some sense to snatch up a player with rare talent who's stock has dropped. Jones may be a better all around CB than Revis and he would be available for a fraction of the cost. 

The Jets have also expressed interest in Plaxico Burress. Another 'bad apple' in the locker room who is amazing on the field (when he feels like playing). Do I want players like Burress and Jones to contaminate a team with character guys like Rhodes, Harris, Mangold, Washington and Cotchery? No. If I was in charge, no question about it, the answer would be no.

But, Mr T.  knows our players better than any fan. Maybe he feels we have the veteran team leaders who can get these guys to buy into the 'team' concept and keep them in line much like the afore mentioned Patriots organization. 

Wouldn't it be nice to stick it to teams like the Cowboys and Giants by accepting their cast offs and winning it all.

I was thinking this week about some of our over and under rated players. The players I need to see a pro-bowl caliber season from this year are Rhodes, our very very well paid LB group (Gholston, Scott, Pace...ect), D'brickashaw Ferguson, and Jericho Cotchery.

I feel these players are considered the cornerstones of this team and they are overrated IMO. A lot of money and some very high draft picks have been spent on their services. It's not realistic that they will all make the pro-bowl, but they should all be in the running by seasons end to justify their status. 

A few underrated players I had in mind are Mangold, Brandon Moore, Dwight Lowery, David Clowney, and Dustin Keller. I know Mangold has been to the pro-bowl but i still think he is underrated, he may be the best center in football. He may be our best offensive player for that matter.

Lowery way overachived his rookie season and has a bright future. I am aware that David Clowney has a grand total of one reception so far in his NFL career, but he is more than just a speedy WR. This guy has hands and character and the only real question about him is can he stay healthy. If he can, he will be a household name in the coming years (I just hope it's for the NYJ).   

J.Wagner

 

K-gun, no huddle, quick hits....

... what ever you want to call it. Just some quick random thoughts.

Mike Vick committed a major crime, and it has cost him a ton of money and a lot of jail time. He has paid his debt to society, a society that eats meat, and wears expensive animal skins but feels it can take the high road when it comes to dogs. I don't agree with what he has done, but our justice system is suppose to be a rehabilitation system, otherwise there should be the death penalty for dog fighting.  He should be re-instated and there are some interesting places where he could fit: Miami (Wildcat), Seattle (Jim Mora), and the wild-card.... Denver. 

Chad Pennington is in the perfect situation. He hasn't had  major injury in 3 full seasons, and the wildcat plays to his strengths very well and disguises his weaknesses. That offense could end up being a top 10 scoring unit and he is 'technically'  the starter. He is also in the last year of his contract. Expect a 3 year 25 million dollar contract from someone like the 49ers or the Vikings next season(oh, is that an un-capped season in 2010... boy hes a lucky stiff). 

Why is Bryan Thomas still on the NY Jets roster? He is ridiculously over paid and barely plays. What a waste of a first round draft pick. I think a package of Bryan Thomas, Thomas Jones, and a 2nd round pick would get us Braylon Edwards from the Browns. If you are interested in my opinion on Edwards see my previous post: Braylon Edwards and the NY Jets

Even if we had to give up a 1st round pick, if Sanchez is going to have any chance he will need a true #1 who is a game changer. Cotchery, Keller, and the rest of the supporting cast gets much better if we sign Braylon.

Why did the Bills take on T.O. at this late stage of his career? Very dumb move.

I am so glad we are not a part of this Favre opera anymore. I have no respect for him.

I really like Mike Singletary as a leader. However, I think the press will make a mockery of him and he just doesn't have enough talent on that team to win. By the middle of January Mike Holmgren will be the 49ers head coach.

I hate the idea that the 2014 Super-bowl is almost a done deal to be held in London.  It's un-american to me.

I really want to have faith that the Jets could look like the 2004 Steelers who made a deep playoff run (including beating us in the divisional round) with a rookie QB who was surrounded by a ton of talent. It helped his learning curve and 4 years later he has 2 rings. the reality is most young signal callers crash and burn. =(

0-16? Really?....

There is more to the NFL than the NY Jets and this has been an interesting off-season all around.

I was amazed and fascinated by the Detroit Lions and their 0-16 season.  I am a believer in the parity of this league and I don't think there is much that separates the Super-bowl champion and the team with the worst record. This is a league full of talent and  the players have a lot of pride. Because of this I always thought that if a team was staring at a possible 0-16 season they would dig deep and pull out at least one win late in the season, like the Jets of 1996 or the Dolphins of 2007. 

However, looking at the Lions roster from last year you really had to question their desire to win. The team seemed more interested in keeping salaries down and have Calvin Johnson, maybe the best WR in the league, in career prison much like Barry Sanders a generation before him. 

Last  year was an embarrassment to a franchise that hasn't won a playoff game since 1991, and hasn't been to the post season in a decade. They have only made the playoffs 14 times in their 70+ year history and most of those appearances came in the 50's and a few in the 90's. They are one of only 5 teams to never make it to a Super-bowl. 

All that being said, I really like some of the players on their roster this year. Stafford went #1 overall and I will be surprised if he can really contribute anytime soon. Stafford is the future. The present is made up of names like Calvin Johnson, and Kevin Smith.  Johnson had a remarkable 1300 yards and 12 TD's last year while playing with about 20 different QB's. That was such an over looked performance last year. The stuff Barry Sanders did single handedly as a RB was amazing but to have a season like Calvin did in 08' as a WR is crazy!  

Kevin Smith was a 3rd round pick who put up over 1200 all purpose yards 8 TD's, and one lost fumble in 238 carries. He is the real deal and gives their backfield an identity. Maurice Morris will also play a big role carrying the rock for the Lions in 09'. 

Their D-line is an interesting group, Corey Smith, Grady Jackson, Cliff Avil, and Ikaika Alma-Fancis are a hard nosed squad. Big fast gritty DE's who can get to the QB and stop the run are hard to find. Any one of these guys would fit the Jets sooo well.  They are deep on the D-line. I also like their LB's Julian Peterson, and Ernie Sims. 

Pettigrew their other 1st round pick should make a decent contribution his rookie year.  I wasn't interested in Pettigrew coming to the Jets, but he fits the Lions well and was a nice value in the second half of the 1st round. They also have depth at WR signing FA WR Bryant Johnson. 

Jason Hanson is a good kicker with a big leg. Their special teams has potential this year. They took a 1st round offensive tackle Gosder Cherilius (Gosder? wasn't that the name of the bad guy the Ghost Busters fought at the end of the movie???) in the 08' draft but the rest of that O-line is weak. Their secondary is a big question mark as well. They will be facing Jay Cutler and Aron Rodgers in their division this year and maybe even the return of Favre if the Vikings can convince him to un-retire..... again. I hope someone can step up in that no name secondary. 

Obviously they are a work in progress. With Jeff Fishers right hand man Jim Schwartz taking over as head coach and NFC North veteran QB Daunte Culpepper as the starter they might actually win a game this year!

They have a new logo, new uniforms, new HC, and a new face of the franchise...  Matthew Stafford. They have also dumped Matt Millen the most clueless executive I have ever seen in professional sports. Think positive Lions fans, they can't do any worse than 0-16. And think positive Jets fans, at least we were 1-15(1996)... we didn't put up a donut. 

J.Wagner