spjets Posted February 26, 2005 Share Posted February 26, 2005 By Mike Vaccaro NY Post http://www.nypost.com/sports/jets/41361.htm February 26, 2005 -- THIS WAS just over two years ago, inside the visitors' locker room at Network Associates Coliseum. The Jets had just seen a splendid late-season run to the playoffs die in Oakland's football asylum, and there was mostly a funereal silence filling the small room. With one notable exception. "Mark my words," Laveranues Coles said that evening, his words cracking the quiet. "We will be back. We're gonna be back next year, and the year after that, and the year after that. You'll be hearing a lot more out of the New York Jets. We aren't going anywhere. Remember where you heard that. We'll be back." Coles never could make good on that vow, because within a few months he was gone, bound for Washington and Steve Spurrier's "Star Wars" offense, lured by a $13 million bonus and a $35 million contract the Jets and GM Terry Bradway decided they couldn't match. So Coles, who clicked so quickly and so productively with Chad Pennington, who looked to be Don Maynard to Pennington's Joe Namath for years to come, took his five touchdowns and 1,264 receiving yards to Landover, Md. He hasn't been back in the playoffs since, and last year labored under the Redskins' pop-gun offense overseen by Joe Gibbs and directed by Mark Brunell. Now, both the Jets and Coles have a chance to right that wrong, to reverse that misstep, to reunite what looked like the most explosive quarterback/receiver combination New York had seen since the brief but bountiful Vinny Testaverde/Keyshawn Johnson marriage. The Jets are talking with the Redskins about swapping Coles for Santana Moss, and that is a deal the Jets must jump on, a deal that will make them better, and more explosive, and more likely to return to that place Coles assured us they would. This is a trade that must happen. The Redskins have salary-cap issues to work out, and the Jets have concerns about a case of turf toe in Coles' right foot that's been plaguing him. Coles has been reluctant to have surgery, fearful the recovery would be worse than the symptoms, and it is precisely that grittiness and toughness that endeared him to Jets fans the first time around. The toe issue is enough to make the Jets pause, and it should. It shouldn't be enough to kill the deal. Coles still caught 90 balls last year in a Redskins offense that was embarrassingly anemic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
124 Posted February 26, 2005 Share Posted February 26, 2005 Great article and I hope Laveranues is back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomShane Posted February 26, 2005 Share Posted February 26, 2005 I'm offering 20 grand for whoever comes up with an X-Ray of Coles' toe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StillerPaul Posted February 26, 2005 Share Posted February 26, 2005 I'm offering 20 grand for whoever comes up with an X-Ray of Coles' toe. Would ya settle for a polaroid? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomShane Posted February 26, 2005 Share Posted February 26, 2005 Speaking of ouchy toes, how's Ben's "healing" coming along? Did Dr. Cowher put him in a cast? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smizzy Posted February 26, 2005 Share Posted February 26, 2005 Ill take coles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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