This is our captain right here

[JonEJet]

http://espn.go.com/espnradio/newyork/play?id=7451672

Please listen

[aec4]

heard it live, and I agree 100%. Kay and the other bozo he works with agreed too.

[JonEJet]

Showing the kind of veteran leadership that is needed in a fractured Jets locker room after an 8-8 season, Jets center Nick Mangold went on ESPN 1050 Radio today in defense of his quarterback, Mark Sanchez.

Mangold, a six-year veteran and four-time Pro Bowler, said he believes in Sanchez "100 percent." Most strongly, he brushed aside speculation of the Jets' interest in Peyton Manning and said he wants to move forward with Sanchez.

"I think if anybody could get a clean bill of health, shoot, I’ll take Joe Montana if he had a clean bill of health. Dan Marino, I think, would be another great one," Mangold said, acknowledging Manning's unique ability. "I think it's all speculation, and I think that Mark Sanchez is my guy. Hes the one I want to go into battle with, and I wouldn’t be too keen to seeing that being changed.

Mangold responded to a Daily News article today in which anonymous Jets players criticized Sanchez, some calling him "lazy" or "coddled" or advocating for the team to acquire Manning this offseason. Manning sat out this season after having two neck surgeries, and he may be available this spring as the Colts are expected to draft Stanford's Andrew Luck No. 1 overall.

The veteran called the opinions in the article "wrong" and "false" and also "disconcerting," from the vantage point of a player hoping for team chemistry to be rebuilt. He said he did not believe that the opinions expressed in the article were widespread, leading him to question the motives of the anonymous players.

"It was saying he was lazy, didn’t put the work in, felt complacent, and I think it couldn’t be more further from the truth," Mangold said. "The guy puts in more work and more time, cares more about the team than I think anybody else in that locker room. And for somebody to come out and say that, and not put their name behind it, really bothered me."

The offense was no doubt inconsistent this season, finishing ranked 25th in the league. Sanchez was part of the ups and downs, scoring 32 touchdowns but also turning the ball over 26 times. Mangold put a share of the blame for the offense's struggles on himself and his fellow offensive linemen.

"I know the guy had a rough go about it," Mangold said. "As an offensive line, in our group we did not do the things to put him in a position to win. We did not protect him as well as we should have; we did not run the ball as well as we should have. Unfortunately, he kind of takes the brunt of the criticism, even though we share in that blame. If not as much as him, we should be talking most of it."

Mangold said he would speak to Sanchez in a few days.

"I'm sure he's already moved beyond it," he said, "but I want to make sure he knows this isn’t representative of what we have in the locker room."

The Jets' chemistry issues came into focus during the season-ending loss to Miami, when captain Santonio Holmes was benched for fighting with a teammate in the huddle. Several players had strong things to say in the days afterward about the team's lack of chemistry, including rookie quarterback Greg McElroy who said the locker room had a "corrupt mindset" and is filled with "extremely selfish" individuals.

Mangold disagreed, believing instead that the players in the locker room care about winning -- "and if that isn’t the truth, I don’t want them here," he said. Mangold added that he spoke to McElroy about confronting such opinions in house.

"I think Greg got a little ahead of himself for whee he is," Mangold said. "I think a lot of things that he brought up should stay in house and should be taken care of in the locker room. So I was a little disappointed in Greg, and we've talked about it, and that shouldn’t come up again. And that’s something if you get that feeling, or you get that vibe, you should say something in the locker room, and we should fix it in the locker room."

Mangold believes the team can move forward with Holmes. He believes his emotions got the best of him in Miami.

"It all kind of came to head there toward the end of the game," Mangold said. "It was disappointing to see, but I know that 'Tone will fix the issues and be ready to go next season."

Mangold and the offense will return to changes as they prepare next season. Offensive line coach Bill Callahan -- whom Mangold said "was the best thing I think to happen to my career as a center" -- left for the same position in Dallas. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer has also been replaced by Tony Sparano, a change Mangold said he was not "prepared" for -- but he acknowledged that change may be good for the team.

"When you are not executing, you can call best play in the world, but it is not going to work," he said. "And I think that a breath of fresh air might be what this team needs."

Still leading the team will be coach Rex Ryan. And despite Ryan's admission that he "lost the pulse" of his team, Mangold said he still believes in him as a leader. He said the team's struggles "hit us harder than you would have expected" after back-to-back runs to the AFC Championship Game.

"I think it was a little bit more difficult, when you have those first two seasons of being able to go to the playoffs and everything, some things kind of get glossed over and you don’t really notice them," Mangold said.

"It's when you have a little bit of adversity when things start glaring out at you. I think that’s what he noticed ... He's doing the best that he can, and he keeps improving every year. And I'm excited to see what next year brings, because I know he's going to be a better coach for having gone through this, and we’re all going to be better players for having gone through this."

http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/201...ce=twitterfeed

[GimmeShelter]

"It was saying he was lazy, didn’t put the work in, felt complacent, and I think it couldn’t be more further from the truth," Mangold said. "The guy puts in more work and more time, cares more about the team than I think anybody else in that locker room. And for somebody to come out and say that, and not put their name behind it, really bothered me."

Wonder if this thread goes 13 pages like the HATER thread?

[stoicsentry]

"I think Greg got a little ahead of himself for whee he is," Mangold said. "I think a lot of things that he brought up should stay in house and should be taken care of in the locker room. So I was a little disappointed in Greg, and we've talked about it, and that shouldn’t come up again. And that’s something if you get that feeling, or you get that vibe, you should say something in the locker room, and we should fix it in the locker room."

And by "talked about it," Nick means, "I cornered him in the locker room, grabbed his helmet, squeezed it until the damn thing shattered in a million pieces, and I told him, 'Next time this happens, I won't be picky about whether or not your head is inside the helmet."

[HessStation]

This is the conundrum. This is what makes me question Rex, as much as I like him. HOW THE **** DID THIS GUY NOT HAVE A C on his jersey???? A small yet significant injustice that was a microcosm of the disaster that was the Jets season.

[GREENBEAN]

Mangold Rules! He's the only thing that makes the Abraham trade tolerable. Although I was not happy with the last playoff run he had with us with that hand injury bologna. Mangold is one of the better players in Jets history. I hope he becomes more of a vocal veteran leader in the locker room. We sure could use it.

[GREENBEAN]

And by "talked about it," Nick means, "I cornered him in the locker room, grabbed his helmet, squeezed it until the damn thing shattered in a million pieces, and I told him, 'Next time this happens, I won't be picky about whether or not your head is inside the helmet."

LOL I thought something similar

[GREENBEAN]

This is the conundrum. This is what makes me question Rex, as much as I like him. HOW THE **** DID THIS GUY NOT HAVE A C on his jersey???? A small yet significant unjustice that was a microcosm of the disaster that was the Jets season.

I think it was a failed motivational tool that Rex was trying to use. Mangold didn't NEED to have a C on his chest to be awesome

[CTM]

so he has santonio's back as well, i guess this is all much ado about nothing

[JonEJet]

Wonder if this thread goes 13 pages like the HATER thread?

Never....TomShane or EY won't even post in this thread....lol

[HessStation]

so he has santonio's back as well, i guess this is all much ado about nothing

He settling sh*t by making these statements. He's taking the lead saying this is the bottom line. He probably needs to remain more vocal as he's the only non pussy on the team.

[HessStation]

^ what I mean by that is he's setting a precedent for next year. He knows who's gonna be on this team regardless and whether the focus was there he's saying without saying it that it will be there next year. I think this is step one of Mangold bringing in the reins himself.

[CTM]

He settling sh*t by making these statements. He's taking the lead saying this is the bottom line. He probably needs to remain more vocal as he's the only non pussy on the team.

[SayNoToDMC]

What??? Captains? they're stooopid Rex said so. The problem wasn't with his choice of captains but with the concept of having them in general. I hope the other 31 teams figure this out before it's to late

[HessStation]

Not my fault the dude has the most awesomest viking warrior beard of all time and if born in 1655 would have scalped my family for a stalk of lettuce.

[CTM]

Not my fault the dude has the most awesomest viking warrior beard of all time and if born in 1655 would have scalped my family for a stalk of lettuce.

brett keisel say no

[KSJets]

How does he even fit a chin-strap on that thing? lol

[ThisYearsModel]

Well, there is one MAN in that locker room. MANgold.

[T0mShane]

So let's do some recapping here.

--Mehta (easily NY's most objective Jets writer) drops an absolute bomb on Florham Park with a dissection of what a clown college the 2011 Jets team was--an article that uses multiple sources all corroborating the same reports that have been creeping out all season long.

--Hours later Mangold appears from isolation, dropping a strange (for him) tweet either claiming Mehta's report was "false" or that the sources who reported the truth(?) should put their names to the report.

--Almost in unison, the de facto marketing arm of the NY Jets franchise--ESPNNY and ESPN1050--take turns saying that Mangold is the real captain of the Jets if, gosh darnit, the Jets still had captains. Jane McManus' little tweet orgy where she repeats that Mangold--gosh darnit--"should be captain!" was absurd for a reporter looking to preserve credibility, even if they are writing press releases--errrr--stories for ESPN.

--Mangold appears on the Jets version if Al Jazeera to swap gentle kisses with Michael Kay and Don LaGreca and offers little except to just imply that Mehta made everything up and that there was plenty o' leadership on the Jets this season despite the almost daily examples that there was zero accountability coming from anywhere on the team, culminating in the three-game quit-fest at the end of the season and Holmes' almost predictable meltdown/quit party and Sanchez's "Does it look like I give a f#ck?" act on the sidelines during the Dolphins debacle. And who was it who finally challenged Holmes? Not super-captain Nick Mangold, but Jets pariah Wayne Hunter.

--Homers, PSL owners rejoice.

In sum, nice damage control by the Jets considering the way they usually bungle these things. Even if it wasn't contrived, it still amounts to dropping a "Cool Story Bro" on Mangold. If he's the "leader" of the Jets, then he sucks at being a leader. Mehta's story seems pretty lock tight. He went and got the any number of embittered Jets/ex-Jets still floating around the building and they told him exactly what Tim Hasselbeck and Trent Dilfer reported earlier in the season. Pulling Mangold off his couch to have Michael Kay rub his balls proves exactly what? That Sanchez's drinking buddy feels bad for him? That's very convincing.

And, to homers like JonEJet, here's a newsflash:

SANCHEZ BEING LAZY IS THE BEST POSSIBLE SCENARIO.

Lazy can be fixed. Sucking cannot. You should HOPE that Sanchez's awfulness is rooted in the fact that he just doesn't work hard because the alternative is that he's just naturally horrible despite his best efforts.

[Jets Voice of Reason]

Love mangold. Supreme talent and supreme character. The guy plays hurt and does not complain at all.

[ZachEY]

Never....TomShane or EY won't even post in this thread....lol

What's to say?

Nick Mangold thinks Mark Sanchez still has potential upside. Some of his teammates, coaches, and members of the organization disagree.

He also thinks it's wrong for teammates to be talking about team issues, especially under the condition of anonymity. Some of his teammates, coaches, and members of the font office disagree.

Rousing.

[villain_the_foe]

SANCHIZE!

[villain_the_foe]

What's to say?

Nick Mangold thinks Mark Sanchez still has potential upside. Some of his teammates, coaches, and members of the organization disagree.

He also thinks it's wrong for teammates to be talking about team issues, especially under the condition of anonymity. Some of his teammates, coaches, and members of the font office disagree.

Rousing.

Dont you have an appointment at the O.R. or something? Stop talking this nonsense and save some lives.

[T0mShane]

What's to say?

Nick Mangold thinks Mark Sanchez still has potential upside. Some of his teammates, coaches, and members of the organization disagree.

He also thinks it's wrong for teammates to be talking about team issues, especially under the condition of anonymity. Some of his teammates, coaches, and members of the font office disagree.

Rousing.

Jon-math:

Several players say Sanchez is lazy= LIE

One player says Sanchez isn't lazy= Gospel truth

[Integrity28]

This is all laughable.

[ZachEY]

Jon-math:

Several players say Sanchez is lazy= LIE

One player says Sanchez isn't lazy= Gospel truth

Seriously... As you say... I don't get why the "lazy" angle is the one everyone is jumping on.

The 'not good' and 'is a bitch' and 'doesn't understand the gameplan' is much worse. You don't hear Mangold, or any other Jets in the media today rushing to defend that...

[HessStation]

Seriously though this wasn't rocket science you dumb, fat bastard. You coulda just put a C on Mangold and Harris and you'd have no issues.

[joebabyny]

So let's do some recapping here.

--Mehta (easily NY's most objective Jets writer) drops an absolute bomb on Florham Park with a dissection of what a clown college the 2011 Jets team was--an article that uses multiple sources all corroborating the same reports that have been creeping out all season long.

--Hours later Mangold appears from isolation, dropping a strange (for him) tweet either claiming Mehta's report was "false" or that the sources who reported the truth(?) should put their names to the report.

--Almost in unison, the de facto marketing arm of the NY Jets franchise--ESPNNY and ESPN1050--take turns saying that Mangold is the real captain of the Jets if, gosh darnit, the Jets still had captains. Jane McManus' little tweet orgy where she repeats that Mangold--gosh darnit--"should be captain!" was absurd for a reporter looking to preserve credibility, even if they are writing press releases--errrr--stories for ESPN.

--Mangold appears on the Jets version if Al Jazeera to swap gentle kisses with Michael Kay and Don LaGreca and offers little except to just imply that Mehta made everything up and that there was plenty o' leadership on the Jets this season despite the almost daily examples that there was zero accountability coming from anywhere on the team, culminating in the three-game quit-fest at the end of the season and Holmes' almost predictable meltdown/quit party and Sanchez's "Does it look like I give a f#ck?" act on the sidelines during the Dolphins debacle. And who was it who finally challenged Holmes? Not super-captain Nick Mangold, but Jets pariah Wayne Hunter.

--Homers, PSL owners rejoice.

In sum, nice damage control by the Jets considering the way they usually bungle these things. Even if it wasn't contrived, it still amounts to dropping a "Cool Story Bro" on Mangold. If he's the "leader" of the Jets, then he sucks at being a leader. Mehta's story seems pretty lock tight. He went and got the any number of embittered Jets/ex-Jets still floating around the building and they told him exactly what Tim Hasselbeck and Trent Dilfer reported earlier in the season. Pulling Mangold off his couch to have Michael Kay rub his balls proves exactly what? That Sanchez's drinking buddy feels bad for him? That's very convincing.

And, to homers like JonEJet, here's a newsflash:

SANCHEZ BEING LAZY IS THE BEST POSSIBLE SCENARIO.

Lazy can be fixed. Sucking cannot. You should HOPE that Sanchez's awfulness is rooted in the fact that he just doesn't work hard because the alternative is that he's just naturally horrible despite his best efforts.

I'm not a homer, and if this story turns out to be the case then so be it. But one thing bothers me. This is the end of Sanchez's third year. Think back over those three years. Up until about a month ago when one of the espn guys suggested work ethic was Mark's problem, can you remember anyone else saying he had that problem? In the 3 years I just can't remember that. If anything, all I ever heard is what mangold reiterated today. That is what bothers me, and why it would be important to know who is saying it.

[JonEJet]

Jon-math:

Several players say Sanchez is lazy= LIE

One player says Sanchez isn't lazy= Gospel truth

http://m.apnews.com/...ntguid=jJ0wJAQ0

quice quice cole

Mark is my boy! Point blank. I wouldn't have wanted a different QB to lead the team that I was on for the past 3 seasons!

TomShane; "an unnamed source was quoted by a honk hack beat writer trying to make a name for himself. It's a negative piece on the Jets. I'm all in"

WHat a tool

[HessStation]

Personally I think this is the best thing that could have happened to Sanchez. I'm ok with him another year as long as they have a couple REAL back ups to push him for the starting job i/e Brady Quinn or a David Garrard etc....unless they can somehow pull a Manning deal.

[Jet27]

This is the conundrum. This is what makes me question Rex, as much as I like him. HOW THE **** DID THIS GUY NOT HAVE A C on his jersey???? A small yet significant injustice that was a microcosm of the disaster that was the Jets season.

Well Said....2012 will be the tell tale year that we will see what Sanchez is, and what Rex is...I do believe both will be ok and we will be back in the playoffs.

But if you looked at this weeks playoff games....we have a long way to go.