The 5 things that concern me about 2008.

[TomShane]

5. Bob Sutton Remains Employed:

Bob sucks, plain and simple. He is constantly out-matched by opposing offensive coordinators and he continually needs to be bailed out by Eric Mangini at half-time and, as we've seen, at the mid-point of each season. No longer can Eric wait until the Bye Week for Sutton to figure out what the hell is going on with his defense. How he remains on the staff is a mystery, especially considering he all but conceded last year that he'd be fired after the season. Just a poor, poor hire and a true liability to the franchise and its future.

4. There Is Zero Speed On Offense:

Bad offense with young QB's can be bailed out by a back or a receiver going to the house on his own, and that requires actual speed at those positions on their team. Outside of the occasional Leon Washington scamper, the Jets have nothing on offense to challenge a safety. Coles and Cotchery are 4.6 guys at this point in their careers, Thomas Jones is only slightly faster than Curtis Martin right now, and Chris Baker couldn't stretch a seam if he was wearing a pair of of lycra aerobic pants. Hopefully the draft produces two to three legitimate playmakers on the offense, or else Clemens, and the Jets offense, is doomed.

3. We Have a Bunch Of Stop-gap Players At Key Positions:

Specifically, Brandon Moore at RG, Abram Elam at FS, David Barrett at RCB, Bryan Thomas at OLB, Bubba Franks and Chris Baker at TE, and Brad Smith at WR. Every team has holes, but when you consider how relatively weak the Jets are at almost every other position, these holes become craters if not properly addressed. Quite frankly, the Jets aren't good enough to overcome having guys like these serving at fairly crucial positition. What good is having Calvin Pace rushing from the weak side if Bryan Thomas gives you nothing on the strong side? What good is it to have a young stud corner in Revis if teams can just throw all over Barrett? How are slow, small receivers like Cotchery and Coles going to get open if there is no middle-of-the-field complementary threat at TE or in the slot? These are huge, huge problems, IMO.

2. Does a Slow Start Bring Early Dissension?

Coming off a 4-12 season, Mangini's and Tannenbaum's blood is already in the water. Untouchable after their 10-6 playoff appearance, you'd have to think that they are vulnerable now. Coles has already been firing his mouth off about the big FA dollars going around and Kerry Rhodes still hasn't gotten his money. These guys are two of the big leaders, er, "leaders" of this Jets team. If the Jets get off to a rough start, particularly likely if Clemens starts at QB, will this team stay together, or will they finally turn on Mangini? There are several elements that can really tear this team apart:

a. the big FA's: It may be hard for Jets veterans to digest having such big dollars tied up in guys who don't score touchdowns. It's easier to accept a guy making huge dllars when he's catching alot of balls or rushing for alot of yards, but will it be easy to deal with Faneca and Woody rolling up in Bentleys for blocking for Thomas Jones? Will they understand that Jenkins is driving a Range paid for by his ability to take on blockers? If Calvin Pace doesn't have 10 sacks by Week 8, what effect will that have?

b. the highly-paid draft picks: If Mangold and Ferguson, surrounding Faneca, don't improve markedly and Thomas Jones still struggles, and Mangold still gets bullied by Vince Wilfork, how how deleterious is this to the team psyche? If Clemens gets pancaked by Adalius Thomas going around Ferguson, how big a problem will this be? Add to this that the Jets, in all likelihood, are going to draft an expensive, young player at a position where they already have an expensive player--RB (McFadden), DE (Long), or OLB (Gholston). This is not a great scenario, is it?

c. the young coaching staff v. the veterans: The Jet players had to be absolutely horrified at the way Pete Kendall was treated last season, and now they can't like that Vilma was given away for scraps. Mangini, Schottenheimer and Sutton don't exactly have the track records to point to that could quell an all-out mutiny if things start going bad and add to that the hard-ass Bill Cunningham (who was run out of Oakland by his players), and there are all the ingredients here for a revolution. Along with their confidence and savvy, Mangini and Tannenbaum have also displayed alot of bravado (if not arrogance) in dealing with their players. Could this be the year it comes back at them?

1. Clemens v. Pennington v. Who Cares?

Starting Pennington sets the franchise back five years. He was an okay QB--gutty, smart, but limited. In short, he was Steve Beurlein. FOr mostly sentimental reasons, many of you want to see him get one final go-round as the Jets QB. But for what reason? To try and eek out ten games? To not challenge the Pats on defense at all? To beat up on losers like the Chiefs and Dolphins and not compete offensively with the better teams in the league? Chad's arm is absolutely shot; there is nothing left in that shoulder, and everybody except for a few delusional Jets fans know it.

As for Clemens, let's face it: he showed us very little. He, too, was gutty, and was great in the fourth quarter against some very, very physical teams (Baltimore, Steelers). However, he also showed you, in too many instances, the one thing that the good QB's can never, ever show no matter how young or inexperienced they are: fear. Clemens played scared against the Pats. He played scared against the Bills. He played scared against Dallas. Completely unacceptable. You can tell me all you want about his lack of an offensive line, about "rookie jitters," about his injured wideouts, but the bottom line is that Clemens showed very little ability to compose himself when he was rattled. Hopefully, what I saw as fear was only those jitters, and he'll show up this year with alot more confidence and alot more swagger, or else we'll be looking at a very, VERY long year with no QB and a roster full of expensive spare parts.

[Blackout]

so who REALLY took the time to write this

[Arsis]

[quote name='Blackout

[Maxman]

5. Bob Sutton Remains Employed:

This could be a real big problem. They obviously planned on getting rid of him but it didn't work out with Ryan. I give them credit for one thing. Not making a change without having a better option in place.

Last year they got rid of Kendall because they felt it was the right thing to do. This year they felt getting rid of Sutton was the right thing. But without a better replacement they held off.

They have to walk before they can run. Hopefully this signals the end of the backwards crawl they have been doing recently.

4. There Is Zero Speed On Offense:

Can't really say this is true until after the draft. Either way, Leon Washington needs a more prominent role in this offense. He needs more touches.

3. We Have a Bunch Of Stop-gap Players At Key Positions:

Moore is fine. Based on salary he should be their 5th best lineman. Having an actual Right Tackle next to him will help. Baker? He is an average tight end. But if they can run the ball it really will help everything else. I am not one of these Baker is God guys, but if he didn't have to block so much he would be fine.

2. Does a Slow Start Bring Early Dissension?

No. These guys are making too much money to be angry.

1. Clemens v. Pennington v. Who Cares?

This is a big issue. They spent money and built a team that looks like they are going to try and win now. Not the kind of thing you want to hand over to a kid.

Mangini has the balls to go back to Chad. Scary thought? Time will tell.

Good thread Tom.

[Panzer Division Marduk]

5. Bob Sutton Remains Employed:

Bob sucks, plain and simple. He is constantly out-matched by opposing offensive coordinators and he continually needs to be bailed out by Eric Mangini at half-time and, as we've seen, at the mid-point of each season. No longer can Eric wait until the Bye Week for Sutton to figure out what the hell is going on with his defense. How he remains on the staff is a mystery, especially considering he all but conceded last year that he'd be fired after the season. Just a poor, poor hire and a true liability to the franchise and its future.

4. There Is Zero Speed On Offense:

Bad offense with young QB's can be bailed out by a back or a receiver going to the house on his own, and that requires actual speed at those positions on their team. Outside of the occasional Leon Washington scamper, the Jets have nothing on offense to challenge a safety. Coles and Cotchery are 4.6 guys at this point in their careers, Thomas Jones is only slightly faster than Curtis Martin right now, and Chris Baker couldn't stretch a seam if he was wearing a pair of of lycra aerobic pants. Hopefully the draft produces two to three legitimate playmakers on the offense, or else Clemens, and the Jets offense, is doomed.

3. We Have a Bunch Of Stop-gap Players At Key Positions:

Specifically, Brandon Moore at RG, Abram Elam at FS, David Barrett at RCB, Bryan Thomas at OLB, Bubba Franks and Chris Baker at TE, and Brad Smith at WR. Every team has holes, but when you consider how relatively weak the Jets are at almost every other position, these holes become craters if not properly addressed. Quite frankly, the Jets aren't good enough to overcome having guys like these serving at fairly crucial positition. What good is having Calvin Pace rushing from the weak side if Bryan Thomas gives you nothing on the strong side? What good is it to have a young stud corner in Revis if teams can just throw all over Barrett? How are slow, small receivers like Cotchery and Coles going to get open if there is no middle-of-the-field complementary threat at TE or in the slot? These are huge, huge problems, IMO.

2. Does a Slow Start Bring Early Dissension?

Coming off a 4-12 season, Mangini's and Tannenbaum's blood is already in the water. Untouchable after their 10-6 playoff appearance, you'd have to think that they are vulnerable now. Coles has already been firing his mouth off about the big FA dollars going around and Kerry Rhodes still hasn't gotten his money. These guys are two of the big leaders, er, "leaders" of this Jets team. If the Jets get off to a rough start, particularly likely if Clemens starts at QB, will this team stay together, or will they finally turn on Mangini? There are several elements that can really tear this team apart:

a. the big FA's: It may be hard for Jets veterans to digest having such big dollars tied up in guys who don't score touchdowns. It's easier to accept a guy making huge dllars when he's catching alot of balls or rushing for alot of yards, but will it be easy to deal with Faneca and Woody rolling up in Bentleys for blocking for Thomas Jones? Will they understand that Jenkins is driving a Range paid for by his ability to take on blockers? If Calvin Pace doesn't have 10 sacks by Week 8, what effect will that have?

b. the highly-paid draft picks: If Mangold and Ferguson, surrounding Faneca, don't improve markedly and Thomas Jones still struggles, and Mangold still gets bullied by Vince Wilfork, how how deleterious is this to the team psyche? If Clemens gets pancaked by Adalius Thomas going around Ferguson, how big a problem will this be? Add to this that the Jets, in all likelihood, are going to draft an expensive, young player at a position where they already have an expensive player--RB (McFadden), DE (Long), or OLB (Gholston). This is not a great scenario, is it?

c. the young coaching staff v. the veterans: The Jet players had to be absolutely horrified at the way Pete Kendall was treated last season, and now they can't like that Vilma was given away for scraps. Mangini, Schottenheimer and Sutton don't exactly have the track records to point to that could quell an all-out mutiny if things start going bad and add to that the hard-ass Bill Cunningham (who was run out of Oakland by his players), and there are all the ingredients here for a revolution. Along with their confidence and savvy, Mangini and Tannenbaum have also displayed alot of bravado (if not arrogance) in dealing with their players. Could this be the year it comes back at them?

1. Clemens v. Pennington v. Who Cares?

Starting Pennington sets the franchise back five years. He was an okay QB--gutty, smart, but limited. In short, he was Steve Beurlein. FOr mostly sentimental reasons, many of you want to see him get one final go-round as the Jets QB. But for what reason? To try and eek out ten games? To not challenge the Pats on defense at all? To beat up on losers like the Chiefs and Dolphins and not compete offensively with the better teams in the league? Chad's arm is absolutely shot; there is nothing left in that shoulder, and everybody except for a few delusional Jets fans know it.

As for Clemens, let's face it: he showed us very little. He, too, was gutty, and was great in the fourth quarter against some very, very physical teams (Baltimore, Steelers). However, he also showed you, in too many instances, the one thing that the good QB's can never, ever show no matter how young or inexperienced they are: fear. Clemens played scared against the Pats. He played scared against the Bills. He played scared against Dallas. Completely unacceptable. You can tell me all you want about his lack of an offensive line, about "rookie jitters," about his injured wideouts, but the bottom line is that Clemens showed very little ability to compose himself when he was rattled. Hopefully, what I saw as fear was only those jitters, and he'll show up this year with alot more confidence and alot more swagger, or else we'll be looking at a very, VERY long year with no QB and a roster full of expensive spare parts.

I would have thought the fact that you haven't shagged Scarlett Johanssen as you promised would be of more conern to you.

[Bob]

Yeah, Tom. How about it?

[murphklecko73]

Hi Tom

[RSJ]

Welcome back TS.

Nice post.

[Maxman]

Hey Tom -- look you made the front page again. Just like old times.

http://www.jetnation.com/?p=1282

I swear it was just yesterday that you were making our first Shockey homo jokes. Oh, where does the time go?

Welcome back.

[Lil Bit Special]

This could be a real big problem. They obviously planned on getting rid of him but it didn't work out with Ryan. I give them credit for one thing. Not making a change without having a better option in place.

Last year they got rid of Kendall because they felt it was the right thing to do. This year they felt getting rid of Sutton was the right thing. But without a better replacement they held off.

They have to walk before they can run. Hopefully this signals the end of the backwards crawl they have been doing recently.

Can't really say this is true until after the draft. Either way, Leon Washington needs a more prominent role in this offense. He needs more touches.

Moore is fine. Based on salary he should be their 5th best lineman. Having an actual Right Tackle next to him will help. Baker? He is an average tight end. But if they can run the ball it really will help everything else. I am not one of these Baker is God guys, but if he didn't have to block so much he would be fine.

No. These guys are making too much money to be angry.

This is a big issue. They spent money and built a team that looks like they are going to try and win now. Not the kind of thing you want to hand over to a kid.

Mangini has the balls to go back to Chad. Scary thought? Time will tell.

Good thread Tom.

Ok.... who hacked into Max's account? There is no way that Max did this. Who is playing Max today???

Did our Mods switch accts with each other also????

[JonEJet]

It's April fools

BUT

This is probably the real Tom

[fatcatxl]

i hope it is the real tomshane... NAMBLA hasn't let me into meetings without my sponsor

[TomShane]

PM me, bro-heim. I'll hook you up.

[Barton]

This better be the real TomShane, or I am leaving this site for good.

[Maxman]

This better be the real TomShane, or I am leaving this site for good.

I can personally guarantee that those are the 5 things that are concerning Tom about the 2008 Jets. He wrote it man, it isn't fake.

[Barton]

I can personally guarantee that those are the 5 things that are concerning Tom about the 2008 Jets. He wrote it man, it isn't fake.

I know how to prove if it is him or not...

hey TS, who relayed that pm message to me that was from you a couple years ago, when i went on the nyc trip? Who gave me that message from you?

[haggis]

Who is Tom Shane?

[Ghost]

New mod ?

[Maxman]

I know how to prove if it is him or not...

hey TS, who relayed that pm message to me that was from you a couple years ago, when i went on the nyc trip? Who gave me that message from you?

Bro the trip when you gave the girl the flowers and she shot you down? You still talking about that? C'mon man get over it. Puberty will soon be here for you and things will change. I promise.

[dickkotite]

hey tom if this is really you....what was the "safe word" we used while at that thai s and m house?

this will settle it

[Maxman]

hey tom if this is really you....what was the "safe word" we used while at that thai s and m house?

this will settle it

POTW NOM

[Ryno the Jet]

ah, all fools day; what fun...who cares if it is tom or not, its just fun watching all the girls go ga ga

[NYSanDiegan]

Tom,

Stop with this media based Pennington has no arm BULL...., He is a warrior who can make the reads, can lead and can throw when called upon. This Jets team has been completely lacking in the play calling department with a sieve of an offensive line and an up and down defense - I do agree Sutton must go.

Tom Brady had the luxury of two hours behind that impenetrable offensive line to decide where he was going; with that line my grandmother would have been considered the greatest QB ever to step on the field. When he was challenged by an unrelenting defensive front in the Super Bowl - HE LOST - so should the Patriots can Brady and go with a backup.

Stop touting NY media hipocrasy, I am a New Yorker and proud of it. Chad's arm is fine, he doesn't play defense and cannot be held accountable for their inability to stop the other team, he doesn't play offensive line, so he can't be held accountable for not blocking. 2008 is going to be a new season with the shoring up of the offensive line watch not only Chad but Thomas Jones flourish.

I disagree with the Jets renegotiating with Coles, he is an everyday receiver nothing great. Great move on the Jets part letting Vilma go and going with Harris.

[BroadwayJ667]

Wait until after the draft to be concerned dude.

[MiamiJet]

Welcome back, Shane

I think things are overstated with Pete Kendell situation.

In retrospect, the FO did the right thing. Letting Kendell go meant us signing Faneca this off season.

Revis held out and broke Tannenbaum's streak of signing first round picks and having them report to camp on time, without missing any days, but when it was all said and done, the bastard signed and signed the deal we wanted(extra year).

In the long run, it sent a serious message; this FO will not cave. Hold out and we'll ship you off. Kendell later remarked that he never thought the team would trade him, and that he wanted to stay.

Why aren't we reading about Coles holding out? He made his play, but ultimately knew he wasn't getting a new deal. It also sent a message to Rhodes.

This team is relatively young and the majority of our important pieces are signed to long term deals, so no, I don't expect any bitching and moaning. Ellis, Faneca, Cotchery, Washington, Harris, Revis, Brick, Mangold, Jenkins, Pace and others have deals in place. I'd also say that this team is still being overhauled, so I'd expect more heads to roll. Rhodes is the only guy I'm worried about, but this franchise under this new leadership has proved that they can and will get deals done for the guys they highly value.

I think to much is being made of it. Not a big deal.

[DireJet38]

Great post, Tom.

This was easily the best part.

Chris Baker couldn't stretch a seam if he was wearing a pair of of lycra aerobic pants.

[Blackout]

LOL at everyone thinking its tom shane

[Maxman]

[quote name='Blackout

[Jet Moses]

[quote name='Blackout