ESPN Boston - "Jets, Ryan not kings of the hill yet"

[jetscanes331]

Updated: April 12, 2010, 8:21 PM ET

Jets, Ryan not kings of the hill yet

New York's moves intriguing, but NFL championships aren't won in April

By Mike Reiss

ESPNBoston.com

Archive

It's an easy trap to fall into.

Team acquires big-name player. Big headlines follow. The hype machine starts spinning. And the next thing you know, it's time to declare that team the one to beat.

Despite annual reminders that this is seldom the way things actually unfold in the NFL, it's happening again in some circles. Already, some are calling the New York Jets the favorite in the AFC East, and declaring that the New England Patriots are now playing second fiddle in their own division.

I give credit to the Jets for some bold offseason maneuvers, particularly their trades for cornerback Antonio Cromartie and receiver Santonio Holmes, which seem like low-risk/high-reward moves.

However, somewhere along the line -- from the time the Patriots hammered the Jets 31-14 on Nov. 22, 2009, to when the Jets backed into the playoffs thanks to the Indianapolis Colts' pulling Peyton Manning, to the present day -- perspective has been lost. I think Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum, who grew up in Needham, Mass., admiring the work of Celtics legend Red Auerbach, would even agree that it's too early to light the victory cigar.

This reminds me of something that former Patriots vice president of player personnel Scott Pioli used to say from time to time.

He said anyone can be a Super Bowl champion in March and April, but his goal was to build a team that would be there in December, January and February on a yearly basis. The point was that it's easy to make splashy moves at this time of year, and that many media members, and in turn fans, are easily swayed by the quick fix. We want the answers now.

But in the end, it is the totality of all offseason moves over time -- from both a short-term and long-term perspective -- that will ultimately tell the championship story on a year-to-year basis.

Pioli should know. He's won three of them.

Pioli once challenged me to match the newspaper headlines from March and April with results in December and January. It wasn't pretty, and my work was right there at the top of the underperforming list. If my opinions were evaluated as harshly as Pioli himself was, I would have been looking for a new job.

That's one reason conceding the AFC East to anyone on April 12 is a dubious proposition, especially when Tom Brady is the quarterback of the Patriots and Mark Sanchez is entering his second season with the Jets.

That's not to say it isn't fair to scrutinize personnel decisions, or the lack of personnel decisions, a team has made in recent weeks. The key, from this perspective, is that the proper context is attached to such analysis, reflecting that moves made to this point are part of an incomplete picture.

If the season started today, the Patriots would be in a challenging spot. Thankfully for them, the season starts in early September.

If the season began today, which team would you pick to win the AFC East?

JetsPatriots Julian Edelman is one example from a Patriots perspective as to why it's way too early to judge anything. At this time last year, Edelman wasn't even on the Patriots' roster. But had we known what his contributions ultimately would be back then, the outlook of the team's receiving corps would have been dramatically different.

Adalius Thomas represents the opposite end of the spectrum. Remember most of those New England-based headlines generated back in March 2007 about how a creative defensive mind like Bill Belichick would unleash fury with a big-money signing and versatile player like Thomas?

File that one next to last year's headlines regarding Albert Haynesworth and the Washington Redskins. Didn't I read somewhere that Haynesworth was already on the trade block?

This is not to tear down the Jets' recent moves, even though I do believe their swap of Thomas Jones for LaDainian Tomlinson is a step back at running back -- both on the field and in the locker room. Overall, I commend their aggressiveness and believe they are not only one of the NFL's more talented teams, but also one of the most compelling. I like what Tannenbaum and coach Rex Ryan have created in a short period of time.

But let's slow down.

Pioli used to have a note written on the board in his Patriots office that reminded him that he wasn't collecting talent, but instead, building a team. That process is ever-evolving and requires a lot more than a few splashy, headline-grabbing moves in March and April.

Mike Reiss covers the Patriots for ESPNBoston.com

Sounds like denial to me...

[newjakecity]

Sounds like they've gotten so use to New England ruling the roost, they think the party is going to last forever.

[Bleedin Green]

While crowning the Jets may be premature, this article is also taking it way too far in the other direction. Note the writer going out of his way to point out that the Jets "backed in" to the playoffs thanks to Manning, but proceeds to ignore the fact that the Patriots got their asses kicked at home in the Wild Card round and bounced from the playoffs while the Jets run back to back road games to make it to the AFC Championship. Seems like kind of an important series of events to simply ignore, doesn't it?

The bottom line is that the last time both of these teams played, the Jets ended up as the more accomplished of the two, but they're not kings of the division until they finally win it for the first time since 2002.

[Klecko73isGod]

LOL

Mike Reiss is gay for Belichick.

[Boozer76]

While crowning the Jets may be premature, this article is also taking it way too far in the other direction. Note the writer going out of his way to point out that the Jets "backed in" to the playoffs thanks to Manning, but proceeds to ignore the fact that the Patriots got their asses kicked at home in the Wild Card round and bounced from the playoffs while the Jets run back to back road games to make it to the AFC Championship. Seems like kind of an important series of events to simply ignore, doesn't it?

The bottom line is that the last time both of these teams played, the Jets ended up as the more accomplished of the two, but they're not kings of the division until they finally win it for the first time since 2002.

Not only that, I also think it is conveniently forgotten by naysayers that we did this with a rookie QB who made a very good amount of mistakes. Mike Fatcessa like to continuously knock Rex Ryan down, pointing to the fact that the Jets did not actually improve last year over the season before with Mangini (both teams were 9-7). He conveniently never mentions that Mangini went 9-7 with Brett Friggin Favre at QB while Ryan did is with Sanchez. He also fails to note that he basically took the same defense that Mangini had and made them the best D in the league. Scott and Leonard are nice players, but they sure as hell don't make a struggling D suddenly the best in the league.

[BleedinGreenNC]

Tea party is ovah!

[SoFlaJets]

and all these moves won't stop pretty much all of the pro football talking heads to say what they say every year "The Patriots still have Tom Brady and Bill Belichick" with the Jets probably being mentioned as a side note.

[DMaynard]

Not only that, I also think it is conveniently forgotten by naysayers that we did this with a rookie QB who made a very good amount of mistakes. Mike Fatcessa like to continuously knock Rex Ryan down, pointing to the fact that the Jets did not actually improve last year over the season before with Mangini (both teams were 9-7). He conveniently never mentions that Mangini went 9-7 with Brett Friggin Favre at QB while Ryan did is with Sanchez. He also fails to note that he basically took the same defense that Mangini had and made them the best D in the league. Scott and Leonard are nice players, but they sure as hell don't make a struggling D suddenly the best in the league.

Yes, it is a fact that the regular season records were the same. Completely worthless when considering one team fell apart in the stretch and did not make it to the playoffs and the other team came on in the stretch and made it to the championship game. A point, by the way, that the fatman would glorify in a microsecond when discussing his Giants SB season a few of years ago.

[Klecko73isGod]

Not only that, I also think it is conveniently forgotten by naysayers that we did this with a rookie QB who made a very good amount of mistakes. Mike Fatcessa like to continuously knock Rex Ryan down, pointing to the fact that the Jets did not actually improve last year over the season before with Mangini (both teams were 9-7). He conveniently never mentions that Mangini went 9-7 with Brett Friggin Favre at QB while Ryan did is with Sanchez. He also fails to note that he basically took the same defense that Mangini had and made them the best D in the league. Scott and Leonard are nice players, but they sure as hell don't make a struggling D suddenly the best in the league.

No, because to morons like Mike Reiss and Mike Francessa football is played in a vacuum where no variables exist and the final result is the final result regardless of how it happened.

[Sperm Edwards]

Blah blah blah. Even with all of the good coaching, all the video taping, all the favorable officiating, all the planning in the off-season and in between games, New England/Pioli/BB would still have zero rings if they didn't luck into Tom Brady (and have him for years on a late 6th round pick cap hit). Stupid luck that the Pats selection of Antwan Harris, Jeff Marriott, Dave Stachelski, Greg Robinson-Randall, and JR Redmond ahead of Tom Brady didn't lead to someone else taking a flyer on him.

This assclown can spare me the genius of this organization that has drafted like a half a dozen decent players in 10 years outside of their top 20-ish overall first round picks.

[SoFlaJets]

Blah blah blah. Even with all of the good coaching, all the video taping, all the favorable officiating, all the planning in the off-season and in between games, New England/Pioli/BB would still have zero rings if they didn't luck into Tom Brady (and have him for years on a late 6th round pick cap hit). Stupid luck that the Pats selection of Antwan Harris, Jeff Marriott, Dave Stachelski, Greg Robinson-Randall, and JR Redmond ahead of Tom Brady didn't lead to someone else taking a flyer on him.

This assclown can spare me the genius of this organization that has drafted like a half a dozen decent players in 10 years outside of their top 20-ish overall first round picks.

Over the past few they've had like 69 picks to the Jets 32 and less than half of them made any impact at all for them. Tom Brady made Belichick the "genius" he is today otherwise he's probably be the defensive coordinator for the KC Chiefs by now after getting fired at least twice-this is the guy who got fired in friggin CLEVELAND for pretty much sucking so badly. Just like Parcells is supposed to be this great guru, Jets fans know better when we look at his drafts here

[rick34125]

I think it's a fair read. What comes through is that he respects the Jets and is intrigued with the team.

But let's face it the Pats are still the "king of the hill" until taken down.

It's hard to resist proclaiming ourselves the team to beat with all the great moves Trader Mike has made this offseason. He's so far had another great offseason, maybe his best considering the restrictions. Every year he's helped improve this team and bring it closer to winning a championship.

As a fan I'm excited about the Jets going forward, but there's a lot of time until the start of the season and in the meantime I intend to enjoy the ride. Go JETS!!!

[ZachEY]

While crowning the Jets may be premature, this article is also taking it way too far in the other direction. Note the writer going out of his way to point out that the Jets "backed in" to the playoffs thanks to Manning, but proceeds to ignore the fact that the Patriots got their asses kicked at home in the Wild Card round and bounced from the playoffs while the Jets run back to back road games to make it to the AFC Championship. Seems like kind of an important series of events to simply ignore, doesn't it?

The bottom line is that the last time both of these teams played, the Jets ended up as the more accomplished of the two, but they're not kings of the division until they finally win it for the first time since 2002.

The 'backed in' excuse only counts when you get punched in the mouth in round 1.

[Sperm Edwards]

I think it's a fair read. What comes through is that he respects the Jets and is intrigued with the team.

But let's face it the Pats are still the "king of the hill" until taken down.

It's hard to resist proclaiming ourselves the team to beat with all the great moves Trader Mike has made this offseason. He's so far had another great offseason, maybe his best considering the restrictions. Every year he's helped improve this team and bring it closer to winning a championship.

As a fan I'm excited about the Jets going forward, but there's a lot of time until the start of the season and in the meantime I intend to enjoy the ride. Go JETS!!!

I'm sure every off-season acquisition by New England was met with a similar type article from this author. I'm sure of it.

[Darrellegivesmeaboner#24]

While I am willing to agree that this division belongs to the Pats until we wrestle it from them. I cannot sit here and not laugh at hypocrisy of this article. Not only does this writer have the gumption to minimize the Jets playoff run last season by offering the nonsensical "backed into the playoffs" argument which cannot be used for a team that blew through two road games. Also he refers to advice given by Scott Pioli, a definitive member of the Pats old guard and major hand in their championship years, when the guy hasn't been in the organization for two years now. If anything using Pioli in this article reinforces the idea that their run may really be over.

[Klecko73isGod]

Please allow me to break down this ridiculous claptrap:

Updated: April 12, 2010, 8:21 PM ET

Jets, Ryan not kings of the hill yet

New York's moves intriguing, but NFL championships aren't won in April

By Mike Reiss

ESPNBoston.com

Archive

It's an easy trap to fall into.

Team acquires big-name player. Big headlines follow. The hype machine starts spinning. And the next thing you know, it's time to declare that team the one to beat.

Despite annual reminders that this is seldom the way things actually unfold in the NFL, it's happening again in some circles. Already, some are calling the New York Jets the favorite in the AFC East, and declaring that the New England Patriots are now playing second fiddle in their own division.

So this is the Pats division? I thought this was the AFC East. The last time I checked that's what it said at the top of the standings - "AFC East" and the Jets, Pats, Bills and Dolphins were listed beneath it by city name. The standings don't assign ownership of a division to a particular team.

I give credit to the Jets for some bold offseason maneuvers, particularly their trades for cornerback Antonio Cromartie and receiver Santonio Holmes, which seem like low-risk/high-reward moves.

And you are? I am sure the Jets front office if throwing a party because Mike Reiss approves of some of their offseason moves. What NFL championship team did you have a hand in building again Mike?

However, somewhere along the line -- from the time the Patriots hammered the Jets 31-14 on Nov. 22, 2009, to when the Jets backed into the playoffs thanks to the Indianapolis Colts' pulling Peyton Manning, to the present day -- perspective has been lost.

Actually, the Pats getting ass-reamed by the Ravens at home in the wildcard game and the Jets pounding the living crap out of the Bengals on the road, followed by their major road upset of the Chargers in the divisional round, followed by them having the halftime lead in the AFC Championship Game was lost from your column numbnuts.

I think Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum, who grew up in Needham, Mass., admiring the work of Celtics legend Red Auerbach, would even agree that it's too early to light the victory cigar.

And this is meaningful because? Are you saying that since Mike Tannenbaum grew up in Massachusetts the Jets owe their success to New England somehow? This is meaningless nonsense and has no place in this column.

This reminds me of something that former Patriots vice president of player personnel Scott Pioli used to say from time to time.

He said anyone can be a Super Bowl champion in March and April, but his goal was to build a team that would be there in December, January and February on a yearly basis. The point was that it's easy to make splashy moves at this time of year, and that many media members, and in turn fans, are easily swayed by the quick fix. We want the answers now.

No **** asshead. But guess what, you've got to make moves in March and April if you want to be competing in December, January and February. It's not like the Jets are crowning themselves champions. It's jackasses like you who are doing it so stop acting like Rex Ryan has declared the 2010 season over.

But in the end, it is the totality of all offseason moves over time -- from both a short-term and long-term perspective -- that will ultimately tell the championship story on a year-to-year basis.

Pioli should know. He's won three of them.

And Pioli is now in Kansas City, so what the hell does quoting him have to do with your contention that the Pats are still better than the Jets. If Pioli was still making the Pats offseason personnel decisions you might have a point.

Pioli once challenged me to match the newspaper headlines from March and April with results in December and January. It wasn't pretty, and my work was right there at the top of the underperforming list. If my opinions were evaluated as harshly as Pioli himself was, I would have been looking for a new job.

Wow, you're friggin' in love with Scott Pioli aren't you?

That's one reason conceding the AFC East to anyone on April 12 is a dubious proposition, especially when Tom Brady is the quarterback of the Patriots and Mark Sanchez is entering his second season with the Jets.

So since you've made insanely stupid pronouncements in the offseason in the past (presumably that the Pats were going to win their fourth Super Bowl sometime in the last six years) that no offseason prediction based on analysis of smart personnel moves can possibly be right? Yeah, that makes sense.

That's not to say it isn't fair to scrutinize personnel decisions, or the lack of personnel decisions, a team has made in recent weeks. The key, from this perspective, is that the proper context is attached to such analysis, reflecting that moves made to this point are part of an incomplete picture.

So you're now admitting that your entire premise is flawed? Way to show conviction you spineless wuss.

If the season started today, the Patriots would be in a challenging spot. Thankfully for them, the season starts in early September.

Umm, we know Mike.

Julian Edelman is one example from a Patriots perspective as to why it's way too early to judge anything. At this time last year, Edelman wasn't even on the Patriots' roster. But had we known what his contributions ultimately would be back then, the outlook of the team's receiving corps would have been dramatically different.

So based on the fact that Edelman had two good games filling in for Welker - both Pats losses - had you known he would do an admirable job you would have ridiculously overrated the Pats receiving corps and incorrectly predicted another undefeated regular season?

Adalius Thomas represents the opposite end of the spectrum. Remember most of those New England-based headlines generated back in March 2007 about how a creative defensive mind like Bill Belichick would unleash fury with a big-money signing and versatile player like Thomas?

Three things here: 1. I guarantee you were one of the people acting like Adalius Thomas was the second coming of Lawrence Taylor; 2. Anyone with a brain in their head who understands football knew that a big part of Thomas' success was that he was about the sixth most important player on Baltimore's defense and that NO ONE schemed against Adalius Thomas in 2006; 3. I guess what has happened with Thomas in the intervening years also proves that Rex Ryan has supplanted Bill Belichick as the sharpest defensive mind in the game today, who does he coach again?

File that one next to last year's headlines regarding Albert Haynesworth and the Washington Redskins. Didn't I read somewhere that Haynesworth was already on the trade block?

Now I, Mike Reiss, shall compare apples to tape measures to back up my point.

This is not to tear down the Jets' recent moves, even though I do believe their swap of Thomas Jones for LaDainian Tomlinson is a step back at running back -- both on the field and in the locker room. Overall, I commend their aggressiveness and believe they are not only one of the NFL's more talented teams, but also one of the most compelling. I like what Tannenbaum and coach Rex Ryan have created in a short period of time.

Even though I just spent 10 minutes tearing them down as meaningless.

But let's slow down.

Pioli used to have a note written on the board in his Patriots office that reminded him that he wasn't collecting talent, but instead, building a team. That process is ever-evolving and requires a lot more than a few splashy, headline-grabbing moves in March and April.

Please allow me, Mike Reiss, to fellate Scott Pioli once more.

[SoFlaJets]

nice work Klecko

[THE ILK]

Spot on Klecko POTW nom!

[Bruce Banner]

The fact that Pioli keeps getting described as a great talent evaluator is proof enough that the media is biased towards the Pats and their spinoffs. Tyson Jackson with the third pick overall? Committing to Matt Cassell because he had one average year with the Pats? And McDaniels in Denver doesn't look any better at player evaluation. I expect KC, DEN and NE to see their talent slowly drained away by poor drafting until their owners finally realize Bellichek's urine doesn't cure cancer.

[Gang Green Forever]

Good job on that klecko

[Matt39]

Tyson Jackson was such a bad pick.

[HessStation]

While crowning the Jets may be premature, this article is also taking it way too far in the other direction. Note the writer going out of his way to point out that the Jets "backed in" to the playoffs thanks to Manning, but proceeds to ignore the fact that the Patriots got their asses kicked at home in the Wild Card round and bounced from the playoffs while the Jets run back to back road games to make it to the AFC Championship. Seems like kind of an important series of events to simply ignore, doesn't it?

The bottom line is that the last time both of these teams played, the Jets ended up as the more accomplished of the two, but they're not kings of the division until they finally win it for the first time since 2002.

Well said

[Jetsfan80]

I would have disagreed with Reiss and said the Jets are an absolute lock to win the Super Bowl (like everyone is clearly saying, duh LOLZ!), but then I remembered that Bill Belichick is still the head coach of the Patriots, and Tom Brady is still the quarterback. Silly me.

[PatriotReign37]

"Anyone can be a Super Bowl champion in March and April"

Would make for a sharp looking t shirt with the Jets logo underneath.

[Klecko73isGod]

"Anyone can be an onoxiously douchy and moronic troll."

Would make for a sharp looking t shirt with the Pats logo underneath.

Fixed.

[newjakecity]

"Anyone can be a Super Bowl champion in March and April"

Would make for a sharp looking t shirt with the Jets logo underneath.

Whistle in the graveyard all you want Pats fans. Bottom line is that New England looks more vulnerable than I have seen the last ten years. If you don't draft wisely next week, not only could you be looking at a 3rd place finish (no more of this "Pittsburgh and Indianapolis are our main rivals" rhetoric) but you could be screwed for years to come.

[Child please]

Did this clown write a similar article when the cheatriots acquired Randy Moss?