Kevin Clark: Jets are older at receiver

[Jetsfan80]

Jets Go Long...in the Tooth

The Biggest Threat to Thirty-Somethings Plaxico Burress and Derrick Mason Might Be Father Time

By Kevin Clark

The Jets have taken an unusual approach to their wide-receiver corps, dumping 28-year-old Braylon Edwards and 29-year-old Jerricho Cotchery and replacing them with graybeards Plaxico Burress, who will be 34 on Friday, and Derrick Mason, who is 37.

In doing so, they are banking on Burress and Mason being able to beat back Father Time. The average age of a 1,000-yard receiver in the NFL last season was 27 years, 96 days. It would be nearly historic for the Jets' new tandem to be successful since only three teams in NFL history have had two 600-yard receivers who were 34 or older.

Two of those teams featured Jerry Rice and Tim Brown on the Raiders (2001 and 2002) and the other was the 2002 Broncos, who had Ed McCaffrey and Shannon Sharpe.

The Jets had three 600-yard receivers last season, meaning they'll most likely need their two over-the-hill receivers to reach those numbers.

Of course, the Jets are betting that Santonio Holmes, 27, will be their top receiving threat after making 52 receptions for 746 yards in 12 games last season. But Mason and Burress will get plenty of passes thrown their way, since the rest of the wide receivers are rookies or inexperienced players. Mason had 61 receptions for 802 yards last season but was released by Baltimore for salary-cap reasons.

Mason said this week that the Jets' new receiving corps can be dangerous. "The key component is that we all have to stay healthy," he said.

That may be difficult, but both Mason and Burress said this week that their abilities have yet to erode.

"I haven't had any injuries to my lower extremities, knees or anything, and I think that's what curtails a lot of receivers' longevity, especially the very good ones," Mason said. "They get hurt and they are not the same once they come back off that injury.''

Mason has played in all 16 games in every season since 2002.

Burress, meanwhile, has an even more fragile skill set. For one, the former Giant hasn't played since 2008 after a gun charge put him in jail, but his athleticism—which relies on jumping ability and agility, is often among the first things to go for a receiver.

He is 6-foot-5, and Jets offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer said he'll be a vital part of the team's goal-line offense. So Burress wants to calm Jet fans' fears. He says he can still jump. He says he's been concentrating on his legs, increasing strength in his knees, glutes and quads.

"Right now I feel good as far as jumping. I don't know how it's going to be or whatever....I have to get out there to really get a gauge of how I'm feeling.''

But staying healthy is already a problem for Burress. While running routes before he could officially practice, he injured his ankle and hasn't practiced so far in training camp.

He briefly jumped into drills without permission on Sunday but was taken out before full team practice.

Jets coach Rex Ryan stressed that Mason's job isn't "to come in here as the No. 3 receiver. He's going to come in and build on what we already have with our first two guys and be right there with them."

Of Mason, offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer said: "It's hard to keep up sometimes with other teams, but when the name came across our desk and you go back and look at the film, you see a guy who is effective inside and out."

[Sperm Edwards]

People look at the production from Edwards and Cotchery as though their numbers from last year exist in a vacuum and would have been identical with Santonio Holmes active for all 16 games.

wk 1 = 3 rec, 27 yds, 0 TD

wk 2 = 9 rec, 71 yds, 2 TD

wk 3 = 4 rec, 107 yds, 1 TD

wk 4 = 4 rec, 112 yds, 1 TD

total avg = 5 rec, 79 yds, 1 TD combined for both Edwards and Cotchery. I liked both of them and would have welcomed both back again in 2011 instead if we hadn't picked up Plaxico or Mason or both. But color me unimpressed given the amount of complaining there's been.

Oh, and BTW, for the rest of the reg season with Santonio Holmes active?

74 rec, 1020 yds, 5 TD combined for the two of them. (6 rec, 85 yds, 0.4 TD per game).

This is not anything approaching an insurmountable total for Plaxico and Mason combined. They don't have to be setting any proverbial worlds on fire to achieve that.

[Vicious89x]

The Jets wear green.

[visajets]

I agree we are older at WR.

[slats]

It would be nearly historic for the Jets' new tandem to be successful since only three teams in NFL history have had two 600-yard receivers who were 34 or older.

Two of those teams featured Jerry Rice and Tim Brown on the Raiders (2001 and 2002) and the other was the 2002 Broncos, who had Ed McCaffrey and Shannon Sharpe.

The Jets had three 600-yard receivers last season, meaning they'll most likely need their two over-the-hill receivers to reach those numbers.

1. Who determined that 600 yards is the magic number for the success of a receiver?
2. Does the douchebag who wrote this article realize that:

• Santonio Holmes recorded his 700+ yards in just 12 games and...
• Dustin Keller was the third 600+ yard receiver, and he's still here.

My god, what a bullsh*t article. Jets are going to find receiving production from Plax, Mase, Kerley, LT, The McKnight Brothers, etc, all while Santonio produces somewhere in the 1200 yard range. That's like two successful receivers all rolled into one, according to the genius who wrote this piece!

[JiFtheOracle]

Age is a state of mind.

[Chotobaka]

Did Kev have to take his shoes and socks off to figure out we are older at the position?