Punter has been a topic of much debate since Ben Graham was released under the Mangini regime. While Steve Weatherford has the ability to punt, his average tells a much different story as he ranks low among his fellow bretheren in the NFL. We have been focusing most of our attention on the Jets bigger needs lately and haven’t given much thought to the annual punter search that normally pops during the offseason. One of our readers, John recently sent this e-Mail asking about Zoltan Mesko and how he could possibly help on Special Teams:
Though not a flashy position, the Jets have had issues with punters for as long as I can remember. This Mesko kid from UMich is supposed to be the best one in the draft, what do you know about him? Would it be a better move to use a draft pick on a young guy like this and hope he turns into the next Shane Lechler / Mike Scifres or test the free agent market and hope to find a diamond in the rough?
We will get to know young Mesko and perhaps find an answer for the Jets punting situation after the jump.
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Photo courtesy of Paul via TJB’s Gang GreenBerry Group!
The town was painted green tonight — if only for a moment. I’m sure there are going to be plenty of high-res pics in the coming days that were close to all of the action, but I’d like to see the electricity from the fan’s perspective, too.
So, if any of who were at the rally would like to share the moments you captured in a lens, feel free to email me your submissions for a collage post on Saturday. Consider it a service to your green-bleeding brethren who were unable to feel Times Square tremble for the J!E!T!S! chant. Myself included, sadly enough.
Grainy, low-res video submissions are also welcome. Its all about the atmosphere, folks.
We’re going to answer some more mailbag questions in the next day, so here’s the first batch …
COWHER POWER?
From Jay G. in Lafayette Hill, PA: “If Mangini is fired, do the Jets try to get Bill Cowher to come out of retirement and be the new coach? Remember, he runs the 3-4 defense also, so it seems like it could be a good fit.
Note, Both Bassett and Kirk Cassels have answered this, since so many are asking about The Chin.
KIRK CASSELS: It would be a treat for the Jets to get their second Super Bowl-winning coach since the Tuna. Our run offense and the potential our defense showed in flashes this season would be an ideal complement to the gruff, big-chinned, mustachioed Cower. The Jets may put themselves in the running by, like they did with players last year, offering the big bucks and passing the bill to fans but I don’t see it happening for two reasons.
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It’s clear that a lot of you have questions tonight … so do we.
Tomorrow, some of the staff here are going to take your emails and answer them. Send us your questions to thejetsblog@gmail.com and we’ll pick the best ones and answer them for you.
TJB reader Eric Bieber has done some game charting and has sent in the rushing information, along with a Excel game chart of Bills passes. Here’s the short version of how the Jets blitzed on Sunday. To read more of this story, click here
Alon S. wrote with some interesting thoughts about the Titans and how the Jets match them up.
Q: As I’m sure you guys have noticed the Titans have only let up 6 total sacks (1 of them was Vince Young) this season which is obviously ridiculously insane… Well in a discussion with my friend, I was starting to notice that the Titans haven’t really played any team with a pass rush NEARLY as good as ours has been this season. Check it out, these are the teams they’ve played in order and their sack rankings: Jags-18, Cinci-31, Houston-23, Minnesota-8, Baltimore-14, KC-32, Colts-28, Packers-23, Bears-23, Jags-18
Letting up no sacks against Minnesota and then Baltimore back to back is fairly impressive but just to put it in perspective, Baltimore is tied at 14th with the Bucs, Rams and Broncos and the Vikings at 8th still have eight sacks less than we do. Another point is that from week 1 through week 8 Kerry Collins had only been sacked one time. In the last three weeks 4 times … I think my boy Calvin Pace although he only has 4 sacks, puts on the most [consistent] pressure out of everybody game in and game out.
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Somehow, Ian’s comment on the Etienne Boulay signing was lost, and I think that the substance of his point is worth discussing.
These types of signings are fine with me, as the team needs depth. But I am tired of the team’s front office and their in-house p.r. department trying to act as if signing Andre Wadsworth or Etienne Boulay or David Bowens will turn around the team’s fortunes. Truly, this franchise needs to be honest with its fans, and I beleive that the current regime is not honest with us.
In my opinion, I’m not sure that the front office is in fact leading us to believe these players are saviors … they’re clearly not and the types of low-risk contracts the team is signing them to indicates as such (future contracts, small total value deals, etc). I do agree that the franchise isn’t honest with the fans, in my opinion we only care about honesty because this team was 4-12 this past year.
Jags asks the following about the status of Justin Miller’s case:
I must have fallen of the earth. I have not seen one article, recently, pertaining to the fate of Justin Miller since his 4AM mishap. Does anyone have any news?
Good point. While a number of other cases have dominated headlines, Miller’s case hasn’t been as “sensational.” Having scoured headlines, I can’t seem to find anything. But since it’s a local case, it is probably being continued as late as possible by his attorney. I would expect that we will hear some more on this before the season ends, but it’s hard to say when exactly at present. When we hear more, we’ll be glad to let you know.
NUJet wrote an email to explain more about the Chris Patrick situation. As he’s got his finger on the pulse of what’s happening with Nebraska football, here’s what he writes.
Just a little insight and much heard rumor around “these” parts: Patrick was not in good standing with Coach Callahan and thus declared early. According to the Lincoln Journal Star and their “Life in the Red” blog, it was possibly due to a failed drug test while at NU that Callahan took his involvement on the team “under evaluation.”
I absolutely love the idiotic statement by his agent, Joe Linta, saying that ‘the film doesn’t lie. All you have to do is watch him against Auburn, Texas and USC.” Well, moron, I did watch those games and if a combined stat of 2.2 yards a carry against those teams is any indication of this guy’s ability, maybe his client should be happy with a free agent deal.
Keep in mind I’m a Husker homer here and I think, without a doubt, we can do better…..
Good points. I think as Tannenbaum said before the draft, the Jets want the “whole story” on a player, and I am sure if there are/were interested, they’ll have done their best to get it. Either way, I think passing on the players in the Supplemental Draft is just another indication they think they have Kendall’s replacement on the roster already.
I’ll be away from the computer for the remainder of the day, so behave!
Susan B. wrote asking about the Jets QB depth.
The Jets should try to sign a veteran Quarterback, what do you think?
First off, Susan, thanks for writing, I didn’t know if there were any female readers, so welcome and we’ll try to be on our best behavior. As far as signing a veteran QB, I am always in favor of better depth at any position, be it Special Teams or Quarterback. Chad’s single sixteen game season came at age 30, not good. I hope he stays healthy, but signing an insurance policy could be a good idea, but there are a few of mitigating factors to consider.
- Looking at the unsigned free agents list, it’s slim pickings, and that includes the lead-footed Drew Bledsoe. Other than that, Daunte is a possibility, but I don’t think he would do well with Schottenheimer’s offense. If Schottenheimer’s mentor Cam Cameron didn’t want him, the pupil probably wouldn’t either.
- Even if the Jets did bring in another QB, do you think Bledsoe, Brooks, Bouman, Lemon or Weinke would do a better job than Clemens or Tui?
- Where would the Jets slot the new QB? When the Jets dropped Patrick Ramsey, it was a clear indication to me that they wanted to get Kellen Clemens off scout team work, and more involved with learning the ins and outs of the Jets offense as the #2 QB. Demoting Ramsey to the scout team probably wouldn’t have gone over well, so bringing in a guy like Tui, he would know that’s probably going to be his role, and he should make the best of it.
- Not to be defeatist, but I think we’re far enough along to realize that Chad Pennington is a key thread that holds the team together for a playoff run. If the Jets lose Pennington, does it even matter? Shouldn’t we just give the heir apparent some more reps anyway?
