There’s a neat program on Facebook that charts fans everyone’s “Fan-cestry” … it’s very cool and we encourage you to check it out (be sure to scroll through the agreement to continue). With the idea of Fan-cestry in mind, we wanted to repost our article on becoming a Jets fan from last year’s New York Times, enjoy.
In comic books, superheroes always seem to have tragic origins. I believe most sports fans can relate to that.
Cheering on a team when it is doing well and winning big games does not demonstrate loyalty. Instead, it is doing so during the lows that proves devotion.
I grew up in suburbs of New York, the product of an extended family of Giants fans. Until high school, football and the Jets were an afterthought. I was always pondering questions like: Why does my best friend imitate Ken O’Brien by taking a snap and immediately falling on his back? Why does Grandma’s coffee table have a Sports Illustrated with Lawrence Taylor and Mark Gastineau on the cover that is telling me that the Jets are second banana in the Big Apple? To read more of this story, click here
This is a reprint of an article from Parenting.com, written by Erin Zammett Ruddy, a cancer survivor herself. The article is about a woman who credits the New York Jets’ pink “Crucial Catch” gear with what ultimately made her aware of the issue and helped saved her life from breast cancer.
It’s an amazing story and one that makes me happy to conclude that, yes, pink wristbands and shoes really CAN make a difference. Thanks for taking the time to read Tina’s story and what you can do to raise awareness among your own family and friends. — Bassett
As I’m sure you know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, which means a whole lot of stuff that isn’t usually pink is now pink (Nick and I actually burned a breast cancer ribbon-wrapped Duraflame log the other night—the flames were pink, I kid you not.) October is also peak season for football and the NFL has been pinked right along with our yogurt containers and fake, chemical-laced logs. The players wear pink cleats, the refs toss pink coins, the goal posts are wrapped in pink pads, and, of course, the cheerleaders shake pink pom poms. There is an ongoing debate over what impact the pinking of America truly has on the epidemic of breast cancer in this country but before you weigh in, read this email, sent to the New York Jets two days ago:
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. – Following a 34-0 loss to the 49ers where the Jets got dominated in nearly every facet of the game, head coach Rex Ryan gave his players Monday off to focus on righting the ship and to give the head coaching staff a chance to evaluate the team. But the Jets didn’t consider it a mini-vacation – instead, the vast majority of players were at the team facility as if it was a normal day.
Mondays around the NFL tend to be focused on treating injuries, team meetings and film study from the game the day before; essentially it is an opportunity to make corrections and get healthy. Then on Tuesdays, it is generally a universal day off where players can get away from the game and get their focus squarely set on next weekend. Players weren’t expected to report on Monday.
Last year during the whole Favre-capades, we wrote this story. This morning, commenter jeff i sent us an email, asking:
you did a great piece (i believe it was last year) regarding the game theory the jets use in managing the team. the article gave great insight on tannenbaum’s philosophy regarding trades and transactions. everyone is going crazy about tannenbaum being involved in every deal but that’s really at the core of his philosophy. i know the article was about mangini and tannenbaum but i’m thinking now would be a great time to reprint it or rewrite a similar post about tannenbaum given all the marshall hoopla.
You did a great piece (I believe it was last year) regarding the Game Theory the Jets use in managing the team. The article gave great insight on Tannenbaum’s philosophy regarding trades and transactions. Everyone is going crazy about Tannenbaum being involved in every deal but that’s really at the core of his philosophy. I know the article was about Mangini and Tannenbaum but i’m thinking now would be a great time to reprint it or rewrite a similar post about Tannenbaum given all the Marshall hoopla.
Oh Lordy, it’s the doldrum days of TJB and it’s only gonna get worse.
Sure the team is in OTAs today, and we’ll be sure to bring you them, but often we churn over material so fast, and so many of you are new readers, sometimes you don’t see some great content. This morning I’m bringing you a prescient piece Bent wrote last year at this time on Vernon Gholston and how fans should curb their enthusiasm for him … at least as a rookie. Enjoy.
In light of the recent debate over whether or not and to what extent Vernon Gholston can make an instant impact, I may have stumbled upon a pretty useful projection device.
This particular device is called “Gaines Adams” and, while there are certainly differences, which I will come to, I think there are enough similarities that we can compare the two.
Naturally, this will probably not prove the most exhaustive comparison possible, so if you can point out further similarities or differences to strengthen or dispel the conclusions reached here, then please do. I do not set out to prove or disprove anything, but by finding a similar case and identifying the impact of any differences between the two, it may give some indication as to how much and when we can expect Vernon to start dominating (if at all).
Prepare for a long article after the jump, with no puns or (sic)s.
From time to time, commenter zenlaw will send me chat transcripts from ESPN and other places. Although no one is asking me these questions (and thus probably don’t care whay my answers are) it dawned on me, that as insightful as some of the answers the pundits give, it would be more fun for me to pile on with my reactions or own answers to the questions. If you want to send questions or chats you might see onto me as well, please feel free to do so as I will try to make this a semi-regular part of my posts, as long as you are scouring the chats, I waste enough time as it is.
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Justin (Queens, NY): Hey Todd, in your best/worst pick article you tabbed the Jets worst pick as being Revis. Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t you comment on ESPN the other night that the Jets had a great draft? Do you feel Revis will be an impact player this year?
Todd McShay: Good point. I HAD to offer a worst pick. The only reason I wrote Revis is b/c they gave up so much to move up. In reality, I loved the Jets draft. Big upgrades at two positions of need with Revis and David Harris.
Brian Bassett: So you loved the draft but you picked Revis because of the move up, yet somehow Ted Ginn and Craig Davis escaped … fair enough. Would the Jets sitting on their butt and picking a guy they don’t deperately need in Greg Olsen at #25 been better? Please.
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Fireman Ed (NYC): Please don’t tell me the drafting of Harris means the writing is on the wall for Vilma. All this speculation of a trade has me worried.
Todd McShay: I don’t think so at all. They should play next to one another at ILB in the 3-4. Victor Hobson is the one that should be loosing sleep at night.
Brian Bassett: Is this the real Fireman Ed? I hope our de facto mascot wouldn’t really think that … for real ?? If anything, I think this is an endoresement of Vilma. Harris provides a more physical presence on the inside, something that Barton wasn’t exactly best suited for, he’s better outside. This isn’t to say that Harris doesn’t add some nice depth to ILB should negotiations with Vilma break down, or he just doesn’t want to re-sign with the Jets when his contract is up. If a guy like Kimo hasn’t gotten the axe (yet) what makes you think that Mangini & Tannenbaum don’t appreciate the intangibles that Vilma brings to this team?
As far as Hobson losing sleep? Hardly. Barton is the odd man out in Hempstead now.
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SCOTT(SYRACUSE): Right now the Bills if they get any production from rookies had to have jumped the Jets in AFC East agree?
KC Joyner: Yes and no. I’m not sold on the Jets being a great team and Buffalo is more solid than generally thought. Even so, NY has more upside than Buffalo in my opinion.
Brian Bassett: Is that your goal? Second place? Sounds about right from a Bills fan.
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SCOTT(SYRACUSE): Wow we are better at every position except #2 WR and corner but our D doesnt call for lockdown corners plus we destroyed them last year
KC Joyner: Two reactions to my Bills/Jets comment. Scott, don’t forget that I was referring to the overall record of each team, not if the Bills could beat the Jets head to head.
Brian Bassett: Every position? We’ll get to that. Your D doesn’t call for lockdown corners? Looking at Football Outsiders, your pass-protection was 6th best in the league, while your run defense was just about as bad as the Jets … but your team’s defensive didn’t rely on locking down coverage … of course.
As far as better at every position, let’s start with the offensive line. Although both our run blocking was about the same (the Jets were better) the Jets let up 13 less sacks than the Bills did. Need I move on? Pennington is a better thinking QB than Losman (who don’t get me wrong, has a cannon), and was rated as such in terms of efficiency even though their stats weren’t that different. In Thomas Jones, the Jets get a *proven* NFL back versus a *prospect* in Lynch. I don’t have time to address every position on this team, but just because you think you have a better team, doesn’t mean you do.
Our friend, Josh atThe Feedhas put together a top 25 list of good picks from the draft, to commemorate the draft 25 years ago that he was nice enough to let us reprint on TJB … I’ll let him explain. To read more great stuff from Josh, be sure to check outhis blog. –Bassett
In 1983 with their first two selections in the NFL Draft the Jets picked Ken O’Brien and Johnny Hector. That was a meaningful draft for me because those two players were fixtures on the Jets teams that, somehow, made me fall in love with Gang Green. It may have been a mistake to take O’Brien ahead of Dan Marino, a slight understatement, but when I was eight or nine there wasn’t a way you could convince me there was anything better than an O’Brien bomb to Wesley Walker. And Hector teamed with Freeman McNeil to make up the best backfield I could imagine. Given my limited knowledge of the game at the time that’s not saying much but the Aggie was my favorite player of the 80′s. His name still graces my annual fantasy football effort and occasionally ends up with championship glory, something that was sadly untrue for the original Johnny Hector.
In honor of the 25th Anniversary of the momentous day that brought O’Brien and Hector into green and white I thought I’d come up with a list of the Top 25 Jets picks in that time. After that we’ll get to the worst 25 picks, but we’ll start with the glory. The criteria are pretty simple for the best picks. Basically, how good was the player while he was with the Jets? Added in is the draft position, obviously a fourth rounder who pans out is a savvier pick than a first rounder who does as well as expected, and general other intangibles that we’ll discuss for each player but it’s nothing too tricky. Nothing so tricky as actually picking the players, anyway, as you’ll see below.
Honorable Mention: Bobby Humphery, Ninth Round, 1983. Kareem McKenzie, Third Round, 2001. Marcus Coleman, Fifth Round, 1996. Ray Mickens, Third Round, 1996. Chris Baker, Third Round, 2002. Too soon to tell about D’Brickashaw Ferguson, Nick Mangold and Leon Washington but they all look good so far.
25. Jeff Lageman, DE, Virginia. First Round, #14 Overall in 1989
Seriously. Get past the vituperative reaction by Jets fans at the draft and you’ll find a player that wasn’t all that bad during his six years in green. 34.5 sacks, including 10 in 1991, and if injury hadn’t cost him all but two games of ’92 he’d have been even more successful. The worst part of the pick is that the Jets took Dennis Byrd and Marvin Washington later in the same draft and passed on Steve Atwater in the first round but Lageman himself wasn’t as awful as your memory tells you he was.
Yesterday, Mel Kiper chatted on ESPN.com and took some questions that related to the Jets.
Dave, Cleveland Ohio: Mel, Looking at the past 3 years drafts, which 3 NFL teams have drafted the best?
Mel Kiper: We’ll go back to last year. The Chicago Bears had one of the best drafts. Manning, Hester, Anderson helped them. Baltimore Ravens did well last year. Indianapolis – they got Addai early and Bethea late in the draft in the sixth who really helped them win the Super Bowl. New Orleans Saints, getting Reggie Bush, Evans, Colston. New York Jets had a nice draft. They got two cornerstones in Ferguson and Mangold for the o-line.
Kevin (New York, NY): How does Joe Thomas stack up with last years top tackle D?Brickashaw Fergurson? Also, who do you see the Jets grabbing in round 1??
Mel Kiper: I think Thomas is more highly regarded. I think Thomas is more on par with the Orlando Pace’s of the draft. He’s a supreme LT. I think you can make the argument that he was the most dominant player in college football last season. Thomas is going to be in the discussion for Cleveland, Tampa and certainly Arizona.
Sam (Baton Rouge): What is the probability of Craig Davis (WR) being taken in the 2nd round?
Mel Kiper: I’d say it’s pretty strong. He’s my ninth rated WR. I have six WRs going in the first round. You’d think there’s a good chance he goes in the second. If he does, he could be going to the Jets.
In reading Kiper’s answers, I am glad to see that Mel Kiper thinks the Jets drafted well last season, but I guess there’s a little sting that he thinks Joe Thomas is already better than D’Brickashaw. I am intrigued by the talk of LSU’s Craig Davis in the second round.
TJB is trying an experiment. Using content from other blogs (with permission of course). This re-print comes with permission from Josh Alper ofThe Feed, a fellow Jet fan who spent much of December in New Zealand. Feel free to comment here on on Josh’s blog post. Enjoy!
–Bassett
I got off a flight from New Zealand at about 10 A.M. Los Angeles time yesterday and after customs and baggage claim and a ride to the hotel where the wife and I would spend the final day of 2006 I was able to watch the final 30 regular season minutes of the Jets season. And what a 30 minutes they were. The evisceration of the Raiders wasn’t surprising, not after 15 games and not against a team as awful as Oakland, but it was satisfying. Usually New Year’s Eve is a day and night of unmet expectations but the Jet victory and playoff berth made it a day of surpassed ones for the first time in my memory.
I know that I won’t soon forget the sight of the Penguin being soaked by Jonathan Vilma and company (there’s a great shot of it at The Jets Blog). Mangini’s reaction was great, never fully gleeful but he finally allowed the truth of the playoffs to roll across his face in a smile like the gatorade soaking his skin. I’ll obviously talk more about the Patriots, Mangini-Belichick III and everything else in the days leading up to Sunday but just wanted to say that there’s simply no better way to end a year than watching the Jets climb the mountain and no better way to start it than psyching yourself up for a mammoth playoff game against your biggest rivals. All credit to Mangini who should be Coach of the Year and to Mike Tannenbaum for putting his friend in charge despite his lack of experience and youth.
I got off a flight from New Zealand at about 10 A.M. Los Angeles time yesterday and after customs and baggage claim and a ride to the hotel where the wife and I would spend the final day of 2006 I was able to watch the final 30 regular season minutes of the Jets season. And what a 30 minutes they were. The evisceration of the Raiders wasn’t surprising, not after 15 games and not against a team as awful as Oakland, but it was satisfying. Usually New Year’s Eve is a day and night of unmet expectations but the Jet victory and playoff berth made it a day of surpassed ones for the first time in my memory.
