Now that the Jets have assembled a team of Marks to compete with Miami’s all-Chad duo (Brunell was clearly preferable over Marc Bulger for spelling purposes), most of us have wondered, if only for a minute or two while in the shower, what Kellen Clemens’ future in the NFL looks like. From what I am reading, a lot of you would like to see the former Oregon Duck remain in New York, due to his knowledge of the playbook, popularity in the clubhouse and serious concerns regarding Brunell’s playing ability. Of course, with five QBs now on the roster, the retention of Clemens, Ainge and O’Connell has become untenable; it is a sure bet that at least one, and likely two of those three will be scrapped. Remarkably, of the trio, it is Clemens who is most likely to be released, even ahead of O’Connell, whose presence on this team has long mystified me. The reason being is of course that it is more economical to carry a scrub like O’Connell in the three or four spot than to plug a backup of fair-to-good quality like Clemens at third string. It is also a sign of respect to Kellen, whom we (the team, anyway…like a lot of fans, I was never sold on him) once considered to be the post-Pennington future, that we allow him to pursue his goal of earning a starting job elsewhere in the league. I may be jumping the gun, but it has been apparent to me for months now that this relationship will end, and end soon. All the better then that Clemens and the Jets part on mutually friendly terms, and that No.11 be granted his right to seek a better life outside the Big Apple.

But if Clemens is a goner, on whose shores can we expect him to wash up? It’s not an easy question to answer, although a general dearth of respectable depth at his position across the league assures us that he will be no more than a single injury away from meaningful time on the field. As for getting a whack or two at the day one starting job, well, the prospects are far thinner, and Clemens doesn’t exactly have a mind-blowing track record when it comes to training camp competitions, having lost three in a row now. He lacks the speed and instinct to play serious pro football – more Byron Leftwich than Kevin Kolb – and there was a time when most Jets fans were legitimately more enthusiastic about Brett Ratliff than this kid. That’s not a good sign. Moreover, if the jury was out on his initial starting effort in 2007, playing behind one of the NFL’s shakiest O-lines, then Clemens erased most doubts of his suckatude against the Buccaneers last December. Despite a massively dominate effort by much of the team, Clemens barely outplayed rookie Josh Freeman, and at times seemed almost completely lost.

But he’s got to get signed somewhere. So which five teams offer the cattle rancher from Burns, Ore. his best chance at redemption? Let’s have a look under the hood.

CHICAGO BEARS

Current depth chart: Jay Cutler, Caleb Hanie, Dan LeFevour

I’m not sure how happy Clemens would be to find himself in yet another city where, injury aside, the starting job is totally out of reach. Let’s face it, the Bears have already consecrated their nuptials with Cutler, and the immature quarterback would probably have to knee Mike Martz in the nutsack to lose his gig at this point. But behind Cutler, there’s practically no insurance for Chicago, which will be reliant on their passing game to turn last season’s misery into this year’s success. LeFevour was a special talent at Central Michigan, and a darling of scouts of the college game, but the skills he used to notch the all-time NCAA touchdown record won’t transpose themselves easily to the NFL. Even if he does eventually emerge as a enviable skills player, it’s not going to be in 2010. So the clipboard rests with Caleb Hanie, a 2009 UDFA from the Colorado State Rams who threw for all of 10 yards and an INT in garbage time last year. The Bears may like him well enough, but I can’t be wrong in thinking that Kellen Clemens would be a huge upgrade here. There aren’t a whole lot of other names on the market, so unless they really are content with sitting still, I think this would make a great deal of sense.

CLEVELAND BROWNS
Current depth chart: Jake Delhomme, Seneca Wallace, Brett Ratliff, Colt McCoy

Mangini both drafted and coached Clemens with the Jets, so he should like him enough, not to mention he’s been stockpiling ex-Jets like it’s nobody’s business. Then again, Mangini isn’t calling all the shots in Cleveland these days, and Seneca Wallace, in spite pf his struggles this offseason, is a Mike Holmgren guy. Browns fans are hoping McCoy’s the future, which they might as well do, because there’s no chance of him becoming the present in 2010. So why not swap out the near-30 year old Wallace, whose days as one of the league’s best backups appear to be ending, for Kellen, who can compete with Delhomme for the job of temporary starter, and bridge to the McCoy era, should there ever be such a thing? Even if Delhomme is the enshrined season-long starter right now (and knowing Mangini, there is no such thing), the Agin’ Cajun from Lafayette, LA is such a liability at this point that it’s near impossible to even call him a “game manager” any longer. Most people just call him the NFL’s worst starting quarterback. Now’s your chance, Kellen!!

BUFFALO BILLS
Current depth chart: Trent Edwards, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Brian Brohm, Levi Brown

The Bills would be one of the first teams to come to most peoples’ minds, and in a way, Buffalo does make sense. Their QB situation is a colossal disaster, and one that they appear to be in no hurry to correct. Whereas most anticipated them selecting a passer in April’s first round, say, the recently inked Carolina Panther Jimmy Clausen, new GM Buddy Nix instead opted for the dynamicism of C.J. Spiller. All well and good, but it’s not usually recommended that you field a team whose most talented and exciting player is a rookie running back. The team hasn’t given up on Edwards yet, who will at least be allowed a month or so of work before any talk of pulling the plug begins, so there’s zero chance of Kellen starting immediately here. It’s also not realistic that he could unseat Fitzpatrick for the number two spot, as the HARVARD PRODUCT!!!!!! (didyouknowthathewenttoharvard!?!?) surpassed most reasonable expectations in relief of Edwards last year. Brohm was once thought to be first round material coming out of Louisville, but has been nothing more than practice squad bait in the bigs, although I read an article not long ago the Buffalo was still intrigued by his latent abilities (lies). Brown, a respectable 7th round pick from Troy, remains unsigned, but in fact received more snaps than did Brohm at the first day of Bills training camp. No matter how you slice it, the Buffalo quarterback stable is far too jumbled to accommodate Clemens as it is presently situated. Were they to waive Brown and bid adieu to Brohm, then perhaps could Clemens find a home upstate. But three way battles for the starting role aren’t good for anyone, and Clemens isn’t interested in becoming anyone’s bronze medal. A shame, too, because Kellen may well be a better option than any of these dudes. In short, maybe it should go down, but it won’t.

Oh, and one final note. Don’t count on Clemens being traded, or the team even so much as investigating the trade. His value on the market following the Tampa Bay game must be close to nil, and Tanny already tried shopping him in vain back in April. I know nobody likes seeing a player leave for nothing in return, but, hey, that’s another roster spot up for grabs. Fight for it, Hard Knocks cast members! Fight!!

- Manhole Out.

Nay, friends, I have not fallen into a permanent vegetative state, nor driven my ship off the edge of the earth, to the abyss where the great dragons dwell. It’s actually just kind of been a really busy week for me. As soon as I wrapped up my summer camp work, I was asked to do a near 180 and repack my bags for the Garden State. In the interim, I also happened to come down with bronchitis, or at least that’s what my doctor has told me. I still believe I’ve been stricken with consumption, and they’re going to have to do more than fling a few stethoscopes my way to convince me otherwise. While I was gone, my usually firm handle on the latest Jets news lessened a bit, to the point at which my father, upon picking me up from LaGaurdia, had to break it to me that we had contacted Terrell Owens’ agent. I didn’t believe him. About ten minutes later, he turned on WFAN and Don LaGreca delivered the grim news himself. My assumption at the time was that the team was merely doing their due diligence to investigate a prominent free agent, and that our consideration of him was no more serious than it was concerning JaMarcus Russell. In fact, signing JaMarcus would have made significantly more sense, given that we actually have need for a backup quarterback, whereas I can think of no role for T.O. on this team outside of making people hate us even more and presenting David Clowney with a huge raised middle finger just days after returning from his charity work in Ghana. No matter how serious our interest may have been, Owens indeed wound up in Cincinnati, which was always the only real, logical place for him, and I look forward to watching Cromartie blanket him on Thanksgiving night, while Revis silences his prolifically Twitterish compatriot across the field.

Who’s ready for training camp!?

Some people, notably the jumpy and less-than-trustworthy Rich Cimini, expected the Jets to swallow up Mark Brunell as soon the Final Eight rule expired on the 22nd, and were alarmed when this did not happen (Cimini also believed Marques Douglas would be resigned almost as quickly. How’d that work out for you, buddy?) My homeboy Manish Mehta, however, is now reporting that Brunell is in Florham Park ready to work out for the team, which presumably means he will be inked before he steps out the door. Understandably, Kellen Clemens is a goner, even if select members of the team have indicated their opposition to such a move in the past. Kevin O’Connell will presumably also be shown the way out, which is fine, because I’ve never been able to understand why we felt the need to carry a 4th QB, especially one who seemed to bring little to the team beyond his connection to the Pats. The debate regarding Sanchez’s backup has already been had, both here on the Kvetch and elsewhere, but for the record, I am in strong support for a depth chart of Sanchez, Brunell and Ainge. If you’d like to debate that, I’d be happy, thrilled even, to do so in the comments section.

Now that I’m back in the world of the living, being home in Jersey should afford me some great new opportunities. For starters, I’m hoping, however unlikely it may be, to to get up to Cortland for training camp. Failing that, I have already scheduled my season ticket holder tour of the new stadium for this Saturday. Yeah, I know many of you did that long, long ago, and got to attend that open stadium practice, but I’ve never even driven past the completed stadium, let alone been inside of it, so this is pretty exciting. I also still need to write a large number of promised guest posts (sorry guys! I really will do it ASAP!).

Oh, and finally, check out the new-look Jets blog! I swear I had to do a double-take when I first saw it. Looks great, doesn’t it?

Anyway, good to be back. Now let’s get camp started!

- Manhole Out.

As I remain, as the l33t among us say, “afk,” I shall once again outsource the writing duties of this site, this time looking toward Ryan Burns of the brilliant Football Sickness blog, which offers everything from leaguewide analysis to fantasy advice, all written from a heavily fan-centric perspective. Ryan, a Browns fan, was kind enough today to provide us with his take on our Jets, though I did not bother to ask in advance if his thoughts were positive. As it turns out, they are, and I think the article to follow could provide a much needed shot of confidence to those fans not quite yet ready to unite their mouths with their money.

-Ed.

——————

When I was invited to write a guest Kvetch, I was pumped.  One, I just like the site. I am first and foremost a football fan, and I get an inordinate amount of joy from my interactions with other football fans (he conceded, conveniently bypassing the psychoanalysis that might otherwise be warranted), and Jets fans are high on my list for their undying passion.  But two, your New York Jets are constructed after my own pigskin-wrapped heart. They were built in a manner that conforms to the way I would build a team, were anyone simply wise enough to hire me to do so.  And as a lifelong Browns fan, if I wanted to go the easy route, I could boil my 2010 Jets analysis down to one very precise word:

Jealousy.

It might be a deadly sin, but I watched with envy for years as New York’s brain trust loaded up on high-grade, trench-dwelling monsters like Nick n’ Brick, and making savvy trades for key components like the Sanchize (the pick for whom you scored from my Browns and your former coach, The Manguin, in return for relatively little). Of course, it hasn’t yet resulted in the kinds of winning you’re looking for, but I have long believed the Jets were on the right track. Now I am sure of it.

By drafting Boise St. blue turfer Kyle Wilson (a steal at #29) and securing the services of Santonio Holmes and Antonio Cromartie via trade, Mike Tannenbaum and Rex Ryan put the finishing touches on a team that has juggernaut written all over it.  Franchise quarterback?  Power running game led by monstrous, dominant offensive line that is easily the league’s best?  Talented receiving group? Havoc-wrecking defense that is both ultra-physical and intelligent? Check, check, check, triple check. Barring a catastrophic string of injuries, the only question is when it all comes together.

Mind you, there are reasons to temper your enthusiastic optimism.  Having watched him since his high school days just 20 minutes down the road here in SoCal, I’m a big believer in Mark Sanchez.  But he is still a 2nd year player in an incredibly competitive league full of complex defenses.  Kris Jenkins missed the better part of 2009 and is making noise about retirement.  At the critical nose tackle spot in Rex’s 3-4, that’s an issue.  If long term dominance is part of the plan, that should be a huge focus going into this season and the 2011 NFL Draft.  Holmes will miss the first 4 games on a substance suspension, and none of their others are the go-to receiver that the former Super Bowl MVP is (the list of reasons is long and distinguished, but you’ll just have to trust me on Braylon). The Darrelle Revis holdout situation appears to have some life to it.  Make him happy.  Yesterday.

And, of course, I need not remind you that until the Jets win the division, it still belongs to the Belichick-Brady Boys up north. Let us not forget, after all, that the Jets finished the 2009 regular season with a 9-7 record, the same as they had in 2008, after which The Manguin was summarily dismissed. They still have to go out and prove the hype for an entire season.

Other than the Revis issue, however, this amalgamation of potential speed bumps is outweighed in my mind by the undeniable cohesion of talent, philosophy, and chemistry we witnessed at the end of 2009.  I expect Rex to use his big, nasty offensive line and the powerful Greene to continue pounding opponents backward toward their own end zones, destroying wills along the way.  I expect Sanchez to demonstrate reasonable progress (though he’ll sprinkle in a few stinkers). I expect Tomlinson to be effective in the passing game and at the goal line, where he has always thrived for reasons other than speed and quickness.  I expect the defense to bring ungodly amounts of hat, and I expect the trio of Revis, Cromartie and Wilson to make passing nearly impossible unless you wear #9, #12 or #18.  I expect Bart Scott to have a monster year.  I expect the newest incarnation of “Hard Knocks” to be absolutely wonderful television.  But most of all, I expect the New York Jets to be among the final four competing for a ring for the second straight year.

I am loathe to crown champions in July.  Such endeavors reflect poorly on the writer (I’ll wait until after a couple of pre-season games when my Pigskin Premonitions kick in to make broad-scope forecasts). But Gang Green is unquestionably in the 2010 Super Bowl conversation for the reasons laid out above. (I, meanwhile, am left to try and convince myself that Rex walked into a Mangini-built powerhouse.  Awesome.)  So rejoice, Tri-State Area. Get your hard-hats and J-E-T-S chant lungs ready, because these Jets will again compete for the right to pass around the “Sticky Lombardi” in 2010. Enjoy it.

For months I’ve been asking readers to send me personal stories of Jets fandom, from the comedic to the tragic and everything in between. I left the door open for creative essays, photojournalism and even freaking poetry, and not one of you schmucks could be bothered to submit anything. Oh sure, the first two installments of Fanbytes  were great, way back in, like, April, but now it’s July and this blog is about ready to switch into full-on regular season mode. I need stories! Even David from Gang Green Nation has been hounding y’all about this for the past two days and still nothing!

 Thanks then to a Twitter friend who tweets by the name of @GONYJETS for taking the time to share a remarkable experience that took place only a year ago. I know a lot of you are down on Kerry Rhodes, and, in many ways, that’s deserved. Yesterday, Kris Jenkins not so subtly inferred that he is a woman. I myself have called him a “cockstain” on numerous instances. But I think after reading our friend’s story, you’ll see that there’s a legitimately good person beneath all that soft play. Have a read:

Maybe this is a good time to write about this. I have attended at least 2 Jets games for the past 15-20 years. Last year my fathers health was failing and I really felt uncomfortable leaving for the weekend to attend a football game 9 hours away. I knew my dad would not be with us for very long and thought it best to drive down and spend time with him on weekends. My father passed and I did not get to a game all year because I was basically checking on Mom every chance I could drive to her house. I was really grieving and a player picked up on this knowing my passion for the Jets and basically asked if there was anything they could do to help. Game tickets, autographed item, etc anything that would lift my spirits. I swear every time I posted something about what I was feeling they responded with a positive thought and the post were not directed to them. So finally I asked this player would send me an autographed ball and maybe get one or two other players to sign. I was contacted by the persons agent and was told that players are funny about signing sometimes but they would do the best they could to get it done. The next day the player contacted me and said no worries he would handle this personally. About 3 days later, the UPS guy runs into my garage with a box in the pouring rain. He is a native of NYC and I tell him what’s in the box so he asks if he can check it out. I open the box and to my surprise the ball is signed by every member of the 2009 NY Jets!!!!! This you best believe is my most prized Jets item even though I have tons of other items! This player is no longer with the Jets and has taken a lot of shall we say shots over the past few months. But I know personally that he is a good guy and will always be admired by me because he did this for someone he has never actually meet. I will keep in contact with him and will be in Charlotte to support him this year. I love the NY Jets but this is my dawg for life.

A gift from a maligned safety to a grieving son.

Thanks again to GONYJETS for sharing his story. If you would like to submit a Fanbyte, please send it and any accompanying material to max@jetskvetch.com.

- Manhole Out.

THE SAFETIES.

Things are going to be different now that Hollywood’s gone. The gifted, perpetually topless free safety, pegged by the media and his teammates as being more interested in acting than tackling, has taken his sideshow to Arizona, where he is again getting called out for his apathy. It hadn’t always been this way. When the former Louisville Cardinal by way of Alabama first emerged in 2006, he was considered to be the “quarterback of the defense,” a breakout star with the potential to become one of the game’s best. Following that season, Peter King even named him the 29th best player in the whole league, comparing him to former Jet Ronnie Lott in the process. Then came the $33 million contract and the draw of TV and film appearances (not to mention the Twitter phenomenon, which Rhodes has embraced with the openest of arms), and something changed for Kerry. His play became lazy, and the man who could have once been routinely counted upon to sit at the top of the team’s tackle statistics suddenly developed a terminal fear of contact. His relationships with Rex and Mike Pettine became antagonistic to the point of disciplinary benching, and before long, the man who was Revis-before-Revis was gone.

But we’re not here to talk about Kerry. We’re well past done with him, and everybody already understands why the team felt the need to cut him. What needs examining is the hole at the safety position that his absence has left. As positively stacked as the Jets are this year, particularly on the defensive side of the ball, there is weakness to be found, and it is fifteen yards back of the line of scrimmage. Forgive me for being blunt, but there should not be a question to which the answer is “Jim Leonhard, Brodney Pool, Eric Smith and Donovan Warren.” These three players, tough but not outstanding, are the mass of Sloppy Joe meat dolloped between the delicious slices of ciabatta bread that are our linebackers and our corners. I know many of you like some of these guys, particularly Jim Leonhard, who won us all over last season with his tight, competitive play (and not because he’s a white player at a historically black position). I like them too. However, with such little depth and serious uncertainties regarding Pool’s health, this is not a position situation for the New York Jets. It’s not horrible, but it’s not positive.

When you’re sharing a backfield with Darrelle Revis, Antonio Cromartie and Kyle Wilson, you tend to play a lot closer to the box, and when your coach is Rex Ryan, you can usually expect to blitz. A lot. None of this information should be surprising, but it does apply another fold of pressure to already stressed passers, so athleticism is a must in this system, even at strong safety, where the 5’8″ 186lbs. Leonhard notched 3 sacks a year ago, including a gorgeous strip-sack of J.T. O’Sullivan in Week 17 (Rhodes failed to find even one in the regular season). On that condition, most of these players pass, though not without flaws. Leonhard is a bit rough when brought back to play man on tight ends, but he can be vicious once locked upon a target. Pool’s got the tools to cover the field, but he’s not an immensely physical guy. He’ll factor more into pass protection, where he could eventually share time with Donovan Warren, the much (relatively) hyped UDFA from Michigan whom nearly everyone expects will make the active roster, and may well become a starter in 2011. Warren, once thought to be a potential first round pick before some poor offseason performances sunk him, played CB in college, and has the skills in man coverage to become a lesser version of Darrelle Revis, lining up on either side of the field and getting his hands up precisely where they need be to score deflections. Eric Smith, who at this time a year ago was thought of by Rex Ryan as nothing more than trade bait, has proven himself to be a respectable backup at free safety, although it is doubtful that he will ever make the step up to NFL starter. The official Jets website touts Smith’s veteran leadership and communication skills, but it’s really his speed that aids him. He’ll be a far bigger contributor on special teams, I would think. Rex, for his part, seems to have changed his mind about Smith, and now compares him favorably to Ed Reed. I don’t know about that, but when it comes to the Ravens, I am looking forward to seeing him reconnect with his old buddy Anquan Boldin.

Everybody’s got a different answer.
“Brilliant quiet signing” or “temporary role player?”

We’re going to get a lot of use out of our defensive backs under Rex Ryan, so it’s unfortunate that beyond these guys our strongest option is James Ihedigbo, a well liked but ultimately lackluster prospect. I believe that we can trust in Tony, WI’s own Jimmy Leonhard to get his job done, but I worry about Brodney Pool. As much as his attitude makes him an upgrade over Rhodes, he’s not a significantly better tackler, and in a lot of ways, that’s what we needed. He will, however, play high and make life in the pocket a little harder for its unfortunate occupant. If he and Leonhard are both able to stay on the field all year, and Warren develops at a high rate, then any qualms about our secondary should quickly dissolve in the shadow of the Revis-Cromartie-Wilson machine. But staying healthy is a bigger problem for Pool then one would think. Brodney has reportedly suffered four concussions in five seasons, and whether Pool chooses to acknowledge this or continue to write them off as mere migraines, the fact remains that he has repeatedly missed large chunks of playing time due to head injuries.

One way or another, this team should still be ranked in the top three pass and run defenses, if not first overall, so this all really amounts to the picking of nits. But it’s fair to say that if there’s a nit to picked on this team outside of Sanchez, then it’s with these guys. I wouldn’t expect many games to be won on the strength of our safeties, but conversely, I would not bank on them losing many of us either. Regardless of whatever Rex says, there are on Ed Reeds on this team, but does that really matter?

- Manhole Out.

DOES PEYTON’S JERSEY LEAD THE WAY TO AN EXPANDED SEASON?

Not too long ago, I possessed two opinions that I felt were immutable: one that the overtime rules must be changed to disallow sudden death, and two, that the NFL should reject any inclination it might have to grow the regular season to eighteen games. As someone who values common sense and parity as much as fair play, our league has always stood out to me for its perfect organization and relative lack of controversies, be they related to the officiating or otherwise. While some sports stumble over themselves with bizarrely uneven team distribution (baseball), practically year-long seasons (baseball, basketball, hockey), stubborn refusal of instant replay adoption (baseball), way too many teams in the postseason (basketball, hockey), monopolistic franchises (baseball) and colossal load of suck (baseball), the National Football League seems to get it right over and over. That kind of stability can real mellow you out after a twenty minute screaming bout with the car radio about the merits of the BCS and the spectacle in absurdity that was the Armando Galaragga/Jim Joyce blow-up. Current labor crisis notwithstanding, it’s been hard to find a flaw with the mechanisms of pro football since the respective introductions of the revenue sharing, free agency, the salary cap and even divisions. Sudden death overtime was always among the most obvious trouble spots, and I’m pleased to see that we’re well into the process of remedying that. But there’s always more money to be made, and just as the NCAA nearly sullied their impeccable basketball tournament by opening it up to the likes of Slippery Rock U. and the Pac-10′s 7th best team, so too has Roger Goodell and Co. flirted with an 18 game schedule.

While I remain firm on the overtime question, my mind has begun to change when it comes to an 18 game year. My fear has always been that tossing more games into the schedule would be like pouring a quart of water into a cup of lemonade – the substance remains the same, but there is a dilution of the taste you loved. The absolute, bar none best thing about football has always been its small number of meaningful contests, which renders every single game massively important for any team with hopes of a playoff run. Your first game is as critical as your third game which is as critical as your sixth as your tenth as your fifteenth. Schedules can be memorized and printed on neat little refrigerator magnets, and the world seems to move one week at a time from September to December. Sure, two extra games isn’t a ton, but after 256 face-offs, haven’t the best already proven themselves? We do really need further evidence to conclude that the Colts are pretty good, but the Rams are, eh, not so much? Keep in mind also that 32 more games means two more weeks of Lions-Browns and Bills-Chiefs in freezing cold and deserted stadia (although this new policy that requires each team to close with a divisional opponent should help improve things some).

Yet in reading some articles that have popped up in the last week, principally John Lopez’s proposal at Sports Illustrated, I’ve come to see that adding new games won’t dilute the NFL: it will improve it from top to bottom. Hell, it may even save us from a lockout next year.

The decision to expand, if made, will naturally be reached based upon expectations of greater profit. For better or worse, the owners and league officers considering expansion will be studying bank statements, not injury reports. Unsurprisingly, this does not sit well with the Players Association, well accustomed by now to sparing with money-hungry owners. Both NFLPA director DeMaurice Smith and former Jet/longtime union president Kevin Mawae have spoken out against the proposal in its current form, citing increased risk for injury, as have Tom Brady and Ray Lewis, with the former stating: “The long-term impact this game has on our bodies is well documented. Look no further than the players that came before we did.” Brady is absolutely right to take seriously the long-term health of NFL players (it is a little absurd to hear this from a man who is treated by refs like a Faberge egg), but whatever physically hazards weeks 18 and 19 will bring can be offset by a restructuring of the league’s year-round schedule.

Goodell has framed an 18 game schedule as a proposition to also cut the preseason in half, something we can all get behind, but Lopez takes it a step further in the direction of common sense. He suggests that the NFL do away with the whole unnecessary exercise altogether. By excising the preseason entirely, we instantly make life a little more enjoyable for fans and starting players alike. Conversely, though, we also cut revenue somewhat significantly for owners who have packaged the preseason in with season tickets, and deny young players a chance to develop. Lopez’s solution? A developmental spring league, similar to the NBA summer league, in which rookies, backups and practice squad players can compete before their coaches in televised games in small markets like Memphis and Hartford. Thus, the fans get a legitimate form of offseason football, and the coaches get an even better method of evaluating talent. The veteran players, meanwhile, should be plenty find after months of conditioning and training camp. They don’t need the preseason, and hardly participate in it as it is.

Now the season begins at the start of September, closer to the first week of college football, and we prevent the Super Bowl from drifting even further into February, or God forbid even March. To combat injuries, Lopez also proposes (although somewhat softly) a second bye week, something that would at once send the nation’s fantasy players into septic shock. I’m less fond of this idea, and would prefer to see weeks 8 and 9 used as league wide byes, with 16 teams taking it easy the first week, and the remaining 16 resting the next. At least this way nobody will be getting a bye three months before the end of regular season play, as happened to the Cardinals last year. Jarrett Bell of the USA Today notes other considerations on the table for dealing with injuries, such as increased roster size (which would appeal to the players union) and reformed IR rules that could allow a player to return to the field six weeks after being listed. I’m comfortable with both, and expect teams and players will find their own way to stay healthy, as they did when the NFL expanded from 14 games long ago. Our healthcare system for players needs more work, to be sure, but it’s not in dealing with the knicks and bruises of the grueling pro season, it’s in the long-term care of those who sacrificed their bodies for years and years.

I’ve heard from someone online that it could be potentially mandated that no players be allowed to start more than 16 games, forcing coaches to ration and selectively deploy their players. That would be a fascinating new policy strategically speaking, but I just couldn’t get behind that. It’s bad enough when one backup quarterback has to start a game: nobody wants to have to see two duke it out. It’s also quite unfair to “surprise” teams that have to push a little harder to stay alive for the playoff hunt, especially if a couple specific players are doing most of the heavy lifting. Imagine how furious you would be if some nonsensical rule pushed your perfectly healthy superstar to the sidelines and cost you your season as a result.

Okay, so what have we solved? Thanks to Lopez, we now have no preseason, a D-League and an 18 game season that could appease both sides in the CBA negotiations. But what about the schedules? How will they be drafted? As it stands, each team players their three divisional rivals twice, then eight teams from two other divisions (one from each conference), set on an annual rotation. The final two games – the only ones not shared between teams within the same division – are the two in-conference teams from outside your rotating division that finished in the same W-L position that you did last year. What the hell does that mean? It means that if the Jets are playing the AFC East (as always) and the AFC North this year, then we also get the Texans and Broncos, as they, like us, finished second in their divisions in 2009. That’s honestly the best way I can explain that.

Is there a logical way to get two more teams in that mix? I say there is, and moreover, I think it’s the best damn idea I’ve ever had. Why not institute “rivalry games?” I know there will never be traveling trophies and cross-campus prank wars in the NFL, but a system of permanent fixed opponents like the one currently used by the Big Ten in college football could make all the difference. Who wouldn’t want to get the Giants at our new stadium each and every year? How about the Eagles? The two New York teams trade Boston for Philadelphia in baseball’s interleague play, so Jets-Eagles and Giants-Patriots could make sense here. When we get those teams in our normal schedule, we can just swap them out for a randomly selected conference team. Now once-strong rivalries like Cowboys-Chiefs can get back off the ground, while new, unexpected ones like Packers-Colts could start fermenting. Who knows? Maybe someday Raiders-49ers on Christmas Day could become a nationally televised must-see game?

There’s a lot to consider here, but an expanded season might be the only way to bring in enough new money to make both sides of the labor dispute happy, so we might as well start to accept it. Besides, who’s going to complain about a little more football? Now that’s not such a bad thing, is it?

- Manhole Out.

Hello dear friend/head of household!

Wouldn’t you love to spend a long weekend in upstate New York’s gorgeous Finger Lakes region, home to lots and lots of birds and gorges and wineries and stuff, all while winning the chance to visit the New York Jets© football “training camp” in Cortland? Well, now you can! I had the good fortune of being contacted by a representative of NY’s department of tourism, who suggested that I help make their Jets-tinged travel raffle better known to my notably outdoorsy and adventurous reader base. Ordinarily such a thing would turn up in a Linkenstein article before I would award it with its own post, but I remain stuck working the summer camp scene, and I thought this contest would be good busy-day make-up fodder.

So here’s the deal. I LOVE NY, the tourism outfit for the Empire State, would like to award you and three friends multi-day VIP passes for training camp. Unfortunately, they don’t have nearly enough to go around, so to snag them, you’ll have to win their lottery, which you can enter behind this link. Should you happen to win, you’ll also get free airfare or trainfare, depending on your preferred mode of travel, and two complimentary nights at the Greek Peak Mountain Resort, which, I mean, if me screaming “Indoor water park!!” isn’t enough to win you over, come on dude. Bear in mind that the travel package need not be redeemed at the same time as the Jets VIP passes, which obviously have a more finite timeframe for use. Not that you’d ever put off something like that.

So, to reiterate, if you win this thing you get:

- JETS FOOTBALL!
- A huge hotel
- Free travel
- Nature hikes
- Swimming
- More football!!
- Hoverbikes

Sounds like a pretty baller deal to me. Again, you can enter the contest by visiting this site, and check out more stuff from the I LOVE NY people at their official website and Facebook page.

While you wait for the winner to be drawn on July 26th, here are some interesting facts about the “Crown City,” recycled from last year.

Cortland, NY

Population: 18,740
Claim to Fame: Home to Jets training camp. Yep, first neat thing that’s happened.
Notable residents: Dio was from there. :( RIP
Favorite drink: No clue. Moxie?

SUNY Cortland

NCAA Affiliation: Division III
Nickname: Red Dragons
Athletic Attitude: Huge sports love on a tiny, tiny scale
Better than Purdue?: No

So what are you waiting for? Throw your name in the hat, and help support tourism in New York. Just another way to get the adrenaline going for early August tw0-a-days.

- Manhole Out.

• Just one month to go until Hard Knocks premiers! That’s thirty days until the Jets return to our television screens, bringing hours of training camp battles, coaching insights, locker room pranks and Rex Ryan quotables along with them. Tell me I’m not the only one whose nipples are rock hard right now. Whether they are or aren’t, have a look at this latest promo video, part of HBO’s “The Buzz” series, dutifully recorded off the screen by a fast-thinking Jets fan from Florida. Should anyone be able to produce a TV quality version, said person would automatically be elevated to the same esteemed stature as my closest friends and relations. Anyways, go watch this. It’s extremely well produced and a bit more arousing than an ice cube to your manboobs.

• This may come off as disingenuous considering I link to them far more routinely than to any other non-team specific site, but I think Pro Football Talk kind of really sucks. While they do have a knack for getting stories fired off quickly, that talent mostly comes as a result of monitoring Adam Schefter and Jay Glazer’s Twitter accounts and typing like a stenographer on amphetamines, as fittingly illustrated by KSK. Although I am a neutral political actor in this, I do support, in spirit, The Jets Blog’s “embargo” against Florio and his stupid, stupid haircut. It’s about time someone took a stand for something, dammit! However, I must give credit where it is due, and this summer, when it comes to the Jets contract situation, it is due to PFT. They have been in many instances substantially more on the ball than our own local media, and were the first to reveal the true details of D’Brickashaw’s new extension (although they’ve been overly harsh in assuming this is a raw deal for Brick). It is thus with a slightly less raised eyebrow that I present their newest article pertaining to Darrelle Revis, which presents the doomiest of doomday scenarios. Assuming that no new deal can be worked out, and that Revis opts out of the final years of his rookie contract, which he would, the league could declare the Jets’ buyout of those years in violation of the 30 Percent Rule, forcing Revis into an unrestricted free agency period that would deny the Jets even the use of tenders and the franchise tag. Okay, I take it back: my eyebrow is raised again. This is simply not going to happen. However, the threat of its very possibility gives Revis a new bargaining chip, perhaps his only real source of leverage beyond his own talent at this point, and proves how essential it is that we take care of business. In debating the “will-he-won’t-he” holdout situation, Florio cements his reactionary ways by again noting that Revis’s uncle, the Pro Bowl defensive tackle Sean Gilbert, once (foolishly) sat out an entire season. Oh, and that Revis considers Gilbert to be a mentor of sorts. Which proves we’re screwed, I guess. So, in short, I take it all back: Mike Florio is a moron. Embargo away.

• I thought better than to subject you to more coverage of the LeBron James’s Mumble of the Century, particularly on what’s supposed to be a football blog. However, John B. of Gang Green Nation’s thoughtful application of LeBenedict’s Betrayal (in reality, I couldn’t care less) to the question, “Do athletes owe anything to their fans?” got me thinking. Ditto for famed Mattoonian and personal pseudo-idol Will Leitch’s take on the abomination for New York magazine. You know something about these professional athletes? These guys who we tweet with all day and would stand in line just to catch a glimpse of (as I shamelessly did for a lethargic-looking Drew Brees just two days ago) and name our children for if we’re crazy enough? They don’t give a shit about us. Nor should they. How obnoxious must it be to them, already caught by the trappings of celebrity and the unending media torrent, ravished by hangers-on and fair weather friends, to see a mob of 500,000 anonymous men before them, co-opting their nameplates and acting like they know you on some intimate plane. They demand autographs, they demand charity appearances, they demand you act as a role model for their children, they demand you see their bowing down at your altar -- an altar they assembled for you, an altar for a stranger who looks and thinks and acts nothing like them -- as something perfectly reasonable and even commendable. The development of contempt would here be a suitable response. So, no, athletes don’t owe us anything. That’s not to say I see no fault with LeBron’s big move; I would think the man who calls himself “The King of Akron” and accepted both his MVP awards at his old high school would show a little more compassion for the region that birthed him.  But, you know, stop getting all up in these guys’ ears, people. Not a day goes by wherein I don’t see some jerk call out Revis or his friend John Geiger for being greedy or some such trash. You don’t know him, and he’d likely prefer to keep it that way. If Darrelle ever departs town in a huff, go ahead and burn his jersey for YouTube, but don’t act like you were somehow entitled to more.

• While we’re on the topic of sports and the human condition, I’ve been meaning to link to this heartwarming personal recollection by Levy’s Bakery Production about Giants Stadium and what games there meant to the author and his late father. I’m not going to get sappy on this one, as the article deserves to speak for itself. Go read it and send it along to friends. It’s worth it.

• Isn’t this just like Braylon Edwards? We go through the trouble of hosting a whole freaking Photoshop contest with that Kimbo Slice beard of his, and he outdoes us in real life! Here he is in some sort of vehicle dressed as Fidel Castro, an outfit that’s bound to go over real well with certain pockets of the Dolphins fanbase. Quick, someone alert the John Birch Society!

• My final note of the evening, beginning this afternoon, I will spend the next two weeks working as a counselor at a residential smart-kid camp. That means I will be on the job in some capacity 24/7 for an entire fortnight. Yes, a fortnight. Blog posts will continue to be produced, and I’ll not miss any serious big time news, but I can make no promises outside of that. So, if maybe I only throw up one or two things in the next four days, and they come at odd and sporadic hours (not unlike this), you know why. See you on the other side, comrades.

- Manhole Out.

ONE DOWN, THREE TO GO.

If you’re like the majority of Jets fans, Wednesday’s news that left tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson had agreed to a contract extension was for you a supremely welcomed relief. After weeks of fretting that the team would deflate under the pressure of a post-championship style financial situation without even first securing the requisite hardware, we can now say without any hesitation that our first pick in the 2006 Draft will be a Jet for as long as he remains a healthy, productive player. Of course, given the information that has seeped out since the announcement, “healthy” and “productive” might be the operative words. According to Pro Football Talk, the six-year, $60 million deal that claims to grant Brick $34.8 million in guaranteed money – the most in the league at his position – actually contains so many caveats and asterisks that it in essence assures him of no more than $2.2 million in addition to his current salary. The team will dole out his new money incrementally based on a series of complicated and Byzantine criterion, most of which boil down to, “Are you still playing?” If the answer is yes, Brick collects most of his money, excepting perhaps for that laughable $1.3 million earned by blocking seven punts. Bent over at The Jets Blog breaks this whole matter down as cleanly as one can, if you’d like to have the numbers laid out for you.

Tannenbaum has always had a reputation for being a math whiz, and a contract such as this, which manages to make the player happy while protecting the Jets from financial disaster, is vintage salary capology. There was a lot of talk earlier in the week of the “Leon Factor,” which proposed that the motivating condition of the Core Four’s demands was a substantial amount of guaranteed money, engineered to protect against a season or career ending injury. In Brick’s case, the “Leon Factor” would seem to have taken a backseat to the Team Factor. Brick and his agent obviously knew what they were signing, and they have sent the message that they are willing to sacrifice upfront money to help lighten the stress of Woody’s wallet. In this sense, fans floating the notion that the Jets have “rewarded” Brick for not complaining about his contract is actually true, if only because his deal was designed to open a window for Revis and the rest.

Besides, I think an annually escalating income of $2+ million makes for pretty good workman’s comp. Why should the team continue to pay him if he winds up spending most of his career at home in bandages? Brick is willing to monetize the risk that he and all other football players take each time they step to the line of scrimmage, and he has done so to the benefit of his teammates. He ought to be applauded for having such a sensible mentality. Now while Darrelle Revis embarrasses himself and the team with a holdout, Brick can focus on doing his job and living his life.

Oh yeah, about that Revis holdout – it’s going to happen, at least according to the ever-reliable Manish Mehta of the Daily News, who ties Revis’s contract situation to that of Peyton Manning’s. If anything, Ferguson’s deal has only further soured Revis, who presumably saw little in the deal that he would approve of himself. It’s difficult for a fan to know what’s going on at 1 Jets Drive right now, especially when beat reporters can’t even seem to agree with one another. My understanding of the issue has it that David Harris has been pushed to the back of the line, and will not receive a new deal this year. That’s a tough pill for the team’s leading tackles leader to swallow, but at least he won’t be franchise tagged the way Nick Mangold likely will next March. Because of Revis’s refusal to play nice, and suspected willingness to holdout even beyond August 10, violating the “30 Day Rule,” the team will have to make him the top priority this summer. One way or another, the three remaining members of the Core Four are going to have to get locked up, as we can afford to lose none of them, but this isn’t a headache that’s going to dissipate at any point soon. In fact, expect it to rollover into 2011, where it will combine with the free agency question mark at receiver, the inevitable release of Shaun Ellis and the potential NFL lockout to become one gigantic nightmare for all of us.

Better hope we have a new addition to our trophy case by then.

“It’s deeply disappointing…I’ve tried to do the right thing, on and off the field. I feel it’s the Jets’ turn. Not having the security of an extension is bothersome.”

- Nick Mangold on negotiations

UPDATE:  July 10, 9:30 AM – Ah, nevermind. Now Revis is saying that he will not holdout, and expects a new, $100 million contract to be complete reasonably soon. Alright, man, whatever. Just go play football.

- Manhole Out.

***********Sponsored by Under Amour!***********

With so much intriguing Jets news floating around this fine summer afternoon (yes, I am aware that ESPN has named Rex the 4th best active coach in all of sports, and I must say he is severely underrated), I feel somewhat bad about wasting a posting opportunity like this, but it had to be said eventually. I’m already a week late in officially announcing the Jets Kvetch‘s freshly forged partnership with Fox Sports and the Yardbarker Network! Yardbarker is one of the most prominent and respected sports blogging networks online, and I’m proud to be its 634th member, and third member purely devoted to coverage of the New York Jets (The J-E-T Press and Jets Report are the others). What does this mean for the Kvetch and its readers? Both a lot and a little.

Not an actual ad, please do not attempt to click, it will only make you look silly.

Yardbarker is at once Digg/Reddit style news aggregation site and an advertising network, and these two components feed into one another to benefit each member site across the board. Allow me to explain. At the core of the YBN operation is corporate advertising, which appeals to me because I am a shameless money whore. Yardbarker fixes up deals with companies like Gatorade and NFL.com, and send the ads to me for “approval,” at which point I’ll fumble around for the enter key while I count up my stack of Benjamins between strokes of my new purebred Siamese cat. The ads are posted to my site, and I receive .1 cents for each time someone visits my page. That’s right, I get a penny for every 10 guests, which either means that I make $1.00 per 1,000 hits or that I need to relearn the metric system. Back in March, I was lucky to break 100 hits a day, and that occurred only when I was linked to by a more prominent Jets blog. Now, thanks in large part to the increased traffic flow that YBN affords me, I average somewhere around 300 a day, and can get as high as 700 when I decide to write something that isn’t total crap.

Popular articles of mine may even find their way into the Yardbarker widget, which will make them instantly place links to my article on every other NFL/Jets blog within the Network, garnering more traffic which raises more money. How much money? $3.75 in the last week, bitches! This ain’t a blog, this is a cash printing machine! Whoo!

Alright, so the Kvetch hasn’t exactly turned a profit yet. That’s okay – I never set out to make money with my site. I much prefer the joy that comes in writing about my favorite sports team in front of a small audience of immediate family and confused, illiterate strangers. Yardbarker will only help expand that audience. So please, ignore my whoring for the time being. It is here only for the hope that it should one day lead to an even better kvetching experience.

- Manhole Out.