New York Jets

Brad Penner- USA Today Sports Wasn’t the New York Jets a part of HBO’s “Hard Knocks” series in 2010? The 2013 NFL season has not even started, but the Jets players antics have begun. From Mike Goodson getting arrested for drug and weapons charges, Oday Aboushi being linked to terrorist acts via Twitter, and newly draftee drama queen quarterback Geno Smith, this team is a daily soap opera. Goodson being arrested three days ago says one thing: that he is ready to get the party started in the “Big Apple.” As Soon as I heard this story, all I could say was ‘why couldn’t the team OTA practice begin sooner?’. Goodson was suppose to bring the ground-and-pound attack back to the Jets with Joe McKnight, Chris Ivory, and John Griffin. If Goodson is convicted of unlawful possession of a handgun, he will be subject to the Graves Act, a New Jersey law that states you have to serve a minimum mandatory sentence of three years. There is a chance the charges could be appealed. So kiss the running game goodbye, Jet fans. Aboushi’s situation is very sentimental and tragic at the same time. Considering that New York City was the epicenter of the September 11 attacks, for him to be allegedly associated with terrorist organizations is sad. People have always said social media can be great and empowering, but also dangerous. The postings on social media by Aboushi that “prove” his association with  terrorists? A re-tweet of a picture of a woman, which the original posts claims is being evicted from her home in Jerusalem by Israeli authorities. My advice to Aboushi is that re-tweets can be taken as a endorsements, especially by celebrities, so be careful. Smith, Smith, Smith, all I can say to you right now is, the less you say the better until you get accustomed to New York media. From the expectation of you being a No. 1 pick, the firing of your agents and now you saying the Jets are going to the playoffs — are you trying to jinx your new team? In the immortal words of Spider Man’s (Peter Parker) Uncle Ben, “With great power, comes great responsibility.” Jets players must do better. Alfred Epps is a New York Jets writer for RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @mralfredepps or add him to your network on Google

Anyone that follows me on any of my social media accounts knows I love to search for the rare photos that might be hiding on the inter-webs. Here is a collection I found tonight. #jets championship ring twitter.com/jasondeblinger… — jason deblinger (@jasondeblinger) May 21, 2013 @tudorgames 1968 AFL – #Jets and #Bills #electricfootball #NFL #toys twitter.com/TheUBuzz/statu… — Unforgettable Buzz (@TheUBuzz) May 21, 2013 DarrelleRevis must think #Bucs media coverage a breeze compared to circus with the #Jets. twitter.com/realrockriley/… — realrockriley (@realrockriley) May 21, 2013 #Jets fans pack the halls to meet @curtismartin28. Amazing job by #Bellmore #Merrick students organizing #curtis28jfk twitter.com/peteguaraldi/s… — Pete Guaraldi (@peteguaraldi) May 20, 2013 Just ordered this! #Jets @dmilli28 twitter.com/HEELSupermanNY… — Will Noble (@HEELSupermanNYJ) May 21, 2013

Here at Turn On The Jets, we decided to take a page out of Robert Mays book over at Grantland (a polite way of saying rip his article idea off) by counting down the 115 days until the New York Jets kick off, with a daily reason to get excited about their return. Mays has the whole NFL to work with, we only have the Goddamn Jets…now there is a challenge, step your game up Mays!  We continue today with poor jersey purchases! (Note, you can track this entire series right here) I came across these when cleaning out my closet a couple of weeks ago. I suppose it is unfair to say all these were poor purchases. Jerricho Cotchery, Chad Pennington, Laveraneus Coles, Kerry Rhodes and Santana Moss were all relatively “long” tenured Jets who had successful careers here. Those jerseys got plenty of run. Curtis Conway, though? CURTIS CONWAY? He played one season for the Jets, in 2003 (when they were awful) and finished with 46 receptions, 640 yards and 2 touchdowns. Why oh why did I buy that? I played wide receiver my whole life and must have been bitter about Coles being traded so I bought the jersey of the newest receiver the Jets signed. SO SAVVY. What are some of the other awful jersey purchases you are sure to see around MetLife Stadium this upcoming season (outside of that AWFUL Vernon Gholston jersey you see at the top…if you own a Gholston jersey, I feel bad enough for you and won’t pour salt in the wound). GAH! DOUBLE GAH! NOOOO!!! And the worst… On the flip side, what are some of the best jerseys to own from recent years (we’ll say from the mid-90s on…) Curtis Martin – You damn sure better own one of these Wayne Chrebet – Not far behind C-Mart as a must own Shaun Ellis – Appreciate the tenure! Nick Mangold – Appreciate the big fellas and the beard! Victor Green – Long tenue, big hitter - NEW YORK DAILY NEWS STORY PITCH OF THE DAY - 900 words on Rex Ryan’s new diet since receiving his lap band surgery. An unnamed dietitian claims that Rex actually ISN’T eating in that much smaller portions like he publicly states. This quote was corroborated by a Taco Bell employee near the situation who once sold Rex TWO Doritos Los Tacos in one sitting. If Rex isn’t telling the truth about his portion size, WHAT ELSE ISN’T HE TELLING THE TRUTH ABOUT? RANDOM JET TO REMEMBER OF THE DAY – KEVIN SWAYNE! - Logged 3 years with the Jets from 2001-2003, finishing with 20 career catches for 310 yards and 1 touchdown (a 27 yard TD on Monday Night Football against the Titans…we could have used him last year!) Personally, I love how in his Wikipedia bio, it says the following – “In a 24-17 win over the Tennessee Titans on Monday Night Football, Swayne caught a 27-yard strike for his only “NFL touchdown (to date)” … The “to date” is key because, hey you never know who could get a call this November if Santonio Holmes goes down again. f

Yesterday Curtis Martin held an autograph session to raise money for the families who suffered from Hurricane Sandy last year. Invited by ESPN Insider and Kennedy Graduate Adam Schefter, Martin donated $10,000 of his own money to get the fundraising started. New York Jets’ Owner Woody Johnson followed suit by donating $5,000 as well. via Patch Curtis Martin raised $28,100 last night signing autographs last night for Sandy relief, including 10k from him and 5k from Woody Johnson. — Seth Walder (@SethWalderNYDN) May 21, 2013 I think Curtis Martin is the man.  He’s always been someone I’ve always looked up to and it’s weird to think someone who is almost exactly my age can be a role model for me.  He lead by example on the field and he continues to do great work off it.  Even though Curtis fell short of his $50,000.00 goal, somehow I get the feeling he’s not throwing in the towel.

Mike Goodson told the Jets brass that the loaded gun with hollow points AND the drugs weren’t t his and that’s the way he’s going to plead, not guilty. The running back was found on RT80 in NJ on Friday Morning and was all the talk this weekend while the fan base and the rest of the NFL wait to see how the Jets handle the situation.  I personally think it’s going to be a long drawn out process. Think back to the Michael Vick Case: The Jets can’t recover money from Goodson unless he’s still on the roster. That’s why the Falcons never released Mike Vick after he was incarcerated for dogfighting in 2007; to recover bonus money paid to Vick (and to get the cap credit that goes along with it), the Falcons had to hold their nose and refrain from cutting Vick. – PFT Jets RB Mike Goodson will appear in court tomorrow and plead not guilty to all charges, according to his lawyer Tony Fusco. #nyj — Brian Costello (@BrianCoz) May 21, 2013 Mike also has his hearing during the Jets first mini-camp: The key date in the process comes on June 12, when Goodson will have a pre-trial hearing.  As pointed out by Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News, that falls in the middle of the team’s mandatory minicamp.  If Goodson misses practice to attend the hearing, the Jets could penalize Goodson, at a minimum with a fine. – PFT So my initial gut reaction (and I mean seconds after it happened – listen to it on the JetsBlog Podcast) was to cut the RB if the gun and drugs were his. Now that I had a couple of days to digest the news, Mike is claiming that the gun with hollow points were not his. You know what: I believe him. Seth Walder from the NY Daily news was tweeting some interesting facts about the case earlier today: SethWalderNYDN Mike Goodson’s pre-trial hearing now confirmed for June 12. #nyj 5/21/13 9:48 AM SethWalderNYDN Police saying gun’s ownership is still under active investigation. #nyj 5/21/13 10:05 AM SethWalderNYDN Joe Afflito, Garant Evans’ attorney, says 2nd degree unlawful possession of handgun requires proof of intent to use against person or prop. 5/21/13 2:15 PM SethWalderNYDN Goodson is a first offender, Garant Evans isn’t. 5/21/13 2:16 PM SethWalderNYDN Afflito said his understanding is that the weapon was locked in the vehicle’s glove compartment. #nyj 5/21/13 2:19 PM SethWalderNYDN Afflito, who was retained last night by Evans, said he doesn’t know who the gun belongs to. #nyj 5/21/13 2:24 PM SethWalderNYDN Goodson’s lawyer: “If anybody gets convicted of one of these (gun) charges, I would say prison.” #nyj 5/21/13 2:53 PM

The media will be at the Jets OTA session on Wednesday and we will follow the Green & White’s mid-week workout on all of our media outlets.? Then on Thursday, “Jets Talk LIVE”will air in our usual ...

Jets running back Mike Goodson will plead not guilty to all five criminal charges he faces stemming from last week's arrest. Goodson has been charged with unlawful possession of a handgun, possession of a loaded handgun, possession of hollow-point ammunition, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia following a traffic stop in Denville early on Friday morning. Fusco said he is confident his client will avoid jail time, with the main issue being the ownership of the .45 caliber handgun found in the SUV. The gun was loaded with hollow-point bullets. He claims that the drugs do not belong to Goodson, either. I don't really have many thoughts on this at the moment. We are still not sure what the facts are. The smart thing to do is probably to wait and let this play out instead of rushing to an opinion. That seems to be what the Jets are doing and rightly so.

This may come as a surprise to many people out there, but there are going to be 51 other players on this team come September that are not named Geno Smith or Mark Sanchez. I know, I know, that seems crazy based on the media coverage of this team, but believe me, it is true. And not only that, but those 51 players are going to have a major impact on the fate of the 2013 Jets. Of course, the way the roster looks today won’t be the way it looks when the fourth preseason game comes to a close, but we do have a pretty good idea of where things stand. Let’s go ahead and buy and sell some slightly under-the-radar Jets positions and players. BUY: The Offensive Line – The work John Idzik has done to rebuild this offensive line has largely gone under the radar, but he has done a terrific job with this unit. The positive vibes started as soon as former coach/bumbling fool Dave DeGuglielmo was relieved of his duties and continued as former starters Matt Slauson and Brandon Moore were let go as free agency began. You’d think letting go of two long-time starters would be a bad thing, but in the case of the two guards, it was 100% the right decision to make. Slauson is unspectacular and is as average as average gets, while Brandon Moore has clearly seen better days. To replace them, Idzik signed former Steeler Willie Colon, Stephen Peterman, and drafted Brian Winters in the 3rd round of the draft. Colon and Winters are projected to start and both figure to be major improvements over their predecessors. Beyond that, Idzik brought back improving Right Tackle Austin Howard for at least another year, and the depth from top to bottom has greatly improved. Oday Aboushi and William Campbell were both drafted in the middle rounds to develop for a year or two, and both have potential. Idzik has brought this unit a long way from the days of Colin Baxter and Caleb Schlauderaff, and deserves credit for that. SELL: Tight End Position – The Jets tight end position currently consists of a 1-dimensional receiver who isn’t particularly good at, you know, receiving (Jeff Cumberland), a blocking specialist that isn’t a particularly good blocker (Konrad Reuland), and a rugby player (Smith). That’s it. I was all for the team letting Dustin Keller walk in free agency, but I was hoping they’d bring in somebody to replace him. I think you’d be hard-pressed to find a worse group of tight ends from top to bottom on an NFL roster roster today. A reliable receiving tight end can be a young QB’s best friend, and the Jets have yet to fill that role. Let’s hope by September, Idzik manages to add a veteran to the group. SELL: Mike Goodson – What an idiot. What a spectacular idiot. As we’ve all heard by now, Goodson was arrested this past week and found to have marijuana on him and presumably had a BAC level that was off the charts. Not only that, but guns were also found in the car that was FOR SOME REASON just stopped and parked in the left lane of a highway. Clearly, Mike Goodson is an idiot. What Mike Goodson may not be, however, is a criminal that deserves to be released from the team. It’s important everyone waits to hear the facts of the case before passing judgment and releasing the player that was expected to play a significant role on offense. Let’s hope the only thing Goodson really ends up being guilty of is being a moron, because I don’t think anybody can feel safe heading into next season with Bilal Powel and Joe McKnight being one Chris Ivory injury away from being major players on offense. The Jets need Goodson to play that 3rd down back role, and I think he could help the Jets a lot more than he could some prison team going against the guards in the real life version of The Longest Yard or whatever. BUY: Marty Mornhinweg – Words can’t even express what an upgrade Marty is over Tony Sparano from 2012. Already it seems as though the Jets have installed more of an offense than they did all of last year, and from what I understand, he’s

Jets offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg spoke today about the quarterback battle and offered up the following per Manish Mehta. "We don't care what the prevailing thought is," new offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg told the Daily News about the perception that the quarterback battle will certainly be alive at the start of training camp. "We only care about our competition here." .... Mornhinweg wants one of the quarterbacks to distance himself during a critical, but often overlooked stretch of the offseason program that began on Monday. But could someone actually separate himself that much for the Jets brass to declare a winner by mid-June based on 10 OTA practices and three minicamp practices? "Oh, absolutely," Mornhinweg said. "Sure. Absolutely. That's all part of the process. Absolutely. Everything we do is important. Our meetings are important… the way we go about our meetings, the way we go about our preparation right now with a new system. These are very important things. Every pass we throw out there in OTAs and these practices are important." I'm sure OTA's will be important, but it feels very unlikely a starter will be named entering training camp. That would go against the competition-y vibe the Jets keep telling everybody about. The camp battle actually looks very similar to the last competition the Jets had at quarterback, which came in 2009 (Kellen Clemens last time; Mark Sanchez this time). There is the failed high pick who used to be the guy of the future. There is the rookie who is the new guy of the future (Mark Sanchez; Geno Smith). There is the late round SEC quarterback nobody really believes in (Erik Ainge, Greg McElroy). Finally, there is the fourth stringer who will be lucky to make the roster (Kevin O'Connell, Matt Simms).

In a lot of ways, I think this years Jets team resembles the Colts last season; A rookie quarterback (or one whose game resembles a rookie quarterback), questionable offensive talent, and a defense most agree could be in transition. I am by no means saying this years Jets will have the success the Colts did last season, I just think the comparison is there. Last season, the Colts were tenth in total offense and seventh in passing yards per game. Obviously, if the Jets want to compete, they have to improve their passing game in every way possible. But do they have the weapons? How do they attack this problem? Let’s take a look. I’d expect the Jets receiving core to shape up with a group that looks like Santonio Holmes, Jeremy Kerley, Stephen Hill, “veteran receiver X”, and Zach Rogers/Jordan White dueling it out for the last spot. This is a very capable group. We often speak more about what Holmes isn’t rather than what he is, but, and this is a big but, if his mind is right and he is focused, Holmes can be extremely tough to stop. The only person that generally slows down Santonio Holmes is himself. Jeremy Kerley is dynamite. Kerley has a reputation for being more of a slot receiver which isn’t really true. After Holmes went down last season, Kerley saw time almost exclusively outside and was still awesome. Kerley is a really good route runner and is one of the only guys on the team who has a chance to score every time he touches the ball, as evidenced by his outstanding yards per catch numbers last season. Size should not and does not matter in Marty Mornhinweg’s system, as evidenced by the size of DeSean Jackson (5’10”) and Jeremy Maclin (6’0”). Things get dicey after that. Stephen Hill has the size and speed that very few guys in the league have. However, he lacks some basic fundamentals that leave me very uneasy about his future. His route running is kind of Clyde Gates-ish and he still fails to change something as basic as the positioning of his hands when catching a ball, a big factor that led to a ton of drops for him this season. Jets fans should hold their breath that his LCL injury does not hinder his offseason, because the transition offseason from years one-to-two is crucial for raw wide outs. Hill’s injury concerns and lack of experience is exactly why “veteran receiver X” will be brought in at some point. I’ll wait more until training camp cuts to begin speculating on who it will be, but every jets fan is going to ask about Braylon Edwards so I’ll just address it now. I would like Braylon back for no other reason then he actually likes playing in New York, Mark Sanchez seems to have something close to a rapport with him (how many other guys can you say that about?), and the fans like him. Half the battle this year should be putting a team on the field the fans can actually like, right? I mean, the past two seasons have been miserable in every way possible. I loved the 2010 team not only because they were winners but because they seemed to enjoy each other and that’s good enough for me. Brandon Lloyd is another name to keep an eye on. I’m not going to pretend to know a lot about Jordan White or Zach Rogers. I know Rogers was given a draftable grade by nearly every “draft guru” I talked to this year. I also know that I liked White a lot more in college than I did at any point watching him play last season. He just looks slow. Speaking of slow, time to talk about Jeff Cumberland! If the Jets are serious about passing the ball, and I hope they are, then Jeff Cumberland cannot be your starting tight end. He’s really not good at anything, except maybe being a bad route runner or blocker. It sounds like the Aussie Hayden Smith is having a productive offseason. Smith played Rugby before signing with the Jets last year and floating between the practice squad and active roster. He’s also 6’7”, so he has that going for him. I expect to Idzik to take a chance on a low risk, high reward type guy like Kevin Boss. Sir Marty lov