A bad ending for an average team

With the 2011 season over the Jets, I’ll be honest, I’ve been a little spoiled with going to the AFC Championship game on the road two years in a row.  It felt like an annual man-vacation to me where I got to spend time with my father, brother and other relatives, but I’m also a realist and I know the Jets had a very slim chance to make it this year with an “average” team.

This last game, I was honestly prepared for the season to end, hoping for a Jets victory but I didn’t think every single team we needed to lose would.  The last moments of the season will probably go down as the worst moment of the 2011 season and it just confirms what I already knew deep down:  Santonio Holmes is not a captain, a team player or a professional.

This picture says it all.

When a player “quits”, it is the cardinal sin amongst teammates and I was glad to see the good guys call him on it.  LT is truly a man amongst boys and if you see how he carries himself, that’s a TRUE leader.  He made a great point in that no one wants to follow someone like that, I know I wouldn’t.  Throwing a Tantrum, looking away from the action of the game with a scowl on your face proves nothing but the fact that you are a child.

I had my reaction on twitter (I took out the name) and someone got in my face saying I should get the facts before I rush to judgement.  I didn’t know the particulars of THAT moment but I already knew how it was going to turn out and I was correct.

e_man What are the chances the Jets trade Holmes?! 1/1/12 4:08 PM

e_man @—— just watching him pout like a baby is enough for me. He threw a fit cause he didn’t get the ball… He’s AWFUL 1/1/12 4:15 PM

@e_man oh–you know that for sure?? 1/1/12 4:15 PM

Unless you were on the field or know exactly what happened with @Holmes10…hold off on the judgement. #getthefacts 1/1/12 4:17 PM

e_man RT @——–: @e_man are you throwing a little tantrum now? >nope, never liked the guy. Ask anyone. 1/1/12 4:20 PM

e_man @——-  His actions all season and career are enough for me. This wasn’t one incident. 1/1/12 4:22 PM

Now unfortunately I lost them as a follower but I’m not in the business to please everyone.  From the moment the Jets signed Holmes this year I knew they made a mistake and I was less than pleased.  Holding my tongue publicly on twitter, people who were closest to me knew I despised his attitude.  I don’t hate anyone, just bad behavior and I could not support this player anymore than the minimum because he was a Jet.

Even after this mess, Holmes thought it was a good idea less than an hour to tweet:

santonio10 Ready to start making plans for the offseason. Grind mode= Coach Shaw I’m ready! 1/1/12 4:56 PM

I believe the majority of the fans feel the way I do.  The first question they asked themselves may have been the one I asked:

e_man What are the chances the Jets trade Holmes?! 1/1/12 4:08 PM

Now let’s be clear, I’m not saying the Jets failure of a season was all on Santonio Holmes but he helped.  I’ll state the obvious holes that most of you have read thousands of times:

The offensive line:   No depth and no exceptional starting talent

Mark Sanchez:  He clearly regressed although his stats went up failed in big moments

Eric Smith:  Is not a starter, too slow.

Brian Schottenheimer:   Is a good OC, but clearly not a match for the Jets and the personelle

Mike Tannenbaum:  Failed to bring in the depth and in my opinion overpaid for certain players (eh hem, Holmes)

Rex Ryan:  Refuses to admit this wasn’t a great team, but worse, enables bad behavior.  He continued to the last moment by not “knowing” what was going on with Holmes.  (He knew).

Remember under the Mangini regime when the Jets would ONLY bring to the team high quality individuals in attitude AND talent.  I know that the Jets just wanted to win and Rex believes that he can turn any individual into a winner.  He thought that about Holmes and it back fired on him.  Rex believed that by making him a captain, it would force Holmes to accept the responsibility and change his attitude.  What’s that saying, you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink.  Can you push the horse in?  That would be my answer here.  You need to find any way possible to move on from Holmes next season and It’s going to be a costly one.