[JetsTwit] - A New York Jets Blog #Jets #NFL

Kellen Winslow Jr. Most Likely Will be the Top TE for the Jets

Erik Manassy — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 13:55:49 +0000

The Jets signed Kellen Winslow Jr. to a contract just one day after their mandatory minicamp, the team announced Friday evening.

I absolutely love this move. Let’s face it, I wasn’t (still are not) enamored with our TE depth. Love him or hate him, Dustin Keller was our top TE and you have to believe that Winslow now takes over as the #1 option despite being out of football last year.

KellenWinslowJr Feels great great to be a Jet! I’m excited to help this team any way I can. #JETS #NO EXCUSES 6/14/13 7:03 PM

Extra – The Jets Twit Podcast is Back. My thoughts on Kellen.

Winslow’s last full year was in 2011 where he had 75 catches. Looking at the stats at Pro Football Focus and the receptions by direction, Kellen is most effective 0-9 yards (typical for a TE).

Per PFF

In his last full season (2011) with Tampa, he dropped 6 balls but caught 75.
He had 772 yards of which 254 was YAC.
He only had 2 TDs and fumbled twice.

When I look at his stats, let’s assume that Mark Sanchez is your starter, I can easily see Kellen as Mark’s new safety net. He’s not a fast receiver but he’s the guy that gets the first down and catches just about everything thrown his way.

If you know Mark Sanchez, he’s stuck in this mode where he loves to throw short after going through all his progressions. This signing makes perfect sense also because the Jets are lacking tight end talent, and the switch to the West Coast offense that utilizes short throws.

Does it Make you Less of a Jets fan if you Keep Talking about Tebow?

Erik Manassy — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 23:14:07 +0000

Nothing irks me more than someone telling me what I should tweet about or I’m spending too much on a topic. Yes this has to do with Tim Tebow, and I get it, Jets fans want to move on, well most of them. I do too, but when my Timeline is getting flooded with Tebowmania, I can’t help but read and then something amazing happens. Yes, HUMAN THOUGHT. So I get a thought and without really thinking about it, I tweet (Maybe I shouldn’t but we all do it).

That’s what’s great about twitter. You can tweet just about anything at any moment. Here’s another great thing about twitter. If you like or dislike a tweet from someone you follow, you have the power to “Mute Them” (depending on your app), or unfollow.

So I’m a Jets fan, and I was adding my two sense about the situation about Tebow signing with one of our most hated rivals, the Patriots. Does this make me less of a Jets fan because I choose NOT to move on like some other fans? No. Should I move on, Yes, but I’ll do it on my terms.

Tim Tebow is known by 68% of the US population according to the @qscores. Average athlete is known by 30%.

— darren rovell (@darrenrovell) June 11, 2013

It’s hard NOT to talk about Tim Tebow when every other tweet, every channel, newspaper, and human being is talking about Tebowmania. Not bad for a third string QB, right?

Jets Players Bond over Paintball

Erik Manassy — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 16:06:07 +0000

The Jets players were doing some bonding… on the field, and not a football field but rather a paintball field. Jordon White, Vidal Hazleton and other players were taking videos on VINE showing many Jets players getting ready to battle it out on the Paintball Field.

Most players are wearing lose clothing like sweatpants or Jets shirts, but the guy that is taking it seriously? Nick Mangold. Ever watch Duck Dynasty. With that beard and the full out camo, he looks like he came to play! Vlad Ducasse looked like we was wearing Jeans. My money goes on the fact that he probably gets tagged out FAST.

#Jets paintball outing was a voluntary team bonding activity today, everyone was invited.

— Conor Orr (@ConorTOrr) June 6, 2013

Naming a QB: Sooner or Later?

Erik Manassy — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 12:25:37 +0000

Rex Ryan was pressed at yesterday’s presser on when he’s going to name a starting QB. The head coach has said previously that he’s going to let it play out, but last night he needs to see “LIVE” play, meaning he wants the pre-season games to do the talking.

Jets coach Rex Ryan made it clear Wednesday he expects the quarterback competition between incumbent Mark Sanchez and rookie challenger Geno Smith to extend into the summer.

“I don’t think we’re close to that right now,” Ryan said when asked if the Jets could name a starting signalcaller by the end of next week’s three-day mandatory mini-camp, which will run from Tuesday to Thursday. Nor would he say if either Sanchez or Smith has the upper hand in the race at this point.

“It’s way too early to say,” Ryan said when asked if one of the two had taken the lead. via NorthJersey.com

With the wide receivers on the shelf (ALL FOUR OF THEM), how could he possibly name a starter now? The stats of both Geno Smith and Mark Sanchez for mini-camps and OTAs are abysmal, but how much of that is really the QB’s fault vs. the wide receivers?

MY GUT

Want my gut feeling? I know, I know, it’s EARLY, but if you FORCED me to make a prediction on who will be the starter for game 1 vs. the bucs: It’s going to be MARK SANCHEZ. Book it.

Coples Not Worried about Tight Ends

Erik Manassy — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 11:21:00 +0000

So we have heard all about Quinton Coples making the jump from defensive end to outside linebacker and I’ve been wondering if this is going to work. Obviously Quinton has all the confidence in the world. In the Daily News this morning when asked about if Gronk and Keller, Tight Ends from the AFC East, are going to be an issue, his simple response: ”Dustin Keller? I won’t him get off the line.”

Functionally, Coples’ role will primarily stay the same: he’ll rush the passer on most plays. But now that the first-round draft pick (16th overall) in 2012 is standing up instead of having his hand in the dirt on all downs, he’ll have to diversify his skills. Coples, at 6-6, 285, said he sees his extra size as an advantage in coverage. Fellow OLB Antwan Barnes, by comparison, weighs in at 250 pounds.

I usually have been calling switching players from their natural positions as “science projects”, think Cromartie as a WR and McKnight as a CB. This really isn’t the same thing as he’s staying on the D, and let’s face it, he will STILL from time to time put his hand in the dirt.

Coples is very athletic and he’s very fast. Once he knows his assignment, studies the playbook and gets his reps in, it will be just a matter of repetition before it gets locked in as a natural position for Q.

Cro the Mentor?

Erik Manassy — Sun, 02 Jun 2013 17:28:00 +0000

Antonio Cromartie is usually the brunt of most jokes because of the CB’s past, specifically known as the NFL’er with a ton of kids. The climatic joke was when he was on Hard Knocks and it appeared (key word, appeared) that he couldn’t remember all his kids names, but the producers set him up and edited to make it look like he was struggling.

Anyway, the word on the street is that Cro is mentoring any rookie that will listen to him about the pitfalls of being in the NFL and specifically coming into a ton of money. The league has an official program where the rookies are required to attend and one of the sessions is about financial responsibility. This is exactly where Cro wants to make it known to his younger teammates, that it’s important to wait about a year to two years before going on spending sprees.

Cro fell into the trap of spending money on Cars, Jewelry and giving it away to so called “friends” and relatives in droves.

I applaud Cromartie for stepping up as a leader ON the field and now it appears OFF the field. A year ago I would have called you crazy if you said Cro is a role model, but a guy can change his mind, right?

Hey, I’m all about redemption and Cro has been out of trouble and it truly appears that he is more responsible off the field. I hope some of the other Jets players who had been in trouble in the past take a page out of Cro’s book. I’m looking at you Goodson.

Manish Mehta leaves the Jets Beat; Moves to Inside NFL Writer

Erik Manassy — Sat, 25 May 2013 16:09:04 +0000

It looks like Jets Beat Writer Manish Mehta is moving on from the New York Jets Football beat. Jason McIntyre broke the news from his twitter account from the @TheBigLead. Some NFL media picked up on the tweet and wished Manish well.

TurnOnTheJets Sounds like Manish moving off #Jets to beat to NFL writer role with NYDN (similar to Hubbuch with Post) guessing Walder moves to beat 5/25/13 11:39 AM

e_man Somehow I don’t think Jets fans are sad. 5/25/13 11:47 AM

Jets fans – same NYDN peeps who told me Hoops Weiss was laid off are saying@mmehtanydn is moving off NY Jets beat. New role will be [1of2]

— Jason McIntyre (@TheBigLead) May 25, 2013

There was a time when I used to call Rich Cimini and Manish Mehta the Ying and the Yang of the Jets beat. Rich played the pessimistic role well and believe it or not, Manish was (still is) a very good writer when he isn’t get caught up with what his editors want him to write about ie: Tebow etc.

I can’t imagine that Manish WANTED to engross himself with the “circus” but maybe I’m just wrong and it had nothing to do with what sold papers. Maybe Manish really like the circus.

View This Poll

With Manish off the beat, I think it’s safe to say that Rich will be getting all the heat (like he has been). So this begs the question: Who do you really enjoy reading of the Jets beat writers? Is there anyone? CHIME IN ON THE COMMENTS BELOW and I’ll tweet out some answers.

Here is some Fan Reaction:

TheMikeDonnelly I understand why @MMehtaNYDN rubbed some fans the wrong way, but now that he’s off the beat he won’t have to appease bosses w/ Tebow crap 5/25/13 11:54 AM

AlbertBreer Per @TheBigLead, @MMehtaNYDN moving off the Jets beat, into NFL Insider role at NY Daily News. Congrats, bro! 5/25/13 11:52 AM

George_Zoulis @e_man thank god!!!! It’s about damn time. Wonder if all the anonymous source stories will leave with @MMehtaNYDN as well 5/25/13 11:49 AM

MarcSesslerNFL Good news from @TheBigLead… Happy for @MMehtaNYDN — he’ll do a fine job — one of the NFL’s great beat writers, good guy, too. 5/25/13 11:48 AM

RapSheet A new role for @MMehtaNYDN. Cool RT @TheBigLead NYDN ‘NFL Insider’ (w focus on big-picture Jets stuff) similar to Bedard’s old role @ Globe 5/25/13 11:45 AM

Quotes: The Jets Quarterback Competition

Erik Manassy — Fri, 24 May 2013 12:42:20 +0000

So the Jets go into camp with a QB Controversey, but is there really one? Many people think it’s over before it begins saying that Mark Sanchez is going to ride the pine and the Jets drafted Rookie Geno Smith so he can start immediately. Is that really true though?

It seems that the players in the locker room are ready to move on, but take it with a grain of salt, it’s Mr. Anonymous again. But don’t worry, I know someone is going to tell me to “Let it Play Out”.

NFL_AM Has Mark Sanchez already lost the quarterback competition with the Jets? We want your #ViewerFeedback now! 5/24/13 7:08 AM

e_man “@NFL_AM: No but it sounds like people are hoping he does 5/24/13 7:09 AM

“We don’t care what the prevailing thought is, we only care about our competition here. Common sense tells you that you hope it’s quick, but this is going to be a full-blown competition. Period.”

Marty Mornhinweg QB Competition

“Look, it’s only an OTA practice, it’s a new offense, there’s a learning curve.”

Rex Ryan on how his two QB's performed so far in OTAs

On whether the Geno Smith and Mark Sanchez getting the majority of the reps is an indication that the quarterback competition is a two-man race…

Again, there’s going to be competition. Each day would vary as far as what you’re putting in. You can probably say the same thing about any other position with a third group. I think the numbers were probably dispersed fairly evenly to that as well.

“I’m shaking the rust off a little bit. Getting back into the swing of things, especially with a lot of young guys.”

Mark Sanchez on the three Interceptions he threw in OTAs

Jets Players Used to Defend Mark from Mr. Anonymous, Where are they now?

Erik Manassy — Fri, 24 May 2013 00:37:44 +0000

Mr. Anonymous, hope you had a good offseason so far. It’s been a while. But seriously, take this with a grain of salt when it comes from an anonymous source. Here’s what an unnamed player had to tell Mike Freeman of CBSSports.com recently:

“Everyone on the team likes Mark personally but there’s a general feeling among some of the players that maybe it’s time to give someone else a chance.”

The player went on to say that he estimates that 80-90 percent of the team feels the same way he does.

BlkSportsOnline Jets lead the league in anonymous quotes saying someone is on their team is terrible 5/23/13 1:52 PM

If you read this blog, you know how I feel about anonymous quotes. I guess I’m just numb and don’t care about this tactic. It sucks.

The difference when it was happening to Mark about more than a year ago was that his teammates were coming to his defense. Are they not coming to his side because it’s true or is it that they are numb and just not commenting is the way to go. Who knows, but I do know one thing: Jets fans are sick of this.

Where are the Jets players defending Mark now?

Nick Mangold came to his defense in 2012.

This nydn.us/xnShGZ by @thejetsstream is false. If “unnamed sources” want to attack Mark, man up and put your name to it #JETS

— Nick Mangold (@nickmangold) January 11, 2012

Does Social Media put Pressure on Athletes?

Erik Manassy — Thu, 23 May 2013 15:52:08 +0000

I love the fact that I can see a quick tweet that asks a question or puts a thought into my brain. I typically see it before I head off into work, and then I process it for my 40+ minute commute. Today was such a day when the NFL AM account asked if the New York Jets were putting too much pressure on Mark Sanchez. Specifically, they were asking if keeping stats in OTAs was too much for Mark.

It’s a valid question, but I think they are targeting the wrong group here, it’s not that the team keeps the stats (which they do), it’s that the media keep their own tally but make it live via social media. That’s the culprit right there: LIVE STATS that hit the fans via twitter. Have you ever searched on tweets sent to a player? Mark threw his third interception and the tweets that were being sent to him were horrific.

The media also then writes a story focusing on these OTA numbers. Do you know I came into work this morning and NON-Jets fans came up to me and told me that Sanchez sucks. I asked them based on what, and they said he threw 3 interceptions and that they read the article online.

I hope Mark has enough sense not to read twitter. I wouldn’t. Anyone in any spotlight is going to come under scrutiny. Look at Lebron James. The guy is WINNING and is the best talent and the haters come on in droves.

So the question isn’t do keeping stats on OTAs put pressure on Sanchez or any athlete for that matter, instead I believe it’s social media. Social media gets the news out faster than any other means, period. Once a valid source tweets Sanchez throws an interception and the right people are watching, it go viral in a matter of minutes and filter to all the other mediums. By the time Mark gets back to the locker room and turns on his phone, he’s been the topic of discussion by many.

SOCIAL MEDIA puts pressure on Mark Sanchez. End of Story.