Melissa S.'s New York Jets Fan Profile

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Thanks for the Memories, Chad posted on 08/08/2008

Despite the fact that Brett Favre's arrival in New York instantly makes the Jets a better team and makes them relevant, at least for a few days, it does come at a considerable price. No, I'm not talking about the conditional draft pick the team gave up to get Favre, which is fair compensation for a future Hall-of-Famer. Rather, I'm talking about the release of incumbant quarterback Chad Pennington.

Chad on the field has been a successful leader of this team when healthy. His first year as a starter he took over when the Jets were 2-5 and led them to a division title. In 2004 he led the team to the playoffs again despite having torn the rotator cuff in his throwing shoulder. And in 2006 he perhaps made his most unlikely playoff berth, recovering from the aforementioned shoulder injuries to give new coach Eric Mangini a wildcard birth in his first year, dubbing him "Mangenius".

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Go After Favre- If the Price is Right posted on 07/31/2008

A week ago I posted that I thought the Jets had no shot of getting Brett Favre. Well a lot has changed in a week, as now the Jets are apparently one of two teams given permission to speak with Favre. The Jets have not yet done so, but they have talked to his agent Bus Cook and seem to be holding out in case the Packers drop their asking price. I agree with this strategy, as I would not give up a first or second round draft pick (which Green Bay is asking for) for a player who may only play for a year or two more. But if Green Bay gets so desperate that they are willing to accept a third round pick, even a conditional one that can become a second rounder if Favre leads the Jets to the playoffs, I would pull the trigger.

I still believe Kellen Clemens should be the starter if the Jets don't get Favre. I know he has thrown lots of picks in practice, but he seems to be improving the last two days, and despite what changes Chad Pennington has made to his throwing motion, he still limits what the Jets can do on offense. Plus we haven't seen either of them throw in a preseason game yet, so let's hold off on naming Chad the starter based on a week of practice. But if Favre became available, he is better than either of these two options right now. Sure the offense would be new but Favre is a veteran who should be able to pick it up pretty quickly. And for those who think it might be a distraction- well, that distraction didn't hurt the Packers too much last year, did it?

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Give The Kid (QB) A Chance posted on 07/23/2008

Of course the main issue as the Jets start training camp this week is who should be the starting quarterback- veteran Chad Pennington, youngster Kellen Clemens, or maybe even a certain former Packer who is coming out of retirement. I actually think Favre could be a good fit for this team, as Clemens could learn behind someone with Super Bowls on his resume and who has comparable arm strength. It would be a distraction, but that didn't really hurt the Packers last year, did it? But it is a moot point, since there is no way Favre would come to a team that was 4-12 last year and has to compete with the Patriots, Colts, and Chargers just to get to the Super Bowl.

So that leaves us with Pennington and Clemens. By now you know their main strenghths and weaknesses: Chad has an accurate arm but little strength to make the tough throws, while Clemens has the power arm but struggles in pocket presence. However, we've only seen a little taste of what Clemens can do, and that was last year, when he was constantly running for his line behind a porous offensive line. This year that line has seemingly been shored up with the addition of Alan Faneca at guard and (maybe) the addition of Damien Woody at right tackle. So the Jets should see what they have in this kid when he actually has time to throw. They already know what Chad can do under those circumstances- he's put together a pretty good resume from 2002 on when he wasn't injured. So give the kid a chance to start the season.

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Baker Getting No Respect from Local Media posted on 06/10/2008

  For my first blog entry I will write about one of the biggest issues for the New York Jets this off-season- the behavior of starting tight end Chris Baker. Baker, as most of you probably know, has complained to the team about his contract and has been a distraction all off-season. The situation is similar to last season's Pete Kendall fiasco. However recent New-York area media outlets seem to think Baker is in the wrong in this situation. Analysts on two different Sportsnet New York TV shows all agreed Baker does not deserve to be paid the money he wants. One went so far as to say he is the third-best tight end on the team. But while Baker is not as important to the team as Kendall was last season, he does have a key role in the offense.

  Baker claimed to the media that he is the third-highest paid tight end on the team but should be paid like a starter. Despite the Jets' additions this off-season, he seems correct in this assessment. Baker's numbers last season (according to NFL.com) put him 19th in the league in receptions and 18th in total yards. But much of this was because Baker had to stay in and block to support the porous offensive line. Plus this shoddy offensive line hurt Pennington and Clemens' production last season, and since they were always running for their lives they had little time to throw the ball to Baker when he was running routes. One telling statistic is first downs. 29 of Baker's 41 catches last season went for first downs, a 70.7 percent rate that is higher than Tony Gonzalez's, Jason Witten's, and Kellen Winslow II's. So when Baker was getting the ball he was helping the team move down the field.

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