Posts Tagged ‘Bart Scott’

My opinion of the Jets being on the HBO TV series ‘Hard Knocks’ falls in the overwhelming minority. Most Jet fans are ecstatic that the team will be featured on the TV show this summer. Me? Not so much.

‘Hard Knocks’ is a documentary made by HBO and NFL films, which focuses on the daily lives and routines of a specific NFL team’s players and staff throughout training camp. It gives viewers an insider’s look into an NFL team while they prepare for the upcoming season and is as close to reality TV as there has ever been in sports. 

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Everyday you hear people say the Jets should sign this guy or that guy. Names like Julius Peppers, Chad Pennington, LaDainian Tomlinson, Brian Westbrook, and Joey Porter. The list goes on and on and expands when a new player gets cut. Some of those players can’t be signed due to uncapped rules and others would be plain dumb to sign. There is one player, who hasn’t been officially cut yet but a release seems imminent, that makes all the sense in the world for the Jets to sign; Adalius Thomas.

What makes Thomas a good fit for the Jets? For starters, he fills a need for the Jets at outside linebacker. With Thomas, there will be one less area needed to be filled that may have had to be addressed through the draft. Now the Jets can draft a different need in the first and second rounds. Put Thomas on the other side of Calvin Pace and let Bryan Thomas spell the two outside linebackers when needed. They could put serious pressure on the quarterback from both sides of the field. 

Thomas is familiar with Rex Ryan’s defense, having played under Ryan in Baltimore from 2000 to 2006. He’s also familiar with the AFC East since he’s played for the Patriots for the last three seasons. Finally, doesn’t it feel like Thomas is going to hold a vendetta against the Patriots and would love to sign with their rivals, the Jets, and go hard after them twice a year? That’s enough in my book to want to sign him. 

The only foreseeable problem is his age. He’s 32-years old and hasn’t played exceptionally well during the last two seasons. Who knows though, maybe getting him back in Ryan’s defense will give his career a second wind; a resurgence. It’s not like his career has fallen off of a cliff, though, but he hasn’t been the same since leaving Baltimore.

Bart Scott talked about the idea on ESPN radio with Mike & Mike. “I was hanging with Adalius Thomas for Super Bowl weekend. We’re buddies from back in the day,” Scott said. “He made it public that he’s expressed an interest in joining Rex. I think some of his better years of his career have been a part of the Ravens defense and under Rex Ryan’s tutelage. It’ll be exciting.”

Once Thomas is released, look for the Jets to be the first to try to snatch him up.

It takes an entire team effort to get where the Jets are, but credit Jet rookies and first year Jets for changing the culture of the organization.

It starts with first year head coach Rex Ryan, who was brought over from the Ravens. Ryan is one of the top defensive minds in the NFL. Ryan brought over linebacker Bart Scott, safety Jim Leonhard, defensive end Marques Douglas and a few coaches with him from Baltimore and those guys are a big reason why the Jets’ defense has been so successful in their first year under Rex Ryan’s scheme. Without Scott, Leonhard and Douglas, the Jets defense would have probably been lost. They are the coaches on the field that know the defense as well as Rex does because they’ve been in his system for so long. Those guys have helped the Jet defenders learn the scheme. 

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The Jets remain in the thick of the AFC playoff picture with a 26-3 win over the Buccaneers in Tampa Bay. Their defense led the charge with an impressive day while Thomas Jones rushed for two touchdowns on the offensive side of the ball. Rex Ryan’s defense was the story, holding the now 1-12 Bucs to three points and 124 total yards. 

David Harris picked off rookie Josh Freeman on the first play of the game and the defensive tone was set for the rest of the game. The Jets defense limited the Buccaneers to only 15 total yards in the first half and didn’t allow a first half first down. Darrelle Revis and Kerry Rhodes also picked off the Buccaneers’ rookie signal caller in the fourth quarter. 

Jay Feely knocked in four field goals in the first half and Thomas Jones broke through for a 33-yard touchdown and the Jets led 19-0 at the half. A Thomas Jones touchdown run was their only offense in the second half and it was more than enough. The Jets would have most likely shut the Bucs out if linebacker Bart Scott wasn’t flagged for unnecessary roughness in the third quarter. The boneheaded play by Scott was after the Jets stopped the Bucs on a third down. The penalty gave the Bucs a first down and they converted a field goal a few plays later.

Kellen Clemens, starting in place of the injured Mark Sanchez, wasn’t great, but he didn’t turn the ball over and didn’t make any costly mistakes. 

At 7-6, the Jets will have to win their final three games and get some outside help to earn a playoff birth. New England (8-5) and Miami (7-6) both won and remain head of the Jets in the AFC East.

Jets fans were so quick to become believers after a 3-0 start that the each loss since then has hurt more and more. Even at 4-4 Jets fans still believed a playoff birth was possible. It’s over now. Jets fans won’t be disappointed for the rest of the season now that the Jets lost to the Jaguars and their playoff chances are shot. Expectations have been lowered. 

All the talk, all the hype, all the hoopla is over. Rex Ryan and his players won’t be doing much barking anymore. Kerry Rhodes isn’t going to tell the media the Jets are going to “embarrass” the Patriots this week. It’s doubtful Rex Ryan is going to ask the Jets fans to be “prideful” and cheer louder anymore this season knowing the product on the field isn’t giving fans anything to be prideful or cheer about. 

“Maybe we’re not one of the best defenses in the league,” Bart Scott said.

The defense hasn’t been able to finish games. The Jets have had some leads in the fourth quarter during this 1-6 skid but have given up late scores to lose. The defense hasn’t been tackling well either. The Jets just find ways to lose games. If it’s not their offense, it’s their defense. If it’s not their defense, it’s their special teams. It’s always something and it goes full circle.  

“Now we’re 4-5 and we’re not impressive. We’re not scaring anybody. We’re not intimidating anybody coming onto the field, so that 3-0 start is a wash. That’s over with.” Braylon Edwards said.

The Jets know how to talk. We know that. What they don’t know how to do is play sound football over a long stretch of games. They played good for three consecutive games to start the season and got Jets fans excited. Optimistic about the new coach, new defensive scheme, anti-Mangini attitude, stud rookie quarterback out of USC, and vocalness of the team, Jets fans jumped the gun. A long Super Bowl drought will do that.

Hopefully Rex Ryan has learned a lot through the first 10 weeks of his coaching career. Hopefully Ryan and the Jets learned there’s a difference between talking a big game and playing a big game. Ryan is also going to rethink his decision to give his players six days off during a bye week and take a look at his clock and timeout management. I know Jets fans have learned not to get overexcited about a 3-0 start and all the hype that came with it, no matter if a win against the Patriots is included in the three wins. 3-0 doesn’t equate to 11-5. The Jets and Jets fans have learned a lot from 2009. Rex Ryan is going to be a better coach because of this experience.

The New York Jets were 8-3 coming off a huge win against the undefeated Tennessee Titans and were looking like one of the best teams in the NFL.  Then it all fell apart.  The Jets had one win in their next five games and ended the 2008 season with a 9-7 record, good for 3rd place in the AFC East.  The Jets fired head coach Eric Mangini after the season and hired Baltimore’s defensive coordinator, Rex Ryan.

Offense:  The Jets drafted USC quarterback, Mark Sanchez, with the fifth overall pick and he will compete with Kellen Clemens for the starting quarterback job.  If Sanchez doesn’t begin the season as the starter, I think he’ll take over by week four.  The Jets also have questions at the running back position.  Their top two backs, Thomas Jones and Leon Washington, are unhappy with their current contracts and have missed some offseason workouts.  The Jets need to take care of business and either pay the men, or take a different action.  The offensive line remains the same and is poised for a solid season.  Laveranues Coles signed with the Bengals, leaving the Jets with a subpar receiving corps.  Jerricho Cotchery will be the top receiver and Chansi Stuckey, David Clowney, and Brad Smith will be behind him.

Defense:  Rex Ryan, one of the greatest defensive minds in the NFL today, was able to persuade linebacker Bart Scott and safety Jim Leonard to follow him to the Jets and they come with great experience with Ryan’s defensive scheme.  The defense should be much better than last year.  As Bart Scott has said, the defense will be very ‘violent’.  The Jets also acquired cornerback Lito Sheppard from the Eagles.

Overall:  The Jets will be better on defense and will rely on the defense to win some games  Offensively. they will have to run the ball often.  With young quarterbacks and receivers, the Jets will need to figure out what to do with their running backs before they cause a ruckus in the locker room.  They need Jones, Washington and third round pick, Shonn Greene, to be very productive and to keep drives going.  The Jets are going to play a lot of low scoring games in 2009.

Prediction:  The Jets have a very tough schedule and I think it’s going to be very hard for them to get into the playoffs.  I think they win eight or nine games.  From top to bottom, there are no breaks in their schedule and every week will be a battle.