Braylon Edwards is a ———.

Fill in the blank. Mine is ‘selfish bonehead’.

I’m already hearing some people blaming Rex Ryan and the “culture” he has created around the Jets organization, but come on, there is a difference between being disciplined on the football field and having the brains to not get behind the wheel of a car after drinking. The bravado Ryan brings to the team doesn’t cause players to say ‘I’m invincible so I’ll get drunk and drive’. Edwards has a history of doing bonehead things and getting in trouble. If anyone is to blame other than Edwards himself, it’s the people in the Jets organization who signed off on the trade for Edwards last season after knowing his problematic history.

I don’t know when a suspension will be handed out, or for how long it will be, but I hope that the Jets themselves come down hard on Edwards (look for a fight from the NFLPA if they try to suspend him immediately), even if it means playing with a depleted receiving corps for the next game or two.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter:

The Jets have contacted Owens’ agent, Drew Rosenhaus, and have debated the idea of bringing the high-profile wide receiver to training camp.

A deal between the Jets and Owens still is considered a long shot; one person estimated the Jets’ chances at signing Owens at “20 percent.”

I don’t foresee the Jets signing Owens. I know, I know, everyone is going to say how he’ll ruin the locker room and mess up chemistry, but this team is already built with many different pieces from all over the place and guys with all sorts of different backgrounds and experience. I wouldn’t mind the Jets signing Owens if he can still contribute, but at this stage of his career, he’ll probably be more of a headache than anything else because he’s not going to put up big numbers which used to makeup for what he said and did.

The makings of a major problem.

In come the New York Jets. Not new to major problems, the Jets’ front office has put themselves in a tough predicament when it comes to taking care of their players, but they have put the team in a great position to make a major run at the Super Bowl in 2010.

The galaxies are aligned for the Jets in 2010 thanks to a solid group of young players, the signings of some savvy veterans, some head-turning off-season trades, and a fearless head coach with a defensive mentality. But the galaxies may fall out of place after 2010.

Far out of place.

Coined as the Jets’ “Core Four”, Darrelle Revis, Nick Mangold, D’Brickashaw Ferguson, and David Harris, all of whom are homegrown talents, are all looking for new contracts or raises in the near future.Not everybody, however, is going to get paid in the immiediate future according to @RichCimini of ESPN New York, who writes:

“C Nick Mangold, LB David Harris and LT D’Brickashaw Ferguson will not get contract extensions in 2010. The Jets have yet to begin negotiations with any of the players and, considering the uncertainty of the CBA, the organization is showing no sense of urgency. The Jets probably won’t admit this publicly, but I think they’ve already make a decision to wait.

By waiting until after the season, GM Mike Tannenbaum is putting himself in an almost impossible position, with Mangold, Harris, WR Braylon Edwards , WR Santonio Holmes and CB Antonio Cromartie all unsigned. Say goodbye to two or three of those players.”

The Jets have a created more of a one-year monster than a team with dynastic flavors, and as a Jets fan, I can’t say I mind that at all, especially with a potential lockout looming in 2011. Gang Green has signed some veterans to short deals and have brought in some highly talented guys with troubled pasts, sort of like rentals, all with the goal of winning this year’s Super Bowl in mind. They’re focused on 2010 and their off-season maneuvers tell the tale. While the Jets are going for broke in 2010, their young core players are looking for long-term stability and showing their unhappiness during the process. There’s always a catch, and this is it for the Jets. H0ldouts by Revis and/or Mangold are the last thing the Jets need when they’ve put so much effort toward creating a Super bowl contender. But blame the Jets for empty promises and creating this mess because they allegedly promised Revis a new deal before the start of the season. Revis, who is signed through 2012, may not have thought about asking for a new contract two years ahead of time if the Jets didn’t bring it up first.

Although we don’t know exactly if there were any promises made or not, we do know that there are some unhappy Jets right now and a lot of big names that appear to be looking for new deals within the next year. If I had to place an order on who the Jets need to lockup with new, long-term deals, I’d say Revis is the top priority followed by Harris, Mangold and Ferguson at equal priority. When it comes to Holmes, Edwards and Cromartie, the Jets need to take a wait-and-see approach depending on how each player does in 2010. I don’t think, however, that any of those three guys can crack the Jets’ “Core Four” in priority unless a guy like Holmes has a monster season and finds a great connection with Mark Sanchez. By drafting cornerback Kyle Wilson, Cromartie may be expendable after the season and there aren’t many scenarios where I can see the Jest re-signing both Edwards and Holmes after the season, especially since so many other guys on the current roster need to be taken care of too.

Empty promises and one-year flirtations may hurt the future of this team, but this one year, 2010, may be enough will be enough to suppress the hunger of championship starved Jets fans. I’ll take it. I’ll take contractual uncertainty for some of the Jets stud young players in the future if it means a Super Bowl victory this year. But it’s the contractual uncertainty that could be detrimental to the team this year. That’s where the line needs to be drawn. They better take care of the contracts of the most aggravated players and try to appease others so the entire team attends training camp and is focused on the ultimate goal. Contract issues need to be either completed or tabled until next summer by the time camp opens.

The contract statuses of several key players, coupled with the possibility of a lockout next year, puts added pressure on this squad to go all the way this year. Just think though, if they do win this year and there is a lockout in 2011, we can celebrate the Jets being Super Bowl champions for two years! But first, Tannenbaum has to find a mop to clean up this mess before anybody decides to holdout.

We can point the finger of blame as much as we want, but that’s not going to solve anything. Each and every player on the Jets roster has to be in it 110% for the Jets to win the Super Bowl this year. Take care of these problems now, Jets, because it may come down to what the Jets didn’t do this off-season that leads to their demise.

Cornerback
- Cornerback may be their biggest need. After watching Peyton Manning and the Colts’ second and third best receivers light up the Jets second and third cornerbacks, to be a Super Bowl team the Jets will need to upgrade at this position. Lito Sheppard is due $10 million in March and it doesn’t appear the Jets will hang on to him. Dwight Lowery isn’t good enough to be the Jets second cornerback. We saw that in the AFC Championship. The Jets need a solid cornerback to compliment Darrelle Revis.

Outside Linebacker
- Calvin Pace provides an excellent pass rush from one side, but the Jets need someone who is going to be a terror rushing the passer all the time. The better the pass rush the Jets get from their outside linebackers, the less Rex needs to send extra blitzers. A solid pass rusher would allow the Jets to drop an extra man in coverage. Also, Vernon Gholston has been a bust and the Jets should part ways with him, even if that means cutting him and taking the cap hit. 

Defensive End
- Shaun Ellis isn’t getting any younger and the Jets would like to add another defensive end. The Jets had a pretty good rotation in 2009 which included Ellis, Marques Douglas and Mike DeVito, but adding a young, bulky guy that is great against the run will add life to the defensive line.

Wide Receiver
- No matter what happens with Braylon Edwards, the Jets need a third receiver that can be counted on in third-down situations. The Jets need another playmaker at the receiving position that won’t drop passes and a guy that can make plays out of the slot. If the Jets don’t sign Edwards, they’ll need a number one receiver. Last summer the Jets were being discussed as possible trade suitors for Brandon Marshall of the Broncos and if Edwards doesn’t sign, the Jets may rekindle the idea. 

The Jets own the 29th pick in this year’s upcoming NFL Draft in April.

Arguably the NFL’s worst team, the Bucs host a Jets team that has won two in a row and have given up just one touchdown in those two games combined. The Jets defense will be able to hold down the Bucs. It’s the Jets offense and more specificly, Kellen Clemens, that has some people worried.

Kellen Clemens is set to start his first game since 2007. The Jets should be able to run the ball all over the Bucs allowing Clemens to not have to drop back more than 20 times. The Buccaneers have one of the worst run defenses in the league. Clemens hasn’t worked with the first team since training camp and this is the first week of practice he’s been throwing to Braylon Edwards, who was acquired from Cleveland during the season. 

Jet fans will worry until the final whistle blows Sunday afternoon, but they should be confident the Jets can win this one. The offensive line will make holes for Thomas Jones and Shonn Greene to run through and Clemens will make plays when he has to. Jet fans can start worrying again on Monday if Rex Ryan says Sanchez can’t play in week 15 forcing Clemens to be the starter against the Falcons.

The Jets missed some opportunities to put points on the board in the first quarter but luckily it didn’t come back to haunt them. Mark Sanchez missed a wide-open receiver in the end zone and a wide-open Braylon Edwards dropped a perfect pass from Sanchez that would have been an 84-yard touchdown. Instead of being up 14-3, the Jets and Bills were tied 3-3 after the first quarter. The way the Jets defense was playing all the offense needed to do was not turn the ball over and put Jay Feely in field goal range every time they got the ball. Feely converted four of four field goals and the Jets only touchdown came when Sanchez hit Braylon Edwards for a 13-yard touchdown with 0:44 seconds remaining in the first half.

Sanchez left the game in the third quarter with a right knee injury. Sanchez tweaked his knee while diving for a first down. He did not return to the game. Kellen Clemens replaced Sanchez and wasn’t asked to do much, although he made it interesting when he fumbled deep in the Jets’ territory but D’Brickashaw Ferguson jumped on the ball. The Jets kept the ball on the ground for the most part after Sanchez limped off. Thomas Jones ran for 109 yards on 23 carries and Shonn Greene ran for 59 yards on 11 carries. The Jets ran for 249 yards as a team. 

Defensively, on the opposite side of Revis, Lito Sheppard looked good shutting down whoever he was covering. Other than giving up a 38-yard catch to Lee Evans in the first quarter, Sheppard played just as good as Revis. The Bills threw for just 98 yards in the game and Ryan Fitzpatrick only completed 39.1% of his passes.

The Jets are 6-6 and need the Dolphins to beat the Patriots this weekend to be one game out of the division lead. The Jets have an extended week and travel to Tampa Bay to play the 1-10 Bucs next Sunday.