02/08 – What we have in the National Football League is confusion and what we all hope for is clarity. Since the owners opted out of the Collective Bargaining Agreement last May, no progress has been made in talks with the players' union. The league is headed for an uncapped 2010 season, which will commence on March 5. And let’s be honest — there probably aren’t going to be any last-minute deals because both sides have dug in for a long battle. You might have a better shot of going to Las Vegas tonight with $1 savings and coming home with $100,000. “Our focus is on trying to get an agreement as soon as we possibly can," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said last week. "Before there is any kind of a work stoppage or any of the [2011] scenarios ... we still have a lot of time and a lot of important opportunities here to structure something that makes sense for everybody. “And as I said, we’re committed and we’re determined to do that. Our focus is on the immediate future. In the next 30 days or so, we’ll be going into an uncapped year if we are not successful. A lot of players will be affected by that. We’d like to see if something can get done.” As it stands right now, the Jets have seven players — LS James Dearth, DE Marques Douglas, K Jay Feely, LB Ryan Fowler, TE Ben Hartsock, LB/special teamer Larry Izzo and FB Tony Richardson — who will become unrestricted free agents on March 5. The Jets, one of four teams who participated in the conference championship games, won’t be able to sign any UFAs themselves unless one of the aforementioned seven signs with another club. “We can't sign one until we would lose one, and again, that's someone whose contract expires and they have been in the league for six or more seasons,” said GM Mike Tannenbaum. “If a player gets cut by another team, they become a free agent and we would be able to sign them.” The Jets don’t have a large group of UFAs because only players who have been in the league six years or more will qualify for free agency in 2010. Before we turn our attention to restricted free agents (RFAs), there is a salary-matching component to this whole UFA situation. For example, let’s say one of the above Jets veterans becomes a UFA and signs a three-year deal with the Atlanta Falcons for $1 million in year one, $1.3 million in year two and $1.9 million in year three. The Jets could in turn sign one player themselves, but his first-year salary couldn’t be more than the $1 million the former Jets vet received, and then the club would be limited to a 30 percent jump from that original $1 million each additional season. So the Jets could go as high as $1.3 million in year two and then $1.6 million in year three. Even if the Jets wanted to make a play for a Julius Peppers-type player, the likelihood of that happening would be slim and none. If the Panthers don’t sign Pep to an extension or place the franchise tag on the star before Feb. 25, he’s going to be a UFA and will want to be the highest paid defensive player in the NFL. Also, ESPN’s Adam Schefter recently reported that the Jets may work on an extension for the game’s best CB, Darrelle Revis. The Jets’ group of restricted free agents stands at 11 — QB Kellen Clemens, CB Drew Coleman, WR Braylon Edwards, DT Howard Green, T Wayne Hunter, S James Ihedigbo, WR Brad Smith, S Eric Smith, RB-KR Leon Washington and WR-special teams ace Wallace Wright. Although the deadline for the Green & White to tender qualifying offers is March 4, Mr. T. already announced that the club is “definitely” going to tender Washington, Edwards was a “similar situation” to the explosive back and Clemens would receive a tender as well. By placing a tender on a restricted free agent, the Jets protect themselves from losing that player in a couple of ways. Other teams can make contract offers to the Jets’ 11 RFAs from March 5-April 15, but New York’s AFC representative would have one week to match anything that was signed, with the last possible matching date landing on April 21. If the Jets choose not to match an offer, they would receive compensation in the form of a draft pick or picks determined by the player’s tender and draft selection. “We need a little bit more time,” Tannenbaum said when asked about what tender Washington would receive. “There are some fairly complicated rules in terms of draft classes and who you can tender at what level, so we will take a close look at that as well.” According to an Associated Press report, there are more than 200 players who would have been UFAs and now will be RFAs under these new rules. And there are some big-time names in that category around the league, including WR Vincent Jackson and LB Shawne Merriman of the Chargers, WR Brandon Marshall and DE Elvis Dumervil of the Broncos, Cowboys WR Miles Austin, Texans LB DeMeco Ryans, Colts S Antoine Bethea, Dolphins RB Ronnie Brown, Vikings DE Ray Edwards, Redskins QB Jason Campbell, and Bucs RB Carnell “Cadillac” Williams. Even if a new CBA was miraculously reached before March 5, the NFL would probably have to implement a transition rule that would apply for those players who were going to be RFAs before the deal was reached but then became UFAs afterward. But with no agreement, the league will enter into an uncapped year and teams will have no spending limit. Keep in mind that teams can release players with no cap consequence in 2010, but it should be noted Mr. T. has already said LB Vernon Gholston, the No. 6 selection in the 2008 NFL Draft, will return. The Jets are not going to throw money around like they’re printing it down in the equipment room. RB Thomas Jones and S Kerry Rhodes are reportedly due bonuses and there are decisions to be made with both players. Then you’ve got the case of CB Lito Sheppard, who’s reportedly owed a huge contract bonus in March. “You still have budgets you have to hit. You still have targets that you have to be at,” Tannenbaum said. “Also, we don't know what the new system will be and you have to be prepared that you can transition from uncapped to capped. I certainly don't know what [a deal] might look like, so we have to be prepared for that as well. "These are always tough judgment calls and we will always do what's best for the Jets.”

Prospect of an Uncapped 2010 Now Looms

02/08 – We were not tasked this year with covering the Super Bowl, as we were for the Giants' takedown of the Patriots in Arizona two years ago, so we could enjoy, along with you, the Saints' pullaway victory over the Colts at home Sunday night. And by now you're awash in the Super analysis of everything from the Lombardi Trophy shaved into Tracy Porter's head and the potential MRIs of Dwight Freeney's throbbing ankle to the jobs performed by analyst Phil Simms (strong, I thought) and CBS (pretty clean although with some errors). I'll contribute a little to the cacophony this morning, but only as it might pertain to the Jets looking forward. In the first quarter, we saw the Peyton Manning that opposing defenses fear. The man who had many talking heads shouting over each other to proclaim him perhaps the best QB of all time gave a glimpse why as he and his offense produced 10 points on Indianapolis' first two drives. The touchdown march was interesting, a balanced mix of five runs for 61 yards and six pass plays for 35 yards, including the 19-yard scoring strike to Pierre Garcon. The 96 yards equaled the longest drive in Super Bowl history. Here are the top four, all for TDs:  SB Team Opp QB Plays-Yds-TOP Qtr Final Score  XX CHI NE Jim McMahon 9-96-5:05 3rd Bears, 46-10  XLIV IND NO Peyton Manning 11-96-4:36 1st Saints, 30-17  XXXII GB DEN Brett Favre 17-95-7:26 2nd Broncos, 31-24  XXXVIII CAR NE Jake Delhomme 8-95-1:58 2nd Patriots, 32-29   But perhaps one small harbinger of things to come popped its head up out of the Sun Life Prescription Athletic Turf on this otherwise fine drive. Manning, who took a few shots from the Saints' pass rushers in the series, completed just three of six. New Orleans was credited with putting a lick on the QB only once more in the game. Similarly, the Jets in the AFC Championship Game two weeks earlier got five hits on Manning, but four came in the first 20 minutes. However, where Peyton gained strength against the Jets' yielding secondary, the Saints, with their full and healthy complement of DBs, appeared to have Manning and company more out of rhythm than usual (never more so than on Porter's pick-and-roll against Reggie Wayne for the dagger INT-return with 3:12 to play). As Darrelle Revis said after the Pro Bowl, "Peyton makes you uncomfortable out there. It's almost like a guessing game. The thing with him is you've got to make him guess, which is very hard to do. But if you can find a game plan to make him uncomfortable, you're doing a good job." Therefore ... Task 1: Don't Let Manning Sit in His Comfy Chair. Next, the Saints played keepaway from Peyton in their big little second quarter. From the conclusion of their first scoring drive, capped by the first of Garrett Hartley's three 40-yard field goals, through the drive to the Colts' goal line stand after the two-minute warning, to the final 35-second move to Hartley's 44-yard FG as time expired, the Big Easys held the ball for a whopping 12:26. That's the second-largest time of possession in one quarter ever in a Super Bowl. Here are the six 12-minute quarters in Super history:  SB Team Opp Qtr TOP Final Score  XXXIV TEN STL 4th 13:14 Rams, 23-16  XLIV NO IND 2nd 12:26 Saints, 30-17  II GB OAK 3rd 12:21 Packers, 33-14  XX CHI NE 1st 12:17 Bears, 46-10  XXI NYG DEN 3rd 12:13 Giants, 39-20  IX PIT MIN 4th 12:09 Steelers, 16-6   Additionally, that quarter was the Saints' springboard toward getting control of this game as they held the ball for 19:59 of the middle two quarters. The 18 Super Bowl teams that have had a possession time of 17:30 or greater in Quarters 2-3 went 18-0, and that includes the Colts' 21:35 against the Bears three years earlier. Guiding the Saints in controlling the clock was MVP Drew Brees' unconscious passing. Once he heated up, he never cooled off. He completed 25 of his last 27 passes from the second quarter on, and that includes one incompletion on a clock-stopping spike and doesn't include the two-point pass to Lance Moore that, upon further review, was reversed from an incompletion into a big play that heaped just a little more pressure on Manning and the Colts. Also helping N'awlins in the clock area was coach Sean Payton's call for the onsides kick on the second-half kickoff. Gutsy and pivotal — since it led to Drew Brees' TD pass to Pierre Thomas for the Saints' first lead of the game. Ultimately, it gave the Saints one more possession than the Colts instead of perhaps one less, 9-8 overall. The call almost turned very bad, since Hank Baskett was in position to recover Thomas Morstead's high hopper and give the Colts a dangerous short field of 38 yards or so for Manning to open the second half. But Hank failed to make the Baskett catch and unheralded safety Chris Reis pounced on the loose ball for the Saints. Gambles sometimes pay off. This morning, in accepting the MVP trophy, Brees explained the unfolding midgame, from Payton's decision to go for it at the Colts 1 through the onside kick and subsequent score. "Just to get to the end of the second quarter, we got stopped on fourth-and-goal," Brees said, "but that was a very calculated decision because here we are with a couple of timeouts. We know where we can stop them and get the ball. But we need some points going in at the end of the half. Sure enough, we get the two-minute drive going, we get a little bit of momentum going in at halftime, which I think helped the decision to kick this onside, get the ball back, which is an unbelievably gutsy call, but one that we all believed was going to work. "Sure enough, it does. We then get the ball, go right down the field and score a touchdown and gain momentum on our side. Then at that point you just felt like OK, the game has come to us and now we can take it over. Sean just continued to dial it up and we just got into that rhythm and I think he recognized that and just knew that we can have our way with this defense underneath, just spreading the ball around, moving the chains. We have to be patient because they’re not giving us any big plays, but we’ll just continue to earn it, earn it, earn it all the way down the field, and once we get down there, we have to score a touchdown. And that’s what we did.” Task 2: Make Peyton Idle by Moving the Chains. Finally, we all know the accentuation of the turnover effect in the NFL's big game. The Saints became the latest to bear this out with their plus-1 turnover margin. In Super Bowl history, the team with the plus margin is now 32-3. Hard to beat. And for any team that has no giveaways in compiling a Super plus margin? 13-0. Task 3: No Gifts for You. So how does this apply to the Jets? They of course could reach the AFC title game again a year from now and never face the Colts. They might not even make it to the title game, or into the playoffs. There are no givens. But Mark Sanchez and the ballcarriers seem to have a good foundation in the takeaway/giveaway area (First 10 games: 23 turnovers, minus-6, 4-6 record; final 9 games: 9 turnovers, plus-10, 7-2 record). A more balanced offense, as Rex Ryan has indicated, could mean optimization of possession time (even with the NFL's No. 1 rushing offense, the Jets' TOP per-game average of 31:43 was only ninth, their 2:33 per-drive average 15th). And tightening up the secondary will be of primary importance for the defensive-minded Ryan and Mike Pettine, whether the Jets face Manning, Brady, Rivers or someone else on the path to Dallas. We'll bring you developments on all these fronts and more all this off-season, beginning pretty much immediately, on newyorkjets.com.

Some Post-SB Colts, Saints Points to Ponder

01/29 – The Jets will play their home games in a new state-of-the-art stadium in 2010 and Rex Ryan has set his sights on hosting some playoff contests there next January. “It's 0-0 and we have to get away from it a little bit, but let's come back hungrier than ever. Let's go take this thing,” said the Jets' head coach this week. “Let's try to get a home game. Let's play this game in front of our fans and our stadium, the New Jets Stadium. That is going to be it when we play in it and I can't wait. We get our stadium and we are not the visitors in our stadium — this is our stadium. We are the biggest show in town and that's what it's going to be.” While the Jets became road warriors this postseason with wins over the Bengals in Cincinnati and the Chargers in San Diego, the Green & White saw their season come to a close in Indianapolis. The Green & White didn’t have many answers for a nearly flawless Peyton Manning and it would be invaluable to get Peyton outside and give his check-with-me-at-the-line system the ultimate test in front of 82,000 members of Jets Nation. “I saw them make a difference,” Ryan said of the Nation. “We played New England. I saw the difference. We won that game because of our fans. We really had a huge game against Cincinnati because of the way our players fed off our fans. It was awesome. I want to have that stadium. I want it to be rocking and I expect it to be like that.” Last season, the Jets finished with just a 4-4 mark at home. If they can establish dominance at their new house, that would go a long way toward securing playoff games at home and perhaps even a first-round bye.  2010 Home Opponents  2010 Away Opponents  Buffalo (6-10)  Buffalo (6-10)  Miami (7-9)  Miami (7-9)  New England (10-6)  New England (10-6)  Baltimore (9-7)  Cleveland (5-11)  Cincinnati (10-6)  Pittsburgh (9-7)  Green Bay (11-5)  Chicago (7-9)  Minnesota (12-4)  Detroit (2-14)  Houston (9-7)  Denver (8-8)   The NFL will officially release its 2010 schedule in April, but it’s never too early to take a look at the Jets’ opponents and the matchups on the horizon. HOME Buffalo (6-10) — After a long search, the Bills hired Chan Gailey as their 15th head coach. Gailey, a 35-year coaching veteran who compiled a 44-32 mark at Georgia Tech from 2002-07, led the Dallas Cowboys to back-to-back playoff appearances in 1998-99 before being dismissed by Jerry Jones on Jan. 11, 2000. The Bills haven’t made a playoff appearance in 10 seasons and Jets Nation will be eyeing revenge for an ugly 16-13 OT home loss to Buffalo last October. Rookie Mark Sanchez threw five picks and even P Steve Weatherford tossed an INT as the Jets spoiled a franchise-record 210 rushing yards from Thomas Jones. Miami (7-9) — We’re checking on a rumor that Coach Ryan has already assigned security detail to cover Ted Ginn Jr. when the speedy Dolphins wideout gets off the bus. Ginn scored on 100- and 101-yard third-quarter kickoff returns and Jason Taylor recovered a fumble back in Week 8 as the Dolphins grabbed the most unlikely of road victories. In fact, the Jets outgained their division rivals 378-104 in front of the home folks but the ‘Fins swept the season series for the first time since 2003. New England (10-6) — If the Jets are to claim their first AFC East championship since 2002, they’ll have to knock the Patriots off their perch. Last season Ryan sent an early message to the NFL with a 16-9 Week 2 win over the Pats as the Jets held serve at home against their northeastern rivals for the first time since 2000. Tom Brady was 23-for-47 for 216 yards with no TDs and an interception and left beaten up and bruised by the Jets defense. Green & White play-by-play man Bob “Shoes” Wischusen memorably said of the riled-up fan base, "This place is an insane asylum." Baltimore (9-7) — Make no mistake, this game will be a special contest for Ryan. Hired on Jan. 21, 2009, by Jets owner Woody Johnson, Ryan served as the Ravens’ assistant head coach/defensive coordinator in 2008, defensive coordinator from 2005-07 and defensive line coach from 1999-2004. Interestingly, both Ryan and Jets offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer were considered for the Ravens vacancy in '08 before B-More tabbed John Harbaugh. Cincinnati (10-6) — The Jets owned the Bengals last season, taming the Cats, 37-0, in the regular-season finale in a game that that not only vaulted the Green & White into the postseason but set up an immediate rematch on Wild Card Weekend. Six days later, the Jets disposed of the Bengals, 24-14, in their own den. Chad Ochocinco, who claimed Darrelle Revis couldn’t cover him in a brown paper bag on a corner of a Manhattan street inside a phone booth, totaled two receptions and 28 yards against Veintecuatro. Green Bay (11-5) — Speaking of Revis, the two-time Pro Bowler finished runner-up to Packers CB Charles Woodson in the AP’s voting for NFL Defensive Player of the Year. The Pack is 0-4 all-time in road games against the Jets, and who will ever forget the last time Green Bay visited the Green & White? That 42-17 demolition on Dec. 29, 2002, cemented the Jets’ last division title. Minnesota (12-4) — Will he? Won’t he? The latest out of Minnesota — from ESPN’s Ed Werder, anyway — is that Brett Favre says it’s “highly unlikely” he’ll play again. Although he’s 40 now, No. 4 still threw for 4,202 yards, 33 TDs and only seven interceptions in an incredible regular season, but the image we think of is Favre rolling right, forcing a ball across his body to Sidney Rice and getting picked by Saints CB Tracy Porter. Favre — the Jets’ QB in 2008 — wasn’t sacked by the Saints, but he got beat purple by the NFC champions. If he is lounging around in Mississippi over the next few months, we suggest Favre throw in a tape of the Jets from this past season. He might think twice about coming back after watching them blitz, switch up coverage, overload the line and generally create chaos. Houston (9-7) — The Rex Ryan era began in Houston with a win as the Jets trounced the Texans, 24-7, in the 2008 opener. This matchup will feature the Texans' top-ranked pass offense against the Jets top-ranked pass D. ROAD Buffalo (6-10) — This game figures to be played back in Western New York after a one-year hiatus last season when the Jets outlasted the Bills, 19-13, in Toronto, Canada, on Dec. 3. It’s a safe bet that Terrell Owens won’t be a Bill next season, but who’s going to be Chan Gailey’s quarterback? Miami (7-9) — Both the Jets, who were happy with the maturation process of Mark Sanchez over the last six weeks of their season, and the Dolphins, who got a 20-of-26, 241-yard, two-TD performance out of Chad Henne in the 31-27 Monday night win over the Jets last October, appear to be set at the quarterback position for the foreseeable future. The ‘Fins' problem wasn’t their offense but rather on the other side of the ball as they finished 25th in points allowed (24.4 points/game). New England (10-6) — Despite posting an unblemished 8-0 mark in Foxboro during the regular season, the Pats looked less than average in that 33-14 wild-card smackdown they got from the Ravens. What can’t be argued is this is a team in transition and you know internally they’re thinking about what the Jets are building. Cleveland (5-11) — Prior to the Jets meeting the Colts in the AFC Championship Game, Daily News columnist Gary Myers interviewed Eric Mangini. "I do take a lot of pride in how they are doing," said the man who led the Jets to a 23-25 mark from 2006–08. "Not just in how they are playing but the type of people they are. That locker room is loaded with good guys. I am happy with their success. I feel I contributed to it." You can throw all the nice-nice talk out the door when these two clubs do battle on Lake Erie. Lots of interesting storylines when you consider Rex Ryan’s twin brother, Rob, is Mangini’s D-coordinator and the Jets traded twice with the Browns last year in order to select Mark Sanchez on draft weekend and then acquire Braylon Edwards in October. Pittsburgh (9-7) — In regular-season play the Jets have never broken through in the Steel City and own an 0-6 all-time mark in Pittsburgh. This will be a put-the-children-in-bed-early kind of affair, a bruising game that will remind folks of yesteryear. Can’t wait for this showdown in Blitzburgh! Was the Steelers absence from the playoffs this year an aberration and will the Jets stamp their place as one of the conference’s elite teams? Chicago (7-9) — Jay Cutler is a riverboat gambler who was victimized by 26 INTs in his first season with the Bears, and throwing caution to the wind in this clash might play right into the Jets’ hands. If it’s breezy in the Windy City, the Jets' top-ranked rushing attack will attack a Bears rush D that finished 23rd in ’09. Detroit (2-14) — Mark Sanchez vs. Matt Stafford. If both young passers are successful, then both franchises will succeed for years in what is a quarterback-driven league. The Lions grabbed Stafford, a Georgia product, with the first overall selection last April, then the Jets got Sanchez four picks later. Sanchez had the good fortune of coming to a team that won nine games the previous year but the Lions are just 2-28 in their last 30. "Obviously, 2-14 is unacceptable," said GM Martin Mayhew after the Lions followed a winless year with a 2-14 campaign. "That's not what we're gonna be about." Both WR Braylon Edwards and WLB Bart Scott grew up in Detroit while DT Kris Jenkins is from Ypsilanti, Mich., and MLB David “Hitman” Harris attended Ottawa Hills HS. Edwards, Harris and K Jay Feely were Michigan Wolverines and S Eric Smith was a Michigan State Spartan. Denver (8-8) — Bring those oxygen tanks up in that high altitude. After starting 8-4 under Josh McDaniels, the Broncos lost their breath and took a deep fall to reach .500 by season’s end. We think you’ll be seeing a lot of stories on the 24s leading up to this contest when you think of Darrelle Revis and Champ Bailey.

Looking Ahead to 2010 Foes, New Stadium