I'd Rather Get Beat Up In An Alley

When the clock struck midnight last Thursday, many Jets fans turned to the internet for immediate news of the moves their team was making. Despite NFL propaganda, the Jets had created tons of room under the salary cap to play with. They had even more money to throw around then they expected thanks Laveranues Coles‘ sudden generosity- he pretty much gave back the 8 million bucks he was guaranteed so he could go play ball with Chad in Miami. Problem with his strategy is a big ol’ fat man named Bill Parcells who eats little wide receivers for lunch. Thanks Coles. Only time will tell if you’ve dropped the ball… again.

Well, the Jets apparently waited ten whole minutes before descending upon Bart Scott‘s house, dragging him all the way to Jersey, and signing his “violent” butt to a six year contract. Then the Jets went back to Baltimore (or made a phone call anyway) and have now signed Jim Leonard as well. Sweet.

The Jets even came up looking rosey after releasing long time lineman Brandon Moore. Around the inter-web, Jets fans weren’t too happy with the release of Moore. He was a rock-solid presence on the line. Dependable. And now he’s cheaper than he was. Brandon resigned with the Jets for $16 million for the next four years. The big $7 million hit we were going to take this year is no Moore.

TJ Houshmanhowyouspellhisname ended up in Seattle which means he won’t be coming here (boo), but it also means that the Seahawks probably won’t use their #4 draft pick on another wide receiver (yay!). Drafting a wide receiver is an option for the Jets especially since they grabbed the two-time probowling Lito Shepard to help out at cornerback. We really need a speedy #1 Wide Receiver that commands a double team. Thoughts?

Remember how last year we showed Pennington some “respect” by unconditionally releasing him so that he could be free to find his own deal? Remember how he stayed in our division and kinda sorta made us look stupid? Well Bill Belicik remembered and there was no way in hell he was letting Matt Cassel even sniff the Atlantic Ocean again. The franchise tag was placed on him not to keep him a Patriot but to control where he landed. Vrabel to Kansas City made me smile. Both Vrabel and Cassel? KC looks to have gotten a stellar deal. The Patriots will be drafting a platoon of new young players in this draft. Also, something tells me that Tom Brady’s rehab is going exceptionally well.

The frenzied opening days of Free Agency are over but rest assured Rex and Tannenbaum still have plenty of cards to play. I expect them to sign a tight end that can block to replace Chris Baker. Jay Cutler‘s name is being kicked around probably by every team in the league. You know, the way he was blindsided in trade talks last week, I almost feel sorry for him. Then again, if he didn’t act like a constant jerk-off every chance he gets maybe the Broncos wouldn’t be trying to get rid of him. I would love to have his arm in a Jets uniform… just not his attitude.

Laveranues Coles has been the Grumpy Smurf on offense for awhile now. He wasn’t happy with Mangini’s training camps, he hates having to catch balls that are thrown too hard, and he missed his good buddy Chad Pennington. I think his sensitive hands miss Chad’s lobbed passes more than anything but hey that’s just me. After meeting with Rex Ryan this week, they’ve agreed to part ways amicably. Coles has been released and the Jets no longer owe him the 7 million bucks he was guaranteed (if I understand it correctly we’re now going to take a 1 million dollar hit). Halleluja.

This off season is off the hook. The list of recent non-Jets reads as such: Brett Favre, Mike Nugent, Chris Baker, Brandon Moore, David Barrett, Eric Barton (probably anyway), David Bowens, and now Grumpy Smurf. We’re clearing cap space faster than Bill Belichik can grab our unwanted players. You gotta know Chris Baker’s been targeted by the Pats right? I’ll bet anyone 50 bucks right now that Coles ends up with Chad in Miami. This is unbelievably…. something. I don’t know what but I just hope Tannenbaum has a Plan A, a Plan B, and a Plan C.

The team that just 3 weeks ago was reported to be in “Cap Hell” is now at least 22 million under and I bet that number will continue to grow until the start of Free Agency this Friday. That’s a ton of money to play with. Who are we targeting? Who does Rex have his eye on?

I’ll go out on a limb here and guess that a large chunk of Baltimore’s defense will be making the move to Jersey this spring. The Ravens pretty much made Terrell Suggs unatainable but beyond that, I don’t think there’s anything stopping Bart Scott, Ray Lewis, or Jim Leonard from coming here. So Ray Lewis is old and he wants to play in Dallas… perfect. Pick up Scott and Leonard.

As of right now we officially need a Wide Receiver. I’m hoping for TJ Houshmandzadeh as well as a player in the draft. Isn’t Ocho Cinco dying to get out of Cincinatti too? Coles really wasn’t the receiver he has been in the past. Between the dropped game breaking balls and the concussions he was starting to have, his whining really started to irk me. We’ve still got Jerricho Cotchery and he’s tough as nails. Even if it’s Clowney who lines up at least we’re putting some speed on the field.

Friday will hopefully reveal some of the Jets plans for free agency. Good players go quickly so I’m hoping (praying) that Woody has the checkbook raring to go. This is no time to sit on our butts and watch. By all indications the Jets have some $$$ burning a hole in their pocket and are ready to pounce. This is the Jets we’re talking about though, so you know it wouldn’t surprise me if we ended up getting Terrell Owens. Let me be clear, this is in no way an endorsement of TO. He’s a punk and I’m glad Jet’s fans aren’t even mentioning his name on team websites. Except I just kinda sorta did…