SB Nation - Nick Mangold

Ryan McKee Waived

John B — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:00:30 -0000

The New York Jets have waived tackle Ryan McKee. The announcement was made by general manager Mike Tannenbaum.

McKee (6'6", 291) was signed to the active roster from the practice squad on Dec. 12 after being signed to the practice squad on Sept. 7. He originally signed with the Jets on May 1 as an undrafted free agent and was waived on Sept. 5. McKee was inactive for Sunday's game at Tampa Bay. He was a three-year starter at right tackle at Southern Mississippi.

I think the biggest thing to take away is that Nick Mangold is fine. We could pretty much surmise that considering Nick returned to the game after his second half injury on Sunday. This provides more proof. If there was any reason for concern, I can't see the Jets dropping depth on the line.

Is there anybody you'd like to see the Jets replace him with on the roster? Any position stick out as in need of depth?

Nick Mangold Charity Event

John B — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 01:13:40 -0000

MEDIA ADVISORY

JETS CENTER NICK MANGOLD AND "VOICE OF THE YANKEES" MICHAEL KAY TO VISIT KIDS AT MONTEFIORE THANKS TO EMBLEMHEALTH AND 1050 ESPN

New York Jets Center Nick Mangold and "Voice of the Yankees" Michael Kay, host of 1050 ESPN Radio’s afternoon drive "The Michael Kay Show" to spread cheer at The Children’s Hospital at Montefiore Tuesday, December 15^th, 10:00 a.m., 3415 Bainbridge Avenue, between East Gun Hill Road and East 210^th Street, Bronx, NY, thanks to EmblemHealth.

Mangold and Kay will read The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper to the kids, autograph souvenirs from EmblemHealth and 1050 ESPN, make personal bedside visits and give out gifts.

DATE:           Tuesday, December 15, 2009

TIME:            10:00 a.m.

PLACE:         The Children’s Hospital at Montefiore

                        3415 Bainbridge Avenue

Between East Gun Hill Road and East 210^th Street

Bronx, NY

# # #

New York Jets Run Offense vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Run Defense

John B — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 14:38:48 -0000

More photos » by Chris Young - AP

Thomas Jones should feel like he's facing the Bills.

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The Bucs are brutal against the run. They give up over 160 yards on the ground each game and 4.2 each carry. They are about as bad as the Bills against the run. You may remember the Jets hanging over 500 yards in two games against them. With a backup quarterback in the lineup and the kind of power rushing attack the Jets own, you can expect to see healthy doses of Thomas Jones and Shonn Greene.

Stopping the run starts in the middle, and the defensive tackle situation tells us a lot about why Tampa Bay struggles. Chris Hovan and Ryan Sims have been two of the worst tackles in football this year. They consistently lose their matchups. Sims in particular will be New York's target as the Jets seem to have a big edge with him going against Nick Mangold and Brandon Moore. We'll see another below average run defender, Roy Miller, join the mix at the position as a rotational player. You'll see a lot of mock drafts suggesting Nebraska tackle Ndamukong Suh will end up with the Bucs. There's a reason.

At end things don't get a ton better. Stylez White is the one lineman on Tampa Bay who plays the run well, but he'll be matched up with D'Brickashaw Ferguson, who should have the edge. The Jets love running it to the right side anyway, and Damien Woody will be facing Jimmy Wilkerson, a below average run defender giving about 50 pounds.

Tampa's best linebacker against the run is Geno Hayes, undersized at 220 pounds and battling a hamstring injury. Middle linebacker Barrett Ruud has been something of a bright spot, but strong side backer Quincy Black, ironically the biggest Bucs linebacker, has played poorly.

Tampa Bay will probably load up the box, but I'm not sure how much it will help. They seem pretty overmatched up front.

Jets Flight Connections 120909

dvdvil — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 15:52:00 -0000

Rich Cimini wants QB Mark Sanchez to sit out on Sunday. He also turns an innocent compliment by FB Tony Richardson on the running game into a negative assessment of WR Braylon Edwards.

Peter King is impressed with the Jets rushing offense, and especially with OL Coach Bill Callahan.

RB Thomas Jones is performing very well and is up for another FedEx Ground Player award. He won this before in Week 6. Vote for him here. Vote early and often.

And I also want to remind everyone that so far, only G Alan Faneca is leading the Jets in the ProBowl voting. Vote for Revis, C Nick Mangold, LB David Harris and other deserving Jets here.

Jets practice squad FB Jason Davis also likes the run game and prepares like a starter. Another young guy on the squad is LB Jamaal Westerman, and I found this article on him.

Dave Hutchinson takes a quick look at the next game and reiterates that CB Darrelle Revis could be considered the NFL Defensive Player of the Year.

Mark Cannizzaro lauds HC Rex Ryan's in-game defensive adjustments. Larry to the Izzo compares Rex to Bill Belichick.

But Newsday's Roderick Boone says don't believe the Jets defense hype. (You can't actually read the full article without paying. Seriously, what the hell, Newsday?)

Maybe he's got a point, because despite the stats, the Jets are just a .500 team.

Hopefully, that will change on Sunday. Obviously, we are expected to beat Tampa Bay.

More connections after the jump.

Nick Mangold, Giants TE Kevin Boss and CB Corey Webster, the teams's owners and some fans stepped onto the field yesterday. Mangold talks about the stadium in this video.

The New Meadowlands Stadium will have removable endzone and midfield turfs. We will actually be seeing the Jets logo at the 50 yard line next year.

Find out more about the field turf here.

Some NFL kickers will not miss the current stadium and the swirling winds within it.

Sports Illustrated rates the Dewayne Robertson draft pick as the worst trade of the decade. Meanwhile, the Patriots are pretty much the best everything. Oh, and they also talk about this thing called SpyGate.

The branches of the Belichick coaching tree are not getting along.

In the loss to the Dolphins, are the Patriots players to blame and not the coaches?

Examiner.com blames last year's Jets meltdown not on QB Brett Favre, but on Jones and Coles. Vikings TE Vishanthe Shiancoe is confident the same thing won't happen in Minnesota.

WR Laveranues Coles is still adjusting to the Bengals system. His teammate Chad Ochocinco is having fun in Cincinnati - and paying for it.

Are we rooting for the Browns on Thursday? Steelers WR Hines Ward might miss that game.

Lastly, Kerry Locklin, we hardly knew ya.

New York Jets Run Offense vs. Buffalo Bills Run Defense

John B — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 21:39:57 -0000

More photos » by Seth Wenig - AP

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The Jets went off for 318 rushing yards on the Bills in the first meeting. They are giving up 165.1 yards on the ground, which is the most in the league. They give up 4.8 per rush. That's Adrian Peterson's average over the past two seasons. That means every back they face turns into the 2008-2009 version of Adrian Peterson. Ok, that might be hyperbole, but the Bills are really bad at stopping the run. That's bad for them, considering the Jets are the number two rushing offense per game in football.

Surprisingly for a run defense so lousy, the Bills actually do not have a disaster tackle situation. Marcus Stroud and Kyle Williams are a good pair. Stroud's not having a great year, but he's still a guy who commands a lot of attention. Williams always seems to hold his own in the middle of the line. Aaron Schobel has also been decent.

Let's get into where the Bills will have problems. It's on the right side, which is New York's strength. End Chris Kelsay does a poor job holding the point of attack and containing. The Bills have also had a nightmarish year in terms of linebacker injuries. Chris Draft wasn't playing anywhere at the start of this season. He's now starting outside for Buffalo and seeing a ton of time. The other outside linebacker, Bryan Scott, is a safety by trade and very undersized for the position at 219 pounds. Paul Posluszny in the middle is an emerging quality young player, but there is very little depth for the Bills.

The problem for the Bills in the first game was even their good players against the run got beaten. Nick Mangold and Brandon Moore had their best games of the year against Stroud and company on the line. If the Bills have any hope of slowing down the ground game, this will have to improve. The way this offensive line is playing, that's a tall order. Even if the Bills play this to a draw, they are weak in the back of the front seven. We'll see a lot of eight man fronts out of necessity. I don't think the Jets go for over 300 yards again, but I do think they should have another good performance on the ground.

New York Jets Run Defense vs. Carolina Panthers Run Offense

John B — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 13:15:40 -0000

by Patrick Semansky - AP

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Like the Jets, the Panthers own one of the best rushing attacks in the league. Unlike the Jets, they lean on two different backs instead of one. DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart might be the best tailback tandem in football. Williams has 982 yards, 7 touchdowns, and a 5.1 average. Had the Panthers not snatched him up in the 2006 Draft right before the Jets went on the clock, there's a chance the Jets may have grabbed him instead of Nick Mangold. Stewart has 509 yards, 6 touchdowns, and a 4.6 average. Williams is the complete package as a runner. Stewart only really lacks breakaway speed. Stewart has been battling an Achilles injury but participated in practice fully on Friday and should be ready to go.

The Panthers are a great run blocking team. Ryan Kalil fights with Nick Mangold and Miami's Jake Grove for the title of best run blocking center. Sione Pouha and Howard Green will have their hands full. David Harris and Bart Scott had better be comfortable working in traffic. The Jets have shown more four man fronts since the Kris Jenkins injury. I wouldn't be surprised to see that trend continue. Carolina will miss Jordan Gross on the left side. Travelle Wharton represents a major downgrade at left tackle. The rest of the Panthers line is full of solid blockers from Jeff Otah to Keydrick Vincent to MacKenzy Bernadeau.

Carolina also has an excellent lead blocking fullback, Brad Hoover, although they do like to run a lot of three receiver and double tight sets so Hoover, who is battling an ankle injury may not see much time. It's going to be really important for the secondary to assist in run support. Muhsin Muhammad in particular is an excellent blocking receiver. Lito Sheppard might be called on to get off a block and make a key tackle when the Panthers send Williams outside.

New York Jets Run Offense vs. New England Patriots Run Defense

John B — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 14:23:54 -0000

More photos » by Bill Kostroun - AP

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The Pats give up 110 yards per game on the ground, which is in the middle of the pack. Two excellent run defenders on the line, Jarvis Green and Ty Warren are nursing injuries and are not certain to play. Don't be fooled, though. This is going to be a tough matchup. The Jets have to figure out how to handle Vince Wilfork. Wilfork has been almost impossible to block this year. Almost every week in this space, you see me talk about how important it will be for Nick Mangold to handle the other team's nose tackle. This week it's more pronounced than usual. Wilfork isn't a great pass rusher, but he can blow up opposing run games.

The Jets also need to focus their blocking schemes on Jerrod Mayo, the second year linebacker with 39 tackles in 6 games. He missed the first contest. New England has other quality run defenders at the linebacker position. Pierre Woods, a rotational player who had a big game in last year's visit to Foxborough, is one of them. So is Adalius Thomas. Woods could see a lot of time depending on Tully Banta-Cain's injury status. Inside linebackers Gary Guyton and Eric Alexander are both nursing injuries that could hamper their effectiveness and leave a lot on veteran Junior Seau. This might be something the Jets can exploit if Mangold can hold Wilfork in check.

New England's secondary is very good in run support. Shawn Springs' coverage skills are in decline, but he's been effective against the run. So has Leigh Bodden, New England's other corner and safeties Brandon Merriweather and Brandon McGowan. This is a game where Leon Washington's ability to make people miss may be missed.

We'll see eight men in the box a lot with the rookie quarterback as we do every week. If that doesn't work, we may see nine to try and force Mark Sanchez to win the game like we did in Week 2. The offensive line has a tough task winning these matchups.

New York Jets Run Offense vs. Jacksonville Jaguars Run Defense

John B — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 15:24:04 -0000

by Peter Morgan - AP

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The Jaguars have one of the worst statistical run defenses in football. The Chiefs did little to try and exploit it last week, running only 12 times. Part of this was due to them playing from behind. The Jets are going to test Jacksonville's new 4-3 base defense much more up front.

Jacksonville hopes its strength will come from up the middle and tackles John Henderson and Terrance Knighton. Henderson is a multi time Pro Bowler. Knighton is a rookie space eater. He's been pretty good defending the run, although he's less likely to beat his man and penetrate. He's more of a Sione Pouha type. Atiyyah Ellison will rotate in with them, a guy who doesn't do anything poorly but also doesn't do anything particularly well.

Derrick Harvey will line up at one end. He weighs in at 281 pounds, big for a 4-3 end. His play against the run seems to have improved a bit with the move to the 4-3. On the other side, the Jaguars will play a pair of smallish ends, Quentin Groves, a small speedy guy who is something of a liability in the run game and Bryan Smith, an even smaller player. They are in there to provide the pass rush. Jacksonville hopes the Jets run away from them, which they might if they are lined up against D'Brickashaw Ferguson, and Gang Green is best running it right.

Daryl Smith is Jacksonville's best linebacker against the run. Smith does everything well. For my money, he's one of the most overlooked players in football. He's had success at both middle and outside linebacker during his career. He'll start outside on the weak side. Justin Durant, who starts in the middle does a decent job against the run. Jacksonville wants the tackles to keep him clean. Strong side backer Clint Ingram is the weakest defending the run. I would expect the Jets to target him.

As always, Jacksonville will probably stick 8 in the box against the rookie quarterback, but neither safety Reggie Nelson nor Gerald Alexander has provided Jacksonville much in run support this year, which is stark considering how much their 3-4 base struggled against the run until they switched their scheme last week.

What are the keys? Knighton played nose in the 3-4 so he'll likely line up against Nick Mangold. Mangold has to control him on his own. The idea for any nose tackle is to occupy a pair of blockers. Nick has been great controlling his assignments to this point against more decorated linemen. The strength at the center position springs the run game because the Jets have an extra blocker who does not need to dedicate himself to blocking the nose. The Jets will. Knighton lined up on the left side against the Chiefs. If he does again, that will leave Brandon Moore, Damien Woody, and Tony Richardson to take on an end and linebacker. This looks like it could be a favorable matchup for the Jets.

New York Jets Pass Offense vs. Jacksonville Jaguars Pass Defense

John B — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:00:39 -0000

by Peter Morgan - AP

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Jacksonville's defense looked transformed against the Kansas City Chiefs last week. The unit had struggled all season long to generate pressure against opposing quarterbacks all year, 5 in the first 7 games, but registed 3 last Sunday and applied constant pressure. Playing against a suspect offensive line and a quarterback who holds the ball too long had a lot to do with it, but the Jags also changed their scheme. After running a 3-4 defense, a poorly thought out Mangini style scheme change, Jacksonville reverted to using the 4-3 as their base. The Jaguars did display some 3-4 against the Chiefs and zone blitzed a lot to try and confuse the protection. Against a rookie quarterback, expect a lot more of this. Also expect the four first round picks and Brandon Moore on the offensive line to do a lot better against the Jaguars.

Jacksonville's 4-3 has strength built up the middle. John Henderson is still playing at a high level. He registered a sack, a hit, and 5 pressures against the Chiefs. He's joined by Terrence Knighton, a 325 rookie from Temple who does not have a great burst to get to the quarterback but freqently occupies a pair of tacklers to open things up for others. 2008 first round pick Derrick Harvey played inspired football against Kansas City, displaying good power moves and athleticism against Brandon Albert, the talented young left tackle from Virginia. He'll look to duplicate his performance against another young talented left tackle from Virginia, D'Brickashaw Ferguson. The way D'Brickashaw and Nick Mangold are playing, I feel comfortable with the Jets' ability to hold Henderson and Harvey in check.

Bryan Smith will start at left end in place of another 2008 pass rushing draftee Quentin Groves. Groves is raw but has a lot of athletic ability. He can get to the quarterback but it really best served as a situational pass rusher. The Jags will probably use him as a rusher both with his hand on and off the ground. Aside from then, his playing time could be limited because he struggles against the run and is giving up over 60 pounds to Damien Woody. Can you say mismatch? Smith is even smaller than Groves. It will be important for him to get off the line quickly and use his speed against Woody because unless he gets on top of Damien quickly, he will be overpowered.

Daryl Smith is going to play a key role for Jacksonville. The outside linebacker is excellent in pass coverage and will probably draw Dustin Keller frequently. The Jets made Keller Mark Sanchez's primary read against Miami to try and keep things simple and safe. Keller responded with his best game of the year. Keller is going to give Smith all he can handle (as well as linebackers Justin Durant, who is solid in pass coverage and Clint Ingram, who is something of a liability). Smith will also be used as a blitzer. He had 2 sacks and 3 pressures against the Chiefs.

On the outside, there will be plays to be made. The secondary of Rashean Mathis and Derek Cox at corner and Reggie Nelson and Gerald Alexander has been suspect all year, and you can only blame the pass rush to a certain extent. The Jags are giving up over 240 yards through the air. Alexander is nursing a shoulder injury. Braylon Edwards and Jerricho Cotchery have the edge here and will all day. Keller also will have a great chance to exploit the safeties in coverage. I'd also look for David Clowney to have an impact. The Jaguars will be aggressive, and the Chiefs burned them long on a safety blitz.

I think the Jets handle the pass rush well. They have a significantly better offensive line than Kansas City. If he has to, Brian Schottenheimer can leave in extra blockers as he frequently did against the Dolphins and give Mark Sanchez time to find the matchups that favor his receivers.

First Half of the Season Shows Jets Have a Solid Foundation

John B — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 15:52:21 -0000

by Ben Margot - AP

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There's a lot of pessimism in Jets land right now. That's easy to understand. After a 3-0 start, 4-4 seems like a disappointment, especially considering how it has happened. There's only one loss where the Jets were simply outexecuted, the Monday night game at Miami. In the other three, New York registered a ton of self-inflicted wounds. The thing people need to remember, though, is the Jets aren't looking just for this year. They want to build something special over the long haul. They are well on their way.

It's really tough to win with a rookie quarterback in the NFL. Starting 4-4 is a great start for Mark Sanchez. He's played two bombs of games. He had a game against the Raiders where he was asked to do very little. The other five games have been somewhere between good and excellent. He's looked composed beyond his years for the most part. He was developed in a pro system at USC, which is a novelty in today's college game with everybody going to a spread offense. He played against pro caliber competition at practice every day. It shows. He looked special in a second half comeback against the Patriots after struggling in the first half and when he twice shredded Miami's secondary trailing in second halves. I think everybody would agree Sanchez has looked like he has belonged, which is pretty incredible for a rookie quarterback. The number don't look that great, but they don't tell the whole story. The two bad games killed the stat sheet. In those games, he did things with the ball that experience and coaching correct (locking onto receivers, leaving the ball exposed for pass rushers, forcing throws).

Quarterback is one of the two most important people on a football team. A team with a good young quarterback is in good shape over the long term. A team with a good quarterback and a good head coach is in great shape, and it looks like the Jets have found a good head coach. You have to be thrilled with the job Rex Ryan has done to this point. He's instilled a lot of confidence in the locker room. It would be one thing if he was just popping off to the press. He's not. When players make big comments to the press, it's an indication they believe in their head coach and want to help him back up the talk. These guys went into a Week 2 game against the Pats expecting to win and broke New England's long domination of the Jets at the Meadowlands. Winning over a locker room is only part of the job, though. The hard part is coaching a team to reach its potential. Ryan has improved the Jets to the second ranked defense in the league. Their pass rush is one of the fiercest in football. They hit Tom Brady around half the time he dropped back in Week 2. They totally confused Matt Schaub, who has played great football the rest of the season. When the Dolphins ran all over them in Week 5, Ryan adjusted his scheme to get bigger and run blitzed his secondary more to shut down their rushing attack. He's shown great acumen for X's and O's. When a coach wins a locker room and shows he knows how to game plan and adjust, he's a good one.

Let's not forget about Mike Tannenbaum. He's shown himself to have a bright football mind since he took over running the team. Look at all of the successful moves he's made through the Draft. He's hit on D'Brickashaw Ferguson, Nick Mangold, Leon Washington, Darrelle Revis, and David Harris, all of whom look like Pro Bowl caliber players in the Draft in his four years. He's also added Dwight Lowery, who appears on the verge of developing into a quality starter. Mark Sanchez and Shonn Greene look like hits also. He's made bold moves for Alan Faneca, Kris Jenkins, Calvin Pace, and Bart Scott, all guys who fit a need in the system. There's a big difference between doing what the Redskins do, accumulating names without regard for age or how they fit, with what the Jets do, wisely shop for guys in their prime to fill needs in the system. He signed Tony Richardson. Even the ill-fated Brett Favre trade showed something good about Tannenbaum. He's not afraid to make a bold move if he sees a weakness and isn't afraid of having something blow up in his face. He's shown himself to have a firm grasp of the salary cap from the job he did getting the Jets out of cap hell in '05 while fielding a Playoff team in '06 to making moves like giving Kerry Rhodes and Calvin Pace roster bonuses in their contracts to make the cap situation better in '08 which could be converted into signing bonuses a year later for cap flexibility then. He knows how to work the cap.

What does this mean? The Jets have a good young quarterback, a good head coach, a good nucleus, and a general manager making good moves to suppliment the talent. I wouldn't write off this year. There's a decent chance the defense just lifts this team on its back and carries it to the Playoffs. Even if that doesn't happen, don't get too upset. This club is building a foundation for long term success.