Hoping all those celebrating have a happy and safe 4th of July holiday.

Some funny thoughts on America for the occasion (c/o Google):

Only in America......

• can a pizza get to your house faster than an ambulance.
• are there handicap parking places in front of a skating rink.
• do drugstores make the sick walk all the way to the back of the store to get their prescriptions while healthy people can buy cigarettes at the front.
• do people order double cheese burgers, large fries, and a diet coke.
• do banks leave both doors open and then chain the pens to the counters.
• do we leave cars worth thousands of dollars in the driveway and put our useless junk in the garage.
• do we use answering machines to screen calls and then have call waiting so we won't miss a call from someone we didn't want to talk to in the first place.
• do we buy hot dogs in packages of ten and buns in packages of eight.
• do we have drive-thru liquor stores.
• do we have drive-up ATM machines with Braille lettering.

LOL. Add you own in the comments...

Largest 4th of July fireworks after the jump...

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Hey Jets fans!

I'm working on a post and I hope you'll help me by sharing your opinion.

Originally, I saw this idea at MHR for the AFCW and it received such great feedback I would like to do something similar for the AFCE.

Basically, I want to compile an unbiased and comprehensive outlook on all 4 AFCE teams from the fans' perspective.

The post will be organized into 3 parts:

• What areas of your team are you feeling the most good about.
• What areas of your team are you feeling the most worried about.
• What is your W-L prediction within the division and for the whole season.

For the sake of accurately reflecting your opinion I ask you to please use a ranking system of 1-10. 10 being the most and 1 being the least. For example, if you're feeling good about Mark Sanchez this season you might reflect that with a 7. Or if you're worried about Shonn Greene's durability you might reflect that with a 3.

Some possible areas to comment on might be how you feel about Vlad Ducasse; Antonio Cromartie; Kyle Wilson; Jason Taylor; the wide receivers; LT; special teams; the front seven; the secondary....

You get the idea. You don't need to comment on everything, just pick a few things you feel the most good about and a few things you feel the most worried about and rank them.

Don't forget to rank your opinion. There is no right and wrong. Just express your feelings as realistically as you can. That's the main thing since every fan base is feeling pretty optimistic this time of year. Every team has some worrisome things and no team is going to go 16-0.

As soon as I complete the post I will be sure to share it with you and I hope it will accurately refect your opinions.

Thanks for your help and sharing your (realistic) opinion!

Hey Bills fans!

My name is Rick and I'm a Jets fan. I'm also an AFCE fan so I'm interested in the Bills and respect what their fans think of the team. 

I'm working on a post and I hope you'll help me by sharing your opinion.

Originally, I saw this idea at MHR for the AFCW and it received such great feedback I would like to do something similar for the AFCE.

Basically, I want to compile an unbiased and comprehensive outlook on all 4 AFCE teams from the fans' perspective.

The post will be organized into 3 parts:

• What areas of your team are you feeling the most good about.
• What areas of your team are you feeling the most worried about.
• What is your W-L prediction within the division and for the whole season.

For the sake of accurately reflecting your opinion I ask you to please use a ranking system of 1-10. 10 being the most and 1 being the least. For example, if you're feeling good about Trent Edwards this season you might reflect that with a 8. Or if you're worried about Terrence McGee's surgery you might reflect that with a 3.

Some possible areas to comment on might be how you feel about the new HC Gailey; Marshawn Lynch; C.J. Spiller; Aaron Schobel; James Hardy; the QB situation; the O-line; special teams; the front seven; the secondary....

You get the idea. You don't need to comment on everything, just pick a few things you feel the most good about and a few things you feel the most worried about and rank them.

Don't forget to rank your opinion. There is no right and wrong. Just express your feelings as realistically as you can. That's the main thing since every fan base is feeling pretty optimistic this time of year. Every team has some worrisome things and no team is going to go 16-0.

As soon as I complete the post I will be sure to share it with you and I hope it will accurately refect your opinions.

Thanks for your help and sharing your (realistic) opinion!

Hey Pats fans!

My name is Rick and I'm a Jets fan. I'm also an AFCE fan so I'm interested in the Patriots and respect what their fans think of the team. 

I'm working on a post and I hope you'll help me by sharing your opinion.

Originally, I saw this idea at MHR for the AFCW and it received such great feedback I would like to do something similar for the AFCE.

Basically, I want to compile an unbiased and comprehensive outlook on all 4 AFCE teams from the fans' perspective.

The post will be organized into 3 parts:

• What areas of your team are you feeling the most good about.
• What areas of your team are you feeling the most worried about.
• What is your W-L prediction within the division and for the whole season.

For the sake of accurately reflecting your opinion I ask you to please use a ranking system of 1-10. 10 being the most and 1 being the least. For example, if you're feeling good about Tom Brady this season you might reflect that with a 9. Or if you're worried about Wes Welker's injury you might reflect that with a 3.

Some possible areas to comment on might be how you feel about the contract issues of Brady and Mankins; Pat Chung at SS; Wes Welker's absence; Randy Moss' possible last year; the receiving corps overall; the running backs; Zoltan Mesko, Gostkowski and special teams; the front seven; the secondary....

You get the idea. You don't need to comment on everything, just pick a few things you feel the most good about and a few things you feel the most worried about and rank them.

Don't forget to rank your opinion. There is no right and wrong. Just express your feelings as realistically as you can. That's the main thing since every fan base is feeling pretty optimistic this time of year. Every team has some worrisome things and no team is going to go 16-0.

As soon as I complete the post I will be sure to share it with you and I hope it will accurately refect your opinions.

Thanks for your help and sharing your (realistic) opinion!

Hey Phin fans!

Some of you know me from a few of my other posts. Although I'm a Jets fan, I'm also an AFCE fan so I'm interested in the Dolphins and respect what their fans think of the team. 

I'm working on another post and I hope you'll help me by sharing your opinion.

Originally, I saw this idea at MHR for the AFCW and it received such great feedback I would like to do something similar for the AFCE.

Basically, I want to compile an unbiased and comprehensive outlook on all 4 AFCE teams from the fans' perspective.

The post will be organized into 3 parts:

• What areas of your team are you feeling the most good about.
• What areas of your team are you feeling the most worried about.
• What is your W-L prediction within the division and for the whole season.

For the sake of accurately reflecting your opinion I ask you to please use a ranking system of 1-10. 10 being the most and 1 being the least. For example, if you're feeling good about Brandon Marshall you might reflect that with a 9. Or if you're worried about Jason Ferguson's suspension you might reflect that with a 3.

Some possible areas to comment on might be how you feel about the addition of Brandon Marshall; the growth of Chad Henne; how a young Smith and Davis will perform; how Randy Starks will handle nose tackle; will Mike Nolan improve the defense; the health and durability of Ronnie Brown; the offensive line in pass protection/run game; the addition of Karlos Dansby; the receiving corps overall; the defense overall....

You get the idea. You don't need to comment on everything, just pick a few things you feel the most good about and a few things you feel the most worried about and rank them.

Don't forget to rank your opinion. There is no right and wrong. Just express your feelings as realistically as you can. That's the main thing since every fan base is feeling pretty optimistic this time of year. Every team has some worrisome things and no team is going to go 16-0.

As soon as I complete the post I will be sure to share it with you and I hope it will accurately refect your opinions.

Thanks for your help and sharing your (realistic) opinion!

Football Outsiders has come out with their annual football almanac and this year they have made their write up on the New York Jets available for free. It's worth the read if you have the time. They support all their assertions with their brand of statistical analysis. Some of it is compelling, while some of it is, well, not so compelling.

In short, the thrust of their write up on the 2010 Jets is that they will contend for the playoffs, but in different fashion than last year. Whereas last year the Jets success depended on the ground and pound and pass defense, this year those two areas will decline somewhat and the arm of Mark Sanchez and the pass rush will emerge to balance the team's success.

Here are just some of the points they bring out in the almanac about the Jets, which I've arranged as the Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

Continue reading this post »

Who's the face of the franchise? I saw this question asked on ESPN for MLB teams and it got me wondering, "Who is the face of the 2010 New York Jets?"

Well, it didn't take me long. In about 0.432 second, or about the time it took me to blink my eyes, I thought of ... well, Mike Tannenbaum. But that's just me.:)

There are a lot of good candidates for the "face". Mark Sanchez for starters, a.k.a. "The Sanchize". He's got it all. He's good looking, charismatic, talented and up and coming. He's also out there doing all kinds of stuff. If he has a good season it will be hard not to think of him.

How about Darrelle Revis? He's one of the top 5 defensive players in the entire NFL. He's a young emerging player with a bright future and he's also the heart of the Jets defense. He even has an island named after him!

I wouldn't discount Bart Scott or Kris Jenkins. Two top veteran players who are vocal and well known.

Or maybe good ol' Nick Mangold should be considered. When I think of the strength of the Jets I think of the offensive line. And when I think of the strength of the offensive line I think of Nick Mangold. Then again maybe that's a little too much thinking to be the face of the franchise.

The "Face" should be someone who comes to mind right away. So if someone says 2010 New York Jets, then the first person that comes to mind should be in the running for the face of the franchise.

It should also be someone that non-fans would think of, those who aren't too familiar with the team. Oh well, that probably leaves Mike Tannenbaum out :(.

It should also be someone who has or will have some longevity with the team and not just a one year wonder. For example, LaDainian Tomlinson and Jason Taylor would not be good choices.

Braylon Edwards on the other hand could be a good choice if he gets a long-term contract with the team. The same for Antonio Cromartie and Santonio Holmes. Although they might be choices for next year rather than this year.

Last, but not least, there's of course Sexy Rexy Ryan. It's hard not to think of Rex when the conversation turns to the 2010 New York Jets.

So there you are. Who do you think is the "Face of the 2010 New York Jets".

So by now you've probably heard the rumors that Rex Ryan is teaming up with best-selling author Don Yaeger to write his memoirs. Well it's not a rumor anymore. Manish Mehta of the (now enjoyable) Daily News has confirmed the shocking rumors that Rex will indeed be sharing his life story en masse.

The Jets added another wrinkle to their eventful offseason Monday with Rex Ryan's decision to write his memoirs. The swashbuckling head coach will collaborate with best-selling author Don Yaeger on a nontraditional autobiography that blends Ryan's upbringing with his leadership style.

"It's not a true autobiography, because, as Rex likes to say, he's far too young for that," Yaeger told the Daily News. "He's got so much to say and there are so many parts of his life that are interesting.

"Obviously, the Jets are a major portion of the project. Rex's leadership style is a big part of the project. So it's not just a straight 'I-was-born-here-and-raised-there' kind of book."

Yaeger, who has written books on Walter Payton, Warrick Dunn and Warren Moon, will spend the next several weeks with Ryan to capture the essence of the Jets' brash, tell-it-like-it-is leader. The former Sports Illustrated editor will spend some time with Ryan at training camp in August before finishing the manuscript in December. The autobiography will be published by Doubleday Books and released in late spring 2011.

"If somebody would have pitched him on a strict autobiography, that probably wouldn't have worked," Yaeger said. "We stressed his leadership and bringing fun into the game. For many years, the NFL has been known as the No Fun League. So, Rex Ryan certainly breaks that mold. I think that had a lot to do with why he found the idea intriguing."

So let's have a little fun with this.
Caption the title of Rex Ryan's new book in the comments below.
Rec the captions that you like.
Rec as many captions as you want.
The caption that gets the most rec's is the winner!

Congratulations to nationalist88 who won the previous Caption Contest on "Bart Scott at the new stadium locker room"!

The way LaDainian Tomlinson and Brandon Marshall are talking the AFC east is going to be one of the best divisions in the NFL this season.

Each one has come into a new situation with a new team ready to prove themselves all over again. Each one is talking about big seasons for themselves as well as for their respective teams.

Of course, their situations are different. Marshall will be trying to prove he's every bit of the elite receiver he was brought to Miami to be, while Tomlinson will be trying to disprove all the naysayers by showing he still has some giddy up in his step. Marshall is in his prime, while Tomlinson is at the end of his career. Marshall will be a featured receiver, while Tomlinson will be playing more of a supporting role.

So the question is: Will these players deliver the goods?

Will Marshall play like an elite WR? Will he make the tough catches when the game is on the line? Will his level of play be a difference maker for the Miami Dolphins?

And while no one is expecting LT to lead the league in rushing this season, will he nonetheless meet expectations? Will he be able to gain the yards now that he's behind one of the best offensive lines in the league? Will he show he's still a threat catching out of the backfield?

As far as confidence, the players certainly don't lack it. They seem to have taken a page from Rex Ryan on minimizing expectations.

Here's what Tomlinson had to say as quoted on ESPN's AFC East Blog:

Paolantonio asked if Tomlinson thought he would join Drew Brees and Rodney Harrison as players who left the San Diego Chargers and won a championship.

"I'll win a Super Bowl," Tomlinson replied.

With the Jets?

"Absolutely," Tomlinson added.

And here's what Marshall had to say:

Boston Globe reporter Albert Breer recently interviewed Marshall about playing for a new team after four turbulent seasons with the Denver Broncos.

"It will be the biggest year I've ever had," Marshall said. "As far as wins and production, it's going to be a big, big year. The best year I’ve had so far."

Marshall added a championship is "more than doable."

It certainly should be an interesting season. Personally, I think both players will deliver the goods and I'm looking forward to seeing all 16+ games of it. Of course, only one team can win it all and in that case I'll give LaDainian Tomlinson's team the edge. :)

Video highlights after the jump...

Continue reading this post »

The way LaDainian Tomlinson and Brandon Marshall are talking the AFC east is going to be one of the best divisions in the NFL this season.

Each one has come into a new situation with a new team ready to prove themselves all over again. Each one is talking about big seasons for themselves as well as for their respective teams.

Of course, their situations are different. Marshall will be trying to prove he's every bit of the elite receiver he was brought to Miami to be, while Tomlinson will be trying to disprove all the naysayers by showing he still has some giddy up in his step. Marshall is in his prime, while Tomlinson is at the end of his career. Marshall will be a featured receiver, while Tomlinson will be playing more of a supporting role.

So the question is: Will these players deliver the goods?

Will Marshall play like an elite WR? Will he make the tough catches when the game is on the line? Will his level of play be a difference maker for the Miami Dolphins?

And while no one is expecting LT to lead the league in rushing this season, will he nonetheless meet expectations? Will he be able to gain the yards now that he's behind one of the best offensive lines in the league? Will he show he's still a threat catching out of the backfield?

As far as confidence, the players certainly don't lack it. They seem to have taken a page from Rex Ryan on minimizing expectations.

Here's what Tomlinson had to say as quoted on ESPN's AFC East Blog:

Paolantonio asked if Tomlinson thought he would join Drew Brees and Rodney Harrison as players who left the San Diego Chargers and won a championship.

"I'll win a Super Bowl," Tomlinson replied.

With the Jets?

"Absolutely," Tomlinson added.

And here's what Marshall had to say:

Boston Globe reporter Albert Breer recently interviewed Marshall about playing for a new team after four turbulent seasons with the Denver Broncos.

"It will be the biggest year I've ever had," Marshall said. "As far as wins and production, it's going to be a big, big year. The best year I’ve had so far."

Marshall added a championship is "more than doable."

It certainly should be an interesting season. Personally, I think both players will deliver the goods and I'm looking forward to seeing all 16+ games of it. Of course, only one team can win it all and in that case I'll give LaDainian Tomlinson's team the edge. :)

Video highlights after the jump...

Continue reading this post »

The good news is Ed Reed is fully on the road to recovery from reconstructive hip surgery in April. He's walking and even playing with his kids.

The bad news is he thinks he's only about 35% recovered and is casting doubt on whether he'll be ready to play for the Monday night opener against the New York Jets. Reed thinks he could return anytime from the end of August to midway in the regular season.

"It’s a long, slow process," Reed said. "I want to come back.  I want to be ready for the first game but I don’t know how soon that would happen, how soon I would be back. You know, we’re gonna continue to do the things to try and get back and at least play this year for the fans, man, cause they’ve been hounding me, man. 

"They’ve been asking me, ‘Are you gonna play?  Are you coming back?  I would love to see you play at least one more year.’  So, hopefully, we got at least one more in us."

The question is if Reed misses games this season who will take his place? Tom Zbikowsk or recently signed veteran Ken Hamlin?

With Reed out how much of a dropoff in the secondary, if any, should be anticipated?

And when Reed returns will he be able to give it 100%?

Video and poll after the jump.

Continue reading this post »

If you haven't seen Hard Knocks before, especially the 1st season with the 2001 Baltimore Ravens, you can watch it online now care of Hulu and the NFL Network. It's a great watch.

I didn't know that a preseason game was ever cancelled until watching it (the first game at Philadelphia that year). It was Todd Heap's rookie season. Tony Siragusa was hilarious. Brian Billick was, well, articulate and thorough. Marvin Lewis was passionate. And Rex Ryan... well he doesn't make too many appearances.

Besides the first season with the 2001 Ravens, you can also see seasons 2-5 of Hard Knocks with the Cowboys, Jaguars, Chiefs and Cowboys again. Great stuff.

Not even close. After doing a little compiling, it turns out that Madden's preseason power rankings is, well, not a good indicator for who will make the postseason. In fact, looking back over the last 4 years Madden has only had a 50/50 record. So if you're looking for some kind of confirmation that your team is really playoff bound don't expect Madden 11 to be your crystal ball. A coin flip might be a better choice.

Madden chart after the jump...

Continue reading this post »

Mark Sanchez and Darrelle Revis are among Sporting News' best of the next generation of sports stars. Mark Sanchez came in at 16, while Darrelle Revis was listed at 9.

While there were young stars on the list from across the sports spectrum, other names of note from the NFL included, RB Chris Johnson, WR DeSean Jackson, WR Percy Harvin, and RB Ray Rice. I'm sure the list will create some controversy, which you can see here.

In any case the Jets continue to get the love. Mark looks a little out of shape in that picture doesn't he? :) I wonder when it was taken.

Oh and by the way, Dolphin fans are going to really love this Sporting News Magazine issue. Besides having rival Jets players on the cover, this issue also features a 1-on-1 interview with none other than Nick Saban (A.K.A. Nick the Dick and Coach Satan), runner up to Rex Ryan on the Phinsider's most hated poll.

This is a recent photo of Bart Scott at the new diggs. Something doesn't seem quite right with Bart. What's that look on his face about? Maybe it has to do with something he sees or remembers? Maybe something happened in the locker room that we can't see?  Maybe Bart's thinking about something that's going to happen? Maybe it's something else entirely? What's going on with Bart?

Let's have a little fun with this.
Caption this picture in the comments below.
Rec the captions that you like.
Rec as many captions as you want.
The caption that gets the most rec's is the winner!

If this gets a good response we can do more of them... :)

"My goal is to win the Super Bowl, and nothing is going to get in the way."

"Our offense should be as dominant as our defense. I believe that. Well, close to it."

"Our thing as a football team is you’re trying to keep all of your good players. This is an outstanding football team. When we get to playing, we’ll be just fine. We plan on being the team that wins the whole thing."

"If there are teams that are looking at us not having chemistry, I think you’d be hard to find any other team with the record we had in the OTAs. I’m not going to say we were OTA champion, I’ll leave that to Channing Crowder [smiling], but I believe we were OTA champions again this year. One of these days we’re going to be Super Bowl champions. We’ll see when that is, sooner rather than later."

"We’ll always be honest about a guy. We had some guys, Jason Trusnik, that we’re involved in a deal and I let him know what I thought of them. It will always be like I’d much rather have a player that I feel good about go play for my brother than play for someone else. I think he feels the same way. If he cares about a player, he’d rather him come here and play for me than go somewhere else because he knows we’ll take care of those guys. We’re twins. He cares about his players and I care about ours. We always want those guys to be successful even when they leave you."

"You can only play this game one way and that’s full speed. You can’t go out there trying to protect this or trying to protect that. My dad had a great comment once, everybody can go after a guy, but it’s hard to kick that person’s butt when he’s kicking your butt."

"Again, I’m going to be myself. I said that from day one when I took the job, and I’ll be it when they’re telling me to leave 20 years from now."

"We’ll go to war with whoever the hell is on this team. It doesn’t matter. We’re going to be the New York Jets. We’re about the decal. It’s not about one individual."

"We're loaded as a football team. I keep going back to what my dad said: 'Just don't mess it up.' And I don't think we will. This team has no excuses. Our team knows it — we're chasing a Super Bowl."

Continue reading this post »

Let me say to begin with that I am among those who do not believe Darrelle Revis is worth $16 million a year. If the NY Jets cave in to Darrelle Revis and his agents of the dark side, it will be a crime. No one player, outside of a franchise QB, is worth that much, not even the DPOY. If Darrelle Revis was released today no team would sign him for Asomugha money, not even the Oakland Raiders. Asomugha money was an Al Davis anomaly. It will never happen again. Just consider that the drop off from Asomugha to the next top paid CB is over $6 million a year. The 2nd highest paid CB is Asante Samuel at an average salary of $9.5 million per year. That is a completely insane leap of salary at an already over-paid position.

What really ticks me off though is Darrelle Revis' arrogance at not being handed Asomugha money. Every offer the Jets make he calls an insult even though he's asking them to make an unprecedented contract. He even has the shamelessness to say that his fighting for Asomugha money is 'fighting for his family'. Does that mean Revis will have problems feeding his family with Asante Samuel money?

Darrelle Revis just needs to shut up. Where does he come off saying the Jets don't take care of their homegrown talent? Jason at nyjetscap.com has an excellent article on this recently bandied misconception.

Name one player that was not extended a contract who deserved one? Players like Bryan Thomas, Jerricho Cotchery, Kerry Rhodes, Brandon Moore, Sione Pouha, and Mike DeVito all were signed to new contracts. Don't they count?

On the other hand, players like John Abraham, DeWayne Robertson and Jonathan Vilma didn't fit the team anymore. Other players just weren't worth re-signing.

Even players like Chris Baker and Leon Washington who started this whole notion the Jets don't pay their homegrown talent didn't deserve to be re-signed. Baker's production was nothing to get excited about and was even released by the Patriots after only one year. Washington asked for a bigger contract then he was worth and with the leg injury he suffered his playing status was highly questionable.

The worst thing for Darrelle Revis to do is position himself against the organization for which he's playing. He's already created an awkward situation. If he doesn't get Asomugha money then the Jets have insulted him. How will he play for a team that's disrespected him? If he does get Asomugha money Mike Tannenbaum will look more foolish then Al Davis, not to mention the obvious difficulties he will have signing other important players.

Darrelle "Mevis" needs to let it sink in that these are long and hard "labor negotiations" that are better negotiated behind closed doors. Of course, a player has the right to negotiate the best contract he can, but when he publicly conveys a "me first" mentality it's only setting a bad example to the other players.

One of the fun debates raging amongst AFCE fans is who will be the next great QB to ride the AFCE or will Henne vs. Sanchez, after one year, be the next great QB rivalry. Statistics from last year speak for themselves. Henne had the better numbers and made a good showing his first year starting. Of course, Jets fans will point out that while Sanchez's numbers were reflective of a rookie in his rookie year he improved down the stretch. Henne faded. No matter. I don't think anyone can definitively forecast the future based on the stats of a QB's first season.

What I will say though is that there is an intangible that needs to be considered. The "it" factor. Some players just have "it". There are some who think Sanchez has it. I do. Trent Dilfer is another.

"Sanchez is the unique talent of the last five or six draft classes because he has that Alpha male personality. He has that 'it factor.'"

It's hard to describe exactly what the 'it factor' is. I would say that it reflects more on winning than on talent. Not to say that Sanchez doesn't have talent. Or a good team around him. Dilfer makes that perfectly clear when comparing him to Henne.

"Physically he has the sudden feet, plenty of arm, is highly accurate, was mature beyond his years as a college player. He has a distinct advantage because of his makeup, the total package, and they're supporting him in such a great way"

It also doesn't mean that Sanchez won't lose his share of games or a lot of games. It's more about the overall perception than the statistics. It's more about winning the big game then winning any particular game a long the way. It's about rising to the occasion and not fading away.

Henne is a good young QB with a bright future. He will win his share of games. But Sanchez has that 'it' factor to win the big games.

Tim Graham: Another look at Henne-Sanchez

Tim Graham Video

After having so much fun with a Jets-Phins roster, I decided to put together my best 53-man roster using the NY Jets and the New England Patriots.

With this roster, I assigned 24 spots for offense, 26 for defense and 3 for special teams. Same as with Miami, except on offense I chose one fullback and 3 tightends. Overall, New England claimed 22 spots and New York claimed 31. New York had more starters with 14, compared to New England with 11.

Again positional depth could vary, but this roster is pretty conventional for a lot of teams.

I eliminated rookies from the roster who were drafted this year. I also eliminated seriously injured players, like Wes Welker, who are doubtful not only to return, but to return to their pre-injury form. Welker would certainly be a starter otherwise.

I enjoyed again making this type of roster and comparing players. Both teams are talented, but until proven otherwise New England is still the top of the division. Let's hope for some well-played games this season.

Enjoy the post. :)

The Jets-Pats 53-man roster after the jump...

Continue reading this post »

Miami cornerback Sean Smith wasn't at a loss for words when asked about Jets WR Braylon Edwards as reported by Manish Mehta:

"We had a couple of good battles,” Smith told the Miami Herald last week.

The second-year pro later added, “I definitely won those battles.”

But as pointed out by Mehta the 2nd year CB may be delusional.

Edwards had 9 catches for 138 yards and 2 touchdowns in 2 games against the Dolphins. And Smith apparently forgot about Edwards’ one-handed, 19-yard TD grab against him in Week Eight.

The Dolphins got the better of the Jets last season, but it had little to do with Smith. Edwards had 2 productive games against Miami.

Smith should give credit where credit is due. Watch the film. Edwards got the better of Smith last year.

That's the big question facing NT Jason Ferguson who will have to sit out an 8 game suspension for using an illegal substance. Ferguson sees the long road ahead:

"Every year you work your way up, and you're thinking game day is right around the corner," he said Friday at the Dolphins' mini-camp. "For me it's going to be around two corners."

 Even the ever-optimistic Tony Sparano sees that having Ferguson back in week 9 in football shape won't be easy:

"It's gonna be a hard thing," he admitted. "But it's our feeling that while we have him here we're going to get him in the best shape we can possibly get him before, obviously, he's gone. And then, whenever we can get him back, that's going to be gradual.

Most team's would have cut ties with a player in Ferguson's situation, but it's obvious that because of his strong relationship with Bill Parcells he was allowed to stick around. Ferguson suggests as much himself:

"I'm really blessed that I had the coaches and the GM on my side," he said.

"They knew the situation, and I'm lucky they didn't just get up and say, 'Wehaven't got time to wait on you, we'll see you later.' It would have been easy for them to say that."

Without Ferguson the Dolphins will move DE Randy Starks inside and pray he can handle the 8 game stretch at the nose. Look for Sparano to use a lot of 4-3 defensive schemes in Ferguson's absence.

Ok, just to have a little fun (feels like forever until training camp) I made my best 53-man roster using players from the NY Jets and the Miami Dolphins current rosters.

I assigned 24 roster spots for offense, 26 for defense and 3 for special teams. Overall Miami claimed 24 spots and New York claimed 29. New York also had more starters with 14 compared with 11 for Miami.

Some might prefer choosing more or less depth at certain positions, but this is a pretty standard roster, so it is what it is.

Miami got the benefit of the doubt in a number of cases where experience and/or uncertainty were factors, like at the QB & RB positions and special teams.

Also, in choosing a roster, versatility can be a greater asset than being very good at one position. For example, I like Jake Long starting at LT, but then what about D'Brickashaw Ferguson? It seems a little extravagant to have a second elite tackle on the roster. On the other hand he's too good to leave off. So again it is what it is.

It was fun to compile this roster and I think both teams are talented and could have good seasons. Hopefully, the Jets and Phins will have a couple of great games this season.

Enjoy the post. I'm sure someone out there will disagree with my roster, but probably not too many :).

The Jets-Phins 53-man roster after the jump...

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