A great article from ESPN NY that talks about how the Jets muffed their OL when they cut Damien Woody back in March. It also points out how Rob Turner's injury--a broken leg in a preseason game that most have forgotten--deprived the team of its only sound backup OL.
As a result, Wayne Hunter has been exposed as a good backup, but a not-ready-for-prime-time performer; and in any game, the OL is one turned ankle away from being as porous as swiss cheese.
I will say that the article gives Woody a bit of a pass--he could have kept himself in game shape. I don't necessarily buy that he would have stayed on the stick had the Jets not cut him. But it certainly didn't help.
Finally, the article hits on one of the most important angles of this Woody situation: character. It talks about how Woody was always accountable. It doesn't make the point (but I will) that he was one of several leaders the Jets jettisoned this past offseason.
Cotchery, Smith, Woody, Jason Taylor. Look at what these guys have done on the field this year with their new teams: just about nothing. But look at who the Jets replaced these guys with: Derrick Mason (prima donna, now traded), Kerley (rookie, hence no leadership), no one, and Maybin (draft bust just trying to find his way).
What this team doesn't have right now is the player leadership that keeps guys accountable and working hard. Rex is not a crack-the-whip coach (to put it mildly). That player leadership is more important than under, say, a Tom Coughlin or Bill Parcells. The punks and loudmouths don't have the old pros around anymore keeping them honest. The result? 2-3.
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BTW, this isn't a knock on Kerley, who's done a great job. You just can't expect a rookie to provide leadership.
Absolutely.
And so far I haven't seen anything out of Santonio to justify making him a captain. The way he's handled press conferences and his supposed role as a leader has been lacking, at best.
You can't lose guys like Woody, Ellis, Cotchery and Taylor and just expect to pick up the pieces.
Again, the problem is exacerbated by the fact that the lock-out shortened camp and pre-season. This gave the new players even less time to gel.
I also feel that either Sanchez or Schott has to take a lot of blame. The Jets have enough weapons on offense that they should be doing more. Only putting up 21 points on NE is not acceptable. Imagine this team with Brady, Manning, Rodgers, Brees, Big Ben, or Rivers at the helm. Despite the breakdown in O-line, I was hoping to see a little better performance out of Sanchez so far this year.
Needless to say, BTW, the MNF game against the fish is an absolute must-win. If they can't beat MIA, they're not beating anyone.
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