In a span of five days, the Jets have gone from controlling their destiny for home field in the playoffs to potentially missing the playoffs all together. The Jets’ defense played great for 55 minutes on Thursday, but couldn’t stop Tebow on the final drive. Tebow capped a 95 yard drive with a 20 yard touchdown run with 58 seconds left to stun the Jets and give the Broncos the 17-13 victory.

“I like winning,” Tebow said after his third comeback in a month, “but I wish it wasn’t this stressful. Before the “drive,” the Broncos had punted on their eight previous possessions and Tebow seemed unable to do anything against the Jets defense. He then got the ball with less than six minutes and calmly engineered a 95 yard drive in which he had 57 yards on the ground.

“We played them well through the whole game, until that last play,” Jets star cornerback Darrelle Revis said. “We played them well. Tim Tebow’s legs took them to victory, ran them to victory.”

It was third and four from the Jets 20 with just over a minute left when the Broncos got a “timeout” when a fan ran onto the field and had to be chased by security. During this break the Jets made the decision to call their first all-out blitz of the night, a decision that will be talked about for weeks to come.

Tebow took the snap, read the blitz, and beat safety Eric Smith to the edge and cut back to find his way to the end zone. It was a horrible play by Smith who was supposed to set the edge, but came to far inside and couldn’t recover. ”You know he’s going to keep it in that situation. That’s what he does. You keep the ball in your playmaker’s hand,” Ryan said.

“We thought he was going to carry the ball and he didn’t disappoint us. But he ran for a touchdown. The kid’s a competitor and makes big plays with the game on the line.” Since Tim Tebow replaced Kyle Orton, the Broncos are 4-1 and have climbed back to .500 a half game behind Oakland for the lead in the AFC West.

“He’s a competitive dude,” Broncos coach John Fox said. “He’s super competitive. He never lays his sword down. He’ll fight you to the death. That’s just his nature. He’s a great young man.” Mark Sanchez heaved it up toward the end zone as time expired, but the pass was batted down dimming the hopes of the Jets to even make the playoffs.

The Jets were up 10-3 when Sanchez made a throw toward Plaxico Burress in which he followed him with his eyes the whole way, that was picked off and returned for a touchdown by Andre’ Goodman to tie the game up. Nick Folk broke that tie with a 45 yard field goal with 9:14 remaining.

The drive could’ve been over on the first play when safety Jim Leonhard had a chance to tackle Eddie Royal in the end zone for a safety, but was unable to wrap him up and Royal gained eight yards and got the drive started. Tebow impressed more with his running than his passing finishing 9 of 20 for 104 yards.

“I said before, I trust him. I trust him with everything,” teammate Von Miller said. “No matter how many interceptions he throws, no matter how many touchdowns he scores, that’s Tim Tebow and I’m going to ride with him to the end. I hope he shut up a whole bunch of critics today.”

Joe McKnight and rookie Bilal Powell had to share snaps for most of the night when Shonn Greene took a knee to the ribs and left the game. He never returned after that and with LaDanian Tomlinson being out already the Jets running back situation is very depleted. “He did it to us in college and he’s doing it here,” said teammate Robert Ayers, who went to Tennessee.

“It doesn’t have to be pretty, it doesn’t have to be Aaron Rodgers-like. As long as we get it done, that’s all that matters.” The Broncos and Tebow look to continue their success in their race for the AFC West and the playoffs when they travel to San Diego to face division rivals the Chargers who have been reeling as of late.

The Jets return home to face the Bills in a must win for the Jets if they want to stay alive in the playoff hunt.

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All is where people thought it would be at this point in the season. The New England Patriots are 1^st in the AFC East and the New York Jets are chasing them for the divisional title as usual. Led by Tom Brady’s three touchdown passes, two which went to tight end Rob Gronkowski, the Patriots moved into sole possession of first place in the AFC East with a convincing victory over the Jets at MetLife stadium on Sunday Night.

Brady finished 26 of 39 with 329 yards and the three scores, the biggest which came after the Jets pulled within a score 23-16 early in the fourth quarter. Brady led the team on an 84 yard drive capped by an 8 yard touchdown catch by Deion Branch who burned nickel back Kyle Wilson.

The victory was sealed with linebacker Rob Ninkovich intercepted Mark Sanchez on the next possession and returned it 12 yards for the score. The game was for first place in the East, and the Patriots cruised, snapping their two game losing streak and the Jets three game winning streak, while sweeping the season series.

The Bills entered Sunday tied for first, but were blown out in Dallas earlier 44-7. For the Jets this marked their first home loss of the season entering the game 4-0 at home. Coach Rex Ryan insisted that his team had greatly improved since losing to the pats a month ago in New England, but tonight wasn’t indicative of that. The Jets still have a lot to do if they want to take over the AFC East.

All day the Jets secondary had no answer for Rob Gronkowski who finished with 8 catches and 113 yards and kicker Stephen Gostkowski was good on his three attempts. The Patriots, who ranked last in the league coming into the game in sacks, saw Andre Carter collect 4 ½ alone as the Patriots were in Mark Sanchez’s face all game.

Sanchez had a dreadful game. He finished 20 of 39 for 306 yards a touchdown and two interceptions. He was also sacked five times. A 7 yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress had the Jets right back in the game, but then Brady took over leading the Patriots down the field for a 13 play 84 yard drive using a no-huddle offense to keep the Jets off balance. The drive ate up half of the fourth quarter.

The key play came when Joe McKnight bobbled a muffed punt which set up a field goal. Isaiah Trufant had two chances to recover the punt, and Donald Strickland who let the ball squirt out of his hands, failed to recover the punt which eventually was recovered by Niko Koutouvides at the Jets 13.

The Patriots capitalized with another field goal to increase the lead. They got the ball right back when a Sanchez pass went off Shonn Greene’s hands and was deflected by Jerod Mayo into Ninkovich’s hands. The Jets played well early getting on the scoreboard with a safety when Jamaal Westerman got to Brady in the end zone forcing an intentional grounding.

The Jets took the ball and went down the field on a 7 play 65 yard drive capped by a 2 yard draw by Mark Sanchez to put them up 9-6. Though they got the score Sanchez made the mistake of calling a timeout instead of letting the clock run out. This gave Tom Brady plenty of time to drive down the field and answer with a touchdown right before the half.

Ryan, angry with Sanchez, told NBC at the half that the timeout call was the “stupidest play in NFL history.” The Jets opened the game with an impressive drive, but couldn’t punch it in and got no points when Nick Folk missed a 24 yard field goal wide left.

The Jets have a quick turnaround as they head to Denver to face Tim Tebow and the suddenly relevant Denver Broncos on Thursday Night Football. The Patriots look to continue their good play as they head home to face former quarterback Matt Cassel and the Kansas City Chiefs who have lost two straight since winning four in a row.

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The New York Jets had a bye week that came at the worst time. They had gained some momentum and were riding a two-game winning streak going into the bye. And given their recent history under coach Rex Ryan coming off of byes (they’re 0-2), they’re hoping to change things and are confident that they won’t have a drop off due to time off.

Ryan was at a loss when asked about the trend of his team coming out flat after time off, but said this year that can’t happen. “We have to do something about that trend,” he said. “We need to win this week.” Every game has become a must win for the Jets, especially since the Jets are one game behind the Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots for first place, and they face these two teams in the next two games.

Even CB Darrelle Revis called the game against the Bills this Sunday a must win. “You can’t focus on the past coming off byes and losing,” Revis said. “It’s a new year and we’re in control of our destiny and where we want to go.” The Jets do in fact control their own destiny even after a three game skid as if they can take both of the next two games they could potentially be sitting atop the AFC East.

Lose both games, and the Jets’ season could be close to being over. The Jets have owned the Bills in the past few years, winning five of the last six meetings between the two, and that includes three wins in Buffalo. Ryan believes the practices have been good, and the Jets look very alert and aware of the situation which he hopes will translate into a good showing out of the bye.

But the Jets have lost all three of their away games this season and hope to end the streak at three with a win on Sunday. “Would we like to have had a better record? Absolutely, we would’ve, but we don’t,” Ryan said. “We’re 4-3, but we have it right in front of us. The teams you have to beat are right in front of us, so we’ll know. These next few weeks are going to be critical for us.”

Buffalo on the other side sits at 5-2 atop the AFC East and is coming off their best performance of the year dominating Washington 23-0 up in Toronto. They only gave up 178 yards had two picks to add to their league lead 14, and recorded 9 sacks. This was way better than their five previous games in which they gave up 414+ yards in each game.

“You hope that your team gains confidence from that, and that your defense sees how well they can play,” coach Chan Gailey said. “It should create more confidence.” The Bills are 26^th in the league giving up 385.9 yards per contest, but the Jets’ offense isn’t much better ranked 29^th and averaging 300.1 yards per game.

The problem for Buffalo is that the Jets have recently been playing better, including their season high 162 yards on the ground in their last game against San Diego in which Shonn Greene had 112 yards. This isn’t good for a Buffalo defense that struggles stopping the run. The Jets average 279.0 yards on the ground in the past four meetings with Buffalo.

Buffalo does benefit from having Fred Jackson on their side and they are ranked fifthin rushing averaging 140.6 yards per game. Jackson is ranked second in the NFL averaging 103.0 yards and is sixth rushing touchdowns. His 353 yards receiving out of the backfield is good for fourth among running backs. This matchup looks good compared to the Jets who are 25^th against the rush giving up 126.9 yards per game.

They will have to rely on their backfield because Ryan Fitzpatrick has a 62.0 rating in four games against the Jets and, with CBs Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie, look for TE Scott Chandler to have a big game as the Bills will try to take advantage of the safeties down the seams the one weakness of the seventh ranked pass defense.

The Bills defense is 20^th against the rush and 24^th against the pass. The Jets’ offense, which saw a boost against the Chargers as WR Plaxico Burress and RB Shonn Greene had breakout  games, is looking to keep the momentum going. Mark Sanchez needs to out-manage Ryan Fitzpatrick if the Jets want to win this game.

This will be a good game that will come down to a key play or drive. Each team is riding momentum and playing well as of late and I believe that the Jets with a few more playmakers on their team will be able to pull the game out late. Final Prediction: Jets 27 Bills 21.

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When reports first surfaced about there being a possible rift in the Jets locker room, the Jets organization was quick to downplay it. The report stated that the Jets’ three big-name wide receivers, Santonio Holmes, Plaxico Burress, and Derrick Mason went to Rex Ryan to complain about offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimers’ play calling.

The Jets issued a statement 90 minutes before their game last weekend against the New England Patriots, saying the report wasn’t true and that the meeting never took place. After the game this week, all three receivers and Ryan all denied the report.

Derrick Mason has since been traded to Houston due to ‘lack of performance’, though many speculate Mason’s critical post-game comments lead to his benching during the New England game and his eventual trade. This move wasn’t popular among the receiving core and served as somewhat of a wake-up call to the rest of the Jets team, a call that Holmes clearly didn’t answer.

Santonio Holmes repeated his criticism of the offensive line. “I may be criticized again for saying it, but it starts up front,” Holmes said Thursday. “The big guys know it. If they give Mark enough time to sit in the pocket and complete passes, I think everything changes.”

While this may be a true statement, it’s not what the Jets need. Holmes, clearly frustrated after the poor and very conservative play calling against the worst ranked defense in the league, said, “The numbers speak for themselves,” he said, adding, “If you were in my shoes, what would you think?”

Guard Brandon Moore fired back on Friday. “He’s obviously got the green light to evaluate every position on the team,” Moore said. “I just didn’t think captaincy entailed that. I’ve never seen a captain do that. That’s not leading. That’s not being a leader. It actually fragments the locker room. It’s not productive.”

The offensive line is clearly ticked off and this couldn’t come at a worse time for the Jets who are in the midst of a three game losing streak. The fact that Moore said anything back, especially something critical, shows the state of the locker room. Moore is regarded as a quiet leader and is the longest tenured offensive lineman.

Schottenheimer, who’s been under a ton of scrutiny from the fans, media, and some players alike, downplayed the situation between Holmes and Moore. “The team is a family and families have disagreements.” He said the offense has “a great relationship,” expressing confidence that the players will resolve their differences.

Schottenheimer has plans to address this issue with the entire offensive unit. “Absolutely,” he said. “Whether it’s done in public or whether it’s done in private, these are things we’ll keep in-house. But this group will be ready to go Monday night, I have no questions about that.”

He’d better hope they’re ready as his job may be riding on it. While this could just be the product of a frustrated team in a tough spot, it could prove either a breaking point or the season turn-around for the team.

While Holmes is right about the play of the offensive line, going public isn’t something a leader should do. He’s never been one to shy away from speaking his mind and this is one of the reasons why the Steelers were willing to trade him for such a low cost, a fifth round draft pick. One thing is for sure, if the Jets lose to the winless Dolphins and Matt Moore on Monday night, this will be just the beginning of the team’s problems.

The Jets are on a tailspin right now, but with problems like this brewing in the locker room, they could very well be in route to crash and burn. A season that started with Super Bowl aspirations could end with a team divided and a fan base left believing that these are in fact the ‘same old Jets.’

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After the Jets lack luster play in the last three weeks, especially by the offense, offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimers’ name has begun to come up more and more with the New York media and fan base. Many people are already calling for his departure after the Jets proved unable to do anything against one of the worst defenses in the league in New England.

Schottenheimer, who is the only holdover from the Mangini era in New York, has been on the hot seat for a few years now due to the offense’s inability at times to score points. Many fans remember how the play calling used to be under Mangini which was always short and safe, sometimes too safe.

They were notorious at times for calling plays in which receivers would run routes inside the first down line and never given the chance to gain enough yardage. Schottenheimer isn’t the type of play caller who calls plays regardless of the opponent. His game plans vary week to week, based on the opponent’s weaknesses.

However, this season he seems to be more worried about keeping all of the offense’s big name receivers, Santonio Holmes, Plaxico Burress, and before he was traded Derrick Mason, happy rather than doing his job and calling the plays that needed to be called. Against Oakland, he made a great call on LaDainian Tomlinson’s touchdown catch matching him up against an obviously slower linebacker.

Then, Tomlinson never received the ball. Dustin Keller, who has all the ability in the world to be a top ten tight end in the league, has five catches all year. While many of the Jets struggles sit with the players and their poor performances, a lot also stems from poor and questionable play calling.

The Jets vowed to return to their ‘ground & pound’ roots against the Patriots and succeeded to some extent. However, there were a lot of play calls that left fans, the media, and even the announcers of the game scratching their heads. In the first three of the Jets eventual seven three and outs, the Jets ran the ball early and had 3^rd and 2, 3^rd and 1, and 3^rd and 2.

All of these were very manageable third downs, but instead of running the ball up the gut which they had success with earlier, they dropped Sanchez back all three times, resulting in two incomplete passes and one sack.

On another play later in the game, they had Sanchez back in the shotgun with a spread four wide receiver set, yet not one wide receivers route was past the 1^st down marker and the play resulted in the Jets being short of the first down. Plays like this are causing people to think that these are in fact the ‘same old Jets.’

Schotty’s play calling, which was the subject of the report issued before the Patriots game, that the three big name receivers had gone to Rex Ryan to complain about the play calling, has one, maybe two weeks to turn this all around before the Jets’ bye week. Up next for the Jets is the winless Dolphins on Monday Night Football, who like the Patriots have the 31^st ranked passing defense.

After that it’s the 4-1 San Diego Chargers, but if the Jets lose to the Dolphins at home on national TV, Schotty might not even make it to the bye week. He is definitely on the hot seat and it’s up to him and the offensive players to get the job done or his job with the Jets could be done before seasons end.

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It was an emotional day for all of America with the opening Sunday of football falling on the 10 year anniversary of the terrorist attacks on 9/11. There was no bigger game Sunday that that between America’s team the Dallas Cowboys and the new kings of New York the Jets. Both teams with Super Bowl ambitions started their long quest to obtain a ring with a thrilling game.

The Cowboys came out firing on all cylinders marching right down the field on the opening drive making the Jets defense look like a practice squad.  The Jets had trouble covering TE Jason Witten all game who torched them for 110 yards and CB Antonio Cromartie didn’t have his best game getting beaten twice for both the Cowboys passing touchdowns.

The Jets offense led by Mark Sanchez got off to a real slow start, which unfortunately is becoming a regular thing, and were virtually useless until a good two minute drill to end the 1^st half was capped by a 4 yard pass from Sanchez to Dustin Keller for the score. The “ground n pound” that has run the Jets offense was non-existent as newly appointed feature back Shonn Greene only rushed 10 times for 26 yards, yet Sanchez had 44 attempts.

The Jets defense kept them in the game as best they could, but the Jets found themselves down by two touchdowns going into the fourth quarter and it was looking like the Cowboys would come into MetLife stadium and steal a win from a Super Bowl contender on a day where everyone was honoring New York.

The Jets fighting to stay in it put together a nice quick drive down the field capped by another Sanchez touchdown this time finding new wide receiver Plaxico Burress for a 26 yard pass. This was Burress’ first game since spending two years in jail on a weapons possession charge and his first touchdown which cut the defecit to 7.

Burress would finish the game with 4 catches for 72 yards and the 1 score a respectable game for his first game back. Then on a punt RB Joe McKnight who has been scrapping to find anyway to stay in the good graces of the organization was able to get free in the middle and made a diving one handed block on a punt causing the ball to bounce backwards.

It was picked up by unlikely hero CB Isaiah Trufant who was the 46^th man of the 46 man roster and was promoted from the practice squad Saturday and he ran it into the end zone to tie the game up at 24. With the Jets missing an opportunity to drive down the field for the winning score Tony Romo and the Cowboys had the chance to do the same thing.

Then Romo broke the one rule that just about every QB in the league abides by. He threw the ball to Darrelle Revis’ side of the field and ended up stranded on Revis Island. A great play call baited Romo into throwing to his side thinking there was man to man coverage on a blitz and Revis was right there for his first interception since his pick against the Chargers in the playoffs two years ago.

He returned the pick to the Cowboys’ 34. A few plays later K Nick Folk got revenge against the team that cut him two years ago nailing a 50 yard field goal which sealed an improbable comeback victory by the Jets for their first win of the season in dramatic fashion. This was a game every bit as dramatic as the day in which it was held on and the Jets are flying high as they prepare for their Week 2 opponent the Jacksonville Jaguars.

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With the first week of preseason in the books it’s time to take a look at the Jets 16-20 loss to the Houston Texans on the first Monday Night Football of the season. The starting teams were only on the field for the 1^st quarter and the 2^nd stringers, 3^rd stringers, and rookies played the rest of the game. C Nick Mangold, RG Brandon Moore, and WR Plaxico Burress all didn’t play due to injuries.

Starting D: The Jets starting D was up to its old tricks again only allowing the Texans high powered offense, though missing top targets Arian Foster and Andre Johnson, to 24 total yards in the 1^st quarter.

They caused a 3 and out with a sack on the first series and were able to force a punt on the 2^nd and final series. Kyle Wilson had a nice play on a 3^rd down pass to TE Owen Daniels on an out route causing the pass to be dropped and forcing the punt. Bart Scott was hurt on the first play from scrimmage, but walked off on his own power and returned in the 2^nd series.

Starting O: The starting offense looked good with both the passing and running game moving the ball down the field even though some key pieces were missing. QB Mark Sanchez went 4/4 on the 1^st drive and finished 6/7 with 43 yards connecting with 3 different receivers.

RB Shonn Greene showed that he was capable of being the feature back collecting 32 yards on 5 carries showing good strength and speed breaking a 20 yard run. New receiver Derek Mason looked good in his brief appearance catching 3 passes for 21 yards. Sanchez was sacked twice in the 1^st quarter.

2^nd Team Woes: The backups looked confused in their first game, but that’s to be expected with the lack of time with the teams and the systems. Rex Ryan was furious on a 1^st and goal play where a miscommunication occurred and there were too many players on the field. Ryan was animated running onto the field to call a timeout and throwing his hat and his headset.

The 2^nd team got burned a few times on play action bootlegs by Texans backup QB Matt Leinert one leading to the Texans only TD. The 2^nd team defense surrendered 98 total yards and 13 points in the 2^nd half while the 2^nd team offense led by rookie QB Greg McElroy was unable to score anything only able to gain 46 total yards.

Vlad the Impaled: With starters Nick Mangold and Brandon Moore out with injuries Rob Turner and 2^nd year player Vladimir Ducasse got the start. Ducasse got burned badly on two plays both leading to sacks.

On the first play he got beaten by rookie DE JJ Watt and Watt ended up falling on Turner causing him to be taken off on a cart. On another play he got beat badly on the outside and allowed McElroy to get popped causing a fumble.

Rookie Impact: Overall it was a pretty good game for the Jets rookies. 1^st and 3^rd round picks DE Mohammed Wilkerson and NT Kendrick Ellis made themselves known on the field both having strong games. Wilkerson showed great speed and power against the 1^st team, but was caught offside one time by a hard count.

Ellis also showed great power and awareness blocking up the middle on many plays and tipping a pass that led to an interception for the Jets. WR Jeremy Kerley wasn’t really a factor from scrimmage, but looked good in the return game having a bunch of solid returns. He looks to have a big impact filling in for the loss of WR Brad Smith.

RB Bilal Powell had an alright game with his biggest play coming on a screen for 29 yards bringing the ball down to the 1. QB Greg McElroy looked solid in his first NFL game going 23-29 with 208 yards 1 TD and 1 fumble. He bounced back from a shaky second quarter showing more poise and control in the pocket leading a nice drive down the field for the lone Jets touchdown.

Other Notes: Backup S Brodney Pool had a solid first half posting 5 tackles and TE Jeff Cumberland made some noise posting 6 catches for 77 yards. The battle for kicker continues as Nick Folk went 2/2 hitting from 33 and 40 and Novak hitting from 35. RB Joe McKnight was playing well until he exited the game with a head injury. The Jets out gained the Texans overall 310-221 and committed 8 total penalties.

Overall this was a solid preseason opener for the Jets. The first teams looked strong and the 2^nd and 3^rd teams didn’t play that bad considering the lack of preparation time.

This should improve as the team has more time in training camp. The Jets could have won the game, but rookie WR Michael Campbell dropped the potential go ahead touchdown in the final minute. Next up for the Jets is the Bengals next weekend.

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After his first day of full practice, WR Plaxico Burress was able to increase his workload was involved in nearly every team rep on Thursday which was a big increase from his participation Wednesday of only 57 percent of the reps.

This is good news for the Jets as it means Burress and QB Mark Sanchez can finally start to build chemistry together as the Jets are looking for big things from Burress who they signed with the hope that he’d improve their red zone offense.

The bad thing is he can’t help the team if he never touches the ball. He was held without a catch for the entire practice which is no easy feat. He was targeted by Sanchez one time and the throw resulted in an interception.

During a red-zone drill Sancehz tried a back shoulder fade to Burress, but due to a miscommunication he wasn’t there and CB Antonio Cromartie was there for the interception.

Miscommunications are to be expected as the two are still feeling each other out having little to know time working together due to the injury to Burress’ ankle. However in order for any chemistry to be created Sanchez needs to throw the ball his way.

Especially since Plaxico has been away from the game for two years in prison and can use all the work he can get before the games are for real.

The Jets signed Burress, who stands at 6-foot-5 hoping he could be that big target in the red-zone that would help improve the offense. Just because he’s tall doesn’t mean Sanchez can just throw the ball up to him however as they will need to work on their timing and precision and do so quickly with the season quickly approaching and big things being expected.

If this practice showed anything its that there is still a ways to go before Sanchez and Burress are on the same page.

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With only five weeks remaining between now and the start of the NFL season, training camps, amidst the free agency frenzy that was this NFL off-season, are now getting into the full swing of things.

For the New York Jets this means getting there new rookies valuable practice time as well as what might be the most important part in any success they have this year the chemistry between third year QB Mark Sanchez and his new look receiving corps.

In one week the Jets went from having a solid group of WR’s all who had developed chemistry with Sanchez over the past few years to a brand new group of receivers. The Jets lost three of there top four receivers: Braylon Edwards, Jerricho Cotchery, and Brad Smith.

Now with a receiving group comprised of Santonio Holmes and the older Plaxico Burress (34) and Derek Mason(37) the longest tenured ‘receiver’ in coach Brian Schottenheimer’s system is TE Dustin Keller who’s been there for only three years.

While this could potentially be a set back the hope is that the veteran presence of Burress and Mason will help quickly build the chemistry needed to help realize this teams Super Bowl or bust mentality.

Today was the first day that all three receivers were in full pads and on the field together. Derek Mason said that halfway through he felt fatigued, but he did take a majority of the reps which is good news for the Jets. Burress who is still nursing an ankle injury which happened last week in an informal workout while he was running routes with Holmes only took three reps.

Other news from training camp has been the rookies who have been making themselves known on the field and coaches and the media alike are starting to take notice. Fifth round draft pick Jeremy Kerley out of TCU has been spectacular so far.

The starting kick and punt returner jobs are now his to lose and he’s impressing coaches with his ability to get open. Rex Ryan called Kerley “special” while Sanchez called him a ”baller.” The Jets look like they may have found something special in Kerley and he may have been one of the steals of this years draft.

LB Nick Bellore out of Central Michigan has also been impressing coaches especially Ryan who has called him a pleasant surprise. With the lack of depth at the LB position there is a good chance the Bellore makes the roster if he keeps improving and impressing on defense.

The other big news in camp today was the numbers on the deal that pulled long time Jet Shaun Ellis away from New York and over to the rival New England Patriots were released.. The Jets offered him a 1 year $910,000 contract at the veteran minimum while the Patriots offered him $4 million with incentives to bump it up to $5 million.

With that in mind its a little easier to see why Ellis was willing to play for the Jets hated rivals after 11 years as a part of gang green.

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After coming within one game of making it to the Super Bowl for the second straight year the New York Jets are looking to bolster their roster to take the final step and get to and win a Super Bowl. Coming into this off season the Jets had a lot of questions facing them with many key pieces to their team becoming free agents.

So far the Jets haven’t made a “splash” in free agency, but have made some key moves to sure up there team going into this season and haven’t been shy about throwing money around. The first move was to place the franchise tag on David Harris which he signed a tender for $10.4 million. He has since reworked his contract and signed a 4 year $36 million deal.

From there they moved onto the harder part of deciding which key members to retain. With Santonio Holmes, Braylon Edwards, Antonio Cromartie, Brad Smith, Shaun Ellis, Eric Smith, Brodney Pool, as well as kicker Nick Folk and punter Steve Weatherford all due to be free agents there was quite the daunting task facing GM Mike Tannenbaum.

Tannenbaum made Holmes their top priority and re-signed him to a 5 year $50 million deal. The Jets then turned their focus to arguably best available free agent Nnamdi Asomugha and for a few days it seemed as if the Jets were the front runner to land him and potentially have the two best corners in the game on the same team.

Asomugha eventually chose Philadelphia as his destination and the Jets then worked out a deal with Antonio Cromartie signing him to a 4 year $32 million deal. However, due to the Jets waiting on Asomugha to decide they lost all purpose WR Brad Smith to the division rival Bills. Now for all of you counting at home, so far that’s a whopping $118 million between 3 players.

This unfortunate tally ultimately lead to the Jets lack of interest in other big name WR Braylon Edwards. Rumored to have interest in other FA wide receiver Randy Moss, the Jets went with Plaxico Burress and have since signed the former Giants player who recently was released from prison stealing him away from his former team and following in the path of the Eagles who did the same with Mike Vick.

The Jets while taking a gamble on Burress as no one is sure what kind of shape he’s in or where his skills are at after two years away, were able to get him a much cheaper cost than Braylon Edwards and both have the same skill set of a tall deep threat receiver. The Jets have also re-signed S Eric Smith to a 3 year $7.5 million deal helping to sure up their secondary where they are somewhat thin past Revis and Cromartie.

So far the Jets staff has done a great job in being able to hold onto the key pieces they might have lost in free agency and adding talent to make up for what they have lost. With the season only a month away and some cap room still to work with don’t put it past Tannenbaum and coach Rex Ryan to make another big move or two to bring in more talent to a team on the brink of a championship.

Don’t be surprised if they re-sign DE Shaun Ellis to a short deal or go out and make a move for a pass rusher, Osi Umenyiora being the big name out there right now available for trade due to being unhappy with the Giants. So far this hasn’t been the off season of miracles for the Jets as the Eagles with all there big FA signings win that one, but has none the less been exactly what the Jets need to gear up for another shot at the Super Bowl.

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Things are moving extremely fast in the NFL these days; in fact, sports fans haven’t been able to take in every thing that has been occurring in terms of free agency and trades.  The movement throughout the league is not surprising given the small window teams have to accomplish all of their off season requirements.

Free agency is an exciting time and so far it has been great to cover, the moves should have a big impact on other players still considering where they will take their talents next season. Also, these player movements should impact the success and failures we see during the season.

Let’s examine what has happen thus far and where the surprises lie.

Why not start with the biggest name still available—Asomugha hasn’t moved yet, but would the big name defensive back choose to return to Oakland.  He is a very loyal player but loyalty will not necessarily earn you a ring.  He is reaching a point in his career where he must make a move; the question remains though, where will he play.  Will he decide to play with another great defensive back in Revis and a potential Superbowl team in the Jets, play with another team offering the most money or will he return to Oakland? Only he knows at this point, but I know where the sports world hopes he goes.  It just makes sense to be in a jets uniform next year but will he accept that challenge.

The jets have already taken care of primary receiver Holmes and will likely not attempt to resign Braylon Edwards who had a decent year for them last season.

Other notable signings thus far include big named quarterback Donovan Mcnabb, perennial attack dummy for fans and NFL players alike.  He will take his talents to Minnesota this season and mentor their first round draft pick Christian Ponder until he is ready to take over.

Minnesota will also lose big time receiver Sidney Rice who has chosen to sign with the Seahawks.  The Seahawks are taking a chance on him given the fact he has had one productive season with the indecisive Brett Favre and he will be coming off surgery which sidelined him for most of last year.  The Seahawks have also acquired Tavarus Jackson from Minnesota after parting ways with their long tenured quarterback Matt Hasslebeck who will now be taking his veteran talents to the Titans.

The first big time talent to come of the board so to speak is Deangelo Williams, the Panther back has chosen to resign in a 5 year deal with over 20 million in guaranteed money.

The hated Patriots have struck potential gold in their trade with the Redskins in which they acquired Albert Haynesworth for a 6th round pick; once again, coach Belichick gets a possible steal that puts them back on top in the AFC East division. I don’t know how many teams were looking at the troubled defensive tackle, but looking at the potential defensive line, the AFC East along with the rest of the league have been out maneuvered up until this point.

While we already have big movements with quarterbacks, there are still moves to be made– specifically Kolb in Philadelphia and Kyle Orton in Denver.  Also, Vince Young will be released today, we have yet to hear where exactly he will pay, what role he will have on that team or even what teams have shown interested.  The young quarterback’s reputation has been damaged significantly, it remains to be seen if he will recover and get his career back on track.  Speaking of great college players, 3rd down back Reggie Bush has signed with the Dolphins with a 2 year contract worth roughly 5 million; a considerable reduction in value from his Saints days.

ESPN is now reporting that Chad OchoCinco has been dealt to the active patriots; maybe a way to combat the potential addition of Asomugha to the Jets.  It remains to be seen what happens with many more players including receivers, Plaxico Burress, Randy Moss and Terrell Owens. Expect many more announcements in the day’s ahead, things are just heating up as we approach the upcoming NFL season.

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Even though the chance of an upcoming NFL lockout is a possibility, any teams that have a serious chance of contention for the Super Bowl should sign ex Pittsburg Steeler and New York Giant Palxico Burress the minute he becomes available. It is anyone’s guess how long such a lockout would last. Currently, an eight game season is being discussed; a shortened season would no doubt give Burress enough time to get in playing shape.

Although many people are questioning whether Burress is worth signing after his recent stint in prison, his past team’s (the Giants) stats potentially give reason to believe that he was a giant contributor to the Giants’ success. The Giants’ stats during Burress’s three and a half seasons with the team prove that he had a positive impact on the team’s performance, both during the regular season and the playoffs. ESPN’s Matt Ehalt, displays these stats in detailed manner, in a recent blog of his. According to the stats on Ehalt’s blog, the Giants’ record without Burress was a bleak 19-17 with a record of 0-1 in the playoffs. The Giants’ record with Burress was a major improvement at 40-20 and a record of 4-2 in the playoffs. The Giants record was undoubtedly better with Burress in the lineup. The Giants were twenty games above the 500 mark with Burress compared with just two games above the 500 mark without him. Additionally, against both the NFC and the AFC the Giants had a grim mark of 500 without Burress.

Clearly, there are those people out there who might not take these team stats as direct proof of Burress’s individual talent as a player or of his ability to be a valuable contribution to an NFL team. However, Burress’s personal stats also speak volumes about his worth and his presence as a deep threat receiver.

Burress has been quite durable during his nine seasons in the NFL; between the Steelers’ and the Giants’, Burress has played in at least fifteen games or more, six out of the nine seasons. The three seasons in which Burress played fewer than fifteen games were in 2000-01, 2004-05 and 2008-09. Burress played in at least 10 games during all three of these seasons.

In terms of his presence as a deep threat receiver it is important to stack Burress up against the best deep threat receivers in the game today. Despite both entering the decline of their career, arguably the two best wide receivers to ever play the game are Terrell Owens and Randy Moss. Owens and Moss are undoubtedly two of the best deep threats to ever play Football. Although Owens’s and Moss’s speed may be on the decline as they continue to age, their physique in regards to length, strength and athletic ability are still difference makers for any team.  Burress definitely has the length, strength and athletic ability to be a deep threat receiver even if he is in a similar stage of his career to Moss and Owens. In regards to Burress’s skill set, former NFL scout Russ Lande of SportingNews.com says in a recent article,

“Burress has always relied on his 6-5 size and very good all-around athleticism—and that will not change in his re-entry. In the past, he had the body control, balance, coordination, jumping ability and hands to make acrobatic catches look routine. He did an excellent job of using his size, strength, athleticism and ball skills to catch Giants quarterback Eli Manning’s passes even when a cornerback was draped all over him. ”

In the article, Lande also adds that Burress’s skills were never based on his speed, saying, “the thing that affects aging receivers most—loss of speed—won’t be a big issue for Burress because speed has never been a key component in his game.”

There is no doubt Burress has had better years than others for the Giants. However, if you look at his individual contributions during his last full seasons in 07’- 08’, before he was suspended mid way through the 08’-09’ season, his capability to produce is undeniable. 07’-08’ was Burress’s best year since he entered the NFL.  The website advancednflstats.com, which is run by noted football researcher and analyst Brian Burke, demonstrates that Burress has the talent and capability of being one of the top five receivers in the NFL if he performs like he did in 07’-08’. The website clearly displays Burress’s tremendous impact on the Giants’ 2007 season, in which they won the Super Bowl. As shown on advancednflstats.com, for the 2007 season, Burress ranked fourth best among receivers’. Burress had a Success Rate (SR) of 48.9 percent during the 2007 season. As defined on Burkes website SR is “the proportion of plays in which a player was directly involved that would typically be considered successful”. Burress’s Catch Rate (CR) for the 2007 season was 48.4 percent. As defined on the website CR is, “the proportion of plays in which a player was directly involved that would typically be considered successful”. In 2007 Burress’s SR and CR were almost 50 percent! Though Moss, the best player in 2007, blew Burress away with a SR of 59.3 percent—about 10 percent higher than Burress’s, Moss’s CR was 53.0 percent, only 5 percent higher than Burress’s.

Another interesting category on Burke’s website that shows Burress’s huge impact in 2007 is Win Probability Added per Play (WPA/P). As defined on Burkes website WPA/P is, “The average Win Probability Added per play in which an offensive player is directly involved. WPA/P is a measure of an individual player’s impact on the outcome of his games, on a per play basis”. It is important to mention that the scale for WPA/P includes negative and positive numbers. More specifically if the number zero represents an average player, any player below would be below average and any player above would be above average. Burress’s WPA/P for 2007 was one of the four best in the league at 0.09, a huge leap from his WPA/P in 2000 his first year in the NFL, which was a terrible -0.07! Randy Moss, the best player in 2007 had a WPA/P only four points higher than Burress!

If Plaxico Burress can recapture his 2007 performance he will be an invaluable piece to any team that is just on the cusp of being a championship contender. There is little doubt that Burress will have something to prove to all his doubters and naysayers. If Burress’s talents that were on display in 2007 are combined with go-getter attitude this could result in a perfect storm for his opponents. If Burress ends up going to a team as formidable as the Patriots or the Packers, look for him to be wearing his second Super Bowl ring at the end of the season.

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Plaxico Burress is officially a free man and at 34 years old, he will once again try his hand in the NFL.

Will any team take a chance on the rested veteran receiver? The answer undoubtedly is yes.  The guy with all his troubles in the past didn’t shrink during his prison stint, so that means he is still 6’5” and probably still in good shape; although, it will take time to get in to football shape and make an impact during the season.

This brings me to another veteran receiver who will one day be giving a Hall of Fame speech while probably kissing up to Belichick and tom Brady…deservingly so, but I don’t have to like it. Anyway, Randy moss is also a tall receiver on a downslide and would help any team with a legitimate need at a 3^rd or possession receiver.  Moss unlike Plaxico hasn’t been in prison, although, he kind of disappeared this past season having done nothing while being tossed around several teams.

The last old receiver who will be looking for a team this season is Terrell Owens.  T.O has been surprisingly quiet this past season, while having a really good year by most standards… at 37 years old Owens almost gained 1000 yards receiving while also catching 9 touchdown; pretty good if you ask me.

I’ve heard many analysts compare these three high profile receivers and the same question always comes up; who would you take a chance on right now?

As of this moment, a player like Randy Moss makes no sense for most teams because of the style of player he has been in his career.  A player that rarely goes up the middle and doesn’t always try; this is not a player you can trust, especially now that he has nothing to prove in his career.

Buress was a great player several years ago, but I won’t take a chance on his skills or desire still being where they need to be.  He was never a speedster nor did he have great hands in his prime, so all that remains is his size…his ability to go up for the ball made him a good target but I wonder what 20 months in prison has done to him as a man.

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think the best option for any team looking to solidify their receiving core is T.O…I know what you are thinking; at 37 can he really continue this level of production, I don’t see why not.  The man stays in shape all year round and shows up on the field regardless of what he does off it.  As a matter a fact, for anyone to choose any of these other receivers over Owens would be an insult to the player Owens has been and an insult to what he did last season on a team in turmoil.

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