What a flurry of moves. If the Jets stink again next year at least you won’t be able to say it’s for lack of trying. Their latest move was the best, signing Pro-Bowl guard Alan Faneca away from the Steelers. The 10-year vet and seven-time Pro-Bowler signed a four year, $32 million deal.

This marked a big change of heart for team management, which wouldn’t even throw a million bucks Pete Kendall’s way to shut him up. Maybe they thought guard wasn’t an important position. Guess again. Guard was their biggest need last year. Their guards were really pathetic, starting with the recently cut Adrien Clarke. I think D’Brick’s development was stunted by playing next to such poor linemates. Now he’s next to the best in the business. Faneca is a huge upgrade from everybody, including Kendall. The Steelers have had one of the most consistent O-lines, both in pass protection and run-blocking, for many years. I mean, they even made Amos Zereoue look good.

Plus I hate the Steelers so any blow to them works for me.

Well that was quick.

It didn’t take even 14 hours for the Jets to unload Jonathan Vilma. Today they sent him to New Orleans, who along with Detroit had shown the most interest, for a conditional draft pick. It’s unclear what conditions need to be met, but John Clayton of ESPN is reporting that it could go as high as a third-rounder if he performs well.

I can’t figure out whether Jets fans should be happy about what we got. On one hand, the guy was a franchise player not long ago and could be an excellent middle linebacker again in a 4-3. And he was a first-round pick. On the other hand, he’s coming off season-ending knee surgery and hasn’t even started running again. Maybe we should be happy to get anything for him.

Either way, the David Harris era has officially begun.

The Jets completed a deal to send Jonathan Vilma down to the Big Easy. It the terms are still not known yet but according to ESPN.com’s John Clayton this is what is believed to be what the Jets get out of this:
“Though terms of the deal weren’t announced, it is believed Vilma will go to the Saints for a fourth-round pick in 2009 that could be upgraded to a third-round based on how he plays in 2008. Vilma is in the final year of his contract and he goes to New Orleans without a new deal.”
He never really fit in with Mangini’s 3-4 system so this is a good thing for Vilma.

Now as the free-agency period begins, the Jets have Steelers guard Alan Faneca on their radar as well defensive tackle Kris Jenkins of the Panthers. Both would be good fits on this team. If you believe what Rich Cimini said in today’s Daily News, then it seems that the deal for Faneca could be done by Sunday.

If anyone of you heard the opening moments of Mike and the Mad Dog they were talking about the Jets moves and I didn’t hear all of it. But I know that they were talking about Faneca and if anyone knows that they said if it means an addendum to Jenkins and Faneca please mention it.

The Jets have a new nose tackle, and he’s not half bad. In one of the first deals after the midnight trade deadline they took Jenkins off Carolina’s hands for a third and fifth round draft pick. He’s got prototypical size for a run-stuffing defensive tackle (6-foot-4, 349), which is a welcome sight after watching our men in the middle get pushed around the last couple years.

The seven-year-pro out of Maryland is a three-time Pro-Bowler, most recently in 2006, and a two-time All-Pro. His relationship with Carolina frayed last offseason when he missed a couple of workouts and then showed up overweight (he was originally 335). He dropped hints after Carolina’s disappointing 2007-08 that he’d rather not be there, leading to the trade.

If you want to know more about Kris the man, check out his website: http://www.krisjenkins77.com/ It’s full of heartwarming stories like how he got beaten with a paddle his father named “Nelly Bell.”

Jenkin’s acquisition means DeWayne Robertson isn’t lost for the green. We’ve got a real nose tackle now. Ther had been talk of a three-way deal with Robertson that would have neeted the Jets Shaun Rogers from Detroit. Even though they don’t need Rogers anymore, it proves there’s some interest for DeWayne.

According to The Daily News, the Jets are listening to offers for defensive tackle DeWayne Robertson. Unlike Vilma he’s not actively seeking a trade, but he could be gone just the same. Robertson was forced to play nose tackle under Mangini because of a lack of alternatives. He was never suited to the role. Instead of trying to cram a square peg into a round hole (which is what they’ve done the last two years) the Jets are actively seeking personnel that fit better with their schemes. What a novel concept.

If DeWayne and Vilma get dealt, it will mark an ignominious end to the Jet careers of two of their three highest draft picks. Robertson was drafted 4th; Vilma and Shaun Ellis were 12th. Suddenly Vilma looks pretty great. At least he was a star for two seasons. Ellis and DeWayne haven’t come close to fulfilling their draft promise.

I think this really touches the heart of why the Jets have been a dud franchise for so long. Their drafts just stink. Year after year we throw picks away. Other teams strike gold occasionally and use those guys as the building blocks of their franchise. Where are our building blocks?

According to the Jets website; the Jets have released CB Andre Dyson, WR Justin McCareins, and G Adrien Clarke. In regards to McCareins, all I have to say is it’s about damn time.

McCareins was horrendous last season. But the biggest game that stuck out for me the most was the game up in Foxboro. He had a clear touchdown, that would’ve completely changed the outlook of the game, in the back of the end-zone had he actually put his hands in the right spot. I’m not going to digress when you all know how I feel about his performance in that game.

In regards to Clarke, I’m not totally sure what to think totally. He was put in a hard situation after everything that went down with Pete Kendall and Clarke started 14 games last season between D’Brickashaw Ferguson and Nick Mangold. Clarke was definitely not the solution at left guard and he made Ferguson and Mangold worse.

Dyson surprises me a little bit. He was a pretty good corner and (you all could correct me if I’m wrong about this) but Dyson and Revis made a decent combination in that secondary. I know he only got one interception last year.

What do you guys think?

We all knew it was coming. Jonathan Vilma’s talent has been wasting away in two years under Mangini’s 3-4 defense, making it only a matter of time until he left for greener pastures. It appears he will not finish the last year of his contract with the Jets.

Vilma has asked for and received permission to seek a trade. Lots of teams could use a middle linebacker with as much speed as he has. Jacksonville and New Orleans are the leading contenders because of their glaring need for a ML, and because they’ve been active in seeking one. Jacksonville just hired Donnie Henderson as an assistant. Henderson was the D-coordinator during Vilma’s first two seasons when he looked like the next Ray Lewis.

Figure Vilma and his agent find a suitor before the draft. Whether a deal gets done, who knows. He’s coming off major knee surgery (although I think the Jets are claiming it was just a splinter) and just started jogging. Will his rehab continue as scheduled? Will he be running at full speed soon? Who knows. A team may not want to give up more than a fourth-rounder for a guy who’s such a question mark. Tannenbaum may say, “Vilma was a Pro-Bowler. We’re just just going to give him to you.” And then nothing will get done.

Although I think the Jets want to be rid of the distraction and start the David Harris era. So they may dump him for less than full value. They don’t like distractions (see: Kendall, Pete). Which also makes me worry about Laveranues’s future, but that’s another story.

With the draft compound in full force, it’s time to start thinking about who the Jets are going to take with the sixth pick. Unfortunately, the sense I get is that there are five elite players—Glenn Dorsey, Jake Long, Chris Long, Darren McFadden, and Matt Ryan. Unless one of the first five teams reaches on somebody else, that leaves the Jets having to look at the second tier.

There’s still no clear cut answer here because the team has so many needs. If you told me a guy was a can’t-miss CB, DT, WR, DE, RB, even QB, I’d be interested. The name I still hear a lot is Vernon Gholston from Ohio State. The Patriots supposedly like him a lot and would take him at No. 7 if the Jets passed. That almost makes me want him even more, just to screw Billy B. Our recent history with pass rushers in the draft hasn’t been so hot though. It would be safer to draft a big defensive tackle and shore up the run defense that seems to stink every year. Why not a Sedrick Ellis from USC? Scouts, Inc. has him rated higher than Gholston anyway.

Of course if Oakland somehow passes on McFadden I would throw all the other plans out and snatch him. The only risk there is Kansas City trading down from No. 5 and another team sneaking up to take McFadden, who continues to draw comparisons to Adrian Peterson.

Now you all are probably what in the world I’m talking about.

If you all have read the report out of the Newark-Star Ledger then you have a clue of what I’m talking about but for those of you who have no clue, the long of the short of it is that Laveranues Coles is looking for a long term contract despite having two years left on his current deal.

I’ve never claimed to be an expert on how the NFL contracts work but I do know this… if Coles decides to skip the off-season workouts and then it builds to the point where he leaves (yes, I know that this is the worst case but we all saw what happened with Kendall) this is going to be really bad for the Jets.

Coles is a warrior and one of the guttiest wide-outs I’ve ever seen play. He makes the other wide-outs better, and he makes the quarterbacks better. Look at it this way, not many wide-outs would get some of the high balls that Chad Pennington or Kellen Clemens throw.

Give Coles what he wants… he’s earned it. What do you guys think?

Before the season my buddy Josh, who’s a Giants fan, asked me who would win more games, Jets or Giants. “Definitely Jets,” I said. And I wasn’t just talking trash. I meant it. It’s not that I thought the Jets would be so great. I just figured the Giants would stink. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 5-7 wins. No Tiki, rusty Strahan —how could they possibly be better than last year’s 8-8? We all know how that turned out.  Minutes after the Super Bowl ended I got a text from Josh. He pointed out that not only didn’t the Jets win more games than the Giants, they didn’t win more games than the Giants did in the playoffs. Ugh. It was the first salvo of what I’m sure will be an offseason full of insufferable Giant boasting. And I basically can’t have an argument with any of them because it will end with, “When’s the last time the Jets won a Super Bowl? That’s what I thought.”And despite that, I’m still glad the Giants won. My hatred for the Patriots was so strong that I would have rooted for anyone over them. It was so sweet watching Belichick go down and the perfect season ruined, I can put up with a little bragging from my friends and neighbors. Of course, if they drive me homicidal over the next five months I may feel differently.I’m interested to know how other Jet fans were rooting. Who did you want to win, and will you be able to tolerate Giants fans now?