Will Darrelle Revis hold out if he doesn’t receive a new contact from Jets?

Darrelle Revis, whose contract is set to void after 2010, expects the Jets to give him a new deal before the regular season starts. They said they would, and he trusts them.

But if push comes to shove, will he hold out? While recently speaking at the Jets’ Florham Park facility in New Jersey, Revis may have provided insight to that question.

From the New York Post:

“We’ll figure it out when [the start of camp] comes.”

Revis said he “believes [the Jets] at their word.” But he quickly added, “When you go back on your word it’s a problem.”

“We have a bunch of months to get things done,” Revis said. “I trust [Jets management] . . . but I also know this is a business as well.”

Seeing as how the Jets didn’t abide by Leon Washington’s wishes for a new contract last year and then traded the running back to Seattle during the draft last month, Revis has reason to be weary that he may not get a new deal. He also plays for a team that just dumped Pro Bowl guard Alan Faneca in order to recoup some of his huge salary. (Although as many Jet fans will note, despite his Pro Bowl appearance Faneca didn’t play well last year.)

That said, Revis is the best cover corner in the NFL, and good defensive backs are hard to come by. If there were one position on the field outside of quarterback that a team would want to splurge on, it would be cornerback because good ones are such a rarity in the league. (Look at the deal the Raiders gave Nnamdi Asomugha in February of last year.)

Chances are that the Jets and Revis will come to a deal before the season starts. But if they don’t, a player’s best bargaining chip is a hold out. It sounds as if Revis wouldn’t hesitate to hold out if the Jets fall back on their word.


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Jets shopping Faneca, Ellis and Thomas?

The National Football Post is reporting that the Jets have put guard Alan Faneca, defensive end Shaun Ellis and outside linebacker Bryan Thomas on the trade block. Per Michael Lombardi, all three players may be released after the draft if New York can’t find any trade suitors.

Faneca went to the Pro Bowl last year but he got there by name recognition only. Despite commanding a hefty salary, he wasn’t a difference maker in the running game and he played poorly as a pass blocker. It’s no wonder the Steelers didn’t want to break the bank trying to retain him a couple of years ago. Brandon Moore was by far the Jets’ best guard last season and comes significantly cheaper.

Ellis is coming off a productive regular season but faded down the stretch and played poorly in the playoffs. He’s also 32 and becomes a free agent at the end of the 2010 season, making him unlikely to be dealt. Meanwhile, Thomas was extremely good against the run last year but struggled generating much of a pass rush from his outside linebacker position. He’s the youngest of the three players (he’s 30) and is signed through 2011, so the Jets may be able to find a suitor for him.

That said, I don’t think the Jets will have much of a market for any of these players. All three are aging, Faneca is expensive and if teams know they might have an opportunity to acquire these players after the draft, then why would they trade for them before or during? It doesn’t seem likely that the Jets will get anything for any of these players outside of maybe a seventh round pick. Of course, the report may be bogus as well.


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The top five best, worst and most improved offensive lines in the NFL

There’s a secret that most good fantasy football owners don’t want you to know: Knowing how good (or how bad) an offensive line is could be the difference between you making the playoffs in your league, and winning the whole damn thing.

The bottom line is that the offensive line is the key to whether or not an offense is going to be successful in any given season. They’re the reason why guys like Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Drew Brews are able to rack up terrific passing yards year in and year out, and why Brandon Jacobs, Michael Turner and Adrian Peterson continue to be solid fantasy backs. So knowing which O-lines are quality and which act like revolving doors to their team’s backfield will give you an edge on draft day.

Below is a ranking of the top five best lines, the top five most improved lines and the top five worst lines in the NFL heading into the ’09 season. Use these rankings as a tool to help you make better decisions on draft day and to also aid you when you’re stuck between a couple of players in later rounds.

Granted, we’re not advocating bumping certain players to the top of your pre-draft rankings just based on these rankings. The Lions offensive line is the worst in football, but if Kevin Smith is there for the taking in the 5th round, by all means jump on him. This article is purely meant to be a helpful aid; obviously you still have to use solid judgment on draft day.

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2009 NFL All-Spectator Team: All Pros, No Playoffs

Granted, guys like Peyton Manning, Larry Fitzgerald and Troy Polamalu had wonderful seasons. But don’t they already get plenty of love? With our third-annual NFL All-Spectator Team, we want to shine the spotlight on the players that had great seasons, but for one reason or another, missed the postseason.

So there won’t be any Steelers, Cardinals, Eagles or Ravens on this team. Nor any Giants, Panthers, Vikings or Falcons. They’ve had their opportunity to shine. We’ll recognize those great players that spent the postseason on their couch, or maybe on a beach somewhere. After all, it’s not their fault that they’re on a mediocre (or a crappy) team, is it?

Hell, we’ll even honor a couple of Detroit Lions – how’s that for spreading the love around?

Check out our 2008 and 2007 All-Spectator squads.

OFFENSE

QB: Drew Brees (NO)
5,069 yards, 34 TDs, 17 INTs, 96.2 QB rating
For the second straight season, Brees is our choice at QB. On one hand, it’s a nice honor because it means he’s consistently productive, but we’re sure he’d rather be guiding the Saints into the playoffs. Brees improved his numbers across the board, and almost broke Dan Marino’s single-season yardage record; he averaged 317 passing yards per game! He posted the second-highest QB rating of his career and even turned someone named Lance Moore into a fantasy star. For this, he was named AP Offensive Player of the Year, a well-deserved honor.

RB: Matt Forte (CHI)
1,238 rushing yards, 63 rec., 477 receiving yards, 12 total TD
It was a tough call between Forte and Thomas Jones, but with 1,715 total yards, the rookie gets the nod. Some draft pundits questioned his ability to be an every down back, but didn’t have any problems taking over as the Bears’ RB1. He caught an eye-popping 63 catches and was (by far) the Bears’ best offensive weapon. It’s scary to think what he could do if Chicago had another playmaker in the passing game that would keep defenses from stacking the line against the run.

FB: Earnest Graham (TB)
563 rushing yards; 23 rec., 174 rec. yards; 4 total TD
Were there better fullbacks that we could have chosen? Yeah, especially considering Graham isn’t technically even a fullback. But we chose Graham (who missed the last six games of the year with an ankle injury) because of his unselfishness this season. He volunteered to move to fullback when the Bucs were in need of a power blocker and he never griped about losing his feature back role. When he went down with a season ending injury in Week 11, Tampa clearly missed his power running style over the past two months of the season and even more so, they missed his leadership.

WR: Andre Johnson (HOU)
115 rec., 1575 yards, 8 TD
All AJ did was lead the NFL in catches and yards, anchoring one of the league’s best offenses in the process. He posted 9+ catches eight times and went over 100 yards in each of those games. This included success against the very best competition; he racked up 11 catches for 207 yards and a TD against the Titans, who have one of the top pass defenses in the league. A big day for AJ usually meant a Texans win; Houston was 6-2 in games where Johnson went off.

WR: Brandon Marshall (DEN)
104 rec., 1265 yards, 6 TD
Marshall missed the first game of the season due to suspension, but he made up for it the next week, posting an amazing 18 catches for 166 yards and a score against the Chargers. He was one of the most consistent wideouts over the rest of the season, catching no fewer than four passes in 12 of the next 14 games. Surprisingly, he only caught six touchdowns, but with the third-most catches and seventh-most yards in the league, his stats are plenty impressive.

TE: Tony Gonzalez (KC)
96 rec., 1058 yards, 10 TD
Gonzo makes his second-straight appearance on our All-Spectator Team. Jason Witten may have earned this spot if not for a midseason injury that hindered his production, but Gonzalez was every bit the top TE in the league this season. He was 12th in the league in yards and tied for 4th in catches. What’s most impressive about Gonzo’s season is that, at 32, he turned in what was arguably his third-best season of his illustrious 12-year, Hall of Fame career.

OT: Ryan Clady (DEN)
The Broncos might have produced one of the worst collapses of any team in NFL history by surrendering a four game lead over the Chargers with only four games remaining in the season, but Clady deserves praise for his exceptional play this year. The rookie gave up just a half sack and helped anchor the left tackle position for an offensive line that tied the Titans for fewest sacks allowed in the NFL (12). He’s the type of player the Broncos can build their O-line around and he was clearly a Pro Bowl snub.

OT: Joe Thomas (CLE)
Did Thomas take a slight step back this season? Yes. Even some in Cleveland’s organization will admit it. But offensive linemen aren’t immune to having sophomore slumps and even though his production might have dipped a little, Thomas was still one of the best tackles in the AFC and worthy of his Pro Bowl roster spot. He was also part of a Browns’ offensive line that finished eighth in sacks allowed. Some are going to wonder where Jason Peters’ (Bills) name is, but don’t strain your eyes looking too long because he didn’t make the cut. Peters gave up more sacks (11.5 sacks in just 13 games) this year than any starting left tackle in the league.

OG: Leonard Davis (DAL)
Two years ago, the Cardinals gave up on Davis because they didn’t feel he was consistent or dominant enough to be their cornerstone left tackle. Not that they were wrong, but they might regret giving up on him with the way he’s excelled since the Cowboys moved him to right guard after signing him to a seven-year, $49.6 million contract in March of 2007. Davis had another outstanding year and some believe that he was the most dominant right guard in the NFL this season. The Saints’ Jahri Evans (who made our honorable mention list) got a starting look for our guard positions, but in the end we couldn’t pass up pairing Davis with Alan Faneca.

OG: Alan Faneca (NYJ)
The Steelers didn’t want to pony up to pay a 32-year old guard with plenty of mileage on his body, but the Jets signed the veteran to a five-year, $40 million contract and it’s safe to say that Faneca was worth the money. After breakout seasons as rookies in 2006, the play of left tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson and center Nick Mangold dropped in 2007. But the addition of Faneca turned out to be the shot in the arm that the two youngsters needed. Faneca’s presence also helped running back Thomas Jones bounce back after a rough 2007 campaign, as he rushed for 1,312 yards this season.

C: Dan Koppen (NE)
Whether it was because of a down year or the inexperience of quarterback Matt Cassel, the Patriots’ offensive line was brutal in pass protection this season. They gave up 48 sacks despite returning all five starters from their Super Bowl team. Regardless, the Patriots still had the fifth best offense in the NFL and were the sixth best running team. At the center (no pun intended) of their success was Koppen, who continues to be a quiet leader on a team filled with exceptional players. Cassel’s success this season had a lot to do with having a veteran center setting the line protection every play and guiding the young signal caller along the way.


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Laveranues Coles takes shots at Brett Favre

Jets’ wide receiver Laveranues Coles took the opportunity to fire back at the media and everyone else who suggests the team’s turnaround this season has been all because of Brett Favre:

Brett FavreJets’ WR Laveranues Coles took a couple of shots at QB Brett Favre leading up to today’s game vs. the San Francisco 49ers. Coles’ comments appear on a couple of San Francisco Bay-area web sites this morning and are getting some play on WFAN radio.

In an item on sfgate.com titled ‘Coles not a big Favre fan’, the veteran Jets’ receiver says the Jets’ offense is basically dictated by Favre and that passes delivered by Favre don’t come in any harder than the football-throwing machines the Jets use in practice:

“Day in and day out, I catch balls from the Jugs machine. It probably comes out there harder from there than it does anywhere else,” Coles said. “So there’s nothing different about (catching passes from Favre).”

InsideBayArea.com has another item on Coles, saying that Favre gets too much credit for the team’s success:

“If you understand the game, you understand that it’s more than just Brett Favre in dealing with this ballclub,” Coles said. “Of course, he’s the big name. He’s the (future) Hall of Famer and he’s going to get the majority of the credit. But most of the guys who deserve the credit don’t really get it.”

This is interesting because there’s an on-going debate right now in the comments section of John Paulsen’s latest column regarding whether or not the Packers would be better off with Favre under enter this season than Aaron Rodgers.

Here’s the thing, Brett Favre is only one player. He’s one hell of a player, but he’s only one player. The Jets added a couple of significant pieces this offseason and Favre was only one of those pieces. Alan Faneca has boosted the play of the offensive line, which has led to a bounce back year by running back Thomas Jones, which has aided Favre’s transition from Green Bay to New York. Kris Jenkins was also brought in to boost the run defense, which had been a major weakness until this season.

One player doesn’t make a team and while Coles sounds a little bitter that he’s not receiving the same love as Favre is, that’s just the way it goes. The media loves to praise a quarterback when a team wins and throw them directly under the bus when a team loses. If the Jets continue to implode, then everyone can rest assured that Brett’s going to come under some scrutiny.

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