Green Machine

Favre gone--or is he?

No, he's not coming back to the Jets,  now that they have Mark Sanchez to sell some PSLs. But Favre could be back in NFL circulation at some point this summer now that the Jets have released him from the reserve/retired list.

This means that if he decides to come out of retirement, he can sign with any team and the Jets would get no compensation. They also would not be on the hook to Green Bay for any compensation to the Packers should Favre sign with Minnesota and be back in the NFC North division with the Packers.

 

In a statement released by the Jets, general manager Mike Tannenbaum said, "Brett requested his release some time ago. He has not indicated any desire to return to football and he remains retired. We wish him the best."

    

In that same statement, Favre said that Tannenbaum and Favre's agent, Bus Cook "have been talking about this for a while. Nothing has changed. At this time, I am retired and have no intention of returning to football."

 

We've heard that before, Brett.

 

Comings and goings

The Jets announced today that they waived P Reggie Hodges and RB Marcus Mason. Neither move is surprising, considering that Hodges declined steadily in the final weeks of the 2008 season after taking over the punting duties from the departed Ben Graham [who wound up with NFC titlist Arizona], and Hodges even had a punt blocked in the season finale versus Miami. Worse yet, Hodges didn't punt well in the recent voluntary mini-camp.

Mason, who never glimpsed the field during a real game last season, became expendable when the Jets drafted Iowa RB Shonn Greene in the third round.

After drafting only three players over the weekend, the Jets had plenty of room to sign undrafted free agents. They signed 15, according to nfldraftbible.com. Here they are: QB Chris Pizzotti, Harvard; FB Brannan Southerland, Georgia; OT Ryan McKee, Southern Mississippi; OT Kyle Link, McNeese State; OT Tavita Thompson, Oregon State; C Michael Parenton, Tulane; TE Robert Myers, Utah State; TE Andrew Davie, Arkansas; TE J’Nathan Bullock, Cleveland State; DE Jamaal Westerman, Rutgers; DE Zach Potter, Nebraska; DL Ty Steinkuhler, Nebraska; DL Matt Kroul, Iowa; S Emanuel Cook, South Carolina; P TJ Conley, Idaho.

As my colleague from Newsday, Erik Boland, points out in his excellent blog, there was some controversy about Pizzotti's signing, as his comments to the Boston Goble seemed to imply he had a deal in place with Gang Green BEFORE the draft ended, which is a no-no. But both Pizzotti and his agent, Alan Herman, told Erik that wasn't the case. Pizzotti obviously was/is excited because he has a decent opportunity at the No. 3 job here, what with Erik Ainge having missed much of the spring for personal reasons. Also it's interesting to note that Pizzotti has done extensive work with Phil Simms at the Parisi Speed School in Fair Lawn.

What a weekend

The Jets made only three picks the last two days. So why I am so exhausted?

Well, the Plaxico Burress rumor certainly livened up the evening, didn't it?

In contrast to Burress, all three players the Jets drafted this weekend certainly seem like good people. GM Mike Tannenbaum said that USC QB Mark Sanchez 'lights up the room,' and he wasn't kidding. [And not the way Art Howe allegedly lit up the room, at least in Fred Wilpon's opinion, before the Mets hired him.]

Sanchez was friendly, engaging and interesting, and he seems somewhat prepared for the media onslaught he's about to face in this area, although I'm not quite sure anything can prepare the rookie athlete for it.

Third-round pick Shonn Greene, the RB from Iowa who comes from Sicklerville, N.J., was academically ineligible in 2007 and had to enroll at a juco in Iowa to get his grades back up. While he was doing that, he worked at a furniture store in Coralville, Iowa because he was no longer on scholarship and had to pay tuition to go to the juco.

Greene believes that matured him. 'It made me focus on my discipline and taking care of my responsibilities,' he said.

Sixth-round pick Matt Slauson of Nebraska has a pronounced stutter which was obvious on the conference call after he was drafted, yet he hasn't let that deter him and he regularly spoke with the media when he was a Cornhusker. I give him a lot of credit because that's certainly not easy, and it shows the kind of person he is to face the problem instead of running from it. I've met plenty of athletes and coaches without stuttering problems who'd rather not deal with reporters, but Slauson welcomes it, according to those who have covered him. Good for him. It's easy to root for someone like that.

BTW, Rutgers DE Jamaal Westerman signed with the Jets as an undrafted free agent. From what I understand, Seton Hall hoopster Paul Gause is expected to try out during rookie mini-camp as a DB.

Jets statement on Plaxico

"Consistent with our normal approach of performing our due diligence, we contacted Drew Rosenhaus several days ago prior to the draft to inquire about Plaxico's pending legal situation," GM Mike Tannenbaum said in a statement. "However, we have had no discussions with Drew about Plaxico since that time."

A source familiar with the discussions said the Jets "kicked the tires a little bit, but it has not advanced beyond that point."

 

I wouldn't be surprised if the Plaxico camp leaked this info, just to remind teams that Burress is out there and available. That is, if he's not part of the New York State penitentiary system.

 

Report: Jets considering Plaxico

The Jets have had internal discussions about signing troubled [and possibly prison-bound] former Giants WR Plaxico Burress, according to ESPN's Chris Mortensen.

Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum declined comment on the rumor through a team spokesman. Interesting, considering the Jets quickly shot down any possibility of signing Terrell Owens after he was released by Dallas.

Obviously, the Jets need help at WR. And Burress could provide that. Plus, tons of baggage and an awful reputation of placing his interests above the team when he was with the Giants.

I'll say this--if the Jets actually do this, I don't EVER want to hear them talking about how important character is to them when judging prospective player acquisitions. Because signing Plax would prove the just the opposite beyond a reasonable doubt. 

Jets draft O-lineman

The Jets took Nebraska OL Matt Slauson, who started 34 games for the Cornhuskers over the past three seasons, with the 193rd pick in the sixth round. Slauson, who is 6-foot-5, 313 pounds, started all 13 games at right guard last season. He also started at both tackle spots during his college career, so he has some versatility.

He was recruited by former Nebraska head coach Bill Callahan, now the Jets' O-line coach, so Callahan  obviously believes in him and feels he has potential.

Sanchez comes to Florham Park

Mark Sanchez met with the media today at the Jets' complex, and he was impressive. It was easy to see why the Jets liked him on a personal level when they met him. He's confident, but not brash; poised, but not cocky, and he had his family in tow with him, so obviously they mean a lot to him and it's a very tight-knit family. They all flew from California late last night to make it here for Sanchez' official unveiling, if you will. He also was scheduled to meet with media at Radio City Music Hall, where the draft is taking place.

A few of us reporters talked to his father, and he's very personable as well. He made it clear that he didn't just want Mark and his two brothers to excel at sports, but he worked them really hard academically as well.

Also on hand was Sanchez's agent, David Dunn, who made it quite clear he doesn't expect his client to be a holdout. Sanchez said he doesn't want that either, because he doesn't want to miss out on study time with the playbook. Dunn also noted that agreeing on a contract should be made easier by the fact that the Jets have so few draft picks to sign.

Mr. T at it again

Not content with pulling off the biggest blockbuster trade of Day 1 of the NFL Draft, Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum has done the same on Day 2. He traded the Jets' third-, fourth- and seventh-round picks to Detroit to get the 65th selection, the first pick of Round 3 and the first pick of Day 2. He then used that pick to take Iowa RB Shonn Greene.

Greene had an interesting career at Iowa, to say the least, but he was quite productive last season, rushing for 1,850 yards and 20 TDs, averaging 6.0 yards per rush. He rushed for 173 yards as a true freshman in 2005 and 205 yards in 2006, before missing the 2007 campaign because he was academically ineligible. In fact, he enrolled at a juco, Kirkwood Community College, for academic reasons, but didn't play.

Greene is considered an excellent runner between the tackles, but doesn't have breakaway speed. He has been clocked at 4.62 in the 40. He also needs work on his receiving skills. Still, I like the pick, because the Jets need someone at RB if they can't work out the Thomas Jones contract squabble, but they paid a high price to get him.

The Sanchez pick: what does it all mean?

Well, obviously it means the Jets, despite their repeated protestations from the contrary, didn't have much confidence in Kellen Clemens and Brett Ratliff. Clemens was a second-round pick three years ago, and taking Sanchez with the fifth overall pick seems to me to be an admission by the Jets that they whiffed there.

Yes, Clemens and Sanchez will compete. Do I think Sanchez will be graded on a curve? You bet. Has Clemens gotten a fair shot with the Jets? I don't think so. But that doesn't really matter.

Sanchez impressed the Jets with his ability to quickly assimilate their offense, and they believe he has the intelligence, confidence and leadership abilities to be a winning QB in the NFL, sooner rather than later. Keep in mind that coach Rex Ryan, while defensive coordinator at Baltimore last season, saw rookie QB Joe Flacco lead the Ravens to the AFC title game. Granted, Flacco, the 18th overall pick last year, inherited the job because of injury and illness to others, but he did get it done. Can Sanchez, who only started 16 collegiate games, do the same? We'll see.

Because the Jets were able to deal with Cleveland and Eric Mangini, they were able to give the Browns three players off the roster, as opposed to three more draft picks. So they still have selections in the 3rd, 4th, 6th and 7th rounds today and they need to choose wisely, considering they still have plenty of needs. They need a DE [especially with Kenyon Coleman gone], a speed WR [although maybe they think David Clowney could get it done] and a blocking TE.

Of course, as a colleague of mine pointed out, the Jets could move OLB Vernon Gholston to DE in the new 3-4 system, where he would be able to concentrate more on rushing the passer as opposed to covering RBs. Interesting thought.

   

Upon further review

I'll say this, as I noted in my earlier post--the Jets didn't give up any big-time players off their roster to get Mark Sanchez. So from that standpoint, it's not a bad trade. And at this point, they still have four picks [third, fourth, sixth, seventh rounds] remaining tomorrow. They need to do well in the third and fourth rounds especially to fill some of the other holes on the current roster.

Sanchez is strong-armed, but other than the unproven [although I believe, talented] David Clowney, there are no speed threats on the roster for him to throw to.