2012 NFL Draft Preview: New York Jets

Notre Dame's, Michael Floyd/AP Images

What will the New York Jets do in next week’s draft?

By Joe Diglio

Super Bowls aren’t won on draft day, but it would certainly help Rex Ryan’s bold predictions if the New York Jets had a successful draft. The Jets had an average season last year, finishing 8-8, giving them the 16th pick of the first round.

For a team just two seasons removed for its second consecutive AFC Championship game, New York has some big holes. Starting linebackers Calvin Pace and Bart Scott are 31 and 32, respectively, so finding a replacement on the outside of New York’s 3-4 defense is key. Alabama linebacker Courtney Upshaw could fill that role.

On the other hand, the secondary depth chart is still looking thin. Although the team signed former Washington Redskin LaRon Landry, they didn’t resign Jim Leonhard and lost Brodney Pool to free agency. The Jets could fill this hole with a different Crimson Tide defender in safety Mark Barron. However Barron is a strong safety like Landry, which wouldn’t solve the free safety issue.

Where the Jets may end up looking is on the offensive side of the ball. If Notre Dame wide receiver Michael Floyd is available at the 16th pick, New York may look to take him. Since the team let go of Braylon Edwards and longtime Jet Jerricho Cotchery, the receiver corps hasn’t been the same. Derrick Mason was brought in, and then promptly traded after just five games. The Plaxico Burress experiment had its moments, but that was never going to be a long-term solution. If the Jets are serious about making it work with Mark Sanchez, or perhaps Tim Tebow, they need to get other weapons. At 6’3” and 220 lbs, Floyd is one of the biggest wide receivers in the draft. He can come in and be a nice complement to top wide out Santonio Holmes. Floyd can add to a unit that also includes second year receiver Jeremy Kerley and recent signee Chaz Schilens, giving the Jets a young group with promise.

The New Guy in Town

Tim Tebow is EXCITED about being a NY Jet/AP Images

A savior of a quarterback tries to revitalize a tumultuous franchise.


By Joe Diglio

There’s been a huge shift in the AFC East landscape recently. A former starting quarterback has been brought in by one squad, possibly disrupting team chemistry and taking the starting role from the incumbent quarterback. That’s right, David Garrard has come to Miami to challenge Matt Moore.

Ok, fine, that’s not the big news. But unless you’ve been living under a rock bigger than Rex Ryan, you’ve heard that Tim Tebow is now a New York Jet. After Peyton Manning decided to sign with Denver, the Broncos shipped Tebow to the Jets along with a seventh round pick in this year’s draft for the Jets’ fourth and sixth round picks, as well as cash. The money posed a problem initially, as the Jets refused to pay the Broncos $5 million of Tebow’s salary as his contract outlines. The teams agreed to split the money, though, and he was off to New York.

Tebow comes to New York with a lot of baggage, although none of it is particularly bad. Last year the quarterback/running back/messiah became a polarizing figure as he led the Broncos on an improbable ride to a division title. He took over a 1-4 team and won seven of his first eight starts, including six in a row. Tebow had a knack for late game heroics and winning tight games; he led five fourth quarter comebacks and won three overtime games. Denver ended the regular season on a three game losing streak, but won the AFC West nonetheless. Tebow went on to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in his first playoff game, in overtime of course, before bowing out in the divisional round to the New England Patriots.

Telling this side of the Tebow story would make one think he should play over current Jets starter, Mark Sanchez. A look at Tebow’s stats, though, suggest otherwise. He threw for just 1,729 yards and 12 touchdowns against 6 interceptions. And for all the credit Tebow gets as a runner, he had as many rushing touchdowns, six, as Sanchez.

Earlier this offseason, the team expressed its confidence in its former first round selection by extending Sanchez’s contract three years with $20.5 million guaranteed. So for now, he will remain the starter, no matter how “excited” Tebow is to be a Jet (he used the word 45 times during a press conference this week). But don’t be surprised to see Tebow in for gadget plays and the wildcat formation under new offensive coordinator, Tony Sparano. And don’t be surprised if Rex Ryan, who is now facing some heat after missing the playoffs, feels pressured into playing Tebow if things go south. If the Jets didn't have enough drama, between its loudmouth coach and locker room issues, they certainly do now.

The Shady Deal Behind the Thrashers Potential Move to Winnipeg

Are the Jets coming back? Will the NHL finally return to Canada? Did Bettman finally admit that hockey won't work in the South? Oritt Blum is here to break down a possible relocation that could send shockwaves through the NHL

Although ESPN.com reported that no official deal has been made, True North, the group negotiating to bring a team over the border, confirmed that talks are in the works with the group that currently owns the Atlanta Thrashers. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman was vague about the possibility of the move.

“I can tell you with certainty that there is no deal for this team to move. Am I predicting that there will never be or that there won’t be at some point in time? No, I’m not saying there is or there isn’t,” he announced on his weekly radio show.

Gary Bettman, vague? Never.

One of Atlanta’s main owners, Bruce Levenson, has been unsuccessfully searching for a buyer for the past two years who would keep the team in its current city. Atlanta has been in this position before, in 1980, when the Calgary Flames moved to Alberta. Then again, is it really worth keeping a team whose average attendance this season, 13, 469, was ranked 28th out of the 30 teams in the NHL?