Erik Boland: Inside the Jets

Well, who the heck knows. Last year linebacker Oscar Lua out of USC was taken with that same pick by the Patriots, and we all know how that worked out -- no Super Bowl title for New England! Maybe the 211th spot is jinxed?

As things stand today, the Jets will have that 211th pick at the end of April, a seventh rounder. As the NFL announced the compensatory picks (of which the Jets have none), their assigned picks have come into focus. The Jets currently have six selections.

They have one in the first round (6th overall), one in the second (36th), two in the fourth (102 and 113, the later of which they received from the Saints for Vilma), one in the sixth (171) and one in the seventh (211). They traded their third and fifth rounders (67 and 141) to the Panthers in the Kris Jenkins deal.

Just a late-round ray of hope: The Jets found Chansi Stuckey with the 235th overall pick last year and while he spent the season on IR he had a pretty impressive training camp and would seem to have a good shot at making the team this year.

Anyone who wants to mock through 211 can feel free to do so in the comments section below.

Fans outside the NY area hoping to catch a glimpse of the new-look Jets on opening weekend will not get that opportunity. The NFL released its first slate of nationally-televised games and the Jets are not among the stars.

Neither are the Patriots. Has the country tired of loving to hate (or hating to love) them?

The PTL (Prime Time Lineup) for the opening week has the Redskins at Giants on Thursday night -- a game that'll start at 7 p.m. to accomodate actual events -- and then the Bears at Colts on Sunday night with the Vikings at Packers (get ready for your close-up, Aaron Rodgers!) and Broncos at Raiders in a Monday Night double dip.

So the Jets' 2008 season will start on Sunday, Sept. 7, at either 1:05, 4:05 or 4:15 p.m. The full schedule is scheduled to be unveiled later this week.

I put the over/under of nationally televised Jets games this year at 0.5.

Any thoughts?

This is where we are as a society: Live-blogging a rain delay.

Not saying I disappove. But just saying.

They say that March comes in like Marty Lyons and goes out like Johnny Lam Jones. I don't know what that means, but I can tell you that this past month has ben rather extraordinary for the Jets. March 2008 will probably be looked back on as a period of time that defined the upcoming seasons for the Jets. Whether or not those definitions include cheers or groans remains to be seen, but the Jets certainly made some significant changes in their infrastructure these past few weeks.

How was the identity of the team changed? Well, consider that their most prominent (but not productive) defensive player the last few years, Jonathan Vilma, is a member of the Saints. Consider that 40 percent of the starting offensive line has been overhauled and there is only one member of that unit who played for Herm Edwards as a Jet. Consider that the pieces that don't fit in Mangini's 3-4 defense are being shipped out and those that can fit are being brought in. Consider that the Jets recognized their flaws in handling Pete Kendall last year and didn't make the same mistakes with Laveranues Coles this year.

Now, there are still some questions to answer. They need to crown a starting quarterback this summer. They need to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks. They need to see if Thomas Jones can be even more productive now that he has a few more (or more-expensive) blockers in front of him.

I guess those will have to wait for a different month.

* * *

Glauber, by the way, is back in action down at the owners' meetings. This will probably be the Jets' last chance to make a push for a Dewayne Robertson trade. I would also suspect that if teams are interested in making offers for Chad Pennington, they'll start to trickle in during the next few days in sunny Florida.

Anyway, Glauber is on the case -- provided his long locks aren't covering the name and number on his press badge! Get a haircut, Glauber! If you need the name of my barber, I can hook you up!

Laveranues Coles' contract conflagration seems to have put down for now. The Jets and the receiver agreed that their current contract, which had Coles playing two more years for $11 million total, will be guaranteed. Coles had been trying to get a long-term deal done, adding a few years to the current contract, but this was the compromise according to NFL sources. ESPN reported the news earlier this morning. There had been reports that Coles and the Jets had reached an agreement that would add years to the deal, but those were inaccurate.

So what does this mean? Well, the Jets get a pretty darn good receiver for two years in Coles and will pay him what they would have paid him over that span anyway. Coles doesn't have to worry that if he gets one more thump on the head he could be working the professional bowling circuit rather than the NFL.

When Coles' current contract expires he'll have just turned 32. My guess is that if Coles is productive in 2008 (i.e. healthy) the issue may be revisited next offseason. Barring injuries, this isn't the contract that will let Coles finish his career with the Jets. But it will get him close.

So here it is, my mock draft for the first seven selections. I asked you for yours, now here's mine.

Let me start out by saying that I think there will be a lot of trading and jostling among these top picks, but for the, um, integrity (?) of the mock I’ll pick in the order in which teams currently stand. We'll get right to it.

Dolphins: Matt Ryan
Rams: Jake Long
Falcons: Chris Long
Raiders: Darren McFadden
Chiefs: Ryan Clady
Jets: Vernon Gholston
Patriots: Jerod Mayo

This will almost certainly change between now and the end of April. In the meantime, click below for the analysis. After that, let the great debate commence.

The Jets met with QB Matt Ryan in an individual workout this past week, and while the team is typically mum about such things, Ryan himself has no problem reporting what happened. Be careful, Matt, that kind of openness could cost you some demerits in Jets-land!

In an online diary for FOXSports, Ryan writes about how the Jets had him throw 65-70 passes in a little over an hour (he threw just 52 on his Pro Bay at BC). The Jets were also very interested in having Ryan work within their system and show them his footwork both in and outside the pocket.

"They wanted to see first-hand what balls I can throw from within their offense. They especially wanted to see my footwork in the pocket and had me make several throws on the move. They wanted to see where I could put the ball when I was forced to move out of the pocket.

"I was as happy with the performance as I was with my Pro Day, but I got to throw on the run a bit more and show off my arm when under pressure and my footwork a little bit more. I loved it."

It's interesting that the Jets aren't giving Ryan a cursory, courtesy look, the kind you might for a guy who you're not that interested in but who could land on a team within your division (don't think those things don't happen). Will they draft him if he's there at No. 6? That depends on who else is available I suppose (cough, cough, McFadden, cough). But there's certainly enough healthy realism in their current quarterback situation for them to take a good long look at other options.

That's essentially what the Panthers are saying to the Jets in regard to possible interest in Dewayne Robertson. The Panthers need help on their defensive line -- didn't they used to have that big guy Jenkins? -- but according to a blog in the Charlotte Observer if the Jets decide to dump D-Rob on the sidewalk, the Panthers may be interested enough to scoop him up. Of course, there may be more than a few dumpster-divers ready to vulture in on Robertson if and when he becomes a former Jet.

The report says that the Jets tried to squeeze Robertson into that Jenkins a few weeks ago but the Panthers wanted draft picks not players with unmanagable contracts. This way they can negotiate their own unreasonable, franchise-crippling agreements with players. Since then the Jets have come close to trading Robertson twice, once to the Bengals and once to the Broncos.

Most NFLers expect Robertson to be pushed overboard before June when he is due a $3 million roster bonus. They could keep him and play him beside Jenkins on the defensive line, but that would have to be under a restructured contract. Plus he's not attending the voluntary workouts, so it appears that Robertson has no desire to be someplace he's not wanted.

Everytime I think about Robertson staying with the Jets for 2008, I remember the look in the eyes of Derrick Strait a few years back when he was traded to the Browns for Lee Suggs but had to come back to the Jets when Suggs flunked his Jets physical.

Two words come to mind: Awk and ward.

Apparently the interest in Darren McFadden is not relegated to the FANS of the Jets. Team officials are in Arkansas today to visit with the running back during his Pro Day about a week after a contingent from the team spent time with him on campus. And, according to a report on NFL Network, have already penciled McFadden in for a visit to Long Island in April, less than two weeks before the draft.

I'll keep the "hide the women and children" jokes to myself.

Seriously, though, I've heard very few questions about McFadden's ability (although Glauber says he doesn't like his skinny legs) and far too much about concerns over his character. That's a big word for the Jets these days, character. But ultimately they are bringing this guy in to be a football player, not some highly respected job that requires morals of the utmost standards.

A job like, oh, I don't know, governor of New York.

This is what the Jets do, after all. They come up with a list of needs going into the offseason and order them accordingly from highest to lowest. Sometimes things work out, sometimes there are surprises. There's the legendary story of Curtis Martin coming to the Jets even though running back was pretty far down the Jets' need list at the time. The same may be true this year -- the Jets don't really NEED a running back as badly as they do other positions, but can they pass on McFadden if he falls into their lap at No. 6 in the draft? I don't think he'll be around long enough for us to find out, but almost half of you who submitted a mock draft in the posting below had the Jets taking McFadden with the sixth pick.

Anyway, here are seven positions of varying need for the Jets in random order. We'll leave out offensive line since they seem to have covered that during free agency. Your job, dear Jets fan (or whoever else happens to pass by), is to prioritize them heading into the draft.

Outside defensive pass rusher (DE or OLB)
Interior defensive lineman
Inside linebacker
Cornerback
Wide receiver
Quarterback
Running back

If you want to add your own position of need -- safety or maybe even punter -- to the list, feel free. It'll be interesting to see how many different ways there are to view the Jets and the positions they need to improve between now and September when the 2008 season begins.

Oh, and feel free to keep those mock drafts coming here!

Well, it's that time of the year. The big splashes of free agency are starting to settle and teams are travelling around the country interviewing and working out every able-bodied college athlete they can find. War rooms are starting to steam and the smudged ink on grease boards is intoxicating.

It's almost time for the draft. And everyone has their own ideas about who'll go where. Will the Cowboys trade up and take McFadden at No. 1? Will the Dolphins be able to unload that top pick? Who'll be the first QB taken, and how high will he go? Will Brady Quinn show up just to sit around backstage as he did last year?

The Jets are sitting at one of the most difficult positions in the draft, No. 6, which is a hard place to plan for since so much can happen before the turn comes up. Plus they have to keep in mind who picks right after them -- the Pats have the 7th pick and the last thing the Jets want to do is miss out on a player who could haunt them twice a year for the next six or seven seasons.

We'll hear from the teams next month. For right now, let's hear from you. Feel free to post your mock draft here. You can stop with the Jets' sixth pick or go as deep as you want. Just for reference, here is the order of the top six picks in April as they stand now:

Dolphins, Rams, Falcons, Raiders, Chiefs, Jets

You can see the full first-round order here.

Good luck.

A lot is being made of the Super Bowl champion Giants jacking up their ticket prices. But in some cases they’re still a better buy than the Jets (not to mention that Lombardi Trophy from last year compared to a 4-12 season). Here’s a look at the ticket prices:

Mezzanine seats at Giants games will cost $105 per game. At Jets games they go for $115.

"Prime" lower tier seats for the Giants (Sections 110, 111, 112, 130, 131, 132) will be $100. For the Jets, not only are the prices higher ($105 per seat) but the premium zone is larger, encompassing sections 109-113 and 129-133.

The Jets will charge $80 for a seat anywhere else in the lower tier. The Giants are breaking the rest of the level into further distinctions that will cost either $85 (sections 101-107, 115-127, 135-140), $90 (108, 114, 128, 134) or $95 (109, 113, 129, 133).

For the better upper tier sections (309-313 and 329-333), the Giants are charging $85 a seat while the Jets get $80. The rest of the upper tier seats are $80 for the Giants and $75 for the Jets.

So basically the better seats cost more for the Jets games but your nose and your wallet will bleed a little more in the 300s at Giants games.

Not sure how many people saw this Q&A with D'Brickashaw Ferguson on NBCSports.com. Besides speculating that he would do OK on American Idol, Brick talks about the changes that are taking place on the Jets.

"I feel we’re going into a different direction from last year," he said. "We’ve moved key guys – Jonathan Vilma’s out; Alan Faneca is in. You can tell we’re not playing around, there's a new direction. I mean, Jonathan Vilma is an excellent leader and he’ll do well wherever he goes, but this just shows the changes a team can and will make. As a player, it’s amazing. A player told me when I was starting that you have a different team every year. At the time, I heard him but I didn’t hear him until I saw it happen this year."

Well, not quite. But wouldn't it have been interesting if, for the second year in a row, the Jets invited a basketball player from a school without a football team to their rookie minicamp just weeks after that player had been a key part of beating Duke in the first round of the NCAA Tournament?

Who knows? Maybe Jesse Pellot-Rosa has started a tradition?

Renfroe had 15 points for Belmont on Thursday.

Seriously, though, keep an eye on the Tournament this weekend and watch to see who might have football-transferable skills. You know the Jets are. They love finding diamonds in the rough, even if more often than not they just turn out to be cubic zirconia.

Who could ever forget Tommy Rowands and Cole Konrad?

(((UPDATE: Maybe De'Jon Jackson is available)))

As you might have guessed just by the amount of time this thing is taking, the trade talks between the Jets and Broncos are starting to peter out. They're not RIP yet and could be resumed at any time, but nothing seems imminent.

Why? A couple reasons from what I'm hearing out west. First of all, Robertson did fail his physical with the Broncos, but the team was willing to overlook the medical evidence based on the fact that Robertson hasn't missed any games the last few years. They were also willing to overlook it because they are a bit desperate for defensive line help.

The other reason is money. Take a look at this story in the Denver Post about the team cutting several jobs from its operations staff. Robertson was supposedly willing to work with the Broncos on a new deal, but he wasn't able to come down enough for them to make it work. The cash-strapped Broncos just couldn't afford to take on his salary (though I was told they were, at one point, willing to go into debt to bring him in).

So was it the money? The bone-on-bone? The idea that Robertson will be on the open market by June? Probably all of the above in a strange brew that finally appears to have squelched the trade -- for now.

How close is the deal to send D-Rob to Denver? Well, Mike Klis of the Denver Post is reporting that the Jets defensive tackle was in the Mile High City last week for a physical. Although the results of that process haven't been released, they were clearly good enough to keep the conversation flowing between the Jets and the Broncos.

It has been reported that Robertson's physical is what sunk an earlier deal to send him to the Bengals. He has a bone-on-bone knee condition that could be worrysome for some teams. Last week a report on the NFL Network speculated that Robertson has only one or two more years left in the league.

Neither Laveranues Coles nor Dewayne Robertson were at the Jets' complex today as the voluntary offseason workouts began today. Not a big surprise, but still noteworthy.

Coles has been asking for a long-term extension on his current contract, which has two years and $11 million left on it. The Jets have reportedly offered to guarantee all of that money, but Coles is lookin for something that will allow him to finish his career as a Jet (or finish his Jets career). He has not been granted permission to shop a trade with other teams.

Robertson was very nearly traded to the Bengals earlier this month and is inching closer to becoming a Denver Bronco via trade with that organization. However, he remains a Jet for now. He's just a Jet who isn't taking part in the workouts. If the Broncos deal falls through, it'll be interesting to see where this goes.

Now, remember, these workouts are voluntary. There's nothing the Jets can really do about this. Once the minicamps and training camp comes around, however, players can start to be fined for missing practices and meetings and other events. You remember all of the nuances of that situation from last year, right?

One item of note is that Chad Pennington was at the workouts today. It's no secret Chad wants to be a starter in the league and it's also no secret that he hasn't been named the starter here (then again, neither has anyone else). If Pennington is trying to coax a trade to another QB-hungry team, which many suspect he is, he's not using these workouts as leverage.

Former Pats WR/CB/PR Troy Brown spent the day visiting with Jets officials today. The Pats made it clear he was not in their plans for the 2008 season, but, according to an NFL source, Brown still feels he has some football left in his 36-year-old bones. The Jets may think so too, as we've discussed here in the not-so-distant past.

According to the source, however, Brown signing with the Jets is the least likely scenario. Why? Brown has made it known he would rather stay away from teams with the Patriots on their schedule next season to avoid that awkwardness. Signing with the hated Jets (hated by New England, not by me!!!) would make things that much worse, not to mention literally twice as bad since they play each other twice.

Still, if the Jets are the only ones offering work, I'm told, guess where Troy Brown will be running his routes in the summer and fall?

Despite a report from the NFL Network this week that said Dewayne Robertson's knee issues would probably preclude him from being drafted if he were coming out this season and speculated that he could have only one or two years left in his career, the Broncos remain interested in acquiring the defensive tackle from the Jets. This according to our old buddy who you may know as A League Source.

Apparently the Jets and Broncs have been working on a deal that would send D-Rob to Denver and have the teams swap fourth-round picks this year. The Jets would also receive a conditional pick (probably a 3rd rounder in 2009 if Robertson hits certain playing time and performance requirements). The Broncos are also taking steps to get Robertson a new contract.

The talks have stopped for the weekend, but will probably pick up on Monday. That's the day the Jets players are expected to show up for their offseason program. List Robertson as "doubtful" for that.

We asked earlier in the day if the Jets should be interested in WR Troy Brown, who will not be back with the Pats this season after 15 years with the team. Well, it seems that even if the Jets are interested, Brown won't play for them.

John Tomase of the Boston Herald has blogged that Brown has made it clear he will not play for a team that the Patriots are scheduled to play against in 2008. So he certainly wouldn;t want to play against them twice.

This is the danger of writing on the web. The immediacy is great but so are the pitfalls.

A post or so ago we reported that Domonique Foxworth is working with the Broncos on a long-term extension, info we got from a source. Well, just got off the phone with someone with far greater knowledge of the situation who said: "Nope."

Turns out the Broncos and the cornerback aren't talking about an extension or a long-term deal.

The good news is that the part about the Jets and Broncos discussing D-Rob is on the mark, and for Jets fans, that's the most important part.

Just heard from a source who said that while the Jets and Broncos are back at the table talking about a trade involving Dewayne Robertson -- even with the tumult in the Denver front office -- the deal does not include CB Domonique Foxworth. In fact, I'm hearing that the Broncos are closing in on signing Foxworth to the kind of long-term contract he's seeking, so he probably won't be signing his letters "Disgruntled in Denver" for much longer (((UPDATE: Please see above post))). Word is, however, that the trade could involve another Broncos player coming to the Jets instead of draft picks. Haven't heard who, though.

There's a report in the Boston Globe today that the services of veteran WR Troy Brown will not be required by the Patriots this season. Well, he hardly played this year and would be entering his 16th season.

Is he the kind of guy the Jets might want to bring in for training camp? He's tight with Mangini, who often references Troy those few times when he waxes nostalgic about his days in New England. It was Mangini who helped him become a decent defensive back during that Super Bowl run, remember. Of course his chances of making the team would be pretty slim. But having him around for a few months could pave the way to a spot on the coaching staff, if that's what he'd like. And it's not like he'd be getting millions. The Globe article said he was paid $820,000 last year, $435,000 of which was guaranteed.

So ... should the Jets go after him or not?

There's a report on NFL Network that former Patriots, former Jet, former Chief Ty Law is coming in for a visit with the Jets this week. Here's a guy who has played for Belichick and Mangini and Herm, so Jets fans should be intimately aware of his pros and cons.

He'll probably make a visit to the Patriots before signing anything. It could come down to who he liked more during his days in New England: His position coach or his head coach.

He's also close to Darrelle Revis off the field, for what it's worth.

According to an article by Jason Cole at Yahoo! Sports (man, I gotta get me an exclamation point in my byline), here is a list of the 32 NFL teams and their space under the salary cap as of last Thursday. The Jets are at $4.5 million.

As you can see, the Jets have nearly depleated their buffer after starting the offseason about $20-$25 million under. Now, if they get rid of or rework cap-heavy D-Robertson and maybe even find a draft day taker for Pennington, that number would change.

And how about the Cardinals. They couldn't even afford to buy a decent house in Nassau County right now.

Click below to see the whole list.

Word from the Ben Utecht visit on Monday is that things went very well but so far there is no offer (although one could be in the works). Utecht, a tight end who played for the Colts last year, is probably the last "big name" free agent the Jets will woo. He visited with the Bengals early last week and his agent, Chris Murray, said last night that they will now wait and measure their options.

The Jets should sign him just for the inevitable "Benny and the Jets" headline. He'd be the first Ben position player to play for the Jets since DT Ben Rudolph from 1981-86. I know Ben Graham is on the team now, but when do punters ever get headlines?

By the way, my quick skim on the Jets' all-time roster tells me that Graham and Rudolph are the only Bens who have ever played for the Jets. I'd like to see that pop up on KFFL. "Tom Rock reports that if the Jets sign TE Ben Utecht, he would be only the third player named Ben to play for the team."

I don't know who thought of the idea first. I know I thought of it at a little after noon on Aug. 22, 2007. And I've seen the idea batted around in various blogs and message boards since then.

But with the prospect of a Rangers hockey game being the final event in Yankee Stadium's prolific history, I thought it would be a good time to re-examine the possibilities of the Jets playing one final game at Shea Stadium before they rubble-ize it.

It would have to be following the end of te 2008 baseball season, which Mets and their fans undoubtedly hope will carry long into October. That leaves two months -- November and December -- to figure out a Sunday for the Jets to drop by their old Flushing Meadows haunt.

And in the time-honored tradition of Shea Stadium aura, there's really no need to fix anything up. Don't even worry about extra seating, just stick the field in the middle of the bowl. If tickets are a problem, just have a lottery for season-ticket holders and give the ones who don't make it to Shea some kind of prize pack worth the amount of their ticket. Have them play on the grass that's there. Don't bother covering the infield with sod. Make it a real dirty, muddy, old-time throwback game. Pray for rain. No, frozen rain. Trot out the greats at halftime. Trot out the 1968 Jets, celebrating their 40th anniversary. None of them ever played at Gi@&%$ Stadium.

Will it happen? Who knows. Should it happen? Absolutely.

Restricted free agent TE Ben Utecht is visiting with the Jets today after arriving in New York last night. No word yet on how the meetings are going or if there will be an offer made at the end of the day.

Heck, the Jets may not have enough money left to buy the guy a decent dinner after the way they've been spending the past week or so.

According to this article in the Tennessean, former Jets WR Justin McCareins is willing to wait a month before signing on with an NFL team. He apparently visited with the Titans, the team that drafted him, but didn't receive a contract offer from them.

If he's waiting for the Jets to call, it may be a lot longer than a month!

The Jets have signed RB Jesse Chatman to a 1-year deal , his agent said tonight. It's a bit of an unexpected move for the Jets -- they have Thomas Jones as a clear No. 1 and Leon Washington seems pretty entrenched as the change-of-pace No. 2. But apparently the Jets didn't feel comfortable heading into the season with Washington as a backup, meaning a guy who could get 20-25 carries if TJ ever goes down.

I think Leon will remain that change-of-pace guy -- he even worked a little in the slot last year, which was a fascinating look -- but Chatman will now be Thomas Jones' understudy.

Remember that almost trade between the Jets and the Bengals last week? Well, according to today's Cincinnati Enquirer, the reason the deal fell through was not because of a failure to reach an agreement on a new contract for Dewayne Robertson. Rather, the article says, D-Rob and the Bengals agreed on a 5-year, $28 million contract. The reason the deal didn't go through was because of the Bengals' concerns about Robertson's knee.

That'ss a different reason than the one Robertson's agent reportedly provided when the trade collapsed. And, to be fair, the knee can't be in all that bad condition since the article goes on to suggest that the Bengals could pick Robertson up if/when the Jets cut him, which some people think in an inevitability.

He's been playing with a bone-on-bone condition in his knee for several years now. For a defensive lineman, that's probably not as big a deal as for, say, a running back who wears No. 28 and is the fourth all-time leading rusher in NFL history. But it was still enough to apprently scare the Bengals off from the trade.

The Jets have shown that they are willing to part ways with Robertson, and they'll have even more incentive to cut him before his June 1 roster bonus if they can't trade him by then. But I'm still not convinced that the Jets can't use him, even with Kris Jenkins now taking up most of the picture. He'd have to redo his contract, but from what I saw the times he lined up there I think Robertson can make a decent defensive end in a 3-4 scheme.

The Jets are still likely trying to figure out a way to pass him along to another team in exchange for some kind of value, but if they can rework the financials I'm not so sure they'll be ready to simply cut ties with him before June 1.

If the Jets are looking to bolster their cornerback position and get rid of Dewayne Robertson, they might be able to do both in one shot.

In an interview with Newsday's Alex Labidou, the agent for Domonique Foxworth of the Broncos says that his client would be interested in playing for the Jets. Foxworth is a restricted free agent with the Broncos, a team that is known to be in the market for a defensive lineman. Like, say, Robertson.

There aren't any current talks between the teams, Jim Ivler said, but it's possible that as Robertson's $3 million roster bonus deadline gets closer and Foxworth's frustration with his role in Denver increases, the teams could find a way to swap headaches.

The Jets’ recent visits from Eugene Wilson and Jesse Chatman went well, according to both of their representatives, although there have been no firm offers made to either player. The closest to becoming a Jet appears to be Chatman, which is still a strange sort of pickup for the Jets who aren’t really in need of a backup RB. Still, Chatman’s agent, Brett Tessler, said they are “kicking some numbers around” after what he called a great visit.

As for Wilson, the safety from New England, he liked what the Jets have planned for their defense and he liked that it is similar to what he played in New England (when, for a time, Mangini was his position coach). But Wilson has another visit and thn will start feeling his way through offers before deciding where he wants to play. His agent, James Sims, said they’re in no rush to make a decision.

Oh, and the Jets formally announced the signing of FB Tony Richardson.

One last thing: It's been brought to my attention that some people may not have gotten the intended humor from a previous post. So, for the record, I do not hate the Jets.

Since so many comments here lately have revolved around my clear and intense hatred of the Jets and all they stand for, I thought it would be a good community service to pass along this item from the team I loathe.

It has to do with actual cheerleaders. Well, no, they're not actual cheerleaders. But they're as close as you can get to being a cheerleader without calling yourself one.

Apparently the Flight Crew is expanding from 11 to 22 members. They're also holding open auditions and one of the new members will be selected via an online vote by Jets fans.

Click below for the release from the Jets.

The Bears linebacker and special teams Pro Bowler has reportedly agreed to terms on a free agent contract with the Ravens. He visited with the Jets this week but ultimately decided to settle in Baltimore for a 4-year, $4.9 million contract.

The Jets did reportedly agree to terms on a 1-year deal with with fullback Tony Richardson. I like the move. It's much easier to spell.

They had Pro Bowler Tony Richardson in for a talk today, and signing him would be the latest signal that the Jets plan on throwing about 20 to 30 passes all season in 2008 (which would mean Pennington could be the best option at QB this year, but that's another post for another time). My question now is this:

Is the fullback still a viable position in the NFL? It's becomming a bit of an endangered species and the Jets have had some guys to fill the position but haven't always used them.

The Jets had Darian Barnes as their fullback for most of last year and hardly ever activated him. The year before they had B.J. Askew and he spent a few games on the bench.

Now, B. Schott does come from the San Diego system where they used Lorenzo Neal as their FB. But with the way the Jets offense shifts and motions, it would seem a dedicated fullback could diminish the element of surprise. It would be a prett big tipoff that the Jets were going to be running the ball.

Then again, everything from the hiring of Bill Callahan to the acquisitions of Faneca and Woody to the meeting with Richardson indicates that they are going to run the ball. Maybe they'll go from a deceptive attack to a "Here it is try to stop us" attack.

Darren McFadden is starting to make a lot more sense.

So, back to the question. Do the Jets -- or any team really -- need a fullback in 2008?