| 12 April 2010
Ladies and Gentleman: The New York Jets are going for it.
Whether it is a Super Bowl title or the highest-rated series in Hard Knocks history remains to be seen, but with the acquisitions of the past six weeks, the Jets are sure to grab at least one of those honors, if not both.
After an off-season of turmoil in Pittsburgh, in which the two central figures in the franchise's greatest toss-and-catch (the Immaculate Reception aside) were each accused of serious crimes, the Steelers decided to cut the cord with the receiving end of the famed Super Bowl-winning touchdown, trading Santonio Holmes to the Jets for a fifth-round pick in next week's NFL Draft.
In a purely football sense (I feel like I've said that about every Jets transaction this off-season), this is truly a Steel. No player the Jets could have drafted in the fifth-round will provide what Holmes will this season. He offers the speedy downfield threat the Jets have sorely lacked for decades, and will allow Jerricho Cotchery to play his destined role of potent slot receiver and Braylon Edwards to drop passes in single coverage instead of double coverage. The trade gives the Jets four legitimate pass-catchers and in turn makes the lives of Shonn Greene and LaDainian Tomlinson much easier, as teams will (in theory) have to respect the Jets' passing game.
Naturally, Santonio comes with baggage. And plenty of it. Reports last week stated that Holmes was likely facing a four-game suspension for violating the league's substance abuse policy (Update: 9:10 a.m. Holmes will be suspended for the season's first four games). The most serious accusation, however, came in late March when Holmes was accused of throwing a drink at a woman's head in an Orlando nightclub. Holmes' questionable decision-making is not limited to that one violent action, though. Here's a quick run-down:
-May 2006: Arrested for disorderly conduct in South Beach.
-June 2006: Arrested for "choking, throwing to the ground, slamming into a door" the mother of one of his children
-Fall 2008: Receives citation for marijuana possession; suspended for one game by Steelers.
-January 2009: Admits to selling drugs on the streets of Florida as a teenager.
-March 2010: Advises a Twitter follower that he "shud try finding the worst thing you can drink n kill urself." Nice.
-March 2010: This is my favorite. On his Twitter account, Holmes writes at 3:06 p.m., "time to wake n bake." 3:06 p.m.! That's my kind of sleeper/pot smoker, err, Jet!
Even with Holmes missing the first four games of the season, this is a great move. The Jets have channeled their 1970's Oakland Raiders, acquiring every misfit and outcast they can find with the hopes the player can right his ship and play to the potential he has previously displayed. Holmes is no different than Cromartie, Braylon, LT, Brodney Pool and even Nick Folk. He has the ability to be great. We all saw it during his legendary 2008 postseason and career year in 2009. He just needs to sustain it.
In terms of his long-term prospects with the Jets, he and Braylon are essentially competing for the Jets' lone wide receiver contract extension at the end of the 2010 season (they're both in the last year of contracts). With this being the case, one would think Holmes will be focused on playing for a bigger paycheck. Perhaps he'll move his wake-n-bake up to 10 a.m. so he has time to hit the gym afterward.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Lastly, I know this is irrelevant to many of you, but I can't get over the notion the Jets are just trying to make their Hard Knocks appearance more appealing to the general public. It's as if the Jets hired a movie director, had him give owner Woody Johnson and General Manager Mike Tannenbaum a list of characters he wanted for the film, and told them they had until July 26 to get the cast together.
Director: Alllll right. We need a talented defensive back a la Deion Sanders, but can we have him fathering seven children in five states?
MT: Antonio Cromartie. Check.
Director: This Kerry Rhodes guy has too big an ego to play the role of safety. Trade him and sign a hard-hitting guy who plays so friggin' hard he has concussion problems and can't stay on the field. He'll be our Tim Riggins meets the fat dude from Varsity Blues.
MT: Brodney Pool. Check.
Director: An over-the-hill Hall of Fame running back and a headcase of a kicker who got cut from his team midway through last season because he was so atrocious.
MT: LaDainian Tomlinson. Check. Wait, we want to keep Jay Feeley. Do you really need the kicker storyline?
Director: Do you want me to work on this project or not?!
WJ: Just sign Folk, Mike!
MT: Fine. And wait, how about with the money we'll save from letting Feeley go, we try to sign Jason Taylor!
Director: I like where your head's at! I was just about to say we should bring in a former pretty boy villain and have him try to win the fans over with his hard work and dedication. Even if it angers the fans, it''ll get their attention.
WJ: (Slams table; foaming at mouth) And their (bleeping) money!!!!!
(Director and MT stare in shock at WJ)
WJ: (Clears throat; re-adjusts his baseball cap; shrugs shoulders) Yeah, I'm OK with the Taylor signing.
Director: And last but not least, let's trade for a wide receiver with a history of domestic abuse allegations, an enormous schlong, substance abuse problems, will be suspended for the team's first four games and recently told a Twitter follower to go kill himself.
WJ: (Pompously laughs) Now where are we going to find someone like that, Mr. Famous Director Sir??
MT: (On the phone) Hello, Mr. Rooney! Mr. Tomlin! We'll take him!
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
