Catching Lightning In A Bottle





The key for the Chargers in 2011 will be this guy, Vincent Jackson.

   The NFL lockout lasted 132 brutal-days; but personally, I enjoyed the fact that every time I checked my phone today I was bombarded with ESPN alerts about a new recent signing or trade. It actually made me wish for another lockout (but I can wait 10 years). And as a Chargers fan, the day was extra-special.

The "Pre-Free Agency" 2012 Super Bowl Odds pinned the Packers and Patriots as early favorites, both at 7 to 1, following right behind them are my Chargers at 10 to 1 odds. Most online books have taken down these numbers and will repost the updated figures once teams' rosters are more definite. But after just one day of free agency I think San Diego should be the perennial favorites in the NFL, or at least the AFC. New England's RB situation is still murky and the only significant change in there roster is that everyone is one year older.

Last season San Diego had the best overall defense (ranking #1 in defending the pass and #4 against the ground attack); now imagine how dominate they will be after adding inside linebacker Takeo Spikes and veteran safety Bob Sanders. Sanders brings over a lot of honors and achievements, most of which were accumulated during the 2007 season. In 07 he won AP Defensive Player of the Year and earned his second Pro Bowl and All-Pro selections, while capping off the career-year with a Super Bowl ring. But since that season, Sanders has been burdened by injury, only playing 9 games over the last 3 seasons (6 in 2008, 2 in 2009, and 1 last year). If he can return to pre-injury form, it will be tough for teams to throw on the Chargers. Especially since the second half of this duo, Eric Weddle, just inked a brand new $40 million deal ($19 mill guaranteed); keeping him in San Diego for the next 5 seasons. Yes, he now makes more money than Ryan Clark and Troy Polamalu combined; but that's how things work in the NFL. Weddle was garnering a lot of interest from the Texans, Jaguars, and Cowboys, which added pressure onto the front office to lock up their secondary. The loss of Cromartie last season was thought to be devastating but Quentin Jammer, and his 10 year-18 interception experience, helped lessen the blow.

Shaun Phillips and Takeo Spikes are absolute monsters in the 3-4 set, let's just hope Larry English can get rid of that "bust" label and actually start contributing. Teams will have to pick their poison when deciding between pass vs. run but I think they'll minimize their risk and chose the latter. But running against Castillo and Cesaire on the ends is like running into a wall, a bad idea. A lot of their core guys on defense are "old" but the team is in win-now-mode, year after year we have seen the Chargers dominate in the regular season (and the stat book) but seem flustered come playoff time. Philip Rivers is a stud at QB, had a MVP-caliber year in 2010 and is only looking to get better. The most exciting thing is now he has a healthy Antonio Gates and (hopefully) Vincent Jackson for a full season, despite the imminent loss of WR Malcom Floyd, I think this #2 rank passing game will be just fine. Looking for the team to work on their one weakness: the run game, where they rank 15th. The maturation of Ryan Matthews and mixing in of the speedy Darren Sproles should be enough to keep defenses honest and allow Rivers to air it out. When it comes down to it: adding veterans means adding experience, so I'll take the tradeoff and worry about rebuilding after we raise the Lombardi Trophy.

Mike Tannenbaum Rebuilds the New York Jets

The New York Jets have entered a new era, one that should provide stability and results. Led by Head Coach Rex Ryan, Franchise Quarterback Mark Sanchez, and Pro Bowl Cornerback Darrelle Revis, this New York Jets team has its eyes set on the Super Bowl.

The foundation of the team begins in the front office. Owner Woody Johnson and General Manager Mike Tannenbaum have worked together since 2006 to create the team we see on the field today. GM Mike Tannenbaum has used multiple acquisition techniques to construct this roster; beginning with crafty draft day moves to address the team's weaknesses. Most notably, Tannenbaum and the Jets traded up to the fifth pick in the 2009 draft to select USC quarterback Mark Sanchez. Many people criticized this move because the Jets were giving up Kenyon Coleman, Brett Ratliff, Abram Elam and their first and second round picks, but now it's evident that this move could not have worked out better. This season we see a shift from "winning despite Mark Sanchez" to "winning because of Mark Sanchez". Also in the 2009 draft Shonn Greene, RB out of Iowa, was selected in the beginning of the third round. Other running backs such as Beanie Wells, Donald Brown, and Knowshon Moreno were all first round picks in ‘09, which makes Greene look like the steal of the draft because he has out-performed all three of these running backs. In his rookie season he proved he could be the future running back making Thomas Jones and Leon Washington disposable and freeing up cap space. In 2007 and 2008 the Jets used first round picks on CB Darrelle Revis and TE Dustin Keller respectively, and both players have made huge impacts ever since. Keller has been one of Sanchez's favorite and most reliable targets, while Revis has been deemed the NFL's most feared cornerback, shutting down every receiver that dares to visit "Revis Island". The strong O-Line is held together by 2006 first round picks C Nick Mangold and T D'Brickashaw Ferguson. Tannenbaum also made great selections with DBs Kyle Wilson and Dwight Lowrey who are backups on one of the best secondaries in the NFL. And after this week’s Thanksgiving day game against the Bengals, who could forget the versatile Brad Smith, a fourth round pick back in 2006, with two huge touchdowns for the Jets? Brad Smith can catch, throw, run, and return kicks (if only he could kick FGs) and Brian Schottenheimer has multiple plays designed to get their playmaker the ball.

Another aspect that the Jets have utilized is preying upon other teams inability to handle disgruntled players. Tannenbaum has been able to acquire high caliber talent for mid-level draft picks because other teams cannot seem to control their players off the field. In March of 2010, New York traded a 2011 third round pick to the San Diego Chargers for CB Antonio Cromartie. Cromartie was the 19th pick in the first round of the 2006 draft and 2007 was his breakout season. He was an All-Pro and Pro Bowl selection after picking off 10 passes. He showed his play making ability that season as well after recording the longest play in NFL history: a 109 yard missed FG return touchdown and being the only player to have 3 interceptions against Peyton Manning in one game. But off-the-field issues and a poor playoff performance enticed the Chargers to trade him away. This season he has gone back to his true form and is playing like a Pro Bowl CB again, well worth the third round pick the Jets gave up for him. A few months earlier, in October 2009, the Jets traded for another player with legal issues who seemed as if he hasn't giving enough effort, WR Braylon Edwards (#3 pick in the first round of the 2005 draft). Like Cromartie, Edwards had his breakout season in 2007 making the Pro Bowl and finishing second behind Randy Moss in touchdowns. But the following season Edwards only found the end zone three times and lead the NFL in dropped passes. The Browns had a dismal season and as ‘09 rolled around they were getting tired of Braylon Edwards. Prior to trading him Edwards was involved in a bar fight and charged with a misdemeanor, the Browns were glad to part ways with him and obtain Chansi Stuckey, Jason Trusnik, and a third and fifth round pick from the Jets for this "diva" wide receiver. Edwards had a monster 80-yard touchdown catch in the AFC Championship game. This season Edwards has 6 touchdowns in the teams first 11 games and, despite a DUI offense, has stayed on the field for every game thus far. Alongside Braylon Edwards is late season hero Santonio Holmes. Holmes was acquired in April of 2010 from the Pittsburgh Steelers for a mere fifth round pick. Santonio Holmes was a first round pick in 2006 and named Super Bowl XLIII MVP after catching the game winning touchdown with 35 seconds remaining. Holmes was suspended the first four games this season for violating the league's substance abuse policy. But Holmes has 4 TDs the last three weeks including game winning touchdowns in weeks 10 and 11. Look at the return the Jets received for only a fifth round pick, and if you look around the league this season Tannenbaum's trade looks like pure genius. The Miami Dolphins gave up a second round pick for Brandon Marshall and the Minnesota Vikings traded a third round pick for Randy Moss, and both of these guys have been enormous busts, so Holmes for a fifth round pick was by the far the best investment of 2010.

NFL teams are known for signing players to outrageous contracts only to see their investment end in heartbreak, but the Jets have gone down the path of shopping with a purpose to fill needs and get the biggest bang for the buck. It all started in January of 2009 when they secured the man who will control the team. Ravens Defensive Coordinator Rex Ryan signed a four year contract to become Head Coach of the New York Jets. Previously under Eric Mangini the Jets failed to make the playoffs two out of his three seasons and it was clear he was not the right fit for the job. Rex Ryan coached the Ravens defense, which was one of the most feared units in all of football, for ten seasons including a super bowl ring in 2000. Ryan was coveted for many head coaching positions by Baltimore, Miami, and Atlanta but landed in New York. Not only did his persona and legacy come over to the Jets but he even brought along some veteran talent in Bart Scott and Jim Leonhard who both signed multi-year contracts in the off season to continuing playing under Ryan. Rex Ryan has a strong reputation for stressing defense, which factored into Jason Taylor's decision to sign with the Jets in 2010 after seeing how the team's defense transformed. Taylor has been selected to Pro Bowls and All Pro teams numerous times as well as being named Defensive Player of the Year and honored as a member of the NFL 2000s All Decade Team. This adds on to Calvin Pace, the former Arizona Cardinal first round pick, who signed a 6 year deal back in 2008. Also in 2008, Tannenbaum signed RT Damian Woodey to a five year contract to bolster the offensive line. Woodey was a Pro Bowler and 3-time super bowl champion with the New England Patriots. Even with players like Kris Jenkins who is on the IR yet again, but when he has been on the field Jenkins has simply dominated opposing teams and was considered the front runner for Defensive Player of the Year pre-injury in the 2008 season. Hopefully in 2011 Kris Jenkins can return to being that dominant force at nose tackle. Rather than go after one year wonders or unproven players Mike Tannenbaum has given veteran guys long term deals to ensure stability where it matters most.

When we think about the Jets auspicious start atop the AFC elite at 9-2, we give credit to guys like: Rex Ryan for controlling the swirling variables and egos, Mark Sanchez for his growth during his sophomore season, and LaDainian Tomlinson for resurrecting his career. But the man who really deserves the credit for the 2010 New York Jets is General Manager Mike Tannenbaum for his pure genius.

Hottest Team in the NFL: San Diego Chargers

Here are some statistics:

1st in passing yards per game

1st in opponents passing yards per game

4th in opponents rushing yards per game

These numbers alone mean the Chargers have the best passing offense, are the best at defending the past, and are the 4th best team at stopping the run. This doesn't even talk about their rushing attack, which when healthy includes Ryan Matthews, Mike Tolbert, and Darren Sproles. Philip Rivers is the offense MVP this season and isn't even getting the credit he deserves. Rivers is leading the NFL's best passing attack led by TE Antonio Gates and WR Malcom Floyd. In addition the list of weapons is endless. Rivers is throwing to receivers like Buster Davis, Patrick Crayton, Seyi Ajirotutu, and Legedu Naanee. Randy McMichael did a great job filling in for Gates and will be a valuable #2 TE. What is hard to believe is the Chargers and their #1 passing attack is without star WR Vincent Jackson who returns this week against the Colts. With Jackson on Floyd on each side, Gates in the middle, and Sproles out of the backfield defense will need to pick their poison with this offense. Injuries won't even stop this team as players like Crayton, Ajirotutu, and McMichael have proven they can produce when called upon. This rushing offense has been average (ranked 17th) but star rookied RB Ryan Matthews has been injuried but showed signs of making San Diego fans forget about LT. Matthews can be the teams go-to running back with his speed and power. Tolbert has filled in wonderfully and can use his big body to be the 3rd down and goaline back. Sproles cannot be contained on screens and seemingly breaks off at least 1 huge run per game on his speed alone. The Chargers offense is filled with weapons and maintained success behind a strong veteran offensive line. Lineback Stephen Cooper, Shaun Phillips, and Kevin Burnett are racking up the numbers this year in tackles and haven't missed a beat without Pro-Bowler Shawne Merriman. Second year OLB Larry English will also offer containment when he remains healthy and establishes his position down the road and in the playoffs. This secondary is manning the best pass defense in the NFL. Jammer, Gregory, Weddle, and Cason don't give up the big plays and have the ability to take risks knowing their linebacks and D-Line can pressure the opposing QB. After the Colts game their schedule gets pretty easy so they could finish 11-5 on a 9 game winning streak entering the playoffs. We have seen in recent weeks the Jets need luck and big plays to pull out wins and the Patriots have holes in their defense and a sketchy running game. The Colts can't stay healthy leaving Manning with few options. The AFC is strong but most of the elite teams have holes that are drawing huge criticism. The statistics and talent shows it: The San Diego Chargers are the best team in the AFC.