A View From Up Top | Preseason Preview

I’ve got to say, it’s great to be back, writing for the Jets Fan Club of Tampa Bay Blog! I was looking for a good place to watch the Jets/Giants game on Long Island the other night, but all I could find on Google was information about Tampa! “How annoying,” I thought. J Anyway, let’s do this, shall we?

I want to talk about the preseason so far.

So I have a few thoughts here; and they’re conveniently bulleted out for you below:

• The 250-lb alligator in the room.
  It was bittersweet surprise to find a vast majority of Jets fans in New York are skeptical and not immediately buying into Tebowmania. It’s actually pretty split up here.On one hand, you have the fans who are Sanchez backers no matter what. They’re unimpressed, think this is Mark’s year and don’t wanna tawk about it anymoah. On the other hand, you have the hundreds, maybe thousands of Florida Gators who currently live in Manhattan, who can’t help themselves from becoming believers in the second coming of Namath. (HA! How’s that for QB controversy?) On the third hand – we’ll call it a foot – you have the school of thought that says “Mark is the Starter. Tebow is the backup. Until that changes, I back Mark.” I fall into this category, and dabble in the first one every now and then.

  And then there’s the rest of NY, that – in true form – just likes to be difficult and spark a heated debate. They say things like “Heyyyy, what do you think of Tebow?” or “Sanchez sucks.” Or “Uhhh like, the Jets aren’t even going to be 8 & 8 this year.” Ugh! It’s worse up here than it was in Tampa! Listen (or in this case read), I am a true believer that Tony Sparano is NOT an idiot. There’s a plan. There’s always a plan. Tim Tebow will be utilized how and when the coaches see fit. And that time is not now. Not in pre-season….Which brings me to my next thought.

• SERIOUSLY?! You’re jumping ship already?
  0-2 in the pre-season. You know what that means? Nothing. You know what I think of? That year when Indy should have gone undefeated…Take a sec…Google it. Ohhhhhhh. 0-4 I believe.You think that maybe NOT showing their entire hand to their competitors in games that didn’t matter factored into that? I think yes. I’m confident that the Jets are employing a similar tactic. What they’re doing now is stringing together a group of plays that may or may not score. But they’re putting them on the field in real-time, with a real defense who isn’t afraid to hurt one of them.

  So they’re not scoring. Have you EVER seen Sanchez so calm in a press conference after a loss? So secretive? They’re fine. They’ll be fine and when the Bills come to town on 9/9, we’ll see our real JETS. Or, at least km.’s what I keep telling myself J

• Wayne Hunter needs to go.Any objections? I didn’t think so. 
• Defense. Whoooweee. Scary.
  I’m loving LaRon Landry. Fearful for Eric Smith’s health. Very worried about pass rush – what else is new. However, I was relatively impressed with the run defense the other night. I’ll take a couple of good, hard tackles from Bart Scott any day.But we have got to get some speed and power on the end-around. The Jets cannot continue to give Quarterbacks so much time in the pocket. Hit them, and hit them hard. Make them think twice about stepping up next time. Where do we find that guy? If we can’t find him, we need to start looking into some sneaky business. Hell, throw Tim Tebow out there! Wait a second…..
• Apparently Santonio Holmes is hurt.
  Yeah, and the Bills are going to win the Super Bowl. Holmes isn’t hurt. Not football hurt at least. I’m pretty sure he slacked off a bit in Africa this summer, and is now not camp-ready. At least not Sparano-Camp. Can we take a moment to praise Namath again that Schottenheimer is gone?!?! WOO HOOOOOO!!! Tone’s ‘ailment’ is just another testament to how much Schotty was NOT good at his job. Additionally – can we please get a bit more depth? Mike T – please go sign Plax so we can all breathe. 
• Things I’m excited about:
• The Zip on Sanchez’s throws
• Tebow on Special Teams
•  “This is my Huddle”
•  “What Wildcat?”
• Bilal Powell 
• Things that worry me:
• Wayne Hunter
• 12 sacks in 2 games
• Missing out on P’s wings
• Possible mutiny by fans…and Jockey
• New Nike line of apparel (more to come on this soon)

On another note, major congratulations to Rex Ryan on his weight loss! How impressive – I mean, do we not remember the ‘God Damn Snacks’ from Hard Knocks a couple of years ago? Kudos, Sexy Rexy!

Man! It’s good to be back! Please let me know your thoughts by leaving comments, topics for discussion and overall thoughts! And if you’re up North for a weekend, let me know! Let’s grab a beer and wings over a tv J

Until next time…