There hasn’t been a whole lot to say since the almighty Jets trounced the Buffalo Bills in the new Meadowlands stadium a month ago.  They have been beaten by two teams significantly better than them, and they have lost arguably their two best players.  When I say arguably, there is no argument about Darrelle Revis.  This Rex Ryan defense was built around him, leaving us with a defensive squad more shambled than Harold and Kumar trying to find White Castle.   What I will argue, is that Santonio Holmes, our “best” offensive weapon, will be missed.

I can’t honestly say I ever liked the signing of Holmes.  A guy with a long track record of trouble who was basically kicked off the Steelers team.  Maybe the Jets should have taken that as a hint.  If he is so good, and the Steelers are so successful, why would they push him out the door?  More importantly why would WE be the team that signs him? Well there’s many answers to that question but we’ll leave it be (cough cough shitty management).

Aside from his struggles off the field, let’s look at what Holmes has done on the field.  I call his performance on the field a complete fraud.  This guy has made a career off his “tools” and one catch.  It just so happened to be a catch significant enough to fit the bill. His game winning touchdown grab in Super Bowl XLIII was no doubt epic.  He displayed great route running, great hands, and exceptional body control to haul in the toe scraping back corner catch with little time left on the clock.

Good for him.  David Tyree made just as great a catch and he’s no where near a starting NFL roster.  Mario Manningham can even join in on this conversation.  He also packed his bags and left the Giants after the fact.  What I am trying to say is you can’t just give a guy a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract based off one play.  Especially a proven locker room cancer like Holmes.

Not sold? Tell me one season Holmes had 100 catches?  Don’t worry I’ll wait.  In fact, only one time in his career did Holmes exceed the 1,000 yard mark.  It just so happened that was his contract year, go figure.  Last year Holmes tied a career high with eight touchdown receptions.   These numbers are far from what any team would expect from their “number one” guy.  In fact, some scrawny white guy on the Dolphins, Brian Hartline, looks like a lock to haul in over 100 passes this season from his Rookie Quarterback.

What I am trying to get at with my Hartline plug is Wide Receivers are a dime a dozen. There are 100’s of Wide Receivers in the NFL, and they all have skills.  You can find hungry out to prove themselves Wide Outs at a bargain in this league, dare I mention Victor Cruz?

Victor Cruz was nothing but a preseason legend before finally getting his big break last year.  Now he is feared as on the best Wide Receivers in the NFL.  The Jets need to spend some time and money developing young guys, with positive attitudes.  Spend your money on the Offensive and Defensive line, because for the love of god, they are terrible.

Besides his lack of production, and all around effort, Holmes has been detrimental to the development of Sanchez.  His negative attitude reflects directly on our young Quarterback.  Let me re-trace here, I am in no way, shape, or form defending Mark Sanchez.  He is terrible.  Holmes, however, has been of no help getting Sanchez to where he needs to be.    Do you think Holmes is in the huddle saying, “Come on Mark, You can do it!”  I laugh just reading that.  You better believe Holmes is in there telling Sanchez and everyone else on the Offense that he sucks, and the only way to win is to get him, Holmes, the ball.  Now, that is just a hunch, there is no backing to that last statement, but come on people, look at this guy.  He gave up on the last game of the season last year.

As the Jets play host the undefeated Houston Texans this week on Monday Night Football, the outcome looks bleak to say the least.  With Holmes out, maybe this Offense can find some unity.  Maybe they can put their noses to the ground and bust their asses and make something positive happen.

Sticking with the subject of Houston, look at the adversity they had to over come last year.  They lost their starting Quarterback, a top Wide Receiver, their best pass rusher, and they still won their division and made the playoffs.  The roster depth those guys have this year is insane.  They are primed to make a run deep into the playoffs and possibly the Super Bowl.  This year the Jets have an opportunity themselves to start building some roster depth.  Everyone is going to have to pitch in on Offense, and somebody, Kyle Wilson, will have to step up on defense.

If Wilson can step in and be successful this year, imagine what our team will have next year with Revis back.  If Kerley can become a big time play maker, and Stephen Hill grows hands, imagine the weapons we will have on Offense next year.  The adversity the Jets face this year, should go a long way in getting them back on track for success in the future.

We may be in for a long night tonight, but it is still Jets football, and we can all respect and love that.  Even if we do what we are supposed to and lose, the Jets are only one game out of first with a cotton soft schedule the rest of the way.  Anything is possible, and we should all be excited to sit back and see who steps up for this team.

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Feel free to leave a comment.  I would love to hear what you have to say about the Jets or the loss of Holmes ( I was pretty rough on him, was it deserving?)