Pioli says there will be a QB competition in KC 02.17.12

Kansas City Chiefs GM Scott Pioli said there will be a quarterback competition in Kansas City this off-season.

So who will compete with Matt Cassel for the job? It could be Kyle Orton, but he is a free agent. It’s unclear if he will be back with the Chiefs.

But it there will be somebody brought in to compete with Cassel.

This could be good for Cassel. Competition generally brings out the best in people; pushes them to get better.

Team-building concept for the Jets is a little overrated 02.17.12

Of course it’s important to team-build.

That will happen for the Jets throughout their off-season program, and in Cortland.

But this idea that they are a divided team, in need of a lot of chemistry work, is overrated.

They have a problem with Santonio Holmes.

If they can somehow fix the issues related to his player, then they should be okay.

But to act like the locker room is rife with problems, is overstating the issues.

Slauson played with torn rotator cuff and labrum 02.16.12

Jets left guard Matt Slauson played the entire 2011 season with a torn rotator cuff and labrum in his left shoulder, according to a report in the Newark Star-Ledger.

He also had an issue with his left biceps.

Slauson had surgery to repair all three injuries right after the 2011 regular season ended.

“I knew something was wrong, but I was like, ‘OK, I’ll keep on playing as long as I can play,’ and I was able to get through it all,” Slauson told Jenny Vrentas of the Star-Ledger. “I felt like I had a fairly successful year personally with it. So I’m really excited about next year without having pain.”

Slauson should be close to 100 percent by August.

Holmes has finally posts for first time on twitter since Valentine request 02.16.12

“Anybody agree that there should be a recall on NBA 2K12?? Why won’t this stupid thing play already,” tweeted Holmes Thursday.

Kate Upton signs with Hardee’s for Paris Hilton-type ads 02.16.12

Remember those commercials from a few years ago with Paris Hilton eating a messy burger in a bikini.

Well the same burger chains behind those ads, Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s, has signed a deal with model Kate Upton, to revise the campaign.

Kate Upton’s sister, Christie, works in the Jets’ marketing department.

Kate Upton is also reportedly dating Jets’ quarterback Mark Sanchez.

Here are Mike Mayock’s top-five rankings for RB/WR/TE 02.16.12

Running Back
1. Trent Richardson, Alabama
2. David Wilson, Virginia Tech
3. Lamar Miller, Miami (Fla.)
4. Doug Martin, Boise State
5. LaMichael James, Oregon

Wide Receiver
1. Justin Blackmon, Oklahoma State
2. Kendall Wright, Baylor
3. Michael Floyd, Notre Dame
4. Rueben Randle, LSU
5. Alshon Jeffery, South Carolina

Tight End
1. Orson Charles, Georgia
2. Coby Fleener, Stanford
3. Dwayne Allen, Clemson
4. Deangelo Peterson, LSU
5. Ladarius Green, Louisiana-Lafayette

Brandon Moore talks about his hips 02.16.12

Jets’ guard Brandon Moore had surgery a year ago on his hips. So how is he doing, a year removed?

“It was a nagging injury,” Moore told newyorkjets.com. “I played a couple of seasons with it. It was definitely something I needed to do to be productive past this year. Coming back to training camp last summer, I was just really starting to run around. That was a time where there was definitely some learning experiences I had to go through. The doctors told me it was like an ACL, to use an example. You feel good that first year, then you feel great the next year after a whole offseason.

“I’m happy I did it. I feel I have a lot more years left.”

Casserly has Jets picking Alabama OLB Courtney Upshaw 02.15.12

Mocks drafts are based on pure speculation, but they are fun to read and analyze.

NFL.com’s Charley Casserly, in his latest mock draft, has the Jets picking Alabama outside linebacker Courtney Upshaw with the 16th pick of the first round.

This pick would make a lot of sense.

The Jets need to improve their pass rush, and Upshaw could do that.

He had 8.5 sacks as a senior. The Eufaula, AL-native, is a thickly-built athlete with a great motor.

If I was Rex Ryan’s PR guy 02.15.12

And I’m not talking about a particular person in the Jets organization.

He doesn’t have his own personal PR guy, if you will.

But if I were advising him, I would have told him to lay low for a few months – let the emotions of the 2011 season die down.

However, Ryan, and his advisers, clearly don’t share this view.

Every time you turn around, he’s being quoted.

Maybe I’m wrong, but I were Rex, who I think is a talented, creative coach, I would have gone into NFL seclusion for a while.

Time heals all wounds.

But if you keep talking about the wounds, you open them up again.

Jets continue to coddle Sanchez 02.15.12

Rex Ryan told reporters today (from Newsday, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, ESPN New York and the Star-Ledger), that Mark Sanchez will be the team’s quarterback.

Ryan did what he always does when talking about Sanchez, he took a question about the quarterback, and turned into an entire team answer, instead of focusing on just the quarterback.

“He does a lot of good things, but are we where we want to be? No. We want to be putting that ring on our finger as world champions,” Ryan said.

Will the Jets have interest in franchise quarterback Peyton Manning if he becomes available?

“Mark’s our guy and we have absolutely no interest in adding any big-name quarterback that might become available,” Ryan told reporters.

So clearly by making the statement – “Mark’s our guy,” Ryan is saying there will be no quarterback competition.

The Jets brass obviously doesn’t agree with people like Damien Woody, LaDainian Tomlinson and some unnamed Jets, who feel they coddle Sanchez and won’t allow him to compete for his job.

Ryan said today that Sanchez is an “ascending” player, but fellow panelist at today’s Long Island event, Boomer Esiason, said on CBS, the quarterback took a step back this year.

Boomer’s position on Sanchez is hard to figure out 02.15.12

According to a Jenny Vrentas’ tweet – “Phil Simms and Boomer Esiason heaping praise on Mark Sanchez on luncheon panel. Rex sitting next to them, listening intently.”

This was at an event on Long Island on Wednesday.

Simms’ position on Sanchez is understandable. The CBS analyst rarely rips people, preferring to travel on the high road.

But Esiason praising Sanchez flies in the face of comments he made during the season.

“If you watched Mark Sanchez the last month of the season, he was like a chihuahua standing on Madison Avenue and 36th Street entering the Midtown Tunnel, eyes bigger than you-know-what, and just so shaky,” Esiason said on WEEI Radio in Boston late in the 2011 season.

Also, during the season, Esiason said on CBS-TV, that Sanchez had taken a step back in 2011.

So the idea that he’s now praising Sanchez, certainly comes as a surprise.

Mark Sanchez is now #1 in the country trending on Yahoo 02.15.12

And it has nothing to do with football.

It’s because of his mercurial tweet to Santonio Holmes, and his dating of a supermodel.

Mark Sanchez has moved up two notches on Yahoo 02.15.12

He is now #2 in people or things trending on Yahoo.

The only thing in front of him is the 8-inch I-Pad.

Mark Sanchez is #4 on who is trending on Yahoo 02.15.12

There are two reasons for this.

First off, he’s dating Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Kate Upton (whose sister works for the Jets).

Secondly, he sent a bizarre tweet to Santonio Holmes.

The first question I have about tweet from Sanchez 02.15.12

Was his account hacked?

Otherwise, he wasn’t thinking clearly.

Woody, Mike and Rex need to listen to what Jericho said 02.14.12

Former Jets wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery, in an interview with the Newark Star-Ledger, had some powerful words about his erstwhile team.

“To be honest, yes, I saw a change,” Cotchery said about the Jets’ culture. “But to say that I could see how things would turn out for them this season, I can’t act as if I knew that. But I just saw a change, and I felt like I wasn’t a part of the future there in that type of atmosphere.”

His gut feelings, about the Jets 2011 locker room, turned out to be dead-on.

Cotchery had a lot more to say in this Star-Ledger article, and it should be a must-read for Jets’ management.

Not only should they read this article, but they should try to re-sign Cotchery, to help fix their dysfunctional locker room.

Pay him, and let him start opposite Santonio Holmes, with Jeremy Kerley and Patrick Turner rotating in.