In the latest edition of Dan’s Website Whispers, he takes a look at the Erik Ainge situation and an interesting angle regarding the lockout . . .
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ESPN football insider Bill Barnwell praised Rex Ryan in a column just posted on the network’s website.
“In a league beset by parity, great head coaches stand out by building a scheme and cultivating a team chemistry that matches the makeup of their roster, Barnwell wrote. “No coach in the league has done that better recently than the Jets’ Rex Ryan.
“Ryan has built a brilliant defensive scheme almost solely around his star cornerback,” Barnwell continued later on. “Because he depends on Revis to take away one star player or one side of the field, the Jets get more players free to clog running lanes, rush the passer or help out the other cornerbacks over the top. On passing plays, it leaves quarterbacks with one easy, incredibly counterintuitive read: Throw at the opposing team’s best player.”
Barnwell closed with – “There’s a reason 21 percent of players around the league listed Ryan as the coach they would most like to play for in a recent Sports Illustrated poll; he simply gets it.”
Federal Judge Paul Crotty of the Southern District of New York issued an injunction requiring all NFL teams and owners to stop seeking to reduce the worker compensation benefits due to former NFL players as a result of injuries they suffered while playing the game.
Here are some of the Jets pre-draft prospect visits according to Jenny Vrentas of the Star-Ledger -
Louisville RB Bilal Powell
Georgia DE/LB Justin Houston
Purdue DE Ryan Kerrigan
Stanford DT Siona Fua
Temple LB Peanut Joseph
Slippery Rock C Brandon Fusco (according his online draft journal)
Baylor NT Phil Taylor (per National Football Post)
Hampton DL Kenrick Ellis (per the New York Daily News)
One of the top 3-4 end prospects in the draft is Ohio State’s Cameron Heyward, the son of the late Ironhead Heyward. Here is a chat with the Buckeye, who could be a good fit for the Jets . . .
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Draft analyst Chad Reuter, of NFL Draft Scout (CBS), throws out this trade scenario for the Jets on Day One of the draft -
“New York Jets (#30) trade up for OLB Jabaal Sheard
“Potential trade partner: Philadelphia (#23) or Baltimore (#26)
Possible price: Third-round pick, possibly with a late-round sweetener
“Sheard’s stock is on the rise, and he would fit in some 4-3 schemes in addition to projecting to a strong, relentless 3-4 rush linebacker. If fellow 3-4 teams New England (#17) and San Diego (#18) don’t snap him up, Rex Ryan and company would trade a third-round selection along with another late pick to make sure the Saints (#24), Falcons (#27) or Patriots (#28) don’t put Sheard’s name on their cards.”
SNY Jets analyst Adam Schein is fed up with Roger Goodell and the NFL owners in regards to their handling of the CBA talks.
“Roger Goodell’s manipulation has driven both sides further apart,” Schein said on FoxSports.com. “Enough with the spin, enough with the nonsense. Roger Goodell and the 32 owners, I’ve had about enough. How about the letter Goodell sent to the ballplayers? What was he trying to do? What was he trying to accomplish? If anything, he unified this group. They were angry. They called him a liar. How about Goodell with this nonsense, we wanted to continue negotiations, we wanted mediation. I interviewed Steelers owner Art Rooney, on the Monday after the mediation ended, and asked him if the NFL asked mediator George Cohen for more time and he said, ‘absolutely not.’
“Enough is enough. You have De Smith sending a letter to the NFL saying we are willing to get back to the table and the NFL just flat out rejects it.
“I have sided with the players and the players association since the beginning, but Goodell and this spin saying our last proposal wasn’t our final proposal. How about this? The NFL owners actually show up for the full week of mediation in DC -this nonsense, this PR campaign of the NFL owners, it frankly makes me sick.”
Dan checks in with some more Jets’ Whispers. a variety of notes on a number of players, including a safety the Jets like for later in the draft . . .
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ESPN’s Todd McShay is a big fan of UNC running back Johnny White.
“Maybe one of the most underrated players, regardless of position, in this year’s draft is Johnny White from North Carolina,” McShay said. “He played different positions early in this career. He was a defensive back, they moved him over as wide receiver. They tinkered with him. Right around 5-10, little over 200 pounds. He’s your average NFL back size basically. He has quickness. He has that lateral agility and the ability to make the sharp cuts and stick his foot in the dirt and explode. He has tremendous ball skills.”
Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti thinks the NFL’s labor situation is an embarrassment.
“I’m embarrassed that we’re fighting over money, just like you would be embarrassed if you and your wife were fighting over money in public,” Bisciotti said. “It’s an embarrassing topic to have to get into. Unfortunately, it is a public forum running a professional football team. I’m very concerned.
“I don’t think anybody is going to win the war of public opinion. And I don’t think it’s going to matter in the long run. I think fighting turns off the fans regardless of who is in the right or wrong. I don’t want to curry favor with my fans.”