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Can you imagine the Jets’ defense having to face Peyton Manning and Tom Brady twice a year, over the next two or three years? Wow, would that be difficult.
This is another reason the Jets have to go after Manning.
How on earth are the Jets going to have a shot at the division title, with two of the top five quarterbacks of all time in their division?
This is a quarterback-driven league, and the Jets would be lagging way behind in their own division at quarterback, with two of the three other teams.
While Miami has more cash than the Jets, the Jets have one particular advantage over Miami – they don’t have a rookie head coach and rookie defensive coordinator.
Why would Manning want to go to a team, with people in those two key positions, learning on the job?
And not only is Joe Philbin a rookie head coach, he was an offensive coordinator in Green Bay who didn’t call the plays – he just had the title.
And the Dolphins also went with a defensive coordinator, Kevin Coyle, who hasn’t done that job before. He was the long-time secondary coach in Cincinnati.
The philosophy Coyle is bringing to Miami doesn’t fit their personnel.
Over the last four years, the Dolphins have done a nice job of building a 3-4 defense, drafting and signing players that fit front.
And now Coyle is blowing that up, and putting in a 4-3. Miami probably should have hired a defensive coordinator with a 3-4 philosophy.
We all know how ugly the first year or two of this transition can be. Remember when Eric Mangini was hired by the Jets, and put in the 3-4, forcing Jonathan Vilma and Dwayne Robertson to play in a front that didn’t fit their skillset? The was ugly for a while.
The Dolphins defense could be a mess this year, with a bunch of players out of position.
So why would Manning want to take a chance, playing for a coaching staff with so many question marks?
Nobody knows if Philbin and Coyle will be any good at their new jobs.
In Rex Ryan, the Jets have a head coach entering his fourth year, and also a veteran defensive coordinator (Rex), who oversees that side of the ball. With Mike Westhoff the special teams stay intact (Dolphins did retain their special teams coach.)
On offense, we will see what happens with Tony Sparano, but like the Dolphins the Jets have the flexibility to put in exactly what Manning wants, since they haven’t started to teach the players a new playbook yet.
From a coaching standpoint, I think the Jets clearly have an experience edge over Miami, and for a 36-year-old quarterback, that is important . . .
One other Manning note, we keep hearing people say, “Manning wouldn’t want to play in the same market as his brother.” According to a league source close to the Manning camp, this isn’t a factor at all.
I’m not saying this means Peyton will sign with the Jets, but just that this isn’t a factor that would turn him away . . .
This just in, according to an industry source, we hear that Jenny Vrentas (Newark Star-Ledger) is on the brink of joining the NFL Network (and NFL.com) as a reporter based in Pittsburgh, barring a last second change of heart.
She has been covering the Jets on the beat the last two years.
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