OTAs continue and there is media access tomorrow. Thomas Jones is back. Leon Washington is not. Then there's the Kerry Rhodes thing. My thoughts boil down to this:
Good News - Thomas Jones' return will deflect from the ongoing clusterf*** at Mark Sanchez's locker.
Bad News - Jones' and Sanchez's lockers are just feet apart.
Good News - Kerry Rhodes' locker is on other side of room
Bad News - Rhodes may avoid locker room and if he doesn't, will (understandably) have nothing to say
Any questions?
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Now On the Football Field Iraq War Veteran Kotwica Never Forgets the Battlefield
When talking recently about assistant special teams coache Ben Kotwica, Rex Ryan said, "I think he's going to be a star in this league. I could see him [as a head coach]."
Kotwica's current role is a far cry from where he was in 2004, part of Operation Iraqi Freedom 2, flying Apache Attack Helicopters in the Iraqi war.
Kotwica graduated from West Point in 1996 and after graduation, he served in several other parts of the world including Korea and Afghanistan before arriving in Iraq. He described his job in succinct terms, "I was an Apache driver. I shot and blew things up."
He and the other pilots were there to provide support to their fellow soldiers on the ground. When those troops were in trouble, that's when Kotwica would step in, doing whatever was necessary to help keep the American soldiers safe.
In the process, he lost members of his unit, people he continues to think about to this day, especially on days like Memorial Day.
Kotwica, who was awarded the prestigious Bronze Star, among other citations, outlined some of the unique challenges that this particular war presents to those fighting it. "It's not a clean, linear battle. It's like flying over Manhattan and you can't tell the good from the bad. I didn't take any satisfaction [in killing people], I don't take the loss of life easily."
Although his primary job was in the air, he witnessed everything from the most mundane to the most horrific, on the ground and over his cockpit radio, which piped in the the most intimate sounds of the battle right into the pilots ears.
"[Nothing] can prepare you for what the reality was on the ground. You see heroism, you see bravery, you see cowardice, you see fear."
Fortunately for Kotwica he has been able to manage the great trauma he experienced and witnessed, and even joked recently that while he does not experience flashbacks from the war, he does occasionally wake up screaming when he dreams about the Jets loss to Seattle last year.
While he chose the Army as his first career, Kotwica, who was a standout linebacker for Army, always knew he wanted to coach. "Growing up, I always looked at the coaches who coached me and said, 'this is something I'd like to do someday.'"
In 2006, having left the Army, that "someday" arrived. Kotwica was coaching at the U.S. Military Academy prep school when his former head coach at Army, Bob Sutton, (then the Jets defenseive coordinator, now linebackers coach) came calling. Sutton and then-head coach Eric Mangini decided to give the young war veteran a chance at his dream job.
"I left the Army because I really, really wanted to do this," he said of coaching. "And an opportunity presented itself. I consider being able to do this a tremendous privilege. I love what I'm doing right now."
However, he wants to make sure people never lose sight of what America's Armed Forces are doing. "You need to thank them for what they do. They put a lot into it and they sacrifice a ton."
Kotwica's current role is a far cry from where he was in 2004, part of Operation Iraqi Freedom 2, flying Apache Attack Helicopters in the Iraqi war.
Kotwica graduated from West Point in 1996 and after graduation, he served in several other parts of the world including Korea and Afghanistan before arriving in Iraq. He described his job in succinct terms, "I was an Apache driver. I shot and blew things up."
He and the other pilots were there to provide support to their fellow soldiers on the ground. When those troops were in trouble, that's when Kotwica would step in, doing whatever was necessary to help keep the American soldiers safe.
In the process, he lost members of his unit, people he continues to think about to this day, especially on days like Memorial Day.
Kotwica, who was awarded the prestigious Bronze Star, among other citations, outlined some of the unique challenges that this particular war presents to those fighting it. "It's not a clean, linear battle. It's like flying over Manhattan and you can't tell the good from the bad. I didn't take any satisfaction [in killing people], I don't take the loss of life easily."
Although his primary job was in the air, he witnessed everything from the most mundane to the most horrific, on the ground and over his cockpit radio, which piped in the the most intimate sounds of the battle right into the pilots ears.
"[Nothing] can prepare you for what the reality was on the ground. You see heroism, you see bravery, you see cowardice, you see fear."
Fortunately for Kotwica he has been able to manage the great trauma he experienced and witnessed, and even joked recently that while he does not experience flashbacks from the war, he does occasionally wake up screaming when he dreams about the Jets loss to Seattle last year.
While he chose the Army as his first career, Kotwica, who was a standout linebacker for Army, always knew he wanted to coach. "Growing up, I always looked at the coaches who coached me and said, 'this is something I'd like to do someday.'"
In 2006, having left the Army, that "someday" arrived. Kotwica was coaching at the U.S. Military Academy prep school when his former head coach at Army, Bob Sutton, (then the Jets defenseive coordinator, now linebackers coach) came calling. Sutton and then-head coach Eric Mangini decided to give the young war veteran a chance at his dream job.
"I left the Army because I really, really wanted to do this," he said of coaching. "And an opportunity presented itself. I consider being able to do this a tremendous privilege. I love what I'm doing right now."
However, he wants to make sure people never lose sight of what America's Armed Forces are doing. "You need to thank them for what they do. They put a lot into it and they sacrifice a ton."
Thursday, May 21, 2009
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Computer issues, hence the late entry today...
Today was the third and final day of Mark Sanchez's first OTAs. (Yes, the rest of the team was there too.) To quote Sanchez, "It was a good day...for the defense." The new QB, working with the twos was all over the place, throwing picks and missing a couple of open guys, for which he was reamed out by Brian Schottenheimer. Schottenheimer's generally a fun and laid-back guy, but watch out when something ticks him off. To Sanchez's credit he seems to roll with it and take everything for how it's intended - to get him better. He also worked closely with Clemens, who was also a little slow out of the gate today.
Rex Ryan described Sanchez's first week as the Good, Bad and the Ugly; Wednesday was Good, Tuesday was Bad and today was Ugly.
It will certainly get better, Sanchez appears to have really solid footwork and we know what kind of arm he has. Now it's just a matter of getting used to the NFL and learning the Jets playbook.
As for the GQ shoot, let's just say it's a lively and ongoing topic of conversation.
I talked to Alan Faneca about Sanchez (the quarterback, not the supermodel) and he pointed out that the adjustment is difficult becaues most of the time, and in Sanchez's case, a quarterback is in his college system for four years so he gets better and better and looks great at the end. Then he gets into the NFL and has to start all over again, learning to not think and working on instinctive reaction.
Not one person I spoke to in the locker room expressed anything other than complete confidence that Sanchez was well on his way to being fully up to speed.
Leon Washington and Thomas Jones were still no-shows. It's understood that Jones will show up at the mandatory camp in June, and if I had to put money on it, my hunch is that Washington will be there too.
The running backs corps took another hit as Shonn Greene pulled a hamstring, so while he rests Danny Woodhead and Jehuu Caulcrick are again getting the lion's share of the work, and looking pretty good.
On the tight end front, Ryan called Bubba Franks a "big-time blocker," comparing him to Ben Coates who went from being a major pass catcher to a serious blocker toward the end of his career. His status is still uncertain. They definitely expect him for training camp - mini-camp is still iffy.
As for the rest of the squad, pretty much business as usual. Guys were in even better moods than normal, most heading out of town for the long weekend - with the exception of Kellen Clemens who is awaiting the birth of his second child, due any day.
Kerry Rhodes wasn't at practice today, but he's Tweeting up a storm, so fear not, all is well there.
Today was the third and final day of Mark Sanchez's first OTAs. (Yes, the rest of the team was there too.) To quote Sanchez, "It was a good day...for the defense." The new QB, working with the twos was all over the place, throwing picks and missing a couple of open guys, for which he was reamed out by Brian Schottenheimer. Schottenheimer's generally a fun and laid-back guy, but watch out when something ticks him off. To Sanchez's credit he seems to roll with it and take everything for how it's intended - to get him better. He also worked closely with Clemens, who was also a little slow out of the gate today.
Rex Ryan described Sanchez's first week as the Good, Bad and the Ugly; Wednesday was Good, Tuesday was Bad and today was Ugly.
It will certainly get better, Sanchez appears to have really solid footwork and we know what kind of arm he has. Now it's just a matter of getting used to the NFL and learning the Jets playbook.
As for the GQ shoot, let's just say it's a lively and ongoing topic of conversation.
I talked to Alan Faneca about Sanchez (the quarterback, not the supermodel) and he pointed out that the adjustment is difficult becaues most of the time, and in Sanchez's case, a quarterback is in his college system for four years so he gets better and better and looks great at the end. Then he gets into the NFL and has to start all over again, learning to not think and working on instinctive reaction.
Not one person I spoke to in the locker room expressed anything other than complete confidence that Sanchez was well on his way to being fully up to speed.
Leon Washington and Thomas Jones were still no-shows. It's understood that Jones will show up at the mandatory camp in June, and if I had to put money on it, my hunch is that Washington will be there too.
The running backs corps took another hit as Shonn Greene pulled a hamstring, so while he rests Danny Woodhead and Jehuu Caulcrick are again getting the lion's share of the work, and looking pretty good.
On the tight end front, Ryan called Bubba Franks a "big-time blocker," comparing him to Ben Coates who went from being a major pass catcher to a serious blocker toward the end of his career. His status is still uncertain. They definitely expect him for training camp - mini-camp is still iffy.
As for the rest of the squad, pretty much business as usual. Guys were in even better moods than normal, most heading out of town for the long weekend - with the exception of Kellen Clemens who is awaiting the birth of his second child, due any day.
Kerry Rhodes wasn't at practice today, but he's Tweeting up a storm, so fear not, all is well there.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Slauson Signed, Others Still TBA
Jets announced today they signed their sixth round pick, offensive lineman Matt Slauson. Now that leaves Shonn Greene and Mark Sanchez needing contracts - and, of course, Leon Washington and Thomas Jones still wanting new ones.
Jones' agent, Drew Rosenhaus tweeted earlier (never in my life did I think I would use a phrase like that to describe how I received information, but I digress) that Jones will be at the Jets mandatory mini-camp next week.
It will be interesting to see if Washington will return or if he will continue to stay away. The fine for missing a mandatory mini-camp would cost somewhere around $7,000 per day for each day missed. From what I've been told, Washington's boycott was a decision that his camp arrived at as a group - including Washington himself.
Jones' agent, Drew Rosenhaus tweeted earlier (never in my life did I think I would use a phrase like that to describe how I received information, but I digress) that Jones will be at the Jets mandatory mini-camp next week.
It will be interesting to see if Washington will return or if he will continue to stay away. The fine for missing a mandatory mini-camp would cost somewhere around $7,000 per day for each day missed. From what I've been told, Washington's boycott was a decision that his camp arrived at as a group - including Washington himself.
Does Sanchez Have a New Friend?
Now that you've all probably had a chance to view Mark Sanchez's pictorial in GQ (http://men.style.com/gq/features/landing?id=content_9297), I'll pass along another little tidbit of info...turns out that Sanchez and Hilary Rhoda may be more than just fellow supermodels.
Conveniently, Rhoda lives in NYC.
Conveniently, Rhoda lives in NYC.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Sanchez Models Swimsuits for GQ's June Issue
You're a 22-year-old star quarterback about to be drafted in the NFL and GQ Magazine comes calling. What're you going to say? No?
The June issue of GQ (online at GQ.com now, on stands in New York and Los Angeles Tuesday, May 19th and nationwide on May 26th) features Jets rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez in a pictorial entitled "Built for the Beach." The California native and USC graduate models swimsuits alongside supermodel Hilary Rhoda.
The shoot was apparently done well before the Draft and therefore before Sanchez knew where he would be playing. However, the Broadway Joe comparisons may now pick up speed a bit...
The June issue of GQ (online at GQ.com now, on stands in New York and Los Angeles Tuesday, May 19th and nationwide on May 26th) features Jets rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez in a pictorial entitled "Built for the Beach." The California native and USC graduate models swimsuits alongside supermodel Hilary Rhoda.
The shoot was apparently done well before the Draft and therefore before Sanchez knew where he would be playing. However, the Broadway Joe comparisons may now pick up speed a bit...
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