Will Braylon start Playin'?

New York Jets land Braylon Edwards

In the wee hours of the morning (read: anything before 10 a.m. is wee for the Foul Weather Fan) on October 7^th, 2009 the New York Football Jets pulled off one of the most rare occurrences in professional football. The Midseason Trade. “Oohs” and “Aahhs” abound, the reaction a little muted due to the long-awaited 49ers signing of the final first round holdout Michael Crabtree, but sure enough a collective air of excitement, anticipation, and uneasiness swept through Jets Nation on an already breezy New York City autumn day.

Chansi Stuckey, Jason Trusnik, and a pick in the 3^rd and 5^th round are the pieces that enticed the Browns to part with one-time Pro-bowler Braylon Edwards. The 3^rd round pick is conditional and if Braylon reaches a set number of catches the pick has the potential to become a 2^nd.  Also expected should be contract discussions and an extension, potentially in the coming weeks. Braylon Edwards is in the final year of his contract and it would be both a surprise and disappointment if the Jets did not intend to lock him up for the next few years. Brett Favre aside, organizations usually do not mortgage their future for one year of gain.

Even though the Jets split ties with four (two this year and two in 2010) total players, you have to believe they saw this as a great time to “buy low”. A disappointing follow-up to his rousing 2007 campaign (80 catches, 1200+ yds, 16 TDs) Braylon has garnered more attention for his off-field escapades than his on-field accolades (65 receptions and 3 TDs in his last 20 games).  Edwards, as recently as this Sunday, the 4^th of October, was involved in an altercation with a friend of NBA star LeBron James where he allegedly struck the man and in the process reiterated disparaging comments he’s made previously about LeBron not being a “hometown guy.” Those remarks in reference to Lebron wearing a New York Yankees hat during the Cleveland Indians 2007 playoff run.  During this 2008 off-season Braylon was seen partying with Donte Stallworth the same night where later that morning Stallworth hit and killed a pedestrian while driving intoxicated in the Miami Beach area. The NFL has been heavy-handed in the fines and suspensions levied in the Roger Goodell era and you have to assume the Jets have assessed the risk in partnering with Edwards.

In more football specific news, according to ESPN, Braylon Edwards shares the league lead for “on-target drops” with Denver Broncos wideout Brandon Marshall with 30 since 2007. This week also marked the first time Edwards did not haul in a single pass in 62 games.

But on the positive side for Jets fan, Edwards career is only 62 games long. So this is the first time in the entirety of Braylon Edwards career that he has gone reception-less in a game.  At 26 years old and after averaging more than 15 yards a reception in his last 2 seasons, it may just be a little too premature to say that his best years are behind him. The legs and breakaway speed still seem to be there. At 6’3 his height won’t be leaving him either. It is also safe to say that his production may have been stifled due to the ineptitude of the Browns offense and coaching staff (in fact that is REALLY safe to say).

Is Big Play Braylon back? Who knows, but at least he's got style...

The Jets will pair Braylon Edwards with budding star receiver Jerricho Cotchery, who has gone over 70 yards receiving in each of the Jets first 4 games this season. The tandem will give the Jets an opportunity to coalesce the possession receiver skills of Cotchery with the big play burst of Edwards to devastating effect. The clear idea behind this is to provide Mark Sanchez with proven threats and playmakers. Cotchery, TE Dustin Keller, and now Edwards will serve to open up the passing game as well as stretch the defense and pull 8 men out of the box so the running game can rekindle the successes they had last year (4^th in the AFC with 125.2 yards per game).

The Browns in the deal have an exciting young speed burner in Chansi Stuckey, 3 years in the league out of Clemson, as well as Special Teams Player of the Week in the NFL for Week 3, Jason Trusnik. This is the second trade the Mangini-manned Browns have orchestrated with Mangini’s former employer this year. In April, the Browns traded the 5^th overall pick in the draft, which net the Jets Mark Sanchez.

The impact of this trade remains to be seen. The Jets are dealing and playing to win now and the Browns are in the midst of a disappointing season that most would not be hard-pressed to label “a rebuilding year” at this point.  One thing to keep an eye on is the development of QB Brett Ratliff (acquired by the Browns in the Sanchez draft pick trade from the Jets) and Chansi Stuckey in the years to come for the Browns. Ratliff is behind both Derrick Anderson and Brady Quinn but has the tools that may lead to future success in the League.

Jets fans can be assured that their organization is doing their best to win and win now. The only real issue now; When LeBron comes to the Knicks in 2010 will Braylon still knock him for wearing a Yankees cap?  The Foul Weather Fan is waiting with baited breath…

Hello Mark Sanchez, Meet Earth

Jets Arrival at Cloud Nine Nixed by Turbulence

No worries ladies, he's still cute, even when dumbfounded

It had to happen at some point.  And wouldn’t you want it to anyway? Sure 16 - 0 sounds nice but when was the last time that won a Super Bowl for anybody? The New York Planes ran out of fuel during their flight towards perfection and the Foul Weather Fan has run out of shame with these ubiquitous fixed wing references. You might just get a “red-eye” from ‘em…ha.

But really, let’s get off the Jet jokes and stick to the flight plan, Er, agenda.

Both the New York Jets and the New Orleans Saints came into the day at 3-0. Both firing on all cylinders. Both excelling at what they’re supposed to excel at. For the Jets the defense had done a remarkable job with overload blitzes to complement the overloaded smack-talk they’re so deft at.  Only surrendering 2 offensive touchdowns in 3 games. The Saints on the other hand have been stuffing the scorecards with Drew Brees spearheading the NFL’s most prolific offense, leading the league in points and yards per game.

An added bonus for both teams has been the performance on the other side of the ball. Mark Sanchez, although far from careful with his ball handling, hadn’t cost the Jets a game and in fact his play has routinely put them in place to win a few (3 to be exact).  As for the Saints` their defense had done enough to keep opposing offenses at bay and in fact a Brian Moorman TD pass is all that light the Jumbotron for the, albeit lethargic, Bills in week 3.

But as that Sir Isaac Newton guy said, “For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction and there just ain’t no way both teams can leave 4-0!” That’s pretty much verbatim, I believe. He wasn’t quite a master of the double negatives…

In the eerie fluorescent luminescence of the Big Dome Down by The Bayou the Jets sent the opening kickoff tumbling towards Courtney Roby and with that, the tale of two-half’s began. This may destroy any hopes readers had of light foreshadowing, but the Saints won both, sorry.

As any avid sports fans will know, there are a whole host of pre/post-game “Dos and Don’ts” slogans that are preached by Coaches, ESPN personalities, and self-indulgent bloggers. “Defense wins championships,” “Establish the run,” “Blogging about your sports team makes said team better!” In this game though, a combination of two reared their ugly heads. “You can’t commit turnovers” and “You must manage the clock.”

If you had told the Foul Weather Fan that the Jets could hold Drew Brees to under 200 yards through the air and 0 TD’s through the first half, he would be thrilled, but to do it for an entire game? Chalk up the win and let’s scheme to stuff the Wildcat under the Monday Night lights next week. But to no avail. To use another cliché that is so popular amongst the analysts and so despised amongst anyone who fashions him or herself a wordsmith, “The best defense is a good offense.” And yessir when your defense is quite literally putting up points like a high-powered offense, there’s a good chance you’ll find yourself in a position to win more. Darren Sharper stepped in front of a TD earmarked for Dustin Keller to pick-6 Mark Sanchez for a 99-yard return. (Note: Mark Sanchez is now 2-for-2 on INTs for TDs and 15-yard personal fouls for hitting defensive players low during the return. At least he’s…consistent?) Later in the 1^st half, after an inspiring Jets goalline stand, on the first play from scrimmage Mark mistook the ringing in his ears that was his “internal ‘GET RID OF THE BALL!’ clock” for a little birdie saying “Continue to hold onto the ball in your own endzone, this feels like a good idea, let’s ride this wave out.” Needless to say, a strip-sack and fumble recovery paved the way to a 17 - 0 start for New Orleans.  Ball control: absent in the first half. Check.

With the second half though, came great hope for the Gang Green faithful.  A rare hitting-of-the-hole and a glimmer of 2008’s running abilities later and Thomas Jones (much to the surprise of the Foul Weather Fan and probably to Thomas, himself) found himself in the endzone.  But as with any great hope looms the opportunity for dashed expectations, and the latter the Jets held in great supply this Sunday.

In short, the Saints tacked on another 7 and the score for the day was settled at 24-10. But more fully the Jets crashed and burned on the next 5 series (3 offensive possessions for NO and 2 offensive possessions for NYJ) following the Thomas Jones TD.  The 5 series proceeded as such:

NO: 7-play drive. Time of Possession: 3:56

NYJ: 3-and-out. T.O.P.: 1:22

NO: 5-play drive. T.O.P. 2:15

NYJ: 3-and-out. T.O.P.: 1:43

NO: 11-play drive. T.O.P.: 6:49. Capped with a Pierre Thomas TD

The Jets inability to snag a first down late in the 3^rd quarter and early in the 4^th ultimately was their undoing.  Rex Ryan’s D was stuck on the field for a total of 13 minutes during a16 minute stretch and this put them in a position to finally be broken. After stuffing the Saints on 2 previous 4^th Down attempts the 3^rd time proved the charm as a Kris Jenkins penalty on 4^th and 1 gave the Saints a fresh set of downs and the opening they needed.  Soon after, New Orleans completed the 74-yard drive with a score from Pierre Thomas. Clock management: absent in the second half. Check.

All in all the New York Jets had a rough day but with the trials and tribulations comes an opportunity to learn about the team and their makeup.  Mark Sanchez’s 4 turnovers (3 INTs, 1 Fumble Lost) proves he’s human and Rex can’t sack every quarterback game-in and game-out (0 Sacks, I’m sure you guessed that though), but those withstanding, the Jets still have some fight in ‘em. Even with the two major “Don’ts” faux pas and a small sampling of errs along the way the Planes still found themselves with an opportunity to win a ball game and that’s an encouraging sign for any supporter.  It seems as though the Jets may be poised to strike next Monday Night against the Dolphins.

Hopefully it’s not a bird strike though, I hear that’s not too good for Jets…or really the birds for that matter.