Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.
The Redskins stormed out of the gate in Jim Zorn's first season as head coach, running their record to 6-2 at the halfway point. The second half of the season, unfortunately, was perfectly symmetrical -- they went 2-6 to finish 8-8.
They could have won three of those games in best-case scenarios, but the best teams come through instead of talking about what could have been. The reality is that the Redskins only played a half-season in '08.
We're two days into this thing and Jets fans still seem pretty psyched about landing former Steelers guard Alan Faneca.
Sure, New York might've paid a premium for one of the few competent offensive linemen in free agency (five-year, $40 million, $21 million in guarantees), but ultimately, it's probably worth it.
As FanHouse's Tom Mantzouranis wrote on Friday, "On top of his toughness and tenacity, traits the Jets sorely lacked last year, Faneca will do an awful lot for the Jets' youth. On the left side, Faneca will reside between tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson and center Nick Mangold, both third-year players."
Most definitely. But here's the thing: was it really such a good idea to tie up so much money in a 31-year-old player? The offensive line mess is the Jets own doing -- they ran Pete Kendall out of town last off-season, and his departure indirectly led to the Faneca signing.
The Jets noticeably lacked guard Pete Kendall last year. Getting that talent back at guard was a priority this offseason, and with so many young faces on the line a veteran would serve far more good than a rookie. So the soon-to-be signing of Alan Faneca, the best offensive lineman on the market, is cause for Jets fans to celebrate.
Faneca's deal -- believed to be four years for $32 million with $23 million in guaranteed cash -- is a pretty good bargain considering the rising costs of mediocre guards, and the Jets will get more value even after Faneca is gone.
On top of his toughness and tenacity, traits the Jets sorely lacked last year, Faneca will do an awful lot for the Jets' youth. On the left side, Faneca will reside between tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson and center Nick Mangold, both third-year players. The duo will probably learn quite a bit from Faneca while he plays out the tail end of an excellent career. And in the meantime, that's a pretty nice left side to trot out.
This is a perfect fit for both sides, and something that will make between-the-tackles runner Thomas Jones a little happier.
NFL Offseason Roadmap is a series focused on the needs of NFL teams as they begin the offseason.
The offseason roadmap for the New York Jets isn't hard to follow. They need to get better, pretty much everywhere. Some areas have more urgent needs than others. A failure to upgrade them would doom the team to a 2008 as dark as 2007 while others require more modest improvements that will make the team a more potent one.
1.Offensive Line – The problems with this unit started in training camp when the team failed to settle a squabble with Pete Kendall and traded him to the Redskins. The loss of their most experienced blocker threw the line into disarray. Adrian Clarke, his replacement, was awful and offered no help to the running game or the pass blocking. Anthony Clement, the right tackle, was almost as poor and the Jets need to upgrade the talent at each position.
The NFL FanHouse crew loves what we do. AOL pays us handsomelyat all to watch football games we'd mostly be watching anyway. It's a pretty great job. But let's be honest: not every game is fun to watch (Bills 13, Jets 3 -- I'm looking at you). Some of them are more painful than a Shannon Sharpe monologue. And we have to watch every one of them. So with the GAME OF THE CENTURY having maybe possibly decided who the best team in the NFL is, we put our heads together and tried to figure out the worst. Feel free to cast your vote in the comments.
Tom Mantzouranis: Where to begin discussing the worst team in the NFL? There are two winless squads and a number of others who appear lost. I have to watch two of the most offensive -- the Rams and 49ers -- on a weekly basis, and the decision between those two is a tough one. By appearances, they're the same team -- overwhelmed coach, terrible offensive line, injured backfield, lack of vertical game, decent defenses made to look worse by their ineffective offenses, imploding morale.
The 49ers have two more wins than the Rams, but they also haven't had to face quite the adversity the Rams have. Things have gone freakishly bad for St. Louis, particularly on the offensive line, where three guys out for the year, six of the nine on the opening day roster have missed time, and no one is playing in the original spot they began the season at. They've also missed both starting corners, a handful of receivers, and a starting linebacker at points this season, not to mention only getting one quarter out of Steven Jackson in the last five weeks. I think the Red Sox have outscored both in the last two months. That being said, the Rams rank above the 49ers in almost every relevant offensive and defensive category despite the injuries. Granted, there's not a lot of separation between the two, but the Rams prevail nonetheless. The 49ers might be the worst team in the league.
Welcome to another successful installment of Five Questions with an Enemy Blogger, where each week, via email, I will be exchanging hot questions and [sometimes] answers with a rival blogger about their team and the upcoming matchup.
This week I sat down with Brian Bassett of The Jets Blog, an independent column that covers the New York Jets.
Dan Benton: "As a Jets fan, do you feel good in knowing that no cheating will be taking place this weekend against Buffalo?"
Brian Bassett: "No cheating? I don't know if I would go that far ... especially after the drops at the end of the Baltimore game a few weeks ago -- I wouldn't be mad if Justin McCareins had some Stickum on his gloves or something. Let's just say that I am glad the sordidness that followed the league around the past few weeks is over. Let's also just say that I am not naive enough to think that teams' trying to get an edge doesn't happen all the time."
Taking into account that it's the preseason, many of the players sitting on the sidelines tonight would normally be on the field if it was a meaningful game. With that said, I'm sure most fans would like to know who they should expect to see this evening. For that reason, I've done by best to create an accurate injury report -- official reports are not posted until week one of the regular season.
Tonight, the New York Jets open their preseason in a 7:00 pm (est.) showdown with the Michael Vick-less Atlanta Falcons at Giants Stadium.
Spotlight:
Unfortunately, the biggest story surrounding the New York Jets tonight won't be about what happens on the field; it will be about what hasn't happened off of it. The team and first-round selection Darrelle Revis have been unable to agree to a deal and he, along with the Raiders' JaMarcus Russell, remain the only two rookies without a contract.
Taking into account that it's the preseason, many of the players sitting on the sidelines tonight would normally be on the field if it was a meaningful game. With that said, I'm sure most fans would like to know who they should expect to see this evening. For that reason, I've done by best to create an accurate injury report -- official reports are not posted until week one of the regular season.
If you notice anyone missing on this injury report, I encourage you to let me know. Leave me a comment or shoot me an e-mail and I will promptly update the report. Again, this is strictly for the fans (see: yours truly) who want to know what players will be on the field tonight.
Pete Kendall is no longer the only Jet unhappy with the team. Like Kendall, guard Brandon Moore has suddenly become upset with his contract and actually sat out of Wednesday's practice in protest.
When questioned, Moore denied the protest report and indicated that he had missed practice due to "personal reasons," but would not be more specific. He eventually became tight-lipped when reporters brought up his contract.
"I wasn't here for personal reasons," Moore said.
"I'm not discussing my contract."
Although there is no indication that Kendall had anything to do with this sudden protest, would it honestly surprise anyone if he influenced it? He probably believes that there are strength in numbers and who better to recruit than his fellow offensive lineman?
Moore is in the fourth-year of a six-year, $8 million contract and he's scheduled to make $800,000 this season.
Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.
We're two days into this thing and Jets fans still seem pretty psyched about landing former Steelers guard 
The Jets noticeably lacked guard 
Welcome to another successful installment of Five Questions with an Enemy Blogger, where each week, via email, I will be exchanging hot questions and [sometimes] answers with a rival blogger about their team and the upcoming matchup.
Taking into account that it's the preseason, many of the players sitting on the sidelines tonight would normally be on the field if it was a meaningful game. With that said, I'm sure most fans would like to know who they should expect to see this evening. For that reason, I've done by best to create an accurate injury report -- official reports are not posted until week one of the regular season.
Tonight, the New York Jets open their preseason in a 7:00 pm (est.) showdown with the 
Taking into account that it's the preseason, many of the players sitting on the sidelines tonight would normally be on the field if it was a meaningful game. With that said, I'm sure most fans would like to know who they should expect to see this evening. For that reason, I've done by best to create an accurate injury report -- official reports are not posted until week one of the regular season.
