Fortunately, Mangenius is smart enough to divert all the attention to Seattle security and his irrational fear of snowballs and their ability to blind humans.
"There were a lot of people that were hit with snowballs," Mangini said. "All you need is someone to get hit in the eye. It's just not a safe situation. It was disappointing to see that, but that stuff, we couldn't control that. How we can control it is how we respond."
"I thought there could have been more done to prevent what was happening in terms of the safety issues from the snowballs coming down," Mangini said. "But that being said, it doesn't justify us getting involved in any context."
Now, aside the fact that everyone and their brother has taken a snowball to the domepiece at least once or twice in their lives (and yet ... can still see out of both eyes), how about we just focus on the Jets for a minute. Clearly this is a team that lacks discipline (Ellis) and that hasn't been "coached up" properly, considering the nature of the AFC East and the firm command they had on the division just a month or so ago.
There are issues with fans throwing snowballs onto the field, but as Mike Holmgren pointed out, it's a "novelty" in Seattle -- if the Jets had taken care of business and won the game, we wouldn't even be talking about this.
And now Ellis, predictably, is paying the price, according to Adam Schefter on the NFL Network (via PFT).
The decision of Jets defensive end Shaun Ellis to hoist a large snowball/snow clump into the stands at Qwest Field on Sunday has resulted in the NFL throwing right back at him a $10,000 fine.
[...]Schefter reports that players are told before the start of each season that any contact with fans is prohibited, where such contact presents crowd-control issues and/or the risk of injury.
It's not surprising at all -- you just can't attack fans and expect not to a) get caught on camera and b) get fined. Honestly, I'm kind of surprised that it's "only" 10 grand, considering the way that Roger Goodell likes to lay down the law against violators of his policies.
Laugh if you want, but seriously, what Ellis did was potentially damaging to a fan's health, and you better believe that if someone had gotten hurt and the league got sued, $10,000 would be considered "getting off light."
There is always a ton of rain in Seattle. Not so much snow, though. However, in Mike Holmgren's final home game as Seahawks head coach, Mother Nature decided to get a little funky and pelt the 'Hawks homefield with a ton of the white powder. Seahawks fans responded accordingly, pelting everyone in site with snowballs. Including the Jets as they did the George Michael walk off the field. Shaun Ellis, Jets team captain, didn't take this so well, slinging snowballs back at the fans.(Gracias, TJB.)
Holmgren didn't seem to mind the snowballs nearly as much, but that's probably because he didn't take any "direct hits" like Ellis and the Jets. And because he didn't just lose to a three-win team, despite having to coach those unlucky losers all season.
Every Play Counts is Michael David Smith's weekly look at one specific player or one aspect of a team on every single play of the previous game.
In an installment of Every Play Counts last month, I wrote about how the New York Jets' defense had dominated the Buffalo Bills' offense, and specifically how defensive tackle Kris Jenkins was a practically unstoppable presence in the middle of the line. The Bills finished that November game with just 30 rushing yards on 17 carries, and the Jets' defense looked like it could lead them deep into the postseason.
And then in Sunday's Jets-Bills rematch, Buffalo ran 32 times for 187 yards and two touchdowns, and the Jets' defense looked like it had no business playing in the postseason at all. Although Bills quarterback J.P. Losman ended up giving the game to the Jets with five turnovers, including three in the final 2:06 of the fourth quarter, the Jets' run defense was a mess.
So what's gone wrong? And can the Jets count on their run defense to lead them in the playoffs? We explore in this week's installment of Every Play Counts.
There are two weeks remaining in the regular season and we've already seen Mike Nolan, Lane Kiffin and Scott Linehan lose their jobs for varying degrees of incompetence. But more heads will roll in the coming months, and some bone-headed decisions made yesterday will go a long way in cementing the fate of the less fortunate.
Dick Jauron, Buffalo Bills: A crappy economy might be the only thing to save Jauron's job, because after jumping out to a 4-1 start, the Bills are now sitting at 6-8. And the last two minutes of yesterday's game against the Jets was a microcosm of their season.
With Buffalo leading 27-24 and trying to run the last 240 or so seconds off the clock, somebody thought it would be great fun to let J.P. Losman throw a pass on second-and-five from the Bills' 27. Predictably, he fumbled, the Jets' Shaun Ellis recovered, and 11 yards later, that's your ball game.
Right after J.P. Losman fumbled away a Bills win with just over two minutes left in a game they were winning 27-24, FanHouser Shane Bacon emailed to remind that a cardinal rule of quarterbacking was to throw the ball away when you've got nothing.
It was a sound point. Losman was scrambling when Abram Elam hit him from behind, causing a fumble that Shaun Ellis returned for a touchdown, but there was another rule that loomed large. Somewhere in the big book of coaching rules, it states that one shall not let J.P. Losman try to win a game unless there's absolutely no other hope.
Dick Jauron will likely have plenty of time to review that rule when the Bills fire him in a couple of weeks. His team finally showed up to play, no small thing given their recent efforts, on Sunday, but Jauron removed all hope of a win by calling for a pass. It was second-and-five, the two minute warning would follow the play and the Jets had just two timeouts. And the Bills had run for 187 yards to that point in the game!
To his credit, Jauron took full responsibility after the game.
"Clearly the responsibility for the last call, the play-action pass, that was mine,'' Jauron said. "That goes right on me. It backfired clearly and caused us to lose the game."
It's nice to hear that honesty. We'll see if it's enough to quiet the swirling rumors about the status of his job.
Remember when Joey Porter's pregame shtick used to be funny? Or at the very least, not embarrassing? (No? Wait, everybody outside Pittsburgh hated that guy? Weird.) He almost madeKellen Winslowcry two years ago, and during his Steelers career, he'd routinely stand at midfield, identify his "huckleberry", and then spend the next 60 minutes flapping his gums. Good times.
But since landing in Miami last season, Porter's been marginalized (which is what happens when you play for a team that wins one whopping game), both on the field and in terms of bluster. That doesn't mean he's not still working the pre-kickoff Jedi Mind Tricks, just that they're, inconceivably, more annoying than ever. In fact, former linebackers-turned-Jets assistant coach Brian Cox almost put a midfield whuppin'* on Porter yesterday.
It was not specifically clear what led to the argument, and Porter declined to talk about it after the game. But Jets defensive end Shaun Ellis said, according to what he heard from teammates and what he saw on a TV replay in the Jets' locker room, Porter intentionally disrupted kicker Mike Nugent during warmups.
''I think Nugent was trying to kick a field goal, and [Porter] went and kicked the ball or knocked it away,'' Ellis said. ``You know how Joey is, trying to tease everybody.''
Wow, it's come to that; Porter's been relegated to harassing kickers. Who knows, maybe he's onto something; although actually winning the game would be nice. Baby steps, I guess.
When you're 1-8, success becomes a relative thing. Nothing is going to save your season so you just want to see enough signs of growth down the stretch to make you believe the entire year isn't a waste. The Jets found themselves in just that position and the last three weeks have discovered that there might be a few diamonds in the rough on their defense.
Sandwiched around a disaster in Dallas have been the team's two strongest defensive games of the year. That's a positive sign as the season plays out, especially since the improvement has coincided with increased playing time for several new players. David Harris and Darrelle Revis, the first two draft picks, have gotten much of the notice but others have contributed as well. On the defensive line, C.J. Mosley has 2.5 sacks and two forced fumbles since the bye week while Sione Pouha has recorded 10 tackles in the same period. That's more production than Dewayne Robertson was giving for about 10 times the price.
Throw in resurgent play from Bryan Thomas, Shaun Ellis and Victor Hobson and you've got a defensive revival. All of those guys play in the front seven and when they do their job the ripples can be felt all over the field. Kerry Rhodes spent the first half of the year unable to be the playmaker who opened eyes in 2006 but has been back in that role because the guys in front of him are doing their jobs. Corners are helped when the pass rush is working and the entire unit can show its teeth.
There are two caveats to this improved play. The first is that last week's game was against Miami, a gaping chasm of awfulness and the second is that the same thing happened in 2006. The Jets entered the bye as a subpar defensive club and played the second half as one of the best units in the league. Then they fell flat on their face to start this season so it's much too soon to start counting any chickens. They've stopped laying eggs, though, and that's a start.
Last year the Jets returned from their bye week with a brand new defense. They cut their points allowed in half and became one of the stingiest teams in the league. That propelled them from the middle of the AFC pack to the playoffs. This year there's no chance of a playoff berth but, after today's 19-16 win over the Steelers, there's reason to believe that Eric Mangini and company may have pulled off a similar defensive resurrection.
The Jets had nine sacks through their first nine games. They dropped Ben Roethlisberger seven times today. They've been giving up more than 150 yards per game on the ground but held the Steelers to 112 through four-plus quarters. They forced two turnovers and limited the Steelers to three second half field goals when a touchdown would have made their chances at victory quite slim indeed.
The Jets were much more aggressive than they've been up to this point and the Steeler line looked like it was stuck in (nonexistent) mud. Dewayne Robertson, who's been more of a rumor than an actual player this year, had two and a half sacks by shooting past Sean Mahan, Alan Faneca and Kendall Simmons like he was John Randle circa '97. Shaun Ellis, another much malinged defensive lineman, ran through Willie Colon like bad clams. They wore green and white but in no way resembled the 2007 Jets.
Like skinning a cat, there are a lot of ways to play winning defense in the NFL. You can follow the 2000 Ravens blueprint and lead the league in every major defensive category. If that's not for you, there's the 2001 Patriots model. The Pats finished 25th in the league in total yardage but allowed the sixth least points per game. As you'll recall each team won the Super Bowl that year.
Eric Mangini was a defensive coach on that Patriots team so when he says that he's been a part of defenses that "have allowed plenty of yards" he doesn't mean it as a negative. The problem is that along with a lot of yards the 2007 Jets are allowing plenty of points. They are 28th in yardage and 27th in points, have allowed points on all ten opposition red zone trips and are allowing teams to convert nearly half of their third downs. Tom Rock of Newsday thinks that the team needs to scrap the 3-4 defense before things get any worse.
The Jets need to abandon the 3-4 as long as they have their current roster. If, during the upcoming offseason, they'd like to return to the 3-4 and make the necessary personnel adjustments, fine. It would be costly but fine. At least then, Jets fans would be able to get a fair sense of the scheme's potential.
Clearly the pressure of January is a bit much for Eric Mangini. First of all, his job is on the line. Secondly, he just lost to the freaking Seahawks in the snow (your team is from New York, dude). And finally, Shaun Ellis lobbed a giant chunk of snow into the crowd, causing quite the stir amongst the NFL's lawdogs.
It is implicitly understood that professional athletes are not to have any sort of violent interaction with fans during games. 
Right after 
When you're 1-8, success becomes a relative thing. Nothing is going to save your season so you just want to see enough signs of growth down the stretch to make you believe the entire year isn't a waste. The Jets found themselves in just that position and the last three weeks have discovered that there might be a few diamonds in the rough on their defense. 
Last year the Jets returned from their bye week with a brand new defense. They cut their points allowed in half and became one of the stingiest teams in the league. That propelled them from the middle of the AFC pack to the playoffs. This year there's no chance of a playoff berth but, after today's 19-16 win over the Steelers, there's reason to believe that 
Like skinning a cat, there are a lot of ways to play winning defense in the NFL. You can follow the 2000 Ravens blueprint and lead the league in every major defensive category. If that's not for you, there's the 2001 Patriots model. The Pats finished 25th in the league in total yardage but allowed the sixth least points per game. As you'll recall each team won the Super Bowl that year. 
