Bye-Week Awards

Well, here we sit, at 5-1, generally pleased with everything going on in Jets World, save Revis' hammy. Just like any part of an NFL season, things never go quite the way we predict; players emerge and decline, favorites collapse and underdogs rise. It's this maddening pattern of unpredictability that no expert could predict that keeps us fans coming back. 

Let's get to the pre-bye-week awards. Let's start with the positive awards:

Best Offseason Acquisition: Tie: Antonio Cromartie and LaDainian Tomlinson

This award could go to either one, as they are equally important to each side of the ball. Take away either Cromartie or LaDainian, and you take away about three of those five wins. With Revis out, Cromartie has played extremely well, improving each week, while Tomlinson has seized the starting role and exceeded all expectations. 

MVDP (Most Valuable Defensive Player): Antonio Cromartie

For all the reasons above, Cro is the key for holding down the secondary, the most important unit on the team, until Revis returns to full health. Without Cro, the Jets secondary (sans Revis) goes from a strength to a glaring weakness. 

MVOPNNS (Most Valuable Offensive Player Not Named Sanchez): Nick Mangold

Nick Mangod has led the offensive line to dominate nearly every team the Jets have faced. The performance o the line against the Vikings was downright impressive against a terrific defensive line. He has helped Slauson turn into a quality starter as well. 

Unsung Hero: Mike Devito

Few people have noticed, but DeVito has developed into a mini version of Haloti Ngata. He's disruptive in the run game and pass rush, and gets off blocks well without ever quitting on a play. 

Most Improved: Tie: Drew Coleman/Steve Weatherford

Once the butt of many Jets-jokes, Drew has snagged the third corner role from first round selection Kyle Wilson, and has played well in this increased role.

As for Steve, I guess those "Shake-Weights" have been working, cause he looks like Ray Guy this year.

Special Teams Hero: Eric Smith

It just seems like the captain makes at least one huge play on teams every game. He blocked a couple of punts and make tons of tackles. And to think Rex almost cut this guy two summers ago.

RRQOTY (Rex Ryan Quote of the Year)

Last week's press conference, before the Denver game, Rex is asked if he and Mark Sanchez ever exchange text messages. He says he does from time to time, but they are often jokes.

Journalist: What kind of messages do you get [from Mark]

Rex: Oh, all kinds of stuff.

(Pause)

Rex: No, not THAT kind of stuff.....

You have to watch the presser on nyjets.com to get the full experience. It's about halfway through when he says this.

Let's get to the negative awards after the jump:

Most Disappointing Drafted Rookie: Kyle Wilson

You may think Joe McKnight would belong here, but let's be honest: no one though McKnight would be a major contributor like we all thought Kyle would. But Kyle was ready for a strong rookie season, as he played well in camp and in preseason games, before losing most of his snaps to Drew Coleman. He will improve over time, however.

ROPOY (Rex's Overhyped Player of the Year): The Kracken (Vernon Gohlston)

Man, Rex really had us this time. Most of Jet nation was actually buying into the fact that the new position change would revive the Kracken. But Vernon has hardly seen the field this year. Yes, the Trevor Pryce acquisiton stole some snaps, but for a team that lost two d-lineman before week 2, you would expect a little more action for Vern.

Highest Bust Probability: Vladimir Ducasse

I'm not going to just give up on the guy, but for a second round pick, and after watching what was said about him on hard knocks, it is concerning how slow is he to pick up his new position. The mental aspect of the pro game is way too fast for him at this point.

LVP (Least Valuable Player): Darrelle Revis

If you told me six months from now that Darrelle Revis would be more of a liability in coverage than Antonio Cromartie, I would thought you were crazy. We all know Revis's recent trend of getting beat on occasion is due to his hamstring injury, but this could have been avoided id he had just shown up to camp. Rex loves Revis so much because he can confidently just take out the number one receiver on a team. When Revis gets beat like he has in the past, it affects the whole defense; the safety has to help him sometimes, the coverage changes, the pass rush slows and you defense is less effective. When Revis is healed, however, watch out, because he will be in my MVP category by the end of the year.