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The Local Boys

2013-05-23T00:32:40Z

I got it into my head the other day that the the New York Jets have a high percentage of "local boys" on the roster, or players from New York/New Jersey that grew up near the team. I decided to do some research to see if my gut feeling was right, and it turns out I was wrong (which is a relative term in this case). I don't know the percentages of other teams, but here is a look at where players on the Jets are originally from. In case you were curious, 17% of the roster is from New York or New Jersey, with six players from NY and nine from NJ. Which may be significant in relation to other teams, but I don't know.

#	Name	Pos.	College	Hometown
1	Ryan Quigley	P	Boston College	Little River, SC
2	Nick Folk	K	Arizona	Hollywood, CA
3	Robert Malone	P	Fresno State	Orange, CA
4	Joseph Collins	WR	Weber State	Seaside, CA
5	Matt Simms	QB	Tennessee	Franklin Lakes, NJ
6	Mark Sanchez	QB	Southern California	Long Beach, CA
7	Geno Smith	QB	West Virginia	Miami, FL
8	Brett Maher	K	Nebraska	Kearney, NE
10	Santonio Holmes	WR	Ohio State	Belle Glade, FL
11	Jeremy Kerley	WR	TCU	Austin, TX
14	Greg McElroy	QB	Alabama	Los Angelos, CA
15	Zach Rogers	WR	Tennessee	Nashville, TN
16	Thomas Mayo	WR	California (PA)	Reston, VA
17	Jordan White	WR	Western Michigan	Middleburg Heights, OH
18	Vidal Hazelton	WR	Cincinnati	New York, NY
19	Clyde Gates	WR	Abilene Christian	Vernon, TX
20	Kyle Wilson	CB	Boise State	Piscataway, NJ
21	Ellis Lankster	CB	West Virginia	Mobile, AL
22	Aaron Berry	CB	Pittsburgh	Harrisburg, PA
23	Mike Goodson	RB	Texas A&M	Irvington, NJ
24	John Griffin	RB	Massachusetts	Austin, TX
25	Joe McKnight	RB	Southern California	Kenner, LA
26	Dawan Landry	S	Georgia Tech	Ama, LA
27	Dee Milliner	CB	Alabama	Millbrook, AL
29	Bilal Powell	RB	Louisville	Lakeland, FL
30	Darrin Walls	CB	Notre Dame	Pittsburgh, PA
31	Antonio Cromartie	CB	Florida State	Tallahassee, FL
32	Josh Bush	S	Wake Forest	Burlington, NC
33	Chris Ivory	RB	Tiffin University	Longview, TX
34	Donnie Fletcher	CB	Boston College	Cleveland, OH
35	Isaiah Trufant	CB	Eastern Washington	Tacoma, WA
36	Lex Hilliard	FB	Montana	Kalispell, MT
37	Jaiquawn Jarrett	S	Temple	Brooklyn, NY
38	Royce Adams	DB	Purdue	South Euclid, OH
39	Antonio Allen	S	South Carolina	Ocala, FL
40	Tommy Bohanon	FB	Wake Forest	Cape Coral, FL
41	Eric Crocker	CB	Arkansas-Monticello	Stockton, CA
42	Bret Lockett	S	UCLA	San Dimas, CA
43	Mike Edwards	CB	Hawaii	Cleveland, OH
44	Travis Tripucka	LS	Massachusetts	Boonton Township, NJ
45	Rontez Miles	S	California (PA)	Braddock, PA
46	Tanner Purdum	LS	Baker	Enid, OK
47	Danny Lansanah	LB	Connecticut	Harrisburg, PA
48	Mike Shanahan	TE	Pittsburgh	North Huntingdon, PA
49	JoJo Dickson	LB	Idaho	Wailuku, Hawaii
50	Garrett McIntyre	LB	Fresno State	South Lake Tahoe, CA
51	Jacquies Smith	LB	Missouri	Dallas, TX
52	David Harris	LB	Michigan	Grand Rapids, MI
53	Josh Mauga	LB	Nevada	Ewa Beach, Hawaii
54	Nick Bellore	LB	Central Michigan	St. Paul, MN
55	Ricky Sapp	LB	Clemson	Columbia, SC
56	Demario Davis	LB	Arkansas State	Collins, MS
58	Troy Davis	LB	Central Florida	Lawrenceville, GA
59	Sean Progar-Jackson	LB	Northern Illinois	Park Ridge, IL
60	D'Brickashaw Ferguson	T	Virginia	New York, NY
61	Lanier Coleman	DT	Louisiana-Lafayette	New Orleans, LA
62	Vladimir Ducasse	OL	Massachusetts	Port-au-Prince, Haiti
63	Dalton Freeman	C	Clemson	Pelion, SC
64	Stephen Peterman	G	Louisiana State	Gulfport, MS
65	Will Campbell	G	Michigan	Detroit, MI
66	Willie Colon	OL	Hofstra	Bronx, NY
67	Brian Winters	OL	Kent State	Hudson, OH
69	Trey Gilleo	OL	Northern Arizona	Kingman, AZ
70	Jake McDonough	DL	Iowa State	Urbandale, IA
71	Antonio Garay	DL	Boston College	Rahway, NJ
72	Caleb Schlauderaff	G	Utah	Shelton, WA
74	Nick Mangold	C	Ohio State	Centerville, OH
75	Oday Aboushi	OL	Virgina	Brooklyn, NY
76	Dennis Landolt	T	Penn State	Burlington, NJ
77	Austin Howard	T	Northern Iowa	Davenport, IA
79	Mark Popek	OL	South Florida	Plant City, FL
81	Chris Pantale	TE	Boston College	Wayne, NJ
82	Hayden Smith	TE	Metropolitan State - Denver	Penrith, Australia
83	K.J. Stroud	WR	Bethune-Cookman	Brooklyn, NY
84	Stephen Hill	WR	Georgia Tech	Tucker, GA
85	Ryan Spadola	WR	Lehigh	Howell, NJ
86	Titus Ryan	WR	Concordia (AL)	Tuscaloosa, AL
87	Jeff Cumberland	TE	Illinois	Columbus, OH
88	Konrad Reuland	TE	Stanford	Springfield, OH
89	Marcus Davis	WR	Virginia Tech	Virginia Beach, VA
91	Sheldon Richardson	DL	Missouri	St. Louis, MO
92	Tevita Finau	DT	Utah	Hamilton, New Zealand
93	Kenrick Ellis	DT	Hampton	Jamaica
94	Damon Harrison	DT	William Penn	Lake Charles, LA
95	Antwan Barnes	LB	Florida International	Miami, FL
96	Muhammad Wilkerson	DL	Temple	Linden, NJ
97	Calvin Pace	LB	Wake Forest	Detroit, MI
98	Quinton Coples	DE	North Carolina	Kinston, NC
99	Junior Aumavae	DT	Minnesota State	American Samoa

Geno Smith Hires Roc Nation to Represent Him

2013-05-22T19:24:39Z

The most anticipated agent hiring in recent NFL history has been made. Jets quarterback Geno Smith has hired Jay Z's Roc Sports to represent him. Roc Sports is a new agency, but it has already developed a high profile list of clients, including Yankees superstar Robinson Cano.

This will not really impact Geno's rookie contract. With the wage scale in place, rookie contract acrimony seems to be a thing of the past. Where Roc Sports will be tested is handling Geno's image. He reportedly fired his own agency in part because they did not push back hard enough against a bad story.

The media has already laid the groundwork to try and pin the "diva" tag on Geno. What happens on the field will go a long way to determining the way people view Smith, but Roc Sports will have an important role to play to present its client off the field as a good guy instead of the caricature some illustrious writers have already drawn.

Geno Smith Signs Roc Nation As His Agency

2013-05-22T19:15:38Z

Agent-gate is finally over. Geno Smith has signed Jay-Z and Roc Nation:

Geno on Jay Z's Roc Nation: "Being in NY, from a standpoint of what they can do in the city, connections they have, it's a good move." #Jets

— Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) May 22, 2013

When was the last time a player has gone from being slammed by the media to being praised so constantly, as is happening with Smith? A few weeks ago, everyone and their mother was jumping on Smith and telling stories about how he was the biggest diva since Keyshawn Johnson, and now the media is constantly talking about how pretty his throws are and how down-to-earth he seems. Oh well. Now Smith has the King of Cool in his corner, and if he can match it with good play on the field...

New York Jets: Quarterbacks Struggle in OTA's

2013-05-22T17:07:39Z

The word out of OTA's from this morning is not promising at the quarterback position.

Practice wrapping up: Sanchez finishes 6-11, 3 INTs in 15 snaps. Geno Smith finishes 3-10, INT in 14 snaps. Both "sacked" once #nyj
— Manish Mehta(@MMehtaNYDN) May 22, 2013

Is it panic time? Not exactly. Manish Mehta tries on his voice of reason hat.

QB stats are virtually meaningless. Two of the Jets top 3 WRs (Holmes and Hill) didn't participate in team drills. Plus, no tackling. #nyj
— Manish Mehta(@MMehtaNYDN) May 22, 2013

One practice does not mean much. The quarterback situation looks dicey considering the top two on the depth chart are a rookie and Mark Sanchez, but we already knew that. If either guy came out and lit things up, it would not mean a ton either.

Bart Hubbuch offers the following comment from Geno.

Geno Smith says the routes in Mornhinweg’s Jets offense are very similar to West Virginia’s, but the terminology is totally different.
— Bart Hubbuch (@HubbuchNYP) May 22, 2013

It is a process, but these OTA's, training camp, and the preseason are here to help him get used to things.

New York Jets Flight Connections 05-22-13

2013-05-22T12:06:16Z

Good morning Gang Green Gangsters. Here are your daily links for today. Click on them if you like.

The Jet Press: The Geno Smith project, volume 1.

Boston.com: Nick Mangold is one of the AFC East's top 25.

Newsday: Kyle Wilson is looking forward to seeing what Dee Milliner can do.

Eric Allen: This is a challenging week for the Jets.

Rangy Lange: Tennessee's Matt Simms and Zach Rogers reconnect in North Jersey.

Seth Walder: Curtis Martin thinks that Mark Sanchez needs to get better or Geno Smith will start.

Vancouver Sun: Manny Arceneaux catches on again with the Detroit Lions.

Big Cat Country: The Jacksonville Jaguars will host Kahlil Bell for a workout.

New York Times: Plaxico Burress is launching a men's luxury hosiery line.

NFL.com: Jerry Jones says that Jason Garrett is not coaching to save his job.

ESPN Dallas: Tony Romo has surgery on back cyst. Romo doesn't take a back cyst to anyone.

National Football Post: Pete Carroll says that the trouble Seattle Seahawks need to figure it out.

AP: Max Starks and the San Diego Chargers agree to a 1-year deal.

AP: Charles Woodson returns to the Oakland Raiders.

AP: Play ball with Roger Goodell or else.

AP: The 50th Super Bowl goes to the San Francisco bay area.

Sports Illustrated: Worst player offseason power rankings.

And lastly, this song is dedicated to Mike Goodson:

Happy Hump Day, my super friends!

Mike Goodson Will Plead Not Guilty to All Charges

2013-05-21T23:06:55Z

Jets running back Mike Goodson will plead not guilty to all five criminal charges he faces stemming from last week's arrest.

Goodson has been charged with unlawful possession of a handgun, possession of a loaded handgun, possession of hollow-point ammunition, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia following a traffic stop in Denville early on Friday morning.

Fusco said he is confident his client will avoid jail time, with the main issue being the ownership of the .45 caliber handgun found in the SUV. The gun was loaded with hollow-point bullets. He claims that the drugs do not belong to Goodson, either.

I don't really have many thoughts on this at the moment. We are still not sure what the facts are. The smart thing to do is probably to wait and let this play out instead of rushing to an opinion. That seems to be what the Jets are doing and rightly so.

Marty Mornhinweg Speaks on the Quarterback Competition

2013-05-21T21:03:52Z

Jets offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg spoke today about the quarterback battle and offered up the following per Manish Mehta.

"We don't care what the prevailing thought is," new offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg told the Daily News about the perception that the quarterback battle will certainly be alive at the start of training camp. "We only care about our competition here."

....

Mornhinweg wants one of the quarterbacks to distance himself during a critical, but often overlooked stretch of the offseason program that began on Monday. But could someone actually separate himself that much for the Jets brass to declare a winner by mid-June based on 10 OTA practices and three minicamp practices?

"Oh, absolutely," Mornhinweg said. "Sure. Absolutely. That's all part of the process. Absolutely. Everything we do is important. Our meetings are important… the way we go about our meetings, the way we go about our preparation right now with a new system. These are very important things. Every pass we throw out there in OTAs and these practices are important."

I'm sure OTA's will be important, but it feels very unlikely a starter will be named entering training camp. That would go against the competition-y vibe the Jets keep telling everybody about.

The camp battle actually looks very similar to the last competition the Jets had at quarterback, which came in 2009 (Kellen Clemens last time; Mark Sanchez this time). There is the failed high pick who used to be the guy of the future. There is the rookie who is the new guy of the future (Mark Sanchez; Geno Smith). There is the late round SEC quarterback nobody really believes in (Erik Ainge, Greg McElroy). Finally, there is the fourth stringer who will be lucky to make the roster (Kevin O'Connell, Matt Simms).

New York Jets Flight Connections 05-21-13

2013-05-21T11:50:36Z

Good morning, my super friends! Here are your daily Jets links for today.

Newsday: Woody Johnson says that the Jets are in fact-finding mode on Mike Goodson.

The Jet Press: Analyzing a drive under Marty Mornhinweg's west coast offense.

Jets Flight Deck: Roster review of the offensive line.

Over the Cap: What the Jets should do with Mark Sanchez if he's not starting.

Brian Costello: Hayden Smith expects to make a bigger impact.

Eric Allen: Stephen Hill is making the effort to step up.

Eric Allen: Antonio Cromartie bids for a shutout.

The Jets Blog: Cromartie and Kyle Wilson on SNY's "Jets Nation".

Conor Orr: Antonio Garay is driven to keep playing because of his Rahway roots.

Randy Lange: Mike Devlin and Dave Szott will coach in the NJ All-Star Classic.

Infinite Jets: NY Jets #83 George Sauer, RIP.

Bellmore Patch: Curtis Martin signed autographs for Hurricane Sandy Relief.

USA Today: Trevor Pryce wrote a novel about a frog army.

Peter King: How do you not feel sick for David Garrard?

Kimberley A. Martin: Could Miguel Maysonet be an option for the Jets? I'll be fine with him if he stops leg-dropping his fans.

Armando Salguero: Reshad Jones will report to the Miami Dolphins OTA. Because "The Office" is cancelled.

Sam Farmer: Rahim Moore is putting his past behind him.

Mike Florio: A six-year-old rule rears its head for the Seattle Seahawks.

Associated Press: Greg Schiano reiterates that Josh Freeman is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback.

Associated Press: Manti Te'o is off-limits to the media but not the Maxim party.

Pro Football Talk: Brian Cushing supports the new rule against low blocks from behind.

The Football Educator: The role of performance-based pay in NFL player benefits and the effect on the salary cap.