The Crop Report: Issue 1
By Brian Miller
The Crop report is here. A biannual report that appears between the months of September and late December. This is issue 1.
In this first issue of 2007 we look at the NY Jets as the Miami Dolphins prepare for the trip North. The game preview will be up tomorrow.
How bad are Jets fans? Well consider the fact that those who follow the Crop Dusters actually refer to themselves as “Gang Green“. I really have to admire fans who refer to themselves as necrotic tissue loss resulting from a serious lack of blood loss to the surrounding tissue that of course has become…necrotic. To make it worse, Gangrene has a tremendous odor to it. Sounds like Jet fans to me.
So that about covers the fans. Venturing PhinPhans to what they call the Meadowlands, should make sure that their vaccines are up to date.
The farmer and his dell: Eric Mangini is in year two of young head coaching career and he still is not making friends around the NFL, so much so that at least a few mainstream media types believe that Mangini may never get another HC job when he leaves NY.
Mangini was at the heart of the BillyGate fiasco that led to the penalties imposed on the Patriots. In a behind closed door meeting with Goodell, Mangini spoke about the tactics used by Belichick in video tape preparation. So he knew. Mangini however opened a can of worms when he broke the NFL “STFUP” rule. Now, a game later, Mangini himself is accused of allowing his defensive players to use tactics that are illegal. Allowing his defensive players to use audibles that mimic offensive counts. Brian Billick of the Baltimore Ravens, who beat the Jets last week, has accused Mangini of this…and the Ravens won.
Last year he was the boy wonder, in year two he has yet to win a game and is looking down the barrel of a media firestorm over his actions outside of coaching. Mangini may not be the savior that the Jets fans have attached themselves to after all, which is what little viruses do.
In facing the Dolphins this week, Mangini faces a team who has not found their identity. The problem with the Jets, they haven’t either.
Fertilizer:
Perhaps the most telling tale of the Crop Dusters offense is the fact that perhaps their most productive assett is their number 2 WR…Jericho Cotchery.
The WR corp for the Jets will give the Dolphins underachieving secondary some problems. Cotchery is in the top 6 of the NFL Wrs’ in yardage and he is a WR who excells at getting great separation while finding the empty spot on the field to take up residence. Still, Cotchery benefits from teams concerning themselves with Laveranues Coles. Coles is always a threat and will stretch the field. Both receivers have caught 13 balls in this young season. Cotchery has taken those 13 and made them into 222 yards. Coles has managed to turn his into 116. A tell tale sign of who the threat is. The rest of the Jets WRs are non-productive TE Chris Baker has a whopping 3 receptions and Leon Washington has 3 receptions as well. They are the closest to matching the production of WR 1 and 2.
The RB situation is not much better for the team. Leon Washington however could see significant playing time this weekend as the Jets are reporting that Washington will take over return duties on special teams and will see an increase in playing time in the back-field. The starter is Thomas Jones and he has not been the guy the Jets hoped they were getting when they traded with Chicago. He has posted 2.9 yard per carry avg. and has rushed for 109 yards. In contrast, Leon Washington, who killed Miami last year has only rushed 4 times for 15 yards. Miami can expect to see more of the latter, especially if they can shut down the run. The Jets are not a threat in this area and because of this they play from behind quite often, adding to the stats of Cotchery. With the Jets offense in a tailspin, they are averaging only 13.5 points per game. Which is good because, Miami is averaging only a little more. Miamis’ defense is good for only allowing 13 points as well…until the 4th quarter.
At QB is probably the biggest question mark for the Crop Dusters. Last week, Chad Pennington spent the day nursing a bad ankle while Kellen Clemens ran for his life against the Ravens. Clemens eventually composed himself long enough to look like he will eventually replace CP, it is not known yet who the starting QB will be this week. According to the Jets official site, CP has been “limited” in practice this week. I suspect that he will play. Traditionally Pennington has played well against the Dolphins, and Mangini knows that. If Chad can run on his foot he will be out there. An injured Chad is still better than a healthy Clemens right now, regardless of what or who the “viruses” cheer for.
If the RB situation was any good, then there would be hope for the offensive line. Anchored by second year Center Nick Mangold, the left side of that line took a hit just prior to the season when LG Pete Kendall was traded to the Redskins. That may not have been a bad move had it not been for the fact that the Jets did not have a replacement for him. There is a noticeable gap between center and LT D’Brickashaw Ferguson, as Adrien Clarke is definite downgrade. Clarkes’ inexperience with Fergie and Nicky only in their 2nd years, makes for a weaker side than last year. On the right side of the line it gets no better as former Miami Dolphins turnstile Wade Smith lines up at the RG spot and 10 year veteran Anthony Clement lines up RT. Neither are productive and the Dolphins Dline will have absolutey zero excuses if they get outplayed.
Pesticide:
If the offense of the Jets is not doing well, the defense is not doing much better. They opened the season being torched by NE, then got torched by offensive juggernaut Baltimore.
The defensive line is comprised of a star studded who’s who of one of Wayne Huizengas’ garbage companies. They are giving up over 120 yards per game and it is really the play of the LB’s that is keeping that number from going higher. Kenyon Colemon at the DE spot has 16 tackles 12 of which are solo tackles…he is tied with CB Barrett for the team lead. The defensive unit as a whole has zero sacks to show for 2 games.
The LBs are solid with Jonathan Vilma in the middle but fellow ILB Eric Barton has only registered 9 tackles, of course Vilma has 16 as well but has less assists than the other two with 16. The Olb’s are Victor Hobson and Bryan Thomas. They are productive but they are not stellar. Hobson is the better of the two and Miami should still be able to run on him.
The secondary is not very impressive either. Darrell Revis is the rookie who is the future of the team, and he is behind Andre Dyson on the depth chart. Dyson himself is not going to scare any WRs’. The secondary has no interceptions yet this season and are giving up over 240 yards in the air. Albeit some of those yards are results of short swing passes and such. Still the unit as a whole will have to use roll up coverages this weekend as the Phins receivers should be able to exploit the CBs. If they can’t that tells a lot about the Phins receiver corp. I will go over this more in tomorrows game preview.
Short bus: (no offense to anyone who has family that rides a short bus, I do realize that any comparison to a Jets fan or the team is highly insulting)
The special teams are really the scariest part of the Crop Dusters team this weekend, aside from the frantic bacterial mold that resides in the stands. Leon Washington will be back as the returner and he has the speed to get outside and cut the seam when needed. Mike Nugent will handle the kick off duties and the field goals and if your looking for a cheap kicker in some fantasy leagues, he might be a decent choice as the Jets offense could sputter. The punting game could be the biggest part of their offense and Graham could be using his leg quite often in this one.
(apologies to all on the spelling, my spell checker is not working today…big smile…although truth be told, I figured a few misspelled words would be easier for Jets fans to understand.)