Yardbarker: Laveranues Coles

Fantasy Mailbag - July 12

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 12:41:01 -0500

In our first edition of fantasy mailbag, find out what our thoughts are on Brett Favre, why we have Jerricho Cotchery ranked ahead of Laveranues Coles, our thoughts on the Marvin Harrison and Anthony Gonzalez situation in Indianapolis and much more...

NY Jets Fantasy Depth Chart

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 12:07:34 -0500

Thomas Jones has the potential to be a top sleeper pick in this year's drafts now that the Jets have made some significant upgrades to their offensive line. Check out this fantasy depth chart article to see which Jets will be worth drafting and when.

2008 Fantasy Football Projections- New York Jets

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 03:27:24 -0500

After coming off an impressive 10-6 campaign in 2006, everyone thought the New York Jets would compete with the New England Patriots for the AFC East title, but inconsistency on both sides of the football led to a disappointing 2007 season. The Jets finished with a 4--12 record, lost eight of their first 9 games and failed to win consecutive games. A big issues that led to the Jets downfall was the play at quarterback. Chad Pennington started the season under center, but battled injury as well as rocky play which eventually led to the Kellen Clemens era in New York. However, Clemens failed to find his groove and could manage just five touchdown passes in 10 games. Newly acquired running back Thomas Jones surpassed the 1,000 rushing yard mark, but it took him twelve games until he scored his first touchdown in a Jets uniform. To read the rest more about what Bruno Boys Co-Owner Marc Caviglia has to say about the New York Jets and their fantasy football projections for the 2008 season, click below...

MANUFACTURED JOY - NEW YORK JETS

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 09:30:15 -0500

by Zac, Throwing Into Traffic

Manufactured Joy is a series in which we'll be going through the NFL team by team, from the bottom to the top, and giving fans five good reasons why they should be excited to watch their team in action this season. Today, the New York Jets.

1. Gh-Gh-Gh-GHOLSTON!

Crappy old cartoon references aside, DE Vernon Gholston, who will likely be converted to an OLB in the Jets 3-4 scheme, is the most high risk/high reward player of the draft. At various points, scouts had him being considered with the number one overall pick. As it turns out, he went as low as he could have gone (given who was on the board), and the Jets may have gotten the draft's best player at the sixth pick. Then again, they could have also gotten its biggest bust. Gholston's physical gifts are well known; pound for pound, there was not a single athlete in this draft more naturally gifted. Equally obvious is his potential for taking games over, as when he wanted to, he was unstoppable (the game against Michigan was a thing of beauty). The trouble is that both his natural gifts and his drive to overpower opponents seemed to disappear inexplicably at times. The optimistic outlook is that it's hard to stay motivated to compete when you can beat the competition without trying that hard, and that a move to the pros with the right coaching will only allow Gholston to find new ways to use his physical gifts. The pessimistic side of that coin is that if he wasn't that motivated to consistently perform in order to get to the league, why should we assume he'll suddenly turn it on now that money has started falling from the sky. Still, he's entering the right system, with a coach who once showed an amazing ability to get the most out of his personnel (Mangini's first year was remarkable for what he did with that defense). Whether he can get it together or not, he chance that he might makes him worth watching this season.

2. The Jets didn't get McFadden!

And yes, I do mean that as a positive. I really like McFadden, but this defense needed the kind of kick in the ass that Gholston has the potential to give it. Don't get me wrong, I think every team should have the kind of fast, sneaky back who can turn short receptions into home runs and confuse defenses…and the Jets already have that in "Neon" Leon Washington. For those of you who have missed out on the steal of the 2006 draft, Washington is basically Reggie Bush except several million dollars cheaper. He can run, he can catch passes, he returns kicks, and the Jets even lined him up and ran the option every once in a while last year (further raising the question: WHY DO THEY STILL HAVE BRAD SMITH?!?). It was bad enough last year when it looked like Mangini and the gang were trying to find ways to ignore their offense's most potent threat, and getting McFadden would have made it worse. The NFL isn't about saving special talents for every sixth play; it's about wringing them dry and bathing in the glory. Year three is where Washington gets some recognition for the speed he shows at his position, not just kick returns.

3. Cautious optimism regarding Thomas Jones!

Dear Thomas Jones,

I know in the past I've said some negative things about you. Ok, I've said some very negative things about you. Ok, there may or may not be a tag on my blog labeled "Zac's Hatred" in which you get top billing. That's neither here nor there. What's important is that I am tentatively, cautiously, anxiously optimistic about your upcoming season. I mean, when you had a very good offensive line to run behind in Chicago, you were a thoroughly above-average back. Hell, you averaged over four yards a carry. I can't even imagine that. Literally, I can't picture you taking a ball and moving forward with it more than four yards without my ears starting to bleed. Still, it happened. And it can happen again. The Jets brought in OG Alan Faneca (who is also an offensive guard), and with both C Nick Mangold and LT D'Brickashaw Ferguson entering their third year, the line, or at least the left side of the line, could be very, very good. So how about this: I'll stop saying mean things about you, and you stop being…well…being like you. Deal.

4. Handsome Chad for QB!

It is such bullshit that Tom Brady gets all the "dreamboat" talk, because everyone who watches AFC East football knows that the real catch of the division is Chad Pennington. Sure, Brady is a good looking guy, and he's easy to fall in love with; then he knocks you up and disappears into the vapors leaving a trail of smoke and a press release saying "we're thrilled to work together on this." Meanwhile, Chad Pennington is the kind of gee shucks guy you can bring home to mom. Also, he's not a bad QB. Say what you will about his arm strength, but they didn't lose last year because of his shoulder surgeries (they lost because it's not fair to ask ANY quarterback, no matter how strong, to consistently put up 30 or more). Hell, with the same arm he was the Comeback Player of the Year in 2006. Furthermore, he's also the smartest QB on the roster, and is likely to have more time to work through his reads, which is always a good thing for an intelligent QB. Chad is still an incredibly accurate QB who has no problems working a mid range pass, and really, who on this team is catching the deep stuff anyway? I like Laveranues Coles, but he's still the best number two receiver trapped in a number one spot, and nothing more. The fact that the Jets didn't really make any moves to improve the pass game (outside of the obvious move of dropping Justin McCareins) means that the mid range pass is king once more in NY, and the best man for that job is Handsome Chad.

5. But if not him, then The American Dream Kellen Clemens for QB!

Let me tell you all the story of a young man named Kellen Clemens, who grew up in a small town in Oregon and got on a bus with nothing but a lunchbox, a big arm, and a dream, and left in search of stardom in the bright lights of New York City. Coming back to reality, year one of the Kellen Clemens experiment, perhaps its only year, was a rough one. Like, worst QB rating in the league rough. Like, throw one TD pass to ten interceptions rough. Still, it's not entirely fair to judge Clemens on one half-season in which an already out of the playoffs team was thrown on his back, the defense was miserable, the offensive line was in shambles, Thomas Jones was his running back (crap…forget I said that, Thomas), Justin McCareins was special olympicizing his way through his number two receiver role, and, well, he really didn't seem ready to start. The truth is, Clemens showed, in spurts, the kind of athleticism that can buy time in the pocket, and there's no question about his arm strength (seriously, Kellen, not everything has to come out hot…we know you've got the strongest arm on the team). Personally, I'm a Chad fan, but I wouldn't be surprised if Clemens is able to turn a revamped line and a year under center into smarter decisions and a productive use of his many athletic gifts. Besides, QB BATTLE IN THE PARKING LOT!!!

Top 10 Undervalued Players

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 11:37:14 -0500

#10 Torry Holt: He has finished in the top 15 for wide receivers for eight consecutive seasons and has only missed two games in his entire NFL career. Last season, which many considered a disappointing season, he had the same number of receptions and yards as the previous year but his touchdowns dropped from ten to seven. He finished 11th for wide receivers in a year where the Rams offense was a disaster because of injuries. Put all that together and you have a wide receiver that cannot finish worse than 11th but who has consistently shown that he can be a top five receiver. #9 Willis McGahee: He finished last season as the ninth best running back in his first year with Baltimore and in the 14 full games that he played, he averaged 20.6 carries per game. New Offensive Coordinator Cam Cameron loves to throw the ball to his running backs as we saw with Tomlinson in San Diego and last season with Ronnie Brown who had 39 receptions in only seven games. The retirement of Ogden may be a concern but his replacement, Jared Gaither, is a very good run blocker which may make the Ravens run the ball even more than last year. McGahee has only missed three games in four seasons and he will at least get as many carries as last season so he can only improve if we consider the improved line and the Cam Cameron factor. #8 Jerricho Cotchery / Laveranues Coles: They are both being drafted in the 25 to 30 range for wide receivers even though Cotchery finished 20th last year and Coles was as good as him in points per game. The Jets line is much improved this season with the additions of Faneca and Woody as well as Ferguson and Mangold who should improve in their third season. The quarterback play is still inconsistent but it cannot be worse than it was last season. Both of these receivers have been good for two consecutive seasons so they are pretty safe picks and they also have a lot of upside because of the much improved offensive line. #7 Maurice Jones-Drew: He is once again being drafted much lower than he should be because everyone fears that Fred Taylor will continue to steal carries away from him. He was the 8th best running back in 2006 and the 11th best in 2007 and he is only 23 years old. Those numbers alone should make him a top ten pick but his average draft position is about 13th for running backs. If you now consider that he has reached those numbers with less than 170 carries, that Fred Taylor is 32 years old, that the Jaguars line is better than last season and that it has a lot of depth, it makes him a very good safe pick in the late first or early second round. #6 David Garrard: His numbers from weeks 11 to 16 when his offensive line was the same as it will be this year would have made him the ninth best quarterback and only ten points behind the fifth best. Of the eight quarterbacks above him, one retired, one lost his best offensive lineman and one had 70 more pass attempts than his average of the past three years. The additions of Porter and Williamson give Garrard more options this season and the depth on the offensive line makes him a pretty safe pick. The concern with Garrard is that he has yet to play 16 games in a season but it is also only the second time that he enters the season as the starter. Nonetheless, he should finish much higher than number 13, his current average draft position. #5 Owen Daniels: He was the seventh best tight end last season in only his second NFL season and had only three touchdowns. Schaub played eight full games last season and Daniels had 41 receptions for 528 yards and 1 TD in those games which would have made him the fifth best tight end over 16 games. He is currently being drafted as the 11th best tight end which means as long as his numbers decrease by less than 10% he will be a good pick. That is a little ridiculous if you consider that he is 25 years old and his projected numbers over 16 games with Schaub are 25% higher than his actual statistics from last season. #4 Aaron Rodgers: His average draft position is about 18th at the moment for quarterbacks even though he is on one of the best teams in the NFC. You can find a full article that explains why we believe Aaron Rodgers is much better than that here. If we assume Rodgers will run for about 150 yards and a touchdown which should not be too hard to do for him, his passing numbers only have to be 70% of what Favre's were last season for him to finish above his average draft position. #3 Tony Scheffler: He became the starting tight end for Denver in week 5 and still finished the year as the 11th best tight end. Over the past two seasons he has started 17 games at tight end and had 61 receptions for 768 yards and 9 touchdowns; those numbers make him a top six or seven tight end. Furthermore, last season Denver was missing two of its best offensive linemen for most of the season and their starting quarterback was playing with diabetes and did not know it. There are slight concerns about his foot injury but the season is still three months away and it should not be a concern when you are drafting a potential top five tight end in the tenth round. #2 Marques Colston: Only ten wide receivers finished in the top 20 in each of the past two seasons and Colston only played 14 games in 2006. He is by far the best wide receiver on an offense that was first in passing yards in 2006 and third in 2007. If we look at the receivers who finished above Colston last season, Moss and Wayne should still be above; Owens is 35 years old and could slow down; Edwards could very well be a one-year wonder considering similar receivers dropped by an average of 16%; Fitzgerald has been inconsistent; Houshmandzadeh and Johnson were only slightly better and there are quite a few question marks in Cincinnati this year. On average only three or four wide receivers will remain in the top ten the following year and Colston is one of the few safe options in the top 10 from last year, yet he is only being drafted in the early third round. #1 Clinton Portis: In six seasons in the NFL, Portis has never had less than 250 points per 16 games in a point per reception league. He will be only 27 years old when the season begins, he was the third best running back last season, he has missed only 12 games in six seasons in the NFL and yet he is only being drafted as the eighth or ninth best running back. Moreover, last season the Redskins were missing its two best run blockers on the offensive line for most of the season. New head coach Jim Zorn will probably use an offense similar to Seattle's where he was quarterback coach for the past few seasons and Alexander managed to put up very solid numbers from 2001 to 2006 in that offense. Portis is a much safer option with your first round pick than someone like Marion Barber who has not proven much or Gore, Jackson and Johnson who have poor offensive lines. Portis is not a spectacular pick but remember that since 2004, only 7 of the 28 running backs that were drafted between picks 6 and 12 finished the season in the top 12. This means that if you make a pick in the middle to late first round, it has a 25% chance of living up to those expectations; Portis has shown much more consistency than any other running back taken in the middle to late first round.

2000 NFL Draft Re-mix

Tue, 13 May 2008 11:12:26 -0500

How the 2000 NFL Draft should have went.

Urlacher asks for trade or he'll Retire

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 06:40:39 -0500

If even half the rumors swirling around the NFL about Brian Urlacher's negotiation tactics are true, then maybe the Bears ought to reconsider their offense-building pledge for the draft and take a hard look at the middle linebacker class. One league source says Urlacher's agents have asked the team if they could explore a trade. Another says Urlacher is threatening to retire because of neck and back problems, a move in which he wouldn't have to repay any portion of the $13 million signing bonus he received in 2003, when he received a nine-year, $56.65 million deal. Urlacher feels he has outplayed his contract and is demanding more money. He's boycotting the team's voluntary offseason workout program and threatening to hold out of minicamp, organized team activities and even training camp if he doesn't get a new deal. One NFL insider laughed off the situation as the equivalent of a child taking his ball and going home or threatening to hold his breath until he passes out. ''Urlacher has no leverage,'' the source said. ''He wants to be paid, right? If he takes a medical [retirement], then he's got to prove he's hurt. If he does that, he'll never get paid. They're not going to trade him. All he can do is be disruptive. ''It's a joke. Players never walk away from millions. They threaten to, but they never do it.'' The Bears don't find the situation funny. Nobody at Halas Hall has a bad word to say about Urlacher, despite his strong-arm tactics. And even though president Ted Phillips was dismissive of the issue recently -- saying the team was ''talking to his representatives about how to look at his contract and try[ing] to educate them on the value of his deal'' -- the Bears are taking the matter seriously. It's tricky business for a number of reasons. Urlacher probably has outplayed the deal. He signed it with two years left on his rookie contract, becoming the first defensive player to renegotiate a deal with two years left. At the time, the salary cap was $75 million, and it has grown by more than $40 million since. Urlacher was an essential piece of the Bears' Super Bowl run in the 2006 season, and he seems to be making the difficult mid-career transition to playing with chronic injury. Urlacher is respected in the locker room, although his role as a team leader has been overstated -- he's a leader by example who prefers to be one of the guys -- and the notion that players will revolt if he doesn't get paid is flat-out absurd. Players revolt only on an individual basis when they aren't getting paid. Urlacher will be 30 this season and is coming off the worst year of his career. Despite leading fan voting at his position, he failed to make the Pro Bowl for only the second time (the first was after an injury-shortened 2004 season) and was not among the top five inside linebackers in voting among players and coaches. He engaged in a strange public-relations showdown with the media -- reportedly out of support for teammate Lance Briggs -- that featured one-word responses and grunted answers to questions, often in front of a backdrop featuring the team logo and the name of an important sponsor. Moreover, Urlacher has four years left on his contract, and given the uneven nature of his performance last season, depending on how his back was feeling, he might not be able to complete that deal. The team could call his bluff and wait him out, knowing that he keeps himself in excellent physical condition and is in no danger of showing up overweight or out of shape. Or it could set a dangerous precedent and allow him to force his way into a better deal. That precedent has been set around the league, however, with wide receivers Steve Smith and Laveranues Coles forcing new deals with the Carolina Panthers and New York Jets, respectively, and defensive end Michael Strahan reportedly close to doing so with the New York Giants. It's a delicate situation because the Bears don't want to poison Urlacher's relationship with fans while resisting the Machiavellian tactics.

Bucs QB Garcia upset

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 11:50:44 -0500

Jeff Garcia doesnt have a new contract and he's sounds off..... TAMPA — For the first time in five years, Jeff Garcia was thrilled he did not have a change of uniform or address in the offseason. The grass has never grown under the cleats of the vagabond quarterback. And it's starting to look as if the Bucs do not want Garcia to put down too many roots in Tampa Bay. Garcia said Tuesday that he's disappointed the team hasn't been willing to tear up his contract and reward him with a new deal that would enable him to finish his career with the Bucs. Garcia, 38, has one year remaining on his contract that will pay him a base salary of $2-million in 2008. He went 8-6 as a starter for the Bucs last season, leading them to an NFC South title and being named to the Pro Bowl. Nonrookie starting quarterbacks average between $7-million and $15-million a year in the NFL, making Garcia among the league's lowest-paid quarterbacks. After Tuesday's workout — the first of the offseason — Garcia was asked if he was disappointed by the lack of progress toward a new deal. "You could say that," Garcia said. "Talks haven't necessarily gone all that good. "So in a way, it's disappointing. At this point in my career, I'm no longer 24 or 25 saying, 'I'm going to prove to you I deserve this.' I feel like I've proved throughout my career. And I feel like at this time, it's time to just work with me, and you know what I bring to the team. You know what I've done for the team, and you know how much more I can do. And now I have a year under my system." The Bucs declined to comment. There's another reason why Garcia might be unhappy with his contract. Because of the Bucs' decision to rest him for the final two weeks of the regular season, he fell just short of participating in 70 percent of their offensive snaps, preventing him from earning a seven-figure bonus. Coach Jon Gruden did not allow Garcia to play the second half of the Bucs' 21-19 loss at San Francisco on Dec. 23. Garcia also was benched for the regular-season finale at home against the Panthers on Dec. 30. As a result, Garcia did not get at least $1-million in bonus money. Garcia is not required to attend the offseason workout program, which is voluntary. But he participated in Tuesday's as an act of good faith. Whether he attends the rest of this week's workouts or future offseason workout programs remains to be seen, but he indicated his options are limited. "I'm committed to a second year the way my contract is drawn up," Garcia said. "Yes, I would like to rip it up and create a new one that allows me to finish off my career here. But we're not necessarily on the same page as far as that's concerned." Garcia, Luke McCown and Bruce Gradkowski were the only quarterbacks that attended practice Tuesday. Chris Simms is not participating in offseason workouts presumably because he wants to be traded. Brian Griese, acquired in a trade with the Bears in March, had a commitment to a charity event. Tuesday's practice with the Bucs marked the first time since 2003 with the 49ers that Garcia has begun an offseason with the team he played for in the previous season. After bouncing to the Browns, Lions and Eagles in consecutive seasons, he finally found a home under Gruden in Tampa Bay. In 2007, Garcia completed 209 of 307 passes for 2,440 yards with 13 touchdowns and four interceptions for a passer rating of 94.6. Garcia said he has a chance to build upon the success he enjoyed in the team's offense a year ago. "My head was swimming," Garcia said. "When I heard the terminology (last year), I was still trying to figure it all out. And I'm not at that point. "So now I can take off from where I am now and build upon that. And going into the season, I just feel I'll be so much more confident and secure as to how to run this system as opposed to where I was last year. And last year, things didn't go all that bad."

Coles Doesn't Get Extension

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 23:17:34 -0500

Instead of giving wide receiver Laveranues Coles a contract extension, the New York Jets have guaranteed him the $11 million remaining on the final 2 years of his contract.

Jets and Coles Reach an Accord

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 07:53:53 -0500

The Jets guaranteed the final two years of Laveranues Coles' $11 million deal Friday, thus ending a potentially long-standing feud.

NFL Saturday: Mare to Seattle; Pacman to Dallas?

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 10:49:29 -0500

K Olindo Mare signs with Seahawks, Pacman Jones courts Cowboys, Laveraneus Coles signs extension with Jets and much more local hometown NFL news for Friday, March 28, 2008.

Coles Reports to Offseason Camp

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 20:55:57 -0500

Maybe there's a happy ending to this after all.

Memo to Mangini/Tannenbaum..... PAY COLES ALREADY!!!

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 10:51:06 -0500

Give him whatever he wants so this doesn't turn out to be a problem. If his production declines in the next few years simply trade him or restructure his deal. You don't want to insult a huge locker room influence in the beginning of the year. This will just piss off all the players that look up to Coles. The same thing happened last year when Pete Kendall was crying about his money and look how great last season turned out, 4 wins. Mangini has to realize that sometimes the players have the upper hand and that the Jets are not the Patriots.

Anti-Eagles: Jets Upset About Addition of Playmakers

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 09:48:41 -0500

While much ado has been made of Eagles veterans Donovan McNabb, Brian Westbrook, Jon Runyan and others practically begging Eagles brass to improve their team with the addition of high profile players, the Jets have actually gone out and done so, having one of the most productive off-seasons of any team. They have added the likes of linebacker Calvin Pace, perennial Pro Bowl guard Alan Faneca and defensive lineman Kris Jenkins. According to the NY Post, "some of the team's returning veterans are looking at the bundles of cash and wondering, "When do I get mine?"

Coles Unhappy with Contract Situation

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 14:04:27 -0500

For the second straight year, the Jets will begin the off-season with a disgruntled veteran player on their squad.