I am not thrilled with the Jets overall performance this weekend.  The first pick, Vernon Gholston, DE  made me happy.  Their are some questions about him, but he seems very talented.  However, it was was all lame after that.  The next pick they traded up 6 spots to get a guy that would have been available in the next round.  A tight end named Dustin Keller.  The Jets already have a tight end and needed a safety or cornerback alot more. Why trade up?

Glen’s rule #1 of NFL Drafts:  Never, ever, trade up.  All of the analysts say the same thing every year.  The likelihood of football player becoming a starter is not directly proportional to their spot in the draft.  If anything, trade DOWN and get another pick!  Picking two lower guys is more likely that one of them becomes a starter.  Why did they trade up?  What were they thinking?  Yuck.

Then they got Dwight Lowery, cornerback from San Jose State.  I hope he can play well in the NFL.  Then they picked Danny Ainge’s son Erik Ainge.  I would be very surprised if he ever took a snap at QB for the Jets, but it’s not like our QB situation is so good.  He might be the best on the team and still stink.

Finally we got Marcus Henry, WR and Nate Garner, T.  Both guys are backups.

Overall, I give them a C+.  They didn’t completely mess everything up, but in general, I didn’t think they improved the team.  Time will tell.  However, I give them high marks for their off-season spending spree.  They got alot of interesting players.  I hope they make a positive difference.  I’d like the Jets to make the playoffs if possible.  Can anyone make that happen please?

The Jets have made some great free agency moves.  My general philosophy is that a team lives and dies on the line.  O-line got improved with Alan Faneca.  I expect D’Brick and Mangold to improve dramatically with Faneca in between them.  They need his veteran presence.  This will lead to Thomas Jones (RB) to having a break-out season running behind these guys.  In fact, he gets another great blocker with Tony Richardson as Full back. Jones must feel like he is the luckiest guy in the world.  I am predicting a 1500+ year season.  I also expect QB Clemens to have a better year with better protection, although I have my doubts he can step up.

They also signed Linebacker Calvin Pace and O-Lineman Damien Woody. More great news.  Pace should do well in the 3-4 defense the Jets are trying to install.  Jonathan Vilma is gone for draft picks but he was disgruntled anyway.

Hopefully, the Jets will have a good Draft.  They still need help at many positions.  I am hopeful.

Other good news is the new Jets stadium. Oh wait, I mean the new Giants stadium.  God, I hope they don’t plaster GIANTS STADIUM over the whole thing.  That would stink.

I predict the 2008-2009  New York Jets season will be breakthrough.

Happy Birthday Daniel!  Are you 30 now?

The Carolina Panthers brought in Vinny Testaverde to back up David Carr. Jake Delhomme had his season cut short by injury and David Carr is banged up too. This means Vinny might see some MORE playing time.  He is now 43 years old!

About Vinny: The 6-foot-5 Testaverde certainly brings experience. He ranks sixth in NFL history 6,529 pass attempts, 3,693 completions and 45,281 passing yards. He’s ninth with 270 touchdown passes and tied for 10th with 30 300-yard passing games.
Testaverde’s best statistical season came in 1996 with Baltimore, when he made the first of his Pro Bowl appearances, throwing for 4,177 yards and 33 touchdowns. Testaverde also made the Pro Bowl in 1998 with the New York Jets.

I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again, Vinny deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. He has lasted longer than any other quarterback ever. That has got to count for something.  My previous predictions about Vinny were, admittedly, off the mark.  However, I think Vinny’s day will come.

I have officially given up on the 2007 Jets season.  I want them to lose very single game.  I do not want them to go 8-8.  I would like 1-15.  We are aiming for the number one draft pick next year.  Mostly likely, they should trade that pick down and build up some depth in the team.  I am wathcing Chad Pennington run the offense.  He just looks lack-luster.  Something about his body language makes it look like he has lost his edge.  And certainly, his passes are slow and wounded-duck-like.

The season is a completely fiasco.  We don’t have enough talent and we don’t have the right chemistry.  We need defense!

Ugh.  Maybe I should just take the games off my calendar.  This is embarrassing.  I would rather be playing tennis or writing the book.  Speaking of which, I should do that now.

Do not ask for whom the Jets lose.  They lose for me.  I know it’s just the first game, and they did play the team favored to win the Superbowl, but I was really hoping they would win.  The offense and the secondary did ok.  But the pass-rush and run-stop was non-existant.  Chad Pennington also twisted his ankle.  At this point, I am willing to scrap the whole season and hope for last place.  This will give us good draft picks, which we can use to build a defensive line.  (Trade down!!)   Anyway, I do not have high hopes.  I will watch every game in it’s entirety, because I am a fan.  Go Jets.

In tennis, Roger Federer was his 12th major title at the US Open.  He beat Novak Djokovic in straight sets.  Djokovic has LOTS of opportunities to win both sets.  He had 9 set points.  But like me, when you are up 0-40 with triple break point, something inside you snaps and you choke 3 points in a row.  I feel for him.  He should have won those sets.  I think he will improve.  He is only 20.

Look at their websites.  They are pretty funny.  Who builds these?  What is the point of them? Why would I be a member?  Am I supposed to buy something there?   Strange.

Matthew (or was it Jared?  ahh, they all look alike to me) asked me if we could invite Roger Federer over to the house.  And then we could play tennis with him in the park?  I think I am supposed to join at their website and click on the “Ask Roger” link and  invite him over.  Hmm, what should we cook for him?  I think he would like my famous tacos.

Tennis season may be over ad football season begun, but I am going to try and keep playing tennis every weekend.  As soon as I shake this cough.  Yes, it’s still there.  I need a doctor.  Man, I miss Kaiser.  Kaiser was so simple.

Wow, is it preseason already?!?  That off-season just flew on by.  The Jets are primed to win the Superbowl this year.  It’s just one month until the season opener against the hated New England Patriots.  This is a MUST-WIN game.  It’s retarded to think that the very first game is a must-win, but I really think it will set the tone for the whole season if they come out of the gates and win against the Pats.  And you know that this game will matter at the end of the season, when it’s neck-and-neck with them.

I am trying to decide on what pool, if any, I should play this season.  Fantasy football?  Sean is running a pool, but I haven’t  ever played fantasy football.  I am a little intimidated by it.  Just picking winners is easier.  I don’t know if I can put in that kind of effort.  However, being in a pool absolutely improves the game watching experience.  Every game matters.  Need more time to decide!  But preseason is here!

God Bless the New York Jets.

When the draft was over, I was thinking about the hundreds of guys who didn’t get picked. On this one single day, they go from their old lives as collegiate superstars to the potential of being picked for the NFL (which carries with it a hefty salary check) to being left out in the cold. Of course many of these players will go on to the Canadian football league, arena football, European football or maybe professional wrestling. But for many players, the golden days are over. They will need to get a job just like everyone else.

I wonder about those guys. How do they adjust? Where do they end up. I wish there was a website where you could look up anyone and find out what happened to them. Not just celebrities. I want to know what happened to Dr. Beisel, the best teacher I ever had. Or what happened to Bo Peabody from the dot-com days who sold for a boatload of money. Or what happened to that girl I obsessed about in high school.

What happens to people? If only everyone had a blog.

For the second time, since I can remember, I am not unhappy after the NFL Draft. The first time was when the Jets selected Abraham, Ellis and Pennington. All good additions. This year the Jets selected 10 players. (This is alot for a draft). And I am very happy.

If I were grading them based on my expectations, they got an A+. They blew away my expectations. If I were grading them on a bell curve, compared to the other teams in the NFL, they would get an A. Not the best of the draft, but damn good. If I were grading them based on the “perfect draft” which even today can not be judged, because who knows how late picks will pan out, I would give them a B.

My amateur analysis:

• D’Brickashaw Ferguson T Virginia - Perfect pick

• Nick Mangold C Ohio State - Needed a Center, smart pick
• Kellen Clemens QB Oregon - Might be awesome. Depends on Ramsey/Pennington.
• Anthony Schlegel LB Ohio State - Huh? Is this kid a starter? There were better picks.
• Eric Smith CB Michigan State - There were other better picks at the time.
• Brad Smith QB Missouri - Is he even going to play QB? Will he make the team?
• Leon Washington RB Florida State - Dont know much about him.
• Jason Pociask TE Wisconsin - ok
• Drew Coleman CB TCU - Will this guy make the team?
• Titus Adams DT Nebraska

Lots of movement, some sophisticated trades. Overall, Coach Mangingi and GM Tannenbaum did great. This was their first draft and they showed patience and focus. Great job guys. Now all you need to do is win the superbowl this year. Piece of cake.

Oh, justfor records, God has not yet told me who is going to win the Superbowl next year. I have a hunch, but I will wait to hear it directly from the big guy.

Pretty good game. The Pittsburgh Steelers won the game. Several plays (interceptions) could have changed the game. Each team had a chance to win and the defenses stepped up. In general, the Seattle Seahawks wide receivers dropped the ball several times in several key plays. I think that may be the ultimate difference. This game could have gone either way.

The commercials were pretty good. I really liked the FedEx commercial early in the game. There was another I laughed at, but I can’t remember it. Katie loved the United Airlines commercial because it looked so beautiful. I thought the Pepsi commercials were stupid. I hated the big production number for Burger King.

Speaking of Burger King, I have liked their recent campaign of putting the King overlayed on top of NFL games. I thought Burger King missed a huge opportunity to replay the best plays of the Superbowl with the King. Poor Form, King.

Next step: Pray for a brilliant draft pick for the Jets. Please God, stop torturing me.

Konfabulator has been relaunched as Yahoo Widgets. Very interesting technology. Easy to create, small and useful. I wonder if Yahoo can make it catch on. I wouldn’t be surprised if Google comes out with something similar. And Microsoft is already experimenting with “Gadgets”, but who knows what will catch on.

I suggest to Adobe/Macromedia to come out with the same kind of think in Flash. They should have acquired Konfabulator a long time ago.

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Side note: I am making a nice comeback in the football pool. But the Jets look as bad as ever. Should they get a running back in the draft or a quarterback? I think they should trade down and get lower picks. All the statisticians say that you have the same chance of success lower in the draft. The Jets. They are humiliating.