Yardbarker: Kellen Clemens

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Fri, 25 Jul 2008 23:38:53 -0500

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Things Coming Full Circle?

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:34:08 -0500

Are things coming full circle for Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre? It appears so with the report on ESPN.com from Chris Mortensen that the New York Jets have received permission to talk to Favre. So I say this: Trade Favre. To the Jets. It works out perfectly. The Jets need a quarterback. Chad Pennington and Kellen Clemens have not been getting the job done. Clemens has shown flashes of brilliance, but he is not ready to take over an NFL team now. Maybe in a few years. After Favre retires. New York is not an NFC team. They have the talent to win. They also have to the pieces to fail miserably and expose Favre as being extremely selfish. I have no idea what the Jets have to offer as compensation and what not, but I say go for it. Ted Thompson can finally move on to his true love, Aaron Rodgers, and Rodgers can finally PLAY. It makes the team younger and gives the team a bigger window of opportunity. I feel like the Jets are definitely the right fit for Favre. He isn't going to a team where there are 50,484,382 other quarterbacks, otherwise known as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Plus, he will still be wearing green. For those idiots who don't know, Favre was supposed to be a Jet, but the Atlanta Falcons intervened. But yeah, Favre as a Jet. It just feels right to me.

DO NOT WANT...Brett Favre on the Jets

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 14:58:01 -0500

The magical, mythical, overrated, ESPN created monster known as Brett Favre has been involved in trade rumors for basically every team that doesn't have a solid starting quarterback.....Including 5 Reasons Why Favre Should Not Be On the Jets

Hello Training Camp, Goodbye Jason Taylor

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 13:17:44 -0500

Two great things that go great together. The start of training camp for the New York Jets coinciding with long time Jets hater and former NFL Defensive Player of the Year Jason Taylor getting sent packing from the AFC East. JT was a royal pain in the rear but even his presence didn't prevent the Jets from owning the Fish of late, but it's nice to see him gone. If you forget what JT looks like just pick up a copy of the ESPN Classic Miracle at the Meadowlands Jets-Dolphins game on Monday Night Football. Taylor is the noodnik giving Jets fans a choke sign before the Dolphins proceeded to lose a 30-7 second half lead. As Jets training camp kicks off the player whose progress I'm most excited about is…Justin Miller. If he can step up to the plate and give us a second good young cornerback our defense may be top 5. He had an entire year to mature and study his position. He has always had the physical talent but he never applied himself to the classroom and game film so hopefully he comes back a new player at a position most fans thought Jets were desperate at. It looks like Favre won't be joing the quarterback controversy so it should be a fun battle to watch between Chad Pennington and Kellen Clemens. Don't forget the Pope did bestow the divine touch on Clemens in the offseason. Don't underrate that. You can't coach divine intervention and I'll take anything I can get before ruling Clemens a bust. And last but not least the Jets signed one of their two first round draft picks over the weekend — Dustin Keller. The man who may be our MVP in my opinion. Get your Keller jerseys now as he will be a force to be reckoned with.

Vols Ainge Signs With Jets

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 08:47:46 -0500

Quarterback Erik Ainge signed a contract with the NFL's Jets Thursday, after being picked by them in the fifth round of April's draft. Ainge is expected to compete to be the Jets third quarterback behind Chad Pennington and Kellen Clemens. The 6-5 Ainge started 35 games for the Tennessee Vols during his college career in Knoxville, passing for more than 6300 yards and 51 touchdowns. Ainge is the nephew of Boston Celtics general manager Danny Ainge.

Where’s He Going to Go?

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 19:55:06 -0500

Presumably, the Packers don't really want Favre back after all that's happened. Essentially, their message is they aren't going to free him to sign with any of the league's other 31 teams — especially not NFC North division rivals Minnesota, Chicago or Detroit — and he won't be given his starting job back if he returns to Green Bay. The most likely scenario would have Favre petitioning the league for reinstatement and the Packers trading him to an AFC team, or at least an NFC team outside the division. Among the teams that fit that profile are the Miami Dolphins, Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs, New York Jets, Carolina Panthers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Washington Redskins. The Packers' best-case scenario, in which Favre would've simply stayed retired, almost certainly won't happen. The Packers went so far as to send an intermediary down to Mississippi last week to try to talk Favre into staying retired, but their attempt failed. The Wisconsin State Journal's article puts serious contenders for Favre out there for the first time in a while. But would these really help Brett Favre? He obviously wants to go to a contender and the Minnesota Vikings are rumored to be his top choice (which means he's looking to follow Darren Sharper and Ryan Longwell), but Minnesota most likely isn't going to happen. Do these really give Favre a chance to be a winner though? The Miami Dolphins were 1-15 last year and are starting from the ground up. They have a new coach in Tony Sparano and a new head man in Bill Parcells. If Favre wants to win, Miami would probably not be the best option. Parcells and Sparano are getting reputations as strictly business, given their run-in with superstar-turned-wanna-be-actor Jason Taylor. A Taylor-for-Favre swap is pretty intriguing, but I don't think that's what Taylor wants and Favre wants a winner, but I don't see the Dolphins turning into playoff contenders right away. Right now, John Beck, Chad Henne, and Josh McCown are the quarterbacks on the roster for the Dolphins. Beck started last year and had a lot of trouble adjusting to the pro-game. He could have been Cam Cameron's quarterback of the future, but with Parcells coming in, his future is up in the air. Parcells used a high draft pick on Henne, who could be Parcells' "guy" while McCown is the veteran in the mix. McCown also happens to be a friend of the Packers family, along with Nathan Poole, for knocking the Vikings out and Packers into the playoffs in (I think) 2003. God, I love opening old wounds. So the Dolphins do not look that likely if Favre wants to win. If he wants to play and end up on MediCare, he can go for it. The Baltimore Ravens would be the worst situation for me besides an NFC North team. I may be in the Baltimore area, but I do not like the Ravens. Besides the personal anguish this would cost me, the Ravens cannot quite afford Favre. Right now the Packers have 2008 first round pick Joe Flacco, 2006 Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith, and bust Kyle Boller. The Ravens are also reeling from the Steve McNair-era where they were at the mercy of an aging quarterback on the downside of his career. I have read many columnists in the Baltimore-area newspapers, and it's clear they do not want Favre. They know that on the heels of a 5-11 season that they need to rebuild and devote time and confidence to either Flacco or Smith, something they did not do with Boller. The only way to get their quarterbacks better and to put themselves in a position to win in the future would be to let Flacco and Smith play and become experienced. I pretty much covered the Chiefs, one of the most inept franchises in history. But they can still have fantasies. Like this one. And this one. And finally this one. The Jets are intriguing. Favre is older than head coach Eric Mangini. Kellen Clemens looks like he could be a good quarterback if he is given time to play, which wouldn't happen if Favre joined the team. Chad Pennington is still on the team and he has had some pretty good moments in his time in the Big Apple. I'm no Jets expert, but this scenario is pretty mysterious. Who knows here. I just don't know whether Favre would want to play for a team coming off a losing season. It seems like every year Sports Illustrated picks the Panthers to win the Super Bowl. But it doesn't happen. They are mired in the .500-ball heave that is the NFC South. The team does not have many offensive weapons outside of Steve Smith and at times last year, it seemed like they could not do anything right. Sure, they played in Super Bowl XXXVIII. But that feels like ancient history. Also, the Panthers seems set with Jake Delhomme as their signal caller. Tampa Bay is quarterback heaven. Jon Gruden is apparently tight with Favre because of the days of the Holmgren regime. But seriously, how many quarterbacks on the roster? Jeff Garcia, Brian Griese, Luke McCown, Chris Simms, and rookie Josh Johnson. They've got about every type in there. Let's add aging-gunslinger to that category. The Bucs won the division in 2007, but the fact that they won it at 9-7 leaves no guarantee for them to be a winner in 2008. Not seeing Favre here. The Redskins are another interesting possibility. They've got plenty of money (aka Dan Snyder) and a young quarterback in Jason Campbell. The Redskins know what they are doing with Campbell by letting him play last year. The only reason a player can get better is by playing. And he got better as the season went on before he got hurt and Todd Collins led the team to the playoffs. The Skins have been down this road before with Mark Brunell. I don't think that worked too well. So there we have it. I'd say Favre doesn't have any really good options out there. Anywhere he went (Minnesota included) he would get in the way of the development of a team.

I Want Fav-Re

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 09:22:41 -0500

All the talk of rebuilding and youth movement for the New York Jets is mularkey. This team spent a ton of money to get back on the competive side of teh street. Win now? Let's not get carried away. Could they if the QB plays well or better than expected? Hell, yeah. Look, Chad is a great soldier and is the QB of the past. Kellen could be the guy of the future but what about right now? Who should the quarterback of the present be for the Jets? Brett Favre. Why not? What is holding this up? A second round pick? I'd do it even if it meant watching Brett Favre lead my team for just one season. He is a special once in a lifetime player who should never have gotten this close to being free. The Jets need this type of player more than they needed Bill Parcells. This is a guy with a swagger who everybody loves to root for. He's Joe Willie without the fur coats or Sopranos links. So why won't the suits at the former Weeb Ewbank Hall pull the trigger? Money, Favre's age and possibly the biggest reason: Eric Mangini. Favre is older than Mangini and is a supernova peronsality to Mangini's tiny satellite moon. Mangini is cut from the stoic charisma-less Bill Belichick mold. Mangini isn't quite as somnambulistic as Belicheat but he's more tortoise than hare. The bottom line is winning and who among the trio of Pennington, Clemens, and Favre gives the Jets the best chance of getting back to the playoffs and dethroing the Patsies? Hint: He played himself in There's Something About Mary.

Fantasy Insider: How to Spot A Fantasy Football Sleeper

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 07:24:12 -0500

How to Spot A Fantasy Football Sleeper is a knack that could make or break your fantasy team. Daniel Kalles gives all you fantasy owners a "How To" locate and find fantasy sleepers and plenty of time to exam the players you feel could be sleepers this season. Best of luck this season. As Daniel Kalles, The first thing you need to know about finding a "sleeper" is figuring out what a sleeper is. Many people will have many different explanations as to what a sleeper really is, where to find them and how important they are, but they will pretty much agree that a sleeper is someone who doesn't have a big name, probably doesn't start, hasn't put up big numbers in the past, who now might have a chance to have a breakout season and be a difference maker on your team. Sleepers are usually either late round draft picks or waiver-wire pick-ups who went undrafted. Now how to spot sleepers, when to draft them, and how long you wait until you believe they are actually worth putting in your lineup are all a little different. Having one of the few sleepers who pan out and be a worthy starter can make the difference in winning your league or not winning. No one starts off the season knowing which sleeper will for sure breakout; all you can do is try and draft one or two and hope that a couple of things fall your way and your sleeper goes from nobody to somebody just like that. It's very hard to go into the draft focused on the guys who will be drafted in the later rounds, but the truth is many drafts are won in the later rounds. If you can have a good draft from top to bottom, it will help you down the line; having a deep team will help you in the event of an injury or to make trades. It's not very difficult to draft players in the first bunch of rounds, guys like Alexander, Tomlinson, Owens, Moss, these players have a history, they have done it before, we can look at their numbers and see where they should be drafted, but a sleeper is different. Most sleepers haven't played enough to accumulate enough stats to make decisions on, so you have to take a small sample (if one exists) to figure out who might be the sleepers of this year's draft. There are many different places and ways to find sleepers. One way is to look for 2nd or 3rd year players who had a chance to play near the end of the year before. At the end of most seasons, the teams out of the playoff hunt will look at some young players, giving them starts and letting veterans sit out. Watching these players can sometimes give you a hint into who might be a good sleeper the next season, if they play a good game or two. Look at Willie Parker who was undrafted out of college and was sitting on the bench in 2004 when the Steelers went 15-1. In the last game of the season, once they had already clinched home field advantage, they decided to rest veteran running back Jerome Bettis, and see what Parker could do. He went into Buffalo, on a cold January Sunday, to face the hottest team in football. The Bills were looking to get a victory and a spot in the playoffs. Well, Parker gained 102 yards on only 19 carries, to help the Steelers win the game, and give anyone who was actually paying attention to this Steelers backup a 1200 yards rusher out of nowhere in 2005. Now this doesn't mean things will always work out for you, but it's a good way of finding a sleeper. Another way of finding a sleeper is to watch the player and coach movement in the off-season, and see which players have been put in situations where they might be able to break out, with the help of certain coaches and their philosophies. A player who might have been going downhill in his career, or hasn't been able to find his way yet might be able to change that by being on a team whose system better suits their abilities. Koren Robinson is a good example. He's a former 1st round pick of the Seahawks, and while he had a couple of solid seasons with them (78 for 1240 yards and 5 TD's in 2002), he was let go at the end of 2004 because of off-field and poor behavior issues. He latched on to the Vikings as their top return man and part time WR. During the off-season they hired new head coach Brad Childress, who brings with him his West Coast offense, and they traded Nate Burleson, leaving the spot of #1 WR open. With those and many other changes the Vikings made on offense, they go into the season looking for players to step up and be leaders. Robinson has a good chance of doing that because he is a step ahead of most of the other WR's because he played in the West Coast offense while in Seattle. He could be in for a very big season. While all this looks good and could very well happen, many times it doesn't, and guys like Robinson will always be picked up for his potential, but might never realize it, because he can't control his other issues. These are just a couple of the many ways to find a sleeper. So, make sure to always pay attention to injury situations, and follow closely what players are doing at training camp. Doing this can help you find many sleepers. Lastly, don't forget that you can still find sleepers after the draft in the first couple of weeks of the season. If you see a player break out and do better then expected, don't sit on the sidelines and watch - make an effort to pick them up and see if they can sustain that output. Or if you know that a starting player has any injury at all, make sure you're the one to get anyone who might back that player up, because once a player goes down, whoever takes over can be a real steal.

Let Jets Get Brett

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 11:02:50 -0500

As training camp looms on the horizon and the battle for the New York Jets starting quarterback job stands as the top prize here is one interesting twist: What if Brett Favre were a free agent? I am a fan of both both let's face it, Chad Pennington versus Kellen Clemens ain't exactly Ali-Frazier. If Brett Favre is available he should finish his career where he came thisclose to starting it…as a New York Jet. I make that move in a heartbeat because that has to make this team incredibly dangerous overnight at the cost of just a free agent contract. As always, the underwhelming and overrated Pete Prisco offers his scientific analysis on postion battles and this time focuses on the AFC East heading into training camp. check out this in-depth scouting report. You'll be sorry you did.

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...

2008 QB Ranking Breakdown: 21 - 30

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 13:40:54 -0500

With football minicamps all ready here, Fantasy Football is on my mind. I've already started to break down each position, and over the next several weeks I'll share my rankings with all you. We'll start with the quarterback position, probably one of the weakest skilled positions this year.

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!!!

Whatifsports AFC East Preview

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 14:15:35 -0500

In the first of a series, Whatifsports previews the AFC East by simulating the upcoming 2008 season, complete team analysis, projected scores, and fantasy notables. Can the Patriots bounce back from their Super Bowl loss? Can the Bills make the playoffs? Will Bill Parcells work his magic and make the Dolphins a winner? The supercomputer knows...

Inside the Enemy: June 1, 2008

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 21:53:16 -0500

What's going on in the NFL? I'm a little behind myself, so this will be good to get me back on track. NFC North - Da Bears are at a crossroad? - Big Al is doing some housekeeping currently. - The Vikings think Bernard Berrian is pretty hot stuff. - The Vikings have a very unusual rookie safety. - The Queens could also be with an important part of their offensive line. The Rest - The Cardinals are doing some work. - Jamal Lewis has some choice words for the Ravens. - The Ravens could be willing to take a risk on Freddie Mitchell. Ick. - God, I love Madden. - The Bills have the best Arab athlete in the world. - The Panthers are thinking playoffs. - There is a lot of doubt hanging over the Bengals. - The Browns are looking or some second-level help. - TO doesn't plan to leave Dallas. - John Lynch has a little competition. - A projected starting roster for the Colts is up. - A Chiefs perspective on the Broncos. - The Dolphins have some media issues. - Madden '09 is not kind to Tarvaris Jackson. - Deuce is back at training camp. - New digs in New York. - Analysis of Kellen Clemens. - The Eagles have extended their front office. - The Steelers are not too kind to Jason Taylor. - Want some tickets for a Chargers game? - Bruce Gradkowski is available for your team. - A new Music City Miracle? - This Skins think they're pretty smart, acquiring Erasmus James. A little late.

NFL: Worst Quarterback In The League?

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 11:53:56 -0500

Lovie Smith, Head Coach of the Chicago Bears, has made it official; he's going to let Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton duke it out for the starting job. Not exactly exciting stuff in what looks like two mules fighting over a turnip, that's right no one cares. www.rawsportsblog.com