Bleacher Report - Articles by Nick Deplitch

Braylon Edwards Is a New York Jet...Surprised?

Nick Deplitch — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 12:16:22 -0400

After assaulting a member of LeBron James's entourage, Cleveland has finally elected to get rid of Mr Drops. Good choice. They are in a rebuilding stage. Mangini might have actually done something right here in moving Braylon Edwards while he still has some value, although that value is dropping fast.

They received Chansi Stuckey and a third year backup linebacker, Jason Trunsik plus two undisclosed draft picks.

It seems like an even trade for the Jets. What I don't like about the trade is that it is high risk high reward. If Edwards can come in and immediately become the receiver he was two seasons ago, then that is huge reward, but it is very doubtful he can conduct a swing like that.

It is more likely that he will take three weeks or so to become an intrinsic part of the game plan (look at Roy Williams last season) and hopefully he doesn't receive any sort of consequences for the assault incident. He'll probably be suspended 1 game by the NFL for the incident regardless of how it turns out.

So the way I see it, the Jets just lost a valuable wide receiver in Chansi Stuckey and won't get a replacement for three to five weeks. David Clowney and Brad Smith will fill the void until then.

This deal happened because of the assault. The Browns wouldn't deal Edwards to the Jets in the preseason. His value was still too high for the Jets asking price. Tannenbaum and Mangini are close and they are helping each other here, but I think the Jets are getting the shaft with the deal happening now.

At 3-1, I'd much rather play out the season as is. We have a shot at the division or a wild card. Without a solid No. 2 WR for the next couple weeks, the Jets could stumble and lose ground in the standings. It is an unneeded risk.

I just hope Rex Ryan has a plan to get wins while Edwards gets acclimated.

NY Jets Look Sharp in Opener against Houston

Nick Deplitch — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 10:15:24 -0400

This game had quite a few story lines for the New York Jets...all of them finishing with happy endings.

Rex Ryan and his coaching staff deserve to be applauded for how they orchestrated the game. The offensive adjustments were solid and defensively they brought an aggressive game plan, which is needed when facing a prolific offense.

It was a great first win for the first time head coach.

The most talked about story line was Mark Sanchez, the rookie QB on the road for his first career start. A lot of doubters expected Sanchez to perform poorly and after the first quarter, I was kind of nudging that way myself. He had a few shaky moments when the pressure was on.

The commentators, Jim Nantz and Phil Simms, definitely weren't among the doubters, though. On a replay of one of Sanchez's "shaky moments", they commented on how tight of a spiral he throws while under pressure, but video on my plasma showed a hardly rushed, wobbly toss into pretty loose coverage.

I think he just needed to get his feet wet because every pass after that was tight. Pressure hardly bothered him. Reading coverage and judging defenders was not his strong suit, as he had a couple almost picks and then the Texans only points of the game, a pick-six.

Hopefully he'll improve in that area, but every other aspect of his play was great. Especially, his third down play. The Jets were 10-18 on third down, and were 8-10 in the first half. And this was without a running game in the first half.

Football experts also doubted the Jets' wide receivers. Jerricho Cotchery and Dustin Keller played like two of the best at their positions, finding soft spots, beating man coverage, making tough catches, and getting plenty of YAC for first downs. Chansi Stuckey also showed up big with the touchdown reception, where he got wide open deep. The definition of scat-back, Leon Washington, caught and ran well also. David Clowney and Brad Smith didn't record any receptions, but other teams will see them more if they try to double Keller or Cotchery.

The Jets' defense should be the main discussion following the game. They smothered the Texans' offense. Steve Slaton had no where to run and Matt Schaub had no time to throw. My MVP of the game would have to be David Harris. He was a terror all over the field. Bart Scott and the other linebackers were solid as well, but Harris was in every tackle. He had six solo tackles, five assists, and a sack.

As for the rest of the defense, the Jets made big tackles to stop third down conversions, swarming the ball carrier. They played extremely well missing Calvin Pace and Shaun Ellis, two starters on suspension. The run defense was a big part of that, which all starts with the defensive line. They took up blockers to free up the linebackers, who hit Slaton repeatedly for losses and short gains.

Pass defense also starts with the D-Line. The Texans underestimated how big of a force Kris Jenkins can be. He tossed the Houston center around like a rag doll and hurried Schaub on several occasions. It was just fun to watch him club the guy and then bull rush the QB. The Jets also blitzed very well to pressure Schaub, using overloads and stunts. A lot of credit for this win should go to the Jets' defense which held the Texans to 48 plays for 38 yards rushing and 145 yards passing with only 11 first downs and no points.

Story line four goes back to OTA's when the Jets running backs, Thomas Jones and Leon Washington both held out because they are in the final year of their contracts, which are not very lucrative and would like to get paid with extensions. Both warranted it from last season, but the Jets held firm and both guys showed up to training camp with the gloves on to prove their worth.

Sunday was a rough start for both backs. Neither could find any running room early in the game. Jones had 12 rushes for 14 yards at one point.

Washington found running room after the Jets unveiled their Wildcat formation, which they dub Seminole due to Washington being from Florida State. He almost put his second Seminole run in for six, getting pulled down inches from the goal line.

Jones powered the ball in the end zone on the next play. Late in the game, Jones got his legs under him, found some crushing blocks from RG Brandon Moore and FB Tony Richardson, and began to put up some yards. He took one run 39 yards to the end zone for his second score. A couple of big runs made his rushing stats look a lot better, but those that watched the game know that he played pretty poorly with two fumbles (one credited to Sanchez due to a hand off exchange, but after the replay, I believe Jones was to blame as he tried to take the ball with his hands).

Regardless, the finish of the game had Washington and Jones plugging away, burning clock, and eating up first downs to put the game away.

Another happy ending.

Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Tips

Nick Deplitch — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 13:24:35 -0400

I'm pretty sure that there is enough advise out there for everyone to determine their pre-draft rankings. I'm sure you've already figured out where you want to go with those last few almost meaningless picks as well, because someone tipped you to a great sleeper. What you don't see is advice to help you find that one waiver wire pick up to get you through the season and to the playoffs. Here are ten players who are likely to be undrafted, but could find their way to the playing field and put up good fantasy numbers. Last season, anyone who had a dud QB, Tyler Thigpen was their savior. For anyone with a dud RB, Moe Williams, Pierre Thomas, and Darren Sproles filled in nicely. This season, I'll give you an early peak at those players.

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