Summer Comes Around

While I don't really miss living in Chicago, they did know how to do their summers right. Every weekend, there was a different suburb that had a summer festival going on. Now never mind that it was basically the same festival with the same sponsors, mostly similar food vendors (I still can't forget the Genoa stand with the 10 inch Italian sausage sandwich cooked over charcoal that always seemed to show up). There would be a steady rotation of cover bands, maybe a local artist opening for them. I remember the band that only did Creedence songs, the band that only did Eagles songs, the band that blended jazz and rock together. 

Now, not so much. In Virginia, these things jut don't happen. There are some bands, but you may have to drive across the water or up to Williamsburg to find any music. There are events, it seems like most of them are alcohol based and to hear music, you have to actually go into a restaurant or bar, there's nothing on the streets or in parks, which is what I remember. Where did that all go?

I was considering going to a Pizzapalooza in downtown Newport News. Sounded great, but then I saw it was 4 slices for 40 bucks, including a boozed drink. I'm sorry, that's just terrible value in my mind. $25, maybe I would consider it. I'm leaning towards going to Redwood for their 3 year anniversary party for some of that special Wagyu smoked brisket.

It was fun going to two straight Norfolk Tides vs Syracuse Mets games. At least at the Norfolk stadium they cook those pretzels over a charcoal grill, the way they were meant to be prepared! It is an ok stadium, but it does feel a little generic after 30 years. The new scoreboards were much needed, they are far brighter than the previous ones had been.

And all this time I thought Roe vs Wade was about boat ownership...

Supreme Court, way to go! 

The Case for Corey Davis

As the 2022 season approaches, we as Jets fans start to wonder what players we can count on, which ones we hope will do well, and which ones we have little if any expectation for. I am rather alarmed to see that a lot of Jets fans place WR Corey Davis into the third category. They are already considering him a bust, some people are calling him the fifth WR on the roster behind Garrett Wilson, Elijah Moore, Denzel Mims, Braxton Berrios. 

My argument is not to say that Corey Davis is a #1 wide receiver on the level of a DeAndre Hopkins or Mike Evans or Stefon Diggs. But I'm going to make my case why he is a legitimate starting WR in the NFL and I also want to examine the criticisms of Corey Davis and see if they hold water. So let's get into it. 

Before coming to the Jets, Davis played four years with the Tennessee Titans and many of his key stats steadily increased during those years. 

2017: 9 games, 34 catches on 65 targets, 375 yards, 0 TD

2018: 16 games, 65 catches on 12 targets, 891 yards, 4 TD

2019: 15 games, 43 catches on 69 targets, 601 yards, 2 TD

2020: 14 games, 65 catches on 92 targets, 984 yards, 5 TD

Oh and his quarterbacks were Marcus Mariota, Blaine Gabbert, Ryan Tannehill. These are not exactly Aaron Rodgers or Patrick Mahomes or Russell Wilson. Then with rookie Zach Wilson as his quarterback, Davis quickly became the most trusted target as the young Jets offense, who was also coached by a rookie OC in Mike LaFleur, was trying to find some direction. Here is the stat line on Corey Davis' 2021 season.

2021: 9 games, 34 catches on 59 targets, 492 yards, 4 TD

So Davis played essentially half a season. If we project the stats, he was on pace for right around 1,000 yards and 8-9 touchdowns before getting hurt and missing the second half of the season. Keep in mind Wilson played far less effectively in the first half of the season as opposed to the second half of the season, when he did not turn the football over during the last five games of the Jets' season. And also, for the critics complaining Davis never had a 1,000 yard season, 984 is pretty, pretty close and 891 isn't exactly terrible.

1. He's overpaid

GM Joe Douglas made his first notable splash of the 2020 offseason by inking Davis to a 3 year, $37.5 million contract, so it's averaging to $12.5 million per year. Let's look at some other wide receivers making a similar amount of money.

Kenny Golladay, $18 million

Christian Kirk, $17 million

Courtland Sutton, $15.2 million

Robby Anderson, $14.75 million

Michael Gallup, $11.5 million

Curtis Samuel, $11 million

Nelson Agholor, $11 million

Looking at this list of names, nobody would call them a top level, elite WR. Golladay was considered the biggest bust of last year's free agency crop and fans around the league were aghast when Jacksonville paid Kirk $17 million per year. And 90 percent of Jets fans cringe at the thought of Robby Anderson coming back if the Panthers are dealing with a case of contract remorse. So $13 million or so for Davis doesn't seem all that outrageous in this context. Plus, if he doesn't have a great 2022 season, the Jets could choose to cut him and the dead cap hit would be only $667,000.

2. He drops the ball/he has stone hands

We hear this complaint as much as any other one about Corey Davis. Perhaps the most damaging play Davis had last season was a pivotal fumble against New England and some Jets fans never got over it. But let's look a little deeper at the drops. Specifically, let's review how many drops Davis had in his first five seasons and also the drop percentage.

2017: 0 drops

2018: 6 drops, 5.4%

2019: 4 drops, 5.8%

2020: 3 drops, 3.3%

2021: 5 drops, 8.5%

Look at that drop percentage. In 2020, Davis recorded a 3.3 drop percentage and this past year with the Jets, it jumped to 8.5%. Are we to believe that Corey Davis turned 26 years old and suddenly forgot how to catch a football? Maybe the way Zach Wilson threw the football led to Davis dropping the ball more and maybe it also has something to do with the Jets receivers dropping more passes than any other team in the league in 2021. 

And last year, the wide receivers who lead the NFL in dropped passes? Keenan Allen and Jamarr Chase, with 9 apiece. I doubt fans of the Chargers and Bengals first think of dropped passes with these two receivers.

3. He gets hurt too much!

Let's look at the injuries Davis has had.

2017: Hamstring, missed 5 games

2018: No injuries

2019: Hip, missed 1 game. Concussion, returned for the next game

2020: Thigh strain, missed 2 games

So Davis missed 8 games in 4 years, or an average of 2 per year. Then he goes to the Jets and on our cursed Field Turf in Met Life Stadium, it didn't go so well.

2021: Hip, missed 2 games. Groin, needed surgery, placed on IR in December, missed last 6 games

There's a good chance the hip issue led to the groin issue as these are core muscles. And despite Davis coming back after two games, he was not quite the same player after and eventually, his season was shut down. This was one of the many free agents brought in who just could not get a good injury break. See Carl Lawson, see Vinny Curry, see LaMarcus Joyner, etc.

Conclusion

Jets fans, this is no scrub. This is a 6'3 209 pound wide receiver who runs routes well, and was steadily getting better and better. We never got to see how good because when he was in the lineup, Mike LaFleur, Zach Wilson, and the offensive line were not doing their jobs as well as they would in the second half of the season. 

Davis may be similar to Wayne Chrebet or Eric Decker in that he needs a very good WR on the other side of him to be at his best, like had with AJ Brown in his last year in Tennessee. Now we've added Garrett Wilson, who had the potential to be a top level WR for Zach Wilson. And we still are yet to see the ceiling of Elijah Moore. One of the best things that can happen to Corey Davis this year is Elijah Moore to stay healthy, allowing him to ascend to a possible top level wide receiver that he showed glimpses of being in 2021.

So this season, let's see Davis play inside a little more where he can use his size to block in the run game, take advantage of smaller corners, and get some yards after the catch. The Cowboys do this with CeeDee Lamb, the Bucs do it with Chris Godwin. 

And let's not forget how the improved running game can make life easier for the passing game. With a new talent like Breece Hall running alongside Michael Carter, it can open up more opportunities for Davis off play action plays.

While we're excited about getting a new starting WR in the draft and maybe another via trade or free agency, let us not forget the young veteran the Jets already have who can prove to be a big piece in making this offense thrive.

Jets Blog-Most Successful Numbers in Franchise History

In this article, we're going to analyze what jersey number has been the most successful for the Jets in their history. Of course, we're not going to count each and every player who wore the jersey, in the interest of simplicity, we're just going to focus on players who made a respectable contribution to the Jets.

Scoring System

So how will we evaluate these jersey numbers? We're focusing on 6 criteria and assigning different point values for each. They are as follows:

Hall of Famer as a Jet (HOF)* = 5

Super Bowl winner (SB) = 4

Ring of Honor Inductee (ROH)* = 3

All Pro 1st team (AP1) = 2

Pro Bowl (PB) = 1

Playoff win (PW) = 1

*When I calculated all the numbers, there were five players I projected to be future Ring of Honor inductees: Chad Pennington, Shaun Ellis, Darrelle Revis, D'Brickashaw Ferguson, and Nick Mangold. I also projected Revis to be elected to the Hall of Fame in 2023, his first year of eligibility. Those players received credit as an inductee and have an asterisk next to their name.

From there, we will reveal the Top 10. Tiebreakers are broken by whichever jersey number ranked higher in the highest scoring categories. 

The Rankings

1. #24 41 points

Johnny Sample (2 PW, SB), Freeman McNeil (1 AP1, 3 PB, ROH, 3 PW), Ty Law (1 PB), Darrelle Revis (3 AP1, 5 PB, ROH*, HOF*, 4 PW)

Only 11 players have worn #24 in Jets history. But the level of productivity from the players who have worn #24 is simply unmatched. Sample played his final 3 years with the Jets and provided the Jets with leadership they needed in their quest to the Super Bowl. He had a remarkable 17 interceptions in those 3 seasons. McNeil played 12 seasons for Gang Green, receiving most of his accolades in his first five years. Ty Law came over during the Brett Favre year and made a Pro Bowl. And simply put, we may never see a cornerback as good as Darrelle Revis ever again. Chances are he will make the Hall of Fame in 2023, and that would add another 5 points to this score!

Other notables: Ray Mickens.

2. #60 34 points

Larry Grantham (5 AP1, 5 PB, 2 PW, ROH, SB), D'Brickashaw Ferguson (3 PB, ROH*, 4 PW)

Only seven Jets have worn #60, but two of them have left an undeniable impact on the history of the franchise Grantham is on the only Jet to play the inaugural game with the Titans and also play in Super Bowl 3. He made the first All Pro team in each of his first five seasons and 8 All Pro teams in 9 years. And Brick's durability has been well documented, missing just snap in his ten years. He may never have been the best left tackle in the league, but he was tough, reliable, and solid.

Other notables: Dan Alexander, Connor McGovern

3. #99 22 points

Mark Gastineau (3 AP1, 5 PB, ROH, 3 PW), Bryan Thomas (4 PW), Jason Taylor (1 PW)

Gastineau leads this group with a mound of individual accolades and his Ring of Honor induction. Although Thomas never became the elite pass rusher the Jets were hoping for, he still hung around for 11 years.

Other notables: Hugh Douglas, Steve McLendon

4. #12 21 points

Joe Namath (1 AP1, 5 PB, ROH, HOF, 2 PW, SB)

There really wasn't any way this list would leave Joe Willie, now would it? The franchise's leader in passing yards, TD's, and their only Super Bowl MVP. Three players wore #12 before him, and no one would wear it ever again after Namath left the Jets in 1976.

Other notables: Al Dorow

5. #75 21 points

Winston Hill (8 PB, ROH, HOF, 2 PW, SB)

Hill is one of those Jets that has gone a little under the radar in retrospect. No Jet has made more Pro Bowls than this left tackle, who played 15 years of pro football. Of his eight Pro Bowls, he made 5 at left tackle and 3 at left tackle.

Other notables: Siupeli Malamala, Alijah Vera-Tucker

6. #68 21 points

Kevin Mawae (2 AP1, 6 PB, ROH, HOF, 3 PW)

One man makes this number and it's the center from 1998-2005. Credit to Bill Parcells for signing him away from Seattle, helping to turn around what had been the worst offensive line in football just two years before. Mawae led the Jets offensive line to a long string of success. Without him Curtis Martin would not have had holes so large to run through. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2019 and it was well deserved.

Other notables: Reggie McElroy, Matt Slauson, Breno Giacomini, Kelvin Beachum

7. #83 21 points

George Sauer (2 AP1, 4 PB, ROH, 2 PW, SB), Jerome Barkum (1 PB), Santana Moss (2 PW)

This one would fly a little under the radar, but it goes to show that Sauer was an underappreciated part of the Jets offense. He played just six years but made four Pro Bowls in that time. Barkum played 12 seasons with the Jets from 1972-1983, and was a steady contributor. Moss had four years as a Jet before being traded to Washington, where he would play the bulk of his career.

Other notables: Jo-Jo Townsell, Chansi Stuckey

8. #13 20 points

Don Maynard  (1 AP1, 4 PB, ROH, HOF, 2 PW, SB)

It's all about one player. The late great Maynard was one of the most prolific WRs in NFL history. Over 11,000 yards and 88 touchdowns and he caught two pivotal catches in the 1968 AFL title game that propelled the Jets to Super Bowl 3. Without him, Namath would never have been as good a quarterback as he became.

Other notables: Dave Jennings

9. #81 20 points

Gerry Philbin (2 AP1, 2 PB, ROH, 2 PW, SB), Dustin Keller (4 PW)

Had sacks been an official stat when Philbin was a player, he would have recorded double digits in four straight seasons. Tight end is not a position where the Jets have traditionally been strong, but Keller is one of the best in recent memory, as he caught 17 TDs and had nearly 3,000 yards in his brief 5-year career.

Other notables: Derrick Gaffney, Terance Mathis, Justin McCareins, Quincy Enunwa

10. #74 20 points

Abdul Salaam (2 PW), Nick Mangold (2 AP1, 7 PB, ROH*, 4 PW)

Salaam is the least heralded member of the NY Sack Exchange but he played eight seasons wit the Green and White. And for a franchise that ha a great history of centers, Mangold be the best, making 7 Pro Bowls in his 11 seasons. It's worth noting if Mangold does ever get elected to the Hall of Fame, #74 would be elevated to the #3 ranking on this list.

Other notables: Erik Howard, Ryan Young

Honorable mention: #79 18 points

Sherman Plunkett (2 PB), Marvin Powell (3 AP1, 5 PB, ROH, 2 PW)