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newsday: Misdirection Play on Coles 7/22


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http://www.newsday.com/sports/football/jets/ny-glaub223383240jul22,0,7875910.column?coll=ny-sports-print

Misdirection Play on Coles

Bob Glauber

July 22, 2003

Day 1 of life without Laveranues, and it's as if the guy never existed.

Coach Herman Edwards: "When you lose players, you find a way to move on. It's not the end of the world."

Quarterback Chad Pennington: "I think our receiving corps is stronger this year than last year." (Yes, he really said that.)

Running back Curtis Martin: "I don't think we'll miss a beat." (Yes, he really said that, too.)

Memo to the Jets: Hello?

The Jets opened training camp yesterday without their most accomplished receiver since Keyshawn Johnson, and the denial was everywhere. On the field, in the locker room, in the press room.

The Jets go into the season minus a player who had 89 catches for 1,264 yards and five touchdowns, but the way they sounded yesterday, it was as if Laveranues Coles were some street free agent.

OK, so you don't want to whine about what you don't have, especially when the guy takes the money and runs when the Redskins come calling with $35 million.

And in some ways, it was actually a good thing that Pennington would do some preseason woofing by proclaiming his receiving corps will be better than last year's. If nothing else, it lets the guys around him know their quarterback couldn't care less about who's not here. That's what you call leadership, and Pennington oozes it.

But if the Jets really believe they won't miss their star receiver, if they really think the offense will purr along as it did the second half of last season, they are sadly mistaken. Coles is a huge loss, and they won't easily make up for it no matter what they say now.

Not that they had much choice in letting him go; the Jets were wise to spend their free-agent dollars elsewhere rather than plunk down a $13-million signing bonus on a receiver. Football-wise, it was the right thing to do. But what they are left with is an offense that lacks the reliability and durability that Coles offered.

Don't think for a minute that Curtis Conway for Coles straight up is anything but a mismatch. Conway, the free agent from San Diego, still has good speed and soft hands. But he is a 32-year-old receiver with a history of injury with just three 16-game seasons in a 10-year career.

Santana Moss is talking about a breakout season, but based on his two previous years marked by injury and underachievement, we won't hold our breath.

Wayne Chrebet is the most reliable receiver the Jets have, and he will give you everything he has. And then some. He is an indispensable part of the offense, but he is not the No. 1 receiver that Coles turned into last season.

Right now, the Jets don't have a No. 1 receiver, but that doesn't seem to bother Pennington.

"There's a feeling among these [receivers] that we have that they have something to prove," the quarterback said. "There's a feeling they will step up and make more plays, and they want to be accountable. You can feel it out there with their focus, their intensity and their desire to be one of the best receiving corps.

"We lost a great player, and we can't just rely on what Laveranues did," he said. "That's a huge challenge for us, but I think we'll be stronger mentally to be able to overcome that."

Easier said than done. Pennington developed an instant chemistry with Coles last year, and to expect him to replicate that with Conway is unreasonable. Conway simply isn't the player Coles is.

Martin backs up Pennington's insistence that the Jets' offense won't struggle in Coles' absence.

"I think the receivers that we have now and the ones that have matured since last year bring our play to a higher level," the running back said. "The receivers we've had have all gotten better, plus we've got Curtis Conway to make up for Laveranues Coles, and we've got a Chad Pennington with more confidence and experience."

Ah, the first day of training camp, when it all sounds so simple. Just wait until September. Maybe then the Jets will realize the passing offense won't be the same, just as it wasn't the same the year after the Jets unloaded Keyshawn.

It doesn't mean the Jets are fatally flawed, and it doesn't mean they shouldn't dream about a third straight playoff berth under Edwards. But if they do get that far, it will be because Pennington is a good quarterback, because Martin is a great running back, because the defensive line is better and deeper than it's been in years, and because Edwards continues to mature as a head coach.

Not because they don't miss Coles.

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What's the over/under on when Conway goes down with an injury? I'll be surprised if he doesn't have an injury by week 8. I don't expect the Jets to say they will miss Coles, but I'll take him any day over the bunch they still have.

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I really don't understand the point of the article. Has Bob Glauber really uncovered some earth-shattering news?

All he said was that the Jets will experience a drop-off in talent in replacing Coles with Conway. True.

He also said that the Jets aren't crying to the media that they won't be able to replace Coles. Good.

Glauber has historically been a self-appointed FO basher, and in this article, he reveals more about himself than the Jets. First, I would expect a beat writer to at least be aware that the Jets do indeed have a No. 1 WR, even if he's critical of his talents. But Glauber declares that the Jets don't have one - false. Second, it seems misleading to bash Conway's durability and note that he has only 3 complete seasons, while ignoring that one of those seasons was in 2001 and that he has started in 43 of his last 48. Third, for all his deriding of Conway, he somehow overlooks that the player has been banished to terrible offenses his entire career, and that this is the best QB he's ever had. He also thumbs his nose at other aspects of the offense that could help to soften the loss of Coles: Chad is no longer in his first year starting, Moss will have an increased role, Curtis Martin is healthy.

I got out to Hofstra yesterday to check out the Jets afternoon session. Conway was one of the guys I had my eyes on so that I don't have to rely on the likes of Bob Glauber. His fluidity, hands and precision route-running all caught my eye. His timing with Chad looked excellent - balls were delivered before Conway came out of his breaks and caught right in stride. On one highlight, the crowd erupted as he adjusted under a spectacular 30 yard over-the-shoulder grab in a stiff wind.

So a day after the Jets open camp and dozens of juicy stories are available regarding the team's development, Glauber comes in with this breaking news alert: Conway isn't as good as Coles and the publically the Jets are not concerned. Journalism at its finest. ;)

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Originally posted by Flowtrain

First, I would expect a beat writer to at least be aware that the Jets do indeed have a No. 1 WR, even if he's critical of his talents.

Flow who is the #1? Conway does not get double teamed so please tell me who is a legit #1 reciever??

:fart:

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What exactly does the author expect Pennington and the rest of the team to do? Break down sobbing and start begging Laverneus to come back? The Jets are a class organization and have class players. They're not bellyache about this like some other teams have done. I like them even more now. Too bad there is bad blood between our fans. I actually have more respect for the players and coach now for the way they've handled this situation. It's unfortunate that it had to be the Jets instead of the Eagles who took the hit. I wish Skins fans would lay off this team because we have more important targets to hit such as the NFC East and idiots such as Jeremy Shockey. To the south we have Chris Farley and Quincy Carter to laugh at. Who gives a $%>#! about the friggin Jets. Even if they beat the Redskins who cares. NFC East baby.

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No one put the words in Pennington or Martin's mouths. Edwards had a better response but for Pennington to say that the WR corps are better than last year is ridiculous. I don't care if the 10 people at Jets camp liked what he did on day one or not.

And Reaganaut, I'm with you, who cares about Jets? But sometimes they make it so easy I can't resist...

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Originally posted by Posse81

No one put the words in Pennington or Martin's mouths. Edwards had a better response but for Pennington to say that the WR corps are better than last year is ridiculous. I don't care if the 10 people at Jets camp liked what he did on day one or not.

And Reaganaut, I'm with you, who cares about Jets? But sometimes they make it so easy I can't resist...

They are the new Smurfs :laugh:

:jetssuck:

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Can we agree that Gardner is more of a #2 than a #1 receiver? If so, it looks like the Jets might be going into this season in the same shape we did last season. No true #1 WR, but a few #2's. We were pretty confident we'd be ok without a true #1, and we saw the results. I kind of expect the same for the Jets.

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if Conway was still a potential #1 receiver the Chargers would not have let him go and then take on the risk of a David Boston.

the truth is as Glauber stated, that Conway and Moss are question marks for 2003 as compared to a healthy Coles.

Moss has yet to prove he has the durability to hold up over 16 games. Indeed he has yet to prove he can beat quality coverages period.

Only Chrebet is a consistent presence and he is a possession receiver and thus does not fill the role that Coles did.

While the Jets may still have a productive offense if Martin returns to peak form and Pennington has a whale of a season, it doesn't minimize the loss of their leading receiver from 2002, a player they could have retained with more focused negotiations and better cap management.

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Just a couple points on Conway's ability to fill the role as a stop-gap, short-term #1 WR...

1. In 2001, he had 71 catches, 1125 yards 6 TDs.

2. In 2002, he was on pace to repeat those numbers but received a misdiagnosis on his shoulder, and missed 3 games.

3. His complimentary WRs over that span were Jeff Graham and Tim Dwight and he played in the conservative Marty Ball system.

4. As a Charger, his QBs have been Ryan Leaf, Doug Flutie and Drew Brees. In Chicago, he was blessed with the likes of McNown, Matthews, Kramer, Mirer, Krieg, etc.

As for him being a #1 for the Jets, Moss will attempt to fit more of a Lynn Swann role (please excuse the lofty comparison), where he'll get a few touches with the potential to make the game-breaking play, but will have a big intangible effect on spreading opposing Ds. Chrebet gets the slot and will be looked to on 3rd downs. That leaves Conway as the #1, the role he was given in SD. He'll get the most looks at face the #1 DBs. But in this offense, a lot of balls are thrown to the RB/FB as well.

He's not as good as Coles, but he also has a different game - he's taller and, surprisingly has had more success breaking it deep (twice as many catches over 40 yds) -- but he's not as tough over the middle and doesn't have Coles' quickness. If I had to guess, I'd expect him to come close to a 1000 yd season, but probably fall just short due to missing a game or two.

The Jets will clearly need to address the position next season either via the draft or FA. But but for a year or two, IMO, Conway is a respectable replacement who will finally have a chance to see what he can do in a productive offense with a capable QB.

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Originally posted by Flowtrain

3. His complimentary WRs over that span were Jeff Graham and Tim Dwight and he played in the conservative Marty Ball system.

As for him being a #1 for the Jets, Moss will attempt to fit more of a Lynn Swann role (please excuse the lofty comparison),

Ok yes he didn't do too bad but you just mentioned why, he was the only WR the chargers had. Graham, I don't even think he is still in the league.

As for your second statement you better hope that Moss doesn't end up like his fellow teammate Peter Warrick, they are very close, more than Lynn Swann. I can't believe you even put Swann in the same sentence with Moss, he would be disgusted you would even do that.

Then again you are a jets fan :laugh:

:fart: :thud:

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maybe conway has twice as many 40+ catches because:

1) chad was throwing the ball...

and

2) conway has played TEN seasons compared to Coles' three...

you do realize that Conway's best season is roughly what our not #1 WR had last year in only his second season..? and that this year he actually is a #2. face it, your WR corps is lacking. Chrebet is a great guy, but he won't be able to catch 150 passes.

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Originally posted by AJWatson3

maybe conway has twice as many 40+ catches because:

1) chad was throwing the ball...

and

2) conway has played TEN seasons compared to Coles' three...

you do realize that Conway's best season is roughly what our not #1 WR had last year in only his second season..? and that this year he actually is a #2. face it, your WR corps is lacking. Chrebet is a great guy, but he won't be able to catch 150 passes.

AJ - you really need to settle yourself down. You read that comment on the 40+ yarders and became unhinged. :twitch:

1. You are aware that Testaverde (who actually throws a great deep ball) was the QB for all of 2000, all of 2001 and the beginning of 2002, right?

2. Conway actually had 24 career plays of 40+ yards, but I figured I'd only mention the 8 he caught over the same 3 year span during which Coles played.

Nobody's attacking Coles or the Skins WRs here. Just commenting that Conway is a capable WR who will get a shot this year. :peace1:

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Originally posted by Flowtrain

Nobody's attacking Coles or the Skins WRs here. Just commenting that Conway is a capable WR who will get a shot this year. :peace1:

I agree, but just don't think he will be the number 1. Honestly I would like to see Moss step up and take that role, but I don't see it happening. You are right the Jets won't solve their WR problem till next year.

The one thing this will hurt is now since no one will need to be double teamed then that is one more defender that will be used to help stop martin or get in Chad's face.

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Kind of an odd contrast here between Jets fans and Redskins fans.

The Redskins had the likes of Shane Matthews and Danny Weurffel throwing the ball behind a horrendous interior 0-line. Yet Rod Gardner catches 71 balls for 1006 yards and 8 TDs. And yet Skins fans are still clamoring he's not a #1 receiver.

The Jets had the league's highest rated QB throwing behind one of the stronger lines in the NFL. Coles caught approximately 90 balls for 1200 yards and 5 TDs.... and yet despite losing their #1 offensive threat.. Jets fans aren't concerned about a dropoff in production.

Can you tell the optimists from the pessimists?

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