E-Boland & Gang Green

Jesse Chatman's agent, Brett Tessler, called me back a few minutes ago to give this statement regarding Chatman's suspension:

“Jesse never tested positive for a steroid or any other performance-enhancing drug. Near the end of last season the League claimed he had a diuretic in his system that they said could also be used as a masking agent. After spending great time and money defending his innocence, the League made its final ruling and now Jesse has no choice but to look ahead to week 5.”

Obviously, the Jets weren't caught by surprise here. Don't mean that in a judgmental way, just saying.

Also, totally unrelated, not a good debut by Rich Rodriguez's spread offense at Michigan. But his defense was even worse. The Michigan/Notre Dame game in two weeks looks just huge now. That game should be sponsored by Zoloft.

All right, back to newspaper writing. We'll have some thoughts on the roster later tonight or tomorrow morning. Depends how good the Clemson/Alabama game is. Not that I'm leaving the blog unprotected tonight by any stretch.

A statement from the NFL on Jesse Chatman:

"Jesse Chatman of the New York Jets has been suspended without pay for the team’s first four regular-season games of 2008 for violating the NFL Policy on Steroids and Related Substances. Chatman's suspension begins on Saturday, August 30. He is eligible to return to the Jets’ active roster on Monday, September 29 following the team’s September 28 game against the Arizona Cardinals."

"I'm disappointed," Eric Mangini just said on a conference call with reporters.

Mangini said Chatman had a job waiting for him when the suspension ends.

As for the roster moves, note the surprise of the Jets keeping four quarterbacks. I was way off on that one.

Here goes...

Injured Reserve:

S Cameron Worrell

Released:

LB Matt Chatham

DB Hank Poteat

Waived:

WR David Ball

OL Jacob Bender

WR Larry Brackins

DB Rudy Burgess

RB Jehuu Caulcrick

OL Stanley Daniels

OL Kyle DeVan

OL Nate Garner

DB James Ihedigbo

DL Thomas Johnson

DL Bryan Mattison

OL Matt McChesney

LB Blair Phillips

DL Ropati Pitoitua

TE Jason Pociask

WR Paul Raymond

LB Brandon Renkart

TE A.J. Schable

"Sometimes it's hard to find three (QBs) that you like," Mangini said. "It [keeping four] is unique but all four guys we like."

More to come but now I have to write some newspaper stuff.

The Jets just announced Eric Mangini's press conference, scheduled for 1 p.m. this afternoon, has been postponed until 6 p.m. Clearly, to use a Mangini-ism, the roster is a "fluid situation" right now, with more going on than simply trimming the roster to 53. The day's No. 1 question has turned into, what in the heck is going on with Jesse Chatman? His agent has told a few outlets that Chatman isn't going to be traded or released. Word is the Jets are looking into a few trade scenarios, with the obvious areas of need depth on the O-line - big time - and at safety.

So concrete answers to all this have been delayed for a bit, until early this evening. The league deadline for the roster cuts is 4 p.m. Back with more as answers come in. Now, back to tracking this stuff and, in the background, watching the Northwestern/Syracuse game, which is 3-2 in midway through second quarter. Yes, I'm a junkie.

Before packing up the Solara (103,000 miles and going strong) and heading back to New York, a short (we hope?) look back at tonight's Jets 27-20 victory in the final preseason game.

* Erik Ainge, it was probably too late to make the 53-man roster but good job showing the Jets you have some potential. A nice, strong throw on the 6-yard touchdown to David Ball, and the 13-yard sideline pass to Marcus Henry was solid. Ainge, who went 10-for-16 for 131 yards, is likely headed for the practice squad but, hey, that's where Brett Ratliff was last year. It's not a death sentence.

"I think they drafted me for a reason but things happen, you just have to roll with it and I'm not really going to worry about that," Ainge said of his roster future.

* Favre didn't play, as you know, spending the night wearing a green Jets baseball cap on the sideline. Turns out, he never got around to lobbying Mangini for playing time.

"I understood why he [Mangini] didn't want to play the starters," Favre said. "Sure I wanted to play but it wasn't a big deal. I never really brought it up."

* Jesse Chatman, take the weekend off. Monday, too, if you need it.

* Hear me out on this: after the dreadful first quarter, the backup offensive line actually opened up some holes for Chatman to run through. But Jacob Bender...eh.

* Kenwin Cummings, welcome to the bigs, kid. Marques Murrell, maybe you, too.

* FOB (Friend of the Blog) dmb, I will tell you I think it's 51-49 David Barrett gets cut Saturday.

* Yes, Vernon Gholston looks completely lost out there at times, but I'm not making any long-term judgments on four preseason games. It's logically unsound.

* Chansi Stuckey, who played some nickel corner, didn't look terrible and showed some decent tackling skills (he had 4).

"I found out Monday from the coaches that I might get some plays on defense," said Stuckey, who later added he had never before played the position in high school or college. "It was fun but I really did not work that much on defense during the week. Earlier in camp, we went over some defensive options with me and I just remembered what to do."

* Eric Mangini said we should NOT assume Dwight Lowery will start opposite Darrelle Revis in the opener because the rookie wasn't on the field tonight. I think I'll go ahead and make that assumption anyway.

* Marcus Henry had two catches for 40 yards. That 27-yarder he hauled in was a real beauty, reaching behind AND low to make the catch on the run, and then producing significant YAC afterward. David Clowney going down hurt, but it did allow Henry some playing time he wouldn't have had otherwise. And he's taken advantage, securing a roster spot, which two weeks ago seemed unlikely.

*Finally, a mea culpa here. I incorrectly, during Wednesday's live chat, said the Jets had the option of PUP'ing Clowney. But that is not an option because he started training camp on the active roster and practiced with the team. The Jets did PUP Matt Chatham last Aug. 28 but he had not practiced all of training camp. The guess here is the Jets will likely put Clowney on the 53 man roster and he will be inactive the first few weeks of the season. My apologies for adding to the confusion more so than usual. I'll blame it on watching too much Democratic Convention coverage (relax, as an RIB - Registered Independent Blog - the Republicans will provide us with fodder as well).

And now, I will leave the press box.

Jets (2-1) vs. Eagles (2-1)

Eric Mangini has chosen to give his starters the night off, so have the Eagles. So it is Back Up Bowl time tonight in Philly.

You won't see Brett Favre, but you should get a looked at rookie quarterback Erik Ainge under center. The focus should be on quarterback play night. Kellen Clemens has not stood out this preseason, but Brett Ratliff has. Will that trend continue tonight?

The key tonight is no injuries and a few clear cuts as the roster will have to be dwindled down before the Jets open in Miami.

Joseph Staszewski is here to take you through all the big hits and the big scores.

First Quarter

Scoring:

PHI- David Akers 40-yard FG (Eagles 3, Jets0)
8 plays, 40 yards, 3:21
Highlight: Kolb hits Celek with consecutive passes to gain 22 yards. The second pass went for 14 yards.

PHI- Booker 3-yard run (Eagles 10, Jets 0)
9 plays, 60 yards, 8:58
Highlight: Kolb connects with Baskett fro a 25-yard pass to the Jet 3-yard line on Third and 3.

Positive Plays

Vernon Gholston rebounds from a missed tackle to hold Buckhalter to just a 3-yard gain on the next play. On the Jets third series, Jessie Chatman did a real good job cutting into the holes and moving the piles. Chatman rushes for 15-yard on 3rd and 15 after a delay of game penalty.

Negative Plays

Vernon Gholston missed a tackle and allows Buckholter to gain nine yards on first down during the Eagles opening drive. Wayne Hunter gets beat at the line. It leads to a sack of Brett Ratliff on third down during the Jets second possession. Clemens takes a delay of game on 3rd and 10 during the Jets third series.

End of the First
EAGLES 10, JETS 0

Second Quarter

Scoring:

NYJ- Nugent 22-yard FG (Eagles 10, Jets 3)
17 plays, 72 yards, 8:06
Highlight: Raymond runs 21 yards to the Eagles 15 on a reverse to the left side.

PHI-Akers 28-yard FG (Eagles 13, Jets 3)
11 plays, 38 yards, 5:20
Highlight: Demps starts the drive with a 51-yard kick-off return.

NYJ- Ratliff 11-yard pass to Raymond (Eagles 13, Jets 10)
7 plays, 55 yards, 3:45
Highlight: Ratliff goes 3-of-4 for 56 yards and a touchdown on the drive

Positive Plays
Chatman runs for 46 yards on the Jets first scoring drive. Carrol has a 40-yard kick-off return after Akers made it 13-3 Eagles. Ratliff hits Marcus Henry for a 27-yard gain to the Eagles 11 to set up a touchdown pass. Abram Elam picks off Feeley on the right side line on 3rd down from the Jets 30.

Negative Plays
The Jets could not punch in a touchdown after starting 1st and Goal on the Eagles 6. Jets did not record a sack in the half.

Halftime: Eagles 13, JETS 10

Third Quarter

NYJ- Ainge 6-yard pass to Ball (Jets 17, Eagles 13)
9 plays, 67 yards, 4:54
Highlight: Ainge goes 4-of-4 for 62 yards on the drive throws his first career touchdown pass as a Jet.

Positive Plays
Chatman gains 39 yard but taking a short pass from Ainge up the right sideline on a drive that ended with a touchdown pass for Ainge.

Negative Plays
Ainge fumbles the snap on second and goal, but recovers on the second and goal from the Eagles 5.

End of the Third: Jets 17, Eagles 13

Fourth Quarter

Scoring:

NYJ- Nugent 34-yard field goal (Jets 20, Eagles 13)
13 plays, 61 yards, 6:40
Highlight: Chatman carries the ball eight times for 40 yards.

PHI- Feeley 3-yard pass to Childress (Jets 20, Eagles 20)
4 plays, 60 yards, 1:55
Highlight: Feeley hits Gasperson for a 54 yard pass to the Jets 6 to help set up a touchdown pass.

NYJ- Chatman 2-yard run (Jets 27, Eagles 20)
3 plays, 17 yards, 1:28
Highlight: Ainge finds Marcus Henry for a 13 yard strike to the left sideline.

Positive Plays

Carroll recovers a fumbled kick-off on the Eagles 17. Hank Poteat picks off Feeley just outside the end zone with under 3:00 left in the game.

Negative Plays

Jets give up an easy first down over the middle on a 3rd and 7 with under 3:00 left in the game.

JETS 27, EAGLES 20

Analysis: No injuries and no sacks for the Jets. The backup quarter back spot is still muddled, but Ratliff has certainly made a strong case. Erik Ainge was sharp tonight. The back up offensive line played well Chatman was the star thought with 29 carries for 93 yards and a touchdown. He also caught six passes for 87 yards.

First things first.

I will continue to refer to PSLs as Personal Screw Licenses because I find the underlying principle behind the PSL – a user’s fee – objectionable. It’s the equivalent of going to King Kullen and having to pay $100 at the door, THEN paying for my groceries.

And no more of the “Costco” argument, which I’ve heard from quite a few people when I’ve mentioned the grocery shopping analogy. Okay, let’s deal with that. Yes, you pay a $50 "user's fee" per year to belong to Costco. But in exchange, you gain entrance to a club that sells everything at DISCOUNT prices. There’s no discounts available to PSL holders. Come back with the Costco example when teams start using PSLs as a path to discounted ticket prices, parking and concessions. Actually, if teams did that, the whole PSL concept would be a great deal more palatable. But right now the PSL simply gives holders the rights to pay exorbitant dollars for everything else.

So that’s where I’m at on PSLs and nothing in the Jets plan sways me from that opinion. Nor from the opinion that fans never wanted a new stadium in the first place. To date, no one has produced a survey of any kind showing public demand that the Jets and Giants build a new stadium, let alone one costing $1.6 billion. But that’s wholly irrelevant now, so let’s deal in the here-and-now.

I can’t completely kill the Jets on their plan, which I’ve gone over carefully. And I liked their literature’s straight-forward address. There was no talk about PSLs as investments or taxi medallions (thanks), and while I disagree with the second paragraph claim, “While a PSL program is necessary to help finance this new building…” there was little in the way of condescension.

It is a savvy PR move to have the upper bowl without PSLs, though from looking at those non-PSL ticket prices and the seats that do have PSLs, the money is being recovered elsewhere. Here’s part of an email blog reader Mark McGillicuddy, a 23-year-old Financial Analyst, sent me earlier today:

“The upper bowl really isn’t THAT much better, if at all better for Jets fans. In the upper level, Giants tickets per seat will cost $95. Times 10 games a year that’s $950 + $1000 one time PSL.
In the upper level, Jets tickets per seats will cost $105. Times 10 games a year that’s $1050 + no psl fee.
I think it’s fair to assume most season ticket holders plan on keeping their seats 10+ years. Each seat for the Giants will break even after 10 years, AND they’ll own their PSL. Given that most people have 2-4 seats, a 5 year payment plan of $2000-$4000 now, plus the fact that in 10 years your seats will be cheaper (assuming the same percentage increase in ticket prices for both teams) seems like a better deal to me.
Not to mention the fact that at any time you can sell your PSL for the Giants, which will undoubtedly appreciate and would be worth more than the Jets PSL (most likely).”

Mark makes some interesting points, although to be clear, you do get ownership of your Jets PSL and, like the Giants’, those PSLs can be sold as well. Bottom line: how many of you thought there’d be any seats, let alone 27,000, without PSLs in the new place? The Jets did at least dare to be different.

No one was ever going to be completely happy with whatever plan the Jets released, but when Woody Johnson said in his letter, “We listened to our fans in designing the plan,” it seems like more than empty verbiage. He gets some credit for that.

But I would have liked to seen more value-added things for PSL holders. For example, PSL owners in the lower bowl and mezzanine seats ($4,000-$20,000) “will also receive these exclusive rights and privileges,” according to the Web site newjetsstadium.com:
" Incredible sightlines
 Access to VIP reserved parking
 More legroom and cupholders at every seat
 Option of purchasing tickets to other events and concerts (Subject to terms and availability.)
 Right to transfer or sell PSL in the future
 Ability to finance over 5 years”

It remains to be seen how much benefit is contained in some of those above mentioned benefits. Access to VIP reserved parking COULD be a tangible benefit but is it really if it costs $75 a game? I’m not saying it does or it will, but if it’s included in the price of the PSL or the season tickets, then we’re talking about a real benefit and not something nebulous or open to interpretation.

I’ve always thought some kind of price-lock guarantee would be a concrete PSL benefit. Such as, plunk down your $4,000 PSL (or $10,000 or whatever) and, in return, the team gives assurance that your ticket prices won’t increase for, say, four or five consecutive years. Just a thought. And throw in some parking and concession vouchers. Something from the team that says, “Ok, we’re asking you for some major up-front money to help pay construction costs, but as a gesture of goodwill, you’ll never pay to park as long as you have the PSL.” That's one example, anyway.

I love the idea of auctioning off the Coaches Club seats, which the organization says, “is the ultimate, premium Jets fan experience. Members can even watch the game standing right behind the Jets bench - any closer and you’ll risk getting tackled.”

A cap-tip to the Jets for out-of-the box thinking on that one. Not sure if that was Executive Vice President for Business Operations Matt Higgins, Executive Vice President for Finance and Stadium Development Thad Sheely, Woody Johnson himself, or someone else in the club hierarchy who came up with it. But it is, to use an Eric Mangini favorite, “a pretty unique approach.” Well done. Some people might be upset at the sanctity of the sideline being invaded, but c’mon, this isn’t an auctioned off seat at the table for a president’s morning cabinet meeting. It’s a football game. Let’s not take ourselves too seriously.

Overall, the Jets showed some ingenuity on this. As mentioned earlier, the only way they could have pleased everyone would have been no PSLs. But following the Patriots' model might not have been the best for fans, either. The Pats have some of the highest ticket prices in the league so hold the Bob Kraft-as-fan-philanthropist thoughts simply because he didn't do PSLs. Could the Jets plan be better? Yes. Could it have been worse? Absolutely. I thought it would be.

Sorry for the The Count of Monte Cristo-length post (yeah, I know I keep saying I'll be briefer. Next time. There's always next time).

Thanks to one and all for reading/participating in this morning’s live chat. We’ll do another one next week sometime to look ahead to the opener in Miami. Back at you tomorrow from Philadelphia.

Erik Boland answers your Jets questions in a live chat today at noon.

A few quick notes from the 45 minutes we were able to watch practice, the last one the Jets will ever have at Hofstra.

Veterans on this beat like Cimini, Cannizzaro and Hutch might have some fond memories to share of this place but this being my first year here, this is all I have:

Getting made fun of for wearing a blue “Hofstra Women’s Lacrosse” golf shirt during training camp; getting made fun of by some readers of this blog who showed up at camp (and some who didn’t); getting made fun of for a variety of things by artful Jets interns Matt Hintz and Christie Upton who, though I can’t confirm this, I suspect inserted their pictures into the media guide without permission; and, finally, some very bizarre press conference exchanges with Eric Mangini. Today’s retired the trophy on “odd” and if you’re really interested, you can look it up on line. I wouldn’t. As an aside I think I held up quite well to Mangini’s piercing wit. And, emphatically, I can say I didn’t take umbrage with anything that was said.

So in regard to practice today we did get to see three 7-on-7 plays before our allotted time to watch was up. With Brett Favre leading the way, those plays, against the “show” defense were:

1. A dump off over the middle to Thomas Jones
2. A short out for Dustin Keller that James Ihedigbo deflected away.
3. A 20-yard deep out to the right side that Chansi Stuckey caught between Ihedigbo and Ahmad Carroll.

Other than that, what we saw was special teams work and position drills.

* We did get to see a non-tackling version of the tackling drill. Among the top moves: Stuckey getting around Vernon Gholston, Marcus Henry juking out Mike DeVito and Brad Smith making a nice move to go past Darrelle Revis.

* Dwight Lowery, once again, started opposite Revis. In a drill with the dime package, we saw Revis and Lowery on the outside, with David Barrett and Drew Coleman inside.

* In one goal line shell, Favre connected on a fade to Jerricho Cotchery in the right corner of the end zone, just out of the reach of Revis.

* Stuckey had to run a penalty lap after dropping a punt. Jesse Chatman and Paul Raymond joined Stuckey, Leon Washington and Dwight Lowery as punt returners.

* Despite reports elsewhere, Kellen Clemens is still the Jets backup quarterback and every indication is he will start Thursday’s game in Philadelphia. He did say, “if all goes well,” it will be the last time we see him in a game this year. Clemens has been, and continues to be, a good sport. Classy guy with a sense of humor.

* In one drill near the goal line, Erik Ainge threw a fine pass to the back of the end zone that Hank Poteat stripped out of the hands of Marcus Henry at the last moment.

“Great throw!” an assistant coach exclaimed.

Ainge’s next pass, intended for Brad Smith near the right pylon, was intercepted by Revis.

* And this is for commenter Roger, who asked earlier about the tight ends: Mangini was asked about that group of four - Keller, Pociask, Franks and Baker - today and said, "I think there's definitely a very good chance that all of them could stay."

And with this being the final Jets practice at Hofstra, I’ll get the lights.

The Jets will not charge PSLs in the upper bowl of the new stadium, appx. 27,000 seats. Bob Glauber is at the presser but my initial reaction is...wow. I'm not at that press conference so that's the only thing I know but if there's no strings attached on this, good for the Jets. Much more to come from practice here, and from Glauber regarding the PSL specifics. Check out his blog to comment about the Jets PSL program.