New York Sports Fan Blog

First, Thomas Jones, then Alan Faneca. Will Shaun Ellis be the next over-30 veteran dumped by the Jets? He wonders.

Ellis, a defensive end, told the Associated Press Thursday his request for a contract extension was rejected by the Jets, leading him to believe he might not be with the team for the upcoming season. Ellis, 32, may have been dangled in trade talks before last month’s draft but is now not in danger of being jettisoned, according to a person familiar with the team’s thinking.

“I don’t know,” Ellis said. “I think so. Well, I hope so. You never know what they’re thinking up there. You’ve just got to roll with it. We try to control our own fate, but we really can’t.”

The Jets’ longest-tenured player, Ellis is due to make $3.35 million in the final year of his contract. He recorded 6½ sacks last season, bringing his career total to 68 and made the Pro Bowl as an alternate. Ellis has a troublesome knee, but the Jets are hoping to squeeze one more season out of him, especially with depth concerns at defensive end.

Click here to read the full article – By Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com

Linebacker Jason Taylor is leaving the Dolphins to play for the Jets, his agent, Gary Wichard, told the Miami Herald.

League sources told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter that Taylor — the NFL’s active sacks leader with 127½ — agreed to a two-year deal that could be worth as much as $3.75 million in the first year.

The Miami Herald reported that Taylor is tentatively scheduled to travel to the New York area on Wednesday to sign the contract.

Because of the Final Eight rules that restrict the Jets from signing Taylor for more in the first year than what Jay Feely received from leaving the Jets to join the Cardinals, Taylor will be on the Jets’ books for $1.75 million in 2010, but he could earn another $1.25 million to $2 million depending upon his performance.

Click here to read the full article – By of ESPNNewyork.com

The obscene gesture for which Jets coach Rex Ryan was fined $50,000 came in reaction to a fan’s heckling that included spitting, according to FoxSports.com’s Jay Glazer.

Ryan, who this season led the Jets to the AFC Championship Game in his first year as an NFL head coach, “showed the greatest restraint,” Glazer said Thursday on New York radio station WFAN.

Glazer said he saw the incident that occurred Saturday night at a mixed martial arts event in South Florida.

Ryan was caught in a widely circulated cell-phone photograph extending his middle finger, presumably at the heckling fan.

Click here to read the full article – By of ESPN.com

Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez had his right knee examined by Dr. James Andrews, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press.

Sanchez visited Andrews on Wednesday in Birmingham, Ala., but it was not immediately certain if the quarterback will need surgery. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team had not commented publicly on Sanchez’s visit.

Sanchez missed one game after suffering a mild sprain of the posterior cruciate ligament against Buffalo on Dec. 3 in Toronto. He had no apparent signs of injury during the last several weeks of the season, as he helped lead the Jets to the AFC championship game.

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

Manhattan is now Revis Island — at least for a few days.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg unofficially renamed Manhattan after Jets star cornerback Darrelle Revis during a rush-hour pep rally for the team on Thursday in Times Square.


The Jets face the heavily favored Indianapolis Colts on Sunday in the AFC Championship Game in Indiana for a trip to the Super Bowl.

Thousands of Jets fans roared their approval when Bloomberg unveiled a large municipal-style sign printed “Welcome to Revis Island” with the team’s logo in one corner. Revis regular guards the opponents’ best receiver one-on-one, and the Jets call being put on Revis Island.

The sign will be posted in Times Square as long as the Jets are in the playoffs.

Click here to read the full article – By of ESPN.com

The rookie coach who declared his team Super Bowl favorites after he figured out they were still in the playoffs, is just a game away from being hailed for his psychic powers.

His Jets are still playing.

Rookies Mark Sanchez and Shonn Greene led New York to a stunning 17-14 upset of San Diego in the divisional playoffs Sunday, each providing a touchdown in the fourth quarter that marked another Chargers postseason pratfall.

The jovial, rotund Ryan isn’t afraid to say what’s on his mind, and his players are taking his lead as they head into the AFC Championship Game against Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

The twisting-turning point came down the right sideline. That’s when the Cincinnati Bengals decided to attack Darrelle Revis. That’s when they lost.

The Bengals were tied with the New York Jets and driving in the second quarter of the Jan. 9 wild-card playoff game in Paul Brown Stadium. Nine plays into their series, the Bengals had advanced to the Jets’ 41-yard line. It was third-and-6. Carson Palmer took the shotgun snap and got foolish.

Chad Ochocinco, split right and with the NFL’s best cover cornerback playing him heads up, released to get outside and flew. Not even a single move, much less a double move.

Palmer took three steps and fired a back-shoulder throw to Ochocinco that never arrived. Revis, defending the inside, rotated his entire body counterclockwise and snatched the underthrown ball. He spun once more to gather his feet and dashed 20 yards.

Four plays later, the Jets scored a touchdown and took a lead they never surrendered. Revis’ play was pivotal — literally and figuratively.

“When you have a choice, you’re going to avoid him like the plague,” ESPN analyst Trent Dilfer said. “I was shocked Carson Palmer took that shot. I’m shocked they’d even go there. That’s usually a route you use to take advantage of a corner that doesn’t belong because you know he can’t make the play.”

Click here to read the full article – By Tim Graham of ESPN,com

Rex and The Sanchise are headed to the playoffs, lucky breaks and all.

Same Old J-E-T-S? Nope, not this time.

Rex Ryan’s top-ranked defense shut down Cincinnati and rookie Mark Sanchez efficiently led a clock-eating offense as the New York Jets clinched their first playoff berth in three seasons with a 37-0 victory Sunday night at the frigid Meadowlands.

“It’s a special feeling,” Sanchez said. “A few weeks ago, people had us counted out.”

Needing a win to keep their season going, and playing in front of frosted fans braving Arctic conditions, the Jets (9-7) set up a rematch against the AFC North champion Bengals (10-6) in the first round Saturday at Cincinnati.

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

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Peyton Manning and the rest of the Colts accepted Jim Caldwell’s plan. The hometown fans didn’t like the imperfect ending one bit.

With Manning and a handful of other key players standing on the sideline hoping to save the Colts (14-1) from yet another second-half deficit Sunday, Caldwell never gave them a chance.

The New York Jets ended the Colts’ pursuit of perfection and their NFL-record 23-game winning streak with a 29-15 victory that had fans serenading Lucas Oil Stadium with boos and Manning, the three-time MVP, offering support for his coach’s decision.

“Until any player in here is the head coach, you follow orders and you follow them with all of your heart,” Manning said. “That’s what we’ve done as players. We follow orders. Our orders were not to give up a turnover, not to give up a kick return for a touchdown. There’s not many games, under any circumstances, that you win when you have turnovers and give up a kick return for a touchdown.”

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

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New York Jets safety Jim Leonhard is questionable for the team’s game at New England after being limited in practice with a broken right thumb.

Leonhard, injured in last Sunday’s loss to Jacksonville, returned to practice Friday and participated in individual drills as well as some team activities while wearing a cast on his hand.

Coach Rex Ryan said he’d consult with Leonhard and the team’s trainers to see how he feels leading up to the game Sunday. Eric Smith would get the start opposite Kerry Rhodes if Leonhard can’t play.

Ryan also ruled out linebacker Vernon Gholston for the second straight week with a hamstring injury. Gholston was injured in practice last Monday in the team’s first workout off the bye-week break.

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

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