New York
Jets

Jets Team Report

Updated: February 11, 2012 02:14 EST

Within a span of a few days last August, Plaxico Burress predicted the Jets' offense could score 28 to 30 points a game, and coach Rex Ryan said he believed slot receiver Derrick Mason could finish the season with 80 to 90 receptions.

Well, much like Ryan's Super Bowl promises, those predictions didn't come close to coming true. Mason had only 13 catches in five games before being banished to Houston in a trade on Oct. 11. And the Jets scored more than 27 points only four times, and averaged 23.6 per game.

Despite the presence of big names such as Burress and wide receiver Santonio Holmes, the Jets offense underachieved, finishing 25th in the league in total yardage. Worse yet, although he threw a career-high 26 touchdown passes, third-year quarterback Mark Sanchez seemed to regress.

Still, the Jets' brass has said Sanchez will be the opening-day starter in 2012, although they have indicated they likely will bring in a veteran backup to be the second-stringer.

In training camp, Ryan and the offensive assistant coaches all claimed that Sanchez understood the offense better than anyone on the team, yet they eliminated some plays during the offseason after the 2010 campaign. Translation: they dumbed it down.

Even so, Ryan said in a recent interview that some of the "verbiage" in the offense was too complex for Sanchez to comprehend. Presumably, new coordinator Tony Sparano's system will use easier nomenclature.

Certainly it will be more run oriented. While Sparano was Miami's head coach for three years, the Dolphins used a lot of Wildcat plays, and also featured a controlled short passing game. Yes, they took some shots downfield, but mostly off play-action.

The Jets had three offensive linemen selected for the Pro Bowl, left tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson, center Nick Mangold and right guard Brandon Moore. Yet Sanchez was sacked 39 times and the running game was inconsistent at best. Right tackle Wayne Hunter struggled at times in his first season as a full-time starter, but the Jets did not cut him by Wednesday, which means his 2-12 salary is guaranteed.

Still, Hunter likely won't be penciled in as the starter immediately. He likely will compete with Vladimir Ducasse, a 2010 second-round pick who, thus far, has had a difficult time adjusting to the speed of the pro game. He definitely was hurt by the lockout because he could have benefited from extra teaching during the spring.

Holmes is owed $15.25 million in guaranteed money, $7.75 in guaranteed 2012 salary, and a $7.5 roster bonus that kicked in because he wasn't cut by Wednesday. So unless the Jets can find a team willing to obtain Holmes in a trade, which is highly unlikely, they will be stuck with him in 2012. Ryan must get Holmes to be a productive, unselfish member of the offense, or the locker room again could be as toxic as it was last season.

Burress was productive in the red zone, but not a factor elsewhere on the field. Both sides appear ready to move on, which means the Jets will be in the market for another starting wideout, either in free agency or the draft.

Tight end Dustin Keller is entering the final year of his contract. He was the Jets' most consistent receiver in 2012, but the question becomes whether he can block well enough to fit into Sparano's offense. Shonn Greene, entering his fourth season, again will be the feature back. Joe McKnight is expected to step into LaDainian Tomlinson's role as third-down back. Tomlinson, whose two-year contract has expired, is not expected to return.

As expected, the Jets did not release wide receiver Santonio Holmes, which means he now is owed a guaranteed $15.25 million by the Jets. His 2012 salary already included a guaranteed $7.75 million, which made it quite unlikely the cost-conscious Jets would let him go. And now he has earned a roster bonus of an extra $7.5 million for still being with the Jets, making it a total of $15.25 million guaranteed.

None of this is surprising, given the Jets' and owner Woody Johnson's reluctance to eat contracts. (Look how long it took them to part ways with offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer and underachieving linebacker/defensive end Vernon Gholston.) Plus, coach Rex Ryan has been coddling Holmes in the media since the Miami debacle when Schottenheimer benched him for pouting.

--OK, so Rex Ryan's Super Bowl boasts again didn't come true. But he was in Indianapolis the first week of February, albeit for some promotional appearances.

ESPNNewYork.com quoted him as saying he expects Holmes and quarterback Mark Sanchez to meet face-to-face soon to try to iron out their differences. Holmes was benched in the fourth quarter of the season finale and in the days leading up to that game, refused to take part in extra meetings organized by Sanchez.

"I think they're actually going to get together," Ryan said. "Look, we were all disappointed at the way the season went. That's one thing we have in common. We also have a burning desire to win, to right the ship. The previous season, they had great chemistry. There's enough common ground to bring them back."

--The Jets re-signed restricted free agent wide receiver Patrick Turner to a one-year, $615,000 deal, according to NFL Players Association records. Turner, 24, who has played parts of two seasons with the Jets, had eight receptions for 96 yards and one touchdown last season.

Turner's first NFL touchdown was the final one of the 2011 season for the Jets, on their last offensive possession at Miami. He was in the game because Santonio Holmes had been benched.

--The felony assault trial for nose tackle Kenrick Ellis, the Jets' 2011 third-round pick, has been pushed back to May 22-23 in Virginia, according to court records. The charges stem from an incident in April 2010 when Ellis was attending Hampton University. Ellis played sparingly for the Jets last season, appearing in only five games.

--Curtis Martin didn't play organized football until his senior year in high school in his hometown of Pittsburgh.

His NFL career certainly made up for lost time.

Martin, the former Jets' running back who is fourth on the NFL career list in rushing with 14,101 yards, was one of six players voted Feb. 4 into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Martin played for the Jets from 1998-2005 after spending his first three NFL seasons with New England. He led the NFL in rushing in 2004 and topped the 1,000-yard mark in each of his first 10 seasons in the NFL before an injury-plagued 2005. A knee injury suffered that season eventually forced him to retire.

Martin made the Hall in his second year of eligibility.

"It's a tremendous day and a humbling thing to be considered for the Hall of Fame," Martin said on a conference call after finding out he had made it. "I will say that it almost caught me off guard. When the show (on the NFL Network) first started and I turned it on, I tweeted that I felt like I was watching a scary movie.

"I feel tremendously grateful for all the players I've ever played with," he added.

There was a little bittersweet tinge to it, however, in that his first NFL coach, Bill Parcells, didn't make it. Martin, who has championed his mentor's candidacy more than his own, was disappointed about that, calling it "somewhat bittersweet." He reiterated something he said before, that he would gladly wait to get in if it meant Parcells would get in this year. Martin said Parcells said he felt the same way about Martin.

"Parcells has meant everything to my career," Martin said. "There's God and then there's Parcells, as far as the meaning they've had on my career. I'm very grateful that Parcells is just the person who walked me through this entire process. I feel even the years he wasn't my coach, what he left somewhat embedded in my character was different ways of how to be a man and how to be a professional. I know there were many players that didn't take to his style, but for me, he was almost like a father figure. It didn't seem as though there was a lot of love between us during our careers, but as soon as it was over, he and I became even closer. I can't say enough words about the man. I'm so grateful that he's passed through my life and is still in my life."

Martin also said he would like Parcells to present him at the induction ceremony in Canton, Ohio, in August.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "I became a football player to be a role model." -- Former Jets RB Curtis Martin, who has been voted into the Hall of Fame.

MEDICAL WATCH

--OLB Jamaal Westerman had surgery to repair a torn groin that troubled him throughout the 2011 season. Although the surgery went well, his recovery timetable is unclear. Westerman is a restricted free agent.

--S Eric Smith had surgery on Jan. 4 to repair a torn knee meniscus. He played through the injury for the last five games. His rehab timetable is unclear.

--S Jim Leonhard had surgery in December to repair a torn patellar tendon in his right knee. He said he has been told it should take about four to six months for him to rehab the injury. Complicating matters is the fact that Leonhard is a free agent, and it's unclear if the Jets will want to re-sign him. He has suffered season-ending injuries in December in each of the last two seasons.

--ILB David Harris left the season finale at Miami with a right calf injury and didn't return. It isn't clear how severe the injury is or if he could have played again had the Jets qualified for the playoffs.