COHEN'S CORNER SPORTS

Who needs Favre Watch? Let Manning Watch begin. Rumors have been swirling around the Jets training center for weeks that the club might be a possible destination for Colts superstar quarterback Peyton Manning if the future Hall of Famer were made available this spring. Back in late November, coach Rex Ryan shot the idea down after Mark Sanchez completed 40 percent of his passes in a victory over the Bills; now he is trying to extinguish the rumors again. Remember: where there is smoke there is fire. Ryan defended both Sanchez and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenhiemer on the Jets awful performance against the New York Giants Saturday, saying: " I have a huge amount of confidence in both guys; there is no doubt. I have stated it over and over, my feelings about Mark Sanchez. It wasn’t Mark’s best day by any stretch of the imagination, but we know he’s done it, and he's been doing it, and we have great confidence in him, and I I have great confidence in him. "...

GIANTS 29 JETS 14 The New York Giants got exactly what they wanted for Christmas, while the Jets suffered a nightmare before Christmas. I'll get to the Giants in a bit because they have everything in their control once again. But this game was more about how badly Mark Sanchez performed, how badly Brian Schottenheimer's play calling functioned, and how Coach Rex Ryan was forced to eat his own words. The Jets not only lost a game, they completely bobbled their chance at making the playoffs. They now have to beat the Dolphins and hope that the Bengal, Raiders and Titans lose next week in order for them to make the playoffs. Trust me; the Dolphins would love to TKO the Jets next week. Furthermore, if you need more evidence that Sanchez is not a true NFL franchise quarterback, look no further than today's game against the Giants; in sum, Sanchez was inaccurate, easily rattled, and made one bone-headed play after another. He threw two costly interceptions, fumbled a ball ...

JETS 17 COLTS 16 Rex Ryan said it was personal. He wanted desperately to beat Peyton Manning in a game, playoffs or regular season, having lost to him five times. Tonight in a game that combined some gritty play by the Jets offensive line and running game, combined with a bend but don't break play by the defense, and some really bizarre decisions by the Colts coaches, led to the Jets victory in the wild card round. Now the Jets head back to New England where they got pasted 45-3 over a month ago. Quarterback Mark Sanchez was not good. Even though he hit some big passes in the second half like the 18 yard pass to Braylon Edwards to set up the Nick Folk field goal with just 19 seconds to go, he played unevenly. He overthrew his receivers, threw a huge interception in the first half that killed a potential scoring drive, and was erratic all day completing 18 of 31 for 189 yards. Trailing the Colts 7-0, the Jets came out in the second half with a purpose to pound the football. with Sh...

Rex Ryan has had a lot to say this week. First he said that he wanted to beat Peyton Manning badly, then said that Tom Brady isn't as good a student of the game as Manning is, now he is making comparisons to the Yankees. Ryan said: "The Yankees are the most-loved team in baseball [by their fans] and the most-hated by everybody [else]. Now that would be ideal. We're short about 26 championships, but that's going to take a few years to catch up," the coach said with a chuckle. "Now, that's what you want. ... If people love you and feel good about you and all that, they want to schedule you for homecoming because they can beat you every time. We want to be a team that is respected. You might dislike us and all that kind of stuff, but we want you to respect us." If Ryan and the Jets want respect they better earn it. The Jets have talked a lot about how good they think they are, and how they believe they are ready to be a Super Bowl champ. Now they have ...

As seen on Bleacher Report.com via Michael Cohen's Bleacher home page. When the New York Jets got word that the Kansas City Chiefs were getting upended by the Oakland Raiders, 31-10, they couldn't be very happy. Rex Ryan said during his press conference that the Jets had been preparing for a Saturday night game, his way of saying boastfully that the Jets were expecting the Indianapolis Colts the entire time. Sure Rex. Ryan then added, "I think we are the best team in the playoffs." Good luck trying to do that against the Colts, Patriots and Steelers, three teams that have been to eight Super Bowls in the last 10 years, winning six of them. Lets face it, the Jets didn't want to face the Colts in the first round. ... To read the rest of the story Click on the LINK !

Red Alert! Red Alert! Brett Favre is now a free agent. The New York Jets offically released Favre from the reserved-retired list and released the future Hall of Fame quarterback from his contract, making him a free agent. This means that Favre, who retired, again, in Februrary, can come back to football without having to worry about his contract status with the Jets. Throughout the entire Favre saga last year, Favre professed a desire to play for the Minnesota Vikings or Chicago Bears as a way to get even with the Packers for not welcoming him back with open arms after he retired in March 2008. Are we in for Favre Sage Part II? When asked about it, Favre, through his agent Bus Cook, said, “Nothing has changed. At this time, I am retired and have no intention of returning to football.” That is because it is not June. It is still April in fact. Give Favre another month and a half, and he will turn around on that statement pretty quickly. Let the speculation games begin all over again.

Last summer, when the Jets were successful in ridding themselves of Chad Pennington in a trade that brought in Brett Favre, owner Woody Johnson professed that he would never again have a weak-armed quarterback start for his ballclub. That proclimation didn't last long. This afternoon, the Jets pulled off a Mike Ditka-like performance, trading all of their day one draft selections: highly touted prospect quarterback Brett Ratliff, defensive end Kenyon Coleman and saftey Abram Elam to the Cleveland Browns, in order to move from number 17 to number 5 to nab quarterback Mark Sanchez of USC. According to Randy Lange of New York Jets.com, Johnson " bounced out of the team's draft room, his face lit up as brightly as his green tie ... declaiming, "It's very exciting ." (Lange, NewYorkJets.com ). Yes, that's right the same guy who never ever, ever again wanted a quarterback who couldn't throw, tossed away his draft for another quarterback who can't throw...

Whatever the Jets decide to do when their number 17 pick is called upon Saturday night, and whatever they decide to do in the rounds that follow, one thing is clear: this draft is a lose-lose for the Jets. For a team that has no really experienced player at quarterback, the team has flirted with the idea of drafting another rookie quarterback, which would be the fourth straight season that they have drafted a quarterback. The team is rumored to be in love with quarterbacks Mark Sanchez of USC and Josh Freeman of Kansas State. Sanchez is supposed to be 6'2", but if you watch him on film, he looks smaller than that. He doesn't have a great arm and is compared a lot to Chad Pennington. Not exactly the ringing endorsement Jet fans want to hear. The upside that Sanchez has is that he is a great leader, which is nice, maybe he should run for president of the United States someday. But what is most troubling about Sanchez is the fact that coach Pete Carroll demanded that Sanchez...

Did someone say that the N.Y. Jets needed a quarterback? Well, there may be one available on the block really, really, really soon. Jay Cutler is very unhappy in Denver with new coach Josh McDaniels. A month ago, the Broncos tried to trade Cutler to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a three team deal with the New England Patriots that would have sent Matt Cassel to Denver. The trade never happened; Cassel was instead sent to Kansas City. Cutler feels unwanted and betrayed by the Broncos and its new coaching staff for even considering trading him away for a one time backup quarterback in Cassel. Cutler and McDaniels have been trying to patch things up ever since, and it appears that sides still can't make peace. Cutler has told ESPN Sunday night that he will not report to the team's mandatory off-season meeting Monday morning and has asked to be traded. " I went in there with every intention of solving the issue, being a Bronco, moving forward as a Bronco," Cutler said. ...

The Jets and Jim Leonhard have come to terms on a three year contract . Leonhard is another former Raven that comes to the Jets to be reunited with Jets Head Coach Rex Ryan. One thing that is quite obvious from this Jets off-season is the fact that they are collecting young talent with the potential of building a franchise that can stay together for several years. Leonhard is only 26 years old; he is not even near the prime of his career, and yet the man has put up some impressive numbers. Last season Leonhard has a career high 69 tackles and his first career sack while playing saftey for the Ravens. He will join Kerry Rhodes, Darrell Revis and Lito Sheppard in the Jets much improved secondary. In fact, this Jets secondary may be the best collection of talent they have had in over 10 years, not to mention that the oldest player in the secondary is the 28 year old Sheppard. The Jets starting defense is now set and expect the Jets to address the offense. They need a blocking tight end, ...

There is a report from NFL Network investigative journalist Adam Schefter that the New York Jets and Philadelphia Eagles are completeing a trade that would send cornerback Lito Sheppard up the N.J. Turnpike to Florham Park N.J. The Jets are looking for a corner to play opposite Pro Bowler Darrell Revis, and Sheppard might fit the bill. The Jets will send the Eagles a fifth round pick in this year's draft and a conditional second round pick for the 2010 draft. Sheppard has made a career as a ball hawking corner with 18 career interceptions and three touchdowns in 93 career games. However, Sheppard is coming off the worst season of his career with just 21 tackles and one interception in 2008. Sheppard is still very young; he will be 28 in April, so he is beginning to enter the prime of his career. It was rumored that the Jets had an interest in former Raven corner Corey Ivy. It is unknown if they are still interested in him.

The Jets and former Ravens linebacker Bart Scott have finally agreed to a six year deal worth $48 million, which will pay the linebacker $8 million a year, the Daily News Reports. Earlier in the day, the Jets had come to terms with Scott's agent on a five year $40 millon deal, but Scott had yet to approve of the deal and reopened talks with the Ravens. This forced the Jets to serve up the extra year and money. Scott is in the prime of his career at 28 years old but has not had a really good year for some time. In 2005, Scott had 94 tackles and four sacks, and, in 2006, he had a career high 103 tackles and 9.5 sacks. In the last two years, Scott has had only 2.5 sacks combined. Last year, Scott had his lowest tackle total since 2004 with 82 tackles. Still, the Jets need help, and Scott, if he can get back to where he was in 2006, will be a welcome additon to a team in need of a strong middle linebacker. Scott is very familiar with Rex Ryan's defense and will definitely help th...

If Laveranues Coles thought he got the last laugh after Brett Favre retired two weeks ago, he had another thing coming. Like something out of The Godfather or The Sopranos, the Jets whacked the big mouthed complainer, citing that his $6 million salary for 2009-2010 was just too much to handle. Coles, as tough as he is, had a history of complaining whenever he was not happy. In 2002, he whined his way off the team when the Jets traded him to the Washington Redskins. However, after Coles drove Redskins coach Joe Gibbs nuts, the Skins sent him back to the Jets for Santana Moss in 2005. This season, Coles was upset that the Jets traded away his buddy, Chad Pennington, in favor of Favre. Coles didn't speak to the media for weeks, and there were constant rumblings that he and Favre were not getting along. In December, Coles ripped Favre in a San Francisco newspaper claiming that Favre had no arm strength anymore. In the nex to last game of the season, Coles had a sure first down at mi...

Brett Favre has offically called it quits, and this time, it might be for good. The 18 year veteran and three-time NFL MVP, ended his career by informing the Jets that he was done playing football. This is the latest in what has been a strange year for Favre. He retired last March in a tearful good bye to the Green Bay Packers, then changed his mind in July, wanting desperately to play again. The Packers did not want to commit to another year of Favre's "should I or Shouldn't I retire" skits, trading the disgruntled player to a desperate New York Jets team. Favre got off to a great start in New York. He was welcomed as a hero in New York after the club had to live with the mediocre play of Chad Pennington. However, after an 8-3 start, the Jets fell apart. Favre threw nine interceptions in his final five games and was drawing the ire of his teammates. The Jets finished 9-7, missing the playoffs, and watched in desmay as Pennington led the Dolphins to the AFC East Titl...

Either Ravens future Hall of Fame Linebacker Ray Lewis means it, or he is really good at pretending to be a sports agent by jacking up his own price tag. Lewis, who has been the emotional leader of the Balitmore Ravens since their inception in 1996, is a free agent and has said in a story published by the New York Post , that he will not give the Ravens a home team discount. In other words, he will go for the best deal available. Lewis feels that the Jets are an "attractive" option, since he has a long relationship with Jets Head Coach Rex Ryan. Ryan and Lewis spent eight years together, with Ryan as a defensive assitant and later coordinator. The two of the were apart of the Ravens 2000 World Championship team. " That relationship by itself is a match, because of the relationship me and Rex have always had. That opportunity by itself looks attractive, seems attractive, " Lewis said in an interview on the NFL Network. If Lewis does become a Jet, he will bring treme...

According to a story in the New York Post, Peter King of Sports Illustrated told some in the media that he believes that Brett Favre is likely done playing football at the professional level. However, King hinted that if Favre comes back, he wants to play for the Minnesota Vikings, not the Jets. One reason Favre does not want to return to the Jets is the fact that he will have to participate in off-season workouts, something the lazy Favre hates to do. "You're kidding yourself if you think he's going to move back to New Jersey for 12 to 16 weeks in March. 'I've never been in a [full] offseason program,' Favre told me a month ago," King writes . Favre's stay with the Jets was a rather weird one. He was received well by the fans and some of his teammates when he first arrived in August, but there were other problems brewing in the clubhouse. First it was Lavernous Coles vile hatred for Favre, as well as Thomas Jones' hatred of Favre for throwing big...

A week from today, America will brace for its annual TV sports spectacle, the Super Bowl, for the XLIII straight year, and, unlike previous Super Bowls that usually carry with it heavy storylines and dramatic subplots, this one that features the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers, could easily be the worst matchup in Super Bowl history. In one corner is a perennial winner in the Steelers, owners of five world titles and one of the best run franchises in football. In the other corner is the Cardinals: perennial losers and the NFL's oldest franchise, who's only championship came 61 years ago. During that 61 year drought the Cards have become the NFL's biggest laughing stock next to the Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns, but it is only now that the Cards have exorcised the demons to get to this game. Sure,the Cardinals history is a great storyline. The matchup of two Super Bowl winning quarterbacks is another, and the fact that Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt, who u...

On the day that he welcomed a brand new head coach, Jets owner Woody Johnson let one slip through his tounge when he told reporters: " We've been preoccupied with building the stadium and this (facility), and now we're really focused on the most important aspect, and that's the team ." ( Qutd. New York Post). The quote didn't really shake fans or media until today, as it was construed to mean that Johnson and Company did not care about winning at all, and was more concerned about selling PSL's. Some people claim that the quote is evidence as to why the team did not get Bill Cowher as the head coach, and still wants an aging Brett Favre on the team, so Favre can sell tickets with his big ticket name. CHECK OUT " The Roberts Rant " from WFAN.com titled "It's All About The Stadium" Johnson tried to back track on the quote when he told WFAN host Mike Francesa "That clearly was not what I meant to communicate. I was trying to commu...

The New York/New Jersey media got a big taste of what Rex Ryan has to offer Wednesday morning when he was introduced as the 17th coach in New York Jets history. Ryan immediately made reference to new President Barack Obama, saying, "We have a new president now, and, hopefully we can meet him in a couple of years," referencing the tradition that the year's Super Bowl Champion makes a trip to the White House to meet the President of the United States. Ryan came across as the anti-Mangini . He was stoic, confident, cocky, funny and socialble in his press conference. That was in stark contrast to Mangini, who was tight-lipped, unemotional, humorless and who came across as a man who was anti-social and unfriendly. Some have speculated that Mangini's prickly behavior may have lost the team down the stretch this season, ultimately leading to his departure. Ryan was not shy about letting the NFL know how he feels about his new ballclub: "The message to the rest of the le...

ESPN is reporting that the Jets and Ravens Defensive Coordinator Rex Ryan have agreed in principle to a four year contract to become the next head coach of the New York Jets. Ryan helped lead a Ravens D that was second in the NFL in total defense; the Ravens made it to their second AFC Championship game in franchise history, only to lose to Pittsburgh 23-14, Sunday night. The move ends what has been a bizarre three weeks for the Jets; they fired Eric Mangini as a scapegoat for Brett Favre's nine interceptions in the final five weeks of the season. The Jets move to terminate Mangini looked that much worse when Jets owner Woody Johnson decided to spend a week on vacation when a more credible coach, like Bill Cowher, was avaiable for an interview. Cowher had a slight interest in coming to the Jets but was turned off by Johnson's seemingly disinterested approach to talking to him by spending time away from the Jets facility. Other coaches like Jon Gruden, Mike Shanahan, Brian Bill...