Hindsight? For the Jets it's tunnelvision

Hindsight is always 20/20, or so the saying goes. I just finished reading an impassioned blog on GGN suggesting that it was not a bad decision by the Jets to discard Pennington in favor of Favre. The blog for the most part says all the right things, and it makes a lot of sense. The thing that makes me laugh about it - and this is true of all teams everywhere - is that it's ALWAYS about the last season. Coaches and players will say different. They say that last year no longer matters. I say like hell. I also say the blogger over there is wrong. The Jets, last season, won how many games? Was it 4? Pennington played in 8 of them, won only one of them, and was then benched for the abyssmal Kellen Clemmens. I read this blog and the first thing I wanted to say to the writer was YEAH BUT IS IT ALL ON PENNINGTON THAT THE JETS LOST SO MANY GAMES? No, it wasn't. Want evidence? How about the free agent shopping spree the Jets embarked upon over the off-season? I remember them outbidding (and overspending) Miami for Calvin Pace. The Jets had holes all over last year and they spent the off-season spending lavishly and filling them. You can blame Pennington's arm and injuries all you want for his release, Jets fans. But I have news for you: You didn't scout Brett Favre. You saw the rocket arm, the veteran savvy, the box draw, the PAST. But you overlooked the present. A whining, finger-pointing, flip-floppy prima-donna who saw Aaron Rodgers given his former job and selfishly decided he would come out of retirement and that once he did, the Packers would fall all over themselves gushing about how great it is to have Brett for one more year. That must have hurt his feelings when the Pack only let out an exasperated sigh instead, because all Brett did was (alledgedly) broker deals with other teams behind the Pack's backs, call out people in the Packer organization and put them on the spot and wage a symathy war using the media and the Packer faithful to needle his former team into releasing him - all so he could soothe his bruised ego elsewhere. Yeah, he was coming off a season where he led his team to the championship game, but that WAS in the NFC, folks. Here's a question: If Favre was so great, why didn't the Pack want him back? I guess the answer lies in the behavior that I just discussed. But the other part of the Pack's reasoning lies on the field of play. In New Jersey. Brett does a lot of great things for a team as an individual. He plays pranks on the guys and keeps them loose. He throws those "gambler sorties" that hit for touchdowns now and again. But in week one of the current season, he said he knew maybe 50 percent of the Jets playbook (I'm guessing at the number - but it was not good). With just slightly less time in Miami, Chad Pennington knew 75-90 percent, if not all of Miami's. Sorry to tell you this Jets fans - but the answers were right in front of your organization BEFORE they signed Brett and dumped Chad. It was playing out like a soap opera and it was ignored because Brett was coming to get this team to the promised land. TO THE PROMISED LAND. You dumped Chad for Brett because - as your blog indicates - Brett can win you the Superbowl. Now the Jets are a Patriots victory away from elimination, and they watched Chad lead Miami to the greatest single season turnaround of all time. If you can honestly sit there and say that you are pleased as a fan with the front office moves this last off season - I, as a Dolphins fan wish to thank you for supporting their ineptitude. Please allow us to come down this weekend and scout some other players on your team. Maybe we can scoop them up when you blame them and flush them next year. Chad will direct our offense, our scouts will sit in the stands and evaluate your talent. We will patiently wait until you jettison them needlessly and blame them for coaching failures. Of course, Favre will chuck some surface to air darts for you. Some will  hit. Some will get picked. Some will miss. Miami thanks you!

Last but not least...as you go into the off season looking to fill in those holes that you saw this season (or the holes you created when you got rid of a great player)? Have fun waiting for Brett to make up his mind about what he's going to do next, while the media eats you alive. Promised land, indeed!