Super Bowl noises from New York Jets

Super Bowl noises from New York Jets

They've spent the past five months scouring for deals like a shopaholic, loading their bags with a Super Bowl MVP, future Hall of Fame running back and the player their fan base probably despised the most.

Now, the Jets' eventful offseason is about to give way to what could be the franchise's most highly anticipated training camp in a half-century. The players report to the State University of New York-Cortland today and begin practising tomorrow for what they hope is a run that ends with them holding the Lombardi Trophy Feb. 6 at Cowboys Stadium, site of Super Bowl XLV.

"We've definitely, definitely increased our chances of being successful with the amount of talent that we've amassed and I think we are looking forward to the opportunity," linebacker Bart Scott said.

The Jets, though, have a few things that bear monitoring, specifically the contractual situations revolving around Pro Bowlers Darrelle Revis and Nick Mangold. While Mangold made it clear in an NFL Network interview that he wasn't going to be a training camp holdout, Revis' status remains up in the air.

After virtually no new dialogue for weeks, the two sides reopened communication late last week, according to a league source. Revis, due a base salary of $1 million in 2010, wants to be the highest-paid at his position. The short-term solution could be to agree to do something similar to what the Titans did with running back Chris Johnson, moving money in escalators from later in his contract to his 2010 salary, increasing it by $1.5 million.

Scott thinks the contract squabbles and uncertainty surrounding the bevy of Jets playing for deals beyond this season could actually turn out to be a good thing.

"That's when individual goals and team goals kind of mesh," he said, "because if you play well, then you are going to get paid. But if you play well, you are also going to help your football team. It works hand in hand."

The Jets made several splashy offseason moves, signing LaDainian Tomlinson and old nemesis Jason Taylor, and trading for Antonio Cromartie and Santonio Holmes. They've stacked the deck and look like they have all the pieces for a deep postseason run, something that's drawn attention around the league.

"I mean, of course everybody is taking notice of what we are doing," Scott said. "But at the end of the day, they don't think that their team can't beat us.

"So you have to keep every year in perspective."

source: timescolonist