Read the opposing arguments from Bleacher Fan and Loyal Homer.
The acquisition of Santonio Holmes from the Pittsburgh Steelers is as risk-laden as it is sensational.
While Holmes’ price tag, a fifth round draft pick seems a low price to pay, but it may be attached to some dire consequences. His immediate absence from a playoff bound team that is counting on several newly acquired marquee players to help may be prove critical in a make or break scenario for the Jets this season.
The New York Jets’ offseason has been somewhat of a gamble, and rather unpredictable, to say the very least. Rather than build upon the chemistry and momentum of a very good team from 2009 – which not only reached the post season, but narrowly missed the Super Bowl by just one game – the organization made several shocking roster changes hat drastically changed the look and feel of the team.
Gone are mainstays of the league leading rushing attack like Thomas Jones and Leon Washington. In their stead the team will call upon sophomore running back Shonn Greene and oft-injured free agent star LaDainian Tomlinson. The formidable Jets defense saw an overhaul following the departure of notable players like Lito Sheppard and Kerry Rhodes. Similar to the Tomlinson signing the Jets will attempt to make improvements with an aging big name star in Jason Taylor. The Jets were even rumored to have interest in the embattled and high profile receiving star Terrell Owens, before he signed with the Bengals.
While these splashy moves may garner attention they do not seem like the type of acquisitions a serious playoff contender would make to elevate their game to the next level.
Perhaps most shocking and potentially volatile of all the Jets’ off-season moves was he trade with the Steelers for wide receiver Santonio Holmes. In Holmes the Jets acquire a Super Bowl MVP coming off of 1,248 yard five touchdown season. But his accolades maybe somewhat deceiving. Prior to 2009 Holmes had never broken the 1,000 yard plateau, and he won the MVP award largely because of one catch. It was no doubt both important and spectacular, but it was still a singular action not indicative of a season’s worth of accomplishments.
Although the Jets desperately need someone to draw defenses attention away from their star wide receiver Braylon Edwards, it will be an awfully difficult task for Santonio Holmes, considering his costly four game suspension. Holmes will miss the start of the regular season due to a violation of the NFL’s substance abuse policy. Even though Holmes will be allowed to participate in pre-season training and practice games he will still be cold for the first four games of the regular season. He is bound to display some rust in his adjustment back to the rigors and speed of NFL game play, which opposing defenders will have overcome and adjusted to during his absence. While the Jets were well aware of the suspension prior to making the trade for Holmes, it’s easy to wonder if management considered the impact the suspension would have for their plans for the passing game.
It certainly seems that no one on the Jets’ current roster is capable of carrying the load in the aerial assault his stead. Jerricho Cotchery was limited to just 821 yards and three receiving touchdowns despite the mid-season addition of Braylon Edwards. It should also be noted that sophomore quarter back Mark Sanchez is bound to struggle without the aid of Holmes’ additional pair of hands on the roster. Sanchez struggled with accuracy throwing 20 interceptions last season. Unless New York makes a deal before the start of the regular season, or Holmes finds a loop hole to play right away, it appears like the Jets are in for more of the same.
It seems that Santonio Holmes’ suspension puts the Jets season in jeopardy. It is clear from their pattern of off-season moves that management believes Holmes is necessary to push the team further into the playoffs, but his behavior unnecessarily undermines the team’s efforts – right from the season’s inception.
Making the matter more frustrating is the fact that this is not the first time that Holmes’ conduct has been detrimental to his potential. In 2008 he was arrested for drug related charges and has more recently been implicated in an altercation with a woman in an Orlando night club. This behavior is in line with the undoing of several embattled stars throughout the NFL whose careers have fallen into a tailspin because of bad choices. What makes Holmes’ suspension even worse is the fact that his pattern of behavior indicates that this is not an isolated incident and he may very well incur another suspension perhaps at a more inopportune time.
Holmes simply isn’t worth the risk. His suspension makes him a liability, one that the Jets quite simply can’t afford.
