FANECA FOLLY

It’s already been a month since the 72 hour high of NFL free agency wore off. If you’re like me, you’ve probably already forgotten where 90 percent of this year’s free agency crop has landed. The evaluation of how well teams have fared in the open market has long been archived and the discussion has clearly shifted to March Madness and spring training. Yet if there’s one thing that can be extracted from free agency this year, it’s that the Jets have become just like every other New York team with throwing money at whatever big names are momentarily unemployed. It’s no secret that the Jets have always been second banana to the Giants, but with the Giants’ improbable Super Bowl win in February, perhaps they’re feeling even more pressure than usual to step up and make some noise.

Seems the Jets are always in some sort of flux; there’s always a coaching problem, a quarterback controversy, an absent minded owner, a cabal of malcontents, a stadium deal that’s fallen through, or a blockbuster draft pick that’s gone bust . For now, the Jets have fewer people to throw under the bus than before. Their most recent and convenient patsy was former GM, Terry Bradway, who in 2006 was drummed out of Weeb Ewbank Hall in favor of a “youth movement”; which included the promotion of 36 year old Mike Tannenbaum to General Manager and the hiring of 35 year old Eric Mangini as Head Coach. At first, both looked like “finds” that only the Jets -- the oh-so precocious Jets -- had on their radar. Add in the high grades they got at the time with drafting Nick Mangold and D’Brickashaw Ferguson, and suddenly there was a lot less shame with being a Jet fan.

Unfortunately, precocity is an adjective that’s seldom associated with the Jets, and the green tomatoes they were hoping to quickly see ripen in their garden have instead shown signs of rotting. While Nick Mangold has rapidly made Jet fans forget about their beloved Kevin Mawae at center, D’Brickashaw Ferguson is looking a lot less like Kareem McKenzie and a lot more like Robert Gallery and Tony Mandarich. As for the coach, the once affectionately nicknamed “Eric Mangenious” is now seen as rat for tattling on his former mentor, Bill Belichick, in connection to “Spygate”. Of course, going from 10-6 in his coaching debut in 2006 to 4-12 in 2007 didn’t help Mangini’s cause either. Muddying the waters even more were the constant screams to bench Chad Pennington -- once the team’s knight in shining armor -- in favor of Kellen Clemens, who as of now falls somewhere between Richard Todd and Browning Nagle in the long, ignominious annals of Jet quarterbacks.

Rather than shop for a new quarterback -- again, the Jets shopped for a new left guard to beef up protection between Ferguson and Mangold. The concept is simple enough: good protection helps make average quarterbacks play great. But instead of looking for an up-and-comer with a mean streak and savvy agent, the Jets opted to pay list price for Alan Faneca. Not only did the Jets pay list price, they paid an unprecedented amount for an offensive lineman; five years, $40 million, with $21 million guaranteed. Faneca, at age 31, is no spring chicken either. Unlike the skill positions such as quarterback or wide receiver, where, in addition to sheer statistics, one can determine the value they bring simply by watching, the contribution of offensive linemen – especially interior offensive linemen like Alan Faneca – isn’t nearly as easy to measure. And because there are few offensive lineman with any national name recognition, the value of these guys is often based on a herd mentality.

Chances are if you go to any sports bar in America and do an informal survey of who the best offensive linemen are, Alan Faneca will likely top any list. But if you ask why that is, you’ll likely get a shrug of the shoulders accompanying an answer like “because John Madden always mentions him.” Is Alan Faneca especially quick for a lineman? Who really knows? Does he have special vision? Again, who really knows? Is he known for great size in his position? Not that anyone is especially aware of. Has he kept his quarterback particularly well protected? Hard to say, fewer teams than Pittsburgh, where Faneca previously played his entire career, run the ball as often. Well he must be a great run blocker then, right? Maybe, then again, with Jerome Bettis carrying the ball, just about everyone looks like a great run blocker. Go ahead, ask anyone on the street why Alan Faneca is considered to be such an elite player and you’ll likely get a blank stare. Yet he’s the chosen one, the $40 million dollar man; the fateful beneficiary of bestowed branding by the American sports establishment.

In a city where everything is overpriced and everyone has their hand in your pocket, Alan Faneca will fit in perfectly in New York. As for the Jets, time will tell if they get their money’s worth. In not, it will be an easy conclusion. After all, they are the Jets.