HOLMES AND AWAY:  The New York Jets have a problem, and I don’t think Tebowmania, the force that it may be, can deflect attention from it for all sixteen games… the top two playmaking options on offense for the Jets aren’t the leaders they should be and we all know it!  After taking the team to two consecutive AFC Championship games, the questions about Mark Sanchez’s leadership persisted last season and culminated in the huddle versus Miami in week seventeen.

Questionable body language at times & questionable on-field eating habits other times, Sanchez appears to have a tenuous hold on the starter’s job now more than ever.

Any empowerment the contract extension offered by the Jets this past offseason may have had, which I see as nothing more than flowers and a box of chocolates after their flirtation with Peyton Manning, was diminished greatly if not completely with the signing of Tim Tebow.  Sanchez has outperformed Tebow during 7 on 7 drills & both have said all the right things to the media so far, including Tebow’s acceptance of the invitation to join the rest of the skill-position players at Sanchez’s Jets West camp.  With training camp in Cortland on July 26 fast approaching, it would be good to see both QBs rub off on each other a little bit… Tebow, a better passer & Sanchez, a better leader.

There is no better pass-catcher on the New York Jets than Santonio Holmes.  He has range and an ability to catch a ball thrown at him imperfectly.  I’ve seen Holmes shield defenders with one side of his body, and cradle the rock with the other.  His ability to make plays, create plays, break away from defenders and score touchdowns are surpassed by a select few in this league.  The man has talent, the man has ability, the man has a Superbowl ring and well-deserved!  Without that catch at the end of that game for the Steelers… who knows?  Does one bad apple really spoil the bunch?  I know this, one play, one catch, one ring doesn’t make one man a leader of men… it doesn’t make you captain of a team; and thanks to this one man, the 2012 New York Jets will have absolutely zero players with a captain’s C on their uniform.  I wonder why the Jets made a man with a history of selfishness and disdain for authority a franchise player with such an enormous contract obligation… and then I reread the beginning of this paragraph.

As the rest of the team was readying themselves for OTAs at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center in Florham Park, Santonio Holmes was on a USO-sponsored goodwill trip visiting troops at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.  Of his trip and his visit with the troops, Holmes said “It gives you a different perspective on life.”  I don’t know if it was that “different perspective” or just the same old Santonio Holmes that asked out of practice early this past Thursday.  He limped around a little, but made no complaints of injury.  When asked, Holmes said “I’ve been gone for a while so I can’t be at full tempo like the rest of the guys…” and mentioned to Receivers Coach Sanjay Lal that “giving us a few reps off is good for all of us.”  Not sure the troops get to beg off certain exercises because of fatigue, but I’m glad your trip has had such a lasting effect.

GLENN IN GREEN & WHITE:  After playing fifteen long years in the NFL as a cornerback, and eight wearing Green & White, isn’t it good that you can always come home again.  The New York Jets are proud to welcome back Aaron Glenn to the team as a Scout, with the official title of Pro Personnel Assistant.  Glenn has set some lofty goals, “ultimate(ly) to be a general manager in the NFL” so he’s putting in the time and hard work necessary to achieve them.  To get his dreams off the ground, Glenn contacted current team GM Mike Tannenbaum.  To further demonstrate his desire for the position, Glenn traveled to this year’s Senior Bowl and NFL Combine workouts “on his own dime” to observe the Jets’ brain trust conduct weigh-ins and player interviews.  When you’re making a transition such as Glenn is, it helps to have people in your corner like the legendary Bill Parcells, whom Glenn has spoken to.  He’s played for Houston, Dallas, Jacksonville & New Orleans, but Aaron Glenn had this to say about his beloved Jets “I think that it’s important to me, to show that no matter where I went, I had a soft spot in my heart for the team that gave me my first opportunity.”

-Joseph Haas

Jets remaining OTA schedule: June 12-14.  Practices open to the public: June 13 & 14.

Team reports to training camp in Cortland: July 26.

Photo credit: AP Photo/Julio Cortez

Follow & contact Joseph Haas on twitter @jerseyhaas