Folks! Here’s to the first of many blogs covering what should be the most the exciting Jets season in quite some time. I know I’ve been promising a Hard Knocks recap blog, but with tonight being episode 2 and vacation getting the best of me I never got around to the first one. Long in short, it was the Aaron Rodgers show just as we expected it’d be and it was awesome. This time for real I’ll have a true episode two recap tomorrow.

Anyways, HBO’s finest show aside we got some big big news as of yesterday. Dalvin Cook will be wearing green this year.

Now I don’t want to take anything away from this signing at all because it is a massive addition to an already stacked roster. But I’d be lying if I said this doesn’t make me nervous, for a few different reasons. First off, and this is a small gripe that I don’t really see coming to fruition, we’ve seen the aging RB coming to the Jets before and the track record isn’t the greatest. LT (offensive LT not defensive LT obviously) was a great pick up and a delight to watch the last time Jet football meant anything. But fast forward to a few years ago Le’Veon Bell set the franchise back probably 5 years both financially and football-matically (real word I swear).

Again, like I said I don’t anticipate this being the case with Cook I really don’t. We signed him to a somewhat friendly 8.6 million especially now that our peyote shaman took a pay cut for this exact reason. He’s a bit older and probably won’t be the menace he was a few years back in Minnesota, but with Breece Hall in recovery mode combined with him being as young as he is, bringing in some experience to help him both learn and lighten his load will be great for the team. If he can even bring half the stuff he brought to the table in Minnesota I think this is a great price for a great RB.

My main concern with this signing is that we are now officially top heavy for lack of a better word. We saw this exact vibe transpire this past spring with the New York Rangers bringing in some top of the line veteran talent. Expectations rose tremendously and the execution never happened.

Once Arod got here, expectations definitely started to rise. But now with Cook it’s going to become Superbowl or Bust. Not to me and honestly probably not to the average Jet fan because I like to think that after years of torment we’re a bit realistic (wishful thinking, this is a still a NY sports team after all), but to the media and everyone else that is definitely going to be the vibe. Before we had what I felt like was a solid 2 maybe even 3 year window to get the best out of our investment with the obvious hopes of one of the seasons ending in a parade while also improving the future of the franchise, but that’s gone we’re now in “win or bust” mode and it sucks (unless it works)

There’s one last thing that was brought to my attention that might one of the most important things that I didn’t realize. Our offensive line is apparently shit and I had no idea. I guess I just always hold us in such high regard given the legends we’ve had protect the house like Mangold and Brick.

My Gang Green brother in arms and favorite NYPD officer said this when we were discussing the signing last night. We’re going to have a stacked back field, but it’s going to mean nothing if we can’t stand strong in the trenches and make the holes for them to get free. What I’m about to say is completely plagiarized from him and as I write more and you read more you’ll learn I’m not an X’s and O’s type guy, I played defensive line so I just went forward to get the ball, I have no clue about coverages and intricacies. But he said, “All we have to do is have 8 be 8 and torch them with passing so they stack the box and focus on that, once that’s established we can punch them in the mouth on the ground and catch them while they’re focused on coverage.” Sounds like a plan to me.

The New Jersey Transit Hype Train keeps on rolling and I have my commuters pass ready to go. This just makes me even more excited for that first Monday Night Football game that will be an early test of strength and a litmus test of sorts. Now unlike the media cause I can guarantee that if the Bills come out on top week 1 they’ll be screaming blow it up, I have the panic button locked away and need 2 separate key holders like the entity in Mission Impossible 7 to access it. We have a really tough early schedule, within the first 6 weeks alone we play 3 top 5 teams in the league so things might not get off the greatest start in the world. But I’m insanely hopeful, maybe too much, but this is half the fun right? I truly don’t know I’ve never felt this way about a Jet team.