New York Jets Odds and Ends from the Bye Week

Sep 7, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets tackle

Willie Colon

(66) defends against Oakland Raiders defensive tackle

Antonio Smith

(94) at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

It has been a while since fans have seen the Jets take the field. The bye week between games always makes it seem like an eternity. It has been a slow week. No major additions were made, and things around Florham Park have been relatively quiet. So, I thought we might just look at some of the odds and ends and some of the little things around Jets Nation.

An interesting news story came out yesterday concerning offensive lineman Willie Colon. He showed up in the Bronx this week with 150 frozen turkeys to donate to needy families for Thanksgiving. It’s minor news to some I imagine, but its an interesting story line as many of our pro athletes give of their wealth. I follow Colon on twitter and this one came from his heart. The guy loves food! Last week’s tweet was entitled “Brisket Day” with a picture of the largest beef brisket I’ve ever seen featured on his gas grill! Thanks Mr. Colon for opening your heart and caring about the underprivileged in our city!

On a similar note I’d like to bring your attention to a Jets initiative, that in partnership with the United Way of New York City allows fans to donate their unwanted tickets to “underprivileged kids”. While this program was started way back in 2003 by the Jets, I haven’t seen it mentioned much since. Personally I think it’s a fantastic way of disposing of the tickets we all can’t or won’t use! I bring it up now, as it has become apparent that there are quite a few empty seats in Met Life as of late. If you just don’t want to watch a 2-8 team, are boycotting the stadium, or your schedule doesn’t allow you to make it for the game, please consider donating your tickets. I believe it’s a worthy cause, providing kids in NYC a chance to experience live football. More information concerning this program is available on the NY Jets official home page.

Nov 9, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan talks with offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the fourth quarter at MetLife Stadium. The Jets defeated the Steelers 20-13. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports

Moving along, on another note, I’d like to thank the New York Jets and the NFL for their involvement in honoring our nation’s heroes on Veteran’s Day weekend. The Jets, for their part, provided both free and discounted tickets to our Active Duty Personnel. The stands were filled with servicemen and service women representing all branches of our military services. These folks deserve our attention and our support, and this was a fine day to provide it, as the Jets upset the Pittsburgh Steelers for their enjoyment! I really liked the Green and White camouflaged wool hats to boot! Great game guys!! Thanks for coming up with it for the service members! Perfect timing!!

Nov 3, 2013; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets linebacker

Nick Bellore

(54) celebrates a defensive stop against the New Orleans Saints during the second half at MetLife Stadium. The Jets won the game 26-20. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Nick Bellore makes the news once again with his charitable contributions to local needs. On November 6th, he and fellow Jet Willie Colon showed up in the Bronx at Quarry Park in support of the Pioneer Football League. Partnered with the Jets and Chase Bank, they brought with them a donation of 150,000 dollars to be used for helmets, shoulder pads, and compression shirts for the program. Willie and Nick hung around after the donation ceremony to try their hands at coaching as well. From the photos of the event I’ve been able to find, everyone had a great time. Once again, thanks to all involved for providing this wonderful experience to our kids!

Nov 9, 2014; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback

Kyle Orton

(18) throws a pass during the second half against the Kansas City Chiefs at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Chiefs beat the Bills 17-13. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

More from Jets News

Back to football. The snow is flying in Buffalo this week, with daily lake effects snow heaping mounds of snow on our northern neighbor. It has gotten so bad, that the City of Buffalo has issued a driving ban, which prevented the Bills from practicing today. Advantage Jets, I’m thinking. The league is reportedly in contact with Bills officials and is carefully monitoring the situation as it progresses. If there is a game on Sunday, expect it to be a cold brutal one, as the extended forecast is calling for extreme temperatures even for Buffalo!

Finally I’d just like to say, that sometimes as fans we get emotionally charged when it comes to our team. We trash them on social media sites, call them out for their failures, and lose all perspective. Beat writers, columnists, and bloggers are guilty of it too! We tend to forget that these players we root for week in and week out are people just like us. They are human and have feelings. So, before we got started on the second half of this season, I wanted to just take a breath and remember that, while it’s OK to be passionate about my team, it isn’t alright to bash these kids on a personal level.

Members of the Jets do an amazing job reaching out into our communities and having an impact. I only provided a few recent examples, but there are many other stories out there. We have good reason as fans to be proud of our players and the Organization. Let’s try to remember that as we struggle to be civil with each other down the stretch! Six games left! What do you folks think? Let me hear it in the comment section!

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