What, you say? How can a four-point deficit be worse than a 42-point beatdown? Because at least in the Patriots game, nobody on the Jets' sideline did anything rotten like this: Link to video on NFL site
This play happened with 2:58 left in the third quarter, when the Dolphins punted to Jets receiver Santonio Holmes. As Holmes took the ball for a short return, cornerback Nolan Carroll was hurt on the right sideline as he rushed down to cover the play. The replay showed strength and conditioning coach Sal Alosi extending his knee just enough to trip Carroll up on the play. Carroll was down for a minute, but returned to play later in the game.
Jeff Darlington of the Miami Herald got postgame reaction from three Dolphins players -- Carroll, linebacker Karlos Dansby and Channing Crowder.
"That needs to be on 'C'mon, Man!' on Monday night," Dansby said, speaking of the ESPN "Monday Night Countdown" crew's weekly salute to the game's biggest boneheads. "Freeze-frame it, and that's No. 1 by far."
"They do what they do," Crowder said. "They cheat and they talk junk and do all that stuff, but we beat the hell out of them today, so they can trip all the people they want to. I'll tell 'em to trip me -- I would have broken that old man's leg."
"I'm not angry," Carroll said. "It's not my problem; it's the Jets' problem. We just move on."
Alosi had this to say in a statement:
"I made a mistake that showed a total lapse in judgment. My conduct was inexcusable and unsportsmanlike and does not reflect what this organization stands for. I spoke to [Miami] Coach [Tony] Sparano and Nolan Carroll to apologize before they took off. I have also apologized to [Jets owner] Woody [Johnson], [Jets general manager] Mike [Tannebaum] and Rex [Ryan]. I accept responsibility for my actions as well as any punishment that follows."
The league is likely to come down hard on Alosi, if for no other reason than to prevent others from getting a goofball notion and doing the same thing. We suspect that even if Alosi doesn't lose his job, he's probably going to be very light in the wallet and he may be spending some time away from the team facility.
Update: Alosi spoke in front of the New York media on Monday and reitirated his apology. "I wasn't thinking," he responded when asked why he tripped Carroll. "If I could go back and do it again, I'd sure as heck take a step back."
Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Video-Jets-employee-trips-Dolphins-player-durin?urn=nfl-294916
Jets coach Sal Alosi's devious act was not a coincidence
By MJD
Sal Alosi, the New York Jets coach who tripped Miami player Nolan Carroll(notes) in the third quarter of the Dolphins’ 10-6 win last Sunday, didn't "just happen" to be there.
The Jets have discovered that he strategically ordered players to "form a wall" in that specific place, and have now changed Alosi's suspension from "rest of the season" to "indefinite." Here's the play: NFL link
If you'll take his word for it, Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum said today that neither head coach Rex Ryan or special teams coach Mike Westhoff were involved in the plan.
“As we continued our investigation, we discovered some new information,” Tannenbaum said in a conference call from the NFL owners meetings in Dallas, “and the players at the Miami game were instructed by Sal to stand where they were to force the gunner in the game to run around them.”
To force the gunner to run around them, or to give them an opportunity to trip the gunner? It seems a little unlikely that the gunner would go all the way around them. Tripping him, as we all saw on Sunday, isn't all that far-fetched. That actually happened.
Tight end Jeff Cumberland, who was inactive Sunday, said it was nothing new for the players to line up next to each other as they did against the Dolphins, according to AP.
"Since the beginning of the year, we’ve been instructed to line up behind the (white) line,” he said, adding that it was only Alosi who has told them to do so."
As far as further punishment goes, Tannenbaum says the Jets are still gathering information and that "all options are on the table." A lot of people felt like Alosi should've been fired for acting so recklessly to begin with. Now that there's evidence pointing to this being a premeditated plan, things seem even worse.
The Jets interviewed the players who were standing near Alosi, but will not take any action against them. “This is just about Sal,” Tannenbaum said.
Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Sal-Alosi-s-devious-act-was-not-a-coincidence?urn=nfl-296526
