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Jets Blog: Jets Drop The Ball...Again

By Peter Schwartz
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It might have been the most despicable thing that I've ever seen during a game.

When Jets strength and conditioning coach Sal Alosi deliberately tripped Nolan Carroll of the Dolphins during the third quarter of Sunday's game, the first thing that came into my mind was that Alosi should be fired.

If I owned the Jets, Alosi would have exited the New Meadowlands Stadium as an ex-employee. It was a heinous act that deserved immediate termination. Alosi's actions were disgraceful and he's lucky that Carroll wasn't seriously hurt.

On Monday, the Jets suspended Alosi, without pay, for the remainder of the season including the playoffs. He was also fined an additional $25,000 and will not be allowed inside the Jets practice facility and can't have any contact with the players or coaches as it pertains to his job.

To his credit, Alosi has taken ownership of his actions.

"I would like to apologize to Nolan Carroll, (Miami Dolphins Head) Coach (Tony) Sparano, Mr. (Woody) Johnson, and the entire New York Jets organization," said Alosi during a Monday news conference.

It's an honor and a privilege to work and coach every day in the National Football League. I've come in contact with a lot of good people in our building and I let everyone down with my actions. My actions were inexcusable and irresponsible. I'm extremely thankful that my actions yesterday didn't result in any significant injury to Nolan or any other player."

The Jets took the lead in terms of discipline on Monday and had several discussions with the NFL. In the end, it was the Jets who would be the one to determine Alosi's fate. Monday evening, the ruling came down.
"We did speak to the league office more than once," said General Manager Mike Tannenbaum. "At the end of the day, this was our punishment and something we felt was appropriate."

I disagree.

The punishment is severe but not enough. Alosi should never be allowed on an NFL field again. Period.

The Jets continue to send the wrong message when it comes to their employees acting like idiots.

Braylon Edwards should not have been allowed to play in Miami after his DUI arrest but the Jets tried to convince people that they had to play him because of the CBA.

And where was the discipline when Jets players and coaches provided "Animal House" treatment to the female reporter from Mexico?

This is disgusting and embarrassing. The Jets want people to think that they're this great franchise with a winning tradition and they can do no wrong.

We'll let's be honest. They are far from that. They are not winners and the record speaks for itself.

They had another chance to show that they are a franchise with integrity and that they can do the right thing. Terminating Alosi would have sent a message that they will not tolerate this type of behavior and that being a member of the Jets organization is something special.

Instead, they blew it….again!

But that's just par for the course with this franchise because almost everything that they do backfires on them. Forget about the two game losing streak for a moment. If you're a fan of Gang Green, you should be embarrassed to put your Jets jersey on today.

A team can't guarantee that they will win. They can try all they want but sometimes it just doesn't happen. However, there's one thing that an organization can control and that's acting like professionals.

It starts at the top. Owner Woody Johnson has allowed this to happen. I find it hard to believe that Leon Hess would have tolerated this type of nonsense.

Sal Alosi stained the New York Jets with one unthinkable display of unsportsmanlike conduct. He's lucky Nolan Carroll wasn't hurt . Yet, he has a job to go back to in 2011.

Santonio Holmes wasn't the only member of the Jets organization to drop the ball this week. Ownership and the front office did it too.

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