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In our final look at Dustin Keller’s comments at the Super Bowl, we examine his contention that the late season issues with Santonio Holmes can be fixed . . .
Keller thinks that problems involving Santonio Holmes are fixable.
“We know that things can be settled, and [Holmes] will be a huge piece for us next year,” Keller said.
Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Rey Malaluaga was charged Friday with assault after a Cincinnait bar employee said the player punched him, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Why am I bringing this up? Well, Maualuga was arrested in January of 2010 for drunk driving in Covington, KY (right over the Cincinnati border).
It’s really hard for people to change.
During his four years in Pittsburgh, where he ran into a myriad of trouble, there were a bunch of “fresh starts” as we are about to see again with the Jets. And he never really “got it,” so the Steelers reached their wits end, and traded him to the Jets last year.
This off-season is going to be loaded with feel-good stories about Sanchez and Holmes working together.
But the real proof in the pudding will be when the season starts. Holmes became fed up with Sanchez during the 2011 season, in real games, when the quarterback wasn’t playing well.
So take the “feel-good” stories, that are likely in the offing this spring and summer, with a grain of salt.
There are three people who can be a big help to Holmes turning this around.
One is Sara Hickman, the team psychologist. She has done a terrific job of helping Wayne Hunter deal with his anger management problem.
If the team could convince Holmes to work with Hickman that would likely be a big help.
Re-signing Jerricho Cotchery would be a big help as well.
Cotchery is one of the few people Holmes truly respects.
The soft-spoken, classy Cotchery demands respect from everyone, and is universally liked.
The Jets should never have released him (even though he asked for it).
He was really missed last year. When Cotchery was around Holmes in 2010, the receiver behaved a lot better.
Also, Roger Goodell needs to speak to him. Holmes has two strikes against him. Goodell should try to meet with him, and not read him the riot act, but try to encourage him and help steer him in the right direction.
This isn’t going to be easy, but Hickman, Cotchery and Goodell would be a big help.
Another key to getting this fixed is to keep Holmes away from the media the entire off-season.
There are no NFL media rules in the off-season.
Holmes abhors the press, and this might be understating it. He gets very testy with them. He doesn’t like people questioning him, and that is what the media does for a living.
They instantly put him in a bad mood, and this leads him to say controversial things that hurt the team.
The Jets should keep him away from the press as they attempt get Holmes going in the right direction.
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