Leon Washington blessed Jets fans with another exciting week showcasing his play making skills. Washington provides the Jets with an offensive spark plug that drives defenses crazy. By no means is he the best player on the team but week in and week out he finds a way to help this team win.
Washington proved a spark on special teams, running the ball, and even catching a couple of passes. Quietly, he had the best offensive day of all the Jets (excluding Brett of course). Washington mustered up 101 offensive yards with a TD while averaging 25 yards per return on his 7 Kickoff/Punt Return attempts. Look at the stats of this game because the Jets probably lose it if Washington doesn’t play. His 60 yard run yesterday showed how explosive his talents are and that at any moment he can outright make plays. It sounds funny but when all is said and done at the end of the season, we might be sitting here wondering what would’ve been without Leon.
Leon Washington exemplifies the changing offense in today’s NFL. Much like Kevin Faulk of the Patriots and Ahmad Bradshaw of the cross town Giants; Washington provides an all purpose offensive weapon. Players like them are very dangerous to defenses as they can touch the ball in various situations and create chaos on the field. In most instances, they may only receive 5-10 touches per week but the impact on the game is tremendous. Both the Giants and Patriots have won Super Bowls with these types of players instilled in their offenses. Just their presence on the field draws attention from defenses providing opportunities for other offensive weapons while allowing the Quarterback to have a dump off option that can create yards with their speed and creativity.
Mangini has to realize the power of this offensive weapon and continue to use him situational to get the biggest benefit from his talents. Newsflash to fans, players, and coaches this is the NFL in 2008. The teams with the Kevin Faulk’s, Bradshaw’s, and Leon Washington’s will win football games and catapult their teams to better seasons.
You can discuss Leon here or for more information go to Leon Washington’s JetNation Wiki page.