When You Give Leon Washington the Ball, Good Things Happen

Because I realize the universe does not revolve around the East Coast, it seemed appropriate to do anything (and everything) in my power to make sure the world - or at least the blogosphere - is recognizing one Leon Washington.

For some of you, Leon is probably the cute, little scat-back guy who you may remember from his days in Tallahassee as a Seminole for Bobby Bowden. Perhaps you even recognize him as a useful "third-down guy" who can also break off a kick or punt return from time to time. If that's all you think Leon Washington is, you better ask somebody.
We're here to tell you silly, ignorant bastards that 2-9 for the J-E-T-S is a hell of a lot more than a nice special situation-type back. You see, Leon Washington is the most valuable player on the 5-3 New York Jets. It's not even close, actually. This is not a surprising sentiment for those like me who watch this Jets team week in and week out, through the good, bad and frequently ugly. But it may be for those who rarely get to watch this team live and may fall victim to the sometimes blinding light of #4 and the hype.

Meanwhile, Leon is doing it all for the Jets. On the ground, he's carried the rock 34 times for 168 yards as the primary speller for Thomas Jones. He's rushed it in for two scores with a long of 60 yards and a healthy average of 4.9 yards a clip. He runs between the tackles. He doesn't go down easily. He plays a heckuva lot bigger than 5'9, 200.

Mr. Washington has also been solid catching the ball, ranking third among Gang Green pass-catchers snagging 24 receptions for 195 yards and a score. Each catch for the versatile back is translating to eight yards for Mangini's crew, and many of those seemingly come in critical third-down situations time and again.

Of course, Leon is also frequently backed up to return both punts and kickoffs. He's averaging 27 yds/return, fourth overall with those with 20 or more kickoff returns for the season, including a 94-yarder. He's dropped back 22 times on punts, returning 17 for an average of 13 yards per return.

One thousand twenty-three. That's the total yards tally for L-Dub. 1,123. That is money. That is why he needs to get the ball even more. That is why he's the Jets MVP. And it's about time he gets some more damn respect. Damn it.