IMO Vilma has no injury worthy of IR, and this is a sham. Last week Chris Baker criticized Mangini in the press, and despite the fact he is the team's best TE, he was made inactive for the Bengal game (a close game which the Jets lost). Kendall mouthed off in the preseason and was first "mistakenly" lodged in the rookie dorm at training camp, then traded for nothing. Revis held out, and the Jets ludicrously played hardball, looking for a very unfair contract. Mangini clearly has a Tony Soprano complex. Now Vilma breaks from the party line on his radio station and is placed on IR. If Vilma had truly been injured he wouldn't have been available to reporters in the lockerroom after the Jet game, given the Jets' penchant for secrecy regarding injuries.
IMO what happened was:
Mangini benched Vilma for poor play during the Bengal game. Mangini, backing up his claim to "evaluate the organization from top to bottom", determined that Vilma's play at ILB was substandard and part of the reason the Jets cannot stop the run. He informed Vilma early this week that going forward, rookie David Harris would replace him as starting ILB. Vilma has sacrificed alot for Mangini, changing his style of play, studying day and night, acting as team leader and captain. This was a brutal blow to his pride and self-esteem. Vilma threw a fit, basically quit the team and probably walked out of the facility. To cover up the real nature of events, Mangini invented an injury and put Vilma on IR. Vilma probably could use an arthroscopy, like almost all nfl players, but it could have waited to season's end. This was a total sham, and more evidence the ship is sinking. I still expect the Jets to win this weekend, and D. Harris may actually be better for the Jets at present than Vilma, who is ill-suited to Mangini's defense.
