By Glenn Naughton<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Say what you will about New York Jets owner Woody Johnson during his tenure at the top of the Jets food chain, but there is\u00a0no denying that\u00a0this offseason has been one of\u00a0his best.\u00a0 Reports of the Jets filing tampering charges<\/a> against the rival New England Patriots, while petty on the surface, is actually a very wise play by the owner.<\/p>\n As many know by now, this all started\u00a0at\u00a0an\u00a0end-of-season press conference\u00a0in which\u00a0Johnson was peppered with questions regarding the Jets’ handling of then-former Jet Darrelle Revis and the decision to trade him away\u00a0two years earlier.\u00a0 Following some remarks\u00a0surrounding the circumstances under which Revis was dealt,\u00a0Johnson committed a big no-no as far as the NFL is concerned when he wrapped things up by saying he’d “love for Darrelle to come back”.<\/p>\n Expressing\u00a0the\u00a0desire to\u00a0secure the services of a player who is\u00a0currently under contract with another NFL team is strictly forbidden, which is why Johnson chose to call Patriots owner Robert Kraft to offer an apology<\/a> within hours of the faux pas.\u00a0 With Revis still under contract\u00a0in\u00a0New England at the time of the comments,\u00a0the Patriots\u00a0had exclusive negotiating rights which could have allowed Kraft to\u00a0speak privately with Johnson\u00a0on the matter and\u00a0quietly move on.\u00a0 Instead,\u00a0Kraft chose an alternate route.<\/p>\n Almost immediately, the Patriots publicly accused the Jets owner of tampering as head coach Bill Belichick went on the offensive, telling radio station WEEI that he expected the league to “look in to those comments”.\u00a0 Tampering charges were officially filed in the days that followed.<\/p>\n As we know by now, Darrelle Revis did what Darrelle Revis was always going to do.\u00a0 He tested free agency and signed with the highest bidder.\u00a0 Much to the chagrin of Kraft and the Patriots, that turned out to be the Jets.<\/p>\n Given their ample salary cap space (over $50 million at the time) and\u00a0dire need to upgrade one of the league’s worst secondaries, nobody needed to hear Woody Johnson pay Darrelle Revis a compliment to understand that the Jets\u00a0planned to\u00a0pursue the player they selected with the 14th overall pick in the 2007 draft.<\/p>\n With tampering charges against gang green\u00a0filed\u00a0at the league office, an investigation<\/a>\u00a0took place at the Jets facilities\u00a0just days before Revis signed on the dotted line and the outcome is still pending.<\/p>\n In all reality\u00a0the Jets\u00a0were likely at risk of losing what would be no more than\u00a0a late round draft pick.\u00a0 While many Patriots fans, known for their refusal to tolerate any rules violations\u00a0by any NFL player, coach, team or owner hoped to see\u00a0the league\u00a0award the Pats an early round selection from the Jets, that fallacy would break new ground regarding tampering penalties.<\/p>\n