The New York Jets announced that rookie quarterback Erik Ainge was placed on injured reserve to end his season.
The team said in a release that the former University of Tennessee standout has a right foot injury. He was inactive for all seven games this season.
The decision to place Ainge, who was selected in the fifth round, on IR seems a little odd.
"You think carrying the clipboard isn’t a dangerous job? Think again," wrote New York Daily News beat writer Rich Cimini on his blog.
"Fourth-string QB Erik Ainge, a fifth-round pick from Tennessee, was placed on injured reserve today with what the club is calling a right-foot injury. Hmm, that’s really interesting. Ainge wasn’t listed on the injury report last week, which leaves us to presume he was hurt while carrying the clipboard in Sunday’s win over the Chiefs.
"But, seriously … The decision to place Ainge on IR means the Jets need to turn that luxury spot on the 53-man roster into something useful. What that is, I’m not sure yet. (I’m not going to accuse the Jets of 'stashing' Ainge on IR because that would be a no-no.)"
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Comments » 77
tnbigg writes:
I think Ainge has great potential...and I appreciate his efforts as a Vol...but he really seems easily striken by injury...
McIntireIMP writes:
you think Erik could help us out this year?
TommyJack writes:
Must have dropped a latte on his foot.
McIntireIMP writes:
I think D'Brickashaw stepped on his foot when Erik was picking the towels after showers.
threehundredbowler writes:
you guys are the most heartless people I have ever encounted.He was not the most impressive QB to play at UT but he gave his all and should command respect.Have you examined your life?.My guess is you would find many things that would make you a better person in your chosen field if you did.
bigt4ut writes:
Doesnt surprise me, i didnt think he would even get drafted due to his bone head mistakes over and over, and his inability to throw the ball down the field, and hes too shaky on hes feet.
volguy41nlouisiana writes:
But guess what...he might be picking up towels,dropping lattes, or whatever bs you idiots say. Hes cashing that check though isnt he????? Never have I seen so many haters. What would you give for the clipboard carrying, latte dropping, towel boy this year? Thats what I thought
xvolx writes:
this article was a low blow. get the facts before writing an article like this. Ainge is the main reason this team had 10 wins last year.
knoxtenor writes:
Ainge needs to get used to the way they do things in the NFL. He probably didn't think the foot injury was anything at all--maybe some soreness from new shoes or something. His mindset is still stuck in the good ol' days of his college ball, where a QB with a broken pinky finger played every down. The modern NFL protects its players from injuries, e.g., hiring a flunky to push a superstar's wheelbarrows full of money out of the bank on pay day.
volguy41nlouisiana writes:
AMEN....The old addage of you dont know what you have til its gone, is never so evident when Ainge left was it?
JohnnyVol writes:
In the two previous years, Ainge has been outstanding. His stats put him in the same category as Mr. Manning at QB.
Ainge does not need us to demand respect for him. He has earned it. Those who do not respect his accomplishments, would not respect the achievements of anyone else either. The fact is that he produced on the field.
His sophomore year was the only blip on his record. Otherwise, he produced. And, by the way, the last two years did not give him much of a running game. I remember him almost beating Fla. two years ago with 6 yards of rushing. I'm convinced that, if he had a solid running game, UT would have won an SEC...and maybe even competed for a NC.
Ainge did a good job at UT.
Sheepscape writes:
Amen. I recall debating with many fans on this site prior to the season Ainge vs Crompton.
The Crompton supporters are nowhere to be found anymore. Dried up and disappeared.
TommyJack writes:
Exactly. I shall look inward.
Chipmunk writes:
I'd take Ainge back in a heartbeat considering the results of this season thus far...
McIntireIMP writes:
wow we have some sensitive people out there. learn to take a joke. thank you.
pdhuff#552644 writes:
I looked inward to GoGamecocks.com and decided I was more interested in Superior's bunch Saturday than a 4th string Jets QB.
We are shallow.
jeff1vol writes:
MOST of you guys a simple minded morons. FIRST... I would sure like to have Ainge THIS year wouldn't you! Hmmmm, seems like that "awesome" OL wasn't quite as "awesome" without EA getting the ball out ON TIME!
SECOND...Obviously, the Jets feel Ainge too valuable to let him go to another team or they wouldn't have wasted time putting him on the IR list. Idiots.
TommyJack writes:
And you know our track record agin 3rd & 4th string QB's....
nicksjuzunk#646117 writes:
Someone has to say it...
With Ainge, we are a one or two loss team.
1. UCLA. Done Deal
2. Florida. Uh, probably not, but maybe... just to stir up the haters!
3. Auburn. We wouldn't have needed just 1 first down in the fourth. Ainge would've accounted for at least two TD drives already.
4. Georgia. Maybe we could hang with em'. Ainge always had their number.
5. Alabama. It was close in the first half. Maybe the defense doesn 't get so tired and the crowd stays in it.
Just useless speculation. What do you think TJ?
It changes everything and opens the running lanes.
auttat writes:
jeffvol, I wrote this then scrolled up and saw yours, too weird, huh?
And which one of you all in here has been drafted by an NFL team?
Hmmm????
If you don't think Ainge would help the current UT team, then you haven't really been watching.
tr617 writes:
It wasn't a paper cut, but bleacher butt!
Stumps writes:
I read this as writing on the wall... Hopefully Ainge is renting in NY, because he'll be traded. He'll make a competent back up somewhere else, but NY seems to be OK in the QB department at the moment.
Yes, Ainge was PART Of the reason for the 10 wins last year, but after the bama game so was the defense, which kept us in all the rest of the games. Of course, Ainge was also responsible for our loss in the SEC championship. I appreciated his time at UT, but before we go wistfully wishing back the past, I'd suggest remembering that he was nearly a 4-year starter, and a heck of a lot more was expected out of that kid than we got. With 3 years starting experience and Cutcliffe in your ear, I wonder what Stephens would have become? Ainge is one sleeping dog I'm willing to let lie. Best of luck to him where ever he ends up...
tr617 writes:
Were not dried up, we are still here. The only difference between Crompton and Stephens is that Stephens has been luckier on some of his throws. I can count at least 3 throws that should have been picks. I still feel that Crompton is the better athlete of the 2 and that CPF needed to have somone to hang his inability to coach this team on and that is Crompton. I also feel that our new Offensive Co-ordinator is not all he was publicized to be. Not impressed me.
auttat writes:
What ticks me off more than the stupid comments posted after the article is how KNS handled it. I know they didn't write the article, but when the link first showed up, it just said Ainge on injured reserve. Then they had to update it and add the Paper Cut? deal to it.
What is up with these guys?
NoMoreWooAfterGoodOleRockyTop writes:
EA...I owe you an apology. In '04 I thought you were the 2nd coming of PM. In '05 I thought you might have been the worst QB I'd ever seen and was in favor of Clausen over you, in '06 I thought you sucked, in '07 I thought you sucked and threw away an SECC (can't be sorry for that one b/c you did) and couldn't wait for #8 to get his shot in '08, in '08 I'm just about jump out of my 12 story office window. You were a good college QB and if you were here now we would probably have a loss or two and still be in contention for another East title. The silver lining is that FOOLmer is gone for good so I guess all was not lost this year.
Timed_vol (Inactive) writes:
can you guys not friggin' read?? the writer is being 'tongue-in-cheek'. He's basically saying the Jets have made up an excuse to 'stash' Ainge rather than cut him. the only place they have to stash him is the IR.
the writer is also thinking the jets need to add a position player (a free agent), so they 'stashed' ainge.
to clairfy, the author is saying 'erik doesn't have a foot injury, the jets are stashing him, which is against nfl policy'.
Okay???
sheesh.
------------------------
Erik has potential; quick release, tall, manages the game well. Remember, long aga, Favre was a 'nothing' with the Falcons, that infinitely intelligent organization. Erik is not Fahvre, but the point is, you do NOT know who might work out in a few years.
pdhuff#552644 writes:
Phillippians 3:13.
tenntallguy_29#615180 writes:
I can't beleive you all are all over this guy. He played with the same injury that has kept the might Tony Romo on the side lines for two weeks so far and might keep him out another two. All of you that said Crompton should have played over him look really smart now.
JohnnyVol writes:
Stump I am completely with you on what Cut might be able to do with N. Stephens. He transformed Ainge's career.
Good QB coaches can do that. Randy Sanders saved Andre' Woodson's college career. Sanders may struggle as an OC, but he is a very good QB coach when he has something to work with.
That having been said, Ainge did very well. No one sees him as Peyton Manning. But...he is at least a John Parker Wilson or comparable.
Sheepscape writes:
We aren't talking about Stephens v Crompton, but since you brought it up...
Crompton botched handoffs and snaps, Stephens at least can do that as much. He doesn't kill the team with mistakes as Mr. All-World Recruit did. That's a fact.
You count at least three passes that should have been picks? I bet you have. But they weren't picks were they? Woulda, shoulda, coulda.
You realize you are defending a quarterback that couldn't get a single first down in the fourth quarter against Auburn, right? 8 of 20-something won't get it done.
nicksjuzunk#646117 writes:
GALATIANS 6:11
wyomingvol writes:
Gooo geew gee gooo'....
PUT IN CROMPTON, PUT IN CROMPTON.....
I sure wish we had Ainge this season....
Proof is in the product.
cjraney writes:
Sir,
If you think "The only difference between Crompton and Stephens is that Stephens has been luckier on some of his throws," I can only say you are VERY committed to your guy. Unless, of course, by "luckier" you mean Stephens has actually thrown the ball, in the air, to a place where the WR has a chance to catch it.
Stephens hasn't set the world on fire, but he has outperformed JC in every aspect of the game.
GoVol writes:
Heard it was jock itch that put him on IR. Just joking around. Erik did a good job for UT and we should be grateful!
Sheepscape writes:
Heh heh. Thanks for the laugh.
blitzshoot writes:
He saw an LSU defensive lineman walking towards him and past out.
givehim6 writes:
I agree with you, I too was very hard on eric in 05' and 07'. Now I miss the old dink & dunk passes, at least he hit his man and moved the ball.
SemperVol writes:
Are there T-shirts that say "I've been to Bucksnort, TN" ???
NoMoreWooAfterGoodOleRockyTop writes:
How many 12 story office buildings are you aware of in Bucksnort? It's a joke loser.
TommyJack writes:
Could be. We will never know.
SemperVol writes:
Easy, cowboy! Just a question. Didn't mean anything by it. I actually want a t-shirt that says that.
Apparently, you're not the guy I need to talk to about that.
volboy81 writes:
too bad UT doesnt have Ainge at QB this year! I doubt we'd be 3-5!
jasonn1970 writes:
Ainge's UT legacy (right or wrong) was determined on one bad decision in last year's SECCG. Had he not made that pass he would be remembered much more fondly by the masses.
newtonrail writes:
I'm glad somebody besides Jeff and I can read and understand what this was about. NO, everyone else has to go into attack mode for whatever Erik's perceived shortcomings were at UT. (And BTW he had 3 very good seasons for UT)
volroadwarrior writes:
Oh for the dink, dunk, first downs and touchdowns we had in the past.
volpreacher writes:
We would be in better position if Ainge were still here. Yet the idea that some of you don't get in your head is the fact, he is on the roster. Pro teams don't usually keep 4 qbs, but they did here. So he must have impressed someone. The fact is, what they are doing is obviously an attempt to keep him so no one else can get him. Just to make a roster is an accomplishment. Look at how many don't. Was Ainge perfect, no, but he made good decisions on the field. Congratulations Erik.
Volfantm writes:
While you're at it, isn't Jimmy Clausen looking good too?
invisiblekid writes:
I wouldn't expect the media in NY to have high enough standards as to worry with facts.
gbrown2 writes:
ROFL @ U Please Erik come back to UT
invisiblekid writes:
Personally, I think Cutcliffe knew more than any of us realized looking back at last year. He knew Ainge at 50-60% was better than Crompton at 100%.
As far as all that athleticism from Crompton, all I can say is that he isn't the same player I saw in high school. He looks much slower and I think the shoulder injury took away from his arm strength a little.
I agree that Stephens has been lucky on at least 5-6 throws by my count and missed probably double the number of open receivers. However, he isn't prone to the grade school mistakes that went a long way in derailing our season. How anyone could still be calling for Crompton to play is beyond me.
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