Category Archives: Uncategorized

First off, this was a big game for both teams.  The Jets had a chance to take sole possession of first place in the AFC East.  They had a chance to put the Patriots further into a funk.  They had a chance to continue the momentum of their three game winning streak and continue their good vibes.

But they threw it away.  Literally.

– Let’s start with some of the mistakes that the Jets made:

3rd and 17 with 8:20 left in the first quarter.  Brady throws it to Deion Branch but Kyle Wilson undercuts the route and has NOT JUST an INT but a TD going the other way.  This is important considering the Jets moved the football with ease on their first drive but could NOT score a TD and then missed a chip shot field goal.  TERRIBLE.

2nd quarter 13:16 3rd and 10-  Brady with 5 seconds in the pocket, getting great protection decides to toss one up in the endzone.  Under throws it, into triple coverage no less, and it is going to land in Antonio Cromartie’s hand until…it doesn’t.  He drops it.  The degree of difficulty was high on that but again, its one that HE should make given Cromartie’s pedigree.  If we’re going to say that the Jets have a great secondary, and great cover guys, then HE HAS to make that play.

– Terrible throws by Mark Sanchez

2nd and 8 1st quarter- 6:12- Overthrows Dustin Keller by ten yards.
2nd quarter 12:31 2nd and 3-  Sanchez throws complete to Plaxico Burress.  Now, I realize a completion shouldn’t be on this but work with me here.  He’s throwing it into a window where if you see it from his perspective there are three Patriot players in that zone.  The ONLY reason that pass is completed is because of Plaxico’s athleticism and body type.  Plax has to extend those long arms to make that catch and stretch his body out.  He uses all 6’5 frame.  That could’ve been an interception.  This shows how underrated and underutilized Plax is and how bad Sanchize is.
3rd quarter 13:19 left  1st and 10- Sanchez throws five yards SHORT to Holmes who’s running an out route to the sidelines.  FIVE YARDS short.
3rd quarter 7:47 , 1st and 10- Should be a soft throw to Shonn Greene his underneath route but instead RIFLES on in which Greene mishandles because he underestimates the velocity of the throw and it gets the tip drill treatment right into the waiting arms of a defender and an easy interception for Ninkovich. Led to a Patriot TD.

– Mistakes by Jets defense/special teams:

1st quarter, 3rd and 8 on NE 29- blown coverage by the Jets allows Ocho Cinco to get a 53 yard gain which sets them up for a first down when no one decides to cover him.   Sets them up for the field goal.
2nd quarter, 1st and 10 on NE 39- Jets don’t pick up Deion Branch as he runs across the formation and he picks up 20 yards after Kyle Wilson finally catches up to him.
3rd quarter 6:51- AGAIN goes to the same play to give them the first down with a quick count and Brady hits Branch on the outside for an easy first down.
3rd quarter Jets muff the punt and give Tom Brady and the Patriots the ball on the 13 yard line of the Jets.  Do I NEED to tell you how bad a mistake this was?  Led to a Patriot field goal.

Here’s the coach em up drive that I want to focus on and it tells you everything you need to know about the Jets in this game.  I LOVED the play calling on this drive for a change.  THIS is how the Jets should be running their offense.  Sanchez was asked to make ONE semi difficult throw on this drive and he completed it.  Mind you this was a short field via the safety, this defense SHOULD be giving Sanchez short fields to work with on a consistent basis so let’s start, the Jets on their own 35:

1st-10, NYJ35 4:38 S. Greene rushed up the middle for 3 yard gain
2nd-7, NYJ38 4:05 M. Sanchez passed to S. Holmes to the right for 10 yard gain- Quick 3 step drop.  Boom, right into Santonio Holmes as he’s running an in-pattern.  Sanchez has a live arm.  Get him comfortable throwing these short drop passing throws to set up some rhythm.  There’s nothing demeaning about that.
1st-10, NYJ48 3:27 New England committed 5 yard penalty- Another one of Sanchez’s specialties: the hard count.  This is underrated weapon in the utility belt of any good quarterback in this league.  If you can get five yards without ever running an offensive play, its so useful and so demoralizing to the opposition.  Teams like the Patriots who have to manufacture pressure by reading snap counts and jumping early will always be prone to this and the Jets had multiple opportunities to take advantage but they did not.
1st-5, NE47 3:07 L. Tomlinson rushed up the middle for 15 yard gain- Delay hand off.  Beautiful play design and Tomlinson does about as good a job as any running in between tackles and avoiding defenders arms stretched out hoping to poke out the football.
1st-10, NE32 2:27 M. Sanchez passed to P. Turner down the middle for 22 yard gain- Here’s the semi-difficult throw that Sanchez had to make during this drive.  He drilled it in there by being able to step into the throw and rifle one into Patrick Turner.  When you are limiting danger areas where Sanchez has to figure it out or make complex reads and difficult throws that he isn’t, you’re asking him to fail.  Beautiful design.  Beautiful play call and great throw.
1st-10, NE10 2:00 M. Sanchez incomplete pass down the middle
2nd-10, NE10 1:49 M. Sanchez passed to D. Keller to the left for 8 yard gain- I’ve said it over and over again and I’ll keep on until my face is blue.  THIS GUY IS UNDERUTILIZED IN THIS OFFENSE.  HE DOESNT GET NEARLY the amount of touches that he should be getting.  

And here’s where Sanchez makes the mistake.  This is quarterbacking 101 and just a boneheaded mistake by Sanchez.  This isn’t the dumbest play in the history of the NFL like Rex Ryan described it, but it is dumb.  Its 1:42, now even if you are confused on where to align people you have time left on the playclock to run it down and if you’re still not organized, you call timeout.  But the point is to limit the time that Tom Brady gets a chance to go into two minute offense mode where he is clearly comfortable in.  You have to be aware that its Tom Brady and you’re giving him 1:20 with two timeouts left to go the length of the field in a style of offense where he feels comfortable.  THIS is where Sanchez HAS to be more aware and more prepared for.  This is basic QB 101 and the biggest difference between he and Brady.  Naturally Brady leads a go ahead TD before the half and the Patriots get the ball back to open the second half.
3rd-2, NE2 1:20 M. Sanchez rushed to the right for 2 yard touchdown.
N. Folk made PAT. New England committed 15 yard penalty

– Now the point here isn’t to chide Mark Sanchez on his regression, which is clearly happening because Eli Manning went through these same growing pains when he was coming up with the New York Giants.  There are plenty of glimpses and small things that you see from Sanchez that tell you that he’s going to be a serviceable to good QB in the NFL.  I don’t ever think he’s going to be a star, but he has the tools to be competent to play the position and the arm strength to play the position.  He has alot of work to do, but at this juncture, you HAVE to play to his strengths.

There’s a difference and I believe the Jets next opponent gives you all the clues as to what that difference is.  Tim Tebow does not run an NFL pro-style offense by traditional standards.  Team officials claim they are protecting him and trying to win.  John Fox said that in a pro-style offense, the Broncos would be SCREWED with Tim Tebow as their QB.  Steve Young thinks its a big joke that they are running this gimmicky offense.

I do too.  But if the motivation in doing this is to win then I can do nothing but laud John Fox for being so forward thinking.  We’ve seen enough of Tebow to know that despite his glorious 3-1 W-L record, he’s running a college, option offense that will die just like every other fad offense in the NFL.  The Broncos and Tebow are winning in spite of a limited playbook and a limited confidence in their QB.  The Broncos are winning because their running game is pretty damn good and their defense is playing solidly.  The Broncos are winning because they are getting solid special teams play and when asked to, their receivers are making plays.  Tim Tebow however is getting all the love and that’s fine.  This is QB league and so the brunt of the blame and the fortune go to the most glitzy position in all of sports.  But the fact here is, the Broncos don’t TRUST Tim Tebow to make progression as a Pro-Style NFL QB.  They’ve given up that hope for quite some time and are merely waiting for him to fail or make a big blunder to convince the townspeople that giving up on this era is the right call.  Without the people’s approval Denver can’t just shelve Tebow this season though I am convinced short of winning a Super Bowl this season, Tim Tebow will NOT be the starting QB of the Denver Broncos next year.

Sanchez IS capable of being a Pro-style QB.  Its how the Jets carry him along.  They constantly go into periods where they fall in love with throwing the football as opposed to setting up the pass with the run which is STILL somewhat their strength.  Their running game passes the seeing eye test everytime.  If they commit to the run things will open up so beautifully for the receivers that its not funny.

The Jets have recievers who can make plays in Plax, Santonio, Keller, and even Kerley.  They have two very competent running backs as well.  They have to utilize the run game and go off their strengths.  They aren’t doing themselves any favors by not.

Ok, so the Giants lost.  I’m sure there have been many Giants fans waiting for Eli Manning and the Giants luck to run out but this is not going to be negative.  Not to say the Giants did nothing wrong, I’m saying that this game had more positives than negatives and I’ll go into that.  But first there’s one thing that I have to get off my chest before I say anything more:

– The San Francisco 49ers are for real.  Its a contrast in coaching acumen that the Giants go from Jim Harbaugh’s 49ers to Andy Reid’s Eagles.  These were two teams that were supposed to be in opposite ends of the spectrum.  If i had told you before the beginning of the season that out of the 49ers and Eagles, who would be 8-1 and who would be 3-6, I’m sure out of 100, 95 would’ve said Eagles, and 5 of you would’ve said the Niners JUST to be either negative towards the Eagles or be different.  The fact is alot of credit goes to Jim Harbaugh and if you think about the team, he only made a few systemic changes.  His biggest influence has been inside the locker room.  Inside the heads of these Niners.  They play with a swagger.  They are well coached.  They have COMPLETELY bought in.  This was a team with Vernon Davis (the burly TE who was a headache.), Alex Smith (a number one pick who was a bust) and a team locked into mediocrity it seemed for quite some time.

But NOW look at the narrative.  Alex Smith isn’t a game manager.  He sure did sling the rock ALOT for a guy who was considered a game manager.*  Vernon Davis is playing within the team concept.  Frank Gore was supposed to be a content RB who got his millions.  For a guy who got his money, he sure is still running pretty mad.**  Vernon Davis is a great blocking TE to go along with his splendid offensive skillset.  Then there’s the work of Patrick Willis.  The prolific LB, who for my money is THE BEST LB in the game.  He has a bookend in Navarro Bowman who plays off him perfectly.  Their front isn’t ferocious, they are just consistent and constant and eat up linemen to free the playmakers to make the plays and look at that secondary.  Donte Whitner from Buffalo.  Carlos Rogers from Washington.  Guys who had failed in other systems/teams but had talent now are thriving in the Bay.  Those aren’t by accident.  Jim Harbaugh is the reason.  He’s the guy who stirs the pot and keeps this team believing and focused.  The fact is, for the most part, he’s doing it with a team that you can make the case has been underperforming.

*= The magic of Harbaugh’s motivational ploy can be seen here.  No man has he worked more wonders with than Alex Smith who he chided the media for being so hard on, yet thanked them for continually underplaying his effectiveness as an NFL QB.
**= Every Titan fan/fantasy owner of Chris Johnson is right now shaking their fist at their computer screens. 

To be very honest, prior to this game, I thought the way the Giants were playing, they would blow the Niners out.  Plain and simple.  I did not respect the Niners and thought that they were not going to get far with Alex Smith as their QB.  I thought the only challenge would be stopping Frank Gore, which the Giants did albeit he was injured, but I thought if the Giants did that they would be in good shape because Alex Smith was not going to pick apart the Giants.

But the Niners threw on first down throughout this game and consistently were effective in the first half. It was by design and depending on whether you are in the Niner locker room or out of it, you either felt confident or less than confident that this was going to work.  Credit the Niners for flipping the script and keeping the Giants honest and not peeking to play the run.  Speaking of flipping the script:

– We always say teams that win in this league have to be solid in all three phases of the game and ladies and gents, the Niners BEST unit may be their special teams unit who played an outstanding game.  I’m not a punting expert so you’ll never hear me pine over Ray Guy for the hall of fame, but in a game like this field position is so important and so the Niners can play with anyone.  They kept the Giants starting deep into their own territory and hit the field goals they needed to.  David Akers (remember him Giant fans?) came in and hit field goals of 36, 52, 39 and 28 yards and added a beautifully timed onside kick which caught the Giants off balance.  Not only was it a great play because it worked, it was great because the Niners were going to get the ball back at the beginning of the second half and if the teams were going to continue to trade field goals, it was imperative to get the momentum of scoring first on their side, which they did by regaining possession.

– We’ll forgive Alex Smith for challenging Corey Webster, in my opinion the only above average corner the Giants have left standing, on three consecutive plays in the red zone to open the second half.  I dont know where the game plan was there.  With Ross out of the game, they should’ve thrown at Michael Coe who was covering the inside slot receiver but Smith NEVER made his eyes to that part of the field for some reason.  Weird.

– Question I have coming out of this game is this: Do the Giants see Brandon Jacobs as a liability in the fourth quarter?  For the second consecutive week, the Giants left DJ Ware in the game.  Now, I can understand if this were Ahmad Bradshaw.  Bradshaw is clearly the better running back for this team, but to put Ware above him on the depth chart during the fourth quarter is questionable.  You can make the case that the Giants want a better pass catching option out of the backfield but Jacobs has been competent in that area.  No, I think this goes more to the fact that the Giants have very little patience for Jacobs doing his east/west running style instead of their more preferred running direction for him: north and south.  It makes me mad when i see a 260 pound running back who’s 6’4, as big as the LB’s who are coming at the point of attack, try and shimmy his way and dodge a tackler when he should be piling into them and forcing the issue.  I realize this is incredibly selfish on my part, but if a RB’s shelf life ends at 32, and Jacobs is 29, wouldn’t it make sense to get the most use out of your body and make the plays that made you a serious rb option years ago as opposed to changing your style to one that absolutely DOESNT suit you?  No,  I think his benching has more to do with his continued inability to get it.  He needs to run north and south which he had success with.  If not, DJ Ware’s performance shows that the Giants have capable shoes to fill in if need be.  At this point, Jacobs MUST perform out of necessity for his future earning potential No?

– Surprisingly the Giants were excellent on third down, converting on 50% which is one of their better outputs ALL YEAR.  The Giants massively struggled on third down all year, but this goes to show you that the Giants were moving the ball pretty well and easy on the Niners.  Its just when you run into the best defensive red zone team, and leave with 3 points, its better than getting nothing mindset kind of sets in.

– If you ever wondered about whether Eli Manning was an elite QB, just look at those two TD throws.  First the corner end zone toss to Manningham was as perfectly placed a ball as I have ever seen thrown.  Over the shoulder of the playmaker and put in a place that the defender can’t make a play on it.  Then, on the throw to Hakeem Nicks, Manning understood that Nicks had inside release so he threw it on the outside to negate that and force the issue knowing he had his best playmaker out there.  Unbelievable throw right over the defender’s head.  At the very least, the only way to stop Nicks from catching that was to get a pass interference penalty.  Amazing throw by a QB who is truly enjoying his BEST SEASON EVER as a pro.  Plain and simple.

– If you ever wondered whether football is a game of momentum you need ONLY remind yourself of how the Niners got the lead in the first place.  The Giants have had some crippling injuries that they have overcome, but I’ll tell you one that frightens me more than the rest.  Michael Boley left with a hamstring pull and never returned.  That’s bad.  Two plays later, Greg Jones blows a coverage assignment and lets Vernon Davis go right across the middle of the field and Alex Smith throws him a quick five yard pass which he takes for 31 yards and a touchdown.

Two plays later Manning rolls out, Manningham stops midroute while Carlos Rogers follows Eli Manning’s eyes and sees that Manning throws to the spot where Manningham is supposed to be and picks up the interception.  First play following that, Kendall Walker runs it in for the game clinching TD.  Fourteen points in 1:01.  THATS how quickly momentum can jump into a team’s favor.

For our coach em up section of the blog we look at the final drive, play by play brought to you courtesy of Yahoo.com.

1st-10, NYG20 6:35 E. Manning passed to V. Cruz down the middle for 5 yard gain
2nd-5, NYG25 6:01 D. Ware rushed to the right for 6 yard gain
1st-10, NYG31 5:26 E. Manning passed to D. Ware down the middle for 7 yard gain
2nd-3, NYG38 4:29 B. Jacobs rushed to the right for 4 yard loss
3rd-7, NYG34 3:46 E. Manning rushed to the left for 1 yard gain

Willis on back to back plays makes a tackle for a loss on Jacobs and then comes around the entire O-line to make a stop on a scrambling ELi Manning to force a 4th and 6.

Huge risk here.  Consider that the 49ers are in Field goal range if the Giants dont make it.  Its 3 and a half minutes left.  Its risky because the Giants are doing well defensively against the 49ers.  They have two timeouts to utilize and the two minute warning.  They have held the running game to absolutely NOTHING this entire game.  Conventional wisdom, and trust me Sunday conventional wisdom was thrown out the door all day, would tell you punt and live to fight for one more drive.  But I think philosophically the Giants have been playing to win this entire season.  They have been playing loose and confident and this fit in with the whole momentum of this team and so they went for it.  Beautiful throw by Manning, with pressure in his face, to Manningham in the corner.

4th-6, NYG35 3:25 E. Manning passed to M. Manningham to the left for 18 yard gain

The puzzling part here is WHY would Jim Harbaugh throw a challenge flag right?  Here’s why he was born to be a coach.  He read his team perfectly.  He knew that the Giants had been driving on them all game and they were bending but not breaking.  He knew Eli’s prowess in the fourth and wanted to give his team a respite and challenge a pretty close call.  He took a chance knowing that it would cost his team a timeout but give his players  a brief rest.  WHY wouldn’t he just call a timeout?  That’s more or less the bigger question for me.  I think it was just to throw a monkey wrench into this whole equation and add some confusion.  Look at Eli’s face when he sees the ref blow a whistle and the challenge flag comes on.  Its totally a “are you effin kidding me?” face.  It was classic.   The even better face?  Jim Harbaugh, knowing that his challenge was pointless had a cocky smirk when the ref announced the play would stand.  The time between the challenge till the next play started?  2:20 seconds.  He basically got two timeouts for the price of one.  BRILLIANT coaching and understanding of his team.  

I wanted to write something about Penn State and the stuff going on there but I had nothing.  Nothing that would warrant you reading ANOTHER tired piece about how wrong that entire university’s upper management was in reacting to Jerry Sandusky’s alleged behavior.

What I can understand is Graduate Assistant Mike McCleary’s hesitation when he saw it.  I get why he would go to Joe Paterno and expect him to do the right thing. I get why Paterno may have hesitated in reporting EVERYTHING and trying to protect his friend because its his friend and you never, in your heart of hearts, want to believe that a good friend is capable of something like this.

What i DONT get, is the institutional policy of reporting this kind of behavior up a food chain.  WHAT?  Did I miss something?  Did I miss the lecture on ethics where we’re all supposed to go up the chain of command when we see something wrong being done?  I thought society had determined that when we see something like that happen, we report it to the police.

But unfortunately, all joking aside, that’s normally NOT what happens.  Somewhere along the line, HR policy suddenly made it imperative that all employees report any unethical behavior to the authorities within that company in order for that company to handle the charges and police themselves.  Of course when something like what happened at Penn State happens and the authorities that were in charge fail us, it comes to reason that we question whether they were equipped ethically to handle it at all.

That more than anything is the reason that Joe Paterno, a college sports institution is now out of a job and will shamefully exit a job he thought he would eventually decide himself.  That is why above the obvious disgust we all feel towards Sandusky and sympathy for the victims of his crimes, the deeper rooted evil here is the institution itself.

What made these people think that they would get away with it?  Why hide these crimes for 9 years?  Why let this man walk and roam the campus free?  Forget the fact that he has had countless encounters with young boys that he had access to as a result of his foundation.  Even ONE child would’ve mandated this kind of response from the community but we KNOW he’s going away and he will be tried and found guilty barring any amazing setback by the prosecution.

No, what we do NOT know is how institutions will continue to follow this policy of keeping things in-house before making a decision to come forward to the police.  I mean, I understand the reasoning and it goes back to the one entity that has NOT said a SINGLE word in this and who really should be put to trial:  the NCAA.

The NCAA is the biggest farce in all of sports.  That much has been proven true over the last year as colleges have moved from conference to conference and schools have put the mighty dollar over common sense.  See, the NCAA can’t police schools moving and destroying conferences that have stood for years but they can strip a young man of all his hard work if he accepts a five dollar bill from his friend or for borrowing someone’s car for a weekend getaway.  See, THAT’s wrong.

The NCAA comes down on kids hard because they are holding on to the last fiber of its control: the students.  They don’t have the balls to tell college sports AD’s to not break up conferences or drag their kids across the country to play in conference games because that will bring major dollars in, but they can destroy a kid’s future simply for accepting money.  Ok, now let me rephrase that.  Don’t get me wrong.  Accepting bribes are wrong.  Yes.  But let’s consider that the NCAA has NO moral ground to stand upon.  They have for years operated, not as an educational governing body but more as a corporation.  Looking for an extra dollar anywhere.  Why ELSE agree to a BCS champion decided by computers and complex formulas than have a playoff?

The fact is the NCAA has never cared for the students, because they have used them and squeezed them for every last dollar and find it reprehensible that the students try to cash in independently.  The people we hold to a higher standard don’t do it themselves and now we expect them to act rationally in this situation?  The Penn State situation is one of lack of institutional control.  Every university runs itself as its own corporation.  Who believes that Joe Paterno didn’t know more than he was told by that AD?  Who thinks that Penn State higher ups didn’t think they could bury this situation?  They wanted to protect Happy Valley, the Penn State name and most importantly to keep the coffers full.

Now they face the pressing dilemma that they wished they hadn’t.  See, the reason that the Board of Directors are cleaning house is simple: that school is rotten to its higher up core.  The students are the victims.  They have been fed a lie that this school above any other cares for them and their education.  College athletics keep that school running.  Joe Paterno IS Penn State.  Joe Pa was a familiar name that always got them nationally televised dates.  Their alumni association is one of the biggest in the world.  Its a school academically to be proud of, but big colleges are no longer about education.  The Big colleges are no longer the ivy leagues.  Those are great if you want to, I dont know get an education.  But if you want to go to a school that’s a brand name, you have to go to a  Penn State or a North Carolina or a Duke.  A school with a recognizable brand name that has a huge number of economic backers that will always give to the school to continue to make it look pristine.  Until the shoe falls off, and a prosecutor comes walking in the door levying charges against administration and others for violating moral code number one:  WHEN YOU SEE SOMETHING WRONG YOU REPORT IT TO THE PROPER GOVERNMENT BODY!  You don’t sit and wonder what your boss will think if you saw his friend doing whatever to a young helpless child.

I ask of you all to sit and wonder to yourself this:  If you were in Mike Mcleary’s position what would you have done?  Many of you may say that you would’ve beat the holy hell out of Jerry Sandusky.  Some of you would’ve called 911.  Some may have been too shocked to do anything.  But I bet most of you would’ve eventually told the police.  I bet you would’ve went to the police and told them what you saw and would’ve given him up.

But the fact is, we’re all tied to corporate policies.  A few days ago I took an exam for my job that appears every quarter.  It was your regular HR class where you learn what to do in situations that may require you to speak up.  The end of that class is an exam.  In that exam, you’re asked a question about what you would do in a situation.  The correct answer is “you report it to your supervisor before reporting anything to local authorities”  Unfortunately the correct answer is NO WHERE on that sheet.  If you see something wrong, you tell the police.

That in a nutshell tells you what’s wrong with our society.  What happens when you go food chain instead of moral fiber?  What happens when you are taught the wrong options all your life.  Where are we going as a society if even one of us do NOT know that in McCleary’s shoes you would NOT have reported it to the police?  This is supposed to be an institution of higher learning.

Hmm. Good luck!

Steelers (-4) over BENGALS- Bigger game for who?  A Bengals team looking for legitemacy and its first real big test?  OR a Steelers team still facing whispers that its done?

Broncos (+3) over CHIEFS- I’m tired of pretending to know what a good QB in this league is anymore.  OR underestimating Tebow.

COLTS (+3) over Jags- How many Colts fans will boo at the end of this game if the Colts win.

COWBOYS (-5.5) over Bills- The Boys HAVE to win this game in order to keep pace.  No dr jekyll/mr Hyde team this week.  No excuses.

Texans (-4) over BUCS- Wow, on what planet would we have ever seen the Texans as a legit favorite week in and week out?

PANTHERS (-3.5) over Titans- If Cam can’t beat the Titans, I think we need to get off the Cam as Rookie of the Year lock and start introducing complementary candidates.

REDSKINS (+4) over Dolphins- I’m not kidding when I say this: Rex Grossman completely FLIPPED this line.

FALCONS (PK) over Saints- The Saints are lacking SOMETHING.  I can’t put my finger on…oh wait, I know:  a defense.

Lions (+3) over BEARS- I’ve always been low on the Bears.  Nothing personal.

RAMS (+2.5) over Browns- Stephen Jackson, say hello to the endzone.

Cardinals (+13)  over EAGLES- not liking this DeSean Jackson news at all.

Ravens (-7) over SEAHAWKS- To think, this place could have THE SINGLE BIGGEST HOMEFIELD ADVANTAGE and its ruined on a Pete Carroll run franchise.

49ERS (-4) over Giants- not picking the GIants anymore.

JETS (-2) over Pats-  Pats and Jets in two different directions.

PACKERS (-12) over Vikings- Ponder won’t sneak up on the defending Super Bowl Champs this time.

Enjoy Week 10

And THIS is why I could never be a negotiator, professional poker player, or seek any other profession where I have to keep my cards close to the vest.  If I saw David Stern’s smug look as he announced that last night’s revised offer from the owners to the players was indeed, their final offer before they introduced a newer, harsher, more small market friendly offer,  I may have snapped and ran full speed after him.  I may have said some things to a reporter that would’ve ultimately landed me on front pages everywhere and eventually would’ve torpedoed all the minimal progress that these negotiations had over these last few days.

I wrote  months ago that the NFL lockout would never see a game of regular season football missed while the NBA would for this very reason.  The people negotiating in the NFL boardrooms were very rich men trying to finagle a few extra million into their suits while they could without compromising the profits of an NFL season.  The people in the NBA negotiations?  That group is ready to blow up a season in order to save themselves from, well themselves.

The NBA labor deal that expired prior to these sessions was so in favor of the players that it wasn’t funny.  The players got the lions share of the profits or BRI as all of you who have followed these proceedings know.  The Owners meanwhle took on a majority of the risk.  Why was that fair?  Because more so than any other league, the NBA is a players league.  The NBA has always put its players in the forefront and marketed its players and allowed its star players to enjoy remarkable success by allowing them to create a brand name for themselves. So it would come to reason that the players should have the majority of the profits.

But with this set of negotiations its been the system issues that the owners, if they are truly more concerned with creating competitive balance and limiting bigger markets from stealing their stars through free agency, have wanted changed all along.  This, in my opinion would’ve been fine and negotiations would’ve went quickly with players understanding that in order to get a deal done, that concessions would have to be made but in these kinds of high stakes sessions, its never quite that simple.

The owners wanted the lions share of the BRI too.  The timeline goes as this.  As soon as Lebron James did his special and Dan Gilbert, the Cavs owner, went bat shit crazy over it and Carmelo Anthony held a gun over the Denver Nuggets head threatening to pull a Lebron and leave without any compensation for the Nuggets*, the small market owners who still had marquee players became very scared.  For years they knew that they could not compete with the big markets in terms of limelight.
*= I believe that’s EXACTLY how it happened. 

The biggest difference between today’s superstars and yesteryear’s hall of famers are that they are far more aware of their overall value and so much more business savvy.  The Lebrons of the world can make a fortune staying in Cleveland but not everyone can.  But the majority of players need to establish themselves in a major market to ever see their money making potential reach its ceiling and thus guys like Carmelo Anthony who isn’t in Lebron’s league in terms of marketing dollars (but then again who is) has to go to teams like the Knicks or the Lakers in order to do that.  Small market teams know this and there are few guys like Kevin Durant who very quietly signed a 5 year extension to stay in Oklahoma City that would rather avoid the big markets and the pressure that it brings in order for peace of mind.  According to a published report the average NBA player has a career spanning 5 years and rookies are forced to sign contracts that leave them under team control for the first 4 years (the final two being team options which if the team doesn’t want you you’re basically damaged goods and won’t ever end up signing a major contract anyway) which means that a majority of players that wind up in the league to begin with don’t ever get to sign that big money contract.

The owners understand this so it makes their insistence on wanting the BRI in their favor too, pretty mystifying.  Why would you want a share of the players money when all they really want is to create more competitive balance?  Unlike other leagues where there is parity, the NBA has a definite problem in that area.  Since 1980, in 31 years, the Lakers have won 10 titles, the Bulls 6, the Spurs 4, the Celtics 4, the Pistons 3, Rockets 2 and then you have the Mavs, the Heat and the Sixers with one a piece.  So over a 32 year span, 6 teams won more than once, four franchises won atleast 4 and then you have the Lakers who won 10.  When compared to that terribly capitalistic bureaucracy that runs major league baseball, America’s past time, you can see a shocking discovery:  ONE TEAM has won atleast four championships and that is the New York Yankees with five, the Cardinals with 3, the Phillies, Blue Jays, Red Sox, and the Marlins with two a piece, and 16 other separate franchises with 1 championship to its name.  That means only 8 franchises went a 30 year span without a title which means ONLY 26% of the league did not while the NBA has 70% of its franchises still looking for its first title.

That means that fundamentally something is bad in the NBA that they still haven’t figure out.  The only argument that truly works in a vacuum is that in the NBA franchises have been poorly run.  That is true.  But consider that the Lakers were able to sustain their championship run by recruiting Shaq in the 90’s and then swinging a trade for Pau Gasol.  They lucked out with the first pick in the draft in 1980 which allowed them to draft Magic Johnson and other favorable trades that went their way because teams were not able to pay their superstars like they knew big market teams like the Knicks could.  Now you may argue: why are billionaires really that concerned with spending money?  They have lots of it!  Which is true but you have to understand that owners will always run their teams like a business and successful business owners understand that in order to make money they have to cut costs and where else can they cut expenditures in a major way than to cut it in player salaries.  They won’t take on major salaries, yet expect their GM’s to build teams that win championships.  Look at what the Tampa Bay Rays are doing in baseball and teams like Oklahoma City is doing in the NBA.  They build teams through very smart drafting and very savvy pickups and trades.

Now, if the system needs to be rebuilt that’s one thing, but as I earlier stated, the owners want a piece of the pie and want to eat it too which is the problem.  The system issues I can understand and make sense in the scheme of things to fix.  But wanting the BRI split their way tells me that they want the players to pay for the mistakes the owners themselves caused.  The owners signed off on paychecks to Rashard Lewis and Eddie Curry.  They got hustled.  Yet, the players are now somehow at fault and need to pay that money back?  Thats insane.

The owners didn’t do themselves any favors this past week when they set a drop dead-line of Wednesday at 5pm to consider the owners latest proposal or else, but they tactically set themselves up pretty well.  The plan, I have to admit, was executed to perfection.  Mind you the decision to set up the drop dead-line date to Wednesday, in my mind, was backlash that the owners dished out to the players as a result of a report that the players were threatening to decertify as a union and drag the owners through court which would effectively terminate the season.  But that was part of their plan or better yet David Stern’s plan.  Stern knew the players and Billy Hunter would go back to the bargaining table prior to the deadline with the threat of a much harsher deal, if this one or a version of this one, were not accepted by the union.  Now, the players are totally on the hook to accept  a deal that is practically going to be a W for the owners.

If the players decide to balk on this deal and reject it then that means that the owners, barring this whole thing not being one big old bluff, would deliver the feared 53-47 BRI in favor of the owners/contract rollbacks/hard cap proposal which would mean the union in turn would decertify basically ending the season.  Now, the players HAVE to accept or else the public blame game will be heavily on them.  No one will understand the players stance if they choose to reject it.  No one will be happy except the owners and it could lead to a situation a few years from now where we could end up in a nuclear situation that could torpedo the system.

Unless what David Stern and deputy Commissioner Adam Silver said was right.  IF this deal is indeed better for both sides, the revised version I mean, like they said it is, then come 2017 when the league has to go through another renegotiation process, much of this framework wont have to be changed.  If teams from Charlotte and other small market teams play well and compete and win titles, then the small market teams will have been right in taking such a hard stance in these negotiations.  BUT if poor management continues and teams invest in the wrong players and continue to allow big market teams to dominate then NOTHING the owners can do will matter.  In 2017 that deal will favor the players and will force a real lockout.

Where do I think this will end up?  I think this deal will eventually be accepted.  Most players are itching to play and get paychecks.  The owners know this.  BUT, the pressure falls back on the owners IF the players accept this deal.  Now, the owners will have to be responsible enough to field competitive teams.  Now the owners will have to prove that they indeed have a case for asking for a much larger percentage of the BRI and much stricter system changes.  If this doesn’t work, we can expect an all out war in 2017 when this new deal expires.

That’s IF the players accept the deal.

Speaking of reading into victories.  I can’t tell you a better position I’d rather be in from a Jet fan perspective than coming off this win.  What could we learn from this game?  What were the huge plays?  You could say there were a few that caught my eye but since this is my first article Jets related in quite some time, I’m going to give you kind of a midseason report more so than a report from this game so indulge me if you will.

– Don’t let the score fool you, this was an old fashioned “we’re better than you” ass kicking that the Jets laid on the Bills.  The first half was not the one that the Jets would’ve liked to see.  Sanchez wasn’t effective, yet again playing the unpredictable superstar role that has come to define him through much of these 2 and a half seasons that we’ve seen of him.  That interception was just a pass that got away from him in the end zone.  Jet fans, if you can remember that far, remember how amazingly efficient Chad Pennington was in the end zone, having thrown all of 2 red zone interceptions his entire career.  In those situations, coaches teach QB’s to throw it away and take the points.  There’s nothing wrong with getting 3 in that moment.  Of course, young QB’s or QB’s who tend to make those mistakes forget how much less real estate the receivers have and ultimately the advantage goes to the cornerbacks who know HOW to take advantage of it.  Great play by Jairus Byrd to take advantage of that bad throw and get the pick.

– Amazing job by the defense.  Some people have said that this was the best that unit had played all season.  I disagree.  I think in that Jaguars win at home a few weeks ago, the Jets literally took the the Jags out of that game about 2 minutes into it.  The Jets defense dominated that game from opening whistle to end of business day and thoroughly destroyed any kind of hope that the Jags had of making it a contest.

In this game, the Jet offense kept the Bills believing that all they had to do was rip one or two plays off to take the lead, but they never did.  In fact, if you take a look at their drive chart in the first half:

3 and out, 7 plays 35 yards, 3 and out, 4 plays and an INT, 2 plays INT, 4 and out.  That’s 23 offensive snaps and 68 (net) yards, 49 of which came via the run and Fred Jackson.  Ryan Fitzpatrick accounted for 24 yards in the first half.  TWENTY FOUR!  He was 4/12 for 24 yards with 2 INT’s.  That’s about as abysmal as you can get for a QB.  Thats because the Jets were allowing everything over the top and daring them to beat them underneath where they loaded up on coverage.  They realized that Fitzpatrick isn’t as good on the deep patterns and tried to bait Fitz into making those throws and even when they connected (against REVIS AT THAT), it didn’t feel momentous OR the start of something big.  The defense continuously made plays that stomped out any hope for the Bills.  This was a classic beat them down game that may have given the Jets their swag back before what they will consider the “game-of-the-season-up-until-that-point”  against the Patriots who are coming off their second straight loss and seeing a precipitous decline in their offensive statistics.

Look, teams are figuring out ways to attack Welker and those tight ends and the Giants don’t nearly have the cover guys that the Jets do so I can’t see how the Patriots could be favored heading into this game.  One could argue the Jets lack of a true four man pass rush but its negated by those exotic blitzes Rex likes to send and the Giants installed some of that criss crossing pressures you see Sexy Rexy design and it worked effectively.  Something clearly is happening in New England that I can’t quite put my finger on but there’s a feeling I got from Brady’s reaction alone that tells me that the lackluster play by the Patriot Defense is beginning to put undue pressure on Brady to perform and his offensive line is getting old and not protecting him anymore like they used to.  If there was any week to try and put a dagger in Brady and catching him in a moment of weakness, its this week.

– Back to our regularly scheduled programming: Speaking of former Super Bowl heroes of the Giants, first Brandon Jacobs, now I’d like to welcome back Plaxico Burress who absolutely abused the Bills corner in the 3rd quarter  using his huge 6’5 body and powerful upper body to gain separation and bully his way into a reception and 19 yards.  Now THATs the receiver the Jets need to see.  Though, I have to admit, I think they could’ve gotten that from Braylon Edwards but I agree that Plaxico was a safer bet entering the season with his motivation to right himself and Braylon’s continued immature behavior.  Let’s just say that this added on to his 3 TD performance from 3 weeks ago, the Jets sorely need his re-emerging presence to strike fear into the hearts of defenses.

– The second half was a completely different half and it may have something to do with the guy who I feel has completely had the biggest turnaround on this team.  As much as Mike Tannenbaum would’ve liked that guy to be Vernon Gholston, it is Joe McKnight.  The guy has been a god-send on special teams but more than that, he’s beginning to emerge as a second option in the running game and seriously threatening LDT’s spot on the team as it moves forward.  McKnight, is by most admissions, the fastest guy on the Jets and his ability to be elusive CAN make him a much better play moving forward than LDT but because of LDT’s reputation and star power he won’t get nearly enough the touches on offense to warrant a change but its nice for him to get looks.  I wouldn’t be surprised that come next year, barring a complete meltdown, LDT isn’t brought back and the Jets rely more on McKnight and Greene who I STILL FEEL has his best days as a Jet this season still ahead of him.

– Santonio Holmes: what a freaking catch.  The guy just makes incredible catches.

– Pretty cool story by Rich Cimini this week on the ESPNNY website, that makes me jealous of all beat writers for their ability to get the kind of detail that only die hards would love to read: http://espn.go.com/new-york/nfl/story/_/id/7206148/brandon-moore-late-addition-one-new-york-jets-captains.

– During the first half, the Jets looked like a team that had no clue what they were doing.  During the second half, their possessions went something like this: Punt, FG, TD, TD, TD and running out the clock.  That’s a complete 180 and an awakening of sorts.  Another 100 yard rushing day for the Jets offense collectively and their recievers played complementary roles and seemed to be much more effective when the defense had to respect the run.  NOW this is Jet football.  Playaction off of the run.  This may sound simple and lack the sexiness of what other teams are doing but copying them to keep up with the Joneses isn’t automatically going to make you better.  Give credit to Brian Schottenheimer and Rex Ryan for realizing their mistake and simplifying things and going back to what works.  I dont give him much credit usually but this time I’ll afford him praise.