Two NY Football Teams Going in Opposite Directions

Both New York football teams have identical 9 and 4 records after 14 weeks of a grueling NFL season.  Yet, the two teams seem to be going in opposite directions.  The Jets started the season by reeling off 9 wins and 2 losses, but somehow never achieved one of those season defining wins that builds a team's character.  Sure, Gang Green beat New England 28-14 in week 2, but that's all forgotten after the ole fashion beatdown they received in Foxboro on Monday night.

The problem with the Jets is that the team is not getting good enough play from their quarterback.  If you have a good defense, you will be in every game, but you need great quarterback play to be a championship caliber team.  You need to remember that Trent Dilfer is the exception, not the rule.  And to be honest, Dilfer was at least a better game manager than Mark Sanchez is at this point in his career.  Currently, Sanchez is the 28th rated quarterback in the National Football League. 

RK	PLAYER	TEAM	ATT	COMP	PCT	YDS	YDS/A	LONG	TD	INT	SACK	RATE
21	Alex Smith, QB	SF	269	160	59.5	1809	6.73	62	12	9	15	80.6
22	Sam Bradford, QB	STL	474	286	60.3	2884	6.08	49	17	12	27	79.1
23	Shaun Hill, QB	DET	351	215	61.3	2206	6.29	75	13	11	14	78.6
24	Carson Palmer, QB	CIN	497	300	60.4	3187	6.41	78	21	18	26	78.1
25	Donovan McNabb, QB	WSH	472	275	58.3	3377	7.16	76	14	15	37	77.1
26	Chad Henne, QB	MIA	385	233	60.5	2676	6.95	57	13	15	22	76.5
27	Matt Hasselbeck, QB	SEA	423	253	59.8	2906	6.87	87	12	15	28	75.2
28	Mark Sanchez, QB	NYJ	441	235	53.3	2852	6.47	74	16	12	26	74.2
29	Brett Favre, QB	MIN	351	212	60.4	2446	6.97	53	10	18	21	69.6
30	Derek Anderson, QB	ARI	327	169	51.7	2065	6.32	43	7	10	25	65.9
RK	PLAYER	TEAM	ATT	COMP	PCT	YDS	YDS/A	LONG	TD	INT	SACK	RATE
31	Jimmy Clausen, QB	CAR	224	115	51.3	1163	5.19	55	1	7	24	55.0

The good news is that Mark has not exactly regressed from last season when he was also the 28th rated quarterback, but it would nice to see him take strides forward.  I know what the "Sanchise" backers are going to say, "he had his first 300 yard game this season, and in fact, he's had two 300 yard games this season and one game where he threw for 299 yards."  But, Jets fans cannot tell me that they have faith in Sanchez to lead the team to victory in a shootout with his arm.  What makes Sanchez a special player is his footwork, and ability to make plays with his feet.  He is great throwing on the run, and rolling out of the pocket when a play collapses.  Unfortunately, he is just not playing at a level where he can be mentioned in the same breath as the elite players at his position.

Until that time comes, Brian Schottenheimer needs to simplify the playbook, and have Sanchez try manage the game similar to the end of last season when the Jets did not ask their young quarterback to do too much.  This may be a difficult task given that one of the Jets most explosive weapons are their receiving corps of Holmes, Edwards, and Keller.  But, the Jets are at their best when they are dominating the line of scrimmage with their ground game and letting their defense steal the show.

Carl Crawford Dines and Dashes

The Boston Red Sox announced this morning another big-time move this offseason with the acquisition of Carl Crawford for seven years and $142 million.  Yet, just last night, it was reported that Carl Crawford was having dinner with Yankee executives.  So, let me get this straight - the man knew he was going to sign a deal in the morning that would pay him slightly north of $20 million, but he still felt the urge to scrub a free meal from the Yankees.  Or is it just that enjoyable to share a romantic meal with Brian Cashman on a Wednesday night?  Whatever the case, Brian Cashman learned a valuable lesson - that no free agent signs with Yankees because of the pinstripes or the majesty of Yankee Stadium. Rather, they sign with the Yankees because the Steinbrenner's can write the fattest paycheck.

Brian Cashman's last minute pitch didn't work and he couldn't lure Crawford to New York despite the fact that the Yankees have such a rich history with 26 world championships.  It was stunning to see the Yankees reign in the purse strings and not splurge for the best offensive free agent in this year's class.  Cashman must have been as shocked as anyone to learn about Boston's obnoxious offer for a player that is already 29 years old.  There is zero chance that Carl Crawford will have the same wheels at 35, 36, and 37 years old that he has in his late twenties.  The Red Sox got such a scare from missing the postseason last year that they didn't mind overpaying for a player that won't be worth $20 million per year in the second half of his contract.

Amar'e Stoudemire knows The Art of War

Sun Tzu

 Amar'e had his sixth straight 30 point game to lead the Knicks over the Raptors this evening at the Garden for their seventh straight win.   Most importantly, 18 of his 34 points came when it mattered most in the fourth quarter.  The Knicks have not had a post player this good, this dominant since number 33 was the marquee attraction at the World's Most Famous Arena.  Amar'e's talents may have been taken for granted when he played on the west coast alongside Steve Nash, as many credited Nash with making Amar'e look so good.  Well, Raymond Felton is a quality point guard, but should he be credited with making Amar'e look like one of the most dominant bigs in the NBA?  Of course not, as Amare's numbers speak for themselves. As shown below, he is currently third in the league in scoring and doing it under the bright lights of Broadway. 

RK	PLAYER	TEAM	GP	MPG	PTS
1	Kevin Durant, SF	OKC	18	39.9	27.4
2	Kobe Bryant, SG	LAL	21	33.2	26.7
3	Amare Stoudemire, PF	NYK	22	36.9	25.3
4	Dirk Nowitzki, PF	DAL	21	36.0	24.9
5	Derrick Rose, PG	CHI	18	38.8	24.9
6	Monta Ellis, SG	GSW	21	39.6	24.8
7	Eric Gordon, SG	LAC	20	37.6	24.3
8	LeBron James, SF	MIA	22	37.1	23.7
9	Russell Westbrook, PG	OKC	22	37.4	23.7
10	Carmelo Anthony, SF	DEN	20	34.7	22.8

This isn't the old Knicks where Jamal Crawford or David Lee could score 20 points by padding their stats with Knicks trailing by double digits in the fourth quarter.  No, Amar'e is playing like one of the elite players in the NBA, contributing to the team's success and making New York relevant again to free agents. 

What has led to Amare's tremendous early season success?  Clearly, it's his current bedtime reading of Sun Tzu's The Art of War.  Regarded as one of the most definitive books on military strategy and tactics, The Art of War has provided Mao Zedong, General Vo Nguyen Giap, Baron Antoine-Henri Jomini, and General Douglas MacArthur with inspiration.  Now you can add Amar'e Stoudemire to that list.  I can't wait to see how he plays once he finishes all thirteen chapters!  


Many critics are quick to point out that the Knicks recent success has come against weaker competition.  But what they fail to mention is that the Knicks have been one of the weakest teams in the NBA for the past decade.  To be a good team, you have to beat the teams that you are better then and the Knicks should be credited for doing that right now.  They are five games over .500, sharing the basketball, and buying into Mike D'Antoni's system.  It wouldn't be surprising to see the Knicks continue rolling when they start playing stiffer competition.

Mets Shopping Carlos Beltran

John Harper of the Daily News wrote a breakthrough column that the Mets might be shopping Carlos Beltran at the winter meetings.  Okay, maybe it's not a breakthrough at all.  Afterall, Beltran is in the final year of his contract that will pay him $18.5 milion, and he is not even the best player at his position on his own team.  That honor goes to Angel Pagan, who is not only entering his prime, but has also earned the right to be the Mets starting centerfielder on Opening Day based on his play last season.

If the Mets plan on changing the team culture, it might be helpful to start with building an organization based on meritocracy.  Mets fans have had to endure watching Kaz Matsui play shortstop over Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran play centerfield over Mike Cameron despite both being weaker defensive players.  They also had to watch Ollie Perez maintain his spot in the rotation last year for too long not because of his play but because of his large contract.  Baseball fans might either love or hate the Yankees, but one thing you have to respect is that once a player stops performing, he is banished from the team regardless of the size of his contract.  Take Kei Igawa - the Yankees gave him $20 million, yes that's right $20 million.  But, the minute that the Yankee brass realized that he was a bust, you never heard of him again, unless of course you are a season ticketholder of the Scranton Yankees.  For the Mets to be taken seriously by the fans and more importantly, by their own players, they need to put on the field the best eight position players regardless of their contract or prior status in the game.

While Carlos Beltran has been a great Met when healthy and has represented the Mets with the utmost class, he needs to come to the reluctant realization that he is entering the backend of his career and sliding to one of the corner outfield spots would be the best thing for the team.

Jets Feeling Green

Tom Brady was in cruise control, and the Jets suffered the worst loss of Rex Ryan's coaching career Monday night in Foxboro.  The big coach with an even bigger mouth didn't have much to say on the podium as he stood in front of reporters for the post game press conference.  Rex was still able to say all the right things, but you got the feeling that he wasn't fooling anyone, not even himself.  He said that he would "play them right now if they'd let 'em."  Did Rex not get a big enough thrill watching the Patriots put up a 45 spot on his vaunted defense?  Maybe, Rex wanted to keep playing to see how soon it would take for the Patriots to score 50 points on his defense.

Rex likes to think that his defense is the reincarnation of the '85 Bears.  But, the '85 Bears never got spanked this badly.  Maybe, it was just the Patriots night, as Tom Brady put it afterwards, or maybe the Patriots were poised to make a statement.  Despite trading Randy Moss, the Patriots showed they could still score, and score in bunches.  More importantly, Brady & Co. made a statement that the Patriots are not ready to relinquish their place atop the AFC East.

In some respect, the Jets have come off this year as a younger, mischievous child trying to get attention with the Hard Knocks cameras, the trash talk, the loud coach, and the flashy quaterback.  The Patriots came off this evening as professional, proven and humble.  They talked as much after the game as they did going into the game, which was very little.  They did most of their talking on the scoreboard.  And the fans at Gillette were into the game throughout.  Brady wanted Patriots fans to be more like Jets fans.  Today they were as loud as any fans in the country.  Maybe they can maintain it if Brady keeps giving them so much to cheer for.

BoSox Add a Key Bat

As if the Yankees did not have incentive enough to land Cliff Lee and possibly Carl Crawford for good measure, the BoSox traded for one of the elite hitters in the game in Adrian Gonzalez.  Many like to refer to the Red Sox's young GM Theo Epstein as Boy Genius, but it doesn't take a genius to realize that this was a great trade to execute.  In fact, a GM with sub-par intelligence would have pulled the string on this deal as quickly as Theo did.

Adrian Gonzalez was the best hitter on a Padres team that was inept on offense last year.  Pitchers were able to work around Gonzalez in San Diego, but that will no longer be the case in Boston.  His swing is tailored made for Fenway Park, as Gonzalez has excellent plate discipline and power to all fields.  He can practically play pepper with the Green Monster in left for fun and go yard to rightfield when pitchers try to sneak fastballs by him on the inside corner. 

Each of the 81 home games at Fenway carry the intensity of a playoff game in laid-back southern California.  The intensity in a baseball fueled city such as Boston tends to bring out the best in players of Adrian's caliber.  His quiet, confident demeanor will be a perfect fit for the Red Sox clubhouse, which is notoriously small and void of large egos with the exit of Manny Ramirez.

The only question remaining is how the Yankees respond to this arms race between the two perennial powers in the AL East.

Ron Santo Will Be Missed

The baseball world will miss one of its most colorful personalities with the passing of Ron Santo. What I loved most about Santo was not his accomplishments on the baseball field, but his passion for the game and for the Cubies.  While listening to Santo call a Cubs game, you knew that nobody rooted harder for the home team than he did.  That's what made him so great - the fact that he was a homer, was darn proud of it, and made no apologies for it.

He had a connection with the average fan that you don't find today with many ballplayers, who seem detached from the fans that root for them from the stands. After suffering from various physical ailments, Santo once said that his affection for the Cubs has probably prolonged his life. In some way, we can all relate to Santo.  Sports provide us with an avenue to escape the stresses of the real world for an hour or so each day and bring us back to a game that we fell in love with as children.  Santo understood that better than anyone.

LeBron Shrugs Off Boos, But Remains the Big Loser

It is not very often that a basketball player scores 38 points while leading his team to almost a 30 point victory, and still manages to walk off the court as the game's biggest loser.  Yet, Lebron James managed to do that Thursday night at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.  You get the feeling that the guy who used to be "The Man" is now just a man looking in the rear view mirror.  If Lebron could take a mulligan, there is no doubt that he would take a different approach to free agency.

Maybe he would realize that Cleveland is a great American sports city with some of the most passionate fans in the country.  Although, Miami might be a sexier place to vacation, its fans are more concerned with their gucci loafers than the actual game that is being played.  Let's face the facts, the Miami Dolphins are the biggest thing going on in Miami, and that's not saying much these days.  Ultimately, LeBron has nobody to blame for the scorn of the Cleveland faithful but himself.  He made the much anticipated, nationally televised "Decision" without giving Cavs ownership a modicum of respect, especially after it cut him a hefty paycheck for seven years.

The saddest thing about King James' legacy is that he was never dethroned.  Instead, he decided to step off his pedestal.  I could see if this story was going to have some fairytale ending like King Edward VIII abdicating his throne to marry Wallis Warfield Simpson; however, LeBron James didn't leave Cleveland for some woman, which any man can relate to.  Rather, he left Cleveland to join hands with Dwayne Wade.  Lebron's star power has dimmed quite a bit since leaving for South Beach, and and there is serious doubt about whether it will ever shine as bright as Dwayne Wade's in Miami.

Do the Yankees really epitomize class?

The Yankees are supposed to be the classiest organization in sports, right? Afterall, their long-time owner George Steinbrenner looks as if he fits in better at a country club, with his Brooks Brother blazer and mock turtleneck, than at a baseball stadium.  Then how come the franchise that built the "Cathedral in the Bronx" can't afford to pay their best best franchise player since Mickey Mantle?

Hal Steinbrenner and Brian Cashman cannot realistically expect Derek Jeter, a 5x world champion, to accept $15 million per year, when the guy playing to his right is making twice that much money and only has one world championship next to his name.

Going into the offseason, many of the talking heads floated the idea that the Yankees would sign Jeter to some  "lifetime" contract comprised of future guest and marketing appearances.  Not only does this prediction seem ridiculous now, but it also looks like the Yankees are going out of their way to repel Jeter from wearing pinstripes in 2011.  Why else would Cashman suggest that he test the market to determine his baseball worth?

Well, does Cashman think that the Yankee brand can retain its affiliation to class without its classiest player?  Jeter makes you forget about A-fraud and his passion for strip clubs, or the Rocket and his ties to the steroid era.  The Yankees might be the most recognized brand in sports, but their image would take a hit, at least in the short term, if they actually allow Jeter to walk.  And if Jeter were to walk, it will not tarnish his career as many would think.  Jeter might actually feel wanted by an organization, like Andy Pettitte felt when he joined the Astros in 2004.  The Yankees let him walk because they underestimated his worth.  Hopefully, they do not make the same mistake with Jeter.