Soooo… How Will the Jets Do This Season? August 8, 2008
Posted by Jake Price in NFL.Tags: Brett Favre, football, New York Jets, sports
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To start, let’s look at this as if Brett Favre wasn’t quarterback for the Jets this season. Last season the Jets’ offense was hopeless, and the team ended 4-12. However, they lost seven games by a score of a converted touchdown or less, and another two by 11 and 10. They also kept the opposition to 20 points or less in nine games. They have now spent nearly $150,000,000 bolstering their defensive and offensive lines, so you’ve got to think they’ll be competitive this season, with any sort of offense they could have easily been 8-8 last season.
Let’s look at their schedule for 2008. At home they have Denver, Kansas City, Arizona, St. Louis, Cincinnati, New England, Buffalo and Miami. Take away the Patriots and there are seven winnable games there, in fact, anything less than five will be a major disappointment. Away and it’s Oakland, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Tennessee, New England, Buffalo and Miami. Let’s take San Diego and New England out of the equation. Seattle and Tennessee are winnable, but let’s take them out as well. That leaves four games that they should look at as wins. So without taking into account Favre, that’s eleven games that the Jets would be targeting.
Obviously things don’t work out like that, and there’s always a couple of duds from one season that’ll surprise everyone next season. But, that does mean that even with Pennington or Clemens, with the improvements to the roster they have made in the off-season, they had a good chance of winning 8 or 9. Now add Favre to the mix, and the Jets have to be realistic contenders for a wild card place this season.
So that’s my prediction, 10 to 11 wins and a wild-card berth. Ever the optimist…
First Look at Favre in Hunter Green August 7, 2008
Posted by Jake Price in NFL.Tags: Brett Favre, curse, football, Madden, New York Jets, sports
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We know by now, that whenever a major sports franchise makes a big trade, they’ll have a range of clothing featuring their new star in the team store within twenty-four hours, and the Jets are no different. Already at their store the Jets have a range of Brett Favre merchandise, although at the time of writing I am unable to access the shop, probably due to web traffic! EA Sports though have also been on the ball, and a visit to their website shows that they have already reacted to the Favre trade:
Courtesy EA Sports (more…)
Gotham’s Press on the Newest Oldest Swinger in Town, Part 2 August 7, 2008
Posted by Jake Price in NFL.Tags: Brett Favre, football, New York Jets, sports
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Sport’s funny. Twenty-four hours ago I wished that the Brett Favre saga would just be done with and go away. Now that he’s signed for my team, I can’t get enough of reading about it! In the previous post I presented an overview of what was being said in the New York press, now I turn my attention to the various Jets blogs. First up,GangGreen.com:
Okay, I’m confused. Can the Jets’ acquisition of Favre be both a “statement that they are a win now team” and “a desperate step”? At time of writing, 73% of respondents to their online poll are of the opinion that trading for Favre was a good move for the Gang Green. Let’s move to TheJetsBlog.com, where blogger Bassett decided to air his opinions on the deal by means of a Q&A with himself:
“(Favre’s) a sure-fire upgrade. Favre marries what we all loved best in Pennington … his poise and experience with Clemens biggest promise … an unparalelled arm. Coles complained about not geting deep routes, now we’ll have a chance to see whether he’s as good as he thinks he is … There’s no question in my mind that as an athlete that Favre is a better player than what the Jets had on the roster and I think i some regards allows the team the offense they had in mind for this year … This looks deperate to outsiders though. But I read it as a pretty savvy move. It gives Clemens or Ainge time to develop and allows them to really compete this year. The sense of deperation, is more about filling a new stadium than for their jobs … I know that Favre makes them better, but it also sells more seats, jerseys, etc.” (more…)
Gotham’s Press on the Newest Oldest Swinger in Town, Part 1 August 7, 2008
Posted by Jake Price in NFL.Tags: Brett Favre, football, Green Bay Packers, New York Jets, press, sports
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I’ve been quiet on the Brett Favre issue thus far, but now I know he’ll be lobbing the pigskin for my beloved Jets, I thought I’d do an overview on what the local press is saying about the hottest story in town. I’ll start with Steve Serby in The New York Post:
Wow, that will get any Jets fan’s pulse racing! But, wait, there is a dissenter in the same camp, in the form of Jay Greenberg:
Okay, so two wildly differing views there. Still not sure whether to raise a beer in toast to the Jets management, or just cry into it instead. Maybe The New York Daily News will help clarify things: (more…)
The Saturday Classic #15: The Tyler Rose June 28, 2008
Posted by bigtexan in NCAA Football, NFL, Saturday Classic, Uncategorized.Tags: Earl Campbell, football, Longhorns, Oilers, sports
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To celebrate my joining the Bleachers, the Reverend has kindly allowed me to pick this week’s Saturday Classic. After trawling the depths of the Youtube dungeons, I found this tribute to a legend for both my beloved Longhorns and Oilers (RIP) Earl Campbell, the Tyler Rose.
Although I don’t actually remember Campbell playing (I was just seven years old when the Oilers traded him to the Saints), older friends still talk about him like he was a god (that could’ve been Vince Young if the Texans had drafted him - sorry, that’s a gripe for another time). Unfortunately, the Rose was so battered by the hits he took that his career ended prematurely, and he now has to spend a lot of his time in a wheelchair due to a back condition. Despite this, Campbell is one of the true legends of Texas football, and a worthy member of both the Pro and College Halls of Fame.
Here’s it is, complete with fuzzy video and terrible 70s music:
The Saturday Classic #14: One Word - Klecko June 21, 2008
Posted by Jake Price in NFL, Saturday Classic.Tags: football, Jets, Klecko, sports
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This week’s classic is a bit of a personal treat to myself. Here the Jets pay tribute to one of my favorite players of all time, and one of the greatest players ever to pull on the fabled green jersey - Joe Klecko. This video was made to honor Klecko when the Jets retired his number #73 jersey in 2004. Klecko was one of the most fearsome defensive linemen ever to play the game, not surprising as he was an NCAA heavyweight boxing champion, and was a member of the infamous “New York Sack Exchange”* line of the early 1980s. Hope you enjoy this video, and just be thankful that the current quarterback of your favorite team doesn’t have to worry about Joseph Edward Klecko.
Chop Shockey! June 15, 2008
Posted by Jake Price in NFL.Tags: sports, Giants, sl, NFL, Jeremy Shockey
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The Jeremy Shockey situation at the New York Giants is threatening to get out of control at the Meadowlands. Apparently, this week Shockey engaged in what Newsday.com reported was a “huge shouting match” with General Manager Jerry Reese at a three-day training camp.
There is no doubting Shockey’s obvious talents as one of the best tight-ends in football. The Giants’ offensive line wasn’t better when Shockey broke his leg last season, like some have suggested, that theory is pure garbage. However, the line did learn to play smarter perhaps because of his absence, and the Giants learned that maybe Shockey wasn’t as vital to their cause as everyone thought. Apparently Shockey wants assurances of a larger role in the offense, or to be traded. I think the smart play would be the latter.
Before last season the Giants lost Tiki Barber to retirement - another player of huge talent, popular with the fans but also someone else who seemed to cause discontent behind the scenes. I would say that the season worked out alright for the Giants without him, wouldn’t you? I think it would benefit both the Giants and Jeremy Shockey if he was to run out in a different uniform next season.
Athlete in Personality and Opinion Shocker April 4, 2008
Posted by Jake Price in NFL, Uncategorized.Tags: Bengals, Brian Kenny, Chad Johnson, football, sports
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Everyone seems to be flipping out over Chad Johnson’s interview with Brian Kenny on ESPN SportsCenter. Kenny himself on The Kellerman & Kenny Show on ESPN 1050 stated that he was hugely surprised about the reaction this interview got, and believes that it’s because sports presentation nowadays is so slick and polished and rehearsed (and in my opinion, sterile) that rarely do they not go to a set plan, and players are so kept in check by their organisations, that we simply don’t see their personalities coming out in interviews.
For one, I love hearing a sportsman talk about what he really thinks, free from restriction and the boring old “gonna give 110%” sports cliches. Many athletes have huge personalities (some good, some bad) but you’d never know it to watch 98% of sports coverage. Whether Johnson is right or wrong in his opinion, I’m just glad he’s got one and wants to share it.
A Big Fat Serving of Humble Pie February 7, 2008
Posted by Jake Price in NFL.Tags: football, Giants, Patriots, sports, superbowl
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Ah! The joy of being right, especially when 90% of professional sports pundits were wrong. Here’s the gang from Around the Horn explaining how they got it wrong and the Giants got it oh so right:
from sports.espn.go.com posted with vodpod
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Well, that’s it for another great NFL season. I’ll be posting now and again when a story crops up that I believe deserves my fatuous comments, and I’ll try and keep the Saturday Classics coming. Hell, there may even be the odd hockey post! However, this blog will be catching up with its sleep somewhat until the baseball season starts up at the end of March, so I hope to see you all then. Thanks for your support!
The Greatest Catch? February 4, 2008
Posted by Jake Price in NFL.Tags: football, Giants, sports, Tyree
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In my last post, I posted the video of the amazing play in last night’s game where Eli Manning escaped the clutches of three Pats to send the ball downfield where David Tyree made one of the great catches of all time. Put the two elements together and I think it’s the greatest Superbowl play of all time. Period.
The New York Times asks today whether it was the greatest postseason catch of all time. The competition is The Immaculate Reception, Lynn Swann’s catch in Superbowl X, and the Montana to Clark catch against the Cowboys in 1982. They’ve helpfully provided links to videos of all four catches, so you can judge for yourself. Visit wide-receiver heaven here.
Hate to Say I Told You So… February 4, 2008
Posted by Jake Price in NFL.Tags: football, Giants, Patriots, sports, superbowl
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Give Steve Spagnola the keys to New York City.
The Giants defensive performance last night against one of the greatest offensive outfits in NFL history was one of the best I’ve ever seen. Keeping the Patriots to just 14 points, including two scoreless quarters. Completely nullifying the Pat’s immense offensive line. Sacking Brady five times and holding him to just one touchdown pass. If it wasn’t for Wes Welker, the Pats would have had virtually no offense. Eli got the MVP, and I have no problems with that for his outstanding 4th quarter display alone as his passing was unbelievable, and let’s not forget he completely outplayed Brady, but the MVP could easily have gone to Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora or the entire defensive line. Let’s hear it too for the rookies Boss and Smith, who on that final drive pulled off great plays like ten-season veterans. For the Giants players to have rings, when two months ago they looked pretty ordinary, is a spectacular achievement, and although I haven’t always been a fan of his, I tip my hat to the work Tom Coughlin has done with this team.
Both teams gave everything to an outstanding and intense Superbowl, but the best team won last night. The best team in the play-offs won. The best player in the play-offs wins the Superbowl MVP (let’s not forget, in three consecutive games Eli has ouplayed Romo, Favre and Brady). I wasn’t just being churlish yesterday when I said the Patriots were over-rated - I was just trying to point out that whatever records went tumbling during the regular season, unless they won a Superbowl they couldn’t be considered the greatest team of all time, which many pundits had already christened them. Well, they were wrong. To be the greatest team of all time, you have to win when it really matters. Taking nothing away from the amazing achievements of the Pats this season, they didn’t win the big one, so they can’t claim the title of greatest. (more…)
The Clock is Ticking… the Hour is Nigh February 3, 2008
Posted by Jake Price in NFL.Tags: football, Giants, Patriots, sports, superbowl
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Fried chicken: check. Nachos: check. Range of dips: check. Copious amounts of beer: check. Friends: check. LET’S GET IT ON!
Just a few hours to go until he Pats go down in history - as the most over-rated team in the history of football! Let’s go Giants! Let’s go Giants!
If your whistle still needs wetting here’s NFL.com’s preview, whilst here’s The New York Times‘ slideshow of the Giants’ road to the Superbowl.
Jake Price
bigtexan
