Bleacher Report - Articles by Andrew Stevens

Four Games in December: The Line Between Winning and Losing in the NFL

Andrew Stevens — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 13:22:22 -0500

Being a New York Jets fan, your writer understands the value of winning (or not winning) late-season games in the National Football League. This is very evident in the NFL, particularly when it comes to the Jets, but also critical for all teams.

A Jets-specific statistic from a previous article stated in stark terms New York's December records: 62 percent of the Decembers in Jets history have ended with losing records. The other 38 percent ended in either a .500 record or a winning record. An inability to win late-season games plagues the franchise. This year's disaster was par for the course.

As much as Jets fans feels the pain of December failure, this year they are not the only fans to suffer. Across the NFL, it is clear the Jets are not the only team stuck in a late-season malaise.

The Dallas Cowboys, a flagship NFL franchise, have struggled mightily in December and collapsed this year late. Many questions are now being asked about Wade Phillips, the Cowboys' head coach, and his ability to lead the team.

The Denver Broncos, needing just one win late in the season to secure a playoff berth, lost to inferior opponents and failed to make the playoffs. The questions are no longer asked to Mike Shanahan, the Broncos coach for the last decade-plus. He was fired the day before New Year's Eve.

Other collapses include the Tampa Bay Bucs (started 9-3 and now out of the playoffs) and the Buffalo Bills (lost 3 of 4 in December and now out of the playoffs). Both of these teams started strong and failed down the stretch. Tampa Bay is particularly striking.

As mentioned, they won nine of 12 to start the year and didn't win another game. Their vaunted defense failed when it matter most, giving up big yardage to a mediocre Oakland Raiders team on the last game of the season.

The other side of these collapses are late-season winning streaks. The Indianapolis Colts, San Diego Chargers, and Philadelphia Eagles all won at least three games in December, thereby cementing their opportunity to play postseason football.

In particular, the contrast between the Eagles and Cowboys could not be more glaringly obvious. On the last day of the season, with both teams needing a win to get into the playoffs, the Eagles throttled the Cowboys 44-6 (the Eagles forced five turnovers). Any Dallas fan worth their salt should be embarrassed by such a disgraceful performance.

Winning in December is critical because it builds momentum for a postseason run. A failure to win December games will result in either a loss of a playoff position or a lack of momentum going into the playoffs in January.

Even if a season looks bleak, winning at least three games in December can change a team's fortunes quite a bit. To paraphrase the legendary Bill Parcells, the formula for success in the NFL is quite simple: run the football, stop the run, and win in December.

Disaster in New York: Jets Disappoint Again

Andrew Stevens — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 13:55:05 -0500

If one were to casually glace at teams this year in the National Football League, one could do much worse than the New York Jets. On face of it, the Jets were a very respectable 9-7. Teams that were simply brutal in the 2008 NFL season include the Seattle Seahawks (4-12), St. Louis Rams (2-14), Kansas City (2-14), and, of course, the hapless Detroit Lions (0-16), who have reached an infamy all of their own by failing to win a single game.

But no team, including those mentioned above, have given their fans more heartbreak, struggle, and despair than the New York Jets. To wit:

1) The Jets have not been anywhere near a Super Bowl since winning Super Bowl III in 1969 (save for 1998, when they lost to the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship).

2) The Jets have had a losing record in December, a month where NFL teams want to finish strong for a playoff push, in 28 of the 45 seasons in the existence of the franchise (a 62% rate). That's over half the Decembers the team has ever played in. Notable collapses include 1972 (started 6-3), infamously in 1986 (started 10-1), 2000 (started 6-1), 2004 (started 6-2), and, of course, this year's meltdown (started 8-3).

3) The Jets seem to always be one critical player or decision short of other teams. Much of this is rooted in decision-making of management. With better decisions at draft day, the Jets could have had, among other players, Dan Marino, Brett Favre, and Warren Sapp.

These missteps are also found in game-day decisions. On the field, they always seem to be making coaching moves from positions of weakness (playing not to lose) as opposed to strength (playing to win). This hyper-conservative game management keeps the players in a mind-set that is overly cautious, preventing them from being aggressive and going for the throat in close games.

4) In the National Football League, most successful franchises are able to do two things well: a) run the football, and b) stop the run. Teams such as the Pittsburgh Steelers, the New York Giants, the Baltimore Ravens, and the Carolina Panthers all do both well this year. Teams that are able to have a power rushing game and stop the run win more often than they lose.

This year, the Giants (12-4) and Panthers (12-4) are tops in the National Football Conference because of their ground games. Historically, the Jets have been unable to run the football well (save for this year, ironically, and a few other isolated times). Plus, their run defense has almost always been weak. At times they make average running backs look like Jim Brown.

This history of mediocrity, collapses, and bad decision-making has created a fan base that is bitter, jaded, and pessimistic. Jets fans, your writer included, are always waiting for the other shoe to drop. As a Jets fan, one cannot see the silver linings, only dark clouds. In early-season victories, a Jets fan sees the inevitable defeats on the other side of the schedule.

In a winning streak, the Jets fans sees, and waits for, the December collapse that is all too common, and all too familiar. Even Brett Favre, the iconic quarterback from Green Bay, and Eric Mangini, whom fans were calling Mangenius not so long ago, couldn't rescue the Jets this year.

Favre's poor play and Mangini's bone-headed leadership created yet another December collapse, adding perhaps the bleakest chapter to a Jets history book filled with countless disasters.

Open Mic: What is a Sport?

Andrew Stevens — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 04:21:04 -0400

Sport, according to thefreedictionary.com, is defined as “…physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively…”

Meanwhile, Wikipedia, that modern internet descendant of the hard-bound encyclopedia, defines sport as a “…activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively….”

It does not take much imagination to see what definition would be favored by those who engage in non-physical, non-traditional sports such as chess, poker, or games of a similar nature.

However, does that make them sports?

Anyone, including your writer, who has played football, baseball, or soccer, is aware of what elements make up the pieces of a sport or sporting event. A framework of rules, a set of two teams going against each other, points (whether they are in goals, touchdowns, or runs), and a defined result are all classic elements of sport.

Overtime, the definition of sport has evolved, allowing for great elasticity in the definition. One might imagine, for example, that bar events are beyond the bounds of sport. This is simply not true.

Pool, darts, ping pong, and shuffleboard all require players to exercise a vast degree of mental and physical exertion. Without this effort and concentration, it’s impossible to be a success.

Try to throw a dart accurately or hit a ball with a pool cue without concentration and physical awareness. It cannot be done. In addition, these games have defined rules and points awarded, just as there are in baseball, football, and soccer.

So what of activities beyond the traditional sport world?

During a chess match, no one is running full speed down a field or hitting a ball. No one is tackling or scoring a goal. Yet, as anyone who has played chess can tell you, a chess match requires tremendous mental acumen and concentration skills.

Sweat collects on the brow. The shoulders are tense and taut. The stomach churns. As your writer can attest, after a grueling chess match one feels as if a full game of football was just played.

Similar physical reactions occur in a game of poker or other card games. In all of these games, you are using your talents, tools, and skill-sets to best an opponent in a defined arena of rules and outcomes.

Definitions, like a rock near the edge of a turbulent ocean, change and evolve over time. Nowhere is this clearer than in sports. Traditional sports definitions include the obvious (baseball, football, and cricket), but today’s definitions are found in the nuanced and less-physical (chess, pool, darts, poker).

As long as there is competition and rules in a defined space, contestants in those games will find a way to define it as a sport.

In this context, even Madden ’09 on the Playstation would be included in the definition of a sport. Millions of teenage and adult Madden fans would certainly agree.

English Premier League: No English Need Apply?

Andrew Stevens — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 15:10:07 -0400

For some time now there has been much negativity surrounding the dominant status of the English Premier League.

Fans on the continent of Europe are not happy with the fact that La Liga (Spain), Serie A (Italy), or the Bundesliga (Germany) are unable to produce teams that could stack up against the top talent from England, leading to a now much discussed all-English Champions League Final. In this final, Manchester United outlasted Chelsea in a classic decided by a penalty shootout.

In these pages I defended the fact that the EPL has produced dominant teams, citing the fact that football should be decided on the pitch and not in the columns of Anglophobic writing. Yet the football conversation in England now is not one of chest-thumping bravado and celebration but of xenophobia.

Instead of talk about Man U's historic supremacy and the elite status of the EPL, the conversations are based on nationalist rhetoric. Fans moan, “Why aren’t there more English-born players in the Premier League? There should be a way to get more English players in the EPL."

Hogwash. If one applied this logic to Major League Baseball fans, in a generation or so no one in America would watch.

Baseball in America (not to mention the country as a whole) is becoming more and more Hispanic. Athletes from the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Cuba, among others, have given baseball an influx of talent, energy, and skill. American kids are simply playing other sports. Nor do they have same drive to excel in baseball compared to Hispanic teenagers coming out of some of the most outrageous poverty in the Western Hemisphere.

They want it more. The dominance of white and black American-born children in baseball not where it was a generation ago. And this trend is continuing.

While this is met with little reservation in America, in England there is fear mongering. Twelve of the twenty-two players in the Champions League Final for Man U and Chelsea were not English-born. The best player for Man U, if not in the world today, is Cristiano Ronaldo, who is Portuguese.

Players come for all over the world to play football in England, because it is the best league in the world. No other league can match the visual presentation, television revenue, and on-pitch talent of the EPL.

Fans should appreciate and value what they have. Not so long ago, the EPL was in its infancy, and looking up meekly at the leagues on the continent of Europe. Now, flush with television cash and global exposure, the EPL can attract talent from all over the world.

Instead of protectionist rants and quota systems, the EPL should look at how they can continually play a dominant role in football for the generations to come. Let the rest of the leagues try to catch up.

Mets, Yankees: Panic and Underperformance in New York

Andrew Stevens — Tue, 06 May 2008 14:28:42 -0400

It's a month into the season and you would think the plague, or some similarly catastrophic event, had hit in Queens and the Bronx. Both baseball teams have underperformed, and both have demanding ownerships and rabid fan bases.

For Yankees and Mets fans it's been a struggle all April. But all is not lost. Things are bleak now, but they can be turned. But first, let's take a look at the reasons for panic.

The Yankees team has been bitten by the injury bug. Spring training was run by new manager Joe Girardi like a football camp, and much was made about the running and exercising. Now this work seems to have led to a revolving door to the trainer's room.

Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada are two of the biggest names to have gone down, but they've also lost a very good reliever in Brian Bruney.

Also, the two young pitchers in the rotation that General Manager Brian Cashman supported keeping as opposed to trading have not pitched well. That is putting it politely.

When Ian Kennedy and Phil Hughes start games, the Yankees simply do not win. This has led to speculation about putting Joba Chamberlain in the starting rotation, and reactionary statements from Hank Steinbrenner. Perhaps he's not such a "Baby Boss" after all.

But all is not lost. Once Rodriguez and Posada come back, the offense will look like it did before, and give protection to an anemic Jason Giambi (who, as of this writing, is hitting .155).

Kennedy and Hughes will get it together, albeit slowly. Unfortunately for Hughes it won't be until at least July, due to a cracked rib (yet another injury).

As for Chamberlain, keeping him in the bullpen gives the Yankees a deadly one-two punch they haven't had since 1996. Coupling him with Mariano Rivera is as unbeatable a combination as the league has ever seen. Hopefully, the Yankees keep it that way.

The Mets are in a similar boat, for different reasons. The specter of last year's epic collapse still hangs over the fans, players, and organization—no matter how many pep talks Willie Randolph gives.

A team that should have gone to the World Series in 2006 and made the playoffs in 2007 has won just one playoff series in two years. This does not bode well for General Manager Omar Minaya, or for the deep-pocketed ownership.

And the fans aren't relaxed either. They see disaster in every two-game losing streak.

Early this year Carlos Delgado didn't hit a lick, and Oliver Perez has been erratic. Plus there is a sense in the media that the team doesn't have the intensity or fire to win. Much of this is blamed on Randolph's low-key personality.

But Mets fans, like Yankees fans, need to relax. The season is young, and there are many reasons to be optimistic.

The Yankees bullpen, including the beleaguered Kyle Farnsworth, has been very good. The Mets' closer, Billy Wagner, has been brilliant. Both teams have enough offense to recover.

As average as the Yankees have been, they are only 3.5 games behind Boston. As much as the Mets have struggled, they are only 1.5 games behind Philadelphia in a logjam NL East. Girardi's hitters are coming back, and Randolph is not one to push the panic button.

It's still very early.

Sports: A Distraction

Andrew Stevens — Fri, 02 May 2008 12:50:54 -0400

Why do we care about sports? Regardless of what sport we like, whether it's golf or baseball or futbol, we care about sports. We are passionate about teams, jerseys, players. Sports are as much a part of life as eating and drinking. For some, it is much more. A fan of the Boca Juniors in Argentina has this to say recently before a big match against a heated rival:

"Boca is about passion. You can get divorced, change your religion, or change your friends, but you can never change the team jersey."

And that was one of the more restrained fans.

This lead me to find an old article I wrote about sports and how it ignites passions in a sometimes passionless world. I felt that it would sum up in many ways the relationship that sports has with our society. See below:

"Life is strange. I sit in my house with my parents, watch men moving around a baseball diamond or a sheet of ice, trying to manipulate a ball or frozen disk in a manner that would lead to victory. And, somehow, my passions, emotions, and feelings are tied to this process. On the face of it, the entire process is absurd. These guys don't know me, I don't know them. Why should I care about it? But, you see, that's the secret, and the beauty, of sports. It's important because, ultimately, it doesn't matter. I'm still going to go to sleep in my safe surburban house, win or lose. And, win or lose, these guys are going back to their mansions, trophy wives, and foreign sports cars. What it does for me is stir up passions, emotions, and feelings that would otherwise be lost in the bland neutrality of middle-class life. People care about sports, so much so that talk-radio, the internet, and the newspapers are a cottage industry around the games. People should care, because real life tends to be much more difficult, burdensome, and passionless than the games on the field (or ice). And if our personal favorite teams are able to create passions for us, or distract us from those difficulties and burdens, then they have already won."

Champions League Final

Andrew Stevens — Fri, 02 May 2008 11:00:09 -0400

The Champions League Final is set: Manchester United will be taking on Chelsea for the title in Moscow on May 21st.

There has been much gnashing of teeth from Madrid to Moscow about these finals, and the idea of two English teams in the last game has lead to Anglophobes leaping out of the woodwork on both sides of the Atlantic.

More restrained opinions see these finals for what they are, which is two top-flight football clubs having an opportunity to showcase their talents on the world's stage. Perhaps Vladimir Putin can take some time out from his political machinations and see some excellent football in in his own back yard. It should be a fantastic match.

There is so much intrigue, much of which comes from Chelsea's side. Does Avram Grant really need to defend his job status after his success this year? Can Chelsea's stars step it up? Does Chelsea have what it takes to beat Manchester United in both the EPL and the Champions League? These questions will be answered on the pitch, and not in the media. Until the games start there will be endless speculation about the stars on both clubs. May 21st can't get here soon enough.