Bleacher Report - Articles by Bruce Dickenson

Note To Dolphin Fans: Relax!

Bruce Dickenson — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 13:32:20 -0400

Let me start by saying that after the 2007 season and the following offseason, I really had a soft spot for the Dolphins. Injuries, coaching, their record, and the Pennington signing really left me rooting for the Dolphins for 14 games last year.

Heck, I was pulling for them in the playoffs. That is just the type of fan that I am. I am also a Yankee fan that was pulling for the Red Sox once the Yankees were out of the playoffs last year due to my love of their manager.

All that being said, recent developments have forced me to reconsider.

Rex Ryan's comments about his arrival in the AFC East cannot be considered trash talking nor were they even directed at the Dolphins. Rex is simply a man trying to establish an attitude for a team that has struggled to get back to the big game for four decades.

For some reason, the Dolphins and some of their fans have decided to take Mr. Ryan's comments personally. I am not sure why.

Nothing can be taken away from the remarkable turnaround that the Dolphins had from 2007 to 2008. It was historic. But slow down.

The Dolphins now seem to think they are the NFL elite and act as if they have been AFC champs for the past ten seasons. Well, if the Jets are so inferior to the Dolphins, why have they not won a Super Bowl since 1973, only four years after the Jets' last Super Bowl win?

For that matter, in the past decade, in the 20 times the Dolphins and Jets have played, the results are Jets 15 to the Dolphins' five.

Another really good question is, why it is OK for Joey Porter to run his mouth, but Rex Ryan cannot even defend himself when questioned about the Jets-Patriots rivalry?

In addition, why have I not heard the very vocal Patriot fans complaining about comments that had more to do with their team than with the Dolphins?

All I can say Dolphins fans is, yes, you are right. The Jets have not won a game in 2009, but don't crown yourselves AFC champs in June either.

Tom Brady: How I Learned to Stop Hating and Love the Game

Bruce Dickenson — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 06:37:36 -0400

Let me start by sending a sincere message of sympathy to my rival fans in Foxboro and the entire Patriots organization. The loss of your top player is not making this JETS fan smile.

As a sports fan, and as I watched the game on Sunday, admittedly I immediately started to reflect on what how this would affect my team. There is a fellow human being lying in agony in front of thousands of fans, and I’m wondering if my team will benefit?

What is wrong with me?

I am no fan of Bill Belichick or Tom Brady, simply because I think they got complacent and cocky last season. Offseason comments further cemented my dislike for Tom. But, this mentality of cheering an injury of a Hall of Fame player is wrong on so many levels.

One, as I mentioned, this is a living, breathing person. As fans, a plastic box with a glass front seems to confuse us on this fact. Does anyone remember L.T.’s reaction to the Theismann injury?

Taylor had marching orders to de-cleat Joe, but in the blink of an eye, his attitude changed from competitive to compassionate.

Two, if we all love the NFL so much, why would we cheer for one of its biggest stars to be removed for an entire season? Will that help the product? Was I the only one last year that found it amazing that U.S. senators got involved when a history-making game was not available to be seen by every NFL-blooded American?

Finally, as a fan, do we want our teams to play a crippled opponent? If the JETS knock off the Patriots this weekend, yes it will still be an accomplishment, but will it be the victory we wanted? Is that how we want to win?

If that’s the case, we should all become members of the Tonya Harding fan club.

Haters Beware! Picture Favre, Manning (Eli or Peyton), Anderson, Palmer, Brees, and the others I missed, writhing in pain on the turf on Sunday, and ask yourself how you would feel. I implore real sports fans to stop spewing hate.

And to the Patriots fans out there, look at the picture above and use it as motivation to get through this season and good luck to Cassel. I hope we beat him.

In the NFL, Past Performance Is Not Indicative of Future Results

Bruce Dickenson — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 08:02:14 -0400

As the temperature and dew-point rise, creating a rather uncomfortable climate, the last few weeks before the NFL preseason can be unbearable. To add insult to injury, we have a three-day break from baseball, leaving us with little news to distract our thirst for information on our favorite team.

Enter the 2008 NFL season predictions.

Just like top-10 lists, I do not know why I read these. Perhaps to anger myself with the same results from list to list. I have been complaining for years that these lists reflect nothing of the season to come and are little more than a regurgitation of last season's standings.

Therefore, I decided to do a bit of research and report what I found, to illustrate my antipathy for such prophecies. For example, the list below shows 2006 season results, followed by a relatively accurate culmination of a few 2007 season predictions, and ending with 2007 season results.

2006 Season Results	2007 Season Predictions	2007 Season Results

AFC East	AFC East	AFC East
1. New England	1. New England	1. New England
2. New York	2. New York	2. Buffalo
3. Buffalo	3. Miami	3. New York
4. Miami	4. Buffalo	4. Miami

AFC North	AFC North	AFC North
1. Baltimore	1. Cincinnati	1. Pittsburgh
2. Cincinnati	2. Baltimore	2. Cleveland
3. Pittsburgh	3. Pittsburgh	3. Cincinnati
4. Cleveland	4. Cleveland	4. Baltimore

AFC South	AFC South	AFC South
1. Indianapolis	1. Indianapolis	1. Indianapolis
2. Tennessee	2. Tennessee	2. Jacksonville
3. Jacksonville	3. Jacksonville	3. Tennessee
4. Houston	4. Houston	4. Houston

AFC West	AFC West	AFC West
1. San Diego	1. San Diego	1. San Diego
2. Denver	2. Denver	2. Denver
3. Kansas City	3. Kansas City	3. Kansas City
4. Oakland	4. Oakland	4. Oakland


NFC East	NFC East	NFC East
1. Philadelphia	1. Philadelphia	1. Dallas
2. Dallas	2. New York	2. New York
3. New York	3. Dallas	3. Washington
4. Washington	4. Washington	4. Philadelphia

NFC North	NFC North	NFC North
1. Chicago	1. Chicago	1. Green Bay
2. Green Bay	2. Green Bay	2. Minnesota
3. Minnesota	3. Detroit	3. Detroit
4. Detroit	4. Minnesota	4. Chicago

NFC South	NFC South	NFC South
1. New Orleans	1. Carolina	1. Tampa Bay
2. Carolina Panthers	2. New Orleans	2. Carolina
3. Atlanta	3. Tampa Bay	3. New Orleans
4. Tampa Bay	4. Atlanta	4. Atlanta

NFC West	NFC West	NFC West
1. Seattle	1. St. Louis	1. Seattle
2. St. Louis	2. Seattle	2. Arizona
3. San Francisco	3. San Francisco	3. San Francisco
4. Arizona	4. Arizona	4. St. Louis

Looking at the divisions in order, I will start with the AFC East. Buffalo was predicted to be in last, and they finished second. They are predicted to finish as a possible Wild Card contender in 2008.

In the AFC North, Cincinnati and Baltimore performed well below expectations, with Baltimore being the poor Dolphin's only win.

The AFC South was not horribly off, but no one predicted the meteoric rise of Jacksonville. In addition, I would have liked to have seen a Chargers vs. Jaguars AFC Championship game.

The AFC West was right in line; however, most people expected much more of both the Chargers (early in the season) and Denver.

The NFC East was a huge disappointment to prognosticators. Philly last, Dallas first, Washington a Wild Card, and oh, by the way, the Giants won the Super Bowl.

The NFC North was as big a debacle as the AFC North. Coming off of a Super Bowl, the Bears finished last, Green Bay was tied for the best record in the NFC, Minnesota made a good showing, and Detroit won more games than anyone expected.

New Orleans was expected to do well in the NFC South, but after a slow start, they were constantly playing catch up. Carolina and Atlanta performed close to expected, but Tampa won the division after being predicted to be in third.

The NFC West proved that, despite skepticism, Seattle was still the team to beat, Arizona was better than expected, and St. Louis couldn't get it together.

I have yet to see one 2008 season prediction that strays from the 2007 season results, except for the Giants pundits who pick them to miss the playoffs.

The Pats will go 15 - 1, the Cowboys will have the best record in the NFC, all the teams that had losing records last year will finish 8-8 at best, and so on.

My prediction: Fast-forward to 2009 and I bet you will see similar results to these.

From Bad To Good

Bruce Dickenson — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 03:03:35 -0400

As an eager, more like impatient, "J! E! T! S! JETS! JETS! JETS!" fan, I am trying to be realistic about my chances of having a happy football season in 2008.

So, I decided to go back a few years and find some teams that have had rocky (OK, abysmal) prior seasons and were able to have successful years following.

First, let me explain that I did not go back prior to free agency. In the free agency era of football, the name of the game is parity. No longer will a player the caliber of Archie Manning be stuck on the 1980 Ain'ts, where he passed for over 3,700 yards and they went 1-15. Long story short (too late), I did not look past 1992.

Here is the list.

Pittsburgh Steelers: 2003—6/10, 2004—15/1

New England Patriots: 2000—5/11, 2001—11/5

St. Louis Rams: 1998—4/12, 1999—13/3

It should be noted, that in each of these examples, the turnaround was done on the shoulders of an unknown behind center. Ben Roethlisberger, Tom Brady, and Kurt Warner to be exact (God, please enter Kellen Clemens).

I can also add that the Patriots and Rams won the Super Bowl that year. The Steelers waited only one more year to lift the Lombardi trophy.

Now, before I get 40 hate comments, I am not suggesting that the Jets will win the Super Bowl this year. I'm not even going to predict a winning season.

But for all of you fans of teams that performed below average in 2007, I hope this article will lift your spirits and outlook for the start of the 2008 season. That is, until your team starts 0-4.