Bleacher Report - Articles by Jonathan Szenics

Move Over Terrell Owens, Anquan Boldin Makes You Look Like A Saint

Jonathan Szenics — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 22:09:11 -0500

Terrell Owens, you are officially off the hook as the worst teammate in the NFL.

Yes, you have done some crazy things over the years, but most of the time, you just wanted more touches because you knew that if you got the ball, you could probably make your team win.

In addition, you played in a Super Bowl on one leg, and almost got your team that year, the Eagles, to win a Super Bowl that you probably had no business even making a game out of.

While you have been selfish at times, and have made some weird drops plenty of times as well, at least we knew the heart was there.

At least we knew that you would die on the football field if it meant winning a Super Bowl.

Finally, even you probably think that Anquan Boldin is out of his mind right now.

Why?

Let us recap.

In the fourth quarter of yesterday's classic NFC title game, Anquan Boldin, annoyed that he was not being used a whole lot, even though he was hurt, and maybe should not have even been playing, started screaming at his Offensive Coordinator in the middle of the most important quarter in the history of the Arizona Cardinals.

Mr. Boldin, we knew that you wanted to help your team win, there was nothing wrong with that, in fact, part of your actions here were to be commended. You were just trying to help was all.

Yes, getting in the face of your coach at that very moment was probably bad timing, or maybe even awful timing, but conflicts come up during the course of a game, and everybody could have lived with you stopping the madness right there.

However, after your team got into the Super Bowl for the first time in their awful history—in one of the best stories of recent years in the NFL to boot—instead of celebrating with your team mates, you ignored them.

You did not even look happy that you just got into the Super Bowl.

Instead, you were more annoyed that you only had four catches for 34 yards in the game while Larry Fitzgerald, your running mate at wide out, proved that he may very well end up being the best wide receiver to ever play the game by the time he decides to call it a career.

Listen, first off, four catches for 34 yards in a game of that much importance is, while not amazing, still huge. Without those 34 yards, you probably would not even be in the Super Bowl.

Not all is wrong in the world Anquan.

Even worse, you practically fought with teammates while they were celebrating getting to the biggest game in the NFL.

In addition, you kept running your mouth, and showed that you only care about one person—yourself.

You had many fans, and these fans thought that you were a tough-as-nails player, and one who was mature to boot.

Yes, you wanted out of Arizona, and still do, but you put this behind you, and had a great season while missing a bunch of games.

Then, out of nowhere, you went postal on everyone, and called out the team for not getting you the ball in the NFC title game.

I hate to break this to you Anquan, but nobody is on your side, and nobody cares that you did not get the ball in this game.

Your team made the Super Bowl as one of the biggest underdogs in recent years, and you were sitting there sulking as if you did not get a lollipop from the doctor after he or she gave you your necessary shots to prevent you from getting sick.

In doing this, you not only made yourself look like a fool, but, more than likely, you probably lost every fan that you ever had.

You proved that you are the most selfish player in the NFL today, and, quite possibly, the most selfish player in the history of the NFL as well.

The Cardinals should bench you for the Super Bowl.

First, they do not need you to win.

Your team beat the daylights out of the Panthers, who were undefeated at home, without you.

Second, you do not seem to care about the Super Bowl, and you should be treated as such.

Anybody who does what you did does not deserve the honor of suiting up for any team, let alone an NFL team.

More incredibly though, you practically made T.O. look like a saint for all that he has done over the years.

At this point, nobody cares what he did. You are now public enemy No. 1 throughout the league.

Good luck getting that fat contract after the season is over.

You most certainly will need it!

Rex Ryan to Make The Jets a Yearly Contender

Jonathan Szenics — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 21:46:36 -0500

In an offseason that has been disheartening for all of the Jets faithful out there so far, there is finally some good coming out of New York.

In an announcement that shocked few, Rex Ryan was named as the next coach of the New York Jets.

For weeks now, he has seemed to be the obvious choice, considering that both the Jets wanted Ryan, and that Ryan wanted the Jets.

The honeymoon period will be short though for Ryan. After getting announced on Wednesday in a press conference as the head coach, Ryan will have to get to work right away to right the ship of the Jets.

Will he be up to the task?

He will without any shade of doubt at all.

First, Ryan has one of the best defensive minds in all of the game.

Leading the terrifying Ravens unit for years, he has made their defense one of the best that the game has ever seen over the years. Even with an offense that could not score half of the time, he had his team in games.

This will help the Jets in every possible way.

Yes, the Jets have a better offense, but as many know, they can go through periods where they cannot find the end zone with a compass and a map.

Ryan, having gone through what he has for all of his time in Baltimore, knows how to win games without a great offense.

With the Jets offense though, and his defensive mind, which should improve the play of the defense ten fold, this is a match made in heaven.

With the defense probably making the stops in the future that they have not been able to make in the past, which has hurt them, a lot of pressure will be taken off of the Jets offense.

Instead of having to win games, they will only have to play decent football with Ryan at the helm, and with the talent the Jets have on offense, the sky could very well be the limit.

Secondly, Ryan does not take any garbage from any of his players. He expects nothing but the best from every single player under his watch.

Instead of getting away with lackluster play, as the Jets did for most of the three years Eric Mangini ran the show with his barely uttering a word most of the time, Ryan will be in the faces of the Jets players.

This is what most of the players on the team need. Instead of going to the sideline and back-talking their coach, the Jets will now, for a change, probably fear their head coach.

Yes, fear can sometimes undermine what a team is trying to do week in and week out, but Ryan knows what buttons to push. As a result, the Jets will, in time, become a very stout team with a never-say-die mindset.

This has been an issue for the team over the last few seasons.

Unless the unlikely happens and Ryan loses his players, this team will finally execute like the well-oiled machine that can be. With the skill that the Jets have across the team, they should become a force to be reckoned with sooner rather than later.

At the same time, they will probably quit losing the games that they should win. With Ryan under the helm, do not expect losses to the Raiders, the Seahawks, and other near jokes of the league anymore.

Instead, expect a team that comes out and punishes these teams for four quarters, and expect a team that will make the opposing team wish that they never stepped foot out onto the field in the first place.

Lastly, Ryan is a fighter and he will establish that same mindset in the locker room.

After the awful season the Ravens had last year, they cleaned house, and Ryan was not given the slack that he probably earned with all of his great defensive coaching over the years. He was let go, and after John Harbaugh was hired, he had to interview for his job back.

He got Harbaugh to believe in him, Harbaugh hired him, and look what happened. They almost got to the Super Bowl while playing a much better team that probably should have beaten them big time.

He proved this year that he will be a great coach in the NFL. Luckily for the Jets, he is now their head coach, and sooner rather than later, Ryan will have the Jets contending year in and year out, no matter what personnel comes in, and no matter what personnel may leave.

The Jets made the right move, and soon enough, they will be a force in the NFL again because of this.

Penn State Loses Rose Bowl to USC 38-24

Jonathan Szenics — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 13:06:12 -0500

In yet another testament to the power of the Pac-10, and to the lack of power in the Big Ten, USC won their third straight Rose Bowl, beating Penn State 38-24 in Pasadena, California.

In a game that was not as close as the final score, USC dominated much of the game.

After a closely contested first quarter, USC broke the gates open with a huge second quarter of play, which almost relegated the Trojans to mop up duty in the second half of the game.

Mark Sanchez threw for over 400 yards and totaled five touchdowns in the game, dominating throughout in a game that may quickly become his coming out party for a possible trip to the NFL.

In a game that was supposed to be all about defense, Penn State had no answer for the Trojans all day long, and they were outmatched from the very beginning.

The bigger shock in the game though was that Penn State did not give up, and they actually did win the second half against the Trojans.

Yes, USC was relaxing a little bit, but instead of sleepwalking through the rest of the game, the Nittany Lions played with pride throughout the second half.

They scored with regularity, and in the process, they became the first team to score more than seven points in the second half against the vaunted USC defense so far this season.

As a result, they made a game out of it, and gave their fans a little something to be happy about for the off season.

Yes, the Big Ten was blown out again in front of a national television audience, and yes, USC did dominate the game for the most part.

Would any other team have been able to do what Penn State did against the Trojans though?

The answer here is probably not.

Most any other team would be been going three-and-out for the entire length of the second half when faced with a huge deficit after half time, especially against a defense like the Trojans', which may go down as one of the best in college football history.

Joe Paterno made sure that Penn State proved that they at least belonged in the game though, and for this, the legend is to be commended.

Proving that the school was smart in giving him a three-year extension, he got the best out of his players, and he made them look into the eyes of an animal that could probably have been in a national title discussion if there was a playoff system in college football.

He made his players believe that they could still win the game if every bounce went their way, and the result was a loss that will not look all that terrible in the record books years from now.

When combined with the knowledge that Iowa is the only Big Ten school to win a bowl game so far this season, Penn State at least has something to be proud about.

Yes, Iowa beat South Carolina, a marginal team at best, but that was the first of only two losses that the Nittany Lions suffered all season.

Of course, Ohio State is getting ready to play Texas, but, in reality, unless something really odd happens, Texas should win this game in a walk.

38-24. It does not look like much to be happy about at first glance.

Considering the team Penn State played though, and what many said should have happened in this game, this is actually very close to a victory.

When combined with another lackluster bowl season by the conference as well, Penn State has nothing to be ashamed of with this loss.

Penn State obviously has a lot of work to do next year with most of their core graduating in a few months, but the pieces are in place.

With Paterno at the helm and with him still coaching great football, as proved by the Nittany Lions hanging tough against the Trojans, anything is possible moving forward for this football team down the line.

Rutgers Wins Tight Papajohns.com Bowl Over NC State

Jonathan Szenics — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 11:30:28 -0500

In a game that lived up to the hype, Rutgers beat NC State in a close Papajohns.com Bowl, 29-23.

In a seesaw battle throughout, Rutgers opened the scoring with a touchdown off of a fake field goal run to start out up 6-0 after botching their extra-point attempt.

While seemingly in control for a little while after this, the wheels almost fell off for the Scarlet Knights soon after.

With NC State scoring 17 points in a row, Rutgers looked as if they were going to be in trouble.

After NC State lost their quarterback, though, before the second half began, Rutgers came back, and quickly as well.

Throughout the second half of the game, Rutgers controlled the tempo, and even though NC State kept the game close, Rutgers scored when they needed too, and with less than a minute left, they hit a field goal that made the score 29-23.

Having to stop a final push from NC State, with almost no time left in the contest, Courtney Greene capped his amazing career as a Scarlet Knight with an interception that sealed the game for Rutgers.

Even more importantly however, Rutgers capped an amazing come back on a season that seemed to be lost almost two months ago.

Sitting at 1-5, and playing terrible football throughout their first six games, a bowl appearance seemed to be a distant dream.

The Scarlet Knights ran the table though, and as a result, because of getting some Top 25 votes before the bowl season started, Rutgers may end up in the AP Top 25 poll at the end of the season.

Gone now are the teams that were national laughingstocks.

Here in clear focus now is a program that is almost bigger than the actual school itself.
With recruits constantly wanting to come to Rutgers to play their college football, the future is looking bright for Rutgers.

When combined with the fact that the school will do anything for their new cash cow, can anything stop Rutgers?

They may stand in their own way half the time, but do not count on this to occur in the future.

With more talented recruits coming in, and a coach who is only getting better, do not be shocked if this ends up being the season that turns Rutgers into a Big East power for years to come.

Jets Show Eric Mangini the Door after Missing Playoffs

Jonathan Szenics — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 04:53:22 -0500

Less than 24 hours after missing out on the playoffs for the second straight season, the Jets have made another move that has shocked some.

Coach Eric Mangini has been fired after three seasons at the helm, leaving the team without a head coach.

The move, which some people wanted and some people were unsure about wanting, was done at about 9:00 this morning.

Gone now is a coach who apparently was not easy to get along with.

Gone is a coach who has almost pushed Brett Favre to the edge.

Gone is a coach who, while having three seasons to prove himself, may not have been given a fair shake at the end of the day.

While this was a tough call to make, he still had one year left on his contract. Yes, three years usually gives management enough of an idea of what a person at the helm can do. Should the Jets have given Mangini one more shot? This is not easy to say.

In his first season, Mangini took a team that was terrible the year before, made them 10-6, and got them into the playoffs where they lost in the first round to the New England Patriots.

In his second, a season that was destroyed by injuries, he went 4-12 and lost many of his supporting fans.

This season, though, he got Brett Favre, started out 8-3, and bombed out down the stretch, finishing at 9-7. This was not good enough to get into the playoffs.

The team finished two games off the pace from the Dolphins, who won the AFC East with the Jets' old quarterback, Chad Pennington, and the Patriots, who were without Tom Brady from Week Two on with a destroyed knee.

Translated: Even without the Patriots' best hand, the Jets were still two games worse than New England.

Instead of knocking the Patriots out of the picture in Week Two, the Jets let them hang around by losing to them at home. True, they beat the Patriots in New England to split the season series, but due to the circumstances up in New England, with the season they ended up having, the Pats had the better coach this season without a doubt.

Could Mangini have gone 11-5 without Favre? No, he went 9-7 with him.

Ownership being tired of being behind the pack in the AFC East, in part, may have cost Mangini his job.

Now, one step of the equation is complete. Mangini is gone, but will Favre stay? As usual, nobody knows yet and it could go in either direction. More importantly now, who will replace Mangini?

Apparently, Bill Cowher is a target of the team, and he has turned down a Browns offer. This looks like a great start for the Jets. Getting Cowher would give the Jets one amazing backbone that they have never had before. If the team cannot get him, who else could fill the void?

Jon Gruden could, but it would probably take the world to get him from the Bucs, even though they imploded down the stretch.

Mike Shanahan could as well, and he may be on the block, considering the Broncos have been looking for an excuse to fire him the past few seasons, and that they may have their best one yet with the season turning out the way it did out in Denver for the Broncos.

The team could also look to the college ranks to try to get a coach. This could work, but only under the right circumstances. The team would have to do their research and make sure that they would get a person that would command respect in the locker room. In recent years, the college coaches jumping to the NFL, and their results, have not been pretty at all.

The Jets do not have the time to play around with situations like these, not with a new stadium opening in 2010.

Regardless of what they do, they have to fill the void, and soon. If not, Favre will probably walk, and then the team will have a new coach and a new quarterback going into the 2009 season.

While this may be a decent option after the brutal ending to the season, how many teams really want to deal with this during the course of a season? The answer is not many.

Let the Bill Cowher watch begin.

New York Jets Lose, Miss Playoffs: What's Next?

Jonathan Szenics — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 17:10:02 -0500

Another awful chapter in the brutal history of the New York Jets was written today as the Miami Dolphins, fresh off a one-win season last year, came into the Meadowlands and beat the Jets with their old quarterback, one Chad Pennington, to win an improbable AFC East title.

In a game that was not as close as the 24-17 final score, Pennington got his revenge for being shipped out of town in favor of the legendary Brett Favre—and at the same time made sure the Dolphins would still be playing come next week.

Only the Jets could have something like this happen to them.

Yes, they did not go 0-16 like the Detroit Lions.

OK, they did not pull off something never done before, like the Denver Broncos missing the playoffs on the last week of the season after being in first place from wire to wire.

The team got a legend, though, had unreal expectations of what could happen, and for awhile, the team lived up to the hype.

In the blink of an eye, the season finished, the playoffs were not in the cards, and now, nobody knows what direction this team will go in.

Gone are the Super Bowl dreams held when sitting at 8-3, after beating two of the best teams in the AFC over a span of 10 days.

In clear focus now is a team that could be torn apart over the next couple of weeks.

Will Brett Favre come back to play another season?

Or will Favre hang up the cleats for good after leading the NFL in interceptions, with 22?

Will he come back and try to see if his arm can handle playing for one more year, or maybe, the rest of the two years he has left on his contract?

Or will he end his career while clearly not being on top?

The answer to this question, as has been the case with Favre over the past few off- seasons, is who knows at this point?

When combined with knowledge that Favre does not like playing for coach Eric Mangini much, this throws another huge issue into the already complicated story.

This is going to make the organization look at Favre and Mangini, and more than likely, the blame will be put on either Favre or Mangini.

In what seems to be a safe bet, the blame will not be split.

If this collapse is deemed to be the fault of Favre, will he try to redeem himself?

Will the Jets even want him to?

Will Mangini, if being the guilty party, end up being shown the door?

Will the team keep him around for one more shot to get things right?

Or will they jump ship on both parties after barely letting the relationship develop?

Finally, could the Jets decide to keep both, with Favre deciding to retire in the end of it all, which would create a huge void at quarterback for the Jets yet again?

Nothing is set in stone at this point, but regardless of what happens, the Jets have to play their cards right.

If they do not, Favre will leave.

Then what?

Getting Matt Cassel is probably not a reality with reports surfacing that Tom Brady might miss all of 2009 as well now.

Kiss that option good-bye.

What about trading for Carson Palmer?

While a decent idea, will he be fully recovered from his injuries, or do the Jets want to take a chance on another quarterback with a lot of red flags?

The draft? The team does not have the time to take bumps and bruises while getting a young kid ready for the job, not with a new stadium opening in 2010.

True, Matt Ryan has the Falcons in the playoffs, but, in reality, when is the next time a player will be that good that quickly?

The Falcons hit the lottery with the Ryan pick. The results there are not normal to say the least, and the Jets cannot count on everything being corrected with a simple draft pick or two.

What about Kellen Clemens, Brett Ratliff, or Erik Ainge?

Let us be reasonable. The team did not trade for an aging quarterback because they thought any of these guys could end up leading the Jets to the promised land.

Any way one slices it, getting Favre back is the best option for this team right now.

Will it happen?

Anything is possible, but to all the New York Jets fans out there, get ready, because a soap opera, while one not nearly as complex as the Packers against Favre last season, is going to be starting very soon.

Get the brown paper bags, tissues, and the Tums ready, ladies and gentlemen. The next few weeks are going to be very interesting.

Miami Dolphins Try to Complete Amazing Turnaround In New York Against Jets

Jonathan Szenics — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 16:40:50 -0500

After drafting Jake Long with the first overall pick in the NFL Draft, nobody anywhere thought that the Dolphins did anything to change their team to any great degree.

Sure, the offensive line was going to be helped with maybe the safest pick of the draft in Long, but, come on, the team needed so much more, right?

They were almost hopeless to do anything this season, correct?

With nobody convinced the Dolphins would do big things this year, after the New York Jets traded for Brett Favre and released Chad Pennington soon after, the Dolphins picked Pennington up.

This had more critics picking on the Dolphins.

Many thought that the team got a quarterback with no arm, and a guy who was on the decline in his career.

Others thought that the team dropped the ball by not getting a better overall quarterback, one who could strike a lot of fear into the opposing defense.

15 games into the season though, the Dolphins are one win away from completing one of the best single season turnarounds in the history of the NFL.

At 10-5, all the Dolphins need to do is beat the 9-6 New York Jets, and they are the AFC East division champions.

By the way, did anybody mention that Chad Pennington could lead his new team to victory in front of his old home crowd?

Will this happen though against the Jets?

Let us look at the Jets now to answer this question.

Yes, the team is in a horrible slump right now.

True, the team looks as if they are done.

Nothing is going right at all, and the Jets have blown every chance to get into the playoffs at this point.

This will not change on the last week of the regular season, will it?

It will, even though this may sound crazy.

The Jets have nothing to lose in this game.

If they play tepid football, they will probably yield the same results, and more than likely, they will end up going home at 9-7, and out of the playoffs.

This will not happen though.

Brett Favre, much the topic of heated debate this past week, as the questions of "Was he worth it," and "Will he come back next year," have already started, will play like a man who may be playing his last career game.

Knowing full well that his great career may be coming to an end, he is going to leave everything out on the field.

Expect a lot of long throws in front of the home crowd, and, even more shockingly, expect completions in boat loads.

Favre will be running around as if he is 29 all over again in this game. He will make his receivers all look Hall of Fame bound, and he will do his part in this contest.

In addition, Thomas Jones will be a force in this game as well.

One of the few constant bright spots for the Jets this season, he has had the best season of his solid career up to this point, and he is going to try and take the team on his back for a possible playoff push on Sunday.

He is going to try and will the Jets to a victory as well, and when added to the Favre factor, the offense will be almost unstoppable come Sunday.

In a cold game in Kansas City this past week, the Dolphins let the Chiefs, hardly an offensive powerhouse, put up 31 points in a game that they almost lost.

Yes, rookie quarterback Tyler Thigpen for the Chiefs is looking like a keeper, but should any contender, even while on the road, give up 31 points to a 2-13 team?

Just imagine what a 9-6 team, and a team that has scored 56 and 48 points in games this season, could do.

The results could very well shock many.

In addition, looking at the defense of the Jets, they were not the issue last week in Seattle.

Yes, they did not get a lot of pressure on quarterback Seneca Wallace, and the rushing attack was solid behind a patchwork offensive line, but they shut the Seahawks down when they had to.

Allowing only 13 points, they did what they had to in the game to set the Jets up for a win.

The offense did not show up as is well understood at this point though, and a loss was the result.

Look for the entire team to come out in front of their home crowd pumped up on Sunday though.

Look for the Dolphins to be a little road weary.

Look for the Dolphins to lose a close game to the Jets, 31-27.

Then, the playoffs, and if the Jets make it, can be the next thing that is figured out.

New York Jets Lifeless in Seattle, Is the Season Over?

Jonathan Szenics — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 17:17:54 -0500

With everything to play for, the New York Jets went to Seattle with a chance to control their own destiny in the playoff hunt.

Now, they are on the outside looking in.

After an awful showing in a 13-3 loss to the Seahawks, the team proved that they do not deserve to make the playoffs.

They couldn't pass the ball. They couldn't run the ball. They couldn't stop the Seattle rushing attack with a patchwork offensive line blocking for the Seahawks. They only hit Seneca Wallace once all day. They threw away three points on a delay of game penalty that could have changed the way the rest of the game was played.

The coaches made calls that ended up making the Jets lose.

You get the idea.

You name it with what could have gone wrong for the Jets today, and it did.

A three-win team beat them soundly for four quarters. A team with nothing to play for, except for giving coach Mike Holmgren a win in his last home game as coach of the Seahawks, dominated the action from the opening kickoff.

Now, the Jets have to win against Miami, and hope that the Bills can somehow beat the Patriots.

Leave it to the Jets to get into a position as terrible as this. Long gone is the team that beat the Patriots and Titans in their buildings. In clear focus now is a team in complete disarray.

After scoring a field goal on a long opening drive, things were looking good for the Jets. Up 3-0, and playing decently, they held the Seahawks scoreless for most of the first half. The Seahawks then intercepted Brett Favre on a pass that he had no business even thinking of throwing, and the wheels came off. Scoring on a touchdown pass late in the second quarter, the Seahawks went into halftime up 7-3.

Still a manageable game for the Jets, they had their chances to win.

Instead of playing hard though, the Jets crawled into a hole, and barely played at all in the second half. Playing as if they were brain dead, they could not do anything right, and, with the game still in question, on a long pass on fourth and short, the Jets did not convert, and left the Seahawks on the Jets 20 yard line.

Shortly after, the Jets lost 13-3 in their worst performance of the season.

At the same time, the Dolphins and the Patriots, who played earlier in the day, played like teams wanting to make the postseason.

The Jets?

They looked as if they wanted to play golf in a very short amount of time.

Simply put, this team does not deserve the honor of being in the playoffs. After being 8-3, they had numerous chances to nail a playoff spot down.

Instead, they played some of the worst football in the NFL over the past month or so. Now, they need to pray for a near miracle to make the playoffs. More than likely, the Patriots will win, and even if the Jets win against Miami, they will miss the playoffs despite being 10-6.

What does this mean?

It means that the team wasted a lot of money in free agency for nothing. It means that the team gave their fans false hope after trading for Brett Favre. It means that the team still has not changed one bit.

Will a miracle happen? Will the Jets somehow make the playoffs?

Anything can happen, but do not count on it.

Even worse, will Brett Favre retire for good? Will he leave the Jets in a worse state than before he came to town?

He better not, or he may possible tarnish his amazing legacy forever.

Only one thing is clear for the Jets now. They have to win, and hope that the Bills beat the Patriots in Buffalo.

If these things do not happen, more than likely, the Jets will be sitting home during the playoffs once again.

New York Jets-Seattle Seahawks: Who Will Win?

Jonathan Szenics — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 09:22:11 -0500

At 9-5, and atop the AFC East currently, due to, for once, having luck on their side, and owning all of the possible tiebreakers, the New York Jets have their most important game of the season on Sunday in Seattle against the Seahawks.

Win, and they control their own destiny going into a huge showdown with the Miami Dolphins in New York for the last game of the regular season.

Lose, and anything can happen.

You get the idea, this is a must-win game for the Jets on Sunday.

A few huge factors are against them though. First, they are in Seattle for this game, and going West this season has not treated the Jets well at all.

Second, Seattle, while 3-11, does have talent on both sides of the ball.

They have been destroyed by injuries as well.

In short, this is not your typical 3-11 team.

Most of the pieces are still there from a team that went to the Super Bowl a few short seasons ago.

Yes, there is no more Shaun Alexander, but regardless, the team still has a nice three-headed rushing attack of Julius Jones, Maurice Morris, and T.J. Duckett.

In addition, Deion Branch will be going up against the subpar Jets secondary.

In the past, Branch has torched the Jets as a Patriot, and he still has the talent to make the Jets pay dearly on Sunday.

Even if Darrelle Revis covers him, all it takes is one slip by Revis in coverage for Branch to make a big play. At the same time, the defense can make plays.

When you combine this with the Jets looking as if they are not interested in the playoffs recently, this could be a recipe for disaster on Sunday. If the Jets are not careful, they could get blown out.

This Seattle team has taken the Patriots to the wire before losing, and they have been close in many other games.

The 3-11 mark is very cruel to them. This could be a five, six, or maybe even seven-win team if a few bounces went their way earlier in the season.

The Jets, meanwhile, they have everything to play for, and usually, when this is the case, they do not step up to the plate.

So many things could go wrong for the Jets on Sunday. Will they though? Possibly, but do not bet on it. Do bet though on this being a very close game, one that may give some Jets fans heart attacks.

When the Seahawks have the ball, Seneca Wallace, quarterback of the Seahawks now with Matt Hasselbeck suffering seemingly every injury known to man this season, will inflict damage to the Jets.

Even though the offensive line is without the great Walter Jones, and even though it will struggle, Wallace has the legs to improvise.

If the Jets do get a pass rush on him, which we all know has been a problem for the Jets recently, it may not matter. Wallace may escape the pressure, and this could leave the receivers open throughout the game.

Deion Branch will probably make a few big plays as well, but the man to really keep an eye on here is tight end John Carlson. Tight ends have hurt the Jets all season, and Carlson is quickly turning into a poor man's Tony Gonzalez.

With the receivers getting hurt almost on every play this season, Carlson has stepped up, and he has been a Chris Cooley like option for the team.

In short, he is a player the Jets have to watch on every single play.

Finally, with the rushing attack, between the three running backs, yards will be gained, and they will move the chains. Will they make the big plays though that will end up breaking the backs of the Jets?

Do not count on it.

After the huge defensive touchdown against the Bills last week that may end up saving the Jets season, the unit will be lively for the first time in weeks.

They will give up the yards like they usually do, but look for them to force turnovers, and to keep the Seahawks guessing on the offensive side of the ball all day long.

With this in mind though, will the offense make the Seahawks pay for these mistakes?

For the first time in weeks, yes they will.

Brett Favre is going up against his old coach and mentor, Mike Holmgren. When playing against old coaches, Favre usually tears it up.

In addition, he is trying to prove to everyone that the Jets made the right call in getting him before the season started. He was acquired exactly for games like these. Through sheer grit, Favre will make the entire receiving core a factor on Sunday.

He will limit his mistakes, and he will prove that he still has plenty left in his tank, even if he does not think this. The legend will prove once again why he is one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever put on a uniform.

This, in turn, will open up the running game, and Thomas Jones and Leon Washington will benefit greatly from this. Jones will turn in his usual stellar game, and Washington, he will make a huge impact as well.

He will end up touching the ball a lot more because of the coaches finally realizing that he is worth more than five touches or so per game.

With these touches, he will make life miserable for the Seahawks all day long, and when combined with a great game from Favre, this will be enough to get the Jets the victory.

It will be a close game, but look for a Jets 27-21 victory to put them at 10-5 heading into their huge showdown with the Miami Dolphins next week.

New York Jets Stay On Top of AFC East With Great Escape Over Buffalo Bills

Jonathan Szenics — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 14:10:38 -0500

The game was over.

The Jets were down 27-24 to the Bills late in the fourth quarter, and they could not stop the two-headed rushing attack of Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson, who hurt them on the ground all day long.

The clock was winding down, and it looked as if the Jets were going to lose yet another heart breaker in front of their home faithful.

One moronic second down play by the Bills changed the outcome of the game though.

On second down the Bills decided, for some still unknown reason, to try and pass the ball. Abram Elam came from the left side almost untouched, and hit Bills quarterback J.P. Losman.

Elam then swiped at the ball, and it came loose.

Bouncing around deep in Jets territory, Shaun Ellis picked the ball up, and quickly turned into a running back.

He pounded, and then tip-toed, his way into the end zone.

Touchdown Jets.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the great escape.

Despite their best efforts to lose the game today, the Jets pulled out a miracle, a 31-27 victory, and are still tied atop the AFC East after huge wins by the Dolphins and the Patriots earlier today.

The defense saved them, and after some wretched play the past few weeks, it was long overdue.

Early on in the game though, it looked as if the Jets were going to win in a walk.

Driving down the field on an almost perfect first drive, Thomas Jones plunged into the end zone to start the scoring.

In doing this, he broke the Jets single season rushing touchdown mark with his 13th rushing touchdown, and the total touchdown mark, with his 15th touchdown overall.

Both of these records were held by the great Curtis Martin, and this has cemented Jones's status as a great Jets running back.

In addition, Brett Favre ran for a huge gain on a quarterback bootleg in the drive. Laughing it off in typical Favre fashion, this led to the score, and made the Jets fortunes looked great early.

Later on, Favre hit Jerricho Cotchery with a touchdown pass to make the score 14-3, and the Jets looked as if they were back.

Favre was gunning the ball with precise accuracy, the receivers were making a difference once again, and Thomas Jones was running the ball like a man possessed.

The Bills were done after this, right?

Wrong.

Coming back like a team fighting for a playoff spot, even though their chances were slim to none entering the game, the Bills ended up handing it to the Jets for the better part of the rest of the game.

They played like the team who wanted it more, and as a result, the Jets faithful were ready to give up on their team once and for all.

These feelings were very warranted. J.P. Losman was moving the ball down the field—yes, J.P. Losman—and the running game was punishing the Jets defense.

At the same time, Favre went back to throwing picks (he had two today), and the rest of the Jets went right back to shooting themselves in the foot.

Going into the half though, the Jets were up 21-17 on a huge long touchdown run by Leon Washington, who is quickly stating his case as to why he may be the best backup running back in all of football.

The wheels came off quickly though once the second half started, and the Jets made the game much too interesting once again.

Luckily though, the Bills had some stupid penalties, including one that negated a huge 100 yard kickoff return for a touchdown after the Jets made it 24-20 off of a field goal.

Later on though, Fred Jackson took five Jets with him into the end zone in a pathetic display of tackling, and the Jets offense went off of the field quickly, which gave the Bills the ball back.

Somehow, someway though, the defense came through and saved the season for the Jets.

Now at 9-5, even though they probably should be at 8-6, they have the 3-10 Seattle Seahawks next week out in Seattle.

What should be a simple win against a team destroyed by injuries is no sure thing since the Jets are going out west again for this game.

In a must win, the Jets must play better next week, or they will not be as lucky the next time.

Enjoy the win though. Normally, these games go against the Jets, not usually in their favor.

Rejoice in the giving of the holiday season, because the Bills sure did give the Jets one great present today.

Give thanks for the great escape today out at The Meadowlands by the New York Jets.

Buffalo Bills- New York Jets: Which Jets Team Will Show Up On Sunday?

Jonathan Szenics — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 08:51:20 -0500

Two short weeks ago, the Jets looked as if they could run with any team in the NFL. They were riding high on a five-game winning streak, they beat their rivals the Patriots, and they destroyed the previously undefeated Titans.

Both of these huge wins also came away from The Meadowlands.

Quickly made to be Super Bowl contenders, the Jets were the talk of the league almost out of nowhere.

Two weeks later, at 8-5, and in a three-way tie atop the AFC East with the Patriots and the Dolphins, the Jets are now fighting for a trip to the postseason instead of being a virtual lock.

Some have blamed this on the Jets being the typical Jets.

Blowing games they should have won, barely showing up, the list goes on and on.

Others have blamed it on almost everything else with the team currently.

Whether it is Brett Favre not being able to air it out, Thomas Jones getting a lack of carries, and the receivers doing next to nothing, many feel as if most of the blame falls on the offense.

In connection with this, the rest either are throwing the defense under the bus, which may be warranted with their terrible play over the last two games, or are saying that the coaches are not doing their jobs.

These arguments are all valid.

Simply put, over the last two weeks, the Jets have not looked like a team that can make the playoffs.

Even worse, the Jets, with their play over the last two weeks, do not deserve to be in the playoffs if this is going to be the way that they play for the rest of the season.

The real question is though, which Jets team will decide to show up on Sunday?

Will it be the world-beaters of a half-month ago, or will it be the disgusting product that is currently taking the field lately?

The answer to this question is, who knows?

This much is known though.

With the Bills coming to town on Sunday, the Jets need to play well from the opening whistle, and prove that the last two weeks are out of their systems.

They have to overpower the Bills, who are currently at 6-7, and in last place in the AFC East.

This is not your typical 6-7 team.

Yes, they have cooled off recently, but in the first six games of the season, they were being hailed as Super Bowl contenders.

While scoring only six points total over the last two games, this team could still wake up in a hurry, and this could spell trouble for the Jets.

Whether it is Lee Evans catching deep balls from whoever is under center Sunday, which, at this point, looks like it will be Trent Edwards, who was out last week with an injury while J.P. Losman got the offense nowhere, or Marshawn Lynch, who can control any game even in the midst of the uneven season that he has had, this team can move the ball when playing well.

Each and every single team in the league goes through a rough patch during the season, and for the Bills offense, things honestly cannot get much worse at the current time. There is nowhere to go but up for this group, and the Jets need to be aware of this.

In addition, the defense and the special teams of the Bills can be a force whenever they are on.

If the Jets are not careful, the Bills could very well beat them with just their defense and their special teams.

Translated, you get the idea. The Bills are a trap game.

If the Jets snooze through this game, it will probably not even be close.

Will they be asleep at the wheel though on Sunday?

Although all common logic probably says yes at this point, do not bet on it.

First off, will Brett Favre let this team play awful from the first snap with a playoff berth on the line? Will he let his team possibly ruin his comeback from retirement?

Of course not.

Will Favre mess it up though?

While he has had some ugly games this season, how many losses have truly been his fault, and his fault alone?

The answer here is none. Look for this streak to continue on Sunday.

As a result of Favre willing the team, he will spread the ball around, and the receivers will actually be a factor in this game.

While they may not have amazing stats, they will still move the chains when called upon, and they will keep the Bills defense on their heels as a result.

The defense and the special teams? They will do enough to get the Jets by.

The defense may struggle at times with a team that has had no offensive punch recently, but they will make the stops when they need to this time around.

The special teams will go back to the basics as well, and the result will be decent field position throughout the game for the Jets.

This will make Thomas Jones the "X" factor.

Over the past two weeks, he has produced, even though he has, for some reason, not touched the ball a lot.

Look for this to change on Sunday, and in a big way as well.

The only reason the Jets have been in games over the past two weeks is because of the almost freakish efforts from Jones.

He has run like a man possessed, and even the Jets coaching staff will make sure he gets the ball as a result on Sunday.

In front of the homecrowd, look for Jones to be the best player on the field for the entire day.

Through running the ball, and through making crucial catches when all the other targets for Favre are covered, Jones will prove to be the difference on Sunday for the Jets.

He will keep the Bills defense on the field for long periods of time, and this will gas them before the fourth quarter begins.

Look for the Jets offense to take advantage of this as a result, and to control the tempo of the game because of this.

While the game will be a little too close to truly enjoy, the Jets will emerge with a win to the tune of 24-14 by the end of the game.

They will then be 9-5, and hopefully, all of the recent talk of a Jets collapse will subside once and for all.

Mets Land JJ Putz From Seattle in Three-Way Deal

Jonathan Szenics — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 09:31:46 -0500

One day after swiping K-Rod away from the Angels, the Mets have made yet another huge move to aid their bullpen in an attempt to fix the huge problem that it was for the team last year.

In addition, they did not even have to go out of the AL West division to get their guy either.

After a three team, 12-player swap between the Mets, Mariners, and Indians, one where mainly prospects were shipped away by New York, J.J. Putz is now a Met.

In two days, the bullpen went from having nobody, to having two of the most dominant late inning arms in all of baseball.

Putz will most likely set up for Rodriguez, meaning that the last two arms of the bullpen are two of the most dominant closers throughout all of baseball.

We all know what K-Rod can do.

Putz though? Last year, he battled injuries, but how about the season before? He had one of the most dominant years by a closer ever. He is going to be setting up for the Mets though in all likelihood.

More importantly though, if Rodriguez goes down, the Mets have one great insurance policy in Putz. How many teams can you think of currently that have their last two arms out of the bullpen as All-Stars?

In addition, how many teams can you think of in this situation where they were All-Stars in the more dominating American League, where they usually made hitters look downright foolish each and every single night?

The answer here is either not many, or none.

In a dream for Mets fans as well, the problem known as Aaron Heilman is out of town for good. Shipped off to the Mariners, the Mets no longer have to worry about his going into games and blowing them almost seemingly in the blink of an eye.

At the same time, they do not have to worry about a man who would have probably caused a huge issue in terms of team chemistry if he was not thrown back into the starting rotation as he wanted.

Translated, the Mets did nothing but help themselves in this deal.

Yes, trading prospects is usually risky, and this writer usually likes when teams do not give up their prospects, but let's look at the Mets recently.

The Scott Kazmir trade? Ok, that one bit the Mets, and bit them hard as well.

Not giving up Lastings Milledge for Manny Ramirez a few seasons ago though? After seeing what Manny has done in the National League, and with Milledge currently playing below par baseball with Washington, it would have been a sight to see what Manny could have done in a Mets uniform.

Let's face it, the Mets are built to win now.

Of course, one has to worry about the future with prospects, etc, but what happens if they do not pan out? The answer is that the team is held back under almost every possible degree.

The Mets imploded down the stretch last year, and they are trying to fix one of the main problem areas of the team.

Will it work? It remains to be seen, but this much is at least known. The Mets are both trying very hard to say the least to put the best possible product out on the field, and this move to acquire Putz, which cost the team very little, was very smart in every possible way.

Is Lawrence Frank Possibly The Coach Of The Year?

Jonathan Szenics — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 11:49:51 -0500

At almost the quarter mark of the season, the New Jersey Nets are one of the biggest surprises in the NBA.

At 11-8 they are looking like a team that can run with most of the league and many throughout the league are finally coming to the conclusion that the Nets are not going to fade into the sunset anytime soon.

Some of this falls on the players of the team. Devin Harris is having a career year, and is making everyone forget all about Jason Kidd.

Vince Carter is playing like a man possessed up to this point.

The younger players are playing to their strengths, and while, at times they have not looked all that great on the court, they have not taken the team down with their play yet.

The players are only part of this unique equation that the Nets currently have.

Head coach Lawrence Frank, in what may go down as his best season to date, has the team playing well almost each and every night, and considering that he was almost thrown into the middle of the ocean without life support before the season started, this is a miracle of sorts.

He is making his players better with his coaching tactics and because of this the Nets are winning, to the surprise of many.

Could he possibly be the Coach of the Year?

Without a doubt, yes he can be.

While the Nets are a part of the weaker Eastern Conference, but the conference is slowly getting closer to the West in terms of overall quality from top to bottom.

This cannot be held against Frank.

In addition, the Nets, on any given night have to deal with some of the best players throughout the NBA.

Whether it is LeBron James of the Cavs, Dwayne Wade of the Heat, Elton Brand of the 76ers, Chris Bosh of the Raptors, along with many others as well, the Nets have to worry about a countless number of players.

Also, the East has a number of very young players who both can bring it each and every night, and players who do not have a lot of reports on them because of their incredibly young age.

Yes, the West is better as usual, but how many young players are as important to the success of their given team out there?

The answer is not nearly as many.

Frank has to worry about things that cannot be seen yet. Things are a lot clearer out in the West.

At the same time, Frank has one of the youngest teams in the league playing better than some teams that should be way above them in the standings.

The eighth youngest team in the league, the Nets should be at a level that is just slightly above cellar dwellers such as the Timberwolves, and the Grizzles.

Instead though, they are in prime position to make the playoffs.

They are competing with a team of players that are still learning how to play with each other.

They are playing well each and every night while Frank is still learning all of the strengths and weaknesses of his new group.

He is pushing all of the right buttons up to this point, and since this is the case, the team is winning.

If another coach was the leader of the Nets, would they be playing as well?

Probably not. Look at what Larry Brown is doing out in Charlotte for instance. While one of the greatest coaches of all-time, the Bobcats have not taken that next step yet.

Many thought that they would, but in their place, the Nets have. They have jumped over many other teams at the same time as well, and Frank is one of the main reasons why up to this point.

Just imagine if he had another huge star on this team. What could he do then?

Unfortunately, this cannot be figured out as of yet anyway.

While the team is solid, there are still plenty of holes.

Frank has the Nets forgetting all about this though because of his coaching tactics, and as a result, the Nets are one of the biggest surprises throughout all of the NBA.

If the season ended today, would he be Coach of the Year? No, probably not.

The season is still very young though, and if the Nets keep on playing as well as they are, Frank's name has to be in the mix for the honor of being Coach of the Year.

Will it happen?

As long as nothing takes a turn for the worse, more than likely, it will.

He may even have a chance to take home the award if all goes well moving forward for him and the Nets.

Considering that he was not given that much clay to mold at the start of the season, and considering what he has done, he is in the running for Coach of the Year honors in the NBA.

Francisco Rodriguez Signs Three-Year Deal With the New York Mets

Jonathan Szenics — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 14:55:53 -0500

For a good portion of 2008, the members of the Mets bullpen treated both the fans and the team in a way that can only be described as awful.

The failures of the bullpen were largely responsible for the hugely talented Mets missing the playoffs. Forget the National League, the Mets had one of the most talented rosters in all of Major League Baseball.

When Bill Wagner was severely injured, Luis Ayala was brought in from the Washington Nationals. Instead of igniting the flagging pen, his ineptitude led to another September flame-out for the Mets.

The huge pre-season acquisition of Johan Santana ended up not paying off (for now anyway), and the season—the last at storied Shea Stadium—was deemed to be a massive failure as a result.

So what's the solution?

The Mets have thrown $38 million at the problem though in an attempt to stop the bleeding once and for all.

Francisco Rodriguez, meet New York. New York, this is Francisco Rodriguez.

Over the next three years, one of the most dominant closers in all of baseball will be a Met.

Rodriguez is the record-holder for the most saves in a season, which he set last season with an astounding 62 saves.

The new record blew away the old mark of 57 that was set by Bobby Thigpen of the Chicago White Sox in 1990.

The addition of makes the Mets bullpen legit, once again.

Gone now are all of the questions, at least in the role of closer.

Rodriguez, with his unhittable curve ball, and his other assortment of incredible pitches, instantly makes the Mets a contender.

In an off-season where their arch rivals, the Philadelphia Phillies, won the World Series in five games over the Tampa Bay Rays,something big had to be done.

The Mets stepped up to the plate, and nailed one out of the ballpark.

Yes, this team has thrown money at problems before, and has not had it work out for them, but this move is almost fail-proof.

Since he was named the Angels closer years ago, Rodriguez has been one of the most dominant closers in the game of baseball.

Saving over 200 games in his career up to this point, the Angels won a World Series because of his efforts early in his career, and were in the playoffs more often than not because of his nailing the door shut in the ninth inning.

K-Rod is now a Met, and as a long as the rest of the bullpen can get the ball to him with leads, this team will be very hard to beat in the last inning of games.

The Mets went out and got not only one of the best free agents on the market, they got a pitcher who just came off of his best season.

They also got a pitcher who is in his prime.

In addition, Rodriguez's loud demeanor should fit in well with the personalities that are on the Mets almost ensuring the he is bound to flourish in New York.

In a season with a new ballpark opening up, the Mets gave their fans something even more important.

They gave their fans peace of mind that leads late in games will not be thrown away like they were last year.

As long as all goes well, which it should with K-Rod, for the next three years, a problem area of this team has been solved.

His impact will be huge.

At the same time though, the Mets cannot stop here.

They must continue to get more arms for the bullpen.

In addition, they must assess who they want to keep from the bullpen last year, and they have to make the right decisions here.

They did not do this last year, and as a result, they missed out on the postseason once again.

If the Mets make the right calls here, the bullpen issues will be solved once and for all.

Instead of fans having brown bags nearby next season, they will be looking forward to many more victories instead.

With the skill players, and the starting pitching, which can still be improved at least a little bit, as long as everyone does their part, this team will be very hard to beat next season.

As long as injuries do not destroy this club, and as long as manager Jerry Manuel pushes the right buttons, the playoffs should be in the cards for the Mets next season.

How far they will go though depends on all of these factors.

K-Rod alone may get the Mets into the playoffs next season.

If the Mets had him last year, who knows, maybe they would have been celebrating instead of the Phillies.

Everything happens for a reason, though. The team was not complete.

The team still has to be worked on a little more, and if it is, the sky is the limit for this club.

This much remains certain though:with K-Rod as the closer, a huge problem area for this team was solved.

Are The Nets Any Challenge For The Mighty Celtics?

Jonathan Szenics — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 10:32:36 -0500

With the Nets’ hot start, which has come out of nowhere to say the least, many are wondering how good they actually are.

This team is still on the rise and with the way that they are currently playing, it seems as if they can run with any team in the NBA.

With this fact in mind, can the Nets run with the reigning world champion Boston Celtics? While anything can happen, as of now the answer to this question is “no.”

First off, let's look at the Celtics. The big three, made up of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen, are almost impossible to fully contain.

Even on an almost perfect night, teams can only realistically think that they can stop two of the three. To stop all three would almost be a miracle, and this would be the only way to contend with the Celtics.

If a team stops Pierce and Allen, more than likely Garnett will have a career night. If a team stops Garnett and Allen, Pierce can go off for 40 points as if it is nothing. If anybody can stop Garnett and Pierce, then Allen can kill teams with his deadly three-point shooting.

Translated; you get the idea. You can only hold the Celtics back so far, but with all of the talent that they have, down the line, they will pull through against most teams in the NBA.

Looking deeper into the Nets now, minus Devin Harris and Vince Carter, the team is very young. Could any of the young guns hold any of these three stars in check?

The answer here is “probably not.”

Again, you may be able to stop one of them, or maybe, just maybe, two of them, but not all three of them. Even worse, if you do hit the lottery and somehow stop all three, others can burn you as well, such as the great bench players, and Rajon Rondo.

Rondo is one of the most underrated point guards in the game, when needed; he can score points by driving the ball to the basket.

Additionally, he can make those around him better. If other players are hitting open shots, stopping the Celtics is once again, almost impossible.

To make a long story short, the Celtics are the best team in the NBA, and until they fall, they will continue to be. At the same time though, some teams do match up well with them.

Take a look at the Hawks, who are also very young.

They took the Celtics to seven games in a first round playoff series last year. While they did get blown out in game seven in Boston, if they had the fortune of playing that game in front of their home crowd, anything could have happened.

The point here is that over a few games, anything can happen.

If the Nets can somehow play their best basketball over a single series, assuming that they make the playoffs, who knows? Maybe they could give the Celtics a run for their money.

Additionally, if the Celtics take the Nets lightly, this could come back to haunt them.

More than likely, the Celtics will win the division. The Nets have to just focus on being one of the top eight teams in the Eastern Conference.

If they do this, and if they draw the Celtics in the playoffs during the NBA postseason, they still would need a lot of help.

So the answer here is, as of now, the Nets cannot compete with the Celtics. Maybe next year if the Nets stay in tact, they can, but as of now, they cannot.

Who knows though? Teams have come out of nowhere before, and if the Nets keep on playing as well as they have been, maybe a miracle will happen.

Is Laveranues Coles At Odds with Brett Favre?

Jonathan Szenics — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 18:01:44 -0500

As if the Jets' subpar play is not enough of an issue recently, now, a Jets player is speaking out against another member of his team.

Wide receiver Laveranues Coles—a longtime Jet, and among the best Jet players in team history—apparently is not that crazy about having the legendary Brett Favre as his quarterback.

The history around this issue started almost as soon as Favre came to town.

Coles, unhappy that his best friend, Chad Pennington, was released soon after the addition of Favre, didn't come right out and say that getting Favre was a mistake, but the tension was certainly there.

To make matters worse, Coles and Favre did not click on the field right away either, which made many talk.

Many started to wonder, will Favre get in the way?

Others wondered, what is Coles' problem?

Almost soon after though, the results started to appear, and the talk slowly went away.

When Coles caught three touchdowns in a 56-point outburst against the Arizona Cardinals—with Coles giving one of the touchdown balls to Favre to keep—the issue seemed to be dead.

Recently though, with Coles struggling to produce, and the team losing after a huge five-game winning streak, everything is coming back again, and in the middle of a playoff race to boot.

According to numerous sources, on Wednesday, Coles had talks with reporters out in San Francisco saying such things as, "He (Favre) pretty much has control of everything," and "I catch balls from the Jugs machine. The ball probably comes out harder from there than it does from anywhere else."

For more of what Coles said, which was along the same lines of what was previously said, one can go here for the full scoop.

The real question here though is, does Coles have a point?

Or is Coles just crying for help in a way in an attempt to get his name in the papers with more frequency?

For this writer's money, Coles should shut his mouth.

Why? The reasons are many.

First, Favre was brought to town for one reason, which was a chance to win a Super Bowl.

This Jets team did not take him in because of charity. Favre wanted to play, and was picky with where he wanted to go, but once he started to go back on his retirement, most every team in the league was at least pondering, "What if we can get Favre?"

Despite some streaky play, the Jets have hit a goldmine with getting Favre.

Yes, Chad Pennington has Miami at 8-5, but as the Jets' quarterback, would the team be as good?

Would Thomas Jones be the leading rusher in the AFC?

Would the offense hold onto the ball as long as it does with Pennington behind center?

The answers: No, probably not, and don't bet on it.

The team went for broke and got a legend. In the process, they came out and said, "We want a Super Bowl this season."

The team did what they thought was best to compete.

Does Coles want to play for a chance to win it all?

Or does he want to just play the game for stats, while not caring about wins, etc?

Judging by his answers, he just cares about one person here—himself. Coles is not a team player, and these words a few short days ago prove this perfectly.

When things are going well, he is a great player to have on your team.

He shuts his mouth, plays hard, and gives it his all week in, and week out.

When they are going wrong?

He is a poor man's T.O.

Not nearly as talented, and speaking out about things when he is one-hundred percent wrong.

With Owens, at least in some of his crazy times throughout his career, he has been right.

Recently, he spoke out and said things to the effect of, "How will we win if I am not getting the ball?"

At least Owens, when saying this, discussed winning first above all else.

Digging deeper into this statement, Owens just said that he wants to get the ball so that he can help out.

He went out and practically said, "Why are you paying me this insane money if I am going to barely touch the ball?"

At the same time, without saying it, Owens, through his remarks, said that the team would benefit greatly if they throw him the ball more.

With Owens dominating a game, the Cowboys can throw it all around, have Tony Romo improvise, and, most importantly, they can use the devastating Marion Barber out of the backfield in an effective way.

Simply put, they can go out and be multi-dimensional, which, when they are, they are very hard to stop.

Coles though? He just threw his quarterback under the bus in a way, even though the team is 8-5 despite play that is scattered week in, and week out.

In addition, looking deeper at Coles himself, he should be looking at himself in the mirror.

Laveranues, in the last two games, you have three catches for 10 total yards. In these games, your team has lost badly, and has become all too easy to predict from one play to the next.

Even worse, when you could go out there, and make a difference, you are too busy dropping the ball. In the Denver game, instead of bringing a very catchable ball in deep in Broncos territory, you dropped the ball in a play that made many wonder, "What are the Jets paying you for exactly?"

This is Favre's fault?

I think not.

Yes, the offense has not been great as of late, but it has not been to the level of Buffalo, who has scored six points total over the last two games.

Your stats, while not amazing, are still very solid. You have around 650 yards receiving, along with six touchdowns up to this point.

With three games to go, this is not all that bad.

As already said as well, maybe if you bought in a few more balls that you dropped, these stats could be better.

Instead of discovering this though, you feel the need to call out one of the best quarterbacks ever in an attempt to shift the blame to somewhere else.

This is uncalled for, and until you bring in the balls Favre throws your way, and actually do something after the catch, you have no right to be saying anything.

Despite this though, you are not being a team player at the current time. Do you really expect Favre to throw you the ball when you are barely doing anything with it whenever it comes your way?

I would hope not.

Worry about winning for now, and please keep quiet.

If you do this, maybe, just maybe, you can win the important games down the stretch, and less importantly, maybe you can get your precious stats back, even though you are playing to a decent level this season.

Finally, maybe, just maybe, if you just keep quiet, your team could possibly go to a Super Bowl for a chance at a World Championship, which is what each and every single player in the NFL wants year in, and year out.

49ers-Jets: New York Awful In Crushing Defeat

Jonathan Szenics — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 15:35:12 -0500

Take a good look at the man in the picture, one Shaun Hill, quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers.

On one end, the 49ers have probably found their quarterback of the future.

On the other hand, for all the Jets fans out there, they know who tore them up in a 24-14 loss today.

In a game that the Jets had to have to quiet the critics, they fell flat on their faces yet again in California to a team that should not have beaten them as soundly as they did.

That now makes them 0-3 in the state of California this season. They have lost to the Chargers, the Raiders, and now, the 49ers, and nobody is discussing the Super Bowl for this bunch anymore.

Instead, many are wondering, will the Jets come around in time to make the playoffs? Or will they self-destruct down the stretch yet again?

After a listless effort today, many believe that the Jets are finished.

In a game where Hill did what he wanted throughout, he chewed up the clock on the Jets, beating them at their own game.

The Jets could not stop him all day, and as a result, Frank Gore played well, and the rest of the team was hard to stop as well.

It might have been the ageless Isaac Bruce looking as if he was 25 again, or Jason Hill crucially picking up first downs from crisp passes from Shaun Hill. Maybe it was Deshaun Foster playing just well enough to move the chains for the 49ers after Frank Gore left with an injured ankle in the second half. One thing is certain: the Jets were on their heels all day, and they never recovered.

The defense could not make the stops when needed yet again, and, as a result, another loss occurred.

This loss was not all on the defense though. The offense failed to show up yet again as well.

Brett Favre, normally unbeatable in San Francisco, threw for around only 130 total yards.

Thomas Jones, on an unexplainable lack of carries, did not have a huge impact either. Yet, he still did score a touchdown in the third quarter to tie the game at 14 in one of the only highlights of the day for the Jets.

The receiving core. Yet again, they practically stayed in the locker room, or somewhere else that was not the actual game field. This is the only way to explain their terrible play today.

Supposedly some of the most talented receivers that the NFL has to offer could not muster up anything at all mostly, let alone anything that was actually helpful to the efforts of the Jets today.

As a result, the Jets could barely move the ball all day long against a defense that, while solid, still has a lot of overall work to do.

In addition, the coaching took yet another step back again. Refusing to adjust to the flow of the game, they allowed themselves to be out coached badly by a man, one Mike Singletary, who was coaching in only his sixth career game.

They insisted on dinking and dumping the ball off yet again, even when everyone in the stadium knew that they were going to do it.

Since this was the case, the offense was flat, and they were never on the field for long enough to make a difference in the game. This, in turn, gassed the defense, which made stopping the 49ers down the stretch almost impossible. Lost now are the Jets who beat the Patriots and Titans in their buildings over a span of ten magical days.

In clear focus now is a team in disarray. Now 8-5, they are in a three-way tie for first place in the AFC East with the New England Patriots and the Miami Dolphins. They are only in first now because they are lucky enough to own all of the tiebreakers.

If they did not have these valuable tiebreakers, they would be out of the playoffs if the season ended today. Not many teams have had as many chances as the Jets to seal their own fate. In addition, not many teams have failed as much as the Jets when having chances to cement their status in the playoffs.

If the Jets keep on blowing winnable games like this, they may very well miss the playoffs. Three very winnable games against the Bills at home, away against the Seahawks, and home against the Dolphins remain.

The stats say that the Jets should run the table, going 11-5, and winning the AFC East title, which would probably lock up a three seed for them in the playoffs, and one home game at the very least during the playoffs as well.

Momentum, though, says otherwise. What will happen?

It all depends on which Jets team decides to show up.

If the team that shows up today plays out the rest of the season, an 8-8 train wreck may very well be the end result.

Rutgers-NC State: Headed to Papajohns.com Bowl

Jonathan Szenics — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 14:05:42 -0500

The all-important college football bowl schedule has been released for this upcoming postseason in college football.

Some teams got higher placements than they deserved as usual, and some teams got the short end of the stick, again, as usual.

Rutgers, though, was treated fairly, and they got into a bowl that they truly deserved.

The Papajohns.com bowl will pit the team against NC State from Birmingham, Alabama on Dec. 29 at 3:00 pm on ESPN.

While not being the dream bowl that Rutgers was probably imagining appearing in during training camp, this bowl suits them very well for the work that they put in throughout the entire season.

We all know that Rutgers started the season off in a way that makes the recent fall of Notre Dame pale in comparison. We also all know that since they woke up and started to actually play football again, that they have been almost unbeatable during the last two months or so.

Did they get the short end of the stick with their bowl placement? The answer here is: No, they did not.

The team went 7-5 overall, and 5-2 in conference play. While stellar on both ends, they still did need a miracle streak to even get to this point.

In addition, the teams ahead of them in the standings, such as Cincinnati, Pittsburgh (who they beat), and West Virginia, all got placed higher. Frankly, they deserved it.

Cincinnati is in the Orange Bowl based off of winning the conference. West Virginia is off to the Meineke Bowl based off of a season's worth of good play. Finally, Pittsburgh is off to the Sun Bowl.

The only argument Rutgers could possibly have at all is that they should have been placed over Pittsburgh, and possibly been put into this game, because of their blowout of Pittsburgh earlier during their huge winning streak.

Let's look at the facts, though. Rutgers looked as if they were going back to their losing roots of years past the first half of the season.

Pittsburgh, though, went back and forth from being ranked to not being ranked almost every week of the season, and Rutgers cannot claim that they did this.

While fighting tooth and nail just to get into the bowl discussion, Pittsburgh was just fighting for placement for most of their season. The placements were right here as a result.

Yes, if Rutgers beat Cincinnati instead of losing by a heartbreaking three points, they would be going to the Orange Bowl. One cannot turn back the clock, though. The game was already played, and nothing is based off of "what ifs?".

Since this is the case, Rutgers was placed into a bowl that they were very worthy of.

Just like NC State, they had to go on a huge run just to get into the bowl picture. Just like NC State, they played their best football later on in the season. As a result, they are now facing each other towards the end of the month.

This will be a very entertaining game to watch, and only one thing is certain looking at this matchup right now.

Rutgers does not want to play NC State, and NC State certainly does not want to play Rutgers. Who will win? Only time will tell.

Regardless, this will be a very close football game. It may very well be one of the best games to watch during the entire bowl season when all is said and done.

Vince Carter-Quieting His Critics With Each Game Played

Jonathan Szenics — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 12:47:12 -0500

Over the past couple of seasons, Vince Carter has been one of the hardest players in the NBA to put a finger on.

Some nights, he is almost a one man wrecking crew, doing what he wants, when he wants on the court.

During these games, he is arguably one of the best players in the NBA.

On other nights though, he is off his game, and many wonder if he is worth his huge contract.

During these games, he takes ill advised threes, he barely dishes the ball off, and can barely shoot the ball into an ocean.

In addition, he is a player that, during these streaks, is very moody to say the least.

To the point where he almost wears out his welcome, he becomes a headache for many, and is a headline waiting to happen.

While these headlines are nothing compared to some of those written about the many crybabies that the NBA has to offer year in and year out, they are usually not the kindest writings either.

So far this season though, these headlines have not appeared yet.

Carter has been on top of his game for the Nets night in, and night out, and as a result, he is getting his status back as an elite star in the NBA.

More importantly though, he has the Nets contending, along with the rest of the team from the management and coaching, all the way to the actual players on the court as well.

In what may be his best season though, he is scoring in bunches, and he is being a team player as well.

This combination has been almost non-existent for Carter throughout his career.

While always viewed as a great talent, he has never been able to put it all together at once.

There were some seasons where he would fill the nets, yet, his team would be awful.

In other seasons, he would not score as much since he was not the number one option, and his teams would be solid, but never among the best in the NBA.

This season though has been different up to this point. He is filling the nets nightly, he is being a team player, and, most importantly, his team has a winning record at 9-8 going into game action tonight.

All of this is occurring while he is being a team leader as well. One of the older guys on one of the youngest teams in the league, he is setting a positive example night in, and night out for the New Jersey Nets.

As a result, the team is playing crisp basketball, and this seems to only be the beginning.

While not viewed as a threat to the title yet, odder things have happened throughout the history of the NBA.

After all, the Knicks went to the NBA Finals as an eight seed almost a decade ago, right?

Since this is the case, Carter is quieting his critics nightly. He is just focusing on helping his team win, and as a result, he is having one of the best seasons of his career.

An All-Star nod will probably result, and as long as he keeps playing well, he will probably be a Net for at least the rest of this season.

As long as the Nets do not trade him away, they have a good chance at making the playoffs.

Unless the dreadful happens, which is the Nets crashing back to earth, which seems unlikely at this point, Carter will, by the end of the season, probably resurrect his image.

Will this happen? It remains to be seen, but as of now, Carter is just playing ball, and as a result, the critics are few and very far between for Carter right now.

Rutgers Smashes Louisville, Awaits Bowl Fate

Jonathan Szenics — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 12:22:10 -0500

In a game that was not supposed to be close, Rutgers went into action and quickly proved that they are both an underrated team, and a force to be reckoned with—to say the least.

They also proved how far Louisville has fallen over the past couple of seasons.

A 63-14 drubbing will tend to do this for the winning team and for the pour souls on the other side of the field as well.

In this game, Rutgers was unstoppable. Mike Teel threw for a team record seven touchdowns in his final home game for Rutgers, and almost everybody played great football for Rutgers from the opening kick-off.

Louisville was practically done before they even started. Going into the game struggling in every possible way, they were fighting to just keep their name in the discussion of possible bowl bound teams.

After this debacle though, who knows where Louisville will end up? Even more importantly, who knows if they will even get into a bowl after a terrible final regular season game?

These are questions that they have to worry about. Rutgers though, they do not have to worry if they will get into a bowl, they will just have to worry about where they might have to travel to play in a bowl game.

Currently on a six game winning streak after a terrible 1-5 start, Rutgers ended their regular season 7-5 overall, along with a 5-2 mark in Big East conference play.

Almost nobody saw this coming from the Scarlet Knights, not even their own fans. Rutgers woke up on time and saved their season.

No, they will not be going to a BCS Bowl game as they wanted to much earlier on in the season.

No, this team may not even make it into a bigger non-BCS bowl game either.

But then again, with the roll that they are on, maybe they will.

Most of the games count more towards the end of the season, and Rutgers not only has not lost for almost two months, they have also looked borderline unbeatable in these games as well.

While not a threat to be in the Top 25 (as of yet anyway), this is currently a team that nobody wants to play.

In addition, the talk is around them that they are a team that is much better than their 7-5 overall record.

While there may be some more well known teams that they are competing for bowl placement with, such as Notre Dame, have faded down the stretch and have fallen hard.

This will not look good for some of these teams, even though they have tradition in their corner.

Tradition can only take a team so far though. College football is all about who is doing big things in the present day.

Over the past couple of seasons, the Scarlet Knights have turned themselves into a great football school, and have gotten in better bowls each and every year as a result.

What bowl will they end up in as a result in a couple of days?

A lot has to happen before this confusing question will get answered, but if a few teams, such as West Virginia to name one, lose this week, anything can happen.

While not actually predicting it, the Sun Bowl is a possible destination for this very dangerous football team.

Will they make it here? Only time will tell, but this much remains certain: even if they do not get into this bowl game, they will at least get into a game that the viewers recognize the name of.

For a program still on the rise, this is yet another step in the right direction.

One thing is for certain: whoever has to end up playing Rutgers will not be happy in the end, and they will have to play almost perfect football to take down this bunch in a bowl game.

Jets-49ers: New York Ready to Win Big on Sunday

Jonathan Szenics — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 11:54:14 -0500

Going into action Sunday against the 49ers, the Jets have to show that last week was an off game, and not a sign of things to come moving forward.

They have to explain through their play that they are a team that does not play down to the level of the team on the opposite side of the football.

This is exactly what the 49ers are.

In a division that is an utter joke this year, one where eight wins will probably bring a division title, the 49ers are still a joke.

Long gone are the days of the 49ers being a Super Bowl contender year in and year out. This has been seen very easily over the past couple of seasons. While some improvements have been made, this team is still a mess.

They do have hope though with some talent on both sides of the ball. Right now though, this talent is not enough to get them victories in bunches.

This seemingly spells bad news for the 49ers on Sunday against the Jets, correct?

Not exactly. New York has a habit of playing down to the competition, and even worse, they have the knack of blowing games when they need them.

These are two factors that are going against them heading into the game on Sunday.

In addition, the game is being played on the West Coast in San Francisco, and cross-country road trips have not been kind to the Jets this season—or to many of the teams in the NFL for that matter.

For not wanting to rehash the details, all that has to be said was that the Jets lost to the Raiders earlier in the season, in a 16-13 heartbreaking loss in overtime.

The real question is though, will the 49ers themselves actually do anything to give them a chance to win the game?

Looking at the roster, the defense is beatable, which means that the Jets will probably have a field day on the offensive side of the ball.

Brett Favre will get to air it out almost all day long more than likely, and he will probably be very effective as a result.

As long as he can prevent the huge mistakes that can plague him from time to time, he may have a chance of being the offensive player of the week in the NFL for Week 14.

An even better bet to possibly get this award though is one Thomas Jones.

The leading rusher in the AFC currently, Jones is licking his chops to play this subpar defense on Sunday.

Unless the 49ers play a perfect game, Jones will probably impose his will throughout the entire game on them.

When combined with the probably-potent aerial attack that will be seen on Sunday, Jones will probably be able to run through plenty of gaping holes throughout the game.

150 rushing yards and 50 receiving yards, along with a touchdown or two, are not out of the question for Jones on Sunday. If this does happen, the Jets will be awfully hard to beat.

The only player that may be able to hurt the Jets on Sunday is one Shaun Hill, the quarterback for the 49ers.

Very underrated to say the least, Hill has this team behind him. This was probably achieved by Hill when he ran for a first down without his helmet on in a great Monday Night Football game against the Arizona Cardinals a couple of weeks ago.

In this game, he almost got the 49ers to beat the first-place Cardinals, despite a huge talent gap between the two teams.

If he can avoid the turnovers on Sunday, he may be able to keep the 49ers in this game.

It will probably all be up to him, though. Do not look for Frank Gore to have a stellar game in this one. First, the Jets are among the best rush defenses in the league, and second, do you really think that they will let another Running back run over them like Peyton Hillis of the Broncos did last week?

The answer here is probably not. As a result, Hill, against one of the worst pass defenses in the NFL, will have to do it all to give the 49ers a chance.

The real question is though, will he be able to step up to the plate and knock it out of the park?

For awhile on Sunday, he will prove that he very well may be able too. Without an effective Gore though, along with the talent on the offensive side of the football for the Jets, this will knock the wind out of his sails after awhile, and the Jets will end up winning this football game as a result.

The score may be closer than some expect, considering the Jets have owned the NFC West this season, but, in the end, look for a 31-17 Jets victory, one where they impose their will in the second half to run their record to 9-4 for the season.

Lawrence Frank Is Keeping the New Jersey Nets Together

Jonathan Szenics — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 09:28:27 -0500

Imagine being in the shoes of New Jersey Nets head coach Lawrence Frank before the start of this NBA season.

Think about sitting in your office, looking at the preseason predictions, and seeing that your team is picked to finish last in your conference by many of the publications around.

Pondering for a second that many think that your team will be taken apart piece by piece by the trading deadline, leaving your team with a bunch of players that have expiring contracts at the end of the season.

Reflecting on how the next season will be a throw away as well next year, and that the team is rolling the dice of playing the closest thing to a lottery that the NBA will ever see, which is trying to get LeBron James as a free agent at the end of that next season.

Starting to get nervous that every other team in the NBA is going to throw a bid out there for him, along with quite possibly teams overseas as well, and that your best chance to get one of the best players in the NBA currently (and quite possibly THE best) is probably because of his friendship with Jay-Z, one of your team's owners.

Finally, come to the realization that if your team actually does land James somehow, that you will probably not be his coach anyway. Get it entrenched in your head that you will probably be fired long before any team signs him, and that you will have to be searching for a job instead.

Think then that it is your responsibility to make your team win now as well, with resources that are not exactly the best around.

This does not sound like a great situation, does it?

Of course it does not, but this was the position that Lawrence Frank was in before the start of this NBA season.

An underdog in every sense of the word, he has faced adversity before, rising through many ranks to get to his current position.

Not forgetting this for a single second, early on, he must have told himself that he is going to make this team a winner if it killed him.

This might be the only way to explain the start of the New Jersey Nets so far this season.

At 9-8 overall, they are throwing all common logic out of the table up to this point. They have an aging veteran who is having one of his best seasons yet (one Vince Carter).

They have a young point guard who is playing one of the best overall games in the NBA currently, this being Devin Harris.

After these two, they have a bunch of young guns who are playing together, and who are more importantly growing together as a unit as well.

The result so far has been clean basketball from the Nets.

They have been contending, and despite some awful games every now and then, this team looks like they have what it takes to be a contender for the playoffs at the end of the season.

These players have Frank to thank for all of these great developments. Accepting none other than the best from each and every one of his players, Frank has the Nets playing as if they have nothing to lose.

As a result, they are playing basketball without worrying about what will happen should they make mistakes.

Frank has this team ready to go to war for him. He has instilled a confidence in this team that, quite simply, should not be there.

Without a doubt, this has been one of the best coaching jobs performed in the NBA up to this point this season.

Frank is keeping the Nets together, and as long as he keeps on pushing the right buttons, he may very well live to be around the Nets for a very long time yet.

He has the faith of the entire organization up to this point, and as a result, the Nets are actually a force so far, instead of being a pushover.

He is a leader in every sense of the word, and by doing everything incredibly well up to this point, Frank is keeping the Nets together so far this season.

As a result, the Nets continue to play good basketball. As long as they make the playoffs, anything can happen, and if Frank keeps up the hard work, who knows what will happen should they make it to the playoffs this season.

This much is for certain, though—the players are performing to levels they never thought that they could achieve because of Frank. As a result, he has stitched together this team very tightly up to this point.

Even better for the Nets, it will take a lot to make the work of Frank mean nothing in the end.

Charlie Weis to Remain at Notre Dame Next Season

Jonathan Szenics — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 17:27:25 -0500

Despite a stretch run over the past couple of seasons that has Notre Dame reaching new lows with their college football program, Charlie Weis will live to see another year in South Bend.

The announcement, made earlier today, sent shock waves throughout most of college football.

Many thought that Weis was done as Notre Dame coach. Many even started to discuss who could possibly replace him at the school.

Apparently, nobody out there could fit the bill, at least in the eyes of Notre Dame, because Weis somehow, someway, survived to give himself one more shot out in South Bend.

This decision was not expected. For weeks now, he has been on a seat that was not just hot, but instead, one that was blazing.

After nearly blowing a game against Navy where they were up big in the fourth quarter, the talk really started to heat up whether or not Weis would remain as Head Coach.

Soon after, a loss against Syracuse ensued, a team that made an announcement earlier in that week that head coach Greg Robinson would not be returning to the team next season.

In this game, he was out-coached by a coach who had just lost his job.

Even worse, this loss marked the first time in the storied history of Notre Dame football that they had lost to an eight loss team in a season.

Finally, just last week, Notre Dame was 32.5 point underdogs against USC in their yearly showdown.

This marked the largest margin against a spread that Notre Dame had ever seen. They proceeded to get blasted in this game 38-3, and they were lucky to even put up that field goal in that game.

They did not get a first down until late in the third quarter of the game. As a result, many thought that Notre Dame had quit on their coach in a way.

The talk after this game was not if Weis would be shown the door, rather, the talk was rampant as to when the Weis era would end.

While having a great team in his first season, most of this team was actually Ty Willingham's. He recruited most of these players, and Weis reaped many of the benefits.

After most of these players graduated though, Weis was the man in charge. He handpicked his players, and, to say the least, many have underperformed, and this has sent Notre Dame football down a dark road, one that they are very lost on to say the least.

Jimmy Clausen, supposedly the man to restore order in South Bend as one of the best quarterbacks at the school since the days of Joe Montana, is the chief player who is guilty here.

While going through a rough freshman season last year, he, along with most of the team, struggled tremendously in a season that almost every Notre Dame fan has blocked from their memory.

This year though, everything seemed to click at first. Notre Dame was winning, and the talk around South Bend was that Notre Dame was back.

Soon after though, Notre Dame started to lose again once the schedule became tough, all of the questions resurfaced. More losses ensued as well, which made it look as if Weis would be fired at the end of the season.

In another recent comment, it was said that his buyout, which has been described as a "mind-blowing figure," would not be a factor in the decision whether or not to keep him on as the head coach.

Regardless of whatever this figure is, it was obviously enough to keep Weis around for at least one more season.

Weis is on a very short leash though. Should this team start slow next season, or continue down the horrid path that they are currently treading on, will he be shown the door?

The answer to this question remains to be seen.

This much is known though. Charlie Weis will be the head coach of Notre Dame football for the 2009 season.

How long will he last? Who knows? It all depends on the results, and the "what have you done for me lately" factor that is a huge part of college football today.

This much remains certain. If Weis does not have this team contending for a BCS Bowl next season, more than likely, he will be looking for another job around this time next season.

Devin Harris is a Potential MVP so far this Season

Jonathan Szenics — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 12:50:56 -0500

So far this season, many point guards have been the talk of the NBA. From Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets, to Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns, and many others as well. The "one-guard" has been a huge factor in the success of many of their teams so far this season.

More often than not though, somehow, someway, Devin Harris, the point guard of the New Jersey Nets is nowhere to be found in this discussion, and this, simply put, is a sin.

Look at what the man is doing this season. Averaging 23.5 points per game, Harris is carrying the Nets. In addition, he is making Vince Carter, who is just behind him in the NBA scoring race, so much better than he already is.

He has the Nets at 9-7 through 16 games. Almost 1/5th of the way through the season, he has the Nets in second place behind the Boston Celtics in their division, and ahead of teams that were supposed to be ahead of them, such as the Philadelphia 76ers, and the Toronto Raptors.

It is safe to say that the Nets, even though they have holes on their roster, could make a playoff appearance, and going into the season, many thought that the Nets would have the best chance in the NBA Draft lottery of acquiring the first overall pick by virtue of the worst record in the NBA.

What Harris is doing currently is remarkable, and as a result, his name has to be in the early MVP discussion.

Yes, Chris Paul is going out and getting 20 points and 10 assists as if it is a walk in the park. His team is underachieving as of now though.

Yes, LeBron James has his team reaching new heights early in an NBA season, but his cast of supporting players is actually NBA worthy now.

Finally, Dwayne Wade is leading the league in scoring, but as of now, his supporting players are far more talented than most of the players that one can currently find on the Nets roster.

In addition, Harris is doing what the team needs during any given game.

If they need him to score, he is there filling up the nets (ask the Phoenix Suns, who Harris dropped 47 on).

If they need him to pass the ball off, he is dropping dimes with frightening assist totals.

If they need him to run the tempo of the game, he is doing what he has to in order for the Nets to win.

If they need him to play defense, he is shutting down some of the best point guards in the game.

You get the idea. Harris is as flexible as gumby early on in this NBA season.

Yes, there are 66 games left to play, and anything can happen down the line. If the rest of the season goes this way though, Harris has to be an MVP contender.

Replacing the legendary Jason Kidd in New Jersey, he has the Nets to points where they thought they would be five years from now at best.

This has the Nets thinking of keeping the roster that they have in place for the rest of the season, and possibly as buyers towards the trade deadline, instead of a team that was poised to have a fire sale before the first tip off of the NBA season.

Simply put, Harris has the Nets contending with his amazing overall play up to this point, and this was not supposed to happen this season.

As a result, in the eyes of this writer, if the award was handed out today, Devin Harris should win the MVP of the NBA hands down.

Rutgers Set to Handle Louisville Thursday

Jonathan Szenics — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 09:07:50 -0500

Rutgers is matched up against Louisville on Thursday in a game that will be huge for the Scarlet Knights.

A win would equal a decent bowl game appearance (perhaps the Sun Bowl), and a loss would equal a bowl game, that while still a bowl, would not be one that many teams aim to make during the course of a season.

Yes, after the horrible start to the season, any bowl appearance will almost be a miracle for Rutgers.

This team has always had the talent throughout the season though, and it is starting to finally shine through.

Teams have seen this recently. Whether it is Mike Teel tearing apart defenses, or the defense completely shutting down opponents, week in, and week out.

Louisville will be the next team to see this up close and personal, and as long as the long layoff in between games does not hurt the momentum of the Scarlet Knights, this game will not even be close.

Why you may be wondering?

First off, looking at Louisville, they cannot stop turning the ball over. If this was a stat that won games for teams, Louisville may very well have a case for the BCS Championship game.

Rutgers thrives off of forcing turnovers. This fires up the defense, and, with the short field to work with that usually results from the defense making plays, this makes the potent offense that much harder to stop.

Even when working with long fields though lately, Rutgers has still been scoring points by the barrel load.

In addition, the Louisville defense leaves much to be desired. In games that they should have won, they have not shown up recently, and they have been in bad defeats as a result of this.

Stopping Rutgers will be very hard for this group to say the least.

Simply put, as long as Rutgers moves the chains, and keeps the defense of Louisville with a mixture of passing and running plays, Louisville should not even have a chance in this game.

Look for Mike Teel to throw between 200 and 250 yards, and for the running game to put up at least 125 total yards on the ground between a few different Running Backs.

In addition, look for the Rutgers' defense to force turnovers aplenty again, and for Louisville to get blown out as a result.

What will the final score be? The call here as of now is 38-17 Rutgers, but it could very well end up being a game that is much more ugly than this by the end of the game.

Jets Still Have What it Takes to Win it All

Jonathan Szenics — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 08:50:38 -0500

Despite 34-17 a loss that made a lot of people jump off of the Jets bandwagon yesterday against the Denver Broncos, the Jets still have what it takes to make playoff noise down the line.

Yes, the team has holes, as Jay Cutler proved very well yesterday to the tune of doing whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, against the Jets in front of their home crowd.

Honestly though, what team does not have holes currently? Even the best teams, such as the Giants, who are dealing with the Plaxico Burress debacle, which almost defies common logic (I mean, who shoots themself, what is this, the movie 8 Mile), the Titans (who the Jets took behind the tool shed and beat up for four quarters only eight short days ago), and many others, are dealing with huge issues.

These teams currently are the Bucs, who seemingly cannot punch the ball into the end zone half the time (Matt Bryant may be the MVP of the team, sorry Antonio Bryant, you have had a great comeback season, but the touchdowns are not there), and the Panthers (you guys have a habit of leaning too much on the running game; if that is shut down, you are in deep trouble).

In addition, the Steelers can decide to not score a touchdown for almost two whole games whenever they feel as if it is necessary.

The rest of the NFL? Any of the teams in contention have more issues than a single article can discuss in a concise enough manner.

What does this mean?

It means that the NFL, as usual, is completely up for grabs. Yes, there are two 11-1 teams (the Giants and the Titans) and conventional wisdom says to not bet against these teams.

The Giants can be beat though, as the Browns proved on Monday Night Football in front of the entire nation on ESPN. As for the Titans, the Jets are the only team that beat them obviously, but this game was not even close.

With the talent the Jets have, along with the team leaders, they are still in the Super Bowl discussion.

Thomas Jones, currently the AFC rushing leader who is finding the end zone at an old LT pace recently, is making many realize why the Jets got him before the start of last season.

Whenever they are on, the wide receivers are one of the top units in the league.

Even when one is off, the rest of the unit usually picks up the slack, which makes the passing game almost impossible to completely stop.

The defense, minus the unspirited play yesterday, can still make big plays in bad games, such as the Dwight Lowery's interception in the red zone yesterday.

Kris Jenkins, he has the running defense on lock. Yes, one Peyton Hillis ran all over the defense yesterday, but it had to happen sometime and the Broncos, no matter who runs the ball, are always a force to be reckoned with on the ground with their tremendous offensive line play.

Yes, the passing defense is suspect to say the least, but this is the Jets one issue in terms of play on the field currently. Give Ty Law a couple more games and when combining him with Darrelle Revis, this unit will improve greatly.

Finally, the Jets have the ultimate quarterback in one Brett Favre. Quite possibly the biggest gamer that the NFL has ever seen, Favre can take this team on his back for a huge playoff run.

When combined with the fact that he came back to win one more Super Bowl before calling it quits for good, he has the spirit it takes to make the Jets believe in themselves.

True, he is prone to have a bad game once in awhile, but if one of these games occur before the end of the season, the Jets can just run Jones until his wheels fall off. The more carries he gets, the better he is, and he can stomach the load it takes to take the pressure off of the passing game.

Long story short, the Jets played one bad game yesterday. It happens from time to time, and with the weather the way that it was yesterday at the Meadowlands, it can happen on any given Sunday.

The ones that jumped the bandwagon should get back on it. There are four very winnable games left on the slate, and if the Jets run the table, they will go into the playoffs at 12-4, with at least one home game during the playoffs.

In addition, if something odd happens, such as an upset in the AFC playoffs, the Jets could be playing more games at The Meadowlands deep into January, where, during this time of the year, it is almost impossible for a team to go out there and get a win on the road.

The Jets are still a force to be reckoned with, and if they play up to par, they can still get to Tampa Bay for a chance for their first NFL title in 40 long years.

Jets-Broncos: New York Comes Out Flat, Lose Big to Broncos

Jonathan Szenics — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 18:22:50 -0500

Going into action against the Broncos, the Jets were riding high. On a five-game winning streak, while being the talk of the NFL, nothing could take them down, or so they thought.

After a 34-17 loss to the Broncos though, the Jets have come crashing back down to earth.

While still a threat in the AFC, they are not the favorites anymore, and they still have some work to do.

What they must do moving forward is never take an opponent lightly. They did this against Denver and look what happened.

Yes, the refs pretty much gave the Broncos 14 points on a fumble return from a miscue from Jerricho Cotchery that should have never been ruled a fumble in the first place, and Eddie Royal looked to be out of bounds on his long first-quarter touchdown reception, but this is not the point.

Even after these mistakes by the refs, the Jets were only down 17-14 after an amazing Thomas Jones rushing touchdown, one where he rolled over a Denver defender without hitting the ground and proceeded to take it to the house for his second touchdown of the game.

Instead of keeping the pressure on the Broncos though, the Jets decided to play stupid football.

Whether it was Jones barely being used after the second quarter when he was clearly the best option that the Jets had in this rain-soaked game, or the defense barely stopping anything all day, the Jets let a very winnable game slip from their grasps with uninspired play.

Part of this is on the players for barely showing up, and part of it is on the coaches as well for not adjusting to the flow of the game.

Instead of covering the tight ends, who tore the Jets up all game, they decided to stick to their coverage scheme of keeping Denver wide receiver Brandon Marshall in check. While never a dumb idea, in this game, it was. The adjustments had to be made, and they simply were not.

The result was Denver marching down the field to the tune of almost 500 total yards of offense. The coaches can only do so much though, so the rest of the blame falls on the Jets defensive players for not doing their jobs at all.

Still though, after all of this, in the beginning of the second half, after an end zone interception by Dwight Lowery with the Broncos in the red zone, the Jets had their chances.

Marching down the field with Leon Washington leading the way, the Jets had a chance to make the score 27-21, which would have changed the complexion of the game.

Instead though, they settled for a short Jay Feely field goal, which set up the basis for the rest of the game.

From here, the Broncos, while not blowing anyone away with their play, did enough to keep the lead, and they held the Jets scoreless on another red zone trip in the fourth quarter.

Two red-zone possessions in the second half for the Jets equaled three points for them, instead of possibly 14. This ended up being the straw that broke the camel's back for the Jets, and a 34-14 loss at the end of the game was the result.

If the Jets want to play deep into January, they must punch the ball in the end zone when in the red zone. The results were seen when they did not do this against the Broncos, and they were not pretty in any possible way.

The pieces are in place for this team to make noise come playoff time. They all have to work together though, and the coaches have to make changes to improve their chances of victory if certain things are holding them back.

If they do not, who knows how the season will turn out?

Luckily for the Jets though, they play the 49ers next week. This game is in San Francisco though, and we all saw what happened the last time the Jets traveled out west, where they played an awful game in a 16-13 loss to the Oakland Raiders, one of the worst teams in the NFL.

In all likelihood, the Jets will win this game though, and improve to 9-4 after NFL action next week.

The game must be won first though.

At least the Patriots and Bills lost today. With the Dolphins winning, the Jets have a one-game lead in the division on the Dolphins and the Patriots, and a two-game lead on the Bills, who, somehow, someway, lost to the 49ers in a game that made the Jets look unbeatable in comparison against Denver.

Winning against the 49ers will go a long way in seeing how this season plays out for the Jets.

They should win this game and keep the playoff train towards January rolling.

Business must be taken care of first, and the first step in doing this is not taking the 49ers lightly. On any given Sunday, anything can happen in the NFL, and if the Jets are not careful, this game could slip away from them.

It shouldn't, but let us see the Jets win first and get back on track, which will probably be the case in a little less than a week from now.

Jay Glazer Is the Best Sports Reporter in America

Jonathan Szenics — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 16:29:22 -0500

Throughout the sporting landscape in America today, there are many reporters and writers who are masters of their craft.

Some stick to the basics that they probably learned while in college. Others, they branch out and are not afraid to try new things.

Both methods work, and one man uses a combination of these two tactics perfectly. As a result, bar none, he is the best sports reporter in America today.

Who is this man? His name is Jay Glazer.

Currently working for foxsports.com, his writing is often cutting edge, and, to say the least, he is in the know with everything going on in the NFL.

Digging deep down to get all of the facts, he never leaves anything under reported at all.

In addition, he simply does not report on stories that dozens of other writers are working on as well.

He goes out and he finds the stories most of the time.

Even more importantly though, at the same time, he finds the answers to the stories that everyone wants to hear before anybody else even blinks, and Glazer is to be commended for these efforts.

At the same time, Glazer seems to know stories that are happening before the people that make up the stories even know that they are happening.

This is a skill that cannot be taught at all.

The man seemingly has the entire NFL in his cell phone, and usually, he seems to be only one text message away from knowing the entire story in mere seconds, not minutes.

In addition, who has he ever gotten into a verbal sparring session with?

The answer is nobody. Nobody pops into mind right away when looking at this question. Instead of getting into it with his subjects, he talks to them as if he is their best friend, which is an amazing skill.

He has the respect of every single one of his peers, and in today's world, if one is able to say this, that is truly remarkable.

At the same time, he never outs his sources, and he always respects their privacy by not naming names in the instances where this is an issue.

Since he does this, he can simply reach out to a source with a simple phone call or a text message, and he can get the scoop very quickly.

Getting his hands on stories that others cannot dream of breaking, he reports them in a manner that is simply brilliant.

In addition, he builds the trust between his subjects as well, so that he can get more leads, seemingly whenever he wants.

Simply put, the man has worked so hard to get to the top of his profession, that he barely has to struggle to get the information that so many people want to hear.

As a result, Glazer is the man for breaking news in the NFL week in, and week out.

He never brags though, he sticks to the reporting, which is what should always be done.

Since this is the case, Glazer, in almost a landslide, is the best sports reporter that America has to offer currently.

More than likely as well, down the line, as long as he keeps up his hard work, at the end of his career, he will probably go down as one of the legends in his field.

Keep up the good work Mr. Glazer, because without your work, the NFL simply would not be the same on a week to week basis.

Why Brett Favre and the Jets Will Dominate the Broncos

Jonathan Szenics — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 19:00:47 -0500

At 8-3 currently, and riding high off of huge wins against the New England Patriots and the Tennessee Titans away from the friendly confines of the Meadowlands, the New York Jets are currently the Cinderella story of the NFL.

No matter what teams are throwing their way lately, the Jets are facing it head on, and they are playing incredible football.

Next up for the Jets is the Denver Broncos at home on Sunday in a game that should go very well for the Jets.

Will the Jets win this game though?

Let’s look at the Broncos in detail first. After a 31-10 trashing by the Oakland Raiders of all teams while at home (how this happened, many will never know), the Broncos are cold to say the least.

Despite this though, if the season ended today, they would be in the playoffs. Yes, it is partly because they play in a putrid division, but they cannot be faulted that their three division foes have a combined eight wins in total. This is the luck of the draw.

In addition, the Broncos are a solid football team; yet, they are a very streaky one. At the beginning of the season, it looked as if they were going to challenge the NFL record for points scored in a single season. Then, in the blink of an eye, they came crashing back down to earth.

Very average football has been the result over the past month or so. The Broncos want to prove that they are not a fluke though riding high off of the many troubles within their division though, and this is always a dangerous factor in any given week of the NFL season.

To go along with this as well, they want to show that the Raiders game was their throw away game of the season (every team has one). They want to take out their anger on their next opponent, and this is obviously the Jets.

Will they beat the Jets though?

No, they will not.

The Jets have beaten the best that the AFC has had to offer recently, and Brett Favre, the leader of this team, will not let them back down now, especially after getting all of New York excited about them.

This man plays his best football in the clutch, even though he does make some bad plays in the biggest games (just ask Corey Webster of the Giants).

In addition, he is going up against a secondary that is very weak to say the least. The Broncos can be passed on currently, but with their corners, led by the incredible Champ Bailey (who is hurt, but still better than about 75 percent of the corners out there while at half strength), anything can happen in any one game.

If the Jets do not play smart football, the Broncos could very well make the Jets pay dearly.

They cannot stop the run though, and once again, this will be the difference for the Jets. After running all over the Titans last week, which was supposed to be impossible, Thomas Jones and Leon Washington will think that this game is a walk in the park for them. They will move the chains all day long, and the Broncos will be on their heels for most of the game as a result.

Favre will also make the big plays when needed, and he will go to his latest crush, one Dustin Keller, in the crucial third down and short situations. Ball control will once again be the story for the Jets, and the Broncos will be out of sync all game because of this.

At the end of the day, the Jets will win a game that they dominate 31-20. The defense will give up some points due to the amazing skills of Jay Cutler, but he will not be able to provide enough of firepower for the Broncos to come out of the Meadowlands with a victory.

The Best Reasons To Bet on a Jets-Giants Super Bowl

Jonathan Szenics — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 18:50:00 -0500

Over the last month or so, the two hottest teams in the NFL for the most part have been the New York Giants, and, surprisingly, the New York Jets.

The Giants, at 10-1, have looked twice as good as they were while winning the Super Bowl last year, and the Jets, at 8-3, are riding high during a current five game winning streak.

Since these two teams are playing quite possibly the best football throughout the league, they are currently in the top two power sports in many experts’ power rankings, and nobody seems to be able to even give these two teams a close game recently.

As a result, many are thinking that the Super Bowl may be a Giants and Jets showdown later this season. The talk is everywhere, nobody can escape it, and this has the whole New York area practically doing cartwheels over their respective teams.

Even though it is hard to repeat, many think that the Giants are the team to beat, and because of the Giants amazing ride through the postseason last year, when they caught fire at the right time, many think that the Jets this year are the new Giants.

The real question is this: Will the Giants be playing the Jets in Super Bowl XLIII, with Bruce Springsteen performing at halftime (for better or worse), which will truly make the Super Bowl a sporting spectacle for the New York and New Jersey area?

The answer is an astounding yes.

First, let us look at the Giants. At 10-1 currently, they are playing the best football throughout the entire league. They have been opponents’ worse nightmares, and, as simple as it can be put, nobody can match up with them.

With Eli Manning continuing his rapid development into one of the best Quarterbacks’ in the league, with the three-headed rushing monster that is Brandon Jacobs, Derrick Ward, and Ahmad Bradshaw, and with an amazing defense, nobody wants to play the Giants at this point.

In addition, the team is playing their best football against the best opponents. Currently entrenched in a schedule that is simple murder week in and week out, they are stepping up to the plate, and are knocking opponents out of the park to say the least. They do not play a team not in contention the rest of the way either, but this is not fazing this team currently.

They are beating the best the NFL has to throw at them currently, and as long as they get home field advantage throughout the playoffs, which will probably be the case, they will be very hard to beat come playoff time.

Nobody will be able to go into New York in the middle of the winter and beat the Giants without a perfect game.

The issue here is that it is almost impossible to play a perfect game. Every bounce has to go the other team’s way, and if it does not, the Giants will probably be heading back to the Super Bowl for the second straight season.

Meanwhile, the Jets are the talk of the league right now. In the past two weeks, they have beaten both the Patriots and the Titans in their buildings, and, the rest of the way, their schedule is one that is rather easy.

The Jets could very well run the table and go into the playoffs at 13-3, and quite possibly, they could get home field advantage throughout the playoffs as well.

Even if they do not though, who can beat them? At this point, they have beaten the best that the AFC has to offer, and as long as the hold the fort down and play smart football, they will probably be very hard to beat as well.

There is one factor going against the Jets though, and this is their history of blowing games that they should win. Early in the season, this did happen, as games against the Raiders and the Chargers demonstrated (although they probably should not have had a chance in that game anyway, the Chargers are a mediocre team at best).

Brett Favre is playing smart football now though, and he has taken the Jets on his back. In addition, the man did not come back for anything less than another Super Bowl ring.

In all likelihood, he will continue to carry this talented team, and he will carry them all the way to Tampa Bay.

This will set up a match up for the ages against the Giants.

For fear of jinxing this any further though, a score will not be given here. Let it happen first, then we can start the talk about this game more.