Bleacher Report - Articles by Reuben Lehrhaupt

Eric Mangini a Genius?

Reuben Lehrhaupt — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 01:32:52 -0500

At the end of the regular season, head coach Eric Mangini was fired after three years with the New York Jets.

In searching for a replacement, there has been a lot of talk about Bill Cowher, Steve Spagnuolo, or Marty Schottenheimer possibly taking his place. There are other options, but many of them aren't in the big picture.

Bill Cowher has been very successful at the head coaching position, bringing the Steelers to the Super Bowl where they were victorious against the Seattle Seahawks.

I think that if Cowher were to join the franchise he could lead the Jets, with or without quarterback Brett Favre.

This brings me to the Favre factor. I think Jets fans cannot rely on Favre to lead their team.

One thing I think everyone misjudges is the Jets' offensive line. Most people blame the interceptions and sacks on the quarterback, when really the entire offense is responsible.

If you watch the Patriots, you'll see their quarterback has so much time in the pocket. The Jets have a horrible offensive line and they're the ones to blame!

Also, the defensive line made a lot of mistakes—usually in the third quarter. They get cocky and stop focusing as the team drives down the field.

I think if the Jets fix these two problems everything will be fine for the struggling franchise.

If Spagnuolo became the head coach and fixed those two problems he'd be a great fit. However, I think if those two issues were not fixed and Cowher was head coach, the team would be just as good.

So the question is, do the Jets take more of a risk by choosing Spagnuolo?

Well, we don't know for sure yet what the new Jets look like, so another alternative could be looked at: Marty Schottenheimer.

I have major hatred for this guy because he has made so many mistakes and doesn't learn from them. He would definitely not be a good coach, but for now Jets fans should think about Cowher and Spagnuolo.

It has been another disappointing Jets season, but it just proves the Jets are improving. If you're thinking about giving up on the Jets, don’t. Mangini was holding them back. Just give them one more season!

New York Jets: Mangini Retires

Reuben Lehrhaupt — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 08:48:26 -0400

So everyone knows about Mangini's retirement?

APRIL FOOLS!!!

Getting Ready For Football Season

Reuben Lehrhaupt — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 13:03:20 -0400

Getting Ready For Football Season:

Basically, everyone knew how astonishing the super was and how much impact it had on hope. I, myself was screaming at the last second tearing off my shirt with my friends, diving on the floor. The New York Giants have been THE TEAM for the past couple months and the people who make the Giants merchandise are now rich. Wwell, that super-bowl sunday was history, but how do we prepare for the football season. Luckily, if you don't know, I'm here to tell you the guidelines.

First, you can prepare yourself by organizing every-player (collage-included) into good, ok, or bad player. Then, there is not much you can do when the draft come unless you know the coach of your favorite team and tell him who to pick, like in second grade, when I was always picked last. Luckily, if you're into gambling or cash, during the draft, make a list of who is drafted to each team, or go online to see. Then after, see who matched well with the team; remeber that it is not only how good the player is, but how well the team is to contribute to that player's position. You can then put the list on fantasy-football or any other system that offers the same thing in order on who is best. This was your all ready to go and know excatly who to choose to assure your victories. This proccess may take a while, but it will definately be worth it in the end.

If your not in to gambling or fun online, a great way to keep yourself occuipied before the draft and pre-season is to go buy some football cards and organize them. Football cards can be very valuble in the future and if you know who is going to be good , using the proccess before, you can make huge profits. Trust me, I am a football-baseball-and many more card collector and I check my card on beckett online or buy price-guide book to see their worth, and when I use those tactics I make big! This is a way to look at the players and their statistics before the season to let you have time to get to know them!

Don't like card-collecting, go out and buy some-jerseys! These also make big profits, but it is not so much profits when talking about this category! Usually it is fun to wear them during football games and have all kinds. It makes you feel more participated and more spirited like your actually in the game. Go get some new-fresh jersey's to keep yourself stain-free and hot.(i guess)

Don't get me wrong, there are many other way you can prepare yourself, but I am just here to mention the ones not thought about the most. And we all know how misrable it is to sit around doing nothing, so lets start doing something to make this football season the best! Let's make new history!

Super Bowl XLII: Three Jets Revel in Super Scene

Reuben Lehrhaupt — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 23:54:13 -0500

It's called Radio Row. It was created by the NFL in the 90s when sports talk radio mushroomed in every major league city around the country and all those shows needed space at the Super Bowl venue. So their tables and equipment and banners were placed in a row in some long, narrow area of the media center at each Super Bowl venue.

In Phoenix for SBXLII, Radio Row has become Radio Square, and right in the middle of it all is NFL Network, not a radio concern but the league's own TV outfit. And the scene got a little louder and wilder Friday as all the shows were wrapping up their week of broadcasting before Sunday's Giants-Patriots game and players of all stripes were coming and going from the quadrangle.

It was into this maelstrom that I thought I had lost three Jets offensive players who came in for the big day. First I saw Jerricho Cotchery making his way down the long escalators of the Phoenix Convention Center to the media center. Already inside near the WFAN setup was Leon Washington. And D'Brickashaw Ferguson was on his way.

Cotchery and Washington were elusive as always in quickly entering the scrum and being lost to my sight. And I was having trouble seeing if Brick was around and had started making his rounds. But I found Ferguson over by The Sporting News table, just off the top right corner of the NFL Network fencing, and in short order Leon and J-Co came back into view. Here's a report on all three Jets two days before this year's Big Dance.

Washington: 'Kind of a Sick Feeling'

Leon, the Jets' team MVP, was beaming after finishing up an interview with a station from his home state of Florida. He also went to Miami and SB XLI last year. Despite the happy demeanor, his first words expressed some mental distress at what's missing from this game.

"When you get down here, it's kind of a sick feeling because you'd rather actually be in the game," the running back/kick returner said. "I told Jerricho earlier that it would be really nice if we could actually be in this game. That's my intention as a professional with the New York Jets, to work hard toward that goal to get to the Super Bowl.

"It's not an option. As an NFL player, you dream of watching guys like Joe Montana and Jerry Rice, Edgar Bennett and LeRoy Butler with the Green Bay Packers, and before I got to the league, for me, watching the Patriots for a little bit. That's your goal. You don't want to be the guy that's coming in and enjoying the festivities. You want to be the guy playing in it."

If you wonder about Bennett and Butler in Leon's dreams, that's because those two, along with a slew of other NFL names, come from Washington's home town of Jacksonville. And he knows his history.

"Bob Hayes, he was from my side of town, the east side of Jacksonville. He's the first guy to win a gold medal in the Olympics and a Super Bowl," he said. "Shawn Jefferson, LeRoy Butler, Edgar Bennett, Brian Dawkins, Lito Sheppard, Laveranues Coles, myself—and there are so many guys I'm not even mentioning."

Washington is spending time back in that town to relax, chill with his young son and enjoy a little down time. But he agreed that there might be just a little more pressure on him to step up now that he's the Most Valuable Player on the Green & White. And he's ready for the role.

"The main thing in the off-season is you don't want to get in trouble, for one, and you don't want to get out of shape. You want to work out a couple of times a week, get on the treadmill, lift weights, so you come in for the OTAs and the spring practices and you're in pretty good shape. You have to be in shape to get in shape—that's the way it is."

Ferguson: 'This Is All Preparation'

D'Brickashaw is also attending his second Super Bowl, and he seems to enjoy the hoopla, in part because it helps him talk on Radio Row to a wide audience about the causes that he cares about.

"It's innate," Brick said of his community-minded streak. "You grow up, play, go away to college, then you come back to basically the same area you grew up in, and I'm just trying to do the things I do. We have the D'Brickashaw Ferguson Foundation through which we give out scholarships and try to aid the communities I knew about growing up.

"It's not good enough that you do well. You want to see everybody do well. So you've got to touch and help as many people as you can and do what is necessary."

And for the offensive tackle, that includes not only helping kids to "eat right and move more," one of his pet programs, but to help his teammates do well enough to come to a Super Bowl venue not as part of the show before the game but part of the show that is the game.

"I just feel like this is all preparation," Brick said amid the din from hundreds of people speaking at once into microphones. "One day I'm going to be where I need to be, and this is just good practice."

"We are a great team," he said of his Jets teammates. "Whether we do poorly or well during the season, we can always chalk it up as experience. That's something you can't buy."

And who does he throw his weight behind in this game?

"I always feel I like to see New York represented," said the Long Islander, "so I'm rooting for the Giants."

Cotchery: 'I Didn't Expect It to Be Like This'

Jerricho feels the same way, and he's had to state it more than a few times on his whirlwind around Radio Rectangle.

"I've lost count," the wide receiver said of how many shows he's dropped in on this morning. The count was seven, with two more and possibly YES-TV to come.

"And the most common question is who am I pulling for," Cotchery said. "They know it's a tough deal right there, Patriots and Giants—it's come up in every interview.

"Usually, we're rooting for the team that's in our conference, and the Patriots are in our conference and our division. But I still can't root for them. That's something I can't do. And I think New York fans want to see a championship back in their state."

Cotchery would also like to bring a Vince Lombardi Trophy back to the New York/New Jersey area for his Jets, which is why he said he wanted to parachute into the middle of this media melee today.

"I didn't expect it to be like this. There's a lot going on, but it's fun for me," he said, looking around. "I made up my mind last year that either as a player or as a fan, I'm going out there, I'm going to get a feel for the atmosphere."

What does the dry and—this week, at least—brisk Southwest weather do for Cotchery's demeanor?

"It's going to be pretty motivating for me this off-season," he said. "It adds a lot to it. I would encourage any guys not in the playoffs or who didn't make it to the Super Bowl to come out here and experience this atmosphere. I think it would add a lot to your motivation, to whatever you're doing to get yourself ready for the next year."

Senior Bowl: Erik Ainge, Andre Caldwell Star Late in South Win

Reuben Lehrhaupt — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 18:40:24 -0500

Erik Ainge wasn’t even on the Senior Bowl roster a couple of weeks ago, but that didn’t prevent the Tennessee QB from leading the South to a dramatic come-from-behind, last-second win Saturday evening.

Ainge, who owned the hot hand late, handed off to Florida WR Andre Caldwell with two seconds on the clock and the former Gators star bulled his way into the end zone to tie the contest at 16-16. Brandon Coutu kicked the extra point to give the South a 17-16 victory.

The final seconds belonged to the Southeastern Conference as a Vol moved his club down the field to get in position for a win, a Gator surged ahead for the tie, and a Bulldog won it with the chippy.

But just moments before the fantastic finish, it appeared the North had everything locked up.

Holding a 16-10 lead, North coach Lane Kiffin of the Raiders opted to go for it on 4th-and-1 from the South 14. Cal RB Justin Forsett was stopped for no gain, though, leaving a window open for Ainge. He completed six passes, including an 18-yarder to on fourth-and-10 from the South's 14, as his team marched 86 yards in 2:48.

"It's fun to end your college career like that," said Ainge, who was 13-of-21 for 159 yards in the second half. "I'll remember handing the ball to a Gator to win for the rest of my life."

The score was preceded by Ainge’s three consecutive incompletions from the two. That led Mike Martz—occasionally critiqued for being too pass-happy—to go to the ground.

"On that last play, you have a chance to call anything because it's the last play," said South coach Mike Nolan of the 49ers, "whereas the ones prior, he just had to keep it alive and not use up all the clock. A play like that, you call it the first or second play and we never get another play off. It was a great call and it worked."

Ainge took advantage of a late opportunity to play in the game. Louisville QB Brian Brohm withdrew due to an ankle injury and Ainge topped off a good week with a nice showing at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.

Michigan QB Chad Henne, who was named the North’s Offensive MVP and was praised for his practice performances, had staked the North to a 16-7 third-quarter lead behind his two TD passes.

"They just did a great job on the last drive," Henne said. "Erik made some great throws and the receivers made some great plays. Everybody played well. It's an all-star game, so everybody has something to be proud about."

Ainge was named South Offensive MVP while LSU linebacker Ali Highsmith (four tackles) was South Defensive MVP.

DL Sedrick Ellis remained a force in live action, registering a sack and a safety. Ellis was the North’s defensive MVP while Notre Dame DT Trevor Laws (six tackles, one sack and one fumble recovery) was named the Senior Bowl’s Most Outstanding Lineman.

Despite Ainge’s heroics, South RB Matt Forte of Tulane earned overall MVP honors. His 59 rush yards were a game high and he also had 38 yards on four receptions.

When Will the New York Jets Win?

Reuben Lehrhaupt — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 12:25:38 -0500

You all know that the New York Jets stink so much they can't get the ball off their chests, but the real question for Jets fans is:

Should I stay with the Jets?

The answer is definitely NO!

The Jets are expected to go to the Super Bowl in 40 years, and I urge you to choose a different team quick or else you will be stuck with the Jets for life.

The way I see it is that global warming will kill us all before the Jets will get to the playoffs.

It all relies on Tom Brady and the other good players; when they leave the Jets don't have as much competition, but still will suck!

New York will be so far behind every season they will get all the good draft picks and be on the top in an estimated 40 years. The whole team relies on Laveranues Coles! Whether Kellen Clemens should play is not is not what Jets fans need to worry about; they should worry about how long is Coles is going to stay with the Jets.

Coles deserves much more credit because he has to work with the Jets—he is underpaid and should leave as soon as his contract is up!

The whole team stinks except for Coles. Seriously, Jets fans hated their own quarterback and cheered Chad Pennington off the field when his leg was hurt. Clemens came in for a little but all that proved was his worthlessness.

When Pennington came back in with a brace on his leg, he did better with a brace on his leg and he also did better with a broken shoulder!

You know what we should do; we should get back Vinny Testeverde and run over the player's feet with 10 ton trucks!

There is nothing that can make the Jets worse. I'm sorry for Coles and hope that he gets out of hell, oops I mean the Jets organization.

I mean if you ask who anyone on the street who Pennington is no one will know. They should change the team's name to [untitled]. That would be an awesome name!

If you haven’t suspected yet, I am a Jets fan and I am sorry I ever rooted for them, but now I'm stuck with them.

I seriously think they need help though! Feel free to feel sorry for me. Don't worry Jets fans, maybe just maybe they will pull through a miracle bigger than the big bang or the story of Channukah! Thank you Jesus, I mean Viewers!

Tiki Ticked?: Barber Mulls Missed Super Bowl

Reuben Lehrhaupt — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 07:45:01 -0500

Everyone knows the Patriots and Giants are going to the Super Bowl.

Did anyone even question if Tiki Barber was mad?

A couple of months before the season, Barber announced his retirement from the NFL. Many people said that Barber still had years left, but nevertheless said goodbye to Barber and knocked him off the chart.

Oddly enough, the year he reitred, the New York Giants go to the Super Bowl. This raises the question: is Tiki mad?

Barber was one of the best running backs in the NFL and would have liked to be in this year's Super Bowl, assuming the Giants would have still played him. Would Barber have helped the Giants Win?

His career ended with an average of 5.1 yards per carry at the end of 2006, while Ahmad Bradshaw ended this season at 6.1 ypc and Brandon Jacobs at 4.4 ypc. Considering Jacobs' and Bradshaw's averages had grown, the Giants would probably have been better with Tiki!

Would that have had an effect in the Giants' position? You can't really tell, but I would assume it wouldn't have.

This past weekend, I went to Tiki's house and asked him some questions.

I asked, "Tiki, are you frustrated, and do you regret retiring?"

"I am a little bit disappointed, but always happy for my Giants," Barber responded.

"Who are you rooting for?"

"Of course the Giants. I would never root for the Patriots, even though I respect them," Barber said.

"Do you think the Giants are better without you?"

"There is no way I could answer that. The only thing I could say is, I am glad their hard work payed off."

I struggled so much to get these answers, but it payed off in the end. Truthfully, we can't tell if Barber is really ticked, but we do know he is a Giants fan all the way!

Hopefully, we will see him at the game cheering them on, but for now, all we can say is, Barber doesn't totally regret his retirement.

Barber does still hope he will be in the Hall of Fame someday.