Some things and Other things-Our weekly (sometimes jaded and comical) look at news from the world of football-

By Dr. Bill Chachkes-Executive Editor-Football Reporters Online

Some interesting happenings this week from around the football world….


Sunday Night’s Pro Bowl, the NFL’s version of an All-star game was the most watched in 14 years….Really? Not that I wasn’t one of those watching at least part of it, but we all know the players were only playing at half speed…Maybe they should bring back the skills competition, or how about a rookie game? Packers Linebacker Clay Matthews pre game ritual is to douse his long (Blonde) mane in ice water just before he hits the field….nice, what if it freezes? Then he’s really the Iceman…..The NFL Management team, and reps from the NFLPA are finally meeting on Saturday down in Dallas, both to begin talks and to “accelerate” the pace of negotiations…what took you so long Guys? An NFLPA rep told me in E-mail this morning he expects it to be the busiest week in some time….and that’s the best news we have heard in some time…From New England Sports networks’ the Daily Blend: Tom Brady is among the most hated players in the NFL. Guess Pats fans are still in shock that another team from New York beat them in the post season….Speaking of that team from NY wearing Green & White…Rex Ryan was spotted In Hawaii at the Pro Bowl this past weekend without his sweater vest , but wearing a white Jets polo shirt and some Dog tags….Last time I checked he had no military service credit in his background…..Unless they are his Dad’s, or they filming a remake of my favorite movie from1970, Kelly’s Heroes….Maybe Rex is Playing (channeling) Carroll O’Connor’s General Colt character, Or is he Donald Sutherland’s “ODDBALl?”….I want to know who on the Jets Coaching staff is Playing Clint Eastwood’s Part….Hopefully not the recently “dismissed” Sal Alosi…..Today here in NY, they are getting ready to ship 7,000 Pizzas to the Afgan front thanks to UNO Grill…Beats mess hall food, even with the improvements in Army Food…”MRE’s Anyone?I donlt ever remember adding water to Pizza....As I write this, the Super Bowl Media day is going on. Rest assured Packers QB Aaron Rodgers has bought plenty of warm coats since we asked him that 5 Years ago at his NFL Draft Presser….Lots of players are concerned about the pace of the talks between the players and the owners…from Jets DB Antonio Cromartie to Steelers WR Hines Ward…..Speaking of the city of Dallas, that emporium of grilled meat products, we hear there are almost as many people worried about how much they will pay to park their cars for the game as they are about finding “suitable Gentleman’s Adult entertainment….” I remember the 12 months I spent stationed at Ft. Hood down near Waco, no shortage of available “dates” there, Girls just love men in uniforms…Speaking of the Army, If the Pentagon & The department of the Army follow suit like they did with Lt. Caleb Campbell, Lt. Ali Villineuva may make it back to Play Pro Football by 2013…now who wants to figure out what to do with a 6’ 10” Tight End….and this week we’ll close with the “Youngest Reporter” at the Super Bowl, 11 year old Braden Madden, of Sachse Texas is part of the credentialed media this week,..interviewing players and filing stories for the “Weekly Reader” which is part of the Reader Digest family....Good for him,…but I had to wait until I was 29 to get a SB credential,….does he have his FWAA Card yet??We'll cut him a break because he's 11, but we're going to send him a few "real" questions to ask.....

Rex Better Be Ready To Hit The Mark

Rex Better Be Ready To Hit The Mark
(Photo Credit Sanchez at his NFL draft Presser-By Dr. Bill Chachkes for FRO)
by TJ Rosenthal-NY Jets Reporter-Football Reporters Online

The New York Jets are Mark Sanchez’s team. Now AND going forward. Coach Rex Ryan made that clear during a press conference this week. Sanchez is just in his second year after having played only one season at USC before become a top ten selection for the Jets in 2009. Yet should the coach get “that feeling” again, it may be the right time to move to Mark Brunell for a flash. If only to see whether the Jets backup quarterback can restore order to a unit that despite all of their weapons, turns the ball over too much, can’t score points, and has begun to lose faith in itself.

Sanchez, the Jets franchise quarterback has played very well and very clutch at times over his almost two year career. Thrust into action from the start of his rookie year, he recovered from a personal midseason swoon to lead the team to an AFC Championship appearance, after guiding the club to two impressive road playoff wins.

This year he has guided four late road comeback wins, and thrown for over 300 yards in games for the first time as a pro. Yet there have been very rocky moments for Sanchez along the way, especially lately. Instances filled with indecision,  interceptions, and a loss of confidence. 

Call it immaturity call it emotional disposition, the Jets stand at a crossroads NOW. This week. They were 9-2 and to themselves and many others, a Super Bowl contender.

They are now 9-4, still wondering how they lost 45-3 in Foxboro, and seen as a fraud to those same experts who now frame those last minute comebacks as luck, rather than ability driven. 

Aside from their league leading nine win start, Sanchez and the offense for much of the year have been ineffective. None more than over the past two weeks, where the club has failed to score a TD. His early season 11TD’s to zero interceptions ratio have been replaced by a myriad of picks without the TD’s to balance it. Two early mistakes last week by the QB led to ten Miami points. The only points the Fish scored, and needed in order to beat the Jets 10-6.

Rex Ryan mentioned after the game that he “considered benching Sanchez,” but decided against it after coming to terms with the notion that the scoring problems were not all Sanchez’s fault. Ryan was correct. There was plenty of blame to go around. The receivers were dropping passes. The line, missing key piece Damien Woody for much of the afternoon pass protected poorly. Failing to spring open holes for the sagging Jets run game.Yet that notion of making a brief signal calling switch may have to come to fruition soon if things worsen early.

Ryan has to be on HIS game Sunday in Pittsburgh. The Jets need a change of energy. If Sanchez plods along, making poor throws, scary choices, and tossing interceptions that lead to say, a 17-0 deficit, there would be nothing wrong with changing it up for a drive, a quarter, or a game with Brunell. 

The Jets can’t afford to sit back and become witnesses to their own collapse. Many Jets fans are not huge Mark Brunell fans at this point in his long career. His play was erratic during the Summer, the most recent look anyone has had of his current skill set.. He is certainly not the top ten NFL quarterback he was when the Jets faced him in the AFC divisional round back in 1999. A time when Brunell led the Jacksonville Jaguars to places they’ve not returned to since. Nonetheless, the once fleet footed Brunell has seen it all, and may provide a calming presence to what has become a jittery huddle. The veteran backup’s viewpoint from the sideline might also provide an example of how to spread the ball around and who to spread it around to. 

In last week’s loss, one drive might have been enough to win that game. It might be enough as well in Pittsburgh.

The Steelers and their 27th ranked red zone offense are struggling to find the end zone too, and stand only slightly better as of late than the Jets 30th ranked red zone offense. 

What Ryan and the Jets CAN’T do is fear change or damaging the young Sanchez’s view of himself. The luxury of a nice cushion is eroding quickly. The Jets are only two games up on a playoff berth with three games left. The hard charging Colts, Chargers and Dolphins, all at 7-6, are hanging around praying for more disasters from Gang Green. 

Ryan’s fear that Sanchez will lose confidence in himself going forward is NOT the reason to sit on the idea of short term relief with Brunell anymore. If Sanchez’s lack of trust in himself IS the cause for more shoddy play that is burying the team in Pittsburgh, Ryan has to go to the bullpen for a few innings. The scoring drought has NOT been all Sanchez’s fault, but a lack of field leadership in part, has been. That’s the job of a quarterback. To exude confidence. Through thick and thin. A bad emotional and physical stretch by Sanchez against the Steelers, the NFL’s best defense, may finally force Ryan’s hand. Sometimes you just need a spark.

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FOR THE JETS AND PATS, THE HATRED RUNS DEEP by TJ Rosenthal For Football Reporters Online

FOR THE JETS AND PATS, THE HATRED RUNS DEEP
by TJ Rosenthal For Football Reporters Online

 Rex Ryan didn't come here to kiss Bill Belicheck's rings. Respect is one thing, laying down is another. Tom Brady, after hearing Ryan's comment that the Jets will treat Sunday's game like a Super Bowl, answered "the Super Bowl..that's played in February." It's Jets Patriots time again. One of the NFL's most heated rivalries returns to center stage as the battle for sole possession of 1st in the AFC East comes to the Meadowlands in September.

To understand the nature of the rivaly let's take a look back: The intensity of Jets Pats, dating back to the AFL days, where both franchises came from, became vitriolic after legendary coach Bill Parcells left the Super Bowl Patriots in 1996. Wanting total control and not getting it from Pats owner Robert Kraft, then Jet owner Leon Hess offered it to Parcells. With it the  hapless 4-28 Rich Kotite era, ended. "I'm 80 years old, I want results now, " was the famous line Hess regarding the Parcells coup.

The Patriots however, were furious about the nature of Parcells' departure. Parcells, had he chosen to step down, was not contractually allowed to coach anywhere else. To circumvent this,  the Jets hired then Pats defensive coordinator Belicheck as coach and Parcells was hired in an "advisory role." This charade continued only brielfy until commissioner Paul Tagliabue helped broker a deal which led to New England obtaining a 1st round pick for their troubles in exchange for Parcells being left free to coach.  

Parcells turned the Jets around, taking them to the AFC championship game in 1999, only three years removed from his arrival.  When he stepped down that offseason to move into the front office and give the head job to Belicheck , the story took another turn. Belicheck resigned during the press conference, at the podium. This came as both a shock and an embarrassment to fans, Parcells and the Jets organization. The reason being that for Belicheck, he didn't want Parcells natural hunger for a potential return to coaching hanging over him. 

Belicheck then reunited with Kraft and the Pats. Now it was the Jet brass and faithful who were left feeling jilted. During this time , his second head coaching stint (Belicheck coached Cleveland in the early 90's), he has become a legend, winning four Super Bowls. Recently however, and thanks of course to the Jets, his resume has become controversial. 

Eric Mangini,  a former top assistant to Belicheck, left New England in 2006, to take the Jet job after Herm Edwards went to Kansas City. "Mangenius," (his nickname after taking  the Jets to a 10-6 season in his first year) was locked out of the Foxboro facilities immediately after taking the Jets job: Anywhere but the Jets, the Pats must have thought to themselves. Then Mangini went on to claim after the 2007 opener, a blowout loss at home to the Pats, that Belicheck and the Pats were using cameras to steal signals from the opposing sidelines. In what has come to be known as "Spy Gate", the Pats were fined 250,000 and forfeited their 1st round pick in 2008 by comissioner Roger Goodell. the Spy Gate incident has only furthered the hatred between these two clubs.

Fast forward to this week:

The 2009 Jets, fresh off of an inspiring 24-7 win at Houston in the opener, have come to already mirror the cocky tough swagger of their rookie coach Rex Ryan. Fast aggressive defensive schemes coupled with quick decision making by rookie QB Mark Sanchez has the Jets excited and confident about the future.

 The Pats, also coming off of a win, albeit a miraculous one that saw them erase a 2 TD deficit in the closing minutes against the Bills on Monday night, come to the Meadowlands looking to regain their championship form. Brady's throws against Buffalo were inaccurate for most of the night. His mobility is in question. The Pats defense formerly comprised of cerebral stars like Mike Vrabel and Ted Bruschi, ball hawking CB Asanti Samuel, the vicious hitting FS Rodney Harrison, and all pro pass rusher Richard Seymour, are all gone. Add 2nd year rising star LB Jerrrod Mayo to the list after an injury that will keep him out 6-8 weeks, and you here's what you have: A perenially tough defense coached  by a defensive mastermind,  with now unproven talent. A far cry from the gelled disciplined crew that hoisted four Vince Lombardi trophies in the air this decade.

So as both teams, with their "Hatfields and the McCoy's" history, march through the tunnel on Sunday, here will be the three keys to victory.

1-Pressure: Who will win the battle of pressure? There will be tons on Sunday coming from both sides. Expect the Pats to offset the Jets and Ryan's blitz packages with dump offs to RB Kevin Faulk and slants to Wes Welker. 

Expect the Jets to do the same with screens to  speedy RB Leon Washington and slants to Chansi Stuckey (64 yds 1 TD against Houston) . In addition, the Jets will look to highlight the loss of Mayo by using TE Dustin Keller (4-94 yards against Houston) in the middle of the field. The team that handles pressure better and can get to the opposing teams' QB will of course have the edge.

2-Ryan vs Belicheck. We've all heard the bravado  coming from the mouth of rookie head coach Rex Ryan. It's rubbed off on the team already. The Jets have  a swagger and a personality not seen here in a decade. How that translates into sound game planning for the Pats is another story. Ryan will be tested early in the game and often. Few make better halftime adjustments than Belicheck as well. The Pats HC is one of the best game day coaches of all time. Ryan doesn't have to match him, but he HAS to live up to his words and maintain the aggression he talks about.

3-Sanchez vs Brady. The rookie with the Broadway Joe intangibles: The looks, the flair, the leadership, the skills. This an assessment of the "San-chize" after just one NFL game under his belt. 

The future hall of famer Brady with his super model wife Gisele and the 4 Super Bowl rings. The matchup can't get anymore more Hollywood than this. As with Ryan,  Sanchez doesn't have to outplay Brady but he has to show that he belongs on the same field as him.

 If it's tied late, the edge will go to the experience and late game abilities of Brady. Ryan has to devise schemes that force Brady to throw on the run, where the rust and effects of coming off of a knee surgery could give the Jet secondary some chances to make some big game changing  plays.

Raiders Owner Al Davis Treating Head Coach Lane Kiffin Like Turd

Ok. You read the title and I'm standing by it. Oakland Raiders Manager of The General Partner Al Davis is reportedly treating his still-newly-hired Head Coach Lane Kiffin like a turd. It's a hard statement but look at the reports.

Apparently this all started because Kiffin wanted to replace Raiders Defensive Coordinator Rex Ryan, who's leaky run defenses have cost the Silver and Black chances to win close games in 2007. But Lane Kiffin's actions were reportedly blocked by Davis himself. When Kiffin complained to Davis, the owner asked him to resign; he did not and for good reason: Kiffin would lose the salary he's due of $2 million annual for the rest of his contract.

More to come on this mess.

Regardless of the real truth, it's clear the Raiders are once again surrounded by soap-opera drama on the scale of a daytime show.