It’s been nearly ten days since Superstorm Sandy devastated the Tri-State area, killing more than 100 people and leaving more than 8 million homes and businesses without power. Many people in Staten Island, New Jersey and Long Island are still without power and now, like a horrifying scene out of a science fiction movie, another storm, Nor’eastern Athena (I guess we are naming these now?), is bringing heavy wet snow, blustery winds, freezing temps and sheets of ice to the already reeling region.

Mark Sanchez visited NJ with first responders.

The NFL and NFLPA  generously donated $1 million dollars to the American Red Cross for Sandy relief in the days following the storm, and many teams, their owners and even some players have followed suit.

Zygi Wolf, owner of the Minnesota Vikings (and a New Jersey native), donated $100,000 to the relief efforts, Green Bay Packers cornerback Charles Woodson donated $100,000 of his own money to assist families in the region and Indianapolis Colts Owner Jim Irsay pledged to match online donations up to $1 per fan at last Sunday’s Colts game against the Miami Dolphins (the donation was expected to exceed $65,000).

On Tuesday, the New York Giants, who were directly impacted by the storm, donated $500,000 to storm relief charities in addition to donating food and money for victims through an annual food drive at MetLife Stadium before Sunday’s game. Several Giants players volunteered time to distribute food in New Jersey while others worked at the New Jersey Food bank separating food items and making sandwiches for relief workers. Quarterback Eli Manning also lent a hand, assisting the American Red Cross in its efforts on Staten Island.

Today, the Miami Dolphins and their owner Stephen Ross donated $500,000 to the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York to support Hurricane Sandy relief efforts (Ross is chairman of Related Companies, a real estate company in New York City). The team also announced that they will donate net proceeds from the sale of tickets for Sunday’s game against the Tennessee Titans to the American Red Cross.

Many other franchises and individual athletes have done their part to help those in need, including the New York Yankees, New York Mets, and the Baltimore Orioles.

But what about the Jets?

Good question.

» Continue reading “Hey New York Jets, Where’s the Sandy Relief?”

As most of you now know, I do a weekly Spreecast on Tuesday evenings called “The Blue and Green Review,” with Fansided’s Giants blogger, Joe Tufaro.

Joe and I kicked off the 2012 NFL season with our first official show this past Tuesday, live from the Spreecast studios in NYC.  Special guests included John and Mike Trupiano, the creators of Tailgate 32, The Ultimate Footbal Fan Roadtrip, and Brad Andrews from Fansided’s Bills site, BuffalowDown. Brad and I talked Jets-Bills, highlighted a few key match-ups and made predictions for the game.

You can view a replay of this week’s episode of “The Green and Blue Review” here.

You can follow Joe on Twitter, @tufdan, or view his work on Fansided at GMENHQ. You can follow Brad on Twitter @BuffaLowDown, and view his work on Fansided at BuffalowDown.

The first episode of Tailgate 32′s web series is now up on youtube.

As previously mentioned, I will be a part of a weekly Spreecast talking all things Giants and Jets football called “The Blue and Green Review.” The show airs Tuesday nights at 7 pm.

This week’s episode reviewed  the first week of preseason football and previewed the annual Giants-Jets preseason showdown, featuring guest appearances from Aerys Sports’ own Giants writer, Kelsey O’Donnell, and FanSided Jets’ blogger and editor, Alan Schechter.

You can watch a replay of this week’s Spreecast here.

Every Tuesday night at 7 PM during the football season, I will be hosting a Spreecast show called “The Blue and Green Review” with my friend Joe Tufaro. The show will cover BOTH of the New York football teams.

Joe writes for GmenHQ, the Giants blog on Fansided, and also regularly contributes to Aerys Offsides.

Joe and I, along with special guests each week, as we recap and preview each game, and discuss all the hottest topics in New York sports.

Our first show debuted on Tuesday. You can view it on Spreecast here.

The girl from the Giants parade is back. And better (?) than ever.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=2ybRADH0oEQ

Honestly, I’m speechless.

*Credit to @NickSpano and @FloppingOut for sharing this video.

After issuing a statement congratulating the New York Giants on their Super Bowl win, Woody Johnson and the New York Jets have brought the brotherly love (?) to the next level by taking out a full page ad in today’s edition of the New York Daily News.

The ad acknowledges the Giants, the Mara and Tisch Families, Tom Coughlin and Jerry Reese on their successful season, and reads :

“You played with passion and toughness, capturing a hard-earned and well-deserved championship.”

Darren Rovell, he of controversial and highly offensive tweets, felt the move was in poor taste, tweeting, “I understand the idea of sportsmanship, but most Jets fans don’t want to see the team publicly acknowledging the Giants win.”

Others have expressed their feeling that the move is over the top and a bitter reminder of the Jets “failed” season.

Me? I like it.

The rivalry between these two New York teams is long-standing and, depending on who you ask, bitter and contentious. But the fact remains that we share a city and a stadium and there is a time and place to step aside and give due respect. I would rather see these two teams (and their fans) celebrate one another’s success than argue, name-call and heckle.

I feel this ad sets the “tone” (pun intended) for how we should all strive to interact. Sports rivalries are a fun and undeniable reality, but it doesn’t hurt to also be a “good sport” and show class.

I recognize that my opinions differ from others and I would love hear what you think about the Jets move and the ad. Weigh in via the poll below.

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This video needs no introduction.

*Facepalm*

I know. It stinks.

And so it begins.

Fans and analysts alike are calling the forthcoming Giants-Patriots Super Bowl a Jets fans ” worst nightmare.” In fact, I have seen several Jets fans vow that they will not watch the Super Bowl and that is an understandable reaction. But I think it’s time that we agree that of all the horrible things that could happen in the world, a Patriots-Giants Super Bowl, while seemingly insufferable and slightly annoying, is nowhere near the “nightmare” it’s being billed as.

I don’t want to get to soapbox-y, but here I go : I think this whole thing is silly.

Yes, I am a Jets fan, but I am also a football fan. And I will watch the Super Bowl and I will likely pick a team to root for because that makes it more fun and exciting for me. Many of my dear, dear friends are Giants fans and it’s pretty likely I will watch the game with them and inevitably celebrate their victory or defeat, whatever the case may be. Does this lessen my commitment to a team that I love? I don’t believe so, but to each his own.

Moreover, it’s football. There are real “nightmares” in the world and not a single one of them has anything to do with football. They involve real problems like hunger, sickness, disease, natural disasters, the list of real problems goes on.

Am I upset that the team I follow fell short this season? Yes.

Am I upset that I have had to spend the last 3 weeks listening to the team get roasted by the local and national media? Yes. And I am even more upset that I have had it be fueled by members of the team itself.

Am I upset that I had to watch the Patriots earn another trip to the Super Bowl off of a botched field goal attempt? Hell yes.

But I will still watch.

I make jokes about disliking the Patriots because I am a Jets fan and it’s fun, but I respect the team and the players. As for the Giants, I understand that there is a tenuous rivalry between these two teams over who is the big or little brother, but I, for one, have never really understood why, at the very least, we couldn’t, in some way, support the other team that shares our stadium, and our city, especially after we “have no horses in the race.”

But at the end of the day, it’s just a game that is intended to entertain the masses and give life more enjoyment. And that is how I think of it. And it makes life a lot easier. Please understand that I won’t tell you how to be a fan. I hope you will do the same for me.

Now, to be fair, it does seem like the Giants are rather enjoying poking fun of their Big Apple rivals, and they took to their official Twitter account to talk a little smack.

This, from the Giants official Twitter last night:

I guess you can interpret it as you want. The folks at Pro Football Talk thought it was a slap in the Jets face.

I’ll just let them have this moment and hope that one day (soon), we get ours.

***********

Rex Ryan and Mike Tannenbaum held a conference call with season ticket holders on Friday. Ryan and Tannenbaum addressed most of the major bullet points from the still-young off-season, including new offensive coordinator Tony Sparano, quarterback Mark Sanchez, and a reduced cost in ticket prices. The consensus is that they didn’t say much that hasn’t already been said.

However, after concluding the conference call, Ryan made an appearance on WFAN radio with Mike Francesa to discuss all the hot topics.

Francesa has always been very critical of this Jets team, so much so that it’s a rare occurrence that a member of the Jets organization is even on his show. Francesa was dying to take cheap shots and Rex didn’t give him the opportunity. It was an excellent interview from Rex and, after listening to him talk for several seasons, there seemed to be a slightly different tone to his words.

One of the most interesting part of the interview? Rex admitting that his Super Bowl predictions may have hurt the team.

(The first step in recovery is admitting you have a problem).

You can listen to Ryan’s complete interview on the WFAN website here.

Late last week, the Jets and Todd Haley came to a mutual decision that  he will not be joining the team. However, according to Jenny Vrentas, the Jets would like to get  someone in a passing-game coordinator type role.

File this under for what it’s worth : Adam Schefter reported vis his Twitter on Sunday morning that the Arizona Cardinals, along with the Jets, Dolphins and Redskins, are “expected” to be interested in Peyton Manning. This is about as vague as anything you will see but I just thought it was worth sharing, in case you missed it.

Lastly, guard Brandon Moore has been named to the 2012 Pro Bowl roster, as of this morning.

Typical New York Media at it's finest.

The Battle of New York technically begins tomorrow at 1:00 pm at MetLife Stadium, though I would argue it has been on-going. Both sides have taken plenty of verbal shots at one another but, in the words of Tom Coughlin, “talk is cheap.” It all comes down to what happens on the field.

Hopefully you’ve had the opportunity to check out my Q&A with Giants blogger and fan Joe Tufaro, which previewed the game from both a Jets and Giants perspective.

Here is how the two teams match-up on paper, which as you know, means mostly nothing. Anything can happen on any given Sunday.

Jets Offense vs. Giants Defense

(All Rankings are from Football Outsiders)

Jets Offense – 16th passing, 21st rushing; 18th overall

Giants Defense – 25th vs. the pass, 18th vs. the run; 22nd overall

VIP (Very-Important Note) :  Sure, the Jets want to run the ball but they have to at least try to take advantage of the Giants porous secondary. According to Rich Cimini, Buress and Holmes have put in overtime this week, comparing notes and studying film. Look for a big game from one (or both) of them.

Key Match-Up: Jets Offensive Line vs. Giants Defensive Line (More specifically, Wayne Hunter vs. Justin Tuck).

*I offered my insight  on the Jets Offense vs. the Giants Defense in a guest post for Turn on the Jets.com (@TurnontheJets). You can check out the posts by visiting the links below.

Jets Rushing Offense vs. Giants Rushing Defense

Jets Passing Offense vs. Giants Passing Defense

Jets Defense vs. Giants Offense 

Jets Defense – 2nd vs. pass, 5th vs. rush, 3rd overall.

Giants Offense – 5th passing, 18th rushing, 8th overall.

VIP : The Jets continue to struggle against receivers in the slot and the tight end. Could be interesting to see how Giants try to exploit this weakness, especially considering both TE Jake Ballard and WR Mario Manningham are not expected to play.

Still, keep your eye out for TE Travis Beckhum, who will be in for Ballard.

Match-Up to Watch: After a week full of smack talk, it has to be the Jets CB vs. Giants WRs.

Cool Bullet Points That Could Mean a Lot, a Little or Absolutely Nothing

• Shonn Greene is averaging 96 rushing yards in his last three games.
• The Giants are allowing opposing running back’s 4.5 yards per carry, 10th highest in the NFL.
• In this past 4 games, Sanchez has thrown for less than 200 yards and 20 completions, though he does have 9 touchdowns in that period.
• The Giants need to stay out of 3rd & long. Opponents are just 2-30 converting 3rd & 8+ when the Jets play base defense.
• Opponents are only completing 21% of their passes of 20+ yards against the Jets secondary. This is key, given that Eli has completed a league-high 36 passes on throws 21+ yards.
• The Giants are 2nd in the league in dropped passes.

But the more I looked at some of the finer points, the better I feel about my prediction that the Jets win, 27-24.

Case in point : Instead of allowing the media to continue to dwell on the Jets disappointing performance in Philly, the focus was immediately shifted onto the Jets-Giants showdown thanks to a few soundbytes about big and little brothers.

I understand that many opinionated “analysts” and “experts” feel this hurts more than it helps, especially when the Jets have a host of issues that they no doubt recognize and know in their heart of hearts. But the players love working for Rex and that, at the heart of things, is what matters most. He has his own way of motivating his team and dealing with the media (which you and I both know must be fed) and that is pretty much that.

By lately, you mean always, right?

I appreciate your comment and I happen to agree. I have written a lot about Sanchez this season as it is a hot topic of conversation among not only Jets fans, but the national media and NFL audience. Without getting into too much detail, I think he takes entirely too much heat for every little thing that goes wrong, this past weekends loss being a perfect example. I could go into a 500-word tangent about it but if you are interested, I encourage you to read my site and check out my sell-supported thoughts on the quarterback.

Lastly, I would also like to see him take more shots down field but again, I have trouble distinguishing between offensive coordinator, game plan and quarterback when I say that. The Jets like to operate under a run-first, short passing style of offense and you can only criticize the quarterback so much for that. He needs to be put in a situation with a coordinator that plays to his strengths, challenges him to take steps forwards and knows how to get the most out of not only the quarterback but also the positions around him (receivers and offensive lineman). Sometimes that requires taking risks and making mistakes but we cannot grow by always playing it safe. Mark completed a 41-yard pass last week, which might seem unbelievable to some people because he is never asked to do it.

Lastly, I believe Sanchez also has all the intangibles. This is a generally over analyzed quality but it cannot be discounted.

If I may for just a second make one more point : What people consistently fail to recognize in their assertion that Sanchez has “taken a step back” is that a) stats tell a different story and b) the Jets offensive line has taken a step back c) he had almost an entirely new set of receivers in a shortened off-season and d) Brian Schottenheimer is his offensive coordinator. Not that we should make excuses for everything, but these are important point to consider.

Next year will be significant for the quarterback and I hope that the addition of offensive consultant Tom Moore will shake things up. But I  think the Jets ALSO need to work on improving the offensive line and the play at the skill positions if they want to get the most out of their quarterback.

» Continue reading “Jets-Giants Preview : Questions from a Giants Fan”