Monday, November 28, 2011

On NFL Week 12 and a Monday Night Shootout

Week 12 was a dud for me. Yeah, the Jets won, Plax was a hero and Sanchez had some time to throw. Even Shonn Green garnered some yards. But my fantasy team, one that has been slumping for quite a while now while still managing to win, could put together only one decent effort, that coming from our own Dustin Keller at tight end.

I had expected tough going this week as my premier running back, Fred Jackson was injured, only to be replaced by CJ Spiller in Buffalo. Other players I counted on earlier in the season, such as Miles Austin and Julio Jones, have been likewise hurt, but not badly enough to hit the injured reserve list; just badly enough to take up room on my roster.

My two remaining big guns play tonight, Drew Brees and Hakeem Nicks. But they’ll need a heap of production, even for them. No, it’s not a good day for Crabs. One thing I’ve had all season long though is luck. The one-point wins, the 3-point wins, the remarkable performances put up by the most unlikely players (or team defenses) in the least likely situations.

If tonight’s battle between the Giants and Saints unfolds the way I think it might, which is to say, a shootout between Eli and Mr. Brees, my chances become pretty good. In that kind of battle, Drew could put up 300 yards easily and 3 or 4 TD’s while Hakeem Nicks could see a 100-yard day and a touchdown. Maybe the Saints D will double on Victor Cruz. That would be a welcome change.

While I wait for all that to unfold, I can only try not to tear my hair out thinking about the ridiculously conservative approaches that teams take with their best players. Julio Jones for example has been out for weeks with a hammy but his status was changed to probable for Week 12. Julio must’ve been down by the school yard because he didn’t see even one friggin’ minute on the field. He and I got to watch as his replacement, one Harry Douglas, got his catches and a touchdown. Meanwhile, Sidney Rice, ordinarily Seattle’s first receiving option, hurt his “widdle” head quite early and that was the end of his day on the field.

Football can be an infuriating game. Just ask the Chicago Bears who saw an injury to their QB, Jay Cutler, seriously hurt their chances at a playoff spot. Ask the Houston Texans. They lost Matt Schaub the starter and Matt Leinart the backup in successive weeks. They managed to win though. The Bears were not so lucky.

In last night’s game we had to watch the Chiefs and their backup QB, one Tyler Palko, try to compete with the Steelers and Ben Roethlisberger. They did acquire Kyle Orton, a serviceable or better QB who had the misfortune of preceding Tim Tebow in the early-season depth chart. Tebow won again yesterday in what has come to be the Broncos trademark fashion, lots of defense and lots of Tebow.

Compare and contrast Tebow to Ndamokung Suh or Stevie Johnson, the thug and the dipstick. It’s amazing to me how pleased with themselves some of these players are. Then they’re sorry afterwards. Suh especially deserves everything he might get in terms of penalties or suspensions. What irked me totally was his denial at first that he had done anything wrong (after stomping on an exposed leg). The next thing you know he’s apologizing. Stevie Johnson demonstrated his lack of brains and any class whatsoever by doing his Plaxico Burress impersonation in the end zone. He was later sorry too.

Even though I really don’t anyone who wears his religion on his sleeve (and tries to rub a little on your sleeve too), coming from Tebow, he seems so sincere that his continual religious references don’t really have any negative effect on me. He’s a big, strong, fast gentleman, maybe the only one in the NFL. I’ll take his behavior over some of these other meatballs anytime.

Meanwhile, the NBA lockout is over (or soon will be). Thank God this Holiday season that we won’t have to hear about the legal wranglings that would have been part and parcel of a continuation of the lockout.

I’m looking forward too to a reduced season as I had always thought that 82 games were too many. When the NFL season starts winding down and the playoff participants become all too clear, a little Knicks and Nets action will be just what the doctor ordered.

Rutgers failed to win the game they needed to advance to a BCS Bowl. Color me sad.

In my favorite sport, baseball (by an increasingly large margin) hot stove action has been really slow. We don’t know where Reyes is going if anywhere and the same goes for Pujols. The biggest signing though was sadly the Phillies signing of Papelbon, Boston’s terrific closer. Now the Phils seem to really have everything. And I wouldn’t be surprised if they go after Reyes too. Their shortstop is getting (and playing) a little long in the tooth.

The Philadelphia Eagles, erstwhile dream team, looked pretty dreadful against the Patriots Sunday. But it wasn’t Vince Young’s fault. He threw for 400 yards with just the one pick and yet the Birds weren’t really in the game after the first quarter. They didn’t play defense that you’d notice. Apparently the Pats are better than the Giants, who only managed to score ten points against them in their latest outing.

In any event Eagles head coach Andy Reid might be in a little trouble. All those weapons they acquired in free agency aren’t having much of an effect. Michael Vick, Vince Young, and all those offensive weapons couldn’t do much against the Pats, at least from a scoring standpoint, and the whole team seems to be playing lifeless ball.

Let’s hope the Giants fare better tonight against the Saints. Let’s have a good old-fashioned shootout.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

On Jets-Broncos and Mets Not-Stove

Everybody’s giving the Broncos no chance tonight against the Jets in Denver but I’m not so sure of that. A look at the Broncos’ last two wins indicates they can play any kind of game you want. Against Oakland, a 38-24 win, the Broncs fell behind so they had to pass the football. They did so very successfully. Against KC, they had the lead and nurtured it. They never had to pass the ball but one of Tebow’s passes did go for a touchdown. In both games, their special teams and defense played pretty well too, especially when they had to.

The Jets could have their hands full. Another thing that was obvious in reviewing the actual play-by-plays of those two games was the seemingly total inadequacy of Matt Cassell and his passing game against the Broncos defense. Carson Palmer for Oakland had some success, especially early, but then failed in the clutch to deliver anything of value.

All that data indicates to me is that Mark Sanchez and his receiving corps will have to perform better than those of either the Raiders or Chiefs. Their running game will have to click too if the passing game is to succeed at all. While I’m confident the Jets can stop the deep throws from Elway to Decker and Royal, I question whether they’ll be able to stop the run. Their defensive ranking against the run is decidedly middling.

The other thing you hear about the Jets is their lack of a pass rush. That won’t help their cause tonight. The pundits say the Jets will put 8 in the box and have a shadow for Tebow. A lot will depend on how successful that shadow is. And I wonder who it’ll be. David Harris? Eric Smith? Those two are the leading Jets tacklers. But can they stop Tebow all night?

Another advantage might be in coaching. John Fox, the Broncos head coach certainly rivals Jets head man Rex Ryan in defensive acumen. He may have better tools too, especially in the pass rushing department. The Broncos have 24 sacks to the Jets 18 but I suspect the QB hurries differential might be higher than that. Sanchez could find himself scrambling a lot. On the offensive end, the Broncos have been decidedly conservative while the Jets and Schottenheimer, their offensive guru, will throw in a lot more passes whether they have the lead or not. Overall, I’d give the Broncos the edge in the coaching department.

Then there’s the fact that the game will be played in Denver. The only road game the Jets have won this year came against Buffalo. They just ran over the Bills. I don’t think they’ll manage that tonight against the Broncos. I wonder what kind of protection Sanchez will get if they can’t just run over an opponent. How will Sanchez handle the pressure? Will he be better than either Carson Palmer or Matt Cassell?

If the Jets have an advantage, it’s that they really need to win this game. They’re coming off an awful loss while the Broncos are coming off a high point. They have experience the Broncos do not. Both those points aren’t necessarily enough to hold off a young and talented team in their building.

The Jets are favored by 5. My guess is that they’ll eke out the win somehow. But I doubt that they’ll cover the spread. A lot will depend on how this game plays out in the first quarter. If the Broncos can stay close, they’ll be very dangerous.

The only other game in town right now is hockey, a sport I just never cared for. I don’t know how many ice skaters there are from Bayonne but my guess is not many. I mean, there are probably as many skaters as ponies, but Bayonne was definitely “non-pony country.”

The NBA we can apparently just forget about. No Knicks, no Nets….how will we manage to survive?

I’m with the owners, if only because I’m firmly against ticket prices going through the roof. And I’d like to see a more competitive NBA too. The players would say that their percentage of the profits has nothing to do with either point but I think they’re mistaken. In any case, it’ll be a Lawyers win over the NBA fans, by a score of about 123-11.

Then there’s hot-stove baseball, I guess. It’d be a lot more fun to follow the free-agents if my Mets had any money. They don’t. Everybody says Jose Reyes will have to play elsewhere. While it will be a shame, it may wind up being a good thing. The Mets actually do have a nice candidate to fill the shortstop position in Ruben Tejada.

The noise about trading David Wright is kind of interesting too. It wouldn’t be a bad thing. One reason I think he’ll stay is that his market value right now isn’t really what it was a few years ago. Besides, although Justin Turner can play his position, he’d be better off at second base, which will be vacant if Tejada plays shortstop full-time. If Turner had to play third base, second base will, I suppose, revert to Daniel Murphy, a scary prospect at best.

I’ll be following the pitching situation closely too, with an eye towards what will happen with Mike Pelfrey. I’d love to see him go but he’ll probably wind up staying. Once again, he’ll be the ace who just never seems to come up aces. I suppose he is an inning-eater extraordinaire but really, it’d be a nicer feather in his cap if he did better in a lot of those innings.

If the Mets could get some value out of a trade for Wright and Pelfrey, I’d feel pretty confident going into 2012. A couple of starters or relievers would be nice, commodities more needed right now than a third baseman who can’t really hit and a pitcher who can’t really win.

Then there’re the Yanks. They re-signed Sabathia.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

On NFL Week 9 qnd Smokin' Joe

Wow! What a football week! Having just finished watching “da Bears” take the shine off those golden boys from Philadelphia (in Philadelphia), I can honestly say this Week 9 NFL action was pretty darned good, better than I can remember in a long, long time.

The Giants (and Eli) were great. The Jets were pretty darned good. The Ravens war with the Steelers and the Bengals-Titans matchup were superlative. The Broncos won under Tebow. The Dolphins won their first game (in a big way). The Chargers were competitive against the Pack but still managed to look bad in doing so.

And some of the big guns in the NFL rolled in dazzling fashion, the Falcons, the Saints, Houston, the Niners and Dallas all outclassing their opponents as was expected. I love watching form prevail. But it’s nice to see the lower-echelon teams coming on too, the Seattles and Rams of the world still losing but looking a little better in the process.

How great was it to watch Eli bring the Giants back to outdo Tom Brady and the Pats (in Boston)? What made it better was that Brady had just finished doing his own reprisal of “Tommy Breaks Your Heart Again”. But it was the Pats hearts that were shattered. And who the heck is Jake Ballard? How can he be making all those nice catches?

I don’t root for the Jets anymore but they sure did a number on Fred Jackson and the rest of the Bills. And not just because Freddy is my feature fantasy back. (Julio Jones more than made up for Freddy). How can anybody root against those lovable Bills who couldn’t quite circle the wagons soon enough on Sunday? The Jets just systematically took them apart, nothing really flashy, just hard hits and a smart offense and defense too. The Green Team was dominant.

Back to the Giants though, just for a few seconds, it was great to watch Coughlin with the team in the locker room! The feeling between Coach and his guys was palpable. He quite apparently does not run a concentration camp, and maybe….just maybe….even modern athletes can appreciate somebody who makes them more disciplined.

Equally as great about the Giants win was that I gave them just about zero chance of pulling it off. Their best receiver (if that can even be said anymore), Hakeem Nicks, was out. So was their best running back, Ahmad Bradshaw. The center was out too, just to add a further degree of difficulty. The Pats hadn’t lost at home in five years or so. The whole thing was pretty damned shocking to a person who feels he’s got everything figured out.

Of course, I didn’t have to sit through all the commercials. I watched the Zone. In fact, tonight’s Eagles-Bears game was so oversold with ads as to be totally unwatchable, especially in the final minutes of the second quarter. Shouldn’t ESPN be embarrassed? Does nothing embarrass them?

A moment of silence (and tribute) to Smokin’ Joe Frazier who died today. He feels like family in a way, so closely were his fights with Ali examined, so genuine and so richly deserved his dislike for Ali, the hype for the fights, the actual fights, every single thing you could say about that rivalry would have to be good.

Joe played his part almost too well, first taking Ali’s title (for real this first time) with a terrific left hook to Ali’s jaw, then losing to Foreman, then Ali beating Foreman, then the “Thrilla in Manila” and the sequel that almost matched the original for drama. Joe was the plugger, Joe was the determined one, Joe was the guy who’d make Ali eat his cruel words. Joe was a guy every man, especially Ali, had to respect, even if he never seemed to get any love.

Joe kept coming, straight at you. I think Saint Peter will just stand aside.

The Bears’ Matt Forte and Lance Briggs did their own tough-guy routine tonight as they put a battering on those Eagles, even if Forte made more mistakes in one night than he usually makes in a month or two. Linebacker Briggs was just all over the place. When he delivered the hits, the “hittee” was all over the place. And that Bears offensive line kept Jay Cutler clean as a whistle.

It looks as if it’ll be the Year of the Harbaugh. Younger brother Jim Harbaugh has brought the Niners back to relevance while big brother John has his Ravens positioned nicely to finally win an AFC Championship. And they’ll meet each other on the field Thanksgiving night in Baltimore. That one promises to be the Game of the Year.

But, meanwhile, the damned Packers just keep winning. It seems that nobody can stop Aaron Rodgers and company, certainly not the San Diego Chargers. But I’ll say right now that I don’t expect them to win it all. Not this year, not with that running game….or lack thereof. Excuses can be made for the defense, I suppose, having to deal with Rodgers putting so many points on the board, but their running game is putrid.

Some might say the Pack had no running game last year. That’s really not the case though. Their offensive linemen had blocked last year. They show no inclination towards doing that this year. When the threat of the run becomes so small as to make no real difference, the play-action passes won’t work. And their defense can’t stop anybody.

Of course, there is half a season left to play. And maybe, just maybe, the game of the year will be the Giants against the Jets. That’s the game in store for us on Christmas Eve…….if we’re very good, and if the Giants and Jets are too. If even one team falters, the game might not be very meaningful.

But if both locals can keep playing good football, it could be a precursor to the Super Bowl. Now that’d be something!