Parity Begins At Home

Believe it or not, the New York Jets, losers of six of their last eight games, still have a puncher’s chance at making the playoffs. Granted, this isn’t because the Jets have distinguished themselves on the gridiron; the team's barely beating playoff chances are in reality a byproduct of an AFC-wide level of mediocrity. 

As of this morning, there are as many AFC teams with losing records (8) as there are teams with winning records—and two of those teams (the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens) are sitting at 6-5, one tenuous game over .500. Only the Indianapolis Colts (10-0), the Cincinnati Bengals (8-3), the San Diego Chargers (8-3), the New England Patriots (7-3) and the Denver Broncos (7-4) seem assured of a spot in the NFL’s postseason. (The undefeated Colts clinched a division title with last night’s win against the 5-6 Houston Texans).

This, I guess, is the NFL’s vision of parity. A few really good teams, mixed in with a bunch of middling-to-flat-out-terrible teams. Most of the AFC's franchises are mired in prolonged periods of mediocrity, which doesn’t really reflect well on the NFL's decade-long attempt at leveling the playing field, not to mention the often sad quality of play exhibited around the league on any given Sunday. 

The 100 Best Quotes from The Wire

The Yankees are on hiatus. The Knicks stink, and the Jets are nearly irrelevant. What's a New York sports fan to do? How about enjoying this extended collection of the 100 best quotes from "The Wire," the greatest show in the history of television. Stringer Bell's right: there's games beyond the game. 

King Rex

I know it's still early in the season, but I like what I've seen from the New York Jets. New coach Rex Ryan has them playing an aggressive, balls-to-the-wall defense. In two games thus far, the Jets' D has yet to give up a single touchdown. In fact, they've held the Texans and the Patriots, two superior offenses, to a total of nine points. They have a long way to go before anyone confuses them with the '86 Bears, but the defense is quickly making a name for itself. The offense, led by rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez, is doing its part, too. Yesterday, Sanchez put up better numbers than Tom Brady, delivering an impressive 16-play, 68-yard scoring drive to start the second half. Turns out, that would be enough, because the defense suffocated Brady and the Patriots for the game's final 30 minutes. No small feat. 

Like all good coaches, Ryan has lit a fire under his team--and its fan base--and it seems both would run through a wall for him, which is really half the battle. If he can keep this up--and that's a pretty big if-- Ryan could very well replace Bill Parcells as New York's favorite head coach. 

For more thoughts on the yesterday's game, please take a look at my other site, You're Wrong About Everything. 

The Architecture of a Draft Pick

Peter King gives the interesting backstory to the Jets uncharacteristic draft-day trade for USC quarterback Mark "Dirty Jerz" Sanchez, which may or may not spark the middling franchise into NFL relevancy, depending on who you ask. The dramatic--and complicated--trade almost didn't happen, according to King, because of an obscure clause in the collective bargaining agreement concerning trade centerpiece Abram Elam, the cornerback who signed an offer sheet with the Browns in March, only to have it matched by the Jets a few weeks later.   

Elam was the apple of Mangini's eye in the deal. In March, the Browns signed Elam, a restricted free-agent, to a one-year, $1.5-million offer sheet. The Jets, loaded with safeties, still matched it. And last Friday, when Tannenbaum and Mangini were talking conditional trade, Elam's name was front and center. He'd have to be in the deal for it to work for the Browns.

Not so fast, [Dawn] Aponte [the Browns' capwoman] said. She remembered an obscure article in the CBA -- Article XIX of Veteran Free Agency, Section 3 (h). It said: "If a Club exercises its right of first refusal and matches an offer sheet, that club may not trade that player to the Club that submitted the offer sheet for at least one calendar year, unless the player consents to such trade.''

Aponte told Mangini the consent would have to be in writing. 

[snip]

On Saturday, the draft got to Cleveland's pick. The Browns were set on moving down, and they pulled the trigger. The deal got approved by the league when it looked over the paperwork and saw Elam's signature on the legal document approving the trade.

I don't know enough about the Jets to comment in full about their beleaguered history, but it seems to me this kind of thing usually doesn't work out in their favor. Maybe things are finally looking up for Jersey's other hometown team.

Odds & Sods

Stephen Marbury considers distant shores, while Alonzo Mourning is once again put out to pasture.  Major League Baseball may have a major league bat problem on their hands, but Melky Cabrera, a AAAA outfielder if there ever was one, has about 1.4 million new reasons to celebrate. Jets Head Coach Rex Ryan says his team will get to meet President Obama one day, while the president's brother-in-law is still just looking for another win. 

Tryin' Ryan

I hope to have more on this later, but, as of this morning, I think this is a very good move for the Jets, a normally hapless organization. As much as I liked Mangini, or rather as much as I rooted for his success, he never looked like he was particularly enjoying himself on the sidelines. Nor did he inspire much confidence with his perpetual, petulant smirk. In this regard, Ryan, who is reportedly beloved by his defensive players, is the anti-Mangini: a fiery, personable and animated coach.

Said Jets General Manager Mike Tannenbaum:

During our search, we were looking for a great football mind and a passionate leader. Rex is a coach with an established track record who is universally respected by players and coaches for his skills as a communicator and his creativity.

My first instinct is to say that Ryan will do well in New York. The Jets should be better defensively under Ryan's direction and, I think, better prepared each week. Of course, I've been known to be wrong about such football-related things before. 

UPDATE:

It seems Ryan as the anti-Mangini is the catchphrase of the morning. 

Writes Daily News sports reporter Rich Cimini:

[The Jets'] unspoken quest was to find the anti-Mangini, a charismatic and fiery leader to change the stuffy, paranoid culture that permeated the organization. In other words, they wanted a player's coach, someone who could make football fun again. It led them to Rex Ryan.

And Gary Myers elaborates on Ryan's anti-Manginess:

[The Jets] recouped nicely Monday by hiring Ravens charismatic defensive coordinator Rex Ryan, an anti-Mangini, which is just what the Jets needed.

[...]Mangini was paranoid, secretive, bland - and the worst indictment of all, was an awful game-day manager with no feel for the game or his team. His players threw him under the bus when they failed to play with intensity the last month of the season.

Ryan has lots of personality, is passionate, his players love playing for him, he makes it fun and his imaginative defensive schemes will result in more game-changing plays. He may be unknown as a head coach, but we know the Jets were going nowhere with Mangini.

Ryan gives the Jets an identity. He won't look like he's ready to take a nap on the sidelines like Mangini.

The more I think about Ryan's hiring, the more I like it. He's an emotional and player-friendly defensive whiz who understands football's many intricacies. Ironically, Ryan seems, at first blush, a hybrid of Herm Edwards' strategy-deficient passion and Mangini's passionless schemes -- a healthy combination of both former Jets coaches, minus the duo's well-documented shortcomings. 

A good hire, me thinks. 

Up in Smoke

In yesterday's Daily News, columnist Filip Bondy drew a clear line between the Giants and the Jets. The Giants, according to Bondy, are a total mess. The Jets, on the other hand, are a model of propriety. Bondy even compared Gang Green to a group of "Boy Scouts." Here he is on the team's singular focus: 

There is nothing to divert them from their appointed duty. Outside of the positive fuss about Brett Favre's arrival, the Jets have been all about football. It's been this way for a while. You have to go back to John Abraham's crash or Jumbo Elliott's DWI to uncover even a sniff of scandal.

Poor choice of words, and even worse timing. Less than 24 hours after Bondy's column went to press, it was announced that Jets DE Shaun Ellis was arrested last Saturday morning for possession of marijuana, speeding and driving without insurance, after he was pulled over by police outside the Jets' practice facility in Florham Park, New Jersey.

I'm sure fellow News columnist Mike Lupica, who's known for shooting from the lip, is giving Bondy total hell for this. Provided, of course, Lupica still even acknowledges other sports reporters off-camera.  

Odds & Sods

Ron Klain just became the 17th most powerful man in Washington, while the Jets think they're the team to beat in the AFC East. An Englishwoman claims to have unearthed the real-life Eleanor Rigby, as Mitch Mitchell, Jimi Hendrix's drummer—and, for my money, one of the three greatest rock drummers of his era—shuffled off this mortal coil. Probably on the downbeat. Oden's finally good to go, but Lego's suddenly all bent out of shape. Thomas Friedman® apparently doesn't know what he's talking about. What's worse, neither does Henry Paulson.