ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL!!!

Yes, yes I am. As word came down today that the lockout was over one could practically hear all of America breathe sighs of relief. The players association is very close to voting to end the lockout, start free agency, and get back to football as opposed to the legal drama that seemed like it would never end over the course of the last 130 plus days. Football is back, teams will soon be signing free agents and the world can get back to focusing on football, rather then focusing about what was going on in a conference room in Washington D.C.

As the terms of the lockout come to light, fans have seen happiness from both sides that the deal was done, but frankly from a fans perspective, I would rather this be totally behind everyone, today. I don't want to hear about when the NFL PA is going to vote, all I want to know is when free agency will start, when teams will report and when the season will start. Of course we will be inundated with useless chatter for the next day or so about how both sides are happy with the terms of the deal, and how Goodell and Smith are pure geniuses for putting together a deal that worked out for both sides, and I suppose, to some extent fans should be thankful to the guys who made the deal an actuality.

However the effort spent talking even more about the lockout is a waste, at this point, with the season on the brink of delay, one can't help but crave the useless football chatter of yesteryear. What with all this lockout chatter you forgot? You know, the endless speculation about which players will end up where, how your teams going to do this year, the quarterback battles and all the real football drama that makes the NFL pre season enticing for fans. For know we can go back to trash talking friends, making fantasy teams, and returning to the real NFL we all know and love. Are you ready for free agency, training camp, practices, a Rex Ryan super bowl guarantee, days spent in the bar, in the living room, or in the stadium parking lot? Are you ready for an end to the legal drama and a start to the gridiron drama? Are you ready for some Football? IT'S ABOUT TIME!!!

Revis's 8th Ranking On Top 100 List Major Mistake By Players

As an attempted respite from the nonstop drama of the NFL lockout, the NFL Network just concluded the players' ranking of the best 100 players in the NFL, a symbolic drink of water to the NFL fan dying of thirst in the lockout desert. While the list has certainly sparked debate among NFL fans with its hits and misses -- and there are many of both on the list -- for the Jets fan it is not the names of the players on the list that sparks outrage, but rather a single person that was undervalued.  While the players piled on admiration for Ed Reed, Troy Polamalu, and Ray Lewis, the biggest names on defense over the past decade, they didn’t share the same love for our very own Darrelle Revis. Revis was selected eighth behind not just the three players mentioned, but also Andre Johnson, and Adrian Peterson. For Revis to be selected at this spot is a shame, as it doesn’t reflect what Revis is: the best defensive player in the NFL today.

Read more>>

Trivia Tuesday: Professional Sports Relocation

With the Atlanta Thrashers announcing today that they will be moving to Winnepeg, I figured it was a good time to bring out a relocation trivia questions--here they are:

The Thrashers will be the 10th NHL franchise in the to relocate (actually move, not move arenas within a city) in the modern era (since 1976). Who were the other 9*?

Bonus #1: 13 Major League Baseball teams have relocated--can you name them?
Bonus #2: 13 National Football League teams have relocated--can you name them?
Bonus #3: 20 National Basketball Association teams have permanently relocated--who are they? (the New Orleans Hornets did temporarily during Hurricaine Katrina but I left them out).

Put your answers in the comments below. Good luck**.

*Side Note: Not among the 9 you need to name is the San Jose Sharks who were an expansion team but basically split off from another NHL franchise in one of the oddest sports stories ever where the Sharks were allowed two drafts--a dispersal draft and an expansion draft. Thought the dispersal draft wasn't really a dispersal draft but a reverse merger of a professional franchise. Seriously, this happened.

Read more>>

In NFL Lockout, Owners Show Us Greed Is Good

We all knew it would come to this. We all knew in a battle between billionaires and millionaires the fans would be the first ones to lose, and in looking at the NFL lockout one thing is abundantly clear, greed is good. Consider in the 2010 Forbes list of 1000 richest people in the WORLD there were 13 NFL owners on the list. Nearly half of the leagues owners are in the top 1000 wealthiest people on the planet. And yet they want more. The owners take $1 billion dollars of the NFL pot before dividing up the rest. They want $2 billion, of course they do. If we, the fans have learned anything from this its that the owners don't care about the fans, they care about money. They want to smell it, clean it, jump into a big pool full of it and they don't want anyone to get in the way of their cannonball. Do you know how much money it takes to fill a pool? Now the owners don't want a pool, they want one of those water slides, with 3 tubes and loops, and curves and a huge pool at the end. I know what your thinking but no Paul Allen, he of the $13.5 billion net worth, doesn't want to fill the pool with his money, he may need it for oh-his eighth private jet? He wants it from the players.

Yes the players, those who work there whole lives just to be in the league for maybe a couple of seasons. Those whose average salary is $790,000 dollars, or less then 1/100 the 1% of the net worth of Patriots owner Robert Kraft. And the owners want the players to take a pay cut, naturally. Roger Goodell and the owners want to blame the players, in an open letter to NFL fans the commish said no compensation reduction for veterans implement new year-round health and safety rules; retain the current 16-4 season format for at least two years with any subsequent changes subject to the approval of the league and union; and establish a new legacy fund for retired players ($82 million contributed by the owners over the next two years)." Wow Roger, actually provide some semblance of care for players who expose themselves to violence and brain damage on a daily basis, big of you.

Read more>>

Optimist Prime: A Look at the Jets Free Agents

Despite his Jets failing him once again in the AFC Championship Game, Russell is back with another Optimist Prime post on his team. Even though there's a Super Bowl still to be played, Russell is looking ahead to the off-season and free agency. Here is how he sees the Jets off-season shaping out:

Tough decisions coming for Mike Tannenbaum and Woody Johnson (Star-Ledger)

-----------------------
It has been a tough week for Optimist Prime. He took the jets loss in the AFC championship game hard, not leaving his room and feasting on gallons of Ben and Jerry’s Phish Food ice cream. While he’s put on some pounds Optimist is, well, optimistic about the Jets chances next year, but it will be a tough offseason for sure. The Jets have 18 total free agents, and will need many of them back if they want to make another run at the Lombardi trophy. Here’s a list of the free agents…

UNRESTRICTED	RESTRICTED  (If There is A Salary Cap This Season)
Shaun Ellis	David Harris
Steve Weatherford	Nick Folk
Brodney Pool	James Ihedigbo
Tony Richardson	Robert Turner
Braylon Edwards
Santonio Holmes
Wayne Hunter
Trevor Pryce
Antonio Cromartie
Lance Laury
Eric Smith
Brad Smith
Drew Coleman
Kellen Clemens

Now there are a couple of variables in determining how many of these players the Jets will be able to keep. The new collective bargaining agreement will put a salary cap in place and owners have already said that it will be lower than the one that was in place prior to this year (in 2007 it was around $127 million). This will make it tougher for the Jets to re-sign all of their important pieces especially if Holmes, Edwards, Harris and Cromartie all ask for big money.

Also under old CBA rules a team that makes it to a championship game must release a player in order to sign a free agent. The final four teams will not be permitted to negotiate or sign any unrestricted free agent to a player contract unless he is cut from his team or originally belonged to the team that is trying to sign (or re-sign) him.

With this in mind here is a rundown of who the Jets must keep, and who they can let go…

Read more>>

NYaT Roundtable: AFC Championship Picks

Yesterday we gave our AFC Championship picks and today we're going to pick the AFC Championship game. The Jets and Steelers also played once this season with that game being taken by the Jets. Tonight is the rematch in Pittsburgh, but this time with Troy Polamalu in uniform. Will that make a difference? Let's see what our roundtable had to say:

Can Sanchez lead the Jets to the Super Bowl this time around? (Reuters)

New York Jets at Pittsburgh Steelers (Steelers favored by 3.5)

Russell: First of all I'd like to welcome everybody back onto the Jets bandwagon, and I'd like to add that more people will be joining us after the Jets beat the Steelers on Sunday. The Jets are soaring after the incredible win against the Patsies and fly in to Pittsburgh to face a team that is very similar to the Jets. Both teams have solid receivers, and running backs and while the Steelers have an advantage at QB, defense wins championships and the Jets D is better then the Steelers O. It will be hard to score points for both sides, but I look for the Jets to win a low scoring battle where Sanchez and the offense will make enough plays to win. Also the football Gods wouldn't tease me by having the Jets go to the AFC championship game 2 years in a row and lose both games, right? Jets

Ben P: If it's any comfort to Jets fans, I've picked against them in the two previous playoff rounds as well. The Jets have played and won two very emotional games. First they beat the team that eliminated them from the playoffs last year and then they played their big bad bully of a division rival. Will they have anything left this week? The Jets were able to beat the Steelers earlier this year, but in that game the Steelers were without Polamalu and the Jets scored on a kickoff return and had a safety (fluky much). The Steelers will be able to shut down the Jets running game and force Sanchez to beat them. Sanchez was great last week, but the Steelers will put more pressure on him than the Pats did and will be able to do a better job exposing the loss of Damien Woody at Right Tackle. The Jets Defense has played well against the passing offenses of the Colts and Pats, but the Steelers have a wealth of speed at the receiver position that those other teams didn't. There are few schemes that can slow down Mike Wallace and Emmanuel Sanders. It'll be cold in Pittsburgh. Coach Ryan better make sure his players bring an extra pair of socks. Steelers

Sarah: Steelers/Pats - Oh wait, the Pats aren't in? THE JETS WON LAST WEEK? I abstain. No pick.

Jay: While I refuse to compare the Jets' run this year to the Giants' road winning streak leading up to Super Bowl 42, I have to hand it to Rex Ryan and his team. They have defeated Peyton Manning and Tom Brady on the road in back-to-back weeks. No easy task. Now all they have to do is finish the job in Pittsburgh against two-time SB champ Ben Roethlisberger. BFD. I actually think the Jets can do it. The key is winning the battle for time of possession by controlling the ball on the ground. If the offensive can eliminate turnovers and Greene/LT can consistently gain yardage, I think the Jets will win. But like the cliche goes, you can't stop Roethlisberger, you can only hope to contain him. Making sure Big Ben doesn't burn them will be the Jets' second key. If they can do that, I think the Jets win in a close game. Jets

Elissa: Jets and Steelers are a toss up b/c of their great defenses. I think Big Ben will give the Jets D more problems than Brady did last week b/c he doesn't go down as easy, but I think if the Jets don't turn the ball over (just like their play last week) they'll beat out the Steelers. Jets

Andrew: The Jets built their team this past off-season to beat the Colts--and they did so. Rex Ryan came in as Jets coach and said the goal was to beat the Patriots--and they did so. You wonder after two emotional wins if the Jets can get back up for yet another game? I'm not so sure they can. They played their championship game last week. They've beaten two teams with great offenses. Now they'll have to find a way to beat one with a great defense. I don't think it'll be so easy for the Jets. Mark Sanchez has been great so far but both the Pats and the Colts rank near the bottom half of the league on defense while the Steelers are probably the best. Sanchez has had success because of the threat of the run game. I don't think the Jets will have the same success running the ball in this game. The Jets have been great on the road but I fear their season will end once again in the AFC Championship game. Steelers

Read more>>

NYaT Roundtable: NFC Championship Picks

The NYaT Roundtable gave you their picks for the Wild Card round (none of us picked Seattle) and the Divisional Round (none of us picked the Jets), so we're going to try to have someone go for a perfect week as the Conference Championships are being played out. #2 seed vs. a #6 seed in each conference. We'll start in Chicago where the Bears are Packers are playing for the third time this season but the first time in the playoffs since 1941. Here's what our panel thinks:

Jay Cutler vs. Aaron Rodgers III. Winner to the Super Bowl (NYT)

Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears (Packers favored by 3.5)

Russell: These teams met week 17, but over the last 2 weeks the Bears have played the Seahawks, while the Pack beat Philly and then demolished the Falcons. They have all of the momentum and they are going to beat the Bears. Packers

Ben P: In this game we have two teams that are fairly similar. They both have dominant defenses and depend on their quarterbacks to score points. Given this shared formula, I like the Packers since they have a better and more consistent quarterback as well as better receivers. I think this game will come down to who puts more pressure on the opposing quarterback . Both teams have players that can get at the quarterback, but I think the Packers Offensive Line is better than the Bear's line and Rodgers mobility will also help him buy time to look downfield. The Packers' west-coast style offense will also suit them better than the Mike Martz down the field attack that the Bears will sport. Packers

Sarah: Its tough to judge here. The Bears had it easy last week as the Hawks were never a real threat so hopefully they saved up some energy for this weekend's matchup. I also hear Obama wants to go to the game if the Bears made it to the Superbowl. I still think Rodgers is strong though, and they gave the Falcons a good whooping. I'm going Green Bay. Packers

Jay: Aaron Rodgers's coming-out party as one of the NFL's elite QBs will continue. Aside from the Jets/Pats trash talk, the most compelling storyline of the postseason has been Green Bay's dominance on both sides of the ball, but most notably their offensive production. And it all comes back to Rodgers, whose 77-for-105, 969 yard, 10 TD, 1 INT performance so far in these playoffs has been incredible to watch. Just think: he threw for 366 yards and 3 TDs on the road in the Georgia Dome, where Matty "Ice" Ryan had only lost twice in his entire career. Amazing. He will carry this team to the Super Bowl. Honestly, despite Chicago's resurgence following their dreadful losses to the Giants, Seahawks, and Redskins, is anyone really scared of them? I feel like we are just waiting for the other shoe to drop, perhaps in the form of a classically dreadful Jay Cutler multi-INT stinkbomb. I think the Packers continue their road dominance, winning by 10. Packers

Elissa: Green Bay has the QB I trust more down the stretch and Chicago's not as consistent of a team. I've thought Green Bay was a Super Bowl team all playoffs, so I'm going to stick with them now. Packers

Andrew: I've learned my lesson but overlooking the Seahawks against the Saints and the Jets against the Patriots (and what's really the difference between Rodgers and Brady?). The Packers are favored by more than a field goal on the road in the playoffs and although I don't think a lot of the Bears, I think that may be motivation enough to pick them. After the Giants demolished the Bears early in the season, I felt like they were done for as a team but they've been resilient behind an air-tight defense, an underrated running game, and a scary special teams attack. In Week 17 these two teams played in Green Bay with everything on the line for the Packers and nothing on the line for the Bears and yet the Bears dominated quite a bit of that game. Even though they lost in the end, do you think the may have kept a few plays secret just in case they played them again in the playoffs? Of course. The Packers biggest weakness is the running game and how do they expect to win this playoff game without one? I think while everyone is thinking "Packers blowout" here, I'm going with the disrespected Bears and *gulp* Jay Culter (that was difficult to type). Bears

Read more>>

Optimist Prime: Why the Jets Will Beat the Steelers

We'll get to the NYaT roundtable picks later but for now we need to go back to Russell who predicted the Jets would beat the Colts and the Pats. Now he says that they will beat Big Ben and the Steelers in Pittsburgh. Tell 'em why, Russell:

The Empire State Building has been lit up in the Jets green and white

---------------------------
It’s been a fun week for Jets fans. From the incredible win against the Patriots to Bart Scott’s “ANYBODY CAN BE BEAT” interview, excitement is running high as the Jets are once again playing for a berth in the Big Game. This time the Jets fly into Pittsburgh to face a team very similar to themselves, and with the punishing defenses on both sides it should be close. Well Optimist Prime is back again and (real shocker here) says the Jets will beat the Steelers and advance to their Second Super Bowl. Here’s why…

The Jets Will Be Able To Ground And Pound Them

Defensively Pittsburgh only gave up an average of 62.8 yards on the ground during the regular season. That being said the Jets running game has been brilliant so far in the Playoffs, rushing for 152 yards against the Colts and 119 against New England. The Jets can rely on one of the best running back tandems in the NFL with Shonne Greene and LT. The backs play with different styles, which definitely helps the Jets, as they can go from the run you over to get the extra yard style of Greene to the shifty Tomlinson, and frustrate the Steelers defense with long drives. The Jets were able to rush for 106 yards the last time they played Pittsburgh and if they can run the ball successfully they’ll be in good shape.

Sanchez Can Win The Game Too

Sanchez played one of his best games as a pro from the second quarter on of last weeks win in New England. Sanchez passed for 3 touchdowns and 194 yards, and will pick up where he left off this week. Mark has handled blitzing, aggressive defenses like the Steelers pretty well and with the Jets all-pro offensive line he won’t be under siege by the likes of James Harrison. The Steelers defense has actually been pretty average against the pass; they’re twelfth in the league in passing yards against. Joe Flacco was able to shred the Steelers secondary for much of the first half, and if Sanchez can play like Flacco for four quarters not two, the Jets have a good chance at winning.

Read more>>

Guest Post: Why The Jets Will Beat The Patriots

Maybe we'll call him Optimist Prime for the Jets season: Russell is back for another guest post and he thinks the Jets will prevail on Sunday unlike the rest of our panel. For his last guest post before he becomes a full-time writer (and congrats to Russell on that!), here's Russell Simon back to tell us why the New York Jets will repeat their early-season performance and prevail against the Patriots in Foxboro on Sunday.

Mark Sanchez is licking his chops for a rematch with the Pats (NYT)

-----------------------------------------
The Jets will beat the Patriots on Sunday…While most of you probably think that’s the funniest joke you’ve heard all day, the Jets do have a shot--believe it or not--of winning. Last week I said the Jets would establish the ground and pound, and beat Indy. We all know how that turned out, and now they return for some payback…and this is how they’ll get it:

Keep Brady On The Bench

For the Jets to win they will have to go on the same type of drives they did in the second half against the Colts. The Jets had touchdown drives of 9:48 and 9:59 last week and it must be more of the same if the Jets will win. The Jets used the ground-and-pound to go on mind numbingly slow drives in the second half. On the first drive of the second half, Sanchez threw twice, and it has become clear that LT, Shonne Greene , and the offensive line will win it for the Jets--not Mark Sanchez. Both running backs carried the ball nearly 20 times and they will have to go on the slow drives, eat up tons of clock, and get into the endzone to beat the Pats.

Do Not Have Any Defensive Lapses

And we're looking at you, Antonio Cromartie. Garcon burned Cromartie for the Colts first touchdown on a hideous defensive lapse, and the Jets can’t have any repeats of that on Sunday if they want to win. Cromartie put the target on his back by saying about Tom Brady what Jets fans have been saying about him for years, and with whoever Tevis is covering (probably Welker vacationing on Revis Island) all the pressure will be on Cromartie to step up. Other then Revis, Brady will target the Jets secondary just as he did in the 45-3 bloodbath when he passed for 326 yards and 4 touchdowns. The Jets can’t have any defensive lapses that go for big yards for the Pats and it's up to the secondary to keep the Jets in it.

Read more>>

NYaT Roundtable: Divisional Round NFL Picks

Well that was a fun first weekend of football. The first NYaT Roundtable of the playoffs resulted in Ari, Jay and Ben W taking the cake as the best pickers with Ben P and I bringing up the rear. None of us saw the Seahawks winning that game (though, in my defense, I did say they would cover). Now we're up to the big time as the bye weeks are over and the winners go on to the Conference Championship Game. So which teams will advance? Our NYaT panel gives their opinions:

May The Force be with you, Rex Ryan...
...you're going to need it

New York Jets at New England Patriots (Patriots favored by 9)

Ben P says: "It is always difficult when two team plays each other three times in one year. These teams know eachother very well and in these situations I think the team with superior coaching has the edge. Rex Ryan knows defense and has done an excellent job as the Jets head coach, but there is nobody better than Belichik especially when it comes to gameplanning and adjusting mid-game. The Patriots are too good offensively and if they turn this into a shootout, the Jets will be in big trouble." Patriots

Elissa says: "I can't bring myself to make a prediction for the Jets game. I choose to abstain rather than throw my team under the bus. Instead, I'll take this time to follow Rex Ryan and Cromartie's lead...F*#$ Tom Brady and his ridiculous Justin Bieber hair and F*$# Bill Belichick and his stupid cut off sweatshirts. It's personal!" No pick (but check out her post on the "War of Words")

Sarah says: "I'm TRYING to be classy and say to Jets fans I know- hey we each took a game this year - but let's face it: We are going to STOMP them" Patriots

Ari says: "I wish otherwise, but common sense says Brady mauls them. Cromartie will regret mouthing off with each passing slant strike over the middle that he can't cover. In the battle of 4 letter team name, the one that sounds like Mets sees the same result." Patriots

Jay says: "Nothing that Rex Ryan or Antonio Cromartie can say will change their fate: New England will roll at home. Face it, Jets fans, the 2010 Patriots may be boring, robotic, and soulless, but they are a dominant football team. They won their last 8 games and defeated the Jets 45-3 in their last meeting. Tom Brady hasn't thrown a pick in months and Belichick will be ready for whatever defensive schemes Rex Ryan has cooked up. The Patriots also don't make any mistakes, giving up the ball only 10 times this season (!!) and creating more takeaways than anyone but the Giants. Although the Patriots have the home field advantage, there are some things the Jets can do to help their chances: (1) take advantage of New England's bend-don't-break offensive line and get to Brady, (2) stop the Woodhead/Green-Ellis running attack and force Brady to test Darrelle Revis and Cromartie; and (3) ignore McCourty and have Sanchez attack the weaker parts of the Patriots' secondary. But all that said, I still see New England winning relatively comfortably. Double digits are likely." Patriots

Andrew says: I want to find a way to pick the Jets here but I just can't do it. Rex Ryan and company won their Super Bowl last weekend when they finally beat Peyton Manning and the Colts and I see a huge letdown this week against their divisional rivals. I will say this, though. I think that the Jets will cover. My prediction is that Jet preseason cut (one of the all-time horrible personnel moves by Rex Ryan confirmed by anyone with all their lobes intact who saw Hard Knocks), Danny Woodhead, will scramble on 3rd and 9 with less than two minutes left and the Jets out of timeouts, down by 6. A first down seals the game but anything less makes the Pats punt back to Antonio Cromartie and the Jets. Woodhead scrambles and is about to be met by Cromartie when out of no place Tom Brady runs up, pancakes Cromartie, yells "who is an asshole now?", and Woodhead gets the first by a foot. This is followed by an offseason of jokes that Rex Ryan has now lost twice because of a foot." Patriots

Baltimore Ravens at the Pittsburgh Steelers (Steelers favored by 3.5)

Read more>>

A Look at the Giants: Who To Root For In the Playoffs

If you could have told me the Giants would finish with a 10-6 record at the beginning of the season, I would have signed up for it. The same was true after they fell to 1-2 after a dismal home loss against the Titans. But in the end, 10-6 feels like a hugely disappointing season because it knocks them out of the playoffs. The Giants left wins on the New Meadowlands field against the Titans, Cowboys, and, most painful of all, the Eagles--and even one win in those three games would have gotten the Giants into the big dance. But since they aren't there, we're going to do what we did last year and count down from the worst to the best in order to give you a guide of who to root for as a Giants fan in this year's playoffs.

A 7-9 team winning the Super Bowl wouldn't sit well with this Giants fan (ESPN)

12) Philadelphia Eagles

Pretty simple here. Not only are they now the Giants fiercest rivals (with apologies to the Cowboys and Redskins), but the Giants came oh-so-close to beating them twice this year but fell victim to end-of-game collapses. The last game was the worst of all and any prideful Giants fan should be rooting against the Dog Killer and Deshaun Jackson. For the Eagles to even make a Super Bowl they'll have to go through Green Bay, Chicago (at Chicago), and probably Atlanta (at Atlanta). You hope that road is too tough for Michael Vick and company because the Eagles celebrating with the Lombardi trophy at the end of the year will make someone kill Matt Dodge.

11) Seattle Seahawks

There is a huge drop-off from the Eagles to here. Under the current rules a 7-9 team can make the playoffs in the NFL but if the Giants win 3 more games and the Seahawks find an improbable way to win a Super Bowl, well, that's just not right. The reason division winners are given an automatic bid is to make sure that if a division beats up on each other because they're really good, then all the teams aren't punished. And in the NFC South you had that situation where Atlanta, New Orleans and Tampa Bay were really good. This is not the same situation. Really good teams win games outside the division. This is a team the Giants beat in their home stadium and this crappy team cannot make it past the first round for any Giants fan's sanity.

10) Chicago Bears

The Giants demolished Jay Cutler and the Bears and it looked like that was going to be the downfall of their season...and now they have a first-round bye? I don't get it. Worse yet is that they couldn't beat the Packers yesterday to help out the Giants. I give them kudos for trying (although I don't understand it considering the hits that Jay Cutler took) but their failure doesn't help the position on this list. And between Jay Cutler and Devin Hester, this is not a likable team for Giants fans. Anyone who has watched football the past few years knew Cutler was throwing a pick to end the game yesterday. Can't root for a QB like that.

9) New York Jets

Read more>>

Applying the "Unearned Run" Principal to Other Sports Stats

In baseball, there is a such thing as an unearned run. It's a run that not the pitcher's fault because some player on his team made an error. Errors themselves are not exactly cut and dry: "could the player have caught the ball?", "did they touch the ball?" and "is this a catch you expect the player to make?" are all questions asked before an official scorer gives an "E" or a hit. I think this is a great way of figuring out the true performance of a pitcher. While the pitcher should be expected to hunker down and not let runners score even when an error is made, the fact that a run resulted from that error can't always be seen as a pitcher's fault. Here's a few other statistics in sports that need to be changed among the same principal idea:

Eli Manning's numbers would look a lot better if tINTs were taken out (WSJ)

NFL -- The Tipped Interception: Eli Manning has had a really good season overall. He has the 5th-most passing yards in the league and is tied for Phillip Rivers for the most passing touchdowns...but he has 13 interceptions to 19 touchdowns, a pretty bad ratio for someone considered an "elite" quarterback. Those 13 INTs put him second-worst in the league to Brett Favre. But anyone who has watched the Giants this season know that Eli Manning didn't truly throw 13 INTs--over half (the Wall Street Journal says at least seven) of those were balls that were either tipped or went through the hands of a receiver right into the arms of a waiting defensive back. Tom Coughlin calls it a "damn plague". In my opinion, those types of picks need to be separated from the chuck-em-up-into-a-crowd INTs (which Manning will throw some of as well). My proposal? A tINT stat that measures the amount of balls that were tipped for INTs. Now balls that the QB threw horribly, a receiver gets his fingertips on and is intercepted by the defense doesn't count here (some of it will take a scorekeeper's ruling like an error), but this will help separate real INTs from the Tipped Interceptions.

MLB -- Team Errors. I know we already have the unearned run in baseball, but we need the team error as well. A pop up to shallow right has the right fielder, second baseman and first baseman all racing for it. All 3 get there but then they look at each other as the ball falls to the ground. No one touched it so no one can be charged with an error, but is this truly the pitcher's fault? No. This should go as an error as well. E-Team. It is totally ridiculous that a player usually has to touch the ball to get an error (mostly in the outfield) since many of the time the issue is that the player doesn't touch the ball. If a player should have caught it but there really is no one to give the error to, just give it to the whole goddamn team. It's totally ridiculous that the announcers blame the ball for falling into the "Bermuda Triangle" when it really just falls in between a bunch of fielders who should have caught it. E-Team.

Read more>>

A Look at the Giants: The Dreaded Coughlin Trap Game Bites the Giants...Again

Yesterday's Giants game had all the makings of a trap game: a bad team that just fired its coach, a Giants team with a few key injuries, no one giving the opposition a chance to win the game, and, most importantly, a big match-up coming up the next game that the Giants were looking forward to and maybe looking past their current game. Every year under Tom Coughlin the Giants seem to play one of these games. For a coach who is supposed to be a disciplinarian who keeps his troops focused, this seems like it never should happen. But yesterday afternoon, as the power went out at New Meadowlands Stadium, the power went out of the Giants. Let's take a look at the trap games losses throughout the years under Coughlin:

A big Eli Manning INT again led to a Giants "trap game" loss (Star-Ledger)

Nov 14, 2010 (Week 10): Dallas Cowboys at Giants. The Giants had spoiled the home opener of the Cowboys in their new stadium and then had walloped them a few weeks ago. You knew that the Cowboys were going to come in and play with a purpose (so you thought maybe the Cowboys would cover the 14-point spread). But a 13-point win marred by a ton of Giants mistakes and 3 key turnovers? Awful. The Giants had plenty of chances to get back in this game and instead gave up long 3rd down gains, had a huge touchdown pass to Hakeem Nicks overturned because of a penalty, threw a 101-yard Pick 6 after first down at the 1, and generally looked like, well, the Cowboys of the past few weeks (the Cowboys have the 4th-worst defense and point differential in the NFL). With the Eagles looming on the schedule, the Giants were definitely looking ahead to that game and totally underestimated their opponent. The Giants are now going from a possible 1st round bye to possibly having to fight for their playoff lives in a span of one week. Trap game, indeed.

Nov 26, 2009 (Week 12): Giants at Denver Broncos. The Broncos had lost 4 in a row and looked totally lost when the Giants came in town having just won a huge post-bye week game against the Falcons but had a quick turnaround to play a Thursday night game only 4 days later against the Broncos. With Dallas coming next, the Giants got caught looking ahead once again as they fell behind 16-0 and were unable to recover. The Giants committed three turnovers including a costly fumble by Eli Manning in the 4th Quarter to seal the deal for the Broncos. The Giants got killed on the ground game with Brandon Jacobs and Danny Ware sharing the rushing lead with only 27 yards. The Giants defense continued to get slaughtered as they would finish the season giving up the 3rd-most point in the NFL (26.7 per game). The Broncos finished the season 8-8 and the Giants missed a golden opportunity to win a game and have a chance at a playoff berth.

Read more>>

You Can Get With This Or You Can Get With That Week 8

Get with Donovan McNabb not with Carson Palmer

Carson Palmer has had an inconsistent year thus far. He’s thrown for a lot of yards and has a decent amount of touchdowns, but if you’ve watched him play, you can tell that he’s still not the old Carson Palmer. He’s yet to face a top notch pass defense, and while Miami is middle of the pack, I think they will give Palmer a tough time. Cameron Wake has been a revelation this year rushing from the outside linebacker spot and he’ll be terrorizing Palmer all day. Miami’s young corners are also underrated.

Donovan McNabb has also been inconsistent this year, but he’s going against a Detroit Defense that hasn’t given up less than 19 points, and is 20th in the league against the pass. McNabb has yet to throw more than 1 TD in a game this year, but now that the Skins have developed a more consistent running game, I think things will finally open up in the secondary for him as he continues to build chemistry with his new team.

Get with Beanie Wells not with Darren McFadden

Those wise or desperate enough to play the banged up McFadden last week scored big with a 4 touchdown day for the Razorback speedster. Oakland has proven they can run the ball this year, despite the production they’ve gotten from the quarterback position. However, this week they go against the 2nd best run stoppers in the league in the form of the surprising Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks are young and talented at the linebacker position and they’ve shut down some of the top runners in the league already, namely Frank Gore and Steven Jackson.

Every week that Beanie Wells has been healthy, he’s entrenched himself more and more as the lead back in Arizona. Against Tampa, the 2nd to last worst run defense in the league, Beanie has his breakout week. The Cardinals will be committed to running the ball with Max Hall at quarterback, who is coming back after a concussion last week. Not that he was very good pre-concussion. The way to score against Tampa is on the ground, and I think Arizona will figure that out.

Get with Patrick Crayton not with Mike Williams (West)

Read more>>

Bad News for the New York (Football) Giants: Kiwanuka May Be Out for the Season

"Indefinite" timelines for injuries are never a good thing, usually signaling that the end of the player's season is near. Giants' Mathias Kiwanuka reportedly got that news today as ESPN New York reports that the herniated cervical disk in his neck will send to him to Injured Reserve, ending his season. The Blue Screen wonders if this means the end of Kiwi's Giants career as well.

Mathias Kiwanuka is done for the season (Star-Ledger)

This is not good news for a Giants team that we discussed more fully earlier is a team with a great record, but is a team with holes. It's a really sad end for a guy who has showed so much promise as a Giant. Through the first three games, Kiwi had 4 sacks, leading the Giants team and was an extremely versatile player in Perry Fewell's new defense, playing end, linebacker and even tackle. He was "The Guy" on defense and looked to be in the middle of a monster season. It looked like he was willing to rehab and come back this season. And his willingness to be flexible could have been invaluable for the Giants going forward. But it was reported that after speaking to Antonio Pierce whose career ended after a similar injury, Kiwanuka realized it wasn't worth rushing back and risking further injury.

This isn't the first time that an injury has derailed one of Kiwi's seasons; in November of 2007 the Giants placed him on IR as well after fracturing his left fibula. The Giants would, of course, go on to win the Super Bowl that year without Kiwanuka. This year their depth will certainly be tested without his presence.

To replace Kiwi on the roster, the Giants will reportedly sign former Packer DB Will Blackmon who worked out for Big Blue yesterday. Why they wouldn't just cut the inept Darius Reynaud is mind boggling, but Blackmon at least gives them another (read: better) option at kick and punt returner. The G-men seemed to come into the season believing that D.J. Ware was going to be the kickoff returner and Aaron Ross was going to return punts until Reynaud showed up. It seems that Blackmon will now take over some of those duties.

Read more>>

This Year's Giants Look a Lot Like Last Year's Giants

24 hours after the New York Giants buried the Cowboys in Dallas, Giants fans are elated. Another game over and another quarterback knocked out. Moore, Cutler, Collins, Hill, and Romo has become a personal injury firm of beaten down QBs (and in the age of putting every hit under a microscope, all of those hits were legal). The passing game looks lethal and the defense looks dominant. The Giants are 5-2 heading into their bye week, tied for first in the NFC, on top of the NFC East, and looking like one of the best teams in football.

Overcoming injuries like Kiwanuka's is a sign of a good team (Star-Ledger)

And it really doesn't feel too much different than last year.

At the quarter mark last year, the Giants were 4-0 and looked unstoppable. I predicted 11 wins, but Jay was more bold saying they were a 13-win team "at worse". Yeah, well, it was much worse. The injuries piled up. They got embarrassed on Monday Night Football to fall to 5-4. The Giants finally won their first game in 42 days and looked like they could jump right back into the playoff race. And then they laid down to end the season.

So what's different a year later? Well Big Blue has turned into "Jet Blue" and the Giants offense seems to be more in sync. Osi Umenyora is back as a defensive force and Perry Fewell's defenses are not just imaginative, they're effective. But although the defense has looked better, they still have allowed the opponents to stay in the game every game this season--a bad sign for a team that's supposed to go deep into the playoffs. They turnover the ball way too much and although Eli Manning is probably on his way to a Pro Bowl, he still makes decisions that make us all show our "Manning Face". The special teams is anything but special and actually has been the Giants biggest problem area. And let's not forget this team is less than a month away from calls for Tom Coughlin to be fired.

My thoughts? I think this is a playoff team, but the road there is not going to be easy. The Giants have a bye week at the worst possible time considering they're hot and they're healthy. They come back from the bye and go right to Seattle to play a Seahawks team who is very, very good at home, play Dallas at home in a very winnable game, and then they have to go to Philly for a very tough division match-up. After playing Jacksonville and Washington at home (again, two winnable games) the G-men's last 4 games will truly test their might as they play at Minnesota, host the Eagles, and then close at Green Bay and at Washington.

Read more>>

You Can Get With This Or You Can Get With That: Week 5

We interrupt your baseball playoffs coverage for our weekly fantasy football column. Ben P is back again with some great advice of who to start and who to sit in Week 5 of the National...Football...League:

Sit Favre out this Sunday (Yahoo)

--------------------------------------------------------------------
Get with Carson Palmer not with Brett Favre

I know, I know, Minnesota just stole the disgruntled Randy Moss from the Pats. This is good news for Brett Favre who has struggled without a healthy Sydney Rice. However, there are two reasons why I don’t like his match-up this week. Numero Uno being that this is Moss’s first week with the team. Moss will have had very little time to develop a little chemistry with Favre and to learn the Vikings playbook. I think Favre will force a few too many balls to his new toy. Numero Dos is of course the Jets Defense. They haven’t been playing up to the lofty standards they set for themselves last year, but they’re still very good. Even if Revis doesn’t play again or is limited, Cromartie has played well for the Jets and matches up well against Moss. I think the Jets get their licks on Favre and he doesn’t get away with a couple of the balls he throws up for grabs.

Carson Palmer makes a much more intriguing option. He has looked fairly inconsistent this year and he’s going against a surprising Tampa team that is off to a good start. However, Tampa hasn’t really been tested (they’ve face Delhomme, Moore/Clausen, and Batch) and I think Ronde Barber has lost a step (he looked very slow returning an interception earlier this year). Palmer and T.O. are coming off of a big week making beautiful passing music together. Palmer has a lot of weapons in the passing game and the Bengals are not afraid to give him lots of opportunities to use them. Palmer is no longer elite, but I think he has a solid game this week.

Get with Beanie Wells not with Ryan Mathews

Read more>>

You Can Get With This Or You Can Get With That: Week 4

Last week Ben, our resident fantasy football expert, predicted you go with Joe Flacco at QB and he delivered with 262 yards passing, three touchdowns and no interceptions. This week Flacco's back on his list...but on the other side. Let's check out who you should start and who you should sit Week 4 in the National...Football...League:

Flacco was huge last week, but this week he'll run into a Steel wall (Reuters)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Get with Chad Henne, not with Joe Flacco

Joe Flacco, who came through for us last week, is not the guy you want in your corner in week 4. Flacco goes against the consensus number one D in the league, the Steelers of Pittsburgh. Plus, Ray Rice is hobbled with a banged up knee and might not even play this week. Rice is one of Flacco’s favorite safety valves, so if he’s not on the field when Harrison and Woodley start coming after him, there are going to be some throws that go places they shouldn’t. I think this will be a low scoring battle of the trenches, where both teams will play the field position game and rely on their defenses. Flacco won’t rack up the yards and will probably turn it over a couple times.

Chad Henne is the superior option. He goes against the young New England D, which surrendered 3 TD’s to Mark Sanchez and almost 250 to Ryan Fitzpatrick. Translation: you can throw against the Pats. Henne is starting to build a nice connection with Brandon Marshall, as evidenced by Marshall’s 10 catches last week. The Pats have nobody that can match up with Marshall’s physicality and I think he goes off for another big game. Chad Henne is sure to benefit.

Get with Shonn Greene, not with Peyton Hillis

Read more>>

TiqIQ Giants Ticket Preview: Giants vs. Bears

Here at NYaT, we're always looking for smart partnerships to bring better coverage to you, the reader. During this football season we'll be working with TiqIQ to help you find great tickets on the secondary market to the New York Giants. They'll give you a breakdown of the prices per section for the Giants home games so you can make an informed decision when you go to get tickets.

TiqIQ's slogan is "Tickets Meet Intelligence" and if you're looking to procure tickets on the secondary market, you need a tool like this to make sure you're getting the most bang for your buck. River Ave Blues partnered with TiqIQ back in July to bring you the information you needed on Yankees tickets and now we're working to make sure you are up-to-date on tickets for Big Blue as they battle in their first season of New Meadowlands Stadium. Here's a preview of what this Sunday's big match-up between the Chicago Bears and New York Giants looks like:

Read more>>

You Can Get With This Or You Can Get With That: Week 3

Last week we had our first guest post from our Fantasy Football expert, Ben. We're going to try to make this a weekly occurrence so here is post #2. Ben was mostly dead on last week (save for Jay Cutler) nailing LeSean McCoy, Donovan McNabb, Ahmad Bradshaw and Louis Murphy. Here's what he says for your fantasy team in Week 3:

Flacco is no longer playing the Jets or Bengals so get with him in Week 3 (FOX News)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Get with Joe Flacco not with Jay Cutler.

I know I got burned on my Cutler blast week, but I’m happy to go double or nothing. Cutler and the Bears have another stiff test with the capable Green Bay Defense. The Pack has only given up 270 passing yards over the first two games and played a big part in the highly touted Kevin Kolb losing his starting gig. Clay Matthews has emerged as one of the premier pass rushing outside line backers and Jay Cutler will be fighting for his life again this week. The Packers also have the ball-hawking Woodson at cornerback, and while he’s getting up there in years, he still has some game left. There are going to be ups and downs for Cutler in Mike Martz’s high risk offense, and this week I think we are poised for a down.

Joe Flacco is coming off of a very bad game against a tough Bengals secondary. This week, however, he gets what should be an easier opponent with the Cleveland Browns. The Browns have not given up many passing yards either, but their two opponents (Tampa Bay and Kansas City) have not exactly tested the Brown’s young secondary. Flacco is still building chemistry with his new passing weapons, and I think he will get better as the season goes on. Last year, Baltimore was one of the best teams at using the screen pass. I think this week they get back to it to build Flacco’s confidence after last week, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Ray Rice take one of those to the house.

Get with Clinton Portis not with Jahvid Best.

Read more>>