PLAYOFF WEEK 1 REACTION

I think the biggest surprise of Week 1 of the NFL playoffs is the fact that four road teams were the favorites, and 2 of those actually won. Home field advantage in the playoffs is so important, and Arizona and San Diego were able to take advantage of that. But Baltimore clearly overwhelmed Miami in Miami, and Philadelphia beat Minnesota in Minnesota...I feel like anytime you win a playoff game on the road, it's quite an accomplishment.

The real feat, though, is if you can win on the road in Week 2.
A couple of other reactions:

SATURDAY
Atlanta at Arizona
-I totally did not see Arizona winning this game. Good for them - I didn't particularly enjoy rooting against them (I did want to see Atlanta win). But I think their run will be short-lived, coming east.
-The Cardinals do have this working in their favor - it's not like they're heading east for a 1pm game - they have the Saturday night game, so the time shouldn't be a factor, at least. Playing a really good team will probably be a bigger factor.
-My final thought on this game is that it was amazing how fast things swung Arizona's way after the fumble on the handoff at the start of the second half. Everything fell apart for the Falcons fast.

Indianapolis at San Diego
-Definitely the pick of the weekend.
The game was a lot closer than I expected - I really thought San Diego would pour it on the Colts...and they probably would have won in regulation if Peyton Manning had not caught the Chargers napping on that long touchdown to Reggie Wayne.
-I put a lot of stock into the Chargers this post-season - our post-season player pool roster has Philip Rivers and Vincent Jackson (both posted 0's on Saturday) - but the game turned out the way I hoped....I think next week's matchup with Pittsburgh is going to also be the best game of the weekend.

SUNDAY
Baltimore at Miami
-I was shocked to see Ed Hochuli as referee in this game, after the start to the year he had. I guess he turned it around after the early errors. I'm also glad, after we saw Hochuli once or twice early in the game, CBS addressed why he was doing the game.
-Chad Pennington has never matched up well against a defense like Baltimore's.
-Speaking of the referees, I had never seen the guy who did the Arizona-Atlanta game before, but he was pretty good. I'm not sure what his name was.

Philadelphia at Vikings
-Maybe I was saving up for next weekend's games, where I'm going to be fully interested from 4pm Saturday through 8pm Sunday, but I really tuned out when this game came on. I watched a little, but I was more concerned with getting stuff done around the house. Again - this will not be the case next Sunday at the same time - I'll be glued to San Diego-Pittsburgh.

I'll have picks by late Friday or early Saturday.

Inspired by the Southern Bureau, I might try to get into some baseball this week. I also might touch on the Jets' coaching situation. Apparently Boston College coach Jeff Jagodzinski is putting his job on the line just to interview with the Jets. I might advise him that it's not really worth it.

WORTH IT?

The time has come to ask the question that has been on the mind of Jets fans since August - Was it worth it to get Brett Favre from the Green Bay Packers for the 2008 NFL season?
Favre ended up costing the Jets:

1) A conditional fourth round pick.
1a) Since he played in 50 percent of the plays this season, the pick jumped to a third-round selection.
(Had the Jets made the playoffs, since Favre played in 70 percent of the Jets plays, it would have become a second-rounder, a first-rounder if Favre took the Jets to the Super Bowl.)
-And since it is now a third-round selection, the Jets get a Packers seventh-round pick in 2010.

2) A head coach.

3) Probably at least one season once Favre decides to retire, since the Jets have no one ready to take the reins.

The Favre trade won't go down in history as one of the worst trades of all time - the Jets only gave up a third-round pick (if I have the correct info) for a future Hall of Famer.

It's the more intangible stuff surrounding Favre that makes one really question this trade.

I'm willing to bet the rumors that Favre didn't like playing for Eric Mangini (he named his son for Brett Favre - what more would Favre want?) were a big factor in Mangini being fired a day after the season ended. I bet it rubbed Favre the wrong way that he was made to run a lap for a transgression (I forget what it was - but I remember that it was lead-story news, that Favre had to run a punishment lap in Jets camp) when he first arrived. And now the Jets are without a coach, and entering a transition stage. Mangini could very well be looking for a job anyway had he not had Favre at quarterback this year - but with the firing of the coach seeming to link so closely to Favre's ineffectiveness this past month, this is a strike against trading for Favre.

Then comes the question always surrounding Favre - when will he retire? People close to the Jets seem to want him to come back (and perhaps that's why Mangini is no longer the coach), because the Jets have no one to take over at quarterback if Favre goes. So a lot depends on this MRI that Favre had the day after the season ended - if he's healthy enough, I have to believe he'll be back next year. So really, the Jets will be getting two years out of Favre, hopefully a better year, in which case the jury remains out on the Favre trade.

If Favre decides to retire, comes back with a shoulder injury, or in any way strings the Jets along in his retirement decision, it becomes a terrible, terrible trade, which sets the Jets back a couple of years in both the quarterback and head coaching positions.

Where do I stand right now? Well, I want to make this clear - I do not think the Jets would have had the kind of success the Dolphins did this year, or even that they did (9-7 is still a rare Jets winning season), had Chad Pennington been the Jets quarterback. Pennington probably would have been hurt again. The one big difference between Pennington this year and last is that he had adequate protection - something that Favre did not have at the beginning of this year. Favre is tougher than Pennington - he absorbed the hits better (or maybe not - the MRI results may let us know that). So while I love Pennington, I'm not going to sit here and say that the Jets came up short on this Favre deal because look at what Pennington did with Miami. I said it at the time - it was best for both parties to part ways when they did.

And I'll add this - I was excited when Brett Favre came to the Jets. I wasn't looking forward to the NFL season with my usual zeal this year, until the Favre trade happened. And he came through for 3 months, giving Jets fans a lot of excitement. Problem is, the season is four months long. Five if your team is one that makes the playoffs, and the bottom line is that the Jets did not do that.

So I'm not ready to say the Favre trade was a disaster. But it certainly hasn't been a success. And depending on what happens this off-season, it could head towards disaster more quickly than it emerges as a success.

NFL WEEK 17 RECAP

The 2008 NFL season is over.

Congratulations to Chad Pennington on winning the AFC East with the Miami Dolphins. I was reminded watching the game of the Jets' last division championship, which they clinched on the final day of the 2002 season, when Pennington beat the Packers (led by quarterback Brett Favre) at the Meadowlands. I thought that was kind of funny. Anyway, it couldn't happen to a better guy. Of course, Pennington handled it with class...though I wouldn't have blamed him if he had flipped off the crowd on his way off the field. I hope he wins the Super Bowl.

Before we get to the playoffs this week, though, a look at the week's final season:

BEST GAME OF WEEK 17: A couple of games came down to a final field goal - but all involved teams that had most everything wrapped up. I guess the Panthers-Saints goes as the best, because the Panthers earned themselves a bye with the win, after the Saints came back in a huge way in the game, and Carolina still managed to pull off a last-second win.

BEST PERFORMANCE OF WEEK 17: The Ravens went out and took care of business - I'll give the nod to either Joe Flacco or Le'Ron McClain - Flacco had 297 yards passing, McClain had 70 yards rushing and scored twice.

WORST PERFORMANCE OF WEEK 17: The Dallas Cowboys laid an absolute egg against the Eagles with everything on the line. (The Broncos didn't play much better controlling their own destiny, nor did the Buccaneers, but the Cowboys were the worst.) The Eagles did a nice job, but the Cowboys did worse than the Eagles did well.

BEST GAME IN PLAYOFFS: Next week I think the best matchup might be Eagles-Vikings, though there's something intriguing about that Chargers-Colts game too. I think the Chargers have the potential to be the Colts of two years ago - a very average regular season, getting hot at the right time and making their championship run. This is the same team, after all, that has been a playoff threat then disappointment in recent years - maybe this is the year they turn it around. Not that I want them to...but it might happen.

BEST PERFORMANCE PREDICTED IN PLAYOFFS: There's not much here to predict - this prediction stuff is all over (though I will pick playoff games again starting Friday/Saturday). I will say this though - I'm in a playoff player pool, where you pick players with the hope that they get lots of points and go deep into the playoffs. My friend who I'm doing it with and I were talking about who would be a good quarterback pick, because there's really no obvious choice, the way Kurt Warner has fallen apart and with no other clear cut great quarterback out there this year. It occurred to me this weekend that Matt Ryan might be the choice - because I bet Atlanta upsets Arizona next week, and he puts up good numbers.
-Last Week: I said a 24-10 win by the Dolphins (off by 7 points there), on a 19-23, 279-yard day, 1 throwing, 1 rushing touchdown for Chad Pennington. He was 22-30 for 200 yards and 2 touchdowns. Just another solid Pennington day...and my prediction was close enough for me.

**UPDATE** - Eric Mangini has just been fired by the Jets. I would have fired him last week, after the Seahawks loss, but that was totally reactive. After what I read about Woody Johnson (Jets owner) this morning, I suspect that this was a reactionary move. Maybe they should have taken a week to cool off. I don't love the idea of starting over with a new coach. I just hope a replacement is named quickly...and I hope the other reports recently that Brett Favre did not like playing for Mangini did not factor into this decision.

So here we are again, the Jets looking for another head coach. Same old Jets.

HERE'S HOW IT IS TODAY

OK. So I'm rooting for Chad Pennington today. For one lonely NFL week out of my 30 years on this earth, I'm rooting against the Jets. Strangely, that means I'm rooting for the team I've had a burning hatred for every other year - the Miami Dolphins.

Now, with the strong winds in Buffalo today, anything could happen, and the Bills might beat the Patriots...and if that happens, and a Jets win puts them into the playoffs as a division champ, maybe I'll root for the Jets. But I can't say right now - I need to see what I decide when and if that situation presents itself.

I'm less angry with the Jets now than I was a week ago. I'm very angry, though, with Jets fans. That's much of the reason I want Pennington to win on the Jets' home field, to stick it to the people who cheered when he was hurt a year ago. And that's part of the reason I'm not going to be there - first of all because I'm not going through that hassle of attending a Jets game in New Jersey with zero parking for a team that will most likely lose (though I will do it next week for the playoffs if they win the division), but mostly because I don't want to be around more people booing Pennington.

A COUPLE OF OTHER THINGS:
-I apologize for the lack of images the past few days - I'm not at the home computer, so I'm going sans pictures.

-I thought it was funny the other day that the Southern Bureau suggested I root for the Panthers. Funny because here I am this week rooting for the Dolphins, who the Southern Bureau, if he rooted for any NFL team his entire life it was Miami, and he's suggesting I go to Carolina. For the record, I'm not looking for a new team. But I do enjoy occasionally rooting for Carolina anyway.

-I'm actually rooting against them today, now that I bring it up, because I want Atlanta to win the NFC South. One of my favorite stats in sports right now is that the team that finishes last in the NFC South one year wins the division the following year. And if Atlanta wins and Carolina loses, that will happen again.

Enjoy the final regular season week of the 2008 NFL season. And good luck, Chad Pennington.

TOP TEN STORIES OF 2008

All around the blogging world this time of year you see the rundown of the top stories of the year. Only rarely do the stories that have an impact on my life come up. So, my space, my place to put my stories - here are the top 10 stories (in reverse order) of 2008 from '200 Miles From the Citi', with a link to my initial reaction, and some reasoning:

(#11 - Just missed the countdown - Mets Fire Willie Randolph. The way they did it was really the story, not so much that they did it. Meanwhile, that whole thing seems like a lifetime ago, let alone that it happened this past year.)

#10 - GARY CARTER
A year ago I dubbed 2008 ('08) the year of Gary Carter, who wore number 8. He certainly kept himself in the news. On January 2nd I wrote about his appointment as manager of the Orange County Flyers - a return to his hometown (or close to it). He proceeded to win a championship with Orange County, then he took a job managing the Long Island Ducks, returning to my hometown (or close to it). I suspect we'll be hearing some more from the Hall of Famer in 2009.

#9 - PHILLIES WIN WORLD SERIES
This is probably on a number of year-end highlight countdowns, but it probably doesn't sting as bad on some of the other ones. I actually ended up wanting the Phillies to win (kind of), though I picked against them. I certainly didn't enjoy it when they ended up winning.

#8 - GIANTS END PATRIOTS' UNBEATEN SEASON
The 2008 playoffs were weird for a Jets fan - the Giants got hot, and the Patriots were riding their perfect season...two teams Jets fans don't necessarily love to see be successful. But I've never had a hard time rooting for the Giants, and I like Eli Manning. I picked the Giants to win, which put me in a minority...and I probably did so more with heart than head. When they won, I wasn't as shocked as most, but I was relieved. I haven't written about this much, but it's funny that when the Jets were good this year, the Giants were still much better. The teams I root for always have trouble getting the whole city behind them.

#7 - HELLO, JOHAN SANTANA
You might think I'm ranking this pretty low, but I think it belongs at number 7. Santana could only pitch once every five days, and clearly the move didn't bring about a championship. Still, it was a huge deal - and I was taken by surprise when it happened. Santana had a great season individually, and was fun to watch, but the Mets fell short, so this ended up being kind of bittersweet.

#6 - GOOD-BYE, CHAD
Had you asked me a year ago at this time, I would have told you that I didn't expect Chad Pennington to be back with the Jets for the 2008 season....thought it became more and more likely that he would as the off-season progressed. It wasn't until early August that things fell into place with Brett Favre and Pennington was let go. Of course, the disappointing thing about this story was that he had to go to the Dolphins, and I was forced to root for Miami in a season in which they were right behind the Jets in the standings all season long...until the final week, when they were atop the standings. In retrospect, this might have been the first time since Gary Carter that a favorite athlete of mine left my favorite team with some years left in the tank and I had to root for them in another uniform.

#5 - SHEA'S FINAL DAYS
Early in the season it seemed like the Mets would make the final year at Shea Stadium a waste of everyone's time, a disappointment. Then they made their run and it looked like some of the old magic was back, until the ghosts of 2007 came out. And in the end, Shea closed its doors to a disappointing season. But 2008 still allowed for a year of reflections and memories of a place that I'll miss.

#4 - THE JETS' 2008 SEASON
It's still not over, but the off-season moves, and the cherry on top - Brett Favre - came together to make 2008 a mostly successful season. Something I saw coming just as the 2007 season was coming to its conclusion, I might add. Of course, that NFC West thing didn't work out quite as well as I had hoped....but let's remember - the Jets "backed in" to the playoffs in 2004 when they lost to St. Louis on the final day of the season, but got the help they needed. Maybe they'll get the repeat situation in 2008 - they need to win, coupled with either a Patriots loss or a Ravens loss (I'm not necessarily rooting for them...but I will root for them if they end up in the playoffs).

#3 - JETS ACQUIRE BRETT FAVRE
One of my all-time favorite football players comes to my favorite team. There were mixed feelings about how everything went down, and the fact that it meant saying goodbye to Pennington, but it was a very exciting time, turning around my otherwise lackluster feelings toward the start of the football season.

#2 - THE LAST PLAY AT SHEA
Had it not been for the birth of my second child, this would have easily been the highlight of 2008 for me. My brother got the tickets, and my last visit to Shea was a memorable one. Not only was it a special moment as a fan of both the Mets and Billy Joel, it was the best concert I've been to, capped off by a dramatic appearance by Paul McCartney. I guess, all told, I'd rather have my last event at Shea have been a playoff game, but this was a tremendous night, great memories, and it far exceeded my expectations. A playoff game could have ended with disappointment.

#1 - METS MISS PLAYOFFS (AGAIN)
I hate to end on a down note, but this was definitely the defining moment of 2008 at '200 Miles From the Citi'. I don't spend my summer writing about the Mets expecting them to fall short come September. But that's what's happened two years running now. And I don't think my expectations for 2009 are going to get too high. A year ago, on New Year's, I wrote this:

I'm not here to offer predictions for the baseball season - it's too early for that. I will say that 2008 is looking to me like a must-win season for the Mets. If they don't win this year, I think it might be a while. If they do win this year, I think they might be able to defend a title in their new park.

They didn't win in 2008. I don't think I'm going to argue with myself. I'm afraid I may have been right.

NFL WEEK 16 RECAP

One more week - and there are some good games to watch next week. But first, the recap of the penultimate week of the season:

BEST GAME OF WEEK 16: The Chiefs-Dolphins game was pretty good - lots of scoring in tough conditions. The Giants-Panthers was also very good (though due to the circumstances of the Jets game I didn't really enjoy it) with a lot on the line. Games like the Colts-Jaguars, Bears-Packers, and Bills-Broncos weren't bad either.

BEST PERFORMANCE OF WEEK 16: I'm going to avoid talking about all the teams who had a chance to do something to help themselves when it came to the playoffs in Week 16 and failed - there are a lot of them (Jets first and foremost). Instead, I'm going to highlight the Atlanta Falcons, who no one expected anything out of, and came into Week 16 needing a win for the playoffs, and got it. That makes them the best performance of the week.

WORST PERFORMANCE OF WEEK 16: I don't care that it was snowing, I don't care that it was another east coast one o'clock game. The Arizona Cardinals don't deserve the playoffs any more than the Jets do. Throw Kurt Warner's 30-yard effort in with the big-picture 47-7 loss to the Patriots.

BEST GAME IN WEEK 17: With lots on the line it can either be Jets-Dolphins or Chargers-Broncos. So help me if the Broncos lose and the Chargers get into the playoffs. That would upset me as a Jets fan. The Patriots-Bills game will probably intense too.

BEST PERFORMANCE PREDICTED IN WEEK 17: I'm going to go with my heart again, and predict a huge playoff-entering performance from Chad Pennington. I say 19-23 for 279 yards and 1 throwing TD, 1 rushing. Dolphins, 24-10.
-Last Week: Way off with Kurt Warner and the Cardinals.

I THINK I MAY HATE THE JETS

I'm so mad right now. Problem is, I don't know who I'm mad at.

I don't know if I'm mad at myself because I saw this coming for weeks, and I didn't let myself believe the Jets would take a page from the Mets' end-of-season playbook and take a nosedive. I knew for a long time everything would come down to that last game of the season against Miami, but I'm mad for never thinking that it would be Miami who would be in the driver's seat when that game came along.

I'm mad at Eric Mangini for playing for field position early in the fourth quarter when he could have kicked a field goal and for doing the exact opposite later in the game, playing with awful field position. And for letting his team imitate the 1994 Jets in terms of collapses.

I'm mad at Brett Favre for being so old and wearing down as the season has gone on. It's no coincidence that he's questioning his ability to stay in the game and whether he's too old and the Jets look like a team that's out there sleepwalking through their final month.

Most of all, though, I'm mad at the franchise. I feel like a little kid - I just want to kick them in the shins and yell, "I hate you I hate you I hate you". I feel like I'm wasting so much energy on these teams for nothing in return.

I hate that the Jets are taking 10+ years off of my dad's priority on their season ticket list.

I hate that the Jets have never had their own stadium.

I hate that the Jets turned their back on one of their most successful quarterbacks ever and he's going to lead his new team to the playoffs on the field against the Jets.

I'm feeling very angry right now, and I don't want to write anything I may regret. It's hard to say that after 30 years I'm just going to stop rooting for the Jets forever.

So it's not a permanent divorce...yet. But we're taking a break. Next week, I'm a Chad Pennington fan. I'm flat-out rooting against the Jets. I'm not proud of it, but I feel like I have to do it.

First of all, I want to see Pennington do well.

Secondly, the Jets don't deserve the playoffs.

And lastly, if they made the playoffs, they wouldn't win anyway. At least with Pennington, a team has a chance.

When the season is over and I've had a chance to cool down, we'll see where things stand. But I'll tell you this - I'm not looking forward to an off-season of Brett Favre stringing the Jets along, only to look like he's washed up when the season gets into its late stages. I feel like he's already set the franchise back a couple of years. If he hangs around any longer they'll be going backwards even more.

I know this - I don't think I could make it through an NFL season without a team to root for. So I don't think I'll be totally jumping ship on the Jets. But we're certainly cooling things down for a while. Starting in Week 17.

WEEK 16 LIVE BLOG

11:48am - I've just decided the conditions today are right for a live blog. There are some interesting situations in today's Jets game (a 4 o'clock start...ugh) - Brett Favre vs. Mike Holmgren, Thomas Jones vs. Julius Jones - and then there's the looming playoff situation. The Jets will be playing in snowy conditions in Seattle, most likely, and the Patriots will be doing the same against the Cardinals in Foxboro. And I hear it will be extremely cold in Kansas City where the Chiefs will be hosting the Dolphins. So it will be an eventful day. I'll watch it all. And I'll write about it. After I get in from my first round of shoveling for the day.

12:10pm - Wow. That's a lot of snow. There's going to be a lot more shoveling today than I thought. Maybe I'll give you a picture later.

I'll set another scene here without a picture...but I'll still paint the image for you. All season I had been wearing a Jets t-shirt with my Jets fleece pants on Sundays for Jets games. After the two losses to San Francisco and Denver, though, I was going to switch things up, and with guests coming over last week I wasn't going to wear the fleece pants anyway. So I went with the t-shirt, jeans, and a Jets hat. That worked out, barely. I'm sticking with that outfit today - hopefully it's still lucky. I can't invite the guests back - they're back in New York. I've also been wearing my Jets sweatshirt for shoveling, so if things aren't going so well maybe I'll switch to that in the second half.

12:25pm - Here's your almost-live picture of the snow, still falling heavily:
Should be similar conditions for the Patriots-Cardinals game...at least the start of it. I think by the end of the game this will be freezing rain and everything will ice over.

1:15pm - I've fed the baby, so at least I'm not totally neglecting my parental duties today. And so much for the Jets getting any help - the Patriots are already up 7-0, and it took the Dolphins all of 18 seconds to go up 7-0 versus the Chiefs. They followed quickly with a turnover, then they had a turnover negated by a penalty. The Cardinals look terrible in the snow...looks like the Jets are going to just have to win their final two games no matter what.

1:41pm - Kansas City is showing signs of life. But to be honest, I don't think any of that matters. The Jets can't clinch this week. So I guess it'll look nice if the Jets are 10-5 while the Pats and Dolphins are 9-6, but the truth of the matter is the Jets need to win their final two games. Period. It doesn't matter what happens with the Dolphins and Patriots.

2:00pm - So a Dolphins win hurts the Patriots, does nothing for the Jets. A Dolphins loss helps the Patriots, does nothing for the Jets. What a weird week.

2:33pm - Update on the wardrobe - I'm really cold in just a t-shirt, so I'm going with the sweatshirt. Hope I don't cost the Jets a win.

Here's something good I just thought of - it's going to be bad weather in Seattle, but Brett Favre played his entire career in Green Bay, so he's got to be unaffected by it, no?

2:45pm - Out to shovel the next foot of snow that's fallen since I last shoveled three hours ago.

3:18pm - I hope the Jets are seeing what the Patriots are doing to the Cardinals (similar to what the Jets did to Arizona the last time I live-blogged, incidentally), and go out and do the same thing to the Seahawks in about an hour. There's no reason the Jets should lose today.

3:55pm - I am enjoying this Dolphins-Chiefs game. And I think since the Jets control their fate by playing the Dolphins next week, I'd rather see the Dolphins win, putting the Patriots in the tougher spot. And I need a fantasy touchdown from Ronnie Brown. So go Miami!

4:16pm - The Jets got three on their opening drive. Came close to getting a touchdown...but I'm encouraged by how they've moved the ball. The thing that scares me is that the Jets have done that on opening drives most of the season, then they go flat. So they need to keep it up.

The weather in Seattle, by the way, doesn't look all that terrible.

4:30pm - The weather is getting worse. That Seattle crowd is loud, even when the Seahawks are terrible. Good for them.

4:37pm - Through one quarter, 3-0, Jets. And I'm not feeling any less nervous.

5:01pm - My daughter may be a lucky charm. Twice I've had her yell 'Defense' at the TV, and twice it's resulted in the Seahawks fumbling (the last two drives). This last fumble came inside the 5. I will definitely be using this to my advantage.

5:22pm - I'm so friggin' angry. 7-3 Seahawks at halftime. The Jets haven't been able to move the ball since the opening drive. And the Seahawks are moving the ball pretty well. This game scares me a lot.

5:44pm - Another round of shoveling under my belt. Haven't even begun to try to dig out the cars (still coming down pretty steadily, by the way). This will be good therapy after the game, though - win or lose. I will need a distraction from the way the Jets make me crazy.

6:05pm - It's the end of the 3rd quarter, Seahawks up 10-3. I feel like I'm going to throw up...and now it's time for dinner.

6:19pm - A delay of game on a field goal...the Jets are lucky to still be down 7 right now with the ball. But they need a touchdown on this drive.

6:24pm - 6:48 to go in the game, and the Seahawks are playing like they're trying to wrap up a playoff spot. The Jets look awful. Like they have the past month. I'm so disappointed.

6:32pm - This is it - 3:06 left, the Jets have it at about their own 10. If the Jets don't get a touchdown, they can kiss their playoff hopes goodbye. And I just might root for Chad Pennington to beat them and make the playoffs next week.

6:37pm - It's not fun being a Jets fan. Disappointment after disappointment. I hope Pennington embarrasses them next week.

LOOMING....LOOMING...

Things that scare the dickens out of me between now and the end of 2008:

1) Clowns
2) The off-chance I'll run into Santa Claus (Christmas is sometimes like Halloween to me)
3) That December 28th game with the Dolphins


The first two are my own little issues. But that last one, I know I'm not alone on. And there are a lot of people jumping on that bandwagon. But I'm no Johnny-come-lately when it comes to that December 28th game. I've been banging that drum for a while.

And don't say I'm falling into the Seattle trap. I know my Jets. They very well could lose Week 16 in Seattle. But I'm a Jets historian - they're more likely to win in Seattle and then lose to the Dolphins in Week 17.

Of course, I'm hoping they don't....but I can't get too excited.

And here's the number one reason this Dolphins game scares me - seems lately they've gotten away from the Wildcat formation, the one that helped them upset the Patriots in Week 3 of the season. The one they didn't really start employing until then. Meaning that the Jets haven't seen it yet (they played the Dolphins in Week 1). And since the Dolphins have gone away from it recently, it might come as a surprise when they start using it again...Week 17....against the Jets.

If the Jets had trouble stopping the run against Buffalo, and against Denver, and against San Francisco, with the back coming out of his traditional spot in the backfield, what chance do they have against the Wildcat?

So that's what scares me most about the Dolphins. Not to mention the fact that when I first mentioned the Dolphins game scaring me, I envisioned a spoiler scenario for Chad Pennington and Miami. Not a situation where they would actually stand to win the division by beating the Jets.

So I'll be wearing out the Sunday Ticket this Sunday. Miami-Kansas City. New England-Arizona. And Jets-Seahawks at 4. I never count on the Jets making it easy...but I never thought just a month ago that it would become this hard.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

I have a ton I'm thankful for this Thanksgiving, mostly the personal stuff. But you don't come here to read about my wife and daughters - I assume you come to read about the Mets and the Jets. So I'll keep this to the foolish stuff.

And tell you that this year, as a sports fan, I am extremely thankful for the 2008 Jets.

At the very least, if the Jets didn't go any further than the 8-3 at which they now stand, they've taken the bad taste of the end of the Mets' season out of my mouth. At most, they'll give me some playoff football, and I'd be disappointed if it isn't multiple playoff games for the first time in four years.

I'm thankful for Brett Favre. I think it begins and ends with him. The Jets line finally seems to be coming together, and I think it's no coincidence that the less Favre is pressured, the less he makes mistakes. I maintain that Chad Pennington wouldn't be having this same amount of success with the Jets this year because he would have been crushed (physically) by Week 3. Favre is tougher, and battled through some injuries, I think, and now he's not getting hit as much. Put Pennington behind the Jets' line in Week 13, and yes, I think he and Favre would be on equal footing. But not from early in the season...and that's part of the reason he's doing so well in Miami - I don't think he's been touched all year. (I'm also thankful that to this point, rooting for the team I despise to see Pennington succeed hasn't bitten me in the behind.) And I love the youthful joy Favre brings to the team -he makes it fun to root for the team.

And there's one last thing I'm thankful for regarding Brett Favre. I'm thankful he's a Jet. I don't like the way he went about things this off-season, that's for sure. And I slightly dread the fact that the Jets might be the Packers of the past couple of years in the coming off-seasons, the difference being they don't have a first-round draft pick waiting in the wings....but I'm afraid from now on Favre will hold them hostage the way he held Green Bay hostage the past few years. But maybe that's the price you pay for this kind of success.

Point is - I really like Brett Favre. I've rooted for him for a very long time. Remember, I've always had a soft spot for the Packers - maybe it was the yellow in their uniform, maybe it was that they were a playoff team when the Jets were awful. So it was very easy for me to root for him as a Jet - it's like a dream come true for me. Remember a couple of years ago when I mused that Mike Sherman could become the new Jets coach and lure Favre over? It happened, in a different way than I expected, and I'm happy about it. It's not like a guy like John Elway or Dan Marino, both of whom I could never stand, is now quarterbacking my team - it's a guy I've always rooted for.

I know losing seasons. Baseball, football, you name it - I've seen the worst of it. So I think that makes me appreciate the good times even more. And this is a good time. And for that, I'm thankful.

NFL WEEK 8 RECAP

And you thought Week 8 was over. Another squeaker for the Jets in Week 8 - more exciting than it should have been. But we addressed that already earlier this week. So straight to the recap:

BEST GAME OF WEEK 8: The Jets-Chiefs game, sadly, might have been the best...or at least the best ending - it wasn't a well-played game. Giants-Steelers was good, but I don't think it was as good as it could have been. Maybe because it was so defensive.

BEST PERFORMANCE OF WEEK 8: I think the nod might go to none other than Chad Pennington. I didn't think the Dolphins would pull it out against the Bills, but they did, mostly thanks to Pennington's 314-yard, 1 touchdown performance.

WORST PERFORMANCE OF WEEK 8: Not that anyone's really expecting much out of them, but the Bengals were a disaster last week against Houston.

BEST GAME IN WEEK 9: A pretty good slate - Jets-Bills, Giants-Cowboys, Patriots-Colts, and Green Bay at undefeated Tennessee.

BEST PERFORMANCE PREDICTED IN WEEK 9: My mouth is watering for Atlanta's Michael Turner. An easy 153 yards and 2 TD's vs. Oakland.

-Last Week: I came pretty close with this one (and just realized I'm picking on Oakland a second week in a row - let's call it revenge for the Jets' loss to them) - I said Baltimore would smoke 'em, 44-13. It was 29-10.

NFL WEEK 5 RECAP

A bye week for the Jets, which meant I was able to give less than 100% focus to more than just the usual 2 to 3 games (that's the kind of respect I show the Jets):

BEST GAME OF WEEK 5: I really enjoyed watching the Miami Dolphins beat the San Diego Chargers, 17-10. It's looking more and more like the Jets were lucky to beat Miami in Week 1, and their loss to San Diego is just going to kill them come playoff time. The Dolphins were very good, and Chad Pennington was typical Pennington. His arm looked strong enough, and he didn't make any mistakes. A great game for him, and a great win for Miami. And there's something really screwy going on when I'm rooting wholeheartedly for the Miami Dolphins - I don't think I hate an NFL franchise more. There's the power of Pennington for you.

BEST PERFORMANCE OF WEEK 5: Kudos to the Arizona Cardinals. You want to talk about a bounceback win - after getting embarrassed by the Jets (while still putting up 35 points themselves) they showed they can hang with the AFC East by beating the Bills handily. That's a good win, especially when you consider.....

WORST PERFORMANCE OF WEEK 5: ...the Seattle Seahawks absolutely laid an egg in their game against the Giants. I mean, the Giants look better than I think most of us expected - but they crushed Seattle. The Seahawks are supposed to be the best team out of that division....I think they've shown they are not, and the Cardinals, flaws and all, might be.

BEST GAME IN WEEK 6: How about another measuring stick for those aforementioned Arizona Cardinals? The Cardinals play the Cowboys in Arizona. Arizona is coming off a huge win, the Cowboys are coming off a disappointing performance at home against Cincinnati.

BEST PERFORMANCE PREDICTED IN WEEK 6: Following a week where he threw for just 176 yards and no scores, I think Jason Campbell bounces back pretty good for Washington against St. Louis. Campbell is putting together a nice little season for himself, and Week 5 was more the aberration than the norm. That was some win for Washington, by the way, beating Philadelphia. They'll crush the Rams next week to go to 5-1, behind 298 yards from Campbell, with 3 TD's (one rushing).
-Last Week: I said Matt Forte would have a big game. Chicago had itself a big game, beating Detroit 34-7, but Forte had just 36 yards on 15 carries. He did catch 4 passes for 25 yards, with a touchdown receiving and rushing, but that's not really close to the 145 yards I predicted...though I did call for 2 TD's. This was my worst prediction of the season so far.

QUITE A DAY

September 7, 2008 - A Day For The Record Books

Two Mets-Phillies games - one in the afternoon, one at night

The Jets season opener, first game for Brett Favre; against Chad Pennington, no less

A Sunday of NFL

Throw in a NASCAR race in the evening

Lots of golf thrown into one day, due to rain delays

Even championship tennis, if you are so inclined

And then there just might be a baby born today

Imagine if this was your birthday, to boot. Lucky Justin in NYC

ALL OVER THE PLACE

I have lots of things on my mind this morning - I'll throw them all at you here:

Let's start with the Tampa Bay Rays. As I've been saying for a while, they're not going anywhere. The Yankees have had a couple of pretty poor weeks, so they're looking like a long shot to overtake the Rays, and the Red Sox are now without Tim Wakefield, who will miss a couple of starts - it just seems like the stars aren't aligning for them this year. I'm not sure they will even hold onto their wild card lead...but that's another story for another day.

It makes sense with the Rays - they've had this young team that has been on the cusp for a few years - if they only had some pitching, people would say. Well, now their pitching is performing. But here's what I don't understand about Tampa Bay - I get that they have Scott Kazmir, James Shields, and Matt Garza, good pitchers all. But what has gotten into Edwin Jackson? This guy has been awful his entire career - first, as a reliever, with 23 appearances and a 5.45 ERA. Then last year in his first as a starter, 5-15 with a 5.76 ERA. This year he is now 9-7 with a 4.07 ERA. Has it just taken this many starts for him to be comfortable as a starter? Or is he having one of those flash-in-the-pan seasons? I mean, Kazmir had the good stretch earlier this season where he was dominant for 6 or 7 starts in a row, but Jackson has been way more consistent recently. I totally buy into the Rays this year...I just don't know what to think about Edwin Jackson.

Now the Mets - this is their week to make hay. They start this afternoon with a makeup day game against the Pirates at Shea, before hitting the road for the rest of the week - going to Washington then Pittsburgh (a wraparound series ending Monday). That has to be 6 wins. Has to be.

Pittsburgh has given the Mets trouble in recent years, which is why I'm not automatically throwing a 8-0 out there...and also, the bullpen is bound to blow a game this week.

So 6-2, 7-1 - that would allow the Mets to take over first place - especially while at the same time the Phillies are on a west coast swing and the Marlins will have their hands full with St. Louis and Chicago.

So Friday night I was kind of interested in the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics. The Wife had it on, I sat for five minutes, and it bored me. I couldn't even tell you which part I was watching because it just didn't register in my head. I kept thinking, "I'd rather watch baseball." So I put on baseball, and didn't tune back in to the Olympics until the swimming Saturday night.

Now all I keep hearing is how wonderful/exhilarating/just plain cool the Opening Ceremonies were. How could this be? Wouldn't I have been able to tell if it was going to be exciting? Is it just that it got good towards the end (4 hours after I watched) when they lit the cauldron? And that the ending was so good that people forgot how torturous the rest of the show was (like women who give birth forget all the uncomfortable aspects and just remember the joyous parts)? Someone help me out here, please.

Finally, the Chad Pennington mystery is over - he's a member of the Miami Dolphins. This is kind of like the football gods screwing with me. I hate the Dolphins. Most of that is Dan Marino residue - I guess I really don't hate them anymore...I probably dislike the Patriots more these days - but I love seeing the Dolphins lose. The Patriots is more of a recent thing - for so long they were harmless, usually joining the Jets in awfulness year to year. But the Dolphins were rivals. And I hated them.
But now I'll be rooting for them 14 out of 16 games a year. I really hope Pennington wins with them, except when they play the Jets. And the cool thing about football is I can root for Pennington to do well against the Jets, you know, 14-20, 200 yards, and throw no touchdowns or interceptions. Maybe a bunch of dropped balls, so he's not even to blame when the Jets beat them, then he can do really well in the other games.

Miami is really the best-case scenario for Pennington - he'll play right away while teaching young quarterbacks at the same time.

In Jets camp, meanwhile, Laveranues Coles is apparently stewing about the loss of Pennington. Listen, I love that Coles is so attached to Pennington...but he's got to get over it and enjoy the fact that he will have a monster season running downfield for Favre bombs. And I think he will - he told the media last week that he just needed time to get over it.

Jerricho Cotchery took the opposite approach - I don't know if it was a veiled shot at Pennington or not (I'd like to lean towards 'not'), but he commented on how hard Favre threw. He said Vinny Testaverde threw hard, but Favre's ball was "definitely the hardest ball I've had thrown at me in a long time." Just realize, Jerricho, that the difference in the speed of Favre's throws compared with Pennington's is about the same as the difference in their accuracy at certain points in the game. I hope the receivers are ready for that.

WHAT THE....?

At what point in the trade process did it become clear that this was going to happen?
Because I'm pretty sure, based on the look on his face while Mayor Bloomberg was reading scripted notes that the mayor clearly did not understand, had he known about it in advance, Brett Favre would have nixed the entire deal.

What an awkward situation. A Metrocard? To go where? Why don't we save this City Hall stuff for after Favre wins a Super Bowl (an occasion he's now prepped for, with an empty key ring in anticipation of a key to the city)...or at least a playoff game. For now, let him get the heck to practice, please.

WHAT DID YOU EXPECT?: Chad Pennington took the high road out of town, which for him is the only road there is. "I've learned a lot, become a better professional and a better man because of my experience and my time in New York," he said. He'll have a positive impact on whichever team picks him up - even if he doesn't have a good statistical year. Wherever he goes, I'll be keeping a close eye on him and keeping you aware as well.

REDEMPTION

I was all set to rip the Mets after Wednesday night's game. Especially David Wright. Because everything that represented what has been wrong about the Mets in 2008 was on display, even as what's right about them was taking place.

Here's the example. In the fifth inning Wednesday night, Daniel Murphy comes up, batting second in the order, after a Jose Reyes single. After Reyes steals second, Murphy tries to move him to third by hitting the ball to the right side. The pitch is inside, and Murphy turns on it and pulls it right over the second baseman's head for an RBI single. That tied the game at 2. David Wright then reached on an error, so it's first and second for Carlos Beltran. Beltran flies out to deep right. Murphy tags at second, and would advance easily, except Wright forgot how many outs there were and got doubled off first.

To make matters worse, possibly because he was still thinking about the bad baserunning move, Wright made the error in the seventh inning that allowed the Padres to take the lead, and ended up giving Pedro Martinez* an unearned loss after a very good outing.

These were exactly the type of blunders (the baserunning more than the error) that cost Willie Randolph his job. And there's one of two things happening - either 1) Randolph so woefully prepared this team in the fundamentals of baseball in the spring that they're still suffering the consequences (obviously, the minor league system is teaching the right things, because Murphy and Nick Evans have been doing the right things all along), or 2) The current coaching staff is still stressing the wrong things with this team.

Either way, these Mets have made unacceptable mistakes all season.
Then along comes Thursday afternoon. Everyone is clamoring for David Wright to get a day off, but the problem isn't Wright - it's the bullpen. For the hundredth time this year, Johan Santana is pulled from a game, possibly prematurely, and the bullpen costs him a win. That's another story for another day.

What happened today was David Wright won a game for the Mets a day after losing one for them - a total turnaround for him. He hit a walk-off two-run homer. So that's a nice little bounceback. And it's good for the Mets that just when everything was seeming to go wrong (another blown save by the Wagner replacements), they're able to pull out a win.

Another big series with Florida begins Friday.

LAST WORD ON PENNINGTON: I'm not going to go through all of the possible destinations for Chad Pennington, because I've already done that. This is from before the draft (actually, before the Super Bowl even), but it's not outdated at all. I still think those are the most likely destinations, although maybe Minnesota moves up to the "very likely" category.

GOOD-BYE CHAD, AND THANK YOU

In Brett Favre, the Jets are getting one of the best quarterbacks ever to play in the NFL. As a result, they're going to have to part ways with one of the best quarterbacks the franchise has ever had.

I hope the unceremonious departure Pennington is forced to take from New York isn't accompanied by kicks in the rear as he leaves. No, he didn't have a strong arm. Yes, he was injured quite a bit. And no, he never led the team to the ultimate goal of a Super Bowl - but he provided Jets fans with more thrills than most of us have experienced in our football-rooting lives.

He won more than he lost - and despite never making it all the way, he did win in the playoffs. Which is a lot more than other Jets quarterbacks can claim.

And what did he get for it? Constant complaints that he wasn't good enough. Direct competition from a totally inferior quarterback. More lack of respect...and more calls for a replacement...even after leading the team to a surprise playoff appearance in 2006. (I take part of the blame for buying his jersey. Sorry, Chad. At least now, with Favre, I can try to salvage my Glenn Foley #4 jersey.)

Pennington's resume includes a playoff appearance in his first season as the Jets starter - a season in which he led a resurgence from a 1-4 start to a 9-7 finish, and with a victory over Brett Favre's Packers in the final game of the season, a trip to the playoffs. All Pennington did was lead a blowout of the Colts, 41-0, before losing to Oakland the next week.

With expectations high in 2003, Pennington suffered the first of many season-derailing injuries, breaking his wrist in a pre-season game against the Giants. He came back from that to tear his rotator cuff in 2004, but missed just three games as the Jets went 10-6 to make the playoffs again.

In that season, Pennington deserved a better fate. His arm was trusted even less than usual because of the injury, but he led the Jets to a playoff win in San Diego. In Pittsburgh the following week, Pennington put the Jets in position to win the game twice, and of course, the kicker failed to hit the game-winning field goals.

2005 was a rough year - a horrible start, then another shoulder injury, and Pennington was done until 2006...when he threw for a personal-high 3,352 yards in 16 starts, and led the Jets to the playoffs. Last year he started just 8 games, and you got the impression that the arm injuries had taken their toll.

By my count, Chad Pennington was 32-30 as a starter with the Jets, 31-22 before last year. Which is important, because last year was probably an indication of what would have come this year - more games of 125 yards passing...which just wasn't enough. But it also was a product of his offensive line, which couldn't offer him any protection. Perhaps Pennington could have more success with a better team this year.

Everything you ever heard about Chad Pennington as a Jets fan was positive. Which is why I hope after the Jets release him, he gets picked up by another team quickly, and gets a chance to play. And I hope it's a team that will play at the Meadowlands in the coming season. And I hope Pennington gets the thunderous ovation that he deserves...and maybe Brett Favre takes note that you can leave a place with class, even when you haven't been treated like a god your entire career.

IF HE GOES

This is looking more and more like an unlikely scenario, because everyone is saying he will probably be staying with the Jets now, but there is a chance that Chad Pennington will be playing somewhere else next season. (And it's probably still a pretty good chance, because you can't really believe what anyone in sports says anyway.)

The problem is, Pennington is going to be making a lot of money, too much to be a backup. There may be some restructuring of a contract going on, there may be a chance he beats out Kellen Clemens for the starting job in training camp next year (instead of being handed the job as he was this year), or there's a chance that's all talk, and Pennington will be gone come draft day. Let's assume the Jets move him (and here's where I stand if that happens: Wherever Pennington goes, I'll be rooting for him. He's been nothing but a professional in whatever situation he's been in with the Jets...he's a class act. Even after he had hoped he would be moving on, and heard that he might be back with the Jets - it's really out of his hands what happens - his line was, "If I'm with the Jets, I'll be the best Jet I can be."). Here's what I have worked out as the likeliest scenarios of where Pennington would end up:

UNLIKELY

It's unlikely, but not impossible, for Pennington to end up with one of these teams. He's so respected around the league, I get the impression, that any of these teams, which are pretty set at quarterback, would love to have him, at the right price, as a backup, in case they lose their star, then they would have a legitimate leader to step in and take his place:

New England (Tom Brady), Indianapolis (Peyton Manning), Green Bay (Brett Favre, then Aaron Rodgers), Pittsburgh (Ben Roethlisberger), New York Giants (Eli Manning), San Diego (Phillip Rivers), Dallas (Tony Romo), Seattle (Matt Hasselbeck), New Orleans (Drew Brees), Jacksonville (David Garrard), Denver (Jay Cutler), Cleveland (Derek Anderson or Brady Quinn), Cincinnati (Carson Palmer), Tennessee (Vince Young), Arizona (Matt Leinart), St. Louis (Marc Bulger), Oakland (JaMarcus Russell), and Washington (Jason Campbell).

That leaves 13 teams (not counting the Jets) that could use some help at quarterback, and in a year where the free agent class is pretty weak, Pennington might be an attractive option (which is why it might be a leverage thing that the Jets are saying he's coming back next year).

Here are the teams that would likely make a play for Pennington.

VERY LIKELY

Miami - The Dolphins need a quarterback. So that's number one. Secondly, Bill Parcells is there now, and he drafted Pennington with the Jets. He likes players he's familiar with. I think this is a pretty strong option. The only issue is the 'in the division' factor. (And the fact that earlier today, word came out of Miami that Trent Green was Parcells' man next year........but things change....and people lie.)

Kansas City - The Herman Edwards connection. The Chiefs' QB position was a disaster last year. Edwards and Pennington teamed up for three playoff appearances, and by all accounts, still get along.

Chicago - The QB position is just about the only reason this team isn't a playoff contender year after year.

San Francisco - QB issues out west - Mike Nolan dressed down his quarterback of the future, Alex Smith, and he didn't take it well. Pennington's arm, which isn't strong, wouldn't be a big deal in the land of Joe Montana and the West Coast Offense.

Baltimore - Starting fresh, and a new quarterback would help change the face of the offense.

JUST PLAIN POSSIBLE

These teams aren't definites or out-of-the questions...they're just possibilities.

Buffalo - Trent Edwards stole J.P. Losman's job - but is he blowing anyone away? Losman probably won't be back with Buffalo - he is in the same boat as Pennington, but has flat-out asked to be traded. This is unlikely, though, because of the division factor, and they wouldn't be willing to give up as much, most likely, as Miami.

Houston - They're kind of set with Matt Schaub, but when he went down, it was Sage Rosenfels. You'd probably feel better with Pennington coming in in that situation.

Philadelphia - Word is, now, that Donovan McNabb isn't going anywhere either (do you believe it?). But if he does, Pennington would be a good replacement. He's coming from New York, which is as close as you can get to the scrutiny of Philly.

Minnesota - This way he'd be backed up by Brooks Bollinger again.

Detroit - Jon Kitna didn't make many friends with their disastrous end to the season. They are undergoing a lot of changes in the coaching ranks...wouldn't be surprised to see a bunch of players gone, too...or brought in.

Atlanta - Need to change everything - why not Chad Pennington at quarterback?

Tampa Bay - Unless they're married to Jeff Garcia.

Carolina - They learned this year that a few extra quarterbacks never hurt.

Just so I'm on the record - If Chad Pennington is back with the Jets, and he's playing, they will be better than this year (can't be much worse). The protection needs to be better, and the run game needs to be better. And I'll love it. But I think with the Jets' current state, he's probably better off going somewhere else and getting a fresh start.

ONE MORE SOB STORY: I know I've been laying it on thick with the 'woe is me' stuff lately, but I think I have a right, since it's Giants-Patriots in the Super Bowl. That's almost worst-case scenario for a Jets fan. But I just want to say - here's the difference between the Jets and the Giants. The Giants have a Doug Brien moment, and their kicker misses two field goals, what happens? He gets the chance to redeem himself and connects. The Jets have their Doug Brien moment, and they actually get Doug Brien, and it's heartbreak after heartbreak. That just about sums it up right there.

3 Things

3 Things From My Saturday of Playoffs Football

1) I never really knew how I felt about David Garrard. I always liked Byron Leftwich, because of the Marshall connection with Chad Pennington, and because of his fighting-through-injury performance in one of his college games, where he played with, I think, what turned out to be a broken leg and drove his team to a comeback win, and couldn't even run down the field, and had to be helped by his offensive lineman to get down the field.

So there were a couple of feelings about Garrard - one was not caring a thing about him, the other was anger because I liked Leftwich. 'Not caring much' won out, because I didn't like Leftwich too much.

But then I saw James Brown's interview with Garrard on the CBS pregame (the interview started at 8:01 of what was supposed to be an 8 o'clock game, so I imagine most everyone saw the interview). And it was very good - Garrard seems very likeable, no? So I think I'll be rooting for him for a while...although his likeability took a pretty big hit after his first quarter fumble against New England. (James Brown looked ridiculous in those cutaways during the interview, incidentally. That's why if I had made it as a reporter I would have taken a very active role in the editing process.)

(Just looked up the Byron Leftwich info - broken shin, and they lost the game...but it was a valiant effort nonetheless.)

2) These Budweiser commercials where that dude keeps talking about the Budweiser process annoy me. I don't like them, and they're not going to grow on me. Boring.

3) Watching the Packers win their playoff game really brought me back to the early 1990's. You may remember that's when the Jets were the pits, and I was always left without a team to root for come January. So I adopted the Packers, partly because I liked Brett Favre, partly because I liked the green and yellow (this was one instance where I could really pick a team based on anything, and team colors weighed in heavily). So I rooted for the Packers, and it was kind of neat for me when they beat the Patriots in 1996. Well, this year I'll be rooting for the Packers again, and their win was pretty fun, in the snow and all. (The only thing I'm not rooting for is the Patriots-Packers rematch, because you know how I feel about rematches. We'll get to that next week as the teams shake out.)

I'll recap the weekend games Sunday night. Terrell Owens is reportedly 100% for the game against the Giants...I don't know if that changes my feelings on the game. I don't know if that's a lie to make him seem more threatening, or the injury was a lie to get him some extra rest.

A SUNDAY WITH NOTHING TO PLAY FOR

Strange Sunday. The final week of the NFL season, which means the fantasy league is over (for me, without playoffs, it's been long since over), and after the Giants lost to the Pats on Saturday night, I had no chance of winning anything in the confidence pool I'm in (I had been doing so badly that the past few weeks I just picked against the Patriots because everyone was picking them, just hoping their loss might benefit me financially). So that left me with nothing but 'the love of the game' on Sunday for the final day of the NFL season.

I watched much of the Jets-Chiefs game, knowing it would be the last time I saw the Jets play for months. I also hoped Chad Pennington would make an appearance in what was likely his last game in a Jets uniform (more on that later in the week). That didn't happen, but I think by watching the game, I have made my peace with Kellen Clemens. If he is the Jets' quarterback in 2008, so be it. I'll never love him...I don't know that I'll ever get very attached to a single Jet ever again...but I'll live with him. Amazingly, in a game just about everyone just wanted to go out and get it over with, the Jets and Chiefs went to overtime. The Jets did win, hurting their draft position a little, but I really don't know enough about this year's draft crop to judge whether or not that's a horrible thing. The way I see it, they should trade the pick and build up a stockpile of picks...unless there's one great player out there.

I want to spend a bit of time, though, talking about the Saturday night game, because that was the best game of the weekend.

I want to reiterate my claim - I do not think the Patriots will go 19-0. If they do, then yes, they can be considered the greatest team of all time. I don't think you can argue that. But they're starting to slip. They're beatable. And I just think 19-0 will be an incredibly hard thing to do. I don't know who it is that will beat them - and I think you can make the argument against me that they will go 19-0, just having to win 3 more games, after a bye week. But those three games won't come easy...and I think the game plan to beat them is out there. It just needs to be executed.

The Giants looked like they had that game plan in place and all but had the Patriots beat Saturday night. But Eli Manning did them in. I've never seen a player go from having a great game to an awful one quicker. Eli looked like Peyton in the first half and on the first drive of the second half, when the Giants took a 28-16 lead. Then it's like he suddenly realized he was on the verge of the biggest win of his career, got nervous, and played horribly, when all the Giants needed was a few first downs to keep the Patriots' offense off the field.

That's not to take the credit away from the Patriots. Tom Brady has the opposite gift of Eli -nothing rattles him. He knew he'd win that game, and went out and did it. The Patriots' defense sensed Eli was getting rattled, and rattled him some more. Brady to Moss didn't work once, so they went right back to it. That's why they're 16-0.

But I still don't think they'll go 19-0. Part of this rationale is my studid heart getting in the way of my head...I just don't like this team. At least with the past few Patriots championship teams they had players you could respect and, in spite of yourself, root for. Those players drowned out the Bill Belichicks and Rodney Harrisons, at least in my view, and made the team tolerable. But this year it seems like the Patriots have suddenly gotten classless, and there are more Rodney Harrison-types than not. There's a lot more "me" guys there...and I'm surprised it's working for them so well. But that's another part of the reason I think their season will end with a loss.

AROUND THE LEAGUE
1) A couple of years ago I was all over the Jaguars, and how, at 12-4, I thought they were fakers. I think I called them the 'worst 12-4 team of all time'. Well, this year they're 11-5, and I think they're better than the 12-4 team. I am buying into David Garrard - I think the Jaguars made a great decision going with him over Byron Leftwich. I've been anti-Fred Taylor the past few years, thinking he's washed up. I take it all back. He's had a fantastic year, and he's splitting time with Maurice Jones-Drew. I think the Jaguars could be dangerous in the playoffs - but it hurts them that they have to go on the road.

2) For you die-hards out there, Anthony Becht is still playing with the Buccaneers. He gets decent playing time (I think, because I haven't spent much time watching Tampa this season), but he is mainly a blocking tight end. He finished the season with 5 catches for 20 yards, but two of those catches were for touchdowns, and another two for first downs. Watch for him next week against the Giants - he always came up big for the Jets in big games.

SITE UPDATE: I think I'll make my playoff picks by Friday night, and you are free to post comments with your picks. I'll pick against the spread, and using the over/under. I urge you to do the same.

Also, please note that I have transferred all of the Jets content to this site, and the Jets site is effectively no more. Thanks.