New York Stock Exchange Week 15

For the second week in a row the New York Jets couldn't put up many points.  On the plus side, the Jets defense played extremely well.  It also helped that the opposing quarterback was Chad Henne and not Tom Brady.  Mark Sanchez looked terrible as did most of his receivers.  The Dolphins defense definitely watched tape of the Jets in week 13, so they decided to bring a safety up front and make Mark Sanchez win the game, which obviously didn't happen.  The 6th ranked rushing team in the league rushed for only 87 yards.  It's difficult to say who was least effective.  Tomlinson was held to 49 yards on 19 attempts, where as Shonn Greene was held to 17 yards on 8 attempts.  Brad Smith and Mark Sanchez added 21 yards on three carries.  While the rushing game sure wasn't pretty, the passing game was even worse.  Mark Sanchez was 17/44 for 216 yards and a pick.  Yes he had a sure touchdown pass dropped, but he also had a lot of passes that should have been intercepted dropped.  It was an ugly game that was won by a lesser team.  But after two straight clunkers, Jets fans wonder:  How can the Jets go into Pittsburgh and try to win their first ever game at Heinz Field when their offense seems to be misfiring so badly?  It seems like an easy answer for me, but my answer can hurt this team in the long term:

Start Mark Brunell.  What?  It's not a ridiculous suggestion.  Even Head Coach Rex Ryan admitted of thinking that benching Sanchez in favor of Brunell might give them a better chance of winning the game this past Sunday.  He may give the Jets the best opportunity to realize their season goal of winning the Super Bowl.  I know I'm going to catch a lot of flak about this suggestion, but I'm going to state my case anyway.

Mark Sanchez was thrust into the starting role of quarterback right away, and some guys just can't handle all that pressure right away.  While Mark Sanchez has seen some great success early in his career, he has shown more ineffectiveness.  It's more the norm for a quarterback to watch a seasoned veteran for a year or two, and then come in and take the reins.  While Kellen Clemens didn't quite give the Jets that opportunity last year, Mark Brunell certainly does.  Mark Brunell has a career QB rating of 84.0.  His completion percentage is 59.5%.  He has thrown 187 TDs and 107 INTs.  He's been to the playoffs, and he's studied some of the game's best quarterbacks.

The Jets need to change something.  They have a very talented team offensively and defensively, but something is obviously missing.  To tell the truth, we all should have seen this coming.  The Jets, while winning games, they were beating inferior teams and just barely.  The good teams are supposed to beat the bad teams, but the games aren't always supposed to be so close.  Lets rattle off the Jets 5 past wins.
1.Cincinnati Bengals: 26-10.  The Jets quarterback struggled mightily in this game, but relied on his rushing game to win this game.
2. Houston Texans: 30-27.  The Jets had this game won.  Then they didn't.  Then, Mark Sanchez and Braylon Edwards hooked up for a 42 yard gain downfield to set up the game winning TD to Holmes.  The defense tried to give this game away, and almost succeeded.
3. Cleveland Browns: 26-20.  The Jets needed OT to thwart the Browns trying for their third upset in a row.
4. Detroit Lions: 23-20. The Jets needed OT to fend off the dangerous but, still struggling Lions.  To be honest, the Lions should have won this game.
5. Denver Broncos: 24-20.  Sanchez started his flair for the dramatic in this game, driving the field with the aid of a 46-yard pass interference penalty.  Tomlinson punched it in from 2 yards out to give the Jets the 4 point advantage.

These are all games against Cellar Dwellers with the exception of Cleveland.  If you can't easily handle these teams, then the last two weeks should be no surprise to the average Jets fan.

If the Jets can't find a way to win in Pittsburgh, the doom and gloom Jet fans will be back on the airwaves in droves.  If the quarterback could have showed me he could play in the cold I'd say buy.  But he hasn't shown me anything like that so far.  SELL.

Bill Parcells once said that you could measure a team after what they do after two straight losses.  Well, the Giants have racked up three straight wins.  One against a division leader, another against a division rival, and yet another against a team they haven't beat in four previous games.  Granted the Redskins are 5-8, as are the Vikings, but they dominated both of these teams defensively, and rushed the ball with force.  The Giants currently own the 6th seed if the playoffs started today, however, they have a shot this coming Sunday to actually move into the 2nd slot.  If there is one bad thing about this team, it's that they give the ball away far too many times.  In fact, they lead the league in giveaways.  Thankfully, for Giants fans, they also lead the league in takeaways.  If the Giants can minimize their turnovers, and the running backs have done so in the past few weeks, then they are a very dangerous playoff team.  If the Giants win on Sunday, they can set themselves up for at least one home game in the playoffs, and the way their defense gets after quarterbacks and the way they rush the ball, the Giants can hope for a second trip to the Super Bowl in the Tom Coughlin era.  But before we get ahead of ourselves, the Giants cannot overlook a team they haven't beaten in the last 5 tries.

The Giants have quite a test on Sunday.  Michael Vick have the Eagles flying high in first place in the NFC East.  DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, and Jason Avant might be the best wide receiver corps in the NFC, and with LeSean McCoy in the backfield, they have the best balanced offense in the NFL.  The Eagles problem is their defense.  They are middle of the pack in every defensive category.  Their two best secondary playmakers are hurt, and while Asante Samuel may play, he probably won't be 100%.  Ellis Hobbs is out for the season, Asante Samuel may not play, and Stewart Bradley may be out as well.  That means, there biggest playmaker will be Trent Cole, and he can give quarterbacks nightmares.  If Bradley doesn't play, then Jamar Chaney will get his first ever start at MLB, which could lead to a big game for the RBs and Kevin Boss.  All in all, this game will be decided on how Michael Vick plays in the windy conditions of New Meadowlands Stadium.  The Giants have the best pass rush in the league, and the Eagles have the best evasive quarterback in the league.  With Osi Umenyiora, Justin Tuck, and Jason Pierre-Paul, the Giants have, dare I say, a more devastating group of DEs than ever before.   But under center for the Eagles, is quite possibly one of the greatest athletes to don an NFL jersey.  I say athlete and not player because his potential for most of his career has outweighed his output.  This year, however, it seems Michael Vick has found a way to patch all his talents together.  He's throwing the ball for accuracy, he has a cannon of an arm, and he can still scamper around for 100 yards per game if he wants to.  But the great thing about Vick is that he doesn't seem to want to anymore.  He'd rather stay in the pocket and throw a laser, more than scramble for a 20 yard gain and a big hit.  He's still elusive and fast, but now he can actually be a quarterback.  The Giants did a decent job containing him last game, actually forcing a few fumbles, but this time around they need to cover better while still getting after him.  Everything about this game tells me it's going to be an old school smashmouth brawl.  And in that type of game, I give the Giants the upper hand.

The Giants have won three straight, and have two tough games left.  If they beat the Eagles, they almost lock up a playoff spot, and with some help, the Giants can do just that.  Then they go to Green Bay, where Aaron Rodgers is a question mark, and finish the season off in Washington, which is never a gimme game.  All in all, I like the Giants to make the playoffs.  BUY.

Knicks Here to Stay

Many avid basketball fans in New York have been subjected to sub par basketball for nearly a decade now.  The promises of James Dolan to bring a winner to New York were to start with the acquisitions of two of the top free agents in the 2010 off season.  No one could have predicted what was to happen in Miami, and still Knicks fans across New york were upset.  Well, 24 games into the '10-'11 season, Knicks fans have a reason to hope for the first time since 2000.  Here's a look at the Knicks from a die hard:

Two and a half weeks ago the New York Knickerbockers were off to a 3-8 start and it was looking like another long basketball season in the cellar for Knicks fan.  Today as I type, the Knickerbockers stake claim to a 15-9 record which is good enough for a 6th seed if the playoffs began today (5th overall best record in the conference), and are considered the hottest team in the NBA. Now, I understand the Knicks have had what some might call a cupcake schedule as of late, and while the real test begins next week with a brutal month stretch of basketball games, Knickerbocker fans should feel that their team is in a great position.  Better position in fact then they've been in over a decade.  Some may ask why the Knicks are playing so well.  Other than the 100 millon, or should I say 97.5 millon dollar man Amar'e Stoudemire, no one else on this team is a house hold name known by the average fan.  So what does make the Knickerbockers so much improved from years past?  I will attempt to answer that question:

 

 

 

1) Amar'e Stoudemire

 

Amar'e Stoudemire or STAT for short has been worth all 97.5 million dollars he was paid this summer.  STAT has led the Knicks in scoring and rebounding with averages of 25.6 and 9.1.  He has also been averaging close to 2 blocks a game and seems to get them at the most vital points of the game.  STAT has recently gone on a scoring rampage, scoring over 30 points per game in his last 7 games.  He tied a franchise record tonight in our nation's capital held by Willie Naulls.  He has been named NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week twice in as many weeks.  STAT has shown that hes is more than just a power dunker by exhibiting a mid range jumper that few men in the NBA taller than 6'10 possess.  He has also shown that he is able to be the number 1 guy playing under the bright lights of MSG.  There were questions this past July about STAT's ability to lead a team on his own, but has since exceeded expectations in that area, which leads me to my next reason:

 

 

 

2) Leadership

 

Leadership has something the Knicks have lacked since Larry Johnson retired due to back injury in 2001.  Guys like Stephon Marbury and Steve Francis were brought into lead but failed.  David Lee tried hard to lead, but it was obvious he didn't demand the respect like Amar'e Stoudemire does on this year's team.  Another player who has shown to have excellent leadership skills has been Raymond Felton.  Felton, who comes from a winning backgroung at UNC was brought in this year to act as a stop gap point guard until players such as Deron Williams and Chris Paul become free agents in 2012.  Since that 3-8 start, Felton has been on a tear, averaging close to 50% field goal percentage, while scoring 18 points a game, and dishing out 8 dimes as well.  The main reason the team saw improved play was not only due to Stoudemire and Felton's new found chemistry executing the pick and roll, but because when the team hit a season low 5 games under .500, both players insisted that the team continue to play hard and not let the recent losing streak affect their effort for the next night's game.  Through example on the court, both players led the Knicks out of their losing streak and the team has been on quite a roll, winning 11 of their past 12 games.  Both co-captains have the Knicks and their fans not only believing that they'll be competing for the 8th seed in the playoffs but possibly exceeding expectations and winning, dare I say, 45-50 games this year.  With the team believing they can win against any team now, who knows what the possibilities are?

 

 

 

3) Landry Fields

 

Fields has become an integral part of this Knickerbocker team since being drafted over hometown Lincoln star Lance Stephenson with the 39th pick in this year's draft. Since that day, Fields not only has a spot in a rotation but starts at SG, while Stephenson was arrested for pushing his girlfriend down the stairs, and has yet to play this season.  Fields has been such a pleasant surprise this year leading all guards in rebounds at close to 8 a game while averaging 10 points a game and shooting over 50% from the field.  He is a highly intellgient basketball player graduating from Stanford, and never fails to execute the simple aspects in basketball such as solid D, and the ability to almost always get open on the court due to his constant cutting.  Fields recently won Rookie of the Month in the Eastern Conference over the number 1 pick in the draft, John Wall.  He has even been compared to a poor man's Grant Hill.  What makes this unlikely success even better is the fact the the Knicks projected starting SG, Kelenna Azubuike, has been recovering from a patella injury and his return is still unknown.  It looks like talent CAN be found in the second round, and the Knicks have dug up a gem worthy to be considered an important piece moving forward in an even more important year for the Knicks to show the NBA that they're back from the cellar and they're here to stay.

 

Article written by Justin Mrwik

Introduction written by Tom Curry