Friday, October 28, 2011

Classic game six makes tough act to follow

Too often, we get caught up in a moment and definitively declare it 'the greatest' or provide an assessment that disregards unbelievable moments of the past. It's an easy trap- excitement amplifying a moment's place in your own history. 

However, it's safe to say that two nights in baseball's past two months will not fall victim to postgame hyperbole when it comes to standing the test of time. 

As the epic final night of the baseball season came down to heart-wrenching moments in three ballparks, analysts proclaimed it 'the greatest final day in baseball history.' 

That's a large statement, considering the game's earliest origins date back a couple centuries. 

But there was something innately exceptional about that night, the comeback of the Rays, collapses of the Sox and Braves.


The 'forgotten' team that night was the St. Louis Cardinals. They made easy work of the Astros and were forced to play a waiting game on the Braves. 

Last night, though, it was St. Louis who provided the spell-binding and historic heroics. Down to its last strike twice...trailing five times...backs against the wall in the 9th and 10th innings of a World Series elimination game. There's no exaggerating the significance of David Freese's walkoff shot to deep center in the 11th inning. 

It's one of the World Series' most classic moments. Game six of the 2011 World Series will go down as one of the best of the past two decades and all-time. That's no hyperbole.

Some moments are just too seeped in drama and impossible circumstances coming to fruition to not recognize their long-term value. 

Now, game seven will have a tough act to follow. Pitching staffs are burnt out, key players injured on both sides. There are plenty of penultimate games in sports and baseball history that overwhelmingly overshadow the final act.


The Miracle on Ice was a semifinal.   

Bill Buckner. Mookie Wilson. Ray Knight. All famous for game six of the 1986 World Series.

Carlton Fisk doing his darndest to wave the ball fair for the game-winning homerun that beat the Reds in game six of the 1975 World Series. The Reds won the series in seven.

Exceptions do exist where the seventh game matches or exceeds its predecessor.   

Kirby Puckett's 11th inning walkoff in game six of the 1991 World Series forced a game seven that was even more incredible. Jack Morris outdueled John Smoltz, pitching 10 shutout innings in one of the World Series' iconic pitching performances. 

The Lakers beat the Pistons in game six of the 1988 NBA Finals by just a point and then won the NBA title two days later by three, both closely contested battles and Lakers wins with their backs against the wall. 

It won't be surprising to see a sluggish game seven tonight in St. Louis. Most of game six was quite sloppy, a combined five errors committed. But no matter what happens tonight, the Cardinals' scrappy game six comeback (or Rangers' dumbfounding defeat- whichever way you choose to view it), will forever live on in baseball lore.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Stop complaining about NFL primetime matchups

The past few weeks of NFL primetime games have sucked. No mincing words there.

New Orleans blew out Indianapolis to the tune of a 62-7 score that is more like something you'd see from LSU on a Saturday than the Saints on a Sunday. Jacksonville and Baltimore played a Monday Night game that you only watched if you're a fan of one of those teams or absolutely despise the game of baseball.

The two prior SNF games were also brutal, a Vikings/Bears game that was wholly uninteresting and the Jets/Ravens doing their best to mitigate offensive football for years to come. They were absolutely terrible games, painful to watch.

But let's not forget the first four games of SNF, all of which came down to the final play. Saints/Packers (Thursday opener), Cowboys/Jets, Eagles/Falcons and Colts/Steelers explosively opened the season, one as exciting as the next.

Complaining about clunkers is senseless, especially when they looked good on paper coming into the season. Minnesota/Chicago was a poorly envisioned primetime contest but with the NFL's constant parity, Detroit/San Francisco looked bad on paper before the season too.

Indianapolis vs. Pittsburgh and New Orleans were must-see matchups- until Peyton Manning's neck injury grew more and more serious. However, even Colts/Steelers turned out to be a nail-biter. Neither NBC nor the NFL should be faulted for faltering quality due to one of the game's greats sustaining a lengthier injury.

Monday night football- that's a different story, a schedule that looked bad before the season began and is playing just that way. Whoever decided it was a good idea to give Jacksonville two home MNF games needs to be dropped off the scheduling committee.

Subpar MNF games have been a fixture since that slate moved from ABC to ESPN and became the second-tier of primetime selection. Yes, ESPN deserves better matchups for the amount of money it's paying. It just has never been reality with the most recent NFL contracts. MNF is now what SNF used to be.

The laundry list of outrageous suggestions following the Sunday Night thrashing in the Superdome are unfounded. Critics want flex scheduling for all SNF games, all season long. Some even want flex scheduling for MNF, which is frankly logistically impossible.

It will also serve to anger CBS and FOX who are paying a hefty sum of their own to broadcast top games to a large portion of the country on doubleheader weekends. No reason those two major players should be robbed of quality matchups on a weekly basis.

Each and every year the NFL is difficult to predict. If schedulemakers correctly slotted the most exciting game into primetime every week, they'd be Nostradamus-like. I'd suggest them for Cabinet positions because they would be possessing some foresight that everyone else is missing.

Flexing everything is not the answer though. It will only make life more frustrating for the fans who invest in incredibly expensive tickets for NFL games. On top of that, it's just not going to happen. CBS and FOX are not going to go for full-season flex scheduling that would wreak havoc on their weekly slate and its subsequent promotion.

We get plenty of good primetime matchups. Not every week can be an instant classic. If you don't like the primetime game, go watch Desperate Housewives, Two and Half Men or turn off the TV.

Monday, October 10, 2011

Proposing solutions: A Jets manifesto after five games

In my last post, I outlined a few of the fundamental problems plaguing the Jets right now. What good is pointing out problems though without offering solutions? The ideas which you will read below are all well within reason...no fantasy trades for Maurice Jones-Drew or unrealistic firings. All of them include player or coaching personnel currently under contract and can easily and realistically be implemented. 

1. Replace Eric Smith in the starting lineup with Brodney Pool
Pool is a sixth-year player like Smith, and has been a starter before for both the Jets and Browns. He's also the better player. Week after week, Smith presents a liability in an otherwise relatively solid secondary. Yes, Antonio Cromartie has his shortcomings and the nickel and dime backs are shaky but Smith is the most overwhelmingly noticeable problem. 


Let's take this week's game against the Patriots for instance. Peter King says in his MMQB column that Wes Welker came out ahead vs. Darrelle Revis, when this, in fact, is incorrect. 

Welker got more than half of his yards on a 73-yard third quarter pass play, when it was Eric Smith, not Revis, who was at fault. Watching the replay, Smith bites on the playaction and does not provide the safety coverage Revis is expecting. It's then Revis, not the closer Smith, looking incredibly slow, who catches Welker and saves a touchdown.

Smith is flat out not fast enough to be a starting safety. You don't need to have a burner as the late-Al Davis believed but you need a guy who is at least speedy enough to keep up with opposing TEs.

Smith can't even do that. 

The sight of Smith two steps behind a TE has become an all too common one. In today's NFL, where the TE is becoming even more of a hybrid position, with guys like Aaron Hernandez who have skill sets more similar to a wide receiver, Smith does not cut it. Pool is better in coverage and needs to be put in the starting lineup.

2. Make Tom Moore co-offensive coordinator 
It's no secret that I don't think Brian Schottenheimer is a particularly effective offensive coordinator. Now in his sixth season with the Jets he has called some very good games but those are few and far between when you look at the full body of work. It's only getting worse this season.

I support the idea of re-establishing the run game but Mr. Schottenheimer decided this was the week to do it, against the Patriots, the NFL's WORST pass defense coming into that game. That's the same one that was torn apart by CHAD HENNE and the winless Dolphins.  

The run worked well in the first half but when it stagnated in the second half, he stubbornly stuck with it, as the Jets squandered the defense's three-and-outs against Brady. Nick Mangold was back Sunday, the offensive line played better, there's no excuse for SEVEN three-and-outs for the Jets offense. 


Tom Moore was brought in this season as a consultant. He's the offensive guru who coordinated the Colts' prolific offense with Peyton Manning under center for 13 years. Obviously, he did something right.

I'm not trying to make Schottenheimer a scapegoat, as I'm completely aware of the offensive line issues. However, the Jets have been winning games in spite of Schottenheimer for years and while they tried to sweep reports of players complaining to Rex Ryan about him under the rug, I don't believe those are just being made up. 

Moore is a proven veteran who would offer a change as a play-caller. I'm not naive enough to believe that Schottenheimer will be stripped of the offensive coordinator title. He's often not a bad game-planner, however, his in-game adjustments and play-calling are suspect. Moore coordinated Manning's audible-heavy scheme and I think Mark Sanchez is more well-suited to a no-huddle, rhythm-based offense, so this could be a great fit.

3. Get Joe McKnight involved in the offense
The Jets need a playmaker on offense. For years and years, it's been dink and dunk. Long runs or pass plays are an extreme rarity for Gang Green- and I wonder why.

Is it offensive design and play-calling?   

Or is it the pieces on offense themselves? 

The Jets have not had a true gunslinger quarterback in recent memory. Vinny Testaverde was for a season (1998), Chad Pennington sure wasn't, Brett Favre was over-the-hill and Mark Sanchez is still a work-in-progress. They've had lots of good, dependable offensive pieces at RB and WR, guys like Curtis Martin, Wayne Chrebet and Jerricho Cotchery.

But there haven't been that many truly dynamic offensive threats. Keyshawn Johnson was for a brief time. Leon Washington and Brad Smith have been the closest thing in the past few seasons. Those two each become a valuable change of pace player who could turn a defense on its head- and that's missing right now from the 2011 Jets offense. 

That player (or at least one who can fill that void) is already on the roster though. 

It's Joe McKnight. 

I know he became deeply entrenched in Rex Ryan's doghouse for his rookie shenanigans but McKnight has become a difference-maker whenever he is on the field, whether it be returning kicks, blocking a punt or even applying the pressure on Joe Flacco on defense that forced him to throw an interception.

Dismissing McKnight at his natural position, running back, is a big mistake. It was just one game and a game with little on the line but McKnight carried the ball 32 times for 158 yards in last season's final game against the Bills. 


Shonn Greene is not a big play threat and LaDainian Tomlinson is not as explosive as he was in his Chargers days. McKnight at least deserves some carries to try to provide a spark for this stagnant offense.

Pinpointing Problems: Jets through Week 5

Putting aside the Baltimore game, because that was just a complete abomination, but looking at the OAK and NE games, there are three issues (offense/defense) that have plagued this team and have kept it from being 4-1 instead of 2-3.

1. While the Jets defense was one of the top units in '09 and '10, I remember it being more a bend-but-don't break unit then a complete shutdown group. And that worked. Instead of allowing touchdowns, the other team would get in the red zone and the Jets would generally hold them to a FG. I think the numbers would back me up on that.

This season...

Against Oakland: Three TOUCHDOWNS from the 23 yd line or closer
Against NE: Three red zone TOUCHDOWNS

Lose by 10 to OAK, lose by 9 to NE. Change two of those TDs to FGs and you may have different results.

2. The safeties and LBs are just too slow. They cannot contain the edges and it's not a matter of if Eric Smith gets burned each week but how badly. It's a given. The Jets need to try Brodney Pool or someone else (is there anyone?) in that spot because Smith just isn't working AT ALL.

3. Time to move to the offense and while there have been issues that you do hold the players accountable to, like Burress' dropped balls and the O-line breakdowns, the overwhelming problem is Brian Schottenheimer. I just have no doubt about this. This is the sixth season of this nonsense and nothing has changed.

Maybe it's because for more than a decade (outside of Al Groh, who wasn't even the first choice) the Jets have had head coaches with defensive backgrounds. From Parcells to Edwards to Mangini to Ryan, it just seems like the offenses have been plagued by incredible conservatism. 

In my lifetime of really watching the Jets (starting in '98), Dan Henning has been the ONLY offensive coordinator that has given me any promise of spark or explosiveness in the Jets offense. Paul Hackett was the worst, Mike Heimerdinger didn't work out and here we are with Schottenheimer, who is plagued by inconsistency and predictability.

I sometimes believe Schottenheimer has created a good gameplan. The offense works well in the first half (as it did in Oakland and in spurts of this NE game). But then the other team's defense adjusts but Schottenheimer misses that memo. Today for instance, he pounded the Ground and Pound into the ground so much so that it became ineffective.

The predictability of this offense is astounding. I'm not a coach but watching every Jets game it's amazing how often I know what's coming. I don't watch game film but from what I see each week there seems to be fundamental issues in the design of routes.

I watch other teams who are able to hit 15-20 yard pass plays or (gasp) even longer ones. It appears these do not exist in the Jets' playbook. They're running 6 yard curls on 3rd and 8. Seriously?

There's just no imagination. I'm not asking for imagination as in reverses or RB passes or some kind of extravagant trickery. I just want some variety. The Jets rarely work the middle of the field and I don't think they've even taken ONE shot down the field this season....ONE.  It's curls, sideline outs and two-step drops that require perfect timing.

Yes, there are problems with pass blocking and the offensive line but something has to be done to open up the offense.

I know the Jets offense and Schottenheimer so well that I'm willing to put money on them running a playaction deep bomb to Santonio Holmes on our first offensive play next week. I'd go to Vegas and bet on it if it's a proposition.

These problems are not impossible to fix. The Baltimore loss was a blowout but the Jets were in both of these last two games. They're 2-3 and while there are problems, it's not time for doom and gloom...yet. It will be if there are not steps taken to try to solve them.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Enigmas in an enduring moment

There's no doubt that talent will be abound on the mound later tonight in Detroit. It's the up-and-down results of game four starters Rick Porcello and A.J. Burnett that leave fans shaking their heads. 

Porcello's in his third season, only 22 years old. He made waves as a rookie in 2009, the youngest player in the majors at the time, finishing with 14 wins and a 3.96 ERA, numbers that earned him a third place finish in AL Rookie of the Year voting. However, the sophomore slump hit Porcello hard. A 4-7 record and ERA over six to start the 2010 season got him sent down to AAA for a month. Inconsistency has plagued Porcello this season. Take a look at the fluctuation in his monthly ERAs from June through September.




Inconsistency also exemplifies the enigma that is A.J. Burnett. It's succinctly surmised in perhaps his greatest major league achievement, a 2001 no-hitter against the Padres, in which he walked seven batters. It's obvious watching Burnett that he has the talent and stuff to be a nasty starter but is lacking the command. He's the unbridled kid oozing with potential who cannot channel it- except he's no kid anymore. Like the navy blue number emblazoned on the back of his jersey, Burnett is 34. 

Porcello still has youth on his side. When he was drafted 27th overall in the 2008 MLB Draft scouts raved about his potential, pegging him as a future number one starter. He hasn't yet reached that level but the Tigers hope he will mature as the years go on.

While Porcello undoubtedly has more time ahead of him than Burnett, game four could be a defining one for both. Yankees fans and the New York media are understandably sick of Burnett. He's making a boatload of money ($16.5 million a yr) and has not produced the stats to back it up. Signed to be the Yankees' number two starter, he's been closer to that with which grade school kids equate the number two. 

Not a pretty analogy but there's not much pretty about Burnett. He's no Maddux or Halladay, surgeons who work with precision on the mound. Burnett flings his tattooed right arm toward home plate, often ending up wildly erratic. His 25 wild pitches this season led the majors, 10 more than the next closest. Burnett thrives on the weird. This season he became both the first pitcher since 1919 to throw three or more wild pitches in eight games over a career and the first Yankee to strikeout four batters in an inning.

Burnett has said he'll watch video of himself from the 2009 playoffs before this game four. He needs not just watch but find a way to replicate his seven inning, four hit shutout in game two of that year's World Series. Porcello will need to match his last five quality starts rather than revert back to the struggles of August. 

Giving the ball to Burnett is kind of like handing Snooki the keys to your Maserati. But maybe, just maybe, he won't crash and burn. The Yankees' season hinges on it.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Gus Johnson's first month at FX has been...blowout city

We all know and love Gus Johnson for his NCAA Tournament and NFL work with CBS. He's taken us on a magical ride to heartbreak city and back. But the most exciting man in sports broadcasting has a new gig now and the material he's been given to work with...less than elating. 

Gus moving to FOX/FX to be the voice of its college football coverage is like a really good college coordinator taking a high school head coaching job just to be the lead guy. It may seem like more exposure but Gus only has a handful of NFL jobs, no more NCAA Tournament and well, look at the series of romps he has gotten to call in his first month on FX. 

Week 1: Oklahoma 47, Tulsa 14
Week 2: Oregon 69, Nevada 20
Week 3: USC 38, Syracuse 17
Week 4: Oklahoma 38, Missouri 28
Week 5: Texas 37, Iowa State 14

Those games decided by an average of 27.2 points per game. The OU/Missou game last week was the only remotely watchable one. All hope's not completely lost, as Gus should call either the first Pac-12 or Big Ten Championship game. But that's a long way away for us Gus fans. You can't really come close to matching a play like this in a 49-point blowout.