The End: Jets season & Mark Sanchez era

The burning image of how this Jets season came to an end is so fitting, so much so that Monday Night Football play-by-play man Mike Tirico summed it up this way: "That's the way this game should end. That's the way this Jets season should end. Ugly and a loss!"

Play-by-play guys don't typically opine but in this sense it was brutal truth. One that was so clear you'd have been remiss not to say.

Mark Sanchez fumbling a low snap to seal defeat.

The quarterback who has had so many problems holding onto the ball again couldn't Monday night. Now he will no longer hold onto the starting job. 

An ugly performance from the Titans gave the Jets opportunity after opportunity to capitalize. It was never more put on a platter than after the shanked punt that gave the Jets the ball back at the Tennessee 25 with 47 seconds left.

That's when Sanchez lost the ball and the game, just as it seemed he had the drive before with his aimless heave down the field that Tennessee safety Michael Griffin pounced on.

Sanchez had plenty of those types of throws, picked off four times. He threw 28 passes and completed just 13 of them for a measly 131 yards.

The Jets, the team that hasn't just had nine lives but 11 or 12, had it all so tellingly wrapped into Monday night's loss, which was really a microcosm of a whole season in one game.

Tennessee played such an ugly game that over and over again the Jets were given new life. Mark Sanchez was given the ball not once but twice with a chance to win the game, set up so beautifully that all he had to do was be careful, making one or two good throws. 

Now, though, the end is here for the enigmatic fourth year quarterback from USC who has proven he is just flat out bad. There are no more excuses or support to be given for Sanchez. His quarterbacking has been so utterly painful to watch it makes you yearn for the days of Brooks Bollinger or Kellen Clemens. At this point, Greg McElroy sounds like Joe Namath in comparison.

As the Jets defense does its best to keep a game within reach, the stagnant offense sputters and worse so, Sanchez makes their rest on the sideline a short one. 

It really is amazing that the Jets were not officially eliminated from playoff contention until this Week 15 embarrassment. Truth be told, the 14 weeks preceding it were not very much to write home about.

The Jets reached a climax in a Week 1 beatdown of the Bills and spiraled downward from that point on, somewhere along the way festering in a place just better than the NFL's most hapless.

Finally though the hammer dropped after weeks of this ongoing charade. Any logical observer knew full well the lifeless Jets team that lost in Seattle was not going anywhere. With an offense this bad, the playoffs would have been a joke. 

Somehow though, in typical Jets fashion, they clung to life for a few weeks, stringing you along into a false belief of hope. They gave you the inkling to care again after disconnecting weeks earlier. Should've known better than to commit again, but like someone burned by a guy or girl over and over, who just can't get enough, you go back for more.

You want to remember the good times with Sanchez, the playoff and comeback wins, but you need to be slapped back to reality if that's the only way you can see it now. 

Roping you in is what the Jets do best on a yearly basis, no matter who the head coach or general manager or quarterback is. 

New pieces are put in place with the same result, a vicious cycle of failure. Getting rid of offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer did nothing to change the offensive pitfalls, just like getting rid of Paul Hackett injected no new life nearly a decade earlier. From Herm Edwards to Eric Mangini now to Rex Ryan and Chad Pennington to Brett Favre to Mark Sanchez, the end has always been the same - the guys in green and white walk off the field losers, hoping for better luck next year. 

That still has not come. 

Monday night, the Jets reached another ending point, not just of a season but an era. 

Most teams are defined by their quarterback, the league's glamour position. Nothing about Mark Sanchez's play is glamorous. It has become downright putrid.

Photographic learners remember things based on pictures. I'll remember this season for a few very similar ones: Sanchez strip-sacked in overtime to lose the game in New England, "butt-fumbling" on Thanksgiving night to lose his dignity and Monday night in Tennessee finally fumbling away his job.

Pat Shurmur: 'We did some fun stuff,' as Browns crush Chiefs

Fun was the adjective the Browns used to describe their victory over the Chiefs Sunday. 

That’s right, fun, not nail-biting, stressful or squandered. Pure, unadulterated entertainment was on display at Cleveland Browns Stadium, with trick plays abound in the Browns’ 30-7 win. 

“The flow was really, really good especially on those drives where we were able to get points,” quarterback Brandon Weeden said. 

Travis Benjamin catapulted it all, answering a big bang 80-yard touchdown run from Jamaal Charles on the Chiefs’ opening play from scrimmage with a 93-yard punt return, setting a Browns record.   

Benjamin switched spots with Josh Cribbs on the play called 'Bonsai,' where Cribbs moves up to try to block the punt. Instead, it sprung a touchdown.

“It’s a very dangerous duo knowing that me and Cribbs are back there,” Benjamin said. “They're gonna try to kick it away from Cribbs so I have to build the momentum and build my name.” 

Trent Richardson described Benjamin as "the fastest man I’ve ever, ever seen in person.” Weeden called Benjamin’s return the biggest play of the game. Up 10-7, the Browns went on the attack, opening up the playbook. 

“We did some fun stuff and it worked out. We could’ve run two wildcat plays and you guys would’ve been happy,” Shurmur said to the press. 

Shurmur’s usually answering questions about 3rd or 4th and short playcalling decisions but this week they were about new offensive formations. So why the wildcat 14 weeks into the season? 

“We just thought it’d be fun,” Shurmur said.

Fun - that was the buzzword after all. 

The offensive chicanery gave Weeden a chance to try some different stuff, like blocking from the receiver spot. The “trick plays" got the Browns to the doorstep, Josh Cribbs coming up short on a snap from the wildcat and Greg Little on a toss from the backfield, places the two aren’t typically lined up.   

“Anytime you do plays like that it’s tough on defenses,” Weeden said. 

Cribbs and Little, as well as Josh Gordon, became part of what Shurmur jokingly coined the “tackled on the one” crowd. 

“They all had their shots. I’m sure they’re gonna try to let that nickname go away,” Shurmur said. 

Their work didn’t go for naught though, setting up Trent Richardson at a place where he can excel. 

“When you have a running back that has a nose for the goal line, you want him to have those opportunities,” Shurmur said. 

Richardson seized those, reaching paydirt twice and earning a Browns milestone, tying Jim Brown’s franchise record of nine rushing touchdowns as a rookie. 

“Something like that is an honor. Jim Brown is an icon and always will be. He’s one of those guys you wanna follow in his footsteps every which way you go in the football division,” Richardson said. 

Those two scores aided what became a Browns blowout, the defense suffocating Brady Quinn, last week’s AFC Offensive Player of the Week, and the Chiefs offense once Dwayne Bowe left the game with a rib injury. Come the fourth quarter, the Browns had a big lead and that was a new feeling. 

“I’m not used to that math,” Shurmur said teasingly, the Browns up three scores. 

For now, the Browns remain mathematically alive in the playoff race, clinging to life at 5-8. They’ll need help but they have a shot. 

“We’re just thinking about winning. We’re still in the hunt,” Montario Hardesty said after one of his best games of the season. 

“Guys are excited," Weeden said. "We realize we’re in a tough spot but we still have a chance. Crazy things have happened.” 

Crazy as it might be, it’s not impossible. December is here and the Browns won’t just be playing the role of spoiler, at least not next week, with playoff implications for both them and their opponent the Redskins.

Kent St hurt in sham of bowl system

It's a seasonal ritual as predictable as Aunt Cathy wearing a cheesy sweater to your annual family Christmas gathering.

Each and every December, the selection of bowl games is just as mind-boggling as the year before and the one before that. It almost certainly leaves your head spinning. Even when there's no controversy over the two teams playing for the title there is still plenty that simply doesn't add up.

Example one in 2012: the local feel-good story Kent State Golden Flashes, a top 25 team that lost just two games. After one of its best seasons in school history, there's no doubt the players will, and should, revel in going to a bowl game, the program's first in 40 years. But they deserve more. 

A loss in the MAC Championship game, in double overtime, does not warrant the massive freefall that college football's haphazard system perpetuates. Ranked 17 in the BCS coming into the game, a win for  Kent State would have in all likelihood propelled them to the top 16 and a spot in the Orange Bowl, especially after Nebraska and UCLA losses. 

The Flashes lost to top 25 Northern Illinois in a valiant effort on the doorstep of an unprecedented feat. Their reward for that is a trip to the GoDaddy.com Bowl against Arkansas State of the Sun Belt. They don't get a shot to be a Boise State and become national sweethearts. 

Instead, Kent State is buried away in one of the post-New Year's Day games without prestige. No trip to Miami and a date with the ACC champion Florida State. 

Northern Illinois gets a trip to the BCS. Kent State goes to Mobile and a bowl named after a website that lets you create a website. Not the way their season should come to a close. A cruel system it certainly is. 

It's not just the proverbial little guys that get the shaft either. Take example two this bowl season, Georgia. A heartbreaking, close loss to Alabama moves the Bulldogs from a potential chance at a title to the Capital One Bowl.

The 'Dawgs don't even get to play in one of the top BCS games. Losing a de factor national semifinal minimizes them to a matchup with a team that just gave up 70 points to a five-loss team in their conference championship game. Some reward, eh?

Again the BCS has failed to give fans the best matchups. Northern Illinois justifiably earns a spot by finishing in the top 16 and ahead of an automatic-qualifying conference champion. Yet they do not take the place of that team, unranked Louisville, defeating any value of the provision. 

It doesn't make sense. The BCS and bowl system have long been full of these ludicrous inequities. 

Continually lost in this is a fulfilling end to one of sport's most exciting regular seasons. Bowls often fall flat because they fail to capture the unpredictability and excitement of the games that precede them. 

Unlike college basketball where 68 teams have a shot at a championship, just two do in college football's final stanza. The rest of the games are just cash cows full of sometimes nice vacations for players depending on a bowl's location and pride. Stakes are diminished. The little guy rarely gets a shot to slay the Goliath. 

When they do, like in the case of Northern Illinois this year, pundits gripe about why that's the reason the system is flawed. 

But really that's where college football fails.

Kent State should have a shot to take on one of the establishment powerhouses. The Flashes deserve a shot to make a splash, like Ohio did in basketball upsetting Georgetown and Michigan in two of the past three seasons in the NCAA Tournament.

Georgia deserves a shot at a bigger game in primetime on the national stage. But they won't get that either. 

Big or small you're always at risk of getting screwed in this system where too many have to feign excitement when really they're not getting their just due. Months of buildup end in a payoff that leaves you feeling empty, kind of like clicking a broken link, especially when it comes to Kent.

Time for NFL to tackle issues head-on after Jovan Belcher murder-suicide

The NFL has a problem and it's one that not only can no longer be ignored but has to become a focus. Substance abuse, depression and head trauma are all possible factors leading to violent repercussions in the lives of the league's athletes and those close to them.

Again, a player has committed violence upon himself or others in a tragic and rattling incident. Jovan Belcher was 25, his girlfriend who he allegedly murdered was 22. Their daughter is only three months old. She is now an orphan, a child whose life is forever changed and she's too young to even know it yet.

Belcher killed Kasandra Perkins before going to Chiefs facilities and taking his own life Saturday, according to police.

A Deadspin report attempts to shed some light on the situation and not shockingly head trauma is part of the discussion. A friend of Belcher told Deadspin that Belcher was "dazed and confused, suffering from short-term memory loss" after taking direct hits to the head in the last game he played in on Nov. 18 vs. the Bengals.

The friend also claims that Belcher was abusing alcohol and prescription medications, a toxic combination of factors that led to this senseless ending.

It should never come to this. But this issue is not a new one for players who have been a part of this game. It's becoming a trend and a scary one at that.

In May, former Chargers linebacker Junior Seau committed suicide, shooting himself in the chest. Seau's former teammate Gary Plummer told USA Today he believes Seau suffered more than 1,500 concussions in his career. An autopsy concluded that there were no obvious brain problems or drug abuse, however tissue from Seau's brain will be researched by the National Institutes of Health at the request of his family.

Last year, former Bears player Dave Duerson also shot himself in the chest, and left behind notes telling his family to donate his brain for research. Scientists at Boston University's School of Medicine found he had "moderately advanced" brain damage and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) related to blows to the head.

Thousands of lawsuits from former players accusing the NFL of hiding information that connects head injuries to further brain damage and illness were consolidated into one major one.

That alleged connection is still not certain and remains a controversial subject. There's evidence for and against it. A Slate article disputes the link citing research that says suicide among former NFL players is below the national average.

However, concussions continue to be rampant throughout the NFL. CBS Sports put together a list of team-by-team concussions through Nov. 16 that included 77 players.

A particularly jarring example this season came when Bears quarterback Jay Cutler suffered a concussion and continued playing for that series and the next before leaving the game at halftime and missing the next game. The team said Cutler's symptoms were not immediately visible. 

The Browns have been in this firestorm too. Last year, Colt McCoy was not properly checked for a concussion after being illegally hit by James Harrison and was put back in the game. It prompted the NFL to assign concussion-specific trainers to each team's sideline.

Last week, Brandon Weeden suffered a concussion after his head slammed into the lower body of Joe Thomas. The Browns had to hide Weeden's helmet to keep him from trying get back on the field. He was cleared by team doctors and started against the Raiders Sunday.

Now 49ers quarterback Alex Smith has said, "I feel like the only thing I did to lose my job was get a concussion." It makes you wonder if players will hide concussions in fear of losing their spot. Do they realize the potential long-term severity of a head injury? It's not like a knee injury where you can't walk or return to the field. The effects are not as obvious to the naked eye but the potential impacts are just as dangerous, if not more.

What is certain is that the NFL needs to continue increasing support for its players. The institution of the concussion spotters on the sidelines is a good step.

It extends beyond just concussions though. Players are suffering through substance and prescription drug abuse. It is unimaginable the pain that a player endures week after week of bone-crushing action. When most retire in their 30s or early 40s, many give up all they've ever known, what made them important and gave them a sense of belonging. Just like that, it's gone.

Since April, four former or current NFL players have committed suicide. It spreads to team employees too, a member of the Browns staff found dead from suicide in Berea this weekend. Depression is an illness that too often goes untreated, men particularly too afraid to come forward and admit it.

It's not something to be embarrassed about. Like any other disease it's a sickness that has to be treated. NFL players and staff need to know that. All of us do.

The NFL has to make sure its players know it. Their new wellness program is another positive step in that direction. They need to provide that support and make it more than just a website or phone number to call.  Even more so, we need to be there for each other.

Chiefs quarterback Brady Quinn summed that up eloquently Sunday.

"We have contact with our work associates, our family, our friends, and it seems like half the time we are more preoccupied with our phone and other things going on instead of the actual relationships that we have right in front of us," Quinn said.

Paying more attention won't alone end tragedies but you hope it can help decrease incidents like Saturday's murder-suicide.

Maybe you can't always stop them but it's worth trying.

Caring - genuinely caring - for people is worth it.

Because a little girl shouldn't be left alone in this world in a couple pulls of a trigger. Violence shouldn't alter lives if there's a chance to prevent it. Life is precious. Shattering it is too easy and picking up those pieces is grueling.

In a race to find a rationale, to make sense of a senseless tragedy, we can't try to make it black and white. You can't boil this down to solely a gun or a hard hit or a prescription drug. It's much more complex than that.

There's not an easy solution or quick remedy. But we can all do a little more - or at least try to - as individuals. The NFL must make sure it does too.

Spurs fined: Popovich's role players no 'disservice' to NBA

Some rules seem made up, so arbitrary they only emerge at the most case-specific time. It's like when a kid eats cake for breakfast and mom scolds them. Why? Because she said.

The latest policy seemingly crafted from this logic is cited as the grounds for David Stern's $250,000 fine of the San Antonio Spurs after they benched starters Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Danny Green for Thursday night's game vs. the Heat.

Stern's statement reads as follows:

"The result here is dictated by the totality of the facts in this case. The Spurs decided to make four of their top players unavailable for an early-season game that was the team's only regular-season visit to Miami. The team also did this without informing the Heat, the media, or the league office in a timely way. Under these circumstances, I have concluded that the Spurs did a disservice to the league and our fans."

The league further said the Spurs rested players in a manner "contrary to the best interests of the NBA."

Stern's ruling is a slap in the face to the little guys, a staunch but indirect way of telling them they don't matter. 

What Stern essentially sets forth is that no one wants to see you, Tiago Splitter or Boris Diaw. You guys starting a game (gasp) is a "disservice" to the fans. 

But see, a funny thing happened Thursday night. Gregg Popovich's backups almost beat the vaunted superstars of the Heat, who squeaked by 105-100 in a game that came down to the final minute.

It was no disservice to competition. The fans in attendance didn't see Duncan or Parker take on LeBron but they saw a good game. Encouraging the effort of the Spurs' role players against the defending champions is what actually should have been done.

However, in Stern's backward perspective, this comes off as a blow to the NBA 'image,' a nationally-televised game that didn't go as planned. Their superstar-centric marketing strategy was splintered by the Spurs. 

It really always has been by Popovich, the mastermind of the inconspicuous mini-dynasty of the 2000s, his Spurs the winners of three titles in five years between 2003 and 2007. They had stars like Duncan but did it quietly with tough defense and team contribution. Not the ideal NBA model of flash and pizzaz. 

With its fine, the NBA is overstepping any reasonable bounds. There's nothing in writing that spells out the "best interests" of the league. It's simply a subjective catch-all that any logical observer can surmise is the jeopardizing of star vs. star matchups. 

Punishment was set forth for a failure to inform the Heat, according to the statement. It is now a coach's responsibility to let the opponent know their lineup and gameplan? 

If Popovich wants to bench his starters, he damn well should have permission. It's his team in a November game, part of an 82-game regular season that can look rather unimportant when teams under .500 reach the playoffs in the eight-team model. 

Popovich is being reprimanded for nearly winning without his stars because it's not what the NBA wanted. 

That's not a good precedent to set. You wonder how far the league will go to ensure its "best interests." 

Sorry Gary Neal - the commissioner doesn't respect you or Matt Bonner or Popovich and his strategy. But go ahead and please keep doing the league a "disservice." Ultimately it may do the status quo some good. 

Reaching the point of apathy

Last night, the Jets were embarrassed by the Patriots on full display for a national audience. 

But a different feeling consumed me than the usual fury or impetus to throw something at the TV. 

A controlled level of disgust came first but soon switched to an uncommon one - apathy. 

As Mark Sanchez went face first into a lineman's backside and the turnovers racked up as New England obliterated the Jets before you could digest Thanksgiving dessert, I didn't feel anything. 

Have the Jets made me into a football Grinch?

Has my heart shrunk a couple sizes watching this team year after year? 

Maybe I've just become desensitized to this type of disaster.

I read a post on a message board tonight that outlined the failure and closed with: "One bright spot is that something good always comes from something bad. And it couldn't get any worse than last night."

As much as I'd like to buy into this notion, I can't. Not with the Jets.

It always "can't get any worse." That's what was said after the 45-3 Monday Night Football catastrophe against the Patriots in 2010. Same for Rex Ryan's self-proclaimed "ass-kicking" at the hands of the 49ers earlier this season. 

For the Jets, it always does get worse. That's the root of this newfound apathy.

Don't get me wrong - I don't like it at all. I want to care. But in this lost season I can't bring myself to anymore. I didn't expect the Jets to beat the Patriots,who are absolutely rolling. They're better in every facet of the game and possess a much more talented roster.

What makes no sense is this Jets team very well should have beaten the Patriots in New England two months ago. Thursday night they looked like a pee-wee team trying to compete with NFL players. Touch football players put on better shows in their backyards than the guys in green at MetLife Stadium. Put Mom at quarterback against Uncle Joe and her numbers probably trump those of Sanchez.

But what's the point in caring? At seven losses, playoff hopes are a heartbeat from extinction. That has been a seemingly inevitable descent for weeks now. 

There was nothing heartbreaking about the 49-19 whooping. Unlike the first meeting between these two teams, the Jets didn't give you hope then slowly rip it away. This time they just flat out sucked. 

Usually I find myself fuming after a bad Jets loss. But when I woke up this morning, it was just a devoid feeling. I had no desire to write a scathing critique. Maybe I've done that too many times this season. It has all been said. When the Jets lose, they get walloped. I've written that blog too many times before this season.

So what has happened to me? I'll call it a reverse Whobilation. The Jets have bought me a one-way ticket to Mount Crumpit with no timetable for return. 

By the second quarter Thursday night, it was over. At 21-0, I flicked away to college football. I never do that. 

My phone started going off, not a text but a score update, then another. 28-0, then 35-0 - dreadful.

I watched the 45-3 MNF game to the bitter end. Same for the San Francisco drubbing earlier. But this time, I didn't have it in me. It was over and I didn't care to see how bad it could get. 

I'm not happy about it. This is a depressing point to reach - that of apathy. By season's end it will probably evaporate. I'll watch this mess play out and get excited again come draft time. 

Trust me, I want to care again. Apathy is a lonely feeling, distanced from emotion. It's one I don't want to linger but it doesn't feel fleeting with this team.

It's up to the green and white now. Getting hooked in again isn't difficult. They'll most likely find a way to win against Arizona and show some semblance of respectability. Nights like Thursday make it difficult though to want to bother. 

Jets reach new locker room low bashing Tim Tebow

Tim Tebow is not a consistent, viable starting NFL quarterback. Most football observers and analysts would agree the numbers bear that out.

We didn’t need the Jets to tell us. Turning on an innocent teammate is wrong and doing it anonymously is cowardly.

That’s just what this group did, a defensive starter who chose not to be named calling Tebow “terrible,” according to The Daily News.

It’s indicative of a pervading cancerous culture in the locker room.

It was evident that dysfunction prevailed last season, as LaDainian Tomlinson and others said captain Santonio Holmes quit on the team.

Bringing in Tebow was seen by some as a way to repair or bring leadership to a fractured group. In Denver, the Broncos came together and elevated their play as a whole once Tebow took the reigns from Kyle Orton. In New York, this cast of characters has made him their new outcast.

“We have Greg . . . and we have an athlete,” offensive lineman Matt Slauson said about the Jets' backup quarterbacks.

At least he had the guts to put his name on it.

Tearing apart Tebow, who has barely seen the field, is a new low for a team that seems to set the bar lower each week. Their only consistency besides poor performance is an inability to shut up.

As if Wednesday wasn’t enough, Shonn Greene added more fuel to the fire Thursday, quoted by Yahoo Sports saying: "You feel bad for Mark, but at the same time you want to win games. We're not here to protect people's feelings. If you want to win games, you've got to try something. If somebody's not getting the job done, you see if somebody else can do it. It's the same with coaching, or any position. You don't mean to belittle someone or say 'he sucks.' That's just the harsh reality."

As the Jets head to St. Louis, they are in a state of chaos, floundering on the field and falling apart off of it.

In my last post Sunday, I wrote about how this team needed to be quiet. It took just a few days for a new string of quotes to explode. Last week, it was Antonio Cromartie saying the beleaguered bunch would make the playoffs. Now, the Tebow firestorm.

The scary part is the Jets seem to operate in an alternate universe where delusion is the reality.

“I believe this team is together, will continue to be and maybe even become tighter,” Ryan said Thursday, as it is more and more apparent he has lost control.

As a fan of Ryan, this is alarming. The fourth year head coach’s record is solid, with two AFC Championship appearances in his first two seasons. But his ability to steer his team through adversity is now coming into question after it was a strength in the past.

The dysfunction seems to emanate from even higher up though, all the way to the top. In 2008, owner Woody Johnson and GM Mike Tannenbaum reportedly pushed for the trade that brought Brett Favre to the Jets against head coach Eric Mangini’s wishes.

Reports (albeit unsubstantiated ones from “sources”) say Johnson could push for Tebow to start at quarterback. It wouldn’t be shocking, considering something prompted the Jets to jettison Drew Stanton, who they had already signed to be their backup QB, when the possibility of Tebow presented itself.

The amount of coverage Tebow reaps is undoubtedly over the top. But now he has become a victim outrageously ripped for nothing of his own doing.

Tebow and the Jets were never a good fit. From the moment the trade went through you were left scratching your head.

Bringing Tebow into the mix didn’t push Sanchez to play better. He hasn’t breathed life into the stagnant offense. His acquisition has created even more dissension and controversy for a team that needed none of that on the heels of last year’s meltdown.

No true franchise quarterback has donned the green and white since Joe Namath. That’s no coincidence as the Jets do a better job at destroying quarterbacks than developing them. They sucked the life out of Chad Pennington, a strong-armed college quarterback at Marshall, in Paul Hackett’s vanilla west coast offense.

They’ve surrounded Sanchez with “skill players” that a Jets official called “garbage” in the Daily News story and seemingly shattered his confidence along the way with the Tebow move.

Now, even Tebow, who thrived in an offense catered to his skills in Denver, is in danger of being sucked into the vortex of vitriol.

It’s sad really. A split with Tebow is the move that needs to be made come season’s end. Give him a shot somewhere else. He’s just a distraction in New York - and the Jets need no more of those.

When it comes down to it, the players can talk all they want during the week but they can’t be anonymous come Sundays. Their play speaks for itself.

Be quiet: Talk of playoffs is flabbergasting after performances like Sunday’s in Seattle

It feels over. It really does this time.

Yes, the Jets were 4-6 in 2009 and still made the AFC Championship game after it appeared the ship was sinking.

The Jets said it themselves after even the fifth loss of that season, a crushing home defeat to the Jaguars.

“We’re on life support,” Damien Woody said.

Rex Ryan described the Jets’ playoff chances as “not good.”

2012 is different in plenty of ways, the most prominent an entrenched attitude of superiority.

These Jets didn’t eat crow at 3-5 during the bye week coming off a thrashing by a division rival at home.

They talked - just as they do best.

““The Jets will make the playoffs this year,” Cromartie said on Thursday.

“All of us, in my opinion, believe we can make it,” Ryan said. “This team is much closer than I think our team was, my team was, last year.”

They can’t shut their mouths.

Sunday’s 28-7 drubbing in Seattle surely should.

"We thought we were prepared...Knew we were prepared,” Ryan said after the loss.

If that performance was prepared, I don’t want to know what unprepared looks like. Jim Mora’s ‘Playoffs?’ tangent would be the best response to Ryan’s comments that this team is “much closer.”

At 3-6, the Jets are not mathematically eliminated, especially in an AFC that is particularly weak. But it feels a whole lot worse at six losses this year than it did in 2009.

Those losses were gut-wrenching, close games where the team wasn’t finishing. They were painful to watch but not in the same way the losses have been this year.

In half their losses this season, the Jets have looked completely bewildered right from the outset. They lost by 34 to the 49ers and 21 to the Dolphins and Seahawks. Those are all good defenses but the Jets’ offensive performances were abominations.

This is a group that scored 48 against the Bills and 35 against the Colts. But when they’re not playing a mediocre defense, they’re stuck in neutral or sometimes reverse, barreling backward, gas on the pedal, over the cliff.

You have self-destruction that is so astounding to watch unfold that you almost can’t believe your eyes. This game it came in the first quarter when 3rd and goal at the 1 became 3rd and goal at the 6, then turned into an interception and no points.

The Jets lingered, the defense doing yeoman’s work much of the time to keep them in the game, but they could never score again after that blown chance. It was the fourth time in nine games the Jets have scored 10 or less points.

Before talking playoffs again, the Jets need to find a way to put up points.

Bluster needs to go bye-bye.

It’s time to get real.

Belief is not bad but has to be carried by something tangible. Otherwise, it’s called delusion.

By continuing to talk and not produce, that’s where the Jets are miring themselves.

A couple more losses and the playoffs are no longer even a mathematical consideration. With a roster so bereft of offensive talent, it hasn’t been a very logical one for awhile.

Next week it all comes to a head when they face former offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer and the Rams, whose overtime performance in their tie with the 49ers almost made the Jets’ Week 10 showing look redeemable.

If the Jets can’t beat their former assistant who was the first to be shown the door, it’s only a matter of time before a new suspect takes the fall.

That will be reality - a cold, hard one.

16 years later, Orioles & Yankees meet again in October

In New Yankee Stadium, Jeffrey Maier wouldn't have had a chance to influence history with his black baseball mitt. 

Tony Tarasco wouldn't have had to worry about the kid extending his glove over the right field wall and snaring Derek Jeter's home run ball. It probably would have been over both of their heads.

Plenty has changed since the last time the Yankees and Orioles met in the postseason 16 years ago. Old Yankee Stadium is no more. Mike Mussina, an Oriole then, helped the Yankees win a World Series in that time. Cal Ripken and David Wells won't be in O's and Yanks uniforms but suits and ties on TV for TBS' coverage. 

Still though, 15 years later, some of the subplots and faces are still similar. 

Derek Jeter and Andy Pettitte will still don pinstripes and play important roles in this series. They just no longer have the baby faces of new Yankees in their early 20s. 

In 1996, Buck Showalter was a part of the series only by his absence, fired after losing to the Mariners in the ALDS the year prior. His departure paved the way for the Joe Torre-led Yankees to embark on an era that would go down as another of the franchise's glory days.

This time, Showalter will be in the dugout against the team he once managed. George Steinbrenner, the man who allegedly pushed him out the door, is no longer alive.

But as he did with the Yankees group he got to manage, Buck has performed a turnaround, transforming the Orioles from mediocre to magical.

Their payroll is more than a $100 million less than that of the Yankees. They don't have MVPs. Their pitching staff is cobbled together from guys other teams didn't want. 

Here they are though, bringing October baseball to Camden Yards for the first time since it was one of baseball's newer parks. 

It's hard to explain how they've done it. Odds seem to fly in their face, winners of 16 straight extra-inning games. Their record in one-run games is an astounding, and record-setting, 29-9.  

These Orioles know how to persevere and defy doubters. 

Again, they are underdogs, just as they were in 1996. 

As Orioles right fielder Chris Davis stands in right field, he may turnaround and look into the stands. Peel your eyes, Chris. Watch for any eager kids with gloves gripped tightly on their hands - just in case. 

Orioles win + Yankees loss = worst possible game 162 scenario for both

It's game 162 and that means after months of play everything of course comes down to one game.

Matching last year's dramatics will be nearly impossible but a new set of variables never before experienced are now in play.

For the first time in baseball history, each league will have five teams reach the playoffs. The 10 teams have all clinched spots but the order in which they play is far from decided. 

In the National League, Washington earned the top seed over Cincinnati by beating Philadelphia this afternoon. 

The American League has the A's and Rangers facing off in an AL West title game right now. Lose that one and head to the one-game playoff. Shockingly, that looks like it's going to be Texas (A's lead 12-5 heading to the 9th).

However, the most volatile situation lies in the AL East, where the Yankees play the Red Sox and Orioles take on the Rays. These four teams are no stranger to the game 162 dramatics. Last season, Evan Longoria's home run propelled the Rays to the playoffs, while the Orioles' stunning victory punctuated Boston's historic collapse.

This time, Boston and Tampa Bay are the odd men out looking to play spoiler. But really, the Rays knocking off the Orioles may be a better thing for both AL East playoff teams. 

If the Orioles win and Yankees lose, the two will be tied for the AL East crown. The Yankees and Orioles would play a game to decide the AL East winner. The loser would be sent to the AL Wild Card game. This scenario assures that both will have to play at least one more game to reach the playoffs. One will have to play two. 

If the Yankees win and Orioles lose, or both lose, the Yankees are AL East champs and automatically advance to the ALDS. The Yankees would have to win no more games to reach the ALDS, while the Orioles would still have to win just a maximum of one (the Wild Card game) to advance to that point.

In the tied AL East scenario, the maximum number of wins needed to reach the ALDS increases to two for whoever becomes the Wild Card. A win against Tampa Bay tonight puts the Orioles at a disadvantage if they can't beat the Yankees to get the AL East.

By no means, am I saying Baltimore should try to lose this game tonight against Tampa Bay. It just may suit them better as it completely eliminates the possibility of having to use two starters before the ALDS. 

From beating the Rays tonight, the Orioles can gain AL East champion shirts and hats and a chance to play a potential ALDS game five in Baltimore. Under no circumstance can the Orioles earn home field throughout the AL playoffs. 

What do they have to lose with a win? Potentially having to win five games as opposed to at most four to reach the ALCS. 

You weigh which outcome is ultimately better for the Orioles. I think it's an assured "one win and in" vs. a possible "two wins and in."

Interesting strategic issues at play on the season's final night. 

'We got our ass kicked.' Yes you did, Rex

There are no positives. Nothing good to take away from this game.

"We got our ass kicked," Rex Ryan said in the postgame news conference.

That sums it up. 

Ryan said the team won't report to the facility Monday or Tuesday because they need to do some "soul searching." That, as well as learning basics of the game like tackling, holding onto the ball and moving the chains.

The Jets did none of that in a 34-0 slaughtering at the hands of the 49ers.

It was a loss as miserable and painful to watch as their Monday Night 45-3 massacre at the hands of the Patriots two seasons ago. Ryan called this one his worst losses. Though the deficit was only 10 points much of the game, the Jets were never really in it. As Alex Smith overthrew open receivers and 49ers defenders dropped interceptions, the score remained close but the Jets continued to trip over their own feet.

Mark Sanchez was horrible, again completing less than 50 percent of his passes and making some throws that would leave you scratching your head if he were a rookie. Sanchez is in his fourth year now.

The defense was not helped at all by the offense but didn't look a whole lot better. A wildcat run by Colin Kaepernick and option reads had the Jets on their heels throughout the first half. Kyle Wilson, stepping into the starting lineup after the Darrelle Revis injury, was burnt time and time again. Yet, he still found it acceptable to trash talk and wave his finger at receivers who blew by him but couldn't catch passes out of their reach. 

Santonio Holmes crumpled onto the turf with what looked like a knee injury but was later revealed to be one to the foot, losing the ball in the process leading to a 49ers recovery and touchdown.

Robert Malone had a punt blocked late in the fourth quarter, when the stomping was in its final stanza, seemingly just to complete the circle of futility. 

49ers backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick avoided the end zone not to rub it in, sliding down at the Jets' three yard line to limit the crushing.

It was that kind of day for the Jets.

Despite the three-hour embarrassment they hosted at MetLife Stadium Sunday, the Jets are actually still in first place in the AFC East at 2-2. 

As bad as it was, it is only one loss. 

But the rose colored glasses can be taken off after you digest the standings. They won't be staying that way for long unless a drastic change takes place.

Week 1 and the firing on all cylinders performance against the Bills is moving further into the rearview mirror. The Jets were lucky to escape Miami last week with their second win. 

Luck never hurts but it can only mask chronic problems for so long. 

The run defense is mediocre, still not establishing the edge. Run the ball outside on the Jets and you're probably gonna get the corner. 

Receivers are running wild across the middle of the field, burning the safeties too often. Darrelle Revis' absence will only exacerbate that. As will Kyle Wilson continually being a step behind his man.

Then there's what will be the most scrutinized position this week, the quarterback. After a prolific first week, Mark Sanchez again looks unfit to be a starting quarterback. He's making poor decisions, overthrowing receivers, turning the ball over. Sure, he is severely lacking weapons. Dustin Keller and Stephen Hill were out, and now Holmes may too be joining them. At some point though the excuses fall flat. 

Good quarterbacks make lesser players around them look better. The best, like Tom Brady, make average receivers like Deion Branch and David Givens, feasible options. Right now, it appears Sanchez needs a top five receiver to make him a legitimate option. 

Sanchez has shown signs of promise. He has had a couple of playoff games that give you hope. But so did Chad Pennington and he proved not to be the answer.

It took about five seasons of 'close but no cigar' for the Jets to figure it out and cut the cord, benching Pennington halfway through the 2007 season for Kellen Clemens. 

Clemens wasn't a great option but Pennington just wasn't cutting it either. `

2012 is starting to feel a whole lot like 2007. In that long season, the Jets watched Pennington be victimized week after week, back breaking pick six after back breaking pick six. 

Nothing went right. They lost star linebacker Jonathan Vilma to a season-ending injury before Week 8. Head Coach Eric Mangini summed it up well saying, "It's not the same movie. It's the same ending."

Pennington proved that season he was not the Jets' quarterback answer. Clemens wasn't either. It was time to go in another direction. 

By no means do I legitimately believe Tim Tebow is the solution for the Jets. I'm not sure he's more than a Wildcat quarterback. A lot of his 2011 success was a brilliant offensive scheme that I believe would have ultimately been squashed with more film analysis had it continued in Denver.

At this point though, Mark Sanchez has to prove himself. He is statistically among the worst quarterbacks in the league right now. It's hard to keep making excuses for that.

Cutting the cord on your first round franchise guy is not easy to do. It's tough to let go. But at some point, they leave you no choice. The Jets and Sanchez are not there yet. Week by week, though, it's getting worse and the calls for Tebow don't help it. 

You can't place all the blame on one person or unit. Sunday's loss was a complete failure in every facet of the game. It is by no means the end of the season though. You move on and forward.

However, like Mangini in 2007, Ryan can't sit back and watch the same ending. Eventually, you wise up and change the channel before the part that makes you cringe or cry. 

If days like this become the norm, heads will roll. Brian Schottenheimer was the first goner. A coordinator usually is. Beware though No. 6 - if not the head coach, the quarterback usually follows next.

Drops, miscues and Greg Little's Usain Bolt pose

[Monday analysis for newsnet5.com after covering the Browns' Week 3 loss to Buffalo]

The Browns dropped the ball Sunday.

Not trying to use the cliché idiom - just stating the literal. Take whatever else from it you may.

Cornerback Dimitri Patterson dropped Ryan Fitzpatrick's pass that wasn’t intended for him but may as well have been. Hold on and it looked like a surefire pick six before the two minute warning.

On a third down before the half, a wide open Greg Little dropped Brandon Weeden’s throw that hit him right on the hands as he darted across the field.

Travis Benjamin joined the act in the third quarter, also on a third down.

Even C.J. Spiller dropping his shoulder too hard on the wet grass of Browns Stadium and missing the rest of the game was not enough to switch momentum the Browns way.

Simply, the Browns lost and it wasn’t pretty. Pat Shurmur didn’t leave much room for interpretation following the 24-14 loss to the Bills.

“Just didn’t get it done. There’s no magical answer sometimes other than we didn’t get it done,” Shurmur stated bluntly.

Not much else to say.

There weren’t many bright spots.

You can't take solace in the strong defense of Week 1, hell bent on keeping the game within reach until the bitter end. Nowhere were the promising performances of rookies Brandon Weeden and Trent

Richardson that shone a ray of hope on an intra-division loss in Week 2.

This time, you can’t pinpoint two or three plays that spelled the Browns’ demise.

All the little wrongs added up to one big one - not just in short, instantaneous doses but in a slow, torturous manner.

Through all the miscues and mental mistakes, Greg Little saw it fit to draw even more attention to himself. When Little caught the ball, he made sure you knew full well he did, again invoking Usain Bolt with his lightning bolt pose, notably after converting a first down on an out route reception.

But Little came away with no gold medal. He didn’t even come away with points. He simply caught the ball in a game his team was losing.

Some Browns fans are tiring of Little’s act.

@BrownsForum: Is Greg Little going to strike a pose after every single routine play? Get back to the huddle you idiot. #Browns #NFL

@TheBigTuna2: Hey Greg Little, Usain Bolt would not have dropped that pass.

@jhill7204: Greg Little is everything I hate about football

But then again, Little said last week he’s not concerned about the fans.

@Str8UpGlittle: Honestly I really don't care what fans say I really could careless! I ride with the 53 men in the locker room and the coaches thats it.

Well, except when it’s Bills fans taking over Browns Stadium.

“That pissed me off and I take full responsibility for it happening. I think you can only blame the players on the field and I think we gotta do more to change that,” Little said.

By the fourth quarter, Browns fans could take no more of the team. The stadium became a Buffalo block party, a raucous bunch of Bills fans spurred on by their defensive line pumping them up.

The Browns had no control of the game and by its end their fans had lost control of the stadium.

At 0-3, the Browns and Saints possess the NFL’s worst records. If you watch the games though you know which one can take that sole title right now.

Two days into fall, Cleveland football is already at risk of becoming irrelevant in 2012.

Read more: http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/sports/football/browns/Analysis-Miscues-drops-and-more-doom-Browns-to-0-3-start-as-Greg-Little-draws-fans-ire#ixzz27iQ4yKcJ

Browns Week 2: Trent sets fantasy world abuzz

[Week 2 postgame piece for newsnet5.com]

"I let my game speak for itself... you'll see Sunday," Trent Richardson said Thursday in response to comments by Bengals linebacker Rey Maualuga. 

It didn't just speak - it rolled through, dashed past and silenced Cincinnati defenders. 

Trent Richardson made a statement to NFL players and coaches with his performance in the Browns 34-27 loss to the Bengals. He also made a big impact virtually. 

The rookie back who was picked third overall in the 2012 NFL Draft was also a high pick in fantasy drafts. Richardson's average draft position in ESPN leagues was 36.9, a billing he did not live up to in his first game. His 39 yards were good for only three points in standard scoring leagues. 

Different story come Week 2. 

There were plenty of milestones for the 'Bama back in game two as a pro: 
- First NFL TD 
- First Browns rookie to rush for 100 yards since Lee Suggs ran for 186 against the Bengals on Dec. 28, 2003 
- First Browns rookie since the merger with 100+ rushing yards, rushing TD and receiving TD 
- First Browns player to register a rushing & receiving TD in the same game since Jamal Lewis in 2007 

@SportsCenter: Breakout game for rookie Trent Richardson. 104 Rush Yds, TD, Rec TD – 24 fantasy points in ESPN league standard scoring. 

Whopping numbers from Richardson and an equally whopping 599 retweets of that tweet. 

By nature, fantasy is a volatile game of odds. Fantasy owners can be a fickle bunch and one week's success story is often the next week's source of hair pulling. Cowboys wide receiver Kevin Ogletree, for instance, went from Week 1 fantasy darling to Week 2 dud. 

Some owners were a bit too quick to doubt Richardson, who was one of Week 2's top scoring running backs. 

@ptreez Trent Richardson with 25 fantasy points....on my bench... 

@Jasminf05 Since I benched Trent Richardson this week and he went for 26 pts and the RB I played only got 11 there's no way I'm going to win this week 

Those who stuck with Richardson in their starting lineup, 66 percent of Yahoo owners, were justly rewarded. 

@dhoffeditz RGIII and Trent Richardson are keeping my Fantasy Football team alive. God bless you both. 

@jdburrows51 I am winning 117-55 in fantasy football and my leading scorer is Trent Richardson with 27 pts. #unexpected #likeaboss 

It's safe to say Richardson did enough to impress Maualuga and the fantasy owners who invested in him. U.S. Olympic gymnast McKayla Maroney ? Verdict's still out on that one.

Read more: http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/sports/football/browns/analysis-browns-running-back-trent-richardsons-big-week-2-sets-fantasy-football-world-abuzz#ixzz27iPQtxsf