A Gratifying NY Jets Win

It has been a great day for New York Football!

First of all, Gang Green beats the Miami Dolphins; 40-13!!

The NY Jets are the Rodney Dangerfield's of the NFL. I'm mean seriously, they get no respect. They get no respect in the NFL, ever. Mostly ignored on t.v. by the talking sports heads and the NY press is always negative about them.

Here they are, with the better record, albeit a 2-9 record-not exactly noteworthy, but at least better than Miami, who are win-less this season at 0-12. And what team is picked as the underdogs?

The Jets. By a one-point spread. But as Curtis Sliwa always says "You couldn't be more wrong". Today I think the Jets earned some respect in creaming the Dolphins. I know that they have some problems on both sides of the ball, I'm not in la-la land here, but they have potential on the roster, so I am always optimistic.

It was a very gratifying win.

Secondly, the NY Giants beat the Chicago Bears in the last minutes of the game, they won 21-16. Good to see Eli lead the team to victory after last week's painful loss.

Since I'm on the subject of the NFL, in case you haven't read this column yet written by Jason Whitlock about the death of the Washington Redskins pro-bowl safety, Sean Taylor, read it. Takes all kinds of courage to speak this truth about black on black crimes. Turns out he was right. Two of the suspects had done yard work for Sean and they were surprised to find him at home while they tried to rob him. Very sad.

The Cost of Cheating in the NFL

Since I had a rather lengthy discussion regarding the New England Patriots Cheater-gate, I felt that update would be extremely appropriate.

And I was right. It was cheating, plain and simple.

Bill Belichick is ready for his close-up. The Patriots' coach escaped suspension for using a video camera to spy on opposing coaches, with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell deciding instead on Thursday night to fine him $500,000 and dock the team $250,000 and a first-day draft pick next year.

It was the biggest fine ever for a coach and the first time in NFL history a first-round draft pick has been confiscated as a penalty.

Best quote from the article by the NFL commissioner Roger Goodell as to why he penalized Belichick and his team:

"This episode represents a calculated and deliberate attempt to avoid longstanding rules designed to encourage fair play and promote honest competition on the playing field," Goodell wrote.

Good for Goodell! Sends a strong message to the coaches, players and owners.

Quite frankly, I feel bad for Belichick because now, no matter what he does, his winning record will be forever tarnished. And that is a heavy price to pay. I wonder if he thinks it was worth it?

The New England Patriots Cheated?

That is what they are accused of in last Sunday's game against the New York Jets.

The Patriots creamed the Jets. Chad Pennington got hurt. Not a very good day for a Jets fan, that is, until now!

Well, while us die-hard New York Jets fan were nursing our wounds over last Sunday's results, this story appears:

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has determined that the New England Patriots violated league rules Sunday when they videotaped defensive signals by the New York Jets' coaches, according to league sources.

NFL security officials confiscated a camera and videotape from Patriots video assistant Matt Estrella on the New England sidelines when it was suspected he was recording the Jets' defensive signals. Sources say the visual evidence confirmed the suspicion.

That's cheating, plain and simple. Not what you would expect from the former Super bowl champs or from their coach, Bill Belichick.

I mean, with all that talent, do you need to cheat? Where's the integrity?

Roger Goodell sure hasn't had it easy lately. First the Vick problem, now this.

I hope he holds the Patriots accountable.

Are You Ready For Some Football!

If you are not, listen to this song. It will get you psyched.



My favorite team, the New York Jets, are kicking off their season this Sunday against the New England Patriots. Always a good game. Can't wait for Chad Pennington to silence his critics.

Football, it's the only good thing about summer coming to an end.

The Good and Bad of the NFL

This whole Michael Vick controversy can be construed to say that there is much in the NFL that is wrong.

We've all heard of the players who have been arrested for drunk driving, battery, rape, gun violence, murder and the like.
I just googled NFL crime and got these results. Sad and troubling to say the least.

I know that our culture tends to focus on the bad, so it comes as no surprise that the NFL's image has been damaged by the conduct of some of it's players. But should we just highlight the bad players and ignore the players and coaches who are great role models? I realize that the good always flies under the radar of the bad, but it doesn't have to be that way.

Which brings me to Tony Dungy. He has a new book out, a bestseller by the way, titled Quiet Strength. Tim Challies reviews the book, here is an excerpt:

Those who know the National Football League will know of Tony Dungy, the coach of the Indianapolis Colts. One of the league’s premier and most respected coaches, Dungy is a Christian and one who is outspoken about his faith. Two events in the past two years have put him in the spotlight: the death of his son in 2006 and the Colts’ Superbowl victory in 2007. Anyone who has read about Dungy or observed him on the sidelines will affirm that Quiet Strength is a perfect title for his memoir—a book that has reached as high as the top spot on the New York Times list of bestsellers, becoming the first NFL-related book to hold that honor.

I don't just bring him up because he is a Christian, but because he is a good role model of a man who has lived his life with integrity and humility, within the NFL. I just hate it now that when I watch a game, all the commentators keep talking about is Michael Vick.

Related: Justin Taylor weighs in on some recent NFL news here. You be the judge as to whether or not there seems to be a moral equivalence problem in the NFL.