EL BARIO, BRONX – “A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult.” – Proverbs 12:16
At the Church of JB, Deacon Blaber is reading from the pulpit. We are talking about… hate. The power of hate and how sometimes it is good for the soul is front and center. As the quote shows, the Good Book has other ideas on how to deal with hate. I believe hate keeps you motivated and occasionally keeps you strong.
The NY Jets vs New England Patriots rivalry is one of the most intense in the contemporary NFL. The two cities have the Yankees and Red Sox dislike to build on, but there is hate of its own accord. If it wasn’t for Jets Linebacker Mo Lewis knocking out Drew Bledsoe in 2001, Tom “Terrific” Brady would never have taken over as QB and all his followers would never exist. The rivalry deals with Bill Parcells leaving the Pats for for the Jets and Bill Belichick turning down the Jets job to be the Pats head coach. Honestly though, as a Jets fan, we are the Red Sox in this rivalry. Fire doesn’t have a rivalry with kindling. The Patriots have dominated and continued to do so for the majority of the 2000s, until that changes we will be looking to prove we are just as good. Take at look at the Jets QB list since 2001 when Tom Brady took over.
2013 Geno Smith (2)
2012 Mark Sanchez (15) / Greg McElroy (1)
2011 Mark Sanchez (16)
2010 Mark Sanchez (16)
2009 Mark Sanchez (15) / Kellen Clemens (1)
2008 Brett Favre (16)
2007 Chad Pennington (8) / Kellen Clemens (8)
2006 Chad Pennington (16)
2005 Brooks Bollinger (9) / Vinny Testaverde (4) / Chad Pennington (3)
2004 Chad Pennington (13) / Quincy Carter (3)
2003 Chad Pennington (9) / Vinny Testaverde (7)
2002 Chad Pennington (12) / Vinny Testaverde (4)
2001 Vinny Testaverde (16)
The only other QB for the Patriots in that time was Matt Cassel, which was for 1 season in 2008 due to Brady getting injured for the season. The Jets need a franchise QB of this caliber or else they will always be chasing the Patriots.
Changing gears… Has anyone seen NFL appeals officer Matt Birk!?! The guy has dropped 75 pounds and is looking svelte. To be fair, these pro players have been working out since Junior High School, so it is just a change of routine. But it is still an impressive feat accomplished in less than a year. Now, Birk is not an idiot as a Harvard grad – yup HARVARD! and is a 14 year league veteran. It is part of the reason he was given the position of appeals officer so easily. He retired after last year’s Super Bowl and really what person would have a better feel for the state of the game than a recently-retired player?
Get the puck outta here... In the span of 9 days, my NY Rangers have played 6 games and finished 2-4. That is not bad for a brutal start to the season for the Blueshirts. It is okay, they will be back home at the Mecca of James Dolan; Madison Square Garden. They will still be getting Alain Vigneault‘s system – samns Captain Ryan Callahan – so they have a hard road ahead. However, it is not only on Coach Vigneault. It is the combination of getting rid of John Tortorella‘s ghost and the player hangover of Torts. It will come good but we as Ranger fans have to be patient, its a process.
I would cover baseball but blah!!! Everyone else on the MTM staff covers it, so lets move on to the other soft sport…basketball! It appears that the pre-season is filled with weird stares and beady eyes. Apparently J.J. Reddick and Chris Paul are over their intense dislike of each other and will find a way to work with each other for the sake of the Los Angeles Clippers. Meanwhile on the East Coast, it appears former Boston Celtic – and current Brooklyn Net – Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett don’t like the Miami Heat’s Lebron James. Pierce’s hard foul on James in a preseason game was an indication that emotions will run high in all their matches this regular season.
That is it for now, feel free to comment below and come back tomorrow for the hottest NFL Handicapper on the planet, Cheesy Bruin. If you want to read more of my ramblings you can find them on RugbyWrapUp.com, look for and “Like” our Facebook Rugby Wrap Up Page and follow us on Twitter @RugbyWrapUp and @JunoirBlaber, respectively.
In the meantime… stay low and keep pumping those legs
