Thursday, October 27, 2011

A (brief) reprieve

Apparently, WVU's exodus from the Big East has been slowed down.

Not because they don't want to bolt. Because U.S. Senators (McConnell/Manchin/Rockefeller) are now lobbying hard for their home state teams to get the first plane off the island.

Apparently McConnell pulled strings to get the Big 12 to reconsider Louisville as the primary expansion candidate, before WVU. Now that politics are involved, goodness knows how it will end...

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Renaming ideas for conferences

Big 10: Big North

Big 12: Coal, Oil and Crops; or, the Commodity Conference (ComCon for short)

Big East: Big Everywhere

Pac 12: Big West

Big West: Pac 9

SEC: SEC

ACC: ACC

Bad news, worse news for SHK

Bad: Big East disintegrating.

Worse: He still looks the same.

Good news, bad news for DC

Bad: WVU is fleeing the Big East for Big 12(-ish). The scythe has been well sharpened for the B.E. as a meaningful football league.

Good: Fins grabbed defeat from the jaws of victory against Tebow, keeping them in the pole position of the Suck For Luck sweepstakes.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Fins v Jets

Our semi-annual board throw-down.

As a Jets fan, it takes me back to the glory days, when the Jets would take on the role of pugnacious second fiddle, out for respect against a legendary coach and the perennial division winners.




Wait a second...

Friday, October 14, 2011

Don't Call it a Comeback

The Big East, unwilling to do the smart thing and just call off football, and reconstitute as an elite 8-team B-Ball conference, has handed out 5 new invites to "football" schools.

So, ladies and germs, here are your new, distinguished Big East members (should they choose to accept):

-Central Florida
-Houston
-SMU
-Air Force (football only)
-Boise State (football only)

No, people. I'm serious.

Brandon Moore Throws Back at Santonio

Well, Holmes continues to underwhelm in his role as a team captain, calling out the O-line publicly for the 2nd time. Only this time Brandon Moore isn't taking it. When a veteran leader like Moore is telling you to shut your mouth, shut your mouth.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Some footage from the archive

SHK goes from hard-core rooting to misery-drowning, after the Jets lose to the Oilers in a "win-and-your-in" game, ending their season:

When it all went bad

A great article from ESPN NY that talks about how the Jets muffed their OL when they cut Damien Woody back in March. It also points out how Rob Turner's injury--a broken leg in a preseason game that most have forgotten--deprived the team of its only sound backup OL.

As a result, Wayne Hunter has been exposed as a good backup, but a not-ready-for-prime-time performer; and in any game, the OL is one turned ankle away from being as porous as swiss cheese.

I will say that the article gives Woody a bit of a pass--he could have kept himself in game shape. I don't necessarily buy that he would have stayed on the stick had the Jets not cut him. But it certainly didn't help.

Finally, the article hits on one of the most important angles of this Woody situation: character. It talks about how Woody was always accountable. It doesn't make the point (but I will) that he was one of several leaders the Jets jettisoned this past offseason.

Cotchery, Smith, Woody, Jason Taylor. Look at what these guys have done on the field this year with their new teams: just about nothing. But look at who the Jets replaced these guys with: Derrick Mason (prima donna, now traded), Kerley (rookie, hence no leadership), no one, and Maybin (draft bust just trying to find his way).

What this team doesn't have right now is the player leadership that keeps guys accountable and working hard. Rex is not a crack-the-whip coach (to put it mildly). That player leadership is more important than under, say, a Tom Coughlin or Bill Parcells. The punks and loudmouths don't have the old pros around anymore keeping them honest. The result? 2-3.

Friday, October 07, 2011

The Yankees Lose--THUHUHUHUHUH...YANKEES...LOSE!!!

Hard to believe I'm actually saying this but, Yay Detroit!

Now if only St. Louis can knock off the Phils all will be good in the baseball world...

Tuesday, October 04, 2011

Jets-Pats

Jets are going to use the upcoming game against the Pats to begin their reversion to ground and pound, re-emphasizing the running game.

I agree that the unbalanced focus on passing has not worked out great so far. That said, this is not the game to go away from the pass. The Pats weakest link on D is their secondary. They are #32 - dead last - in the NFL in passing defense. Their secondary was weak last year, and it's still weak this year.

The best way to beat the Pats is to make sure you stretch the field with several vertical plays to Plax. If you do that, you'll have your best shot of a mismatch. I hope the Jets remember to work several deep plays in during the game.

Pats D captain and key LB Mayo is out for several weeks, which is good. He's their playcaller and this will cause them some issues. (Although expect a Belicheat-coached team to quickly overcome this issue.)

Finally, Jets need to accept that the Wayne Hunter experiment has failed miserably. Without Woody and Mangold we're not running on anyone.