Los That Links: T'was the Night Before Super Bowl

How do you come up with something creative, original, and though-provoking for a sports website during Super Bowl season? The NFL season finale is upon us, and the one sport that can legitimately claim to be ruler over all things sport in America, has been impossibly dissected, scrutinized, examined, and any other word you would use to express those sentiments.

So what do you do if you're in our shoes, and are looking to provide our own proverbial log to accelerate the Super Bowl fire? Links, baby. Interesting, made-to-order, mother-lovin' links.

Los That Super Bowl Links (Super Bowl story lines)

- EA Sports has already decided the winner to Super Bowl XLV. That should free up your Sunday to do those chores your wife/mom has for you.




- When stat geeks put their powers to good use, stuff like this happens. The Pac-10 is well represented in Super Bowl history.

- PORN! So, remember the last time the Steelers made the Super Bowl, and folks in Arizona had their game interrupted with 37-seconds of porn? Well...

- A two-time Super Bowl winning quarterback, an accused rapist, and an image-rehabbing NFL star go to a bar. Stop me if you've heard this one before.

- Personally, I love Buzz Bissenger because he's such a chap-ass. Here he is with his curmudgeonly hype on the Super Bowl hype.

- Jason Whitlock with his take on the 2011 NFL Hall of Fame class, and why denying entry to a fellow fat man will make him cry.

- Bill Romanowski picks the Packers to win. More importantly, now is a good time to appreciate that Romanowski is the only linebacker to start in five Super Bowls, winning four times. See what steroids can do for you?

- Get your Super Bowl XLV gamble on (where it's legal).

- Lil Wayne versus Wiz Khalifa. Loser has to get a face-tattoo. (Wait a minute...)

Non-Super Bowl, but still NFL-related links

- Mark Sanchez may have a Long Island Lolita.

- Michael Vick never wanted to go to that party that bore his name (and Roger Goodell asked him not to attend) in the first place. (Yeah baby, I really don't want to go to the strip club with the homies. I just wanna stay here with you tonight and watch "Real Housewives of Atlanta".)

- It's fun to play like Chad Ochocinco-Johnson is unintelligent, but really, we know he's not.

- Google "Goodell, Labor issues", and you get about 5,832,964,897,692 articles. Some positive, mostly not. Here's a negative piece worth reading.

- Dave McKenna of the Washington City Paper listened to "Hit Em Up", "Takeover" and "Ether" for 72-consecutive hours, then wrote this piece on Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder back in November. Now Snyder wants to sue for libel.

Los That Links 11-22-2010 (Linking Up with the NFL)

Long time, no Los That Links. In fact, it's been almost three months. The last time Los That Links went up, we acknowledged that Brad Childress had lost the control of the Minnesota Vikings. That was September 10, 2010, after the season opening loss to the New Orleans Saints. The team has won a grand total of three games since then.

Now, it's being reported that Childress has been fired following this weekend's 31-3 loss to the Green Bay Packers.

It's safe to say that we're geniuses, whose sports intelligence should never be doubted or questioned.

A lot more has changed over the NFL landscape since then. Everything from Commissioner Roger Goodell making mid-season rule changes regarding hard hits, to Michael Vick rising as a borderline MVP lock, to the Oakland Raiders renewed commitment to competency (well, prior to this weekend's 35-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers).

Last night's final Week 11 matchup between the Denver Broncos and San Diego Chargers notwithstanding, it's safe to say that there are five storylines worth paying undivided attention to as we head into the NFL's stretch run. Here they are, in reverse order.

5.) Mark Sanchez is the Third Best Quarterback in the AFC

You don't want to believe it. It's bad enough that he's younger and better looking than you. But now he's more than just a game-manager; he's a game winner?

Yes, yes he is.

He's thrown for 2,306 yards, 15 TDs and only 7 INTs. Since the Week 1 10-9 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, he's had 4 games with a passer rating above 100, and he's thrown back-to-back game winning TD passes to Santonio Holmes. He is undefeated on the road (5-0). He has shown the ability to play his best with the game on the line (Four of the past five weeks, he's led the team on fourth quarter or overtime game-winning drives). This weekend, against the Houston Texans, he completed 12 of 14 passes against a 6 man blitz, for 189 yards and a QB rating of 141.

This is the same guy who led his team to within one half of the Super Bowl during his rookie campaign last year.

Tom Brady and Peyton Manning will be 1A and 1B until they decide to hang up the cleats and make Sketchers Shape-Ups commercials full-time. That leaves Phillip Rivers, Joe Flacco, Matt Schaub, and maybe Kyle Orton as legit competitors to the "Third Best QB" title.

Rivers, the most viable of the competitors, has put up gaudy numbers this season (2944 passing yards, 19 TDs, 102.9 QB rating going into last night), but it hasn't translated into wins. In fact, in crunch time against Kansas City, Seattle, St. Louis, and Oakland, when he had a chance to win the game for his team, he either threw an interception or an incompletion.

Flacco has a better overall QB rating (92 to 82), but only one more TD (16 to 15) and has also shown the fourth quarter comeback-ability (seven in his career). He defeated the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers on fourth quarter drives this season, and he almost defeated the Atlanta Falcons with a TD pass to Todd Heap with 1:05 left in the game. But Sanchez gets the edge for all the superficial reasons (bigger city, better name, "Hard Knocks", USC pedigree).

Schaub and Orton are both playing for sub-.500 teams, and I wouldn't trust either of them leading my team during a late drive over Sanchez.

4.) Surprise, Surprise! Bill Belichick Knows How to Coach

It's Week 11, and the New England Patriots have found themselves in an unfamiliar place; tied for first in the AFC East. See, they're typically the sole controllers of that top spot by this time of the year. Since 2001, when Tom Brady took over as starter, the Patriots have won the AFC East seven out of the eight seasons he started more than one game. The two times they didn't win it, they still finished above .500 (9-7 in '03, 11-5 in '08) yet missed the playoffs.

This season, the Patriots have decided to go back to the formula from their 2001-2004 Super Bowl winning teams. They dumped Randy Moss in October, and went two wide receivers under 5'11" (Wes Welker and Deion Branch) and a rookie (Brandon Tate). They traded former first round pick Laurence Maroney to the Denver Broncos, lost Fred Taylor to injury (surprise) and teamed two running backs with laugh out loud names (Benjarvis Green-Ellis and Danny Woodhead) to the tune of 880 yards rushing and 10 TDs. They have the league's worst rated pass defense, but they forced three interceptions out of Peyton Manning last night.

Then of course there is Brady, who is having a career season himself (2,362 yards, 19 TDs, 4 INTs, 100 QB rating). Not only are the numbers great for Brady, but he really worked on his ability to yell at teammates, opposing players, and referees this off season. Guess he was tired of the Justin Bieber jokes.

3.) The NFC Will be Decided by the OB

Seven teams in the NFC (Atlanta, Philly, Chicago, New Orleans, Tampa Bay, Green Bay, and NY Giants) have six wins or more. One more team will be given an automatic berth out of the NFC West, even though it's likely they'll be an eight win team at best. That leaves five playoff spots available for the aforementioned squads.

So who makes the cut? It all depends on whose QB you trust the most.

We'll give Atlanta the nod, because Matt Ryan doesn't lose at home (17-1, 13 straight wins). Now we're down to four spots. Philly has proven that even if their starting MVP-caliber QB (Michael Vick, 108 QB rating, 11 TDs) goes down, they have a more than capable backup (Kevin Kolb, 85 QB rating, 6 TDs, 1,035 yards) who can do enough to at least get them invited to the dance, so they're in.

Now we're down to three. Chicago and Green Bay will fight it out for the NFC North, meaning you must choose between Jay Cutler and Aaron Rodgers. The inclination is to go with Rodgers (95 QB rating, 19 TDs, 2,601 yards) over Cutler (85 QB rating, 12 TDs, 2,064 yards). However, Chicago has the advantage in the head-to-head (the Bears defeated the Packers 20-17 in Week 3). With their Week 17 matchup looming as the game that will decide the NFC North, do we trust Rodgers to come through in a big game?

(Well, over Cutler we do. So the edge goes to Rodgers here.)

Two spots left; New Orleans, Tampa Bay, NY Giants, and the Bears still on the table. Give the Saints and Drew Brees the wild card on the strength of Drew Brees (93 QB rating, 2,969 yards, 22 TDs in what's supposed to be an off year).

So, the final NFC playoff berth goes to (drumroll please)... the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

I believe in Josh Freeman (2,099 yards, 15 TDs, 92 QB rating), and so should you. He's the NFC's Mark Sanchez (all the way down to the curly hair). He has six fourth-quarter comebacks in his young career, four this season (Cleveland, at Cincy, St. Louis, and at Arizona). He doesn't turn the ball over (only 5 INTs). We all laughed at head coach Raheem Morris when he said his team was tops in the NFC.

(As I put the pipe down and realize that would mean three teams out of the NFC South would qualify, even though they all face each other, and Tampa Bay would need a win against Baltimore, New Orleans, or Atlanta, I feel more and more uneasy. The Giants would be the safer bet, even with Eli Manning's inability to slide, and tendency to play catch with the other team. But I'm sticking to my guns, dammit. Believe in the legend of Josh "Catcher" Freeman!)

2.) The Helmet-to-Helmet Rulings Will Cost a Team Their Season

It's coming. Like a blind-sided hit to a defenseless receiver, it's coming. It might be a playoff game, or a game during the stretch run, but at least on team will go down in flames based on a subjective call concerning a helmet-to-helmet hit. It was a bad idea when Goodell made his move six weeks ago, and it looks even worse now.

Let it be known, the rule "emphasis" (it isn't a change; helmet-to-helmet hits have been banned for a long time now) was decided on not for the safety of the players, but for television ratings. This rule is one of many rules that have been made in the offense's favor going back a decade now. Think I'm lying?

• Two teams (Oakland and Philly) have scored 59 points this season. Both happened after Goodell's announcement.
• The Pittsburgh Steelers are the NFL's third best defense, yet give up 240 passing yards per game. James Harrison has been fined $100, 000 this season, $20,000 after the announcement.
• Twenty-three teams are averaging over twenty points a game. In 1990, only 16 teams averaged over twenty a game.
• The Buffalo Bills led by the mighty Ryan Fitzpatrick, scored 36 points on the road against the Baltimore Ravens, and 35 points on the road IN THE SECOND HALF against the Cincinnati Bengals.

The NFL wants points, and could care less about safety. They want the players to allow more catches, which make greater quarterbacks (the marquee position), which drives TV ratings, which puts them in a great bargaining position for an 18-game regular season.

So if your a fan of a hard-hitting team (ie. Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Jets, Giants, or Philly) you've been warned.

1.) There is No MVP

In this age of NFL parity, the talk of a league MVP has become an exercise in futility. The clear choice is Vick, but he's missed four games. So the clear choice is Peyton (20 TDs, 7 INTs, 3,000 yards passing), but his team is in second place in the division, and has played poorly on the road. So the clear choice is Brady, only he's lost his head-to-head matchup with Sanchez, and his team is also in second place. So the clear choice is Sanchez, but it doesn't feel right to give it to a guy with an 82 QB rating.

So we drop to the not-so-clear choices like Rivers (a .500 team), Ryan (winning, but not blowing us away with anything other than impressive home numbers), Roddy White (a wide receiver, and not even the best one in the conference), Drew Brees (impressive numbers during apparent Super Bowl hangover season), Troy Polamalu (definite team impact, but not close to his best season), and more names to let you know we've stretched our imaginations way too far (David Garrard, Clay Matthews, "Big" Ben Roethlisberger, etc...).

So enjoy the debate, but don't be too set in a position. Unless some phenomenal performance develops over the next six weeks (which would need to blow Vick's previous six weeks out the water) this is the perfect season for the loathed Co-MVP award.
Parity rules.

Braylon Edwards Claims Comments "Taken Out Of Context"

Yesterday, it was reported that New York Jets wide receiver Braylon Edwards said that quarterback Mark Sanchez hasn't earned the right to criticize yet (see here for the story).

Well today, per this report over at nj.com Edwards and a Jets spokesman say that his comments were taken out of context. Here are the comments:

"The quote was taken out of context, I just spoke to the (spokesperson) about it" Edwards said.


"He was referring to quarterbacks in general, not to Mark Sanchez," the spokesperson said. "Those comments were not made specifically toward Mark they were made toward just playing the quarterback position."

Hey Braylon; "We Don't Believe You." Funny that once some of these off the wall comments players make go public how quickly they try to clean them up.

Just another example of wide receivers being divas. Despite his lofty draft status (he went 3rd overall back in 2005) Edwards has only had one good season and has been surrounded by off the field controversy. Criticizing your young QB when you are barely a top 30 receiver might not have been the best idea. Why not try thinking before you speak? Got thing the Jets have good PR.

Braylon Edwards please do better.

-ALR (@a_ramsey on twitter)

Tomlinson Motivates Shutout (Hustling Backwards)

LaDanian Tomlinson has been a revelation this season with the New York Jets. After his last two sub-par seasons with the San Diego Chargers which had many people questioning if this was the end of his run, he's found the fountain of youth (or a darn good HGH supplier) in Jersey, rushing for 490 yards and 5 TDs this season.

Greg Garber did an in-depth piece for ESPN titled "Lombardi Strikes ex-Bolt with Inspiration", examining Tomlinson's impact on the youthful NY Jets, and the platform they have put him on to reach his ultimate goal: a Super Bowl win. Much was made of his use of Vince Lombardi quotes to inspire the team, and motivate himself.

I read the piece, then watched the pre-game for the Green Bay Packers and NY Jets, where they showed Tomlinson giving a riveting pep talk to his team. The speech was passionate, riveting, right up there with the one Al Pacino gave his team during halftime of "Any Given Sunday". I was ready for some football!

And the, the Jets go out and lay their biggest egg of the season, getting shutout 9-0 at home coming off a bye week. They allowed the NFL's 23rd ranked rushing defense to 119 yards, and forced Mark Sanchez to remind folks of his rookie season performances with 2 INTs and a QB rating of 43.

Not going to place the blame of the poor performance of the offense entirely on LT's shoulders, given that he did run for 55 yards on 16 carries, and became just the sixth player to rush for over 13,000 yards in his first ten seasons. Still, with all the hype surrounding LT, it would have been nice for at least someone on the offensive side of the ball not to look so offensive.

Sanchez threw bad INTs. Tight end Dustin Keller allowed Charles Woodson to snatch the ball out of his hands for one of the picks. Wide receiver Santonio Holmes dropped some very catchable passes. Braylon Edwards was cutting patterns short and not coming back to the ball much like he did regularly with the Cleveland Browns. And Shonn Greene, the actual starter at running back continued to underwhelm, carrying 6 times for only 22 yards.

Not exactly what I expected after all the Lombardi talk.

"Mama said there will always be days like this," Tomlinson said after the game.

I'm sure Mama said a few other things that he relayed to his offensive mates behind closed doors.

("You betta not neva embarrass me like that in public again! Go get a switch!")

2010 NY Jets Preview

The NY Jets seem to be set up perfectly for a reality-style televison series, don't they? Overacheiving 2009 campaign where they almost made the Super Bowl. Brash yet enetertaining head coach. Charismatic young starting quarterback. Discarded former MVP with a vendetta to prove he can still play. "Gang Green" '10 was tailored made to be the subject of HBO's hit show about NFL training camp, "Hard Knocks". The challenge for the Jets will be to translate all this pre-season hype to on the field success, culminating in a championship.

Offense
With rookie Mark Sanchez at the helm, the 2009 Jets fielded the league's most run-heavy offense, choosing the run on just over 60% of their snaps. This turned out to be a good decision given that Sanchez threw a whopping 20 INTs to only 12 TD in his rookie campaign. While the young QB will most likely cut back on the turnovers this year as he matures and is better prepared to handle NFL defenses, expect more of the same run/pass ratio. Leading rusher Thomas Jones is no longer with the team but he is replaced by TD machine LaDainian Tomlinson. He will backup 2nd year RB Shonn Greene, who had a strong showing in the post season before going down with an injury. Add in the versatile change-of-pace rookie back Joe McKnight and the Jets should be set for their running game. DeBrigashaw FergusonD'Brickashaw Ferguson at LT and C Nick Mangold achor the best O-line in the AFC.

The Jets attempted to get Sanchez a new weapon in the receiving corps by trading for Santonio Holmes, but the troubled receiver will be out for the first 4 games after being suspended for violating the NFL substance policy (just say no, kids). When he returns, the former Super Bowl XLIII MVP is a reliable receiver with the speed to stretch the field and ability to make the big catch (see here). Braylon Edwards lines up on the other side of the field, and if he can shake the dropsies the 6'3 receiver can have a solid impact as Sanchez's red zone target. Dustin Keller is the only reliable target at TE as the rest on the roster are strictly blocking options.

Defense
The defensive side of the field is where the Jets really shine. They have all the pieces needed to be successful in a 3-4 scheme. Up front, DE Shaun Ellis and DT Kris Jenkins (if healthy) stuff the run and alow linebackers Bart Scott and David Harris to fly around the field and make plays. The Jets could potentially have a true lock-down secondary, if they can manage to get All-Pro CB Darelle Revis off "Revis Island" and end his holdout. Recently aquired Antonio Cromartie has the tools to shut down the other side of the field as well, and rookie CB Kyle Wilson has the reputation of a playmaker covering the slot. Expect big things from him in the return game as well. Hard to improve on a defense that led the NFL in 2009 fewest yards allowed per game(a paltry 252.3), passing yards allowed (153.7) and fewest points allowed (14.8ppg) but they just may be better this season.

Prediction: 12-4

The Jets dont play a particularly tough schedule in 2010, and as Sanchez progresses I think he'll cut down his turnovers and throw a few more touchdowns. And if that doesn't happen, the defense will shut down almost every team in the league and keep them in low scoring, winnable games. Expect them to challenge for the AFC crown this season.

That is, if they don't go too "Hollywood" on us. Thanks, HBO!

-ALR