Nine of this year’s 15 modern-era finalists for enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame are first- or second-year eligible players.
Drew Brees and Larry Fitzgerald highlight the list of first-year eligible candidates, which is rounded out by Frank Gore and Jason Witten.
Second-year eligibles up for enshrinement include Luke Kuechly, Eli Manning, Terrell Suggs, Adam Vinatieri and Marshal Yanda.
The modern-era candidate list includes: (more…)
Rex Ryan’s first two seasons as coach of the New York Jets ended with losses in the AFC Championship game. But that’s been quickly forgotten as the team finished its past two seasons a combined 14-18.
In the process, the Jets have become almost a sideshow, with an appearance on HBO’s Hard Knocks and the acquisition of Tim Tebow providing at least some of the several memorable punch lines. The 6-10 2012 season cost Mike Tannenbaum his job as general manager and it has to have Ryan on the hot seat heading into 2013 as well.
So how bad off are the Jets? Joe Caporoso, owner, head writer and editor in chief of Turn on the Jets, says a talent-barren roster likely leaves the Jets more than one offseason away from competing for a playoff spot.
Zoneblitz: After another disappointing season, the Jets fired Mike Tannenbaum as general manager yet kept Rex Ryan as head coach. Were those the right moves and, if so, why did Ryan deserve another year? (more…)
One of the highlights of the 2012 season continues to be the play of rookie quarterbacks throughout the league. Andrew Luck of the Colts and Robert Griffin III are the most highly publicized, and both continued helping their respective teams toward turnarounds on Sunday and Monday night.
But Russell Wilson also had another career-defining moment, helping the Seahawks to a comeback win over Chicago. In a year without Luck and Griffin, Wilson himself might be in consideration for the Rookie of the Year award.
Brandon Weeden continued his improvement in Cleveland’s win over Oakland. And while Ryan Tannehill and Nick Foles, who showed dramatic improvement Sunday night over what he looked like during the first game against Dallas a month ago, also have had moments.
The game Sunday wasn’t Luck’s best, but he got the job done, particularly when it mattered. The surprising Colts are 8-4. Griffin pulled the Redskins to within a game of the first-place Giants and evened Washington’s record at 6-6. It’s been years before this team has been relevant in December.
Of the league’s 32 teams, six are starting rookies and another seven are starting second-year guys right now. We’ve started some research on how these guys look at this point. We’ve got a ways to go before we’re ready to put anything out, but as guys like Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees (still three of the top five or six in the game) continue aging, it does appear as though the league is in good hands in its search for the stars of tomorrow. (more…)
After advancing to consecutive AFC Championship games, the New York Jets had every reason to approach 2011 with confidence that the team could make the next step.
But by the end of the season, the Jets were out of the playoffs and the team was in disarray, with Santonio Holmes getting benched at the end of a must-win game and Mark Sanchez leaving doubts about his status as the quarterback of the future.
So can Head Coach Rex Ryan right the ship and get his troops back on track? Or have his bravado run its course? Joe Caporoso, owner, editor-in-chief and head writer for Turn on the Jets, shared his thoughts with Zoneblitz. Here’s what he had to say:
Zoneblitz: Three years in, what is your assessment of Rex Ryan as Jets head coach? (more…)
I don’t know that I would ever want to be in Las Vegas trying to make a bunch of money betting on games played in week 17. Motivation comes into play so much in these games and it’s so hard to say ahead of time who is going to be playing hard, who is going to be resting guys for the playoffs and who is going to play as though all they want to do is pack up their stuff and go home.
It’s even harder picking games several days out, because games that look like they could potentially be important at 3 p.m. central time could be rendered meaningless by the results of games kicking off at noon.
Nonetheless, we’ve cobbled together some picks we think make sense. With last week’s results (Andy 2-2, Tony 0-4), Tony clinched a losing record (28-36 heading into week 17) for the season while I clinched a winning record (34-29-1). Neither one of us will be scaring off the actual betting experts, but what the heck. Here goes: (more…)
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Paul I guess but did you see my other comment
There is a tight timeline of only a few weeks to schedule these, perhaps Joe and Jerry had previous commitments
I’m surprised Charles Haley and Ronnie Lott knocked on the door of Roger Craig I thought it would be Joe…
Paul totally but would you agree it would make a great book
Thought many times about writing one but would take inside knowledge from those who were there (voters) to really have…