NFL - Are You Ready For Some Football?! - Off Season

[Al B. Sure!]

Speaking of which, it's looking like Rex Grossman is Shanahan's QB of the future

By the way, Umenyiora must be very thankful to Grossman. Thanks to Grossman fumbling the ball twice on Umenyiora sacks, Osi now has the NFL record for most forced fumbles in a season at 10

[-Jrabbit]

It's a Rex specialty. Osi should buy him a nice gift. (I would say that record is pretty safe, but with Grossman starting again next year...)

Clearly, Grossman is a stopgap. Washington will draft a QB in the first and suck for the foreseeable future.
At QB in 2011 only, waiting for his job to be yanked away like Kyle Orton, will be Sexy Rexy.

I am advising all my clients to stay away from Redskins players (at least on offense) for the foreseeable future. Dan Snyder is an idiot. And I don't know what the hell happened to Mike Shanahan.

[Imran Siddiqui]

An amazing story, which brought a tear to my eye:

http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/nfl/news/story?id=5991920

Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Mark Sanchez recalls Aiden Binkley
By Rich Cimini
ESPNNewYork.com

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- Mark Sanchez went to work Tuesday, preparing for a big football game. Some 40 miles away, a little boy from Queens, N.Y., was buried -- a friend of the New York Jets quarterback.

Sanchez and Aiden Binkley, 11, met each other only a few weeks ago, but they became fast friends. Binkley was suffering from a rare form of cancer, and he had only two wishes -- he wanted his two brothers to stay healthy and he wanted to meet Sanchez.
And so he did.

Aiden visited the Jets' training facility Dec. 15, and he received the VIP treatment, as if he were a big-name player making a free-agent visit. He watched practice and was escorted to owner Woody Johnson's second-floor office, where he met Antonio Cromartie, Dustin Keller, Mike Devito and others.

And, finally, Sanchez. The people who were there say Aiden's face lit up like Broadway at night.

"He sat there, beaming and smiling," said Aiden's mother, Lisa Binkley, who initially wasn't sure if it was a good idea to make the trip because Aiden was in such pain.

"Nothing meant more to him than coming here and meeting Mark and meeting the Jets," Keller said quietly Wednesday in the Jets' locker room. "Great kid ... a tough situation."

The 24-year-old quarterback was immediately taken by Aiden and his upbeat personality and his love of the Jets. A few days later, Sanchez & Co. beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh -- the biggest win of the season -- and Sanchez sent his new friend a game ball.

Sanchez was deeply touched by Aiden, who battled rhabdomyosarcoma, according to a 2008 New York Daily News article. There was a lemon-sized tumor that spread from his pelvis to his lungs, and he required 60 weeks of chemotherapy.

They became texting buddies and, one day, Sanchez surprised Aiden's parents by asking, "Can I come over?" When Sanchez arrived, the boy was sleeping. Sanchez sat at Aiden's feet, waiting until he woke up.

"He opened his eyes and there was Mark, sitting on the couch," Lisa said. "He was so sweet."

They ended up having a long conversation, like a couple of old friends. Aiden took Sanchez to his bedroom and showed him his sports stuff, including his hockey stick. He gave Sanchez a camouflage bracelet with the inscription, "Binkley's Battle." Sanchez and Keller were wearing the bracelets Wednesday in the Jets' locker room.

"My man, Aiden ... breaks my heart," Sanchez said Tuesday during his weekly spot on "The Michael Kay Show" on 1050 ESPN Radio. "He's so tough."

Sanchez, choked with emotion, paused several times as he talked about Aiden, whom he met through the Teddy Atlas Foundation. Atlas, the boxing trainer and ESPN analyst, was a Jets special assistant under former coach Eric Mangini.

"He brought me so much inspiration. ... It's hard to talk about him," Sanchez said. "He meant the world to me. I felt like I've known him forever. ... I saw his personality. I saw his competitive spirit. I saw him fighting every day.

"I'm complaining about a shoulder. Are you kidding me? ... I think he was 11 years old, and he has cancer eating away at his body," Sanchez continued. "This kid is fighting every day. He's smiling every time I talk to him. I visited him at his home. I mean, he has to get carried up the stairs because he's so weak and all he wants to talk about is LT [LaDainian Tomlinson] and Darrelle Revis and Rex Ryan and me.

"Oh, man, it kills you, just thinking about it. I love him to death."

Sanchez was sitting at his locker before facing the Steelers, going over the game plan one last time, when he received a text from Aiden. His friend was concerned about the chilly weather.

"He's saying, 'It looks cold out there in Pittsburgh. I'm glad I'm watching from home. Good luck,'" Sanchez said with a chuckle. "Little stuff like that really fires you up."

After the game, Aiden fired off a congratulatory text to Sanchez. Don't expect a return text, his mother warned, explaining that Sanchez would be too busy to answer an 11-year-old boy. So they watched his post-game news conference on TV, never imagining they'd hear from him.
About 20 minutes later, the phone rang. It was Sanchez.

"We were blown away," Lisa said.

In his final days, Aiden's cancer was so unbearable that he couldn't get out of bed. But he kept his phone close by, just in case his friend Mark decided to call or text.

"He'd be lying in bed, in such pain, and the phone would ring -- and he'd smile," Lisa said.

Funny thing about Sanchez's texts: Instead of a simple, inspiration message, he always posed a question, trying to initiate a conversation.
Their friendship was born at a difficult time for Sanchez. The Jets were on a two-game losing streak after being embarrassed by the New England Patriots 45-3 and showing no energy in a 10-6 loss to the Miami Dolphins. Even Ryan admitted he thought about pulling his franchise quarterback from the Miami game.

"I'm not a happy camper, I'm upset, I'm frustrated," Sanchez said. "I want to make it right. I want to hurry up and play another game."
Along came Aiden.

"All I hear from someone is, 'There's a youngster who's terminally ill with cancer and all he wants to do is meet you,'" Sanchez said. "It changes your whole world. It stops everything. You get a chance to step back. It's really close to my heart. ... He's the best. I love him."
Keith Sullivan, an Atlas Foundation board member, was struck by Sanchez's sincerity. In that initial meeting, Sanchez and Aiden exchanged cell phone numbers, Sanchez telling the boy, "I'll shoot you a text later. We'll talk." And Sullivan hoped it wasn't just lip service, a millionaire athlete trying to appease a starstruck kid.

Sanchez called. They talked.

"Aiden had a smile on his face for the last three weeks of his life," Sullivan said.

Aiden lost his courageous battle last Thursday. Before the Jets' game last Sunday against the Buffalo Bills, the Jets honored him with a moment of silence.

Rich Cimini covers the Jets for ESPNNewYork.com. Follow him on Twitter.

[Al B. Sure!]

The Sanchize

[Al B. Sure!]

Final year-end leaders:

Passing:
Philip Rivers 4710
Peyton Manning 4700
Drew Brees 4620
Matt Schaub 4370
Eli Manning 4002

Eli was top 5 in passing! #4 in passing TD's! Haters gonna hate!

Rushing:
Arian Foster 1616
Jamaal Charles 1467 (on only 230 carries!)
Michael Turner 1371
Chris Johnson 1364
Maurice Jones-Drew 1324

Receiving (yardage):
Brandon Lloyd 1448
Roddy White 1389
Reggie Wayne 1355
Greg Jennings 1265
Mike Wallace 1257

The tackle leader was NE's Jerod Mayo with an unreal 175 tackles. Ware led in sacks and Ed Reed led in INT's even though he missed half the season.


Some guys I noticed who had better stats than I expected... did you know that...


Carson Palmer threw for 3970 yards and 26 TD's? More yardage than Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Matt Ryan, and Kyle Orton, among others?

Joe Flacco threw nearly 100 less passes yet Flacco and Ryan had virtually the same season statistically (Flacco: 3622 yards 25 TDs 10 INTs; Ryan: 3705 28 TDs 9 INTs)?

LeGarrette Blount racked up 1007 yards even though he played only half the season?

Or Ryan Torain finished the year with 742 yards though he started in what? Like 6 games or so?

Mike Vick had only 2 less rushing yards than rookie Ryan Matthews and outrushed rookie Jahvid Best by more than 120 yards?

LT outrushed Thomas Jones on fewer carries?

Arian Foster had 604 receiving yards, tops among RB's?

Mario Manningham was the 3rd WR on the Giants for most of the season but finished off with 944 yards, placing him 22nd in the NFL?

Santana Moss had his best statistical year since 2005 and his 1115 yards on the year was his 2nd highest yardage total of his career? (So much for McNabb being garbage; McNabb was the best thing to happen to Santana)

Brandon Marshall got his 1000 yard season? (who was it on here I had an argument with who betted me he wouldn't hit 1000 yards? )

Miles Austin somehow got his 1000 yards?

Benjamin Watson was the #4 TE in yardage with 763 yards?

A big year for 3-4 pass rushers with 4 of the top 5 in sacks being LB's (2009 had 3 DE's in the top 5)?

The Giants had two pass rushers in the top 10, with Tuck and Umenyiora each racking up 11.5 sacks?

[Tuberski]

Who was #1 in INTs thrown, Al?

ACK!

[Al B. Sure!]

Who was #1 in INTs thrown, Al?

ACK!

Yeah well you can't make omelets without breaking some eggs... well, if you're not Tom Brady, apparently.

[-Jrabbit]

It is so weird to see Brandon Lloyd become a player.

Watched him at Illinois and thought he had huge potential, but he never seemed to get it together in the pros. Most catches prior to 2010 was 48, and he's been hurt a lot. The 49ers, Redskins and Bears all let him go. He had only 2 TDs and 59 catches in the 4 seasons since SF traded him (2006-09). He was Orton's favorite target during his year in Chicago, but lost favor with the coaches when he missed about half the year with minor injuries (hammy etc). Denver signed him almost as an afterthought in 2009, a year he basically missed. So these 2010 numbers, and the Pro Bowl selection, are just out of the blue.

I'm really happy for him, and it's always nice to see the rare successful Illini in the pros. Great story.

[Al B. Sure!]

Yeah but what's the deal with him taking so long to develop? When San Fran drafted him, he was expected to be TO's successor but he never panned out.

I'm wondering if he'll go the Antonio Bryant route? Remember two years ago when Bryant came out of nowhere and was dominant in Tampa but has once again faded into obscurity?

[Al B. Sure!]

Here, Jrabbit:

http://footballoutsiders.com/stats/qb

By DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average), Vince Young was just above Peyton Manning. Maybe that's indicative of a flaw in their system but for the most part, everyone else kind of stacks up how you would expect in a ranking by DVOA. Vince Young is the only apparent oddball by being so high. Only Brady, Roethlisberger, Rodgers, and Rivers were ranked higher than Young.

Yes, footballoutsiders is basically saying Young was the 5th best QB in the league this year by their chief measure.

His numbers are pedestrian (though very efficient) and I'm not even sure how he even wins games the way he does but somehow Young just wills victories. That has to count for something in the NFL. It'll be cool to see how he does with some better receivers, like if he winds up on the 49ers or the Dolphins.

[Lord Avalon]

Um, the minimum was 100 passes, and Young threw 176. QBs who played a lot are over 400 (eyeballing it). So if the (simple) definition of DVOA is "a quarterback with more value per play," and few plays to consider, no wonder it's skewed.

[reismark]

Looks like Carolina's out of Luck...

Stanford QB Luck passing on NFL Draft

I wouldn't be surprised if all of the NFL teams pursuing Harbaugh are sweating now, too, because staying at Stanford another year just became his smartest move.

[MRT144]

Looks like Carolina's out of Luck...

Stanford QB Luck passing on NFL Draft

I wouldn't be surprised if all of the NFL teams pursuing Harbaugh are sweating now, too, because staying at Stanford another year just became his smartest move.

I applaud Luck cause seriously, he's top of the ****ing world without any expectations right now. Bradford sat out for hella and was still #1. I mean, I really don't see how this was a bad decision except for greedy extended relatives or Panther fans.

[SlowwHand]

A red shirt junior? Yeah, he's making the wise decision. If he goes pro, it won't matter when. He'll still go to a crap team, so I don't see it as a protest against that, since he appears to have some sense.

[-Jrabbit]

What is it, like 50-60 million guaranteed? I would grab the money (depending on what happens with the CBA) now.

But my 20-year-old self might see Luck's POV.