As Gang Green Turns: Patriot Fun and Games

Article first published as As Gang Green Turns: Patriot Fun and Games on Blogcritics.

I don't know how exciting this week would be if Rex Ryan was not the head coach of the Jets, but I'd rather not find out. Despite all his weaknesses, King Rex is certainly fun to watch and to listen to whenever he finds a microphone in his vicinity. This week as we are waiting for the big game against the New England Patriots, Rex has not disappointed the green-blooded faithful.

First, Rex would lead us all to believe that whatever happens on that gridiron is inconsequential. No, Rex is not running on the field and throwing passes for his ailing quarterback Mark Sanchez, although the prospect of seeing him even making one play would be worth the price of admission. No, Rex Ryan is not talking about the on the field stuff because this is a battle of wills between Patriots' head coach Bill Belichick and him.

You can almost see this as a Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker matchup. Belichick is off course the head of the Evil Empire, dressed in black and weilding a red light saber. Rex would be a rather chubby Luke, with blue light saber ready for action. Rex would be the underdog - as of course he is - but one good swing of that Jedi electronic blade just might take out the evil Lord of the Gridiron.

Anyway, that is Rex's take on it. It is a battle between Bill and him. What goes on during the game boils down to this battle of minds and wills. This would be a very funny thing is it were not so serious because the battle is on the field, and Rex better start getting that straight.

Then we have Antonio Cromartie upping the ante by calling Patriots' quarterback Tom Brady an expletive. Ryan joked with reporters that he found this kind of thing offensive, with everyone laughing as they recalled his salty language on the HBO series Hard Knocks. Why Cromartie ever started this thing is beyond me. It makes as much sense as Ryan saying the battle is between him and Belichick. I am sure all the guys on the
Patriots are going to love Rex and his minions more than ever now.

To add to the insanity this week, Mexican TV reporter Ines Sainz (the woman who claimed harassment by the Jets as she tried to interview Sanchez last year) comes out and says she picks the Jets to win the Super Bowl. Why would a woman who accused this team of being disrestful to her do this? I guess this sort of incongruous and totally gratuitous kind of thing is now commonplace in the soap opera As Gang Green Turns, but such is what we have come to expect from the team and those associated with it.

So we go into this game on Sunday with lots of drama, but none of it matters in any way except to keep the reporters talking, the fans squawking, and the players rumbling. The only thing that truly matters is when Tom Brady and Mark Sanchez walk on that field in Foxborough this Sunday. They are the ones that will be doing battle, as Darth Bull and Rex Piewalker are on the sidelines. Until then, I guess we are just going to have to put up with these ongoing Jets and Patriots and their fun and games.

Photo credit: NY Daily News

As Gang Green Turns: 10-9 Loss to the Ravens Only Part of the Problem

Article first published as As Gang Green Turns: 10-9 Loss to the Ravens Only Part of the Problem on Blogcritics.

Hanging my head quietly after the Jets slumped off the field in defeat at the New Meadowlands Stadium, I had one question: what did the Jets in more? The rucus with TV news reporter Ines Sainz or the way they gave away the store on the HBO series Hard Knocks?

One question is harder to deal with than the other, but in the ever churning soap opera that is Gang Green, no drama goes unnoticed. The Jets have been accused by Ms. Sainz of sexual harassment. She was on the field, trying to do her job and interview players, including QB Mark Sanchez, but some players got more than a little crazy. Maybe an attractive woman still causes that kind of thing, but truthfully it is as unacceptable on the gridiron as it in the boardroom.

The other part of that question is just as salient: did the Jets reveal too much on Hard Knocks? We know head Coach Rex Ryan certainly opened his mouth way too much - ask the Ravens' Ray Lewis who has the last laugh right now - and this caused players on other teams, coaches, and everyone else to wonder why the Ryan and the Jets would ever expose themselves this way. Good publicity? Perhaps. It was also an easy way to build resentment that had already been there into a tidal wave of anger and a desire for payback.

I am not sure we can blame the reporter or the TV show for what happened last night. The Jets defense almost looked as bad as the offense. The D got penalties it should not get, gave Ravens' QB Flacco more time than he should ever have had; and while Darrelle Revis looked good, he couldn't make up for Antonio Cromartie and Kyle Wilson's transgressions all by himself.

As for the offense, you probably are sitting there shaking your heads and thinking, "What offense?" All the worries we had about King Rex's horses and his men seemed justified last night. Sanchez got humpty-dumptied by the Ravens' defense and is lucky they could put him together again.

This was less than an auspicious start for our Gang Green. They have to learn that a pretty woman on the field is no excuse for acting like teenagers at the mall. They also have to learn that the opposing team on the field has watched their TV show, taken lots of notes, and are more than ready for them.

Who beat Gang Green on September 13th? They all only have to look into the mirror to find the answer to that question.