Carolina Panthers Receiver Gives Photographer Close-Up Of His Cleats

In the waning moments of Thursday night's Pittsburgh Steelers-Carolina Panthers exhibition game, Panthers Darvin Adams caught a pass from Jimmy Clausen and rolled into a sideline photographer trying to get the shot of a lifetime.  Too bad for Adams, he was out of bounds and, even worse for the aspiring Ansel Adams, his f/stop meant  face/stop.

While Adams rolled out of bounds with the catch, he planted his foot squarely in the face of the photographer sitting alongside the end zone.

Pittsburgh went on to win the game, 33-17, and hopefully the cameraman will use his telephoto lens the next time.

Pages From Packers' Playbook Found Scattered In Green Bay Neighborhood

Pages from the World Champion Green Bay Packers' playbook were found scattered along an east side Green Bay street on Monday morning.  The same highly-confidential plays which steered Aaron Rodgers and the Packers to a Super Bowl XLV victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers last season.

The top-secret pages are meant for players' and coaches' eyes only.

Sanitation workers gathered up the wind-swept pages along Monroe Street after they apparently fell from a truck.  The playbooks were tossed into recycling bins by team employees after practice.

The Packers beat the Arizona Cardinals in an exhibition game at Lambeau Field Friday night.

Waste Management, the company which handles the recycling, says over two cubic-yards fell from the back of one of its trucks.  They said nothing was damaged and nobody was hurt.

Team employees usually shred sensitive material, like pages from the playbook, before disposing of them.

The Packers asked that anyone who finds the pages please recycle the paper.  Cheeseheads do that kind of thing.

No, that wasn't Brian Urlacher dressed in a garbage-man's jumpsuit grabbing some of the loose papers and it's not known if any of pages were from Rodgers' black book.

Eli Manning's Silence About Plaxico Burress Spoke Volumes

It looks like Plaxico Burress found a fly in his soup during last night's dinner meeting with Tom Coughlin-- and that fly's name might be Eli Manning.

Burress can cook up every reason in the book to explain why he spurned the New York Giants for their Meadowlands cellmates--I mean stadium-mates--the New York Jets, but the absence of any public support from Manning down the stretch might have swung Burress's decision from Big Blue to Gang Green.

If the Giants quarterback is still blaming Burress, and his arrest for gun possession, for costing the team the 2008 season and Manning's chance to get back-to-back Super Bowl titles, he's barking up the wrong goal post.  Ironically, Manning's lack of vocal support for the return of his one-time favorite target could cost him this season as well.

The Giants team is getting old and, now that the Philadelphia Eagles have buffed up their defensive backfield-- with the signing of DB-extraordinaire, Nnamdi Asomugha-- and the uncertain return of receiver Steve Smith to the Giants, the loss of Burress may have just given a huge advantage to the Eagles in their two division game match-ups.

 Coughlin seemed friendlier than a flair-covered waiter at Bennigan's, leading up to his dinner with Burress, while Manning played the snobby waiter at a French bistro.

All week Roethlisberger openly campaigned for Burress' return to the Pittsburgh Steelers.   Manning only mumbled a few standard comments.

"You just don't want distractions," said Manning.  "Distractions, whatever they may be, can hurt a team.  If you're spending your time concerned about something else, bringing your attention away from the opponent on your preparation, that's considered a distraction."

I tell you what distraction is Eli.  Distraction is being asked 'Why didn't you lobby harder for Burress' about five-thousand times this week and looking for a top-notch wide-out in the fourth quarter this season.

Make no mistake, Manning supports Burress' second chance and even made a call to his former wide-out while he was in prison, but hasn't bothered to jump on the "We Want Plax" bandwagon.

By all accounts, the meeting with Coughlin went swimmingly.  The head coach was smiling yesterday and put it bluntly, "The meeting went well."

Not well enough, as Burress's "fully-guaranteed," one-year deal for $3.017 million with the Jets the next day will attest.

Let's give Manning the benefit of a doubt.  Maybe the silent treatment wasn't such a bad idea.  I don't remember Jets quarterback, Mark Sanchez, standing in Times Square singing a tribute to the ex-con and look where Burress ended up.

"I never really lobbied for anybody," said Manning before the meeting.  "So if this is the right spot for Plaxico, if the Giants and Coach Coughlin are pleased with his attitude and after talking to him, then [I'm] happy to have him."

In the end, here's what Manning's silence about signing Burress said.

No distractions.  Burress' return to the Giants will disrupt an already shortened training camp.  It's about the team, not one player.

Why all the fuss over a soon to be (August 12)  34 year-old receiver who hasn't played a down in 2 1/2 years?

How is a guy who was never a fan of Coughlin's discipline and structured system going to feel about  routine after almost two full years in lockup?  Does the prison stint help Burress cope with Coughlin's Captain Bligh act?

Finally, Manning doesn't want to insult his current group of receivers.  After all, he threw for over 4,000 yards last year and has two Pro Bowl-caliber wide-outs in Steve Smith and Hakeem Nicks.  Joined by Mario Manningham, Manning believes he has the nucleus of a solid receiving corp.

"I like our receivers here, I think we have a great crew, very talented, they work hard," he said.  "Can you have too many good receivers?  No, I don't think so.  I'm going about my business and preparing for myself.

Hey, everybody wanted little Eli to man up and be more assertive--so there you go.

Maybe Burress would have picked the Giants if Manning took the time to drop a dime or, just maybe, Coughlin put that fly in the soup.

Tony Dungy and Justin Tuck Think Giants Would Be Good Fit For Plaxico

It looks like Plaxico Burress' two former teams, the New York Giants and the Pittsburgh Steelers, are the front runners for the talented wideout's services this season.  Former Colts head coach, Tony Dungy,  said New York would be a " great home" for Burress' new start.

The New York Daily News reported that Dungy believes, if Burress and Giants head coach Tom Coughlin can put aside their past differences, New York would be the ideal fit for the 33 year-old Burress second go-round in the NFL.

Dungy, acting as Burress' mentor, said his charge needs a "good support system" to get back on track and the troubled wideout already has built a strong foundation with the team owners, Steve Tisch and John Mara.

"I think Mr. Tisch, Mr. Mara, he has a good relationship with them," said Dungy.  And he has a great, great relationship with a lot of the other players that are still there."

Giants defensive captain Justin Tuck agrees. He believes the two men can hammer out their differences.

"Anytime you have a dispute between two people, both people need to talk it out like men," said Tuck.  I think that's what we have on schedule, so we'll see what happens."

It looks like Burress' affection for Rex Ryan and the Jets has faded and now Burress is set to meet with the Giants tomorrow night before heading to Pittsburgh for a meeting with Mike Tomlin and the Steelers.

"I think [the Giants] would be a great kind of family organization for him," said Dungy.

The Giants have already reached out to Burress, even after he was let go by the team for his 2008 arrest for gun possession, subsequent conviction and stint in prison.

Mara drove up to the upstate New York correctional center to pay Burress a visit behind bars and quarterback Eli Manning was one of the first players to welcome his former-favorite target back after his release this spring.

Manning must be drooling at the prospect of throwing to Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, Mario Manningham and possibly Burress.  Can you say Air Eli?

Now Burress has to bury the hatchet with his former coach and antagonist, the disciplinarian Coughlin.

I can only imagine how Friday's night meeting will go.  It's hard to imagine how Burress, just released from almost two years in stir, is going to thrive under the strict Coughlin.  It's like going from life under one prison warden to a head coach who is sometimes called one.

Forget the steak and potatoes, the real main dish on Friday night's dinner table is the thousands of dollars in fines, benching and two-week suspension for a rules violation handed down to Plax by Coughlin in the past.

Can Burress abide by Coughlin's tough love rules and avoid the suspensions and fines he accrued in the past?  Until last week, there was a perception that Coughlin didn't even want Burress back, now they are breaking bread together.

The "mellower" Coughlin just signed a one year extension to his contract and the Giants are notorious for not releasing a coach during the final year of a deal so, if this relationship gets stormy again, the old man isn't going anywhere.

The post NFL lockout has left teams scrambling for stability.  The Giants are familiar with Burress and Burress still has a veteran's knowledge of the Giants playbook. 

To Dungy, familiarity will be important to Burress' comeback.

"People need to understand that it is a little bit different," said Dungy.  "It's not just kind of like a free-agent coming into your team.  He has to regrow and redevelop.  You just want that support there, and I think the Giants would be one of the good teams for that."

Whether or not the Giants become Burress' halfway house to resuming a life on the outside remains to be seen.  Maybe the Giants just want to keep Burress' slim chance of hooking up with another "second-chancer," Michael Vick and division rival the Philadelphia Eagles at bay?

It won't be easy for Burress in New York.  You'll probably see more photos of Burress on the street than on the field and night out at a restaurant will be in every gossip page in New York.  Even if people don't hit the floor every time he reaches into his sweatpants pockets, every paparazzi will hit their camera shutter release.

How those scenarios fit into Dungy's theory is speculative at best.  Maybe New York isn't he best place to quietly return to society. 

The Giants team leaders don't think so and have given Burress a vote of confidence.  Manning confirmed speaking with Burress about coming back.

"I don't know what's going to happen with that," said Manning.  "I know he and coach Coughlin might meet sometime.  We'll just see what happens after that."

Tuck says Burress would be welcomed back by everyone.

"I can't speak for Coughlin or Plax," said the defensive end.  "It's well documented they've bumped heads in the past.  Hopefully a little time apart has rekindled the love they share for each other."

Wow.  The words 'Coughlin, Plax and rekindled love' in a quote.  I'm going to tear up.

Rex Ryan Tells Jets To Behave. Antonio and Santonio Don't Get Message.

Rex Ryan said yesterday he wants his players to tone it down during the off-season and even cited his own naughty behavior as what not to do.  The gentler, kinder head coach of the New York Jets, who last year was fined by the Jets for flipping off Dolphins fans at an MMA event in Florida, "challenged" his team to play nice when they are away from the team.

In December, a foot-fetish video the coach allegedly made with his wife hit the Internet and caused a stir.

"I told them to hold each other accountable and you represent yourself, you also represent this organization on and off the field," Ryan said.  "I have to be mindful of that as well, obviously, with my past history.  Be proud to be a Jet because I know I am."

Ryan may have been feeling contrite the day after the Jets fell short in a valiant come-from-behind effort against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship Game and and wanted to send his team to the off-season with those precarious words.

Apparently, wide-receiver Santonio Holmes and cornerback Antonio Cromartie didn't get the head coach's edict.

The two players, who are both free agents, didn't waste time before calling out the team and their union reps, respectively.  Boy, that feel-good Jets feeling lasted a whole day.

Cromartie used the same seven-letter word he called Tom Brady to describe both the NFL management and Player's Association leaders in their dealing with their unsettled labor meetings concerning the collective bargaining agreement.

"You got our head union rep acting like an ass----," said the controversial Cromartie.  "They got their guys acting like ass-----.  So they need to get their s--- together and just get it done.  Honestly, I don't care if they get mad at me or not," he added.

"To me, you need to stop b------- about it.  If you want to say that you want to get into a room and meet, then do it," he continued.  "Don't just talk about it."

Losing the AFC Championship Game for the second year in-a-row must have gotten to the the soon-to-be restricted free-agent Holmes as well.  He wasn't so happy with the Jets offensive coordinator, Brian Schottenheimer.

Holmes openly questioned the Schott's questionable play calling and use of the wide receiver after Sunday's loss..

"Ask Coach Schottenheimer what was the reason behind [me sitting out the start of the game]," said the disgruntled Holmes.  "I had to just go with the game plan.  That's the way things were called at the time, and that's what I had to do."

Ryan backed up his OC by saying Holmes' comments were out of order but understood the receivers anger.

"That's not the way I like to operate,"  the head coach said,  "But [Holmes' comments] were just raw.  That's the emotion of the time."  Dr. Phil couldn't have handled it better.

Ryan may have a harder time explaining Schottenheimer's major fail with his rally-killing calls at the Steelers' two-yard line, trailing 24-10 with four downs in hand.

Three downs later, with a fourth and goal from the one, Schottsie gives the ball to LaDanian Tomlinson--who had already rushed for a grand total of 12 yards--instead of the power back Shonn Greene.  Greene stands on the sideline and watches LT get stuffed at the line.  Momentum gone for the Jets and ball back to the Steelers.

The soft-spoken Greene must have gotten Ryan's New Age Jets tweet.  He didn't say anything.

While the Jets put on a new happy face and put all their sex scandals,  DUI's,  trash talking and "Hard Knocks" behind them,  New Yorkers gets bored.

The Giants folded like...well the Giants in December and the Knicks are regressing back into the Nets. And hockey, who cares?

The 2010 Jets will be missed especially Rex Ryan.  No more giving fingers in bars or tickling feet on YouTube.  It's a sadder world to think that we'll only have the new thinner and pacifying version of Rex Ryan playing patty-cake with everyone.

From "Hard Knocks" to "Love Taps."

Will Rex Ryan Get 'Personal" With Roethlisberger?

It's hard to believe the soft and cuddly person on the podium yesterday, extolling the virtues of Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots, was New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan.  Ryan, who had been the NFL's version of Ricky Gervais at the Golden Globes, was now speaking fondly of last week's vanquished foes and acted like Dr. Phil when asked about the upcoming AFC Championship Game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

No war of words between the Jets and Steelers.  The only blip on the No Fun League's Polly Purebred meter came from Patriots receiver Deion Branch who called the New York team "embarrassing" and "classless."  That's pretty tame stuff in the Jets universe.

The Jets head coach has been saying 'it's personal' about a lot of things the past few weeks beginning with the foot-fetish videos, which popped up on YouTube, and calling out opposing team's proven leaders the week before they meet.  Now the boastful Ryan has become...boring.  It makes one wonder why he would tone it down and tinker with success now?

Ryan and the Jets have been winning after targeting a prominent person on the opposing team and turning it into a personal vendetta.  Could the Jets actually respect the Steelers or are they afraid?

First, it was Ryan's old thorn-in-the-shorts tormentor Peyton Manning of the Colts who got the Jets skipper yapping.  Then last week, it was Mr. Personality, Belichick and a side order of Tom Brady, who got Ryan riled.  The Jets won both games.

The closest Ryan got to insulting anyone yesterday, after showering the Steelers with everything but candy and flowers, was ask whom he was gunning for this Sunday.

"Give me somebody you want to call out," said Ryan.  "I guess Hines Ward, Casey Hampton."

The Steelers wide receiver and nose tackle make good adversaries but what about quarterback Ben Roethlisberger?

The Jets have had one of the toughest roads to the Super Bowl.  If they succeed, they will have faced, and beaten, the holy trinity of NFL quarterbacks--Manning, Brady and now Roethlisberger.  No small feat, but that task just got bigger--a lot bigger.

Big Ben is the largest and strongest quarterback of the three and could set up the fiercest challenge for the Jets defense.

Roethlisberger may not have the statistical clout of the the other two but he makes up for it in pure size and toughness.  The brutish, 6'5", 240-pound Steeler can flick a pass 50 yards, can pound the defense on the ground and improvise a play-in-progress with the best of them.  The Jets D will have their hands full.

"You can't prepare for what he naturally does," said defensive-end Trevor Price.  "How do you prepare to tackle a guy as big as a polar bear?"  How do you prepare for a guy who wants to win like he wants to win?"

Ryan agrees.  He said, "I've never seen a guy take the hits he can take and also make people miss the way he does and be as accurate on the run."

The Jets beat the Steelers 22-17 on December 19 in Pittsburgh by executing their "Plaster Rules."  It was a zone scheme which turned into man-to-man coverage after Roethlisberger was chase out of the pocket.  On the plays where Pittsburgh started in a man coverage, it usually ended with Steelers gaining large chunks of yardage.

The Jets rough-and-tumble road to Dallas must continue through a solid Steelers team.  The Jets have exorcised the ghosts of their arch-enemies-- the Colts and the Patriots.  Now they face the daunting task of beating an experienced and playoff-tested  team.  Can they do it without puffing out their chests and flapping their gums? It seems unlikely.

If anyone can find a way to rile the Steelers with trash talk, it is Ryan. Many have called him and his team loud-mouthed braggarts.  The Jets 4-1 playoff record over the past two seasons have been partially attributed to the blustery head coach whom his players adore.  Many have called the Jets uncouth but they seem to be winning when everyone expects them to lose.

The Jets have been winning by getting under the other team's skin and making it 'personal'.  The bragging, mocking and seven-letter words are what set the tone for this squad.  Something just doesn't seem right with this new fuzzy-puppy version of the team.

The NFL is probably happy about the eerie quiet.  The networks, not so much.

Anyway, there are still five days to go.  An eternity in Rex Ryan press conferences.

Mark Sanchez Has Tear In Throwing Arm

New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez today confirmed a report that his right shoulder has torn cartilage.  According to the New York Daily News, doctors said an MRI on Sanchez's throwing arm showed a partial tear, but it wasn't deemed game threatening.

On Wednesday night, Sanchez said his shoulder was fine and he ran a few plays during 'limited' practice earlier in the day.  He said he did some running and threw a few passes without any discomfort and it looks like the light practice was precautionary.

Jets head coach Rex Ryan confirmed his quarterback's shoulder was "sore," but he would be ready for Sunday's game against the Chicago Bears.  The coach downplayed the seriousness of his star player's injury, "If he [Sanchez] had to play, he would be able to play today."  "I'm 99 percent sure he'll be ready to play on Sunday," said Ryan.

There have been a lot of questions surrounding Sanchez's poor performances during losses in the past few weeks.  His throws were off target and he was taking a beating until the Jets big win in Pittsburgh against the Steelers this past Sunday.  During that game Sanchez showed some of the flair he did earlier in the season.

The Jets (10-4) travel to Chicago this week to battle the Bears. Chicago's strength is their defense, so Sanchez better be on his toes.  Their four-man rush is led by a pair of sacking defensive bookends Julius Peppers and Israel Idonije.

The Bears (10-4) have already clinched the NFC North by beating a lot of inferior opponents. The Jets are still fighting for a playoff spot and the Bears could be vulnerable.  They have the 30th ranked offense and their quarterback Jay Cutler is just as capable of throwing 4 interceptions as 4 touchdown passes.

"I feel our team plays best with our back to the wall, " said Sanchez, "We just want to get to the playoffs."

The Jets need one win to make the playoffs.  If Sanchez's shoulder is okay, the Jets road to the playoffs should be much easier.

Rex Ryan Turning Jets Into Second Class Citizens Again

The New York Giants and New York Jets both had experiences to remember last week.  The occurrences, incidents and odysseys seem to be borrowed from some Bizarro World comic book edition.  In the end, the Jets would probably prefer to forget everything from losing to their fall from grace.

The Jets (9-4) started the week recovering from a 45-3 beat down by their division rivals, the New England Patriots and ended it by getting beat at home, 10-6, by their other division nemesis the Miami Dolphins--a team who threw for a total of 55 yards.

In between those seven days the Jets owner, Woody Johnson, simmered his anger at his New Meadowlands Stadium roommate--and Giants CEO John Mara, for accommodating the Dolphins at  his team's practice field right before the big game.  Their budding bromance may now be sinking into the Meadowlands swamp along with the Jets season.

The Jets head coach and "Hard Knocks" star, Rex Ryan, started the week by inventing a new game strategy called accepting the opening kick-off if they win the coin-toss.  Pure genius.  And then--after being thoroughly undressed in public by the Pats--he buried a football at the Jets practice field last Monday to rid the team any spirits of Patriots past.  Hey, Bill Belichick did it last year.  The Jets score 3 points and their clueless head coach is making jokes and giving a pigskin the deep six.  Great Idea.  The Jets have now scored a grand total of 9 points over eight quarters.

 Ryan's vaunted defense is also falling apart.  The best Jets tackle against Miami was a trip by a Jet trainer standing on the sidelines.  The trainer, Sal Alosi, said his knee-jerk (emphasis on jerk) reaction to using his left patella to senselessly trip Dolphins special teams player Nolan Carroll was "inexcusable and irresponsible."  It was also recordable and suspend able.  Only about 10,000 phone cameras caught it along with the CBS network.  Alosi will miss the rest of the season and was fined $25,000 by the Jets. Ryan stood on the sidelines and gawked at the fallen Carroll.

Meanwhile, the Giants (9-4) went on some sort road trip through the air and landed on the ground literally running after a troublesome itinerary.  The team gained 219 yards on the ground against the Minnesota Vikings and won, 21-3 at Ford Field in Detroit.  That's right, the Giants weren't in Kansas (City) anymore...or the scheduled venue in Minneapolis.

The Giants ordeal began when they flew to Kansas City after their charter flight to was re-routed from Minneapolis due to a snow storm.  They spent a night in K.C. not knowing when they would get to the Twin Cities or what time they would play and, after the Metrodome's roof collapsed under the weight of the snow, it was off to a neutral site in Detroit.  Oddly, it was the first Monday night football game played in Detroit in twenty years and the Lions weren't even in it!

That game saw the Giants become a footnote to NFL history too, when Vikings QB, Brett Favre, ended his consecutive game playing streak by not suiting up for the game because of numbness in his throwing arm.

The Giants overcame adversity and have kept pace with the Philadelphia Eagles for first place in the NFC East.  They would be a wild card team if the season ended today. 

The Jets meanwhile, have stumbled and bumbled in two straight losses.  Their cartoon character of a coach is showing himself to be as much a clown on the sidelines, as well as, in front of his press room.

A few weeks ago the Jets were touted as Super Bowl contenders, now they are facing the possibility of missing the playoffs after being 9-2. 

While the Giants are rising to the top, the Jets are sliding faster than Obama's approval ratings.  It's hard to believe the Jets can win road games against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Chicago Bears.  Even with what looked like a gimme a month ago, their final game at home against the Buffalo Bills looks like it could be a tussle.  A 9-7 record isn't unfathomable.  It's the same record which cost Eric Mangini his head coaching job two years ago and let the caveman Ryan make his louder-than-loud entrance.

 Ryan, who likes to don wigs and dress up for the cameras, acts like every press conference is an audition for Saturday Night Live.  He might have a shot because his offense is one big comedy skit.   He's Chris Farley with his stomach tied into a knot.

Not all the blame should be put on Ryan's back.  The Jets downfall coincides with the declining skills of their quarterback Mark Sanchez.  The Jets QB started the season with eight TD tosses and no interceptions.  Since then?  Sanchez has eight TDs and 12 interceptions.  He is the number 28 ranked passer in the league.  The Jets answer to Eli Manning is going in the wrong direction.

Sanchez has reverted back to the skittish rookie of last year.  Under throwing and sacks are becoming big part of his game.   Ryan blames it on fundamentals and was so serious about it, took the young QB to lunch last week to discuss it.

"Mark is my quarterback," said the head coach, "He'll always be our starting quarterback...We're going as far as he takes us." On Sunday, Ryan told the press he thought about pulling the ineffective Sanchez in the third quarter of last week's Miami game.

 Ryan came to New York with a cock-sure attitude and defensive genius on his resume.  His brashness and Peter Griffith resemblance were a nice contrast to his predecessor, the frowning Belichick-wannabe Mangini.



Ryan's team finally had a stadium they could call their own and they showed signs of promise during the playoffs.  Things were looking up.  Now Ryan has turned into the rude in-law you would endure, if only for his Yankee box seats every couple of years,  but don't want to see stuffing his face at a family dinner.

He came in with a reputation as a player's coach.  A guy you could share a beer with.  Now he just looks unprofessional.  The fact that everything keep getting away from him started this summer with the Inez Sainz training camp incident and continued with his laughable punishment of Braylon Edwards after his DUI arrest and now the sideline tripping antics.  Ryan has yet to say whether he will fire Alosi for his stupid action.

Ryan's indecision reflects on the field.  Come-from-behind wins against mediocre teams does not a champion make and silly penalties almost cost the Jets a few games. That tough-as-Bill Parcells exterior is part of his shtick.  He's the anti-Parcells.

Ryan showed his fake self in all his glory on HBO's "Hard Knocks" this summer.  He is just a thinner version of that supposedly hard reality star.  The F-bombs and caveman behavior were boorish when the Jets were winning, now it is just sad.  It's more about execution than excuses and Ryan is really softer than his belly.