Nice Weekend

Wow, what a nice weekend. The Jets win, the Isles win 3 at home (don't tell anyone, but they are in first place :)). Let's start with the Jets.

Coming off a poor stretch of games, Chad was due for a rebound, and boy, did he bounce back nicely. He went 24 - 31 for 286 yards, 1 TD, no INT and a 9.2 avg. QB rating was over 100. He hooked up with Coles and Cotchery for over 100 yards each receiving. He made a nice audible on one play that led to a 28 yard completion to Chris Baker. Of course, we all got scared when he went down hard on a completion to Coles for a first down, thinking shoulder, but he merely had the wind knocked out of him (and I agree with Chad, that is scary, it happened to me many years ago, I woke up on the floor). He managed the game well, and made no mistakes. The #10 in Green and White was back to normal. The only downside to yesterday was the running game, which was awful, 27 yards on 26 carries. Methinks the running back by committee needs to be put in mothballs, and pick 2 guys to go with. They need to get in a rythym, coming out after a good run is not the way to do that.

The defense played well, again. The run defense was great (granted, this was the Texans), and I could live without giving up 321 yards passing, but then again, they had to throw, as they were down a lot. Seeing 4 sacks was nice, and Bryan Thomas continues to come on (I guess Parcells was right about the guy, no one knew how to use him properly it seems). Kerry Rhodes had another pick. They were all over Carr. All in all, a nice complete game.

So they stand at 6-5, 1 game out of the wild card, no chance for the division, being 2 games back there. The remaining schedule, at the Packers, home vs Bills, At Minnesota, then at Miami and the finale at home agains the Raiders, contains no teams with winning records today. Miami and Buffalo at 1 game under, so they could be at 500 when they play. You no what, I don't care, this team just needs to win. Do not worry about what other teams do. If you win out, and fail to make it, so be it, the fact that this team has turned it around from last year so quickly is great news to Jets fans. Yes, we all want the playoffs, but the team cannot worry about the other contenders. Take Care of Business, and see how it falls out.

As for the Islanders, they are 6-1-1 in their last 8. They won 3 in a row at home this past week. First, Carolina, the defending champions. The Isles held them to 15 shots, allowing only 1 in the first period. One shot. I mean, that is not supposed to happen against the dregs, much less the Hurricanes. Then, Friday afternoon, they faced the Penguins, who are much improved, even without Sidney Crosby in the lineup. Another win, 3-1. Saturday was Bob Bourne Night, as Bobby End to End was inducted into the Isles Hall of Fame. They played great defense, winning 4-1 against the Capitals. The penalty kill has been great, killing 21 of 23 during the stretch. The power play however has not been as good, one for its last 12. That needs to be fixed.

So what is the cause for this run? Is it Ted Nolan? Is it Alexi Yashin? Is it Rick DiPietro? Yes, it's all of them. The team is buying into Nolan's ideas, playing smart team hockey. Yashin is putting points up in bunches, and helping Jason Blake to 14 goals and 10 assists. Yashin has 28 points in 22 games, Blake, 24 in 22 games. They need help though. Satan has to start scoring, as do Hunter, York, and Kozlov. Satan has started to warm up a tad, let's hope he keeps it up. They need some more balance.

But the key has been DiPietro. After starting the season poorly, thanks to an injury and trying to do to much to justify his contract, Rick has settled in. He is 9-6, with a 2.53 GAA and .917 Sav %. The GAA is good for 15th in the league (and only 7 of the goalies ahead have played as many games or more). The Save % is good for 10th. And only 4 of the goalies ahead of him have played as many or more games. Oh, and by the by, he is higher than Ryan Miller in both categories.

Am I saying that the Isles are a lock to make the palyoffs, no, especially since Yashin left Saturday's game after a knee on knee hit. If he is out for any length of time, they are in trouble. However, there is hope on the island, which no one expected. Remember, this team was picked to be last in the conference by pretty much every expert out there (with the possible exception of Eklund). Even I did not expect much, though I did not expect them to be last. If DiPietro can continue his hot play, the defense stays settled, and some more scorers emerge, they could challenge. Remember, the Rangers were in the same spot last year, no expectations, and they did well in the regular season (not so much in the playoffs though).

Miscellaneous NY Sports News
I see Larry Brown is having the same level of success this year. He is benching Marbury, changing the starting lineup, mixing up the reserves. Players are whining, and the Knicks are losing. What's that you say, Larry isn't coaching? It's Isiah? And Zeke promised to be different? So I guess Larry is either possessing Zeke, or maybe, just maybe, Larry was right, and the players Thomas assembled just flat out suck? Yeah, that's what I thought.

I see my old friend Wally Matthews is still bashing the Mets. One day after dropping to his knees in praise of Jeter, he blasted Omar for his off-season so far. Damien Easly is old. Wow Wally, you think so? Tell me, did you read the part where he is a part time player? He bashes El Duque (who was only one of the best pitchers for much of last year). He bashes Alou as older and less reliable than Cliffy, forgetting that in fewer games he put up significantly better numbers, and also forgetting that he can rest with Edny, Johnson and Lastings around. He bitches about Stache, who may wind up as a part timer anyway. And of course he thinks the Mets should have thrown Beltran type money at Soriano, forgetting the fact that he is not nearly as good an all around player as Carlos. He also got in a zing at Zito (though I'm sure if the Yankees sign Barry, he will praise Cashman up and down).

Of course he closed his column with a slam at the new stadium, bitching about the cash from Citibank, and the reduced number of seats. Hey Wally, take a look at the numbers, they averaged fewer than 40K at each game. Is it going to be hard for big games, yeah, but odds are, people will go to the other games in the middle of the week if they get shut out of hot games. I know I will. Cause you see, when they are winning, more people want to go. He also talked about personal seat licenses, which NOBODY has mentioned. Tell me Wally, did you write a similar column complaining about higher prices and licenses at Yankee Stadium? Didn't think so. Find a new agenda you piece of trash.

The (notso)Giants choked one away yesterday. The other NY #10 played another poor game. Maybe Filip Bondy was not wrong in his recent column, calling the trade of Rivers for Eli bad (sorry Toasty Joe). I know the Giants have a lot of injuries on defense, but Eli threw a couple of more picks yesterday (one thanks to an awful play by Plaxico Burress). I have to give props to Schockey, who I think is overrated, but the guy played after sufffering a compound dislocation of his ring finger. In case you were wondering, it smarts when the bone not only pops out of joint, but THROUGH YOUR SKIN. To then go out and catch 5 balls for 39 yards is impressive. Tiki had 82 yards on 25 carries, for a poor 3.3 yds per carry. Not a good game for the (notso)Giants.

Finally, the Mets should hear from Glavine this week on where he will play next year. No matter the outcome, I'm hoping Omar either signs Zito or trades for a top flight starter (not name Vasquez). We'll see how this plays out by the end of next weeks' winter meetings. I'm hoping for a nice lefty and righty under our Christmas Tree this year. At least we know Anna Benson's breasts won't be at the annual party.