Schedules and Dreams

This holiday season there is some joy in the NY/NJ sports scene. The emphasis is on the word “some.”

Yes, the Giants and Jets are both bad. That has been a constant refrain for 2019. Sam Darnold is a work in progress—his season is a struggle between peaks and valleys. He has the tools. Darnold does not have the experience nor does he have a good corps of receivers. The Jets offensive line is abysmal. Defensively, without Jamal Adams, the DB’s are not very good. Plus the D-line went offside twice on goal line plays against Baltimore. Forget it, Jets fans. Even with wins against Pittsburgh and Buffalo, the season is not salvageable and the draft position in the upcoming NFL Draft is mediocre. Which sums up the 2019 New York Jets.

Things aren’t a whole heck of a lot better over in East Rutherford. Giants QB Daniel Jones is losing valuable growth and maturity while out with a high ankle sprain. It may be a farewell tour for future Canton inductee Eli Manning which keeps Giants fans from completely closing the season down. So much is wrong with the team that, in almost every area outside of running back and quarterback, the team requires considerable upgrades. And even with Saquan Barkley running the ball and Daniel Jones directing the offense, much more is expected from them. 

What is worse for Giants fans is that they host Miami, travel to Washington, then end the season at home with Philadelphia. All sub .500 teams, the last two in the worst division in the NFL. The Giants could actually win a game or two, hurting their draft position too. 

Where to turn—the Knicks? Hey, they beat Golden State in San Francisco in OT. Which established, for at least one night, that they aren’t the worst team in the NBA. Only for one night. On Friday they managed to win at Sacramento. Two in a row!! On the road!! 

They were bad enough to make David Fizdale the first firing of the 2019-20 season. Two hours after he had conducted practice and joked with team management. Typical Knicks. And they don’t have anyone glamorous enough to sell the fans on waiting in the wings to take over coaching for the remainder of the season.

Across the East River, the Nets are treading above .500 while Kyrie Irving remains sidelined. The Nets do have some things the Knicks don’t—a real head coach in Kenny Atkinson plus some decent players who have bonded together in Irving’s absence. They seem to be trending in the right direction as they await the debut of the injured Kevin Durant next season.

Rutgers and Seton Hall seem to have some talent on their squads. Their meeting in Piscataway on Saturday might settle which the best team is in the Garden State and maybe in the area. Seton Hall has had a relatively tough early schedule and acquitted themselves well. RU has stumbled when playing better opposition, although their home win versus Wisconsin was a positive step for Steve Pikiell’s guys, who lost at pre-season Big Ten favorite Michigan State by 12.

Hockey—the Islanders righted themselves after a rugged stretch on the road and swept two games in Florida. Barry Trotz is a fine coach and he will make the Isles into serious contenders for the Stanley Cup. The Rangers are in a rebuilding phase and there have been good wins and questionable losses. The Devils are forgettable. And management too felt they had to fire their coach in the early going. 

Mets fans have some real good things happening. Manager Carlos Beltran, for one. The restructuring of the Cespedes contact. Picking up starting pitchers Michael Wacha and Rick Porcello, the latter a Seton Hall Prep star and former Cy Young Award winner with Boston. There is a good centerfielder plucked from Houston in Jake Marisnick.  The nucleus is there. Brodie Van Wagenen is starting to put together a roster which has more promise than in the past two years. Ownership will be changing shortly, perhaps loosening the tight pursestrings. Loyal Mets followers have genuine optimism, not the false beliefs of the past.

Yankees fans feel like they have hit the jackpot. Lifetime Yankees fan Gerrit Cole is theirs. For 9 years and $324 million. The rotation is now Cole, Luis Severino, James Paxton, Masahiro Tanaka, Jordan Montgomery and Domingo German after his MLB ban is lifted. Sure Didi Gregorius is now reunited with Joe Girardi in Philadelphia. Gleyber Torres will fill that role as he continues to slug his way through MLB pitching. MLB All Star D.J. LeMehieu now has a semi-permanent home at second base. Brett Gardner is back for $12 million, to keep the center field position warm until Aaron Hicks returns from Tommy John surgery. Sure Austin Romine has received over $4 million to become the Detroit Tigers starting catcher; Gary Sanchez needs to have a monster season with the lineup that the Yankees will put on the field and learn to catch the best pitchers in baseball. 

To Yankees fans, the road to the World Series goes through Yankee Stadium. They just might be right.

And Greg Schiano is making a splash, flying around in his helicopter, getting recruits to listen and actually change their verbal commitments to have the chance to play at Rutgers. Nobody has more enthusiasm than Greg Schiano. Rooms light up with his presence. Stadiums too. 

It’s a good time to be a Scarlet Knights booster. Football is on the upswing. Basketball is taking steps towards a post-season tournament. RU Wrestling is a top 20 squad. The Women’s Basketball team under the guidance of Hall of Fame Coach C. Vivian Stringer is starting out well. New Jerseyans are feeling pretty good for themselves, even with the misfortunes of the Devils, Giants and Jets.

Let’s go on to the NFL. After watching another magnificent performance by Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson, one where the Jets could not really stop him, the M.V.P. trophy is  his, even with 2 games left. He literally ran past Michael Vick’s rushing record; the guy can throw but he runs and looks like a running back and a wideout. 

Thus, the questions that will be settled in the playoffs are: whether the Ravens are one the greatest teams of all time? Similarly, how good is Kansas City in comparison to its AFC rival? Is New England not going to make it past their first game the way they have been playing lately?  Will the NFC East produce a team with a .500 record or below as its winner, to probably go out in the Wild Card round? Can Tennessee sustain its momentum with Ryan Tannehill at QB, charging into the playoffs? Is San Francisco or Seattle the best of the NFC? Can Green Bay knock off teams to reach the Super Bowl? Are Pittsburgh and Buffalo going to be knocked out of the playoffs with their remaining schedule, which includes a tussle at Heinz Field? Could Minnesota or Chicago catch the Packers? Will the Rams resurgence get them into the playoffs? Can one of the following teams actually win out and get some luck from above—Cleveland, Denver and the Colts?

The NFL schedule makers have done a pretty good job for the last two weeks of the season. For Week 16, there is the Saturday triple header. First the Texans visit the Buccaneers, with a lot on the line for Houston. The top two teams in the AFC East, New England and Buffalo get together at 4:30 in Gillette Stadium. The finale has the Rams pitted against the 49’ers in a game with huge playoff implications. Sunday’s tilts include the Jets hosting the Steelers, the Saints meet the Titans in Nashville, Dallas and the Eagles have their NFC showdown in Philadelphia and the Bears host the Chiefs. Monday night the Packers and Vikings are live indoors from Minnesota. Rumor has it that the New Orleans-Tennessee matchup might be flexed to Sunday night.

For as good as they did in Week 16, the season finale has very few direct matches of consequence. The 49’ers travel to Seattle, and playoff positions may already have been decided. Ditto with the Titans and Texans closing out the regular season in Houston. Bears-Vikings could be impactful depending on how the two teams fare in their two previous contests. 

I thought that the idea of Denver Head Coach Vic Fangio to realign the NFL schedule by eliminating divisions, playing a conference schedule of 15 opponents then having the final game against a natural rival from the other conference—Jets-Giants, Cowboys-Texans, Eagles-Steelers, Chargers-Rams, etc., was refreshing if not impossible. He is correct that presently the schedule leads to too many inequities and the top teams in the conferences feed off of playing the losing teams in their division twice a year.

A modification of the NFL schedule is necessary. I like playing a former division rival only once a year. Then, perhaps, play two of the divisions in the conference, for a total of 11 games so far. Then add in 4 games from the other conference and a final rivalry game which Fangio advocates. Then you have some interesting and important games. 

An example of this would be the Jets. They play New England, Buffalo and Miami on a home and home basis every two years. They could then play the AFC South and AFC West in a two year home and home cycle. You would have games against one division two consecutive years. Give them the NFC West with San Francisco, Seattle, the Chargers and Raiders on a two year home and home set. Plus add that rivalry crossover game against the Giants—home on the year they play 1 AFC East enemy and away in the year they meet two division foes.

This way season ticket holders are not deprived by seeing Pat Mahomes or Lamar Jackson too little—even if the Chiefs and Ravens are from another division or conference. Believe me, I could have benefitted seeing the Patriots and Tom Brady one fewer time a year. It might have made the Miami schedule of back-to-back away games with the Jets and Giants and home for the Bengals less likely.

The idea for change in the NFL is a good one. Maybe, as they survey the horrible officiating that has permeated this NFL schedule, the talking heads at NFL Headquarters in New York can turn their attention to some more meritorious changes that will further peak fan interest  and thrill the network partners at CBS, FOX, NBC and ESPN.

Just another dream for a NY/NJ fan who has the awesome Yankees, up and coming Rutgers and the disappointing Jets, Knicks and Devils on his plate (not to mention the Warriors dismal season marred by so many injuries). This is what we think about this holiday season. 

Watch some college hoops this weekend—some in-state  and former and new rivalries are on the tube—Memphis-Tennessee, SHU-RU, Georgetown-Syracuse and Gonzaga-Arizona, for example. The annual Army-Navy football game is also on TV; guaranteed to be a loud, hard-hitting affair. Add into the mix some good NFL games. Those are the ingredients for a nice sports viewers’ weekend. 

Or just sit back and be vigilant as to when Amazon is going to deliver another package which won’t be snatched by a porch pirate. You can decide which you prefer.