When You're a JET

O' Tannenbaum

This to the German folk song, a great Christmas tune called, "O Chrismas Tree - (Tannenbaum) - parody by the great Tom "Tommy The Who" Lyons:

"O Tannenbaum, Mike Tannenbaum!
How are thy seasons so empty!
Not only in the pre-season time,
But even through the winter time.
O Tannenbaum, Mike Tannenbaum!
How are thy teams so wimpy!

O Tannenbaum, Mike Tannenbaum!
No pleasure dost thou bring us!
For ev’ry year that you were GM,
Brings to us all great misery.
O Tannenbaum, Mike Tannenbaum!
No post season play dost thou bring us!

O Tannenbaum, Mike Tannenbaum!
You really F#$%'ed - up Sanchez.
You messed up the green before the pre-season start.
And throughout the coldest time of year.
O Tannenbaum, Mike Tannenbaum!
You really F#$%'ed -up Sanchez!

O Tannenbaum, Mike Tannenbaum!
What could you have been thinking?!
Thou bidds't us all to Te-bowing.
Our trust in Woody, now suspecting!
O Tannenbaum, Mike Tannenbaum!
What exactly were you drinking?

O Tannenbaum, Mike Tannenbaum!
Thy J-E-T-S don't shine too brightly!
Each player holds their collective breath,
And Rex can wonder siliently
Whether he gets the ax or maybe not.
O Tannenbaum, Mike Tannenbaum!
Fireman Ed is history!

###

By Terry Lyons

FLUSHING, EAST RUTHERFORD or BUST? -- Like many other things in life, I've decided I just don't have the time nor the energy to put up with this anymore.  Once a loyal fan and a witness of the Joe Namath, Emerson Boozer, Don Maynard-era JETS, and once a season-ticket holder for the infamous Richard Todd era JETS, I now feel disenfranchised!

I remember the first of (many) QB controversies, the Todd vs. Matt Robinson fiasco. just like it were yesterday. Once a dedicated tail-gater at the frozen, windy confines of Shea Stadium, I lost a bit of interest when the New York Jets became the J-E-T-S, JETS, JETS, JETS of New Jersey, playing in of all places - GIANTS STADIUM.  Huh? I tolerated it all, attended fewer and fewer games, to the point where one a year was fine.  It almost took half a day or a day and a half to get to NJ and back. 

My pet fish, Rex

Then, things REALLY started to change. First it was just Rex. Then it was HARD KNOCKS, which was highly entertaining, but it made me think twice about whether I could further stomach the whole REX RYAN thing, footy fetish and all.

Then, we moved.

I always LOVED Bill Belichick and I have a close bud with a great job in the New England Patriots organization.  When it gets personal like that, your loyalties change. Then, I learned that Coach Belichick loved lacrosse and he backed it up - in front of my own eyes - by frequenting the (now defunct) Boston Blazers games.  Coach even held court with the head coach of the Blazers, a bud named Tom Ryan. He was kind and gracious and a real "pro."

Personnel-wise, it's a no brainer. 

Crap, Fireman Ed had the same exact thoughts I have.

Then, the final straw. 

When we taught NBA rookies how to deal with the media, I can always remeber one particular sound bite.  It came from the Hall-of-Fame writer, Jack McCallum and his tip to the rookies... I can quote it without looking it up...

Said Jack: "The one thing journalists hate more than anything is when a player is there when he wins, but he's nowhere to be found when he loses."

Ladies and Gentlemen ... I give you Rex Ryan.
 
This review from Today's Sports Business Daily - a round-up of sports news for their subscribers, mostly in the sports industry:
 

The NFL Jets are not making Owner Woody Johnson or coach Rex Ryan available to the media until next Tuesday, meaning the team "appears to be in violation of the NFL’s season-ending media policy," according to J.P. Pelzman of the Bergen RECORD. The Jets yesterday announced that Ryan and Johnson will be made available to the media at a news conference Tuesday at 11:00am ET at the team’s Atlantic Health Training facility, and “neither man has spoken to reporters since the news came down Monday morning" that Johnson had fired GM Mike Tannenbaum. The NFL media policy states that "Every team is required to 1) open its locker room for player interviews the day after the season ends and 2) hold a news conference during the week following the end of its season with its head coach, and/or owner, and/or club president, and/or general manager." The purpose of this policy is to "respond to fan interest in the conclusion of the team’s season.” The NFL is “looking into the matter, following a formal complaint filed by the Professional Football Writers of America.” It is “very interesting behavior from an organization that has prided itself on ‘transparency,’ as Johnson has called it” (Bergen RECORD, 1/3). ESPN N.Y.’s Rich Cimini wrote the Jets "can't even get a firing right." Johnson “hid behind a press release, avoiding the spotlight” and “was nowhere to be seen” after firing Tannenbaum. After such a “lousy season, and after dumping a loyal employee who gave 16 years to the organization, Johnson owed it to the fans to be out front, explaining the decision, answering questions and taking charge" (ESPNNY.com, 12/31). The N.Y. Daily News’ Manish Mehta Tuesday wrote on his Twitter feed, “The Jets, who pride themselves on 'transparency,' were the only NFL team not to make their head coach available to the media yesterday." SI.com’s Jimmy Traina wrote on Twitter, "Rex is gutless for hiding from media. He's turned into Rich Kotitie. Hung Tannebaum out to dry.” The Newark Star-Ledger’s Steve Politi wrote, “The Jets actually wonder why people think they're a circus.” The N.Y. Post’s Mark Cannizzaro: “#Jets fans, make sure u get those PSL payments into Woody. bet if enough boycotted payment he'd come out of hiding.”

What Keeps Me Awake at Night

 By TERRY LYONS, Special from http://www.digitalsportsdesk.com

NEW YORK, September 30, 2012 - As we noted in the first installment of this column last weekend, there are a lot of things that keep me awake at night, when it comes to analyzing the New England Patriots, the NFL and the 2012 season.

Here are just a few for this week, coming on the heels of the Patriots 52-28 win over the New York Jets on Sunday:

Wes Welker looked like his old safe vs. Bills (Getty)

The BALTIMORE RAVENS: The 2011 AFC title game saw New England eek-out a 23-20 victory after Ravens PK Billy Cundiff missed a FG that could’ve tied the game, you surely remember. That might sound familiar to Patriots fans who watched Steven Gostkowski miss a routine 42-yard FG which put the Patriots on the short end of a 20-18 loss to the Arizona Cardinals in week two of the NFL season.

After the NFL Network game of the week required a short turn-around for the Ravens to host the Thursday night game against the Cleveland Browns, the Ravens played “just good enough” to record a 23-16 victory. Baltimore QB Joe Flacco threw 28-for-46 and 356 yards while throwing for a TD and running for another, cementing his place among the upper echelon of current NFL quarterbacks just as running back Ray Rice stakes his claim as the single best back in the league. The Ravens’ receiving corps is now led by WR Anquan Bolden and a star-in-the-making in WR Torrey Smith – who had his breakout game of the season the same night his younger brother was killed in a motorcycle accident.

The Baltimore defense ranks 10^th in the league in points allowed but is first in interception returns for TDs. The Ravens and Houston Texans have emerged as the class of the American Football Conference and both teams are improving each week.

STEVEN GOSTKOWSKI; Although the Patriots scored 45 second-half points to annihilate the Buffalo Bills today, the first half included four drives which concluded in alternating results between fumbles and Gostowski missed FGs of 49 and 42 yards.  When the Pats ran to the locker at halftime – Gostkowski had missed his last three FG attempts, admittedly all 40+ yards but all make-able in the grand scheme of playoff contention-level NFL playoff teams.

While there is absolutely no reason to hit the panic button over three early season missed FGs, and Gostkowski has hit two FGs from 50+ yards, the missed FG vs. Arizona which cost New England an important game casts doubt on his abilities, his confidence and Coach Bill Belichick’s confidence in him.

THE IRRELEVANCE of the NEW YORK JETS: Things are only right in the sporting universe when there are healthy rivalries in the NFL’s AFC East division. Seemingly, with the New York Jets unable to manage a single point against the San Francisco 49ers Sunday, the long-term prognosis for the J-E-T-S is BAD, BAD, BAD.

New York was able to gain key divisional victories over Buffalo (48-28 in Week 1) and over Miami (23-20 in Week 4), but losses to Pittsburgh and the 49ers are more of a true barometer for how low the Jets have fallen.

The unintentional comedy meter went off when New York’s arrogant head coach, Rex Ryan, had the audacity to state that he’d leave star defensive back Darrelle Revis on the active list to allow for the possibility to utilize him should the J-E-T-S make it to the Super Bowl.  After the entire NFL industry had a Phyllis Diller belly laugh, the bitter truth became apparent as the Jets’ defense looked listless and their offense failed to register a single point. 

Ryan, a master manipulator and royal buster of asses of players, media and everyone he interacts with, tipped his hand back when the Jets starred in the HBO blockbuster “Hard Knocks” back in 2010. In that series, it became quite apparent that Revis was the heart, soul, backbone and talent behind a tough, cohesive NYJ defense.  With Revis, the Jet head coach seemed confident in his all-important defensive unit, without Revis (who was holding out during the 2010 preseason) the Jets were mere mortals. 

The goose egg laid today against the 49ers is sure to ignite the long-awaited quarterback controversy between incumbent Mark Sanchez and the ever-popular Tim Tebow, acquired in the offseason as a back-up.

Let the tabloid wars begin.

Terry Lyons pens a twice-a-week column on the NFL for Foxboro Blog, including a weekly look at “what keeps him up at night” during the NFL season. You can follow him on Twitter @DigSportsDesk

Lyons is publisher and editor-in-chief at Boston-based DigitalSportsDeskhttp://www.digitalsportsdesk.com

where he writes on football, basketball, baseball and hockey.