Gase on Fired Rumors "News to Me"

Jets head coach Adam Gase poured cold water on the unsubstantiated rumors that were started this week by WFAN's Craig Carton that he was informed by ownership that he was being fired. 

"That was news to me. No one has said that to me," Gase told reporters when he was asked about the story.

Many have expected for weeks that Gase, who is 9-22 as head coach of the Jets that he will be let go at the end of the season.  Speculation has been running rampent all season, and up to this point Gase remains the HC of the NYJ. 

This week the rumormill has ratcheted up. On Saturday Jason LaConfora of CBS Tweeted out that Gase could have been fired had the Jets lost to Cleveland last weekend. The Jets won, and Gase is still here. 

Then on Monday some website called uStadium issued an uncorroborated story that Gase would be fired after Week 17. That was followed up Tuesday by Carton, who claimed he had a source that informed him Gase was told his days in New York were numbered. Carton never named his source at the time. 

It's that time of the year where wild stories abound. Heck there is even rumors that Bill Belichick's compliments of Gase could mean he will bring Gase aboard as a quarterback's coach next year. Not likely, but even that is out. It's the silly season. There are a lot of rumors -- many of them will be cleared up in the coming days. 

Adam Gase Likely to be Fired After Week 17

 In what is quickly turning into a game of 'who wants to be first,' multiple platforms are running with the story that Jets Head Coach Adam Gase has either A) been told he is being fired or B) will be fired after Sunday's season Finale in New England. 

First a website called "uStadium" issued an unsourced claim on Monday that Gase will be fired after the Patriots game. Then on WFAN, on Tuesday afternoon, shock-jock host Craig Carton claimed he had sources who say that Gase has been told by Christopher Johnson that he will not be back as head coach. 

 

Neither Carton, nor uStadium cited their sources.

 To date, not a single Jets beat reporter has officially reported anything of the like or contrary to those rumors. 

There has also been silence from the likes of reputable sources like Jay Glazer or Ian Rappaport. No one, outside of Carton and uStadium has issued a similar report as of this minute, 3:38 p.m. on a Tuesday, December 29, that Gase has indeed been fired. 

We did come close to getting such a report on Saturday, when CBS Sports reporter Jason LaConfora tweeted out that Gase could have been fired after the Cleveland Browns game had the Jets lost. They didn't.

 Either way it sounds very likely that Gase is coaching his final game as HC of the NYJ after two horrible seasons at the helm of the franchise. The Jets are 9-22 under Gase in his two years, but his inability to develop quarterback Sam Darnold; his inability to work well with the Jets star players like Jamal Adams and LeVeon Bell, and his inability to put together and manage a competent game plan were just a few of the many short comings that Gase had in his hideous tenure. 

The facts are the Johnson brothers owe the fanbase a huge apology. They wasted two years of everyone's time with a coach who was clearly in over his head despite the fact Chris Johnson called Gase a "brilliant mind." 

It was Johnson's lack of brilliance that got the Jets stuck with Gase in the first place. He had Mike McCarthy, Matt Rhule and Kliff Kingsbury all at his fingertips as potential candidates and passed on each one of them in favor of Gase. In fact the reason Rhule and/or McCarthy didn't get the job, is because they wanted say in personnel, something Johnson and then GM Mike Maccagnan were not willing to give up. 

Instead, Johnson hired Gase, allowed Maccagnan to sign free agents and run his 2019 draft, before promptly firing him thanks in big part to Gase's urging. If anyone is looking like a huge clown this week, and all season it is defiantly Chris Johnson and his brother Woody, the embattled Ambassador to the United Kingdom. 

This is the mess they created. Now they got to stew in it. Who in their right mind is going to trust them to get it right this time?

Giants Still Have Shot at Division

 Believe it or not, the New York Giants still have a shot at the NFC East. 

Even though Big Blue got run over by the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, and have not looked competitive at all the past three weeks, the Giants (5-10) are still in the mix. Why? Because they play in the NFC East. 

Thanks to Dallas' win over the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Washington Football Team's lose to the Carolina Panthers, the Giants, Cowboys and Washington go into week 17 still with a shot at the division title.

Here's how it breaks down: 

IF: The Giants beat Dallas, and Washington loses to the Eagles in Week 17, the Giants win the NFC East. 

IF: The Giants beat Dallas, and Washington wins over the Eagles, the Washington Football Team wins the NFC East with a 7-9 record. 

IF: the Cowboys beat the Giants, and Washington loses to the Eagles, Dallas wins the NFC East with a 7-9 record. 

If the Cowboys beat the Giants, and Washington wins over the Eagles, the Washington Football Teams wins the NFC East based on head to head tie breakers over the Cowboys. 

Jets victoy over Browns Assures Trevor Lawrence is a Jaguar

 JETS 23 - BROWNS 16

The Jets are really good -- at messing up the bigger picture.  The Jets won again, Sunday, 23-16 against the Cleveland Browns, and in so doing all but assured that Trevor Lawrence will be the number 1 pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jaguars did their part in losing to the Chicago Bears 41-17. 

For a better part of the first half, the Jets picked up right where they left off last week in Los Angeles against the Rams. They dominated the line of scrimmage defensively against the Cleveland Browns, as quarterback Baker Mayfield spent time either on his back or hurrying his throws to avoid the Jets heavy pass rush. 

Of course things were complicated for the Browns, who came into the game short-handed due to a number of players missing the game due to COVID-19, including receiver Jarvis Landry. Mayfield just couldn't do much without a full compliment of receivers and a patched up offensive line. Give the Jets credit, they took full advantage. 

With Cleveland leading 3-0 late in the first quarter, the Jets actually got creative offensively when Sam Darnold pitched the ball to Jamison Crowder on the reverse. Crowder quickly heaved the ball down field to wide open Braxton Berrios, who glided into the end zone for a 43-yard touchdown to make it 7-3. 

On Cleveland's ensuing possession, Mayfield was strip-sacked by Frankie Luvu. Folo Fatukasi recovered the loose ball at the Browns' 32, giving New York prime real estate. The Jets wasted little time. Four plays later, Darnold hit Chris Herndon from 11-yards out for the score to make it 13-3 Gang Green. 

Come the third quarter, the Jets continued to pressure the Browns. Darnold hit Crowder for 25-yards to the Browns 34 on a key third and four. Three plays later, Darnold delivered a nice touch pass to an open Crowder down the sideline for the touchdown to make it 20-3 Jets. 

Of course, after that score, the Jets went into a shell offensively. They had one field goal blocked, and the Jets would be turned around on three consecutive drives. All of that gave Cleveland ample time to try to mount a comeback. 

The Browns cut the Jets lead to 20-16 when Kareem Hunt plowed in from four yards out, but the missed extra point gave the Jets some glimmer of hope. 

For the rest of the afternoon, the Jets defense delivered in key spots, helped out of course by horrible miscues by the Browns. An illegal block pushed the Browns into a second and 20 that they never recovered from. Later, Mayfield was strip-sacked again as the Jets fell on the ball at the Browns' 17-yard line. 

After New York cashed in on the turnover with a field goal to make it 23-16, it appeared that Mayfield finally had the Browns rolling when he managed to drive his team to the Jets' 25-yard line. Unfortunately for Mayfield a series of dreary incompletions was followed by a fumble by Mayfield himself that iced it for the Jets. 

With the victory, the Jets (2-13) are locked into the number two overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft. Jets fans dreaming about Trevor Lawrence can now forget it. Will the Jets draft Justin Fields? Zach Wilson? Or stick with Darnold? That is now the story of the off-season to come in addition to the future of Adam Gase. 

Giants Season Falling Apart in No Show vs. Ravens

 RAVENS 27 - GIANTS 13 

Kiss the playoffs goodbye. The Giants will not be participating in the playoffs this season after a complete no-show performance against the Baltimore Ravens, who pounded New York 27-13 -- and it wasn't even that close. 

Two long touchdown drives by Lamar Jackson in the opening quarter, pretty much doomed Big Blue's chances. The Ravens opened the game, ramming it down the Giants throat on a 13-play, 82-yard drive that ate 8:12 off the clock before Jackson found Marquise "Hollywood" Brown in the end zone for a six-yard score to make it 7-0. 

J.K. Dobbins two-yard plunge with seven seconds remaining in the first quarter, gave Baltimore a 14-0 advantage. 

As for the Giants, they spent much of the day stuck in neutral offensively. The only fight the showed, the game was already decided when they were down 27-6 in the fourth quarter. While Daniel Jones' numbers were ok, he was under siege for the entire game, sacked six times for a loss of 52 yards.  

Meanwhile, the Giants couldn't get anything going on the ground as they ran for a grand total of 54 yards as team. In case you are wondering Lamar Jackson had 80 yards by himself for the Ravens. 

Jackson did whatever he wanted to. Whether it be by air or by ground, Action Jackson was impossible for Big Blue to stop on Sunday. 

About the the only way the Giants could even conceive of keeping their playoff hopes alive, is if Washington loses out. Right now they trail Carolina 20-0.

Kevin Durant Off to Flying Start in Nets Debut

NETS 125 - WARRIORS 99 

 It took a year and a half, and a global pandemic, but future Hall of Famer Kevin Durant finally made his debut as a member of the Brooklyn Nets, against his former team the Golden State Warriors of all teams, and didn't disappoint. STORY.

Durant racked up 10 early first quarter points en route to a 22-point effort on 7-of-16 shooting from the floor. He was also 7-of-7 from the free throw line and collected five boards. It was like the old Durant was back in many ways. 

 

And he certainly had help in Kyrie Irving, the former Cleveland Cavalier and Boston Celtic, who signed with Durant in the summer of 2019. Unlike Durant, Irving had a mixed bag with the Nets last season. He was spectacular sometimes, injured other times, and there was even questions about his commitment. 

This is also the same guy who early in camp this month said he would not talk to the media. Great guy (sarcasm). 

Still Irving dropped 26 points to lead both squads, including shooting 10-of-16 from the floor, and 4-of-7 from long distance. Even Caris LeVert got into the act, contributing 20 points off the bench. 

It's been a long time coming for Durant, who tore his Achillies tendon in the 2019 NBA Finals, and would sign with the Nets with full knowledge he would miss the entire 2019-20 season. Then the pandemic hit in March and changed the NBA and the entire planet for that matter. 

 The Nets have high expectations this year. With a healthy Durant and a healthy Irving, including a new coach in first time HC, and former NBA All Star, Steve Nash -- many expect Brooklyn to challenge for the Eastern Conference crown, and maybe a date with the Lakers next summer.

Mayfield, Browns prove to be too much for Giants

 BROWNS 20 - GIANTS 6 

The Giants chances of winning the NFC East took another huge hit on Sunday, when Big Blue laid a giant blue egg on national television as the Cleveland Browns thumped them 20-6. 

The Giants had no answer for Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield, who was sharp all night completing 27-of-32 passes for 297 yards two touchdown passes to Jarvis Landry and Austin Hooper. 

The Giants could have made a game of this seemingly one-side affair, but Joe Judge's gambles got the best of the first year head coach. On the opening drive of the game, the Giants were rolling deep into Cleveland territory, buoyed by a 48-yard kick return by Dion Lewis to open things up.  However the Giants inability to capitalize inside the Browns 10-yard line, forced what should have been an easy three points. 

Instead Judge gambled, and decided to have punter Ron Dixon take the snap in the shotgun and throw the ball in the endzone, which he did, widely out of bounds. Instead of a 3-0 Giants lead, it was 0-0. 

Mayfield would eventually lead Cleveland on a long 75-yard scoring drive that culminated in the touchdown pass to Hooper to make 7-3 in the second. 

Again the Giants had another opportunity to score, and again they let it go by the wayside. The Giants made their way all the way down to Cleveland 10-yard line, and instead of trying to get the ball into the endzone, they ran it twice, once with Lewis for a short gain on thrid down, and then again with Wayne Gallman on fourth and two, an inexplicable decision. Twice the Giants were down in the red zone, and twice they came up with nothing. 

While the blame for the playcalling could be pinned on interim Offensive Coordinator Freddie Kitchens, who was trying to stick it to his former team, the blame ultimately falls on Joe Judge. 

Think about it, the Giants were overly aggressive twice in goal-to-go scenarios, but when it came to a fourth and short in the middle of the field in the third quarter, they punted. 

Meanwhile Mayfield did basically whatever he wanted to the Giants secondary. Cleveland's 95-yard scoring drive that ate up the rest of the third quarter and a good chunk of the fourth quarter all but ended the game. 

At 5-9 the Giants are basically finished. They need to win out and hope that Washington loses both of their final two games. A win by the Washington Football Team next week against Carolina combined with a Giants loss to Baltimore all but wraps up the NFC East. 

As for Cleveland, their 10 wins match the best season they have had since 2006. 

Jets Lose By Winning Game vs. Rams

 JETS 23 - RAMS 20 

What in the name of Joe Namath was that? 

A win?!?!? An actually victory for the New York Jets?!?!?! Yes, indeed it has happened, the Jets won a game 23-20 over a LA Rams team that needed just a win over the lowly, winless Jets to clinch a playoff spot. Instead the victory parlays the Jets to not only their first victory of the year, but possibly the lowest moment in Jets history. 

We could one day look back at December 20, 2020 as one of the worst moments ever if Trevor Lawrence, the presumed number 1 pick in the 2021 draft winds up living up to the hype, not as the quarterback of thew New York Jets, but, rather as the quarterback of the Jacksonville Jaguars, or some other team that winds up trading for the number one pick. 

That's right the Jets cost themselves a shot at the top pick in the draft with this victory. Due to strength of schedule the equally inept Jaguars (1-13) now own the pick. If the Jets and Jaguars both end up tied by seasons end, the Jaguars, not the Jets will be the top pick in the draft. 

This means the Jets will have a lot more questions than answers about their future under center as well as head coach this off-season. Will the Jets stick with Sam Darnold, who looked solid today for the Jets completing 22-of-31 passes for 207 yards and a touchdown? Or do they really believe that Ohio State's Justin Fields is the future? 

While no quarterback is a sure thing, Trevor Lawrence is head and shoulders above Fields in his make-up. A lot of scouts and analysts believe Lawrence will be the better pro. Whether that happens or not remains to be seen. Still Jets fans wanted to find out.

This is a franchise that has missed so often on the franchise quarterback, many were hoping a winnless season would give them Lawrence to rescue them. That of course, if Head Coach Adam Gase is coaching elsewhere in 2021. 

If the Jets stick with Darnold in '21 they will have to eat $25 million and pick up his option for a fifth year -- a pill not many are certain the Jets want to bite down on. 

Then there is the Gase factor. Is he really going to get fired? At 1-13 one would think it's inevitable that Gase will be a goner in two weeks, but these are the Jets we are talking about. Beat writers who cover the team have written that Gase has friends in the building; remember he did assist in getting GM Joe Douglas his job in New York, and Christopher Johnson loves Gase. If Jets were to win out or win another game here, whose to say Gase won't find a way to convince the Johnson's to keep him? Stranger things have happened especially with the Jets. 

Without the allure of the number 1 pick, the Jets job by itself is not very attractive. Douglas will return as the Jets GM, and with owners like Woody and Christopher Johnson, both of whom have proven to be pretty clueless when it comes to orchestrating a competent football operation is not appealing. Who the heck would want to be apart of this fiasco? 

Remember the Jets have an archaic power structure where the head coach and the GM are on the same wave length and must report to the Johnson's.

 The Jets have fouled up Head Coach/GM relations way too many times before. 

See Rex Ryan and John Idzik, or Todd Bowles and Mike Maccagnan, or how about Maccagnan and Gase. When the Jets fired Todd Bowles, other candidates like Mike McCarthy and Matt Rhule lost interest in the job because the Johnson's wouldn't let them have any say in personnel. 

Good luck passing off the Jets Head Coaching job to another group of candidates without the shot at the top quarterback prospect in the draft. 

As for this game against the Rams, you have to feel good for the players. The Jets came to play, especially defensively, where they sacked Jared Goff three times, and held the Rams superstar quarterback to 209 yards passing. It was a huge day for Quinnen Williams who recorded a sack and four tackles. Bryce Hall also had a key interception that set up a Jets field goal to make it 13-0 in the second quarter. 

The Jets even blocked a punt earlier in the second quarter that set up Sam Ficken's first field goal of the day. 

Offensively, the Jets had moments. Yes there were some horrible play calling decisions by Gase, but the biggest drive of the day for Gang Green came on New York's opening drive of the second half where they drove 72-yards on 11 pays for a Frank Gore touchdown to make it 20-3. 

After the Rams cut the Jets lead to 23-20, New York converted a third and six at the Rams 48-yard line on a short pass from Darnold to Gore to convert the play and send the Jets to their first win of the year.

Seahawks Annihilate Jets into Oblivion, New York Now 0-13

SEAHAWKS 40 - JETS 3 

It had to be one big joke to former Jets safety Jamal Adams. The once disgruntled safety who talked his way out of New York after Jets General Manager Joe Douglas didn't offer him a contract extension, exacted vengence on his old club as his Seahawks destroyed Gang Green 40-3 on Sunday. 

 

It was absolute train wreck for Gang Green in every shape and form. After the Jets took an early 3-0 lead, their only lead of the entire game, and the sixth straight game where the Jets scored on their opening possession, it was all Seahawks after that. 

Adams, who said earlier in the week he held no ill will toward Adam Gase, but took a back handed attack at his old team saying he is in a good place now, recorded five tackles, a tackle for loss, a deflected pass and a sack of quarterback Sam Darnold. The sack came when Adams flushed Darnold out of bounds, giving him 8.5 sacks on the season - a record for a defensive back. 

So much for a box safety, eh Mr. Douglas? 

Even ex-Jet Damien "Snacks" Harrison got into the act and recorded six tackles on his former club. 

The Jets offense was once again putrid. Darnold threw for 132 yards and had a quarterback rating of 68.1. With each passing week Darnold gets worse and worse and worse. He is a total shell of the quarterback he once was. 

Defensively the Jets were torched by Russell Wilson, who threw four touchdown passes on 21-of-26 passing. Guess Adam Gase was in his right to fire Gregg Williams; the defense never looked better getting torched by another team (insert sarcasm). 

At 0-13 the Jets are on the fast track to 0-16. They have the 9-4 Rams next week. The Rams pack one of the league's best defenses. They just thrashed the Patriots on Thursday night; imagine what they will do to the Jets. After that the Jets host Cleveland (9-3) and visit the 6-7 Patriots. This is going to be a disaster of epic proportion. 

Whats more, according to ESPN's Rich Cimini the Jets have the second worst defeat margin of all the winnless teams in NFL history at minus -16.2 ppg. Only the 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers who went 0-14 were worse at minus -20.5 ppg. Great job Jets, keep it up.

Giants Choke On First Place, Lose to Cardinals

 CARDINALS 26 - GIANTS 7 

If there is one thing we should have learned about the New York Giants, never trust the New York Giants. 

A week after their stunning victory over the Seattle Seahawks, the Giants delivered a clunker against the Arizona Cardinals, falling 26-7 at home. 

The Giants were sloppy and careless with the football, and allowed Kyler Murray to rip them to shreds both through the air and on the ground a week after shutting down one of the league's best quarterbacks in Seattle's Russell Wilson.

The trouble started right away when Daniel Jones was strip sacked on second and 10 from the 50-yard line on the Giants opening possession. Arizona's Markus Golden recovered the loose ball, rumbled 30 yards to the Giants' nine. Fortunately, Big Blue stuffed the Cardinals and forced a turnover on downs when Murray hurried a throw out of bounds on fourth and goal. 

However that would be the highlight of the day for Big Blue. 

The mistakes and misfortune would only continue. A huge 24-yard punt return by Christian Kirk set up Arizona deep inside Giants territory again. This time the Cards settled for three points and a 3-0 lead. 

Things would only get worse for the Giants come the second quarter. A fumble by Dion Lewis on a kick-off when the ball was kicked out of his hands by Arizona's Kritian Fields led to an Arizona recovery at the Giants' 21-yard line. Four plays later, Murray found Dan Arnold for a seven yard score to make it 13-0. 

The Giants never responded, as the offense continued to sputter out of control under quarterback Daniel Jones, who clearly wasn't right at all Sunday. In fact, back-up quarterback Colt McCoy was warming up as early as the second quarter. 

McCoy didn't come in right away however, and Jones did catch some fire early in the third quarter when he led the Giants on their only scoring drive of the day, a Dion Lewis 1-yard plunge that was set up by a nifty catch by Golden Tate for 39-yards. But that wasn't enough. 

The Giants were already down 20-0, and the score only made it 20-7. 

They never got close again. The Giants would punt on their next three possessions, and Jones would be replaced by McCoy by the fourth quarter. Jones finished 11-of-21 for 127 yards. He was sacked six times, and fumbled three times. McCoy was no better getting sacked twice. 

The Cardinals recorded eight sacks and five tackles for loss Sunday. 

 The defeat was made worse by the fact the Washington Football Team annihilated the  San Francisco 49ers 23-15 behind a spirited defensive effort by Chase Young. The Football Team even lost Alex Smith in the process, but they find themselves in first place at the moment at 6-7. The Giants are 5-8. Even worse the Eagles shocked the Saints behind Jalen Hurts, meaning the Eagles are right back in the mix at 4-8-1. 

With three games left, things are not looking good for Big Blue. The Giants host the Browns next Sunday night, before traveling to Baltimore on Christmas week.

Bill Cowher Has No Interset in Coaching Jets or Any Other Team

Take that rumor mill. 

CBS Sports analyst Bill Cowher poured cold water all over his fellow NFL Today colleague Boomer Esaison, who a week ago claimed that Cowher would be interested in the potential head coaching vacancy with the New York Jets. 

On the NFL Today Cowher announced he has zero interest in the Jets job, and in fact has no desire to coach. 

"I have too much respect for the coach profession to talk about a job that isn't open. From that perspective, any job that is open, I have no interest in coaching," he said. 

This is not surprising at all. Cowher, who hasn't coached a NFL game since 2006 when he abruptly retired following an 8-8 campaign in his 15th year in Pittsburgh, has been linked to jobs for years. He still hasn't taken a job once, let along interview. 

Whether it be the Jets, Giants or Carolina Panthers, Cowher has been linked to those spots and I am sure others in the past, and nothing has come of it. The fact that Esaison even ran with this idea a week ago on his radio show when he should have known better, is inexplicable. 

As of now Adam Gase is still the coach of the woeful 0-13 Jets. If he is fired (remember we are dealing with the Jonson brothers here) the Jets will choose among many young coordinators in the league or in college football.

Busy Mets Sign Catcher McCann and Get New GM in Jared Porter

 The New York Mets under Steve Cohen and Sandy Alderson were busy Saturday finalizing deals with free agent catcher James McCann, and locking down a new General Manager in former Arizona Diamondbacks Assistant GM Jared Porter. 

 Regading McCann, the Mets fill a major need, starting catcher with a player who has thrown out 36 percent of attempted base stealers in his career and was known as a good pitch framer during his tenure with the Chicago White Sox, and before that the Detroit Tigers. 

Lifetime, McCann is a .249 career hitter with 65 homers and 252 RBI. His most productive offensive year came in 2019 where he hit .273 with 18 homers and 60 RBI. Unfortunately he also struck out a career high 137 times in 2019. 

Last year in a COVID-shortened season, McCann hit .289 with seven homers and 15 RBI in 31 games. 

The Mets wanted to upgrade the position from 34-year old catcher Wilson Ramos who had a disappointing 2020, where he hit only .239 with 5 homers and 15 RBI. Two years ago, Ramos was phenomenal for the Mets batting .288 while belting 14 homers and 73 RBI.  Still the Mets get a player who is four years younger than Ramos, and is better defensively. 

 

Of course, everyone will compare how McCann does with the likes of J.T. Realmuto who was also a free agent. Realmuto is a much bigger offensive threat than McCann is, averaging about 21 homers a year and a career average of .278. However, Realmuto stated he concerns about playing in New York very early in the process, and demanded a contract in the neighborhood of $200 million, which had to play into the Mets thinking. There was no way the Mets could confidently absorb that contract and proceed with finding other top free agents like George Springer or Trevor Bauer. 

With McCann in tow for $40 million over 4 years, the Mets have created flexibility for themselves now and in the future. 

Meanwhile, the Mets surprised many with the announcement that Jared Porter would become the clubs new General Manager, who will work under President Sandy Alderson. Porter replaces Brodie Van Wagenen who was fired a month ago. 

Porter spent the past four years working in Arizona for the D-Backs as their assistant GM, but what makes him an attractive candidate is his vast experience working under Theo Epstein both in Boston with the Red Sox and in Chicago with the Cubs.

It will be interesting to see how much power Porter will receive as GM. The Mets wanted to hired  a President of Baseball Operations, but decided to wait when they coudln't get permissions to interview certain candidates. As a result, Alderson has assumed the role of President of Baseball Ops as well as Team President. Porter comes from a scouting background. It will be very intriguing to see what influence, power and say he will have in final decisions out of the Mets front office. 

 

 

WFAN Sparks Bill Cowher to Jets Rumors

 Here we go again with the annual Bill Cowher is coming out of retirement to coach "X-team in the next year" rumors. 

This time WFAN's Boomer Esiason, who should know better than to throw his NFL Today colleague into the fire like this, broached the subject on his morning radio show with his partner Gregg Gianotti. Gianotti said that Cowher in New York would be great, but it would never happen. 

Esiason then opined basically saying never say never. "He was saying to me, he was the one who said the Jets job is going to be very attractive, and they could hire whomever they want, and he told me he loves Joe Douglas," Esiason reportedly said. 

Boomer added that Cowher's wife is a huge Jets fan. 

So is it possible that Cowher would consider breaking from his 15-year retirement, a retirement that includes being elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame at the end of last season to coach the Jets? The same Jets team that right now looks like a colossal front office disaster as the team stares at an inevitable 0-16 season? 

Never say never, but let's get real, it's not likely to happen. For starters the Jets have been linked to Cowher in the past and nothing has come of it. The Jets tried to get him in 2008 but he was not interested in the job. The Jets instead went with Rex Ryan heading into the 2009 season. 

Cowher has also been linked to the Giants job for years, but nothing ever came of it. Cowher remained in television. 

If Cowher were to come out of retirement, he wouldn't be the first to return after a long layoff. Dick Vermill returned to the sidelines in 1997 to coach the St. Louis Rams after a 15-year absence from coaching after he left the Eagles in 1982.  After a rough two seasons in St. Louis, Vermill ran into some incredible luck when he had Kurt Warner fall into his lap in 1999 and the Rams won the Super Bowl. 

Vermill retired after the Rams Super Bowl victory in '99, stayed out of the game for a year, and returned in 2001 to coach the Kansas City Chiefs for five years until 2005. 

 

Joe Gibbs two stints with the Washington Football team were separated by 12 years. Of course his initial stint in Washington was much more successful as he won three Super Bowl titles. His return to D.C. in 2004 was not as good. 

Jon Gruden is the latest example having left coaching initially in 2008 after he was fired by the Buccaneers, only to return to the Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders 10 years later in 2018. Gruden has his Raiders on the precipice of the seventh seed in the AFC Playoffs this year. 

It's hard to figure what a Cowher return to coaching would look like. 

Players in 2020 are not the same as the players he coached in 2006. 

The game has changed a great deal with a focus now exclusively on the vertical passing game. Cowher would need to surround himself with some young coaches who can help update his tactics. 

At the same time, he would bring instant credibility to the Jets franchise were he to leave the TV studio. If the Jets get the number 1 pick and select Trevor Lawrence, Cowher will lean heavily on his own experience with a young Ben Roethlisberger as a blue-print for success with Lawrence. 

Cowher would almost certainly be a short term answer for the Jets -- almost like Bill Parcells was in the late 90s. Someone with instant credibility, who can change the culture, but ultimately will be gone within three years. 

My guess is Cowher will remain in TV, while the Jets either hire one of the many young coordinators out on the market, or dare I say, keep Adam Gase around considering he still has friends in the organization.

Gregg Williams Fired in Latest Jets Debacle

 Gregg Williams was relieved of his duties as Jets Defensive Coordinator a mere 24 hours after his defense surrendered the game winning touchdown to the Las Vegas Raiders in the waning seconds of Sunday's 31-28 loss. 

What makes the firing even more surprising is that the decision was made by Head Coach Adam Gase, who received the blessing to make the move from the Jets front office, which once again brings into question how much power Gase actually does hold over the organization. 

Gase said he made the decision over night on Sunday and informed the Jets brass, which according to Brian Costello of the New York Post consisted of CEO Christopher Johnson, GM Joe Douglas and Team President Hymie Elhai. 

The decision was made easy for Gase after Williams called an all out Cover 0 blitz on Raiders quarterback Derrick Carr who heaved the infamous pass down field to Henry Ruggs III who beat single coverage from cornerback Lamar Jackson. The result was a perfectly timed throw and catch for the winning score with :05 seconds to go. The Jets went from potentially winning their first game of the year 28-24, to losing 31-28. 

While the call was inexcusable and Williams does deserve to be fired, the facts are how is it that Adam Gase gets a continued free pass from ownership? Many expect Gase to get the axe in four weeks regardless if the Jets finish 0-16, but how can Christopher Johnson and General Manager Joe Douglas stand in front of the media in four weeks time and announce the firing of Gase at that point, after allowing the coach so much autonomy beforehand? 

 It makes no sense, in fact it's down right dirty. 

 

Does this mean there is a chance that Gase keeps his job? It certainly feels that way. There is no way that a coach who is 0-12 on the season, and 7-21 as a head coach, has that much authority that he can simply point the blame elsewhere and feel no repercussions for it. 

Instead of Johnson and Douglas fixing blame at the real center of all the Jets ills, they  give  a consensus agreement to allow Gase to do as he pleases. 

Who is the GM then? Is it Gase? Or is it Douglas? 

What this does confirm, it confirms the report by Rich Cimini a couple weeks ago that said Gase has powerful friends in the front office in Johnson and Elhai. Gase is also responsible for Joe Douglas getting the job with the Jets -- his confidant from their time together in Chicago. You mean to tell me in four weeks these same men are going to fire Gase? 

There is a lot of unanswered questions right now in Jetville, but one thing is certain, they do not lack in the department of clown shoes and big red noses.

Giants Stun Seahawks, Extend Streak to 4 in a Row

 GIANTS 17 - SEAHAWKS 12 

If you didn't believe the Giants are for real heading into Week 13, you do now.  With the same combination of grit and determination that they have displayed all year, the Giants pulled out the biggest upset of the year in the NFL, a 17-12 victory on the road over the heavily favored Seattle Seahawks. 

The Giants went into the game with a lot going against them. 1) They didn't have their quarterback, with Daniel Jones sidelined by a hamstring. 2) They were on the road, in Seattle, against a Seahawks team that many people believe would be in the Super Bowl this year. 

Well, the Giants didn't get that memo. As they have all season, Joe Judge's Giants didn't need to listen to the excuses, because there are none. Instead they went up to Seattle and punched the Seahawks right in the mouth, and at the same time took firm command of the NFC East. 

It wasn't pretty, but it didn't have to be. It was pure Giants football: ugly.

Even though they trailed 5-0 at the break, the Giants held Seattle's stud wide out DK Metcalf to just three catches in the first half, and kept Russell Wilson running for his life. In fact the All Pro's turnover problems persisted Sunday when he fumbled twice. One that the Giants recovered at their own 47 in the second quarter. The other resulted in a loss of six yards on first down, and turned what was a promising Seattle drive into a punt scenario. 

Come the second half the Giants slammed their foot on the peddle. Wayne Gallman's 60-yard sprint with 9:47 to go in the third quarter jump started the Giants offensive attack that had been lackluster for much of the day. Alfred Morris capped off the drive with a pair of runs, including a four-yard touchdown run that gave the Giants a 6-5 lead. 

Colt McCoy then connected with Sterling Shepherd on a two-point conversion to make it 8-5 Big Blue. 

After Seattle turned the ball over on downs on a Russell Wilson incompletion on fourth and one at the Seattle 48, the Giants, again took advantage of the short field. 

The Giants pounded Seattle with the run. Gallman carried three straight times for gains of 3, 13 and 23 yards to the Seattle nine-yard line. Finally, Alfred Morris finished it off with a pair of runs, including the go-ahead score on a six-yard completion from McCoy to give the Giants a 14-5 advantage. 

The Giants would build their lead to 17-5, before Wilson finally got the Seahawks offense moving on an 11-play, 82-yard drive, culminating in a 28-yard touchdown pass to Chris Carson to make it 17-12. 

The Giants wouldn't let the Seahawks get any closer. With the Seahawks back in Giants territory, late in the game, the clock struck midnight on Wilson. A pair of incompletions was quickly followed by a huge sack by Leonard Williams to force a fourth and 18. The desperation pass was incomplete with 47 seconds to go. The game was over. 

Williams, the former Jet, has turned into quiet a disruptive force for Judge's ballclub.  He had 2.5 sacks on Sunday, and two tackles for loss. That is a week after recording the game winning sack last week in Cincinnati. Looks like the Giants got the win in that trade with the Jets. 

As for the ground attack duo of Gallman and Morris; they combined to run for 190 yards on 31 carries for Big Blue. McCoy did just enough not to manage the game, completing 13 of 22 passes for 105 yards. He did complete a couple of huge passes in the fourth quarter that helped the Giants eat up some clock. He was serviceable in the stead of Daniel Jones. 

With four games left the Giants (5-7) are firmly in control of the NFC East. Three of the Giants final four games are at home, and they will most likely be favored in all of their home games, including a Christmas week game against the red hot Cleveland Browns. Things are looking good for the Giants, who have quickly become the image of the new head coach. 

Jets Lose on Last Second Stunner vs. Raiders

 RAIDERS 31 - JETS 28 

To many Jets fans, the Jets won by losing on Sunday.  With 1:42 to go in the fourth quarter, the Raiders had failed to convert on a fourth down and three at the Jets nine-yard line. It looked like ... egads ... the Jets were going to win 28-24. All New York had to do was run out the clock and they could kiss their chances at the number 1 pick and Trevor Lawrence good bye. 

You could see it now. Lawrence goes to Jacksonville. Adam Gase gets an extension from the Johnson brothers, and the Jets end up passing on Justin Fields and drafting another defensive tackle with the number two overall pick. Yep, it was all coming together now wasn't it. Another win that ends up a loss. 

 

But low and behold, a miracle -- yes, a miracle, if you are on the Tank for Trevor bandwagon happened. 

The Jets managed only five yards on three plays in a drive where all they needed was a first down to run out the clock and win the football game. Three plays of total ineptitude and with 35 seconds to go the Raiders would get the ball back. 

And of course that set Raiders quarterback Derrick Carr with the miracle play of the year for Las Vegas. After missing on the deep ball to Nelson Agholar, Carr took a little off the fastball and dropped a dime into the hands of Henry Ruggs III who waltzed into the endzone with the winning score. Only five seconds remained, but it really didn't matter, the Raiders stunned the Jets silent, 31-28. 

The wild finish capped off a wild day. At times Sunday it looked like the Jets were on their way to a win, while halfway across the country the Jacksonville Jaguars were doing their darnedest to lose to the Minnesota Vikings. Both the Jaguars and Jets are jockeying for the number 1 pick, and the entire afternoon felt like both teams were trying to out lose the other for Trevor Lawrence.

The Jaguars would lose, by the way, 27-24 in overtime. 

As for the Jets and Sam Darnold, it was an uneven day. While Darnold did throw two touchdowns that gave the Jets a 13-7 lead, and scrambled for another score that cut the Raiders lead to 24-21, there were plenty of head scratching moments as well. 

Darnold was strip sacked twice in the first half. Both plays were the partially the fault of offensive left tackle Meckhi Becton who got beat off the line of scrimmage. The first fumble led to a Vegas field goal to cut the Jets lead to 13-10. 

Darnold also threw a costly pick that led to a Las Vegas touchdown to Darren Waller that made it 17-13. Speaking of Waller, what a day he had for the Raiders, Sunday. Waller caught 13 passes for 200 yards and two scores against the Jets. He was a one-man wrecking crew as New York's leaky secondary had no answer to stop him.

Anyway, back to the Jets. As for Darnold, he was 14 of 23 for 186 yards, two touchdowns, an interception and three sacks. It was not a good day for him by any stretch of the imagination. Not only was he inconsistent, he wasn't helped by a leaky offensive line and a receivers who couldn't hold onto the football. 

About the only good thing that happened for the Jets Sunday, was their ability to run the football. Once Frank Gore left the game with a concussion, Adam Gase was forced to actually feed the rock to his younger backs, and they paid huge dividends. Ty Johnson had 104 yards on 22 carries while Josh Adams had another 74 yards on eight carries. 

Jets FANS CELEBRATE LOSS 

The Jets ran all over the Raiders for 206 yards, and it was the first time this year that the Jets had a 100-yard effort from a running back. 

Yet here the Jets were with a chance to win the game. Ruggs III, who would later become the hero of the day, was initially its goat when he fumbled the ball back to New York near mid-field with 8:56 to play. 

The Jets quickly responded on a six-play drive, buoyed by unnecessary roughness penalty on the Raiders, as Johnson scored the go-ahead touchdown to make it 28-24. It was the latest the Jets held a lead all season. Yet it was the greatest tease of all. 

The Jets at (0-12) proved they are the NFL's worst team, and kept their chances of nabbing Lawrence in the draft very much alive in the process.

When Should the Jets Fire Adam Gase? YouTube

 In this edition of the Open Mike Program, I talk about the future of the New York Jets. 

At 0-11 the future of the franchise hangs in the balance with Adam Gase's tenure as head coach up in the air, Sam Darnold's future in New York uncertain, and the possibility of the Jets drafting Trevor Lawrence to replace Darnold still murky. It's a topic worthy of discussion! Watch here: