In a stunning move the New York Jets have acquired Tim Tebow and a seventh round draft pick from the Denver Broncos for a fourth and sixth round pick. The Jets will also have to pick up half of a $5 million dollar salary advance that was paid to Tebow by Denver at the beginning of last season.

The trade was originally announced yesterday only to hit a snag as the Jets didn’t like some of the language in Tebow’s contract in regards to the salary advance. Jacksonville then tried to throw their hat back into the ring, and Tebow was asked for his opinion on where he wanted to go, thrilled at the chance to play for the Jets.

Tebow joins the team whom he was able to defeat last year on his magical run of 4th quarter victories. His arrival not only brings with it “Tebowmania” and everything associated with it, but may also spark a quarterback controversy with current starter Mark Sanchez. His presence as such a polarizing figure could split a locker room that doesn’t need any more distractions.

Cornerback Antonio Cromartie tweeted on Tuesday night “we don’t need Tebow,” saying he was confident in Sanchez and the guys already on the team. Today he tweeted “Why are we doing this?”

Tebow is also the same player who last season, in the week leading up to the Jets-Broncos game, was criticized by Jets players when it came to his passing abilities. Now teammate cornerback Darrelle Revis said Tebow’s style as an “option” type quarterback wouldn’t be able to sustain itself as a long-term success.

The timing of the trade is also weird as the Jets signed Sanchez to a three-year, $40.5 million contract extension two weeks ago despite a disappointing season. Then, last week they signed Drew Stanton to be their No.2, giving him half a million in signing bonus. They also still have Greg McElroy, the former Alabama standout.

The Jets look at Tebow to fill the vacuum left by Brad Smith who signed with the Buffalo Bills last season in their wildcat situations. Especially since new offensive coordinator Tony Sparano was the coach who introduced the wildcat to the NFL.

Hall of Fame Jets QB Joe Namath wasn’t happy with the move.

“I’m just sorry that I can’t agree with this situation. I think it’s just a publicity stunt. I can’t go with it. I think it’s wrong,” Namath told “The Michael Kay Show” on ESPN1050 in New York. “I don’t think they know what they’re doing over there.”

Rex Ryan, who has vowed to return to the power running game, hopes Tebow could bring some assistance, as they only have one established running back in Shonn Greene.

The potential of backlash is especially great for the Jets as Tebow has a monstrous following and his popularity could distract Mark Sanchez. Sanchez, coming off a sub-par season could be facing the rumblings for Tebow if he doesn’t play well.

Tebow must also adjust as he falls back into the backup role after becoming the starter last season in Denver and leading them to the playoffs and a first round victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. The next week however Denver was crushed by Tom Brady and the Patriots.

When it comes down to it though, Tebow made the playoffs and Sanchez did not. Sanchez struggled mightily down the stretch which got people wondering about his future with the Jets. The team backed him publicly, but vowed to change the quarterback depth chart for 2012.

With the trade for Tim Tebow, we can see that they were serious.

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In one swift beat down the Philadelphia Eagles kept their playoff hopes alive while potentially ending the Jets playoff chances. In a 45-19 blowout over the Jets the Eagles have managed to stay alive for at least one more week.

They sit at 6-8 after two straight wins and trail the 8-6 Cowboys and the 7-7 Giants for the NFC East title with a very slim chance to overtake the two in the final two weeks to make the playoffs. Better than being eliminated though right?

“It feels good to still have a chance to even be considered in the playoff race,” quarterback Michael Vick said. “We’ve been through a lot, but we’re resilient.”

For the Jets it was the second time this season a three game winning streak was snapped in a big way and it couldn’t have come at a worse time. The Jets (8-6) controlled their destiny coming into the game, and now have fallen into a tie with the Bengals for the last spot in the AFC. The Jets do hold a tiebreaker over the Cincinnati with the better record against common opponents.

“Obviously, a horrendous performance by us,” Jets coach Rex Ryan said. “Go into the game thinking we have to run the table to control our own destiny, and we come out of the game needing to win out to control our own destiny.”

Vick finished 15 of 22 for 274 yards with one interception and one touchdown. He also had 32 yards and a score on 5 carries. LeSean McCoy also contributed with 102 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries. He surpassed Steve Van Buren’s team record with his 19^th touchdown and 16^th rushing touchdown. Brent Celek also had a career day racking up 156 yards on 5 catches for one touchdown.

The Eagles turned three New York turnovers into 21-0 on their way to grabbing a quick 28-0 lead, and kept pounding it on the Jets after they made it 28-13 going into the half.

For Mark Sanchez, this was another one of those games he wishes he could forget. He finished 15 of 26 for 150 yards two touchdowns and two interceptions. He was also sacked four times, three by Jason Babin.

“It’s embarrassing,” Sanchez said. “It’s not good football. We just didn’t play our best speaking from an offense perspective, and it puts our defense in a hole. We are a much better football team than we showed.”

Santonio Holmes fumbled and it was returned 47 yards for the touchdown to put Philly ahead early. The Jets caught a break when they recovered a fumble at the 14 on a punt that DeSean Jackson let bounce and eventually caromed off his teammate, but gave it right back as Sanchez was picked by Asante Samuel at the 4.

Vick found Celek for a 26 yard score to put the Eagles up 14-0. Early into the second quarter Vick put them up 21-0 on an 11 yard run and the drive was helped by a roughing the passer penalty.

Sanchez fumbled on the next possession as he was hit running away on a busted play and it eventually led to McCoy’s first touchdown a 9 yard run to put the Eagles up 28-0. The Jets did try to fight back getting a field goal and then recovering a fumble on the kickoff and turning it into 7 as Sanchez found Holmes for a 25 yard touchdown which cut the game to 28-10.

McCoy fumbled on the next possession and the Jets go it at the 27, but had to settle for a field goal. After that it was all McCoy as he eventually scored from 1 and 33 yards which made it 45-13.

For Philadelphia they need to win out and hope the Jets beat the Giants and then the Giants beat the Cowboys in order to win the division. For the Jets they still control their destiny and have zero wiggle room with games against the Giants and Dolphins left.

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It is another week and another victory as the Packers are again atop the Power Rankings this week. The Ravens stand strong in the number two spot for the third straight week as they continue their quest for a bye in the playoffs. The Broncos find themselves cracking the top 10 after Tim Tebow yet again led an improbable comeback this week over the Bears moving Denver into the lead in the AFC West.

The big winners this week are the Saints, Jets, and Giants. The Saints, while only moving up 1 spot from 5^th to 4^th, got a gift from the Cardinals who beat the 49ers. With the 49ers squaring off with the Steelers, the Saints could potentially move into the 2^nd seed in the NFC. The Jets moved up from 10^th to 9^th, but, thanks to help from the rest of the NFL, the Jets now control their own destiny.

The Giants got a big late win over the Cowboys and jumped from 16^th to 12^th and more importantly are now 1^st in the NFC East with control over their destiny. It’s looking like the showdown at MetLife Stadium in a week between the Jets and Giants might mean a lot for both teams.

The big losers this week are the 49ers, Cowboys, and Bills. The 49ers fell from 3^rd to 6^th with a loss to the Cardinals and, more importantly, could lose the number two seed with a loss to Pittsburgh this weekend. The Cowboys fell five spots from 9^th to 14^th with a heartbreaking loss late to the Eli and the Giants.

After two straight losses the Cowboys are again looking up at the playoff teams. The Bills fell from 18^th to 22^nd after dropping their sixth straight and officially being eliminated from playoff contention. A season that started with so much promise has really taken a turn for the worst and they might end up finishing last in the AFC East.

Rounding out the bottom of the rankings again this week are the Vikings, Rams, and Colts. The Vikings have shut Adrian Peterson down for the season, the Rams are as far removed from the greatest show on turf as can be, and the Colts divisional rivals now have a chance to unleash years of torment by sending them to an imperfect season.

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In a span of five days, the Jets have gone from controlling their destiny for home field in the playoffs to potentially missing the playoffs all together. The Jets’ defense played great for 55 minutes on Thursday, but couldn’t stop Tebow on the final drive. Tebow capped a 95 yard drive with a 20 yard touchdown run with 58 seconds left to stun the Jets and give the Broncos the 17-13 victory.

“I like winning,” Tebow said after his third comeback in a month, “but I wish it wasn’t this stressful. Before the “drive,” the Broncos had punted on their eight previous possessions and Tebow seemed unable to do anything against the Jets defense. He then got the ball with less than six minutes and calmly engineered a 95 yard drive in which he had 57 yards on the ground.

“We played them well through the whole game, until that last play,” Jets star cornerback Darrelle Revis said. “We played them well. Tim Tebow’s legs took them to victory, ran them to victory.”

It was third and four from the Jets 20 with just over a minute left when the Broncos got a “timeout” when a fan ran onto the field and had to be chased by security. During this break the Jets made the decision to call their first all-out blitz of the night, a decision that will be talked about for weeks to come.

Tebow took the snap, read the blitz, and beat safety Eric Smith to the edge and cut back to find his way to the end zone. It was a horrible play by Smith who was supposed to set the edge, but came to far inside and couldn’t recover. ”You know he’s going to keep it in that situation. That’s what he does. You keep the ball in your playmaker’s hand,” Ryan said.

“We thought he was going to carry the ball and he didn’t disappoint us. But he ran for a touchdown. The kid’s a competitor and makes big plays with the game on the line.” Since Tim Tebow replaced Kyle Orton, the Broncos are 4-1 and have climbed back to .500 a half game behind Oakland for the lead in the AFC West.

“He’s a competitive dude,” Broncos coach John Fox said. “He’s super competitive. He never lays his sword down. He’ll fight you to the death. That’s just his nature. He’s a great young man.” Mark Sanchez heaved it up toward the end zone as time expired, but the pass was batted down dimming the hopes of the Jets to even make the playoffs.

The Jets were up 10-3 when Sanchez made a throw toward Plaxico Burress in which he followed him with his eyes the whole way, that was picked off and returned for a touchdown by Andre’ Goodman to tie the game up. Nick Folk broke that tie with a 45 yard field goal with 9:14 remaining.

The drive could’ve been over on the first play when safety Jim Leonhard had a chance to tackle Eddie Royal in the end zone for a safety, but was unable to wrap him up and Royal gained eight yards and got the drive started. Tebow impressed more with his running than his passing finishing 9 of 20 for 104 yards.

“I said before, I trust him. I trust him with everything,” teammate Von Miller said. “No matter how many interceptions he throws, no matter how many touchdowns he scores, that’s Tim Tebow and I’m going to ride with him to the end. I hope he shut up a whole bunch of critics today.”

Joe McKnight and rookie Bilal Powell had to share snaps for most of the night when Shonn Greene took a knee to the ribs and left the game. He never returned after that and with LaDanian Tomlinson being out already the Jets running back situation is very depleted. “He did it to us in college and he’s doing it here,” said teammate Robert Ayers, who went to Tennessee.

“It doesn’t have to be pretty, it doesn’t have to be Aaron Rodgers-like. As long as we get it done, that’s all that matters.” The Broncos and Tebow look to continue their success in their race for the AFC West and the playoffs when they travel to San Diego to face division rivals the Chargers who have been reeling as of late.

The Jets return home to face the Bills in a must win for the Jets if they want to stay alive in the playoff hunt.

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There is no secret about the game plan when facing a Denver Broncos team led by Tim Tebow. There will be a lot of options and running the ball and virtually no throwing. While it may seem easy to defend, Tebow is 3-1 since taking over the starting job in Denver.

The Jets are coming off a disappointing loss at home to the Patriots that all but killed any chance of them winning the AFC East, and looking to bounce back on a short week when they face the Broncos, who are suddenly back in the race for the AFC West, on Thursday night.

The Jets had a golden opportunity to take control of their playoff destiny and the AFC East, but lost 37-16 to the Patriots and snapped a three game winning streak. The game was characterized by sloppy play, including a missed 24 yard field goal, a muffed punt that the Jets failed to recover three times, a pick six, and a stupid timeout.

Sanchez didn’t show up to play, throwing two interceptions and getting sacked five times. The timeout he called before the half prompted coach Rex Ryan to tell NBC at halftime that it was the “stupidest play in NFL history.” ”There’s plenty of football left to play,” center Nick Mangold said. “We’re excited about the opportunity to get out there Thursday night and, you know, right the wrongs.”

The Jets are facing the polar opposite this week as the Patriots featured a lot of spread offenses while the Broncos are strictly a running team. This might pose some problems for the Jets defense that statistically is better against the pass with their talented cornerbacks Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie. The Jets rank 8^th against the pass giving up 210.8 yards per game.

On Sunday Denver rushed the ball 55 times in its win over Kansas City and had 244 yards on the ground. Tebow only attempted 8 passes all game completing 2, though one of the completions was a 56 yard touchdown to Eric Decker. The Jets faced a season-high 39 pass attempts Sunday against the Patriots holding them to 60 yards on 28 carries.

The Jets are still only rank 15^th against the run giving up 116.0 yards per contest. The Broncos have the 2^nd best rushing attack in football averaging 158.2 yards per game, but have been averaging 246.0 yards in their past three games. ”I think it’s just one more thing for people to prepare for,” Tebow said of Denver’s unique offense.

“It’s not like we went out there and did a lot (Sunday) but it’s something you have to scheme for, you have to prepare for and you have to be sound.” There might be some changes for the Broncos in the backfield, though it likely won’t change how the team runs the ball. On Sunday starter Willis McGahee left the game with a hamstring injury and is listed as Questionable.

Backup Knowshon Moreno also was hurt Sunday suffering a torn ACL which will end his season. Sunday they had to turn to third string tailback Lance Ball who was effective rushing for 96 yards on 30 carries, with Tebow adding 43 and a score on 9 carries. They will turn to Ball and second year back Jeremiah Johnson if McGahee can’t go.

The Jets also look to run the ball, though not to the extreme that the Broncos do. They’re averaging 125.5 yards on the ground in their last four games with Shonn Greene averaging 80.8. LaDanian Tomlinson who was hurt late in the game Sunday will not play this week and the Jets have activated rookie Bilal Powel from the practice squad.

The last meeting between the teams was last year and the Jets won 24-20 with a late touchdown from Tomlinson to seal the win. Tebow was only used as a runner in that game carrying the ball 6 times for 23 yards.

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All is where people thought it would be at this point in the season. The New England Patriots are 1^st in the AFC East and the New York Jets are chasing them for the divisional title as usual. Led by Tom Brady’s three touchdown passes, two which went to tight end Rob Gronkowski, the Patriots moved into sole possession of first place in the AFC East with a convincing victory over the Jets at MetLife stadium on Sunday Night.

Brady finished 26 of 39 with 329 yards and the three scores, the biggest which came after the Jets pulled within a score 23-16 early in the fourth quarter. Brady led the team on an 84 yard drive capped by an 8 yard touchdown catch by Deion Branch who burned nickel back Kyle Wilson.

The victory was sealed with linebacker Rob Ninkovich intercepted Mark Sanchez on the next possession and returned it 12 yards for the score. The game was for first place in the East, and the Patriots cruised, snapping their two game losing streak and the Jets three game winning streak, while sweeping the season series.

The Bills entered Sunday tied for first, but were blown out in Dallas earlier 44-7. For the Jets this marked their first home loss of the season entering the game 4-0 at home. Coach Rex Ryan insisted that his team had greatly improved since losing to the pats a month ago in New England, but tonight wasn’t indicative of that. The Jets still have a lot to do if they want to take over the AFC East.

All day the Jets secondary had no answer for Rob Gronkowski who finished with 8 catches and 113 yards and kicker Stephen Gostkowski was good on his three attempts. The Patriots, who ranked last in the league coming into the game in sacks, saw Andre Carter collect 4 ½ alone as the Patriots were in Mark Sanchez’s face all game.

Sanchez had a dreadful game. He finished 20 of 39 for 306 yards a touchdown and two interceptions. He was also sacked five times. A 7 yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress had the Jets right back in the game, but then Brady took over leading the Patriots down the field for a 13 play 84 yard drive using a no-huddle offense to keep the Jets off balance. The drive ate up half of the fourth quarter.

The key play came when Joe McKnight bobbled a muffed punt which set up a field goal. Isaiah Trufant had two chances to recover the punt, and Donald Strickland who let the ball squirt out of his hands, failed to recover the punt which eventually was recovered by Niko Koutouvides at the Jets 13.

The Patriots capitalized with another field goal to increase the lead. They got the ball right back when a Sanchez pass went off Shonn Greene’s hands and was deflected by Jerod Mayo into Ninkovich’s hands. The Jets played well early getting on the scoreboard with a safety when Jamaal Westerman got to Brady in the end zone forcing an intentional grounding.

The Jets took the ball and went down the field on a 7 play 65 yard drive capped by a 2 yard draw by Mark Sanchez to put them up 9-6. Though they got the score Sanchez made the mistake of calling a timeout instead of letting the clock run out. This gave Tom Brady plenty of time to drive down the field and answer with a touchdown right before the half.

Ryan, angry with Sanchez, told NBC at the half that the timeout call was the “stupidest play in NFL history.” The Jets opened the game with an impressive drive, but couldn’t punch it in and got no points when Nick Folk missed a 24 yard field goal wide left.

The Jets have a quick turnaround as they head to Denver to face Tim Tebow and the suddenly relevant Denver Broncos on Thursday Night Football. The Patriots look to continue their good play as they head home to face former quarterback Matt Cassel and the Kansas City Chiefs who have lost two straight since winning four in a row.

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When the Jets and Patriots met a month ago, the Patriots handed the Jets their third straight loss and made people question whether the Jets would even make the playoffs, let along make good on Rex’s usual preseason guarantee. Now the Jets have the chance to do the same thing right back to the Patriots.

The Jets have been hot lately, and they are undefeated at home this season. They’ve won the past two meetings at home against New England and on Sunday have a great opportunity to give the suddenly vulnerable Patriots their third straight loss, which would be their first since 2002.

“Both teams are going to be humming for this one, no question,” Rex Ryan said. “You can sugarcoat it all you want, but they know they need it and we know we need it. Both teams are going to be hungry.”

During their three game losing streak the Jets gave up at least 30 points and fell two games behind the AFC East lead. Three wins later and New York is 5-3 and back into a tie for 1^st with Buffalo and New England. The defense looks like the defense of old, circa 09’ and 10’, allowing only 38 points and forcing 8 turnovers in the past three games. Their last win was a convincing one 27-11 over the Bills last week.

“We definitely have been getting better these last three weeks,” Ryan said. “But we’re going to see how much we’ve improved.” While the defense is playing better they will still face a tough task against Tom Brady and the Patriots who are ranked second in the league averaging 437.3 yards per game.

However in the Patriots past three games they’ve failed to score more than 20 points. Against Pittsburgh two weeks ago they managed only 213 yards total and didn’t score in the first half last week against the Giants. They also committed four turnovers against New York last week which is the third time they’ve done so this year compared to only 1 turnover through their final eight games last year.

Tom Brady isn’t having his best year as he already has 10 interceptions which is the third most in the league compared to only four all of last year. ”Just decision making,” Brady said. “I’ve just got to make better decisions.” The problem for the Patriots though hasn’t been the offense. There issue is the defense which is dead last in passing allowing 314.0 yards per game and is the only team allowing 300+ passing yards in the league.

“I think everybody can do a better job,” Bill Belichick said. “That includes everybody — it includes me, it includes all the coaches, it includes all the players. There’s room for improvement for all of us.” The Patriots cut Albert Haynesworth on Tuesday who they had brought in hopes that he could help improve their defensive front.

They also brought in wide receiver Chad Ochocinco hoping he could give them some sort of a vertical threat, but he hasn’t made a catch in three games. Last week Brady targeted him five times. ”He’s continued to do a great job in practice in his role that he’s really carved out for himself,” Brady said, “and he’s going to continue to be out there and, hopefully, make a bunch of plays.”

The patriots will need him to start making plays to give them a some semblance of a deep threat, because due to his lack of production the Patriots have had to rely extensively on Wes Welker and Rob Gronkowski. With Welker likely being matched up against All-Pro corner back Darrelle Revis his job will be even tougher this week.

Welker had a big 73 yard reception in the last meeting against the Jets, it came when he was lined up opposite Revis. He was otherwise held to a very pedestrian day only catching four balls for 51 yards. ”Sometimes I was throwing him on the ground, sometimes he was catching some balls on me,” Revis said. “I call him the ‘Energizer Bunny’ because he never stops — it doesn’t matter what you do to him, he just keeps on coming and coming.”

The key for the Patriots last time the two met was the run game. BenJarvus Green-Ellis rushed for 136 yards and two touchdowns and the Patriots racked up 152 yards on the ground. The Jets defense has been playing well against the run lately, though they are still ranked 22^nd giving up 123.0 yards per game. They will be getting defensive end Mike DeVito back who is a big part of their run defense so that bodes well for the Jets.

Though the Patriots pass defense is bad, the Jets will continue to rely on their run game as they have the past few games. Shonn Greene has stepped up and the Jets are averaging 130.7 yards over the three game win streak up from 76.2 before. A lot of the resurgence has to do with All-Pro center Nick Mangold fully healing from injury.

The return to the run game has also helped the passing game as Mark Sanchez has 7 touchdowns and only 2 interceptions with a 63% completion rate over the past four games. Sanchez has done well at home against the Patriots posting a 114.5 passer rating and a 2-0 record.

With the recent struggles of the Patriots and the Jets playing well lately and at home the game will be a close one. The Jets should be able to learn from the Steelers and their New York NFC counterparts and be able to keep Brady off balance in the passing game. Unless the Patriots get another big day from the run game the Jets will be hard to beat at home.

When it’s all said and done the Jets should be able to hand the beleaguered Patriots their third straight loss and move into first place in the AFC East. Final Prediction: Patriots 24 Jets 27

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The Bills come into the game on Sunday looking to avoid losing two in a row for the first time this season when they travel to Jerryworld to square off with the Cowboys who are trying to keep pace with the Giants for the NFC East. “The focus is trying to win a game. … We got everything in front of us — we hold our own destiny in our own hands, so we gotta go take care of business,” coach Chan Gailey said.

Buffalo, who sit at 5-3 tied atop the AFC East with the Patriots and the Jets, failed to take care of any business last Sunday against the Jets. They fell 27-11 and saw their high power offense, which is tied for the highest scoring in the AFC with the Patriots at 27.8 points per game, sputter as the Jets made them look like the one win Dolphins. The Bills went 3 for 11 on third down and turned it over three times.

Ryan Fitzpatrick threw two interceptions and had his worst game of the year going 15 of 31 for 191 yards and a touchdown. ”It was a bad game,” said Fitzpatrick. “We certainly didn’t have our best effort out there, and I think that’s where a lot of disappointment and frustration comes in.”

Fitzpatrick will look to bounce back facing a Cowboys pass defense that’s right in the middle of the pack ranked 16^th giving up 232.5 yards per game. The Bills are led by running back Fred Jackson who is having a career year leading the AFC at 100.4 yards per game and helping the Bills to the 7^th ranked rushing attack with 135 yards per game.

However, the Jets held the team to only 96 yards on the ground and forced Jackson’s first fumble of the year. They will look to get back to the run, as Dallas has struggled lately giving up 401 yards on the ground the past two weeks. Dallas will get Sean Lee back who is their leading tackler and this should help them somewhat.

For Buffalo to keep pace for the AFC East title they’ll have to go at least 2-1 on their three game road trip facing Dallas, Miami, and then the Jets again before heading home to face Tennessee. ”It will be a difficult stretch, but we don’t have to play all three of them at the same time,” Jackson said. “If we go out and continue to make plays like we have been throughout the season, we feel like we’ll be OK.”

Buffalo has struggle so far on the road this year by going 1-2, but the losses came against the Giants and the Bengals, both who are in first place in their divisions. Each loss was only by three points. The Cowboys sit at 4-4, but are looking to make a push in the second half of the season as they benefit from an easy schedule. They also benefit from the first place Giants having a tough stretch over the next few weeks.

After the Bills the Cowboys face Washington, Miami, and Arizona who have a combined record of 6-18. After that, the Giants come to town in what looks to be a pivotal matchup. ”We’ve done a lot of things to build on over the first eight games, a lot we can be positive about. … But we have to get better,” said Garrett

When starting running back Felix Jones got hurt, people expected the running game to take a step back, but the opposite has happened with rookie DeMarco Murray shining rushing for 466 yards in three games. They hope he can keep it up against a Bills run defense that ranks 20^th giving up 120.8 yards per game.

“We are going to have a great 1-2 punch when Felix gets healthy,” Witten said. “It’s going to put us in a great situation.” The Cowboys are a little banged up with Felix Jones still being questionable and wide receiver Miles Austin out for possibly a month after he reinjured his hamstring last week.

With no Austin, Dez Bryant figures to see a lot more targets, along with tight end Kevin Ogletree and wide receiver Laurent Robinson. Buffalo’s defense, while rich with playmaking ability, they lead the AFC with 15 interceptions, isn’t that great. They rank 25^th against the pass giving up 260.4 yards per game.

The game should be a close contest as both teams can put up a lot of points in a hurry. Both teams need to win to keep pace in their respective races, but with the Bills on the road and Dallas’ defense being run by Rob Ryan, Rex’s twin brother, they will see a dose of the same stuff they saw against the Jets. The Cowboys should be able to get a win at home. Final Prediction: Bills 17 Cowboys 27.

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The Packers are again at the top of the Power Rankings this week as they remain undefeated. The Ravens and Steelers switch spots after Joe Flacco led a late drive to win the game at Heinz Field. The Bears, Texans, and Bengals all cracked the top 10 this week with the Patriots and Bills both losing and falling out of the top ten.

The big winner this week is the Dallas Cowboys who jump from 21^st to 15^th, with a win over Seattle to stay within striking distance of the Giants who have a tough schedule coming up. Another big move was the Jets who while only moving from 13^th to 11^th with their win over Buffalo, have jumped both the Patriots and Bills to be the highest ranked AFC East team.

The big losers this week are the New England Patriots who fell from 6^th to 13^th after their second straight loss. The Bills also saw themselves fall from 14^th to 8^th after getting beat at home by the Jets. The Chiefs dropped from 21^st to 16^th after their four game win streak was snapped by the winless Miami Dolphins in a big way.

The Cardinals, who last week fell behind the Rams, switched with the Rams again this week after beating St. Louis in OT on an amazing punt return by rookie Patrick Peterson. Rounding out the bottom of the rankings again this week are the Indianapolis Colts who lost again this week and look like they’ll be the front runners for Andrew Luck in next year’s draft.

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The New York Jets put an end to all the talk surrounding them with a victory over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.

The high-flying Bills’ offense, which was averaging 30 points a game, was completely shut down by the Jets’ defense. The Jets were able to pick Ryan Fitzpatrick off twice and force a fumble. They stopped the Bills on fourth down, and the Bills didn’t score a touchdown until late in the fourth quarter when the game was already out of reach.

Mark Sanchez and the offense came out early for a change, but couldn’t score until the third quarter when the Jets scored on four straight possessions and cruised to a 5-3 record and a tie with Buffalo.

Sanchez had two bad early turnovers. The first was a pick in the end zone, which spoiled a 15 play 87 yard drive that ate up 10 minutes of clock. The second came when he just missed a perfect shotgun snap that gave Buffalo the ball right back after the defense forced a turnover. He rebounded and finished 20 of 28 for 230 yards and completed an eight-yard touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes.

The Bills, on the other hand, didn’t look like the team that had breezed through their first seven games, but rather dysfunctional and overmatched.

“We just couldn’t get anything going,” Fitzpatrick said. “They kept us frustrated all day and didn’t allow us to do what we’ve been doing all year.”

The corners took away the quick passing routes that the Bills have been running all year. Without much of a running game, things became difficult for Fitzpatrick. He finished 15 of 31 for 191 yards and had a touchdown and two interceptions. He hit David Nelson for a seven-yard touchdown with three minutes left in the fourth quarter. Then he ran the ball  for the two-point conversion to make it 27-11.

The Bills had three first downs and just as many turnovers in their first eight possessions. This game was the first time the Bills have been under 20 points all season.

“They played well and we played poorly,” Bills coach, Chan Gailey, said. “It was a big ballgame. We haven’t had this happen at home this year. And we’ve got to get better.”

The lone bright spot in the game for the Bills was running back Fred Jackson who racked up 82 yards on 18 carries and had three catches for 38 yards. He will have to continue to play well if the Bills want to have a chance on their upcoming road trip, playing four out of the next five games on the road.

The Jets, while not matching the almost 300-yard average, had a good day running the ball. The team rushed for 126 yards and two scores led by Shonn Greene who had 76 yards on 19 carries.

“I’m sure now there’s going to be something written about the Jets being back,” Scott said. “And we won’t listen to that either, because at the end of the day, we know that you guys [in the media] don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”

The Jets are now focused on their game next week against the New England Patriots, which will be for first place in the AFC East.

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The New York Jets had a bye week that came at the worst time. They had gained some momentum and were riding a two-game winning streak going into the bye. And given their recent history under coach Rex Ryan coming off of byes (they’re 0-2), they’re hoping to change things and are confident that they won’t have a drop off due to time off.

Ryan was at a loss when asked about the trend of his team coming out flat after time off, but said this year that can’t happen. “We have to do something about that trend,” he said. “We need to win this week.” Every game has become a must win for the Jets, especially since the Jets are one game behind the Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots for first place, and they face these two teams in the next two games.

Even CB Darrelle Revis called the game against the Bills this Sunday a must win. “You can’t focus on the past coming off byes and losing,” Revis said. “It’s a new year and we’re in control of our destiny and where we want to go.” The Jets do in fact control their own destiny even after a three game skid as if they can take both of the next two games they could potentially be sitting atop the AFC East.

Lose both games, and the Jets’ season could be close to being over. The Jets have owned the Bills in the past few years, winning five of the last six meetings between the two, and that includes three wins in Buffalo. Ryan believes the practices have been good, and the Jets look very alert and aware of the situation which he hopes will translate into a good showing out of the bye.

But the Jets have lost all three of their away games this season and hope to end the streak at three with a win on Sunday. “Would we like to have had a better record? Absolutely, we would’ve, but we don’t,” Ryan said. “We’re 4-3, but we have it right in front of us. The teams you have to beat are right in front of us, so we’ll know. These next few weeks are going to be critical for us.”

Buffalo on the other side sits at 5-2 atop the AFC East and is coming off their best performance of the year dominating Washington 23-0 up in Toronto. They only gave up 178 yards had two picks to add to their league lead 14, and recorded 9 sacks. This was way better than their five previous games in which they gave up 414+ yards in each game.

“You hope that your team gains confidence from that, and that your defense sees how well they can play,” coach Chan Gailey said. “It should create more confidence.” The Bills are 26^th in the league giving up 385.9 yards per contest, but the Jets’ offense isn’t much better ranked 29^th and averaging 300.1 yards per game.

The problem for Buffalo is that the Jets have recently been playing better, including their season high 162 yards on the ground in their last game against San Diego in which Shonn Greene had 112 yards. This isn’t good for a Buffalo defense that struggles stopping the run. The Jets average 279.0 yards on the ground in the past four meetings with Buffalo.

Buffalo does benefit from having Fred Jackson on their side and they are ranked fifthin rushing averaging 140.6 yards per game. Jackson is ranked second in the NFL averaging 103.0 yards and is sixth rushing touchdowns. His 353 yards receiving out of the backfield is good for fourth among running backs. This matchup looks good compared to the Jets who are 25^th against the rush giving up 126.9 yards per game.

They will have to rely on their backfield because Ryan Fitzpatrick has a 62.0 rating in four games against the Jets and, with CBs Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie, look for TE Scott Chandler to have a big game as the Bills will try to take advantage of the safeties down the seams the one weakness of the seventh ranked pass defense.

The Bills defense is 20^th against the rush and 24^th against the pass. The Jets’ offense, which saw a boost against the Chargers as WR Plaxico Burress and RB Shonn Greene had breakout  games, is looking to keep the momentum going. Mark Sanchez needs to out-manage Ryan Fitzpatrick if the Jets want to win this game.

This will be a good game that will come down to a key play or drive. Each team is riding momentum and playing well as of late and I believe that the Jets with a few more playmakers on their team will be able to pull the game out late. Final Prediction: Jets 27 Bills 21.

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Besides the Packers which are again atop the Power Rankings this week, there is some shake up near the top of this week’s rankings with some big losses and gains. The 49ers move up into the number 2 spot sitting at 6-1 atop the NFC West. The Steelers, after their big win over the Patriots, move up to number 3 and are the top team in the AFC just ahead of division rivals Baltimore who moved from 8^th to 5^th.

The Patriots and Saints saw themselves drop four spots from 2^nd and 3^rd to 6^th and 7^th respectively after bad losses this week. The Chargers are the big losers this week dropping all the way from 7^th down 15^th after a loss for the 2^nd straight week this time coming at the hands of division rivals the Chiefs.

The Eagles saw themselves jump four spots from 22^nd to 18^th after an impressive victory over the Cowboys. The Vikings also saw themselves making a jump from 28^th to 23^rd behind a second impressive game from rookie QB Christian Ponder and another stud performance from Adrian Peterson.

The Rams who got their first win of the season against the Saints saw themselves leapfrog the Cardinals who blew a 23-6 halftime lead against the Ravens. Bringing up the rear of the rankings again this week are the Dolphins at 31 and the Colts at 32 as both teams failed to get a win again and don’t look very good.

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The Packers top the Power Rankings again this week with another impressive performance from Aaron Rodgers. The Steelers make a push for the top jumping up to 5^th, and with a win over number 2 New England can jump up next week. The Texans, Falcons, and Chiefs all jumped up 5 spots to 12^th, 14^th, and 19^th respectively.

The Ravens saw themselves drop from 3^rd to 8^th after a horrible loss to the Jaguars. The Raiders dropped 7 spots from 9th to 16th after trouble at the QB position post Carson Palmer trade gave them a loss going into their bye week. The Bucs also dropped 5 spots from 12^th to 17^th after getting whooped in London by the Bears.

The Colts again round out the bottom of the rankings this week after getting obliterated by the Saints 62-7 and they don’t look poised to move anytime soon.

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The way things began at MetLife Stadium on Sunday made it look like the Jets’ season was going to crash and burn. The Jets began the game with the ball, and in less than two minutes, they were already down 7-0 when Donald Butler stripped Dustin Keller of the ball and ran it back 37 yards for the score.

New York started gaining some momentum, and appeared to have a 10-7 lead on a 23-yard catch by Santonio Holmes, but the play was brought back due to a holding penalty on Nick Mangold. Two plays later, Mark Sanchez made a bad throw into double coverage, and was picked off by Eric Weddle, which led to a two-yard touchdown catch by Antonio Gates.

This was Gates’ first game back since missing three games with a foot injury. He finished with five catches, 54 yards, and the one touchdown. The Jets’ only touchdown in the first half capped a nice drive that saw a very balanced running and passing attack. Sanchez was able to find Plaxico Burress in the endzone on the third and goal, which brought the score to 14-10.

Four Charger penalties, two pass interferences, and offsides calls helped the drive. Had it not been for a lot of mistakes the Chargers made, they would’ve been up by more points by halftime. San Diego, which came out of a bye wee, had 13 penalties for 95 yards on the day. A late drive and a one-yard run by Mike Tolbert put the ‘Bolts up 21-10 going into halftime.

The second half was a different story. The Jets dominated on both sides of the ball. On their second possession of the half, the Jets had a nice 10-play drive finished off with Burress’ second touchdown of the day on a four-yard catch to make it 21-17 with three minutes left in the third quarter.

The play of the game came with the Chargers driving down with the lead, looking for the potential game sealing score when Philip Rivers threw to Vincent Jackson. The ball tipped off his hands due to the throw being a little behind him, and bounced right into Darrelle Revis’ hands, who returned it at 64 yards to the Chargers 19-yard line, which set up the go ahead score.

“It was a big play,” said Revis, who thought cornerback Antonio Cromartie also got a piece of the ball. After some good runs by Shonn Greene, who had a breakout game rushing for 112 yards on 20 carries, and a defensive holding penalty, Sanchez was able to find Burress yet again for his third touchdown of the day on a three-yard slant in the redzone to give the Jets their first and only lead with 8:41 remaining.

This was Burress’ second three-touchdown game, his first being the opening week of the 2007 season with the Giants. “You’ve got to evaluate yourself,” Burress said. “I looked at myself, and said I’ve got to play better. It was not on anybody but myself.”

On San Diego’s next possession, Rivers, who finished 16 of 32 for 179 yards and a touchdown, threw another interception, this time getting picked off by Kyle Wilson. The turnover set up a 30-yard run by Nick Folk to put the Jets up 27-21. San Diego’s final drive with no timeouts was a joke as they barely got plays off, and turned it over on downs.

Sanchez who, besides the early interception, picked things up finished 18 of 33 for 173 yards and three touchdowns. Burress finished with four catches for 25 yards, but proved to be the red-zone presence the Jets were looking for when they signed him at the beginning of the season.

The Jets head into a bye week, sitting at 4-3, riding a two-game winning streak. After the bye week are two divisional games against the Bills and a home rematch against the Patriots. The Jets improved to 4-0 at home. “This,” Revis said, “was a must-win for us.”

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Rex Ryan has had to deal with the recent sniping going back and forth in his locker room between Santonio Holmes and Brandon Moore. He still has to deal with stuff people are saying — except this time, the culprit is himself. On a conference call Wednesday with reporters in San Diego, Ryan said he’d already have two Super Bowl rings if he had been hired by the Chargers in 2007.

Ryan, who interviewed for the job, said, “I’m telling you, those teams were loaded.” That was a slight toward Norv Turner, who landed the head-coaching gig in ’07 and has yet to reach a Super Bowl. Ryan knows how hard it is to coach in the NFL as he watched his father Buddy Ryan do it for years.

He has a ton of respect for the profession and would never insult another coach. However, as we have seen over the past two years, Rex also has a bravado not matched by many and especially not by anyone else currently in his profession. This, at times, gets him into trouble as it did Wednesday, when the lack of filter from brain to mouth came back to haunt him.

Ryan reached out to Chargers coach Norv Turner to clarify his remarks and let him know he was in no way taking a shot at him. Turner is known as a very low key coach, but he wasn’t happy with the comments and made sure to get even with Rex to the media.

“I hadn’t seen his quote and I was a little bit surprised by the call,” Turner said. “And then after I saw the quote, I didn’t have a chance to ask him this, but I was wondering if he had those rings with the ones he’s guaranteed the last couple of years.”

Ryan lets his players speak their minds and this has become somewhat problematic for the team. He says this policy will never change, but even Ryan felt the need to talk to Holmes and Moore and tell the team, “Enough is enough.” People have been trying to draw more conclusions out of this story than there really are.

He wasn’t taking a shot at the Chargers or Norv Turner, nor was he taking shots at his own team. He’s been predicting a Super Bowl since day 1, so he must have a pretty good reason for doing so, other than just overconfidence. This is just another case of Rex being Rex, not some genius attempt to shield his team from the recent controversy they’ve been dealing with.

One thing is for sure, people will be watching after the game what Rex and Norv do with their handshake. Another thing you can bank on is that if this Jets team doesn’t turn things around, Rex being Rex won’t seem so funny to the people of New York.

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The Packers still hold the top spot in this week’s Power Rankings. The 49ers and Giants are the big winners both jumping five spots up to 4^th and 10^th respectively. This week’s big losers are the Texans who fall five spots down to 17^th and the Cowboys who dropped from 14^th down to 21^st. The Colts, Rams, and Dolphins still round out the bottom of the pack.

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The resurgent Bills, who have been racking up huge offensive numbers all year, were tamed by Big Blue on Sunday afternoon as they lost 27-24, putting both teams at a 4-2 mark as they head into bye weeks.

The Giants, led by Ahmad Bradshaw’s season high 104 yard and career high 3 touchdown performance, were able to beat the Bills when Lawrence Tynes kicked the go-ahead 23 yard field goal with 1:32 left on the clock.

The Giants, who jumped out to a 7-0, found themselves trailing as the next two possessions saw the Bills hit two homerun plays for touchdowns to take the lead. The first came when Fred Jackson scored an 80 yard touchdown untouched, exploding through a huge hole up the middle. On their ensuing possession after a Giants punt Ryan Fitzpatrick hooked up with Naaman Roosevelt for 60 yards and the score.

After that, Bradshaw and the G-men took over with 17-3 run, putting them up by 7. In the fourth, Fitzpatrick found Steve Johnson from 9 yards out for the score to tie it up only to see Tynes seal the game off late with a field goal.

Fred Jackson, who is in the midst of his best season, had another monster game, rushing for 121 yards including the 80 yard score, as well as catching 5 passes for 47 yards.

After the Johnson touchdown, the Bills were in a position to win on the New York 27 after a long completion to David Nelson. Fitzpatrick went for the lead, trying to throw a go-pattern to Johnson down the sideline, but CB Corey Webster was all over it and intercepted it at the 5 for his second pick of the day.

Fitzpatrick finished the day 21 for 30 with 244 yards 2 TD’s, 2 Int and a 88.8 passer rating.

“This is one of the hardest parts of playing quarterback, when you don’t get the job done,” Fitzpatrick said. “The two interceptions I threw, you couldn’t ask for better coverage, you couldn’t ask for a better play, couldn’t ask for a better route. They were both basically the same thing, Stevie on a go route. I’d like to give credit to Corey Webster, he made plays on both of them. That said, I feel like Stevie beat him and I underthrew both of them.”

The Bills while in the game, didn’t play their best game as the two big plays early made up for a Giant dominated game. That being said, the Bills and their fans probably didn’t forsee themselves being 4-2 and a game behind the Patriots and in front of the Jets going into their bye week. The Bills do look like they are for real head into the bye week on a somewhat positive note with a game against the Redskins waiting for them in two weeks.

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After the Jets lack luster play in the last three weeks, especially by the offense, offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimers’ name has begun to come up more and more with the New York media and fan base. Many people are already calling for his departure after the Jets proved unable to do anything against one of the worst defenses in the league in New England.

Schottenheimer, who is the only holdover from the Mangini era in New York, has been on the hot seat for a few years now due to the offense’s inability at times to score points. Many fans remember how the play calling used to be under Mangini which was always short and safe, sometimes too safe.

They were notorious at times for calling plays in which receivers would run routes inside the first down line and never given the chance to gain enough yardage. Schottenheimer isn’t the type of play caller who calls plays regardless of the opponent. His game plans vary week to week, based on the opponent’s weaknesses.

However, this season he seems to be more worried about keeping all of the offense’s big name receivers, Santonio Holmes, Plaxico Burress, and before he was traded Derrick Mason, happy rather than doing his job and calling the plays that needed to be called. Against Oakland, he made a great call on LaDainian Tomlinson’s touchdown catch matching him up against an obviously slower linebacker.

Then, Tomlinson never received the ball. Dustin Keller, who has all the ability in the world to be a top ten tight end in the league, has five catches all year. While many of the Jets struggles sit with the players and their poor performances, a lot also stems from poor and questionable play calling.

The Jets vowed to return to their ‘ground & pound’ roots against the Patriots and succeeded to some extent. However, there were a lot of play calls that left fans, the media, and even the announcers of the game scratching their heads. In the first three of the Jets eventual seven three and outs, the Jets ran the ball early and had 3^rd and 2, 3^rd and 1, and 3^rd and 2.

All of these were very manageable third downs, but instead of running the ball up the gut which they had success with earlier, they dropped Sanchez back all three times, resulting in two incomplete passes and one sack.

On another play later in the game, they had Sanchez back in the shotgun with a spread four wide receiver set, yet not one wide receivers route was past the 1^st down marker and the play resulted in the Jets being short of the first down. Plays like this are causing people to think that these are in fact the ‘same old Jets.’

Schotty’s play calling, which was the subject of the report issued before the Patriots game, that the three big name receivers had gone to Rex Ryan to complain about the play calling, has one, maybe two weeks to turn this all around before the Jets’ bye week. Up next for the Jets is the winless Dolphins on Monday Night Football, who like the Patriots have the 31^st ranked passing defense.

After that it’s the 4-1 San Diego Chargers, but if the Jets lose to the Dolphins at home on national TV, Schotty might not even make it to the bye week. He is definitely on the hot seat and it’s up to him and the offensive players to get the job done or his job with the Jets could be done before seasons end.

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Still ruling the top of the pack is The Packers which means there is little to get exited over there. However, the lower we go, the muddier it gets. Here are the Toonari Post Power Rankings of NFL week 6:

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Everyone knows about the Jets’ defense. They’re big, they’re strong, they’re good, and they were embarrassed by Darren McFadden and the Oakland Raiders.

The Jets, who believe they have the most intimidating and best defense in the NFL, were given a dose of their own medicine when they went into Oakland on Sunday. The Raiders punished the Jets’ defense physically on their way to 234 yards on the ground, with 171 coming from McFadden.

There have been three games in this young NFL season and this Jets’ defense looks like a shell of the defenses we saw in 2009 and 2010. This may just be a temporary skid or loss of defensive identity, but if you look at the games so far, they’ve had two bad performances sandwiching a beat down of a journeyman quarterback.

Rex Ryan took blame for the defensive performance, saying that Raiders coach, Hue Jackson, out prepared him, but that was blatantly obvious.

On the first drive, the Raiders came out in a no huddle offense. The Jets’ defense looked like it had never heard of a no huddle, let alone seen one before. Oakland marched right down the field for a five play 76 yard opening drive for a touchdown.

“That’s unacceptable for our defense,” said cornerback Darrelle Revis, alluding to the no-show on the game’s opening drive. “That had us on our heels.”

The other thing that’s not a good sign for the Jets’ defensive line is how Oakland simply pushed them around. They exploited the weaknesses in the Jets’ defense around the perimeter as the Jets’ linebackers aren’t known as the quickest bunch and that, combined with poor tackling, led to a long day for the Jets.

They were also fooled on multiple plays. There was the McFadden 27 yard gain on a broken trick play. Then the next play on an end around missed tackles and poor positioning led to Moore’s 27 yard reverse for a touchdown.

“We didn’t play to our identity,” Revis said. “It’s a shocker for a lot of us.”

Well, the Jets better play to that identity next weekend as they face the Baltimore Ravens and Ray Rice who is another back who can make them look foolish. While this maybe just a temporary lapse, this Jets defensive line needs to turn things around quickly, otherwise a season that started with Super Bowl aspirations is going to end with “We’ll get em next year” aspirations.

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When I told my mom I was writing a story comparing the sports Mecca’s of Boston and New York, she laughed in my face. She said, “Son, you’ve lived your whole life in New Jersey and I swear to god if you say one thing good about the Red Sox I’m taking the car from you”…No mom, anything but the car! These words stung because I decided to write this when the Red Sox were on a roll and leading the American East. Now, I can breathe easy as the first place Yankees have won seven straight and damn are they good; but wow have Boston sports been on a tear in recent memory. (Sorry momma)

Let’s compare the cities by the three big sports (basketball, baseball and football). I can promise all of you that you won’t find any use of “wicked” or “fugghet about it” in this article. This shall be fun.

New England Patriots vs. New York (New Jersey) Jets/ Giants

This matchup shouldn’t even exist because both New York football teams don’t actually play in New York but we’ll let that slide.  Now a few years ago this would be a no brainer. The Patriots were in the midst of the dynasty, the Giants were a slightly above average football team, and the Jets were a joke under “The Walking Cast”; Chad Pennington.  Then in 2009, the Giants beat the undefeated Patriots in an amazing Superbowl comeback, and all of a sudden the Rex Ryan Jets have become a constant visitor to the AFC championship game. Oh how the tables have turned. Today, the Jets are young, led by third year quarterback Mark Sanchez and a dynamite offensive line.

There defense is top in the league but aging quickly. The Patriots are led by the one of the all time greats in Tom Brady. They lack an effective running game and a star wide receiver but Coach Belichick has a knack of developing great role players with the likes of Wes Welker and Danny Woodhead. There defense is young, and becoming really good, really fast. The Giants have an average quarterback in Eli Manning, an inconsistent running game but a very good receiving corps led by Hakeem Nicks and Steve Smith. There defense looks to be losing a key member in Osi Umenyiora and their secondary looks to improve with rookie addition Prince Awakamura.

The Edge:

Boston: The only reason I almost picked New York was because of Tom Brady’s draft day crying episode a few months back; oh and that hideous ponytail. The Patriots though, are still one of the best teams in the league. They have a hall of fame coach with a hall of fame quarterback; and any team that can make a star out of Danny Woodhead is doing something right. The Jets will still be solid but they’ll be losing key free agents whenever the lockout ends and it’s hard to tell if there defense can stay out of the trainer’s room. As for the Giants, well I just see no hope for them.  The team is going downhill instead of up and Eli’s play has become too inconsistent.

New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox

Ah, finally; the almighty rivalry of Yankees vs. Red Sox. There is so much history between these two teams that it’s hard not to get excited over the rivalry. From back in the days of Babe Ruth to Ted Williams to the present of Jeter and Pedroia, the rivalry never gets old. The Yankees are 27 time World Champions with their last championship coming in just 2009.  The Red Sox has been on fire recently and won two World Series since 2004 after an 86 year losing streak. Both teams seem to be 1 and 2 in the American League East every single year and seem to both make the playoffs. Every. Single. Year. (Do you think they get tired of playing each other?) Today, the Yankees are atop the AL East with the Red Sox less than two games behind and both teams are World Series contenders. All it comes down to really is who will beat who?

The Edge

New York: Got to give this one to the Yankees (You’re welcome Mom). The Yankees are the best franchise in all of sports. I know, I know, they had one collapse to the Red Sox back in 2004 but I’m sure the Yankees just felt bad and let them win. The Red Sox are known for losing; Babe, Bucky, Buchner, Boone anyone? If you’re going to pull the Yankees buy their team argument; well guess what? So, do the Red Sox. (Crawford, Gonzalez). The Yankees are currently first in the AL East ahead of the Red Sox and have the stronger lineup and bullpen. The Yankees take the cake on this one.

New York Knicks Vs Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics have been one of the most consistently winning teams in all of the NBA for the past few seasons. After a forgetful start to the new millennium, the Celtics returned to prominence in 2007-2008 with the formation of The Big Three. The Big Three consisted of Boston superstar, Paul Pierce and new additions of Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett.  The Celtics have gone on to win an NBA championship and win at least 60 games every season since the formation of the Big Three.

The Big three though is getting up there in years and coach Doc Rivers seems ready for retirement. The Knicks on the other hand have been well, awful. They were a league embarrassment under former President and Coach, Isaiah Thomas (Drafting Renaldo Balkman?!) and have only recently reinstated the winning to the Knicks faithful. With the additions of Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony, the Knicks could have a bright future ahead of them.

The Edge:

Boston: It was almost a no brainer on this one. Even though Boston is a team full of old men, they are a well oiled machine. The Celtics put on a clinic this past spring and swept the new look Knicks in the first round of the playoffs. The Knicks are on the rise but without a big man and a stable front office; I don’t see it happening quickly. The Celtics are destined to win for at least a few more seasons.

It looks like that Boston has edged out New York for the better sports city. (Sorry Mom). The battle is extremely close and could go either way but right now Boston just can’t seem to lose. Wicked awesome right?

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