An apology

To my loyal readers (all 3 of you):

I apologize for the lack of content in the recent months. I have been wrapped up in school work.

Sincerely,

Juan Perez

P.S. I am very happy to say that Mark Sanchez is not clutch. 

An apology

Shannon's attitude is a concern

Randy Shannon was on the Joe Rose Show this morning on 560 WQAM. He said something I find incredibly disturbing. When Joe asked him if it would be a big disappointment if UM didn't end up in the ACC Championship, Shannon responded:

"I don't know if it would be a big disappointment. It'd be disappointing. For anybody, because we are always trying to be the best we can be at Miami and in anything we are trying to get done."

No. It would be disastrous. People are already calling for his head. The witch hunt is only going to grow, especially if the team loses more games. Virginia Tech is still out there, and don't underestimate UNC. We've had trouble against both teams in the past and Butch Davis has had our number for a few years now.  Randy Shannon needs to face reality. Fans are tired of being patient. Fans want to win. Now. The "U" has always been about winning. Win big or go home. Shannon better start delivering.

Shannon's attitude is a concern

Diagnosing the "U"

I've been thinking about this for days. Shannon supporters say the reason we have been playing below expectations is because Shannon inherited Larry Coker's team, a team that everyone says was recruited based on website rankings instead of actual scouting. That excuse was acceptable for a while, but this team right now is Randy Shannon's team. These are kids he recruited. These are the players he brought in to restore the "U" legacy. There is no excuse anymore. The loss to Ohio State hurt, but hey Ohio State is one of the power houses of college football. Hold on. This last sentence is the exact problem!!! I just told you it was ok to lose to Ohio State because they are a college football power house. That used to be the University of Miami! People used to make that excuse when THEIR teams were losing to us! Now the roles have been reversed? Some will say, "Well Randy has changed the image of the school. We graduate all our players and no one has been arrested." Blah, blah, blah. None of that means a thing if you don't have a ring. (Yes, that sentence rhymed. Yes, it was on purpose.) I started tweeting immediately after the FSU game that Shannon needed to be fired. After a few days, my stance on that has softened, but not by much. One more loss this year and I will be first in line with my pitch fork. I am embarrassed to be a fan of this team right now, and that is a shame. 

Melvin Bratton said something in an interview with Manny Navarro that many Miami Hurricane fans have been wondering for a while now. Here is an excerpt from the interview:

"Look at Sam Shields starting for the Green Bay Packers. Look at Bruce Johnson. Randy Phillips. Tavares Gooden. These kids didn't get drafted," Bratton said. "Let's be real. This is the NFL. There are only 53 people that can be on a roster. These kids at the University of Miami were part time starters, didn't make any All-American lists. But they can go to the league and dominate? Something is wrong. I don't know if it's coaching or if its scheme. But how can you go to the next level and start on opening day? Somebody isn't getting the best out of these kids."

If this isn't a sign that Randy has lost the support of the alumni, I don't know what is. The problem? We just gave Randy Shannon a four year extension. Translation? The University of Miami is not going to fire him and continue paying his salary. We're stuck with him.

Diagnosing the "U"

What no one else wants to admit

No one wants to say it. They are afraid to. They think making a big deal about it will upset the powers that be in the NFL. But I am not on anyone's payroll and there is no way I can be threatened directly or indirectly to not say what I am about to say. Brett Favre needs to leave. For good. Forever. It is time for his legend to be put to rest, and for the record, he was never that great to begin with.

Now I am going to get the inevitable argument from most football fans reading this. Brett is a gunslinger, the last of a kind. Brett holds the NFL record for touchdown passes. Yeah, so what? He also holds the record for most interceptions and is notorious for having many of his seasons end on his arm. In big time moments you can put money on it! Brett Favre will throw an interception. He will disappoint you. You will be going home empty handed. So let's stop this legend talk now. He was great in his prime, but he hasn't been in years. Don't dare point to his numbers last season as a defense that he still has something left in the tank. Regular season numbers may be impressive, but it's what you do in big moments that defines careers and Brett ended last season in similar fashion to the way he ended most of his seasons this decade...an interception.

We are not even half way through the 2010-2011 football season, but I am watching an old Brett Favre right now. I am watching Brett Favre single-handedly ruin any chance that the Minnesota Vikings have of winning a Super Bowl. Meanwhile, there is another story regarding Brett Favre that is somehow going under the radar. The Brett Favre-Jenn Sterger Scandal. No one seems to want to talk about the allegations swirling around that Brett Favre was sending nude pictures of himself to Jenn Sterger. Not only do we now have the picture evidence, but we have voicemails that Brett left on Jenn's phone. Say it ain't so Brett

Hand caught in the cookie jar?

Here comes the question that is sure to stir the pot, because no matter what anyone says this country is still racist and people are still oblivious to their own subconscious prejudices. Why is Brett Favre being treated differently in the media in comparison to someone like Michael Vick, Tiger Woods, or even Lebron James? Had Brett Favre been black, wouldn't we be hearing about him and the alleged scandal every single second on ESPN or the local evening news? Of course we would. It is undeniable. The only difference between Brett Favre and all of these athletes is color. You can't tell me it has anything to do with giving him the benefit of the doubt because he has never been in trouble because that's just false. During the 90's Brett Favre was in trouble quite often for his addiction to pain killers. Yeah that's right, I didn't forget that one even though the rest of the sports world apparently has. Besides, last I checked Tiger Woods had a spotless record before it was learned he was flying strippers and porn stars all over the country to have these secret trysts. Michael Vick had never been in trouble either (well there was that whole Ron Mexico incident). Yet when Tiger Woods and Michael Vick got in trouble it is all America spoke about. Race was a major part of the conversations people were having.

What about Lebron James? The guy goes from being loved by America to being public enemy #1 all because he left his hometown team for a better chance at winning a championship ring. All of a sudden he's a coward, he is selfish, he doesn't care about his fans, etc. He is now a marked man and all of the talk regarding him has turned from highly positive to degrading. Is it fair? No. It isn't. Not even a little bit. Brett Favre deserves to be ridiculed and embarrassed just like any other athlete. But he's white. He deserves the benefit of the doubt. All because of the color of his skin.

What no one else wants to admit

Time to go all in

I'm not a poker player. I don't gamble at all actually. I did one time and it ended in disastrous fashion. You see I was on a cruise with one of my best friends and he likes to gamble quite a bit. We started playing some black jack and I got up a few hundred bucks. I was feeling cocky so I kept playing instead of taking his advice to stop while I was ahead. Of course, I started losing money and I ended up in a situation where I was certain to lose--I wanted to get back the money I had already made. You see where this ends.

Even though I don't gamble, I am a firm believer that sometimes when making decisions you need to go all in instead of pussy footing around the issue. Case in point? When I was deciding whether or not to go to law school. I made up my mind that if I got a certain LSAT score I would quit my job as a teacher and go to law school. I went all in. Nothing was going to change my mind. You're probably wondering what the hell this has to do with a sports blog. I'll tie it in right now.

The Miami Dolphins need to go all in when it comes to Chad Henne.This past Monday night Chad Henne threw three (3) interceptions. Some of them at key points when the Dolphins were driving and could have taken momentum from the Patriots. However, when you sit back and analyze the game statistics Chad Henne shouldn't be blamed. He was 29-39 for a 74 percent completion percentage. He tossed two touchdowns. He was moving around in the pocket and looked more poised than he has in the past. Let's face it. Special teams lost the game for us, not Chad Henne. True, he threw the interceptions, but he was facing the New England Patriots defense.

I know New England's defense hasn't been as good as it has in the past, but this is still a team coached by Bill Belichik and his defensive schemes are still one of the most confusing in the NFL. Much has been made of the fact that a linebacker named Rob Minkovich was the one picking off Henne. Go back and look at the tapes though and you'll see what happened. Belichik used the outside linebacker to take away drag and curl routes. Henne didn't make the read and failed to adjust, a mistake that he shouldn't be making anymore. This doesn't mean that Dolphin fans should be panicking. Yet panic is exactly what is going on here.

Fans are calling the radio stations and calling for Henne's head. Chris Mortensen of ESPN is reporting Henne's job might be in trouble. Over reaction ladies and gentleman. We got our asses whooped. That is undeniable. Does this mean Chad Pennington wins this game, as some are suggesting? No. Pennington doesn't play special teams and he isn't going to be chasing around a 5'7" running back named Woodhead either. Should we start experimenting with Tyler Thigpen? It's too soon to resort to that, unless the Dolphins want to end up with a top five (5) draft pick. It's time the Dolphins went all in with Chad Henne. 

Time to go all in

NFL's 18 Game Season: More $$$ for owners and league, problematic for players

An 18 game regular season. It makes sense for the owners. It makes sense for the league. The NFL has proven that it never really leaves the spot light, as more people watched last year's NFL Draft than they did the NBA Playoffs. (Check the ratings). It is getting to the point where there is never a time period throughout the year where there is not a story related to football. In the off-season, all we hear about is the NFL Combine, the players who are entering the draft, what position does your home team need to improve in order to be competitive, etc. ESPN offers us analyst after analyst, expert after expert, to discuss football all year long. We read about  voluntary workouts, we are concerned about who is showing up to the team facility and who isn't. Is player "x" going to hold out? Even when there seems to be a lag in information, we scour the internet searching for trade rumors and scandals. Bottom line is it makes perfect sense for the league and the owners to want to expand the regular season. People will show up to the games. They will buy hats. They will buy jerseys. They will buy over-priced beer and hot dogs. The television contracts will continue to provide a constant stream of revenue.

Let's look at the flip side though. The players are not excited about this. Look no further than Ray Lewis, a future Hall of Fame linebacker, and see what his opinion is concerning the 18 game season. Lewis was quoted as saying: "If fans want to show their love, they should let everyone know that we are not machines. I've been blessed to play this game for so long, but it's time to start thinking about what legacy and impact changes like this will leave for the players of tomorrow, and us after we retire. I know our fans may not like preseason games, and I don't like all of them, but swapping two preseason games for two end-of-season games — when players already play hurt — comes at a huge cost for the player and the team. I know our union is on top of it, and players need to stay in touch with the union and our Executive Director to stay informed."

Tom Brady, quarterback of the New England Patriots and currently the NFL's highest paid player had this to add: "I've taken part in several postseason runs where we have played 20 games. The long-term impact this game has on our bodies is well documented. Look no further than the players that came before we did. Each player today has to play three years in order to earn five years of post-career health care. Our Union has done a great job of raising the awareness on these issues and will make the right decision for us players, the game and the fans."

Analyze this logically. Aside from the wear and tear on their bodies, the players have another reason not to expand the regular season. That reason? The same reason the owners want to expand. Money. Let's look at the trend at the running back position. In the 80's and 90's most teams had a clear number one running back, their "horse." Names like Walter Payton, Barry Sanders, Marcus Allen, Emmitt Smith come to mind. Now fast forward to today. We have multiple teams utilizing a two back system, alternating their backs throughout the game in order to maintain their bodies fresh. The Miami Dolphins are an easy example because I live in Miami. Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams are one of the best running back duos in football. How did we get here though? Well Ricky Williams had a few great years when he first arrived to Miami and as I have mentioned many times before, he bolted to smoke marijuana. But Ricky has stated several times his body needed a rest. He felt the Dolphins were over-using him. Then you have Ronnie Brown, who is talented but injury prone. Hence, we need a two back system here in Miami. The New York Jets have Ladainian Tomlinson and Shonn Greene. The Kansas City Chiefs use Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones. The list goes on and on. Teams do this because they fear losing their number one backs to injury, so they "stash" two legit starting running backs on their teams as an insurance. Moving to 18 game season will only cause this trend to become the norm for every single team in the league. This will translate into star running backs getting paid less money. It should be no surprise then that running backs like Steven Jackson of the St. Louis Rams is not fascinated with the idea of a two back system, or players with specific packages. Read Steven Jackson's thoughts on two-back system

More games is going to lead to an expansion of the roster size. Anyone who knows anything about sports knows that expansion always leads to a worst product. Some may argue it leads to parity, but in reality it means we will see a lot of athletes wearing uniforms on Sundays who really have no business being there. Additionally, an athlete's career will most likely be shortened due to the new 18 game schedule. I've heard people say it isn't going to be much of a difference, that in reality all the league is doing is making some of the pre-season games actually matter. I feel this argument is ignorant in the sense that most teams don't play their starters full time during the pre-season (actually all teams) and teams are very careful in how they utilize their star players. If I was a player, I wouldn't be happy about the NFL moving towards an 18 game schedule.

NFL's 18 Game Season: More $$$ for owners and league, problematic for players

ESPN's John Clayton: "For those judging QB development, Mark Sanchez has a slight lead over Chad Henne."

ESPN's John Clayton

ESPN's John Clayton has been an NFL analyst for quite a while. He's old. Nerdy looking. He wears glasses. Honestly, he looks more like a tax lawyer than an NFL analyst. In this week's NFL Power Rankings, he made a comment on why the Jets are ranked ahead of the Dolphins. The reason? He claims Mark Sanchez is ahead of Chad Henne in terms of quarterback development.

I'm confused. I consider myself an avid football fan. I played the sport, albeit in high school and I never really had a shot in hell of advancing to the next level (although if you would have asked me when I was 15 years old, I was ready for the NFL). After I realized I had no future as a player, I decided to coach football. None of this makes me an expert, and I am in no way trying to say that I know more than John Clayton, but I am having trouble with the fact that he can so nonchalantly say that Mark Sanchez is ahead of Chad Henne.

Let's look at the numbers before I start going over personnel. Last year, Mark Sanchez had a whopping QB rating of 63.0. He threw 12 touchdowns compared with 20 interceptions. Yards? 2,444. Completion percentage? Are you on the edge of your seat? 53.8%. I did an entire post on how Chad Henne just played his 16th game last week, the equivalent of a full NFL season. In that post I went over Henne's numbers, and although the numbers are not Pro Bowl level, they are better than Mark Sanchez's numbers. Over 16 games Chad Henne threw 15 touchdowns and 15 interceptions, passed for over 3,500 yards, and his completion percentage was almost 10 percentage points higher than Sanchez's. What does this show? Simple. Chad Henne over a full NFL season is the more efficient quarterback. Less interceptions and completes the ball more often.

Then again, the media may have something to do with ESPN's enamoration with Mark Sanchez. Sanchez is the one posing for GQ Magazine. Sanchez was also a big part of the Ines Sainz scandal up in New York a few weeks ago when the Mexican reporter was attempting to interview him in the Jets locker room (for more details see my prior post on Ines Sainz). Sanchez was a higher pick, going 9th overall out of USC. It's not like he plays for the Cleveland Browns either, he's on the New York Jets who were just featured on HBO's Hardknocks, a show that goes behind the scenes of an NFL team during the offseason. They have a loud mouth coach in Rex Ryan who is in the spotlight every other week for some absurd reason. Mark Sanchez plays in New York City, the largest sports market in the United States of America, if not in the entire world. Of course Mark Sanchez is going to garner more of the media spotlight in comparison to country boy Chad Henne. You also need to consider that the Miami Dolphins are not exactly known for being media friendly ever since Bill Parcells rode into town. But when we look at the numbers, Henne has outperformed him over the course of a full NFL season.

The next Broadway Joe?

Let's look at head to head matchups:

November 1st, 2009: Miami Dolphins 30-New York Jets 25.

Mark Sanchez- 20-35, 265 yards, 2 touchdowns, QB rating 100.3
Chad Henne- 12-21, 112 yards, 1 touchdown, QB rating 87.8

October 12, 2009: Miami Dolphins 31-New York Jets 27

Mark Sanchez- 12-24, 172 yards, 1 touchdown, QB rating 87.5
Chad Henne- 20-26, 241 yards, 2 touchdowns, QB rating 130.4

September 26, 2010: New York Jets 31-Miami Dolphins 23

Mark Sanchez- 15-28, 256 yards, 3 touchdowns, QB rating 120.5
Chad Henne- 26-44, 363 yards, 2 touchdowns, QB rating 91.4

In three head to head matchups, Chad Henne has won two out of three games. Look at the numbers and you'll see both quarterbacks have played fairy well against each other, however it looks like Chad Henne might have a slighter edge in the last two games they played. Henne came out on the losing end last Sunday, but anyone watching the game would tell you Henne was the better quarterback. Mark Sanchez was the beneficiary of a few botched plays by Jason Allen and a few dropped interceptions. Henne was shredding apart what has been called the NFL's best defense by many of the so called experts.

Next, let's take a look at the personnel on both teams dating back to last season and the beginning of this one. Mark Sanchez had a better supporting cast last year. Not only does he have what many believe to be the best offensive line in the league, he also benefits from something that Henne doesn't have--an athletic tight end in Dustin Keller that creates mismatches against opposing defenses. That was highlighted against the Dolphins last week as the Jets proved yet again that the middle of the field is the Achilles heel of the Dolphins' defense. Also, Jerricho Cotchery was a better receiver than anything the Miami Dolphins had on their roster last season. Throw in the Braylon Edwards trade towards the end of the season and it is clear the Jets had a better receiving corp then the Dolphins did at any point last year. The same can't be said this season, as Brandon Marshall is clearly the best receiver if not player on any of the Dolphins' or Jets' rosters. Sanchez also had the league's best rushing attack last season. While the Dolphins didn't have a shabby running game, Ronnie Brown was injured and we relied on Ricky Williams most of the second half. Although he filled in admirably and rushed for over 1,000 yards, the element of the wildcat was gone.

It is easy to see these two quarterbacks have a bright future ahead of them. To say Mark Sanchez is slightly ahead of Henne is not a fair statement though. If anything, I believe Chad Henne is ahead at this point in their careers.

ESPN's John Clayton: "For those judging QB development, Mark Sanchez has a slight lead over Chad Henne."