The New York Jets???

According to the New York Daily News, the New York Jets will host the 2010 HBO reality series, "Hard Knocks". The show gives fans an inside look of an NFL team on and off-the-field, during training camp.

The NY Jets are full of personality, especially with Rex Ryan at the head coach position. The fact that the Jets, sometimes viewed as the "other NY team", went to the AFC Championship this past season probably helped with choosing them to be the latest team involved in the successful series.

I think this is a great pick by HBO, in choosing the Jets and for a couple of reasons. First off, anytime you have a Ryan behind a microphone, you are bound to get good TV. Rex has always been outspoken and colorful, even in his days as a Baltimore Ravens assistant. The fact that we get to see more of Sexy Rexy cursing, coaching and.. oh yeah... cursing, will make me want to watch. Maybe he'll flip the bird at the cameramen like he did at the MMA match this offseason. That would make great TV.

The second, and most important reason for me, is the NY Jets have one of the most attractive teams in the NFL. I'm sorry to all of my male readers, but I just had to say it and represent for my female readers for a sec. Just about every guy on that team is eye candy. And if you think I'm lying, check this out, to keep you up to speed on what they look like. The Jets are a casual female fan's dream. I'm not passing up on the chance to watch Braylon Edwards, Mark Sanchez and Co in the ice tub... Yeah I'm sold.

This may be one of the best Hard Knocks seasons to date, in my opinion. The different personalities and the new additions to the team (i.e., LaDainian Tomlinson and Antonio Cromartie) will also give you a first glance at what the Jets are doing to repeat their instant success under Coach Ryan. I'll be tuned in. How about you???

It's back! The blog post everyone love. It's time for Sitchoazz Down!

Yesterday, I got a chance to interview Stony Brook University RB Conte Cuttino. Cuttino is looking to take the next big step from the college ranks to the NFL. In our interview, Cuttino discusses his influences, how his Pro Day went, and what running backs he models his game after.

Forget March Madness- the NFL has a March Madness of their own that's just as interesting. Free agency started today (March 5th) and it came with surprises, surprises.. and oh, surprises. Who says the NFL is from September to February? Not anymore. Let's take a look at the free agency headlines around the league:

Anquan Boldin to Ravens-

My Baltimore Ravens FINALLY got a proven WR on their roster. The Ravens traded a 2010 3rd and 4th round pick for Cardinals WR Anquan Boldin and a 5th round pick. Boldin also signed a new 4 year deal, worth $28 million. This is probably the best move of the day. Not because the Ravens are my squad, but because this fills a HUGE need on a team that was in dire need of a WR.



Peppers, Taylor, Manumaleuna headed to Chicago-

The Chicago Bears have been the busiest team out of any today, as they signed DE Julius Peppers, RB Chester Taylor and TE Brandon Manumaleuna to bolster their roster. Peppers comes in to help a Bears defense ranked 13th in sacks in 2009.

Chester Taylor will look to challenge Matt Forte for the starting job at RB and Manumaleuna will be used to help block for QB Jay Cutler. While these upgrades are great, the Bears struggled to address their 2 biggest needs- WR and personnel on the offensive line. Remember, the Bears also do not have a 1st round draft pick from the Cutler trade last year. My guess is they willl address these issues in the draft, but I'm shocked they didn't at least make an attempt in free agency.



Vanden Bosch reunites with Schwartz in Detroit-

Titans DT Kyle Vanden Bosch signed a 4-year, $26 million deal to reunite him with his former defensive coordinator in Jim Schwartz. The Lions have also been busy today, acquiring WR Nate Burleson and T Corey Williams to new deals. All 3 signings are great pickups for the Lions. Vanden Bosch played his best years in Schwartz's defense. The additions of Burleson and Williams brings depth to a rebuilding Lions team. I like what Schwartz is doing with this squad.



Robinson To Falcons To Bolster Defensive Backfield-

CB Dunta Robinson agreed in principle to a 6 year deal with the Atlanta Falcons. I was really hoping the Ravens would pursue Robinson, because he would be a great asset to just about any defense. But I realized, the Falcons defense is pretty bad. They could use him a lot more than we could.

Cribbs, Brackett, Wilfork Staying Put- The Browns finally gave return specialist Josh Cribbs a new deal. It is believed the 3 year deal has $7 million guaranteed. Cribbs is the brightest spot on the Browns. Had he left, it would've got ugly in Cleveland. Colts LB Gary Brackett and Patriots DT Vince Wilfork also signed new deals to stay with their respected organizations.

Brandon Marshall A Seahawk??

Looks like BMarsh is just as shocked as I am about the news. We don't know for sure but the disgruntled Broncos receiver is scheduled to meet with Seattle tomorrow. Denver is really looking to finally get rid of this headache in #15, and only added a 1st round tender on Marshall if a team does decide to add him to their roster. The bigger issue with Seattle is, who is going to throw to him? Matt Hasslebeck looks like his career is on a major decline, due to injury and Seneca Wallace doesn't seem to be the clear cut answer at QB either. Watching where Marshall goes will be interesting to see in the coming days or weeks.

Carolina Panthers Has Garage Sale- That's what it seems like,. The Panthers let Peppers go, and released Maake Kemoeatu, Damione Lewis, Na'il Diggs, Landon Johnson and the biggest shocker in QB Jake Delhomme. It's a shock to me, because Delhomme JUST received a new contract this time last year, with $20 million guaranteed. Although Delhomme sucked during the 2008 playoffs and the 2009 season, the fact they the Panthers still owe him $12.6 million after dumping him is a HUGE deal in the NFL.

From the looks of this press conference, Delhomme was just as shocked as I was.




Keep ya head up Jake!

The Biggest Surprise Of The Day Goes To..................................

The Washington Redskins for being QUIET during the first day of free agency! Who would ever think that Mike Shanahan could come in and bring normalcy to a dysfunctional franchise in just a short time. Congrats to you, Redskins, for not overpaying old players who are shells of their former selves.

Remember the old adage, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"? It rings so true to many situations. And with the NFL Competition Committee pondering the change of OT in the playoffs, what better way for me to express my thoughts about it, then with such a true statement.

If you haven't heard by now, the NFL competition committee will discuss a possible change in OT rules during the NFL playoffs. The change would include both teams getting possession of the ball in OT, similar to college football's current system. However, if the team that wins the coin toss scores a TD and not a FG in their first possession, the game would be over.

Most folks love the fact that this is being reviewed and taken into consideration and that a change is LONG overdue. I disagree, big time. I'm all about change (I voted for Obama!), but only when needed. Not everything needs to change. Here's why I think the rule should stay the same:

For Starters, The Coin Toss Doesn't Guarantee A Win
According to SI's Peter King, 59.4% of coin flip winners, win the game. Okay so that's close to 60%. But 60% isn't a guaranteed win. When I was in high school, 60 wasn't even a passing grade. While it's still a greater chance at winning, it's not a huge advantage that the team who wins the toss will win the game.


Longer Games Will Make My A.D.D. Kick In
Football is probably the only thing that doesn't affect my uber short attention span. But if they change the rules, I'm almost certain this will change, and that would be such a shame. Once we start tinkering with OT rules, we have to look at the possibility of longer games. I love football with all of my heart. But watching long drawn out games is not what's up. If both teams kick FGs in OT, they get an additional 15 (or whatever) minutes to play in a sudden death scenario. That just added at LEAST another 20-30 mins on an already long game.

My attention span just isn't that long to sit through 4+ hours of the same game, I'm sorry. If I wanted to watch long, drawn out games then I'd watch baseball.



Kickers Would No Longer Feel The Pressure- What's The Fun In That???
Kickers have the easiest job of just about any position, in any major sport. They get paid to kick balls. That's it! One roster space reserved for a dude to kick balls. And if you watched many games in 2009, then you saw that a lot of them can't even do that right. In the current OT, kickers can come in and win the game for their team... or they can miss and give the opposing team new life because it swings the momentum. So now, you're telling me that with these new OT rules, the kicker no longer feel as much pressure for a "must win" kick when they get to field goal range. Kickers get paid for clutch kicks, that's what they are supposed to do! And now we're trying to give them more reason to sit back, chill and collect a paycheck. This will be your kicker's reaction if the OT rules change:

Sebastian Janikowski is somewhere stanky legging, as we speak.


What About The Other 60 Minutes???
Yeah... remember the 60 minutes in REGULATION???? Whatever happened to playing hard during the first 4 quarters so you don't have to result in OT? I know I can't be the only person thinking, "If you did your job during the first 60 minutes, you wouldn't be in such a compromising situation anyway...." That's too much like right I guess. But I'm just saying.... maybe you won't find yourself at such a crossroad if you did what you were supposed.

My mama always said , "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". NFL, please.... listen to my mama. Leave the OT rules alone.

This weekend was a great weekend for sports. The USA Hockey team was so close to beating Canada in the Olympics before succumbing in OT. Kobe finally beat the Nuggets this season. The CIAA Tournament was held this weekend. But the football lover in me was excited about one thing: The NFL Combine.

The NFL Combine was in full effect this weekend, with college players showing their athleticism and skill for the entire 32 teams to see, in hopes of getting drafted on Draft Day. A lot of fans LOVE Draft Day but will dismiss the idea of the NFL Combine (which is now a part of the NFL Network's telecast). But to me, The NFL Combine and Draft Day are siblings. Think about it this way .... if it weren't important, why would coaches and front office execs take the time to head to Indy year in and out, to take a look at future NFL prospects, so close to the beginning of free agency?


For those that don't care much for the Combine, I understand that watching people run 40 yard dashes, do vertical jumps and bench pressing isn't your idea of what "must see TV" is supposed to be. But if you're a football fanatic like myself, it WILL help you get a clearer idea on a player that your team may think can be a real asset to them.

For instance, let's take a look at Florida's Tim Tebow. Tebow had a pretty bad outing during the Senior Bowl and his stock dropped tremendously. Some folks projected him to be nothing higher than a 3rd round pick. But Tebow participated in this weekend's combine.

Even though he didn't throw or bench press this weekend, Tebow excelled in the 10-yard dash, vertical jump, broad jump and 3-cone drill. I know what you are thinking... Tebow is a QB so these things seem pointless to a guy at his position. And you may have a point. But imagine if Tebow added a poor Combine outing to an already dismal Senior Bowl performance. It would have hurt his case more than helped. Tebow will participate in the Gators' Pro Day on March 17th, and if all goes well, he could be moved up to an early 2nd round pick, or even a late 1st rounder. Tebow has the Combine to thank for breathing new life into his possible NFL career.

The Combine also shows how good players can actually be in the making to be great players. I watched Maryland OL Bruce Campbell this weekend and I was in awe. I was high on Campbell prior to the Combine. But after watching him this weekend, his draft stock went up in just a matter of hours. Campbell's speedy 40-yard dash time (4.78) and showing quick feet and poise during drills showed it should be hard for many teams to overlook Campbell's athleticism, and how he can possibly make a team better at protecting their bread and butter- the QB.

But for me, the best reason to watch the Combine has to be watching men in great shape, run around in fitted clothes, showing off their athletic bodies. Hey, sorry... I had to go there.. I'm still a girl, and you're damn right I'm checking out physiques!

God Bless American Football!

If you haven't gotten a chance to check out the Combine, watch NFL Network or ESPNews, who has updates regularly. Or simply go online to NFL.com and watch a live stream of the Combine.