Trouble in New York

After having their playoff hopes crushed by Miami,

the Jets look forward, sit Sanchez

Jonathan Thompson

     The New York Jets watched their playoff chances slide away Monday in a 14-10 loss to Miami. The Jets (6-8) needed to win out to even have a shot of making the playoffs.
    
     New York faced lots of controversy this season after acquiring Tim Tebow in the off-season, but then not playing him much at the quarterback position.

     Now, with the season pretty much over for the Jets, Sanchez has been benched, but not for Tebow. Second-year quarterback from Alabama Greg McElroy will start his first NFL game when New York plays the San Diego Chargers this Sunday.

     This move brings lots of questions for Jet fans and Tim Tebow fans. Why even sign Tebow if the Jets aren't going to use him? Overall, I'd say yes, this was a bad acquisition by the Jets. Rex Ryan had his quarterback in Mark Sanchez, and in Ryan's defense, Sanchez probably was the better quarterback.

      So why not start Tebow now? There are three main things to take into consideration when thinking about this.

      First, the season is over. For the first time in five years, week-16 doesn't matter for the Jets, and not in the good, let's rest our players because we're in, type of matter. They're out. They are 6-8 and their record reflects their team this year.

      Next, Sanchez has proven he's not a quarterback capable of leading the Jets to where they want to go. His turnovers are too costly and he's not consistently good enough to be a top-caliber quarterback in the NFL. It's time for the Jets and Sanchez to part ways and that's probably what will happen.
 
      Finally, with Sanchez most likely out of the picture, the Jets face the decision of who to replace him. This is easy, right? Tebow's a winner and you signed this guy for a reason. Wrong. Tebow isn't a franchise quarterback. He's a guy you have to plan your whole offense around and if he's injured, consider your season over. That's why Denver didn't want him, and that's why the Jets have already given the reigns to McElroy.

     It will be seen if the Jets made the right choice in McElroy, but Tebow just isn't the guy for the job. He's a great competitor and he is a winner, but the Jets need more than that.

     That being said, don't expect McElroy to light it up Sunday, or the week after that. It's going to be  a process. The Jets are a long way away from being elite, but they just might be moving in the right direction.

Best in the West?

The Thunder and Clippers put together double-digit win streaks, but who's really the best team in the West?

Jonathan Thompson

                The Western Conference has been the highlight of drama for the NBA in a very quiet start of the season.

                The new, high-powered Los Angeles Lakers haven’t seen much of the high or the power. The Lakers are two games below .500 at 12-14, and are currently 12^th in the West.

                While it’s probably too early to point out that the Lakers wouldn’t make the playoffs if they started today, it’s not too early for Laker fans to be concerned. The Lakers got rid of a coach and the “Princeton offense,” but for whom? Mike D’Antoni?  Don’t get me wrong, D’Antoni’s a good coach. But if he couldn’t get it done in New York, I don’t think he’ll have much more luck in Los Angeles.

                Let’s not look too much into the Lakers early season blues, though. They’ll make the playoffs and probably get to the second round depending on the matchup, but there is a new king in Los Angeles.

                The Los Angeles Clippers have won 11 straight, now the longest current streak thanks to the Thunder’s loss to the Timberwolves tonight. The Clippers are getting it done with some surprising defense in the West, and of course, are third in assist in the league.

                The Clippers are second behind the Thunder, and have been playing good team basketball. Not too much noise concerning the Clippers around the league, which seems the way to go right now.

                Another team adopting the” all business” style seems to be the Harden-less Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder faced a lot of questions and criticism after trading away Harden, but their 12 game win streak seemed to quiet the critics.

                The real answer for the Thunder has to be a ring, though. They reached the Finals with Harden, so not too many people will be satisfied with or convinced of their regular season record. Still, OKC is definitely one of the best in the West, if not all the NBA.

                One “all business” team that may be of concern has to be the San Antonio Spurs. The commissioner was wrong for fining the Spurs, but not much can be said for Parker and Duncan’s Halloween costume scandal. Still, the Spurs are fourth in the West and are in good position for another title run.

                So who is the best in the West? Right now, I’d say OKC. They’re playing well and playing their basketball. They aren’t doing anything special and that’s important. The second spot is up for grabs. Of course the Clippers own that spot right now after winning 11 straight, but Memphis and San Antonio can compete with them at any time. The true prize is playoff position and the best playoff matchups. The NBA has been uneventful so far this season, but every game is still important on the road to the playoffs.

Sorry for the Technical Difficulties

Here at The Real Talk in the Rock, we are experiencing some problems with our servers. We plan to fix this and have more sports updates and commentary by the end of this week. Thank you for your patience and please check in later this week.

Alabama primed to repeat



AJ McCarron calls out signals for Alabama's offense. Kevin C. Cox/Getty Image
 

Alabama allowed Georgia to stick around, but the Fighting Irish shouldn't expect the same in Miami.

Jonathan Thompson

     Alabama defeated a stubborn Georgia team Saturday afternoon 32-28. Although Alabama won, Georgia outplayed them.

    Alabama missed blocks, turned the ball over, and played unlike the Nick Saban team we're used to seeing.

     All that being said, they did what good teams do best; find ways to win. Now, Nick Saban will be able to do what he does best; coach.

     Georgia's a  good team. Anyone will tell you that. In fact, "Georgia is a great team," according to Saban. But they couldn't find a way to win. They had their shots, they just couldn't get it done.

     As for Alabama, they have a lot to fix. They have to have better blocking on pass rushes. They have to take care of the ball. They also have to work on stopping the two-minute drill on defense. But Alabama won, and they're in the hunt to repeat as BCS National Champions.

     Lets move into Notre Dame's mindset. All of these mistakes by Alabama should give Notre Dame confidence, right? Wrong. Now Nick Saban has a month and six days until the BCS Championship. Don't think Nick Saban will let any of these mishaps slide.

     He'll jump on them, fix them, and make his players better. They'll come out sharp against Notre Dame, and they'll need to. Notre Dame is a good team built around one of the best defenses in the land, but it's going to take a perfect game from Notre Dame to even contend.

     That being said, even Monte Te'o won't be enough to stop Alabama's top tier running backs. Alabama's defense will cause the Fighting Irish problems, too. It will be a good game, but Alabama played their championship, and they won.

    There's a reason the SEC has won six straight titles. There's nothing except Alabama themselves keeping the SEC from getting to seven.