The Jets seem to come in for the worst of it on the morning after they and the Giants both lost in humbling fashion.
“Frauds.” That’s Mark Cannizzarro’s lead paragraph in the Post. And it’s hard to argue–what with all the bluster after their 3-0 start, which is now officially forgotten after a loss to the hapless Bills dropped them to 3-3.
All the stories mention that the Jets’ erstwhile savior, rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez, has never actually played in cold weather. It was “brrrutal,” says Rich Cimini of Sanchez’s remarkable five-interception performace. “Welcome to Northeast football, kid,” Cimini goes on. “His palm-tree days are over.” But Sanchez didn’t blame the weather, and George Willis of the Post says we ought to give him credit for that.
For Eli Manning, yesterday was supposed to have been a homecoming–back to New Orleans, where his dad Archie once piloted the Saints. All your sportswriters seem to like that angle, and they all pair it with a rare outburst from Manning, who blew up at running back Ahmad Bradshaw for missing a block. But the Daily News calls it a “meltdown” and a “temper tantrum,” and the Post calls it leadership.
There’s no disagreement about Alex Rodriguez finally leading the Yankees in the postseason. The Times tells us this is “postmodern baseball theater” and that A-Rod is the hero–“one-man story of redemption.” No one is quite sure why he’s finally playing well at crunchtime. But the Times takes a guess:
The brain has always been the issue with Rodriguez. With a cadre of image consultants, gofers and gurus, he always seemed to complicate things. It is how he differs most from Derek Jeter, the Yankees’ captain and his former buddy, whose uncluttered mind helps him thrive.
I’m sure Jeter will be happy to hear that.
