As this is the season of giving, we at The Sports Column thought it would be a fun idea to give out some gifts of our own.
Some teams like the Patriots and Heat have one of the Top 10 best players ever in their sport leading their respective teams, both of which are favored to win championships every year. I’d say they have enough.
This is about teams and fan bases that need help, whether by addition or subtraction.
If I were to give a gift to an athlete, it would be a trade to Mark Sanchez from the Jets. First of all, I’ve never said Sanchez was great. I think from the neck down he’s very good. But he seems to struggle processing defenses in critical moments. At the same time, the ridiculously dysfunctional circus he’s trapped in isn’t setting him up for success.
His leading receiver is Jeremy Kerley (53 receptions for 739 yards and two touchdowns). Are you kidding me? That’s like half of a season for Calvin Johnson, Reggie Wayne, Brandon Marshall, Wes Welker or any other top-flight receiver. Even when Santonio Holmes was healthy, Sanchez wasn’t right. It’s simply time (as it has been for at least a year) for the Jets to let Sanchez go. He will count as over $12.8 million against the Jets’ salary cap in 2013, but that is their own fault for signing him to an un-merited extension before the 2012 season.
As far as fan bases go, I’d like to give a football education to Ravens fans. Well, to the Ravens fans who think John Harbaugh and Joe Flacco should be fired.
In my estimation, Joe Flacco is the eighth best quarterback in the NFL. That means 75 percent of the NFL would be better off with him. He has a winning playoff record (5-4, only one game of which has been at home), he’s never missed a game/start in almost five years in the AFC North (think about that).
But has he gotten better over time? The answer is yes.
In his two biggest defining moments, he lost two AFC Championship games. However, the first loss in 2008 was a nine point loss. The Ravens were down by only two in Pittsburgh when Flacco was a rookie and Troy Polamalu took a late interception back for a touchdown.
Courtesy: Sporting News/Associated Press
Last year in New England, Flacco clearly outplayed Tom Brady in New England (in the biggest game of the year). Who can say they’ve done that, ever?
Fast forward to this season and Flacco had one really bad game last week versus Denver. The week prior was a loss to Washington, but Flacco played well and the defense was absolutely non-existent when the Ravens needed them the most.
Statistically, he needs to average 263 yards over the next two games to reach 4,000 yards for the season. For his career, Flacco is averaging just 11.2 interceptions per year (and has never thrown more than 12 in a season).
As far as Harbaugh goes, through November of this year, he was the active leader in winning percentage for all NFL head coaches. Currently he’s .026 percentage points (same amount of wins, but two more losses) behind Atlanta’s Mike Smith for first place. Do you get that?
If fans don’t realize how valuable these two are to the current and future success of the Ravens, I highly suggest they root for another team because I can’t stand the ignorance. Flacco and Harbaugh are not perfect. They have done and are doing their fair share.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
