Hey, the Jets won! Life is magical and full of joy!

Okay, okay, it was not the SuperBowl or anything, just a regular season game. But it was against the New England Patriots, the Horror Out of Boston, the Blue-and-White Walkers from Beyond the Wall, led by Evil Little Bill himself. The Jets always lose to the Patriots, usually in an especially painful fashion. Like they did earlier this season, in Foxboro. But this time they WON!

Okay, okay, they are not in the playoffs yet. New England still wins the division (They always win the division, it is so bloody BORING). Gang Green does not even a wild card slot… though now at least they control their own destiny. If they can defeat Rex and his Buffalo Bills next week, they’ll be in the dance.

I will worry about that next week, however. Tonight I savor. (Yes, I know, the Giants play later. AGainst the Vikings. Don’t remind me. I am savoring).

As for this morning’s game… kudos to Fitz, who played a terrific game aside from that fumble. Kudos to Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker, our terrific one-two punch. Kudos to the running backs, especially Bilal Powell, who played his best game as a Jets. Kudos to the D, who kept Tom Brady on his heels for much of the game. Kudos to our coaching staff… and, especially, kudos to our terrific new GM, who assembled all these pieces.

All these kudos aside, though, Gang Green did almost lose this one. After dominating for most of the first three quarters, they let the Pats get back into it and tie in up in the fourth. A Fitz fumble run back for a TD started the bad stuff, but three bad offensive series in the last quarter compounded the difficulties. No first downs, no time run off the clock… you can’t give Brady that kind of opening. So of course he made not one but TWO crucial fourth down conversions, and of course he threw the tying TD with two minutes left. I could feel the victory slipping away as we went to overtime, and the stake was poised above my heart… they tossed the coin, and the Pats won, and the darkness was closing in around me as it has so many times before…

Only then the Pats chose to kick off. Instead of receiving, and putting the hands of Tom Brady, the most dangerous mutha in football, Evil Little Bill decided that Fitz and the Jets should have it. Hee hee. Hoo ha. Oh, sweet. Thanks, Bill. What a lovely Christmas present.

Fitz took the ball and drove Gang Green right down the field for the winning TD.

And that was all she wrote.

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Well, the controversy about the Odell Beckham/ Josh Norman tangle on Sunday has been resolved… for now.

ODB received a one-game suspension from the NFL. He appealed the suspension, as was his right under collective bargaining. The appeal was heard today, and denied, so the suspension will stand, and Beckham will not play next weekend when the Giants meet the Vikings. He will also lose a game check, which will cost him something like $60,000.

Subsequent to the ruling, Beckham issued a very classy apology:

http://www.giants.com/news-and-blogs/article-1/Statement-from-Odell-Beckham-Jr-/c1ce6b60-5c85-4813-a1ec-6f786e0ed522

Meanwhile, the NFL has also taken steps to fine CB Josh Norman of the Panthers some $26,000 for his own actions in the game. I would have preferred to see Norman suspended as well, since he was the instigator… but ODB did go further, and $26 grand is not nothing, so a rough sort of justice was done. Unlike Beckham, there have been no apologies forthcoming from Norman, just more trash talk. Now he is getting into it with Roddy White, a receiver for the Atlanta Falcons. One has to wonder whether Norman has learned anything. Sunday will show us.

The NFL has also forbidden teams to carry baseball bats and other ‘foreign objects’ onto the field during the pregame and post-game, which is probably a good idea. It would be nice if they also passed some rules to treat homophobic slurs the same way they do racist slurs, but so far that hasn’t happened.

I expect Odell will learn from this, and come back next year bigger and better than ever.

This year? Not much hope there. The Giants are done.

The New York Giants and the Carolina Panthers played a great game yesterday in the Meadowlands, a game for the ages that ended with a 38-35 victory by the unbeaten Panthers. After an amazing Giants comeback, the Panthers won on a classic two-minute drive led by Carolina’s MVP Cam Newton, setting up the winning field goal as time expired.

Sadly, all that is being overshadowed by an uglier aspect of the game, the fighting between Giant wideout Odell Beckham Junior and Panther cornerback Josh Norman. The matchup between these two outstanding players had been hyped all week, and once the game began, they did indeed get into it… but not in the way that anyone wanted. Instead we got fighting during and between plays, shoves and slaps and punches and grabs and late hits, a body slam, an ankle grab, all climaxing in a helmet-to-helmet blow that many believe should have led to an ejection. The Beckham/ Norman stuff dominated last night’s postgame shows, and was still the number one discussion this morning.

There is no need for me to repeat what everyone else is saying. A lot of the commentators were calling for Odell Beckham to be suspended for his actions during the game, and in particular for that helmet-to-helmet hit. This afternoon they got what they wanted. The NFL has suspended Beckham for one game. (He will likely appeal the suspension. Everyone appeals their suspensions).

I am not going to argue with that. The NFL had good reason to outlaw helmet-to-helmet hits. Using the helmet as a weapon is dangerous. It can lead to concussions, and in some cases to far worse injuries. Beckham should not have done that. The refs probably should have ejected him for that. (He did draw a 15 yard penalty for unnecessary roughness, one of three he received for the night). Many commentators said that Beckham “lost it” during the first half of the Panthers game, and they are not wrong. He let his temper, get the best of him. He lost control. Beckham had no catches in the first half of the game (the first time that has ever happened to him), but he must have been in a dozen scuffles with Norman. It hurt his team — the three penalties alone cost the Giants 45 yards, not to mention that all this made their most dangerous receiver a non-factor. It was stupid. He should have known better. He should have controlled himself.

So I am not defending Odell Beckham Junior. Can’t. Won’t. The helmet-to-helmet hit, in particular, was indefensible. Much as I hate to say it, he should have been expelled yesterday, and the one-game suspension is justified.

BUT…

Something else needs to be said as well.

JOSH NORMAN STARTED IT.

ODB let himself be provoked, and that’s bad. But it was Norman who initiated the ugliness, and we should not lose sight of that. He is not the innocent victim here, and his postgame comments reek of hypocrisy. ODB went way too far, agreed, but the dirty stuff began with Norman.

On the fourth play of the game, Beckham blew past Norman downfield, and Eli Manning hit him in stride for what would have been a 52-yard TD… if the ball had not bounced off Odell’s hands. “My bad,” ODB gestured after the play, taking responsibilty for the error. Some talking heads said afterwards that it was that drop that made Beckham so angry and led to what followed.

But that’s wrong. It was Norman who most impacted by that pass, not Beckham. After a week of hype about this great match-up, he had allowed ODB to burn him on the first series for what would have been a humiliating touchdown. Plainly, that near miss pissed him off… because ON THE VERY NEXT PLAY, he grabbed ODB and bodyslammed him to the ground. There was no flag, even though a ref was right on top of them. (Picking up a player and slamming him to the ground is also against NFL rules). A couple plays later, Norman fouled ODB again, running into his back and knocking him down. That time ODB struck back and blows were exchanged. But Norman’s came first.

But don’t take my word for it. Here’s the two plays in question.

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There were numerous other exchanges between the two players after that. In some cases both of them were in the wrong, shoving and slapping each other. In others, Beckham was to blame, as when he grabbed Norman’s ankle after making his first catch of the day. But all these, it has to be noted, came well AFTER Norman started the fighting with these two early plays.

This morning on FIRST TAKE Stephen A Smith and Skip Bayless agreed that Beckham should be suspended for his actions yesterday. I can’t disagree. But Bayless also said that the officiating crew should also be suspended, and boy, do I agree with that. Most of this ugliness could have been avoided with stronger officiating. Yes, Beckham should have been ejected for the helmet-to-helmet hit. (Instead he and Norman were both given unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, offsetting). But that was way too late.

Norman should have been given a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for bodyslamming Odell to the ground in the fifth play of the game, as seen above. The ref was right there, and did nothing. Norman should have been given a second penalty when he ran into Odell in the second play on the clip; in that case, ODB should also have been penalized, for his reaction. But no penalties were called on either player in that case.

The officials could have nipped this one in the bud. A few fifteen yarders on Norman early on, and he might have cleaned up his act, and in which case ODB might not have felt the need to take matters into his own hands. But when the refs turned a blind eye to Norman’s dirty play…

There is NO excuse for the helmet-to-helmet hit, I will say again. But let’s take a look at that one too… and please, watch the entire clip, especially the tight angle on Norman and ODB at the end…

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All the sports shows have been showing the helmet-to-helmet blow. Very few have shown what went before it. Beckham and Norman are well away from the action when the play begins. ODB is running his route, and Norman is covering him, when it becomes clear the play is a run, not a pass. As Beckham streaks past, Norman breaks off coverage and moves toward the runner… but not before he gives Beckham a SLAP in the back of the head as he flies by. Completely unprovoked, a blindside blow to the head, not even to break up a play or a pass (no ball is the air)… just a little extra bit of gratuitous nastiness. After which ODB loses it, and comes streaking after Norman to deliver the helmet hit that has gotten him suspended.

Yes, he went way too far in retaliation. But make no mistake, it WAS retaliation. Even on this play, Norman started it.

No one covered themselves with glory yesterday at the Meadowlands (except Cam Newton and Eli Manning). Tom Coughlin should have pulled Odell and sat him down for a while, beyond a doubt. And Ron Rivera should have pulled Norman and sat HIM down. The refs could have ejected ODB, and maybe they should have ejected Norman too. They should CERTAINLY have flagged Norman for the initial inciting incidents. Both players deserve blame for their actions, and they should both get fined.

But it must be said, Odell displayed far more class in his postgame interview than Norman did in his. “The second man always gets caught,” ODB said. Never was that more true than yesterday, in the Meadowlands. Norman, meanwhile, was saying that fans would see “what kind of player” ODB was. Norman needs to look in the mirror; the world saw what kind of player he was too.

((It has also come out that before the game some of the Panthers were taunting Beckham with gay slurs and homophobic insults. We’re also hearing some strange stories about baseball bats. C’mon, Panthers. You’re a great team, you’re 14-0, you may be on your way to a Super Bowl. Take a lesson from your quarterback, and show a little class.))

The Jets won on Saturday night, defeating (and eliminating) the Dallas Cowboys.

The Giants lost on Sunday morning, going down to the undefeated Carolina Panthers.

Saturday’s high was followed by Sunday’s low. Life in the NFL is never dull, I will give you that. Life is magical… but full of pain.

Saturday’s game was not all thrills and cheers, however, and Sunday’s was not all gloom and doom (though it ended that way). Truth be told, Gang Green’s 19-16 win over Dallas was a lot closer than it should have been. The Cowboys, without Tony Romo, have been a shell of themselves this season. The Jets should have rolled right over them, especially since the ‘Boys were playing with their third-string quarterback, and soon replaced him with their fourth-stringer, a kid who had never thrown a pass in the NFL before. The kid threw three interceptions, yet somehow moved Dallas as well, and kept them in the game till the end.

(One has to wonder whatever happened to Matt Cassell, the ineffective third-stringer he replaced. Cassell was pretty good just a few years back, when he filled in for an injured Tom Brady for the Patriots, but since moving on via free agency he just seems to get worse and worse).

Anyway… the Jets should have crushed Dallas in a laugher. But at least they hung on and won, and thereby kept their playoff hopes alive. At 9-5, they are tied with the Chiefs and the Steelers, and two of those three teams will get a wild card slot. Unfortunately, New York has the toughest schedule and the worst tie-breakers of the three, so their chances are slim… and pretty much gone if they lose to the Patriots next week (unless Johnny Football somehow manages to upset either KC or Pittsburgh, and I’m not holding my breath). But at least Todd Bowles will finish with a winning record in his first year as coach, whatever happens.

Which brings us to Sunday, and Big Blue’s 38-35 loss to Carolina.

That had to be one of the strangest games I have ever seen in half a century of watching pro football. The first quarter and the fourth quarter featured some pretty exciting football, but in between came the second and third quarters, which were nightmares for any Giants fan.

The G-Men left two touchdowns on the field in the first half. On the fourth play of the game, Eli Manning hit Odell Beckham Junior in stride for what should have been a 52-yard touchdown… but Odell dropped the ball. And early in the second quarter, Cam Newton threw what should have been a certain pick-six right at Giants CB Dominque Rogers-Cromartie… who dropped the ball. Turn those two drops into catches, the Giants have a 21-7 lead midway into the second quarter, and we have a whole different ballgame

Coulda, shoulda, woulda. Sadly, the drops were dropped. The game was tight right up until Giants RB Rashad Jennings fumbled in the second quarter. That seemed to change momentum. Suddenly the Giants could not do anything right, and the Panthers could not do anything wrong. Cam and his crew shredded New York’s defense (worst in the NFL), and the score mounted. 14 -7. 21 – 7. 28 – 7. 35 – 7. By that time, I was feeling suicidal, Cam Newton was on the sideline icing his knee, and Troy Aikman was suggesting that it might be time for Carolina to pull him out and let his backup finish the blowout.

Not so fast. With twenty minutes left in the game, late in the third quarter, Eli and the Giants woke up, and started fighting back. A nice drive ended in a touchdown pass to tight end Will Tye made in 35 -14. Then Rashad Jennings broke through the middle for a long run and it was 35 – 21. Carolina drove back and seemed to be about to make it a three-score game again, but the field goal attempt was blocked by Dominique Rogers-Cromartie, and a few plays later Eli hit Shane Vereen and it was 35 -28 and we had a game again, and I was screaming just as loud as the crowd at MetLife Stadium. Especially when the Panthers went three-and-out, with JPP blocking Cam’s third-down pass with his “club” (the massive cast on his mangled hand). Then came another drive, but Carolina stiffened and it came down to a fourth-down play in the Red Zone… and Eli hit Odell Beckham Junior for the tying score. 35 – 35.

That was one of the most amazing comebacks I have ever seen a football game. Offhand, the only games that compare are the “Midnight Miracle” of last decade, when the Jets rallied on Monday Night Football to defeat the Dolphins, and that long-ago playoff reversal where Frank Reich led the Buffalo Bills back against the Houston Oilers.

I have to say, I am proud of the way of the Giants fought back. Most teams would have packed it in at 35 – 7. The comeback is a credit to Tom Coughlin, and the fighting spirit of Big Blue. And I want to single out three players, who screwed up early and made up for it later. Rashad Jennings lost the fumble early on that started the Carolina scoring spree… but his gutsy breakaway TD run in the fourth quarter ignited the comeback. DRC dropped the pick-six in the second quarter… but blocked the field goal in the fourth that really got things rolling. And Odell dropped the 52-yard touchdown in the first quarter… but caught the tying fourth-down touchdown at the end, when everything was on the line, and set things up before that with a long catch-and-run to get the Giants to the red zone.

Of course, in the end all the heroics came to naught. The Giants tied the game, but they left Cam Newton almost two minutes, and the worst defense in the NFL (unsurprisingly) failed to hold him. Boom boom zoom, down the field came Carolina, and with seconds left a field goal made it 38 – 25, and all the G-Men had for their efforts was another agonizing fourth quarter loss. Their fifth of season, I believe. Yes, technically they are still in contention for the NFC East title… but don’t believe it. It’s over.

Still… that rally was one for the ages. I wish we had capped it with a fairytale ending, but it was nice while it lasted.

Congrats to the Panthers, and especially Cam Newton. He’s this year’s MVP for sure.

((I have not addressed the war between Odell Beckham Junior and Josh Norman. I will, but in a separate blog post. Save your comments for that one. I do not want discussion of that issue to overshadow a great game)..

Hey, hey, hey, whattaya know… the Giants finally broke their losing streak and won one, a 31-24 victory over the Miami Dolphins on Monday night. They actually came from behind, taking a lead early in the fourth quarter and than HOLDING IT, grounding out the yards with runs and short passes, moving the chains, eating the clock, keeping the ball away from the Miami offense until it was time to kneel down.

If they had done the same things in the four games they blew earlier this season, Big Blue would now be 10-3 instead of 6-7. They would have long ago wrapped up the pathetic NFC East and would be looking ahead to the playoffs. But no…

Instead, well, hard as it is to believe, even at 6-7 they are still tied for the division lead with the Eagles and the Redskins, and still have a slim chance to win the division. “Slim” because they have by far the hardest schedule of the three leaders in the last three games. The schedule favors the Potomac Drainage Basin Indiginous Peoples. But this is the NFL, so anything could happen. Even the Cowboys have a tiny sliver of hope, if the other three teams all collapse.

Let’s enjoy last night before worrying about next week, however. Eli Manning played the best game I’ve ever seen him play, completing something like 85% of his passes and tossing four touchdowns without an interception. And Odell Beckham Junior was just sensational. He has become the best wideout in the NFL, I think… at this point in time, at least. Why the Fish did not triple team him every play, I have no idea. It’s not as if the G-Men have any other threats. It does make one wonder how great the Giants offense could have been if only Victor Cruz had been healthy this season.

On the defensive side of the ball, however… well, JPP showed flashes, but aside from that, things looked pretty grim. And the injuries continue to pile up, especially among the linebackers. We’re down to fourth string guys now. Any more losses, and they may be asking Harry Carson and Lawrence Taylor to suit up again.

The Giants desperately need to add some stud linebackers and pass rushers in free agency and the draft. Meanwhile, however, we have the high-flying Carolina Panthers and Cam Newton coming to town next week. Maybe if Eli and Odell can duplicate this week’s heroics, we can look forward to another shootout like the New Orleans game… but we all remember how THAT one ended.

Okay, not bad, not bad… the Jets won their third in a row this morning, by the convincing score of 30 – 8. Fitz was solid and efficient at QB, the running game was cooking (especially Chris Ivory), Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker had strong games at wideout, and the defense looked hellacious.

It is enough to give a boy hope.

Of course, it was against the Tennessee Titans, so one cannot read too much into it.

Speaking of the Jets… I never got around to posting about last week, and their overtime win over the Giants. Every four years I face a Sunday like this, when my two teams go head to head. (I hope someday to see them go head to head in a Subway Superbowl, but I am starting to think I will never live that long). When that happens, I basically just root for a good game with no injuries… well, unless one team is in contention and t’other ain’t.

Jets/ Giants 2015 was certainly an exciting game, and Gang Green gets props for hanging in when things looked dark… but, really, it was more a case of the Giants losing the game than the Jets winning in. The G-Men had a ten point lead in the fourth quarter, and managed to blow it… as they have in four or five other games this season. Sadly, the Giants D does not seem capable of holding a lead, and while the Giants O can certainly put up points, they don’t seem capable of running out the clock to close the deal when that’s what is required. They keep trying to pass when all that’s needed to win is some good runs to move the chains and eat the minutes.

It does boggle the mind to realize that the Giants could still win the NFC East (though I don’t think they will), even with all those fourth quarter collapses. Everybody in the division seems to suck this year. The East champion could well have a losing record. Maybe it will be the G-Men. We’ll see how they do against the Fish tomorrow night.

Meanwhile, the Jets are in strong contention for a wild card… but they need to beat the Cowboys on Saturday, since the last two games (against the Pats and Bills) will be tough.

Another woeful Jets loss this morning, this one to the Texans and their third-string quarterback.

Gang Green’s defense hung in there valiantly, but the offense looked awful. Way too many dropped passes by our wideouts, a couple of them sure touchdowns. And Revis got hurt… after being beaten a couple of times.

Houston’s offensive coordinator had a lot to do with the win. Very creative playcalling, mixing in the wildcat, and a couple trick plays that caught the Jets completely flat=footed.

I had feared that last week’s painful (and unnecessary) loss to Buffalo might send the Jets into a tailspin, and so it proved. But this is a case where I hate to be proved right.

The Giants had a bye. Thanks for that much.

When you take a step back and consider the issue logically, the degree to which the fortunes of our teams can affect a true sports fan is almost inexplicable. Yet it is also undeniable. After all, the teams we choose to root for are not OUR teams in any meaningful sense. The relationships are all one way, and entirely voluntary (false fans hop from one bandwagon to another all the time). A loss by one of my teams does me no real harm; a victory does me no real good.

And yet, and yet… some of the greatest highs of my life have come courtesy of the New York Mets, the New York Giants, and (a long time ago, in an era far far away) the New York Jets. And losses by those same teams have been known to send me deep into the slough of despond. Truth be told, a really bad loss by one of my teams has been known to depress me far more than some of the times I’ve lost a Hugo, a Nebula, or an Emmy. I’ve learned to shrug off my own defeats in life… but when Big Blue or the Amazin’s or Gang Green go down, well…

Thursday night was a punch in the gut. Yesterday afternoon was another.

A loss for the Jets, a loss for the Giants. But not just any losses. BAD losses. The kind that really hurt. My guys should have won both games.

The victories were right there for the taking. So close I could taste them. But no, instead I had to choke down bitter defeats. What’s worse, both teams lost the games in THE SAME WAY, with truly inexplicable play-calling when the game was on the line. Deep inside the opponents’ territory, the goal line just a few feet ahead, the clock running down… all the Jets needed to do, all the G-Men needed to do, was RUN RUN RUN the ball, wind down the clock, make the opponent burn his final timeouts, then kick the winning field goal or score the winning touchdown.

Instead both the Jets and Giants chose to pass, pass, pass. Incompletions stopped the clock. The Jets did not manage to score at all, the Giants settled for a FG and a lead but left too much time for Tom Brady.

I guess they couldn’t hear me screaming at my TV set.

Life is miserable and full of pain.

(I am not feeling good about the chances of either team going forward. Some losses can be shrugged off, while others do more lasting damage, and can send the team into the tailspin for weeks. This week’s losses, I fear, are of that sort. The Giants, in particular, are going to have a hard time getting over what happened yesterday).

((I am also seriously despondent about Victor Cruz needing another season-ending surgery. A great player, and one of my favorite Giants. I’ve been looking forward to seeing him and Odell Beckham Junior on the field at the same time for more than a year. Now it seems that may never happen. Really sucks. Cruz seems a good guy, and he deserved better. The football gods are cruel).

Some talking heads are saying this morning’s game between the Giants and the Saints was a great contest. I suppose it was. If you love offense, and hate defense.

I love defense, and I hate losing, so I went away very unhappy. I mean, 52 to 49, really? REALLY? Nobody stopped anybody, ever. 52 – 49 is a basketball score.

Okay, Eli was great, Odell was great, the Giants offense kept coming back and coming back. But the Giants defense must have missed the plane to Nawlins. Aside from the one pick six, they were absent all game. And the end of the game was ludicrous. After all that scoring, the game turned on a facemask penalty on our punter.

And just when I thought life could not get any worse, I watched the Jets game.

That one was lost the moment Fitz went down and Geno Smith came in. Geno showed flashes, sure, Geno always shows flashes. But when the clock is ticking down and the game is on the line, he will always came up short. As he did this afternoon. I sure as hell hope that Fitzpatrick can come back next week. If not, then I pray Todd Bowles sits Geno Smith and gives a shot to the kid they drafted, Bryce Petty. Because if Geno is our starter again, the season is over.

Also, we need Nick Mangold back… though his young replacement did well. And Cromartie and Marshall suffered injuries as well. Those could be season-killing too, if they are serious.

All in all, a horrid day. Life is miserable and full of pain.

Only one consolation: the Cowboys lost too. And just as painfully as the Giants.