First off, let me just say that I wish the lockout would end ASAP!  Football talk is getting reeeeeaaaaal low these days. Anytime I’m posting interviews from guys that usually ignore the media, it must be a slow NFL day… which it has been since the lockout started 100+ days ago. End the lockout NOOOW, dammit!

Okay, now that I got that out of my system, let me get to my post. If you missed it this week, Ravens All Pro safety Ed Reed sat down with ESPN’s Ed Werder during his Eye Of The Hurricane football camp in Louisiana. Reed talks about how the lockout has affected his team, his current health situation, how he would play anywhere for Rex Ryan (nearly 3 years later, this is still a subject of convo) and responds to Steelers LB Lamarr Woodley, who’s had diarrhea at the mouth the past couple of weeks.

For Ed Reed, it’s a pretty good interview. He’s never been a fan of talking to the media, so under his standards, it gives us something to talk about. But I’m so over the Ravens and Steelers yapping at the mouth. Anytime Hines Ward doesn’t feed into it, you know this is boredom talk and folks just need to do something… ANYTHING… to keep football on their minds.

Jets head coach Rex Ryan hit the David Letterman Show this week. Ryan talks about the NFL lockout, his new book, “Play Like You Mean It”, why American football is the best  sport in the world and playing the Giants and the Patriots this upcoming season.

Ryan is a great coach and even better person to interview. Sometimes I think he talks a bit too much, but his mouth and attitude is nothing short of perfect for the Big Apple. Hopefully the lockout can be over by the time the season starts so the Jets can play my Ravens with no interruptions!

First it was Eric Mangini on the Sopranos in 2007, now NY Jets head coach Rex Ryan is keeping up with the newfound Gang Green tradition. Ryan is making his Hollywood debut, playing as himself in an episode of, “CSI: NY” along with Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum.

Normally, I would poo poo this and say he needs to be focusing on getting over the AFC Championship hump. But there are 2 reasons why I won’t. Reason #1, most coaches have never even made a championship appearance, let alone 2 consecutive ones. Reason #2, Sexy Rexy may be free, depending on the outcome of a possible NFL Lockout, so he’s just passing the time in the meantime.

While this is his acting debut, he’s already showcased his directing and voice over skills in his wife’s Youtube videos that came to light this past season. Okay, that was wrong of me to go there, but you knew that was coming. Good luck Rex!!! Break a leg.. or just lose 50 lbs in the process.

With the 2010 Divisional Playoffs ready to kickoff this weekend, it’s hard to ignore that the top 4 teams remaining in the AFC are division rivals. The Ravens head to Pittsburgh to face the Steelers, while the Jets head to snowy New England to face Brady and the Pats. Four teams that can’t stand each other, whether it be quietly or to publicly, looking to advance to the AFC Championship game. To say this may be one of the most exciting playoff weekends in football would be well deserved. But this is more than just a playoff game to these 4 teams. Way more.

There is a different energy lurking between the 2 rivals, and for different reasons. The Ravens and Steelers have become one of the top rivalries over the past decade, while the Jets and Patriots have a renewed spark after the hiring of Rex Ryan. How these two rivalries operate are a bit different.. but not far off from each other. Allow me to break it down.

Ravens/Steelers

This rivalry is the new wave rivalry of the NFL, compared to Packers/Bears and Redskins/Cowboys. The Ravens have only been around 15 years, but many believe that Baltimore inherited the rivalry when the team moved from Cleveland (a longer, more known rivalry) after the 1995 season. While the Ravens weren’t too good the first few years of existence, they picked up the pace once they won Super Bowl XXXV. The Steelers have the slight advantage over the Ravens, with a 13-9 record since 2000 (including the playoffs). What makes this rivalry special are the similarities between the 2 teams. Both are known for their strong defense and good running game, along with a very good front office and ownership. Both cities are labeled, “blue collar” and carry inferiority complexes. Add the fact that the 2 cities have a history of being sports rivals (the Steelers-Baltimore Colts battles in the 70s as well as the Pirates beating the O’s in the World Series) and you have a recipe for a great rivalry. There was a point in time where this rivalry was downright ugly. Remember the Ray Lewis/Joey Porter feud?

Over the past couple of years, the Ravens and Steelers have quietly stopped their verbal attack and simply taken it on the field. They all say they hate each other, but some say it’s not as much hatred as you think. Coach Harbaugh and Tomlin talk during pregames, and Ed Reed and Troy Polamalu admitted once before that they text each other. The mantra as of late has been, “We hate each other, but we respect each other”. And while Hines Ward and Terrell Suggs and found ways to keep it funky with the little things they still do and say to the media, the trash talking has been put aside to actions speaking louder, with the blood bath they lay out on the field and even 3 times a year.

Jets/Patriots

This rivalry, while an older one, has become a renewed rivalry thank to the likes of  Rex Ryan. These two cities flat out cannot stand each other. Red Sox Nation can’t stand the Yankees and vice versa. People from New York don’t like people from New England. It’s a power struggle between the 2 cities that has been trickled down to sports. And from the day Rex Ryan stepped foot on the Jets podium as their head coach, he continued the trend.

The Jets and Patriots have a much closer rivalry record than the Steelers/Ravens (they are 51-51-1 overall), but there are those who still find the term laughable when discussing the 2 teams. The Patriots have dominated the past decade and has won 8 times in a row before the 2009 season. Rex Ryan has never met a microphone he didn’t like, and his blunt approach towards the Patriots has trickled down to his players. Darrelle Revis has made comments about Pats players in the past, and most recently Antonio Cromartie said Eff Tom Brady. Even Ryan took some shots at the Patriots star player. Nevertheless, Belichick and company respond to the Jets antics with predictable, robotic answers that are too boring to quote. They do, however, respond out on the football field. Case in point, the last time these 2 teams played, the Patriots dismantled the Jets in the 45-3 rout. While Belichick loves to hit you where it REALLY hurts, Rex is a sound byte genius when it comes to the pregame antics.

Four teams, 2 rivals, 1 weekend. The rivalries are different, but not by much. This is what we’ve been waiting for. And I, for one, cannot wait! Thank God for rivalries!

I dunno about you, but I’m as excited as a fat kid with birthday cake on their plate. Wild Card Weekend is here and I cannot wait to see the games. Everytime I think of the NFL Playoffs, extra hard fist pumping comes to mind!

Eagles, Ravens and Colts… OH MY! So much going on. 8 teams, 4 games, but only 4 teams advance to the divisionals. Who will live to see another week? It’s time to pick the Wild Card Weekend games.

Saints (-11) at Seahawks: This started out as one of the most lopsided games on paper earlier in the week. The Saints are 11-5 headed to Seattle who ended the season with  a dismal 7-9 record. I’m blown at the fact that the Seahawks, or any NFC West team for that matter, is taking up good playoff space. But that’s another story for another day. It just became really real this week in the Big Easy, however, when RBs Chris Ivory and Pierre Thomas were put on IR. This means the Saints have pretty much NO running game coming into this weekend’s match up (please don’t insult my intelligence and remind me that Reggie Bush is on the roster…. he’s done very little at Tailback). To add insult to injury, New Orleans is 0-3 in road playoff games and Seattle is known to have one of the league’s loudest stadiums. Seahawks QB Matt Hasslebeck gets the nod this week as the starter, and the Seahawks have every reason to believe they can come out with a win with him at the helm. He’s had recent success against New Orleans. That being said… I’m too petty to pick Seattle. They shouldn’t even be in the dance if you ask me. I’m taking New Orleans because they’ve earned the right to be there, and will find a way to prevail over the obstacles they are facing.

Winner: 

Jets at Colts (-3): Despite the Colts finding a way to make the playoffs after losing so many key players this season, the Jets have reason to worry. They lost to Indy in the AFC Championship game last season and a Rex Ryan-led defense has had no luck in beating Manning and Co in recent memory. Ryan said earlier this week that, “it’s personal”, regarding this weekend’s match up. And it should be. Mark Sanchez has been hot and cold this season, but the Jets are a run-heavy offense that can attack the Colts’ depleted D. Manning will always be Manning, he can make wine out of water. And he’s done just that with the castoff of players he’s had this season. But one has to wonder if the injuries are too much to handle, now that it’s playoff time. Beating the Titans was cool, because the Titans weren’t really that good this year anyway. But the Jets are better than the Titans. And they have more skills players that are healthy than the Colts, including Santonio Holmes, Braylon Edwards and LaDainian Tomlinson. Rex and that sweater vest finally gets the monkey off his back this weekend.

Winner:

Ravens (-3) at Chiefs: Of course, I hold a real interest to this game, because I’m a Ravens fan. Dan Kolko from MASN Sports broke down the rankings between the Ravens and Chiefs on paper and they seem to be very neck and neck (except overall offense.. my Ravens really tanked in that dept). But if you lookpast the stats, it’s not that simple. Case-in-point: In addition to playing the Steelers twice a year, the Ravens also played the Jets, Patriots, Falcons, Saints and Bucs, while finishing their division with a 4-2 record. The Chiefs played the NFC West (and y’all KNOW how I feel about that division) while playing the likes of Houston, Tennessee and Buffalo. They finished 2-4 in their own division, and was blown out at least once by the Broncos, Chargers and Raiders. Not to discredit what KC has done this season…. they took helm of a division previously OWNED by San Diego. But it’s hard to ignore the schedule and division differences. Baltimore knows how to play on the road and win, and KC may be prematurely playing with the big boys. I think KC is a strong team, and they will find some success running the ball against the Ravens. But I think Baltimore is better built for the playoffs while having experience on their side.

Winner:

Packers at Eagles (-3): This one will be a good one. Both of these teams are built for post season football. There is no real advantage for this game. The Packers have a losing road record, and the Eagles are 4-4 at home this season. But there are 2 key elements that may make a difference in this game- health and momentum, both of those in Green Bay’s favor. Aaron Rodgers has played well since going down with a concussion last month. He had a great game in the 45-17 routing of the Giants, and did just enough to beat the division rival Bears last weekend. The Eagles, however, haven’t been so lucky. They ended the season on a 2-game losing streak and have seen some key players go down with injury, including Vick who was hurt during the Vikings game. Vick will start this weekend and of course Philly has the likes of DeSean Jackson, Brent Celek and LeSean McCoy to take the pressure off of #7,  but the Eagles offensive line isn’t that good. Packers LB Clay Matthews may have a field day this weekend if Andy Reid doesn’t find a way to protect his QB. I expect Matthews to get into Vick’s face often this weekend. As good as the Eagles have been, Green Bay was the one team I didn’t like them to be matched up with so soon. Well, they are. With health and momentum on their side, I expect us to wave goodbye to Vick’s great season, a tad bit premature than expected.

Winner:

There you have it. Let me know your thoughts. Agree, disagree? If so why? Feel free to chime in your thoughts. In the meantime, have a wonderful Wild Card Weekend and if your team is playing (like mine), I hope you get the outcome you wanted!

So I found this video on Deadspin, with Oakland A’s pitcher Craig Breslow making fun at Jets head coach Rex Ryan.

The Youtube page is under “ihaveaprettylefthand”. Sound familiar (ihaveprettyfeet is the youtube page that Ryan’s wife allegedly put foot fetish vids under)? It’s very similar to the highly publicized video of Ryan’s wife (allegedly) hanging her feet out of her SUV.

Somewhere in New York, either Rex Ryan is laughing his sweatervest off, or he’s ignoring it to focus on the Colts this weekend. My guess? Laughing while eating a Twinkie. At some point the jokes will get old and unfunny, but this parody is pretty on point!

Last night’s Monday Night Football game with the Patriots and Jets was pumped up so much in the coming weeks prior, that it was almost like this was the AFC Championship game. Jets CB Darrelle Revis did a halftime interview during last week’s boring Monday Night game, and everyone said this was the battle of the elites. Well, the Patriots said they had enough of that talk and wanted to show the country who was really in charge.

The Patriots’ azz whupping skulldragging of the NY Jets was a game that not many saw coming. Tom Brady was on FIRE, throwing for 326 yards and 4 TDs, ending the night with a 148.9 QB rating against a Jets team that boasts a Top 10 defense. The Patriots, though, have the 31st ranked defense, yet gave Mark Sanchez a rough night, as he finished  with 3 INTs and had a 27.3 QB rating. The Patriots looked possessed, and Rex Ryan had no answer for what NE was doing. Afterwards, Rex said he was, “humiliating for one night” in the 45-3 loss to his division foe. To put it frankly….. the play of the Jets was an epic FAIL against Patriots last night.

The Jets will be fine, I think. They were embarrassed but they are still a good team. Not to mention, Sanchez is still going through growing pains as a 2nd year QB. It will be interesting to see if the two teams will face each other again in the playoffs.

Josh McDaniels was the latest head coach to get his walking papers yesterday. Broncos fans are rejoicing over their early Christmas gift (as one fan tweeted to me on Twitter). McDaniels is the 3rd coach this year to be fired before the season ended. In the 22 short months of his tenure, McDaniels has gotten rod of Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall, Peyton Hillis, Alphonso Smith and Casey Wiegmann, all who have left the Broncos and done well with their new teams. McDaniels also traded back into the 1st round of the 2010 draft and gave away 3 draft picks to get Florida QB Tim Tebow, a baffling move considering he was poised to be a late 2nd round/early 3rd round pick at the earliest. I’m not shocked that McDaniels was fired, but one has to wonder what happened that he couldn’t coach out the last quarter of the season???

In case any of you cared, former Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips did his first interview since being fired by the Dallas Cowboys this season. Phillips talks about looking back at his tenure in Dallas and if he ever wants to coach again.

“No, I don’t look back. I just look forward. You do the best you can do and work as hard as you can and try to do your best. If that’s not good enough, that’s not good enough. It was good enough for me.

“You do the best you can do, as good as you can do it, and somebody else makes that decision. Not you. Those decisions are made all the time.

“I want to coach,. I enjoy coaching, and I think I will have some offers. We’ll see what happens after the season.”

I hope Wade does coach again, but as a defensive coordinator. Some people are made to be head coaches, and some are meant to be coordinators. Wade has had a few chances at being a head coach and they never really panned out, but he’s always excelled in the coordinator position. There’s nothing wrong with knowing your role in life and being good at it. Now only if I could give Norv Turner the same advice.

And finally, the silver lining in my Ravens loss to the Steelers on Sunday is pure comedy.  I watched the local news that followed the Ravens-Steelers game Sunday night, and as the local reporter was live outside of M&T Bank Stadium covering the game, he had a surprise special guest jump in his 30 seconds of airtime:

I always thought that stations has some kind of delay to prevent such things from happening. But I saw it with my own eyes. At a time that I was feeling sick over losing such a close game, this one moment gave me a ray of sunshine. Later that evening, WBAL reporter Sheldon Dutes tweeted about his experience with the F Bomber. Classic drunken fan syndrome, but it was the highlight of my night! Sometimes it’s the little things that makes us happy…..

Since the hiring of Rex Ryan in 2009, the Jets have become one of the most talked about franchises in the league. From Ryan’s press conferences, to Hard Knocks…. this team has found a way to stay in the conversation when it comes to football. But once upon a time, there was another franchise who held that relm. They were the Oakland Radiers.

If you think about it, the parallels between the 2 teams aren’t as far as you would like to think. Looking at the footage of the Raiders of the 70′s, they hold a LOT of similaries between today’s Jets. Don’t agree? Let me break it down for you.

Boisterous Top Dogs

When the Jets hired Ryan, they knew exactly what they were getting. A confident head coach who doesn’t back down from anyone, and will tell you in the process. Ryan’s fiery personality was a winner in the locker room, mainly because in the midst of his talking, he showed faith and confidence in his guys. Ryan is a guy that believes in his defensive schemes and players, but will call you out the second you show you can’t hang. His persona slowly trickled down to the rest of his team, and it shows with the way they play every week.

With the Raiders, they had that in coach-turned-owner Al Davis. Davis was never afraid to speak his mind, and his personality showed amongst the guys that suited up for him every Sunday.His guys played like his personality. They were a direct reflection of the big wig, and became well known because of it.

Just Win Baby!

We all know this was and still is the moniker for the Raiders. The Raiders believed in doing just that. A lot of players accused the Raiders of playing dirty, taking cheap shots and giving themselves an “unfair advantage” to help them win games. That was the Raider Way, to win under any circumstance. And with less penalties to protect the offensive players back then, there was nothing you could say, or do, to stop them. In their eyes, they were trying to win football games.

With the Jets, their Just Win mentality is not what they do on the field, but more so what they have done off the field. After the 2009 season (in which they reached the AFC Championship), they traded for Chargers CB Antonio Cromartie as well as Steelers WR Santonio Holmes.

Neither player has a great reputation off the football field (Cromartie has 7 kids, including a trio of 3 year-olds, and Holmes is currently suspended for violating the substance abuse policy). Add WR Braylon Edwards to the mix, who has been no stranger to doing newsworthy things, and was recently arrested for DUI after leaving a charity event. While these guys aren’t what some maybe considered role model worthy, the Jets have looked past all of their faults and welcomed them with open arms, in order to win games.

Intimidating Defense

When I think of the Raiders of the 70′s, I think defense. They were big and intimidating. They played No Holds Barred and they scared opposing offenses. George Atkinson, Ted Hendricks and John Matuszak put fear in a lot of people’s lives. When most people think of Raiders defense, they remember the Jack Tatum hit to Darryl Stingley, that paralyzed Stingley. Their reputation was something they prided themselves on, and they lived up to the hype.

Enter the New York Jets. Rex Ryan is the son of Buddy Ryan, who anchored the ’85 Bears (considered to be one of the best defenses ever). Ryan has taken his father’s legacy and built his own, creating a monster of a defense in NY. So now, we have the likes of Darrelle Revis, Bart Scott, Calvin Pace and Shaun Ellis at the helms of one of the most ferocious defenses in the NFL.

“Me Against The World” Mentality

The Raiders always had a target on their back.. and they knew it. They were a part of one of the most intense rivalries with the Pittsburgh Steelers. On one side you had the Raiders, a team that openly embraced a desire to intimidate any opponent. On the other side were the Steelers, a blue-collar bunch that backed down to nobody. When it came down to it, these two squads couldn’t stand each other. These two teams hated each other so much, that Steelers head coach Chuck Noll once said that George Atkinson and the Raiders brought a “criminal element” to the game, when Atkinson knocked out WR Lynn Swann unconscious with a blow to the head. Atkinson later sued Noll for slander.

While the Jets are just getting started under the Ryan era, they’ve already found a target to throw their hatred towards: The New England Patriots. One of the most successful teams in the 2000′s, the Jets are looking to throw the kings off their thrown (The Pats have won the AFC East division 7 times and have been Super Bowl champions 3 times, all in the last 10 years). While their rivalry is no where near the Raiders-Steelers rivalry, it’s well on its way. When Ryan first received the job in NY, he said he never came to the division to “kiss Bill Belichick’s rings”. And when Pats QB Tom Brady was asked if he watched the Jets on “Hard Knocks”, Brady stated that he, “hates the Jets” and that he refused to watch the show. The Jets-Patriots overall record against each other over the last 50 years?? 51-50-1, in the Jets favor.

Big personalities, “Just Win” attitude, intimidating defenses and a “Me Against The World” persona, are all ways to view the New York Jets, led by Rex Ryan. But decades ago, the Oakland Raiders created, lived and breathed those very same policies. Are they one in the same? It’s up to you to decide. But you have to admit, the similarities are endless.

I had the opportunity to check out the Ray Lewis Coaching Tree, created by NFL Films. Steve Sabol has a round table of former and current Ravens coaches. Jets head coach Rex Ryan, Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis, 49ers head coach Mike Singletary, Falcons head coach Mike Smith, Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio and current Ravens coach John Harbaugh all sit down with Sabol to discuss one of the great linebackers of NFL history about his passionate play on the field, as well as his personality off the field.

While each coach talked about their relationships with the future Hall-Of-Famer, , Lewis was able to view their thoughts and comment as well. At times, Lewis was choked up when speaking, but overall kept his composure, while listening to his former coaches talk about his many great attributes (I was hoping Ray would comment on that ugly orange and white shirt Marvin had on, to represent his Bengals. But I digress).

Unfortunately, NFL.com doesn’t give me the embed links to view the series directly on my website, but I’ve attached the links and info on each of the 3-part series.

Part I of the series has the round table open up about Ray’s introduction at M&T Bank stadium, their time with Ray, along with the murder trial back in 1999

Part II of the series talks about Ray’s intimidating demeanor on the field, along with each coach’s favorite ray Lewis moment.

Part III of the series finishes with the coaches talking about Ray’s passion for the game, and how much they respect Lewis.

Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.