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Tweet Thank You Al Davis !

Does This Schottenheimer Championship Bode Well For Brian And The Jets?

Antonelli/NY Daily News

Since I am probably the first person to bring the
Schottenheimer curse to your attention, I think
it's only fair that I mention that it may have
ended on Friday. If you consider winning a UFL
(United Football League) Championship a legit
Championship that is. Marty is the first member
of the Schottenheimer family to be part of a
Championship of "any" kind. This list includes
brother Kurt, special teams coordinator for the
UFL Champion Virginia Destroyers, and son Brian,
Offensive Coordinator of the NY Jets.

I guess you could say it was a two for one since
they were both on the staff of the Destroyers,
but was this really a Championship? The League
started with 5 teams but only wound up playing
four when the Hartford Colonials had money issues
and had to suspend operations prior to the season
starting. The season had to start late due to
money issues, and end early for the same reason.
The played 4 games out of a 6 game schedule,
that's right a SIX game schedule, and the game
was played at Virginia, not a neutral site.
So I guess a Trophy is a trophy, but if they
have to chip in a few dollars a piece to buy
one, then they may have to put there foot down.
Congrats Marty, you are truly worthy of this
Championship, it's got Schottenheimer clan
written all over it.

Thank You Al Davis ! Tweet

Rob Ryan Let Go?

I found it both comical and incredibly
amazing timing that this story would make
headlines today but it did. A day after
the Cowboys blew both a lead and game to
the NY Jets on such a grand stage, but alas
it was indeed a different Ryan.
Heck, they made me look!

Tweet

Football Sidenotes

The Tampa Bay Bucs signed CB Ashton Youboty,
pronounced "Ya Booty" to cover their Booty
in case corner Aqib Talib gets suspended for
off the field idiocy.

Found it most interesting to hear that Plaxico
Burress told HBO that before he shot himself
in the leg he didn't know who Mayor Bloomberg
was. Now you know why he's not a QB, all that
thinking must hurt.

Could There Be A New Titletown ?

It may sounds strange saying this about a
city that only has ONE Title in the past
20 plus years, and that came three years
ago, but in this past MLB off season there
was one prize jewel on the market and that
was Cliff Lee. The Phillies were no where
to be found when it came to rumors as to
where he might end up, and swoop, out of
nowhere, Mr. Lee the prize jewel himself
decides to take LESS money, that's right
it's not a typo, and go to Philadelphia.

If this sounds familiar, it could very well
be because there was a repeat of that just
this past week. Nnamdi Asomougha was the
prize jewel, of the NFL off season free agent
market and he too took less money to join a
Philadelphia team (sound familiar?). Very
few if anyone thought he would end up with
the Eagles and low and behold, SWOOP, just
like the real life Eagles, here they came,
even though the odds up until the last few
minutes gave the NY Jets an 80% chance to land
him, and the Dallas Cowboys a 20% chance, and
there was NO ONE else in the picture according
to the "EXPERTS".

Now, landing these two big fish does not ensure
that the Phillies and Eagles will win Titles
this season, or even appear in the finals of
their respective leagues for that matter, but
you can't deny that the Phillies are a serious
contender and at the very top of the list to at
least represent the National League with their
stellar starting rotation. The Eagles, dare I say
it, may have the best secondary since Mike Haynes
and Lester Hayes, and yes they won a "Title", and
though that alone won't win it, the Eagles don't
have huge holes on offense especially with a
healthy Michael Vick who has now assured everyone
that he is truly back.

Now with the term "Title Town", you have to have at
least three teams in the four major sports, and
Philly supersedes that by have at least one in all
four, so when you take a look at the other two teams,
you will see that the possibility of earning this
moniker is not so far fetched. The 76ers may have
the toughest road to travel, but they did make the
NBA playoffs this year, so that's a decent start,
and the Flyers were in the Finals just two short
years ago, so it isn't a stretch to believe that
they can not only repeat this feat, but this time
come away with the victory. Anyway you slice this
Philadelphia is no ones second city when it comes to
sports, and it may be a little pre mature to give
them this honor, but there's no doubt they're a
threat to take it. Look out Boston.

Mark San-chise Or Dumb-chise ?

Full disclosure will tell you that I am not a
Mark Sanchez fan, as a matter a fact I have been
predicting his demise since the moment the NY
Jets traded up to get him in the 2008 NFL draft,
but that is not why I am writing this.

A little over a week ago Deadspin reported a
story about Sanchez and his hooking up with 17
year old girl a few weeks back, and all the little
pieces of the story since attached to it.
The details are not something I'm really all that
interested in, maybe you are. What does strike a
cord with me is that even though I root against him
from time to time, I kinda like the kid. He's
comes across as a bright guy, likable and smart, but
this latest story kind of leaves you scratching your
head. You see the synopsis of the story is this:
He meets a girl, she's says she's 17, he says well
I guess I'll have to wait until you turn 18 because
he thinks that 18 and not 16 is legal in NY. She,
the girl tells him no, I'm legal now it's 16 in NY,
he, Mark Sanchez is 23 at the time, so this all seems
ok, except it really isn't. You see, 23 year olds
shouldn't be with 17 year olds, but they sometimes
are and it turns out just fine, and the intentions
are good, BUT you are the starting Quarterback of the
NY Jets, yes that's right in the media mecca of the
world. What the F%&K are you thinking? Are you
serious? There are a tremendous amount of women
ranging from 22 - 82 who are willing to drop to their
unabashed knees and service within a seconds notice
at just about any hour of the day, and you choose a
17 year old girl?, who no matter how hot she is, is
more than certainly going to give you a bad name in
the press just because they are going to label you
with making a bad choice! As Pro Football Talk
pointed out in one of their stories, no laws were
broken, but it will raise eyebrows, and that to me
has to have Jets fans wondering if this is the guy
who through his decision making is the one that's
going to lead the J-E-T-S to the promised land.

Rex Ryan has already guaranteed that the Jets will
win the Super Bowl next year, and I believe that
the Jets have the curse of the Schottenheimer to
deal with as well, so just add this to the things
that stand in the way of their second Lombardi
trophy and all you have is people around the league
saying is: "Typical Jets".

Curse Of The Schottenheimer ?

The Curse of the Schottenheimer may sound like
something I just made up, and it very well could
be, but if you take a look at the numbers of the
Schottenheimer trio and their history, both on the
College and Pro level, you have to admit, it may
actually exist. Marty the most notable member of
the Schottenheimer's has the most extensive career.
Marty started out coaching in the now defunct WFL
(World Football League), where he was the linebacker
coach for the Portland Storm. During his time there
they compiled a record of 7-12, and though you can't
very well blame that on him, you may eventually see
a pattern. I for one think Marty Schottenheimer is
a very good football coach, I just don't think he
is a coach you can win a Championship with.
I also think that Dan Snyder made a mistake firing
Marty and replacing him with Steve Spurrier, and I
said so at the time. Marty is a great coach to get
your team going in the right direction, but eventually
he plateaus, and that's as far as you're gonna get.

Marty also has a well documented one sided feud with
the owner of the Oakland Raiders. I say one sided
because he won't say anything other than he hates the
Raiders and Al Davis, and Al Davis never makes any
mention of this. Marty says that he will tell us all
in due time when he retires, but those days seem to
be upon us, since he hasn't coached in more than four
years and is quickly approaching the age of 68 when
team owners and GM's stop beating down the door of
a coach who has a losing playoff record and has never
been able to reach the Super Bowl let alone win one.
Marty never coached on the collegiate level that I can
find but his career numbers read as follows:
200 Wins and 126 Losses with one Tie a very respectable
.613 winning percentage but his playoff number are
a different story all together. He has 5 Wins and
13 Losses with NO Super Bowl Appearances, that is
a winning percentage of .384, and if you take
the numbers of the coaching staffs he's been a part
of the numbers get worse, 259-225-1 .538% and
5-15 in the playoffs for a .250 winning percentage.
His so called "feud" with Davis might in no small
part have to do with the fact the Marty was in his
first year as defensive coordinator of the Cleveland
Browns in 1980 when they lost to the Raiders in
Cleveland, but that's just a guess.

There are two other members of the Schottenheimer
clan that take part in this "curse". The lesser
known Kurt Schottenheimer is Marty's brother, and
though he has never been a head coach, the teams
he has been on the staff of, and many times as
defensive coordinator have compiled a record of
202 Wins and 166 Losses, and while again a .549
regular season winning percentage is quite
respectable, the playoff numbers dip to 5-11 or
a .313 winning percentage. Add to that that he
was the defensive coordinator of the Green Bay
Packers the year they lost to the Giants in the
NFC Championship game in the 2007 season.
Just another Conference loss for the Schottenheimer
clan, and believe me those are plentiful.
By the way Kurt did coach on the college level, and
again never as a head coach. His collegiate numbers
are as follows: 39-57-1 a woeful .402 %

Since conference Championships were mentioned with
Kurt it's only fair to point out how fresh Marty's
son Brian is from Conference Championship battle.
Brian has been the offensive coordinator for the
NY Jets the past two years worth of those, and
it should surprise no one that they are 0-2 in that
time. Brian's name has been mentioned many times
for head coaching jobs in the past, but if the family
numbers are to be taken into account, then the question
that begs to be asked is, why? His career numbers are
as vanilla as the family trophy case, 12-12 as an
assistant on the college level with two different schools.
96-96 on the pro level with 5 different organizations,
and 4-4 in the playoffs, and yes NO Championships.
With that the family numbers read as follows.
557-487-1 a .533 win percentage in the regular season.
14-30 a .318 win percentage in the playoffs, 0 for
7 in conference championships, hence the ZERO Super
Bowl appearances, and that is with eleven different
franchises. Yes even as assistants.
Their college numbers are 51-69-1 .421% with 7
different schools and ZERO Championships.
More numbers, if you add all this up it is as
follows: 526-586-2 a very very sad .472%

Rex Ryan said that Brian Schottenheimer would
absolutely be back as offensive coordinator of
the Jets the day after they were ousted in the
AFC Championship for the second consecutive year,
but maybe he should have taken a little time to
think that over. Many Jets fans want Brian's
head on stick, however that's not unusual for fans
these days. It's just that the numbers don't lie
and perhaps they are starting to understand that
having a Schottenheimer in your ranks may not
lead to the type of success you're looking for.