Experts Archive - beichenberger.tsn (%2)

• Joba Chamberlain: 'As a competitor, definitely I got frustrated at times'
  posted on February 07, 2010 - 10:28:26 am
  
  

  Joba Chamberlain was in New York City on Tuesday to receive an award for his philanthropic work at the 30th annual Thurman Munson Dinner.

  
  
  
• Jets 'not afraid to fail' in AFC championship
  posted on January 23, 2010 - 12:52:45 pm
  
  
  
  
• Jets' Marques Douglas: 'We get another shot to prove it wasn't a fluke'
  posted on January 23, 2010 - 11:37:08 pm
  
  
  
  
• Gang Greene: Rookie carries playoff load for Jets
  posted on January 20, 2010 - 06:01:07 pm
  
  

  FLORHAM PARK, N.J.

  
  
  
• Sabres D Tyler Myers: 'It is hard to believe I am where I am'
  posted on January 19, 2010 - 06:16:43 pm
  
  
  
  
• Undersized Jets secondary must come up big
  posted on January 16, 2010 - 03:24:46 pm
  
  

  If the sport was basketball, the outlook for the New York Jets' league-leading pass defense would be bleak heading into Sunday's AFC divisional playoff game against the San Diego Cha

  
  
  
• Offensive line has kept Mark Sanchez, Jets climbing
  posted on January 13, 2010 - 08:15:45 am
  
  
  Bill Eichenberger

  FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- The Jets' No. 1-ranked defense may get the headlines.

  
  
  
• Jets QB Mark Sanchez: 'I still have a long way to go'
  posted on January 13, 2010 - 08:36:14 am
  
  
  Bill Eichenberger

  After completing 12 of 15 passes for 182 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 24-14 victory over the Bengals to become only the fourth rookie quarterback to win a playoff game, Jets rookie Mark

  
  
  
• Jets have momentum, but Bengals have Palmer
  posted on January 08, 2010 - 05:25:44 pm
  
  
  
  
• Extreme makeover: Jets' defense rollicks, rolls under Ryan
  posted on January 07, 2010 - 08:36:42 am
  
  
  Bill Eichenberger

  FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- When training camp opened this summer, the Jets' returning players on defense didn't quite know how to react.

  
  
  
• Sore-kneed Dawson most proud of his Gold Glove defense
  posted on January 07, 2010 - 12:41:01 pm
  
  
  Bill Eichenberger
  
  
  
• With dominant defense, nothing 'same old' about these Jets
  posted on January 03, 2010 - 11:10:22 pm
  
  

  EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.

  
  
  
• Giant tumble has been mostly about defense
  posted on January 01, 2010 - 10:04:30 am
  
  

  If the Giants needed confirmation that major repairs are needed before next season, they received it during Sunday's shockingly one-sided loss to Carolina.

  
  
  
• Tumble has Giants players wondering about future
  posted on December 31, 2009 - 08:03:07 pm
  
  
  
  
• Giants' D collapses with season on the line
  posted on December 27, 2009 - 04:16:11 pm
  
  
  
  
• Panthers QB Matt Moore: 'I'm not worried about making a statement'
  posted on December 27, 2009 - 04:29:27 pm
  
  

  EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.—Matt Moore followed up an outstanding effort last week—a 26-7 upset of the Vikings—with another sparkling performance in the Panthers' 41-9 victory over the

  
  
  
• Missed chances leave Jets on life support
  posted on December 20, 2009 - 05:14:55 pm
  
  

  EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — As far as Rex Ryan and his Jets are concerned, the uglier the game, the better.

  
  
  
• Duke's Scheyer emerging as one of the nation's best players, regardless of position
  posted on December 19, 2009 - 06:07:06 pm
  
  

  NEW YORK — Maybe Jon Scheyer is overlooked because he looks so much like the prototypical Duke basketball player that he has difficulty establishing an identity of his own.
  

  
  
  
• Dynamic Jackson leaves Giants dizzy, grasping for air
  posted on December 13, 2009 - 11:42:05 pm
  
  

  EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Missing last week's game against the Falcons with a concussion made the Eagles' DeSean Jackson miserable.
  

  
  
  
• Suh, Gerhart make Heisman vote interesting
  posted on December 12, 2009 - 09:03:25 pm
  
  

  NEW YORK—Mark Ingram became the first Alabama player to win the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night.

  
  
  
• Mark Fox: 'I was ready for a new challenge, and I have a great one'
  posted on December 11, 2009 - 10:00:57 am
  
  

  Former Nevada coach Mark Fox knew it wasn't going to be easy. Turning around a dormant college basketball program never is. And after his first Georgia team lost Wednesday to St.

  
  
  
• In a storied venue, the legend of John Wall grows
  posted on December 09, 2009 - 11:11:39 pm
  
  

  NEW YORK — Conventional wisdom holds that a team such as Connecticut—with a sophomore and senior in the backcourt—should have an advantage over a team such as Kentucky, which star

  
  
  
• Colt McCoy: Staubach helped me turn around season
  posted on December 08, 2009 - 11:50:06 am
  
  
  
  
• Tebow: 'I'll play any position, but my goal is to be a quarterback'
  posted on December 08, 2009 - 02:13:36 pm
  
  

  The week in New York City leading up to the Heisman presentation never gets old for Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, who is a finalist for the third consecutive year.

  
  
  
• Jacobs' resurgence has Giants 'amped and ready'
  posted on December 06, 2009 - 08:21:57 pm
  
  

  EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Brandon Jacobs decided enough was enough.

  

  Sunday's game was Brandon Jacobs' first multiple-TD game all year after having five in '08.
  
  
  
• 'Lucky' Revis shuts down yet another elite receiver
  posted on November 29, 2009 - 01:49:23 pm
  
  

  EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.—It was only fitting that Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis, the one consistently outstanding performer on what has been a maddeningly inconsistent team, came through with the momentum-turning play in the 17-6 victory over the Panthers on Sunday at Giants Stadium.
  
  "We've been working on that deflection-off-the-heel play for a while," a jovial Rex Ryan said after the win snapped a three-game losing streak and improved the Jets' record to 5-6 heading to Toronto to play the Bills on Thursday.
  
  Carolina was driving into Jets territory on its opening possession when Jake Delhomme's third-down checkdown pass ricocheted off wide receiver Steve Smith's heel, unaware the pass had been thrown. The ball bounced into the waiting hands of Revis, who raced untouched 67 yards to give the Jets a 7-0 lead.

  

  Darrelle Revis makes like a receiver, turning a pick into a 67-yard touchdown.

  "It's funny, Revis, all the great ones, they are always lucky," Ryan said.
  
  With Revis, though, there is a lot more than luck.
  
  "He's the best corner in the league," Ryan said. "If we were having the year we hoped to have, he'd be considered for Defensive Player of the Year. Nobody puts as much on one player as we put on him. Every single week, he has to answer the bell."
  
  Revis sure has responded. The list of receivers he has blanketed this season reads like a Pro Bowl roster: Houston's Andre Johnson, New England's Randy Moss, Buffalo's Terrell Owens and now Smith.
  
  On Sunday, Revis had twice as many catches as Smith: Two to one. And that lone Smith catch only went for 5 yards.
  
  Revis outmaneuvered Smith to make a second interception in the second quarter on a go route that was slightly underthrown by Delhomme. Early in the fourth quarter, Smith did appear to catch a 10-yard touchdown pass on a fade route in the corner of the end zone, but the Jets challenged the call and it was ruled an incompletion after video review.
  
  "I love to get up in the receivers' faces and challenge them," said Revis, who was credited with two tackles and three passes defended, giving him 21 for the season, 15 more than his nearest teammate. "I'm not going to say I can shut a receiver out, that he's going to have zero catches for zero yards. The only thing I can do is try to not have him more than 100 yards receiving and three or four touchdowns. That's my job."
  
  Eric Smith, who made his first start at safety in place of Kerry Rhodes, said Revis does a lot more than that. Having him handle the opponents' top wideout "takes so much pressure off the safety," Smith said. "When we line up, we can look out there and say, 'OK, there's Revis,' so we can kind of lean the other way."
  
  Nothing Revis accomplishes in games surprises his teammates.

  "He does the same thing in practice that he does in the games," outside linebacker Calvin Pace said.
  
  Although Revis is only a third-year pro, Pace said, "Guys lean on him a little because he's that good. It's not a matter of if he is going to make a play; it's when he is going to make one."
  

  Related Links

  • Recap: Jets beat Panthers, 17-6
  • Sanchez: 'It's a growing process'

  Linebacker Bart Scott said Revis compares favorably to Chris McAlister, his teammate and shutdown cornerback on a Ravens defense that dominated the NFL earlier this decade.
  
  "Coming off the Super Bowl year, Chris shut down every top receiver in the league," Scott said. "I think Darrelle's playing that well."

  This story appears in Nov. 30's edition of Sporting News Today. If you are not receiving Sporting News Today, the only daily digital sports newspaper, sign up today for free.

  Bill Eichenberger is a staff writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at beichenberger@sportingnews.com.

  
  
  
• Sanchez: 'It's a growing process, and I am really learning'
  posted on November 29, 2009 - 05:13:20 pm
  
  
  Bill Eichenberger

  Except for an interception on a second-down throw in the fourth quarter, rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez played the kind of smart, error-free game the Jets needed to get back on the winning track in Sunday's 17-6 victory over the Panthers. Afterward, Sanchez told Sporting News' Bill Eichenberger and other reporters that his confidence never wavered after throwing four interceptions and losing a fumble in last week's loss to the Patriots.

  

  Mark Sanchez says it's crazy to think getting sacked is OK, but he's learning it can be best.
  Sporting News: What happened on the scramble in the third quarter when you appeared to hurt your knee and came out of the game for a series?

  Mark Sanchez: It just felt a little funny and I wanted to be smart about it, so I went over to the trainers and they checked it out, said it looked good and we're all good.

  SN: What happened on that interception in the fourth quarter?

  MS: Even when you're really focusing on trying to know the situation and understand what we need, you can't throw a pick on second down. Braylon (Edwards) was running the right route. I was making the right read. But sometimes you just miss. Did (Chris) Gamble make a great play? Sure. Could I have put the ball out in front of Braylon? Absolutely.

  SN: Was this game good for your confidence?

  MS: Coach Cavanaugh (quarterbacks coach Matt) talked to some people who have been asking, "Hey, how is Sanchez doing?' Is his confidence up? He says, "If anything, he is too confident. He is trying to make too many plays." I'd rather be on that side of it and hold myself back the way I did today and play smart and get some completions rather than be underconfident and try to get pumped up every game.

  SN: So you think you are making good progress?

  MS: It's a growing process, and I am really learning. … Schotty (offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer) and I are talking through situations, like when it's OK to take a sack. As crazy as that sounds, it's OK. Let's just not give it to the other team.

  Related Links

  • Recap: Jets beat Panthers, 17-6
  • What We Learned: Jets vs. Panthers
  • Eichenberger: More than luck with Revis
  • Trenches: New approaches with Sanchez
  SN: Was the sack you took late in the fourth quarter a good example of that kind of thinking?

  MS: It was a smart play. Did I feel like I could throw the ball to Dustin (Keller)? Probably. But we got what we needed right there. What if it got intercepted, tipped up? With our code, he has to be wide open.

  Bill Eichenberger is a staff writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at beichenberger@sportingnews.com.

  
  
  
• Allen Iverson says he'd rather retire than remain a backup
  posted on April 01, 2009 - 08:57:58 pm
  
  
  Bill Eichenberger

  EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- After his third game in his new role as sixth man, Detroit Pistons guard Allen Iverson said Wednesday night he would retire before accepting a similar role with another team.

  "I'm having a hard time doing it now," he said after his team's 111-98 loss to the New Jersey Nets. "You think I will try to do it all over again? No way. I wouldn't do that to myself or the team that I am playing for. I don't think I can give everything I have to give in that situation."

  Iverson, who had four points and four assists in 17 minutes against the Nets, also complained about a lack of playing time Tuesday before the Pistons' loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. He played 18 minutes in that game and scored 11 points. He was on the court just days after returning from a back injury.

  Wednesday night, he was even more despondent and definitive about his future plans.

  "I'm happy with my career and the things I've done in my career," Iverson said. "I feel blessed that I've had the opportunity to accomplish the things that I've accomplished, to do the things that I've done. I would feel fine if I had to (retire)."

  Iverson, who will be a free agent after this season, said he is "in a predicament I've never been in my entire life, especially in the NBA, and it's harder than I thought it would be physically and mentally. When you have a back injury like I had, and you sit out the whole first quarter. You sit out the last three to five minutes of the second quarter, then the whole halftime. Then another quarter after that, it's tough to get going.

  "I take my hat off to guys who come off the bench and get it done the way they do. It's just tough for me."

  Thus, Iverson's insistence that he'll never accept that role after this season. "I will retire before I do this again. I will leave the game before I do this," he said. "Because I can't be effective like I know I can playing this way. It's just something I've not ever been able or had to do."

  Iverson doesn't want to retire; he says his love of the game has never been greater. "I want to be out there on the basketball court," he said, "but if (retiring) is something that I have to do, then so be it."

  He also isn't using his injuries as an excuse, even though he's clearly being hampered by a strained right calf. "If I'm healthy enough to get on the basketball court, then I should be able to get it done. And I'm not. And that's nobody's fault but mine," he said.

  At this point in his career, Iverson just wants to be somewhere he can be happy. "That's the most important thing to me," he said. "I don't want to not go to work. When you are doing what you love to do, you are supposed to love doing it. And once I get to that point where I don't love it no more, then I won't do it."

  Iverson said he is not happy with the Pistons, who acquired him in a trade with the Denver Nuggets in early November. "No, not at all," he said. "I'd be lying if I said I was. But I'm trying to do everything I can to be happy other than basketball. This is just one phase of my life. This is not my whole life. I have other parts of my life, other people in my life that I am surrounded by who make me happy."

  Bill Eichenberger is a staff writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at beichenberger@sportingnews.com.

  
  
  
• Robinson rebounds, and UConn is better for it
  posted on November 25, 2009 - 08:05:37 pm
  
  

  NEW YORK — The game itself is the easy part for UConn senior forward Stanley Robinson.
  
  That was evident Wednesday night in the Huskies' 81-55 victory over LSU in the semifinals of the Preseason NIT at Madison Square Garden. Robinson had 14 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal. He also limited Tasmin Mitchell, LSU's leading scorer, to nine points on 4-for-12 shooting.
  
  It was the rest of his life that so needed work that coach Jim Calhoun ordered him to take the first semester off last year.
   
  "It was a medical reason that took him off the court," Calhoun said. "It had nothing to do with him being a wild kid. I read those things and that's so far from the truth it's unbelievable. He's a great kid who had incredible focus problems and other problems."
  
  Robinson took a job sorting scrap metal for $700 a week, and he said he concentrated on being a better person and father to his two children.
  
  "It was pretty tough for me," he said of his semester away from the team. "But I had to look at myself in the mirror and say, 'I have to make a better future, not just for my kids but for myself.' "
  
  Robinson returned for the second semester last season, paying his own way to school, and excelled in the Big East Tournament. He scored 28 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in UConn's six-overtime loss to Syracuse. He continued to play well throughout the NCAA Tournament, averaging 14.8 points and 8.4 rebounds, a substantial increase over his regular-season averages of 8.5 and 5.9.
  
  That improved play has continued this season, and his life off the court has settled down as well. Calhoun said he can tell by the smile on Robinson's face.
  
  "The bottom line is, he's come light years from where he was a year ago," Calhoun said. "He's always been a happy kid. But he's really found his joy playing again. And that's nice to see."
  
  An athletic 6-9, 220-pounder, Robinson's ability allows him to excel in every facet of the game. "He's too good a player to stay outside and be a jump shooter," Calhoun said. "He's much more than that."
  
  Shooting guard Jerome Dyson said UConn was not the same team without Robinson at the start of last season. "You get so much from him because he rebounds, he runs the floor. He plays defense, blocks shots. There is almost nothing he can't do if he puts his mind to it," Dyson said.
  
  The emphasis Wednesday night was on rebounding, and it resulted in an emphatic 47-34 edge on the boards for Connecticut.
  
  "It's a young team. It's a whole different team, and it was time for us to go out and just play UConn basketball, play what we know," Robinson said of the Huskies, who lost center Hasheem Thabeet, power forward Jeff Adrien and point guard A.J. Price off a team that went 31-5 and lost to Michigan State in the NCAA semifinals last season.
  
  If you play for UConn, Robinson said, "You are rebounding for your team.  You are rebounding for your life."
  
  That is doubly true for Robinson, on and off the court.
  
  "I'm just happy to be back playing basketball again," he said.
  
  This story appears in Nov. 26's edition of Sporting News Today. If you are not receiving Sporting News Today, the only daily digital sports newspaper, sign up today for free.

  Bill Eichenberger is a staff writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at beichenberger@sportingnews.com.

  
  
  
• Manning takes charge, delivers first win in 42 days
  posted on November 22, 2009 - 03:58:39 pm
  
  

  EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.—On one side of the ball at least, the Super Bowl-contending Giants reappeared Sunday in a 34-31 overtime win over the Falcons.

  

  Eli Manning finally topped 300 yards at home, and the Giants snapped their skid.
  Only this time, rather than feature a punishing ground game and ball-control attack, the Giants' offense took to the air, relying on Eli Manning and a big-play passing game to snap a four-game losing streak and keep the team in the thick of the NFC playoff race with a 6-4 record.

  Manning, after having eight previous 300-yard days away from home, finally hit the mark at Giants Stadium. On Sunday, he completed 25-of-39 passes for 384 yards and three touchdowns.

  "It was just a matter of executing," Manning said. "It wasn't like we went in and changed our philosophy or changed our offense. We just tried to be more consistent and trust the guys to get open."

  If only it were that simple.

  Coming off a bye week, coach Tom Coughlin said the Giants did a lot of soul-searching during the two weeks they had to prepare for Sunday's game. As part of that process, Manning said he convened a receivers-only meeting Friday.

  "We watched 20 cutups of plays, kind of a this-is-what-you-need- to-do session," Manning said. "I tried to get guys confident and make sure they were 100 percent ready to go."

  The meeting of the minds obviously was successful. Manning completed seven passes of 20-plus yards, repeatedly threading the needle on difficult, long-distance throws, including a perfect 51-yard strike to Steve Smith in the third quarter that traveled 60 yards in the air.

  The Giants ran enough to keep the Falcons' defense honest, 88 yards on 26 carries. But Manning and his receivers were the primary mode of transportation.

  Manning found second-year receiver Mario Manningham for an eye-popping 126 yards. Not far behind were Smith (79 yards), tight end Kevin Boss (76 yards and two touchdowns) and rookie wideout Hakeem Nicks (65 yards).

  "Our receivers, our quarterback, came up with a lot of big plays today," Coughlin said. "That was the difference-maker in terms of field position and points."

  Perhaps more impressive than his performance was the way Manning, often viewed as a reluctant leader, took charge in this pivotal game.

  "When he is playing with that kind of confidence, the whole team really rides right along with him," Coughlin said.

  Related Links

  • What We Learned: Eli steps up
  • Recap: Giants win in OT, finally

  Boss said the atmosphere in the huddle was electric.

  "Everyone is just going all out, is really excited when Eli is throwing the ball the way he did," Boss said.

  The Giants needed Manning to be near perfect with the defense struggling all day. The Giants surrendered a 14-point, fourth-quarter lead to Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan.

  "It's been a long time, 42 days since our last win," a visibly relieved Manning said after the game. "There are not many better feelings than being in the locker room after a win."

  Especially after a performance like the one he had Sunday.

  "This is definitely a game I will remember," he said.