Reading Between the Lines
As training camp action begins this morning, we can expect to receive the usual reports from the official site.
They will give daily updates on who is performing well and (hopefully
not too often) any injuries. It tends to be mostly good news though.
Here is an example from last year.
Personally,
I cannot help but read this things with a “glass half-empty” view. When
someone makes a good play, obviously that is positive, but I find
myself thinking “who's fault was it?”
For example, a report from last year might say:
“Jerricho Cotchery was all over the field making several tough catches.”
Whereas the reality of the situation might was:
“Terrell Buckley got burned over and over again by a rookie. Put a fork in him�he's done”.
Or maybe, the report would say:
“Jonathan
Vilma continued to turn heads with his playmaking ability, tipping one
pass that was intercepted and forcing two fumbles.”
Whereas in actual fact, a more honest report would have been:
“Quincy Carter kept turning the ball over. If Chad Pennington gets hurt, the Jets are screwed.”
I
know I try to read too much into these reports. For example, if Curtis
Martin isn't mentioned, I find myself thinking “Curtis Martin did
nothing in practice�what if he's completely lost it? Maybe he's
injured. That's it�our Superbowl aspirations are over”. On the other
hand if Anthony Becht wasn't mentioned, I would find myself thinking
“Anthony Becht did nothing in practice�Hmmm. Quite a productive outing
by his standards”.
Addition by subtraction. Addition by
subtraction. Addition by subtraction. I keep telling myself – we're
going to be fine. (Although, if Chad gets hurt we are screwed!)
News update:
First day of camp reports from Newsday, NY Daily News, NJ.com and North Jersey Media Group.
The news is that Abraham did not show up as expected, but the Jets are
hopeful and Law seems to want to be a Jet, but Bradway denies making an
offer.
Registercitizen.com's preview says the Jets need to watch out for the Pats. Well, duh!
The Pats LB unit took another hit when Ted Johnson retired. Also, Richard Seymour (like Abe) was a no-show).
There's an interesting discussion going
on over at footballoutsiders.com about the over/under for the NFC East
and AFC East…and with that, you're fully up to date.
