12
Apr
2013
Lions sign Norwegian Youtube sensation “Kickalicious” (VIDEO)
(via twincities.com)
The Detroit Lions signed Norwegian Kicker Havard Rugland, a.k.a. “Kickalicious”to a 3-year deal worth nearly $1.5 million yesterday … because of course they did.
The Lions have apparently brought Rugland into compete with veteran David Akers based almost entirely on the prowess displayed in his viral trick shot video (see below), which has garnered over 3.1 million views since it was posted in September. Rugland worked out for the Lions last month, and has reportedly been working out with former NFL kicker Michael Husted to prepare him for his tryouts with Detroit and a couple other teams whose scouting departments have devolved into a bunch of people surfing Reddit all day for viral videos (if you guessed the Jets and Browns, you win a prize).
Clearly this is a PR stunt by Detroit, but regardless of what comes of Rugland’s NFL career, the video itself is pretty impressive to watch:
VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP
25
Nov
2012
The Jets season summed up in one play (VIDEO & GIF)
(Photo: Robert Sabo / New York Daily News)
During one remarkable stretch in the second quarter of Thursday’s 49-19 beatdown of the Jets, the Patriots reeled off 21 unanswered points in 52 seconds, punctuated by one remarkable play that encapsulates the entire Jets experience this season.
Watch as Mark Sanchez tries to hand the ball off to nobody, then elects to take off running before getting taken out by his own lineman’s rear end. As if that weren’t enough, the impact of Brandon Moore’s buttocks on Sanchez is so great that forces a fumble that gets returned 32-yards for a touchdown:
Ouch. After this most recent embarrassing display, even Fireman Ed is giving up his post as the Jets’ unofficial mascot. This might be a new low for Jets fans everywhere.
UPDATE AND BONUS SIMPSONS-THEMED GIF AFTER THE JUMP
10
Oct
2012
Was Mark Gastineau drunk during Jets Ring of Honor speech? (AUDIO)
(Photo: Al Bello/Getty Images via nydailynews.com)
It seems that when former Jets greats (see Joe Namath) return to their home stadium for night games, the standard etiquette is to get hammered drunk before letting someone put a microphone in front of you.
On Sunday, former Jets sack master Mark Gastineau was inducted into the Jets’ Ring of Honor on Monday Night, and his halftime speech was … well, interesting, that’s for sure! In it, a slurring Gastineau – taking extra time to get his words out – calls out fans for booing before getting religious and ending with a labored “Let’s enjoy it and wiiiinn in the seeeccccoooonnnddd haaaaalllffff … Halleluuuuujaaah!”
Of course, Gastineau’s speech could also be affected by all the blows he took to the head during his NFL career … if that’s the case, we apologize in advance. And if he wasn’t drunk, Gastineau is yet another stirring walking advertisement for player safety.
Listen for yourself below, and let the internet memes commence!
[H/T Jimmy Traina]
6
Oct
2012
Watch MetLife stadium change over from Giants to Jets (VIDEO)
Courtesy of the Wall Street Journal comes this inside look at what it takes to change over MetLife stadium from the Giants to the Jets for each team’s home games.
Since MetLife is the only stadium that’s shared by two teams, this is the only place in the country where crews have to deal with such extensive changes from week-to-week. To give you an idea, it takes 2 full 8-hour work days just to switch out the endzones, and that doesn’t include all the banners, merch stands, and everything else they need to change from blue to green.
Interesting stuff.
2
Oct
2012
NFL 2012 Quarter-Point “Jump To Conclusions” Mat
Every year, we try to refrain from pulling a Tom Smykowski from Office Space, and jumping to any conclusions about the NFL season prematurely. In a sixteen-game season, it generally takes several games for teams to figure out their identity, and a lot longer than that to determine a realistic playoff picture.
So while it’s tempting to draw knee-jerk reactions from a couple of games, we at least try to wait until the quarter-point mark to start making our hyperbolic and definitive statements about the season ahead.
Michael Bolton: That’s the worst idea I’ve ever heard in my life, Tom
And even though many of these will undoubtedly prove wrong, we’re not afraid to draw these bold conclusions after just week four of the season.
So without further adieu, here are our top 5 observations on the 2012 edition of ol’ Jump To Conclusions mat:
10
Sep
2012
NFL GIFs of the week: 2012 Week One
We love our GIFs here at ReadAndReact, so we’ve started a new weekly feature where we collect the best GIFs from each NFL week, and post them all in one convenient spot for your viewing enjoyment.
Most of these come courtesy of the always-awesome GIFulmination, @SBNation GIF or@CJZero Twitter… so special thanks to those guys. Submit your favorites GIFs to info@readandreact.net, and PLEASE BE PATIENT WHILE THIS PAGE LOADS.
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The NFL is BACK … and ‘merica!!!
(via sbnation.com)
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On opening night, Rob Ryan also fired up that football is back:
(via cjzero.com)
18
Aug
2012
Reminder: Tim Tebow still can’t throw; underthrows wide open receiver in end zone (VIDEO)
(AP Photo: Bill Kostroun via WashingtonPost.com)
There were several lowlights for the New York Jets in their ugly 26-3 pre-season loss to the Giants tonight. Mark Sanchez’ general confusion and lack of production as the starting quarterback, or Wayne Hunter‘s impression of a turnstile in giving up 4 sacks are certainly at the top of the list for Rex Ryan and company.
But there was one play by Tim Tebow that epitomized one of the harsh realities Jets fans are going to have to come to terms with sooner or later: the guy just can’t throw the ball. For all the larger-than-life golden boy persona and nonstop ESPN coverage, Tebow has never had – nor will he ever have – an NFL-caliber throwing arm. He can make all sorts of things happen on the field with his legs, leadership, and even short-to-intermediate passes to (wide open) receivers … but you’ll never be able to count on him to make that difficult pinpoint throw in the clutch.
Starting the second half of tonight’s contest for the Jets, Tebow led his team into Giants territory on their best drive of the night, including several pass completions and one first down run. But facing 2nd and 20 from the 29-yard-line, Tebow had rookie WR Stephen Hill all alone in the end zone, thanks to a busted coverage by the Giants secondary. As he drifted to his right, Tebow never set his feet and uncorked a duck that landed well short of its intended target, bouncing harmlessly to the turf.
VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP
18
Aug
2012
Brett Favre is settling in as High School coordinator quite nicely (VIDEO)
Brett Favre won his first game as offensive coordinator for Oak Grove High School of Hattiesburg, Mississippi last night, unleashing his troops for a 64-6 stomping of Sumrall, their unsuspecting opponents.
(Photo: Ryan Moore via Deadspin.com)
As you can tell from the photo above, Favre seems to be settling into his role as a coach quite nicely, tearing into an official after a blown call like he’s been doing it for years. And based on the lopsided score, it seems that the 3-time NFL MVP’s offensive game plan for the Warriors did the trick too. With the win, Favre continued his personal streak of debut victories, having won his first starts with the Packers, Jets and Vikings as a player.
ESPN’s Ed Werder visited with Favre and spoke with the ole’ gunslinger about the challenges of his new position. To his credit, Favre genuinely seems to not want to be a distraction to his players, and is trying to be “just one of the guys”. And of course, Favre is bringing his trademark child-like enthusiasm for the game, which must be a blast for these high school kids to be around.
VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP
27
Mar
2012
26
Mar
2012
Tim Tebow is really, really, really excited to be a Jet (VIDEO)
(Photo: Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images via BleacherReport.com)
The New York Jets introduced Tim Tebow as their backup quarterback today, which means that the circus has officially rolled into town for Rex Ryan & Co.
The anonymous player quotes and speculation as to whether Tebow will compete for starting time with the newly re-upped Mark Sanchez have already begun, and we’re months away from the start of training camp. Just wait until Jets nation gets a real taste of Tebowmania …
For his part, let’s just say that Tebow is “excited” to be a Jet. In fact, let’s let Timmy say it … a total of 44 times during his 30-minute session with the media:
VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP
A Jets fan weighs in on the Tebow trade: “I just don’t get it”
In an effort to present the viewpoints of passionate fans from around the NFL, ReadAndReact will occasionally elicit special guest commentary from some of the more rabid fans we know. We’ll ask them to share their thoughts on the biggest news stories of the day, unfiltered and without limit, for your reading enjoyment.
GUEST COMMENTARY FROM A JETS FAN
Ok, now that I have had time to take it all in … I am still a little confused. I just don’t get it.
Mind you, I have been a Jets fan all my life, and have continually been baffled by what the team does both in the off season and on the field. Being a Jets fan is always like living on a roller coaster of emotions. Something will happen to spark hope, a glimmer of greatness if you will (two consecutive AFC championship appearances). But then reality sinks back in and we end up with the same ol’ Jets! I thought that all of our off-season moves were going pretty well — signing valuable players and filling needed positions at safety and back up QB and then … BAM. Tebow time.
(Photo: Businessinsider.com)
As a displaced Jets fan living in Denver, this was like the nausea that arrives after you have been swiftly kicked square in the nuts. It sucked. But theres nothing I can do so I am trying to see the value and not try to understand the “why”. One thought I just can’t shake out of my head is that Woody made the decision to fill seats and sell jerseys. I went to a few home games in New Jersey last year and the stadium was maybe three-quarters full. I know that Tannembaum and Rex are really pushing to “win now”, as it’s likely that their fates are in line with the success of this season, but picking up Tim Tebow doesn’t really seem like the team’s golden ticket.
That being said, maybe that was never the Jets intent. Maybe they just saw an opportunity to bring value to the team at little perceived cost. With the media surrounding Tebow and New York being what it is, maybe we are just blowing this whole thing way out of proportion. If the Jets made this move to get back, say, Brad Smith, no one would be making such a huge fuss about it. Brad was a QB in college and took over 10 snaps in wildcat formation in many games for the Jets. The big difference was his fit on special teams and in other positions. If Tebow is really willing to do what ever it takes to help the team like he said in his press conference he could prove to be very valuable for the Jets.
The major thing that is keeping me from jumping on the Tebow band wagon is the 4th and 6th round pick we traded away. Will the looks the Jets get with Tebow, combined with his unknown in special teams, be better than the other positions we could have filled in those spots? How bout some offensive linemen? Some pass-rushers perhaps? I guess the draft and the season are the only ways to tell, and it never does anyone any good to play the what-if game. He’s here, he’s a Jet, and now we can just wait and see.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: guest commentary, Jets fans, Mike Tannenbaum, New York Jets, Rex Ryan, Tim Tebow
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