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Brandon Jacobs wants Giants to trade him

August 16, 2010: New York Giants running back Brandon Jacobs (27) colliding with New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning (10) during the NFL preseason game between the New York Giants and the New York Jets at the New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Brandon Jacobs is following the handbook for disgruntled athletes to a “T” right now, as he’s already openly complained about his role in the Giants’ offense, made a public scene and will now ask the Giants to trade him.

With the way Jacobs has handled his demotion over the last couple of weeks, which includes a recent run-in with the media during a locker room interview session and throwing his helmet into the stands during last night’s loss to the Colts, the Giants probably wouldn’t mind if the two sides parted ways as well.

The problem is that Jacobs is only in the second year of a four-year, $25 million contract that the Giants gave him in February of 2009. He’s owed $3.65 million this year, $4.65 million next year and $4.9 million in 2012. He’s only 28, but it’s not like he’s a bargain right now – at least not how he’s a) acting and b) playing.

And that’s the bigger problem: his on-field play has been brutal over the past year and two weeks. He gained only 3.7 yards per carry last season and is gaining just 3.3 YPC in two games this year. Granted, he’s only had 16 carries, but he’s done little to nothing with those 16 carries that would convince a team to make a deal for him.

The Bills haven’t made it public, but they would probably be willing to trade Marshawn Lynch for a mid-round pick. Even with all of his baggage, why wouldn’t a team want to acquire him over a disgruntled Jacobs, who-oh-by-the-way is four years older than Lynch?

It appears as though Jacobs is stuck in his current situation for the foreseeable future.

Controversy already brewing in Oakland regarding quarterback position

Oakland Raiders Head Coach Tom Cable adjusts his headset during play against the St. Louis Rams in the fourth quarter at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, California on September 19, 2010. The Raiders defeated the Rams 16-14.  UPI/Terry Schmitt Photo via Newscom

Following the Raiders’ 16-14 win over the Rams on Sunday, a game in which Bruce Gradkowski gave Oakland a lift after Jason Campbell was benched in the second half, head coach Tom Cable wouldn’t commit to any quarterback for Week 3.

Here’s what he said in his post-game presser (from the Oakland Tribune):

“(I) made the switch at halftime at quarterback, basically to just give the team a lift, felt like we needed to change up a little bit and my job is to win games and do whatever it takes to do that.’’

He said the Raiders “weren’t in rhythm, weren’t in synch,’’ and when asked what it meant for the rest of the season said, “ I’ll worry about all that tomorrow, really. I want to go look at it. But today was about winning this game, what did it take to do that, that was the right choice, obviously, and it worked out, and Bruce came in and gave us a lift.’’

But here’s what the team said he said:

Included in the quote sheet distributed by the team was this sentence from Cable: “Today was about winning the game, it does not necessarily mean Campbell is replaced as the quarterback for the rest of the season.”

That’s not what he said, so why would the team try to pull a fast one on the media and attempt to put out a fire that hasn’t even started yet? What Cable said was fine – he didn’t want to make any decisions regarding the quarterback position for next week. And why would he? His backup just earned him a victory when his starting quarterback failed him. Why commit to anything?

Al Davis loved JaMarcus Russell, but Cable didn’t. Russell wasn’t cut sooner than he should have because Davis was protecting his investment. Now Campbell is Al’s investment (he was the one that orchestrated the trade with Washington) and once again there appears to be a conflict of interest.

It’ll be interesting to see how Cable handles the situation this week and whether or not Campbell lines up under center next Sunday in Arizona, or if it’ll be Gradkowski. Something tells me Al would prefer it to be Campbell.

Fantasy Fallout, Week 2: Where Jahvid Best becomes a must-start

Detroit Lions running back Jahvid Best runs for a touchdown against the Philadelphia Eagles during the first half of their NFL home opening football game in Detroit, Michigan September 19, 2010. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)

I actually had Jahvid Best (232 total yards, 3 TD) on my bench (behind Maurice Jones-Drew and Pierre Thomas, in my defense), figuring that the Eagles DT is generally pretty tough and even though the rookie scored twice in Week 1, the Lions running game struggled against Chicago. Well, I think the kid will be in my starting lineup next week. Not only did he average 4.6 ypc en route to 78 rushing yards, he posted 9-154-1 in the passing game. Let’s just hope he can hold up for the entire season. Brandon Pettigrew (7-108) had eight targets to Tony Scheffler‘s (1-5) four. The other lesson we can take from this game is to always start our key guys against the Lions. Michael Vick (284 yards, 2 TD), LeSean McCoy (16 carries, 120 yards, 3 TD), DeSean Jackson (4-135-1) and Jeremy Maclin (3-26-1) all had nice games.

Michael Turner owners were expecting a big week against a suspect Arizona rush defense, but all they got was 75 yards on nine carries and a groin injury. Jason Snelling picked up where Turner left off and racked up 186 yards and three TD on 29 touches. If Turner’s injury is serious (and it doesn’t sound like it is), Snelling becomes a great waiver wire pickup, but there’s a good chance that Turner’s injury is minor and the Falcons elected to shut him down since the blowout was on. Meanwhile, Matt Ryan bounced back from a rough performance in Week 1 to post 225 passing yards and three TDs. On the other side of the ball, Larry Fitzgerald (7-83) put up decent numbers despite dreadful play from Derek Anderson (161 yards, 2 INT), and Tim Hightower (124 total yards, TD) took advantage of another injury scratch by Chris Wells.

Fantasy-wise, the only truly surprising thing to come out of that Ravens/Bengals tilt was the poor game by Joe Flacco (154 yards, TD, 4 INT). The Patriots shredded the Bengals in Week 1 and Flacco looked pretty solid against a tough Jets’ defense, so everything lined up for a good game. At this point, Flacco is not an every-week starter and is better used as part of a QBBC.

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What a difference a week makes for Colts, who crush sloppy Giants

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning (18) greets his brother, New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning after their NFL football game in Indianapolis September 19, 2010.  REUTERS/Brent Smith (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)

One of the most maddening aspects of the NFL is how teams can play like pure, unfiltered garbage one week and the next resemble a completely different unit.

We knew the Colts weren’t going to play as poorly as they did last Sunday all season. But this was a team that gave up 257 rushing yards a week ago in a lopsided 34-24 loss to Houston and also looked out of sync offensively. And with the Giants coming to town on Sunday night, Indy had cause for concern that its weaknesses would once again be exposed.

But in their 38-14 thrashing of the Giants in Week 2, the Colts resembled the team that played in the Super Bowl seven months ago. They were balanced offensively, they forced three turnovers and they ran the ball with conviction. Their run defense was still a bit of an issue (New York gained 120 yards on the ground), but Indy built such a big lead that the Giants had to scrap the run by halftime.

Speaking of the Giants, Tom Coughlin has to be concerned that his team has now turned the ball over seven times in two games. David Diehl and Kareem McKenzie didn’t do Eli Manning (13-of-24, 161 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) any favors, as they allowed Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney VIP access into New York’s pocket on damn near every play. Eli also lost a fumble right before halftime that led to a Colts’ touchdown and while he did throw for two scores, he spent most of the night looking completely befuddled on the sidelines.

Of course, he still had a better evening than Brandon Jacobs, who continues to watch his role in the Giants’ offense diminish and who somehow threw his helmet into the stands at one point during the game. According to ESPN sideline report Andrea Kramer, Jacobs was trying to throw his helmet either on the ground or into the Giants’ bench, yet somehow it wound up landing five rows into the stands. So either Jacobs intended to throw it that far or his helmet was made at NASA and can literally fly on its own.

The G-Men might be 1-1 on the new year, but it’s already time for Coughlin to tighten the reins. Dumb mistakes are killing this team and with the Cowboys off to a brutal start, they can’t be shooting themselves in the foot right now. Losing to the Colts is nothing to be ashamed of, but the Giants were never in it from the start. With a pissed off Titans team coming to town next week, New York better get their affairs in order quickly.

This is why people are high on the Jets

New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez (6) celebrates with Jets' Jerricho Cotchery (89) after they connected on a touchdown pass against the New England Patriots during the third quarter of their NFL football game in East Rutherford, New Jersey, September 19, 2010.   REUTERS/Ray Stubblebine (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)

Outside of maybe the Cowboys, there wasn’t a potential 2010 playoff contender that looked worse than the Jets in Week 1.

They couldn’t run the ball, they couldn’t capitalize on turnovers, Mark Sanchez thought the checkdown was an actual play in the Jets’ offensive playbook…

The Jets were bad. And when an over-hyped team plays bad, they’re going to hear about how overrated they are for the rest of the week, which the J-E-T-S certainly did.

But in typical Rex Ryan fashion, the Jets just gave everyone the middle finger after taking it to the Patriots 28-14 on Sunday. Only in today’s NFL can a player like Sanchez look so hopeless one night and then six days later outplay a three-time Super Bowl winner. After looking pitiful on Monday night, Sanchez finished 21-of-30 for 220 yards with three touchdowns and zero interceptions today, while Tom Brady threw for 248 yards on 20-of-36 passing with two touchdowns but two picks.

Sanchez’s QB Rating after the game was 124.3.

Brady’s? Seventy-two point five.

Yeah, that’s about right.

Sanchez was helped by the fact that the Jets rushed for 136 yards and the defense forced three turnovers. Brady and the Pats were just 1-for-3 inside the red-zone and held the ball for roughly five minutes less than the Jets.

If there was ever a statement game early in the season, this was it for the Jets. They’re still 1-1 and they still have a long way to go before they can even think about reaching the lofty expectations that Ryan set for them, but this was a huge win today. No doubt about it.

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