Top 10 2010 Stories From Our AFC Rivals

So the New Year is upon us and we all are expecting some changes with our own team.  The 2010 season was bad enough that we don’t need to rehash it all over again in some top 10 year end recap.   So instead, why not poke a little fun at the three other AFC East opponents and bring to light the “Low Lights” of their 2010 season.  There is an obvious trend with this list as it was rather difficult to pick anyone else but the Jets to pick on.  So enjoy!

Have a happy and safe New Year and may this year…be YOUR year!!!

Continue to page two for the list!

The top 10, 2010 events that made the news for the AFC East

Number 10:

Rex Ryan has confidence I’ll give him that.  After an interview with ESPN’s Monday Night Football crew, Ryan signed the Bus, “The soon to be Super Bowl Champ NY Jets”.  While his team is in the playoffs, they are not expected to do much as the offense has sputtered throughout the season.  But the real news came when shortly prior to the draft, he signed Dolphins soon to be “Ring of Honor” member Jason Taylor.  Taylor has contributed 4 sacks, 23 solo tackles, 10 assissts, and two fumbles.  But Ryan simply made this move to stick a dagger in the hearts of Dolphins fans.

Number 9:

The Buffalo Bills made another brilliant move on November 4th when they claimed former San Diego Charger LB Shawn Merriman off waivers.  Merriman had only recently been taken off the injured list in San Diego and was immediately released.  Merriman made it to one practice before re-injuring his nagging Achilles tendon.  He practiced mere minutes before heading off the field, and onto the IR.  The Bills didn’t lose much more than the salary they had to pay him, but to owner Ralph Wilson, that’s enough.

Number 8:

The New England Patriots decided they had enough and traded disgruntled WR Randy Moss and a 7th round pick to the Vikings and Rick Speilman for a 3rd round pick.  Again proving the rich keep getting richer.  Moss’ stay in Minnesota was brief as he was released two weeks later and claimed by the Titans where he has caught 5 passes for 62 yards.  Moss will enter the off-season a free agent and ironically has said he wants to return to New England.  The Patriots have yet to lose since Moss’ trade and are the top seed in the AFC.  Miami decided against putting a claim in for the WR.  They would have been awarded him if they had.

Number 7:

The New York Jets will take up more of this top ten list than anyone else, but it’s hard not find more deserving reasons.  The Jets kicked off the 2010 New Year with a bang…or in this case a finger.  Enigmatic head coach Rex Ryan found his place plastered all over the news following the single finger salute to a Miami fan at pro-bowl festivities in Miami in late January.  He was fined 50,000 dollars.

Number 6:

On April 10th the Pittsburgh Steelers announced that WR Santonio Holmes, a former Super Bowl MVP, was traded to the, you guessed it, New York Jets.  Hours later the NFL announced that Holmes would be suspended for four games for violations of the leagues substance abuse policies.  Holmes was also under investigation at the time for throwing a glass at a woman in an Orlando, Fl. bar.  He is not in bad company though.  Antonio Cromartie was brought in a month earlier.  He was under investigation for throwing a glass at a woman in San Diego.  I think they are roommates on the road.

Number 5:

Braylon Edwards who had a history of issues while in Cleveland was arrested for DUI on September 21st.  He was suspended for the first quarter of the Miami Dolphins game.  It should be noted that Edwards was the drinking partner of Donte’ Stallworth on the night he killed a pedestrian in Miami.  He was also ran out of Cleveland after complaining about the city, it’s fans, and punching a friend of LeBron James at a nightclub.  Of course that was in 2009.

Number 4:

Do you want to play with feet? Rex Ryan is a lot of things but having a foot fetish was way too much information.  December brought more than Christmas presents as fans of the Jets and their rivals all asked for socks for Christmas.  The Ryan’s, yes his wife Michelle was the focal feet of the videos, decided to allow someone, or allowed themselves, to post the videos on Youtube.  Obviously hoping that no one would figure out it was them.

Number 3:

The Jets do like their women.  Azteca TV reporter Inez Sainz tweeted a shot heard round the NFL world that she felt “uncomfortable” in the Jets locker room following a game in September where she was accosted verbally with cat calls and sexual advances.  She would later say that she didn’t fell all that uncomfortable but the damage was done and owner Woody Johnson had to issue a public apology to the NFL, Sainz, and women everywhere.  This of course led to some in the local media and members of the team to say that her “dress code” was asking for trouble.   It was of course the NY Jets who only two years earlier were chastised publicly by the NFL for their fans habits of blocking women on the stadium ramps until they “showed them their…”  Nice.

Number 2:

The NY Jets have been the NFL bad boys since Rex Ryan came to be the head coach.  While his first year was nothing more than a spout off and failure to get to the playoffs, it was what happened behind the scenes that caught everyone a little off guard.  Coming to light only days before the Jets were set to face Brett Favre and the Vikings on Monday Night Football, the NFL and it’s fans got the news that former team “reporter” Jenn Sterger was bringing to light an incident that involved Brett Favre sexually harassing here while he was a “member” of the Jets…under Ryan.  I use the term “member” because of course that is what was supposedly texted to her.  The Jets conveniently issued a denial to any knowledge of the incident at all.  Ironically, here sideline dress wasn’t much different that Sainz…but apparently, it was o.k.  She was staff.

Apparently timing is everything.  Brett Favre was fined 50K for “failure to cooperate” with the NFL investigation into the incident.  He won’t face suspension and the statue of limitations in New Jersey ran out last week so it looks like Jenn Sterger got the shaft after all.

Number 1:

So here it is the number 1 “event” that rocked the AFC East, and the honor goes to…you guessed it, the New York Jets! Pulling off a sweep of the top 8 slots, the Jets finish the list off with Sal Alosi and his knee tripping sideline antics.  Alosi tripped Miami Dolphins‘ gunner Nolan Carroll during a punt return when he held out pushed out his knee.  The NFL failed to act on their own and instead allowed the Jets to dole out the punishment.  Alosi was fined 25,000 dollars and suspended for the rest of the season.  They made the suspension “indefinite” two days later.  All of the NY Jets management and coaches deny any knowledge of the “wall” being formed.  In fact, adding insult to injury, Special Teams coach Mike Westhoff spouted out that Patriots started the whole thing.  Leading to an NFL chastising for breaking NFL rules and another public apology from Woody Johnson.