Bronx, NY - The New York Jets lost three-straight road games and were left for dead after only 5 games in the 2011 football season. It wasn't so much that they lost those games after starting the year 2-0. It was the way they lost them. They lost by 10 traveling across the country to face the Oakland Raiders in the Black Hole. The following Sunday night they got abused back east by the Baltimore Ravens. The final was 34-17 but the game was never that close. They had a chance to right the ship when they faced hated division rival the New England Patriots. They only trailed by 3 at halftime but could not stop Tom Brady and company in the second half as the Pats amassed 446 total yards by game's end. Running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis trampled over Rex Ryan's defense for 136 rushing yards.

Then the infighting began with veteran wide receiver Santonio Holmes calling out the offensive line and their failure to protect quarterback Mark Sanchez. When Derrick Mason, Plaxico Burress, and Holmes complained to Ryan about the offensive play calling, Mason gets traded to Houston. Although Ryan and General Manager Mike Tannenbaum denied it, many in and out of the organization felt Mason was used as a scapegoat. The New York Jets were in an early season crossroad when they faced the winless Miami Dolphins.

Although they came away with the victory, Miami gave them a run for their money. The more talented San Diego Chargers came into MetLife Stadium before the Jets were scheduled for their bye week. Sanchez throws 3 touchdown passes to Burress and Shonn Greene rushed for 112 yards. The defense forced 2 Phillip Rivers interceptions and shut out the Chargers in the second half. After the bye, their next 2 games would be against the Buffalo Bills and the rematch against New England. A chance to distance themselves and put themselves in the position to win the division. One down one to go.

In what may have been their best defensive performance, the Jets shook off first-half offensive mistakes and buffaloed the Bills 27-11. How dominant were they defensively? They only allowed 14 first downs for the entire game while picking off two Ryan Fitzpatrick's passes. Buffalo did not score in the first half. They kicked a field goal early in the third quarter and did not score again until the game was totally out of reach. Fitzpatrick had averaged 234 yards per game. He ended up with 191. The running game, led by Fred Jackson, came into the game averaging 135 yards. The Jets stuffed them, giving up only 96 yards. If not for a first-quarter Sanchez red zone interception, a fumble and a Nick Folk-missed field goal, the game would have been a complete laugher.

The New York Jets had been 0-2 under Rex Ryan coming off the bye week. He reminded the team of that stat and it must have caught their attention. Now he's hoping they can keep the momentum going when Wonder Boy, Tom Brady, comes to town Sunday night.
A win would at least give them a tie, depending on what Buffalo does when they travel to Dallas Sunday afternoon.

Know one thing: The Jets will be looking at the tapes from the New York Giants, Patriots game to see what Big Blue did on both sides of the ball to come away with a 24-20 victory. It was the first time the two teams met since the Giants blew up New England's quest to run the table in the 2006-2007 season winning the Super Bowl in Arizona. Although the game Sunday did not have that kind of significance, it showed the Giants could overcome injuries at key positions against a quality team. Running back Ahmad Bradshaw was out with broken bone in his right foot. Starting wide receiver Hakim Nicks hamstring prevented him from playing. Still, Eli Manning showed why he is becoming one of the elite quarterback's in the league. Twice, with his team trailing, he drove them downfield to take the lead.

First, down 3 (13-10) with a little more than 7 minutes to go, Manning directs an 8 play, 85-yard drive connecting on a 10-yard touchdown pass to Mario Manningham. Brady gets the ball with 3 minutes to go and good field position as Manningham was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. Nine plays later, the Patriots took their last lead of the day when Brady finds tight end Ron Gronkowski for a 14-yard touchdown pass. With 1:36 left in regulation, a field goal would have sent the game into overtime. Manning wanted it all. Starting at their own 20, Manning completes passes to wide receiver Victor Cruz (19 yards) and tight end Jake Ballard (28 yards). Looking downfield on his next pass attempt, Manning steps up in the pocket and scrambles for 12 yards. On the next play with Cruz streaking towards the end zone, Manning heaves the pass as Cruz gets bumped by free safety Sergio Brown who is called for pass interference. It sets up the game-winning, one-yard touchdown pass to Ballard.

Both the New York Jets and the New York Giants set themselves up with big wins to dictate how their season will go from this point on. After losing three in a row, many were ready to throw dirt on the Jets. They can put some room between them and New England with a win Sunday night. The Giants travel to San Francisco to play the surprising (7-1) 49ers. It only gets more interesting after that as they face the Eagles, New Orleans, and Green Bay. Hopefully, they can get both Bradshaw and Hicks back. They're going to need them.

Upon Further Review: Shame on Dallas, the Jets, Minnesota, Oakland, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, San Diego, New Orleans, Green Bay, and the Eagles 

I wish the first 11 weeks were as easy to write about the results of the NFL games as Week 12 was. Why, do you ask? Very simple: There were two sets of turkeys, the ones that were carved up on the dinner table and the ones that were carved up on the football field.

In order, starting with the traditional annual holiday day games, Dallas, the Jets, Minnesota, Oakland, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, San Diego, New Orleans, Green Bay, and Philadelphia did not give their fans any reason to celebrate the long weekend. In fact, they were probably responsible for more upset stomachs and throbbing (hangover) headaches after watching their teams lose in the fashion they did.

Dallas took a 3-0 lead against the Washington Redskins and then were burned by 28 second-quarter points as Robert Griffin 3rd threw touchdown passes of 68, 59 and 6 yards in the 38-31 win. The Cowboys did manage to make a game of it with a second-half run, but the lead was insurmountable. The Boys go on to host the Eagles Sunday night while the Skins host the Giants Monday night...The Jets laid the biggest turkey egg of the weekend when they hosted the hated New England Patriots. There are a lot of things you can do in a span of 52 seconds. Having 3 touchdowns scored against you should not be one of them. That's exactly what happened to Gang Green in their 49-19 loss. The Patriots scored 35 points in the second quarter putting the Jets asleep faster than the chemical digested from having too much turkey. Most embarrassing was Jets QB Mark Sanchez bouncing off the rear end (insert joke here) of right guard Brandon Moore causing Sanchez to fumble and recovered by Steve Gregory who returned it 32 yards for the touchdown. The Jets and their playoff hopes are as done as the turkey that was waiting for them after the game. They host Arizona while the Patriots travel to Miami. Their stomachs are hurting not from the amount of food they ate but because they are still laughing at the outcome of the game...Minnesota had a chance to tie Chicago for first place when they faced the Bears on Sunday. They got out to a 3-0 lead then saw the Bears score the next 25 points in their 28-10 win. Chicago's defense helped the cause by getting into the end zone twice. The Vikings go to Green Bay while the Bears play another home game against Seattle...Oakland is still asking themselves why they trekked halfway across the country to play the Bengals. Before they knew it, the Raiders were down 24-0 in losing 34-10. Cinci's QB Andy Dalton throws for three TDs and 210 yards while running back BenJarvis Green-Ellis ran for 129 yards and one TD. The Bengals play another west coast team, but this time they travel across the country when they face the Chargers who allowed a 4th and 29 conversions to the Ravens losing in overtime 16-13. Baltimore was on its own 37 with 1:37 left in the game when Rutgers star Ray Rice took the screen pass and scampered the 29 yards needed for the first down. Justin Tucker kicked the 38-yard field goal to send the game into overtime in which they won to push their record to 9-2. The Ravens host the Steelers who started third-string QB Charlie Batch but could not overcome 7 turnovers in their 20-14 loss to Cleveland. It was only the second time the Browns had beaten Pittsburgh in their last 18 games. Cleveland goes to the black hole to face the Raiders...The Titans were facing a Jacksonville team that had only one win coming into the game. The Jaguars left with their second win after QB Chad Henne threw two TDs in the 24-19 win. The Jags came into the game having lost their previous seven games. Tennessee goes home to face Houston while Jacksonville goes to Buffalo who are coming off a loss to the surprising Colts 20-13 as Indianapolis improved its record to 7-4. The Colts head to Detroit who is still trying to get over their 34-31 OT loss at the hands of the Texans. It appeared that Texans running back Justin Forsett was down but he continued to run and turned it into an 81-yard TD run. Before the play could be reviewed, Lions head coach threw the challenge flag which not only negated the review but penalized Detroit for unsportsmanlike conduct. The Texans would score a late touchdown and then kick a field goal in overtime to win the game and improve to 10-1. The Saints took a hit to their playoff chances when they fell at home to San Francisco 31-21. For his second straight start, backup QB Colin Kaepernick had a solid game throwing for one TD and running for another. Saints Drew Brees threw three TDs but also threw two INT's, which were returned for touchdowns. The 9ers visit St. Louis while the Saints play Atlanta Thursday night...The Eagles free fall continues in losing Monday night to Carolina 30-22 for their seventh straight loss. Carolina saw Cam Newton pass for 2 TDs (306 yards) and run for another 2 (54 yards) as they visit the Chiefs...Atlanta squeezed by Tampa 24-23 to become the second team with 10 wins...The Rams invade the Cardinals Janoris Jenkins picks off two passes and returns them for touchdowns in the 31-17 rout. The Cards are another team with a seven-game losing streak. Miami kicked a field goal as time expired in its 24-21 win over Seattle. Ex-Jets running back Leon Washington (seems like the ex-Jets are the only ones having a good year) ran a kickoff back for a touchdown. The eighth time he has done that tying an NFL record...Denver kept the Chiefs winless at home in its 17-9 win to improve to 8-3. Peyton Manning continued his campaign for MVP throwing 2 more TD passes and 285 yards. Denver hosts Tampa...Finally, talk about taking advantage of a bye week. The Super Bowl Champion New York Giants were coming off 2 straight losses (Pittsburgh and Cincinnati) when they came off their bye week to face the Green Bay Packers. Giants QB Eli Manning shook off the "weak arm" rumors by throwing three TDs for 249 yards in the whipping of the Packers. The defense had Packers QB Aaron Rodgers on the run all night as he was sacked 5 times before the night was over.

So Week #12 is in the books. I'm not sure who had the worst weekend, the turkeys that were cooked for hours in the oven or the teams that were cooked on the field.

Rashad Jennings is making a positive impact on young people through his nonprofit foundation, the Rashad Jennings Foundation

Rashad Jennings, a former running back for the New York Football Giants, is now a free agent, but he is not letting any grass grow under his feet.

On his LinkedIn post, Jennings says he spends his off-seasons traveling, training, and impacting lives through his 501(c)3 nonprofit, the Rashad Jennings Foundation. During the 2015-2016 school year, the Rashad Jennings Foundation was in over 25 schools in four states and impacted over 20 thousand students. The foundation’s focus is on literacy, mentorship, and health & fitness initiatives.

For more information about the Rashad Jennings Foundation’s and to get involved with the Rashad Jennings Foundation on an individual or corporate level, please visit RashadJenningsFoundation.org.

A former Milwaukee Bucks dancer is suing the team for “prolific wage abuse”

Laura Herington claims that she was grossly underpaid while employed as a dancer by the Milwaukee Bucks.

The dancers are paid flat fees for games, practices and personal appearances with the total aggregate of hours spent sometimes averaging $3-4 per week. As of now, the Bucks organization has not commented about this case. At this point in time, Herington is the first NBA dancer to file such a suit. However, the NFL has faced complaints by some of its cheerleaders, with the Raiders reaching a settlement with their cheerleaders.

In 2014, the Raiderettes filed suit against the Oakland Raiders claiming that their wages were held until the end of the season, they were forced to pay for many of their business expenses and one cheerleader claimed that her wages were less than $5.o0 an hour.

No Real Surprises with the Top Five 2015 NFL Draft Picks

With the No. 1 pick at the 2015 NFL Draft, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Florida State University quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner, Jameis Winston

Many in the media predicted that because of Winston’s off-the-field issues that he would slip out of the No.1 NFL Draft pick position. However, Buccaneers coach Lovie Smith and general manager Jason Licht stuck with their reported game plan. They said repeatedly over the past two months that they were comfortable with the prospect of taking Winston.

Winston generated negative headlines when he was cited for shoplifting crab legs from a supermarket and later suspended for one game last season after climbing onto a table in the Florida State student union and shouting an obscenity.

Additionally, Winston was accused of sexual assault during his freshman season at Florida State; however, prosecutors felt they did not have enough evidence to bring charges against the football phenom.

Below are the Top Five 2015 NFL Draft Picks and their respective NFL teams:

Jameis Winston   Tampa Buccaneers
Marcus Mariota    Tennessee Titans
Dante Fowler       Jacksonville Jaguars
Amari Cooper      Oakland Raiders
Brandon Sherff    Washington Redskins