Letter to the Editor
Manny Lopez
Associate Editor/Features Editor
Detroit News
Mr. Lopez
A report surfaced from the desk of Clark Judge of CBSSports.com, indicating that Super Bowl hero Mario Manningham will be leaving the champion New York Giants this offseason in favor of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Judge wrote today that Manningham would leave with the Giants and move on to Tampa Bay for a shot at playing in a warm-weather location and following ex-Giant quarterback coach Mike Sullivan, who will be the offensive coordinator for the Buccaneers in 2012.
First, they said, he would know Sullivan’s offense, so there is no learning curve. Second, people close to Manningham indicate that he wants to go to a warm-weather club, and last time I checked Tampa Bay qualified on that score.
Another reason mentioned in the article was a shot to make more cash. The Bucs have a lot of cap freed up this season and with a need for a deep-threat target, it seems logical that they would be interested in paying Manningham the money needed to join the team in Florida.
After receiving only 39 catches this past regular season, Manningham told his hometown newspaper, The Vindicator of Youngstown, Ohio, that their was a 75 percent chance he would not be returning to the Giants and wanted to find a home where he would see more passes thrown his way.
Nothing was reported about any specific teams, other than the nearby Cleveland Browns. When asked if he was a Browns fan growing up, Manningham said no and asked for the next question.
It’s unlikely the Giants will bring back Manningham anyways. While he made a remarkable catch for the team in the Super Bowl that was monumental in their victory, he isn’t worth the price tag he’ll get on the open market. Besides, if there is one thing the Giants learned this year, it is that a good free agent can be found after the draft is over as an undrafted player…
Perhaps one thing that needs to be questioned is whether or not any tampering is going on between the Bucs and Manningham. Is this a matter of the sources simply putting facts together and making an educated guess? Or has Manningham told friends that he intends on signing with the Buccaneers when free agency begins on March 13th?
If that’s the case, how does he know there is mutual interest? The only way would be if there was communication between the two parties, which is not allowed under NFL policy and could lead to penalization from the league.
If Manningham ends up signing with the Bucs immediately after free agency opens, the Giants may have a reason to go to the league offices with tampering. Although most of the time these cases don’t work out right for the former team, nothing is lost by bringing it to commissioner Roger Goodell.
Chris Brogan.com
April 15th 11:10PM
Spot on man. I love all the things you list. Top 10 people talking about me, the very first one you listed, is awesome because I think it fills the paranoia we all have about who is saying what. Top 10 people I talk about would also be really cool to have and extremely special for someone who finds themselves mentioning a lot of different people in their tweets.
http://www.chrisbrogan.com/stats-i-really-want-from-twitter-and-other-services/
Problogger.net
April 15th 11:15pm
Nice Guest post Barb!
I feel like this is SO much easier said than done. For one, your critics sometimes are nothing short of idiots. They are uninformed, wrong on their info and do not back up opinions if you disagree. Sure, some critics can be extremely helpful but some of these critics do nothing more than act irrationality towards you with comments they can’t backup. I wish I could find time to make critics my friends. Instead, they push me to hatred!
The Trayvon Martin case seems to have captured the attention of the entire nation, as people are still screaming for persecution for a man who murdered a teenage boy for what has been deemed no reason.
If you don’t believe it has taken over the nation, just take a look at image boards or any other type of place where these conversations are taking place in social media. And the interesting part about putting these discussions on twitter or facebook is that it can spark the interest of many people and many different opinions.
If you go on certain sites, the number of people supporting George Zimmerman is surprisingly high. People who believe Zimmerman actually acted in self defense that night are increasing, perhaps because of social media and people who are convincing others that there is legitamate reason for Zimmerman to kill that boy using self defense.
Pictures are being posted, some true and some not so much. One picture that has circulated on facebook, even amongst friends is this one:
The picture showcases a much more recent picture of George Zimmerman (left) and Trayvon Martin. Funny thing about this picture is that, yes, while this picture is of a Trayvon Martin, it is not the Trayvon Martin that was murdered in Florida. This picture is of a Trayvon Martin that lived in a completely different state.
This is a new, recent picture of Trayvon Martin:
With gold teeth, some people have made the surprising claim that Trayvon deserved to die because he was a “gangster”. It’s an odd concept, that dressing a certain way means something completely unrelated but it has been used by some people who are defending Zimmerman. Ironically, Geraldo Rivera mentioned dress code and its relation to Trayvon’s death as well. While he certainly wasn’t on the side of Zimmerman, he pointed out how a hoodie is a reason for the death far more than racisim. He tweeted these opinions and also spoke of them on television.
His tweets were controversial, as were Trayvon’s Martins prior to his death and his actions in social media, another reason some are pointing to his death as a justified act. His twitter name, @NO_Limit_Nigga featured extremely graphic tweets which have garnished criticizer from many.
The tweets were found before police deleted his entire account. Facebook messages were also discovered that pointed to Trayvon as a drug dealer.
As I’m sure you can see, Social Media has played a huge role in this potential murder investigation. People have used it to discuss the potential crime, justice and other things while it has also come back to potentially bite Trayvon Martin in the ass and paint a negative picture of him that wasn’t previously had. Social media has blown this case to a whole new level and it’s interesting usage by some people have changed some opinions.
Since this was the final chapter reading that we needed to summarize in our blogs, I was really excited to get it done with and get a week closer to this semester ending!
Chapter 26 or chapter 25, was about the new media scorecard and talked about formulas basically on how to communicate with one another and different ways in which they are used and combined to create a general understanding of how we communicate in social media and the tools we use to do so.
If that sounds confusing, don’t worry because it is. This chapter in general was kind of confusing but since we are so close to being done, I was able to get through.
Perhaps the most interesting thing in the chapter or at least it was in my opinion, was that the list of brands that are the most engaging in the way they talk with consumers based on the ranking system used by EngagementDB rankings. I don’t think I was too surprised to see Starbucks at the top of the rankings, nor was I confused to see Ebay at 3. ebay and Starbucks are both fantastic at all the things that the EngagementDB rankings evaluate with, so it made sense to me. What was sort of confusing was the 9th seed ranking by SAP. I had never heard of them and obviously, I wasn’t expecting to see them on the list because of that. Once I looked up more about them, I understood a lot better why they made the list. The same goes for Thomas Reuters. Again, I wasn’t aware of them prior to this chapter.
Among the many formulas used in this chapter, the most interesting in my eyes was the one used to compare how much money they are spending to bring in customers to how much they are making off those customers. Running a business, that has to be one of the most important traits. You want to be able to understand whether or not the effort you are making is worth the cash or if the money being used can be increased to bring in even more cash.
Overall, a good final chapter to the book!
I would want to be a sports columnist.
Outline:
Week 1: The BountyGate Problem
Week 2: NFL Draft and how to fix it
Week 3: NHL Playoffs and Redwings dominance, other teams suckage
It was only a few years ago that New York Jet fans were proclaiming Mike Tannebaum to be on of the very best general managers in the sport. After taking over the team in 2005, Tannenbaum helped propel the Jetsfrom outside the playoff window into perennial Super Bowl contenders within three seasons of his arrival.
But after a season of sheer disappointment and news surfacing that the Jets have allowed right tackle Wayne Hunter to earn guaranteed money, almost ensuring him being on the roster in 2012, is “Tanny” losing his touch as the Jets GM?
As the Jets were failing this past season to produce the results expected, it was becoming evident that a knack for throwing away veteran players became a problem for the team. Tannenbaum’s poor decisions disrupted the team chemistry.
A team can’t work well without leadership, and by the time the Jets had ran through their first cuts before the draft had even arrived, it was evident that some veterans wouldn’t be back in the Jets locker room.
The Jets needed to clear cap space and they chose to do so by showing the door to four players: outside linebacker Jason Taylor, right tackle Damien Woody, nose tackle Kris Jenkins and tight end Brian Hartsock. All of the players involved were veterans in the league and considered good characters in the locker room.
To make matters worse, the Jets failed to replace any of these players through free agency, going with players from their own team to take over. Aside from Sione Pouha filling in for Jenkins, the rest of the projects were busts.
Matthew Mulligan was a penalty machine that could not pass block in replacement of Hartsock.
Wayne Hunter looked like one of the worst offensive tackles in the league.
Taylor was lucky to be replaced by Aaron Maybin, who wasn’t good enough to make the Jets roster out of training camp but lead the team in sacks by the end of the season.
Other moves, like allowing wide receiver Braylon Edwards to sign elsewhere for a man just out of prison in Plaxico Burress weren’t well received by season’s end, either. Nor was spending time courting a cornerback to come and play second-fiddle to Darrelle Revis instead of targeting an actual need like a pass-rusher.
Fans are beginning to throw some blame in Tannenbaum’s corner. But how much does he really deserve?
The Jets were held up against the proverbial wall, cash-strapped and forced to make extremely tough decisions to get back into the playoffs. In retrospect, those decisions that are listed look horrendous. But let’s review them individually.
Wayne Hunter was coming off an overall impressive season filling in for Damien Woody, who was suffering from an injury. At an old age, replacing Woody with Hunter didn’t seem too crazy. In retrospect, it was the worst move of the offseason. But at the time it made sense
Tight end Brian Hartsock was a good player but too expensive for a team like the Jets in a rough cap situation. Mulligan was a cheap replacement and the Jets were keeping him around for a reason. They believed he could be a blocking tight end in this league and it somewhat backfired.
Linebacker Jason Taylor was old and wasn’t as good as the Jets hoped he would be in 2010. Yes, Jamaal Westerman, a third-year player from Rutgers didn’t work out as a pass-rusher liked the Jets had hoped. But Taylor wouldn’t have contributed too much to the Jets in 2012, either.
The Jets believed Braylon Edwards would find big money in the 2011 offseason but he ended up receiving $1 million to play with San Francisco while the Jets played Plaxico Burress $3.017 million as Edwards’ replacement. Either way, Edwards didn’t do much for the 49ers, making only 15 catches for them in 2011.
With Nnamdi Asomugha at cornerback, the Jets looked poised to have the best cornerback duo in the league. However, when he spurned them for the Philadelphia Eagles, Antonio Cromartie had to have felt unwanted.
As seen, the moves made could be justified and they just didn’t end up working out too well. The blame for that goes in a lot of different directions, including head coach Rex Ryan who talks about being able to coach any personality in the league, yet failed to keep a locker room under control once a few leaders departed.
Tannenbaum’s offseason was far from great and another weak one could put his job in jeopardy. That said, saying he is losing his magic touch because of a few mistakes doesn’t seem fair. The Jets have only flirted with success like they have recently on the oddest occasion. Historically, the Jets haven’t been consistently good.
Under Tannenbaum, one of the best Jet teams of all time was built and just fell short of a Super Bowl in 2010. With that under his resume, Tanny deserves more than an offseason and one move to determine whether he still has his magic touch.
While I am under the full belief that both Tannenbaum and Mark Sanchez would both be fired before Rex Ryan, Mike Tannenbaum won’t likely be gone as the Jets general manager until he has a chance to sort out the mess he and the Jets front office made in 2011.
Jets beat writer Manish Mehta wrote an article stating that the New York Jets have given inside linebacker Bart Scott permission to seek a trade from the team.
This may just be the first big mistake of the Jets 2012 season.
It appears that many fans believe Scott, who joined the Jets in 2009 during free agency, is overpaid and overrated. Fans believe that his inability to cover on passing downs and falling snap count make him a player the Jets could do without.
Perhaps that is the case. Perhaps, the Jets could let Bart Scott leave this season, freeing up cap space to make another move.
Well no, they can’t. You see, the Jets guaranteed all of Scott’s contract for the 2012 season as they pursued Nnamdi Asomugha to come and play second fiddle to Darrelle Revis in the Jets secondary. When the cornerback jolted for Philadelphia instead of New York, the Jets were stuck with Scott’s guaranteed contract. No refunds in the NFL.
So in this case, the Jets won’t be freeing up any cap space by getting rid of the undrafted linebacker for next season. All $4.2 million dollars of Scott’s contract will be paid to him by the Jets, regardless of where he plays football.
With that, it’s in the Jets best interest to keep him.
The Jets saw last season what losing leaders in the locker room can do for team chemistry. The Jets entered 2011 as competitors for the super bowl and ended up looking like a team in need of help from Dr. Phil.
Scott may not be the nicest guy to the media, as evident by him flipping them off as he left the locker room for the last time in January. But it’s fair to assume that the man whom Rex brought over from Baltimore to be his defensive leader is well respected in the locker room.
If the Jets want to keep a leader on their team that they have to pay regardless, the “madbacker” shouldn’t be traded from the Jets. Besides, what is General Manager Mike Tannenbaum going to receive in a deal centered around a 31-year-old linebacker that they are shopping? A fifth-round pick at best?
It’s not worth it. Besides, it’s not like Scott is useless for this Jets team. Scott is still one of the best run stoppers on this team and opens up holes to make fellow inside linebacker David Harris look better. Even if he spends this year in a rotational role on mostly running downs, him being on the field is a good thing for this team.
I doubt Scott will be able to find a team willing to trade for him in general. But the Jets should not be allowing this regardless. If you keep Scott, you can draft a linebacker this upcoming April and allow him to learn from Scott for a full year.
The New York Dolphins?
When Jets head coach Rex Ryan was made the head coach of the New York Jets in 2009 and brought in players he was familiar with while working in Baltimore, it made sense. After all, the players Ryan went after came from a team that was among the best defenses throughout the decade.
So the Jets went to work to bring in players to fit their new coach’s personnel. Signings made during the 2009 offseason included star linebacker Bart Scott, breakout safety Jim Leonhard and rotational defensive end Marques Douglas—all former Ravens to help push the Jets defense to the next level after a disappointing 2008 collapse at the hands, or arm, of Brett Favre.
And oh boy, did they improve.The Jets led the league in all major defensive categories during Ryan’s inaugural season as head coach and helped the Jets all the way to the AFC Championship game for only the fourth time in team history. The signings were significantly important as Scott and Douglas helped the team immensely in the running game while Leonard flourished in the secondary opposite of Kerry Rhodes.
Bringing in those players from a system that had success worked for the team. The players familiar to Ryan helped the defensive identity the new coach wanted to bring from Baltimore arrive in New York.
But here is a quick question for you folks: What identity should the Jets be so interested in bringing from the Miami Dolphins to New York?
I understand that the Jets hired Tony Sparano, the Miami Dolphins former head coach, to be their offensive coordinator. I’m not the kind of guy to bash a signing or hiring before even giving the person a chance to show what he can provide. But that doesn’t mean that the Jets should be looking to bring in all these former Dolphins for next season.
the Jets seem to be intent on bringing in players from a Sparano system that failed.
Ready to review the many of names we’ve heard rumored to NY since the Sparano hiring?
After the hiring, Brian Daboll, the man who coordinated the mess in Miami, was rumored here to be Sanchez’s quarterback coach. Thankfully, Kansas City hired him to be the coordinator for the Chiefs and saved Jet fans a major headache.
Then the speculation came regarding the players. One by one Jet fans heard the names of Chad Henne, Vernon Carey and recently Ronnie Brown. Yes, Ronnie Brown, the man who carried the ball 42 times with zero catches for the Eagles and is completely useless in this league from here on out.
Vernon Carey, it appears, will be only brought in by the Jets to replace Wayne Hunter as right tackle. Mind you, Carey was moved to guard this past season for the Dolphins after being replaced over the offseason as a tackle. That said, anyone could probably do a better job than Wayne Hunter did last year.
Chad Henne, of course, is the quarterback who has managed some solid games against the Jets. But is bringing in a quarterback like Henne the right move? Is he the man you want coming off the bench in case of a poor performance from Mark Sanchez?
The Jets shouldn’t be bringing in mediocre players just because they fit a system that failed miserably. They shouldn’t try to become the Dolphins.
Problogger.net
April 9th 9:52 am
Well put. I fully agree with you on the fact that google plus is basically ideal for discussing topics with people you wish because its true. I think because its so new, it is the perfect place to communicate how exactly you want and not have to worry. Twitter used to be like that, as did facebook, but then it grew far too popular and now nothing is truly safe.
http://www.problogger.net/archives/2012/04/09/the-not-so-secret-ingredient-o-an-engaging-blog/comment-page-1/#comment-5045503
Briansolis.com
April 9th 10am
I don’t think facebook is as much to blame a it is the smaller companies that are changing the way that these companies are trying to follow suite. They are relying on other unique ways to change how they advertise. I don’t know necessarily that it is failing but I just feel like people aren’t ready for that way of commerce. I think if Bryan has proof to back up the 70 million, it would prove that.
http://www.briansolis.com/2012/04/brands-give-facebook-f-commerce-an-f/
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