Gotham Gridiron

The Gotham Gridiron Podcast: The Cookie That Did Not Crumble: Remembering Cookie Gilchrist

Mark Healey — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 02:52:36 +0000

He was considered by many to be the AFL equivalent of Jim Brown; a powerful rugged runner who was as outspoken as he was fearsome. But for many football fans, Cookie Gilchrist is an unknown, That fact is sad in its own right, considering his amazing talent as well as his efforts to make professional football an establishment that treated all of its players fairly and equitably.

But the greater crime is illustrated in a new book by Chris Garbarino; “The Cookie That Did Not Crumble”. Garabino is a retired NYPD detective who befriended a severely ill Gilchrist — via Facebook, no less
– during the last year of his life.

The New York Daily News:

Before Gilchrist died, Garbarino promised him he’d tell his story and, when no publisher or author was interested, he decided to do it himself, in spite of a total lack of writing experience, unless you count police reports.

For someone who considers himself a sports historian, and who thought he was familiar with the player Cookie Gilchrist, this writer found it to be an extremely educational and fascinating read. To learn more about Gilchrist and his story, listen to the Gotham Gridiron podcast interview with Garnarino here.

The book is available on Amazon.con, and you can purchase it here.

Culture Mob: Dan Picca: All Pro Acts of Kindness

Mark Healey — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 16:47:12 +0000

Recently, popoular blog site Culture Mob shut down its sports department. In his last article for the site, Dan Picca wrote a great story illustrating the power of athletes who “get it”.

Andre Carter with Daniel

It was late August and at the midpoint of the too-long pre-season the NFL is looking to eliminate in the next collective bargaining agreement. The Washington Redskins were at the New Meadlowlands for the third of four exhibition games. The Skins pulled out a 16-11 victory over the New York Jets that night. Toward the end of the game a group of youngsters went down to the railing behind the Washington bench. Some were heckling the visitors. Others were just seeking their heros’ attention. Dan Salomon is an 11-year old Jets fan. He was respectfully calling out to defensive end Andre Carter. Even though the game was still going on, Carter’s day was done. So he politely posed with the lad for photos. Dan proclaimed, “I can’t believe he came over and took a picture with me!” But it got better for the Central Jersey sports fanatic.

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Gotham Gridiron Week Six Picks

Christopher Wenrich — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 09:29:28 +0000

Week five of the NFL regular season shared a common theme: LOSING. The Buffalo Bills remained winless in what appears to be another dismal – albeit expected – season.

The losing was contagious in week five, as it afflicted the Gotham Gridiron team as well. Hawk Drobnis eluded this sickness, as he posted a respectable 8-6 record in week five while every other member of the Gotham Gridiron team posted a 6-8 record. Week five’s lovable losers were the Cincinnati Bengals, New Orleans Saints, Dallas Cowboys and San Diego Chargers. Every member of the Gotham Gridiron Pick ‘Em league selected them.

Tony Romo and his Cowboys (1-3) will face Brett Favre and the Vikings (1-3) this week.

Speaking of losing, the Dallas Cowboys (1-3) travel to Minnesota to take on the Vikings (also 1-3) this week in a matchup of slow-starting NFC favorites.

After five weeks of the NFL season, I currently lead the way in the Gotham Gridiron Pick ‘Em league with a 45-31 record, followed by Hawk Drobnis and Mark Ferraro (both are 43-33). Jay Ferraro is 42-34 on the season.

Seattle Seahawks @ Chicago Bears

Dugger: Chicago
Hawk: Chicago
Mark: Chicago
Jay: Chicago

Miami Dolphins @ Green Bay Packers

Dugger: Miami
Hawk: Green Bay
Mark: Miami
Jay: Green Bay

San Diego Chargers @ St. Louis Rams

Dugger: San Diego
Hawk: San Diego
Mark: San Diego
Jay: San Diego

Baltimore Ravens @ New England Patriots

Dugger: Baltimore
Hawk: New England
Mark: Baltimore
Jay: New England

Detroit Lions @ New York Giants

Dugger: New York
Hawk: New York
Mark: New York
Jay: New York

Atlanta Falcons @ Philadelphia Eagles

Dugger: Atlanta
Hawk: Atlanta
Mark: Atlanta
Jay: Atlanta

Cleveland Browns @ Pittsburgh Steelers

Dugger: Pittsburgh
Hawk: Pittsburgh
Mark: Pittsburgh
Jay: Pittsburgh

New Orleans Saints @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Dugger: New Orleans
Hawk: New Orleans
Mark: New Orleans
Jay: New Orleans

Kansas City Chiefs @ Houston Texans

Dugger: Kansas City
Hawk: Houston
Mark: Houston
Jay: Kansas City

New York Jets @ Denver Broncos

Dugger: New York
Hawk: New York
Mark: New York
Jay: New York

Dallas Cowboys @ Minnesota Vikings

Dugger: Minnesota
Hawk: Dallas
Mark: Minnesota
Jay: Minnesota

Indianapolis Colts @ Washington Redskins

Dugger: Indianapolis
Hawk: Indianapolis
Mark: Indianapolis
Jay: Indianapolis

Tennessee Titans @ Jacksonville Jaguars

Dugger: Tennessee
Hawk: Tennessee
Mark: N/A
Jay: Tennessee

Christopher Wenrich is a Fantasy Sports contributor for GothamGridiron.com and BaseballDigest.com. He can be reached at philliesmuse@yahoo.com

Gotham Gridiron Week Five Picks

Christopher Wenrich — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 08:57:36 +0000

The return of Ben Roethlisberger will have to wait a week, as the Steelers have a bye in week five. Although week five of the 2010 NFL season does not shape up to be the most interesting, it has its share of stories.

The Chicago Bears will be without quarterback Jay Cutler this week. Cutler was sacked nine times by the Giants in week four.

The Kansas City Chiefs must defeat the Indianapolis Colts to remain as the 2010 NFL season’s only undefeated team through five weeks. The Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers, Detroit Lions and San Francisco 49ers are all seeking their first wins of the season. The Chicago Bears will take on the Panthers; however, they will be without quarterback Jay Cutler.

The struggling Minnesota Vikings look to bounce back as they take on the New York Jets on Monday Night Football. The Vikings recently acquired superstar wideout Randy Moss from the New England Patriots. Moss will be expected to jump-start the passing game.

In the Gotham Gridiron Pick’ Em league, I was 11-3 in week four; the rest of the Gotham Gridiron crew had a bit of a rough week. As of week five, I currently lead the way with a 39-23 record. Mark Ferraro is second at 37-25, followed closely by his brother Jay at 36-26. Then there’s Hawk Drobnis at 35-27. Drobnis had done quite well in the first three weeks; however, a 6-8 record in week four hurt his place in the standings.

Here are the Gotham Gridiron crew’s week five picks:

Jacksonville Jaguars @ Buffalo Bills

Dugger: Buffalo
Mark: Jacksonville
Jay: Buffalo
Hawk: Buffalo

Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Cincinnati Bengals

Dugger: Cincinnati
Mark: Cincinnati
Jay: Cincinnati
Hawk: Cincinnati

Atlanta Falcons @ Cleveland Browns

Dugger: Atlanta
Mark: Atlanta
Jay: Atlanta
Hawk: Atlanta

St. Louis Rams @ Detroit Lions

Dugger: Detroit
Mark: St. Louis
Jay: St. Louis
Hawk: Detroit

Kansas City Chiefs @ Indianapolis Colts

Dugger: Indianapolis
Mark: Indianapolis
Jay: Indianapolis
Hawk: Indianapolis

Green Bay Packers @ Washington Redskins

Dugger: Green Bay
Mark: Green Bay
Jay: Green Bay
Hawk: Washington

Chicago Bears @ Carolina Panthers

Dugger: Carolina
Mark: Carolina
Jay: Chicago
Hawk: Chicago

Denver Broncos @ Baltimore Ravens

Dugger: Baltimore
Mark: Baltimore
Jay: Baltimore
Hawk: Baltimore

New York Giants @ Houston Texans

Dugger: New York
Mark: New York
Jay: Houston
Hawk: Houston

New Orleans Saints @ Arizona Cardinals

Dugger: New Orleans
Mark: New Orleans
Jay: New Orleans
Hawk: New Orleans

Tennessee Titans @ Dallas Cowboys

Dugger: Dallas
Mark: Dallas
Jay: Dallas
Hawk: Dallas

San Diego Chargers @ Oakland Raiders

Dugger: San Diego
Mark: San Diego
Jay: San Diego
Hawk: San Diego

Philadelphia Eagles @ San Francisco 49ers

Dugger: Philadelphia
Mark: San Francisco
Jay: Philadelphia
Hawk: Philadelphia

Minnesota Vikings @ New York Jets

Dugger: Minnesota
Mark: New York
Jay: New York
Hawk: New York

Christopher Wenrich is a Fantasy Sports contributor for GothamGridiron.com and BaseballDigest.com. He can be reached at philliesmuse@yahoo.com

Vikings Are Contenders Again

Christopher Wenrich — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 23:25:22 +0000

After a 1-2 start to their 2010 NFL season, the Minnesota Vikings appeared to be pretenders. Brett Favre is a shadow of his 2009 self at this time. Favre currently carries a 60.4 passer rating and has passed for 597 yards (199 yards per game), two touchdowns and six interceptions.

Despite the team’s struggles, Adrian Peterson is firing on all cylinders. Through three games, Peterson rushed for 392 yards (130.7 per game) on 70 carries (5.6 yards per carry) and three touchdowns. More importantly, the fumble-prone Peterson has no fumbles at this time.

The return of Moss will make the Vikings' offense dangerous in every way.

The Vikings recently acquired veteran wideout Randy Moss from the New England Patriots. Moss instantly turns the Vikings into contenders again. His presence on the field will also help boost the fantasy values of tight end Visanthe Shiancoe and Favre. He will also help enhance the fantasy value of Peterson as well.

The Vikings’ offense now becomes unpredictable. Before the Vikings acquired Moss, opposing defenses only had to key in on Peterson as Favre struggled without young wideout Sidney Rice. Now Favre has a dangerous weapon who can stretch the field and keep the defenses guessing. Shiancoe will get more catches and Peterson will have more big runs.

Peterson is still the heart and soul of the offense this season; however, Moss will help Favre regain his 2009 form. If Favre is unable to produce with Moss by his side, then perhaps nobody can help him.

Christopher Wenrich is a Fantasy Sports contributor for GothamGridiron.com and BaseballDigest.com. He can be reached at philliesmuse@yahoo.com

Monday Night Miracle

Mark Ferraro — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 12:16:40 +0000

The game between the Minnesota Vikings and the New York Jets has so many storylines. It’s the return of Favre to face his old team and Randy Moss is back with the Vikings, really? The most important thing for the Jets is the return of Santonio Holmes, Darrelle Revis and Calvin Pace to the starting lineup. Holmes is back from his four game suspension and will just be another weapon for the “Sanchise”. Calvin Pace will provide the pass rush that the Jets are looking for and his presence will improve the “D”. Revis has been cleared by doctors to play this week, so it’s up to the Jets to decide. Don’t rush Revis, make sure he is 100 percent, that’s the key!

The Jet fans will be ready to boo the hell out of “Brett the Jet” on Monday Night. A lot of Jet fans believe Favre just used the Jets to get to where he is now, the Vikings. We loved when Favre lead the Jets to that 8-3 start, but then everything turned and the Jets finished 9-7. There were rumors is the beginning of the week that the Jets called Favre before they drafted Sanchez to make sure he was staying retired, well that was a lie! My strategy for the Jets “D” is to pressure Favre and make him throw the ball all over the field. It will be interesting to see if the bye week will affect or help the Vikings out, we will have to wait and see.

During halftime of the Vikings/Jets game, the Jets will be honoring the Monday Night Miracle game against the Dolphins that happened on October 23, 2000. The Jets came back that day from 23 points down in the fourth quarter to beat the Dolphins in overtime 40-37. Some of the former Jets players who will be this ceremony are Vinny Testaverde, Wayne Cherbet, Marvin Jones, and the offensive lineman who caught the touchdown to tie the game in the fourth quarter, Jumbo Elliott. The players attending the ceremony will wear their game day jerseys and take the field. That is going to a tremendous moment to see if you are going to the game, too bad they don’t show it on television.

The New York Jets will defeat the Minnesota Vikings 23-17. Favre will throw a key pick or two that will get the Jets the “W”. I actually Moss will have a good debut with Minnesota because I believe he has a chip on his shoulder. Holmes will make an impact and Sanchez will continue his great rhythm with Dustin Keller. Percy Harvin will be under the radar in his game because the Jets might be double teaming Moss for most of the game. Minnesota is ranked ninth in the NFL against the run, so Greene and LT won’t combine for 200 yards of rushing like they did last game against the horrible Buffalo Bills. It should be a fun one at the Meadow

Same Old Jets, No More!

Mark Ferraro — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 12:03:45 +0000

This Jets team is not the “same old Jets” because they did yesterday what good teams are suppose to do, beat the bad teams on your schedule. If the Jets were the “same old Jets”, they would have overlooked this game and lost to one of the worst teams in the NFL. The Jets beat the Buffalo Bills on Sunday afternoon 38-14. The Jets dominated on offense by having 444 total yards, 25 first downs, and were 7-15 on third downs. The “Sanchise” again was looking like a franchise quarterback, completing 14 of 24 passes for 161 yards and three touchdowns. Over his last three games, Sanchez has 8 TD and 0 INT. It was good to see Jerricho Cotchery get involved in this offense by catching 3 passes for 26 yards.

Hopefully, people listened to me when I said they should pick up Dustin Keller in their fantasy league. He had 4 receptions for 28 yards and two touchdowns. Braylon Edwards looks more focus since his DWI arrest and caught a wide open touchdown pass from Sanchez. This was the best combined running attack game by LT and Greene. They combined for a total of 273 rushing yards, with LT having 19 rushes for 133 yards and two touchdowns, while Greene had 22 rushes for 117 yards. It was essential to see Greene have his first big game of the year. We love the way LT is playing, but we can’t forget how key Greene is to this offense. The offense line had there best game of the year, especially Matt Slauson. It seems like every week, the offense line is gaining more continuity. We even saw a Joe McKnight sighting in the fourth quarter, so maybe he can be a piece to this offense. With Holmes comes back next Monday night, this Jets offense will only get better!

The Jets defense played well against Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Buffalo Bills. The Jets defense coming into the game allowed the most third down conversions so far this year, but on Sunday, the “D” did not let the Bills complete a third down. Lee Evans, who usually kills the Jets, was a no show as Cromartie shut him down. Jet fans were concerned about C.J. Spiller, but he was also a no show. The one scare from the defensive perspective was seeing Shaun Ellis getting hurt, but he is expected to be fine. It will take Kyle Wilson sometime to improve on his skills because he continues to struggle and looks lost sometimes. Nick Folk, you can’t miss easy field goals! I still don’t trust this guy if the Jets need a big kick! The Jets are flying high right now, and as a Jet fan, you have to put a big smile on your face!

Mark Ferraro is a New York Jets and fantasy football columnist for Gotham Gridiron.

The Kinda Perfect Trap Game

Mark Ferraro — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 22:41:05 +0000

The New York Jets are now 2-1 after their week three win over the Miami Dolphins, 31-23. The Jets offense was great for a second consecutive week getting 402 total yards. Mark Sanchez looked liked “the Sanchise”, completing 15 out of 28 passes for 256 yards and 3 touchdowns. Sanchez is developing a great relationship with tight end, Dustin Keller, who had 2 touchdowns Sunday night. If Keller is available in your fantasy football, you better pick him up! The one thing I’m curious to see is if Keller’s fantasy value will drop after Holmes returns next week? The new look Braylon Edwards, who people said shouldn’t play, made a huge impact in the game. Edwards’s first catch of the night was for 67 yards and a touchdown. He finished the night with 2 catches for 87 yards and a TD. Who didn’t like the way Edwards celebrated after his touchdown?

Like I said last week, I didn’t approve of what Edwards did, but the Jets are just worrying about winning a Super Bowl. Most likely, Sanchez will have games this year where he will throw 2-3 picks, but if he can play like he has the last two weeks, the Jets can make a big run this year. Think about it, the Jets are still missing Revis and Holmes, who are both scheduled to come back in next Monday night’s game against the Vikings. Calvin Pace, who they are also missing, might come back this week against Buffalo. Once these three guys are back on the field, the Jets are only going to get better. The Jets signed former Ravens defensive linemen, Trevor Pryce, who is third active in sacks since 2000. Guess who’s first? That’s right, Jason Taylor. Pryce is a good signing because it adds more depth to the defense and the Jets are hoping he can get to the quarterback.

This is a perfect trap game for the Jets this week, as they face the 0-3 Buffalo Bills. The Jets won two consecutive divisional games and next week, it’s the return of Favre, so the Jets can’t look ahead. Please, just take care of the Bills first. The Buffalo Bills beat the Jets last year in their first meeting and played the Jets well in their second matchup at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.

I think the Jets will win 24-16, that’s right, it will be a close game! The Bills will be in this game because they will play the Jets tough. Sanchez had his worst game against Buffalo last year, when he threw five interceptions in their home lost. Sanchez wants to improve his play against the Bills, so I’m confident he will play well for a third consecutive week. I expect LT and Greene to dominate and combine for at least 125 yards. I’m interested to see how Drew Coleman plays at CB, as he makes his first start off the year, replacing Kyle Wilson. The Jets need to take care of business and win the damn game!

Mark Ferraro is a New York Jets and fantasy football columnist for Gotham Gridiron.

Gotham Gridiron Week Four Picks

Christopher Wenrich — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 21:28:23 +0000

Week three of the NFL season brought us two big surprises: the Kansas City Chiefs won yet again to improve to 3-0; the San Francisco 49ers lost yet again and fell to 0-3. I doubt many outside of Kansas City or San Francisco expected these teams to have these particular records.

The Minnesota Vikings were able to defeat the Detroit Lions to improve their record to 1-2 on the season. Brett Favre once again had a subpar game; however, Adrian Peterson rushed for over 140 yards against the Lions, including a career-long 80-yard touchdown.

The New England Patriots escaped with a narrow 38-30 victory over the lowly Buffalo Bills. The Atlanta Falcons defeated the Saints in a thrilling overtime game after a blocked field goal was negated by Saints coach Sean Payton’s timeout. Atlanta’s second attempted was good and sealed the deal.

Hawk Drobnis currently leads the Gotham Gridiron crew in Pick ‘Em football with a 29-19 record. Mark Ferraro holds the upper hand against his brother Jay in the sibling rivalry, as Mark is also 29-19 while Jay and I are both 28-20 at this time.

Here are Gotham Gridiron’s week four picks:

San Francisco 49ers @ Atlanta Falcons

Hawk: Atlanta
Mark: Atlanta
Dugger: Atlanta
Jay: Atlanta

New York Jets @ Buffalo Bills

Hawk: New York
Mark: New York
Dugger: New York
Jay: New York

Cincinnati Bengals @ Cleveland Browns

Hawk: Cincinnati
Mark: Cincinnati
Dugger: Cincinnati
Jay: Cincinnati

Detroit Lions @ Green Bay Packers

Hawk: Green Bay
Mark: Green Bay
Dugger: Green Bay
Jay: Green Bay

Denver Broncos @ Tennessee Titans

Hawk: Tennessee
Mark: Tennessee
Dugger: Denver
Jay: Tennessee

Seattle Seahawks @ St. Louis Rams

Hawk: Seattle
Mark: St. Louis
Dugger: St. Louis
Jay: St. Louis

Carolina Panthers @ New Orleans Saints

Hawk: New Orleans
Mark: New Orleans
Dugger: New Orleans
Jay: New Orleans

Baltimore Ravens @ Pittsburgh Steelers

Hawk: Pittsburgh
Mark: Pittsburgh
Dugger: Baltimore
Jay: Pittsburgh

Houston Texans @ Oakland Raiders

Hawk: Houston
Mark: Houston
Dugger: Houston
Jay: Houston

Indianapolis Colts @ Jacksonville Jaguars

Hawk: Indianapolis
Mark: Indianapolis
Dugger: Indianapolis
Jay: Indianapolis

Washington Redskins @ Philadelphia Eagles

Hawk: Philadelphia
Mark: Washington
Dugger: Philadelphia
Jay: Philadelphia

Arizona Cardinals @ San Diego Chargers

Hawk: San Diego
Mark: San Diego
Dugger: San Diego
Jay: San Diego

Chicago Bears @ New York Giants

Hawk: Chicago
Mark: Chicago
Dugger: New York
Jay: Chicago

New England Patriots @ Miami Dolphins

Hawk: Miami
Mark: Miami
Dugger: New England
Jay: New England

Christopher Wenrich is a Fantasy Sports contributor for GothamGridiron.com and BaseballDigest.com. He can be reached at philliesmuse@yahoo.com

Roethlisberger Set To Return

Christopher Wenrich — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 20:22:52 +0000

The Pittsburgh Steelers are currently 3-0 and atop the AFC North as they prepare to take on the 2-1 Baltimore Ravens. During the preseason, I stated the Steelers would make the playoffs if they achieve at least a 2-2 record before Ben Roethlisberger’s return. That mission is accomplished; the Steelers will be 3-1 at worst and 4-0 at best.

Despite Roethlisberger’s absence, the Steelers’ playmakers have posted solid – if not great – fantasy numbers. Running back Rashard Mendenhall has been spectacular, rushing for two touchdowns thus far and averaging 110 yards rushing per game. Through three games, Hines Ward has 10 receptions for 151 yards and a touchdown. Rookie wideout Mike Wallace seems to hit one big play every game. Wallace has seven receptions for 187 yards (26.7 AVG) and two touchdowns.

Roethlisberger’s return will only enhance the fantasy value of his wideouts. Currently, Roethlisberger is only owned in 78% of Yahoo! fantasy football leagues. To the other 22%: what are you waiting for? Add Roethlisberger immediately if he’s on waivers in your league. Even if you have no plans to start him, Roethlisberger can serve as insurance on your bench or as very valuable trade bait.

Christopher Wenrich is a Fantasy Sports contributor for GothamGridiron.com and BaseballDigest.com. He can be reached at philliesmuse@yahoo.com