Not since Donald and Ivana has there been a nastier public divorce.
It began with rumors swirling around the New York tabloids more fiercely than the dreaded Giants Stadium winds. But then, on April 12, the unthinkable happened. The New York Jets traded away Keyshawn Johnson to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
What followed was a one-way war of words between Johnson and his former team, namely coach Al Groh and wide receiver Wayne Chrebet. Johnson lambasted them on a weekly basis - Groh for not being the one to inform him of the trade and Chrebet because Johnson has always displayed a nonsensical antipathy toward the receiver that used to line up across the field from him, dating to Johnson's first days in New York. The opinionated receiver still has not gotten over the move, lashing out at Groh and Chrebet again on Monday and claiming that the Jets willingly transformed themselves from contenders to also-rans.
The hatred and bitterness will come to a head on Sunday, when the Jets travel to Raymond James Stadium to face their former teammate. Oh, by the way, both teams are 3-0 and trying to get a stranglehold on their respective conferences.
Beyond the hard feelings, Johnson has brought a dimension to the Bucs offense that was sorely needed last season. His toughness, height, and talent draw the respect of opposing defenses, opening up holes for the running game, helping other receivers get open, and allowing the Tampa offense, moribund a year ago, to show flashes of explosiveness.
The addition of Johnson, along with the often overlooked acquisitions of center Jeff Christy and guard Randall McDaniel from the Minnesota Vikings, has also trickled down to second-year quarterback Shaun King, who has looked sharp this season. So far, King has thrown four touchdown passes without an interception.
The multidimensional attack has paid off on the scoreboard. Tampa Bay has scored over 20 points in each of its first three games this year. Last year, the Bucs did that just five times in 16 games. They have scored more than 30 points twice, once more than in all of last season, and exceeded 40 in Week Two against the Chicago Bears, something they had not done since 1989, also against Chicago.
But the real reason that the Bucs are so scary is that they combine a good offense with the NFL's most dominating defense. The unit has been so effective that it has produced the NFC Defensive Player of the Week in each of the first three weeks this season (linebacker Derrick Brooks, cornerback Ronde Barber, and defensive tackle Warren Sapp). Led by Sapp, the best all-around defensive lineman in the game, the defense has completely shut down opposing offenses over the last two seasons. With a burgeoning offense to complement it, they are, at this moment, the best team in football.
The Jets, on the other hand, may be the luckiest to this point in the season, a well-deserved change in fates after a 1999 campaign plagued by injuries to key players and an off-season which brought the loss of Johnson, Bill Parcells, and Bill Belichick. So far they have done just fine without those guys.
New coach Al Groh's squad has been just good enough to win its first three games. The Jets opened the season by squeaking past the Green Bay Packers 20-16 and followed it with a come-from-behind 20-19 triumph over Belichick and the New England Patriots. A 27-14 win over the Buffalo Bills last week leaves the Jets alone atop not only the AFC East, but the entire conference, the only undefeated team left.
That does not mean that the team has been without its trouble spots. Foremost is a drop-off in the passing game. Quarterback Vinny Testaverde has not been as sharp as he was in 1998, when he threw for 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions in leading New York to a 12-4 record. That is partly due to his missing almost the entire 1999 season with a ruptured Achilles, but it has a lot to do with Johnson's absence as well. Chrebet and Dedric Ward, starting alongside him, have had trouble getting open, leaving Testaverde to complete less than half of his passes to this point in the season.
But they have played well enough to win, invalidating predictions of gloom that surrounded the offense after Johnson's departure. Keyshawn, in fact, was not even the Jets' most valuable offensive player last season. Running back Curtis Martin was more important in each of the last two years, and while he has been slowed by a minor knee injury early in the season, he should prove more and more valuable as the season progresses.
Until he does and the offense finds its form, the Jets will be forced to rely partially on dumb luck, like they did in averting a sure interception by New England cornerback Antonio Langham in Week Two that would have ended the game and completing a Hail Mary to Marcus Coleman last week. That, and a refurbished pass rush, led by first-round picks Shaun Ellis and John Abraham, the latter of whom was acquired with one of the draft picks the Jets received for Johnson.
That the Bucs are for real is a pretty sure thing. We'll have a much clearer picture of whether or not the Jets are by Sunday night.
Salute this:
Little did Denver Broncos' running back Terrell Davis realize when he devised the Mile High Salute to celebrate touchdowns in the last few years that he was trying his hand, rather successfully, at predicting the future.
When Davis hurt his knee last year, the Broncos turned to rookie Olandis Gary, who rushed for over 1,000 yards. When Davis' ankle was sprained in the team's opener, Denver once again turned to Gary, but he was lost for the season with a torn ACL on that night. That left the Broncos with former Marine Mike Anderson to carry the running game until Davis returned. After two games, the returns are in and Denver is three-for-three with running backs.
While the Broncos' outstanding offensive line undoubtedly has played a part in the their ability to unearth great backs from out of oblivion, Anderson's story is still impressive. Considered a low-level prospect, the 27-year-old rookie latched onto the Broncos after two years at Utah. Since being pressed into action, he has responded big time. He chalked up 131 yards while scoring two touchdowns in a 42-14 win over the Atlanta Falcons in his debut. Anderson followed it up last week with a mind-boggling 187 yards on 32 carries in a critical 33-24 win over the Oakland Raiders that put Denver in the early driver's seat in the AFC West race.
While Anderson's role may be limited once Davis returns, he has put in his claim to be this year's Kurt Warner, emerging from nowhere to become a star.
Browns say goodbye to Brown
A sad footnote to the incident in which referee Jeff Triplette accidentally threw a flag into the eye of Cleveland Browns offensive tackle Orlando Brown last December occurred this week. The Browns, who signed the 6-7, 350-pound lineman to a $27 million contract last year, released Brown, who still has serious vision problems today and is unable to do more than ride a stationary bike and walk.
Brown, whose father lost his sight due to glaucoma, has reportedly hired lawyer Johnnie Cochran and may sue the NFL. The league has since asked officials to weigh their flags down with sand, not BBs, and cautioned them not to throw flags directly at players.
But in Brown's case, it is too little too late. Growing up, how many times did we hear a teacher or parent say that it's all fun and games until someone loses an eye? Unfortunately, the NFL apparently never learned that lesson and Brown's career is, in all likelihood, over.
