It’s a tale of two cities and, more aptly, a tale of two quarterbacks.

Earlier this week, the Patriots made a very Patriots-like move, re-signing Tom Brady to a deal that not only ensures the greatest quarterback of his generation will retire in New England, but a deal that also frees up cap space to keep a nucleus in place around him. Down in New York, reports surfaced out of the NFL Combine that Jets receiver Santonio Holmes would not consider restructuring his own long-term deal to help create cap space.

Inexplicably, Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez was given a contract extension last March, just a couple weeks prior to the team trading for Tim Tebow. The deal was given by then general manager Mike Tannenbaum even though Sanchez was coming off a season of regression and had two years left on his rookie deal.

Metro looks at the ugly details:

» Original salary (2013):
Brady: $21.8 million
Sanchez: $12.8 million

» Restructured salary (2013):
Brady: $13.8 million
Sanchez: $12.8 million

» TDs/INTs (2012):
Brady: 34/13
Sanchez: 18/8

» Wins (2012)
Brady: 12
Sanchez: 6

» AFC East titles (career)
Brady: 10
Sanchez: 0

» Super Bowl titles (career)
Brady: 3
Sanchez: 0

» Butt fumbles (2012):
Brady: 0
Sanchez: 1

Follow Jets beat writer Kristian Dyer on Twitter @KristianRDyer.

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That’s right, another internet sensation is sweeping the nation. This time, people have created a meme mocking Patriots quarterback Tom Brady as he sat in a dumbfounded stupor after his team lost the Super Bowl.

“Bradyers” are striking the dejected pose in  a series of photos, which are actually catching on at an alarming pace. Seriously, this is a thing.

People of all ages are Bradying up and down the internet — in their homes, in offices, even in casinos. It’s got its own website and people are tweeting about it left and right!  

Take a look and help us make sense of this.

First, the scene that started it all….

And now, the rest:

The post Introducing ‘Bradying,’ the saddest new internet meme appeared first on Metro.us.

Whether they win or lose on Sunday, the Patriots’ hub during this run [quarterback Tom Brady, running back Kevin Faulk and offensive tackle Matt Light] have learned to truly appreciate this rare stretch of good fortune. Each know how turbulent the NFL life is and how much roster upheaval there is annually, so they take pride in knowing they’ve survived – and thrived – together.     

“This makes things extra special [because] you’ll have those memories forever,” Brady said when asked to describe his feelings this week. “It’s a bit surreal being here sharing this experience with this team; sharing this with the guys who have been here since the beginning. Overall, we’re a close team. That’s what puts things in perspective because of how hard it is to get here. You tend to appreciate it more.”   

Faulk, who has made a living off making clutch catches and big runs during his 13-year career, said the longevity of the trio comes down to always being prepared to step up when needed most. He said when a player like himself or Brady steps into the league and immediately starts making plays, it’s easier to build the trust of the coaching staff when asked to perform in pressure situations.    

“The QB and head coach have been consistent, that’s one thing. And they’ve trusted me when needed most,” Faulk said. “I’ve managed to be consistent. You need to make plays and be ready when your name is called. And when you do that you’ll be here for a while.”       

Faulk then added it also helps to have someone like head coach Bill Belichick in his corner, constantly trusting enough in him to give the running back opportunities to come through.      

“Two words, Bill Belichick,” Faulk said when asked how he’s managed to have such good fortune during their run. “There’s a consistency with him. We go into each year knowing that each team is different, regardless of what happened in previous seasons. But he always comes back to the guys he feels most comfortable with.”      

When asked why he thinks Brady has had such sustained excellence, Faulk shrugged matter-of-factly and said that the former sixth-round pick plays with an edge and passion that’s not matched by many.   

“It’s simple. He [Brady] just continues to want to get better, no matter what he’s already accomplished,” said Faulk.  

Follow Tony Williams live from Indy on Twitter: @Tbone8

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To add some context, many Baltimore fans that were in elementary school when the Ravens won their first and only Lombardi Trophy are now graduating college or are firmly part of the greater D.C. work force.

It’s been seven years for 34-year-old Tom Brady.

To add some context, no one had yet heard of the term SpyGate and Gisele Bundchen was just some unattainable supermodel that most football followers had never heard of.

Ed Reed, 33, will go down as one of, if not the, finest safety to ever play in the league. But he is ringless.

Lewis, Brady and Reed are three of the greatest players to ever play their respective positions but a win this Sunday and another one in two weeks would end a lot of debates.

The three players will also be competing against the ghosts of playoffs past and the elite in NFL history this Sunday (3 p.m., CBS). All three are certainly aware of the stakes and that this opportunity won’t be there in, say, 2015 or ’16.

“It’s kind of hard to think about Father Time,” Lewis said. “I don’t have time to think about when it’s over to do this or when it’s time to do that. When it’s over, it’s over. Everybody here has to appreciate that great warriors fight until the end. Those are the ones you remember.”

Brady, in his Belichickian podiumspeak, had this to say:

“This is nothing about last week or last season or last month or 10 years ago,” Brady told WEEI sports radio. “It’s about this week. The clock’s ticking. And every second that goes by, we’re one second closer to getting to that game.”

Perhaps Reed said it most succinct:

“I’m getting old,” Reed told Sports Illustrated this week. “I understand it. One day it won’t be me up here. It’ll be another safety in Baltimore.”

Still kickin’

Despite being in their mid-30s, Ray Lewis, Tom Brady and Ed Reed each had superb 2011 seasons:
   
Ray Lewis still managed to post 95 tackles in 2011 despite missing four games due to a toe injury.
   
Tom Brady was the NFL MVP in 2010 but put up even better numbers in 2011. Brady passed for 5,235 yards and 39 TDs this past year.
   
Ed Reed set the tone for the Ravens’ 2011 season with two interceptions against Pittsburgh on opening day.

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Over the past three games — two of them New England losses — Brady has thrown four interceptions and been sacked eight times.

New York is smelling blood and the target they’re circling is Brady.

“They spread you out; they’re real disciplined,” Jets cornerback Kyle Wilson said. “When a guy’s not doing their job, that’s exactly where they’re going to hit. We got to understand match-ups, because that’s a big aspect of the game for New England.”

There is frustration in Foxboro as they try to pinpoint why Brady is tossing so many more interceptions. Last season, he was picked off just four times. This year, that number is already at 10.

“I think you can look at each play and obviously there’s something that went wrong. A couple balls have been tipped, a couple balls I’m sure he’d like to have back. I’d say for the most part, I think he’s throwing to the right guy,” Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said.

The Jets made Brady look very ordinary in the divisional playoff game last year, completing 29 of his 45 passes for “just” 299 yards.

Brady was sacked five times in that game, a far cry from his effort in a Week 13 blowout win over the Jets when he completed 74 percent of his passes and had four touchdowns. He was flawless that night, but rather ordinary in the playoffs.

“It really just came down to communication, everybody being on the same page, doing their job. The first time up there, we didn’t play some things — technique — as well as we should have,” Wilson said. “[This time] everybody is going to know where they need to be.”

Follow Jets beat writer Kristian Dyer on Twitter @KristianRDyer.

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But don’t expect to see many of the faces from Super Bowl XLII this week — those days are long gone. Two main ones, however, will remain: Tom Brady and Eli Manning.

Manning made headlines prior to the start of the regular season, when he said he was in the same “elite” class as Brady.

Eli Manning? In Tom Brady’s class? Ha!

But maybe he was on to something. The Giants are sitting at 5-2 — the same record as the Patriots — and their quarterback is a huge reason why.

Taking a look at the numbers, Manning appears to very much so be in Brady’s class this season.

Manning ranks third in the NFL in passer rating?(102.1), just behind Brady’s second-best 104.4.

Brady sits fourth in the league in yards (2,361) and completion percentage?(67.6). Manning is fifth in both categories (2,127, 64.7).

And the Giants QB has thrown three fewer interceptions than the Patriots’ signal-caller.

“I think any player in the league, they always feel confident in their ability,” Manning said. “Whether you just played a great game or you just played a poor game — you feel that next week you’re going to go out and play great and make every throw and make every play and put your team in situations to win games. I think that’s the attitude that most athletes have.”

In the grand scheme of things, Manning will never be Brady. But he’s proving that he’s capable of hanging around with the big boys.

And against a secondary like the Patriots, just hanging around may be enough to get the job done.

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But since the start of the season, not many quarterbacks have had as much statistical success as Manning. Manning’s numbers (2,127 yards, 64.7 completion percentage, 13 touchdowns and five interceptions) are comparable to Brady (2,361 yards, 67.6 completion percentage, 18 TDs and 8 INTs), who is also leading a 5-2 squad.

Manning is on his way to the best statistical season of his eight-year career.

“I don’t particularly care about what others say,” head coach Tom Coughlin said when addressing a poll on ESPN that didn’t have Manning in the top 10 current quarterbacks. “He has put together a very, very nice string … He is playing very well and we expect that to remain that way.”

For his part, the always reserved Manning didn’t want to rehash his statement — nor did he want the focus to be on Manning versus Brady. He said while he respects Brady as a “future Hall of Famer down the road” his task is to dissect the Patriots defense, not match Brady in a shootout.   

“I think you just know that their offense is high-powered [and] has the ability to score a lot of points. So, we have to go into the game thinking we have to be smart, take care of the ball and not give [Brady] a short field, give him more opportunities,” Manning said. “You have to try to keep the ball in our hands as long as possible. When we get opportunities to score, when we get into the red zone, we have to get touchdowns.”

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick also had kind words for Manning.

“I thought he was a good quarterback coming in [from college] and he’s still a good quarterback I think … I don’t rank them. He makes good decisions, he’s accurate and a good leader.”

Welker the fan

It’s not a surprise that the media-savvy Patriots would praise Manning, but wideout Wes Welker was especially effusive in his compliments.
   
“I’m definitely a little biased working with Tom,” the Pats’ slot receiver said. “But I think Eli has done it this year and he’s played really well. He’s backing it up from what I can tell.”

WR Nicks still not practicing

The Giants know the Patriots are terrible in pass defense — last in the NFL by over 30 yards per game to be exact.

But whether they will have their top receiver available to exploit that is very much in question. Hakeem Nicks (hamstring) didn’t practice again yesterday.

“Well you have to make adjustments,” Coughlin said. “But you’re still expecting, like under any circumstance, we ask the guys that are coming along to step up.”

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Cromartie refused to backpedal on Wednesday afternoon from comments made last January before the AFC divisional round in which he called Patriots quarterback Tom Brady an “a—hole.”

During his weekly press conference, Brady abruptly walked out after repeatedly being asked by reporters about Cromartie’s comments. Brady failed to take the bait, calling Cromartie an “excellent player” and joking that he’s been called worse names.

“I don’t care what he says about me. I really don’t,” Brady said.

An empty stage a few minutes later would prove otherwise.

While Brady was avoiding the attention, Cromartie stayed on the same message as last year, although he refused to use the same word choice. The Jets’ cornerback also didn’t back down from wanting to play the Patriots’ star quarterback once again, even invoking the “Can’t wait” terminology made famous by teammate Bart Scott.

“It’s going to be fun, can’t wait, as in Bart’s terms, can’t wait,” Cromartie said. “I love playing against New England. It’s fun, it’s a rivalry. Hopefully the words I said last year make it bigger.”

The words from Cromartie last January inspired the Jets in that 28-21 win at Gillette Stadium, limiting Brady to 29-of-45 for 299 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Brady was sacked and hurried like at no point during the regular season. The Jets’ ability to get pressure on Brady and the coverage job of Darrelle Revis and Cromartie were keys in the win.

The gameplan for the Jets will be to throw off Brady’s timing as much as possible to try to get their receivers out of sync with their quarterback. Cromartie called it “beating the hell out of receivers” and it is the same philosophy that worked so well last January.

“We know what type of player [Brady] is. He’s a great quarterback. We just have to do the best in the secondary of covering those guys the best we can,” cornerback Darrelle Revis said. “I think we did a great job last year in the playoffs covering them very well, just playing close coverage. That’s what we’re going to try and do again when we go out there on Sunday.”

Cromartie was a target on the field in that game as the Patriots repeatedly tried to expose him. But he was also in the scope of New England fans with their jeers and gestures directed at a player who days earlier called out the face of the franchise.

“I hope I’m a target this game. I want to be a target every game,” Cromartie said. “I hope I get booed again, honestly, I hope I get booed again. They’re not my fans; my fans are here in New York.”

Despite the animosity, there is a healthy respect from Cromartie for Brady, acknowledging that the Patriots quarterback is an elite player. The memory of just how good Brady can be is still fresh in Cromartie’s mind. In a Week 13 loss at the Patriots last year, Brady had 326 yards passing and four touchdowns.

“He’s the best in the league at what he does,” Cromartie said. “If the defense makes mistakes, he will make you pay for it. He’s the best in the league; he has three Super Bowl rings.”

But still, Cromartie doesn’t like Brady that much.

“I’m not going to change how I feel about Tom Brady from what I said last year. Do I respect him? Yes,” Cromartie said. “He’s a guy with three Super Bowl rings, but when we’re on the football field, I don’t give a damn.”

Follow Jets beat writer Kristian Dyer on Twitter @KristianRDyer.

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The mild-mannered Jaws slipped in a bad word that rhymes with hit while talking about how easy a play should have been. He said it so matter-of-factly that he might as well have been teaching receivers a stop-and-go pattern. With two minutes left in the game, it was time to apologize: “a little earlier in the show, when Chad Henne was making a throw, I said an inappropriate word so I want to apologize. I hope I didn’t offend anyone with that word.” Then came about six seconds of awkward silence.

Nothing like cursing on live TV to spice up an already-interesting game.

Hater in the house

I don’t know if people still make prank (or is it crank?) phone calls, but someone with deft audio skills should cut up the Serena Williams rant at the U.S. Open from this past weekend and really have fun with it. I’d imagine the call going something like this (Serena’s actual quotes are listed below):
 
Victim: “Hello?”
Prank caller: “You’re a hater and unattractive inside.”
Victim: “What?”
Prank caller: “Don’t look at me. Don’t look my way.”
 Victim: “I think you have the wrong number.”
Prank caller: “If you ever see me walking down the hall, look the other way because you’re out of control.”
Victim: “You got the wrong number.”
Prank caller: “I expressed myself; we’re in America last time I checked.”

Pour one out for Tupac

I don’t know where you stand on the East Coast-West Coast rap wars of the 1990s, but Sept. 13, 1996, will always live in infamy. Rapper Tupac Shakur died that day. I thought I’d take you back to see what the sports landscape looked like:

MLB: Yankees beat the Orioles in the ALCS when a kid named Jeffrey Maier reached over the fence and took a homer away from Baltimore’s Tony Tarasco and then rallied to beat the Braves in the World Series.
NBA: Michael Jordan won the All-Star game MVP, NBA MVP and NBA Finals MVP. The Bulls beat Shawn Kemp and the Sonics in the Finals.
NFL: Brett Favre, back when people liked him, helped the Packers top the Patriots in the Super Bowl.

– Jason Raj McIntyre covers athletes off the field and runs the popular blog, The Big Lead.

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And for the Jets head coach, that is perfectly okay.

“If he has a 35 quarterback rating and we win, well, OK,” Ryan said. “That’s what it’s about.”

It is easy to look at Mark Sanchez’s numbers during his first two years in the league and be underwhelmed. After all, his quarterback rating last season was just 75.3 and he still has more interceptions than touchdowns. And then, of course, there are the endorsement deals that come with being a first-round pick, the high profile romances, the dating scandals and the recent shot of him in tight white pants in GQ. All of those things undermine his seriousness as a quarterback in some way.

But Ryan points to one thing when asked to defend his quarterback — four road wins in the playoffs over the past two seasons.

While he may be young, this offseason has shown some maturation in the quarterback. He organized the “Jets West” camp for the team’s offensive skill-position players this past March and then in June got over 40 of his teammates to show up for an involuntary training camp at a North Jersey college.

“He’s always in the playbook,” wide receiver Santonio Holmes said. “He basically wants to be the field general. He wants everyone to see, to believe that he’s that guy.”

Ryan had no problem calling Sanchez “elite” because “he wins the big games,” but it is also his affable personality and willingness to take shots at himself that wins people over. Sanchez didn’t anticipate the blowup after the GQ photo shoot or the response to the accompanying article in which he said that at one point last year he “wanted to fight” Ryan over possibly being benched.

But at the same time, Sanchez remains unflappable in front of his teammates and willing to be the butt of their jokes — namely about the skintight white pants he slithered into for the magazine. Even if Sanchez’s completion percentage cracks 60 percent this season and he has Pro Bowl numbers, the young quarterback earns perhaps more goodwill in the locker room by shrugging off the jabs of his teammates.

“The teasing, I knew it’d come. It’s fun for the guys,” Sanchez said. “It’s fun for me because they know I can take it.”

Follow Kristian Dyer on Twitter @KristianRDyer for live updates and breaking news from Jets training camp. It’ll be just like you’re in Florham Park … without having to actually be in Florham Park.

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“So what?” was his response at April’s Masters.

Good point.

Tiger doesn’t have to have his name on the top of the leaderboard to remain the top athlete on Forbes’ Power 100. Nor did he need a consistent swing to rake in $75 million in 2010. Woods has remained the most popular and polarizing athlete since Michael Jordan hung up his Bulls jersey, and he figures to stay that way if he can win another major this year.

2 Lance Armstrong — People are rooting hard for him — and the man isn’t even competing anymore. While fending off cheating allegations, he continues to focus on his foundation, which is one of the top 10 groups funding cancer research.

3 Peyton Manning — The Colts’ quarterback could overtake Woods in endorsements this year. The four-time NFL MVP remains the face of the league and is the most lethal passer at the most important position in professional sports.

4 Tom Brady — He may not be shouting at you to “cut that meat,”?but he’s must-see TV, even during the lockout, when videos of him awkwardly dancing went viral.

5 Jimmie Johnson — The  five-time defending NASCAR Sprint Cup champ is the most dominant athlete in a sport that is bigger than the NFL in parts of the South.

6 Manny Pacquiao — Pacman is the world’s most dominant athlete. The congressman took in $20M for dusting Mosley and could earn $50M if he fights Mayweather.

7 LeBron James — Cleveland still hates him, but David Stern will always love him. After teaming up — or copping out, however you look at it — with D-Wade and Bosh in Miami, LeBron has paved the way for future superteams to take over the watered-down NBA.

8 Albert Pujols — The Cards’ slugger may be offered $30 million a season when he tests free agency this winter. His move could set in motion a much-needed MLB salary cap.

9 Kobe?Bryant — The Black Mamba is still the NBA’s best player. LeBron couldn’t have led an underwhelming Lakers’ squad to three straight NBA Finals. Although his career is on the decline, his international brand remains stronger than LeBron’s.

10 Cristiano Ronaldo — The Real Madrid star is soccer’s version of Brady. His transfer fee from Man. U was a record $132 million and he dates SI Swimsuit cover girl Irina Sheik.

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