Sports WorldSports World

Editorʼs NoteIn this issue of Sports World we are going give you articles pertaining to baseball (MLB), basketball (NBA),

and football (NFL). We are going to show what is going on in these three sports from MLB free agency to

NBA lockout news to whats going on in the NFL season. Personally i think its going to be a exciting time in

MLB from Albert Pujols of the World Series Champion St Louis Cardinals to Prince Feilder of the Milwaukee

Brewers to Jose Reyes of the New York Mets and many more. Iʼm also tired of the NBAʼs league owners

and Playerʼs Association playing the the blame game, trying to sway public opinion to their side. Also NFL

season had its share of surprises from the so called dream team the Philidelphia Eagles having a losing

record to the Detriot Lions and San Francisco 49ners having winning records. Will the Super Champion

Green Bay Packers match the New England Patriots perfect regular season. I hope you enjoy this issue ofSports World.

Table of Contents

MLB pgs 4-7

NBA pgs 8-11

NFL pgs 12-15

GM turnover to impact Hot Stove dealingsRelationship dynamics a factor as seven teams have new facesAnthony Castrovince By Anthony Castrovince | MLB.com Columnist | Archive 11/29/11 10:00 AM EST

In the end, the club-construction chess moves we love to banter about come down to relationships.

Relationships between and among the front offices talking trades, and relationships between the people de-ciding how much money to put in a contract proposal and the player and agent who will say yay or nay.

So when you see as much turnover among general managers as we've seen this offseason, you see thatmany of those relationships are going to be redefined. And that's going to have major implications on thisparticular Hot Stove market.The exact turnover total since the end of the regular season, by the way, is up to seven spots, now that theAstros, under new ownership, have parted ways with Ed Wade -- a move that had been forecast manymonths ago.

Once Wade's successor is selected, the Astros, who will operate under Dave Gottfried in the interim, will jointhe Red Sox (Ben Cherington), Cubs (Jed Hoyer), Orioles (Dan Duquette), Twins (Terry Ryan), Angels (JerryDipoto) and Padres (Josh Byrnes) in tapping into new leadership in the GM role. And when we rememberthat the D-backs (Kevin Towers), Indians (Chris Antonetti) and Mets (Sandy Alderson) also made GMchanges before the 2011 season, that's a full third of the 30 teams performing a changing of the guard withinthe past 14 months.

Much was made about the 12 managerial changes made between the starts of the 2010 and '11 seasons(and that number continues to evolve as we head into 2012), but the in-game maneuverings and clubhousespeeches don't have nearly the lingering, long-lasting effects that a change in front-office philosophy canbring.

The above GM changes, then, are substantial. Sure, some of the names have been around (especially inthe case of Ryan, who replaced Bill Smith and took over the job he departed four years ago). But any timefresh perspectives enter the equation, they can engender fresh results.

The more old-school among us believe the former fraternity feel of the GM ranks has given way to a con-stantly changing field of faces that can actually impede the ability to get a deal done -- a thought articulatedin this article.

"For years, there wasn't as much turnover in GMs," Towers said when interviewed for that story. "You'd go to[the GM or Winter] Meetings and there were guys who had a long tenure. So you valued relationships, youknew what they liked and didn't like and how they interact in putting a deal together. But when there's somuch turnover, it's hard. Trying to learn new people and the way they do things, it's hard."

Towers has a point, as knowledge of the way a peer likes to work can serve as a stable starting point for atrade conversation.

But that point is potentially countered by the possibility that all this new blood in baseball's arteries will bringabout a little more boldness in the bartering.

The Cubs have the potential to be the starkest example, in that regard, as they've shifted from the statusquo of Jim Hendry to the foundation-building mindset of Theo Epstein and Hoyer.

That means players once thought untouchable -- and I'm thinking here of somebody like Matt Garza, whowas Hendry's prized acquisition a year ago -- could now be on the block, because the Cubs' new regime hasto know that this is a club that will need to build from the ground up to become a legit contender. Players likeGarza (under team control through 2013) and lefty reliever Sean Marshall (2012) might not fit the bill ofthose plans and are worthwhile targets for clubs with more win-now mentalities.

Then again, with the Cubs suddenly rumored by FoxSports.com to be in pursuit of either Albert Pujols orPrince Fielder because of the Draft changes that might affect their long-term building plans, perhaps we'llsee them as premier players in free agency, after all. It's quite possible, though, that they are just trying todrive up the price on Pujols for their Cardinals competitors.

As for the club Epstein departed, the Red Sox, it will be interesting to see how his successor approaches theon-field needs in the wake of the great collapse. Boosted by one of the game's most ample revenuestreams, Epstein had become awfully aggressive in free agency and too often got burned.

So as Cherington tackles the leftover remains, will he show a little less aggression in that area and perhapslean more toward the trade market? Will somebody like Kevin Youkilis (injury-plagued as he might be, atpresent) or Marco Scutaro be considered a movable piece in the search for pitching repairs? Does Bostonroll with Daniel Bard in the ninth inning, rather than dipping into a deep and costly closer's pool? The an-swers to those questions will tell us a lot about Cherington's approach to the position.

Likewise, across the country in Anaheim, Dipoto has inherited a team with the resources to contend rightaway but holes that must be addressed. Already, Dipoto has been active in the free-agent search for startingand relief help, and we'll see if he's equally active in the trade market, given the bundle of outfield/firstbase/DH types the Angels have accrued over the years.

Cherington and Dipoto are the exceptions to the rule that when a GM change occurs, it quite often takesplace on a team in need of a major overhaul or at least a major influx of young talent. So it is with the situa-tions inherited by Duquette, Ryan, Byrnes and the mystery man (or woman, as Kim Ng could be a candi-date) in Houston. We could very well see guys like Jeremy Guthrie, Francisco Liriano, Denard Span,Orlando Hudson, Chase Headley and Wandy Rodriguez moved as the newly named GMs sink their teethinto the tasks at hand.

Undoubtedly, we'll now have seven clubs with fresh perspectives on what is considered an acceptable returnfor the services of their established talent and what it's going to take to field a winner, either in the immediateor the long-term.

And that's going to be a significant subplot of this Hot Stove season.

Five NL stars looking to bounce back in 2012Bernie Pleskoff By Bernie Pleskoff | MLB.com Columnist | Archive 11/28/11 11:00 AM EST

The 2011 season wasn't kind to several high profile National League players. Injuries took their toll and/orplayers struggled at the plate. Many have work to do to regain their offense.

For most, the reasons for their declines are fairly clear. Their ability to bounce back, however, is a bit hazier.Here are a few of the NL hitters hoping to rebound in the coming season: What happened to Braves out-fielder Jason Heyward? After a good rookie year when he hit .277 with 18 home runs and 72 RBIs, this pastseason Heyward declined in all three categories. His slash line plummeted to .227/14/42. There is littlequestion an inflamed right shoulder impacted his hitting. At times he also experienced numbness in his handand forearm.

In order to repeat a refined and well-practiced swing, a hitter must have all moving parts working properly.That's especially true for Heyward, as his right shoulder leads his swing. Just as an individual tends to com-pensate when walking with a stone in his or her shoe, a hitter compensates and adjusts when trying to hit inpain. The change in the swing can cause negative ramifications. That's what may have happened to Hey-ward. His swing changed. He tried to do too much with a sore shoulder and fell into bad habits at the plate. Areturn to health and full strength in his arms, wrists and shoulders will likely return the young basher to thetype of numbers he registered as a rookie.Brewers third baseman Casey McGehee saw his average decline 62 points from the .285 mark he posted in2010. He lost playing time as the season progressed, but at 29 years old, he hasn't lost the total confidenceof Brewers management.

In all likelihood, McGehee will be given the opportunity to bounce back. What went wrong? Not unlike manybig league hitters, he struggled with offspeed pitches and breaking balls. Swinging and missing at pitchesdown and away or swinging too early and pounding the ball into the ground precipitated his decline. Half ofMcGehee's balls in play were hit on the ground. If he recognizes breaking balls, improves his timing and re-fuses to swing at pitches outside the strike zone he will ultimately see more fastballs.

Staying back on the pitch will increase his fly-ball and line-drive rates, hopefully improving his average andextra-base hits in the process. The task of making adjustments at the plate is very achievable for McGehee.

Another hitter that struggled with breaking balls was third baseman Pedro Alvarez of the Pirates. At onepoint in May, Alvarez went on the disabled list with a quad strain. Overall, Alvarez regressed offensively from2010, resulting in a disappointing sophomore year. Some critics and analysts think he was not in the bestplaying shape, believing poor conditioning resulted in his offensive decline.

Conditioning aside, Alvarez has to increase his plate discipline, as well as his pitch recognition. Most impor-tantly, he has to avoid the types of swings and misses that result in pitchers throwing a steady diet of sliders,cutters and curve balls. Once a pitcher takes control of at-bats, the hitter assumes a defensive approach atthe plate. Compared to his rookie year, Alvarez lost 65 points in batting average -- he hit .191 this past sea-son -- and hit 12 fewer home runs in 2011. He had a combined .278 batting average with 46 homers and169 RBIs as a Minor Leaguer.

The Minor League production of Alvarez provided a glimpse of the power and ability that resulted in himbeing a former No. 1 Draft choice. In a relatively surprising move, Alvarez has declined the Pirates' recentrequest for him to play baseball this winter. He will have to refine his hitting approach and improve his condi-tioning regimen to regain his competitive offensive edge. The overall task won't be easy, and the effort willbegin this spring.

Mets outfielder Jason Bay's offense has declined for three consecutive years. He has seen his batting aver-age plunge from .267 in 2009 to .259 in 2010 and to .245 in 2011. He hit 36 home runs and drove in 119runs in '09, his last year in Boston.

Bay hasn't come anywhere close to those numbers in New York. Consider his first year with the Mets. Hesuffered a concussion that kept him out of the lineup for an extended period of time. He hit .259 with sixhomers and 47 RBIs. He was not the player the Mets had hoped they were getting as a free agent. This pastseason, Bay's average dipped again to that .245 low with 12 homers and 57 RBIs. He missed the start of theseason with a rib/side injury.

Factor in the difficult hitting dimensions of Citi Field and a picture begins to emerge. Bay has not played withthe same physical condition he enjoyed in Boston. In addition, the hitting environment in New York has im-pacted his results. In an effort to aid hitters, the Mets have shortened the fences at Citi Field for the 2012season. Bay appears to be healthy. Regardless of where he plays next year, the veteran slugger may poten-tially return to the production he had with Boston.

At age 27 and entering his statistical prime, Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez should be the toast of Miami.Ramirez has been able to hit for average and power while being a consistent run producer throughout hiscareer. At least that was the case until this past season.

Hanley hit only .243 with 10 home runs and 45 RBIs in 2011. This is the same player with a .306 career bat-ting average in seven seasons with the Marlins. In 2007 he stole 57 bases. In 2008 Ramirez hit 33 homeruns. In 2009 he hit a whopping .342. Those types of numbers qualified Hanley as a baseball superstar. Thispast season qualified Ramirez as a struggling question mark. And as a result of those tumbling offensivenumbers, Ramirez is now also classified as a comeback candidate.

So what happened? What went wrong? For openers, Ramirez does not have the same body type he had inhis early years. He is a bigger, stronger edition, having increased his muscle mass and overall body weight.Perhaps his personal hitting goals have changed. Once a high-average contact hitter with intriguing power, itseems he is becoming a pure power hitter. He may now be a middle-of-the-order offensive force whose goalis to hit a home run in each at-bat. Some may argue Ramirez is swinging for the fences with a longer, lessdisciplined approach. Possibly. It must be remembered that because of injury, Ramirez had only 338 at-batsthis past season. In August, he fell and landed on a previously surgically repaired shoulder. He didn't playthe rest of the season. While he was showing improvement at the plate until that injury in the second half,this September Ramirez again had surgery on his left shoulder. A healthy return for Spring Training is proba-ble. If totally healed, his star will shine once again.

Rebounding from a negative season is challenging. It's safe to say that players like those above and otherslike them will do what it takes to regain their offensive edge. Each has a chance to come all the way back.

Let the wheeling and dealing beginUnder the new CBA rules, you can expect a lot more trades in the NBA

Adande By J.A. AdandeESPN.comArchive

The NBA sought a collective bargaining agreement that would limit player movement and in the process gota system that makes it easier to move players.

If you love trades, you'll love the new rules. Incoming and outgoing salaries don't need to match as closely.The obscure base-year compensation rule that left many trade ideas as far from reality as a concept car atan auto show is almost gone. And even the luxury-tax teams are free to join the sign-and-trade party -- atleast for the next two years.

The luxury-tax teams are precisely who you would expect to be the most active in this newly loosened free-agent market. The proposed system all but gives them a mandate: Go for it now, while you still can partici-pate in sign-and-trade deals and before the luxury tax penalties get stiffer, at a potentially lower threshold.So it makes sense for the Lakers and Spurs and Celtics to push in all their chips, no matter the cost, andhold off on using the amnesty clause to get out of the luxury tax until a couple of years down the line.

What this proposed set of rules -- which still need to be ratified by the owners and players -- would do ismake the NBA more fun for all of us amateur general managers. You're less likely to see the dreaded red"This Trade Failed" rejection when you run your ideas through the ESPN.com Trade Machine. (Before youwear out your mouse button, be warned the new proposal needs to be finalized before the Trade Machinecan be updated with the new rules).

Best of all, we can get back to judging real trades based on statistics instead of salaries. So many moveswere payroll-related that I didn't even bother to analyze the production of the players; instead I went straightto the spreadsheets to see the financial motivations behind the deals. With the amnesty clause allowingteams to clear their bad contracts off the salary cap, we won't see as many trades executed strictly for thesake of landing expiring contracts that can translate into cleared cap space. No more Pau Gasol for KwameBrown.

It doesn't mean the end of adding players to the configuration to get a deal done, though. For example, if theLakers wanted to send Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom to the Magic for Dwight Howard, it would requireadditional players in order to get the salaries in line because Howard doesn't make quite enough to offsetBynum's and Odom's salaries. But we have seen the last of players getting traded for salary cap purposes,only to be waived and re-sign with their old team for the rest of the season. In the new deal, waived playersare not allowed to re-sign with their old teams until one year after the trade or the July 1 expiration of theircontract, whichever comes first. Call it the Z Clause, since we all remember Zydrunas Ilgauskas going backto Cleveland after he was sent to Washington in the Antawn Jamison trade, then waived by the Wizards.

Unfortunately, the new proposal does not allow for teams to use the amnesty clause on a player who hasbeen acquired in a trade; it's only applicable to contracts that are currently on the books. I would have likedto see teams that don't have a pressing need use the amnesty clause rewarded for their spending discretionand be in position to pick up cheap talent in exchange for taking expensive contracts off the hands of teamsthat had already used their amnesty clause.

Meanwhile, there are provisions that don't allow the big spenders to fully participate in this expanded trademarket. One of the new toys that tax teams don't get to try out is the looser traded player exception that al-lows teams above the salary cap to take back the lesser of 150 percent of the salaries being traded plus

$100,000, or 100 percent plus $5 million. Previously, teams were limited to receiving 125 percent plus$100,000 of the traded players' salary.

So let's say the Suns wanted to send Steve Nash back to Dallas and Shawn Marion back to Phoenix, theteam that drafted him. Nash can't be enthralled with the prospect of sticking around for the final year of hiscontract or coming back to a team that, at best, has a shot at making the playoffs. Phoenix could let him re-join his buddy Dirk Nowitzki and go for a ring with the defending champions. He'd also complete the circle,teaming with Jason Kidd again after Kidd mentored him in his rookie year in Phoenix. Dallas might need thepoint guard depth with free agent J.J. Barea a strong candidate to win the Tyronn Lue Award for biggestraise earned by a secondary player during the NBA Finals. And if the Mavericks re-sign Caron Butler, theywon't need Marion as much.

Phoenix, meanwhile, could use a versatile small forward like Marion, especially because Grant Hill is a freeagent and Vince Carter will be as soon as the Suns decline the $18 million final-year option on his contract.The Suns were 34-14 (.708) when they sent Marion to Miami as part of the Shaquille O'Neal trade in Febru-ary 2008. They finished 21-13 that season and have had a winning percentage of .575 ever since. That's notall about Marion, and Marion isn't all he was four seasons ago, but he showed in the Finals that he can stillbe a matchup advantage and contribute to a winning team.

Whether you like that trade idea or not, the point is it can be done, straight up. It wouldn't work under the oldrules because Nash's salary of $11,689,062 would not fall within 125 percent of Marion's salary plus$100,000 ($10,128,061). But 150 percent of Marion's salary plus $100,000 is $12,133,673, which wouldallow the Mavericks to make the deal (as long as they did it before any free-agent signings put them abovethe luxury tax).

Another option now available to the Suns would be trading Nash to the Atlanta Hawks for Al Horford (thedeal would have to wait until after Jan. 15). Any team could use an All-Star big man like Horford. And howabout Nash joining the perpetually point guard-deficient Hawks to throw alley-oops to Josh Smith? (And, umSmith swatting away any opponents who get past Nash and into the paint?) Or Nash driving and kicking toJoe Johnson the way he used to in Phoenix? It could happen, with only Nash and Horford having to changejerseys. It wouldn't be so easy under the old rules. Because Horford's salary jumped more than 20 percent(to $12 million) this season and he would have been considered a base-year compensation player and hisvalue for trade purposes would have been only 50 percent of his salary, or $6 million, not nearly enough tocompensate for Nash. Now that rule has been wiped out, so this deal could be done.

These are just two examples, based on one player on one team. Go ahead, let your imagination run wild. Allof a sudden, your ideas are no longer so far-fetched.

Breaking down changes in new CBANew labor deal could mean much heftier luxury taxes for big spender

Coon By Larry CoonSpecial to ESPN.comArchive

David Stern and Billy HunterPatrick McDermott/Getty ImagesPlayers and owners have a tentative agree-ment. How does the deal compare to the old CBA? Read on.

Following a take-it-or-leave-it offer from the league, the dissolution of the players' union, the filing of a fed-eral antitrust lawsuit, and a 15-hour settlement negotiation, the two sides in the NBA labor dispute came to atentative agreement to settle the players' lawsuit. This agreement is expected to lead to a new collective bar-gaining agreement (CBA) and allow teams to resume business on Dec. 9 -- with opening day slated forChristmas.

Although many "B-level" issues remain to be resolved, this tentative agreement provides the framework forwhat will become the new CBA. The changes in the tentative agreement represent sweeping changes to theNBA's economic system. Here is a summary of the principal deal points as they relate to the 2005 CBA.

Length of the agreement

• 2005 CBA: Seven years, with a league opt-out in 2011 (which the league invoked).

• 2011 CBA: Ten years, with a mutual opt-out (either side can opt out) in 2017.

• Who benefits? While it is encouraging to think that we won't have to witness another lockout until 2022, inall likelihood one side will invoke its option in 2017 to reopen labor negotiations. Since right now this deal ap-pears to greatly favor the owners, it is reasonable to think the players will opt out -- especially since the na-tional TV contracts are up for renewal in 2016, and the league expects an injection of new revenue. But thismay not turn out to be the case -- the 2005 CBA was thought to favor the league, as well.

Revenue split

• 2005 CBA: Players receive 57 percent of Basketball Related Income (BRI).

• 2011 CBA: Players receive 51.15 percent of BRI in 2011-12. In later seasons players receive 49 to 51 per-cent of BRI (50 percent, plus or minus 60.5 percent of the amount by which BRI exceeds or falls short ofprojections); 1 percent of BRI (from the players' share) is used to fund a new pool for post-career benefits.

• Who benefits? This is the biggest win for the owners in this agreement. After losing $370 million, $340 mil-lion and $300 million in the past three seasons under the previous CBA, the league entered negotiationslooking for a fundamental reset of the NBA's economic system -- and got it. In addition, players will lose ap-proximately 20 percent of their 2011-12 salaries -- a result of the games missed due to the lockout.

Escrow

• 2005 CBA: 8 percent (in 2010-11) withheld to ensure players receive no more than the agreed-to revenuesplit. If escrow withholding is insufficient, salaries are reduced the following season to compensate.

• 2011 CBA: 10 percent withheld in every season. If the escrow withholding is insufficient, the shortfall istaken out of the players' post-career benefits pool. Salaries are not adjusted the following season.

• Who benefits? The players win here by getting the league to agree not to take any shortfall from theirsalaries the following season. Since there will be no rollback of existing salaries, the escrow system willlikely be stretched to its limits in the early years of this agreement, and the players' salary losses are cappedat 10 percent no matter what happens.

Amnesty provision

• 2005 CBA: One player can be waived prior to the start of the 2005-06 season. The salary of the waivedplayer will not count toward the luxury tax.

• 2011 CBA: One player can be waived prior to the start of any season (only one player can be amnestiedduring the agreement, and contracts signed under the new CBA are not eligible). The salary of the waivedplayer will not count toward the salary cap or luxury tax. Teams with cap room can submit competing offersto acquire an amnestied player (at a reduced rate) before he hits free agency and can sign with any team.

• Who benefits? As with the amnesty provision in the 2005 agreement, this provision allows teams to kickone bad contract to the curb. The benefits to amnesty are greater now than they were in 2005 -- 100 percentof the player's salary is removed for both cap and tax purposes. The other big change is that teams are al-lowed to pocket their amnesty card to use later -- so teams that managed their cap well to this point benefitbecause they don't have to use it or lose it.

Teams with cap room can benefit greatly from the amnesty provision by being able to submit a competingoffer to claim an amnestied player at a reduced rate. For example, if Cleveland uses its amnesty provisionon Baron Davis, a team that is $5 million below the salary cap can submit a $5 million offer to acquire Davis'contract. If that offer is the highest, the team acquires Davis and is responsible for $5 million of his salary --with Cleveland responsible for the balance. This happens before Davis becomes a free agent and can signon his own with a team like Miami.

Revenue sharing

• 2005 CBA: Some of the undistributed funds from the luxury tax were given to teams in competitively disad-vantaged markets.

• 2011 CBA: A new plan approximately triples the amount of money that is revenue-shared. Details of thisplan are yet to be finalized.

• Who benefits? Small-market teams. Teams like the Lakers, with their new $3 billion local television con-tract, will be perennial payers into this system, and teams like Charlotte and Milwaukee will be perennialbeneficiaries.

Minimum team salary

• 2005 CBA: Teams must spend at least 75 percent of the salary cap.

• 2011 CBA: Teams must spend at least 85 percent of the cap in 2011-12 and 2012-13, and at least 90 per-cent of the cap in later years of the agreement.

Tom Brady -- not Aaron Rodgers -- is MVPDecember, 7, 2011Dec 71:12PM ET

By James WalkerBradyStew Milne/US PresswireNew England quarterback Tom Brady has thrown 10 touchdown passes andzero interceptions during the Patriots' four-game winning streak.No. 12 deserves the NFL's Most Valuable Player award this season. But it's not who you think.

Contrary to popular belief, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is not this year's MVP. That dis-tinction, for the second straight year, should go to New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.

Now, before you roll your eyes, open your mind and hear me out.

Brady won the award last year during New England's 14-2 run, and he deserves to be just the second back-to-back MVP since 1998. This is not to discredit Rodgers, who is having a tremendous season. But some-times numbers and hype get in the way of what the Most Valuable Player award, by definition, actuallymeans.

Year of the Quarterback

ESPN has dedicated 2011 to examining one of the most crucial positions in all of sports -- the quarterback.Year of the QB »The award is meant for the player who is the most important to their team. Let that sink in, because this is akey element to this debate.

Rodgers has been lights out and putting up great numbers for undefeated Green Bay (12-0). But what hap-pens if you take Rodgers off the Packers? They won't be 16-0, but the defending Super Bowl champs wouldstill keep the ball rolling with highly touted backup Matt Flynn and make it to the playoffs.

Green Bay has enough stars on offense (Greg Jennings, Jermichael Finley, Donald Driver, Jordy Nelson)and big-time playmakers on defense (Clay Matthews, Charles Woodson, B.J. Raji) to win plenty of gameswithout Rodgers. I think Green Bay could even win the NFC North this year without Rodgers, consideringthe Chicago Bears (7-5) lost quarterback Jay Cutler, the Detroit Lions (7-5) are inconsistent and the Min-nesota Vikings (2-10) stink.

In contrast, consider this: Where would the Patriots be without Brady?

Playoff Machine

Check out current playoff seedings and figure scenarios through the end of the season. Playoff Machine »With the NFL's worst-rated defense and no true superstars on the roster minus Brady, some believe NewEngland would be similar to the Indianapolis Colts (0-12) this year without Peyton Manning. I'm not ready togo that far. But New England certainly would have a losing record.

Little-known backup Brian Hoyer or rookie quarterback Ryan Mallett have virtually no chance of getting thisPatriots team to the playoffs. New England is too weak in other areas and couldn't afford poor play at quar-terback.

And please do not point to what happened in 2008. That Patriots team had a top-10 defense and was much

more balanced. Quarterback Matt Cassel is a former Pro Bowler who led the Patriots to 11 wins. Cassel wasway more advanced and developed than Hoyer and Mallett.

The "Brady factor" in New England is clearly stronger than the "Rodgers factor" in Green Bay.

Without Brady, the Patriots would be challenging the Buffalo Bills (5-7) and Miami Dolphins (4-8) for third orfourth place in the AFC East this season. I'm sure New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan would be happyabout that.

Brady vs. RodgersQB Yds. Pct. TD INT QBRBrady 3,916 66.7 30 10 76.6Rodgers 3,844 70.6 37 5 87.0For those who want to focus only on the numbers, Brady's statistics are right on Rodgers' heels. In fact,Brady (3,916) has thrown for more yards than Rodgers (3,844) and is on a faster pace to eclipse DanMarino's single-season passing record of 5,084 yards.

Also, Brady has thrown for 10 touchdowns and zero interceptions in the past month. Brady hasn't thrown apick since Nov. 6. Rodgers has two interceptions the past three weeks.

The coach of the year award often doesn't go to the coach with the most victories. The award usually goesto the coach who overcomes the most hardship and does more with less. That is why San Francisco 49erscoach Jim Harbaugh will most likely get the nod this year over Green Bay counterpart Mike McCarthy.

Just like McCarthy probably will not win the coach of the year, Rodgers should not be the MVP this season.The cupboards are very full in Green Bay, and neither faced much hardship in their quest for an undefeatedseason and another Super Bowl title.

Brady is doing more with far less talent around him and is much more valuable to New England's success.

So forget that other guy wearing No. 12. Brady is this year's MVP.

QB trio has Marino's mark in sightBrady, Brees and Rodgers all on pace to break yardage record; who will get there first?

Schefter By Adam SchefterESPN.comArchive

What the NFL's best quarterbacks are doing this season is the equivalent of what Mark McGwire andSammy Sosa did in 1998 -- minus performance-enhancing drugs.

NFL Insider Adam Schefter

Schefter Check out Schefter's Insider blog Insider for more NFL coverage and analysis.

• Blog network: NFL Nation

Three quarterbacks are on pace to set the NFL single-season passing record and shatter the mark formerMiami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino set in 1984 with 5,084 yards.

With 4,031 passing yards, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees is on pace to throw for 5,374 yards.

With 3,916 passing yards, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is on pace to throw for 5,221 yards.

And with 3,844 passing yards, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is on pace to throw for 5,125yards.

The last quarter of this season is shaping up to be intriguing on so many levels. There's the question ofwhether the Packers will lose a game and whether the Indianapolis Colts will win one. There are big divi-sional battles still to be decided. But no race for a record is any more compelling than the three top playersin the game chasing a mark that now seems destined to fall.

Football doesn't have many numbers as magical as 56 or .400 in baseball. The 5,084 is about as close as itgets, especially with Chris Johnson, Jamal Lewis, Terrell Davis and Barry Sanders each rushing for morethan 2,000 yards in a season since Marino set his passing record. But in a passing era, quarterbacks noware taking aim at his mark.

Of the three quarterbacks vying for the record, Brees faces the defenses that allow the most passing yardsper game. Brees' opponents -- the Tennessee Titans, Minnesota Vikings, Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Pan-thers -- allow an average of 239.3 passing yards per game.

Brady's opponents -- the Washington Redskins, Denver Broncos, Dolphins and Buffalo Bills -- allow an aver-age of 234.3 passing yards per game.

And Rodgers' opponents -- the Oakland Raiders, Kansas City Chiefs, Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions --allow an average of 230 passing yards per game.

But just as baseball had 1998, football has 2011. The count, and the watch, is now on. Brees, Brady andRodgers are now chasing Marino and history with their arms.

On to this week's 10 Spot:

1. TE class for the ages: Every now and then, one position produces a group of players who write footballhistory. The quarterback draft class of 1983 did it. And now, the tight end draft class of 2010 is doing thesame.

Check out the tight end collection that entered the league last season, changed the game this season, androlled off draft boards in this order:

Round 1, pick 21, Cincinnati drafts Jermaine Gresham.

Round 2, pick 42, New England drafts Rob Gronkowski.

Round 3, pick 70, Baltimore drafts Ed Dickson.

Round 3, pick 93, Kansas City drafts Tony Moeaki.

Round 3, pick 95, New Orleans drafts Jimmy Graham.

Round 4, pick 113, New England drafts Aaron Hernandez.

Round 4, pick 114, Baltimore drafts Dennis Pitta.

It's hard to imagine another class of tight ends making this type of impact in the NFL, especially this early intheir careers. What this group of tight ends has done, most notably in New England and New Orleans, isrevolutionize their teams' offenses and redefine the game.

With Moeaki on injured reserve, the other top six tight ends from the Class of 2010 this season have com-bined for a preposterous 308 receptions for 3,632 yards and 35 touchdowns. Over two seasons, excludingMoeaki, the tight end group has combined for 490 catches for 5,721 yards and 61 touchdowns -- 36 of whichhave come from Gronkowski and Graham.

Defenses don't know how to address them. But history does.

With one quarter of the season remaining, Gronkowski already has tied Vernon Davis in 2009 and AntonioGates in 2004 for the most touchdowns a tight end has caught in one season (13). Over two seasons,Gronkowski has 23 touchdowns catches; only Randy Moss, with 28 touchdown catches during his first twoNFL seasons, had more.

For a while, it appeared as though tight ends were being phased out of the game. But with the emergence ofa new breed and generation of tight ends, look for teams to re-emphasize the position in coming drafts.

Teams copy other teams' success. And this class of tight ends is beginning to copy the quarterback class of1983.

2. NFC East losing luster: There might not be a more popular or respected division than the NFC East,which has accounted for nine Super Bowl titles. Yet this season, NFC East teams, and their head coaches,are getting thrown for losses. No other division has endured more criticism and questions than the NFCEast. Each of its head coaches has come under fire, if not from the owner of the team (as was the case inDallas with Jerry Jones and Jason Garrett), then with fans unhappy with their teams' performances.

The Cowboys and Giants still play twice more this season -- Sunday night in Dallas, then on Jan. 1 in NewYork -- in two games that will decide the NFC East winner. And the team that doesn't win it will come undermore criticism from its fans and maybe even people high up in the organization.