Week 13 Rookie Report: David Johnson and DGB bust out, Frank Clark and Eddie Goldman flash on defense

Photo credit: draftinsider.net

This week was the week of the high-upside second-round pick around the NFL. Three players drafted on Day 2, two of whom were potential first-rounders who slipped into the top 10 picks of the second round, made big impacts for their teams in Week 13. Add in a third-round rookie running back who has an opportunity to run with the starting job on the league’s best offense, and you have an exciting group of rookie performers this week. Chris Tripodi breaks them all down. 

David Johnson (RB-Ari)

A third-round pick out of Northern Iowa, David Johnson jumped from third-string to starter in the span of one week thanks to injuries to the backs ahead of him on the depth chart. With Chris Johnson placed on injured reserve with a broken leg and Andre Ellington struggling with turf toe, the younger Johnson rushed for 99 yards and 22 carries and caught two passes for 21 yards and a touchdown.

Johnson ran a 4.5 40-yard dash at 6-1, 224 pounds, and while his athleticism has been on display all season in a limited role, it had an extended chance to shine through in Sunday’s win over the Rams. On Johnson’s first carry, which went for six yards, he jumped over a fallen defender just past the line of scrimmage without losing momentum, falling forward for extra yardage at the end of the run.

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GEICO Week in New York: Sept. 28-Oct. 4

Oh the difference a week can make in sports.

Last week around this time, Mets fans were panicking after a 2-4 week against the Marlins and Yankees. The Nationals had won six of seven and were lurking six games back in the NL East. Two weeks is rarely enough to make up that kind of ground, but Mets fans had seen this script before.

Fast forward a week later, and New York is coming off a four-game sweep of the Reds which saw their bats wake up to the tune of 36 runs in four games. The hitter-friendly environment of Great American Ballpark and the hitter-friendly quality of the Reds' pitching staff didn't hurt matters, but the Mets have their swagger back after clinching the NL East with a 10-2 win Saturday. Even with most of their regulars resting Sunday, the Mets completed the sweep with an 8-1 victory, all while the Nationals won just once and watched Jonathan Papelbon attack Bryce Harper in the dugout.

The Mets weren't the only New York team to watch their fortunes flip in the span of just seven days. The Giants sat in an 0-2 hole after blowing their second consecutive fourth-quarter lead with a key division game against the Redskins on Thursday night. In a typical Thursday Night Football slopfest, the Giants built an early lead on their way to a 32-21 victory. Just a week after sitting two games back of Dallas in the NFC East with fans wondering if they could avoid an 0-3 start, New York is just a game back of the division lead with the division's best quarterback.

The Jets were riding high after a big Monday night win over the Colts, but came back to Earth in a big way Sunday against the wounded Eagles. Philadelphia had struggled to run the ball through two games, but DeMarco's Murray injury opened the door for Ryan Mathews to shine. The Eagles gashed the perimeter of the Jets' defense on the ground and found themselves with a 24-0 lead late in the second quarter. Ryan Fitzpatrick couldn't lead the Jets to a comeback, and a team that had high aspirations after two weeks was sent back to the drawing board.

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GEICO Week in New York: June 22-28

Alex Rodriguez started the week sitting on 2,995 career hits. He ended it with 3,003. In between, the 39-year-old designated hitter became the third player to enter the 3,000-hit club with a home run, joining Wade Boggs and Derek Jeter with an opposite-field blast off Justin Verlander in the first inning of Friday's series opener with the Tigers. Both Boggs and Jeter accomplished the feat in Yankees uniforms, and Rodriguez joined them as the only Yankees to reach the 3,000-hit plateau.

The inevitable milestone was controversial for Rodriguez, who was suspended for the entire 2014 season for using performance-enhancing drugs. The Yankees, who have openly balked at paying the bonuses in A-Rod's contract attached to his climb up the career home run list, publicized and celebrated Rodriguez's 3000th hit. Despite everything the Yankees and Rodriguez went through last season, the slugger has been invaluable to the team's success this season, as he leads the club in batting average (.282) and on-base percentage (.384), ranks second in home runs (14) and third in RBIs (43). No matter your feelings on A-Rod, his importance to the Yankees 38-31 record is indisputable.

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Is Jose Reyes worth Carl Crawford money?

(photo credit: http://7traintoshea.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/alg_mets_reyes.jpg)

Well, that depends who you ask.

If you ask Mets owner Fred Wilpon, he'd say no. "He thinks he's going to get Carl Crawford money," Wilpon said. "He's had everything wrong with him. He won't get it."

In a way, Wilpon is right. Reyes won't get "Crawford money" (8-years, $142 million) because not even Crawford is worth "Crawford money."

Crawford has proven his contract to be ridiculous after just 51 games by batting .236 with little power (.369 slugging percentage) and only seven steals. Those numbers were much worse a few weeks ago and he's been hot of late, but he's only batting sixth in the Red Sox lineup and deservedly so.

Wilpon also said David Wright was not a superstar and that Carlos Beltran was overpaid based on his performance in the 2004 playoffs. The Beltran comment is difficult to argue and while Wright does strike out a lot, he produces runs with his power and speed and plays good defense. If he's not a "superstar" he's close and regardless, Wilpon shouldn't be bashing his players in the midst of his serious financial woes.

Or should he be? Reyes, for one, has been obviously motivated by Wilpon's comments, recording multiple hits in seven of the eight games since the report came out. He is 17-for-37 during that stretch with 10 runs, four doubles, two triples and three stolen bases.

Reyes will be 28 in June and is right in the middle of his prime as a baseball player. It's a tough sell to give a player of his or Crawford's ilk $18 million a year but if Crawford is worth it, Reyes is too. And even if Crawford isn't, Reyes probably is.

Reyes has just one home run this season but is on pace for 53 doubles, 25 triples and 59 stolen bases while batting .335. The impact he has on a game from the leadoff spot is arguably more valuable than the league's premier power hitters. The main caveat with Reyes has always been injuries.

Crawford plays left field in Boston; most corner outfielders hit for more power than he does. But shortstop is the thinnest position in baseball and one of the most important; it also happens to be where the cannon-armed Reyes makes his home. Forget Hanley Ramirez and Troy Tulowitzki; Reyes has been the NL's best shortstop this season.

That's not a fluke, either. Reyes has the talent to be the league's best shortstop and when healthy, is one of its 10 best players. If Reyes continues to produce like he has through the first third of the season he will be a legitimate MVP candidate by year's end, assuming he gets traded to a contender. Reyes is more valuable to a team than Crawford is; I think that's a difficult-to-argue statement.

Wilpon's comments have seemingly sealed Reyes' fate in New York. If he wants Crawford money, which I think he can and should get, he will have to go elsewhere. This makes a trade a near-certainty.

With no intention of re-signing Reyes for the money he will likely demand, the Mets need to pounce on trade offers sooner rather than later. The MLB trade deadline is two months away, but the way Reyes is playing right now it's hard to see his stock rising any further. If the Mets want a big-time pitching prospect, like the Giants' Madison Bumgarner, they need to strike while the iron is hot (and while San Francisco is still reeling from Buster Posey's season-ending injury).

After Wilpon's comment, the iron is burning hotter than it will be the rest of the season. The time is now for the Mets to move Reyes to a team willing to pay him the contract he should continue to earn over the rest of the season. The return at this moment for an $18 million player will be extraordinary.

What to make of the Mets?

(photo courtesy of nj.com)

Through five games, the Mets are tied for second in the NL East with the Marlins at 3-2. They won two of three games against Florida in their opening series, boucing back from an Opening Day loss to win the last two.

Mike Pelfrey started on Opening Day with Johan Santana on the DL and many thought his success last season would lead to the former first-round pick taking another step forward this season. The early returns have not been promising.

The Mets are 0-2 when Pelfrey starts and 3-0 when anybody else starts. It's a small sample size, but he's allowed at least five earned runs in both of his 2011 starts and is coming off a two-inning, eight-hit, six-run debacle in Philadelphia. Pelfrey was much better at home (2.83 ERA) last season than on the road (4.95 ERA) and not coincidentally, both of his starts this season have been away from pitcher-friendly Citi Field.

Jonathon Niese, R.A. Dickey and new addition Chris Young all pitched well in between Pelfrey's starts, with Niese and Dickey picking up where they left off last season. Young was in trouble in almost every inning but has always been a pitcher who puts runners on base and makes pitches when it counts. Citi Field will help him put together a solid season barring health, which is always the concern with him.

The bullpen has been solid so far, allowing just seven runs in 19.2 innings and despite Francisco Rodriguez blowing his lone save opportunity so far, the Mets rallied to win that game in extra innings behind David Wright, who is hitting .364 with one home run, five RBI and a .962 OPS early in the season.

Ike Davis leads the team with a .368 batting average and should improve on his rookie numbers, while Willie Harris has been a surprising early-season contributor in place of the injured Jason Bay. Carlos Beltran has struggled so far, but that is no surprise while he works his way back to full-time duty.

Overall, I've been slightly impressed with what I've seen from the Mets so far, with the obvious exception of Pelfrey. Why the Mets inexplicably chose over Andrew McCutchen in 2005 because they thought Lastings Milledge (ha!) was a better version of McCutchen I will never know. When you're wrong, you're wrong.

This team showed some fight last night climbing back from Pelfrey's 7-0 deficit to tie the game in the fifth, but lost the lead right back and couldn't recover. Either way, it's nice to see a team many project for nothing show the heart to fight against the big, bad Phillies.

Most people think the Mets major competition this year will be the Nationals - for last in the NL East. I think they are far better than Washington and could even beat out the Marlins for third in the division. I don't think they can outpace Philadelphia or Atlanta, but this team has a shot to beat last year's 79-83 record and finish above .500.

Pelfrey one of few early Mets bright spots

I was at the Met game yesterday (yes, a change from the three Yankee games I went to last week) and I must say, Mike Pelfrey looked awesome. I know the Cubs lineup is far from intimidating, but Pelfrey threw his second straight shutout after a 7-inning gem in Colorado last Thursday. The Rockies don't have a world-beating lineup either, but there aren't many teams in the National League that do.

Pelfrey struggled through the first two innings last night, putting men on base and throwing almost 40 pitches. But he got out of early trouble and was able to get through five more innings in just about 60 pitches. This season looks to finally be the breakout for the 26-year-old former first-round pick.

A solid season from Pelfrey couldn't come at a better time for the Mets, whose desperate search for a number-two starter behind Johan Santana may very well be over. The real question is now whether Jonathon Niese, Oliver Perez or John Maine can step up and take over the third spot in the rotation. If that happens and Pelfrey continues his strong start, this team won't be quite as bad as everybody thinks.

The problem for the Mets is a lot of "ifs" need to come together for them to have success. Outside of the starting rotation question marks, nobody knows for sure if Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran can stay healthy for an entire season, and Beltran won't even be on the field until May at the earliest.

If Jason Bay can bust out of his early-season slump and if Jeff Francoeur can continue his hot start and reach the potential scouts saw in him four years ago, the Mets could have a potent lineup with Reyes in the leadoff spot followed by Luis Castillo, David Wright, Beltran, Bay, Francoeur and recent call-up Ike Davis. When healthy and performing up to expectations, the Mets could actually field one of the better lineups in the National League.

Combine that with Santana and Pelfrey, who could each win 15 games this season, and the Mets could actually play their way into contention in the NL East. They are nowhere near as good as the Phillies but I think most Mets fans would take an 80-win season out of this bunch.

It may be a longshot, but I've seen lots of ifs come together before. At the least, maybe they will be bearable to watch when the Yankees are idle or on a West Coast trip.

2009 trainwreck season makes Mets fans long for a September collapse

After the painful September collapses of 2007 and 2008, the Mets have officially been eliminated from playoff contention with 18 games to play. Of course, the Mets have pretty much been out of any playoff discussions since the middle of July

As painful as the past two collapses have been for the Mets, this season has been much harder to watch. At least the '07 and '08 teams were competitive; this year's squad has been a disaster. Instead of having to suffer through just one pathetic month of a collapsing team, this year's squad has simply been a trainwreck.

In 2007, the Mets were at least in contention to defend their 2006 division title until the season's final game. As depressing as it was to watch Tom Glavine give up seven runs and not make it out of the first inning in his final start as a Met, handing the division title to the Phillies, at least the Mets provided some memorable moments throughout the season.

Last season, the Mets hoped to atone for the '07 collapse in Shea Stadium's final season. Instead, 2008 brought another depressing September slowdown, culminating with another heart-breaking loss to the Florida Marlins to eliminate the Mets in the last game ever at Shea. There probably aren't many worse ways that Shea could have gone out, but at least the last game at the stadium was meaningful.

You won't be able to say the same about the last game of the first season at Citi Field. This season, the Mets entered a July 3 series in Philadelphia only one game behind the division-leading Phillies. The Mets were swept in that series and went on to freefall out of contention.

Granted, the 2009 Mets have been ravaged by injuries, but most teams who fall out of contention early have enough talent in their minor-league system to at least call up a young prospect or two in August or September to give fans a look at the team's potential future.

Although it is impossible for a team to prepare for losing just about everyone in its starting lineup at some point in the season, the players who have been called on to replace Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado and the rest of the Mets who have spent considerable time on the disabled list have simply been nowhere near major-league ready.

The Mets already lost two of their top prospects for the season in outfielder Fernando Martinez and starting pitcher Jon Niese. Beyond the two of them, the Mets really haven't been able to make any exciting call-ups because their minor league system is so depleted. It has been nice to see catching prospect Josh Thole make a few appearances, but that's just one position.

There is little to no hope coming from pitching prospects, as late season call-ups have included journeymen Elmer Dessens and Nelson Figueroa, as well as 40-year-old Japanese rookie Ken Takahashi. Those names don't exactly get fans excited for already-meaningless September games.

As hard as it is to watch a team blow a seemingly-certain playoff berth in the final weeks of the season, the bottom line is this: only one team can win the World Series every year and only eight teams make the playoffs. For many teams, the season is pretty much over by June 1, or in the 2009 Mets' case, around July 20. I'll take a September collapse over a September with a starting pitching rotation featuring the likes of Figueroa, Tim Redding and Pat Misch any year.