Content available exclusively for subscribers
You might think this move will help the Jets.
Perhaps.
But honestly, it probably won’t.
Let’s take a closer look at this situation . . .
Manish Mehta has been promoted at the Daily News to the position of “NFL Insider.”
What the Daily News is doing with Mehta, is the same thing they did on the Mets’ beat. They took beat writer, Andy Martino, and made him a “MLB Insider,” and moved Kristie Ackert into the beat position.
So what is going on here? Well the newspaper business is struggling. The Daily News just laid off a bunch of people, including three long-time sportswriters (Tim Smith, Dick Weiss and Sean Brennan).
Honestly, the day-to-day beat news, is old by the time the newspaper comes out the next day. If a Jets player got hurt in practice, you are going to hear about it seconds after it happens on Twitter, followed shortly thereafter by blogs with more details.
So the Daily News is looking for more sizzle, and by freeing up Martino and Mehta to dig up scoops, instead of doing daily beat work, is perhap one way to do that.
So you might think, “Hey, Manish has been tough on the Jets the last couple of years with all his unnamed sources in the building, so with the promotion, he won’t be as much of a thorn in their Jets side.”
I disagree. I think this promotion could make things worse for the Jets.
Now that he won’t have to worry about the day-to-day minutea (injuries, practice news), he will have more time to blow the lid off the place.
Because remember, he is still going to around the Jets plenty. After all, he’s still working for a New York newspaper. He will just mix in more Giants and Eagles (he’s a Philly guy).
Mehta will continue to have plenty of unnamed source stories about the Jets (though it’s now harder to get stuff out of Florham Park with John Idzik and Woody Johnson telling everyone to shut-up).
But he still has plenty of other sources.
And remember one thing – the Daily News is a tabloid – they want flashy, attention-grabbing back pages, and Mehta has delivered over-and-over. He’s been money in the bank when it comes to back page fireworks.
In his new role, he will try to do the same, and maybe even up-the-ante, and deliver more.
And backup pages stories tend to be salacious and generally aren’t good for the team – the more scandalous, the more papers it sells.
I can assure you that more of these stories will come out of the Jets from Mehta, than the Giants (or Eagles).
The Giants don’t put up with the same things the Jets do.
Just ask Gary Myers. No matter what he writes, it doesn’t seem to change his standing with the Jets – he still gets awesome treatment.
With the Giants, if you cross them, the cold-shoulder will kick in.
Before the Giants won a couple of Super Bowls under Tom Coughlin, Myers fired the coach a few times in his column.
The Giants will never forget this. Myers can go in the locker room and talk to players, but doesn’t get special one-on-one interviews with anyone.
With the Jets, no matter how much Myers destroys them, it seems to be business as usual.
Mehta will find out when he goes over the Giants – it’s a different world over there.
If he crosses them, there is a price to pay.
I’m telling you right now – Mehta, in his new role, will be a nightmare for the Jets.
If you thought he was tough on them before, you ain’t seen nothing yet.
May 29, 2013
Premium will return by 9:30 pm on Thursday