I normally would not do this, but in this case it really bothered me. I am not sure if you are an aspiring sports writer, if you are a knowledgeable NFL fan or if this article was just assigned to you off-hand-whatever the case may be.

I saw the article title and was drawn to it as a football fan, but was severely let down by the article’s quality. The info in the article was literally the most obvious info possible.

There was no insight, no statistics, and no sense that you knew what you were talking about. In the paragraph covering the Jets/Bengals game you mentioned Chad Ochocinco was shut down to only two passes and said the Jet’s solid defense was responsible for it.

The Jet’s defense had little to do with it, as it was all about cornerback Darelle Revis, who is the number one corner back in the league this season. He has shut down (held to under 35 yards) every major reciever he has faced this season from Randy Moss to Andre Johnson.

In the same section you mention Mark Sanchez “led his team to victory.” Mark Sanchez only threw 15 passes in the game. Most games the average quarter back throws 25-30 passes. The fact that he only threw 15 passes means the coach does not trust him to throw any more than that to prevent error.

Jet’s main running back, Greene, had 21 rushes, which means they put the game in his hands, not Sanchez’s. Thomas Jones also had 15 carries . It is widely known that the Jets have a run or die offense.

The real story of the game is that with Mark’s limited passes he was able to not mess up. All his passes were quick routes designed to give Mark the best chance of a completion, similar to the passing style of the Saint’s, and why Drew Brees has seen so much success this year.

I could break down the recap of each game, but that’s not necessary.

I would understand this article if it were geared to a general audience, but it is in a college paper targeted to college age people, and with NFL in the title the article itself is geared to college age NFL fans.

Any college age NFL fan would get absolutely nothing out of that article. As a sports writer myself, it just severely confuses me that anyone would print this article.

In the past month I have done a lot of studying on sports writing, specifically football, and without a incredible amount of insight it is impossible to write a good article.

I was in the press box for Valero Alamo Bowl and the Texas Bowl a few weeks ago as a freelance sports writer. I studied for hours prior to the the bowl games to get an understanding of exactly what I should expect and what each team’s strengths and weaknesses are.

It seems like you just watched Sports Center for five minutes before you wrote this. This is not how you write a sports article.