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I initially planned to do these sometime on Saturday, but that plan fell through and I am making the picks for week 2 of the NFL season on Sunday morning. On Thursday, my last-second pick of the Packers over the Bears turned out to be golden. Hopefully that carries over.
Arizona (+14) At New England
The Patriots open their season at home against a team with a weak secondary, a mediocre QB, and not much talent. Expect Tom Brady to put up huge numbers in this one in a blow out.
The pick: Patriots
Game of the week: Baltimore (+3) At Philadelphia
It might be a really bad sign for the Eagles that every person in North America is taking the Ravens in this game (with confidence). To be honest, I have no idea how they came up with this line. The Ravens routed a descent team, while the Eagles barely beat the Browns... the Browns! Perhaps Vegas thinks that the Eagles will actually run the ball more today and be effective doing it, or they are afraid of Vick having one of those games where he just beats a team by himself. Regardless, this week the Ravens send a message to the rest of the NFL.
The pick: Ravens
Cleveland (+7) At Cincinnati
The two teams that lost to the Eagles and Ravens last week! We get a chance to see if Cleveland is actually better than we think, and the Bengals worse. Don't count on it though.
The pick: Cincy
Houston (-6.5) At Jacksonville
AFC contender vs. AFC doormat. Houston has been making noise the past few seasons, and if they want people to take them seriously as contenders they need to brush teams like the Jaguars away convincingly. I think they are contenders and I think they show it by beating up on a much weaker team.
The pick: Houston
Kansas City (+3) At Buffalo
Neither team wants to start 0-2 (well, I don't think anyone actually wants to start off without a win in their first two games) but both teams will look at this as an opportunity to get a W.
The pick: Kansas City
Minnesota (-2.5) At Indianapolis
Andrew Luck should fare much better against a defense that isn't the Bears, but Adrian Peterson should run this Colts team ragged.
The pick: Vikings
Upset Special: New Orleans (-3) At Carolina
This game reminds us of how important coaching is in the NFL and we are treated to a variety of "Whats wrong with the Saints" stories all of next week. Cam Newton wins a fantasy football match-up by himself
The pick: Panthers
Oakland (-1.5) At Miami
A West-coast team travelling East to play a 1pm game in the blistering Miami conditions after having a shorter week to prepare? And Carson Palmer is involved? Take the Dolphins and the money.
The pick: Dolphins
Tampa Bay (+7.5) At New York Giants
Before the season started, I jumped on 16-1 odds on Tampa to win the division. Those odds are now down to 8-1 and I am picking Tampa to win outright today! Of course this means that Eli will tear them apart and make me regret ever typing this.
The pick: Tampa
Dallas (-3.5) At Seattle
Am I the only one who thought the Cowboys defense was really impressive in their season opening win over the Giants? This team might be a sleeper and we just don't see it yet. The Seattle home-field advantage is offset by virtue of the Cowboys getting an extra 3 days to prepare, having played their week 1 game on a Wednesday night.
The pick: Dallas
Washington (-3.5) At St. Louis
The RG3 Band-wagon really takes off after this game once everyone realizes that the Redskins are somehow 2-0.
The pick: Redskins
New York Jets (+4.5) At Pittsburgh Steelers
The team Tebow beat in the playoffs! But that will be about the only good thing going for the Jets this game. Expect a tough, defensive battle, with Pittsburgh shaking off the stink Peyton Manning put on them last week.
The pick: Steelers
Tennessee (+6.5) At San Diego
When you are not sure, take the points.
The pick: Titans
Detroit At San Francisco
Being a 49ers fan, I will abstain from picking their games as I will clearly be biased.
Monday Night Football: Denver (+3) At Atlanta
Peyton Manning gets to play in a dome. Conditions that he has dominated over the course of his career. The Broncos come up against a Falcons team that absolutely trashed the Chiefs in week 1 (on the road no less) and will be looking to establish a lead in their division. Personally, I am torn. I don't think that this Falcons team is legit, but I also have not seen Manning take a big hit yet. But then again, its a Monday night game on prime-time television, and we know Manning will deliver.
The pick: Broncos
Thursday night: 1-0
Overall Record: 1-0*
*Picks feature started in Week 2
Enjoy your football everyone!
Showing posts with label New Orleans Saints. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Orleans Saints. Show all posts
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Playoff Predictions: Wildcard Round
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Texans 14 – BENGALS 21
4. Denver vs 5. Pittsburgh
I hate most NFL owners and NFL fans, but I especially hate the NFL media. Tim Tebow has been mediocre at best all season, yet every household with access to the internet and/or a television knows the name Tebow. It took him an entire season to complete enough passes to even QUALIFY to have his QB rating calculated, and with a score of 72.9, he sits 27th out of 33 passers...garbage. I’ve been saying for most of the season that the Steelers are headed downhill, but even with a broken Ben Roethlisberger and an aging D, Blitzburgh will bury the Broncos and hopefully shut this Tebowmania up, at least for the duration of the offseason.
Broncos 10 – STEELERS 24
NFC
3. New Orleans vs 6. Detroit
WHO DAT SAID DEY GON BEAT DEM SAINTS?!? This has been a fantastic season to be a Saints fan and an even better season if Drew Brees is your favourite player. Brees has had a once in a lifetime type season and broken many prestigious offensive records. This isn’t another Saints article, so let’s take a look at this game real quick. The Saints easily handled the Lions in their game earlier this season, but had it not been for Detroit’s 67,000 penalty yards, the game could have actually been much closer. Lion’s QB Matt Stafford is extremely inconsistent, but in the past few weeks, him and Calvin “Megatron” Johnson have been piling up the stats. Even with a very volatile offense and a tough defence (when they don’t give up 200 penalty yards), the Lions are no match for the Saints. If Detroit puts up 50 points, Drew Brees will find a way to put up 51, it’s as simple as that. This is almost guaranteed to be a high-scoring shoot out, but I don’t think there’s any real chance that the Lions can upset the Saints. One thing I predict that most people probably don’t expect is that the Saints will shut down Megatron. New Orleans’ defensive coordinator Gregg Williams firmly believes that you shouldn’t let the other team’s best players beat you and always comes up with a way to take the opposition’s most dangerous weapon out of the game. If you don’t believe me, go to 0:42 of this link and you’ll see what the tactic was the last time these 2 teams faced off: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HX0JjyTgme0
SAINTS 42 – 35 Lions
4. New York vs 5. Atlanta
ELLIIII MANNNINGGGGGGG!!! What an absolute stud! To say that he hasn’t had a great year is simply retarded. With the game on the line in the 4th quarter, when it mattered most, only Aaron Rodgers had a better passer rating than Eli. He deserved the Pro Bowl spot and showed me that he is one of the top 5 QBs in the league. Atlanta on the other hand has coasted for much of the season and faced an extremely easy schedule all year. I personally don’t think they’re very good, but on any given Sunday, anyone can come out on top. The G-men are built very similar to the Giants team that won the superbowl in ’07, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they made another deep playoff run this year. Atlanta lucked out by not having to play (re: lose) to the Saints for the 3rd time this season, but I don’t think they have enough experience against good opponents to come away with this game.
GIANTS 24 – 21 Falcons
That’s it for this week. Next week I’ll talk about my take on the Wildcard Round and put up my predictions for the Divisional Round.
The regular season has finally come to an end, which means that the REAL season starts this weekend. I know I haven’t posted in quite some time, but I’m finally back and ready to share my thoughts/observations on this year’s NFL playoffs. Luka and I were discussing some potential playoff scenarios and here are my predictions for this weekend’s Wildcard Round.
AFC
3. Houston vs 6. Cincinnati
If I turned the clocks back to the preseason and told you that this would be a playoff matchup, I guarantee everyone would have laughed at me, but here we are. The beauty of the NFL is that you can never know for sure which teams will be good and which teams will be bad (I’m talking to you Philly). Earlier in the season I said that the Texans were playing some of the best football in the AFC, but then Matt Schaub got injured and everything has been going downhill since. Though the Texans have an excellent D and great run game, I’m going to be putting my money on the rookie Andy Dalton to “upset” T.J. Yates and the Houston Texans. However, if Matt Schaub decides to pull a superman and play, I’m picking the Texans to win the super-mediocre AFC championship.
AFC
3. Houston vs 6. Cincinnati
If I turned the clocks back to the preseason and told you that this would be a playoff matchup, I guarantee everyone would have laughed at me, but here we are. The beauty of the NFL is that you can never know for sure which teams will be good and which teams will be bad (I’m talking to you Philly). Earlier in the season I said that the Texans were playing some of the best football in the AFC, but then Matt Schaub got injured and everything has been going downhill since. Though the Texans have an excellent D and great run game, I’m going to be putting my money on the rookie Andy Dalton to “upset” T.J. Yates and the Houston Texans. However, if Matt Schaub decides to pull a superman and play, I’m picking the Texans to win the super-mediocre AFC championship.
Texans 14 – BENGALS 21
4. Denver vs 5. Pittsburgh
I hate most NFL owners and NFL fans, but I especially hate the NFL media. Tim Tebow has been mediocre at best all season, yet every household with access to the internet and/or a television knows the name Tebow. It took him an entire season to complete enough passes to even QUALIFY to have his QB rating calculated, and with a score of 72.9, he sits 27th out of 33 passers...garbage. I’ve been saying for most of the season that the Steelers are headed downhill, but even with a broken Ben Roethlisberger and an aging D, Blitzburgh will bury the Broncos and hopefully shut this Tebowmania up, at least for the duration of the offseason.
Broncos 10 – STEELERS 24
NFC
3. New Orleans vs 6. Detroit
WHO DAT SAID DEY GON BEAT DEM SAINTS?!? This has been a fantastic season to be a Saints fan and an even better season if Drew Brees is your favourite player. Brees has had a once in a lifetime type season and broken many prestigious offensive records. This isn’t another Saints article, so let’s take a look at this game real quick. The Saints easily handled the Lions in their game earlier this season, but had it not been for Detroit’s 67,000 penalty yards, the game could have actually been much closer. Lion’s QB Matt Stafford is extremely inconsistent, but in the past few weeks, him and Calvin “Megatron” Johnson have been piling up the stats. Even with a very volatile offense and a tough defence (when they don’t give up 200 penalty yards), the Lions are no match for the Saints. If Detroit puts up 50 points, Drew Brees will find a way to put up 51, it’s as simple as that. This is almost guaranteed to be a high-scoring shoot out, but I don’t think there’s any real chance that the Lions can upset the Saints. One thing I predict that most people probably don’t expect is that the Saints will shut down Megatron. New Orleans’ defensive coordinator Gregg Williams firmly believes that you shouldn’t let the other team’s best players beat you and always comes up with a way to take the opposition’s most dangerous weapon out of the game. If you don’t believe me, go to 0:42 of this link and you’ll see what the tactic was the last time these 2 teams faced off: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HX0JjyTgme0
SAINTS 42 – 35 Lions
4. New York vs 5. Atlanta
ELLIIII MANNNINGGGGGGG!!! What an absolute stud! To say that he hasn’t had a great year is simply retarded. With the game on the line in the 4th quarter, when it mattered most, only Aaron Rodgers had a better passer rating than Eli. He deserved the Pro Bowl spot and showed me that he is one of the top 5 QBs in the league. Atlanta on the other hand has coasted for much of the season and faced an extremely easy schedule all year. I personally don’t think they’re very good, but on any given Sunday, anyone can come out on top. The G-men are built very similar to the Giants team that won the superbowl in ’07, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they made another deep playoff run this year. Atlanta lucked out by not having to play (re: lose) to the Saints for the 3rd time this season, but I don’t think they have enough experience against good opponents to come away with this game.
GIANTS 24 – 21 Falcons
That’s it for this week. Next week I’ll talk about my take on the Wildcard Round and put up my predictions for the Divisional Round.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
A Cabrock Rant
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The way this season is playing out, I’m not going to have any incentive to write any more articles. Obviously the Saints won another game by a convincing margin and Drew Brees played excellent. If I’m beginning to bore you with my repetitiveness, I apologize, but there really isn’t much else to talk about.
The Saints offence is a well oiled machine and there isn’t a single defence in the league that can shut them down. Brees continues his pace to break some of the leagues prolific passing records and doesn’t even seem phased that the MVP trophy has almost certainly been given to Aaron Rodgers already. The only thing that Brees and the Saints want to win is the Lombardi trophy after taking Superbowl 46. The only part of last week’s game that I want to talk about is how retarded Detroit is.
The Lions are without a doubt the most undisciplined team in sports and look more like a bunch of hoodrats in pads than football players. They claim to be playing with intensity and ferocity, but that team as a unit is an embarrassment to professional athletics. As a pro football player, you’re not only supposed to be competing to win games, but to set an example for the millions of kids that watch the sport and look up to the NFL and it’s players. Suh, Titus Young, Coach Schwartz, and the rest of that sad bunch of human beings all disgust me. One of the first articles ever written for this blog, by Luka, was about how fans shouldn’t be cheering for one team to lose, but rather rooting for their team to win. I would agree with that assessment in most cases, but there are cases where that’s just wrong, and this year’s Detroit Lions are one of those cases. The Detroit Lions don’t deserve to have any fans and I hope they lose every single game they have left this season. Stomping on players, throwing punches, taunting the opposing team, and racking up about 44,000 personal foul penalties in less than a season is an embarrassment, but for Jim Schwartz to not step in and try and straighten out the thugs that play for his team is just sad. The Lions deserve to fall back to their 0-16 ways because they have no respect for their city, the fans, or the game that is paying for their delinquent lifestyles.
Barring a surprisingly close New Orleans game or another huge event in the NFL that I feel I have to rant about, my next few articles will probably focus primarily on college football and the awesome (re: useless) BCS bowl games.
The way this season is playing out, I’m not going to have any incentive to write any more articles. Obviously the Saints won another game by a convincing margin and Drew Brees played excellent. If I’m beginning to bore you with my repetitiveness, I apologize, but there really isn’t much else to talk about.
The Saints offence is a well oiled machine and there isn’t a single defence in the league that can shut them down. Brees continues his pace to break some of the leagues prolific passing records and doesn’t even seem phased that the MVP trophy has almost certainly been given to Aaron Rodgers already. The only thing that Brees and the Saints want to win is the Lombardi trophy after taking Superbowl 46. The only part of last week’s game that I want to talk about is how retarded Detroit is.
The Lions are without a doubt the most undisciplined team in sports and look more like a bunch of hoodrats in pads than football players. They claim to be playing with intensity and ferocity, but that team as a unit is an embarrassment to professional athletics. As a pro football player, you’re not only supposed to be competing to win games, but to set an example for the millions of kids that watch the sport and look up to the NFL and it’s players. Suh, Titus Young, Coach Schwartz, and the rest of that sad bunch of human beings all disgust me. One of the first articles ever written for this blog, by Luka, was about how fans shouldn’t be cheering for one team to lose, but rather rooting for their team to win. I would agree with that assessment in most cases, but there are cases where that’s just wrong, and this year’s Detroit Lions are one of those cases. The Detroit Lions don’t deserve to have any fans and I hope they lose every single game they have left this season. Stomping on players, throwing punches, taunting the opposing team, and racking up about 44,000 personal foul penalties in less than a season is an embarrassment, but for Jim Schwartz to not step in and try and straighten out the thugs that play for his team is just sad. The Lions deserve to fall back to their 0-16 ways because they have no respect for their city, the fans, or the game that is paying for their delinquent lifestyles.
Barring a surprisingly close New Orleans game or another huge event in the NFL that I feel I have to rant about, my next few articles will probably focus primarily on college football and the awesome (re: useless) BCS bowl games.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Saints Report Week 12
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Another week, another win! Like Daki, I’m going to keep this week’s article short and sweet.
The New York Giants visited the New Orleans Saints at the newly named Mercedes-Benz Superdome and came heavily unprepared. The Giants were on a 2 game losing streak and things weren’t looking good. Many fans and analysts will probably talk about this season and say that the Giants were all hype and that they weren’t ever a true playoff contender but the truth is that the Giants might be the most injury-plagued team in the entire NFL. Before this season, there wasn’t a chance you could name ¾ of the players that are currently starting, which is never a good sign for any team. The Giants will likely miss the playoffs this season, but Eli Manning has proven that he is an elite QB and that, if the Giants could stay healthy and play with some passion, they could be a serious threat.
That being said, Drew Brees did his thing throwing for 363 yards and 4TDs and also rushing for another TD. The Saints offense simply outmatched the banged up Giants defence and made it look like they were playing against a Division III college. Jimmy Graham and Lance Moore had huge games, each recording 2 TDs. New week, same story: Brees and the passing attack light shit up and look fantastic doing it. There’s no point in me writing about this aerial show anymore cause I’m starting to sound like a broken record. Instead, I’m going to talk about an interesting article I read on NFL.com today.
I tried to find the link to the article but NFL.com changes every 4 seconds so it’s pretty much long gone at this point. Basically, the point of the article was that the Saints have the power to defeat Green Bay and win their 2nd title in 3 years. The Saints offense is pretty much unstoppable and can throw 30 points on the board whenever. The question will be whether the defence can step it up. Some people (re: mainly Daki) believe that the 49ers are pretty much guaranteed a spot in the NFC championship and that GB is the only team that can stop them from reaching the superbowl. I feel silly even discussing these shenanigans, because the 49ers wouldn’t even be able to challenge the Saints. The Niners have an excellent defence, i’ll give them that, but matched up against the Saints offense, they won’t be able to hold them to less than 25+. That means Alex Smith, the perennial loser, would have to lead his team to outscore New Orleans AND keep the ball out of the hands of Brees and Peyton’s offense....yea right. So what then is the real question? At this point in time, I would not be able to honestly say that the Saints are a better football team than the Packers. It has been years since a team has existed in the NFL with this much talent in every aspect of the game. Their offense is methodical, their defence is ferocious, their special teams can strike at any given moment, and their coaching staff has done an amazing job with their ball club this season. However, the argument isn’t whether New Orleans is the better team; the argument is whether the Saints would beat the Packers, and the answer is yes. Opening game of the season saw the Saints lose to the Packers on a failed goal line rush from the 2 yard line. The ICU at Sick Kids Hospital could have fielded a better defence than the Saints did in the first half of the game and they were absolutely TORCHED by Rodgers and the Pack-attack. However, in the second half of the game, Rodgers didn’t even throw for 100 yards and the defence managed to slow down an offense that has looked unstoppable this year. Since then, the Saints defence has become extremely opportunistic and has shown glimpses of the swagger that they had in 2009 when they won the Superbowl. The Saints still have a long way to go, but if they keep improving and getting better when the playoffs come around, I can promise you that the Saints will redeem their season-opening loss to the Packers and go on to win Superbowl 46.
New Orleans faces a very inconsistent Detroit Lions team this week, but with the Lions needing this win to make a push for the playoffs, hopefully I’ll have a more exciting article to write about.
Another week, another win! Like Daki, I’m going to keep this week’s article short and sweet.
The New York Giants visited the New Orleans Saints at the newly named Mercedes-Benz Superdome and came heavily unprepared. The Giants were on a 2 game losing streak and things weren’t looking good. Many fans and analysts will probably talk about this season and say that the Giants were all hype and that they weren’t ever a true playoff contender but the truth is that the Giants might be the most injury-plagued team in the entire NFL. Before this season, there wasn’t a chance you could name ¾ of the players that are currently starting, which is never a good sign for any team. The Giants will likely miss the playoffs this season, but Eli Manning has proven that he is an elite QB and that, if the Giants could stay healthy and play with some passion, they could be a serious threat.
That being said, Drew Brees did his thing throwing for 363 yards and 4TDs and also rushing for another TD. The Saints offense simply outmatched the banged up Giants defence and made it look like they were playing against a Division III college. Jimmy Graham and Lance Moore had huge games, each recording 2 TDs. New week, same story: Brees and the passing attack light shit up and look fantastic doing it. There’s no point in me writing about this aerial show anymore cause I’m starting to sound like a broken record. Instead, I’m going to talk about an interesting article I read on NFL.com today.
I tried to find the link to the article but NFL.com changes every 4 seconds so it’s pretty much long gone at this point. Basically, the point of the article was that the Saints have the power to defeat Green Bay and win their 2nd title in 3 years. The Saints offense is pretty much unstoppable and can throw 30 points on the board whenever. The question will be whether the defence can step it up. Some people (re: mainly Daki) believe that the 49ers are pretty much guaranteed a spot in the NFC championship and that GB is the only team that can stop them from reaching the superbowl. I feel silly even discussing these shenanigans, because the 49ers wouldn’t even be able to challenge the Saints. The Niners have an excellent defence, i’ll give them that, but matched up against the Saints offense, they won’t be able to hold them to less than 25+. That means Alex Smith, the perennial loser, would have to lead his team to outscore New Orleans AND keep the ball out of the hands of Brees and Peyton’s offense....yea right. So what then is the real question? At this point in time, I would not be able to honestly say that the Saints are a better football team than the Packers. It has been years since a team has existed in the NFL with this much talent in every aspect of the game. Their offense is methodical, their defence is ferocious, their special teams can strike at any given moment, and their coaching staff has done an amazing job with their ball club this season. However, the argument isn’t whether New Orleans is the better team; the argument is whether the Saints would beat the Packers, and the answer is yes. Opening game of the season saw the Saints lose to the Packers on a failed goal line rush from the 2 yard line. The ICU at Sick Kids Hospital could have fielded a better defence than the Saints did in the first half of the game and they were absolutely TORCHED by Rodgers and the Pack-attack. However, in the second half of the game, Rodgers didn’t even throw for 100 yards and the defence managed to slow down an offense that has looked unstoppable this year. Since then, the Saints defence has become extremely opportunistic and has shown glimpses of the swagger that they had in 2009 when they won the Superbowl. The Saints still have a long way to go, but if they keep improving and getting better when the playoffs come around, I can promise you that the Saints will redeem their season-opening loss to the Packers and go on to win Superbowl 46.
New Orleans faces a very inconsistent Detroit Lions team this week, but with the Lions needing this win to make a push for the playoffs, hopefully I’ll have a more exciting article to write about.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
The Patriots Report: Week 12
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About 5 minutes into this game I started writing a rough draft of this weeks report. The words 'awful secondary' and 'brutal defense' appeared about 60 times. The start of the game was so bad for the Patriots that Cabrock Jones (our excellent Saints analyst) texted me the following: "The Patriots should sign Helen Keller and Stephen Hawking to play defensive back". Admittedly I laughed, it was pretty funny. At the end of the game I was laughing for a completely different reason. No disrespect to Luka (who has done an admirable job covering the Philadelphia Heat..err Eagles) but I think this was the last nail in the coffin of what used to be their season. They still are not out of it, but at this point the amount of things that they need to go right for them is too much to overcome. I will allow Luka to write about this because its not my place, but I will say that I genuinely am sad that the Eagles are basically done. On the other hand, how about them Patriots?
They are still in position to seize home-field advantage in the AFC playoffs. They showed that they have a top-notch offense that only the Saints and Packers can compete with. Most importantly perhaps, they showed that their defense is not completely useless. After the first 5 minutes they shut down Philly completely (don't let that useless touchdown at the end of the game fool you). This is now 3 straight weeks that their defense has looked slightly above average. At this point its a big elephant in the room for me. On one hand I want to praise their defense for finally showing up; on the other hand I am afraid that it is just a result of playing bad teams. It only gets easier from here, their remaining games are: Colts, Skins, Broncos, Dolphins, Bills. It is not inconceivable for this team to roll to a 13-3 record and with Houston calling upon Jake Delhomme that #1 seed is all but theirs. Of course the Patriots will not be thinking about that, coach Belichick will not allow them to. For all of the supposed mistakes he has made this year (at least the ones I've called him out on in earlier reports) and in the past few drafts you have to hand it to him. The coaching job he has done this year should finally be given some praise, but unless it translates into the playoffs it wont matter. Again, I wont bore you with stats but I will mention some players that really stood out for me. Firstly Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez are incredible, they could both make the case of being top-10 tight-ends in the league. Deion Branch has an incredible understanding with Brady that is really fin to watch. The way they improvised a route and turned it into a big gain with Brady flushed out of the pocket was a thing of beauty. Wes Welker continued to show why he is one of the best slot-receivers in recent memory, and BJGE even showed up. The only thing New England's offence is missing is a deep threat (Chad please wake up). Defensively, Rob Ninkovich has actually morphed himself into a decent line-backer, if New England can get 2 more guys to improve on defense before the playoffs we can go back to talking Superbowl.
Quick sidetrack (warning: 49ers content to come). As you know Cabrock discouraged me from covering my favorite team as a result of their long odds to make the playoffs at the start of the year. Right now they will clinch a playoff berth by Thursday if the Sea hawks cooperate and lose to the Eagles. I have been a San Francisco fan ever since I became a fan of football and for them to finally have a good team is amazing. Despite getting their ass kicked by the Ravens (the 3rd down defense in the 4th quarter was a disgrace) I still have high hopes for this team. They are a throwback, early 2000's team that plays defense and runs the ball well. Can they win the Superbowl? My mind says no, my heart wants it to be yes, stranger things have happened after all. From now on I may or may not include some mini-49ers rants with these reports, it will make up for the Eagles demise (I hope). Until next week, cheers.
Editors note: Due to Exam season looming the amount of work on this site will be greatly lessened for a short period of time. However, we are coming all out for the NBA season and will make up for our absence. Should be a lot of fun, I can't wait (for exams to be over that is). Aldo, we officially have a Twitter account, follow us @MilenniumSandE
About 5 minutes into this game I started writing a rough draft of this weeks report. The words 'awful secondary' and 'brutal defense' appeared about 60 times. The start of the game was so bad for the Patriots that Cabrock Jones (our excellent Saints analyst) texted me the following: "The Patriots should sign Helen Keller and Stephen Hawking to play defensive back". Admittedly I laughed, it was pretty funny. At the end of the game I was laughing for a completely different reason. No disrespect to Luka (who has done an admirable job covering the Philadelphia Heat..err Eagles) but I think this was the last nail in the coffin of what used to be their season. They still are not out of it, but at this point the amount of things that they need to go right for them is too much to overcome. I will allow Luka to write about this because its not my place, but I will say that I genuinely am sad that the Eagles are basically done. On the other hand, how about them Patriots?
They are still in position to seize home-field advantage in the AFC playoffs. They showed that they have a top-notch offense that only the Saints and Packers can compete with. Most importantly perhaps, they showed that their defense is not completely useless. After the first 5 minutes they shut down Philly completely (don't let that useless touchdown at the end of the game fool you). This is now 3 straight weeks that their defense has looked slightly above average. At this point its a big elephant in the room for me. On one hand I want to praise their defense for finally showing up; on the other hand I am afraid that it is just a result of playing bad teams. It only gets easier from here, their remaining games are: Colts, Skins, Broncos, Dolphins, Bills. It is not inconceivable for this team to roll to a 13-3 record and with Houston calling upon Jake Delhomme that #1 seed is all but theirs. Of course the Patriots will not be thinking about that, coach Belichick will not allow them to. For all of the supposed mistakes he has made this year (at least the ones I've called him out on in earlier reports) and in the past few drafts you have to hand it to him. The coaching job he has done this year should finally be given some praise, but unless it translates into the playoffs it wont matter. Again, I wont bore you with stats but I will mention some players that really stood out for me. Firstly Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez are incredible, they could both make the case of being top-10 tight-ends in the league. Deion Branch has an incredible understanding with Brady that is really fin to watch. The way they improvised a route and turned it into a big gain with Brady flushed out of the pocket was a thing of beauty. Wes Welker continued to show why he is one of the best slot-receivers in recent memory, and BJGE even showed up. The only thing New England's offence is missing is a deep threat (Chad please wake up). Defensively, Rob Ninkovich has actually morphed himself into a decent line-backer, if New England can get 2 more guys to improve on defense before the playoffs we can go back to talking Superbowl.
Quick sidetrack (warning: 49ers content to come). As you know Cabrock discouraged me from covering my favorite team as a result of their long odds to make the playoffs at the start of the year. Right now they will clinch a playoff berth by Thursday if the Sea hawks cooperate and lose to the Eagles. I have been a San Francisco fan ever since I became a fan of football and for them to finally have a good team is amazing. Despite getting their ass kicked by the Ravens (the 3rd down defense in the 4th quarter was a disgrace) I still have high hopes for this team. They are a throwback, early 2000's team that plays defense and runs the ball well. Can they win the Superbowl? My mind says no, my heart wants it to be yes, stranger things have happened after all. From now on I may or may not include some mini-49ers rants with these reports, it will make up for the Eagles demise (I hope). Until next week, cheers.
Editors note: Due to Exam season looming the amount of work on this site will be greatly lessened for a short period of time. However, we are coming all out for the NBA season and will make up for our absence. Should be a lot of fun, I can't wait (for exams to be over that is). Aldo, we officially have a Twitter account, follow us @MilenniumSandE
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
NFL Grab Bag
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This week the New Orleans Saints were on their bye week getting some much deserved rest, so I have nothing to report on the Saints this week. Hopefully Sean Payton and Gregg Williams took this extra week to tighten up the defence and figure out all of the tiny little things that were plaguing the Saints. I’m extremely excited for this week’s Monday night game against the Giants, but this article will be geared towards a few other interesting developments around the league.
Playoff-bound Blunders: As the season has passed the halfway point, the playoff picture has become a little clearer. Many teams are essentially eliminated already and a few looked to be playoff locks. However, 2 teams that looked destined to make the playoffs have taken hits that might be insurmountable: Chicago Bears and Houston Texans. Both teams were coming together really nicely and both looked like playoff-calibre teams, but fate was not on their side. The worst thing that can happen to a franchise happened to both the Bears and the Texans: they lost their franchise QBs to a serious injury. The Texans are still hopeful that Matt Schaub might return in time for the playoffs, but if Matt Leinart is at the helm, Schaub might not get a chance to return this season. Some people are excited to see what Leinart can do with this opportunity, but those people have clearly forgotten the many years he shit away with Arizona. The Bears on the other hand don’t even have a ray of hope for Jay Cutler. Their star QB is planning to undergo surgery on his throwing hand, so he will be out for the season, without a doubt. I was certain that both the Bears and the Texans were going to make the playoffs this season, but the future is looking extremely grim. However, the NFL is a wacky league and you never know how things will play out, so there is always hope for Chicago and especially Houston, who plays in the awful AFC South.
Superbowl/Toiletbowl Ravens: There are currently 4 teams tied for the top spot in the AFC, which would lead some people to believe that the conference is extremely competitive. I would argue that 4 teams tied for first in a conference simply means that there is no clear favourite because no team has pulled away from the pack and proven themselves to be the best. However, if you watched the Ravens play on a good day, you would think for sure that they were the best team in the AFC and potentially the second best team in the league. The problem is, if you’ve followed Baltimore’s season, you’d know that they’ve lost to Tennessee, Jacksonville, and barely pulled away with a victory against Arizona (all teams that will be watching the playoffs from home this season). Whenever I watch Baltimore beat a team like the Steelers or the Bengals, I’m certain that they’re the most dominant team in the NFL and that this is the year Ray Lewis and the Ravens return to the Superbowl. However, then they play a lowly team like the Jaguars and can’t even put up double digit points. The Ravens have 6 more games to prove to the NFL what kind of team they are, and they better figure it out before the playoffs come around. If they continue with this inconsistent play, their football season is going to be done by mid-January.
Lord Rodgers and the Pack Attack: If you’ve been following my articles from the start, or know anything about me, you know that I’m not a Tom Brady fan. There is no doubting that he’s had a Hall of Fame career and has led his team to greatness, but I personally feel that he receives too much credit for the success that the Patriots have had. He’s always had an excellent coach, a good line, receivers that work well in the New England offense, and an opportunistic defence that has given Tom good field position and the opportunity to go out and win games. If you looked at Aaron Rodgers’ season stats, you would think he was the NFL version of Jesus Christ. His 31 touchdowns - 4 interceptions ratio and 128.8 QB rating on the season is unheard of and he’s on pace to break all of the records that Brady and Manning set in their most stellar seasons. However, Rodgers has a great coach, the best receiving core in the game, a huge offensive line to protect him, extremely effective special teams play, and a defence that gives the ball more times a game than a QB could ever wish for. There is no arguing that Aaron is the best QB in the league at the moment, but due to the elite team that he has around him, his stats should be considered inflated. I would argue that almost any starting quarterback in the NFL could step into Rodgers’ role and maybe not be 10-0, but certainly have a winning record and make a strong push for the playoffs.
Rookies of the Year: The NFL hands out a set of awards every year to celebrate the brightest talents of that season. From MVP, to coach of the year, to comeback player of the year, it’s usually very obvious and pretty much everyone who claims to be an NFL fan can tell you who the winner is going to be. However, one award (actually handed out as 2 separate awards) that most people guess wrong every year is the Rookie of the Year award. The problem is that the media will hype up the most exciting rookies or highlight the achievements of the most popular rookies, but these are almost never the players that truly performed for their teams and deserve the award. This year all of the hype is around Cam Newton for the offensive award, and no one really seems to care about the defensive rookie of the year. Sure Cam has had some HUGE highlights and is one of the most exciting players in the NFL, but his poor TD-INT ratio and losing team record almost guarantee that he wont win the award. The true offensive ROY is Andy Dalton. The Bengal’s QB is nowhere near as exciting to watch as Newton and he hasn’t had as many spectacular performances, but Dalton has played steady all season and led the surprising Cincinnati Bengals, a team that everyone thought was going to be crap this season, to an impressive 6-4 record and the chance to battle for a spot in the AFC playoffs. The defensive ROY is a clear choice, but not a player that many people have gotten a chance to watch, or even know about. It’s tough to get credit when you play on a bad team, and to say that the Arizona Cardinals are a bad team would almost be a compliment, but Patrick Peterson is the real deal. LSU’s Pat Peterson was rated the best overall player on almost every draft expert’s scorecard and he’s shown why in his first season as a pro. Peterson has become a shutdown corner on an otherwise shoddy defence and is absolutely spectacular in the return game. He’s tied with Devin Hester for most returns on the season and even returned a punt 99 yards to win a game in overtime this season. Dalton and Peterson are my picks for this year’s offensive and defensive rookies of the year.
Playoff-bound Blunders: As the season has passed the halfway point, the playoff picture has become a little clearer. Many teams are essentially eliminated already and a few looked to be playoff locks. However, 2 teams that looked destined to make the playoffs have taken hits that might be insurmountable: Chicago Bears and Houston Texans. Both teams were coming together really nicely and both looked like playoff-calibre teams, but fate was not on their side. The worst thing that can happen to a franchise happened to both the Bears and the Texans: they lost their franchise QBs to a serious injury. The Texans are still hopeful that Matt Schaub might return in time for the playoffs, but if Matt Leinart is at the helm, Schaub might not get a chance to return this season. Some people are excited to see what Leinart can do with this opportunity, but those people have clearly forgotten the many years he shit away with Arizona. The Bears on the other hand don’t even have a ray of hope for Jay Cutler. Their star QB is planning to undergo surgery on his throwing hand, so he will be out for the season, without a doubt. I was certain that both the Bears and the Texans were going to make the playoffs this season, but the future is looking extremely grim. However, the NFL is a wacky league and you never know how things will play out, so there is always hope for Chicago and especially Houston, who plays in the awful AFC South.
Superbowl/Toiletbowl Ravens: There are currently 4 teams tied for the top spot in the AFC, which would lead some people to believe that the conference is extremely competitive. I would argue that 4 teams tied for first in a conference simply means that there is no clear favourite because no team has pulled away from the pack and proven themselves to be the best. However, if you watched the Ravens play on a good day, you would think for sure that they were the best team in the AFC and potentially the second best team in the league. The problem is, if you’ve followed Baltimore’s season, you’d know that they’ve lost to Tennessee, Jacksonville, and barely pulled away with a victory against Arizona (all teams that will be watching the playoffs from home this season). Whenever I watch Baltimore beat a team like the Steelers or the Bengals, I’m certain that they’re the most dominant team in the NFL and that this is the year Ray Lewis and the Ravens return to the Superbowl. However, then they play a lowly team like the Jaguars and can’t even put up double digit points. The Ravens have 6 more games to prove to the NFL what kind of team they are, and they better figure it out before the playoffs come around. If they continue with this inconsistent play, their football season is going to be done by mid-January.
Lord Rodgers and the Pack Attack: If you’ve been following my articles from the start, or know anything about me, you know that I’m not a Tom Brady fan. There is no doubting that he’s had a Hall of Fame career and has led his team to greatness, but I personally feel that he receives too much credit for the success that the Patriots have had. He’s always had an excellent coach, a good line, receivers that work well in the New England offense, and an opportunistic defence that has given Tom good field position and the opportunity to go out and win games. If you looked at Aaron Rodgers’ season stats, you would think he was the NFL version of Jesus Christ. His 31 touchdowns - 4 interceptions ratio and 128.8 QB rating on the season is unheard of and he’s on pace to break all of the records that Brady and Manning set in their most stellar seasons. However, Rodgers has a great coach, the best receiving core in the game, a huge offensive line to protect him, extremely effective special teams play, and a defence that gives the ball more times a game than a QB could ever wish for. There is no arguing that Aaron is the best QB in the league at the moment, but due to the elite team that he has around him, his stats should be considered inflated. I would argue that almost any starting quarterback in the NFL could step into Rodgers’ role and maybe not be 10-0, but certainly have a winning record and make a strong push for the playoffs.
Rookies of the Year: The NFL hands out a set of awards every year to celebrate the brightest talents of that season. From MVP, to coach of the year, to comeback player of the year, it’s usually very obvious and pretty much everyone who claims to be an NFL fan can tell you who the winner is going to be. However, one award (actually handed out as 2 separate awards) that most people guess wrong every year is the Rookie of the Year award. The problem is that the media will hype up the most exciting rookies or highlight the achievements of the most popular rookies, but these are almost never the players that truly performed for their teams and deserve the award. This year all of the hype is around Cam Newton for the offensive award, and no one really seems to care about the defensive rookie of the year. Sure Cam has had some HUGE highlights and is one of the most exciting players in the NFL, but his poor TD-INT ratio and losing team record almost guarantee that he wont win the award. The true offensive ROY is Andy Dalton. The Bengal’s QB is nowhere near as exciting to watch as Newton and he hasn’t had as many spectacular performances, but Dalton has played steady all season and led the surprising Cincinnati Bengals, a team that everyone thought was going to be crap this season, to an impressive 6-4 record and the chance to battle for a spot in the AFC playoffs. The defensive ROY is a clear choice, but not a player that many people have gotten a chance to watch, or even know about. It’s tough to get credit when you play on a bad team, and to say that the Arizona Cardinals are a bad team would almost be a compliment, but Patrick Peterson is the real deal. LSU’s Pat Peterson was rated the best overall player on almost every draft expert’s scorecard and he’s shown why in his first season as a pro. Peterson has become a shutdown corner on an otherwise shoddy defence and is absolutely spectacular in the return game. He’s tied with Devin Hester for most returns on the season and even returned a punt 99 yards to win a game in overtime this season. Dalton and Peterson are my picks for this year’s offensive and defensive rookies of the year.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
New Orleans Report: Controversy in Atlanta
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Week 10 was by no means the most exciting week of football this season. Last Sunday saw blowout after blowout, but not all of the games last week sucked. Cincy vs Blitzburgh was close the whole way and San Fran vs NYG was a lot of fun, but hands down, the best game of the week was the Saints vs the Falcons. I briefly talked about the big matchup in last week’s article, highlighting that the winner would take the lead in the NFC South. Just as we all suspected, the game was extremely close throughout and for the 4th time in a row, the winner of this division matchup was decided by a field goal.
Drew Brees and Matt Ryan are 2 of the best QBs in the league, and both showcased their skill sets last weekend. They combined for almost 700 yards, 4 TDs and only 1 INT. The Saints offence was efficient as always, but the Atlanta D refused to allow the game to turn into a blowout. New Orleans put up 23 points in 60 minutes, which for their high caliber offence is actually pretty pedestrian. Brees spread the ball to 9 different players including 3 running backs and 1 random fullback named Jed Collins. Drew Brees continued both of his streaks of consecutive games with 20+ completions and 1 TD: SWAG. As good as Brees played, Atlanta’s “Matty Ice” had a great game of his own. Ryan threw the only INT of the game, but refused to lose. Matt Ryan never gave up on his team and led a very impressive comeback to tie the game in the final minutes and force a very controversial overtime.
People have been talking about the NO-ATL game all week, but for the wrong reason. In OT, Atlanta’s coach decided to go for broke on 4th and inches from his own 30 yard line. This is one thing I don’t like about NFL “Experts” and the media: if the Falcons convert on 4th down and go on to win the game, Mike Smith gets nominated for coach of the year and everyone talks about how gigantic his balls are, but if they don’t make it, he looks like an idiot and gets crucified for not having any faith in his team. On 4th and inches, Atlanta lined up in their “Big” formation and everyone knew it was going to be a power run up the middle. Many people have a problem with the obvious play call and I would usually agree that you can’t pick such an obvious play, but in this situation, I agreed with Mike Smith and his call. The Falcons running back, Michael Turner, went to the Pro Bowl last year and has been having a good year so far. He weighs 245 lbs and has thighs larger than my torso. WHY WOULD YOU NOT RUN UP THE MIDDLE WITH HIM!?!?!? If the Saints tried to jam it up the gut with 180 lb Darren Sproles, that would be a terrible play call, but to try and get 3 or 4 inches by pounding it up the middle with a small truck is the right decision. The Saints D really stepped it up and managed to stuff the play in the backfield, effectively winning the game. Mike Smith has been blamed all week for making a “bonehead” decision, but 80% of coaches would have made the exact same call.
The 2 main things that people are upset about are the play call and the decision to go for it. First off, any coach who doesn’t believe his 5-3 team can get 3 or 4 inches doesn’t deserve to coach in the NFL and should consider a career in synchronized swimming or some other soft shit. Why would you punt the ball to one of the elite QBs in the league and let him embarrass your team in OT? Smith made the right decision to go for it on 4th down, no doubt. The better argument people have been making is that the play call set the offense up for failure before they even snapped the ball. I’m not even going to waste time explaining why throwing the ball or trying a misdirection play wouldn’t have worked in this situation, so lets talk about the only option that was better than Michael Turner up the middle: Matty Ice calling his own number and QB sneaking. Had Ryan ran the sneak, there’s probably an 80% chance he gets the first down, so why wouldn’t coach Mike Smith call that play? Think about the procedure of a QB sneak: the QB has to dive over the linemen head first against guys who HEAVILY outweigh him looking to knock his head off. Like I said, the chances that Ryan converts on 4th and inches is probably 80%, but the chance that he suffers a concussion (or worse) on a play where the entire D is crashing the middle trying to clog those gaps is far too high for the play to pay off. For anyone who’s thinking, “No, that’s stupid. This is the NFL, no one’s that much of a bitch,” think about this: the QB has the right to audible any call he wants. If Ryan thought that sneaking was going to get them the first down and wasn’t aware of the dangers of the play, why didn’t he audible to call his own number and dive for the first?
The point of my rant is that Mike Smith made the right decision. If you can’t get 3 or 4 inches on 4th down, you really don’t even deserve to win the game. Also, the decision to pound it up the middle with Turner was the right call, because it carried the least amount of risk of a horrible play or injury to your franchise player.
Next week the Saints have a bye, so I won’t be writing about New Orleans. However, I’ve been thinking about next week’s article and I must say, it’s gonna be a good one. Some things to look forward to: Texans’ bad luck, WTF Ravens, Aaron Rodgers and his inflated stats, and the Rookies of the Year.
Drew Brees and Matt Ryan are 2 of the best QBs in the league, and both showcased their skill sets last weekend. They combined for almost 700 yards, 4 TDs and only 1 INT. The Saints offence was efficient as always, but the Atlanta D refused to allow the game to turn into a blowout. New Orleans put up 23 points in 60 minutes, which for their high caliber offence is actually pretty pedestrian. Brees spread the ball to 9 different players including 3 running backs and 1 random fullback named Jed Collins. Drew Brees continued both of his streaks of consecutive games with 20+ completions and 1 TD: SWAG. As good as Brees played, Atlanta’s “Matty Ice” had a great game of his own. Ryan threw the only INT of the game, but refused to lose. Matt Ryan never gave up on his team and led a very impressive comeback to tie the game in the final minutes and force a very controversial overtime.
People have been talking about the NO-ATL game all week, but for the wrong reason. In OT, Atlanta’s coach decided to go for broke on 4th and inches from his own 30 yard line. This is one thing I don’t like about NFL “Experts” and the media: if the Falcons convert on 4th down and go on to win the game, Mike Smith gets nominated for coach of the year and everyone talks about how gigantic his balls are, but if they don’t make it, he looks like an idiot and gets crucified for not having any faith in his team. On 4th and inches, Atlanta lined up in their “Big” formation and everyone knew it was going to be a power run up the middle. Many people have a problem with the obvious play call and I would usually agree that you can’t pick such an obvious play, but in this situation, I agreed with Mike Smith and his call. The Falcons running back, Michael Turner, went to the Pro Bowl last year and has been having a good year so far. He weighs 245 lbs and has thighs larger than my torso. WHY WOULD YOU NOT RUN UP THE MIDDLE WITH HIM!?!?!? If the Saints tried to jam it up the gut with 180 lb Darren Sproles, that would be a terrible play call, but to try and get 3 or 4 inches by pounding it up the middle with a small truck is the right decision. The Saints D really stepped it up and managed to stuff the play in the backfield, effectively winning the game. Mike Smith has been blamed all week for making a “bonehead” decision, but 80% of coaches would have made the exact same call.
The 2 main things that people are upset about are the play call and the decision to go for it. First off, any coach who doesn’t believe his 5-3 team can get 3 or 4 inches doesn’t deserve to coach in the NFL and should consider a career in synchronized swimming or some other soft shit. Why would you punt the ball to one of the elite QBs in the league and let him embarrass your team in OT? Smith made the right decision to go for it on 4th down, no doubt. The better argument people have been making is that the play call set the offense up for failure before they even snapped the ball. I’m not even going to waste time explaining why throwing the ball or trying a misdirection play wouldn’t have worked in this situation, so lets talk about the only option that was better than Michael Turner up the middle: Matty Ice calling his own number and QB sneaking. Had Ryan ran the sneak, there’s probably an 80% chance he gets the first down, so why wouldn’t coach Mike Smith call that play? Think about the procedure of a QB sneak: the QB has to dive over the linemen head first against guys who HEAVILY outweigh him looking to knock his head off. Like I said, the chances that Ryan converts on 4th and inches is probably 80%, but the chance that he suffers a concussion (or worse) on a play where the entire D is crashing the middle trying to clog those gaps is far too high for the play to pay off. For anyone who’s thinking, “No, that’s stupid. This is the NFL, no one’s that much of a bitch,” think about this: the QB has the right to audible any call he wants. If Ryan thought that sneaking was going to get them the first down and wasn’t aware of the dangers of the play, why didn’t he audible to call his own number and dive for the first?
The point of my rant is that Mike Smith made the right decision. If you can’t get 3 or 4 inches on 4th down, you really don’t even deserve to win the game. Also, the decision to pound it up the middle with Turner was the right call, because it carried the least amount of risk of a horrible play or injury to your franchise player.
Next week the Saints have a bye, so I won’t be writing about New Orleans. However, I’ve been thinking about next week’s article and I must say, it’s gonna be a good one. Some things to look forward to: Texans’ bad luck, WTF Ravens, Aaron Rodgers and his inflated stats, and the Rookies of the Year.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Saints and the Mid-Season All-Stars
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Just another day at the office for the New Orleans Saints. Coming into their game against Tampa Bay, I read multiple articles saying that the Saints offense was sure to slow down and that their defense was simply not making enough plays. The same columnists predicted that the Bucs would upset the Saints and the Atlanta Falcons would be the team to beat in the NFC South.
There’s really no need to talk about Brees and the offense because they did what they do week in and week out: dominate. Watching Brees, Graham, Sproles, and the wide receiving core shred the opposing defense has become a regularity (I’ve decided to drop the Rams game from my memory). However, watching the Saints defense is a rollercoaster ride which usually leaves me feeling nauseous. I’m glad to report that New Orleans’ mediocre defense finally stepped up and showed what a great defensive system Gregg Williams has put into place. Every Tampa drive looked the same: promising start, methodical drive down the field, shut down inside the Saints 30 yard line. As I mentioned in an earlier article, the Saints D is based on the traditional motto “Bend but don’t break.” In theory, they allow the small gains and wait for the opportunity to make a big play and create turnovers. That hasn’t been the story all season, but last game, they filled into their roles perfectly and stopped Tampa whenever it mattered. Next week we face Atlanta in a HUGE game for the division lead, which I expect the Saints to win and put all the haters to rest.
I was reading NFL.com and came across an interesting article by Michael Lombardi. He made an NFL Mid-Season All-Star team for both offense and defense. I decided it was a cool idea, so here’s my Mid-Season All-Star’s.
OFFENSE
QB - Aaron Rodgers - Packers
RB - Matt Forte - Bears
WR - Calvin Johnson - Lions
WR - Steve Smith – Panthers
TE - Jimmy Graham - Saints
TE - Rob Gronkowski - Patriots
T - Jake Long - Dolphins
T - Joe Thomas - Browns
G - Jahri Evans - Saints
G - Carl Nicks - Saints
Center - Nick Mangold - Jets
Kicker - Jason Hanson - Lions
DEFENSE
DE - Jared Allen - Vikings
DE - Jason Pierre-Paul - Giants
DT - Haloti Ngata - Ravens
DT - Ndamukong Suh - Lions
OLB - Terrell Suggs - Ravens
OLB - Lance Briggs - Bears
MLB - Ray Lewis - Ravens
CB - Darrelle Revis - Jets
CB - Brandon Flowers - Chiefs
Safety - Ed Reed - Ravens
Safety - George Wilson - Bills
Punter - Shane Lechler - Raiders
There’s really no need to talk about Brees and the offense because they did what they do week in and week out: dominate. Watching Brees, Graham, Sproles, and the wide receiving core shred the opposing defense has become a regularity (I’ve decided to drop the Rams game from my memory). However, watching the Saints defense is a rollercoaster ride which usually leaves me feeling nauseous. I’m glad to report that New Orleans’ mediocre defense finally stepped up and showed what a great defensive system Gregg Williams has put into place. Every Tampa drive looked the same: promising start, methodical drive down the field, shut down inside the Saints 30 yard line. As I mentioned in an earlier article, the Saints D is based on the traditional motto “Bend but don’t break.” In theory, they allow the small gains and wait for the opportunity to make a big play and create turnovers. That hasn’t been the story all season, but last game, they filled into their roles perfectly and stopped Tampa whenever it mattered. Next week we face Atlanta in a HUGE game for the division lead, which I expect the Saints to win and put all the haters to rest.
I was reading NFL.com and came across an interesting article by Michael Lombardi. He made an NFL Mid-Season All-Star team for both offense and defense. I decided it was a cool idea, so here’s my Mid-Season All-Star’s.
OFFENSE
QB - Aaron Rodgers - Packers
RB - Matt Forte - Bears
WR - Calvin Johnson - Lions
WR - Steve Smith – Panthers
TE - Jimmy Graham - Saints
TE - Rob Gronkowski - Patriots
T - Jake Long - Dolphins
T - Joe Thomas - Browns
G - Jahri Evans - Saints
G - Carl Nicks - Saints
Center - Nick Mangold - Jets
Kicker - Jason Hanson - Lions
DEFENSE
DE - Jared Allen - Vikings
DE - Jason Pierre-Paul - Giants
DT - Haloti Ngata - Ravens
DT - Ndamukong Suh - Lions
OLB - Terrell Suggs - Ravens
OLB - Lance Briggs - Bears
MLB - Ray Lewis - Ravens
CB - Darrelle Revis - Jets
CB - Brandon Flowers - Chiefs
Safety - Ed Reed - Ravens
Safety - George Wilson - Bills
Punter - Shane Lechler - Raiders
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Heartbreak in New Orleans
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I really don’t know what to say about the game of “football” that the Saints played last Sunday. The Saints were coming into the game having defeating the Colts 62-7 in a nationally televised pummelling. They became the third team in NFL history to put up 60 points in a game and their offense looked unstoppable. The Rams came into the game having been absolutely wrecked 34-7 by the average-at-best Cowboys. It looked like the Saints were going to embarrass St. Louis, Brees was going to become the MVP favourite, and Head Coach Sean Payton was going to run for president in the next American election. Needless to say, things did not play out this way.
The Saints started off bad and things just kept getting worse. The Rams didn’t even play with Sam Bradford, their franchise QB and had to settle for their 2nd stringer. Feeley, the perennial NFL back-up, was given the start due to Bradford’s injury and looked like a veteran out there. The Ram’s best player, Steven Jackson, returned from injury and ran all over the Saints defence. Watching the Saints defenders try to tackle Jackson was actually upsetting, as SJ39 finished the game with 159 rushing yards.
I’ve been saying all year that the Saints defence is mediocre, so the Rams putting up 31 against New Orleans seemed fathomable, though unlikely. What was truly surprising was the way that the Saints offense performed (re: underperformed). Brees threw for 2 picks and had less than 200 yards for almost the entirety of the game. Defensive End Chris Long had 3 sacks alone, the Saints got a punt blocked, and the entire coaching staff seemed like they didn’t really care much. The Saints were down 24-0 at one point in the third quarter and it was clear that New Orleans had no chance. That was easily the worst showing I’ve seen from the Saints in recent memory.
However, as the Saints are my team, and Drew Brees is my quarterback, I am happy to point out one positive moment in last week’s game. With only minutes left in the game, it looked like Brees’ rare streak was going to finally be snapped. Brees has the 3rd longest streak of consecutive games with a TD pass, but it seemed as though that impressive feat would finally come to an end (and to the lowly Rams). However, in the final minutes of the game, Brees orchestrated a methodical 15 play, 80 yard drive that ended in a touchdown pass from Drew to Lance Moore. Ladies and Gentlemen, the streak is still alive and Brees will continue to throw his way into the history books.
It's my small silver lining in an otherwise embarrassing performance by New Orleans.
Thoughts on the NFL:
It’s always a great feeling when you predict something and it comes true. I may have been very wrong about the outcome of the Saints-Rams affair, but I was spot on with my Tim Tebow prediction. Tebow probably had the worst outing by a QB this year (and that includes Grossman’s dismal game against the Eagles earlier this season), and made Broncos fans beg for Kyle Orton to start next game. The Lions shit on the Broncos 45-10, which had the Detroit players openly insulting Tebow. The Lions used his own celebration against him, twice, and when asked about #15, they called him a joke of a quarterback. One columnist for a Denver newspaper said that Tebow is the worst starting QB in the league and that the Broncos are lucky Orton is still in Denver. Looks like Tim Tebow is Superman no more.
The Chargers actually make me mad. How do you have so much talent on one team and choke so often? San Diego’s 2 starting receivers, Malcolm Floyd and Vincent Jackson, are both 6’5”, Antonio Gates is arguably one of the top 3 tight ends in NFL history, and the running back Matthews is a versatile weapon that can be a factor in the passing game. It would seem that my little sister could come into the starting line-up and put up 300 passing yards a game, but apparently Phillip Rivers is finding a way to make things not work. The Chargers started off the season 4-1 but have managed to drop to 4-3 and with this week’s loss, have fallen to second place in their division (trailing KC, who started the season 0-3). Last year the Chargers finished the season 1st in overall offense, 1st in overall defence, and managed to miss the playoffs....how does that even happen!?!?! Head Coach Norv Turner better figure this out before Oakland passes them as well.
The AFC North is looking absolutely beastly this season. Last week I pointed out a stat to Daki that I didn’t think would ever be possible. The top 4 NFL teams in terms of total defence (total yards allowed) were the Ravens, Bengals, Steelers, and Browns. The amazing thing is that those 4 teams make up the AFC North division. That stat has since changed, but it goes to show why the AFC North is the best division in football: Defence baby! The Ravens and Steelers are 2 of the top 5 teams in the league at the moment and the surprising 5-2 Bengals aren’t far behind them. Some people might say that the Browns are bad, but they have lost a few very close contests and gave the 6-1 SF 49er’s a run for their money last weekend. I have always argued that the 2 best divisions in the NFL are the AFC North and the NFC South. The NFC South has started off a little bit slow, but is picking up momentum coming into the halfway point of the season, but the AFC North is without a doubt the toughest division in football at the moment. If the season ended today, the Ravens, Steelers, and Bengals would all be in the playoff. That’s a true testament to smashmouth football right there.
That’s all I got for this week folks. I’ll be back to talk FOOTBALLLLL soon!
The Saints started off bad and things just kept getting worse. The Rams didn’t even play with Sam Bradford, their franchise QB and had to settle for their 2nd stringer. Feeley, the perennial NFL back-up, was given the start due to Bradford’s injury and looked like a veteran out there. The Ram’s best player, Steven Jackson, returned from injury and ran all over the Saints defence. Watching the Saints defenders try to tackle Jackson was actually upsetting, as SJ39 finished the game with 159 rushing yards.
I’ve been saying all year that the Saints defence is mediocre, so the Rams putting up 31 against New Orleans seemed fathomable, though unlikely. What was truly surprising was the way that the Saints offense performed (re: underperformed). Brees threw for 2 picks and had less than 200 yards for almost the entirety of the game. Defensive End Chris Long had 3 sacks alone, the Saints got a punt blocked, and the entire coaching staff seemed like they didn’t really care much. The Saints were down 24-0 at one point in the third quarter and it was clear that New Orleans had no chance. That was easily the worst showing I’ve seen from the Saints in recent memory.
However, as the Saints are my team, and Drew Brees is my quarterback, I am happy to point out one positive moment in last week’s game. With only minutes left in the game, it looked like Brees’ rare streak was going to finally be snapped. Brees has the 3rd longest streak of consecutive games with a TD pass, but it seemed as though that impressive feat would finally come to an end (and to the lowly Rams). However, in the final minutes of the game, Brees orchestrated a methodical 15 play, 80 yard drive that ended in a touchdown pass from Drew to Lance Moore. Ladies and Gentlemen, the streak is still alive and Brees will continue to throw his way into the history books.
It's my small silver lining in an otherwise embarrassing performance by New Orleans.
Thoughts on the NFL:
It’s always a great feeling when you predict something and it comes true. I may have been very wrong about the outcome of the Saints-Rams affair, but I was spot on with my Tim Tebow prediction. Tebow probably had the worst outing by a QB this year (and that includes Grossman’s dismal game against the Eagles earlier this season), and made Broncos fans beg for Kyle Orton to start next game. The Lions shit on the Broncos 45-10, which had the Detroit players openly insulting Tebow. The Lions used his own celebration against him, twice, and when asked about #15, they called him a joke of a quarterback. One columnist for a Denver newspaper said that Tebow is the worst starting QB in the league and that the Broncos are lucky Orton is still in Denver. Looks like Tim Tebow is Superman no more.
The Chargers actually make me mad. How do you have so much talent on one team and choke so often? San Diego’s 2 starting receivers, Malcolm Floyd and Vincent Jackson, are both 6’5”, Antonio Gates is arguably one of the top 3 tight ends in NFL history, and the running back Matthews is a versatile weapon that can be a factor in the passing game. It would seem that my little sister could come into the starting line-up and put up 300 passing yards a game, but apparently Phillip Rivers is finding a way to make things not work. The Chargers started off the season 4-1 but have managed to drop to 4-3 and with this week’s loss, have fallen to second place in their division (trailing KC, who started the season 0-3). Last year the Chargers finished the season 1st in overall offense, 1st in overall defence, and managed to miss the playoffs....how does that even happen!?!?! Head Coach Norv Turner better figure this out before Oakland passes them as well.
The AFC North is looking absolutely beastly this season. Last week I pointed out a stat to Daki that I didn’t think would ever be possible. The top 4 NFL teams in terms of total defence (total yards allowed) were the Ravens, Bengals, Steelers, and Browns. The amazing thing is that those 4 teams make up the AFC North division. That stat has since changed, but it goes to show why the AFC North is the best division in football: Defence baby! The Ravens and Steelers are 2 of the top 5 teams in the league at the moment and the surprising 5-2 Bengals aren’t far behind them. Some people might say that the Browns are bad, but they have lost a few very close contests and gave the 6-1 SF 49er’s a run for their money last weekend. I have always argued that the 2 best divisions in the NFL are the AFC North and the NFC South. The NFC South has started off a little bit slow, but is picking up momentum coming into the halfway point of the season, but the AFC North is without a doubt the toughest division in football at the moment. If the season ended today, the Ravens, Steelers, and Bengals would all be in the playoff. That’s a true testament to smashmouth football right there.
That’s all I got for this week folks. I’ll be back to talk FOOTBALLLLL soon!
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Superbowl Saints
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Last week, Daki and Luka both sent me texts being like, “Damn Drew Brees played like crap today.” How in the world someone can claim that throwing for over 380 yards is a bad day is beyond me, but throwing 3 picks is clearly not the best game(even if 2 weren’t his fault). However, this week the Saints played the Colts in primetime and ran a clinic.
Whenever the commentators talk about Brees, the recurring word is “leadership.” Sure Drew Brees probably has the best accuracy in the league, but other than that, his skill set is not anything spectacular. The thing that separates Brees as one of the top 3 QBs in the league is the way he leads his team. Even with his head coach upstairs in a press box and the assistant head coach calling the plays, Drew seems to always be in command, changing plays at the line and keeping everybody focused on the gameplan. I could talk about Brees all day, but i’ll stop and just leave you with his stat line: 31/35 for 325 yards and 5 touchdowns...and the Saints decided to stop using him in the 3rd quarter.
There were a few other players on offense that showed they deserve to be in the Pro Bowl this year. Firstly, what is wrong with the San Diego Chargers? They develop a person into a force to be reckoned with, then simply let them go. A few years back, Marty Schottenheimer coached the Chargers to a league best 14-2 record. They lost a very close game to the Patriots in the playoffs, so SD decided that the most logical thing to do was to fire him as head coach. They also had this one running back that was pretty decent: LT. Once his contract expired, the future hall of famer had to beg to have his contract renewed. The Chargers gave him a 1 year contract and decided that he had too much left in the tank and that he could still contribute, so they decided to let him go. Darren Sproles is the most recent Chargers talented castoff, and I’m amazed that the Saints got him. Sproles is one of the most versatile players in the league and is a matchup nightmare for defences. Also, weighing in at about 180 lbs, he plays every game like he has something to prove. He’s averaging 7.4 yards/carry, 7.3 yards/catch, has 5 total TDs and can make anything happen on special teams. This week he had 12 carries for 88 yards (7.3 yard average) with 1 rushing TD and 1 receiving TD. Stay classy San Diego.
Anyone who has followed the Saints knows that since about 2006, they’ve had some talented receivers. Between Meachem, Colston, Henderson, and Moore, you never really know where the ball is going but you can be sure that someone’s going to make your defence look stupid. However, the new kid that everyone is raving about is Jimmy Graham. I watched Graham play a game at the U and must admit that I was sceptical when the Saints drafted him in the third round. In the game, he had 2 chances for HUGE 3rd down completions that he could have potentially turned to TDs, but watched them both hit him in the hands and turn into drops. The season that Jimmy Graham is having should be fully accredited to head coach Sean Payton. Graham brought the size and freakish athleticism, and Payton moulded him into the beast that he is turning into. Al Michaels and Chris Collinsworth were pretty much having a Graham d***-sucking contest in the commentators booth last Sunday. Collinsworth went so far as to say that by the time Jimmy is retired, he’ll pass Tony Gonzalez as the best tight end of all time....ITS HIS SECOND SEASON!?!? Either way, this kid is someone to watch for. His current stats on the season are ridiculous: 45 catches for 674 yards and 5 TDs.
The only part of last Sundays game that had me a little bit worried was the defence. I’m a huge fan of defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and his blitz-happy, bend-but-dont-break style of coaching. However, for his defences to be successful, they have to be creating turnovers. The Saints D has been pretty average this season but average won’t be enough to win a superbowl. They only picked off Curtis Painter once last week, but hopefully they’re settling in like all other teams and will start racking in the turnovers.
Overall, it was a great week for the New Orleans Saints. They showed that they’re a top 3 team in the NFL and look to have another huge weekend against the lowly St. Louis Rams.
Last week I highlighted 3 things I was going to be looking for in Week 7 and I’d like to quickly cover them.
TIM TEBOW BABY. GODS GIFT TO THIS EARTH! Did you see the way he sucked for 57 minutes and didn’t even put his team in position to get a freakin fieldgoal!! Then he led a miraculous comeback against the superbowl contending Miami Dolphins. The truth is, once Tebow stepped up and started playing mediocre, his team (which is far more talented than the Fins) did most of the work. His line paved the way and the coaches called the plays to wreck Miami, but no one will ever talk about the other 52 players on the team. Tebow played like crap for all but 3 minutes of the game, but history will remember it as him leading a glorious comeback against a fierce competitor. BS
The Oakland Raiders are beyond screwed. They were absolutely embarrassed by the Chiefs this past week and didn’t even deserve to put up a single point. Kyle Boller started the game and posted a dismal 22.3 quarterback rating. Hue Jackson decided that it was time to give Palmer a shot, only a few days after he joined the team. Palmer showed that you dont just come out of retirement and shit on the NFL by posting an even worse QBR of 17.3....yikes. The future of the Raiders is in serious jeopardy. It scares me that my hopes for the Silver and Black lie with Terrelle Pryor.
Defences are finally back on track. This week featured 2 pillow fights (Browns 6-3 Seahawks and Jags 13-7 Ravens) and there weren’t as many offensive players taking over games by themselves. Granted, players like DeMarco Murray and Arian Foster demolished their competition this week, but that’s just the way the NFL works. I’m happy we’re back to the ways of some games turning into shootouts and others turning into toilet bowls.
Whenever the commentators talk about Brees, the recurring word is “leadership.” Sure Drew Brees probably has the best accuracy in the league, but other than that, his skill set is not anything spectacular. The thing that separates Brees as one of the top 3 QBs in the league is the way he leads his team. Even with his head coach upstairs in a press box and the assistant head coach calling the plays, Drew seems to always be in command, changing plays at the line and keeping everybody focused on the gameplan. I could talk about Brees all day, but i’ll stop and just leave you with his stat line: 31/35 for 325 yards and 5 touchdowns...and the Saints decided to stop using him in the 3rd quarter.
There were a few other players on offense that showed they deserve to be in the Pro Bowl this year. Firstly, what is wrong with the San Diego Chargers? They develop a person into a force to be reckoned with, then simply let them go. A few years back, Marty Schottenheimer coached the Chargers to a league best 14-2 record. They lost a very close game to the Patriots in the playoffs, so SD decided that the most logical thing to do was to fire him as head coach. They also had this one running back that was pretty decent: LT. Once his contract expired, the future hall of famer had to beg to have his contract renewed. The Chargers gave him a 1 year contract and decided that he had too much left in the tank and that he could still contribute, so they decided to let him go. Darren Sproles is the most recent Chargers talented castoff, and I’m amazed that the Saints got him. Sproles is one of the most versatile players in the league and is a matchup nightmare for defences. Also, weighing in at about 180 lbs, he plays every game like he has something to prove. He’s averaging 7.4 yards/carry, 7.3 yards/catch, has 5 total TDs and can make anything happen on special teams. This week he had 12 carries for 88 yards (7.3 yard average) with 1 rushing TD and 1 receiving TD. Stay classy San Diego.
Anyone who has followed the Saints knows that since about 2006, they’ve had some talented receivers. Between Meachem, Colston, Henderson, and Moore, you never really know where the ball is going but you can be sure that someone’s going to make your defence look stupid. However, the new kid that everyone is raving about is Jimmy Graham. I watched Graham play a game at the U and must admit that I was sceptical when the Saints drafted him in the third round. In the game, he had 2 chances for HUGE 3rd down completions that he could have potentially turned to TDs, but watched them both hit him in the hands and turn into drops. The season that Jimmy Graham is having should be fully accredited to head coach Sean Payton. Graham brought the size and freakish athleticism, and Payton moulded him into the beast that he is turning into. Al Michaels and Chris Collinsworth were pretty much having a Graham d***-sucking contest in the commentators booth last Sunday. Collinsworth went so far as to say that by the time Jimmy is retired, he’ll pass Tony Gonzalez as the best tight end of all time....ITS HIS SECOND SEASON!?!? Either way, this kid is someone to watch for. His current stats on the season are ridiculous: 45 catches for 674 yards and 5 TDs.
The only part of last Sundays game that had me a little bit worried was the defence. I’m a huge fan of defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and his blitz-happy, bend-but-dont-break style of coaching. However, for his defences to be successful, they have to be creating turnovers. The Saints D has been pretty average this season but average won’t be enough to win a superbowl. They only picked off Curtis Painter once last week, but hopefully they’re settling in like all other teams and will start racking in the turnovers.
Overall, it was a great week for the New Orleans Saints. They showed that they’re a top 3 team in the NFL and look to have another huge weekend against the lowly St. Louis Rams.
Last week I highlighted 3 things I was going to be looking for in Week 7 and I’d like to quickly cover them.
TIM TEBOW BABY. GODS GIFT TO THIS EARTH! Did you see the way he sucked for 57 minutes and didn’t even put his team in position to get a freakin fieldgoal!! Then he led a miraculous comeback against the superbowl contending Miami Dolphins. The truth is, once Tebow stepped up and started playing mediocre, his team (which is far more talented than the Fins) did most of the work. His line paved the way and the coaches called the plays to wreck Miami, but no one will ever talk about the other 52 players on the team. Tebow played like crap for all but 3 minutes of the game, but history will remember it as him leading a glorious comeback against a fierce competitor. BS
The Oakland Raiders are beyond screwed. They were absolutely embarrassed by the Chiefs this past week and didn’t even deserve to put up a single point. Kyle Boller started the game and posted a dismal 22.3 quarterback rating. Hue Jackson decided that it was time to give Palmer a shot, only a few days after he joined the team. Palmer showed that you dont just come out of retirement and shit on the NFL by posting an even worse QBR of 17.3....yikes. The future of the Raiders is in serious jeopardy. It scares me that my hopes for the Silver and Black lie with Terrelle Pryor.
Defences are finally back on track. This week featured 2 pillow fights (Browns 6-3 Seahawks and Jags 13-7 Ravens) and there weren’t as many offensive players taking over games by themselves. Granted, players like DeMarco Murray and Arian Foster demolished their competition this week, but that’s just the way the NFL works. I’m happy we’re back to the ways of some games turning into shootouts and others turning into toilet bowls.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
NFL Week 7
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It has been a while since my last post. I was actually going to stop writing articles on the NFL because the whole purpose of me joining millennium was to write about the Saints. However, living in Toronto has seriously ruined the way I watch football and I’ve only watched 1 New Orleans game this season....despicable.
However, too many things have been going on in the NFL recently for me to not write out my thoughts. So here is what I’ll be looking for in week 7.
Carson Palmer ruining Oakland– Anyone who knows anything about my football history knows that Carson Palmer is my most hated player in history. I would even go so far as to say that he is one of my most hated humans of all time. If you’ve read any of my prior articles, you might get the impression that I dislike Tom Brady, but compared to Palmer, I have a mancrush on Tom. Oakland gave up a 2011 First round pick and a 2012 First or Second round pick (depending how well they do in the playoffs these next 2 years) to acquire the least consistent player in NFL history. Carson was on pace to be a guaranteed HoF candidate in his first 3 seasons, but thanks to a very illegal hit from the Pittsburgh Steelers, Palmer’s career fell apart. Now, some of you are probably under the NFL analyst hype and would believe that Palmer was still a good QB after his injury. Though stats would back up that statement, anyone who has been a diehard Bengal fan over the past 8 years knows that Palmer is a catastrophe. Almost all of his picks come in crucial moments of the game when they need him to be playing at his best and some of his throws are so errand and off target that the commentator cant even guess who the intended receiver was. Unfortunately, the Oakland Raiders, who I claimed would be making the playoffs this year lost Jason Campbell to a broken collar bone and decided that Carson Palmer was the next best choice. Though Palmer is regularly a bad bet, he has to start this week after almost a year in retirement, no offseason practice with NFL players, and worse physical fitness than the 88 year old Brett Favre. My prediction for the Raider’s success is looking rather grim.
Tim “Jesus Christ is 2nd string” Tebow – Denver has asked for it all season and now they’re finally going to get it. Tim Tebow was announced as the starting QB for the Broncos this week. I don’t know if anyone else actually cares about his play, or if they just bought into the “Superman wears Tim Tebow pyjamas” hype, but I think the Broncos are in for a rude awakening. Kyle Orton was one of the few QBs in this league that you could count on. Some people will immediately bring up the argument that Orton’s numbers are good, but he hasn’t amassed wins, but realistically, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, AND Drew Brees wouldn’t be able to fix that team. Their defence is terrible, they have the least consistent offense in the league, and the overall team mentality is miserable. Orton has put up the stats since Cutler left the Mile High City, and that’s all that you can ask of an individual. I heard a comparison that Tebow is the best QB since Jesus graduated from Jerusalem High....I wish I was joking. People claim that his style of play may be unorthodox, but at least he’s a winner. Tebow has 11 more weeks to show the world whether he can become an NFL superstar or whether he was destined to be a college legend and nothing more.
Defence is back on track - I outlined in my first article that defences were weak this year....REALLLY weak. However, the reason for the lack of defensive play was just an unusual amount of rust. Now that we’re entering week 7, defences are finally starting to mesh and offensive play has calmed down a bit. I noticed that the D was finally stepping it up while watching the stat lines for last week’s games. QBs were held to much fewer passing yards and a lot of them had put up at least 1 INT. I’m sure no one likes a game that’s all about field position with 10 punts and 7 field goals, but I’m not a fan of the ridiculous college style shoot outs either. It was getting rather boring watching these games with ridiculous combined scores in the 80’s. Now that defences are coming back, we’re finally going to see some real football with plays on both sides of the ball and great strategic battles. Can’t wait.
This week’s line up doesn’t look very promising and it seems as though we’re going to have quite a few blowouts. However, the Saints are playing the Sunday night game, so I will finally be able to report on the team that I love and miss dearly.
However, too many things have been going on in the NFL recently for me to not write out my thoughts. So here is what I’ll be looking for in week 7.
Carson Palmer ruining Oakland– Anyone who knows anything about my football history knows that Carson Palmer is my most hated player in history. I would even go so far as to say that he is one of my most hated humans of all time. If you’ve read any of my prior articles, you might get the impression that I dislike Tom Brady, but compared to Palmer, I have a mancrush on Tom. Oakland gave up a 2011 First round pick and a 2012 First or Second round pick (depending how well they do in the playoffs these next 2 years) to acquire the least consistent player in NFL history. Carson was on pace to be a guaranteed HoF candidate in his first 3 seasons, but thanks to a very illegal hit from the Pittsburgh Steelers, Palmer’s career fell apart. Now, some of you are probably under the NFL analyst hype and would believe that Palmer was still a good QB after his injury. Though stats would back up that statement, anyone who has been a diehard Bengal fan over the past 8 years knows that Palmer is a catastrophe. Almost all of his picks come in crucial moments of the game when they need him to be playing at his best and some of his throws are so errand and off target that the commentator cant even guess who the intended receiver was. Unfortunately, the Oakland Raiders, who I claimed would be making the playoffs this year lost Jason Campbell to a broken collar bone and decided that Carson Palmer was the next best choice. Though Palmer is regularly a bad bet, he has to start this week after almost a year in retirement, no offseason practice with NFL players, and worse physical fitness than the 88 year old Brett Favre. My prediction for the Raider’s success is looking rather grim.
Tim “Jesus Christ is 2nd string” Tebow – Denver has asked for it all season and now they’re finally going to get it. Tim Tebow was announced as the starting QB for the Broncos this week. I don’t know if anyone else actually cares about his play, or if they just bought into the “Superman wears Tim Tebow pyjamas” hype, but I think the Broncos are in for a rude awakening. Kyle Orton was one of the few QBs in this league that you could count on. Some people will immediately bring up the argument that Orton’s numbers are good, but he hasn’t amassed wins, but realistically, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, AND Drew Brees wouldn’t be able to fix that team. Their defence is terrible, they have the least consistent offense in the league, and the overall team mentality is miserable. Orton has put up the stats since Cutler left the Mile High City, and that’s all that you can ask of an individual. I heard a comparison that Tebow is the best QB since Jesus graduated from Jerusalem High....I wish I was joking. People claim that his style of play may be unorthodox, but at least he’s a winner. Tebow has 11 more weeks to show the world whether he can become an NFL superstar or whether he was destined to be a college legend and nothing more.
Defence is back on track - I outlined in my first article that defences were weak this year....REALLLY weak. However, the reason for the lack of defensive play was just an unusual amount of rust. Now that we’re entering week 7, defences are finally starting to mesh and offensive play has calmed down a bit. I noticed that the D was finally stepping it up while watching the stat lines for last week’s games. QBs were held to much fewer passing yards and a lot of them had put up at least 1 INT. I’m sure no one likes a game that’s all about field position with 10 punts and 7 field goals, but I’m not a fan of the ridiculous college style shoot outs either. It was getting rather boring watching these games with ridiculous combined scores in the 80’s. Now that defences are coming back, we’re finally going to see some real football with plays on both sides of the ball and great strategic battles. Can’t wait.
This week’s line up doesn’t look very promising and it seems as though we’re going to have quite a few blowouts. However, the Saints are playing the Sunday night game, so I will finally be able to report on the team that I love and miss dearly.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
NFL Week 4
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This past Sunday I was at the Bills – Patriots game, so I was not able to watch the Saints game. The game in Buffalo was absolutely amazing, but since the Patriots are Daki’s team, I’m going to allow him to cover the game and retell the story of how Tom Brady got embarrassed by Chan Gailey’s Bills.
Like I said, I missed the Saints game so I won’t be able to report on New Orleans this week. I’ve scavenged NFL.com for the highlights, but I don’t feel that makes my opinion on the game any more relevant than anyone else’s. So instead, I will list the 5 things I’m most looking forward to for this coming week of football.
Jerseys – While I was in Buffalo, they kept showing highlights of games that were playing around the league. I noticed that a few teams wore their classic jerseys and didn’t think much of it. However, at halftime, the broadcasters spent a solid 5 minutes discussing which teams have the best classic jerseys and why the league should allow teams to wear their classics whenever they feel like it. One broadcaster was particularly in love with the Saints throwback, which in my opinion looked absolutely disgusting. I’m excited to see which teams will rock their throwbacks this week and for the remainder of the NFL season. It’s always fun to get a glimpse at some of the awful uniforms these NFL teams used to wear (Except the powder blue chargers. They really should just make that their permanent jersey for home and away games.)
Eli “Haters gonna hate” Manning – One thing that boggles my mind in sports is how some players manage to get undervalued and blamed, no matter what they do. Eli Manning is a prime example of a player that has done literally everything asked of him, and still gets hated on for no real reason. When he was drafted first overall, people thought that was a waste of a pick. When he lead his team to a Superbowl and beat the undefeated Patriots, people said any QB could have done it with his defense. Some people like to pretend they know something about football and bring up points like, “He’s crap! Last year he led the league in picks.” If you watched any of the Giants games, you’ll know that half of those picks were tipped balls and passes that receivers swatted to the defensive backs. Well last week, Manning absolutely torched the Eagles defense with 4 TDs, no INTs, and almost 300 yards. I’m excited to see how he’s going to respond this week against Arizona, and if this will finally be the year that Eli gets the respect he deserves.
Darren McFadden vs New England’s Defense – McFadden and Felix Jones split the carries in the Arkansas Razorbacks backfield. They were drafted the same year, Darren going to Oakland and Felix going to Dallas…who really won? Through the first 3 weeks of the season, Darren McFadden is the leading rusher in the NFL while Felix Jones is average at best for the struggling Cowboys. No one has been able to stop McFadden this season and it doesn’t look like this week will be any different. The Patriots will be visiting the Raiders this week and their run D has looked shaky at best. Fred Jackson took a serious toll on the Pat’s D last week and I doubt they will have an answer for Oakland’s rushing attack this week. Why don’t they just stack the box and negate the rush attack? Well, Jason Campbell has been blessed with a random rookie receiver, Denarius Moore. For a fifth round pick-up, this kid can BALL! Looks like another tough week for New England, and another big week for Darren McFadden.
Showdown of the week: Jets vs Ravens – Both teams are 2-1, but in my head, they both have something to prove. I’m not really sure why, but it seems like both teams are just not playing to their full potential and they really need to get back to what they do best: talking shit and backing it up. This is definitely the most enticing match-up of Week 4 and is sure to be a good defensive showing. Even though the defenses have been dismal this season, you know this game is gonna be packed with huge hits and at least a couple scuffles. Joe Flacco, like Eli Manning, is another player that doesn’t get the respect he deserves. Last week he had a huge game with almost 400 yards and 3 TDs, and compared to Jets QB Mark Sanchez, he looks like a field general. The difference in the game will be the Ravens offence, which can actually play consistently and will manage to outscore the Jets in a close, defensively dominated game. If I had to guess a score I’d say Ravens win 21-17.
Why is Chad breaking my heart?! – Chad Ochocinco has been my favourite player for years and is the reason I got into football. No matter what you say, the man loves the game and simply wants to win. However, since he’s become a Patriot, he hasn’t really been playing like it. Week 3 at Buffalo, he was given the chance he’s been waiting for and earned the role of starting WR. His statline was terrible, but he did create defensive mismatches which allowed Gronkowski and Welker to get 1 on 1 coverage at least a handful of times. When the game was on the line, the Pats ran a perfect play against the Bills’ zone coverage and Chad executed his corner route to perfection. Tom Brady spotted him and lobbed the ball perfectly in the endzone for a would-be game-tying TD, only to have Chad drop the pass. There was really no excuse to not catch the ball, and that play single handedly made the statement that Ochocinco is simply not understanding the Patriot offense. I think he deserves another chance, but at the rate he’s going, I don’t know how much longer Chad will be in New England. PLEASE get it together Chad!
Like I said, I missed the Saints game so I won’t be able to report on New Orleans this week. I’ve scavenged NFL.com for the highlights, but I don’t feel that makes my opinion on the game any more relevant than anyone else’s. So instead, I will list the 5 things I’m most looking forward to for this coming week of football.
Jerseys – While I was in Buffalo, they kept showing highlights of games that were playing around the league. I noticed that a few teams wore their classic jerseys and didn’t think much of it. However, at halftime, the broadcasters spent a solid 5 minutes discussing which teams have the best classic jerseys and why the league should allow teams to wear their classics whenever they feel like it. One broadcaster was particularly in love with the Saints throwback, which in my opinion looked absolutely disgusting. I’m excited to see which teams will rock their throwbacks this week and for the remainder of the NFL season. It’s always fun to get a glimpse at some of the awful uniforms these NFL teams used to wear (Except the powder blue chargers. They really should just make that their permanent jersey for home and away games.)
Eli “Haters gonna hate” Manning – One thing that boggles my mind in sports is how some players manage to get undervalued and blamed, no matter what they do. Eli Manning is a prime example of a player that has done literally everything asked of him, and still gets hated on for no real reason. When he was drafted first overall, people thought that was a waste of a pick. When he lead his team to a Superbowl and beat the undefeated Patriots, people said any QB could have done it with his defense. Some people like to pretend they know something about football and bring up points like, “He’s crap! Last year he led the league in picks.” If you watched any of the Giants games, you’ll know that half of those picks were tipped balls and passes that receivers swatted to the defensive backs. Well last week, Manning absolutely torched the Eagles defense with 4 TDs, no INTs, and almost 300 yards. I’m excited to see how he’s going to respond this week against Arizona, and if this will finally be the year that Eli gets the respect he deserves.
Darren McFadden vs New England’s Defense – McFadden and Felix Jones split the carries in the Arkansas Razorbacks backfield. They were drafted the same year, Darren going to Oakland and Felix going to Dallas…who really won? Through the first 3 weeks of the season, Darren McFadden is the leading rusher in the NFL while Felix Jones is average at best for the struggling Cowboys. No one has been able to stop McFadden this season and it doesn’t look like this week will be any different. The Patriots will be visiting the Raiders this week and their run D has looked shaky at best. Fred Jackson took a serious toll on the Pat’s D last week and I doubt they will have an answer for Oakland’s rushing attack this week. Why don’t they just stack the box and negate the rush attack? Well, Jason Campbell has been blessed with a random rookie receiver, Denarius Moore. For a fifth round pick-up, this kid can BALL! Looks like another tough week for New England, and another big week for Darren McFadden.
Showdown of the week: Jets vs Ravens – Both teams are 2-1, but in my head, they both have something to prove. I’m not really sure why, but it seems like both teams are just not playing to their full potential and they really need to get back to what they do best: talking shit and backing it up. This is definitely the most enticing match-up of Week 4 and is sure to be a good defensive showing. Even though the defenses have been dismal this season, you know this game is gonna be packed with huge hits and at least a couple scuffles. Joe Flacco, like Eli Manning, is another player that doesn’t get the respect he deserves. Last week he had a huge game with almost 400 yards and 3 TDs, and compared to Jets QB Mark Sanchez, he looks like a field general. The difference in the game will be the Ravens offence, which can actually play consistently and will manage to outscore the Jets in a close, defensively dominated game. If I had to guess a score I’d say Ravens win 21-17.
Why is Chad breaking my heart?! – Chad Ochocinco has been my favourite player for years and is the reason I got into football. No matter what you say, the man loves the game and simply wants to win. However, since he’s become a Patriot, he hasn’t really been playing like it. Week 3 at Buffalo, he was given the chance he’s been waiting for and earned the role of starting WR. His statline was terrible, but he did create defensive mismatches which allowed Gronkowski and Welker to get 1 on 1 coverage at least a handful of times. When the game was on the line, the Pats ran a perfect play against the Bills’ zone coverage and Chad executed his corner route to perfection. Tom Brady spotted him and lobbed the ball perfectly in the endzone for a would-be game-tying TD, only to have Chad drop the pass. There was really no excuse to not catch the ball, and that play single handedly made the statement that Ochocinco is simply not understanding the Patriot offense. I think he deserves another chance, but at the rate he’s going, I don’t know how much longer Chad will be in New England. PLEASE get it together Chad!
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Thoughts on Week 2
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Back on track baby! The Saints played great, not much else can be said about that. Instead of writing about them this week, I’ve decided that I’m going to share some things I noticed about week 2 in the NFL.
First off, what the hell is going on with Cam Newton!? He became the 6th ever player to record back-to-back 400 yard passing games….in his first 2 starts! I didn’t have a chance to watch the game so yesterday I watched some highlights on him and their first 2 games. Newton makes Brett Favre look like a conservative panzy. This is the truest gunslinger I have ever seen and if it were up to him, they’d be throwing on every single play. Also, Steve Smith has returned from the depths of hell and is currently the league leader in receiving yards. On a side note, Cam Newton and Steve Smith win the award for QB-QR tandem that look like the true thugs.
Oakland is making the playoffs. They’ve started off the season 1-1 and their loss is to the Bills, but I’m certain they’re going to get it together and somehow squeak into the postseason. Darren McFadden is, in my opinion, the biggest ground threat in the NFL at the moment. I’m not saying he’s better than Peterson, but between the way the Vikings are playing and their coaches are coaching, AP simply cannot excel this season. I’ve also always had faith in Jason Campbell. He might make some bad throws, but in general, he’s a fairly conservative QB that keeps his mistakes to a minimum, and that’s becoming increasingly rare in the NFL nowadays. The only thing holding them back, like most teams at the moment, is their defense. They have the necessary pieces in place to be able to calm the game down, but in the first 2 weeks they’ve slipped up on too many crucial plays. We’ll have to wait and see what happens, but I think if they can tighten up on D and keep their league-leading penalties to a minimum, we’ll be watching the silver and black in January.
Tom “Terrific.” I still don’t buy into the Patriots and Brady’s heroics, and I can’t wait for them to play a complete team. Week 1, they played the Dolphins, didn’t even blow them out, and managed to make Chad Henne look like a viable option at QB. Week 2 they played a much tougher game against Rivers and the Chargers and managed to pull off a 35-21 win. This might appear to be an easy win, but realistically, San Diego beat themselves. The Chargers turned the ball over 3 times within the New England 30 yard line. That’s 3 prime opportunities to put up at least 3 points on the board completely wasted. I wouldn’t go so far as to say the Patriots are an average team, but they have not played at the elite level that people are claiming, and there’s no way they can be proclaimed the league’s best team.
Some quick points: Julio Jones is going to elevate Atlanta and has the potential to be the best receiver in the league for many years to come. Philly’s play selection is absolutely retarded(how many reverses do you plan on running this season?) and Maclin should get beat for dropping that 4th and 3 pass. Drew Brees is unbelievable at leading his team; he’s by far the best QB in the league in my mind. If Buffalo doesn’t start losing soon I’m going to start believing that we’re really living in the matrix. Seattle is absolutely dreadful; I think the University of Oklahoma would beat them 7 times out of 10. I hate betting against a point-spread. Washington, Denver, and Dallas all had the opportunities to go for touchdown but settled for narrow victories, effectively ruining 3 of my picks.
That’s it for Week 2. This week I’m actually going to Buffalo to watch the Bills vs Patriots game so hopefully I have some good stories to write about. See yuh!
Sunday, September 18, 2011
NFL Week 2 Quick Picks
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Due to the lot of us being busy with school or work, and a brilliant review of Drive posted, this weeks picks will be quick.
The Match-ups
Sunday:
Oakland Raiders at Buffalo Bills (-3.0)
Pick: Bills
Green Bay Packers (-10.0) at Carolina Panthers
Pick: Packers
Kansas City Chiefs at Detroit Lions (-7.5)
Pick: Lions
Cleveland Browns (-2.0) at Indianapolis Colts
Pick: Colts
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Minnesota Vikings (-3.0)
Pick: Tampa
Chicago Bears at New Orleans Saints (-7.0)
Pick: Saints
Jacksonville Jaguars at New York Jets (-8.5)
Pick: Jets
Baltimore Ravens (-5.5) at Tennessee Titans
Pick: Ravens
Arizona Cardinals at Washington Redskins (-3.0)
Pick: Redskins
Seattle Seahawks at Pittsburgh Steelers (-14.0)
Pick: Steelers
Dallas Cowboys (-3.0) at San Francisco 49ers
Pick: 49ers
Cincinnati Bengals at Denver Broncos (-3.5)
Pick: Broncos
San Diego Chargers at New England Patriots (-6.5)
Pick: Patriots
Houston Texans (-3.0) at Miami Dolphins
Pick: Texans
Philadelphia Eagles (-1.5) at Atlanta Falcons
Pick: Eagles
Monday Night Football:
St. Louis Rams at New York Giants (-6.0)
Pick: Rams
Last week I went 8-8 against the spread, so take these with a grain of salt
The Match-ups
Sunday:
Oakland Raiders at Buffalo Bills (-3.0)
Pick: Bills
Green Bay Packers (-10.0) at Carolina Panthers
Pick: Packers
Kansas City Chiefs at Detroit Lions (-7.5)
Pick: Lions
Cleveland Browns (-2.0) at Indianapolis Colts
Pick: Colts
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Minnesota Vikings (-3.0)
Pick: Tampa
Chicago Bears at New Orleans Saints (-7.0)
Pick: Saints
Jacksonville Jaguars at New York Jets (-8.5)
Pick: Jets
Baltimore Ravens (-5.5) at Tennessee Titans
Pick: Ravens
Arizona Cardinals at Washington Redskins (-3.0)
Pick: Redskins
Seattle Seahawks at Pittsburgh Steelers (-14.0)
Pick: Steelers
Dallas Cowboys (-3.0) at San Francisco 49ers
Pick: 49ers
Cincinnati Bengals at Denver Broncos (-3.5)
Pick: Broncos
San Diego Chargers at New England Patriots (-6.5)
Pick: Patriots
Houston Texans (-3.0) at Miami Dolphins
Pick: Texans
Philadelphia Eagles (-1.5) at Atlanta Falcons
Pick: Eagles
Monday Night Football:
St. Louis Rams at New York Giants (-6.0)
Pick: Rams
Last week I went 8-8 against the spread, so take these with a grain of salt
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