Things got a bit testy this weekend in the NFL didn't they? The replacement referees certainly took a step backwards in almost every way. It seemed like each game that I watched was one cheap shot away from a full scale brawl. College football had its share of jaw dropping results including Virginia Tech getting punched in the gut by Pittsburgh who looked no better than a high school team coming in. Obviously I will talk about the other major upsets in a bit. The baseball races continue to have no clear resolution as more and more teams continue to stake their claim for a playoff spot.
All of that pales in comparison to what I did this weekend. My mother brought a box of my old stuff over this week and included my old Playstation. Woot! I cleaned it off, hooked it up and put in Twisted Metal 2. It worked like it was brand new. It took me about 30 seconds to remember how to play and it took me back to high school. Pure, unadulterated bliss. Sure the graphics look archaic to today's standards and the game play is quite simplistic, but that is what I enjoyed about games back then. Yes I'm officially old now.
For those of you who got caught up being young for the weekend and missed out on the sporting world, here are the important events that you may missed:
10. James Madison University vs. West Virginia University (FedEx Field)
You know what, Geno Smith might just win himself a Heisman Trophy this season. I know he hasn't faced the stiffest competition but he has looked exceptional so far. He had as many uncompleted passes (5) as he did touchdown passes (5) against James Madison. My Dukes kept the Mountaineers under 60 as I had predicted and they even scored a safety, but this game belonged to West Virginia from the opening kick. It's great exposure for JMU as they continue to have hopes to eventually jump to 1-A in the future. As for holding this game at FedEx...yeah only 45,000 showed up which is half capacity, so maybe RFK next time guys.
9. St. Louis Cardinals at Los Angeles Dodgers
This might be the only prediction I got right all weekend. The Cardinals and Dodgers played a very hotly contested 4 game series which ended in a split, but each team could have staked claim to series win with the right break. Each team scored 15 total runs in this series as the Cardinals continue to hold on to their slim 1 game lead for the second Wild Card spot. As for the teams chasing team, the Phillies blew their golden opportunity against the lowly Astros by losing 3 of 4. The Pirates have already lost 2 of 3 to the Cubs in their four game set. Only the Milwaukee Brewers won a series of the 5 contenders as they took 2 of 3 against the Mets. There are currently five teams within 4 games of that final playoff spot in the National League.
8. New Orleans Saints at Carolina Panthers
Both New Orleans and Carolina knew that the loser of this game would have about a 12% chance of making the playoffs this season (stat courtesy of NFL Network). Of course I already eliminated the loser and we all know that whatever I say goes. The Panthers looked like a completely different team with the return of Johnathan Stewart. After running the ball 13 times for a measly 10 yards in week 1 versus Tampa Bay, Carolina gutted the Saints defense with 41 carries for 219 yards and 3 touchdowns. That is more like it from the Panthers. The Saints didn't change much from the Week 1 debacle. They gave up 35 more points (75 in two weeks) and Drew Brees threw two more interceptions. The victory went to the team who made better strides and the was Carolina. Your season is now over New Orleans...enjoy the Super Bowl host city curse.
7. Florida Gators at Tennessee Volunteers
Hey look another game I was completely wrong about. It will be a week long trend and for that I am ashamed. I thought this was finally the time where Tennessee would be able to turn the corner for their revival and doing so against the team that kept them down for so many years would have been sweet. Half way through the 3rd quarter, things were looking good for me and 100,000+ Volunteer fans in Knoxville. Florida then spent the remaining 22 minutes silencing the entire state of Tennessee...again. They outscored Tennessee 24-0 over the remainder of the game and turned a close encounter into a blowout. I do like the orange pants though.
6. Baltimore Ravens at Philadelphia Eagles
Even though this game resembled a backyard street fight more than a National Football League game it turned out to be one of the best games on Sunday. Joe Flacco did indeed return to mediocrity as he struggled all day with his accuracy while Michael Vick was still inconsistent, but showed flashes of greatness with his arm and legs. It was unfortunate that the biggest takeaway for fans from this game was the horrible officiating as they let players continue to push and shove after the whistle without any punishment. The Eagles took a late lead and the Ravens final drive came up short as Philadelphia climbs to 2-0 and they have yet to look really good so far. The Ravens will be fine if they can survive this tough stretch where they play their first 4 games in a short 17 day span.
5. Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Michigan St. Spartans
What a pile of crap this game turned out to be. Not only did we not get a great ending, but we didn't get a great beginning or middle either. Maybe Notre Dame is really for real this time. They stuffed the Spartans in all aspects of the game including holding dynamic running back Le'Veon Bell to only 77 yards rushing on 19 carries. The Irish will certainly be able to state their case for being elite as they get three more ranked teams including a trip to Oklahoma over their next five games. For Michigan St., college basketball is only two months away and Tom Izzo probably has another great rebounding, blue collar bunch of guys looking to win another Big 10 title!
4. Tampa Bay Rays at New York Yankees
Two teams in dire need of a good weekend met in the Bronx and the Yankees walked away with a series win. Each game was decided by two runs, but after taking game one behind David Price, neither James Shields nor Matt Moore could keep the potent Yankee offense down enough to get the tepid Rays offense in it. Tampa Bay is now five games behind New York in the A.L. East and 4 games out of the second Wild Card spot currently owned by Baltimore. Of course after last seasons heroics nobody will count the Rays out of it, but they didn't do themselves any favors this weekend. New York, for all of their struggles, only play one more team with winning record (Oakland at home) the rest of the way. The East is once again theirs to lose.
3. USC Trojans at Stanford Cardinal
About Matt Barkley being so angry after going 0-3 against Stanford in his career that he'd take out his frustrations in spades this time around...yeah didn't happen. I don't know if it was just a great defensive effort by the Cardinal defense or just a very horrible Trojans offensive line. Barkley was under great duress the entire game and could never set his feet long enough to make a play. As for Stanford's offense, Josh Nunes played well enough to move the offense, but it was running back Stepfan Taylor who took the bull by the horns, rushing for 153 yards and touchdown on 27 carries. Stanford now emerges as the national title contender from the PAC-12 as Matt Barkley now needs to save face and try to be the #1 draft pick in the NFL Draft next year.
2. Detroit Lions at San Francisco 49ers
Huzzah! I got one almost perfectly right. The 49ers stifling defense held the Detroit Lions to 5 field goal attempts over the first 58 minutes of the game while continuing to show a much more consistent offensive approach. No longer are the 49ers a run only offense with an occasional pass to keep the defense honest. They have weapons for Alex Smith to target and he has become a very reliable passer and has broken the all time San Francisco record for most consecutive pass attempts without an interception. That's pretty impressive when you consider the hall of fame caliber signal callers that have roamed the grounds there. I'm not calling the Lions dead in the water just yet, but their magic of 4th quarter comebacks (like week 1 and all of 2011) can only last for so long. If Detroit hadn't scored that late touchdown my prediction of 27-13 would have been just about spot on, but I call this one a win for me.
1. Baltimore Orioles at Oakland Athletics
I predicted that the team scoring first would win all three games in this series. They went 0-3. I don't even know why I try. The Orioles scored first in both of the first two games only to see Oakland take the lead right back and hold on the rest of the way. In game three Josh Reddick homered in the 1st inning and it was all downhill the rest of the way as they walked 9 Orioles and Matt Wieters hit two home runs to salvage a game for Baltimore. Oakland didn't lose any ground on Texas or Los Angeles as all three teams won 2 of 3 this weekend. They now embark and a very difficult, make or break, 10 game road trip to Detroit, New York and Texas (4 games) that could very possibly cost them a playoff spot if things go poorly. Baltimore is now a game back of New York, but with no more head to head games remaining they don't control their own fate. None of their next 13 games are against teams with playoff aspirations so they can easily make up ground on Oakland if the Athletics falter with a much more difficult schedule.
Showing posts with label Saints. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Saints. Show all posts
Monday, September 17, 2012
Friday, September 14, 2012
Weekend Viewing Guide 9/14/12
No tennis, no golf, no soccer...no worries. There is still a glutton of sports to watch this weekend. I'm not even going to highlight the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears I'm watching as I type that was played last night or the mouth-watering Monday Night Football game between my MVP choice, Matt Ryan and the expected Comeback Player of the Year, Peyton Manning. If you're a betting person...take the over. Either of those games would have cracked my top 3 of the weekend, but I push on, there are still enough main courses to satisfy even the Burgerdays crew.
Let's roll our sleeves up and get right into it:
10. James Madison University vs. West Virginia University (FedEx Field)
Okay don't stop reading, I haven't gone crazy. I went to JMU and I know some guys who went to West Virginia so there's a little more at stake if JMU can keep it close. If you remember, JMU went down to Virginia Tech just two years ago and won so be careful Mountaineer fans. In all actuality this will be a 60-17 type score, but you have two schools that have a ton of alumni in the DC/Maryland area and a 90,000 seat stadium to fill. With a 4:30pm start, the only real question is how many fans will be sober enough to remember to go into the stadium? Let's go Dukes!
9. St. Louis Cardinals at Los Angeles Dodgers
What the hell is going on with the National League Wild Card standings? The Cardinals suck, the Dodgers stink and the Pirates are terrible. The only teams that seem to want to play Atlanta in the one game playoff are the Philadelphia Phillies and Milwaukee Brewers who have each shaved about 10 games in the standings in the last month. This four game series that started (right about now) Thursday has the chance to make a gruesome mess of everything. By Monday there could be five teams within two games of the second Wild Card. When St. Louis and Los Angeles split these four games they will be at 77 and 76 wins respectively. The Pirates play the crappy Cubs, the Phillies will crush the abysmal Astros and the Brewers should manhandle the Mets. This puts all three of them at 75 wins with sweeps. All five will have either 70-72 losses as well with just over two weeks to go...just how we want it.
8. New Orleans Saints at Carolina Panthers
Neither team expected to be facing an 0-2 start. Both teams were given a tasty cupcake of an opening week game by the NFL and yet both lost. In a division that I expect the Atlanta Falcons to win easily both of these teams are playing for a Wild Card spot in my opinion. This elevates a rather middling week 2 game into a pretty tasty pressure test. I'm sure if I had the Elias Sports Bureau working for me I could tell you what the chances are for 0-2 teams to make the playoffs, but I can promise you it's not that good. Dammit, I'm calling it...the loser of this game does not make the playoffs. Done. Final Score: Saints 31 Panthers 23
7. Florida Gators at Tennessee Volunteers
Welcome back from obscurity Tennessee. This game used to be the highlight of the SEC schedule. Then Tennessee disappeared into oblivion while Florida had up and down seasons (with some Tim Tebow greatness as well) and everyone forgot about these teams. Now even though they are relegated to a Week 3 meeting in mid-September, its good to see both schools getting good again at the same time. Both teams are ranked, ESPN is headed to Knoxville and they made my exclusive list of things to watch! Yes rivalry games in college football are exciting and this one has been ignored for far too long. Final Score Tennessee 31 Florida 21
6. Baltimore Ravens at Philadelphia Eagles
Did you see how good the Ravens looked on Monday? Did you see how bad the Eagles looked on Sunday? All that and Philadelphia is still a 2 point favorite at home this week. A short week and having to play on the road might have a bit to do with that for Baltimore. Something tell me each team will regress to the mean this weekend even if the Eagles are without Jeremy Maclin or DeSean Jackson or both. Michael Vick can't throw 4 more interceptions can he? Joe Flacco isn't going to be an MVP candidate is he? No I don't think either of these will be true. I still have the Ravens squeaking out a 23-20 win.
5. Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Michigan St. Spartans
This is a perfect September game. Two really good September teams that real fans of college football understand have no frickin' shot at being relevant come mid-November. The fans can only hope for another memorable finish like in 2010:
That highlight was made even better with the Star Wars cameo. Notre Dame has not been in the championship picture since the late 80's and the Big Ten is only good when not playing teams from real conferences like the SEC. That makes this game a perfect match up...for September. Final Score Michigan St. 30 Notre Dame 24
4. Tampa Bay Rays at New York Yankees
I don't understand Tampa Bay. Well I take that back, they can't hit worth a damn. Even though they resemble the Oakland Athletics both on the mound and at the plate and how bad their stadium is, something is missing. There is no magic spark. Time is now beginning to run out on the Rays and unless they walk into New York and win this series, they could be missing the playoffs this year. Things are not looking much better in New York. The age of their core players is starting to become an issue as the injuries continue to mount. Mark Teixeira is injured, Derek Jeter narrowly avoided a bad ankle injury, C.C. Sabathia is hurting and the team just looks sluggish. This starts a 9 game home stand with both the Rays and the Athletics coming to town and we should know the fate of New York by the end of that.
3. USC Trojans at Stanford Cardinal
I bet you didn't realize that senior quarterback Matt Barkley has yet to defeat Stanford. He's 0-3 thanks to Andrew Luck, but unlike Luck, Barkley stayed in school toparty, hang out with co-eds, be the big man on campus
win a BCS Championship. This is the game that USC has to have had
circled on its calendar ever since Barkley decided to return. They owe
the Cardinal some payback for the recent domination that they have had
on their neighbors to the south. The cupboard isn't completely bare for
Stanford as Junior quarterback Josh Nunes has filed in quite admirably,
albeit against lesser competition (yup I'm talking about you Duke).
I've got the over/under on Barkley touchdown passes at 4.5...anyone dare
to take the under? Final Score USC 45 Stanford 27
2. Detroit Lions at San Francisco 49ers
Ooooooh I remember how this one ended last year. The two head coaches jawing at each other while racing off the field and a little shove fest. Last week the Lions didn't look like the fun 'n gun offensive video game that was 2011. The 49ers did, on the other hand, resemble their 2011 model of being the best defensive unit in the NFL. They also added a better passing game and currently have a healthy Frank Gore. No matter how much I want this to be a good game, I have a feeling this is where the Lions start to crack a bit and the 49ers surge into Super Bowl contenders. Final Score San Francisco 27 Detroit 13
1. Baltimore Orioles at Oakland Athletics
The two best stories in the American League and possibly the Majors meet in the dump that is the O.co Stadium. If the Orioles allowed the Athletics to be the home team, I'd petition Bud Selig to move the series to Camden Yards. Not only would I be able to attend, but it'd be a setting befitting the importance of this series. I know of nobody who thought this series would receive any national media attention, but with the two darlings of baseball playing in mid-September it will be beat reporters dream for its multitude of story lines. Each team is playing for a fallen teammate, Nick Markakis of the Orioles lost for the regular season with a broken hand and Brandon McCarthy of the Athletics lost for the season with a fractured skull. Both teams are currently in the playoffs and have split the season series 3-3 to date so I expect a low scoring series where the team scoring first will win all three games. The bullpens are just too good and the stadium too big for many comebacks to occur.
*Editor's note* After watching 3 quarters of the Packers/Bears game, I change my mind about it being considered for the Top 10 list. Yaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwnnnnnnn! If your best highlight is a punter pitching a ball to a backup tight end, you have not been entertaining.
Let's roll our sleeves up and get right into it:
10. James Madison University vs. West Virginia University (FedEx Field)
Okay don't stop reading, I haven't gone crazy. I went to JMU and I know some guys who went to West Virginia so there's a little more at stake if JMU can keep it close. If you remember, JMU went down to Virginia Tech just two years ago and won so be careful Mountaineer fans. In all actuality this will be a 60-17 type score, but you have two schools that have a ton of alumni in the DC/Maryland area and a 90,000 seat stadium to fill. With a 4:30pm start, the only real question is how many fans will be sober enough to remember to go into the stadium? Let's go Dukes!
9. St. Louis Cardinals at Los Angeles Dodgers
What the hell is going on with the National League Wild Card standings? The Cardinals suck, the Dodgers stink and the Pirates are terrible. The only teams that seem to want to play Atlanta in the one game playoff are the Philadelphia Phillies and Milwaukee Brewers who have each shaved about 10 games in the standings in the last month. This four game series that started (right about now) Thursday has the chance to make a gruesome mess of everything. By Monday there could be five teams within two games of the second Wild Card. When St. Louis and Los Angeles split these four games they will be at 77 and 76 wins respectively. The Pirates play the crappy Cubs, the Phillies will crush the abysmal Astros and the Brewers should manhandle the Mets. This puts all three of them at 75 wins with sweeps. All five will have either 70-72 losses as well with just over two weeks to go...just how we want it.
8. New Orleans Saints at Carolina Panthers
Neither team expected to be facing an 0-2 start. Both teams were given a tasty cupcake of an opening week game by the NFL and yet both lost. In a division that I expect the Atlanta Falcons to win easily both of these teams are playing for a Wild Card spot in my opinion. This elevates a rather middling week 2 game into a pretty tasty pressure test. I'm sure if I had the Elias Sports Bureau working for me I could tell you what the chances are for 0-2 teams to make the playoffs, but I can promise you it's not that good. Dammit, I'm calling it...the loser of this game does not make the playoffs. Done. Final Score: Saints 31 Panthers 23
7. Florida Gators at Tennessee Volunteers
Welcome back from obscurity Tennessee. This game used to be the highlight of the SEC schedule. Then Tennessee disappeared into oblivion while Florida had up and down seasons (with some Tim Tebow greatness as well) and everyone forgot about these teams. Now even though they are relegated to a Week 3 meeting in mid-September, its good to see both schools getting good again at the same time. Both teams are ranked, ESPN is headed to Knoxville and they made my exclusive list of things to watch! Yes rivalry games in college football are exciting and this one has been ignored for far too long. Final Score Tennessee 31 Florida 21
6. Baltimore Ravens at Philadelphia Eagles
Did you see how good the Ravens looked on Monday? Did you see how bad the Eagles looked on Sunday? All that and Philadelphia is still a 2 point favorite at home this week. A short week and having to play on the road might have a bit to do with that for Baltimore. Something tell me each team will regress to the mean this weekend even if the Eagles are without Jeremy Maclin or DeSean Jackson or both. Michael Vick can't throw 4 more interceptions can he? Joe Flacco isn't going to be an MVP candidate is he? No I don't think either of these will be true. I still have the Ravens squeaking out a 23-20 win.
5. Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Michigan St. Spartans
This is a perfect September game. Two really good September teams that real fans of college football understand have no frickin' shot at being relevant come mid-November. The fans can only hope for another memorable finish like in 2010:
That highlight was made even better with the Star Wars cameo. Notre Dame has not been in the championship picture since the late 80's and the Big Ten is only good when not playing teams from real conferences like the SEC. That makes this game a perfect match up...for September. Final Score Michigan St. 30 Notre Dame 24
4. Tampa Bay Rays at New York Yankees
I don't understand Tampa Bay. Well I take that back, they can't hit worth a damn. Even though they resemble the Oakland Athletics both on the mound and at the plate and how bad their stadium is, something is missing. There is no magic spark. Time is now beginning to run out on the Rays and unless they walk into New York and win this series, they could be missing the playoffs this year. Things are not looking much better in New York. The age of their core players is starting to become an issue as the injuries continue to mount. Mark Teixeira is injured, Derek Jeter narrowly avoided a bad ankle injury, C.C. Sabathia is hurting and the team just looks sluggish. This starts a 9 game home stand with both the Rays and the Athletics coming to town and we should know the fate of New York by the end of that.
3. USC Trojans at Stanford Cardinal
I bet you didn't realize that senior quarterback Matt Barkley has yet to defeat Stanford. He's 0-3 thanks to Andrew Luck, but unlike Luck, Barkley stayed in school to
2. Detroit Lions at San Francisco 49ers
Ooooooh I remember how this one ended last year. The two head coaches jawing at each other while racing off the field and a little shove fest. Last week the Lions didn't look like the fun 'n gun offensive video game that was 2011. The 49ers did, on the other hand, resemble their 2011 model of being the best defensive unit in the NFL. They also added a better passing game and currently have a healthy Frank Gore. No matter how much I want this to be a good game, I have a feeling this is where the Lions start to crack a bit and the 49ers surge into Super Bowl contenders. Final Score San Francisco 27 Detroit 13
1. Baltimore Orioles at Oakland Athletics
The two best stories in the American League and possibly the Majors meet in the dump that is the O.co Stadium. If the Orioles allowed the Athletics to be the home team, I'd petition Bud Selig to move the series to Camden Yards. Not only would I be able to attend, but it'd be a setting befitting the importance of this series. I know of nobody who thought this series would receive any national media attention, but with the two darlings of baseball playing in mid-September it will be beat reporters dream for its multitude of story lines. Each team is playing for a fallen teammate, Nick Markakis of the Orioles lost for the regular season with a broken hand and Brandon McCarthy of the Athletics lost for the season with a fractured skull. Both teams are currently in the playoffs and have split the season series 3-3 to date so I expect a low scoring series where the team scoring first will win all three games. The bullpens are just too good and the stadium too big for many comebacks to occur.
*Editor's note* After watching 3 quarters of the Packers/Bears game, I change my mind about it being considered for the Top 10 list. Yaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwnnnnnnn! If your best highlight is a punter pitching a ball to a backup tight end, you have not been entertaining.
Monday, September 10, 2012
Weekend In Review 9/10/12
...and I'm spent.
Thursday night: Burger grand opening at ZBurger w/ Philly cheese steaks, custard, fries, hot dogs, onion rings and some milkshakes (not necessarily in that order).
Friday night: Burger grand opening at Kraze: w/ fries and a milkshake
Saturday: College Football, work, survived a mini hurricane, dodged a tornado and got some pizza (must find veggies this week)
Sunday: Football, Baseball, Golf, Tennis, Fantasy Football (and still no veggies...do Doritos count?)
If your weekend was like that or maybe you went on Burger Days VI (www.burgerdays.com) you may have missed something...let me catch you up.
10. BMW Championship
I went out on a limb on Thursday and called that Tiger Woods would win this week. Well that didn't happen as Rory McIlroy continued his recent dominance winning for the second week in a row. Tiger finished T-4th, three shots behind. Phil Mickelson remembered that he was once good and came on strong over the weekend tying for second place. With next weeks Tour Championship starting on Thursday, the golf world will be all abuzz with the three biggest draws finally playing well at the same time. McIlroy has put his early season distractions aside and is proving to be the prodigy that everyone thought he was going to be. It will be difficult to go against him winning a third straight and the FedEx Cup in Atlanta.
9. College Football - Upset Alert
Behind six touchdown passes from Matt Barkley, USC eased by Syracuse in New Jersey (although they didn't cover...sorry Luis, I warned you). Florida St. was a 70.5 point favorite over Savannah 'thanks for the $' St. and led 28-0 seven minutes into the game. Then the weather took over. A couple of rain delays and 27 more points later, the game was mercifully called in the 3rd quarter canceling the spread and saving a lot of people some money because it would have been 80-0 easy. As for the games I figured were going to be close. Missouri played a good three quarters, but Georgia played all four quarters, ruining the Tigers first SEC game, losing 41-20. My upset pick at work (trust me) was Wisconsin losing to Oregon St. outright and they did 10-7, scoring their only points with less than 2 minutes left in the game. Nebraska went out west to play UCLA and got upended in a great game 36-30. Of course I can't forget to point out the embarrassment that was Arkansas who got caught looking ahead to #1 Alabama next week by getting utterly shocked by Louisiana-Monroe (who??) 34-31 in OT. Yikes!
8. Washington Redskins at New Orleans Saints
Control yourself Jason...settle down...SUPER BOWL HERE WE COME!!! Stop that...sorry for the outburst, but did you see RGIII? He looked good, real good. Of course so did Cam Newton last season after a week and Carolina finished 6-10 and looked pitiful Sunday. All the gadgets, the speed, the offense that was hidden during preseason was unleashed as #10 led the Redskins to 10 points in each quarter to upend the Saints 40-32. I give credit to Drew Brees on never giving in and keeping me on the edge of my seat down to the final play of the game, but his brilliance wasn't enough this weekend. Is it the Super Bowl host city curse?? Maybe, but I'm thrilled to see the Redskins finally show some excitement on the offensive side of the ball. RGIII FOR MVP...NO WAIT HALL OF FAME!!!! Agghhh I can't stop myself.
7. San Francisco 49ers at Green Bay Packers
It appears that the Packers have found their Kryptonite...a really good defense. Two straight games now (dating back to the playoffs against the Giants) the vaunted Green Bay offense was held in check in a loss. Both times at home and in relatively similar fashion this time falling by a score of 30-22 (37-20 vs. New York in the playoffs). The 49ers stuffed the non existent running game of the Packers and pressured Aaron Rodgers just enough to keep him off balance. Green Bay needs to find some offensive balance or one of two things is bound to happen: either they will lose again in the playoffs or Rodgers arm will fall off by Thanksgiving. San Francisco is going to be the real deal again this season. Their offense is leaps and bounds better with Randy Moss and great depth at running back.
6. Texas Rangers at Tampa Bay Rays
4, 6 and 6. The total runs scored in each game. Good pitching won this weekend as it is apt to do come September and October. Tampa Bay took two of three games keeping themselves close in the Wild Card and the A.L. East races. The Rangers saw their lead in the A.L. West shrink to 3.5 games over Oakland as the Athletics swept the Seattle Mariners. Saturday was a great pitchers duel between Yu Darvish andDavid Price Chris Archer (who stepped in for the injured ace) as they combined for 15 in, 6 H, 4 BB, 3 ER and 19 K's. Neither received a decision as Texas won their lone game of the series in extra innings. James Shields lived up to his moniker of 'Big Game James' as he utterly dominated a strong Rangers lineup throwing a complete game 2 hit shutout and was aided by a three home run game from B.J. Upton.
5. U.S. Open Tennis
The weather was the big winner of the weekend as rain caused havoc on the schedule. The Men's Final has been pushed to 4pm today and it will be...drum roll please...Andy Murray vs. Novak Djokovic. I am as shocked as you are folks. As soon as Roger Federer lost, we knew it would come down to the last of the Big 4 and it did. The women's side was much more tightly contested even though it ended as was expected. Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka played a wonderful three set match in which the #1 seed Azaranka pulled out winning the last two sets. Serena Williams continued to cruise through the Open as she crushed Sara Errani in straight sets. This set up a dream match up for fans and they were treated to some high level, high intensity tennis. Serena won the first set with ease again and I thought the tournament was over. Azarenka had other thoughts as she turned the tables, thumping Williams to force a winner take all third set. Serena was broken early and then broke back. At 3-3 her serve was broken again giving Azarenka a 4-3 lead which she stretched to 5-3. Serena fought back, cutting it to 5-4 and then broke Azarenka who was serving for the match to even the third set at 5 games apiece. Serena held serve and broke Azarenka again to win the championship. It was enthralling and I'm so happy I brought the small television to the man cave and didn't have to miss it.
4. Los Angeles Dodgers at San Francisco Giants
The Dodgers had a great chance to make the N.L. West a true race with a strong weekend, but things got worse for them as the days went by. On Friday, Giants starter Tim Lincecum tried everything in his power to let the Dodgers win. He walked 7 batters in 6.1 innings, but Los Angeles couldn't get the big hit stranding 11 runners in a 5-2 loss where San Francisco scored 4 runs in their final three at bats. Saturday came and the Dodgers were without Matt Kemp who is suffering from a sore shoulder. They had to face Matt Cain and fared as expected as they were trailing 2-1 going to the 8th inning. They tied the score and chased Cain and then got the go ahead and eventual winning run in the 9th. Knowing they had Clayton Kershaw going on Sunday, the Dodgers had to feel excited about taking the series. Then word came Sunday afternoon that Kershaw was scratched with an injury. That must have deflated the locker room as Barry Zito (yes, him) dominated Los Angeles with 6.1 shutout innings as the Giants won 4-0 to extend their lead to 5.5 games.
3. Detroit Tigers at Los Angeles Angels
Somebody in the Detroit locker room better send the Kansas City Royals a thank you card. The Tigers rolled into Los Angeles to face the scorching hot Angels and got swept right out of town. They only lost a game in the standings to the White Sox thanks to Kansas City winning two of three, but have practically fallen out of the Wild Card race. The Angels, on the other hand, have won 6 in a row and 11 of 12 as they welcome Oakland to southern California for a four game series after just taking three straight in Oakland. They are 2.5 games behind the Athletics and 6 behind Texas. Detroit had best lick their wounds quickly as they fly to Chicago to battle the White Sox in their own four game mega-series. Oh about the Verlander-Trout match up...yeah Trout hit a bomb off of Justin in the 1st inning...statement made.
2. New York Yankees at Baltimore Orioles
This was the exact opposite series than that of the Rangers/Rays series. 16, 13, 9, 16. That's a lot of runs by two good hitting, average pitching teams. The Orioles won the first game behind 6 home runs, but the Yankees struck back in game two with 3 home runs of their own (as did the Orioles...remember pitching optional) to win. Game three was the 'pitchers duel' of the series between C.C. Sabathia, who is clearly pitching injured, and Joe Saunders. Yup, grasping at straws here. The Orioles hit three more home runs to win another one run game. They tied the Yankees for 1st again, but lost lead off hitter Nick Markakis to a broken hand. This must have stung the Baltimore clubhouse because they got thrashed on Sunday 13-3, failing again at their chance to stand alone atop the A.L. East. Life doesn't getting any easier for Baltimore as Tampa Bay strolls into town with a chance to knock the Orioles to third place.
1. Pittsburgh Steelers at Denver Broncos
Welcome back Peyton Manning. The NFL missed you while you were gone. After sitting out a year with a neck injury and switching teams, Manning didn't skip a beat. After each team started slowly, things got going in the second quarter when Knoshown Moreno scampered in for a score. Big Ben took the Steelers right down the field and hit Heath Miller for a touchdown as the 1st half ended. Pittsburgh got the ball back to start the 3rd quarter and used 9 minutes to score 3 points. In real time, Peyton Manning didn't run an actual play from scrimmage (kneel down doesn't count to me) in an hour and now trailed 13-7. Two plays and 36 seconds later, it was 14-13 Broncos as Manning connected with Demaryius Thomas on a 71 yard score. Pittsburgh then controlled the ball for the remainder of the 3rd quarter, but still trailed by 1 point. That didn't last long as the Steelers scored in the first minute to go up 19-14. Then Peyton took over. He led the Broncos on back to back scoring drives for 10 points giving them a 25-19 lead and Tracy Porter sealed the deal for Denver with a pick-six touchdown (as he is known to do).
Thursday night: Burger grand opening at ZBurger w/ Philly cheese steaks, custard, fries, hot dogs, onion rings and some milkshakes (not necessarily in that order).
Friday night: Burger grand opening at Kraze: w/ fries and a milkshake
Saturday: College Football, work, survived a mini hurricane, dodged a tornado and got some pizza (must find veggies this week)
Sunday: Football, Baseball, Golf, Tennis, Fantasy Football (and still no veggies...do Doritos count?)
If your weekend was like that or maybe you went on Burger Days VI (www.burgerdays.com) you may have missed something...let me catch you up.
10. BMW Championship
I went out on a limb on Thursday and called that Tiger Woods would win this week. Well that didn't happen as Rory McIlroy continued his recent dominance winning for the second week in a row. Tiger finished T-4th, three shots behind. Phil Mickelson remembered that he was once good and came on strong over the weekend tying for second place. With next weeks Tour Championship starting on Thursday, the golf world will be all abuzz with the three biggest draws finally playing well at the same time. McIlroy has put his early season distractions aside and is proving to be the prodigy that everyone thought he was going to be. It will be difficult to go against him winning a third straight and the FedEx Cup in Atlanta.
9. College Football - Upset Alert
Behind six touchdown passes from Matt Barkley, USC eased by Syracuse in New Jersey (although they didn't cover...sorry Luis, I warned you). Florida St. was a 70.5 point favorite over Savannah 'thanks for the $' St. and led 28-0 seven minutes into the game. Then the weather took over. A couple of rain delays and 27 more points later, the game was mercifully called in the 3rd quarter canceling the spread and saving a lot of people some money because it would have been 80-0 easy. As for the games I figured were going to be close. Missouri played a good three quarters, but Georgia played all four quarters, ruining the Tigers first SEC game, losing 41-20. My upset pick at work (trust me) was Wisconsin losing to Oregon St. outright and they did 10-7, scoring their only points with less than 2 minutes left in the game. Nebraska went out west to play UCLA and got upended in a great game 36-30. Of course I can't forget to point out the embarrassment that was Arkansas who got caught looking ahead to #1 Alabama next week by getting utterly shocked by Louisiana-Monroe (who??) 34-31 in OT. Yikes!
8. Washington Redskins at New Orleans Saints
Control yourself Jason...settle down...SUPER BOWL HERE WE COME!!! Stop that...sorry for the outburst, but did you see RGIII? He looked good, real good. Of course so did Cam Newton last season after a week and Carolina finished 6-10 and looked pitiful Sunday. All the gadgets, the speed, the offense that was hidden during preseason was unleashed as #10 led the Redskins to 10 points in each quarter to upend the Saints 40-32. I give credit to Drew Brees on never giving in and keeping me on the edge of my seat down to the final play of the game, but his brilliance wasn't enough this weekend. Is it the Super Bowl host city curse?? Maybe, but I'm thrilled to see the Redskins finally show some excitement on the offensive side of the ball. RGIII FOR MVP...NO WAIT HALL OF FAME!!!! Agghhh I can't stop myself.
7. San Francisco 49ers at Green Bay Packers
It appears that the Packers have found their Kryptonite...a really good defense. Two straight games now (dating back to the playoffs against the Giants) the vaunted Green Bay offense was held in check in a loss. Both times at home and in relatively similar fashion this time falling by a score of 30-22 (37-20 vs. New York in the playoffs). The 49ers stuffed the non existent running game of the Packers and pressured Aaron Rodgers just enough to keep him off balance. Green Bay needs to find some offensive balance or one of two things is bound to happen: either they will lose again in the playoffs or Rodgers arm will fall off by Thanksgiving. San Francisco is going to be the real deal again this season. Their offense is leaps and bounds better with Randy Moss and great depth at running back.
6. Texas Rangers at Tampa Bay Rays
4, 6 and 6. The total runs scored in each game. Good pitching won this weekend as it is apt to do come September and October. Tampa Bay took two of three games keeping themselves close in the Wild Card and the A.L. East races. The Rangers saw their lead in the A.L. West shrink to 3.5 games over Oakland as the Athletics swept the Seattle Mariners. Saturday was a great pitchers duel between Yu Darvish and
5. U.S. Open Tennis
The weather was the big winner of the weekend as rain caused havoc on the schedule. The Men's Final has been pushed to 4pm today and it will be...drum roll please...Andy Murray vs. Novak Djokovic. I am as shocked as you are folks. As soon as Roger Federer lost, we knew it would come down to the last of the Big 4 and it did. The women's side was much more tightly contested even though it ended as was expected. Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka played a wonderful three set match in which the #1 seed Azaranka pulled out winning the last two sets. Serena Williams continued to cruise through the Open as she crushed Sara Errani in straight sets. This set up a dream match up for fans and they were treated to some high level, high intensity tennis. Serena won the first set with ease again and I thought the tournament was over. Azarenka had other thoughts as she turned the tables, thumping Williams to force a winner take all third set. Serena was broken early and then broke back. At 3-3 her serve was broken again giving Azarenka a 4-3 lead which she stretched to 5-3. Serena fought back, cutting it to 5-4 and then broke Azarenka who was serving for the match to even the third set at 5 games apiece. Serena held serve and broke Azarenka again to win the championship. It was enthralling and I'm so happy I brought the small television to the man cave and didn't have to miss it.
4. Los Angeles Dodgers at San Francisco Giants
The Dodgers had a great chance to make the N.L. West a true race with a strong weekend, but things got worse for them as the days went by. On Friday, Giants starter Tim Lincecum tried everything in his power to let the Dodgers win. He walked 7 batters in 6.1 innings, but Los Angeles couldn't get the big hit stranding 11 runners in a 5-2 loss where San Francisco scored 4 runs in their final three at bats. Saturday came and the Dodgers were without Matt Kemp who is suffering from a sore shoulder. They had to face Matt Cain and fared as expected as they were trailing 2-1 going to the 8th inning. They tied the score and chased Cain and then got the go ahead and eventual winning run in the 9th. Knowing they had Clayton Kershaw going on Sunday, the Dodgers had to feel excited about taking the series. Then word came Sunday afternoon that Kershaw was scratched with an injury. That must have deflated the locker room as Barry Zito (yes, him) dominated Los Angeles with 6.1 shutout innings as the Giants won 4-0 to extend their lead to 5.5 games.
3. Detroit Tigers at Los Angeles Angels
Somebody in the Detroit locker room better send the Kansas City Royals a thank you card. The Tigers rolled into Los Angeles to face the scorching hot Angels and got swept right out of town. They only lost a game in the standings to the White Sox thanks to Kansas City winning two of three, but have practically fallen out of the Wild Card race. The Angels, on the other hand, have won 6 in a row and 11 of 12 as they welcome Oakland to southern California for a four game series after just taking three straight in Oakland. They are 2.5 games behind the Athletics and 6 behind Texas. Detroit had best lick their wounds quickly as they fly to Chicago to battle the White Sox in their own four game mega-series. Oh about the Verlander-Trout match up...yeah Trout hit a bomb off of Justin in the 1st inning...statement made.
2. New York Yankees at Baltimore Orioles
This was the exact opposite series than that of the Rangers/Rays series. 16, 13, 9, 16. That's a lot of runs by two good hitting, average pitching teams. The Orioles won the first game behind 6 home runs, but the Yankees struck back in game two with 3 home runs of their own (as did the Orioles...remember pitching optional) to win. Game three was the 'pitchers duel' of the series between C.C. Sabathia, who is clearly pitching injured, and Joe Saunders. Yup, grasping at straws here. The Orioles hit three more home runs to win another one run game. They tied the Yankees for 1st again, but lost lead off hitter Nick Markakis to a broken hand. This must have stung the Baltimore clubhouse because they got thrashed on Sunday 13-3, failing again at their chance to stand alone atop the A.L. East. Life doesn't getting any easier for Baltimore as Tampa Bay strolls into town with a chance to knock the Orioles to third place.
1. Pittsburgh Steelers at Denver Broncos
Welcome back Peyton Manning. The NFL missed you while you were gone. After sitting out a year with a neck injury and switching teams, Manning didn't skip a beat. After each team started slowly, things got going in the second quarter when Knoshown Moreno scampered in for a score. Big Ben took the Steelers right down the field and hit Heath Miller for a touchdown as the 1st half ended. Pittsburgh got the ball back to start the 3rd quarter and used 9 minutes to score 3 points. In real time, Peyton Manning didn't run an actual play from scrimmage (kneel down doesn't count to me) in an hour and now trailed 13-7. Two plays and 36 seconds later, it was 14-13 Broncos as Manning connected with Demaryius Thomas on a 71 yard score. Pittsburgh then controlled the ball for the remainder of the 3rd quarter, but still trailed by 1 point. That didn't last long as the Steelers scored in the first minute to go up 19-14. Then Peyton took over. He led the Broncos on back to back scoring drives for 10 points giving them a 25-19 lead and Tracy Porter sealed the deal for Denver with a pick-six touchdown (as he is known to do).
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Weekend Viewing Guide 9/6/12
Last week welcomed College Football back and this weekend it is all about the NFL. Wednesday night got it all started as the Dallas Cowboys went into New York and stunned the Giants. I predicted the Cowboys to make the playoffs and the Giants not to, so good start through one game!!
The week in baseball has been a crazy one with the Orioles and Rays continuing to inch closer to the New York Yankees in the A.L. East. The Detroit Tigers stumbled a bit against the lowly Cleveland Indians as the Chicago White Sox regained a one game advantage in the A.L. Central. The Texas Rangers took advantage of playing the Kansas City Royals by extending their lead out west to 5 games as the Los Angeles Angels swept away the once hot Oakland Athletics in Oakland. Not only did the Athletics lose, but they also lost starting pitcher Brandon McCarthy after he took a ball off the head hit back at him. There are now five teams within 3 games of the two Wild Card spots in the American League.
In the National League, the Washington Nationals are in total cruise control even with the impending shutdown of Stephen Strasburg. Their lead is 7.5 games and a divisional crown is only a matter of time now. The same can be said in the Central where the Cincinnati Reds continue to maintain a sizable advantage over both the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates. Needless to say, both of those divisions are sewed up, but that can't be said about the N.L. West. The Los Angeles Dodgers are trying to hang in the race with the San Francisco Giants with their new $8 billion roster. The Wild Card has four teams within 1.5 games and two others on the fringes at 6.5 games back.
This weekend will continue to paint the playoff picture for baseball fans, but all of that will get overshadowed by the first weekend of the NFL. Mix in some PGA playoffs, the end of the U.S. Open and the second weekend of College Football and boy do we have a fun 72 hours ahead in the world of sports.
Here's what you should be watching:
10. BMW Championship
Last weekend Rory McIlroy won the Deutsche Bank Championship for his 3rd victory of the season and tied Tiger Woods for top spot in that category. He also took the lead in the FedEx Cup standings with this weekend and next weekend as the final two events. I am predicting that Tiger Woods answers back and finally puts together a complete tournament to win this weekend. That should set up a glorious final weekend in Atlanta to decide the Cup winner. Take advantage of this moment in time with both McIlroy and Woods playing high level golf because the window could close anytime as Woods hands the torch to McIlroy as the World's greatest active golfer.
9. College Football-Upset Alert
No marquee games this weekend with the NFL starting, but there are a couple of teams that should be on high alert for an upset. No, I am not talking about Florida St. who is a scant 70.5 point favorite to beat Savannah St. (not that I was looking or anything). Southern Cal might be traveling cross country, but they should handle Syracuse with ease. Missouri is welcomed to the SEC by hosting #7 Georgia and it should be a good test for the Bulldogs. #13 Wisconsin struggled to beat Northern Iowa and now has to go west to face Oregon St. who has yet to play this season. The final game that could bring an upset is #16 Nebraska who heads to Los Angeles to take on UCLA. Not the greatest slate of games, but its still better than nothing.
8. Washington Redskins at New Orleans Saints
Okay I admit this was has a bit of personal backing to it, but I think everyone is eager to see what RGIII can do in the NFL. With apologies to Andrew Luck, Indianapolis is not Washington D.C. and a match up against New Orleans who is wrought with dramatic story lines themselves is too tasty to pass up. Washington kept the playbook for Griffin under wraps during the preseason which just adds to the intrigue. On the other side of the ball, the Saints will be without head coach Sean Payton and linebacker Jonathan Vilma for the season due to 'Bountygate'. They are also the host city for the Super Bowl and all the curses that go along with that so it will be interesting to track each team this season for two totally different reasons.
7. San Francisco 49ers at Green Bay Packers
The defensive stalwart of 2011 versus the offensive juggernaut of 2011 who both came up short last season thanks to the New York Giants. Both teams expect to be in the hunt for this years Super Bowl with the same formula that got them to the playoffs last season. San Francisco did add Randy Moss and Mario Manningham in an attempt to solidify some of their offensive woes, but it will be their defense that wins them games this season again. The Packers will continue to air the ball out and play just enough defense to win, but they had better try and find a running attack for when the weather turns cold or else it could be another early exit for them in the playoffs.
6. Texas Rangers at Tampa Bay Rays
The league's best offense against the league's best pitching staff. Yes this is playoff baseball in September. Yu Darvish who has regained his dominant form will face David Price on Saturday and on Sunday 'Big Game' James Shields will face underrated Matt Harrison. This will be a tough series for hitters and pitchers alike and excellent for fans to watch. If only they could find a better stadium than the dump that is dubbed 'The Trop' for it to take place. Speaking of showing up...where are you Tampa fans? Your team tries so hard and you don't give a damn. (Now if this is not the pot calling the kettle black, as my Athletics constantly play in front of small crowds). Common denominator: crap stadiums.
5. U.S. Open Tennis
Yes it was sad to see the career of Andy Roddick come to an end. Mardy Fish had to withdraw and thus no American male made a run to the title once again. Instead, outside of the unending rain, the story shifted to which of the 'Big 3' would win the seasons final Grand Slam event. But a funny thing happened on the way to glory for Roger Federer. He was upended by Tomas Berdych in the Quarterfinals. That left just Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic left as expected finalists. On the Women's side of the draw three of the top four seeds are still alive in the Semifinals. Maria Sharapova is playing the best tennis of her career and she will face #1 seed Victoria Azarenka while nobody seems to be able to stop Serena Williams on the bottom half of the draw. She has yet to drop a set and will face 10th seeded Sara Errani with a trip to the Finals on the line.
4. Los Angeles Dodgers at San Francisco Giants
The lone notable series in the National League deals with the only division that has yet to be decided. Of course all that could change if the Giants, who have a 4.5 game lead, sweep away their rivals from the south. It all starts with two pitchers who have had their share of controversy this season as new arrival Josh Beckett goes for LA and Tim Lincecum starts for San Francisco. Nobody knows what to expect from either pitcher, but they have both pitched big games and it should be a treat...a San Francisco treat (groan). The other two games appear to be mismatches with Matt Cain toeing the slab for the Giants on Saturday against Chris Capuano, while Sunday the tables are turned with Clayton Kershaw having the obvious advantage against Barry Zito.
3. Detroit Tigers at Los Angeles Angels
With the White Sox hosting the Kansas City Royals, this could be a very bad weekend for the Tigers. The Angels have found their groove again as they push back into playoff contention. With a half game separating the two and 3 teams to climb over to secure a playoff spot, neither team can afford to have a bad series. Detroit does have Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander going while the Angels will be without the services of All-Star Jered Weaver who is nursing a bruised shoulder which gives Detroit a much needed advantage on the mound. The Angels can play small ball with their team speed and long ball with the likes of Albert Pujols and Mark Trumbo. Oh and don't forget Mike Trout. Verlander vs. Trout...yes please.
2. New York Yankees at Baltimore Orioles
In what can only be described as the biggest series at Camden Yards since 1997, the Baltimore Orioles could conceivably be all alone in 1st place in the A.L. East by Sunday night. Going into the huge four game series, Baltimore stands only 1 game back of the Bronx Bombers. I only hope fans of Baltimore can forgive Peter Angelos for just one weekend and turn out at the best ballpark in the land and give the Orioles a true home field advantage. If they don't, I'm sure there are plenty of Yankees fans that will flood into Baltimore and turn the city into New York south...show up or shut up Orioles fans.
1. Pittsburgh Steelers at Denver Broncos
The game that everyone is interested to see is on prime time Sunday night. The return of NFL spokesman Peyton Manning, this time in a Broncos jersey, is here. The NFL didn't do him any favors as he tests his oft surgically repaired neck against the always dangerous Pittsburgh defense. The Broncos are trendy favorites to come out of the AFC to be in the Super Bowl, but fans realize that Peyton Manning's career could be over with one James Harrison hit on the first series of the game. Everyone will be holding their breath each time Manning steps back to pass. For Pittsburgh, they have plenty of question marks with the health of Big Ben, the multiple injuries at running back, a new offensive coordinator and a disgruntled diva wide receiver in Mike Wallace.
The week in baseball has been a crazy one with the Orioles and Rays continuing to inch closer to the New York Yankees in the A.L. East. The Detroit Tigers stumbled a bit against the lowly Cleveland Indians as the Chicago White Sox regained a one game advantage in the A.L. Central. The Texas Rangers took advantage of playing the Kansas City Royals by extending their lead out west to 5 games as the Los Angeles Angels swept away the once hot Oakland Athletics in Oakland. Not only did the Athletics lose, but they also lost starting pitcher Brandon McCarthy after he took a ball off the head hit back at him. There are now five teams within 3 games of the two Wild Card spots in the American League.
In the National League, the Washington Nationals are in total cruise control even with the impending shutdown of Stephen Strasburg. Their lead is 7.5 games and a divisional crown is only a matter of time now. The same can be said in the Central where the Cincinnati Reds continue to maintain a sizable advantage over both the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates. Needless to say, both of those divisions are sewed up, but that can't be said about the N.L. West. The Los Angeles Dodgers are trying to hang in the race with the San Francisco Giants with their new $8 billion roster. The Wild Card has four teams within 1.5 games and two others on the fringes at 6.5 games back.
This weekend will continue to paint the playoff picture for baseball fans, but all of that will get overshadowed by the first weekend of the NFL. Mix in some PGA playoffs, the end of the U.S. Open and the second weekend of College Football and boy do we have a fun 72 hours ahead in the world of sports.
Here's what you should be watching:
10. BMW Championship
Last weekend Rory McIlroy won the Deutsche Bank Championship for his 3rd victory of the season and tied Tiger Woods for top spot in that category. He also took the lead in the FedEx Cup standings with this weekend and next weekend as the final two events. I am predicting that Tiger Woods answers back and finally puts together a complete tournament to win this weekend. That should set up a glorious final weekend in Atlanta to decide the Cup winner. Take advantage of this moment in time with both McIlroy and Woods playing high level golf because the window could close anytime as Woods hands the torch to McIlroy as the World's greatest active golfer.
9. College Football-Upset Alert
No marquee games this weekend with the NFL starting, but there are a couple of teams that should be on high alert for an upset. No, I am not talking about Florida St. who is a scant 70.5 point favorite to beat Savannah St. (not that I was looking or anything). Southern Cal might be traveling cross country, but they should handle Syracuse with ease. Missouri is welcomed to the SEC by hosting #7 Georgia and it should be a good test for the Bulldogs. #13 Wisconsin struggled to beat Northern Iowa and now has to go west to face Oregon St. who has yet to play this season. The final game that could bring an upset is #16 Nebraska who heads to Los Angeles to take on UCLA. Not the greatest slate of games, but its still better than nothing.
8. Washington Redskins at New Orleans Saints
Okay I admit this was has a bit of personal backing to it, but I think everyone is eager to see what RGIII can do in the NFL. With apologies to Andrew Luck, Indianapolis is not Washington D.C. and a match up against New Orleans who is wrought with dramatic story lines themselves is too tasty to pass up. Washington kept the playbook for Griffin under wraps during the preseason which just adds to the intrigue. On the other side of the ball, the Saints will be without head coach Sean Payton and linebacker Jonathan Vilma for the season due to 'Bountygate'. They are also the host city for the Super Bowl and all the curses that go along with that so it will be interesting to track each team this season for two totally different reasons.
7. San Francisco 49ers at Green Bay Packers
The defensive stalwart of 2011 versus the offensive juggernaut of 2011 who both came up short last season thanks to the New York Giants. Both teams expect to be in the hunt for this years Super Bowl with the same formula that got them to the playoffs last season. San Francisco did add Randy Moss and Mario Manningham in an attempt to solidify some of their offensive woes, but it will be their defense that wins them games this season again. The Packers will continue to air the ball out and play just enough defense to win, but they had better try and find a running attack for when the weather turns cold or else it could be another early exit for them in the playoffs.
6. Texas Rangers at Tampa Bay Rays
The league's best offense against the league's best pitching staff. Yes this is playoff baseball in September. Yu Darvish who has regained his dominant form will face David Price on Saturday and on Sunday 'Big Game' James Shields will face underrated Matt Harrison. This will be a tough series for hitters and pitchers alike and excellent for fans to watch. If only they could find a better stadium than the dump that is dubbed 'The Trop' for it to take place. Speaking of showing up...where are you Tampa fans? Your team tries so hard and you don't give a damn. (Now if this is not the pot calling the kettle black, as my Athletics constantly play in front of small crowds). Common denominator: crap stadiums.
5. U.S. Open Tennis
Yes it was sad to see the career of Andy Roddick come to an end. Mardy Fish had to withdraw and thus no American male made a run to the title once again. Instead, outside of the unending rain, the story shifted to which of the 'Big 3' would win the seasons final Grand Slam event. But a funny thing happened on the way to glory for Roger Federer. He was upended by Tomas Berdych in the Quarterfinals. That left just Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic left as expected finalists. On the Women's side of the draw three of the top four seeds are still alive in the Semifinals. Maria Sharapova is playing the best tennis of her career and she will face #1 seed Victoria Azarenka while nobody seems to be able to stop Serena Williams on the bottom half of the draw. She has yet to drop a set and will face 10th seeded Sara Errani with a trip to the Finals on the line.
4. Los Angeles Dodgers at San Francisco Giants
The lone notable series in the National League deals with the only division that has yet to be decided. Of course all that could change if the Giants, who have a 4.5 game lead, sweep away their rivals from the south. It all starts with two pitchers who have had their share of controversy this season as new arrival Josh Beckett goes for LA and Tim Lincecum starts for San Francisco. Nobody knows what to expect from either pitcher, but they have both pitched big games and it should be a treat...a San Francisco treat (groan). The other two games appear to be mismatches with Matt Cain toeing the slab for the Giants on Saturday against Chris Capuano, while Sunday the tables are turned with Clayton Kershaw having the obvious advantage against Barry Zito.
3. Detroit Tigers at Los Angeles Angels
With the White Sox hosting the Kansas City Royals, this could be a very bad weekend for the Tigers. The Angels have found their groove again as they push back into playoff contention. With a half game separating the two and 3 teams to climb over to secure a playoff spot, neither team can afford to have a bad series. Detroit does have Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander going while the Angels will be without the services of All-Star Jered Weaver who is nursing a bruised shoulder which gives Detroit a much needed advantage on the mound. The Angels can play small ball with their team speed and long ball with the likes of Albert Pujols and Mark Trumbo. Oh and don't forget Mike Trout. Verlander vs. Trout...yes please.
2. New York Yankees at Baltimore Orioles
In what can only be described as the biggest series at Camden Yards since 1997, the Baltimore Orioles could conceivably be all alone in 1st place in the A.L. East by Sunday night. Going into the huge four game series, Baltimore stands only 1 game back of the Bronx Bombers. I only hope fans of Baltimore can forgive Peter Angelos for just one weekend and turn out at the best ballpark in the land and give the Orioles a true home field advantage. If they don't, I'm sure there are plenty of Yankees fans that will flood into Baltimore and turn the city into New York south...show up or shut up Orioles fans.
1. Pittsburgh Steelers at Denver Broncos
The game that everyone is interested to see is on prime time Sunday night. The return of NFL spokesman Peyton Manning, this time in a Broncos jersey, is here. The NFL didn't do him any favors as he tests his oft surgically repaired neck against the always dangerous Pittsburgh defense. The Broncos are trendy favorites to come out of the AFC to be in the Super Bowl, but fans realize that Peyton Manning's career could be over with one James Harrison hit on the first series of the game. Everyone will be holding their breath each time Manning steps back to pass. For Pittsburgh, they have plenty of question marks with the health of Big Ben, the multiple injuries at running back, a new offensive coordinator and a disgruntled diva wide receiver in Mike Wallace.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Denzel Washington and 2012 Fantasy Football
Last season I used Clint Eastwood as my muse for my fantasy football preview: Feel free to read it here. I had some hits and I had some misses (yeah Chad Ochocinco did not work out), but at least I entertained myself.
I have always enjoyed Denzel Washington movies, but just like my prognostication abilities, he has had his share of flops along with supreme, award winning performances. He has the rare ability to portray both the hero and the villain and be believed by audiences in either role. That's why he does it for me. I'm am glad he doesn't get typecast into one character that he just rehashes with a different plot. You never know what you will get when you tune in and that's why you keep going back.
It's just like fantasy football (or sports in general), if the story lines were the same year in and year out, we'd get bored and stop watching. If you knew that the Washington Nationals would have the best record in MLB on August 8th, raise your hand. If you knew that the Cincinnati Bengals would make the playoffs with Andy Dalton at the helm last season raise your hand. We don't know and we like it that way.
Here are my thoughts on the upcoming season thanks to Denzel Washington and his fantastic career.
Unstoppable
This movie was about a runaway train and the one team that best resembled that last season was the Green Bay Packers. Sure they were tripped up in the playoffs, but fantasy football owners could care less about that. During the regular season the Packers led the NFL with 70 all purpose touchdowns. To put that in perspective the St. Louis Rams were dead last with only 18 touchdowns. They were probably a bit too pass heavy which hurt them greatly in the playoffs and maybe, just maybe, we'll see Green Bay scale back their aerial assault and try to work in a running game.
That might be a problem because I don't see an every down running back on their current roster. Their projected starter, James Starks is currently the 37th fantasy running back in drafts. There are only 32 teams in the NFL. Case closed. I guess nobody expects the Packers to overreact to their playoff failure and prepare themselves for the playoffs by running. Aaron Rodgers will once again be a fantasy monster and he better for your sake as you'll have to spend a top 5 pick to acquire him. Anything less than that and you'll lose his value in a very deep position in the NFL. I'm not a fan of using a pick that high on a quarterback, because there is usually better value later on in your draft. The wild card on this team (outside of Starks) is Jermichael Finley who I have lauded for years only to be letdown. He had a good year last year, but I know he can elevate his game to a Rob Gronkowski level with Rodgers throwing to him. The question is will this be the year?
The Book of Eli
I think we all should be subscribing to The Book of Eli now. After years of being ignored, Eli Manning finally had his most consistent passing year (which is still a bit inconsistent) and is now being treated like an elite passer. Not to mention he capped his year off with a second Super Bowl victory, the stars seem to be aligning for him to wriggle out of the shadow of his older brother once and for all.
Gone is the notion of the Giants being a run first (and second) team. Gone is the heavy footed, waste of space, Brandon Jacobs. With the emergence of both Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz as speedy, elite wide receivers, New York shifted its focus to keep up with the changing times in the NFL. They are now pass happy and use the running game as a change of pace. The Giants had 17 rushing touchdowns last season and their passing game still was very productive with 29 scores. I do not see any way that New York will score 17 times this season on the ground. If you take 5 of those scores from running to passing Eli Manning vaults to a top 5 fantasy quarterback.
I'll also play the role of devil's advocate. Hakeem Nicks is already recovering from an injury. Maybe Victor Cruz was a flash in the pan. Without the running game balance maybe the Giants get out of whack. Maybe Eli returns to his interception happy ways when he had 25 in 2010. Of course I pegged the Giants as the team most likely to implode last year so maybe I am just biased against them.
Deja Vu
Let me tell about two teams who handle their off season in two completely different ways. The Washington Redskins have been dubbed the 'winners of the off season' almost every year since Dan Snyder took over. The New England Patriots are usually very quiet and refuse to make many waves with free agent signings and selling off of their draft picks. In fact, New England is famous for trading down to acquire more draft picks and cutting their players a year or two before they get too old. Look at how they are treating Wes Welker. They are not about to sink a ton of money into a 31 year old slot receiver. They brought in Brandon Lloyd to supplant him in the near future. They just reload year in and year out...the right way.
The Redskins have to make the big splash. The constantly mortgage their future to get the biggest off season prize. Whether is was Bruce Smith, Deion Sanders, Albert Haynesworth or now (via draft) Robert Griffin III. As a Redskins fan, I am drooling over RGIII, but I know there is no depth on this team. The offensive line is already in shambles with their only asset 1 failed drug test away from being out of the NFL. They couldn't add any more talent because they were caught 'cheating' by the NFL when they circumvented the lack of a salary cap and exiled some bad contracts. They traded away 3 draft picks for RGIII including a 2nd rounder this year and their next two 1st round picks. Where will the help come from? RGIII won't be of much use in a full body cast.
The Patriots are always the deepest team in the NFL. They plug in backups at every position and still succeed. Lose Tom Brady in game one? No problem...still 10-6. Lose a roster full of defensive backs? No problem, throw in a wide receiver...still win the AFC East. Yes they haven't won a Super Bowl since waaaaay back in 2005 but they have gone twice since and I'd take that if I were a fan. How does this affect us fantasy owners? Simple, when was the last time anybody on Washington was relevant for fantasy owners? Clinton Portis in 2009? How about for New England...Tom Brady, Wes Welker, Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez, Brandon Lloyd and now they'll plug in Stevan Ridley at running back and he'll probably be more than successful. Like Deja Vu all over again.
Man on Fire
Who is the angriest person in the NFL? Who saw their head coach suspended for the year? Who had to fight tooth and nail to get a new long term contract after practically saving his franchise? Drew Brees that's who. Coming off of one of the greatest single season statistical seasons for a quarterback, Drew Brees has been put through the wringer this off season and it will be interesting to see how he produces. He also has to face the curse of hosting the Super Bowl this season. Remember how well that worked out for Dallas two years ago? There has been plenty of turmoil surrounding this team and I can easily see this team cracking if this go bad early. An injury here and bad break there (God forbid they lose to the Redskins at home to start the season) and the losses could pile up.
Drew Brees is the consummate on field general, but it has always been Sean Payton that was the straw that stirred the proverbial drink in New Orleans. Without him around the team this year I expect some more inconsistencies. The 46/14 TD/INT split for Brees might slip to 38/17. Not drastic, but enough to drop him down a notch. The wide receiver position in New Orleans has always been a tough one for fantasy owners. Sure they throw the ball a ton, but the Saints spread the ball around well. Marques Colston is not special, but he's consistent. Lance Moore and Devery Henderson have shown flashes and will have chances again this season with the departure of Robert Meachem. The big break out star of the passing game was tight end Jimmy Graham. He again will look to lead the team in all receiving categories and I don't see why he can't. He has the perfect mix and speed and size and great hands. I have him as my #1 tight end over Gronkowski because I think the Patriots will diversify their offense even more just to mess with us.
The running game is an interesting puzzle. Darren Sproles had 87 rushing attempts and 86 receptions. Pierre Thomas and Mark Ingram combined for 1000 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground, but I expect Ingram to get a bit more work as the younger player this season. If he can stay healthy I can see 900 yards and 9 touchdowns from him. All three will be drafted and all three will have great games, but I see Pierre Thomas dropping off the radar by season's end.
Remember the Titans
This should be entitled 'Remember Chris Johnson?' or 'Remember Kenny Britt?'. Two of the bigger busts at their respective positions last season, both are looking to rebound. After holding out for a new contract last season, CJ2K came into 2011 a step slow and it cost him dearly. He had a couple of breakout games, but those were against some pretty bad defenses. Kenny Britt started out on fire, but a torn ACL ruined his season. Then he went out and got arrested AGAIN this off season so he is not only facing league penalties, but physical limitations as well.
At quarterback, Jake Locker looks to replace the aging Matt Hasselsuck...err beck this season. He was okay in his brief stint as starter last year and will need to make big strides to make this team relevant to fantasy owners. If he can prove to be a average thrower and keep defenses from crowding the line of scrimmage, not only will his job be easier by handing off to Chris Johnson more, but Johnson could return to elite status in the fantasy world.
It also doesn't hurt that the Titans play in the least talented division in the NFL. While Houston is a contender, both Indianapolis and Jacksonville have major question marks. Four games against them will be good news for a young team trying to find its way. Chris Johnson is the only player worth spending a high draft pick on, but there are others to keep an eye on including Nate Washington and Jared Cook who are both dependent on a good passing game.
He Got Game
The story about a young basketball star with dreams of greatness. Each year the fantasy world is smitten with dreams of rookies being the next greatest thing. I play in a keeper league in addition to a normal redraft league so it is doubly important to decide right away whether to invest in 1st year players or not. I have never been a big fan of drafting any rookies, no matter the position. More than not this will be a sound strategy, but every once in a while you'll miss out on a late round draft pick future stud.
Take A.J. Green for example. He proved to be a very good #2 wide receiver on a fantasy team with the upside of being an elite #1 receiver. I thought Andy Dalton would hinder his rookie numbers, but they worked quite well as a tandem. If they progress, Cincinnati could all of a sudden be full of quality fantasy options.
This season all the talk surround Trent Richardson in Cleveland and the aforementioned RGIII in Washington. The Browns offense expects to be centered around Richardson, but he is already hurting and according to reports scheduled to visit Dr. James Andrews to look as his knee. The Redskins hopes this season and the next decade rest on the right shoulder and sprinters legs of RGIII. He might not be Cam Newton this year, but he should be a viable backup/injury replacement quarterback and a definite must own in keeper leagues.
Outside of those two there are two running backs that will be vying for touches and could emerge as starters sooner rather than later. Doug Martin in Tampa Bay and David Wilson in New York (Giants) are both listed as the backups for their respective team, but both LeGarrette Blount and Ahmad Bradshaw have injury and performance concerns. They could give fantasy owners the best bang for the buck because neither are guaranteed 20+ touches a game, but will certainly be the first option when the starter goes down.
I am not going to endorse Justin Blackmon this season. He seems to be in the mold of Dez Bryant as a talented on the field player and a pain in the ass off the field. He will go way too high to be entrusted in drafting this season. No value for the pick. If you are going to take a flier on a rookie wide receiver I say look in the direction of Brian Quick in St. Louis or Alshon Jefferey in Chicago.
Dare I forget to mention Andrew Luck. He has some talent around him and plays in the weak AFC South, but I think he will be at least a year away from a starter for fantasy owners. Now a keeper league will be different as he will be a must own if you can afford to stash him away for a season.
Fallen
On the other side of the ledger is fantasy heroes of seasons past. Of the projected top 200 fantasy players this year, at least 20 won't be spoken of by seasons end or ever again. It may not be so sudden for everyone, but each year brings a new crop of youngsters looking to take the place of an aging veteran. Ryan Mathews excused LaDanian Tomlinson in San Diego and Andrew Luck has replaced Peyton Manning in Indianapolis. It happens to everyone.
My number one pick for this list is Frank Gore. It will be difficult to watch him decline this year. He was so good to me in 2009, but with Brandon Jacobs, Kendall Hunter and LaMichael James all in line to lessen his workload, Gore will no longer be worthy of anything more than a flex player by mid season. His last 100 yard rushing game was in Week 9 last year as he averaged only 54 yards per game and scored only 3 touchdowns in the 2nd half of the 2011 season. San Francisco has already announced their plans to use the other three backs more and Gore less, so don't say I didn't warn you.
At quarterback I have lost faith in 'Big' Ben Roethlisberger. What made him so good for his first 7 years started taking a toll last season. He is only 30 but his body is that of a 37 year old. He has nursed so many different injuries that I'm not sure he can be elite again. He had only five 2+ touchdown games last year while having four games of 0 touchdowns. That leaves seven games with just a single touchdown pass and that won't cut it nowadays. He is more than due to miss a couple games this season and the Steelers should start grooming a replacement.
The story looks to be the same for Baltimore Ravens wide receive Anquan Boldin. In the final 8 Ravens games, Boldin didn't top 63 yards receiving, scored only one touchdown and missed two games. That's not good. The one saving grace for Boldin is there aren't too many options to replace him. Outside of fellow starter Torrey Smith, only Jacoby Jones looks to take some catches away from him. Of course Ray Rice will get his share of receptions and whoever emerges between Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta at tight end could be valuable, but this should be the last hurrah for Boldin.
Philadelphia
What to make of the dynasty in the making in eastern Pennsylvania? The Eagles can be so dominating and so lost all in the same game. There is far too much talent to not expect them to excel this season, but questions still exist. Can Michael Vick stay healthy? Is DeSean Jackson done being a head case? Is LeSean McCoy ready to be the best running back in the NFL? Will Andy Reid's head be in it this season?
Let's go down the list: No Michael Vick cannot stay healthy. He will miss a game or two or more and that is a problem for not only his owners, but the owners of all the Eagles. As Vick goes, so goes Jeremy Maclin, Brent Celek and Jackson. At least you won't have to waste a 1st round pick on Vick this season. If he drops in your draft to the 3rd or 4th round he might be worth the trouble.
Yes I believe DeSean Jackson's antics are behind him. He can easily bounce back and prove he's the game breaker we all thought he'd be last year. I certainly hope he learned from his childish mistakes last year and I'm willing to take him as my #2 wide receiver, but not my top one.
LeSean McCoy was asked to run more and catch less last year and that turned him into a fantasy stud. It was the only thing lacking in his game and fantasy owners never thought the Eagles would commit to the run enough, but that was proven wrong. Now as a true dual threat, we know that if you need a 30 carry, 185 yard, 2 touchdown effort (2011) he can do that. If you need an 8 catch, 86 yard, 1 touchdown performance (2010) he can do that too. Now if he happens to combine the two in a week...well draft him with confidence folks.
You have to feel for Andy Reid. He recently lost his eldest son and has already returned to practice. His family issues have been well documented and that along with the normal issues of coaching in Philadelphia for 13 years its amazing he has been able to hold it together. Eventually it has to add up and start to distract him doesn't it? If he is able to guide the Eagles to the playoffs this year, it may be his best coaching effort to date.
The Mighty Quinn
This is where I would have talked about Brady Quinn leading the Cleveland Browns to glory...but he sucks so I'll move on. You missed out Brady...you missed out.
Glory
Perhaps Denzel Washington's preeminent performance of his career (I did not care as much for Training Day) I will now try and pick a couple of guys who are set to break out this year with their own best performance.
At quarterback I'm going back to the well of Josh Freeman. Sure many thought the same last season, but apparently the player/coach dynamic under Raheem Morris was how do you say...not good. With new weapons including Vincent Jackson, Dallas Clark and Doug Martin he is a prime candidate for a bounce back season. Will he be good enough to crack the top 10 in the same mold of Matthew Stafford last season...hmmm...maybe. He needs to continue to add the element of running into his bag of tricks as he scored four rushing touchdowns in 2011...up that to seven and now we're talking.
A nice late round back could be Donald Brown in Indianapolis. Even though the Colts are expected to struggle, they still will run the ball and Brown has been elevated to the starter. There is no way that Indianapolis will have Andrew Luck throw the ball 40 times a game. They should be much more balanced than they ever were under Peyton Manning. Brown had 645 yards rushing and five touchdowns in only 12 games in a completely lost season in 2011 so why not expect a 900 yard, 7 touchdown effort this year? That wouldn't be too shabby for somebody being drafted as the 38th overall running back currently.
Wide receiver is the most difficult position to guess a breakout star in my opinion because almost anyone can do it with the right opportunity. I would have need 50 guesses at least for Victor Cruz so here goes nothing. I'm picking Denarius Moore from the Oakland Raiders. Why not? I think Carson Palmer still has a couple of bullets left in his gun and with young, emerging wide receivers in Moore and Darrius Heyward-Bey its only a matter of time for the Raiders to show some promise. When on the field, Moore made plays and that is all you can ask from a wide receiver. He scored 5 touchdowns on only 33 receptions and averaged nearly 19 yards a catch. The skill is there, the opportunity is there and a full year of Palmer is there. If he stays healthy he can hit 1,000 yards and 8 touchdowns easy.
I have always enjoyed Denzel Washington movies, but just like my prognostication abilities, he has had his share of flops along with supreme, award winning performances. He has the rare ability to portray both the hero and the villain and be believed by audiences in either role. That's why he does it for me. I'm am glad he doesn't get typecast into one character that he just rehashes with a different plot. You never know what you will get when you tune in and that's why you keep going back.
It's just like fantasy football (or sports in general), if the story lines were the same year in and year out, we'd get bored and stop watching. If you knew that the Washington Nationals would have the best record in MLB on August 8th, raise your hand. If you knew that the Cincinnati Bengals would make the playoffs with Andy Dalton at the helm last season raise your hand. We don't know and we like it that way.
Here are my thoughts on the upcoming season thanks to Denzel Washington and his fantastic career.
Unstoppable
This movie was about a runaway train and the one team that best resembled that last season was the Green Bay Packers. Sure they were tripped up in the playoffs, but fantasy football owners could care less about that. During the regular season the Packers led the NFL with 70 all purpose touchdowns. To put that in perspective the St. Louis Rams were dead last with only 18 touchdowns. They were probably a bit too pass heavy which hurt them greatly in the playoffs and maybe, just maybe, we'll see Green Bay scale back their aerial assault and try to work in a running game.
That might be a problem because I don't see an every down running back on their current roster. Their projected starter, James Starks is currently the 37th fantasy running back in drafts. There are only 32 teams in the NFL. Case closed. I guess nobody expects the Packers to overreact to their playoff failure and prepare themselves for the playoffs by running. Aaron Rodgers will once again be a fantasy monster and he better for your sake as you'll have to spend a top 5 pick to acquire him. Anything less than that and you'll lose his value in a very deep position in the NFL. I'm not a fan of using a pick that high on a quarterback, because there is usually better value later on in your draft. The wild card on this team (outside of Starks) is Jermichael Finley who I have lauded for years only to be letdown. He had a good year last year, but I know he can elevate his game to a Rob Gronkowski level with Rodgers throwing to him. The question is will this be the year?
The Book of Eli
I think we all should be subscribing to The Book of Eli now. After years of being ignored, Eli Manning finally had his most consistent passing year (which is still a bit inconsistent) and is now being treated like an elite passer. Not to mention he capped his year off with a second Super Bowl victory, the stars seem to be aligning for him to wriggle out of the shadow of his older brother once and for all.
Gone is the notion of the Giants being a run first (and second) team. Gone is the heavy footed, waste of space, Brandon Jacobs. With the emergence of both Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz as speedy, elite wide receivers, New York shifted its focus to keep up with the changing times in the NFL. They are now pass happy and use the running game as a change of pace. The Giants had 17 rushing touchdowns last season and their passing game still was very productive with 29 scores. I do not see any way that New York will score 17 times this season on the ground. If you take 5 of those scores from running to passing Eli Manning vaults to a top 5 fantasy quarterback.
I'll also play the role of devil's advocate. Hakeem Nicks is already recovering from an injury. Maybe Victor Cruz was a flash in the pan. Without the running game balance maybe the Giants get out of whack. Maybe Eli returns to his interception happy ways when he had 25 in 2010. Of course I pegged the Giants as the team most likely to implode last year so maybe I am just biased against them.
Deja Vu
Let me tell about two teams who handle their off season in two completely different ways. The Washington Redskins have been dubbed the 'winners of the off season' almost every year since Dan Snyder took over. The New England Patriots are usually very quiet and refuse to make many waves with free agent signings and selling off of their draft picks. In fact, New England is famous for trading down to acquire more draft picks and cutting their players a year or two before they get too old. Look at how they are treating Wes Welker. They are not about to sink a ton of money into a 31 year old slot receiver. They brought in Brandon Lloyd to supplant him in the near future. They just reload year in and year out...the right way.
The Redskins have to make the big splash. The constantly mortgage their future to get the biggest off season prize. Whether is was Bruce Smith, Deion Sanders, Albert Haynesworth or now (via draft) Robert Griffin III. As a Redskins fan, I am drooling over RGIII, but I know there is no depth on this team. The offensive line is already in shambles with their only asset 1 failed drug test away from being out of the NFL. They couldn't add any more talent because they were caught 'cheating' by the NFL when they circumvented the lack of a salary cap and exiled some bad contracts. They traded away 3 draft picks for RGIII including a 2nd rounder this year and their next two 1st round picks. Where will the help come from? RGIII won't be of much use in a full body cast.
The Patriots are always the deepest team in the NFL. They plug in backups at every position and still succeed. Lose Tom Brady in game one? No problem...still 10-6. Lose a roster full of defensive backs? No problem, throw in a wide receiver...still win the AFC East. Yes they haven't won a Super Bowl since waaaaay back in 2005 but they have gone twice since and I'd take that if I were a fan. How does this affect us fantasy owners? Simple, when was the last time anybody on Washington was relevant for fantasy owners? Clinton Portis in 2009? How about for New England...Tom Brady, Wes Welker, Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez, Brandon Lloyd and now they'll plug in Stevan Ridley at running back and he'll probably be more than successful. Like Deja Vu all over again.
Man on Fire
Who is the angriest person in the NFL? Who saw their head coach suspended for the year? Who had to fight tooth and nail to get a new long term contract after practically saving his franchise? Drew Brees that's who. Coming off of one of the greatest single season statistical seasons for a quarterback, Drew Brees has been put through the wringer this off season and it will be interesting to see how he produces. He also has to face the curse of hosting the Super Bowl this season. Remember how well that worked out for Dallas two years ago? There has been plenty of turmoil surrounding this team and I can easily see this team cracking if this go bad early. An injury here and bad break there (God forbid they lose to the Redskins at home to start the season) and the losses could pile up.
Drew Brees is the consummate on field general, but it has always been Sean Payton that was the straw that stirred the proverbial drink in New Orleans. Without him around the team this year I expect some more inconsistencies. The 46/14 TD/INT split for Brees might slip to 38/17. Not drastic, but enough to drop him down a notch. The wide receiver position in New Orleans has always been a tough one for fantasy owners. Sure they throw the ball a ton, but the Saints spread the ball around well. Marques Colston is not special, but he's consistent. Lance Moore and Devery Henderson have shown flashes and will have chances again this season with the departure of Robert Meachem. The big break out star of the passing game was tight end Jimmy Graham. He again will look to lead the team in all receiving categories and I don't see why he can't. He has the perfect mix and speed and size and great hands. I have him as my #1 tight end over Gronkowski because I think the Patriots will diversify their offense even more just to mess with us.
The running game is an interesting puzzle. Darren Sproles had 87 rushing attempts and 86 receptions. Pierre Thomas and Mark Ingram combined for 1000 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground, but I expect Ingram to get a bit more work as the younger player this season. If he can stay healthy I can see 900 yards and 9 touchdowns from him. All three will be drafted and all three will have great games, but I see Pierre Thomas dropping off the radar by season's end.
Remember the Titans
This should be entitled 'Remember Chris Johnson?' or 'Remember Kenny Britt?'. Two of the bigger busts at their respective positions last season, both are looking to rebound. After holding out for a new contract last season, CJ2K came into 2011 a step slow and it cost him dearly. He had a couple of breakout games, but those were against some pretty bad defenses. Kenny Britt started out on fire, but a torn ACL ruined his season. Then he went out and got arrested AGAIN this off season so he is not only facing league penalties, but physical limitations as well.
At quarterback, Jake Locker looks to replace the aging Matt Hassel
It also doesn't hurt that the Titans play in the least talented division in the NFL. While Houston is a contender, both Indianapolis and Jacksonville have major question marks. Four games against them will be good news for a young team trying to find its way. Chris Johnson is the only player worth spending a high draft pick on, but there are others to keep an eye on including Nate Washington and Jared Cook who are both dependent on a good passing game.
He Got Game
The story about a young basketball star with dreams of greatness. Each year the fantasy world is smitten with dreams of rookies being the next greatest thing. I play in a keeper league in addition to a normal redraft league so it is doubly important to decide right away whether to invest in 1st year players or not. I have never been a big fan of drafting any rookies, no matter the position. More than not this will be a sound strategy, but every once in a while you'll miss out on a late round draft pick future stud.
Take A.J. Green for example. He proved to be a very good #2 wide receiver on a fantasy team with the upside of being an elite #1 receiver. I thought Andy Dalton would hinder his rookie numbers, but they worked quite well as a tandem. If they progress, Cincinnati could all of a sudden be full of quality fantasy options.
This season all the talk surround Trent Richardson in Cleveland and the aforementioned RGIII in Washington. The Browns offense expects to be centered around Richardson, but he is already hurting and according to reports scheduled to visit Dr. James Andrews to look as his knee. The Redskins hopes this season and the next decade rest on the right shoulder and sprinters legs of RGIII. He might not be Cam Newton this year, but he should be a viable backup/injury replacement quarterback and a definite must own in keeper leagues.
Outside of those two there are two running backs that will be vying for touches and could emerge as starters sooner rather than later. Doug Martin in Tampa Bay and David Wilson in New York (Giants) are both listed as the backups for their respective team, but both LeGarrette Blount and Ahmad Bradshaw have injury and performance concerns. They could give fantasy owners the best bang for the buck because neither are guaranteed 20+ touches a game, but will certainly be the first option when the starter goes down.
I am not going to endorse Justin Blackmon this season. He seems to be in the mold of Dez Bryant as a talented on the field player and a pain in the ass off the field. He will go way too high to be entrusted in drafting this season. No value for the pick. If you are going to take a flier on a rookie wide receiver I say look in the direction of Brian Quick in St. Louis or Alshon Jefferey in Chicago.
Dare I forget to mention Andrew Luck. He has some talent around him and plays in the weak AFC South, but I think he will be at least a year away from a starter for fantasy owners. Now a keeper league will be different as he will be a must own if you can afford to stash him away for a season.
Fallen
On the other side of the ledger is fantasy heroes of seasons past. Of the projected top 200 fantasy players this year, at least 20 won't be spoken of by seasons end or ever again. It may not be so sudden for everyone, but each year brings a new crop of youngsters looking to take the place of an aging veteran. Ryan Mathews excused LaDanian Tomlinson in San Diego and Andrew Luck has replaced Peyton Manning in Indianapolis. It happens to everyone.
My number one pick for this list is Frank Gore. It will be difficult to watch him decline this year. He was so good to me in 2009, but with Brandon Jacobs, Kendall Hunter and LaMichael James all in line to lessen his workload, Gore will no longer be worthy of anything more than a flex player by mid season. His last 100 yard rushing game was in Week 9 last year as he averaged only 54 yards per game and scored only 3 touchdowns in the 2nd half of the 2011 season. San Francisco has already announced their plans to use the other three backs more and Gore less, so don't say I didn't warn you.
At quarterback I have lost faith in 'Big' Ben Roethlisberger. What made him so good for his first 7 years started taking a toll last season. He is only 30 but his body is that of a 37 year old. He has nursed so many different injuries that I'm not sure he can be elite again. He had only five 2+ touchdown games last year while having four games of 0 touchdowns. That leaves seven games with just a single touchdown pass and that won't cut it nowadays. He is more than due to miss a couple games this season and the Steelers should start grooming a replacement.
The story looks to be the same for Baltimore Ravens wide receive Anquan Boldin. In the final 8 Ravens games, Boldin didn't top 63 yards receiving, scored only one touchdown and missed two games. That's not good. The one saving grace for Boldin is there aren't too many options to replace him. Outside of fellow starter Torrey Smith, only Jacoby Jones looks to take some catches away from him. Of course Ray Rice will get his share of receptions and whoever emerges between Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta at tight end could be valuable, but this should be the last hurrah for Boldin.
Philadelphia
What to make of the dynasty in the making in eastern Pennsylvania? The Eagles can be so dominating and so lost all in the same game. There is far too much talent to not expect them to excel this season, but questions still exist. Can Michael Vick stay healthy? Is DeSean Jackson done being a head case? Is LeSean McCoy ready to be the best running back in the NFL? Will Andy Reid's head be in it this season?
Let's go down the list: No Michael Vick cannot stay healthy. He will miss a game or two or more and that is a problem for not only his owners, but the owners of all the Eagles. As Vick goes, so goes Jeremy Maclin, Brent Celek and Jackson. At least you won't have to waste a 1st round pick on Vick this season. If he drops in your draft to the 3rd or 4th round he might be worth the trouble.
Yes I believe DeSean Jackson's antics are behind him. He can easily bounce back and prove he's the game breaker we all thought he'd be last year. I certainly hope he learned from his childish mistakes last year and I'm willing to take him as my #2 wide receiver, but not my top one.
LeSean McCoy was asked to run more and catch less last year and that turned him into a fantasy stud. It was the only thing lacking in his game and fantasy owners never thought the Eagles would commit to the run enough, but that was proven wrong. Now as a true dual threat, we know that if you need a 30 carry, 185 yard, 2 touchdown effort (2011) he can do that. If you need an 8 catch, 86 yard, 1 touchdown performance (2010) he can do that too. Now if he happens to combine the two in a week...well draft him with confidence folks.
You have to feel for Andy Reid. He recently lost his eldest son and has already returned to practice. His family issues have been well documented and that along with the normal issues of coaching in Philadelphia for 13 years its amazing he has been able to hold it together. Eventually it has to add up and start to distract him doesn't it? If he is able to guide the Eagles to the playoffs this year, it may be his best coaching effort to date.
The Mighty Quinn
This is where I would have talked about Brady Quinn leading the Cleveland Browns to glory...but he sucks so I'll move on. You missed out Brady...you missed out.
Glory
Perhaps Denzel Washington's preeminent performance of his career (I did not care as much for Training Day) I will now try and pick a couple of guys who are set to break out this year with their own best performance.
At quarterback I'm going back to the well of Josh Freeman. Sure many thought the same last season, but apparently the player/coach dynamic under Raheem Morris was how do you say...not good. With new weapons including Vincent Jackson, Dallas Clark and Doug Martin he is a prime candidate for a bounce back season. Will he be good enough to crack the top 10 in the same mold of Matthew Stafford last season...hmmm...maybe. He needs to continue to add the element of running into his bag of tricks as he scored four rushing touchdowns in 2011...up that to seven and now we're talking.
A nice late round back could be Donald Brown in Indianapolis. Even though the Colts are expected to struggle, they still will run the ball and Brown has been elevated to the starter. There is no way that Indianapolis will have Andrew Luck throw the ball 40 times a game. They should be much more balanced than they ever were under Peyton Manning. Brown had 645 yards rushing and five touchdowns in only 12 games in a completely lost season in 2011 so why not expect a 900 yard, 7 touchdown effort this year? That wouldn't be too shabby for somebody being drafted as the 38th overall running back currently.
Wide receiver is the most difficult position to guess a breakout star in my opinion because almost anyone can do it with the right opportunity. I would have need 50 guesses at least for Victor Cruz so here goes nothing. I'm picking Denarius Moore from the Oakland Raiders. Why not? I think Carson Palmer still has a couple of bullets left in his gun and with young, emerging wide receivers in Moore and Darrius Heyward-Bey its only a matter of time for the Raiders to show some promise. When on the field, Moore made plays and that is all you can ask from a wide receiver. He scored 5 touchdowns on only 33 receptions and averaged nearly 19 yards a catch. The skill is there, the opportunity is there and a full year of Palmer is there. If he stays healthy he can hit 1,000 yards and 8 touchdowns easy.
Friday, August 3, 2012
Pocket Pair 8/3/12
The weekend is here, time to kick back relax and enjoy yourself. For those not heading to the beach or on some fantastic vacation, I offer up your weekend viewing guide in the world of sports.
5. Hall of Fame Game
Preseason football is here!! It may not count, but it is football and I know you will watch. This was the only game that was canceled last season during the lockout, but this year you get Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints versus Larry Fitzgerald and the Arizona Cardinals. When it comes to thinking about the Hall of Fame, the Cardinals and Saints are two teams that don't come to mind. Dan Dierdorf was the last player to be inducted from the Cardinals franchise and he retired in 1983. The Saints have had a checkered history and have only seen three players inducted from their franchise. The game is Sunday night so watch the Olympics live on Sunday so that you don't have go back and forth...NFL!!!!!!
4. Baltimore at Tampa Bay
Just when you thought both of these franchises were dead in the water they right the ship. The Orioles have won 3 of 4 including 2 of 3 in New York while the Rays went 6-3 on a very difficult road trip to Baltimore, Los Angeles and Oakland. Each team stands only 6.5 games behind the Yankees after being more the double digits behind just two weeks ago. Do I think either will catch New York? No. In all actuality they have their sights focused on the two Wild Card spots where they are only 1.5 games out. Neither team made any key additions or subtractions at the trade deadline so the Orioles will continue to piece together a pitching staff, while the Rays will try and eke out enough runs to support their pitchers.
3. Los Angeles Angels at Chicago White Sox
After a grueling four game set in the heat of Texas where pitching was optional, the Angels now head to the mid-west to take on first place Chicago. The White Sox have feasted off the Minnesota Twins of late winning 5 of 6 games and also took 2 of 3 from the struggling Texas Rangers. They now begin a nine game home stand with both the Angles and Athletics coming to town. The only downside of this series is the neither Chris Sale nor Jered Weaver are scheduled to pitch as the Angels are pushing back Weaver to line him up against my Athletics next week...screw you Angels, screw you.
2. Pittsburgh Pirates at Cincinnati Reds
A meaningful series for the city of Pittsburgh in August. For the older generations that must just sound right. The Reds are blazing hot (and doing so without Joey Votto) and hold a 3.5 game lead over the Pirates. It's this close because Pittsburgh has yet to play a game against a team over .500 since the All-Star break. Really! Look it up...Milwaukee, Colorado, Miami, Chicago, Houston and Chicago again. Five crappy teams that are a combined 97 games BELOW .500. Yeah that's a cake schedule. Of course Cincinnati has gone 12-1 against very similar, soft, opponents in Milwaukee, Houston, Colorado and San Diego after starting the 2nd half against St. Louis and Arizona. We really don't know if either of these teams are really good, but they are good at beating bad teams.
1. The Summer Olympics
Week one is wrapping up meaning short distance swimming and gymnastics are coming to a close and track & field is getting under way. In between tennis, volleyball, soccer and basketball will start handing out medals as they are all just about finished with group stages. There have been plenty of great moments for the United States, but there have been some disappointments as well...I'm looking at you Ryan Lochte. Outside of the tape delay controversy here in the states, the lack of corporate sponsored fans filling the seats and the badminton scandal the London games have been rather successful. I still can't believe that baseball is NOT an Olympic sports, but dudes jumping on a trampoline is. Something is wrong with that, really wrong.
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Yesterday I unplugged from the world at noon so that I could watch the Olympics at night the way were used to...hours late. Here at work I am afforded the opportunity to watch everything live with multiple televisions and my iPad available at my desk, but I didn't feel like doing it yesterday. I wanted to sit on my couch with my wife and watch Lochte vs Phelps one last time. I held my breath every time Gabby Douglas flipped in the air. I cheered when Rebecca Soni broke her own world record then night after setting it to win gold.
With me going back in time to the days of yore before internet, before Twitter and Facebook, I almost felt like reading a newspaper this morning...almost. I really can't wait for the 2016 Olympics with live prime time events. I've gotten used to getting information in real time and I like it that way. I feel bad for Bob Costas having to fake dramatic speeches to keep the viewer locked in on NBC. Its such a waste. He must be so very bored, at least it looks that way.
I don't know if I'll try that experiment again, but it was fun for a night.
5. Hall of Fame Game
Preseason football is here!! It may not count, but it is football and I know you will watch. This was the only game that was canceled last season during the lockout, but this year you get Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints versus Larry Fitzgerald and the Arizona Cardinals. When it comes to thinking about the Hall of Fame, the Cardinals and Saints are two teams that don't come to mind. Dan Dierdorf was the last player to be inducted from the Cardinals franchise and he retired in 1983. The Saints have had a checkered history and have only seen three players inducted from their franchise. The game is Sunday night so watch the Olympics live on Sunday so that you don't have go back and forth...NFL!!!!!!
4. Baltimore at Tampa Bay
Just when you thought both of these franchises were dead in the water they right the ship. The Orioles have won 3 of 4 including 2 of 3 in New York while the Rays went 6-3 on a very difficult road trip to Baltimore, Los Angeles and Oakland. Each team stands only 6.5 games behind the Yankees after being more the double digits behind just two weeks ago. Do I think either will catch New York? No. In all actuality they have their sights focused on the two Wild Card spots where they are only 1.5 games out. Neither team made any key additions or subtractions at the trade deadline so the Orioles will continue to piece together a pitching staff, while the Rays will try and eke out enough runs to support their pitchers.
3. Los Angeles Angels at Chicago White Sox
After a grueling four game set in the heat of Texas where pitching was optional, the Angels now head to the mid-west to take on first place Chicago. The White Sox have feasted off the Minnesota Twins of late winning 5 of 6 games and also took 2 of 3 from the struggling Texas Rangers. They now begin a nine game home stand with both the Angles and Athletics coming to town. The only downside of this series is the neither Chris Sale nor Jered Weaver are scheduled to pitch as the Angels are pushing back Weaver to line him up against my Athletics next week...screw you Angels, screw you.
2. Pittsburgh Pirates at Cincinnati Reds
A meaningful series for the city of Pittsburgh in August. For the older generations that must just sound right. The Reds are blazing hot (and doing so without Joey Votto) and hold a 3.5 game lead over the Pirates. It's this close because Pittsburgh has yet to play a game against a team over .500 since the All-Star break. Really! Look it up...Milwaukee, Colorado, Miami, Chicago, Houston and Chicago again. Five crappy teams that are a combined 97 games BELOW .500. Yeah that's a cake schedule. Of course Cincinnati has gone 12-1 against very similar, soft, opponents in Milwaukee, Houston, Colorado and San Diego after starting the 2nd half against St. Louis and Arizona. We really don't know if either of these teams are really good, but they are good at beating bad teams.
1. The Summer Olympics
Week one is wrapping up meaning short distance swimming and gymnastics are coming to a close and track & field is getting under way. In between tennis, volleyball, soccer and basketball will start handing out medals as they are all just about finished with group stages. There have been plenty of great moments for the United States, but there have been some disappointments as well...I'm looking at you Ryan Lochte. Outside of the tape delay controversy here in the states, the lack of corporate sponsored fans filling the seats and the badminton scandal the London games have been rather successful. I still can't believe that baseball is NOT an Olympic sports, but dudes jumping on a trampoline is. Something is wrong with that, really wrong.
----------------------------------------------
Yesterday I unplugged from the world at noon so that I could watch the Olympics at night the way were used to...hours late. Here at work I am afforded the opportunity to watch everything live with multiple televisions and my iPad available at my desk, but I didn't feel like doing it yesterday. I wanted to sit on my couch with my wife and watch Lochte vs Phelps one last time. I held my breath every time Gabby Douglas flipped in the air. I cheered when Rebecca Soni broke her own world record then night after setting it to win gold.
With me going back in time to the days of yore before internet, before Twitter and Facebook, I almost felt like reading a newspaper this morning...almost. I really can't wait for the 2016 Olympics with live prime time events. I've gotten used to getting information in real time and I like it that way. I feel bad for Bob Costas having to fake dramatic speeches to keep the viewer locked in on NBC. Its such a waste. He must be so very bored, at least it looks that way.
I don't know if I'll try that experiment again, but it was fun for a night.
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