Category Archives: NFL

The Ave Podcast – The NFL Playoffs + Obama’s Farewell

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The Ave Podcast with Cal Cee. Episode 15: The NFL Playoffs + Obama’s Farewell

Happy New Year everyone! Today on the first episode of The Ave Podcast for 2017, I break down the NFL’s Divisional Playoff round with my friend and football fanatic Roger Callender, as we comb through each playoff game this week. Also, we discuss Barack Obama’s last days in office as President of the United States. We discuss his farewell speech, the impact he had, and the future of America in the hands of Donald T. Trump.

*** Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast and the blog below. Also, the podcast is available for download. *** 

The Ave Podcast with Cal Cee // Episode 15

 

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https://app.box.com/s/rcdi45w4cha39gdpguerh98enxfr3iad 

 

 

Cal Cee // South Shore Ave

To subscribe to South Shore Ave, click onto the Follow button, and enter your email address, or click onto the RSS Feed. Very special thanks to Roger Callender for his guest appearance on this podcast.

Four Down Journey: Super Bowl Questions

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Welcome to the Four Down Journey where Peyton Manning attempts to win the Lombardi trophy in his brother’s backyard; where Russell Wilson looks to become the second black QB to win a Super Bowl; where we don’t overanalyze the Richard Sherman topic; and where we support Marshawn Lynch because…well, he’s just ’bout that action.

Today we look to answer the Super Bowl questions from a different perspective.

File:Super Bowl XLVIII logo.png

What is the most important matchup for Super Bowl XLVIII?

I know you might be expecting me to say Peyton Manning versus Richard Sherman and the Seahawks secondary, & while I do think that it’s a very important factor of the game, it’s not the most important factor. This game, much like a lot of football games will come down to who will win in the trenches. In this case, it will be Seattle’s Defensive line led by Cliff Avril & Michael Bennett vs. Denver’s Offensive line led by Scarborough’s own Orlando Franklin. Seattle’s defensive levels has been flirting with some of the legendary defences that we’ve ever seen in the NFL, which we haven’t seen since the Ray Lewis led Baltimore Ravens team from 2000. However, the Broncos’ O-Line has kept Peyton Manning upright & clean all season. Peyton’s the best at picking teams apart, it doesn’t matter what kind of secondary is across the line from him…..as long as he has the time to throw. Much like Brady in this regard, you have to create a pass rush from the line in order to speed up his clock. If you blitz him, he will kill you. Send a secondary to blitz, he’ll find the open receiver before you’ll have the chance to hit him. Bennett & Avril did a great job in the NFC championship collapsing the pocket & getting Colin Kaepernick to turn the ball over 3 times in the 4th quarter. They will have to win that matchup in order to get real pressure on Manning. If not, it could be a long day for Seattle overall.

One rumor I’ve been hearing about is that they have signed DE Steve Lattimer to help them deal with Manning last week, but found out that it may not be a good idea to keep him after they told him he would be starting in New York…..

…..okay, maybe this didn’t happen. I’ll try to lay off the PED jokes. I won’t promise though.

Will there be a scandal that overshadows the Super Bowl?

In other words, will there be anything like the Eugene Robinson story or someone mentally snapping like Barrett Robbins on Saturday night? Hard to say. If you remember, Robinson (the starting free safety for the Atlanta Falcons) the night before Super Bowl 33, was arrested for picking up a prostitute who was posing as an undercover cop…..with his wife sleeping at the hotel. To make matters worse, he picked up the Bart Starr Award that same evening from the Athletes in Action Christian group for his community work & his high moral character. You couldn’t make this up. Of course John Elway picked on him immediately resulting in an 80-yard TD to Rod Smith that went sailing right over Robinson’s head, attributing to a 34-17 loss for the Falcons.

With Robbins (who was the Pro Bowl starting Center for the Oakland Raiders), he had a mental breakdown after not taking his depression medication and was so far gone that he reportedly told his wife he was in Tijuana partying & drinking, thinking the Raiders already won the Super Bowl. Losing your Pro-Bowl player hours before the game? Well, I think you know what happened next.

Being that we live in the social media culture right now, it would be extremely dumb to act foolish the night before the big game, but as we all know, athletes will do the dumbest things regardless on who has a smartphone around them. Although both teams are stationed in New Jersey for the week, Manhattan & Brooklyn and the whole “City That Never Sleeps” elements are literally across the Hudson. While I don’t think a scandal will happen this weekend, these crazy type of situations happen much more than you think. Don’t think these are the only two situations where drama unfolded behind the scenes during Super Bowl week, most teams just do a great job at keeping it under wraps. If something does happen though, it’s guaranteed to shut down Twitter.

Why does Marshawn Lynch have the problem?

Think about it. You are a person that doesn’t like to really speak to the media or grant much interviews; yet because of the NFL’s rules, you have to get microphones shoved in your face Super Bowl Tuesday & Wednesday to answer questions like, “Have you ever made it rain at a strip club?” & “What colored skittles taste the best?”. I understand part of an athletes job is to speak with the media, especially during the biggest event of the year, but to force someone to the tune of $100K for not speaking with reporters? Doesn’t he have the right to not speak if he doesn’t want to? He showed you all season that he doesn’t want to speak to the media, even taking the $50K fine at the end of the season. So now as a reporter, you’re mad that he doesn’t say much to you guys during a media scrum? He even said he’s only there so he doesn’t get fined.

There are so, so many players that you can interview with interesting stories on both teams, just pick one. Knowshon Moreno has a very good story about his life & upbringing. So does Demaryius Thomas whose mother & grandmother were running the streets like Avon Barksdale & Stringer Bell growing up, & are watching Sunday’s Super Bowl from prison. But the biggest story so far this week is about trying to interview a person that doesn’t want to be spoken with. Seems like a complete waste of time to me, & I don’t blame Lynch for it either. With that said, his interview with Deion Sanders on Media Day was one of the greatest third-person/hood talk moments I’ve seen in a long time. I’ll at least thank him for that.

Craziest player background story this week?

Doesn’t Demaryuis Thomas have to win this in a landslide? His Mother AND Grandmother are serving prison sentences for moving cocaine like Tony Montana! His grandmother is serving double life in jail. Double LIFE!!! If he ever says that he wasn’t supposed to be in this position in his life right now, you need to believe it.

Who’s the most underrated players playing on Sunday?

Denver RB Knowshon Moreno. He’s had an unexpected great season (I’m sure all of his fantasy owners can attest to this) as the lead back for the Broncos. The one weak part of Seattle’s defence — IF you want to call any part of their defence weak — is that with the right RB & scheme, you can run the football on them. The Rams, Saints, even the Bucanneers had some success running the ball against them this season. With all the offensive weapons that the Broncos have (which includes Montee Ball sharing the rock in the second half of games lately), it could possibly leave some lanes open for him to get to. I’ll go as far as to say he could be my dark horse for the Super Bowl MVP if the Broncos win.

Seattle WR Percy Harvin. Seattle’s secret weapon. No one on Denver knows what he’s going to do. Neither does Seattle. Neither does Harvin. He only played 39 snaps all season in between getting concussed & rehabbing from hip surgery. Now he’ll be unleashed in the Super Bowl. With that said, in the Divisional playoff game against the Saints, you can see the impact he had on the few plays that he did touch the ball, & the fact that the Saints defence keyed in on him whenever he did get on the field. He is a big-play guy that you have to account for. Most likely, he won’t be on the field for the majority of the snaps, but having him in their offense adds a new wrinkle that could cause problems for the Broncos…..if he doesn’t get decapitated by an injury before the Super Bowl intros are over.

Is everyone okay with Richard Sherman now?

While I won’t rehash the whole Sherman narrative (as it’s been beaten to death in the last two weeks), it is kinda shameful that social media raked him through the coals for loudly saying that he was the best at his position. I disagreed more with him running up to Michael Crabtree, and slapping his butt right after the game-ending INT to say, “Nice game.” That was more of an asshole-ish move than anything he said to Erin Andrews. Also, I don’t like the fact that he didn’t cream his ankles in that Nike commercial. Everything else I’m pretty much okay with. They’re two rival teams that hate each other, you’re not going to get the most complimentary things said out of a player’s mouth about the other team minutes after the game is over. Let’s move on!

Why is there a Super Bowl in the Tri-State Area?

There’s a term for this reason, it’s called “Get money“. Roger Goodell and the rest of the NFL deciding to host one of the world’s biggest sporting event in such a major market. I mean, I get it. It’s a smart move, outside of Hollywood, all of the biggest talk shows & major TV networks have their offices in New York which leads to endless free promotion for the brand to the non-football public. Times Square has been turned into Super Bowl Blvd, and the overall intrigue of having a game in the New York area will have even more people than ever before watching it, specifically those who may not normally watch. However, the Super Bowl should never be played in a cold weather city unless it’s in a dome. You never want winter elements affecting the biggest game of the year. If it happens to be a blizzard, what then? Unlike the CFL, you have warm weather climate cities to avoid this. This game could have been played in Miami, San Diego, Houston, or in domed NFL cities such as Atlanta or Indianapolis. Shit, this game could have even been played in Pasedena, CA where the Rose Bowl resides, or Los Angeles (we’ll get to that one in a bit). With the amount of pressure on the players’ shoulders, trying to stay warm should not be another factor to be added to it. I’m hoping the game isn’t affected by the weather & thus far, the reports are the weather shouldn’t be too cold or windy. Having the Super Bowl in the Tri-State area may have benefitted the NFL in a lot of ways, but it doesn’t benefit the players who actually have to play on the field in the Meadowlands.

Who’s winning the Super Bowl?

As a 49ers fan — & I will try to say this without my stomach bubbling — I have to give respect to the Seahawks. The last two years they have shown themselves as a true force in the NFL, they have great players on both sides of the ball, they have a great coaching staff, & most importantly, I hate the fact that they are in the same division as my 49ers. It bothers me because they pretty much mirror each other in talent & depth, with their youth they’ll be around for a long time. And because of this rivalry, I can’t enjoy watching them play as much as I would like because their success directly impacts us. They had a phenomenal year, they were consistently the best team in the NFC, & they deserve to be at the Super Bowl this year……just so they can see Peyton Manning hoist his second Super Bowl trophy.

I’m not saying this with bias either, I really do feel like it is Manning’s time. After the season he’s had, all the accolades, the records broken, the 5th MVP trophy he’ll collect tonight, the stars are all set up for him to get it done. He hasn’t faced anything like the defence he will see across the line, but he is faced with some of the best weapons around him on offense that you can possibly have. The Broncos defense has been playing a lot better these last few weeks as well, led by Terrence “Pot Roast” Knighton, and I’m not confident that Seattle will be able to keep up with the Broncos is they score more than 20 points. Denver has enough to get the job done in what I hope will be a great game. They have to, for my sanity. Please.

Final Score: Broncos 31, Seattle 23

Sideline Notes

Back to Los Angeles for a minute. Someone in Los Angeles bought 60 acres of land. 60 acres! Should that be a big deal? I think so, and here’s why. The person who bought that plot of land is, Stan Kroenke. He owns multiple teams, like the Denver Nuggets and the Colorado Avalanche for starters.  One of the other teams he owns is the St. Louis Rams. Guess what? The lease they have with Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis expires after next season. Could they be returning home? Hmmm….. The more the NFL revs up its hype-marketing machine so the whole world can know about the Super Bowl & leaking some of the Super Bowl commercials to drive up the anticipation, just know it’s hoping to also drive you away from stories like Dwight Harrison. A great read about his fight for his NFL pension. Sad really…….. Macklemore feels bad apparently that he beat out Kendrick Lamar for best hip hop album. Not bad enough to give it to Kendrick or to even unclaim it and channel his inner Garth Brooks. With that said, I won’t knock Macklemore & Ryan Lewis because I did not listen to all but one song off of their album The Heist, so I can’t judge. But seeing them in every major category including a performance where they were going to perform their song “Same Love” on same sex marriages and relationships (which included marrying 33 couples at the same time during their performance), I knew no one in those hip hop categories stood a chance that night. Not Kendrick, not Drake, not Hov, not anyone. Biggie & Tupac would have lost last Sunday too. History was going to be made that night, not that there’s anything wrong with that…… “Lay back, kick back……mind my bidness, stay in my own lane….. Game time though, I’ll be thurr”…….. Looks like Andrew Wiggins is slowly starting to pick it. It will be interesting to see if he can raise his level of play as it gets closer to the tournament. If so, he may still be the #1 pick overall in June that everyone expected him to grab coming into the season…… I don’t even know what to say about Kevin Durant, other than the fact that he’s the MVP of the NBA. So far. It’s really between him and LeBron who’s trying to become the 1st player in history to win 5 MVPs in 6 years. The problem for LeBron: No one has won three straight MVPs since Larry Bird did it in 1986. Either because of voter fatigue or another playing simply rising to the cream of the crop, it doesn’t happen anymore. With Durant keeping Oklahoma City atop the standings of the Western Conference without Westbrook, it doesn’t look good right now for LeBron to achieve this goal…… “That’s huge……Beast Mode…..loves…….and appreciate that. Yes Lord.”

Cal Cee // South Shore Ave

Follow me on Twitter or email me at southshoreave@gmail.com

Safe and happy times for all at your Super Bowl parties and events tomorrow night. Just remember, if you’re drinking, no driving.

Four Down Journey: #ChampionshipSunday

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Welcome to the Four Down Journey where we pick up the shattered pieces of Cam Newton’s heart, where we wonder what happened to Jimmy Graham’s manhood against Seattle, where we wonder if anyone will stop to hit this Blount, & most importantly, where we quickly break down the AFC and NFC championship games coming Sunday night.

Before we get into the Downs, we have to double back and discuss what exactly happened to New Orleans TE Jimmy Graham. Graham — he of the 16 TDs, the All-Pro accolades, the goal post dunking, & the general beasting of defences everywhere this season — went missing vs. Seattle last Saturday night. About two hours before the game, he had to be separated from Seahawks players for trash talking & messing with his pregame routine. I’m sure every Saints fan saw this & said, “Yup, Graham’s gonna kill ’em! Let’s go right now! F*** Da Seahawks!!!” Most footballs fans watching this clip assumed it was on & we were going to get a great back & forth game……but then the Saints went out & scored zero points in the first half. Graham ended the game with one catch for 8 yards total (which he only got on the last drive).

Beyond the stats though, it was the way he got manhandled throughout that was disappointing. He was getting bumped off of routes, guys were popping him right off the line of scrimmage, & what’s worse, he wasn’t fighting for his space. The only thing he did with any consistency was complain to the refs. It was like watching your friend challenge the bully to an after school fight, only to see him get crammed into his locker afterwards by said bully. Unfortunately this actually happened to a friend of mine in high school. His only response after getting stuffed in his locker was to say he’s gonna work out through the summer & come back with his “football friends” to take him on again. It reminded me of those “When I grow up” milk commercials from back in the day. Yeah, still makes me sad when I think about it. Anyway, let’s get into it….

FIRST DOWN: Old School vs New School

These two conference championship games feature the best four teams in the league this year & more importantly, the four teams that everyone wanted to see. Also as important, these next few weeks could possibly determine going forward what the future of the QB position might look like in the NFL. In the AFC, we have the classic pocket QBs in Patriots Tom Brady & Broncos Peyton Manning whose style has proven over and over again to be successful. Both Brady & Manning have set numerous records, collected every accolade and award imaginable between them, & they have won Super Bowls. In the NFC, 49er QB Colin Kaepernick & Seahawk QB Russell Wilson best represent what was long supposed to be a threat to the standard QB style, but never was. Both of these players though have shown that they can command the pocket, make every throw accurately from there, while still making elite-level plays with their legs. They are everything that we wanted Michael Vick to be. Whoever comes out of this game in Seattle will be representing the future at the Super Bowl.

As Deion Sanders mentioned last Sunday on the NFL Network, this might affect the way NFL GM approach this year’s draft when looking for a QB. In pro sports, championship teams create copycats, and football is no different. If by chance, Kaepernick or Wilson is holding up the Lombardi trophy in a few weeks, GMs may start targeting the Johnny Manziels of these upcoming drafts to develop because they will see that you can win the big game with this style. NFL QBs can barely be touched now, so imagine accurate running QBs & the damage they can really do. Steve Young came the closest as a duel threat QB in terms of winning the big games, & Aaron Rodgers has the legs to move out of the pocket to make plays himself in today’s game, but none of these guys have the wheels Kaepernick & Wilson have. Looking at the youth on both Seattle & San Fran’s rosters, they won’t be going away anytime soon. It will be very intriguing to see if these two QBs — as well as Robert Griffin III and Cam Newton — can change the QB standards for the long haul.

SECOND DOWN: The Greatness of Bellicheck

Bill Bellichek has won 3 Super Bowls and is considered to be one of the greatest coaches in NFL history. When he goes into the Hall of Fame someday, they need to mention this season on his plaque. No one thought this team would be one game away from the Super Bowl halfway through the season. Think about it. Their best WR they had in the last 6 years will be catching passes across the field from them today. One of their two elite TEs (Rob Gronkowski) will be rehabbing from yet another season-ending injury, while the other TE (Aaron Hernandez) is too busy doing P90X workouts in his 8×6 cell. They also lost Vince Wilfork and Jerrod Mayo to season-ending injuries, Danny Amendola missed his usual chunk of games due to injuries (which at this point might be written up in his contract to do so), Shane Vereen missed about 9 games, & then the fumbling issues of their leading rusher Stevan Ridley regressed to the point that it’s rumored that the Pats made him hold a football at all times like Omar Epps had to in The Program. It’s understood that they play in a horrible division where they racked up easy wins, but they only went 4-2 against the AFC East. How the hell did this team go 12-4 with a 1st round bye???

Bellichek made the term, “Next Man Up” ring loudly in New England. They have replaced the weapons they lost by turning Julian Edleman into a 100-catch receiver, plugged in players like WRs Aaron Dobson and rookie Kembrell Thompkins wherever he could, Shane Vereen became their main RB catching passes out of the backfield, he’s tightened up the defense immensely, but one of the biggest weapons he help create is turn LaGarrette Blount loose. Blount, who was almost cut by this team at the beginning of the season has been on fire the last few weeks. In his last two games he’s run for 345 yards & 6 TDs. He looks slimmer than he did in his Tampa bay days, but still carried the same power. He has taken the torch from Ridley at this point of the reason to lead this new Patriot power rushing attack who destroyed the Colts D last week for 234 yards & 6 TDs. Why is it that good teams can turn players who were washed up into diamonds on their roster? Is it the foundation of professionalism? The winning mentality? Being within 6 degrees of separation from Gisele Bundchen? Whatever it is, the fact that Bellichek always finds a way to get the very best out of his players was never more true this season, and if they get past the Broncos on Sunday, it will be the most unlikely Super Bowl appearance since the 2001 season when they beat the St. Louis Rams.

THIRD DOWN: The New Rivalry

Let’s get this out of the way right now. The Niners – Seahawks rivalry has officially bumped out the Ravens – Steelers as the best rivalry in the NFL. Forgot about the players for a second, not even the coaches like each other very much, & this is going back to their USC-Stanford days. When Pete Carroll’s USC teams was tearing up the college ranks, it was Jim Harbaugh who came with his Stanford team & wasn’t afraid to punch USC back in the mouth to help end their dominant run of the Pac-10 Conference. It eventually led to the whole “What’s your deal?” beef in the postgame handshake after Stanford blew out USC in a 2009 game. After that season, Carroll left for Seattle. The year after that Harbaugh joins the 49ers & just like that, they’re both in the same division again. So you can see right from then that it would only be a matter of time until the Seahawks & Niners were going to take on that animosity too.

Ironically enough, both teams are built similarly. Both are built around smash-mouth run games, devastating defenses, young dual-threat QBs, & all overseen by head coaches that their players will die for. Since both of these teams have been in the NFC West together in 2011, San Fran leads the series 4-2. However, the home team has won each game in the last two years. Since last year’s Super Bowl, they been making moves & trades with each other in mind. They both knew they were going to be the best teams in the NFC, so they both began loading up on weapons highlighted by the Percy Harvin & Alquan Boldin moves within days of each other. The way those teams play each other is like chaos. Players get pummeled across the middle, guys getting carried off the field, & these are only the regular season games. With the Super Bowl at stake, they may want to clear our a wing at Tacoma General Hospital just in case. Which reminds me….

FOURTH DOWN: Who is heading to Super Bowl 48 in New York City?

AFC – New England vs. Denver

The way this season has been laid out for Peyton Manning, it has all the markings of a destiny-type run. He has a record breaking season for offense both individually and as a team. The team finished with homefield advantage again & this time will use that advantage in the conference title game. He’ll more than likely wrap up his 5th MVP in two weeks & has been by far the best player in the NFL all season. With his age & the fact that he’s had those four neck surgeries, he’s probably seeing that the end is near. Shit, he even said so himself. He can even get the chance to play the Super Bowl where his brother Eli calls home, & win one in his building like Eli did to him two years ago. The main obstacle outside of Brady & Bellichek of course is his own defence. They’ve been able to hide under the explosive offence this year, but they haven’t been the same to me since they lost Elvis Dumervil during the free agency faxing fiasco. Now they’ve lost their top CB Chris Harris on top of losing Von Miller a few weeks ago, I wonder if that will be too much rope for the Patriots to grab onto. With that said, I think the Broncos will barely survive & hop on that flight to New York in two weeks.

Final Score: Broncos 34, Patriots 32

NFC – San Francisco vs Seattle

Wow, this one is hard to decide. I should be thinking the Niners will have this one in the bag, but even I can’t completely dismiss the ass kickings the Seahawks put down on them during their last two visits to Seattle. As much as it pains me to say it……..I love Seattle’s defense, I honestly do. I’ve long been a fan of their secondary led by Richard Sherman because the size they possess is abnormal from what you would normally see from the average NFL corner or safety. Also, the Niners have had a hard time during the last three years controlling MarShawn Lynch in Seattle. He has been a problem for San Fran, he’s had either a TD or 100 yards rushing in the last 5 games vs. the 49ers according to Jamey Eisenberg from CBSsports.com. Needless to say he’s the weapon that has to be neutralized. Unlike the last two times in Seattle, I think they can and they will. The Niners are the hottest team in football right now, they have all their weapons back on both sides of the ball, & are clicking on all cylinders. It’s the most anticipated game of the year, we all know how much both teams despise each other. In fact, I’m going by my friend Julian’s house (the die-hard Seahawks fan I mention a few weeks ago) to watch tonight’s game, & I’m seriously considering sneaking a tire iron in my winter jacket lining just in case things get a little too rowdy for my liking (you never know what may happen in enemy territory). Everything’s lining up to be the best game of the year, but in the end, I think San Fran’s winning streak continues. Barely.

Final Score: 49ers 30, Seattle 26

Sideline Notes

I see the Cleveland Browns have yet to sign a head coach, with potential candidates having backed out of interviews. Yup, sounds about right. After they let go of a coach after one season in what was supposed to be a rebuilding period, would you trust them??….. After last night, I’m not 100% sure that I can watch Greg Oden play much live games right now. I can’t believe he’s 25 years old because he runs like he’s 55. Looking at him running around last night, I kept cringing every time he jumped in the air, hoping he wouldn’t shatter his bones from the waist down. It’s like I was the parent who watched their 2 year old running around the house with a vase in their hands. Every step they take is potentially devastating. I’m not 100% sure this is going to end well with the Heat, but I seriously hope I’m wrong…… Paul George’s dunk last night was sweet, but still doesn’t hold a candle to Vince Carter’s dunk from back in the day…… speaking of the Pacers, I never thought I’d see the day that I would be saying that Lance Stephenson is an All Star, but here we are. It’s not even because he’s in the East either. He’s been playing extremely well all season, his confidence is through the roof, & his swagger is hovering at the maximum RPMs. If this was the 90s, he would have gotten elbowed in the face by now. It’s true and you know it. BUT he deserves to be and will be in New Orleans during the all star break….. Finally, this may sound weird coming from a Sports Blog, but I’ve always have and will continue to dislike the amount of NBA games they have on Martin Luther King holiday. It should be a time for celebration to honour the one of the greatest men to walk the planet, and in a lot of ways, we do. But when you have ten games starting from the top of the afternoon all the way to the end of the night, it can kind of distract you from paying true homage to Mr. King. It would be nice if they would cut down on the games and have them at night only, but I know the NBA would never do that. I’m not sure where this tradition started, but it should be reduced.

Cal Cee // South Shore Ave

Follow me on Twitter or email me at southshoreave@gmail.com

Four Down Journey: NFL Divisional Playoffs

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Welcome to another edition of the Four Down Journey where we look forward to seeing the Luck-Brady matchup, where Peyton Manning tries to prove that he can win as much rings as his younger brother, where three of the best linebackers in the NFL meet up in Charlotte, and where New Orleans hopes that something like this doesn’t happen to them again in Seattle.

As we get closer to the Super Bowl in New York, you have to wonder just how good the actual Super Bowl will be if there’s a blizzard. If the weather on Feb 2nd is as disasterous as it has been across the East coast the last two weeks, the NFL might regret playing this game outdoors in a place that isn’t 85 degrees and balmy. You also have to ask will the skill & talent be affected by trying to adjust to the elements. How good will a receiver run his route when he’s trucking through a foot of snow? I can’t imagine playing in weather this cold, especially after reading an excerpt from Peter King’s Monday Morning Quarterback post about the effects that former Chargers QB Dan Fouts has gone through since playing in the coldest game in NFL History 32 years ago….

“When it gets cold, Fouts feels pain in both feet and both hands from the middle of the hand to the fingertips—and has since Jan. 10, 1982, the day of the AFC Championship Game in Cincinnati between the Chargers and Bengals that was played in wind-chill that reached minus-59 degrees. The San Diego Union-Tribune wrote about this the other day, and Chris Mortensen reported on it Saturday morning. I spoke to Fouts Friday. “Nothing you can do about it,” he said on the phone. “It’s history. You just had to play in the game, and you had no idea this would come of it. The biggest problem, really, was there were no gloves for quarterbacks in those days. Kenny Anderson and I didn’t have the luxury that day that the guys today have.”

Wow. I guess it’s worth the sacrifice….but is it???? It may look great & I may enjoy it as much as I enjoyed watching the Lions – Eagles game back in Week 15, but having a blizzard for example affecting the Super Bowl is much different than having it affect a regular season game with so much at stake. Anyway, continue to bundle up people (for those that are still freezing through this ridiculous cold snap) & let’s get into it….

FIRST DOWN: New Orleans vs. Seattle

To say that the last two times New Orleans had to play in Seattle did not go so well is an understatement. Three years ago, an 11-5 Saints wild card team had to go up to Seattle to face a 7-9 Seahawk team who had the right to host a playoff game as the winner of the shittiest division in league history at the time. With the 12th man in full swing, they ended up losing the game after Marshawn Lynch beasted through the whole team on his legendary drive that might still have Tracy Porter quivering every time he hears the words “Stiff Arm”. The next time they came to Seattle was in Week 13, when they got smashed 34 -7 & was dominated in all facets of the game, making Drew Brees look like J.P. Losman. Can the third time be the time they finally get over the hump?

This is not as crazy as you may think. New Orleans in the Payton/Brees era has proven that they are a reputable team & organization (as long as you ignore “Bountygate”) & will come to Seattle with a different game plan. Last week vs. Philadelphia, they showed off a running game gaining 186 yards. Mark Ingram, who until last week, was playing like his name was James Ingram had 97 yards rushing! If there’s one area where you can have some success against the Seahawks defence this season, it’s against the run. It will help Brees a lot as he will have a difficult time throwing against Richard Sherman and the best secondary unit in the NFL, so if they can open up some running lanes, it gives them a great chance to beat them. The key to this game will be Russell Wilson vs the Saints Defence. They may have looked like garbage their last time in Seattle, but New Orleans has the 4th rated D in the league, & they held Marshawn Lynch to only 45 yards rushing. The last few weeks, Wilson & their offense hasn’t been playing as good since that Week 13 game, & with 2 weeks of rest, they better hope rust doesn’t set into their game. They will be getting Percy Harvin back which is another weapon but I’m not entirely sure how much of a factor that will have considering he’s basically missed all season recovering with hip surgery.

In the end, as much as I’m tempted to take the Saints who I believe will come out playing much differently than they did the last time these teams played, and as much as I believe that some rust can affect the way you start off a football game at times coming off that 1st round bye……. I believe the NFC Championship game will be played in the Northwest. Whatever jitters and rustiness the Seahawks will have, the 12th man will shake that out by pregame warmups. Contrary to what some people may think, this game will be a lot closer than you think it will be.

Final Score: Seahawks 28, Saints 24

SECOND DOWN: Indianapolis vs. New England

First things first, we have to give a hand to the Colts and how they came back to win that game vs. Kansas City. Last week, I wrote that the game between those two teams will be the most boring out of the four games & I largely ignored the game & went to sleep during the 1st quarter. Of course, I woke up & was not only stunned to see the Chiefs score 38 points by the 3rd quarter (w/no Jamaal Charles), but to see them beating the Colts at the time by 24 points. SMH. To watch Luck bring his team back from that major deficit tells me he’s still the best of the new young QBs that’s out there right now. Now mind you, he shouldn’t have been down by so much to make that comeback their last option in the first place (which included Luck’s 3 INTs). However, one thing’s for sure, he is surely comfortable when he’s playing and the pressure is on.

Since the start of his rookie year last season, the man is 18-2 in games decided by a touchdown or less. EIGHTEEN AND TWO!! I had to triple check that stat when I first saw it. This guys doesn’t stop until the whistle is over, & he’s doing this without Reggie Wayne, and with mostly castoffs & underachievers. He’s helped to turn T.Y Hilton into a rising stud, with Donald Brown as his #1 runner out of the backfield, and with an O-Line that got him sacked 32 times this season. Yet, he’s still keeps coming.

Funny enough, across the field, he’s going up against Tom Brady who’s pretty good himself in that category. He & Bill Bellichek have also proven over the course of the last 12 years that they come as consistently as your monthly hydro bill. Both of them probably smirked when watching that game, then spent the next day completely breaking down the tape until they exposed every weak spot the Colts have. Even though the Pats have lost some major weapons on offense this season, they still put together a 12-4 record, got a 1st round bye & made Shane Vereen and Julian Edleman really relevant on this team. I do think that all their losses since last season will come back to haunt them eventually. You can’t lose stars like Gronk, Wes Welker, “Bishop” Hernandez, Steven Ridley’s ability to hold onto any object that are in his hands, take the hits they have on defense and expect to still win a Super Bowl. That time is coming, no question about it. Whichever team knocks them off though, it just won’t be the Colts.

Final Score: Patriots 38, Colts 23

THIRD DOWN: San Francisco vs. Carolina

**Disclaimer: I am a San Francisco 49er fan & have been since the mid 80s. I will try to be as unbiased as possible. Operative word: Try.**

Last week vs. Green Bay, before and during the game I was feeling a lot like French Montana, & in the end I was right. As much as I respect Aaron Rodgers, that’s how much respect I lacked for Green Bay’s defense overall. So I knew the 49ers would find a way to win the game in the Frozen Tundra that is Lambeau Field. Now this game vs. the Panthers in Charlotte? I’m worried ’bout sumthin/***** I’m worried ’bout sumthin’ . Heading to this game, the biggest worries for San Fran will be the Panthers D led by potential defensive POY LB Luke Kuechly, DE Charles Johnson & Greg Hardy. They may not get as much publicity as the Seahawks or the 49ers in terms of their defense, but they are every bit as good as those units. In Week 10, they came down to San Fran & won 10 – 9, holding Colin Kaepernick to 11 of 22 for 91 yards & an INT, sacked him 6 times & specifically confused him with different looks in the second half of the game. At that point, the Panthers officially became a contender in the NFC. The fear as well going into this game is that they don’t have a problem dealing with a strong mobile quarterback in Kaepernick because they play against one every day in practice in Cam Newton.

Newton deserves every bit of the success he’s getting this season. At the end of September when they were 1-3, all of the talking heads & analysts were calling for Coach Ron Riviera to be fired and Newton to sit the bench. Since then Carolina has gone 11-1 & have arguably been the best team in the NFL. Newton has played with a confidence in the pocket that we’ve never seen from him since he’s gotten to the NFL. He’s backed by a 3-headed RB monster in DeAngelo Williams, Johnathan Stewart, & Mike Tolbert, a security blanket in TE Greg Olsen & WR Steve Smith, and still has something in the tank even if he may not be in his prime anymore. Here’s the thing going into this game that I will say: Playoff experience counts for something, & San Francisco has that in spades.

Since 2011 (including playoffs), only the New England Patriots have been to the Conference Championship and Super Bowl while still making it to the second round this season. They will have all of their weapons back on offense and defense & most importantly, they have been in many big games having proved they can win on the road to get where they need to go. Even in the Week 10 game, Crabtree was still rehabbing his achilles, Vernon Davis was concussed during the game, starting safety Eric Reid wasn’t available to play due to a concussion, it was Aldon Smith’s 1st game back from rehab, & Justin Smith was on a snap count. Now they will all be unleashed on Sunday. You can think this won’t make a difference if you want to, and that’s fine. Just know that the chances that the 49ers move on to Seattle (unless New Orleans wins & give San Fran one more game at Candlestick Park) are pretty high. It will be a close, great game, but I think that 1) Harbaugh & his staff will confuse Newton enough to be inefficient again, and 2) San Fran have more playmakers on offense to move the chains consistently and eventually get out of Charlotte with another playoff W.

Final Score: 49ers 28, Panthers 20

FOURTH DOWN: San Diego vs. Denver

Here’s what Peyton Manning has accomplished this season:

  • Guided his team to a 13 – 3 record & home field advantage throughout the playoffs;
  • Helped his team become the first 600-point team in league history (606 pts; 37.8 ppg);
  • Set NFL records for most TDs (55) & yards (5,477) by a QB in a season. Was also 2nd in passer rating with 115 QB rating (2nd highest of his career). He even ran for one TD this season too;
  • Clinched his 5th MVP of his career (two more than the 2nd most NFL MVP winner Brett Favre) by Week 8; and
  • Clinched his status as the best regular season QB in NFL history.

Here’s what Peyton Manning has going at stake going into these playoffs: With all the accolades he’s accumulated, if he does not win his 2nd Super Bowl or at least take his team to the Super Bowl in 3 weeks, we may have to start questioning where he’d be ranked alongside the all-time greats. In no way shape or form can he have 5 MVP awards, & only one ring to show for it after it’s all said & done. He doesn’t have to match Joe Montana, Terry Bradshaw, or even Tom Brady, but he has to have more than one. Has to. If his career was a painting at this moment, it would resemble the Mona Lisa….BUT it would have a faint red hand print across her chest. Still a beautiful portrait but you’re gonna notice the hand print, right? At some point, you’re going to have to ask about that, as great as he is & for everything he’s done for the game.

If he suffers another loss this weekend, his playoff record will go to 9-12 & NINE of those losses will be of the One-and-Done variety (either after a wild card game or after a playoff bye). That’s kinda hard not to look at. I’ll tell you something else, it’s quite possible this weekend that it can happen again. Their division rival San Diego, has played them well this season, with DC John Pagano historically giving Manning fits & Charger Head Coach (via Broncos OC last season) Mike McCoy having a good handle on how to go against him as well. Now last week, I thought the Chargers had no shot of winning whatsoever (Thank you Andy Dalton), but if they can keep Manning & the Broncos D off the field with how Philip Rivers has been playing & how inconsistent the Broncos D has been this year, then they’ll have a shot. Especially if they get an early lead & take the crowd out of the game, then that pressure builds. I’ll be surprised if the Broncos puts up big points vs San Diego, but I do think Manning makes it until next week to face his old Rival (Brady) one more time.

Final Score: Broncos 27, San Diego 17

Cal Cee // South Shore Ave

Follow me on Twitter or email me at southshoreave@gmail.com

South Shore Ave’s Four Down Journey: Wild Card Weekend

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Welcome to the Wild Card Weekend of the Four Down Journey where 75% of the playoff games will be freezing cold; where Marvin Lewis hopes to get his first playoff win; where it will be cold wherever you’re watching the games; where Chip Kelly looks to get his first playoff win in his rookie season; & where the Seattle Seahawks spend their bye week loading up on “supplements” while waiting for their next opponent. Was that a shot as a lifelong 49er fan to my friend & diehard Seahawk fan Julian who I hope is reading this sentence right now? In the words of Bernie Mac, “You M****f*****’ right.” (Warning: This hyperlink has explicit language) This comment can backfire on me as soon as Sunday night I know, but I’m willing to risk it. On this edition of the Four Down Journey, we take a quick look at this week’s Wildcard games. Bundle up & let’s get it going…..

FIRST DOWN: Kansas City vs. Indianapolis

The first game to start off the playoff season, as well as the game most likely to be ignored out of the four or watched by most on the highlight reels. These are two teams who weren’t expecting to be here this season. Kansas City wasn’t expecting to be in the playoffs after the last two seasons of futility. They were expected to be a better team, but not to hit the 11-win mark. Indianapolis on the other hand was expected to be a playoff contender, but were not expected to be the champions of the AFC South. Especially not after losing Reggie Wayne for the season, & trading their 1st round pick for Trent Richardson only to watch him make his fellow teammate RB Donald Brown look like Jim Brown in comparison. However, thanks to Houston who decided it would be more fun to go on a 14-game losing streak than to compete for a Super Bowl, here we are.

Two X-factors here: How Indy’s O-Line does against a healthy Chief’s D; and can Alex Smith prove once and for all that he has another gear. The last time Indy played the Chiefs on Week 16, the Chief’s front seven was banged up (OLB Justin Houston missed this game), & barely presented a pass rush to Andrew Luck on the way to a 23 -7 defeat. But with that defence at full strength now, it presents an tough scenario for the Colts who’s had issues throughout the year protecting Luck. As a 49ers fan, I’ll always think about the good times whenever Smith’s name comes up. After seven years of going through coach after coach, he found the right coach in Jim Harbaugh to help him to play the best football of his career leading San Francisco back to glory. Sure, Harbaugh flirted with Manning as soon as the 2011 season ended, & then dumped him for Kaepernick last season when he sat out w/concussion-like symptoms, but I’m willing to look past that if he is.

The one problem with a Smith led offense is if he’s able to lead a comeback from a sizable deficit when his team is down, or will he be able to go blow for blow if the game becomes a shootout. He proved he could once versus New Orleans in the 2011 playoffs when he went toe-to-toe with Drew Brees & came out on top, but it’s not consistent enough which is why he was eventually traded to Kansas City. If he can do so versus the Colts, then they have a very real shot of moving to the next round to face Denver. Do I think this will happen? Not this year. I say that Luck does just enough to keep the Chief’s D at bay & the Colts defense which has been playing well in recent weeks will do just enough to stop Jamaal Charles from having a huge night & will move on to the epic Luck-Manning Bowl II that everyone will be waiting for.

Final Score: Colts 21, Chiefs 16

SECOND DOWN: San Diego vs. Cincinatti

As much as I would like to say that I have absolutely no faith whatsoever in San Diego coming into the frozen Midwest & snatching this game out of the hands of the Cincinatti Bengals, well…. let’s face it, they don’t have a shot here. Can this point of view be skewed to the fact that every time I took Philip Rivers in my fantasy football draft, he turned around & burned me right down to the bone? Or has his poor performances in the past few years directly affected my chances of winning even when he wasn’t my fantasy QB? I won’t lie….yes. More than that, they have a skill of knowing when to screw things up when you least expect it. So much so, that last Sunday afternoon when it was confirmed that they would get into the playoffs with a win over Kansas city & their second-string lineup, I told my friends in our WhatsApp chat group that the Chargers would find a way to screw it up somehow…….& didn’t bat an eye when the Chiefs still took them to overtime before San Diego won by a field goal. This is what they do. My views shouldn’t be so slanted here at the same time because Rivers in the past has proven to be a pretty solid QB in the playoffs. However, considering that he will be going up against a Cincy D that has been downright destructive this season even while losing their two top defensive players in Geno Atkins (Torn ACL) & Leon Hall (Ruptured Achilles), & playing in their elements, this game could get ugly really fast. I can see Rivers throwing at least 2 INTS & the Bengals D scoring at least one TD.

The X-Factors to this game is Chargers RBs Ryan Matthews & Danny Woodhead, as well as Bengals QB Andy Dalton. Matthews in particular had a surprising bounce back season (1,255 yards, 4.4 ypc, 6 TDs Rush, 1 Receiving), coming back from multiple injuries & inconsistent play in the past few years. I don’t see him having a huge game against a defence that was one of the best in the league versus the run. If he can somehow, that will help Rivers immensely in opening up the rest of his offense to get the ball to his old reliable Tight End Antonio Gates & his new prized rookie WR Keenan Allen. With Dalton, he has had some HUGE games this season. If the Dalton who had games throwing for 400 yards &/or 4 TDs at a time shows up (which is possible as absolutely no one scares you on the Chargers Defence), the Chargers have no chance. Whether or not that happens, I expect AJ Green to have a humongous game & have us talking about if he’s the second best WR in the game behind Calvin Johnson by Saturday night.

Final Score: Bengals 41, Chargers 17

THIRD DOWN: New Orleans vs Philadelphia

This is the high-scoring game most people will be waiting for on Saturday without question, but here is the big question:

Can New Orleans play better on the road?

Haven’t proven it all season so far. Now, mind you, they are a better team on the road than their record indicates. They were two last minute plays versus New England in Week 6 & against Carolina in Week 16 from being 5-3 on the road, getting a 13-3 record & clinching a 1st round bye along with Seattle. However, they are a completely different team on the road than they are at home (8-0), which is alarming for what was supposed to be a Super Bowl contender. History shows that normally dome teams play better inside than they do in the elements, but it was disarming how shaky at times they looked this year on the road. Best examples in the last few weeks:

  • Week 13: 34 – 7 L vs Seattle. Thoroughly dominated in a game where Brees threw for 147 yards. Not a typo.
  • Week 15: 27 – 13 L vs. the under .500 Rams, a team that New Orleans should have taken care of, especially since the Rams play IN A DOME!
  • Week 16: 17-13 L vs Carolina. Granted, they weren’t dominated, but their performance was nothing like the 31-13 victory they had at home vs. the Panthers two weeks prior.

Even when they beat the Falcons 17 – 13 & the Buccaneers 16 – 14 earlier this season on the road, it was far from a dominant performance. Now they head outside again to face a hot Philly Team who’s offense is clicking on all cylinders. Nick Foles actually took one of the remaining QB stats this year that Peyton Manning didn’t own, beating Manning in the Passer Rating category 118 – 113, while throwing 27 TDs & only 2 INTs. LeSean McCoy lead the NFL in rushing (1,606) & at times looks like a video game on the field. The defense has played better than they did at the beginning of the year & are heading into the playoffs on a roll.  Desean Jackson is probably even more dangerous in bad weather, & I’m not even sure what to say about Riley Cooper this season. Dude went from N-word bombing with the risk of being cut, to playing like a star WR. I’m sure there’s a joke in there somewhere with Cooper, his performance playing for Michael Vick compared to his performance playing for Nick Foles, but I won’t explore it. I won’t do it.

The key questions to this game: Can NO stop the run? Can Foles continue his streak of not turning the ball over? WIll NO’s new kicker be able to handle the pressure when called upon? Will Philly’s secondary be able to hang with Jimmy Graham & the rest of the Saints receiving core? While I don’t want to say Philly is a team built for winter, they have by far the best run game in the NFL & the most dynamic one in MCoy to get the job done. While Brees is a Top Tier QB & wouldn’t be surprised if he has an incredible game, I’m just not 100% confident that they’ll be able to stop McCoy from gashing them from big plays & controlling the clock. Eagles take this game at home.

Final Score: Eagles 34, Saints 28

FOURTH DOWN: San Francisco vs. Green Bay

In my opinion, this is THE game of the weekend. Green Bay is now considered to be a threat with Aaron Rodgers back behind center & WR Randall Cobb healthy after fracturing his tibia in October. Before I get into this preview, it needs to be said that last week’s game between the Packers & the Bears might have been the game of the year. Considering what was at stake, the back & forth shots between them; the star players stepping up on both teams making great plays; the clutchness of Rodgers. How incredible was that play by Rodgers on 4th & 8, the season on the line, barely missed getting creamed by Julius Peppers for a season ending sack, spinning off that & throwing the game winning TD on the money to Cobb??? Not only that, but that was the THIRD 4th down of that final drive. An amazing performance by a top-tier QB.

However, I think their stakes changes for them playing the Niners Sunday afternoon. Let’s remove the “Warm weather teams cannot play in cold/bad weather” reasoning out of the way right now, because the Niners have proven during the Harbaugh Era that their game travels, no matter the climate. Also, San Fran has won the last 3 meetings vs. the Packers handily (including a 45-31 beating during last year’s playoffs), so Green Bay will have its hands full. The key to Green Bay winning this weekend is Eddie Lacy. A big running back, he has given Green Bay it’s best running attack since Ryan Grant was their lead back 4-5 years ago. Lacy’s 1st pro game this season was against San Fran in Week 1. He collected 41 yards & a TD which isn’t bad for fantasy football, but that won’t get it done on Sunday. He is nursing a sore ankle but should be ready to go this weekend. Considering that the 49ers have had a top 5 run D the last 3 years running, Green Bay will have a lot of work to do.

On defense, unless Packers DC Capers has something up his sleeve, they don’t have an answer for Kaepernick & haven’t proven to have one since he’s been the starting QB. Without Clay Matthews on the other side of the ball after undergoing surgery, it will make things much worse for them. With all the healthy weapons Kaep has at his disposal going into the playoffs, I just don’t see how Green Bay pulls this off, no matter how great I think Rodgers is.

Final Score: Niners 31, Packers 23

Sideline Notes

Jerry Jones really can’t be serious with his desire/wish that the NFL needs to add 4 more playoff teams is he? Seriously speaking, Jones is great for football & has done incredible things to keep the Dallas Cowboys as the largest brand in football, but he might need to stop talking for a while. This is the definition of loser talk if you haven’t heard loser talk before, & yes it looks like he’s on board with this because his teams can’t make the playoffs under the current setup. Also, he needs to step out of his own way and find a real GM that can put his team together properly. I know his ego won’t let him do so, especially since he’s been trying to prove he can put together a Super Bowl winning team that doesn’t have Jimmy Johnson’s hands all over it (since 1997), but his way of running the team doesn’t work. Now he’s bringing back Jason Garrett again for another season & standing behind his 33 year old QB Tony Romo fresh off his second back surgery? Good luck….. Michael Rosenberg from CNNSI.com has a good read on the dysfunction of the Minnesota Vikings & the owners Mark & Zygi Wilf, especially on the sketchy details of the lawsuit that the Wilf family lost recently…… What’s with all the injuries with NBA point guards recently? Derrick Rose is done for the year with a torn meniscus in his right knee (I still feel so sorry for him), Russell Westbrook won’t be back after having his 3rd knee surgery in 8 months after never having any kind of prior injury history (he must HATE the living daylights out of Patrick Beverly right now, I don’t care what he says publicly), Deron Williams having problems all season with his ankles, we’re still waiting on the return of Rajon Rondo & hoping he doesn’t have any setbacks, & now Chris Paul separates his shoulder & is done for the next 3-5 weeks. The all star game this year might look really odd in the back court for both the Eastern & Western conference in February if they all don’t come back in time. It’s starting to get a little depressing injury-wise in the NBA this season, & I haven’t even touched the other positions that have players nursing serious injuries or have been shut down for the season altogether…… I’ve seen a lot of things in my lifetime, but thanks to one of my friends this morning, I can’t say that I’ve ever seen a flying midget stripper before. (Warning: Explicit nudity) I can now cross that one off my bucket list…… I don’t mean to keep harping on the New York Knicks. Seriously, I really don’t, & I have no vendettas against them either. But after the whole Bargnani thing, how does another player (who looked at Bargs like the biggest moron in the world after his shot) come & do the exact same thing not even 3 weeks later? JR Smith channeled his inner Andrea & jacked a three after Tyson Chandler (again!!!) grabbed an important offensive rebound to get the last possession at the end of a game. Of course, Houston grabs the rebound & almost predictably, Beno Udrich fouls/tackles the Houston rebounder. Take a wild guess who ended up winning the game? I’m actually starting to feel sorry for Tyson & wondering when in the season will he finally snap & punch one of his teammates in the face. I know he’s a good guy & he won’t do such a thing, but if he channeled his inner Charles Oakley or inner Anthony Mason, you couldn’t blame him. Also, if Bargs & Smith did this on those mid-nineties Knicks teams, let’s just say it wouldn’t have gone over smoothly in the locker room. Look how they use to treat knucklheadededness ON the floor (fast forward to 1:30 mark)……. Wildcard Rider of the Week goes out to this Alabama Football mother who decided to take matters into her own hands against a Oklahoma Sooner fan in the stands of last night’s Sugar Bowl. Listen, anytime a cougar has their eyes on a prey or a target, look out. This goes for private & public gatherings, during & after work hours, at a bar or a stadium. If YOU happen to be their target or prey & they’ve had some drinks in them, I’ll tell you like I do anyone around me who sneezes, “God Bless you.”

Cal Cee // South Shore Ave

Follow me on Twitter or email me at southshoreave@gmail.com

Happy New Year everyone & welcome to 2014! Hope you go after your dreams & achieve them this year. #Achieveyourdreams #Noresolutionsneeded

South Shore Ave’s Four Down Journey

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Welcome to the Week 6 version of the Four Down Journey, where we still don’t know if Gronk is available, where we know for sure Julio Jones & the Falcons are done, where Eli Manning & I are tied for NFL victories this season, where Andrew Luck plays in his 1st Monday night game, & whether or not this is the week my 49ers take back the division (or at least tie it with the Seagulls Seahawks). Lets start things off by getting into the hottest team in the league right now, the Jacksonville Jaguars!

First Down: Jacksonville. Smh

Has anyone been keeping watch on Maurice Jones-Drew? Seriously, because he can’t be of sound mind right now. I’m stunned that he hasn’t maimed or shanked anyone of his teammates yet. Before I bring up the debacle/train wreck that is this season (0-5 as of this post), let’s take a quick look at MJD since 2007, when the best QB’s he’s ever played with was when Byron Leftwich and David Gerrard were on the team.

2007: 11-5, lost in divisional playoff to New England 31-20

2008: 5-11, missed the playoffs

2009: 7-9, missed the playoffs

2010: 8-8, missed the playoffs

2011: 5-11, missed the playoffs

2012: 2-14, do I have to say it again?

Not exactly positive is it?  He’s one of the best RB’s in the league (even winning the rushing title in 2011) playing with one of the worst teams on offense the league may ever see.  They just traded their best O-Linemen, Eugene Munroe for basically nothing, then lost their top draft pick OL Luke Joeckel for the season.  Then they have two QB’s in Blaine Gabbert and Chad Henne, neither of who strike fear into a BCS team, much less an NFL one.  Fans don’t come to the games & the Jaguars’ management started trying “Semi-Pro” tactics to get fans to come and fill the seats; and they have played so reprehensibly that their own local TV station issued out an apology to its viewers for showing the game on TV.  In my previous post, I thought there was no question in my mind that the Raiders would be the worst team the NFL would have, but I owe them an apology.  This Jaguar team may not even win a game this season. Look at the remaining schedule:

Oct 13 vs Broncos (we’ll get to this one later)

Oct 20 vs Chargers

Oct 27 vs 49ers

Nov 3 Bye week

Nov 17 vs Cardinals

Nov 24 vs Texans

Dec 1 vs Browns

Dec 5 vs Texans

Dec 15 vs Bills

Dec 22 vs Titans

Dece 29 vs Colts

Outside of possibly the Chargers who always seem to choke and blow winnable games at the right time, I honestly don’t see a game these guys can win.  I can’t see the addition of Justin Blackman, fresh off his 4-game suspension adding a win to this roster, except for his Fantasy Owners (#garbagetimepoints).  The only way they’ll become more successful on offensive is through their QB play, which wasn’t happening for these three reasons:

  • The O-line which wasn’t good to begin with, just got worse through trade and injury.
  • The Starting QB, Gabbert, is horrendous.  His stats this season, 42-86 for 481 yards, 1TD/7INT’s, Win-Loss ratio for his career (including this season)? 5-22. 5 AND 22. You’re telling me they couldn’t put in a bid to sign Josh Freeman???
  • Their QB’s name is Blaine Gabbert.  Does that name sound like a name that would win games for you?  Can you see a fanbase take in a game with their team down by a touchdown saying, “Don’t worry, Gabbert will lead us!”  Or “Aight man, Blaine’s got this one in the bag”? Don’t wanna come off as an asshole or anything, but let’s face it, his name sounds closer to someone who should be managing an Auto Parts warehouse or selling sorcery and wizard sticks at the Annual Comic Con convention, not winning playoff games and Super Bowls.  No disrespect to the good people who do manage an Auto Parts warehouse and sell sorcery and wizard sticks at Comic Con Events.  Okay, maybe a little disrespect to the sorcery guy.

Now if you were Jones Drew, would you sign back with this team, even with the threat that they may possibly move to his hometown of Los Angeles?  I wouldn’t sign with Jacksonville, and I wouldn’t even want to know someone with the name “Jackson”, and/or “Ville” in it, and if I already do, I’d cut them off immediately.

Second Down: What About Schaub???

Man, has things flipped quickly for Matt Schaub. Just 10 months ago, he was leading a Super Bowl contender with an 11-2 record. Since then, he has gone 4-7. The last two games, he has clearly hit rock bottom. Week 4 vs. the Seahawks, he threw one of the worst INTs that we’ve seen in a long time, throwing a fadeaway fade route in triple coverage to Garrett Graham & with Richard Sherman waiting. By the time Sherman crossed the goal line (with one shoe on no less) Schaub had thrown his third Pick-6 in as many games, ending in a 23-20 loss. Then this past Sunday vs. the Niners, he follows it up by throwing another Pick-6 on his first pass on the game, setting an NFL record for most games in a row with an INT/TD. This team is built to win now & it can ill afford to take these losses that they’re taking if they’re trying to get to New York in February. Judging by the look on Schaub’s face, as well as the rest of the team since halfway through the 4th quarter of that Seahawks game (especially J.J. Watt) this team looks dejected. Schaub has a lot of work to do, & quickly if he wants to restore his teammates confidence in him.

Meanwhile, the team that they didn’t think would be competing with them, the Indianapolis Colts, are now 4-1 & are starting to run away with the division. The Coach-QB combo is rock solid for now & the future with Chuck Pagano and Andrew Luck, they got solid WR core led by Reggie Wayne & T.Y. Hilton, a good if not great running game led by Trent Richardson (although he may be slightly overrated but still), & a shockingly strong defense. Outside of Denver, I can easily see this team getting out of the conference, they are legit. Shit, they beat the 49ers & Seahawks in back-to-back weeks. If Houston comes back in this division and in the playoff hunt, they will have to go back to basics and lean heavily on Arian Foster & their defense, and make Schaub shift to full-time game manager mode. He’s gonna have to be coached up again, cuz at this stage, they’ve invested too much time & years into him. If they turn to T.J. Yates, they will lose Schaub I think mentally & psychologically for good. Gonna be an interesting few weeks in Houston.

Third Down: QB’s get paid

As discussed previously, with the situations regarding Greg Schiano, Josh Freeman, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, as well as Matt Flynn, both of these troubled QB’s have one thing in common: they continue to get that money! After the news leaked about Freeman being in Stage One of the NFL Drug Program (Freeman had to clarify that HE voluntarily entered the program due to the medication he takes for Attention Deficit Disorder) not only did we know that this marriage was going to end horribly, but Tampa Bay for some foolish reason, tried to severely undercut his value. This is on top of not allowing Freeman to be on the sidelines during their 13-10 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, barring him from the team facilities & then alluding to his teammates that he decided not to show for practice the following week. (I’ll say it again, this is something a coach or organization does when you’re coaching college kids & not grown men. I’m starting to really believe Schiano won’t make it past Week 8, if they’re still winless by then.) How does that story end for Freeman & the Bucs? Instead of trying to get a late round draft pick or a player for him, they end up waiving Freeman, still having to pay him his $5.9M to sit on the waiver wire for four days before the Minnesota Vikings pick him up and signed him for $3M for 12 games of work. If you’re counting, he has translated that fiasco into $8.9M, and as hard as it is to believe, he might be in a better situation than the one he’s left. Meanwhile, the Raiders cut Matt Flynn after his disastrous performances vs. Washington’s football team during Week 4, when Terrell Pryor was out with a concussion. This was followed up by being demoted to the 3rd string QB spot last week vs. San Diego. So for leaving Green Bay two years ago, he started all of one game, was pushed to the side by two younger QB’s, & walked away $14M richer. I mean….wow. There is no one this year in football that has gotten paid more for doing less this season like these two dudes. Congratulations.

Fourth Down: Awards List

After Week 5, this is how my awards list is looking so far:

MVP: Peyton Manning

Offensive Player of the Year: Peyton Manning 

Defensive Player of the Year: Joe Haden 

Offensive Rookie of the Year: Giovanni Bernard 

Defensive Rookie of the Year: Kiko Alonso 

Coach of the Year: Peyton Manning Andy Ried 

Most Surprising Team: Cleveland Browns 

Most Disappointing Team: New York Giants

Game of the Week

Jacksonville Jaguars (0-5) vs. Denver Broncos (5-0)

Are there better games on schedule this week? Of course! But when do you normally get a chance to watch history? Look at this fact: The Jags have scored 4 TD’s all season. The Broncos have not scored less than 4 TD’s in each game. This may end up like one of those NCAA games where you Alabama plays Maine in Week One of the season and beats them like 55-3, & they end the game 5 minutes early. When will you see a predetermined blowout like this again in the NFL? Also, to all fantasy owners, start all your Broncos for this one! Including John Fox & John Elway.

Sideline Notes

There are three things in life that you can depend on: Death, taxes, and the Atlanta Braves losing in the 1st round of the playoffs. Outside of the success they have had since 1991, they only have one World Series ring to show for it. Aren’t they a little overrated at this stage now? For Braves fans, this is like having sex for 22 years straight & only having one orgasm….. Andrew Wiggins hasn’t played a minute yet in an NCAA game and he’s already on the cover of Sports Illustrated being passed the KU torch from the legacies of Wilt Chamberlain and Danny Manning. Man, I really hope this kid pans out….. I know it’s almost been a week, but Derrick Rose looks real good out there on the floor, even with the rust. In watching that pre-season game vs. Indiana, I really forgot how fast he is. On two consecutive fast breaks, he took the outlet pass & just outran everyone else down the floor for back-to-back layups. I don’t care how stacked Indiana is, Chicago will be the 2nd best team in the East for this simple fact: As good as Paul George is & his new $90M deal that pays him like a superstar, Derrick Rose IS a real superstar. Even in that preseason game, no one can match his skillset, mentality, & killer instinct on Indiana. You’ll see….. Hol’ up, hold my phone! Maw*****s never loved us (Dun know)! Remember???….. Sorry, where was I….. Ok MJ, we know you’re the best ever. Can you stop talking now & just settle on being an average owner please & thank you…. Kanye may think he’s a genius, and people may think he’s crazy, but no one should ever question his passion and drive for life, and that is what makes him great at his craft….. To all my Canadian peoples, have a safe & Happy Thanksgiving. Until the next post…..

Cal Cee // South Shore Ave

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South Shore Ave’s Four Down Journey

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Week 4 is upon us ya’ll, so here’s my quick rundown leading up to Week 4… you know, just before you sit down on the couch for the next 11 hours watching every game under the sun & managing your multiple fantasy teams with your smartphones & laptops attached to you like a kidney…..

FIRST DOWN: Is Kansas City for real?

They could be actually. With Andy Reid & Alex Smith manning the two most important positions, it was a significant upgrade for a team that had to go through the Scott Pioli regime. He in turn had the excellent hires of Todd Haley (who by the end of his term, had players turning on him left and right); and Romeo Cronnel (who in one game last year, forgot to get touches to his best player Jamaal Charles & couldn’t explain why). There was also their run of QBs: Matt Cassel, Tyler Thigpen, Some backup QB with the last name Zlasko, Brady Quinn, etc. I mean, take a look at the lineup again. Can you imagine being a fan of this team? It’s no surprise they only won 2 games, but even with that they still sent 5 defensive players to the Pro Bowl. Which leads me to this: it’s on this side of the ball where they have made their greatest impact during their 3-0 start, not on offense. They’ve been averaging just over 11 points per game for the season. They kept Dallas in Week 2 to only 1 TD & made the fastest, most explosive offense in the league last week to turn over the ball to them 5 times. Thus far, they are a top 5 defense, & judging by their schedule, it may stay that way. Outside  of playing Denver twice, they have one of the easiest schedules in the league. I thought going into the season, they would win 8 games, but now, I can see that number going as high as 11. We all know Smith has a ceiling as a game manager, but he’s probably the best game manager in the league. This team has NO turnovers since the season started. He may not throw deep passes and get explosive plays (I feel sorry for you Dwayne Bowe) but he moves the chains & protects the football. Since 2011, he has gone 22-5-1 in games he has started. Between Smith & Reid, they provided stability that hasn’t been seen in Kansas City since Priest Holmes was running wild out of the backfield. For the past 10 years, watching the Chiefs has been like watching a girl who’s been dating nothing but thugs, drug dealers, drug users, & chronic fornicators who cheat on her relentlessly. Now she found a man with a good job, a good home, has a good head on his shoulders, has no outside kids as far as she knows, and who wants to have a family with her one day down the line. She finally has something stable, and right now, that’s all she needs. She doesn’t need to focus on getting married, but just enjoying the first positive relationship she’s had in years. Chiefs fans don’t need to worry about anything else other than the playoffs, which is where they seemed headed this season. We’ll talk about making the Super Bowl (marriage) later.

SECOND DOWN: Is New Orleans the best team in the NFC?

New Orleans you say? But what about Seattle??? Well for starters, I’m still slightly annoyed about  Week 2 drubbing the Seahawks dealt my 49ers in Seattle (just remember Seahawk fans, you come to our house Dec 8th), but I really believe now that the Saints will finish with the best record in the conference. Their defense has been more than getting it done. They have allowed 38 points in 3 games & is fourth overall in total defense. Defensive Coordinator Rob Ryan’s 4-3 defense is getting everything out of its young defensive roster, particularly Cameron Jordan. According to Peter King on his MMQB website, Jordan has 17 QB disruptions (sacks, knockdowns & pressures) which is 3 more that J.J. Watt. It’s a small sample size, but it speaks to the 180-degree changes of mentality  it’s made on this side of the ball. It doesn’t need to be on Seattle’s defensive level, but if it can stay in the top 10 and still keep its explosive nature on offense (the Saints haven’t kicked it into 3rd gear yet & Jimmy Graham has already had a monster start to the year), they will be extremely hard to beat. The remaining playoff contenders on the schedule (Chicago, New England, San Fran, & Seattle) are slightly easier than what Seattle will go through (Houston & Indy the next 2 weeks, solid Tennessee team, then 5 more games vs. their division including the aforementioned San Fran game) so it sets them up to get home field advantage. However, they’re flying under the radar in comparison to Seattle & San Fran, & I’d never thought I’d see that happen to a team with Drew Brees on it.

THIRD DOWN: Upside Down & Round & Round…….

Kansas City is undefeated. So is Miami who’s tied with New England for the division lead. The Jets trail them by one game. Chicago has a 2-game lead on Green Bay, & until Thursday night, so did Seattle on the rest of the NFC West.. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh, Minnesota, Washington, & Giants are a combined 0-12. Pittsburgh and Minnesota play in London on Sunday so someone has to come back across the Atlantic a winner I guess. The teams I’m looking at that I’m not sure can bounce back from their start are both Washington & the New York Giants.  Robert Griffin III brought much hype to his team and had everyone thinking he will have another Adrian Peterson-type production coming off of knee surgery, but not only has that not happened, but the defense are giving up points & yards like it’s an album leak. They are 30th or worse in almost every major defensive category, they can’t stop the run (turning Joique Bell into a fantasy stud last week) or the pass, but the positive is that their offense sucks too. They can’t seem to get any momentum until the second half of games. The Read option is useless unless Griffin gets full confidence back in his legs, which I don’t think will happen until closer to midway point of the season. The good thing though, is that Mike Shanahan did the right thing this time and protected Griffin for the future. They mortgaged their first round picks for him, so they will continue to build around their talents. However, the same cannot be said about the Giants. With all the mistakes that the defense has made & the disastrous play of their O-Line (providing Carolina with 6 sacks in the first 17 mins of the game & only had 25 combined yards at halftime), here’s when I knew this may be a lost season. In preparing for the Panthers last week, Tom Coughlin’s brother passed away. Normally when an important person on the team loses someone close to them, the team usually rallies behind that person & will play hard for their grieving teammate or coach. In fact, I would have bet anything that they would have beat up the Panthers. So for them to get blown out the way they did tells me this team isn’t as tight-knit as years past for whatever reason. Now they head to Kansas City. If they get blown out again this week, Couglin’s job this time may be on shaky ground for fear that he may be getting tuned out.

FOURTH DOWN: Greg Schiano vs. Josh Freeman

Well, looks like Schiano won this round. By benching Freeman & starting the rookie Mike Glennon, it looks like the Freeman era is over before it got rolling. By all accounts, it looks like Freeman has lost the locker room by his lack of work ethics, being late to meetings, etc., which is a no-no if you’re supposed to be a QB and leader of an NFL team. So I’m in no way excusing Freeman for his transgressions, but Schiano shouldn’t get a pass either for how he’s handled this situation.  The reports of him fixing the captaincy process (which he’s denied), to throwing Freeman under the bus to the media for being late to the team photo shoot, to bum-rushing the V-formations last season that pissed off many teams alike.  He resembles a coach who should still be coaching in the NCAAs, not the men in this league. I can’t see him lasting longer than next season presuming he’s not canned before this one. Maybe it’s just me, but I can’t see that locker room supporting his style & ways while they continue to collect Ls.

PERSON TO WATCH: Leslie Frazier; Coach, Minnesota Vikings

There’s a few coaches on the hot seat for sure early this season, but don’t underestimate Frazier’s ground on the team. A defensive coach whose team can’t defend (they gave up 33 points to the Cleveland Browns for goodness sakes!), their QB Christian Ponder is inconsistent at best (kiss those endorsement deals goodbye Greg Jennings!), and teams are loading up on Adrian Peterson.  They made the playoffs just sneaking in on the back of Peterson, but I believe if not for his exploits, that team would have won 7 games at best and he’s be out of a job now. If they come back from London 0-4 which is a strong possibility, I wouldn’t be totally shocked if he’s at home on the couch watching Family Feud, and The Young & the Restless past the bye week. Even if that doesn’t happen, he’s not making it to next season if they win 5 games or less. (Note: Now it looks like Matt Cassell will start vs Pittsburgh. Yup, the smell of desperation has come. Get the pink slips ready.)

Sideline Notes

OK, can we put the “San Francisco is in trouble and their season is over” viewpoint to rest now??? They’ll be fine….. you wanna know what’s the most underrated factor of this whole Ravens party with Jacoby Jones getting his head busted open by a hostess/stripper Sweet Pea? The involvement of Bryan McKinnie. Seems like every time he’s involved with a big gathering after midnight, the police are eventually involved. If you remember the last time anything like this happened with his named attached, the words “party”, “boat”, “Lake Minnetoka”, “Cunnilingus”, & “Boat captain mortified beyond belief” were involved….. Also, if this situation doesn’t drum even more business and street credibility for Sweet Pea and the good wholesome people of the King of Diamonds establishment, I don’t know what will. Her request should go up anywhere between 50% to 175% I would think….. Why hasn’t Jacksonville traded for Josh Freeman yet? Like what they have behind center is any better??? Give up two 5th round picks & get this over with already….. Am I the only one who likes the Calvin & Johnson commercials?….. Looks like Drake put himself in the mega-superstar level now with his new album “Nothing Was The Same”. Where Kanye & Jay-Z missed out on in terms of capitalizing on the Best Album of the year title, it looks like Drake will clean up. Not 100% sure what his numbers will be once Soundscan calculates it up on Tuesday, but I’m expecting at least north of 600K sold for 1st week sales. He’s the best and the biggest artist that the Cash Money/Young Money team has on their roster. Lil’ Wayne included….. finally, Tim Lieweke has already started showing you the impact that he will have in Toronto as he has secured the NBA All Star Weekend. I think it’s waaaaay overdue, but in 2016, this city will be the Winterized version of Caribana weekend on HGH & the Clear. In the illustrious words of my friend Headley: “To all American groupies, get your passports ready”.

 

Cal Cee // South Shore Ave

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South Shore Ave’s NFL Week 1 Questions

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The NFL season as usual, began with a bang in Week 1. Peyton Manning throws for 7 TDs, Reggie Bush puts on his best Marshall Faulk impersonation, the Eagles play their first game of the season like their fast forward button was stuck, Colin Kaepernick found another way to stick it to the Packers, the Steelers & the Jaguars forget how to score, and the San Diego Chargers find yet another way to choke a late game lead. Throughout the season,  I’ll be given you a rundown of the week’s games in question form. For this session, it’ll be less of a recap and more of the questions that I had before the season started that I still feel needed to be answered even after week one was done. Let’s start first with the biggest star from Week 1….. 

Is Peyton Manning the best regular season QB ever?

I had this debate with my friend during last week’s game vs. Baltimore, but I do believe Peyton is the best QB in NFL history…..during the regular season. Think about it for a second: He’s won 68% of his games for his career; his stats per season over his career, 4000 yds/30 TDs/13 INTs; 4 MVPs which is the most in NFL history (almost won 5 if not for Adrian Peterson last year); 12-time Pro Bowler, 6-time All-Pro. Plus having him under center is a guaranteed 11 wins, a spot in the playoffs, & in most cases, a Super Bowl contender. He dominates teams during the season like some sort of android. I’ll never say the best ever because, well, he is 9-11 in the playoffs, so even though he won a Super Bowl, you can make the argument that his teams sometimes plays playoff games with two hands around their necks. Also, I’m biased because I’m a 49er fan since I was little so I’ll always say Joe Montana is the greatest ever. Dominated the 80s, won 4 Super Bowls, never lost a Super Bowl game he played in, & unlike another 4x Super Bowl winner Terry Bradshaw, he was THE MAN for all four of those championships teams. Basing this strictly off regular seasons, it’s hard to argue against Manning who’s been playing at this elite lever for 14 of 16 seasons (omitting his rookie year and the 2011 season he missed from his four neck surgeries). On the other side of the spectrum…

Will Tim Tebow Play in the NFL Again???

God I hope not. As much as the NFL want to hitch their star to this wagon, the dude simply can’t throw.  He can’t make accurate passes, which is kind of important for a QB in the NFL.  It’s absolutely astounding that he’s lasted this long.  What makes me laugh is hearing everyone pushing him towards the CFL.  Yes, the league is a minor league in comparison the NFL, but the CFL is a passing league too.  Have they seen the size of the field?  The end zone itself is like 30 yards long, and it’s a 3-down league. If he has problems with accuracy, Tebow’s not going to survive there either.  He should probably take a year off and just work on his mechanics.  He can start by throwing the ball in the ocean at first, then get down to smaller targets; like throwing the ball between two trees; then hitting only one of the trees; then through a hula hoop; then an archery board, while backing up the distances to throw from.  Then, and only then, should he get a shot at the NFL again, and not a moment sooner. 

Will AP Run for 2000 Yards in back-to-back seasons?

Can’t say that will happen. He had possibly the most amazing season a running back can ever have considering the injury he had just 9 months before last season started. Once he got his groove going, it was nothing to watch him break off 70-yard runs, while receiving a text from one of your friends saying, “Are you watching AP??? He’s got 160 yards & the 3rd Q just started!!!” By the time the season ended — he had 2,097 yards, just 8 yards shy of breaking Dickerson’s all time record – and all the awards and accolades were won, you can almost understand in this day & age why you heard rumblings of testing for HGH when his name was mentioned (which I’ll mention I don’t think he’s on by the way…or hope). But out of all the RB’s that ran for more than 2,000 yards in a season, no one has even come close the following season to that number. Only Barry Sanders came the closest & he finished just shy of 1,500 yards (1,497) the next year in 1998, before abruptly retiring after that season. Think about this, we’ve been calling Chris Johnson CJ2K since 2009 when he ran for 2,006 yards, & he’s never been the same since. I almost feel like it takes something out of you physically, like it’s the ultimate sacrifice an RB can make in his career. Only Dickerson still had enough tread on his tires to kick out 1,821 in 1986 with the L.A. Rams & 1,659 in 1988, his first full season with the Indianapolis Colts. Look at the list of the 5 RB’s here who ran for 2,000 yards, followed by their stats the next season:

O. Simpson – 1973, 14G, 332/2,003/12 TDS; next season: 14G, 270/1125/3

E. Dickerson – 1984, 16G, 379/2,105/14; next season: 14G, 292/1,234/12

B. Sanders – 1997, 16G, 335/2,053/11; next season: 16G, 343/1,491/4

T. Davis – 1998, 16G, 392/2,008/21; next season: 4G, 67/211/2

C. Johnson – 2009, 16G, 358/2,006/14; next season: 16G, 316/1,364/11

A. Peterson – 2012, 16G, 348/2,097/12: next season: ???

I think Peterson is a freak of nature, but between the wear and tear, defences loading up 8 in a box every time until J.P. Losman Rob Johnson Casey Printers Christian Ponder proves he can be a consistent threat in the pocket or to at least keep defences honest enough, I can see him surpassing Barry’s total & coming closest to 2,000 on that list above this season: 16G, 302/1650/12. Still a successful season, but still not close enough. Judging from Week 1, he only had 15 yards on 17 carries after breaking that 78 yard TD run on his 1st carry, I’m thinking teams will contain him better than they did last year. Now, if he runs for 200+ this weekend vs. the Bears… we may have to revisit this section.

Will Buffalo make the playoffs this season?

Lol… come on now. Stop it. I will say this: they do have some good pieces in place. Between C.J. Spiller, Stevie Johnson, rookie QB, E.J. Manuel, a solid O-Line, and guys like Leonis McKelvin, Kyle Williams, Marcell Dareus, Stephon Gilmore, Jarius Byrd (if he ends his contract holdout) on defence, they’re about a year away from sniffing a playoff spot. They should finish the season as the 2nd best team in the AFC East, which may mean nothing as this is THE worst division in the NFL, but still, you gotta strive for something Bills fans!

How bad will the Raiders be?

Terrell Pyror’s admission that up until this season, he didn’t know how to throw a football, I mean….what more is there to say? The funny thing is, he actually gives them the best chance to win. Mind you, he didn’t have a bad game vs. the Colts last week (19-29, 217 yards, 112 yards rushing, 70.6 QBR) & will have to depend on his legs as much as his arm to move the chains down the field, but he is pretty raw. This isn’t even Cam Newton-lite, this is a extremely poor man’s Cam. Even if Darren McFadden can stay healthy for 16 games (unlikely, but still), teams will ultimately stick 8 & 9 guys in the box & force them to depend on Pryor. And with no weapons to speak of on both sides of the ball, I just can’t see this team winning more than two games. They will stink so bad they’ll be eligible for both the JaDaveon Clowney sweepstakes and the Andrew Wiggins lottery. Yes, their stench will cross into other sports. Speaking of stinking….

Should Matt Flynn have just stayed in Green Bay as a backup QB?

Since he left Green Bay to try to run his own team, he lost his starting spot in training camp to a 3rd rounder in last year’s draft that may very well be one of the top 5 QBs in the next 2 years (Russell Wilson), to then get traded to a new situation in Oakland where he couldn’t beat out a guy who was drafted in the 3rd round….of the 2011 Supplemental draft. When given a chance to legitimately run your own team as a QB, you have to take it if you have any competitive spirit as an athlete, but considering that he no longer has a shot at the starting QB spot for the Raiders (at least right now), maybe holding a clipboard for Aaron Rodgers might be a better situation at this point. At least you’re holding it for a superstar, at least there’s some pride in that….right???

Will the Saints reincarnate the spirit of the 2007 Patriots?

After last year’s Bountygate fiasco & disappointing 8-8 finish, the Saints got back their head coach Sean Payton, after taking the fall and being suspended for the full season. They may not have protested it publicly (not including Johnathan Vilma of course), but they felt like the punishment was excessive, and it definitely affected their play calling on the field, giving up the most yards for a defence (7,092) in NFL history. I sense a very strong revenge factor this season playing with a massive chip on their shoulders (already beating their rivals Atlanta Falcons in Week 1) and then running up the score every chance they get, especially in their division. Now if Defensive Coordinator Rob Ryan can get the defence to be at least the middle of the pack in comparison with the rest of the league, they will win 13 games this season & reclaim their spot not only at the top of the NFC South, but will be right there with San Francisco and Seattle as the elite SB Contenders from this conference. With that in place, it will allow Drew Brees to win his 1st NFL MVP. I’m predicting his 3rd straight 5,000+ yd season, with 49 TDs and 10 INT’s max. Am I saying this because I have him on my fantasy team? Absolutely! But I also think he’s about due for one. Out of the super elite QB group we have in the league right now (Brady, Manning, Rodgers, Brees), only Brees hasn’t won one MVP yet. This year, it’ll be his turn.

Can Larry Fitzgerald have a bounce-back season?

Considering his O-Line has improved a bit, finally getting a competent QB (Carson Palmer) throwing him the ball again, and looking at the stats that he is coming off of from last season, the worst since his rookie year I might add (71/798/4 TDs), he’s going to bounce back in a major way. He’s slowly coming out of the back end of his prime years as a WR, but he will float back into the discussion with the top 3 receivers in this game again. I see him putting up somewhere around 97/1305/11 in 2013. Whoever has him on their fantasy team, rejoice!

Over/Under: Danny Amendola plays 12 games this year.

UNDER!! Not only was he already hurt going into the regular season, but now he’s not even playing tonight. Including Sunday’s game, Amendola has played a combined 13 games in two years and has a combined 7 TD for his entire career. Now he’s just supposed to replace Wes Welker as if that job can be done by just about anyone??? Listen, say what you want about the Patriots Way and their systems, but Welker has been the best slot WR since 2007, and not only that, but he’s been incredibly durable too, missing 3 out of a possible 96 games during that period. I don’t care if Welker’s in Denver, he’s going to put up similar stats on that team. New England took him for granted, and they will miss his steady presence this season. They will still win the division because as I mentioned, it’s the shittiest division in the NFL, but unless Amendola stays healthy and as productive as Welker; and Rob Gronkowski plays like he did in 2011, they don’t win a playoff game.

Predictions:

MVP – QB Drew Brees, New Orleans

Offensive Player of the Year: QB Peyton Manning, Denver

Defensive Player of the Year: CB Richard Sherman, Seattle

Offensive Rookie of the Year: RB Eddie Lacy, Green Bay

Defensive Rookie of the Year: Manti T’eo LB Barkevious Mingo, Cleveland

Coach of the Year: Sean Payton, New Orleans

Comeback Player of the Year: WR Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona

AFC Playoff Teams: 1. Denver 2. Houston 3. Cincinnati 4. New England 5. Indianapolis 6. Baltimore

NFC Playoff Teams: 1. New Orleans 2. San Francisco 3. Chicago 4. Washington 5. Seattle 6. Green Bay

Conference Championships – AFC: Denver over Houston; NFC: San Francisco over New Orleans

Super Bowl Prediction: San Francisco over Denver

Game of the Week

San Francisco @ Seattle. Sun 8:15PM

This could turn out to be the game of the year, even this early in the season. Two Super Bowl contending teams out of the NFC West who can’t stand each other, two coaches who have had beef since they were both coaching in college a few years ago, both teams are led by young, franchise changing QB’s, supported by dynamic running games with smash-mouth defences to match. I may be biased, but I think the 49ers take this one in a very, very, VERY close game that goes down to the last two minutes. I’m anticipating lots of hitting, lots of trash talking, lots of skirmishes & possibly one player to be carried off to the locker room. Most importantly, I can’t wait to see the match-up between Colin Kaepernick & Russell Wilson again, who I think will be the two best QB’s in the league by 2015. My runner up game of the week is tonight’s game with the Jets @ Patriots. Ok, I don’t really believe that, but I just wanted an excuse to show these…..

God Bless the Jets.

 

Cal Cee // South Shore Ave

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