Author: AG

1/13 Divisional Playoffs Round-Up: Falcons @ Eagles

The best weekend of football (arguably) has come to a close and what a weekend it was. We’re going to start with the two Saturday games, which were not as close to as exciting as Sunday but still solid.

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#1 Philadelphia Eagles 15 – #6 Atlanta Falcons 10

What do you know? The Falcons did it again and blew a winnable playoff game. I’m not going to point fingers and say I predicted it — but well, you know. Everyone was on the Falcons, which is why this is exactly the kind of game that they lose.

This game was very lackluster — as evidenced by the low score-line. The number 1 seed did successfully pull off the upset over the number 6 seed, who woulda thought? What had people buzzing on twitter most was NBC’s bird graphic:

 

Home Birds are now 10-0 against away birds — what a time to be alive. We saw them show Carson Wentz approximately 25 times and the Falcons ran the worst play on 4th down.

 

Not quite sure why you roll out Matt Ryan here and essentially only give him Julio as a target — who fell down.  Regardless, Julio did have a chance to catch it here but I have to chalk up the game to some bad coaching. The Falcons have already given a vote of confidence to their failure of an OC, Steve Sarkisian so expect more of the same next year. Nick Foles did just enough to get the Eagles the win and at the end of the day, that’s all that matters.

 

P.S. Lane Johnson wearing a dog mask is nightmare material.

 

The Cavs Are In Mid-Season Meltdown Form

Somehow Cleveland does this every year and absolutely is garbage in the middle of the regular season. They’ll figure it out but LeBron emasculated his coach again last night like he’s done in the past:

Ty Lue is nowhere to be found while LeBron is taking over as coach. Who enjoyed this rant the most?

Kyrie is fresh off a 22 point comeback in London against the Sixers and is enjoying the 1 seed without their second best scorer in Boston while LeBron is taking over the coaching duties from this guy:

This is where it all makes sense why Kyrie left but let’s be honest — the Cavs will absolutely turn it on for the playoffs and do the same thing they do every year. For now though, it’s fun to see them melt down a little bit. They have one more easy game coming up against the Pacers and then Monday’s opponent?

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Le’Veon Bell Threatens To Sit or Retire If The Steelers Tag Him Again

Pittsburgh’s gotta call him out on his bluff right? Playoffs are upon us and the Steelers of course are focused elsewhere. Bell was quoted telling ESPN:

Just get the numbers straight, exactly where we want them. I’m not going to settle for anything. I know what I do and what I bring to the table. I’m not going out here getting the ball 400 times if I’m not getting what I feel I’m valued at.

Bell is only 25 and arguably the best running back in the league so obviously his value is sky high. The only problem is that Pittsburgh won’t give him what he wants.  The Steelers played chicken with him last year and did offer him a contract which was upwards of $30 million in the first two years but Bell declined. He ultimately ended up playing on the franchise tag worth $12.1 million last year. The number will rise up to $14.5 million but Le’Veon wants a long term contract. Highly doubt that they’ll be able to actually get the deal done because he wants BIG money. I think he’s bluffing but let the games begin.

PS – Quoted as saying that but then tweets this? Real believable.

 

 

 

Christian Pulisic Claims Americans’ Expectations For Him Are Too High

Not exactly what you want to be hearing from the future of the US Men’s National Team but here we are. Why would Pulisic say this? Well let’s take a live look at ESPN..

Comparing him to Messi & Ronaldo? Never change ESPN. This is definitely a bit far-fetched and I will admit the expectations for Pulisic are essentially to save the US men’s soccer program — especially after the embarrassment this fall of not qualifying for the World Cup this year. The fallout has already started, with young star Jonathan Gonzalez committing to Mexico over the United States.

“I would say that the expectations some Americans put on me is too much,” he said. “But I don’t take it that way. I know no one means harm to me or wants to put too much pressure on me. It’s kind of what they’ve done or do in the past. A lot of countries do.”

 The quote isn’t that outrageous but the US needs this kid to be everything that Freddy Adu wasn’t. US Soccer has never been as down as it is right now and this kid is one of the brightest stars. He plays a significant role on a top team in a top four league in Europe so things are looking bright.

“It’s not about completely restarting. It’s not like we have everything wrong or we panic,” he said. “It’s about developing what we already have into even better. I think if we continue to do that then of course players will come up and there will be new talents. I think if we do that and build on what we already have, we can really create something.”

It does seem like he has a good head on his shoulders and he’s only 19. Get this team a real coach and see if he can shine.

London Finally Gets A Good Game! Eagles Announced to Play Jaguars

The Eagles are going across the pond for the first time ever to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars. The people of London have never seen a matchup between two teams with a winning record and this may be their chance. Both teams are still remaining in the playoffs (though both are projected to lose) and should follow up their successful seasons with more of the same next year.

London will get to see the MVP front-runner before his injury, Carson Wentz live take on the London Jaguars who suddenly cannot lose in London. They shellacked the Ravens 44-7 this season to make it 3 straight in London.

Obviously, the Jags have found success in general now but London used to be the only place they could win. The week hasn’t been announced yet but will be shortly when the NFL officially announces it.

The UCF Is National Champions Gimmick Needs To Stop

UCF capped off their undefeated season with a win over Auburn in the Peach Bowl and claimed to be “undefeated National Champions.” At first, it was funny and lighthearted that UCF claimed to be National Champions and held their own block party before the real championship on Monday.

And then UCF paid their coaches a national championship bonus.

Okay still a bit cool. Nice to see they’re rewarding their coaches for a great season. And then Governor Rick Scott stepped in.

And now they’re releasing shirts too because why not try to profit off of this?

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Little bit too far — undisputed? Not quite. The Alabama team we saw against Clemson & Georgia absolutely wipes the floor with Scott Frost’s Knights. This was funny and lighthearted to start with but now is entering the territory of insufferable. The 2017 UCF Knights were likeable and a nice underdog story — and now they’re doing everything possible to ruin it. I don’t know what UCF diehards are running to buy these shirts but if you do, you’re a joke and so is this program.

Alabama Does It Again

It took me some time to accept this, with my extreme hate for Alabama and the SEC conference but facts are facts. Alabama is the best team in the nation. Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide went into halftime down 13-0. In an unprecedented move, he benched his QB (who wasn’t doing much to be fair) who has won 25 of his last 27 starts to put in a true freshman, Tua Tagovailoa to lead the comeback.

The play that sealed the National Championship?

Jokes — I’m firmly anti-Alabama but UCF… you guys are not the national champions, you went undefeated in the AAC.

Also, chalk this up to the Atlanta Journal Constitution for jinxing UGA before the game even started.

Back to the game, Georgia controlled the entire first half and most of the game — in fact Alabama didn’t lead once. Jake Fromm made some big throws but with a one score lead and 7 minutes to go, they couldn’t convert a first down. Tua, who made big plays all night, took his team down and hit Calvin Ridley to tie it up at 20.  Georgia then was forced to punt after 3 downs yet again, setting Alabama up for an easy game-winning 36 yard FG.

 

Of course however, Nick Saban was not losing this game in OT as Georgia scraped up a FG and Alabama hit them with the dagger on the following possession.

That’s a wrap — Alabama has now won 5 championships in 9 years and is no doubt the powerhouse of college football. Now with a stud freshman QB? Place your bets on Alabama repeating again.

PS — State of Georgia in football…not the best look.

Six Years Ago Today, Tim Tebow Silenced the NFL

In 2012, Tim Tebow and the Broncos hosted the Steelers in a playoff game where everyone was ready to write off the Broncos. The 8-8 Broncos limped into the playoffs and hosted the 12-4 Pittsburgh Steelers. The game went into overtime and finished just as quick as it started.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMVnLsODqqg

Tebow, who finished the game 10-21 for 316 yds and 2 TDs, hits Demaryius Thomas on the first play from OT for an 80 yard walk-off touchdown. Things may have been different if Ryan Clark (out due to sickle cell) was able to play but this was the highlight of Tebow’s professional career.

Of course, Tebow & the Broncos ran into the Patriots the next round and well…things didn’t end great for them but this was an iconic moment.