Oh Buffalo, never change. The Bills, obviously thankful for the Bengals knocking the Ravens out, clinched their first playoff bid since the 1999 season. The Bengals won in dramatic fashion, with Andy Dalton finding Tyler Boyd on a 48 yard TD on 4th and 12 to end the Ravens’ season. What did Buffalo do to repay them?
Our friends at Duff’s are hitting the road to Cincinnati tonight with: 1440 wings 90 lbs of celery 30 lbs of carrots 6 gallons of blue cheese 9 gallons of Duff’s wing sauce And a TON of thank you’s from Buffalo! #GoBills
Classic. Who doesn’t love wings? Actually if anybody didn’t, it’d be Cincinnati residents and their weird ass Skyline Chili. Granted — who even knows who is at the Bengals’ facility by now as they have long been eliminated from the playoffs. Good on Buffalo repaying their debt for their (short) playoff trip.
NFL Wild Card Weekend will bring a match-up with two teams who haven’t had a ticket to the dance in quite some time. We have the Buffalo Bills, who last made the Playoffs in 1999, and the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jaguars last Playoff appearance was in 2007-2008 in New England. They lost 31-20 to the then undefeated Patriots.
The Bills last lost to the Tennessee Titans in the Music City Miracle game. An event that doesn’t need much explaining:
This game is the game I am look forward to most this weekend. It is mediocrity at it’s absolute finest. Two middling teams duking it out, to see who has the right to get their ass kicked in New England, or Pittsburgh. I’m sure these two fanbases will make sure there will be plenty of debauchery in the stands as well. Couldn’t be more excited.
Buffalo Bills:
What a year it has been up in Buffalo. The longest Professional Sports playoff drought in America finally comes to a close. The Bills exceeded expectations in general in 2017. A year after cleaning house from the Rex Ryan regime, it looked as if the Bills were orchestrating a tank job. They traded away key starters in Ronald Darby, and Sammy Watkins for lesser options in Jordan Matthews and E.J. Gaines. This was an attempt to give young coach, Sean Mcdermott a fresh clean slate.
The Bills responded by being a playoff contender for much of the year. They picked up key wins against the Broncos, Chiefs, Raiders, and Colts. Needing a win in week 17, Buffalo took down Miami 22-16, and Cincinnati knocked out Baltimore with a last second Andy Dalton touchdown to Tyler Boyd.
The Bills most explosive offensive weapon is Lesean McCoy. Shady can beat you in every single facet of the game. He is quick enough to beat you to the outside, he’s tough enough to run inside the tackles, and is a major weapon is the passing game. He’s pretty much the entire Buffalo Bills offense. Look for heavy dose of shady on Sunday, if he is healthy enough to go. It is sounding like he should be ok to play.
Not much else for the Bills on offense. It’s been a rough year on that side of the ball. Tyord Taylor is currently their starting Quarterback, but Sean McDermott famously switched to Nathan Peterman against the San Diego Chargers. Peterman threw 5 interceptions on the day, and the Bills got throttled.
Tyrod Taylor hasn’t exactly set the world on fire as the full-time starter for Buffalo. He did however, throw less interceptions over the course of the entire season, than Peterman did against the Chargers alone. He just doesn’t have many weapons to work with. His three biggest weapons are Charles Clay, Kelvin Benjamin, and Jordan Matthews. Even with those names, Shady is still the Bills best weapon in the passing game.
Defensively is where the Bills earn their stripes. They rank 16th in points, and 19th in yards allowed. The ’85 bears they aren’t, but they can keep themselves in games with solid defensive play.
Jacksonville Jaguars:
The Jags finished 2017 with a 10-6 record, and a playoff birth for the first time since 2008. They do so after entering the season amid a QB controversy. Jags head coach, Doug Marrone had considered turning the keys of the offense over to Chad Henne in training camp. Marrone wisely stuck with Blake Bortles.
Bortles went on to have a solid year at the helm. The Jags had signature wins against the Steelers, Ravens, Seattle, and Houston twice. Most of it was lead by rookie Running Back, Leanord Fournette.
Fournette rushed for 1,040 yards, and 9 touchdowns. He added 302 yards, and 1 touchdown receiving.
Their calling card is their defense. Jacksonville finished 5th in points allowed, and 4th in yards allowed. Calais Campbell leads a very strong defensive line. He finished the season with 14.5 sacks, and was an all-pro as both a Defensive End, and Defensive tackle. Jalen Ramsey leads a young strong secondary. Ramsey finished 2017 with 4 interceptions, and 14 passes defended. There are many other strong pieces including Dante Fowler, Tashaun Gipson, Malik Jackson, and A.J. Bouye. The Jaguars are very young, and very good on defense. Don’t be surprised if Jacksonville goes on a little playoff run, as long as Bortles doesn’t revert back to his old self.
Final Verdict:
Jacksonville 17- Buffalo 3
Buffalo is just not good enough offensively to compete with this Jags team. Tyrod Taylor likely won’t pick apart the Jags, they are too strong on defense for the lowly Bills offense. Whoever controls the line of scrimmage, and turns it over fewest will win. Going to be a snoozer, but it is Mediocrity’s Super Bowl after all!
The Oakland Raiders have hired Jon Gruden as their next coach. According to Adam Schefter, the team will make it official on Tuesday when they hold an introductory press conference.
BREAKING: The Raiders will introduce Jon Gruden as their new head coach in a press conference on Tuesday. (via multiple reports) pic.twitter.com/Tun0dPx0XK
The move doesn’t come as a surprise to anyone. This “news” was basically made official weeks ago but it was nice to finally get the conformation that both sides have agreed on a contract and we can put these rumors to bed.
Gruden, who coached Oakland from 1998 to 2001, is returning to the Raiders to replace Jack Del Rio, who was fired after the regular-season finale on Sunday.
At the end of the day this signing wont really make much of an impact. It’ll be funny and entertaining, but it wont really make that much of a difference. The biggest impact will be for the fans who watch Monday Night Football and the fans who love Hooters and Coronas. We don’t like change.
EDITOR’S NOTE – Just broke that this is for 10 years, $100 million. What a joke to pay a football coach that much. The Raiders better hope it’s worth it because it’s probably not.
Saturday afternoon will feature the first of two AFC Wild Card Playoff Matchups. The 5 seed, Tennessee Titans will travel to Kansas City, to take on the 4 seed, Chiefs. The Chiefs haven’t won a home playoff game in their last 5 attempts. Tennessee has not qualified for postseason play since 2008. Looks to me like this one has all the makings of a shitty Wild Card match-up.
Tennesse Titans:
The Titans are back in post season play for the first time since 2008. That was a 13-10 loss at the expense of the Baltimore Ravens. This season has been a bit of a roller coaster for them. At times, Marcus Mariota looks flawless, and the Titans look like a real contender. Other times, they look mediocre at best. They finished the year with a 9-7 record. The problem with the Titans is I don’t feel like they had any real signature wins this season. Their best wins on paper were at home against Seattle in week 3, and at Houston in week 4. Nothing to write home about. The Titans Defense will have it’s handsfull with the Chiefs Offense. They rank 17th in the NFL in points allowed (356), and 13th in yards allowed. They have played a weak schedule as well.
Marcus Mariota was poised to take the proverbial “Next Step” in 2017, but has fallen short.
WOOF. Brutal season from the ex Oregon Duck. Obviously, it’s the turnovers that present the largest concern. Generally in the postseason, whoever wins the turnover battle, wins the game. Mariota is going to have to make plays with his legs, along with his arm. He is known for his ability to extend plays with his feet. He did rush for 312 yards, and 5 rushing touchdowns on the year. Personally, he sucks. Look for him to look like shit.
Kansas City Chiefs:
Much like their opponent, the Chiefs have had an up-and-down 2017. They started out looking the immediate Super Bowl Contenders beating the New England Patriots 42-27 on opening night. Four more wins came at the expense of the Eagles, Chargers, Redskins, and Texans. They were off to a 5-0 start, and we go a boat load of the “Kansas City Chiefs are Super Bowl Contenders” talk.
They would go on to lose 6 of their next 7 games. The losses came at the hands of the Steelers, Raiders, Cowboys, Giants, Jets, and Bills. They certainly showed their true colors. They did finish the season with four wins in a row over the Raiders, Chargers, Broncos, and Dolphins. All crap bag teams.
Chiefs Quarterback, Alex Smith seems to be on borrowed time with Patrick Mahomes breathing down his neck.
Still a solid year for Smith. He doesn’t turn the ball over whatsoever. This trait is vital, in the playoffs. Ultimately, Smith’s ball protection will likely be the key too the game. If Tennessee can force some turnovers, then they may be able to sneak out a win.
Smith will be looking to chuck the rock to Tyreek Hill, his speedy deep threat. Hill has 1,183 yards, 7 touchdowns in 2017.
Kansas City has the league’s leading rusher at their disposal, in Kareem Hunt. Hunt finished 2017 with 1,327 rushing yards, and 8 touchdowns. Look for Hunt to make an impact running the ball, catching it in the passing game, and make an impact on special teams.
The Chiefs defense ranks 15th in the league in points allowed, and 28th in yards allowed. Not quite the stout Kansas City Chiefs defense of years past. However, they do have insane playmakers in Justin Houston, Marcus Peters, and Tamba Hali.
Final Verdict:
Chiefs 21 – Titans 10
The Chiefs are just far too well rounded for the Titans, who just barely got in. I don’t love the Chiefs going much further, but they’ll throw their fanbase a bone, and win a meaningless Wild Card game in 2018.
I leave you with a photo from the Chiefs last home playoff win:
At first, I didn’t think Lamar Jackson would get a shot at playing QB but thinking about it — the talent is there. This man literally carried Louisville his entire college career. He’s got a really strong deep ball and can make plays with his legs as well. I honestly think with some good coaching, this kid can be the best QB of this class.
Lamar Jackson has the most yards and was responsible for the most touchdowns in the nation in the last 2 seasons. Baker Mayfield is the only player with a better Total QBR since 2016. pic.twitter.com/skgGuwBKBF
Not too shabby for an irrelevant ACC team. I’m actually very interested to see where he lands — I know of a team who just had a big ESPN report published about them that doesn’t have a future QB.
For those living under a rock today, Seth Wickersham released his magnum opus on ESPN this morning. A whole big piece on how there is trouble in paradise because all the Patriots do is win and keep everything shut air tight. I know this may seem shocking as ESPN was the outlet that pushed the ‘Deflategate’ agenda way past where it should have been.
But according to interviews with more than a dozen New England staffers, executives, players and league sources with knowledge of the team’s inner workings, the three most powerful people in the franchise — Belichick, Brady and owner Robert Kraft — have had serious disagreements.
I went into this with an open mind because that actually sounds plausible. All three of the powers in New England are human, whether they have reached an extraordinary amount of success or not. It only makes sense from time to time that there may be a rift or someone thinks they deserve more credit — it happens. I read this article and considered believing it for a few minutes. It was well-written, made some logical points, and described scenarios that very well can happen.
Then I remembered who this is from, and the timing of it. ESPN published this right before the playoffs. Sketchy right? What time did they post this? 1 AM — despite reports yesterday that they were publishing this at 8 AM. What else came out in the middle of the night when nobody else was watching? Deflategate. The fact that there were reports of this coming up and the internet was buzzing about it was exactly what ESPN wanted with this article.
I believed it for a long time while reading the piece — but this is wrong and there’s really no hot takes to take from it.
Tom Brady and Bill Belichick have a standard player-coach relationship. They work well together, obviously, but have never been best friends. They argue. That’s normal. They didn’t see eye to eye over the Guerrero issue. But It’s not going to yield a divorce.
Honestly, I do believe that there is some rift between Belichick and Brady. Brady loves his weird guru Chinese medicine scientist pliability coach — fine. Brady’s a weird dude anyway. Guerrero is exactly the type of guy that Belichick hates. Some guy who thinks oils and scents will heal a player or some shit like that. Brady and Belichick aren’t best friends, they have a coach-player relationship. There is a massive amount of respect between the two of them as there should be.
The part about Garoppolo? It was clear that the organization wanted to keep him — why wouldn’t you? The problem was that he was a free agent. According to the article, they offered him 4 years with 16/17 mil per year. A great contract for a backup and clearly shows the Pats had him in their plans. The problem was the when. Jimmy G is young and wanted to start — can’t hate on that. They were unable to come to an agreement. The Pats had to move him and Belichick gave a friendly discount to San Franscisco. Not much to see here. You can’t move on from Brady right now because he wants to keep playing and is doing so at a MVP caliber level.
Brady, though, seemed liberated. Kraft hugged Brady when he saw him that week, in full view of teammates. A few days later during practice, some players and staffers noticed that Brady seemed especially excited, hollering and cajoling.
There most likely to some truth to this part because Brady was probably relieved that he doesn’t have competition for him to finish up his career in New England. It’s natural to be a bit happy — he’s allowed to be happy for Jimmy to get his shot across the country too. At the end of the day, Jimmy G was competition for Brady’s spot next year and it’s human to have some relief that he wouldn’t have to be competing for his spot next year.
We even heard from Don Yee, Tom Brady’s agent —
“I don’t really know what to say — it’s tough to have a response since it didn’t appear to me to have one on-the-record quote,” Yee said. “All I can suggest is don’t believe everything you read.”
He’s right. Not a single quote from someone inside the organization. This entire sting piece comes off hearsay from Seth Wickersham. Not Adam Schefter, not Mike Reiss, hell not even Felger. This is a joke and just shows the level ESPN, the “worldwide leader” is willing to go.
31 teams in the NFL would kill to be in the Patriots’ situation. If this is the biggest issue going on, I think that’s fine. Through this whole season of “controversy,” the Patriots managed to casually go 13-3 and wrap up the 1 seed in the AFC on the back of a huge win in Pittsburgh. Nothing will come out of this and I’m sure the next media day — not Brady, Belichick, or Kraft will say a damn thing about the report. Why? Because that’s what the Patriots do. They’ll continue to win and keep everything in-house as it should be. Is there a problem between the three of them? I’m sure they don’t agree at times but they all have one mutual goal and that’s success for the New England Patriots franchise. This article only showed that ESPN has never quit their mission to undermine the Patriots. It hasn’t worked in the past and it won’t work in the future. Brady and Belichick will both be back next year.
When I say Oose, y’all say ooohhh. Oose ooohhh! Oose ooohhh!
Yes, we understood. The Uso’s were Samoan and enjoyed tribal dancing and painting their faces. Their entrance was cool. They sang a jaunty tune. Some pyro went off. They had some colorful shorts. They smiled a lot. They made their way to the ring. And they did their thing. Neat.
Don’t get me wrong, they were an incredible tag team. But they were the typical generic babyface tag team that wasn’t destined for much else despite their numerous tag title wins. It truly was incredible that the gimmick made it as long as it did without the fans turning on them. Until they did. Something needed to be done to “spice” the act up.
Welcome to the Uso Penitentiary.
The Usos finally turned heel in September of 2016, after blaming the fans for giving up on them and cheering for other teams. After a few months, their image began to change, as they became more vicious and thug like. They altered their music and arrived to the ring with less energy and less charisma. They adopted the motto “down since day one-ish,” signifying that they have always felt under appreciated and disrespected. Before they entered the ring, they would grab a mic and welcome their opponents to the “Uso Penitentiary.” This new gimmick was money, and so much more entertaining and believable than their happy-go-lucky babyface run before.
On March 21st 2017, the Usos defeated American Alpha to become the Smackdown tag team champions. Over the summer, they began a program with The New Day, which was a rivalry that I consider to be the greatest of the year on either brand. These two teams were so evenly matched, and they tore the house down every time they met, whether it was on Pay Per View, a pre-show, or an episode of Smackdown.
They met for the first time in June at the Money in the Bank pay per view, where the Usos got themselves intentionally counted out to retain the titles. The next month at Battleground, however, The New Day defeated them to become the champs. The Usos regained the titles at Summerslam, only to lose them in a street fight less than a month later to The New Day on the September 12 edition of Smackdown. This “hot potato” game they played with the tag titles may have been annoying to some, but it really showed just how evenly matched these two teams were: any team was capable of winning on any given night. The Usos decided to invoke their rematch clause at the Hell in a Cell pay per view in October. The match was to be contested inside the ominous Hell in a Cell structure. The stage was set for an epic showdown that was being labeled as the final match between the two teams.
And an epic showdown it was. In what was a vicious and brutal match between the two teams that lasted over 20 minutes, the Usos defeated The New Day to win the Smackdown tag team championships for the third time, thus ending this epic rivalry.
On the next Smackdown, the Usos called out The New Day and offered a truce, thus turning them into faces once again (albeit a bad ass face team that kept their street-like gimmick).
At Survivor Series in November, the Usos defeated the Raw tag team champions The Bar (Sheamus and Cesaro) in a champion versus champion match. This match was interesting in that it was between, in my opinion, the two best tag teams of the year. Sheamus and Cesaro are two of the better wrestlers WWE has rostered, but had been criminally underutilized for some time on the Raw brand. After being paired together, however, they formed a team that didn’t just set “the bar,” they claimed that they were “the bar.” In the end, however, the Usos left Survivor Series with the W. The Usos have since started a program with Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin, in what is shaping up to be another tremendous rivalry.
The Usos simply dominated 2017. Period. They completely revitalized their career by turning a boring, generic babyface gimmick, into a bad-ass, street-like one. Their improved promo work, in addition to their already tremendous in ring work, has resulted in an elite tag team. They have firmly cemented themselves as one of the better tag-teams of their generation, and they seemingly keep getting better. They may have been “down since day one-ish,” but they have since climbed all the way to the freaking top.
The Boston Bruins opened up the 2018 Calendar year in spectacular fashion. The boys would kick the shit out of the Islanders 5-1. Great start to the new year indeed. Like many games recently, this wasn’t much of a contest.
The Islanders came into the game in a playoff position. Given how tough the Metropolitan Division that could change quickly. Once again, this game had scheduled loss written all over it. Random Tuesday night game in Brooklyn. Just didn’t have the feel of Bruins victory.
As they have for most of the season, the Bruins proved me wrong. From the drop of the puck they seemed to have their legs. They applied a relentless forecheck with all 4 lines early. At 8:17 of the first period, Danton Heinen ripped a wrist shot over the glove hand of Jaroslav Halak. The goal came from Riley Nash winning a face-off right back to Heinen, who slotted it home. 1-0 Bruins in the first.
— Right Wing, Shoots Left 🇨🇦🏒🥅🌈 😷💉💉 (@HILITINGHOCKEY) January 3, 2018
Just over a minute later, the Bruins would be victimized similarly to the Islanders. Off. Brandon Carlo got the puck in front of Tuukka Rask off a defensive zone face-off. Carlo ended up having a car wreck, falling down, and kicking the puck in front of the net. Jordan Eberle hopped on the gift, and put it home
The first period would come to a close at 1-1. Carlo’s blunder had undermined what was a great first period from the Bruins. In the second, the B’s continued to hound the puck. Most notably, the fourth line. Tim Schaller, Noel Acciari, Sean Kuraly. A group of JAGS, but damn good ones. Kuraly in particular due to his speed, and relentlessness. This line made the Islanders look foolish all night. They drew multiple penalties on the Islanders, and 8:28 into the second, Patrice Bergeron batted home a wrap around goal to make it 2-1 Bruins. Perfect Patrice was behind his own net, caught the puck that bounced over the crossbar, put it down, and wrapped home short side. Perfect Patrice strikes again.
The game was 2-1 until mid-way through the third period. David Pastrnak stripped the puck from Cal Clutterbuck in the neutral zone. It created a 2 on 1, which Pasta beautifully sold a shot. Pasta slipped a pass over to Marchand, who ripped the puck home to make it 3-1 Bruins. Tim Schaller, and Noel Acciari would each notch a goal to ice the game. 5-1 win for the Bruins.
Two goals from the fourth line, Brad Marchand’s 200th career assist, 25 saves on 26 shots for Tuukka, and the Bruins ninth straight game recording a point.
Tuesday was a night for the fourth line. They hounded the puck all night, and made life hell for Islander defenders. Each member isn’t afraid to use their body to make a few plays. They can also chip in on the scoresheet. Can’t find a better 4th line in the league right now.
Wednesday saw the Bruins assign forward, Anders Bjork to the Providence Bruins.
Bjork was the odd man out here, as he had been on the 9th floor in street clothes since David Krejci returned to the lineup. This was the right move to make for the kid. Let him go down, and play top minutes at the Dunk. Providence has been instrumental in the development of Debrusk, Heinen, and Pastrnak. Bjork will find his way back to Boston in no time.
Tonight’s game against Atlantic Division foe, Florida Panthers has been cancelled due to the horrid storm. The Boys will get a few extra days of rest, as their next game will see the Carolina Hurricanes come to TD Garden. Puck drop 7:00 pm on Saturday. Let’s go Bruins!!!
Kudos to Sashi Brown. Really, what an absolute masterpiece of a tank job. Last night, USC’s Sam Darnold, and UCLA’s Josh Rosen both declared for the NFL draft. Cleveland’s offseason will come down to which one they’ll choose. Personally, I’m not too thrilled with either one. I really feel like Rosen, and Darnold will go 1 and 2, a la Mariota and Winston, or Goff and Wentz. In that regard, we’re stuck with one of them, so let’s pick one and roll with it. Build the fucking team around him.
Right now if you put a switchblade to my balls, and asked me who the better Quarterback was, I’d say Rosen. He’s got a more rounded game than Darnold. He’s obviously very smart, makes the right reads, and doesn’t force it too much. I see Rosen having a Alex Smith type career. Not great, but not bad in any way.
Now, for Darnold. Based on chatter surrounding these two, Darnold seems like he’ll be the pick. He’s not the better of the two quarterbacks right now, but he has the tools to have a higher ceiling than Rosen. Sam is big, 6’4 225 lbs, a frame which will come in handy in the AFC North. His highlight clips indicate that he has more willingness to take risks with the Football. I’m more than ok with it, so long as he can be coached properly on when to take them.
I like the fact that Darnold is willing to make some risks to make plays. Based off the highlight clip he can do it with his legs as well. He’s certainly not Michael Vick, but he can improvise with his legs when needed.
As mentioned in previous posts it’s going to come down to which one isn’t a Nancy boy. Who’s willing to accept the challenge of joining the Cleveland Browns. So far, Darnold is the leader in that regard:
Sam Darnold is asked how he’d look in a Browns uniform: “Whenever I come out for the NFL, I’d be honored to play for any team.”
So I sit here on January 4th and am telling you that Sam Darnold will likely be picked 1st overall in April. I’m not exactly thrilled, but I still have some hope. Unfortunately, the only quarterback that’s really intrigues me is Baker Mayfield.
He presents the most upside out of any quarterback out there. He’s got the swagger, drive, and ability to lead a team on Sunday’s. There are obviously off the field concerns, but I generally feel like he wants it more on the field than the QB he’s most compared to, Johnny Manziel.
The Rose Bowl was telling in a negative way for Mayfield. He had his Sooners up 31-17 at the half. They ended up losing the game 54-48. I thought it would be a game where Mayfield would go out, and take a win from Georgia. It never happened. Suspect play-calling was an issue, but Mayfield seemed to wilt. It was a concerning game for him.
Still a long way to go, but again it just seems inevitable Darnold will be the guy. The Browns have some options, as they pick 4th overall as well.
My Updated 2018 NFL Mock Draft (try #2):
1. #Browns – QB Sam Darnold 2. #Giants – QB Josh Rosen 3. #Colts – OT Connor Williams 4. #Browns – RB Saquon Barkley 5. #Broncos – QB Baker Mayfield 6. #Jets – DE Bradley Chubb 7. #Bucs – OT Orlando Brown
The Falcons managed to sneak their way into the playoffs with the 6 seed after beating the Panthers 22-10 behind Matt Bryant’s 5 FGs (thrilling game). They take a 10-6 regular season record and become the single NFC representative from last year’s playoffs — and bring it into the newly revitalized Los Angeles Rams. The Rams sat all of their starters last week and got blown out by the 49ers 34-13 but ended up with the 3 seed anyway with an 11-5 record and a NFC West championship.
The Rams boast an explosive young offense — but are they ready for primetime? The Falcons have had some struggles this season, largely in part to the loss of OC Kyle Shanahan. An offense, which rolls out Devonta Freeman, Tevin Coleman, and Julio Jones is no longer a scary matchup. The Falcons though, know how to play in January as they will look to get back to the Super Bowl after the most crushing loss ever against the Patriots last year.
QB – Matt Ryan vs Jared Goff
Goff had an outstanding year as he massively improved on a mediocre rookie year — but I’m rolling with Matty Ice. Sure, Ryan doesn’t have the stats that Goff did but this isn’t his first rodeo. I’d feel much more comfortable with the battle tested QB who managed to finish 10-6 after the worst possible way to lose a Super Bowl and the loss of his offensive coordinator.
RB – Devonta Freeman & Tevin Coleman vs Todd Gurley
Honestly, Freeman & Coleman may be the best combo in football — that being said Todd Gurley may be the best back in football. No player benefited more from the new regime in LA than Gurley, who finished with 1305 yds and 13 TD on the ground. Adding 788 yards through receptions as well? Yeah, I’m putting my faith in the former Georgia standout. Give me Gurley over almost any back.
WR/TE- Julio Jones, Mohammed Sanu, & Austin Hooper vs Sammy Watkins, Robert Woods, & Cooper Kupp
Leaving out the Rams TE because I’ve never even heard of him to be honest. Any unit containing Julio Jones is probably going to win. Add Sanu to the mix? That’s a tough 1-2 punch to beat.
O-Line- Atlanta vs Los Angeles
I’m not going to pretend I sat here and graded their lines. Give me the line that allowed Gurley to run wild behind it.
D-Line- Atlanta vs Los Angeles
Aaron Donald is everything JJ Watt wants to be. Give me the Rams here
Line Defense
As a matter of fact, give me the entire Rams defense over the Falcons. The Rams have gotten by on their offense but that defense is mean. Top 10 in turnovers created and #4 in sacks screams trouble for Matt Ryan and that offense.
Coaching – Dan Quinn vs Sean McVay
Dan Quinn is brought down here by Sarkisian’s complete inability to run an offense. McVay has given new life to a franchise. I’ll take the NFL’s youngest head coach the advantage here.
Score Prediction: 27- 20 Rams
I love the narrative of a Falcons team getting back to the Super Bowl here but I don’t think they have enough to keep up with the Rams. It’s hard not to like McVay to lead his team to at least one playoff victory here.
Honestly, I do believe that there is some rift between Belichick and Brady. Brady loves his weird guru Chinese medicine scientist pliability coach — fine. Brady’s a weird dude anyway. Guerrero is exactly the type of guy that Belichick hates. Some guy who thinks oils and scents will heal a player or some shit like that. Brady and Belichick aren’t best friends, they have a coach-player relationship. There is a massive amount of respect between the two of them as there should be.
The part about Garoppolo? It was clear that the organization wanted to keep him — why wouldn’t you? The problem was that he was a free agent. According to the article, they offered him 4 years with 16/17 mil per year. A great contract for a backup and clearly shows the Pats had him in their plans. The problem was the when. Jimmy G is young and wanted to start — can’t hate on that. They were unable to come to an agreement. The Pats had to move him and Belichick gave a friendly discount to San Franscisco. Not much to see here. You can’t move on from Brady right now because he wants to keep playing and is doing so at a MVP caliber level.
RB – Devonta Freeman & Tevin Coleman vs Todd Gurley
WR/TE- Julio Jones, Mohammed Sanu, & Austin Hooper vs Sammy Watkins, Robert Woods, & Cooper Kupp
O-Line- Atlanta vs Los Angeles
Office Chatter 