Next up in my series is going to be the NFC South. Last year did not truly show all the teams talent. You obviously have the dominant team in the Atlanta Falcons, legit Super Bowl contenders. Then you have the triple threat of the New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Each of the teams has obvious issues to deal with but how good are the other parts of there game is going to decide this division.
Lets look at last years standings from the division
Atlanta Falcons: 13-3 record, 3-3 in division
Carolina Panthers: 7-9 record, 3-3 in division
New Orleans Saints: 7-9 record, 3-3 in division
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 7-9 record, 3-3 in division
This division was really awkwardly close, every team was 3-3 in division games, and then three of the teams were 7-9! The division was so close and they had to go deep into the tie breaking system do even decide who would land between spots 2 through 4. I do not think that there is any question about who is going to end up being the divisions champion this year but can any of the other teams jump up and start to gain some rhythm for coming years.
Now the schedules for the upcoming season
Atlanta Falcons
Tough Games: Week 4 vs Patriots, Week 10 vs Seahawks, Week 14 @ Packers, Week 16 @ 49ers.
Toss up Games: Week 1 @ Saints, Week 7 vs Buccaneers, Week 8 @ Cardinals, Week 9 @ Panthers, Week 11 @ Buccaneers, Week 12 vs Saints, week 15 vs Redskins, Week 17 vs Panthers.
Easy Games: Week 2 vs Rams, Week 3 @ Dolphins, Week 5 vs Jets, Week 13 @ Bills.
The Atlanta Falcons are one of my favorite teams in the league they are so talented on offense and still have some solid talent on defense. The schedule treats them nicely overall considering there record last year. They have an equal number of Easy games as Tough games, so they will balance each other out. And for most teams I would put Buccaneers games as easy games and same with a good chunk of Panthers games, but the fact that each team went 1-1 against each of its division rivals makes for a Toss up game every time in the AFC South.
Carolina Panthers
Tough Games: Week 1 vs Seahawks, Week 6 @ Vikings, Week 9 vs Falcons, Week 10 @ 49ers, Week 11 vs Patriots, Week 14 @ Saints.
Toss up Games: Week 2 @ Bills, Week 3 vs Giants, Week 5 @ Cardinals, Week 8 @ Buccaneers, Week 12 @ Dolphins, Week 13 vs Buccaneers, Week 14 @ Saints, Week 16 vs Saints.
Easy Games: Week 7 vs Rams, Week 15 vs Jets.
The Carolina Panthers are in for a doozy of a season. they have a lot of Toss up games in the first half of the season and then they have three weeks of terror starting in week 9 against the Falcons. Starting in week 9 all of the games are going to be a handful as they go through the wear and tear of those tough games and then only one easy game against the Jets. Could be pretty tough.
New Orleans Saints
Tough Games: Week 1 vs Falcons, Week 5 @ Bears, Week 6 @ Patriots, Week 11 vs 49ers, Week 12 @ Falcons, Week 13 @ Seahawks.
Toss up Games: Week 2 @ Buccaneers, Week 3 vs Cardinals, Week 10 vs Cowboys, Week 14 vs Panthers, Week 16 vs Panthers, Week 17 vs Buccaneers.
Easy Games: Week 4 vs Dolphins, Week 8 vs Bills, Week 9 @ Jets, Week 15 @ Rams.
The Saints are probably looking at there schedule and are saying that they can do well but then inside they really feel like man this is going to be tough. heres why. You are starting off against the pass dominant Falcons in opening week, you have 4 out of your 6 Tough games away from your home field, then most of the Toss up games come after a Tough game. Not to mention that even two of the easy games are away. Another difficult schedule for this division.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tough Games: Week 3 @ Patriots, Week 7 @ Falcons, Week 9 @ Seahawks, Week 11 vs Falcons, Week 15 vs 49ers.
Toss up Games: Week 2 vs Saints, Week 4 vs Cardinals, Week 6 vs Eagles, Week 8 vs Panthers, Week 10 vs Dolphins, Week 12 @ Lions, Week 13 @ Panthers, Week 14 vs Bills, Week 17 vs Saints.
Easy Games: Week 1 @ Jets, Week 16 @ Rams.
The scheduling committee was not kind to this division as a whole, another tough schedule. They will be good in most of the Toss up games but then they will most likely lose all of there Tough games, I just do not see them winning any of those games. Then they only have two games where they should be they clear cut favorites and thats gonna make for a taxing season.
Overall Team Rankings
Atlanta Falcons
As I stated earlier, THIS TEAM IS REALLY good! First off lets look at the defense, They have a very solid D-line with Jonathan Babineaux, and the addition of Osi Umenyiora was really big for them good pick up. Line backers are there weakest spot but they still have Sean Weatherspoon. Then comes the creme of the crop with a very nice Secondary with Desmond Trufant, Asante Samuel, William Moore, Thomas DeCoud really solid guys. Then the mighty Atlanta Offense, running game and passing game gets a HUGE boost with Steven Jackson as the feature back now! Then they have Julio Jones, Roddy White, and Tony Gonzalez all snagging the ball out of the air from the 5th best QB in the league Matt Ryan. That sounds like a fantasy team in my mind but they truly are all on the same team, pretty insane offense.
Carolina Panthers
Alright I'm not fully on board with Cam Newton. He is an amazing talent i get that but he is a very inconsistent player and gets only one half of a season of tremendous football but it seems to take him a while to get his groove, or as in his rookie season lose his groove. Then the rest of there offense is not really helping them, overpaid running backs not playing well, and then old or not very good wide receivers. The defense of the Panthers really is more impressive then the offense with a very impressive defensive line. Greg Hardy and Charles Johnson coming off the ends is a QB nightmare. They are a solid front seven which is really helping them over all.
New Orleans Saints
The Saints are a team of polar opposites. Defense is just awful purely terrible. Last against the run and second to last against the pass. They are going to need a MAJOR turn around but they did not add the players truly needed to do that. First year in a new system as well with the same players as last i think you get about the same amount of production. The Offense on the other hand is arguably the most consistent offense in the league. They have the most consistent QB in the league, Drew Brees, throwing two touchdowns a game. Then you have Darren Sproles a multi threat back who is just a problem causer for defenses. Then you have Colston as one of the most consistent Wide Receivers in the league, mostly because of Brees, but hey whatever works. The most polaroizing team you could possibly ask for and for that reason its going to be tough to improve. HOWEVER Sean Payton is back so a BIG boost is coming from him but still you need the players to work with.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
How did this team win seven games last year? Doug Martin is why, he took teams by suprise and was to new, to fresh, and to stinking good. They do not have a great quarterback but he does have really good players around him with the Mighty Hamster and Vincent Jackson. The defense was not good by any means, they were decent against the run, but horendous against the pass, last in the league. The big thing for them though was getting Darrell Revis. The Defense really improved with Revis. I think the teams overall though stays about the same with Doug Martin getting a lot more attention now, but an improvement in the secondary!
Final Predictions
Atlanta Falcons: 12-4 Record, 4-2 in division
New Orleans Saints: 9-7 Record, 3-3 in division
Carolina Panthers: 7-9 Record, 3-3 in division
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 6-10 Record, 2-4 in division
Obviously the Falcons almost have this division sealed as long as Matt Ryan stays away from the injury bug. They just have too much talent on offense to stop them and a solid defense to hold off the other teams from gaining in rhythm. The Saints will have to really blow improvement, they have there Head Coach back and the most consistent offense in the league, but how is that defense going to hold up? There really is next to no room to go backwards so I'm going to say they make enough progress to gain two games, if this team had an average defense at least they would be my super bowl pick. The Panthers are the exact same team as last year, therefore same record. They have some tools to be really good but Cam Newton has to be consistent all the way through the year in order to be better then 7-9 and i just do not see that happening. The Buccaneers really surprised me getting 7 wins last year so they will have to surprise me again to get more then 6, schedule is not easy, should not be any surprises on offense anymore. However I do think overall pass defense is going to make a huge jump with Revis. What will happen only time will tell for sure.
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Sunday, September 1, 2013
Monday, August 26, 2013
NFL Season Predictions: AFC North
The NFL season is getting closer and closer and I'm getting even more excited. This post is going to pull the series to its half way point and it is going to cover the predictions for the AFC North division. The AFC North holds the reigning Super Bowl Champions, a solid up an comer, a has been team, and a team that can not seem to pull its act together.
Lets look at last years results.
Baltimore Ravens: 10-6 record, 4-2 in division
Cincinnati Bengals: 10-6 record, 3-3 in division
Pittsburgh Steelers: 8-8 record, 3-3, in division
Cleveland Browns: 5-11 record, 2-4 in division
The best part about this division is that the division records were all pretty close, so you knew if it was a division game between these teams odds are you would get a pretty good game. The division in reality, even with the super bowl champs, is not all that flashy. The Ravens are a completely new team this year, the Steelers are a has been team in an awkward rebuild mode, and the Browns only ray of sunshine is the tremendous Trent Richardson. I left the Bengals out of that on purpose because they are a very solid team but they just do not display excitement.
Now a look at the teams schedules.
Baltimore Ravens:
Tough Games: Week 1 @ Broncos, Week 3 vs Texans, Week 6 vs Packers, Week 10 vs Bengals, Week 11 @ Bears, Week 16 vs Patriots, Week 17 @ Bengals.
Toss up Games: Week 7 @ Steelers, Week 9 @ Browns, Week 13 vs Steelers, Week 14 vs Vikings, Week 15 @ Lions.
Easy Games: Week 2 vs Browns, Week 4 @ Bills, Week 5 @ Dolphins, Week 12 vs Jets.
The Ravens are looking at a tough schedule, which will make it hard to have a repeat super bowl. With 7 of 16 games being tough games in my opinion its going to wear them out which will make the Toss up games later in the season more difficult. This is going to be an interesting season for the ravens and the tough schedule is not going to make things any easier. The easy games will really boost the record overall though as those really should be automatic wins.
Cincinnati Bengals:
Tough Games: Week 1 @ Bears, Week 3 vs Packers, Week 5 vs Patriots.
Toss up Games: Week 2 vs Steelers, Week 4 @ Browns, Week 7 @ Lions, Week 10 @ Ravens, Week 14 vs Colts, Week 15 @ Steelers, Week 16 vs Vikings, Week 17 vs Ravens.
Easy Games: Week 6 @ Bills, Week 8 vs Jets, Week 9 @ Dolphins, Week 11 vs Browns, Week 13 @ Chargers.
The Bengals have a schedule that should be setting them up for a really big season. They only have 3 really Tough games and all in the first 5 weeks, then they should be off to the races and ending the season with a big win streak. This is a nice schedule for the Bengals.
Pittsburgh Steelers:
Tough Games: Week 2 @ Bengals, Week 3 vs Bears, Week 9 @ Patriots, Week 15 vs Bengals, Week 16 @ Packers.
Toss up Games: Week 4 @ Vikings, Week 7 vs Ravens, Week 10 vs Bills, Week 11 vs Lions, Week 12 @ Browns, Week 13 @ Ravens, Week 17 vs Browns.
Easy Games: Week 1 vs Titans, Week 6 @ Jets, Week 8 @ Raiders, Week 14 vs Dolphins.
Steelers have a pretty well rounded schedule. They have a good chunk of each type of game and its set up for another pretty even season from the Steelers. The schedule does not really benefit the Steelers in any way but its not terribly demanding.
Cleveland Browns:
Tough Games: Week 3 @ Vikings, Week 4 vs Bengals, Week 6 vs Lions, Week 8 @ Packers, Week 11 @ Bengals, Week 14 @ Patriots, Week 15 vs Bears, Week 17 @ Steelers.
Toss up Games: Week 2 @ Ravens, Week 5 vs Bills, Week 9 @ Chiefs, Week 10 vs Ravens, Week 12 vs Steelers.
Easy Games: Week 1 vs Dolphins, Week 13 vs Jaguars, Week 16 @ Jets.
The Browns have a trying schedule by most teams standards, but the fact that they are not the greatest team by anyones standards makes it harder for the young Browns. This season will really test who the Browns want to rely on and can Norv Turner be a head coach in the league again, after dealing with the overall weak offense of the Browns.
Overall Team Rankings
Baltimore Ravens:
The Ravens are going to be interesting this year, but I think it is going to be tough for the team to repeat or even win there division again. They lost there best two defenders, who were the rock and solid ground for the team, Ray Lewis and Ed Reed, and then on offense they lost Anquan Boldin the Red Zone threat and big game machine. Not to mention they also lost Bernard Pollard who was the other starting safety for the Ravens. The good things about the Ravens is they still have a lot of defensive players that are really good like Haloti Ngata and Terrell Suggs, but they are not as star powered as they were. On offense at least they still have Torrey Smith and Jacoby Jones, but you really are putting a lot of faith into Jones to be your #2 guy. They also lost there very solid TE for the season in Dennis Pitta. The best thing about the Ravens right now is Ray Rice, a consistent and powerful back! He really does not get enough credit but he really opens up everything for the offense. Now the story of Joe Flacco. He played outstanding right when he needed to, but the question is can he play like that at all times and actually lead the team again, I personally do not think that he can. I do not think he has a good enough receiving core to make him look as good as he needs them to and I just do not think he really is that good.
Cincinnati Bengals:
The Bengals are an good team, they play well together and are beginning to win some games. Andy Dalton is no huge threat at QB but he works hard and gets the job done. The two biggest things that thrive the Bengals are A.J. Green and the Bengals defense. A.J. Green dominates defenses with his size, speed, and spectacular catching! He has similar abilities to Calvin Johnson and in time could be almost as successful. The Defense in Cincinnati is very underrated as well, ranking 6th overall last year in total yards per game allowed and now they made a big add in James Harrison. The defense is going to be very solid this year. The big question is who gets the running back job or do the split carries pretty evenly between Giovanni Bernard and Ben-Jarvis Green-Ellis. Personally I think you give BJ GE the carries he has proved to be fairly consistent and can get some good yards for you.
Pittsburgh Steelers:
The Steelers are a team that is an awkward rebuilding stage. They are not ready to commit in full to the rebuilding stage but for them I think that is probably the best thing for them. They still have a lot of really good things going for them defensively, they get back Troy Polamalu for hopefully the whole season and then they have my pick for defensive rookie of the year Jarvis Jones. Defensively they are still an above average talent. Offense is going to be a toss up this year. Big Ben is still an amazing QB and his WR are going to still be solid with out Mike Wallace. The two GLARING issues are RB and the offensive line as a whole. Running back looks like its going to be Le'Veon Bell but injuries are plaguing the position and no one is truly outshining the rest. The next issue is the offensive line that has looked horrible in the preseason as they are replacing 4 out of the five starters from last year and are introducing an entire new zone blocking scheme system that seems to be throwing the men for a loop.
If the team cannot get their offensive line in check then it will not matter who plays at running back or how good Big Ben is, they will not get anywhere.
Cleveland Browns:
Hmm the Browns, the Browns. They have a very weak overall team. The defense is a work in progress with by far the best player D'Qwell Jackson. The team is not going to impose its defense on opponents this year but they will overall hold there own as an average defense. The offense is not going to blow out any team by passing the ball even against some of the worst. Weeden just is not that kind of Quarter Back and then the Wide Receivers are not really helping him to much. Then they have the running back Trent Richardson!!! Trent is in the running for my favorite running back in the whole league! He is just a tremendous athlete and has an unbelievable drive! He played unreal all year last year, and was battling injuries all year including broken ribs, who else can do that! I think that he has a very very real shot of being a top three running back this year. I believe in Trent Richardson.
Final Predictions
Cincinnati Bengals: 10-6 record, 4-2 in division
Baltimore Ravens: 9-7 record, 3-3 in division
Pittsburgh Steelers: 7-9 record, 3-3 in division
Cleveland Browns: 6-10 record, 2-4 in division
The Bengals have a very solid team and an amazing defensive front seven which i think gives them the victory in the division. The Ravens are going to have a hard time repeating with everything the lost this year, but they have enough to still have a winning season. The Steelers line is terrible this year and way to many questions at running back. They are also the oldest defense in the league so you know they are going to be a step slow. The Browns are going to improve just a tad because of Trent. Trent is going to be big this year mark my words. I think its going to be close overall, but pretty far apart in reality. Only time will tell though.
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Lets look at last years results.
Baltimore Ravens: 10-6 record, 4-2 in division
Cincinnati Bengals: 10-6 record, 3-3 in division
Pittsburgh Steelers: 8-8 record, 3-3, in division
Cleveland Browns: 5-11 record, 2-4 in division
The best part about this division is that the division records were all pretty close, so you knew if it was a division game between these teams odds are you would get a pretty good game. The division in reality, even with the super bowl champs, is not all that flashy. The Ravens are a completely new team this year, the Steelers are a has been team in an awkward rebuild mode, and the Browns only ray of sunshine is the tremendous Trent Richardson. I left the Bengals out of that on purpose because they are a very solid team but they just do not display excitement.
Now a look at the teams schedules.
Baltimore Ravens:
Tough Games: Week 1 @ Broncos, Week 3 vs Texans, Week 6 vs Packers, Week 10 vs Bengals, Week 11 @ Bears, Week 16 vs Patriots, Week 17 @ Bengals.
Toss up Games: Week 7 @ Steelers, Week 9 @ Browns, Week 13 vs Steelers, Week 14 vs Vikings, Week 15 @ Lions.
Easy Games: Week 2 vs Browns, Week 4 @ Bills, Week 5 @ Dolphins, Week 12 vs Jets.
The Ravens are looking at a tough schedule, which will make it hard to have a repeat super bowl. With 7 of 16 games being tough games in my opinion its going to wear them out which will make the Toss up games later in the season more difficult. This is going to be an interesting season for the ravens and the tough schedule is not going to make things any easier. The easy games will really boost the record overall though as those really should be automatic wins.
Cincinnati Bengals:
Tough Games: Week 1 @ Bears, Week 3 vs Packers, Week 5 vs Patriots.
Toss up Games: Week 2 vs Steelers, Week 4 @ Browns, Week 7 @ Lions, Week 10 @ Ravens, Week 14 vs Colts, Week 15 @ Steelers, Week 16 vs Vikings, Week 17 vs Ravens.
Easy Games: Week 6 @ Bills, Week 8 vs Jets, Week 9 @ Dolphins, Week 11 vs Browns, Week 13 @ Chargers.
The Bengals have a schedule that should be setting them up for a really big season. They only have 3 really Tough games and all in the first 5 weeks, then they should be off to the races and ending the season with a big win streak. This is a nice schedule for the Bengals.
Pittsburgh Steelers:
Tough Games: Week 2 @ Bengals, Week 3 vs Bears, Week 9 @ Patriots, Week 15 vs Bengals, Week 16 @ Packers.
Toss up Games: Week 4 @ Vikings, Week 7 vs Ravens, Week 10 vs Bills, Week 11 vs Lions, Week 12 @ Browns, Week 13 @ Ravens, Week 17 vs Browns.
Easy Games: Week 1 vs Titans, Week 6 @ Jets, Week 8 @ Raiders, Week 14 vs Dolphins.
Steelers have a pretty well rounded schedule. They have a good chunk of each type of game and its set up for another pretty even season from the Steelers. The schedule does not really benefit the Steelers in any way but its not terribly demanding.
Cleveland Browns:
Tough Games: Week 3 @ Vikings, Week 4 vs Bengals, Week 6 vs Lions, Week 8 @ Packers, Week 11 @ Bengals, Week 14 @ Patriots, Week 15 vs Bears, Week 17 @ Steelers.
Toss up Games: Week 2 @ Ravens, Week 5 vs Bills, Week 9 @ Chiefs, Week 10 vs Ravens, Week 12 vs Steelers.
Easy Games: Week 1 vs Dolphins, Week 13 vs Jaguars, Week 16 @ Jets.
The Browns have a trying schedule by most teams standards, but the fact that they are not the greatest team by anyones standards makes it harder for the young Browns. This season will really test who the Browns want to rely on and can Norv Turner be a head coach in the league again, after dealing with the overall weak offense of the Browns.
Overall Team Rankings
Baltimore Ravens:
The Ravens are going to be interesting this year, but I think it is going to be tough for the team to repeat or even win there division again. They lost there best two defenders, who were the rock and solid ground for the team, Ray Lewis and Ed Reed, and then on offense they lost Anquan Boldin the Red Zone threat and big game machine. Not to mention they also lost Bernard Pollard who was the other starting safety for the Ravens. The good things about the Ravens is they still have a lot of defensive players that are really good like Haloti Ngata and Terrell Suggs, but they are not as star powered as they were. On offense at least they still have Torrey Smith and Jacoby Jones, but you really are putting a lot of faith into Jones to be your #2 guy. They also lost there very solid TE for the season in Dennis Pitta. The best thing about the Ravens right now is Ray Rice, a consistent and powerful back! He really does not get enough credit but he really opens up everything for the offense. Now the story of Joe Flacco. He played outstanding right when he needed to, but the question is can he play like that at all times and actually lead the team again, I personally do not think that he can. I do not think he has a good enough receiving core to make him look as good as he needs them to and I just do not think he really is that good.
Cincinnati Bengals:
The Bengals are an good team, they play well together and are beginning to win some games. Andy Dalton is no huge threat at QB but he works hard and gets the job done. The two biggest things that thrive the Bengals are A.J. Green and the Bengals defense. A.J. Green dominates defenses with his size, speed, and spectacular catching! He has similar abilities to Calvin Johnson and in time could be almost as successful. The Defense in Cincinnati is very underrated as well, ranking 6th overall last year in total yards per game allowed and now they made a big add in James Harrison. The defense is going to be very solid this year. The big question is who gets the running back job or do the split carries pretty evenly between Giovanni Bernard and Ben-Jarvis Green-Ellis. Personally I think you give BJ GE the carries he has proved to be fairly consistent and can get some good yards for you.
Pittsburgh Steelers:
The Steelers are a team that is an awkward rebuilding stage. They are not ready to commit in full to the rebuilding stage but for them I think that is probably the best thing for them. They still have a lot of really good things going for them defensively, they get back Troy Polamalu for hopefully the whole season and then they have my pick for defensive rookie of the year Jarvis Jones. Defensively they are still an above average talent. Offense is going to be a toss up this year. Big Ben is still an amazing QB and his WR are going to still be solid with out Mike Wallace. The two GLARING issues are RB and the offensive line as a whole. Running back looks like its going to be Le'Veon Bell but injuries are plaguing the position and no one is truly outshining the rest. The next issue is the offensive line that has looked horrible in the preseason as they are replacing 4 out of the five starters from last year and are introducing an entire new zone blocking scheme system that seems to be throwing the men for a loop.
If the team cannot get their offensive line in check then it will not matter who plays at running back or how good Big Ben is, they will not get anywhere.
Cleveland Browns:
Hmm the Browns, the Browns. They have a very weak overall team. The defense is a work in progress with by far the best player D'Qwell Jackson. The team is not going to impose its defense on opponents this year but they will overall hold there own as an average defense. The offense is not going to blow out any team by passing the ball even against some of the worst. Weeden just is not that kind of Quarter Back and then the Wide Receivers are not really helping him to much. Then they have the running back Trent Richardson!!! Trent is in the running for my favorite running back in the whole league! He is just a tremendous athlete and has an unbelievable drive! He played unreal all year last year, and was battling injuries all year including broken ribs, who else can do that! I think that he has a very very real shot of being a top three running back this year. I believe in Trent Richardson.
Final Predictions
Cincinnati Bengals: 10-6 record, 4-2 in division
Baltimore Ravens: 9-7 record, 3-3 in division
Pittsburgh Steelers: 7-9 record, 3-3 in division
Cleveland Browns: 6-10 record, 2-4 in division
The Bengals have a very solid team and an amazing defensive front seven which i think gives them the victory in the division. The Ravens are going to have a hard time repeating with everything the lost this year, but they have enough to still have a winning season. The Steelers line is terrible this year and way to many questions at running back. They are also the oldest defense in the league so you know they are going to be a step slow. The Browns are going to improve just a tad because of Trent. Trent is going to be big this year mark my words. I think its going to be close overall, but pretty far apart in reality. Only time will tell though.
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Sunday, August 18, 2013
NFL Season Predictions: NFC North
Next up in the NFL Season Predictions series moving over to the toughest division in football, every team has massive talent and each team has potential to make it to the playoffs in my opinion. This mighty division is known as the NFC North.
Now a look at last years standings for the NFC North
Green Bay Packers- 11-5 record, 5-1 in division
Minnesota Vikings- 10-6 record, 4-2 in division
Chicago Bears- 10-6 record, 3-3 in division
Detroit Lions- 4-12 record, 0-6 in division
This division is an incredibly fun division as twist and turns happen every single year. Each team has some really exciting huge part about the team that makes them special. The packers are always gonna be really good because of a strong receiving core and a tremendous QB, Vikings have the best running back in the game, Bears have a top WR and one of the best defenses in the league, and the Lions have the best WR in the league and a really good Defensive Line. This division emphasizes what the NFL is all about.
Lets look at each teams schedules now.
Green Bay Packers
Tough Games: Week 1 @ 49ers, Week 14 vs Falcons, Week 17 @ Bears.
Toss up Games: Week 2 vs Redskins, Week 3 @ Bengals, Week 5 vs Lions, Week 6 @ Ravens, Week 8 @ Vikings, Week 9 vs Bears, Week 11 @ Giants, Week 12 vs Vikings, Week 13 @ Lions.
Easy Games: Week 7 vs Browns, Week 10 vs Eagles, Week 15 @ Cowboys, Week 16 vs Steelers.
The Packers have an interesting schedule, the Packers have a knack of keeping division games close and then winning in the end only loosing to the Vikings last year. They only have a few really tough games and rest should be in there favor. Odds are they have a really good shot at repeating there division title. Usually I would not put the Cowboys as an easy game for really any team but I have this gut feeling that it'll just be a blow out game.
Minnesota Vikings
Tough Games: Week 2 @ Bears, Week 4 vs Steelers, Week 8 vs Packers, Week 10 vs Redskins, Week 11 @ Seahawks, Week 12 @ Packers.
Toss up Games: Week 1 @ Lions, Week 6 vs Panthers, Week 7 @ Giants, Week 9 @ Cowboys, Week 13 vs Bears, Week 14 @ Ravens, Week 16 @ Bengals, Week 17 vs Lions.
Easy Games: Week 3 vs Browns, Week 15 vs Eagles.
The Vikings have an overall fairly difficult schedule. Not only are they in a very tough division so they have all division games as Toss up games or Tough games, but they play the Steelers who have a top five run defense and the Redskins who have a top 5 run defense and held Adrian to under 100 yards last year. Not many of the Toss up games are going to have the Vikings as a favorite. The Browns should be simple as there defense is weak and then the Eagles have looked awful against the run in pre season so AP could run all over them.
Chicago Bears
Tough Games: Week 9 @ Packers, Week 17 vs Packers.
Toss up Games: Week 1 vs Bengals, Week 2 vs Vikings, Week 3 @ Steelers, Week 4 @ Lions, Week 5 vs Saints, Week 6 vs Giants, Week 7 @ Redskins, Week 10 vs Lions, Week 11 vs Ravens, Week 13 @ Vikings, Week 14 vs Cowboys.
Easy Games: Week 12 @ Rams, Week 15 @ Browns, Week 16 @ Eagles.
The Bears are looking good in my opinion when you look at there schedule. Their only tough games are going to come from division rivals, and then they have three simple games in the terrible Rams, weak Browns, and out of whack Eagles D. The Bears are a very all around team, They have a top notch defense and a solid offense, which makes for most games to seem even or give an edge for the Bears.
Detroit Lions
Tough Games: Week 4 vs Bears, Week 5 @ Packers, Week 7 vs Bengals, Week 10 @ Bears, Week 13 vs Packers, Week 17 @ Vikings.
Toss up Games: Week 1 vs Vikings, Week 2 @ Cardinals, Week 3 @ Redskins, Week 6 @ Browns, Week 8 vs Cowboys, Week 11 @ Steelers, Week 15 vs Ravens, Week 16 vs Giants.
Easy Games: Week 12 vs Buccaneers, Week 14 @ Eagles.
All of the division games the Lions are going to be the underdog going into them. Most of the Lions games are Toss up games because they are a Toss up team, they have the talent and keep games close but have had major trouble in closing out games this past season. The Buccaneers should be a very simple game as they were the worst against the pass last year, even with the add of Revis its gonna take more then that to stop the pass happy team.
Overall Team Rankings
Green Bay Packers:
The Packers are a very solid team. They have arguably the best quarter back in the league who leads the team to do amazing things. He does not really have a star wide receiver by any standards put he turns them into beasts by spreading the ball better then really anyone in the league. Running back will be interesting to see how Eddie Lacy does as the Packers have been trying for a break out running back but cannot seem to get one to stay healthy and play consistent. The offensive line took a huge hit when starting LT Bryan Bugala got put on the injured reserve list. Aaron Rodgers could be in for another sack filled season. Defensively the Packers are good everywhere but not great, they have talent on the line, and Clay Matthews, but secondary could be a question this year. The team is a great team because of Aaron Rodgers, he takes this team that is seemingly average on paper into a solid team!
Minnesota Vikings:
Oh the Vikings, they area tough team to read. Obviously there team is going to run through there running game and Adrian peterson is going to have to carry this team all over again, if they want to repeat anything like last year. There Defense isn't going to be as good as last loosing a top CB in Antoine Winfield, so some other guys are really going to have to step up but the pass defense is going to take a hit. The offense is really going to be interesting in the pass game as well, they made a horrible move in trading Percy Harvin, yea he is hurt and is probably going to miss the majority of the season, but he was what made the pass game anything to watch! Greg jennings is solid but is aging quick and he had arguably the best QB in the league throwing the ball to him in Green Bay so he is not going to even come close to the numbers he had in previous seasons, to much taken away and nothing gained. Christian Ponder in my opinion could be in his last season as a starting QB in the NFL unless he just proves the world wrong and blows it out of the water or takes a significant leap forward.
Chicago Bears:
The Bears are a very solid team. They are an all around team with a lot of very talented players. Defense is one of the best in the league with a strong defensive line, strong secondary (especially Charles Tillman!!!!) and solid line backers. The big hit on defense though was not re-signing Brian Urlacher, I personally think that was a mistake he was the center of that defense and helped gel the whole thing together and had amazing leadership abilities. His smarts could have kept him playing in this league alone. On offense They have a top 5 WR in Brandon Marshall, a top 12 RB in Matt Forte, and an above average QB. Trust me, I am not saying Jay Cutler is anything special I just think that he is able to get the job done for the team that the Bears have, I think that if you put a top 5 guy in Chicago with this team they could be Super Bowl contenders every year.
Detroit Lions:
I am not going to blame last season on any of the players in Detroit, I think that the Lions have an extremely talented team personnel wise, I just think the team is not being lead in the correct manor and that the Lions should have gotten rid of Jim Shwartz and gone after Lovie Smith!!! The Lions defense under a coach like Lovie could have been huge! They have a very talented defensive line, only getting better with Ziggy Ansah who is showing up even in pre season. They also have talented line backers and a solid DB in Chris Houston. Offense is also extremely talented as well. Do I even have to describe what Calvin Johnson is in this league?!?!? You seriously do not get a better guy to throw the ball to, enough said. Then they have Matthew Stafford, who i think people are a little to rough on. Yes he threw the ball WAY more then any other QB in the league last year with not even close to the stats of Peyton Manning or Drew Brees, but look at why he had to throw that much and who he had to throw the ball to over all. He had no running backs to hand the ball off to as every guy they had was injured at least once! Next his WR core was diminished to next to nothing. Calvin was the receiving core as every other guy got hurt at this position as well. There was just no players in long enough to get a rhythm going between QB and offense. Not to mention the biggest thing the the Lions did this year which was add in Reggie Bush. He is going to add consistency and a mis match in the pass game big pick up.
Final Predictions
Green Bay Packers: 10-6 record, 5-1 in division.
Chicago Bears: 10-6 record, 3-3 in division.
Detroit Lions: 7-9 record, 2-4
Minnesota Vikings: 6-10 record, 2-4
The Packers and Bears are going to be in a close race all year long in my opinion. I think the Bears are to good all around to be a below 10 wins. Rodgers is going to win this for the Packers though, he wins big division games and thats going to be the decider in this division between the Bears and Packers. The Lions are going to be better then people are giving them credit for, the WR are back and healthy and they have a running back now in Reggie Bush, I have little faith in Jim Shwartz, but I think there is too much talent for them to be below 7 games this year (If Lovie Smith was coach add two wins). Then for the Vikings I just do not think that Adrian Peterson can carry this team back to 10 wins again. With a bad QB and no real threat in the receiving core I'm calling a major downfall for the Vikings. Only time will tell for sure though.
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Now a look at last years standings for the NFC North
Green Bay Packers- 11-5 record, 5-1 in division
Minnesota Vikings- 10-6 record, 4-2 in division
Chicago Bears- 10-6 record, 3-3 in division
Detroit Lions- 4-12 record, 0-6 in division
This division is an incredibly fun division as twist and turns happen every single year. Each team has some really exciting huge part about the team that makes them special. The packers are always gonna be really good because of a strong receiving core and a tremendous QB, Vikings have the best running back in the game, Bears have a top WR and one of the best defenses in the league, and the Lions have the best WR in the league and a really good Defensive Line. This division emphasizes what the NFL is all about.
Lets look at each teams schedules now.
Green Bay Packers
Tough Games: Week 1 @ 49ers, Week 14 vs Falcons, Week 17 @ Bears.
Toss up Games: Week 2 vs Redskins, Week 3 @ Bengals, Week 5 vs Lions, Week 6 @ Ravens, Week 8 @ Vikings, Week 9 vs Bears, Week 11 @ Giants, Week 12 vs Vikings, Week 13 @ Lions.
Easy Games: Week 7 vs Browns, Week 10 vs Eagles, Week 15 @ Cowboys, Week 16 vs Steelers.
The Packers have an interesting schedule, the Packers have a knack of keeping division games close and then winning in the end only loosing to the Vikings last year. They only have a few really tough games and rest should be in there favor. Odds are they have a really good shot at repeating there division title. Usually I would not put the Cowboys as an easy game for really any team but I have this gut feeling that it'll just be a blow out game.
Minnesota Vikings
Tough Games: Week 2 @ Bears, Week 4 vs Steelers, Week 8 vs Packers, Week 10 vs Redskins, Week 11 @ Seahawks, Week 12 @ Packers.
Toss up Games: Week 1 @ Lions, Week 6 vs Panthers, Week 7 @ Giants, Week 9 @ Cowboys, Week 13 vs Bears, Week 14 @ Ravens, Week 16 @ Bengals, Week 17 vs Lions.
Easy Games: Week 3 vs Browns, Week 15 vs Eagles.
The Vikings have an overall fairly difficult schedule. Not only are they in a very tough division so they have all division games as Toss up games or Tough games, but they play the Steelers who have a top five run defense and the Redskins who have a top 5 run defense and held Adrian to under 100 yards last year. Not many of the Toss up games are going to have the Vikings as a favorite. The Browns should be simple as there defense is weak and then the Eagles have looked awful against the run in pre season so AP could run all over them.
Chicago Bears
Tough Games: Week 9 @ Packers, Week 17 vs Packers.
Toss up Games: Week 1 vs Bengals, Week 2 vs Vikings, Week 3 @ Steelers, Week 4 @ Lions, Week 5 vs Saints, Week 6 vs Giants, Week 7 @ Redskins, Week 10 vs Lions, Week 11 vs Ravens, Week 13 @ Vikings, Week 14 vs Cowboys.
Easy Games: Week 12 @ Rams, Week 15 @ Browns, Week 16 @ Eagles.
The Bears are looking good in my opinion when you look at there schedule. Their only tough games are going to come from division rivals, and then they have three simple games in the terrible Rams, weak Browns, and out of whack Eagles D. The Bears are a very all around team, They have a top notch defense and a solid offense, which makes for most games to seem even or give an edge for the Bears.
Detroit Lions
Tough Games: Week 4 vs Bears, Week 5 @ Packers, Week 7 vs Bengals, Week 10 @ Bears, Week 13 vs Packers, Week 17 @ Vikings.
Toss up Games: Week 1 vs Vikings, Week 2 @ Cardinals, Week 3 @ Redskins, Week 6 @ Browns, Week 8 vs Cowboys, Week 11 @ Steelers, Week 15 vs Ravens, Week 16 vs Giants.
Easy Games: Week 12 vs Buccaneers, Week 14 @ Eagles.
All of the division games the Lions are going to be the underdog going into them. Most of the Lions games are Toss up games because they are a Toss up team, they have the talent and keep games close but have had major trouble in closing out games this past season. The Buccaneers should be a very simple game as they were the worst against the pass last year, even with the add of Revis its gonna take more then that to stop the pass happy team.
Overall Team Rankings
Green Bay Packers:
The Packers are a very solid team. They have arguably the best quarter back in the league who leads the team to do amazing things. He does not really have a star wide receiver by any standards put he turns them into beasts by spreading the ball better then really anyone in the league. Running back will be interesting to see how Eddie Lacy does as the Packers have been trying for a break out running back but cannot seem to get one to stay healthy and play consistent. The offensive line took a huge hit when starting LT Bryan Bugala got put on the injured reserve list. Aaron Rodgers could be in for another sack filled season. Defensively the Packers are good everywhere but not great, they have talent on the line, and Clay Matthews, but secondary could be a question this year. The team is a great team because of Aaron Rodgers, he takes this team that is seemingly average on paper into a solid team!
Minnesota Vikings:
Oh the Vikings, they area tough team to read. Obviously there team is going to run through there running game and Adrian peterson is going to have to carry this team all over again, if they want to repeat anything like last year. There Defense isn't going to be as good as last loosing a top CB in Antoine Winfield, so some other guys are really going to have to step up but the pass defense is going to take a hit. The offense is really going to be interesting in the pass game as well, they made a horrible move in trading Percy Harvin, yea he is hurt and is probably going to miss the majority of the season, but he was what made the pass game anything to watch! Greg jennings is solid but is aging quick and he had arguably the best QB in the league throwing the ball to him in Green Bay so he is not going to even come close to the numbers he had in previous seasons, to much taken away and nothing gained. Christian Ponder in my opinion could be in his last season as a starting QB in the NFL unless he just proves the world wrong and blows it out of the water or takes a significant leap forward.
Chicago Bears:
The Bears are a very solid team. They are an all around team with a lot of very talented players. Defense is one of the best in the league with a strong defensive line, strong secondary (especially Charles Tillman!!!!) and solid line backers. The big hit on defense though was not re-signing Brian Urlacher, I personally think that was a mistake he was the center of that defense and helped gel the whole thing together and had amazing leadership abilities. His smarts could have kept him playing in this league alone. On offense They have a top 5 WR in Brandon Marshall, a top 12 RB in Matt Forte, and an above average QB. Trust me, I am not saying Jay Cutler is anything special I just think that he is able to get the job done for the team that the Bears have, I think that if you put a top 5 guy in Chicago with this team they could be Super Bowl contenders every year.
Detroit Lions:
I am not going to blame last season on any of the players in Detroit, I think that the Lions have an extremely talented team personnel wise, I just think the team is not being lead in the correct manor and that the Lions should have gotten rid of Jim Shwartz and gone after Lovie Smith!!! The Lions defense under a coach like Lovie could have been huge! They have a very talented defensive line, only getting better with Ziggy Ansah who is showing up even in pre season. They also have talented line backers and a solid DB in Chris Houston. Offense is also extremely talented as well. Do I even have to describe what Calvin Johnson is in this league?!?!? You seriously do not get a better guy to throw the ball to, enough said. Then they have Matthew Stafford, who i think people are a little to rough on. Yes he threw the ball WAY more then any other QB in the league last year with not even close to the stats of Peyton Manning or Drew Brees, but look at why he had to throw that much and who he had to throw the ball to over all. He had no running backs to hand the ball off to as every guy they had was injured at least once! Next his WR core was diminished to next to nothing. Calvin was the receiving core as every other guy got hurt at this position as well. There was just no players in long enough to get a rhythm going between QB and offense. Not to mention the biggest thing the the Lions did this year which was add in Reggie Bush. He is going to add consistency and a mis match in the pass game big pick up.
Final Predictions
Green Bay Packers: 10-6 record, 5-1 in division.
Chicago Bears: 10-6 record, 3-3 in division.
Detroit Lions: 7-9 record, 2-4
Minnesota Vikings: 6-10 record, 2-4
The Packers and Bears are going to be in a close race all year long in my opinion. I think the Bears are to good all around to be a below 10 wins. Rodgers is going to win this for the Packers though, he wins big division games and thats going to be the decider in this division between the Bears and Packers. The Lions are going to be better then people are giving them credit for, the WR are back and healthy and they have a running back now in Reggie Bush, I have little faith in Jim Shwartz, but I think there is too much talent for them to be below 7 games this year (If Lovie Smith was coach add two wins). Then for the Vikings I just do not think that Adrian Peterson can carry this team back to 10 wins again. With a bad QB and no real threat in the receiving core I'm calling a major downfall for the Vikings. Only time will tell for sure though.
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Tuesday, August 13, 2013
NFL Season Predictions: AFC East
For my second post in my series of "NFL Season Predictions" I am going to move to the AFC and make my predictions for the AFC East. By far it is one of the weakest divisions in the NFL and does not seem to be in any shape for a vast improvement in the upcoming season.
Lets Begin with looking over the ending results from last year in the AFC East.
New England Patriots- 12-4 record, 6-0 in division
Miami Dolphins- 7-9 record, 2-4 in division
New York Jets- 6-10 record, 2-4 in division
Buffalo Bills- 6-10 record, 2-4 in division
You do not get a very fun season from this division and its always the exact same thing as the New England Patriots just demolish the division. It was actually about what you expect from the division as a whole maybe even a little bit better with the Dolphins winning 7 games. This Division has a Top 5 QB and then 3 bottom 10 quarterbacks. Last year was just not a very fun one for the AFC East.
Analyzing each teams schedules now.
New England Patriots
Tough Games: Week 4 @ Falcons, Week 6 vs Saints, Week 12 vs Broncos, Week 13 @ Texans.
Toss up Games: Week 5 @ Bengals, Week 9 vs Steelers, Week 16 @ Ravens.
Easy Games: Week 1 @ Bills, Week 2 vs Jets, Week 3 vs Buccaneers, Week 7 @ Jets, Week 8 vs Dolphins, Week 11 @ Panthers, Week 14 vs Browns, Week 15 @ Dolphins, Week 17 vs Bills.
The Patriots have a very solid chance to have a very successful year this season with the schedule they have been dealt. They have all easy division games that they should handle very easily, only a few toss up games against some interesting teams, Ravens will look a lot different this year on defense and in the passing game, Steelers are just a solid team if everyone stays healthy, and the Bengals could give the Patriots secondary some troubles with AJ Green. I think that all of their Tough Games this year will actually be some very difficult games for them because of how much the patriots lost on offense they are going to have to have some players really step up.
Miami Dolphins
Tough Games: Week 2 @ Colts, Week 3 vs Falcons, Week 4 @ Saints, Week 5 vs Ravens, Week 8 @ Patriots, Week 9 vs Bengals, Week 15 vs Patriots.
Toss up Games: Week 1 @ Browns, Week 7 vs Bills, Week 10 @ Buccaneers, Week 11 vs Chargers, Week 12 vs Panthers, Week 13 @ Jets, Week 14 @ Steelers, Week 16 @ Bills, Week 17 vs Jets.
Easy Games: None
I really looked at this schedule a lot, and I just could not think of any of these games as an easy game for this team, even ones that should be, especially the Jets. I think they will play fair against most of the toss up games like the Browns, Buccaneers, and Chargers games but this is going to be a rough year for them.
New York Jets
Tough Games: Week 2 @ Patriots, Week 5 @ Falcons, Week 6 vs Steelers, Week 7 vs Patriots, Week 8 @ Bengals, Week 9 vs Saints, Week 12 @ Ravens.
Toss up Games: Week 1 vs Buccaneers, Week 3 vs Bills, Week 4 @ Titans, Week 11 @ Bills, Week 13 vs Dolphins, Week 15 @ Panthers, Week 16 vs Browns, Week 17 @ Dolphins.
Easy Games: Week 14 vs Raiders.
The Jets are just bad, and they have a horrible coach that has some serious leadership problems. Unlike the Dolphins I think that they will be on the opposite side of most of the Toss up Games, meaning the loosing side. I do think the y have one easy game in the Raiders as I think they are possibly the worst team in the league this year. Although the Jets themselves really could be the worst team in the league this year as well, especially if they decide to change QBs mid season or anything like that.
Buffalo Bills
Tough Games: Week 1 vs Patriots, Week 4 vs Ravens, Week 8 @ Saints, Week 13 vs Falcons, Week 17 vs Patriots.
Toss up Games: Week 2 vs Panthers, Week 3 @ Jets, Week 5 @ Browns, Week 6 vs Bengals, Week 7 @ Dolphins, Week 9 vs Chiefs, Week 10 @ Steelers, Week 14 vs Buccaneers, Week 16 vs Dolphins.
Easy Games: Week 11 vs Jets, Week 15 @ Jaguars.
I think the Bills are pretty much a Toss up team for now with the QB battle, but schedule wise I think for this team they could have a fairly successful year for this division. They only have 3 Tough games that are not Division games, and have a large chunk of Toss up games. They get to play the Jaguars which no other team in the division gets to do so it should be a fairly easy win there, and the Bills KILLED the Jets at home last year, in the second half of the season as well so it could look very similar there.
Overall Team Rankings
New England Patriots:
The Patriots are the best team in this Division as always and that most likely will not change until Tom Brady is gone. Tom Brady is one of the best ever and he will carry any team and make them look great! Now the big question this year is who on earth in the receiving end is going to be the guy this year! Obviously if Rob Gronkowski is going to be healthy he is going to be HUGE this year even more then usual. Danny Amendola could be good as well also injury prone though. Not to mention that the Patriots are going to have the best running game that they have had in years. Steven Ridley is gonna be great and then Vareen is an Offensive Weapon and will work well in mismatches for the defenses. Defense should be interesting as well, the defensive line is getting pretty good and they are improving in the secondary but its still a work in progress.
Miami Dolphins:
The Dolphins are an interesting team. I think it was big for them getting Mike Wallace and it should help Ryan Tannehill, but I just do not think that Ryan Tannehill should be a teams franchise QB in the league, he just has not been that good. Not to mention that they are going to have to put a lot of trust in a rookie running back that hasn't been getting big talk. Then you have the Dolphins defense which is fairly poor. They have no real power on the team that teams are going to have to majorly adjust for so.
New York Jets:
The Jets are a bad team. There defense went way down without Darrelle Revis last year, and now he will not even be on the roster this year so you know its going to be a rebuilding defense this year. They replaced him well with rookie corner back Dee Milliner, and Antonio Cromartie is a talented player as well, but the Jets need more then a rookie to make there defense a top D like it used to be. I will say, in order for the Jets to do well in games this year, they are going to need there defense to play really well. The offense for the Jets is the main reason that they are in such rough shape as they have zero players on that side of the ball that are star players. There QB is going to be a very rough position regardless of who they play there. Geno Smith is the better option as I think it is time to move on from Mark Sanchez. Then you have no real threats at WR so that does not help when you have a bad QB. Then running back is an interesting position as Chris Ivory is getting a shot to be a number one guy, he plays like Marshawn Lynch and when he has played he has been really good, but he has serious injury problems so you have to wonder how long is he going to last.
Buffalo Bills:
The Bills have a very solid team when you look at the big picture. There Defense is not top notch but they are above average and have Mario Williams who is really going to elevate the pass rush. On offense they have a solid receiving core, especially with Stevie Johnson. Then at running back you have CJ Spiller who everyone seems to love, I am not 100% sold on Spiller, personally, as his injury problems and for some reason the team has taken them this long to hand of the reigns in full. I do think Spiller is a solid running back, but I just do not see him as a Top 10 guy just yet. The biggest question this year is going to be who they play at QB. I cannot stand Kevin Kolb, ever since he started in Philadelphia, and I have always said he was very overrated. Apparently I was correct because he couldn't even get the job in Arizona, do you realize how terrible that really is! EJ Manuel I think brings a new dynamic to the team and they could turn into an up tempo run and gun offense. Manuel+Cpiller+Johnson makes for one exciting athletic offense. Manuel by far is the better option.
Final Predictions
New England Patriots: 14-2 record, 6-0 in division.
Buffalo Bills: 8-8 record, 3-3 in division.
Miami Dolphins: 6-10 record, 2-4 in division.
New York Jets: 2-14 record, 1-5 in division.
The Patriots are set up for really good year so I'm calling they have one of the best records in football this year. I think that if EJ Manuel gets the job in Buffalo then they could pull an even record, he has potential to change the team into something unique. The Dolphins just have a really tough schedule for there team with not enough talent so I think they decline this year. The Jets are just terrible, they have a bad coach that does not know how to use the players he has on offense. Geno Smith has potential to have a good career but I don't think he is going to be used how his skills will be best suited. All in all you have a very standard year from the AFC East.
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Lets Begin with looking over the ending results from last year in the AFC East.
New England Patriots- 12-4 record, 6-0 in division
Miami Dolphins- 7-9 record, 2-4 in division
New York Jets- 6-10 record, 2-4 in division
Buffalo Bills- 6-10 record, 2-4 in division
You do not get a very fun season from this division and its always the exact same thing as the New England Patriots just demolish the division. It was actually about what you expect from the division as a whole maybe even a little bit better with the Dolphins winning 7 games. This Division has a Top 5 QB and then 3 bottom 10 quarterbacks. Last year was just not a very fun one for the AFC East.
Analyzing each teams schedules now.
New England Patriots
Tough Games: Week 4 @ Falcons, Week 6 vs Saints, Week 12 vs Broncos, Week 13 @ Texans.
Toss up Games: Week 5 @ Bengals, Week 9 vs Steelers, Week 16 @ Ravens.
Easy Games: Week 1 @ Bills, Week 2 vs Jets, Week 3 vs Buccaneers, Week 7 @ Jets, Week 8 vs Dolphins, Week 11 @ Panthers, Week 14 vs Browns, Week 15 @ Dolphins, Week 17 vs Bills.
The Patriots have a very solid chance to have a very successful year this season with the schedule they have been dealt. They have all easy division games that they should handle very easily, only a few toss up games against some interesting teams, Ravens will look a lot different this year on defense and in the passing game, Steelers are just a solid team if everyone stays healthy, and the Bengals could give the Patriots secondary some troubles with AJ Green. I think that all of their Tough Games this year will actually be some very difficult games for them because of how much the patriots lost on offense they are going to have to have some players really step up.
Miami Dolphins
Tough Games: Week 2 @ Colts, Week 3 vs Falcons, Week 4 @ Saints, Week 5 vs Ravens, Week 8 @ Patriots, Week 9 vs Bengals, Week 15 vs Patriots.
Toss up Games: Week 1 @ Browns, Week 7 vs Bills, Week 10 @ Buccaneers, Week 11 vs Chargers, Week 12 vs Panthers, Week 13 @ Jets, Week 14 @ Steelers, Week 16 @ Bills, Week 17 vs Jets.
Easy Games: None
I really looked at this schedule a lot, and I just could not think of any of these games as an easy game for this team, even ones that should be, especially the Jets. I think they will play fair against most of the toss up games like the Browns, Buccaneers, and Chargers games but this is going to be a rough year for them.
New York Jets
Tough Games: Week 2 @ Patriots, Week 5 @ Falcons, Week 6 vs Steelers, Week 7 vs Patriots, Week 8 @ Bengals, Week 9 vs Saints, Week 12 @ Ravens.
Toss up Games: Week 1 vs Buccaneers, Week 3 vs Bills, Week 4 @ Titans, Week 11 @ Bills, Week 13 vs Dolphins, Week 15 @ Panthers, Week 16 vs Browns, Week 17 @ Dolphins.
Easy Games: Week 14 vs Raiders.
The Jets are just bad, and they have a horrible coach that has some serious leadership problems. Unlike the Dolphins I think that they will be on the opposite side of most of the Toss up Games, meaning the loosing side. I do think the y have one easy game in the Raiders as I think they are possibly the worst team in the league this year. Although the Jets themselves really could be the worst team in the league this year as well, especially if they decide to change QBs mid season or anything like that.
Buffalo Bills
Tough Games: Week 1 vs Patriots, Week 4 vs Ravens, Week 8 @ Saints, Week 13 vs Falcons, Week 17 vs Patriots.
Toss up Games: Week 2 vs Panthers, Week 3 @ Jets, Week 5 @ Browns, Week 6 vs Bengals, Week 7 @ Dolphins, Week 9 vs Chiefs, Week 10 @ Steelers, Week 14 vs Buccaneers, Week 16 vs Dolphins.
Easy Games: Week 11 vs Jets, Week 15 @ Jaguars.
I think the Bills are pretty much a Toss up team for now with the QB battle, but schedule wise I think for this team they could have a fairly successful year for this division. They only have 3 Tough games that are not Division games, and have a large chunk of Toss up games. They get to play the Jaguars which no other team in the division gets to do so it should be a fairly easy win there, and the Bills KILLED the Jets at home last year, in the second half of the season as well so it could look very similar there.
Overall Team Rankings
New England Patriots:
The Patriots are the best team in this Division as always and that most likely will not change until Tom Brady is gone. Tom Brady is one of the best ever and he will carry any team and make them look great! Now the big question this year is who on earth in the receiving end is going to be the guy this year! Obviously if Rob Gronkowski is going to be healthy he is going to be HUGE this year even more then usual. Danny Amendola could be good as well also injury prone though. Not to mention that the Patriots are going to have the best running game that they have had in years. Steven Ridley is gonna be great and then Vareen is an Offensive Weapon and will work well in mismatches for the defenses. Defense should be interesting as well, the defensive line is getting pretty good and they are improving in the secondary but its still a work in progress.
Miami Dolphins:
The Dolphins are an interesting team. I think it was big for them getting Mike Wallace and it should help Ryan Tannehill, but I just do not think that Ryan Tannehill should be a teams franchise QB in the league, he just has not been that good. Not to mention that they are going to have to put a lot of trust in a rookie running back that hasn't been getting big talk. Then you have the Dolphins defense which is fairly poor. They have no real power on the team that teams are going to have to majorly adjust for so.
New York Jets:
The Jets are a bad team. There defense went way down without Darrelle Revis last year, and now he will not even be on the roster this year so you know its going to be a rebuilding defense this year. They replaced him well with rookie corner back Dee Milliner, and Antonio Cromartie is a talented player as well, but the Jets need more then a rookie to make there defense a top D like it used to be. I will say, in order for the Jets to do well in games this year, they are going to need there defense to play really well. The offense for the Jets is the main reason that they are in such rough shape as they have zero players on that side of the ball that are star players. There QB is going to be a very rough position regardless of who they play there. Geno Smith is the better option as I think it is time to move on from Mark Sanchez. Then you have no real threats at WR so that does not help when you have a bad QB. Then running back is an interesting position as Chris Ivory is getting a shot to be a number one guy, he plays like Marshawn Lynch and when he has played he has been really good, but he has serious injury problems so you have to wonder how long is he going to last.
Buffalo Bills:
The Bills have a very solid team when you look at the big picture. There Defense is not top notch but they are above average and have Mario Williams who is really going to elevate the pass rush. On offense they have a solid receiving core, especially with Stevie Johnson. Then at running back you have CJ Spiller who everyone seems to love, I am not 100% sold on Spiller, personally, as his injury problems and for some reason the team has taken them this long to hand of the reigns in full. I do think Spiller is a solid running back, but I just do not see him as a Top 10 guy just yet. The biggest question this year is going to be who they play at QB. I cannot stand Kevin Kolb, ever since he started in Philadelphia, and I have always said he was very overrated. Apparently I was correct because he couldn't even get the job in Arizona, do you realize how terrible that really is! EJ Manuel I think brings a new dynamic to the team and they could turn into an up tempo run and gun offense. Manuel+Cpiller+Johnson makes for one exciting athletic offense. Manuel by far is the better option.
Final Predictions
New England Patriots: 14-2 record, 6-0 in division.
Buffalo Bills: 8-8 record, 3-3 in division.
Miami Dolphins: 6-10 record, 2-4 in division.
New York Jets: 2-14 record, 1-5 in division.
The Patriots are set up for really good year so I'm calling they have one of the best records in football this year. I think that if EJ Manuel gets the job in Buffalo then they could pull an even record, he has potential to change the team into something unique. The Dolphins just have a really tough schedule for there team with not enough talent so I think they decline this year. The Jets are just terrible, they have a bad coach that does not know how to use the players he has on offense. Geno Smith has potential to have a good career but I don't think he is going to be used how his skills will be best suited. All in all you have a very standard year from the AFC East.
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Friday, August 9, 2013
NFL Season Predictions: NFC East
The NFL pre-season is upon us and I am feeling the football fever!!! I am going to be coming out with a bounty of posts in the next couple of days discussing my predictions for each division in the NFL for the 2013-2014 season! I thought I would start off with what I believe to be one of the toughest divisions in the NFL, the NFC East.
Lets start off by looking at the results from last year for the NFC East.
Washington Redskins- 10-6 record, 5-1 in division.
New York Giants- 9-7 record, 3-3 in division.
Dallas Cowboys- 8-8 record, 3-3 in division.
Philadelphia Eagles- 4-12 record, 1-5 in division.
This was a very exciting season last year for this division, if you exempt the Eagles from the equation. It really was a three team fight for the #1 spot in the last two weeks of the regular season. The Giants actually had the hardest path going into the last game of the season as they needed the Redskins to lose and two other NFC teams to lose to make it into the playoffs. The most important game of last season was week 17 Cowboys vs Redskins. The winner of the game makes the playoffs and ultimately wins the division. If the Redskins win the hold the best record in the conference and are not in a tie for division record. If the Cowboys win then there could be a three way tie for the lead with three teams at 9-7, but the Cowboys held the tiebreaker and would have sealed the spot. The division is very closely contested every year and the same team has not won the division since 2004 when the Eagles won it for the second year in a row.
Now lets take a look at this years schedules for each of the teams.
Washington Redskins:
Tough Games: Week 2 @ Packers, Week 7 vs Bears, Week 8 @ Broncos, Week 12 vs 49ers, Week 15 @ Falcons, Week 17 @ Giants.
Toss up Games: Week 1 vs Eagles, Week 3 vs Lions, Week 6 @ Cowboys, Week 9 vs Chargers, Week 13 vs Giants, Week 14 vs Chiefs, Week 16 vs Cowboys.
Easy Games: Week 4 @ Raiders, Week 10 @ Vikings, Week 11 @ Eagles.
When you look at the Redskins schedule you are looking at arguably the toughest one in the league this year. I guess that's the results of having a successful year. They easily have 6 tough games that they are going to have to fight there way through. Then they only have 3 games that I think are easy games for the Redskins. Then you have 7 games that could go either way, it is really going to be an interesting season for the Skins.
New York Giants:
Tough Games: Week 2 vs Broncos, Week 6 @ Bears, Week 11 vs Packers, Week 15 @ Seahawks, Week 17 vs Redskins.
Toss up Games: Week 1 @ Cowboys, Week 7 vs Vikings, Week 12 vs Cowboys, Week 13 @ Redskins, Week 16 @ Lions.
Easy Games: Week 3 @ Panthers, Week 4 @ Chiefs, Week 5 vs Eagles, Week 8 @ Eagles, Week 10 vs Raiders, Week 14 @ Chargers.
The Giants schedule is a lot cleaner then the Redskins, they still have 5 really tough games, but they do have 6 games that should be very simple wins for them. Not to mention three of the five toss up games are division rival games, odds are they win a majority of those.
Dallas Cowboys:
Tough Games: Week 5 vs Broncos, Week 8 @ Lions, Week 10 @ Saints, Week 14 @ Bears, Week 15 vs Packers.
Toss up Games: Week 1 vs Giants, Week 2 @ Chiefs, Week 6 vs Redskins, Week 7 @ Eagles, Week 9 vs Vikings, Week 12 @ Giants, Week 16 @ Redskins, Week 17 @ Eagles.
Easy Games: Week 3 vs Rams, Week 4 @ Chargers, Week 13 vs Raiders.
The Cowboys schedule is interesting, which is fitting for an interesting team. They are a toss up team in themselves. Most of the games are toss up games that are going either way. I think that there tough games are going to be very tough games for the Cowboys, but they have a good shot at still doing well with the number of Toss up Games.
Philadelphia Eagles:
Tough Games: Week 1 @ Redskins, Week 4 @ Broncos, Week 10 @ Packers, Week 14 vs Lions Week 16 vs Bears, Week 17 @ Cowboys.
Toss up Game: Week 2 vs Chargers, Week 3 vs Chiefs, Week 5 @ Giants, Week 6 @ Buccaneers, Week 7 vs Cowboys, Week 8 vs Giants, Week 11 vs Redskins, Week 13 vs Cardinals, Week 15 @ Vikings.
Easy Games: Week 9 @ Raiders.
The Eagles schedule as a whole is not one that really looks that tough when you look at it but its the Eagles. To many moving parts with a whole new coaching system, not the strongest defense and offense is lacking true leadership.
Over All Team Rankings
Washington Redskins:
The Redskins are a very good team and this year they are only going to be better then last years team. With the re-additions of Pierre Garçon and Fred Davis on offense, your giving RGIII back his top two targets, which is going to create a much more dangerous air attack which helps the run game as well. Then you are also adding Brian Orakpo back into the mix which adds unreal depth and instant star quality to the pass rush and run stop! The team gained players and talent and didn't lose anything. The team still has questions in the secondary on defense, but some key young guys could step up this year.
New York Giants:
They are a little bit worse in my book. The lost some serious stuff on the defensive line with Osi Umenyiora now gone for good and Jason Pierre Paul is still injured and could be gone for a could couple of weeks. The part of the defense that was so good at one point in time for the Giants is now a main focus of work for them which could really be a hindrance. Not to mention that the team still has issues with Victor Cruz as he probably is not fully happy with only signing a 1 year tender agreement with the Giants. They will be a little more dynamic on offense however with transitioning from power back Ahmad Bradshaw to athletic speed back Davis Wilson.
Dallas Cowboys:
I think they are almost the exact same team from last year, but I cannot ignore the fact of them regaining almost all of there starting defenders last year after almost all of them were injured and then some. Overall I think that they are going to improve. It's still a question as to what type of player your goin to get out of Tony Romo this year as he is very inconsistent and has had some issues with turnovers. Dez Bryant though is in the running for having a huge year and is just a pure talent which is really gonna open up the field for the other wide outs as well. The next big question though is the defense in Dallas, you are starting completely over with a new Defensive cordanator and a bunch of players who barely or didnt even play last year. Lots of questions defensively.
Philadelphia Eagles:
When you look at this team they have a lot of issues that are goin to need to be resolved in this season. They have a struggling defense and an offense with no real STAR power. You have great, athletic players at every position but Chip Kelly is going to have to find a way to get all of the pieces working together and make them click as a unit. I think you have to start Vick especially in a Kelly offense and you have to give McCoy the ball. The need there young recievers to step up with a lot of issues there. They also need there entire defensive unit to step up as they really were nothing o special even with the talented players they did have. Overall though, the team is going to have to go through some growing pains just a part of clearing out a system and basically starting over.
Final Predictions
New York Giants: 10-6 record, 4-2 in division.
Washington Redskins: 9-7 record, 4-2 in division
Dallas Cowboys: 8-8 record, 3-3 in division
Philadelphia Eagles: 5-11 record, 2-4 in division
I think its gonna be a really close year again, coming down to the last few weeks again. The Eagles are gonna be in some rough shape, still the odd team out. I think the simpleness of the Giants schedule compared to the Redskins is gonna give them an edge this year, then I just think the Cowboys have to many questions on defense. Only time will tell though, you never really know how a team is going to perform or what injuries come into play. Let me know what you think.
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Lets start off by looking at the results from last year for the NFC East.
Washington Redskins- 10-6 record, 5-1 in division.
New York Giants- 9-7 record, 3-3 in division.
Dallas Cowboys- 8-8 record, 3-3 in division.
Philadelphia Eagles- 4-12 record, 1-5 in division.
This was a very exciting season last year for this division, if you exempt the Eagles from the equation. It really was a three team fight for the #1 spot in the last two weeks of the regular season. The Giants actually had the hardest path going into the last game of the season as they needed the Redskins to lose and two other NFC teams to lose to make it into the playoffs. The most important game of last season was week 17 Cowboys vs Redskins. The winner of the game makes the playoffs and ultimately wins the division. If the Redskins win the hold the best record in the conference and are not in a tie for division record. If the Cowboys win then there could be a three way tie for the lead with three teams at 9-7, but the Cowboys held the tiebreaker and would have sealed the spot. The division is very closely contested every year and the same team has not won the division since 2004 when the Eagles won it for the second year in a row.
Now lets take a look at this years schedules for each of the teams.
Washington Redskins:
Tough Games: Week 2 @ Packers, Week 7 vs Bears, Week 8 @ Broncos, Week 12 vs 49ers, Week 15 @ Falcons, Week 17 @ Giants.
Toss up Games: Week 1 vs Eagles, Week 3 vs Lions, Week 6 @ Cowboys, Week 9 vs Chargers, Week 13 vs Giants, Week 14 vs Chiefs, Week 16 vs Cowboys.
Easy Games: Week 4 @ Raiders, Week 10 @ Vikings, Week 11 @ Eagles.
When you look at the Redskins schedule you are looking at arguably the toughest one in the league this year. I guess that's the results of having a successful year. They easily have 6 tough games that they are going to have to fight there way through. Then they only have 3 games that I think are easy games for the Redskins. Then you have 7 games that could go either way, it is really going to be an interesting season for the Skins.
New York Giants:
Tough Games: Week 2 vs Broncos, Week 6 @ Bears, Week 11 vs Packers, Week 15 @ Seahawks, Week 17 vs Redskins.
Toss up Games: Week 1 @ Cowboys, Week 7 vs Vikings, Week 12 vs Cowboys, Week 13 @ Redskins, Week 16 @ Lions.
Easy Games: Week 3 @ Panthers, Week 4 @ Chiefs, Week 5 vs Eagles, Week 8 @ Eagles, Week 10 vs Raiders, Week 14 @ Chargers.
The Giants schedule is a lot cleaner then the Redskins, they still have 5 really tough games, but they do have 6 games that should be very simple wins for them. Not to mention three of the five toss up games are division rival games, odds are they win a majority of those.
Dallas Cowboys:
Tough Games: Week 5 vs Broncos, Week 8 @ Lions, Week 10 @ Saints, Week 14 @ Bears, Week 15 vs Packers.
Toss up Games: Week 1 vs Giants, Week 2 @ Chiefs, Week 6 vs Redskins, Week 7 @ Eagles, Week 9 vs Vikings, Week 12 @ Giants, Week 16 @ Redskins, Week 17 @ Eagles.
Easy Games: Week 3 vs Rams, Week 4 @ Chargers, Week 13 vs Raiders.
The Cowboys schedule is interesting, which is fitting for an interesting team. They are a toss up team in themselves. Most of the games are toss up games that are going either way. I think that there tough games are going to be very tough games for the Cowboys, but they have a good shot at still doing well with the number of Toss up Games.
Philadelphia Eagles:
Tough Games: Week 1 @ Redskins, Week 4 @ Broncos, Week 10 @ Packers, Week 14 vs Lions Week 16 vs Bears, Week 17 @ Cowboys.
Toss up Game: Week 2 vs Chargers, Week 3 vs Chiefs, Week 5 @ Giants, Week 6 @ Buccaneers, Week 7 vs Cowboys, Week 8 vs Giants, Week 11 vs Redskins, Week 13 vs Cardinals, Week 15 @ Vikings.
Easy Games: Week 9 @ Raiders.
The Eagles schedule as a whole is not one that really looks that tough when you look at it but its the Eagles. To many moving parts with a whole new coaching system, not the strongest defense and offense is lacking true leadership.
Over All Team Rankings
Washington Redskins:
The Redskins are a very good team and this year they are only going to be better then last years team. With the re-additions of Pierre Garçon and Fred Davis on offense, your giving RGIII back his top two targets, which is going to create a much more dangerous air attack which helps the run game as well. Then you are also adding Brian Orakpo back into the mix which adds unreal depth and instant star quality to the pass rush and run stop! The team gained players and talent and didn't lose anything. The team still has questions in the secondary on defense, but some key young guys could step up this year.
New York Giants:
They are a little bit worse in my book. The lost some serious stuff on the defensive line with Osi Umenyiora now gone for good and Jason Pierre Paul is still injured and could be gone for a could couple of weeks. The part of the defense that was so good at one point in time for the Giants is now a main focus of work for them which could really be a hindrance. Not to mention that the team still has issues with Victor Cruz as he probably is not fully happy with only signing a 1 year tender agreement with the Giants. They will be a little more dynamic on offense however with transitioning from power back Ahmad Bradshaw to athletic speed back Davis Wilson.
Dallas Cowboys:
I think they are almost the exact same team from last year, but I cannot ignore the fact of them regaining almost all of there starting defenders last year after almost all of them were injured and then some. Overall I think that they are going to improve. It's still a question as to what type of player your goin to get out of Tony Romo this year as he is very inconsistent and has had some issues with turnovers. Dez Bryant though is in the running for having a huge year and is just a pure talent which is really gonna open up the field for the other wide outs as well. The next big question though is the defense in Dallas, you are starting completely over with a new Defensive cordanator and a bunch of players who barely or didnt even play last year. Lots of questions defensively.
Philadelphia Eagles:
When you look at this team they have a lot of issues that are goin to need to be resolved in this season. They have a struggling defense and an offense with no real STAR power. You have great, athletic players at every position but Chip Kelly is going to have to find a way to get all of the pieces working together and make them click as a unit. I think you have to start Vick especially in a Kelly offense and you have to give McCoy the ball. The need there young recievers to step up with a lot of issues there. They also need there entire defensive unit to step up as they really were nothing o special even with the talented players they did have. Overall though, the team is going to have to go through some growing pains just a part of clearing out a system and basically starting over.
Final Predictions
New York Giants: 10-6 record, 4-2 in division.
Washington Redskins: 9-7 record, 4-2 in division
Dallas Cowboys: 8-8 record, 3-3 in division
Philadelphia Eagles: 5-11 record, 2-4 in division
I think its gonna be a really close year again, coming down to the last few weeks again. The Eagles are gonna be in some rough shape, still the odd team out. I think the simpleness of the Giants schedule compared to the Redskins is gonna give them an edge this year, then I just think the Cowboys have to many questions on defense. Only time will tell though, you never really know how a team is going to perform or what injuries come into play. Let me know what you think.
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Monday, July 1, 2013
Could the NFL ever go down?
Not to long ago I was listening to sports radio the whole 45 minute segment was talking about how ridiculous it was that even something as terrible as what Aaron Hernandez has supposedly done, does not even have the power or impact high enough to bring down the NFL. His argument was that Aaron Hernandez has supposedly killed one person maybe even three and the fact that a highly skilled player and a big name if you watch football or play fantasy football did not even seem to phase the fans. The host continued to ask fans if there was anything that could happen that would diminish the power that the NFL holds or that would cause for a major loss in fans. Here is my opinion on his thoughts.
First off, what Aaron Hernandez has been accused of is an absolutely horrible situation and I can only hope for justice to be brought and that the situation gets resolved as quickly as possible for the families. My heart truly is sensitive to the situation and I am following closely to see how things turn out for everyone involved. My prayers go out to the families.
Now in reply to how this one sports radio host felt about the situation I have some what I feel to be good answers as to why the NFL has almost no way of going down in any dramatic fashion. I feel like the biggest reason as to why the NFL will never go down, because of an instance like this, is because it was one player from one team. There are 1,696 players in the NFL and close to double that before all the pre-season cuts are made. There are also 31 other teams that Aaron Hernandez was not on, meaning there are 31 teams worth of fans that just get a boost to hating the New England Patriots a little more. The fact is Aaron Hernandez is just one player out of so many players and so many teams he does not represent the league, or even his team, as a whole, he is just one individual. The NFL is not responsible for the actions of an individual. It is impossible to control 1,696 people all the time, not to mention a good majority come from rough backgrounds so the odds increase from that as well, that some bad things are going to happen. Say one worker, not a CEO or head guy in the company, in one of your favorite brands gets caught for a horrible crime and is eventually proven guilty in court, that does not mean that every person is going to give up on the brand and the brand is going to go under. That's how I feel this situation relates the NFL is a brand and one of its employee's did a horrible thing, but that does not represent the NFL as a whole and the brand will continue to sell.
This brings me to my next point. People have and will always spend money on their teams merchandise and tickets, even for the bad teams. People are to invested into the programs financially and mentally to let the sport go. People have grown up on football and its the one sport that can fill (on average) 80,000 fans into 16 different stadiums every single weekend. The fan base for the NFL is so strong and so deep and is only expanding every year. People love the excitement and action that the NFL brings. Fans love being able to stick with a team and cheer them on every Sunday. Football is called America's sport for a reason and the people love it to much to let it go.
All this being said I do think that there are some things that could damage the NFL. One of those things is if the leaders of the NFL got caught with some horrific crime. I feel that if the people controlling and running the league got involved with some terrible incident it would be a big blow to the league. If it was just one leader, depending on how high they are, got caught for a crime i feel it falls under the same type of deal as the Aaron Hernandez deal, but I do think it would still cause a bigger blow, because it would seem the leadership would be corrupt.
Another big thing would be if the NFL got caught setting up games and that the NFL was just all a production. If the league came out to have everything set up so games turned out a certain way and the league controlled who won and things the league would go to waste. Of course this is just something that could bring the league to an end but I believe to be almost impossible in itself.
The National Football League is one of the strongest businesses in the entire world. They bring in billions of dollars every year and there is a reason for that, people love it. The fans are invested and adore the sport and the good times it brings, and the fact that one player did something so horrible is not going to change how they feel about the entire league as a whole. There are some drastic and extremely high improbable events that could happen to cause a lot of damage to the league, but I think the NFL is to strong a brand to be brought to its knees.
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First off, what Aaron Hernandez has been accused of is an absolutely horrible situation and I can only hope for justice to be brought and that the situation gets resolved as quickly as possible for the families. My heart truly is sensitive to the situation and I am following closely to see how things turn out for everyone involved. My prayers go out to the families.
Now in reply to how this one sports radio host felt about the situation I have some what I feel to be good answers as to why the NFL has almost no way of going down in any dramatic fashion. I feel like the biggest reason as to why the NFL will never go down, because of an instance like this, is because it was one player from one team. There are 1,696 players in the NFL and close to double that before all the pre-season cuts are made. There are also 31 other teams that Aaron Hernandez was not on, meaning there are 31 teams worth of fans that just get a boost to hating the New England Patriots a little more. The fact is Aaron Hernandez is just one player out of so many players and so many teams he does not represent the league, or even his team, as a whole, he is just one individual. The NFL is not responsible for the actions of an individual. It is impossible to control 1,696 people all the time, not to mention a good majority come from rough backgrounds so the odds increase from that as well, that some bad things are going to happen. Say one worker, not a CEO or head guy in the company, in one of your favorite brands gets caught for a horrible crime and is eventually proven guilty in court, that does not mean that every person is going to give up on the brand and the brand is going to go under. That's how I feel this situation relates the NFL is a brand and one of its employee's did a horrible thing, but that does not represent the NFL as a whole and the brand will continue to sell.
This brings me to my next point. People have and will always spend money on their teams merchandise and tickets, even for the bad teams. People are to invested into the programs financially and mentally to let the sport go. People have grown up on football and its the one sport that can fill (on average) 80,000 fans into 16 different stadiums every single weekend. The fan base for the NFL is so strong and so deep and is only expanding every year. People love the excitement and action that the NFL brings. Fans love being able to stick with a team and cheer them on every Sunday. Football is called America's sport for a reason and the people love it to much to let it go.
All this being said I do think that there are some things that could damage the NFL. One of those things is if the leaders of the NFL got caught with some horrific crime. I feel that if the people controlling and running the league got involved with some terrible incident it would be a big blow to the league. If it was just one leader, depending on how high they are, got caught for a crime i feel it falls under the same type of deal as the Aaron Hernandez deal, but I do think it would still cause a bigger blow, because it would seem the leadership would be corrupt.
Another big thing would be if the NFL got caught setting up games and that the NFL was just all a production. If the league came out to have everything set up so games turned out a certain way and the league controlled who won and things the league would go to waste. Of course this is just something that could bring the league to an end but I believe to be almost impossible in itself.
The National Football League is one of the strongest businesses in the entire world. They bring in billions of dollars every year and there is a reason for that, people love it. The fans are invested and adore the sport and the good times it brings, and the fact that one player did something so horrible is not going to change how they feel about the entire league as a whole. There are some drastic and extremely high improbable events that could happen to cause a lot of damage to the league, but I think the NFL is to strong a brand to be brought to its knees.
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Wednesday, June 12, 2013
NBA Draft Sleepers
I'm back people!!! Sorry for the long wait!
In my first post back, the NBA finals have already begun so I'm going to focus on the NBA draft that is coming up on June 27th. This is one of the least exciting NBA drafts of all time as there are no clear players to go number 1 even though everyone has Noel going first, he is not that HUGE of a talent in my opinion. I think that after this draft the most successful player will be a player that no one expected to be as good as they turned out to be. From my point of view there are two specific players that are not getting the credit they deserve in this draft at all, Minnesota PF Trevor Mbakwe and Virginia Tech G Erick Green. Both players are amazing talents and both being projected second round picks or in Mbakwe's case not even drafted at all. You never really know what a player can do unless you give him a shot and these two players deserve a decent shot.
I personally got to go and see a good chunk of Erick Green's games this season and last and the jump he made from last season to this season is quite phenomenal. He has built his game in every aspect from where he was at, which shows that he is willing to put in the work to become better and better no matter the situation he is put in. Green is an excellent scorer and knows how to get himself in good positions to score, proving this by being the nations leading scorer averaging 25.0 points a game. He brought his average points per game up 10 points from the previous season while still having roughly the same number of minutes. Not to mention that Erick Green played in the ACC one of the top basketball conferences in the nation! He did not score twenty-one points in only four games out of 32. He had four games where he scored over 30 points, one of those against this years #2 seeded Miami. The really impressive thing is he did not just chuck up a bunch of shots at random as he ended his season with an average of 47.5% field goal percentage. He is also an excellent free throw shooter shooting 81% from the line and that was with a lot of free throws too averaging 8 per game. He had a pretty high point guard rebounding average with 4 per game in his senior season and also has a pretty solid nose for the ball grabbing a steal a game. He is also very smart and stayed out of foul trouble and only sat around 4 minutes a game. He is however not your typical point guard, he does not have the worlds greatest handles but they are workable and you could develop them to be really good. Also he does not have the best passing ability, and he only averaged 3.8 assists a game his senior season. However I think that part of the reason for the low assist number was because his teammates were not always playing at the same level as he was.
When I look at everything about how Erick Green plays I cannot help but see him as a young James Harden, and I think that he is a player that could develop into the same exact type of player. Bring him off the bench as a role player to be an instant scoring threat and energizer. He can play the two guard, even though he is undersized, and come in to play the point guard if needed. He can draw fouls on the opposing team and get some easy points at the line. You give him minutes off the bench and a team gets better. Eventually he could turn into a player that gets starter minutes and have a career that resembles James Harden to the tee. I do think that his career also really depends on which team he ends up on. If he is drafted by a top tier team he could be the James Harden type of player but if its a lower ranked team they may over use him or under use him and then he would end up wrongly used and not reach his full potential. However I think either way he will be more successful then most people are realizing. His scoring ability is just too good to pass up for almost any team, an instant arena energizer in my opinion.
One of the most exciting players for me to watch this season was Trevor Mbakwe from Minnesota. One game I watched him play in and really saw his major potential, was Minnesota's upset win against Indiana. In the Indiana game, Indiana was ranked #1 in the nation and Mbakwe was dominating on the floor, ended the game with 21 points and 12 rebounds and it seemed as if no player could stop him. He did not have the biggest numbers he has had in his career in his senior season but he had a lot less minutes then the two previous years, with 4 less minutes he only averaged 4 less points and not even a whole rebound less. Mbakwe is a hustle player to its finest. He gets rebounds with power and decisiveness, having 17 games with double digit rebounds and leading the Big 10 with 8.7 per game. Also he takes good shots when they come to him, shooting 56.5% his senior year and 60.4 his junior year. He is also good for at least one to two blocks a game but he has a good chance every night to get more then that. He has a very solid chance at a double double almost every night, having 10 double double games and 4 more that were only one shot away. Some of his strongest games this year were also against highly ranked teams with his best game arguably against at the time #5 ranked Michigan, with 13 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 blocks.
When I add up all the stuff about Trevor Mbakwe he seems to compare to Kenneth Faried on a lot of levels. Both played at smaller schools rather then bigger names, both are a little undersized for there PF position but somehow seem to be top rebounders. Some of the differences between the two is Faried is a much better jumper, but Mbakwe has better low post moves so it evens it out. When you see how much Faried improves the Denver Nuggets with his hustle I cannot help but think that Mbakwe could do the exact same thing for a team. He could come off the bench and prove himself, grab some boards, and help to get a rhythm going or help cause a momentum shift. His value on the boards and his 7'4" wing span are two things that you could develop into a tremendous player and I think that he could end up having one of the highest +/- ratings in the entire NBA.
Trevor Mbakwe and Erick Green are two players with tremendous, undervalued talents. They both compare well to very successful players in the NBA, and could develop into very successful players themselves. Erick Green's instant scoring could help any team in the entire league and same with Mbakwe's rebounding. Both players played four full years in college, so they do not have the "instant star" light on them which I think is one reason for them to be so low on peoples draft boards. As I stated earlier in the post I believe that this drafts most successful player will be an unexpected player and I think it has a good chance to be one of these two players, only time will tell.
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When I look at everything about how Erick Green plays I cannot help but see him as a young James Harden, and I think that he is a player that could develop into the same exact type of player. Bring him off the bench as a role player to be an instant scoring threat and energizer. He can play the two guard, even though he is undersized, and come in to play the point guard if needed. He can draw fouls on the opposing team and get some easy points at the line. You give him minutes off the bench and a team gets better. Eventually he could turn into a player that gets starter minutes and have a career that resembles James Harden to the tee. I do think that his career also really depends on which team he ends up on. If he is drafted by a top tier team he could be the James Harden type of player but if its a lower ranked team they may over use him or under use him and then he would end up wrongly used and not reach his full potential. However I think either way he will be more successful then most people are realizing. His scoring ability is just too good to pass up for almost any team, an instant arena energizer in my opinion.
One of the most exciting players for me to watch this season was Trevor Mbakwe from Minnesota. One game I watched him play in and really saw his major potential, was Minnesota's upset win against Indiana. In the Indiana game, Indiana was ranked #1 in the nation and Mbakwe was dominating on the floor, ended the game with 21 points and 12 rebounds and it seemed as if no player could stop him. He did not have the biggest numbers he has had in his career in his senior season but he had a lot less minutes then the two previous years, with 4 less minutes he only averaged 4 less points and not even a whole rebound less. Mbakwe is a hustle player to its finest. He gets rebounds with power and decisiveness, having 17 games with double digit rebounds and leading the Big 10 with 8.7 per game. Also he takes good shots when they come to him, shooting 56.5% his senior year and 60.4 his junior year. He is also good for at least one to two blocks a game but he has a good chance every night to get more then that. He has a very solid chance at a double double almost every night, having 10 double double games and 4 more that were only one shot away. Some of his strongest games this year were also against highly ranked teams with his best game arguably against at the time #5 ranked Michigan, with 13 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 blocks.
When I add up all the stuff about Trevor Mbakwe he seems to compare to Kenneth Faried on a lot of levels. Both played at smaller schools rather then bigger names, both are a little undersized for there PF position but somehow seem to be top rebounders. Some of the differences between the two is Faried is a much better jumper, but Mbakwe has better low post moves so it evens it out. When you see how much Faried improves the Denver Nuggets with his hustle I cannot help but think that Mbakwe could do the exact same thing for a team. He could come off the bench and prove himself, grab some boards, and help to get a rhythm going or help cause a momentum shift. His value on the boards and his 7'4" wing span are two things that you could develop into a tremendous player and I think that he could end up having one of the highest +/- ratings in the entire NBA.
Trevor Mbakwe and Erick Green are two players with tremendous, undervalued talents. They both compare well to very successful players in the NBA, and could develop into very successful players themselves. Erick Green's instant scoring could help any team in the entire league and same with Mbakwe's rebounding. Both players played four full years in college, so they do not have the "instant star" light on them which I think is one reason for them to be so low on peoples draft boards. As I stated earlier in the post I believe that this drafts most successful player will be an unexpected player and I think it has a good chance to be one of these two players, only time will tell.
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