Category: NFL

Week 8 is Done: Bring on Week 9

Well after taking a few days to mull over the results of week 8 of the NFL season I’ve decided a few things are clearer and a few things are foggier.

Indianapolis Colts

Is it really possible that this team could sneak into the playoffs as a Wild Card team after being the worst team in the NFL the previous season.  There were some questions as to whether Luck or RG3 should be the number one pick in the 2012 draft but looking back now I think Luck is the better player but both have played extremely well for rookies in the NFL.

New York Giants and Chicago Bears

These teams are for real, I think.  Both teams won in week 8 but they didn’t look very confident in their wins.  The Giants have won 2 Super Bowls so I don’t count them out of making another run this year and the Bears defense is as nasty as any defense in the NFL.  Both of these teams will make the playoffs and I wouldn’t be surprised if one made a Super Bowl run.

New York Jets

There done.

Philadelphia Eagles

As much as I respect Andy Reid as a Head Football coach in the NFL, I think it is time that he moved on.  He has done a great job in that position and I think that there will be plenty of teams lining up to hire him, but he needs a new city and a new team.  As for Michael Vick, he would be okay with a lot of teams as a starter but he needs a team that is more known for its defense than its offense.

Atlanta Falcons

They are going to lose at some point during the regular season, aren’t they? Their remaining schedule includes 2 games against Tampa Bay, 2 against New Orleans, Cowboys, Giants, Cardinals, Lions and Panthers.  The Giants will be a test as will the Lions, but beyond that I don’t see the other games on their schedule that really frighten me.  They may have a bad game and lose one but that is about the only way they will lose one.

This Weeks Super Bowl Picks

Houston Texans vs. the Atlanta Falcons.  This could be a great matchup.  The Texans will have an easier time through the playoffs than the Falcons will have in my opinion.

Week 8 (2012 NFL Season)

It has been a rare occasion the last couple of years that I’ve been able to sit down and watch college football on a Saturday and some NFL games on Sunday.  This year I have attempted to make it a point to watch at least one game each weekend and I have actually been able to see a few games most weekends.

As I was watching a recent game I thought about a blog I wrote a couple of years ago when the NFL had first started cracking down on helmet to helmet hits and how everyone started talking about the demise of the NFL as a hard hitting game.  Although there have been a few flags for ‘helmet to helmet’ hits that were probably not what the new safety rules were meant to protect against, I think that the game is much better off.

There are still big hits that happen every game, but you don’t see the needless attempts to take off a guy’s helmet.  As a fan I want to see the best players in the game from start to finish and with the head injuries that were occurring a couple of years ago that wasn’t always happening. Yes, I know that players are still missing snaps to get checked out on hard hits, but with the new rules it is less likely a guy is going to take a cheap shot and miss 4 to 5 weeks.

This football season has been a lot of fun to watch in my opinion.  Even though the Falcons are undefeated at the moment no team appears to be pulling away from the rest of the league.  Each of the top teams has taken a bad loss (other than the Falcons) and most have dealt out big losses as well.  The 49ers, Packers and Giants have all looked unstoppable at times and pathetic at others.  I have to admit I am really excited for this year’s playoffs.

At this point in the season my pick for the Super Bowl is a Texans vs. Falcons match up but Giants, Packers and Bears may challenge the for the NFC spot in the Super Bowl.  For the AFC I’m not really sure that anyone is strong enough to take on the Texans.  Patriots look weaker than I’ve seen them in the past five years. The Ravens looked good at first but they look horrible now.  That leaves the Steelers and Broncos.  I don’t count these teams out because of their quarterbacks but really they don’t look that strong either.

However, this could all change before the season is over.  It is only week 8 and there is a lot of football left to be played.

The NFL survived

After a week of discussion about the enforcement of the rules regarding helmet to helmet hits, the NFL made it through an entire Sunday just fine.  I heard player after player talk about how the NFL was going to become flag football.  I think those players need to go visit all the retired players who have trouble remembering their names and ask them if playing a game was worth destroying the rest of their lives.  I saw great games and a lot of clean, but still hard, hits on Sunday.  The smartest thing I read about this whole situation was a fan saying “There were 1,000 hits on Sunday and 5 were dirty.  We can get rid of the 5 and still have football.”

This week I think there is an issue that is just as important to the NFL as the helmet to helmet hits, and that is the refs and the calls, or lack of calls they made this weekend.  I only watched 3 games this weekend, and not even all of the games, but I saw more missed calls in those games then I’ve seen in a long time.  If it weren’t for replay the refs would of destroyed each of those games.  The things that the refs should be able to see and call they just aren’t doing it.

Well regardless of what went on the games overall were great.  There were upsets, close games and best of all a few of the teams I like won and the teams I don’t like lost.

Awards

Game of the Week: I was going to go with the Steelers vs Dolphins game until the very end when the Refs ruined it all.  So my game of the week instead goes to the Vikings vs Packers game.  I know it wasn’t the best played game but there was a lot of excitement the entire game and it did come down to the final seconds.  Plus I like the Packers to do well in the playoffs if they figure their offense out.

Disappointment of the day: This one was the easiest to pick because the New Orleans Saints looked pathetic.  Of course I’m still mad from last years Super Bowl, when I watched my Colts lose the game, but the Saints look nothing like a playoff team this year.  If Drew Brees doesn’t figure out what is wrong with him that team is only going to get worse.

Surprise of the day: The Raiders putting up 59 points and McFadden looking like he was still running in college.  That score reminded me of a good college team taking on some Div II team as a warm up for the season.  The Broncos should be worried that other teams are going to put up big numbers against them the rest of the season because the Raiders are not an offensive juggernaut.

So close of the day: Buffalo looked like the better team against the Ravens but yet the Ravens just barely slip by and get the win.  So the win less Bills were so close to getting on the board in the win column but yet it wasn’t meant to be.

Gosh Dang it: This one easily goes to the Refs in the Steelers vs Dolphins game. Their lack of effort on the fumble in the end zone completely changed the game and will most likely have a huge affect on the season.  NFL I’m glad you are making the game safer for the players but please work on the refs a little.  There were multiple calls yesterday that were obvious and yet the refs missed the calls and had to rely on replay.

What a month

I don’t know about everyone else but this October has been one of the best months for sports that I can remember in a long time.  Maybe thats just because my teams seem to be doing better then usual or maybe it is because there is just some good games happening in multiple sports.

College football has been great so far this year.  No one team is just dominating so each and every week fans have to tune in and watch as many games as possible because you have no clue what is going to happen each week.  Just look at the number one spot in the polls lately. First Alabama goes down, then Ohio State the very next weekend. Now I don’t think Oregon will go down this week, facing UCLA, but if anyone thinks they are just going to breeze through the rest of the Pac-10 is not thinking straight.

Not only have the number one ranked teams been tossed in the air and all mixed up but most of the major conferences have been shook up.  The Big 12, the Big 10 and the Pac 10 are all up in the air at the moment.

The NFL hasn’t dissapointed this season either.  Most all the games are close hard fought games.  Even the teams that are losing are at least playing competitively, with exception of the Bills who are the worst team in professional football, and would not even be ranked in the top 10 in college football.

Even though the NFL and college football have been great this month I truly feel that the baseball playoffs are just a bit better at the moment.  There is great pitching, Halladay, Lee and almost every start by the Giants pitching staff. There is great hitting, the Rangers offensive explosions, and timely hitting by both the Giants and Phillies.

I know my prediction of a Phillies vs Rangers world series is a bit shaky at the moment but I have to admit I would be okay and maybe even prefer a Giants vs Rangers world series.  Either way as long as the Yankees are at home for the World Series I’m happy.

How bad is the NFC West?

The NFC West is bad. That’s all their is to it.  The team that was supposed to be a lock to win the west, the San Francisco 49ers,  are now 0-4.  The Seahawks are 2-2 with wins only against the previously mentioned 0-4 49ers, and the Chargers who look nothing like the Super Bowl contender of previous years.  The Seahawks defense doesn’t seem to be consistent and Matt Hasselbeck looks old.

The Arizona Cardinals are 2-2 but their only two wins come against the Oakland Raiders and the St. Louis Rams who only won one game last season. The Cardinals lost one of their top receivers during the off season, oh and that Hall of Fame Quarterback Kurt Warner.  At Quarterback the Cardinals now have Derek Anderson who I will root for like crazy because he did grow up near where I grew up but he still isn’t Warner.

The fourth team in the NFC West is the Rams and they are currently 2-2 and are the only team to have a victory that is respectable with their win over the Redskins.  All of this being said with the thought in mind that they did only win 1 game last season and their Quarterback is a rookie who missed 99% of his final season in college because of a shoulder injury.  If the Rams play good enough they could go from last in the NFL to possibly a play off team.

Well anyways here are my awards for Week 4 of the NFL.

My ‘disappointment for the day’ goes to the Cincinnati Bengals.  How do you lose to a Browns team that has Seneca Wallace as their starting quarterback? The runner-up for this award goes to the Seahawks. 3 points against a team that went 1-15 last season. I didn’t except much from the Seahawks this year so that is why they didn’t get the award this week.

My ‘surprise of the day’ goes to the Denver Broncos. Not so much because they won but because Kyle Orton threw the ball 50 times and had over 300 yards. What ever happened to the power running Broncos.

My ‘so close of the day’ goes to two different teams. The first is the 49ers who came so close to getting their first win but were denied once again.  With the same thought going the second team that gets this award is the Detroit Lions who lost to the Packers in a game that was closer then it should of been.

And my ‘gosh dang it of the day’ goes to the Indianapolis Colts.  Really you couldn’t beat the Jacksonville Jaguars.  Once again Peyton comes up big and the defense just falls a part. If Peyton had a defense like the Ravens, Steelers, or Jets he would be unstoppable.

College football, October baseball plus so much more

Upsets are always fun to watch but they take on an even greater meaning when the underdog just happens to be the team you have rooted for your entire life.  Tonight I had the amazing opportunity to watch as the University of Washington kicked a last second field goal to upset USC for the second straight year.  Today the Huskies confirmed that they are a team that is improving, not a national power, but they are a team you can’t just ignore.

Also during the game I realized a lot about Jake Locker.  He is far better then I thought.  After his first couple games of the season I jumped on the ‘Jake is overrated’ band wagon, but after watching the game I realized that is completely accurate.  Yes I still think that him being the number one pick in next years draft is a stretch but a top ten pick is well with in his range of talent.  You see the reason why I say this is because Locker has absolutely no support on his team talent wise.  Tonight I watched as receiver after receiver drop passes that were right in their hands and they simply didn’t hold on.  Even on the final drive Locker’s number one receiver dropped a pass that would of hit him in the face mask if he hadn’t dropped it.  If Locker had been surrounded with talented play makers this season we would still be talking Heisman.

To be honest though I’m just super excited that my Huskies have a chance, albeit a long one, to play in a bowl game this year. Another game I watched today was Stanford vs Oregon game.  Now I know Oregon ran away with it in the end, but Stanford did look good.  This game once again shows that their is some great talent in the Pac-10.  I’m still not convinced that anyone will go undefeated in the Pac-10 but if anyone can do it Oregon can and if they do I would not even hesitate to put them up against any other team in a national title game.  Maybe Alabama and Ohio St. will stumble and it will be an Oregon vs Boise St National title game.  Wouldn’t that throw the world of college football for a loop.

Well on to baseball for a moment. Today the San Francisco Giants had another chance to lock up the NL West, and the Atlanta Braves had a chance to lock up the Wild Card.  Both failed to do so and now everything comes down to what happens on Sunday.  Currently I’m rooting for the Giants to win because I’m interning with the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, a single A affiliate of the Giants, but a small part of me is hoping for a three way tie.  If the Braves win and the Padres beat the Giants, then all three team will have identical records.  The Giants and Padres will have to figure out the NL West winner first then the odd team out gets to face Atlanta to see who gets the Wild Card.

I’ve really enjoyed this pennant race for quite a few reasons, but mainly because I’ve renewed my love for baseball this summer.

On the opposite side of the spectrum the Mariners have locked up the #2 pick in next years draft.  At least that’s the one good thing that has come out of this season. Well that and getting Justin Smoak in the Cliff Lee deal was pretty sweet in my opinion.

Well tomorrow is Week 4 of the NFL and I have no doubt this will be another great weekend of hard hitting football.

Week 3 of the NFL

Well after a great Saturday of college football, capped by a good game between Boise State and Oregon State, the NFL has followed with a strong showing of its own on Sunday morning.  This morning I had the opportunity to watch the Atlanta Falcons and the New Orleans Saints.  This game was exciting from the very beginning. Drew Brees and Matt Ryan both looked good with the exception of one or two plays.

Now I must admit I am not a Saints fan, in fact I cheared on my favorite team the Colts last year in the Super Bowl, but I must admit that team is strong, and once Bush returns they are just down right dangerous.  With that being said I love the Matt Ryan to Tony Gonzalez connection.  Gonzalez still looks like the stud that he is, and Ryan has been one of my favorite Quarterbacks since he was drafted out of Boston College.

I also got to watch parts of the Giants vs Titans game, and I was in awe of just how physical those two teams are.  I know the Steelers and Ravens are two of the hardest hitting defenses but the Giants and Titans hit hard on both offense and defense.  Neither Eli Manning nor Vince Young looked good but their running backs run hard and hit like a linebacker.

Well here are my Week 3 awards for the day.

My ‘disappointed for the day’ goes to the Texans. They couldn’t put a nail in the Cowboys coffin, but he the Texans are still the better team in my opinion.

My ‘surprise of the day’ goes to the Seahawks. Now the game isn’t over yet but they are playing well and beating the Chargers.

My ‘so close’ of the day goes to the Buffaloe Bills who nearly beat the not so mighty Patriots.

I’m going to add an extra category today and that is my ‘gosh dang it’ of the day. On my TV it listed the Colts vs Broncos game as being the 1pm game for me today but instead its the Seahawks vs Chargers.  I really wanted to watch the Colts.

Football season

Last night I sat down on the couch and turned on the TV to enjoy a night of sports and in less then half an hour I was on sports overload. It was amazing.   On ESPN there was the USC vs Hawaii football game, Fox had the Seahawks game, the NFL network had another preseason NFL game, FSNW had the M’s game, and the MLB channel had another baseball game.  There was so much going on I didn’t know what to watch half the time.  So now that football season is starting here are a few things I’m excited about and some things I’m watching for this season.

1. The Pac-10 title.  With USC officially dethroned the Pac-10 is up for grabs and this is the first year in a while where their isn’t a clear cut favorite.  I know Oregon is a favorite but they have question marks just like everyone else in the league.  Oregon has quarterback issues.  OSU has the same issues, although both have great running backs. Washington has a lot of hype but they haven’t had a winning season for a while. UCLA could be a threat but they haven’t been consistent the past couple of years.  You never know what your going to get from Stanford, Cal, Arizona and Arizona state.  The only thing I’m sure of in the Pac-10 this year is that USC and WSU wont win the conference.

2. Boise State playing for a national title?  If its ever going to happen this is the year.  I am rooting for it all the way.

3. Getting the chance to watch Brett Favre in his final season …..maybe…..is kind of exciting to me.  Too bad the Vikings aren’t going to do as well this year as they did last year.  I have no clue who will be in the Superbowl this year but there are some teams I’m watching.  My two underdog teams I’m watching this year are the Falcons and the Texans.

4. Only three months and counting until the Washington State High School football championships in Tacoma.  My dad and brother en-laws have gone to 4 of the last 6 years I believe.  Nothing is better then watching the 8 man football game when a scrawny little freshman lights up some big guy.  So far I’ve seen players like Jake Locker (UW QB), Kellen Moore (Boise State QB), Taylor Mays (49ers Safety), and a few others play in the championships so its always fun.

5. The last things I’m looking forward to….Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Partially for the football games but mainly for the food.