In the National Football League today, there are active quarterbacks that are guaranteed spots in Canton when their playing careers are over; Drew Brees, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady are three that come to mind. But, with his second Super Bowl MVP award, does Eli Manning belong in that category. Continue reading
There are things you just can’t explain.
As of last week, Denver was dead. They backed into the playoffs after a pathetic stretch of games that featured multiple turnovers in each game and two of Tim Tebow’s very worst performances. They caught a break when the Raiders sealed the stupidity of the Carson Palmer trade by falling to the Chargers, pushing Broncos into a round one faceoff with the mighty Steelers.
You all know what happened next. The Broncos won 29-23 in overtime behind 316 passing yards and three total touchdowns from the same quarterback who nobody believed was worth much as a passer. Continue reading
Once again, I’m going to pick every NFL playoff game, each week, for the entire playoffs. Feel free to laugh at me over the weekend if I get these horribly wrong. Continue reading
After a wild week seventeen in everybody’s favorite professional sports league, we lower the curtain on another NFL regular season. Teams won and missed the playoffs, lost and made the playoffs and the Colts even locked up Andrew Luck. With the playoffs coming this Saturday, there’s little time to reflect on what we’ve seen; instead, let’s focus on what’s ahead. Here are the ranked playoff teams, including picks for MVP, ROY, COY and DPOY. Continue reading
Green Bay Packers (4-0) – Aaron Rodgers became the first player in NFL history to pass for 400 yards, run for two touchdowns, and pass for four more. The MVP race is far and away Aaron Rodgers’ to lose…and it’s only October. The pass defense still needs help, as they allowed Kyle Orton to throw for 273 yards, three TD’s, but three INT’s, as well. There’s no debate, the Packers are the top of the food chain and the number one team in football right now.
After the Eagles lost to the Giants in a humiliating 29-16 contest, we saw Michael Vick at perhaps his lowest of spirits.
The Eagles’ QB sat at the microphone and delivered a statement about how officials don’t penalize his tacklers frequently enough. After seeing so much of diplomatic, tactful Michael Vick since his return to the NFL in 2009, his speech was surprising to some and irritating to others. As I write this, the headline on NFL.com describes it as a bizarre rant.
I didn’t take the press conference too seriously, figuring Vick was just blowing off steam after suffering freak injuries in back to back weeks. If I were a star QB on a team with Super Bowl aspirations, I’d be just as frustrated. But the question remained: was Vick being realistic in his accusation? Was he taking a monster beating with no protection? Continue reading
Parts I, II and III of my preview told you a lot about the NFL this coming season, but they left a critical question unanswered: who will win it all?
It’s a ridiculous task to predict which team will win the Super Bowl each year. The winner is subject to so many unforeseeable factors that are entirely random. In September 2008, many thought a Patriots team that was minutes from a 19-0 season the year before were headed for a title, and they may very well have won it, except Tom Brady blew out his knee before the season had truly begun. I can’t imagine how many people’s Super Bowl predictions were destroyed just minutes into the season. The same could happen to the QB of any heavy hitter in the NFL. The football is clearly the cruelest sport–nothing is assured and nothing goes according to planned. Continue reading
In Part I of this NFL preview, I told you which players are at the tops of the QB, running back and receiver position. In Part II, you got a thought on each of the NFL’s 32 teams. Part III, we get to the good part: who will make the playoffs and why. Stay tuned for part IV tomorrow.
NFC Postseason Selections
1) Green Bay Packers (13-3)
After winning the Super Bowl with 15 players on the IR (and despite losing two more in the big game), the Packers had an entire offseason to get healthy and are deeper and more talented than the team that cruised through the postseason last year. There’s little holding them back: they have the NFL’s best QB, a talented receiving corps, an improved run game and an aggressive, effective defense. Though repeating as Super Bowl champs will be difficult, there’s no reason to believe the Packers won’t win their division and earn the conference’s top seed. They’re just too talented. Continue reading
Part III of this preview will tell you which teams I predict will make the postseason. But because we live in America and everybody deserves to be written about, I have a thought (or two, or three) on every NFL teams, from the heavy hitters to the Bengals. If you want to skip the teams you hate, they are in alphabetical order by city. Also, look here for Part I of my four part NFL preview, and stay tuned for Parts III and IV in the next couple days. Continue reading
Even a lockout couldn’t bring the NFL down. With holdouts, Peyton Manning’s injury, Eli Manning’s ego and Tom Brady’s hair returning for yet another year, I couldn’t be more excited for the upcoming year. You’re probably excited too, so I invite you to grab a beer and a bag of chips. In fact, wear your teams jersey just to get in the mood (yes Browns fans, you can wear your Hillis jerseys if you insist). Get ready for enough football to make your head hurt, starting with my multi-part NFL preview. So here we go, starting with player rankings. Continue reading