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Joined September 2012
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With three weeks to go in the NFL season a number of players are in position to break major league records. At 1600 yards…
There are times when events surrounding sport expose sport as an inherently trivial part of society. In the past year in American Football, there…
Early on in the initial slate of games, week 11 of the NFL season almost produced multiple upsets to contenders. Atlanta, Houston, Green Bay…
With their loss to the New Orleans Saints, the Atlanta Falcons have finally taken their first loss. The Falcons are still an outstanding team…
So far the clear contenders as the best teams in the NFL (as well as Super Bowl favourites) have been the Atlanta Falcons, Houston…
The end of week eight marks the halfway point of the NFL season and despite the time elapsed, for every certainty there are just…
After seven weeks the playoff picture still remains murky. As excellent as Houston looked against a depleted Baltimore memories still remain of the Texans…
Week after week the 2012 season seems intent on producing maddening and confusing results. After looking to be the best teams in the league…
With the dust settling on week five of the NFL season, a general understanding of both the top and the bottom of the league…
As an outsider, college football appears at first impenetrable. With 120 programs, 12 conferences and with 25 teams being ranked as the top teams…
The biggest surprises of the 2012 NFL season have been the Vikings and the Cardinals. The Cardinals blueprint is predicated by a dominant and…
One of the most enjoyable and frustrating aspects of the NFL is that perceptions of teams are constantly in flux. Last week it appeared…
Week one saw the stunning return of Peyton Manning on Sunday Night Football, with Manning looking as sharp as ever. In his prime time…
For years the NFC West has been the butt of jokes for being the worst division in the NFL. This reached a peak when…
I think the 49ers are definitely in the mix and I’ve said that the last couple of weeks. As for the Patriots I just do not buy them at all. They have an awful defense and I have no confidence in them stopping anyone late. As the Cardinals and Seahawks have shown, if you have the ball last and an opportunity to win they will offer next to no resistance. This will be their downfall.
As for the Bears, what are your reasons for doubting them as a Super Bowl prospect. Takeaways can’t be relied upon that much is obvious but there isn’t a defense that is playing better than them at the moment.
NFL week 9: the Steelers arrive and Tillman for MVP?
I don’t think I have disrespected the Falcons at all. The Falcons are excellent and are one of the best teams in the league. However Matt Ryan is not the MVP and Mike Smith is not the coach of the year. I think the Falcons are very good but I’m just waiting for them to actually perform in the playoffs. When they show that they aren’t just a quality regular season team that is when they will get more focus. I have said this week after week that they haven’t achieved anything yet but they definitely can.
Presenting the NFL midseason awards
If I was doing a power ranking the Falcons would deservedly be number one. Although they don’t have any outstanding wins apart from a win over the Broncos which looks better and better each week, there isn’t much more they can do to distinguish themselves. I just don’t think that they should take out any of these awards, Matt Ryan has played excellently but not what Eli and Peyton have done for their teams is remarkable. I stand corrected about passing yards on Eli. I’m not trying to dismiss what Ryan has done, he will be a Pro Bowler in an excellent NFC after Manning and Rodgers. What I meant by hottest team was how Peyton Manning won the award in 2008 when their were no other contenders apart from maybe Chad Pennington just because the Colts were playing at such a high level late in the season.
Statistics are useful in many ways but when it comes to Brees they cloud how poor he is actually performing. Brees has always been a volume passer and his passing attempts and yards are again near the top of the league. However his completion percentage shows just how ineffective he has been as it is down nearly 12% compared to last season and is the lowest since his third season. Considering that he broke numerous records last year I can’t see how Brees has been anything but a disappointment. Yes he is missing some targets but Rodgers, Brady and Eli Manning have all suffered losses to skill positions. Brees still has Sproles, Colston, Henderson and Moore. I’ll concede that he hasn’t had support from his defense and there is no semblance of a running game but this season Brees has been outperformed in nearly every game he has played and has resulted in him having his worst season as a passer since he left San Diego.
Presenting the NFL midseason awards
I think the NFC West with the NFC North is the best division in the NFL. It certainly will be interesting to see how both Cutler and Smith respond against the corresponding defenses. Smith has taken a step back and should try first to limit his mistakes and aim for efficiency. It is that reliability that the 49ers need and for Smith to feed from confidence gained from this.
NFL Week 7: The Confidence Poll
I can’t believe no one has brought up ridiculous college nicknames. Amongst my favourites are how there are a two bulldogs in the same conference (Georgia and Mississippi State Bulldogs and LSU and Auburn Tigers), multiple Wildcats (Kentucky, Kansas State, Northwestern, Arizona) as well as some ridiculous formal monikers including the Purdue Boilermakers, Ohio State Buckeyes, Wake Forest Demon Deacons, South Carolina Gamecocks, Iowa Hawkeyes, Nebraska Cornhuskers, Oklahoma Sooners, Virginia Tech Hokies, Indiana Hoosiers, North Carolina Tar Heels, Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Alabama Crimson Tide. Among my personal favourites are the Miami Hurricanes, Florida State Seminoles, Texas Longhorns, Kansas Jayhawks, Tennessee Volunteers and Idaho Vandals. Nothing comes close to the sheer amount of absurd nicknames in the NCAA but it adds to the character of the sports.
Great team names: Singular, or plural best for fans?
I agree with you completely. Especially with the Ravens and the Texans. Whoever wins that game will rise to the top of the Power Rankings. The winner of that game can easily be looked at as the top team. I get that the Falcons haven’t faced a truly elite team but they can only beat whoever they are up against and they have beat everyone they’ve played.
NFL Week 5 power rankings: Top five, bottom three
I think even 11-1 they can do. I can’t see them beating both Oklahoma and USC but it is a very distinct possibility that they can end the season with one of these as a victory. If they were hosting these games it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility for them to win both.
College Football: The Rise of Notre Dame matters
I think they are in the same boat Alabama was in 2008. They had a very good season and were pointing in the right direction but they needed to support their improvements with consistent elite seasons which they have done. Notre Dame need to string quality seasons together to show that this is a permanent trend.
College Football: The Rise of Notre Dame matters
I think for Notre Dame to be relevant they need more than just a nice bowl win. They need to win a BCS bowl and be around the top 5. As for their schedule yes, it is not as intimidating as first but trips to Oklahoma and USC are still daunting prospects.
College Football: The Rise of Notre Dame matters
The key for the Vikings is they get early leads, don’t make mistakes and let Peterson shorten the game. Whether its special teams or Ponder, they are getting out early and holding onto games. It will be interesting to see them play a high quality team like the Bears or the Packers.
Definitely Houston is the top of the league. How can anyone not agree with you there.
NFL Week 4: The Vikings make some noise
I think Brandon Spikes summed it up best when he tweeted “Can someone tell these fucking zebras that foot locker called and they’re needed back at work!!! #breakingpoint”
NFL Week 3: Upsets and mysterious results - what now?
I agree with you about Joe Haden, he is fantastic and will be a huge addition when he returns from suspension. The Browns though are statistically near the bottom in every single category and I’ve been really disappointed with Trent Richardson and his inability to play with any consistency. The Browns are locked in as the worst team in that division.
I can’t really be objective about the Raiders as I am an Oakland fan but you are right that Palmer hasn’t justified the haul given for him. He has shown some good signs, particularly against Pittsburgh. If he can cut down on his mistakes the Raiders should be competitive in most games they’ve played.
With Drew Brees out of form, New Orleans’ defensive holes are exposed but I can’t accept that they are the worst team in the NFL yet.
NFL Week 3: Upsets and mysterious results - what now?
Don’t you think more than anything what is killing the Saints is their awful defense? They allowed a 21 point comeback (not 24) by allowing 278 yards on the ground. I think that’s a far greater problem than Drew Brees not having weapons at hand.They are ranked 25th in pass defense and last in run defense. Brees hasn’t been great, but defense is the real problem.
NFL Week 3 talking points: upsets, New Orleans and Weeden
It doesn’t make any tactical sense because Julian Edelman is clearly not as good a player as Welker. All the speculation is that this is a repeat of the Randy Moss situation. Patriots best receiver agitating for a new contract relegated to being a non factor
NFL Week 2: Revenge of NFC West and rise of the 49ers
Patrick Willis is fantastic, he is one of the best defensive players in the league and if the 49ers continue on this path he is going to win Defensive Player of the Year in a landslide unless DeMarcus Ware has over 20 sacks. As I said in the article, I think he is as good as Ray Lewis was in his prime.
As for Alex Smith I love his confidence. He doesn’t have the skill set that Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady have, but he puts the 49ers in the position to win and delivers exactly what is necessary to win the game. His throws in the fourth quarter especially on third down were as clutch as they come. He is a great frontrunning quarterback. He can hold and extend a lead and shorten the game. That is exactly what the 49ers need in a quarterback.
NFL Week 2: Revenge of NFC West and rise of the 49ers
I accept your point about Hernandez to an extent. Yes his loss was significant and their offense is built around the two tight ends and accordingly their game plan had to be drastically changed. But, the Patriots have Wes Welker, Gronkowski, Brandon Lloyd and Julian Edelman at Tom Brady’s disposal. With an improved running game, the fact that they could not find the end zone until the fourth quarter is damning. The Patriots line is a concern, but the Patriots just seemed sluggish. This loss is about more than just the injury to one player.
As for the Ravens next week, I think the Ravens are a better team than the Patriots and traveling to Baltimore, New England should be the underdog.
NFL Week 2: Revenge of NFC West and rise of the 49ers
It’s probably best to start supporting a team that is on tv the most and that is Oregon. Otherwise think about Georgia, they are definitely going on a roll this year and get on board the wagon early. Plus its more fun going for an SEC team because that way you get to dismiss every other conference due to the SEC’s dominance.
Willing NCAA college participant - but where to park bandwagon?
I don’t understand how you can say that Selig is the best when he completely ignored steroids in the league for 10 years. Labour disputes aren’t fun but ignoring this crisis completely undermined the competitive integrity of the game and baseball still retains the stink of this years after it has supposedly been cleaned up. That is far more significant than fining the Spurs.
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