EURO 2016 BANDWAGON INDEX

EURO 2016 begins today, and even though Canada obviously can’t participate, the tournament never fails to draw loads of interest, being that we are a nation of immigrants. Since Canada has only made the World Cup once in their history, traditionally, most Canadians are still able to enjoy the tournament by going back to their roots, and cheering on the nation that has the biggest stake in their family heritage. For example, with my Dad being born in England, my allegiance always lies with the Three Lions.

Of course, some people aren’t so fortunate. Maybe they don’t come from a strong football nation, or they do, but just failed to qualify for EURO 2016 (Hello Netherlands!) They don’t have a rooting interest in any team, and that frankly kind of blows.

Luckily for them, I think I’ve solved the problem!

Based on a number of factors, I’ve ranked all 24 nations in the tournament and come to a conclusion on which country you should become an honorary citizen of for the next month.

These factors include the country’s footballing history, (How many tournaments have they won? Have they even appeared at a major tournament?) the nation’s most talented players, what their fan-base is like (Are they just the worst? Do you even know a person from this country? Is there something cool about this team I don’t know? Is there anymore room on the bandwagon?) and last but not least, their actual chances at winning the tournament, because you still want a team that has a shot at going far.

Without further ado, let’s begin with 24.

24. Germany (4/1 – 2nd)

History – Die Mannschaft. The defending World Cup champions are far and away the most successful country in Europe with four World Cups and three European Championships. On top of that they’ve been finalists four times at both tournaments. The last time they failed to even get to the semi-final was EURO 2004. So you can pretty much always bank on Germany to go far.

Fans – Unless you’re German, or are just a super big fan of German football, you should not be cheering them on at Euro 2016. They’re the defending World Cup Champions. Nobody likes watching teams win back-to-back trophies, and it’s not like the nation doesn’t have a history of success, they’ve been winning big tournaments since 1954. They’ve ALWAYS got a shot at the title. There’s no room on the bandwagon, pick another team.

Stars – Where to start. They have the best goalkeeper in the world with Manuel Neuer. Sami Khedira and Mats Hummels (if he’s healthy) in the back four, Mesut Ozil and Toni Kroos in the middle, with the always deadly Thomas Muller leading the way up front. Some of the 2014 World Cup squad has left, but they’re still strong as ever.

Odds – Germany is AT LEAST getting to the semi-finals, where the real competition for them begins. You really want to be the guy cheering on the reigning World Cup champion? And on top of that it’s Germany, who’s just going to remind you a million times about how perfect they are? I’m sure you’re great at parties.

23. Spain (5/1 – 3rd)

History – The last time we saw La Roja at the 2014 World Cup, it wasn’t a pretty sight. They were decimated by the Dutch, 5-1, and decidedly beaten by Chile 2-0. Knocked out at the earliest possible moment.

It was quite a humbling experience for a nation which had grown accustomed to watching a team that dominated the rest of the world for half a decade, having won the last three major tournaments, EURO 2008, the 2010 World Cup, and EURO 2012.

Fans – Don’t even think about it. To some, it might be cool to see one nation win a major tournament for the third time in a row, something which has never happened. If Spain did win, it would be a testament to the strength of the Real Federacion Espanola de Futbol. Personally however, I’d like to see someone knock them off their pedestal. Spain’s enjoyed their time in the spotlight after 40 years of coming close but having nothing to show for it. Let somebody else bask in the glory.

Stars – Being at the end of a golden era in Spanish football doesn’t mean the team is lacking talent. Players like Diego Costa, Juan Mata and Santi Cazorla didn’t even make the squad! Ike Casillas is still in between the posts, with David De Gea waiting in the wings any moment now for his chance in the spotlight. The back four is solid with the likes of Sergio Ramos and Gerard Pique and an otherworldly midfield which retains names like Cesc Fabregas, Sergio Busquets and Andres Iniesta. They are however, without a world-class striker.

Odds  – Despite getting run over in Rio, Spain is still seen as one of the favourites in EURO 2016, and even though they’re going through a period of transition, they have a great shot at winning it all, yet again. I don’t know how much joy you can actually get from rooting for them though.

Cheering for Spain at EURO 2016 is like showing up to the party at 1:45 AM. The best part of the night happened two hours ago, most people are about to head home, and anyone still there probably isn’t coherent enough to enjoy what’s left. The bandwagon’s been jam-packed since ’08. Why are you getting on now?

Don’t cheer for Spain. Unless you really like Doritos.

Then, be my guest.

22. Italy (16/1 – 6th)

History – Oi, here we go. Everyone’s favourite bunch of footballers, the Italians. The four-time World Cup champions (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006) and one-time Henri Delaunay Cup holders (1968) have made their way to France. Once again, they’re not the favourites to win it, but everyone knows who they are, and the Azzurri are trying to find a way to go deep in this tournament, just like they did in 2012, finishing as runners-up.

Fans – If you live in the Greater Toronto Area, you always know when Italy is going to be playing because all the Italians in the area seem to make a point of letting you know it’s match day. Looking at you, Vaughan, Woodbridge, Maple, and King City. And if they haven’t told you, you’ll soon figure it out after wondering what that noise coming from Little Italy is for so long.

Just like the English, the Italians are brash. They’re pretty confident the Azzurri are going to come away with the victory, and they’ve certainly got more right to say anything than England, since the only nation to have more World Cups than them is Brazil.

But are these the faces of people you want to see gloating about Italy’s triumph in France?

Didn’t think so.

Stars – It’s not pretty. Yes, Gianluigi Buffon is making his curtain call, and a defensive line featuring Suarez-biting survivor Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci, and Andrea Barzagli is strong as always. But their two best players in Marco Verratti and Claudio Marchisio are injured and going to miss the tournament. On top of that, they’ve got a manager in Antonio Conte who will be leaving for Chelsea at the end of EURO 2016, so his mind might be in West London when it should really be in Paris.

Odds – Recently, Italy has been boom or bust, there is no in between. Out at the group stage at the past two World Cups. The prognosticators seem to think 2016 spells doom and gloom for a lack-lustre Italian team as well. Once they run into the big boys in the quarter-finals, Italy’s going to flop. Thiago Motta at No. 10 is inspiring to no one.

Italy doesn’t need anymore trophies, at least their fans certainly don’t need something else to brag about.

21. Albania (250/1 – T-22nd)

History – This is the first time Albania has qualified for a major international football tournament! Ever! But the EURO new-comers didn’t come this far, to come this far. They plan on shocking the rest of the continent at EURO 2016.

By scoring a single goal.

Fans – I’ve never actually met an Albanian in my life, so I did some investigative reporting and asked my good Serbian friend Slav, who’s come across many an Albanian in his lifetime, to tell me what they’re like.

He proceeded to go on a 12-minute tangent, of which I took away two things.

1. They have an inherited belief that all of Eastern Europe is rightfully theirs, which means…
2. Everyone hates them.

In order to prevent myself from encountering these types of people, I then asked Slav

“What do most Albanians look like?”

“They’re just going to talk a lot about how they own all of Europe”

“But I don’t want to get close to them, Slav, I need to know what they look like”

“Don’t worry, they’re always shouting about how they demand Europe”

All right then.

Maybe Slav’s a little biased because Serbia didn’t qualify for EURO 2016. You can be the judge on that one.

Stars – Their captain is Lorik Cana, most caps in Albanian history and plays for Nantes in Ligue 1. Their most interesting game will be against Switzerland, when Taulant Xhaka faces off against his younger brother Granit.

It’s Albania. They care more about conquering Europe than football. Apparently.

Odds  – They snuck by Denmark to qualify for the tournament. They’re not sneaking by anybody else. But if you’re the type of person that votes for the Rhinoceros party in the Federal election, then yeah, cheer for those diabolical Albanians.

20. Iceland (150/1 – T-20th)

History – FIRST EVER MAJOR TOURNAMENT!

Fans – I still feel bad for Gunnar Stahl after how he was mistreated in ’94.

Stars – Really couldn’t tell you, I’ve never seen an Icelandic football match. I’ve heard they are wild.

Odds – As long as they manage to get past Hungary (I can’t believe that’s an actual matchup this go-round) they have a shot at the round of 16. Any further is just blind optimism.

19. Northern Ireland (250/1 – T-22nd)

History –

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Wait they qualified?

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Are we sure about this?

I’ll be damned.

Safe to say this is Northern Ireland’s first time at the Euros, and first appearance in a major tournament since the 1982 World Cup. Their best performance came in 1958, when they made the quarter-finals. That was quite a while ago.

Fans – Just as party-hearty as their island neighbours.

Stars – I didn’t even know they qualified, you think I could name more than one player on their roster? All I know is George Best isn’t there anymore.

Odds – They’re a scrappy team and they’d be fun to cheer for, but they’ve got a VERY small chance of even making the knockout stages. Then again, Leicester City had a 5000/1 shot of winning the Premier League, so you never know.

18. Hungary (250/1 – T-22nd)

History – Those rap-scallion Hungarians; they managed to upset Norway in the play-off stage of qualification to find their way into a major tournament for the first time since the 1986 World Cup and first European Championships since 1972. Many years ago, Hungary actually made the World Cup Final in 1938 and 1954, when they were known as the Magical Magyars.

Fans – Did you see that up above? The Magical Magyars is an AMAZING nickname!

Stars – They haven’t made a tournament since ’72. So none.

Odds – Really just happy to be here. 

17. Slovakia (100/1 -T-17th) 

History – It’s their debut at the Euros! Slovakia has only technically existed as a football nation since 1993 after separating from the Czech Republic.

They’ve only qualified for one other major tournament, the 2010 World Cup, and they did pretty damn well for a first-timer, progressing to the knockout stages by eliminating the defending World Cup Champions, Italy, 3-2. So maybe the Slovakians aren’t the minnows everyone thought they were.

Fans – Seems like they know how to party when they win something.

Stars – Their captain and best player is Marek Hamsik of Napoli, truly the heart of this Slovakian side. He’s got a shark fin haircut however, and you know what they say about sharks. Can’t trust ‘em. They’ve also got a decent defence with Martin Skrtel and Robert Vittek, but much like Russia, they’re not the fastest guys on the pitch.

Odds – Slovakia has got pretty long odds to do anything in this tournament, simply getting out of the group would be a major achievement.

16. Romania (100/1 – T-17th)

History – For such a small nation, Romania has certainly had its moments. Along with France, Belgium and the former Yugoslavia, they were one of the only four European nations at the inaugural World Cup. The plucky Romanians also upset Argentina at the ’94 World Cup to reach the quarterfinal where they lost to Sweden in a penalty shootout. Haven’t made a World Cup since 1998, however.

In four appearances at the European Championships, they made the quarterfinals once in 2000, escaping a group that had England, Germany and Portugal. They famously advanced thanks to an 89th minute penalty from Ionel Ganea brought on by a clumsy tackle from Phil Neville, to defeat England 3-2.

Fans – Can’t say I’m that familiar with Romanian culture.

Stars – You can’t win without defence, and Romania allowed the fewest goals (2) of any team during qualification. They also only scored 7 in that same span, which might be a slight problem.

Odds  – They’re ranked 22nd by FIFA headed into the tournament, and on paper they seem to be heavily mismatched against France and Switzerland. A round of 16 appearance would be an accomplishment.

If 0-0 draws are your type of thing, then you’ll love the Romanians.

15. Russia (66/1 – T-12th)

History – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U06jlgpMtQs

Since becoming the unified nation of Russia, no longer the Soviet Union, they’ve appeared at the European Championships four times. The only time they made it out of the group stage was 2008 when they actually claimed 3rd place after upsetting the Dutch in the quarterfinals and then beat Turkey in the consolation game.

In their three World Cup showings in that time as well, they failed to make it out of the group stage. (1994, 2002, 2014)

Fans – Two words. Vladimir Putin. The more Russia wins, the more you’ll see of him.

Stars – They’re without their best player, Alan Dzagoev, but luckily Artem Dzyuba should be able to cover for him in attack. Unfortunately their defence has some aging veterans, and if they run into a team with some young, fast-paced, attacking midfielders, they’re going to be in trouble.

Odds – A lot of people are leaning towards them flopping completely and not being able to make it out of the Group. They’re not the same team they were eight years ago. I don’t think I’ve ever felt an ounce of sympathy for Russia in my life, so I’d be happy to see them in Group B’s cellar.

14.Turkey (80/1 – T-14th)

History – So, Turkey is a very weird football nation. They’ve made the World Cup twice, the last time in 2002, and they wound up finishing third place (?!?). You can account that to the favourable bracket they got, getting to face Japan and Senegal, not exactly powerhouses in the football world.

At the European Championships, they’ve appeared three times, most notably in 2008 when they pulled off miraculous comebacks against Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Croatia in the quarter-finals before their magic ran out against Germany.

Fans – I knew a kid in elementary school that was Turkish. Total prick. Hated them ever since.

Stars – Arda Turan ain’t quite what he used to be, but he’s still got enough of a reputation that opponents will have to keep an eye on him at all times.

Odds – Turkey has not been given much of a chance in EURO 2016. They also weren’t given much of a chance in 2002, and 2008.

Don’t think it’s going to go quite as well as it did in those years however, with group foes like Czech Republic and Croatia looking to enact revenge for the shenanigans they pulled in 2008.

13. Croatia (25/1 – 8th)

History – Croatia’s history in major tournaments really only dates back to 1996 after they gained their independence from Yugoslavia in 1993. At the European Championships they’ve been a bit unlucky in the past, especially in 2008 when they won all three group matches, and were seemingly headed to the semi-final after Luka Modric’s 119th minute winner in extra time. That is until Turkey equalized on the last kick of the game in the 122nd minute, even though the referee only signalled for 1 added minute. Turkey went on to win in a shootout and I’m sure Croatians still lose sleep over the game until this day.

Their best showing internationally was their debut at the World Cup in 1998. Led by Golden Boot winner Davor Suker, they wound up finishing in third place where they upset Germany in the quarter-finals before falling to eventual champions, France in the semis.

Fans – The Croatians have a history of going absolutely bananas during matches. Like way over the line. Fascist salutes and such.

Croatia does consistently have one of the best kits in the tournament though, so at least they’ve got that going for them.

Stars – Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic will form one of the best midfields in the tournament. Modric’s full contributions always go unnoticed at Real Madrid, and he’ll be the man tapped to guide Croatia to Euro glory. Mario Mandzukic is also still up front, Croatia just better hope it’s not the Mandzukic that scored only once in qualification.

Odds – I’d put Croatia as one of my dark horses entering the tournament, they seem like a much better team than people are giving them credit for, maybe because most critics see Spain on their schedule and write them off of winning the group.

At the end of the day, whether the team wins or loses, the fans are going to be out of control. Way too out of control for me to encourage you to cheer for them.

12. Czech Republic (100/1 – T-17th)

History – The Czechs don’t have a great history at the World Cup, but they’ve done fairly well for themselves at the European Championships.

As the former Czechoslovakia, they only made 3 appearances, but were the victors in 1976 over West Germany, where the ‘Panenka’ chip was created. They also went on quite a run in 1996, surprising everyone and making it the finals where the Germans got their revenge for 20 years prior on an Oliver Bierhoff golden goal.

Fans – Show me another Karel Poborsky scoop goal and you’ll win my heart, Czechs.

Stars – Old veterans Petr Cech and Tomas Rosicky, who played zero minutes this past season, are entering what is their final major tournament with the Czech team, so they’ll be looking to go out with a bang.

Odds – They could honestly finish anywhere from dead last in the group, to making the quarterfinals. The team’s a complete mystery. Hope that answered your questions.

11. Switzerland (40/1 – T-9th)

History – There haven’t been many huge victories in Switzerland’s history. Their best result at the World Cup was three appearances in the quarter-finals, the last of which was in 1954. Then they proceeded to go 28 years between playing in World Cups, from 1966-1994. They managed to make the round of 16 in 2006 and 2014 but fell to Ukraine and Argentina, both in extra time.

They’ve also made the European Championships three times but have never made it past the group stage, the last in 2008 when they were hosts.

Fans – They’re not the best football fans, but they’re not the worst either. I’d say they’re pretty neutral.

Stars – The Swiss are a very ‘meh’ team, as they have seemingly always been. If there’s a player you want to watch out for in EURO 2016, it’s Granit Xhaka, who recently signed with Arsenal for 30-million pounds. Xherdan Shaqiri of Stoke City also deserves mentioning.

Odds – With the expanded format this year, you can bank on the Swiss getting past the group stage for the first time, only needing to defeat Romania and new-comers Albania. Don’t really expect much else.

10. Republic of Ireland (150/1 – T-20th)

History – Oh Danny Boy, here come the Irish for the 3rd time in their history. Their best showing at a major tournament was in the 1990, their first of 3 World Cup appearances when they managed to get to the quarter-finals. Will they be able to make it out of the group stage for the first time in their history? Unlikely, since they’re in the certified ‘group of death’.

Fans – Are you kidding me, it’s the Irish! Who parties like the Irish? Nobody that’s who!

See this man?

This is Roy Keane. Remember this man, because starting Friday, this man will be the toughest S. O. B.  in Paris until Ireland gets eliminated.

I can pretty much guarantee you, you’ll be hearing about Keane getting into a spat, whether it’s with someone from another country or his own squad.

Stars – They’re quite old. As in the oldest team in the tournament. Shay Given is still kicking at 40 and Captain Robbie Keane, Ireland’s all-time most capped player and leading goal scorer can get it done. Their best player remains to be Shane Long, and the Southampton striker should be counted on to score most of the nation’s goals.

Odds – On their day, the Irish can actually compete with anyone in the world. They beat in Germany in qualification after all. Most people see the Irish as the odd team out in Group E, but if they can show up like they did against Die Mannschaft, a knockout stage appearance is very likely.

9. Sweden (80/1 – T-14th)

History – Sweden’s always a nation that holds some talented players yet seemingly enters each tournament as a bit of a dark horse. They’ve made 11 World Cup appearances and 5 European Championship showings, and come close to winning both in the past, each time when they were hosts. Sweden were runners-up at the 1958 World Cup to Brazil who won their first of five titles, and semi-finalists in 1992.

Fans – Zlatan is Sweden. Sweden is Zlatan. Simple.

Stars – Zlatan. Zlatan Zlatan Zlatan. That is all.

Odds – Zlatan Ibrahimovic is everything about this team. Once he goes, so does Swedish football. EURO 2016 is Zlatan’s swan song, but I’m sure we’re all in store for one final legendary performance from Ibra in the yellow-blue kit. In the group stage. Not the knockout-round.

8. Ukraine (66/1 – T-12th)

History – The Ukes are back! Making their second appearance at the Euros after co-hosting the tournament with Poland back in 2012 where they were knocked out in the group stage by England and France.

The country’s best performance on the international stage came back in 2006, where led by Golden Boy Andriy Shevchenko, they reached the quarter-finals in their lone World Cup appearance getting past Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and Switzerland in the round of 16. The team that enters EURO 2016 isn’t quite as strong as the team that shocked Germany 10 years ago.

Fans – I’ll be pulling for them since I’ve got some Ukrainian blood in me, thanks to the man, the myth, the legend, my grandfather; Fast Frank.

If that doesn’t give you enough reason to cheer for Ukraine, I don’t know what will.

Stars – If Ukraine is going to make it to the knockout stages, they’re going to need Andriy Yarmolenko to step up. They won’t get any clean sheets with Andriy Pyatov in net.

Odds – There’s more Ukrainians in Canada than any other place in the world (except Ukraine) and I’ve never met a person that doesn’t love perogies. Will they make the knockout stages? Who cares! They’ve got moxy, and really that’s all that matters in the end.

7. Austria (40/1 – T-9th)

 

History – The Austrians have shown up at the World Cup seven times, the last being 1998. 40 years prior they finished in third place, their best showing ever.

Other than co-hosting with Switzerland in 2008, and not winning in those three games played, Austria hasn’t really accomplished ANYTHING at a major international tournament since making the knockout round at the 1982 World Cup.  As Staind would say, It’s been a while.

Fans – That guy from the Mobile Strike ads.

Stars – Austria’s going to move the ball through David Alaba, and Marko Arnautovic has got an outside shot at the Golden Boot. Expect EURO 2016 to be a coming-out party for both of them.

Odds – If they just manage to put in an average performance they’ll have a place in the round of 16 wrapped up, and don’t count them out of winning the group either. Quarter-finals is a possibility, but it’s also a best-case scenario.

6. Poland (50/1 – 11th)

History – Apart from an era of excellence in the mid-1970s / early 80s that saw Poland finish third at the 1974 and 1982 World Cups, their footballing history has been pretty bleak. They only first qualified for the European Championships in 2008 and co-hosted with Ukraine in 2012, both times bottoming out their group. They’ve yet to win a match at the European Championships in their history.

Fans – Never heard a bad thing about Poland. Not my place to judge.

Stars – Robert Lewandowski. Earlier this year, he scored five goals in under nine minutes for Bayern Munich vs. Wolfsburg. I think that’s good.

If their opponents decide to throw everyone at Lewandowski, there’s always Arkadiusz Milik who can contribute too.

Odds – Sure, Poland isn’t as flamboyant as their Ukrainian counterparts. But they’re pretty darn talented and many have pegged them as a team that’s flying under the radar who could sneak into the quarterfinals. If they get hot at the right time, Lewandowski and Poland could be the cinderella story everyone’s been looking for.

5. Wales – (80/1 – T-14th)

History – The Welsh are back! And in their first European Championship and international tournament since the 1958 World Cup when they reached the quarter-finals.

Fans – My old Rugby coach used to hate the Welsh: “All they F***ing do is shag sheep!”

Allegedly.

Their team nickname is also the Dragons though, which is pretty freaking sweet. Easily one of the best in the tournament.

Stars – Gareth Bale leads the way for the Dragons and is one of the world’s biggest international stars. He’s in better form than his club-mate Cristiano Ronaldo right now, and he may just be the best player in this tournament.

Some have labelled the Dragons as “Gareth Bale + 10”, but there’s still some strong supporting cast members in winger Aaron Ramsey and centre-back Ashley Williams.

Odds – The Welsh have suddenly become a trendy dark-horse pick after a strong qualification stage, and a lot of people are seeing them as the biggest threat to England winning Group B. Unless Bale gets injured during the group matches, Wales should make it into the round of 16, and depending on the opponent, could even make it to the final eight.

They’ve got Gareth Bale, a sweet name, and haven’t had a legitimate shot at a title in decades. What’s not to love about Wales?

4. Portugal (18/1 – 7th)

History – Despite much prominence in recent years, Seleccao don’t have much to celebrate in their past other a remarkable third-place finish at the 1966 World Cup, where the legendary Eusebio carried the nation on his back. Believe it or not, from 1934 to 2002, Portugal only qualified for the World Cup twice. Kind of hard to believe when you think of how they’ve performed in the past decade.

They’ve had much better luck at the Euros, making the semi-finals in three of the last four Championships, including 2004 when they were hosts, but were upset by the upstart Greece in the finals. Though again, before 1996, only one qualification in nine tries, where they finished third in 1984.

Fans – Personally, I’m not their biggest fan for a couple reasons, mostly because of their two penalty shootout victories over England in 2004 and 2006.

The other being that I’ve met a lot of Portugese supporters that aren’t actually Portugese, they’re just a “Ronaldo” fan. Give me a break.

Stars – Ever heard of some guy named Cristiano Ronaldo?

Apart from him though, Portugal seems to be a fading team that’s on its last legs. If they manage to make the final, there should no longer be a debate; Ronaldo is the best player on the planet.

Odds – Portugal’s in the second group of favourites right there with Belgium, England, and Italy, and it could be Ronaldo’s last legitimate shot at a trophy with some aging veterans like 38-year old Ricardo Carvalho. The Seleccao did pretty well themselves in their most recently friendly, a 1-0 loss to England despite having only 10 men for most of the match and no Cristiano Ronaldo.

They’ve got a great shot at the semi-finals. Can’t see them going any further though because by that point, Pepe will have found a way to screw it up for them once again.

3. England (9/1 – 4th)

History – It’s been 50 years of hurt since football came home for England in a major tournament. The 1966 World Cup was their last, and only victory when they defeated their long-time nemesis West Germany, 4-2, in front of their home fans at the old Wembley Stadium. Since then, it’s been disappointment after disappointment and a so-called ‘golden generation’ of players have come and gone without any major accomplishments.

The European Championships have not been England’s friend. Their best showing in eight previous appearance was as hosts in 1996 when they lost on penalties in the semi-finals to eventual champions Germany. They failed to qualify altogether half as many times, most recently being 2008.

Fans – If there’s one country that’s been the epitome of over-hyping expectations, it’s England. Every two years it seems like the fans get way too overconfident in their line-ups abilities, and every two years England fails to even make it out of the group stage or their sent home shortly after the knockout round begins (usually on penalties). Most of Europe, and the rest of the world, has gotten sick of hearing “This is England’s Year!” all the time, so there’s a lot of enjoyment when the once great British Empire is defeated far earlier than expected.

So, if everyone gets annoyed from the large number of delusional England fans that think it’s finally the Three Lions’ time to take their place as rightful champions BEFORE the tournament starts, imagine what they’d be like if England actually managed to miraculously string together a couple victories and win the whole thing.

Insufferable, that’s what.

Stars – The most recognizable name on this squad has to be Wayne Rooney, England’s captain, and last remaining member of the failed ‘golden generation’. Aside from ‘Shrek’ and Gary Cahill, England actually fields the youngest team in the tournament.

Their blossoming stars, players who would’ve never been considered for the national squad two years prior, will end up being the ones having the most impact on England’s performance. EPL Golden Boot Winner Harry Kane, runner-up and the guy who looks that sketchy drug dealer around the corner Jamie Vardy, PFA Young Player of the Year Dele Alli, and 18-year old sensation Marcus Rashford could all announce themselves to the world at EURO 2016.

Odds – A team with tons of history that hasn’t won the big one in 50 years, yet has a massive fan-base that consistently tends to exaggerate the team’s chances at winning at all. Kind of sounds like a certain Toronto sports franchise.

For all that talk about over-hype earlier, 2016 has been different for this England squad. Despite winning every qualification game in their group, expectations for England have been downplayed tremendously after consistently letting the nation down. Which might actually be a good thing.

They should end up topping Group B in a year where the European Championship field has been expanded and no nation looks invincible. A semi-final appearance is possible, BUT that’s an absolute BEST-CASE SCENARIO. As history has shown in the past, failing to win the group is just as likely.

Put them down for a quarter-final exit to say, Belgium. On penalties, obviously.

2. France (3/1 – 1st)

History – France has always been considered a European nation to watch out for, and their success has really followed the same path as a roller coaster.

They’ve got one World Cup (1998) and two European Championships (1984) with their last major tournament win was EURO 2000, which came on a David Trezeguet Golden Goal over Italy and they haven’t gone further than the Quarter-finals in the World Cup or EURO since they lost to those same Italians in the 2006 World Cup Final. A game which everyone remembers for a different reason.

Fans – They seem to be just past their golden era of football in the late 90s/early 2000s, which featured the likes of Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira and Lilian Thuram to go with Zidane. France has always been prominent but its been 10 years since they were in the international spotlight, probably a little bit more room to hop on.

Stars – France undoubtedly has one of the most talented teams in the Euros this year, even with the absence of Karim Benzema, they’ve got Hugo Lloris in net, Paul Pogba leading the way in midfield, and an attack that features breakout stars Antoine Griezmann and Anthony Martial.

Odds –  This year’s hosts are actually pegged as the leading favourites to win it all, and with good reason, as they won the 1998 World Cup and EURO 1984 when they also hosted. With the likes of Germany and Spain in a bit of a transition phase, this seems to be France’s time to strike and reclaim the European throne, it’s just a question of whether or not their squad is as strong as those of champions past. And whether or not they’ll start fighting each other after the first game.

1. Belgium (10/1 – 5th)

History – The Red Devils haven’t done well at a European Championship since they were runners-up in 1980 to Germany (who else), and despite having 12 appearances at the World Cup, they’ve only managed to make the semi-finals once, and that was 30 years ago.

You could make a case that apart from Portugal, Belgium is the most successful European nation that has yet to win a major international tournament.

Fans – They’ve got a population of 11 million, so their aren’t very many of them, which means in all likelihood they haven’t been a pain in your butt recently.

Stars – Belgium is LOADED with talent, especially in attack with Kevin de Bruyne, Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku and Yannick Carrasco. Captain Vincent Kompany is going to miss the tournament which is a huge blow, but Jan Vertonghen and Thibaut Courtois in net should still be able to cover for the injured skipper. Belgium’s had a quality crop of players for some time now, it’s just about coming through when it counts and proving to the rest of the globe that they are one of the elite football nations.

Odds – Let’s see here:

Never won a major tournament: Check

Humble and likeable fanbase: Check

Squad packed with talent: Check

Tournament favourites: France, Spain and Germany are the big three most people are picking to win the tournament, but do you know who FIFA currently ranks as the best European football nation in the world, behind only Argentina in their rankings.

Damn right, it’s the Belgians. Check.

If you’re looking to get the most out of EURO 2016, back Belgium as your team. I hear it’s lovely in Bruges this time of year.

SUPER BOWL 50 – THE BIG ONE: Preview and Predictions

SUPER BOWL 50 – Santa Clara, Calif. – 6:30 PM ET, CBS

Broadcast Team: Jeeem Nantz and Phil “I’d kick the Field Goal” Simms

Denver Broncos (AFC Champions, #1 Seed, 14-4)

Offence: Total (16th) Passing (14th) Rushing (17th)

Defence: Total (1st) Passing (1st) Rushing (3rd)

You can’t win if you can’t score, and though Denver’s offence will have their work cut out for them against the Panthers D, sometimes the best offence is actually a good defence.

The Broncos hit Tom Brady 20 times in the AFC Championship Games, the most hits on one quarterback in a game since 2006. Sure, New England’s offensive line looked more beat up than Ronda Rousey after her last fight, but Denver looked dominant. Aside from the beast that is Von Miller (11.5 sacks), esteemed veteran and nine-time pro bowler Demarcus Ware, and the less talked about, but just as effective Derek Wolfe is also on the line. The only way those three get the time they do to disrupt the quarterback is because of the outstanding play from the cornerback tandem of Chris Harris Jr. and Aqib Talib, who should be able to eliminate Carolina’s mediocre receivers.

Just like Denver’s last Super Bowl appearance two years ago, it’s the league’s number one offence, taking on the number-one defence. This time however it’s the Broncos leading the way on the defensive side of the ball, something I’m sure they’re OK with after the way Super Bowl XLVIII turned out for them.

Another big change from the last time Denver made the Super Bowl; the play of their sure-fire, hall-of-gamer quarterback, Peyton Manning. Two years ago, Manning won his fifth MVP award, and threw for 55 touchdown passes, the most by any quarterback in a single season. This year, Manning’s thrown nine, and has a quarterback rating of 69.7. Any sane person could tell you “The Sheriff” is not the reason the Broncos are here.

The Manning of old would be slinging it out with Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders as his wide receivers, but time seems to have finally caught up to Peyton, and he can’t force the ball into a tight window the way he used to. All of Denver’s success has been by way of the ground game and C.J. Anderson and Ronnie Hillman will have to grind their way for first downs. In essence, Denver must ’shorten the game’, the way the 1990 and 2007 New York Giants did when facing a much superior offence.

Carolina Panthers (NFC Champions, #1 Seed, 17-1)

Offence: Total (11th) Passing (24th) Rushing (2nd)

Defence: Total (6th) Passing (11th) Rushing (4th)

Any doubts about Carolina’s secondary were silenced in the NFC Championship when the Panthers had their way with Carson Palmer, forcing the Cardinals quarterback to turn it over six times. Josh Norman and Kurt Coleman, who had two of those four picks on Palmer can contain Denver’s passing game that lacks a deep threat.

Oddly enough, as the NFL enters an age in which a pass-first offence is the key to success, the two teams battling it out for the Super Bowl rush the ball more than almost anyone else. Carolina’s top-ranked scoring offence (31.9 points per game) averaged an NFL-high 32.9 rush attempts per game, tied for first in total rushing touchdowns and have played 31 straight games where they’ve rushed for over 100 yards. Don’t be surprised to see a heavy dosage of Jonathan Stewart, Cam Newton with a sprinkle of Mike Tolbert for good measure.

And what would this preview be without discussing the recently-named NFL MVP and Offensive Player of the Year, arguably the most controversial quarterback in the league today, Cam Newton. The former Auburn signal-caller hasn’t faced a pass rush like the Broncos’ all season long, but Von Miller and Denver’s edge rushers haven’t faced a quarterback like Newton either.

The quarterbacks of the AFC’s contenders are mostly pocket-passers and have very limited mobility, thus Denver could collapse the pocket, trap the quarterback and pick up the sack.

Newton, meanwhile is the kind of dual-threat that gives teams fits through power runs and read options, rushing for 636 yards and 10 touchdowns while also airing it out for 3,837 yards. The only quarterback similar to Newton’s style of play that Denver has faced this season is Alex Smith of the Kansas City Chiefs, and he had his way with the Broncos in a 29-13 Chiefs win.

If Denver manages to keep the Carolina ground game in check, it could be a career game for Greg Olsen. The Panthers tight end was one of the elite players at his position in 2015, hauling in 77 catches, and seven touchdowns for 1104 yards. Olsen has become Newton’s go-to guy, bailing him out on tough third-down situations and will the Panthers number one target in the red-zone where Carolina has scored touchdowns on 21 of their last 25 trips.

Matchup to Watch: Carolina Front Seven vs. Denver O-Line

This is the most important positional battle of the Super Bowl right here. Denver’s offensive line has not looked hot of late, surrendering three sacks and eight tackles for loss to the Patriots in the AFC Championship. Luckily for Denver, the Panthers are a bit banged up with Thomas Davis nursing a broken arm.

Of course, the Panthers still have the best inside linebacker in the game, Luke Kuechly. The 2013 Defensive Player of the Year had 118 tackles this season, and as previously mentioned, has returned interceptions for touchdowns in both playoff games thus far, more than the entire Broncos receiving corps. On top of that, Carolina’s defensive line, led by stalwarts Kawann Short and Star Lotulelei got to the quarterback 44 times this season, the sixth most in the NFL. Any chance Denver has in winning this game begins with the play of their offensive line, and their ability to convert in short yardage situations.

Prediction

I’ve thought about this game for about two weeks now, and there’s really only two possible outcomes I see for this game: Carolina running Denver out of the stadium, or the Broncos being able to hold the Panthers in check for most of the game, before Cam Newton eventually takes over. I’m going to go with the latter. Denver’s defence is a force to be reckoned with, but Carolina’s is just as tenacious, and has much less to handle. At the end of the day, there’s going to be a whole lot of “dabbin’ on them fools”, and the Carolina Panthers are your Super Bowl L 50 Champions.

Panthers 26, Broncos 20

MVP: Luke Kuechly

All-Star Events are the Modern Day Circus

We’ve reached that winter lull in Sports. Those two weeks leading up to the Super Bowl, and the few days immediately after the big game where literally nothing is happening.

Well, except for the All-Star Games.

This weekend, the NHL is having their All-Star game in Nashville, and the NFL holds their annual Pro Bowl in Honolulu, as is tradition.

Aren’t you excited? There’s just nothing more thrilling than watching a bunch of millionaires play shinny or touch football!

However, the National Hockey League has had their hands full this year with the whole John Scott controversy. A guy who is the personified version of Doug Glatt in ‘Goon’, is the leading vote-getter for the NHL All-Star game, and despite several protests from those in the media, Scott’s still going to Captain the Pacific division’s team this coming weekend.

There has been a lot of uproar surrounding Scott’s association with the event. Many writers and analysts are clamouring for his removal from the game; scolding the fans for voting a glorified face-puncher into a supposedly exclusive game which only the best hockey players in the world are allowed to attend. They believe Scott’s entry is a disgrace to the game and he should be embarrassed for himself and…

…

…

I’m sorry, could someone please enlighten me on when we started calling the All-Star Game a legitimate event and not the carnival that it is?

It certainly wasn’t when the jerseys looked like this.

Or this.

Or this.

It definitely wasn’t when the league changed the format of the game from East vs. West to a Fantasy Draft, which the NFL subsequently copied.

“Hey, let’s give the guy who gets picked last a free car because we feel bad for him! It’s not like he already makes 5 figures a game?!”

With the exception of the MLB All-Star Game, where the winner gets home-field advantage in the World Series, the other 3 all-star games of the North American big four sports are virtually meaningless. The NHL is trying to drum up some intensity by giving the winning team $1 million. Yeah, making the rich richer is totally going to draw me in, Gary.

Because to tell you the truth, this is what a lot of people think about the All-Star Game:

Haven’t cared for a long time. You probably couldn’t tell me the score of last year’s All-Star game without looking it up.

No, the game is never what actually draws people’s attention to All-Star weekend. It’s the skills competition. It’s ALWAYS the skills competition. For Basketball, it’s the Slam Dunk and 3-point contest. Baseball has the Home Run Derby. Hockey has a number of things, but Hardest Shot is probably the biggest. Football doesn’t really have anything in particular, but it’s football. If Americans, specifically those in the Southern States, get a chance to watch football, they will watch football.

Most of the skills competitions are predominantly just stunts manipulated by the players before-hand so that they can get the biggest reaction from the crowd. At the NHL’s skill competition last night (which was something I watched far more than I should have), you could overhear on the broadcast what the players were going to do. I’m sure it would be quite an experience to be on the ice with the players, most of them seem like great guys. But when you’ve got someone like Glenn Healy harping in your ear the entire evening, professional hockey players screwing around for your viewing pleasure isn’t very enjoyable.

Nobody actively participating in the game takes it seriously… OK, maybe Sean Taylor took the Pro Bowl seriously, but nobody else could give a damn.

The players don’t even want to be there anymore. If I were to ask you to name the three most well-known players in hockey today, I guarantee I would get a lot of “Sidney Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin, and Jonathan Toews.” None of them will participating in this year’s All-Star festivities. How’s that for star-power?

Jaromir Jagr openly pleaded for fans to not vote him in. I could guarantee you a majority of these guys would much rather enjoy a weekend off with their family than to be trotted out and put on display for fans like they’re the latest action figure at a store.

The NFL is no different. In fact, of the 86 players that were originally chosen to play in the NFL’s all-star event, the league has had to scramble to replace 36 of them. Five of the six quarterbacks have withdrawn themselves from the game, as well as five of the six linebackers and all three free safety spots.

At some point, being named to an All-Star event loses its merit, especially when the league picks players based on equal team representation, not talent.

Petr Buzek and Brad Marsh are a few of the phenoms that have been able to grace the ice of an NHL All-Star Game, and Elvis Grbac and Mike Boryla have quarterbacked teams in the Pro Bowl. Be sure to check out their storied careers, I’m sure you’ll be blown away.

John Scott can be placed right alongside them. I’m happy Scott was able to go in the end, especially after how the league threatened him and did everything they could to make sure he couldn’t attend. But let’s be honest, he was not chosen because people love him and he’s a nice guy, which by all accounts he is. No, Scott was voted in as a practical joke on the NHL, as fans tried to do many years earlier with Rory Fitzpatrick. It’s trying to be turned around into a feel-good story, but the truth is, initially, fans weren’t laughing with John Scott; they were laughing at him.

 The All-Star Game is a three-ring circus, created purely for the fans, not for so-called “hockey purists”. If the NHL wanted it’s best players at the game, they wouldn’t even allow for fans to vote in starters like they do now. The game should not be taken as seriously as some writers and league officials do, because often times the best athletes couldn’t be bothered to show up in the first place, the ones that do couldn’t care less, and the fans are so uninterested in such a meaningless game that the format has to be revamped every few years.

And if you think it would be different if you saw it live, it’s probably not worth it. I tried getting tickets to this year’s Slam Dunk Contest, since NBA All-Star Weekend is in Toronto. It would’ve cost me $880. Just one ticket. Eight hundred and eighty dollars.

I’d rather go see a Harlem Globetrotters game. Or Disney on Ice.

NFL Conference Championship Weekend: Preview and Predictions

Conference Championship Weekend doesn’t usually get as much build-up as it should, probably because it’s the two games before the big dance, the Super Bowl. But in the last two years alone, we’ve had another installment of the greatest quarterback rivalry in NFL history, a play and subsequent post-game interview that launched Richard Sherman into superstardom, a ludicrous comeback that was capped off by a 50-yard touchdown pass in overtime, and a scandal on of all things, the air pressure of footballs, which is still relevant today. Something big’s bound to happen, and with the top 4 teams facing off against one another for the first time since 2004, and you shouldn’t expect nothing less.

AFC Championship

(2) New England Patriots (13-4) vs. (1) Denver Broncos (13-4)

3:05 pm ET, CBS.

There’s never been a non-Super Bowl playoff game with as much hype as this year’s AFC Championship. There’s so much build-up that I can guarantee you Jim Nantz and Phil Simms won’t be wearing pants for the duration of the game! While this matchup is between the two best teams in the AFC, it all relates back to the quarterbacks at the helm of these two titans…

You know what? I could go on and on here about the legacies of both quarterbacks, the rivalry they’ve shared through the years, and how this could be the final time they meet on the field. But I’m not going to.

Why you may ask? Because you already know their story. Thousands of articles and videos that have been printed about this game are merely just dissections of their careers. There’s nothing else I could say about these two players. By now, you’ve formed your opinion on who you believe has had the better career, and it’s impossible for me to sway you in the other direction.

So, if you want another hack-job article about “______________ vs. ______________ XVII”  , I suggest you stop reading now.

 

New England Patriots

Offence: Total (6th) Passing (5th) Rushing (30th)

Defence: Total (9th) Passing (17th)  Rushing (9th)

Now that I’ve got that out of the way, let me talk about the players who will be much bigger factors than the guys under centre, starting with the defending Super Bowl Champion, New England Patriots.

Last weekend, New England had an excellent day offensively, carving up a Kansas City defence which were proclaimed as ‘hottest in the NFL’, for 27 points through swift, finite passes that erased the vaunted Chiefs pass rush.

Despite a couple of drops early on, Julian Edelman looked phenomenal in return from a broken foot, hauling in 10 catches for 100 yards, including a vital first down that sealed the Patriots win.

Edelman was injured when the Patriots met the Broncos earlier in 2015. So too was number-two option Danny Amendola, and tight end Rob Gronkowski left in the fourth quarter after hyperextending knee. That’s a lot of key cogs missing in a dynamic Patriots offence, which was handed their first loss of the season in Denver, after C.J. Anderson broke through for a  48-yard run in overtime.

New England will have all three come Sunday afternoon, and when the Patriots do, they are 10-0, average 33.0 points per game, 410.8 total yards, and 323.5 passing yards. Take it with a grain of salt though, because New England has only scored 30-plus points in one of their last 10 games, and only one quarterback has thrown for over 300 yards against Denver, Ben Roethlisberger, who did so last weekend.

The Patriots notoriously chose to not run the ball AT ALL against Kansas City, the “Clydesdale” had the longest run for the Patriots at 11 yards, and I would expect much of the same this weekend. However, be on the lookout for James White coming out of the backfield. He’s taken over the role of the departed Shane Vereen, and has the potential to turn nothing into something real quick. Expect him to get a lot of looks on screen passes to counter the Broncos pass rush.

The Patriots’ glaring weakness the last time they played Denver was their non-existent run defence. They were the equivalent of turnstiles in the second half, when Denver’s backs took over and rushed for 133 yards on only 16 carries. Of course, in that game the Patriots were without All-Pro middle linebacker Jamie Collins, and Dont’a Hightower did not play in the second half after spraining his MCL. 

In the secondary, the Patriots will not sit back and wait the way the inexperienced Steelers defensive backs did last weekend. Logan Ryan did a surprisingly great job covering Demaryius Thomas the last time these two met, holding him to one (36-yard) catch on 13 targets, the fewest receptions by one player with that many targets since 1991. They’ll also receive some help from Chandler Jones and an unheralded New England defensive line, which led the NFL in sacked yards lost (358), and should be able to disrupt a less-than-stellar Broncos offensive line that actually gave up more sacks than the Patriots this season (39).

Denver Broncos

Offence: Total (16th) Passing (14th) Rushing (17th)

Defence: Total (1st) Passing (1st) Rushing (3rd)

The New York Giants seemed to always hold the key to defeating the mighty New England Patriots in big games such as “That Game” and Super Bowl XLVI. A dominant pass rush. Well, what do you know, the Denver Broncos led the NFL this year in sacks with 52, and New England’s offensive line has been a point of instability, giving up 38 sacks (14th-most) and 95 hits on the quarterback (seventh most).

Problem is, no team gets the ball from the hands of the center to the receiver faster than the Patriots. It took New England just 2.16 seconds to pass the ball once snapped against Kansas City. That’s how much time Von Miller and the Denver D will have to break through the Patriots fragile offensive line.

For the past couple of seasons Denver’s also had a secondary that’s rivalled the Legion of Boom in Seattle. Aqib Talib and Chris Harris Jr, both have to step up and turn one of Edelman or Amendola invisible, in order to quell the Patriots passing attack. Harris Jr., a noted Future fan, has been battling a number of injuries, but seems to be ready to “F**k up some commas”. If at any point Harris leaves the game, expect to hear Bradley Roby’s name called a lot. The young corner has 10 defended passes and an interception in 2015, and if the Broncos come away with the victory, it’s very likely that Roby will have contributed in a big way.

Denver’s defence gets a lot of the credit, but you still need a decent offence to win football games (unless you are the ’85 Bears, ’00 Ravens or ’02 Buccaneers).

The Broncos will likely be playing smash-mouth style football against the Patriots; heavy doses of C.J. Anderson and Ronnie Hillman which will shorten the game and keep the New England offence off the field. Denver’s 179 yards on the ground against New England in week 12 was their second-highest total of the season, behind only the 210 yards they put up on San Diego in a week 17 win. The rushing attack will have to be at its best once again, otherwise Denver shall have to resort to passing the football, a strategy that has proven somewhat risky for the Broncos this season.

Prediction

The Broncos may have beaten the Patriots earlier in the season, a win which went a long way in earning them home-field for this AFC Championship, but as I mentioned above, New England was without a lot of playmakers on both sides of the ball. When the game was on the line, the Patriots were without both starting linebackers, and their three biggest offensive weapons. They’re all playing in the AFC Championship, and Chris Harper won’t be back there returning punts.

Denver’s number-one ranked defence gives the Broncos a chance to win in the waning moments of the game, but in the end, it’s their inability to move the ball vertically that does them in.

I know you’re sick of hearing it, but say it with me: The New England Patriots are AFC Champions and headed back to the Super Bowl.

Patriots 24, Broncos 18

NFC Championship

(2) Arizona Cardinals (14-3) vs. (1) Carolina Panthers (16-1)

6:40 pm ET, FOX.

You couldn’t really ask for a better game here. The teams with the two best regular season records facing off to see who gets to travel to Santa Clara, and play in their franchise’s second Super Bowl. It seems like we’ve been building up to this game for a while, as Carolina and Arizona have been the creme de la creme of the NFC since week 7, so let’s get into it.

Arizona Cardinals

Offence: Total (1st) Passing (2nd) Rushing (8th)

Defence: Total (5th)  Passing (8th)  Rushing (6th)

Before I get going here, what is it about University of Phoenix Stadium that causes every single game played there to end in otherworldly dramatic fashion? Here’s a shortlist of the football games that have been played in the stadium’s short existence:

2007 Fiesta Bowl – Oklahoma vs. Boise State

The 49th-best Super Bowl of all-time

2009 NFC Wild-Card Playoff – Green Bay vs. Arizona

2010 BCS National Championship – Oregon vs. Auburn

Super Bowl XLIX – Seattle vs. New England

2015 National Championship – Clemson vs. Alabama

Last week’s Divisional Round OT Thriller

Unfortunately for the Cardinals, this weekend they do not get to play in their comfort of their own home, they get to travel to snowy Charlotte, a place where they’ve had mixed results in the past.

Now Arizona’s been great all year long, but it’s doubtful they make the NFC Championship if not for the heroics of Larry Fitzgerald. With his performance against the Packers, Fitzgerald became the only player in NFL history to average 100 receiving yards and a touchdown per game, in the postseason. The long-time Cardinal will no doubt enter the Hall of Fame one day, and may yet ignite a debate with sports fans as to whether or not he is the “Greatest Larry of All Time”. Watch your back Bird, Fitzy’s coming for ya.

A common misconception going into this game is that Fitzgerald and Panthers pro-bowl corner Josh Norman will go ‘mano-a-mano’ in a battle for ages. That idea is just as false as believing that a black bear is the best type of bear. The reality is, Fitzgerald generally plays as a slot receiver, while Norman only covers the slot on 1.4 percent of his snaps, so the two will almost never line up across from one another. Instead, Norman will likely go up against one of Michael Floyd or John “I should dance for a living” Brown, who have put up spectacular numbers for second and third options in the passing game.

The Panthers are already without two of their best corners in Charles Tillman and Bene’ Benwikere and it showed last week against Seattle. Despite having a 31-0 lead at halftime, and knowing that all the Seahawks would do is throw the ball, Carolina still gave up 24 unanswered points and three Russell Wilson passing touchdowns. A blowout turned into a nail-biter, something which has become a frightening, re-occurring trend with the Panthers.  With the Panthers secondary a shell of what they were at the start of 2015, Fitzgerald will draw an incredibly favourable mismatch, and should be able to continue his ridiculous statistical output in the playoffs, just as long as Carson Palmer can get it to him.

Last week, I brought up how I believed that Palmer may have been the best quarterback in the NFL this season. Well, I must have jinxed him, because boy did he look nervous against the Green Bay secondary in the divisional round. Palmer threw two interceptions in Packers territory, and could’ve had a few more if not for some favourable bounces which went the Cardinals’ way. Palmer should have an easier time facing the battered Carolina defensive backs, he just better hope that his offensive line holds off Kawann Short and Star Lotulelei from pressuring him into bad throws.

Other than a few miraculous plays from Aaron Rodgers late, the Cards once again proved last week that their defence is just as strong as their offence. Arizona has kept its opponents to under 20 points in six of their last seven games. Since losing safety Tyrann Mathieu to a season-ending injury, the Cardinals have prevented every quarterback they’ve faced from throwing over 300 yards in one game. Patrick Peterson can take a lot of the credit for that; in coverage, Peterson allowed the lowest quarterback rating out of all cornerbacks that were targeted at least 50 times in 2015. Peterson will likely take away Ted Ginn Jr., leaving Greg Olsen as the only possible Panthers receiver that can really put a scare into the Arizona defence.

Carolina Panthers

Offence: Total (11th) Passing (24th) Rushing (2nd)

Defence: Total (6th) Passing (11th) Rushing (4th)

As the Cardinals try to burn the Panthers through the air, Carolina will look to employ the converse strategy, by pounding it down Arizona’s throats. The Panthers have gone 30 consecutive games with at least 100 rushing yards. Their last game might have been their best performance yet, as even with Cam Newton’s dual-threat abilities, Jonathan Stewart became the first player to rush for over 100 yards on the Seattle defence, which was ranked first in the NFL at stopping the run, in 26 games. Green Bay’s Eddie Lacy needed only 12 carries to rush for 89 yards against the Cardinals. Under-sized linebacker Deone Bucannon has been a stud for Arizona in coverage all season long, but according to Pro Football Focus, he was Arizona’s worst run defender in 2015. Expect Carolina to test Arizona’s run defence early and often.

On top of that, Carolina’s been able to exploit a big component of Arizona’s defensive gameplan all season long. The Cardinals have had success this year by blitzing frequently, in fact they blitz on 44.5 percent of all pass plays, more than any other team in the NFL. Meanwhile, Cam Newton has thrown 18 touchdowns when facing a blitz this season, more than any other quarterback. I’m sure Bruce Arians has been contemplating how to respond to his ability to escape the pocket and we’ll discover what that answer is on Sunday evening.

The Panthers still have a couple defensive stars of their own, Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis. Kuechly had an enormous pick-six early on in the divisional round, and Davis, who’s fought his way back from two torn ACL’s, and was last season’s Walter Payton Man of the Year, had the game-sealing play when he caught Seattle’s onside kick attempt. The two middle linebackers were two of the three players in the NFL this season that had over 100 tackles and four interceptions. Both Kuechly and Davis will likely shut down Cardinals running back, David Johnson, as the versatile rookie couldn’t do much of anything against the Packers.

Prediction

Much like last week (though it didn’t look the part to start), Carolina’s in for another tight battle between two NFC powerhouses. I’ve got a gut feeling this comes down to several external factors. First, the weather. It’s supposed to be cold, and the field will be sloppy when these two butt heads on Sunday evening. That’s something the Cardinals really aren’t used to.

Second, these two teams force more turnovers than anyone else in the NFL. The Panthers have 39 takeaways, while the Cardinals have 33. One takeaway could swing the tide instantly, and since Newton has thrown 27 touchdowns to one interception in his last nine games, my money is on Palmer or Johnson to make the mistake.

Carolina claws tooth and nail to get back to the Super Bowl for the first time in 12 years. Awaiting them? Their previous opponent in Super Bowl XXXVIII.

Panthers 36, Cardinals 30 (OT)

NFL DIVISIONAL ROUND PREVIEW AND PREDICTIONS

Last week, I was 3-1 in my Wild-Card predictions, and if it wasn’t for the Bengals pulling off a classic Bengals-like move, I’d be sitting at 4-0. But that’s life. I should’ve known to NEVER pick the Bengals to win anything. Thankfully, they’re not playing this weekend. The eight true contenders are. How do I think they’ll do? Keep on reading to find out…

Kansas City Chiefs (5 – AFC) (12-5) vs. New England Patriots (2 – AFC) (12-4)

 

 

“Uh oh, the Patriots fan talking about his favourite team again. Here we go, I wonder who he picks… How’s the shrine for Tom Brady coming along, Nolesy? How much Pats porn did you watch before writing this?”

Yeah, yeah shut up I like the Patriots. If you know me, you’ve probably heard me say one of these things at some point in the season.

They’ve definitely got their hands full facing a Kansas City team riding high into Foxborough, with an 11, I repeat, 11 game winning streak after pulverizing Houston, 30-0, last week.  Also, I might be slightly biased, but I was right in every Patriots playoff game I picked last season, so what do you and your cranberry juice have to say about that?! That’s what I thought.

Kansas City Chiefs

Offence: Total (27th) Passing (30th) Rushing (6th)

Defence: Total (7th) Passing (9th) Rushing (8th)

Eric Berry and the Chiefs defence effectively ended any hopes Brian Hoyer had of having a career as a starting quarterback in the NFL. Kansas City forced six turnovers and allowed only 226 total yards in their victory in Houston. Cornerbacks Marcus Peters and Sean Smith will have a much taller task in Foxborough this weekend however, trying to slow down New England’s speedy receivers. If they can jam them at the line of scrimmage and cover them up long enough  for edge-rushers Justin Houston and Tamba Hali to get to Tom Brady, then Kansas City will be in good shape. Historically, Brady has struggled mightily against teams like Kansas City, which constantly get pressure on quarterbacks and are able to disrupt them in the pocket. Houston is still battling knee issues, so someone like Dee Ford will have to step up and make a play or two for the Chiefs to win.

With a hampered Jeremy Maclin who suffered a high ankle sprain against the Texans and hasn’t practiced all week, the Chiefs offence will look very ‘vanilla’ on Saturday, without a legitimate wide receiver. Travis Kelce, might need to have another career day for the Chiefs to win. Chris Conley is another guy who should hear his number called a bit more after scoring a touchdown in the Chiefs win over the Texans last week.

But the Chiefs know they’re not going to get very far with the passing offence. That’s never been the Kansas City way, and you’ll very rarely if ever, see Alex Smith throw the ball more than 20 yards downfield The Chiefs have always been about the rushing attack, and though their star, Jamaal Charles has been out a majority of the season, the combination of Charcandrick West and Spencer Ware have done an excellent job in replacing him. The two combined for 93 yards and a touchdown last weekend against a vaunted Houston front seven. Kansas City will need West and Ware to consistently move the chains, with their receivers and short passing game likely being bottled up by corners Malcolm Butler, Logan Ryan and their now-healthy safeties, Devin McCourty and Patrick Chung.

New England Patriots

Offence: Total (6th) Passing (5th) Rushing (30th)

Defence: Total (9th) Passing (17th)  Rushing (9th)

In November, it seemed as if the Patriots had the #1 seed in the AFC all locked up after starting the season 10-0. But while their record had stayed intact, the injuries began to pile up, and it was only a matter of time before they took their toll. New England fell apart down the stretch, going 2-4 in their final six games, and lost home-field advantage in the playoffs to the Broncos.

New England believes their decline has been mostly brought on by injuries. A lot of injuries. The Patriots have the most players on Injured Reserve of any other playoff team. They lost both starting running backs, and their left tackle to season-ending injuries in Dion Lewis, LeGarrette Blount and Nate Solder. The Patriots just got their number one wide receiver in Julian Edelman after he broke his foot in week nine against the Giants. Rob Gronkowski missed time with a knee injury, and is still feeling the after-effects of it. The list is almost never ending.

Tom Brady once again had a phenomenal season, finishing third in passing yards (4,770) in the league with a 36:7 touchdown to interception ratio. Ho-hum, it’s become the norm for him. He’s still got the machine that is Rob Gronkowski (72 receptions, 1,176 yards, 11 touchdowns), the best tight end in the NFL, and a mismatch that very few have been able to contain. Gronkowski is supposedly playing through several nagging injuries, but luckily, Brady’s other favourite targets of Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola are also healthy enough and back in the lineup with the season on the line. No more hoping for Keshawn Martin and Chris Harper to catch passes.

Prediction

The Chiefs are a very trendy upset prediction this week, and for good reason. Kansas City’s defence is a force to be reckoned with and they will surely limit the New England offence. Kansas City’s pass rush matches up against a weak Patriots offensive line that’s had 13 different combinations this year, and their top-tier secondary could give Tom Brady and his receivers fits.

The real question is, how is Alex Smith and the Chiefs offence going to put up points against New England. Their number one target Jeremy Maclin, won’t be one hundred percent and their offensive line gave up the 6th most sacks in the league (46). While Kansas City’s pass rush might get all the attention, New England’s is no joke either. The Patriots quietly finished with the second most sacks in the league this year (49), two more than the Kansas City Chiefs (47). On top of that, the rush defence led by a now-healthy Jamie Collins and Dont’a Hightower, has averaged less than 100 rush yards allowed per game this year, and should be able to contain Ware and West.

Unlike previous seasons, this year it’s the defence that’s carrying the Patriots to the AFC Championship game. For the fifth straight year.

Patriots 23, Chiefs 16

Green Bay Packers (5 – NFC) (10-6) vs. Arizona Cardinals (2 – NFC) (13-3)

Last week’s game against Washington was more like the Packers we’ve known from previous years. Green Bay was able to establish the run game, something they’ve struggled with all season, in the 2nd half where the Pack rushed for 124 of their 141 rushing yards. Rodgers had it easy against the Redskins and their porous secondary last weekend. This week he’s got his work cut out for him against a Cardinals defence which had the 4th most interceptions in the NFL in 2015 (19). If you remember less than a month ago, Arizona pummelled Green Bay at University of Phoenix stadium, 38-8, and the score could’ve been a whole lot worse. Should we expect another bloodbath in the desert?

Green Bay Packers

Offence: Total (23rd) Passing (25th) Rushing (12th)

Defence: Total (15th) Passing (6th) Rushing (21st)

Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers looked like a rejuvenated team when they beat Washington last Sunday, putting up a 35 spot, albeit on a rather weak Redskins defence. Green Bay had difficulty accomplishing anything the last time these two teams met, with the Cardinals keeping the Packers to under 200 total net yards. The one member of the Packers who was somewhat effective against Arizona in that game was running back Eddie Lacy, totalling almost half of Green Bay’s total offence (88 of 178 yards) and their lone touchdown. Lacy put on his best Fat Albert impersonation early on this year but has picked it up of late, and he and Starks will need to produce like they did last Sunday, for Green Bay to have a chance versus Arizona.

The Packers receivers haven’t been their best without number one option Jordy Nelson drawing defenders off them, and their situation gets a whole lot worse having to face a tough Arizona secondary. James Jones, Randall Cobb, and Davante Adams need to find a way to get open, something they’ve been mostly unable to do in the second half of the season. The good news, the Packers get tackle David Bakhtiari back after a three-game absence, which should help give Rodgers more time to throw the ball rather than take a sack, something he did 46 times this season.

For as disappointing as the Packers offence has been, the defence has done their best to pick up the slack. In the wild-card round, Nick Perry, Mike Neal and Clay Matthews combined for six sacks, and the Green Bay secondary of Damarious Randall and the best name in football, Ha-Ha Clinton-Dix, did a decent job limiting Kirk Cousins last weekend, as a majority of the Washington quarterback’s contributions came when the game was out of reach. Against Palmer however, they’re going to get burnt worse than marshmallows around a campfire.

Arizona Cardinals

Offence: Total (1st) Passing (2nd) Rushing (8th)

Defence: Total (5th)  Passing (8th)  Rushing (6th)

Carson Palmer has had an MVP-caliber season in getting the Cardinals to a 13-3 record. The best regular season finish for the Cardinals since 1948 when they were the Chicago Cardinals. That year they went 11-1, and lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFL Championship. It was a very long time ago. If it wasn’t for a sensational season from Cam Newton and his near-perfect Panthers (more on him tomorrow), there’s a case to be made for him as the MVP of the league. Palmer’s had a renaissance in 2015, posting career-highs in passing yards (4,671), touchdowns (35) and quarterback rating (104.6).

Speaking of comebacks, Larry Fitzgerald has returned to an All-Pro level in 2015 (109 receptions, 1,215 yards, nine touchdowns), terrorizing corners and often earning double coverage in games this year. It helps that the Cardinals also have viable secondary options in the passing game such as Michael Floyd and “Smokey” John Brown, who compiled his first 1,000 yard receiving season in 2015. To pile on, the Cardinals also have a respectable ground game with rookie David Johnson coming alive in the second half of the season, totalling over 100 all-purpose yards in four of his last five games.

It doesn’t get any better for Green Bay, as the Cardinals defence may be just as loaded as their offence, even with the loss of safety Tyrann Mathieu. Patrick Peterson has proven to the rest of the National Football League time and time again that he is one of the top corners in football. Rashad Johnson (five interceptions) and Jerraud Powers (nine passes defended) have been able to keep opposing receivers in check. Meanwhile in the trenches, Calais Campbell and Dwight Freeney (yes, the same Dwight Freeney that played for the Colts so many years ago) do a solid job at pressuring the quarterback, and Deone Bucannon has quietly been one of the best run-stoppers in the game, totalling 112 tackles. The cardinals might well be the only team in these playoffs without an obvious weakness.

Prediction

All-around, the Arizona Cardinals are just a better team than the Green Bay Packers in every facet of the game. They have one of the scariest offences in football that can beat you with their quarterback or their running backs. Their secondary makes receivers invisible and their front seven has stonewalled seemingly every running back they’ve faced. At 36, and nearly 13 years after being selected with the first overall pick by the Cincinnati Bengals, Carson Palmer gets career playoff win number one.

Cardinals 28, Packers 18

Seattle Seahawks (6 – NFC) (11-6) vs. Carolina Panthers (1 -NFC) (15-1)

What does a 15-1 record in the NFL get you? Oh I don’t know, how about a date with the Seattle Seahawks, the two-time reigning NFC champions. If you want to win in the playoffs, no matter how talented and skilled your team may be, you need a little bit of luck on your side. The Seattle Seahawks must have had a horseshoe stuck up their ass last week when the Minnesota Vikings grasped defeat from the jaws of victory as Blair Walsh missed a 27-yard field goal to win 10-9 in frigid Minneapolis. Hope they brought their horseshoe their to Carolina.

Seattle Seahawks

Offence: Total (4th) Passing (20th) Rushing (3rd)

Defence: Total (2nd) Passing (2nd) Rushing (1st)

As I mentioned last week, Russell Wilson has really picked it up in the second half of the season, he led the league in passer rating at 110.1, something surprising since the three QBs everyone’s talked about this year have been Newton, Brady and Palmer. Oddly enough, the top two receivers for Seattle that day were Jimmy Graham and Ricardo Lockette who are both out for the season. Wilson will probably look to his go-to guy, Doug Baldwin who’s caught 13 of the quarterback’s 25 touchdowns in the Seahawks last nine games. Baldwin should go toe-to-toe with Josh Norman on Sunday, who’s been soundly beaten the last few times he’s been forced to face a standout wide receiver, like Julio Jones in the Panthers lone loss.

Marshawn Lynch is scheduled to come back this week, but it’s not like it will matter much for the Seahawks, their offence has been on a tear without him for all of 2015. Lynch only averages 2.5 yards per carry when playing Carolina, and a top run defence headed by Luke Kuechly and the very underrated Thomas Davis have the ability to keep the bruising back contained. Kuechly and Davis both had over 100 tackles this season for a team that only gives up an average of 88.4 rushing yards per game. That’s even if he plays, who knows, he could pull a selfish stunt like he did in the wild-card round.

Michael Bennett has blown up everyone he’s faced this year, as shown through his 10 sacks and 11 tackles for loss in 2015, statistics which he leads the Seahawks in. He and Cliff Avril are two of the best players in the league at making quarterbacks uncomfortable, by hitting them again, and again, and again. It’ll be a game of cat and mouse between these two rushers and Newton on Sunday.

The big issue for Seattle’s D, which has a renowned secondary and been dominant against the run this season will be trying to defend Greg Olsen (77 receptions, 1,104 yards, seven touchdowns), who torched the Seahawks last time. Olsen came up with the big 26-yard touchdown in the final minute to beat Seattle earlier in the season. The Seahawks will likely need to stick a linebacker like Bobby Wagner or K.J. Wright on Olsen, with Kam Chancellor helping out over the top. Single coverage won’t be the solution, as Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph gashed the Seahawks during the final drive of their wild-card tilt.

Carolina Panthers

Offence: Total (11th) Passing (24th) Rushing (2nd)

Defence: Total (6th) Passing (11th) Rushing (4th)

Let’s start with the guy everyone’s considering the league’s MVP, Cam Newton. While leading his team to the 4th 14-0 start in NFL history and “dabbing on them fools”, Newton threw for 3,837 yards, 35 touchdowns, compared to only 10 interceptions. Newton also led all quarterbacks in rushing with 636 yards and 10 touchdowns. Mind you, he also did all of this without his leading receiver from 2014, Kelvin Benjamin, who tore his ACL in training camp. Newton’s made something out of nothing with a receiving corps of, Ted Ginn Jr., Devin Funchess, Philly Brown, and 33-year old Jerricho Cotchery.

The Panthers need their no-name receiving group to make some plays, and it won’t be easy having to deal with the “Legion of Boom” secondary. Both Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas, intercepted Newton the last time these two met. Of any of the receivers, Ginn and his 10 touchdown receptions, is the most likely to have an impact. The problem with Ginn is he could probably have challenged Randy Moss’ record for most touchdown receptions in a single season if he was able to hold onto the ball more often.

But the running game is where the Panthers flourish, headed by Jonathan Stewart, otherwise known as the “Daily Show”. Stewart finished 8th in rushing this season, totalling 989 yards, and likely would have had his second career 1,000 yard season if he hadn’t sat out the last couple games due to injury. Stewart had quite the showing last time he played the Seahawks (78 yards and two scores). Only one other rusher has gained more yards against Seattle since then, Todd Gurley of the then-St. Louis, now-Los Angeles Rams, who picked up 83 yards the ground in week 16. The Panthers are one of a VERY small group of teams that’s been able to run on Seattle. Stewart and Newton will need to muster up that kind of magic on the ground again if Carolina has any hopes of winning.

Prediction

This is easily the hardest game to pick this weekend, so I’m going to say this one gets into overtime. Both teams are just so evenly matched, even though the Panthers are technically the NFL’s best by record. I see both quarterbacks having trouble scrambling out of the pocket and saving plays like they usually do, since they’ll be shadowed by two of the best linebackers in the game with Wagner and Kuechly. It’s going to come down to a crucial turnover, a lucky bounce. The Panthers have got the best turnover differential in the league at +20, but the only teams that give the ball away less than Seattle are Kansas City and New England.

*Sigh*

I have no confidence picking either team. Just give me the Panthers. Seattle’s got to lose some time.

Panthers 19, Seahawks 16 (OT)

Pittsburgh Steelers (6 – AFC) (11-6) vs. Denver Broncos (1 – AFC) (12-4)

The Steelers barely escaped Cincinnati alive, and now they’re fortunate enough to travel to Broncos country and the Mile-High altitude of Denver. At one point in week 16, it looked as if the Denver Broncos might miss the playoffs altogether. Instead they are sitting atop the AFC with the number one defence in football. There’s actually quite a fair bit of history between these two franchises, as Pittsburgh’s had some memorable playoff games in Denver (2005 AFC Championship) and some not so memorable (2011 AFC Wild-Card “The Tebow Game”). I wouldn’t be shocked if this game came down to the wire either.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Offence: Total (3rd) Passing (3rd) Rushing (16th)

Defence: Total (21st) Passing (30th) Rushing (5th)

Pittsburgh walks into Denver handicapped without the two players that have carried their offence so far this year, DeAngelo Williams, who will miss his second straight playoff game, and their best player, and possibly best wideout in the NFL, Antonio Brown.

Ben Roethlisberger will have to put on a vintage performance if he wants to get past Denver, as he’ll be running out there with Martavis Bryant, Markus Wheaton and Fitzgerald Toussaint as his best options on offence. Pittsburgh needs to get more out of Bryant, who made an unbelievable catch last weekend against the Bengals, but overall, only had 5 catches for 29 yards. That will not cut it as a number one option. Matching up against Aqib Talib or Chris Harris Jr. will be tough for Bryant who usually draws the number two cornerback, this time he’ll need to break free from one of the top corners in the game no matter who he faces

Roethlisberger will also be playing with all types of drugs being injected into his shoulder, after he tore ligaments in his shoulder in Pittsburgh’s win over Cincinnati. How well can Roethlisberger throw the ball downfield? If he can’t toss a pigskin further than 20 yards without serious pain, it’s going to be tough for the Steelers to do anything offensively.

On the other side of the passing game, the Steelers secondary has been their achilles tendon all season long, as a majority of their losses have come against teams with enough offensive fire-power to go back and forth in a shootout. Guys like Cameron Heyward, Stephon Tuitt and Lawrence Timmons will have to step up and make sure Manning doesn’t have enough time to get the ball out and find an open receiver.

Pittsburgh did a fantastic job at stopping the run in their win over Cincinnati, limiting Hill and Bernard to 78 yards on 18 carries (4.3 yards per carry), and also forcing a massive fumble late in the game. They’ll be taking on something similar with Denver’s Ronnie Hillman and CJ Anderson. When these teams met in Pittsburgh earlier in the year, the Broncos longest rush of the game came from Emmanuel Sanders. If the Steelers stick to the formula they had against Denver previously, they can erase the Broncos run game, and put it all in the hands of their 39-year quarterback.

Denver Broncos

Offence: Total (16th) Passing (14th) Rushing (17th)

Defence: Total (1st) Passing (1st) Rushing (3rd)

Gary Kubiak and Wade Phillips have transformed Denver into a fortress, which few have been able to penetrate in 2015. This season, Denver has only allowed one quarterback to pass for over 300 yards in a game. Unfortunately for them, that quarterback is the guy they’re going to have shut down on Sunday.

The tandem of Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware will be need to be huge for the Broncos once again come Sunday. The Steelers allowed defenders to get to their quarterbacks 33 times this year, and three of those came when Denver travelled to Pittsburgh in week 15. Denver gets to the quarterback more than any other team with 52 sacks in 2015.

The real thing Denver should be concerned about is the play of their starting quarterback, the once great Peyton Manning. It’s an understatement to say that Manning has had a disappointing year. Before suffering his foot injury and being benched in favour of Brock Osweiler, Manning was on pace for career lows in a number of statistical categories like passing yards (2,249), touchdowns (9) and quarterback rating (67.9). He only started half of his team’s games and he still led the league in interceptions up until the final game of the season. “The Sheriff” has led many a comeback in his day, but if the Broncos are getting to a Super Bowl, it’s because of their defence, not their quarterback.

Luckily for Manning, if he throws it anywhere near his top two targets, Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders, they should be able to come down with it, as both had over 1,000 receiving yards this year and combined for 12 touchdowns. (Thomas with 1,304 and Sanders with 1,135 yards, both top 15 in the NFL). As long as he doesn’t start floating up balloons for the Steelers Defensive backs, Denver’s passing game will be alright.

Prediction

When healthy, the Pittsburgh Steelers are Super Bowl contenders, and may be the best team in the AFC. Unfortunately, they’ve yet to play a full game this season with a healthy starting quarterback, running back, and wide receiver. With Antonio Brown, the Steelers are capable of sliding past the top defence in the NFL, without him it’s pretty iffy.

Roethlisberger is able to keep it close, but Pittsburgh can’t hang around forever when the Broncos start to finally pull away in the late stages of the game with the offence clicking. Brady-Manning XVII in the AFC Championship Game, just like the NFL wanted.

Broncos 26, Steelers 21

NFL WILD-CARD WEEKEND: GET CRAZY GET WILD

So far the 2015 NFL season has been… well… it’s been something. A lot of injuries, a lot of inconsistent performances, a team that came two games away from a perfect regular season, a dance that has been beaten to death, an HGH allegation, and here we are. Playoffs.

No more Thursday Night Football-type games, the contenders have separated themselves from the pretenders, and the field has been narrowed down from 32 teams to 12. First up, wild-card weekend.

My biggest piece of advice to the eight teams in action this weekend: Never say “we want the ball, we’re gonna score.”  Never. Ever.

Kansas City Chiefs (5) (11-5) vs. Houston Texans (4) (9-7)

First off, it’s a rematch of a Week 1 tilt that saw Kansas City hold on for dear life to win 27-20. This game is gonna be sacks on sacks on sacks. If you like Defence, the first game of wild-card weekend is for you.

Kansas City Chiefs

Offence: Total (27th) Passing (30th) Rushing (6th)

Defence: Total (7th) Passing (9th) Rushing (8th)

In one corner, we have the game manager himself, Alex Smith. The Kansas City quarterback took a lot of flack early on this season (and has much of his career) for checking down in 3rd down situations when his teams need to get downfield. Luckily for Smith, this season he has a legitimate wide receiver in Jeremy Maclin. According to Pro Football Focus, Maclin had the best hands in the NFL this season, dropping just one pass on 120 targets.

Outside of Maclin though, that Kansas City receiving group is pretty bleak. Texans corner Jonathan Joseph will be assigned to Maclin, and should he shut out the Chiefs leading receiver, Kansas City better hope to get secondary production from guys like Travis Kelce and…Albert Wilson.

Smith’s been decent, but the real reason the Chiefs are here is their defence. Marcus Peters has very much inserted himself into the Defensive Rookie of the Year race, notching 8 interceptions this season. Eric Berry has fully recovered from being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and earned himself a spot on the pro bowl roster for his play.

For all the talk that the Texans defensive line may get, the Chiefs is just as dynamic. Justin Houston and Tamba Hali are a linebacker tandem that has haunted the dreams of quarterbacks for years now. However they’re a little bit banged up. Houston hasn’t played since week 12 when he suffered a hyperextended knee and Hali also missed practice time this week to knee and thumb injuries. Their absence has been noticeable, as the Chiefs have been scraping by against inferior teams like San Diego and Cleveland recently. Will Hali and Houston show up in Houston? That’s one of the biggest question marks heading into the wild-card matchup. Talking about Houston, in Houston, is also going to get incredibly confusing.

Houston Texans

Offence: Total (19th) Passing (18th) Rushing (15th)

Defence: Total (3rd) Passing (3rd) Rushing (10th)

I would like to start by saying the AFC South is an outright atrocity, so congratulations to the Texans for winning it. Literally all you had to do was be semi-competent and you did that. Good job, good effort.

Head coach Bill O’Brien has endured the quarterback carousel. Hoyer, Ryan Mallett, T.J. Yates, and Brandon Weeden have all started for the Texans because of injuries/awful quarterbacking, but Hoyer has been decent enough to get the Texans to a winning record. In other words, he’s the best at throwing it somewhere near DeAndre Hopkins (111 receptions, 1,521 yards, 11 TDs), which is the brunt of the Texans offensive game plan. 

Houston doesn’t have the best defence in the AFC, that’s Denver, but Southern Texas is also home to the most disruptive player in football today; J.J. Watt. The Texans defensive end is only the second player in NFL history to record three seasons of at least 17 sacks, placing himself along the great Reggie White (He finished with 17.5 to lead the NFL this season). On top of that, Brian Cushing seems to have re-found his form from a couple years ago, and Jadaveon Clowney’s face hasn’t been plastered on milk cartons this year, as the 2014 1st overall pick has begun making plays later in the season. A lot of that might have to do with Watt being double and even triple covered by offensive lines, but credit should be given where credit is due.(UPDATE: Clowney’s been downgraded to Out for today’s game)

Everyone knows J.J. Watt, he’s probably on his way to another Defensive Player of the Year award this season (whether that’s deserved, or on reputation, is another question) but a name a lot of people forget about in Houston is Whitney Mercilus. Besides having one of the best names in football, Mercilus and Watt have combined for the most sacks of any tandem in the NFL since 2013. The combo with the second most sacks in that time frame? Justin Houston and Tamba Hali of the Kansas City Chiefs. 

Prediction

Oddly enough, both teams have been without their starting running backs for a majority of the season, yet their strong defences have propelled them to the playoffs. Jamaal Charles tore his ACL in a week 5 loss to the Bears. In relief of Charles though, Charcandrick West and Spencer Ware have been dyno-mite.

Houston’s Arian Foster meanwhile, was lost for the season in infuriating fashion, when he tore his ACL in garbage time of a blowout loss to the Dolphins. Does the running back committee of Alfred Blue, Jonathan Grimes, Chris Polk and Akeem Hunt strike fear into anyone? Didn’t think so.

The Chiefs may not be the flashiest offensive team on paper, but there is one component of their game which they do really well: not turn the ball over. Kansas City has only given away the ball 15 times this season, second fewest in the NFL, and that could be vital against a team like the Texans, who rely on their defence to get the offence.

If West and Ware can get going against the Houston D, I can’t see any way the Chiefs don’t win. Peters will shut down Hopkins, the “Bulls on Parade” may get to Alex Smith, but not as much as the Chiefs rushers will hit Hoyer. The Texans situation didn’t get any better when Houston lost pro-bowl tackle Duane Brown to a torn quad. All signs are pointing to a field day for the Kansas City pass rush. The Chiefs picks up their first playoff victory since January of ’94, when they were led by… Joe Montana, and defeated… the Houston Oilers. It’s been a while.

Chiefs 23, Texans 13

Pittsburgh Steelers (6) (10-6) vs. Cincinnati Bengals (3) (12-4)

If you only get to watch one of the four wild-card games this weekend, this is the one you watch. The Steelers and Bengals are meeting for the third time this year, and these two teams DO NOT like each other.  

Pittsburgh Steelers

Offence: Total (3rd) Passing (3rd) Rushing (16th)

Defence: Total (21st) Passing (30th) Rushing (5th)

The Steelers may have just barely squeaked into the playoffs in the final week of the season, but if there’s any AFC team you don’t want to face, it’s these guys. They’re that team, you know, the one that’s “getting hot at the right time”, poised to go on a Super Bowl run. And they’ve got the offence to do it. The lethal connection of Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown will have to put the team on their shoulders.

What has Brown done for the Steelers? How’s 136 receptions (t-1st with Julio Jones), 1,834 yards (2nd, 37 yards behind Jones), and 10 touchdowns sound?  Brown’s near the top in almost every statistical receiving category and put up over 100 receiving yards in 9 games this season, including 284 against Oakland in Week 9. He also had the best end-zone celebration of the year, and styles his hair like he’s a LEGO man.

Mind you, in both previous match-ups against Cincinnati, Brown was kept under 100 yards. It’s not all about Antonio though, Pittsburgh still has Martavis Bryant who’s able to do some damage, and Markus Wheaton to open up the short passing game. Roethlisberger will be able to get the ball to his guys, he’s just got to make sure they show up, because he will not have a solid running back to take the pressure off. After Le’Veon Bell was lost to a torn ACL (Another One), DeAngelo Williams has been everything Pittsburgh could have asked for in relief. But now he’s out of action with a high ankle sprain. Pittsburgh will have to trot out Fitzgerald Toussaint on Saturday. No, I did not make that name up. He’s from Michigan, and has 18 total carries this season….

Would you want to turn to an unproven tailback with your season on the line? Timmy Smith is really the only example of something like that working out, and that was the flukiest of flukes.

There’s no ‘Steel Curtain’ this year, but one thing the Steelers do have going for them on defence; they finished third in the league with 48 sacks. It’s a scattered 48 however, as no pass rusher has more than Cameron Heyward’s seven. New defensive coordinator Keith Butler’s Bison Blitz formation has fooled offences in 2015, often by bringing up a corner, like William Gay, to rush the quarterback. Apart from Gay, a man who won’t stop dancing for anyone, there shouldn’t be anyone that McCarron should truly fear on the Steelers defence.

Cincinnati Bengals

Offence: Total (15th) Passing (15th) Rushing (13th)

Defence: Total (11th) Passing (20th) Rushing (7th)

For the first few years of his career, Cincinnati quarterback Andy Dalton was a “red rider BB gun”. That’s been different this year, as the “red rocket rifle” was one of the top passers in the NFL and is ready to take Cincinnati to the next level.

One problem. He’s out of the game with a thumb injury.

This has thrust AJ McCarron into the spotlight, known mostly for being a lucky SOB that got to quarterback dominant Alabama teams and have a smoking hot girlfriend.

I mean look at this guy. Top 10 most punchable face in the NFL.

McCarron’s been alright in relief of Dalton, and that’s all he really needs to be for Cincinnati to win. He’s still got guys like A.J. Green, Marvin Jones, and Tyler Eifert and his 13 touchdowns in 2015. The running back duo of Jeremy Hill and Giovani Bernard have each rushed for over 700 yards, a sporadic 1-2 punch in the sense that when one guy gets going, the other guy gets ice cold. It will be interesting to see how they fare against the strong point of Pittsburgh’s D. The Bengals will need at least 100 yards on the ground if they want to think about heading to New England next weekend.

McCarron’s also got a great defence. Carlos Dunlap and Geno Atkins each finished with double-digit sack totals this year. Vontaze Burfict, has come back from a possibly career-altering injury. Let’s not forget to mention the secondary, which has gone unnoticed for most of the year, featuring Leon Hall, Dre Kirkpatrick, Adam Jones a.k.a the artist formerly known as Pac-man, and second team All-Pro Safety, Reggie Nelson. Jones was also the only corner in the NFL this year to not allow a pass of more than 25+ yards, and Nelson was tied with Peters for the league lead in interceptions.

Prediction

I’ve flip-flopped on this game more than any of the four that are being played this weekend. For almost the entire 2015 season, I’ve believed a healthy Steelers team is the best of the AFC North. I picked them to beat Cincinnati both times they played one another this year. But this time around, things just don’t add up in their favour. Pittsburgh’s not going to have a running back this weekend, making their entire offence one-dimensional. On the other side of the ball, McCarron has had weeks to prepare for this game, and he’s facing a pass defence which gave up 272 yards through the air per game. The Steelers are ripe for the picking.

For the second time on Saturday, a major playoff drought ends, as Cincinnati earns its first postseason victory since 1991. Marvin Lewis gets playoff win number one in his seventh try. People who believed the Bengals would finally win a playoff game once Dalton wasn’t the quarterback are still “technically right”.

Bengals 27, Steelers 26

Seattle Seahawks (6) (10-6) vs. Minnesota Vikings (3) (11-5)

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin (89) looks back on a 53-yard touchdown reception against the Minnesota Vikings in the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 6, 2015 in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jim Mone) MNPS118 (Jim Mone / The Associated Press)

Seattle comes into this one the heavy favourite, but there’s still a couple outside factors that benefit the Vikings, one the weather. This game will be reminiscent of the Bud Grant-era Vikings teams that would destroy opponents who couldn’t handle the cold. Second, the game-start time. Kick-off is 1:00 PM on Sunday or 10:00 AM in Seattle. The other three games this weekend start in the afternoon for the Pacific time zone, so it’s quite puzzling as to why the NFL would schedule this game for 1:00 PM. Don’t believe what all the prognosticators tell you, this one’s going to be a bit closer than you think.

Seattle Seahawks

Offence: Total (4th) Passing (20th) Rushing (3rd)

Defence: Total (2nd) Passing (2nd) Rushing (1st)

In case you haven’t heard, Russell Wilson is playing like a man possessed coming into the playoffs. Over the second half of the season, Wilson has thrown 24 touchdowns, to just one interception, the best TD:INT ratio over an eight game stretch EVER. And what do you know, they’re just about to add another element to their game. Marshawn Lynch. Lynch hasn’t been his explosive self in 2015, largely due to a rash of injuries which have befell him, greatly reducing his numbers of prior seasons. He’s scheduled to come back against Minnesota after sitting out almost the entire last half with an abdominal injury. WELL, so much for that chunk. Lynch has been declared out, and won’t be joining the Seahawks in Minneapolis. Christine Michael will get the rock for Seattle. It shouldn’t matter too much regardless, as the Seahawks have revamped their offence to centre around Wilson, rather than a power back like Lynch.

Wilson also helped make Doug Baldwin a super hero, as he is now one of the top receivers in the league, catching 11 touchdowns in his last six games. The Stanford grad, and rookie Tyler Lockett, have given Seattle another way to tear opponents apart.

The weak point for the Seahawks is their offensive line which is a little beat down. Russell Okung should be returning, but likely not at 100 percent. Garry Gilliam and Justin Britt are not world-beaters, and will likely struggle having to deal with the pressure of Everson Griffen and Brian Robison. Fortunately for Seattle, their offence has been all about getting the ball out of Wilson’s hands quickly and to their many different weapons, which should set them up nicely. How much the weather plays into their offensive production should be interesting. The Pacific Northwest isn’t used to lots of snow.

Everyone’s talked about this defence ad nauseum for the last four years, because they’re just THAT good. Richard Sherman’s not as dominant as he used to be but still one of the top corners in the league with 14 passes defended. Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor have been locking it down at safety. The Seahawks are known for their dominant secondary, but their rushing defence has been even better in 2015. Led by Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright, who both had over 100 tackles this year, Seattle is the only team in the league to not allow a 100-yard rusher this year, including the rushing champ they get to face this week.

Minnesota Vikings

Offence: Total (29th) Passing (31st) Rushing (4th)

Defence: Total (13th) Passing (12th) Rushing (17th)

The Vikings offence is all about “All Day”, Adrian Peterson. Minnesota’s running back became only the second player in history to win the NFL’s rushing title over the age of 30, joining the great Curtis Martin as he led the league with 1495 rushing yards in 2015. Of course, Peterson also had his worst day of the season against Seattle, as the Seahawks limited him to just 18 yards on eight carries. So I guess the Vikings will just have to get the passing game going a little bit right? Yeah, good luck with that.

Teddy Bridgewater only threw 14 touchdown passes this year, the fewest by any quarterback that started all 16 games. To be fair, he doesn’t have much to work with. Mike Wallace runs around for a bit, but doesn’t catch any thing. Charles Johnson was supposed to be the #2 option in the Vikings aerial attack. He finished the 2015 season with nine receptions. Kyle Rudolph has gone missing as well, and other than the break-out of Stefon Diggs, Minnesota’s downfield threats are pretty much non-existent. Combine that with supposed frigid temperatures in the St.Paul-Minneapolis area, pressure from Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril and you’ve got yourself a recipe for the toughest game Teddy Bridgewater’s had to play so far in his young career.

Good thing Minnesota’s got a tough defence that won’t lay down for anybody, not even the two-time NFC Champions. Last time these two teams met, Minnesota didn’t have Harrison Smith, Anthony Barr, and Linval Joseph, arguably the three most important pieces of that Vikings Defence. Smith and Barr both played at pro-bowl levels all season long, despite getting snubbed and Joseph has been one of the main reasons why opposing running backs aren’t torching Minnesota each game.

The magic number for the Vikings will be 20. Minnesota is 10-0 when holding opponents under 20 points, and 0-4 when allowing more than 20. If the Vikings can’t hold Seattle under 20 there is no way they win this football game, not with the mismatches the Minnesota offence will have to deal with.

Prediction

The Seahawks previously trounced the Vikings 38-7 at Minnesota earlier this year. A lot of people seem to think Seattle’s got this thing wrapped up before the game’s been played because of their previous matchup.

A lot of people said that about the Steelers going to face the Tim Tebow-led Broncos in 2011.

A lot of people said that when the Patriots were facing the Jets in a re-match in 2010, after beating them 45-3 in the regular season.

A lot of people said the 7-9 Seahawks were toast in 2010 having to take on the 11-5 Saints.

No games are won on paper, that’s why we play them.

Having said all of this, I’m still taking the Seahawks. They’re too strong to get knocked out by a young, inexperienced Vikings team.

Seahawks 20, Vikings 9

Green Bay Packers (5) (10-6) vs. Washington Redskins (4) (9-7)

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers looks over the line during the first half of an NFL football game against the Washington Redskins in Landover, Md., Sunday, Oct. 10, 2010. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivias)

Did you think the Super Bowl favourite Green Bay Packers we’re going to shred opposing defences this year? If so, I’ve got three words.

You.

Were.

Wrong.

Did anyone, ANYONE, think the Washington Redskins would be a playoff team, and not only that, finish with a record above .500? Didn’t think so.

Yet here we are, with the Packers and Redskins meeting in wild-card weekend. With Washington favoured by 1 point.

Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers outside linebacker Clay Matthews reacts after sacking Minnesota Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder and causing a fumble during the first half of an NFL football game Monday, Nov. 14, 2011, in Green Bay, Wis. The Vikings recovered the fumble. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)

Offence: Total (23rd) Passing (25th) Rushing (12th)

Defence: Total (15th) Passing (6th) Rushing (21st)

Anemic is the best way to describe how Green Bay moves when they have the football. Aaron Rodgers has had his worst statistical season since he took over the Packers starting job in 2008, which can be credited to the fact that he has no one to throw to, and no time. Rodgers was sacked 47 times this season, including 13 times in the last two, the fifth most in the NFL.

The four teams that were worse than Green Bay? Cleveland, Tennessee, San Francisco, and Jacksonville. None of them had more than five wins this year. Starting tackle David Bakhtiari has missed some time of late, which could explain the recent surge in the amount of hits on Rodgers. Second team All-Pro guard Josh Sitton can’t block everyone.

Losing Jordy Nelson before the season began didn’t do the Packers any favours, but they are really struggling to do anything through the air. There’s a lack of communication between Rodgers and all of his receivers except Randall Cobb and James “Earl” Jones, and Cobb hasn’t had a 100-yard receiving game since week 2. Packers fans should be thanking whatever gods may be that Jones showed up or else Green Bay would be in dire straits. Davante Adams was supposed to be huge for the Packers this year, and he finished the season with one touchdown reception and in the top six in dropped passes.

This is first time since 2010 that the Packers scoring defence is actually better than their offence. Clay Matthews has led the way and he may be assigned to the tall task of handling Washington tight end, Jordan Reed. That job could also go to safety Micah Hyde, who was spectacular last week in erasing Minnesota’s Kyle Rudolph, highlighted by a ridiculous pick, a proud moment for guys named “Micah” everywhere.

Sam Shields has been lights out in coverage for the Packers this year, a lone bright spot for a Green Bay team that’s fallen short of expectations thus far. The problem is Shields is doubtful to play Sunday, as he still needs to pass through concussion protocol. If he can’t go, it’s rookie Damarious Randall drawing the matchup against DeSean Jackson, who’s proven to be no slouch either. Randall is apparently battling a groin injury as well though, the extent of which is unknown. Washington won’t be afraid to test the rookie. (UPDATE: Shields has been downgraded to Out).

Washington Redskins

Sep 20, 2015; Landover, MD, USA; Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins (8) celebrates after a touchdown by Redskins running back Matt Jones (31) against the St. Louis Rams in the fourth quarter at FedEx Field. The Redskins won 24-10. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Offence: Total (17th) Passing (11th) Rushing (20th)

Defence: Total (28th) Passing (25th) Rushing (26th)

WASHINGTON REDSKINS. 2015 NFC EAST CHAMPIONS.

YOU LIKE THAT?!

Kirk Cousins just had to decide all willy-nilly that he wanted to become a decent quarterback this season. And so he did just that, finishing the year leading the NFL in completion percentage. Jordan Reed has finally developed into the stud everyone said he would be, creating chaotic mismatches for defences. It’s an understatement to say Reed exploded for 952 yards and 11 touchdowns. DeSean Jackson while not the game-breaker he once was, seemingly hauls in at least one deep bomb each game and is still able to stretch the defence and open up the field for Cousins to throw.

It’s been all about the pass this year in Washington, as the Redskins running game has been lacking to say the least in 2015. Alfred Morris has been quite mediocre, and Matt Jones comes out to play once in a full moon. Neither back rushed for more than 3.8 yards per carry this season, so it’s safe to say Kirk Cousins will be letting it fly more often than not this Sunday.

Ryan Kerrigan has led the way for Washington with nine and a half sacks, and is undoubtedly their best defensive player. The edge rusher will need to get by Green Bay tackle Bryan Bulaga, and put constant pressure on the former MVP. Rodgers hasn’t had a whole lot of time in protection behind a leaky offensive line this season, but when he has, the Packers are clicking.

Outside of Kerrigan, and the great play of Dashon Goldson at safety, Washington’s defence doesn’t seem to be strong enough to take them on a deep playoff run, as they’ve got the worst unit of any playoff team. Their secondary picked up all-around despised cornerback Cary Williams, which should prove how desperate they are in the defensive backfield. To this day, scientists are still trying to find the answer to one of mankind’s greatest mysteries: What is it exactly that Cary Williams does well?

Prediction

I think every single preview I’ve read for this game has said the same thing. The Redskins are on the way up, the Packers are on the way down, so take Washington. What they fail to mention, is that Green Bay is one of the best teams in the league at defending the pass and preventing teams from converting third downs. All Washington does is throw the ball. The Packers offence may be struggling, but Washington’s defence ain’t exactly the ’85 Bears.

Remember people, this is the Washington Redskins. They’ve been the laughing-stock of the league for quite some time, and now everyone’s ready to jump on the Kirk Cousins gravy-train to victory. Pump the brakes a little, folks. Much like the Vikings, Washington is headed in the right direction, but to quote the WORST election attack ad in the history of attack ads, they’re “just not ready.”

Packers 31, Redskins 24

This is the most exciting weekend in football every year. Enjoy it. The Road to Super Bowl 50 officially starts today.

2015 NFL PREVIEW: AFC SOUTH

For the 3rd Division in my 2015 NFL Season Preview, we go for our first trip below the Mason-Dixon Line, and take a look at the AFC South, a race with only thoroughbred. In case you missed the last two previews, here’s what’s been covered thus far.

AFC EAST:

1. New England Patriots – 12-4
2. Miami Dolphins – 10-6
3. Buffalo Bills – 9-7
4. New York Jets – 6-10

AFC NORTH:

1. Baltimore Ravens – 11-5
2. Pittsburgh Steelers – 10-6
3. Cincinnati Bengals – 8-8
4. Cleveland Browns – 4-12

Tennessee Titans:

2014 Season: 2-14, 4th in AFC South

Offense: Rushing (26th), Passing (22nd), Total (29th)

Defense: Rushing (31st), Passing (15th), Total (27th)

The Titans were just atrocious last year, and I don’t expect much more from them this time around, even with last year’s Heisman Trophy winner, Marcus Mariota, at Quarterback. Mariota threw for 4,454 yards, 42 Touchdowns and only 4 interceptions in 15 games last season with the Oregon Ducks, but he’s going to be looking for a lifeline on that Titan Offense, because if there’s one team in the NFL who doesn’t have any proven offensive weapons, it’s Tennessee. The only player on the offense who could become a star is Dorial Green-Beckham, and he has to mature and buy into the system Ken Whisenhunt wants to use. Kendall Wright could also have a bounce-back season this year, with a decent Quarterback throwing him the ball, not career backup, Charlie Whitehurst, aka Clipboard Jesus.

Tennessee’s top ranked player in fantasy football is Bishop Sankey, 95th in ESPN’s fantasy rankings and at least 27 spots lower than any other teams highest ranked fantasy player. The rookie disappointed in 2014, averaging only 3.7 yards per carry. At least the Titans coaches knew they’re not going to get much at Sankey, because they went out and got Terrance West from Cleveland as soon as it was revealed that David Cobb would miss the entire 2015 season.

Mariota’s probably more worried about not getting sacked 60 times in 16 games this season anyway. Tennessee’s 2014 First-round pick, Taylor Lewan will protect Mariota’s blind side, and Right Guard Chance Warmack is a great interior blocker. The rest of the line however, is unfinished. The Titans are debating about which backup they should plug in at Right Tackle, there’s no one on the roster to replace their awful Center, Brian Schwenke, and Andy Levitre has been quite mediocre at Left Guard since signing a big contract a few seasons ago. There’s very little to like about the Tennessee Titans this season.

My Grandmother told me that if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all, but for the purposes of this article, let’s dive into the abysmal Titans Defense.

Tennessee’s big free agent signing was DE/OLB Brian Orakpo, who improves himself by leaving a horrible situation in Washington, for a terrible one in Tennessee. Orakpo used to be an All-Pro, but the former All-American, Texas Longhorn, has had his injury troubles in recent years, which was likely the main reason why Tennessee was the only team willing to spend big bucks on him. Derrick Morgan also chose to re-sign, providing the Titans with a tremendous tandem on the D-Line.

A unit that also shows promise is Tennessee’s Defensive Backs, who signed CB Perrish Cox from San Francisco and S Da’Norris Searcy from Buffalo. Both players didn’t truly receive the recognition they deserved last season, Cox had 5 Interceptions and 18 passes defended in 2014, making him one of the few bright spots on a 49ers team that is slowly falling apart, while Searcy was a key cog in a Bills D that finished top 5 in the NFL.

Jurrell Casey is the only strong linebacker in Tennessee, coming up with 5 sacks, leading the Titans with 8 tackles for loss and being undoubtedly the team’s best run-stopper. The Titans other two starting linebackers, and I’ll admit it, I had to look up their names because Tennessee was that forgettable last year, Ropati Pitoitua and Sammie Lee Hill, looked lost most of the time, because they either couldn’t contain the run, or effectively rush the Quarterback.

I feel like I’m being a little negative here, but Tennessee is just atrocious and that’s the reality. The talent pools on both Offense and Defense for the Titans, are extremely shallow. This is certainly a development year in Memphis, just don’t destroy Mariota and the season will be considered a success. How many days until the 2016 NFL Draft?

2015 Prediction: 3-13

Jacksonville Jaguars:

2014 Season: 3-13, 3rd in AFC South

Offense: Rushing (21st), Passing (31st), Total (31st)

Defense: Rushing (27th), Passing (22nd), Total (26th)

Oh Jacksonville, sometimes I even forget you exist, because I’ve never met a single person that’s said they’re a Jaguars fan. It’s not as if I don’t like the Jaguars, I do! I remember the team that upset the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild-Card Round, led by Maurice Jones-Drew and David Garrard at QB! Those Jags were a joy to watch every Sunday. They just haven’t done ANYTHING since then, and they won’t for a little while longer.

It wasn’t even July when the Jaguars received the terrible news that their No. 3 overall selection in this year’s draft, Defensive End, Dante Fowler, Jr., tore his ACL. Jacksonville’s Defense isn’t where their troubles are however, and while the unit isn’t spectacular, it gets the job done. Defensive Tackle, Sen’Derrick Marks ended up with 9 sacks on the season, and despite also tearing his ACL in last year’s season finale, should be ready to go for week 1. Bringing in Jared Odrick from Miami was also a great pickup for Jacksonville, who should come in and help Jaguars fans be content with the fact that Fowler is missing the entire 2015 season.

While Fowler exits, the Jags get the return of their best inside linebacker, Paul Posluszny, coming off a chest injury that saw him miss more than half the season last year. Alongside Posluszny will be Telvin Smith, who had a great rookie campaign with 104 tackles, and hopes to avoid a dreaded sophomore slump.

Outside of the respectable Jonathan Cyprien, there isn’t much else in the secondary. Sergio Brown, a career special teamer, and the guy who got thrown out the club in Indianapolis last season, is starting, so that’s all you really need to know about that unit

On the other side of the ball, Blake Bortles now enters into his 2nd season head-manning the offense. Bortles basically got a free pass last season because A) The Jaguars were an atrocity in 2013, and B) He had virtually nobody to help him out.

Toby Gerhart was supposed to the cowbell for the Jags last year, but he wound up being a massive bust, only rushing for 326 yards in 14 games last season.

Jacksonville now looks to the rookie out of Alabama, T.J. Yeldon. I was initially extremely high on Yeldon this offseason, but after further contemplation, a couple of things have brought my expectations for him back down to earth. Denard Robinson will be there to step in for Yeldon the moment he starts becoming ineffective, and the offensive line that will be blocking for him, despite having names like Stefen Wisniewski, Zane Beadles and Luke Joeckel, was more porous than SpongeBob Squarepants. He can just ask Bortles how strong he thinks the Jaguars line is, because he was sacked a league-high 71 times last year, how strong the Jags are in the trenches. Yeldon won’t rush for 1,000 yards in his rookie season, but he’s not going to end up like Gerhart did.

Cecil Shorts leaving for Houston doesn’t help the offensive situation, meaning expectations are high for 2nd-year WR Allen Robinson. The 6’3 210-lb wideout looks to have turned the corner in his development, and will likely end up being a reliable deep threat in the Jaguars offense, and hopefully last season’s surprise for Jacksonville, undrafted-rookie Allen Hurns, will continue to produce at a clip similar to what he had last year, 51 receptions, 677 receiving yards, and 6 touchdowns.

Jacksonville’s big offseason signing this year was bringing over TE Julius Thomas and his 24 Touchdowns in the past 2 seasons from Denver, which finally gives Bortles a viable option in the red-zone. In typical Jacksonville fashion however, Thomas will miss the first three games of the season with a hand injury.

The Jags are a likeable squad, and they’ve got some quality pieces in Jacksonville which Head Coach Gus Bradley should be able to build around. The main goal for this season should be just to make sure the offensive line improves, and Bortles’ development isn’t stunted. They’re not ready to contend for playoffs yet, but give it until say 2017, and the Jags should be fighting for a wild-card spot.

2015 Prediction: 5-11

Houston Texans’ J.J. Watt reacts after recovering a fumble during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans Sunday, Sept. 30, 2012, in Houston. (AP Photo/Dave Einsel)

Houston Texans:

2014 Season: 9-7, 2nd in AFC South

Offense: Rushing (5th), Passing (24th), Total (17th)

Defense: Rushing (10th), Passing (21st), Total (16th)

Houston’s about as one-sided a team as you might find in the NFL, despite what last year’s numbers say. At Defensive End, Houston has the best Defensive player, and possibly the best All-Around player in the league (He was voted by the players, as the No.1 player in the annual NFL’s Top 100 players lists); J.J. Watt. Watt terrorized quarterbacks last season, collecting 20.5 sacks, becoming the first player since 1982 to record multiple seasons of more than 20 sacks. On top of that, Watt led the league in batted passes, fumbles recovered, tackles for loss, had an interception returned for a Touchdown, a forced fumble returned for a touchdown and 3 receiving touchdowns. What isn’t there to love about J.J. Watt.

Jadeveon Clowney is back and ready to shut up all his critics who had written him off and were disappointed they didn’t get to see more of him, because he missed most of last season with a knee injury. Vince Wilfork was also a big acquisition for the Defensive, who can still contribute and fill up holes, despite his age.

The Houston secondary’s big test will come against Andrew Luck and the Colts twice a year. Their top 3 corners from 2014, Kendrick Lewis, D.J. Swearinger, and Danieal Manning have all left, but the team’s dependable safeties Johnathan Joseph and Kareem Jackson are still kicking and the departing corners have replaced them with Rahim “The Dream” Moore from the Broncos, who’s terrific in coverage but weak in run support, and Stevie Brown from the Giants.

Scoring-wise, Houston will be incredibly lucky to average over 20 points through at least the first four games of their season. Arian Foster is out with a groin injury until at least late September, but Houston is just fine with that since they initially believed he’d be out for at least half the season. Foster has been the key cog in the Houston Offense dating back to 2010, when he took the league by storm shredded defenses for 1,616 yards. Each time since then, Foster has rushed for over 1,000 when playing more than half a season, so he’ll obviously be dearly missed in the Texan backfield. Alfred Blue will take the brunt of the load in his spot, and while Blue isn’t the worst option, he’s well below average as a starting RB in the NFL.

Houston could probably contend with Indianapolis if they had a semi-competent, proven QB at the helm. DeAndre Hopkins is a great talent at WR, but who in Houston is going to be able to get him the ball? Can Houston’s passing game do worse than last year’s?

Yes, because after Hopkins there’s not much to look at on the Houston depth chart. They’ve got two of Brady’s backups for Quarterbacks, Brian Hoyer, and Ryan Mallett. Don’t think it’s a coincidence that Head Coach Bill O’Brien took both these guys into Houston, O’Brien was the QB Coach in New England, and eventually became the Offensive Coordinator during the 2011 season, a year where the Patriots reached the Super Bowl.

Much like the Bills however, The Texans D will not take them to the top alone, because in this league you need a decent QB, if you want to succeed. Although they jumped out to a 6-3 start last year with Brian Hoyer as their starting QB, Cleveland was winning games in spite of him, and ended 2014 on a 1-6 stretch. Mallett’s never been a starter in the NFL, but having watched him play preseason football in New England, he never really showed any flashes of brilliance as a Patriots. Bill Belichick likely believed this too, otherwise taking Jimmy Garoppolo in the 2nd round of last-year’s draft wouldn’t make any sense.

The Texans might be for me, the most interesting team in the NFL this season. There’s a big radius for where this team could finish at season’s end. In a dream world, they come very close to challenging the Colts for the AFC South crown, but in a worst-case scenario the team goes 5-11 and the offense reeks of cow patties. I’m going to say it’s somewhere in between.

2015 Prediction: 7-9

Indianapolis Colts:

2014 Season: 11-5, AFC South Champions

#4 seed in AFC

Lost in AFC Championship Game to New England Patriots

Offense: Rushing (22nd), Passing (1st), Total (3rd)

Defense: Rushing (18th), Passing (12th), Total (11th)

Everyone knows that there’s only one team that deserves to win the AFC South this year, and it’s the Indianapolis Colts. If they don’t win this division, it will go down as one of the most disappointing seasons in NFL History.

Andrew Luck is ready to let everyone know that’s he’s currently the best Quarterback in the game. I guarantee that Luck will throw for 5,000 yards this year. Saying it out loud makes it seem like I just graduated from University with a degree in Hot Takeology, but if you surveyed a group of NFL analysts/experts/pundits, whatever you want to call them, a majority would probably agree with me. He wasn’t far off last season throwing for 4,761 yards, and the Colts were better in the Passing game than anyone else was.

Luck’s still got his #1 option; one of the most underrated receivers in football, T.Y. Hilton. Long-time Colt, Reggie Wayne, was released by the team and seems to be on the brink of retirement, but they’ve replaced one legend with another by going out and getting Andre Johnson. His recent statistical decline has shown that Johnson is no longer what he was for Houston in the late 2000s, but he fits perfectly into the Indianapolis Offense as a #2 option and is an upgrade over Wayne. The Colts also decided to make their strengths even stronger by drafting WR Phillip Dorsett in the first-round of the draft this year and the youngster from Miami has been pinned by many to come out of the gates flying. Indianapolis’ two Tight Ends, Coby Fleener and Dwayne Allen have also shown they can get into the end zone. With all these options, Luck won’t know who to throw the ball to.

Last year, if the Colts couldn’t get it done through the air, they couldn’t get it done at all. The rushing offense was non-existent for the Colts in 2014. Trent Richardson was supposed to be the work-horse that would make the Colts an unstoppable force. Instead, he rushed for 519 yards, averaged 3.3 yards per carry and quit on the team. Ahmad Bradshaw came in and tried to ignite some spark in the backfield but he broke his foot midway through the season, and Daniel Herron just wasn’t strong enough to make defenses honour the Colts run game. Indianapolis is going to try to fix that situation by bringing in another veteran, former 49ers running back, Frank Gore. For a while now, many have claimed that durability is the issue with Gore, and it’s only a matter of time before his production falls off a cliff. 32 is ancient for running backs in the NFL. The past 4 seasons though, Gore has proven the doubters wrong, playing in all 16 regular season games and rushing for over 1,000 yards each time. Gore’s presence alone, will open up opposing defenses enough for Andrew Luck to tear them to shreds.

As fantastic as the offense looks, not everything about this team is perfect. Outside of Tackle Anthony Castonzo, the O-Line looked sub-par in 2014, and it was a surprise that GM Ryan Grigson didn’t go out and improve this unit in the off-season

The Colts Defense that had 45 points put up on them in the AFC Championship Game last season also remains mostly intact. Indianapolis’ only major additions on defense were, DE Kendall Langford, OLB Trent Cole, and Safety Dwight Lowery. None of these 3 players seem to be game-changers; Cole maybe 4 years ago, Lowery was part of the worst secondary in the NFL last season in Atlanta, and Langford isn’t a standout. To make matters worse, Nose Tackle Arthur Jones is now going to spend all of 2015 on season-ending IR with an ankle injury, and who knows how well DE Robert Mathis will do coming off a torn achilles.

The only great part of the Colts D, is Cornerback Vontae Davis, and although every talks about whether it is Richard Sherman or Darrelle Revis that is the best corner in the league, Davis was arguably better than both. Indianapolis doesn’t need to worry about him, what they do need to think about is who their #2 corner will be, cause Greg Toler proved last year that he’s not capable of the task.

As much as I hate to say it, I’ve got mighty high expectations for the Colts this season, like many other analysts do. I think Andrew Luck will most certainly be in the MVP race throughout the season and lead the team to another season of being one of the top 3 offenses in the league. They’ll pick apart the weak cellar-dwellers in the South and bolster their record in the process. Colts win the AFC South for the 3rd year in a row, the real question is whether or not they can get back to their first Super Bowl since 2009.

2015 Prediction: 13-3

Almost done with the American Football Conference, only the West left, they’re next.

2015 NFL Season Preview: AFC North

For the 2nd Division in my preview of the 2015 NFL Season, I’m going to look at the AFC North. In case you missed my post on the AFC East, here’s what I predicted.

AFC EAST:

1. New England Patriots – 12-4
2. Miami Dolphins – 10-6
3. Buffalo Bills – 9-7
4. New York Jets – 6-10

Now to the North, where we’ll start by going to one of the most uplifting cities in America, Cleveland.

Cleveland Browns:

2014 Season: 7-9, 4th in AFC North

Offense: Rushing (17th), Passing (20th), Total (23rd)

Defense: Rushing (32nd), Passing (8th), Total (23rd)

The Browns enter the season with re-ignited hopes, new jerseys, and a new starting Quarterback in Josh McCown. Brian Hoyer flamed out faster in Cleveland than Hoobastank. Remember when those guys were a thing? (Hoyer is now in Houston.)

Since the franchise’s rebirth in 1999, (The Browns were moved to Baltimore in 1996 and became the Ravens; the city didn’t have a team for 3 years.) the Cleveland Browns have pretty much always been viewed as the 4th best team in the AFC North.

The Browns D is respectable in the secondary, featuring the likes of pro-bowlers Joe Haden and Donte Whitner. A group which finished among the top 8 in passing defenses last season also brings in Tramon Williams from the Green Bay Packers to fill the void of Buster Skrine at Corner. The Browns’ biggest flaw last season was that they lacked a true run-stopper, both on the defensive line and at linebacker. Subsequently, people drove bulldozers through Cleveland last season. First-round draft pick, and No. 12 Overall selection, Defensive Tackle, Danny Shelton could be that guy the Browns have been looking for. Problem is there still isn’t a stud Linebacker in Cleveland, Paul Kruger and Karlos Dansby are probably the most notable names.

Similar to what I wrote about the New York Jets in my AFC East preview, the Browns will stay in games because of their defense, but unlike the Jets, Cleveland has very few offensive weapons for which they can put their faith in.

Isaiah “The Crowe” Crowell has won the starting job over Terrance West, now in Tennessee, and rookie Duke Johnson. Crowe could become a fantasy football stud behind a rock-solid Offensive Line in Cleveland that has former All-Pros in Center, Alex Mack, and Left Tackle, Joe Thomas.

It’s a damn shame these two talents have gone to waste in Cleveland, a team who hasn’t played in the postseason since 2002. In fact, Mack’s injury is probably the main reason why the Browns fell apart down the stretch in 2014. Once Mack broke his leg,  Brian Hoyer suddenly transformed into Spergon Wynn, and Cleveland’s season went down the toilet. Unfortunately, Cleveland will probably lose Mack this offseason when he options out of his contract at season’s end. You can’t blame the guy really, he just wants to play for a winning team.

The Browns and GM Ray Farmer look like they’re trying to build from the trenches out, get a good foundation with a solid Offensive and Defensive Line, and get the playmakers later. Aside from Crowell, who is by no means a star, but does have potential, the biggest name on the Cleveland Offense is former Chief WR Dwayne Bowe, a player that looks like he gave up 4 seasons ago. Not much to get excited about in Cleveland.

Am I forgetting anyone on the Browns?

Oh right, Hi, Johnny.

Manziel is not going to have the starting Quarterback job to begin the season, but do I think he starts games for the Browns this year? Abso-freaking-lutely. The Browns probably aren’t going anywhere, and by Week 12 or 13, when Cleveland is well out of the playoff race, you can bet that Mike Pettine will be done with Josh McCown, and want to see what Ol’ Money Manziel can bring to the table.

I’m not going to beat around the bush here, the Cleveland Browns are going to be a horri-awful football team this year. Their Offense is frightening to look at; (Brian Hartline is their #2 wide receiver at the moment!) And on Defense, the Browns could be described as mediocre at best, because outside of that secondary and Danny Shelton, there ain’t much else. This team will be lucky to muster together 6 wins.

2015 Prediction: 4-12

Cincinnati Bengals:

2014 Season: 10-5-1, 2nd in AFC North

1st Wild-Card in AFC, #5 seed

Lost in Wild-Card Round to Indianapolis Colts

Offense: Rushing (6th), Passing (21st), Total (15th)

Defense: Rushing (20th), Passing (20th), Total (22nd)

Andy Dalton is the proverbial box of chocolates, you just never know what you’re going to get from the red-haired QB. In case it isn’t already abundantly obvious, patience is wearing very thin with Dalton. That’s what happens when you have made the postseason each of the past 4 seasons, yet have a record of 0-4 to show for it. I find it tough to imagine the Cincinnati front office being OK with a 5th consecutive exit in the Wild-Card Round. Heads will roll if there’s no improvement this season.

As I was saying about Dalton, he’s competent; he’s enough to lead a football team to the post-season, but when the game’s on the line, he can’t get it done. The good news for the Bengals QB is WR Marvin Jones and TE Tyler Eifert are back after both missed an entire season due to injury. A big question mark coming into this season is whether the two can play at 100%, something expected of star wideout, A.J. Green, who is ready to return the form after an inconsistent 2014.

With Dalton’s much maligned play, and the Bengals being a little thin at receiver after Green, Cincinnati will likely have to stick to smash-mouth football in order to have a shot at winning the division. Jeremy Hill broke out of his metaphorical cage late in the 2014 season and ran rampant around opposing defenses, averaging 5.6 yards per carry after week 15. Giovani Bernard has developed into a dependable 3rd-down back that can catch passes from Dalton, which greatly complements Hill’s hard-nosed, down-hill running style. If Cincinnati doesn’t put these two to good use this year they’re making a huge mistake.

The thing that should really worry most Bengals fans is not Dalton’s play however, it’s their Defense’s massive drop-off in production from 2013 to 2014. That trend continues in 2015. The Bengals D did not look as dominant last year as it once did, finishing at the bottom of the NFL in sacks with 20, something very uncharacteristic for a group which is led by Vontaze Burfict and Carlos Dunlap.

Burfict had micro-fracture knee surgery in the offseason, and isn’t likely to take the field right away. It will also take Burfict quite some time to regain his form, if he is even ever able to. Bengals DT Geno Atkins was once of the elite tackles in the game, but after tearing his ACL in 2013, he just didn’t look like his regular self in 2014, one of the main reasons as to why Cincinnati couldn’t stop the run or pressure the Quarterback last season. The pass-rushing situation has gotten so dire in the Queen City, that the Bengals brought back Michael Johnson from Tampa Bay, who originally left the team for more money, but was cut by Tampa after an unsatisfying, unmotivated performance in a Buccaneers uniform.

On a positive note, the Cincinnati secondary should be able to hold down the fort with Dre Kirkpatrick and Leon Hall starting at Corner, and the often unheralded but reliable tandem of George Iloka and Reggie Nelson at Safety.

Bengals supporters have likely been wishing and praying this entire offseason

“Please don’t let us be one-and-done in the playoffs again!”

Be careful what you wish for Bengals fans, because this year Cincinnati doesn’t even make the playoffs. Yet again, Andy Dalton disappears under the bright lights and the lack of any sort of effective pass rush on defense dooms the Bengals. Marvin Lewis will be looking for a new job the day after Cincinnati’s season ends.

2015 Prediction: 8-8

Pittsburgh Steelers:

2014 Season: 11-5, AFC North Champions

#3 seed in AFC

Lost in Wild-Card Round to Baltimore Ravens

Offense: Rushing (16th), Passing (2nd), Total (2nd)

Defense: Rushing (6th), Passing (27th), Total (18th)

Pittsburgh had a return to glory in 2014, winning the AFC North for the first time since 2010 when they lost Super Bowl XLV to the Green Bay Packers. This is mostly due to their stacked offense, which will make Pittsburgh the most fun team to watch this coming season.

Big Ben Roethlisberger is having a renaissance of sorts, and has now matured into one of the best gun-slingers in football. Roethlisberger threw for almost 5,000 yards last season (4,952) and 32 touchdowns, which were both career highs.

Break-out star Antonio Brown has surpassed Calvin Johnson as the best Wide Receiver in the game after his performance last season. No one runs their routes crisper. No one is more consistent; Brown hasn’t caught less than 5 passes in a game the past two years. Antonio Brown is more elusive than Frank Abagnale, Jr., try and catch him if you can, and if you do, good luck covering him.

To go with Brown, Le’Veon Bell might be the best running back in the game. The 3rd-year back out of Michigan State finished the 2014 season with over 2,000 all-purpose yards, 1,361 on the ground and 854 through the air, to go with 83 catches, a ridiculously high number for a running back. Last year Bell was the 2nd-most prolific rusher, and the #1 receiving back in the NFL.

Unfortunately for Bell and the Steelers, his suspension for the first two games of the season due to a DUI will likely limit his production a bit, the same incident for which LeGarrette is sitting out the Season Opener. Pittsburgh will also be without their #2 option at wide receiver to begin the season, Martavis Bryant, who is also suspended for the first 4 games of the regular season due to a substance abuse violation. Much like Bell and Blount, Bryant had been smoking too much ganja. Snoop Dogg is very displeased with the Commissioner about this. Guess there isn’t much else to do in Steel Town.

Days of Dick LeBeau’s tenacious defenses are long gone however, as Safety Troy Polamalu, Cornerback Ike Taylor, and Linebacker Jason Worilds all called it a career, and James Harrison will surely do the same for the second time soon enough. New Defensive Coordinator Keith Butler, LeBeau’s replacement, will try to rekindle the Steelers’ Defenses of old with a group of young, wide-eyed defenders that allowed 27.2 points per game last season.

The Steelers will feature a new starter at Safety in the untested Shamarko Thomas, beside the tested, and badly beaten, Michael Mitchell. Last season, Mitchell couldn’t hack it, and if he doesn’t improve this year, he’ll be looking for a job with a new team at the end of the season.

Second-round draft pick, Senquez Golson will start right away across from William Gay at Corner, as the Steelers suddenly have a shortage in the secondary with the team’s departures this offseason. First-Round Pick Bud Dupree is another player looking for playing time immediately after getting drafted. Dupree just might get it, with Pittsburgh desperately looking for a better pass rush, a statement that hasn’t been made very often in the past. Jarvis Jones has disappointed in a Steeler uniform thus far, and James Harrison is on his last legs, so it’s a good bet that Dupree starts sooner rather than later.

To go on top of their defensive woes, Pittsburgh has one of the toughest schedules in the league, having to take on Seattle, Indianapolis and Denver at home, along with New England and San Diego on the road.

As great as their offense looks, the elite Quarterbacks of the league will be able to go toe-to-toe with the Steelers in a scoring shootout. Every game they play is going to look like a College Football Game. A Big12 College Football Game. Pittsburgh’s Offense could take the team to new heights, but their Defense is the weight holding them down. It’s going to be a fight to the finish, and Pittsburgh’s postseason aspirations will almost surely be determined on January 3rd, the final day of the regular season.

2015 Prediction: 10-6

Baltimore Ravens:

2014 Season: 10-6, 3rd in AFC North

2nd Wild-Card in AFC, #6 seed

Lost in Divisional Round to New England Patriots

Offense: Rushing (8th), Passing (13th), Total (12th)

Defense: Rushing (4th), Passing (23rd), Total (8th)

The Ravens really were a team that was better than record suggests last season. If the Patriots don’t pull off 2 separate, 2-touchdown comebacks, than Baltimore is playing Seattle in the Super Bowl.

Joe Flacco is coming off a career year where he posted career highs in Touchdowns (27) and passing yardage (3,986). Expect those numbers to be maintained with Marc Trestman coming in as the new Baltimore Offensive Coordinator, after Gary Kubiak left the team to become the Head Coach of the Denver Broncos.

Justin Forsett won’t be a one-hit wonder, and will continue to surprise the rest of the league by producing big rushing and receiving numbers, influenced by Trestman, a coach that’s always been big on backs that can catch. All you have to do is look at what Matt Forte did last year in Chicago, one of the lone positives for the Bears 2014 season.

Steve Smith, Sr., is entering into his final season (supposedly), and I think he slows down a little but remains a productive option. The loss of Torrey Smith will sting Baltimore as defenses will key on Smith, Sr., compared to the electric, but unproven at the NFL level, Breshad Perriman and Maxx Williams. Don’t expect either of the two rookies to put up massive numbers, but they should have enough of an impact that Defenses will be forced to keep an eye on them.

The Offense isn’t incredibly flashy, but what makes the Ravens so efficient is their sturdy Offensive Line. Baltimore returns all 5 starters from last season’s O-Line, including Marshal Yanda, their All-Pro Guard. Yanda allowed just two sacks last season, and as long he and the Ravens front 5 allow Joe Cool to put the ball where it needs to be, Baltimore should have no trouble putting points on the board this season.

Baltimore’s Defense, like last year, and the year before that, and the year before that, is very scary. The Ravens still have one of the more exceptional pass-rushing duos in the NFL with Linebackers Terrell Suggs and Elvis Dumervil, combined with up-and-coming pro-bowler C.J. Mosley, and the Ravens might have the best Linebacker corps in the NFL, even without Pernell McPhee leaving for Chicago. The only part where I see the Ravens struggling are replacing the now-Detroit Lion, Haloti Ngata, at Defensive Tackle. Ngata was declining, so it’s doubtful even if the Ravens kept him that they’d be set at the position. Regardless, the combination of Timmy Jernigan and Brandon Williams will turn out to be a letdown, as the two have difficulties containing the talented running backs of the North, Le’Veon Bell and Jeremy Hill.

The weak spot for the Ravens last year was in the secondary, and the team picked up Safety Will Hill and CB Kyle Arrington to try and bandage up what was exposed in the Divisional Round in January. Hill, will be a big upgrade at the Safety spot over Matt Elam, though Jimmy Smith,  who was out for that playoff loss against NE, is still the lone reliable Corner for Baltimore. Ladarius Webb is too inconsistent in coverage, and Arrington is used primarily for Nickel coverage. Smith will have to shut down #1 targets on a consistent basis if the Ravens don’t want to get burned through the air.

It’s tough to find a chink in the armour of the Baltimore Ravens, there are small spots where they can be exposed, but for the most part, the team is solid through and through. They proved to the rest of the league last year that there was more to them than meets the eye. The Defense, led by Suggs and whipped into shape by Head Coach John Harbaugh, will surely finish as a top-10 unit in the league once again. As long as Marc Trestman has that offense firing on all cylinders, look out.

2015 Prediction: 11-5

The third division to be reviewed will be the AFC South. Will I go against every single NFL analyst out there and pick someone besides the Indianapolis Colts to finish in first? (Hint: No)

2015 NFL Season Preview: AFC EAST

The NFL season is only 3 days away, so now seems like a good a time as ever to write my Season Preview. 8 Divisions. 32 Teams. Less than 72 hours. Can it be done? With a little Coke and Adderall, anything is possible.

I’ll go through each division and preview their season, ranking where they’ll finish in descending order from 4th-1st, with a final regular season record at the end. There will also be one final post where I quickly summarize my playoff and Super Bowl prediction.

Let’s start with the division which is home to the reigning Super Bowl Champions, the AFC East

New York Jets:

New York Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan, center, speaks while sitting next to owner Woody Johnson, left, and head coach Todd Bowles during an NFL football press conference introducing the team’s new management, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2015, in Florham Park, N.J. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

2014 Season: 4-12, 4th in AFC East

Offense: Rushing (3rd), Passing (32nd), Total (22nd)

Defense: Rushing (5th), Passing (14th), Total (6th)

The less said about the 2014 New York Jets season, the better I think. The team has a new look after finishing in the AFC East cellar, letting go of head coach Rex Ryan and GM John Idzik. Their replacements? Well, the new head coach is Arizona’s former defensive coordinator, Todd Bowles, and seems like a great choice to help turn this tortured organization around with the talent the Jets have on Defense.

To replace Idzik, the Jets brought in Mike Maccagnan, and even though he’s a rookie to the position, he wasted no time making moves, bringing Darrelle Revis, Brandon Marshall, Antonio Cromartie, Buster Skrine, Stevan Ridley, and Zac Stacy into the Jets foray. Well done, Mr. Maccagnan. Not a bad start for the new regime.

The Jets Defense is just too strong all-around for them to do as colossally bad as they did last season, Bowles will make sure the Jets aren’t a cake-walk each week. Despite their record, the Jets only allowed an average of 17.7 points a game last season, and had the 6th most sacks in the NFL. They just couldn’t force turnovers, (Last in Interceptions, T-28th in Fumbles) or generate any offense outside of Running Back Chris Ivory, who I’m sure will be leaned upon heavily once again this year.

Former Defensive Rookie of the Year, Sheldon Richardson, is suspended for the first four games of 2015 for “substance abuse”, but Muhammad Wilkerson, Damon Harrison and Leonard Williams will surely pick up the slack. Wilkerson’s constant pressuring, Harrison’s run-stopping ability, and Leonard Williams, who might have been the most talented player in this year’s draft, can form one of the scariest defensive lines in the league even without Richardson.

Bringing Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie back to the Meadowlands, along with Buster Skrine from Cleveland, has transformed the Jets Secondary. Revis is obviously renowned as one of the best corners in the game, Cromartie nearly always gets the job done, and Skrine, well… Skrine wasn’t spectacular last season, but he’s at his best when used as a slot corner which is what New York will do with him.

On to the Offense now, and I’ve seen enough of Ryan Fitzpatrick to know that this guy cannot take a team to the NFL postseason. The Amish Rifle just isn’t consistent enough; he’s a career backup Quarterback. I know this, you know this, everyone knows this. We also can’t forget the only reason Fitzpatrick has been put in this position, is because Geno Smith got punched in the mouth for thumbing his nose at one of his now former team-mates.

Classic New York Jets. Keep up the good work, Glass-Jaw Geno!

There is some positive to Fitzpatrick starting; he did have one really good stretch at the start of the 2011 season when he was under center for the Bills. Of course, the Bills still finished 6-10, but ever since then he’s been able to maintain a job because struggling teams need a capable stopgap as their starter before the future arrives. Houston and Tennessee know what I’m talking about.

Luckily for the Jets, Fitzpatrick’s stretch was under Chan Gailey, and Gailey just so happens to be the Jets current Offensive Coordinator, so maybe the two can conjure up some “Fitzmagic” together. After all, Fitzpatrick will have better options at wide receiver in New York than he did in Buffalo. With the Jets, he’ll get to throw to former pro-bowl receivers in Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker, compared to the Bills receivers at the time, which were Stevie Johnson and… Donald Jones? Roscoe Parrish?

MY GOD. THE BILLS USED TO SUCK.

Long story short, the Jets D keeps them in games, but the Amish Rifle fires blanks, and Glass-Jaw Geno doesn’t do any better once he returns.

2015 Prediction: 6-10

Buffalo Bills:

2014 Season: 9-7, 2nd in AFC East

Offense: Rushing (25th), Passing (18th), Total (26th)

Defense: Rushing (11th), Passing (3rd), Total (4th)

I can’t imagine the last time there was this much optimism surrounding the Buffalo Bills heading into a season.

They’ve just brought in Rex Ryan, probably the best coach the organization has had since, well, Wade Phillips, the man who ran the team the last time they played meaningful football in January.

Ryan was just relieved of his duties as head coach of the division-rival New York Jets, after his team finished with a 4-12 record. Ryan cannot be put at fault for his team’s performance; the Jets lost to the Super Bowl Champions by a combined 3 points last year in two head-to-head tilts. New York could easily have finished 2-14 in each of the past two seasons, there was limited talent on both sides of the ball. He did the best with what he had.

The Bills Defence was a menace to opposing teams last season, and now with Ryan, a defensive mastermind getting his hands on that 4th ranked defense, any team headed to Western New York is going to have nightmares before they play the Bills. The dominant D-Line, filled with 3 pro bowlers in Mario Williams, Marcell Dareus and Kyle Williams led the league in sacks last year with 54. I’m sure Rex is salivating so much at being able to coach the group of players he’s getting in Buffalo, he needs to keep eating “goddamn snacks” just to hold himself together.

Buffalo also acquired LeSean McCoy, who can be one of the most dynamic players in the game. “Shady” tore up the NFL a couple of seasons ago, and I’d still rank him as a Top 10 Running Back in this league…when he’s healthy. It’s going to be interesting to see whether McCoy will have the durability to post solid numbers for the entire season. Especially behind an Offensive Line that only allowed Buffalo’s Running Backs to rush for 3.7 yards a carry last season.

However, Buffalo’s season truly will be determined by the play of newly anointed starting Quarterback, Tyrod Taylor, who beat out EJ Manuel and veteran Matt Cassel for the starting job. The Bills believe the Virginia Tech-product will be able to utilize the weapons at his disposal. That includes McCoy and Bryce Brown in the backfield, sophomore wide receiver Sammy Watkins, who’s hoping to live up to his 4th Overall Draft Status, and newly acquired offensive options, TE Charles Clay, and WR Percy Harvin. Taylor, while by far Buffalo’s best option at Quarterback, is not optimal by any standard. His career stat line entering his 5th season: 14 games played, 19-35, for 199 yards and 0 Touchdowns. Those numbers likely don’t inspire a lot of confidence in the Bills faithful.

Buffalo could squeak into the playoffs for the time since 1999, but they’re going to need their defense to be the best in the AFC if they want a shot at a wild-card spot. There’s no question they can contend for one, the real question is if Buffalo can finish the season strong enough to finally get one.

With Buffalo’s current Quarterback situation, it’s really hard to envision a Tyrod Taylor-led team finishing with a record above 10-6, and I think it’s going to take at least 11 wins to win the AFC East this year.

Buffalo is on the right track, but they’re just not quite there yet. Give it another year or two, let Rex Ryan do his magic, and watch out for a defensive powerhouse coming out of Orchard Park in a couple of seasons.

2015 Prediction: 9-7

Miami Dolphins:

2014 Season: 8-8, 3rd in AFC East

Offense: Rushing (12th), Passing (17th), Total (14th)

Defense: Rushing (24th), Passing (6th), Total (12th)

The Miami Dolphins have been the epitome of mediocrity in the NFL recently. The regular season record Miami has posted the last 6 seasons?

7-9, 7-9, 6-10, 7-9, 8-8, 8-8.

If any coach is on the hot seat for this coming season, it’s Joe Philbin. He’s entering his 4th season as head coach of the Dolphins, and the team has seen little improvement during his tenure, as you just saw above. One player who I will say has come a long way since being drafted by Miami in 2012, is Ryan Tannehill. The 4th-year QB is poised to have a breakout year in 2015, mostly because he finally has a decent number of weapons surrounding him.

Jarvis Landry wasn’t talked about a lot last year, because rookie receivers like Odell Beckham Jr., Mike Evans and Sammy Watkins overshadowed him, but don’t kid yourselves, Landry can ball out. Tannehill’s other targets include rookie wideout DeVante Parker, as well as Greg Jennings and Kenny Stills, who were acquired in trades with Minnesota and New Orleans respectively. Former standout, but still serviceable Tight End, Jordan Cameron, will also be asked to replace Charles Clay’s output in the Miami passing game.

If Tannehill gets time in the pocket, something he didn’t have much of last year, as Miami gave up the 10th most sacks in the NFL, then he will surely light up opposing secondaries. In a worst-case scenario where the Texas A&M-alum struggles, he can always turn to 1,000 yard rusher, Lamar Miller in the backfield, who should exceed his numbers from last season.

Miami’s D-Line looks better than ever with the recent acquisition of All-Pro Defensive Tackle Ndamukong Suh from the Detroit Lions. Suh will certainly help to plug the holes in Miami’s weak rushing defense, one which gave up 121.1 rushing yards per game last season. Another Pro-Bowler on Miami’s D-Line, and a former BC Lion, Cam Wake, is entering a contract season. You just know Wake is ready for a huge year and will be looking to cash in the same way Suh did this offseason. Expect Wake to put up numbers similar to the 15 sacks he had in 2012 when he was named First-Team All-Pro.

Miami’s Secondary allowed the 6th fewest passing yards last season, but heading into 2015 this is a group that lacks depth outside of CB Brent Grimes. After tearing his ACL for the second time in nine months, Safety Louis Delmas is going to miss the entire 2015 season, forcing the team to throw the inexperienced Walt Aikens into the fire next to Reshad Jones. Cornerback Jamar Taylor has had yet another injury setback and now it looks as though Brice McCain will have to come in and fill for the time being. This isn’t the lineup Miami wanted going into Week 1 and I’m sure their opponents know that. Quarterbacks will pick on the new defensive backs unfamiliar with the Dolphins coverages early and often during the season.

The Dolphins have been knocking on the door the past two years, but have faced their own internal turmoil with the Richie Incognito/Jonathan Martin bullying scandal, and Mike Wallace basically being announced to the league as a locker-room cancer.

It’s time for Philbin, Tannehill, and the Dolphins, to put up or shut up. No more excuses about shoddy Offensive Lines and Prima-donna Wide Receivers. Make the Playoffs. That’s all Dolphins fans want.

This is the year the Dolphins finally break through, and by break through I mean reach the post-season for the first time since they won the AFC East back in 2008.

2015 Prediction: 10-6

New England Patriots:

2014 Season: 12-4, AFC East Champions

#1 seed in AFC, clinched Home-Field Advantage & First-Round Bye

AFC Champions

Super Bowl Champions

Offense: Rushing (18th), Passing (9th), Total (11th)

Defense: Rushing (9th), Passing (17th), Total (13th)

Boy what an offseason it’s been for the New England Patriots and their fans, who really didn’t get a day off because of DeflateGate. The good thing for Patriots fans is, Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady is going to be back and *knock on wood*, starting every game for the Patriots at QB this season.

On the offensive side of the ball, the Patriots aren’t that different from the Championship-calibre team they were last year. LeGarrette Blount, though he’s suspended Week 1 for a substance abuse violation (Marijuana), is going to be the starting RB, which he was for almost the entire 2nd half of the season last year once Stevan Ridley went down with a torn ACL.

Brady still has almost all of his weapons, with the exception of the two running backs the Patriots drafted in 2011, Ridley and Shane Vereen.  Julian Edelman, Brandon LaFell* and Danny Amendola are all returning to support the 9th ranked Passing Offense in the league last season. (LaFell is going to miss some time however, he’s on the Physically Unable to Perform list for a foot injury, and won’t be able to return to action until October 25th.)

And then there’s everyone’s favourite Tight End, Rob Gronkowski, probably the most feared offensive player in the National Football League right now. No Defense has been able to figure out Gronk up to this point, and the only thing that could slow down the 6’6, 265 pound, 3x All-Pro Tight End  is another season-ending injury.

The real problems in New England are on Defense, where several massive holes have opened up from the departures of Darrelle Revis, Brandon Browner, Akeem Ayers, and long time Patriot, Vince Wilfork. The current Defensive group that Head Coach Bill Belichick and Defensive Coordinator Matt Patricia will send out to kickoff the regular season is reminiscent of the ‘bend-don’t-break’ type defenses New England had from 2009-13, where they consistently came so frustratingly close to winning another title but always seemed to be missing a piece to the puzzle.

Wilfork’s position on the D-line will effectively be replaced by a healthy Dominique Easley, and Jabaal Sheard coming over from Cleveland will be a nice addition to help support Chandler Jones and Rob Ninkovich coming off the edge. New England’s depth at the Linebacker position, a corps that sports Jerod Mayo, Dont’a Hightower, and Jamie Collins, should be able to cover for Ayers with ease.

The real red flags are in the secondary, specifically at corner, where no longer Revis and Browner sit, but former 49ers and Raiders DB Tarell Brown and Super Bowl hero Malcolm Butler have taken over. Butler better get used to the spotlight he received this offseason because he’s now the #1 corner in that defense, and he, along with Defensive Captain Devin McCourty, will be needed to commandeer this New England Secondary to respectability.

As weak as the Patriots’ Passing Defense might be this year, they’ve gotten by with much worse in the past. The Offense is still a force, and better yet, they’ve got a pissed-off Tom Brady at the helm. When Defences face angry Tom Brady, they get obliterated.

Wouldn’t be a shocker to me if the Patriots run up the score in a few games this year.

2013 was supposed be the year the Patriots were dethroned as AFC East Champions. Then, last year was going to be the Brady/Belichick-era Patriots were finally taken down after starting 2-2. They won the Super Bowl. Now people are claiming this is the year the Patriots are usurped.

I won’t deny the facts, the AFC East hasn’t been this close a race in a long time, but New England is still the team to beat, and will continue to be, until they have their AFC East crown taken from them. The New England Patriots are your AFC East Champions for the 13th time in 15 seasons.

2015 Prediction: 12-4

Next up, the AFC North, a division with 3 playoff teams last year, can the feat be repeated again this year?

Letting the Air Out of DeflateGate

I never thought this day would come, but (hopefully) at long last, the DeflateGate saga has reached its end.

A scandal that lasted nearly the entire duration of the NFL offseason, and finally, after the Wells Report was released, which implicated Tom Brady in being “generally aware” of balls being deflated, and led to him receiving a 4-game suspension. After Brady appealed the suspension to Commissioner Roger Goodell, who decided to be his own Judge, Jury, and Executioner and uphold it. After Brady subsequently took the NFL to court, a final outcome was determined by U.S. District Judge, Richard M. Berman.

Tom Brady will be starting at Quarterback for the New England Patriots against the Pittsburgh Steelers come Thursday night.

As a Patriots fan, I just want to say Hallelujah, because I truly did not believe New England would have their best player on the field for the first four games of the NFL regular season, and now my outlook on the Patriots upcoming season got a whole lot more positive. No offense to Jimmy Garoppolo, but he’s not a 2-time NFL MVP, and 4-time Super Bowl Champion.

As a fan of football, I would also like to say that I want my time and energy back. For my entire summer, this story continued to pop up and annoy myself, and likely every other fan of the National Football League. A mountain was created out of a molehill and I really believe that nearly everyone stopped caring about this non-story the minute Super Bowl XLIX finished.

Of course I needed to know whether or not the Patriots would have their starting QB for the first quarter of the season, so I invested a ridiculous amount of time reading up on DeflateGate, something which I highly regret and hate myself for, but I’m going to put it to good use by writing a piece about DeflateGate because there just isn’t enough of those is there?

Judge Berman had good reason to side with Tom Brady and the Players’ Union; Goodell’s process for determining a player’s punishment has lacked any sort of impartiality for years. Now we’re talking about the process by which Goodell decided to uphold Brady’s suspension when the New England QB appealed. Goodell’s process for determining an appropriate penalty was out of line, and that is the reason the suspension was nullified. Tom Brady has not been cleared of accusations that he tampered with footballs before the AFC Championship Game.

Judge Berman did not acknowledge this due to the lack of evidence that Brady did in fact take part in sort of ball-tampering scheme. So even though Brady’s suspension was dropped, it doesn’t mean he is innocent. I definitely think Brady could’ve told Patriots employees Jim McNally and John Jastremski, who have been fired because of this debacle, to “make the balls a little lighter today”.  I also definitely think Brady could’ve told them to make sure they weigh 12.5 PSI. Frankly, I don’t care that much about it because either way, a football being a little flat does not drastically alter the outcome of a football game.

Almost all of the evidence which the NFL used to determine Brady’s suspension was outlined in the Wells Report, a document written by criminal attorney, Ted Wells, who was hired by the NFL to lead the investigation on the New England Patriots and the allegations that they had deflated footballs. Initially, the “independent” Wells Report looked to have caught Brady and the Pats red-handed, but after further review, the Wells Report had more holes in it than Swiss cheese. The NFL’s lawyers knew that, even conceding that “There is no(t) such direct evidence” linking Brady to a ball-tampering scheme. The circumstantial evidence brought forth in the Wells Report was so flimsy, that no more than 48 hours after the Report’s release, Brady’s team of lawyers that would eventually send the NFL to Court, found these flaws:

• At no point in the report does Tom Brady say he wanted his footballs deflated below 12.5 PSI, the required league minimum. “Brady also stated that, at some point, he felt a football that was inflated to 12.5 PSI, and decided that should be the target for all future games because he did “not ever want to get near the upper range again.” Brady is still technically in the legal parameters if he’s asking for his footballs to be inflated to 12.5 PSI.
• The security tapes clearly show that the officials saw and allowed McNally to carry the balls from the locker room to the field, both at the start of the game and at the end of halftime, by which point serious attention was being paid to the game balls and measurements had already taken place. This happened despite Referee Walt Anderson’s claim that never in his 19 year career has he seen a locker room attendant bring the footballs to the field.
• The Colts, in trying to demonstrate that the Patriots were cheating their way to victory, also broke NFL Rules. During the second quarter of the AFC Championship Game, a ball thrown by Tom Brady was intercepted by Linebacker D’Qwell Jackson and taken to the Colts sideline. On the sideline, Colts equipment personnel used a pressure gauge to measure the inflation level of the ball, determined that it was below the minimum 12.5 PSI level, and informed a game official and other NFL personnel. Once the game starts, neither team is allowed to gauge the footballs, pump them, or the like. This conduct was in violation of Rule 2. Nowhere does the Report identify this conduct as a violation of the Rule.
• And most importantly the scientific aspect, According to the Ideal Gas Law, if the Patriots footballs had a starting PSI of 12.5, the balls should have measured between 11.32 and 11.52 PSI by the time they were taken to the Officials locker room at Half Time. The average PSI of the Patriots balls was 11.49 PSI in one gauge, which is in the expected range. The average PSI of the Patriots balls when measured with the other gauge, which the Wells Report decided to highlight, was 0.4 PSI below the expected range. 0.4 PSI should most certainly not be the reason for this much uproar.

 

Nevertheless, because of prior precedence, the court is supposed to treat the findings of the arbitrator, as the truth. Despite all of the bias and miscalculated science, Judge Berman could not call the Wells Report into question. The fact that Brady still managed to get his suspension dropped without even being able to point to the weaknesses in the investigation which could only determine at most that Brady was, “generally aware of footballs being tampered with” (wording that Judge Berman was also not a fan of, as the NFL had never previously used as a standard for disciplining players), just goes to show how incompetent the NFL is at this time.

Judge Berman’s 3 main arguments for what compelled him to come to his final conclusion to exonerate Tom Brady of all his penalties were:

1. The NFL did not adequately provide Brady with notice that he would receive a four-game suspension for tampering with game balls.

Regardless of whether or not these activities took place and Brady participated in them, the NFL did not provide Tom Brady with sufficient notice that he would be suspended for being “generally aware” of conduct violations or for refusing to co-operate with an investigation.

Not only did the league not notify Brady of his possible punishment, but the reason for Brady’s suspension between the initial punishment from Troy Vincent, and its “affirmation” from Goodell, is not clarified.

At first, Vincent claims Brady is being punished for his role in the under-inflation of footballs in this year’s AFC Championship Game, as evidenced by the findings of the “independent” Wells Report. The Wells Report also said that Brady would not be punished for his lack of co-operation in the investigation.

Yet in contrast, Goodell’s main argument for holding up Brady’s suspension is because of his lack of co-operation in the Wells Report investigation, and the reported destruction of Brady’s cell phone. (Despite Goodell being told this information at Brady’s appeal, it still took the NFL Commissioner a month to come up with a decision.) The League couldn’t define what they were punishing Brady for, making it an arbitral/biased decision.

 

2. The NFL would not allow the NFLPA to cross-examine Co-Lead investigator in the Wells Report and Document Editor, Jeff Pash.

Pash’s involvement in the investigation meant he needed to be questioned, and not allowing him to do so would be a hindrance on the Court’s Decision. By withholding Pash, the arbitration is fundamentally unfair as “each of the parties [must have] an adequate opportunity to present its evidence and argument”. The NFL was trying to cover their tracks and hide their biased baggage by denying the NFLPA’s motion for discovery.

3. The NFL refused to permit the NFLPA from reviewing their notes from the Ted Wells investigation.

With Wells choosing not to share his documents, the NFLPA could not understand what Tom Brady was being questioned on, which once again demonstrated the fundamentally unfair process taking place.

To elaborate on the highlighted point, the NFL was punishing Brady for not turning over his phone to investigators, something he was told he didn’t have to do, and yet the NFL proceeded to do something similar in the arbitration process. Seems fair and “independent”. Oh and that’s not me putting the quotations around the word independent, that’s Judge Berman words in his verdict, who is giving the NFL “the Double Whammy”, in retaliation for trying to make it seem like an impartial process was taking place this whole time.

The NFL also gave Brady a 4-game suspension because they believed the tampering of game balls was equal to that of using Performance-Enhancing Drugs. Berman threw this logic in the trash, citing that there was “no scientific, empirical, or historical evidence” which would make that comparison a fair one. A better precedent would have been Brett Favre’s penalty for a lack of co-operation in the sexual harassment investigation against him, where he was fined $50,000 and not suspended despite refusing to turn over his phone.

Does a football with a PSI under 12.5 give a team more of a competitive advantage? Yes, because the ball is slightly easier to grip. Is this advantage as significant as a player using PEDs to put themselves ahead of their competition? Absolutely not.

This argument has already been beaten to death, but even Judge Berman brought up the fact that in the football game in question, the Patriots beat the Colts, 45-7, and scored more points “when the balls were properly inflated” than when they were “deflated”.

Also, there was that football game a couple of weeks later, I’m not sure if you remember it, this offseason has been so excruciatingly long and tedious, where Brady and the Patriots proceeded to tear apart and defeat the best defense the NFL has seen since the 2000 Baltimore Ravens.

At the end of the day, neither side truly won. OK sure, Brady was looking for complete exoneration by taking this debauchery to court, and he did accomplish that by getting his entire four-game suspension anulleded. In the opinion of the public however, this ruling really didn’t change a single thing. Before DeflateGate, if you asked supporters from each of the 32 teams what they thought of Tom Brady, 31 of them would’ve told you that he’s a loud-mouthed, pretty boy, who whines to the refs about everything and has cheated his way to the top in every aspect of life, and the Patriots fans would’ve told you that he’s the greatest Quarterback in the history of football, who has never done a single thing wrong; a patron saint all the way from Maine to Nantucket. But in the end, it doesn’t even matter, because I doubt any of these opinions changed in the slightest. I’ve defended the Patriots endlessly for years, and years, and years, and it’s shown me one thing, people only believe what they want to hear. Tom Brady’s legacy likely will have a stain on it forever, because no matter what someone will always revert back to this and claim he’s a cheater.

There are endless amounts of desperate, die-hard fans wishing that this investigation proved Brady was a liar; a cheater who never won anything fairly. They don’t want to face the sad realization that they cheer for an incompetent organization that possibly hasn’t even made the playoffs this millennium, one whose success is dwarfed by what the New England Patriots have managed to accomplish since the turn of the 21^st Century. New England’s past success was like gasoline being thrown on the fire. Just like SpyGate, this scandal, has been blown completely out of proportion because New England wins so much. If DeflateGate was centered on say, the Carolina Panthers, you really think anyone would care about this story? Not a chance.

Everyone hates the Patriots because they win. Then they win some more. And then just when it looks like they’re about to faint and have grown numb to the feeling of jubilance they get from winning, they go out, give the NFL an encore, and win again. They can’t break the habit of winning, and the fans of other franchises can’t break their habit of endlessly loathing them for their continued success.

The countless, unoriginal, naive comments made by unintelligent, dim-witted fans who wish to rationalize their team’s failures have finally pushed me to the point where I just couldn’t give a damn anymore. I’ve done enough trying to convince everyone the Patriots aren’t cheaters, and I stand by my team.

You think they’re the only organization that cheats? Every other franchise in the NFL has a history of breaking the rules, don’t kid yourselves and believe that the Patriots are the black sheep of the league. The Saints obviously had the BountyGate scandal, The Denver Broncos circumvented the Salary Cap twice during their Super-Bowl winning years. The Atlanta Falcons pumped noise into the Georgia Dome. Do I need to keep going? I don’t think so.

Obviously Goodell and the NFL didn’t because they just got embarrassed on a national scale for what seems like the 50^th time since his current reign began. Roger Goodell’s dishing out of ‘industrial justice’ is going to come to an end because of this case. As the Players’ Union remarked in their official statement on Berman’s ruling, “Our Collective Bargaining Agreement does not grant this commissioner the authority to be unfair, arbitrary and misleading”. This is going to be the fifth appeal Goodell has lost in recent memory. He’s lost to the several Saints Players in the BountyGate scandal, to Ray Rice, to Adrian Peterson, to Greg Hardy, and now to Tom Brady. Each time, a Judge or arbitrator has determined that Goodell has overstepped his authority under the league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. Goodell’s main reasoning for going after Tom Brady was for the “integrity of the game”, yet I don’t see how Goodell has any integrity as a Commissioner who continues to act as a “neutral” arbitrator, when he clearly isn’t, and decides to initially suspend a player charged with domestic violence for two games, while a player who was “generally aware” that footballs were being deflated gets a suspension that is twice as long.

Brady’s legacy might be tarnished, but he’s going to be a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer, and if you can’t get that through your head, there is something wrong with you. The real legacy being damaged here is Goodell’s, who is losing more consistently than the 2008 Detroit Lions. The way it’s looking right now, he might go down as the worst commissioner in the history of the major, four, North American Sports, which is really saying something when you think about who’s been running the MLB, NBA, and NHL for the past decade or so.

This catastrophe, as mind-numbingly frustrating as it has been for everyone involved and football fans everywhere, has shown light on Roger Goodell’s tyrant-like ways, and this could be the final nail of the coffin for him. I think I speak for every football fan when I say that it’s time for his tenure as Commissioner of the National Football League to come to a close. At the very least, have Goodell’s powers reduced; because there is no way the NFL can properly function when players are taking the league to court every time they think they’ve been punished unfairly. No one is going to stand for another incident like this to unfold again.