Saturday, January 30, 2016

LITTLE ENGINE THAT COULD : PRO BOWL (2016)

Though not the most exciting event of the NFL Season, the Pro Bowl can still be a fun event to attend and watch live on TV. From the beautiful state of Hawaii, NFC & AFC greats will contend in a mix and match all-star game to showcase the talents NFL fans enjoyed the entire 2015 NFL season. Of course to prevent injury there will be regulations set in order including no sacking the QB, minimal punts and the lack thereof of the extra point attempts. Be looking for additional rules to surface during the broadcast this Sunday 6:00 p.m. E.T on ESPN. Check out the Rosters for this annual NFL event below. This year it'll be Michael Irvin's team versus Jerry Rice's selected. Enjoy good people.


TEAM IRVIN

Captain: RB Devonta' Freeman (Falcons)
Captain: DT Geno Atkins (Bengals)
1. QB Russell Wilson (Seahawks)
2. WR Julio Jones (Falcons)
3. CB Richard Sherman (Seahawks)
4. DE Ezekiel Ansah (Lions)
5. DE Michael Bennett (Seahawks)
6. WR A.J. Green (Bengals)
7. WR DeAndre Hopkins (Texans)
8. RB Todd Gurley (Rams)
9. OLB Anthony Barr (Vikings)
10. CB Desmond Trufant (Falcons)
11. WR Allen Robinson (Jaguars)
12. LB Lavonte David (Buccaneers)
13. TE Tyler Eifert (Bengals)
14. QB Jameis Winston (Buccaneers)
15. DE Carlos Dunlap (Bengals)
16. QB Teddy Bridgewater (Vikings)
17. TE Delanie Walker (Titans)
18. S Reshad Jones (Dolphins)
19. OLB Sean Lee (Cowboys)
20. CB Adam Jones (Bengals)
21. RB Latavius Murray (Raiders)
22. S Malcolm Jenkins (Eagles)
23. CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (Giants)
24. FS Harrison Smith (Vikings)

PRE-SELECTED PICKS (chosen Tuesday)

1. FB Patrick DiMarco (Falcons)
2. OT Branden Albert (Dolphins)
3. OT Tyron Smith (Cowboys)
4. OT Andrew Whitworth (Bengals)
5. G David DeCastro (Steelers) 
6. G Zack Martin (Cowboys) 
7. G Marshal Yanda (Ravens) 
8. C Travis Frederick (Cowboys) 
9. C Alex Mack (Browns) 
10. DT Calais Campbell (Cardinals)
11 DT Jurrell Casey (Titans) 
12. LB NaVorro Bowman (49ers) 
13. LB Derrick Johnson (Chiefs) 
14. K Dan Bailey (Cowboys) 
15. P Sam Koch (Ravens) 
16. KR Darren Sproles (Eagles) 
17. ST Justin Bethel (Cardinals)


Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

TEAM RICE

Captain: WR Odell Beckham (Giants)
Captain: DT Aaron Donald (Rams)
1. QB Eli Manning (Giants)
2. DE Khalil Mack (Raiders)
3. WR Jarvis Landry (Dolphins)
4. QB Derek Carr (Raiders)
5. WR Amari Cooper (Raiders)
6. CB Marcus Peters (Chiefs)
7. RB Adrian Peterson (Vikings)
8. OLB Tamba Hali (Chiefs)
9. DE Everson Griffen (Vikings)
10. CB Vontae Davis (Colts)
11. WR T.Y. Hilton (Colts)
12. CB Brent Grimes (Dolphins)
13. RB Doug Martin (Buccaneers)
14. TE Travis Kelce (Chiefs)
15. S Eric Berry (Chiefs)
16. LB Julius Pepper (Packers)
17. DE Cameron Jordan (Saints)
18. QB Tyrod Taylor (Bills)
19. TE Gary Barnidge (Browns)
20. OLB Elvis Dumervil (Ravens)
21. RB Chris Ivory (Jets)
22. CB Jason Verrett (Chargers)
23. SS Mike Adams (Colts)
24. SS Charles Woodson (Raiders)

PRE-SELECTED PICKS (chosen Tuesday)

1. FB John Kuhn (Packers)
2. OT Kyle Long (Bears)
3. OT Joe Stalley (49ers)
4. OT Joe Thomas (Browns)
5. G Richie Incognito (Bills)
6. G Logan Mankins (Buccaneers)
7. G Josh Sitton (Packers)
8. G Nick Mangold (Jets)
9. C Eric Wood (Bills)
10. DT Fletcher Cox (Eagles)
11. DT Gerald McCoy (Buccaneers)
12. LB Clay Matthews (Packers)
13. LB Bobby Wagner (Seahawks)
14. K Josh Brown (Giants)
15. P Johnny Hekker (Rams)
16. KR Tyler Lockett (Seahawks)
17. ST Cedric Peerman (Bengals)

Saturday, January 23, 2016

BIRD FLU : NFC CHAMPIONSHIP [2016]

NFL fans are prepared for an incredible NFC Championship game between two juggernaut rosters who are sure to put on a thrilling show. The Carolina Panthers lost only one game this entire season while the Cardinals suffered a loss in only three. Well it's due or die now as the stage is set for Super Bowl 50. It is definitely refreshing to see some new faces in the NFC Championship game and the emergence of young promising regimes in this next era decade of the NFL. With as minimal of bias as possible (we like both of these teams), we will analyze and break down our expected outcome of this tough NFC showdown to see who will advance to Super Bowl 50.


(Jan. 16, 2016 - Source: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images North America)



Cam Newton has surfaced his smile on media outlets worldwide the entire fall/winter season of NFL action. As the cameras continue to zoom in, now it is time to answer the real question : is he really ready to take Carolina to win their 1st NFL championship? His performance last week was so super stellar that it seemed almost to be a blur to the viewers. A 31 point lead was established in the first half of a game in which Newton went 16-22 on pass attempts and featured a TD pass as well. Panthers running back Jonathan Stewart  kept it business as usually including a 50+ yard run on the very first play of the game last weekend. 109 rushing yards, 2 touchdowns on just 19 attempts was a job well done to make the lead insurmountable for the striving Seahawks to overcome. The passing game of Arizona cannot have Carson Palmer tossing interceptions into the hands of the Carolina Panthers the way he did against the Green Bay Packers in the Divisional Round on this particular occasion unless they plan on spending their Super Bowl 50 Sunday at home eating Doritos on the sofa.  I expect the Panthers to keep the Arizona rushing attack at bay. The Cardinals must convert their red zone opportunities with touchdowns, if not they will find themselves in a ground and pound match up their personnel isn't built to endure. We like Carolina to win this one with a score around 24-20.

(Jan. 15, 2016 - Source: Christian Petersen/Getty Images North America)

The Bruce Arians coached Arizona Cardinals pack a punch on the offensive side of the football. They ranked 2nd in scoring and first in total yards per game this season. The loss of superstar safety Tyrann Mathieu definitely hurt the soul of many NFL fans including those of the Arizona Cardinals. His absence means that QB Cam Newton will be able to run freely without the worry of a nerve wrecking speedster spying him down his throat. Even without Mathieu, the strength of the Cardinals defense is still undoubtedly in their secondary but Cardinals DT Calais Campbell may be looking to stake his claim by halting the rushing attack of the Carolina Panthers on the biggest stage of his young promising career. The Panthers will likely lineup in their big packages (i.e I-Form, Singleback, Pistol, etc) to force the Cardinals to staff their defense with minimal defensive backs. This means that stopping the run is a must in order to prevail. Offensively, thank God the Cardinals have WR Larry Fitzgerald who is a season vet determined to redeem his heartbreaking lost in Super Bowl XLIII. He will play a big role in attempting to visit Bank of America Stadium and leave with a one way ticket to Super Bowl 50. If the Cardinals can get an early lead and force the Panthers to some early three and outs, they'll be able to suck the life out of the home crowd and get the road upset in the NFC Championship. That of course will be much more easily said than done.

ARIZONA CARDINALS @ CAROLINA PANTHERS 6:30 p.m. E.T on FOX

MEMORIAL DAY : AFC CHAMPIONSHIP [2016]

Old rivals will match-up in the AFC Championship this weekend to see who can advance into Super Bowl 50. The New England Patriots will visit the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Stadium as QB Tom Brady and QB Peyton Manning will duel it out yet again to see who can add bragging rights unto their Hall of Fame career resume.  Although we've been spoiled with over 4 months of gridiron, how speedily has this years' NFL season come to pass. No marvel of course, things aren't finalized just yet. Below we'll give you the run down on what you can expect from both teams in this AFC Championship game and who we believe will be headed to San Francisco to participate in big Super Bowl 50.

(Jan. 15, 2016 - Source: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images North America)



The more I read about it the more I fall in love with what awaits us in yet another Brady Vs. Manning post-season showdown. The Patriots have quite an offensive punch as we know it with WR Julian Edleman, TE Rob Gronkowski and of course the Michigan man leading the charge behind center QB Tom Brady. But it's actually the Patriots defense that has been rather impressive this season. DE Chandler Jones and OLB Rob Ninkovich have done their deal of damage destroying the ability of opposing running attacks. Not particularly statistically, but the fact that the Patriots have a +7 turnover ratio this season is a clear indicator that they are doing more than enough to get victories. The Pats forced the Chiefs to throw the ball 50 times in the divisional round and if a similar scenario takes place against Denver in the AFC Championship, it is likely that the New England pass rushers I just mentioned will have QB Peyton Manning eating grass all afternoon. The spread offense of New England will cause problems for the Broncos secondary. The absence of WR Antonio Brown showed prevalent in Denver's victory in the Divisional round but this is a different monster they'll face this week. Without some Brady interceptions, chances of the Broncos scoring more than 17 points in this contest are rather slim. I expect New England to get the win with an 8+ point margin.


(Jan. 16, 2016 - Source: Doug Pensinger/Getty Images North America)

After a 5-0 start to the NFL season a bumpy ride to the top of the AFC West division and a revision at the QB position, the Denver Broncos and Peyton Manning find themselves in the AFC Championship game. If Denver plan to win this game, it will come down to their defenses ability to keep New England off of the field. I don't believe they have to personnel to do that. Their offense may struggle the way it did against the Steelers and if so the Patriots will eventually rack up points on the scoring making the Broncos rushing attack to no effect and putting pressure of the withered arm on Manning to get the victory. Denver has to be banking on the possibility that they can get the Patriots offense to cough it up on a fumble or interceptions. Strategically I am unable to see how the Broncos plan on being able to outman the offensive attack of New England. Nevertheless, there is a reason why they play on the field and not on paper. Perhaps head coach Gary Kubiak and his stretch run schematic can give Brady and Belicheck a few headaches.

NEW ENGLAND PARIOTS @ DENVER BRONCOS 3:05 p.m. E.T on CBS

Monday, January 11, 2016

WELL NOBODY'S BURFICT - AFC WILD CARD RECAP

The 2015 NFL Playoffs are underway and the first batch of games have lived up to every inch of their expectations. The exclamatory events that took place this weekend helped teams get their advancing wins while other teams dealt with the dread of facing a terrible season ending loss. Within this article we'll look ahead at the upcoming match-ups in the AFC and give you the run-down on the AFC Wild Card match-ups that have already come to pass. Tune in for coverage of the 2015 NFL Playoffs on CBS, FOX and NBC television Networks.


(Jan. 8, 2016 - Source: Thomas B. Shea/Getty Images North America)

The Houston Texans made complete foolery out of themselves at the NRG Stadium this weekend. Their 30-0 loss against the red hot Chiefs had NFL fans wondering why Houston even bothered to show up. The game initialized on a game-opening kick return from Kansas City running back Nile Davis. Despite the fact that Houston's defense forced several turnovers and red zone opportunities,QB Brian Hoyer put the writing on the wall with 4 interceptions and a fumble. He definitely might need to consider rethinking his long-term career plans after a performance like that. As for Kansas City, Saturday's win makes it 12 in a row and their first post-season victory in over a decade. In the upcoming Divisional round the The Chiefs will head to New England to match up against the Patriots  in what should be a flat out thriller. It will be interesting to see if the Chiefs can do a doozy and clinch a AFC Championship berth by winning in Foxboro. Of course they'll need to put the clamps of the dynamic Patriots offense and their super QB Tom Brady.

Kansas City Chiefs @ New England Patriots 01/16/16 4:35 p.m. E.T on CBS


(Jan. 8, 2016 - Source: Joe Robbins/Getty Images North America)

The Cincinnati Bengals make yet another 1st round post-season exit t during the Marvin Lewis era and can point directly to their immature conduct on the football field. Not quite sure how they believed they would prevent a Steelers comeback with under 30 seconds to play in regulation playing the way they did. Thanks to a uncalled for unsportsmanlike hit from well-known wicked one Bengals LB Vontaze Burfict the Steelers marginalized a 18-15 victory over the NFC North's best. The 15 yard penalty was follow by a sissy like shove issued by DB Pacman Jones to Steelers assistant coach Joey Porter who was simply seeking to aid a unconscious WR Antonio Brown that laid on the field. With no timeouts and 22 seconds to play in regulation the Bengals gave Pittsburgh a 30 yard gain in the matter of 5 seconds. The Bengals deserved to loss the game. The Steelers will now head to Sports Authority stadium to match up against a well rested Broncos team that has no plans on being halted, especially with QB Peyton Manning back in the line-up. The match-up will be a rematch from Week 15 when the Steelers over came a 20 point lead to defeat the leagues best ranked defense 34-27. Be looking out for news regarding Antonio Brown's status in the media soon. Enjoy the post-season ladies and gentlemen.

Pittsburgh Steelers @ Denver Broncos 01/17/16 4:40 p.m. E.T on CBS