Super Bowl Prediction

I didn't get around to writing a more detailed analysis on the Super Bowl matchup, partly because I couldn't decide who I thought would win. But, with that said, here's my Super Bowl prediction anyway. 

Patriots 27, Seahawks 24

NFL Championship Games

Sorry, I didn't have time to write out why I thought the teams that I picked to win would win. But here's my picks below, anyway. 

Green Bay Packers @ Seattle Seahawks 

Packers 20, Seahawks 37 

Indianapolis Colts @ New England Patriots

Colts 24, Patriots 42

NFL Divisional Round Preview

Editor's note: The number beside the team's names are not their seed but their ranking in the Sports Kid Power Rankings. 

(Home team listed in CAPITAL LETTERS)

#6 Baltimore Ravens (11-6) @ #2 New England Patriots (12-4) 

Saturday 4:35 PM ET, NBC 

I said it before the season started and I'll say it again, I think the New England Patriots are the team that's going to be hoisting the Lombardi trophy for the first time this decade at the end of the year. With that said, I'm not ready to rule the Ravens out just yet, especially considering the fact that I consider Baltimore the Patriots' biggest threat in the AFC. The Ravens match up very well with New England. Here's why. It doesn't exactly take a super trained eye to realize that Baltimore has the worst secondary in the league. You may be thinking, "Oh...ouch. Worst secondary in the league + Tom Brady= 40+ points." Wrong. Although he could effortlessly chuck up a beautiful 60 yard pass when he was 27, 37 year old Tom Brady is not 27 year old Tom Brady. Below is an illustration of Brady's completion percentage for the 2014 season for each different length of his pass attempts. 

                          

 A big part of New England's completion percentage is because Tom Brady is 37 years old and on the backend of an amazing career. But the other reason is that tight end Rob Gronkowski is the only legitimate deep threat the Patriots have. "The Gronk" leads New England in both receiving yards and receiving touchdowns with 1,124 yards and 12 touchdowns, and that's with him being on a limited snap count because of past injury for the first three games of the season. Gronkowski really truly got fully healthy again in week 5. Before that? The Patriots were 2-2. Afterwards? 10-2. The Ravens may have trouble covering the deep ball, but they certainly won't have to worry about that against this Patriots team. Barring injuries, I predict this will be a closer game than most people would expect, but I still like the Big 3 of Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, and Bill Belichick (the best Big 3 in the league by the way ;) to get the job done against an inferior Ravens secondary. 

PATRIOTS 34, Ravens 31

#8 Carolina Panthers (8-8-1) @ #1 Seattle Seahawks (12-4) 

Saturday 8:15 PM ET FOX 

The Seahawks are 7-1 at home while the Panthers are 3-4-1 on the road. The Seahawks are #1 in fewest passing yards allowed per game, and #1 in most rushing yard per game while the Panthers are 19th in in passing yards per game and 16th in fewest rushing yards allowed per game. Basically, I don't exactly expect this to be much of a nail biter. 

SEAHAWKS 41, Panthers 17 

***GAME OF THE WEEK*** 

#3 Dallas Cowboys (13-4) @ #4 Green Bay Packers (12-4) 

Sunday 1:05 PM ET FOX 

This is the game I'm most looking forward to watching. It's also the hardest pick of the week. Just a few weeks ago, I liked the Packers to be the team that came out of the NFC and advanced to the Super Bowl. But now I'm not so sure. Green Bay may be 8-0 at home, but the Cowboys match their perfection with an unscathed 8-0 road record. The key for Dallas is to get out to an early lead. Why? Well, take a look at Aaron Rodgers' stats below,name the comparison between when his team is winning, and when they're trailing. 

                             

Rodgers has an inhuman 22 touchdowns and zero interceptions when winning, but just 7 touchdowns and 4 interceptions when trailing. When winning, his yards per attempt is an astounding 8.92. When losing? An average 6.85. The biggest difference, however, is in his passer rating. When his team is winning it stands at an amazing 126.1 but when the Packers fall behind it drops all the way to an earthly 88.6. The problem is the Cowboys are a mediocre 26th in passing yards allowed per game, which plays right into the hands of Rodgers and the pass-happy Packers. Which means that my pick would have to be Green Bay, if Aaron Rodgers were healthy. If Aaron Rodgers were healthy. But Rodgers has not practiced all week, and although he's expected to play this week, he'll be limited by a hamstring injury on the same leg that suffered an injury that kept him out for 10 weeks last year. The Cowboys are a force to be reckoned with and not to be taken lightly, so unless Rodgers can miraculously play at (or even near) 100 percent, I like Dallas to pull off the upset on the road. 

Cowboys 45, PACKERS 34 

#7 Indianapolis Colts (12-5) @ #4 Denver Broncos (12-4) 

4:40 PM ET CBS 

You may not want to think about it, but it's true. You probably don't want it to happen, but it's happening right now. Something is definitely wrong with Peyton Manning. Take a look at this stat of Peyton Manning's: 

                              

Not to mention the fact that in December, Manning's passer rating dropped to a mediocre 76.8 and he posted a jaw-droppingly in-Manningly poor 3 touchdowns to go with an awful 6 interceptions. So it's apparent that we're definitely nearing the end of the Peyton Manning era. But, the Colts are middle of the pack (18th) in fewest rushing yards allowed per game and that is where the Broncos have been dominating recently. In fact, they've been going out of their way to establish the running game early on, almost as if Peyton Manning weren't fully healthy (;). They had 753 yards rushing in the first half of the season and 1,032 in the second. The main difference maker for Denver has been  the emergence of running back C.J. Anderson. Here are his season splits: 

                           

What's interesting, though, is that he hasn't been more effective in the second half of the season than he was in the first. He averaged 4.7 yards per carry in the first half and 4.8 in the second. It's just the volume at which Denver has used him that has changed considerably. Look for a the Broncos to try and establish Anderson early on, because if there's anything I've learned through all the Colts games I've watched, it's that you can definitely run on them. Although they're primarily known as an offensive powerhouse, Denver's defense may be even better. They're 2nd in fewest rushing yards allowed per game (79.8), so that definitely doesn't help the Colts, who have the 22nd most rushing yards per game (100.8). So Indianapolis will need to rely heavily on Andrew Luck and their #1 ranked pass offense (305.9 yards per game.) Even though it's talked up more than it should be, there's no denying the Broncos have a top-five offense, meaning the Colts will have to put a lot of points up to keep up with Denver and C.J. Anderson. Since we've already established that Indianapolis' running game will likely be neutralized by Denver's defense, Andrew Luck will need to throw for at least 400 yards to keep up with the Denver offense. But the Broncos are an above-average pass defense team (9th in the league), unlike the AFC South teams Andrew Luck is used to beating up on and the Bengals team he beat last week (20th in the league, by the way.) That means that 300 yards is a more accurate projection for a Colts team that will throw the ball 40+ times. I think this game will end up being a lot like when these teams played in the regular season (the Broncos won 31-28) when Denver jumped out to an early lead, then let their guard down, letting Indianapolis make a comeback, but ultimately the Broncos snapped out of their funk and held on to win. 

BRONCOS 28, Colts 20 

     

    

 

The Showdown of the Favorites

The two favorites to make it to Super Bowl 49, the Green Bay Packers and the New England Patriots, will meet this Sunday. The 9-2 Patriots are atop the AFC standings, while the Packers are 8-3 and 1 game back from the 9-2 Cardinals for 1st place in the NFC. That's the same Cardinals team that just lost much-maligned-yet-miraculously-rejuvenated starting quarterback Carson Palmer to a season-ending ACL tear, but hey at least they have a good backup quarterback. Their backup and fill-in starter is Drew Stanton, one of 5 quarterbacks to start for the 0-16 Lions team back in 2008. OUCH. The point is, it appears that, at least at the moment, these two teams will likely be standing atop their respective conferences at year's end. Alas, this IS the NFL, and one play can change a team's entire season. So although it's not a given, these teams look like the two best teams in their conferences. Green Bay's road to the NFC's #1 seed and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs would be hindered, and possibly destroyed, if they lost to New England this week. The Patriots, meanwhile, are on an 8 game winning streak ever since all the "experts" counted them out, and denounced Tom Brady as in "steady decline." This is not that team. They dismantled their two biggest threats, the Denver Broncos and the Indianapolis Colts, in smashing fashion. They beat emerging star Andrew Luck's Colts 42-20 and Peyton Manning and the Broncos 43-21. The Packers are also on a hot streak, having looked shaky in the first couple weeks, they have been simply sensational since superstar quarterback and leading MVP candidate Aaron Rodgers went on the radio and told Packers fans to "Relax." All this game really comes down to is one simple thing: home-field. It seems to me that these teams are equally matched, with the Patriots maybe being slightly better, simply on the merit of much superior coaching. While on a neutral field New England is. at the moment, the better team, this game will be played in Green Bay on the Packers home field in front of a rowdily ecstatic crowd, so I'll take Green Bay and their thousands of cheering supporters in this one. Plus, the Packers simply need it more. As I touched on earlier, the Packers are in a tense race with the Cardinals [and maybe even the Eagles, over whom they would own a potential tiebreaker, thanks to their 53-20 victory in [score]], for 1st place in the NFC and losing this game, assuming the Cardinals win this week against the lowly 4-7 Falcons [who in the putrid NFC south are winning their division] would put them 2 games back from home-field advantage throughout the playoffs and that coveted #1 seed. The Patriots, meanwhile, look as though, barring a total meltdown, they will clinch the #1 seed. The Colts, well, the Colts have simply fallen apart, although it's been subtle. They're 7-4 this year with wins against the Jaguars [twice], Titans, Ravens, Texans, Bengals, and Giants. Two wins against teams over .500, the Ravens and the Bengals, both of whom are fighting for a playoff spot, and could be on the outside looking in when the playoffs start. Their losses? To the Broncos, Eagles, Steelers, and Patriots. Two of those losses were by 17 or more points and they gave up over 30 points in all 4. Simply put, with an reasonable schedule for the rest of the season, when Indianapolis finishes 11-5, it won't be a legitimate 11-5, it'll be a shaky 11-5. The Broncos, meanwhile, are not doing so hot themselves. They lost two weeks ago to the 4-7 Rams 22-7. the lowest output of points for Peyton Manning in his entire career with the Broncos. Last week, they narrowly defeated the frisky-and-underrated-possible-contender-yet-maybe-not-there-yet Miami Dolphins, 39-36, in a game that could of gone either way, and likely would have gone the other way had it been played on a neutral field. Speaking of the Dolphins, since nearly losing his job, third-year quarterback Ryan Tannehill has become rejuvenated and the Dolphins are officially a legitimate contender. However, I don't believe this is their year, they've been too inconsistent which is to be expected of such a young team. It should be noted, however, that Miami almost beat the scorching Packers earlier this year, in fact, it even came down to the final play. They also beat the stacked Patriots in week 1 33-20; yet another signature showing by an underrated team. At 6-5, the Dolphins are on the playoff bubble. Anyway, back to the Broncos, they go into Sunday's game at 7-4 Kansas City in a dangerous position. Should they lose, they'd be tied with the Chiefs record-wise, holding the tiebreaker because of a better in-division record. Then there's the Chargers, who also stand at 7-4, who with a win this week and a Broncos loss, would be part of a three-way tie for 1st place in the AFC west. After this week's showdown in Kansas City, the Broncos will have to travel to Cincinnati to face the 7-3-1 Bengals, and also travel to San Diego to face the Chargers. They do however, have two gimmes at home against the Bills and Raiders. So let's say that Denver lose this week, then goes 1-1 in their remaining road games and 2-0 in their remaining home games. That leaves them at 11-5 for the season. The Chiefs, meanwhile, are much better than that loss they suffered to the Raiders last week in the ultimate trap game. Here's their remaining schedule and my prediction for each game:   

vs. Denver: Win 

@ Arizona: Loss

vs. Oakland: Win 

@ Pittsburgh: Loss 

vs. San Diego: Win 

That leaves them at 10-6 for the season, which may or may not be enough for a playoff spot with the 7-4 Steelers and Ravens and the 6-5 Dolphins and Bills breathing down their neck. Here's what San 

@ Baltimore: Loss

vs. New England: Win 

vs. Denver: Win 

@ San Francisco: Win 

@ Kansas City: Loss 

That would put them at 10-6 for the season as well, so while I do still see the Broncos winning the AFC west, a little slip-up could change everything. My pick for this week's Green Bay-New England game and all the other games [besides the ones on Thanksgiving] can be found below: 

[Home team in capital letters] 

COLTS 34-23 Redskins 

TEXANS 34-14 Titans 

BILLS 24-17 Browns 

RAVENS 41-31 Chargers 

Giants 37-16 JAGUARS 

BUCCANEERS 20-17 Bengals [In Overtime] 

RAMS 44-7 Raiders 

STEELERS 45-27 Saints 

VIKINGS 14-9 Panthers 

Cardinals 30-17 FALCONS 

PACKERS 37-34 Patriots 

CHIEFS 27-20 Broncos 

Dolphins 31-30 JETS 

Enjoy a great weekend of football everybody!

The Sports Kid 

Eli Manning Entering Make-or-Break Year

He's won Super Bowl MVP twice. But he's also been top-two in league interceptions twice, including leading the league in picks last year. Now, at the age of 33, Eli Manning is entering a make-or break season. A season in which he will either rejuvenate his storied career, or enter a sharp decline from which he will never return. That's what this year looks like for the starting Quarterback of the New York Giants. 

The news broke on Monday. The news that David Wilson would be joining Chris Snee in retirement. Snee, a former Pro-Bowler and longtime Giant retired after an offseason back injury, saying he physically couldn't go through the grind of playing anymore. Wilson, at just 23 years of age, was also forced into retirement by an injury. He had spinal neck fusion surgery this offseason, and after announcing he was cleared to play just a few weeks ago, was told by doctors after suffering a practice injury that he could be permanently paralyzed if he ever played in the NFL again. Not only were these injuries devastating to the players that suffered them, they were also devastating to the Giants' 2014 season hopes. 

The loss of Snee makes an already appalling offensive line even worse. While the loss of Wilson not only weakens the Giants' already-poor running game, it also hurts the team's spirit. If that breaks at any point during the season, it may be too much for Tom Coughlin & co. to handle. 

Now: back to Manning. In a recent study, one sportswriter/mathematician did a study and found that if you do a study of all 27 of Eli Manning's interceptions last year, do you know how many were actually his fault? Two. That's right, two of Eli Manning's 27 interceptions last year were his fault. He threw an interception on 4.9 percent of his passes that year, an abysmally high number, especially for a Quarterback with such high prestige league-wide.

But, and there always is one, if you use the metric in which just two of his interceptions are his fault (which I firmly believe to be true), then his interception rate drops from 4.9 percent to a whopping 0.362 percent. That would put him ahead of Aaron Rodgers (2.1), his brother Peyton Manning (1.5), and even the league leader in this statistic for that year, Nick Foles, who had a 0.6 interception rate. 

It's really important that we know just how many of a Quarterback's interceptions are actually his fault before judging him on that statistic. 

Eli Manning played with the following wide receivers last year: Victor Cruz (double-teamed every game), Hakeem Nicks (zero touchdowns in what was supposed to be his breakout year), and Reuben Randle (wildly inconsistent and an above-average third Wide Receiver at best). That is the grand list of the New York Giants' 2013 receivers. 

Meanwhile, Eli's older brother, Peyton, had three Pro Bowl wideouts (Demaryius Thomas, Wes Welker, Eric Decker), as well as a Pro Bowl Tight End ("Orange" Julius Thomas), and a Pro Bowl running back (Knowshon Moreno). The younger Manning had to settle for Brandon Myers at Tight End and Peyton Hillis at Running Back. 

Hillis is perhaps the worst Running Back to start an NFL game in recent memory. Said Hillis after being signed by the Giants, "I stopped working out. I pretty much knew my NFL career was over, and I was living on my couch." Wow. That's not even a joke. The New York Giants starting Running Back for a lot of last season was working harder to get into shape than he was on actually scoring touchdowns. While Peyton Manning had Knowshon Moreno to hand-off to when in doubt, the younger Manning was handing the pigskin to a guy who had been signed off his couch, a guy who was still rounding himself into shape. 

Offensive lines matter, too. That's why the loss of Chris Snee is so huge. Manning was sacked 39 times last season with Snee blocking for him. Imagine what the line will look like this year without him. Those 39 sacks are not an outlier; the offensive line is also a big reason why Manning threw so many interceptions. If I was him I'd throw the ball too to avoid being smashed by a 300-pound monster too. And as I said earlier, a lot if times when he threw the ball with pressure on him he threw to an open man, only to see the ball be tipped and intercepted. 

The Giants brought in a new offensive coordinator in Ben McAdoo this offseason, to replace the fading Kevin Gilibride. McAdoo has said that  Manning's goal for this year is to complete 70 percent of his passes. While implausible, this is not entirely impossible. (The most recent person to do it was then-49ers Quarterback Alex Smith, who was benched that same year.) I don't know whether Manning will have a bounce-back year or another 20-plus interception year, but I do know this: it's a make-or-break year for Eli Manning, and this year may just decide the rest of his career. 

Pacers' George out for season; Giants' Wilson retires

Indiana Pacers Forward Paul George will miss all of the 2014-15 NBA season with an injury to his leg that he suffered during a scrimmage between the US team for the 2014 FIBA World Cup. On a play in which he went for a chase down block against Houston Rockets Guard James Harden, George landed the wrong way and his foot bent sideways like a snapped twig. The injury is bad for the Pacers, considering they already lost their best on-ball playmaker, Lance Stephenson, to the Hornets in free agency. They also lost 6th man Evan Turner to the Celtics. Remaining starters George Hill, David West, and Roy Hibbert will need to step up, as well as newly-acquired C.J. Miles, and Damjen Rudez if this team wants to contend for a playoff spot. The good news for Pacers fans is that George's injury was a clean one, and he is expected to make a full recovery, with his left leg expected to be even stronger than it was before the injury once he returns. It's still a devastating blow to a team that, until the injury, had strong championship aspirations. 

New York Giants running back David Wilson has announced his retirement from the NFL. Wilson, 23, was told by doctors that it would be unsafe for him to play due to lingering neck issues prior to his third season. 

Fantasy Football Rankings

Quarterback 

1. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers 

2. Peyton Manning, Denver Broncos 

3. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints 

4. Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers 

5. Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts 

6. Colin Kaepernick, San Francisco 49ers 

7. Tom Brady, New England Patriots 

8. Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions 

9. Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers 

10. Robert Griffin III, Washington Redskins 

Sleeper: Eli Manning, New York Giants 

Running Back 

1. Lesean McCoy, Philadelphia Eagles 

2. Jamaal Charles, Kansas City Chiefs 

3. Matt Forte, Chicago Bears 

4. Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings 

5. Alfred Morris, Washington Redskins 

6. Demarco Murray, Dallas Cowboys 

7. Doug Martin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 

8. Ryan Matthews, San Diego Chargers 

9. C.J. Spiller, Buffalo Bills 

10. Zac Stacy, St. Louis Rams 

Sleepers: Andre Ellington, Arizona Cardinals; Monte Ball, Denver Broncos  

Wide Receiver 

1. Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys 

2. Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons 

3. Jordy Nelson, Green Bay Packers 

4. Calvin Johnson, Detroit Lions 

5. T.Y. Hilton, Indianapolis Colts 

6. A.J. Green, Cincinnati Bengals 

7. Victor Cruz, New York Giants 

8. Desean Jackson, Washington Redskins 

9. Demaryius Thomas, Denver Broncos 

10. Wes Welker, Denver Broncos 

Sleeper: Corradarrelle Patterson, Minnesota Vikings 

Tight End 

1. Jimmy Graham, New Orleans Saints  

2. Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots 

3. Jordan Reed, Washington Redskins 

4. Vernon Davis, San Francisco 49ers 

5. Antonio Gates, San Diego Chargers 

6. Dennis Pitta, Baltimore Ravens 

7. Charles Clay, Miami Dolphins 

8. Owen Daniels, Houston Texans 

9. Jason Witten 

10. Dwayne Allen, Indianpolis Colts 

Sleeper: Zac Ebron, Detroit Lions 

Defense 

1. San Francisco 49ers 

2. Seattle Seahawks 

3. Carolina Panthers 

4. Arizona Cardinals 

5. St. Louis Rams 

6. New Orleans Saints 

7. New York Jets 

8. Cincinnati Bengals 

9. New England Patriots 

10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 

Sleeper: Oakland Raiders 

Giants' Wilson Cleared To Play

New York Giants Running Back David Wilson announced he has been cleared to play on Twitter this week. He had been suffering from a neck injury that could've potentially ended his career. He had a rough season for the Giants in 2013 before getting hurt, but has the speed and potential to be a dynamic Running Back soon. He will, however, need to stay healthy to do so. In other news, Giants Pro Bowl Guard Chris Snee has retired. 

2014 NFL Season Preview: NFC East

4. Dallas Cowboys 5-11

It looks as if the Cowboys did the smart thing by taking Offensive Tackle Zack Martin to solidify the running game rather than Quarterback Johnny Manziel in the first round, but that is simply not the truth. Even though Dallas was just 24th in rush yards per game, they actually had one of the best running games in the league. Leading Running Back DeMarco Murray had 217 carries in the 14 games he played, which means he had just 15.5 carries per game. But even with just 15.5 carries [not to mention that he missed two games with an injury] he managed to rush for a career-high 1,121 yards, averaging an outstanding 5.2 yards per carry. Had the Cowboys not so vastly underused Murray, it is not ludicrous to think that they could have won their division and in doing so made the playoffs. So now that we know that they didn't need offensive line help, we need to talk about the defense. While Dallas averaged 94 rushing yards per game, they allowed opponents to an insane 128.5 rushing yards per game. But it's not just the run-defense that was pathetic, they gave up an embarrassing 286.8 passing yards per game. They also lost their best defensive player, Demarcus Ware, to the Broncos this offseason. As bad as the defense was last year, this year it could be even worse. It certainly doesn't help that they have a tough schedule, playing against San Francisco, @ St. Louis, @ Seattle, and @ Chicago as well as other tough games. Honestly, it was difficult to predict how this team would fare this year, since their are so many question marks on defense, and a lot of their games are going to likely come down to the wire. They could go anywhere between 11-5 and 4-12. But with a prolonged bye week and six games against playoff teams from last year, my guess is 5-11. 

2014 Grade: C-

3. Washington Redskins 7-9

What's the first thing new Head Coach Jay Gruden needs to do to make this a winning team again? Getting his franchise-quarterback healthy and happy. Robert Griffin III, aka "RG3," was outstanding in his rookie year, winning the Rookie of the Year award. He also led the Redskins from a 4-12 record in 2011 to a 10-6 record and the playoffs in 2012. Unfortunately, to trade up to draft him, Washington had to give up their 2012 first-round pick, their 2012 second-round pick, and their 2014 first-round pick, which turned out to be a bad deal, since this their pick this year was the #2 overall pick. In Griffin's rookie year he threw for 20 touchdowns, compared to just 5 interceptions. He also had a completion percentage of 65.6 percent, a Quarterback rating of 102.4, and threw an interception on just 1.3 percent of his passes. Last year though, he threw for just 16 touchdowns and had 12 interceptions. His completion percentage was down to 60.1 percent and his Quarterback rating was down 20.2 points to 82.2. He also doubled the percent of his passes that were intercepted, having 2.6 percent of his passes intercepted. Worst of all, after going 3-10 over the season's first 10 games, he was placed on Injured Reserve and did not play the rest of the season, because of his knee. The same knee that he tore his ACL on at college in Baylor, and in the playoffs in his rookie season. RG3 is a dynamic Quarterback, but for Washington to make a playoff-push, he's going to have to be fully healthy and at the top of his game. Also, the defense that gave up 354.1 [354.1!] yards per game last year must improve. 

2014 Grade: C+

2. Philadelphia Eagles 7-9 

The Eagles had a great year last year, winning seven of their last eight games to win the division. They found their Quarterback of the future, Nick Foles, and had the leader in rushing yards, Lesean McCoy. However, they had a disappointing offseason. I say this mainly because they cut ties with leading Wide Receiver Desean Jackson, who later signed with Washington. Jackson had 1,332 receiving yards in 2013, while no one else on the team had more than 835. People consider Nick Foles a the Eagles Quarterback of the future, but I think he was simply spoiled by the best Running Back in the league [at least that year] Lesean McCoy, and a high-octane passing attack led by Jackson and involving other above-average players Riley Cooper and Brent Celek. He also played most of his games against some of the worst defenses in the league [Raiders, Giants, Redskins, Vikings.] With a tough schedule this year against four of the five best defenses in the league, Foles likely won't have another Pro-Bowl worthy season. 

2014 Grade: C+

1. New York Giants 9-7 

The Giants, who are usually relatively quiet in free-agency, were just the opposite this year. They added the Broncos top Cornerback in 2013, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, and also signed Raiders Running Back to complement David Wilson in the running game. Two moves going under the radar are their signing of former first-round pick Quarterback Josh Freeman to be Eli Manning's backup Quarterback, the only reason this addition is significant is because it means that if something happens and Eli gets hurt or isn't ready by the time the regular season rolls around [which is a possibility since he is scheduled to miss part of training camp due to an ankle injury] that Freeman will be the one starting, rather than Curtis "I Can Make Even Blaine Gabbert Look Good" Painter. The other move is that they signed Pro-Bowl kick and punt-returner Trindon Holliday [who had previously been employed by the Denver Broncos.] And while they need a Tight End after losing both Brandon Myers and Bear Pascoe in free-agency, they at least managed to replace Wide Receiver Hakeem Nicks by drafting Odell Beckham Jr. with their first pick of the draft. But if they're really going to win the division, they're going to need contributions in the running game, as well as the offensive line to step up and protect Eli Manning who desperately needs to have a bounce-back year. They have a tough schedule, but so does everyone else in this division. If they won the NFL's worst division this year, it would be the first time the G-Men made the playoffs since they last won the Super Bowl. 

2014 Grade: B-

The Circus That Is The Cleveland Browns

Editor's note: Sorry, I had this post ready on Friday but the computer I wrote it on was malfunctioning badly, and it took me awhile to fix it.

The Cleveland Browns truly are the worst, most embarrassing franchise in the National Football League. I used to make fun of Browns fans, but honestly, now I just feel bad for them. During the first night of what has proved to be an exhilarating draft, Cleveland traded down from the #4 pick to the #9 pick [which somehow turned into the #8 pick] and nabbed Oklahoma State Cornerback Justin Gilbert. They somehow managed to also grab the Quarterback they wanted by trading up from the #26 pick [which they had via the Indianapolis Colts] to the #22 pick and drafting Texas A&M standout Johnny "Football" Manziel. 2,000 season tickets were sold that night, ESPN called it a new era, and then, it all fell apart. 

Actually, Gilbert and Manziel didn't do anything to get themselves in trouble. But remember Josh Gordon? The potential-bearing Wide Receiver for Cleveland last year who led the NFL with 1,646 yards last season after being suspended for the first TWO GAMES.  But that's not necessarily as impressive as it sounds. The #2, #5, and #17 players in receiving yards during the 2013 season were in the AFC North. It goes to show that the AFC North pass-defense, and Josh Gordon's winning of the receiving yards title, is overrated.

Still not convinced? Consider this: the previous leader in receiving yards, the Detroit Lions' Calvin Johnson, was third in 2013 with 1,492 yards. But he missed two games with an injury. In that same season, he averaged 106.6 receiving yards per game in the games that he played, so if you round 106.6 up to 107 and multiply that by 2 you get 214. Add 214 to his total of 1,492 and get 1,760, which means he would have torched Gordon by 114 yards to lead the NFL in receiving yards. 

Despite all those numbers, Gordon was still a talented receiver, albeit off-the-field baggage. The Browns seemed to have finally turned the corner. But then the announcement came that Gordon is facing a year-long suspension for failing another drug test. Cleveland isn't going to have the weapons at Wide Receiver after trading down in the draft [as I mentioned earlier] instead of drafting the talented Sammy Watkins, to make a playoff-push without their #1  receiver. Sadly, I think in this one event, the Browns have lost hope for relevancy [at least in 2014,] and Josh Gordon has lost hope for his NFL career. I sincerely hope I'm wrong, but things sure don't look good for the 23-year old Gordon.

My Final NFL Draft Predictions

Editor's note: The Rams own the #2 pick in this year's draft because of a draft-day trade with the Washington Redskins in 2012. 

The NFL Draft is tonight, and I foresee a trade [or three] happening:

Trade #1

Houston Texans trade: #1 overall pick in this year's draft  

Atlanta Falcons trade: #7 overall pick in this year's draft, #37 overall pick in this year's draft, and a 2015 1st round pick 

Trade #2

Cincinnati Bengals trade: #24 overall pick in this year's draft 

Oakland Raiders trade: #36 overall pick in this year's draft, #67 overall pick in this year's draft, and a 2015 2nd round pick 

Trade #3

New Orleans Saints trade: #27 overall pick in this year's draft 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers trade: #38 overall pick in this year's draft, and a 2015 2nd round pick 

Now, without further ado, here's how I see things turning out: 

1. Atlanta Falcons [from a trade with the Houston Texans] select South Carolina Defensive End Jadeveon Clowney 

2. St. Louis Rams select Auburn Offensive Tackle Greg Robinson

3. Jacksonville Jaguars select Central Florida Quarterback Blake Bortles 

4. Cleveland Browns select Clemson Wide Receiver Sammy Watkins 

5. Oakland Raiders select Texas A&M Wide Receiver Mike Evans 

6. Houston Texans [from a trade with the Atlanta Falcons] select Buffalo Outside Linebacker Khalil Mack 

7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers select Texas A&M Offensive Tackle Jake Matthews 

8. Minnesota Vikings select Michigan Offensive Tackle Taylor Lewan 

9. Buffalo Bills select Pittsburgh Defensive Tackle Aaron Donald

10. Detroit Lions select LSU Wide Receiver Odell Beckham Jr. 

11. Tennessee Titans sélect Notre Dame Offensive Tackle Zack Martin 

12. New York Giants select North Carolina Tight End Eric Ebron 

13. St. Louis Rams select Ohio State Outside Linebacker Ryan Shazier

14. Chicago Bears select Alabama Inside Linebacker C.J. Mosley 

15. Pittsburgh Steelers select Alabama Safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix 

16. Dallas Cowboys select Michigan State Cornerback Darqueze Dennard 

17. Baltimore Ravens select Oklahoma State Cornerback Justin Gilbert  

18. New York Jets select Oregon State Wide Receiver Brandin Cooks 

19. Miami Dolphins select Virginia Offensive Tackle Morgan Moses 

20. Arizona Cardinals select USC Wide Receiver Marqise Lee 

21. Green Bay Packers select Virginia Tech Cornerback Kyle Fuller 

22. Philadelphia Eagles select Louisville Safety Calvin Pryor 

23. Kansas City Chiefs select Auburn Defensive End Dee Ford 

24. Oakland Raiders select [in a trade with the Cincinnati Bengals] Texas A&M Quarterback Johnny Manziel 

25. San Diego Chargers select UCLA Outside Linebacker Anthony Barr 

26. Cleveland Browns select Fresno State Quarterback Derek Carr 

27. Tampa Bay Buccaneers select [in a trade with the New Orleans Saints] Louisville Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater 

28. Carolina Panthers select Ohio State Cornerback Bradley Roby 

29. New England Patriots select Nevada Offensive Tackle Joel Bitonio 

30. San Francisco 49ers select TCU Cornerback Jason Verrett 

31. Denver Broncos select Georgia Tech Outside Linebacker Jeremiah Attaochu 

32. Seattle Seahawks select Indiana Wide Receiver Cody Latimer 

News

NBA 

What's wrong with Indiana?

The Pacers were a seemingly insurmountable 3 games ahead of rival Miami Heat with 12 games to go and they led the tiebreaker as well. Then they lost to the Wizards in Washington, and the Heat easily handled the league-worst Bucks. Alright, I thought at the time, at least we still have a 2-game lead. I then wrote the article that I recently published about the game being on in the NBA between the two archenemies. Then Indiana dropped a third straight game to Cleveland (!), without star (and only All-Star) Kyrie Irving (!!!). Of course Miami responded by defeating the Raptors in Toronto. The Pacers then lost 101-77 to the San Antonio Spurs at home! As if on cue, Miami won again! After another Pacers loss was coupled with a Miami win, the Heat lead Indiana by 1-game going into the season's final week! And with upcoming games against the Thunder, and @ the Heat, the Pacers are in no condition to get back atop the East standings and snatch the #1 seed before the playoffs start. There's no way this Pacers team, especially in its current state, can BEAT THE HEAT in a best-of-seven playoff-series WITHOUT home-court advantage. (Sigh.) Goodbye season, goodbye...

NFL

The Houston Texans signed injury-prone former New York Giants Running Back to a 1-year deal. Brown should be a nice complimentary back to aging-star Arian Foster, who missed a large chunk of last season with a nagging knee-injury. The Giants opted not to re-sign Brown after they signed journeyman Rashad Jennings, who played solid last year for the Raiders when starter Darren McFadden, in a hope to solidify last years mediocre-is-an-overstatement running game along with David Wilson, who struggled with fumble-issues when he was healthy, and missed a lot of the season from a neck injury that team doctors say could come back to him at any given time. 

The Raiders have traded for former Texans Quarterback Matt Schaub and the 49ers have traded for former Jaguars Quarterback Blaine Gabbert. 

The Colts have re-signed Cornerback Vontae Davis, but they lost Running Back Donald Brown to the Chargers and Pro Bowl Safety Antoine Bethea to the 49ers. 

MLB 

Who cares? 

Actually, I actually watched an ENTIRE baseball game the other night. And by entire I mean the 7th, 8th, and 9th innings. 

Soccer 

The World Cup (my favorite sporting event) is coming in June! I can't wait! I'll have you covered with a preview of it when the time comes. 

#belgiumalltheway

Golf 

If you are a golf fan, you are reading the wrong blog. But if you ARE a golf fan and you ARE reading this, Tiger Woods has withdrawn from the prestigious Masters with a back injury. 

College Basketball 

The Uconn Huskies won the men's National Championship Monday. They defeated the Kentucky Wildcats. 

Sophomore Oklahoma State Point Guard Marcus Smart, Freshman Syracuse Point Guard Tyler Ennis, and Freshman Kansas Shooting Guard Andrew Wiggins have all entered the NBA Draft. Fellow freshmen Jabari Parker and Joel Embiid are weighing whether or not to enter the draft. 

NFL Mock Draft Round 1

1. Houston Texans select LB Khalil Mack 

2. St. Louis Rams OT Jake Matthews 

3. Jacksonville Jaguars select QB Blake Bortles 

4. Cleveland Browns select QB Johnny Manziel 

5. Oakland Raiders select QB Derek Carr 

6. Atlanta Falcons DE Jadeveon Clowney 

7. Tampa Bay Buccaneets select OT Greg Robinson 

8. Minnesota Vikings select QB Teddy Bridgewater 

9. Buffalo Bills select LB Anthony Barr 

10. Detroit Lions select WR Sammy Watkins 

11. Tennessee Titans select FS Calvin Pryor 

12. New York Giants select CB Justin Gilbert 

13. St. Louis Rams select WR Mike Evans 

14. Chicago Bears select DT Caraun Reid 

15. Pittsburgh Steelers select OT Taylor Lewan 

16. Dallas Cowboys select FS Ha Ha (funny right?) Clinton-Dix 

17. Baltimore Ravens select WR Marqise Lee 

18. New York Jets select WR Kelvin Benjamin 

19. Miami Dolphins select OT Zack Martin 

20. Arizona Cardinals select LB Kevin Pierre-Louis 

21. Green Bay Packers select TE Eric Ebron 

22. Philadelphia Eagles select CB Darqueze Dennard 

23. Kansas City Chiefs select DT Timmy Jernigan 

24. Cincinnati Bengals select S Brock Vereen 

25. San Diego Chargers select CB Phillip Gaines 

26. Cleveland Browns select RB Tre Mason 

27. New Orleans Saints select CB Cyrus Kouandjio 

28. Carolina Panthers select WR Brandin Cooks 

29. New England Patriots select CB Jason Varrett 

30. San Francisco 49ers select DT Ra'Shede Hageman 

31. Denver Broncos select CB Lamarcus Joyner 

32. Seattle Seahawks select WR Odell Beckham Jr. 

The First Round Of The 2014 NFL Draft

1. Texans, Jadeveon Clowney DE

2. Rams, Sammy Watkins WR

3. Jaguars, Blake Bortles QB

4. Browns, Derek Carr QB

5. Raiders, Johny Manziel QB

6. Falcons, Khalil Mack OLB

7. Buccaneers, Jake Mathews OT

8. Vikings, Teddy Bridgewater QB

9. Bills, Mike Evans WR

10. Lions, Marqise Lee WR

11. Titans, Anthony Barr OLB

12. Giants, Taylor Lewan OT

13. Rams, HaHa-Clinton Dix S

14. Bears Aaron Donald DT

15. Steelers Eric Ebron TE

16. Cowboys Timmy Jernigan DT 

17. Ravens, C.J Mosley ILB

18. Jets, Odell Beckham WR

19. Dolphins, Zack Martin OT

20. Cardinals, Ra'shede Hagman DE

21. Packers, Louis Nix NT

22. Eagles, Calvin Pryor S

23. Chiefs, Kelvin Benjamin WR

24. Bengals, Darqueze Denard

25. Chargers, Kony Ealy OLB

26. Browns, Brandon Cooks WR

27. Saints, Justin Gilbert CB

28. Panthers, Allen Robinson WR

29.  Patriots, Jace Amaro TE

30. 49ers, Kyle Fuller CB

31. Broncos, Stephen Tuitt DE

32. Seahawks, Dee Ford OLB

Jimmy Graham tagged by Saints

The New Orleans Saints have used their one-year Franchise Tag on free-agent Tight End Jimmy Graham. Graham is one of the leagues best Tight Ends and he caught 16 touchdown passes last year. 

Earlier this offseason he said he wanted to be payed like a top Wide Receiver because he lined up out wide on 65 percent of plays, rather than like a top Tight End. This is because the top Wide Receivers make about $10 million per year and the top Tight Ends only make about $5 million per year.

 Graham also said that it would be "disappointing" if he were tagged, and that if he was indeed tagged as a Tight End he would file a grievance against the NFLPA (National Football League Players Association.) 

It has not yet been announced whether he's been tagged as a receiver or Tight End. 

Top 5 college QB's

The college football QB battle

The QB's entering the 2014 NFL draft are relatively good but the question is... Who's the best? I put together this list to answer those questions.

1. Blake Bortles

Blake Bortles has it all, he has big hands helping prevent turnovers, he has good accuracy, he has good throw power, and he can break tackles. To me he is the number one college QB.

Verdict: He can be one of the top 5 QB's in the NFL eventually if he practices hard. I believe he could be a great option for the jaguars.

2. Teddy Bridgewater

Teddy Bridgewater is spot on every throw he has good throw power he has...I'm going to say it Peyton Manning level awareness the only thing that puts him behind Blake Bortles is his hands.

Verdict: Teddy Bridgewater has the best accuracy in college football and should be drafted high. I believe he'll be the answer to the Vikings QB problems.

3. Johny Manziel

He's a decent choice at QB he makes some good throws his scrambling is going to be some of the best in the NFL he marks just below 6 feet tall which may affect how high he is drafted.

Verdict: He needs to stop throwing sidearm and to stay in the pocket more if he can learn not to do those he could be a franchise QB. I'm not sure if he's going to do amazing but he could be a short term option for the raiders.

4. Derek Carr

He has amazing accuracy his throws aren't too fast but he can make deep throws when he needs to.

Verdict: He should be a good choice at QB for a team that needs a QB and he could turn into a passing monster. It looks like the browns are going to take him so I guess that's who I think he'll be drafted by.

5. A.J McCaron

He can throw bullets he can throw accurately that's pretty much all you could want out of an NFL QB right?

Verdict: I think most people are under rating him he has potential to be an elite. I believe that he could be a good second round pick for the texans.