Sacksonville the Surprise

  When it comes to football and playoff time, we all know the following saying “Defense Wins championships.” Of the remaining top 8 teams, there are at least 3 teams that have top 5 defenses in Minnesota, Jacksonville, and Philadelphia. Atlanta and New Orleans defense has been on fire. What do Minnesota, Jacksonville and Philadelphia (for the current moment) all in common? They do not have a quarterback. This is a similar situation when Denver won the Super Bowl a few years ago. This is why Jacksonville has the best surprise shot of winning the Super Bowl.

   You may be wondering, how am I comparing Jacksonville to the Denver team that had Peyton Manning on it! What I have to say about this comparison is that Peyton Manning was a shell of himself that season. He was not a good quarterback. He relied heavily on his run game and his top notch defense. Jacksonville is in the same boat. Let me be clear on one thing before I begin, Blake Bortles is NO Peyton Manning. What I am trying to say is that Jacksonville, like Denver, did not get good play from their quarterback the year the won it all.

     Denver had the best defense in the league that year. Not only was it the best ranked defense of the season, but it is an all time great defense. Jacksonville(or dare I say “Saxonsville) also had a historically great defensive year. Their defense carried their team this year. For the first time in ten years, they had a winning record and made the playoffs. They also had a great offensive line and running game to  help carry poor quarterback play.

   When the Broncos won the Super Bowl, they beat 3 top of the line quaterbacks including MVP Cam Newton. Peyton Manning did not outplay any of those quaterbacks. The Broncos defense beat every single one of them. If you remember, Manning was benched late in the regular season for Brook Oswiler. It shows how much confidence Gary Kubiak had in Manning at that point. Jacksonville has all the same qualities that the Broncos had that season. They had 5 interceptions and a victory against Big Ben earlier in the season. Don’t be shocked if you see Jacksonville beat Pittsburgh to play New England.

Baseball Hall of Fame or Shame?

   Every year at around this time, the Baseball Hall of Fame voting ballot has come out. We have some holdovers and some new faces. The familiar faces of Andruw Jones, Chipper Jones, Jim Thome and Omar Vizquel are all new the ballot. Trevor Hoffman, Vladimir Guerrero, Edgar Martinez, Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds are part of the 14 players returning to the players. If I were voting for the Hall of Fame, I would fill it with the maximum 10 players on the ballot. Chipper Jones, Jim Thome, Omar Vizquel, Trevor Hoffman, Vlad, Edgar Martinez, Mike Mussina, Jeff Kent,  Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds. That would be my 10 going into the Hall.We are gradually moving away from the “Steroids Era” of baseball. All of these players have been associated with that era. Many of these players based on stats alone are qualified for the Hall of Fame.

    Recently, Joe Morgan sent out a letter stating that it was his belief that no one who was connected to PED’s at all should go into the Hall of Fame. I disagree with him on this point. You may be thinking on how is this possible? Joe Morgan comes from an era where we think the players were clean compared to the late 80’s through the mid 2000’s. As much as I respect his talents and skills as a player, he comes from an era in baseball where players took amphetamines.  Many players would take these drugs in order to have less fatigue and give themselves to strength to play the game. What is the difference between taking steroids and amphetamines? There are honestly minuscule differences. There is no difference in Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays taking amphetamines and Sammy Sosa taking steroids(I am in no way accepting the taking of PED’s).

    Voters need to look at the truth. Clemens and Bonds were RUMORED to have taken PEDS. If any of this rumor and trial BS did not happen, they would have been in the Hall first ballot. They did not get a lifetime ban like Pete Rose or Shoeless Joe Jackson and not eligible for election. If they are on the ballot and are Hall worthy they should be In the Hall.

   Which brings me to my next issue with the Hall voting. Everyone hears every year “O I didn’t vote for him this year because I need to really think about it” meanwhile you have a maximum of 10 votes on the ballot and you leave some blank? What is their to “think about”? Either the player is Hall worthy or he is not. Roberto Alomar deserved to be on the first ballot, but got in on his 2^nd year because he spat on the umpire early on in his career? Come one voters? You are going to judge someone on an incident like this one?  I understand the logic if you feel the player is not a Hall of Famer, but to not vote for him on 1^st or 2^nd ballot but then vote for him on 4^th or 5^th ballot?

    Will Trevor Hoffman and Vlad Guerrero get inducted this year? Yes, they will. Will Chipper Jones, Jim Thome and possibly Vizquel(I think he should be) first ballot Hall of Famers? Absolutely they will be enshrined. We will have a stacked class this year. I am also excited to see who goes in because there are those players that deserve to be enshrined. It was nice to finally see Tim Raines get “The Call” last year. When it comes to the Hall voting, lets call a spade a spade and be fair! Come on fellas none of this drama!

  Every year at about this time of year, the Baseball Hall of Fame voting ballot has come out. We have some holdovers and some new faces. The familiar faces of Andruw Jones, Chipper Jones, Jim Thome and Omar Vizquel are all new the ballot. Trevor Hoffman, Vladimir Guerrero, Edgar Martinez, Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds are part of the 14 players returning to the players. If I were voting for the Hall of Fame, I would fill it with the maximum 10 players on the ballot. Chipper Jones, Jim Thome, Omar Vizquel, Trevor Hoffman, Vlad, Edgar Martinez, Mike Mussina, Jeff Kent,  Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds. That would be my 10 going into the hall.We are gradually moving away from the “Steroids Era” of baseball. All of these players have been associated with that era. Many of these players based on stats alone are qualified for the Hall of Fame.

    Recently, Joe Morgan sent out a letter stating that it was his belief that no one who was connected to PED’s at all should go into the Hall of Fame. I agree and disagree with him on this point. You may be thinking on how is this possible? Joe Morgan comes from an era where we think the players were clean compared to the late 80’s through the mid 2000’s. As much as I respect his talents and skills as a player, he comes from an era in baseball where players took amphetamines.  Many players would take these drugs in order to have less fatigue and give themselves to strength to play the game. What is the difference between taking steroids and amphetamines? There are honestly minuscule differences. There is no difference in Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays taking amphetamines and Sammy Sosa taking steroids(I am in no way accepting the taking of PED’s).

    Voters need to look at the truth. Clemens and Bonds were RUMORED to have taken PEDS. If any of this rumor and trial BS did not happen, they would have been in the Hall first ballot. They did not get a lifetime ban like Pete Rose or Shoeless Joe Jackson and not eligible for election. If they are on the ballot and are Hall worthy they should be In the Hall.

   Which brings me to my next issue with the Hall voting. Everyone hears every year “O I didn’t vote for him this year because I need to really think about it” meanwhile you have a maximum of 10 votes on the ballot and you leave some blank? What is their to “think about”? Either the player is Hall worthy or he is not. Roberto Alomar deserved to be on the first ballot, but got in on his 2^nd year because he spat on the umpire early on in his career? Come one voters? You are going to judge someone on an incident like this one?  I understand the logic if you feel the player is not a Hall of Famer, but to not vote for him on 1^st or 2^nd ballot but then vote for him on 4^th or 5^th ballot?

    Will Trevor Hoffman and Vlad Guerrero get inducted this year? Yes, they will. Will Chipper Jones, Jim Thome and possibly Vizquel(I think he should be) first ballot Hall of Famers? Absolutely they will be enshrined. We will have a stacked class this year. I am also excited to see who goes in because there are those players that deserve to be enshrined. It was nice to finally see Tim Raines get “The Call” last year. When it comes to the Hall voting, lets call a spade a spade and be fair! Come on fellas none of this drama!

Giant Debacle

  In the past few hours, we found out that the Giants were going to bench Eli Manning in favor of Geno Smith. That has raised many eyebrows of sports professionals and fans alike, including mine. Your team is 2-9 and not going anywhere, Eli has 2 years left on his contract and you have a rookie quaterback on your roster. Why in holy water would you start Geno Smith? This is the same guy who got punched in the eye while he was with the Jets? You drafted Davis Webb for what reason?
    Let's just set the record straight, Eli Manning helped the Giants win 2 Super Bowls in the past decade saving both Jerry Reese's and Tom Coughlin's job(more Reese's). Ben McAdoo says the goal is still to win games. We all know that's a total crock of s**t(this is a clean blog). Giants are officially eliminated from the playoff hunt and Geno Smith is not a reclamation project. At least give Eli the shot to teach Davis Webb the same way Kurt Warner was given the shot to teach Eli when he was a rookie. Over 5 games it will be worth it to see if the Giants will draft a quarterback or stick with Webb for the future.
    When I first heard the news on the Michael Kay Show, I thought they were referring to the Jets who were supposed to be in this situation. The Giants were supposed to have stability at the quarterback position. When Derek Jeter knew he was in the last leg of his career, he wanted to end it with the Yankees and playing on the field, not sitting on the bench. I am sure Eli feels the same way, yet like Derek, he wants what is best for the team(which should be starting Webb, not Smith).
  The Giants are supposed to be one of the class organizations of the NFL and Reese tends to screw this up every season Two years ago, it was the handling of the JPP fireworks situation or the Tiki Barber situation at the beginning of his tenure. McAdoo is not all innocent here. If you want my opinion, he still wants Eli to play. If anything he should have stood up for what he believed is right.
   What is happening to a franchise legend is not right. Eli deserves to be treated better then a leaf just falling off a tree and no one there to pick him up. This may be a one game or end of season thing, but the way this is happening to someone who brought you 2 Super Bowls is not right. Eli deserves to go out on his own terms, not the team's terms whether they are 2-9 or 9-2. Eli, the fans of New York are behind you!

Bold Predictions for 2017

   The 2017 football season officially started with a runaway game for the Chiefs over the World Champ Patriots. Like any other season, there are many headlines heading into the season. Will the Falcons be the top of the NFC again? Who will contend with the Patriots in the AFC? Will we have any repeat division winners? Who will be worse Jets or Browns? These are just some of the questions and headlines going into this season. Let's break it down some more.
    After a historic collapse in the Super Bowl, what will happen with Falcons? They have the reigning MVP with Matt Ryan. They have a dynamic receiver in Julio Jones. Two pretty good running backs in Freeman and Coleman. Their defense also stands out. The Falcons will be ok this season and make it back to the playoffs. Do they make it back to the promised land? They will not make it to the Super Bowl again. They have an above average team, but the NFC is overcrowded with talent and I will not be shocked if another NFC makes it to the Super Bowl. Prediction: 12-4, division winners.
   Speaking of collapses, lets talk about the other "C" word, "comeback". The Patriots had a historic comeback in the Super Bowl last season. They did something no one else had done and came back from down 25 points. Even after last nights debacle of a lose to the Chiefs, I still believe the Patriots are going to be ok this season. Many people thought they would be undefeated, it looks like that won't happen. They have a coach, quarterback, and a decent defense(except last night). The question is what do they have around their quarterback. Julian Edelman is out. Gronk is always an injury riddle. They do have Brandon Cooks, but lets see how adjusts going from Drew Bress to Tom Brady. Prediction: 13-3, division winner.
     There are so many things to talk about with the season. Let's talk about other division winners. First we have the NFC. The East is up for grabs. Dallas came out of no where and had a great season thanks to the offensive line. Ezekiel Elliott and Dak Prescott both had outstanding rookie seasons. Will they have another great season, yes they will both play great(granted Elliott will only play 10 games), but that defense will be exposed. They will be a playoff team, but as a Wild Card team. The Giants will be division winners.
   Granted the Giants have issues of their own, they are an overall better team than the Cowboys. They have a better defense, experienced Quaterback, a top 3 receiving core and a young coach who seems to know what he is doing on the sidelines. Their only real issue is Offensive Line Tackle positions. They cover the Eli’s “blind spot”. The NFC East will produce 2 playoff teams.
   The NFC North is an obvious choice with the Green Bay Packers. Why do you think I am saying Green Bay is obious? The Lions took a step back with the retirement of Megatron, the Bears are rebuilding, and the Vikings just have no identity with Bridgewater out for the season. Aaron Rodgers could be the MVP of the league again. Prediction: Green Bay wins NFC North.
  The AFC South is a bit harder to predict. Andrew Luck is still recovering from surgery and Jacksonville still has no clue where to start. It really comes between the Titans and Texans. Houston has solid defense, some good offensive weapsons(see Hopkins and Miller), but they have no quarterback(lets see if DeShaune Watson develops into something). The Titans are a team on the rise with Marcos Marriotta at quarterback and DeMarco Murray at runningback. They have a developing defense. The team appears to be growing together. Prediction: Titans, 10-6, Division winners.
   The AFC North is really a tough one this year. It always was 3 team race(do we really count the Browns here?) Baltimore is effectively injured with their quarterback injured. It really comes down to Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. The Bengals have a nice core of players, but they are always hit and miss. They can get to the playoffs but can’t do anything when they are there. Andy Dalton is solid at quarterback with a stud receiver in AJ Green. The question for them is that offensive line and their running game. Marvin Lewis knows how to get creative, but lets be real the Bengals have only been really good on one side of the ball(offense). Pittsburgh has 2 of the best players in the league, Antonio Brown and LaVean Bell. Even though Big Ben is banged up, he’s smart at what he does. The Steelers have been known for building up on defense. Prediction: Pittsburgh, 11-5 Division winners.
  We come to the NFC West. The NFC West is pretty much a 1 ½ team race. You must be thinking, what does he man by that? It’s easy. Arizona can be a dominate team IF they stay healthy. If they stay healthy, they can easily win the division. With that said, I truly believe that the Seahawks will win the division. They recently added Sheldon Richardson to their defense. The Seahawks defense will be one of tops in the league. Russel Wilson, if healthy which he is, could be dominate with his arm and legs. Seattle has enough to pull it off all around. Prediction: Seahawks, 12-4 division winners.
  Last, but not least, we have the AFC West. We have 3 teams from this division that could potentially win the division(Raiders, Chiefs, Broncos). I believe the Chiefs and Broncos will be playing in the postseason, but as wild cards. That leaves us with the Raiders. The Raiders will repeat as division winners this year. With a MVP caliber quarterback and receiver(Derek Carr and Amari Cooper) and really good supporting offensive staff, they can really exceed expectations. Their defense may still growing, but it will certainly help them out this season.  Predicition: Raiders, 11-5 Division Winners.