TONY TOE TAP IS COMING TO FOXBORO I don't care if I was ripping this guy left and right for being the biggest premadonna, locker-room cancer, entitled, horrible hair cut-having WR of all time less than 60 minutes ago. It doesn't matter if he's too stubborn/stupid to wear protective footwear in a hyperbaric chamber. 
These are the New England Patriots we're talking about. Ever heard of them? 6 Super Bowl wins since 2001 AND they have a guy to tell you to put your shoes on.. Nobody knows how to turn septic water into wine quiet like Bill Belichick. We all know the track record. They'll spin the tires on anybody. Harrison, Dillon, Moss, Ocho Cinco, Haynesworth etc.
Sometimes they work out. 
Sometimes, not so much.
This organization would give Ed Snowden a scouting analytics job if they thought it'd help them win football games. The Steelers couldn't save AB (or win a Super Bowl with him), the Oakland/Los Angeles/Vegas Raiders had about as much chance as the Bears on 3rd and 40 the other night to make this work. They've got an owner who if you said had a Supercuts haircut would be disrespecting Supercuts, a coach stuck in the 90's who shows film from the 70's, an NFL Network analyst as their GM, and Derek Carr on the payroll. 
Like Randy Moss 12 years ago (wtf) the Patriots have plucked yet another future HOFer off the Raiders.
As a conspiracy theory guy, I really don't know if AB is the dumbest guy on earth or the smartest man alive. (CTE still is on the table as well) After demanding a trade from the Steelers he straight up said no to the Buffalo Bills (can't say I blame him there) then did literally everything you can do to get cut in Oakland. Not to go full jet fuel can't melt steel beams, but AB acting a fool to get out of one of the worst run franchises in all of sports so he could sign wherever he wants isn't exactly on par with Bush did 9/11 or even the frozen envelope.
As much as I shit on AB for acting like fucking idiot (deservedly so), it all comes down to production. I feel like (at least I sure as shit hope) we just saw the ultimate bet on yourself move by AB. He never truly wanted to be a Raider and sabotaged that pretty much the moment he landed in Oakland. He knows he's still a top 3 WR in the league and can thinks he can get away with whatever he wants as long as the numbers talk.
The sad thing is, he's 100% right. That's why the Patriots took this chance. If he balls out and helps this team win a Super Bowl, surely one of the remaining 29 franchises (fuck it, maybe even the Steelers) will give him a multi-year deal.
Yeah they gave him $9 million guaranteed, but for a man of AB's talents that is a Costco price. The upside is another Super Bowl win before Tom Brady retires (in 4 years). As a one year incentive based deal (worth up 15 mil) they always have the chance to cut him it things don't work out. As for those defending Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots....
Antonio Brown
Julian Edelman Josh Gordon Demaryius Thomas Phillip Dorsett (don't sleep on Philly!!!) James White Sony Michel Gronk are you SURE you don't wanna be a part of this? P.S. Like I said, this could be Randy Moss 2.0. With great expectations, comes great disappointment.
Double P.S.
kinda cool I guess?
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Excerpt from NFL.com
NEW YORK -- The newest installment of the Emmy Award-winning programming partnership of HBO Sports and NFL Films profiles the long-standing relationship between generational football coaches Bill Belichick and Nick Saban in a feature-length documentary titled "Belichick & Saban: The Art of Coaching," it was announced today by Peter Nelson, executive vice president, HBO Sports and Ross Ketover, Chief Executive of NFL Films. Directed by award-winning documentarian Ken Rodgers and produced by Paul Camarata, both of NFL Films, "Belichick & Saban: The Art of Coaching" will premiere TUESDAY, DEC. 10 (9:00-10:30 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO. "Belichick & Saban: The Art of Coaching" will also be available on HBO On Demand, HBO NOW, HBO GO and HBO partners' streaming platforms. "Bill Belichick and Nick Saban have earned their rightful place in the pantheon of greatest coaches ever, across all sports, and this film intimately spotlights their woven history from Navy to Cleveland to now," said Nelson. "It will capture for the first-time ever some of the most engaging and personal conversations held every year by the two most towering figures in the game today. We are excited to partner with NFL Films to tell this unique story of friendship and mentorship." "Bill Belichick and Nick Saban have become the modern versions of Vince Lombardi and John Wooden - symbols of success not just in sports, but in life," said Ross Ketover, Chief Executive of NFL FILMS. "Their lessons on leadership are an inspiration; not just for those of us who love football, but for anyone who wants to thrive at whatever passion they pursue." Spanning 90 minutes, "Belichick & Saban: The Art of Coaching" brings into focus a four-decade-long friendship between two of the most successful and revered football coaches in the history of the sport. Belichick and Saban grant unprecedented camera access to their annual coaching retreat, where they share a multi-layered conversation about their interwoven history, admiration, coaching philosophies, and more. The intimate portrait invites viewers to examine first-hand their blueprints for organizational success, in what can only be described as a literal "meeting of the minds." Combined with one-on-one interviews and extensive inside access captured over the past three decades, "Belichick & Saban: The Art of Coaching" includes topics never publicly broached before, including their fathers' respective influences on their careers, their tenure with the Cleveland Browns organization in the 1990s, and how they connect with the newest generation of players. The film features interviews with peers, assistant coaches and family members, including both coaches' children, Hall of Fame tight end and former Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart, and Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, among many others.
It's no secret that neither Bill Belichick or Nick Saban is a big fan of the media requirements that come with being a head coach. Neither wants to have his words twisted into bulletin board material. To avoid that they both have given some of the least compelling interviews known to man. NFL 100 is going to give fans so much great NFL content but nothing has the pressure of Belichick & Saban to be great.
This duo consists of quite possibility the greatest pro and college coach of all time. They both expect greatness. This has the potential to be HBO's most watched sports doc ever. Everybody who is on the football fan spectrum is going to what to hear their uncut thoughts. That being said, with all due respect to Saban, he flopped as an NFL coach. 15-17. Outside of the states where it's illegal to have an abortion I don't think Saban is the big draw here. He's the John Oates of this doc. Make no mistakes about it, the NFL is king and nobody in the history of this game has had a more successful run as a HC than BB. As I say that I kind of take it back. This doc has almost no pressure on it. People will likely S this doc's D even if it's not that good just because of the men it highlights. Both give you next to nothing of note in interviews, but we all still watch and hope. The bar is extraordinarily low. We're all like dogs begging their owner for scraps. They almost never come, once in a while Bill decides to give us something. It's not great, it's not meat, but once in a while he drops a single raw, baby carrot on the floor which is just barely better than the dog food we're used to. When he does the media will eat it up like filet mignon. So as long as this has one or two big stories it's going to legendary. I'm really hoping both of these guys break out of their football guy shells to give fans some real insight. I want to go inside two of the greatest football minds ever. I love Mindhunter. I want to see how the sausage was made, not some canned answers with a few nuggets diehard fans have never heard before. Whether you love or hate the man, there's no denying Bill Belichick, at the very least is one of the most interesting people of all time. This is his documentary. I'm completely speculating here, I wouldn't be surprised including Saban was a ploy just to get access with Bill. I don't know if he would've trusted HBO if it was just him. Kinda like how he did the two Bills with Parcells on ESPN. Bill is one of the greatest coaches of all time; regardless of the sports. On top of that he makes all his own clothes, knows his way around a lax spoon, owns his boat that he constantly changes the name of despite it being well-documented bad luck and murdered Freddie Mitchell in cold blood. With a trailer under a minute long we don't get too much from the 90 minute doc so there is plenty to speculate even though the NFL.com write up goes into greater detail. You'd have to actually read that to know what it says though. Sadly, I don't expect HBO to touch on all the topics Pats fans have been dying to know Bill's inner truth since he has to share the screen with Saban. I'm sure a large part will be on their relationship, plus both coaches are active with no signs of slowing down, so there's still a certain level of secrecy. As long as Belichick doesn't pull a Bear Bryant and immediately die after he retires I'm sure one day as a historian of the game his stories will be told, but until then these are the Top 10 topics I hope Bill Belichick candidly discusses in "Belichick & Saban" Honorable Mentions: Why did you cut Tim Tebow but keep Ryan Mallett in 2013? Does playoff success mean nothing to you? Plus you could've had Taysom Hill like 5 years early. Why did you run a fake punt with Pat Chung in the playoffs? One of the dumber decisions I've seen during my time as a Patriots fan. I feel like it's been somewhat forgotten with time, but it's one of those moments as a fan I'll never forget. 2010 Divisional Round. 4th and 4 on their own 38 with 1:17 left in the first half trailing 7-3. Pat Chung fumbles the snap on a fake punt. Turnover on downs. Jets score a TD a few plays later and its' 14-3 going into half. Totally changed the game. You know he's a safety right? Did you disrespect the Jets that much after 45-3? What is your favorite non-S.B. win with the Patriots? Kind of a lame question but I'm genuinely curious to hear what Bill Belichick would say is his favorite. Wouldn't be shocked if he didn't have one. Who is the most overrated player you've faced as a Head Coach? Throw some shade one time for me. It's been 15 years since Freddie. Do you agree both Steelers Super Bowl wins of the 2000's deserve an asterisk since in 2005 they didn't play you in the playoffs and in 2008 Brady was hurt? I'm sure he'd agree and mention that in 2010 they got to play the Jets at home instead of the Pats at the razor in the AFCCG.
10. What Unheralded Players of this Generation Does He Have the Most Admiration For?
The way this is worded would surely piss Belichick off, as he would never disrespect another team's players (with the exception of FredEx) by referring to someone as unheralded but this is a question that fascinates me. Most Patriots fans know about his love and respect for Ed Reed and other players of his caliber (there aren't a ton) but I'd love to hear his opinions on the bottom of the roster guys. The glue guys, the special teamers. The type of players Belichick fucking loves and wishes his entire was made up of. What random guys that most football fans have forgotten did Belichick truly appreciate and respect as a football player. One thing that has made Bill Belichick so successful is his ability to get the most out of players nobody believed in. Tom Brady, Julien Edelman, Darrelle Revis etc. I'd love to see what players he coached against would make this list. Imagine if Bill Belichick just went out and said he could've turned Quintin Demps into a Hall of Famer or something like that?
9. Biggest Draft Regret(s)
The draft is far from a perfect science. There are first round busts every year. Ryan Leaf, JaMarcus Russell, Andrew Luck. The list goes on. There are countless examples. The stats about guys making it to a second contract are insane, it's like < 30% of players. Even the greatest coach of all time isn't immune to drafting blunders. Granted he's drafted many more times than the average GM due to his longevity, usually at the bottom of the draft, but Belichick has a staggering amount of bad picks over the years. It almost makes this run more impressive when you think he took Aaron Dobson over Keenan Allen, Jordan Richards in the 3rd, Tavon Wilson in the 2nd. Which one makes him lose the most sleep at night? My money is on Ras'i Dowling.
8. Aaron Hernandez Saga
I don't think I need to dive that deep here. If you are reading this and were born after 2012 Aaron Hernandez was a Pro Bowl caliber Tight End/murderer who played three years under Belichick. During their time together the Patriots went 39-9 in the regular season. Aaron even scored a touchdown in Super Bowl XLVI. Bill's truth on everything that transpired during his tenure with the Patriots up until his death in 2017 would be must watch/listen/read. What was Bill's relationship with him really like? On a scale of 1 to 10 how surprised was he? Do you think it's above a 6? because I don't.
7. What the Fuck Does Ernie Adams Actually Do?
Patriot fans know Ernie Adams is Bill's right hand man and one of his closest friends. After that your guess is as good as mine. I know he's very integral to the operation, I'd just like to know how. I want to be able to fully pay my respect should I ever run into him. It's much easier with players and coaches across all sports to do this. Whenever you casually run into professional athletes like we all do you can be like "thanks for hitting that home run, David (Ortiz)" or "I'll never forget when you threw 4 touchdowns against the Seahawks in the Super Bowl, Tom (Brady)". You can't do that if you ever see Ernie. You can say thanks but he's not gonna know for what. This is a guy who just shows up to work and does his job. The idea of praise for it would never ever begin to enter his skull.
Of all the things on this list this is hands down the least likely Belichick would explain. I'd settle for the meaning of Pink Stripes.
6. Biggest Personnel Mistake
This is kind of the cousin of #9 but still an answer I think most Patriot fans are dying to know. Belichick's history of moving on from stars a year earlier is about as well documented as the American Revolution. The shocking release/trades of Lawyer Milloy, Logan Mankins, and Jamie Collins all indirectly lead to Super Bowl wins but is there one move he made/wishes he did that he believes cost him a championship?
What does he think happens to those teams if they don't move on from the aforementioned players?
5. How Much of Tom Brady's Success is because of You?/How Much of Your Success is because of Him?
Footballs chicken or the egg. Who is more responsible for the dynasty? It's not exactly the easiest topic to talk about but I'm dying to know Bill's honest opinion on the matter. He's a historian of the game. I feel like he's at a level of intelligence where he can completely separate himself from the situation and give an unbiased answer. Despite their 20 years together you don't see Belichick overly praise Brady too often. He wrote off Brady's performance with a slashed up throwing hand in the 2017 AFCCG saying it wasn't exactly open heart surgery.
I'm sure he gets great pleasure out of going 11-5 without him in 2008, while at the same time knows without Brady he likely hasn't lasted this long in Foxboro. You know these guys are uber-competitive. This may be something he goes into great depth post-coaching or never even come close to talking about.
4. What Was Really Going Through Your Mind After The Kearse Catch?
Bill Belichick does not think like you and I do. He didn't use his timeouts after the Kearse catch, instead he let the Seahawks panic and we all know what happened next.
At the podium he said he never doubted that this team would win another Super Bowl. I was not in the same camp. Just for once I want to hear a human answer out of Bill. He's touched on this in the past but I'd like more. I'm sure Bill was aware of the circumstances around this game and that the Patriots hadn't won a Super Bowl since the 2004 season. The countless bad breaks. How their two previous Super Bowl defeats were highlighted by all time, "how the hell did that just happen?" plays in the helmet and Manningham catches respectively. The Manningham play was just an all-time throw and catch, you have to tip your cap. At the same time there had to be some "you've gotta be fucking kidding me" in Bill's brain at least a little after the Kearse catch. What transpired was one of the greatest calls ever, t(he)y baited the Seahawks into throwing the ball and it led to one of the most unforgettable plays in Super Bowl history. To go into his mind and understand know exactly what lead to (at the time) the Patriots most exciting Super Bowl victory would be sicccc.
3. Why Didn't Malcolm Butler Play Defense in Super Bowl LII?
I was quite upset in the weeks after this decision that still hasn't gotten a legitimate answer. I got blocked on instagram by Linda Holliday over my frustration. My bad. I'll always say Belichick is the greatest coach of all time, but to me this is hands down his biggest blunder. To make no halftime adjustment, and keep trotting out BUMS when you have a former all-pro, Super Bowl hero wasting away on the bench will never make sense to me.
Winning the Super Bowl the next year definitely took a little bit of the sting away, but I will go to my grave believing Patriot fans (and people in general) deserve to know the truth. What lesson was more important than winning a Super Bowl? TELL US.
2. So What's Really Up With the -gates?
I just want to hear from the horse's mouth how asinine both witch hunts were. Or maybe he's like fuck yeah I filmed signs and so do literally everybody else in the league at the same time.
1. Literally Everything About Super Bowl 42
February 3rd, 2008 was one of the worst days of my entire life. It's the line of demarcation in my life as a fan. I was never the same again.
While time heals all wounds (allegedly) the scar from 18-1 is still tender. I'm at a point in my life where I can have discussions about the game. As a historian of the game and former Giants assistant did he see shades of Super Bowl XXV as the Giants took 10 minutes off the clock of their first drive? Why couldn't they stop the Giants defensive line? Why the fuck did they go for it on 4th in 13 coming out of the second half instead of kicking a like 45 yard field goal? What did you say to the team after the game? Would you trade a different Super Bowl (or more) to have this win? Is Junior Seau still alive today if you win this game? How much did the dropped INT play into letting Asante Samuel walk? How much better could this team of been with an NFL caliber running back? What should the ultimate legacy of this team be? I could go on for hours and have already gone on long enough. I'm sure I'm forgetting some great questions so feel free to talk shit in the comments and tell me what I forgot. 
Today is September 3rd, the day after Labor Day, the unofficial end of summer hashtag sad face. Kids go back to school and white pants go away for the winter hashtag sadder face. We are < 48 hours away from real football. Every major sports media outlet will or already has released their BOLD NFL predictions leading up to Thursday night. I mean it's #NFL100 you need to bring it. Predictions that are so God damn bold your brain involuntarily presses CTRL-B as your read them. Your internal dialogue will proclaim "WHAT?'" as you read CBS Sports say the Browns make the playoffs this year. Where does one muster up the courage to have the same take that no less than 80% of football fans have? FedEx a Medal of Valor their way pronto.
As we all know, pre-season prediction posts are the ONLY WAY to show how good you are at guessing what's going to happen. dol-nfl-predictions.html dol-2018-nfl-predictions.html There is no other way. 
Between Andrew Luck retiring 2 weeks before the season started, Zeke (as of now) and Melvin Gordon holding out, Gronk flirting with coming back before ever officially missing a game, Antonio Brown showing signs of CTE, new coaches across 1/4 of the league, the Bears not having a real kicker, the Jets fugly new uniforms, the Saints response to back-to-back soul crushing playoff defeats, Daniel Jones 6 overall, the Browns actually having expectations, Tom Brady making "the cliff" his bitch, Patrick Mahomes' encore, the possibility of a lady kicker next year, can we just let the players smoke weed(?), Bruce Arians being back, Aaron Rodgers still not talking to his parents, and Blake Bortles finally shaving his head there are plenty of things to talk about heading into the 2019 NFL season.
AFC Predictions:
AFC East
1. New England Patriots 12-4
2. Buffalo Bills 7-9 3. New York Jets 7-9 4. Miami Dolphins 4-12 The Patriots have a chance to do something no team has ever come close to in NFL history; win a division for an entire decade. If the Patriots win the AFC East this year they will have won the division every year of the 2010's. With the exception of losing TE Rob Gronkowksi to retirement (for now) the defending Super Bowl champion Patriots look to take off right where they left off in 2018. Sure this team's best tight end is almost 40 and suspended, but the Pats are always zigging when the league zags. Watch out for 4 running back sets. Tom Brady is 42 years old, but he's not going to have the entire weight of this offense on his shoulders. A solid group in the running game highlighted by second year back Sony Michel should limit the workload. He doesn't need to be the MVP. Julian Edelman is available from day one, Josh Gordon is back (for now), and this team has one of best lines in football (although losing Andrews terrifies me). I'm very intrigued to see how this defense looks after allowing 3 points the last time they played a game that counts. Bentley looked great until he got hurt as a rookie, he's back. I'm so excited to see Winovich in real action. He's been an absolute stud so far. Is Pat Chung straight for the year? The whole coke thing definitely worries me, but the secondary is so good they may be able to survive losing him. The Patriots will be there all year even if they start slowly. Unlike years past, the rest of the AFC East actually has some young QB talent and the Patriots may not win this division in like 2023. The Jets have Sam Darnold, the Bills have Josh Allen and the Dolphins have Josh Rosen until they trade him when they draft Tua. The Jets have been a hot wildcard pick around the league, I just don't know if I'm ready to make the claim yet. I do love the additions of C.J. Mosley and LeVeon Bell but don't believe in Adam Gase as a head coach. 
They did change their uniforms from the classic Jet look to something you can create in Madden. Teams changing uniforms do actually have a history of translating new uniforms to more wins. Just off the top of my head 1997 Broncos won the Super Bowl after ditching the "Orange Crush" look. 1999 Titans made the Super Bowl after revealing new uniforms as they officially became the Tennessee Titans. 2012 Seahawks made the playoffs after becoming the first team to embrace the "modern" uniform.
However, new uniforms equaling postseason success is not gospel. 
The Bills will go as far as Josh Allen will let them. He showed flashes last year, like the Minnesota game, but staying on the field is going to be his biggest challenge. To paraphrase Zac Brown "I'm a lover, he's a runner and he'll get knocked around". Buffalo does have one of the most underrated defenses in the league and while the likely won't compete for a playoff spot, they should be a tough out in 2019. Talking covering lots of games. As for the Dolphins, they continue to be a joke organization. Congrats on your miracle win last year. That's as good as it's going to get for some time in South Beach. That fate may eventually change as Brian Flores has brought multiple Patriot coaches with him down south, and promptly traded the locker room's most popular player, but expect the Fins to be picking close to 1st overall in the 2020 NFL Draft.
AFC South
1. Jacksonville Jaguars 9-7
2. Indianapolis Colts 8-8 3. Houston Texans 7-9 4. Tennessee Titans 5-11 Before Andrew Luck retired I was going to have the Colts at 11-5 and division champs. I was so high on the Colts this year you could call me Willie Nelson. Now that that brainiac called it quits things become much more interesting in the AFC South + Indianapolis as the NFL's divisional geography continue to be poor at best. The AFC South was already one of the closest divisions in football. Now like you and your friends after committing a crime together; things are only closer. This is one of those divisions where I wouldn't be utterly shocked to see any team win. I guess the only other division that can even come close to that is the NFC North. All four teams have blah QB play and some play makers on both sides of the ball, but overall a lot of question marks. I feel like most people will pick the Texans to win the South and they totally could, but idk man. I was such a big DeShaun Watson guy, but the way he handled himself in the Wild Card round last year will makes me question him as a big time QB. I don't want my guy signalling first downs losing in the 4th quarter of a playoff game at home.
Down a hundred to nothing in the 2nd half he kept doing it and it drove me crazy. Can't win with that. I'm probably being a tad too hard on him, but as a guy who forgets almost everything that is something that'll always stick with me. Granted in the shitty AFC South he could end up winning this division 7 more times.
The Titans have gone 9-7 three years in a row. No franchise in NFL history has gone 9-7 four straight seasons, so it feels like this is the year they either make the jump or go back to the bottom of the pack. I'd bet on the latter. With Pro Bowl LT Taylor Lewan suspended the first four games and the shakiest QB play in the division between Mariotta and Tannehill (yeah I said it) I think this is a disappointing year in Nashville (been there). I love the Jags defense and while they too had a star quit the game, most of the 2017 pieces are still there. They get to play a last place schedule this year and have upgraded at QB. I don't think this division has a double digit win team in it, but the Jags get close replicating a lot of what they did in 17 with a QB who has shown the last two seasons (also in 2013) that he may actually be the guy.
AFC North
1. Cleveland Browns 11-5
2. Baltimore Ravens 9-6-1 3. Pittsburgh Steelers 7-8-1 4. Cincinnati Bengals 5-11 The Browns are the "surprise" team everybody is picking to make the playoffs like the 49ers last year that will likely end up disappointing. That being said, I too am drinking the Baker Mayfield kool-aid and am picking the Browns to make the playoffs. I'm gonna be a man though and say they win the North instead of 9-7 6 seed like most other pundits. Expectations may end up being too much in Cleveland. Plus there is only one football, I just love and believe in Baker Mayfield too much to not pick this team to win the North. Now for some quick hate on the Browns and Cleveland. Would it really be shocking if a Cleveland sports team disappointed when there's a ton of hype? I think Freddie Kitchens was the wrong choice for HC and these uniforms are a hate crime against fashion. The Ravens will be right there in the hunt but I just don't trust Lamar Jackson lasting the entire season. Do you? Not that I want him to get hurt, but I would love to see RG3 get some meaningful snaps this season. I hate their receiving core and Mark Ingram is just a guy to me. Baltimore lost a lot of key defensive pieces in Mosley, Weddle, and Suggs (granted he's like 54). Earl Thomas on paper is an upgrade from Weddle but he is 30 coming off a broken leg. That being said this team making the playoffs wouldn't exactly be a Jethro Tull winning the Grammy over Metallica type upset. The Steelers will be without the headaches that are LeVeon Bell and Antonio Brown, but I think the damage is already done. I like JuJu, but how much will he produce with opponents keying in on him with no AB on the other side of the formation? The Mike Tomlin Steelers are the biggest underachievers in recent sports memory. Two playoff wins since 2010. With the exception of barely eeking out a Super Bowl win against the lowly 9-7 Arizona Cardinals with Cowher's team what has he done? They did beat Mark Sanchez in an AFCCG. I don't believe in Mike Tomlin and frankly never have. Another disappointing year in the steel city. If I was a Rooney I'd make a coaching change if this team misses the playoffs again. At least the Bengals don't have Marvin Lewis and his 0-7 career playoff record anymore. Brighter days (eventually) in Cincy, just probz not in 2019. Joe Mixon is going to get beat up like white girl at the bar who allegedly used a racial slur as teams will regularly live with 8 men in the box. Probably Andy Dalton's last year in Cincinnati too.
AFC West
1. Kansas City Chiefs 11-5
2. San Diego (of Los Angeles) Chargers 10-6 3. Denver Broncos 8-8 4. Oakland Raiders 3-13 I love Phil Rivers. Should the Patriots not win the Super Bowl my next personal choice is the Chargers, but I'm hesitant to put the Chargers atop this division. They still could win it all without winning the division like the 2000 Ravens or 2010 Packers. Since they have no home field advantage playing football in a soccer stadium in a city that doesn't care about them, maybe 3 road playoff wins is the way to go? The Chargers tied the Chiefs with a 12-4 record last year before losing the division on tiebreakers. This year Melvin Gordon is holding out, although the team is saying they're confident with what they have. I personally would be more worried about Derwin James missing at least half the year. To me the Chargers are one the biggest swing teams in the entire NFL. Talent wise this roster may be the best. I could see them winning anywhere from 6-12 games. Because of that I'll stick with Kansas City winning the AFC West. Everybody is saying Mahomes won't throw 50 TD again, and while that is likely true I'm not gonna write it off entirely. As much as he pisses me off there's no denying the dude's talent. I just cannot wait for the day one of his no look passes is returned for touchdown. If Tyreek Hill gets himself kicked off the team, which is never completely out the question things drastically change for this offense. KC's defense stinks worse than Andy Reid's belly button but the Chiefs will still be a power and likely a final four team again. FTR people saying this team was a coin flip from the Super Bowl need to understand it's no guarantee they score on the opening drive like the Patriots did when they won the AFC (at Arrowhead). As for the bottom half of the West I expect the Broncos not to suck that bad. I don't really like or respect Joe Flacco as a man, but I don't expect him to go out like this. He must have some pride and want to prove the Ravens wrong, right? With a solid defense and two good running backs this team will be in a lot of games. I'm so mad I didn't get to draft Manny Sanders again in fantasy. I expect a season similar to last year. They're like 6-6 ish with a chance to make the playoffs if they finish strong, but falter. The Raiders are going to be a dumpster fire and I cannot wait to watch from afar. I do feel bad for the fans of Oakland. At least you get one game of A's playoff baseball this October.
NFC East
1. Philadelphia Eagles 10-6
2. Dallas Cowboys 9-7 3. Washington Redskins 6-10 4. New York Giants 4-12 The Cowboys are defending NFC East champs, but as of now Zeke is still holding out. They have seemingly given everybody an extension this off season except him (and Dak). That could easily change before I post this. Assuming Zeke does come back as the reports have indicated I think the race between the Eagles and Cowboys will be great all year and could very well go down to week 17. If for some reason Zeke doesn't play the Cowboys are like a 7 win team. As is tradition, the NFC East winner is likely to have a lower win total just because this division always beats up on each other. The division winner has only surpassed the 10 win threshold three times in the 2010's (2014, 16, 17). Even if the Giants are a 3 win team one of those wins will come against the Eagles or Cowboys. I'm giving the Eagles the edge for one reason and one reason only: coaching. Doug Pederson is approximately 93x the coach Jason Garrett is. I'm a huge narrative guy and would like to note the Cowboys have a recent history of disappointing after playoff seasons and have only made the playoffs in back-to-back seasons once this millennium (2006-07). The Eagles biggest question mark is Carson Wentz. Will he be 100% because when he is it's clear he's an MVP candidate. Unlike the last two years the Eagles do not have Nick Foles as insurance policy, so if Wentz goes down again the Birds may head south for the winter sooner than expected. The Redskins will hopefully let Dwayne Haskins get some game action sooner rather than later because they have no chance to win this division with Case Keenum. I like Keenum but he may be the least exciting QB ever. Nothing will ever surpass 2017 for him. At least see what Haskins can do. If you don't wanna throw him in the fire right away I totally get it and that may be exactly what Keenum is here for as the Skins schedule is brutal the first 5 weeks. Could this be Jay Gruden's last year in DC? Probably not since they just drafted a QB, but things could get uglier than Alex Smith's leg injury early in DC as 4 of their first 5 games are likely losses. The Giants have Saquon Barkley for at least two more years and QB situation that is surely to play out drama free. 6 wins are an absolute best case scenario for the G-men. I almost feel bad for Eli but then I remember he gets the credit that his defensive line and the greatest fluke play in NFL history (Edelman catch was designed that way) for beating the Pats in the Super Bowl twice so it's gonna be hard to get a tear out of my eyes for him.
NFC South
1. New Orleans Saints 11-5
2. Atlanta Falcons 9-7 3. Carolina Panthers 8-8 4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 5-11 I really want to pick a team not named the New Orleans Saints as I really do think this could be the year Drew Brees shows his age. I'm not some Kellerman type hater, just using my eyes. Last year he faded like he was in Soul Decision down the stretch. Brees threw for only 175 yards a game weeks 11-15 and 7 touchdowns in his final five starts; four came in one game. His year really reminded me of Peyton Manning in 2014. Everybody seems to forget Drew's HORRIBLE INT on the Saints opening OT drive thanks to the missed PI call in the 4th quarter. I do think the heartbreaking endings of the last two season in New Orleans could lead to a disappointing year. It's hard to keep bouncing back. That being said I'm not too high on the Falcons, Panthers or Bucs so it's more-so Saints by default. Plus the Brees-Payton duo desperately needs another Super Bowl ring to legitimize this run in NFL lore and the clock is ticking. As RG3 famously said "no pressure, no diamonds". Idk what to expect from the Falcons. I feel like they're on the downswing, but I could totally see them making the playoffs just because of Matt Ryan and Julio. They'll be better than last year with Freeman back, but Coleman is gone. Matty Ice sneaky had one of his best statistical seasons ever despite a poor team record. Dan Quinn is one of those coaches I could never believe in, mainly from every single decision he made in the last 20 minutes of Super Bowl 51. Nobody cares about the Falcons. The Panthers are a really fun team that totally has the potential to make the playoffs. Cam Newton has won an MVP and shown what he's capable of when healthy. They were 6-2 last season right in the heart of best teams in the NFC before a free fall lead them to 7-9 and that last win was in week 17 when the Saints gave Teddy Bridgewater his first start since the 2015 playoffs in a meaningless game. It's all about Cam and whether he can stay healthy. Christian McCaffery has a real shot at a 1000-1000 season tbh the rushing part will likely be harder for him. Greg Olsen is another year older. No more Thomas Davis who was the heart of the defense (outside of Luke). Panthers compete, but ultimately fall a little short. Tampa Bay is going to be a science experiment. They're gonna throw the ball 45 times a game. I love Bruce Arians, but I don't know if he can salvage this bunch. Who is on this defense? Can a running back on this team average over 3.1 yards/carry? It is a make or break year for Jameis Winston as he enters year 5. Mike Florio has been saying all off-season there is no middle ground with this team, they either fly high or crash and burn. I completely agree. I don't see a way this team is 8-8. Arians either surprises everybody and they win 10 games or are a sub 6 win team. I drafted Chris Godwin so either way throw that rock, Jameo.
NFC North
1. Green Bay Packers 10-6
2. Chicago Bears 9-7 3. Minnesota Vikings 7-9 4. Detroit Lions 6-10 Last year I had the Vikings at 14-2 with Kirk Cousins as league MVP and I couldn't have been more wrong. (although I did project them to lose in the divisional round) Instead the Bears were a surprise division winner last year at 12-4, led in part by the acquisition of Khalil Mack. Mack helped transform the Bears into a league leading defense from his first snap. As we all know football has three phases of the game; offense, defense and special teams. When Cody Parkey double-doinked a 43 yarder in the Wild Card round we all saw the importance of the final third component of the game. He was replaced Eddie Pineiro. Who? Exactly. With shaky QB play and a great defense the Bears are going to need a legit NFL kicker as they should be in a lot of close games. This guy could be one, but if he's not it could derail an other wise solid team. Because of that I'm being a basic bitch and picking the Packers. They've missed the playoffs two straight years, have a new head coach and healthy Aaron Rodgers. While I do believe Aaron Rodgers is one of the most overrated athletes of all time, I still think the Packers deserve a loinshare of the blame why they both haven't been in the Super Bowl since the 2010 season. Their schedule down the stretch gets pretty difficult as they only have 3 home games after week 8 so a hot start is a must for the Packers if they want to make the playoffs in 2019. The Vikings are kind of like the NFC version of the Texans with a much more storied history of heartbreak. If they win the division okay, if they win 7 games okay. Either way they aren't winning the Super Bowl so who fucking cares? Lions are in year two of Matt Patricia. As much as I loved him as Pats DC I don't know if he's an NFL head coach. This will be a big year for him. Detroit sports fans have pretty shitty lives so for their sake I hope I'm wrong.
NFC West
1. Seattle Seahawks 10-6
2. Los Angeles Rams 10-6 3. San Francisco 49ers 6-10 4. Arizona Cardinals 5-11
The Seahawks are the west coast Patriots. The LOB is gone and they're in the 2nd wave of players behind Pete Caroll and Russell Wilson. Last year they made the playoffs after most people (myself included) wrote them off before the season began. Idk who Russell Wilson is going to throw to, but like Brady it won't really matter. I love the combination of backs they have. Chris Carson is going to be a top 10 RB this season. They'll be in the hunt all year even with no volume pass catchers on this roster.
I think the Rams take a step back this year after a disappointing Super Bowl loss where they could only muster up 3 points. I don't believe in Jared Goff. **HE JUST GOT A 4-YEAR EXTENSION WTF**He's shown flashes, but definitely has a low ceiling. I honestly just don't think he's that smart of a guy or polished enough. Seems like a chill dude but there's like 10 other QBs I'd rather have. I feel like a lot of who he is is because of the system and McVay. Honestly I'm down on McVay after the Super Bowl too. Too worried about blowing Belichick pregame and telling Jared Goff he's playing great when they haven't scored and it's the 3rd quarter. Be better bro. I have much more faith in McVay rebounding, although I wonder at what point does this team get tired of his shtick? Todd Gurley's health is paramount for postseason success. Just look at the Super Bowl last year and tbh NFCCG if the Saints and refs have half a brain. Clay Matthews is there now which would be cool if it was 2013. The 49ers are sort of in the same camp as the Chargers in the range of legitimate outcomes this season has. The only difference being their 6 win range is from 4-10. Is Jimmy the guy? Idk. I thought he was but now he may just be a more handsome Rob Johnson. In a tough division it's going to be hard to see the 49ers making the playoffs unless the Rams regress even more than I expect or the Seahawks cannot overcome their lack of pass catchers. The Arizona Cardinals will play football in 2019. That is for certain. That's about all that is certain with this team as they have a brand new coach and quarterback for the second year in a row. I still cannot believe Cliff Kingsbury is an NFL Head Coach but the Cards are all in on his system and Kyler Murray. We saw essentially nothing of what they're going to be doing in the preseason, but as someone who has played a lot of madden with this team let me tell you their offense line is dog shit. This team wants to lead the league in plays run which is an interesting goal to have. I'd rather lead the league in postseason wins but that's just me. Much like Bruce Arians and the Bucs, Kingsbury is either going to revolutionize the game or be out of the league very quickly. I don't see him getting a second chance if the Cards amass 8 wins the next three years which is very possible with a 5 foot 5 running QB and an offensive line of guys who are 68s in Madden.
Playoffs:
AFC: 1. New England Patriots 12-4 2. Kansas City Chiefs 11-5 3. Cleveland Browns 11-5 4. Jacksonville Jaguars 9-7 5. Los Angeles Chargers 10-6 6. Baltimore Ravens 9-6-1 Wild Card Round: (3) Browns over (6) Ravens (5) Chargers over (4) Jaguars Divisional Round: (1) Patriots over (5) Chargers (2) Chiefs over (3) Browns Conference Championship: (1) Patriots over (2) Chiefs Everybody and their mother is going to have this as the AFCCG and while that makes me apprehensive to include it as well, to me the AFC is a two team race. It's going to be all about home-field advantage even though that didn't matter last year. The Chiefs offense is better on paper and the Pats defense is better in reality. Give me the coach and QB who live at the Super Bowl over the 3rd year guy and career bridesmaid. Playoffs: NFC: 1. New Orleans Saints 11-5 2. Philadelphia Eagles 10-6 3. Seattle Seahawks 10-6 4. Green Bay Packers 10-6 5. Los Angeles Rams 10-6 6. Dallas Cowboys 9-7 Wild Card Round: (6) Cowboys over (3) Seahawks (5) Rams over (4) Packers Divisional Round: (1) Saints over (6) Cowboys* I was this close to having the Saints lose* (2) Eagles over (5) Rams Conference Championship: (2) Eagles over (1) Saints Third straight year the Saints get their heart ripped out. All dependent on Wentz' health, but should he finally make it to the playoffs I like him lead this team back to the Super Bowl. Super Bowl: (A1) Patriots over (N2) Eagles Redemption for Super Bowl LII. I definitely feel a little lame picking the Pats to win it all and of course my bias is showing, but as of now these are teams I truly believe can win the Super Bowl in 2019: Patriots, Chiefs, Saints, Eagles, Chargers, Cowboys and Bears (and I don't even have them in the playoffs). Awards: MVP: Patrick Mahomes (lame pick but he's gonna throw for 40+ again and the league is dying for him to overtake Brady as its face) Offensive Player of the Year: Christian McCaffery (1000-1000 with over a dozen TDs) Defensive Player of the Year: Aaron Donald (boring af, but likely af) Coach of the Year: Freddie Kitchens (purely for bringing Browns to the playoffs) Offensive Rookie of the Year: David Montgomery (Kyler gets hurt because of all the plays and 68s on the line) Defensive Rookie of the Year: Josh Allen (Jags bounce back with him in a big role) Comeback Player of the Year: Earl Thomas (would you believe he has zero career sacks? I know he's a FS but in 9 years not one? 
The Pats drafted Chase Winovich out of the University of Michigan in the 3rd round earlier this year. The PA native has been tearing it up like Freddie Mercury in 1984 this preseason. Pro Football Focus graded Wino the 3rd best rookie of the preseason (through week 3).
Despite his performance this preseason and throughout camp, the main story line of Winovich's rookie year to this point has been the fate of his signature flowing blonde locks.
While the Patriots don't have some Yankees like hair-policy, like many other NFL teams they do have a long history of rookie haircuts.
Some notable league wide examples.
Former Dallas Cowboy Pat Mcquistan's skullet in 2006 may be the most brutal.
Some teams have nixed this tradition in one of the few examples where I think PC culture is a good thing.
I'm all for team bonding and some sort of hazing, tape em to the goal posts, make them do some skits, fill up a car with popcorn, but to me when it drastically alters your appearance or goes beyond the team facilities that where it's gone too far IMO. As a long hair guy, and more importantly as a freedom guy I'm not a huge fan of this tradition. You got drafted in the NFL, not the Army. It's one thing if you fuck up some dude with 2 and half inch long hair that doesn't give a shit, but when it's something that took years to grow I'm not about it. Some teams have adapted to the times by coloring their longer hair or shaving eyebrows, but not all do. ​Of course sometimes the haircuts are pretty funny, that true rat-tail the Broncos did a few year back being a prime example. But as someone who values their hair, and the rights of others to do the same obviously I'm not a fan of haircuts against people's will. You know who else gave people haircuts against their will?.. As for Wino himself, he's already giving all the right Patriot answers but my inner-psychologist as a flow guy knows Wino doesn't wanna see his blonde locks get chopped.
The obvious, easy, Bleacher Report way out is to compare Winovich to Samson and speculate what cutting his hair could do to his performance. I'm not going to do that. Obviously his hair isn't why he got drafted into the NFL. That being said why take any chances? Look good, play good. Ever heard of it? The dude is a 3rd rounder who to this point has performed extremely well. Confidence on the field 100% matters and completely affects on field performance. Look at his instagram for 2 seconds, obviously this dude loves his hair.
​#SaveWinosHair Song: Shelter Song Artist: Temples Album: Sun Structures 
At first glance reigning NL MVP Christian Yelich's new walk-up music may not set off any alarms. "Roxanne" by The Police off of 1978's Outlandos d'Amour. Perhaps Yeli is just paying homage to a certain wannabe blogger from Rhode Island's go to karaoke song? #roxanneguy Or maybe this is one of the best subtle troll jobs my goldfish brain can think of in recent memory.
To paint a picture for you, Christian Yelich is going to have his naked (picture) in the ESPN The Magazine Body Issue. Tastefully, of course. You know? The same magazine that gave us these same unforgettable images. 
I couldn't sworn the magazine was coming to an end. It turns out I was right! After some quick wiki-search mid sentence it my inner thoughts were confirmed; this is going to be the final Body Issue of ESPN The Magazine. ESPN the Mag will cease production in September. Making this moment by Yeli even more historic. Tuesday morning Yeli had to tell a certain Roxane just how-he-feel. 
Tuesday night he doubled down on Roxanne the best way possible.
I mean how can you not love this? It's completely harmless and absolutely hilarious. Yelich has shown he has a personality and likes to have fun. He's not gonna let some maga mom dictate what he does. I love this so much. He didn't go super hard at her on twitter. He wasn't a dick, even though he totally could've been. Instead the dude just had some fun with the situation. Something we all need to do more.
I was straight up consumed by 13RW Friday and Saturday. My house could've been on fire and I wouldn't have been phased. During that binge I was able to take a break and hear the latest from Blink-182 and the 1975, as they both debuted Friday too. Both quickly took an immediate back seat in my brain as I sought to find out who killed Bryce Walker. I sort of hated myself (more than usualolol) for feeling somewhat sympathetic towards him just like the damn writers want me to. FTR I don't, I'm glad he and someone else are Netflix dead. Now is your turn to be exposed to this opposite of ASMR that is "People" by the 1975.
This song almost made my ears throw up during the first listen. It confronts you immediately. I nearly turned it off, but god damnit it's starting to grow on me. When you finally make out what a weave-wearing Matt Healy is saying it's actually profound. I definitely am more of an 80's sounding 1975 guy. It's hard to believe this is the same band that gave us "Chocolate" or "The Sound".
The hardcore, distorted, warehouse rave sound for sure isn't my first choice and I still don't fuck with the distorted yell-singing at the 2:10ish mark at all. It's not for dozo. Ruins the song for me. If you like it, cool. To each their own. The 1975 don't get too comfortable with one sound and are clearly willing to experiment. Proving once and for all that they are NOT a pop band. They take risks which I can appreciate. Still one of my favorite bands. Their music actually says something... unlike Imagine Dragons. Then there's the Willie Mays in 1973 World Series past their prime mash-up spectacular by the summer tour duo that nobody asked for in Blink-182 and Lil Wayne's What's My Age Again/ A Milli. This song really bummed me the fuck out. It's God awful and completely unneeded. I guess is they felt like they had to put out some sort of song to do together on the last leg of this tour? I wouldn't be shocked if they just picked name of songs out of a hand. We could of just as easily gotten First Date/ Mrs. Officer. I like millions of other people still don't understand this whole tour. Why? Blink-182 with Lil Wayne in 2019 makes about as much sense as the Jonas Brothers going on tour with Slayer. It's like the Wayweather-Pacquiao of music coming way too late in both's careers. You can really tell Mark is getting older in the vocals. It's okay, it's life, it happens. Tom Brady doesn't throw the ball 70 yards anymore & still won the Super Bowl. He still has it. But this song is just straight cheddar cheesy bro. Seeing this whole Matt Skiba Blink-182 thing breaks my heart. Blink-182 is not Blink-182 with Tom Delonge. Plain and simple. Two transcendent songs mashed together does not equal success imo. Normally I love cross-genre covers and weird mashups but this really just left a bad taste in my mouth.
I feel bad shitting on a band that has meant so much to me throughout my life, but I'm also not in the business of pretending I like stuff that I don't. Clearly Mark doesn't forget the shit blink has gotten over the years. I still find it hard to believe people hated I Miss You.
— mark hoppus.□️□ (@markhoppus) August 23, 2019
This topic really got my new twitter buzzing.
To me it's no contest. Blink and Weezy take the title of worst new song of the weekend. I'm sorry Mark and Travis. What do you think?
As a football fan, this is really sad news.
​ But, as a Patriots fan...
Just keep thinning the herd, baby.
​ Like most straight males, I have already binged all of 13 Reasons Why season 3. #IloveMrsJensen 
At 9:31 PM Saturday night I received an "OMG" text from a buddy of mine. It was almost immediately followed by an "ANDREW LUCK RETIRED" text, but for a split second I thought he finally made it about half way through episode 5 where "OMG" is a completely rational reaction. I'm a civilized human-being so there will be no spoilers here...but holy shit right? Everything makes so much sense now! Even if there isn't a ton of overlap between my non-existent readers who care about the Andrew Luck news and my non-existent readers who care about 13RW.... it's the least I can do. After finding out Andrew Luck was retiring, I was like "LFG, this is the perfect story to get my toe wet in the blogging waters again." Unfortunately I had just started watching a movie with my roommate and because I'm a civilized human-being I wasn't gonna be like "Never mind, bro. Time to go blog so my mom and four facebook friends can see what I think about Andrew Luck 15 minutes into starting Blow". As you can tell DOL morale is at an all-time high.
Obviously this is humongous-big news around the NFL and likely will be for sometime, or at least until Antonio Brown finally picks a fucking helmet. In a somewhat staggering trend, the game is losing another one of its brightest stars too soon. Patrick Willis, Calvin Johnson, Kam Chancellor and Rob Gronkowski are others that first come to mind. Before them it was like Jim Brown, Gayle Sayers and Barry Sanders. That's it for 50 + years. But this is different. This is a QB walking away. Quarterbacks have had the rules tailored to protect them, yet Andrew Luck has still taken his beatings just like every male character on 13 Reasons Why. One of the best quarterbacks in the game, and most hyped draft prospects of all time is calling it quits before the age of 30.
In an day-late knee-jerk reaction this completely changes the landscape of the AFC. Despite the lack of blogging lately, I was planning out an NFL preview at some point in the next 10 days. I was fully ready to put the Colts at 11-5 AFC South Champs (for the first time since 2014) with the possibility of a bye. As an unbiased football fan I loved this team's future. I was so ready to reach on Marlon Mack in my fantasy draft next week. The Colts 2018 draft class was incredible with guys like Quenton Nelson and Darius Leonard ready to take that "second year jump". They finally solidified the O-line. Sadly, it was a little too late as injuries have already gotten the best of Luck. Even though I historically don't really fuck with the Colts (for obvious reasons), I considered myself an Andrew Luck fan. I mean how could you not be?
I guesssss I'd get it if you're a fan of an AFC South "rival" (Luck owned every team in the division) but with two expansion teams and a relocated franchise those aren't exactly the most passionate fan bases around. ​And despite his playoff success, Luck never made a Super Bowl. It's not like killed the dreams of too many franchises. Basically like Phillip Rivers. His biggest playoff win IMO was the 2014 divisional round IN Denver against Peyton Manning and they won the Super Bowl the next year. My point is Andrew Luck was beloved.
It was made even more evident by the support he's received online for being a quitter. (to the idiots in the comments from latest Black Keys blog the-black-keys-americas-sweethearts-make-fun-of-their-hiatus-in-the-bands-first-music-video-since-2014.html this is a joke) If Luck had declared after the 2010 College Football Season he would he would have gone #1 over Heisman Trophy winner and National Champion Cam Newton in the 2011 NFL Draft. Instead he went back to school. The now two-time Heisman runner-up went #1 overall in the 2012 NFL Draft over another Heisman winning QB in Robert Griffin III. Decent numbers at Stanford.
I mean look at this love Andy Luck was getting back in the early 2010's. These are straight off the greatest research resource of all time, wikipedia:
"In September 2010, before Luck's sophomore season, Sports Illustrated′s Tony Pauline considered him "the most NFL-ready of all the draft-eligible quarterback prospects." After a stellar sophomore year, Luck was widely projected to be the No. 1 pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, but decided to return for his junior year. In May 2011 he was unanimously projected as the top prospect for the 2012 NFL Draft. By midseason, Pauline described him as "the best quarterback since Peyton Manning" in 1998, while ESPN′s Mel Kiper Jr. went even further, calling Luck the best quarterback prospect since John Elway in 1983.[36]Despite Robert Griffin III′s impressive Heisman Trophy-winning season, Luck's status as the No. 1 overall draft prospect was never questioned."
You may have forgotten the whole "suck for Luck" sweepstakes during the 2011 NFL season among bottom-dwelling teams. That season the Colts found themselves in unfamiliar waters without Peyton Manning who missed the entire season due to neck surgery/recovery and ended up with the #1 pick in the 2012 NFL Draft after finishing 2-14.
At the time there was some debate of what the Colts should do? Ultimately they decided to release Peyton Manning and go with Andrew Luck. It's easy to second guess now if the Colts made the right call, but let me save you some time...they did.
Yes, Peyton Manning technically won a Super Bowl with the Broncos as their starting quarterback. But the Colts 1000% made the correct move even if the outcome is unfavorable. There was just too much unknown with Peyton on the time. You gotta go with the younger guy. I think it worked out. It's not like Andrew Luck was Joey Harrington. They followed up a future HOFer with a guy who could've made it to Canton had his ankle held up. Just shitty luck (unintended). If anything you need to blame them (Ryan Grigson) for not building a complete team around Luck. The horrible offensive line play is a major reason why Andrew Luck missed 26 career games and is calling it quits before age 30.
Peyton's first three seasons in Denver were incredible offensively. Record-breaking if you want to get technical. From 2012 to like week 11 2014 Peyton Manning was still Peyton Manning. Playing like a top 5 all-time QB. Even with a dying arm he still managed to throw 55 duck touchdowns in 2013 and followed it up with 39 in 2014 (36 in the first 12 games). But to paraphrase from a buffoon by the name of Max Kellerman he became a bum in short order.
This needs to be remembered until the sun burns out.... The 2015 Broncos defense is literally a top 5 defense of all time. I honestly believe 25 quarterbacks (maybe more) who were in the league that year could've won that Super Bowl. Think of Trent Dilfer's credit with 2000 Ravens. Peyton Manning threw for 9 touchdowns and 17 INT in 2015. In the Super Bowl he went 13-23 for 141 yards 0 TD 1 INT. He was sacked 5 times and fumbled twice (losing one). Of the Broncos 24 points, one touchdown was scored defensively and the other was set up by Cam Newton's business decision. That gave the Broncos the ball inside the 5 yard line where the proceeded to not let Peyton throw until two point conversion time. Peyton to his credit connected on the two-pointer and did lead two field goal drives. The Broncos scored a field goal on the opening drive of the game where he passed for 45 yards on 4/6 passing (one completion was for -1 yards). That drive made up for almost 32% of his passing yards of the game in the worst "close" Super Bowl ever. His corpse was carried to a sunset finish with Papa John by Von Miller and co. In a way it was sort of ironic for his career to end getting carried to a Super Bowl after all those high flying Colts teams that couldn't stop a nosebleed. You can't simply say the Colts made the wrong decision because Peyton "won" a Super Bowl in Denver. If in an alternate universe Peyton stays in Indy it means Tim Tebow still starts for the Bronco and he wins that Super Bowl. Who knows how the 2012-14 Colts look with Peyton? It also means Andrew Luck doesn't end up a Colt and who knows how his career ends up if he lands elsewhere? Maybe he actually has an offensive line? The Rams may still be in St. Louis, but this blog is not about crazy what if's (great idea for later). As for the Colts post-Peyton they surprised the NFL in 2012 and went 11-5 in Luck's rookie year. They lost in the Wild Card round on the road in Baltimore to the eventual Super Bowl champion Ravens. The next two seasons the Colts would again go 11-5. Advancing one round further in the playoffs each year as well.
In the 2013-14 wild card round Andrew Luck lead the Colts back from a 38-10 deficit vs Kansas City; the 2nd largest comeback in NFL history. This was the Colts first playoff win since the 2009 AFC Championship Game.
The Patriots would end their season the next week 43-22 in the divisional round.
​The next year the Colts defeated Bengals and Colts respectively before losing the AFC Championship 45-7 entirely because of deflated footballs. Not only were the Colts inching towards a Super Bowl, but Luck's play improved each season. Highlighted by his league leading 40 touchdown passes in 2014.
Then his career trajectory took a turn for the worst. Luck only started 7 games in 2015, winning 2. The Colts missed the playoffs for the first time in his career. Although he bounced back started 15 games in 2016, the Colts missed the playoffs again. After missing the entire 2017 season after shoulder surgery 2018 began with the 3rd worst possible outcome a team could have after 6 games. The Colts were 1-5 and another disappointing season in Indy seemed inevitable. After starting his career with 33 wins in 3 years Luck had just 10 since.
After a loss to the Jets the Colts would go onto win 10 of their last 11 games to make the playoffs as the 6 seed. They became only the 3rd team since the merger to make the playoffs after a 1-5 start. Luck would go on to pass for 39 touchdowns, the 2nd most yard in the league, win comeback player of the year and his 4th playoff game. If Andrew Luck never plays another down again these are his career numbers.
He's in no way a HOFer, but in his short NFL career Andrew Luck made his mark. Whether it was his flip phone or neckbeard is up to you. The four time Pro Bowler lead the NFL in passing touchdowns in 2014, and won at least 10 games in every season he started all 16 games. It's a shame to see such a promising career end so soon, especially when it looked like the Colts were a team going in the right direction under Frank Reich.
In an era where mental health is finally starting to be valued Andrew Luck was rather refreshing in his retirement press conference. I'm gonna include the entire video but if you don't want to spend a half hour listening to that hear (LOL) are some highlights.
Lots of people online were on their moral high horse quick to bash Colts' fans for booing Andrew Luck as he left the sideline of their pre-season game last night. I agree it's pretty shitty. That's a pretty easy take to have. But like stop trying to look righteous for two seconds. It's fans at a preseason game. So either they reaaally care or are shitfaced. On top of that likely season ticket holders. Put yourself in these Indianan's blue jeans for two seconds. If you find out your franchise QB is essentially quitting a week before the season starts you're probably feeling all sorts of emotions. I'd assume anger and sadness would be two popular ones. We can say retirement but it is quitting, and it's okay. I totally respect his decision. It blows my mind as one of the millions of guys who dreamt of being a professional athlete that someone so talented could step away this early. At the same time it makes you understand he must be going through a hell of a lot of pain to have it be worth walking away at this point. Back to the main point..obviously they're upset. People booed. If you want to live in a fantasy land and think fans at a preseason game are going to have the wherewithal to give a standing O in that situation, go for it. I bet if you asked a lot of them now they'd probably say they regret it. But people were hurt, and we need to understand that instead of playing a shitty character online. P.S. I have ZERO sympathy for the people who drafted Andrew Luck in fantasy. That's what you get for having a draft before the preseason is over. Double P.S. I have all the sympathy in the world poor @3_1_heaven
After standing pat at the deadline perhaps the anger of the fanbase has leaked into the clubhouse? As Rick Porcello has become the embodiment of "just because you won the game, doesn't mean you pitched well" with a 7.54 over his last four starts going into tonight. The numbers get stinkier (real word?) than a homemade candle when you go back a few starts further back.
Ricky allowed a run in the first inning and when the 2016 Cy Young Award Winner returned to the dugout he displayed the type of anger you only see when someone shows up to a dinner party uninvited with their babysitter slash lover and took it out on two dugout tvs.
At least he came back out and dealt after destroying (two) $200 plasma screen tvs.
Hopefully one night soon he'll make everything alright, but after what the Tribe did with Bauer maybe this means the Red Sox will consider parting ways with Porcello? At what point do you DFA? I love Ricky and want him to do well, but you can't keep throwing this guy out there every 5 days. 22 million needs to get you more than a 5.55 era.
P.S.
“Well, we talked right to the deadline,” Dombrowski said, as seen on NESN’s trade deadline coverage. “Our primary focus was relief pitching, that was our primary focus. Not back-end-type guys, because I think the reality of back-end guys when we start getting into those conversations, I don’t know of any back-end — well, Shane Green is one guy that moved — back-end guys that any of the ones we had on our list really moved. And I think part of that was the acquisition price. … We tried to (add bullpen pieces), we just didn’t like the asking price so we went right to the very end. Some people brought up positional player stuff to us today, so again you listen to anything, I bet you I have texts from 20 general managers on my phone right now from today and more than that over the last couple days. So we tried, we just didn’t like the price at the very end.
Excerpt via: https://nesn.com/2019/07/dave-dombrowski-explains-why-red-sox-didnt-make-move-at-trade-deadline/
Unfuckingbelievable. I cannot believe this team just did nothing at the deadline. Nahhhh, we're cool leading the world in blown saves! The 4th place Cincinnati Reds are out here bettering themselves with trades while the defending World Champs will just re-watch the God Awful 2018 World Series film all October with their thumbs up their asses because of how poorly allocated the Red Sox resources have been.
They (Albert Einstein, ever heard of him?) say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Well ladies and gentlemen, It appears the Red Sox have gone insane. There's no more waiver-trades, so this roster is pretty much what the Red Sox have going forward. Boston relievers have a 5.18 ERA (83 1/3 innings, 48 earned runs) and 1.51 WHIP during July. Overall, Boston relievers have combined for a 4.53 ERA in 411 innings. (numbers via Mass Live). Buckle-up for the final 54 games of 2019.
While I totally agree the club here needs to be more consistent the biggest reason they haven't been and are 9 games back in the AL East is the bullpen. If they only have say, 13 blown saves this year (which is still pretty bad) they're right in the heart of this.
Despite losing about 10 games they just frankly should've never lost, the Sox are 10 games over .500. They're only two games out of the wild card with the potential to "do damage" again in October. They have most of the pieces. With the Yankees starting pitching woes and recent struggles against the Sox, you never know, it's not like teams haven't blown leads that big before in baseball history. (Look up 69 Cubs, 78 Red Sox, 95 Angels, 14 A's...those are just off the top of my head) But even if you want to concede the division, this organization should be trying to get in the dance by any means necessary. We all know the tough decisions that are coming with J.D. and Mookie, you gotta go for it when you can because you're never promised another shot. I understand not wanting to mortgage the future, I don't want to either. But you gotta do something. You can't keep sending these same guys out there night after night. If you're gonna have this mentality to just bring back the entire team from last year that won the World Series then you also have to believe that this team can do it again if they get in, so wouldn't you do something to help their chances? Deep down the Sox front office knows they can't because of this bullpen, but since they already butchered the payroll they'll just keep going with they've got and what they've got is a bullpen that walks everybody and blows about 2 games a week. Poor Matt Barnes arm is going to fall off. The biggest reason they're 9 games back has been because of the bullpen! I want to be mad at the guys on the roster but it's almost not even their fault. You can't put AAA guys into these high leverage situations night after night and get mad at them for failing. You need to be mad at the guys who put them in a positon to fail. I will say the blown save stat is a little skewed because technically relievers that blow leads in the 7th or 8th that never would be in the game for the remainder of it are hit will blown saves when they give up a lead, so it's not like they've blown 18 9th inning leads, but still it's pretty fucking bad and frankly inexcusable for a team that just won 108 games and a championship. Highest payroll in baseball and they've spent about 40 bucks on the bullpen. Instead of doing anything to address that this off season when they let a HOF closer, and pretty cool set-up man go they replaced them with a bunch of nothing. The Red Sox offense as a team is first in the AL in hits, runs, doubles, batting average, and OBP. They're 3rd in slugging % and 4th in homers. They rake. The offense has for the most part been 2018-like. Mookie isn't having an MVP season, but the left-side of the infield in Xander Bogaerts & Rafael "Baby Beluga" Devers are having MVP-type campaigns.
It's so annoying as a Red Sox fan. Part of me feels bad complaining, because I mean this ownership has won four World Series in 15 years, hands down the most in the majors, I'll always be grateful and appreciative of those years. We also have to acknowledge the constant bad contracts to the wrong guys, and overall attitude of ownership that seems to be pretty complacent after such a magical 2018. John Henry is more worried about Liverpool, and killing the constitution by controlling the newspaper and radio than putting money in the right spots. Yes this team spends money, but in the wrong ways. I almost wish they had a small-market guy in here. You gotta know how build a TEAM. Not just throw 30 million at starting pitchers. The 2019 Red Sox are basically a luxury mansion with a leaking roof and no windows. Yeah it may look great from a far, but it's going to protect you for shit. It doesn't matter how many runs you score or how the starters perform if you have nobody to get the final 9 outs of the game.
I think at this point bringing back the whole 2018 team minus a bullpen was a mistake. The way this team handled Spring Training was a mistake, and the way Alex Cora managed the majority of the 1st half just saying we're good, we'll be find was a mistake. I think teams that won a championship always need to bring in a couple hungry guys whether in be in free agency or the draft. Look at the NFL. Cause I mean, I get it, I'm a human. I understand how human nature works, after winning it all I'm sure you get a little complacent. It's hard not to. Sure they may say and do all the right things with the media saying we embrace the chase to repeat, but the on-field production and overall just vibe of this team has shown guys that may not have the same fire in their belly. It all comes down to this offseason, the Red Sox got too sentimental and spent money the wrong way which handcuffed the pen. Dave Dumbroski is infamous for putting together great teams with poor bullpens. It's a major reason why the Red Sox won in 2013 and the Tigers haven't won a World Series since '84. Last year was incredible but it's fucking embarrassing how this team has followed it up this year. While I'm upset with Dumbo, the front office and ownership, a large slice of the blame pie belongs to the starting rotation. Chris Sale and Rick Porcello have been gross in 2019, and while David Price has carried the staff he too at times has had his bad moments, although his major issue is really just health and attitude. Today embarks the unofficial final third of the season. With no waiver-trades anymore the Red Sox are going out there with Colten Brewer and Marcus Walden. Awesome. Congratulations to the Houston Astros on winning the AL Pennant.
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