The NFL regular season has finally returned and so have my Lazy Sundays (Mr. Pibb + Red Vines = Crazy Delicious). After watching a majority of the games on Sunday (as well as Wednesday and Monday) there have been a lot of abandoned bandwagons and some that are more crowded than usual. This post is intended to decipher which teams and players are for real and which are not. Here are 3 things that are true and 3 things that are false:
True:
There Are 4 Teams That Won't Make the Playoffs in the AFC - How bad did the Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, Kansas City Cheifs, and Miami Dolphins look on Sunday?! WOW! You need a competant Quarterback to succeed in this current version of the NFL and none of these teams have one. Sadly, each of these teams owe their QB's a significant amount of money, so these problems may not go away quickly.
The NFC West is the Best Defensive Division - It's a tight race between the AFC North and the NFC West to decide which has the best collection of defenses, but I believe that the St. Louis Rams' defense is better than the Cincinnati Bengals' defense, so right now the West holds this distinction. Each of those defenses just looked impressive at times, especially San Francisco's (although that shouldn't come as a surprise). NFC West games are going to look a lot like the Seattle Seahawks - Arizona Cardinals tilt this year where it will come down to which team reaches 20 points first will get the victory.
Brandon Marshall Will Lead the League in Receptions and Receiving Yards - It looks like Jay Cutler had no problem getting reacquainted with Marshall on Sunday and this will continue throughout the season. People most likely think that Calvin Johnson will lead the NFL in these categories, but I am a fervent believer in the "Madden Curse" and I think that sooner or later something will happen to Johnson's production (Like a Stafford injury?). Marshall will have the ball thrown to him an absurd amount of times this year.
False:
Alex Smith is Not That Good - The fact that Smith outperformed Aaron Rodgers is surprising to say the least. Smith is not a Super Bowl-winning Quarterback. He will not make "the big throw" that other Quarterbacks have that win games (Most Recent Example: Eli Manning's pass in Super Bowl XLVI to Smith's new teammate Mario Manningham on the Game-Winning Drive). Smith can manage a game, but you can't tell me a Super Bowl-Winning Quarterback from the last decade that is not elite and the true offensive weapon of their team. Good luck talking yourselves into Smith leading you to a Super Bowl, 49ers' fans.
The Falcons Will Win Less Than 10 Games This Year - Just read what I wrote about Alex Smith again and infer that about Matt Ryan. Julio Jones is a beast and Roddy White can make some plays, but when defenses stop worrying about a running game that is becoming non-existant in Atlanta, people will see Ryan make silly throw after silly throw. Also, the Falcons' defense allowed 24 points to Matt Cassell... That's bad.
The Lions Will Not Have a Winning Record by Year's End - What was seen from Matthew Stafford in Detroit on Sunday was just the tip of the iceberg. He can be a little erratic and he has already been injured once this year (it was preseason, but it still counts) so it is hard to count on stellar Quarterback play from him. Plus, Kevin Smith is not a quality Running Back and there has to be at least some semblance of a running game in order to free up the passing attack. The Lions just do not seem like a team that can be trusted this year and their close win on Sunday is an example of that.
I feel very confident in this 6 facts and I think that they will come to fruition, but if you disagree, then let me know in the comments or on twitter. My handle is @renesanchez77
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Monday, September 3, 2012
Thoughts On Oregon's 57-34 Win Over Arkansas State
It was supposed to go this way in Duck fans' minds. This game was not supposed to be close, Marcus Mariota was supposed to make fans believe that they will be fine without Darron Thomas, and Autzen was supposed to sell out. This was the ultimate dream scenario for Duck fans heading into the first game and lo and behold, it appeared. This game was a true revelation for all those who root for The University of Oregon football team. There are so many things to point out in this game that I have decided to list them in bulletproof form. So my thoughts are as follows:
Mariota is For Real: Of course the detractors are going to bring up the fact that it was only one game and the opponent he faced was The Arkansas State Red Wolves (Did you know that their mascot was the Red Wolves? They changed their name from Indians to Red Wolves in Spring 2008). But can those same detractors see the throws that Mariota made in that game and honestly say that those throws aren't perfect? I never once saw Darron Thomas successfully throw a pass between three defenders which had to include loft and accuracy. The QB that looked more like Darron was Brian Bennett which is a good thing because he may be needed this year, but it also shows how advanced Mariota's game and demeanor is. This kid could be the best QB in the history of the program.
Kenjon Barner and De'Anthony Thomas Are Still Good: Those two players are truly transcendent in the Oregon Spread Offensive Attack. Their speed matched with their vision is a dangerous combination for any and all opponents that will face the Ducks this year. Whom do you stop? Whom do you focus on? It's the same dilemma that defenses face when trying to stop USC's two incredible WR's Robert Woods and Marqise Lee. Speaking of them...
Is it November 3rd Yet?: The Alabama-LSU and USC-Oregon games occur on this date. This is the de facto National Semifinals that will be officialy added in 2014. This weekend is going to be incredible and if there is any justice, the Alabama-LSU game will be on at 12:30 PST and the USC-Oregon game will be on at 5:00 PST. But since these two conferences are extremely shrewd and egotistical concerning their television rights, they'll probably compete at the 5:00 PST time slot and piss me and all football fans off.
The Defense is Good, But...: The one thing about the defense is that Nick Alliotti is still the coordinator. No matter how talented his players may be, he continues to stack the box and play a modified prevent defense that sometimes is able to create a turnover. Much has been made about how long the defense
stays out on the field during games. This problem wouldn't exist if they could get a three and out a little more often and if they didn't line up 15 yards off the line of scrimmage on the outside on a 3rd and 5. As Barner stated about the defense after the game: "We gave up a lot of points. Whether it was the starters or not, we have to do better than that."
This Team Needs to Win Three Games for a National Title: All the Ducks have to do is beat USC twice and whomever wins the Alabama-LSU game in the National Championship game to claim the title. That's it. Everything else should fall into place, especially after seeing so many Pac-12 teams falter over the weekend. The only other game that might provide a Duck Fan pause would be the Thursday Night game at Arizona State, but do they really have enough talent on defense to stop Oregon? I don't think so. Duck fans should be really stoked on this team and I totally am.
Mariota is For Real: Of course the detractors are going to bring up the fact that it was only one game and the opponent he faced was The Arkansas State Red Wolves (Did you know that their mascot was the Red Wolves? They changed their name from Indians to Red Wolves in Spring 2008). But can those same detractors see the throws that Mariota made in that game and honestly say that those throws aren't perfect? I never once saw Darron Thomas successfully throw a pass between three defenders which had to include loft and accuracy. The QB that looked more like Darron was Brian Bennett which is a good thing because he may be needed this year, but it also shows how advanced Mariota's game and demeanor is. This kid could be the best QB in the history of the program.
Kenjon Barner and De'Anthony Thomas Are Still Good: Those two players are truly transcendent in the Oregon Spread Offensive Attack. Their speed matched with their vision is a dangerous combination for any and all opponents that will face the Ducks this year. Whom do you stop? Whom do you focus on? It's the same dilemma that defenses face when trying to stop USC's two incredible WR's Robert Woods and Marqise Lee. Speaking of them...
Is it November 3rd Yet?: The Alabama-LSU and USC-Oregon games occur on this date. This is the de facto National Semifinals that will be officialy added in 2014. This weekend is going to be incredible and if there is any justice, the Alabama-LSU game will be on at 12:30 PST and the USC-Oregon game will be on at 5:00 PST. But since these two conferences are extremely shrewd and egotistical concerning their television rights, they'll probably compete at the 5:00 PST time slot and piss me and all football fans off.
The Defense is Good, But...: The one thing about the defense is that Nick Alliotti is still the coordinator. No matter how talented his players may be, he continues to stack the box and play a modified prevent defense that sometimes is able to create a turnover. Much has been made about how long the defense
stays out on the field during games. This problem wouldn't exist if they could get a three and out a little more often and if they didn't line up 15 yards off the line of scrimmage on the outside on a 3rd and 5. As Barner stated about the defense after the game: "We gave up a lot of points. Whether it was the starters or not, we have to do better than that."
This Team Needs to Win Three Games for a National Title: All the Ducks have to do is beat USC twice and whomever wins the Alabama-LSU game in the National Championship game to claim the title. That's it. Everything else should fall into place, especially after seeing so many Pac-12 teams falter over the weekend. The only other game that might provide a Duck Fan pause would be the Thursday Night game at Arizona State, but do they really have enough talent on defense to stop Oregon? I don't think so. Duck fans should be really stoked on this team and I totally am.
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