ILL look at the #NFL #WildCard Weekend

Posted on January 4, 2013 by ILL_McKenzie

So alright we had made it to the post season, some teams that I predicted to make it the playoffs made it, and some did not. Some teams shocked me and made it as well, but the question you may be asking is how do I see everything playing out? Well at the start of the season I said it would be the 49ers vs Texans and they both made it in, so do I feel like they will still overcome?

On the NFC side we have Atlanta, San Fran, Washington, Seattle, Minnesota, and Green Bay

On the AFC side we have New England, Denver, Indy, Baltimore, Cincinnati, and Houston

Now the wild card picture goes as follows

Cincy vs Houston

Other than the last couple weeks the Texans have been a very strong team, especially on defense. Their defense is the main reason at the start of the season I picked them to surpass everyone in the AFC into the Super Bowl. The Bengals on the other hand have been a very strong team as well, also one can say a surprise team. I know that Andy Dalton and AJ Green came in together last year together and made a nice impact, but I personally did not see them duplicating that success. I obviously was wrong about that, but just like last year I do not see this team making it past the first round just like last year. In the end the Texans Defense will show up and show that they are too much for the Bengals.

Game goes to Houston.

Next on deck we have

The Colts Vs The Ravens

Just looking at the match up, one would be surprise that the Colts even are in the picture after how they ended the season last year. Just knowing that they had the #1 pick in the draft this year lets you know they were the worst team last year. Seems with a stroke of Luck they were able to reinvent their whole structure if their team. What seem like a rebuilding stage turned out to be an immediate impact. Now the question is how far will that luck last the Colts? Can that help them get past the Ravens? I am going say yes. that right the Colts will get past the Ravens in the first round of the playoffs and guess what, we will see Luck vs Manning in the second round.

Game Winner Colts

On the NFC side we start with two rookies that made an impact right off the starting blocks

Seattle vs Washington

This game feature two of the most talked about uprising QBs in the league. Robert Griffin the 3rd and Russel Wilson. Neither one of these teams were expected to even get into the playoffs at the start of the season. Not only that, only one of these QBs were thought to even be the starting QB of their team before the season was even started. Overall this will be a great match up, Seattle has a lot of advantages on their side of the ball. Their defense is one of the best in the league and of coarse they have a special QB on their side. On the Redskin side, they have a great up and coming duo on the offensive side of the ball which features RGIII and Rookie RB Morris. In the end I predict that the Redskins will overcome a very close battle and defeat the Seahawks at home.

Game Winner Washington Redskin

Last game on the WildCard Weekend we have

Vikings vs Packers PT 3

This season AP has shocked the world and came out the gates after his injury, he also have given a lot of trouble to the Packers defense as well this year. So the biggest question that everyone is asking is in round 3, will the Packers finally have that answer for AP? The answer to that question is NO, but in the end AP will not help the Viking get to the second round of the playoffs. In this game Arron Roger will do just enough to overcome the impact that AP will have in this game just to sneak the packers into the second round of the Playoffs.

Winner will be Packers

With these outcomes second round of the playoff will go as follows

Colts vs Broncos

Texans vs Patriots

Redskins vs Falcons

Packers vs 49ers

The Year of the Rookie #NFL

Posted on December 31, 2012 by ILL_McKenzie

At the start of the year there was two Rookies that everyone was looking at, by the end of the year one of my prediction came true about a Rookie that 31 teams looked over and landed on a team that most felt he would be just the back up. Even though in the win/lose shows that only 3 rookie QBs made an impact, if you actually watched the games, you would see that two more improved struggling teams. So the Question is, in 10 years will we look at this class the same way we look at the 1983 QB draft class?

At the start of the season I mention that if the Seattle Seahawks wanted to make an impact, they would ignore how much they paid Flint and start Russell Wilson. Not saying Pete Carroll came across my blog, but it is good he chose talent over money. One of the biggest downfall most critics saw in Wilson was his size. The average QB has to be tall for a couple of reasons, but the main reason is to see down the field over those tall lineman that are in front of him blocking. Only few QBs have been able to get pass that one obstacle and make an impact. We can now say that Wilson has been able to do that, not only did he make the Seahawks a better team, but like I said they did contend or that top spot of the NFC West and even defeated the top team in that division in a dominate form. Now Wilson in his first year sees the playoffs with a team no one thought at the start of the season would even sniff a playoff berth.

When you come into the league, with a team the previous year only won 2 games and also sitting in a seat that was previous being warmed by a QB as good as Peyton Manning, the upside of your first year looks very slim. Not to mention you in the same division as a team with a dominate Defense that is predicted to be Super Bowl Bound. Andrew Luck took on these challenges and surpassed everyone expectations of him. Not only did he turn this franchise around in one year, he lead them into the playoffs. This is another team that was not even expected to even sniff the playoffs, but wait that is not even the half of the challenge he had to face. Let not forget that the Head Coach was diagnosed with cancer. So your on a team that only one 2 games, taking the place of one of the greatest QBs in the league, and now your coach is basically going be out for the season.

Not to stir up anything but there was another team that coach was out for the season, and you see how their season ended. One must look at how Luck was able to keep his composure through all this and be as effective as he was, but that was not the only big turn around this year.

RGIII Stepped into one of the NFL’s most historic franchise as well as one of the toughest divisions in the league, the NFC East. At the start of the year I felt that RGIII would surpass Luck, one also has to look at the fact that he was also in a tougher division than Luck. Will that factor come into play when speaking of rookie of the year? Both QBs put up numbers this year and was able to sneak their teams into the back door of the playoffs, even though Griffins back door was via Division Champions, they had to win their last game to obtain that spot.

On the NFC side of this situation, both the rookie QBs face-off in first round of the playoffs, as the Redskins and Seahawks face off. On the AFC side Luck has to go toe to toe with the Baltimore Ravens. The next question on everyone mind has to be, what are the chances one of these QBs will make the Super Bowl. Does any of these QBs have what it takes to shock the world? Lets look at the scenarios of the playoff picture, whoever wins on the NFC side will play either the Falcons or The 49ers, in my opinion that team wants to play the Falcons for a better chance to advance the second round. But eventually that team will have to see the 49ers in the NFC Championship. The second half of the season the 49ers have turned into the Giants where no one knows which team will show up, the dominate 49ers or the push over team.

If you have not notice the 49ers have turned into a Jackle and Hyde team, so in my opinion no team should be intimidated when stepping onto the field until half time when they know who stepped on the field. So when you are asking me if a Rookie can take their NFC team to the championship, I say there is a 75% chance that can happen. So the question who will win between RGIII and Wilson? This is a very hard choice, Redskins have home field advantage. The Seahawks defiantly would have had a big advantage, but I have to pick the Redskins to advance in this round and take on the Atlanta Falcons and beat the Falcons like they should of done in the regular season, and then meet the 49ers in the championship.

Now with Luck’s scenario, I do see him defeating the Ravens and perhaps see Luck Vs Manning in the second round. But I just do not see the Colts going past the second round of the Playoffs.

In the end this was a great season to be a Rookie, even though I have only mention the QBs, other positions made an impact for the change of their team’s atmosphere as well. Will the next class or any class or rookies be able to make an immediate impact on their team like this one?

Caeroc’s 2012 End of the Year Awards

Posted on December 26, 2012 by Caeroc

2012 has been a year that has not disappointed the very least. From January to December have been riddled with story lines that will be talked about for years to come. With the moments this year that will be cherished, and also the ones greatly forgotten, I want to recognize certain things that made this year one to remember.

Athlete of the Year: Lebron James

The most polarizing figure in all of sports had a year so few could accomplish, but many could dream of. Winning the NBA Finals, becoming finals MVP, regular season MVP, and Olympic Gold Medalist, some would say he is on the fast track to legendary status. Then again, you still have those who still despise the very ground he walks on. Hate him or love him, his reputation as one of the NBA’s greats has gained a lot of stock this past year. Maybe he didn’t silence every critic, but I do guarantee this, he silenced many.

Team of the Year: L.A. Kings

You are reading this, and you are like, “Wah?”. But hear me out. Their playoff run was impressive to say the least. If I had a Delorean and could go back before the Stanley Cup finals start and put in a bet for the Kings to win it all, my Christmas would have been better. Ten fold. Not a popular pick through the playoffs, the Kings put together a legendary playoff record that would impress even the casual fan.

Game of the year: Georgia vs. Alabama (SEC Championship Game)

This game had everything you would want in a big game. High intensity, drama, big hits, big plays, emotion, and most importantly, they were playing for the right to go to the BCS National Championship in Miami. This was one of those games that left you overjoyed or highly pissed. Either way, somebody needed their blood pressure checked afterwards. I know Nick Saban did.

Moment of the Year: Fans expressing their opinions (Seahawks vs. Packers, Monday Night Football, Sept. 24, 2012)

By this time, everybody across the board was frustrated with the replacement officials. With the league and the referees in a labor dispute, we were all left to take it with no KY Jelly. And on this faithful night, the frustration hit a tipping point. What is now dubbed as, “Fail Mary”, the Seattle Seahawks came away with a win that would have done serious federal time for robbery. Believe it or not, this was not the straw that broke the camels back. In a Sunday Night game the night before, Baltimore Ravens fans could be heard clearly screaming, “Bullshit!!!”, live on the Sunday Night Football telecast. The line of the night came from Al Michaels when he said, “That’s the loudest manure chant I’ve ever heard”.

Play of the year: Blake Griffin over Pau Gasol (Twice)

We all remember the Mosgov dunk, and thought he couldn’t possibly top that. Then we seen him dunk on Kendrick Perkins and thought, that has to be the one. Then this happen. Not only did he get Gasol once with a put-back dunk, but he got him again with a facial that should have gave the Laker center a 5 game suspension for even trying to block it. I’m not assuming anymore. I am just waiting for the next victim.

Female Athlete of the Year: Gabby Douglas

To say she came into stardom overnight is pure blasphemy. She work just as hard as any her Gold Medal winning teammates, and also did it with grace. She left the London Olympics with high expectations for greatness. And she will bypass them by ginormous lengths. Did I say she is only 16.

The #NFL, The job where taking a Sick day will hurt you more than not taking one

Posted on November 30, 2012 by ILL_McKenzie

Most of us growing up watched sports and dreamed about being on TV one day, being able to live the life, being able to wear your favorite teams’ uniform. Question is, is it all that it is cracked up to be? Even though some of these players are making millions of dollars to play a game that we had fun playing as a kid, are they truly the lucky ones? You might go to work every day and get chewed out by your boss and just wish you could be as lucky as the athletes on the TV. Is it truly luck, do they truly have it better than you, do they not work for billionaires that are as well trying to be profitable?

This year Curtis Martin was inducted into the hall of fame, and there was one line that stood out of the speech more than anything else he said to me. When he spoke about his former coach Bill Parcells, He said that he was told after informing his coach about being injured that he should take care of his self, but he never knows who going to be replacing him the huddle. Which is something that most players have to take into consideration every time they feel a sharp pain in their body, is it worth taking the risk of taking a play off to see what the problem is? There is always someone behind you that been waiting for their opportunity to step on the field to prove they belong in their uniform, that their contract should have more zeros in it. A couple of people in the past made their mark by replacing a starter after an injury. Byron Leftwich replaced Mark Burnel in 2003 after an elbow injury and one of the injuries that jumps start the career of one of the NFL Elite QB’s Tom Brady, was Drew Bledsoe who sheared a blood vessel in his chest in 2001. Never been in this situation, but when you are making millions of dollars one day and because of an injury, one’s stock and future of being one of the eleven people on the field or even being allowed to stand on the sideline is in jeopardy.

It is seen every year, coach’s jobs are always on the line. If you ever played a sport and been in practice, at times how you play in the game and how your perform in practice is totally different. The coach’s job is to always have the best players on the field to be successful. If one guy comes off the field and another person goes on the field, at times the one going in will basically go all out, and if they make a game changing play, that one play will translate in a coach’s mind as a comparison of the player that just left the huddle and the one that just entered the huddle. The other thing that appears in their mind is their family and convince the importance of their worth to their boss. Same thing the regular every day joe wants to do, they want to impress their boss. One can say it is a domino effect, player coming off the bench wants to impress coach, coach wants to impress team owner.

This year the one injury that cannot be hidden has spread and hit 3 star QBs in one week. One QB’s back up showed that the starter was more important to the team then most realize, one showed that the team was who they originally thought they were, and the last one even though he was winning, so was his back up. In that situation, one might not think it is fair, but the harsh reality is even in the NFL or millionaire’s life, the term life is not fair does apply.

So the main question now is, after seeing a good starting QB lose his job, how many players will risk their health just to keep their job and paycheck. When we look back to this season, and see a Charger’s game in which the Chargers could of had a potential come back, but an injured lineman refused to take himself out the game, and his missed block killed that possibility. Just like the average person kills them self to keep a minimal wage job, is the same as these players trying keep theirs, but at times these player’s risk have worst repercussions of trying to keep their jobs.

Sometimes it is good to stress to these players back up plans, having an idea of what they can do if they can never play the game again. Some of these player have nothing after football, and it mainly because most people do not realize the behind the scenes situation. All most people see is the smoke and mirrors, education on the whole business is key to stopping most players from having their back against the wall when it comes to, should I take care of this injury or should I play through this injury.

Most people first thought is, I am not going feel sorry for these millionaires. So are these millionaires not humans as well? Losing your starting job is the same as being laid off and going home with no income. In a blink of an eye, an athlete can turn into the average Joe sitting at home with no job and bills piling up if they have no back up plan.

WEEK 8 POWER RANKINGS

Posted on November 1, 2012 by King_James_Version

Last Week’s Rankings in – ()

ATL (same)
HOU (same)
CHI (same)
NYG (same)
SF (same)
GB (same)
BAL (same)
NE (9)
DEN (10)
PIT (14)
MIN (8)
SEA (same)
MIA (18)
ARZ (13)
PHI (11)
DAL (15)
IND (22)
WSH (16)
TB (26)
CIN (same)
DET (27)
SD (17)
BUF (25)
OAK (28)
NYJ (19)
STL (21)
TEN (23)
NO (24)
CLE (30)
CAR (29)
JAC (same)
KC (same)

How the Jets won the east #EmbraceDebate

Posted on August 2, 2012 by ILL_McKenzie

In my pre preseason predictions, I made a bold prediction saying that the Jets will win the east. First thing that comes to mind is that “they are in the say division of the New England Patriots who have the easiest schedule in the NFL”. Well sometimes when someone has a very easy task they tend to over look somethings. Then you might say, “but these are the New England Patriots”, everyone has their weak points and no one is invincible. But let me take the time to I breakdown my predictions.

The main talk is about Tebow, Tebowmainia has taken over New York to the point people have forgotten the New York Giants won the Super Bowl recently. The main thing about Tebow is just like Chick fil a, he displays his belief openly. Let me state this is not the reason I am chosen them to win the division, this statement is to show what the Jets have. When you have a person like this, people want to find that one flaw in them. Seems like it is human nature or they do not want to believe a person can hold their faith so tight and have that much strength to withstand worldly beliefs. With that said, Tebow seems to bring a certain positive energy when he enters a locker room. You have those players that teams do not want to bring into their organization because they bring a negative effect, Tim is exactly the opposite. You can never go wrong when positive vibes enters ones life.

Now the game of football is simple, people try to make it difficult but it is simple. Have defense that can stop other teams and have an unpredictable offense that other defense cannot figure out. Now read that again, then think about the Jets situation. Tebow is not fighting for the starting job, even though most people do not like the fact he is saying that and feel he has alternative motives, he is not fighting for the starting role. He just wants to help the team win. Now look at what he did last year for Denver, seems if he has a team with a good defense that can keep the game close, give him 2 minutes and he will finish the job. This is something I believe the Jets organization saw and recognize. You do not need him in the game for four quarters, put him in there when the defense is all beat up and worn down, and here comes a fresh Tim Tebow who can pick up yards by dunking the ball off for 5 to 10 yards in the passing game or running it down your throat. Not to mention he is a hard person to bring down once he takes off running, sort of like when the Buccaneers has Mike Alstott. You keeping up with me, or you thinking that the Jets do not have a great offense? True, but they have a great defense right?

To fully understand what I am saying, I will bring it back to simple fundamentals of winning a game, making your offense unpredictable. “But Two QB system will never work in the NFL”, who said this was a two QB system? You have an athlete that can throw the ball and run the ball, Tim Tebow is more than a QB.Might not be a great QB, but he can play the position as well as RB effectively. There lies your unpredictability that defenses will now have to defend and comprehend to attempt to stop. Like I said, you have a beat down defense that has been fighting for 4 quarters and you plug in a fresh smiling Tebow, I dont know bout you but it smells like trouble to me.” But what about the WR adjusting to a new QB in a short amount of time?” Yes that is a problem, but after a couple games any smart player or adult for that matter, will catch on and realize what is going on. You are being paid to play a child’s game, why can’t one use critical thinking to adjust their mind frame to the situation once they see the new person under center. It does not take much to calculate in ones mind how to proceed to develop a successful play. Offense is about knowing the play and communicating with player A and player B to accomplish a goal of getting close to the end zone. If they are working on these plays during both the off season and in season practice, everything adjust automatically. All any offensive player has to do is do their job.

Overall being able to plug Tebow in the right system and right situation, can help the Jets win the east. Notice I did not say Super Bowl, but win the east. The relationship and understanding that Tebow has with the Jets organization will benefit not just him, but also the team as a whole. He does not have to be a QB, he just has to be an athlete to be successful.

Athletes vs. Media vs. Fans

Posted on July 1, 2012 by Caeroc

In the world of sports, there is a thin line between the athlete, the media, and the fan. Let me take that back. The line is not thin, that line is gone. In many sports conversations, debates, and even heated arguments, the part takers of the topic often put themselves in mind of a journalist, the athlete, and since they are already fans, the opinions will be raw and unscripted. In a world of 24 hour coverage of sports, nobody will ever miss a moment to have a conversation about something. Nevertheless, I will breakdown the ultimate triple threat match that is, quite honestly, no clear winner.

1. The Athlete

Many of us, in some form, have played organized sports in their lifetime. Some have been fortunate to be apart of championship teams and had success of some sort in their sport. So when it comes to a topic about sports, it would be expected of certain people to know what they are talking about because they had first hand experience. Me personally, I was a three-sport athlete in high school. Football, Wrestling, Track and Field(shot put), even was apart of a boys and girls club basketball team that was southeastern regional champions. Being involved with these sports would warrant me to have an intelligent conversation about the respective sports. Even not having an prolific high school career, mostly with myself to blame for not keeping the grades up, I would have a different understanding of game situations compared to the average person watching or commentating on the game because of my knowledge is more in depth.

2. The Media

Its not a secret, there is a good percentage of people, fans and athlete alike, hates the media. It is understandable to know why they would. Many media outlets seem to have a bit of a biased opinion in certain situations. The media are paid to paint the picture for the fan that can’t see the action for themselves, and also put the athlete in the light that is favorable to the public. The never-ending battle for many media types is this, many of them never played the game they cover. This is forever an uphill battle for media figures. Then again, they invite the heat that is brought upon them. No disrespect to those who put in decades of dedicated work in their craft, but their knowledge of the sport on what they cover is based on what they have seen by being at the game. Nothing more, nothing less.

3. The Fan

If you take a survey of 100 people of what is the most spirited conversation to have, sports will one of the right answers. As we all know though, when their are sports, their are fans. Comparing fans to anything else, we care about what we watch. I say we because I am a passionate fan to a degree. When it comes to the Celtics, Red Sox, Falcons, UGA Bulldogs, and Braves, I’m admittedly insane. My opinions about are just as raw and uncut as any other passionate fan about their team. When we look at games live or on TV, we know in our minds we can do the jobs better than the coaches that is making the bad calls or the athletes that making the horrible plays. When it comes to media, either they are talking good about our respective teams or they need to be fired. Between the athletes and media, many fans like myself would consider athletes the lesser of two evils. Many of those fans like myself would like to think that our opinions matter just as much as the ones who are getting paid to write about it.

In conclusion, it all boils down to this: athletes, media, fans are share the same likelihood of passion but in different forms. At some point of time, there are some athletes who hates media and carry a real heavy disliking for some of their fans. At some point of time, there are some media figures who dislike certain athletes and cares less about some of the fans that follows them. At some point of time, fans have a problem with athletes from opposing teams and have an even more disliking for the media type that cover a team we don’t like and even go as far as favor them. Its a love/hate thing. One minute, its a perfect world where everybody is satisfied with each other. The next second, everybody is ready to write each other off. Everybody loves to hate something, and that’s the beauty of sports.