College Football Playoff : Predictions

   
   At 4:00 PM tomorrow, the second College Football Playoff will kick off with #1 Clemson taking on #4 Oklahoma in the Capital One Orange Bowl. After that game, #2 Alabama will square off against #3 Michigan State at 8:00 PM in the Goodyear Cotton bowl, which will wrap up the semifinal games. Many predictions have been made, and countless hours of film have been overanalyzed to find every nook and cranny in each team. These predictions I'm about to give you will not come from hours of research, but hours of watching the game as a true fan and observer.

Orange Bowl: Clemson 28, Oklahoma 21
Many people believe that Oklahoma will ride Baker Mayfield right to Glendale to win the title, but I don't think that's the case. Clemson reached the number one slot by being a balanced team. Their offense is ranked 11th in the nation, and their defense 7th. Dabo Sweeney has this team winning games on both sides of the ball, as seen in their most impressive wins against Notre Dame and North Carolina. In the game against Notre Dame, the Tigers kept an explosive and playmaking Quarterback in Deshone Kizer in check; one of the reasons they won that game. Granted that game was Kizers 3rd career start, but still, Clemson played them well. The Sooners of Oklahoma have rode to the playoffs on the back of Baker Mayfield, and have not counted on their defense like Clemson has. Clemson is the more balanced team, and with an offense led by the playmaking Deshaun Watson, they will outperform Oklahoma on both sides of the ball.

Cotton Bowl: Michigan State 14, Alabama 10
Alabama is the favorite to win this game, giving Michigan State 9.5 points in the spread. People see Derrick Henry and the Alabama offense as unstoppable; an immovable object. Isn't that what people saw in Ohio State? Michigan State has a defense that wants opponents to run the ball because the Spartan secondary is weak. Alabama is a team that loves to run the ball, and never truly threatens teams with their aerial attack. This Alabama offense mirrors the Ohio State offense, and the Spartans should love this matchup. The game will get even closer when Connor Cook goes under center and tries to pick apart the Tide on Defense. Alabama boasts the second best defense in the nation, and the best defense in the nation, and is almost impossible to beat without big plays. Sparty will need some big play moments from Cook in order to win, which is entirely possible in this game. I see Michigan State taking the cake in this semifinal game.

So for now, I predict Clemson and Michigan State to meet in the College Football National Championship. Once the games are over, I'll be back with my predictions to that game, once the semifinal games have been decided.

Fantasy Football: Edelman Replacements

If you're like me and had Julian Edelman on your fantasy team, you were probably kicking and screaming when he hurt is foot. Edelman will be back, just not in time for your fantasy championship run. So, you will need some fill ins. Edelman has had a career year, and chances are no one will find someone with equal numbers on the waiver wire. But for the time being, here are three players I think will be appropriate substitutes that you can most likely find in you leagues waiver wire.



1. Keshawn Martin - Patriots: You may be reading this thinking it contradicts everything any fantasy football analyst have told you thus far. However, now that Edelman is gone, teams will be keying on Gronk and Amendola as Brady's top targets. That leaves Keshawn Martin, who has recently returned from a hamstring injury, at TB's fingertips. I advise adding Martin if you are looking for that chance to boost your playoff position. Martin has a big upside being one of Brady's top targets, but it is a risk that may or may not pay off.

2. Nate Washington - Texans: In the past few weeks I've grown very fond of Nate Washington. With teams paying more attention to DeAndre Hopkins, Washington has been given some quality targets. He's averaged 9 targets in his last 3 games, and his value is continuing to trend upwards. Snag him before it's too late!

3. Lance Moore- Lions: Talk about a roll of the dice. Moore is not a high volume offensive producer, and the only way he can really help is if he scores. However, in an ESPN PPR league, he has had point totals of 11, 11, 21, and 17 in his last four games. This struggling Lions offense is looking for any help it can get. In a deep Flex PPR league, Moore could up your chances of making the playoffs.

My Take on Michigan vs Michigan State

4th and 2 from the Michigan State 47 yard line. 10 seconds left, and Michigan is punting. But, the snap is fumbled by the punter, Michigan State recovers, and returns the ball for a TD to win the game. Behind the ending to the Iron Bowl in 2013, this was the craziest ending to a football game I have seen.
But, this could have been completely avoided, unlike the FG returned 110 yards for a Touchdown.

Re-watch the play. You can do so here. The snap was fumbled, but the way the punter handled it was a mistake. In that case, instead of trying to fix the broken play, Blake O'Neil should have fell on the ball. If that happened, it would have been a turnover, and Michigan State ball on the 40 Yard line with :08 to go. There would have been time for one more play, since neither team had a time out remaining.

Alternatively, Michigan could have gone for it on 4th down, thinking that even if they didn't get it, Michigan State wouldn't have had the opportunity to run the ball back, and the field position would be miserable with no time outs remaining. If I was Jim Harbaugh, that would have been my plan of attack. But I'm not Jim Harbaugh. Jim Harbaugh is Jim Harbaugh, and he made a bad mistake giving the Spartans a glimmer of hope to win the game by punting.

Think back to December 19th, 2010, when the New York Giants punted the ball to DeSean Jackson of the Eagles with :14 seconds left. Instead of kicking the ball away, or going for it, they gave the Eagles a glimmer of hope by punting. Punting in a late game situation is a terrible idea. That gives the opposing team an opportunity to capitalize on an awful coaching decision. The Michigan Wolverines could easily be undefeated right now, and ranked in the Top 10. But, they punted, and took the risk. And the risk didn't pay off.

Patriots Proving a Point

   Tom Brady is now the only NFL Starting Quarterback without an Interception. Granted, he has played one less game than most other QB's, but the way the Patriots have steamrolled over every opposition in their path is symbolic. This New England Patriot team is proving a point, which is spearheaded by Brady. They have a grudge, and they are playing with an us against the world mentality. Take the Jaguars game for example. That was just a sample of how capable this team is to dominate and to assert their dominance over any team, regardless of ability.
   I urge you all to watch out for this Patriots team. In the coming weeks, there will be plenty of games where the New England Patriots will continue to show how dominate they are, and they will assert themselves. The Indianapolis Colts are the next target, and if Andrew Luck is absent, the Colts offense will yet again be vulnerable. With a weaker defense than before, Brady will be able to handle the Luck-less Colts, and move on to the Jets, the first true test of the season.
   Tom Brady has a chip on his shoulder. Him and Belichick have something to prove to this league. The dynamic duo wants to eliminate their Deflategate allegations by showing everyone that they truly are the best at what they do.

Down Goes Romo : What's in store for the NFC East?

    The Cowboys 2-0 start most certainly came at a price. Dallas lost their dynamic passing duo of Tony Romo to Dez Bryant, arguably one of the most prolific duos in the game today. Behind Big Ben-Antonio, and Manning-OBJ, it doesn't get better than them. Until now. With both Dez and Romo out until at least late November, the Cowboys must prepare for an offense spearheaded by Brandon Weeden.

    What does this mean for the Cowboys? For the most part, the remainder of the schedule has teams like the Panthers, Saints, Falcons, and Buccaneers, which should be manageable without the duo. However, skating past the Patriots, Dolphins, Giants, Eagles, and Seahawks will be a tall task. By the time Romo is expected back in Week 12, I expect the Cowboys to be 6-5. With Weeden running the show, there's no chance they can win the shootout battle against the pats. On top of that, the Cowboys BARELY escaped alive during the first round with the Giants and Eagles, and that was with both of them, and one of them respectively. The Seahawks should beat the cowboys even when they're at full strength, and the Dolphins game should be close. Otherwise, consider those low interest out of conference games, wins.

   As for the rest of the NFC, this is prime time for the Giants to bounce back after their heartbreak filled 0-2 start. While the Cowboys are in Weeden mode, the Giants face two stand-out defenses, the Patriots and the Bills. Of course, because they are the Giants, you can't call all of those games wins. Let's say their only loses come to the Pats, Bills, and maybe the Eagles. That puts them at 6-4, so long as there are no "Giant" heartbreaks. The key to the Giants bouncing back is the resiliency of their defense. If, for the next two months, New York bears down, and grinds games out, their offense should have plenty of fire power to withstand the coming weeks.

   My sleeper team is the Redskins. To put it plainly, the Eagles don't have the offensive leadership or defensive depth to grind these games out. I don't see them winning any of their next two games, and an 0-4 start keeps them out of any playoff push in the competitive NFC East. Back to the Skins. The game against the Rams showed fans two things. 1) They aren't afraid to run the ball, and they will do it effectively. The emergence of Matt Jones, who has a unique combination of speed and size, paired with ole reliable Alfred Morris provides the best two headed monster in the league. 2) Kirk Cousins is semi-legit. An 85.3 completion percentage, paired with 203 yards and one TD against what was supposed to be the leagues best defense was superb. Granted, it might be a fluke, but I don't think so.

   The NFC East race will tighten up even more when the Boys are back in Town. For now, count on the Washington Redskins and New York Giants duke it out for the top spot in the division.

Pats > Steelers

    Fresh off his DeflateGate ruling, Tom Brady was back in action, in a game no one expected him to play in. If the suspension had been upheld for a second time by the courts, many people charted the Pats down for a loss. Many people predicted a Patriots loss regardless, but thanks to a 20-25, 288 yard and 4 TD game from Tom Brady, they pulled through.

   The star of the show, besides Brady, was Rob Gronkowski. In many fantasy leagues, Gronk piled up over 30 points, thanks to 5 catches for 94 yards and two TD's. The steelers did not have an answer for Gronk, especially during his second TD pass, when he was left completely uncovered by the steelers defense.

This was a great way to open up the season for the New England Patriots. In an "us against the world" kind of season, the Patriots needed a game that would set the tone, and beat the most electrifying offense in the league. Although Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown did have good games respectively, the Patriots defense did do a great job keeping the production contained. With Tom Brady not suspended, the likelihood of the 1-3 start most people projected is way out of the picture, and this team makes a good case for them repeating as Super Bowl Champs.

Geno Punch A Blessing

    Two days ago, Geno Smith was punched in the locker room by (now former) backup linebacker I.K Inemkpali. The dispute was over a $600 plane ticket the linebacker bought Geno Smith, and was never paid back. While many Jets fans are depressed and sad that their team has suffered yet another embarrassing QB problem, I think they should be happy that Geno is out as the starter, for at least 10 weeks.

    Think about it this way. Geno is a turnover machine. In his two years in the league, he has never had a positive TD-INT ratio. While he keeps his fumble numbers relatively low, never has he thrown over 13 TD's, and his QBR has never broken 50.0. Especially with an improved receiving corp, the Jets need a QB this year that will keep their underrated defense off the field.

    Ryan Fitzpatrick is that QB, for now. While Fitz gets his starts, the Jets need to develop their fourth round pick Bryce Petty, who was outstanding at Baylor. Fitzpatrick will be working with the Jets new offensive coordinator Chan Gailey, who was head coach at Buffalo while Fitzpatrick played there. Obviously, right off the bat there will be some chemistry between the two. I expect Fitzpatrick to be a serviceable replacement, and he was so many weapons on his side of the ball to work with. Brandon Marshall, Eric Decker, Jeremy Kerley, Jace Amaro, and Stevan Ridley headline this offensive unit, along with Chris Ivory, Bilall Powell, and a strong offensive line. Fitz should do a fine job as the replacement.

   However, if things go south on Fitzpatrick, Bryce Petty must step in. In the two years he started at Baylor, Petty threw for 8,055 yards, 61 TD's, and 10 INT's. He also scored twenty times on the ground. If he can develop, and become a true NFL QB, Petty would have immediate impact the second he walks on the field if and when Fitzpatrick messes up.

 
   What's in store for Geno Smith? Who knows. If Petty proves to be the future of the Jets, they should trade Smith to a team desperate for a qualified quarterback. Like Cleveland or St. Louis. Bottom line is, this is most likely the end of Geno in Green.