MLB Baseball and NFL Football Updates 

Steve Cohen was the guy the Mets needed, he was the bull we needed, the guy who’s going to push other owners into a corner and he’s going to have to give up his best player, well, except that Mike Chernoff has succumbed to Cohen so far and he’s got way more on his list. If Cohen can get a Robin, the GM, to him being Batman, and make the correct management decisions, those predictions about the Mets making the World Series or the Mets being the “fourth-best odds to win it all,” c’mon, stop raising our blood pressure, Vegas.

But, now, with the addition of Francisco Lindor, who will carry our offense, our defense and our locker room, we could actually trudge to the top of the hardest division in baseball, the NL East. I see two solutions to please the hearts of Mets fans and to make this season successful. If the Mets could bring in a really above-average outfielder, yes, I’m looking at you, Marcell Ozuna, who could play left field, and slide Jeff McNeil down to second, then this team is fundamentally sound. Or the Mets could trade – controversy incoming – Jeff McNeil or Dominic Smith, and trade one of them for a pitcher, then that would clear up second base and left field. Let me explain, Jeff McNeil, great player, great contact hitter, great hustle, and great trade value (see how I slipped that in?). He’s 28, and has a lot of potential, even at 28.

I’ll get to potential trade targets for Saint Cohen right after I say how the Mets might fill in the holes. We got the best shortstop in the game in a trade recently but gave away a promising middle infielder, I’ll take that every day and twice on Sunday, so I’m not complaining. The most MLB-ready middle infielder is the 29^th ranked prospect in the pipeline, i-n-c-o-n-v-i-n-i-e-n-t. We could call him, roll the dice with him, or we could have Luis Guillorme, a defensive wizard or we could trade McNeil and a prospect for a reliever and a minor league second baseman, like Andy Young or Zack McKinstry, who aren’t too treasured but are also MLB-ready.

Disclaimer: We are not going to be left without a second baseman, and even if we were, we have such a structurally well-organized team, that we wouldn’t even notice it. If we get Trevor Bauer too, then we have the best rotation in baseball. I support Luis Rojas at the helm, and with him there, we have a really good chance to be a successful team and make the playoffs (and hopefully more).

NFL recaps from last weekend:

Packers vs. Rams: This game was never in question, Aaron Rodgers is aging like fine wine, but not even fine wine, the word “age” is not in his vocabulary, he just gets better, and with all of the underrated weapons that the Packers have, it’s a no-brainer. The Rams, on the other hand, tried but failed. It was like Aaron Rodgers was a step ahead, he always knew what the Rams were trying to throw at him. One of the quickest releases in the game steps up again. For an advanced football fan, like me, I saw that while the Rams tried to man up a lot of the game. The fans wanted to see Jalen Ramsey on Davante Adams, and we got to see that a bit, but later Ramsey went on Adams, but Adams was just better, he was just better.  The fact that the Packers had so many underrated stars was so interesting to me, because the Rams would counter it with their unsung heroes. Darius Williams and David Long Jr. tried as hard as they could to stop Alan Lazard and Marquez Valdez-Scantling, but Rodgers would audible to a run and then their three-headed monster of Aaron Jones, Jamaal Williams and AJ Dillon would find a crease, and it boils down to this: the Packers were playing chess way better than the Rams were.

My pick: Rodgers wins MVP along with the NFC title game.

Ravens vs. Bills: I love the Bills, I love Bills mafia, I know that sadly their team has been bottom dwellers for the better part of the last quarter-century, they’re a good team now, but their win? That was cheap. The Ravens were handicapped for some of the game, and they were without last year’s MVP, Lamar Jackson. After that, Tyler Huntley had to step in, and he’s not Lamar at all, and after that Josh Allen look the Ravens' chances and threw them into the fire, and heated himself, as it was a very cold day in Orchard Park. Josh Allen had a game without mistakes, 206 yards and a touchdown is amazing, considering the Ravens' above-average defense. The Bills Wild Card is the run game: Devin Singletary had as good a year as you could muster, considering they have such a good offense, in this game? Even worse, only 25 yards out of Singletary and 4 other yards, not even out of Zack Moss, but out of TJ Yeldon. Allen tried to spread the ball around to his many underrated weapons and did so successfully. No one on the team’s receivers got less than 2 receptions. The Ravens pride and joy, the run game, thrived, 84 yards between the two lead backs.

My thoughts: The offense didn’t produce, but rather it sputtered.

Browns vs. Chiefs: The refs were on the Chiefs side the whole time, they missed calls but the Browns still fought hard. When Patrick Mahomes came out of the game with a concussion, Chad Henne came in. The veteran backup gave the Browns way too many chances to come back, but guess what, the surprisingly hidden talent has the confidence of a bull. The Browns could never get the run game going, and the passing game will never get going with Baker Mayfield under center. Without Odell Beckham Jr. the Browns spread the ball around, so, everything was against the Browns, not a surprise they didn’t win.

Bucs vs. Saints: Tom Brady didn’t throw an interception, no surprise there, but he also didn’t even get 200 yards. 199 to be exact. This does not bear well for the Bucs in the championship round, because this is going to be an offensive game against the Pack. The run game went as well as it could have, about 60 yards each among Ronald Jones and Leonard Fourtnette. A rushing touchdown too, but not between one of them, another running back maybe, no, Tom Brady got a touchdown. Drew Brees played most likely his last game in the NFL. He didn’t even squeeze out 150 yards and got 3 interceptions. It took a while to get Alvin Kamara going, 85 yards on 18 carries, not very Kamara-ish. Tre’Quan Smith caught three passes, two of them for touchdowns and both of them from different QBs. Wild. Hopefully, Brees doesn’t retire, because Jameis Winston can’t lead a team.

Predictions for the Championship Round:

Bills vs. Chiefs: The Chiefs and the Bills both have two of the best arms, and quarterbacks for that matter, in the NFL. These teams are identical in a way. They both have sputtering run games, they both have a great WR1 in Tyreek Hill and Stefon Diggs. The secondary targets for both teams are very different, Travis Kelce, the best tight end in the league, and John Brown or Cole Beasley for the Bills, so they make up the lost ground. The defenses are both perfectly average, although they both have one superstar, Tre White, and Tyrann Mathieu. Two star defensive tackles: Ed Oliver and Chris Jones. Except the Bills defense is better because of the safeties. Cover Two is the answer for the Bills, because with Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer both locking down half of the field each, you can’t really get anything started. Both QBs are wild and unpredictable, they both know how to scramble, but only one knows how to fight for yards. Josh Allen’s hulking frame, at about 6’5” always trucks over a cornerback and gets those two extra yards. Patrick Mahomes never does that, he’s 6’3” and he’s still shaky from a concussion he suffered in the win against the Browns. The Bills are playing at a huge advantage; the best QB in the NFL is shaky from a concussion? Yes, please. But just watch the Chiefs offense step up, they have too many weapons not to do that. Both teams have to lean on the run game, as a crutch because I don’t know what the coaches are planning on both sides but I do know how much they’re planning. The Bills are expecting everything. Like a boxer, the Bills have to attack the weaknesses. And the Chiefs? Well, they have two options, like back in their lounge chair because after all, they are the Chiefs, or, if they aren’t too sure about Mahomes’ status, so they will play their hearts out and create opportunities that they didn’t create in the regular season. Listen to what I just wrote, they went 14-2 in the regular season, and now they’re creating more opportunities to catch the Bills off guard? Yikes. My pick: Chiefs, contrary to popular belief.

Player to Watch: Patrick Mahomes, the leader of this offense has got a lot to prove, can he take his team to the Super Bowl again? Can he win when he’s playing with the aftermath of a concussion? And can he scramble and create opportunities for himself? Tre White needs to stick to Tyreek Hill like glue in man coverage. When in zone, if it’s a cover 2, 3, 4, or 6, White needs to be in a deep zone, with the Chiefs offense being so deep shot oriented, White needs to play deep to stop anything going to his assigned zone. Can Mahomes work around that? Another question.

My point: Mahomes needs to perform, it doesn’t matter. Everyone is against him, but he needs to perform.

Packers vs. Bucs: Two veterans, Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady, are squaring off here, both wearing number 12 and both are going to wear jackets in Canton, Ohio, after they retire. While the guys at the Pro Football Hall of Fame are speculating as to what the measurements are for the QBs, they have a game to play and prepare for. Aaron Rodgers is having an MVP season and he’ll win the trophy after this year for sure. Brady has more weapons, but Rodgers only needs one, the rest are the stage crew. When you hand the ball off to Aaron Jones, he’s going to get you 4 or 5 yards every time, he’s going to break off the occasional 30-yard run, so, he is one of the most reliable backs in the NFL, that’s what makes the Packers so good. Of course, if a team relies so heavily on the passing game, the defense is going to play passing defense, if you mix in an Aaron Jones, then the defense has to guess, and that’s never good with Aaron Rodgers on the other side of the line of scrimmage. For the Bucs, they need to pass heavily, overwhelm the Packers with their weapons, keep them guessing. Run shotgun, with a running back next to the QB, and then mix in a lot of things in that formation, and then give them something they never saw before. Keep the Packers on their toes, and stay one step ahead – with an average and young Packers secondary, that’s not so hard for Tom Brady.

My pick: Packers move on.

Player to Watch: The Whole Bucs secondary.

Weird that I’m saying the Bucs secondary, right? Well, no. Let me explain. With how Aaron Rodgers torched the Rams secondary last week, this week, the Bucs need to account for everyone, and they don’t have a really good corner, like the Rams had Jalen Ramsey, and look how Adams popped off. I suggested that teams double team good receivers before, and that was when they had good cornerbacks, but now, that’s not a suggestion anymore.

That’s an order, unless you want to be the scapegoat/laughing stock of social media for the next three months.

Divisional Weekend is upon Us

We have a few games that will be interesting, and for some really unknown reason, from the analysts that I watched on ESPN, NFL Network, Fox and so on and so forth, they have made some crazy projections. Views are down that much, huh?

Packers vs. Rams: Ask me to tell you about this game in the middle of the season, and I’ll tell you the answer in a heartbeat. It’s easy, the Green Bay Packers. But now, after the Rams upset the Seahawks, I’m not too sure.  Teacher vs. Student in this one: a confusing phrase in this case, but, Jared Goff idolized Rodgers as a kid. He even went to the same college as him, the University of California. He shined in college but burned out really quickly in the NFL, Aaron Rodgers is the flip side of the same collegiate coin. He wasn’t too snazzy in college, but he also wasn’t a bum, he was somewhere in the middle, never breaking 3000 yards and being a redzone scrambler, to the best of my understanding, posting 393 yards and 8 touchdowns in his two years at Cal, but he shined in the NFL, sneaking into the GOAT conversation in my opinion. The Rams defense, which is the best in the NFL, vs. the number three offense in the NFL, again, in my opinion, and the Packers defense, which is not amazing, against the sub-par Rams offense. This is going to be a good game in my opinion, but don’t count the Rams out, just the Packers offense is so fine-tuned that even the best, in this case, will not stop them. Player to Watch: Sorry, I’m going to do a matchup this one. One of the most highly-anticipated matchups this season: Davante Adams vs. Jalen Ramsey. A lockdown corner versus a guy that makes your head spin for days after guarding him, Adams. I think that Ramsey will win this one, leaving Rodgers to play without his right hand, theoretically. Ramsey is so much more physical and he can keep up with anyone, plus trash talk? It makes me shiver to imagine him up against me.

Ravens vs. Bills: Game of the weekend for me. The top of the 2018 Draft Class will face off here, Lamar Jackson, reigning MVP and sprouting young gunslinger, Josh Allen. Sports Illustrated made one of the best articles of 2020 in one of their issues, talking about the “Josh Allen Experience.” In a word, the Josh Allen Experience is the way Josh Allen plays, the rowdy, 6’5” behemoth with more speed and throw power than Patrick Mahomes and more behind the line of scrimmage athleticism and football IQ than Lamar Jackson. The only sad thing about him is his accuracy, but of course, that could be fixed with more experience in the NFL. Lamar Jackson and the Ravens offense played average last week, their defense was the saving grace, containing the freak of nature in the Titans backfield, Derrick Henry, and confusing Ryan Tannehill got the job done and created the win for the Ravens. Containing a great football mind in Sean McDermott and a great player in Josh Allen is going to be slightly harder than stopping Henry. The Ravens defense has to put pressure on Allen, make him crack, come up with a lot of different concepts to confuse the young kid. Make them run the ball, and force them out of their comfort zone. But most importantly, while you’re playing chess against the Bills, your offense must set the tone. Put the game into the capable hands of the reigning MVP, Lamar Jackson. My pick: Bills move on. Player to Watch: Lamar Jackson. He got an A on his first test, now let’s up the ante a little, we have the multi-dimensional Bills. By multi-dimensional I mean that they have a well-rounded offense and a really, really solid defense, match that with a good coach. And this test is an Algebra 1 test, I just took a test on exponents, and not 5^2 or 3^3, I struggled through (15x-6y^3/3x^9+2y^0) – 12x^7+7y^2. So, that, mixed with Algebra 2 and Calculus, is what Jackson has to trudge through. He’s capable - I believe in him.

Browns vs. Chiefs: Insurance Super Bowl. No, the game is not being played in Hartford, Connecticut. The game is being headed by the two captains of the offense, the QBs, Baker Mayfield and Patrick Mahomes. If you watch TV, you might see Mayfield starring in a Progressive commercial and you’ll see Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers starring in a State Farm commercial. More than three years ago, Patrick Mahomes and Baker Mayfield took each other on, both of them were still in college, but, boy, was that a good game. 54 points in just the first half, and both Baker Mayfield and Patrick Mahomes were trading shots, you get a 30+ yard pass, you get a 30+ yard pass, you get a 30+ yard bomb. Mayfield and Mahomes both had their favorite targets, Dede Westbrook and Mark Andrews for Oklahoma and mainly Keke Coutee for Mahomes, but Mahomes threw to 9 different receivers, again, just in the first half. Mahomes has the better team heading into this weekend, but again, don’t count Mayfield out, the Chiefs are an offensive-minded team, their defense is lacking, just watch Mayfield produce as much as he did in college. But, I think the Chiefs will come out of the trenches with this one, because they went 14-1 and because Mahomes is unstoppable. But, remember how Juju Smith-Schuster or “Tik Tok Boy,” said the “Browns in the Browns” and he lollygagged the whole game, yeah, look at the score of that game :) Player to Watch: The Browns offense. When OBJ went down, their offense took a hit. Who knows what could’ve happened if Baker went to the Chiefs. He’s a very capable QB, he could be just as good as Mahomes is now. So, if the Browns offense, especially their WRs and TEs, can get open and create space, Baker will find them. Watch their offense, and hope that they get open, because if they do, that’s a competitive game. 

Buccaneers vs. Saints: Want to see two old guys playing chess against each other and occasionally throwing balls? Head over to Central Park. Just kidding, this one’s going to be at the Mercedes Benz Superdome in New Orleans and the two old guys are Drew Brees and Tom Brady. Both are playing with teams that you would draft when you played fantasy football with your buddies. Their offenses are overpowering, their defenses are overpowering. You can’t stop these teams, just watch what’s going to happen on Sunday. Who has the edge at QB? For the sake of argument, let’s say tie. RB? Saints, Alvin Kamara plays the game like he’s not trying, and he’s the whole Saints offense. WR? Bucs, Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and Antonio Brown are no match for a guy who the Saints pay $100 million to catch slant passes and be injured for the whole year (Michael Thomas). TE? Bucs, they do have the GOAT TE, Rob Gronkowski, and that gives you a bit of an advantage. Front 7? Saints, Cam Jordan, Marcus Davenport, David Onyemata, Kwon Alexander, and Demario Davis as the leaders of the Front 7 will clamp down any run, unfortunately, the Bucs don’t have much of a run game. Secondary? Saints again, I made this statement based on the safeties, Marcus Williams, Malcolm Jenkins, and CJ Gardner-Johnson are really good, while the Bucs have Antoine Winfield Jr. and Jordan Whitehead, I didn’t say them because they haven’t developed yet and we don’t know their full potential. The Bucs have Carlton Davis, Sean Murphy-Bunting and Jamal Dean at CB, the Saints have Marshon Lattimore and Janoris Jenkins, take Gardner-Johnson and put him at CB and you have a better secondary than before. The Wild Card? Saints, TAYSOM HILL will confuse you, because there’s nothing like him in the NFL, he kind of reminds me of my father in chess, his goal? Confuse me. The Bucs’ Wild Card is Leonard Fourtnette and Ronald Jones II, if they can get them going, the Bucs and Tom Brady could lean on the run game when the pass isn’t working, but I doubt it. Taysom Hill is a Swiss army knife, put him at TE, RB, QB, WR, and he’ll perform at his best, tell me how to stop that. I say Saints get this one, Brady sadly doesn’t get a chance at a 7th ring. Player to Watch: Saints defense. To make this game competitive, they need to step up, when the Bucs are playing with a Madden team, it’s impossible to stop them. Maybe, maybe not, I haven’t learned physics yet. But, if a weak and took a very aggressive grizzly bear’s food, then the bear’s going to stomp the ant. If the ant had a United States Navy warship’s defense system, then the grizzly bear would be stomped. So, the Saints defense needs to play a lot, a lot, a lot better than normal to stop the grizzly bear. I’m not too sure about the result, but when the Tampa Bay Bucs vs. the New Orleans Saints rolls around, sit down and laissez le bon temps rouler.

Football Playoff Projections 2021; RIP Tommy Lasorda

 

Yulian with the legendary Tommy Lasorda

Because I’m afraid some playoff games might be played before I get my blog out there, so here are my playoff predictions:

Titans vs. Ravens: I’m going Titans. The Ravens really turned around their play late in the year, right at the perfect time, but the Titans are coming in just as hot. The Ravens have all the right pieces, just not as much offense as the Titans. I predict this is going to be a shootout, or an offensively sputtering game (the Titans defense is good, it’s just not good enough for Ryan Tannehill, Derrick Henry, and AJ Brown, with a great supporting cast). Henry is the RedZone choice, the first down choice, the second down choice, the third-down choice, the fourth and short choice, he is the choice. He is a rushing machine, and the Ravens run stopping attack is just not it. But, really bad run stopping attacks could be turned into good ones, because the front 7 could come down for the run, but that leaves 4 guys in pass coverage, and with AJ Brown and Jonnu Smith going underneath and Corey Davis going deep (or vice versa), that’s 5-6 yard game every time. Player to Watch: Lamar Jackson. L. I. T. E. R. A. L. L. Y. the key to this game, because if it’s going to be a shootout, the Ravens need to bust out the playbook, and who’s the best player to center around? Action Jackson.

Browns vs. Steelers: This is quite obvious to everyone, I’m going Steelers. The Steelers are by far the worst 11-0 team in history, just because their schedule was a cakewalk, and they were exposed as pretenders late in the season. The Browns put up a great brawl against the Ravens a few weeks ago, but I think the Steelers will pull out because their defense is far, far, far above average and the Browns offense is just not doing the job. Player to Watch: Diontae Johnson and Eric Ebron. The unsung heroes for the Steelers are supposed to shine today; Johnson is the most underrated player on this team, and Ebron because he’s going to act as a safety net for Big Ben.

Colts vs. Bills: This could not be an easier choice for me; Bills are coming out on top. The 7 seed Colts will not pull out because they don’t have a true playmaker at WR1, without that, you can’t win a game. Tre’Davious White could play safety just because White could easily lock up one side of the field and read Philip Rivers like a book, he wouldn’t play CB because of the lack of a WR1. The Bills have Josh Allen, Stefon Diggs and Cole Beasley. Devin Singletary and Zack Moss are a mediocre two-headed monster at RB. Everything points towards the Bills and nothing to the Colts. Player(s) to watch: J. Taylor and Josh Allen. Taylor is amazing, he fights for yards, he’s built like a linebacker and he’s fast. The Colts should switch up the playcalling to get Taylor involved but to not draw attention to him. Send him in the flats but don’t throw to him every time. Allen because he finally got that WR1 and Bills fans want to see the Bills dominate, and Allen is the catalyst for this game to go Buffalo’s side.

Bucs vs. Football Team: The Bucs, they have the GOAT at QB, two superstar wide receivers, a good running back and the greatest TE to ever play the game. They are playing with a dream team, they are playing with a fantasy team, but I’m going to make a completely unnecessary comment about the Bucs being only the 5 seed. Tom Brady is washed. Oh, wait, hold on, my legal team is telling me that any harm done to Bucs fans after reading this comment is not my fault and I can’t be held accountable. Football Team? Next year guys, next year. You have a nice young core but your—I can’t quite put my finger on it,  your everything needs to be changed, along with your nothing, I’m sorry, I couldn’t really make up anything to say there. Player to Watch: (Scary) Terry McLaurin. If Football Team wants to make this game close and to put pressure on the Bucs, Alex Smith has to give the ball to McLaurin and to McLaurin only. Throw to him 80% of the time. Carlton Davis III couldn’t keep up with Tyreek Hill, and Terry is a slower runner than Tyreek but he makes quicker cuts. If Washington would have a playmaker at QB, Terry would have 1500 yards instead of just over 1100 this season.

Seahawks vs. Rams: The Seahawks are going to win this one. The Rams have been a middle of the road team ever since their Super Bowl loss in 2018 and that is the worst thing you could be in my opinion (you didn’t make the playoffs and you don’t get a good draft pick). Russell Wilson will try to get an MVP vote this year, but this year ain’t it again, Chief. The Rams don’t have an offense, if they do, it’s sputtering. The Seahawks are moving on, only because of DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. Player(s) to Watch: The Rams defense. The Rams want to make this game competitive, right? The only way to do this is for the defense to lock up. The Seahawks have a high-powered offense ran through their receivers. Russell Wilson is still a great QB, but if he didn’t have these two studs at receiver, he would be barely anything. But, we can’t change facts, they have the receivers, so, we need to bring pressure. If we flush him out of the pocket, he’ll be forced to make a quick decision, which is tough for anyone. Then we drop into coverage while the linemen swarm him. Sean McVay has to come up a lot more, but, it’s just a concept.

Saints vs. Bears: THERE IS LITERALLY NO CHANCE FOR THE POOR BEARS. Zero, they sadly have Nick Foles under center, I would have Mitchell Trubisky, he’s younger and he can sling it, but it’s mostly 10 yards in any direction around his receiver. Just because he’s younger, I would start him to get some momentum going into next season. The Saints have the best all-around offense in the league, on paper at least. The Saints have Alvin Kamara, Michael Thomas, Jared Cook, and the conductor Drew Brees. No defense on my part needed, I just know and you guys just know. Player to Watch: For your fun, Alvin Kamara, he’s the most fun player to watch in the NFL, his balance makes him look like he’s not trying, he just runs and breaks tackles.

Chiefs and Titans: No one, no one, no one will touch me when this game comes on, I will go into a figurative hibernation, and I will sit and watch two great offenses go at it. The offense is better for the Chiefs, but the defense is better for the Titans. The Chiefs will go into the AFC Championship because a deep post to Tyreek Hill will sauce anyone, Mahomes will connect with him 60 yards past the line of scrimmage, and he will backflip into the endzone. But, if you scald your finger in hot water, you won’t do it again, right? So, I believe that they will double cover Tyreek, one overtop, one underneath (in man), and run a Cover 1 concept, it will neutralize the Chiefs pretty easily. A linebacker on Kelce, staying one step ahead, a QB Spy on Mahomes, then, the Chiefs are pretty much blanketed. It’s obviously not that simple, it’s just a possible concept that could work (money makes the world go round; defense makes the football world go round). Player to Watch: Derrick Henry. This is a shootout, and more than 75% of the Titans defense is only Derrick Henry. In the playoffs, they’re going to lean on Henry even more than ever before, they’re up against the best offense in the league and they need to keep up. The Chiefs will win this one just because of their offense and I trust in Andy Reid to make the right defensive schemes and plays.

Bills and Steelers: The Bills get this one. A great offense (The Bills) versus a great defense (Steelers) and an above average offense (Steelers) versus an above average defense (Bills). It should be great, but the Bills have so many concepts and such a deep playbook that it makes them unstoppable. Big Ben won’t be able to do much, because his receivers are young and don’t get much separation, put Tre White clamping Juju Smith-Schuster and there’s nothing Ben can do. What I just said is true, but actually no, but actually yes. I did a bit of digging, and I saw that Diontae Johnson gets the most targets on the team, and that stat was not obvious, Johnson, a second year receiver gets more targets than the “superstar” on the Steelers, Juju? So, Johnson might have a bigger impact on this game than we imagine. Player to watch: Chase Claypool. I know this contradicts literally everything I said in the piece above but, listen, Claypool is faster than a linebacker and bigger than CBs, it just makes sense, right? And, to account for Smith-Schuster and Johnson, Claypool is going to get a dream matchup, but, Ben isn’t going to throw to him because he’s intent on keeping his spot on the Steelers, and not as a backup, so, his two sweet spots are getting the ball, but my plan would be to spread the ball, create more opportunities.

Packers vs. Bucs: Packers are winning this one. Wow, I am imagining this to be such a good game. Momentum plays a big part in anything, especially playoff football. For the whole season, the Bucs have been inching forward, trying to win any games, but the Bucs just haven’t been good, and the defense hasn’t been playing well. The young stars need to step up, Antoine Winfield Jr. and Jordan Whitehead need to lock up Adams. Put one guy on Marquez Valdez-Scantling and a linebacker on Robert Tonyan and then Whitehead, Winfield and Carlton Davis, covering Adams, two at a time, they will switch out. The Packers have to stop Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Rob Gronkowski. That is a tough ask for any team. My answer: man coverage. That way everyone is accounted for, one person in a mid-read (that’s a zone in the middle of the field that sees who’s man coverage is slipping and drifts over to help). Brady can’t scramble that well, so we can take that away, but the sleepers, Scotty Miller and Antonio Brown are short and have small builds, but they get open. The Packers might expect a lot of 5 wide concepts, just to make it that much harder to cover everyone. The Bucs might expect shotgun concepts (QB 5 or so yards behind center) with Aaron Jones on the left or right, going out on a route. I think that the Packers will win this one, Aaron Rodgers is still far from being washed and he is arguably the greatest QB mind to ever step onto a gridiron. Player to Watch: Aaron Jones. While the Bucs and Bruce Arians are scrambling, trying to figure out how to checkmate Aaron Rodgers, Rodgers will use his wild card (or horse, because we’re sticking with the chess theme), Aaron Jones, he will go out of the backfield or just on a designed run.

Saints vs. Seahawks: Two aging QBs going at it, like in the game above. I think that the X factor in this game is the offenses. Two QBs playing chess against each other, the defenses are like flies hovering around a bull, it just brushes the pesky flies away. The Seahawks have two WRs that Wilson throws to, DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. The Saints have a true number one, Michael Thomas, though he might not be in the game, because he’s always injured, but they have a receiver that’s not really targeted, but he’s there for Brees, Emmanuel Sanders. The Saints have the edge at RB and at TE. Alvin Kamara is unstoppable game in and game out. Jared Cook is fast, he’s big and he can catch, that’s all you want out of a TE. The Seahawks don’t have a definite TE; it’s more of a “by committee” situation. On the defensive end, the Saints have the edge on paper, but with their lackluster play so far this season, the secondary needs to step up as well as Cameron Jordan. The elite pass rusher had only 7.5 sacks this season, down from 15.5 last year, a crazy dip in his performance. The defense posted an above average season, but name one player better than Marshon Lattimore (other than Cam Jordan). No one, exactly. He is the leader of the secondary, and he’s had a sub-par season (for a CB of his caliber) and he has to step it up, especially switching between DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett throughout the game. Player to Watch: Tyler Lockett. For a casual football fan, Tyler Lockett is shadowed by DK Metcalf, for obvious reasons, like ESPN talking about him non-stop, social media, and so on and so forth, but watch Tyler Lockett, watch his route running, watch him dissect his matchup. Against the Saints, he might be clamped, because of the underrated corners, but usually, the Seahawks will isolate Lockett on one side or in the slot and then run a route towards the back of the endzone (if in RedZone) or towards the sideline. DK Metcalf will always be the older sibling, getting all the attention and always getting the ball, but the Seahawks should look at the safety net, Lockett.

Legendary Tommy Lasorda died a few days ago and he will be remembered throughout baseball forever. I know everyone says that for every good baseball player or coach, but 70 years of his life dedicated to baseball? That’s perseverance and dedication. Not many people get to meet the Hall of Famer, but, I did. Thanks to Gary Green, the person who oversees business operations at Baseball America, I had a chance to meet him at a Mets game in September 2019. The game was down to the wire, literally, in the bottom of the eight, journeyman Rajai Davis knocked in not one, not two, but three Metsies with a double into the left field corner. During that game, Mr. Green introduced me to the two-time Manager of the Year and he taught me one lesson that’s ringing in my ears ever since the tragic news broke. He taught me how to shake a hand, firmly and to look in your peer’s eyes. My father taught me this, my mother taught me this, and many other people will teach me this but I am one of the handful of people IN. THE. WORLD that can say that I met Tommy Lasorda, and the pinkie-full of people that can say I was taught, by Tommy Lasorda, how to shake a hand. Tommy, you’ll always be in our thoughts and may you rest in peace. 

Fantasy Football and the Jets

I will write about the NBA later when the season advances and I could actually make some predictions and analyses. By the way, when my admissions exams to high school are over, I will write two blogs per week, so stay tuned, buckle in, get ready, light the fireworks because this little drummer boy is going to start going into battle. I’m going to stop blabbering now and get down to football.

Fantasy Football: In my best league, I finished the season horribly, dropping two straight, yikes, I know. After finishing 9-4, my starting lineup heading into the easy(ish) divisional round looked something like this: Aaron Rodgers (MVP-MVP-MV-whaaaat did I say?), Josh Jacobs (this was a test for next year), Cam Akers (this would be Christian McCaffrey’s spot, but he played three games all year), Terry Mclaurin (picking him up 100% next year), Davante Adams (Best WR in football), Travis Kelce, Allen Robinson, Miami’s defense, and Jason Sanders. I put up 20 points more than my opponent, who had a bad roster (which, mind you, was not burdened with injury) and his players just didn’t perform (unfortunate timing, I know, but really, who cares? I got to the Finals!).

In the Finals, I was matched up against a guy who’s 11-2, and had Aaron Jones, Derrick Henry and Dalvin Cook on his roster. All three from trades (this guy was playing chess, not checkers), oh, you thought I was done, oh no, he had Lamar Jackson, Stefon Diggs and Deandre Hopkins. How could I not forget about Ronald Jones, TJ Hockenson, Baltimore’s defense, and Younghoe Koo. Vegas would’ve called it: David vs. Goliath (multiplied by Socrates, Plato, and my mother because of his uncanny trading ability).

In the finals, I had the unfortunate experience of bearing through a game without my anchor, Travis Kelce, but lucky for me, Dalvin Cook was out, so there was a light at the end of the playoff tunnel. I took advantage of Cook’s absence as I took Alexander Mattison, the backup running back who lives in the shadow (he put up 29.5 points). During the day, where I didn’t have Travis Kelce, my team stood up to the schoolyard bully and bloodied his mouth, and gave him a black eye. I put up 151.2 points in that week and for the two-week playoff series: a whopping 322.64 points, to belittle the puny 283.12 points.

In my other uneventful leagues, I went to the Finals in one (as the four seed) and lost to the three seed. In the other leagues, I didn’t make the playoffs as I couldn’t communicate with my other opponents, because it was a random league.

The Jets finished the season horribly; the Jets just shoot themselves in the foot every year, last year, we had a shot at Joe Burrow, or Justin Jefferson, but we took an O-Lineman :/ We started the first 8 games of the season 1-7, we finished the season 7-9, and we can’t make this stuff up. With a chance at a generational talent on display in college, Trevor Lawrence, Adam Gase decided to turn this team around, that’s like walking into a dark room (the season almost over), blind, having your feet tied (having literally no talent on the team), and knowing that Chucky, Annabelle, and IT (that being the Jets fan base) are in there having a tea party. Now, with the second overall pick, I’m going to out on a limb and say… QB!!!

Most mock drafts say Justin Fields go number two, some more say Justin Fields, one or two say Penei Sewell and someone said Ja’Marr Chase (I really don’t know what that person’s thinking). Now, my mock draft is very unprecedented. I say the Jets take Kyle Pitts, TE out of Florida. Now, my reasoning is… hahaha you thought that Kyle Pitts is going number two (I wouldn’t put it past Joe Douglas, though). I say Justin Fields from Ohio State. Now, Zach Wilson is a great player, he just got hot at the wrong time, and there isn’t much hype around him. Now, the hype part doesn’t matter, but, he might actually be a flash in the pan. Or be just good in college. Justin Fields was shadowed by the potential number one pick, Trevor Lawrence, the whole college season. Justin Fields had just begun to blossom a little later in the season, for the non-college fanatics, like me, to get to know. He’s a bigger guy, he can scramble, he has more throw power, he could take hits and for me at least, he’s tougher. I would take Trevor Lawrence in a heartbeat, just because he doesn’t need to be tamed as much (while Justin Fields is like a young colt) and because he’s more of a field general.

My full mock draft and awards will come in my next piece, which is Sunday because by then I’ll get rid of the high school test burden.