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.