1. It's back! College football finally returns this week with the same great rivalries and a new postseason format. What week one match-up are you most looking forward to watching?
Spencer-
Ty-
Can I say none? I'm joking of course but I really am not overly excited for the first week. The teams I'm most excited to watch are UCLA and Florida State and they are both playing games that will be blowouts in all likelihood. There are some games that should be good, like Texas A&M vs South Carolina, 16 Clemson at 12 Georgia and 14 Wisconsin vs 13 LSU. But with no Johnny Manziel I'm not that compelled to watch A&M. There is also nobody on any of the teams that I stated earlier that draws me to the games. I will be watching the games though because this is where stars start to emerge and maybe a player will make me want to watch his team in week 2. But I probably will just watch my boy "Crab legs" Winston tear up Oklahoma State.
2. Staying with the college football discussion, what four teams do you predict will make the first ever college football playoff?
Ty-
College Football predictions are so dame hard and yet the powerhouse teams usually remain the same. If I had to pick I would go with Florida State, Alabama, UCLA, Oregon. Those are the best teams in my opinion. I do think that teams like Stanford, LSU and even Baylor have a chance to make it into the top 4. It is way to early to tell though and hopefully this year will have some surprises like Auburn was last year.
Spencer-
Obviously a lot is going to happen between now and January 1, 2015, when the first ever College Football Playoff begins with the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl semifinal games. There will be upsets. There will be come backs. There will be conference championships. It's tough to predict the four teams this far in advance because well, college football is just so unpredictable. Nonetheless the four teams I see making the playoff are...Alabama, Florida State, Michigan State and Oregon.
3. Kevin Love to the Cavaliers is officially done. What does the blockbuster trade mean for Cleveland's championship chase? Are the the favorites in the Eastern Conference?
Spencer-
I've been on the fence about this trade since the Cavaliers started reconsidering trading Andrew Wiggins over a month ago. But I also truly believed that whatever happened it was a win-win for Cleveland. They were either going to keep a terrific defensive minded talent who can develop into a star or trade for one of the best offensive threats in the game. With that in mind it is a good move for the Cavaliers who now have a big three of their own in Kyrie Irving, Love and LeBron James. My biggest worry for the Cavaliers is what will happen on the defensive side of the ball. It's no secret that Love is not really a stand out defensively and I just wonder who will protect the rim for them when their starters are on the floor. Still the trade greatly helps their chances to win championship and I think they have to be considered a favorite to come out of the Eastern Conference. The only team I put ahead of them is the Chicago Bulls if Derrick Rose is back to the player he was before all the injuries. Still if Cleveland gets to the Finals they will most likely be paired with a very great team from the west such as the Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs or Los Angeles Clippers, all of whom could give the Cavs fits.
Ty-
There has been many overreactions by everybody speculating this trade. I was pretty outspoken about why they shouldn't have done this trade but it was still a good trade for the Cavs. The Cavs look like a team that can contend for a championship on paper. Now we all know that there is a reason they play the games.
The Cavs have a lot to worry about now that they pulled of this trade and sudden catapult into title contention. The first thing they have to worry about is wether all the pieces gel together because they have a couple overlapping functions.
LeBron James is an unselfish teammate that is still a blazer in the transition game and the half court. Kyrie Irving is a great scoring point guard who can shoot a lot better than Wade could and penetrate defenses almost as well as LeBron can. Kevin Love is a terror on the defensive boards and can be on the offensive boards as well, Though his numbers have dipped in recent years. Both LeBron and Love are exceptional passers for their positions. Kyrie did average more than 6 assist last year but that isn't exactly great for a ball dominant point guard, so he'll have to learn to play off the ball more. Kevin Love's 3 point shooting ability gives LeBron and Kyrie space to operate as well. You then have to throw in the fact that Dion Waitors pension for inefficient shooting doesn't help much. Anderson Varajeo's rebounding ability means that he will help Kevin Love dominate the glass. The Cavs will be fine offensively after a few games in my opinion. The problem withe the team is defensively. Nothing that Love, Irving, Waitors or Varajeo have done in their career translate to great defense. The Cavs might be better off trading for a rim protector. So although they have the talent I don't think they are the best TEAM in the east over the Chicago Bulls just yet.
Ty-
This is terrible for both the Rams and for Sam Bradford. It sucks for sam Bradford because this is the last year of his contract and his season ends with him still being a question mark to the Rams and to the fans. Sam Bradford was supposed to be good and has showed flashes when he has played but has not managed to stay healthy. Now it has gotten to the point where a team has to consider if health issues comes with the package that is Sam Bradford and begin to move on. The Rams in all likelihood have no shot in their division without a viable quarterback. Being in the NFC West was already daunting enough but now they will almost assuredly end the season in last place of the division. The Rams though, will still move on. We don't know how Bradford will recover from this injury.
Spencer-
I feel terrible for Bradford. His career to this point has been defined by these nagging injuries and because of that we may never get to know how good he could really be in the NFL. He is the Greg Oden of the NFL. It is even more disappointing because I think the Rams were destined for a bounce back season this year. Their defense is going to be solid and their offense has some weapons that would of been great options for Bradford. In terms of his career, I don't know if it's completely over. I could see him being picked up as a backup for someone next year, but I don't see the Rams resigning him, at least not to start. The way I see it they will go back to the drawing board and look to draft a new future QB. They have a young talented team so if they can find quarterback who can pull the strings then they're future is very bright.
What we learned:
Spencer- Johnny Manziel Needs Some Thicker Skin
Not only that but I think had he not flipped off the Redskins' sideline he may have been named the starter the next day, honestly. Both Brian Hoyer and Manziel looked awful in the game but then he was the one who started to show some signs of life. That could of been his shot. I still say he ends up being the starter by maybe Week 6, but he missed an opportunity because he couldn't keep his composure.
I know Johnny Football is still young and he will continue to handle himself more professionally over time. I'm not going to have unrealistic expectations for a guy just out of college who is younger than even I am. I've never criticized him for going to parties or taking selfies with celebrities, like whatever. Do you. But I guess this just struck me as the most immature thing he has done and it showed that immaturity on national TV.
Bottom line just keep your composure and if someone wants to talk down on your game, show them what you can do on the field. When Manziel alludes a pass rush, cuts up the middle, jukes a couple defenders out of their shoes and scores a touchdown from 30 yards out, you'll see how quiet opposing sidelines will get.
Didn't we go through this last year? Everybody wanted RG3 to get benched for not playing well in favor of Kirk Cousins. Now after pre-season games we have fans and Joe Theismann have decided that Kirk Cousins deserves to start over Robert Griffin III.
Now if this is based off of concerns from Griffin's poor play I understand that. 13 completions to 20 attempts and 2 interceptions isn't very promising. Griffin has not played great in the preseason. Kirk Cousins has looked great. Cousins also looks like he has a grasp of the offense a little bit better. The reality is that these things mean nothing because that is just a small part of what is going on.
Cousins has looked great, but against 2nd and 3rd team players. There are a lot of guys that are looking great against backups and people soon to be cut. Cousins looked good in the preseason last year and yet in his 3 starts to end the year last season he went 0-3 and threw 7 interceptions and only 4 touchdowns. It was a small sample size but it would mean he was on pace to have 37 interceptions and 21 tds in a 16 game season. That isn't just not great but it's terrible. Kirk has only looked better because he is more comfortable in the pocket. He isn't better than Griffin and is just an average guy when it comes to potential. Even when Kirk is playing well nothing about him wows me. This is why Washington could not find trade offers for him.
The other equation is Griffin. Yes, Griffin has not looked great in the preseason but people need to take in to account what Washington is trying to do. Griffin is trying to learn how to play in the pocket more. This takes some growing pains. He has to get comfortable reading through progressions and not darting off on the play to quickly. Coach Jay Gruden has been focusing on that part of Griffins game and that takes a little time to develop in a new system. Once the season starts and the team starts putting in game plans I think that Griffin will be better, especially with the weapons around him. Even in the second preseason game I saw Griffin play well although he threw an interception. He moved the ball and was hitting the recievers with good passes. The only reason the first team offense didn't score was because Morris got stuffed on 4 straight runs on the goal line by the Browns but you have to think more time than not they would be able to score in that instance.
Washington fans and former players need to understand that we need to wait and see on Griffin. There was a lot given up for him and he has produced before. Now if he stinks it up in the regular season after a few games than it makes sense to talk about a benching. But for now preseason isn't the time to overreact. It also isn't a time to forget that the backup didn't play as well as Griffin did in real live situations.
No comments:
Post a Comment