Monday Spread Option 01-20-14

1. Saving for the Superbowl predictions what team do you think should be the Favorite to win the Superbowl after yesterday.

Ty-

The Broncos were probably the more impressive team in how they looked yesterday, which was dominant. Nobody ever really felt as if the Patriots had a chance to win the game. That being said, it was a little more impressive the way that the Seahawks came back on the Niners after being down 10 points. Also the Seahawks played a better team. The Niners are better than the Patriots by far. But either way the Broncos looked like the best team yesterday. I'm excited to see how this Superbowl plays out between these 2 teams.

Spencer-

Have to believe the Broncos are favorites heading into the Super Bowl mostly because of how electric and deep their offense is. Seattle certainly has their hands full covering all the weapons Denver has at receiver and running back and obviously with Peyton at the reigns. Denver is highest scoring offense in the league, and their defense has been above average in the postseason, considering how bad they were in the regular season, so it makes sense to have them as the favorite. However you know Seattle is going to come ready to play and their defense will be ampted up to stop the Broncos. Regardless of who the favorite is, the game will be very close.

2. The Probowl is this Sunday. Will you watch the new draft format? Or should they scrap it?

Ty-

It is actually a good thing that the NFL is trying to spice up the pro-bowl. It is like the NHL did last year with their all-star game. We have also seen the NBA do this with their Rookie-Sophmore game. So I'm willing to give it a chance under this new format. I don't know if this will fix the problems with the pro-bowl though, Football is a sport that is played with passion and fierce because the games matter. It's hard to get players to play hard in a sport that risks there lives and career on every play in an exhibition game.

Spencer-

I actually like the draft format and feel it is a great idea for the NFL to step out of the box and try to make the Pro Bowl more relevant to fans. I usually watch bits and pieces of the Pro Bowl every year but I think this makes it a little more intriguing at least for the beginning of the game to see how different players from different conferences and teams play together. I don't know if it is enough to make it a fan favorite or anything, but I think it is a step in the right direction to making it more watchable.

3. Its still somewhat early but what college basketball player do you think should be the #1 overall.

Ty-

I think people have now started to back down on how good they thought this freshman class was going to be. Andrew Wiggins lost some footing early but he has played well enough to still be considered as a potential number one pick. But I think that if I'm an NBA general manager I would go with Joel Embiid. Mainly because he is a 7 foot center with raw athletic ability, He has a natural feel for the game and great feet for a guy as big as him. Although he is more of a project, it is amazing how far he has come in this last year and how much of an impact he has on the game averaging only 18 minutes a game. Although he has only been playing basketball for a few years it is easy to see how naturally gifted he is already and he is only going to get better. Jabari Parker and Andrew Wiggins have been the flashy name but the Center position is too weak in the NBA to pass on a guy with this much potential.

Spencer-

Tough to say obviously so early, and a lot of it depends on who has the first pick and what the need. But regardless of how he has played so far, you have to think Andrew Wiggens is still a very likely number one pick. He is a freak athlete and is starting to come on strong here as of late. He is still leading the Jayhawks in scoring with 15.1 ppg, and adds about six assists a game so his numbers are solid and seems like they are only going up. If the team that gets the number one overall pick needs a point guard you can obviously make a great case for Jabari Parker as well or even the dark horse in my opinion Tyler Ennis, who sneakily could be the best point guard in college this year.

4. The NBA mvp race is starting to look like a 2 man race. Who do you think is in the MVP lead? LeBron James or Kevin Durant?

Ty-
I think this is the year that Kevin Durant might finally beat LeBron for the MVP award. Although LeBron is averaging 58 % shooting he has had the benefit of having a better team. Kevin Durant did have a great team as well but Russell Westbrook was still finding his footing before he had a second knee surgery. Durant has been steady all year but with Westbrook out again he has taken his game to another level. He has scored more than 30 points in the last 7 games straight, highlighted by a 54 point game on only 28 shots against the Golden State Warriors. He has also posting career highs in rebounds and assists finding ways to help his team win besides scoring. Now after starting off a little rough right after Westbrook's injury he has helped the Thunder win 3 games in a row and two against western conference contenders.

Spencer-
Obviously Lebron James is great, will be his whole career and makes a tremendous case for the MVP year after year. But I think this year the award belongs to Durant if he keeps doing what he is doing and avoids injury. He is averaging 30.6 ppg and Carmelo is the next closest over four points behind him at 26.1. He also grabs 7.8 rebounds a game and dishes out 5.1 assists a game. For all the criticism Durant took last year in the playoffs for not being able to exist and be dominant without Westbrook he has proved this year he can just take over games. Since Westbrook went down on Christmas day, the Thunder are 8-4 and he has scored below 

Richard Sherman the voice of the NFL

Who is Richard Sherman?

That's the question, no doubt on everybody's mind today after last nights interview following an NFC Championship win for the Seahawks...

For many of us we judge Sherman by that 30 second blip of his life that happened to be at the closing of the biggest game of his young career and the most emotional setting he has ever played in. But is that fair...to judge a guy for speaking his mind after playing one of the most physical sports in the world that endorses aggressiveness and physicality?

I will be the first to admit my first, real impression of Richard Sherman came off an interview on First Take (a flawed show to begin with) with Skip Bayless, where Sherman avoided the questions Bayless was asking to basically use ad hominem attacks on his character. I felt like Sherman came off the same as many see him today. Rude. Arrogant. Ignorant. Embarrassing...fill in your adjective. However I started to read up a little on Sherman and see what his character is actually about. I quickly found out a lot about him. He is a Stanford graduate who got out of the slums of Compton to get a college degree from a prestigious university and reach the NFL. He did that mind you with not the most athletic abilities, but a drive and desire to be great. He was told he would be better suited as a defensive back than a WR while at Standford and turned lemons into lemonade to become dominant at the position. Despite his hard work and love of the game, he still fell to the fifth round of the draft, a disappointment for him but one that pushed him even more to hone his skills and become a lock down corner. Well I think it is safe to say he has.

Check out this video...


After watching that it becomes clear how much time he dedicates the the game. Listen to what he's saying about QB's tendencies and baiting them into doing what they want to do so he can get an interception. He's literally a football genius! It is unreal.

With that in mind  let me explain what I saw last night...I saw a phenomenal play made by Sherman in the corner of the endzone, tipping the ball away to a teammate, who grabbed the game winning interception, punching the Seahawks ticket to the Super Bowl. Next I saw Sherman run over to Crabtree pat him on the butt and stick his had out as if to say "Hey man, great game," only to see Crabtree push Sherman's face away and spark his post play antics of the choking sign, the emotional interview and snubbing of the 49er receiver. To me it was a man who was provoked by an opponent that dissed him and felt the need to defend himself. Isn't it human nature to defend ourselves when someone, whether a friend, or enemy, talks badly about the work that we do? Or tells us we aren't good enough? Imagine doing your job to the best of your ability and someone telling you, you're nothing and pushing you away...we all have this misconception of "Being the bigger man" and walking away and maybe that's easy to do if it were in an office cubicle, or at a bar. But in a physical game where talking is a staple like football, you got your adrenaline running, you're fired up and you feel the need to defend your abilities.

I have no problem with Sherman. I have no problem with the way he plays the game. And I have no problem with him talking, calling out an opponent that snubbed him and claiming to be the best.

Who in the NFL can say they are better than Sherman right now? People purposefully avoid throwing the ball his way. He made the biggest play of his career to send his team to the Super Bowl and that defense is the best in the league. He puts more effort into being great, and learning the game than some QB's do. With the evidence at hand, he is arguably the best corner in the game, and I have nothing but respect for him.

As for the talking, he's pretty damn good at that too, but if you respect him and his game, he is going to respect you and your game and keep his mouth shut. Just ask Larry Fitzgerald.