How I see the Season Ending for the NFC

NFC East

1. Washington Redskins - QB Robert Griffin the 3rd (RG3) is going to learn to slide and get out of bounds and avoid getting hurt. That alone should put the Redskins at the of this wide open division.

2. New York Giants - I didn't see much offensive consistency during the preseason which should is a problem, but I still like the defensive line of the Giants which should help carry them.

3. Dallas Cowboys - How much trust can you put in "America's Team" when they've been under-performing for years?

4. Philadelphia Eagles - New coach, new system that really should've stayed in college. This isn't going to be pretty.

NFC North

1. Green Bay Packers - With QB Aaron Rodgers on the field I don't see how teams will be able to outscore the Packers. Yes the defense needs more of a punch, but Rodgers puts the ball in the end zone...a lot.

2. Detroit Lions - I hear the Bear fans outrage, but QB Matthew Stafford and WR Calvin Johnson aka Megatron should be able to put up enough points and if the defense can show some maturity I think they should make a run.

3. Chicago Bears - QB Jay Cutler is feeling the heat and needs to perform for a new contract as does his favorite target WR Brandon Marshall, but I feel with the new coach and system it may not be for this year.

4. Minnesota Vikings - How long can you rely on a running back that had his knee rebuilt? 

NFC South 

1. Atlanta Falcons - How many more weapons does QB Matt Ryan need before he gets out of that elusive championship?

2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - That defense this year will cover many of the mistakes that QB Josh Freeman makes this year.

3. New Orleans Saints - I'm glad they have their head coach back, but I think they're window has closed a bit more on them and the Saints haven't kept up with the other teams in their division who have been loading up on talent.

4. Carolina Panthers - Talk about not keeping up with the division. The head coach Ron Rivera is gone after this year.

NFC West

1. San Francisco 49ers - Probably the most physical team in the NFL. QB Colin Kaepernick gets his first full season as starting QB. The wide receiver corp took a hit with the loss of WR Michael Crabtree and needs more depth.

2. Seattle Seahawks - A talented team on both sides of the ball, but with 6 suspensions of PED use in 2011 that has to raise some eyebrows.

3. St. Louis Rams - A young and talented team with a very good defensive line, but not exactly ready to compete with the likes of the 9ers and Seahawks.

4. Arizona Cardinals - I feel for Wide Receiver Larry Fitzgerald who is in his like 9th quarterback in the last 4 years. 

How I see this Season Ending for the AFC

These are going to be the standings in my opinion for the upcoming football season...

AFC East
1. New England Patriots - Bill Belichick and Tom Brady will make stars of these no names...like they usually do.
2. Miami Dolphins - They're actually going in the right direction. If QB Ryan Tannehill takes another step forward they may actually make noise in the East.
3. Buffalo Bills - It's going to be a tough year for rookie EJ Manuel and the team is going to stink...as usual.
4. New York Jets - It's ugly. Geno Smith isn't anywhere near ready and head coach Rex Ryan is going to get fired.

AFC North
1. Cincinnati Bengals - James Harrison should help bolster an already strong defense and just like the Dolphins QB Andy Dalton needs to take another step forward
2. Pittsburgh Steelers - QB Ben Roethlisberger lost a major weapon this off season and I think the offense takes a step backwards.
3.Baltimore Ravens - I've never seen a Super Bowl winning team lose so much talent in one off season and that's going to lead to them losing a lot. Even though that defense (like usual) should be better than average.
4. Cleveland Browns - They're the Browns. They should be used to being last by now.

AFC South
1. Houston Texans - They're the class of the AFC South and adding Ed Reed can't hurt that is once his hip is ready to go.
2. Indianapolis Colts - QB Andrew Luck is good, but I don't think they're ready to compete against the Texans. They may steal the Wild Card like they did last year.
3. Tennessee Titans - Outside of running back Chris Johnson I don't see even another bright light on this team.
4. Jacksonville Jaguars - I feel for running back Maurice Jones-Drew.

AFC West
1. Denver Broncos - QB Peyton Manning and the Broncos are going to fly through the West. Manning has too many weapons even though the Broncos defense is suspect at best.
2. Kansas City Chiefs - New QB (Alex Smith) and new coach (Andy Reid) are going to be solid not quite contenders yet, but should easily finish second in this division.
3. San Diego Chargers - The only thing keeping me from putting them under the Raiders is that at least they have a semi-competent QB in Philip Rivers.
4. Oakland Raiders - Al Davis the ex-animated owner is gone, he past away last year. And the sadness will carry on because the team is going to bad.

Proof that it isn't Always About the Money

Yesterday Adam Dunn Designated Hitter (DH) of the Chicago White Sox interviewed with Ken Rosenthal baseball insider for FOX Sports and Ken reported that Adam Dunn is ready to retire after this season because he's not having fun. Last season the White Sox were a surprise contender in the American League Central finishing with a 85 wins and 77 losses and missing the second wild card by 8 games. This season the White Sox have 56 wins and 81 losses 20 games back of the second wild card and 24 games back of the Detroit Tigers who pretty much have the American League Central wrapped up. Adam Dunn played his usual game of hitting a ton of home runs while also striking out a lot, but he enjoyed the run the team had last year being on the fringe of playing in the playoffs.

This year it has been a stark 180 for the White Sox. They had high hopes at the beginning of this year, but unfortunately things didn't go their way. The White Sox knew they were "sellers" (a team that is has given up on the current season and is trading away the veterans for prospects to build the team up for the future) early and traded away Jake Peavy, Alex Rios, and a couple of pivotal bullpen arms to contenders. Those were signs to Dunn (who has another year left on his deal worth 15 million) that next season just might be just like this year. White Sox manager Robin Ventura thinks that Dunn is kidding about retiring, but Adam Dunn is not your typical player. Adam Dunn could have 499 home runs and says that if he's not having fun he's willing to walk away from any home run chase or money.

This is refreshing to me, in today's age players tend to look out for themselves and their money instead of the reason why they started playing baseball. Baseball is fun, especially when the team is winning, when the team is performing and contending smiles are everywhere, guys are looking up at the scoreboard hoping and praying that the team they're chasing or are chasing them loses, and those are the moments that as kids you think of while playing ball in the backyard. I know that's why I played. Adam Dunn understands this and I'm glad that he's voiced his opinion. Hopefully this isn't the end of his career.

Have Pitchers Evolved into Babies?

In the early to mid 1900's pitchers were throwing 300+ innings in a season. Going the distance (pitching 9 or more innings) was the norm and pitchers would do it because they would take pride in throwing all them innings. Now a days pitchers that get over 200 innings is a workhorse. Justin Verlander won an MVP and a Cy Young with 250 innings pitched in his 34 games started. This year Clayton Kershaw is having his dominant year and is already at 209 innings which leads the National League and ultimately is going to win him the Cy Young and maybe even the MVP (depending on who you talk to) for this year, but the old school workhorses used to look at the innings now and laugh because those innings numbers would have been in mid to late August for them.

What has changed, well money. Clayton Kershaw is making 11 million dollars this year and is going to break the bank this off season when he is set to become a free agent. Justin Verlander made 12.850 million when he won his MVP and is making upwards of 20 million now. As the philosophies of teams have changed to pitching and playing better defense pitcher's salaries have been on the rise. Now a days if you're a perennial Cy Young candidate or just win one Cy Young you'll probably leave a bank somewhere with heavy pockets. RA Dickey won a Cy Young with the New York Mets in 2012 while making 4.25 million dollars he was traded after the year to the Toronto Blue Jays where at the end of his current deal he's going to be making 12 million dollars a season.

How are innings being cut back, well in today's baseball game a pitcher is asked to go at the very least 7 innings (if the team has an average bullpen) or throw 100 pitches whichever comes first. Once the 7th inning arrives you'll see a reliever in the game to go either one inning or one hitter (if he's a specialist). After that reliever then comes another reliever for the 8th inning and the closer for the 9th (if there is a save situation). There are ways a pitcher can end a game he begins; if there is a perfect game (9 innings, no hits, no runs), a no hitter (9 innings, no hits, no runs, but a few walks) or if there are chances to rest the pitcher in the weeks ahead or he was economical while he was in the game (to the point where he didn't reach the 100 pitches by the 7th inning or later). The more scarcer situation is if the bullpen needs a rest, then no matter what the pitcher may be out there to throw 9 innings that's when a pitcher is going to have to "bear it" so even if he's getting rocked he'll stay on that mound until the manager can't take it anymore then he'll try to find the freshest arm to then remove the starting pitcher.

With salaries for pitchers being this high organizations want to keep their pitchers on the mound so the innings are being cut back little by little. With more pitches being thrown there are bigger chances for a pitcher to get hurt and with the dread Tommy John surgery (named after pitcher Tommy John who was the first player to get the surgery where doctors replace the deteriorated ulnar collateral ligament in the elbow) out there organizations don't want to the risk of losing any of their pitchers especially their "ace" for a whole year (which is typically the amount of time it takes to recover from Tommy John surgery).

The Jets Must Hate Success

The New York Jets are the New York Mets of football and it is appropriate that their names rhyme. Through either bad decisions or just plain ol' bad luck both teams end up disappointing their fan base and yet their fans have grown to understand their teams will most likely always be second fiddle to the New York Giants and New York Yankees respectively. The Jets have an awful quarterback in Mark Sanchez, but I feel that the Jets went against what made them and him successful in his first 2-3 years when they reached the AFC Championship game a couple of times and that was running the ball and playing strong defense. Slowly but surely the defense has gotten older and slower to the point where their defense is now with little to no talent and they haven't had a running back that was worth a damn since Curtis Martin.

I don't know who's idea it was for them to put Mark Sanchez (their scheduled Week 1 starter) into a preseason game in the 4th quarter with what seemed like the 3rd string offensive line, but yet there he was and to no surprise of mine he has suffered a shoulder injury that is going to keep him out for a while and now the Jets think that going with Geno Smith at quarterback over Matt Simms (who in my opinion had the best preseason at quarterback for the Jets) it's going to right the ship since he could do both run and throw, but I think that Simms is better built to handle what is going to be another rough season for the Jets.

So instead of J-E-T-S...Jet fans better get ready to chant G-E-N-O because the Geno era has started. This quarterback situation has lead to a rift between management and beleaguered head coach Rex Ryan (who is probably the strongest supporter of Sanchez). Rex Ryan would've preferred it if Sanchez started because he was the one who drafted Sanchez and even when the execs signed Tim Tebow last year Ryan stuck with Sanchez through a bad year and an infamous butt fumble which even today makes me laugh. Sanchez has had a terrible time with the Jets, but to an extent he has been set up to fail. I know about 3 names on their defense and their rotating door at running back couldn't have helped. 

I Guess Bill Belichick is God..

Wherever Tim Tebow has gone he's brought his circus with him. Insane fans yelling and pleading for him to be on the field, hoards of media members hounding the head coach asking time after time "When is Tebow going to play?" "How many snaps are you going to give him?" "Don't you think he's better than the quarterback you have now?" and so on and so forth, but when he signed with the New England Patriots Bill Belichick's first meeting with the press he said "This is the last time I'm going to address Tim Tebow with you guys" and I thought to myself "Yea right, he's going to get hounded just like the rest of Tebow's head coaches" but I was wrong. Up until their last preseason game and with his recent release I hadn't heard a peep from Patriots camp about Tim Tebow.

The strong willed Belichick does things his way and doesn't apologize for any of it. He has Super Bowl rings and trophies and feels like he can do whatever he wants with the Patriot franchise and get away with it and to an extent he can. Without Belichick the Patriots don't win all them titles and Tom Brady never gets to start and his greatness would never be known. Belichick takes his risk with players sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. He took a chance with Tebow and it didn't work, but it doesn't faze Belichick he'll just assign Tebow's number to the next project he picks up.

Am I glad that Tebow is (as of right now) out of the league? yes, because at times people in the media get so obsessed over this guy you'd think he'd be the best quarterback to ever come out of college. He's a career 47.9% passer. In other words he's only completed 47.9 percent of his passes and in a fluke of a game he was able to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in a playoff game. He is not a number 1 option at quarterback hell he shouldn't even be an option at quarterback, but a team out there will give him a chance. The Buffalo Bills have no quarterback (due to injuries and inefficiencies) I can see them giving Tebow a shot. I'm thinking he'd probably be better than the rookie they're thinking of starting. Plus with the hype (or circus like I prefer to call it) that surrounds Tebow there's always going to be a team to give him a shot.

To Redskin or not to Redskin

So welcome to the age of enlightenment, the Washington Redskins name has been around since 1933 and the issue with the name "Redskins" has also been around since just about the same time. The term "Redskin" has been used as a positive and a negative connotation for Native Americans. Different people have used the history of the word as a reason to either boycott going to their games or to dress up in Native American attire and attend the games. I'm of the mindset that if it has been around for this long and yes it is offensive, then the teams should make an effort to either change the name or appease the insulted people. 

The Washington Redskins should change their name, too bad the owner isn't interested in that option. Nor is he interested in appeasing the insulted Native Americans (because let's be real everybody has a price). The team will continue on with their name and continue on making money off of the name and there is no one that can change it. Not even Congress who had 10 members send a letter to the owner of the team and to the commissioner of the league asking that the name be changed and not only has the owner yet to comply, but the commissioner of the league has cited the nickname's origins and traditions, and polls that support its popularity. So you offended folks are protesting and pretty much wasting your time, because the name isn't going to change any time soon.