NFL Wrap-Up

Here are my thoughts from Week 1 of the NFL season, based purely on what I was able to see.  I was not at my usual bar(s), so I did not see as much as usual, but still!

Game of the Week

Atlanta Falcons 37 v. New Orleans Saints 34.  This game had lots of action, tons of offense, and Atlanta's Matt Bahr kicking a 51 yard field goal at the end of regulation to send the game to overtime and then winning it with a 52 yarder.  Drew Brees and Matt Ryan threw for a combined 781 yards to 16 different receivers.  Plus, it was a divisional game in Week 1.  Great way to start the season for the Falcons, and the fans.

Best Team Performance

Seattle Seahawks. They decimated the NFC North champions and Aaron Rodgers.  Granted it was at home, where the Seahawks could go 8-0, but this team has no flaws.  Smart quarterback, they can run, they can pass, they can stop the run and they can stop the pass.  Wait, they do have a flaw - they need a punt returner.

Least Impressive Team Performance

Washington Whatever their new Name is Going to Be - They were horrible.  Plain and simple.  Is it too early to start the chant for Kirk Cousins?

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Offense)

Julius Thomas, TE - Denver- 7 receptions, 104 yards and 3 TDs.  I wanted to choose Matt Ryan for his 448 yards passing, but Thomas was so uncoverable that it was not even fair to the Colts that he was on the field.  His 35 yard TD reception - in which he out ran the linebacker in coverage, then outmaneuvered the rest of the defense into the end zone was special.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Defense)
Eric Berry, S - Kansas City Chiefs. 15 tackles, including 14 solo tackles and a pass defensed, against a team that ran the ball 38 times and threw 33 (with 22 completions).  That is 1/4 of the tackles the Chiefs made were from Berry.  Cameron Wake and his 2 sacks and overall mayhem that he created also deserves mention.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Special Teams)

Matt Bahr, K - Atlanta Falcons.  A 51 yard field goal as time expired to to tie the game, and a 52  yarder in overtime to win.

Goat of the Week

Robert Griffin, III, QB - Washington Whatever their new Name is Going to Be - Horrible.  Passing numbers not too bad (19/37 for 267 yards), but for a guy whose legs are supposed to be a weapon, being sacked three times and 2 yards on 3 rushes is not good.

Hit of the Week

Antonio Brown, WR/KR - Pittsburgh Steeler.  OK, so maybe it was a penalty, but his karate kick to Cleveland punter Spencer Lanning was downright funny to watch, and spawned its own internet meme.

Breakthrough Performance

Derek Carr - QB - Oakland Raiders. No the Raiders didn't win - but they covered (and as a west coast team playing the early game on the east coast, that seems next to impossible), and no Bradford did not play like a star.  he was 20-32 with 2 TDs and no interceptions.  But, he looked like he belonged in the NFL as a QB, especially given that his team ran for 25 total rushing yards.  He has a chance to really be good

Finally

Ray Rice, (Former) RB - Baltimore Ravens

Yes all of this came out on Monday, but it deserves mention.  Maybe it took the video for Baltimore to release him and the NFL to suspend him indefinitely, but as far as I am concerned, better late than never.

Impact Injury

Robert Mathis, DE - Indianapolis Colts/Derrick Johnson, LB - Kansas City Chiefs.  The best players on their respective defenses, and both are out for the season with torn Achilles.  Tough to see Indianapolis stopping anyone without Mathis to provide a pass rush.  At least the Colts might have the offense to outscore opponents.  Derrick Johnson is the heart and soul of a potential playoff defense, and the Chiefs do not have the same offensive firepower as the Colts.

Team Rising

Minnesota Viking - New coach; utilizing Adrian Peterson but not overusing him; solid defense; breakout by Cordarelle Patterson.  This team has the ability to challenge in the tough NFC North against the likes of Green Bay, Detroit and Chicago.

Team Falling

Dallas Cowboys/New York Giants/Washington Whatever their New Name is Going to Be - The Eagles may clinch this division by the end of October.

Best Teams

1. Seattle Seahawks
2. San Francisco 49ers
3. Denver Broncos
4. Philadelphia Eagles
5. Detroit Lions

Worst Teams

32. Washington Redskins
31. St. Louis Rams
30. New York Giants
29. Kansas City Chiefs
28. Dallas Cowboys

Middle Teams

15.  Arizona Cardinals
16.  New York Jets
17.  Bufffalo Bills
18.  Houston Texans

Preview - Game(s) of the Week

Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night would normally make this list just for the hard-hitting (literally) rivalry, however these two teams are both down a bit, and the history of the last couple of years has definitively shown that Thursday night games stink.  So, this game does not make the top 4.

4. Atlanta Falcons at Cincinnati Bengals - Two super exciting offenses, and does anybody really believe that the Falcons were as bad as their record last year.  The loss of LT Sam Baker could really hurt against a very underrated, yet spectacular, Cincinnati front 7.  AJ Green and Julio Jones continue to battle for supremacy from their recruiting class.

3. Chicago Bears at San Francisco 49ers - Despite the loss against Buffalo, the Bears gained an absolute ton of yards.  Although I do not expect that many yards against the Niners, this game should promise to be fun to watch, with San Francisco's offensive line proving to be the difference.

2. Detroit Lions at Carolina Panthers - The classic strength versus strength match up, with the Lions vaunted offense going against the stellar - yes stellar - Panthers defense.  With Cam Newton coming back and Kelvin Benjamin to emerge as a go-to-receiver, the Panthers offense can control the game, and conversely, DeAndre Levy might be the most underrated defensive player in football.

1.  Philadelphia Eagles at Indianapolis Colts - If you asked 1,000 analysts and experts, 1,000 would say this is the game of the week.  If they do not, they should be fired as an analyst and they are not an expert.

Trivia

With Denver's victory over the Colts on Sunday night, Peyton Manning has now defeated all 32 franchises during his storied career, making him the second to do so. Who was the first?  Yes this is pretty easy, but this is week 1.

Sports Bar Review of the Week

As stated earlier, I did not watch the games at a Sports Bar to watch this week's games, so I will review one that I attended recently.

Taps Bar and Grille, 220 County Road 210 West, Jacksonville (St. Augustine, really), FL

Taps is more restaurant than bar, but has plenty of televisions and the casual atmosphere necessary for a good sports bar.  They had several games on the televisions (this day was actually college), and a general congenial atmosphere given that the staff and most of the patrons were wearing shirts of different rivals (primarily Florida and Florida State, but a smattering of Michigan State/Ohio State and others).  One guy even requested the Georgia Tech game.

The service was friendly and good, with both the bartenders and wait staff being incredibly friendly and knowledgeable about the menu, both beer and food.  They would, from time-to-time, become distracted, but nothing to ordinarily complain about if I was not writing this review.

As the name suggests, the bar concentrates serving a clientele that favors beer, particularly and almost exclusively of craft beers.  Your attention is immediately attracted to the digital board showcasing the craft beers in draft and bottle.  Our party partook of a local beer, the Intuition I-10 IPA, the Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale, the Tucher Hefeweizen, Hofbrau Oktoberfestbier and a Dogfish Head 90 minute IPA.  All delicious, although the bar did run out of the Tucher during our relatively short stay.

For food, the bartender recommended to try the smoked wings, which were on special at $.25 per, available in groups of 10.  We had the dry rub, foregoing the buffalo sauce, and this was a good cal as the flavor was delicious.  We also had the fried pickles appetizer, which were very good.  Now, as a caveat, I love pickles, but I find the fried pickle rend a little disturbing as some places do them well and some taste horrible.  Taps is in the former, luckily.  As an entree, we split the wedge salad and jambalaya.  The wedge was good, but nothing special, and the jambalaya was good, but not as spicy as I would prefer.

As a plus, the bar, restaurant and the restrooms were all extremely clean.

Overall, a very good experience, I would recommend Taps.

Service - NFC North
Drinks - NFC North
Food - NFC South
Cleanliness - NFC West
Overall - Detroit Lions (2nd or 3rd in the NFC North) - Pretty Darned Good

Rating System Best to Worst:  NFC West, NFC North, NFC South, AFC North, AFC West, AFC South, AFC East, NFC East

Trivia Answer

No question as this was Week 1.  Look for the answer to the previous week's question here each week.

Ready for Some Football

It is that time of the year again, time for the start of college football.  Well, OK, we are two weeks in, but still, we are basically at the beginning.  What would the start of college football be without a preseason All-American list? Once again, I am here to give you my preseason All-Americans. As usual, there will be more than 11 a side, to account for the different types of formations (spread, three receiver set, 4-3, 3-4, etc). I explain some of my picks, while others I do not. Why? Because I can.  (Starters in capitals).

Offense

QB - MARCUS MARIOTA, Oregon; Jameis Winston, Florida State; Brett Hundley, UCLA - I was right leaving Johnny Manziell off last year's pre-season list despite coming off a Heisman trophy campaign, and I will ultimately be right for not having Winston starting this year.  Mariota runs the most dangerous offense in the NCCA, sorry Bryce Petty.  Hundley's UCLA could sneak into the playoff at the end of the season.

RB - TODD GURLEY, Georgia; MELVIN GORDON, Wisconsin; Ameer Abdullah, Nebraska; Duke Johnson, Miami - Possibly the easiest position to select multiple starters.  Gurley and Gordon are the best in the county hands down.  Abdullah showed last week just how he can affect, and turn around, a game.  Duke Johnson might be the most exciting player in the country, as he is a threat every time he touches the ball - running, receiving and returning.

WR - AMARI COOPER, Alabama; ANTWAN GOODLEY, Baylor; Tyler Lockett, Kansas State; Rashad Greene, Florida State; Stefon Diggs, Maryland - Cooper is a no-brainer, and Goodley could end with close to a million yards receiving this year.  Lockett and Greene are selected over Nelson Agholor of USC because of Lockett's experience being the primary, and only, weapon and Greene's numbers should skyrocket with the loss of all of Florida State's weapons to the NFL.  Diggs makes the team for his return capabilities.

TE - NICK O'LEARY, Florida State; O.J. Howard, Alabama - Probably the weakest spot on the team with Eric Ebron, Jace Amaro and Austin Sefarian-Jenkins all going to the NFL, but these two are the best of the lot, and are solid all-around tight ends.

OL - CEDRICK OGBEHI, Texas A and M (T); ANDRUS PEAT, Stanford (T); A.J. CANN, South Carolina (G); TREY JACKSON, Florida State (G);  HRONISS GRASU, Oregon (C); Reese Dismukes, Auburn; Brandon Scherff, Iowa - Ogbehi is the latest in a long line of Aggie Tackles, See Matthews, Jake; Joeckel, Luke.  Peat makes it because he exhibits the prototypical Stanford toughness that we have come to expect.  Grasu might be the hardest name to spell in this list.

Defense

DE - VIC BEASLEY, Clemson; SHILIQUE CALHOUN, Michigan State; Leonard Williams, USC; Robert Nkemdiche, Mississippi - Beasley is one of the easiest selections to this list, while Calhoun leads a particularly tough Spartan defense.  Williams and Nkemdiche are both sophomores.

DT - MICHAEL BENNETT, Ohio State; CARL DAVIS, Iowa; Dante Fowler, Jr. Florida - Fowler is not a prototypical tackle, but Will Muschamp likes to line him up there for the speed advantage over interior lineman.

LB - RAMIK WILSON, Georgia; A.J. JOHNSON, Tennessee; DENZEL PERRYMAN, Miami; Myles Jack, UCLA; Eric Striker, Oklahoma; Trey DePriest, Alabama - Wilson led the SEC with 133 tackles (second place had 113), and is likely the leader of the best line backing corps in the country.  Jonson and Perryman led their teams with tackles last year, with Johnson having 324 in his career.  Jack might be the best two-way player in the country and DePriest is here because every team needs an Alabama linebacker.

CB - IFO EKPE-OLOMU, Oregon; VERNON HARGREAVES, III, Florida; Kendall Fuller, Virginia Tech; P.J. Williams, Florida State - Ekpe-Olomu was an easy pick, and Hargreaves not far behind him.  Lots of interceptions would come from this backfield, if they could take the field together.

S - LANDON COLLINS, Alabama; CODY PREWITT, Mississippi; Derron Smith, Fresno State; Kurtis Drummond, Michigan State - The tight ends of the defense, in that this is probably the weakness of the team, and if that is the case, your team is pretty darned good.

Special Teams

K - ROBERTO AGUAYO, Florida State - Nobody else is even close.

P - DREW KASER, Texas A and M - Again, nobody is even really close.

KR/PR - RYAN SWITZER, North Carolina; TY MONTGOMERY, Stanford - With these two guys, along with Duke Johnson and Stefon Diggs on the roster, this team will be scary in the return game.

FIFA WORLD CUP RANKINGS

The first round of the Knockout Stage is completed, and below is the rankings of the final 16 teams.  The top 8 are the quarterfinalists, and the next 8 is how the losers in the knockout stage have played in the tournament.  The ranking of the top 8 includes how they have played in all four games to date, with weight given to how the teams looked in the knockout state - round 1.

1.  Colombia
2.  France
3.  Brazil
4.  Belgium
5. Germany
6.  Netherlands
7.  Argentina
8.  Costa Rica

This would lead to a projected final four of:  Colombia v. France; and Netherlands v. Belgium

FIFA WORLD CUP RANKINGS

Here are the rankings after Round 2 of Group Play in the FIFA World Cup.  These rankings are based simply on how the teams have played, not by how many points the have earned or how many goals they have scored.  It is possible, therefore, for 3 teams in the same group be ranked above another group if that is how they have looked on the pitch.  Yesterday's games are not accounted for in this rendition of the rankings.  You can check the previous post to see how things have changed from the first game to the second.

Rankings

1. France
2. Mexico
3. Netherlands
4. Germany
5. Costa Rica
6. Colombia
7.  Chile
8.  Brazil
9.  United States
10.  Argentina
11.  Ghana
12.  Croatia
13.  Italy
14.  Uruguay
15. Cote d' Ivoire
16.  Belgium
17.  England
18.  Portugal
19.  Australia
20.  Ecuador
21.  Algeria
22.  Nigeria
23.  Switzerland
24.  Bosnia-Herzegovina
25.  Iran
26.  Russia
27.  Spain
28.  Honduras
29.  Japan
30.  Greece
31.  South Korea
32.  Cameroon

FIFA Fever

Each country that qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2014 has now completed at least 1 of their 3 group games.  Below is my rankings of the teams based upon their first game only.  Please note that for the rankings all victorious teams are ranked ahead of those that tied and lost, in order of which teams I feel played the best.  As we move through rounds 2 and 3, the records of the teams become less consequential (meaning a team with 1 win and 1 draw could be ranked ahead of a team with 2 wins).

Game 1 Rankings

1.  Germany
2.  Netherlands
3.  France
4.  Italy
5.  Mexico
6.  Costa Rica
7.  Colombia
8.  Switzerland
9.  Chile
10.  Brazil
11.  Argentina
12.  Belgium
13.  United States
14.  Ivory Coast
15.  Russia
16.  South Korea
17.  Iran
18.  Nigeria
19.  England
20.  Ghana
21.  Croatia
22.  Bosnia-Herzegovina
23.  Algeria
24.  Australia
25.  Uruguay
26.  Ecuador
27.  Japan
28.  Spain
29.  Honduras
30.  Portugal
31.  Cameroon
32.  Greece

NCAA Tournament Pool

Final Standings!!!

The University of Connecticut defeated the Kentucky Wildcats last night, and by picking the Huskies, J.C. Carralero is our champion.  He jumps from 4th to 1st place, making Barkley Sosa slide back to 2nd, Cesar Gonzalez moves to 3rd and Your Tournament Host finishes just out of the money in 4th.  Steve Usma gets his money back for finishing in last place.

I have been delinquent in getting the PayPal information out, because apparently it is much simpler than I thought.  If you are paying via PayPal - all you need is my e-mail address, sosalaw@yahoo.com.  Make sure you hit the friends and family selection so that PayPal will not take fees out of the total.

A great tournament everybody.  Would hope you all come back into the pool again next year!

Your Tournament Host!

NCAA Tournament Pool

NCAA TOURNAMENT POOL STANDINGS

Championship Monday

WOW - this tournament has definitely taken another unexpected turn as we lost another potential champion when overall number 1 seed and overwhelming favorite Florida lost to Connecticut.  In the other half, eighth seeded Kentucky beat 2 seed Wisconsin, meaning that we have the highest seeds to ever collectively play in the NCAA Championship game (15).  The picks of the day go to Barkley Sosa and JC Carralero, for selecting Kentucky and Connecticut respectively.  Although a few (very few) of the other entries had Kentucky or Connecticut, Barkley and JC put themselves right into the championship picture, especially since Barkley is now the tournament leader!  

For those of you STILL waiting for PayPal information - I am a complete idiot.  I have never used PayPal before, and I set up an account.  However, I do not know what information that I am supposed to give you to know into what account you should pay.  I have searched and searched, but apparently - as I said before - I am an idiot.  If someone can e-mail me at sosalaw@yahoo.com to let me know what information other than the e-mail address that I need to give you that will be greatly appreciated!

For now, Barkley leads, but JC has a chance to win with a Connecticut victory Monday night!

On to the standings:

1.  Barkley Sosa – 118
2. Cesar Gonzalez – 111
3. Pepe Sosa – 108

4. J.C. Carralero 1 – 107  UCONN

5. Jason Spuhler – 106

6. Karen Katz – 101
7. Jane Reynolds – 100
8. Brent Bellinger – 99
Robert Tanen – 99
10. Steffan Alexander – 96
11. Alvaro Gonzalez – 96
Ava Manon Gonzalez – 96
13. Jacey Fowler I – 95
Michael Litsey – 95
15. Meredith Tanen – 94
16. Cheryl Spuhler – 93
17. Adam Jorgensen – 92
Mango Merchant – 92
19. Colleen Hamilton 1 – 91
Marc Rodney – 91
21. Kim Bancsi I – 90
22. Erin Devlin – 89
Abigail Sosa – 89
24. Debbie Igdaloff Nieman – 88
Train Zimmerman – 88
26. Willa Fearrington 2 – 86
Carolyn Fowler – 86
Carolyn Fowler and Jane Reynolds – 86
29. Kyle Henderson 1 – 85
Greg Kummerlan – 85
31. Trouble Kroesen – 84
32. Megan Kossove – 83
Anthony LaPira – 83
              Ashley Poer 1 – 83
35. Albert Harper III – 82
Melissa Lazaerchick – 82
37. Kyle Henderson 2 – 81
Rich Samuels - 81
39. Jacey Fowler II – 80
        Hershey Zdrowak – 80
Keith Zdrowak – 80
42. Silas Nichols – 79
Hannah Sosa – 79
44. J.C. Carralero 2 – 78
Allison Parker I – 78
Jonathan Wasserman I – 78
47. Ashley Poer 2 – 77
George Walks 1 – 77
Katie Zdrowak – 77
50. Matt Hopps – 76
51. Kim  Bancsi 2 – 75
         Stacia Wilkaitis – 75
Michael Williams 3 – 75
54. Jack Henderson – 74
Kyle Henderson 3 – 74
Philip Kroesen – 74
Antonio Marinucci – 74
Allison Parker 2 – 74
Jonathan Wasserman 2 – 74
60. Willa Fearrington 1 – 73
Martha Kroesen – 73
62. Sam Lozier – 72
Matt Nemo Nieman – 72
64. Kingfish Parham – 69
65. Sean McInerney 2 – 68
Michael Williams 2 – 68
67. Bridget Talley –67
Ryan Whitten – 67
69. Hilary Kroesen – 66
Mac Kroesen – 66
Katie Butler Litsey – 66
72. Eric Inge – 65
Ty Leatherman – 65
Alex Sotelo –
75. Griffey Parker – 64
76. Arlene Hopps – 63
George Walks 3 – 63
78. Bill Lazarchick – 62
Colin White – 62
            Day Yi – 62
81. Sean McInerney 1 – 61
Sasha Moon –  61
Justin Yung – 61
84. Colleen Hamilton 2 – 60
George Walks 5 – 60
86. Hilary Grace – 59
87. Amy Zdrowak – 58
Joshua Zdrowak – 58
89. Chris Kroesen – 57
Michael Williams 1 – 57
91. J.C. Carralero 3 – 54
Tanya Fresneda – 54
Christina Pagdilao – 54
94. George Walks 4 – 52
95. Kristen Bolton – 51
96. George Walks 2 – 48
97. Steven Usma – 39