Saturday, January 31, 2015

All the Katy Perry You Need For Your Super Bowl Pregame


So if you're anything like me, or if you resemble anything close to a normal human being, you love Katy Perry and are gonna be jammin out to her all day tomorrow. She's absolutely going to KILL the halftime show. No doubt in my mind, it'll be the best ever. But, before then, you're gonna need some tunes to keep you going. Obviously you coulda put this playlist together yourself, but that's what I'm here for so you don't have to do any work at all. Grill out, crush some Katy Perry, drink a beer or 14, and then sit down and watch the Patriots remove every organ from the Seahawks' bodies en route to an 80 point victory. 


A couple bonus tracks from when KP was a Christian rocker




And a couple bonus pics cause she's the hottest woman alive

(I'll still take Katy Perry with short blue hair over pretty much anyone else ever)


Friday, January 30, 2015

Fire Jam Friday


Remember Chingy? If you don't, you will now cause this FJF is filled with some classics including "Right Thurr." Holy shit what a song that is. Some other rap throwbacks are mixed in there this week, along with some new stuff. Jana Kramer put out a new song this week, Imagine Dragons released a new single. It's all deadly. Oh, and if liking Nick Jonas' and Demi Lovato's duet "Avalanche" is wrong, I don't wanna be right.


#FireJamFriday

Thursday, January 29, 2015

Clemson's 2015 Football Schedule Released




Clemson's only national championship season (1981) began on September 5th against Wofford. So I see you Dabo. App State is in the FBS now, and they beat Michigan a few years ago so you can't overlook them. Clemson had started its last four seasons with an SEC opponent, but they're on a one year hiatus from that this year before they start another home and home series with Auburn in 2016. I guess they needed a little break from grueling openings to their schedule. The ACC schedule this year will be the toughest they've had in a while (at least since I've been here). Louisville was solid last season, finished 9-4. Notre Dame's Malik Zaire is a highly touted QB. Georgia Tech won the Orange Bowl and finished in the top 10. BC has given us a scare a couple years in a row. Miami should be a really strong football team next season with Brad Kaaya at QB, coming off a very good freshman year. NC State on the road I guess could be a trap game, scheduled right before the FSU game. And that FSU game will likely determine the Atlantic Division winner of the ACC. I can't imagine FSU being all that better than what we saw this year when Jameis wasn't playing. Syracuse is a terrible football team, and so is Wake Forest. And then of course we finish off with the chickens. South Carolina was AWFUL in 2014, but you can't expect a Steve Spurrier coached team to be THAT bad two years in a row. Or can you? Do they have a quarterback? Serious question.

Whatever. We got Deshaun. 12-0. ACC champions. Playoff bound. National champs. 15-0.



219 days until...
.




Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Budweiser Wins Commercial of the Year


Wow. Hey Budweiser, I wasn't planning on crying at 1:15 on a Wednesday afternoon. They absolutely crushed the commercial game with this one. DESTROYED IT. Using an adorable puppy will always give you an upper-hand but Budweiser just takes it to a whole new level. They found the most adorable puppy and then made an emotional commercial. I don't need to see another Super Bowl commercial now. A++ work, Budweiser.

P.S. I'm driving home right now to go see my dog. Need to give him a hug. Don't want to, need to.

Monday, January 26, 2015

Swaggy P on Kobe Being Out for the Season: "Just Give Me the Ball and Get Out of the Way"


ESPNEL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- What will the Lakers do without Kobe Bryant

Don't worry. 

They still have Nick Young

"Just give me the ball and get out of the way," the outspoken reserve guard said with a laugh after practice Monday, not long after the team announced that Bryant will have surgery Wednesday morning to repair a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder. 

A timetable for Bryant's recovery won't be known until after the procedure, but Lakers coach Byron Scott said that "we know Kobe is probably not going to play" again this season. 

While Scott said he has “no idea” who will step up to help fill the void left by Bryant, and didn’t mention who would start in place of Bryant, no doubt more is expected of Young, who averages 14.1 points per game, second among Lakers players to Bryant’s 22.3. 

"It’s a big responsibility," Young said. "I’ve got to go out there and play to the best of my abilities every night." 

Young spoke after apparently suffering a sprained ankle during practice when guard Jordan Clarkson stepped on his foot. Young said his ankle was "throbbing, but I’ll be all right." He said he wasn't sure if he'd play Tuesday against the Washington Wizards

However, Young's mention of "responsibility" came at an interesting time. The Lakers guard was benched in the second half of Sunday's loss to the Houston Rockets for what Scott described as a lack of effort. 

"The message I was sending [Sunday] night was, 'You basically didn’t look like you wanted to play,'" Scott said. "'You weren't defending. You were just standing around.' He was throwing the ball all over the place. So I chose not to play him, because if you look disinterested, with body language and things like that, to me you don’t want to play." 

Young, who didn't speak to reporters after Sunday's game, discounted the notion that he didn't want to be out there. 

"There ain’t a day go by that I don’t want to be out there on the court," Young said. "I love being here, love playing basketball. I get a joy out of playing and seeing the fans, hearing them chant ‘Swaggy P.’ That’s what drives me. [Scott] sees what he sees. I’m not in no situation to go back and forth with the coach because I would never play. That’s his judgment." 

On being benched, Young said, "It was very frustrating. It just brought back some old memories, like being a rookie. It happens. I guess [Scott] wants the best for me. I came in [Monday] with the mindset of not having no negative energy. ... I think I’ll be all right." 

Young also admitted that the Lakers' losing ways have affected him. The team has lost a season-high eight straight games, their longest losing streak since losing eight in a row in March 2005. 

"We’ve only won 12 games this year," Young said. "Losing can catch up to you. I’m still a human being. I’m still going out there trying to fight. At the same time, you get tired of getting beat up." 

Young said he and Scott talked about his demeanor, and Young stressed that he has to do a better job when being double-teamed by defenders, which he said he expects even more now that Bryant is out. 

"It’s tough, but we’ve got to go out there and still fight," Young said. "We’ve still got to give fans a show. It’s a chance for other people to step up now. There’s a lot of players with contracts. Even though it’s tough for Kobe, it’s a blessing in disguise for other people out there to get a chance. They’ve just got to take full advantage of it." 





I'd love Swaggy P if he were good. But he's literally one of the worst shooters in basketball. He ranks incredibly low in shooting percentage so the Lakers should probably have a better game plan in mind without Kobe. OR you can give him the ball all you want and land a lottery pick in the draft in June. 

The thing is, when you aren't good you can't say shit like this. In the NBA, anything goes as far as cockiness and arrogance -- as long as you're ACTUALLY good. LeBron can get away with being a huge douche because he's won four MVPs and two championships. Kobe can call his teammates pussies because he's one of the greatest players of all time and has five championships. BUT when you're Swaggy P who averages 14.1 points per game and has an abysmal shooting percentage, you can't say "give me the ball and get out of the way." Obviously the guy is athletic but ya gotta be realistic with him at some point and tell him that he sucks. He's so goofy about being cocky too. It's like he knows he sucks but still acts like he's good so he laughs at himself. He thinks he's fooling people. He thinks he's convincing people that he's good, but everybody already knows he sucks. But whatever, I don't really care about the NBA. Just thought that was an absurd thing to say from such a shitty player. 



P.S. 


This is what happens when you give Swaggy P the ball, and get out of the way.


Five Star Recruit Jokes About Narrowing His Decision to University of Phoenix and ITT Tech


Sporting NewsIt's tough deciding what school you want to attend to play college football.
Five star running back recruit Soso Jamabo knows the feeling. He could play almost anywhere he wants, with offers from big programs like Texas, UCLA and Notre Dame, according to 247 Sports
But no, he has narrowed his options down to two different schools — University of Phoenix or ITT Tech. 
Neither of those two online degree programs field Division I football programs, so it's obvious he's joking. It was a fantastic answer for a kid who's holding his cards close.



Love it. Everyone's trying to act so serious, asking him where he's gonna play football in college, and Soso here is just like "ah I think U of Phoenix is pretty sweet, but ITT Tech is up there too." Huge fan of this Soso kid, and if Dabo isn't on the phone with him right now trying to get him to come to Clemson, he should be fired (just kidding, Dabo's the man). BUT I do need Soso in some orange and purple ASAP.

Saturday, January 24, 2015

The Solution to "Deflategate"


Okay, so I know Luke usually handles all the Patriots stuff, but this whole "deflategate" thing has gotten out of hand. My brother Nick took it upon himself to solve the matter and wrote up a document the other night that pretty much solved the whole thing. He wanted me to post it on Top Cheddar just so even a few people could read it. 

I might be a little late since Bill Belichick already had a press conference today, but I think that miiiiight have just been to talk about balls.

Anyway, here's the email I got from Nick, followed by the document he wrote up.


Explanation of What Happened in Deflategate
-          Equipment manager keeps/maintains team footballs

-          He receives the incoming shipments of footballs, inflates them and the quarterbacks select their preferred footballs (kickers balls come in brand new and are not touched until the game)

-          Tom Brady picks balls, unaware of any air pressure rule (says to equipment manager “hey I like the ones that are squishier” or something to that effect)

-          Equipment manager tests limits with how little air he can put in based on Tom Brady’s comment

-          Refs are lenient with the rule so they half-ass the inspections in that they do not actually pull out a device that measures air pressure or anything

-          The entire league probably doesn’t know the actual rule inside and out

-          Somebody got mad that the Pats were so good and they looked up petty rules that they possibly would be breaking

-          Knowing that everyone messes with the footballs, they tattled about that

-          Members of the Colts fabricated the story knowing full well that the balls were actually deflated

-          There has been no such investigation into any other teams, quarterbacks, equipment managers, or any league referees

-          To compare this to baseball, it is similar to an umpire inspecting a ball that has a nick in it or has gotten “dirty”.  It is a judgment call by the umpire, just like it is a judgment call on the part of the referee

-          In the second half, a judgment call by the referees caused the balls to be exchanged out based on a complaint.  It should’ve ended there because it is always up to the referee’s judgment

-          If a pitcher throws a pitch with a ball that had a nick on it, that doesn’t make him a cheater so if Tom Brady uses a football that the refs deemed fir for play, he is not a cheater.  The rules also say you can’t “hold” but players are called for it all the time

-          He is simply using a ball deemed fit by the officials

-          Nobody on the sideline could have been deflating footballs because there are cameras everywhere.  Any suspicious activity by a guy holding the footballs would surely be caught on a camera from some angle




Looking at the rules for both baseball and football, it is pretty clear the intent of the rules regarding the baseball/football put in play by the umpire/referee

MLB RULES

[Umpires] receive from the home club a supply of regulation baseballs, the number and make to be certified to the home club by the league president. The umpire shall inspect the baseballs and ensure they are regulation baseballs and that they are properly rubbed so that the gloss is removed. The umpire shall be the sole judge of the fitness of the balls to be used in the game;

3.02
No player shall intentionally discolor or damage the ball by rubbing it with soil, rosin, paraffin, licorice, sand-paper, emery-paper or other foreign substance.

The pitcher shall not—
 (1) While in the 18-foot circle surrounding the pitcher’s plate, touch the ball after touching his mouth or lips, or touch his mouth or lips while he is in contact with the pitcher’s plate. The pitcher must clearly wipe the fingers of his pitching hand dry before touching the ball or the pitcher’s plate. EXCEPTION:
Provided it is agreed to by both managers, the umpire prior to the start of a game played in cold weather, may permit the pitcher to blow on his hand.
PENALTY: For violation of this part of this rule the umpires shall immediately remove the ball from play and issue a warning to the pitcher. Any subsequent violation shall be called a ball.  However, if the pitch is made and a batter reaches first base on a hit, an error, a hit batsman or otherwise, and no other runner is put out before advancing at least one base, the play shall proceed without reference to the violation. Repeat offenders shall be subject to a fine by the League President.
(2) expectorate on the ball, either hand or his glove;
(3) rub the ball on his glove, person or clothing;
(4) apply a foreign substance of any kind to the ball;
(5) deface the ball in any manner; or
(6) deliver a ball altered in a manner prescribed by Rule 8.02(a)(2) through (5) or what is called the “shine” ball, “spit” ball, “mud” ball or “emery” ball. The pitcher is allowed to rub the ball between his bare hands.

NFL RULES
The Ball must be a “Wilson,” hand selected, bearing the signature of the Commissioner of the League, Roger Goodell. The ball shall be made up of an inflated (12 1/2 to 13 1/2 pounds) urethane bladder enclosed in a pebble grained, leather case (natural tan color) without corrugations of any kind. It shall have the form of a prolate spheroid and the size and weight shall be: long axis, 11 to 11 1/4 inches; long circumference, 28 to 28 1/2 inches; short circumference, 21 to 21 1/4 inches; weight, 14 to 15 ounces.

The Referee shall be the sole judge as to whether all balls offered for play comply with these specifications. A pump is to be furnished by the home club, and the balls shall remain under the supervision of the Referee until they are delivered to the ball attendant just prior to the start of the game.

In the event a home team ball does not conform to specifications, or its supply is exhausted, the Referee shall secure a proper ball from the visitors and, failing that, use the best available ball. Any such circumstances must be reported to the Commissioner.
In case of rain or a wet, muddy, or slippery field, a playable ball shall be used at the request of the offensive team’s center. The Game Clock shall not stop for such action (unless undue delay occurs).

The Commissioner has the sole authority to investigate and take appropriate disciplinary and/or corrective measures if any club action, non-participant interference, or calamity occurs in an NFL game which he deems so extraordinarily unfair or outside the accepted tactics encountered in professional football that such action has a major effect on the result of the game.






Final Analysis
After reading the rules, it is so obviously clear that it is left up to the referees to determine if the footballs are fit for play.  Just like in baseball, players push the boundaries of the rules until they are either asked to correct the action, or are reported by another team and the game is carried out with minimal interruption.  However, more often than not, these rules are judged so leniently and subjectively that within the grand scope of the game, they are simply petty rules that are only applied in the most severe and blatant cases (ex: Referee or Umpire physically sees an illegal alteration occurring).  The fact that the media and fans don’t understand the ins and outs of these sorts of things is unfortunate, however when your read the rules and think about the situation, it is an easy conclusion to come to.  Nobody actually cares about the balls that much!  So much, that the officials breeze through the inspections and worry about things that matter such as officiating the game, the players go out and play with whatever balls are put out on the field, and the coaches coach the players.  As long as they are official NFL footballs, no other action is taken.  The footballs are an afterthought.  Lastly, let’s think about how often referees go through the monotonous pregame routine where they are supposed to inspect these footballs.  Anybody with a brain can figure it out.  They’re not machines…they walk into their locker room joking around, the footballs are placed neatly on a table awaiting “inspection”.  One of the refs picks one up, makes sure it has the logo, Commissioner’s signature, and then they probably just play catch with it, just carrying on not really caring much about dimensions and air pressure and all that nonsense.  These dudes show up and do the same thing, with the same footballs, for every game they officiate.  If they look and feel inflated enough then they approve them.  It’s as simple as that.  And that is why 11 of the 12 footballs were so negligibly underinflated – their “inspection” was just a little once-over “looks good to me!” kind of thing.  




Some others may have this theory, but Nick just wanted to make it known that he put quite a bit of effort into actually determining what the heck might have happened last weekend. And I honestly think this is exactly what happened. Well done Nick.    


Friday, January 23, 2015

These NHLers Show Off Their Silky Mitts

Here's a nice treat for your friday afternoon. An absolutely unreal video, it shows you just how good these guys' hands are. My favorite part is TJ Oshie's moves, his fake slap shot is just mind boggling and then this:
(S/T to Pete Blackburn) 

Another highlight is Kaner telling Toews to be serious. The whole video is just absolute dynamite. If you get motion sickness then I don't suggest you watch this video.

Fire Jam Friday


Well it was about 65 and sunny all week here in Clemson...until today. So let's heat this 35 degrees, and rainy Friday back up with some fire. We got some classic Toby Keith and Kelly Clarkson, some new Ne-Yo and Nicki, along with a whole bunch of other good shit. The first song "Electric Love" was a recommendation from my friend Taylor Swift. Since she's too cool to put her music on Spotify, I'll at least use Spotify to listen to her suggestions. And it's a pretty sick song. Enjoy your weekend folks.


#FireJamFriday


Thursday, January 22, 2015

Julian Edelman Just Won #TBT

I absolutely LOVE it. My boy Julian just lightening the mood from this whole dumb deflate gate mess. He killed TBT, absolutely MURDERED it. 

So While Everyone Accuses the Patriots of Cheating, the Seahawks' Illegal Wedge Has Gone Unnoticed


So, I just saw this today (thanks to my friend quoting this tweet and mentioning me in it). Kind of absurd to be honest. The Patriots are getting a TON of shit for tampering with their footballs (something every team does) and meanwhile, the other team in the Super Bowl isn't getting any shit for pulling off illegal plays.

This is from the NFL's site, the year they changed the rule to only allow five players on each side of the ball on onside kicks:

Also on kickoffs, the kicking team can't have more than five players bunched together pursuing an onside kick. Breaking this rule would draw a 5-yard penalty.


This isn't even up for debate like the Patriots deal is. This is straight up illegal and the refs missed it. Yeah, Brandon Bostick should have caught the ball/just done his job and blocked for Jordy Nelson to catch it. I've said that a million times. But who knows, the guy on the Seahawks that did catch it coulda been the sixth man added to that side of the ball. This and the offsides call that was missed on Aaron Rodgers' first INT are bullshit. These, in my opinion, are worse than the calls in the Cowboys/Lions game and the Packers/Cowboys game. The calls in those games were based on the refs making calls based on what they saw. They were certainly debatable calls, and they could have gone either way. The two in this game are formation issues. You literally have a line judge standing on the sidelines at the line of scrimmage that can determine both of these things. If a guy is offsides, you can see it because he's over the line of scrimmage. If they have six men in an illegal wedge on an onside kick, all you have to do is count them. It's not that fucking hard, and the refs messed it up. And this is not me making excuses for how poorly the Packers played down the stretch. It should NOT have even come down to an onside kick. BUT it did. And you expect the refs to be prepared to make the right calls in critical situations like this. And they fucked up real bad. Because guess what happens when the Seahawks have to re-kick this? Brandon Bostick is so keen on blocking instead of going for the ball this time that he barrels over every Seahawk on the fucking field and Jordy takes it to the house, obviously. So have fun in the Super Bowl that you don't deserve to be in Seattle, because we're coming for you and your bullshit next year. Patriots by 80.




P.S. Pete Carroll, you deserve anything terrible that happens to you. You're a horrible person and I despise you.



Carmelo Anthony Showing A Little Integrity

Source- PHILADELPHIA -- Some New York Knicks fans want to see the team tank the season to land a top pick in the NBA draft. But to star forward Carmelo Anthony, that is a "bad mentality to have." "I don't know how to have that mindset," Anthony said Wednesday night after the Knicks beat the Philadelphia 76ers 98-91 to improve to 7-36. "Having that mindset as a basketball player, as a competitor, it's just hard to do unless you don't care about the game, what happens and your performance. To say that we're going to go out there and we want to lose a basketball game, I think that's a bad mentality to have."

I don't blog about basketball much, or ever, because I think the NBA sucks and I have absolutely no interest in it. But I do follow sports, so I know that the Knicks are absolutely TERRIBLE. Dumpster Fire city. I couldn't believe what I was reading when I saw this article. There's always so much talk about tanking in the NBA to get a better draft pick. It's really the only sport that people talk about it frequently. People throw it around in the NHL once and a while since two of the supposedly best players to enter the draft in years are coming up this year, but everyone knows that you don't tank in the NHL, it just doesn't happen. I'm not too sure what goes on in the NBA, everything seems to be a little hairy if you ask me. If I was a Knicks fan I would be pumped that the leader of my team was coming out and saying this. When a leader like Anthony comes out and talks publicly about this stuff, it can work its way down food chain and soon all the guys will have this mindset. That's the stuff you want from your leader. Maybe this will help the Knicks out a little. At least they have the right mentality, they aren't admitting defeat just yet. 

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Pond Hockey Tribute

Awesome video. If you've ever played pond hockey then you can relate to this. Absolutely NOTHING like being out on the ice and playing hockey, you and your boys just playing for the love of the game. Someone (me) once said hockey is the most romantic sport of all time. I stand by that statement. Watching this video gave me chills. Pond Hockey is the most incredible thing in the world,  I don't care what you say. Takes you back to the origins of the game. I think for the Winter Classic the teams should literally start playing on lakes and really take it back to the roots. After watching this video I don't want to do anything but play pond hockey for the rest of time. If you can watch this video and not get chills you're probably dead.

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

FORGET ALL THAT CAME AFTER IT, THIS NO OFFSIDES CALL DOOMED THE PACKERS FROM THE START


ESPNGREEN BAY, Wis. -- Few quarterbacks, if any, are better at taking advantage of free plays thanAaron Rodgers. He thought he had one in the first quarter of the Green Bay Packers' NFC Championship Game loss on Sunday when he saw Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennettcross the line of scrimmage. 

So he took a shot and threw to rookie receiver Davante Adams in the end zone, but cornerbackRichard Sherman picked it off. 

Since there was no flag for on offside penalty, so the interception stood. 

Two days after the game, Rodgers remained convinced the officials missed the call. 

"I think it's pretty evident on the film," Rodgers said Tuesday on his ESPN Milwaukee radio show. 

review of the game film shows Rodgers has a legitimate gripe. 

It potentially cost the Packers points because it was a third-and-10 play from the Seahawks' 29-yard line. At worst, an incompletion there would have set up a 47-yard field goal by Mason Crosby, who was 5-for-5 in the game. A penalty would have given the Packers a third-and-5 play from the 24 yard line. 

It was one of two interceptions Rodgers threw in the 28-22 overtime loss. 

After the game, he explained them both. 

"Felt like we might have had an offsides on the first interception," Rodgers said at the time. "Corey [Linsley] snapped it early -- I figured it was a free play -- and Davante was the only route that was going in the end zone. Sherm made a good play. The second one, just miscommunication between Cobb and I."



ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! I mean don't get me wrong, the Packers did everything in their power to lose that football game, but this is so clearly why they lost. Instead of an interception here you get at worst, a field goal. That's the game. And who knows, maybe if they had that field goal already they woulda gone for it on 4th and goal from the one yard line one of the two times they were in that situation. This is just another reason why this game should have been 42-0 at the half. The Packers could have flown to Arizona at half time if it weren't for this call in my mind. Aaron Rodgers KNOWS when someone jumps offsides on him 10000 trillion percent of the time. So when he knows someone's offsides, he looks down field or in this case, the end zone and throws it regardless of the coverage just to see if he can get a touchdown on the free play instead of just the five yard penalty. This guy is beyond offsides in this picture and Rodgers wouldn't have made this throw otherwise. Worst case scenario if they get this call is 25-22 Packers win in regulation. Realistic case if they get this call is 84-0. God I can't wait until next year. Every drive might be a touchdown. Gonna be so fired up. Fuck this man.

A Blog Dedicated to Feeling Bad for Eddie Lacy


Kind of a two part blog here, just a couple Eddie Lacy stories that I wanna touch on. 

First one is about his mom's texts before and after the heartbreaking loss on Sunday. My buddy shared this on my wall on Facebook already so that's how I saw it, and I felt the need to blog it since I already had another Eddie piece to write.

ESPN: Moms. Sometimes they know exactly what to say.
Green Bay Packers running back Eddie Lacy, who holds his family close, knows this quite well. Before her son's team faced the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship Game, Wanda Lacy sent two wonderful messages to inspire her son. Then, after the Packers' crushing loss, she followed up with the perfect message for the Louisiana native:
I hope Mama Lacy knows that crawfish time will have to wait until February next year.


Second one is Lacy's reaction after the game Sunday, and I just saw it today.
Exactly the response a fan wants from a player to the dumbass "emotions" question following every terrible loss. He's just sad. We all are. Sorry your coach forgot how to coach and your third string forgot his job/how to catch, Eddie. You're the man. Can't wait til next year.


Monday, January 19, 2015

Former Clemson Players in the NFL 2014-15 Review


Plenty of young former Clemson Tigers had a big impact on NFL teams this season, so I'm here to recap it now that Dwayne Allen and his Colts were knocked out of the playoffs yesterday

DeAndre Hopkins, WR Texans
Nuk had a break out year for the Texans. He took over as the leading receiver for the team and is one of the bright spots that has Houston thinking it can make the playoffs next year. He also had quite possibly the best game of any receiver this year when he went off for 9 catches and 238 yards and 2 TDs against Tennessee. Nuk is an alternate receiver for the pro bowl. The Texans went 9-7 and just missed the playoffs.

Season Stats:
76 catches
1,210 yards
6 TDs
15.9 yards per catch
57 first downs

Sammy Watkins, WR Bills
Sammy was the leading receiver for the Bills in his rookie season, and if he had an adequate quarterback throwing him the ball, then he would have had a pro bowl campaign. The Bills also went 9-7, just missing the playoffs. 

Season Stats:
65 catches
982 yards
6 TDs
15.1 yards per catch
47 first downs

Martavis Bryant, WR Steelers
Martavis didn't play until week 7 for the Steelers, but once he did he was an immediate impact. He became a touchdown machine, and was one of the best deep threats in the NFL the last few weeks. The Steelers went 11-5, won the AFC North and lost in the Wild Card round to the rival Ravens.

Season Stats (10 games):
26 catches
549 yards
8 TDs
21.1 yards per catch
16 first downs

Playoff Stats (1 game):
5 catches
61 yards
1 TD
12.2 yards per catch
3 first downs

Dwayne Allen, TE Colts
Despite battling some injuries, Dwayne Allen had a pretty productive season. He's a big redzone target for Andrew Luck, and he made some solid contributions to an 11-5 Colts team that won the AFC South yet again. The Colts also won their first two games of the playoffs against the Bengals and Broncos before getting trounced by the Patriots.

Season Stats (13 games):
29 catches
395 yards
8 TDs
13.6 yards per catch
24 first downs

Playoff Stats (3 games):
11 catches
90 yards
1 TD
8.2 yards per catch
6 first downs

Chandler Catanzaro, K Cardinals
Chandler Catanzaro had a great rookie year for the Cardinals, winning over the kicker job in preseason as an undrafted free agent. When the Cardinals offense started to struggle, Catanzaro picked them up with his clutch kicking. He went 4-4 in a 12-6 win over the Rams late in the season. The Cards went 11-5 but took their third string quarterback into Carolina for the Wild Card game against the Panthers and lost.

Season Stats:
29/33 on field goals (87.9%)
51 yard long
27/27 on extra points
114 points

Playoff Stats (1 game):
No field goal attempts
2/2 on extra points
2 points


I've previously written about Andre EllingtonBashaud BreelandCJ SpillerCharlie Whitehurst, and Jaron Brown but Ellington and Spiller got injured, Breeland hasn't done much since I last wrote, and Whitehurst and Brown had very minimal roles on their teams. Click on their names to see their stats courtesy of ESPN Stats.

I'm hoping to see some more guys making big impacts for their teams next year, including some rookies from this year's STACKED defense that was number one in the country. Vic Beasley at #30 to the Packers?? Would be pretty badass.





Packers End of Season Blog


Aaaand just like that the Packers season is over. Green Bay had the hottest team in the league on the ropes at their home stadium and they decided to piss it all away and hit the golf course instead of finishing it off. Watching that game yesterday was up there with game 7 of the 2001 World Series as the most depressing game ever, but I wasn't even allowed to stay up and watch the end of that one so this one might be worse. The Packers completely dominated this game, but couldn't get the ball in the end zone when it meant the most and couldn't play defense when it meant the most. Terrible play calling down the stretch blew a 16-0 lead and a 19-7 lead with 6 minutes left in the game. Why you wouldn't let the best quarterback in the league try to get a first down on 3rd and 16 is beyond me. Why Morgan Burnett dropped on the ground instead of trying to return the ball further on the interception with 5 minutes left is beyond me. Why Andrew Quarless dropped a 3rd and 4 pass right to his chest is beyond me. Why Brandon Bostick went for the ball on the onsides kick is beyond me. Why Brandon Bostick tried to catch the onsides kick with his face is beyond me. Why Ha Ha Clinton-Dix made zero effort to make a play on the 2 point conversion is beyond me. Just a ton of shit that's beyond me.

I was so nervous going into this game and then the Packers came out firing on all cylinders (until the one yard line) and I was literally laughing out loud at the Seahawks. Russell Wilson is arguably the WORST  quarterback in football after that game yesterday and he FUCKING WON. The defense played fantastic up until they were on the field pretty much the entire fourth quarter. Morgan Burnett had a LOT of room to run on the interception with 5 minutes left and for all we know he could have fucking scored and put the game away. At least could have set up another field goal. And he just SLID DOWN at the 50!! But, as dumb as that play was, Burnett played great and so did the defense. Just makes no sense how everyone all at once decided to play like ass. I put most of the blame on Mike McCarthy and then everything else is evenly distributed between the players I've mentioned.

I have to say, and anyone who disagrees with me is insane, it was pretty impressive that Rodgers led the team down to set up a game-tying field goal with a minute left. Complete momentum shift after the Seahawks scored to take the lead for the first time all day and Rodgers calmly made some plays and got them in field goal range to send it to overtime. That was the loudest the stadium was all game and Rodgers made the necessary plays. Obviously, he wanted a touchdown there but tying the game was the first priority. If the plays were there that could get a touchdown, he would make them. But they got the field goal, which was great. And then they lost the coin toss. I knew it was over then. But whatever. Great season, hopefully next year they'll be able to make it happen in the playoffs.

Patriots by 80 in the Super Bowl. Seattle is a HORRENDOUS football team.

This was the most absurd thing I've ever heard.
Oh, no one believed in you Doug? You're the defending Super Bowl champions and you were favored by 8 points yesterday. Yeah, not a lot of belief in that team....


I guess the only thing I have to look forward to is Aaron winning the MVP in a landslide. Can't wait til everyone that wanted JJ Watt to win cries about it too. Hey, scoring 5 touchdowns and getting 20 sacks doesn't win games. You know what does? a 38-5 TD/INT ratio.

Super Bowl 50 is next year. Would only be fitting if Green Bay returned the Lombardi Trophy to its home 49 years after Lombardi won the first Super Bowl ever. Go Pack Go!



P.S. Just a thought here. Why the fuck does the NFL still do sudden death overtime? Like I know you can't win on a field goal anymore, but if you score a touchdown on the first possession the game's over. It's stupid. It gives the team that wins the coin toss an overwhelming advantage. No one likes sudden death. I repeat, it's stupid.