10 Awesome Things That Happened This Past Weekend (9/26-9/28)

10. Rajon Rondo Breaks His Hand, Out 6-8 Weeks

            While this move won’t do anything to improve Rondo’s trade value, it will help ensure the Celtics will have an abundance of ping-pong balls in next year’s draft lottery.

9. Jeff Gordon Emphatically Punches Ticket to Round of 12 at Dover

            Gordon’s march to 100 wins took another step forward as he dominated down the stretch to win his fourth race of the year. Brad Keselowski was equally impressive though. He’s posted 1-1-2 for finishes in the first three races of The Chase.

8. Jordan Zimmerman Ends Regular Season With a No-Hitter
            No Credentials is notoriously snarky about MLB no-hitters in the post-steroid era, but Steven Sousa Jr.’s ridiculous catch to end the game made the event worth of this list.

7. Aaron Rodgers Backs Up Words With 4 Touchdown Passes
            Sadly for Chicago, Rodgers wasn’t joking when he told Packer fans to relax.

6. Tampa Bay Confirms NFL No Longer Makes Sense, Rallies to Defeat Pittsburgh

            I’m officially deciding to only gamble on NBA games going forward after watching highlights from this game. We’ll touch more on that subject this week (the unpredictability of NFL games, not gambling on the NBA).

           

5. Kansas City Royals Return to the Postseason

            After Detroit clinched the AL Central Sunday, their stay could only last for one day, but hey it still counts.

4. Steve Smith “Sr.” Goes Bonkers

            It was obvious that Smith would have extra motivation facing off against his former team, but you’ll be hard pressed to find people outside of his immediate family that he could return to fantasy football relevance on a weekly basis.

           

3. Cowboys Play Like It’s 1993, Smash Saints

            Dallas demonstrated the value of an elite offensive line with their dismantling of a Saints team that beat them 49-17 last season. 

           

2. 49ers Get Back to Basics

            Teams often go astray when they try to be something that they aren’t (which is what happened to the 49ers each of the last two weeks), but they stuck to Frank Gore and the ground game and grinded out a win over the Eagles.

1. Boston Bids Farewell to Derek Jeter

            Nothing was going to top Jeter’s last game at Yankee Stadium, but kudos to Red Sox fans (who probably were outnumbered by Yankee fans who bought tickets on Stub Hub, but we won’t talk about that) for paying respects to a man who tormented them for many years.

2012 NFC South Preview

The NFC South is our first division where it's not out of the realm of possibility that any of the four teams could win.


4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

2011 Record = 4-12, Last in NFC South

2012 Schedule = CAR, @ NYG, @ DAL, WAS, BYE, KC, NO, @ MIN, @ OAK, SD, @ CAR, ATL, @ DEN, PHI, @ NO, STL, @ ATL

Franchise Players = QB Josh Freeman, WR Mike Williams, G Davin Joseph, DT Gerald McCoy

Key Free Agent Acquisitions = WR Vincent Jackson, TE Dallas Clark, G Carl Nicks, CB Eric Wright
Potential Impact Rookies = S Mark Barron (Alabama) 1-7, RB Doug Martin (Boise State) 1-31, OLB Lavonte David (Nebraska) 2-26

Outlook = There wasn’t a more aggressive team in free agency than the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They added the best wide receiver on the open market, the best guard, and a solid corner. Don’t be surprised if their top-3 draft picks have the largest collective impact of any trio in the league. Unfortunately, the defense still stinks. Assuming Josh Freeman has a bounce back season, expect Tampa to be involved in several shoot-outs this season.

Ceiling = 10-6

Floor = 3-13
No Credentials Prediction = 6-10

3. New Orleans Saints

2011 Record = 13-3, First in NFC South, Lost in NFC Divisional Game

2012 Schedule = WAS, @ CAR, KC, @ GB, SD, BYE, @ TB, @ DEN, PHI, ATL, @ OAK, SF, @ ATL, @ NYG, TB, @ DAL, CAR

Franchise Players = QB Drew Brees, RB Darren Sproles, WR Marques Colston, TE Jimmy Graham, G Jahri Evans, DE Will Smith

Key Free Agent Acquisitions = G Ben Grubbs, LB Curtis Lofton
Potential Impact Rookies = None

Outlook = We have no idea how a football team will do when their long-standing Super Bowl winning Head Coach is suspended, but I’m willing to bet that it has an impact (or at least Sean Payton and other coaches should hope it does. If New Orleans still wins 12 ball games this year, teams around the league will question how much they should pay head coach). Furthermore, their free agent acquisitions only covered up the loss of better players (Carl Nicks and Jonathan Vilma are both superior players when compared with Grubbs and Lofton). Throw in a first-place schedule, and this has all the makings of a high-scoring, highly scored upon .500 team.

Ceiling = 12-4 (that’s if a head coach doesn’t matter)

Floor = 4-12 (that’s if a head coach REALLY matters)
No Credentials Prediction = 8-8

2. Carolina Panthers

2011 Record = 6-10, Third in NFC South

2012 Schedule = @ TB, NO, NYG, @ ATL, SEA. BYE, DAL, @ CHI, @ WAS, DEN, TB, @ PHI, @ KC, ATL, @ SD, OAK, @ NO

Franchise Players = QB Cam Newton, WR Steve Smith, C Ryan Kalil, DE Charles Johnson, LB Jon Beason, CB Chris Gamble

Key Free Agent Acquisitions = None
Potential Impact Rookies = LB Luke Kuechly (Boston College) 1-9, G Amini Silatolu (Midwestern State) 2-8

Outlook = This year’s “trendy” team to make a leap into playoff contention, Carolina has a lot going for them. Cam Newton put up historic numbers in his rookie season, and should only improve going forward. Jon Beason, who was lost for the year early in 2011, returns fully healthy. Pairing him with rookie Luke Kuechly immediately should upgrade the Panther’s defense to a respectable level (they allowed the third most points in the NFC last season). I’m not going to go crazy, but I can see Carolina topping .500.

Ceiling = 11-5

Floor = 5-11
No Credentials Prediction = 9-7

1. Atlanta Falcons

2011 Record = 10-6, Second in NFC South, Lost in NFC Wildcard Game

2012 Schedule = @ KC, DEN, @ SD, CAR, @ WAS, OAK, BYE, @ PHI, DAL, @ NO, ARI, @ TB, NO, @ CAR, NYG, @ DET, TB

Franchise Players = QB Matt Ryan, RB Michael Turner, WR Roddy White, WR Julio Jones, TE Tony Gonzalez, G Justin Blalock, DE John Abraham, DE Ray Edwards
Key Free Agent Acquisitions = CB Asante Samuel
Potential Impact Rookies = C Peter Konz (Wisconsin) 2-23

Outlook = How you feel about the Atlanta Falcons ultimately boils down to how you feel about Matt Ryan becoming the focal point of the offense. Quite often last season the offense would fizzle when Atlanta forgot to hand the ball off to Michael Turner, which is concerning because Mike Smith has already stated that the Falcons will be a pass first team. Ryan has all the tools to succeed. If Julio Jones continues to develop, it could be argued that him and Roddy White are the best receiving tandem in the NFL. Tony Gonzalez can’t make as many big plays as he used to, but he’s still a reliable third down target. Ryan will also benefit from improvements on the other side of the ball. Asante Samuel is a massive upgrade for them (assuming his head is on straight), and is the best cornerback to wear a Falcons uniform since Ray Buchanan. Tighter coverage means more time for Abraham and Edwards to attack the quarterback. Better defense equals more opportunities for Ryan to make plays. If he thrives, Atlanta could pull out the #1 seed in the NFC (and then lose their first home playoff game, but we can talk about that in January).

Ceiling = 14-2

Floor = 9-7
No Credentials Prediction = 13-3




Click here to read about the AFC East
Click here to read about the AFC North
Click here to read about the AFC South
Click here to read about the AFC West
Click here to read about the NFC East
Click here to read about the NFC North
Click here to read about the NFC West

NFL Lockout Ends

     Against all odds, the NFL lockout has come to an end. Roger Goodell and NFLPA leader Demaurice Smith stood side by side today to make the announcement. Here are the twenty key points that got the deal done.

1. League agrees to meet in the middle on splitting of overall revenue. Furthermore, league will adopt union’s proposal of a $161 million salary cap for next season.

2. A new rookie wage scale. Money saved will be allocated to veterans and player health benefits.

3. Up to $1 million guaranteed the year following a player suffers a serious injury.

4. Reduction of all off-season activities, as well as limits on number of full-contact practices.

5. Brett Favre will be banned from ever playing in the NFL again (“This is a win-win for all parties involved,” says Goodell).

6. 2011 and 2012 seasons will be 16 games long. Both players and owners must agree upon any future move to 18 games.

7.  Owners will fund $82 million benefit fund for former players.

8. Current players will have opportunity to stay on league healthcare plan for life.

9. $5 million reward for defensive player that is able to convince Tiki Barber he should’ve thought twice about returning to the NFL.

10. Jaguars will be forced to relocate by the start of the 2014 season (“Have you ever tried to find some ass in downtown Jacksonville on a Saturday night?” asks an anonymous player, “It’s a scary situation.”).

11. Any appeals of drug or steroid related suspensions will be handled by third-party arbitration.

12. Improvements in the Mackey Plan (designed to assist players suffering from dementia and other brain-related issues), disability plan, and a college degree bonus program.

13. Teams will each be forced to roster five ex-convicts on their team (“We need more Lawrence Taylors,” says Smith).

14. Larry Fitzgerald and Steve Smith will be placed on teams that actually have NFL-caliber quarterbacks.

15. Current players will be banned from participating in “Dancing With the Stars” in order to keep jobs open for retired hall of famers.

16. All 32 clubs must use at least 90% of salary cap over course of three seasons.

17. NFL will enact the “Travis Henry Bonus”, which gives a player an extra $100,000 for each woman he impregnates.

18. Fantasy Football will be replaced by a game where you wager on which of two monkeys will fling poop at the other first.

19. “Welcome to the Jungle” and “Crazy Train” will be retired from ever being played during a game again (what does it say for the state of music when the two go-to songs to play during games are from the 1980s? I love me some Guns ‘n Roses and Ozzy, but it’s time we find something else).

20. Tom Brady will be forced to cut his hair or retire.