Primetime Preview: Denver Broncos at Oakland Raiders

Primetime Preview: Denver Broncos at Oakland Raiders

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by | Sep 10, 2019 | Featured, NFL

Week 1 comes to a close with a meeting of AFC West rivals as the Denver Broncos face the Oakland Raiders in what will be the final Monday Night Football game in Oakland–Raiders are moving to Las Vegas next season.

Unless you were hiding under a rock, with no WiFi reception, the Oakland Raiders offseason (headlined by the Antonio Brown drama) was heard and seen by pretty much everyone. The team enters Week 1 with more question marks then it had when their season ended last year.

Jon Gruden is in year two of his 10-year deal and while it is unlikely that the Raiders let him go any time soon, he surely wants to turn things around from what the team put on display a season ago. In back-to-back years, Oakland has seen its best player leave the team before the season even started.

The head coach does still have Derek Carr on the roster and with some experience in Gruden’s offense, the hope is that Carr will be able to replicate his near MVP season that was derailed by injury in December of 2016.

Helping Carr and the offense find their groove sans AB is first-round pick (one of three Oakland had in the 2019 NFL Draft) is running back Josh Jacobs. Jacobs was a three-star recruit coming out of high school and waited his turn at Alabama until he exploded as an every-down back as a Junior.

Given the pass rush that the Broncos are packing with Von Miller and Bradley Chubb on either side of the ball, quick drop off passes and screens to Jacobs should be a heavy part of the game plan tonight. New Denver head coach, Vic Fangio should be ready for that. He’s one year removed from revamping the Chicago Bears defense back into their “Monsters of the Midway” past. He was brought up to the Mile High city to produce similar results. Having Chubb and Miller is a great starting point.

On offense, the team will be led by Joe Flacco who comes over from the Baltimore Ravens after losing his job to Lamar Jackson. He will be working with Royce Freeman and Phillip Lindsay in the backfield. Lindsay is coming off a year that saw him become the first undrafted rookie to make a Pro Bowl in his first NFL season. The two should operate more in a committee style to keep both fresh for the entire season.

Outside, Emmanuel Sanders is returning from a torn Achilles but still looks like a reliable option. Courtland Sutton is looking to improve upon his rookie year and cement himself as the team’s number one target. Flacco has targeted his tight ends often in his career and Denver used their first-round pick in 2019 on former Iowa tight end Noah Fant–his teammate T.J. Hockenson just set a record with 134 receiving yards in his NFL debut.

The Raiders will be relying on their other two 2019 first-round draft choices to make an impact, defensive end Clelin Ferrell and safety Jonathan Abrams. Abrams was a favorite of the camera during Oakland’s Hard Knocks stint during training camp and preseason. He talked a big game and there’s no better stage to back that up than on Monday Night Football.

If the defense can find themselves this year than there’s hope for the Raiders to make something out of what is already a crazy season. If not, the long year will only grow longer.

As the nightcap, this game might not be as entertaining as the first game of tonight’s double-header but rest assured that these two heated rivals will be locked into a battle to end Week 1.

Sep 10, 2019 No Comments
Primetime Preview: Houston Texans at New Orleans Saints

Primetime Preview: Houston Texans at New Orleans Saints

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by | Sep 9, 2019 | Featured, NFL

Week 1 of the 2019 NFL season concludes with two Monday Night Football games, the first of which features two explosive offenses as the Houston Texans travel to Louisiana to take on the New Orleans Saints in the majestic Mercedes Benz Superdome.

The story of how the Saints season ended last season has been spoken about ad nauseam. There really isn’t much more to say about–the NFL instituted a rule change effective immediately in response. Moving past that uncalled pass interference is going to be necessary if they hope to get back to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2009.

Having Drew Brees, Alvin Kamara, and Michael Thomas means that New Orleans should easily be one of the best offenses in the NFL once again. This is their first opportunity to remind the football world just how potent they can be and they’ll have the eyes of the nation in this primetime Monday night slot (with an earlier start, 7:10 PM EST).

As has been the case for the majority of Brees’ time in the Big Easy, if the defense can hold up its end of the bargain then New Orleans is easily one of the top teams in the league. The Saints defense has gotten better over the years and now includes names like Marshon Lattimore, Cam Jordan, and others that make up a very respectable group.

Testing that defense is the devastating tandem of Deshaun Watson and DeAndre Hopkins. A year ago, Hopkins did not drop a single catchable pass and some would rank him as the best wide receiver in the game–though Thomas just got paid as if it were him instead. That connection could be even better now that the Texans brought in a real left tackle from Miami in Laremy Tunsil to protect Watson’s blindside.

The team also brought in Duke Johnson Jr. from the Cleveland Browns and with Lamar Miller suffering a torn ACL in the preseason, Johnson is now the team’s primary runner. He’s been thirsting for the opportunity to prove he is more than just a third-down, change of pace running back and he gets his chance this season.

Changes were also made o the roster on the other side of the ball. Jadeveon Clowney is gone–for a package of draft picks and backup linebackers–after the two sides couldn’t reach an agreement on a long-term contract this offseason. However, J.J. Watt remains and he has been the face of the franchise long before a competent offense came along. They’ll need Watt at his best if they have any shot at slowing down the Saints from marching into the end zone.

In this game expect a lot of points, if you have any of the big five (Brees, Hopkins, Kamara, Thomas, and Watson) on your fantasy football team be prepared for some big scoring nights across the board. The shootout will likely be the highlight of the NFL’s opening week and we all should thank our lucky stars that we get to watch.

Sep 9, 2019 No Comments
Primetime Preview: Pittsburgh Steelers at New England Patriots

Primetime Preview: Pittsburgh Steelers at New England Patriots

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by | Sep 9, 2019 | Featured, NFL

The defending Super Bowl champions did not get the customary Thursday night opening game to begin the year. As part of the NFL’s celebration of 100 seasons, the league opted to kick off the year with the Green Bay Packers taking on the Chicago Bears. That meant the New England Patriots would have to wait until the final game of Sunday night to reveal the banner and kick off their new season.

As we’ve heard from head coach Bill Belichick countless times, this season (and every week) is a completely new obstacle. That couldn’t be more true for the 2019 iteration of this team. They look very different from the team we just saw win Super Bowl LIII. Rob Gronkowski retired, his skills in the seams and the middle of the field opened up a lot of Josh McDaniels offense. Instead of replacing him with a tight end, they beefed up their wide receiver’s room. Josh Gordon has been reinstated, Demaryius Thomas—recovering from a torn Achilles—was signed, and the team just added Antonio Brown yesterday.

On top of that, Super Bowl XLIII MVP Julian Edelman is back and second-year running back Sony Michel was a huge part of the Patriots success in the postseason.

Tom Brady is entering his 20th season in the league and it is debatable if he’s had a team with more weapons and talent any other time in his career.

The Pittsburgh Steelers also will look different. Le’Veon Bell and Brown are gone for good now. James Conner filled in admirably for Bell last season but the team will rely a lot more on Juju Smith-Schuster this year than they did before. With Ben Roethlisberger still calling the shots, this team should be potent offensively.

They have moved away from the Dick LeBeau defense over the year and spent a first-round pick on linebacker Devin Bush to try and replace what they once got from Ryan Shazier in the middle of the field. If another youngster, T.J. Watt steps up his game then they can be a very strong team on both sides of the ball.

Pittsburgh failed to make the playoffs a year ago, the hope is that the new-look roster will help them get back on top of the AFC North and into the postseason once more.

Tonight’s game will be a good test for the New England defense that is technically operating without a defensive coordinator this season—Jerod Mayo has called plays at times during the postseason but Belichick always has in hands on what that unit does in some form.

In the Super Bowl, the Patriots completely shut down the vaunted Los Angeles Rams offense by holding them to just three points. Every key piece (except defensive end Trey Flowers) returns and the team brought back linebacker Jamie Collins who has won a Super Bowl during his first stint with the team.

Stephon Gilmore proved himself to be a shutdown corner a year ago and will likely draw the bulk of Smith-Schuster coverage if the team opts to put him on the outside. The team just gave undrafted slot corner Jonathan Jones a three-year extension and will likely cover the Steelers top threat when he’s inside.

Brady and the Patriots are as multi-faceted as ever and will likely attack Pittsburgh wherever they feel they are weakest. If they find that sore spot early it could be a long night for the Steelers.

Sep 9, 2019 No Comments
BREAKING NEWS: Nick Foles Suffers Broken Clavicle in Season Opener

BREAKING NEWS: Nick Foles Suffers Broken Clavicle in Season Opener

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by | Sep 8, 2019 | Featured, NFL

The Jacksonville Jaguars wasted no time in free agency making a move for quarterback Nick Foles. They were ready to move on from Blake Bortles after five seasons and went after the former Super Bowl MVP.

Today was his first time playing a regular season game with his new team. It started off well. Foles connected on a touchdown with D.J. Chark on a deep ball with a beautiful arc.

However, that would be bis final play of the game. Foles was driven into the ground after making the throw and landed directly on his left shoulder.

He was immediately taken off the field and into the locker room to be checked.

Following their 40-26 loss at home, the Jaguars announced that Foles broke his left clavicle. There is no timeline given for his return to action but it would likely keep him off the field for the majority of the season.

Sep 8, 2019 No Comments
BREAKING NEWS: Antonio Brown Signs With The New England Patriots

BREAKING NEWS: Antonio Brown Signs With The New England Patriots

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by | Sep 7, 2019 | Featured, NFL

Antonio Brown was officially released at 4 PM EST. In an hour he had a new home. The diva wide receiver has found a hole in what some may call the most unlikely of places, New England.

The defending Super Bowl champions have signed Brown to a one-year deal worth $15 million including a $9 million signing bonus.

For his part, Brown now gets to team up with Tom Brady, Julian Edelman, Josh Gordon, and Demaryius Thomas giving the Patriots one of the deepest and most talented receiver rooms in the league—and maybe in the history of the NFL.

When Rob Gronkowski announces his retirement in March (two weeks after Brown was traded to Oakland) the starting receivers for the Patriots were projected to be Phillip Dorsett, Edelman, and Matthew Slater—a career special teams player. With Week 1 they have significantly upgraded what was once considered a weakness.

Brown won’t be eligible to play on Sunday night, which sees his new team face his former, former team, the Pittsburgh Steelers.

All the drama between Brown and the Raiders have been well-documented. However, none of that will fly on Bill Belichick’s team. If the wide receiver can’t fall in line he will be out of New England almost as quickly as he got there.

Social media was been a big part of Browns short time with the Raiders. He released this video earlier today documenting him finding out that he was let go by Oakland.

Now, things like this obviously won’t fly in the robotic constraints of the Patriots organization—pour one out for fun—but the 31-year-old has to know that if he plays by the rules for one year he’ll likely get a Super Bowl ring and another shot at big money this offseason.

Sep 7, 2019 No Comments