XDog's Sports Blog

NFL Teams Set to Improve in 2022

Former teammates Justin Jefferson and Jamar Chase.

New beginnings am I right? As September approaches we’re set to embark on a new NFL season. Anything could happen in a season that has yet to be played, games could be won or lost, names could be made, lives could be changed. It’s that type of speculation that fuels August articles. After being starved of football for months on end we fans salivate at the very idea of getting to do it all over again, and as is becoming tradition, I write this article.

Over the past two years I’ve tried to identify three teams each season who’ll make a leap. If you go back to the first edition of this series, you’ll see that I’ve set the benchmark for four more wins than the year prior. Four games can seem a bit arbitrary, but I do feel that over the past two years it’s been a good indicator of a team actually improving, not just getting lucky. It also allows me to consider bad teams who could move to the middle of the pack. While those teams certainly won’t be as relevant in the grand scheme of things, it’s still fun to give them some props. Year one of this article was a massive success, but year two was quite the stinker. After my hot take about Carolina last year, I have to redeem myself or else it won’t look like I know what I’m talking about, haha. Let’s get to it.

New York Giants

Daniel Jones and new head coach Brian Daboll.

For New York, the story is all about coaching. Last year the Giants were one of the worst coached teams in the league. Almost no other team was nearly as boring as they were and there’s no better play that exemplifies that than the infamous third-and-nine quarterback sneak. That play speaks volumes because it shows a clear lack of trust in not only the players, but the scheme the coaches put together as well. After a pitiful effort like that, former head coach Joe Judge had to be removed, something that probably should’ve been done earlier.

Joe Judge was a bad head coach. He was supposed to be a defensive specialist coming from New England, but the Giant’s defense was never off the charts, and he lacked creativity not only in his scheme, but also in his hiring choices. The Giants needed an innovative offensive coordinator who could help young quarterback Daniel Jones develop, instead Judge picked some of the worst possible candidates. Freddie Kitchens who absolutely flamed out with the Browns, and Jason Garrett who almost everyone agrees held the Cowboys back, were ultimately tasked with the job and to no one’s surprise they failed miserably.

There’s good news for the Big Blue though. It seems that they’ve learned their lesson. New York went in a very different direction with their new hire and that should make guys like Jones and Saquon Barkley very happy. Brian Daboll has taken over as the Giants lead skipper and he’s coming with a lot of ideas. Daboll is the former offensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills. He’s largely credited with developing an extremely raw Josh Allen into an all-pro level signal caller, and the New York faithful hope he can do the same with Jones.

The pieces are there. Underneath all the rubble of last season, there was actually a fairly talented skill position group. Barkley has the pedigree as the second overall pick in the 2018 draft, but there’s also sleepers like Kadrius Toney who is absolutely electric with the ball in his hands and Darious Slayton who’d probably be more popular if he didn’t play for the Giants. Toss in big money maker Kenny Golladay and steady vet Sterling Shepard, and Jones surely won’t be lacking weapons. That’ll help a lot in Daboll’s scheme which favors a spread field and a heavy passing attack.

What’s more is that Jones has shown a few flashes of stardom throughout his early career that are encouraging, something he has in common with Allen, who didn’t breakout until his third year in the league. Jones is a bit behind that schedule as he heads into his fourth year, but he’s still young and one can give him the benefit of the doubt with the kind of coaches he’s had.

If Daboll can put it all together then this offense has fringe top ten potential. Throw in a little positive regression to the mean after scoring a league low 24 touchdowns last year and that possibility sounds even more realistic. All this to say, yeah, I think the Giants can win eight games this year.

Cincinnati Bengals

Matthew Stafford and Joe Burrow. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)

Before you say anything, I know what you’re thinking. You might be wondering how a team that just made the Super Bowl could possibly improve. Well to be quite honest the Bengals got lucky last year. After finishing the regular season with an average 10-7 record, the Bengals went down to the wire with the Raiders, got a couple of gifts from Ryan Tannehill and got to play Patrick Mahomes in his most uncharacteristic performance to date. To be fair, that’s just football, it’s what we all love the game for. Anything can happen on any given Sunday, but you have to admit, it was a bit of a Cinderella run for Cincinnati.

What I’m really predicting here is that we’re not going to be able to call Cincinnati a Cinderella story, because they’ll have one of the best records in the NFL. Four more wins than last year means at least a 14-3 record for the 2022 Bengals, and while it can be hard to find all those wins if you take a glance at their schedule (ranked third hardest in the league based off last season’s opponent win percentage), it can also be hard to find holes on their roster.

Let’s start with the obvious. Last year Cincinnati had by far the worst offensive line in the NFL, so bad that Burrow was sacked a whopping 70 times last year including the playoffs. It was Burrow’s elite processing skills that allowed the Bengals to overcome their biggest weakness. Watching Burrow in the Super Bowl was quite the show when you consider how quickly he was making decisions and getting the ball out of his hand. He understood the mismatch the Ram’s defensive front presented for his team and did his absolute best to negate that. The fact that he almost led his team to victory is impressive all things considered. Now imagine if this wasn’t a problem.

Having a bad offensive line really hampers your offense (if that isn’t obvious). It just makes even the most basic tasks more difficult and really prevents a team from getting creative, because with a poor line, the main goal is getting the ball out quick. In order to address that major issue the Bengals made a few key pickups in free agency that could allow their offense to reach an even higher gear.

Cincinnati signed Alexa Cappa, La’el Collins and Ted Karras this off-season and that should bring their line from bottom of the league to at least middle of the pack. The other two starters are younger players who could develop into quality lineman this season, so there’s potential that this unit turns from a major weakness to even a bit of a strength.

After looking at their line, not much else has changed about this team and that roster consistency could help them in the long run. Burrow will continue to develop his chemistry with Chase, who was only a rookie last year and Higgins. What’s more important to me though is that a lot of the pieces on defense are coming back. Roster return on defense is really great because defense is a lot about communication and it’s easier to communicate with people you’ve worked with before. The Bengals defense will be able to build off some impressive performances last year and their experience together should help them pick up right where they left off.

Minnesota Vikings

Kirk Cousins shows off his moves. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

For the Bengals, having consistency is nice, especially after coming off of a Super Bowl appearance. However, for the Minnesota Vikings, it was time for a change. For much of the past decade, Mike Zimmer was calling the shots. Zimmer is the kind of old school head coach who isn’t afraid to drill into his players, but after several years of the same schtick that leads to the same middling results, it can be hard for players to keep buying in. Mind you, the Vikings were successful under Zimmer, I mean no disrespect. He led them all the way to an NFC championship game with Case Keenum at quarterback, that’s impressive. It was just clear that this marriage wasn’t headed anywhere it hadn’t been before, and therefore a shakeup was in order.

Much like the Giants, the Vikings went in a different direction than their previous regime. Zimmer was a tough nosed defensive coach who really gave his team some personality, but now they’ll have to find a new one with Sean McVay disciple, Kevin O’Connell. O’Connell was hired for the same reason as guys like Zac Taylor and Matt LaFleur were: they make the offense go.

With the kind of offensive talent Minnesota boasts, the front office has the right idea by going with O’Connell. Justin Jefferson is arguably a top three receiver in only his third year in the league. Adam Thielen is a bit underrated and serves as a major red zone threat for Kirk Cousins. However, it’s Dalvin Cook who once again figures to be the focal point of this offense. The McVay style offense likes to build around running the football and setting up easy passing plays that get the offense into a rhythm. The play-action game is going to be huge for this Vikings team and that all starts with getting Cook going.

A big question for this team though is the defense. Of course, the defense was Zimmer’s baby, what’s it gonna look like without the architect who’s been building it for years? Well for one, it’ll at least be more talented than last year’s unit. The Vikings made some solid acquisitions this off-season and they’ve flown somewhat under the radar. The biggest name they signed is Za’Darius Smith, a sack artist who actually used to play for the rival Green Bay Packers. Smith should form quite the duo with incumbent defensive end Danielle Hunter, who missed much of the last two seasons due to injury. Harrison Philips and Jordan Hicks are two other veteran pickups who should raise the level of competency on this defense. Lewis Cine, the team’s first round pick this year, also has some potential to make an impact in his rookie season and should provide some youth to a pretty veteran group.

On paper, the Vikings should be a better team than before, but O’Connell’s lack of experience makes it hard to be outright confident in this squad. However, I’m throwing caution to the wind and declaring the Minnesota Vikings 2022 NFC North Champs.

NFL Teams Set to Improve in 2021

A new NFL season brings hope for just about every team in the league. And after a bizarre 2020 season filled with Zoom practices, COVID protocols and no fans in the stands, a return to some sense of normalcy makes everything just a little sweeter. However, hope is just that: hope. Only a few teams actually improve each year, and the goal of this article is to identify which teams those will be in the 2021 NFL season.

Last year’s edition of this article was quite successful. I set the clear benchmark of four more wins than the year prior, and each team I picked met or exceeded that goal. Cleveland went from 6-10 to 11-5, Miami went from 5-11 to 10-6 and Indianapolis went from 7-9 to 11-5. Was I surprised? Admittedly, yes, a little bit. I did my research and gave my arguments as for why each team would improve, but it was kind of crazy how right I was for all three. I figured at least one of the teams would flame out, but alas, they did not and now I feel like I have to go three for three again. Let’s get to it.

Dallas Cowboys

Dallas is a team you’ll probably see on a lot of lists like these. Last year’s Cowboys finished the season with a 6-10 record. The team was marred by injuries, the most notable of which was an ankle injury that forced Dak Prescott to miss the majority of the season. Prescott’s return is likely the main factor other articles will give for a resurgence in Dallas, and for good reason. Prescott looked like he was primed to have the best season of his career last year. He finished his season with 1,856 passing yards and was on pace to break 6,000. It truly was a historic pace, and it’s a shame he couldn’t see it through.

However, Dallas still held a 1-3 record going into week five (when Prescott was injured). Dak’s mind boggling stats weren’t enough to win games and that’s because the Dallas defense was abysmal. Last year the Cowboy’s defense gave up a whopping 29.6 points per game. Even with a healthy Prescott, it looked like Dallas was in for a long year. This season will be different.

Gone is old defensive coordinator Mike Nolan. The architect of Dallas’s dreadful defense has been ousted in favor of Dan Quinn, the former head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, but more importantly to me, the former defensive coordinator of the Seattle Seahawks during their prime Legion of Boom days. His Atlanta teams never finished with very high defensive marks, but I believe being able to focus on only one side of the ball will improve Quinn’s ability to put out a quality unit.

There are certainly talented pieces on the roster to work with that the last regime failed to take advantage of. The pass rushing duo of Demarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory has a lot of potential, Gregory has all the tools and Lawrence has already shown he can be a premier sack artist. The linebacker room is a bit crowded for a modern NFL defense, but Leighton Vander Esch and rookie Micah Parsons should form an athletic duo that can stuff rushing lanes and run sideline to sideline. Dallas also added some of Quinn’s former players in safety Damontae Kazee and swiss army knife, Keanu Neal. Those two could help shore up a secondary that was putrid last year, so could Trevon Diggs after being thrown into the fire as a rookie.

I’m not saying Dallas is going to put out a top 10 defense this season, but if they can be around the middle of the pack as opposed to bottom five, then the Cowboys should be in for a fruitful year. Mix in a healthier offensive line, and the team is primed for a bounce back season.

Denver Broncos

A bit of a hot take here, but I think Denver will make the playoffs this year. Not many people are very high on the Broncos and that’s because they have yet to figure out what their answer is for the game’s most important position, which is a pretty big problem. Part of my reasoning though, is that there’s always one or two teams that make the playoffs each year despite their quarterback’s play. Last year, Washington and Chicago made the playoffs while relying on bottom five signal callers in Dwayne Haskins and Mitchell Trubisky, for much of their seasons.

However, that’s not the only reason I think Denver is playoff bound. If it were, I’d be a pretty crappy analyst. The reason those two clubs got to the postseason was their defenses. If the Broncos play in January this year, it’ll likely be because they followed the same formula. Denver’s defense has the potential to be downright scary and will almost certainly contend for best in the league.

For the casual fan, Denver’s defense starts up front with Von Miller and Bradley Chubb. These two actually haven’t played a full season together since 2018, but that year they combined for a whopping (26.5 sacks). If both can stay healthy in 2021, the Broncos should have no trouble putting pressure on the quarterback. Denver’s real strength though, will be in the secondary. Over the offseason, Denver signed Kyle Fuller and drafted Patrick Surtain. Fuller was Chicago’s number one corner last year but had to be cut as a cap casualty. Surtain was considered to be the best corner in this year’s draft after locking receivers down at Alabama. That’s two new potential number one corners on the outside paired up with safeties Justin Simmons and Kareem Jackson, each of which was solid last year while playing with worse corners. Not to mention, Denver also has nickel specialist, Bryce Callahan, and Ronald Darby for depth. The linebackers on this team are a bit unheralded, but certainly not bad. Josey Jewell and Alexander Johnson are both solid tacklers who have shown some ability to cover in space. Last year they combined to have 230 tackles and six passes defended Due to the talent around them, they likely won’t be asked to do as much, but that should allow them to excel at whatever it is they’re assigned to.

There are two sides of the ball though, and Denver’s offense probably won’t be as good as their defense, but that won’t be because of a lack of talent. The Broncos have a sneaky deep receiver room with Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton being the big names, but Tim Patrick was a bit of a sleeper last year finishing with 742 receiving yards and six touchdowns. Speedster KJ Hamler and tight end Noah Fant also figure to play roles in the passing game. It’s worth noting that this receiving core is still pretty young and offers a lot of upside. The offensive line improved last year with Garret Boles making the All-Pro second team. Denver also drafted Javonte Williams this year. Williams will likely split carries with veteran Melvin Gordon, but both are solid options in the backfield and I just love how hard Williams runs, so I figure he’ll take the starting job at some point.

It feels like literally almost every piece is there for the Broncos except for the quarterback, which is a bit of a shame, but Drew Lock and Teddy Bridgewater can’t possibly screw this up. Lock has loads of potential but is wildly inconsistent. Bridgewater is the yin to Locks yang in that he lacks upside but has been extremely consistent. Whoever wins out will have an excellent supporting cast around them that I believe can carry Denver into a wild card spot.

Carolina Panthers

The Carolina Panthers hope to take the next step in their rebuild after a 5-11 year that was actually quite competitive. Last year’s Panthers held a 1-5 record in games decided by six points or less. Losses are never really impressive, but it was nice to see this team hang with the likes of the Kansas City Chiefs (31-33 loss) and the Green Bay Packers (16-24 loss). Many analysts blame quarterback Teddy Bridgewater’s inability to raise the team’s ceiling for their poor record, and in addressing this issue, Carolina got a bit creative.

The Panthers brought in Sam Darnold this offseason in hopes of tapping into the potential that Adam Gase and the New York Jets never could. The former third overall pick struggled nearly his entire tenure in New York, showing only the briefest flashes of what the Panthers hope he could become. Darnold’s proponents argue that the situation in New York was absolutely abysmal and that Adam Gase was the worst head coach the league has seen in a while, meaning that all the tape on Darnold should be thrown out. I wouldn’t go quite that far, but I do agree that the program Gase was running hurt Darnold’s development. What Matt Rhule has been doing in Carolina gives me hope that he can properly develop a quarterback who was widely believed to be the best in his class prior to the 2018 draft.

As mentioned, the Panthers punched a little above their weight more than once last year, and when a team with lesser talent is able to do that it’s usually due to good coaching. This offseason Carolina gave their coaches more to work with by bringing in veterans like Darnold, Haason Reddick and Rashan Melvin to pair with the young talent already on the team. Christian McCaffrey, D.J. Moore, Brain Burns, Derrick Brown, Dontae Jackson, Jeremy Chinn and recent draft pick Jaycee Horn figure to be the young cornerstones that carry this team, but those veterans, most importantly Darnold, should bring balance to the roster.

If Darnold can deliver and the defense takes another step forward, then the Panthers could be a fringe playoff team this year. Darnold will have a better supporting cast and coaching staff than he ever did in New York, even simply having a weapon like McCaffrey to check down to should make Darnold’s life a whole lot easier. The defense featured the aforementioned young talent last year that should improve with more snaps under their belt, the added veterans can help fill in the gaps. Burns will finally get an edge-mate in Reddick, and Donate Jackson won’t have to carry as much of a burden this year now that Melvin, Horn and A.J. Bouye were brought in for secondary depth.

The Panthers are a team that really looks like it’s doing things the right way, but their biggest gamble is Darnold and whether he pans out or not will decide the fate of their season. I think their bet is going pay off.

2020 NFL Divisional Round Predictions

The NFL’s first “Super Wild Card Weekend” went extremely well. Some things went as expected; Mitchell Trubisky reverted back to the bust we all know and love, Lamar won his first playoff game and the Bucs handled Washington. However, there were also some surprises; the Rams upset Seattle without competent quarterback play, and the Browns demolished the Steelers.

If you read my article last week you’d know that my predictions went 3-3. I did manage to predict the correct score in the Colts v Bills game though, but not the right winner. Still, I’ll take it.

Unfortunately for NFL fans, the rest of the playoff schedule is unchanged from season’s past, so this week we’ll be returning to the normal four game slate. Luckily, each contest has the chance to be really entertaining. The Rams defense looks to continue their run by shutting down the probable league MVP, two dynamic up-and-coming quarterbacks who just won their first playoff game meet to try to collect their second and two forty-something year old vets will duel in New Orleans to prove who’s still got it. Without further ado, the picks.

Los Angeles Rams @ Green Bay Packers

As some of my readers may know, I’m a Seattle Seahawks fan, so last week’s game was incredibly hard to watch. The Rams came to play and were ready with a solid game plan defensively. They managed to keep the game close, and unlike what I predicted, Russell Wilson was unable to work his late game magic. What’s frustrating from a fan standpoint was that it was clear that Jared Goff was uncomfortable in the pocket and probably shouldn’t have played. Yet somehow, Russell and the offense could not get anything going at all offensively to take advantage of that.

The fact that Goff never turned the ball over should be encouraging for Rams fans. Sean McVay has proven that he can take absolutely mediocre quarterback play and turn it into a win. Of course McVay is able to do this in part because he has an amazing defense. Los Angeles owns the best defense in the league, and shutting down Seattle the way they did proved that. Green Bay’s offense is a little more consistent, but the Rams should be able to keep them in check. Aaron Donald suffered a rib injury last week that caused some concern about his availability, but he’s set to play come Saturday.

What this game really comes down to though is one on-field matchup. Jalen Ramsey will attempt to shut down Davante Adams the way he’s already shut down receivers like D.K. Metcalf and Deandre Hopkins. If Ramsey is successful, then a huge part of the Packer’s offense will be gone. Aaron Rodgers is the likely league MVP and can make any receiver look good, but his connection with Adams is electric and extremely important to Green Bay’s offense as a whole. Adams averages just over 10 targets and 98 receiving yards per game, it’ll be a lot harder to reach those numbers with Ramsey on his back. Opposing defenses usually have to worry about the threat of Adams, but with the Rams trusting Ramsey to cover him alone, the rest of their defense can key in on other aspects of the Packer’s attack. This puts a lot of pressure on Rodgers to create with some of the other, less trustworthy pieces on the roster like the much maligned Marquez-Valdez Scantling.

In order for the Rams to come out with a win, the game will have to look a lot like last week: run the ball, play defense, don’t turn it over. However, Seattle had so many chances to take over and win, they were just never able to capitalize. I’m not sure the Rams can keep counting on the other team’s offense not to show up.

Packers win 24-17

Baltimore Ravens @ Buffalo Bills

Lamar Jackson finally got his first playoff win last week against the Titans, but it wasn’t with his arm. Jackson stayed true to form and used his game breaking speed to take off for a huge 48 yard touchdown run that proved to be the difference against the Titans. This week he’ll get to face fellow class of 2018 quarterback, Josh Allen, who also just earned his first career playoff win. The two young signal callers have been playing out of their minds lately, which means that this game will have to be won by the pieces around them.

The matchups favor Baltimore and their dynamic rushing attack. Last week, the Bills were bullied on the ground to the tune of 164 rushing yards. The Colts had a few big runs that kept them in the game and allowed them to have a chance to win late. Unfortunately for them, Philip Rivers was unable to seal the deal. Baltimore is the best running team in the league which means they’ll probably dominate the trenches Saturday night. Jackson’s athleticism will make matters worse for Buffalo. In the Bill’s week ten game against the Arizona Cardinals, Kyler Murray (a quarterback with a similar skillset), ran for 61 yards and two scores.

On the other side of the ball, Baltimore’s defense has been playing well lately. They limited Derrick Henry to 40 rushing yards last week, forcing the Titans to play one dimensional football. Buffalo’s run game is no where near as dominant as Tennessee’s, making it even easier to take that part of their offense away. The Bills haven’t been very impressive on the ground all season, but it hasn’t mattered because of how electric Allen has been. Even if Buffalo is able to have early success offensively, it’d be harder for them to protect a lead without being able to run the ball effectively. Allen had to do pretty much everything for the Bills last week and they still almost came up short. If he doesn’t get more help this week, then Buffalo might be in trouble.

Ravens win 30-24

Cleveland Browns @ Kansas City Chiefs

The Cleveland Browns absolutely stunned the Pittsburgh Steelers last week on the way to their first playoff victory since 1994. The Steelers looked unprepared from the jump. Their first offensive play was a botched snap that turned into a Cleveland touchdown. Pittsburgh wasn’t able to get much going after that as Roethlisberger threw a few bad interceptions that put the team in a hole. Cleveland overcame a lot of adversity to get the win; their coach, guard, and top corner were unable to be at the game last week due to COVID-19 protocols. However, it does feel similar to the Rams game in that the better team completely failed to show up. Baker Mayfield made some great throws to build the early lead and Kareem Hunt was running really hard, but it still felt like Pittsburgh just gave this one away.

If Kansas City somehow starts off as poorly as Pittsburgh did, they might still be able to come back because of how explosive their offense can be. That’s exactly why Cleveland’s recipe for success involves keeping Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City offense off the field. The Browns are the third best rushing team in the league and feature the dynamic duo of Hunt and Nick Chubb. The rushing attack is the life blood of Cleveland’s offense, it opens up so many things for Mayfield in the play-action pass game, allowing him to build confidence and rhythm. What it also does is kill clock, giving Cleveland control over the flow of the game. The Browns should be able to have their way on the ground since Kansas City ranks 21st in terms of run defense.

The trouble with the Chiefs is that even if you do control the clock, their offense can score so quickly that it may not matter. Sunday should be no different. Kansas City’s passing game is tops in the league while Cleveland’s pass defense is 22nd. The stats would suggest that both offenses should be able to do what they do best, and if that’s the case, I’m not picking against the reigning Super Bowl MVP.

Chiefs win 32-28

Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ New Orleans Saints

The Saints have dominated this matchup thus far this season. The first time these two teams met was in week one. Brady and the Bucs really struggled offensively, Brady even threw a pick six. At the time, the belief was that the truncated off-season hurt a Bucs team that was introducing Brady to their system. However, a week nine rematch was even more lopsided with a final score of 38-3. Tampa Bay somehow looked even more out of sync than their week one showing. They only managed to not be shut out by scoring a field goal late in the fourth quarter. Based on these last two meetings, it would appear that the Saints have the Bucs number this season. What’s happened since those games will be the difference Sunday night.

The week after their second matchup, Drew Brees took a sack against the San Francisco 49ers and suffered a rib injury that forced him out for the next month. Brees has looked solid in his return, but the Saints certainly feel different. New Orleans’s offense was stuck in neutral for much of their game last week against the Bears. If they hadn’t been playing Mitchell Trubisky, they could’ve lost. If Brees struggles to get his team out of the mud again, then Brady will surely take advantage.

That’s because the Bucs have been rolling lately. They’ve gone undefeated since their week thirteen bye and that streak has been powered by an offense that’s really starting to click. Tampa Bay scored at least thirty points in four of those five wins. The competition was a little soft, but last week’s 31-23 win came over a Washington defense that was a top five unit. The fact that Washington was able to put up 23 points could be a bit concerning, but Taylor Heinicke played out of his mind and made a lot of plays with his legs, that won’t be an issue with Brees under center. Sure, Sean Payton will undoubtedly mix Taysom Hill into the offensive game plan in order to have a running threat at quarterback, but it won’t be the same. It’s incredibly hard for one team to beat another three times in one season, last week’s shaky performance makes me think the Saints aren’t up to the task.

Buccaneers win 27-23

NFL Wild Card Predictions

The NFL playoffs is finally here, the league managed to make it seventeen weeks without having to cancel a game or add a week eighteen to the schedule like some have suggested. In the terrible year that was 2020, that’s a huge accomplishment. The league certainly had it’s mishaps, most notably in week twelve when the Broncos were forced to play with Kendall Hinton at quarterback instead of postponing the game like they did with Baltimore’s Wednesday afternoon affair that was initially scheduled for Thanksgiving. However, nobody is perfect and you at least kind of have to respect the NFL’s dedication to their schedule. One cool caveat of this topsy-turvy season is that at least one NFL game was played on every day of the week for the first time ever.

All that aside, let’s hop into these playoff matchups. The new seventh seed this year means that there are now six wild card games, and each of them has a lot of potential. The Cleveland Browns made the playoffs for the first time in what feels like forever, Tom Brady will play in the Wild Card round against a 7-9 team, we get to see Ravens v. Titans III, and that’s just half of the games. So let’s start picking ’em.

Indianapolis Colts @ Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills are absolutely rolling right now. They’ve notched double digit wins in their last six games and get to host a playoff game in Buffalo for the first time in 25 years. Josh Allen and the offense has looked electric. Allen’s ability to run the ball and even be physical as a runner made him a playmaker before 2020, but each week this season Allen has made throws that remind you of the league’s best quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, and that has allowed the Bills offense to be incredibly dynamic. Allen’s progression as a passer has helped make the Bills arguably the most complete team in the league. They’ve had little trouble dispatching inferior teams which is always a good sign, and they’ve won some games against other playoff teams like the Steelers and Seahawks.

However, the Indianapolis Colts should not be taken lightly. The Colts are also a very balanced team. They feature a strong rushing attack led by rookie running back Jonathan Taylor and a stout defense with playmakers like Deforest Buckner and Darius Leonard. The one potential weakness for Indianapolis is Philip Rivers. Rivers has been playing very efficient football this season, but his arm strength is clearly fading with age and that really limits the Colt’s big play ability. If Indianapolis wants to win this game then they’ll have to be perfect. Rivers can not turn the ball over and the defense must limit Josh Allen’s downfield passes. The Bills defense has played well down the stretch, but they haven’t seen a team that can run the ball like the Colts in a while (New England is too one dimensional to really be considered here). The Colts have the eleventh best run game in the league and average 124.8 rushing yards per game. The Bills are 5-3 when they give up 100 rushing yards, but their wins came against the Patriots (twice), the Jets and the Rams, while their loses came against better teams like the Chiefs, Titans and Cardinals. If the Colts can dominate the ground game and control the clock, then they have a chance. The problem is, the Colts have a small margin for error while the Bills’ explosiveness can get them out of some sticky situations. Ultimately, it would seem fitting for such an odd season that the hottest team going into the post-season would get upset in the first round, so that’s what we’re going with.

Colts win 27-24

Los Angeles Rams @ Seattle Seahawks

This game will be the second time these two teams meet in the past three weeks and the third time they’ll meet this season. That familiarity matters for the Rams because they’ll likely have backup John Wolford under center instead of Jared Goff. Los Angeles knows that all it has to do to stay in this game is keep the turnovers low. The Rams are the best defense in the league with blue chippers like Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey leading the way. They’ve already proven capable of clamping down a Seahawks offense that has looked out of rhythm for a while now. If L.A. can keep this game close and ugly they could win. However, Wolford will undoubtedly be forced to outplay Russell Wilson at some point in this game and I’m not quite sure he’s capable of that.

Wilson is a playoff tested quarterback who has been here before. In fact, Russell Wilson has missed the post-season only once in his career. The Rams defense has played great all season, but Wilson has proved that he can make plays when he needs to. Seattle failed to score a touchdown in the first half of their last two games, but managed to get things together by the second half and pulled out wins in each. If this game gets close, Wilson will likely prove once again why he’s one of the best quarterbacks in the league.

Seahawks win 24-14

Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ The Washington Football Team

Congratulations to The Washington Football Team for making the playoffs. They’ll get to host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at FedEx Field after finishing the season with a 7-9 record and the NFC East division title. The last two seven–win playoff teams actually managed to win their first playoff game, and there is a recipe for Washington to follow suit. The main game plan for the Football Team has to start with pressuring Tom Brady. Brady and the Bucs have been at their worst when opposing defenses can get in Brady’s face and make him feel uncomfortable. Most of the prime-time games the Bucs have played this season featured teams using that strategy to force Brady to turn the ball over. It’s worked out, as the Bucs own a 1-3 record in those prime-time affairs.

Washington has the personnel capable of bringing the heat. Their defensive line consists of five first round picks, the most talented being Chase Young, the second overall pick in the 2020 draft. In his first year, Young has led a Washington defense that just about carried their team into the playoffs. He’ll have to carry even more if he wants to win this game. Like the Rams, Washington will have to stick to a grittier style of play because if the Bucs get up early, Washington won’t have the firepower to come back. Unfortunately for Young, that’ll likely be the case. The Bucs offense has looked better lately and the Tampa Bay defense is a top ten unit. Washington just doesn’t have the weapons.

(Although the time of the game may not actually matter, it is worth noting that the Bucs game is scheduled for Saturday night, does the prime-time bug strike the Bucs again?)

Buccaneers win 24-15

Baltimore Ravens @ Tennessee Titans

Before covering the actual game, I must make one thing clear: these teams do not like each other. Ravens v Titans has become an emerging rivalry ever since the Titans upset the Ravens in last year’s playoffs. The Titans controlled that game the whole way through and it was all thanks to running back Derrick Henry. Henry absolutely bulldozed the Ravens to a meme-worthy degree. Ever since then, reigning MVP Lamar Jackson has had to face more questions about his ability to pass the ball and play in the clutch. The Ravens were hoping to exercise those demons coming into their week 11 rematch this season. Though the game was much closer the second time around, Derrick Henry was still the difference. Henry barreled 29 yards down the field for a game winning touchdown in overtime.

Hopefully the third installment of this rivalry is just as intriguing as the other two. It likely will be because these two teams stack up well against each other. The Titans have been getting shredded on defense lately, they’ve given up over thirty points in each of their last two games. However, Baltimore isn’t built to exploit those weaknesses. Tennessee is a bottom five pass defense, but more in the middle of the pack in terms of run defense. Lamar makes his money by running the ball and has shown some weakness as a passer. That mitigates how bad the Titans secondary has been playing, because Lamar likely won’t look to challenge them downfield all day. Tennessee is also terrible at getting pressure, but that might not matter against Lamar. Jackson is at his best when he can improvise and get out of the pocket, Tennessee’s “mush rush” does a better job of keeping escape lanes filled meaning that Lamar would have to beat the Titans from within the pocket. Tennessee is going to force Jackson to beat them with his arm, so far he hasn’t been up to the task. However, the third time might just be the charm. Lamar is out for revenge, and the entire Ravens team has to be seething after dropping the last two games to Tennessee. Derrick Henry will likely still have a big game, but the Titans just haven’t looked great these past few weeks. If Lamar truly has grown as a passer, then he should be able to take advantage of Tennessee.

Ravens win 21-20

Chicago Bears @ New Orleans Saints

New Orleans comes into this game sporting a 12-4 record and the number two seed in the NFC. That all sounds great, but the Saints have looked just a bit unimpressive the whole season. At 41 years of age, Drew Brees is showing the effects of aging. His deep ball hasn’t been there consistently for the Saints and that has forced them to play very methodically on offense. New Orleans plays a turnover free style of football that includes a lot of shorter passes and plenty of touches for running back Alvin Kamara. However, Kamara’s status for the game is still up in the air due to the fact that he recently tested positive for COVID-19. Even if Kamara was able to go, he likely wouldn’t be as conditioned as normal and that could affect his play. Without their top weapon, the Saints become a bit more vulnerable than they already appear. The good news is, Michael Thomas is expected to play this week, so Brees should have at least one receiver he can trust.

The Bears defense hasn’t been as good this year as seasons past, but they still have pass rusher Khalil Mack and a few other playmakers. Chicago has to rattle Brees to have a chance, if they let him sit back there then he’ll pick them apart, but if they can hit Brees and make him uncomfortable this could be a close ball game. The Bears have been playing well lately despite a loss last week to Green Bay, which gives me hope. The concern for Chicago is that Mitchell Trubisky will have to put up points against a very complete Saints defense. New Orleans is tied for third in the league in total turnovers this season; prior to his recent hot streak, Trubisky was known to be prone to giving the other team the ball. Like the Seahawks v Rams game, this will likely come down to the difference between the men under center. Drew Brees has been playing great football for the past decade, while Mitchell Trubisky has been playing well for the past five weeks.

Saints win 21-17

Cleveland Browns @ Pittsburgh Steelers

These two division rivals actually just met in Cleveland this past week. Now, they’ll meet again in Pittsburgh. Last weeks game ended with a final score of 24-22, which was way closer than it should’ve been. Cleveland was fighting for their playoff lives while Pittsburgh rested multiple starters including quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and potential Defensive Player of the Year, T.J. Watt. Even without Watt, the Steelers were able to put pressure on Baker Mayfield, which is when he’s at his worst. Things won’t get better for Mayfield once Watt is on the field. To make things even worse, Cleveland’s head coach and offensive play caller, Kevin Stefanski, will miss the game after testing positive for COVID-19. That means that Baker will have to get used to the rhythm of a new play caller, and Mayfield is very much a rhythm quarterback. If he struggles early it might get ugly for the Browns.

Cleveland’s secondary also got torched by backup quarterback, Mason Rudolph. Rudolph went 22/39 for 315 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Cleveland’s pass defense has been a weak spot all season and it reared it’s ugly head in last week’s game. A rested and much more experienced Roethlisberger should be able to pick apart the Brown’s secondary with success. Although Pittsburgh has become a bit predictable on offense, the last couple of weeks have offered signs of improvement. In their comeback win over the Colts two weeks ago, Pittsburgh started to let the deep ball fly and that opened up a lot of things for them offensively. Some have speculated that the Steelers continued to throw shorter quick passes to ensure that the 38-year-old Roethlisberger made it to the playoffs. Well they’re here now, and Ben has shown that he still has a little gunslinger left in him. It’s time for the Steelers to take the safety off.

Steelers win 28-13

NBA Postseason Round One

The opening round of the NBA playoffs is set. After eight seeding games and a play-in tournament, we now know which teams will square off in round one. We’ve got some really interesting match-ups, and of course some total snoozers. In order to keep things short, I’ll go ahead and tell you now that Milwaukee and Toronto are going to advance. As the one seed in the East, the Bucks will play the Orlando Magic, a team without two of its best defenders in Aaron Gordon and Jonathan Isaac. They simply do not have an answer for Giannis Antetokounmpo. Meanwhile the Raptors will face a Brooklyn Nets squad that barely resembles the team that stepped on the court during the regular season. Sure, the band of misfits has played some inspired basketball. They pulled off a historical upset by beating the Milwaukee Bucks 119-116, but they won’t be able to catch that kind of lightning in a bottle over the course of a seven-game series. With those two cakewalks out of the way, let’s start calling some real match-ups.

(Side note: for the sake of this article’s length I will be keeping my analysis relatively brief.)

Philadelphia 76ers v Boston Celtics

At the outset of the season if you told the 76ers they got to play Boston in the first round of the playoffs, they’d be giddy. A lot has changed since then. Philadelphia’s super-sized roster proved to be clunky on offense and nowhere near the defensive juggernaut they expected to be. Their bad situation got worse when Ben Simmons went down for the season with a subluxation in his left patella. Still, the 76ers have the best center in the league in Joel Embiid, and he should be plenty capable of dominating a smaller Boston team. However, it might not be enough. Though Philly’s offense might have better spacing with Simmons out, they are still going to miss his ability to push the ball in transition and create shots for others. Boston has too much fire power and sit as the fourth best offensive rating the in NBA. The 76ers have other options like Tobias Harris and Josh Richardson, but those two don’t have the all-star scoring abilities that Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Kemba Walker have. It’ll be a close series for sure, but the 76ers fall just a little too short offensively to come out on top.

Boston in 7

Indiana Pacers v Miami Heat

The highlight of this series will obviously be TJ Warren going up against Jimmy Butler. The two got into a scuffle during the regular season. Butler, an All-Star, claimed that Warren was “trash”. At the time Jimmy was probably right, after eight seeding games in the bubble, maybe not so much. TJ Warren has been a scoring machine in Orlando, he has averaged 23.3 points per game since playing in the bubble. Warren’s scoring burst lifts the expectations for a Pacers team that has been without its best player, Domantas Sabonis. One thing to note however is that in the bubble matchup between the Heat and Pacers, Warren was held to only 12 points. If Warren can’t put up gaudy numbers the Pacers might be in trouble, other than TJ their scoring options are limited. Victor Oladipo is still trying to find his rhythm, and Malcolm Brogdon isn’t exactly a bucket getter. With Miami housing defenders like Butler, Jae Crowder, and Bam Adebayo, the Pacers might have a hard time putting the ball in the basket. That’s something Miami won’t have as much of a problem with as one of the best three-point shooting teams in the league. Miami also has solid scoring options coming off the bench, like Goran Dragic and Tyler Herro. The Heat’s defense and depth might prove to be the difference.

Miami in 6

Portland TrailBlazers v Los Angeles Lakers

Portland officially became the eighth seed when they beat the Memphis Grizzlies 126-122 in the Western Conference play-in game. Now they’re facing off against the one seeded Lakers in what will be the most interesting 1-v-8 matchup in some time. Portland has been a different team in the bubble, thanks to the return of Jusuf Nurkic and Zach Collins. The TrailBlazers have gone 7-2 in their bubble games, relying a lot on Damian Lillard’s MVP type performance. If they can upset the Lakers it’ll be because of Lillard’s heroics yet again. The Lakers have been a disappointment in the bubble, they’ve gone 3-5 and are last or near the bottom in multiple shooting categories. The absence of Avery Bradley Jr. and Rajon Rondo has forced the Lakers to turn to Alex Caruso and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for more production, things haven’t worked out. The lack of serviceable guard play from the Lakers will hurt them against one of the best backcourts in the NBA. Lillard and McCollum are two all-star scorers who can take advantage of their unimpressive matchup. It will be the TrailBlazers inability to matchup with Lebron and Anthony Davis, that will decide this series though. Portland is without Rodney Hood and Trevor Ariza, two wings who they’d surely like to throw out against King James. The star duos will get to duke it out against their bad matchups, but the Lakers will prevail.

Lakers in 6

Dallas Mavericks v Los Angeles Clippers

This year’s Western Conference playoffs is absolutely stacked. This series is proof. The Dallas Mavericks have the best offensive rating in the league and are still only the seventh seed. Second year guard Luka Doncic has been sensational this year. He is the catalyst that makes Dallas’ offense go. He plays the game at his own pace and has a remarkable ability to find open teammates. His court vision is already in the same tier as the likes of Lebron James and James Harden. The combination of Doncic and big man Kristaps Porzingis is lethal offensively, especially due to the latter’s ability to knock down long range shots. The issue is this team is playing a Clippers squad that has the second best offensive rating and the fifth best defensive rating. The trio of Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and Patrick Beverly is probably the best group you can put together to guard Doncic on the perimeter. A silver lining for the Mavs is that the Clippers don’t have an elite rim protector. Ivica Zubac has been more than serviceable as a center, but he’s nowhere near the level of Porzingis. That could allow the Mavs to steal a game or two, but it won’t be enough in a seven game series against arguably the most talented team in the league.

Clippers in 6

Utah Jazz v Denver Nuggets

Two of the best centers in the league will go head to head in this matchup. Nikola Jokic is an offensive czar at the five spot. His ability to create offense for others and score the ball himself, makes him a true point forward. Rudy Gobert on the other hand is a former defensive player of the year who looks to put the clamps on the “Joker”. Gobert’s unreal size and length make him an elite rim defender. The result of their duel will likely be the difference in who wins the series. Utah will be without both Bojan Bogdanavic and Mike Conley, two of the team’s top scorers. Their absence increases the offensive load on Gobert and Donavan Mitchell. The only way the Jazz will be able to keep up with the Nuggets is if Gobert can effectively contain Jokic. That task will prove to be too tall, even for the “Stifle Tower”. Jokic effects the game in too many ways for Gobert to properly contain him, not to mention the Nuggets have loads of fire power. Even with Gary Harris and Will Barton out with injuries, Denver employs Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr. and Paul Millsap. Utah’s roster is just too diminished to keep up, they’ve seem to run out of ammo at the worst time.

Denver in 5

Oklahoma City Thunder v Houston Rockets

There’s a bit of a built in storyline to this series thanks to a certain offseason transaction between these two teams. Last summer the Houston Rockets traded Chris Paul to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Russell Westbrook. The trade was meant to be a slight shakeup for Houston, while OKC and Chris Paul would be left to figure out their futures. Fast forward to today and the two organizations meet again. The Rockets will be without Paul’s trade counterpart as Westbrook will miss at least part of the series with a quad injury. The “Point God” will certainly take advantage of Westbrook’s absence by keying in on James Harden, Houston’s other All-Star guard. The Thunder certainly have a lot of bodies to throw at Harden, Paul is a former All-Defensive team member, Lou Dort is hound on the stopping end, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s length should bother Harden too. Harden, arguably the best scorer in the league, will have his hands quite full. Things get worse when you throw in the fact that Steven Adams will likely pummel a Rockets team that doesn’t deploy a traditional center. The difference will come from deep. Houston may be a bit short handed, but their ability to launch and hit shots from three-point range keeps them in any game. If Houston can shoot well enough, they’ll be able to take the Thunder down. If not, then their chances don’t look so bright.

Houston in 7

The Wild West and the Eighth Seed

And we’re back! After a fourth month hiatus, the NBA has finally returned. The league and all its stars have convened in Orlando, Florida to resume the season and name a champion. First off, as a fan, I would like to thank everyone who made this possible. The logistics of a sports league returning to play in the Coronavirus era are complicated (take a look at the MLB), but the NBA seems to have put together a solid plan. The “bubble” system keeps everyone in a safe COVID free environment by minimizing player and team travel, quarantining anyone who enters the bubble from the outside, and frequently testing everyone involved. It remains to be seen if this system will work for the duration of the season, but the early results are promising.

I’d also like to shoutout the players and the league for doing what they can to keep attention on the Black Lives Matter movement. A return to sports could be seen as a distraction for most people at a time when we should be fighting against social injustice. The momentum that has been built up behind the BLM movement and against systemic racism, police brutality, and other racial issues that plague our society, cannot be squandered. The players have frequently addressed social injustice in interviews and wear BLM related messages on their uniforms and shoes; all in an effort to keep a foot on the gas and not let the fans at home forget what they should be fighting for.

Ok, that was a lot so let’s get to some actual basketball. The league has invited 22 teams to the bubble to play eight regular season games before the start of the playoffs. The 16 teams that will enter the postseason are mostly set. The one spot that could be up for grabs is the eighth seed in the Western Conference, currently owned by the Memphis Grizzlies. In order to steal the spot, all the ninth seeded team has to do is be within four games back of the eighth. This unlocks a mini playoff series between the two were the ninth seed must beat the eighth twice to advance to the postseason, while the eighth seed only has to win once to retain their spot. The NBA has invited five western conference teams who are out of the playoffs to compete for the eighth seed, realistically only two have a chance. I’ll start with New Orleans.

New Orleans Pelicans

If you’ve watched basketball at all in the past year you probably know about Zion Williamson. The 20-year-old is one of the most exciting players in the league. He’s become a media darling and seems to be the heir to Lebron James throne. All this seems like a lot for someone who’s only played in 20 NBA games, but so far he hasn’t disappointed. Through 20 games Zion is averaging 23 points per game on 59% shooting, that combo of scoring and efficiency is rare to see in rookies. Putting that type of player on a Pelicans team that already features a talented mix of veterans like Jrue Holiday (19.6 PPG), and youngsters like Brandon Ingram (24.2 PPG), makes the roster downright scary. It feels like if this version of the Pelicans would have played the whole season, they’d be in the playoffs.

Unfortunately, that isn’t the case. New Orleans is three and a half games back of the Grizzlies and currently hold the 11^th seed. The team also now only has seven games to try to take hold of the ninth spot after losing to the Utah Jazz on the first night of regular season return. Williamson played sparingly in that game due to a lack of conditioning, this meant he missed out on the final seven minutes of the game. When you have a player as talented as Zion who is coming off of four months rest it would make sense to play him at the end of a close game, even if he had already surpassed a minute restriction. Williamson’s presence in the paint keeps the offense consistent and defenses honest, without him the Pelicans are more susceptible to going cold like they did against the Jazz in the fourth quarter. The Pelicans need to have more urgency here. They have the easiest schedule of all the bubble teams which certainly helps, but there’s still ground to make up and the time to do so is waning. If the Pelicans unleash Zion, the offense will be explosive and hard to keep up with. Sure, their defense is inconsistent at times, but this would still be a playoff caliber team.

In the end I just don’t think we’ll get to see playoff Zion, especially if the Pelicans continue to limit his minutes. As mentioned, there are only seven games left for them and they still have to leap frog the Spurs and TrailBlazers to reach the ninth seed. The latter of which might not budge.

Portland TrailBlazers

The pressure is on in the West, the playoff race is close and the season is about to end. You could say it’s the fourth quarter of the regular season, it’s clutch time, it’s Dame time. Damian Lillard is known for making huge shots, he’s also known for carrying offenses. He’s had to do so a lot this season. Portland’s roster had been marred by injuries, leaving the All-Star point guard to shoulder the load. Lillard has averaged 28.9 points and 7.8 assists per game and gotten his team to the ninth seed. Now he’ll get some reinforcements.

The NBA hiatus gave a lot of players time to rest and rehab from injuries. That includes Jusuf Nurkic and Zach Collins. Nurkic was out for pretty much the whole season with a leg injury he sustained the season prior. Collins injured his shoulder back in November and was said to be out for the next four months. Now the two starters are back, healthy and ready to go. Portland is a very different team with these two big men in the fold. Over the course of the season Portland ranks 27^th in defensive rating. Their lead guard duo of Lillard and CJ McCollum are great scorers, but unimpressive defensively. Nurkic is a strong presence in the paint, he protects the rim and rebounds the ball well. He’ll be able to stabilize the defense, allowing it to better compliment an offense that has the 7^th best rating in the league. Nurkic isn’t too shabby on the offensive end either, he averaged 15.6 points and 3.2 assists per game before he went down last season. Collins isn’t great defensively, but he’s another big body and does have some offensive potential. Having more scorers is never a bad thing. Collins and Nurkic’s return also allows Hassan Whiteside to come off the bench. As a starter, Whiteside was iffy, but he’ll be much more valuable in a reserve role.

All this will help Lillard in his quest to capture the eighth seed. During initial talks regarding the resumption of the season, Lillard said he did not want to play unless his team had a chance to make the playoffs. Well the NBA gave him eight games, it seems like that just might be enough. In their first regular season game the TrailBlazers beat the very team they’re trying to replace. Portland bested Memphis 135-140 in a close overtime finish. They moved up to two and a half games back of the Grizzlies, comfortably within the four game range needed to unlock the mini-series. Portland has the fifth hardest schedule of the remaining teams, but this squad looks up to the challenge. I believe that once postseason play starts, the eighth seed will belong to Portland.

My Blog so Far

I started writing this blog for my FDOM class at Texas State University, but I imagine that I’ll keep posting a few articles even after this semester is over. I really enjoyed doing this. Writing about sports is what I want to do for a living, so this was a nice tryout of my dream job. I’ll probably show all of my published writing to potential employers so they see what I can do. This blog will essentially act as my portfolio. If there is one thing I wish I could’ve done better, it would be to maybe trim my articles some. When writing I was going for more of a professional article like the ones I read rather than a blog post, but I still felt like the posts could get a little wordy.

I definitely could’ve promoted my blog better. I did promote my posts on Twitter as required, but my following there is pretty small. I did post my blog to my Snapchat and Instagram stories one time each. Each time led to a lot of traffic coming in for the next day or two. I feel like if I posted more on the social medias that I had an established presence on, then I would’ve gotten more traffic.

My most popular week was March 9-15, I got 76 views and 64 visitors. I don’t know why that is because I didn’t do anything special to promote my blog that week. However, I saw that a lot of people came from FaceBook, so someone must’ve posted a link to my blog there. My most popular post was my All-Star Break Breakout Predictions article. It was one of my earliest posts, so it had time to accrue views. It had 31 total views, half of which came in February, the month it was posted.

Potential NBA Playoff Matchups I’d like to See

I’d like to start this post off by saying that I hope everyone is safe, staying inside their homes, and washing their hands. The past few weeks have felt like months, with new updates regarding the Coronavirus coming in daily. This is an incredibly dire time not only for us as Americans, but for us as human beings. I urge everyone to listen to science and do whatever you can to flatten the curve. This is a pandemic that’s here to stay for quite some time, whether we like it or not.

As you know the Coronavirus has forced all large social gatherings to shut down, including the NBA. What this means for the league is still in question. When the league will return is still unknown (obviously), and what the league will return as is also uncertain. Will games pick up right where they left off, jump right into the post-season, or will they be somewhere in between of the two? As of right now there are no definite answers.

That means that all we, as fans, are left to do is speculate about NBA “what ifs”. I’ll take part in this trend by sharing some of the potential playoff matchups I’d like to see. With the regular season’s fate up in the air, we’re still not even sure what the opening round of the NBA playoffs would look like. This means that anyone still has the potential to play anyone. So, without further ado, here are some of the matchups that pique my interest.

Los Angeles Lakers v. Houston Rockets

This matchup is all about size. While the rest of the NBA moves towards smaller rosters with more three-point shooting and perimeter defense, the Lakers have zagged in the opposite direction. LA is home to Lebron James, Anthony Davis, JaVale McGee, and Dwight Howard. This makes them one of the biggest teams in the league. They’re able to house so many “bigs” because each of them is incredibly athletic, and two of them are top five players in the league. The Lakers defense is one of the best in the NBA thanks to their size and athleticism, but they do lag in terms of three-point shooting.

The Rockets are nearly the antithesis of the Lakers. They have taken “small ball” to new heights by not having a traditional center play any meaningful minutes. Their scheme is built to maximize the potential of their MVP duo in James Harden and Russell Westbrook. This means a lot of long-range shooting, and a mediocre defense. The Rockets rank 16^th in defensive rating while the Lakers come in third place. The Rockets are second in the league in the percentage of points they score from three-point land, while the Lakers are 25^th.

What the two teams have in common is that they both rank in top five in terms of offensive rating. This is likely because both teams have All-Star duos who can create for themselves and others. These numbers make it seem like the Lakers have the edge, and they just might. They have a better defensive rating and despite their lack of shooting, they still can put points on the board. What I find interesting though, is that Houston can heat up from outside at any moment, which can completely change the complexion of a game. This matchup would be a clash of styles and I think it’d be really fun to see which one wins out.

Milwaukee Bucks v. Miami Heat

The Milwaukee Bucks have thoroughly dominated the 2019-2020 NBA season so far. They have the best record in the league at 53-12. The Bucks have been so dominant that their average margin of victory is historic. This rampage has been led by one man, arguably the most dominant player the NBA has seen since Shaquille O’Neal. That man would be MVP favorite, Giannis Antetokounmpo. Giannis is averaging 29.6 points, 5.8 assists, and 13.7 rebounds per game. He does this all while only playing an average of 30.9 minutes a game. The Bucks have blown teams out so bad that it’s not unusual to find Giannis on the bench during closing minutes, they don’t need him at that point, the game is already over.

The Bucks have a similar scheme offensively to that of the Houston Rockets. The same type of play that allows Russell Westbrook to feast in the paint is used by Milwaukee to allow Giannis to do the same. The Bucks surround Giannis with shooters who give him space to drive to the cup and kick out if necessary. Thus, it seems somewhat simple to stop Giannis, just clog the paint. However, Giannis is such an athletic freak, that this strategy must be executed almost to perfection for it to have a noticeable effect. The Miami Heat just might be the team capable of making the Greek Freak look normal.

The Heat’s starting lineup includes Bam Adebayo and Meyers Leonard, two big men who could both be considered centers in the modern NBA. These two are the key to clogging up the paint and forcing Giannis to score in other ways. Adebayo figures to play a more prominent role thanks to his incredible perimeter defense and athleticism that allow him to contain the Freak better than most. Add in the switchable wings the Heat have in Jimmy Butler, Jae Crowder, and Andre Iguodala, and you have a recipe for defensive success.

Miami and Milwaukee have squared off twice this year, with Miami coming out on top in both contests. What’s even more notable is that Giannis was held to a meager 13 points in their most recent bout. If the Heat can stop Giannis, which they’ve shown they’re capable of, then they just might be able to upset the NBA’s top dog.

Los Angeles Clippers v. Denver Nuggets

The NBA playoffs mean more than the regular season, duh. I bring that point up because it’s the reason why lineups shrink during the extended period. Coaches just don’t want to give away valuable playoff minutes to players they don’t absolutely trust. This can be a huge disadvantage for teams that don’t have many of those kinds of players. The rigors of the post-season are exhausting, and deeper lineups can be extremely valuable in later rounds.

These two teams seem to be exceptions to the rule. Both the Clippers and Nuggets have rosters that could go at least nine deep come playoff time. The Nuggests felt so good about their depth that they traded two solid bench contributors in Malik Beasley and Juancho Hernangomez. The Clippers on the other hand have spent all season collecting veteran players such as Reggie Jackson and Marcus Morris.

If these two meet then they’ll surely need the extra bodies. As the 2^nd and 3^rd seeds, they’ll have to make it all the way to the conference finals in order to play each other. What makes this more interesting is that Kawhi Leonard and Paul George have been on “load management” basically all season. Whether or not their bodies will hold up remains in question. However, even if one of them goes down, the Clippers have enough depth to cover. In the war of attrition that is the NBA season, these teams seem well equipped to make it through even the worst of times.

NFL Teams Set to Improve in 2020

Change is constant. As the sands of time trickle away, people, environments, anything really, all change. The same can be said for the NFL. Each year brings new opportunities that teams can either take advantage of or completely blow. Some teams take the leap from utter mediocrity to the upper echelons of contention. Last year’s Baltimore Ravens are a great example of this, going from a respectable 10-6 team to an absolute juggernaut that held the best record in the league at 14-2. Some teams can also take a step or two back. The 2019 Rams were a far cry from the team that made the Super Bowl the year before. However, the new league year is a time for hope, so instead of pointing out the teams who could tumble I’ll focus on those who look to move up in the NFL food chain.

Improvement is subjective. Improving could mean making the playoffs after missing out the year before, going from a Wild Card round exit to the Super Bowl, or even just winning one more game than last season. In order to make things clear I’ll define improvement as winning four more games than the year prior. Why four games? Well, as evidenced by Baltimore, four games is the difference between respectable and scary. While the teams I highlight in this article might not become the absolute force the Ravens were, they’ll at least experience a similar leap. Let’s jump right in.

Cleveland Browns

The 2020 Cleveland Browns remind me of the 2019 San Francisco 49ers. Now before anyone goes ballistic, no I’m not saying the Browns will make the Super Bowl this season, but I am saying that they’ll make the playoffs. Way back in the 2018 offseason, the San Francisco 49ers were touted as the breakout candidate of the year. The team was ravaged by injuries and went on to have a disappointing season. When the 2019 offseason rolled around, the 49er hype train had died down. Once it was actually time to play games though, the 49ers proved to be a dominant force and made it all the way to the Super Bowl. It seemed reasonable to assume that the team would break out, but after they failed to show up when the hype was there for them in 2018, the national media payed less attention.

As I said, the hype train had left the 49ers during the 2019 offseason, the team that inherited all that excitement was the Cleveland Browns. After nearly two decades of being the laughingstock of the NFL, it seemed that the Browns finally put together a roster flush with talent that was ready to compete. The pieces were there, the execution, not so much. There were quite a few moments throughout the season where Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens seemed in over his head, his play calling was consistently questionable, and it seemed that he had lost the faith of his locker room early on. Kitchens went on to lead Cleveland to a pitiful 6-10 record. Put simply, Kitchens was just not the man for the job.

Now Kitchens is out, and former Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski is in. Last year, Stefanski’s run heavy scheme that made running back Dalvin Cook the focal point of the offense, led the Vikings to the playoffs. Quarterback Kirk Cousins was a huge beneficiary of said scheme, the run heavy approach forced defenses to key in on Cook and allowed Cousins to put up incredible numbers, especially on play-action passes. All this helped Cousins break the narrative that he wasn’t a clutch quarterback when he beat the New Orleans Saints in the playoffs.

Stefanski can bring that same scheme to Cleveland to help Baker Mayfield rehabilitate his image. Mayfield was often criticized for being a “one read” quarterback who had a hard time going through his progressions. The play-action game Stefanski brings will make things easier for Mayfield and he’ll likely experience an improvement similar to Cousins. The pieces Stefanski needs are already in place. The roles held by Cook, Cousins, Stefon Diggs, Adam Thielen, and Kyle Rudolph will now be held by Nick Chubb, Mayfield, Odell Beckham Jr., Jarvis Landry, and Austin Hooper. The two groups share a lot of similarities and Cleveland’s is arguably more talented. The potent offensive attack that fans hoped the Browns would field in 2019, might just arrive a year late. But hey, at least they’ll be there.

Miami Dolphins

Last year’s Miami Dolphins were probably the least talented team the NFL had seen in a long time. Though, that was by design. In the 2019 offseason the Miami Dolphins decided they would embark on a true rebuild. This would include a season of tanking in an effort to secure the number one pick in the draft where they could then add potential franchise signal caller Tua Tagovailoa. Fans dubbed the strategy as “Tank for Tua”. In order to ensure a losing season, the Dolphins traded away some of their most talented players such as Minkah Fitzpatrick, Laremy Tunsil, and Kenny Stills. However, those trades did land them premium draft choices that they can use to expedite the rebuilding process.

In a shocking turn of events, the Dolphins actually won five games. Doing so was a huge accomplishment for head coach Brian Flores. He took an unimpressive roster with early season locker room issues, and turned it into a five-win team, including a win over the New England Patriots. Five wins seems disappointing, it’s not even a winning record, but you have to remember that this team was expected to go 0-16. The fact that Flores was able to weather the storm, shows that he is fully capable of coaching a competitive team.

Now that 2019 is over, the Dolphins appear to be moving forward in their rebuild by acquiring veteran talent in free agency. After finishing with the least amount of sacks in the league, the team signed edge rushers Shaq Lawson and Emanuel Ogbah, both of whom would’ve led the team in sacks last year. Miami also signed Byron Jones, Kyle Van Noy, and several other veterans to fill out some of the holes in their roster. The next phase of their rebuild will include utilizing their league leading 14 draft picks to fill their roster with young talent that can develop and learn alongside the veterans they’ve already added. It also seems that one of those picks will still be Tagovailoa. Winning five games means the Dolphins failed to secure the number one pick, but a mix of Joe Burrow’s breakout season and injury concerns surrounding Tua, has caused the Alabama prospect’s draft stock to fall just enough for the Dolphins to be able to scoop him up.

The influx of talent in Miami all but guarantees a better record than last year, add in Flores’ exceptional coaching and this Miami team may even make the playoffs next season. With the playoff field expanding to seven seeds, that possibility seems even more likely. Flores has shown he’s a true leader of men, perhaps now he’ll get the chance to prove that in games that actually matter.

Indianapolis Colts

Andrew Luck’s surprising retirement defined the Indianapolis Colt’s 2019 season. The first pick in the 2012 NFL Draft decided to call it quits after seven years in the league. Nagging injuries and extensive rehab forced Luck to make the decision, and it left the Colts in an odd spot. The team was prepared to vie for a championship with Luck at the helm in 2019, but his retirement changed those plans. Jacoby Brissett, the team’s backup, was named the new starter and came in with mixed expectations. Brissett had starting experience during the 2017 season, when Luck was dealing with a shoulder injury, but his ceiling was clearly limited.

Brisset started the season out strong, but a game manager play style prevented him from taking the Colts to the next level. He consistently failed to push the ball downfield which allowed defenses to key in on a rushing attack that the Colts heavily relied on. This offensive imbalance put pressure on a defense that ranked 18^th in the league. They were solid at creating turnovers and sacks, but the offense couldn’t do much with the extra opportunities. The Colts faded in the second half of the year and finished with a 7-9 record. As a result, Indianapolis’ front office chose not to commit to Brissett as the team’s starter in 2020.

As expected, the Colts signed quarterback Philip Rivers in free agency. Rivers should be the team’s starter in 2020 and brings in the gunslinger mentality that Brissett lacked. Last year, River’s play seemed to fall off, this is to be expected from an aging quarterback, but some could argue that it’s because the former Charger was doing too much to try to keep his team in games. Rivers comes into a situation that should put less pressure on him to create. The Colt’s have a top 10 offensive line and rushing attack. Not to mention, they also have downfield threats in T.Y. Hilton and sophomore Parris Campbell. This should allow Rivers to play a game that comes naturally to him, instead of trying to force things in an effort to get his team out of a hole.

A trade for defensive tackle Deforest Buckner should also improve a defensive unit that is highly underrated. The Colt’s defense likely would’ve placed higher in the league had it not been for their anemic offense. If the 2020 Colts can consistently put points on the board, it would put pressure on opposing offenses and allow Indy’s defense to play more aggressively. The balance that Indianapolis looks to reach in 2020 could lead to a playoff berth and even a division title.

A Friendly Review of The Undefeated

I have now published four articles regarding the sports world, making me a published part of the sports community. Writing these articles has been really fulfilling and has me excited for the future. As you may know, I want to be a sportswriter one day, which means I’ll probably be writing for one of the industries titans at some point. The Undefeated is one of those titans.

The Undefeated launched in 2016 as a website the not only explored the sports landscape, but also the culture around it. Of course their main focus is sports, one glance at their home page makes that pretty clear. Though further examination will lead you to the “culture” and “The Uplift” pages of the site that offer articles with a stronger focus on the social side of sports.

When ESPN initially conceived the website, the hope was that The Undefeated would give the colored community a larger voice that would in turn reach a larger colored audience. That seems to be exactly how The Undefeated worked out.

Each article is much more personal than your typical sports article. There are plenty of quotes, and the writers have a clear interest in what the players are thinking as they play. Articles that cover culture tend to have a really strong voice. Each writer laces in their own personal experience, because well, they’re part of the culture too.

Overall, The Undefeated is a very empowering website. It amplifies the voice of not only the writers, but of the community as a whole. The writers are really a part of the community they write about, which allows them to truly tell the stories of the players and people they interview. The Undefeated’s ability to unify the colored community through sports and other types of culture makes them unique.

If I were to complain about one thing though, it’d be the pictures. Some of the articles get very wordy, and a few images here and there would make the content a little more digestible. Though this is the most knit-picky thing I could criticize The Undefeated for, so that has to tell you how well ran it is.

Maybe one day I’ll find myself writing for The Undefeated. When going through the site I discovered a “We’re Hiring” hyperlink. Welp, who knows.