My Team of the Week (Week 12)

 

            For the second time this season and the first time since week 3, the Jacksonville Jaguars are my team of the week. The Jaguars had an impressive win Sunday against a very tough Baltimore Ravens team, 28-27.

            The Jags went into their final drive with not much time left and not a lot of hope left. But, they drove down the field, thanks to a spectacular effort from Trevor Lawrence, and won the game on a gutsy two-point conversion call. 

            The Jags have not been a very great team this season, but half of their wins have landed on my team of the weeks. Doug Pederson and the Jags had nothing to lose by calling that 2-point conversion call with 12 seconds left in the game, and it paid off as they advanced to 4-7.

            The Jaguars have been rebuilding their team for about 5 years now, ever since they lost in the AFC Championship in 2017, but they have some good young pieces that are coming together and winning games for this team.

            Even without up and coming star, Travis Etienne, the Jags were able to get the job done and against one of the best teams in the AFC nonetheless. Although the playoffs seem doubtful this year, the Jags have definitely showed me and other fans across the NFL that in the near future they will be able to compete at a higher level.

            I look at the Jags as a team with a lot of hope in the upcoming future and especially because of the division that they play. Arguably, not including the Titans, it is the worst division in football with the Colts and the Texans in the AFC South as well. The Jags had one of the more impressive victories that I've seen this season and that is why they earned the team of the week for week 12. 

The Jets beat the Bears

 

            It felt good to sit back and watch the Jets easily beat a team that is on a much lower level than them as they crush the Bears by a score of 31-10. The Jets went down 10-7 early and never looked back as they scored 24 unanswered points to improve to 7-4 on the campaign.

            The offense actually looked like it had a pulse today, and that was all because of the quarterback play of Mike White. Without Zach Wilson, the offense is so much better and it just flows so much better. White was able to hit all of his receivers and incorporated the run game equally as well.

            Mike White had one of the better Jet quarterback performances that the Jets have had in recent history. There was a stat that he had the most 1st half passing yards by a Jets quarterback since Chad Pennington in 2006. Who knows maybe Mike White is the guy and the Jets should rely on him from here forward. After this game, there is no question he should start next week and possibly the rest of the season. 

            Another big game for Garrett Wilson as he ripped off 2 touchdowns and is the definite frontrunner for rookie of the week. Not only did he get Wilson involved, but finally Elijah Moore was involved as he caught not only a 42 yard pass, but a touchdown as well.

            Zonovan Knight came in from the practice squad and stepped up big as Michael Carter got banged up mid game and James Robinson was scratched. The running back room is so deep so it is tough to get Knight consistently involved, but I definitely want to see a lot more of him if he can keep bringing this any given Sunday.

            Besides a sloppy first quarter, the defense looked as legit as it has been all season after the first quarter. The Jets defense has allowed 59 points in the last four game for an average of opponent point per game a little under 15. That is pretty elite if you ask me. 

            This is Mike White's ship to right now and the Jets should not even have a consideration of starting Zach Wilson in the near future after the game White just displayed. The Jets now go on the road for 2 tough games against the Vikings and the Bills, so it is imperative that they get good quarterback play which they did today. 

My Prediction for the College Football Playoffs

 

            The college football playoff is just around the corner and I want to list my predictions and what I do and don't want to happen in these upcoming weeks before.

            First off, me and along with many others DO NOT want to see Alabama in the final four, but there is somewhat of a chance that they will be. Right now in my opinion, if all of these teams win their conference title games, the final four should be, Georgia, Michigan, USC, and TCU not in any particular order.

            But, if one of those teams loses their conference title game it opens up a slot for Alabama to sneak into possibly the #4 spot. Right now I believe that Michigan and Georgia have their spots in the final four locked up but TCU and USC HAVE to win their conference title games.

            With LSU and Clemson losing, their chances at getting into the final four have diminished so the race has definitely narrowed down. One team that nobody is talking about is Ohio State who just got embarrassed at home by Michigan. They will definitely fall out of the top 4, but at the end of the day if they were to sneak into the playoff, they would be compared with Alabama.

            If I were in the playoff committee, my entire ballot would be based off of this upcoming weekend and who wins their conference titles. I think Michigan has a cake walk against Purdue and TCU, USC, and Georgia all have pretty tough opponents matched up for them.

            At the end of the day, it is always nice to see new teams in the playoff and not the same teams every year like Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson, etc. Hopefully this year we won't see Alabama or Ohio State and see new teams like USC and TCU.

            USC deserves every single ounce of respect after going through a completely new look of their team and overcoming their tough schedule. TCU has shocked many people with how dominant their offense has been last year and they need one more domination from their offense against Kansas State in the BIG 12 championship game.

            My final prediction for the college football playoff, as long as everything goes according to plan, is #1 Georgia, #2 Michigan, #3 USC, #4 TCU. That means Georgia will play TCU and Michigan would platy USC and the winner of those games would face each other. There may be a little bit of controversy over who gets the 3 and 4 between USC and TCU, but I believe USC has earned it more than TCU has. 

            

The BEST Week of Sports

 

            I don't think you can top this week of sports that the world just witnessed. Almost every sport was featured and even some on a global stage. It's safe to say if you are a sports fan, this week you were in heaven.

            For the first time in four years, the World Cup got underway in Qatar with 4 games each day. Then we had Sunday football during the kickoff of the World Cup. Mini NCAA basketball tournaments during the week where many upsets occurred. Thanksgiving football, England and the US in the World Cup, rivalry week in college football, and another Sunday football tomorrow.

            No matter what sport is your favorite, almost every sport was featured. For me, I enjoyed watching all of these events no matter if my team was on the losing side or the winning side, I was in too much awe of what this week had to bring.

            Thanksgiving football did not disappoint with multiple close games and broke records for viewership as well. College Football rivalries like Ohio State vs. Michigan took place and those games did not disappoint as well. 

            In my opinion, no matter if you are a soccer fan or not, most people watched the World Cup including myself. I don't watch soccer ever in my free time, but there is a different feeling during the World Cup and especially when the United States is playing. 

            Looking at college basketball, we had tournaments in Hawaii, the Bahamas, and all over the rest of the country that did not disappoint either. Major upsets occurred like #1 North Carolina and #3 Kansas being upset which will provide a major rift in the college basketball standings. 

            Drama and headlines is exactly what sports fans love to see and we saw a lot of it this week. I'm not sure we will get a sports week as good as this anytime soon because it is going to be very difficult to top this week in the sports world. 

My Team of the Week (Week 11)

 

            We are in late November heading into Thanksgiving week and the Dallas Cowboys are my team of the week for week 11. The Cowboys stormed into Minnesota and crushed the previously 8-1 Vikings, 40-3!

            In the previous week, the Cowboys came off a crushing loss to the Green Bay Packers in a game which they lead by two scores in the 4th quarter and then lost in OT. But, they totally bounced back by crushing a very good Vikings team in their house under the bright lights.

            To me, the Vikings are a very good team, I have them as one of my top 7 teams in the league and for the Cowboys to go into their house and beat them that badly is absolutely ridiculous. Just a week after Minnesota was crowned my team of the week with their win against Buffalo, they get absolutely whooped at home against Dallas.

            It was a total team effort for the Cowboys in their win as both the offense and defense were totally clicking throughout the game. Micah Parsons started out with a bang with a strip sack to start the Cowboys scoring and then the rest of the defense held one of the best offenses in the league to 3 total points.

            The offense was great and was lead by the two running backs, Tony Pollard and Ezekiel Elliot, who picked up 4 touchdowns combined on Sunday. Pollard got them through the air and Elliot picked them up on the ground. 

            If this Cowboys team can stay consistent and keep playing like this, then watch out this team could be scary. Plus, they don't have much time to lose this momentum going into their next game because they play on Thursday against the Giants which I believe will be a massive win for the Cowboys at home. The Dallas Cowboys are my team of the week for week 11. 

Zach Wilson Sucks

 

            Yep, you heard that right. Zach Wilson is terrible. I along with many other Jet fans have totally given up on Zach and for good reasons. He is leading this potent offense straight to the ground and lost a totally winnable game by making too many stupid mistakes.

            It's time for the Jets to sign a veteran QB and not take a chance on one in the draft. The Jets lost on Sunday once again to the Patriots 10-3 in a game for abysmal offense was shown. Just over 100 total offensive yards is not gonna cut it and especially in a game where the Jets were in it the entire time until the final 5 seconds. 

            And then what makes it even better is that Zach did not take any accountability in his post game interview which shows what type of a leader he is. Robert Saleh is right for not naming him QB1 for this upcoming week versus the Bears as his time has come to an end in my opinion. 

            The Jets came into the season of having a goal in winning divisional games which they have, but they somehow can still not beat the New England Patriots. It's crazy to see how the Jets are able to beat great teams like the Bills, yet they lose to a team like the Patriots which are nowhere near the level of Buffalo.

            One positive that we can rejoice about is how good this defense is. To me, the Jets defense looks like it is a top 5 defense in the NFL and show it not only on papers through stats, but also when you watch them. They are just so dominant all around, but it doesn't pay off when your offense is just terrible.

            This week is a perfect week to bounce back though as the Jets go back home to face the Bears who have been struggling and may be without their young emerging quarterback in Justin Fields. They need to win this game before they enter a tough stretch of upcoming road games against the Vikings and the Bills. I have total confidence that this team will bounce back as long as Zach Wilson is not the head of the offense and the defense stays as dominant as it has been so far. 

My Team of the Week (Week 10)

 

            The Minnesota Vikings have been disrespected by critics all season, but now they have earned their respect. The Vikings marched into chilly Buffalo on Sunday and took down the Bills by a score of 33-30 in overtime. It wasn't pretty, many deficits were overcame, but the Vikings definitely turned some heads with this upset on the road.

            At one point the Vikings were down by 17 points and everyone thought it would be another easy win for the Bills, but no the Vikings showed that they're never out of it and came back to win in overtime. 

            I'll run you down another situation. Less than 2 minutes to play, down 4, in your own half of the field, 4th and 18. Kirk Cousins heaves up a prayer and Justin Jefferson comes down with it, OBJ style, to keep the Vikings alive and that would be the difference maker. Big time players make big time plays and boy did Justin Jefferson ever make one.

            Many people have said that they Vikings have had an easy schedule to walk over, but they just beat arguably the best team in the league, on the road, in one of the worst environments to play in in the sport. Despite the schedule and despite this insane victory, they are 8-1 and have no competition in their division to worry about.

            For years, the NFC North has been all Packers and this year the Vikings are showing why it's their year and may be their division for years to come. The Vikings are here and they are legit. In my opinion, they are the best team in the NFC and close to the best team in the league. It's time to give the Vikings their respect as they are here to stay. 

Verdict is in: Judge is MVP

 

            Was it ever a debate? Aaron Judge has won his 1st MVP award after beating out Shohei Ohtani for the prestigious award handed out by the BBWAA. Congratulations to Aaron Judge!

            Judge had a season for the ages, leading the MLB in almost every category possible besides batting average. He was just a couple of average points shy of the AL triple crown and shattered records during the process.

            Although it wasn't the outcome that Judge and the Yankees were hoping for in the end, without Judge on this Yankees team, the team would be absolutely lost. Judge literally put the team on his back during the second half of the season and without him they probably wouldn't have won the division or even made the playoffs.

            That is the main reason why I believe he beat out Ohtani by such a wide margin for the MVP because of the team success. You can't win MVP when your team didn't have a winning record since early June and your team also didn't come close to even making the playoffs. Sure he's a generational talent and one of the best players I've seen, but Judge had a much bigger impact on his team's success than Ohtani did. 

            Judge took it like a real professional this entire season and throughout the process of accepting his award by thanking his teammates and coaches in almost every sentence he could make out. To me, I have never seen a more unselfish guy when talking about his team and what they do for him. He is always looking to praise his teammates and coaches for the success they bring him and he would not be where he is without them.

            Judge's season consisted of breaking Roger Maris's AL record of 61 home runs by smashing 62 on the campaign. To me and to others as well, he is the home run king because he did it clean unlike Sammy Sosa, Mark McGuire, and Barry Bonds who slashed more homers in a season, but while on PEDs. 

            The entire season that Judge put together was absolutely magical and I stand by my word that it was the greatest season by a player that I have ever witnessed. To slash 62 home runs, have a well over .300 average, and put your team on your back for the whole season is pretty magical and that is why he is the MVP. Now all Hal Steinbrenner has to do is pay the man and put him in pinstripes for life. 

Joel Embed just made history

 

            Joel Embiid is a great player and a generational talent, but what he did last night was absolutely insane. Embiid had probably the best game of his career and lead the Sixers to the victory last night against the Utah Jazz.

            Embiid's stat line that he put up was arguably the best stat line that I've ever seen since I've been watching the NBA. He put up 59 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists, and 7 blocks! Just to put up 59 points is a crazy stat and then to have those other numbers with the 59 points plus 7 blocks. Some players don't even get 59 points or 7 blocks in an entire season and he is doing this in just over 40 minutes.

            Not only did he put up those stats last night, but the night before Embiid put up 42 points against the Atlanta Hawks. So in the previous 24 hours, Embiid put up a whopping 101 points against two solid teams in the Jazz and the Hawks.

            He even outscored his own team last night, 59-46. Just absolutely ridiculous stats that keep on getting more ridiculous if you look further into it. Embiid has been in the MVP race for the past couple of years now after Nikola Jokic beat him out the past two years, is this finally his year?

            He's certainly putting on a show and the fans love it. He's carrying his team to victories and doing it all without his superstar teammate James Harden. Although it has been a small sample size, Joel Embiid has certainly been one of the most, if not the most, dominant players in the NBA this season and he's only going to get even better as time goes on. 

The Definition of Average

 

            The New York Knicks are average and nothing else. They are stuck in a situation right now which proves they are not a playoff-caliber team, nor are they a team that is going to be able to compete for the 1st overall pick.

            After a blowout loss last night to the Nets, the Knicks showed that they cannot capitalize off of good things. After blowing out the Wolves on the road the, the Knicks get obliterated by the Nets in Brooklyn. A team that is currently in the midst of a crisis off the court with Kyrie Irving and a new head coach, it is embarrassing that the Knicks lost in this type of fashion.

            If you look at all of the successful teams that win playoff games and advance to the next round, they have stars on their teams to lead them to this success. This is something that the Knicks do not have. The Knicks have a bunch of good young players, but they are not getting anywhere with these young guys.

            RJ Barrett is good but he is not a superstar, Julius Randle is not a star, Jalen Brunson is not a star, this team is lacking a solidified star that you can rely on putting the ball in their hands and winning your team a ball game. They tried this previous offseason to get Donovan Mitchell, that didn't work, they've targeted other superstars in previous offseason and that didn't work as well. 

            As a Knicks fan I wonder all the time, when will the Knicks finally land that superstar-caliber guy like Carmelo Anthony that can come into the best city in the world and lead this team to the promise land or somewhere close to it. Whenever all the signs are pointing in the direction of the Knicks acquiring a superstar, it does not happen. 

            In the end, the Knicks need a superstar. It doesn't have to be a Lebron James or a Kevin Durant, but they need someone close to it. We are only 11 games into the season and the Knicks are 5-6, so I'm not panicking yet, but all signs point to the fact that the Knicks are not going anywhere without a star to right the ship. 

My Team of The Week (Week 9)

 

            It's crazy how we are already half way through the NFL season, but this could not be a more perfect time to give the New York Jets my team of the week for week 9! The Jets shocked the world this past week with their major upset over the Buffalo Bills to improve to 6-3 on the campaign.

            As a Jets fan, in previous years win have been hard to come by, but this season is a new season and this isn't the same old Jets. Not only are they winning games, but they are beating good teams and are actually being spoken about in the playoff race in November and not being discussed about being in the top 10 of the NFL draft for once. 

            They came into this previous Sunday as the heavy underdogs against arguably the best team in the NFL and defied the odds by upsetting the Bills at home. To many around the league, this was portrayed as a David vs. Goliath and the Jets were David. 

            The defense proved to the rest of the league why they deserve to be in the conversation for the best defense in the entire NFL, if not top 5. Zach Wilson really needed a bounce back week after his horrendous game against the Patriots and although he did not put up Mahomes or Allen like numbers he played exactly how the Jets needed him to play.

            Yet the rest of the league still is sleeping on this team with a lot of analysts keeping them out of their top 10 power rankings. But that is exactly what the Jets thrive off of, getting disrespected. No one and I mean nobody had them having an over .500 record going into the bye week and look at them they are 6-3, playing their best football in 7 years!

            The NFL regular season is about halfway done and in past years, the Jets would not be spoken about in November as a playoff contender. It's a delight to Jets fans including myself that we do not need to look at Mel Kiper's top 10 mock draft and see the Jets there because as Michael Clemons said, "the Jets are coming to play."

The Jets beat the best team in the NFL!

 

           

             They said it could not be done. They said the Bills are way better. They came into our house as a double digit favorite on the road. But guess what? The Jets defied the odds and took down the best team in the NFL at home, 20-17!

            The game started off how almost everyone expected it too as they Bills jumped out in front, but one thing that people did not expect was for Josh Allen to struggle through the air and he did. He was able to do it all with his legs, but the Jets totally took away the passing game from Allen and the Bills, especially in the second half.

            Coming off a terrible loss last week to the Patriots, the Jets came into the game with a bad taste in their mouths and needed to flip the script and they sure did. The defense played absolutely out of their minds and once again the defense was the key to victory in this one. 

            Obviously in New York if you mess up or do something bad, you are gonna get heavily criticized for it and boy was Zach Wilson criticized for his performance last week. Wilson was under the most pressure to step up this week and he played exactly how the Jets wanted him to play.

            He didn't have the best game, but no interceptions, he was very calm and maintained in the pocket, and was able to get off throws quickly to his receivers. Everyone is looking at the fact that Zach has struggled since he came back from his injury, but they don't look at the fact that in the games he's played this season, he's 5-1.

            I already praised the defense for how they played, but once again the secondary showed up and balled out. Stefon Diggs had one big catch on one of the first plays of the game, but he did not have a single catch in the second half, and Gabe Davis had 3 catches all day. DJ Reed and Sauce Gardner absolutely locked up one of the best wide receiver duos in the league. 

            As Michael Clemons said earlier in the season, "The Jets are coming to play" and boy they are. The Jets pull off the massive upset against in my opinion the best team in the league and send a huge message to the rest of the NFL that the Jets are coming to play! 

My Team of the Week (Week 8)

 

            For the first time this NFL season, the San Francisco 49ers have won the team of the week honor for this week. Eight weeks through and it looks like the 49ers have finally found their groove going into the bye week with some new faces to help them out. 

            The 49ers marched into SoFi Stadium for what looked like a home game against the Rams because of how many 49er fans there were, and absolutely destroyed LA, 31-14. LA has not looked very sharp this year, but to go into someone else's house and absolutely manhandle them like the niners did is pretty impressive. I forgot to mention the Rams are also the defending super bowl champs and beat the niners on their way to the championship as well.

            Arguably the biggest acquisition before the trade deadline was made by the 49ers after acquiring one of the best running backs in the league in Christian McCaffrey. McCaffrey showed why he was worth all of those picks that the niners gave up to get him in this victory.

            Not only did he run for a touchdown, not only did he catch a touchdown, but he also threw a touchdown as well! How often do you see that happen? Also, mind that he was just acquired a little over a week prior to the game, so for him to get adjusted to the playbook that quickly is pretty impressive.

            Besides McCaffrey, the entire team was thriving especially the defense as they dominated the Rams offense. Even with no Deebo Samuel, the 49ers offense was not affected negatively as not only did CMC step up, but Brandon Aiyuk had himself a good game as well.

            The Niners are not a team to mess with in the NFC and they proved it here in week 8. They can easily win their division as it is totally up for grabs and they definitely look like the best team in that division as well. The 49ers cruise to a dominant victory heading into their bye week as they take home the team of the week for week 8.