2014 was looking to be promising for me in the world of sports. I was almost certain all of my teams would make a huge leap. The Philadelphia Eagles were the favorites in the NFC East going into their second season with head coach Chip Kelly; The Sacramento Kings have a rough year, but they made a lot of progress with young but experienced players; The Michigan Wolverines seemed to be ready to compete with Ohio State and Wisconsin in the Big Ten conference, which has struggled the passed couple of years; And the Yankees in Derek Jeter's final season just had to send the captain out on top, or at least with a playoff appearance.
I'll start with the Eagles. They didn't have a bad year, just not a great one. When quarterback, Nick Foles went down at the beginning of the season, backup, Mark Sanchez was up, nobody knew what to expect. Despite being known over the past few years for his abysmal play, Sanchez actually played well in his first couple of games as the starter for the Eagles, people in Philly were actually excited for him, at one point they were sitting atop the NFC East at 9-3. Well, that changed fast! in the month of December the the Eagles went 1-4, which involved a three-game losing steak- Seattle, Dallas, Washington. I can't just blame Sanchez, the Eagle defense is still the bad. Even though I believe they have one of the best defensive front seven in the NFL, their secondary couldn't stop anyone's passing attack. They finished 31st (second to last) in the NFL in passing defense, giving up and average of 265 yards per game through the air, they might have finished last had it not been for the Panthers game. They finished with a win over the New York Giants, but still managed to give up 400 yards passing to Eli Manning, and they ended the season with a 10-6 record which wasn't good enough to make the playoffs in the NFC.
2014 was suppose to be the year the Kings and Demarcus Cousins made the leap, become a good team that was young and could just run the floor, similar to a Golden State or Oklahoma City. At the start of the NBA season, it appeared that's was going to happen through the first five games. But, as more games passed they began to show their true colors. So far, the Kings have had three streaks where they had three or more losses- including a five-game losing streak in the first week of December. Demarcus Cousins suffered from a virus and was absent from the court for twelve games and Rudy Gay couldn't do it all and the team suffered from it. But it's still a lot of basketball to be played and the Kings are still contention in the division at 13-18, only the Thunder and Pelicans are ahead of them in the division, hopefully the Kings can figure it out, now that Cousins is healthy. I won't give up on them yet but history with this team tells me otherwise and the fact they still don't have a head coach since Firing Mike Malone bothers me- MARK JACKSON IS STILL AVAILABLE.
The 2014 college football season was suppose to be a good one in the Big Ten for the Michigan Wolverines, they had Brady Hoke who was coming off of two very mediocre seasons, but this was suppose to be similar to the 2011 Sugar Bowl year, this team was ready, they had potential, so at least I thought. Week two was their first real big test, it was a prime time game, at Notre Dame. Could the Wolverines beat the Fighting Irish two years in a row? ...NO... Not only did Michigan lose, they got embarrassed 31-0. 2014 was the first time that either either team had been left scoreless in this rivalry since 2007 (Michigan won 38-0). Following the loss to Notre Dame the Wolverines went 4-6 in their last 10 games- meaning only a 5-win season and no bowl game for the Wolverines for the first time since 2009; first time in the Brady Hoke era. Devin Gardner, once again had a very mediocre season and didn't live up to his potential. Gardner in 2014 had 1,896 passing yards, 10 touchdowns passing and 15 interceptions.
The New York Yankees in 2014 were losing a great player and a part of the Yankees' organization of the past two decades. It was set in stone that after the 2014 season, "The Captain", Derek Jeter was going to retire. The Yankees had to send out the future hall-of-famer on a good note, they had to compete for a championship, or at least the division. Okay, they weren't that bad but they were still short of the division and a playoff spot. Going 84-78 and losing a crucial final series which kept them out of the playoffs was a hard blow. There were serious injury issues on the team and with mediocre pitching through the season and the Yankees ended up sending Derek Jeter, in his final season, out on a non-playoff appearance and disappointing season.
The worst part about the 2014 season, a lot of my teams rivals ended up having great season. The Dallas Cowboys won the NFC east, made the playoffs and Tony Romo, Demarco Murray and Dez' Bryant ended up having incredible seasons; The Ohio State Buckeye's ended up with another Big Ten title and they somehow made it in the very first college football playoffs; The Kings are struggling in the division now, the Thunder are facing serious injury issues with Kevin Durant but somehow are still managing to win games and are keeping the Kings from taking a lead in the division; Baltimore had a great season and never could I remember a time where the Oriels would beat out the Yankees for a division title.
But hey, I am glad that 2014 is coming to a close, I think 2015 will be more promising for me as a sports fan, or at least I hope it will.
The Eagles will hopefully work some things out during the off-season and can reclaim the division title next year; the Michigan Wolverines are once again seen as a contender, after signing head coach and former Wolverine, Jim Harbaugh; hopefully the Sacramento Kings figure something out by the end of the seasons. Cousins is the best center in the league, they know that. Now, if they can just get a head coach to complement the talent I believe they'll have something to work with and they could possibly be contenders in the division for the entire season; the 2015 season for the Yankees will feel completely different with no Derek Jeter in the line up but they still have a lot of young promising players to build around and they're the Yankees, they can "buy" players.
Talk Sports. Live Life. All opinions are my own. If you want you can agree with me. "To be the man, you gotta beat the man" - Ric Flair
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
The "Lynch" Who Stole Christmas
After the game Lynch did his best Lynch impression during the post-game "interview". He was short with his answers and almost all of them sounded the same, for every question Lynch responded "thanks for asking". This was very similar to an interview that Lynch was penalized for earlier in the season.
Lynch, 28, is one of the most controversial guys in the NFL media, not for what he say's but for what he won't say.
Marshawn Lynch isn't very vocal when it comes to the media, he's been on record saying that he's not a guy who likes to do interviews and or interact with the media. Last year, during the Super Bowl media day, Lynch did interview only several times, not because he wanted to but because he was forced to and even his interviews were fairly short. The most interactive interview that I saw him in was the one with NFL Networks' Deon Sanders. In the interview with Sanders, he was asked about his silence with the media and he explained his reasoning, saying simply, "i'm just about that action boss". It's clear that Lynch is an old school type of player, he's all about just playing the game and every game he seems to be giving 100 percent. That's what's most important, right?
Lynch is currently third in the NFL in rushing yards with 1,246 yards and is tied with league-leading rusher, Demarco Murray for touchdowns on the season with 12. Also, he (Lynch) has just had his fourth consecutive season with 1,200 or more rushing yards and at least 10 touchdowns.
I'm not concerned about Marshawn Lynch not interacting with the media. I believe that he plays the game the right way and if he's not comfortable talking to the media it shouldn't be a big deal as long as he continues to "be about that action".
During the week of Christmas, not only did Marshawn Lynch manage to help take the lead in the NFC West, but he also helped to create more conflict for himself with his non-responsive post-game "interview".
Monday, December 15, 2014
Future of The 49ers?
The San Francisco started the season with very high hopes, after coming off of last season, losing to the Seahawks in the NFC championship game on a late-game interception in the end zone. And the previous year when they fell short to the Baltimore Ravens in the Super Bowl. They started out the season struggling with a 1-2 record. It looked to be a promising turn around, after going on a three-game winning streak and improving to a record of 4-2. Week 7, they had the biggest road test of the season, at Denver on Sunday Night Football. The game wasn't even close. San Francisco, know for their defense gave up 42 points to the high-powered Denver offense, Peyton Manning led the charge as he had four touchdown passes while making history in the night as he passed Brett Favre for first place on the all-time touchdown list. Kaepernick and the San Francisco offense struggled to move the ball all game as he completed 24-39 pass attempts for 263 yards, one touchdown and one interception, The 49ers are currently on a three game losing streak.
San Francisco (7-7) are currently in third place in their division behind the Arizona Cardinals (11-3) and the Seattle Seahawks (10-4).
The 49ers' organization has had a lot of off-the-field issues this season. It began with early talks of head coach, Jim Harbaugh leaving at the end of the season, they later ran into one player in domestic violence trouble, another player being suspended for the first six games because of legal issues, over the summer and later reports coach Harbaugh having issues in the locker room. One thing I could note about the 49ers team is their age. They are aging wrong in all of the wrong positions. Their skill players are getting older. Running Back, Frank Gore, for example. He's a great talent. He could end up in Canton, Ohio, Maybe! He's in 9th season at age 31, he may need to be replaced or have less carries; wide receiver, Anquan Boldin, one of the strongest receivers to ever play the game, at age 34 he may need to consider retirement; Tight End, Vernon Davis, 30, they may need to consider finding his replacement soon. Even though I believe that Gore and Davis could still contribute on the field, I believe that San Fran may need to have them more role players than their star players. Carlos Hyde, rookie-running back out of Ohio State is not quit Gore in talent but he has a lot of upside to him. Maybe if they consider starting Hyde and making Gore a goal-line back or have him come in for third downs. Davis is very capable of Making plays still but at age 30, you have to think of how long he could continue to produce at the same rate.
I don't know the future of Harbaugh in San Francisco, nor do I know if Kaepernick will be able to produce at a higher level than he did the past two seasons. However, I do know that you want your quarterback to age and grow with the team, so he can mature and become a better decision maker. You don't want your skill positions to be older, they tend to "lose a step" as they get older and with that division, where every defense is young, tough & fast, you can't afford to lack in any position on offense. Especially at your skill positions.
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