Our Mock Draft.

Round 1: Luke: I took Graham because he was the Best player available and he had the highest x-rating ( the difference between the amount of points the player you take gains over the worst staring player at that position.) I don’t prefer to take a TE in the first round but I felt that could get value later in the draft.

Paul: I love the 6th spot this year. You either end up with Forte, Lacy or Megatron and none of those are bad choices. I keep going back and forth over which of these guys I would take if they were all available but for now I have Forte, Johnson, Lacy.

Round 2: Luke: Giovani Bernard is probably my favorite pick of the draft. He gets lots of catches and will be the feature back with lots of upside. With no BenJarvis Green-Ellis to worry about, Bernard is set to load up the stat book with twenty-five plus touches per game. The one problem is that his touchdowns may not be as high as I like, as he is a poor version of Barry Sanders at the very best, which is one of the best compliments a running back can get.

Paul: The good luck continues as I nab one of the 6 elite WRs. Another reason I love this six spot, it gives you the chance to nab one of the 5 elite RBs was well as one of the 6 elite WRs. So far I’m psyched because I was the only team in the league to do that.

Round 3: Luke: Bishop Sankey is the rookie Doug Martin of this year. He is the most productive running back in this year’s draft class and with a good line to run behind. I just have a really good feeling about him. He’s the right man in the right system at the right time. The Titans are a team on the rise (can Jake Locker play a full season?!?) and there is at least one rookie running back that bursts onto the scene in every fantasy football season. Archbishop Sankey seems to be the most likely candidate for the job.

Paul: I was really targeting CJ Spiller as a high upside RB2 but he was taken right before my pick. I decided against Stacy because I don’t like his low YPC and the fact that the Rams drafted Tre Mason in the 3rd round. I decided to go with V-Jax. He had a great year with Freeman and Glennon as his QB and should improve or maintain with Josh McCown despite Mike Evans vulturing a few TDs.

Round 4: Luke: Keenan Allen was my first wide receiver taken. The wide receiver pick was a no-brainer for this round. I needed to take my first receiver while there was still some players with great past production with upside on the board. I was torn between Allen and Wes Welker but ended up going with the younger guy who happens to be the number one target on the Chargers (Welker is the number 2 target with Demaryius Thomas ahead of him in Denver and Julius Thomas the primary red-zone touchdown maker). Plus Allen is way ahead of the great wide receiver production scale based on his terrific rookie performance. Most rookies do not find their groove until their third season. Allen even put up better statistics as the season went on. I can’t wait to see what he will do in his sophomore campaign.

Paul: I reached a bit for my guy here. I really didn’t like any of the options at RB as I figured correctly that some of my targets would be available at round 5. It should be fine as I believe this is the year that Andrew Luck jumps to the fantasy elite.

Round 5: Matt Ryan taken in the fifth round was a bit of a reach. I will be the first to admit this. And Paul was quick to tell me that the word “reach” was a huge understatement. The Falcons are still banking on Steven Jackson to carry the running game. As a running back over thirty years old with lots of mileage, Jackson will have another underwhelming year and this will force Atlanta to disproportionately go to the air once again. This year will be a different, as he regains his Matty Ice form. The biggest reason is that the Falcons have Julio Jones and Roddy White back and fully healthy. Expect big things fantasy wise for Ryan despite my unnecessary reach.

Paul: I like Trent Richardson this year but I’m not entirely comfortable with him as my RB2. I really hope a full offseason and training camp to go along with an easy schedule will help Trent Richardson produce at the levels he is capable of.

Round 6 Luke:  this is the only rookie receiver that will get more than 1000 yards. I know many people point out that rookie receivers rarely produce big numbers, but there is an average of 1 or 2 receivers per year that do produce from the first year of their careers on, just like AJ Green and Julio Jones. I believe that Watkins is in this same class.

Paul: I was shocked T.Y Hilton fell to me.  There was only a 14% shot of this happening and I took advantage of it. I know T.Y Hilton can be hit or miss but I’m OK with it considering that he would only be my WR3. It should be fun watching Andrew Luck throw to him and he could be in line for a breakout year. It is kind of bad that I have the Colts QB, RB, and WR though.

Round 7-8 Luke: Seeing Kendall Wright still on the board, to borrow from Paul’s earlier paragraph, was indeed train robbery. He has steadily progressed in each of his first two years in Tennessee. Last year he gained over 1000 yards but only had 2 touchdowns. He will surely improve those touchdown numbers this year and could have a top ten receiver type year if Jake ‘The Hurt’ Locker stays healthy. Danny Woodhead gives me a valuable flex option with consistent fantasy scoring of around nine points per week. I’ll take that production from a low round pick any day.

Paul: I wasn’t very pleased with my selection of Lamar Miller originally, but than I read that Bill Lazor wants to use him like LeSean McCoy. That certainly is quite the opportunity, I just hope he has the talent to take advantage. I still wish I could have better at the RB3. Christine Michael was taken because I believe Marshawn lynch will bust. I’ll let Walt from WalterFootball (the site I hope Pro Style Football can become) explain that here. I also think Marshawn Lynch could be saved for the postseason a la Kaepernick’s running ability. Either way Michael is a high upside RB4.

Round 9-10 Luke: Khiry Robinson, Carolina’s D- Ooooops! Did I really pick Khiry Robinson? Yes I did, but was totally going for Dwayne Bowe. Stupid technology these days. But I get what I deserve. Robinson will catch a few passes from Brees but is nothing but a fantasy bench player at best.

Paul Got my favorite late round TE besides Greg Olsen here. Feel that Rudolph can breakout under Norv Turner like Jordan Cameron did. Then I nabbed Anquan Boldin in the 10th round which is absolute money in the bank. I don’t like drafting SF players just because they have so many decent skill positions, but Anquan Boldin has proven to be the most consistent of them all. He will get his points despite the overrated Crabtree’s return.

Round 11-15 Luke: I believe Tre Mason will snatch a few more carries away from Zac Stacy than people think. Mason is my Alfred Morris honorary ‘what if’ pick. Just like Morris unexpectedly got the starting job in 2012 over a trendy Roy Helu and Evan Royster, the same could happen for Mason, especially if Stacy tweaks himself in camp or underperforms. The rest of my picks are very ho-hum. Austin could be the main target in the passing game this year. That is not saying a whole lot, though. That’s the same for James Jones. He is a great red zone receiver but he also had Aaron Rodgers throwing back shoulder bullets on the goal line. Again, the Raider offense is capable of very little, and Jones will not put up Packer numbers with Matt Schaub at QB. But in case of a few injuries, Jones is a veteran fantasy replacement. After drafting Manziel, I immediately release him and pick up Ryan Tannehill off waivers. Don’t ask me why I drafted him.

Paul: I nabbed Jarrett Boykin who has real upside in the Packers offense. He could reach 1000 yard and 6 TDs. In the 12th round I nabbed Zach Ertz as a potential backup to Rudolph with some upside. I then took Houston in the 13th. I really like HOU D with the addition of Clowney and an easier schedule. I took my favorite kicker of all time in the 14th, Phil Dawson. I probably should have nabbed Mason Crosby but I just love Phil. It said my 15th pick was Willie Snead but I tried to take Josh Gordon. I figure if Gordon only gets suspended 6-8 games he is worth a shot in the final frame.

Paul: In all I loved my draft. I got a stud RB, WR, and QB. My only weakness is at the RB2 spot (isn’t that everyone’s weakness?)  where I’m hesitant to believe Richardson can hold down that spot. But I’m stacked at WR and I have a stud QB. I figure my team is playoff bound and one of the favorites..

Luke: I took a few gambles but I put myself in good position to surprise as I had a distinct plan in this mock draft to go with the biggest bounce-back potential quarterback (Ryan) and surround him with young, huge-upside guys (Wright, Bernard, Sankey, Watkins, Allen). A roster like this could get me a two seed in the playoffs or it could blow up in my face as I also could end up 4-9 and watching the playoffs from the couch.

 

 

 

 

Coming Sooner Than You Think: The NFL Preview Within The NFL Preview…

Or How To Properly Anticipate The Unexpected Even When Your Subconscience Already Knows That The Unexpected That You Are Expecting Will Surely Be The Other Thing That You May Or May Not Have Already Pondered Was Going To Happen But Weren’t Confident Enough To Expect It Taking Place. ..Or An NFL Lesson on Quantum Theory

Fans, experts, NFL aficionados, and even disciples of Rich Kotite I greet you a warm hello. I am writing to tell you of a coming attraction on this God-forsaken NFL blog. This, essentially, is a preview of the coming attraction. Even if the coming attraction is actually another preview. That’s is two degrees of previews separated from the actual, official, regular fo’ real fo’ real NFL season (8-D). As training camp rages (ok, maybe labors is the better word) on, rosters are cut down and meaningless preseason games will give fans false hope and false alarm alike. The real deal does not start until September. My NFL preview will periodically forecast and project teams and their fortunes for the 2014 season. Unlike the NBA, this is incredibly hard to do. The only two things to expect every year in the NFL are: 1) Philip Rivers will be expecting yet another little bundle of joy with his now seven-time wife of the year. And: 2) Philip Rivers will not name his child Marty. Or Quiznatodd.

Yes, it is almost impossible to predict what will happen in the NFL from a team by team basis. Yet hundreds of websites, shows, magazines, and bloggers like yours dishonestly try to decipher the code to properly predicting how each team will do. Year in and year out, experts are left scratching their head at a few seemingly inexplicable events: “How the hell did the Eagles make the playoffs? Why did Houston end the season on a 14 game losing streak? Did Brandon Weeden just backhand flip that pass right to that Lions player?!?” I will attempt to use historical patterns and roster breakdowns to analyze each team to unmask all of the surprises that will surely surface in the NFL this year. This will make your NFL viewing experience a little less surprising (and possibly win bets to earn you a little extra cash or bragging rights.  😉

So in the coming days, I will be creating my preview pages. Each segment will have my previews and predictions on a division by division basis. My first page will be of the NFC (L)East. The next will be of the NFC North and so on. My previews will be culminated by the ever popular to this region AFC North. Each preview of a team will have the team’s projected record. My last article will show the readers my predicted standings with my projected playoff bracket and eventual super bowl participants. I am extremely confident that I will do better in the AFC this year in terms of picking a Super Bowl team. After all, last year I picked the Texans to win the AFC last year (Super Sad Face).

So That’s about it.

Motivational phrase that every average person says. (Insert stupid instagram bro cliché here).

-Luke

Unpopular Opinion: Andy Dalton Contract is worth it.

I hyped him up in my fantasy football rankings and now it’s time for me to explain why the Bengals signing Andy Dalton long term is completely worth it. The main criticism against Andy Dalton is that he is 0-3 in the playoffs, but people forget how amazing it is that he got to playoffs in the first place in a tough division 3 times. Those 3 playoff losses should be considered an aberration because in the last 2 seasons Andy Dalton was 6-2 against playoff teams in the regular season proving that he can step up against top opponents. It just seems like bad luck that his bad performances have come in the playoffs. One thing I’ve noticed when watching some highlights of the Bengals-Chargers game and reading the play-by-play is that it isn’t just Dalton who is letting the team down, there were other players who made horrible mistakes to let the team down. The Gio Bernard fumble in the 2nd quarter of last year’s game did him no favors,  same with that critical drop AJ Green had on what would have been a 50 yard pass in the fourth quarter all hurt the Bengals as much as Dalton’s 2 interceptions.

Another thing people forget about Dalton is that his stats are actually quite good. Like I mentioned in the Fantasy Football QB rankings  Andy Dalton has had more passing TDs and passing yards in his first 3 seasons than any QB in history besides Dan Marino  and Peyton Manning. He also has more wins in the same time period than any body but Marino, Flacco and Ryan. His Y/A, the adjusted versions of the stat, and his yards and TDS  have all  improved each year and now those stats rank in the top-15 or top-10. The only issue has been the consistent increase in interception rate. Hopefully Hue Jackson’s offense can lower this rate. Andy Dalton’s stats as a whole shows us that he can be a competent QB, but it’s his October and December stats that show he can have a spectacular run. In October Dalton threw for 1584 yds 11TDs and 6 picks while in December he threw for 1339 yds 12TDs and 5 picks. If  he can have the games he is capable of in the playoffs Andy Dalton can take the team far a la Joe Flacco.

Finally lets take a look at the contract. According to Mike Florio the contract is essentially a 2 year 25 million dollar contract with a whole bunch of 1 year options and bonuses for playoff victories. This deal gives the Bengals cap flexibility. In fact Dalton’s contract is much better than the contracts given out to Romo and Cutler and a bit better than the one given to Kaepernick. Dalton’s contracts average money per year is only 11th best in the league and which seems to be right around where Dalton is in his career right now, a little above average. You can see more details about his contract here. So it is kind of a ridiculous notion that the Bengals overpaid for for Dalton, especially when you consider the alternative of having an unsettled QB situation.

Fun Fantasy Football Fact

Q: What play could generate more fantasy points than a 99 yard touchdown run?

A 99 yard rushing TD is worth 15.9 fantasy points, if a QB throw a 99 yard TD pass to himself it would be 99 passing yards which converts 3.96 points plus the 9.9 points for the receiving yards as well as the 10 points for the passing and receiving TDs. Total this up and you get a 23.86 fantasy point play. It would probably look like this only for 99 yards.

So next time you lose a fantasy football game by 23 points you can say you were a play away from winning.

Paul

 

My Fantasy Football Horror Story

Last year I decided to play my very first fantasy football league for money. It was a only a $30 entry and I was confident I would win the $200 1st place prize or at least the $50 runner up because I would dominate those ESPN leagues. The weird thing about this season was that I was one of the best teams in the league but because  freakish tiebreakers, an injury, and some all around bad performances by my studs left me with out a playoffs and cost me 50 bucks because I would have won the first playoff game but lost in the finals.

There were two weeks left until the playoffs and I was sitting pretty at 8-4 and the team behind me was only 6-6, plus I was second in points scored in the whole league.  The next two weeks my team went kaput, with all of my key contributors putting up disappointing numbers. I lost both games, either of which would have put me in the playoffs, and the guy behind me won both games putting us both at 8-6. For some reason the division record is the first tiebreaker for the division winner, which I lost. But I thought its OK I have the best record out of all non division winners, I’ll just take the Wild Card. Than to my utter shock and dismay I saw that the tiebreaker for wild-card was total points scored, which should of been OK considering I knew I was either going to be #2 or #3 but I saw that the team that was number 2 was a 6-8 that had scored .35 more points than me over the whole season. POINT ZERO THREE FIVE!  This was a PPR league so one of my WRs could have had a -6 yard reception and I would have made the playoffs! And I got beat out by a team that went SIX AND EIGHT! Plus if you consider the fact that my division leader had 150 less points over the whole season than me! All you needed to do was switch the tiebreakers and I’d be in! To make things crazier, all of this could have been irrelevant if I just won this one game earlier in the season.

It mid-season and I was going against the best team in the league, The Juggernauts. I had my best player Calvin Johnson as well as Julius Thomas on a bye. The Juggernauts put up the best game the league has seen all year putting up an unreal 161 points before Monday Night, when the average score was about 110. Every single one of his players had a great week putting up crazy numbers. But I also had an amazing week spearheaded by 30 point games by Gronk, Zac Stacy and a 20 point game by Stevan Ridley. Both of WRs and my D/ST did great as well leaving me with 155 points the second best total  that the league has seen. But there was Monday night, where I had my stud QB playing. Surely he will put up the 7 points necessary to win this intense game, heck, he could get 7 points in the first quarter. But sadly my QB was Aaron Rodgers and this was the week he got hurt in the first quarter against the Bears before he could get the points needed to win. Yes I lost a game 161-158 without having my QB even finish the first quarter. You see why this is a horror story? What are the odds that all this stuff could happen? If could have just won that game I’d be richer. If I just scored .4 more fantasy points, I’d be richer. If the darn tiebreaker rules were different, I’d be richer.  This freak occurrence taught me that sometimes Fantasy football can come down to luck, and in this case, really, really bad luck.

Do you have any fantasy football tragedy of your own? Share it in the comment box below or tweet them @PSFBlog.

 

Paul

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Unpopular Opinion: Ray Rice’s Suspension Update

The popular opinion around the mainstream sports media is that Ray Rice’s 2 game suspension is too lenient especially when you compare it to the year long drug drug related suspensions of LaVon Brazill, Daryl Washington, and the impending suspension for Josh Gordon.

It all started in an Atlantic City elevator where Ray and his then fiance (now wife)  Janay got into a fight. We don’t know how it started, but video shows it ended with Janay knocked out cold. Upon looking at the court summons for both Ray and Janay here we see that Janay is also getting summoned for striking Ray. This shows that the assault went both ways. Ray Rice also had the charges dropped and went into anger management. He and his fiance then got married despite all of this.

Domestic violence is never okay, and there were many better ways Ray could have handled this, but we must consider his past and how his wife/fiance responded to this. Before this incident Ray Rice had a spotless record and was known for being very charitable, participating in anti-bullying campaigns, handing out Thanksgiving turkeys, and the like. Another thing I find interesting is Janay’s reaction to all this. Usually if one got hit by a significant other and you knew you did nothing wrong you would probably leave the relationship and file charges. Janay instead took responsibility for her role in the altercation and not only continued her relationship with Ray but went through with the marriage. If she doesn’t think this is that big of a deal than why should we?

Now lets compare this the drug related suspensions of LaVon Brazill and the inevitable suspension of Josh Gordon. Unlike a one time domestic assault drug abuse is most likely a pattern. (If any these guys told you that they stopped smoking  and the drug test happened a day after the slipped and smoked for the first time in however many months, would you believe them? Odds are, no.) All of these guys are getting suspended for their third, fourth or fifth offenses. I find it hard to have pity for a guy who not only breaks the rules but breaks the rules multiple times. Also keep in mind that Marijuana is illegal under federal law. Even if Marijuana was legal would you really want the players on your favorite team doing it? It certainly won’t help them athletically and most likely will hurt them. The inevitable Josh Gordon suspension should also take into account his DWI, it’s one thing if you do these drugs responsibly (if that’s possible) but it is another thing if you are endangering other people while doing it.

Note that if Ray Rice ever gets any sort of domestic dispute charge again he will lose his good character defense and he should get an indefinite suspension. But until that ever happens, it is perfectly plausible to defend leniency in the case of Ray Rice, and probably only Ray Rice.

If you have any counter points besides, “You support sexual violence, you scum,” you can tweet them @PSFBlog. I’d be happy to defend my position.

Thanks- Paul (Published July 25th 2014)

Update: The video of what happened in the elevator was released and I have a couple thoughts on it. When they first got on the elevator they seemed to have some kind of scuffle. Then Ray Rice took a couple steps backwards and Janay followed him with seemingly threatening intentions and then Rice slugged her in the face. This video takes away the defense that perhaps the floor did more damage than the punch. It was very clear that the punch had malicious intent. Now in response to this video the Ravens have terminated his contract and the league has suspended him indefinitely. My first thought goes out to the victim. Janay Palmer, I believe, feels guilty for her role in this incident as evidenced by her apologizing for her role in the press conference and her telling Goodell that Ray never hit her ever besides that incident. This suspension is a huge blow to her. For one the Rice family is losing a lot of money, while they almost certainly are not at a point where they can’t afford necessities there will likely be less luxuries at the Rice house. I also feel bad that Janay is nothing but a person who got punched in the face by a famous person. And her husband is viewed as a scumbag despite what she thinks.  I also believe that as far as I know Ray Rice has done everything he was supposed to do after the incident. He settled the charge in court by going to an anger management classes and apologizing publicly. I feel that Ray Rice has handled the issue 4x better than the NFL but only Ray and Janay Rice gets the consequences. Here are some questions I want answered about the case.

1. Was Ray Rice fired and suspended because the full video came out or something else? For example did Ray Rice lie about what happened in the elevator the first time around? If so this suspension could be far more justifiable. If not why did it take this video to be released in order for a harsher penalty to occur?

2. How does Janay Rice feel about the suspension? My opinion that the punishment should rarely exceed what the victim wants holds true. If Janay feels that the issue is done and over with and doesn’t agree with the suspension then why did we increase the punishment? The answer is because they need to give the people of social media the feeling of moral superiority because no one bashing Ray Rice on twitter has ever had a really bad night that doesn’t reflect their character.

3. Does Janay Palmer know something we don’t know? Yes. There aren’t many women who would go through with a marriage after something like this happened. She knows Ray’s true character which is why we have heard nothing from the media among the lines of “Janay and Ray Rice on the Rocks.” And besides with today’s overly intrusive media we’d know if there was something bad going on.

4. Will the frenzy ever cease? Probably not for awhile. The media likes making a huge deal out of certain things especially if they involve corruption of people in charge. In all honesty Roger Goodell has prove to be a good commissioner. He helped increased player safety, helped reduced concussions on the field, helped prevent the lockout, negotiated the end of the Ref strike and continues to help make the NFL a fun and engaging product. Sadly some people just naturally hate people in corporate authority and won’t appreciate him until he is gone and some other commissioner comes to make things worse. I also dislike the thought process of: People say Ray Rice’s suspension isn’t fair, then the NFL gives hem what they want and more, then they say it didn’t happen soon enough and that the people forced their hands. I feel this does nothing but to make the people feel morally superior. Also where is the frenzy for Ray McDonald? The way the media has been covering this has been awful.

I’ll leave this blog post from The Nation here.  Just a further reminder that this should be all about what’s best for Janay.

In conclusion my unpopular belief comes down to sympathy for Janay. I just don’t know how punishing Ray Rice more does anything but make a statement that Janay’s opinion doesn’t matter.

September 9th: Janay Rice wrote on her Instagram today:

I woke up this morning feeling like I had a horrible nightmare, feeling like I’m mourning the death of my closest friend. But to have to accept the fact that it’s reality is a nightmare in itself. No one knows the pain that the media & unwanted (opinions) from the public has caused my family. To make us relive a moment in our lives that we regret everyday is a horrible thing. To take something away from the man I love that he has worked his ass off for all his life just to gain ratings is horrific.

THIS IS OUR LIFE! What don’t you all get. If your intentions were to hurt us, embarrass us, make us feel alone, take all happiness away, you’ve succeeded on so many levels. Just know we will continue to grow & show the world what real love is! Ravensnation we love you!

This just I believe confirms my position that the suspension and intense media coverage has done nothing but hurt the victim even more.

Ben Maller’s Guide to Cleveland Fandom

In case you didn’t know Ben Maller hates Cleveland for some reason. Here are some examples from his twitter: @BenMaller.

Indians OF Michael Brantley is lucky MLB has rule every team must have one All-Star, otherwise he'd be watching on FOX.

— Ben Maller (@benmaller) July 7, 2014

Ben Maller believes that a player who created 54% more runs than the average player which is 2nd for OF in the AL isn’t worthy to be an All-Star. He is also 4th in OBP, 4th in slugging and 3rd in WAR. But to him that’s not good enough, he actually had the the nerve, and lack of brain to call him overrated. Seriously Ben you should take time to enjoy one of baseball class acts rather than bash him just because he plays in a city you irrationally hate. And besides, how can you not like a guy nicknamed Dr. Smooth?

18,093 days since pathetic sports city of Cleveland won championship. LeBron James failed before, he’ll fail again to end the drought.

— Ben Maller (@benmaller) July 11, 2014

LeBron James is settling for winning two championships, playing for owner who publicly embarrassed him and jersey burning hoodlum fans.

— Ben Maller (@benmaller) July 11, 2014

I fail to understand how Cleveland is a “Pathetic sports city.” We are clearly a passionate sports city. While our attendance of our teams aren’t as good as we’d like, (I blame the economy) we always have our ways of supporting our team. It’s hard to walk through downtown Cleveland without seeing someone in a Manziel Jersey or a tribe hat. And when the economy is good we’ve shown our support for the Tribe by selling out 455 consecutive home games. (Maybe the reason not many people go to Indians game is because Tom Hamilton is just so good at calling games.) And of course we support our Browns despite the fact that they win 5 games a year. And seriously just because Corey Kluber didn’t win a fan vote doesn’t mean we’re bad fans. Were actually great fans on twitter judging by our #Whiff ranking. The only reason Sale won was because he plays for Chicago which has a far more populous fan base.

Someday Corey Kluber will pitch for MLB team with real fans, then he'll end up getting voted into All-Star team. Congrats to Chris Sale!

— Ben Maller (@benmaller) July 10, 2014

Ben Maller has called the people of Cleveland hoodlums, he called Cleveland women fat, and described Cleveland as a war zone and a reclaimed swampland. Does this man have anything nice to say about Cleveland? Just because some guys burned there LeBron jerseys on national TV doesn’t mean there whole city is filled with delinquents. I’ve seen the burning of Ray Allen jerseys, Robinson Cano jerseys, Matt Schaub jerseys and Ben Maller’s own Los Angeles Lakers fans burning Dwight Howard jerseys but according to Ben Maller only the citizens of Cleveland are deliquents.  Ben Maller acts like no one should ever want to come to Cleveland yet the GOP is holding their national convention here. (Don’t give a “Dying Party in a dying city argument, Nate Silver project the GOP to gain at least 5 seats this upcoming election.) And remember, in the words of Mike Polk, “At least we’re not Detroit, WE’RE NOT DETROIT!”

Cleveland's fledgling NFL team has banned national media from rookie camp, more proof bumbling Browns are mismanaged carnival of stupidity!

— Ben Maller (@benmaller) May 13, 2014

Wow the Cleveland Browns won’t let national media in to see their minicamp. Perhaps it’s to keep people like you from entering. Has the national media ever wanted to come to the Brown’s rookie minicamp before? No, these people just want access to Johnny Manziel so they can write dumb articles about Manziel while licking his chops. Another writer named Bart Hubbach wrote one of the worst articles I’ve ever read about this situation. The whole article was him complaining about how the Browns were stupid for keeping national media out of rookie minicamp. The Browns don’t need any national media to write sub-par articles about the Browns, we already have Mary Kay Cabot to do that.

In conclusion there is no reason for anyone to hate Cleveland sports. It’s ridiculous that some people like Ben Maller think that just because our teams normally suck, it mean that the fan suck as well. In fact, Ben Maller takes this so far he actually  believes that the fans are responsible for Cleveland’s sports team lack of winning.

@HungarianWolf Cleveland fans are apologists for their teams, thats why they haven't won anything since 1960s, you defend dreck.

— Ben Maller (@benmaller) March 16, 2014

Ben might say all of these tweets are just jokes, but they are not funny. They are rude considering he doesn’t make jokes about any other city but our own. Ben has taken taken his jokes much further than the usual “Cleveland sucks at sports, lol,” by insulting our fans, our women, and our citizens. This type of rude trolling is old and needs to be stopped.  Our fans persevere through losing seasons and we deserve to be respected. So please share this article with friends and tweet this @BenMaller (Especially if you know you haven’t been blocked already by him) and hopefully he’ll tone down the Anti-Cleveland tweets.

Roll Tribe! Go Browns! Go Cavs!

-Paul Duncan

 

Fun Things to do in Sports Video Games

Face it. Every true sports fan loves a good sports video game. One of the great things about them is there are so many little things you can do with them besides play your friends, play a season, or create a player that looks like you with 99 everything and dominate. Here are 7 fun things you can do on a sports video game that you haven’t thought of doing yet.

1. Distribute the ball on Madden: I’ve played Madden all my life and I feel I’ve accomplished some pretty mind boggling achievements. I’ve gotten 900 receiving yards with Randy Moss in a game. I got 1000 rushing yards in a game with Marshall Faulk. But one of my favorite accomplishments is having 27 different players on my team  have a reception in a single game. I decided to embark on the mission because you would get a lot of tokens for Madden Cards (Bring them back EA!) for having 7 different players with a reception. But of course I had to take this to the extreme. First I hit all 5 WRs, 3 TEs, 3RBs, and my fullback, then I realized that on fake FGs you can hit you LT2 and the holder, this allowed me to hit 8 more players (3 tackles, 3 qbs, kicker and punter) bringing up my total to 20. The final and hardest part was hitting the gunners who were DBs with the punter. Throw in the eligible special teamers and I was able to get 27 different receivers. It should be possible to hit much more with advanced package options in some editions in Madden but it remains to be seen if someone can hit all 53 men on the roster with a reception.

2. Be Boring in 2K14: When most people start their MyCareer, they generally focus on scoring points and being a play maker. Instead try being the most boring, maddeningly efficient player ever. Pass the ball and try to get 15 assists every game. Answer all media questions in the most cliche way possible and you will be on your way to being the greatest, most boring player ever! (In other words Tim Duncan.)

3. Create weird teams in 2K: We’ve all created the super team in 2K with all the greats. But have you should make a team of all Iverson’s and play against a team of Shaq’s? So many questions emerge. How will Shaq get up and down the court? Will Shaq just get every rebound? How many steals will Iverson get? The possibilities are endless: Your girlfriend who sucks at 2K with a team of Kyries vs an experienced player with a team of Omri Casspis; A team of Yao Mings vs a team of Muggsy Bogues. This is something you can get real creative with.

4. Create Your least favorite celebrity in a fighting video game: Sick and tired of Bieber’s douchebaggery, just create him in UFC with zeroes in everything and beat the crap out of him. Or better yet, create him in WWE and have him go against the Undertaker and chokeslam him through the Hell in the Cell. You could also create Tupac and have him go against Biggie in a TLC match. You could have Iggy Azalea fight Nicki Minaj at WrestleMania. Again the possibilities are endless.

5. Take the Mike Vick Challenge: (Idea presented by Luke) Michael Vick in Madden 04 is the most dominant athlete in video game history and the QB sweep was a play that fit him like a glove. See how many consecutive TD runs using only the QB sweep play with Mike Vick. Luke’s record is 8.

6. Run a sim: Playing video games are fun, but sometimes it’s neat to see what happen when you let the game do its thing. A lot of people may run a Madden sim or a 2K sim before the season as a way of making projections, but there are so many things you can do to throw a wrench in the sim. For example what would happen if you trade all your best players for draft picks and and sim the next 3 years and see how talented your team is. Some of the best simulations are done by Join Bois over at SBNation. He simulated how a team with Young Kobe and Current Kobe on the same team would do, and simulated the “Death of Basketball” by creating draft classes with nothing but all zero rated players. You can check out his work here.

7. Design awesome/awful uniforms: Back in the day, I used to love playing Madden 05. I played as the Eagles and had myself as a super running back. One day I decided to change my teams uniforms and decided to make the Eagle’s new colors pink and baby blue. I have no clue why. Sadly the NFL asked Madden to remove the feature of  sweeping changes to a NFL teams uniform. But you can still make creative uniforms in the Create-A-Team Mode.

8. Be your own announcer: Jim Nantz and Phil Simms suck at commentary in Madden 25. Mute the volume grab a buddy and announce the game yourself.

9. (Update!) Create contradictory players: Create a player who’s size and skill set don’t match. For example in a WWE game make a 7″2′ high-flying giant who can do a shooting star press, create a 210 lb lineman with 99 blocking, or create a 6″2′ center with perfect rebounding and defense. This could glitch up some games but its always fun to see what matters most in the world of sports video games: size or skill.

What fun creative things did you do in sports video games? Leave a comment or tweet them at @PSFBlog on Twitter.

-Paul

 

 

Put Him in the HOF: Johnny Robinson

This is the third part of a four part series looking at which NFL Players should be put in the Hall of Fame.

The 1960’s Kansas City Chiefs Defense is loaded with Hall of Famers. From Buck Buchanan and Curley Culp on the D-Line to Willie Lanier and Bobby Bell at Linebacker, and Emmitt Thomas at Corner, this Defense was stacked and one of the best ever. But one guy who people tend to forget about is Safety Johnny Robinson. Before we compare Johnny to to other players of that time lets see how he compares to his own teammate Emmitt Thomas. Emmitt Thomas beats Johnny on interceptions 58-57 but Emmitt also had 3 more seasons on defense to do it. The kicker comes when you look at Pro-Bowls and All-Pro selections. Johnny had 6 All-Pro selections and 7 Pro Bowls compared to Emmitt’s 1 All-Pro and 5 Pro Bowls.  Another tidbit is that Johnny Robinson was inducted into the Chiefs Hall of Fame before any other member of the Chiefs defense besides Jerry Mays.  This shows that people in the organization thought very highly of him.

The man most similar to Johnny Robinson is Hall of Famer Willie Wood. Willie had 5 All Pro selections and 8 Pro Bowls which compare nicely to Robinson’s  numbers. Robinson and Wood also have the exact same AV according to pro-football-reference. In fact, Johnny Robinson has more All-Pro selections than Larry Wilson, Emlen Tunnell, or even Paul Krause. He is also a Super Bowl Champion and an AFL champion. Many people believe that the only reason that Robinson isn’t in the Hall of Fame is because he played in the AFL for most of his career. It would be silly not to elect one one of the best safeties of all-time just because he payed in the AFL, considered a slightly inferior league. One person who believes Johnny Robinson should be in the HOF is Hall of Fame WR Lance Alworth who said, “He was the best defensive back I ever played against.  He’s my man.” There have been plenty of AFL players who’ve dominated the NFL after the merger like Willie Brown, Bob Griese, and Floyd Little. Putting Johnny Robinson in the Hall would be a great way to honor one of the best safeties of his time.

So put him in the HOF.

You can read the previous ones here: Jim Benton and Duke Slater

Paul

 

Put Him in the HOF: Jim Benton

This is the second part of a four part series looking at which NFL Players should be put in the Hall of Fame.

The recent Hall of Fame log jam that has emerged in the wide receiver position over the past few years has been well publicized by football experts and pundits. Evaluating receivers’ careers in this aerial era will make for some of the toughest Hall of Fame ballots to cast. What is the difference between Tim Brown and Henry Ellard? Torry Holt and Rod Smith? The combinations and questions are endless. This is why I must go to an earlier generation to find a remarkable receiver who stood above the rest of his peers he played with yet was overlooked in Canton– a victim of the position and era he played in. No, we are not talking about every stat analyst’s darling snub and Cleveland Brown Mac Speedie. We give you another lesser known Cleveland footballer.

Jim Benton was an offensive end from 1938-1947 who played the majority of his career for the Cleveland Rams (yes, you read that correctly). His combination of speed and size (6’4″) made him a prime target for single-wing tailbacks and t-formation quarterbacks. When casual fans look at his statistics, however, they may think that Benton was just another run-of-the-mill Eddie Kennison. What one must take into effect is that Benton’s career took place during a time when the NFL was playing 10-12 game schedules and the play calling was much more run-first. He consistently finished in the top three in catches, yards, and touchdowns throughout his career. The only person from this era who put up better numbers than Jim Benton was Don Hutson. And nobody from any era put up monster games like Benton.  Benton was the first receiver to post a 300 yard game, gaining 303 yards on ten catches in a 1945 Thanksgiving game against the Lions. Nobody gained that amount of yards until fellow Ram Flipper Anderson did so almost 50 years later. He also added a 200 yard game as well as a game in which he hauled in 8 consecutive pass attempts for three touchdowns. His 1945 campaign was his best season. He gained over 1000 yards in only nine games played. When Benton retired after the 1947 season, he was second in career yards to Hutson. He led the league in every offensive category at least once in his nine year career. These stats and figures present a strong case supporting Benton’s Hall of Fame candidacy.

One more thing: he left Cleveland to form a super team in Chicago with Sid Luckman in 1943. After winning the championship that year he returned to Cleveland and eventually won a championship in 1945.

Hmmmmm…

Innuendos aside, give Jim Benton a bust in Canton.

-Luke