Posts

The Working Man's Guide to the NFL Draft

Image
 The Working Man's Guide to the NFL Draft The NFL Draft is upon us! It truly is incredible how the NFL has turned a pretty boring event into must-watch television and a lot of football sicko's favorite night of the spring. The draft machine is huge with Combine coverage, mock drafts, podcasts, and film breakdowns. Most people don't have a herding dog they walk 3 miles a day to listen to draft podcasts nor are they training for a spring triathlon in Ann Arbor, giving themselves plenty of time to watch YouTube clips and breakdowns on the bike trainer.  So here is a synopsis of the draft machine so you can be ready for next Thursday night. Most mock drafts are worthless because of how many trades happen now compared to the past, so we will spare you that and just give you little nuggets so when you FaceTime your friend after their pick or text the group chat you can have little comments to throw in that make it seem like you are Mel Kiper the Third. 1. New Coaches and Front Of...
Post a Comment
Read more

Super Bowl Brain Dump

Image
Super Bowl Brain Dump I may be in the minority, but I actually really enjoyed this year's Super Bowl, the last football game of the season. Last night, I had a bunch of different half-baked takes that raced through my mind and since I have a blog I figured I would share. Here's how I saw things after last night. 1. The Super Bowl Winner and National Champion Played Similar Ball Most people watching the game last night did not think about the Michigan team that won the national championship. They probably thought more about a team like the 2009 Indianapolis Colts who barely had 1,000 yards rushing as a team and relied on Peyton Manning to carry an offense with a diminishing skill group. I kept thinking about how Michigan decided that they were going to be a ball control offense to limit opponents' (mainly Ohio State) offensive possessions. With a lot of modern offenses, the scoring is inevitable. But if you only give a team 8 possessions instead of 12, 1 or 2 stops means a l...
Post a Comment
Read more

Thoughts on an Insane Week of Football

Image
   Thoughts on an Insane Week of Football 1. Michigan Won Harbaugh's Way Jim Harbaugh did what he said he would do, winning Michigan's first national title since 1997 and their first outright national title since 1948. It's crazy to think back to 2020, when Michigan was 2-4, avoided playing Ohio State, and looked lifeless on both sides of the ball. Harbaugh had tried to change his philosophy to include the modern offense, pace and space, and had a flashy defense with top recruits. Three seasons later and they are physical on all fronts, pound the football to limit possessions of the high-powered offenses of Ohio State (and Washington) and then getting stops with a physical front and blanket coverage on the backend. I loved the blanket cover 3 and 4 that Michigan was running, it really shut down Washington. It reminds me a bit of Villanova under Jay Wright struggling with the top recruits and then going back to finding their guys, leading to national success. Michigan had tw...
Post a Comment
Read more

National Title Preview: What I'm Watching Monday Night (Plus NFL Week 18 Pickapalooza)

Image
  National Title Preview: What I'm Watching Monday Night (Plus NFL Week 18 Pickapalooza) The Big Ten Conference has to feel great that this year's national title is a rematch next year in a conference game. After having Alabama and Georgia face off as conference foes twice in the CFP, everyone else feels is feeling some type of way. Here is what I will be watching on Monday night and what my final prediction is. 1. Will Johnson vs Rome Odunze Michigan built their team to beat Ohio State's offense, a downfield passing game with NFL wide receivers. Washington is the perfect version of that. In order to stop the pass, you need stud corners, and if you want to know anything about Will Johnson just look at the number he wears. Charles Woodson wore #2 to a Heisman, you do not wear that unless you want those expectations. He mirrored Marvin Harrison Jr. until he got injured in The Game this year, and they had some great battles. Johnson is long and lanky and loves to attack on ins...
Post a Comment
Read more

Thoughts on College Football's Last Bowl Week and NFL Week 17

Image
  Thoughts on College Football's Last Bowl Week and NFL Week 17 1. Best of the Week Best Game: The Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl (tie) It really sucks that the College Football Playoffs came about during one of the most consolidated periods of college football. For too many years the games were decided by more than three touchdowns and it was a snoozefest. Well, not this year. The Rose Bowl delivered a sloppy but fun game between the two all-time winningest programs. God said it was too much fun and we should get extra football and it went to overtime. In New Orleans, the shootout was amazing, with Quinn Ewers battling injury valiantly but Michael Penix Jr. being even better. What a night of college football we were given to start the year. Best Player: CeeDee Lamb (WR) - Cowboys I know the game ended horribly (we will get to that), but you can't deny the impact that the next great Cowboys' 88 had on the game. Moving Lamb into the slot more has unlocked him. It used to be that s...
Post a Comment
Read more

Mega-Blog!!: Thoughts from Last Week plus Bowl Week 3 and NFL Week 17 Preview: 12/28 - 1/1

Image
  Mega-Blog!!: Thoughts from Last Week plus Bowl Week 3 and NFL Week 17 Preview: 12/28 - 1/1 Hope everyone is enjoying the weirdest week of the year when time has no meaning and you eat pie with every meal (just me?). Take a break from wiggling your mouse and bleeding out the clock if you're working and read a fun blog! 1. Best of the Week Best Game: Patriots vs Broncos The NFL doesn't miss, does it? What felt like a snoozefest on Christmas Eve turned into a thriller, with the Pats pulling off the comeback that was the final nail in the coffin for Russell Wilson's Bronco career.  Best Player: Darius Taylor (RB) - Minnesota The Gopher's freshman running back balled out in his home town of Detroit in the Quick Lane Bowl with 35 carries, 208 yards, and a touchdown. There have been a ton of running backs going off in bowl games, but for a freshman to tote the rock 35 times the day after Christmas in his home town is a big one. Best Uniform: Miami Dolphins Throwbacks on Chri...
Post a Comment
Read more

Bowl Week 2 and NFL Week 16 Preview: 12/21 - 12/27

   Bowl Week 2 and NFL Week 16 Preview: 12/21 - 12/27 We stick with the same way of breaking down the week ahead as last week, let's keep making money. College Football Bowl Week 2 What to Watch Game of the Week: Texas A&M vs Oklahoma State A game of two former conference rivals, this should be entertaining. The Aggies will have their new coach around, they have an opt out, and on the other side you have Mike Gundy being Mike Gundy and a Cowboys' team that had a good season but underperformed in the spotlight. This will be a fun one of two brands. Most Entertaining Game: Georgia Tech vs UCF Georgia Tech has rebounded from being one of the worst Power 5 teams to being quite respectable. The Knights had a decent first year in the Big 12 and Gus Malzahn will no doubt have some awesome things cooked up for UCF. This will be a great Friday night watch heading into the Christmas weekend. A Game for the Football Crazies: Kansas vs UNLV Kansas has one of my favorite offenses to wa...
Post a Comment
Read more