We as a site have been slipping a little bit, and with all this wonderful news and on-goings in the world of sports, we should probably have a little more information and opinion out there. Mainly my fault; I just missed the Christmas of football, and outside of the playoffs and super bowl, the most looked-forward to aspect of the NFL as a whole. It's also the biggest game of the season for my favorite football (soccer) club, Manchester United. I have tried to take on soccer as a part time blog, at least until we get a little consistency from that field. So the question begs, which sport do I cover in this edition of the "We're Coming" blog? I suppose I could hit up a little bit of both, but I feel like there isn't much crossover viewership from our fan base so far. I think I gotta do the game, cause the draft already happened. A few quips though about what I thought...
NFL Draft - Indianapolis and Washington both made the smartest decisions of the draft. I don't believe that the #1 and #2 player will be the best players when it's over, if you look at draft history they never are. Only chance from this generation is if Sam Bradford finally pulls it all together along with Ndamoukong Suh. Maybe Michael Vick and Leonard Davis in 2001, but even between those two were just 7 pro bowls appearances. LaDainian Tomlinson had that all by himself. Yet, they would've been complete idiots if they didn't think that this was the year that it was going to happen. Still long-term I believe it will be Luck and Kalil. Kirkpatrick will also be a pro-bowler for years to come. Unless Cincinnati screws him up... Poor Justin Blackmon. I love his game, I absolutely do, but he has no chance as long as Blaine Gabbert is his QB. Not sure what the people in Jacksonville were thinking, but my amateur scouting eyes could tell that Gabbert's game would not translate at all into the pros. Especially in the Jaguars offense. The guy was under center made 8 times at Missouri... Arizona did a nice job grabbing Michael Floyd. All of his problems are going to go away being around Larry Fitzgerald and his professional attitude. There will be no more drinking for Mr. Floyd... Finally, congrats to the New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens for drafting the best pair of teammates that I have ever seen in college football. They were the reason that Marcell Dareus went #3 last year. Their names are Dont'a Hightower and Courtney Upshaw. Both should start right away, both should contribute right away, and both should be teammates again someday. Unless they finally do away with the Probowl.
Manchester United v Manchester City - I honestly can't remember an English soccer match bigger than this. For Manchester United, a win means their 20th league championship in the club's history. It's a chance to knock down the noisy neighbors. A chance to prove that it takes years to build a organizational machine. And one of Sir Alex's most shining moments. For Manchester City, a win means a likely 1st title since 1968. The opportunity to build open a premiership title and become the next dominant team in the English Premier league. The prospect of signing top players. A chance to shut United fans up. Summed up, this match is huge. I think it will be an enlightening moment for the next few years of English football. For all the problems that Mancini (brought on by himself) has had to endure throughout the season, if he can win the title all will be forgotten. On top of that, he can probably keep his position for another couple of seasons, because they don't fire you weeks after you bring home the Premiership trophy (Ancelotti).
I think that it will come down to midfield play. Both sides have had consistency from their front men, and they can pretty much count on their keepers to do their job. United's defense was shaky against Everton, but they had nothing to lose. 7th or 8th notwithstanding. City has it all to lose. They've never been here before. But if the likes of Barry, Ya Ya, and Silva can keep the ball and put the pressure on United's nondescript midfield, they have a chance to win. Looking at how Alex selected though, I think this will be very difficult to achieve and he's going to force Mancini to bring on some extra attackers. This game is going to be fantastic, and to those that get to watch it, do enjoy!
From my own perspective, GGMU!!! And it appears that I said screw it, and decided to cover both anyway.
Kalil was one of the best decisions I've seen the Vikings make in a long time. Finally my dream has come true........we can get rid of Phil Loadholt. That fat bastard. Now with Kalil at LT, we can move Charlie Johnson to where he actually belongs (RT), and leave the 6'8", 340 lbs. pile of usles on the bench (although he'd rather just pull a Stringer and leave us all alone. Too much?). The other picks the vikings made were good as well in my humble and amateur opinion. I think that Greg Childs was a good pick up. He seems like a work horse, whether hes putting 100% in running his routes or making the blocks. I'm a little confused on the pick up of Rhett Ellison. I mean I understand his strong points and usefulness, but was he worth spending that pick on him? I liked Harrison Smith as well. Clearly the weakest part of the Vikings was the secondary, but picking up a safety and two cornerbacks, as well as having Chris Cook back (thank God he got acquitted), we might actually be able to prevent a touchdown or two this year. Ryan Longwell has been a reliable kicker for a while now, but lest we forget that the man is 38 fucking years old. I know kickers are usually good into their 90's but what happens if Longwell's early onset dementia kicks in mid game and refuses to play because his parrot said he couldn't and the pool had too many waves? That's why you draft a young kicker who's a good athlete who will remember who which team he plays for. Oh my dear Vikings, you have a way of disappointing me like no other team. I congratulate you on using this years draft wisely. I better not see Loadholt on the field one time this season.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_O1hM-k3aUY
....Never again Loadholt. Never again.
Lol, guess you won't be getting Loadholt's jersey for X-mas this year. Yeah, he doesn't move well, but the other guy can't move him either. At least that's my scouting report on him. I also really liked the Childs pick-up. He's got a little bit of the Sidney Rice syndrome - never gives you a full season, but if he can go up and get it in the endzone, your team should be doing okay. Harrison Smith was nice. A little Johnny Lynch about him. Kind of QB's the defense which is what the Vikings need. Now they just need to bring back Henderson Sr. and their season can get started. I still see a bit of a weakness at ILB...
ReplyDeleteThe draft is always so hard to evaluate before a game is played, so we'll have to wait at least a couple game weeks to see how they work. Tough break for Man U, though. Gotta settle for a year.
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