Packers and the Patriots

In a major week 13 game that many are calling a "Superbowl preview" the packers take an impressive win over the Patriots in Lambeau field with a final score 26-21. The Packers improve to 6-0 at home for the season



A critical aspect of this games was Green Bay's ability to stop New England on defense. The Packers where able to play a strong man coverage which was surprisingly able to limit Gronkowski's activity for the day.

On the other side of the ball, Rodgers was another key to this game for the Packers on offence. Rodgers had no turnovers in this game, with two touchdowns and over 300+ yards. apart from having phenomenal individual stats for the game, Rodgers also did an exceptional job at reading New England's offence. Rodgers was able to escape the Patriot's defensive line, and also being active in the pocket and taking off for first downs when his receivers are fully covered.


This game could really have gone either way, as Tom Brady threw a perfect TD that was dropped by the receiver that would've been the game winning score with only a little more than two minutes left in the game.

Tony Romo and the Cowboys

Suffering their latest loss on Thanksgiving day to the Eagles, Romo and the Cowboys have been bumped back down to the wildcard hunt in order to make the playoffs. The Eagles dominated the game on both sides of the ball, outscoring and limiting Romo to a score of 33-10.

The Dallas Cowboys have been known to  struggle in the month of December, the most critical part of the season. December is the time in the season where the playoff picture is pretty clear, and the Cowboys have always slowed down during this month, giving their rivals the opportunity for the division. The 'boys have three straight home losses currently, and have 3-4 record at home so far this season. It is perhaps in their benefit to have 3 out of 4  away games as the season whines down.

Tony Romo

Despite serious injuries, Romo plays every week, and needs all the time he can get in between games to rest his body and prepare for every game. Tony Romo did not play his best on Thanksgiving day against Philadelphia, not to take anything away from the Eagle's defense, but also due to the fact that it was a short week to rest. Romo had just finished beating the New York Giants just 4 days earlier, and did not practice on those days due to the fractures in his back.  This week, the Cowboys are back on a normal practice schedule, and will play the Chicago Bears on Thursday night football.

Dallas is 5-0 on the road this year, and will need that momentum as they head to Chicago to play a bears team that crushed them last season. the rest of the season for the Cowboys doesnt get too much better as they head to  Philly to try to redeem themselves against the Eagles, hosting the red hot Colts, then heading to Washington DC to face Colt Mccoy and the Redskins, a team that bested them earlier this season by a slim margin.

Cardinals Seahawks, Patriots Lions

Fitzgerald sprains MCL but remains hopeful to play against Seattle this Sunday. The Arizona Cardinals have the best record in the NFL, first place in the NFC West division and have a comfortable 3 game advantage on their Sunday rival Seattle for the division. The Cardinals are 9-1 going confidently into CenturyLink Field home of the defending champions. The Key for the Seahawks will be making Arizona's offense one dimensional. Arizona is a known passing team, making it Seattle's goal to limit the run, tighten up on their defenders and make the Cards force a few interceptions and limit their scoring like they did against the Lions in week 11.



The Detroit Lions seek their best 11 game streak (7-3), as their 4-game win streak was ended in Arizona the week before, but will have to go through Rob Gronkowski this Sunday who has six TD's in the last five games to do so. Very few defenders in the NFL are able to limit Gronkowski, especially in the Redzone. During the Patriot's 6-game winning streak, Gronk has caught 40 passes, for 587 yards and six touchdowns. This will be a tough football games for the Lions, but another key to this game will be on the Offensive/Defensive line. Along with trying to stop the unstoppable Gronkowski, the Lion's second and equally as daunting task is to intensify their D line and putting as much pressure on Brady as possible.

Cavaliers vs Wizards in DC 11/21/14

 


The Cavaliers face Wizards in DC tonight for an anticipated and hyped game by the giant picture of James in the Washington Post. James and the Cavs are off to a slow start this season, mirroring James's start in Miami with the Heat in his first season. ESPN announcers say that James could just be "following the formula" as we all know nothing in the NBA can be considered overnight success. The Cavs are 5-5. if the Cavs lose tonight it would be the first time a LeBron team would be under .500 to start the season since '07-'08 season.



On the other hand, the eastern conference rival the Washington Wizards have gone off to a good start at 7-3, the best 10 game start in 40 years that lead to the playoffs and a playoff loss against the Golden State Warriors. The first thing John Wall said to the media at the Verizon center is "man tonight must be a big game", due to all of the controversy with an in-division rival that is expected to go further, but has not performed to the level that Washington has. Cleveland is expected to go succeed mostly because of LeBron James, but also because of its other big 2 stars, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving. Personally, I don't think the Cavs' defense is ready for some of the big games in the season, not to mention the post-season, and will get rolled over by the high performing teams in the West. Tonight's game can be described as the up and coming Washington Wizards against the "reconstituted" Cleveland Cavaliers.

 With all of this on the Cavaliers how can they still be favorited to win the east and go far in the playoffs?

Bradley Beal has rejoined the team back from a left wrist injury. Players say he is back and not limited in any capacity, he lead scores with 21 points and 3 assists against the Mavericks in their previous game, but the challenge will be reincorporating him into the flow in the line up.


 

Washington Wizards: Off to a Great Start

With nine games into the season, the Washington Wizards seemed to be prepared to pick up where they left off last season with an impressive run in the playoffs. The Wizards are currently 7-2, and have only lost to 2 of the best teams in the league so far, the Heat and the Raptors.

Part of the Wizards' success comes from having a productive off-season, and acquiring talent that will give the Wizards addition support throughout the season. Two big names that bring attention to the new roster: Paul Pierce and Kris Humphries. Humphries is a seasoned forward that has just undergone surgery in his small and ring finger after lacerating it on a game against Chicago on 10/6. Humphries has missed a few weeks from this result but will be back in action soon. Pierce on the other hand, brings a plethora of experience to the team, being that it is his 17th season in the NBA. He is edging toward the end of his career, and hopefully it will be worth the 2-year deal the Wizards made with him in July of 2014. At 37 years old, Pierce is still aiming for success in Washington, and gives the fans the privilege of seeing him finish at his best for our home team.

Washington Redskins: Playing Terrible Football

Today's TakeDown will feature the Washington Redskins and how their plans for the 2014-15 season have not really panned out so far. This blog post is dedicated to all the 'skins fans who are blind with optimism at the beginning of each season, and then make excuses for them at the end of every disappointing season.

Big Names Don't Help

The Redskins (as usual), are playing terrible football and losing to teams they can and SHOULD be beating (Giants, Vikings, Buccaneers). The Redskins organization fascinates me in the sense that it has not accepted losing as the norm, and has utilized considerable resources to bring in star talent and new coaching every few seasons as needed, but it never seems to help much. This is the one reoccurring pattern that I keep seeing with the Redskins. A new big name is brought in, fans get really excited and think "this is it, the redskins will be good this season", and never seems to work out. Names like McNabb, Haynesworth, Joe Gibbs, Mike Shanahan, Pierre Garcon, RGIII,  and DeSean Jackson have been among those who have brought hope to the team in recent years but have not led to any long term success.

Redskins' Brief Success

To be fair, the Redskins have had a glimmer of success in recent memory. After drafting rookie RGIII in the 2012 season, the Redskins went on to win the NFC East division game against the Dallas Cowboys to advance to the playoffs for the first time since 2007. Washington lost against the wild card contender Seattle Seahawks at home with a score of 24-14.

With all things considered the Redskins DO have the potential to make some serious noise in their division and do have a very good roster to work with. For starters, they have some of the best RB's in the league in Alfred Morris and Roy Helu. Going back to the 2012 season for the 'skins, Morris' 1,613 yards accounted for 90% of the Redskin's total yards for that magnificent season. Kerrigan is quickly making his name for himself with 9 sacks in the season, and Jackson remains on the top 10 list for best receivers in the league. RGIII is questionable at best, and still is a source of criticism, but on certain days he does add tremendous value to the team.

 Future Failure?

Who knows what the answer will be to get the Redskins to play at the level they should be at, my opinion is that the players are not to blame collectively, but perhaps coaching staff is at fault. This is still Jay Gruden's first season with the Redskins so let's give him the benefit of the doubt that he is still evaluating the team's strengths and weaknesses. The Redskins definitely have the talent to be a great team, but it is their in-game strategies, play calling, and Quarterback leadership that have to change to in order to be successful. Who knows if this will ever happen, but the Redskin's games are fun to watch regardless of what side you're on.

Browns at Bengals

 Andy Dalton's Performance was not very impressive on Thursday night to say the lease. the browns also did a good job working as a team and not focusing on individual performance. Andy Dalton continues to disappoint in Cincinnati, many speculate that he does not have what it takes to be a dominant QB in the NFL. His performance in the playoffs last season was the source of all of all the doubt associated with him, and his inability to win clutch games. This inexperience was apparent on Thursday night's game as the Bengals led by supposedly one of the best QB's in the league, where embarrassed at home by division rival the Cleveland Browns. Final Score of the night was 24-3 Cleveland.

Andy Dalton

 More controversy during the off season due to his hefty contract negotiation evaluated at $96 million for 6 years. The Bengals organization would be pretty upset with themselves if Dalton's performance doesn't improve, and see themselves at the bottom of a tough AFC North division.


On the other side of the field was Brian Hoyer and the up and coming Cleveland Browns. Hoyer has been overwhelmingly good and has won 6 out of his last 8 games. So far this season he has thrown 10 TD's with only 4 interceptions for 2,212 yards, not too shabby for a backup quarterback! He is quickly gaining momentum and comfort as the starting QB for the Browns and some say he has a better chance than Manziel.

 The questions the Browns have is whether or not to pull the plug on Hoyer and turn it to Manziel? Doing so might cause Hoyer to sign to another team when he could be at the prime of his career at 29 years old. Othe questions include:What kind of value is Hoyer worth, what could he bring to an NFL team if released? Can Manziel stack up to what Hoyer has done so far?