Ty Ranks the 2023 NFL Teams: A Cool Baja Blast to Go with a Crunchwrap Division

Welcome to day six of my preseason NFL rankings. These are the teams that should be in the playoffs, or at the very least, the playoff conversation all season long. We will get into the top ten today as well. This is where the teams get very good.

At number 12 I have the Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks surprised pretty much everyone last year. They made the playoffs. They continued to win without Russell Wilson. Pete Carroll may actually be a very good head coach. But this team is full of guys who play their roles better than almost any other team in the NFL. Geno Smith had one hell of a comeback year. I forgot he was still in the NFL, but he made his presence well known. He started as a game manager, but when the coaches let him rip it, he sure did. He had a great year. I expect him to build off of that. Kenneth Walker turned himself into a pretty good back during his rookie year, but he did get hurt. That seems to be what has held him back. They got some insurance when they drafted Zach Charbonet. That kid is going to be good. DK Metcalf is one of the best wideouts in the league and the dude is in incredible shape. He is also very fast. Tyler Lockett continues to produce at a good level. Jaxon Smith-Njigba will miss a few weeks, but when he gets back he will produce. The o line is solid. They have been for years now. The defense doesn't have the stars it used to, but they are still a very good unit. Quandre Diggs is a very good secondary guy. Bobby Wagner is still out there tackling everything near him. Jarran Reed has potential as a disruptive nose tackle. Devon Witherspoon has some potential. The Seahawks have a good, solid and dependable roster. They also have a good coaching staff. This team is as reliable as it gets in the NFL.

At number 11 I have the Dallas Cowboys. I am not a Cowboys fan. I never have been. I loathe their owner. And I lived through the nightmare that is Mike McCarthy coaching your football team. But this team did some interesting things this offseason. They let Ezekial Elliot go. That was smart. Tony Pollard is better anyway. They didn't pay him, and that stinks, but he will produce for them this year. Dak Prescott has a new offensive coordinator, and I'm curious to see how that works out for him. He does need to cut down on the picks, but he is still throwing for a ton of yards. Ceedee Lamb is awesome. He is part of these young receivers in the NFL who are taking over and it rules. Lamb is dope. Michale Gallup has been good since they signed him. And they somehow were able to bring in Brandin Cooks. The Cowboys o line is one of the best in the NFL. The defense is interesting. Micah Parsons is elite. DeMarcus Lawrence is steady. Trevon Diggs may be the best cover guy in the league. They signed Stephon Gilmore. Leighton Vander Esch is a tackling machine. The Cowboys have a very good roster on paper. They should be good. But will turnovers and Mike McCarthy running this team be their downfall? Maybe.

At number 10 I have the Detroit Lions. What a turn around for this team. They have expectations now, and I am curious to see how they respond to them. But the Lions should be good. They should win their division and return to the playoffs this season. Jared Goff was never going to live up to the first overall pick hype, but he is a fine game manager who can sling from time to time. I was bummed they let Jamal Williams go, but they drafted Jahmyr Gibbs and, by all accounts, he has been awesome all offseason long. Amon-Ra St. Brown is proving to be a reliable number one wideout. Jameson Williams will come back from suspension and produce. Marvin Jones Jr is a fine third option. And Sam LaPorta feels like he was born to be a decent NFL tight end. The o line is big and angry and plays mean. I love it. The defense has gotten significantly better. Aidan Hutchinson was awesome last season and looks to be even better. Charles Harris helps form a dominant edge rushing duo. The linebacking corps is solid. The secondary has good starters and quality backups. The Lions should be good. They should win double digit games and they should be back in the playoffs. I'd love to see it for a bunch of my family members.

The final team for the day, at number 9 I have the Baltimore Ravens. They did the best thing this offseason when they paid Lamar Jackson. He is an MVP. He is the most athletic QB in the NFL. His passing game has gotten better every year. And he finally has some solid weapons around him. JK Dobbins, when healthy, is a very good running back. He is fast, can break tackles and catch passes. And Gus Edwards is a more than capable backup. They also have a speed threat in Justice Hill deep on their bench. Rashod Bateman, if he can stay on the field, will build on his rookie year. Zay Flowers has looked incredible so far. And they signed Odell Beckham Jr, who I personally think is wildly overrated, but he is another weapon for Lamar Jackson. Mark Andrews is the second best tight end in the NFL. The dude is a TD threat anytime the Ravens are in the red zone. The o line is stacked and blocks their run scheme offense to perfection. The defense has always been good, and they will be good again this season. They just signed Jadaveon Clowney. I know he cannot stay with one team for too long, but wherever he goes he gets sacks and tackles. Roqan Smith was a draft day steal and he is proving to be awesome. Patrick Queen is another tackling machine. Rock Ya-Sin is a very good corner. So is Marlon Humphrey. This team is loaded up and down the roster. They should be good. They just need to prove it. Maybe this is finally the season.

That is it for today. Come back for the next four teams tomorrow. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty's 2022 NFL Preview - When You're Out of Schlitz Division

Welcome to day two of my 2022 NFL countdown. We are still at the bottom of the barrel. But we will be getting to the good teams soon, I promise. On with the countdown.

At number 28 I have the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jags did the best thing they could have during last season when they fired Urban Meyer. He was an absolute disaster. It went worse than I thought it would. Doug Pederson was a solid hire too. He has a ring as a coach and he is good with QB's. That should sit very nicely with Trevor Lawrence. He should get better, although I do not think his rookie year was as bad as some made it out to be. Travis Etienne is back after missing his whole rookie year, and the familiarity with him and Lawrence should be nice. I am curious to see how explosive he can be. Other than these two, the offense is pretty rough. Christian Kirk and Marvin Jones are done. Evan Engram has not been a good pro. The O line is a sieve. The defense is young and bad. Travon Walker is an incredible athlete, but he is raw. He needs time. Josh Allen is good, but he gets double teamed a ton. I like the Shaquill Griffin signing, but he can't cover everyone. The Jags are doing a slow rebuild, as they should. But this team is a far cry from where they were a few years back when they made the AFC title game, and then I picked them to win the Super Bowl next year. They are a 6 win team at best.

My number 27 team is the Washington Commanders. Look, I like Ron Rivera, but this team is not good. They are a worse version of Rivera's Panthers teams. They do not have a Cam Newton type QB. They don't have a defense even close. The Commanders are not good. Carson Wentz stinks. He is not good. Nick Foles was a much better QB in Philly. Johnathan Taylor carried the Colts last year, and when Wentz was needed to get into the playoffs, he crapped the bed. Wentz is a bust. Antonio Gibson is a mediocre back. The receivers, outside of Terry Mclaurin, who is very, very good, are bad or young. Jahan Dotson is a rookie. I didn't even know Curtis Samuel was still in the league. Logan Thomas is hurt and not great. I'm not into this O line. The defense has Chase Young, who is an incredible player, but he is hurt again and has no help. Montez Sweat still needs time. Kendall Fuller is decent, but the rest of the D is a bunch of dudes I have never heard of. And I know a good amount about football. The Commanders are stuck in the mud. They are in a bad division, and that helps, but when they only win 6 games, that means they are stuck missing the playoffs yet again.

At number 26 I have the Seattle Seahawks. How the mighty have fallen. Ever since they passed, instead of giving the ball to Marshawn Lynch on the goal line, the Seahawks have ceased to be a consistent team. And now they have traded away Russell Wilson. This team is going nowhere fast. Geno Smith has never put it together. He just doesn't seem to have it. And Drew Lock is flat out bad. Their running game is suspect, but I do like the Kenneth Walker III pick. He was a beast in college. Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf are legit wideouts, but they have no QB throwing them the ball. Metcalf got a big contract. but he is going to see his numbers drop significantly this season. And Noah Fant is very mediocre. The O line has always been a problem, and they still haven't done much to fix it. This defense, once feared, is not good anymore. Outside Jamal Adams they have absolutely no one that strikes fear in opponents. Quandre Diggs is good, but not great. This linebacking core is nowhere near the Legion of Boom days. The D line cannot get pressure on the QB. They just do not have it anymore. The hater in me loves to see this team taking a step back. But the Seattle fan in me, I loved the Sonics, is bummed for their fans. The Seahawks are a 6 win team. They are on the wrong side of a rebuild right now.

The final team for the day, at number 25, I have the Detroit Lions. Now, I want to say that I do think the Lions will be better this year. I also really like the direction they are going in right now. They had the best draft in my opinion. I also like some of their offseason moves. They just need another year before they are in playoff talks. Jared Goff is incredibly mediocre. He is an okay enough game manager, but he doesn't go out and win games for you. He can grit and grind 200 passing yards, on short pass plays, but he has never been able to completely take over. De'Andre Swift and Jamaal Williams are a good one two punch at running back. They can do some things. I also really like Amon-Ra St. Brown. He should build upon a decent rookie year. Jameson Williams should be good, but he is hurt. DJ Chark also needs to show he can stick in this league. TJ Hockenson is a very good tight end. The O line is solid too. They have drafted well there. The offense could be much better if they had a better QB. The defense is going to be solid. Obviously I am a big fan of the Adian Hutchinson pick. He is a very, very good defensive end. He is going to wreck havoc. I think he's going to be very good for a very long time in the NFL. Michael Brockers is a very good interior D lineman. The secondary has solid youth and big play ability. Again, I like this team, but they are young and they need a year to figure it all out. That being said, I could see the Lions winning 7 games this season and be the sexy pick to make the playoffs next season. They aren't ready yet, but they will be soon.

That's it for today. Come back tomorrow for the next four teams.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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Ty Ranks the 2021 NFL Teams - Out of Contention By Thanksgiving Division

Welcome to day three of my NFL countdown.

Coming in at number 24 I have the Carolina Panthers. This team is in what should be a rebuild. They need to start over. After they let Cam Newton walk they should have torn down the whole thing. Instead they gave Christian McCaffery a humongous salary and he proceeded to tear his ACL. Then they let Teddy Bridgewater leave and opted to sign Sam Darnold. They have no real number 1 or number 2 receiver. The O line is very bland. I thought Darnold was going to figure things out, but ever since the "I'm seeing ghosts" thing was plastered all over TV and the internet, he never recovered. He hasn't had a great camp by all accounts. I'm not a big proponent of giving running backs big money, and the Panthers are dealing with that problem as we speak. McCaffery is coming off a big injury, and while I really enjoyed Chubba Hubbard in college, he missed time last season and he needs to develop. DJ Moore is not the dude at receiver, and he is their best option. The defense is not so great either. Luke Keuchly retired, rightfully so, and some of the dudes they have taken a chance on haven't panned out. I still think Brian Burns has the potential to be a very good edge rusher, but he is about it. Shap Thompson and Jeremy Chinn could be good, but they haven't shown much of anything yet. Hasson Redick is getting a second chance after not doing much in Arizona, but I just do not see it with him. The Panthers will not win much until they get a decent QB.

At number 23 I have the Detroit Lions. The Lions traded oft injured, much maligned Matthew Satfford for a clone in Jared Goff. Goff has been the QB of a team that made it to the Super Bowl, but that was based on the running game and the defense. I do like that Goff is younger, but he doesn't have the arm that Stafford has. He is also less mobile, and Stafford isn't very mobile. I did not like this trade at all. I do not think Lions fans are stoked about it either. I will miss Jamal Williams in Green Bay, but the fact that he isn't starting in Detroit is crazy to me. Deandre Swift is fine, but Williams is better, and more deserving of the starting role. Breshad Perriman had moments in Baltimore, and I do really like Amon-Ra St Brown, but they do not have the good, not yet, to be number one wideouts, especially with a QB like Goff throwing to them. The O line is fine, but it doesn't matter. The defense is not awful but not good. Jeff Okudah had a rough rookie year. Jamie Collins has already played his best football. Trey Flowers could be solid. I like Da'Shawn Hand but he cannot stay healthy. The team has some dudes, but they are past their prime or not ready yet. This is a five or six win team at best.

My number 22 team is the New Orleans Saints. That may seem low, but Drew Brees retiring and Michael Thomas not talking to the team has made a big impact on me. This team is going to find it tough to get back to contention. The fact that they did not go after a QB in free agency and decided to pay Taysom Hill and keep Jameis Winston was a big mistake. They will regret it for sure. Hill is no more than a gimmick and Winston has shown minimal flashes but also has shown that he does not have what it takes to win important games. I'd be frustrated as hell if I were Alvin Kamara and Michael Thomas. They chose to stay and now they have no real QB to get them the ball. Kamara will still do what he does, but it will be tough because he will be the focal point of every defense they face. Thomas may not play this year, we do not know, and that is a bummer for the Saints. The O line is good, which is a luxury, but they have a whole new QB to break in. As for the defense, they have gotten better, and with the uncertainty at QB, I think the defense will be their best unit. Cam Jordan is elite. Marshon Lattimore is a shutdown corner. Kwon Alexander is a good linebacker. And I really like Marcus Davenport. I kind of look at them like a little better version of the Jets. The defense is good, they will keep them in games, but the offense will not be as potent as they have been in the past. That will be their undoing. I think six wins is the ceiling.

The final team for today, coming in at number 21, I have the New York Giants. This is the year to see if Daniel Jones is the guy. I thought they drafted him way too early, he has not been that good yet and he has weapons that should benefit him. I do not think much of him though, and that is why I have them so low on my list. They'd be lower if they weren't in such a bad division. Saquon Barkley is back, and that is awesome. I hope he stays healthy because he is a joy to watch. He is not only a great running back, but he is a good pass catcher, a solid and willing blocker and an electric return man. He just has to stay healthy. I like the Kenny Golladay pick up, Sterling Shepard is a fantasy stud and Evan Engram is a great modern tight end. The O line is also sufficient. Again, my only problem with the offense is Jones. I have zero faith in him. The Giants defense is quietly solid. Jabrill Peppers is decent. Leonard Williams is an upper tier D lineman. Logan Ryan is a nice secondary piece. Blake Martinez is an okay linebacker. They have guys that can play. The defense should be in the top fifteen of the league. This team could win their division or they could win five games. I like to split down the middle and say they will win six or seven games. I have that little trust in Daniel Jones. He is not good and that is why they will once again miss the playoffs.

That is it for today. Come back for the next four teams tomorrow.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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Thoughts on the Latest "Big" NFL Trade

As most of you know by now, Jared Goff was traded to the Lions, plus a slew of picks, and the Rams picked up Matthew Stafford. Today I’m going to share my thoughts on what happened.

I have read many things since the trade happened over the weekend. People have called this a "blockbuster", they have picked the winners of the trade, they have said how this will transform both teams, Goff has said he is excited to "be where he is wanted", and apparently Stafford was willing to go anywhere but the Patriots.

All of this, to me, is pure noise. I do not buy any of the hype being tossed around this trade. I do not view it as a blockbuster. In fact, I do not think either team got any better or any worse. Minus the picks the Lions got, this trade is about as milquetoast as trades come in the NFL. The two QB's that were traded for each other are pretty much the same player. I do think that Stafford is better, but not by that much. Stafford also gets injured a lot, and it is not like the Rams have anyone even near Calvin Johnson's level. When Stafford had Johnson on his team, he could just chuck it up and Johnson would go get it. I think we have seen the real Stafford the past couple years. He is not as skilled as I, and many others thought when he was the first pick overall. He also has some very happy feet in the pocket, and is not mobile at all. The Rams also do not have Todd Gurley anymore, their O line is kind of mediocre and the tight ends are very blah. The Rams win now with defense, and that is why I do not think Stafford changes this team much, if at all. The Rams have two of the best defenders in the game in Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey. Donald may be the best player in the NFL, and Ramsey is about as lockdown as they come. He is, probably, the best corner in the league. Stafford may be able to chuck a long ball, and he may mesh well with Sean McVay, but I still do not see them being any better than 9-7 or 10-6. They will still be a bubble playoff team, they may even win a playoff game like they did this year, but it will not be because they added Stafford. They will win because Sean McVay is a very good coach, and that defense is top notch. Stafford doesn't move the needle.

As for Goff and the Lions, this does absolutely nothing to change the fact that they will not win anymore than 6, maybe 7 games. I also think, especially if he didn't like McVay, that Goff will not like Dan Campell. I know I already don't like him and his weird tough guy act. I am also very curious to see how he works in a system that isn't so placated to his skill set. He is going to have to make plays, to do some stuff that extends plays, to make things unexpected happen. He isn't that type of player. He is as system as they get. He didn't get paid because he was some otherworldly QB when the Rams made the Super Bowl. He got paid because Sean McVay made him look like a top tier QB. He doesn't have a staff that is going to tailor a game plan to his skills. He also has less weapons now than he had in LA. I think the Lions best receiver is Kenny Golladay. He isn't bad, but he isn't great. The Lions also haven't had a real run game since Barry Sanders retired. And their defense isn't anywhere close to the top of the league. The only thing that the Lions really got out of this deal is a bunch of future picks. That is what teams crave now. But Jared Goff doesn't make them an instant contender. They aren't better than Green Bay. The Bears have a better defense. And the Vikings cannot be worse than they were last season. Add in all the other NFC teams, including the Rams, and the Lions are still in that rebuilding phase.

I do not see this as some blockbuster or some shift in the league. This is just a common trade for two very similar, not exciting, old school NFL QB's.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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The Lions Finally Made the Right Move

Soon I will be doing my NBA preview, with the season being mere weeks away, and on top of that, I am closer to doing my top five things of the year. So this week I want to tie up some loose ends, or talk about more recent news, or what movies or TV shows I have been watching, or what music I am listening to. Today I want to talk about the Detroit Lions doing something right within their organization.

The Lions removed both, head coach Matt Patricia and GM Bob Quinn. I am not a Lions fan. I used to be when Barry Sanders played there, but after he left, I adopted my dad's team, the Packers. I have been a Packers fan now for close to two decades. But I have always followed the Lions ever since switching my allegiance. I have family that are big fans, I like Michigan sports teams obviously, and, along with Sanders, Calvin Johnson was one of my favorite players. So the Lions have always had a place in my heart.

Things changed when they fired Jim Caldwell, unfairly I might add, I started to lose interest. Johnson was gone by then, Caldwell had them going places but was let go and I was not a fan at all of the Matt Patricia hiring. I watched his defense, when he was the coordinator for the Patriots, get shredded by a backup QB in the Super Bowl. The Patriots defense also got worse and worse that season. Then he had that bizarre press conference where he immediately started yelling at reporters, like he was a veteran head coach. Then he was accused of sexual harassment. Like, he already had all these outside issues going on. Then, his on field performance as a coach was less than good. He was quite bad in fact. He is supposed to be a defensive guy, but the Lions defense was never that good. He clearly had no clue what to do with the offense either. You'd think he would let people who know offense run that side of the ball, but I feel like he tried to do a little bit of everything, which he is ill equipped for. But his teams were never that good. I think he had something like 13 wins in his tenure as head coach. I know he had a win percentage in the .300's. Caldwell's win percentage was in the uppers.500's. Cladwell also led the Lions to the playoffs twice. Patricia, obviously had zero playoff appearances. I think the Lions figured Caldwell had taken them as far as they could, and they wanted to poach from the Bill Belichek tree. That was a mistake.

That is why I am also happy that the front office let go of Bob Quinn. He has been making all the personnel and coaching choices since Caldwell left, and he has missed way more that he has hit. Firing Caldwell was the biggest misstep. Everyone thought, and still thinks, that he is a good coach, and that he could have done more if given time in Detroit. He reached real hard for Patricia. As I said, his defense was shredded by a backup QB. That should have sent major red flags. But Quinn wanted a Patriots guy. That did not work at all. He has also made poor draft choices and poor free agent signings. He takes chances on cashed veterans, see Adrian Peterson. You'd think Jeff Okudah would be a good, young defensive player to build around, but Patricia seems to have ruined that kid. They cannot find a solid running back out of college. They have gotten no good receivers outside of Kenny Golladay, and even he has fallen off a bit. With Quinn and Patrcica it has been one bad move after another.

I know Lions fans don't want to do another reset, but, if they get the right people in the right job, or at the very least, better people, they could be back to winning 8 or 9 games in another two or three years. The Lions needed to do something, they needed to get rid of one or both of these guys, and they got rid of both. This is a good thing. Now the Lions have to make the right pick. But this is a good first step.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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Ty Ranks the 2019 NFL Teams: Shrimp on Pizza Division

On to day 2 of my NFL countdown we start off with team 28, the Miami Dolphins.

I think the Dolphins might be the first NFL team to try and "tank" for the top pick. And in the NFL, there is no lottery. If you have the worst record, you get the first pick. Miami is almost guaranteed a top 5 pick this year. They are going to be a bad football team. But, they did do a few good things this offseason. They hired away a former Patriots assistant, Brian Flores, and if given a chance, he could be solid. That means they fired Adam Gase, thank goodness. They also traded for Josh Rosen, and I think he will get ample playing time, and a chance to shine there. And they finally let Ryan Tannehill go. He was always one year away from being a competent starter, but it never panned out due to injury or poor play. But, outside of Rosen, this team is lacking. They will not be very good. Hell, they may not even be competitive. But at least they finally made some necessary changes. I also think they need to go full youth, and buy into the full rebuild. It may seem that they have been in a rebuild for awhile, but now they are finally accepting it, and running with it. They will not win a lot of games, maybe 3 or 4 this year, but I look at them like the Atlanta Hawks last year. They weren't good, but they were one of the most fun teams to watch in the NBA. While I don't think the Dolphins will be "fun", they will be more watchable than the Raiders or Cardinals or Giants or Jets. That much I can bank on.

At number 27 I have the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I loathe this team. Any team that will give Jameis Winston this many chances, and continue to claim that he has "changed", deserves all the bad that is happening to them. They also pushed out Desean Jackson, and that is so stupid. They also gave up on Doug Martin far too fast. Oh, and their only good player on defense, and a seemingly good dude Gerald McCoy, they let walk this offseason. They are the opposite of the Dolphins. I do not like anything they have done this offseason. I tried to talk myself into the hiring of Bruce Arians, who I wanted the Packers to hire, but I don't think he can fix the problems in Tampa. He is also sticking by Winston's side, and I think that is dumb. The only other solid skill player they have is Mike Evans, but when do we start to look at him as just solid, and not a superstar? He has never really showed out as a top flight receiver, yet people always bring him up when they talk about receivers on the rise. Maybe he is the Ryan Tannehill of wide outs. Who knows. And letting Gerald McCoy go is unthinkable to me. Sure, they signed Ndamokong Suh to replace him, but I don't know how much he has left in the tank. He was okay last year, but Aaron Donald showed that Suh's time as a top of the sheet D lineman is done. And, he will face double and triple teams all season long. He may lose his shit in like week 2 or 3. As long as this team continues to let Winston be their cornerstone player, this team will win no more than 5 or 6 games. The Buccaneers, much to my delight, are awful right now.

At number 26 I have the Buffalo Bills. Right off the bat I need to say that Josh Allen was so much better than I thought he was going to be last year, but that is not a compliment. I thought he was going to fall flat on his face. And while he did not do that, he was not a very accurate passer, and he ran way more than I think anyone in Buffalo's front office would like him to. So, while he wasn't a total disaster, I hope he has worked on his accuracy and drops his tendency to run so much. He is not Mike Vick. Not even close. Outside of Allen, I don't know about this offense. And that isn't me being pessimistic, I legitimately do not know. Is Lesean McCoy still on this team? What about Kelvin Benjamin? Did I read correctly that they signed Tyrod Taylor this offseason for his second go round in Buffalo? Who did they even draft? And on defense, their long time team captain, some random white dude from a small college, who's name totally escapes me, retired. See what I mean, I know absolutely nothing about this team outside of Josh Allen. I don't think that is a good sign for a team that may have playoff aspirations. The Bills need to get better only if to give my family that lives in Buffalo something good to cheer about. I think this team is a far way away from being a playoff squad. I also think that they may be better suited to become the first NFL team to move to Canada. They seem to get more fans when they play there. Anyway, anything more than 6 wins would surprise me. This team needs some work.

My final team for the day, at number 25, I have the Detroit Lions. This is another team that I wish was better because I have family that are fans, lifelong fans, of this moribund franchise. The Lions always play close games, then blow it. Or they give up humongous leads and they come back, only to lose in devastating fashion. This is also the same team that pretty much forced their 2 best players ever, Barry Sanders and Calvin Johnson, into early retirement. They never seem to help out their star players. They also hired Matt Patricia last season after giving up a billion yards in the Super Bowl where the Eagles beat the Patriots defense that he coordinated. He is not a good head coach, and he seems like a real scumbag. And then I saw that they just released Theo Riddick, Golden Tate left and Eric Ebron left last year and was actually able to catch the ball. Players seem to get better when they leave Detroit. And that is a bummer for Matthew Stafford, who I think is a good QB. Yes, he puts up hollow stats, but it is not like he is Blake Bortles. He is so much better. He just has little to nothing around him. They have some okay wide outs, but absolutely no running game. And their defense is not good at all, and they let Ezekial Ansah walk too. This team is going nowhere fast. They also play in one of the tougher divisions in football, so they already have 6 tough games going into the year. Matthew Stafford deserves better, but so did Calvin Johnson and Barry Sanders. The Lions are a 5 or 6 win team at best. Sorry family that are fans of this team. They just aren't that good.

That's it for today. Come back tomorrow for the next 4. We are going to get to better teams soon. I promise.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Growing up, Ty’s family all lived near Green Bay and rooted for the Packers. Their punishment is being sent to towns in football limbo. That is why the Head Editor lives in Cincinnati.

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Ty Ranks the 2018 NFL Teams: The Morning K-Cup to get the Day Started

Welcome  day 5 of my 2018 NFL countdown. We are pretty much to the point that all these teams will, at the very least, be .500, if not better. I don't particularly think any of these teams will make the playoffs, due to many different reasons that I will state, but they are darn close.

Okay, here we go.

At number 16 I have the Dallas Cowboys. As you all should well know by now, I despise the Cowboys. I always have, and I always will. Jerry Jones is a piece of human garbage, and he needs to get punched in the face repeatedly for many things. He is a phony, a liar and thinks he is a plantation owner. He treats his players as property, not people. Jerry Jones is the worst in a long, long line of terrible men. All 32 owners, for the most part, are terrible rich white guys, but Jerry Jones is the worst. I LOATHE him. Now that that is out of the way, the Cowboys have a very solid offense, but not a great defense. When the defense implodes when a player like Sean Lee goes down, that is a big problem. While he is a fine line backer, he shouldn't be the best player on that side of the ball. That doesn't make for a contender. Their secondary is abysmal. They are the opposite of what the Seahawks were at their height. They give up way too many big plays. Their D line doesn't get much of a pass rush, and that bums me out because I like Taco Charlton. They just aren't that good on defense. They do have a solid offense. Letting Dez Bryant walk may be the best thing they did all offseason. He never lived up to the hype. I do like Dak Prescott a lot. I wish the best for him. He has had a very tough life, he is a good kid, and I wish him nothing but the best. He is already better than Tony Romo is my opinion. Ezekial Elliott is a woman abuser, and an all around shitty person. He is arrogant, cocky and seems like a drag to hang around with. While he may be a good back, all the outside stuff makes me not like him. I have also heard multiple stories from multiple people saying that he is a dick head. I don't like him. The Cowboys O line is very good too. That is why Elliott gains so many yards, and Prescott barely gets sacked. They do have to replace Bryant, but that will be easy enough. What holds this team back is their horrid defense and Jerry Jones. I hope this team continues to lose while he is still the owner. That would be sublime. The Cowboys are plus .500 team, but not a playoff team.

At number 15 I have the team from Washington. Now, I do not thing Kirk Cousins is as good as others do, but to replace him with Alex Smith is baffling. He is just an older, more hit version of Cousins. I know he had a decent year last year, but Andy Reid, while being a horrible playoff coach, is a great regular season coach, especially for QB's. Alex Smith's best days are far behind him. They also already lost their rookie running back to a torn ACL on the third play of preseason. I thought Derrius Guice had a chance to be decent, but now he will miss the entire year. The O line isn't that great either. Smith will get pummeled, and whoever is the running back, they will find it hard to gain yards. They also don't really have many solid receiving threats. Vernon Davis is a million years old. Josh Doctson is a bust. And I don't know anyone else at that position. The defense is so so. They can get a bit of pressure, and they have some solid cover guys. But, they are not much to write home about. I also feel like a guy like Ryan Kerrigan is a bit overrated. Also, while I loved Vita Vea in college, I believe he is hurt too. They won't stop too many people. It is sad to say, but this team will regress because they let Cousins go. Again, I do not think he is great, but Alex Smith is not an upgrade. 8-8 is their destiny.

At number 14 I have the Detroit Lions. First of all, I do not think Jim Caldwell deserved to be fired. He led that team to the playoffs, and they were much mote competitive than they should have been, given the roster. And the hiring of Matt Patricia is questionable. He definitely committed some kind of sexual assault that was covered up, and his "expertise" lies in defense. Well, his Patriots defense got ripped apart all season last year, especially in the Super Bowl. Also, the Lions problems lies with their defense. They are a sieve. Besides Ezekial Ansah, they don't really have anyone else of note. Ansah is great, but no one pays attention to him because the Lions defense is just not good. And I don't think Patricia is the right guy to fix it. He is going to have a tough time. The Lions offense though, they are good. Matthew Stafford is a solid QB. He doesn't deserve the money he is getting, but the dude is solid. He trusts his arm far too much, but he has a great arm. I also thought he was going to regress when Calvin Johnson retired, but he didn't. He has made guys like Golden Tate and Kenny Golladay viable receivers. He uses his tight end, Eric Ebron, perfectly. The Lions don't have much of a run game, and that hurts them in tight games when they need to salt the clock away. The Lions will score plenty, but they will also give up a ton of points. I could see them setting a scoring record, but also giving up a record number of points. I have always had a soft spot for the Lions, because of Barry Sanders, but they just don't have quite enough to be a playoff contender. 8-8 or 9-7 seems right to me.

My final team for the day, at number 13, I have the Houston Texans. This team is being held back by 2 things, the coach and injuries. Bill O'Brien is mediocre at best. He has just failed upwards. Just because he once challenged Tom Brady, Penn State, and now the Texans gave him a head coaching job. He hasn't done much since taking over both spots. He is a poor play caller, and he acts like a real asshole. I wouldn't be shocked, if this team misses the playoffs, if the Texans finally fire him. Injuries also plague this team every year. JJ Watt is never healthy. They cannot keep a running back on the field. They lost their star QB to a torn ACL in a non contact drill at a practice last year. They just cannot stay healthy. Also, their owner, is right up there with Jerry Jones. He is a horrible human being. He is the owner who made the "inmates running the asylum" comment talking about the protests last year. He is the guy that forced his best player, Deandre Hopkins, to walk out of a practice after making those comments. He is a monster. I hope he loses all his money in a pyramid scheme. Now, if the Texans can stay healthy, they should be, at the very worst, second in their division, and fighting for a playoff spot all year. JJ Watt needs to stay healthy, which he hasn't done in 2 years. Pair him with Jadaveon Clowney, who is so great, that is a great pass rush duo. Clowney is so much better than Watt too. He is an amazing football player. Now that known steroid user Brian Cushing has retired, I think that will be better for the defense. Other, younger guys will be able to step in and play. And the secondary is fine. They're not great, but they are solid. On offense, this team has the QB of the future. I have always been a Deshaun Watson fan, and the 7 games he played in last year only furthered how much I like him. He is a very, very good QB. He has the tools to be one of the best. He is a taller, more accurate Russell Wilson. He is a faster and taller Drew Brees. He is awesome. He just needs to stay healthy. Those of us that still watch football need a player like Watson to play because he is so wonderful. Now, he doesn't have much of a run game. He can kind of make that not a problem with his legs, but the Texans need to get a running back worth his salt to help Watson out. What Watson does have is Deandre Hopkins. Hopkins is one of the best in the game. He runs great routes, makes incredible catches and is easily the leader of the team. He is criminally underrated. If Hopkins played on a better team, he would be mentioned with guys like Antonio Brown and Julio Jones. Deandre Hopkins rules. The rest of the receiving corps is fine. But, when you have a number one like Hopkins, that makes the rest of the positon unit look so much better. The O line is blah. But, again, a guy like Watson kind of blurs their problems. The Texans can be very good, like 10-12 win good, if they can stay healthy. But, they most likely won't, O'Brien will make some dumb calls and the owner will divide the locker room at some point this year. The Texans should win, at least 10 games, but I bet they end up 8-8, or 9-7. I hope not because I adore Deshaun Watson, but that is what the Texans do.

That's it for today. Come back next week for the top 12. The best of the best.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He knows that Texas is a big state with some great people. It just really sucks that two of the worst Americans happen to own the two football teams in the state.

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Josh McDaniels is a Punk Ass Coward

As was expected, both of the Patriots coordinators were announced as head coaches of 2 different teams yesterday. Matt Patricia, their defensive coordinator, took the head job in Detroit. Josh McDaniels, their offensive coordinator, took the head job in Indianapolis. These were foregone conclusions that these guys were leaving.

Matt Patricia left without much fanfare. Some people are now doubting him because of the Super Bowl, but as Tony Kornheiser said on "PTI" yesterday, "if you base a hire on one game, you're crazy". No new details have emerged about who he will try and bring along with him, but I wish him luck. I like chunky dudes with beards, as I am one myself. 

At the opposite end of the hype expressway, the reporting on McDaniels taking the Colts job was extensive. I was watching basketball while all this was going on, and he had already been linked to 2 guys as his coordinators, plus another hire, possibly special teams. He seemed to have his coaching staff almost set in stone. I figured he was ready to take another head coaching job after his first go around with the Broncos. He did not do a good job in Denver. His teams just weren't that good offensively, which is his forte. After he was fired there, he went back to New England. He has since excelled since going back. The Patriots offense has been great, and a lot of that is his play calling. Hell, even in the Super Bowl, he called a 600 yard plus performance. So, as I said, I felt that he was ready to return as a head coach. He left too young, came back where he was comfortable, grew up and taking a head coaching job was definitely the next step.

Well, like a god damn coward, only a few short hours after all the talk of his staff and everything on ESPN, he backed out of the job and said he wanted to return to New England. This is a punk move. The last time I remember something like this happening was when Billy Donovan took the Orlando Magic job, then backed out and retuned to the University of Florida. I felt then like I feel now about McDaniels. Donovan got scared and punked out and the Magic were left trying to find a new coach in a very short amount of time. What makes the McDaniels situation different is that he has already been a head coach in the NFL, he verbally agreed to become the Colts coach and he started to get a staff together. Donovan did none of that. At least he gave the Magic a chance to keep some people from the current leftover staff. McDaniels has left the Colts stumbling. They put all their eggs in the McDaniels basket, and like a little baby, he backed out at the very last minute. He decided he wanted to return to New England and be under Brady and Belichek's thumb for what will probably be the rest of his career.

In my mind, Josh McDaniels has killed any chance to be a head coach anywhere in the NFL, except for New England. No other team should ever pursue him to be their head coach. If I was an owner of a team that needed a coach and someone came to me with McDaniels name, I'd tell them to get the hell out of my office. He can never be trusted by anyone outside of New England. He will forever be a pariah. This isn't a situation where in a year or two he can try and hope  people will just forget about his actions. This was national news yesterday and this morning. When I turned on my computer to write it was the second story on Yahoo's homepage. Everyone knows about his cowardly move to back out and return to the Patriots. I've read a lot of different stories from both sides of the NFL. As far as people like me, the people who think he did something childish and dumb, we all agree. If he does something like this now, he will never be ready to be a head coach. He probably feels like he cannot win without Brady and Belichek. He should be forever a coordinator. The title of head coach is too big for him. He can't handle the pressure of game planning and being the one who has to fall on the sword when things don't go well. Look at the recent Super Bowl for example. No one is dragging his name in the mud. The Patriots loss has been pinned on Patricia and Belichek. People are actually praising McDaniels play calling.

For the people who think he made the right choice, only people in Boston, have come up with ridiculous excuses as to why this is a good move. They have said things like, Robert Kraft will do anything to screw over the Colts for deflategate. They say that McDaniels doesn't think that Andrew Luck is elite. They say that he is just more comfortable with Brady, and McDaniels is the only guy that Brady trusts as much as Belichek. They say that he came back because he will be the Patriots head coach as soon as Belichek retires.

To all of this I say bull shit. First off, screw Robert Kraft and the Patriots front office. You dickheads have been to 8 Super Bowls in the last 18 years. They have won 5 of them. Get over yourselves and stop messing with the Colts. You already bested them on and off the field. You won the war. As far as the Andrew Luck slander, I say again, get over it. He has been hurt. But, when he plays there is no question that he is one of the better starters in the NFL. He does things that a lot of guys cannot do. He plays hard, throws well and can run a little bit. Yes, he cannot stay healthy, but when he plays, he is good. He isn't as good as I thought he was going to be, but he is still pretty good.

Maybe McDaniels has become comfortable with Brady, and Brady trusts him, but Brady will be 41 years old next season. I know he just went for 500 yards in the Super Bowl, but again, he will be 41. Father time will win. I don't care how many avocados he eats or how much water he drinks, Tom Brady has maybe one decent season left. To be honest with you, any time he took a hit in the last 2 Super Bowls I thought he might have to be carted off the field. He does have good arm strength still, can hit the open man and is probably the best QB to ever play, but he is old and he cannot play forever. McDaniels is going to have to deal with that reality sooner rather than later.

Which brings me to the last thing. If he is the Patriots head coach in waiting, how is that a better situation than the Colts right now? Who will be his QB? Who will be his receivers? Who will run the ball for him? Which QB on that current roster is better than Luck? These are all real questions he will get crushed by when Belichek leaves and he is left with a scorched roster of very little NFL talent. Brady's current backup is Brian Hoyer. Brian Hoyer stinks. He is trash and he is old. Will they draft a QB, maybe. But, all the good QB's by the time they pick will be gone. They will have to reach in the later rounds, and they will not get another Tom Brady. That was a once in a lifetime lucky pick. And when Brady is gone, the new QB will have to throw to a brand new crop of receivers. Gronk will be gone soon. Amendola should retire. So should Julian Edelmann. Brandin Cooks took a vicious hit in the Super Bowl that would have me questioning if I wanted to come back. Chris Hogan needs a Tom Brady type QB to make him relevant. The receiving corps will be done. Running backs will be just as rough. Dion Lewis is old. James White is a pass catcher, but again, he won't have Brady throwing him the ball. Rex Burkhead is slow, plodding and a very, very poor man's Danny Woodhead. Mike Gillisilee will be on a new team next year. Look, the entire offense that McDaniels will take over when Belichek leaves will be one of two things, either extremely young and inexperienced, or just flat out bad and old.

Josh McDaniels lost any credibility he had with me and probably any GM outside of New England with this punk ass move. He is a coward. He is a child. He cannot handle being the man in charge. He will forever be looked at as a leech, a hanger on and a baby. This is a very bad look for him, and I fully expect him to regret this decision in the long run. The Colts dodged a bullet, and McDaniels will never, ever be looked at the same again. He is a punk.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Ty took a job one time he did not want at all. He gave them 4 hours and left on his lunch break to never return. Ty was more loyal than Josh McDaniels.

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Ty Ranks the 2017 NFL Teams: The "Return of the Jedi" Edition

Day 4 of my 2017 NFL countdown has some teams that have been great recently and playoff teams as recent as last year. The reason they fall here on my list is either due to the age of their stars, how far I feel they will fall off due to departures and, honestly, I just don't see in them what I may have seen a year or 2 ago. All 4 of these teams could make me look very dumb, they all could win 10 plus games, but I think they will all fall right around .500 or lower. Lets go.

Coming in at number 20, I have the Baltimore Ravens. Right off the bat, why did they not sign Colin Kapernick? If you all are sick of me talking about Kaerpernick, get used to it until he is rightfully on an NFL roster. With the injury to the highly overrated Joe Flacco, this team needs a backup. Pardon me, a reliable backup QB. Ryan Mallett is not reliable. He hasn't been good since college. And Flacco, I feel like he is a worse version of Phillip Rivers. You may say, "he won a Super Bowl Ty", so did Trent Dilfer. They were both the benefit of a great Ravens defense. Joe Flacco has done nothing to prove to me that he deserves to be paid what he is currently getting paid. Their starting receivers are guys that are better suited as backups, second or third options, or guys that had one good season and cashed in. Mike Williams, Breshad Perriman and Jeremy Maclin all fall into one of those categories. At running back, they have Danny Woodhead, Kenneth Dixon and Terrance West. Very blah. Also, why is Danny Woodhead still in the league and Kaepernick can't get a job? That is a shame. As far as their O-Line, who cares. They are middle of the road and will continue to be with the guys they have. The Ravens defense has always been their strength, but they are getting old. I love Terrell Suggs, but his best days are far behind him. He is still good, but he was great at one point. Jimmy Smith is a fine corner, but he is not a lock down corner. Eric Weddle is a hard hitting safety, but he can't really cover. CJ Mosley is one of the younger guys, but he is inconsistent. Brandon Williams is an okay defensive lineman, but just okay. They don't really have anyone that jumps off the paper to me. I think John Harbaugh is a good NFL head coach, but he has done all he can do with this Ravens team. They may fight their way to 7 or 8 wins, but that's it.

At number 19 I have the Detroit Lions. Matthew Stafford is about to become the highest paid NFL player ever. Does he really deserve it? Do Lions fans even think he deserves it? This team walked ass backwards in the playoffs last year, and an undermanned, super injured Seahawks team crushed them. They were not prepared at all. A lot of that has to do with the staff, although I do think Jim Caldwell gets an unfair shake sometimes, but some of that is on their franchise QB. Stafford is a fine starter, but he will never lead any team far in the playoffs. While I think Theo Riddick and Ameer Abdullah are okay running backs, they each has glaring weaknesses. Riddick is a decent fantasy player, but he is not worthy of starter status. Abdullah has blazing speed and decent hands out of the backfield, but he fumbles way, way too much. Eric Ebron is an okay tight end, but he doesn't strike fear like some other tight ends do. Golden Tate is a worse version of T.Y. Hilton. He should not be the number one option on any team. Marvin Jones was the third guy in Cincinnati, and now he is the second guy in Detroit. Yeesh. The O-Line is fine. Their defense is mediocre. Ezekial Ansah finally showed flashes of his potential last year, and I think bigger things will be coming from him. A'Shawn Robinson has potential on the D-Line. I love Haloti Ngata, but his best days were with the Ravens. Their secondary is going to be relying on Teez Tabor, and he is a rookie. That is frightening. The Lions had their magical run last year, but I feel like they will come crashing back to Earth this season. Sorry to my family that are Lions fans, but this team is going to take a step back this season.

At number 18 I have the Arizona Cardinals. I struggled mightily with where to put the Cardinals. Two years ago they were the talk of the NFC, and someone around here thought they were going to the Super Bowl. Then last season happened. Carson Palmer reverted back to his Oakland days, either playing very average, or getting hurt. I don't know which Palmer we will get this year, but I tend to lean towards the one we saw last year. He is only getting older and older. Larry Fitzgerald is still there though, and he is still producing. I feel like he may be my generation's Jerry Rice. He is reliable, usually healthy and produces every year. He is an all timer. Other outside guys they have, John Brown, JJ Nelson and Jermaine Gresham, I like, but they don't really move the needle either way for the Cardinals. Their O-Line does their job. They keep Palmer up, and open up holes for their best player, and one of the best players in the NFL, David Johnson. Johnson is the modern day Marshall Faulk. That is not a hot take, that is truth. This guy does anything and everything for this team. He is a great running back, going for 1,000 plus yards the past 2 years. He puts the ball in the end zone too. He is also exceptional at catching passes out of the backfield. David Johnson does it all, and he could single handidly win games for the Cardinals this year. The Cardinals defense is good too, but not great. Chandler Jones, Tyrann Mathieu, the best corner in the league Patrick Patterson, Robert Nkemdiche, Karlos Dansby and their first round pick Hasson Reddick are all very good. They should, and could, be better. Mathieu always gets hurt, Dansby has bounced around a bit too much and Reddick is a rookie, Nkemdiche is in only his second season and Chandler Jones is wildly inconsistent. Patterson, in my opinion, is the best corner in the league right now, and he is the most consistent guy they have on defense. As I said, I could be very wrong on Arizona, but I feel like they may rely a bit too heavily on Johnson, and I think Palmer is in the twilight of his inconsistent career. Prove me wrong Arizona.

My final team for the day, coming in at number 17, I have RD's team, the Minnesota Vikings. Their defense is awesome. One of the best in the league without question. They are incredibly talented on that side of the ball. Xavier Rhodes, Harrison Smith, Shariff Floyd, Erick Kendricks, Everson Griffen, Andrew Sendejo and Marcus Sherels are some of the most underrated players in the league. This unit produces and does their job every week. They are awesome. What holds this team back is their extremely inept offense. The O-Line does the best they can, but when they have to protect for Sam Bradford, nothing is ever enough. I remember last year when they started 5-0 and people thought it was due to Bradford's "resurgence", I laughed. It was due to the defense, and after that 5-0 start, they crumbled because of the lack of any type of offensive production. Bradford is the king of the check down pass, and he is most definitely a bust in my opinion. They lost Adrian Peterson, no big deal, but the backups and new guys aren't world beaters at all. Bishop Sankey, Latavius Murray and rookie Dalvin Cook are next in line. Cook is, by far, the best option. He may be the only threat they have on offense this year. Murray had his best days in Oakland, and he got replaced, and Sankey, he hasn't been good since day one in the NFL. Their receivers are average due to talent and Sam Bradford. Laquon Treadwell was a beast in college, in his rookie year, he was hardly heard from. Kyle Rudolph is Bradford's favorite target, but he is an average tight end. They signed Michael Floyd, but I would be more worried about his ability to stay on the field, what with all the drunk driving. Stefon Diggs is fine, but he is a third option at best. The Vikings have an incredible defense, but it is not like the Broncos of recent, the Ravens of the early 2000's or the 85 Bears. Not even close. And their offense, oof, it is rough. This team should win 10 or 11 games, but with Bradford at QB, they will be .500 at best.

Come back next week when we get to the cream of the crop.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is once again mistaken on his picks today. The Minnesota Vikings will be the darlings of the NFL. 19-0. Nothing is impossible.

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Ty's 2016 NFL Playoff Predictions

Ready to tee up with the playoffs

The NFL playoffs are set, and I'm here to tell you who I think will walk away as Super Bowl 51 champs. I was obviously wrong in my preseason predictions. The Panthers, and Cam Newton, had an atrocious season. They looked pretty bad all year long. I was way, way off on that one. I was right about the Patriots though. I did not think Brady's suspension was going to affect them that much, and it didn't. They went 3-1 without him and 11-1 with him, giving the Patriots the best overall record in the league at, 14-2. I was off on the Cowboys though. I thought they would not be good, no matter who the starting QB was, but they have a tremendous offensive line, and Ezekial Elliot and Dak Prescott played like seasoned vets all year. Will it happen in the playoffs? We will have to wait and see. With all that being said, lets get to how I see this playoff playing out.

I'll start with the AFC. From 6 to 1, we have Miami, Oakland, Houston, Pittsburgh, Kansas City and New England. Only 2 of these teams, in my opinion, have a legit shot to go to the Super Bowl. The Wild Card matchups in the AFC will be Miami vs Pittsburgh and Oakland vs Houston.

Miami has had an okay season, but they have not beaten anybody all that decent this season. They might have the shadiest 10 wins in all the NFL. They have a good defense, but not great. Their offense, especially with Ryan Tannehill out, who I do not think is that much better than Blake Bortles anyway, is not very good. They have excellent receivers, but with Matt Moore leading the offense, it doesn't matter. Jay Ajayi exploded in the middle of the year, but since then, he has been average. The Steelers, on the other hand, have a lethal offense. Even though he is a horrible, god awful human being, Ben Roesthelisberger can still sling it, and he always gets help from the refs. He has his whole career. LeVeon Bell is one of the best running backs in the league. Antonio Brown is one of the best receivers in the league. The Steelers have a decent offensive line. Where they struggle is defense. They get gashed a lot. But, with Matt Moore being the QB, and Ajayi coming down to Earth, I do not see the Steelers short comings on defense giving the Dolphins a shot in this game. Steelers win this game fairly easily, 28-14.

The other game would have been a blowout, had Derek Carr not broken his leg 2 weeks ago. I still think the Raiders are better, but that was a crushing loss to this team. The Raiders now have to rely on either Connor Cook or Matt McGloin. Yeesh. They still have Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree and Latavius Murray, but no Derek Carr is brutal. Their defense, while Swiss cheese at times, has played better lately. They did not look great yesterday, but they have stepped up since earlier this season. Houston is a laughingstock. They do not belong in the playoffs at all. They are more bogus than the Dolphins, but since they are in such a crappy division, they get to go to the playoffs with only 9 wins. They have no offense, except DeAndre Hopkins. But, he barely sees the ball since both Osweiler and Tom Savage are mediocre. They also have no running game and their defense is a joke. As I said, the Raiders will win, but this game will be ugly. Final score of 13-3.

So that would pit the Steelers vs the Chiefs and the Raiders vs the Patriots. These should be good matchups. I think the Steelers-Chiefs game could be great. I think the Chiefs will pull out the win, but it will be tough. The Chiefs have a better overall team, and their defense is much better than Pittsburgh's. I also think that the Chiefs will be able to hold onto the ball and run at will against the Steelers, thus making the Steelers strength, their offense, moot. Andy Reid will not blow this chance, and he will pull out a hard fought victory, 21-17.

The other game is going to be a bloodbath. The Patriots, after Brady's suspension, are out for blood. They want to destroy anyone in their way so that Roger Goodell has to hand them the Lombardi trophy. Unfortunately for the Raiders, without Derek Carr, they will be the Patriots first victim. Sure, the Patriots do not have the best defense, but it is serviceable, especially against a team without their star QB. And this Patriots offense is surgical. Brady picks apart secondary's. He has made guys like Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola household names. He's doing the same with Chris Hogan and Malcom Mitchell this year. They also seem to have limitless options at running back. They can go with Legarette Blount for power, James White for speed and Dion Lewis for a bit of everything. And even though they lost Gronk to injury, they have Martellus Bennett, and he is awesome, and very tall. The Patriots are ready to beat the shit out of some people. I have the Patriots winning big, 34-10.

That would give us a Chiefs-Patriots AFC Championship. This will be a good game. The Chiefs are the one team in the AFC that can compete with this Patriots team. They have guys that can shut down the Patriots skill players, but they do not have any real game changers, except maybe Tyreek Hill, on offense to score with the Patriots. I think it will be a very good game, maybe even come down to the wire like last year, but Andy Reid will rear his ugly head at some point, and Belichek will capitalize, as he always does. This will be a low scoring, hard fought Patriots win, 20-13. The Patriots will represent the AFC in Super Bowl 51.

As far as the NFC goes, the seeding from 6 to 1 goes, Detroit, New York, Green Bay, Seattle, Atlanta and Dallas. I legitimately feel like almost any one of these teams can make a run to the Super Bowl, and yes, I am including the Lions in the discussion.

The Wild Card matchups will feature the Lions vs the Seahawks and the Giants vs the Packers. The Lions are an enigma. This team had no business even being competitive this season, especially after Calvin Johnson retired. They had no running game. Stafford had never put it all together. The defense is good, but spends too much time on the field. But, somehow they managed to get 9 wins and make the playoffs. The Seahawks have been incredibly inconsistent all year. At times they look like the clear cut favorites, at other times, they look mediocre at best. They have a good defense, but they are not what they were 2 years ago, and they are missing some key pieces. They also do not get pressure like they used to. The offense is very average. Russell Wilson has not taken that next step towards the upper echelon of starting QB's. He may be hurt, but he just does not look like the guy that many thought he would turn out to be after the Seahawks won 2 years ago. I think he is a better version of Colin Kaepernick, but not by much. Their offensive line stinks. They cannot protect the QB, and they do not open up running lanes. They have good receivers, like Doug Baldwin and Jermaine Kearse, but they lost Tyler Lockett to a broken leg, and now they have no deep threat. They have also never really figured out how to use Jimmy Graham. He has become a mid tier tight end since the trade. With that being said, the game is in Seattle, so I do think the Seahawks will win, but it will be a very ugly game, much like the majority of the NFL this year. It will also be very low scoring, with a final of 10-6.

The other matchup, being a Packers fan, is my nightmare. I hate the Giants, and it is because they always seem to pull out some miraculous win, no matter how bad Eli Manning plays, or where the game is played. My only hope this season though, Tom Coughlin is gone, and Bob McAdoo is the coach, and he is as predictable as they come. Green Bay is also on a roll right now. Aaron Rodgers, after his selfish calling out of his teammates, has played lights out. So has Jordy Nelson and Davante Adams. Ty Montgomery has been a revelation. The offensive line is clicking. Hell, even the defense is playing better during their 6 game win streak. I'm always nervous when the Packers have to play the Giants though. I bad mouthed McAdoo, but Mike McCarthy is just as bad, possibly worse at times, but I do think the Packers will pull out the win. They have a better team, with much better skill players(yes, I think the duo of Nelson/Adams is better than Cruz/Beckham Jr), and I think Eli will make a big mistake. I have the Packers winning 28-23.

So that would give us second round matchups of Seattle-Atlanta and Green Bay-Dallas. Atlanta should easily beat the Seahawks. They have a better QB, better receivers, a better line and a better running game. They also do not have the injuries that Seattle has. I think Matt Ryan should be the regular season MVP. He's been great. So has Julio Jones. He has been un guardable at times. He is so tall and so fast and has great hands and runs great routes. The revolving door at running back works for them, and Devonta Freeman is coming on at the right time. Atlanta is a serious threat in the NFC. I have them beating Seattle fairly easily, 24-10. It will be close for a half, but Atlanta will pull away in the second half.

The other side has Green Bay-Dallas. This is supposed to be Dallas' year, right? They have everything going for them. They have home field throughout the playoffs. They have had a dominating year on the offensive side of the ball. They have the best offensive line in all of football. Ezekial Elliot and Dak Prescott are the future. Dez Bryant is playing better without Romo. This is supposed to be the year for them Cowboys, right? I do not know if it is my blind love for the Packers, or what, but I think the Packers will beat them, and I do not think it will even be close. The Cowboys will come out hot, but this is a team led by rookies, and I don't know about you, but I'd much rather have vets like Aaron Rodgers, Jordy Nelson, Julius Peppers, Davante Adams, Clay Matthews, some of which have won a Super Bowl, than rookies leading my team in the playoffs. This is not meant to take away from Dallas' great season, but I think the moment will be a bit too big for them. They have won a lot of games, 13, but some have been very ugly, and I just think their luck is going to run out. Maybe it is my blind love, it totally is, and my hatred for the Cowboys, it is that as well, but I think the Packers will go to Jerry World and win this game. I also think they will win by 2 scores, with a final of 28-17.

So that would give us Atlanta and Green Bay in the NFC Championship. this is where the Packers win streak ends. They have no one that can guard Julio Jones, and Matt Ryan is playing so god damn great right now. This will be a very high scoring game, close to the end, but Atlanta will win, 38-35. This game is going to be filled with offensive fireworks, and Atlanta has the better weapons on offense to do just that.

Super Bowl 51 will pit Atlanta and New England. This is a pretty good matchup, or at least I think so. Both teams have so so defenses, but they each have explosive offenses. The Super Bowl will be very high scoring, but in the end, I think New England puts it away, and Goodell has to hand that trophy over to Belichek and Brady. Atlanta will keep it close for three and a half quarters, but New England, behind Legarette Blount, not Tom Brady, will put this game away in the fourth quarter. I think the Falcons will be so keyed up to stop the Patriots pass game that it will open up the run game for New England. Blount is going to have a big game. He is the best of the three running backs the Patriots use, and they will ride him to a win in the Super Bowl. I expect him to go for over 100 yards and, at least, 2 touchdowns, and win the Super Bowl MVP. Like I said, it will be close for awhile, but New England will put it away early in the fourth, and win 38-28.

There you have it, my 2017 NFL playoff preview and picks.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. With the Packers and Wolverines, 2016 saw a lot of sports heartbreak. 2017 will not be a repeat for Ty's teams. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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Ty Ranks the 2016 NFL Teams: The Hot Garbage Edition

Okay, now that you have finished reading my "Bar Rescue" update, I'm back with day 2 of my NFL countdown. Let's get to some more teams that I don't think are going to be very good.

Coming in at number 28, I have the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. You may say, but they looked good on offense last year and they were in a ton of games until the very end last year, why so low? Well, I'll tell you why. Yes, they have a good offense and yes, Jameis Winston looked much better than I thought he would last year, but they still have no real running game, I don't care how good the Muscle Hamster was a few years ago, and their offensive line is not that good. They seem to have a decent enough QB in Winston, who should only get better the longer he is in the league, and they have very good receivers in Vincent Jackson and Mike Evans, but that is where the good stuff ends. They have no real threat at running back and the line cannot block for long enough. Their defense is not very good either. They, like all the teams I have mentioned thus far, cannot pressure the QB or stop the run. Their secondary is not very good either. Then, they inexplicably fired Lovie Smith after one season. They did not hire a coach that I think will be better than Smith, and a lot of people agree with me on this. Smith did not get a fair shot. He could have made the defense competent. He could have had them close to 8 wins this year. Unfortunately, that will not happen. While I like some parts of the offense, I dislike everything about their defense and front office. Looks like another 4-12 season is on the horizon for the Buccaneers.

At number 27, I have the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles stink. They do not have a decent QB. They gave up on DeMarco Murray. They have no receiving threats. Their defense is no good. Their front office makes the Cowboys front office look competent. This team will not be good. Sam Bradford will probably start the year as QB 1, but he will either get hurt, or underperform, and then it will be the Carson Wentz show. Rookies do not do well in the NFL, and Wentz will be no exception. He has no one to throw to, and I don't think he is as good as some other people think he is. The Eagles reached big time on this pick. Their defense is very bad as well. They have no one, and I mean no one that is very good at all on that side of the ball. They will not be able to stop many teams, and much like the 49ers, they will not score too many points. This is a very tough time to be an Eagles fan because of what the now fired Chip Kelly did to this team. He traded away a ton of good players for some not as good players and the team has suffered, and will continue to for some time. I'd be shocked if they win 6 games, that is why I have them finishing 5-11.

At number 26, I have the Detroit Lions. This is kind of painful to me for a few reasons. When I was a kid, the Lions were my team. I loved Barry Sanders and Wayne Fontes and Hermann Moore. They were fun to root for. As I grew up, I realized the Packers were way better, but as I kid, I was a Lions fan. It's also a bummer because I have a lot of family members that are still Lions fans. Sorry, but the Lions just don't appear to be very good. First off, they lost their best offensive player since Barry Sanders this offseason in Calvin Johnson. He retired, but I still wont believe it until I do not see him out on the field. Without Johnson, their only receiving threat is Golden Tate. Yikes. The running backs aren't that good either. Reggie Bush is gone, so Ameer Abdullah will be the feature back. Again, yikes. He fumbles way too much and he can't take a hit. At QB, Matthew Stafford will prove how mediocre he truly is without Calvin Johnson. He will have to actually throw into tight windows and put the ball in his receivers hands. He doesn't have the luxury to just chuck the ball up and hope that Johnson comes down with it. The offense is going to take a big, big step back. The Lions are the first team on this list that I like on defense, but it won't matter. They will be on the field way too much because the offense will be going three and out 90 percent of the time. The defense will also continue to shoot itself in the foot with personal fouls and penalties in general. The Lions are going to take a huge step back. They will only win 4 or 5 games.

At number 25, we have the San Diego Chargers. Yeesh, this team is old and oft injured. Phillip Rivers has been in the league for what seems like one hundred years now, and he has very little to show for it. He is an okay QB, but he wouldn't be one of the first 10 to 12 QB's I'd take if I started a team today. He is way too erratic, and its only gotten worse the longer he has been in the league. His targets are old and hurt all the time now too. Antonio Gates was once great, but he seems to be a person that takes performance enhancing drugs, i.e., his suspension at the start of last year, and he gets hurt way too much. Stevie Jones is already out for the year after tearing his ACL yesterday. I don't know any other receivers on this team. At running back, they have Melvin Gordon Jr, a bust in the making, Ryan Matthews, cannot stay healthy, and Danny Woodhead, what good is he if he doesn't play for the Patriots. Not good choices. The offensive line is fine, but nothing to write home about. It also doesn't matter when Rivers is chucking passes to no one in particular. The defense isn't great either. They wouldn't resign Eric Weddle for some stupid reason, and other than him, they had no one that would set the NFL on fire. They will stop the teams worse than them, but the teams better, there's 25 of them, will score at will on this team. The Chargers are regressing, and they are doing it quickly. They are a lot like the Bears, in so, until they get rid of Rivers, they will continue to get worse. I'd be surprised if the Chargers did not go 5-11 this year.

That's it for today. Come back tomorrow for teams 24, 23, 22, 21. We are getting ever so close to some actual decent teams.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He has some hope, fantasy football hope, for a few players on the teams listed above. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Ty has Three Questions and One Plea for Calvin Johnson

Calvin Johnson gives lions a good name. I hope he doesn't leave

With the news of Calvin Johnson retiring, I'm going to pose three questions today. Is he is truly retiring, is he trying to get a new contract, or is he trying to get out of Detroit? That's the first three things that popped into my mind and I'll try to answer each one individually today.

First, let's look at the first one, is he really retiring? I don't know, but I do know, this is the one scenario I believe the least. Sure, Peter King, who's a total idiot and 100 percent in the bag for the NFL and Roger Goodell, was on "PTI" yesterday and he didn't hesitate when asked if he was really retiring. He was quick with an emphatic yes. He seems to think that the NFL has taken a toll on his body. Other journalist seem to agree with this assessment. And yes, he has been in the league for almost 10 years now, and that will take a toll on your body, especially when you are the number one receiver on your team. Not only was he the number one guy, but he was, as little as two years ago, the best receiver in the game. He was unstoppable. Matt Stafford would throw into double and triple coverage over and over again and Johnson would some how come down with the ball. That being said, he would end up getting hit a lot more than say a Dez Bryant or a Demaryius Thomas. Those guys had QB's that would throw the ball to the outside or low so they could get out of bounds or down to the ground without absorbing multiple hits. That's not the case for Johnson. He would go after every jump ball and every pass over the middle, no matter what, subjecting himself to getting blown up by safeties and linebackers alike. And, in the past two years, while he's been great, he hasn't been the same player that he was. He was dropping more passes and fumbling the ball a lot more. I personally think he was trying to protect himself, the right thing to do, and that was causing the new problems. So, yeah, maybe he is actually retiring. One person can only take so much pain and hitting and it's his right to walk away if he wants to. I just don't buy it, in my personal opinion.

The next question I will try to answer is, is he trying to get a new contract. Let's face it, football has the shortest shelf life as far as a career in pro sports goes. Players are lucky if they can play for 10 plus years and they will still walk away with lifelong injuries. Players can also get cut at the drop of a hat. Look at a guy like Steven Jackson. He was one of the top running backs in the league less than 5 years ago, he leaves the Rams, joins the Falcons, barely plays and gets cut before this season starts. Sure, he got signed by the Patriots at the end of the season, but that's because they were desperate for a running back. These guys need to get contracts that benefit them because of how short their careers usually are. And the contracts, they are, for the most part, extremely heavy with almost impossible bonus goals. Some guys have clauses in their contract that have things like, score 20 rushing touchdowns or get 20 receiving touchdowns or record 22 sacks or throw 45 touchdown passes or have 125 catches or get 10 interceptions. They want these type of things done in one season. That's insane and damn near impossible. The last QB to throw for more than 40 TD's in a season was Peyton Manning two years ago. Sure, Julio Jones had 125 plus catches this year, but he had to average damn near 10 catches a game. I can't think of the last running back to rush for 20 plus touchdowns. And I don't think any cornerback has had more than 10 interceptions in a season. These contracts are ridiculous. With that being said, Calvin Johnson is probably trying to restructure his contract to be a bit more friendly and the Detroit front office probably told him to take a hike. But now, he says he's retiring, maybe that front office will change their minds to work with their best player since Barry Sanders. That would be a smart business move by Calvin Johnson.

The last question I'll attack, is he just trying to get out of Detroit? If he is, he will have to be traded, which poses the biggest road block to this tactic. He is under contract and the only way he could leave Detroit is by trade or if they just straight up cut him. They aren't going to cut him, but what if a great deal comes across their desk? Let's look at a few contenders who could use a guy like Calvin Johnson to put them over the top. First, the New England Patriots. They don't have any decent draft picks to offer, but they have some depth at running back and on defense. They could offer up Dion Lewis, Chandler Jones and a later round pick to add Calvin Johnson. I don't think Detroit would do it, but New England would be stupid not to. Can you imagine how good their offense would be with Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, and Calvin Johnson. Damn that'd be scary. But, the Patriots have bigger issues, mainly their offensive line. How about the Green Bay Packers. Now, I'm sure Detroit would be very hesitant to trade Johnson to a division rival, but what if the Packers offered Davante Adams, Richard Rodgers and either James Starks or Eddie Lacy. The trade would help both teams and the Packers would have three of the best receivers in football. They could line up Randall Cobb, Jordy Nelson and Calvin Johnson. That move would make me very, very happy, but I know it won't happen. One last team I want to talk about is a team getting ready to play in the Super Bowl, the Carolina Panthers. They have Cam Newton, but their receiving core leaves a lot to be desired. Guys like Jericho Cotchery and Ted Ginn Jr are only getting older and they aren't that great to begin with. They have young receivers that still need to prove themselves in Devin Funchess and Kelvin Benjamin, but add Calvin Johnson to that mix, I can't think of a better mentor for them. I'm sure they'd have to give up one of those young guys and a defensive star, say Josh Norman, but I think the Carolina front office would be foolish to not try and get Johnson to go along with Cam Newton. That would be one hell of a QB and WR combo. Johnson made Stafford look good, so think of what he would do for Cam Newton, who's already a star. I know that all these are pretty far fetched, but crazier things have happened in the NFL.

To wrap it all up, I just hope Calvin Johnson isn't really going to walk away at 30 years old. I thoroughly enjoy watching him play football and I have family members that are big Lions fans and Calvin Johnson has been their only hope for the last decade. He is an awesome football player that is in his prime and I think it'd be crazy for him to walk away, but it's his choice and his life. If he does walk away, it's been a ton of fun to see you play. But, if you stick around, which I hope and think you will, it will be a pleasure to watch you make one incredible catch after the next.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. Tune in tomorrow to the X Millennial Man and hear Ty's "big game" prediction. Once you give a listen make sure to follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

The Stink of the Packers is Getting Worse

Current home to the Packers offense

I'm going to end my week on a sour note.

I've been giving love and skepticism to two different teams this week. I love the Warriors and I'm very suspicious of the Panthers. Today, it's straight up hate for my favorite NFL team, the Packers.

They have looked incredibly lost four of the past five weeks. First, Denver, with an injured, old and past his prime Peyton Manning, absolutely crushed them. This was the lone game of the season thus far where Manning looked like himself. He shredded Green Bay's secondary, and Denver's running game looked the best it has all season in that game. Aaron Rodgers was rushed, pressured and beaten into submission. His throws were off target and he was missing wide open receivers. The run game wasn't much better. They couldn't hit the holes or there were no holes for them to hit. Denver is a better team than Green Bay and that game proved it. I thought this was going to be a one time thing. They were playing a very good team, on the road, so the loss didn't bother me as much. It was a bump in the road, or so I thought.

The next week, they went to Carolina to play the undefeated Panthers. I had a bad feeling about this game, but I thought the Packers could win. Then, the Panthers pulled out to a huge lead in the second quarter, scoring 24 points. The Packers defense, for the second straight week looked absolutely abysmal. They couldn't stop the run or the pass. Cam Newton and Jonathan Stewart ran and passed all over them. And, all the way until the fourth quarter, Green Bay's offense was non existent. They, once again, couldn't run or pass. In the fourth quarter, they finally put together some offense, pulling to within 8 with about 2 and a half minutes left. They drove all the way down to the red zone, but Aaron Rodgers missed a wide open receiver, instead flushing out of the pocket and throwing a stupid interception to a linebacker. It was yet another frustrating loss.

But, the silver lining was still around. They lost two straight, but they were both on the road to two undefeated teams. Something like this happens to every team at some point during the season. Also, they had the Lions upcoming at Lambeau. The Lions hadn't won there since 1991 and they looked bad. Their offense was just as inept as Green Bay's, and their defense, not that much better. Surely, they'd right the ship. I figured it would be a blow out and the Packers would be back. Then, the game happened. Once again, Green Bay couldn't move the ball on offense. The run game was nowhere to be found. Rodgers was getting pressured constantly and he was, once again, missing open receivers. The defense played better, but it was the Lions. Everyone was shutting them down. The game was boring too. At halftime Green Bay was winning, but the score was 10-6. One touchdown and four field goals. Terrible. Then, the Lions scored an early second half touchdown due to a Packers turnover. No big deal I kept telling myself. They'll figure it out I kept telling myself. The Lions even missed the extra point, so the Packers were only down three. But, they just couldn't move the ball. No run game and Rodgers running for his life and throwing errant pass after errant pass. The Lions scored later in the half, but missed the extra point again. So, that left the score at 18-10 with about 4 minutes left. They still had a shot. And, wouldn't you know it, they put together a drive and scored a touchdown. It only took them three and a half quarters to score a second touchdown against a mediocre defense. They cut the lead to 18-16. They had a chance to tie with a two point conversion. They had a great play call, but the pass was late, and the defender batted it away. I thought the game was over there, but they recovered an onside kick and had a chance to win with a field goal. But, they missed the kick and lost the game. It was inevitable. They lost this game early in the third quarter. So, the Lions snapped a 23 year losing streak in Lambeau. The Packers were a mess.

The Vikings continued to win, and actually took over first place from them leading up to their showdown the following week in Minnesota. Everyone, including me, thought that this was going to be a beat down from the Vikings. Green Bay was reeling and Minnesota was on a win streak, shutting down every opponent and chewing up the clock with long drives. But, the Packers actually came out with a fire and a passion. They completely shut down child abuser Adrian Peterson. They rushed and hurried and hit Teddy Bridgewater all game. Their corners were lock down. It was a great effort from the defense. The offense showed up too. Eddie Lacy ran for over 100 yards. Rodgers hit open receivers and had time in the pocket. They cruised back into first place with an easy 30-13 win. Now, everything seemed to be back on track.

They were back in first place and had an upcoming Thanksgiving home game against the sorry Bears. Surely they'd win. They were retiring Brett Favre's jersey, they were at home, they came off a big road win and they were playing the Bears, another team they own at Lambeau. But, they crapped away an easy win last night. They looked great in the first quarter, Eddie Lacy capping it off with a 25 screen pass for a touchdown. But, they couldn't do anything after that. And, the Bears found enough offense to take a 14-13 lead into halftime. In the second half, Green Bay did zero with the ball on offense. At one point, Rodgers took a sack after a botched shotgun snap, and he came up holding his left wrist. Now, I'm sure the wrist hurt, but I also think his pride was hurt too. He's looked pretty bad at times these past five weeks. He's not the same QB I picked to win the MVP. He definitely misses Jordy Nelson and the run game is non existent, but that doesn't explain his drop off in accuracy. He's dancing around too much in the pocket. He's not getting a lot of time from his line, but he's getting enough. He's either hurt, or he is struggling, maybe both, but he's not the same QB he was in weeks one through six.

Something is wrong in Green Bay and it may be too late to fix it. I picked them to win the Super Bowl, but I have no faith in them anymore. They can't sustain drives and they can't stop anyone. They look really bad right now and the blame goes to everyone. The players, the coaches and the organization all deserve equal blame. They better fix what ails them quick, or they won't make the playoffs, much less the Super Bowl. They are maybe the fifth or sixth best team in the NFC. They aren't on Carolina or Arizona or even Minnesota's level right now.

The Packers stink and it hurts my soul to say it.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. If the Packers continue their losing ways Ty will have to deal with the Head Editors gloating. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Ty Needs to Change his Super Bowl Picks: NFL Midseason Redo

Ty made some cookies to apologize about the Colts pick

Much like my blog yesterday, I'm going to tackle the NFL at the midway point.

Week 8 just ended and most teams have played 7 or 8 games. You can definitely get a sense of who is a legit contender, and who are the bottom of the barrel teams. I'll go over my previous division winners and I'll pick who I think will win their division now, and the wild cards from each conference. I'll also pick the MVP, coach of the year, offensive and defensive player of the year and offensive and defensive rookie of the year compared to my season preview.

Let's start with the AFC. The AFC East is being led by the New England Patriots at 7-0. The Jets are 4-3 and the Bills and Dolphins are 3-4. I was wrong about this division, picking the Dolphins. They've kind of gotten back on track, but they were just destroyed by the Patriots and they were a mess before firing Joe Philbin. The Jets and Bills are both middle of the road, but the Jets are playing much better than I thought with Ryan Fitzpatrick at QB. The Bills are a typical Rex Ryan team. They play good defense, have a subpar offense and blow games. The Patriots are clearly the class of this division. They're on a war path since the stupid "deflate gate" bull shit and Tom Brady and Bill Belichek are playing and coaching with anger, and they thrive that way. I don't think they'll go undefeated, but Tom Brady is playing like the MVP and they'll win this division easily. I shouldn't have doubted them. In the AFC North, the Bengals are leading the division with a 7-0 record. They're playing lights out defense right now, but they have to prove it in the playoffs before I trust them. The Steelers are 4-4 and just lost LeVeon Bell for the rest of the season, they're toast. The Browns are exactly what everyone, save for ESPN, thought they'd be. They're mediocre on offense and defense and people still talk about Johnny Manziel like he's an important player. The Browns stink. The Ravens are a shockingly bad 2-6. They've blown games that they should've won, and they look pretty bad on defense without Terrell Suggs. They're the most disappointing team in the NFL in my opinion and they just lost their best receiver for the year with Steve Smith SR tearing his ACL. The Bengals will run away with this division, no problem. The AFC South is a joke and this division made me look like a moron with my preseason preview. The Colts are in first place, but they're tied with the Texans at a dreadful 3-5. Andrew Luck is clearly hurt and their defense stinks. Screw you Indy for making me look like an idiot. The Texans are terrible. Their "vaunted" defense can't stop anyone, and their offense is bad and just got worse with Arian Foster going down with a season ending injury yet again. The Texans stink. Jacksonville and Tennessee have three wins combined. They're playing as everyone thought they would. Blake Bortles may not be that good of an NFL QB and the Jags defense is not good. The Titans are being led by a rookie QB, I know he's missed the last two games, and they may not win another game all season. Mariota is going through growing pains and he has no weapons on offense and their coach is pretty bad, and just got fired. I'm still picking the Colts to win this division, but they may only win 6 or 7 games and they will get crushed in the playoffs. The AFC West has been surprisingly competitive. The Broncos are still the best team and they're undefeated. Something is going on with Peyton Manning, but the Broncos are winning with their league best defense. They're lock down on that side of the ball. The Raiders are 4-3 and in second place. Derek Carr is a star in the making and now he has Amari Cooper to throw to. Their defense is playing halfway decent led by ageless wonder Charles Woodson. The Raiders may actually be good. The Chiefs had a brutal schedule to start the season and started 1-5, but they've won their past two and look better, even with Jamaal Charles out for the year. They have a good tight end in Kelce and a deep threat in Jeremy Maclin. Their defense is good as always. Unfortunately for them, they dug themselves to deep a hole and they won't be able to get out of it. The Chargers are a team in flux. They don't know if they're moving to LA, and they have no fan base. Phillip Rivers is on the back half of his good playing days, and Melvin Gordon hasn't lived up to the hype. The Chargers aren't a threat anymore. So, the playoff teams from the AFC will be division winners, Denver, Indy(UGH!), New England and Cincinnati. The Wild Cards will be the Jets, I can't believe I just wrote that and the Raiders, I really can't believe I just wrote that. I was wrong on Miami and Pittsburgh has suffered some brutal injuries, but other than that, I think I did okay. The Patriots are coming out of the AFC with little push. Denver is the only team that can compete, but they won't be able to beat New England in Foxborough. The Patriots will represent the AFC again in the Super Bowl. 

To the NFC. We will start with the NFC East. This division is a joke. The Giants are leading it with a 4-4 record, and they just gave up 52 points to the Saints. One week they look good, the other they look bad. The Eagles and the Washington professional football team have matching 3-4 records. How they got there is different. The Eagles play awesome defense, but their offense is bad. Chip Kelly is supposed to be an offensive genius, but he doesn't use DeMarco Murray properly, he relies on Sam Bradford too much and he has no real receivers. The Eagles are bad. Washington is lucky to be where they are. Kirk Cousins got way too riled up after a comeback victory over Tampa Bay. He's a terrible NFL QB, but who else do they have? Their defense is not very good either. Basically, they got very lucky three times and that luck is going to run out. The Cowboys have been plagued by injury and stupidity. Tony Romo and Dez Bryant missed multiple games. Joseph Randle is facing punishment for drugs and they're now starting Darren McFadden. Greg Hardy is a lunatic and doesn't belong in the league. And Jerry Jones, boy is he going nuts. The Cowboys may be the best team in this division, but that's not saying much and they are too far behind at 2-5 to win this division. The Giants will win the division and they will probably do it with only 8 wins. The NFC North is led by my beloved Packers at 6-1. They've looked pretty bad on offense the past couple of weeks though and the Broncos just throttled them on Sunday night. They'll fix what ails them, but they need a quick fix. They also need to use Eddie Lacy more, if he's healthy. The Vikings are playing pretty well, with a 5-2 record. But, let us not forget why their star player, Adrian Peterson, was out all of last season for beating a child. Announcers seem to have forgotten this, but I haven't. He's a monster. The Vikings are winning with good defense and the emergence of rookie receiver Stefon Diggs and smart QB play from Teddy Bridgewater, not child abuser Adrian Peterson. The Bears and Lions are equally bad. The Bears are 2-5 and as long as they have Jay Cutler at QB, they'll continue to be mediocre. The Lions are a dreadful 1-7 and they can't catch a break. They're also poorly coached and Matt Stafford is not a franchise QB, he's barely a starting QB. Calvin Johnson deserves better than this. The Packers will win this division. The NFC South has been surprisingly decent. The Panthers are 7-0 and playing awesome defense and Cam Newton is playing fantastic football. They also have a really good run game. The Falcons are 6-2, but they're not that impressive, save for Julio Jones and Devonta Freeman. Those are the catalysts of this team, not Matt Ryan. He's been erratic all season. The defense is serviceable. The Saints are 4-4 and Drew Brees is beginning to look like his old self, but he doesn't have any real weapons. Mark Ingram has been solid, but he's not a star and Ben Watson has been playing good at tight end, but that's it. And their defense, woof, they're bad. The Buccaneers round out this division at 3-4. They've played better than I thought they would and while Jameis Winston has looked bad at times, he's had his moments and Doug Martin may be turning his career around. But, they are still a bad team led by a rookie QB. Carolina will win this division. The NFC West has been as competitive as I thought it would be. The Cardinals lead it with a 6-2 record. Carson Palmer has been lights out and so has Larry Fitzgerald and Chris Johnson. They have a potent offense. Their defense is still really good too. Barring injury, this team should be considered a legit contender. The Rams are 4-3 and they look good one week, but bad the next. The emergence of Todd Gurley should definitely help this team out. He's been awesome. And their defense is still one of the league's best. The Seahawks are 4-4 and they've looked very unimpressive. Russell Wilson is not living up to the contract he got. Marshawn Lynch can't stay healthy and they don't know how to use Jimmy Graham. He's the best tight end in football, save for Rob Gronkowski, and he's only getting 4 or 5 targets a game. Their defense is giving up fourth quarter leads as well. They do not look like the "dynasty" that a lot of people predicted them to be. The 49ers are a total mess. They're benching Kaepernick in favor of Blaine Gabbert. WTF! He's a terrible pro. They have no running game, they traded away Vernon Davis and they can't get the ball to Torrey Smith or Anquan Boldin. Their defense is okay, but when you're on the field for 45 minutes of a 60 minute game, you get tired and when you get tired, you give up points. The 49ers stink. Cardinals win this division. So the NFC playoff teams will be division winners, New York Giants, Green Bay, Carolina and Arizona. The two wild Cards will be Minnesota and Saint Louis. This means I was wrong about the Eagles and the Seahawks. Neither will make the playoffs. I'm torn between Arizona and Green Bay, but Arizona will suffer some kind of injury and the Packers will figure out their offensive problem and they will win the NFC.

So, that gives us a Green Bay and New England Super Bowl. I'm going to stick with the Packers. They're the one team that can beat the Patriots. As far as the awards go, I was wrong on almost all of these. First of all, the MVP is Tom Brady. He's torching this league and he's on a mission. I picked Aaron Rodgers, but he's struggled lately and Tom Brady has not. Brady will also win offensive player of the year. Defensive player of the year will be Charles Woodson, not Ndomakong Suh. Woodson is still playing at an elite level and he makes the Raiders a real threat. Winning this will put him in the conversation as greatest defensive back of all time. Coach of the year is still Jeff Fisher in my opinion. He'll lead this team to a Wild Card spot and that alone gives him the award. I picked Melvin Gordon as offensive rookie of the year. He's been not so good mid way through the season. However, Todd Gurley looks to be a beast. He's setting records and rushing for a lot of yards on a good Rams team. Gurley is, hands down, the offensive rookie of the year. I picked Bud Dupree as defensive rookie of the year, but he has just blended in with the Steeler defense, he hasn't really stood out. Marcus Peters, however, has been a pretty good cornerback for the Chiefs from day one. He's my pick for defensive rookie of the year.

So, there you have it, my mid way NFL picks, Some are the same, some are different. Tell me why I'm wrong and give me your picks in the comment section.

Thanks

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He thinks Tom Brady is over inflating footballs just to screw with the NFL. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik

Ty's NFL Preview 2015: NFC

Game is on, get ready to...why is Ty's drink still green?

The NFC is also made up of four divisions as well, the East, West, North and South. The NFC East is made up of the, Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, the team from the region of Washington DC and the New York Giants. The Cowboys completely shocked me last season. I didn't see them playing that well at all, especially on defense. DeMarco Murray was awesome, but he's gone to the Eagles and Dez Bryant is good, but he's got Tony Romo throwing him the ball. That's a bummer. Jason Witten is reliable, but old. The defense will take a step back for sure. The offensive line is good, but as I mentioned before, DeMarco Murray is gone and Darren McFadden won't ease the loss. The Cowboys are going to take a big step back this season and probably only win 9 games. That may be enough to win this division. The Eagles have had a very odd offseason. Chip Kelly traded away a lot of great players like, LeSean McCoy and Jeremy Maclin and Nick Foles. The only one he really "replaced" was McCoy by signing Murray. Sam Bradford seems to be their starting QB, but he CANNOT stay healthy (I am from St. Louis, I know this). He's a liability. They also brought in Tim Freakin Tebow. That guy is not an NFL quarterback, he's just not good. The Eagles defense is pretty good and should keep them in games. They will either win 11 or 5 games, who knows. I will split the difference and say they get to 10 wins, but barely. The New York Giants aren't a very good football team, and the recent news that Eli Manning wants to be the highest paid player in football is laughable. Sure, he's won two super bowls, but what have you done for me lately besides lead the league in interceptions and stupid faces. They have no running game. They do have Odell Beckham JR and Victor Ortiz, but that doesn't matter when Eli is throwing it to the other team. Their defense is not good either. They will be lucky to get to 7 wins this year. Until they are willing to change their name, the team from Washington will get no love from me. They stink anyway and 4 wins would be a shocker. The Eagles will win this division and get the pleasure of being blown out by whoever they play in the first round of the playoffs.

The NFC West is one of the best, if not the best, divisions in the NFL. First, you have the Seattle Seahawks. They have the best defense in the league and it's not even close. All three phases are lights out, and while I may not like the players in the secondary, they are shut down corners and the safeties are heavy hitters. The offense is run by the overrated Russel Wilson. That offense is truly run by Marshawn Lynch. He's the current best running back in the league. He's truly a beast. They don't have great receivers, but they traded for Jimmy Graham this offseason and that will only make them better. They will easily get to 11 wins this year. The St.Louis Rams are up and coming, but I don't know how they'll play with expectations. They also have a great defense and one of the best defensive lines in the league. They drafted a great running back in Todd Gurley and replaced the oft injured Sam Bradford with Nick Foles. He's an upgrade at QB. The receivers are small, but explosive. If they can put it all together, they won't be able to challenge the Seahawks yet, but they could win 9 or 10 games. The Arizona Cardinals are another good team in this division. If Carson Palmer can stay healthy, they should be good on offense with him throwing to Michael Floyd and Larry Fitzgerald. The running game was in flux, but they just signed Chris Johnson to a one year deal. If he can do half as good as when he was with the Titans, they should be set. Their defense is awesome led by cornerback Patrick Peterson. They are really good, but they seem to get bitten by the injury bug every season. They should win 10 games, barring any big injury, but someone will inevitably get hurt, so they'll probably only get 8 or 9 wins. The San Francisco 49ers round out the division. This team seems to have gone into rebuild mode. They changed coaches, lost Frank Gore, Patrick Willis retired along with a lot of players on defense and Michael Crabtree left in free agency. They still have Anquan Boldin and Colin Kaepernick, but this team is going to take a huge step back. They will only get 5 or 6 wins this year. This division will be won by the Seahawks again, but it will be very tough.

The NFC South is the exact opposite of the West. This division could be won by a team with 8 or fewer wins. The teams are, the New Orleans Saints, the Atlanta Falcons, the Carolina Panthers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Saints still have Drew Brees, but he's old and they got rid of his best weapons. Their defense is terrible as well. 6 or 7 wins would be ideal for them. The Falcons have Matt Ryan,  Roddy White and Julio Jones, but they have no running game and they don't even try to run the ball and this is a team with another pretty bad defense. If Matt Ryan plays well and gets the ball to either White or Jones, they could outscore teams on their way to 8 wins, but 6 wins seems more likely. The Panthers do have Cam Newton and while he's inaccurate, he has a big arm and he's hard to tackle when he's in the open field. They have a so so running game led by DeAngelo Williams and they have upgraded at receiver with Kelvin Benjamin and rookie Devin Funchess. They do have a decent defense led by linebacker Luke Kuechly. They could win 9 games this year. The Buccaneers are still in rebuild mode and will be led by rookie QB Jameis Winston. Rookie QB's struggle and while he does have Vincent Jackson and the big receiver from Texas A&M, they have no run game and a god awful defense. 3 or 4 wins is the bar for the Bucs. The Panthers will win this division with only 9 wins this year.

The final NFC division, the NFC North should and will be won by the Green Bay Packers. The defense improved last season and will take another step in the right direction this season. They have the best QB in the league in Aaron Rodgers and he has weapons on offense like Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb. They also have a good running game led by Eddie Lacy. The Packers should win 12 games and the division easily. The Minnesota Vikings will be better. They get child abuser Adrian Peterson back and, while he hits little children, he's a good running back. But, he's a terrible person. Teddy Bridgewater looks like he's going to be good and if he can get some help from receivers the offense could look good. The defense is decent, but nothing to write home about. They could get to 9 wins this season. The Detroit Lions will continue to baffle me. Matthew Stafford is so inconsistent, but when you have a receiver like Calvin Johnson, he'll make you look good. They got a great running back in the draft in Ameer Abdullah. He'll immediately be better for them than Reggie Bush was. The defense lost Suh and Nick Fairley, so they'll take a step back. 8 or 9 wins seems like their destiny. The Chicago Bears round out the division and they're a total mess. They did hire John Fox, but he won't be able to fix the mess that is the Bears in one season. They have no defense, no receivers, a shitty QB in Jay Cutler and poor Matt Forte can only do so much. The Bears are like a worse version of the Chiefs. At least the Chiefs are competitive. The Bears will be lucky to get 5 wins this year.

So, the NFC playoff teams will be the Seahawks, the Packers, the Panthers and the Eagles, the four division winners. The two wild card teams will be, I'm going to go out on a big limb here, and pick the Rams and the Vikings. I even see the Vikings beating the Eagles in the first round and the Rams fighting, but losing late to the Panthers in the playoffs. The Vikings will see their season end at the hands of the Seahawks and the Panthers will get mercy killed by the Packers. This sets up a rematch of the NFC title game from last year, and the Packers will avenge their loss with a big win and advance to face the Colts in Super Bowl 50. 

Coming up next, Super Bowl and awards.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and co-host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. The editor appreciates his hopes for the Vikings. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.