Kirk Cousins, the Grifting Quarterback

I simply cannot figure out why teams continue to give Kirk Cousins ungodly amounts of guaranteed money on his contracts. I am going to say upfront today, I am being a hater because Cousins is a football player whom I despise. I have not liked him since he was a college football player. I don't like how religious he is and that he is always spouting his religious rhetoric.  I don't like his anti-vaccine rants. And I hate the way he has culturally appropriated grills and chains. It is disgusting, not funny and looks very bad. So yes, I am a true hater of him. I had to let it be known. But, what is very irksome is all the guaranteed money this mid level NFL starting QB has accumulated over his career.

With this recent contract that the Falcons gave him, 180 million over four years with 100 million guaranteed, he will have made over 400 million just from the contracts he has signed that his agent has procured for him. That is a fleecing of epic proportions. I cannot fathom why he keeps getting these insane contracts. No one else gets this type of money. Players that are far better at football than him don't see 1/3 of what the Vikings and Falcons have shelled out for this glorified game manager. The only reasonable conclusion I can come up with is that he and his agent have some Earth shattering dirt on these teams. I feel like they know something that, if it were to get out, lots of people would get canceled and be in big, big trouble. That is the only thing that makes a lick of sense to me.

What is even more worrying is, he keeps getting these deals but never produces anything of use in the NFL. The most yards he's thrown for in one season is 4,547. That is fine, but not 100 million dollars guaranteed fine. The most TD's he's had in one season, 35. That would rank him near the middle most seasons for starting QB's. His best record as a starter, 13-4 with the Vikings. Seems okay, but when you look at his overall record as a starter, he is 78-70. That is middling at best. His playoff record, what should be of utmost importance when paying someone gobs and gobs of money in the NFL, 1-4. That is horrendous. There are so many QB's that are younger and have as many or more playoff wins than him. Jordan Love has one win already. Baker Mayfield has more playoff wins. Brock Purdy, Jalen Hurts, Dak Prescott, Russell Wilson, Nick Foles, obviously Patrick Mahomes all have more playoff wins than Cousins. Jared Goff has been to a Super Bowl and two NFC title games. Joe Flacco has a Super Bowl. Ryan Tannehill has more playoff wins than Cousins. Guys like CJ Stroud, Trevor Lawrence, Daniel Jones and even Mitch Trubisky have as many playoff wins as good old Kirk Cousins. These are just modern players too. There are so many other former players I could list that have won much more than Kirk Cousins when it counted most, but they have never seemed to get the contracts he has gotten over time. That is criminal.

The final aspect that worries me about this deal for the Falcons, Cousins is coming off a major injury at the age of 35. That is a death knell for most athletes. And Cousins isn't the most athletic guy out there. He never has been. So, giving him all this money, when he has a well known history of clamming up when it matters the most, when he is at or near the end of his career, coming off a massive injury, it seems foolish and negligible. I know the Falcons have higher expectations, but tying those expectations to a 35 year old injured QB with a bad history in major moments seems foolish.

I don't think it will work out for the Falcons. RD is a Vikings fan and I hear a bunch about how it didn't work out for them and how happy he is that Cousins is now gone. I feel like Falcons fans are going to have that same energy this time next year. We will see. But this deal, with this amount of guaranteed money for a middling, back end of his career guy would be very off putting to me if I were a Falcons fan. I guess I'm glad I'm not. 

Ty

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

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Happy Retirement Teddy Bridgewater

It was announced this morning that Teddy Bridgewater retired from the NFL. I bet a lot of you don't know that name, or are saying to yourselves, I remember him.

Teddy Bridgewater never really got a true chance in the NFL due to injury and circumstance. But, he was one of the better high school and college players that we have ever witnessed. The high school he played for, where he is now head coach, named the field after him. As a sophomore he took over the team and led them to a 13-3 record. As a junior he set multiple records, including one game in which he had seven touchdowns. He was named an All American and led his team to a 10-2 record. As a senior he battled through injury, but still led his team to a runner up finish. In his limited play he still went over 2,600 yards and 22 tds. He was an Army All American and was the sixth best prospect in his class. He originally committed to Miami, but opted to play college football at Louisville. He started four games into his freshman season there and never really looked back. He went for over 2,100 yards and 14 tds as a true freshman. He was voted Big East rookie of the year and a second team freshman All American. As a sophomore, Louisville won the Big East, Bridgewater threw for 3,400 yards and 25 tds and Louisville went to a BCS bowl against Florida. He was named the Big East offensive player of the year and was 7th in the country in passer efficiency. Again, he did all of this as a true sophomore playing high level college football. Bridgewater would go on to torch Florida in the Sugar Bowl and win MVP of the game. As a junior he threw for nearly 4,000 yards. He had 31 td passes. He scorched Miami in the Russell Athletic Bowl to the tune of 447 passing yards and 3 tds. He was named MVP of that game as well.

Having nothing left to prove, he declared for the draft. He was one of the top prospects in his draft class, behind only Jadaveon Clowney. Many people thought he could be the first overall pick. He was not the first pick though, falling all the way to the end of the first round, being selected 32nd overall by the Minnesota Vikings. Some QBs taken ahead of him are guys like Blake Bortles and Johnny Manziel. I would much rather have had Teddy Bridgewater. Bridgewater ended up starting for the Vikings during his rookie season due to injuries to other QBs. He finished the season throwing for 2,900 plus yards. He was also the fan choice for offensive rookie of the year. Things were looking pretty solid for him. He struggled a bit to start his second NFL season, but eventually found his footing. He ended that season with 3200 yards passing and 14 tds. The Vikings won the division and he was named to the Pro Bowl. They made the playoffs. He was starting to figure it out it seemed.

Then, during a practice entering his third year he tore his ACL in a non contact drill. He also dislocated his knee. He was done for the year before it even started. His injury proved to be much worse than what was originally reported. He had to miss all of the 2017 season to recover. It took 19 months to recover from the catastrophic damage done to his knee. The Vikings declined his option and he was a free agent. Then it was just floating around and no real opportunities given to Bridgewater. In 2018 he spent time with the Jets and Saints. He appeared in garbage time and he started one game when the Saints had wrapped up the 1 seed. He was a full fledged backup at this point. He did start for a bit in 2019 due to injury, but he was never really the guy for the Saints. He was Brees' backup. In the offseason, Bridgewater left the Saints for the Carolina Panthers, getting a pretty good contract. The 2020 season was good for him. He got to play a bunch, he set personal records and looked to be somewhat back. But he was traded next season when the Panthers brought in Sam Darnold. That irked me as a person who wanted Bridgewater to succeed. The Panthers gave up on him for Sam Darnold. That is a true bummer. He caught on with the Broncos, but he was never really given command of the team while there. He got a concussion in week 15 and was done for the year. He then signed with the Dolphins, but they had just drafted Tua. He started later that season but broke his finger on his throwing hand and was done in Miami. He caught on this past season with Detroit and was more known for wearing number 53 during the preseason than anything he did on the field.

Bridgewater is walking away with 15,000 plus passing yards, 87 passing tds, 844 rush yards and 11 rushing tds in his career. He went to the playoffs as a starter only once, and his team was beaten. His career was solid, but not what it could have truly been in the long run. He had everything you could have wanted in a QB. He could make all the throws and run if needed. He was smart, nice and coachable. Injuries killed what could have been a much more memorable stay in the NFL. But he made it. He came back from injury. He stuck it out for almost ten seasons. He was a plug and play guy. I don't want his name to just fade away in the collective memory of football fans. Teddy Bridgewater was dominant in college and had the makings to be dominant in the NFL.

Enjoy retirement and enjoy coaching at your alma mater. You have earned all the good things in life Teddy Bridgewater. Football is going to miss you. 

Ty

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

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Ty Ranks the 2023 NFL Teams: Let's Try the New Starry Soda Division

Welcome to day five of my NFL preseason rankings. These are the teams I expect to be in playoff contention all season long.

At number 16 I have the Pittsburgh Steelers. I have never been a fan, but Mike Tomlin is an all time great head coach and he always finds a way to be above .500 with whoever is on the Steelers roster. I expect nothing different this season. Also, we need to recognize how great of a coach Tomlin is. He is awesome. But Kenny Pickett is his QB. He definitely looks better right now, definitely better than his rookie year, but he is still very green and very unproven. I think he can be solid, but I would not want him to be my QB of the future. Najee Harris is incredible. He is one of the better running backs in the NFL. He is big, fast, can break tackles and catch the ball out of the backfield. He can do it all. George Pickens is a blooming star. Lots of players put together viral catch clips, but Pickens is one of two players, DK Metcalf being the other, where those clips look real. They look truthful. The o line, as has always been the case, is very good. They are solid. The defense is always good too. Minkah Fitzpatrick really turned the tide for this team last season. He is a ball hawk and a very solid cover guy. TJ Watt has lived up to the hype coming into last season. I'm not a fan, but the dude can rush the passer. Joey Porter Jr was very good in college and he looks like he can be the real deal in the NFL. His dad is a coach in Pittsburgh as well. Cameron Hayward is steady. Alex Highsmith can play. The defense has always been dependable. The Steelers will, annoyingly, be above .500 and will most likely make a playoff push. Mike Tomlin is that good.

At number 15 I have the Minnesota Vikings. I loathe this team. I cannot stand them. I am a lifelong Packers fan and I think I dislike the Vikings more than the Bears. The hatred starts for me at QB. I have never liked Kirk Cousins. I think he is wildly overrated. I find him cringey. He has bad politics, and he cannot win when it matters. That has all been proven. They should have stuck with Teddy Bridgewater. Dalvin Cook is gone. They refused to pay him and he took off. Good for him. He is being replaced with guys I have never heard of. The Vikings are going to miss Cook. They are really going to miss him. Justin Jefferson is one the best wideouts in the league and the only reason why this offense scares anyone. I have no qualms or problems with Jefferson. He's awesome. Jordan Addison can be a good pro, he just has to slow down when he is driving. TJ Hockenson is a solid tight end, but Cousins relies on him far too much. The o line is serviceable. The defense is nowhere near as good as it used to be. In fact, it may be a liability. They are giving Marcus Davenport a second chance, but I don't think he pan out. That's a bummer because I thought he had potential. Danielle Hunter is a head case. Harrison Smith is washed. And the rest of the guys are a bunch of no names. I think this defense will be their undoing. They may still get a wild card spot, but they will have to outscore teams to win, and with Kirk Cousins at the helm, that is not a very likely outcome.

At number 14 I have the New York Giants. I mean, why did they give so much money to Daniel Jones? He is a less athletic Kirk Cousins. He is not why this team wins games. He is just a game manager at his very best. The money they gave Jones should have gone to Saquon Barkley. He is why this offense works. He does EVERYTHING for this team and the front office could care less. The receiving corps is very mediocre. Again, they rely on Barkley for the run and pass game. They did sign Darren Waller, which I do like and he will help very much. The o line is awesome. They are one of the better overall units in the NFL. The defense is solid. The defense is in good hands. They play their roles very well. Kayvon Thibodeaux hasn't lived up to the massive hype yet, but he is incredibly talented. Leonard Williams is a very good d lineman. He can stop the run and contain the pass. The secondary is led by Adoree Jackson, and he has been fine so far. The linebackers play their parts to a T. The defense is good. Combine the d with Barkley and the Giants will be a playoff contender. Add on that the division stinks, they could very well find their way back to playoffs for a second straight year.

The final team for the day, at number 13 I have the Jacksonville Jaguars. They looked like they may be figuring things out during the second half of last season. Trevor Lawrence looked much better. He seems to be figuring it out and that is a big deal for this team. Travis Etienne is another year healthier and he and Lawrence form a solid backfield. Christian Kirk is a good wideout. Calvin Ridley can be even better than him. And Evan Engram looks to be putting it together at tight end. The o line does the job. The defense used to be what made them great a few years ago, and they are solid now, but with no big names. Travon Walker was the number one overall pick last year, but he is still very raw and finding his way. Josh Allen has been as good as everyone expected at linebacker. The d line is very good. The linebacking corps, led by Allen, plays physical football. The secondary is just fine. The Jags appear to be a much better team with what looks like some staying power. They are young, but they got playoff experience and they should build off that.

That is 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.

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Ty's 2022 NFL Preview - Your Third Bud Light on a Hot Summer Night Division

Welcome to day five of my 2022 NFL countdown. We are nearer to some playoff teams. I like this part of the countdown because we finally have some real playoff contenders. The teams are actually good, and that is fun to write about.

At number 16 I have the Arizona Cardinals. They signed Kyler Murray to a massive extension. They got their guy. He should be there for the next five seasons. I understand that he played not so great in their playoff game last year, but this dude is good. And it should be a relief to know who is going to be behind center for the next half decade. Kyler Murray will only get better. I think this is a good deal for both sides. James Conner still remains one of the most uplifting stories, and he is the starter now. He is a good, big bruising back. He will get the tough yards and score double digit touchdowns. DeAndre Hopkins is suspended, and I do not know the length of said suspension. But when he comes back, he is exceptional. I wish he would get vaccinated, but that is a topic for another day. Hopkins is an all pro for a reason. They traded for Hollywood Brown, and he is going to help stretch the passing attack. The guy is a great deep ball threat. They also have AJ Green, as their third receiver. I think people tend to forget how dominant he was for the Bengals. He is still a viable option. Their O line is solid. They open holes for the run game and give Murray more than enough time to throw the ball. The D is what concerns me here. JJ Watt is never healthy. Zaven Collins hasn't played well yet. Isaiah Simmons needs to step his game up. Budda Baker has kind of fallen off. They have the potential, but they have yet to reach it. They need to step up for this team to become a true Super Bowl threat. Until then the Cardinals look like another 10 win team and first round out in the playoffs.

At number 15 I have the Indianapolis Colts. They are still searching for their Andrew Luck replacement. They just cannot seem to find the guy yet. I do like the Matt Ryan acquisition, but he is old and not his usual self lately. At least he is better than Carson Wentz. Johnathan Taylor is one of the best running backs in the league. He carried this team last year. He did all he could, and more. He is incredible. The receiving corps is not great. TY Hilton is gone. And they've replaced him with guys like Michael Pittman Jr, Paris Campbell and Alec Pierce. I know almost nothing about those guys. The O line is stellar. They need more from the passing game. You cannot run on every play. The D is fine. Shaquille Leonard is top notch. They signed Stephon Gilmore. They also acquired Yannick Ngakoue. Kwity Paye showed flashes last year. They have the guys they just need to put it together. The D is not the issue here. The Colts offense needs to modernize if they want to be a true threat. Matt Ryan is old, Johnathan Taylor already carries a massive load and the receivers are unproven. With all that, this is still a 10 win team, with the potential to win 12 games.

At number 14 I have the Minnesota Vikings. I'm sorry to tell you Vikings fans, but Kirk Cousins is still your QB. He is still there and still making massive amounts of money. He is your cross to bear. Dalvin Cook is very good, if he can stay on the field. He has not been able to for his whole career. And I see all the offseason workout videos. That is all well and good if he can stay on the field. Justin Jefferson is incredible. He is such a good wideout. Adam Thielen can still produce. I like them going out and getting Jalen Nailor. The O line is fine. They do their jobs. The Vikings D is kind of blah. They signed Za'Darius Smith, who is a solid pass rusher. Danielle Hunter is serviceable. Eric Kendricks is an okay enough linebacker. But this D is not feared like it was a few seasons ago. They don't have that scare factor anymore. They seem to just go through the motions. The Vikings, on paper, are a solid 10 or 11 win team. But I just keep going back to Kirk Cousins. He has done nothing of note in the NFL, yet he remains one of the highest paid players at the QB position. That is not great. He is not great. He drags this team down in the mud and makes them a murky playoff threat.

The final team for the day, at number 13 I have the Miami Dolphins. They have a seemingly healthy Tua. He has been out there on the practice field participating all offseason. I feel like this is a make or break year for him. They went out and traded for Tyreek Hill. He is as fast as they come in the NFL, and the dude can catch and go. Chase Edmonds and Raheem Mostert is an underrated and solid backfield. Jaylen Waddle had an incredible rookie season. He should only get better. The O line seems to be gelling. The Dolphins have a very good, potentially explosive offense. Their defense looks good too. Christian Wilkins is a good interior lineman. Melvin Ingram III is a solid linebacker. Xavien Howard is one of the best corners in the league. Byron Jones is good. They have the guys to shut other teams down. And they have the offense to put up a ton of points. If this team can stay healthy and put it all together, they will win 12 games and their division. With ease.

That's it for today. I will see you all on Monday for the next four teams.

Ty

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

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Ty Ranks the 2021 NFL Teams - Playing a Game in January Division

Day five of my 2021 NFL countdown begins with my number 16 team the Los Angeles Rams.

We are only three years removed from them being in the Super Bowl. Sean McVay came out of the box with a bang but it looks like the better teams may have figured him out. They also have an almost entirely new roster, especially on offense, from that team that went to the Super Bowl. They traded for Matthew Stafford. I have written about this trade twice now. It is almost a totally even swap. Stafford has a much bigger arm than Jared Goff, but he cannot stay healthy and he has never been further than the first round of the playoffs. He also doesn't have a Calvin Johnson type receiver to just chuck the ball in the air and hope they come down with it. I was kind of stunned when they let Todd Gurley walk a season ago. They paid him big money and they just cut him. They are now left with Darrell Henderson Jr and Xavier Jones. Sure they don't make as much as Gurley did, but had Gurley gotten the proper time to rehab they might now be in this predicament. Robert Woods is a fine receiver, Cooper Kupp is a poor man's Julian Edelmann and Desean Jackson is old. The O line is serviceable. Why the Rams are here, and not somewhere in the 20's is their defense. Aaron Donald is the most dominant player in the NFL. He is the best D lineman I have ever watched. Jalen Ramsey is a world class corner. He is almost as lockdown as Charles Woodson. He is so good. Taylor Rapp is a heat seeking missile and interception machine. Leonard Floyd is a good linebacker. McVay may have gotten this job based on his offensive mind, but the Rams will win with defense. The question is can they win enough to make a playoff push. They feel like an eight win team, but if they win nine games that wouldn't surprise me. Neither would six wins.

My number 15 team is the Minnesota Vikings. First and foremost, Kirk Cousins is a moron. I cannot stand him. At all. He is such a crummy dude, and he is not that good of an NFL QB. He got all that guaranteed money and what do the Vikings have to show for it? 0 playoff wins in two appearances with him as their guy. Dalvin Cook is a very good running back when healthy. He gets hurt far too often, but it does look like he has put in work this offseason to bulk up and try to stay on the field. Justin Jefferson was phenomenal last year. He was a revelation. Adam Thielen is a fine wideout, he is just a bit overrated. Irv Smith is a fine tight end. The O line is fine. The defense has taken steps back every year under Mike Zimmer. Everson Griffin is good, but he has some demons he needs to figure out. Danielle Hunter is an okay D lineman, but maybe he has already played his best football. Patrick Peterson was a good pickup, but he is much older and has kind of fallen off each season. Anthony Barr is okay at linebacker. The Vikings had a teeny tiny window and it looks like they blew it. Until they can move on from Cousins this team is destined to underperform. They are a .500 team at best.

My number 14 team is the Las Vegas Raiders. The Raiders are slowly building some semblance of a playoff contender. They seem to be putting in some kind of work. Derek Carr isn't great but he isn't bad. He needs to just manage the game and minimize mistakes. Josh Jacobs has that look of having a breakout year. The time seems to have come. Hunter Renfrow and Henry Ruggs look to be a solid receiver duo, if Carr can get them the ball. The O line is okay enough to keep the QB upright and open holes for Jacobs. The Raiders have taken big swings on defensive players way early in the draft, but maybe they put it together this year. Clelin Ferrell has shown flashes. Yannick Ngakoue was one of the most coveted free agents a few seasons ago. Maybe he finds his footing again. Trayvon Mullen has the ability to be a good cover corner. So does Johnathan Abram. The Raiders do have some players, but I still do not trust Jon Gruden. I love that they are requiring a negative test or proof of vaccine to come to the games this season though. Maybe the Raiders put it together this year and make a playoff push. I see them as an eight or nine win team.

The final team for the day, and week for that matter, at number 13 is the Los Angeles Chargers. They should still be in San Diego but that is a topic for another day. Justin Herbert kind of shocked me last season. He sat for a bit, but when he came in he looked confident and ready to go. He has a big arm, can see over the line and will listen to coaching. That pick doesn't look so bad a year later. Austin Ekeler has truly proven he deserves the starting running back role this year. He is a very good all around back. Keenan Allen is one of the best route runners in the NFL and he has great hands. Mike Williams is big and physical and when healthy he can do damage. The O line is very good and got better with the addition of Rashawn Slater. The defense has some dudes. Joey Bosa is an asshole, just like his brother, but the dude can play. He has proven that. He's still a dickhead though. Kenneth Murray is a throwback linebacker, and I will thoroughly enjoy watching him play football this season. Derwon James is amazing. He is so good in the secondary. He can do it all. And I like Nasir Adderley. The Chargers have the guys. They should make a playoff push. Hell, they should be in the playoffs. I felt they did not give their past head coach a fair shot, but they moved on. The new coach could reap the rewards of his hard work. The Chargers should win nine games this season. That is it for today and this week.

Come back on Monday 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 2019 NFL Teams: Supreme Pizza Division

The weekend has passed and we are now back to my 2019 NFL countdown. We are finally to the stage of what I consider all the teams to be playoff, or division winner, contenders. It is all good from here on out.

At number 12 I have the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys, a team I have loathed since childhood, depends on health, growth from their QB, and if they sign or let Ezekial Elliot walk. I, for one, would let him walk. He is a total headache off the field, he likes to hit females and, while a productive back, can be replaced. Look at what the Steelers did last year, and what a ton of other NFL teams have done in the modern NFL with running backs. They use them and throw them out. Remember when DeMarco Murray was the big thing in Dallas? Well, he had his breakout year with them, left in free agency and is now out of the league. I do not think Elliot is this great back that some proclaim, and if I were the Cowboys, I'd say bye. I would probably do the same with Amari Cooper. When he was traded there, he blew up. But, was that a sign of things to come, or a mirage? I think it was fools gold. He was out to prove the Raiders wrong, he did, but now teams will key on him. He is bound to regress. I would however lock up Dak Prescott. The modern NFL is so QB driven, and while Prescott isn't the best QB in the world, he is efficient and mobile and can lead a team. Those are my true feelings on this team. Now, for the hatred. Why did they bring back Jason Witten? How does Jason Garrett still have a job? Why is Jerry Jones so god damn racist? And, this team will never be "America's Team" ever again. The Cowboys are a mirage themselves. They have moments here and there, but they have done nothing but fall flat on their faces for the past decade, especially in the big moments. They are fortunate to be in such a crummy division. Their division alone is enough to push them to 9 wins, and a possible wild card slot. I do think it will be a struggle, especially because their defense is so suspect, but they will find a way to a .500 or better record.

At number 11 I am staying in the Lone Star state, and going with the Houston Texans. While I do not like Texas at all, I do, for some weird reason, kind of like the Texans. It has nothing to do with their coach, he is a boob, and their owner died, and I hope he is rotting. But I enjoy them because of guys like DeAndre Hopkins and Deshaun Watson. They are so much fun to watch play the game. Watson dances and moves and fires bullets from the pocket. And usually, they end up in the hands of Hopkins who is an amazing receiver. He is also oddly underrated. His name needs to be in the same breath as guys like Antonio Brown, Julio Jones and Michael Thomas. Hopkins is that good, and I'd say only Julio Jones is better. The o line needs to be shored up so Watson doesn't take so many hits. They are not as bad as Seattle, but not anywhere near as good as some of the upper echelon o lines. Their run game could be better too, but I think undrafted rookie free agent Karan Higdon is a good guy to go with. He was the stabilizer for Michigan the last 2 years, and when he learns to really catch and go, he could be a solid back. The defense is always going to be good, but I do worry that they won't give Jadaveon Clowney what he wants. He is so good and so big and one of the best defensive ends in football. They need him to make that duo, Clowney and JJ Watt, as deadly as they can be. They are also solid in the linebacking unit and the secondary. This team is good, and they will compete all year with the Colts in their division. I see them winning 10 games and earning a wild card spot because Hopkins and Watson are such a dangerous combo.

At number 10 I have the Minnesota Vikings. This is a make or break year for this team, and you know it RD (ed note: yup). They need to do something big this year, or I would blow it all up. Mike Zimmer needs to get back to being a good coach. They need Dalvin Cook to stay healthy. They don't need their receivers yelling at their QB on the sidelines. They need their 84 million dollar guaranteed QB to actually play, and win, some important games. And they need their elite defense to be elite. That may sound like a lot, but they did almost all of that 2 years ago with Case Keenum at QB. Sure, it took a miracle play to get them to the NFC title game, in which they got trounced, but they still made it that far. It was because of their defense. The Minnesota defense has the players, and potential, to be great. Like, Denver Broncos recent Super Bowl champion great. They just need to put it all together. They also need Kirk Cousins to get off his nonsense, and play like the top level QB they are paying him to be. I don't think he is up their with some other guys, I'd much rather have Deshaun Watson. But, they went to a NFC title with Case Freaking Keenum. Minnesota has the goods. They have the players. They have the pieces. They just need Zimmer and his staff to get it right. This may be their last chance. I do see them pushing all year to 10, maybe even 11 wins, but they are in a tough, tough division. They will be fighting for a playoff spot all year, even with double digit wins.

My final team for the day is my team, the Green Bay Packers, coming in at number 9. I see bounce back written all over them this season. I am an optimist when it comes to the Packers, but if Aaron Rodgers is healthy all year, they are a great team. They finally settled on Aaron Jones in the backfield, and I am totally down with that. They have a great number one receiver in Davante Adams. And this is Jimmy Graham's last chance. I think he will respond well to that. The o line is also one of the best in football. The defense has always been the problem in Green Bay. But this offseason they went out and spent money on guys and drafted for needs on that side of the ball. I absolutely love that they took Rashan Gary. I cannot wait to see him wreck backfields in the fall. Also, Jaire Alexander is now in his second year, and he is already one of the better shut down corners in the league. The 2 things that scare me most though, Rodgers health, he gets hurt so much more now, and Matt LaFleur. I was not on board with his hiring, and I think it could be bad. If he is insistent on running his offense, with no checks at the line from Rodgers, that could become a major problem. But, if it works out, and Rodgers stays healthy, I could see Green Bay getting back to being an 11 or 12 win team. They now have the offense at full health, and they addressed some much needed problems on defense. Now lets see if they can stay healthy, and is LaFleur has the goods.

That's it for today. Come back tomorrow for the next 4 teams.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. What Ty needs to do is visit Texas before he dismisses it. Sure it is hot, the scenery sucks, many of the people are questionable, but damn do they have some great food.

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Kirk Cousins is Robbing the Vikings

This offseason the Minnesota Vikings gave Kirk Cousins a 4 year, 84 million dollar contract fully guaranteed. I was skeptical of the contract simply because it was fully guaranteed. They are indebted to him every single penny of that 84 million dollars no matter what. He gets it all.

This was an insane deal. I even stated, after they signed him, that he hadn't done anything that warranted that type of money. Sure, he was putting up big stats, throwing a good amount of touchdowns and for 4,000 plus yards, but it was all hollow. He was doing against lesser competition. He was doing it in garbage time. He was doing it when the team had nothing really to play for. This is a guy who replaced Robert Griffin after he got hurt. Sure Griffin hasn't been good since, but at the time, he was on his way to being a real good pro and then he got hurt. Then Jay Gruden came in and essentially pushed Griffin out in favor of Cousins. Then Washington kept franchising him year after year. He kept putting up the stats, but again, the team never did anything of note.

This past offseason Cousins was free to go and the Vikings snatched him up. He was supposed to be the answer. This team made the NFC title game last year with Case Keenum, so Cousins was looked at as an upgrade. They had the defense, they supposedly had the running game, they have quality receivers, all they needed was the QB, and the Vikings thought that Cousins was the answer.

Well, after this past Monday Night game, against the Seahawks, the Vikings sit at 6-6-1. I don't think that is really what this team envisioned when they gave Cousins 84 million dollars guaranteed. They currently sit in the 6 spot in the playoffs, but this team had Super Bowl aspirations after singing Cousins. I picked them to be in the NFC title game. A lot of people did in fact. Some prominent writers had them in the Super Bowl. Some even had them winning it all. And all of it was due to the Cousins signing.

Those predictions don't look so hot right now. Cousins is proving to be the mediocre QB that a lot of people suspected he would be when he was a third round pick a few years back. He was drafted to be a backup. He was maybe going to start one day, but it would be on a middling team with no aspirations, basically what he was already doing in Washington. But nope, the pundits decided he was the guy to put the Vikings over the top.

After that Monday night game, I would have absolutely no hope for the next 4 years if I were a Vikings fan. Just look at his number against good teams, playoff teams. He holds an embarrassing record of 4-24 against teams with a record over .500. He is 0-7 in Monday night games. But most importantly, he is 0-1 in playoff games. Why is that the most important you ask? Well, for a guy getting 84 million guaranteed dollars for 4 years, he has been to 1 playoff game, which he lost fairly easily, in his entire career. That is not franchise QB stuff. That is not even Joe Flacco or Mark Sanchez or even Matt Hasselbeck stuff. Flacco has won a Super Bowl. Sanchez and Hasselbeck have been to conference title games. Hell, even Hasselbeck went to a Super Bowl. Even Blake Bortles has been to, and won more playoff games than Cousins. All these guys are awful QB's, but they have been so much further in important games than Cousins can even dream of right now. Cousins has been to, and won as many playoff games as Robert Griffin, the guy he replaced.

I'm at the point where I am even more certain that Cousins is overrated. He may put up numbers, but they don't matter. He is like the Kevin Love of the NFL, but even Love has a ring. I don't think Cousins will ever get that. He may get back in the playoffs again this year, maybe, but how likely will a win be? Not likely.

Cousins is robbing the Vikings, and he will continue to for the next 3 years. He is overrated and not very good. YOU LIKE THAT! If I were a Vikings fan, I would not think so.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Ty’s views of Cousins being overrated are not new. The QB came from Michigan State, the most overrated of Big Ten football powers.

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Ty Ranks the 2018 NFL Teams: Some Awesome Kaldi's Cold Brew Edition

Today I have my final four teams in my 2018 NFL preseason countdown. These 4 teams all have a legit shot at the Super Bowl, depending on health. They, on paper, seem to have it in every phase. But, each team does have faults, and I will point some out today. But, all of these teams will be heard from all year. They should all easily win their divisions, and be in the playoffs for sure.

Okay, lets do it.

At number 4 I have the Pittsburgh Steelers. First things first, I despise the Steelers. I hate the Cowboys and Seahawks more, but the Steelers are a close third. I got so much joy watching the Jaguars put it on them, in Pittsburgh, last year in the playoffs. That was amazing. They also have a rapist at QB. People will say that he has changed since he got married and had a kid. But, he still committed sexual assault, multiple times, and he is a garbage person. That being said, when healthy, he can sling the ball around the filed. He is slow, plodding and out of shape constantly, but he is still hard to take down. Although, I love when his punk ass takes a big hit. It is glorious. The Steelers have one of the best running backs, LeVeon Bell, but the dude has never been properly paid by the franchise, and he always seems to get in some kind of small trouble prior to the season. I think these dudes should smoke pot to heal injuries and what not, but be better about hiding it Mr. Bell. But, Bell is one hell of a running back. He is patient, follows his blocks and bursts through the line when he gets his shot. He can also catch the ball out of the backfield. He scores a ton of TD's. Bell is great. The Steelers also have the best receiver in football, Antonio Brown. Brown is amazing. He catches everything. He is faster and taller than anyone covering him. He finds ways to get open all the time. He is so god damn good. He needs to get paid, which I'm sure the Steelers will do. I have nothing but good things to say about Brown. I also like Ju Ju Smith Schuscter and the rookie they took, James Washington. The Steelers are set at receiver. They also have a solid tight end. They have an okay O line. The Steelers are set on offense. Their defense is another story. First off, the whole Ryan Shazier thing was frightening and the NFL should be embarrassed with how they handled that. But, on the field, the Steelers defense is very blah. They should be better, but they aren't. They could not stop the run against the Jags. The secondary also let Blake freaking Bortles torch them with his arm and legs last year. They need to shore that up. But, they can score enough points to be a title contender next year. The offense could even get them home field advantage in the weak AFC.

At number 3, as much as it pains me, I have the Minnesota Vikings(I don't know if this makes you mad or happy RD). The Vikings win with defense. That side of the ball is amazing. They rule at all three phases. They have a stout line, great linebackers, who can cover, and a secondary that covers better and hits with fury. They are a dominant defensive team. I know that didn't show in the NFC title game last year, but that was a blip. They pretty much stopped everyone that came their way last year. I remember how they completely shut down the Packers twice last year. That was basically what they did to every other team. The Vikings defense is elite. On offense, they are good, but not great. I know everyone is going nuts over the Kirk Cousins signing, but not me. They gave him way too much money, all guaranteed, and he has never won anything of signifigance since he became a starting QB. He is more known for shouting, "YOU LIKE THAT!" to some random camera guy than anything he has done on the field. They do get Dalvin Cook back, and he will totally open up the offense. He is shifty, fast and can catch the ball out of the backfield. They have solid tight ends. They have Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen at receiver, and while they are good, are they one year wonders, or will they be able to sustain their newfound success? I don't know. Also, Diggs will always own a special place in all football watchers heart after scoring that miracle TD versus the Saints. The Vikings also have an elite O line. I just don't buy into the Cousins hype. But, if he is better than Case Keenum, which he better damn well be, with all the money they are paying him, the Vikings will be just fine. Their defense will take them very far.

At number 2 I, begrudgingly, have the New England Patriots. They just keep rolling out the same team, with pretty much the same staff, and they keep winning 12 or 13 games and easily win the division. That is what they do. Tom Brady is still elite. He may be the best QB to ever play the game. They don't have much of a run game, but since Corey Dillon retired, did they ever have a run game? Their running backs are just an extension of their passing game. Sure, they hand the ball off, but it is not that overwhelming. The receivers, while not being top notch, always put up numbers. Brady has made a ton of guys a ton of money. Sure, they lost Danny Amendola, Brandin Cooks and Julian Edelman is suspended four games. But, I'm sure they have some dudes in waiting that will be just fine. Look at a guy like Chris Hogan. The Patriots have 5 more of him on their roster. They also have Gronk. Now, I do not like Gronk at all. He is overrated, in my opinion, and if he were on any other team, and not a white guy, people would view him very differently. That is sickening, and his schtick has worn way, way too thin for me. But, he is a matchup nightmare, when he is healthy, which isn't very often. The Patriots defense is awful, but that doesn't really matter because they play in a shitty division, in the crummy AFC, and they always win double digit games. They will do that again, even with a horrendous defense, and most likely be in the Super Bowl once again. The Patriots are the Yankees of football, only they have a sustained 21st century success. I loathe this team.

My final team, the best team in the NFL in the preseason, and on paper, coming in at number 1, I have the Philadelphia Eagles. They won the Super Bowl, didn't lose anyone of importance and added Michael Bennett. I mean, how are they not everyone else's number one team. They have 2 solid QB's that work very well within their system. Carson Wentz is a future star and MVP. Once he is healthy again, he will be the starter and he will lead this team to many, many playoffs appearances. Until then, they have Nick Foles, who beat Tom Brady in the Super Bowl last year. Foles is in the perfect spot for him to come in and do what he is good at doing, then take a back seat when Wentz is back. They have a seemingly endless number of running backs that can do a bit of everything. Jay Ajayi is big and fast. Corey Clement is going to get more carries, and he is a classic running back. I'm sure they have 2 or 3 other dudes that will help them out when called upon. They have Zak Ertz at tight end, and he may be the most underrated tight end in the league. He is good, big, fast and has great hands. He also had the second best TD of the Super Bowl last year. They have Alshon Jeffrey signed long term now, and he blossomed there last year. He is a great, solid and awesome receiver. The O line can run and pass block with the best of them. I know the defense gave up a ton of yards and points in the Super Bowl, but don't get it twisted, they are real good. They can rush the passer very well. They added Michael Bennett, who will help with that, and run stopping, and grit and toughness. They have great, young linebackers. They have a solid secondary. The coaching staff knows how to best utilize the players they have. The Eagles, right now, are the best run team in the NFL, and they have some of the best talent on both sides of the football. I didn't think it would come together for them as quickly as it did, but it did and they are the reigning champs. I don't think it is too wild of a concept to believe they can repeat. They are that good.

There you have it, my 2018 NFL preseason countdown. Come back tomorrow and I will have full playoff predictions, my award winners and my Super Bowl opponents and champs.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is looking forward to the day when he does not need to automatically put New England and Pittsburg in his top four. Maybe he will have that change in 2030.

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Kirk Cousins and the Minnesota Vikings Make No Sense

NFL free agency kicked off with a bang today when the Vikings gave QB Kirk Cousins a 3 year, 84 million dollar contract, that is fully guaranteed.

You read that right.

I have to say, I was very stunned when I read this news. I do not believe, and this is not my Michigan Wolverines biased coming into play, that he is worth even half that money to be a starting QB in the NFL. What makes it even more shocking to me is that ALL of it is guaranteed. This means that he will get every single dime, no matter what may happen while he is in a Vikings uniform. He could get hurt in his first game, miss two plus seasons and still get all 84 million. He could demand a trade after a year and he still gets all 84 million. He could decide that he wants to retire after one season and he still gets all 84 million. The Vikings could decide to cut him if they don't go far enough in the playoffs and he still gets all 84 millions dollars. This is a truly unprecedented deal, the likes of which we have never seen. Props to whoever Cousins agent is, because they just made history.

This Kirk Cousin's contract is also going to set a very weird, and possibly franchise crippling direction for any "franchise" QB now. No other QB has a deal like this, but some that will be free agents soon will start to get fully guaranteed contracts. I know for a fact that Aaron Rodgers wasn't going to sign anything with Green Bay until the Cousins stuff got done. Now, he is going to want more than him, and he will want it all guaranteed. And what are the Packers going to do? Would they say no and go with Deshon Kizer or some late round rookie? No way. They are going to give him what he wants because he is a much, much, much better QB than Kirk Cousins. What will the Panthers do when Cam Newton's contract is up? Are they going to let him walk and pay a lesser QB? No way. He is going to get paid, and then some. How about teams like the Eagles and Rams that have Carson Wentz and Jared Goff on rookie contracts. What are they going to do when those deals are up? These kids will expect to get Kirk Cousins money, and I think that the Eagles and Rams will have to pony up to stay relevant. And Russell Wilson, what with the teardown going on in Seattle right now, the Seahawks will have to give him whatever he wants and they better damn well make sure it is fully guaranteed.

This deal is just so bizarre on so many levels to me. I mean, the Vikings made it all the way to the NFC title game last year with Case freaking Keenum. This is a team built on defense. Sure, people will remember that "Minnesota Miracle" against the Saints more than anything else. But, this current Vikings team won because they had one of the best defenses in all of football. They straight up shut teams down, wore them down and pulled away late. I don't think adding Kirk Cousins is the "missing piece" that this team needs. Hell, even though all three are free agents, they still had Keenum, Sam Bradford and Teddy Bridgewater. If they had stuck with any three of those guys I still think they would have been a contender. Again, I don't see Cousins pushing the needle for them in any sort of direction.

Quite honestly, I do not understand the love that has surrounded Kirk Cousins since he took over for Robert Griffin III a few years back. He has never won a playoff game. In fact, he has only been to the playoffs once, and my Packers crushed him and Washington in Washington. He seems to put up big numbers at the start of the year, but peter out when it gets to crunch time. He is way too hot headed and way too cocky for a guy that has not done anything of importance in the NFL. To me, he is a starting level QB, but I honestly believe that he is right in line, right now, with guys like Eli Manning, Joe Flacco and Ryan Tannehill. He is just good enough for people to talk about him for a few months, then when it comes to stretch run time, he chokes. I do not think that Kirk Cousins is a QB that can lead a team to, and win, a Super Bowl. I have never seen that in him as a QB. And again, he is a fine player, but how soon until diehard Vikings fans, RD I'm talking to you, are regretting this team making this decision. They are now stuck with him for three years, no matter what. They have put all their eggs into the Kirk Cousins basket. There is no going back now. He will expect to be the team leader, and that could screw up the locker room there. As I have stated many times, this team wins with defense and running the ball. They didn't need to go out and spend so much useless money on a mid tier, at best, QB.

I'm still scratching me head with this deal and with the media saying this now makes the Vikings instant Super Bowl contenders. Prove me wrong Kirk Cousins. But, up to this point in your career you have done absolutely nothing to warrant this type of deal from any team anywhere.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. To answer Ty's question, I was regretting the signing a week ago when it is being rumored. 

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It Was an Almost Perfect Weekend of NFL Playoff Football

This past weekend of the NFL playoffs was pretty wild. Well, 3 of the 4 games were wild. Lets get the boring one out of the way first.

The Patriots throttled the Titans. I had a slight glimmer of hope that the Titans would make it a game when they went up 7-0 late in the first quarter. But, the Patriots, and almost more importantly, the refs, made that null and void pretty quick. Mariota regressed pretty quick after the first quarter. The Titans defense could not stop the Patriots offense. Making the Titans play from behind is how you beat them handily. And, as I said, the refs were atrocious. It seemed like anytime that the Titans would get a stop, a first down or even grab some momentum, the refs stepped in and gave it all back to the Patriots. When the score was 7-7 and the Titans were driving again, Eric Decker got called for an absolutely terrible offensive interference to kill the drive. Then, after stopping the Patriots deep in their territory, and forcing them to punt, a phantom offside call was made when it was clear that the Patriots jumped first. This resulted in another Patriots TD. Finally, on a fourth and one play, the Patriots tackled Derrick Henry by his facemask, but nothing was called. No flags, nothing. It was horrendous.

The other three games on Saturday and Sunday would not let the horrific mismatch and terrible reffing spoil some great games. Truth be told, I did not watch a second of Eagles-Falcons, I was at the movies watching the new "Star Wars" with my son. But, I caught up on the highlights, and that was some tremendous defense played by the Eagles. With that being said, Steve Sarkisian proved to be a terrible play caller, especially when they had four chances from the 9 yard line to win the game. But, the Eagles suffocated and stifled the Falcons offense all game. They did not give Tevin Coleman or Devonta Freeman any space to run the ball. The Falcons defense played good too, but they let Nick Foles do just enough to get the win. Matt Ryan also reverted to his poor decision making late in crucial moments. I fully thought that the Falcons were going to win, especially after how they manhandled the Rams, but the Eagles would not let it happen. While they didn't do much on offense, they did enough. And their defense was awesome. They deserved to win, and they earned it too.

The most surprising game for me was Pittsburgh-Jacksonville. I did not see any of the first half of this game, I was at a birthday party. But I would periodically check my phone to see the score. Every time I checked it, it seemed that the Jags scored another TD. When I first checked it was 14-0 early in the second quarter. About 15 minutes passed, I checked again, and it was 21-7. Then we left the party and I saw it was 28-14 at the half. I assumed that when we returned home and I turned on the game that the Steelers would have tied it or taken the lead. Well, they cut it to 7 in the third, but they never grabbed the lead. When it was 28-21, I figured this was where the Steelers would wake up and grab a stranglehold on the game. Well, the Jags immediately took the ball all the way down the field and Leonard Fournette ran in his third TD of the game. This was when I started to think that maybe the Jags were going to win this game. But, not to be denied, the Steelers had another miracle TD on a fourth and three play. Roethsliberger heaved the ball in the air and a very injured Antonio Brown made a great, great catch for a TD. They cut it to 7 again. I started to go back around to thinking that the Steelers were going to win. But again, the Jags got the ball, god help me, Blake Bortles made some plays, and they scored on an easy pass to a wide open fullback to get a 14 point lead again. I was amazed at how well the Jags looked on offense, but also how poorly the Steelers were playing defense. The Steelers still wouldn't go away, getting back to within 7.  But, to attempt an onside kick with 2 timeouts and 2 minutes and 18 seconds left in the game at home, was simply stupid. That was a horrific choice by all the coaches involved on the Steelers. This gave the Jags great field position and set them up for the easy 2 score lead again. The Steelers blew this game, they were definitely looking ahead to the Patriots, but props to the Jags for going into Pittsburgh twice this season and winning both times.

The game of the weekend, the playoffs and maybe in the past 5 or 6 years, was the Saints-Vikings game. This was, to use a cliché, a tale of 2 halves. The Vikings owned the first 2 quarters. They stopped everything the Saints wanted to do, and they moved the ball at will. They looked like they were going to win with ease, especially when they had a 17-0 lead at halftime. But, credit to the Saints for making adjustments and turning this into a game. Drew Brees was making some great, great throws in the second half. His pass to Alvin Kamara was amazing. Kamara was also amazing in the second half. He is going to be a star. Michael Thomas started to get much more involved. He now is in that conversation of second best wide out in the league, behind only Antonio Brown. The Saints defense also started to make plays. When they took the lead at 21-20, I thought the Vikings were in for another heartbreak in the postseason. But, to their credit they kept plugging away. They got the ball back, marched into field goal range and kicked the go ahead field goal with just over 2 minutes left. That was more than enough time for Brees to lead the Saints down into field goal range to kick and take the lead very late in the game. The Vikings got the ball back with about 40 seconds left, and one timeout, but I figured they were toast. I mean, one timeout, Case Keenum, Vikings postseason history, no real deep threats, everything was stacked against them. And that was how this final drive started. They had one chunk play, but they had to burn their last timeout, and they were so far out of field goal range and hail mary range, I didn't think it mattered. And the next 2 plays made me feel this even stronger. Keenum was throwing ducks and getting pressured. Everything pointed to another blown playoff game. Then third down happened. With less than 10 seconds left the Vikings snapped the ball, and a sports miracle happened. Keenum bought just enough time in the pocket and just chucked the ball in the air. Out of nowhere Stefon Diggs, who it looked like jumped about 20 feet in the air, snagged the ball and turned up field. The Saints safety, poor, poor Marcus Williams, went in for the hit, but he completely missed Diggs. This was the worst attempted tackle I have seen at any level. Williams, who had a great rookie year, and had played very well in the game up until this point, just completely whiffed. His head was down and I think he just assumed that he was going to run into Diggs. That didn't happen, and now there are about a thousand GIF's and meme's "commemorating" this missed tackled. After Diggs realized he wasn't going to get hit, he turned up the field and ran. I kept yelling, the Vikings bench too, "GET OUT OF BOUNDS!", thinking that the Saints had another safety deep. But, much to mine, and everyone else's surprise, there was no one there. Diggs could have waltzed into the end zone if he wanted. It was a truly amazing sports moments. It is one of the best endings to a game that I have ever seen. I could not believe that the Vikings won a game in this fashion. It was such an amazing ending. I'm still kind of in shock how that game ended.

This was, at least 3/4 of it was, a very great football weekend. It was fun to see the NFL be fun at least one time this year. I don't think it matters in the long run though. I still think we will get Patriots-Vikings in the Super Bowl, and I still think the Patriots will win. But, this past weekend made it fun to be an NFL fan for a couple days. Hopefully the conference championships will be half as good as this past weekend was. We will have to wait and see.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is used to seeing Green Bay and Aaron Rodgers pull out last second miracle wins. This year's Rodgers is Case Keenum and the Packers have become the Vikings. 

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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 Midseason NFL Redo

As we approach week 8 of the NFL season, I need to do my annual mid season revision. I did a 3 day preseason NFL preview, and like last year, I have some stuff that I got right and some stuff that I got wrong. Today, I want to pat myself on the back a little bit, but also eat some crow, especially with my Super Bowl and MVP pick.

Before I get started, I know that RD is putting up a big piece about this soon, but the NFL has been absolutely atrocious this season. I'll let RD do the majority of expounding on that, but I have eyeballs, and what they have seen has been terrible. The game is watered down and the teams are not that good. This first half of the season has been abysmal. Thank goodness for college football, which I will touch on tomorrow, at least that has been fun this year. Anyway, let's get to my mid season NFL review.

So, as you all know by now, I had the Panthers as the Super Bowl winners. I thought that they would come out and slay pretty much everyone in front of them. I thought that they would be pissed at how they performed in last year's Super Bowl, and want to make up for that. I thought Cam Newton would trash any defense that came his way. Well, I couldn't have been more wrong. The Panthers have been terrible this season. They are 1-5 as we speak. Their defense is dreadful. They cannot get off the field, and teams are putting up 30 plus points on them with ease. I did not think that they'd miss Josh Norman as much as they do. Luke Kuechly has been very, very average this year. Their D line is getting little to no pressure. They stink. The offense isn't much better. Cam Newton looks miserable out there. He is not playing with the joy that turned me into a fan. He is getting head hunted, and the NFL is doing nothing about it. But, he also seems more concerned with what kind of celebration he is going to do when he scores instead of just getting in the end zone. They have no running game. Their passing game, which added Kelvin Benjamin, has been pretty porous. The Panthers have been the biggest, by far, disappointment in the NFL this year.

Outside of the Panthers, the NFC is not really great. The Vikings are probably the best team in the NFC, but they just got absolutely shut down by the Eagles last week. They have an other worldly defense, but their offense is very bad. The Cowboys, very surprisingly, have been right near the top of the NFC this year. Ezekial Elliot is currently leading the NFL in rushing. The receivers, minus Dez Bryant, have been very good. Dak Prescott has been exceptional. He is doing the best job of managing the game. He makes no mistakes, hardly ever, and dinks and dunks all the way down the field. I'm not a Cowboys fan, but I hope that when Tony Romo and Dez Bryant come back totally healthy, they stay on the bench because you should not rock the boat. This team is 5-1 for a reason. Who knows what Jerry Jones will do, but he needs to keep Prescott in there, as long as this team keeps winning.

As far as some other NFC teams, the Cardinals have been very disappointing. Carson Palmer looks like a shell of himself. Larry Fitzgerald is still good, but getting older. Michael Floyd drops more than he catches. David Johnson and their defense has been their saving grace, but they are 3-3-1. The Seahawks are probably the most underwhelming 4-1-1 team in the NFL. Their offense is mediocre, but their defense, who gets away with penalty after penalty, week after week, is still good. They are dirty, but still elite. The Packers are mediocre. Their defense is average and their offense has been mind numbingly frustrating to watch. The Lions, Saints, Eagles, Buccaneers and Falcons are at, or near .500, but they will make no difference in the long run.

As much as I hate to write this, I think the Cowboys, if they stick with Prescott and the running game, will become the team to beat in the NFC. They could very well make the Super Bowl this year, that is how bad this season has been.

The AFC, while not much better, does have the very best team in the NFL. The Patriots are leaps and bounds above all 31 other teams, and they are filled with holes. Their defense is very mediocre. they do give up some big plays a bit too often. After his ridiculous 4 game suspension, Tom Brady has looked like a man possessed. He is the front runner for the MVP right now, after only 3 games. He has lit up the 3 teams he's faced. He is on pace, in 12 games, to surpass 4,000 passing yards. That's crazy. Gronk is fully healthy, and he is just as unstoppable as ever. Martellus Bennett is a great addition, and takes pressure off Gronk. The slot receivers that fill the rest of this offense are perfect for the Patriots system. LeGarette Blount has been a great runner for them this year too. He's on pace for 1,300 plus rushing yards and 15 plus touchdowns. They also have James White, great out of the back field and Dion Lewis will be back soon. The Patriots, even with their holes, are the cream of the crop in the NFL. Eat it Roger Goodell.

 As for the teams not playing at Gillette, the Broncos have a great defense, but their offense is very much below average. They can't sustain drives, and unless their defense gives the offense primo field position, they usually punt. That should rule out a return trip to the Super Bowl. The Steelers, who I was very high on before the season, are minus their QB for another 3-5 weeks. Try as he might, LeVeon Bell can only do so much. Without Roesthilberger, this team will not go very far. But, 9-7 could win that division, so who knows. The Raiders, another team I was very high on, have been great offensively so far, but terrible defensively. The still hold a 5-2 record, and I'd love to see them in the playoffs, but I worry that their defense will make it unlikely. The Chiefs, who I was not so high on, have been pretty good so far. Sure, they got thumped by the Steelers a few weeks ago, but other than that, they have played pretty well. The Bills are well on their way to another 8-8 or 9-7 season. The entire AFC South stinks. The Texans are the worst division leader in all of football. The Colts and Jaguars are bottom feeders and the Titans are so bad on offense, that will hold them back. The Harambes, AKA Bengals, have been very mediocre, and I'm sure RD will agree. The Chargers are bad, but actually kind of fun to watch either blow games late or win games late. The Dolphins and Ravens are destined to be .500, and the Browns may not win a game all year long. The Patriots are, not only the best team in the AFC, but the best team in football. They are 100 percent going to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl this season, barring any major injury.

That means I have the Cowboys playing the Patriots in Super Bowl 51. Yikes. The Patriots should win it going away, if this turns out to be the matchup. I have the Patriots as my new Super Bowl champs. I also have Tom Brady as the MVP. David Johnson might be more deserving, or Julio Jones may put up unprecedented numbers, or Ezekial Elliot may rush for 1,800 yards, but what Brady has done over 3 games, and will continue to do, just to twist the knife in Goodell, will win him the MVP. He is the greatest QB ever, and this season will prove that even further. As far as rookie of the year, I was way, way off on LaQuon Treadwell. This is clearly Elliot's to lose. He has been as good as advertised, and as much as I may dislike his demeanor and the way he carries himself, he has been great this year. I still have Jack Del Rio as my coach of the year. He has the Raiders at 5-2, as I already stated, and they are relevant again. But, I would not count out Bill Belichek. He won 3 of 4 without Brady, and now, they want to crush everyone in their path, as they should. And defensive player of the year should, and probably will be Von Miller. He is incredible and playing incredible. He should own this award for many years to come.

So, that does it for my mid season review. I got some stuff right, but way more wrong. I'm pissed about my love for the Panthers, but happy about my feelings for the Raiders. The NFL is in a rough place, but I still watch and will continue to watch. Come back tomorrow and I will have my mid season college football review. That will be much more fun to write.  

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He may think the Cowboys ccan make the Super Bowl, but in his heart he knows Jerry Jones will ruin the teams chances. Romo is Jones's guy after all. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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The SeedSing 2016 NFL Predictions and Picks

Time to hand out a few game balls

To round out my NFL preview, today I will pick each division winner and who I think will be the two wild cards from each conference. I will also pick the Super Bowl teams and winner. As well as team picks, I will also pick the offensive and defensive players of the year, the offensive and defensive rookies of the year, the coach of the year and the overall MVP. This blog is going to be short and to the point. One sentence as to why I pick each team is all I'm giving myself. If you want to know other reasons I like these teams, you can read my 8 part preview that I finished yesterday.

Let's start with the AFC. The AFC East will be tricky because of Brady's suspension, but I still think the Patriots will win. Brady will come back on fire, and he will, on his own, will this team to the division title. The rest of the teams are either not ready, or not good enough to dethrone the juggernaut that is the Patriots. The AFC West will, most likely, be the toughest division in all of football, with three of the four teams finishing over .500, but I think the Broncos will win it. Their defense is just too good, and they won't give up a lot of points. If the offense averages 20, that would be absolutely huge for them. But, watch out for the Chiefs and the Raiders, they are both coming to dethrone the Broncos. The AFC North will also be a three team race, maybe 2, the Ravens aren't that good, but the Bengals and Steelers will fight it out all season. I see the Steelers winning because they have one of the best offenses in all of football, and their defense is pretty decent. The AFC South is still a joke, but it is getting better. Tennessee still stinks, but the Jaguars are putting together a competitive team. This all comes down to health and performance, and I think the Colts will rebound and win the division, but the Texans will be tough. As far as the wild cards go, I'm going to have to go with the Bengals and the Raiders. The Raiders are going to be good, and the Bengals have become mainstays, even if they cant get out of the first round.

For the NFC, let's start with the lowly NFC East. As I stated many times in my preview, a team with a losing record, like the Cowboys or Giants, could win this division, but I think Washington has the best players and the talent to easily repeat. They will get bounced after one round, but they will make a second straight playoff appearance. The NFC West is a two team race, between the Cardinals and the Seahawks, but the Cardinals are a much, much better team than the Seahawks. If the Cardinals don't win this division with ease, it should be deemed a disappointment. They have the best offense, and their defense is right there with Seattle. Arizona should cruise. With the NFC North, again, we have a two team race between the Packers and the Vikings. I just don't see, especially if they are at full health, how the Packers do not win this division. They have one of the best QB's in all of football, and they have a pretty good defense. Green Bay should win by 2 games. The NFC South is all about the Panthers. They are my best team in the NFL this year, and a lot of other writers agree with me. The Panthers could win their first 10 games and sew up the division with 6 weeks left. They are the cream of the crop. As far as the wild cards from the NFC, I have Minnesota and Seattle, but this may be a last shot for both teams.

I like the Patriots and the Broncos to meet again in the AFC Championship, this time the Patriots will come out on top. And for the NFC Championship, I like the Cardinals and the Panthers, another rematch, with Carolina winning.

That means Super Bowl 51 will be Carolina-New England. As much as I want to pick the Patriots, just so they can shove it in Goodell's stupid smug, arrogant face, I think the Panthers are too good, and they will learn from last season's disappointing loss in the Super Bowl. Carolina is my pick to win Super Bowl 51.

As far as awards go, I like Cam Newton as both, the offensive player of the year and MVP. His time is now, and he will not back down. He has gotten better every year, and I don't see any regression from him. He is awesome. As far as defensive player of the year, I like Luke Kuechly. He is the star defender of one of the better defenses in the NFL. That makes a clean sweep by Panthers in awards and titles. The offensive rookie of the year will probably be some 6th or 7th round pick that a lot of people are overlooking, or if they had the nerve to give it to a lineman, I'd pick Laremy Tunsil, but I think someone like Derrick Henry, who was a second round pick, and will get every opportunity to play for Tennessee or, more likely, Corey Coleman at Cleveland or Laquon Treadwell in Minnesota. Let's go with Treadwell since Minnesota is so much better than Cleveland. For defensive rookie of the year, it will be tough because there are a lot of good, young defenders, but I think I will go with Jalen Ramsey. He may get beat deep sometimes, but he will be a good corner from day one in the NFL. My coach of the year has got to be Jack Del Rio. I love what he has turned the Raiders into, and he will deservedly win this award this year if the Raiders live up to the hype I have put on them.

So that does it for my 2016 NFL preview. Let me know why I'm right or wrong, and football will be here before we know it, thank goodness. Come back tomorrow when I finish off my football previews with my college football preview.

Ty

Editor's Thoughts - I have no major differences with Ty on the playoff teams. I think Kansas City could be better than the Raiders and I do not believe in Seattle. It pains me to say that Tampa Bay could sneak into the playoff picture. Also, the Cincinnati should be called Harambes will win the AFC North. The Cincinnati squad will (FINALLY) win not one, but two playoff games to face Arizona in the Super Bowl. The Queen city will be overjoyed.

The Cardinals will destroy the Bengals by 30-40 points.

RD

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. RD Kulik is the Head Editor and frequent contributor to the X Millennial Man Podcast. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik and make RD happy by supporting SeedSing with straight cash.

Ty Ranks the 2016 NFL Teams: Sleeping in on a Sunday Morning Edition

Then there were 8.

I'm down to the last 2 days of my countdown of the NFL. These are the good teams. They are not the best of the best, but a couple of things break their way, they could find themselves in the Super Bowl. These teams are nearly complete, and they are legit contenders. On with the countdown.

At number 8, I have the Minnesota Vikings. This team took a real big step forward last year. The offense is led by a child abuser, and all out human monster, Adrian Peterson. I know he is a very good running back, but that does not change the fact that he purposefully beat up his 4 year old and showed no remorse for it. Yes, he is good, but every time he gets hit on the field, I hope he gets injured. People who beat up children deserve the worst. At QB, I really want to like Teddy Bridgewater, and maybe this is the year he finally puts it all together. He checks down way too much, but they did draft Laquon Treadwell, who I think can be a good NFL player and he also has Kyle Rudolph at tight end. He is a machine at catching the ball. I also like Stefon Diggs, and he has a full year under his belt. Cordarelle Patterson hasn't put it together yet, and this year may be his last chance, but he can still be good. The Vikings o line is pretty decent as well. Where I think this team is underrated is their defense. They're very formidable. The defensive line is decent, anchored on each end by Danielle Hunter and Everson Griffen. The linebackers are very good, led by Chad Greenway and Anthony Barr. The secondary has very good players, namely Harrison Smith and Andrew Sandejo. They may not be the brightest names, but they are all very good players on a very good defense. Mike Zimmer has also proven to be a capable head coach. This Vikings team is getting better, and they will challenge Green Bay again. I say they finish the season 11-5.

At number 7, I have the Pittsburgh Steelers. Now, first off, I cannot stand this team. They are whiny babies, they complain about everything that doesn't go their way, they are basically the LA Clippers of the NFL. But, they are good. Their QB, another piece of human garbage, is Ben Roethlisberger. When he isn't out allegedly sexually assaulting young females, he is a good to great QB. He is such a terrible person, but he is durable, plays injured and makes throws, so he gets a pass from idiots like Roger Goodell and ESPN. The running game will miss LeVeon Bell after he skipped another drug test and got suspended for four games, but a guy like D'Angelo Williams or Fitz Toussaint will pick up the slack. I know Toussaint fumbled away the playoff game last year, but he is a good enough back that he will get over it, and probably put up decent numbers until Bell gets back. Williams, while older, still runs hard and gains yards. They still have old reliable, Heath Miller at tight end, so that position is still very good. At receiver, they have the wonderful and prolific Antonio Brown. I don't care what kind of stupid hair cut he has when he makes as many catches as he does, racks up as many yards as he does and scores as many TD's as he does. Antonio Brown is awesome. And he is not the only threat. They also have Markus Wheaton, who is very good. The Steelers offense could be lethal. They also have a pretty good defense as well. Guys like James Harrison, Ryan Shazier, Alvin Dupree, William Gay, Jarvis Jones and Shamarko Thomas are all very good at their jobs. They can pressure and cover. This team, as much as it pains me to say it, could very easily make their way, and possibly win, the Super Bowl this season. But, they do have questions. Can Roethlisberger stay healthy and out of trouble? Same for Bell? will Antonio Brown be tired from carrying this team last year? And when will Mike Tomlin make another bone headed decision, because we know it's coming. I think the Steelers will be good, if everything breaks their way. I have them at 12-4.

At number 6, I have the hometown team of our head editor, the Cincinnati Bengals (ed note: Go Bengals). First off, I hope they change their name to the Harambe's, because that would be absolutely incredible. Anyway, they still have Andy Dalton at QB. This guy has to be so frustrating to watch if you are a Bengals fan. He will look great one play, then do something that only Tony Romo does on the next play. He chucks way too may passes in the air as well. He is a complete wild card. But, he does have receivers that are willing and able to try and track down those errant throws. AJ Green is a highlight reel on almost every play. His catches are almost as spectacular as Odell Beckham's. Green is one of the upper echelon receivers in the NFL. Tyler Eiffert is about as reliable as they come. The Bengals need a first down, they go to him. They need 5 yards, they go to him. they need a jump ball in the endzone, it's Eiffert or Green. They also have Brandon LaFell, who I don't think is that bad. The Bengals running game is top notch. They have two awesome backs in Giovanni Bernard and Jeremy Hill. Hill is explosive and Bernard is the bruiser, They both could start on almost any team in the NFL, but they choose to split time, and they are an exceptional duo. The Bengals defense has kind of turned into the old version of the Raiders. They are good, but they are dirty. Look no further than their playoff game last year. Yeah. Vontaez Burfict and Adam Jones are very good, but they are selfish and get way, way too many personal foul penalties. Dre Kirkpatrick is a good corner, but he plays opposite Jones, so that is a no win situation for him. Carlos Dunlap is a good linebacker, but all anyone talks about is Burfict and the penalties. Same for Ray Meauluaga. Very good, but gets overlooked. Carlos Dunlap is a good defensive end too. This Bengals team is good, but can they get out of their own way. I think this may be the last real chance that they have, and they should, at the very least, make it to the second round of the playoffs. I say the Bengals finish 11-5.

At number 5, I have my team, the Green Bay Packers. This team got absolutely ravaged with injuries last year and still almost made the NFC championship game. Aaron Rodgers is solidly in the top 3 of the best QB's playing right now. He has a great arm, runs when needed, throws into minuscule windows and puts up huge numbers. He is the engine that runs this offense. Eddie Lacy, if he loses weight and doesn't get hurt, makes the Packers run game a threat. When he is in there, and running hard, he is tough to take down, and he puts up numbers. I am an Eddie Lacy fan, but he has to show me a good, full season. I do like James Starks as his backup though. He is tall, finds holes and gashes teams for big, big runs. At receiver, this is where is gets dicey. If Jordy Nelson comes back fully recovered, than at least the Packers have one elite wideout. Nelson is very good and they missed him a whole lot more than I though they would last year. Randall Cobb is also very good, but he gets hurt way too much on returns, and he takes a beating going over the middle. He is small, but he plays big. After those guys, it's thin. I do like Richard Rodgers at tight end, but the fact that they are trying out Kellen Winslow Jr tells me they don't have a lot of faith in him. The Packers o line is the weak point of the offense. /they don't protect that well, and they open up very few lanes. They need work. The defense is good, but I feel like it can be better. When you have guys like Julius Peppers, Clay Matthews, Jake Ryan, Mike Daniels, Ha-Ha Clinton-Dix and Sam Shields, you should be better than middle of the pack. They give up big plays way too often. I also want Peppers and Matthews to talk to the guys that accused them of PED's, so they can clear their names. The bottom line, as long as Aaron Rodgers is the QB, this team will be competitive. I see a better year from Lacy and having Nelson back will really help out. I also think the defense will, and should, play a lot better. I think the Packers reclaim their stop at the top of the division and they win 12 games doing that.

Come back tomorrow for the last four teams of my countdown.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is building an eternal flame in his backyard to remember the greatest ever, Harambe. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Ty's (first) Annual NFL Playoff Predicitions

Playoff football and chili. Must be January

The NFL playoffs start this weekend and I have given a preseason (NFC, AFC, and postseason) and a mid season report, now I want to give a playoff preview and prediction. Both my preseason and mid season picks were way off the mark, I'm looking at you Indianapolis and Green Bay. But, with the playoffs now set, I'd like to give it one more crack, maybe this time I'll do better.

This upcoming Saturday we get the AFC first round playoff matchups between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Houston Texans and the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cincinnati Bengals. Both these games should be decent, but I think it's pretty obvious who the winners will be. In the Chiefs-Texans game you have one team, the Chiefs, riding a 10 game winning streak. The Texans were in the AFC South, so 9 wins easily made them the division winners. The AFC South is a joke of a division and while the Texans have a pretty good defense, they have zero offense. They've used way too many quarterbacks this year that are all below average NFL starters. They have had no running game since Arian Foster went down for the season and save for Deandre Hopkins, they have no threats in the passing game. Hopkins is great, but if you can hold him to a 6 or 7 catch game, you can pretty easily beat Houston. The Chiefs aren't much better on offense, but they have way better playmakers. Alex Smith is a much better QB than anyone Houston will throw out there. They have struck gold with their backup running backs, Charcandarick West and Spencer Ware, after losing Jamaal Charles to a torn ACL. They also have a receiver that's almost as big a threat as Hopkins in Jeremy Maclin and they have a much better tight end in Travis Kelce. Oh, and there defense is just as good, if not better than the Texans. Sure, JJ Watt may get a couple of sacks, but what will Houston do with the ball on offense and will they be able to totally shut down the Chiefs? I don't think so. The only thing they have as an advantage is, they're playing at home, but that won't matter. Chiefs win by 10, with the final being 20-10. Pittsburgh and Cincinnati could have been a game, if not for the Andy Dalton injury. Cincinnati gets short changed every season. Sometimes it's their fault, other times, injuries derail this team. They have an okey running game with Giovanni Bernard and Jeremy Hill and they have one of the best receivers in the game in AJ Green, but that won't matter with AJ McCarron throwing and handing the ball off. The Bengals defense is top notch, but they have no one that will be able to slow Antonio Brown even a little bit. The Bengals line may stuff the run and even pressure Roethlisberger a bit, but he will still find Brown. Pittsburgh, on the other hand, has an elite offense clicking at the perfect time. They don't have their typical stout defense, but they can and will outscore opponents. I may not like the person, but Ben Roethlisberger is playing elite football right now. And, as I've mentioned before, he has Antonio Brown to throw the ball to. He also has Markus Wheaton, Heath Miller and Martavis Bryant to throw too as well. They lost LeVeon Bell earlier this year and DeAngelo Williams appears to have gotten injured in their finale, so that leaves the running game to Fitz Toussaint, former Michigan running back, but the Steelers don't need to run to win, In fact, I bet they run only 10 to 15 times the whole game. Steelers win in Cincy, crushing the Bengals playoff dreams in the first round once again, final score of 28-14. 

This Sunday we get the NFC first round matchups of Green Bay and Washington and Seattle and Minnesota. Both should be good, hard fought, close games. Green Bay travels to Washington to face the DC team on a roll right now. Whoever thought Kirk Cousins would be this good is a god damn liar. They have an okay run game, but they like to throw and they play some solid defense. Green Bay is a total enigma. They can never seem to get it going until it's too late, or they play to their ability and they blow out inferior opponents. Green Bay cannot protect Rodgers, their run game is non existent at times, but can also be great and their receivers can't get open, or if they do it's too late because Rodgers got sacked. Rodgers deserves a lot of the blame too for those sacks. Sometimes, when he does get good protection, he just holds on to the ball for way too long. Green Bay's defense is sub par at best. One week they totally shut a team down, the next, they give up big plays This is a total toss up, but I'll take Green Bay because of experience in big games. Washington's players haven't really been in big time playoff games and Green Bay and Aaron Rodgers have. Maybe I'm blinded by my fandom, but so be it. Green Bay wins 17-14. In the other game we get Minnesota and Seattle. Everyone and their mother is back on Seattle's bandwagon, but not me. I have to give credit to Bill Simmons for this, I was listening to his podcast this morning, and reminded me that the Seahawks just lost, only scoring 10 points at home to the Rams 2 weeks ago. Everyone wants to forget that because Russell Wilson has been putting up big numbers and their defense is playing better, but the Rams went to Seattle and owned them. The Vikings are a better version of the Rams. They have a better QB, receivers and a better, albeit a child abuser, running back. Their defense isn't as good as the Rams, but it's still good. The game is in Minnesota at noon as well. That means in Seattle, it's 10am. I know that doesn't sound like an advantage, but it is. I truly believe that Minnesota can replicate what the Rams did even better and I think they win this game. That would be great so everyone, including Chris Collinsworth, can shut the hell up about how great the Seahawks are. I'll take the Vikings in a very low scoring game, 14-10.

The following week we'd get the second round games in each conference. The four teams that had byes will all be in play and the big time games start happening. In the AFC the matchups will be Chiefs-Broncos and Steelers-Patriots. The Broncos will lose this game if they start Peyton Manning. Sure, he came in relief last week and they won, but it was their run game and their number one ranked defense that won, not Peyton Manning. Brock Osweiler deserves his shot. The Chiefs are good, as I mentioned above, but I cannot trust Andy Reid to win a big time playoff game on the road, I just can't. The Broncos have a stable of running backs, they have DeMaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders to throw to and they have the best defense in all of football. I don't see how they lose this game, unless they rely on Peyton Manning to make plays. He's a Hall of Famer, but he's done. Let your young QB start, rely on the run game and let your top of the line defense send you to the AFC title game. Broncos win 20-13. The Patriots-Steelers game will be interesting. Pittsburgh is elite offensively, but so is New England, if healthy. They have Gronk, Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola and a rejuvenated Steven Jackson on offense. But, their O line is very bad and are Gronk, Edelman and Amendola really healthy. Also, Brady took a hit in the Miami game, so who knows if he'll be one hundred percent. Neither of these teams are great on defense, but the Patriots are better. That won't matter because no one can guard Antonio Brown. Sorry New England, but the Steelers will steal this game in Foxborough and head to the AFC title game. Final score, 35-30.

The NFC will feature Green Bay-Carolina and Minnesota-Arizona. Carolina is on fire right now. They're 15-1, they have the MVP in Cam Newton, they have decent and very tall receivers and they have a pretty great defense. They also control the clock with their elite run game. Green Bay is a sitting duck. They've already been beaten once by Carolina this year, one of two teams with a winning record that Carolina has beaten, and they have not learned a thing from that game. Green Bay's season will end and it won't be pretty. Cam Newton is playing fantastic football and they will grind this game out and walk away with an easy victory. Carolina wins 20-7. Arizona and Minnesota will also be a blow out. Arizona has a better defense, a better QB, an equally as good run game and much, much better receivers. Carson Palmer in the runner up MVP and playing some of the best football of his career. Larry Fitzgerald has morphed into the best blocking receiver and best slot guy in all of football. David Johnson has filled in quite nicely for Chris Johnson and Andre Ellington and their offensive line is the best in the NFL. Minnesota had a good run, but it ends in resounding fashion in Arizona. Cardinals win 35-10.

Now we are down to four teams. In the AFC championship we have Denver-Pittsburgh. One relies on offese, the other on defense. Denver has some great corners capable of shutting down Antonio Brown, but I feel like typical Broncos will show up and blow this game. They should win easily. They can rely on their run game to chew clock and keep Pittsburgh offense off the field, but John Elway, Gary Kubiak and Peyton Manning will try to win with Manning being the hero and it will back fire. This game will be close, but Pittsburgh will pull it out and win 27-20. Arizona and Carolina could be a close game, but it won't. Carolina will finally see up close and personal what a real NFL team looks like, with a real offense and a legit defense. They will shut Newton down, they will force them to pass and that will cause turnovers. On offense, Arizona will do whatever it wants. This will be a runaway for the Cardinals. Arizona wins 38-14.

So that leaves us with a Pittsburgh-Arizona rematch in Super Bowl 50. Arizona has the one corner, Patrick Peterson, that can actually give Brown some trouble. They also have an offense that will light up a weak Pittsburgh defense. This game also has the makings of a blowout. I think it will be close until midway through the third quarter and Arizona will run away with the game. Carson Palmer and Larry Fitzgerald will finally get their rings and Bruce Arians will be recognized as one of the best coaches in the NFL. Cardinals roll to a Super Bowl win, final score 35-20.

I feel good about this one.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He is working on a fifth alarm for his big game four alarm chili. 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.

This is the End. The End my Friend Peyton Manning

I bet Peyton could float the ball over those mountains

Sometimes we miss the best time to say goodbye.

Yesterday, while watching the NFL, I witnessed the death of a legend. It was brutal and very, very tough to watch. This guy has been a staple in the NFL since 1996. He was on the radar since he was playing college football. He was the Heisman runner up in 1996. He was and definitely will go down as one of the greatest to ever play quarterback, but Peyton Manning probably played his final NFL and football game yesterday.

It was excruciating to watch. First, he surpassed Brett Favre for most passing yards, but it was less than impressive. The pass that broke the record just floated very slowly through the air until it finally landed in his receivers hands. Lots of cheers were showered down and the players all congratulated him, but his day got far worse after that. Manning couldn't move in the pocket. His passes, as they've looked all season, had no zip. They literally float through the air. When rushed, he almost looked flustered and would just throw the ball to no one in particular. He threw for 35 yards and 4 interceptions before Gary Kubiak and the Broncos coaching staff mercifully pulled him in favor of Brock Osweiler. Osweiler's passes looked great compared to what Manning was putting out there. This was pretty much a mercy kill that's been put on hold for 9 and a half weeks now.

Manning has not looked like himself since the midway point of last season, but yesterday, and this whole season, has been brutal. He looks old. The game looks too fast for him now. It was revealed that he has an injured foot today, but he's looked hurt since the playoffs last year. To give a comparison, Charles Woodson, taken in the same draft, is the leader of the Raiders defense, I know they got throttled yesterday, but he's still performing at a fairly high level. No, Woodson is not the same player he was three or four years ago, but he's not hurting his team.

Now, the Broncos are 7-2 after the Chiefs beat them yesterday, but they're winning with defense. They have no running game at all, they lost Julius Thomas in free agency, and Demaryius Thomas is giving his all, but the ball is not getting to him when it needs to be there. The offensive line isn't good either. Make no mistake, this team is led by its vaunted defense. Who would have thought this just two years ago? The Broncos were in the Super Bowl. Their running game was on fire and Peyton Manning was crushing it. He opened that season with a 7 touchdown performance. He was on fire. The ball was were it needed to be. It was on time and had plenty of zip. Julius and Demaryius Thomas were a lethal combo. Then, in said Super Bowl, they got destroyed by the Seahawks. Last season, they played well in the regular season, but got beat, at home, by an inferior Colts team. And, this was when Manning started to look bad. I thought this was a one time thing, he'd fix it in the off season and be back to his old self when this season started.

I couldn't have been more wrong.

The first time I watched the Broncos play, I was appalled at how bad Manning's throws looked. As I've said many times, the ball just floated very slowly through the air. Receivers just waited on the ball, or had to fight through defensive backs to get to the ball. There were times that receivers looked like they'd get blown up by corners and safeties if they attempted to catch a pass. It's a shame what has happened. It looks like Manning has played longer than he should have. This isn't like Michael Jordan when he was with the Wizards or Brett Favre with the Vikings. At least those two lead those teams to the playoffs. The Broncos will make the playoffs, but not because of Manning's leadership. It's because of their defense. In the case of Jordan, he was still a 20 point per game player. Brett Favre led the Vikings. Without him, that team wouldn't have made the playoffs. It's a bummer.

I watched Manning in college and the pros. He seems like a good guy. I'd much rather hang out with him than Eli. But, his time has come. He needs to retire. He needs to do it now too, not wait until the end of the season. The Broncos need to move on from him and he needs to move on from football. You're one of the greats Peyton Manning, but Father Time has taken over and your career is done. It was a great career. You've won multiple MVP's, shattered records, won a lot of football games and won a Super Bowl. Quite a careerindeed.

Go and enjoy your retirement, you've earned it.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He feels bad for Peyton since he will always be number 2 (runner up in Heisman and runner up to Brady - Go Blue). 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.