Ty Ranks the 2023 NFL Teams: Getting a Drink from the Local Root Beer Stand Division

Today is day seven of my 2023 preseason NFL rankings. This is the cream of the crop. I believe eight teams have what it takes to make a Super Bowl run and these are those teams. Injuries could happen and change it all, but right now these are my eight best teams.

At number eight I have the New York Jets. A lot of people say that they won the offseason when they traded for Aaron Rodgers. A lot of people think he is the answer. They think he will provide some kind of leadership they haven't had in a long time. I don't see it. I do not like Rodgers. That is well known at this point. I also do not think he is worth the headache. He is a malcontent who says stupid things about cancel culture. He is a coach killer because he doesn't listen. He often thinks he is the smartest guy in the room. Also he is older and more creaky. He will be better than Zach Wilson, but who isn't in the NFL right now? Breece Hall should build off a solid rookie year. But, I fully expect Dalvin Cook to be the starter sooner rather than later. He was the best signing of the offseason for them. This receiving corps is old, outside Garrett Wilson. Wilson is awesome. The dude can play. But then they have old Packers lining up at wideout. Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb had to be signed before Rodgers committed. They also went out and got Mecole Hardman, who is very fast, but not much else. The o line is good and will provide Hall and Cook with big holes. The Jets are this high because of their defense. Sauce Gardner is amazing. He may already be the best corner in the league. He is as good as it gets. Quinnen Williams is a run stuffer on the d line. CJ Mosley is a one man wrecking crew at linebacking. And their head coach, Robert Saleh, got this job because of his defensive acumen. The Jets will win because of defense, not because they signed Aaron Rodgers.

At number seven I have the Los Angeles Chargers. The Chargers should be higher, they should have more playoff wins, they should be solid, but they aren't quite there just yet. Justin Herbert is legit. I remember some writer for The Ringer said Herbert wouldn't succeed because he is "too tall". That is hilarious. I wonder if he still has a job there? Austin Ekeler is disgruntled, but they have him for one more season and he is a great dual threat out of the backfield. Keenan Allen is the most dependable wideout in the league. He continues to put up fantastic numbers. Mike Williams needs to cut down on the drops, but he is tall and fast. Quentin Johnson could be special. The o line is very, very good. The Chargers defense is legit too. I despise Joey Bosa's off field stuff. He is a creep. But the guy can russ the pasher. Khalil Mack is one of the best linebackers to ever play in the NFL. Kenneth Murray Jr is excellent right next to Mack. Asante Samuel Jr is a decent cover corner. Derwin James is an all around great football player. The Chargers should be at the top of their division and they should be a no doubt playoff team. We will see what this coach does throughout the year though.

At number six I have the Miami Dolphins. This team has rebuilt very fast and they should be very good this year. Tua Tagovailoa should not be playing professional football. He needs to take time off and get his head right. But, while he is out there, he is solid. He can really sling it. Raheem Mostert is a fine running back, but do not count out them trying to bring in Johnathan Taylor. Tyreek Hill is the fastest wideout in the league and he catches everything. Jaylen Waddle is fastly becoming one of the best deep threats in the league. The o line needs to protect better, and I think they will show some growth this year. Christian Wilkins anchors the d line, and he is good. Bradley Chubb adds a rush from the linebacker position. Xavien Howard is right there with Sauce Garndner as one of the top corners in the league. Eli Apple still has what it takes. This team has the makings to be very, very good this season, especially if they find a way to add Johnathan Taylor.

The final team for the day, at number five I have the Buffalo Bills. The Bills are a very, very, very good team. They just need to figure out how to win when it matters most. They need to figure out how to not blow home playoff games. Josh Allen is a very good starter. I was wrong on him. I thought he was going to be a bust. He is not. He can fling it and he can get tough first downs using his legs. James Cook, Dalvin's brother, talents have translated from Georgia to the NFL seamlessly. Stefon Diggs is one of the best wideouts in the NFL. He is as consistent as they come. Dawson Knox is a very capable tight end. The o line is full of dudes that want to hit. The Bills defense is otherworldly. Greg Rousseau and Ed Oliver form a dominant d line. Von Miller is still one of the best linebackers in the NFL, when he is healthy. Tre'Davious White and Jordan Poyer make up one of the better secondaries in the league. The Bills are a very good team. They need to put it all together when it counts the most. That is when I will rank them higher.

That is it for today. Come back tomorrow for my top four teams of the preseason. 

Ty

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

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Aaron Rodgers is Finally Out of Green Bay

The Packers finally, mercifully, traded Aaron Rodgers. This was going to happen. We all knew it. Let’s discuss.

I wrote a few weeks back that the Packers should hold out for the best possible offer. But no matter what this was going down. I thought it may stretch into draft night, but that didn't happen. The Packers got a ton of picks, the Jets got the QB they wanted and kept a first round pick this year and everyone can wash their hands of this now. It happened, it is over, Jets fans are excited and Packers fans can move on.

As for the Jets, I think they may be a bit ahead of themselves right now. Rodgers is better than what they have, that is for sure. But he is 40. He is weird. He is a headcase. He thinks he runs the franchise he plays for. He complains about everything and everyone. It is never his fault, it is always on someone else. But he is still a solid QB, the Jets have a decent run game and their defense is elite. But they also play in the same division as the Dolphins and Bills. They are also in the same conference with the Chiefs, Bengals, Ravens and the aforementioned Bills. It is going to be tough. I am not even sure they are a playoff team. They will be better, but the fans may also get sick of Rodgers and his nonsense very, very fast. Also, I cannot wait for his dumbass to say something wild and watch the media in New York roast him. His response will be hilarious and interesting.

The Packers can finally go with Jordan Love. I have been saying they should do that for the past couple of years. I have been ready to move on for a while. I have been saying that I was ready for this team to see what they have with Love and figure out if they need to do something else or move on.

I am also happy to say to people that I am a Packers fan again. It felt dirty the past couple of years. When Rodgers showed his true colors I was turned off. He was being lionized by some in the media and that bummed me out too. I cannot stand Pat McAfee, and everytime Rodgers was on his show he would say something wild. And because I follow the Packers I would see headlines about it. I don't have to deal with that anymore. The Jets fans can have that. Look, it got bad enough with Rodgers the past couple of years that I contemplated rooting for a new team. I was thinking of going inter divisional and rooting for the Lions. I was also thinking about skipping out on the NFL all together until playoff time and just being even more focused on college football. I don't have to worry about that stuff anymore. I am oddly excited to see how they look with Jordan Love. I want to see if AJ Dillon and Aaron Jones become a more dynamic backfield. That rookie wideout they had last season who played really well, I like that he is still there. I could see them going with a wideout in the first round this year and building with youth. I'd love that. I also think they could get a QB in the later rounds this year to stash and learn. I also think that Green Bay is a desirable spot because of its history in the league.

This is the first time in a long time that I am pumped to watch the NFL and the Packers. I know, deep down, that they are going to be truly bad, but who cares. Every team goes through a phase like this. The Lions were very moribound. They look very good now. The Vikings won the division last year, but I could see a dip from them. And the Bears have been very bad, but they were a perennial playoff team just a few years ago, and I think they may be on the come up. It is now the Packers turn to have a down year. And who knows, maybe Love is legit and they stay relevant. That would be icing on the cake.

Anyway I'm glad it is over and we can all move on. Rodgers is a dummy and he is now the Jets problem. And Green Bay can really see what they have with Jordan Love. All the teams and fans win. Hooray. 

Ty

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

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So Long Aaron Rodgers

Being a Packers fan has its ups and downs. Sometimes they will enthrall you and deliver a title, but lately it is a good season ruined by a poor playoff performance. Things are not great.

I have never been a fan of Aaron Rodgers, ask RD, and that has come with a whole new set of problems following this team. Ever since the pandemic I have despised Rodgers even more. He lied about being vaccinated. He has claimed that the "woke mob" is after him. He goes on bs "darkness retreats". I have no problem with hallucinogens, but when Rodgers talks about it it drives me bonkers. And now he has come out and said that he intends to play next season, only he wants to play for the Jets.

That is all well and good. I have wanted the Packers to rid themselves of him for the past few seasons. I want to see what Jordan Love has as a starter. I don't mind if this team is not great for the next few years and piles up draft picks to get better. The rest of the division has gotten much better this off season, albeit on paper, and maybe it is just the Packers turn to be bad. But all of this posturing and whining and stating that he wants to play elsewhere next season, even though he is under contract, I just want this to be done. I want Green Bay to move on. The break up is ready. They need to rid themselves of this 40 year old cancer who showed major decline this past season. I'm done. I'm over it. Time to move on.

I will say, all this talk from Rodgers about where he "expects" to play next season, this has given Green Bay all the leverage. The Jets have made no qualms about wanting Rodgers. They said as much, their current players have been pulling for management to make the trade, other sites are already asking questions if Rodgers is one of the best QB's in the AFC and the market for other free agent QB's has diminished quite a bit. Green Bay doesn't have to do anything. They can sit there and wait for the best deal. If Rodgers says he refuses to play for the Packers, okay, eat his salary and let his punk ass sit. They have other options at QB. They already look to be retooling their offense with some of the moves they have made, or more so, have not made. Allen Lazard is gone. Aaron Jones has restructured his contract. Some O lineman look to be on the move. They are going younger at receiver. And they look like a team that is going to lean on defense for the next couple of years. I'm fine with that and so should the fan base.

If I'm in Green Bay's front office, I am asking for a Matthew Stafford type deal that the Lions got. I want a similar player and a boat load of picks. If they come with Zack Wilson, I'd ask for someone like Breece Hall or Garrett Wilson. So what if the Jets balk? Where else is Rodgers going to go? Who else can come in with a last minute deal that may entice the Packers? The only other team I would even talk to right now would be Baltimore, and that conversation stops instantly if they don't offer Lamar Jackson. Rodgers may think he has leverage, he may think he is playing chess while everyone else is playing checkers, but he screwed himself by revealing the single team he wanted to play for. That squashes almost all other options out there. He has painted himself into a corner, not the Packers. They don't have to make a move unless they are absolutely blown away by what the Jets offer. I would hold out as long as possible. I would wait and wait and wait for the Jets to blink. They have already corronnated this move, yet it hasn't happened yet. I'm sick and tired of this old ass has been, but you better believe I would make him wait and cringe.

The Packers are not the problem here, and they haven't been the problem for a long, long time. I hope when the season starts Rodgers is not there, but I would not do any type of deal unless I am secured for awhile. 

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 - The Over Hopped IPA Recommended by the Dude with a Beard Division

Welcome to day three of my 2022 NFL countdown.

Coming in at number 24 I have the Carolina Panthers. You may say, but Ty they now have two QB's. I'd come back with, yeah those two QB's are Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold. Both guys have not been good. Both guys have been traded from their original teams. Both guys are more known for their on field issues. They are not the answer at QB. Then you might counter with, but Christian McCaffery is back. He is always, always injured. He has only ever put together one full season. I do not trust him one bit to stay on the field for a full season. Then it gets even worse for this team. The receiving corp is either bad or doesn't trust the new QB. I've never heard of the tight end. The O line is nameless as well. The defense has a few solid players, but two are injured already. Jaycee Horn is out for a bit and who knows how long Shaq Thompson will be out for. Brian Burns is solid, he just needs to put it together. The rest of the defense is very blah. The Panthers are going to get a front row seat to how overrated Baker Mayfield truly is. Matt Rhule also seems way over his head in the NFL. I bet he will find his way back to college after the Panthers win 6 or 7 games and miss the playoffs yet again this season.

At number 23 I have the New England Patriots. How the mighty have fallen. It does seem like maybe, just maybe Bill Belichek needed Tom Brady more than Brady needed him. Mac Jones is not the answer. Sure, he was a pro bowler last season, but who really cares. He has also looked lost this offseason. Damien Harris just retired, so they are left with Ty Montgomery and someone named Rhamondre Stevenson at running back. Yeesh. The receiving corps isn't great by any means. The O line is not even close to the strength it used to be. And this defense took a step back last season. They looked old and slow. Josh Uche could add a solid pass rush. Devin McCourty is still very solid in the secondary. But everyone is gone. They have either been traded or cut. This team is full of guys still trying to stick in the league, or are still very young. The Patriots are in a tough spot. They may finish last in their division. I see only 7 wins, tops, for this team.

At 22 I have the New Orleans Saints. Jameis Winston is hurt. Andy Dalton is the backup. Oof magoof. Alvin Kamara may get suspended and Mark Ingram is his backup. Michael Thomas missed all of last season and who knows what he will play like this season. Chris Olave has great potential, but I don't know if he will see tons of targets. Jarvis Landry is washed. The O line is good, but not great. The Saints defense has never been a strength. They do have good players, but not a collection of good players. Cam Jordan is a very good D end, but he is old. Tyrann Mathieu is incredible, but he is also old. Marcus Davenport needs to step it up. Paulson Adebo is taking over for a high pick. I would hope, if I were a fan, that this team could put it together, but there are far too many question marks. This is a 8 win team who will miss the playoffs again. They are still rebuilding, even if they won't admit it.

The final team today, at number 21 I have the New York Jets. Will the Jets ever figure it out? Zach Wilson just had surgery and apparently he likes to hook up with his mom's friends. Look it up. Breece Hall was great in college, but I don't know if he will figure it out in the NFL. Garret Wilson was a very good pick. It seemed like the Jets actually did the smart thing with this pick. But Elijah Moore and Corey Davis are not great. Their O line is fine. The defense got a great pick in Sauce Gardner at corner. He has the potential to be a shutdown corner in the league. CJ Mosley is a very good linebacker. Quinnen Williams is a solid interior D lineman. The Jets have some really good pieces in defense. This should be their strength. If Zach Wilson plays better and Breece Hall can be an every down back and if Garret Wilson can get some targets the Jets can win some games. I could see them winning 8 or 9 games. I really like this defense. That is why I think they can win more than others.

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 Ranks the 2021 NFL Teams - Better Luck Next Year Division

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Welcome to day 2 of my NFL countdown. Let's get right to it.

At number 28 I have the New York Jets. This team has not seemed to figure it out yet. They continue to make bad decisions in the front office and at the draft. They let guys go or guys ask to leave. They do not want to stay there too long. I do like the hiring of Robert Saleh, and if given the time, I think he can turn it around. Just not this year. The issues at QB have not been addressed, even with them taking Zach Wilson second overall. I do like that they are going to let him play through the rough stuff, but there is going to be a lot of rough stuff this year. He is not ready, but he will get the playing time. Tevin Coleman was good about three years ago, but with the Jets, he is their best option at running back. They let their best receiver walk, and now they are left with guys that have not shown they can be consistent. The O line is very blah, but it will not matter much because this team doesn't have the skill guys to do much with the ball. I do think the defense will be better because that is Salah's calling card. They do not have many guys, but they do have CJ Mosley, Byrce Hall and Quinnen Williams. Those are solid building blocks at all three levels of the defense. The rest of the guys are so so, but Saleh will coach them the hell up. They will be better on that side of the ball than they have been in awhile. In the end, the Jets have no offense, but a defense that will help them hang around and maybe even win three or four games. Give Saleh time though and the Jets could be a playoff team in three years.

At number 27 I have the Chicago Bears. The Bears finally moved on from Trubisky, and I love the Justin Fields pick, they just do not have much else. The Bears have needed to rebuild for years now, and they look like they may be on their way to doing just that. Also, Fields should be the starter. This whole Nick Foles and Andy Dalton dance is the dumbest thing I have seen. They need to give the keys to Fields and let him ride. He is the future at QB. Running back is not great with Tarik Cohen being hurt and having David Montgomery as their starter. He's fine, he ran for 1,000 yards last season, but I do not see a repeat of that this year. They were able to re-sign Allen Robinson, which will help Fields, but the rest of the receivers are not great. They also need better tight ends, especially if they are going to be a play action team. The O line is fine, but not great. The defense is not what it was two years ago, but they do still have Khalil Mack. That dude is awesome. He is probably the best linebacker in the NFL. He just doesn't have much help. Danny Trevathan is always hurt. Akiem Hicks hasn't really panned out. Roquan Smith needs to stay healthy. Tashaun Gipson is not great. They just are not at that elite level anymore. They seem to have fallen off a bit. The Bears are not the playoff contender they were two and three years ago, but they have done the right thing moving on from Trubisky. Now they have to let Fields run the damn thing. It won't equate to many wins, but it would be a step in the right direction.

At number 26 I have the Denver Broncos. This is another team that had an elite defense, a Super Bowl winning defense, but the offense is really, really bad. They should be starting Teddy Bridgewater. He more than deserves that role. He has come back from a gruesome injury and seems to be as good as he looked at times with Minnesota. Starting Drew Lock would be a major mistake. They need to move on from him now. He is not the answer, clearly. They let Phillip Lindsay walk and they are going with Melvin Gordon. Gordon was great at times with the Chargers, but he has not been the same with Denver. He bet on himself, which I have mad respect for, but it has not paid off. I like Jerry Jeudy and KJ Hamler as a wideout duo, but Hamler has yet to put it together and Jeudy is a rookie. Courtland Sutton seems to be a one season wonder too. The O line is fine, but again, not elite. They should let Bridgewater start, but we will see where they go from here. The defense is solid, but as we saw last season, when they spend all game on the field, it is rough for them. Von Miller is awesome, an all timer, a hall of fame player. He is legit. I also really like Bradley Chubb. He has more than lived up to the hype. Kyle Fuller is a solid defensive back. And Ronald Darby can play. But they spend way, way too much time on the field. They cannot win many games that way. I saw that with Michigan football two of the past four seasons. It is not a recipe for success. The Broncos could win five or six games with Bridgewater, but if they go with Drew Lock, it is more like three or four wins.

The final team for today, coming in at number 25, I have the Atlanta Falcons. First things first, my hat goes off to the Falcons for being the first team to be 100 percent vaccinated. That rules. I think that is great. They did the right thing as an organization, and they will reap the rewards. This is a big win for them. For the on field play, that is going to suffer. Matt Ryan is still the QB. He was good, an MVP a few years back, but he has been on a downward trajectory for the past three seasons. He just hasn't found the magic from his MVP year. I thought they were going to draft a QB, but they didn't, and now they have Ryan, AJ Mccarron and Feliepe Franks. That is not great. Todd Gurley did not have a great year, and they let him walk. That bums me out. I thought he could turn it around. They now have Mike Davis, and while he is a great fantasy player because he bowls guys over the TD's on the goal line, I do not know if he has the ability to be a full time starter. He is good though. They traded Julio Jones and that is a big blow to their offense. He was that guy that could go and make something out of nothing. Calvin Ridley is fast, and that is it. Their other receivers, I have never heard of. They drafted Kyle Pitts number six overall, and if you go back to my draft preview, I think he was very overhyped. He is very tall and physical, but he is also a rookie. There will be a big time learning curve. The O line is fine. The Falcons have struggled mightily on defense ever since their Super Bowl run. There is no one that stands out. Maybe Dante Fowler will find his groove, but he hasn't yet. Maybe he is what he is as an NFL player already. The secondary is filled with questions, the linebackers are blah and the D line looks like it will give up tons of big running plays. The Falcons had the chance to be a perennial playoff power, but since blowing that lead to the Patriots, they have never recovered. The team is past its prime. Again, I love love love that they are all fully vaccinated, and they should be rewarded for that. But this team will not win more than five games this season.

Come back tomorrow for the next four teams. We are getting to the better teams soon.

Ty

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

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Is Le'Veon Bell Still Worth the Attention

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Yesterday, a few days after being released by the Jets, Le’Veon Bell signed with the Chiefs.

On paper this is a solid signing. He is a decent enough back still, doesn't have as many miles on him as he maybe should, and he wanted out of a bad situation and ended up in a great situation. This also adds, in theory, a ton more firepower to an already loaded offense. I don't exactly know how Bell will fit in, and the rookie they have, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, has been really solid so far, but if you can get Bell on a deal like the Chiefs did, why not take a half a year chance on him. So kudos to the Chiefs for taking a chance on a guy that can make them even more lethal than they already are. But, has anyone in a long time had further of a fall than Bell did after sitting out a whole year due to contract stuff?

For those that may not know, Bell sat out an entire year because he felt he was underpaid and overused. In both cases he was right, at the time. And, I agreed with his decision. He was making the best decision for himself, the team was essentially abusing him and running backs' shelf lives in the NFL are so short now, why not get paid the most you can when you can? Bell made the correct financial decision. But, was it the right career move? That is a loaded question. Bell did get paid, eventually. He also sat out a whole year of his prime. This was good and bad. It was good because it helped him preserve his body and possibly prolong his career. It hurt because he was one of the best, if not the best overall back in the league at the time, and he took off a full season. He just sat there and waited. Pittsburgh was never going to trade him or pay him that year, and they found a suitable player to take over, James Connor. The Steelers called his bluff, and unfortunately for Bell, he did not win. They eventually traded him to the Jets, and the Jets paid him. They gave him pretty much what he wanted, and it all seemed rosy at first. I remember people praising the deal, and people saying this was going to put them over the top, and that they could contend soon. I even liked the move at the time.

Then the Jets hired Adam Gase as head coach, and it all went down from there. The two of them did not get along. They constantly butted heads and aired stuff publicly. Gase told the media that everyone except Sam Darnold was available for trades last year, and this rubbed Bell the wrong way. And then Bell's play on the field suffered. He did nothing, at all, for the Jets. I don't know if it was play calling, if he lost a step, if he didn't try because he disliked the coach and already got paid, but the Jets version of Le’Veon Bell was so far removed from the Pittsburgh version. He was a forgettable player. I honestly forgot he was still playing until the Jets released him. I did see that they were trying to trade him, but they couldn't even get a 7th round pick for him. Then he had a list of teams that he would play for, but some, including the 49ers, said stuff like, "we are good with our guys". Bell wasn't even wanted now. And whenever a player puts out a list of teams they will play for, that is a sign to me that they are grasping at straws, trying to stay relevant. When Bell whittled his "list" to three teams, some reporter noted it was the Jets next three opponents. That is such a childish move in my book. And now that he has signed with the Chiefs, I just kind of shrug my shoulders.

I know it looks good on paper, but what really is he going to bring them? He isn't the runner he used to be, he is not as good a pass catcher, and the Chiefs already have better, younger talent at the position. This kind of feels like late Lesean McCoy. McCoy was supposed to be the "guy" for Buffalo, but he just kind of faded. The Bills went with the younger players, and they were better, and stayed healthy. I kind of see that happening with Bell. I think he will come in this season, not do much, Edwards-Helaire will cement his spot as the number one back and Bell will be gone as soon as the season is over, looking for another new team.

I feel for Bell because I fully supported and understood why he sat out a year. But his bluff was called, and more than answered, and now he is a nomadic, has been running back. He had those early good years, but now, he just seems like a guy that will take one year deals, until he is out of the league in the next two to three years. At least he got his though. That cannot be taken away from him. 

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 2019 NFL Teams: Pineapple Pizza Division

We are a mere few days away from preseason NFL football, so that means I am going to spend the next 2 weeks talking about the NFL and college football. Much like the past, with the NFL, I am going to rank the teams from 32 to 1, in my personal order. I will give a few brief sentences as to why I have a team where I have them, and what I think their season will look like.

I do need to say, the NFL is getting tougher and tougher for me to watch. The people at the top do not care about the safety of players, the refs are dreadful, Roger Goodell is an absolute dolt and players who abuse women and children seem to get off scott free. It is so irritating and ridiculous. Colin Kaepernick cannot even get a tryout with a team, but guys like Richie Incognito and Tyreek Hill get chance after chance after chance. It is disgusting. My NFL watching can be boiled down to The Redzone Network. I do not watch full games anymore, unless it is the playoffs or Super Bowl, and the NFL is more about Fantasy Football for me than anything else now. College football is much different, but I will explain more about why when I get to my NCAA football preview.

Anyway, I do like doing these rankings, so lets get to it.

At number 32 I have the Arizona Cardinals. I do not think I have seen a franchise fall so hard so fast. Things in Arizona are bleak right now. I cannot believe they gave Kliff Kingsbury, a guy that got fired from Texas Tech, and has a losing overall record, the head coaching gig. I assume he got it because he is buddies with Sean McVay, but that doesn't make him Sean McVay. If he lasts one season I will be stunned. I loved Kyler Murray in college, but he is going to be begging to go back to baseball halfway through the season. He is going to get just as abused as Josh Rosen did last year. Also, why did they give up on Rosen so quick? He had nothing at all, besides Larry Fitzgerald and David Johnson, and yeah he struggled, but I thought he looked better than other rookies like Sam Darnold at times last year. He was not given a fair shot. The aforementioned Fitzgerald and Johnson are back, but dos it matter. I love Fitzgerald, but he is very, very old. And Johnson is not the back he was before tearing his ACL. Also, I don't think Kingsbury will use him properly. They have no o line as I already stated, and outside of Johnson and Fitzgerald, I cannot name one other skill position guy. Their defense is not very good either. Tyrann Mathieu left 2 years ago, Patrick Peterson wants out and everyone else is very blah. The Cardinals stink, and I cannot believe they think Kliff Kingsbury is the answer at head coach. This team is an absolute disaster. I will be stunned if they win 3 games this year, and they retain Kingsbury at season's end.

At number 31 I have the Oakland Raiders. You may see that and think, but they got Antonio Brown and he and Derek Carr will click. And, they drafted Josh Jacobs to be their running back of the future. And Gruden is bringing in veteran leadership. I say no to all of that. Antonio Brown is a great receiver, but he is 31 years old, and he is a diva. Derek Carr is awful and loves Jesus far too much to take football 100 percent seriously. Josh Jacobs is already at odds with the coaching staff, and I don't know if he is even signed yet. And the "veteran leadership" is Richie Incognito and Vontaze Burfict. I mean, Jesus Christ is that scary, and not in a good way. Those two will surely put multiple teammates in the hospital because they "looked at them wrong". And Jon Gruden might be the most overrated head coach in the NFL, by about a thousand miles. The game has passed him by, and last year showed that big time. He still thinks he runs the show, and that the players will buy into his nonsense. They won't. The first time he tries to say something to Brown, or criticize Carr, they will fight back. Well, Brown will at least. The Raiders have become the Knicks of the NFL. They used to be important, but now they are a joke of a franchise. The gap between them and the Cardinals is not as far as you may think. The Raiders front office disgusts me with their offseason signings, and how they have handled the whole Josh Jacobs situation. Also, while I think Clelin Ferrell is great, he was a major reach at number 4 in the draft. The Raiders are lost. They will not win anymore than 5 games this year. But, they will be the most dysfunctional team in the NFL.

The two New York teams will close out the rankings today. At number 30 I have the Giants. The Giants made the worst reach of the draft this past draft when they took Daniel Jones at number 6. He is like Eli Manning right now. Not past Eli, and not kind of still had it Eli. I mean current Eli. Jones is supposed to be the future, but he has bust written all over him. He is tall, slow and not very accurate. He also won nothing in college. He is 2019 Jay Cutler, except Cutler was even better coming out of college. Daniel Jones is not going to be a good pro. What the Giants do have is Saquon Barkley. He is great. But, he is a running back, and he can only do so much. I fear that they will overwork him, and by the time he is 27 or 28, he will be out of the league. He is dynamite right now, but all those hits he is taking will take a toll. They have no receiving threats now that Odell Beckham is gone. Corey Coleman is done for the year, Golden Tate is suspended for the first games and who knows when Sterling Shepard will be back from his injury. The o line is suspect and the defense is terrible. The Giants are very far removed from being in the Super Bowl. They are even further removed from being a playoff contender. They are just a bad football team right now, and their future does not look very bright. Unless Saqoun Barkley turns into Bo Jackson, the Giants will be a 4 or 5 win team, at best. Even when Daniel Jones takes over for Eli Manning.

My final team for the day is the Jets. This front office is almost as bad as the Raiders front office. Todd Bowles did not get a fair shake, and now they are letting Adam Gase run the whole franchise. That sentence should send shivers down Jets fans spines. Gase is a mediocre NFL coach, and he is going to ruin this team for years to come. First off, they way overpaid for LeVeon Bell this offseason. Sure, he was great in Pittsburgh, but they had an o line there, and James Connor proved that Bell might not be as great as many perceived him to be. Also, he has not played football in a year, and while he may be rested, he hasn't been hit at all, and he lost an entire year of his prime. His holdout, while it worked in the end as far as getting paid goes, really backfired on the field. I mean, he is now on the New York freaking Jets. Sam Darnold is pretty far away from being the franchise QB they were hoping for when they drafted him 4th overall last year. He makes far too many mental errors with the ball. As I said, they have no o line to speak of. And I cannot name one single receiver. Bell will get his touches, but when he is routinely facing 8 men fronts, it won't matter. Their defense is best known for having a player that tackled, and injured, a mascot at the Pro Bowl last year. This team is a mess too. Adam Gase is a dumb dumb, and the Jets are going to be bad once again. They just don't have the guys to win many games. I'd say their ceiling is about 6 wins.

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. Let’s not forget that two years ago Ty and the head editor had the Cardinals and Raiders on the cusp of the Super Bowl. My, how things have changes.

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What are the Jets and Cardinals Thinking?

artist depiction of Ty trying to make sense of the new NFL coaches

I need to watch "Bandersnatch" one more time before I write about it, there is a ton to unpack. But I promise that will be coming to you guys tomorrow. With that being said, I do need to talk about some more NFL coaching news. I said what I had to say about Matt LaFleur and the Packers yesterday. But, there are 2 more hires that have me even more startled and flabbergasted than LaFluer to Green Bay. The 2 in question you ask, Adam Gase to the Jets and, even worse, Kliff Kingsbury to Arizona.

Lets unpack the Gase hiring first. I know that he has somewhat of a background in offense, but you are going to go with a guy that has an overall losing record in his career as a head coach and struggled mightily in Miami the past 2 years? Why? How is this any different than what they have done the past 3 years with Todd Bowles? Hell, I think Bowles is a better head coach, who was put in a horrible situation. I assumed, much like a lot of other people, that the Jets would go with one of these young offensive gurus. Hell, I even read all the stuff about them willing to give Jim Harbaugh a "offer he couldn't refuse", like they're the god damn mafia or something. But no, they went with a guy with a career record of 23-25. A guy that couldn't develop Ryan Tannehill, although I don't think anyone really can. A guy that way overused a future hall of fame running back in Frank Gore. And a guy that couldn't get his defense to stop anyone. This is odd. As I said, I figured they'd go with a young offensive guy, or even a veteran coach with a slight background in offense. I thought they were primed to hire someone that has worked with Sean McVay, like his QB coach. Or I thought they would try and lure Josh McDaniels. I thought maybe they would go after a college coach with a high octane offense. Or, which if they had done this I would have cracked up, Mike McCarthy. But they chose Gase. I feel like anyone of the people I mentioned would have been a better hire, especially for Sam Darnold. He is young, but I feel like he has a bright future that will now be stunted. Gase is going to want to do the whole ball control thing and win ugly. That is not what the Jets need. They need to let Darnold fling it, take some lumps on the way and turn into the type of QB you can build an offense around. Hiring Gase is more likely to push Darnold's emergence back for awhile. I don't think it is too much to say that it may even ruin him. This is a head scratcher.

But what the Cardinals did may be the worst hire of the entire offseason. I usually don't agree with Stephen A Smith, pretty much never, but I do think he is right that this is a bad hire. He took it a bit too far, but his main idea behind his insane rant, I agree with. What has Kingsbury done in his entire coaching career to merit a job as an NFL head coach? He went 35-40 in his career at Texas Tech. He has had 3 straight losing seasons. And it's not like he is playing in the SEC. Texas Tech is a Big 12 team. Sure, they would start the year strong, but that would be against far inferior opponents. When they had to play the Oklahoma's and Texas' and even the Kansas State's of the world, his "explosive" offense was shut down. They couldn't do a thing against a semi competent defense. But he somehow turned that into a NFL head coaching job. What makes this hire even odder, he had to resign from USC as their OC just to get an interview. It wasn't a given that he would get the job, but he quit anyway just to interview. But, to make it more and more weird, it seems Arizona was just waiting for him to quit to interview him and give him the job. I mean, what the hell?! I know he coached Patrick Mahomes in college, but that was college. I know he pushed Baker Mayfield out of Tech for a different QB, but so what. I know he has ties to Sean McVay. But a NFL head coach he is not.

Also, I do not think his offense will translate to the NFL. I know that the NFL has become obsessed with the college game, and the wide open spread passing attacks, but what team in the NFL truly plays that way that is any good? Sure, the Browns started to play the spread a bit more after Hue Jackson got fired, but they finished with a losing record. The Ravens added some spread elements when Lamar Jackson took over, but they got bounced in the first round, and as much as I like Jackson, and think he will be a star, he fumbled far, far too much. Some may say the Rams run it, they do not. The Rams like to run the ball with Gurley to open the pass game. Everything goes through their running back. The only team left in the playoffs that run some form of spread is the Chiefs. But, they have a multitude of weapons. They have the right speed guys. They run the ball and they use the tight end. Who does Arizona have besides Josh Rosen, who I have already read that they may be willing to trade so they can take Kyler Murray? They have David Johnson, but he is not the same guy after his injury. He just doesn't have that explosiveness that he did 3 years ago. I love love love Larry Fitzgerald, but I think he might be older than me, and in NFL years he may as well be 100. Outside of those guys, I cannot think of one solid offensive NFL player. Their defense, especially if they trade Patrick Peterson, and I hope they do for his sake, is bad. And Kingsbury doesn't care about defense anyway.

This hire reminds me a ton of when Washington hired Steve Spurrier, except Spurrier actually won double digit games year after year and he won national titles. Kingsbury never did that. But Spurrier was supposed to revolutionize the game. And when they exploded in his preseason debut, everyone thought the game was going to change. I don't remember, did that happen? Did Spurrier win a bunch of games and super bowl's? Did he coach a ton of MVP's? Did he even last three years? No, no and no. And Kingsbury is a far inferior coach compared to Spurrier. This is bizarre. I cannot believe a team that I kind of like would hire such a poor coach to run their team. This is going to blow up in their face for sure. I'm certain he won't make it through his entire contract. Kliff Kingsbury is the new Lane Kiffin. He is failing upwards and it is puzzling. I'm shocked by this. It will never, ever make sense to me. What a weird thing to do.

The Packers made a strange hire, and then the Jets made a stranger one, and then the Cardinals upped them all and made the strangest of head coaching hires. To quote the great Vince Lombardi, “What the hell is going on out here”.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is waiting for the Cincinnati Bengals to make all these hires look good when they bring in the top Madden player to run their squad.

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Ty Ranks the 2017 NFL Teams: The "Attack of the Clones" Edition

Football is almost here. We are about 2 and a half weeks from the college football season and about 3 weeks from the NFL kickoff to the 2017 season. The next 2 weeks are going to be all football from me. I did my politics yesterday and I will still do mini recaps of "Bar Rescue", and any movie or music I may hear the next couple weeks, but for the most part, it is going to be football all day, everyday. As I did last year, I'm going to count down the teams from 32-1. I will give a few sentences as to why I put the teams where I put them, and move on to the next one. At the end of my countdown, I will do predictions and award winners. The next day, I will do my NCAA football preview. Alright, lets get to it.

Coming in at number 32, the worst team in the NFL will be the New York Jets. The Jets are an absolute train wreck, and it has nothing to do with Todd Bowles. I actually think he is a decent coach, but that front office has left him with nothing to work with. They let Eric Decker, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Geno Smith, David Harris, Darelle Revis and Brandon Marshall leave and got nothing in return. Their receiving core is a joke. They have no one of any importance. Bilal Powell is a good running back, but when teams load the box every down, he will be lucky to average 3 yards a carry. The line is older, and worse. Their QB is Christian Hackenberg. That should strike fear in all Jets fans across the country. As far as all accounts from preseason training camps, where everyone is supposedly doing great, he couldn't even break a huddle properly. The 7 year olds I coach in flag football know how to break a huddle. He is going to stink. As far as their defense, they still have Sheldon Richardson, but he may get suspended like he has the past 2 years, and I don't think he is 100 percent engaged in football. They got rid of David Harris, their mainstay middle linebacker, without telling the coach. Their secondary is a joke too. This team is a disaster. I wouldn't be surprised if they go 0-16.

Coming in at number 31, I have the Chicago Bears. How can a team that finally got rid of Jay Cutler get worse? They can trade a bunch of picks to move up one spot and take Mitch Trubisky. Also, enough of this, "he looked great in their preseason opener against Denver". Denver was playing fourth string guys and were running completely vanilla coverages. Blake Bortles did this same thing as a rookie in preseason. Anyone still on the Blake Bortles bandwagon? I didn't think so. The Bears also went out and gave Mike Glennon a 3 year 45 million dollar contract. That was not a typo, you read that right. Oh, and they also signed Mark Sanchez. Yeesh. As far as the O Line, does it really matter with this team. They are going to be awful no matter what. They let Alshon Jeffrey walk, and their "top" receiver, Kevin White, has played in maybe 4 or 5 total games his NFL career. They have a decent run game with Jordan Howard and Jeremy Langford, but how much good will that do when they are always playing from behind. The run game will be moot. Their defense is not much better. They can't stop the run or the pass. You need to be able to stop both of those to win a good amount of football games. This once great franchise is at a very low point right now, and I don't think Trubisky or Glennon or Sanchez are the guys to dig them out. They will be cellar dwellers for awhile.

Coming in at number 30, I have the San Francisco 49ers. This is the team that fleeced the Bears, hence why they are one spot ahead of them in my countdown. Look, I actually like their defense a little bit. They made a great pick, when they had to move down one spot, and got Soloman Thomas. He is a great D-Lineman to build their run stop and pass rush around. They also have decent, young players in the secondary and at linebacker. The problem with this team is their offense. I think Carlos Hyde is one of the more overrated players in the NFL. People always mention him as a good fantasy player, or as a sleeper that can have a big year. I don't buy it. Their line is weak. Their receivers are worse than what the Rams have. And they wouldn't even try and resign Colin Kaepernick, who led them to a Super Bowl. They instead decided to sign Brian Hoyer. Why does Brian Hoyer keep getting jobs? He is not that good of a QB. I wouldn't even want him as a backup. They also hired Kyle Shanahan as their head coach after letting Chip Kelly go. Shanahan is a great coordinator, but how will he do as the top guy, and how will he recover from that epic collapse in the Super Bowl? Time will tell. And if they give Kirk Cousins an enormous contract after this season I will lose my god damn mind. Cousins is not some great QB that people, including Kyle Shanahan, keep saying he is. The 49ers are in the midst of a deep rebuilding project. At least they got one over on the Bears at the draft. That may be their biggest win of the 2017 season.

Coming in at number 29 I have the Cleveland Browns. I really can't grasp what this team is trying to do. They went out and signed some good O-Lineman this offseason, but does it really matter when Cody Kessler, Brock Osweiler or Deshone Kizer are the QB? Also, who is their running back? I have no idea. That is not a good sign. They also let Terelle Pryor walk, and he was their best receiving threat since Josh Gordon. I cannot figure out what they are trying to establish as their identity on offense. It is maddening, and I do not even like this team. And on defense, I know they gave former Patriot, who was traded in the middle of the season, Jamie Collins big time money, but is he really a cornerstone for any defense? They also reached big time for Jabrill Peppers in the late first round. I love Peppers, he was electrifying for Michigan, but I do not see how that translates to the pros. He is too small to play linebacker and not a good enough cover to play corner. I hope he proves me wrong because I want all Michigan players to succeed, but I do not see it yet. As far as their D-Line, it is very ho hum. They do not have any single pass rusher or run stopper that really excels. Same thing for their secondary. It is incredibly average. Hue Jackson deserves better than this, but he willingly took this job. The Browns will continue to be irrelevant until they get some competent players.

That is it for today. Come back tomorrow for my next 4 teams.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He will always root for a former Wolverine int he NFL, unless they play for the Rams. Screw that team and their terrible owner.

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The Sad and Scary Death of Joe McKinght

I was going to review Childish Gambino's new record today, but that will have to wait until Monday because I need to address the horrible tragedy that happened to former NFL running back Joe McKnight.

I was watching ESPN yesterday, and I saw scrolling on the bottom of my screen, that McKnight had died at the age of 28. I could not believe it when I saw it. I thought it may have been one of those death hoax things, but as I dug deeper, I found out I was very wrong. I needed to know what happened to him.

I remember vividly watching him in college. I am not a USC fan by any means, but when he played there, I found him a joy to watch. He was on their team after the Reggie Bush/Lendale White era, in which their running game was second to none. I never thought they would be as good on the ground as they were with those guys, but Joe McKnight was damn near as good as they were. He was very fast. He burst through holes and kicked into second gear and ran away from defenders. He was patient when waiting for holes to open up. He was a good receiver out of the backfield. Hell, he could even block. He was the total package. He didn't win the Heisman like Bush did, but he was a very good college football player.

McKnight turned his college career into a halfway decent pro career. He was a fourth-round pick by the Jets, and since I followed him in college, I followed his pro career. He wasn't a great pro, but he was pretty decent. He became a key contributor right away, He was a change of pace back for the Jets. They put him in on third downs a lot, especially to run screen plays. He became a key guy on a decent Jets team. His career was cut short due to multiple injuries, but I always remembered him being a joy to watch. Like I said, he had world class speed and vision, and just did the right things on the football field. He was a much better college player, but he was still a decent pro.

So, when this news flashed yesterday, as I said before, I could not believe it. First, he was 6 years younger than me. I am at that point in my life where I am older than the college athletes that I watch, and critique, so when someone this young dies, it literally shakes me to my core. Then, I thought that it was some kind of freak thing. Maybe he had a bad fall, maybe he had an unexplained illness that none of us knew about, maybe he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, I just couldn't figure it out.

But, later in the day, the news reported that the way he died was much, much more gruesome and disturbing than anything that I could ever think of. He was shot and killed by someone with road rage. What the hell? What has this world come to? Why does stuff like this happen so often now? Why are guns so readily available and easy to get? It is so, so sad. I mean, earlier in the week we had the terrible and disturbing situation at Ohio State, and now some gun loon, with a very short fuse, shot someone over something so insignificant. I get road rage, not as bad now because I have kids, but I have never, ever thought that someone that cut me off needed to be physically harmed. What in the hell is the matter with this person that felt they needed to shoot Joe McKnight? I heard that there was a confrontation, but it should never come to something as terrible as this. Why do crazy people get guns? And why do they think that they need to use them when they have any confrontation? Things can be solved so much easier by just using your words. Just talk. Calm the hell down and take a breath.

That is the problem. We have become a culture of people that act without thinking. It is sad. I mean, look at the election results, that was purely based on people not thinking at all. Then, we had the Ohio State incident, and now the tragic death of Joe McKnight. How much worse can 2016 truly get? This monster that took Joe McKnight's life, over some road rage, deserves to be put in jail for the rest of their life. This is a disturbed individual that thinks guns are a way to solve problems. That should terrify people.

This is such a sad and tragic event. Joe McKnight was so young and had a long, long life ahead of him. He seemed like he was a decent person. I do not remember him getting into trouble in college or in the pros. All the news when he was playing all seemed to be good things. He, at least on the surface, seemed to be a decent guy. I am literally scared at the readily availability of crazy people getting guns. Guns are a big, big problem in the world right now. Guns have always scared me, I have never even held one, and the fact that these gun nuts flaunt the fact that they have them is one of the scariest things in the world. Had this person been reasonable and used words instead of violence, Joe McKnight would still be alive today. This is a truly tragic, disturbing and sad thing that happened yesterday.

Stories like this make me scared for humanity, hate the NRA more than I already do and they just make me sad. Joe McKnight had so much ahead of him, but now that is all gone because of a disturbed individual. Rest In Peace Joe McKnight. You did not deserve this, and this is a sad, sad day for society.

Ty

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

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Ty Ranks the 2016 NFL Teams: Cool Summer Breeze Edition

Welcome to day 5 of my NFL countdown. We are finally past the mediocre half of teams in the NFL, and we are now going to be getting to teams with real shots at making the playoffs, and advancing fairly far. For the most part, if not all of them, the rest of these teams will be .500, or much, much better. We are finally at some good teams. On with the countdown.

Coming in at number 16, I have the New York Jets. The Jets were almost going to be on the earlier part of my countdown, but they signed Ryan Fitzpatrick to a one year deal at the very last moment before I started my notes for this list. Now, Fitzpatrick is not an other worldly QB, but he is decent. He set Jets passing records last year, and he is a whole hell of a lot more liked and reliable than Geno Smith. You never hear of anyone punching Fitzpatrick so hard that they break his jaw. He goes in and does his job, and he has gotten better the longer he has been in the NFL. I think Fitzpatrick is a pretty decent QB to lead what could be a playoff bound Jets team. At receiver they have two very good targets in Eric Decker and the wonderful Brandon Marshall. Decker goes over the middle and makes the circus catches, but Brandon Marshall is the far superior pass catcher on this team. He catches everything that comes his way, he is tall and he is fast. Brandon Marshall is a great, great football player. They absolutely upgraded their running game by signing Matt Forte. He is going to make opponents respect the run game, and the pass game will benefit. He is also a very good pass catcher coming from the backfield. I like this addition a lot. The offensive is good too. The Jets also have a pretty good defense as well. Muhammed Wilkerson is a very good d lineman. Leonard Williams is a fast defensive end, who can wreak havoc in the backfield. David Harris is still one of the most steady linebackers in all of the NFL. And Darelle Revis is one of, if not the, best cover corners in all of football. The Jets are a team on the rise, and they could be a big factor this year. I think they will be pretty decent, but they will also blow games because that's what they do. The Jets will be 10-6 and may push their way into the playoffs.

At number 15, I have the Buffalo Bills. Is this the year that the Bills finally take that next step? Is this the year they win, or are near the top of their division? Is this the year they put it all together? They just might. I'm actually a pretty big fan of Tyrod Taylor at QB. He seems to almost always make the right decision. He uses his legs when necessary, throws the ball to the right receiver, and throws it away when the play breaks down. LeSean McCoy, when healthy, is a great running back. He is the focal point of the offense, and that is the way it should be. He is great at running the ball, and a very good receiver out of the backfield. Sammy Watkins is a star in the making at receiver, they just have to get him the ball more. He is so dynamic with the ball in his hands, and he is an awesome football player. The o line, while not great, is serviceable. Sure, they lost Mario William, but they have Shaq Lawson to replace him. They also have guys like Reggie Ragland, Stephon Gilmore and Marcell Dareus on their defense. The Bills may be the team that takes the most advantage of the Brady's four game suspension. They have the players that have the know how and the goods to come out of the gates hot and challenge the Patriots. This may be one of the better teams that Rex Ryan has had the ability to coach. But, Rex Ryan is what is holding this team back. He is just not that good of a head coach. Because of Ryan, I think the Bills will go 10-6, but they have the players to be 12-4, or even 13-3.

At number 14, I have the team from Washington. They are the only team in their god awful division that can win double digit games. They have Kirk Cousins back, who proved that he may be a decent NFL QB. He is another guy that doesn't try to make miracle plays, he usually makes the right play. He can check down to other receivers, he will throw the ball away, and he will run when called on to. I think he is making a big mistake by betting on himself and not signing a long term deal, but we will see. At running back, they have some good guys. I really like Matt Jones. He is a good, big and durable back. He is very competent. Then, they have a plethora of good receivers. Guys like Desean Jackson, stretches the field with his speed, Pierre Garcon, great possession receiver, Santana Moss, old, but reliable and rookie Josh Doctson, who won't be counted on as the top threat, but will make some plays. They also signed Vernon Davis this off season, and I like that a lot. He is a great safety blanket for all the QB's he's played for. Then, on defense, they have decent d lineman and linebackers, but they have D'Angelo Hall, and they signed Josh Norman, who may be the best defensive back in all of the NFL. That is huge for Washington, because they will play the Giants twice, and they now have a corner that can shutdown Odell Beckham JR. The Washington defense is good. This team has all the tools to repeat, and repeat as division winners with ease. I think they do that to the tune of 11-5. They will feast on the teams in their division. They may get 8 of their 11 wins from their division alone.

At number 13, I have the Houston Texans. Now, this team is all about their defense. I think their defense could win a lot of games for them this year. They will have a lot of games that will finish 10-7 or 14-10, and they will win those because their defense is so good. But, I will talk about the offense first. Sure, they signed Brock Osweiler away from Denver, but I don't think he is as good as others think he is. But, the caveat, he is playing with a defense that is almost, but not really, as good as Denver's. They have similar defenses, so Osweiler won't have to do to terribly much on offense. They also signed Lamar Miller after letting Arian Foster walk. Miller is a decent running back, and he will put up similar numbers to what Foster has done the past few years. At receiver they have the awesome DeAndre Hopkins. I know he is in a contract situation right now, but they will figure that out, he is too important to this team. But, outside of the excellence that is Hopkins, they are thin at wide out. Will Fuller is fine, but not a real big threat. They have an okay o line as well. But, this team is not about offense. Their defense is stout, led by JJ Watt. There is no denying  his greatness, he is going to go down as one of the best of all time. They also have Jadeveon Clowney, who is due to have a big year, and Vince Wilfork, who is one of the best nose guards that has ever played. They have some great linebackers, even though some have been suspended for using steroids. Brian Cushing is said steroid user, but he is a good linebacker. I also like Whitney Mercilus. He has gotten better every year in the pros. Charles James and Quintin Demps are pretty decent defensive backfield players, they just don't get shine because their d line is so great. Houston should take over that division away from the Colts, but I don't know if Bill O'Brien is the coach to do that. He has held this team back since he was picked to coach them. I still think they are above .500, but I don't think they will supplant the Colts just yet. I like this team a lot, but I think they will finish 9-7, but it will be the most competitive 9-7 in all of football.

Come back next week for the rest of my countdown.

Ty 

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Want to know what Ty has to say about the Olympics? Check out the new X Millennial Man Podcast premiering tomorrow. Ty has a twitter, go follow him @tykulik.

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

Ty made some cookies to apologize about the Colts pick

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: AFC

Ty is set to watch some NFL foot... wait, why the hell is his drink green?

Ty is set to watch some NFL foot... wait, why the hell is his drink green?

Ed Note: We will break Ty's NFL preview up into three parts. Today we give you the AFC, tomorrow the NFC, and then the Super Bowl and awards.

On the heels of my 2015 college football preview, I'll be doing my first annual, "Ty's NFL Preview".

Much in the same vain as the college preview, I'll pick division winners, two wild cards from each conference, the teams that will play in the conference championship games, the Super Bowl winner and the offensive and defensive players of the year. Hell, I'll even throw in my pick for coach of the year and offensive and defensive rookies of the year. No preseason bull shit, because, just like the preseason poll in college football, preseason in the NFL doesn't mean anything to anyone that's watching. Preseason is more for players trying to make teams. And, no matter how terrible of a commissioner Roger Goodell is, I've mentioned how bad he is many times on the site, NFL football is the most popular sport in America and I love it just as much as any other fan out there.

So, let's get started. First, I'll break down the AFC. I'll start with the AFC East. The AFC East consists of the Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, New York Jets and defending super bowl champs, the New England Patriots. The Bills had a pretty wild offseason. First, their former coach, Doug Marrone, quit out of nowhere, He led this team to 9 wins last season, with no decent QB, and just up and quit. It made no sense to me. So, the Bills hired Rex Ryan after he was fired by the Jets. I don't like this hire because I don't think Rex Ryan is a good head coach. He knows a lot about defense, but basically doesn't care or seem to know anything about offense. They also traded a linebacker, Kiko Alonso, to the Eagles for one of the top running backs in the league in LeSean McCoy. He didn't want to sign long term, but eventually did. They also signed supreme douchebag, Richie Incognito one year after his suspension for bullying. Like I said, a bizarre offseason. The Bills, I think, will look like the same team they did last season. They'll have a good running game, a good defense and no passing game whatsoever. They have no capable QB's on their roster and, with the exception of Sammy Watkins, no threats at receiver. I say 8 or 9 wins for the Bills. The Miami Dolphins made the biggest splash in free agency by bringing in Ndomakong Suh. They gave him a HUGE contract, but the guy is the best interior defensive lineman in the league. On offense they will look much the same, led by Ryan Tannehill at quarterback. They seem like a team on the rise and I think they're New England's biggest threat in the East. They could easily win 10,11 or even 12 games this year and possibly win the division. The New York Jets are a complete mess. First of all, their best defensive player, Sheldon Richardson, decided to drive his car 143 mph on the highway, and to top it off, he had guns in that car. He may never play football again. Next, a back up linebacker sucker punched starting QB Geno Smith in the jaw over what appears to be a $600 debt and he's out, at least 6-10 weeks. They have no real running game, the QB situation will be taken over by Ryan Fitzpatrick, and their defense, while solid, is only getting older, and they don't have Richardson clogging up the middle. I'd be surprised if they won 6 games this year. This brings me to the defending champions, New England Patriots. They've had an odd offseason as well. The main thing being the stupid non story of "deflategate". Another huge error in judgement from the moronic Roger Goodell. Tom Brady is supposed to miss the first four games of the season, we'll see if that holds up, and I think this will hurt the Patriots more than most. Jimmy Garroppolo may be good in a few years, but he's not ready. The Patriots do have a good running game and you can line up Rob Gronkowski against almost anyone and I'd take him, but their defense is suspect and can lose games for them. Darelle Revis also left to sign with the Jets this offseason, and that will sting. I still see the Patriots winning 10 or 11 games if Brady only misses 1 or 2 games. If he misses all four, they're more like an 8 or 9 win team to me. For that reason alone, I'm picking the Miami Dolphins to win the AFC East.

Next, The AFC North. In the North we have, the Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns. The Ravens are a decent football team. They have a great defense, they always do, and are led on offense by Joe Flacco. That's a good and a bad thing. When he's good, he can be great, but when he's bad, he's really bad. One week he will throw for 350 yards and five touchdowns, but the next week, he'll go for less than 100 yards and 3 or 4 interceptions. But, the Ravens find ways to win 10 games every year and I don't see that changing this season. The Pittsburgh Steelers have to deal with a suspension to running back LeVeon Bell, only two games, but it will still hurt. They still have Ben Roesthliberger at QB, but he's old and, while never the fastest guy out there, seems to get slower every season. Antonio Brown is a great receiver, one of the best in the league, and will stretch the field on defenses all season. The Steelers should be good for 9 to 11 wins this season. The Cincinnati Bengals are a very predictable team. They will look very good at times. Andy Dalton will be a decent QB, but make his typical mistakes. AJ Green is an electric receiver and catches some of the worst throws in the NFL and Giovanni Bernard is going to be a star. Their defense is worrisome. They got older and their big off season acquisition of AJ Hawk doesn't make them any better. He's old and the rest of that defense is getting older. They will be good for 10 or 11 wins and probably crap out in the first round of the playoffs again. Last, and certainly least, is the Cleveland Browns. They're a joke of a franchise and be it Johnny Manziel(please God no!) or Josh McCown at QB, it doesn't matter, the Browns stink. They have no receivers, no real running game, and stink on defense. If they win 5 games I will be shocked. This division will be tough, minus the Browns, but this seems to be Pittsburgh's last shot and I think they win 11 games and the division.

Next we have the AFC South. This is a division with one, maybe two real teams, but really, the South is owned by the Indianapolis Colts. Their only real threat in the Houston Texans, and that's a reach. There's also the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Tennessee Titans. The Jaguars upgraded their offense by signing Julius Thomas, but Blake Bortles needs at least one more season to get his feet wet and the defense isn't ready yet. It will be another 4 or 5 win season for the Jaguars. The Titans are being led by a rookie QB in Marcus Mariota, and while he may be good, when your team is being led by a rookie, with no weapons on offense around him, it's going to be a long, tough season. Their defense is pretty awful as well. They'd be lucky to win 3 or 4 games this year. The Texans have one of the best defenses in the league, led by all world defensive end JJ Watt. They are pretty stout on the line, have good linebackers and a pretty decent secondary. Offense is where the problem lies. They do have a good running back in Arian Foster, when he's not hurt, and a great up and coming receiver in DeAndre Hopkins, but who's going to be the QB? Ryan Mallet or Brian Hoyer are the two choices, and I don't think either of them have played, or are good enough to win in this league. The Texans will be better, but anything more than 9 wins would be surprising. The Colts are the class of the division. They have an explosive offense led by Andrew Luck. They have receivers like TY Hilton and signed Andre Johnson this offseason. They do a running back by committee, but this is a passing offense. Their defense is bend, but don't break and they play it very well. The Colts will win 12 games easily this season and win the AFC South running away.

The final division  is the AFC West. This is another two team division, but can anybody really beat the Denver Broncos. Their only competition will be the San Diego Chargers. The Chargers drafted Melvin Gordon this draft and he will be a big upgrade for them at the running back position. They just locked down Phillip Rivers to a long term deal and he is a great QB in this league. Their defense in just okay. They will win at least 10 games this season, but the 4 game suspension to Antonio Gates will hurt their passing game. The Broncos are led by Peyton Manning. He's one of the best QB's of all time and he continues to churn out 4,000 yard and 35 touchdown seasons. Montee Ball should bounce back after an injury plagued, subpar season. While they lost Julius Thomas, they still have Demayrius Thomas and a bunch of other great receivers. The defense is led by Von Miller, and they are stout in all three phases of defense. Hiring Gary Kubiak won't change this team much at all. They should be a 12 or 13 win team again. The other two teams in the division are the Kansas City Chiefs and the Oakland Raiders. The Chiefs are competitive, but they are pretty stale. Alex Smith is not a great QB, they don't score with their passing game, and there's only so much Jamal Charles can do. Their defense is okay, but not great. 8 or 9 wins is their best possible outcome. The Raiders are still a joke, but they seem like they're trying to get better. Derek Carr could still be a good QB and drafting Amari Cooper and signing Michael Crabtree will help. The running game is still a work in progress. The defense is not that good and that will keep them back. But, linebacker Khalil Mack is going to be a star in this league. 5 or 6 wins would be a good season for the Raiders. The Broncos will continue to win this conference as long as Peyton Manning is the QB.

So, the four division winners, the Dolphins, the Steelers, the Colts and the Broncos will all be in the playoffs and the two wild cards will be, the Chargers and the Patriots. The Bengals and Ravens will get shut out. The Colts and Broncos will have the first round byes. The Chargers will beat the Dolphins and the Steelers will beat the Patriots. In the next round, The Colts will beat the Chargers and the Broncos will beat the Steelers. In the AFC Championship, the Colts will beat the Broncos and find themselves in the Super Bowl.

Come back tomorrow for some NFC action.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and co-host of the X Millennial Man podcast. Is he going to pick Green bay for the NFC, I think he is going to pick Green Bay. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.