Ty Ranks the 2023 NFL Teams: Regional Grocery Store Brand Cola Division

Welcome to day three of my preseason NFL rankings. We are going to be at the playoff teams soon, but not until next week.

At number 24 I have the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers had the number one pick and used it on Bryce Young. Young is one of the better QB prospects to come along in some time. He is a gamer, he has won the most high stakes games, he performs under pressure and he can tuck it and run if need be. He is small, but that doesn't really matter with the heart he plays with. But, he is a rookie and there will be a learning curve for sure. Andy Dalton is not the answer they need at backup QB. They were able to sign Miles Sanders away from Philadelphia, and they also got Adam Thielen. Both of them are due for a setback, and may be past their prime. DJ Chark is okay enough, but not a true threat. The o line is still a work in progress and will need time to mold. They weren't the best, or even close to it, last season. The defense leaves a ton to be desired. Brian Burns is very good, elite perhaps, but will be double and tripled teamed all season. Jaycee Horn is an okay corner, but not upper tier yet. One of their d ends, Henry Anderson, is already fighting injuries. This defense is not even close to the level they were when they were in the Super Bowl. Neither is the offense. And while I do think they got the best QB prospect in the draft, it is going to take a few years before Bryce Young is playing in critical games again.

At number 23 I have the Tennessee Titans. I feel awful for Derrick Henry. He deserves so much better than this franchise. He is far too good to be wasted playing for a team with no real hope for contention. Ryan Tannehill is still the starter. Why? Malik Willis was not given a real chance and then they drafted Will Levis. He has looked rough in camp, they are unwilling to play Willis, so they are settling for Tannehill. That is a problem. I was excited for a second when they signed Deandre Hopkins, but then I sat back and thought about it. What will he bring? How is Tannehill going to get him the ball? Is he going to really make defenses forget about Derrick Henry to focus on him? I don't think he moves the needle too much. Treylon Burks got hurt the other day. The o line is okay. If they were a little better Derrick Henry would be obliterating rushing records though. The defense is pretty new and unknown. Jeffrey Simmons is middle of the road now. Same for Harold Landry. Kevin Byard is a step slower. There is too much uncertainty with this group. Also, they are going to have to overuse Derrick Henry yet again to try and control the clock. The Titans had a moment, but that moment has passed. They need to rebuild.

At number 22 I have the Washington Commanders. Sam Howell was just named their starting QB. Yikes. He is not the answer. I would have gone with Jacoby Brissett. He has at least played and won at this level. Brian Robinson is a quality starting running back. He can do some things. Terry McLaurin is one of the better wideouts in the league. Jahan Dotson has his rookie year under his belt and I think he will have a good year. Logan Thomas is a fine tight end. The o line is okay. The defense should be better than they actually are though. Chase Young cannot stay healthy and he has not produced like I thought he would. Kendall Fuller should be better. Montex Sweat was a draft steal, but he hasn't hit his true potential yet. David Mayo is blah at linebacker. The defense just isn't at a playoff level. That and Sam Howell will keep this team at 7 or 8 wins.

The final team for the day, at number 21 I have the Denver Broncos. They have Sean Payton, a legit head coach. Russell Wilson should rebound from a very bad season. Javonte Williams is a serviceable back. Jerry Jeudy has all the tools to be a number 1 wideout. The o line is very good. But this offense was horrendous last year. Russell Wilson was not the answer they needed at QB. They don't treat the running backs well. The wideouts never got real looks. Will that change with Sean Payton at the helm and Russell Wilson looking to bounce back? Hopefully, but who knows. The defense went out and signed Frank Clark after the Chiefs let him walk. He is good on the field, but he has off field issues. They also have a very similar guy to Clark in Randy Gregory, except he has been suspended for off field stuff once already by the NFL. Pat Surtain is awesome, but he is the only quality secondary player they have. I just do not know what to expect from this team coming into this season. When I'm in that scenario I tend to be pessimistic. I don't know that Wilson will fully recover from last year. I think Williams will be overused. Jeudy won't get enough looks. The defense will not stop enough dudes and may get into too much off field trouble. The Broncos are too much of a toss up and I'm erring on the side of an average team at best.

That does it for today and this week. Come back 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's 2022 NFL Preview - Convincing Yourself that PBR Tastes Good Division

Day four of my NFL countdown is here.

At number 20 I have the Pittsburgh Steelers. I am a Mike Tomlin fan, but that is it when it comes to this team. Ben Roestheisberger, a notorious sexual assaulter is gone. He was overrated anyway, and again, he was accused of rape multiple times. They have replaced him with Mitch Trubisky. I mean, okay. Trubisky is not a good QB. He was let go by the Bears and Bills for a reason. He just doesn't have it. I also do not think Kenny Pickett has it. This team is in need of a QB, and the two they have are not very good. I like Najee Harris but I fear he will be overworked. He is going to get a ton of carries, but that could take a toll on his body. He will also be catching a ton of passes. He is going to be asked to do too much. They gave up on Juju Smith Schuster, and now they are left with Chase Claypool, who is always hurt, George Pickens, who is a rookie, and Diontae Johnson, who is good but undersized. The O line is fine, but it is not full of world beaters. The defense is good, but they will have to play from behind far too much this year. They did not reup Devin Bush. I think he will have a monster year and then walk. I am not a fan of TJ Watt. He is the defensive Gronk. Minkah Fitzpatrick is awesome. He is a ball hawk and a hard hitter. They have good dudes at every level, but they will be put in a hole by their mediocre offense. The Steelers will win 8, maybe 9 games and miss the playoffs.

At number 19 I have the San Francisco 49ers. At least they are moving on from Jimmy Garrapollo. He was never the answer for that team. He is a coattail guy. I also like Trey Lance. He is a great modern day QB. He can throw it and run the ball. He will be good. Deebo Samuel is very good, and versatile. I think last year was, possibly, a one season thing, but he got paid. He is making bank now. But teams will be ready for him now. The run game is kind of iffy, especially now that Elijah Mitchell is hurt. Brandon Aiyuk and Jauan Jennings are mediocre receivers, and I already mentioned Deebo Samuel. I am not a George Kittle guy, and he has the feel of really falling off sooner rather than later. The O line is okay. The defense is good on paper, but that is just it. Nick Bosa is a racist asshole. I don't care if he is a good pass rusher, he is full of hate and incredibly racist. Screw that guy. Fred Warner is a fine enough linebacker. I think Ambry Thomas should start, not be a third stringer. The D line is kind of blah. Last season they had a nice run, but it was unexpected. I don't think that will happen again. The 49ers will probably win 8 games due to Samuel and Lance, but no more than that.

At number 18 I have the Tennessee Titans. Ryan Tannehill is washed. They should start Malik Willis. Also, screw Ryan Tannehill for saying he wouldn't mentor him. Derrick Henry is awesome. He is one of the best, biggest and fastest running backs I've ever watched. I saw a video of him stiff arming a helmet on a stick, and he broke the helmet. The dude rules. He has also been injured the past two seasons. They traded their good receivers and now they have Robert Woods, washed, Treylon Burks, a rookie and Nick Westbrook Ikhine, never heard of him. The O line is great. The Titans defense is solid. Jeffery Simmons is solid on the D line. Harold Landry III is a good linebacker. So is Bud Dupree. The secondary has Caleb Farley and Kevin Byard, both of whom are wonderful players. I just don't see this team being the threat they've been the past couple seasons. Tannehill is done, Henry is great but often hurt and the D is fine. They will win 9 or 10 games, but that is it. They will probably be on the outside looking in for the playoffs this season.

The final team for the day, at number 17 I have the Cleveland Browns. I put them here even before the Deshaun Watson news broke today. He is suspended for 11 games. He will miss most of the season. And it is more than deserved. He did some horrible things to women. He is a monster. Jacoby Brissett is next in line. He has been good coming in for other QB's for other teams. I see no difference here. Nick Chubb is a decent back, but his backup, Kareem Hunt, wants out. He has asked for a trade. I like the receiving corps. Amari Cooper is good. Dononvan Peoples Jones showed some things last season. David Bell is fast and has potential. But, as much as I like him, Jacoby Brissett is the starting QB now. The O line is fine. The D is pretty good. Jadaveon Clowney and Myles Garrett may be the best defensive end duo in the NFL. The linebacker core is solid. The secondary, led by Denzel Ward, Greg Newsome and Grant Delpit, is very, very good. The D will win them some games this season. But with the Watson suspension, the Hunt trade demand and the lack of an upper tier QB, the Browns will be a 9 win team at best.

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.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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Ty Ranks the 2021 NFL Teams - The Contenders Division

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Welcome to day 7 of my 2021 NFL preview. This is the top of the top. These are the eight teams I consider the best in the NFL. I expect each to make the playoffs and all could make a run. If any of these teams win the Super Bowl this year I would not be surprised. They all have flaws but they all have ways to overcome said flaws. These are the teams to beat.

At number 8 I have the Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks have the look of one last ride with this squad. This is the final chance they have to win it all. Russell Wilson is an elite QB. He is an MVP candidate. He is the top dude on this team. He runs this thing, and he is more than capable of doing magical things. I may not be a fan of his, but the dude can play. Chris Carson, while not Marshwan Lynch, is that bruising back that is hard to take down. Rashaad Penny is a solid backup. Tyler Lockett is a legit deep threat and great return man. DK Metcalf is already an upper tier receiver. He is big and strong, he has great hands, he's fast and he will only get better. The O line has always been the problem for this team, but they have down stuff to shore it up. Duane Brown is a solid tackle. And Damien Lewis can play. Wilson shouldn't be running for his life all season. The defense is not the "Legion of Boom" anymore. They cannot strike fear in their opponents like they used to. I think getting Jamal Adams under contract was a big deal. He is one of the best safeties in the league. Bobby Wagner is still an elite linebacker. Quandre Diggs is a great sidekick to Adams. The defense is still good, with big time playmakers, but not as great as they used to be. The Seahawks have one final shot and I think they will play like that all year. I feel like they are an eleven win team, but they will have to fight off the Cardinals all season long.

At number 7 I have the Green Bay Packers. Talk about a team with one final shot left in them. After all the useless drama, Aaron Rodgers is back. He will be the QB for one more season in Green Bay. He is coming off an MVP year and he has a prove it year coming up. He will play well and then be ready to leave. I love that they re-signed Aaron Jones. He is a real good running back and Green Bay has not had that in awhile. I also really like AJ Dillon as the backup. I'll miss Jamal Williams, but Dillon is younger and similar. Davante Adams is in a contract year and he is awesome. I am a big fan of his. Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Allen Lazard are good compliments to Adams. The O line has never really been a problem in Green Bay. This is the last time this group will be fully intact, and if healthy, they should be potent. Green Bay's defense is always a bit of a sieve, but they are working on shoring it up. Kenny Clark is a good D lineman. Rashan Gary, Preston Smith and Za'Darius Smith are a great linebacker trio. Those dudes are going to have big years. Jaire Alexander is an excellent corner. Darnell Savage is a beast of a safety. This team, on paper, is good. They could be great. They also should easily win their division. The Packers are a twelve win team. Time for the final ride.

At number 6 I have the Cleveland Browns. This time the hype feels validated. They made it to the playoffs last year, they got better this offseason and they have the dudes to win. Baker Mayfield, for all his nonsense, is proving to be a solid game manager. He looked like he figured out last year that he doesn't have to do everything for his team to win. He let the game come to him, and that is how he should play QB. He is so much better as a game manager. Nick Chubb is a really good back. He is a good runner, hard to take down and can catch. Odell Beckham, Jarvis Landry and Donovan Peoples-Jones could be one of the top receiving trios in the league. All those guys are different, but they are all really good. Austin Hooper is a good tight end. The O line got better. The offense is good. They are legit. The defense got better this offseason. The fact that Myles Garrett is being paired with Jadaveon Clowney is frightening. They are going to terrorize running backs and QB's all year. The linebackers are fast and heavy hitters. The secondary is legit. The Browns are a good team. I may not like admitting it, but it is true. They played well enough to be in the playoffs last season, and I think this season they could make a real deep run. They are a twelve win team for sure.

The final team for today, at number 5, is the Tennessee Titans. Their coach is a moron. He is a cliched dumb jock. But his team is solid. Ryan Tannehill is playing like he should have his whole career. He is the prototype game manager. He doesn't make too many mistakes, doesn't take too many chances and runs the offense as he is told to. That is when he is at his personal best. Derrick Henry is the best back in the league. He is big, fast, impossible to take down with one guy, can catch and block. Henry can do it all and do it all well. He is awesome. He could be the MVP this year. The receiving core was majorly upgraded when they got Julio Jones. He is going to make this offense so much more lethal. Thinking about a play action deep ball to Jones is going to give defensive coordinators nightmares. They also have AJ Brown, who is getting better every season. The O line is nasty and big and good. The defense is devoid of prime time names, but the dudes can play. They got Bud Dupree for next to nothing, and he will help. Janpris Jenkins has stuck around so long for a reason. Kevin Byard is becoming a pro bowl player. Denico Autry is a solid D end. The defense has players that play their role and they play it well. The Titans are a good team, with aspirations of being great. They have made a few deep runs in the playoffs as of late, and it wouldn't surprise me if they did it again this season. They are a twelve to fourteen win team for sure.

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

Ty

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

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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Trying to Make Sense of the Julio Jones Trade

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Julio Jones has been traded. He is a Tennessee Titan, and they acquired him for, in my opinion, a very small price. I think all the Falcons got was three total draft picks, none of which are a first rounder. I’m surprised that the Falcons pulled the trigger on such a small offer, but here we are. I guess he really wanted out, some other teams were offering even less and Atlanta was okay letting him go. He’s one of the best receivers in the league, he’s mostly durable and he can stretch a defense.

Yet this trade, on every level, flat out confuses me. As I said, Jones is a top three wideout in the league. Any team that got him would be an instant contender for me. But I do not like the fit in Tennessee. Yes the Titans are an established playoff team, they were in the AFC title game two seasons ago and they have some solid weapons. But this team wins with defense and running. They’re a very good defensive team. They play so solid on that side of the ball. They don’t make too many mental mistakes and they pounce on opportunities. On offense the team goes as Derrick Henry goes, and rightfully so. He is probably the best running back in the league right now. He may go for 2,000 yards this upcoming season. He is very, very good. He’s the heart and soul of the Titans offense. Jones also said he wanted to go to a team with a “big armed quarterback”. Ryan Tannehill is a fine game manager, but I would say he has a “big arm”. I know the Dolphins tried this route with him and it didn’t work. Then he came to Tennessee to backup Marcus Mariota, and fell into the starting QB due to poor play and injury. But Tennessee has never relied on Tannehill to win games. They go with defense and running. They like to control the tempo of the game. They want to slow everything to a grinding halt. That’s not what Julio Jones wants to do. He is a big play guy. He wants to get the ball and move. He wants to out jump corners for touchdowns. He is super fast and super skilled in the open field. Jones is a prototypical modern receiver. And while the Titans have another solid receiver in AJ Brown, they still don’t really stretch the field or go very fast.

I personally think Jones would’ve been better off going to a team like the Rams. They got Matthew Stafford, and even though he’s oft injured, he can chuck it. Sean McVay would also put Jones in position to fully utilize his skill. I think pairing him with Lamar Jackson in Baltimore would’ve put the Ravens over the top. I fully believe that would’ve put them very close to the Chiefs. If my team, the Packers, had made a play for him, maybe Aaron Rodgers would’ve reported to camp right now. And Jones and Davante Adams would’ve been a highly impressive duo. I’m sure there’s other teams I’m missing, but Tennessee just seems like not a great fit for Jones and the Titans.

As for Atlanta, I’m still scratching my head at how little they got for one of the best at his position in the game right now. The Rams and Lions traded picks and QB’s. If the Packers do trade Rodgers, I’m sure they’ll get a kings ransom that includes picks and players. Big time O lineman go for better picks than what the Falcons got for Jones. It just feels, to me, that Atlanta jumped the gun. They took an offer they liked before vetting other teams. They got nothing of real substance for an established player. Who knows what these picks will turn into, but Torrey Smith said it best. He tweeted that he’d rather have an established star than picks that may or may not pan out. He’s right. I fully agree with him. The fact that Atlanta chose Matt Ryan over Julio Jones tells me they don’t care about winning right now. They simply didn’t want to pay to get a better QB to pair with Jones, Kyle Pitts and a running back by committee. Matt Ryan’s best days are well behind him. Julio Jones still has a few years left in his prime.

This trade just seems hastily slapped together. I think all parties involved could’ve gotten a better deal. I hope I’m proven wrong because I really enjoy watching Julio Jones play football. But going to the Titans feels more like a lateral move. We will see.

Ty

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

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NFL Playoffs Quick Hits: Conference Championship Games

I was going to do my NBA mid season redo, but it is going to have to wait another day because I want to talk about the NFL championship games that were played yesterday.

We now have Super Bowl 54 set. The Chiefs are playing the 49ers. I feel like this is right for how this season has gone. The 49ers, and I will eat crow in a bit, played bully ball better than any other team this season, and they are healthy at the right time. The Chiefs had an easy enough path to get to the Super Bowl, and Patrick Mahomes is cementing himself as the best offensive player in football. I don't think that can be questioned at this point. How did we get here though?

The first game of the day was the Chiefs-Titans game. The Titans had a great, memorable run. They beat the Patriots and the Ravens, both on the road, and held a 10 point lead twice yesterday. But, as a person who had no rooting interest, I never feared for the Chiefs or their fans. I was more worried last week when they were down 24 to the Texans. The Chiefs, and Mahomes, turned it on in the second quarter, and it was a wrap from there. The Chiefs were the only team, shockingly, that has been able to slow down Derrick Henry and make Ryan Tannehill beat them. And the Titans D had no answer for Mahomes. He made his incredible throws, that we all expect now, with ease, and he ran the hell out of the ball. That 30 yard TD run he had, to officially take the lead late in the second quarter, was one of the most athletic plays, and smartest plays, I have ever seen. To see him find the hole, take, then juke a few defenders and then drag 2 guys in the end zone, that was a magical football play. Mahomes owned this game. He has owned their 2 playoff games. He is playing on an extremely elite level right now. He is the most dynamic player on the field every time he steps on the field. The Chiefs have their dude, now we will see if they can win a Super Bowl.

As for the late game, I did have rooting interest in this one because the Packers were playing. Well, I turned this game off at halftime. I love the Packers, not as much as the Wolverines though, so I had no problem checking out. Hell, the Packers and Rodgers checked out in that awful first half. Green Bay, after one drive, was completely outmatched, outmanned and out played all game long. Matt Lafleur was made to look like Kyle Shanahan's little brother. San Francisco's defense controlled the entirety of the game. I know Green Bay pulled within 14, but it was never really that close. And that run game the 49ers put out there yesterday, my god was that a great plan that was perfectly executed. when the game was still scoreless, and the Packers pushed the 49ers back to a third and eight, I thought that it would be a close game. Then the 49ers handed the ball to Raheem Mostert on a quick draw and he proceeded to run untouched for a 25 plus yard TD. That was my first inkling that this was going to be rough. Mostert than put in 2 more TD's, both double digit runs, and I was done, as were the Packers. They could not stop that run game at all. And I don't want to hear from the ESPN's and Bleacher Report's and Sports Iluustrated's of the world about how this is all about Jimmy Garroppolo. He didn't do a damn thing because he didn't have to. Garroppolo is Alex Smith 2.0, except not as mobile. The 49ers are great because of coaching, defense, and most importantly, their run game. Not because of their handsome QB. Colin Kaepernick is a much better all around QB. Anyway, the 49ers did what they have done all year to the Packers and bullied their way to the Super Bowl.

As for the upcomming Super Bowl. I think this is the best matchup on paper. It is strength on strength. The 49ers are a defense, ball control team, and the Chiefs are a quick strike, lets score as many points as fast as possible team. This will be a good matchup, and if someone asked me right now who is going to win, I'd go with the 49ers. I will be rooting for the Chiefs, but if the 49ers can control the ball and the clock, and keep Mahomes off the field, basically what they have done all year, they will win a close one.

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: Cheese Pizza Division

Day 4 of my 2019 NFL countdown starts off with our founder and head editor of the website RD's hometown team, coming in at number 20, the Cincinnati Bengals.

Sorry RD, but the Bengals are not very good. They finally let go of Marvin Lewis, but they replaced him with the LA Rams QB coach. What the hell. This dude did not do enough to me to prove that he is ready to be a NFL head coach. But, this is just a new thing where, if you are on the staff of a coach that is considered a "football genius", you will get a job. I do not think this dude will do that well. He has a lot to prove. Then there's the whole Andy Dalton thing. I think the period of time on him being a franchise QB was over about 2 years ago, if not longer. He is just an average NFL QB, which is fine. But, you will never win a Super Bowl with him as your starting QB. The whole running back situation disgusts me because they are relying on a known abuser. In fact, companies like ESPN praise this Joe Mixon, and that makes me sick. He hits children. They just lost their only real offensive threat because they decided to practice on a college field, and he tore up his ankle so bad that he needs surgery. AJ Green was the one guy they couldn't afford to lose, but they did just that. He is going to miss some regular season games, and that is a bummer for this team. I don't know much about the o line, and the defense, while finally shedding Vontaze Burfict and Pac Man Jones, did not do too much to improve themselves. They are bland as white toast, and way less exciting. The Bengals were a good team with Marvin Lewis as the head coach. They were a playoff team. But, the time had come for a change, they just picked the wrong guy. And as long as Andy Dalton is your QB, and AJ Green is missing games, 6 wins is the best you can hope for. Again, sorry to RD and his family that they have to root for this franchise.

At number 19 I have the Cleveland Browns. You may see that and think I am nuts. Well, I think all the other pundits are nuts. What did they do that makes them a sudden division favorite, and a surefire playoff team? I know they traded for Odell Beckham, and that is great. How many playoff games has he been in, and was a contributing factor in? I'll tell you. He's been in one game, he was dreadful and the Giants got thoroughly beaten. I love the way he plays, the flair he brings to the game and the catches he makes, but come on, he has never done anything of real importance in the NFL. The same can be said for Jarvis Landry, although he is not nearly as good as Beckham. Landry is an excellent slot receiver, but again, he has never really won anything in the NFL. He's good, but he's not that good. I like their run game, but the backs are only going into their second year. And all I can see when I watch Baker Mayfield is Robert Griffin, with less athleticism. He was great at the end of last year, but that was against teams that didn't really care what happened. I just do not see what other people see in him. He is not Russell Wilson or Drew Brees. He is more Derek Carr, or if he gets injured, Jimmy Garroppollo. I do like their defense, or Myles Garrett at least. That dude is good. He could be the next Von Miller if he keeps this up. They also have a good secondary. But, for people to be out here proclaiming that the Browns "are destined for greatness", and that " this is the start of something big", calm down. Lets see them do it for a full season, and if they are lucky enough to make the playoffs, make a run before they are the next dynasty. They are more Seattle Mariners than New York Yankees to me. I see them as an 8 or 9 win team at best.

At number 18 I have the Tennessee Titans. This team is boring and dull and a pain to watch and I just don't really care for them. That being said, they win games and make the playoffs. I do feel like this is the make or break year for Marcus Mariota. Either he takes the next step, or it will be Ryan Tannehill time. That is scary. I like Derrick Henry as their running back, and the kid they took from Western Michigan last year in the draft started to break out a bit last year. But, they lose their best lineman because he decided to take a banned substance. That stinks for Mariota. Taylor Lewan has been a selfish player since I watched him at Michigan. And now he does this. The defense is okay, and led by a bunch of no name guys that play hard. They keep this team in games. That is the Titans M.O. They play low scoring games, and sometimes, they win them. It is just unfortunate for them that they play in the same division as Houston and Indianapolis, 2 teams I am pretty high on this year. That will be the reason they don't make the playoffs this year. That, and if Mariota doesn't take that step. I see them as a .500 team this year.

The final team for today, just outside of the playoffs looking in, at number 17 I have the Pittsburgh Steelers. This team got worse on offense this offseason. The fact that they let Antonio Brown go for nothing means they really wanted him gone. They also let LeVeon Bell sit out a whole year and he is gone., And the o line has regressed. Oh, and they gave Ben freaking Roesthilberger another extension. What the hell?! This dude is well past his prime, and is a known sexual assaulter. Why he get chance after chance after chance, I will never understand. James Connor and Ju Ju Smith Schuster were the reason I won my fantasy league last year, but now, they are the focal point of the opposition's defense. They will be keyed on when facing other teams. That will be much harder than being the second option like last season. The defense is old. I love Devin Bush, obviously, and I feel like he is going to be great, but outside of him, they are old, or thin on depth. They are not as strong a unit as they used to be. They will make a stop here or there, but they will get burned just as much, if not more. The Steelers are about to regress, and regress hard. This pleases me because I don't like them, but I wish Devin Bush was playing on a winning team. I think this year he may get lucky, and the Steelers will win 9 games. But after that, they will be a lower tier NFL team.

That's it for today. Come back tomorrow for my next 4 teams. We are getting to the playoff teams here very shortly.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He does not know that in Cincinnati we do not root for the Bengals. We just sit and wait for the season to be over, just like one would with a bad cold.

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Ty Ranks the 2018 NFL Teams: McDonald's has a Pretty Decent Cup of Coffee Edition

The weekend is over, and I am back to my preseason NFL countdown. The rest of this week will be all football. I have three more days of my countdown, then I will do all my NFL predictions, and I will finish everything up on Friday with my full college football preview. The rest of my NFL countdown has all teams that could, and probably should, be in the playoffs. They all should end up with winning records as well.

Let's get to it.

At number 12 I have the Tennessee Titans. I actually like the Titans. I actually believe that Marcus Mariota is going to make the leap this year. I feel like Derrick Henry can become a solid number one running back. I believe in Corey Davis. I think their defense is solid. I just do not like the coaching. The coaching staff doesn't feel great. They are trying their best, but I just think other guys could do so much better with the talent they have on their roster. They were boring last year and they kind of limped into the playoffs, but they made it there. They also won a game, which was astonishing to me. As I said, I like Mariota. I think he will finally put it all together. I feel like they have a solid O line. I like Derrick Henry becoming the feature back. I know Davis hasn't been great in preseason, but I don't care about preseason. I love Delani Walker. He is one of the better tight ends in the league. I like their defense overall. They are solid in all three phases. But, as I said, I just do not like the staff. They seem to find a way to hold this team back. They finished last year at 9-7, and while that seems like it could happen again, if Mariota makes that leap, they could be a 10-12 win team. They are a fringe playoff team, but being in the AFC will get them there.

At number 11 I have the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs have some questions. They finally rid themselves of Alex Smith, and I think that will benefit them. He always collapsed in the playoffs. He always fell flat when they needed him most. I know that Patrick Mahomes is a first year starter, and he has looked a little shaky in preseason, but this team has faith in him, and that throw he made the other night was astounding. He looks like he could be good. I like Kareem Hunt. He will take on more of a heavy load this year, and that should benefit him, the Chiefs and Mahomes. The Chiefs don't really have great wide outs. That could be a problem. They do have Travis Kelce, and while he is a poor mans Gronk, he, at least, can stay healthy. He also makes things happen, both good and bad. The Chiefs defense should be better. That being said, they are average. Guys like Derrick Johnson and Tamba Hali should be much better. I love Eric Berry, but he is only one guy, and he can only do so much. The Chiefs will need their defense to step up, especially since this is Mahomes first time starting. He needs the help. A lot of their success depends on Mahomes, but Andy Reid is a good regular season coach, and 10 wins doesn't seem out of the question. I also think they have a very good shot at getting back to the playoffs, and probably blowing their first round game, as they do. I just do not want to count an Andy Reid coached team out of the playoffs.

At number 10 I have the Carolina Panthers. This team's success fully depends on one guy, Cam Newton. I lived through this being a Packers fan with Brett Favre. Come to think of it, I am still living through it with Aaron Rodgers. It is painful, but can also be great. Remember 2 years ago when the Panther were 15-1 and in the Super Bowl? That was all Newton. Then, last year when the refs decided to not call anything against Newton, the Panthers regressed and missed the playoffs. I feel like Newton is out for blood this year. He wants to show that one season wasn't a flash in the pan. I personally think he is great. He definitely needs help on the outside. Devin Funchess is okay, but not great. I have no idea who else they have at receiver, which is a problem. I like Greg Olsen, so does Cam Newton, but he is old, and oft injured. Christian McCaffery is okay, but I do not know if he is the guy they traded up to draft last year. Maybe a year of being a pro will make him better, but I don't know. The Panthers defense is a lot like the Chiefs. They should be better. Their star linebacker is always concussed. He never seems to not get injured. I do not believe he has played a full year yet in his career. They have an okay D line, but they need to get more pressure. Their secondary is fine. The coach, Ron Rivera, this should be a make or break year for him. This team should be so much better, and I think Rivera knows it. I feel like a return to the playoffs is almost a sure thing, especially if Newton plays how I think he will this year. The Panthers should win, at least, 10 games this year. It all depends on Cam, but there could be worse things.

My final team for today, at number 9, is the Los Angeles Rams. I'm not even a Rams fan, never have been, but I'm still a little pissed off at Stan Kroenke for moving them away from Saint Louis. That hatred soared last year when the Rams surprised everyone, and had a great year. Sean McVay proved he can run an offense. He made Jared Goff an okay starting NFL QB. He helped Cooper Kuup make a name for himself. Todd Gurley was finally used as he should be, and I still think he should have been the MVP last year. The O line stepped up. Sammy Watkins, even though he is gone, was solid. All of this was due to McVay and Gurley. Todd Gurley is awesome. Everyone needs to watch him, even if you don't like the Rams. This kid is a real talent. The Rams defense is even better than their offense. They have the best defensive player in the game, assuming they sign him, in Aaron Donald. That dude is amazing. They added Ndamokong Suh next to him. My god that is a deadly D line duo. They have very solid linebackers. They can cover in the secondary. And Wade Phillips, while he wasn't a great head coach, that dude can coach defense. That was McVay's best decision last offseason. As long as they sign Donald, which they definitely should, this defense is going to be tough. The Rams can score and they can stop people. They also have a solid coaching staff. This is a team on the rise for sure. They should easily win their division, and maybe, after last season's playoff debacle, they have learned and will win a game or 2. I do not see anything less than 11 wins for this team.

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. He knows that players play and coaches talk, but a bad talking coach can make great players play bad. Just look at the Mike Martz era in St. Louis.

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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 "A New Hope" Edition

Day 6 of my 2017 NFL countdown today. We are getting to the thick of it now. These teams are good. These teams have what it takes to make it to the playoffs, and perhaps have a decent playoff push. We will hit the top ten today, and from here on out, these are good teams with a chance to be great. Here we go.

At number 12 I have the Carolina Panthers. I expect this team to bounce back in a big way. I know that Cam Newton is still recovering from offseason shoulder surgery, but by all accounts he was out there yesterday doing everything. He is going to be fine because he is a great QB. Cam Newton gives defenses nightmares. He is big, fast and has a laser for an arm. He throws one of the better deep balls that I have ever seen. He is an amazing talent to watch at the QB position. I know he had a rough year last year, but he was targeted, hit illegally, and he still did the best he could with what he had. Cam Newton is great. I still like Kelvin Benjamin too. I know he showed up to camp out of shape, but isn't that what camp is for, to get back into shape. Also, you can't coach size, and Benjamin has it. He also has good hands too. Once he gets back into playing shape, he will be just fine. Some people have given up on Devin Funchess, but I haven't. He was good as a rookie, regressed a bit last year, but I think he could have a big season and be a major threat for the Panthers offense. He was all Michigan had his three years there, and he wasn't playing with anyone that was nearly as good as Newton. He is going to figure it out. Greg Olsen is about as reliable as they come. The dude plays all the time, makes catches and is the perfect security receiver for Newton. He's great. Johnathan Stewart is still in the backfield, and while he is older, he is the veteran presence this team needs. I love the pick of Christian McCaffery here though. He is the future of the running back position for the Panthers. He is going to help open up a lot of things for the offense due to his versatility. And even though I hate the University of Ohio State, Curtis Samuel will do the same. Those were both quality picks by the Panthers. The Panthers D is good too, they just can't stay healthy. Luke Kuechly is one of the best linebackers in the game. The guy gets so many tackles and is all over the field. The problem with Kuechly is the amount of concussions is starting to become alarmingly high. That is scary. Thomas Davis is all around awesome. The dude is a perfect fit in their system and he plays some great football. Charles Johnson is a very good rush end. Captain Munnerlyn is a pretty decent corner. He replaced Josh Norman pretty well in fact. Kawann Short is a really good interior D-Lineman. This team has playmakers on both sides of the ball. The toughest thing for Carolina is their division. Atlanta was just in the Super Bowl and Tampa will be heard from in a day or 2 on my countdown. Hell, even the Saints pose a problem. I like Carolina to bounce back, but being in such a tough division, they may win 10 games and still miss the playoffs. But, this team will be much better this year.

At number 11 I have the Tennessee Titans. I, just like a ton of other people, think the Titans will be in the playoffs this year. I do think they are a better team than the Texans, and I think they will win their division. Part of that is their crappy division, but also, they have a good team. Marcus Mariota, if he can stay healthy, is going to make that leap. He is a very good, young QB. He has taken to the speed of the NFL pretty well, and if he can get some better protection, he will put up numbers. He has a great, unheralded tight end in Delani Walker. This dude was my guy for fantasy football last year. He is so productive, and with Mariota getting better, his number will rise even higher than before. Many people think they reached a bit too early for Corey Davis, I am one of those people, but they do need to upgrade the receiver position, so why not take a shot on a kid that broke multiple NCAA records. They also signed Eric Decker after he was released by the Jets. I don't know how much he will help Mariota, but he has put up numbers in his career. And Harry Douglass is okay for a big play here and there, but not much else. But, this team wants to control tempo and clock, which means they like to run, and they have some good running backs. After a misplaced year in Philly, DeMarco Murray played excellently for the Titans last year. I expect that again. They have Derrick Henry, who was a Heisman winner, and I can see him in a Mark Ingram role for the Titans now. Those 2 will make for a great duo in the backfield. Their defense got quietly good over the past couple years. Jurrell Casey is a decent run stopper. Brian Orakpo is a fantastic linebacker. They signed Logan Ryan away from the Patriots, and he was a key contributor for a Super Bowl wining defense. Wesley Woodyard is a competent linebacker. They drafted Adoree Jackson, and I think he will be a great fit for them. This team has some good, albeit young, players. They are becoming a quality NFL team, and from this season on out, they will be a playoff contender as long as Mariota is still the franchise QB.

At number 10 I have the Dallas Cowboys. Man do I hate the Cowboys. Man do I hate the fact that Ezekial Elliot will not missing many, if any, games for hitting a woman because Goodell doesn't know how to handle domestic violence. It is easy Roger, kick the criminals out of the league. Man do I think their receivers and tight end are overrated. And man do I think their defense is suspect. But with all that being said, they have the best O-Line in football, and Dak Prescott looks to be the real deal. We will see how good he really is if Elliot misses some games, but I have bought into his hype. Prescott looked like a veteran last year, and it seems the Cowboys have their next QB. As far as their run game, it's great. Elliot looked really good when he was on the field last year. Some people even said he should have been the MVP. But, let us not forget that he hit a woman. That is unacceptable. They do have Darren McFadden and Alfred Morris to step in to any games he may miss, and while those guys aren't great, they are still good. McFadden is big and fast, and Morris can churn out 3 or 4 yards a carry, especially behind this O-Line. Dez Bryant is good, but he is not on Julio Jones, Odell Beckham or Mike Evans level. He gets hyped like he is, but that is just because he has a Cowboys uniform on. Other than him, the other receivers are wannabe Patriots. They are all small, fast guys that go over the middle. They are not even worth mentioning. And, is there a more overrated tight end than Jason Witten? Everyone seems to love him, but I just don't get it. Just because he is buddies with Tony Romo, that doesn't make him one of the best to ever play. He is fine, but he is not elite. The defense played out of their heads last year, and they will come crashing back to Earth this year. They don't have anyone that jumps out as great. I love the pick of Taco Charlton, but only because he went to Michigan and I watched him get better for four straight years. He is still a rookie. Some other guys though, guys like Jaylon Smith, Sean Lee, Damien Wilson, Byron Jones, Justin Durant, Damontre Moore, are they really as good as they showed last year? No way. The defense will turn back into a problem. The reason the Cowboys are so high on my list is because of that O-Line and Prescott. They will be able to control tempo and keep that suspect defense off the field. But, expect this team to regress back to a 9 or 10 win squad. No way are they winning 13 games again, especially with Jason Garrett as the head coach.

The final team for today, at number 9, the Seattle Seahawks. Again, I loathe this team, but they have an incredible defense. Michael Bennett is as disruptive as ever. Kam Chancellor, Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas, that is an exceptional secondary. Cliff Avril and KJ Wright are great linebackers. Even guys like Frank Clark and Malik McDowell, who do stupid stuff all the time, when they are on the field, they are good. This defense is not the "Legion of Boom", again, a horrible nickname, but they still win games for this team. The offense I have always been suspect of. I do not think Russell Wilson is one of the top 5, or even top 10 QB's in the league, at least not yet. He may have put up big numbers last year, but he rubs people the wrong way, and the Seahawks need their defense and run game, not Russell Wilson, to be great to be contenders. Their run game is kind of a mystery. Thomas Rawls was supposed to step up and be the guy last year, then his leg exploded. Who knows how he comes back from that. CJ Procise has speed and can catch the ball out of the backfield, but the Seahawks like that bruising running game. They signed Eddie Lacy this offseason, but I watched, and stuck up for him for three years in Green Bay, and he regressed every year. I don't know what to make of the run game. The O-Line is dreadfully bad too. The receivers are average at best. Doug Baldwin, Tyler Lockett and Jermaine Kearse are all fine third or fourth options, but they will not make any team fear them. This team also does not know how to use Jimmy Graham. He is a shell of his New Orleans self. Seattle is still decent, and they will easily win a very porous division, but this team has taken big steps back from a team that won the Super Bowl 4 years ago, and made the Super Bowl 3 years ago. They are getting worse, but they still have a defense that will continue to put them in the playoff picture.

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 may hate the Cowboys and Seahawks, but he is professional first and a hater second. That is why he is the best damn writer on all the internets.

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Ty Ranks the 2016 NFL Teams: The Dumpster Fire Edition

Football is right around the corner people. The preseason starts next Sunday, and the regular season is a little over a month away. For the next 8 days I will countdown the teams in the NFL, 4 teams a day, going from worst to best, in my opinion. On day nine, I will do my postseason picks, including the Super Bowl winner, and I will also pick all my award winners. I will stick to some of my other, regular blogs, i.e., the "Bar Rescue" updates and some greatest American band picks, but for the most part, the next two weeks will be NFL heavy. I will also do a college football preview at the end of next week. So, hopefully everyone is ready for some football talk, because I'm ready to watch some football. I will break down the teams to the best of my knowledge and tell you why I have them where I have them in my rankings. 

Okay, let's get to the countdown.

Coming in at number 32, the worst team in the league this season will be the Cleveland Browns. The Browns are an absolute dumpster fire. They did some good things this offseason. They fired their old coach, they dumped Johnny Manziel, finally, they hired what seems to be a decent head coach, but other than that, this team is not very good. Their defense is very, very below average. They have no one on that side of the ball that can strike fear in any opponent. Their defensive line gets no pressure, their linebackers are mediocre and their secondary is subpar. They will give up a ton of points. Unfortunately for their defense, their offense won't be able to put up too many points. They have an okay receiver in Josh Gordon, but he hangs out with Johnny Manziel, he's been suspended multiple times for violating the leagues drug rules and, when he is in there, he doesn't have a very good QB throwing him the ball. The only 2 QB's worth anything on their roster are Josh McCown and Robert Griffin. McCown is not good enough to be most teams third string QB and we all know about Robert Griffin. He's a prima donna that cannot stay healthy and forced his way out of Washington. He had a great rookie year, but he has been oft injured and, when he is healthy, he has been pretty awful. They don't have any good running backs, so the run won't scare anyone. Their offensive line is subpar at best as well. The Browns stink. If they win 3 games this year, I'd be shocked. Hue Jackson is a good coach, but it is going to take some time before the Browns are anything close to an 8 or 9 win team. I say they finish 2-14 this year.

Coming in at number 31, I have the San Francisco 49ers. You may see that and think, they were a contender only 2 years ago, well, a lot has changed in 2 years. They put all their eggs in the Colin Kaepernick basket and he has proven to not be that good. He has no accuracy, cannot throw the deep ball and abandons plays way too early and relies on his legs too much. Then, people may say, well they hired Chip Kelly, way can't he turn the 49ers and Kaepernick around. First off, Kelly is not a good NFL coach. His zone read does not work in the very fast paced NFL. Chip Kelly is a college coach that somehow got two NFL jobs. He is not a competent NFL coach. They just lost their best receiver, Anquan Boldin, and they have no running game, Carlos Hyde is not that good. They lost all their good defenders a year ago to, mostly, retirement. This team can't score and they can't stop anyone. They are only slightly, very slightly, better than the Browns. I think the 49ers will go 3-13 or 4-12. They are not very good and until they overhaul the whole team, and get a new head coach, they will continue to be bad.

Coming in at number 29, I have the Tennessee Titans. I have liked what they have done in the draft the past couple of years, but Mariota is still only a second year player and he has little to no weapons around him. The Titans receivers are good, but very young and very unproven. They still need a few years. The backs are mediocre, but they can get better. The offensive line is not very good, save for Taylor Lewan, but he still gets far too many personal foul penalties. They have decent tight ends, but when the QB has very little time to find them, it doesn't matter. The Titans defense is not very good. Even when they play bad teams, like the 49ers and Browns, they still give up 20 to 30 points. This team also tries to run some kind of hybrid read option/west coast offense that looks very bad at times. Mariota still needs another year or two before he reaches his possible potential, as do the receivers and the backs. The defense needs to get a whole lot better before they are competitive. They can get better through the draft, which seems to be the way Titans are rebuilding right now. The Titans may win 5 games, but anymore than that would be a huge surprise to pretty much everyone, Titans fans included. I will give them the benefit of the doubt and say they finish 5-11.

At number 28, I have Mike Wilbon's favorite team, the Chicago Bears. This may surprise some people, the fact that I have the Bears this far down on my list, but they are a very, very bad football team. They let their best offensive weapon walk last year, Matt Forte, to the Jets. They have no good receivers. I don't care that they have names like Alshon Jeffrey and Kevin White, neither are that good. Hell, Kevin White didn't play a single snap last year because he got injured in camp. They don't have Martellus Bennett anymore, so they have no tight end threat. They got rid of Forte, as I mentioned earlier, and their consolation prizes are Jacquizz Rodgers and Jeremy Langford. Then they have one of the worst, most overrated, most annoying, most self inflating assholes at QB in Jay Cutler. I don't understand why people think he is a good QB. He didn't win in college. He has been very subpar in the pros. In fact, the lone time he has been to the playoffs, he got "hurt" and missed most of the Bears loss to the Packers. Jay Cutler may be the most overrated, non deserving players in the entire NFL. As long as he is the Bears QB, they will continue to be very mediocre on offense, especially since Matt Forte is gone. The Bears defense is not very good either. Sure, they signed Danny Treveathan away from Denver, but he will not turn this unit around on his own. They have no defensive line, and don't listen to the nonsense that has been coming out of Kyle Long's mouth recently, he is out of his mind. They can't pressure the QB and they can't stop the run. The linebacking unit, save for Treveathan, is subpar. The secondary in not good at all. The Bears are bad. The only reason they are ahead of the three teams before is, they always find some way to miraculously win a game or 2 that they should have no shot. They will either go 4-12 or 5-11. The Bears stink and they need a new QB.

That's it for today. Come back tomorrow for teams 28, 27, 26 and 25 and a "Bar Rescue" update.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. The teams he listed above would cause him to change away from the NFL RedZone network. These are teams with nothing worth watching. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

The Browns and Titans have Already made their Teams Better

The future looks bright in Cleveland and Nashville. Time to break out the shades.

The future looks bright in Cleveland and Nashville. Time to break out the shades.

The NFL draft starts next week. There has been a lot of movement in the two weeks prior to this years draft, a lot more than usual.

Last week the Titans traded the number one overall pick to the LA Rams (one more time I want to say SCREW YOU STAN KROENKE). They moved back in the first round and they also acquired a ton of other picks in this year and future drafts. I thought this was unusual, but the Rams just moved back to LA and they want to make a splash. It still doesn't make a lot of sense to me, and Tennessee got a much better deal out of it, but, sometimes weird stuff like this happens prior to the draft.

Then, just a couple of days ago, the Cleveland Browns traded the number two overall pick to the Eagles, again for a bunch of later and future draft picks. This really piqued my interest. Cleveland has been a gutter team ever since returning to the NFL in the early 90's. They have had about a million different players start at QB, and since they've blown every QB draft choice, they haven't really panned out so well with other position draft picks. Guys like Trent Richardson, Joe Thomas and Josh Gordon have not been that good since they entered the league. So, I assumed, like everyone else, they would stick with this pick and draft another QB. I know they signed Robert Griffin, but he simply cannot stay healthy. I also heard a lot about how there were three QB's in the upcoming draft that could be franchise players. So, Cleveland keeping the second pick just made sense to me.  Why would they trade this pick? Do they not like the QB's as much as other teams do? Do they think they can get someone later and have them sit behind Griffin for a couple of years? I have a million more questions, but these three will have to suffice for now.

Question one, why trade the pick? I think they like the idea of having multiple choices and not having to reach for a QB so early in the draft. This is actually a pretty smart idea by a front office that has seemed incompetent at times. Stockpile picks and draft players in the later rounds. Players picked in the later rounds seem to be more successful in the future than a lot of the first rounders. So, good, savvy move by the Browns.

Question two, do they not like the QB's available in round one as much as other teams do? I don't think its' just the QB's, I think this whole draft is pretty weak. This is actually, the main point of the blog today. After these two trades occurred, I did some of my own research about the draft because I think both Mel Kiper Jr and Todd McShay are morons. They're glorified, wannabe head coaches that have nothing but free time and they sit around and watch game film as if they are involved with an actual NFL franchise. Both of those guys are absolute jokes and they work for ESPN. It's a double whammy of idiocy. So, since I am just as qualified as both McShay and Kiper Jr, I looked into the draft class, and as I said before, it is not great. Sure, there's some good, quality guys that could be starters and even pro bowlers, but there is no franchise changing player out there. There's not one player that makes me think that they can turn one of the teams picking early in to immediate contenders. In fact, there hasn't been many transformative players since Cam Newton was picked first overall four years ago. But this draft class, oof, it's mediocre.

The QB's that every "expert" are high on, I don't see all that much from. Jared Goff is tall and has a good arm, but he's skinny, played in an offense that allowed him to throw a lot and he was still average and he did not lead Cal to more than 8 victories while he was there. He's about as good as Jay Cutler. Carson Wentz, the hottest name in the draft right now, played 1-AA college football, so he wasn't playing the toughest competition and he is a bit undersized. He did win a bunch in college, but so did Joe Flacco. Yeah, Flacco was the QB of a Super Bowl winning team, but that team won with defense, not because of Flacco. Wentz's name and stock will never be higher, but I'm not as impressed as others seem to be. The other notable first round QB is Paxton Lynch. Yeah, he started really strong and yeah, Memphis beat Ole Miss early in the year, but when that team needed him to lead the most, they folded. I would not draft him until the third or fourth round.

It's not just the QB's that don't impress me, it's most of the class. There's Ezekiel Elliot, who was great in college, but so was Melvin Gordon and he looked not so great his rookie year. I think Elliot is a lot like Gordon. It will be tough sledding for the first few years. On the defensive side of the ball, there's guys like Jalen Ramsey, Joey Bosa, Myles Jack, Vernan Hargreaves and Shaq Lawson. None of these guys really jump out as stars to me. Jalen Ramsey is big and fast, but he also gets beat deep sometimes. Bosa is tough to block, but he'd rather get high that work on his game. Myles Jack was injured all of last year and he kind of comes off as a spoiled brat. Hargreaves was torched by Michigan and Jake Rudock in the Citrus Bowl. That should scare a lot of teams away. Shaq Lawson is fast, but he is very undersized. None of these guys project as a Charles Woodson or a Bruce Smith. They all seem more like situational type players that will look good at times, but will also look mediocre most times. Even the offensive line players, usually the easiest ones to predict future success, look suspect with one exception. That exception is Laremy Tunsil. He is going to be a very, very good offensive lineman in the NFL. He has the size, strength, footwork and ability to put it all together. Everyone else in this draft is very ho hum to me. I don't see any great players, except for Tunsil. This is the biggest reason I think the Browns and Titans traded out of the top two spots. There's no pressure from the fan base to take a QB that early. The Titans already have a good, young QB in Marcus Mariota and the Browns, they have time to put a team together. Robert Griffin is not going to turn that team around.

Which brings us to my third question for the Browns, are they willing to draft a QB in the later rounds and let him sit behind Griffin for a couple of years? Absolutely. They have nothing but time. They can wait because that team is a total pile of garbage. The fans have no expectations for this team to be any good for awhile now. They can take someone and stash him on the bench and let him learn the system. They got rid of Johnny Manziel, who is a locker room cancer and just an all around garbage person, so the young QB they draft will not have to listen to his whining and complaining. And the Titans, they can draft a ton of other weapons with all the picks they stockpiled to help out Mariota in a year or two.

I can't believe I'm going to say this, but the Titans and the Browns front offices both did a very good job, getting these deals done. The Eagles and the Rams on the other hand, they made very poor choices. I'm sure the Rams will take Goff and I'm sure they'll go 6-10 or 7-9 like they do every year and their offense will be inept. Poor Todd Gurley. He has to deal with this shotty offense. He is the only real playmaker and Goff will not make any team fear the pass. Everyone will load the box against the Rams. And I'm sure the Eagles will take Wentz, which will piss off Sam Bradford, but the inevitable moment he gets injured, Wentz will be thrown into the fire. That's not how you want to bring a young QB along in the NFL. This draft is crummy and I don't get all the hype surrounding the QB's and the two big trades.

On a more serious not, I just want to say Rest In Peace to Prince. I heard the news that he died at the age of 57 today. I don't know too much about Prince, other than the fact that he is an exceptional guitar player and that he has written some of the best pop songs of all time. He voice just wasn't for me. But, I know our head editor, RD, is a huge fan of his and I know he will put together a much better, much more touching piece than I could ever write for you guys. You will be missed Prince and the cool people in the world need to quit dying.

Also, Rest In Peace to Pearl Washington. Many of you may not know who he was, but he is one of the all time great college basketball players. He played for Syracuse during the time when the Big East was the best and most competitive conference in the sport and Pearl Washington was the best player. He combined street ball with college ball and shined. He was an all time great. We lost two great people this week and that stinks. Rest In Peace Pearl Washington and Prince. You both will be missed by a lot of people.

Ty

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

Ty is not impressed with the undefeated Carolina Panthers

This is how scary the Panters are right now

This is how scary the Panters are right now

Yesterday I gave a lot of love to the undefeated Golden State Warriors. Today, I'm going to talk about another undefeated team, this time in the NFL, that hasn't impressed me.

I heaped a ton of praise on the Warriors, rightfully so, but the Carolina Panthers may be the most suspect 10-0 NFL team that I've seen in quite some time. Sure, Cam Newton is playing like an MVP this year. And their defense is about as shut down as they come. But, their run game has been spotty, at best, and they have no real receivers since Kelvin Benjamin went down in the preseason. Devin Funchess has turned it on as of late and Greg Olsen is, right now, the second best tight end in the league behind Rob Gronkowski. But, the main reason they are undefeated is, their schedule has been one of the easiest in the NFL. The ten teams that they've beaten are as follows; the Jaguars(4-6), the Texans(5-5), the Saints(4-6), the Buccaneers(5-5), the Seahawks(5-5), the Eagles(4-6), the Colts(5-5), the Packers(7-3), the Titans(2-8) and the team from Washington(4-6). The rest of their schedule has the Cowboys(3-7), Saints again, the Falcons(6-4), the Giants(5-5), Falcons again and their season ends with the Buccaneers. For those of you keeping track at home, that's 2 teams with a winning record, the Packers are good, but the Falcons are not. That's 4 teams that are at .500. The best of the .500 teams may be the Seahawks, and they've given up big leads at home, Marshawn Lynch is hurt, Russell Wilson is STRUGGLING and they don't know how to effectively use Jimmy Graham. The Buccaneers are shockingly a .500 team, but they're led by a rookie QB. Sure, Jameis Winston has looked good lately, but he's still a rookie. The Texans stink. I don't care that they recently beat the Bengals, they have no offense and, other than JJ Watt and Vince Wilfork, their defense stinks. And the Colts have been the biggest disappointment in the NFL. The rest of the teams they've beaten are all below .500. The Jaguars have won two straight, but it's still the Jaguars. They are about four or five years away from competing for anything important. The Saints play absolutely no defense. None whatsoever. They are awful. The Eagles are just as bad as the Saints, if not worse. They have no clue what to do on offense because Chip Kelly is an idiot and their defense just gave up 45 points, at home, to the Buccaneers. The Titans have nothing. They have a rookie QB, no running game, no receivers and no defense. They will probably end up with the worst record in the NFL this year. And the team from Washington is a joke in every sense of the word. They are an irrelevant franchise at the moment.

So, when you look at who the 10-0 Panthers have beaten, it's by no means a murderers row. We are talking a combined record of 45-55. That's pretty bad. That's really bad actually. They've also had to squeak out victories over the Titans two weeks ago, the Saints in week three without Drew Brees, they needed overtime to beat the Colts in week 8 and they needed a game saving interception to beat the Packers after they squandered a huge fourth quarter lead. The only real blow out came last week when they trashed Washington. A lot of teams have crushed Washington this year.

Now, it's hard to win 10 straight games, and just as I stated yesterday, you need luck and teams to blow games to have streaks that last this long. What the Panthers have done is very good and a bit intriguing, but if I was a team coming to play them in Carolina for a playoff game, I wouldn't be that worried about them. They don't have a very good home field advantage. They don't strike fear in their opponents. Put Cam Newton on any other team, the Panthers would be lucky to be 5-5 right now. For an example, put him on the Titans, and they'd be a 5-5 or 6-4 team right now. That's how good he's been this year. I didn't think he'd make much of a pro, but he's gotten better every year, and he's become an MVP candidate. But, he doesn't scare me when it comes to the playoffs.

This has happened with the Panthers before. Two or three years ago, they were the surprise of the NFL, winning their division with a 12-4 record. They seemed like a lock to get to the conference championship, but they got crushed in their playoff game and became an after thought. They have a real chance to go undefeated this year though. Their schedule the rest of the way is very easy, with their toughest game coming next week at Dallas. They should win that easily. So, let's say they finish the regular season 16-0. They'd be the number one seed and have a first round bye. They'd also have home field advantage. And let's just say they win that second round playoff game to advance to the NFC title. They'd either get the Green Bay Packers or the Arizona Cardinals. Those are the three best teams in the NFC in my opinion. I'd take the Packers, I picked them to win the Super Bowl, or the Cardinals in a second over the Panthers if I were a betting man. I know, the Panthers already beat Green Bay, but the end of that game showed me that the Packers know how to score on the Panthers. And the Cardinals, I think they'd absolutely crush the Panthers in a playoff game. They have an excellent secondary that would shut down their mediocre receivers, and someone will cover Greg Olsen. And the Cardinals offense, if healthy, I could see them scoring 40 by the end of the third quarter. They will beat them with the run, and their receivers are bigger and more physical than the Panthers secondary. It would be a totally lost season for the Panthers.

I will say again, good for you Carolina for being undefeated this late in the year, but until you win some games against quality opponents, I'm not impressed. The Warriors you are not Carolina, sorry. Good luck, and I hope Cam Newton continues to get better because he's fun to watch, but I just don't see them as a viable, fear inducing opponent to whoever they will face in the playoffs. The Panthers will have a very good regular season, possibly an undefeated one, but they will crap out in the playoffs, that's what they do.

They aren't champions yet.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He just recently learned there is a North and South Carolina. What's next, a New Mexico? 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

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.