Better Late than Never on the Average Film "Fences", and the Incredible Artist Viola Davis

Yesterday I watched the movie "Fences".

It was a very good movie. I understand that. But, I was not wowed, with one exception. I understand it is hard to take a play and adapt it for the movie screen. "Fences" was one monologue after another. The monologues and performances were great, but after the first hour, I got kind of bored with the constant single shot and 5 minutes of straight dialogue from one of the main actors. Denzel Washington was tremendous as the main character, Troy. He is always great, and this was no exception. Everyone else in the movie, his children and the side characters, they were just fine. None of them wowed me, but I never thought their parts should have been cut.

The lone exception was Viola Davis. She was phenomenal. She was/is a powerhouse actor. She owned every single scene she was in. She was, by far, the best thing about this movie. I could not take my eyes off her when she was in screen. Her monologues were the best. Her performance out shined everyone else, including Denzel. The final scene, where she talks to her son, was as powerful a scene that I have ever seen in a period drama. She was amazing.

I did some research after watching the movie and came upon the fact that she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress. She won, as she should have, but supporting actress? Give me a god damn break. She was just as much the lead in this movie as Denzel was. I know Washington directed the movie, and he was doing the play, but Davis was an equal star. I don't know who was up for Best Actress in the most recent Oscars, but the fact that Davis had to be put in the Supporting category is ridiculous. She was easily the best actress from all the nominated movies that I have seen thus far. I HAD to watch every scene she was in. I stopped everything else I might have been doing to watch her performance. The same cannot be said for anyone else in "Fences". I watched the movie intently, but when Davis wasn't on screen, I'd let my mind drift, check email, or just lay down. But, the moment Davis came back on screen, I sat straight up, put my phone down and focused.

I know Davis won the Oscar, but I still feel like she is underrated and not as appreciated as she deserves. She is pretty much good in everything she is in, and in "Fences", she was the best actor on screen. I mean, I would have given Denzel best actor over Casey Affleck, but Davis would have won it over anyone last year. I do not care who was up for Best Actress, Viola Davis out acted them all by a mile with her role in "Fences". I cannot wait to see what she does next, and I hope she starts to get her due as the wonderful actor that she is. She is great on the Shonda Rimes show, "How to Get Away with Murder", she has been great in bit roles here and there, but she was masterful in "Fences".

My hat goes off to the wonderful Viola Davis.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He just remembered who won the Best Actress Award this year. It was Emma Stone for either "Hawaii" or "White People: The Musical". Way to go Oscars.

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Better Late than Never on the Strange, and Great, Movie "The Lobster"

Yesterday I was finally able to finish the movie, "The Lobster". I started it a few days ago, but with picking up my kid from school and doing things during the day with my daughter, it usually takes me 2 to 3 sittings to finish a 2 hour movie. "The Lobster" was recommended to me by a few people who's taste in movie I very much trust. I am not a Colin Farrell fan when he plays an American in some stupid action movie, but, when he gets to use his own dialect and accent, the results always seem so much better. I was assured by said people that he spoke with his Irish tone in "The Lobster". I was also told that the tone and pace of this movie was right up my alley. I like darker, dystopian future movies. I appreciate when writers and directors make a movie of the not so distant future and it isn't all peachy and sweet. I'm usually right on board. That is exactly what "The Lobster" did.

"The Lobster" movie takes place in a very near future in Ireland. People who have lost their spouse, be it divorce, death or them just straight up leaving, are sent to a hotel where they have 45 days to find a mate. I call it a hotel, but it seems more like a prison. At the end of the 45 days, if they haven't found a partner, they get turned into an animal of their choosing. Sounds pretty weird, right? Well, I loved the story this movie was telling. It is such a weird concept, but maybe, just maybe, this is something that could definitely happen in the near future.

The movie opens with a lady driving out to the hills of Ireland and shooting a cow. I was confused, yet intrigued. We then see Farrell and a lady is talking off camera, letting him know that she is leaving him. Farrell has glasses on, and his only question to her is, "is the man near sighted?". He seems upset, but more so at the man's sight as opposed to the fact that his wife is leaving him for this other person. Farrell then checks himself into this hotel with his dog. He states to the clerk at the front office that maybe they remember his brother, he had been there a few years ago. She does not remember him. This was when I started to suspect that the dog may have been his brother. Farrell then goes to his room and is asked a plethora of questions involving his sexual past and present, and what kind of animal he would want to be turned into if he doesn't find a mate. This was so uncomfortable, but also fascinating to watch. This was the exact moment that Farrell won me over in this movie. His performance, as a monotone loner that is upset, but won't show it, was spot on.

After all the inquisition, we jump cut to a scene at the hotel dining room area. By the way, this blog is going to be filled with spoilers. Nothing too big yet, but it is coming. In the dining hall we meet 2 of Farrell's "friends" at the hotel, played by John C Reilly and Ben Whishaw. Both are wonderful in their smallish roles. Reilly is a total punching bag. He lets people walk all over him. Whishaw is a snake that will do whatever it takes to find a mate. He was tremendous in the movie. After they have a very bizarre dance scene, everyone is whisked away in a bus to go and "hunt" outsiders. Outsiders are people that have either left the hotel or do not want to go this this terrible place. They live in the woods and anytime the hotel occupants come to "hunt" them, they use tranquilizer darts to capture the Outsiders and bring them back to the hotel, the Outsiders fight back or try to get away. The "hunting" scenes are intense.

Throughout the first 2/3 of this movie, we get a narrator telling the story of how she met Farrell's character. It is very helpful to give you some kind of idea of what is going on. After the first "hunt", Farrell meets a lady that only has a day or 2 left to find someone, and she claims she is going to kill herself if she doesn't find someone. Another lady he meets at the pool has one day left, and she proclaims to him that she cannot wait to be turned into a mini horse. She has beautiful hair, so she sees that being the only animal she can turn into. There is a third lady that, as the narrator says, "is the most heartless person that ever existed". Farrell decides that he is going to make the heartless lady his companion. He puts on a whole show for her, and she agrees to be his mate. They get moved to the couples hotel, they have a separate spot for couples, and they have one of the most unsatisfying and unhappy relationships that I have ever seen. This is what the lady wants. It is not what Farrell wants. At one point Farrell wakes up and he sees blood on the lady's leg and she has told him that she "killed his brother. There was no struggle". I was horrified by this because it meant that she killed his dog, and it reaffirmed my suspicion that the dog was his brother.  Farrell shows his first true sign of emotion, going to the bathroom to cry, and his mate finds him, calls him an unfit match and starts to march him towards the room where they transform people into animals. Farrell manages to escape her, with a little help from a hotel worker, and flees the scene, but not before transforming the lady who killed his dog/brother. We never see what animal he transforms her to, but I think it is better that way. While fleeing, he finds the Outsiders and asks to join them. They have a leader, and she allows him in the group.

Throughout his transformation from hotel attendant to Outsider, Farrell, and the viewing audience, meet the narrator. She has no name, but Rachel Weisz plays her, and she is amazing in the role. She still narrates the movie, but we get to see some dialogue between her and Farrell. The Outsiders are supposed to be opposed to the hotel and what they do, but they do have some weird rules. There can be no physical contact between the people in the group. If someone kisses someone, they get their tongues cut out. You can imagine how much worse it gets the further the relationship goes. Farrell fits in so well with the Outsiders, he is fourth in command within no time. The four main Outsiders travel to the city to get the things they need to go and try to destroy the hotel and its occupants. These scenes are great, and when they do storm the hotel, it is a pretty cool scene.

Soon after the hotel fight, Farrell and Weisz start to find a way to be romantically involved without getting in trouble. They find ways to communicate and find times to be alone. This all comes to a head when a mole finds Weisz's journal. The leader of the Outsiders takes things into her own hands and makes Farrell dig his own grave and blinds Weisz's character. Weisz thinks that she is getting surgery to correct her eyes, she is short sighted, but the leader wants her blinded for having emotional feelings with another Outsider. Farrell had to dig his own grave and put dirt on his body, but that was as bad as it got for him. He and Weisz decide that they are going to leave the woods and live a life in the city. But, when Farrell finds out she is blind, he is not so sure anymore. Eventually love wins out for him, and he and Weisz find a way to get out. Farrell knocks out the leader and puts her in the grave he just dug and he and Weisz flee during the daylight. The final scene has Farrell and Weisz at a restaurant and Farrell heads to the bathroom with a knife, possibly to blind himself. The movie ends on that cliffhanger. We do not know if he goes through it or not.

What I enjoyed so much about "The Lobster" is the way they approached the stigma of single people that are older. They made it seem bad, but who really cares? I also liked the way they showed how far people will go for love, see Farrell pondering blinding himself. "The Lobster" is weird and different and not for everyone. I loved it, and if you like dark movies that will make you think, I recommend checking it out. "The Lobster" stays with you and really makes you contemplate how far, or what you'd do for love. It was an interesting and very well made movie.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. If put in the same situation as the movie, Ty would choose to be transformed into a butterfly. As Bart Simpson says, "No one suspects the butterfly".

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"American Horror Story" Opened with the Terror of Trump, Then a Clown Showed Up

Ty's tv once the clown showed up

I do not watch the show "American Horror Story". I have made this exact statement on the podcast, and now, I'm saying it on the site. The show is terrifying. I do not like to be scared by real life stuff. This show does dramatizations of some real stories and it freaks me out. Hell, I am even scared of the theme song. The commercials leading up to this season scared the hell out of me. I'd be watching "the Simpsons", and bam! an "American Horror Story" commercial would come on and horrify me. My wife loves the show. She watches it religiously. She stays up late to watch the episodes in real time so she doesn't have anything spoiled for her. She is a big time fan.

With all this being said, I wanted to watch the opening scene of the newest season last night. I have read and heard many things about how this season of "AHS" was going to have some kind of focus on the horrific events that occurred in November. You all know what I am talking about. I had heard that the first 10 minutes was totally worth watching for anyone and everyone that is very upset and horrified by what happened in November. So, I told my wife that I wanted to see the opening scene. I did not want to watch the entire episode, no way, but I wanted to see what all the hubbub was about. I am also very luke warm on Ryan Murphy as a writer, but this is a subject that he knows very well. I assume he is liberal, so I wanted to see how he handled all the crazy, inexplicable things that happened in the last election.

When the show started I was immediately shocked back to how upset I was the night of November 7th. The show started with that golfing, racist oaf accepting the Republican nomination. The very next scene had the rightful winner, the people's choice for president, Hilary Clinton, accepting the Democratic nomination. Then "AHS" kept showing all the media coverage trying to come to grips with what was happening. The CNN's, MSNBC's, BBC's, every news network except for one big omission, by choice I assume, trying to grasp what was happening. It brought back very painful memories for me. I was, and still am, very upset and feel betrayed by what happened 7 months ago. It was a travesty, and now, especially with this ridiculous DACA repeal, god I hope it doesn't pass, I am even more terrified by what this so called "government" and the most heartless group of Republicans in history continues to do everyday. I am so terrified by what they want to take away from people that cause them no harm.

The horror was played so expertly by Sarah Paulson. She and Alison Pil play a married couple with a young child. They live in a fancy-ish home and they are clearly a liberal family. When the news that Clinton had stepped back, Paulson's character immediately starts sobbing and seems to be having a panic attack. She is walking around her house cursing the names of anyone that said that Clinton had this election in the bag. She couldn't fathom how that racist oaf "won" the election. Pil, her wife, was there to console her, telling her to do her breathing exercises and to try and calm down. Paulson could not. She was beside herself. Their housekeeper was there with the child, and she was trying to shield her from seeing one of her parents act this way. The little girl says to Paulson, after she has calmed down for a minute, "I don't want you two to have to get divorced, I want you two to still be my parents". This was absolutely heart breaking, and all too real. Paulson and Pil reassured her that they were not going anywhere. This only further set off Paulson.

On the opposite end, Evan Peters, who is a terrifying psychopath in every season of "AHS", plays a supporter of the racist, golfing orange buffoon. His character is so thrilled by the outcome that he is literally humping his television and saying that a revolution was going to start. At one point he puts a bunch of cheese poofs in a blender and grinds them to a dust. The next time we see him, he shows up in his sister's room, a Clinton supporter, with the cheese poof dust covering his face so he can look like his "hero" I presume. She asks him if he is there to gloat, and he just creepily stares at her face and tries to wipe some dust on her face. She pushes him away and he leaves the room.

There is also a family of Spanish decent and all of them are very upset at the outcome, and they are all complaining about the lack of people that voted. This was the group I identified with most from what I saw. They were so upset that people just decided to forgo their voting, thinking it didn't matter. That is wrong and one of the main reasons that what happened actually happened.

After this first 10 minutes or so some super creepy clown showed up, and as you all know by now I am absolutely horrified by clowns, I left the room. I was already upset by what I had seen because it brought up so many old, bad memories. It was like reopening a scar that I just cannot get rid of. Then the clown showed up, and I was out. I told my wife I was going to bed to watch sports to get my mind off of what I had just seen. But, as I said, this was almost too real an opening scene for a fictional show. It was almost documentary like. It showed all sides the night of the election, and I have to say, Ryan Murphy and the group of writers absolutely nailed it.

I will not be watching anymore of "AHS: Cult" because I do not need to relive the last 7 months, I am living it now, and the show has a terrifying, killer clown on it. But, this season, at least the opening scene, perfectly captured the reactions from, at the very least, 3 groups of people that the outcome will effect, either positive or negative. That being said, there is no positive that came from that terrible night in early November. Ryan Murphy did a masterful job though, this cannot be understated at all. I'm not a fan, as I said, but he did a great job with this source material. I'm sure my wife will tell me about the episodes, but after seeing the first 10 minutes last night I was reminded why I choose to not watch this show. While it is a great show, it is horrifying and this season, it is all too real.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He wants to live in a country where the majority of people hava a choice in who their President is. A place like the United States in 2008 and 2012. That's right, Obama crushed his competition and won more votes than any one, ever. That is Trump's American Horror Story.

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Ty Watches Week One of the 2017 College Football Season

With the Tennessee Volunteers coming up with a double overtime victory over Georgia Tech last night, the first official weekend of the 2017 NCAA football season is done, and I have some quick initial reactions.

First off, Tennessee got lucky. That play that the Yellow Jackets ran last night was not the best play, and it took away from what they had done all night that was successful. It was a great game that ended on a so so play call.

As far as other top 25 action, there is a decent amount to unpack. Texas is not there yet. I know a ton of people thought they were going to roll over Maryland, but Maryland had other plans. While they let the Longhorns back into the game, letting them get as close as 3 points, they scored 51 on them. Fourteen of those came from a backup true freshman QB too. Maryland had their way with a very bad Texas defense. Tom Hermann has quite a job ahead of him. The rest of the Big 12 did what everyone thought they would do, with one exception. Oklahoma, and more importantly, Baker Mayfield, looked dynamite, albeit it was against UTEP. Kansas State crushed their opponent. Oklahoma State did the same. Baylor was the lone exception. I was so very, very, very happy to see that Liberty beat them and hung 43 on them in the process. I wish nothing but bad things for the Baylor football program.

The Pac 12 was very blah this past weekend. USC struggled early, then ran away from Western Michigan. Stanford destroyed Rice the weekend before. Washington struggled at first with Rutgers, but they won. Their win, and play, was very uninspired though. Oregon cruised past their opponent in Willie Taggert's first game. And UCLA spotted Texas A&M a 34 point lead, but managed to come all the way back and win by a point. Other than that, no real big time Pac 12 matchups.

In the Big 10, The University of Ohio State looked sluggish in the first half against Indiana, but woke up and slaughtered them in the second half. That being said, I do not think JT Barrett is one of the front runners for the Heisman anymore though. He looked very average. Their defense and run game is what won that game for them. Wisconsin and Penn State opened up against 2 over matched schools and did exactly what you would expect them to. Both of them cruised, giving up a combined 10 points. Michigan State came out of the gates slow, but pulled away from an overmatched Bowling Green team. Northwestern struggled, but pulled away very late against Nevada. And my guys, Michigan, left me feeling the same as I did before the start of the season. Their defense looked very good, but Florida is atrocious on offense. They also had 10 guys suspended for the game. Michigan's defense was the fastest I have ever seen in my time watching them though. The offense, more importantly, the O-line and Wilton Speight, still frustrate me to no end. Speight was way too over hyped in the first half. That second straight pick 6 made me want to punch a hole in my wall. He rebounded in the second half, but the run game and the defense were the reasons why Michigan won so comfortably.

The SEC looked pretty good. LSU shut out a pretty decent BYU team. Derius Guice looks like the real deal too. If LSU can find a passing game, they could cause trouble at the top of the conference. Auburn cruised against a lesser opponent. Georgia won, but lost their starting QB for what looks like it could be awhile. They have a great run game though. Missouri scored 72 points, but they gave up 43 to Missouri State. A bunch of people are telling Michigan fans to calm down after they beat Florida, but I live in Saint Louis, and Missouri fans around here think they are going to play offense like that all year. Maybe they need to calm down a bit. Missouri State is not even up to Kentucky's level in football. I already mentioned Tennessee. Kentucky won, but barely over Southern Miss. For my thoughts on Florida, see above. Again though, their offense is horrid. The big win for the SEC was Alabama once again proving they are the most dominant team in college football. Sure their offense didn't look any better than last year, but that defense, my goodness are they great. Yeah they lost 2 linebackers, but I'm sure they have 2 more who are just as good as the other guys and they will step in and not miss a beat. Also, FSU has a very solid defense, but more on them later. Alabama is not only the cream of the crop in the SEC, but the best team in the nation, and it is not even close.

Then we have the ACC. Miami pulled away early in the second half. Clemson trounced their opponent. Georgia Tech should have won last night but blew it. Louisville got a great performance out of Lamar Jackson, but they struggled to pull away from Purdue, only winning the game by a single touchdown. The biggest mess though was FSU. As I said, their defense is great. Easily a top 10 defense in the country. But, they lost their starting QB, and my preseason Heisman winner, Deondre Francois. He tore his patellar tendon muscle and he is done for the year. That is a tremendous, possibly season altering injury. I'm sure they have a solid backup, but Francois was the heart and soul of that offense. The other players fed off of him, and now, he is gone. This is a kid who takes so many hits too, I expected him to bounce right back up. After he sat on the ground for awhile, I knew something was wrong. He was getting shellacked all night, and it finally caught up to him and FSU. Cam Akers will have to take on a much bigger role, and he looked pretty good at times against the best defense in college football, but he is 18 years old. He was playing high schoolers at this time last year. FSU can still win the ACC, and even make the playoff, but to lose Francois for the year in the first game is brutal. I'll have a new Heisman winner when I do my mid season checkup, but if I had to pick someone right now, after one full weekend of NCAA football, I'd have to choose between Baker Mayfield, RD's pick or Derius Guice. I'll go with Guice right now because he played a much better team than Mayfield played.

As far as none "power 5" teams, Notre Dame won pretty handily over Temple this weekend, and got back in the top 25. We will see how they do against Georgia this weekend, but they got a break with Eason going down. South Florida won, but it took them a very long time to pull away from a very inferior opponent. And I know I didn't even mention them in my preseason stuff, but good for Howard, a 45 point underdog, to come out to UNLV, get paid 500,000 dollars for going there, and, not only cover the spread, but win the game. According to point spread history, that was the biggest upset of all time.

Nothing else truly jumped out to me. I saw Iowa shut down Josh Allen, the presumed number one pick in the upcoming NFL draft, so good for them. Washington State scored a ton, as many predicted. But, for the most part, everything went according to plan this weekend, with Texas being the only outlier.

I am so stoked that college football is back, and I wanted to give some gut reactions to week one. Saturday's cannot come fast enough now. Football is back, and I am so thrilled.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. His wall is doing ok since the Wolverines did not throw three pick sixes. If that happens, Ty may need a whole new home.

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Labor Day Thrives in Spite of the Great Herbert Kornfelds of the World

This Labor Day your not-the-office should be the lake

In honor of Labor Day I'm going to write a short ode to the one man personifies what this holiday means.

The man I speak of is the great Herbert Kornfeld. The people who know him know him as H-Dog. This is a man that loves his job so much, he doesn't understand why he has to work on a holiday he compares to Columbus Day and Memorial Day. He thinks these holidays are the "unholiest dayz of tha fiscal year". H-Dog doesn't want to miss any opportunity to work with his clients, even if it is "Labya Day". He does, "enjoy his time with his shorties", but he just doesn't think the first weekend in September deserves to be a holiday.

I get it. H-Dog wants to get paid, and I cannot argue with him on that at all. Getting a paycheck is a joy right up there with the best things in life. H-Dog despises "Labya Day" so much, he goes cruisin around town just to find businesses that might be open, just to get his fix. Luckily for him, after a long, unfulfilled search, he rolled up to his alma mater and saw some of his "A.R. homies kickin back on the lawn". Even though it was "Labya Day", they were still putting in work. They may have been relaxing a bit too much for H-Dog's liking, but at least they were doing something.

H-Dog loves his job and doesn't want to miss time. But, sometimes you have to enjoy a day off. I feel like at the end of his story, he finally realizes this, even though he isn't thrilled. Herbert Kornfeld is a man who loves work, and we should all aspire to his commitment to his work. Hell, he is the reason I'm writing on this day.

So, in honor of H-Dog and "Labya Day" go check out some of his old writings on "The Onion", and you can thank me later.(I fully understand that Herb Kornfeld is a joke, but it is a masterful one, and makes me love "The Onion" that much more)

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He never takes off a holiday from being the internet's greatest writer. Well, if the holiday was on the weekend he would take it off. Or if it was a cool holiday like Fruitcake Toss Day.

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Ty Listens to "American Dream"

After a 6 year layoff, and having one of the greatest close out concerts in recent memory, LCD Soundsystem released their newest "comeback" album, "American Dream". I have already listened to it twice and I have to say, this record is amazing. It is oddly comforting for me. They sound like a better version of themselves from the past. They sound so much tighter. They sound like they are having the most fun of their professional careers. James Murphy has never sounded better, at least in my opinion. The music and the writing is absolutely top notch. I am so very impressed by this record.

I got an email from Ticketmaster this morning that was a message from Murphy. He stated that the new record was out, how hard they had worked on it, and he said that he felt like this is the best work they have ever done. This made me a teeny tiny bit worried. I always get cold feet when someone says, "this is the best work we have ever done". Especially when it is a band that I love. Their earlier stuff is already amazing, and I already stated that their final concert, which was made into a tremendous movie, "Shut Up and Play the Hits", was fantastic. So I didn't know how much better they could truly get.

I bought the record, because of course I was going to buy it. I turned it on, and I was so very, very impressed by what I was listening to. You can tell that they really poured their heart and souls into this new record. The 6 year layoff almost seems worth it because "American Dream" is so wonderful. Like I said, I have never heard James Murphy sound this great. He sounds like modern day David Bryne. In fact, I was listening to the record with my dad and he asked me if The Talking Heads put out a new record. He didn't think it was LCD Soundsystem. And, it is not like he doesn't know the band. He listens to them with me all the time. The more I thought about that comment from my dad, I thought that was the best way to describe this new record. On "American Dream", LCD Soundsystem sounds like a 21st century Talking Heads. That is a tremendous compliment for those that know me. I became a big Talking Heads fan after college, and to hear a modern band that I am a big fan of sound like them is just phenomenal. Every song has that Talking Heads sound, but put into the 21st century. It is like a mix of Talking Heads and Daft Punk, in all the best possible ways. LCD Soundsystem brings that excellent electronic sound combined with their rock and roll roots. The band, especially the keys player, plays synth music so perfectly. Then, the guitarist, bassist and drummer add that rock to the mix and it is such a wonderful combination of great musicians. Then throw in Murphy's vocals and it is a perfect collection of great musicians coming together at the best possible time.

Every song on the record is tremendous. It is hard to just point out one or 2. I wrote and talked about the 2 songs they released early as singles, and the rest of the record is just as good as those songs were the first time I heard them. Every song has that classic LCD Soundsystem slow burn and then explosion that just makes you want to dance. I was grooving very hard in my car, and so was my daughter. She was having a blast in her car seat. The record only has 10 songs, but it runs a shade over an hour long. That is about 6 minutes per song, but none of the songs seem that long. In fact, I wish all the songs were pushing 10 minutes. This isn't a jam band, all these songs have proper progressions and the 6 minute plus run time per song is perfect. I could listen to this band play a 20 minute long song and never feel bored. They are so much more fun than jam bands.

I love LCD Soundsystem and "American Dream" is a tremendous return. I hope they continue to play live shows and they continue to make more and more new music. I'm so glad that they are back and they are still making some of the best music out there right now. Welcome back LCD Soundsystem, and please stick around for another decade making great, great music.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is quite happy when he and his daughter can dance to the same music. There is only so much "Yo Gabba Gabba" one grown ass man can take. 

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"Guardians of the Galaxy" is the Best Movie Franchise Out There Right Now

Microwave popcorn taste better with a better movie franchise

I finally saw "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" this past weekend. This is not going to be a review of the movie though. That being said, the movie was incredible. I loved everything about it. I literally cannot find one thing that made me think, "they should have left that out". It was amazing, and I highly recommend, if you haven't already, watching this movie multiple times. It is so great and makes me very excited for where they are going to take these characters in future movies.

My topic for today came up when I was watching the movie with my wife. We were about 3/4 of the way through the movie, and after being silent because we were both so amazed at what we were watching, I said to her, "Guardians has taken over the "X-Men" movies as my favorite superhero movies". That was not something I ever thought I would say. I love all the "X-Men" movies, save for "Origins: Wolverine", that was a pile of trash. But, other than that, I think they are all fantastic. I know some people weren't as high on "The Wolverine" or "Apocalypse", but I found both of those very enjoyable. I love the first 2 original "X-Men" movies, and the third one was great until the last 40 minutes lost all the credibility that the first 2 had built up. Then, after the debacle that "Origins" was, they really rebounded very nicely with "The New Class" and the second one in that franchise. I never thought anything would take away my love for the "X-Men" movies, as far as the superhero genre was involved.

Then I saw the first "Guardians of the Galaxy" and I was blown away. The movie was dark, fun, funny, fast paced, action packed, well acted and directed, it was a total homerun. I went out and bought Funko brand bobble heads of both Starlord and Groot after seeing the first movie. I loved Rocket Raccoon. He is probably my second favorite superhero now, behind only Wolverine. Gamorra is a total badass. I'd rather have her on my team than most superheroes. Drax is just wonderful. Every character, and everything about that first movie was perfect. I was already a built in James Gunn fan too (St. Louis pride), so he didn't have to do too much to win me over. But, he went above and beyond and made one of the greatest super hero movies ever with the first "Guardians".

I was very excited to see the second one right after watching the first one on Blu-Ray. I didn't get to see it in the theaters because I have 2 young kids and it is hard to get out, but when it was released on the 22nd of August, and after numerous people, RD included, kept praising it, I could not wait to watch it. I had very, very high hopes after the first one being so good and all the buzz the second one got. I was hoping it was going to live up to the hype, and from the first battle scene at the very beginning of "Vol. 2", I was hooked. I just knew that, not only would it live up to the hype, but it would surpass it.

First off, this movie was beautiful to look at. The colors and the set designs and every visual was magical. The Ravager funeral, semi spoiler alert for those that haven't seen it, but know what Ravagers are, was a sight to behold. The colors were so amazing, it looked like a painting. And the actors, once again, totally brought their A game. Everyone was stupendous, but Drax was especially wonderful. Dave Bautista does such a great job with this role. He is so, so funny and plays the role to perfection. Baby Groot was almost as adorable as my almost 2 year old daughter.(She is the most adorable person ever, so that is high praise) But, it was right around the time that Nebula broke loose and trapped Yondu and Rocket that I really started to think, "these are better than "X-Men". I was just, honestly, moved by what I was watching. There are times when the "X-Men" movies can drag a little bit, but with the first 2 "Guardians" movies, I have never felt bored or thought they could lose a scene or 2 that made the final cut.

Everything they put in these movies seems essential and important to the story they are telling. And the people that they got to play bit parts in "Vol. 1" and "Vol. 2" are incredible. "X-Men" does have major actors, Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian McKellan to name a few, but they play major roles. They are lead characters. In "Vol. 1", both Peter Serawincz and John C Reilly play future cops. They don't have many lines, but both of those guys are pretty famous in their own rights, and they just wanted to be in the movie. Glenn close has a small role as the chief of these futuristic cops. She is one of the better actors of all time. In "Vol. 2", Sly Stallone shows up, and he has one important scene, then a few lines near the end. That is it. Kurt Russell has a pretty big role, but I would probably bill him as the fourth or fifth person in the credits. That is amazing to me that stars of their caliber just want to be in these movies, no matter how big or small the role. You don't see that in many super hero movies across the board. Some may say, well what about JK Simmons in "Spiderman", or Gary Oldman in Christopher Nolan's "Batman" movies, but I think those roles are pretty important. They are both way bigger than what Stallone did in "Vol. 2". And, you don't see many people popping up for cameos in the "X-Men" movies because all the mutants are played by stars, so they don't have a Stallone or Russell type role for super star actors to just show up and play. Both "Vol. 1" and "Vol. 2" have allowed Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana and Dave Bautista to become household names. Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel are already known, but another point goes to the people that make "Guardians of the Galaxy" because we never see their faces. They are voice actors for these movies. That's amazing, especially in Diesel's case, because he seems like the kind of dude that wants to be the star of everything. The fact that he is willing to just say, "I am Groot" is a big deal to me. I don't know how the people who make the "Guardians" movies convinced him to do only that, but my hat goes off to them.

Both "Guardians of the Galaxy" movies are incredible. They are so much fun and just so great to watch. I will even go as far to say that I like "Vol. 2" more than I like "Logan", and I LOVED "Logan". This is not meant to sound like me crapping on the "X-Men" movies either. I will watch all of them , except one, anytime they are on TV. But, I will stop everything I am doing, turn my phone and computer off so I can watch both "Guardians of the Galaxy" movies. They are that good, and they deserve my full attention. I can't truly say that about any other super hero movies. But, "Guardians" is worth getting totally sucked into, and having a good time. I'm so excited to see where this franchise goes from here, and I cannot wait for "Vol. 3".

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He wants James Gunn to know that his hometown of St. Louis would be a good setting for Vol. 3, and Ty is ready to take on the role of "awestruck bystander". Give us a call.  

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I Don't Watch "Game of Thrones", and I Thought the Last Season Was Pretty Great

That ice dragon sure kicked ass

The most recent season of "Game of Thrones" just ended, and there has been a lot of chatter that this was the "worst" season, or it was "too scatterbrained", it was "illogical", basically, most of the "people in the know" didn't think this season was as good as the others.The question of the day is, Was "Game of Thrones" that bad this year.

First off, I do not watch "GOT". I tried. I watched the first three episodes, and it was just too much for me. I'm smart, but I'm a slow learner, and "GOT" seemed to introduce a new character every 5 minutes of the show. I just couldn't keep up. But, my wife and father love the show. They watch it together in fact. My folks would come over every Sunday, we'd all eat dinner together and, after the kids were put to bed, my wife and father would turn on "GOT". I did not pay much attention, but I was present, as was my mom, when the show was on. I'd go in and out of each episode. I didn't want to be a bother, so I didn't ask many questions and, when I did watch, I just kept quiet.

From an outsiders point of view, I thought this most recent season was kind of exciting. I'm a pretty simple guy, so when I see flying dragons breathing fire, I think it is cool. I thought the battle scenes that I was privy to were very exciting. Those 2 sisters, I want to say their names are Sansa and Arya, their interactions with one of the bad guys from "The Wire", the congressman on that show, were creepy, but very well acted. The dude with the metal hand seems like a badass warrior. And the lady that flies the dragons and treats them like her own children, she rules. So, while I am even lower than a novice when it comes to "GOT", I thought this season, at least what I saw, was very enjoyable.

I do not understand all the flack that this most recent season is getting. I asked my wife about it last night and she said she loved this season. I had lunch with my dad today, I asked him the same question, and he said that it could have been better, but he still really enjoyed it. They are the 2 biggest "GOT" fans that I know. Even my mom, she is on the same level with this show that I am, said she liked what she saw. So, I was confused. Also, for the people calling the show "illogical", it is a fantasy world. The moment you try and find logic with flying dragons, "white walkers" and all the other science fiction involved with "GOT", I lose any respect for you as a reviewer or writer. That is like trying to find logic in a "Looney Tunes" cartoon. This is all fantasy. None of this is real. It is a TV show. Get over it.

The more I think about all the negative stuff being said about this season of "GOT", I kept thinking about a great dialogue between Bart and Geoff Albertson, AKA Comic Book Guy, on the excellent "Itchy and Scratchy and Poochie Show" episode of "The Simpsons". After the first Poochie episode appeared, everyone hated it, except for Homer and Flanders, even though Flanders did call it "Impy and Chimpy". But, the next day Bart and Milhouse are hanging out at the comic book store and Comic Book guy says, "last night's episode of "Itchy and Scratchy" was by far the worst episode ever. As I viewer I demand better. Needless to say, I was on the internet complaining about it in minutes". Bart counters with, "what do they owe you as a viewer? They have given you countless hours of free entertainment. Again, what could they possibly owe you?". Comic Book Guy comes back with, "worst episode ever". I feel like that is the current state of critics of TV shows. I'm just as much to blame for complaining about TV shows on this website. TV shows I get to watch for free. I despised how "Mad Men" ended. Never mind the fact that the first couple of seasons were great, I only focused on the stuff I disliked at the end. I gave up on "the Walking Dead" because I felt like they needed to show me which character they were going to kill off in the first full episode with Negan. They don't have to show me shit. Also, that pilot, and first 2 seasons of that show were phenomenal. But, I felt like they "owed me something". Neither of those shows owes me a thing. I've complained about a show I like, "Snowfall", trying to be too many other hit shows. Again, I like this show a lot. I have continued to watch, but I still found something to complain about.

This is the current state of TV watching. No one is ever satisfied. We all find something to complain about no matter how great the show has/could be. We complain about shows sticking around too long, even when they are still very good. The dopes that say, "The Simpsons hasn't been good since season 7", drive me nuts. They are griping about a show that has been on for almost 30 years, and is still relevant and great. We are never satisfied. I'm trying to get away from that attitude, as far being too hard on TV shows I watch. These people, for the most part, work very hard and they are putting it out there for all to see, and for most to find fault in. I'm not going to be as hard on shows that I truly enjoy.

Let's be real, even if this most recent season of "GOT" was its "worst", is it really that bad? The show is a mega, mega hit and is always on people's top ten lists every year it is on TV. Lets give these creative types a little time before we shit all over the things they write, produce, direct and act in. They are working hard and putting themselves out there wounds and all. It's time to ease up a bit.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is eager to tear apart the latest television show that someone worked hard on. Maybe "The Gifted" will be the lucky show. 

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Stop it Cavs. You Already Won the Kyrie Trade

Last week I was so focused on football, I did write about the Kyrie Irving to Boston trade, but now that I have gotten to stew in it, and with the newer news of the Cavs possibly looking for further compensation due to Isaish Thomas' hip injury, I have some more thoughts about the deal.

First off, I think the deal is going to get done no matter what. I do not see anyway that Irving is not wearing a Celtics jersey in October, and same for Thomas and Crowder in a Cavs jersey. There are far too many fractured relationships with players and teams now. Thomas was hurt by Boston. They just offloaded him like nothing. This was a prime example of sports being a business. Crowder is probably happy to be gone since his name was ALWAYS brought up in trade rumors for the past couple seasons. I don't know how he ever felt comfortable playing there the past couple years. Irving wanted out of Cleveland, and he wanted out bad.

Second off, while playing the best basketball of his career the past three seasons, he never really seemed happy playing sidekick to LeBron. He wanted out and he wanted to be "the man". I'm sure he was sick of always being publicly called out by LeBron and he probably feels like Kevin Durant did last year. He wants to get out, find a change of scenery, and he has won a title in Cleveland already. What else does he have to prove there? Why should he still play second fiddle to the best player in the game right now? Why can't he leave like so many other players do all the time? Why does he get chastised more than KD did last year? Irving didn't go to the Warriors, he got traded to the Celtics. He didn't go to a front runner, even though the Celtics were the top seed last year in the East. I'm pretty sure everyone would put the Celtics as maybe the fourth or fifth best team in the NBA. And if you aren't the Warriors or Cavs, you won't really matter for the next year or two. So no, I hold no ill will towards Irving wanting out. I think it is insane because he will not be making long, deep playoff runs anymore, but so be it. He wants to run a team, and as soon as this trade gets finalized, he will get his wish.

Speaking of the deal getting finalized, the Cavs knew about Thomas' hip injury. The Celtics were very forward about this injury prior to making the deal. The Cavs already fleeced the Celtics once, by getting them to give up the Nets pick, Thomas, Crowder and Zizic, but now they want Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown to complete the deal? Get out of here. I do like the Celtics coming back and saying that they will not part with another player, especially one of their younger players, instead only offering a second round pick. That should be more than enough for the Cavs to make the deal. What would they do with a Tatum or Brown if they got one of them? They already have a solid starting 5, and better veterans coming off the bench. If Brown or Tatum were to be traded to the Cavs, they would relegated to the end of the bench. They'd be lucky to get 10 minutes a game. That is not good for their development, and I feel like they would become journeyman players that play for a bunch of teams. Going to the Cavs would stunt their development. LeBron has made it very widely known over the past three years that he doesn't like playing with rookies or second year players. This may have been a demand due to the possibility of LeBron leaving, but it would waste a year of growth for one of these guys. This is most likely LeBron's last year in Cleveland, so why do they want a Tatum or a Brown? As I have already stated, they have a solid starting 5 with Thomas taking over the point guard duties from Kyrie, JR Smith at the 2, Crowder at the 3, LeBron at the 4 and either Love or Tristan Thompson at the 5. Then, coming off the bench, lets say Thompson starts, they have Love, Kyle Korver, Derrick Rose and Iman Shumpert, if they keep him. I'm sure the Cavs are also making some calls around to see if they can get another veteran to come aboard. So add either a Brown or Tatum to this team and they are, at best, the 9th guy on the bench. The Cavs don't need that, and neither do Brown and Tatum. The Cavs are getting a bit too cocky by asking for these guys. I think they should just take the deal as is, but if they want more, take the second round pick. Or, ask for a Terry Rozier or the French kid they took last year in the late first round. Don't ask for the past 2 number 3 overall picks. That is way too much, especially when they already acquired a ton in the first deal.

The trade as is still sits strongly in the Cavs favor. I'm sure that Thomas may miss a little time at the start of the year, but that will not affect the Cavs much, if at all. LeBron will still run the team, as he has for the past 3 years. Crowder makes them so much better defensively too. The Nets pick gives them leverage and an asset for a trade, or they can keep it if LeBron does leave, and use that as the building block for next year. The Cavs already won this trade once, they don't need to rub it in by asking for 2 young players that have tremendous potential. Just take the deal as is and be happy with how much better the team will be with Thomas and Crowder and by offloading an unhappy guy that doesn't want to be there. There is no reason the Celtics need to give up one of those young guys, and the Cavs asking for one of them is a baller move, but it is also a bit too cocky from there side as well. We will have to see what happens.

But as I said at the top, I think this deal will get done by taking the first offer, or getting the second round pick along with their original haul, and just being happy with that. Either way, Irving will be a Celtic and Thomas and Crowder will be Cavs when the season starts in October. You can count on that.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. 

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The SeedSing 2017 College Football Preview

Before I get into my 2017 NCAA football preview, please try and do anything and everything you can to help out the people in Houston. What is going on there right now is horrifying and terrible and the people of that city need our help. You can donate at many websites, text 90999 and write HARVEY or, if you are in the area and safe, try and help others. I hope this all ends soon because this is catastrophic. No one deserves what is happening in Houston now. Go out and do whatever you can to help.

Okay, now lets get to my preview.

My 2017 NCAA football preview is going to be like my other ones. I will break down the "power 5" schools, mention some non "power 5" schools, pick the playoff, the championship and the Heisman winner. I'll pick the winner of each conference too. Okay, here goes.

I'm going to start with the Big 12. The Big 12 is about the 2 Oklahoma schools. Oklahoma is going to be good. They still have Baker Mayfield, and they recruit with the best schools in the country, and they get some of the best players. However, they lost Dede Westbrook and Semajie Perine. Those departures will be enormous. Baker Mayfield is a legit Heisman contender, but he has an entire new crew of skill players. They also lost Bob Stoops to retirement. That was bizarre. I wrote about how weird his retirement was about 2 months ago, and I am still confused as to why he walked away this year. But, Oklahoma doesn't rebuild, they reload. They will still be very good. Oklahoma State is going to be absolutely lethal on offense. Mason Rudolph is going to put up incredible numbers. This year will be Oklahoma State's best chance to knock off Oklahoma. They have a stacked offense. Their defense is kind of suspect, but in the Big 12, defense is sometimes optional. I have seen some websites and other publications say that maybe TCU can compete, but that all depends on Kenny Hill. If he looks good, they could be a 10 win team. If he falters, they will be lucky to be .500. They also have a very shoddy defense, which used to be their calling card. Texas is welcoming Tom Hermann as their new head coach, and I think some people have a bit too much optimism. I'm a little more pessimistic. They have a lot of newer starters that need to learn an entire new offense. I don't doubt that Hermann can turn it around, I just think it may take 2 or 3 years to get his type player. Their defense is atrocious too. Baylor is about to get hammered, as they should, with NCAA sanctions. That school's football program is filled with scumbags. They deserve all the bad things that are coming their way. Kansas may win 4 games this year, which would be a massive improvement, but they are a basketball school. That much is obvious. Iowa State is very mediocre. Texas Tech will score a lot of points, but they will give up more. I think that the honeymoon with Kliff Kingsbury is over. He is firmly on the hot seat. Kansas State will play hard, but they just don't have the talent to be hyper competitive. West Virginia may surprise some teams, but they are the epitome of a 7-5 team. They always start out hot too, but flame out. Expect that this year too. I'm going to go ahead and give Oklahoma State the nod in the Big 12 this year. Oklahoma has too much to replace, and they play a few good teams outside of their conference schedule. They also, inexplicably, lost their head coach. This is Oklahoma State's best shot to win the Big 12.

Lets now move to the very overrated SEC. As long as Alabama is in this conference, and they keep getting the best recruits, I'm going to go with them. They are the preseason number one. I know that they lost some guys on offense and defense, but they always do. They always have some blue chippers ready to take over for some first round draft pick. They lost that monster D-lineman to the draft, they have D'Shawn Hand to replace him. They lost OJ Howard, but they have Steven Ridley and some 5 stars ready to step in at tight end. They also get Jalen Hurts back. That kid was great last year as a true freshman. He looked so poised and composed. He is going to make a tremendous leap. Look, I hate Alabama, but I cannot deny their greatness. LSU should be good, but this is the first full year under Ed Orgeron. I now they looked different at the end of last year when he took over for Les Miles, but teams now have an entire offseason to prepare for him. They do have Derius Guice, and he looked awesome in his playing time behind Leonard Fournette last year. He filled in great for him when he got hurt. LSU also has a very stout defense, as always. The question marks for them are all the same. How will their QB play? Can they utilize their receivers properly? Will they choke in big games? Time will tell. I think they will be better than last year, but I still think Alabama is better. Auburn is back to being an 8 or 9 win team. They run the ball exceptionally, but they have no passing game whatsoever. Their defense is fine, but just fine. Gus Malzahn may not be the great head coach that they thought they got a few years back at Auburn. Georgia has some great running backs, mainly Nick Chubb, but their QB situation is not ideal. They had a 5 star kid start last year, and he looked like a freshman more than a star. They signed some other 5 star kid this offseason, and they are in a battle still to see who is going to be the starter. I'd stick with the kid from last year, but the fact that he is in a battle is a bad sign. They do have a decent defense, and Kirby Smart will turn them into a top 15 overall defense soon. Georgia may be looking at another 8 win year, but look out for them in a year or 2. Ole Miss is a mess due to their creep of a former head coach. They are going to get crushed by the NCAA. I'm sick of all the Tennessee hype every year. I do not believe one thing I hear from that team during the offseason anymore. Their coach should have been let go last year. Florida has a great defense, but that offense leaves a ton to be desired. They did get Malik Zaire to transfer there, and he could help them a lot, but he hasn't had a ton of time on campus. Their defense will keep them in every game, but they need that offense to get up to speed. Arkansas will be highly pumped up during the offseason, blow some games and finish 7-5 or 6-6 again. That is the Bret Biliema way. Texas A&M is wildly inconsistent, and they just lost Myles Garrett. They will most likely win 7 games again. Then there are the mid level to bottom feeders. The Missouri's, Vanderbilt's, Mississippi State's, South Carolina's and Kentucky's of the SEC. They may all be .500, but that is because they will schedule 3 cupcakes, and then beat up on each other. The upper tier SEC teams will hammer these teams. Obviously I have Alabama, no matter who they play in the SEC title game, to win the SEC.

The Pac 12 is down. The Pac 12 may be worse than the ACC now. Sure, Washington, USC and Stanford are highly rated. Hell, I have seen some people pick USC to win it all. But, I remember the last time USC had all this hype. They finished 7-6. This USC team will be better though. Sam Darnold is legit. He is very, very good. He is all around solid, even exceptional. They have some good skill guys too, and a pretty good defense. But, I'm always wary of a team that was going to fire their coach early during the last season, then playing really well down the stretch, then getting all the offseason accolades. Those teams never seem to live up to the hype. Washington was in the playoff, but we all saw what they looked liked against real competition. Alabama destroyed them. That game wasn't even close. They have an incredibly easy out of conference schedule, and they will win double digit wins, but when they have to face the big teams, they just can't match up. Their QB is back, and he will put numbers, but not against the top teams. I really like Stanford, and they completely dominated a much worse Rice team this past Saturday. They ran up and down the field on them and they stopped everything Rice tried to do. Stanford is going to be very good, but when will they have that one game when they blow it? It has happened for the past couple years. But, David Shaw might be one of the most underrated coaches in football. He is great. I do not know what happened to Oregon last year. They cleaned house, and I do like the hiring of Willie Taggert, but this team is playing a ton of new players. They might not be the hyper fast offense that we have all become accustomed to. And their defense might be worse than most of the defenses in the Big 12. Utah is solid, but they will only win 7 or 8 games. They have to replace a lot. They are kind of like the Kansas State of the Pac 12. They play hard, but they just aren't as talented as the upper echelon teams in their conference. UCLA is average. Josh Rosen is not the next great QB. They don't really have hyper athletic skilled players. Their defense is average. This is a 7 win team at best. Jim Mora Jr may be gone after this year. California is the Texas Tech of the Pac 12, but they give up more points. Arizona is learning that Rich Rod may not be the great coach he was when he was at West Virginia. This team has really faded in the last 2 years after climbing into the top 15 in Rich Rod's first year. Washington State might surprise some people. They have a tremendous offense, and their defense, if they need to, can make plays. Mike Leach is an odd dude, but he is an offensive mastermind. Washington State could win double digit game this year. And if they don't, they will be in every game. Colorado played very well last year, making it to the Pac 12 title game, and I expect them to continue being a competitive team in the Pac 12. They are on the up swing, but they need to break in a new QB and other new skill players. Arizona State's time as a "perennial top 25 team" never really came, and they are just a run of the mill team that has some wild uniforms. They will continue to be a 6 or 7 win team. I also despise their coach. Oregon State has gotten better the past 2 years, but they are still a ways away from being at the top of the conference. USC will get all the talk, but I like Stanford to win the Pac 12 this year. They need to replace a guy like McCaffery, but that should benefit them, as they won't be so reliant on one player. They will be a full team, as opposed to one guy being the focal point. I also really like David Shaw. He is, by far, the best coach in the conference.

The ACC is going to be much better than it has been in a long time. Clemson will take a step back, but they are the defending national champs. They have to replace a ton of production, but they have some good players ready to step in. They will not win the national title again, let alone the ACC. But, they will compete. Florida State looks like the team to beat. They have so much talent coming back. Sure, the lost Dalvin Cook, but they have Deondre Francois back, and that kid is amazing. They also have some pretty great skill guys. FSU is also stacked on defense. On paper, this team looks incredible. We will find out a lot about them this Saturday night when they open the season against Alabama. That is going to be an epic game. At least it should be. Miami is another team I like in the ACC. Mark Richt is a good head coach, and he is turning that program back to being relevant. They won't be the Miami from the early 2000's, but they are going to be very good this year. I could definitely see them win double digit games this year, and be a force in the ACC. Virginia Tech is another team on the up swing. They have a very good defense, and I know they lost their QB, but they will be able to plug and play some new kid, as long as he can manage a game. This team wins by stopping the other guys and ball control. And they have the talent to do that this year. Louisville returns Heisman winner Lamar Jackson, so you cannot count them out. Jackson kind of fell off at the end of last year, but he still won the Heisman as a 19 year old. He is a very good QB. They don't have a ton of talent on defense, but they can still manage to get stops. This team is all about Lamar Jackson, and in college football, that is just fine. Georgia Tech will be a headache, they run that triple option, and I could see them winning a few games they shouldn't. Pitt is atrocious on defense, and they lost their excellent running back, James Connor, to the NFL. They might take a step back this year. Duke is fun to watch at times, but they don't have the guys to make any real noise. Same thing with UNC. They play a fun style of offense, but they just can't matchup with the top 25 teams. NC State, Wake Forest, Boston College and Syracuse are also rans. NC State may win a game they shouldn't here and there, but they will not matter in the end. Boston College will have a very stout defense, but they will lose so many games with scores like 7-0, 10-7 or 6-3. They just can't score. FSU is the clear favorite to win the ACC, and I am not going against the pack on this one. FSU will win the ACC.

The last of the "power 5" conferences is the Big 10. I am a Michigan fan. Duh. I'm very curious/excited/nervous to see what this team will look like in 5 days. A BUNCH of people are expecting them to take a major step back. They have to replace 17 starters. That is a lot. But, all the kids there now are Harbaugh's recruits. These are the type of players he wants at Michigan. I want to see how they perform. I want to see if Harbaugh is the great coach that he has been ordained to be. Most publications pick them to finish fourth overall in the Big 10 and third in their division. I have seen their win totals range from 8-11. I would be very disappointed if they only won 8 games and finished third in their division. I think they will be better than most people are saying. I think they can win double digit games. I love that they open with Florida and that they have a tough conference schedule. But, they get Ohio State at home this year and Florida has suspended, the last I checked, 7 players for this opener. I think Michigan will be better than 8 wins. I think they should win at least 10 games. Most of the hype in the Big 10 is being placed on the University of Ohio State and Penn State, and rightfully so. Both these teams appear to be loaded. Both these teams ended the regular season strong. But, both lost their bowl games. I have much more faith in the University of Ohio State living up to the expectations than Penn State because they always have high expectations. The University of Ohio State will be fine, if they beat Oklahoma at the beginning of the year. Penn State hasn't been in the spotlight, at least not for something good, and neither has James Franklin, in a very long time. The way they ended last year seemed very, very fluky to me. Like I said, they have a very talented team, but this is a team that got scored on a ton against a very mediocre Pitt team last year. This is a team that was floating in obscurity until the University of Ohio State played their worst game all year. This was a team that got Wisconsin on their worst defensive performance of the year in the Big 10 title last year. They got a lot of breaks last year. Let's see how they do with the bulls eye on them now. Wisconsin will be very good once again. They will run the ball a ton, control the clock and let their stacked defense get stops for them when they need to. They will most definitely be a major factor in the Big 10 all year long. After those teams, it gets very murky. Who knows how good Minnesota will be with PJ Fleck as the head guy. They could be very good, they have a good run game, but how will their passing offense look and how will that defense play? Don't forget, they let Rutgers stay in, and almost win, the game they played last year. Northwestern is on a lot of "sleepers" lists, but aren't they every year? They have a good run game, but I do not buy Clayton Thorson as a legit QB threat. They also have a very mediocre defense. Pat Fitzgerald might be the most overrated coach in all of college sports. But, people seem to think this Northwestern team can make noise. I am not one of those people. Maryland has a good defense, but their offense is abysmal. They have zero play makers and they will struggle with the top teams in the Big 10. Indiana is going through a coaching change, and they need to break in a new QB. But, they always have a very good run game, and they need one because that defense cannot stop anyone ever. Nebraska is okay, but I cannot figure out what to make of this team and Mike Riley. Does he want to run the ball like he did at Oregon State, or is he going to use the spread game? Who is going to be his QB? Who is going to be their bell cow running back? How is their defense going to look? This team is a mystery. Iowa will always be one of the tougher teams to play at home. But, they have no real QB or receiver threat. They do have some good running backs, but with teams loading the box, that won't matter. Their defense will be good though because it always is. This team has 7 wins written all over them. Michigan State will not be as bad as they were last year, but they won't be much better. They do not have that crushing defense from a few years back and they have no real identity on offense. Mark Dantonio may be coaching for his job this year. If they get 7 wins, which I think they can, he should be fine, but if they slip to 5 or 4 wins, he may be looking elsewhere for work next season. Then we have Purdue, Illinois and Rutgers. This is the bottom of the barrel in the Big 10. Rutgers will be lucky to win 2 games. Purdue is going through yet another coaching change. And poor Lovie Smith, Illinois is bad. As much as I loathe and am disgusted by this team, god damn University of Ohio State will probably win the conference. JT Barrett is a really good college QB and their defense is stout. Penn State may make it tough on them, so will Wisconsin, and Michigan, while young, should be in the race all season long.

As far as non "power 5" teams, South Florida and Boise State are about the only ones worth talking about. Notre Dame also bears mentioning, but they need to fire Brian Kelly right away, especially if that team comes out the way they did last year. They only won 4 games last year. That is unacceptable. Boise State bears a mention because they have earned it. They are always playing tough teams, beating them sometimes, and then running away with their conference. And South Florida is the Western Michigan of this year. They may go undefeated, but playing in such a poor conference and playing a weak out of conference schedule will leave them outside the top 10 all year. They are a very, very good football team though. But, no one outside of the "power 5" will make the playoff.

Which leads me to the playoff. My four teams, in order are FSU, the University of Ohio State, Alabama and USC. I think FSU will beat Alabama this weekend, take over the one spot and never relinquish it. The University of Ohio State will get in by beating Oklahoma early in the season and winning every game from there on out. I already have 2 undefeated teams in my playoff. Alabama will lose to FSU then crush everyone else on their way to another SEC title on a revenge style run. And even though I'm pessimistic about teams getting major accolades after starting out a season very bad, then finishing hot, and even though I picked Stanford to win the Pac 12, I think USC will get the nod with only one loss, where I think Stanford could have 2 losses, but still be in, and win, the Pac 12 title game. That would match up FSU and USC and Alabama and the University of Ohio State. I have FSU in a walk over USC and I have Alabama going to their second straight title game in a very close game over the University of Ohio State. And in the rematch I have FSU coming out on top once again. FSU is so very, very talented, and I think they will be your 2017-18 NCAA football champs. As far as the Heisman goes, I have Deondre Francois winning it. He will have his signature game this Saturday, and he will continue to play better and better every week of the year and run away with the Heisman.

I'll do a mid season check up, but this is what I see heading into the real opening week of college football. I cannot wait.

Ty

Editor's Thoughts - I am no where near the college football expert that Ty is, but I am still going to give my thoughts. The SEC, Pac 12, and Big 12 are very bad conferences with one or two very good teams. That means Alabama, USC, and Oklahoma will easily get into the playoff because they will bowl through their conferences and have one loss each at the very most. The fourth team should come from the Big 10, the best conference in college football, but eventual champ Wisconsin will have two or more losses. Urban Meyer will "suffer" through a 10 win season, lose to Michigan, and then retire due to "health concerns". Urban wants to run far away from Michigan in 2018 when they become an Alabama type power. That leaves the fourth playoff spot to a two loss FSU team (Alabama and a random conference game will be losses). #4 FSU will play #1 Alabama in the first round, the real national championship game. FSU will get revenge, then they will crush USC in the National Championship.

Baker Mayfield of Oklahoma will win the Heisman. Great name, premier program, and he will put up sick numbers in a the defense desert of the Big 12.

RD

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is a big man to not talk up his favorite team like he should. The Head Editor is not a big man, he will talk up the Wolverines for Ty.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

The SeedSing 2017 NFL Predictions and Picks

For the past 8 days I have given my 2017 NFL countdown. I have ranked the teams from worst to best, in my opinion. Today I'm going to give my playoff predictions and award winners. I'm also going to throw something new into my predictions. This year, not only will you get my MVP, Coach of the Year, etc., I am also going to throw in a player or coach in the "worst" category. For example, I will give out an LVP, or Least Valuable Player award this year. Same with coach and the other awards I will hand out. And for those of you waiting and asking for my 2017 NCAA football preview, I have a big, enormous piece coming next Monday where I will break down the upcoming college season. I know there are some games this Saturday, but I checked the schedule, and only USF will be mentioned on Monday. So for all my college football fans, come back for that on Monday. Anyway, lets get to who I see in the NFL postseason this upcoming season.

I'll start with the AFC first. The AFC East will be easily won by the Patriots. This is the easiest decision by far of my predictions. They have the best QB, coach, players that fit their system, hell, they will even avoid one of those late season losses to Miami because Jay Cutler will find a way to screw that up. Patriots are the East champs by a million miles. Watch out for the Jets to go 0-16 from this division too. It might happen. Buffalo is going to be really bad too.

Some think the AFC West is a bit harder to choose. Not me. I think the Raiders will win this division going away. They have the best offense by far. The Chiefs will put up a fight because their defense is so stout. Same thing for the Broncos. But, the Chiefs offense will not be able to score with the Raiders and the Broncos are starting Trevor Siemian at QB, enough said. Some people think the Chargers are a "dark horse". Not me. I'd be shocked if they finish at .500. The Raiders will win the West with one of the best offenses in football.

If the Steelers do not win the AFC North something really bad has happened. Either they would lose more than half their offense, or some other ridiculous outcome occurs. They are the best team in this division by far. The Bengals might put up a fight, but I lost faith in that team a long long time ago. Like I said, they are the Clippers of the NFL. They are bound to choke. The Browns may be trotting out either Deshone Kizer, or god help them, Brock Osweiler week 1. They are still in the "rebuilding process". And the Ravens are too old and too reliant on a mediocre QB. The Steelers should be heavy favorites to win the North.

The AFC South is about 2 teams, the Titans and the Texans. I'm ready to jump on the Titans bandwagon. I really like what they are doing in Nashville right now and I think Marcus Mariota is ready to take that next step. But, the Texans have a great defense. That will keep them around all year. But, they will wait too long to put Deshaun Watson in at QB, and that will cost them the division. The Jags and the Colts stink, but for different reasons. The Colts have no one besides Andrew Luck, who is still hurt, and T.Y. Hilton. The Jags have no QB. Both these teams will be lucky to win 5 games.

So that leaves my 4 division champs as follows, the Patriots, Raiders, Steelers and Titans. As far as seeding, Patriots 1, Steelers 2, Raiders 3 and Titans 4. My two Wild Card teams are the Texans as the 5 seed and the Chiefs as the 6th. The AFC title game will come down to the Patriots and the Raiders, I think the Raiders will beat the Steelers in a shootout, and the Patriots will return to the Super Bowl for the 4th time in 5 years. They are just too damn good to be stopped.

As far as the NFC goes, it looks to be a bit more open to some. Not to me. The NFC East will be a battle to 10 wins for the title. All these teams have a shot to win the division. I'd love to pick the Eagles, but I think they are still one, maybe 2 years away from taking over the division. Washington will hang around for awhile, but this is the season where I see all of the chances Kirk Cousins and his agent have taken on himself will backfire and they will finish under .500. So it comes down to the Cowboys and the Giants. The Cowboys may seem like the obvious pick. But, when I went through and did my rankings, I found a lot of holes in this team. They will not be as good as they were on defense last year, and I want to see how Prescott handles being the focal point of the offense. The Giants have a great receiving core, a very good defense and that will be enough to push them to be the division winner. It will come down to the end of the season, but the Giants will find a way.

The NFC West is going to be won by the Seahawks. They may be getting a bit older, and relying way too much on Russell Wilson, but the division is pretty porous and their defense is still top 5. The Rams are a dumpster fire. The 49ers are even worse. The Cardinals could make it interesting, but I have zero faith in Carson Palmer. Seattle will win this weak division once again.

The NFC North will once again go to the Packers. They have the best offense in the division, and their defense will be better. Aaron Rodgers is the most reliable QB in the NFL. The Lions limped their way to the playoffs last year, and that "run" will end this season. Minnesota's horrific offense will waste a year of one of the NFL's best defenses. And the Bears are horrible. Remember, they traded away future picks to move up one spot to draft Mitch Trubisky. Never forget that Bears fans. Packers in the North fairly easily.

The NFC South may be the best division in football now. It used to be one of the worst, but things have changed. The Saints may end up in last place in the division with 8 or 9 wins. The Panthers will bounce back, but Cam Newton's shoulder injury scares me a bit. The Buccaneers are going to be dynamite on offense, and they have a pretty decent, young defense. The Falcons were in the Super Bowl last year, return all of their key players and they signed Dontari Poe to help out their defense. But, will they have the Super Bowl hangover? Will they regret hiring Steve Sarkisian? Time will tell. For now though, I'm going to stick with the Falcons. They are too loaded to screw it up, at least in the division. It may take 12 or 13 wins, but they will win the division. Also, don't be surprised if the Falcons, Bucs and Panthers all have double digit wins. This division is really good.

So, the 4 NFC division winners are as follows, the Giants, Seahawks, Packers and Falcons. As far as seeding, I have the Packers 1, Falcons 2, Seahawks 3 and Giants 4. For my 2 wild cards, I legitimately thought about putting both Bucs and Panthers in there, but ultimately I decided on the Bucs as the 5th seed and the Cardinals as the 6th seed. Maybe I just like the Cardinals, and David Johnson, and I want them to prove me wrong. As far as the NFC winner, I'll take the Packers, with ease I might add, over the Falcons. A little revenge from last year's NFC title game. This time it will be at Lambeau though.  

That would pit the Patriots versus the Packers in Super Bowl 52. I'm going with my guys, the Packers. I love what they can be, if they stay healthy, on offense this year. They have so many options. The game will be close, but Rodgers will lead a game winning drive to get his second ring. Go Pack Go. I hope my faith in them will outweigh whatever terrible decisions Mike McCarthy is bound to make this year.

As far as award winners go, lets jump right to the MVP. Some may think I'd pick Rodgers or Brady with the way I talked about the 2 of them in my countdown. Nope. I'm going to go way out on a limb here and pick David Johnson. Not many running backs win this award, but Johnson is so critical and the Cardinals rely on him so much, I feel like he is going to explode this year. He is so awesome. He is the best modern running back playing right now. He will double his awards this season, also winning Offensive player of the Year. The Defensive Player of the Year will go to Jadaveon Clowney. He is going to have a massive year as well, and soon he will be the face of the Texans defense. No more bull shit from JJ Watt, Clowney is going to be the anchor for that very good defense in Houston. Offensive Rookie of the Year will be Dalvin Cook. He is the only good thing the Vikings have going for them on offense. He will get a ton of carries and touches out of the back field, and he is so explosive, he will make some highlight plays. I wanted to pick Leonard Fournette so bad for this, but he is stuck in a horrible situation in Jacksonville. He may get hurt by week 9 because of such a high usage rate. Defensive Rookie of the Year will be Soloman Thomas. He is on a really bad team in San Francisco, but he is the first step in the right direction. I think he will wreak havoc on opposing back fields. Coach of the Year is going to be Dirk Koetter. The Bucs are going to make that Raiders esque leap from last year, and the voters can't get enough of that stuff. The Super Bowl MVP will be Aaron Rodgers, due to that game winning drive I predicted.

Now, for the awards no one wants to win. The 2017 Jets will go down as one of the worst NFL teams ever, and Christian Hackenberg will be a big, big reason why. He is atrocious. He can't even break huddles properly and his press conference skills are terrible. He may be a worse QB than Blake Bortles. He is your 2017 least valuable player. The biggest reach, which will make this guy the worst offensive rookie is the Bengals taking Joe Mixon. What the hell were they thinking? How long until he gets suspended for hitting a woman? He does not deserve to be playing professional sports. No one should ever put their hands on a woman, ever. This also applies to the worst defensive rookie, Jourdan Lewis. He broke my heart when that story came out that hehit his ex girlfriend. I know the charges were dropped, but the damage had already been done. I'm done rooting for Jourdan Lewis. The worst coach of the year was tough. I feel bad for Todd Bowles because he didn't ask for this from the Jets. Doug Marrone is going to have a rough go in Jacksonville, but he won me over when he said he didn't want the game to be in his QB's hands, and he was going to give Fournette the ball 300 plus times. That was some serious shade thrown at Bortles. No, those guys are in poor situations. The worst coach of the year will be Jason Garrett. Technically, he is usually one of the worst coaches, but that will be magnified this year due to the Elliot suspension. He cannot call a game properly and he is emotionless on the sidelines. Garrett has had more than his shot and he has done absolutely nothing but blow it for that team.

Well, there you have it, my entire 9 day 2017 NFL preview. Tell me in the comments why I'm wrong or tell me on Twitter or anywhere else you can find me. Thanks.

Ty

Editor's Thoughts - I have no real disagreement with Ty on the playoff teams. Because I am a pathetic homer, I do think the Bengals will get in the playoffs, and get blown out in the first round again. I am also putting the Vikings in, but they will miss an extra point to lose their Wild Card playoff game. Oakland and Tennessee are on the verge of being great, but the Patriots will find a way (maybe not legal) to win the AFC. The NFC will find some random team to be the underdog to the Patriots in the Super Bowl. I am going with a 9-7 or 10-6 New York Giants team led by Eli Manning and his 30 interceptions.

The Giants will win the game 8-7 after two fourth quarter field goals and a safety in the final seconds. We will live in a world where Eli Manning has three rings.

RD

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. His lack of faith in the Bengals maybe be logical, but where is the fun in that.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Ty Watches "Bar Rescue": Rockin Rhonda's Edition

I know it is a bit late, but I finally saw the most recent episode of "Bar Rescue" last night.

This time around, Taffer and crew headed to a bar in Florida called Rockin Rhonda's. This was another episode that involved not only rescuing a bar, but also a person, Rhonda. At first Rockin Rhonda's was raking in the dough and Rhonda left her job as a stock broker to take over the bar full time. She was having so much fun at first, she even started to sing and do open mic and karaoke nights. She always had the singing and playing guitar bug, and since she had her own bar, she thought it was the perfect opportunity. Now, she was not terrible, in fact, she was a competent guitar player, but she was no star either.

Then, Hurricane Matthew wreaked havoc on her bar. It destroyed a lot of the place she built up. After the hurricane, things really started to fall apart. The bar was in such disarray, when Taffer got there, I swear to god the place was on a slant. When she showed him the "kitchen", the shelves looked like they were ready to topple. The bar was a real disaster. The wells and the ice machine and everything in the bar was either leaking or literally sinking into the ground. It was so bad that the employees and Rhonda had to wear insoles because they all had back problems from bending over all the time due to the poor state of the bar. The floor was also falling apart. Pieces were just falling off and being replaced with tape or floor mats. The "kitchen" had been reduced to a fridge and a microwave because it was in such a bad place. Rhonda started to drink when she realized that she only had 45 dollars in her account. She was a shell of her former self. She couldn't really handle what happened, so she turned to alcohol.

When Taffer got there, he went in alone. He didn't have any experts at first because he wanted to see if the place was even worth the effort. As soon as he walked in, Rhonda spotted him and was immediately brought to tears. She then laid out everything I just told you. She was crying the whole time. She was at the end of her rope. Taffer said he was going to do everything he could to fix this bar, but he ordered Rhonda to close up shop immediately because, after seeing all the destruction, Taffer deemed the bar unsafe. Everyone was ushered out and Taffer's construction crew got right to work. They showed the workers working on the bar, and it was a total mess. The floors were too easy to rip up. There were leaks everywhere. They had to get new lighting, plumbing, floors, basically, Rhonda's bar was going to be completely revamped. One of the construction guys said that, "this is the worst condition we have ever seen a bar in before". That is wild considering some of the bars that "Bar Rescue" has visited.

While the workers worked on the bar, Taffer trained the crew at a different bar. Truth be told, the employees weren't half bad. They needed proper training, which they would get from Taffer's mixology expert, but they were fine, just rusty. The kitchen expert had a different problem. The cook had been cooking for 25 years, but he never cooked in a proper restaurant kitchen. He was also very quiet and not authoritative, like an executive chef should be. During stress test the bar did a decent job, but the kitchen was a nightmare. The chef couldn't get simple flatbread pizzas out on time, or he burned them. It was rough. They had a full day of proper training, and in typical Taffer fashion, he had a heart to heart with Rhonda the day before reopening the bar. It was typical schmaltzy crap.

The next day they all gathered for the relaunch. The bar was renamed Rhonda's. That was it. He just knocked off the Rockin part. The inside looked a million times better, obviously. Same with the outside. The construction crew did a phenomenal job I l must say. This may have been the best rescue I have seen due to how bad the bar was before they got there. During relaunch they did much, much better. The bartenders, with proper training, were busting out drinks. The chef was being more vocal and looked to even be having some fun in the back. He was also getting the flatbread pizzas out much quicker. The relaunch was going so well, Rhonda grabbed her guitar and sang a song for Taffer and his crew before they left. Taffer, of course, left with that weird, almost creepy grin on his face. At the 6 week checkup things were running well for Rhonda and her fixed bar.

These episodes, the "heartwarming" ones are odd, but I still enjoy watching them, and this episode was no exception. They are doing a back to the bar this week, so come back in a few weeks for my recap of the newest "Bar Rescue", whenever they air it.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He caught the guitar bug years ago. I wonder what is the favorite of all the guitars he owns?

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Ty Ranks the 2017 NFL Teams: The "Yes, The Empire Strikes Back is Still the Best" Edition

Today is the final day of my countdown. I have my top 4 teams for you. Tomorrow I will do a whole postseason, playoff, Super Bowl and award winners piece, but today, I have the best of the best that I think the NFL will have to offer. These are my 4 true contenders. All 4 of these teams, given the perfect chance and with some luck, can win the Super Bowl. Some have flaws, some don't. But, I feel like these are, far and away, the top 4 teams for the upcoming 2017 NFL season.

Lets get to it. At number 4, I have the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers are absolutely loaded on offense. They may have the best offense in the league. I know that Ben Roesthielberger talked about retirement, but no one believed him. He wasn't going to leave behind a team this stacked. I despise him, but he can play QB. I think he is wildly overrated, and one of his Super Bowl wins is definitely tainted, but the dude produces. I actively and openly root against him, but he can still play and he is still hard to take down with one tackler. Although, I love when he gets smacked by multiple defenders on a sack. It brings me so much joy. The group of receivers that they have is incredible. Antonio Brown is probably the second best receiver in the league, behind only Julio Jones.  Brown is nearly impossible to cover and he puts up big time stats. Martavis Bryant is back, and he will open things up even more for this offense. He is s good wide out. Jesse James has stepped into that Heath Miller role with ease. He is very, very tall too, making him a hard cover. LeVeon Bell may love weed, but he is also a tremendous runner. He is so good at waiting for holes to open and then taking the ball through that hole and getting 5, 6, or 7 yards every time. I know he hasn't shown up to camp yet, but he will be fine. He doesn't need camp. The O-Line is very good too. They can protect and run block. Where the Steelers fall off a bit is their defense. Sure, they still have guys like Ryan Shazier, who is extra dirty, James Harrison, who is old, but still in tremendous shape and Alvin Dupree, who really started to show flashes at the end of last year. But, the rest of the D is kind of blah. Names like Sean Davis, Stephon Tuitt, Mike Mitchell, Cameron Hayward and William Gay fill out the rest of the roster. Those names are not that threatening. They won't make offenses think twice about stuff. The Steelers offense is going to be the reason this team makes the playoffs and has a possible deep run. They will score a ton of points and teams will have a hard time stopping them. They are lethal on that side of the ball.

At number 3, I have the Oakland Raiders. This is another team that is going to score, score again, then score one more time. They are as stacked as the Steelers, except the Raiders are younger everywhere on that side of the ball. The O-line proved they can be good last year. They protected Derek Carr very well, until week 16, when his leg looked like it was broke in half. We will see how Carr recovers from that, I think he will be fine. He is a very good, young QB. I already think he is better than guys like Andrew Luck, Eli Manning, Alex Smith and Ben Roesthilberger. He is becoming a top level NFL QB. He has a very good arm and a great sense of the game. He also has guys like Michael Crabtree and Amari Cooper to throw to. Crabtree is still a very solid receiver. He has kind of had a rebirth in Oakland. Cooper is looking like he will be the next in a line of very good Alabama receivers. Last year he really broke out and the Raiders benefited from his awesome performances. I also think that signing Cordarelle Patterson is going to be a big get for both parties. He is going to love playing in Oakland. The Raiders also got Marshawn Lynch to come out of retirement to play for them. I know he is in his 30's and took a year off, but he is still big, fast and bruising. He is also playing in his hometown, which I love. And Jalen Richardson is a fine second option at running back. The Raiders do have a similar problem that the Steelers have. Their defense is very suspect. Khalil Mack is awesome. When he is on the field, this defense has a leader, and he gets the most out of his teammates. Mack is tremendous. But, after him, it is a bit murky. Gareon Conley might be good, but he has a big time injury past. Bruce Irvin is solid, but he is not the same player he was in Seattle. The D-line is very average. They do not get much pressure. The secondary is young, but has a chance to be decent. The Raiders will score a ton. That has been established. They need everyone on that offense to stay healthy though. They will be in a ton of shoot outs, make the playoffs, but that defense will be the key to how far they go, and may be the deciding factor in a possible Super Bowl run.

At number 2 I have the defending Super Bowl champs, the New England Patriots. The Patriots return the majority of their super powered offense.  Tom Brady is still there, and he is the GOAT of all QB's. As long as he is the starting QB, the Patriots will always be contenders. He and Belichek, even though they like douchey, horrible people, are 2 of the best to ever play and coach. In fact, they are the 2 best ever at their respected spots. They still have Gronk, and if he can stay healthy, he is the best tight end in the league. By far. He is unstoppable. He is big, fast and has great hands. Julian Edelman is probably the best slot receiver in the NFL. He is getting too many concussions, which is problematic. But, he is still very productive. Danny Amendola has been very good since signing with the Patriots. They also got Brandin Cooks this offseason. He is going to thrive in this offense. They have a stable of running backs that play the exact way the Patriots want them to play. Guys like Dion Lewis and James White are the perfect for what the Patriots want to do. Their defense lost some guys, Logan Ryan for example, but they replaced him with some super talents. Stephon Gilmore is awesome. He is going to be a great addition. Malcolm Butler is playing for a contract, so he is going to ball out. Donta' Hightower is hurt, but he will be fine, and he will produce. Kony Ealy was another great addition for the line. Alan Branch is a stout D-lineman. Trey Flowers is an okay lineman. The Patriots are the type of team that can plug in and play anyone and they will produce. They don't need stars. They need players, and they get players. Players that want to win. The Patriots are great, and will continue to be as long as Belichek is the coach. They could win another Super Bowl this year and I wouldn't be surprised.

My final team, my number 1 team, my beloved Green Bay Packers. I may be seeing this through rose color glasses, but I think they are the best team in the league. They have the best offense, if they can stay healthy, in the league. Aaron Rodgers is the best QB in the league right now. That's right I think he is better than Tom Brady. He has a tremendous arm, laser accuracy, can run and leads the offense to perfection. Randall Cobb, Jordy Nelson and Davante Adams are all very good, solid options at wide out. They can really spread the field out too. They also have Richard Rodgers and they signed Martellus Bennett. That is a lethal combo at tight end. Rodgers is enormous and Bennett is all around excellent. The run game is suspect, but I think Ty Montgomery is going to be good. He will be a threat to run the ball and catch it out of the backfield. He will add a totally new dimension to this offense. The O-line lost some guys, but this team also plugs and plays guys, and they produce. The defense is going to be better this year too. Clay Matthews and Jake Ryan make for a very solid linebacking duo. Matthews can rush and Ryan is a tackling machine. Quentin Rollins is a solid corner. HaHa Clinton Dix is fast becoming an elite safety. Kevin King was a great pick at corner. Nick Perry has his moments. The defense is going to produce and play a hell of a lot better than last year. The only thing that scares me is Mike McCarthy. He is a horrendous coach. But, this group of players should more than cover up for his shortcomings. The Packers are going to be awesome this year. I hate to put so much shine on my favorite team, but I have a great feeling about this team, and I'm ready to say that they could, and should, win the Super Bowl this year. They are loaded.

There you have it, my 2017 NFL countdown. Tell me who I was wrong about and why in the comment section, but this is the order I see the teams finishing this year. Let's play some football.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. His love of the Packers blinds him to the absolute awesomeness of the Sam Bradford led Vikings. That is the most pathetic thing the head editor has ever written on this website. I am going to go to my shame corner now.

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Now that Kyrie has been Traded, Who Will Lose to the Warriors Next Season?

Last night, on my way to play basketball, the news rang out on my phone that Kyrie Irving had been traded. Since I was driving, I didn't check until I got to the gym who he was traded to. I figured it was either the Knicks or the Spurs since those are the only 2 teams I had really heard anything from since Kyrie demanded a trade. When I parked, I stopped to look at my phone and saw he had been traded to the Celtics.

I was shocked. I didn't even think they were a serious contender for Kyrie. I heard people say this as a possibility, but most people brushed it off saying that the Celtics would have to give up too much to get Kyrie. I agreed with those people. But, he was traded to the Celtics.

So, I clicked on the story to see what the Celtics had to give up. I didn't know who it was going to be, but I was almost certain that the name Isaish Thomas wasn't going to be included. He had become a folk hero of sorts for that team last year. Everyone in Boston loved him, and he loved them in return. Remember, he was openly recruiting guys to come play there. So, I assumed it was going to be the young Celtics and some picks. I figured a Nets pick and guys like Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown or Jayson Tatum.

Well, the Nets pick was in the trade, unprotected I might add. Then I saw the other names. The Celtics gave up Ante Zizic, okay, Jae Crowder, he has been mentioned in trades for a couple year snow, and much to my surprise, Isaish Thomas. I was floored. I could not believe what the Celtics gave up to get Kyrie, and I was floored that they gave up Thomas. Zizic, Crowder and the pick, fine. That's expected. But, to give up Thomas, man, sports are brutal. It is amazing how brutal sports can be. Thomas was the best player for the number one seed in the East last year. He played hurt, hard, with a heavy heart and he put up tremendous numbers every night. And the Celtics just up and traded him for Kyrie Irving. Again, I was floored.

Then, after a couple hours of basketball, a nights sleep and thinking about it this morning and this afternoon, I looked more into the basketball aspect of the trade. I've got to say, after a little less than 24 hours of contemplating the trade, I feel like the Cavs won the deal, and they won big. Yes, Kyrie Irving is a tremendous, often dazzling scorer, but that is all he brings to Boston. That, and his very popular shoes. But what the Celtics had to give up was just astonishing. I'll get to that in a minute. I started to think about this new Celtics team, and they lost about 60 to 70 percent of their core from a 50 plus win, Eastern Conference Finals appearance last year. Yeah they still have Al Horford, but the other four starters, Amir Johnson, Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder and Isaish Thomas, all of them are gone. They have to replace 80 percent of their starting 5. And I know that Amir Johnson was not great, but they also lost Kelly Olynk this offseason and replaced him with Aron Baynes. The Celtics are going to look totally different. Also, we will finally see how Brad Stevens does with a super star that wants to shoot and shoot and shoot. Stevens has kind of been given carte blanche because no one expected much from this team, and then they started to win. Now, he has big egos and big contracts to deal with. They will trot out a starting five of Kyrie, probably Baynes or the Morris twin they got, Gordon Hayward, Jaylen Brown and Al Horford. I like the first starting five I mentioned much more. And for the people who think this will push them past Cleveland, slow your roll. The Cavs still have LeBron, and they got 2 of the Celtics five starters.

In fact, lets now look at exactly why I think the Cavs won this trade big. They had to give up Kyrie, and while that stinks, he was disgruntled, sick of being the little brother to LeBron and wanted to be the focal point of a team. If they had kept him, he would have been unhappy, and that could have affected his play. They don't have to worry about that now. The fact that they got Isaish Thomas is flat out amazing to me. He can replace a big, big chunk of the scoring that Irving will leave behind. He is also much better off the ball. Thomas can move off screens and float around the perimeter and hit open shots and get to the basket. I feel like he is going to love playing basketball with LeBron James. Also, he won't take any of the passive aggressive bull shit that LeBron always trots out there. If LeBron tries to subtweet him or say something about the "team", but it is really about Thomas, he will call him out. LeBron has never really had a teammate that would stand up to him but Thomas will, and I think it will benefit both players. Then we have Crowder. Sure, he isn't the defender that he was a couple years ago, but he is a hell of a lot better than anyone that the Cavs have, except for LeBron. Crowder will at least make opposing small forwards think about some shots that they freely got against other Cavs small forwards last year. He can also play small ball 4 if need be. He can also hit open threes. He is a much better Channing Frye, and Frye has been pretty decent since being traded to Cleveland. Crowder is also a much better option than Kyle Korver in big playoff games. Where Korver looked scared to shoot in the Finals last year, Crowder won't have that hesistation. Zizic is a salary dump I assume, so no need to talk about him. The Nets pick, which I say again is unprotected, can be used for a lot of things. If the Cavs think they can keep LeBron, they can trade it for a vet or someone that fits their system. If he does leave, it looks like he is halfway out the door, they can keep it and rebuild with a top ten pick in next year's draft. It is a win win. So, while the Celtics got a big name in a big market, the Cavs added depth and some much needed defense to their team.

To finish this all out, this trade will have no real affect in the outcome of next year unless the Warriors have a catastrophic injury. They are still the best team by a wide margin in the NBA. They will most likely face the Cavs in the finals again, and if that happens, maybe this trade makes it go 6, but still probably 5 or, even more likely, a sweep. While Crowder and James can play defense, they will not be nearly enough to stop the Warriors. Love, Tristan Thompson, JR Smith, Derrick Rose, Thomas and anyone else they throw out there will get torched by the Warriors. And, if the Celtics somehow magically get to the Finals against the Warriors, that will definitely be a sweep. No one on the Celtics now can stop anyone on the Warriors. They are not even close to the same level as the Warriors.

The big deal happened, and I think the Cavs won it by a mile, but the Warriors will still be, barring any major injury, your 2017-18 NBA champs, and it won't even be close. At least the NBA is giving us some great stories during the boring time between the NBA Finals and football kicking off though. I am very grateful for that.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. 

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Ty Ranks the 2017 NFL Teams: The "Rogue One Final Scene" Edition

We are now on day 7 of my 2017 NFL countdown. There are only 2 days left worth of teams. This is the best of the best. These are teams that have few flaws and could really make some noise in the postseason. These teams all have something great going for them, and if any one of them makes it to the Super Bowl I would not be shocked. Lets go.

At number 8 I have the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This team is loaded on offense. They are really, really lethal. A lot of people have been comparing them to the Raiders, a la, a team that makes a very big jump this year. I see that, but I see a lot more of the Falcons in this team. As I already stated, they are lethal offensively. Jameis Winston, for as much as I may not like him, he is turning into a very, very good NFL QB. He is using his arm more, he is becoming a leader, and he is just having fun out there. As long as he can cut down on the turnovers, which I think he will, he is going to jump into that upper echelon of NFL QB's. He is really, really good. They have some of the best wide outs for Winston to throw to also. Mike Evans is amazing. He is tall, fast, can get separation and has excellent hands. The guy is un-guardable at times. He is the Bucs version of Julio Jones. They also went out and signed Desean Jackson this offseason. That was one of the better additions that I have seen in awhile. He is going to stretch the field for the Bucs, and he will also make it nearly impossible to double Evans. Jackson was a tremendous pickup. They also drafted OJ Howard late in the first round, and he was great in college. Go watch last year's title game and he was one of the best players on a field filled with great players. That was a hell of a pick. Doug Martin started to look like the Doug Martin from 2 years ago at the end of last year. If he can be 80 percent of that guy, that will open up things even more for this offense. They also have Jacquizz Rodgers, and he is an excellent change of pace back. The O-Line is legit too. The Bucs also have a decent, albeit inexperienced defense. I love Gerald McCoy. He is a tremendous run stopper and pass rusher. He is also the only reason to watch "Hard Knocks" too. He is great. Vernon Hargreaves can become a decent NFL corner. I know Brent Grimes got a slight injury in preseason, but he will be fine for the start of the year, and he is a solid veteran. Noah Spence has gotten better every year in the league, and now he looks like a legit pass rush specialist. Lavonte David is a solid linebacker. This team is pretty good everywhere, with the exception being the kicking game. The fact that I have to mention it should cause concern. They cut Roberto Aguayo, the guy they moved up to pick in the second round last year, and his replacement, Nick Folk, has not looked consistent at all. That could cost them a game or 2, and that would be brutal. I like this Bucs team, but they need to shore up that kicking game to be a real threat.

At number 7 I have the New York Giants. Odell Beckham Jr is a headache, but he is so talented, he is worth the headache. I know he had a scare in a recent preseason game due to a very dirty hit, but he is going to be okay. He is one of the top 3 or 4 receivers in the league. He is so good with the ball in his hands, and he makes some of the most amazing catches ever. Beckham is great. They also signed Brandon Marshall. I love this almost as much as the Jackson to the Bucs deal. Marshall is as solid as they come, and he will make it impossible for team to double him and Beckham. This was a very good move by both parties. Hell, even Sterling Shepard showed flashes last year. This receiving corps is good. They unfortunately have Eli Manning throwing the ball to them. Yes, he was the QB of 2 Super Bowl champs, but if this team had a solid star QB, they could have won 4 or 5 rings by now. Eli is way too inconsistent and throws way too many picks. He is fine, but these receivers deserve better. The running game is very bland. Shane Vereen is okay, but he is much better at catching the ball out of the backfield and making something happen. The Giants don't want to do that. Paul Perkins is another option, but he didn't do much with his shot last year. I like the pick of Evan Engram, but if they want him to be more than just a glorified tight end, he has excellent hands, but cannot block, they need to coach him up big time. The O-Line is fine. Where the Giants excel is defense. They have a stout defense. People are still joking about what Jason Pierre Paul did to his hand 2 years ago, but that guy is an excellent D-lineman. He is really good. Olivier Vernon is also a very good defensive end. The D-line is good. The secondary is better. Landon Collins is the consummate pro. The guy does everything right, and sometimes, he does it spectacularly. Janoris Jenkins, with all the off field stuff, is a very solid cover corner. Dominique Rodgers Cromartie is great too. Eli Apple is decent. Johnathan Casillas is a pretty good linebacker. Same with BJ Goodson. This defense is good. They can stop teams. What holds the Giants back is Eli and their head coach. They should have beaten Green Bay last year, but the Giants coach got outcoached by Mike McCarthy. That is insane. And Eli, how much does he have left? I don't know. The Giants receivers and defense will be enough o push them towards the playoffs.

At number 6 I have the Kansas City Chiefs. Okay, they do have a QB problem, but give Patrick Mahomes time. He seems like he will be a quality starter in the NFL. And until he is ready, they have Alex Smith. Smith may not be the best QB in the league, but he can manage a game and he will not blow many games for you. He has done that his entire tenure in Kansas City. Sure, they lost Jamaal Charles and Jeremy Maclin this offseason, but those departures will not sting so much. Charles couldn't stay healthy, and Maclin hasn't been the same since his rookie year. They do have Tyreek Hill. Hill is explosive, fast and can catch the ball. He does have off field issues and hopefully that won't rear its head this season because he is their best play maker. They also have Travis Kelce. He is a wannabe Gronk, but he is still solid. He is not Gronk, but he makes plays and is a reliable option at tight end. Don't sleep on Chris Conley either. He was awesome at Georgia, and now, he will get a full chance to start. Charcandrick West and Spencer Ware are more than capable of replacing Charles at running back. They can both run hard and get tough yards. The O-line is solid too. Where the Chiefs are dominant is their defense. Eric Berry is one of the best safeties in football, and one of the best stories too. He came back from cancer and was still an All Pro. That's amazing. Marcus Peters is one of the best young corners in the league. As far as their linebackers, 2 names, Justin Houston and Derrick Johnson. Those 2 guys are incredibly talented and they produce and can be counted on for doing a little bit of everything. Tamba Hali is also pretty good too. The D-line did lose Dontari Poe, but they will be okay. Also, with that line backing core, the D-line doesn't have to be too disruptive. The linebackers can clean up the mess. The Chiefs are a great defensive team and an average offensive team. What separates them from a similar team, the Vikings, their offense is much better. The Chiefs will win double digit games, but that division is really tough.

The final team for today, at number 5, the Atlanta Falcons. The Super Bowl runner uppers. They should have won that game. They led by 25 points in third quarter. What a heart wrenching defeat. How will they recover? I do not know. What I do know, they have a very solid team. Matt Ryan, the MVP last season, is back. He was amazing last year. He will not replicate the numbers he put up last year, but he is still a very, very good QB. He is near that elite level. The still have Julio Jones, the best receiver in the NFL. He is so much better than whoever may be considered the second best receiver. He has been better than advertised. He is so great. And Taylor Gabriel and Mohammed Sanu round out a pretty decent group of receivers. Devonta Freeman is a great running back. I still firmly believe that if they just kept feeding him the ball, they would have easily won the Super Bowl. Tevin Coleman is a solid second option at running back. And this is the type of offense where you could plug in anyone at tight end and they would deliver. The O-line is very good too. They can pass protect and run block. They are solid. The Falcons defense is good too. The secondary is decent, led by Desmond Trufant. The linebackers are stout, led by Deion Jones. The strength of the defense is the line. Adrian Clayborne has been reborn since he signed with the Falcons. He is awesome. I love the Takkarist McKinley pick. He is young and will come at you non stop all game long. Vic Beasley has proved almost everyone wrong and has been great since he was picked. They also got Dontari Poe on a one year deal. He is going to ball out for them this year. The major question is how they respond after last year's Super Bowl loss. That was brutal. Also, they replaced their offensive coordinator, Kyle Shanahan who left for the 49ers head coach job, with Steve Sarkisian. That may not be as smooth a transition as some expect. The Falcons should be good. Lets hope they don't have the typical Super Bowl hangover.

That's is for today, come back tomorrow for my final four teams.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He once lost a game of Madden when he had a 48 point lead going into the 4th quarter. The head editor had the right cheat code that day.

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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 2017 NFL Teams: The Anticipation for "The Last Jedi" Edition

New week, same 2017 NFL countdown here at SeedSing. This week we will finally get to the cream of the crop. The teams I will talk about this week all have a legit shot to make the playoffs, and about 60 to 70 percent of them could make a real case for going to, and winning, the Super Bowl. Lets go.

At number 16 I have Washington. I will not say or write the team name because it is offensive, so henceforth they will only be known as Washington. Washington has a QB problem. They cannot decide what to do with Kirk Cousins. Cousins is not a bad QB, but a 20 million plus a year QB? No way. He is not nearly that good. Off the top of my head there are many other QB's I'd want before Cousins name would even come up. Give me Brady, Rodgers, Newton, Wilson, Matt Ryan, hell, I'd even take Ryan Tannehill before Cousins. But, Washington is, by mistake I believe, doing the smart thing in franchising him. Make him continue to prove himself, then let someone like the Browns or 49ers throw way, way too much money at him when he has already played his best football for you. They have done it ass backwards, but it has been the "smart" move. The skill players are fine, but they did lose Desean Jackson this offseason. That is going to hurt, and hurt a lot. He was their deep threat. They do have Jordan Reed, and when he is healthy, he is good. They signed Terelle Pryor, and if last season is any indication, he is becoming a legit NFL wide out, just not a number one receiver. I like Josh Doctson, but he was seemingly injured all last season. Jamison Crowder is okay. That is the best way to describe the receivers, okay. Matt Jones was a revelation for the first half of last year, but then the NFL figured him out. Same thing can be said of Robert Kelly. Big runner, but can't really separate, and even though he is big, he gets tackled fairly easily. Their O-Line is rarely talked about, but that is good. That means they are doing their jobs. Washington's defense is, quietly, kind of good. Ryan Kerrigan is a very good pass rusher. Josh Norman, who kind of took a step back last year, is still a very good corner. He guarded the best receiver on the opposition every game last year, expect for the Giants games. That was very much publicized. Trent Williams is a very good defensive tackle. Su'a Cravens seems to be coming along nice. And Junior Gallette is still producing. Washington has a pretty decent defense that can stop teams. Their offense is what keeps them back I feel. They rely on Cousins, and he just isn't elite. He is more Joe Flacco than Aaron Rodgers, and he will continue to take them to the first round of the playoffs, and get beaten like a drum.

Coming in at number 15 I have the Houston Texans. Okay, Houston has the best defense in the NFL right now. Better than Denver, Seattle, anyone, in my opinion. They are so good on that side of the ball. JJ Watt, even though he never gets any criticism for some weird reason, is great. He is awesome, when he is healthy. I just wished he got the same judgement for his celebrations like Cam Newton gets. Jadeveon Clowney is awesome, but he is another guy that cannot stay healthy. But, when he is out there, he is great. Brian Cushing, who loves his steroids, is a tackling machine. As long as he isn't suspended for violating the NFL's drug policy, he produces. They lost AJ Bouye, but they have guys that can step in. Johnathan Joseph immediately comes to mind. Oh, I forgot about Whitney Mercilus on the D-Line. He is inconsistent, but when he is on he is dominant. This defense is awesome. Now, we must address the offense. First thing, I love that they moved up to take Deshaun Watson. I think he is going to be great and I think he can be the franchise guy they are looking for. I also love how they fleeced both Brock Osweiler and the Browns. Both brilliant moves by their front office. I also really like DeAndre Hopkins. He may be the most underrated receiver in the NFL. He is a legit number one. After that though, the Texans offense kind of falls off. Will Fuller, Braxton Miller and Jaelen Strong are not top level guys. At running back they have Lamar Miller and Alfred Blue. Miller was supposed to be Arian Foster's replacement, but he never really played out last year. And when Blue got his shot, he wasn't much better. The O-Line is okay, but not great. The tight ends are old school tight ends, and that doesn't work in the modern NFL. Houston is helped out by their atrocious division and their incredible defense. If Watson is the player I think he can be, this team could be a real threat. But that means counting on a rookie in the NFL. That is a scary proposition. The Texans will be in the playoffs, but the development of Watson throughout the year will be the factor in how far they go.

At number 14 I have the Philadelphia Eagles. Some may think this is too high, but I think the Eagles will surprise a lot of people this year. They could beat out both the Cowboys and the Giants in their division this year. I think a lot of people are sleeping on this offense. I think Carson Wentz is a decent QB. He is a hell of a lot better than Jared Goff, the guy taken before him last year. He performed much better than I expected last year. Add the fact that he has a legit receiver now in Alshon Jeffrey, and I think he will make the leap this year. Nelson Agholor is also an underrated, decent receiver. Don't sleep on the Torrey Smith signing either. He may have looked bad last year, but the 49ers offense was a mess. He will look much better this year. Zach Ertz is like a poor man's Greg Olsen or Martellus Bennett. He's a decent blocker but a much better pass catcher. He is reliable. I know they cut Ryan Matthews, but they still have Darren Sproles, and this is his last season. He has said he is done after this year. I feel like he is going to completely ball out. They also signed Legarette Blount. This backfield is filled with experience and winning. I like this backfield. Also, I forgot to mention the signing of Chris Long on defense. He has been great everywhere he has played. And Brandon Graham, a Michigan man, has gotten better every year. The Eagles are a good football team. They can, and probably will, surprise a lot of people. I know most people are penciling in the Cowboys in that division, but do not sleep on the Eagles. I like this team.

The final team for today, number 13, is the Denver Broncos. Last year many people thought was an aberration. I do not agree with that. The Broncos still have an incredible defense. Von Miller may be the best linebacker since LT. I'm not kidding. This guy is amazing. He recently said that he thinks 30 sacks in one season is attainable, and I bought it. He is the one guy that can do it. Aqib Talib, even with all the headaches he brings, is one of the better corners in the league, and if he gets his hands on the ball, he is housing it. Brandon Marshall is an incredible linebacker. One of the best in the league. Chris Harris Jr is lockdown as the other corner. Bradley Robey and TJ Ward are amazing safeties. Their D-Line is very good too. The defense is not the problem. The problem is the offense, and more importantly, it is the QB. Trevor Siemian is not a starting NFL QB. He was barely a Big Ten starting caliber QB in college. Paxton Lynch looks scared and slow out there. He may be a career backup. Those are guys they are counting on to run the offense. That is unsettling. Demayrius Thomas may have already played his best football. He is still good, but he hasn't been the same the past 2 years. He drops way too many easy passes too. I like Thomas, but I feel like he may not be an elite receiver anymore. Emmanuel Sanders is a great receiver that will go over the middle of the field, but that looks to be taking its toll on him. He is still a legit deep threat, but with Siemian and Lynch throwing the ball to him, does his downfield speed really matter? I don't think so. The Broncos do have a lot of options at running back, but none of them are great. CJ Anderson was supposed to take a big step last year, he did not. He barely got 3 yards a carry. Devontae Booker may be the future, but he doesn't get enough touches. They signed Jamaal Charles, but can he stay healthy and will he even be on the team when the season starts? Both are reasonable questions. The Broncos have an incredible defense, but the offense is very far behind due to the lack of a quality QB. They also play in a very, very good division. Wins will be hard to come by, but the defense will keep them in every single game.

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 enjoyed being on the path of totality for the great eclipse of 2017. He thought his regular sunglasses would be sufficient to see the show. He is now unable to read this sick burn. (Just kidding, he watched it all through his homemade space toy).

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RIP Dick Gregory

This past weekend we lost 2 world renowned comedians, Dick Gregory and Jerry Lewis. Now, Lewis was a legend, but he was also not such a nice person. He said hurtful things about female comedians and made some unsettling, very racist movies early in his career. Honestly, the best thing I can say about Lewis is, he gave Matt Groening the idea for Professor Frink. That is what I will remember the most about Lewis. I'm sorry he passed away, but he was known as a mean man that did not say nice things about women. I'm sorry, but it is true.

Now, Dick Gregory on the other hand, he was not only a great comedian, but he was a great man and an active man. Gregory was born in my home city of Saint Louis. Now, full disclosure, I knew Gregory was a comedian, but I knew him more as an activist and all the charity work he did. I knew of some of his famous jokes. For example, the joke when he went into a segregated restaurant, the waitress told him they don't serve "colored" people and he said, "that's fine. I wanted the fried chicken anyway". Then, when some guys came up to him in the restaurant and said, "we are going to do to you whatever to do to that chicken", and Gregory took it, kissed it and said, "line up boys!". That is brilliant stuff. So yeah, I knew he was a funny man. He was also the first African American to appear and stay on the couch after his performances on "The Jack Paar Show". He made sure that he could stay on the couch to speak his mind, and they let him. He was a trend setter. His comedy was of the political/satire nature, because of course. He was the perfect person to do this type of humor.

Dick Gregory began his standup career while he was in the military in the 50's too. This had to shape his comedy mind, and later, his political mind. He was also one of the first African American comics to be accessible to everyone, not just one audience. His comedy was universally loved and he was adored by everyone. He also attributes his launch to Hugh Hefner who spotted him in a club and started to get him gigs all over. He would always mock the "establishment" in his routine, kind of laying the groundwork for his later life's work. He continued to do standup all the way into the 2000's, even appearing on wild shows like "Wondershowzen", and was still beloved. He left standup and fully became an activist in the early 2000's. Don't get it twisted though, he was politically active all the way back to the 60's, it was just in the 21st century where he dedicated himself completely to activism. Dick Gregory was a man that was at Selma. He ran for mayor in 1967 for the Freedom party. He then ran for president for the same party one year later. He was always politically involved, he just did more later in life. He spoke at many conventions, college gatherings, cultural movement and protest stuff. He marched, he spoke on TV, he was always there to speak up and speak out for the voiceless. Gregory was an avid feminist. He went to many rallies for feminists. He spoke with and for feminists groups. Gregory was a man that many people, no matter age, color or gender, wanted to hear speak. They wanted to know what was in his brilliant mind.

Dick Gregory was a great man. Dick Gregory was a great comedian. Dick Gregory was a great activist. Dick Gregory was the type of person that all people should strive to be. He was a wonderful man that accomplished many incredible things in his 84 years. He will be greatly missed. RIP Dick Gregory.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ty

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

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Ty Ranks the 2017 NFL Teams: The "Revenge of the Sith" Edition

On to day 3 of my 2017 NFL countdown. We are still talking about some miserable teams, but it is getting better. In fact, none of the teams I talk about this week will be playoff teams, unless they have incredibly magical seasons, but I promise, next week, we will get to the good teams. You've got to suffer through the worst to get to the best. Enough preamble, lets get to it.

At number 24 I have the Los Angeles Chargers. Again, I almost wrote San Diego. The fact that LA has 2 pro football, basketball and a million baseball teams is just crazy to me. But, that's commerce for you I suppose. Anyway, some people seem to think that the Chargers will be a sleeper this year. That is nuts to me. I do not know what these "experts" see that I don't see. I think the Chargers would play way over their heads if they won 7 games this year. First off, they still have Phillip Rivers as their QB. How long does his career have to go before we see him as the player he truly is, which is average. Rivers has never struck me as a QB that you can build around. He is fine. He goes for 4,000 yards a year and 25 to 30 touchdowns, but what has he done to earn his "big time" status? Why is he talked about as one of the top QB's? I don't see it. The Chargers do have a few decent skill players. I like Melvin Gordon. He really rebounded after a tough rookie year and was great last year. He looks like the guy that the Chargers should build around, not Phillip Rivers. Antonio Gates is still there, and he is still consistent. He is getting old though. Keenan Allen is back, and he is a good receiver, but he can never stay healthy. He has been more injured than healthy his whole career. Their first round pick, Mike Williams, is also already hurt. As far as their O-Line, they are okay. Not great, but not bad. The defense seems to be the reason that the "experts" think they will be better, but I still don't see it. Yes, Joey Bosa is good, but he is no JJ Watt or Gerald McCoy or really any of the other top tier pass rushers. He could reach that status, but he is not there yet. They have okay corners, led by Jason Verrett. The linebacker core is just okay as well. I like Melvin Ingram and Denzel Perryman, but they don't really jump out as super stars. Their D-Line, again, is just okay. Not great, okay. I don't get all the talk about this team being a sleeper. I just don't see it, especially since they still have Phillip Rivers as their QB and cornerstone.

At number 23 I have the New Orleans Saints. This team just cannot put it together enough on defense to get back to that contender level. Their defense is atrocious. When your big free agent signings are Manti Teo and Nick Fairley that does not make for a great turnaround for that side of the ball. They can't cover anyone, they can't get to the QB, they struggle to stop the run, they are flat out bad. What makes them a team worth watching is their offense. Drew Brees is still there and he is still slinging 5,000 yards a year and 35 touchdowns. He is still putting up video game numbers, even at his advanced age. They lost Brandin Cooks, which will hurt, but they have some decent, young receivers. Michael Thomas is good. Willie Snead can get yards. Coby Fleener is a great option at tight end. And if anyone can make Ted Ginn Jr look good, it is Drew Brees. They also have Mark Ingram and they signed Adrian Peterson. First off, Peterson is done as an elite runner, and that will be even more glaring behind a porous O-Line. He will either get hurt or not gain many yards because of the need to split time between himself and Ingram. I like Mark Ingram, but he is not a top tier running back. He is good at grinding out yards, and has some decent hands out of the backfield. Ingram is a fine third down back in the NFL. And while you night think that the signing of Peterson may help the line, due to play action, I don't think it will matter. I think Peterson will make zero difference for the Saints. The Saints will score a ton of points and be in games late against good competition, but their defense is so bad, that will be their downfall. I feel like 6 or 7 wins is the ceiling.

At number 22 I have the Cincinnati Bengals. Look, the Bengals are the Clippers of the NFL. This team has done nothing of note since the late 80's, yet they feel like an entitled bunch. They also keep rolling out the same team and they expect different results. Again, just like the Clippers. How much longer does Marvin Lewis have as a head coach? If he were anywhere else, he would be gone by now. But, with the Bengals franchise, I wouldn't be surprised if they gave him another extension this season. Andy Dalton is still the QB there. Andy Dalton is mediocre at best. This has to be league wide knowledge by now. He is never going to win a Super Bowl, and probably not even a playoff game. AJ Green is incredible, but he is stuck in a purgatory of sorts, playing for the Bengals and having Andy Dalton throw him the ball. He, much like Todd Gurley and LeSean McCoy, deserves much, much better. Jeremy Hill and Giovanni Bernard were supposed to be one of the better duos at running back last year. That didn't happen. They were both incredibly average. This team also went out and drafted Joe Mixon, who hits women, so I have no respect for that at all. Tyler Eifert is only getting older, and he seems to get hurt more often now than he ever did. This offense is below average, with Green being the exception. The defense shoots themselves in the foot so often, it is not even funny anymore. Guys like Vontaze Burfit, Adam Jones and Dre Kirkpatrick are awesome, but they are constantly doing things to get penalties that are crushing. And for the most part, the penalties are self inflicted. They would have won a playoff game 2 years ago if not for Burfict and Jones being selfish. The defense should be one of the better ones in the league, but the constant penalties are a nuisance that keeps holding them back. I do like the pick of John Ross, but I don't think it will matter when Andy Dalton is throwing the ball to him. Sorry RD, but the Bengals are fading back into the mediocrity that I grew up watching in the late 90's and early 2000's.

The final team for today, at number 21, I have the Indianapolis Colts. This team is the definition of average. They are going to win 7 or 8 games. You can write that in pen. They are so average. Andrew Luck is a fine QB, but he is not the world beater that many expected, myself included, when he was taken first overall in his draft. He also gets hurt a whole lot. Some of that is due to his terrible O-Line, constructed by an awful front office, and some of that is his fault. He does hold the ball too much, and he does run it a bit too much. At running back they are still counting on Frank Gore. Bless Frank Gore, I like Frank Gore, but he is well past his prime. He never really had the wheels, and being a grinder, his specialty, that is going away too. That is what happens to running backs when they get "older". I like T.Y. Hilton, but he should not be a number one option on a contender. He is great, but think of how great he'd be if he were teamed up with an AJ Green. That would be an amazing duo. That is what Hilton should be, a second option. I like Phillip Dorsett, but he is a third or fourth option at best. And they still have Adam Vinatieri. He is a good kicker, but when your kicker is one of your most important players, that is rough. The Colts defense may be as bad as the Saints. They have no one, and I mean no one of any consequence. Looking at their roster, names like Malik Hooker, Clayton Geathers, Vontae Davis,  and David Parry show up. These guys are not big names, and they will strike zero fear in opposing offenses. They cannot stop anything, and that is a problem. The Colts are the AFC's version of the Saints, except Drew Brees is much better than Andrew Luck. Like I said, they play in a horrific division, so they will get some cheap wins, and they will end somewhere between 5-11 or 8-8. Put it down in pen.

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

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He does not understand the awesomeness that the Bengals will bring to the NFL this year. Marvin Lewis and Andy Dalton have been hustling the league for years, and now they are going to show their real face. 19-0. This looks like destiny.

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