#jalen jacoby today

[theblackarticle]

#BlackArticle – Jalen and Jacoby react to Nikola Jokic losing 25 lbs Follow on blackarticle.com! #BlackArticle X #ESPN

[dailyvideovault]

New video posted on: https://dailyvideovault.com/not-all-nba-players-will-want-to-go-to-the-bubble-jalen-rose-jalen-jacoby/

Not all NBA players will want to go to 'the bubble' - Jalen Rose | Jalen & Jacoby

[strictlyfavorites]

Team photographers David Silverman and Eric J. Adler present their favorite photos from the Patriots 38-15 win over the Cleveland Browns at First Energy Field on Sunday, Oct. 16, 2022. 02

A little known fourth-round draft pick who played at Conference USA school Western Kentucky, Zappe — pronounced ZAPP-ee — was pushed into action two weeks ago when starter Mac Jones and veteran backup Brian Hoyer went out with injuries. He now has now won two games in as many starts.

On Sunday, he threw for 309 yards and two touchdowns as the Patriots buried the Cleveland Browns 38-15. It was the 324th career win for coach Bill Belichick, who tied George Halas for second on the NFL's career list.

"We're just playing football," the 23-year-old Zappe said. "It's what we've been playing since we were 5 years old, so it's fun to play with these guys."

Zappe, starting for the second consecutive week, threw second-half TD passes to Tyquan Thornton and Hunter Henry as the Patriots pulled away from the anemic Browns.

Zappe finished 24 of 34 passing a week after throwing for 188 yards and a touchdown in his first start, a 29-0 win over Detroit.

"He has pretty good instincts, but again, there's a lot for him to learn," Belichick said of the young quarterback. "He saw some things today and he learned from them, he was able to take advantage and make a couple plays, so it was a solid performance."

The Patriots' offense took a while to get going in this one, and the Browns (2-4) never really did.

Late in the first half, Rhamondre Stevenson broke through, bounced left and tore down the sideline for a 31-yard score.

Early in the second half, Zappe hooked up with Jonnu Smith for 53 yards to get down to the Browns 20, and a 13-yard completion to Henry set up first-and-goal at the 2. Three plays later, Thornton grabbed Zappe's short toss in the end zone.

Later Patriots linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley hit quarterback Jacoby Brissett as he was throwing, leading to a pick by Jalen Mills that gave them the ball at the Cleveland 40. Three plays later, Zappe found a wide-open Henry, who ran untouched for a 31-touchdown and a 24-6 New England lead.

The Browns' offense produced only a pair of field goals by Cade York in the first half.

Cleveland's Nick Chubb, who entered leading the NFL in rushing, didn't have a double-digit gain until late in the third quarter. He had 23 yards rushing and 14 receiving on that drive, but again the Browns stalled — and York came on for a 51-yard field goal.

Chubb finished with 12 carries for 56 yards, both season lows.

Brissett, who finished 21 for 45 for 266 yards with two interceptions, threw a 15-yard scoring pass to Amari Cooper in the fourth quarter but a 2-point attempt failed, leaving it a two-score game with 6:22 left.

New England sealed it with a 19-yard end-around for a touchdown by Thornton. Brissett fumbled the ball away on the Browns' next drive, leading to Stevenson's second TD, a 6-yard plunge with 3:40 left.

It was the most points allowed by Cleveland this season and its most lopsided loss.

"Every way you can get beat — offense, defense, special teams, coaching — we got beat," Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said. "They beat us, and we also beat ourselves a few too many times."

Defensive end Myles Garrett said Zappe caught the Browns off-guard when he came out throwing.

"The plan was they were going to run the ball, based on what's happened the last two weeks," Garrett said. "But we shouldn't have made it so easy on him."

HISTORIC WIN

Belichick, who is 324-159 including the playoffs, has a chance to pass Halas next Monday night at home against Chicago — the franchise with which Halas won all his games. Don Shula tops the list with 347.

"You can't win games in this league without good players, so I've been very fortunate to coach a lot of great players and have a lot of great coaches through the years," Belichick said. "A lot of those guys have gone on to great coaching careers and the players, obviously, some are going to the Hall of Fame."

[houseofvans]

IN THE STUDIO | BOSS DOG 

Artist Mike McKennedy aka Boss Dog recently moved from the comforts of his Portland, OR studio to a new creative space situated in Twentynine Palms, CA. We’re stoked to check out what his newly set up studio space is like, what his typical day in the studio is like, and what projects he’s currently working on.  Find out more about Mike McKennedy in our more in depth –Art School interview with Boss Dog! 

Photographs by Samantha McKennedy

Where your space is located: On the border of Joshua Tree National Park in Twentynine Palms, CA

Can you describe to folks a little about your studio or creative art space? Well, it's weird because I just moved in. I moved from Portland, OR to Twentynine Palms, CA just outside of Joshua Tree National Park. My old space was covered in artwork and posters by my favorite artists, but I haven't put much up on the walls here yet. I am excited for a new beginning and just want to accumulate new stuff naturally. My wife Sam helps me run Boss Dog and we do most of the work that pays the bills from home. It works for us. We like each other and our dogs and kinda just like to chill and do our own things so it's nice.

What’s a typical day in the studio like for you? Right now I fluctuate between balancing commissions, working on my own stuff as Boss Dog, contributing to the animated movie The Planet of Doom, and being a part of a new restaurant called Black Seed Burger Cult. I use the word balance lightly because I don't know if I have figured that part out yet. I am way behind on deadlines for Planet of Doom, but I am getting close to finishing my part. 

Check it out @theplanetofdoom –This year I am trying to do less commission work and focus only on Boss Dog. I have stuff coming out with Zumiez soon and Boss Dog is ramping up more and more. I am currently trying to figure out if I am more of an artist or a graphic designer or what they call a "brand" or some permutation of all three!!!! It's all growing pains. I am also super busy with Black Seed Burger Cult in Portland, OR. Myself and a gentleman named John Black (@barelyhumanart) are doing the design and there are two other owners named Mikey Williams and Donovan Collins who are the creative chef geniuses who will run the joint. So, I bounce around between all that. Whatever is causing the most stress at the moment is what I try and put some work in to!!

What type of things do you keep around the studio to inspire you ? What art are on your walls? I like tchotchkes. I'm not Jewish but I sort of believe in Golems. I like having things around that symbolize protection from another realm. My wife would tell me to cut the crap and just admit that I love toys. But, if you come to our house every room has a golem in it somewhere. It's usually a M.U.S.C.L.E. figure haha. They are protectors. My brain is usually preoccupied with a world that has strong magical protectors in it. So my art room has a lot of stuff in it I see thru that lens. As far as art goes I love old He-Man, Snoopy, old biker shit, Frazetta, and of course the millions of current day artists who inspire me! As I type this on the wall behind me is a huge tapestry by Jason Cruz. That dude rules.

What are you currently working on in your studio space? What are you jammin’ to while you work? Today I am doing a hand drawn font for the burger place I mentioned. The magicians behind @kern.club are going to make it a working font. They are rad. I listen to an equal amount of music to podcasts. The last five bands I played on Spotify are: 2 Chainz, Nipsey Hussle, Credence Clearwater Revival, The Band, and Megadeth; last five podcasts I listened to are: Jalen & Jacoby, The Jump, The Nod, Heavyweight, and Reply All.

What art materials would we find on your desk? I usually do a lot of messy gestural drawing in non photo blue pencil. Everything I do is with the intention of eventually transferring it over to a computer. So, I use a lot of blue pencil or use a light table to ink over my pencil drawings so there's no graphite. I don't know how to use an iPad. So I draw on paper, use a light table to draw and redraw my images on new pieces of paper to my eventual liking, then scan the final in. I clean the linework up in Ai and then switch over to photoshop. I am too stubborn to try it any other way so that's just how it is for me now! So besides non photo blue pencils I use almost exclusively sharpies, regular pencils (nothing fancy, just whatever I can find at the grocery store) Micron .08 and Micron .03 and Uniball white pens from Japan. Those are all my jams. When I paint -- which I haven't been doing too much of lately -- I use liquitex acrylic paint and Molotow acrylic paint pens. Also he's not a material but my dog Bud is always at my feet when I draw. He says he wants to be an artist too but all I ever see him do is sleep. So we'll see about that one.

Whose studio would you like to peek into?  I absolutely love Skip Class as an artist. I think his process is rad. I can never figure him out and that's a good thing. He's present as fuck and just lives it. Check him out @skip.class. Also John Black (@barelyhumanart) isn't just a friend he's a co conspirator and just someone whose process I really enjoy. Lastly I think Matt Kerley is one of those genius minds that inhabits weird places and does a ton of different things well. He’s an incredible fine artist, tattooer and he makes rad clothes. He is on Ig as @mattituder​.

FOLLOW MIKE | INSTAGRAM | WEBSITE

[tkmedia]

S Sean Davis: 2016 Draft Grade Retrospective

It’s said a draft class can’t be fully graded until at least three years after the picks are made. That’s why after submitting grades for every Pittsburgh Steelers pick made in 2021, I began going back through and grading previous Steeler draft classes beginning with 2018. Today continues the third class in that exercise, with the Steelers’ second-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft: Sean Davis, a safety out of Maryland. This exercise follows the six viewpoints (listed below) for examining and re-grading a pick. Each of the first five viewpoints gets examined and assigned a letter grade, before taking that analysis and combining it into a final letter grade. Those five viewpoints comprise much of what goes into the draft grades consumed by so many every year after the draft. Steelers’ Career: What did the player contribute to the team that drafted him? NFL Career: Did the player make the pick look better in hindsight after leaving Pittsburgh? Pick Value: Did the player outperform his draft slot? Did he fail to live up to the pick used on him? Positional Value: Was the player the best player remaining at his specific position in the draft? Other Options: Did any players go during the next round that were better selections? Overall Grade: A final mark to denote whether the selection was an overall positive one, or one better spent elsewhere. Each factor in a retrospective doesn’t apply evenly to every pick made; consider the grades weighted. For example, to return a high grade in pick value, a first-round pick should have a long and impactful career, while a later-round pick needs only a couple seasons as a back-up or modest contributor to be worth the selection used on him. Some factors are universal, though. Whether picked first overall or 259th, there will always be other options on the board to compare the player to, and steals and reaches can come from any place in the draft. Round 2, Pick 27: Sean Davis, S, Maryland STEELERS CAREER: C+ So bad was the Steelers’ secondary after the 2016 season that the team doubled up on it with their first two picks of the 2016 draft. And like first-rounder Artie Burns, Davis quickly worked his way into the lineup. He started nine games as a rookie, and then spent his next two seasons as the team’s full-time starter. In that time, he started at both safety spots. All three seasons saw at least 70 tackles made, peaking with 92 of them in 2017. Seven came for a loss, another career-best, and Davis set personal bests with three interceptions, eight passes defensed, and a forced fumble. It was a good start to his career, with good flashes offsetting the problems that came with shifting position to position and not finding a set home on defense. His performance did enough to inspire some hope, but not prevent Pittsburgh from addressing the safety position. The team selected Terrell Edmunds in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft prior to Davis’ third season. When Davis suffered a season-ending injury to begin 2019, Pittsburgh traded for Minkah Fitzpatrick and elected to allow Davis to test free agency. After a failed signing elsewhere (see next section), Davis returned to the Steelers in time to play in all 16 games for them in 2020, for just over $900,000. Shifted to a backup role behind the aforementioned Fitzpatrick and Edmunds, Davis played only 57 defensive snaps. He recorded 12 tackles, a pass defensed, and a fumble recovery, and played nearly four times as many special teams snaps as he did for the Steelers’ defense. NFL CAREER: F Hitting free agency, Davis landed a one-year contract with the Washington Football Team as a contender to start for them in 2020. Even earning a $5 million deal for that season and receiving a $2 million signing bonus, Davis played poorly enough that Washington cut him before Week 1. Davis gets another chance at success outside of Pittsburgh this season, signing a one-year deal with the Indianapolis Colts this offseason to join a busy Colts’ depth chart for backup safeties. PICK VALUE: B- Coming only a few slots before the start of the third round, getting a three-year starter at the safety position isn’t a horrendous return. Especially considering that, without his season-ending injury in 2019, Davis had a legitimate chance to earn a nice payday as a free agent, or in re-signing with the Steelers. He never reached a Pro Bowl level or signed that second long-term contract with the team. Davis did, though, offer Pittsburgh serviceable play at safety when it was desperately needed. At the tail end of the second round, getting a three-year starter at a position you struggle to acquire talent consistently at isn’t a bad pick. Lacking the upside desired for any second-rounder, sure. But an abject failure? No. POSITIONAL VALUE: D+ Now for the hammer, and a big “two-punch” in a one-two combo looking at the defensive backs taken at corner and safety after Burns in the first round and Davis in the second. Taken six picks after Davis was Kevin Byard, a four-year starter who led the league in interceptions and was an All-Pro in 2017, and who has three seasons of four or more picks, and four of 84 or more tackles. And at the end of the third round, Justin Simmons went to Denver and became an absolute steal for the Broncos. Starting four seasons, Simmons has 16 interceptions (at least two every season, 24 passes defensed the last two years, and three consecutive seasons above 90 tackles. He made his first Pro Bowl in 2020, and Denver just made him the first safety in NFL history to break $15 million per season on a long-term deal. That’s two of the best in the NFL at the position going within the next four safeties selected. The rest of the class underwhelms and doesn’t match the career Davis put together. Darian Thompson only started one year for the New York Giants. Miles Killebrew (now with Pittsburgh), Deon Bush, and Will Parks carved out careers as full-time backups. Jalen Mills has started four years with Philadelphia, but only came at safety and the rest at corner. Vonn Bell is one exception, entering his sixth season as an NFL starter, and second in Cincinnati. He went three selections after Davis. He, Byard, and Simmons going as three of the next four safeties drafted (and within the next 40 picks) makes this a miss, even if the rest of the class amounted to little in the way of starters. OTHER OPTIONS: D+ The 2016 draft really was an outstanding one for Day 2 talent, as plenty of big-time contributors went in the 32 picks after Davis, just like they did in the early second after Pittsburgh picked Burns. Mentioned above, Bell went three picks later, and Byard six. Between the two was James Bradberry (62nd, Carolina), one of the highest-paid cornerbacks in the NFL. Further down in the early third is Yannick Ngakoue (69th, Jacksonville), a player on his fourth team in five years but who has eight or more sacks every season of his career, and four or more forced fumbles in four seasons. Joe Thuney (78th, New England) is the second-highest-paid guard in football. Austin Hooper (81st, Atlanta) is in the top five for tight ends. Kendall Fuller (84th, Washington) is a primary corner for Washington’s stellar defense. Add in some players who are or were contributors without becoming stars (running back Kenyan Drake, 73rd to Miami; quarterback Jacoby Brissett, 91st to New England; defensive tackle Maliek Collins (67th, Dallas), and it’s a pretty good group overall that followed Davis. Even if the league-wide misses started to become more frequent at this point. OVERALL GRADE: C- Some of the names Pittsburgh passed on, at the safety position and otherwise, make this pick sting in retrospect. It’s not a failure, though. Pittsburgh got multiple starting years with productive results from Davis, even if he never built on those to earn the bigger second contract with the team that is on the horizon for Minkah Fitzpatrick. Davis filled his role with the Steelers well. If not for an untimely injury in a contract year, Pittsburgh may have made him a well-paid defensive back, or Davis could have had a better opportunity leaving town than he received in Washington. He proved enough for the team to bring him back on a second stint, and Davis provided valuable depth during the 2020 season. Now in Indy, his career faces an uphill battle to continue.

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[junker-town]

What’s your favorite NFL rivalry?

Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports

We picked a few of our favorites, including the NFL’s oldest rivalry and the silliest.

Familiarity breeds contempt. Nowhere is that proverb more true than the NFL.

Tightly packed divisions have created brutal rivalries between teams that see each other twice a year (and sometimes again in the postseason). The Cowboys and Eagles have battled every year since 1960 and the hate has never taken a day off that entire time. The Falcons and Saints have played 100 times, though the rivalry is mostly defined by their fans roasting each other for their high-profile embarrassing losses to other teams.

This year, the Seahawks and 49ers look ready to bring their rivalry back to the forefront of the NFL after it dominated the NFC from 2011-14.

The league’s scheduling process also ensures division champions face fellow winners the following year, pitting the league’s top teams in marquee, playoff-defining matchups on a near-annual basis. The Colts left the AFC East in 2001, but their consistent spot among the league’s top teams means they’ve played the Patriots 17 times since then.

Those are all good rivalries, but are they great ones? It all depends on what you look for most in a rivalry.

There’s really no wrong answer when it comes to deciding on a favorite rivalry, especially with so many options to choose from in the NFL. Here’s what a few of us picked, starting with two teams who’ve been doing this since 1921:

Packers vs. Bears

Full disclosure: I live in Wisconsin. It is a wonderful state with beautiful summers, a seemingly endless supply of amazing food, and mostly friendly people. Every small town has its own brewery and bars outnumber churches 3-to-1. And every tavern in this state worth its salt has this beauty prominently displayed in the jukebox.

Just listen to it. Your arteries clog up a little bit every time the “chorus” hits. If you put a glass of milk near your speakers as it plays, curds instinctively begin to form at the top. The lead singer declares this friendly rivalry is all in fun, then earnestly hopes Mike Ditka gets vehicularly manslaughtered. It is delightful.

I’ve been up here since 2010, a span in which the Packers are 16-4 against the Bears. And yet, my local watering hole (what’s up, Paul’s Neighborhood Bar?) acts as if every game against the team down south is the most important contest of Green Bay’s season. Every regular has a Bears story, whether it’s calling Jim McMahon a fraud, Jay Cutler “gutless,” or just pointing to the screen and chuckling whenever Mitchell Trubisky drops back to pass.

Packers-Bears is always an event, no matter the stakes. Packers-Vikings isn’t too far behind. And the Packers also play the Lions twice a year, though no one seems to notice unless Aaron Rodgers happens to throw a football to the moon and back that day. — Christian D’Andrea

Raiders vs. Chargers

This is a classic California rivalry between two original American Football League franchises — both of which will be playing in cities they have no business being in.

Both teams have rarely been good at the same time, with the 1980 AFC Championship Game their only postseason matchup in 60 years of existence. The Raiders won that game on their way to a Super Bowl victory, and also won the most famous Chargers-Raiders tilt two years earlier: the Holy Roller, a fumble by Raiders quarterback Ken Stabler that fortuitously found its way 10 yards downfield into tight end Dave Casper’s hands in the end zone for a winning touchdown. The play was so ridiculous it spawned a rule change, disallowing advancement of a fumble by anyone but the player who coughed the ball up.

Most of my life watching these two teams has involved failure, save for my freshman year in college at UC San Diego coinciding with the Chargers’ lone trip to the Super Bowl. I’ve watched a lot of bad, yet strangely watchable games between these two teams. My favorite Chargers-Raiders game — narrowly beating out watching Harvey Williams score four touchdowns on just seven touches in San Diego in 1997 — was an abomination of a contest in 1998.

Rookie quarterback Ryan Leaf and someone on the Raiders named Donald Hollas helped both sides combine for five interceptions and eight sacks. The game was eye-gougingly bad, with the Chargers leading 6-0 while holding Oakland under 100 yards of offense for the first 58 minutes. The teams combined for 27 punts, including 16 by the Raiders’ Leo Araguz, a record that still stands. But all of a sudden there was life, in the form of withered veteran quarterback Wade Wilson, in his penultimate NFL season, unleashing a 68-yard bomb to James Jett with 1:38 remaining to give Oakland a victory they had no business getting.

This was the Raiders’ drive chart for the game, which nicely encapsulates both teams’ relevance for the last quarter century:

The Chargers actually played in Los Angeles before the Raiders — the Bolts’ inaugural season (1960) was in LA before they moved to San Diego. But the Raiders’ 13-year stay in LA still resonates locally, so much so that the Chargers have yet to gain any traction in the city since moving back north on Interstate 5. Now in their third season back in Los Angeles, Chargers home games are famous for having more fans rooting for their opponents.

2020 will bring new stadia for both teams, with the Chargers moving with the Rams into SoFi Stadium and the Raiders calling Allegiant Stadium home in Las Vegas, their third city in franchise history. The cities will be unfamiliar, but the Raiders-Chargers rivalry has always been a little weird so it seems fitting. — Eric Stephen

Bills vs. Jaguars

Ah yes, a rivalry as old as ... last year.

You’re probably rolling your eyes at the suggestion that the Bills and Jaguars — two teams with a combined seven winning seasons in the last 20 years — are the best rivalry in the NFL. But what makes a good rivalry, exactly?

If it’s competitiveness, this duel has qualified lately. The Jaguars squeaked out a 10-3 win over the Bills in the playoffs in January 2018. Buffalo evened the score 10 months later with a 24-21 victory that included a brawl that got Bills defensive end Shaq Lawson and Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette ejected.

If it’s trash talk and contempt, Jalen Ramsey stirred up plenty of trouble with the Bills before forcing his way out of town. He called multiple players on Bills sideline trash, and made it publicly clear that he thinks quarterback Josh Allen is trash too.

But what’s really important is that Duval and Bills Mafia found each other, because they’re a perfect pair.

Jaguars fans do things like bellyflop into pools of mayonnaise and proudly reign as the troll kings of the NFL. Earlier this season, the Jaguars went all out taunting poor Sam Darnold about ghosts.

And Jacksonville has its perfect trolling target in Bills fans: A fanbase that will always go to bat for its team, and proudly dive through tables to show support.

Unfortunately, the goofiest rivalry of 2018 has lost a little bit of its luster a year later. Ramsey was the main instigator on the field and now he’s in Los Angeles. The Jaguars and Bills didn’t land on each other’s schedule, robbing us of a Josh Allen vs. Josh Allen battle.

But the good news is that there’s a chance the teams will meet in 2020, and a guarantee that they’ll see each other in 2021. When they do, there will be another clash of two unique fanbases and the rivalry will for sure be back on. I can’t wait. — Adam Stites

Steelers vs. Ravens

The AFC North has every different rivalry you can think of: Intrastate (Bengals-Browns), interstate (all the others), old school (Browns-Steelers), Art Modell created (Browns-Ravens), and the one that’s not healthy for anyone (Steelers-Bengals).

But there’s only one that is both fierce and consistently competitive: Steelers vs. Ravens. You know whenever these two teams face off, either side could win — and it’ll probably be close.

Pittsburgh holds a 28-23 series lead over Baltimore, including a 3-1 record in the playoffs. Since the rivalry began in 1996, each franchise has won two Super Bowls apiece.

They also have two of the longest-tenured current head coaches in the NFL. Mike Tomlin became the Steelers’ head coach in 2007, and the Ravens hired John Harbaugh the following year. The rivalry was heated before the Tomlin and Harbaugh eras, of course, lest anyone forgets when Joey Porter hopped on the Ravens’ team bus to try to fight Ray Lewis. However, there’s no denying they have ratcheted up the intensity after both coaches came on board.

Since 2008, the series is tied 13-13, while 19 of their games have been decided by one score (14 of those by three points or fewer). They’ve met three times in the postseason. In six of those seasons, they’ve finished 1-2 in the division standings.

There was that time Haloti Ngata accidentally broke Ben Roethlisberger’s nose (and later cited it in his retirement speech). And that time Terrell Suggs was investigated (and cleared) for saying there was a bounty on Rashard Mendenhall and Hines Ward. And all the times Suggs needled Roethlisberger.

Don’t forget Ward leveling Ed Reed, Tomlin getting in Jacoby Jones’ way, and the Immaculate Extension, either.

Underneath all the hate, there’s real respect, though, and that’s what sets it apart from so many other rivalries in the NFL. Even as most of the faces have changed, that begrudged appreciation for each other — and the level playing field — has remained the same. — Sarah Hardy

Those are just *our* picks. Which NFL rivalry is your favorite? Let us know in the comments.

[racingtoaredlight]

RTARL’s NFL Week 7 Extravapalooza

I know this is a football post, but the World Series looks like it’s gonna be great. Verlander, Cole, and Greinke vs. Scherzer, Strasburg, and Corbin is RAD. Especially now that MLB has decided to switch back to the non-juiced baseballs. Nothing says “we care deeply about the integrity of competition” quite like drastically fucking with the league’s official equipment when the games matter most!

The Stros and Nats are very evenly matched in my opinion, but I think I’m gonna take Washington to win based on nothing more than pure bullshit and approximately 25 seconds of thought. Nationals in 6, baby! TAKE IT TO THE BANK!

[looks at my record of picking things]

Congrats to the Houston Astros and their fans!

My picks are in BOLD, and all betting info comes to you courtesy of Vegas Insider.

Last Week’s Record: 6-7

Season Record: 35-49-1

Arizona Cardinals at New York Giants (-3)

Ooh, this is a spicy little meatball of a game. Neither of these teams are what I’d call “good,” nevertheless this one rates very highly on the “Watch ‘Em Up Index” patented by my colleague Starkweather. 

The combination of the “West Coast team travelling East to play an early game” scenario and the triumphant return of Saquon Barkley led me to choose New York to prevail in a shootout. 

Houston Texans at Indianapolis Colts (-1)

Another good game! The Colts deserve all the credit in the world for not going completely into the tank after Andrew Luck decided to call it a career weeks before the season started. They’re legitimately feisty, and it was wrong for me to ever doubt the powers of Jacoby Brissett. 

One thing the Colts do NOT do well is pressure the QB, as they sit at just 26th in the league in Pressure % ( QB pressures (hurries + knockdowns + all sack plays (half and full for players, just full sacks for teams)) per dropback). This leads me to believe that DeShaun Watson will make it through at least one more week without literally exploding into chunks on the field, and when he avoids that he’s usually very good. 

Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills (-17)

Holy shit, when was the last time the Bills were favored this heavily? The WAGONS HAVE BEEN CIRCLED! Buffalo QB Josh Allen has played the Dolphins twice in his young career so far, and both times have resulted in an absolute statistical bonanza for fantasy footballers, so if you play DFS or feel like placing any prop bets, I would advise hopping aboard the Allen Train today. 

The Dolphins make me sad. Note that they don’t make me CRY, because I’m not Hootie from Hootie and the Blowfish.

Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions (-2)

Man, I feel bad for the Lions. They were boned out of a divisional win on Monday, and now they welcome an even tougher divisional foe on a short week. I still think they’re a good team, but this is a tough spot. My man Kerryon Johnson has NOT had a chance to get it going so far, as for whatever reason the Detroit offensive coordinator is insistent upon trying to run him straight up the middle in obvious running situations as opposed to trying to get him the ball with a bit of space to operate. Seems like a functional running game would take some pressure off of Staff Daddy! Why yes, I am an aggrieved Kerryon Johnson fantasy owner, why do you ask?

The Vikings coming to the realization that their best bet for success is to let Kurt Cousins chuck it all over the yard is hilarious to me, because you know damn well it’s going to cause HC Mike Zimmer’s other eye to explode. His demeanor in press conferences following games where Minny wins after Kurt throws 30+ times could best be described as “just watched his wife’s autopsy.”

Jacksonville Jaguars (-4) at Cincinnati Bengals

Oakland Raiders at Green Bay Packers (-4.5)

I am VERY disappointed that the Raiders have actually been a somewhat competent team so far. Watching Jon Gruden seethe on the sidelines each week was supposed be a major part of my autumn, god damn it. I suppose there’s still time for things to go sideways, but it doesn’t seem like it’ll devolve to quite the level I’d like. 

The Packers’ rush defense isn’t very good, which is unfortunate given that they find themselves up against enormous Oakland RB Josh Jacobs this week. Conversely, the best way to attack Oakland is through the air. Despite having Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay isn’t really in a great position to take advantage of this, given the fact that they have basically zero healthy pass-catchers. This game feels like a low-scoring, field-position battle that ends up being decided by a field goal.

Los Angeles Rams (-3) at Atlanta Falcons

I can’t shake the feeling that this game is going to be a blow-out win for the Falcons, and my instincts are NEVER wrong. You know who the Rams’ back-up QB is? That’s right, it’s BLAKE BORTLES! I know it isn’t likely they’d make a switch given Goff’s huge contract, but how many more stinkbombs are they willing to endure before they begin to feel themselves swaying to the siren song of BORT? Jalen Ramsey may demand another trade if that were to happen.

I truly have no idea what the Falcons will do from week-to-week. I mean, I clearly don’t know what ANY team is going to do, but with Atlanta it’s like, EXTRA uncertainty.

San Francisco 49ers (-9.5) at Washington Football Team

The narrative around this game has mostly been “Kyle Shanahan hates the Washington franchise with the fire of 1000 suns and he desperately wants to crush their hopes and dreams,” which is DELIGHTFUL. This game probably isn’t going to be any fun at all for Case Keenum, and then it will be even less fun for poor Dwayne Haskins if the team throws him in there.

The field at Washington is a notorious piece of shit to begin with, and evidently today it’s extremely soggy there. The Over/Under is currently at 39, and pounding the under doesn’t seem like the worst investment in the world if the game’s gonna be a slop-fest featuring one team that wouldn’t be likely to score a whole hell of a lot even in ideal conditions.

Baltimore Ravens at Seattle Seahawks (-3)

In theory, Seattle has the speed and athleticism along their defensive line and in their linebacking corps to keep Lamar Jackson from completely running wild on them. If that’s the case and Lamar is forced to try to beat them mostly with his arm, I don’t think he can do it. Especially given that his best WR, Marquise Brown, is out for this one.

As far as Seattle goes, Russell Wilson is the best. Evidently the national NFL media reads this picks column, because the “Wilson is the MVP frontrunner” chatter began in earnest on all of the talking-head shows this past week following my praise of the mighty DangeRuss. Clearly, nobody was aware that he was good until I brought it to the world’s attention. I’m predicting this is going to be a breakout game for rookie WR DK Metcalf. TE Will Dissly was a big part of Seattle’s passing offense, and those targets have to go somewhere. That coupled with Baltimore’s extremely shaky pass defense likely focusing the bulk of their meager stopping power on Tyler Lockett leads me to believe that DK will feast. 

Los Angeles Chargers at Tennessee Titans (-2.5)

In last week’s post I joked that it would be hilarious if San Diego blew a lay-up of a game against the thoroughly depleted Pittsburgh Steelers. Well, it turns out that it wasn’t hilarious, it was actually kind of depressing. Do NOT watch any of this game for any reason.

New Orleans Saints at Chicago Bears (-4)

Trubisky BACK! Whether or not that’s actually good for the Bears long-term is certainly up for debate. At the very least, he’s a much more capable scrambler/runner than Chase Daniel, which I think will come in handy today. 

Alvin Kamara being out is huge, obviously. Teddy B not having him around as a world-class safety valve in the face of Chicago’s fearsome pass rush is going to be an issue, I reckon. 

This game has the week’s lowest Over/Under (37) for a reason. 

Sunday Night Game: Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys (-2.5)

Neither of these teams are playing particularly inspired football as of late, which is nice. At least some of the Cowboys’ issues can be chalked up to injuries to key players, and it appears they’re going to have everyone back for this one. La’el Collins and Tyron Smith coming back is huge (literally LOL!!!) for the offensive line, and Amari Cooper returning to join Michael Gallup gives them a legitimately dangerous pair of WRs. 

I’m picking the Cowboys to win here, which feels kind of gross, BUT I think in the long term it will only help from a comedy perspective because it increases the odds of Jason Garrett getting a contract extension.

Monday Night Game: New England Patriots (-9.5) at New York Jets

via GIPHY

[todaybreakingnews]

Jason Whitlock rips LeBron James, compares fame-chasing to cocaine - New York Post

Jason Whitlock rips LeBron James, compares fame-chasing to cocaine  New York Post

Many defend LeBron's parenting after criticism of his courtside enthusiasm at son's tournament  Yahoo Sports

Fox Sports' Jason Whitlock blasts LeBron James' parenting, compares fame thirst to cocaine  USA TODAY

LeBron James dunking at Bronny's AAU game: Cool move, or doing too much? | Jalen & Jacoby  ESPN

LeBron James dunks in layup line, loses shoe in court-storming celebration at AAU games (video)  ProBasketballTalk

View full coverage on Google News

from Top stories - Google News https://ift.tt/2YqTzIA from Blogger https://ift.tt/313ItLh

[theblackarticle]

#BlackArticle – Jalen Rose explains why the Toronto Raptors are being overlooked | Jalen & Jacoby Follow on blackarticle.com! #BlackArticle X #ESPN

[dailyvideovault]

New video posted on: https://dailyvideovault.com/luka-doncics-trainer-says-hes-not-in-the-best-shape-right-now-jalen-jacoby/

Luka Doncic's trainer says he's 'not in the best shape' right now | Jalen & Jacoby

[skyanfeeds]

Suns’ Chris Paul enters NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols: Sources  The Athletic

Jae Crowder on the Suns' playoff success and guarding LeBron James | Jalen & Jacoby  ESPN

Chris Paul Found The Perfect Backcourt Partner In Devin Booker  FiveThirtyEight

NBA Roundtable: Evaluating Joel Embiid's injury, and praise for Phoenix Suns playoff run  USA TODAY Sports

Chris Paul out for ‘indefinite’ period after entering health and safety protocol in NBA playoffs  SB Nation

View Full Coverage on Google News

[coolsandy8800]

Longtime Chicago Bulls writers share favorite Michael Jordan stories ahead of 'The Last Dance' documentary - USA TODAY

Longtime Chicago Bulls writers share favorite Michael Jordan stories ahead of ‘The Last Dance’ documentary – USA TODAY

Longtime Chicago Bulls writers share favorite Michael Jordan stories ahead of ‘The Last Dance’ documentary  USA TODAY

Why Michael Jordan Was The Best  FiveThirtyEight

Why did things end so poorly between Scottie Pippen and the Chicago Bulls? | Jalen & Jacoby  ESPN

McGrath: New Michael Jordan documentary ‘The Last Dance’ may just be the balm we need during these troubled ti  Chicago Tribune

Chans…

[truesportsfan]

ESPN canceled ‘High Noon’ while host was at hospital for childbirth

ESPN’s timing could not have been worse.

As the network decided Monday to cancel “High Noon,” hosted by Pablo S. Torre and Bomani Jones, Torre says he was at the hospital for the birth of his child when he heard his show was being eliminated.

“(Monday) began with me hugging Bo and sprinting out of the office because my pregnant wife was going into early labor,” Torre wrote on Instagram along with a picture of his newborn daughter. “It ended with our TV show getting cancelled while we were at the hospital. All of which is to say: Thanks to everyone sending kind messages about what High Noon meant to them. I am deeply proud of what we got to build. But I’ll be gone for the next couple weeks, as Liz and I welcome our first child to Earth. Her name is Violet. #girldad.”

ESPN cited viewership as the reason why “High Noon” was being canceled.

Pablo S. TorreGetty Images

“Co-hosts Pablo Torre and Bomani Jones are extremely talented, and they helmed what we believed was a smart and nuanced show. Unfortunately, not enough people agreed with us,” ESPN said in a statement to Sports Business Journal, which reports the show averaged 330,000 viewers so far in 2020, down 3 percent from last year. ESPN’s much-hyped morning show “Get Up!” is only averaging 50,000 more viewers.

Torre and Jones will be used in other roles throughout the network. “High Noon” airs for a half-hour at 4 p.m. Its final episode will be next month. When it first launched in 2018, the show was an hour long and aired at noon.

Sports Business Journal reports the show will be replaced by “Jalen and Jacoby,” a show that features former NBA star Jalen Rose and producer David Jacoby. That show currently airs on ESPN 2 at 2 p.m.

source https://truesportsfan.com/sport-today/espn-canceled-high-noon-while-host-was-at-hospital-for-childbirth/

[junker-town]

Each AFC South team’s chances of winning the mediocre 4-way race

Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

The Texans are the favorite for now, but not by much.

Every team in the AFC South is tied with a 2-2 record.

It’s an odd and kind of comical feat, but fitting for a division that has spent most of its existence being one of the NFL’s least impressive groups. In the 17 years since realignment killed the AFC Central in 2002, no division has been to the Super Bowl fewer times than the AFC South. Its two AFC Championship wins came via the Peyton Manning-led Colts.

Only the NFC West — a division that currently has three three-win teams — has a worse record since 2002 (through Week 4):

AFC East: 576-527-0 (0.522)

NFC East: 564-538-2 (0.512)

NFC South: 563-539-2 (0.511)

AFC North: 550-548-6 (0.501)

AFC West: 552-552-0 (0.500)

NFC North: 543-556-5 (0.494)

AFC South: 542-562-0 (0.491)

NFC West: 515-583-5 (0.469)

So far, 2019 has been another lackluster season for the AFC South.

The Texans are still struggling to protect Deshaun Watson, the Titans are wildly inconsistent, the Colts lost quarterback Andrew Luck to an abrupt retirement, and the Jaguars are dealing with a trade demand from their best player, Jalen Ramsey.

With all four teams at .500, which team is best positioned to succeed in the final 13 weeks of the year and come out on top? Let’s break it down:

The (slight) favorite: Houston Texans

Odds of winning the AFC South: +145 (via DraftKings Sportsbook)

The offense has an ascending star in Watson and arguably the NFL’s best receiver in DeAndre Hopkins. The defense has an aging but still effective J.J. Watt, and it’s getting a resurgent season out of defensive end Whitney Mercilus.

On paper, the Texans should be great — especially after trading for left tackle Laremy Tunsil to help protect Watson.

Underachievement has been the hallmark of the Bill O’Brien era, though. His coaching tenure started with three consecutive 9-7 seasons, but the most frustrating year under O’Brien was the 11-5 campaign in 2018 that ended with a 21-7 loss to the Colts in the Wild Card Round. It was an underwhelming conclusion for a team that was 11th in points scored and fourth in points allowed.

Houston’s biggest issue was the offensive line, so it spent two of its top three draft picks on tackles and traded two first-round picks for Tunsil. But four weeks into 2019, Watson has been sacked 18 times — only two fewer than the league leader, Kyler Murray.

Still, the Texans are the team most likely to come out on top.

They already have a win over the Jaguars and have the talent to get through early speed bumps. The Texans did exactly that last year, battling back from an 0-3 start to win their next nine games. As long as integral players like Watson, Hopkins, Watt, and Mercilus stay healthy, Houston is the team to beat.

The not quite there yet: Indianapolis Colts

Odds of winning the AFC South: +275 (via DraftKings Sportsbook)

Hype for the Colts looked entirely justified after they won nine of their last 10 regular season games in 2018. Their rebuild looked way ahead of schedule, especially because they had plenty of draft picks and cap space to add to an already talented roster.

Instead, Indianapolis’ offseason was a modest one. Pass rusher Justin Houston and wide receiver Devin Funchess were the splashiest additions and neither has made a significant impact yet.

It didn’t help either that the preseason ended with Andrew Luck’s shocking retirement. Luckily for Indianapolis, his replacement, Jacoby Brissett, has been excellent. Brissett is miles better than he was in 2017, thanks largely to the Colts’ much improved offensive line. He has an NFL-best 10 touchdown passes and a 102.1 passer rating.

The problem for Indianapolis has been on the other side of the ball. Opponents are averaging 5.5 yards per rushing attempt against the Colts defense, the second-worst mark in the NFL. Quarterbacks have a 113.0 passer rating against the Indianapolis secondary and the Colts are tied with the Dolphins for the worst red zone defense.

If the Colts can’t beat the Chiefs in their next game, they’ll have a 2-3 hole to dig out of after a Week 6 bye. Indianapolis found its rhythm in the back half of the 2018 schedule and will need to do the same if it hopes for another trip to the postseason.

The melodrama: Jacksonville Jaguars

Odds of winning the AFC South: +350 (via DraftKings Sportsbook)

The Jaguars struggled to defend the pass when Jalen Ramsey sat out against the Broncos in Week 4 with a back injury. If Ramsey had his way, the Jaguars would be without him all season.

The star cornerback asked for a trade after Week 2 and hasn’t been backed down from that request. On the other hand, Jacksonville doesn’t want to trade a player who is vitally important to its defensive success. That impasse means the soap opera could be an ongoing narrative all year — even if Doug Marrone has handled the situation as well as possible.

Not all the dramatics in Jacksonville are bad, though.

While Ramsey could have been a source of frustration for a spiraling team, the Jaguars found their rescuer in rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew. The sixth-round pick took over in Week 1 when Nick Foles broke his collarbone. In his stead, he’s thrown seven touchdowns with one interception.

His personality perfectly matches the team and his moxie was on full display when he led the Jaguars to a come-from-behind win over the Broncos.

THE MINSHEW MAGIC IS REAL. He avoids the sack multiple times and throws for the TD! @GardnerMinshew5 #JAXvsDEN #DUUUVAL : CBS : NFL app // Yahoo Sports app Watch free on mobile: https://t.co/lm0vvtP8ei pic.twitter.com/WeJVm6WQaI

— NFL (@NFL) September 29, 2019

Minshew’s performance was buoyed by 225 rushing yards from Leonard Fournette, who didn’t do much in the first three games of the year — or all of last season. His breakthrough against the Broncos was his first game with at least 100 rushing yards since Week 14 of the 2017 season.

If Minshew can keep playing well, Fournette finds some consistency, and the defense can navigate the Ramsey saga, the Jaguars could easily wind up on top in the AFC South. Those are three big questions, however.

At the very least, the Jaguars are a show worth watching.

The roller coaster ride: Tennessee Titans

Odds of winning the AFC South: +350 (via DraftKings Sportsbook)

Are the Titans the team that blew the doors off the Browns and Falcons in Weeks 1 and 4? Or are they the team that couldn’t do anything offensively in losses to the Titans and Jaguars?

The Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde act in Tennessee isn’t surprising. The Titans have been doing it for years. Just last season, they blew out the Cowboys and Patriots by 14 and 24 points, respectively, in back-to-back weeks. Then the Titans lost to the Colts by 28 and the Texans by 17 in their next two games.

Marcus Mariota can be as brilliant as any quarterback in the NFL one week and offensively inept the next. Derrick Henry had 84 rushing yards and 75 receiving yards in Week 1, but was held to 46 yards from scrimmage on 18 touches in Week 3.

The positive is that the defense was strong all September and still hasn’t allowed more than 20 points in a game this season.

If the Titans offense can match that consistency even a little bit, maybe they could make a run at first place. Losing each of their first two divisional games makes their climb the most difficult of the four, though.

[saadullah-faisal-world]

Jason Whitlock rips LeBron James, compares fame-chasing to cocaine  New York Post

Many defend LeBron's parenting after criticism of his courtside enthusiasm at son's tournament  Yahoo Sports

Fox Sports' Jason Whitlock blasts LeBron James' parenting, compares fame thirst to cocaine  USA TODAY

LeBron James dunking at Bronny's AAU game: Cool move, or doing too much? | Jalen & Jacoby  ESPN

LeBron James dunks in layup line, loses shoe in court-storming celebration at AAU games (video)  ProBasketballTalk

View full coverage on Google News

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[theblackarticle]

#BlackArticle – Jalen Rose on Pat Bev’s comments & Kyle Kuzma crowning LeBron | Jalen & Jacoby Follow on blackarticle.com! #BlackArticle X #ESPN