Another reason why the Manning brothers are the most likeable guys in the NFL

Not offensive. Hilarious. And probably the type of stuff these two goofballs did all the time growing up.

Wake me up when the Riley Cooper situation blows over, it's boring me

How many times have I been somewhere and a drunk white guy says something similar or has that look on his face like he wants to say it? I'd say at least a hundred. I guess I'm supposed to get all up in arms (or actually fight) because some random ass bartender-by-day playboy-by-night white guy drunk off Bud Light and tequila shots is faking like he's gonna beat up a black guy? Arguing with fools is pointless unless they pose a physical threat to you or your family. I guess you could address it just to show you aren't going to stand for it, that's cool. But that'll probably escalate to an altercation. So in the end, I've chose to engage several times, others I just walk away shaking my head at someone else's ignorance. "Don't argue with fools." "Choose your battles wisely." Whose most likely gonna go to jail if a fight happens? Is it worth it with this guy, at this moment? These are the things I ask myself before I go defending the honor of Black folks against random drunken fools. Matter of fact, it's messed up that I even have to consider those questions but it just speaks to the complexities of being Black. We should be given an annual kick ass day considering how much pride we have to swallow sometimes. Shyt is better, but it is still bad.

Riley Cooper probably got drunk, caught up in the moment, told us how he really felt. It's a bunch of people right now that don't think they would do that, but in the moment would still end up doing the same thing. I am not surprised at all. It's not right, he deserves the slander, but there are other issues black folk should be up in arms about like the people in power that don't say it verbally but act it out through policies that have a much larger impact on the black community. Riley Cooper isn't passing any laws or hiring potentially hiring black people to work for him. There are bigger Gators to fry.

RGIII did jumping jacks... Ummm, so. More importantly, why does he have those big ass jeans on?

I'm just saying.



For real though, why did he have on those gigantic "Hammer" jeans and semi have his jersey tucked in and top it all off with those semi-jumping jacks, lol? Love you RGIII but you might need a stylist bro, lol.

This is one of those really premature "I'm excited about my team way before the season starts" football posts

Now that the NFL schedules for next season has been released. Let me do what the NFL wants me to do what every real NFL fan is going to at least think. I'm going to go through the schedule and predict what I think my favorite will do next season. My disclaimer here is that this assumes RGIII will be back for week 1. And I'm tired of hearing about how he's recovering super quick and all that, just let that man stay out of the media spotlight, get better, and come back strong. Anyway, here goes nothing...

Week 1: At home against the Eagles.... LOSS! Yep, LOSS! I am scared as crap of Chip Kelly's offense with Vick, Jackson, McCoy, and Maclin. Much like the offense the Skins ran all season last year, I don't think anyone's going to be fully prepared for the Eagles until about halfway through the season. That's not saying they're going to go 8-0 but it is saying that if you don't have guys that can consistently tackle people in open space (I submit, DeAngelo Hall, Reed Doughty, and Josh Wilson), you're probably effed unless your team can run up the score or get Vick out of the game so Chip Kelly has to adjust his calls based on a not-so-mobile QB. I joked about how the Redskins need to start studying Oregon tapes now but that isn't really a joke. So yea, a season opening loss at home on Monday Night Football sounds horrible but I actually think it can help temper expectations and humble the squad early in the season so they dig in the rest of the way.

Week 2: at Green Bay.... Well, isn't this just a doozy! From Chip Kelly's offense to the ridiculously surgical Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay. LOSS!

Week 3: At home against Detroit... WIN. This will be a high scoring affair.

Week 4: At Oakland... If we lose to Oakland... Nah, we not losing to no faulking Oakland, screw that!

Week 5: BYE... That's a win in my book, lol. Kind of early in the season for a bye though. That may actually be a bad thing.

Week 6: At Dallas... WIN. DUCK FALLAS! Damn CowGirls.

Week 7: At home against Chicago... WIN! Chicago is going to really be mad that they got rid of Lovie. I don't think that defense will be the same.

Week 8: At Denver... This has the potential to be an amazing game. I actually feel like this is a toss-up but since we'll be in Denver I'm going with a LOSS on this one.

Week 9: At home verses San Diego... WIN. No commentary required.

Week 10: At Minnesota... WIN. AP will have 500 yards in this game but they'll still lose because Christian Ponder is Christian Ponder.

Week 11: At Philly... WIN. Week 11 means half of the season has passed (lol) and the Skins have seen that offense in-person once already. I expect us to be prepared for a WIN.

Week 12: At home against the 49ers... LOSS. I hate to say it because I know Lance is somewhere smiling but I don't see a win happening against that defense.

Week 13: At home against the G-Men... WIN. The Giants are going to be average or stink this year, watch.

Week 14: At home against the Chiefs... This is going to be a WIN but not as easy as people might think considering their new coach Andy Reid knows the Redskins well.

Week 15: At Atlanta... I'm going to this and it is going to be a WIN. Simply because Roddy White shytted on us (sort of) on ESPN First Take last week. And of course I'm going because the strip clubs in Atlanta are going to be off the chain after this game!

Week 16: At home against the CowGirls... WIN. Sweepin' them CowGirls!

Week 17: At the Giants... LOSS. Even though I don't think they'll do that well this year, I got them beating us one out of two times.

That would put the Redskins at 11-5 (that sounds kind of ambitious now that I think about it) with a QB fresh off a destroyed knee and a defense that can't stop a 6 year old from throwing for 300 yards. I'll come back around to this and do an updated season prediction around Week 1. But for now, I'll stick with this. HTTR!!!

Best NFL Retirement Announcement Ever

This is worth the full watch. This guy has a career in TV awaiting him, lol.

Superbowl Prediction

Just for the record, I picked the Ravens to win PRIOR to picking them to lose in the playoffs (see third paragraph below), I'm just saying.

With that in mind I'm picking the Ravens to win the Superbowl for several reasons:

• The most glaring reason is that these guys are going to play their hearts out in an effort to get Ray Lewis a ring on his last "ride".
• The Ravens are a veteran team with a lot of resolve playing a younger team that clearly has about 3-5 years (if everyone stays healthy and doesn't get traded or leave) where they will be vying for NFC and NFL supremacy. I don't think you can discount just how much veterans that produce on-field matter to a team. The Ravens have Lewis, Suggs, Ngata, Pollard, Flacco, Rice, Boldin, McKinnie (yep), and Oher that are all veterans that are proven and will be focused on getting that championship. Not that the young guys on the Niners side won't be focused and ready to play, but it's different when you've come close several times but not gotten the deal done (just ask LeBron before last year).
• The Ravens defense has a solid blueprint on how to stop a QB like Kaepernick AND, if he stays in the pocket, the Ravens have also proven they can stop a QB like sayyyy, Tom Brady. And I doubt that Frank Gore and LaMichael James are going to beat the Ravens by themselves.
• My Washington Redskins beat last year's Superbowl Champions and the last time San Francisco and the Redskins played, San Francisco won.

So there you have it. I expect Baltimore to be purple all weekend and probably for an entire year until the get eliminated from playoff contention or lose in the playoffs next season.

Bad Lip Reading: NFL Edition

They should get Will Pharrell to do these voice-overs, lol.

NFL Conference Championship Weekend: All Bets Are Off in the AFC

After the performance the Ravens put on in Denver to pull out that win there is no way I can dismiss them from moving forward to the Superbowl. The Ravens showed a lot of heart, resolve, grit, determination, et. al. I can't help but think that the notion of Ray Lewis retiring at the season's end really is subconsciously or consciously driving and inspiring these guys, not to mention Ray's leadership during the game.

With all that said, I'm gonna pick the Ravens to beat the Patriots 31-27 next Sunday.

As for the other game to be played on Sunday, I don't think Atlanta is tough enough to beat the 49ers. Talented enough, for sure. But do they have the heart to pull off a win against a very tough team and also stop another dual-threat QB 2 weeks in a row? And Kaepernick is probably more of a "problem" than Russell Wilson. If the Falcons pull off this win I'll take back most of the negative stuff I've said about them. But until then, I'm gonna go with the 49ers.

So yeah, get ready for the HarBOWL!

Mystery Solved: Russell Westbrook

For a while now I've kind of been slightly annoyed by Russell Westbrook. I wasn't really sure why though. Dude is a beast on the court and I love watching him play but something about his attitude (seems like a whiny, spoiled, cry-baby, brat, chump sometimes) or the weird look that is always on his face or that peach fuzz-ish mustache situation he has, .... something. Anyway, I finally figured it out and it makes total sense now. Russell Westbrook annoys me because he's a Dallas CowGirls fan!

A lot of you that aren't fans of the Redskins or another NFC East team might not understand what I am about to say but here it goes anyway. Dallas USED TO BE an awesome team. USED TO. And nowadays a lot of their fame and acclaim comes from having great rosters with nothing to show for it. A great stadium but no new trophies to but in the coffers. A gigantic fan-base of loyal supporters. And that latter group is where the problem lies for me. Much like some of my dimwit Redskins fans, a LOT of Cowboys fans are delusional, uninformed, front-runners. They love their team but a lot of them have no real football knowledge and no true regional or personal allegiance to the Cowboys, they just like or like them because they used to be "America's Team", got tons of publicity and were presented to the America public as "winners". Well that era's over. And I'm willing to bet that the last time the Cowboys were good enough to win more than one game in the playoffs, Russell Westbrook was probably a pre-teen (no, I'm not fact-checking that). I'm not sure how his allegiance to the Cowboys started and I'm sure it's probably a legit reason, but he fits right in with the rest of the CowGirls fans and now I've realized why his disposition and persona have annoyed me, it's like I could sense the delustional, uninformed front-runner in him. Good luck next season just like me and my Redskins Russell, good luck.

NFL, KG, and a swagged out tux from Lionel Messi

NFL Divisional Round Predictions 

Seattle over Atlanta: People, please stop trying to convince yourselves that the Falcons are any better than they were last year. If this game comes down to a clutch moment do you trust Matt Ryan? If this game comes down to a clutch moment do you feel comfortable saying Russell Wilson won't step up? The answer to those questions should push you toward Seattle.

Green Bay over SF: Sorry Lance but your boys are going down. Unless the Niners can hold Green Bay under 20 points, this game is an easy one. If SF holds then under 20 points, they have a shot and will likely win.

Denver over Baltimore: It was a nice win for Ray Lewis last week at home and a chance for him to go out with a home win. But going to Denver to play Peyton is another thing. This is not Andrew Luck and the Colts who actually stuck around in that game and were competitive last week. Denver came into Baltimore this season and ripped the Ravens a new one, especially Eric Decker. I expect this game to be closer but still expect a Broncos win.

New England over Houston: Put Houston in the same box as Atlanta. Lots of talent, good coaches, but I just don't think they have "it". And "it" is what gets you to a superbowl.

RG3

If you read this blog by now you probably already know that I think RG3 is THAT DUDE. What happened to him sucks and he should have been pulled earlier in the game but it is what it is. The real issue that only a few people have addressed thoroughly is how the Redskins (my team) were stupid enough to keep the field that messy knowing that their franchise player had a knee issue and would run the ball several times during that game. I'm not saying I blame Daniel Snyder for the injury but at the same time, they should have thought about the potential ramifications to their already injured player.

Kevin Garnett

KG's a Hall of Famer. KG's been a great player and is now a solid player at the tail end of his career but from a lot of different things I've heard about him, the guy is an a-hole when he's on the basketball court with some of the stuff he says to other players. When I heard that Melo came out to approach him after the game my first thought was: "This bama KG either owes Melo some serious money or he said something about Melo's wife, Lala". Apparently, KG told Melo at some point during the game that his wife tasted like Honey Nut Cheerios. Which is pretty weird even though I like Honey Nut Cheerios. But it's also ridiculously disrespectful. So when Carmelo said KG said something "you don't say to another man", I figured it was something like that. I actually give Carmelo credit for maintaining his composure during the game and saving his "conversation" for afterward. The only 3 things that will drive an otherwise sensible grown ass man to have that reaction is his family (wifey included) or money. Melo's not gonna go ballistic about KG talking trash about basketball but KG crossed a line. But then again, KG is the same guy who allegedly told Tim Duncan Happy Mother's Day when Duncan's mom had recently died. An a-hole, right?!?!

Miscellaneous: AJ McCarron's Girl and Lionel Messi's Tuxedo

First off, AJ McCarron's girl is pretty for sure and that's pretty much undeniable. But when a girl tweets to you that she hopes you know what you're getting into after you two make it "official" (tweet it, so I know it's real, LMFAO), that's a semi-red flag in my book no matter how "hot" she is. That's stage 3 clinger shyt off the break. So yeah she's hot, but does AJ really know what he *might* be getting into?

Lionel Messi had on a polka-dotted tuxedo jacket and bowtie to the FIFA awards. Apparently the world's most prolific striker is also into fashion. I personally thought the tux was a good look. What do you think?

NFL Wildcard Weekend Predictions

This weekend marks the beginning of the playoffs. As I suspected, my Redskins won because Tony Romo brain farted the game away. I was a little nervous but it's true when they say you can always count on Tony to drop the ball... Or throw the INT... or fumble the hold on the kick. Pick one, he'll taker care of it for you.

This weekend you've got one game that I think will be close and three that I think will be relatively easy wins. Let's start with the easy wins:

Texans vs Bengals: I think the Bengals are a solid team. I LOVE how AJ Green plays and their defensive line is pretty daggon good. But, I believe that their youth will hurt them in this game, especially at the QB position. I know what you're thinking, Matt Schaub is not much better or more reliable which is true but, Matt also has Arian Foster, Andre Johnson, Owen Daniels, and Ben Tate to mask his ineptitude. That is unless, the Bengals somehow jump out to a huge lead and Schaub has to throw to win the game. If that's the case, all the mask is off and Schaub will have to step up. In the end, I think the Texans win this game by a couple TDs.

Packers vs Vikings: Plain and simply, I expect Aaron Rodgers to rip the Vikings defense a new one. Rodgers seemed pretty unhappy last week and they almost won that game. It was in the cards for the Vikings to win because of the drive to get AP to break the record and the euphoria surrounding that effort at the end of the game. But this week the game will be at Lambeau and I doubt the Vikings can put "Giants D-Line last year" type pressure on Rodgers throughout the game. Which means the soon-to-be-named MVP will be heading home after this weekend. What an epic year for Peterson though, like ridiculously epic!

Colts vs Ravens: The Colts defense is pretty much a sieve but a few days ago (read: pre-Ray Lewis announcement), I thought the Colts would come in and play tough and maybe fluster Joe "not too far removed from Romo status" Flacco and be able to throw the ball to Hilton and Wayne effectively enough to squeak out a tough win. And, they've got karma on their side with their coach beating cancer and coming back and ... you know the rest. But once Ray Ray made his announcement the chances of the Colts winning pretty much went to zero in my mind. Read the following closely:

THERE IS NO WAY THAT THE RAVENS PLAYERS WILL ALLOW RAY LEWIS'S LAST HOME GAME TO BE A LOSS!

It's not going to happen. It can't happen. The Ravens won't make it to the Superbowl but maybe they'll get to the NFC Championship riding a Ray Lewis high, maybe. Regardless of where the "ride" ends, Ray Lewis's last home game will likely be a rout led by Ray Rice TDs and Flacco not Flacking up the game. I'd be willing to bet that it's going to be at least one score by the Ravens defense where Ed Reed intercepts a pass, runs to the one yard line, waits on Ray Lewis, pitches it to him, and Ray Lewis rumbles past 5 offensive lineman for the score. Watch, that shyt is gonna happen.

Now for the tough game, one that unfortunately involves my favorite team.

Seahawks vs Redskins: I think most people would say that this game is a pretty even match on paper with both teams being able to put up points but the Seahawks having a better defense. I think this game is going to come down to coaching, offensive execution, and the Redskins defense. If the Skins defense can hold the Seahawks to less than 20 points, I think we win! If not, it's a toss-up. It'll be interesting to see how both teams defend the other side's QB since they have similar styles. If the Redskins can have success running, I think they'll have a good chance to put up 30 points again. The Seahawks interior run defense is all that great though their defense is ranked pretty high this year. The Redskins have the hurculean task of stopping Marshawn Lynch which if I were a Redskins coach, I'd put my eggs in the basket of "let's make the rookie QB that doesn't throw it more than beat us" rather than letting Lynch destroy us like he did the Saints last year. But that's just me and I don't get paid to coach or blog about sports. Anyway, I think this will be an epic game to end the playoff weekend and I can't wait to watch! I've got the Redskins winning 27-24.

The ONLY Reason I'm Nervous about Skins vs CowGirls on Sunday

Tony Romo doesn't scare me. Dez Bryant doesn't scare me. They'll get their numbers for sure but their both one brain fart away from causing a loss for their team. Rob Ryan however, is not to be slept on when it comes to coordinating a defense. His brother gets all the pub (for all the wrong reasons lately) but Rob is mean too!

Rob has seen the Redskins offense once and his defense got smoked like a blunt at Wiz Khalifa's house. Now he's had a week to prepare for an offense he's seen once before and I'm sure he's sitting back thinking of all types of sinister plans to shut the Skins offense down. Granted, the players have to play and DeMarcus Ware isn't going to be 100% healthy but I'm sure Rob is going to come up with a solid plan, it's just a matter of whether his defense can execute it well enough to not give up a lot of points. The Redskins are going to score. I'm guessing we'll put up at least 21 points though I'm not delusional enough to think we'll have all those big plays like last time. Games like this are where guys like Rob Ryan earn their keep and I'm sure he's preparing like a maniac.

My guess... The first team to 30 wins this game. The Redskins aren't going to stop the Cowboys from scoring at least two touchdowns. The key is whether Dallas can stop RG3 (throwing AND running) and Alfred Morris. The Redskins don't have a receiver as explosive as Bryant but between Moss and Garcon, they should be able to perform well enough to win. And if Hankerson keeps catching the ball and doesn't go back to his early-season "Stonehands" edition of himself, I think that he and Josh Morgan can be hold down the "possession receiver" role (even though Moss is better at that).

It should be a good game but of course, I'm rooting for a Redskins win! #HTTR!

NFL Round-Up

It's about to be Week 16 of the NFL season which means a lot of teams already know they'll be home for the postseason and several teams are fighting for their playoff lives. It also means I'm playing for the chip in one of my fantasy leagues. The other league, I stink, lol. I've got a few issues I wanted to address and here they are...


The Superbowl

If the Broncos can avoid injuries and get home-field advantage, they're my AFC pick for the Superbowl. It's been proven that the Pats can be beaten by a solid defense that pressures Tom Brady (see: 49ers). Elvis Dumervil and Vonn Miller could do this. Champ Bailey's still got enough juice to shut down Brandon Lloyd. The only question mark on the defensive side for the Broncos is whether or not they can stop Hernandez/Gronk and Welker. But if they get enough pressure on Brady they can minimize the damage there.

The Ravens have proven that aging defenders and a not-so-elite QB (I take back what I said at the beginning of the season) can't get the job done. On paper, Houston should be able to get it done but in the end I think they have that same not-so-elite-or-even-close-to-it QB problem that Baltimore has. And there will be no dark-horse 6 seed team in the AFC that will pull off some amazing, world-shocking run.

In the NFC, I'm still not sure. The Packers are surging right now and the 49ers looks like they can beat any team on any day if they are playing at their best. Atlanta is solid and I expect them to make it to the NFC championship game but depending on who they are playing, I just can't see them winning. There's no way I could pick Atlanta to beat SF in that game. Maybe they could beat Green Bay but only if the game is in Atlanta. Seattle's defense makes them a tough out, especially at their home field. And the Redskins seem like they're surging and I hope they make the playoffs but even if they do, I just don't see us being able to win more than one playoff game with a defense that's basically a sieve. If I had to pick a team right now from the NFC, it would be the Niners but I'm not completely sold on them either like I am the Broncos.

Offensive Rookie of the Year

As much as RG3 is my favorite NFL player, this award should go to Andrew Luck. He's playing with a much weaker team overall and he's got a better record at this point and as a QB, he's just doing more. What I mean by that is that Luck is running a traditional offense which requires much more reading before the play and during the play. RG3 and Russell Wilson are not doing as much of that. They're clearly more gifted athletes but they're not being asked to do as much of the mental aspect on the field. That's not to say that they can't. They're coaches are just smart enough to utilize their athleticism while allowing them to transition to the speed and defenses of the NFL. They're all really fun to watch and make me excited about the future of the NFL and how the QB position (as a result of defensive lineman becoming faster) is changing into a position for the best athlete on the field, not just a guy who can sit back there, make reads, and throw it. The QBs of the next 5-10 years will likely be guys that are ridiculously good athletes. Cam Newton took the "athlete as quarterback" to an entirely different level last season by being able to put up the passing numbers he did as a rookie. No disrespect to Steve Young, Mike Vick, Randall Cunningham, or Donovan McNabb but Cam put up video game numbers. Young had the greatest WR ever. Vick seemed to always want to run more than pass, Cunningham was a scrambler that wanted to throw on the run, and Donovan's accuracy was ridiculously streaky (not that Cam's isn't sometimes).

If anything, RG3 should get the Most Exciting Rookie Player Award, Wilson should get the Most Slept On Rookie QB Award, and Alfred Morris should get the Lucky to have a coach with an awesome running system and QB that can run the option so I can get a ridiculous amount of yards for a 6th rounder award.

NFL MVP - Adrian Peterson

First of all, how can you NOT want to see this guy break the record after what he's been through. I'd bet that even the guys in his division want to see him break it, but just not beat them in the process, lol. What he's come back from and what he's done this year is simply amazing. I know Peyton's doing great and in my opinion he should get the Comeback Player Award (does that exist?). What Adrian is doing is simply amazing!

Deadskins, huh? Hysteria in Baltimore over the Ravens (LMFAO)!!!

Seriously, after losing to the "uppity Redskins" and our two rookie QBs yesterday and losing to the oldest QB on earth (Charlie Batch), the Ravens have fired their offensive coordinator (rightfully so but he should have been gone months ago) and every football prognosticator in the city is about to claim the end of the Ravens chance at a Superbowl. Personally, I find it all very very funny being a Redskins fan that lives in Baltimore.

Here's how I sum up the alleged Ravens-Redkins rivalry which is really a rivalry between two cities with different personalities that don't "click" with one-another:

I like how in this article from the Baltimore Sun, the writers uses the phrase, "uppity Redskins". That pretty much sums up how much Baltimore fans hate DC fans and why this loss hurts them so much. For years and years DC has been a better city than Baltimore in many ways and most Washingtonians have not been shy about stating it, especially those who have come from the D.C. area to live Baltimore. BUT when it came to football, the Ravens - since they came into the league - have been far more successful than the Skins over that time period. So the one sure thing Baltimore folks always had on D.C., it was FOOTBALL! Yeah, Baltimore has a baseball team too but the Orioles stank so bad Baltimorians couldn't throw the O's in the faces of D.C. sports fans. Not only did Baltimore have the better football team, Baltimore had a tough, "we'll kick your ass in a street fight too!" team! A team that definitely embodied the personality of many in this city. Tough, gritty, locally prideful folk (which is one of the things I respect about real Baltimorians). Baltimore sports fans have always viewed themselves as a tougher, grittier city with more heart and less pomp, circumstance, high-priced free agents, and well... "uppity-ness". So now that they've lost to us after we've been the "bums down '95" the fans here are really hurting. Oh well, let it burn folks and get over it. I'm sure many Ravens fans are thinking "I can't believe we lost to the soft, bum Redskins!" Well yep, you sure did and it sucks to be you for at least a week.

I don't feel bad for Ravens fans at all, especially the obnoxious ones that know very little about football but talk relentless amounts of trash. Any Ravens fan with solid football knowledge and a realistic perspective on their team KNEW that no matter how they felt about the Redskins, that game was going to be a tough one and one the Ravens could easily have lost. Joe Flacco's still the QB ya know?

The Ravens have a great football program with players that were once great and now they're just good. They had an offensive coordinator that failed to use his biggest weapon consistently enough and that's where the Redskins and Ravens are different. The Redskins run EVERYTHING through their most talented player, even on run plays, and even though he's a QB and not a RB like Baltimore's best player, Ray Rice. The Redskins are headed in a positive direction from being a mediocre/bad team for the last X years. The Ravens have been a good team for that same amount of time and now, their stars are getting older, losing a step, and they're QB is on his best day a low-end of the top 10 QBs in the NFL and on his worst day (or just on the road for that matter), one of the 5 worse QBs in the league.

The Ravens will make the playoffs and win a game (or two) and the Redskins likely won't make the playoffs even though we have a good shot. But every year the same thing happens and it will again this year, the Ravens will win a game or two in the playoffs and then it's back home with the Redskins, fighting over stippers at Stadium or the gold-diggin' chicks at the various late-night party spots in Washington. In the end, both cities appear to have good teams this year and although the cities have different personalities, we should be rooting for both cities to do well because if both teams do well it helps all of the Baltimore-DC metro area. It's not a real rivalry by any means when it comes to football. The real rivalry is among the two cities.

One thing I can't understand about the NFL and head injuries

Sure, there's been a crack-down on hitting defenseless receivers, helmet-to-helmet contact, and hitting the QB above the shoulders. Hooray to all of that. But I have always found it interesting that the NFL with all of its uniform restrictions and "partnerships" with Nike, Reebok, or whomever makes all the teams' jerseys, has yet to come up with a standard helmet design for all players to use.

It seems that some players have adopted helmet technology that helps keep their heads safer and presumably helps prevent concussions. Even back in the day I remember Mark Kelso (shown on the right) having that extra padding thing on his helmet that made him look like a space alien.

If the NFL is so concerned about concussions and preventing them, why hasn't there been any league-wide mandate that all players wear the some sort of advanced protection helmet?

Does the technology not exist? Does the NFL not want to piss off Nike since they're in bed with Phil Knight for the jerseys? I guess the theory is that if you eradicate helmet-to-helmet hits (which by the way is impossible unless the NFL changes to a "touch" league) then who cares what type of helmet a guy is wearing. That thought would be short-sighted at best. Running backs and linemen have helmet-to-helmet contact on just about every play, that's not going to stop. So making all of the players wear an extra layer of protection or a helmet with some special space-aged padding makes sense to me.

I don't believe I've heard anyone on television ask the question of a standardized helmet for safety and I've been sitting back thinking about it for a while now. I'm sure someone has, maybe I just haven't heard it. And apparently, not enough people have heard it. Changing the protective headgear across the board seems like a nice compliment to the money-grabbing penalties, fines, suspensions, etc. The NFL says it wants to protect its players from these types of injuries but do they really? Or, do they just want to use fines, penalties, and a new concussion protocol to create the illusion that they care? I don't know the answer to that. My hope is that they do want to protect players but that they also realize that there are additional measures they can take. If the league can mandate that all players wear thigh and knee pads (or they are fined) and make all players adhere to other wardrobe rules on the field (ask Clinton Portis or DeAngelo Hall), then if they wanted to, they could find a company (I don't even care if it's Nike) that has some next-level protective technology in their helmet designs and mandate that all players wear them. My guess is that the players who think about tomorrow and next year are already taking some steps to protect themselves. It would be nice to see the league put something in-place across the board to protect all players.

BONUS UNRELATED COVERAGE: "Lucille Baller"

Blank.Stare.

Miscellaneous Randomness

The Broner/DeMarco Fight

My cousin, Thomas "Topp Dawg" Williams is a professional boxer and was on the undercard for the Broner/DeMarco fight until his bout was cancelled at the last minute. That was my primary (read: only) reason to go to Atlantic City. I didn't realize that Broner was THIS GUY and that I would be in for another ridiculous performance (both in terms of his boxing ability and his efforts to entertain before, during, and after the bout) by Broner.

As you'll see below, Broner danced his way to the ring with Kendrick Lamar alongside (a great surprise for me as a huge fan of Kendrick's album, "good kid, maad city") and subsequently put on a boxing exhibition reminiscent (tongue-in-cheek) of Floyd Mayweather Jr. on some levels. All his shenanigans aside, Broner appears to be a highly skilled boxer. AKA, Youngin is NICE! I'd like to see him when he fits some solid competition if he hasn't already even though DeMarco was the champ until last night.


Aside from that Special K also told me he used the phrase "no homo" in the post-fight press conference and I'm pretty sure he asked someone to brush his hair after entering the ring. Not to mention he did some sort of Harlem Shake/Stanky Leg dance after he knocked DeMarco out, lol. Shenanigans I tell you!

Eddie Murphy - "Put Your Mouth on Me"

Yeah sooooo, I don't know why I felt the need to post it but I did and just rolled with it. Never forget (lol)...



RGIII

You know good-and-well I wasn't going to let this past Sunday's performance go without mentioning the most exciting player in the NFL did you? I would like to reference you all back to my post predicting his numbers for the season. I predicted he'd throw for almost 4,000 yards, 22 TD, and 15 INT. Right now he's on pace to have less than 10 INTs and throw for close to 22 TDs. He definitely has a chance to be a really great quarterback. I'm not as impressed right now with what he can do on the deal as much as I am with how level-headed and grounded he seems to be. For someone his age, his humility and maturity are both pretty impressive. My Skins aren't likely to make the playoffs this year but things look hopeful for the future. And not that "buy up all the free agents and a coach" in the off-season hope they used to sell every year.

NFL Week 2 aka "I Should Have Known" Weekend

In hindsight, I should have known a few things would happen this week in the NFL.

1. I should have known that the CowGirls would follow-up a great win with a loss on the road to a team they should have beat. Dallas came out and beat the Giants in week 1 and looked great (even though I hate to say it). They travel up to Seattle (hint #1) to play the Seahawks in a stadium that gets really loud (hint #2) and against a team like the Seahawks that no one expects to win so they basically have nothing to lose (hint #3). Needless to say, I took NONE of these hints and still picked Dallas. Silly me.
2. I should have known that my Redskins would do the same dumb shyt the CowGirls would do. I mentioned in my Redskins season prediction that we'd have to keep Stephen Jackson in check and force Bradford to beat us. Well guess what, Jackson didn't play most of the game and Bradford surgically sliced-and-diced that stupid azz zone we were in. A zone that you will always get beat in if the defensive line doesn't put constant pressure on the QB. We didn't, Bradford and Danny Amendola scorched us. Now I could sit here and blame the loss on Josh Morgan and that stupid penalty or on Robinson for dropping that TD pass, or Mike Shanahan for being stupid enough to think Billy Cundiff could make a 62 yard field goal... But I won't do any of that, it's just way too easy. In the end, this should have been a blow-out but much like years passed, we found a way to lose. But my boy RGIII did go for 206, 3 TDs (2 rushing) and 1 INT which is pretty solid.
3. Last but not least, I should have known the Oakland Raiders would lose after going cross-country to play the Dolphins. The Raiders are a model of inconsistency. They really have too much talent to be this inconsistent. McFadden's a beast. Palmer is still decent. And they have some solid receiving weapons. I'm not sure about their defense but they should have enough talent to compete with the Dolphins who have a rookie QB. But again, I should have known better than to think the RAYYYYYDAHS would pull this one off. Smh at myself.

Revisiting my NFL Season Prediction post

First and formost, the Redskins won this week and I am shocked in the best way possible. RGIII played great and the defense played well, but not necessarily great. I'd say that the defense got lucky more so than played great since Drew Brees was clearly off on Sunday. RGII beat my prediction of him throwing for 200 yards with a TD and an INT by a landslide. His line ended up going for 320 yards with 2 TDs and NO INTERCEPTIONS! That's stellar for a rookie debut. Congrats to him because the hard work paid off!

Now that I'm past my own team's play this weekend, the only other team I would like to talk about also happens to be in my "just formed after week 1" NFL season prediction. If you recall, my original post on how the season will end was basically full of nothing. But now that I have gotten a chance to watch a week's worth of games I think I'm ready to go out on a limb (it's still early in the season) and make a prediction for the Superbowl. Like to hear it? Here it goes...

The San Francisco 49ers will represent the NFC in the Superbowl. Point blank period, defense wins championships, just ask the Patriots. The 49ers went into Green Bay and basically shut Aaron Rodgers down completely. That's all I needed to see. And as crazy as it may sound, I think Alex Smith is the key to their season even more so than the defense. If Smith goes down who is his backup? That's all I have to say about that. But back to my main point, this team is stellar defensively. No one can run the ball on them, their LBs are stout, they pressure the QB with 3 or 4 man fronts, and their secondary is full of hitters and ballhogs. That's a recipe for forcing teams to pass, putting pressure on QBs, and forcing turnovers through the air, or just forcing teams into plain-ole 3-and-outs. If they stay healthy on defense and Alex Smith stays healthy, I've got them in the Superbowl this year.

In the other conference, I'm finding it a bit tougher. My gut is telling me that this is the year that Houston will make it to the big show but I can't rule out the Ravens. They're going to be hungry this year because of what happened to them in the playoffs last year. Not to mention, what better way to send Ed Reed and Ray Lewis into retirement than with a Superbowl win where they go out on top, their QB finally breaks-through (though I'd argue he did that in last year's playoffs), and every in Baltimore's favorite running back (Ray Rice) gets a chip? So I'm gonna roll with either the Ravens or the Houston Texans in the Superbowl against the 49ers.

Who will win you ask? Well, if the 49ers play the Ravens, I think the Ravens will win. The Ravens defense is just as gritty as the 49ers defense and I think the Ravens have an edge offensively over the 49ers, especially at the QB position. But if the 49ers play the Texans, I think the 49ers will win. I'm going to hate to see my favorite RB in the league (Arian Foster) lose in the Superbowl if it happens, but I think the 49ers would impose their will on the Texans more so than they could against a seasoned veteran team with playoff experience like the Ravens.

2012-2013 NFL Season Prediction

Leading up to the first game of the season I really want to say that I have a prediction for the Superbowl and who will win the championship but I don't. I have an idea of who I think will make the playoffs, but between the Packers, Ravens, Texans, Lions (yep), Patriots, Niners, and Giants, I just can't call it as far as who I think will win the chip this year. Philly won't win because Vick is going to get hurt. The Panthers will make the playoffs but get ousted during Wild Card Weekend. To much excitement from me, Dallas won't even make the playoffs. The Steelers will find a way to lose a really close playoff game. And the winner of the AFC West will get ousted during Wild Card Weekend. Outside of those predictions, I just can't call it.

Yes, I realize this post is totally underwhelming, but I'm betting that this NFL season won't be.

P.S. - I have the CowGirls losing tonight against the Giants, but based on what I've already written here, I'm sure that's a shock to no one.

My Prediction for the Redskins Season and RGIII

Yup, HTTR all day from August till December (cuz you know we won't be playing in January for another couple years and haven't in several years, lol). Below you'll see my prognostication for the upcoming Redskins season including a game-by-game stats prediction for Robert Griffin III, which will make the season at least a little bit more interesting for me. I'm not one of those ridiculous Redskins fans that thinks we are Superbowl bound (though I do think with great play from our new QB we could potentially get a wild card spot but that's still a long shot). I try to temper my expectations using reality as a guide. Let's be real here, my squad has stunk for the past few years and a ROOKIE QB isn't likely to change that in year 1. But, I do think we have a good enough team to not finish last in the NFC East if we play to the best of our abilities.

At Saints… Loss

Let's not get it twisted, the Saints went through a lot this offseason but going down to New Orleans and playing them in their home opener against a veteran team that can put up points on anyone, that'll be a tough win for us. Chalk this one up as an L.

[RGII Line: 200 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT]

At Rams… Win

We have enough talent to beat the Rams. We'll have to keep Steven Jackson in check and make Bradford beat us with the pass. This will be a good game to see how our offense stacks up against a decent defense that isn't top tier. They have a solid corner in Courtland Finnegan and a solid pass rusher in Chris Long. And overall, Jeff Fisher always has teams with solid defenses so they should not be a pushover in terms of putting up points.

[RGII Line: 230 yards, 1 TD]

Bengals… Win

This SHOULD be a win. A tough win because the Bengals defense is going to play well I suspect. But we should be able to keep up with Dalton and Green. And this is our home opener so everyone will be jacked up for this one.

[RGII Line: 210 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT]

At Tampa Bay… Win

I'm gonna be at this game so I'm going win regardless. But seriously, we SHOULD beat this team. Hopefully we don't get a win the week before, get a big head, and then go on the road and get molly-whopped.

[RGII Line: 250 yards, 2 TD]

Atlanta… Loss

They're just a better team all-around, especially offensively.

[RGII Line: 310 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT]

Minnesota… Win

We lost to Minnesota last year AFTER we knocked AP out of the game. I think this will be a revenge win.

[RGII Line: 230 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT]

At Giants… Loss

We beat them twice last year on their way to winning the Superbowl. They haven't forgot, and as a result will be stomping a mud hole in our asses at MetLife Stadium.

[RGII Line: 280 yards, 1 TD]

At Pittsburgh… Loss

Unless RGIII morphs into Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers, we do not have a chance. Even then, it'll still be tough to go TO Pittsburgh and beat them. Sorry Skins fans, it's the truth. Let's be real here.

[RGII Line: 180 yards, 1 INT]

Carolina… Win

We lost to Cam last year and I think we'll want revenge this year. I expect this to be a high-scoring affair with us winning on a FG at the end.

[RGII Line: 300 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT]

BYE WEEK… WIN

It's a good thing we've got a bye week here because the next four games are all going to be tough as hell and I've got us only winning one of the and that could easily be a loss.

Eagles… Loss

Even if Vick is hurt by this time (which I fully expect him to be), Kafka or Foles are more than capable of shredding D'Angelo Hall our defense for multiple TDs.

[RGII Line: 240 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT]

At CowGirls… Win

We're gonna probably get swept by the Giants and split with both Philly and Dallas. I've got a hunch we're going to go down to JerryWorld and win this one.

[RGII Line: 280 yards, 1 INT]

Giants… Loss

See the previous Giants game prediction, I haven't changed my stance.

[RGII Line: 220 yards, 1 INT]

Ravens… Loss

This one is going to hurt since I live in Baltimore and don't mind letting people know I'm a Redskins fan. Much like Pittsburgh, this is just a better team that runs enough shenanigans on defense to confuse a veteran QB, let alone a rookie. And they've got solid weapons on offense and I don't believe we can stop all of those weapons.

[RGII Line: 150 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT]

At Browns… Win

If we have any intestinal fortitude then we will rebound from a Ravens loss by heading to Cleveland and beating the Browns. A team that we should definitely be competitive against and should have the veteran leadership and talent to beat.

[RGII Line: 290 yards, 2 TD]

At Eagles… Loss

See my prediction for the previous Eagles game. The Eagles aren't so good that they won't need to fit for playoffs altogether or playoff positioning at this point so they'll have full weaponry dispersed. And we'll be on their turf. Which means, we are focked.

[RGII Line: 280 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT]

Cowboys… Win

At this point the CowGirls will likely have a 0.000003% mathematical chance to make the playoffs and they'll have to go through us to do it. But we'll beat them if that's the case because that's just how the rivalry works. Only, we won't beat them, Tony Romo will dodge 17 sacks in a row, scrambled across the field twice, high-five Jerry Jones, and throw a 50 yard hail mary to Ogletree (of all focking people) on the last play of the game that he will have in his hands, get hit by London Fletcher, bobble, and it will fall into D'Angelo Hall's hand on the half yard line with one second left on the clock. Game over, Redskins win and send the CowGirls home just like we'll be going home. Season over.

[RGII Line: 300 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT]

That will leave us at 8-8 (not including the bye week win, lol) and of course out of the playoffs for yet another year. If you recall, last year I think I made the same prediction and we went 5 up and 11 down so we'll see what happens this year. Keep in mind that we had BeckStacy at QB last year though.

Directly related to this is how I think RGIII will perform this season. You've seen what I have as his stat lines above for each game which would give him the following line at the year's end... 3,950, 22 TD, and 15 INT

I think 22 TD could realistically happen. 15 interceptions may be a few INTs low though. And 3,950 yards seems on the high side as well but I'll stick with it and see what happens.