You don’t have to be an Eli Manning fan to see this is bullshit – Week 13 NFL TV Schedule

What Ben McAdoo did in benching Eli Manning was bad.  McAdoo does deserve to be fired and I believe they should do at halftime at one of their remaining home games.  But to bench him for Geno Fucking Smith?  Seriously?  I mean it would be one thing to say “Hey we are giving Davis Webb a shot and see what he’s got.”  That would be fine.  Would suck for Eli but at least it wouldn’t leave a bad taste in everyone’s mouths.  Hell, even Cowboys, Redskins and Eagles fans are probably saying “That is some supremely fucked up shit.”  Geno Smith is not a good quarterback and really has no place in an NFL lineup.  But hey, what do I know?

So let’s just get to the schedule before this boils over into something really angry.

Sunday Early

New England at Buffalo	Seattle, Spokane, Buffalo, Rochester, Burlington, Boston		Kitchener, Toronto, Montreal, Atlantic
Kansas City at NY Jets
San Francisco at Chicago
Houston at Tennessee
Indianapolis at Jacksonville
Minnesota at Atlanta		All affiliates (except Detroit & Buffalo)	BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Winnipeg, Northern Ontario, Ottawa
Detroit at Baltimore		Detroit		TSN4
Tampa Bay at Green Bay
Denver at Miami

Sunday Late

Cleveland at LA Chargers	Minneapolis, Detroit, Cleveland			TSN4
Carolina at New Orleans		Minneapolis, Detroit, Buffalo, Rochester, Boston	Saskatchewan, Winnipeg, Northern Ontario, Kitchener, Toronto, Ottawa		Atlantic
NY Giants at Oakland		Burlington	Montreal
LA Rams at Arizona		Tacoma, Seattle, Spokane	BC, Alberta

Sunday/Monday Primetime

Philadelphia at Seattle	Sunday, 8:30, NBC, TSN1/3/4/5, CTV Two
Pittsburgh at Cincinnati	Monday, 8:30, TSN1/3/4/5

Non-Eli NFL Schedule Points and Stuff

• SIX early games not being shown in Canada.  There are actually more late games (four) being show this Sunday than early games (three).  I don’t think I have ever seen this before.  I will admit though that NE-BUF and MIN-ATL are easily the two best games of the early slate so does it really matter if you can’t see the other games (unless it’s close)?
• The cross-flex doesn’t affect us this week since it is SF-CHI being moved over to CBS and DEN-MIA moved to FOX. two games that none of us can see unless you have the DAZN which in that case…why would you be here looking for a schedule on here?  You must be here for my witty banter.  I get it now.
• No more CFL this season so you will see TSN games all day although it’s a slow start this week.  Only TSN4 showing games before Sunday night at this point.  That should change in upcoming weeks.
• Speaking of TSN, Week 17 is going to be VERY interesting.  The World Juniors will have a full slate of games that day (which usually a Canada game to highlight things in the afternoon).  And it’s the final week of the NFL regular season which is huge and TSN usually capitalizes on that with multiple games on multiple stations.  Don’t know how that will work although when it comes right down to it, hockey is king is the country so the WJHC will take precedence for sure.

Time for the updated playoff picture:

#1 – Pittsburgh (AFC North champ)	#1 – Philadelphia (NFC East champ)
#2 – New England (AFC East champ)	#2 – Minnesota (NFC North champ)
#3 – Tennessee (AFC South champ)	#3 – LA Rams (NFC West champ)
#4 – Kansas City (AFC West champ)	#4 – New Orleans (NFC South champ)
Wild Cards:	Wild Cards:
#5 – Jacksonville	#5 – Carolina
#6 – Buffalo/Baltimore	#6 – Seattle/Atlanta

The Bills and Ravens continue to hold on to a share of that final Wild Card spot with five games to go.  Unfortunately for them there are six teams within two games of them and most of them were expected to be better this season so we should see a dogfight for at least one of those spots.  Other than that not a whole lot of change.  Seeing the Packers and Cowboys two games out of the playoff picture with five games to go is honestly bizarre (although understandable considering their circumstances).

Everyone have a great weekend and enjoy the games!

Forget all the off-the-field shit…It’s turkey time! – Week 12 NFL TV Schedule

For once, let’s forget all the off-the-field shit going on.  Sound good?  So:

• I don’t give a fuck that Jerry Jones and Roger Goodell can’t share the sandbox.  Goodell basically runs the sandbox but Jones has influence over who gets the best Tonka trucks.  Let’s not care about these two jabronies for next few days (or at least until Tuesday morning).
• Ezekiel Elliott is suspended.  Thank god.  Now we can stop with the flip-flopping of will he be suspended?  Will he not be suspended?  Probably a good thing he’s gone now because if the Cowboys can make the playoffs he needs to be there.  But for now, not thinking about it.
• Colin Kaepernick has not been signed and may very well never be signed.  Are the owners colluding?  I don’t think you can legally say that but it sure as hell sounds like it.  But through this weekend, it’s out of my mind.
• Quarterback play in the NFL is probably at the lowest it has been in a couple decades.  Things are going to be looking up but we have to give it two or three years.  But for now, don’t care…ok that is an on-the-field thing but it kind of relates to the previous point so not thinking about it!
• The Chargers can’t even sell out the StubHub Center which is pretty bad because it holds about 30,000 fans.  Then they will be a tenant in the Rams stadium in a couple years.  That’s Plan A.  Brutal.  But let’s forget that the Chargers will play, basically, sixteen road games this season.

Let’s just get to the schedule and pray to God (or whoever you want to pray to) that we get at least a few good games with at least one of those good games on American Thanksgiving Day….so today.

Thursday

Minnesota at Detroit	12:30, FOX, TSN1/4/5, CTV Two
LA Chargers at Dallas	4:30, CBS, TSN1/4/5, CTV Two
NY Giants at Washington	8:30, NBC, TSN1/3/4/5, CTV Two

Sunday Early

Miami at New England	Minneapolis, Detroit, Burlington, Boston		Montreal, Atlantic
Buffalo at Kansas City	Seattle, Spokane, Buffalo, Rochester		Kitchener, Toronto
Cleveland at Cincinnati	Cleveland
Chicago at Philadelphia		Minneapolis, Detroit	BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Winnipeg, Northern Ontario, Ottawa
Carolina at NY Jets		Rochester, Burlington		TSN2
Tampa Bay at Atlanta
Tennessee at Indianapolis

Sunday Late

New Orleans at LA Rams	All affiliates		All affiliates (except BC & Atlantic)
Denver at Oakland
Jacksonville at Arizona
Seattle at San Francisco		Tacoma, Seattle, Spokane, Buffalo, Boston	BC	TSN2

Sunday/Monday Primetime

Green Bay at Pittsburgh	Sunday, 8:30, NBC, TSN2, CTV Two
Houston at Baltimore	Monday, 8:30, TSN 1/4/5

Turkey Weekend NFL-Related Points

• Four games not being shown on Sunday.  Pretty much on par with most weeks so nothing out of the ordinary although it does feel weird to see a Denver-Oakland not being seen anywhere in Canada.
• OK can we cut the FOX-NFC/CBS-ABC horseshit?  The main game on CBS late afternoon is the New Orleans Saints facing the Los Angeles Rams…two NFC teams.  Will it be a good game?  Who knows.  It’s two good teams playing each other and I am fine with that.  But with all the cross-flexing happening so far this season (and sure to happen almost every week the rest of the way) I believe it’s time to evolve how the broadcasts are chosen.  It’s not like these announcers don’t know the other conference.
• The Grey Cup is on Sunday so very little shown on the TSN networks.  One game early on TSN2 and the Sunday Night Football affair is also only on TSN2.  Next week it will be back to the way it was up until a few weeks ago with multiple TSN networks being used for the NFL on Sundays.
• Today starts with a huge game followed by two games between four teams that are kind of meh (if not outright bad).  Minnesota-Detroit will get a lot of eyeballs down south…not too many up here with many people working.  It’s the way it is since Detroit always gets the early Thanksgiving matchup.

UPDATE: Seattle at San Francisco now also appearing on TSN2.  Thanks to reader Dan for the update.

Playoff picture time!  Let’s see how bad the AFC is looking these days…

#1 – Pittsburgh (AFC North champ)	#1 – Philadelphia (NFC East champ)
#2 – New England (AFC East champ)	#2 – Minnesota (NFC North champ)
#3 – Jacksonville (AFC South champ)	#3 – New Orleans (NFC South champ)
#4 – Kansas City (AFC West champ)	#4 – LA Rams (NFC West champ)
Wild Cards:	Wild Cards:
#5 – Tennessee	#5 – Carolina
#6 – Buffalo/Baltimore	#6 – Seattle/Atlanta/Detroit

The fact that Buffalo and Baltimore are tied for the final playoff spot shows how terrible the AFC is past the top three really.  KC will have a chance to get back into that rarefied air of the AFC elite, funny enough, against the Bills on Sunday.  Let’s be honest, the NFC playoffs look STACKED and should be a lot of fun.  Meaning ESPN would get the #6 AFC seed traveling to Jacksonville.  Ugh.  I can’t say poor ESPN because they signed this deal but man do they ever get fucked with the playoffs.

Alright enjoy the games everyone.  Hopefully you get your fill of football with the NFL and the college ranks.  I can’t see how you could handle more football than you will get for the next four days because it is a shit-ton.

So Double E is suspended now? – Week 9 NFL TV Schedule

I am getting pretty confused over this.  Just suspend the guy or don’t.  Nope, has to be appealed fifteen thousand times.  Guy’s gonna be five years post-CTE diagnosis by the time they finally figure out his suspension.  What a joke the NFL has become with this.  No wonder people are not watching.  Well, less people than before.  It’s not like a boatload have left but if this trend continues, in a few years it could become a bit more of a panic from the league and the networks that broadcast their games.  Maybe ESPN is correct with putting out feelers about not broadcasting NFL games when their contract is up.

Alright here is the NFL schedule in all its glory.  It’s pretty simplistic this week.  I think I could have figured out 90% of this without looking anywhere.

Sunday Early

Denver at Philadelphia	All affiliates except Cleveland		BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Winnipeg, Ontario
Baltimore at Tennessee
Indianapolis at Houston
Cincinnati at Jacksonville	Cleveland
Atlanta at Carolina		Minneapolis, Detroit		TSN2
LA Rams at NY Giants		Buffalo, Rochester, Burlington, Boston	Atlantic, Montreal
Tampa Bay at New Orleans

Sunday Late

Kansas City at Dallas	All affiliates except Seattle		All affiliates except Atlantic		Atlantic
Washington at Seattle		Tacoma, Seattle, Spokane			Vancouver Island, Alberta, Ontario
Arizona at San Francisco

Sunday/Monday Primetime

Oakland at Miami	Sunday, 8:30, NBC, TSN 3/4/5, CTV Two
Detroit at Green Bay	Monday, 8:30, TSN 1/4/5

Random Analysis

• So we have 10 games during the day on Sunday and four of them aren’t being shown here.  Almost half.  Good god.  No wonder big NFL fans are actually opting for DAZN despite it sounding like it’s a shitty platform.  Otherwise they are missing half the action.  To be honest, if telcos were able to just sell RedZone it would be massive.  Hell, maybe even I would get it.  Would still love a college version of RedZone but I know that’s too much to ask.
• Well I was lazy last week.  I didn’t notice that the SNF and MNF games weren’t on all the normal TSN stations.  This week I have looked more closely and yes, both games aren’t being shown on all the TSNs.  Sunday night it’s because of the MLS Playoffs and Monday night it’s because of a Winnipeg Jets game.  Fair enough.
• This is how this looks this week….*ahem*  YOU WILL GET DENVER AT PHILADELPHIA EARLY!  AND IT’S OBVIOUSLY BECAUSE THE EAGLES ARE THE BEST TEAM IN THE LEAGUE BECAUSE DENVER IS KIND OF HOT GARBAGE WITH A MEDIOCRE (at best) QUARTERBACK.  AND YOU WILL GET KANSAS CITY IN DALLAS LATE!  THAT’S IT.  NO OTHER CHOICES.  ONLY FOUR TEAMS TO WATCH THIS SUNDAY.  Did I pretty much get that correct?  I haven’t seen something like this in a while.  This is what happens when Detroit and Buffalo don’t play on Sunday, folks.
• Speaking of Buffalo, remember what I said about the Bills and games like the one that was on last night?  That was vintage 21st century Buffalo Bills football.

Since I am not doing the rants/recaps/whatever until later on in the season (and the jury is still out on that one), I figured I would put the updated playoff standings here.  Might as well right?  Here we go:

#1 – Pittsburgh (AFC North champ)	#1 – Philadelphia (NFC East champ)
#2 – Kansas City (AFC West champ)	#2 – Minnesota (NFC North champ)
#3 – New England (AFC East champ)	#3 – Seattle (NFC West champ)
#4 – Tennessee (AFC South champ)	#4 – New Orleans (NFC South champ)
Wild Cards:	Wild Cards:
#5 – Buffalo	#5 – LA Rams
#6 – Jacksonville	#6 – Carolina

The AFC looks more like what the NFL wants to see.  The blue bloods (at least the blue bloods this century) are almost all accounted for in the AFC.  Pittsburgh and New England well in the mix.  Denver probably won’t make it but you can’t win em all right?  As for the NFC, yeesh.  At least the NFL (and FOX) could look forward to the Rams making the playoffs in Los Angeles.  That has to be good for ratings, no?

Alright, hope the weekend turns out well for all of you.  Enjoy the games everyone.

And yet another huge injury – Week 6 NFL Recap/Rant

First J.J. Watt.  Now, Aaron Rodgers.  Both of them are considered among the best players in football right now.  Both are now out with serious injuries.  Now, Rodgers may not be out for the entire season.  He has surgery on his collarbone this week and I think the hope is that he could be back late in the regular season.  Without him, the Packers are just…well, average really.  He is the one guy that makes this team go.  And we all know what happens when you lose a star quarterback and have to replace him with backups without much experience.

So now the Packers have to go with Brett Hundley.  However, we all know they are shopping around for a guy that can hold the fort until at least the last couple weeks of the season.  Do they do the unthinkable and pull the trigger on Colin Kaepernick…ok that was REALLY bad phrasing.  But honestly, this is not a situation where you need to sign a backup because you are down to your starter and that’s it for QBs.  This is at least a 2 month thing we’re talking about here.  There could be worse things to do than sign him.  I don’t know how Packer fans would react to this to be honest.  Then again, if they started rolling off victories I don’t think the shareholders (meaning the community) would give two fucks about who is quarterbacking.

• OK what was that garbage during the Pats-Jets game?  That overturning of the touchdown by Austin Sefarian-Jenkins was such a bullshit call it boggles the mind.  Did he lose control of the ball?  Yes.  Did he regain control?  It sure looks like it.  And in the end, it doesn’t matter because the call on the field was a touchdown.  You need (say it with me now) INDISPUTABLE EVIDENCE to overturn a call.  We didn’t have that.  At all.  There is no definitive argument there.  It’s like if they had called it a touchback on the field, how do you overturn it?  You really can’t no matter your opinion.  In the end, the replay officials botched the call completely and it affected the outcome of the game.  The Jets probably would have tied it up.  Then who knows what happens.  If we can’t even get replay correct then what is the fucking point of having it?
• Cleveland still sucks.  I feel I could just keep this in every recap post from here on in.
• What is going on in Atlanta?  I mean I know these things happen but still.  They were looking like world-beaters in the first three weeks.  Like they had something to prove after last year’s Super Bowl debacle.  Then they went up against a really good Buffalo Bills defense.  So we give them some slack on that.  Then they lose to the Dolphins?  The Dolphins?  Ugh.  And now they have to go to New England in primetime.  This is not shaping up to be the start that the Falcons wanted or needed.
• Don’t look now but the Eagles and Redskins lead the way in the NFC East.  It’s early but the Giants don’t look like they are doing anything this season and the Cowboys…well, who knows how they will react to the distraction that is Ezekiel Elliott.  Now that he is/isn’t suspended/not suspended the Cowboys will have to adjust/not worry going forward.  Easy right?  Jason Garrett’s red hair is going to turn grey at this rate.
• Maybe the Cardinals aren’t as bad as they have looked.  A solid victory over the Buccaneers puts them back at .500 and in the thick of the Wild Card race (and perhaps even the NFC West race).  Could Adrian Peterson, of all people, be the catalyst to a move up the standings?  He sure looked more like the AP of old on Sunday that’s for sure.
• And then there were none.  Undefeated teams that is.  The Chiefs lost a tough one to the Steelers so the 1972 Miami Dolphins can pop the corks a little earlier than usual.  Which is good because then it’s less of a spectacle than when a team farther into the season loses their first game and guys like Mercury Morris remind us (AGAIN!) that they are the only true undefeated team.  Thanks a bunch Merc.  Now fuck off.
• Speaking of the NY Giants, that has to be considered an upset for what they did to the Broncos on Sunday night.  They thoroughly outplayed them in all aspects and looked like the contender everyone thought they would be.  What the hell took them so long?

Can we go one week without an off-the-field controversy?  Please?  I get that they are newsworthy but it does get tiresome.  It would be nice for something different for a change.  So let’s have all the players, coaches, GMs, other staff, media, and Trump agree to a seven-day moratorium on being idiots (at least when it comes to the NFL) so that we can refresh and recharge.  We, as fans, sorely need it.

Alright, more way-too-early playoff seedings.  Here we go!

1	Kansas City (AFC West)	1	Philadelphia (NFC East)
2	Pittsburgh (AFC North)	2	Minnesota (NFC North)
3	New England (AFC East)	3	Carolina (NFC South)
4	Tennessee (AFC South)	4	LA Rams (NFC West)
	Wild Card Teams:		Wild Card Teams:
1	Buffalo	1	Green Bay
2	Miami/Denver	2	New Orleans/Atlanta/Washington/Seattle

A little over a third of the way through the season and the AFC is starting to look closer to the way it has been lately (and what many experts expected it to be).  At some point over the next few weeks, the better teams (your Kansas Citys, Pittsburghs, and New Englands) will probably pull away from the pack.  I can see a bit of race for the AFC Wild Card brewing but honestly, 10 wins will probably nab you a playoff spot from this group guaranteed.

As for the NFC, Aaron Rodgers’ injury has a domino effect that could end up seeing Minnesota being the biggest benefactor.  A team that probably really has no right to be looking at a 10+ win season may do just that because they have the Bears (who have overachieved to get to 2-4) and the Lions (who looked awful on defense against the Saints) along with the aforementioned Packers in their division.  For once, they may end up being lucky being in the NFC North.  Carson Wentz and Jared Goff leading teams into the postseason is exactly what the NFL wants and still proves that selecting a quarterback in the draft is very much high risk/high reward.  The Eagles and Rams are proving that.

No college football tomorrow night.  Kind of makes me sad.  Except when it’s a shitty game and then I don’t care.

Seriously? Week 6 NFL TV Schedule

OK so let me get this straight.  First, Ezekiel Elliott was suspended.  Now he’s not.  But now he is again.  But maybe he’s not.  This is just beyond absurd.

The latest news in this (dumb) saga is that a federal appeals court has overturned the previous decision that would allow Elliott to sue the NFL instead.  This also means his six-game suspension is back on the table.  But he is thinking of appealing this decision as well.  So he may still be playing this season.  Who knows.  But it has got so out of hand.  Part of this is the NFL’s refusal to set clear guidelines and create a sort of suspension grid if you will.  Kind of like you do this then this is the range of punishments you can get (in terms of games suspended).  Then if multiple offenses occur, the mandate can be the player cannot get a shorter suspension than the previous one.  This will weed out repeat offenders.  Or at least help in that regard.

Let’s be honest, we can rail all we want about the judicial system.  It sucks.  But can you imagine it working like this?  You’d have a serial killer being given money because he kept appealing and suing the judge.  And then a guy who stole a pack of gum from a store would have life in prison in solitary confinement.  OK maybe too extreme an example but you get the idea, right?  Anyone?

Alright, as per usual with the Normally Fucked-up League, the off-the-field shenanigans totally overshadow anything that happens on the field.  Here’s the sked.  Random analysis to follow:

Sunday Early

New England at NY Jets	All affiliates (except Minneapolis and Cleveland)		Sudbury, Timmins, North Bay, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax, Sydney, Saint John
Miami at Atlanta			Moncton
Cleveland at Houston	Cleveland
Green Bay at Minnesota		Tacoma, Seattle, Spokane, Minneapolis, Buffalo, Rochester	BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Winnipeg
Chicago at Baltimore			Sault Ste. Marie
Detroit at New Orleans		Detroit	Kitchener	TSN1, TSN4, TSN5
San Francisco at Washington

Sunday Late

Pittsburgh at Kansas City	All affiliates		All affiliates (except Atlantic)		Atlantic
LA Chargers at Oakland
LA Rams at Jacksonville		Burlington, Boston		TSN2
Tampa Bay at Arizona

Sunday/Monday Primetime

NY Giants at Denver	Sunday, 8:30, NBC, TSN 1/3/4/5, CTV Two
Indianapolis at Tennessee	Monday, 8:30, TSN 1/3/4/5

Random Analysis

• At first when I went to look for where games were being broadcast I was a bit perplexed at the sheer amount of CTV affiliates being shown.  Then I realized that the Northern Ontario and Atlantic regions were being split out between two games.  Northern Ontario is split between the Patriots-Jets and Bears-Ravens game and the Atlantic region is split between Patriots-Jets and Dolphins-Falcons for some reason.  I don’t know why this was split out like this and I realize it kind of doesn’t make sense.  But I don’t make the rules.
• How the fuck do the New York Giants get to be on Sunday Night Football?  If it wasn’t for the existence of the Cleveland Browns, they would be the worst team in the league.  And they get the plum primetime slot?  This is ridiculous.  And I think it all has to do with moving better games to Thursday night.  Like the London experiment, the NFL is determined to make it work even if it causes issues elsewhere.  There are at least three other games that could have slotted in there (Pittsburgh-KC, GB-Minnesota, Pats-Jets) so I don’t get why the NFL does not want NBC to get ratings.
• For the nice doubleheader of crap, a Marcus Mariota-less Tennessee team faces a pretty bad Indianapolis team on Monday night.  I look forward to the absurd bidding war over Thursday Night fucking Football soon.  Should be fun when Amazon swoops in, pays a billion or so, and forces people to pay per game to watch it.
• Thanks to the split-outs I mentioned above, only three games won’t be seen in Canada with two of them being late games.  One of them may be moved or postponed due to the wildfires in Northern California (that would be the LAC-OAK game) so stay tuned for any news on that front.

Should be another fun day of football that will eventually be overshadowed by what happens off the field.  Thanks Roger.  Enjoy the games everyone!

Will the actual season be as fun as the off-season? Week 1 NFL TV Schedule

Probably not.  The NFL offseason is usually hilarious, interesting, pathetic, and completely dumb all at the same time.  It’s like the league as a whole can’t stop from tripping over itself to look like bigger asses every time a story comes out.  So even though the season started last night, we know that for the most part, the first few weeks will not even come close to being as entertaining as the offseason’s antics.

Let’s get right to why you are all here.  The schedule!  Afterwards, there are some burger toppings to add to the schedule hamburger:

Sunday Early

Oakland at Tennessee	Seattle, Spokane		BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan
Pittsburgh at Cleveland	Minneapolis, Cleveland			TSN (all except TSN2)
NY Jets at Buffalo	Buffalo, Rochester, Burlington, Boston		Ontario, Atlantic
Baltimore at Cincinnati
Jacksonville at Houston
Atlanta at Chicago		Minneapolis	Manitoba
Philadelphia at Washington		Burlington, Boston	Montreal
Arizona at Detroit		Tacoma, Seattle, Spokane, Detroit
Tampa Bay at Miami	PO	ST	PO	NE	D

Sunday Late

Indianapolis at LA Rams	Detroit			TSN (all except TSN2)
Seattle at Green Bay		All affiliates	All affiliates (except Atlantic)		Atlantic
Carolina at San Francisco

Sunday/Monday Primetime

NY Giants at Dallas	Sunday, 8:30, NBC, TSN 1/3/4/5, CTV Two
New Orleans at Minnesota	Monday, 7:00, TSN 1/3/4/5
LA Chargers at Denver	Monday, 10:15, TSN 1/3/4/5

Burger Toppings

• Buffalo is at home on Sunday and I am positive Rochester is considered a home market for the Bills meaning people wouldn’t get a FOX game at that time because the Bills are playing on CBS.  So that’s why I have people who get their FOX station out of Rochester having no early game.  This could change.
• Quick talk about last night’s game: what is up with the Patriots defense?  They were skewered by Alex Smith and Kareem Hunt.  Not a good sign.  Their offense should be fine as usual though.
• So I see the push to have all the games shown like you would have with Sunday Ticket went by the wayside on Day One.  Three games this week will not be shown anywhere here (unless you have DAZN).  Honestly though, unless it’s a really good game, you’re not missing much.  I mean how many Jacksonville Jaguars fans could there be in Canada?
• I added this to the chart but TSN, for the most part, means TSNs 1, 3, 4 and 5.  I will make sure you know when a game will appear on TSN2 as this will happen from time to time throughout the season.
• Back to the Bills-Jets game, I hope this is a good game.  It won’t be.  But I hope it will be.  Is it just me or has the sheer amount of good quarterbacks drastically decreased in recent years?
• Two Monday Night Football games, as per usual, opening week.  It will be a late night for people who have to work the next morning if you want to catch the Chargers-Broncos game.  But as a bonus, it’s Beth Mowins and Rex Ryan on the call.  That alone could be worth watching as Ryan could be great or a complete shitshow as analyst.
• Yes to Ezekiel Elliott playing Sunday night.  No to OBJ playing Sunday night.  It’s like the football gods don’t want us to have a nice opening weekend.
• If you couldn’t figure it out, Tampa Bay-Miami is postponed until Week 11 when both teams have bye weeks.  This means that both teams will play sixteen straight weeks.  We shall see how it affects them on the injury front.

There you go.  The NFL is back.  And hopefully it turns out much better than the first half of last season which was pretty much awful football.  Enjoy the games everyone!

And now for the NFL Playoff Preview

Yes, Jim.  Playoffs.

This is the second part of my pretty short NFL preview.  I would have loved to have had more time to do this.  Alas, the summer has just flown by at the speed of light.  My kids go back to school next week and the evenings are already getting cooler.  This means football starts though so it’s all good.

So let’s get right to the games shall we?  I will try to put more effort in here than I do trying to catch preseason games.  Then again, I exert absolutely no effort trying to catch NFL preseason games so this should be pretty easy.

AFC Wild Card

Tennessee (3) def. Cincinnati (6) – I feel a bit dirty picking the Bengals to even make the playoffs after disappointing me last season.  Either way, I think they will sneak in thanks to some fun TIEBREAKER ACTION that no one understands but everyone loves.  No matter, Marcus Marioto (oh we still remember that Roger) and the Titans offense should pour it on against the Bengals defense who may or may not have Vontaze Burfict, depending on if he is suspended (again) for doing something stupid (again) and/or violent (again).

Pittsburgh (4) def. Kansas City (5) – This should be a close game.  The question will be whether Patrick Mahomes has wrested the starting QB spot from Alex Smith yet or not by this point.  Either way, the Steelers should win this one in what I believe will be Big Ben’s swan song.

NFC Wild Card

Dallas (3) def. Arizona (6) – Another dirty pick.  I had the Cards facing Cincinnati in the Super Bowl last season.  See how well that worked out for me?  Anyway, luckily for them there aren’t many Wild-Card contenders in the NFC so they should get in and immediately get beat badly by the Cowboys.  The Cowboys should be close to as good as last season (as long as Ezekiel Elliott plays all season) but will get just plain passed in the NFC by Green Bay and Seattle.

Tampa Bay (5) def. Atlanta (4) – The Bucs and Falcons will battle all season long for the right to basically host this game.  And it won’t matter.  Atlanta will not get the chance to return to the Super Bowl and rectify their mistakes.  It’s Famous Jameis time!

AFC Divisional Playoffs

New England (1) def. Pittsburgh (4) – The Patriots still have a lot of weapons despite the loss of Julian Edelman for the season.  This only works if Gronk comes back and can play pretty much a full season.  Otherwise this might fully change.  But for now, this could be very well be the last game of Ben Roethlisberger’s career.

Oakland (2) def. Tennessee (3) – Man the AFC is kind of boring so far.  No upsets.  And probably not even close.  Well this game could be close but the Raiders, if they can keep their core group together for more than a couple seasons, should be near the top for years to come.  All those Vegas fans should be very happy if this is the case.

NFC Divisional Playoffs

Tampa Bay (5) def. Green Bay (1) – There has to be one upset in the playoffs, no?  This would be it.  And this will be Jameis Winston’s coming out party I am sure.  To beat the Packers on the Frozen Tundra in the playoffs would be something special.  I see this being one of those 15-1 or 14-2 teams being inexplicably beaten before the Super Bowl which will lead to many questions including how fast Mike McCarthy should be shitcanned despite losing very few games all year.

Seattle (2) def. Dallas (3) – Both NFC divisional playoff games should be close ones.  Seattle will be improved from last year but somehow will not run away with the division.  I see them playing second fiddle to Green Bay all season since Green Bay will just be really, REALLY good (during the regular season).  I am still unsure about my pick of Dallas in the three spot but until I see Elliott having to serve his suspension this year at any time, I am convinced the Cowboys have the horses (oh pun VERY intended) to win the NFC East.

AFC Championship

Oakland (2) def. New England (1) – With the Patriots losing a big weapon and the Raiders still on the upswing, this could be the only chance Oakland has of making it to the Super Bowl before they aren’t in Oakland anymore.  Having the Raiders move to Vegas a couple years after going to the Super Bowl will not look good on the NFL, no matter how Commissioner Fuckface spins it.

NFC Championship

Seattle (2) def. Tampa Bay (5) – The magical run ends for the Bucs.  And we were so close to redoing that classic Bucs-Raiders Super Bowl from years ago.  Hey, maybe Jon Gruden could have come out of retirement to coach BOTH TEAMS!  Anyway, the Seahawks should win this going away now that the Packers are out of their way.

Super Bowl LII

Are they going with Roman numerals or numbers this year?  I don’t even know anymore.

Oakland (2) def. Seattle (1) – A classic AFC West showdown for the title.  It’s funny to realize that two decades ago this Super Bowl matchup could never happen.  And now it may be a reality.  And a fun one at that considering the Raiders are gonzo after the 2018 season probably.  I wonder how the parade will be.  I am sure the ghost of Al Davis will be there, mocking, well, everyone.  Good times for the Silver & Black I think!

All done.  The NFL season officially begins on a Thursday night as per usual.  September 7th as the Chiefs face the Patriots.

I will be doing the Week 1 super-duper college football schedule by Thursday afternoon.  The specialty pack channels have finally appeared.  Only Thursday games so far but it’s a start, right?

Also, a reader had asked about the NFL Sunday Ticket issue here in Canada.  I have gone over it before but I will go over it again and I am sure I will reiterate it when I do my first NFL TV schedule of the year (oh won’t that be balls of fun!).  To get Sunday Ticket now you will have to get it through DAZN or go to a bar/tavern/restaurant that has it.  Some have noticed that Bell Fibe has a channel in the 3000s that says NFL Sunday Ticket.  That is only for business purposes (and is probably expensive).  Bell has tried to rectify this by adding all the regional CTVs (that you will have to pay extra for).  There will also be a concerted effort to put any games that we wouldn’t be able to normally get here on a TSN station (and perhaps even a CTV Two station).  So yeah, if you really want to get all the games again (like a poor man’s Sunday Ticket) you can do so.

I guess it’s a good problem to have – Week 10 NFL TV Schedule

What is going on in Dallas is a good problem to have I think.  Not an easy problem to deal with still.  Tony Romo is back.  Dak Prescott is in a battle with teammate Ezekiel Elliott for Offensive Rookie of the Year.  Two good quarterbacks.  One starting spot.  There is no perfect way to figure this out.  However, my opinion is that you should ride the Prescott Express until he starts showing signs of wear and tear or he just has a couple bad games.  Until then, I think putting Romo back in would be a bad idea.  Why go away from the hot hand?  Still waiting for Jason Garrett to fuck this up but hey, maybe he will figure it out and the Cowboys will go deep in the playoffs to the chagrin of everyone except Cowboys fans.

Alright, here’s your Sunday (and Monday night) schedule followed by some quick analysis:

Early

	CBS	FOX	CTV	CTV Two	OTHER
Denver at New Orleans	All affiliates (except Minneapolis)		All affiliates (except Winnipeg & Montreal)		CKPR, CHEX, CITL, CKWS
Kansas City at Carolina
Houston at Jacksonville
Atlanta at Philadelphia		Tacoma, Seattle, Spokane, Burlington, Boston	Montreal	All affiliates	CJDC, CFTK
Green Bay at Tennessee		Detroit
Los Angeles at NY Jets		Buffalo, Rochester
Minnesota at Washington		Minneapolis	Winnipeg
Chicago at Tampa Bay

Late

	CBS	FOX	CTV	CTV Two	OTHER
Miami at San Diego	Minneapolis			Vancouver Island, Alberta, Ontario	CJDC, CFTK
Dallas at Pittsburgh		All affiliates	All affiliates (except Atlantic)		CKPR, CHEX, CITL, CKWS
San Francisco at Arizona

Sunday/Monday Night

Seattle at New England	Sunday, 8:30, NBC/TSN1/3/4/5
Cincinnati at NY Giants	Monday, 8:30, TSN 1/3/4/5

Quick Analysis

• No Cleveland Browns watch this Sunday. They already lost Thursday night.  I think they should have at least six games a year on Thursday night.  Get them out of the way and not plug up the Sunday schedule.
• I would go out on a limb and say we have three pretty big games this week…we could even call them marquee games. The Seahawks-Patriots Sunday nighter is a no-brainer.  But Cowboys-Steelers and Falcons-Eagles are also pretty big games in the grand scheme of things.  And now that the playoff picture is a thing again, games become slightly more important.
• Right now, on TSN’s guide, 1, 3, 4, and 5 have the Seattle-New England game Sunday night; however, according to their NFL on CTV schedule (which also includes any TSN broadcasts), it only shows TSN1, 3, and 4. At the very least, you should be able to watch it, just don’t be surprised if it doesn’t appear on TSN5 for whatever reason.
• The CFL takes over TSN this weekend with their division semi-finals. This means no Sunday afternoon football on TSN.
• This means there are certain games that might have been picked up on TSN2 normally that most of us will not get (shown in only a few areas). A good example is Minnesota-Washington.  Because this game is only available basically in Manitoba, there would have normally been a good chance that TSN2 would have picked this game up nationally.  That won’t be the case this week or next.

So we have one college game tonight on TSN2.  Then tomorrow the full college slate followed by most of the NFL games on Sunday.  Also, for you CFL fans, the playoffs start on Sunday.  I will not be in town the first couple days of the upcoming week so there will be no recaps.  I might do a bowl projection post on Wednesday but we will see how I am doing with time.  Don’t worry, the college football and NFL schedules will be on time as per usual on Thursday and Friday next week.  Enjoy the games everyone!

How Did I Do? – 2016 NFL Draft Edition

Yeah that pretty much sums it up.  My final mock draft wasn’t even close on almost every pick.  To be honest, I am sure I didn’t get even one right.  Pretty sad.  Then again, almost everyone’s mock drafts blew up before the draft even began thanks to some Laremy Tunsil shenanigans.

That one picture made day one of the draft this year the goofiest, craziest draft day ever.  I do feel for Laremy somewhat.  Who knows how long ago that pic was taken and the fact his Twitter account (along with his Instagram account later on) was hacked is no laughing matter.  Sounds like a former financial advisor of his is the guilty party here (probably a guy who was cut out right before Mister Tunsil was ready to make some serious cash).  Saying all that, why do people in all walks of life continue to have pictures and videos that could potentially be harmful to them or others?  We are in an era where people love to overshare and get burned by it or they forget to delete that incriminating video or dick pic or naked selfie.  They make their lives (usually) much more stressful than they have to be with this shit.

A few notes before we get started with the team rankings:

• Great on the Cowboys picking Jaylon Smith on day two. The guy won’t be playing the entire 2016 season but the hope is he will be a force in 2017.  If he gets healthy this might be one of the steals of the decade as every other team seemed scared to take him.
• Hats off also to the Ravens for picking local boy (somewhat) Keenan Reynolds. Getting athletes that can play a few different positions (he’s a quarterback that was drafted as a wide receiver) is smart for any team.  If used properly he could be a huge part of Baltimore’s offense for years to come.
• Finally, a great pick by Minnesota in the sixth round. Moritz Boehringer, a wide receiver selected straight outta Germany, started playing football after watching videos of Adrian Peterson.  A few years later the Vikings make his dreams come true by drafting him.  Thing is he could be quite the draftee.  Runs a sub-4.5 40 and is a big target.  Give him a year on the practice squad and then watch out since he’s a raw talent if there ever was one.

Alright enough draft overview.  Now on to team ratings.  I will go over first round picks, any other great picks, and maybe some bad picks or early round stretches.  This will be done on the Mel Kiper Ocho Scale.  Before I begin I have to say ESPN’s coverage was mediocre at best.  Not bad, just nothing special.  Kiper was fine (although he looks like he’s staring into the sun when he’s on camera).  Berman was his usual annoying, idiotic self with nothing to add to the telecast.  What surprised me was Jon Gruden just being a nobody most of the night.  Maybe he’s still upset with Tirico leaving the four-letter network.  Alright here we go!

8 Mel Kipers (You dun good!)

Jacksonville (First pick: Jalen Ramsey, Other Notable Picks: Myles Jack, Yannick Ngakoue, Tyrone Holmes) – I would say the winner of the draft was the Jacksonville Jaguars.  Unfortunately for me, Colin Cowherd also said the same thing.  I don’t like agreeing with the man but in this case he is right.  The pick of Myles Jack alone puts them in the top tier.  Getting Ramsey when they got him was great value.  No real bad picks at all.  A great draft.

Cincinnati (First pick: William Jackson, Other Notable Picks: Nick Vigil, Andrew Billings, Christian Westerman) – Getting Jackson was a pretty good pick but he was expected to be picked around there.  Getting Billings where they got him was huge as I (along with many others) had him as a day two pick.  Just like the Jaguars, the Bengals had no bad picks.

Baltimore (First pick: Ronnie Stanley, Other Notable Picks: Bronson Kaufusi, Kenneth Dixon, Keenan Reynolds, Maurice Canady) – A great three days for the Ravens.  I touched on Reynolds on how that was a good (yet shrewd) pick.  Getting Canady as low as he did was a steal as one of my mocks had him as a second rounder.

Houston (First pick: Will Fuller, Other Notable Picks: Braxton Miller, K.J. Dillon) – A solid draft but not spectacular.  The picks of Miller and Dillon are exceptional with no real weak spots.

7 Mel Kipers (Hey, good stuff!)

Pittsburgh (First pick: Artie Burns, Other Notable Picks: Sean Davis, Javon Hargrave, Tyler Matakevich) – Despite the fact they may have had one of the biggest stretches of the first round, picking Artie Burns who probably would have been there during their second round selection, they made up for it with pretty good picks the rest of the way, highlighted by Matakevich late.

Chicago (First pick: Leonard Floyd, Other Notable Picks: Cody Whitehair, Jonathan Bullard) – Floyd was a good pick and fits perfectly with what the Bears needed.  The Bears and linebackers go together like peanut butter and jelly (supposedly).  No bad picks but nothing spectacular afterwards.

Los Angeles (First pick: Jared Goff, Other Notable Picks: Tyler Higbee, Pharoh Cooper) – Goff was an easy choice and now the Rams have their franchise quarterback (sorry Nick Foles).  Cooper in the fourth round was a steal and I think Higbee could be a great weapon for Goff.

Indianapolis (First pick: Ryan Kelly, Other Notable Picks: Le’Raven Clark, Hassan Ridgeway, Austin Blythe) – To say the Colts went out of their way to find protection for Andrew Luck is a VAST understatement.  The rest of the AFC South better watch out if this new O-line including Kelly and Clark protects Luck the way they could.

6 Mel Kipers (Still doing well)

Green Bay (First pick: Kenny Clark, Other Notable Picks: Jason Spriggs, Kyler Fackrell) – Clark and Spriggs alone put the Packers at least at the 5 Kiper level.  No bad picks and Kenny Clark was a decent first rounder.

Washington (First pick: Josh Doctson, Other Notable Picks: Su’a Cravens, Kendall Fuller) – Doctson, in my opinion, is better than Will Fuller who was drafted in the slot before him.  I’m sure Kirk Cousins likes that pick (YOU LIKE THAT?).  Kendall Fuller was also a great pick as I had him late first round/early second round for most of my mocks.

San Diego (First pick: Joey Bosa, Other Notable Picks: Hunter Henry, Joshua Perry) – Bosa was a fantastic pick at three.  The Chargers, in their lame duck San Diego season, will give their fans a treat…before they fuck off for LA.

Miami (First pick: Laremy Tunsil, Other Notable Picks: Xavien Howard, Kenyan Drake, Jakeem Grant) – Miami obviously has some balls to pick Tunsil.  Either that or they realize he was a college student (and therefore, prone to make stupid mistakes) and that he probably isn’t Ricky Williams.  Drake was overshadowed by Derrick Henry but is a definite talent in the backfield.

5 Mel Kipers (OK, you’re not doing too badly)

Minnesota (First pick: Laquon Treadwell, Other Notable Picks: Mackensie Alexander, Kentrell Brothers, Moritz Boehringer) – I touched on Boehringer earlier.  I think Treadwell was the best WR in the draft and if he and MoBo team with AP and Teddy Ballgame, the Vikings could be the team to beat in the NFC North, if not the entire NFC…in 2017.

NY Giants (First pick: Eli Apple, Other Notable Picks: Sterling Shepard, B.J. Goodson, Paul Perkins) – Apple was a huge stretch in the first round.  Besides that, WHO WILL COOK FOR HIM?  Shepard and Perkins are underrated picks for the offense and should work well in the Big Apple (more so than the Eli Apple).

NY Jets (First pick: Darron Lee, Other Notable Pick: Christian Hackenberg) – A pretty average draft for the J-E-T-S, JETS, JETS, JETS.  It will be interesting to see what Hackenberg can do with an offensive line that isn’t basically cardboard cutouts of fat guys.

Oakland (First pick: Karl Joseph, Other Notable Picks: Shilique Calhoun, Vadal Alexander) – Calhoun as late as he was picked was a steal.  I’m not totally sold on Karl Joseph but I will say it was still a good pick.  How will these guys feel about playing in the Vegas heat though?

4 Mel Kipers (Alright now things aren’t looking so swell)

Buffalo (First pick: Shaq Lawson, Other Notable Picks: Reggie Ragland, Cardale Jones) – You could say the Bills had an OK draft.  The Bills Mafia may put you through a table for your troubles though.  Lawson and Ragland were good, not great, picks.  Jones could end up being a great player but I wouldn’t piss off Tyrod Taylor too much more or otherwise they will have to find out how good Cardale is now (which probably is not that great).

New Orleans (First pick: Sheldon Rankins, Other Notable Pick: Michael Thomas) – Rankins was a pretty good pick for the Saints.  Honestly, I put the Saints here because they didn’t have more picks to fuck things up since it kept getting worse for them as the draft went on.

Arizona (First pick: Robert Nkemdiche, Other Notable Pick: Evan Boehm) – What was it with Ole Miss?  I can see a big fat probation for the Rebs this season.  Too bad since the players were all drafted lower than they should have been.  Nkemdiche was no exception.  Other than him and Boehm though, the Cards had a sub-par draft.

Seattle (First pick: Germain Ifedi, Other Notable Picks: Jarran Reed, C.J. Prosise) – I honestly think Prosise was a fantastic pick for the Seahawks.  Reed was also picked later than I thought he would go.  Other than that, a lot of meh for the Seahawks.

3 Mel Kipers (Things are going downhill)

Denver (First pick: Paxton Lynch, Other Notable Pick: Devontae Booker) – Lynch will be the quarterback of the future in the Mile High City and I wouldn’t be surprised if he turns out to be the best QB in this draft.  Booker was a solid pick (Denver and running backs…huh, who would have thought?).  But picking a fullback AND a punter in the same draft?  For shame Elway.

Dallas (First pick: Ezekiel Elliott, Other Notable Picks: Jaylon Smith, Dak Prescott) – Elliott was probably selected too high but there was no guarantee he’d be there for the Cowboys second pick.  Dallas’ pick of Smith was a nice touch and possibly the smartest move of the draft.  Dak could be sneaky good but the rest of the picks weren’t good at all with Darius Jackson and Rico Gathers back-to-back late being some of the worst in the entire draft.

New England (First pick: Cyrus Jones, Other Notable Pick: Joe Thuney) – The Patriots almost always end near the bottom of these team rankings.  I don’t think Belichick gives a single fuck about that stat either.  At least one of these not-so-notable picks will end up being an All-Pro one day.  We all know it.

Tampa Bay (First pick: Vernon Hargreaves, Other Notable Picks: Noah Spence, Roberto Aguayo) – The Bucs are getting a lot of shit for picking Aguayo in the second round.  Thing is the guy is cash money.  One of the best kickers of the past decade in college football.  However, it was the second round when he would have been available in the fifth I’m sure.  That and also picking a fullback means the Bucs land here.

2 Mel Kipers (Why did you show up again?)

Tennessee (First pick: Jack Conklin, Other Notable Picks: Kalan Reed) – When Mr. Irrelevant could be your best pick of the draft, you might have a problem.  I kind of wished the Titans kept trading and ended up with 20+ picks in next year’s draft.

Atlanta (First pick: Keanu Neal, Other Notable Pick: Deion Jones) – Their first pick was named Keanu and he wasn’t a white guy actor without facial expressions at all times.  I was disappointed.  I was also disappointed in the Falcons draft class.  Pretty crappy.

San Francisco (First pick: DeForest Buckner, Other Notable Picks: None) – If they hadn’t picked Buckner (who may have been one of the best two or three picks of the entire draft) then I might have put the Niners on the bottom.  You’d have though Jim Tomsula was still there acting like he had no idea what was going on.  But no, it was Chip Kelly.  So, close enough?

Cleveland (First pick: Corey Coleman, Other Notable Picks: Shon Coleman, Scooby Wright III) – So the Browns had like a thousand picks and could only get two good ones.  They missed on two better receivers early on and it just got worse from there.  But it is the Browns so I kind of expected it.

1 Mel Kiper (Complete and utter shitshow)

Kansas City (First pick: Chris Jones, Other Notable Picks: None) – Jones was a good pick and he looked very excited to become a Chief, even if Andy Reid is his coach.  But when Kevin Hogan is arguably your best pick after that, you should have just traded all your picks Ditka style and tried to get the top three picks next season.

Carolina (First pick: Vernon Butler, Other Notable Picks: None) – It’s like the Panthers weren’t even there.  No one notable picked, not even Butler really.  Just sad for Riverboat Ron.

Philadelphia (First pick: Carson Wentz, Other Notable Picks: None) – Hopefully Wentz doesn’t end up being the Ryan Leaf to Jared Goff’s Peyton Manning.  The rest of their picks were mediocre to fucking awful.  They have definitely shored up their special teams and practice squad needs though.

Detroit (First pick: Taylor Decker, Other Notable Picks: None) – The Lions were the dirt fucking worst of this draft.  That doesn’t bode well for a team that’s almost as sad as the Browns have been (historically).  Three of their final four picks are three of the absolute worst from the draft.  Drafting Jake Rudock at all is ridiculous with Vernon Adams on the board and I could see Dwayne Washington not even making the practice squad (and struggling to find an arena football or CFL gig).  Brutal.

So there you go.  Draft synopsis done.  It was actually more exciting than it had any right to be.  That has to bode well for the NFL (and college football really).  Any publicity is good publicity I guess.

Next up in the next couple months is the biggest games of the college football season, the start of the conference previews, predicted cable schedules, and perhaps a random post or two.  We are inching closer to the start of the college and NFL seasons people!

Mock Draft Five…FIVE? Yeah Five. Thanks a bunch Titans.

I wasn’t planning this I swear.  I was prepared to ride my draft prediction horse into the NFL Draft at the end of the month.  Then Tennessee decides to fuck things up TWO WEEKS before the draft.  Jerks.  It was a massive trade for sure and it’s obvious the Rams have decided that since they moved to Los Angeles they better do something good…unlike what they did in St. Louis since the early part of the century.

So I had to re-do my mock draft V 4.  I figured I could change a few picks and all would be well.  Nope.  Not even close.  That one trade had a pretty catastrophic effect on my entire mock draft, especially round one where many picks changed.

Here’s my brand-spankin’ new mock draft followed by a fun non-Buzzfeed-like list (you won’t believe bullet point number one!):

1	Los Angeles	Carson Wentz, QB, North Dakota State
2	Cleveland	Jared Goff, QB, California
3	San Diego	Laremy Tunsil, T, Ole Miss
4	Dallas	Jalen Ramsey, DB, Florida State
5	Jacksonville	Vernon Hargreaves, CB, Florida
6	Baltimore	Jack Conklin, T, Michigan State
7	San Francisco	Myles Jack, LB, UCLA
8	Philadelphia	Joey Bosa, DE, Ohio State
9	Tampa Bay	DeForest Buckner, DE, Oregon
10	NY Giants	Shaq Lawson, DE, Clemson
11	Chicago	Ronnie Stanley, T, Notre Dame
12	New Orleans	Noah Spence, DE, Eastern Kentucky
13	Miami	Darron Lee, LB, Ohio State
14	Oakland	Taylor Decker, T, Ohio State
15	Tennessee	Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Ohio State
16	Detroit	William Jackson, CB, Houston
17	Atlanta	Leonard Floyd, LB, Georgia
18	Indianapolis	Reggie Ragland, LB, Alabama
19	Buffalo	Sheldon Rankins, DE, Louisville
20	NY Jets	Paxton Lynch, QB, Memphis
21	Washington	A’Shawn Robinson, DT, Alabama
22	Houston	Derrick Henry, RB, Alabama
23	Minnesota	Laquon Treadwell, WR, Ole Miss
24	Cincinnati	Josh Doctson, WR, TCU
25	Pittsburgh	Mackensie Alexander, CB, Clemson
26	Seattle	Eli Apple, CB, Ohio State
27	Green Bay	Germain Ifedi, T, Texas A&M
28	Cleveland	Jarran Reed, DT, Alabama
29	Arizona	Kendall Fuller, CB, Virginia Tech
30	Carolina	Kevin Dodd, DE, Clemson
31	Denver	Connor Cook, QB, Michigan State
32	Kansas City	Corey Coleman, WR, Baylor
33	Tennessee	Tavon Young, CB, Temple
34	Dallas	Vernon Butler, DT, Louisiana Tech
35	San Diego	Andrew Billings, DT, Baylor
36	Baltimore	Will Fuller, WR, Notre Dame
37	San Francisco	Jaylon Smith, LB, Notre Dame
38	Jacksonville	Su’a Cravens, LB, USC
39	Tampa Bay	Maurice Canady, CB, Virginia
40	NY Giants	Robert Nkemdiche, DE, Ole Miss
41	Chicago	Christian Hackenberg, QB, Penn State
42	Miami	Jason Spriggs, T, Indiana
43	Tennessee	Le’Raven Clark, T, Texas Tech
44	Oakland	Keanu Neal, S, Florida
45	Tennessee	Justin Simmons, S, Boston College
46	Detroit	Michael Thomas, WR, Ohio State
47	New Orleans	Joshua Garnett, G, Stanford
48	Indianapolis	Cody Whitehair, G, Kansas State
49	Buffalo	Braxton Miller, WR, Ohio State
50	Atlanta	Chris Jones, DT, Mississippi State
51	NY Jets	Nick Martin, C, Notre Dame
52	Houston	Dak Prescott, QB, Mississippi State
53	Washington	Sterling Shepard, WR, Oklahoma
54	Minnesota	Vonn Bell, S, Ohio State
55	Cincinnati	Kenny Clark, DT, UCLA
56	Seattle	Javon Hargrave, DT, South Carolina State
57	Green Bay	Charles Tapper, OLB, Oklahoma
58	Pittsburgh	Yannick Ngokoue, LB, Maryland
59	Kansas City	Shilique Calhoun, DE, Michigan State
60	New England	Artie Burns, CB, Miami
61	Arizona	Darian Thompson, S, Boise State
62	Carolina	Shon Coleman, T, Auburn
63	Denver	Hunter Henry, TE, Arkansas

List (now with less Buzzfeed)

• Let me start with saying I do enjoy Buzzfeed sometimes. They have some cool lists at times.  It’s just the clickbait titles have gotten out of hand.  Soon I am sure they will have a link that says “NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS ORGY AT THE STADIUM!  YOU WON’T BELIEVE WHO SOME OF THE WOMEN ARE!” and it’s a list of pictures of Tom and Gisele holding hands in various parts of the stadium.
• The domino effect of that trade was insane. First of all, you almost HAVE to go all-in with quarterbacks at the top two spots now.  The Rams desperately want a quarterback and it is looking like Carson Wentz will be their guy.  At the two spot, the Browns aren’t picking Laremy Tunsil.  Not that their offensive line is awesome (apologies to Joe Thomas) but they also really want a QB.  So (Don’t Hassle the) Goff will probably go #2 to the Browns.
• What this means is that the guy who was the easy consensus first overall pick probably has no chance of being #1 now and that’s Laremy Tunsil. The Chargers would not pass a guy like that up so the domino effect continues.
• If you compared my previous mock draft that I did LAST WEEK with this one, it’s like I almost put every name in a hat and picked them out one-by-one. Here are just a few of the rather large changes (especially when we are considering this is a week’s difference):
  • DeForest Buckner dropped 5 spots (from 4 to 9)
  • Vernon Hargreaves moved up 7 spots (from 12 to 5)
  • Jack Conklin moved up 10 spots (from 16 to 6)
  • Noah Spence moved up 6 spots (from 18 to 12)
  • Darron Lee dropped 7 spots (from 6 to 13)
  • Ezekiel Elliott moved up 7 spots (from 22 to 15)
  • And that’s just for the current top 15!
• And now I hear rumblings that the Browns may do the unthinkable and trade out of the #2 spot. This could end up being one of the wildest draft days (well, as wild as a draft can get) in a long time.  I, for one, kind of hope the Browns do trade out just to see the added chaos it causes.  Just don’t do it until closer to the draft.  I don’t want to have to do a version 6.
• And finally, my apologies to Sheldon Rankins for excluding him from the previous mock draft. Don’t know how that happened.  I will blame it on global warming because why the hell not.

  The schedule is getting pretty close to completed.  The games are slotted in the proper weeks so by the end of May I will be starting the series of posts on the most important games of the upcoming season.  A little over four months away!  I hope it goes quick!!!

 

Mock Draft V 4 – Yeah I’m all in now

All in with quarterbacks that is.  I’ve taken the bait.  Who knows if I will be right (Spoiler Alert: probably not) but it’s kind of fun to just go with the trend and move quarterbacks up into the first round.  Fuck it, like it matters in the end.

Alright here are the first two rounds of mock draft number four with some fun-time notes afterwards:

1	Tennessee	Laremy Tunsil, T, Ole Miss
2	Cleveland	Carson Wentz, QB, North Dakota State
3	San Diego	Jalen Ramsey, DB, Florida State
4	Dallas	DeForest Buckner, DE, Oregon
5	Jacksonville	Myles Jack, LB, UCLA
6	Baltimore	Darron Lee, LB, Ohio State
7	San Francisco	Paxton Lynch, QB, Memphis
8	Philadelphia	Jared Goff, QB, California
9	Tampa Bay	Joey Bosa, DE, Ohio State
10	NY Giants	Shaq Lawson, DE, Clemson
11	Chicago	Ronnie Stanley, T, Notre Dame
12	New Orleans	Vernon Hargreaves, CB, Florida
13	Miami	Mackensie Alexander, CB, Clemson
14	Oakland	A’Shawn Robinson, DT, Alabama
15	Los Angeles	Eli Apple, CB, Ohio State
16	Detroit	Jack Conklin, T, Michigan State
17	Atlanta	Noah Spence, DE, Eastern Kentucky
18	Indianapolis	Taylor Decker, T, Ohio State
19	Buffalo	Laquon Treadwell, WR, Ole Miss
20	NY Jets	Reggie Ragland, LB, Alabama
21	Washington	Josh Doctson, WR, TCU
22	Houston	Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Ohio State
23	Minnesota	Corey Coleman, WR, Baylor
24	Cincinnati	Jarran Reed, DT, Alabama
25	Pittsburgh	William Jackson, CB, Houston
26	Seattle	Vernon Butler, DT, Louisiana Tech
27	Green Bay	Leonard Floyd, LB, Georgia
28	Cleveland	Kevin Dodd, DE, Clemson
29	Arizona	Kendall Fuller, CB, Virginia Tech
30	Carolina	Derrick Henry, RB, Alabama
31	Denver	Connor Cook, QB, Michigan State
32	Kansas City	Germain Ifedi, T, Texas A&M
33	Tennessee	Tavon Young, CB, Temple
34	Dallas	Andrew Billings, DT, Baylor
35	San Diego	Robert Nkemdiche, DE, Ole Miss
36	Baltimore	Joshua Garnett, G, Stanford
37	San Francisco	Jaylon Smith, LB, Notre Dame
38	Jacksonville	Su’a Cravens, LB, USC
39	Tampa Bay	Cody Whitehair, G, Kansas State
40	NY Giants	Michael Thomas, WR, Ohio State
41	Chicago	Christian Hackenberg, QB, Penn State
42	Miami	Le’Raven Clark, T, Texas Tech
43	Los Angeles	Nick Martin, C, Notre Dame
44	Oakland	Justin Simmons, S, Boston College
45	Los Angeles	Braxton Miller, WR, Ohio State
46	Detroit	Will Fuller, WR, Notre Dame
47	New Orleans	Chris Jones, DT, Mississippi State
48	Indianapolis	Vonn Bell, S, Ohio State
49	Buffalo	Jason Spriggs, T, Indiana
50	Atlanta	Kenny Clark, DT, UCLA
51	NY Jets	Dak Prescott, QB, Mississippi State
52	Houston	Cardale Jones, QB, Ohio State
53	Washington	Shilique Calhoun, DE, Michigan State
54	Minnesota	Keanu Neal, S, Florida
55	Cincinnati	Charles Tapper, OLB, Oklahoma
56	Seattle	Javon Hargrave, DT, South Carolina State
57	Green Bay	Yannick Ngokoue, LB, Maryland
58	Pittsburgh	Darian Thompson, S, Boise State
59	Kansas City	Adolphus Washington, DT, Ohio State
60	New England	Sterling Shepard, WR, Oklahoma
61	Arizona	Maurice Canady, CB, Virginia
62	Carolina	Emmanuel Ogbah, DE, Oklahoma State
63	Denver	Hunter Henry, TE, Arkansas

Fun-Time Notes

• We are now up to seven quarterbacks in the first two rounds. It seems more and more like Philadelphia and San Francisco are going to draft quarterbacks (and that they might trade up to get the one they want COUGH*Carson Wentz*COUGH).  Welcome Dak Prescott and Cardale Jones to the draft board everyone.  Two supremely talented college quarterbacks that could be, at the very least, decent backups in the NFL.  Plus they both like to run and have little regard for the safety of their own bodies.
• Will Tennessee trade the number one pick? It wouldn’t surprise me.  Saying that, I still believe Laremy Tunsil is a lock for the #1 pick unless the Eagles trade up into that spot.  That’s the only way someone who is pretty much Bizarro Tunsil (Wentz) could be drafted number one.
• I’ve dropped Joey Bosa to 9, Vernon Hargreaves to 12, and Noah Spence all the way to 17. This is more of other guys stepping up through their respective Pro Days rather than these three falling for any conceivable reason (although Spence didn’t exactly light it up at the Combine).

This has become very interesting.  I could see upwards of four trades involving the first ten picks which is unheard of.  Even more than one trade that early on makes the heads of the experts at ESPN and the NFL Network explode.  Mel Kiper might do laps.  Mike Mayock may chug an entire bottle of Jack Daniels.  It could get insane.  Or at least more so than it usually is.

You have just witnessed my last mock draft for the 2016 NFL Draft brought to you by Verizon (or some other massive corporation).  We are 17 days away now so unless something crazy happens, I am sticking with what I’ve got.  This year, I plan to switch it up and will watch the ESPN draft feed instead of the NFL Network broadcast.  Only fair since the last two drafts I watched mostly the NFL Network.  I’m assume it will be equal parts introspective, entertaining, and shitshow-like.

This will probably be my last post until after the draft.  I may throw down something great….who am I kidding, I know I won’t.  Working on the college schedule right now and am gearing up for the annual Most Important Games list which will come out possibly in late May if everything works out.