Pro Bowl Snubs

I looked at the list of players selected to the Pro Bowl this season and I'm extremely disappointed in the fans who voted. Actually, that's the understatement of the year, there were far too many players who more than deserved to go to the Pro Bowl that weren't voted in. I also see way too many players who don't deserve that honor. I'm going to list the players I felt were snubbed, and a second list titled "Prom Kings" because those are the players who were voted in due to their popularity and/or past achievements rather than how they performed this season.

Snubs: Alshon Jeffery, Chandler Jones, Muhammad Wilkerson, Rob Ninkovich, Kiko Alonso, Chris Clark, Lavonte David, Antrel Rolle, Ben Roethlisberger, Jurrell Casey, Orlando Franklin, Riley Reiff, Daryl Smith, Karlos Dansby, Mike Mitchell, Nick Foles, Danny Trevathan, Marcell Dareus, DeAndre Levy, Devin McCourty, Paul Posluszny, Julian Edelman, D.J. Fluker, and Stephen Gostkowski

Prom Kings: Logan Mankins, Patrick Willis, Trent Williams, Justin Smith, Tyron Smith, Jahri Evans, Ndamukong Suh, Marshal Yanda, Haloti Ngata, Darrelle Revis, Mike Iupati, Brandon Albert, Jason Peters, Cameron Wake, Eric Weddle, Kam Chancellor, Terrell Suggs, Justin Houston, Tamba Hali, Joe Thomas, and Matt Prater

The Pro Bowl is a joke anyways. The fans are the deciders and that means they choose the players on their favorite team or the players with the sexiest stats. Too many undeserving players were selected, as is the usual when Pro Bowl rosters are announced, which is why All-Pro honors are far more credible in my book.

Manning breaks single season touchdown record... again

Yesterday we witnessed Peyton Manning break the NFL single season record for touchdown passes... again! In 2004 Peyton threw 49 touchdown passes -- breaking Dan Marino's record of 48 which he set in 1984 -- then in 2007 Tom Brady threw 50 touchdown passes, eclipsing Manning's record. But having thrown his 51st touchdown pass of the season against the Texans yesterday, Manning set a new record yet again. Manning is having an MVP season. With one game left in the regular season, this is Manning's stat line: 67.4% completions, 5,211 yards, 51 TDs, and 10 INTs. Keep in mind he is 37 years old and has had four neck surgeries. There is no arguing that Peyton Manning is the best regular season quarterback to ever play in the Nation Football League. Hell, I'm starting to question whether or not he's even human. The season he is having is unbelievable. Without him, Denver wouldn't even be a contender. There defense is suspect and he is what makes this team so successful. This record is just another accomplishment in a hall of fame career.

*Stats courtesy of www.pro-football-reference.com

Six Things We Learned from Week 15

Week 15 provided fans with upsets (San Diego beat Denver, Miami beat New England, Pittsburgh beat Cincinnati, etc.) and blowouts (a league record 763 points scored on Sunday, via the Elias Sports Bureau). Here are six things we learned from the action in Week 15.

1. The Broncos won't reach the Super Bowl. I've been clamoring about this all season, you see, unlike most people I never thought that Denver was Super Bowl bound. Their defense isn't good enough and when the weather gets cold and windy and the moment is big, Peyton shrinks.
2. Jerry Jones needs to resign as General Manager. I'm really glad I'm not a Cowboys fan. To have an owner like Jerry Jones-- a businessman who thinks he understands the game enough to also be the acting GM -- must be difficult. The man is driving his team into the ground and they will never win another Super Bowl with him running the football operations. He needs to hire a real General Manager and allow that person to do their job, and he can stick to the business side of things (as owners are supposed to do!).
3. There are a handful of deserving candidates for Coach of the Year; Andy Reid, Bill Belichick, Sean Payton, Ron Rivera, and Marc Trestman are the top candidates in my opinion. And there's not much separating them, either. Andy Reid turned a 2-14 team into a playoff team with a chance of winning their division with some help from Denver. Bill Belichick has kept the Patriots atop their division despite losing several key players to injuries. Sean Payton has proven how important he is to the Saints' success after being suspended all of last season. Ron Rivera has turned the Panthers into playoff contenders with a chance to clinch their division. And Marc Trestman is a rookie head coach who has the Bears currently as the fourth seed.
4. Feature running backs aren't a thing of the past. While running backs aren't a high priority in the draft these days due to teams using multiple backs, some people have said that the days of the feature running back is dead. I would have to disagree. Take a look around the league and you'll find players like Adrian Peterson, Jamaal Charles, Marshawn Lynch, LeSean McCoy, Frank Gore, Alfred Morris, Matt Forte, Reggie Bush, and the list goes on. There are a lot of feature backs in today's NFL and even though we're in a pass-happy league where running backs aren't as highly coveted as they once were, the feature running back will never die.
5. The Cowboys should fine Dez Bryant for leaving the field early. With 1:21 left in the game, Green Bay's offense was in the victory formation (set to take a knee) and Cowboys' wide receiver Dez Bryant was seen headed to the locker room. That is just plain unacceptable. If the Packers were to fumble the snap and Dallas recovered, the offense would take the field and Bryant would be nowhere to be found. His excuse was that he didn't want to be seen crying. If that's the case he can put a damn towel over his head. He has a history of letting his emotions get the best of him and Sunday was just another example of that.
6. RGIII is not a franchise quarterback. That's right, he is not a franchise quarterback. He possesses all the talent in the world but what he lacks is leadership and selflessness. He is a selfish player, making everything about him. He's more focused on his brand and doing what's best for him, rather than what's best for his team. Mike Shanahan was right to bench him and while he says the decision was made so that RGIII can go into the offseason healthy, I think there's more to it than that. In the long run, Washington would be better off with Kirk Cousins as their quarterback.

My 2014 NFL Mock Draft

Here's my first 2014 NFL Mock Draft! There will be plenty more where this came from.

1. Houston Texans- Teddy Bridgewater, QB, Louisville
2. St. Louis Rams- Jake Matthews, OT, Texas A&M
3. Atlanta Falcons- Jadeveon Clowney, DE, South Carolina
4. Minnesota Vikings- Derek Carr, QB, Fresno St.
5. Oakland Raiders- Cyrus Kouandjio, OT, Alabama
6. Jacksonville Jaguars- Anthony Barr, OLB, UCLA
7. Cleveland Browns- Johnny Manziel, QB, Texas A&M
8. Buffalo Bills- Khalil Mack, OLB, Buffalo
9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Taylor Lewan, OT, Michigan
10. Pittsburgh Steelers- Cameron Erving, OT, Florida St.
11. Tennessee Titans- Stephon Tuitt, DE, Notre Dame
12. St. Louis Rams- HaSean Clinton-Dix, FS, Alabama
13. New York Giants- Ryan Shazier, OLB, Ohio St.
14. New York Jets- Sammy Watkins, WR, Clemson
15. San Diego Chargers- Darqueze Dennard, CB, Michigan St.
16. Green Bay Packers- Jace Amaro, TE, Texas Tech
17. Chicago Bears- Louis Nix, DT, Notre Dame
18. Dallas Cowboys- Trent Murphy, DE, Stanford
19. Miami Dolphins- Cedric Ogbuehi, OT, Texas A&M
20. Arizona Cardinals- Greg Robinson, OT, Auburn
21. Baltimore Ravens- Mike Evans, WR, Texas A&M
22. Detroit Lions- Marqise Lee, WR, USC
23. Philadelphia Eagles- Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, CB, Oregon
24. Cleveland Browns- Cyril Richardson, OG, Baylor
25. Cincinnati Bengals- C.J. Mosley, LB, Alabama
26. Carolina Panthers- Allen Robinson, WR, Penn St.
27. San Francisco 49ers- Davante Adams, WR, Fresno St.
28. Kansas City Chiefs- Austin Seferian-Jenkins, TE, Washington
29. New England Patriots- David Yankey, OG, Stanford
30. New Orleans Saints- Justin Gilbert, CB, Oklahoma St.
31. Denver Broncos- Travis Swanson, OC, Arkansas
32. Seattle Seahawks- Eric Ebron, TE, North Carolina

Pats lose Gronkowski for the season

The Patriots' comeback win over the Browns was bittersweet. It was the third consecutive week in which they had won after trailing at halftime. But this time, they lost a crucial player in the process: tight end Rob Gronkowski. In the third quarter, Tom Brady connected with Gronkowski in-stride and immediately after the 6'6" 265-pound tight end pulled the ball into his body and turned his head up field he was hit low by Browns safety T.J. Ward. Personally I thought Ward made a clean and smart play. Had he hit Gronk up high, he risked being flagged for unnecessary roughness and -- as he said after the game -- being fined by the league. Also, Gronk is a big man who can break tackles and the way to prevent him from doing so is to tackle him at the legs. While some members of the media believe the Patriots' hopes of reaching the Super Bowl are depleted without Gronk, I strongly disagree. The Patriots played the first six games of the season without their All-Pro tight end and won five of those games. This offense isn't nearly as efficient or difficult to defend with Gronk out of the lineup, but let's not forget that Tom Brady is still the quarterback and he is the only player on this team that's truly irreplaceable.

Mike Tomlin fined, Steelers may lose draft pick

The NFL has fined Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin $100,000 and may deduct the team of a 2014 draft choice, for his actions during the Thanksgiving day meeting between his Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens, per www.nfl.com. Jacoby Jones took the kick off and was sprinting up the sideline on his way to quick six points, but not on Mike Tomlin's watch. The head coach was standing on the very edge of the sideline -- where the white chalk meets the green grass -- with his back towards the action and his right foot was actually in the field of play. Jones was sprinting up the sideline with Steelers defensive back Cortez Allen in pursuit. Then, Tomlin pulled his foot inbounds but did just enough to force Jones to redirect and slow down, allowing Allen to make the touchdown saving tackle (with the assist going to Tomlin). He says that it was unacceptable for him to do what he did but claims it was not intentional. I don't buy that at all. He's the head coach, why would he not be watching what's happening on the field? His attention wasn't diverted to anything game-related. It was as if he was daydreaming as he listened to the person on the other end of his headset. Plus, the grin on his face after the fact just tells you all you need to know about his intentions. If you haven't seen the footage, go to YouTube and watch it, and form your own opinion.