NFL Free Agency Day 2: AFC Arms Race

The NFL free agency period started Tueday and of course, a lot happened in the first week. We will be doing these sort of recaps until it starts slowing down. Enjoy.

Patriots Add Revis - The former New York Jet and Tampa Bay Buccaneer cornerback might be the most polarizing player in free agency. The reason is he did not take a massive deal from New England. All it took was a one-year deal with 12 million dollars meaning he could build off this season and have an even bigger payday in 2015. Revis trusts his game more than anyone in the National Football League, and this means bad news for the rest of the AFC where he returns after a year hiatus.

DeMarcus Ware joins Denver's party - Broncos have pushed their chips in, and they are ready to make a run again. Ware means they have a terrifying edge rush with Von Miller and Ware. People were trying to compare Philadelphia's 2011 offseason with what Denver has been doing in the past couple days. It is completely different. Denver had a team built and established, Philadelphia did not. Broncos are adding big ass pieces to their already great team. It is hard not to like any of their moves. 

Jets Deliver Decker - In the evening, Jessica James Decker tweeted 'So Excited!!!!!'  People thought it was a hint to what happened with her free agent husband, Eric Decker, but she claimed it had to do with her impending pregnancy. Well.... About two to three hours later, we learned Decker had a new deal to be New York Jets' number one receiver. I like the move. New York did not overpay him and gave him a standard deal. We actually get to see what Geno Smith's ceiling could be like now that he has at least one quality wide receiver. If New York could land James Jones, all the sudden New York has a potent wide receiving core. 

NFC North Foes Make Moves - Green Bay made a move that we will get to later today, but the rest of the NFC North made some moves. Let's start with the best one...

-Minnesota Vikings signed Linval Joesph whose a guy I thought maybe Green Bay should take a look at for a 3-4 end. Instead, Joesph plays a 4-3 defensive tackle for Mike Zimmer and Minnesota where he should have an impact, but what about Shariff Floyd?  We ignoring they drafted him last season.

- Detroit inked up Golden Tate which is perfect as he fits right in with the culture there. Not sure if Tate will have the impact people are assuming he will have being Calvin Johnson's number two. He did have nearly 900 yards last season, but Tate is very inconsistent in my mind.

- Chicago signed MD Jennings... wait why, why are you laughing?   

Rodger Safford... Still a Ram -  What a bizarre change of direction for St. Louis offensive lineman Rodger Safford as he was a Raider, and we had the opinion that he got signed to a big deal by Oakland then the Raiders owner decided 'HAHAHA JK LOL GUYZ' and failed his physical.  Safford re-signed with St. Louis which could end up being an okay move. Safford is not great and does not stay healthy, but he is still a young offensive lineman. 

Lovie Smith hates young quarterbacks - This makes zero sense as Tampa Bay signed Josh McCown and announced that he will be their starting quarterback. Does Lovie Smith get his rocks off by having a journeyman quarterback lead his team?  Mike Glennon was not a bad quarterback for his rookie season and now he gets put on the bench for Josh f-----' McCown. I realize he played well last year, but my goodness, he is not that good.  I do not like this start for Tampa Bay's offense.

Charlie. 

NFL Free Agency Comes Out Hot.

The NFL free agency period started yesterday and of course, a lot happened in the first day. We will be doing these sort of recaps until it starts slowing down. Enjoy.  

Denver makes a statement - Broncos were embarrassed in the Super Bowl six weeks ago, and it is pretty clear they are pissed off about it. They add T.J. Ward to bolster their secondary and getting a big hitter to add some toughness. Even if Ward was the only signing of the day, Denver would be on the rise a bit, but then they add Aqib Talib shoring up the Broncos secondary issues. I am not sure about the contract they gave Talib. Remember Tampa Bay chased him out by releasing him mid-season, and New England revitalized his career so are we sure it will continue with Denver? I do not think it is a given we will see the same things from Talib as we did with New England, but right now, adding Talib and Ward plus possibly getting DeMarcus Ware up front looks like a dream team defense.

#SAINTSCLAUSE - One of the more cash-strapped teams in all of the National Football League going into the free agency period was New Orleans Saints. The assumption would be they stay silent during this period and make some little moves. NOPE. Saints blew the door open by signing Jairus Byrd to a six year 54 million dollar deal with a stunning 28 million dollars guaranteed.  I started saying New Orleans got a special clause to get the money to work, but in reality, Saints will move a ton of money plus possibly cutting a couple notable players. New Orleans' secondary has officially become scary with Kenny Vaccaro and Byrd plus two solid corners. I will be interested to see how Byrd handles the bright lights after playing for Buffalo for multiple years.

Packers miss out on Houston and Jones - Who knows what Green Bay's involvement was with these two players, but they expressed interest in both Lamarr Houston and Arthur Jones for defensive line help. Houston went to Chicago for 35 million over five years where he will replace Julius Peppers spot, and like I thought, he would probably prefer to stay in the 4-3. Jones is a young up and coming player that heads to Indianapolis for a little over six million dollars a year. Jones with Robert Mathis will be a scary combination. I would not fret about things Green Bay. They are panicking because many teams around them are making moves yet the season is not won on Day 1 of Free Agency (CLICHE, DRINK).

Southern Style Free Agency - One of the big narratives of Day 1 is how Tampa Bay, New Orleans and Atlanta spent a ton of money while Carolina saw some dudes leave, other retire and just twiddled their thumbs. Atlanta is moving to a 3-4 which reflected their signings adding Paul Soliai and Tyson Jackson for their defensive line.  I don't really know about Jackson, but I definitely think Soliai could do some things in an attempt to rebuild Atlanta's defense. Tampa Bay added Michael Johnson to provide off the edge rush, added a defensive tackle Clinton McDonald and Alterraun Verner at cornerback meaning it is curtains for Darrelle Revis. It is evident Lovie Smith wants more of 'his guys' versus the old regime trying to take this team back to the playoffs.

Johnathan Martin moves to San Fran - I am not sure if Johnathan Martin will be a factor for San Francisco. I know why it is a big story, and the fact he gets to come back to the Bay Area where he played college football plus playing for his college coach. Out of college, people were critical of Martin's toughness and felt like he did not really have a mean streak in him. This is a big deal for him to move on, but for him being an NFL athlete, there is nothing really to discuss until we see how Martin does on the field.

Safety Day - Besides Ward and Byrd, four other safeties made changes to different teams. Donte Whitner heads to Cleveland to replace Ward, San Francisco gets Antoine Bethea from Indianapolis to replace Whitner. Philadelphia added Malcolm Jenkins which in comparison to the other guys looks like Taco Bell compared to eating at four or five star restaurant.

Um Oakland - I wish I could tell you what Oakland Raiders were doing on Day 1.  They lose out on Jared Veldheer to Arizona and they replace him with Rodger Saffold who did not really pan out tackle, more so a guard but it appears he is heading back to tackle with Oakland. They also added Austin Howard from New York and he might be a better signing than Saffold because he is a raw talent. There is a greater chance he could really become something for this team or fizzle out quickly making 2013 just an aberration.

Charlie.

Seahawks Dominate in first Super Bowl Victory

Growing up in the 90's, I remember my parents telling me as I started to understand football, 'Super Bowl is
the biggest game of the year, but usually, it is not as good as some of the other ones.' What they said held true as many games were blowouts and out of reach by the fourth quarter. Since 2000, there were only a couple games where blowouts happened yet all in all, most games had been close and entertaining as hell. The game on Sunday was not. Seattle destroyed Denver, 43-8, in a rout of all senses of the word as Seattle came up big defensively once again, their offense and special teams added big plays plus why this was the only way Peyton Manning's legacy could get hurt.

Seattle's defense is the most feared in the National Football League. Seahawks made their team with unorthodox players and made it work to the best of their abilities. Legion of Boom along with mean pass rushers. Seattle's defense could have won MVP as a unit as Deadspin's Barry Petchesky pointed out this morning. This team had everything working against one of the best quarterbacks of all-time. I felt like Kam Chancellor set the tone early on with a huge, clean hit on Demaryius Thomas in the first couple plays of the game. They harassed Manning all game long with big rushes from Cliff Avril and others forcing a couple Manning turnovers.

One of the game-changing plays was Malcolm Smith picking off a pass returning for a touchdown. People forget Smith made the interception when Richard Sherman deflected the ball against Michael Crabtree in the NFC Championship Game. Manning had drove Denver down to the 40 yard line with the Broncos down 15-0. Even though it was 3rd and 11 when Manning threw the pick, it seems like they would at least get a field goal attempt out of this drive. Yet Smith picked him off an errant throw that Avril disrupted leading to Seattle being up by 20+ points, something no one saw coming at 5:25 pm on Sunday.

Russell Wilson is a young quarterback. People forget this because he acts like a 10 year veteran. He could have played out of control and seemed too big for the moment although that did not happen. Wilson played great on Sunday with a great game including two touchdowns. Darrell Bevell, Seattle's offensive coordinator, called a great game for Wilson early on. He did not have him do too much and stayed consistent with short runs. Given Marshawn Lynch was not really a factor on Sunday, Seattle needed Wilson to be resilient and he did just that on Sunday.

Seattle gave up a lion's share to get Percy Harvin on their team giving three draft picks. He only played three games this season, but he made it count on Sunday with a tremendous all-around performance. On the second play of the game for Seattle's offense, Harvin ran a fly sweep going for 30 yards immediately pushing the Seahawks down in scoring position. As the second half was set to begin with Seattle having a 22-point lead, Denver tried to keep the ball away from Harvin and did not work as he scooped up the ball near the ten taking it to paydirt to lead off the second half. This was the exclamation point in the Seahawks ass-kicking of Denver, and Harvin made sure Seattle would win this game.

I wrote on Monday that this game would have nothing to do with Manning's legacy unless he has a horrible game. By numbers, Manning did not have a horrible game as he threw for 280 yards and had 34 completions, a Super Bowl record, yet this felt like a horrible Manning game. The reason being is he threw a pick-six changing the outlook of the game as well as turn the ball over early to ensure Seattle's first touchdown of the game. He was responsible as anyone for this game being 22-0 at halftime. While he could not helped Harvin's kick return or Thomas' fumble, Manning struggled mightily for the first time this season leading to an offseason of questions.

Final thought on this game is there was nothing clearer than the NFC being the better conference than the AFC. Seattle-San Francisco felt like a Super Bowl game versus this one. AFC all year lived off smoke and mirrors of some of the better teams with bigger names than anyone in the NFC. Seattle's dominance will be remembered for a long time, and finally after 35 years of ineptitude, Seattle has a championship for the Pacific Northwest.

Charlie.

Sportandfashion-news Super Bowl Preview: 9.) Seahawks-Broncos Prediction

Yes, Super Bowl week is finally here. We will be sick of everything by Friday night yelling PLAY THE DAMN GAME, but it is only right to be excited about it for the first couple days. As we have done in years past, we will be numbering our Super Bowl coverage and then posting a big link dump on Saturday so you have it all at your fingertips before the big game. 

We have finally made it to the prediction time. I mean I could do it in one swift motion and make a quick prediction yet I am not about that life. At the very least, I need to put out some analysis as to who can be difference makers in this game. I a this is stuff are blatently obvious while a couple of them are not really talked about much at all deserving more credit.  

Peyton Manning is the biggest player in this game. No matter how much Richard Sherman talks or Marshawn Lynch does not, Manning is the biggest player in the game. If he were to have 350 yards with four touchdowns against Legion of Boom, one of the best secondary groups, it would be one of the greatest Super Bowl performances of all-time. The question is how will Manning get to 300 yards? It will not be with the deep ball rather delivering body blows throughout the game. 

Deep balls should not be a part of Denver's game on Sunday. Unless Manning truly believes Demaryius Thomas can get past by Sherman and others, there is no reason for him to unleash the cannon against this secondary. Eric Decker should be heavily involved with the slot more so than Wes Welker. Decker is a big dude that can handle the physicality of Seattle's secondary while I do not believe Welker can handle Seattle's secondary. Any of the loaded Broncos stable of receivers can be factors in the game yet it need to be executed right with them grinding them to core. 

There is a little too much being made about Denver's ability to stop the run. Terrance Knighton has been a revelation in the last couple of weeks, but do people realize Marshawn Lynch gives no shits how good a team is against the rush. It is rare Lynch gets shut down, and the added motivation from all of the hoopla from this week will drive him. LaGarrette Blount is not Marshawn Lynch, let's get that straight right now. Denver's rush defense has given up 15 touchdowns which ranks 23rd overall in the NFL. This tells me Denver does not excel at the goal line or tackling at times. Also worth nothing, people do not run ball very much on Denver. Why that is, probably due to a weak secondary and a better rush defense, but they have not seen a player like Lynch.  

Seattle does not have a group of receivers like Denver, but they can have a massive impact on this game. Let's remember Percy Harvin will be a factor in this game. I cannot think of one player on Denver's secondary that can keep up with him. Chris Harris went out with an ACL injury two weeks ago. Champ Bailey cannot play the slot against this team with Harvin and will likely struggle dealing with Doug Baldwin Jr./Golden Tate, both quick receivers. While the rushing attack is Seattle's strong point, they could exploit this Denver defense with their quickness. Obviously, Russell Wilson needs to get them the ball to make this all happen but it seems like the opportunity will be there. 

As for Wilson, he needs to play in control early and often. People might forget given his poise and his demeanor that he is a two-year professional, not a 10 year veteran. If Russell comes out a little tight like he did against San Francisco, it could get ugly with Manning staring him down on the other sideline versus Colin Kaepernick and a team who had more trouble scoring than I have in the City of Milwaukee. This is the job of Darrell Bevell too as he needs to keep Wilson in situations where he is not taking risks at least in the first quarter. If he were to outplay Manning whether they win or lose, it would build to his legacy and might anoint him the best young quarterback which might be hyperbole to its highest degree. 

Defense wins championships no matter what the sport. That is something I have heard since the days of TGIF on ABC. Seattle is the better defense, and one that can make a play when they need it the most. Seahawks get it done on offense with a steady diet of Lynch and Wilson then a Kam Chancellor picking off Manning late to seal the game for Seattle.  Seahawks 30-24 

Charlie.  

Tapping The Keg Podcast: Episode 73

For whatever this is worth, I will file this under Super Bowl preview. As you can see SoundCloud has a new interface, let me know if you like it because they still have the old one as well. Personally, I LOVE it.  Mitch and I (Charlie) spend the first 10 minutes or so talking about the other stuff with the Super Bowl, food, halftime performance, etc. We spend the next 15-20 minutes on the Super Bowl itself breaking down Seattle and Denver's respective chances to win. Our discussion moves to the Bucks where we talk Giannis Antetokounmpo's 'Rising Star' nomination and a little NBA Draft talk. We discuss All-Star reserves as well before moving to some Grammy's discussion because why not? This podcast goes in about 17 directions, but really fun.

Charlie.

Sportandfashion-news Super Bowl Preview: 4.) Weather So Cold yet So Hot Right Now

Yes, Super Bowl week is finally here. We will be sick of everything by Friday night yelling PLAY THE DAMN GAME, but it is only right to be excited about it for the first couple days. As we have done in years past, we will be numbering our Super Bowl coverage and then posting a big link dump on Saturday so you have it all at your fingertips before the big game. 

Every year it seems like there is a stretch where people do nothing but talk about the weather. For us in the Midwest, it usually occurs when a big winter storm rolls in, on Monday and Tuesday of this week it was colder here than in Rome, Alaska or on the other side of the coin, when an unbearable heatwave happened in the dog days of summer. Hell even our friends in the Southeastern part of the state are dealing with unprecidented snowfall leaving major cities and states in flux. Weather is one of the main conversations about Super Bowl Sunday, and even though for the game itself, the topic is overblown, it brings up interesting points for the future.

For the game, the weather topic is much ado about nothing if it is just cold out there. 38 degrees will not really make the fan experience great, but for the game itself, people will not use 'Well if they played in the dome, this game could have been completely different.'  The only way Seattle-Denver's Super Bowl gets ruined if they have torrential downpours of freezing rain. Snow is not the worst thing because flurries do not really affect the game unless we have a situation like Detroit-Philadelphia this December. Freezing rain is the only thing where this game could get affected by weather. The whole idea of it just being 'cold' is another reason why Roger Goodell might be the Honey Badger and just not care about the fans or players, just the new opportunity.

In the first two days, this Super Bowl has went swimmingly. There have not been any complaints, and while the weather is cold, no real issues where the NFL's public relations staff needs to protect the shield. There are a few cold to coldish weather stadiums that could host a Super Bowl in years to come if Goodell wants to open that door. For example, two teams playing in this one could both be hosts as both would be great venues for a Super Bowl plus great cities. Washington D.C., Philadelphia and Baltimore all throw their name in the hat when it comes to 'colder weather' Super Bowl. Charlotte is another place where the Super Bowl could look to in the coming years. Basically if New York/New Jersey moves swimmingly, it opens the door for a many different options for the big game.

NFL is likely thanking their lucky stars the game is not in Atlanta. Currently, the biggest city in Georgia is dealing with two inches of snow and ice leaving cars stranded all over the highway. People had been waiting in their cars for over 12 hours. While I am not trying to trivialize something where deaths and injuries have happen,  more so a cold weather Super Bowl is not the worst thing during the week because these cities have the tools to handle bad weather. It is not Atlanta's fault whatsoever as this probably happens once every couple decades, but if this were to happen on a Super Bowl week, it would make it chaotic. Thoughts and prayers dealing with it though. Could not imagine trying to deal with snow when it is a complete rarity because it is a complete hassle even when I deal with it weekly.

I said this last year in preparation for last year's Super Bowl, but the weather gave us something else to talk about this game. Thankfully, Seattle-Denver is one of the better on paper Super Bowls of recent memory, but if this Super Bowl was a dud in terms of the teams, they would have added the weather as a main topic which the NFL has not really ever had during Super Bowl week.

Charlie.

Sportandfashion-news Super Bowl Preview: 3.) It's about Wisconsin, not Bret Bielema

Wisconsin Badgers football is known for pumping out solid National Football League players, but more so, they are the ones behind the scenes also known as offensive lineman. Sure they have a great deal of successful college running backs, but most of them, if not all of them, have failed to live up to expectations.  Wisconsin football produces many great cogs to important units but rarely do they produce a recognizable player to the casual fan.

Houston Texans defensive end JJ Watt is one of the few that come to mind. Recently, Russell Wilson and Montee Ball are two more, and both will play an active part in the Super Bowl this Sunday where 75+ million people will hear where they went to college, the University of Wisconsin (In Wilson's case, North Carolina State too, but you get the point). It should be about the school, but currently, their former coach now at Arkansas, is trying to make it about himself versus the university.

Best of luck to these four Uncommon men next week #BeUncommon pic.twitter.com/43IhSefFaQ
— Bret Bielema (@BretBielema) January 22, 2014

This is a recruiting tactic without question, and something Bielema needs to do with National Signing Day being a mere month away with some change. Additionally, SEC more than any conference in America wants to show their recruits that their coach can get them to the National Football League versus another coach in the SEC. Frankly, it is dumb luck Bielema has four players in the Super Bowl. If New England and San Francisco were the two teams in the Super Bowl, want to guess how many former players Bielema would have in the Super Bowl?  Zero.

I would be curious to hear Ball, Wilson, Chris Margos and O'Brien Schofield's thoughts on Bielema promoting these guys to a program that is not Wisconsin. These guys do not have any ties to Arkansas football. There is a complete understanding that this is 'recruiting 101', but at the same time, there is a sense of exploitation by Bielema here. Interesting enough, Bielema retweeted information about Chris Borland, a guy whom only played three years under him, not even the full four which might be even more awkward seeing as he really did shine as a 3-4 linebacker this season.

All of this being said, it is a great stage for Wisconsin Football and Bielema to a smaller degree. For the first time ever, a Wisconsin quarterback will lead a team into a Super Bowl. It is crazy to think with all the great running backs Wisconsin produced over the past two decades that Ball will be the second running back to be in a Super Bowl with Ron Dayne getting there as well his rookie season. It is always important for an university's football team to have star players in the NFL. It builds the brand more than anything else because the pitch can be 'At Wisconsin, you can be the next Russell Wilson/JJ Watt/Montee Ball.' And that's why this is so important to Madison.

For the former coach, he needs to reflect on the glory days because right now, Alex Collins is his only saving grace at Arkansas.

Charlie.

Sportandfashion-news Super Bowl Preview: 1.) Peyton Manning's Bizarre Legacy

Yes, Super Bowl week is finally here. We will be sick of everything by Friday night yelling PLAY THE DAMN GAME, but it is only right to be excited about it for the first couple days. As we have done in years past, we will be numbering our Super Bowl coverage and then posting a big link dump on Saturday so you have it all at your fingertips before the big game. 

Peyton Manning will go down as one of the most revered quarterbacks of National Football League history. Many people will point to his statistics as well as his overall regular season success, and will see him as one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game. But the weird part about Manning is his noted playoff struggles that has only yielded one Super Bowl win in two appearances. People act like Manning's legacy will somehow be downgraded if he only wins one Super Bowl versus winning multiple ones. This is not accurate as Manning is playing with house money at this point of his career.

With the media today where everything is about 'now', people almost forget Manning won a Super Bowl against Chicago nine years ago.  The attitude is Manning is in a must-win situation this Sunday against Seattle Seahawks. It is not like he is Dan Marino here at the end of his career. It reminds me a great deal of Brett Favre in 2007 and 2009 where he already had one Super Bowl, but the importance of the second one put him in some other realm. The sole fact Manning will be in three Super Bowls no matter the result is impressive and deserves to be mentioned when people bring up the debate of the 'greatest quarterback.' Getting there is almost as hard as winning the Super Bowl.  Manning doing it with different teams, three different coaches deserves some credit.

Another big part of why this game does not matter for Manning's legacy is his near career-ending neck injury. There were people whom believed Manning would not be on a football field again after his neck injury cost him to miss the 2011 season. There were another group of people whom felt like even if Manning returned to the field, he would never be the same player. Denver's quarterback defied the odds of everyone, and put together two of the more stunning displays of passing in NFL history (Granted all of these stats will be inflated like home runs in late 90's in MLB, but I digress). People seemingly forget Manning suffered a serious injury and came back better than ever.

The only way a dent develops in Manning's legacy is if he plays an awful game on Super Bowl Sunday. If Manning throws three or more interceptions, fails to complete 50 percent of his passes and fumbles the ball away, I think people will point to that performance more so than his Super Bowl win due to the immediacy and everyone remembers a player's worst game versus their best one especially at a stage as humongous as the Super Bowl in New York/New Jersey area. Not to mention, the social media world likes to be assholes versus nice humans so there's that too. Manning playing poorly versus Manning's team losing the game are two entirely different things. If the first one happens, the second one would likely happen as well, but if Manning goes out there with a 300 yard performance in a losing effort, the only people rushing to throw darts at the quarterbacks are the ones whom enjoy low-hanging fruit.

There is a part of me that Manning does not buy into anything I just wrote in this blog post. Rather Manning wants this win so damn bad making sure everyone would shut the hell up about his legacy. While he will never do it, Manning should just do about 10 D-Generation X crotch chops if he wins this game.  The win would mean Manning joins the multiple Super Bowl winners club with Tom Brady, Troy Aikman, Joe Montana and John Elway plus a couple others. That's important to him, and he wants to silence the doubters that still exist yet Manning should know he already has his legacy sealed, this is just the cherry on top.

Charlie.

Tapping The Keg Podcast Episode 72:

Tapping The Keg returns again with Mitch Pratt and Charlie Tritschler discussing all things sports related and then some. We led off with talking about the young Oklahoma State freshman whom went as Lisa Ann's date to the AVN Awards. We move on to tread lightly in a little bit of Super Bowl talk with Seattle and Denver before moving on to discussing the prospect of the Milwaukee Bucks new arena and new owner. From there, we talk about Kevin Durant's hot couple of weeks. The program finishes with Milwaukee Brewers talk ranging from Ryan Braun's appearance at Brewers On-Deck to a HEATED discussion about Lyle Overbay and Juan Francisco.

Manning Defies His Season in Denver's Big Win

For the last decade and change, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning arguably have the best individual rivalry in sports. It is about 'Who holds the key to the quarterback castle' along with other things. It pits two of the best going at it, and usually when they play against each other, you get their complete best. Denver delivered a dominating 26-16 win where they won by a lot more than actual score with Manning delivering a performance of a lifetime and New England finally ripping at the seams with all their injuries.

Maybe it is the media world we live in, or what happened last season but it felt like the pressure on Manning to win another championship was greater than ever before. He dropped the complete hammer on New England with a defining performance throwing for 400 yards only missing on eleven passes while completing over 30 and threw two touchdowns without any turnovers. Manning should have went with a Sam Cassell dance at the end of the game. Everyone talked for days, weeks, months about how Manning could not handle the big moment. Is this moment big enough or will he have to do it against the Legion of Boom for people to be impressed?  No matter what happens to this Denver team in two weeks, Manning should be recognized for his dominance of the American Football Conference all year.

I realize they give out the Most Valuable Player for individual performance during the regular season, but it really felt like this was Manning's game where everyone realizes why the Denver quarterback is taking home an MVP award next Saturday night. As well as realizing why he is one of the Greatest of All-Time in case anyone forgot over the last couple weeks.  One of the things that has bit him in the past was Manning making a mistake for doing a little bit too much. That did not happen on Sunday afternoon against New England. He utilized Eric Decker and Julius Thomas to the best of their abilities along with Demaryius Thomas whom had a huge day going for 134 yards with seven catches including a touchdown. Manning's ability to spread the ball around paid off big time.

Manning played great, and deserves every complimentary word about him yet Terrance 'Pot Roast' Knighton should get a ton of credit as well for paratolling the middle like one of the best defensive tackles in the league. Knighton came from Jacksonville in the offseason and is playingstrong in the last couple of weeks. After having three great games, Knighton played a part in shutting down New England's newfound rushing attack. LaGarrette Blount had only six yards on five carries making him completely obsolete. Knighton also made a key sack of Tom Brady on a critical fourth down play after he made a play to force it to a fourth down. Denver has their own injury issues this year, but the way Knighton played in the last six weeks has been a big reason why the Broncos had a resurgence on defense.

I would be remiss if we did not give New England some credit for the season they had this season. This Patriots team lost Vince Wilfork, Jared Mayo, Rob Gronkowski and countless number of others. New England still found a way to the AFC Championship. Bill Belichick did an excellent job with a team that snake-bitten throughout the season. Not to diminish what they have done, but this speaks to the futility of the AFC too. It is a night and day conference from the NFC. Peyton might love the conference, but it is nowhere near as good of a conference as the other conference.

Denver heads to their first Super Bowl since 1999 when John Elway went back-to-back, and it really confirms why the Broncos brought Manning to the Rocky Mountains. Even if they do not win the game, Broncos accomplished what they wanted to when Manning held up the 18 jersey. I cannot wait for Denver-Seattle. It is going to be a great one.

Charlie.

NFL Championship Weekend Picks

I cannot believe how annoying this week has been with the National Football League has been this week. People spent two days talking about what kind of pants San Francisco's coach wears for Christ sake. Those same folks talked about OMAHA, OMAHA for the entire week. People are asking Tom Brady and Bill Belichick about marijuana use in Denver. People are making ridiculous comparisons for Kaepernick versus Wilson. Needless to say, I am happy football will be here at 2:00 pm on Sunday. It is about damn time. 

New England at Denver 2:00 pm CBS - We all know about Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, and I promise we will get there shortly, but let's talk about the other pawns in this elaborate chess game. LaGarrette Blount is currently having a hot streak in the last several games, and become the key cog in New England's offense. Blount is a bruiser whom can wear Denver's defense down. New England could do many of the same things San Diego did the first time around. I think it would be foolish to not expect a big game from Blount. That being said, big ole Terrance Knighton has to be like his weight and be huge in this one. 

Knighton is having a breakout year for Denver manning the middle. It would be lazy and blogger-like to call him like Vince Wilfork, but honestly, he is having a Wilfork-like impact on Denver's defense. If there is one player on Denver's defense that can affect Blount running the football it is Knighton. He would be my defensive player to watch for the Broncos although I am willing to assume all eyes will be on Quentin Jammer as he fills in for the injured Chris Harris who is out with an ACL injury.  

Tom Brady has to be licking his chops with guys like Jammer and Champ Bailey playing in the secondary. Both are past their prime. These guys can be contributors on a good team, but they can be your starters especially when you are staring at Tom Brady. I understand the receivers Brady has right now are comparable to Taco Bell ground beef, but still, Brady found all sorts of ways to make it work despite the lack of talent. 

What is sort of lost on people when talking about New England is how good their cornerbacks are and if the officials let them play, I could see Peyton Manning have some issues and forcing some balls. To that point, Manning needs to be in control and look for shorter passes underneath to tear up the weak linebacker core. It is really not a game where Manning should be looking deep rather take his time and control the clock. 

In the end, I like New England. I feel like the Patriots are completely patch-worked but still know how to win this game. Blount becomes the key while Brady delivers some big plays taking advantage of a vulnerable secondary. NE 38-34  

San Francisco at Seattle 5:30 pm FOX - Did you know there is no love lost between these teams? Do you know these coaches do not like each other? Seriously, we all get it. Just like the Steelers-Ravens in 2010, we get the best rivalry going right now playing for the right to get to the Super Bowl.   

Russell Wilson is really the player to watch in this one. People hate saying bad words about golden child Russ, but he has not been in good in a month. He is essentially Alex Smith'ing or Trent Dilfer'ing his way through the playoffs. Wilson needs to come up with a couple big plays for Seattle to win this game. Not having Percy Harvin this week I actually think does not hurt as much as others might believe. They had to rework their offense a bit to get Harvin in on more plays, and now they are back to what they have been for the whole year.

One thing I noticed when watching a limited amount of tape is Colin Kaepernick tends to underthrow the football against Seattle. I assume this is a problem for him overall, but for whatever reason, Kaepernick still goes for the vertical option. Wilson is a game manager right now (I am not saying he is one for the record, rather that's what he is doing to help his team while he struggles if that makes sense), and Kaepernick needs to play that way as well. If he makes an early mistake, the demons of his struggles against Seattle with the 12th man will all return. If Kaepernick comes out blazing hot in this game, we could be in for quite the show from here plus it would probably put him on a special pedestal if he pulled off the upset.

The thing about Seattle's defense is I struggle to find a weakness for this team. Seattle did give up 300 yards of passing last week, but that was not indicative of how they played throughout the game. While with San Francisco, I am looking at how they struggled with Eddie Lacy earlier this playoffs and now face Marshawn Lynch, a guy whose been great against San Francisco in years past, seems like all sorts of trouble for San Francisco. The biggest thing for stopping Lynch is not letting him to get to the second level, and when the first hit happens, it needs to be the last one.  

I hope this game has some flow to it. I am worried we will get a lot of penalties, one team might take advantage early and not look back from it. I hope I am wrong though. I have Seattle in this game. I think Lynch is too much and Wilson will have his first big day in a long while. SEA 24-16 

Charlie.  

Tapping The Keg Podcast Episode 71

Mitch Pratt and Charlie Tritschler taped yet another podcast where this week we talk about the density of people using social media, preview both Championship games starting with New England-Denver and then San Francisco-Seattle. We move on to discuss Joel Embiid who is the new 'pop star' of college basketball as Charlie likes to call him. It continues on to a Milwaukee Bucks hypothetical and then a conversation about Larry Sanders which includes why Milwaukeeans need to get behind him. We finish up the podcast talking about the Clayton Kershaw deal which somehow leads us to some quick words on Australian weather. Enjoy!

Charlie.

Divisional Round Recap: Denver's New Look Ball Control Offense

The first three games in the divisional round playoff weekend went as planned with all of the favorites winning meaning San Diego-Denver game felt like the perfect recipe to screw it up. There is no way we could be #blessed to get Seattle-San Francisco and New England-Denver. But the Broncos made sure we get a dream final four by beating San Diego, 24-17, with a convincing win by Denver for three quarters with an efficient day from Peyton Manning, a slowed down Denver offense and how the fourth quarter would worry me moving forward.

Everyone wanted to see another bad Peyton playoff performance. I have no idea when it shifted from people sort of haphazardly defending Manning's struggles to everyone expecting him to succumb to the pressure. Manning is a great quarterback no matter if it is in the regular season or the playoffs. He did not press at all in the game, and Manning's interception really did not affect the game although it could have put the game out of reach early in the first game. Additionally, it was not the typical Denver performance where the offense moved up and down the field. They were a controlled attack giving San Diego a test of their own medicine.

The whole year San Diego has been known as a team who controls the clock and wears you down with Danny Woodhead, Ronnie Brown and Ryan Mathews. Denver basically decided to play copycat and used their own version with Knowshon Moreno and Montee Ball. Denver duo had 133 yards on 34 carries, and while they only averaged about four yards per game, they still slowed down the game to keep San Diego off the field. With the year Manning had this season, people forget this team can run the football at an above average level. Yesterday, they needed it more than ever. I think it controlled Manning putting him at a more relaxed state which is important to him and his success. This will need to be how Denver plays for the next couple of games if they want to win the Super Bowl.

If people forgot, or they decided to give in for a significant other, female roommate, sister, brother, male roommate who wanted to watch the Golden Globes Red Carpet, San Diego scored 17 points in the final quarter. People will probably not make much of it, but it should be one of the things that should scare the living hell out of Broncos fans. Remember Denver's coach is John Fox, and one of the biggest criticism of Fox throughout his Carolina years was his ability to turn into the biggest conservative play caller when his team has a big lead.  Fox showed that on Sunday, and in fact, he showed it when New England and Denver met for the first time. I realize this is not Fox's philosophy, but he really needs to put the foot down on the throat when they have a chance. Do not worry about the 'what if' and just finish the deal.  Broncos and Fox made it too close for comfort in the final quarter on Sunday.

The narrative shifts from 'Manning cannot win the big one' to 'Brady versus Manning' and the debate that comes with it. Manning has a chance to make it to his third Super Bowl while Brady could break a record for Super Bowl appearances with six. This will be a top notch football game, and you just hope conditions are perfect for a complete duel between these quarterbacks as this might be the last time we see it in the playoffs.

Charlie. 

Divisional Round Playoff Picks

Everyone knows the dream matchup for the following Sunday... It would be Seattle-San Francisco and Denver-New England. This would make any casual fan of the NFL go from six to midnight. I could not even begin to fathom the ratings for each of these games so then here lies the questions, 'Who is the team that royally screws this thing up?'  That is the question I have been wondering all week. I cannot just put my
finger on who it will be honestly.

Saturday
New Orleans at Seattle 3:30 pm FOX - Here is the first case where I think our dream matchup could get ruined and no one thinks this is possible. People will point to the unreal secondary of Seattle and for good reason, they are one of the best ever. New Orleans predicates an offense off passing, passing and a random Mark Ingram appearance like a wild Snorlax appearing out of nowhere. It seems like the Saints are pissed off people believe they cannot win on the road.  They already won in Philly, but no one thinks New Orleans can do it again. Head coach Sean Payton is certainly going down with a fight blowing out speakers to emulate the sound and having a Seahawks logo in their practice facility.  New Orleans needs to limit mistakes if they want to win this game. It bite them hard in the game against Seattle the first time around, and if they stay composed New Orleans can win this game.

Seattle on the other hand comes in fresh. Bye weeks have not been the best thing for teams in the last couple of years, but with how physical the Seahawks play, a week off could be useful. Even though Percy Harvin will be back this week, people are forgetting how bad Russell Wilson has been as the season closed out. Harvin might help him, but since the New Orleans game, Wilson has been less than stellar. Also remember Seattle's offensive line is one of the worst in the NFL in terms of pass-blocking and this Saints team can get to Wilson. I am taking the Saints. Maybe I am looking too much into this one, but Seattle seems ripe for the upset. NO 23-21

Indianapolis at New England (-7.5) 7:15 pm CBS - This is a game where I could see things either being a complete blowout by New England or getting really weird. The reason for the blowout is Indianapolis' defense is goddamn awful. They do not have much going for them besides Robert Mathis. It is like a band with a good lead singer and just a bunch of mediocre guitarists and drums. Even with the bad weather, Tom Brady and their three-headed rushing attack could have a big day.

 It could get weird because Indianapolis since Andrew Luck has been their quarterback only seems to win in the most bizarre fashion. It is never a clear cut victory; something crazy always has to happen. This would be a defining win for Luck's career if he is able to take down Brady in the playoffs.  He will need to be perfect. New England's defense might not be great, but their offense cannot get extra opportunities. When I look at this game, I think we are getting an Indianapolis team that will be 'just happy to be there' and not really believing they can win this game. Patriots in a big way. NE 38-20

Sunday
San Francisco (-3) at Carolina 12:00 pm FOX - You want to see some hitting?  This is your game. Colin Kaepernick struggled their last meeting with only throwing for 99 yards and a couple turnovers. He will have to deal with a jacked up Carolina crowd, but he at least gets Michael Crabtree this time around which should be fun against these Carolina. Kaepernick always seems to have a little extra for the playoffs, and I think he rectifies the poor start from earlier in this season. One thing that would worry me if I were San Fran would be Frank Gore. He could be wearing down, and while Carolina's stout rush defense is tough to get through, Niners still need some Gore yards.

As for the Panthers, they are a team with many people experiencing the playoffs for the first time. It is extremely vital Carolina comes out in the first quarter, and just plays Panthers football. If they come out tight, let San Francisco get the early advantage, it might be curtains for this team. Cam Newton will have the largest microscope on him, and he needs not to force anything. One thing that will help is the fired up fanbase of Carolina. These folks have not seen a playoff game in quite some time, and they will be ready to help out the team as much as they can.  I like San Francisco in this one. It seems like the Niners are the hottest team in the league, and I will ride them to another round. SF 16-14

San Diego at Denver (-10) 3:30 pm CBS - Ever think sometimes the criticism is so severe on the guy that he will say 'F--- it, let's give them something else to talk about.'? That's how I feel about Peyton Manning. I cannot remember a time where he received so much shit for not winning the postseason. I mean it is well-documented, but at the same time, this seems a bit excessive. I have a feeling this will be an iconic Manning performance. Even though San Diego seemed to improved defensively in the last couple weeks, I still think this is a below average secondary that Manning can exploit. The reason Denver loses this game will not be Manning rather the defense therefore I expect a close game, but seriously, Manning is going to put everyone on notice. DEN 34-30

Charlie.

Tapping The Keg Podcast Episode 70

Tapping The Keg podcast returns from a two-week holiday break. We had a fun show as Mitch and I (Charlie) missed each other. We recap New Year's Eve a bit as we spent it together and why it might be a sign we are getting old. Sports get started as we talk about the Green Bay Packers in terms of the San Francisco game as well as talk about the future of this team. We preview all of the divisional round games and why no one is trustworthy. We head back to Wisconsin sports chatting about what's left for Wisconsin sports fans since Green Bay is done.  The podcast finishes talking about Jameis Winston, Loul Deng and all sorts of other conversations.

Charlie.

Tap's Thursday Night Pick

We have come to an end with this blog post. It is the final Thursday night game for the National Football
League meaning this blog post ceases to exist. I mean we could do NBA games, but that's probably not in the cards.  People have said multiple times how much they hate Thursday night games, but honestly, I think finally players are starting to figure out how play on a short week. The last five weeks we have had close football games and they were played at a pretty high quality. I feel like this is an encouraging sign for the future of Thursday night games especially when NFL is flirting with the idea of a second Thursday night game.

I feel like we are at a juncture where Goodell is going to pull a Charlie Day and go WILDCARD BITCHES YEEHAWWWW with the schedule in the coming years. We already saw it with the 8:30 am game in London next year with Atlanta-Detroit.  I would be shocked if the NFL does not make a deal with Google to stream games on YouTube for a price of course. That is the great frontier right now. NFL is too smart to not recognize more and more people are not cable subscribers and they could make a massive deal with Google meaning even if someone owns say an XBOX 1 or Playstation 4, they can stream the game right from their video game. If they do not want to stream fully, it might be the Thursday games at very least.

Notice I said games because I do believe they will try to add a second Thursday night game although I have no idea how they would do the TV schedule. I guess one game would begin at 6 pm and the other one would be 9:15 pm meaning the second game will have to feature one of the West Coast teams at home. Although the other thing they could do is start the first game at 6 pm and the next one at 8 pm with the game saying the game will be shown on YouTube and then on the NFL Network when the first game is over. I am real interested to see where the NFL goes from here.

As for the game tonight pitting Denver Broncos (10-2) against the puzzling San Diego (6-7) with Broncos being a 7.5 point favorites at home in chilly Denver where temperatures are expected to be a low of 29. Peyton Manning will be able to exploit the San Diego defense, and even with Phillip Rivers' December record, I do not think they have enough to overcome the Broncos at home in a primetime game.
Denver 35 San Diego 24 

Charlie.