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. 

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.

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.