Any Good American Needs to Celebrate the Philadelphia Eagles

Not once, but twice I have found myself rooting for the Philadelphia Eagles this year. First was the Super Bowl, when they defeated the New England Patriots, thus not only winning for their city, but for the majority of NFL fans out there. Now, I cheer for them because of what they have made that repugnant, disgusting, racist, amorphous blob that currently resides in the White House release yesterday.

In a statement, the "president" (not my president), rescinded their invite to the White house today to celebrate their Super Bowl win. Every team, pretty much every year, that wins a title in a major sport goes to the White House to celebrate. This is supposed to be a big deal. It is supposed to be an honor. It is supposed to be something that we all see and say, hey, these athletes did something special. But, ever since that racist, pile of garbage, dip shit of a person took over as "president", more and more title winning teams are refusing to go and visit him and his cronies, and it is getting under his skin now. Sure, the Cubs went last year, but no one of real importance was there, with the exception of Joe Maddon, and he looked absolutely miserable. And yeah, the Penguins went a year ago, but hockey is stupid, and who really cares. But, the Warriors didn't go last year. The UNC Tarheels skipped their trip a year ago. I'm pretty sure Villanova won't be visiting any time soon. And now we have the Eagles. It was pretty much common knowledge that none of them were going to go. Well, scratch that, I think less than 10 of the players on the roster were willing to visit.

When you look at some of the guys on the team, you knew they wouldn't go and give that monster the time of day. Malcom Jenkins is one of the biggest protesters in the NFL, and he also happens to be a big time guy in the NFLPA, and we all knew he wouldn't go. Same with Chris Long. He has been very outspoken about his political beliefs, and I love that. He also played this past season, and he gave all of the game checks he made to random charities. That is a true American. I know Nick Foles had zero intentions of going to the White House after the Eagles won. He said as much. And I'm pretty sure guys like Brandon Graham, Jay Ajayi, Legarette Blount, Corey Clement, Alshon Jeffrey, hell, 99 percent of the roster, had no real intentions of going to see those pricks in D.C. As I said, they have been very outspoken on how much they despise and are concerned by what is going on in Washington, and I love that about them.

So, for this piece of white trash to come out and basically say, I'm taking my ball and going home, or you were never invited in the first place, shows how immature and unfit he is for the position he cheated his way into "winning". If I've said it once, I have said it a million times. You cannot rescind an invitation that was already declined. The Eagles, the majority of them that is, already came out weeks, hell, months ago and said they wouldn't go. Now, this nonsense comes out. Oh, and for Fox News to put that story out that they did, the one with a picture of Zak Ertz kneeling and praying before a game, saying he was protesting, do your god damn research. Even me, a blogger from Saint Louis, knows that he prays before every game. How can an entire company be so off base? And good for Ertz to come out and chastise them and call them "fake news", which is their favorite term to use. Mad props to him for going public and letting them know that they were wrong.

You can see how all of this is starting to really goad the "president" and his cronies. They are really starting to lose their shit because famous pro athletes, that win without cheating, are not going to "kiss the ring". They want to stay as far away from all that nonsense as possible. They don't want to be seen with that "person". They loathe him and what he has done in less than 2 years. This is what a racist deserves. They don't need to be praised, they need to chastised. They need to be held accountable for their wrong doings. They need to be shunned. They need to be shown for the monsters they are.

To really hammer home their point, that athletes are people too, both LeBron James and Steph Curry came out today and said that neither team, whichever one wins the NBA Finals, will be visiting the White House any time soon. LeBron went out there and spoke his mind once again, and much like the Eagles players, I love him for that, Steph too. Kids are seeing this. My kids are seeing this, and seeing that they can stand up to bullies, and that makes me so very proud.

I hope star athletes and more famous people continue to speak their minds. We are fed up. There are monsters "running" the country right now, and we need more and more people to continue to speak their minds. Thank you Steph, LeBron, and most importantly for today, the Philadelphia Eagles. Thank you for what you are doing. You are the real patriots. You are the real Americans.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He wants all Eagles players and fans to know they are welcome at his house anytime. Just please leave the batteries at home.

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Ty Ranks the 2016 NFL Teams: Perfectly Cooked Porterhouse Edition

Now, for the final four. I legitimately believe, nor would I be surprised, if any one of these teams won the Super Bowl. Hell, two of the final four may end up playing each other. These teams are the best of the best. They have the best players, the best offenses, the best defenses, they have it all. These the elite.

At number 4, I have the defending Super Bowl champs, the Denver Broncos. The Broncos defense is so incredibly good, but since I've started with offense the whole preview, I'm not going to change now. Sure, Peyton Manning retired, and sure, he is a first ballot hall of famer, but he was the not the reason the Broncos won the Super Bowl. He played very, very poorly last year. They won in spite of him. Now that he is gone, they do have a question at QB. They traded for Mark Sanchez, why would anyone do that, and they have Trevor Simien on the roster, but he wasn't even good enough to be the primary QB at Northwestern, but they did draft a QB, Paxton Lynch. I wasn't high on any of the QB's in this draft, but Lynch is one of the taller ones, he has an okay arm, and he can run. But, the Broncos don't need an all world QB, they just need a game manager. I'm sure Sanchez will start the season as QB 1, but I bet by week 4 or 5, Lynch will be in there. The Broncos running game was supposed to be good last year, but it was non existent. CJ Anderson and Ronnie Tillman were supposed to be a great 1-2 punch, but neither of them did much of anything. They were mediocre last year, but I expect some kind of bounce back. The Broncos do have great receivers. Emmanuel Sanders and Demaryius Thomas are both great, even though Thomas drops a lot of balls, but they don't have a good QB throwing to them. They will get open, but will the QB, whoever it is, get the ball to them. The o line is just fine at pass blocking, but their run blocking needs to get better. Now, where the Broncos shine is defense. They are one of the best defenses in the history of football. They absolutely stifled the Patriots and Panthers on their way to the title last year. Von Miller is probably the best linebacker in football. He is a great pass rusher, run stopper and can cover. He is the total package. They lost Danny Treveathan, but that won't hurt them that much. When Aqib Talib isn't getting into mysterious bar fights, he is a great shut down corner. He plays dirty, but he has found a way to get away with it. Bradley Roby is a ball hawk. If he has a chance at a pick or a fumble recovery, he will get there. He is always in the right place at the right time. DeMarcus Ware is a beast off the edge. He is unblockable, and the best thing for him was getting out of Dallas and going to Denver. And TJ Ward and Chris Harris are exceptional defensive backs. The Broncos defense is loaded, and they will once again carry the to a division title and a deep playoff run. I think they finish 12-4.

At number 3, I have the New England Patriots. I know that Tom Brady is suspended for 4 games, but they won when he got hurt and Matt Cassell was the QB. Jimmy Garrappolo is better than Matt Cassel. He will keep them afloat until Brady gets back, and when he does get back, Brady will be on a mission. Goodell poked the bear, and the rest of the NFL is going to suffer for it. The Patriots don't have much of a running game, which is their Achilles heel. Dion Lewis and Legarrette Blount are fine, but they are not even middle of the field in the NFL. But, the Patriots have receivers all over the field, and they have the best weapon in all of the NFL in Gronk. Yeah, Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola and Chris Hogan are fine. But, Gronk is the man. He catches everything, he is unguardable, he is the best red zone threat in all of the football and he is the biggest and fastest player to ever play his position. They also got Martellus Bennett to pair with him as well. That will be deadly. The Patriots o line needs work, but the speed that Brady gets the ball out of his hand, that neutralizes any deficiencies I think they have. The Patriots defense is serviceable. The can get stops when they need to and they can get pressure. I know Rob Ninkovich just got hurt, but he will be back by October. They did sign Chris Long this offseason. That was a huge, yet very quiet singing. Chris Long is awesome. They still have Malcolm Butler, and he is a very good corner. Jamie Collins and Dont'a Hightower are still roaming the linebacker duties, and they are both good. The Patriots, as they have been the entire 21st century are good. They may not miss Brady all that much for the first four games, and when he comes back, look out, he will be on a mission to destroy. I say they split the first four games, then win 11 of the next 12 and finish at 13-3.

At number 2, I have the Arizona Cardinals. This is the Cardinals last chance with this team to make a deep run, but they have the talent to do just that on both sides of the ball. Carson Palmer is a very good regular season QB. He puts up big numbers and plays very well, during the regular season. He is a perennial pro bowler and even pops up in the MVP conversation from time to time. But, in the post season, he is a different QB. He looks flustered and makes way too many mistakes. they got whipped in the NFC Championship, and I believe he had 6 turnovers in that game himself. Maybe this is the year he rights the ship. David Johnson proved to be a very good running back last year. He is like a bowling ball. He runs low to the ground, carries tacklers and gains the tough yards. They also have a resurgent Chris Johnson. He looked like his old self at times last year, and that should scare their opponents. The run game in Arizona is solid. Then, they have one of the greatest receivers of all time in Larry Fitzgerald. This guy has done everything and then some for this team. He is the consummate teammate and pro. There is not one bad thing I will say about Larry Fitzgerald, he is great. And if Michael Floyd can stay healthy, they have a great 1-2 punch with him and Fitzgerald. Floyd can stretch the defense with his speed and Fitzgerald does the dirty work. The Cardinals o line is very good. They do an excellent job of pass protecting and they open some huge holes for the run game. Arizona's defense is also very good. They have a great d line, led by Calais Campbell. They can stop the run and sack the QB. They have decent linebackers that are much better run stoppers than cover guys. But they have two of the best secondary players in football in Tyrann Mathieu and Patrick Peterson. I personally think Peterson is the best corner in the game. He always guards the other teams best receiver and he usually shuts them down. He is also an excellent return man. Mathieu is a ball hawk and an extremely hard hitter. He loves to tattoo guys, and he will get some pick sixes and fumble returns for TD's. Being a defender, he has a nose for the end zone. I'm a big Tyrann Mathieu fan. Arizona is the cream of the crop in their division, and I say they win it going away with a 13-3 record.

Now for number one. I have the Carolina Panthers as the best team in football this year. They were the best team last year, and they only got better this offseason. They have one of the best QB's and athletes in the NFL in Cam Newton. Newton is huge, he is fast, he is accurate, he has a rocket arm and he makes the right decision always. Cam Newton is rapidly becoming one of the best QB's in the game. He has no flaws, except for his ego, but that is not a big deal. Then, they have good running backs in Jonathan Stewart and Mike Tolbert. they are both similar in the fact that they are bigger running backs and that they crush would be tacklers. They are great compliments to Newton. Then, the way they got better this offseason, Kelvin Benjamin returns from injury. He is so big and so fast and has excellent hands. He gives Newton the threat he needs on the outside. But, let us not forget Ted Ginn Jr and Devin Funchess and Cory Brown. All these guys stepped up last year in Benjamin's absence, and they all played pretty well. Then, they have Greg Olsen at tight end. He is so good, so durable and so reliable. The dude just puts up numbers and I think he is Cam Newton's favorite target. He gets a lot of red zone attention. The Panthers o line is the best in the NFL. They protect Newton, they open holes, they do everything and they do it all exceptional. This team is lethal on offense. Then on defense, they have some damn good players. Luke Kuechly is one of the best linebackers in the game. He is a sack and tackling machine and he is a very good cover guy. They also have Thomas Davis out there at linebacker, and he is right there with Kuechly is talent. The d line is great. Kawann Short, Kony Ealy and Star Lotulelei wreak havoc in the backfield. The secondary did lose Josh Norman, but they have guys that can do the job. The ageless wonder Cortland Finnegan is back there. And Leonard Johnson and Tre Boston are good secondary players. They are not Josh Norman, but I don't think the Panthers will be too hurt without him. The Panthers are exceptional and they should have won the Super Bowl last year, they just got outplayed. This team may flirt with perfection again, but I say they finish 14-2 and they will have a fairly easy road back to the Super Bowl.

That is my countdown of all 32 NFL teams. Come back tomorrow when I will pick my Super Bowl winner and award winners. And come back Friday for my college football preview.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He remembers the days of ESPN arguing for Blaine Gabbert over Cam Newton as Carolina's number one pick. Those guys at ESPN sure are smart. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.