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.

It is Time to Talk About What Peyton Manning has Done Wrong

Being a shill for bad pizza is one of many alleged crimes Peyton Manning should answer for.

Around this time last year, one or two weeks after the Super Bowl 49, all I heard about on ESPN and all other sports media shows was "deflategate". These outlets couldn't talk about this non story enough. ESPN itself has multiple channels that have sports programming 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and I'd venture to say that at least 10 to 12 hours, passed around all their channels, ran some kind of story related to "deflategate".

For those of you that forgot, "deflategate" centered around some under inflated footballs in a game that the Patriots won 45-7 over the Colts. I've written a bunch of stuff on this non story. It's stupid and pointless and it gives people another reason to hate on the Patriots. "Deflategate" is the most nonsensical story I've ever heard. Is it morally and ethically wrong? Yes. But, is it cheating? Absolutely not. Not even close. Go ask anyone QB out there and they will all say that they like to have the balls a specific way. When Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon was asked about this, he said he always had the ball boys take a little air out of the ball for an easier grip. When Aaron Rodgers was asked about this, he said he likes the balls to be over inflated to give him a better grip. Basically, any QB will do anything to gain an advantage. "Deflategate" is akin to watering down base paths in baseball, or using a certain basketball in a certain arena. It's morally wrong, but people tend to look the other way. Who really cares and who really thinks that under inflated footballs helped the Patriots win? No one that has some sense and intelligence.

So, I figured that this year, with the recent allegations and new stories coming out involving Peyton Manning and sexual assault and having HGH delivered to his home, that ESPN would be all over this. These are actual real news stories involving another Hall of Fame QB also coming off a Super Bowl win. These allegations are much, much more serious than some under inflated footballs. I mean, we are talking assaulting a female staffer while a student at Tennessee and the HGH thing, that is steroids. With how much time is being dedicated to getting rid of steroids and other performance enhancing drugs, I figured both these stories would be plastered all over all sports media.

Well, that is unfortunately not the case. I turned on ESPN the other day when "NFL Live" was on because I naturally assumed that they would talk about these allegations and nothing else. I was very wrong. Not only did they not talk about it, they didn't even bring it up. Instead, they focused the entire hour long show on potential free agents at the tight end position. That's right, they figured that potential free agent tight ends were more important to talk about than two major stories involving an extremely high profile player. Could ESPN be anymore in the bag for Peyton Manning and the Manning family? They are just as bad as Jim Nantz when it comes to the blinders they put on whenever someone bad mouths "The Sheriff". It is appalling that they refuse to talk about these terrible, sometimes heinous accusations being brought up. When Nantz was asked, prior to the Super Bowl, why he doesn't talk about the HGH allegations, he blew it off and called it a "non story". This coming from the same guy that chastised Tom Brady last year for some under inflated footballs. Talk about a double standard. When ESPN finally did get an interview with Manning himself about the HGH, it was a total puff piece and they did not press him one single time. They basically told him that he was right and sided with him, claiming that the people accusing him where just jealous of his fame and success. This is the same network that ran, and still runs stories on "deflategate". It's sickening that they continue to defend Manning and his family when someone in his home is getting HGH sent to them. That is a performance enhancing drug and those are supposed to be illegal. I guarantee if Tom Brady, or any Patriot for that matter, had been accused of using HGH, ESPN would have been all over it, calling them liars and cheaters. But, they won't do that to the great Peyton Manning. They assumed, how could someone so wholesome cheat? Why would he do that? He would never under inflate footballs.

Well, thanks to the New York Daily News, once again no ESPN involvement, we come to find out that Peyton Manning may not be as wholesome as we portray him to be. A story was released last week claiming that while he was enrolled at Tennessee, he shoved his naked butt, testicles and penis into the face of a female trainer. When she brought this crime, yes that is a crime, to the higher ups at Tennessee, they blew her off, basically telling her that a student athlete was more important than her dignity. Then, after Tennessee paid this lady off and she moved on to do many great things as a trainer, including working with Olympians, the Manning family wrote a book and destroyed this ladies credibility. She couldn't get a job anywhere because everyone believed the "wholesome" Peyton Manning over her. Why would he lie and why would his family and the University of Tennessee lie about this? Well, as I just mentioned, what he supposedly did is a crime. You cannot force your genitalia in someone's face. What the New York Daily News story reported was, he shoved his genitalia into her face when she was occupied helping someone else. This is a very vile, very disgusting thing for a person to do. I know the Manning defenders will say that he was a kid and kids do stupid things, but this goes beyond stupid, this is disturbing. I was a kid once too, and I never thought to jam my business into anyone's face. Not ever. That takes a special kind of disturbed person. Then, to trash this lady in a book, how classless and guilty does that make one look? If I believed him before, I definitely don't believe him or his dad now. To publicly go after someone like that, that is an admission of guilt. Trying to make someone else look bad for your past childish and abusive behavior, another admission of guilt in my opinion. 

I have not heard anyone at ESPN once talk about this. The only hint of anyone talking about it was on "PTI" and all Wilbon and Kornheiser said is, "he has to speak about these allegations". They didn't attack him the way they attacked the "deflategate" stuff last year. The only people I've heard talk about these allegations are, the aforementioned New York Daily News, a great twitter follow @SportsTalkVM and the wonderful Deadspin. They are the only people that have come out and chastised this childish, abusive and criminal behavior that Peyton Manning showed while at Tennessee and while in the NFL. ESPN won't touch this story with a ten foot pole because they are afraid that they may piss off a powerful football family, but it is in their business to talk about these heinous crimes because that's what good sports journalists do. They don't hide from major stories involving major stars. They sure as hell didn't hold back from attacking Tom Brady, Bill Belichek and the entire New England Patriots franchise when they may or may not have under inflated footballs. So, why do they just stand on the sidelines and give the Manning family a free pass? Are they in bed with Papa John's too? If they are, get out of that relationship because Papa John is a monster and his pizza stinks. Are they afraid of Roger Goodell and the NFL? Yes, they one hundred percent are afraid of that and that sucks because it is really cheapening their own product.

That brings me to what I really think is the problem, and that is the fact that ESPN is hiring unqualified yes men and women to be their anchors and broadcasters. Their bosses, the NFL included, tells them to jump and they ask, how high. They are brain washed people that are terrible at their jobs. These crimes that Manning is being accused of should be talked about a whole hell of a lot more, but until ESPN hires some competent people, I will continue to go to much better news sources like the New York Daily News, @SportsTalkVM and Deadspin. At least they have the guts and the know how to attack this cheater and sexual assaulter.

Screw you Peyton Manning, you are the Bill Cosby of the NFL.

Ty 

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. Follow him on twitter @tykulik.

Denver's Defense Would not Allow Peyton Manning to Lose the Super Bowl

It was better to shut your eyes than to watch the offense in Super Bowl 50

Last night Super Bowl 50 was played and once again, my prediction was wrong. 

Sorry Carolina Panthers fans for jinxing your team.

I, along with almost every other sports prognosticators, was certain that Carolina would win. I thought it was going to be close, but I thought Carolina, and more importantly Cam Newton, would be able to pull through in the clutch. Carolina has the better athletes and the better team, at least that's what I thought.

I did not think that Denver's defense would live up to the moment once again. They harassed Tom Brady all game during the AFC title game and they did the same thing to Cam Newton last night in the Super Bowl. This is what took me by surprise. Constantly getting pressure on Tom Brady seemed easy. New England's offensive line was atrocious all season, Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola weren't 100 percent and Tom Brady is a very immobile QB. I assumed Cam Newton would be able to evade pressure pretty easily last night. I was extremely wrong. Newton's line gave him plenty of time, but all his receivers were blanketed all game and he held the ball much to long. Also, Damarcus Ware and Von Miller were getting to him fairly regularly.

This just wasn't the game that I thought it would be. It was one of the worst offensive performances by two teams, in any football game, let alone the Super Bowl, that I have ever witnessed. I assumed the Broncos would stall on offense most of the game. Peyton Manning is past his prime, their run game has been hit or miss all season and their receivers routinely drop passes. Carolina though, they have been running rough shot through good defenses in the regular season and the playoffs. They seemed to score at least 30 points every game. They don't have the best receivers in the NFL, not by a long shot and their running game is sub par, but they have the best QB in the NFL. Cam Newton won the MVP. I just figured he would will this team to a victory, like he has all season long. But, as I mentioned before, the Broncos defense made his life miserable all game. They constantly hit him. On designed QB runs, Denver always had two or three guys gang tackling Newton. They didn't give Newton's favorite target and safety blanket, Greg Olsen, any space. I think he only had two catches the entire game. What it all boils down to, Carolina laid an egg on offense, but I think it was due to how great of a defense Denver had this year. Everyone, myself included, kind of thought that Denver's defense was okay, but if they had to face a mobile QB like Newton, they'd be exposed. My belief in Cam Newton was so strong, I just assumed he would find a way to win this game for his team. But, that Denver defense just wouldn't allow it.

This brings me to my main point today, this 2015-2016 Denver defense is the greatest defense that I've ever watched. I know Seattle had a great defense, that destroyed pretty much the same Broncos team in Super Bowl 48, but they don't even come close to how great this Denver defense was this year, especially in the playoffs. The Ravens had a really good defense the year they won the title, but I feel like their numbers were inflated by playing a much inferior Giants team in their Super Bowl win. Some other teams in recent history have had good defenses, the Ravens again when they beat the 49ers, The Colts team that beat the Bears, hell, even the Packers defense when they beat the Steelers was in the top 10 of the league, but none of them compare to Denver. Now, I was only 3 years old and I only know them from stories and old NFL Films shows on ESPN, but I feel like this Denver defense is right up there with the 1985 Bears defense. You know the one I'm talking about, the one with William "The Refrigerator" Perry, Ron Rivera, coach of the Panthers last night, Richard Dent and Mike Singletary, among many others. They are the supposed "greatest defense" of all time. Now, this may be blasphemy, or just my age, but I feel like this Broncos defense is a better defense than the 85 Bears.

Hear me out Generation Xers and Baby Boomers.

The 85 Bears were dominant, but they had a very competent offense to go along with their legendary defense. Sure, Jim McMahon is not the best QB to play in the NFL, but at that time, he was better than Peyton Manning was last night. They also had Walter Payton. No way are CJ Anderson and Ronnie Hillman even close to being on Walter Payton's planet. They had good receivers and tight ends that weren't used a lot, but they didn't need to be because they had Walter god damn Payton. This Broncos defense had to win games for them this year. Sure, if the 85 Bears offense gave their defense 14, it was a done deal, but for this Broncos team to win, they needed scores from their defense, because their offense sure as hell wasn't performing at any level. Peyton Manning is an all time great, but near the end of that game, while it was still a one score game at 16-10, Gary Kubiak and the offensive staff of the Broncos did not trust him to throw the ball. They would rather run it three times, gain 6 or 7 yards and punt it away and let their defense do their magnificent work. And that defense delivered with flying colors.

Anytime Carolina looked like they may grab some kind of moment, Denver would come up with a sack, a fumble of a tipped pass on third down to force a punt. They did this all throughout the playoffs. When the Steelers had the ball, driving to salt the game away, boom, fumble recovered by Denver that leads to a game winning field goal. Two weeks ago against the Patriots, they made Brady look like a mediocre QB and shut all their weapons down. Sure, Gronk had over 100 yards receiving, but 90 of that came on two plays. Denver won that game because of their shut down defense. And then last night, against the best offense, by a wide margin, in the NFL, they held them to 10 points and just barely over 200 yards total offense. They even scored a TD for the team on a strip sack. Von Miller and Damarcus Ware looked like the future Hall of Famers that they will be all game last night, especially Miller. Miller had 6 tackles, 2.5 sacks and 2 forced fumbles, the first leading to a TD. He was a man amongst boys last night. He's a free agent going onto this off season and his performance last night is going to make him a very, very rich man. I was so glad that they gave him the Super Bowl MVP too.

I was petrified, literally, that they'd give it to Peyton Manning because that's what jackasses like Phil Simms and especially Jim Nantz and the majority of the people watching last night wanted to happen. They so badly wanted Manning to be the guy to will this team to the win, but he did next to nothing in the game. He was under 50 percent completion, he passes looked slow and downright bad, he had happy feet all night and he looked scared. His team didn't even have faith in him to throw in the 4th quarter, as I said before. The run game wasn't really there either, so CJ Anderson and Ronnie Hillman were out of the MVP talk quick. But, the deserving player got it. Von Miller and the Broncos defense won that Super Bowl, no ifs ands or buts about it.

This game will go down as one of the most ugly offensive performances of all time, but that Broncos defense is legit. To me, they are the greatest defense of all time. But, the unfortunate thing, no one will remember them because this was probably Peyton Manning's last game. That's all the sports media will remember and that is a travesty. We just witnessed the greatest defensive playoff run of all time, but the casual fan will only remember it being Peyton's last game. That is a shame. The true football fan will realize we just witnessed greatness, but that's only about 25 percent of the population.

So yeah, good for you Peyton, you were part of the team that may go down as having the best defense of all time, but no one will remember how truly remarkable this defense was because you were on that team and you are the "star" player. But, I say congrats to the Denver defense. You guys were the ones that made this Super Bowl win possible and I will remember this game for your dominating performance. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He wants to welcome Peyton Manning to the club of bad quarterbacks on winning Super Bowl teams. Trent Dilfer and Jeff Hostetler will pour you a drink. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Ty's (first) Annual NFL Playoff Predicitions

Playoff football and chili. Must be January

The NFL playoffs start this weekend and I have given a preseason (NFC, AFC, and postseason) and a mid season report, now I want to give a playoff preview and prediction. Both my preseason and mid season picks were way off the mark, I'm looking at you Indianapolis and Green Bay. But, with the playoffs now set, I'd like to give it one more crack, maybe this time I'll do better.

This upcoming Saturday we get the AFC first round playoff matchups between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Houston Texans and the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cincinnati Bengals. Both these games should be decent, but I think it's pretty obvious who the winners will be. In the Chiefs-Texans game you have one team, the Chiefs, riding a 10 game winning streak. The Texans were in the AFC South, so 9 wins easily made them the division winners. The AFC South is a joke of a division and while the Texans have a pretty good defense, they have zero offense. They've used way too many quarterbacks this year that are all below average NFL starters. They have had no running game since Arian Foster went down for the season and save for Deandre Hopkins, they have no threats in the passing game. Hopkins is great, but if you can hold him to a 6 or 7 catch game, you can pretty easily beat Houston. The Chiefs aren't much better on offense, but they have way better playmakers. Alex Smith is a much better QB than anyone Houston will throw out there. They have struck gold with their backup running backs, Charcandarick West and Spencer Ware, after losing Jamaal Charles to a torn ACL. They also have a receiver that's almost as big a threat as Hopkins in Jeremy Maclin and they have a much better tight end in Travis Kelce. Oh, and there defense is just as good, if not better than the Texans. Sure, JJ Watt may get a couple of sacks, but what will Houston do with the ball on offense and will they be able to totally shut down the Chiefs? I don't think so. The only thing they have as an advantage is, they're playing at home, but that won't matter. Chiefs win by 10, with the final being 20-10. Pittsburgh and Cincinnati could have been a game, if not for the Andy Dalton injury. Cincinnati gets short changed every season. Sometimes it's their fault, other times, injuries derail this team. They have an okey running game with Giovanni Bernard and Jeremy Hill and they have one of the best receivers in the game in AJ Green, but that won't matter with AJ McCarron throwing and handing the ball off. The Bengals defense is top notch, but they have no one that will be able to slow Antonio Brown even a little bit. The Bengals line may stuff the run and even pressure Roethlisberger a bit, but he will still find Brown. Pittsburgh, on the other hand, has an elite offense clicking at the perfect time. They don't have their typical stout defense, but they can and will outscore opponents. I may not like the person, but Ben Roethlisberger is playing elite football right now. And, as I've mentioned before, he has Antonio Brown to throw the ball to. He also has Markus Wheaton, Heath Miller and Martavis Bryant to throw too as well. They lost LeVeon Bell earlier this year and DeAngelo Williams appears to have gotten injured in their finale, so that leaves the running game to Fitz Toussaint, former Michigan running back, but the Steelers don't need to run to win, In fact, I bet they run only 10 to 15 times the whole game. Steelers win in Cincy, crushing the Bengals playoff dreams in the first round once again, final score of 28-14. 

This Sunday we get the NFC first round matchups of Green Bay and Washington and Seattle and Minnesota. Both should be good, hard fought, close games. Green Bay travels to Washington to face the DC team on a roll right now. Whoever thought Kirk Cousins would be this good is a god damn liar. They have an okay run game, but they like to throw and they play some solid defense. Green Bay is a total enigma. They can never seem to get it going until it's too late, or they play to their ability and they blow out inferior opponents. Green Bay cannot protect Rodgers, their run game is non existent at times, but can also be great and their receivers can't get open, or if they do it's too late because Rodgers got sacked. Rodgers deserves a lot of the blame too for those sacks. Sometimes, when he does get good protection, he just holds on to the ball for way too long. Green Bay's defense is sub par at best. One week they totally shut a team down, the next, they give up big plays This is a total toss up, but I'll take Green Bay because of experience in big games. Washington's players haven't really been in big time playoff games and Green Bay and Aaron Rodgers have. Maybe I'm blinded by my fandom, but so be it. Green Bay wins 17-14. In the other game we get Minnesota and Seattle. Everyone and their mother is back on Seattle's bandwagon, but not me. I have to give credit to Bill Simmons for this, I was listening to his podcast this morning, and reminded me that the Seahawks just lost, only scoring 10 points at home to the Rams 2 weeks ago. Everyone wants to forget that because Russell Wilson has been putting up big numbers and their defense is playing better, but the Rams went to Seattle and owned them. The Vikings are a better version of the Rams. They have a better QB, receivers and a better, albeit a child abuser, running back. Their defense isn't as good as the Rams, but it's still good. The game is in Minnesota at noon as well. That means in Seattle, it's 10am. I know that doesn't sound like an advantage, but it is. I truly believe that Minnesota can replicate what the Rams did even better and I think they win this game. That would be great so everyone, including Chris Collinsworth, can shut the hell up about how great the Seahawks are. I'll take the Vikings in a very low scoring game, 14-10.

The following week we'd get the second round games in each conference. The four teams that had byes will all be in play and the big time games start happening. In the AFC the matchups will be Chiefs-Broncos and Steelers-Patriots. The Broncos will lose this game if they start Peyton Manning. Sure, he came in relief last week and they won, but it was their run game and their number one ranked defense that won, not Peyton Manning. Brock Osweiler deserves his shot. The Chiefs are good, as I mentioned above, but I cannot trust Andy Reid to win a big time playoff game on the road, I just can't. The Broncos have a stable of running backs, they have DeMaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders to throw to and they have the best defense in all of football. I don't see how they lose this game, unless they rely on Peyton Manning to make plays. He's a Hall of Famer, but he's done. Let your young QB start, rely on the run game and let your top of the line defense send you to the AFC title game. Broncos win 20-13. The Patriots-Steelers game will be interesting. Pittsburgh is elite offensively, but so is New England, if healthy. They have Gronk, Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola and a rejuvenated Steven Jackson on offense. But, their O line is very bad and are Gronk, Edelman and Amendola really healthy. Also, Brady took a hit in the Miami game, so who knows if he'll be one hundred percent. Neither of these teams are great on defense, but the Patriots are better. That won't matter because no one can guard Antonio Brown. Sorry New England, but the Steelers will steal this game in Foxborough and head to the AFC title game. Final score, 35-30.

The NFC will feature Green Bay-Carolina and Minnesota-Arizona. Carolina is on fire right now. They're 15-1, they have the MVP in Cam Newton, they have decent and very tall receivers and they have a pretty great defense. They also control the clock with their elite run game. Green Bay is a sitting duck. They've already been beaten once by Carolina this year, one of two teams with a winning record that Carolina has beaten, and they have not learned a thing from that game. Green Bay's season will end and it won't be pretty. Cam Newton is playing fantastic football and they will grind this game out and walk away with an easy victory. Carolina wins 20-7. Arizona and Minnesota will also be a blow out. Arizona has a better defense, a better QB, an equally as good run game and much, much better receivers. Carson Palmer in the runner up MVP and playing some of the best football of his career. Larry Fitzgerald has morphed into the best blocking receiver and best slot guy in all of football. David Johnson has filled in quite nicely for Chris Johnson and Andre Ellington and their offensive line is the best in the NFL. Minnesota had a good run, but it ends in resounding fashion in Arizona. Cardinals win 35-10.

Now we are down to four teams. In the AFC championship we have Denver-Pittsburgh. One relies on offese, the other on defense. Denver has some great corners capable of shutting down Antonio Brown, but I feel like typical Broncos will show up and blow this game. They should win easily. They can rely on their run game to chew clock and keep Pittsburgh offense off the field, but John Elway, Gary Kubiak and Peyton Manning will try to win with Manning being the hero and it will back fire. This game will be close, but Pittsburgh will pull it out and win 27-20. Arizona and Carolina could be a close game, but it won't. Carolina will finally see up close and personal what a real NFL team looks like, with a real offense and a legit defense. They will shut Newton down, they will force them to pass and that will cause turnovers. On offense, Arizona will do whatever it wants. This will be a runaway for the Cardinals. Arizona wins 38-14.

So that leaves us with a Pittsburgh-Arizona rematch in Super Bowl 50. Arizona has the one corner, Patrick Peterson, that can actually give Brown some trouble. They also have an offense that will light up a weak Pittsburgh defense. This game also has the makings of a blowout. I think it will be close until midway through the third quarter and Arizona will run away with the game. Carson Palmer and Larry Fitzgerald will finally get their rings and Bruce Arians will be recognized as one of the best coaches in the NFL. Cardinals roll to a Super Bowl win, final score 35-20.

I feel good about this one.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He is working on a fifth alarm for his big game four alarm chili. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Charles Woodson is the greatest player to come out of the Peyton Manning draft

We all know a wolverine could tear a volunteer in half

I was watching Sports Center or NFL Network or something where they were talking about football. They were previewing the upcoming Broncos-Raiders game and they kept showing pictures of Peyton Manning and Brock Osweiler, comparing the two quarterbacks. My wife was watching with me and, the longer we've been together, the more she knows about football. She asked me, during the preview of the game, "why are they only talking about Peyton Manning? Why aren't they talking about Charles Woodson more, he's had a better overall career than Peyton Manning, right?".

Now, Charles Woodson is my all time favorite football player, and yes, he is a University of Michigan alum and yes, I'm a diehard Michigan fan, so naturally, I agreed with my wife. Then, I looked much, much further into her statement and yes, I do believe, with no bias, that Charles Woodson has had a better overall career than Peyton Manning. Let's look even further into it though. Sure, Peyton Manning is the more famous player. He is a quarterback, he has way more endorsements, he has hosted SNL multiple times and he's won a Super Bowl. But, Charles Woodson won the Heisman over Peyton Manning in 1997, he too has won a Super Bowl and been to a second one and he's stayed healthy and productive his entire career. He's still producing at an All Pro level and he's the captain and leader of the resurgent Raiders defense. Peyton Manning was recently just benched, some will say due to injury, for a back up QB from Arizona State. But, was the injury the only reason Manning was benched? I've written about Manning before on the website and I think that blog speaks many truths on his benching. His ball has no more zip. He throws multiple interceptions per game. He cannot move in the pocket anymore. He's a Hall of Famer, but I think his time is done. Charles Woodson on the other hand, he's still picking off passes and making open field passes. In fact, when the Raiders and Broncos met earlier this year, when Manning was still the starter, Woodson picked him off twice in that game. No praise was heaped on Woodson and how well he's still playing for a 39 year old in the NFL. The announcers only talked about how Manning will always be a great pro and these interceptions were just a flash in the pan, he'd bounce back for sure. But, as we all know now, he didn't bounce back. Woodson has produced every week for the 6-7 Raiders. That doesn't sound so great, but when was the last time the Raiders sniffed a .500 or even a winning record? They have a legitimate shot, albeit an outside one, to make the playoffs this year. The Broncos are a lock, but it's not because of Manning, it's their defense. Sure, the Raiders have a good young QB in Derek Carr and a great young receiver in Amari Cooper, but they are led in their defensive backfield by Charles Woodson. Their defense is middle of the road in the NFL, but I say again, when was the last time the Raiders were relevant? I truly believe that Charles Woodson has a real chance to win NFL Defensive Player of the Year. He's been lockdown all season playing out of position as a safety.

Lets go back and look at their Super Bowl wins. I will give you the fact that Woodson didn't play in the Packer Super Bowl win, he had a separated shoulder. But, he was the anchor of that defense all season, leading them to the Super Bowl. If I remember correctly, he hurt his shoulder making an important tackle or even interception in the NFC Championship game. He laid it all on the line for that Packer team and he definitely helped them win that Super Bowl. Sure, Peyton Manning was playing when the Colts won, but they played a sorry Bears team led by Rex Grossman in their Super Bowl win. Also, the game was a sloppy mess and Manning didn't win the game for them, their defense and running game was the determining factor. The two of them also lost a Super Bowl. The Manning loss was solely on him. The Colts had a chance late against the Saints, but we all know about the game sealing pick six that he threw to secure the win for the Saints. When the Raiders, that's right, this is Woodson's second go around with the Raiders, lost to the Buccaneers, it wasn't their defenses fault, Rich Gannon threw multiple picks and took multiple sacks in that game. But, Peyton Manning will go down as the more remembered player. He is a QB and they're stars. That's the way it is in the NFL. Woodson has been solid for 18 seasons now, but he plays defense and, what's worse, he plays cornerback and safety. And, if you don't constantly run your mouth like any secondary player on the Seahawks, you don't get noticed. But, I think that's the way Woodson wants it. He won a title in college. He beat out Manning for the Heisman. He was the best and most important player on one of the all time great Michigan teams and he's done it with little to no fanfare.

Manning has been great, as I said before, he is a sure fire Hall of Famer, but it big moments, he's choked more than he's succeeded. In college, his Tennessee Volunteers could never beat Florida and got trounced by Nebraska when they had a shot at a national title. In the pros, he's won a Super Bowl, but it wasn't because he had a great game. Peyton Manning will go down as one of the all time greatest QB's in NFL and college football history, but will he be remembered as the greatest QB of all time? I don't think so. He's not even the best QB in his draft class, that title is firmly in Tom Brady's hands. But, Charles Woodson may very well be the greatest defensive back of all time in the NFL or college football. He's had a stellar career and he continues to produce. I 100 percent agree with my wife's assumption that Charles Woodson has had the better overall career than Peyton Manning. Look at all the reasons that I mentioned above. It's not just my love for Woodson, the facts can't be ignored. Tell me why I'm wrong in the comment section. 

I will go to my grave thinking Charles Woodson is not only better than Peyton Manning, but he is the best defensive back to ever play football.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He once benched Rex Grossman on his fantasy team for Drew Henson. Not because Henson went to Michigan, but because Grossman stinks. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

The Stink of the Packers is Getting Worse

Current home to the Packers offense

I'm going to end my week on a sour note.

I've been giving love and skepticism to two different teams this week. I love the Warriors and I'm very suspicious of the Panthers. Today, it's straight up hate for my favorite NFL team, the Packers.

They have looked incredibly lost four of the past five weeks. First, Denver, with an injured, old and past his prime Peyton Manning, absolutely crushed them. This was the lone game of the season thus far where Manning looked like himself. He shredded Green Bay's secondary, and Denver's running game looked the best it has all season in that game. Aaron Rodgers was rushed, pressured and beaten into submission. His throws were off target and he was missing wide open receivers. The run game wasn't much better. They couldn't hit the holes or there were no holes for them to hit. Denver is a better team than Green Bay and that game proved it. I thought this was going to be a one time thing. They were playing a very good team, on the road, so the loss didn't bother me as much. It was a bump in the road, or so I thought.

The next week, they went to Carolina to play the undefeated Panthers. I had a bad feeling about this game, but I thought the Packers could win. Then, the Panthers pulled out to a huge lead in the second quarter, scoring 24 points. The Packers defense, for the second straight week looked absolutely abysmal. They couldn't stop the run or the pass. Cam Newton and Jonathan Stewart ran and passed all over them. And, all the way until the fourth quarter, Green Bay's offense was non existent. They, once again, couldn't run or pass. In the fourth quarter, they finally put together some offense, pulling to within 8 with about 2 and a half minutes left. They drove all the way down to the red zone, but Aaron Rodgers missed a wide open receiver, instead flushing out of the pocket and throwing a stupid interception to a linebacker. It was yet another frustrating loss.

But, the silver lining was still around. They lost two straight, but they were both on the road to two undefeated teams. Something like this happens to every team at some point during the season. Also, they had the Lions upcoming at Lambeau. The Lions hadn't won there since 1991 and they looked bad. Their offense was just as inept as Green Bay's, and their defense, not that much better. Surely, they'd right the ship. I figured it would be a blow out and the Packers would be back. Then, the game happened. Once again, Green Bay couldn't move the ball on offense. The run game was nowhere to be found. Rodgers was getting pressured constantly and he was, once again, missing open receivers. The defense played better, but it was the Lions. Everyone was shutting them down. The game was boring too. At halftime Green Bay was winning, but the score was 10-6. One touchdown and four field goals. Terrible. Then, the Lions scored an early second half touchdown due to a Packers turnover. No big deal I kept telling myself. They'll figure it out I kept telling myself. The Lions even missed the extra point, so the Packers were only down three. But, they just couldn't move the ball. No run game and Rodgers running for his life and throwing errant pass after errant pass. The Lions scored later in the half, but missed the extra point again. So, that left the score at 18-10 with about 4 minutes left. They still had a shot. And, wouldn't you know it, they put together a drive and scored a touchdown. It only took them three and a half quarters to score a second touchdown against a mediocre defense. They cut the lead to 18-16. They had a chance to tie with a two point conversion. They had a great play call, but the pass was late, and the defender batted it away. I thought the game was over there, but they recovered an onside kick and had a chance to win with a field goal. But, they missed the kick and lost the game. It was inevitable. They lost this game early in the third quarter. So, the Lions snapped a 23 year losing streak in Lambeau. The Packers were a mess.

The Vikings continued to win, and actually took over first place from them leading up to their showdown the following week in Minnesota. Everyone, including me, thought that this was going to be a beat down from the Vikings. Green Bay was reeling and Minnesota was on a win streak, shutting down every opponent and chewing up the clock with long drives. But, the Packers actually came out with a fire and a passion. They completely shut down child abuser Adrian Peterson. They rushed and hurried and hit Teddy Bridgewater all game. Their corners were lock down. It was a great effort from the defense. The offense showed up too. Eddie Lacy ran for over 100 yards. Rodgers hit open receivers and had time in the pocket. They cruised back into first place with an easy 30-13 win. Now, everything seemed to be back on track.

They were back in first place and had an upcoming Thanksgiving home game against the sorry Bears. Surely they'd win. They were retiring Brett Favre's jersey, they were at home, they came off a big road win and they were playing the Bears, another team they own at Lambeau. But, they crapped away an easy win last night. They looked great in the first quarter, Eddie Lacy capping it off with a 25 screen pass for a touchdown. But, they couldn't do anything after that. And, the Bears found enough offense to take a 14-13 lead into halftime. In the second half, Green Bay did zero with the ball on offense. At one point, Rodgers took a sack after a botched shotgun snap, and he came up holding his left wrist. Now, I'm sure the wrist hurt, but I also think his pride was hurt too. He's looked pretty bad at times these past five weeks. He's not the same QB I picked to win the MVP. He definitely misses Jordy Nelson and the run game is non existent, but that doesn't explain his drop off in accuracy. He's dancing around too much in the pocket. He's not getting a lot of time from his line, but he's getting enough. He's either hurt, or he is struggling, maybe both, but he's not the same QB he was in weeks one through six.

Something is wrong in Green Bay and it may be too late to fix it. I picked them to win the Super Bowl, but I have no faith in them anymore. They can't sustain drives and they can't stop anyone. They look really bad right now and the blame goes to everyone. The players, the coaches and the organization all deserve equal blame. They better fix what ails them quick, or they won't make the playoffs, much less the Super Bowl. They are maybe the fifth or sixth best team in the NFC. They aren't on Carolina or Arizona or even Minnesota's level right now.

The Packers stink and it hurts my soul to say it.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. If the Packers continue their losing ways Ty will have to deal with the Head Editors gloating. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

This is the End. The End my Friend Peyton Manning

I bet Peyton could float the ball over those mountains

Sometimes we miss the best time to say goodbye.

Yesterday, while watching the NFL, I witnessed the death of a legend. It was brutal and very, very tough to watch. This guy has been a staple in the NFL since 1996. He was on the radar since he was playing college football. He was the Heisman runner up in 1996. He was and definitely will go down as one of the greatest to ever play quarterback, but Peyton Manning probably played his final NFL and football game yesterday.

It was excruciating to watch. First, he surpassed Brett Favre for most passing yards, but it was less than impressive. The pass that broke the record just floated very slowly through the air until it finally landed in his receivers hands. Lots of cheers were showered down and the players all congratulated him, but his day got far worse after that. Manning couldn't move in the pocket. His passes, as they've looked all season, had no zip. They literally float through the air. When rushed, he almost looked flustered and would just throw the ball to no one in particular. He threw for 35 yards and 4 interceptions before Gary Kubiak and the Broncos coaching staff mercifully pulled him in favor of Brock Osweiler. Osweiler's passes looked great compared to what Manning was putting out there. This was pretty much a mercy kill that's been put on hold for 9 and a half weeks now.

Manning has not looked like himself since the midway point of last season, but yesterday, and this whole season, has been brutal. He looks old. The game looks too fast for him now. It was revealed that he has an injured foot today, but he's looked hurt since the playoffs last year. To give a comparison, Charles Woodson, taken in the same draft, is the leader of the Raiders defense, I know they got throttled yesterday, but he's still performing at a fairly high level. No, Woodson is not the same player he was three or four years ago, but he's not hurting his team.

Now, the Broncos are 7-2 after the Chiefs beat them yesterday, but they're winning with defense. They have no running game at all, they lost Julius Thomas in free agency, and Demaryius Thomas is giving his all, but the ball is not getting to him when it needs to be there. The offensive line isn't good either. Make no mistake, this team is led by its vaunted defense. Who would have thought this just two years ago? The Broncos were in the Super Bowl. Their running game was on fire and Peyton Manning was crushing it. He opened that season with a 7 touchdown performance. He was on fire. The ball was were it needed to be. It was on time and had plenty of zip. Julius and Demaryius Thomas were a lethal combo. Then, in said Super Bowl, they got destroyed by the Seahawks. Last season, they played well in the regular season, but got beat, at home, by an inferior Colts team. And, this was when Manning started to look bad. I thought this was a one time thing, he'd fix it in the off season and be back to his old self when this season started.

I couldn't have been more wrong.

The first time I watched the Broncos play, I was appalled at how bad Manning's throws looked. As I've said many times, the ball just floated very slowly through the air. Receivers just waited on the ball, or had to fight through defensive backs to get to the ball. There were times that receivers looked like they'd get blown up by corners and safeties if they attempted to catch a pass. It's a shame what has happened. It looks like Manning has played longer than he should have. This isn't like Michael Jordan when he was with the Wizards or Brett Favre with the Vikings. At least those two lead those teams to the playoffs. The Broncos will make the playoffs, but not because of Manning's leadership. It's because of their defense. In the case of Jordan, he was still a 20 point per game player. Brett Favre led the Vikings. Without him, that team wouldn't have made the playoffs. It's a bummer.

I watched Manning in college and the pros. He seems like a good guy. I'd much rather hang out with him than Eli. But, his time has come. He needs to retire. He needs to do it now too, not wait until the end of the season. The Broncos need to move on from him and he needs to move on from football. You're one of the greats Peyton Manning, but Father Time has taken over and your career is done. It was a great career. You've won multiple MVP's, shattered records, won a lot of football games and won a Super Bowl. Quite a careerindeed.

Go and enjoy your retirement, you've earned it.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He feels bad for Peyton since he will always be number 2 (runner up in Heisman and runner up to Brady - Go Blue). Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

You Would Not Take Alex Smith over Aaron Rodgers in Your Fantasy Draft.

NFL scout deep in thought

Last night I watched the Packers play the Chiefs on "Monday Night Football".

The Packers, and most importantly Aaron Rodgers, shredded a pretty good Chiefs defense. I know that the Chiefs have some injuries in the secondary and they start a rookie back there, but Rodgers looked invincible last night. Throws were on target. He hit receivers in stride. He moved around the pocket with a mastery I haven't seen since Brett Favre. Basically, in my opinion, Rodgers has surpassed Tom Brady and Peyton Manning as the best quarterback in football.

On the other sideline, the Chiefs have a very different situation at quarterback. Now, I'm an Alex Smith fan. I think he's a serviceable quarterback. At his best, he's a decent game manager. But, last night, he looked lost and scared. His offensive line could not block the Packers defensive line last night. When he did have time, he danced around in the pocket and usually ended up scrambling for small to no gains. When he had open receivers, he either under threw or flat out missed them. The Chiefs did break their streak of no passing touchdowns to receivers, but by that point in the game, it was moot. Jamaal Charles played well, he always does, but the Chiefs need Alex Smith to do more if they want to compete in the AFC. Jamaal Charles can only do so much, he needs help from his quarterback.

The game and the Packer win is not the point of my column today. While watching this game last night, the commentators for ESPN(the god awful team of Jon Gruden and Mike Tirico) brought up the fact that Alex Smith and Aaron Rodgers were in the same draft class. One of them was the first overall pick in the 2005 draft, the other was the 24th overall pick. Watching this game, you'd think that Rodgers was clearly the first overall pick, right? Well, you'd be wrong. Alex Smith was the overall number one pick in that draft by the San Francisco 49ers. After the 49ers took Smith, 22 other teams passed on Aaron Rodgers. He had a funky delivery and he didn't have a ton of highlights as the quarterback of the Cal Bears. At least, that's what the "geniuses" said on their scouting reports. Rumors also surfaced that the Packers picked him out of spite. They didn't want the Chicago Bears to draft him, who had the next pick, which they then immediately traded after the Packers took Rodgers. People in Green Bay and fans of the Packers all over the world were furious that the Packers took Rodgers, my father and I included. We didn't want a quarterback, we had Favre. And if they were going to take a QB, why Rodgers? We all thought he wouldn't amount to much of an NFL player. He would also have to sit behind Favre until Favre was done playing. The pick didn't make any sense to anyone, except for the editor of this website, RD. He called me and my dad after the pick and said that the Packers got the steal of the draft, and that Rodgers was going to be a star. We told him he was nuts. He had no idea what he was talking about.

I'm glad that I was wrong. I'm thrilled to have Aaron Rodgers quarterbacking my team. But, Rodgers did have to sit for the first four years of his career and learn from Favre. The same couldn't be said for the first overall pick, Alex Smith. He was going to be the savior of the 49er franchise in the early 21st century. His blend of athleticism, he ran the spread at Utah before almost every team was running it in college football, was going to change the position. Unfortunately, the 49ers were not a good team and Smith's first five years were rough. The 49ers lured Jim Harbaugh away from Stanford in 2011 and that changed Smith's NFL career, for one and a half seasons. In Harbaugh's first season, he needed Smith to be a manager of the game, and that's what he got. Smith became a guy that didn't turn the ball over and could move the chains with short passes and his legs. He led the 49ers to the playoffs for the first time in a long time. During that same season, 2011, Aaron Rodgers coming off a Super Bowl win in 2010, won the MVP. He was no game manager, he was a game winner. The very next season, the 49ers had one of the best starts of any team in the NFL, and Smith was leading the way. He suffered a concussion midway through the season, and lost his starting job to second year "phenom" Colin Kaepernick. As athletic as Smith was, Kaepernick was younger and more athletic. Harbaugh rode Kaepernick all the way to the Super Bowl, the Ravens beat the 49ers, and Smith was relegated to back up duty. Meanwhile, Rodgers was putting up huge numbers, won a title, won two MVP awards, was a constant on All Pro and Pro Bowl teams, winning division titles with ease and playing in the playoffs every year. Their careers were on completely different paths. Rodgers was playing like the first overall pick, and Smith, he may as well been a fourth round pick. The 49ers traded Smith to the Chiefs the season following their Super Bowl appearance. The Chiefs have been an okay team under Smith, but they haven't had anything near the success the Packers have enjoyed with Rodgers at the helm.

Just to give you guys a taste of some of the players picked between Smith and Rodgers, names like, Cadillac Williams(out of the league), Braylon Edwards(out of the league), Cedric Benson(out of the league), Ronnie Brown(I think he's out of the league), Shawne Merriman(retired and also a women abuser) and David Pollack(out of the league due to a neck injury and a huge chauvinist). Guys who are still playing that were picked before Rodgers include some good players like Derrick Johnson(linebacker for the Chiefs), Damarcus Ware(linebacker for the Broncos) and Adam "Pac Man" Jones(DB for the Bengals). These guys are good, but I'd much rather have Aaron Rodgers. I know that not all teams need a QB when it's draft time, or that the draft is a total crap shoot, but Rodgers is, by far, the best player taken in the 2005 draft. Watching the game last night and hearing that they were in the same draft class was so shocking to me. I thought Rodgers was older than Alex Smith because he's so much better than Alex Smith. Rodgers has mastered the quarterback position, and Alex Smith struggles to be a game manager. The fact that the 49ers thought so highly of Smith and that Rodgers wasn't even on their radar is bewildering to me. I'm sure they wish they had taken Rodgers, but I'm sure a lot of teams in the 2005 draft wished they'd taken Rodgers. I guess you never truly know what you will get out of the draft, but last night, Aaron Rodgers was one thousand times better than Alex Smith, and Rodgers was picked 23 spots later than Smith.

Truly, head scratching.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He gives the editor too much credit, I just thought the Packers were being asses to the Bears. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Let Me Respectfully Explain Why Your Team Stinks: Ty's new hatred for the Seattle Seahawks

It is insulting when you call me a Seahawk

There are some teams I really, really dislike.

Today, I'm going to go back to my irrational hatred for a football team. In two previous blogs, I've written about my irrational hatred for University of Missouri college football and the Los Angeles Clippers from the NBA. Today, I turn my attention to the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks. Good timing to, since the season started last night and truly gets underway on Sunday. The Seahawks are the first team I'll be writing about, under my irrational hatred blogs, that have won a championship. They won the Super Bowl two years ago, and played in the Super Bowl last year. They should've won that game, but I'll get to that later. Missouri football hasn't won anything of importance in over 50 years, and the Clippers have never won anything important ever in their history.

So, let's get to what I hate about the Seahawks. First, there was a time, about 10 years ago, when I actually rooted for the Seahawks in the Super Bowl. They played the Steelers, a team that will be talked about in this discussion at another time. That version of the Seahawks were coached by former Packer coach Mike Holmgren and had Shaun Alexander. I actually, kind of, liked this team. Shaun Alexander was my number one pick in my fantasy draft that year. I also liked the fact that they were a quiet team. No trash talk, no media stuff, they just went out and played football.  By the way, the Seahawks won that Super Bowl. The history books have the Steelers as the champs, but the refs screwed the Seahawks and the NFL and ESPN needed a redemption story for rapist Ben Roethlisberger.

Right after that season, I kind of forgot about the Seahawks. They were mediocre for the next 5 to 7 seasons. Then, they won, what was at the time, the worst division in football, the NFC West with a 7-9 record. This was three or four seasons ago. That was Pete Carroll's first season as head coach. Not only did they win that god awful division, but they went out and beat the New Orleans Saints in the Wild Card game. In typical Saints fashion, they had to go on the road to Seattle, Seattle won the division so they got home field, and the Saints couldn't stop the run. Go back and watch all the missed tackles on what is probably Marshawn Lynch's most famous run.  

It is after this Wild Card win and their subsequent draft  where my hatred for the Seahawks began. They started to pump their chests and say how great they were. Excuse the shit out of me, but you assholes backed your way into the playoffs that season and beat the Saints when everyone expected you to. This attitude is indicative of their head coach. Pete Carroll is a douchebag. This is the same guy who called out Mark Sanchez in front of the media when he declared for the draft. Sanchez was his quarterback at USC, they just came off a Rose Bowl win and he didn't have another decent QB on the roster. So, instead of doing what college coaches are supposed to do, support their players decisions and dreams, he acted like a dumped girlfriend. What makes this even worse, Carroll left USC within a year after Sanchez left for the NFL. Why did he care so much? I'll tell you why, he's a prick that whines like a baby when he doesn't get his way. Let's not forget how much of a cheater at USC he was. He bought Reggie Bush's family a home and a car. He had so many recruiting violations against him that, had he stayed at USC, they could've gotten the death penalty. So, he bolted for the NFL, and you'd think his cheating would stop, but nope. The Seahawks are one of the most suspicious teams in the NFL. Be it fighting between teammates in the locker room or steroids or even players using Ritalin. All these things, with the exception of the fighting, is against the rules. Does the NFL or Pete Carroll or Roger Goodell do anything about it? No, they're all too busy attacking the Patriots for under inflated footballs and stuff that happened almost a decade ago. Pete Carroll also made the worst play call ever during last year's Super Bowl. How do you not hand the ball off to Lynch on the goal line?! That call proves your ignorance and arrogance. I was elated you lost the Super Bowl in crushing fashion. You're an idiot Pete Carroll and  I hate you.

I mentioned the draft also as a reason why I hate this team. They undercut other teams and under pay their rookies. They seem to get pretty good players at a super cheap salary. How on Earth does that happen. Guys like Michael Bennett, Doug Baldwin and the majority of their offensive line are really underpaid. Marshawn Lynch is the best running back in the league right now, and they just gave him a multi million dollar extension last year. Their best secondary player, Kam Chancellor is willing to sit the whole season because, for football players, he's criminally underpaid. Richard Sherman is due for a huge raise, but will he get it? Probably not because they just gave Russell Wilson a HUGE contract.

This brings me to another big, big problem I have with the Seahawks, Russell Wilson. This guy is the most corporate, robotic piece of human trash I could ever imagine. He shows no emotions, unless he's talking about God. Let's get things straight too, he's a mediocre QB at best. This team didn't make it to two consecutive Super Bowls because of Russell Wilson, their defense and Marshawn Lynch carried them. But, you turn on ESPN or the NFL Network, and he's mentioned in the same breath as Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and old timers like Warren Moon and Fran Tarkenton. I'd take all those QB's over Wilson in a second. He's got little to no touch on his throws and he's going to get killed running the read option. He's a tick better than Colin Kaepernick, and that's not a compliment. The fact that the Seahawks gave him Aaron Rodgers money is going to cripple this team in the long run. Instead of paying the players that got them to the highest point in football, they paid a sub par QB a shit ton of money.

All his God talk needs to stop. When he first got in the league, players from other teams, it's been reported, said that he slept with their girlfriends while they were still together. That's not good in God's eye Russell Wilson. Also, if there is a God, he doesn't give a shit about you. You are the least of his problems. He's also totally sleeping with current girlfriend, musician Ciara. Nobody buys your guys bull shit. Russell Wilson is also known for clashing with teammates. He ran Golden Tate and Percy Harvin out of town. He tried to get the front office to trade Lynch in the middle of last season. Screw you Russell Wilson, have fun winning 6 or 7 games for the rest of your career. And, nobody outside of Seattle likes Marshawn Lynch or Richard Sherman. The hatred for Lynch isn't as bad for Sherman, Lynch pokes fun at himself, but his whole attitude towards media and people outside of his circle is stupid. Quit trying to be the Rasheed Wallace of the NFL. You're not as charasmatic as Rasheed Wallace. Richard Sherman on the other hand, boy the hatred is strong. Sherman is the best cover corner in the league, but he needs to stop talking. You went out and got into a fight with Skip Bayless. I can't think of a more douchey fight. You're a Stanford grad Richard Sherman, you don't have to constantly go on TV and tell us how smart you are. We know you're smart. You're also a bad sport. You lose with no dignity, and when you win, I close my ears because I can't deal with your mouth. You're like a conservative republican. You think you're correct because you're the loudest. Just shut the hell up and go out there and play football. You're a good enough football player that you don't need to run your mouth. Also, nothing made me happier than when Russell Wilson threw that pick and your smile turned to a frown. It was euphoric for me to watch you lose.

Seahawks fans are pretty ridiculous too. As I said earlier, you guys just recently became good. Before this success, I didn't know one single Seahawk fan. Now, they're coming out of the woodwork. If that's not a bandwagon fan, I don't know what is. You guys are the 21st century Dallas Cowboys. By this I mean, your fans are bandwagon fans and people that don't like you, HATE you and your fans. I hate all these actors and comedians, that I enjoy, are pounding the drum for you all over social media. Comedian Nick Thune, who I think is great, acts like there's no other team in the NFL. Or, when he does talk about a team not called the Seahawks, that team is a cheater and all their fans suck. Come back to me when the Seahawks are also rans in two years and tell me that you're still a fan. Chris Pratt, the biggest star right now and one of my favorite actors, is all over social media with his Seahawk love. Where were you five years ago?! I didn't hear or see you pumping up the Seahawks. You were like a ghost, but now that they're good, you're all over the place talking about Seahawk love. I bet the two of you couldn't name the starting QB the year before Matt Hasselbeck took over the job. You guys probably loved Hasselbeck when he was your QB, but now, you probably tell other people that he's a joke and shouldn't be in the league. I've got news for you guys, your QB's have never been elite.

So, these and many, many other reasons are why I loathe the Seahawks. It's a new hatred, but it's very strong and will only get stronger. Screw you Seattle Seahawks and screw your "12th" man bull shit. No one cares.  

You will be irrelevant in two years.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and co-host of the X Millennial Man podcast. His love for Michigan Football is much greater than all of his hatred combined (please Jim Harbaugh, start winning soon). Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Ty's NFL Preview 2015: AFC

Ty is set to watch some NFL foot... wait, why the hell is his drink green?

Ed Note: We will break Ty's NFL preview up into three parts. Today we give you the AFC, tomorrow the NFC, and then the Super Bowl and awards.

On the heels of my 2015 college football preview, I'll be doing my first annual, "Ty's NFL Preview".

Much in the same vain as the college preview, I'll pick division winners, two wild cards from each conference, the teams that will play in the conference championship games, the Super Bowl winner and the offensive and defensive players of the year. Hell, I'll even throw in my pick for coach of the year and offensive and defensive rookies of the year. No preseason bull shit, because, just like the preseason poll in college football, preseason in the NFL doesn't mean anything to anyone that's watching. Preseason is more for players trying to make teams. And, no matter how terrible of a commissioner Roger Goodell is, I've mentioned how bad he is many times on the site, NFL football is the most popular sport in America and I love it just as much as any other fan out there.

So, let's get started. First, I'll break down the AFC. I'll start with the AFC East. The AFC East consists of the Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, New York Jets and defending super bowl champs, the New England Patriots. The Bills had a pretty wild offseason. First, their former coach, Doug Marrone, quit out of nowhere, He led this team to 9 wins last season, with no decent QB, and just up and quit. It made no sense to me. So, the Bills hired Rex Ryan after he was fired by the Jets. I don't like this hire because I don't think Rex Ryan is a good head coach. He knows a lot about defense, but basically doesn't care or seem to know anything about offense. They also traded a linebacker, Kiko Alonso, to the Eagles for one of the top running backs in the league in LeSean McCoy. He didn't want to sign long term, but eventually did. They also signed supreme douchebag, Richie Incognito one year after his suspension for bullying. Like I said, a bizarre offseason. The Bills, I think, will look like the same team they did last season. They'll have a good running game, a good defense and no passing game whatsoever. They have no capable QB's on their roster and, with the exception of Sammy Watkins, no threats at receiver. I say 8 or 9 wins for the Bills. The Miami Dolphins made the biggest splash in free agency by bringing in Ndomakong Suh. They gave him a HUGE contract, but the guy is the best interior defensive lineman in the league. On offense they will look much the same, led by Ryan Tannehill at quarterback. They seem like a team on the rise and I think they're New England's biggest threat in the East. They could easily win 10,11 or even 12 games this year and possibly win the division. The New York Jets are a complete mess. First of all, their best defensive player, Sheldon Richardson, decided to drive his car 143 mph on the highway, and to top it off, he had guns in that car. He may never play football again. Next, a back up linebacker sucker punched starting QB Geno Smith in the jaw over what appears to be a $600 debt and he's out, at least 6-10 weeks. They have no real running game, the QB situation will be taken over by Ryan Fitzpatrick, and their defense, while solid, is only getting older, and they don't have Richardson clogging up the middle. I'd be surprised if they won 6 games this year. This brings me to the defending champions, New England Patriots. They've had an odd offseason as well. The main thing being the stupid non story of "deflategate". Another huge error in judgement from the moronic Roger Goodell. Tom Brady is supposed to miss the first four games of the season, we'll see if that holds up, and I think this will hurt the Patriots more than most. Jimmy Garroppolo may be good in a few years, but he's not ready. The Patriots do have a good running game and you can line up Rob Gronkowski against almost anyone and I'd take him, but their defense is suspect and can lose games for them. Darelle Revis also left to sign with the Jets this offseason, and that will sting. I still see the Patriots winning 10 or 11 games if Brady only misses 1 or 2 games. If he misses all four, they're more like an 8 or 9 win team to me. For that reason alone, I'm picking the Miami Dolphins to win the AFC East.

Next, The AFC North. In the North we have, the Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns. The Ravens are a decent football team. They have a great defense, they always do, and are led on offense by Joe Flacco. That's a good and a bad thing. When he's good, he can be great, but when he's bad, he's really bad. One week he will throw for 350 yards and five touchdowns, but the next week, he'll go for less than 100 yards and 3 or 4 interceptions. But, the Ravens find ways to win 10 games every year and I don't see that changing this season. The Pittsburgh Steelers have to deal with a suspension to running back LeVeon Bell, only two games, but it will still hurt. They still have Ben Roesthliberger at QB, but he's old and, while never the fastest guy out there, seems to get slower every season. Antonio Brown is a great receiver, one of the best in the league, and will stretch the field on defenses all season. The Steelers should be good for 9 to 11 wins this season. The Cincinnati Bengals are a very predictable team. They will look very good at times. Andy Dalton will be a decent QB, but make his typical mistakes. AJ Green is an electric receiver and catches some of the worst throws in the NFL and Giovanni Bernard is going to be a star. Their defense is worrisome. They got older and their big off season acquisition of AJ Hawk doesn't make them any better. He's old and the rest of that defense is getting older. They will be good for 10 or 11 wins and probably crap out in the first round of the playoffs again. Last, and certainly least, is the Cleveland Browns. They're a joke of a franchise and be it Johnny Manziel(please God no!) or Josh McCown at QB, it doesn't matter, the Browns stink. They have no receivers, no real running game, and stink on defense. If they win 5 games I will be shocked. This division will be tough, minus the Browns, but this seems to be Pittsburgh's last shot and I think they win 11 games and the division.

Next we have the AFC South. This is a division with one, maybe two real teams, but really, the South is owned by the Indianapolis Colts. Their only real threat in the Houston Texans, and that's a reach. There's also the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Tennessee Titans. The Jaguars upgraded their offense by signing Julius Thomas, but Blake Bortles needs at least one more season to get his feet wet and the defense isn't ready yet. It will be another 4 or 5 win season for the Jaguars. The Titans are being led by a rookie QB in Marcus Mariota, and while he may be good, when your team is being led by a rookie, with no weapons on offense around him, it's going to be a long, tough season. Their defense is pretty awful as well. They'd be lucky to win 3 or 4 games this year. The Texans have one of the best defenses in the league, led by all world defensive end JJ Watt. They are pretty stout on the line, have good linebackers and a pretty decent secondary. Offense is where the problem lies. They do have a good running back in Arian Foster, when he's not hurt, and a great up and coming receiver in DeAndre Hopkins, but who's going to be the QB? Ryan Mallet or Brian Hoyer are the two choices, and I don't think either of them have played, or are good enough to win in this league. The Texans will be better, but anything more than 9 wins would be surprising. The Colts are the class of the division. They have an explosive offense led by Andrew Luck. They have receivers like TY Hilton and signed Andre Johnson this offseason. They do a running back by committee, but this is a passing offense. Their defense is bend, but don't break and they play it very well. The Colts will win 12 games easily this season and win the AFC South running away.

The final division  is the AFC West. This is another two team division, but can anybody really beat the Denver Broncos. Their only competition will be the San Diego Chargers. The Chargers drafted Melvin Gordon this draft and he will be a big upgrade for them at the running back position. They just locked down Phillip Rivers to a long term deal and he is a great QB in this league. Their defense in just okay. They will win at least 10 games this season, but the 4 game suspension to Antonio Gates will hurt their passing game. The Broncos are led by Peyton Manning. He's one of the best QB's of all time and he continues to churn out 4,000 yard and 35 touchdown seasons. Montee Ball should bounce back after an injury plagued, subpar season. While they lost Julius Thomas, they still have Demayrius Thomas and a bunch of other great receivers. The defense is led by Von Miller, and they are stout in all three phases of defense. Hiring Gary Kubiak won't change this team much at all. They should be a 12 or 13 win team again. The other two teams in the division are the Kansas City Chiefs and the Oakland Raiders. The Chiefs are competitive, but they are pretty stale. Alex Smith is not a great QB, they don't score with their passing game, and there's only so much Jamal Charles can do. Their defense is okay, but not great. 8 or 9 wins is their best possible outcome. The Raiders are still a joke, but they seem like they're trying to get better. Derek Carr could still be a good QB and drafting Amari Cooper and signing Michael Crabtree will help. The running game is still a work in progress. The defense is not that good and that will keep them back. But, linebacker Khalil Mack is going to be a star in this league. 5 or 6 wins would be a good season for the Raiders. The Broncos will continue to win this conference as long as Peyton Manning is the QB.

So, the four division winners, the Dolphins, the Steelers, the Colts and the Broncos will all be in the playoffs and the two wild cards will be, the Chargers and the Patriots. The Bengals and Ravens will get shut out. The Colts and Broncos will have the first round byes. The Chargers will beat the Dolphins and the Steelers will beat the Patriots. In the next round, The Colts will beat the Chargers and the Broncos will beat the Steelers. In the AFC Championship, the Colts will beat the Broncos and find themselves in the Super Bowl.

Come back tomorrow for some NFC action.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and co-host of the X Millennial Man podcast. Is he going to pick Green bay for the NFC, I think he is going to pick Green Bay. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.