THE DETROIT LIONS 53 MAN ROSTER

By Mark Halpern

So the Detroit Lions finished the preseason 0-3 the way many sportscasters and other analysts figure their entire season could be 0-17. The Lions made big waves trading their superstar quarterback Matt Stafford to the Rams for Superstar quarterback Jared Goff. In my opinion, the Rams got the better deal with that all-star offense. Goff came to a team that has some talent but is a rebuilding team now. The Lions broke camp last Friday, and their official depth chart was finalized on Tuesday, the 31st. It is not an impressive team, but let’s see what this team is working with.

The Lion’s offense over the past few seasons has been pitiful. They showed some flash at times. Jared Goff will lead the way at quarterback, and David Blough, who had a decent preseason, will back him up. Since the number one running back, Deandre Swift, is still battling injury, and the running back position will be pretty much by committee until Swift Is 100%. Jamaal Williams and Jamar Jefferson will be a change of pace running backs. The wide receiver core, which was once a highly rated core with Marvin Jones Jr {Now on Jacksonville} and Kenny Golladay {Now on the NY Giants} left the position pretty meek. The number one receiver is Tyrell Williams with Amon-Ra St. Brown at the number two, and either Kalif Raymond or Quintez Cephus, who had an excellent preseason and earned a spot on the roster, could be the slot receiver. Returning as the number one Tight End is T.J. Hockenson, who worked well with Stafford but had a subpar year due to injury, and his talents weren’t appropriately used should have an improved season. Jared Goff had good connections with his Tight Ends in LA. So I see Hockenson having a much better year as long as he can stay healthy. His backup is Darren Fells, who has experience in the NFL and is a good blocker.

The offensive line is pretty much the same as last season. The line didn’t perform horribly but was very inconsistent with their blocking. Taylor Decker, Frank Ragnow, and Penei Swell are the ones on the line I think will work well, and with the new offense, we could see some surprises. However, Goff will be on his back a lot if the line performs the way it did in the preseason.

On the other side of the ball, The Lion’s defense has always had stars and plays some good defense at times, and then they look like a high school football team defense. Trey Flowers is a stud defensive end and is in line for another pro bowl season. Austin Bryant should be the other edge starter and can cause some trouble to quarterbacks with his speed. On the line, Kevin Strong and Michael Brockers will look to close holes and try not to give up over a hundred yards to opposing running backs a game. The Line backing unit with Derrick Barnes and Jamie Collins Sr complement each other well. The Lion’s secondary has always had a star cornerback, and this year Jeff Okudah and Amani Oruwariye are a good pair of outside defenders. A.J. Parker will be covering the slot receiver. Yes, I understand Goff is the star here, but this secondary could turn some heads or get their heads turned. Backing up the backs is Tracy Walker in the free safety spot, and Will Harris at solid safety will be actively busy as teams will try and test this defense.

As for the Special Teams, the placekicker is new. No longer the star Matt Prater who could hit from almost anywhere on the gridiron is gone, and taking over is Zane Gonzales, who has experience but not quite the leg or accuracy that Prater has. So this position could be a problem.
I look at this Lions team, and I see two things. 1. The team that they are, and 2. The team that they could be. When the two of them meet, the Lions will be dangerous.

Titans Final Roster

By Bill Murphy

On Tuesday, after a 2-1 preseason finish, the Tennessee Titans made their 53 man roster. Though there is a 53 man roster out, some players are on the Covid 19/ reserve list. When they come back, the Titans can make some changes to the roster before the season starts.Of course, the first one to talk about who will win the number two spot on the roster as backup quarterback to Ryan Tannehill.

The winner of that sweepstakes is Logan Woodside, who this preseason threw 29 completions out of 40 attempts giving him a completion rate of 72.5%, with 228 yards and three touchdowns. Woodside put up a strong preseason and deserves the position . Matt Barkley initially made the cut but was released on Wednesday and was added to the practice squad later that day.

When it comes to the running back’s Mekhi Sargent did end up making the squad. Sargent had 90 yards during this preseason. This could only be a temporary move because Jeremy McNichols (the Titans top pick) is currently on the COVID/ reserve list and is slated to come back with that. It makes Sergeant’s future of starting very uncertain at this moment.

A move that I am presently surprised at is that Cameron Baston ended up making the team. Baston’s s preseason numbers were 66 yards and two touchdowns. This was a good move by the Titans because it Could probably strengthen the receiver game with AJ Brown and Julio Jones.
When it comes to the cuts, there have been 17 made. Those are the cuts that have been made for the Tennessee Titans. One of the cuts that I am shocked about is when they cut Mason Kinsey, who wracked up ten receptions, 131 yards, and one touchdown during preseason. His performance could’ve strengthened that Wide receiver core. Next Sunday, September 12th, the Titans start their season when they have their home opener against the Arizona Cardinals.

Boogate 2021

by Michael Rifkin

After Sunday’s win over the Nationals Mets second baseman and trade deadline acquisition, Javier Baez talked about the team’s new thumbs-down sign. Saying, “When we don’t get success, we’re going to get booed. So they are going to get booed when we get success.” This isn’t about one player. In particular, this is about culture in the clubhouse. This kind of behavior shouldn’t be tolerated. The Mets have had a dreadful month of August with a record of 8-19 and have seen their first-place lead turn into being 7.5 games out in the NL East. The Mets had a brutal stretch where they played thirteen straight games against the Dodgers and Giants, two of the top teams in MLB, and went 2-11. During this stretch where the team has struggled, the fans have felt as frustrated, just as the players have.

Players don’t like being booed, but openly admitting that the response is to boo the fans is wrong. The fans also pay good money to watch their team play. When they pay for their ticket, it allows them to say how they feel. There was a different feeling coming into the 2021 season for the Mets, new owner Steve Cohen and president Sandy Alderson made moves to better the roster, including trading for star shortstop Francisco Lindor and paying him $341 million over ten years. Mets fans rejoiced when Cohen bought the team the clown show was supposed to stop. Mets president Sandy Alderson put out a statement late Sunday night saying, “The Mets will not tolerate any player gesture that is unprofessional in its meeting or is directed toward our fans.” Alderson goes on to say, “Mets fans are loyal, passionate, knowledgeable, and more than willing to express themselves. We love them for every one of these qualities.” Fans see players’ frustrations boil over in the dugout, or they slam a bat. When the fans get frustrated, they boo the team, but at the end of the day, the Mets players and fans are frustrated with what has occurred recently. Alderson also said there would be a team meeting over this.

Mets fans are very passionate about their team; look at the fantastic run in 2015. If you embrace the fans and New York, they will embrace right back. Right now, nobody is happy with what is going on, but this is all about passion. Mets fans are passionate about their team succeeding and want to see that happen. The Mets and their fanbase want Citi Field to be rocking in October.

Giants preseason game 3 vs Patriots – post game

By Jeff Knapp

The 3rd and final preseason game is over for the New York Giants, who fell 22-20 to the New England patriots in a back and forth game.

There were a few things that I loved and a few things that I did not love. I will start off with what bothered me.

What bothered me was the fact that the Giants won in time of possession and still lost. A stat I saw from 2017 showed that 7 of the 10 teams that win time of possession made the playoffs. Some people don’t care about that since this is a passing league, and certain offenses are designed to score quickly. I’ve always gone with running the ball, and defense wins championships.

Speaking of running the ball, the Giants only rushed the ball 22 times and averaged 4.4 yards per attempt. If it wasn’t for Elijhaa Penny and Corey Clement bolstering that average, it would have been right around two yards per carry. The o-line gave up four sacks, and although the Patriots also gave up four sacks, you aren’t going to win ball games that way.

Although Daniel Jones looked pretty good, he was sacked twice and threw a crucial interception in the endzone.

On to a few things that didn’t make me happy. The four sacks and interception were a treat to see, and although the Patriots had a few big runs for over 15 yards and three big pass plays, the first team secondary looked pretty good. I was pleased with Damion Willis and Sterling Shepard, who I hope will have an amazing season, as long as Jones stays upright and doesn’t fumble the ball.

I’m wondering how the team will look come opening day with all the starters hopefully on the field, but as Alexander Pope once said, “Hope Springs Eternal.”

Best Food in Stadiums and Venues Pt4.(NCAA)

By Mark Halpern

So in the first three parts of this feature piece, we touched on the MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL. Now to take a deeper look into food, we head to the stadiums that players play in so they get recognized and may be drafted. I am talking about College Football. We will take a look at six college stadiums that have a featured dish and another sought-out food item (the second food item will not have a picture).

  #5   At North Western University, we find traditional college food but jacked up. Most stadium goers love a good plate of Nachos. However, here at NWU, we get a spicy version called Wildcat Nachos. A heaping order of blue corn tortillas topped with pico de gallo, Beef Barbacoa { A Mexican/Caribbean BBQ} piled on high topped with a bunch of spicy jalapenos and topped off with white queso cheese sauce. If you enjoy a spicy treat, then this is for you.

      A secondary dish to try if you go to a game at NWU is Asian/Italian fusion food called the Asian Meatball Sandwich. You get four pork meatballs, a Hoisin glaze BBQ sauce, and topped with Asian slaw on a footlong wedge. It comes with a side of potato wedges. Not your average wedge here.

#7 At the University of Arkansas, home of the Razorbacks, you can get a deep-fried treat called Pork rinds with Pimento Cheese. You have to be in a suite for this fried treat to get them, but I am told it is way worth it. A plate is full of Pork Rinds that are battered and then fried served with a side of Pimento Cheese sauce. This is one of those Lipitor dishes that I mentioned in the first article. They look good, and a plate can feed 2-3 people, and considering suites hold roughly 20-25 people, we might as well get eight plates.

#2 At Oregon State University, home of the Ducks {Not the Disney ones} you can get a Bratwurst with a kick called The Beaver Brat.  It starts with a beer-braised Bratwurst served on a Franz outdoor roll, topped with pickled sweet and spicy peppers, honey mustard sauce, and Sauerkraut. More Quack for your bite with this one.

    Another trendy dish at the Ducks’ home gets its name for the official animal of Oregon called Beaver Dam Fries. You get about ¾ of a pound of very crisp French fries topped with Caramelized onions, applewood smoked bacon, and a secret sauce they call Fry sauce. This is more of a dish to have later because that much will fill you up or get two and not worry about food the rest of the game.

#4 At Iowa State University, we get a basket of French Fries like no other I have ever seen called Crabmeat Rangoon Fries. Now, if you have not had Crabmeat Rangoon, I will explain. At some Chinese restaurants, you can get Crabmeat Rangoon but in a wonton form. A crispy wonton stuffed with Crab and Cream Cheese mixed with Green onions. Well, they took it one step farther and deconstructed it. It is a basket of French fries, topped off with a spicy chili sauce, Crab Cream Cheese, and topped off with Green Onions and wonton strips. A snack variety of foods on the list but sounds delicious.

      Available only in suites at Iowa State is an appetizer that is a must-have. An order of herb Naam bread is cut into toast points, and to dip them, you get a bowl of hot cheese and corn dip. The cheese, however, is mixed with a local beer, and the corn is roasted garlic corn, and they come together to make a yummy dip.

#1 At Purdue University, you can get an enormous sandwich with a hell of a name called Porky’s Pete’s Primetime Player BBQ Sandwich. On an Onion bun, you get an oversized piece of fried pork tenderloin, polish sausage, pulled pork, bacon, coleslaw, and three huge onion rings served with a wicked BBq sauce. This sandwich is a must-have, and come hungry cause; this beast can fill almost anyone.

     Now a good burger is hard to find, and a burger with the name the Bacon Double Hammer Burger gives a proper pounding. This tasty burger comes with two ¼ pound burger patties, two slices of American cheese, and four slices of bacon. This makes your everyday burger, but we have also known stadium food just tastes better.

#6 At the University of Alabama {Roll Tide} we get a stuffed stadium delight called Pimento Cheese stuffed Coneuch {which is a southern hickory-smoked sausage.} Take one of these sausage links and stuff them with their homemade Pimento Cheese, then cook and then top it off with a southern BBQ sauce.

  Now also at UA, you can get a sandwich in which the state of Pennsylvania made famous called the Philly Cheesesteak.  On a fresh Hoagie roll, you get fresh grilled top sirloin, mixed green peppers, and onions, and top it off with a hefty helping of cheese sauce. Made the same way in Pennsylvania but served with southern love.

   I hope you all liked this feature. If you go to a stadium or arena and find a new crazy concession, please take a picture and send it to me here on our site, and if anyone around the works reads this and shares it, I would love to do a feature on foods from stadiums of the world. All in all, I believe MLB stadiums have the best unique food to offer, and that is how the old man sees it.

Dallas vs Jacksonville Post Game : 0-4 {enough said}

By Mark Halpern

The Dallas Cowboys played their final preseason game today against the Jaguars and lost 34-14. The Big Cats made us look like a minor Pee Wee football team. Yes, mind you, not many starters started on the offense and very few on defense. Dallas coaches will begin to decide who is staying and who will be going. Some of those cuts will come as soon as Monday.

The story of the preseason was who was going to be the backup quarterback in Dallas? If we were judging just by today, then it wouldn’t be Cooper Rush. He was the only reserve quarterback not to throw a touchdown. His play has been erratic, and still, he isn’t the worst option. Ben DeNucci, who did pass for a score, has been the weakest this entire preseason. His passes are all over the place, and sometimes he doesn’t show much confidence. This leaves us with Garrett Gilbert, who did throw a touchdown and completed fifty percent of his passes. None of these three deserve to be on the team, but you must have a backup in case of injuries. The Cowboys restructured Elliot’s contract earlier in the week to free up a chunk of cap room. The question is, which quarterback are they going to go after this close to the season?

Let’s look at the positives from today. The cowboys did not turn over the ball but did force a turnover on an interception. Well, that was easy. The Cowboys brought out second and third-rounders to see where they had to trim the fat in the upcoming days. This version of the Cowboys defense let Trevor Lawrence go off today. Trevor threw 11/12 passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns. They then let Jake Luton come in and throw 16/18 for 137 yards and one touchdown to make things worse. If the Jacksonville Jaguars come out like this on week one, then the league better watch out. 

Tuesday, Aug 31st, 4 pm is the time limit teams must cut down to the magic number of 53 players. I will say that some choices will be challenging, especially on the defensive side. The Cowboys have the best linebacking crew in football, and depth in that position is perfect. They will be cutting more offensive players than defensive. I see Ben DeNucci staying with the Cowboys but on the practice squad. As for others, it will be a wait-and-see.

Look for my article this week on the cut down to 53 and my predictions for the season.

Preseason Week 3 recap : Bears @ Titans

By Bill Murphy

Nashville-  After a chaotic week, the Titans’ preseason ends with a loss to the Chicago Bears by a score of 27-24.  The chaos was caused by nine players and coaches either testing positive for Covid 19 or ending up on the Covid/ reserve list, including head coach Mike Vrabel and quarterback Ryan Tannehill. The Titans did not play any of their starters as players played their last chance to make the squad.

The backup quarterback battle between Logan Woodside and Matt Barkley took place.  Woodside threw 12 completions out of 17 attempts, 100 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Barkley threw for seven completions out of 15 attempts, 126 yards, and one interception.  Overall, Woodside threw 29 completions out of  40 attempts, 228 yards, and three touchdowns this preseason. Barkley threw 24 completions out of  39 attempts, 295 yards, and two touchdowns. Woodside has a 72.5  %completion rate, while Barkley has a 61.5 % completion rate. If you look at the numbers, Woodside will most likely get the job as the backup quarterback.

The Titans offense featured running back Mekhai Sargent. Since Derrick Henry was not playing, Sargent ran for 51 yards and scored one touchdown. Cameron Baston had 45 receiving yards and scored one touchdown.  Baston has been one of the strong receivers for the Titans all preseason since they have been without AJ Brown and Julio Jones.   

The strong point of the preseason for the Titans has been the defense, which was a weakness last season.  They have only received one sack and gave up 448 yards. They also gave up three touchdowns to Bears tight end Jesper Horstead, especially a six-yard one-handed catch. This preseason, the Titans have held teams to 854 yards, nine sacks, three touchdowns, and two field goals. 

So the Titans have finished the preseason with a 2-1 record after a very strong performance over the last three games. This week will be the moment of truth when the roster is cut from 80 to 53 players. We will see who is going to earn their spot on the roster for week one.

Rams fall short against Broncos in preseason finale

By Zakary Haines

DENVER- The Los Angeles Rams had another close game but fell short of winning 17-12. The Rams are 0-3 this preseason, but the good news is that the next time they suit up, it will be in the regular season. With the looming deadline to announce their 53-man roster, the next 48 to 72 hours will be tough on the coaching staff. Some great players have stepped up and made plays that may have secured them a spot. However, it was easy to see who may not be on that final roster in this game. 

On the offensive side, past issues from the previous two games were present in this game. The offense was not clicking like last week against the Raiders. The team only recorded 104 rushing yards, most of which came from the starting quarterback Bryce Perkins. As for the running backs, Sony Michel, Darrell Henderson Jr, and Jake Funk did not suit up for this game. For the two running backs that did get touches, Xavier Jones made the most out of his time with 44 rushing yards off of 13 carries. Meanwhile, Otis Anderson only had ten rushing yards off of three carries. As for the receiving game, Tutu Atwell had the best night with eight receptions out of 12 targets for 62 receiving yards. Trishton Jackson also had a decent night with three receptions out of five and 48 receiving yards. 

However, all of the scoring in last night’s game came from the Rams’ starting kicker, Matt Gay. Gay was a perfect four of four in field goal attempts, including one 54 yarder. Gay racked up 12 points for himself and capped off a fairly good preseason. This week the Rams had a listed punter with Corey Bojorquez, who had himself a night too. Bojorquez recorded five punts for 277 yards. Three of those punts were within the 20 of the Broncos, and his longest punt of the night was 70 yards. 

As for the defense, this was not their best outing. With only one interception and one sack, the defense was relatively quiet. Players who are on the bubble getting in did not perform as well as the Rams hoped. Only a couple of defensive players performed well, including JR Reed. Reed had six total tackles, two of which were solo tackles. Christian Rozeboom was the only individual who recorded an interception against Drew Lock. Lock had pressure and threw into coverage, where Rozeboom was able to pick him off. 

In his postgame press conference, Sean McVay jumped right into discussing upcoming roster cuts and had nothing but high praise for this roster. “Really grateful for this group,” McVey said. “This group of men that did an excellent job…we asked a lot of them, consistently showed up and the amount of snaps these guys were able to complete.” McVay also noted some of the players made their decisions easier on him and his staff. The final roster cuts are to be done by August 31st, 4 p.m. EDT. 

WFT Falls in Preseason Finale

By Dan Ryans

WASHINGTON–The Washington Football team finished the preseason last night and lost big to the Baltimore Ravens by a final of 37-3. In a game that surprisingly didn’t feature any starters for WFT, this was expected. Many of Washington’s young players, who are still vying for a spot on the team, did have a chance to play. Again, it wasn’t great overall, but a learning experience nonetheless. It was a great opportunity for the coaching staff to fully evaluate the rest of the team as they prepare to cut down the rosters to 53 men by Tuesday afternoon. 

Coach Ron Rivera knew it would be risky to throw out the starters in the final preseason game, so he took the conservative route. “It was something we decided on a few days back,” said Rivera after the game. “We didn’t want to get anybody hurt…we have a lot of people we feel really comfortable and confident in who they are for us, and we just felt that exposing [them] was not the thing to do.” Rivera did talk about the players that he threw out. As a team, he wasn’t pleased with the performance. But what was most important at this point in the preseason is the quality of individual play. “Some things came through that made it even more clear for us…we got some really good battles going on, and we got some guys that we have to take a real good look at. So they got a lot of extended play.”

One such individual performance came from defensive lineman David Bada, who comes from Germany and is a product of the NFL’s International Pathway Program. He signed with Washington last year but spent the year on the practice squad to learn and grow in the game of football. Quietly, he has had a strong summer and what we saw last night only betters his chances of making the final roster. He sacked Lamar Jackson early in the game in addition to his four total tackles on the night (three of them on his own). Bada has done his job. Now it’s up to Ron Rivera and the coaches to see if he’s fit for this squad on Week 1. 

By Tuesday night, we will know which players have made the 53-man roster. The next time Washington plays a game, it’ll be for real. WFT will be home against the Chargers on Sunday, September 12th, at 1pm. 

Bengals Final Preseason Game

By Liam Sullivan

The Cincinnati Bengals (1-1) seek to close out their pre-season campaign when they host the Miami Dolphins (1-1) tomorrow at 4:30 PM in The Buckeye State.

The Dolphins are coming off of a 37-17 home rout of the Atlanta Falcons.

Any Bengals player in the secondary should get ready to take on second-year player Nick Saban coached Tua Tagovailoa if they want to keep their roster spot.

While the receptions were democratically shared with fifth-year UNC product Mack Hollins, third-year Washington product Myles Gaskin, and other Wide Receivers, the run game was more productive, with a seventh-year player and Texas running back, Malcolm Brown having 43 yards on ten carries, an average of 4.3 yards per carry.

Bengals offensive players like Jacques Patrick, Chris Evans, or Trenton Irwin, who want a roster spot, better know how to get by Texas Tech product, and Linebacker Sam Eguavoen, a former Canadian League product who had seven tackles.

The weather for tomorrow’s afternoon showdown at Paul Brown Stadium is not looking up. There is a 50% chance of rain earlier in the day, and it seems not to be as threatening. However, it will be 89 degrees and a rough one for those responsible for gaining yards in the ground game.