MVP CASES

By : Mike Rifkin

As the NFL season dwindles, people will keep debating awards, specifically the MVP. The league last had a non-quarterback win the award in 2012 when Adrian Peterson won the award; only five times since 2000 has a non-quarterback won the award, and all of them were running backs. I know people are debating Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts for the award, but I will give you two other guys who should be in the conversation. 

Let’s start with Mahomes, who has a guy on his team who should be in the conversation. The Chiefs’ offense is first in yards per game and has the top-ranked passing offense, and Mahomes leads the league in passing yards and touchdowns. But how would those numbers change if Travis Kelce wasn’t a Chief? Kelce is currently fourth in receptions, seventh in receiving yards, and tied for first with 12 touchdowns. Even with Tyreek Hill gone, Kelce has played great. 

Last season Cooper Kupp won the receiving Triple Crown leading in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns; because of that and the season the Rams had, he was definitely in the MVP conversation. Justin Jefferson is leading in receptions and receiving yards this year and is tied for fifth in touchdowns. Jefferson can break Calvin Johnson’s single-season yards record and Michael Thomas’s single-season receptions record. 

Defenses know both guys will get the ball and can’t stop it. I understand there is the Offensive Player of the year award, which one of these guys will surely win, but they deserve to be mentioned in the MVP conversation. At some point, a non-quarterback will win MVP. Why not have it be this season?

Who Gets The W As A Present

By: Mike Rifkin

On Christmas day, the Dolphins and Packers will play in a battle of teams looking for a Wild Card position in their respective conferences. Miami comes into the game on a three-game losing streak, while the Packers have won back-to-back games. 

The Packers are coming off a 24-12 win over the Rams on Monday night. Aaron Rodgers was 22-30 for 229 yards with a touchdown and an interception. The Packers as a team ran for 138 yards, and AJ Dillon had two rushing touchdowns. The Packer defense gave up 156 yards of total offense to the Rams. They also sacked Baker Mayfield five times and had an interception. The Packer defense has forced four turnovers over their last two games. In his career against the Dolphins, Aaron Rodgers has a 59.2 completion percentage, averaging 258.7 yards per game with six touchdowns and one interception in three games. 

The Dolphins are coming off a hard-fought 32-29 loss at the Bills on Saturday. Tua Tagovailoa was 17-30 for 234 yards and two touchdowns. Raheem Mostert ran for 136 yards on 17 carries, and as a team, the Dolphins ran for 188 yards and averaged 7.5 yards per carry. Jaylen Waddle had three catches for 114 yards and a touchdown, and Tyreek Hill had nine catches for 69 yards and a touchdown. A couple of costly penalties cost the Dolphins the game, but overall it was a step in the right direction after two bad games on the west coast. The Dolphins should be able to establish the run again this week, as the Packers give up 148.9 rushing yards per game. 

A Christmas game with many playoff implications; it doesn’t get much better than that. Will Miami get back on track, or will Aaron Rodgers and company still hang on to their playoff lives?

Week 16: Can The Jets Catch The Jaguars 

By Ross Mazin

The Jets and Jaguars face off on Thursday night football. This game has a lot of energy to it. This game has a lot of playoff positioning at stake. 

The Jets are coming off a disappointing 20-17 loss against the Lions last week. Zach Wilson, who was playing for the injured Mike White went 18 for 35 for 317 yards. He had two touchdowns and one interception. With less than two minutes left, the Jets defense gave up a 51 yard touchdown from Jared Goff to Brock Wright on a fourth down play. The Jets got the ball back and totally botched the clock by not using their timeouts and had to settle for a 58 yard field goal attempt, which was wide left. 

The Jaguars are coming off a huge 40-34  upset win against the Cowboys. Trevor Lawrence was 27 for 42 for 318 yards. He had 4 touchdowns and one interception. Three of those touchdowns went to Zay Jones, who had six catches for 109 yards and three touchdowns. Travis Etienne Jr. had 19 carries. He rushed for 103 yards. Rayshawn Jenkins had two interceptions including the 52 yard interception returned for a touchdown in overtime. The Jags have won four of their last six games and are a game out in the AFC South. 

This is the second time that Wilson and Lawrence, the top two picks in the 2021 draft will play each other. In week 16 last season the Jets edged out the Jags 26-21. Zach Wilson had two touchdowns (1 rush and 1 pass). Trevor Lawrence threw for 280 yards. The Jets as a team had 273 rushing yards and averaged 7.6 yards per carry.

Both teams are in the playoff race and I expect a relatively high scoring game. My prediction is Jets 33- Jaguars 30

2023 Wrestling Predictions 

By : Allison Weiner

Hello and happy winter. Before you continue reading this blog, I would like to introduce myself. I am the “wonderful” Allison Taylor Weiner. I am proud to be a part of the Face Turn team for SIN. As we end 2022, I would like to start with my first post predicting the future champions in 2023 and when this will happen for AEW, ROH, WWE, and NXT. I’m not doing Impact and NJPW because I don’t know the franchise too well. Also, these are just my predictions for new champions in 2023. If you have any different suggestions, please post them below. Here is a list below as of 12/16/2022 of the current champions and who will be the next champion. 

AEW:

  • AEW World Champion: Maxwell Jacob Friedman
    • Next Champion: Wardlow (Fyter Fest 2023)
  • AEW Women’s Champion: Jamie Hayter
    • Next Champion: Thunder Rosa (Double or Nothing 2023)
  • TNT Champion: Samoa Joe
    • Next Champion: Jay Lethal (2023 Battle of the Belts)
  • TBS Champion: Jade Cargill
    • Next Champion: Paige Vanzant (Double or Nothing 2023)
  • AEW Tag Team Champion: The Acclaimed
    • Next Champions: Undisputed Elite (Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish or Adam Cole) (June/July 2023)
  • FTW Champion: Hook
    • Future Champion: Swerve Strickland (Beach Break 2023)
  • Trios Tag Team Champion: Death Triangle
    • Next Champions: The Elite (AEW Dynamite January 2023)
  • All Atlantic Champion: Orange Cassidy
    • Next Champion: Rush (AEW Dynamite March/April 2023)
  • (BONUS) I believe AEW will have a Women’s Tag Team Title in 2023
    • Inaugural Champions: Anna Jay and Tay Melo

ROH:

  • ROH World Champion: Claudio Castagnoli
    • Next Champion: Brian Cage (Supercard of Honor XVI)
  • ROH Women’s Champion: Athena
    • Next Champion: Serena Deeb (AEW Rampage May 2023)
  • ROH World TV Champion: Samoa Joe
    • Next Champion: Miro (Late Summer 2023)
  • ROH Pure Champion: Wheeler Yuta
    • Next Champion: Sammy Guevara (AEW Dynamite February 2023)
  • ROH World Tag Team Champions: Briscoe Brothers
    • Next Champions: FTR (Summer 2023)
  • ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champions: The Empire
    • I am predicting that this title will merge with the AEW Trios Tag Team Champions, therefore I am expecting the Elite will join the titles together.

NXT:

  • NXT Champion: Bron Brekker
    • Next Champion: Grayson Waller (New Year’s Evil 2023)
  • NXT Women’s Champion: Roxanne Perez
    • Next Champion: Zoey Stark (Stand and Deliver 2023)
  • NXT Tag Team Champion: New Day
    • Next Champion: Pretty Deadly (New Year’s Evil 2023)
  • NXT Women’s Tag Team Champion: Katana Chance and Kayden Carter
    • Next Champion: Ivy Nile and Tatum Paxley (Vengeance Day 2023)
  • NXT North American Champion: Wes Lee
    • Next Champion: Dijak (In Your House 2023)

WWE:

  • WWE Champion: Roman Reigns
    • Next Champion: Cody Rhodes (Wrestlemania 39)
  • Universal Champion: Roman Reigns
    • Next Champion: Cody Rhodes (Wrestlemania 39), I expect he would vacate this title after his win in the next Smackdown. Roman Reigns will most likely get it back.
  • Raw Women’s Champion: Bianca Belair
    • Next Champion: Rhea Ripley (Royal Rumble 2023)
  • Smackdown Women’s Champion: Ronda Rousey
    • Next Champion: Becky Lynch (Wrestlemania 39)
  • Raw Tag Team Champions: Usos
    • Next Champion: Brawling Brutes (Elimination Chamber 2023), I expect that they would lose the titles to a Raw Tag team the following night. I am predicting that would be Judgement Day (Damian Priest and Dominick Mysterio)
  • Smackdown Tag Team Champions: Usos
    • Next Champion: Brawling Brutes (Elimination Chamber 2023)
  • Womens Tag Team Champions: Damage CTRL (Dakota Kai and IYO Sky)
    • Next Champions: Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler (Spring 2023)
  • United States Champion: Austin Theory
    • Next Champion: Finn Balor (Elimination Chamber 2023)
  • Intercontinental Champion: Gunther
    • Next Champion: Seth Rollins (Wrestlemania Backlash)

What A Difference A Year Makes

By : Mike Rifkin

On Sunday, the Jacksonville Jaguars overcame a 17-point deficit to beat the Dallas Cowboys 40-34 in Overtime. The Jags have won three out of the last four games and are one game behind the Titans in the AFC South. Last year the Jags were 3-14, and the Jaguars had won four games combined over the prior two seasons.
I can talk about all the talent that the Jags have accumulated through the draft and free agency, but the guy I am giving much credit to is new Head Coach Doug Pederson. Last year the Jags had a disastrous season under Urban Meyer. According to reports, Meyer was a bully to some players and even his assistant coaches. Under Pederson, the team looks different and has taken significant strides. Nobody has taken more significant strides than Trevor Lawrence, the number one pick in the 2021 draft, who already has thrown for double the number of touchdowns as he did as a rookie, thrown ten fewer interceptions, and has a higher completion percentage. But when you watch Lawrence, he is playing with an abundance of confidence, unlike last year, when he struggled.
Whether the Jaguars make the playoffs or not, they have taken massive strides this season, and a lot has to do with their new head coach and the confidence he has given his quarterback. If the game from Sunday were last season, the Jags would get run out of their stadium. But under Pederson, they found a way to come back and beat a good Cowboys team. Here might be the biggest compliment you can give Pederson and the Jags; nobody can say the Jags will be playing in a big game in Week 16. Over the next two weeks, the Jaguars play the Jets and Texans before a week 18 showdown with the Titans, which might be with the AFC South on the line.

Embracing The Conditions

By : Mike Rifkin

On Saturday night the Miami Dolphins will clash with the Buffalo Bills with big time AFC playoff implications on the line. The Dolphins will be looking to sweep the Bills for the first time since 2016. There is snow expected for this game.

The Dolphins lost 23-17 to the Chargers last week, giving them two consecutive losses. For the first time this season the Dolphins offense looked inept. Tua Tagovailoa played his worst game of the season going 10-28 for 145 yards and a 60 yard touchdown pass to Tyreek Hill. The Dolphins struggled on third down going 3-11.

The Bills are coming off a 20-12 win over the Jets. Josh Allen was 16-27 for 147 yards and a touchdown, he also had 10 rushes for 47 yards and a touchdown. Dawson Knox had four catches for 41 yards and a touchdown. The Bills defense had eight hits of Jets quarterback Mike White including three sacks. 

The first time these two teams played was in week three where the Dolphins prevailed 21-19. The Bills outgained the Dolphins 497-212. The Bills also possessed the ball for over 40 minutes, while the Dolphins possessed it for just under 20 minutes. The heat played a big factor in that game, will the snow play a big one in this matchup? Two teams with their eyes on the playoffs and maybe even more meet for the second time this season.

Week 15: Can The Jets Become Lion Tamers 

By Ross Mazin

The Jets take on the Lions Sunday afternoon at MetLife. This should be an interesting matchup for sure as both teams are still in the thick of the playoff race. 

The Jets are coming off a 20-12 loss at the Bills last weekend. Mike White was 27-44 . for 268 yards. He had zero touchdowns and zero interceptions. Mike White was sacked three times and hit more than that. White is banged up that the Jets announced that Zach Wilson will return as the starter in this key game. Wilson was benched after being ineffective against the Patriots.

The Lions are coming off a big 34-23 win against the Vikings last week. Jared Goff was 27-39 for 330 yards and three touchdowns. The Lions have won four of their last five games and have entered the hunt in the NFC Wildcard picture. 

This should be a good game between two teams who are looking to keep pace in the playoff picture. My prediction is Jets 22- Lions 13

Figuring It Out

By : Mike Rifkin

Filip Chytil scored the Overtime winner for the New York Rangers as they defeated the New Jersey Devils 4-3 on Monday. On December third the Rangers lost 5-2 to the Chicago Blackhawks and a lot of people were wondering what would happen next. The Rangers have responded with four consecutive wins. The last three have been against good teams in the Vegas Golden Knights, the defending Stanley Cup Champions Colorado Avalanche and the upstart New Jersey Devils. 

Some of the biggest reasons the Rangers are playing a little bit better is something we saw last year on their run to the Eastern Conference Finals. One is that they are getting some balanced scoring. Over the last four games Chytil, Kaapo Kakko, Alexis Lafreniere and Braden Schneider have two goals each. Mika Zibanejad has seven points over the last five games. Vincent Trocheck has five points over the last four games. Chris Kreider has three goals in his last five games. Artemi Panarin has nine assists over the last five games, but has not scored a goal since November 28th. 

Another reason the Rangers have reeled off four wins in a row has been the play of Igor Shesterkin. The reigning Vezina trophy winner has played well for the most part this season, but the last few games especially the game in Colorado has looked like the Shesterkin of  last season. In Monday night’s game he denied Jack Hughes on a penalty shot. With Shesterkin in goal more often than not the Rangers have a chance to win.

The other reason they’re playing well right now also goes back to their run last season. They’re not getting down on themselves and allowing it to snowball into a more difficult task. Last night they fell behind 2-0 early in the first period and they didn’t get down, they scored a goal late in the first to cut it to 2-1 and then after the Devils scored again they fought back with two goals in seven seconds to tie the game again. They’re starting to play with more confidence and it is really showing. 

This is a team that entered the season with high expectations and they’ve struggled with certain aspects of their game. But over the last four they’re playing better hockey. They’re not going to play 82 perfect games, but when everyone contributes that is what makes a team good. The New York Rangers are a good team and this four game winning streak is something to build on.

Giant Struggles

By: Jeff Knapp

After starting the season off at 6-2, the Giants have been 1-3-1, with loses to the Seahawks, Lions and Cowboys and shooting themselves in the foot repeatedly in their tie to the Commanders.

Over those last 5 games, they have given up 24.4 points per game while only scoring an average of 19 points per game. 

That doesn’t bode well with the fact that they are playing the hottest team in football, the 12-1 Eagles who are scoring 29.7 points per game while only giving up 19.1 points per game. 

The Giants lead in 3 categories that you DON’T want to lead in. They gave up more sacks, 7. Sure the Giants sacked Hurts 4 times, but the final score would possibly be much higher if not for that. They also led in penalties and penalty yards. You can’t win with all those penalties and the last one is the turnovers. Not many teams win when they lead in turnovers. Now I know most teams have 1 per game, but when you can’t get a turnover, that shows you how dominant the Philly offensive line was, and how the playmakers on the team secure the ball.

Defense and ball control win games and when the Giants were out rushed by 130 yards, that is just incredibly sad. 

I’d love to look on the bright side of things, so here we go…Daniel Jones was able to spread the ball around to 9 different receivers, including the 9 catches to Richie James. Although Hurts had a good game, and his backs and receivers had big games, the Giants were able to sack him 4 times, including 2 by Azeez Ojilari. 

Now, for the bad. Like what I said before, the amount of penalties were horrible, the 7 sacks, and let not forget to mention containment. How hard is it to work on keeping receivers and backs getting to the outside for huge gains? On that TD catch from Smith, the DB should have went to knock the ball down and live to fight another play. That was embarrassing. Where was our #1 pick, Kayvon Thibodeaux? Why wasn’t he in the game? I honestly don’t remember seeing him even play.

This is where the frustration starts to kick in for the fans, but we will trust the system and see what happens over the next 4 games, when the Giants face the Commanders, Vikings, Colts and Eagles. I’m hoping the Giants can get their act together and pick up a win over the Commanders and Colts and see how they fair against the Vikings, but I’m scared to see what Justin Jefferson does to the secondary that week.

Next week the Giants will be in Washington to take on the Commanders.

Change The Rule

By : Mike Rifkin

Over the years the NFL has done a lot in terms of player safety. One of the biggest has become the Roughing the Passer penalty. This season alone there have been multiple awful roughing the passer penalties, but there are three that stand out.  One was on Grady Jarrett of the Falcons, one was on Chris Jones of the Chiefs and then last night there was one on Jaelan Phillips of the Dolphins.

The NFL rulebook defines Roughing the Passer as “Because the act of passing often puts the quarterback (or any other player attempting a pass) in a position where he is particularly vulnerable to injury, special rules against roughing the passer apply. The Referee has principal responsibility for enforcing these rules. Any physical acts against a player who is in a passing posture (i.e. before, during, or after a pass) which, in the Referee’s judgment, are unwarranted by the circumstances of the play will be called as fouls.” These rules include driving the Quarterback to the ground, forcible contact to the head and neck area, hitting the quarterback below the knee, and having a defender’s body weight land on the quarterback. But the league has gotten to the point that where any kind of contact to the quarterback has drawn the ability to be penalized. 

So I’ve seen people say that roughing the passer should become a reviewable play and I used to be in this camp. But the more I think about it, It shouldn’t be reviewable, mostly because I feel that it would go as well as the Pass Interference challenge, which means more often than not the call on the field will stand.  

I think we should rewrite the rule because at this point I think the refs are confused and just throw the flag out of precaution. So my solution is to keep parts of the rule and define other parts. The forcible contact to head and neck area along with shots below the knee will be kept. Driving to the ground will be taken away unless play can be avoided or very late. I would throw the body weight part mainly because what is a defensive player supposed to do? Several seasons ago Charles Harris, then a Miami Dolphin tore his ACL attempting to avoid landing on a Quarterback. If this doesn’t work, then it’s time to put flags on quarterbacks, like in flag football, because it has become apparent that you cannot touch the quarterback.