Into The Lions Den

By : Mike Rifkin

The Dolphins look to continue their winning ways, as they go to Detroit to play the Lions. Miami is coming off a 16-10 win over the Steelers on Sunday Night. In his return to the lineup Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was 21-35 for 261 yards and a touchdown. The Dolphins offense in the first half was great, moving the ball up and down the field. In the second half they stalled. But the key to the Dolphins success offensively isn’t Tua or the speed of Jaylen Waddle or Tyreek Hill, it’s Raheem Mostert who had 109 total yards and a receiving touchdown on Sunday night. Mostert looks all the way back from his knee injury last season. 

The Dolphins defense showed up in a big way on Sunday Night, forcing three turnovers and sacking Kenny Pickett twice. Jaelan Phillips had 1.5 sacks, giving him three sacks in the last four games. This defense will play a Lions team that had five turnovers last week against the Cowboys. The Lions have 11 giveaways so far this season and quarterback Jared Goff has been sacked 12 times. Offensively the Lions average 145.7 yards per game and 5.3 yards per carry. The Lions defense gives up 32.3 points per game and give up 162.8 rushing yards per game. The Dolphins defense will have to deal with the return of D’Andre Swift, who missed time with a shoulder injury. 

Key Matchups: Xavien Howard and Jevon Holland vs Amon-Ra St. Brown and TJ Hockenson. The two best Dolphin defensive backs against the two best receivers might decide how this game will go. The Dolphins secondary is extremely banged up right now, so let’s see if Jared Goff can take advantage.

World Series Preview 

By : Mike Rifkin

On Friday, at Minute Maid Park Game One of the 2022 World Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and Houston Astros will be played. The Phillies have not been to the World Series since 2009, haven’t won it since 2008. While the Astros have been in the World Series three of the last four years. The Astros lost the World Series to another NL East team last year when the Braves beat them in six games, the Astros won their only World Series in 2017, but that came with controversy. 

The Phillies finished this season 87-75, third place in the NL East, and got the last spot in the playoffs. By getting in the Phillies snapped the longest playoff drought in the National League. The Phillies beat the St. Louis Cardinals in two games in the Wild Card Round. Then they beat the reigning World Series Champs Atlanta Braves in four games in the Divisional Round. In the NLCS the Phillies beat the San Diego Padres in five games. Bryce Harper, the 2022 NLCS MVP has showcased himself this postseason with five home runs, 11 RBI and a slash line of .419/.444/.907. Harper has been clutch this postseason for the Phillies including in game five of the NLCS, where in the bottom of the Eighth Inning he hit a two run home run off of Robert Suarez to give the Phillies the lead. Harper is tied for the team lead with Rhys Hoskins both have five home runs. The Phillies as a team have 16 home runs so far this playoffs and have a team slash line of .237/.307/.442.  The Phillies top two starters Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola are as good as any duo in the Majors. Wheeler has a 1.78 ERA so far this postseason, while Nola has a 3.12 ERA. But the Phillies bullpen which has been a struggle in years past, has been solid this postseason. The Phillies bullpen has a 3.19 ERA this postseason after having a 4.27 ERA during the regular season. 

The Astros won 106 games during the regular season and won the AL West again. The Astros swept the Seattle Mariners in the ALDS and swept the New York Yankees in the ALCS. Short Stop Jeremy Pena who hit the game tying three run home run in game four of the ALCS was named ALCS MVP. Pena had a .353/.353/.824 slash line with two home runs in the series. Pena had big shoes to fill after Carlos Correa left in free agency, Pena hit 22 home runs and 63 RBI during the regular season. But the Astros are not being led by the guys you would think. Jose Altuve has a slash line of .094/.171/.125, this playoff, Yordan Alvarez has two home runs but a slash line of .241/.371/.517 and Kyle Tucker has a .214/.313/.321 slash line with one homer. Yuli Gurriel who struggled during the regular season with a .242 average is hitting .367 and has two home runs, as does teammate Alex Bregman. The Astros top two starters Justin Verlander and Framber Valdez will both be at the top of a lot of CY Young ballots. Valdez has a 1.42 ERA through his first two starts, while Verlander struck out 11 Yankees in his last start. The Astros bullpen has an ERA of 0.82 so far this playoff after posting a 2.80 ERA during the regular season. 

I feel this series is very important for the Astros for a few reasons. The first being the only thing missing on Manager Dusty Baker’s resume is a World Series Championship. The other reason is if the Astros win the World Series people can stop talking about their 2017 title being tainted. After their sign stealing scandal everyone delegitimizes the Astros and every year they are one of the best teams in baseball, but a victory in the World Series can put that whole issue behind them.

Prediction : Astros in six

Week 8: Jets looking to be Patriotic 

By : Ross Mazin

The New York Jets take on the New England Patriots this Sunday afternoon at Met Life Stadium . The Jets are coming off a big win over the Broncos and the Patriots are coming off an ugly loss to the Bears on Monday Night Football.

The Jets pulled off a huge road win Sunday afternoon against the Broncos. The defense and offense were very much present. Zach Wilson was 16 for 26 for 121 yards. He had zero touchdowns and no interceptions. Breece Hall carried for 4 yards and 72 yards and a touchdown. Hall left the game and it was announced Monday that he tore his ACL. GM Joe Douglas stepped up and traded for Jaguars Running Back James Robinson. 

The Patriots were thoroughly embarrassed Monday night against the Bears. The biggest question is at Quarterback. Mac Jones came back from an ankle injury. Jones was 3 -6 for 13 yards and an interception, before turning it over to Bailey Zappe.  Bailey Zappe was 14 for 22  for 185 yards. He had one touchdown and two interceptions. The Patriots have beaten the Jets 12 straight times. Last season the Patriots outscored the Jets 80- 19. Damien Harris had 168 yards and three touchdowns in the two meetings. Zach Wilson had four interceptions and was sacked five times in the two meetings. 

I expect the Jets offense to be very dominant this weekend. My score prediction is Jets 31- Patriots 12

Clawing Their Way To A Win

By : Jeff Knapp

The Giants didn’t start out flat and finished off their opening drive with a 32 yard TD catch from Darius Slayton, but then allowed Trevor Lawrence to move the ball easily down the field with Travis Etienne finishing it off with a 7 yard TD run and a 2 point conversion to take the lead.

The Giants looked good going into the 2nd half despite some dropped passes and a costly offensive pass interference call that might have cost the Giants a potential TD although it did lead to a field goal.

The biggest concern going into the half was a eye injury to rookie TE Daniel Bellinger who took a few fingers or hand in between the face guard that knocked him out of the game with a fractured eye socket and he is out indefinitely.

The Jags took the ball to start the 2nd half and it didn’t look good for the Giants, who allowed the Jags to take the ball 73 yards in under 4 minutes that ended in a 1 yard TD run by Trevor Lawrence. The Giants didn’t help themselves on this drive by getting hit with a huge 15 yard roughing the passer penalty that put the Jags on the Giants 11 yard line. 

From there on the Giants defense took over and the Jags went 3 and out on 2 drive and a turnover on downs during their next 3 drives.

I believe it took every Giants fan the rest of the day to calm their nerves. The last drive was one for the ages and nothing we want to see again. Trevor Lawrence threw an interception with under a minute to go but that was reversed after the Giant’s Belton was nailed with illegal hands to the face, allowing the drive to continue. Then with about 22 seconds left an a 4th and 15 coming up, the Giants not only allow a 28 yard completion but also get hit with a 15 yard roughing the passer penalty putting the ball at the Giants 17 yard line. Finally on the last play, Trevor Lawrence completes a 16 yard pass to Christian Kirk who is amazingly stopped at the 1 yard line by Xavier Mckinney and Julian Love to end the game. 

Next week the Giants will be in Seattle to take on the Seahawks and will be without starting left guard Bred Bredeson and rookie right tackle Evan Neal, who has a MCL injury and may miss 3-4 weeks at minimum. We will also keep an eye out on Adore Jackson who left the game in the 4th quarter with a possible concussion, so we’ll see if he passes protocol on that. 

At 6-1, the Giants are giving us hope, with Daniel Jones having his best season ever, and Saquon Barkley looking like he did his rookie year and a defense that although is not having the easiest time getting to the QB, but is much better than it has been over the past few years. The O-line needs get better since Jones is one of the highest sacked QBs in the game at the moment with 20 sacks (he was sacked 22 times last season).

The Last Stand

By : Mike Rifkin

On Sunday the Green Bay Packers lost to the Washington Commanders 23-21, it is the Packers third consecutive loss putting their record at 3-4. Aaron Rodgers was 23-35 for 195 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday. But this is not the same Packer offense that we have seen the past couple seasons. 

Last season the Packers averaged 26.5 points per game and averaged 378.0 yards per game, this season the Packers average 18.3 points per game and average 349 yards per game. Now we can all say that this has to do with the absence of Davante Adams, who was traded to the Raiders in the offseason. But a number I find staggering is that Aaron Rodgers has been sacked 15 times in seven games. Last season Rodgers was sacked 30 times in 16 games played.  Over the next few weeks the Packers will be playing teams with great pass rushes including the Cowboys, Eagles, Titans and this week a date in Buffalo against the Bills. 

Rodgers said after yesterday’s game “ I’m not worried about this squad. In fact, this might be the best thing for us. This week, nobody is going to give us a chance, going to Buffalo on Sunday Night Football, with a chance to get exposed. Shoot, this might be the best thing for us.” I love this statement from Rodgers, but Packers fans everywhere should be worried about this squad. This isn’t the same team, that was the number one seed in the NFC last season. Last year the Packers were third in the NFL with a +13 turnover differential, this year so far they are a -4 in turnover differential.  I want Rodgers to go to the front office and say I need a guy who could help this offense or I want out of Green Bay. The front office should do one of two things if they want to contend they would sign Odell Beckham Jr. to a two year deal or if the Packers miss the playoffs, which right now feels like a good bet, try to see if Rodgers is willing to play somewhere else or if he is ready to hang up his cleats. 

The Packers season hangs in the balance of the next couple weeks, and it starts with the difficult task of playing the Bills in Buffalo. After that the Packers will have games with the Titans, Cowboys, and the undefeated Eagles. This could be the Packers last stand.

 Jets Flying Mile High To Denver 

By : Ross Mazin

The Jets are coming off a huge upset over the Green Bay Packers last week. They’re riding high coming into Denver this weekend. Can Wilson, Breece Hall and the New York offense keep it going on the road in a tough environment? Or will the Broncos, behind their own quarterback Wilson, find some signs of life and try to get their season back on track? 

The Jets were great in all three phases of the game. They attacked early and often. They never trailed at any point during the game. As a team they rushed for 179 yards led by Breece Hall’s 116 yards and as a team averaged 5.4 yards per carry. The Jets defense had four sacks of Aaron Rodgers and had nine quarterback hits. The Special Teams had two blocked punts including one returned for a touchdown and a blocked field goal. 

The Broncos went into Los Angeles on Monday night. They actually started strong as the Broncos were up 10-0 after the first quarter and after that they sputtered. Russell Wilson started strong as well completing his first 10 passes. He finished 15-28 with 188 yards and a touchdown. Denver’s offense as a whole has struggled all season long. They are averaging 15.2 points per game. 

I expect a rather low scoring affair. My prediction is Jets 25- Broncos 20

Trying To Turn It Around

By: Mike Rifkin

On Sunday night the Miami Dolphins will host the Pittsburgh Steelers trying to snap a three game losing streak. Last week the Dolphins lost at home against the Vikings 24-16. This game will feature the return of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa who has missed the last two games with a concussion. Tagovailoa has a 69.6 completion percentage averaging 258.8 yards per game with eight touchdowns and three interceptions. The Dolphins have scored less than 20 points in each of their last three games. 

The Steelers are coming off a huge 20-18 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week. Mitch Trubisky replaced Kenny Pickett, who suffered a concussion. Trubisky went 9-12 for 144 yards and a touchdown.  That win snapped a four game losing streak for the Steelers. Head Coach Mike Tomlin has said if Pickett is able to practice, he will start. The Steelers offense averages 16.2 points per game. Both teams have 12 sacks on the season so this game could be decided on who is able to win in the trenches.

One major storyline is that this game will mark the return of Brian Flores to Miami. Flores was fired after last season.  As the Dolphins head coach the past three seasons he posted a 24-25 record. Flores, now an assistant coach for the Steelers, is suing the NFL, and we have found some interesting findings during the suit. 

Two teams in the AFC trying to right the ship and make some noise in the AFC playoff race. 

Same Year, Same Story

By : Mike Rifkin

On Saturday, the Houston Astros defeated the Seattle Mariners in game three of the ALDS resulting in a sweep. With the win the Astros have advanced to their MLB record sixth consecutive ALCS. 

For Baseball fans the Astros have been public enemy number one since their cheating scandal in 2017. The Astros have been the model of consistency despite what has occurred since 2017 as well as their roster changes. Guys like Carlos Correa and George Springer have left but this team doesn’t miss a beat. The Astros decided to not re-sign Carlos Correa, their All Star Shortstop, but instead opted to go with rookie Jeremy Pena to replace him. Pena in his rookie season had 22 home runs, 63 RBI and a slash line of .253/.289/.426. But in Game Three of the ALDS Pena hit the go ahead home run in the eighteenth inning to give the Astros the win. They were able to let Springer go because of the emergence of Kyle Tucker. Tucker, who this year played in a career high 150 games this year tied his career high with 30 home runs which he hit last year and set a career with 107 RBI. Tucker had a slash line of .257/.330/.478. There also has been the emergence of Yordan Alvarez. Alvarez hit .267 in the LDS against the Mariners with two home runs including a walk off three run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning in game one. Alvarez on the season had 37 home runs and 97 RBI with a slash line of .306/.406/.613. Had Alvarez not went on the injured list with a Hand injury, he would have been the biggest threat to Aaron Judge in the AL MVP race. 

People don’t have to like the Astros, but you have to respect what they have accomplished. They are the model of consistency in Major League Baseball and could be very much on their way to winning another World Series.

A Giant Comeback

By : Jeff Knapp

After defeating the Packers in London, the Giants, who have outscored their opponents 78-32 in the second half this season, came back home to face the 3-2 Baltimore Ravens, who just squeaked by the Bengals the week before for a 19-17 win.

Behind by 10 in the 4th quarter, the Giants did what they’ve been doing all season and that is coming from behind for the victory despite the Ravens running back Kenyan Drake carving up the Giants at times with untouched runs and who ended the day with 119 rushing yards and one touchdown on 10 carries and his all pro teammate TE Mark Andrews who seemed to be open at will, also had a big game with 7 catches for 106 yards and one touchdown.

Honestly, the Giants kept it close and didn’t beat themselves by not turning the ball over on fumbles (which they had one but recovered it) or interceptions but looked a bit flat until they turned it up in the 4th quarter by scoring 14 unanswered points.

Saquon Barkley once again had a good day with 95 all purpose yards and 1 TD. Rookie Daniel Bellinger continues to impress with 5 receptions and 1 TD. Speaking of rookies, Wan’Dale Robinson caught his TD pass of the season on a 5-yard pass in the 1st quarter to tie things up at 7.

The biggest plays of the game that sealed the deal were the 2 turnovers the Giants created in the 4th quarter. The first one was an interception in Ravens territory by Julian Love which led to a Barkley TD and the second turnover was a strip fumble by rookie Kayvon Thibodeaux on the Baltimore 25 with 1:40 left in the game to seal the deal. 

When you look at the stats, it’s amazing that the Giants won since Baltimore had more 1st downs, total yards, including leading in both passing yards and rushing yards, but due to having more penalties allowed the Giants to hang in there and pull off another amazing comeback.

Dexter Lawrence continued to have another great game with 5 QB pressures and rookie Evan Neal only allowed 1 QB hurry over 32 snaps

Daniel Jones had another good managerial game, passing for 173 yards on 19 completions. The O-line still is a work in progress, but much better than the previous years that Jones has been there, and they need to cut down on the sacks, allowing 19 sacks over 6 games which is about 3.2 sacks per game, but on the other hand Jones needs to feel the pressure a bit better and needs to work on getting rid of the ball much faster.

Next week the Giants roll into Jacksonville to take on the 2-4 Jaguars who are on a 3-game losing streak which includes loses to Texans, Colts and the Eagles.

With a shrinking WR group, let’s see if they Giants will get back Kadarius Toney or Kenny Golladay and will Azeez Ojulari return to the defense for week 7.

Heavyweight Battle(s) 

By : Mike Rifkin

Sunday’s NFL schedule there are two games that stand out from the rest. The Bills go to Kansas City to play the Chiefs in a rematch from their epic AFC Divisional playoff game. The other one is the Dallas Cowboys traveling to Philadelphia to play the Eagles in an NFC East showdown. I feel these are must win games for the Bills and Eagles.

I feel this is a must win for the Bills for a few reasons. The first is Home Field advantage, the last two times these teams played in the playoffs those games took place in Arrowhead, if those games are played in Buffalo who knows what happens? Josh Allen is 1-3 in his career against Mahomes. That is not on Allen at all, in his career against the Chiefs, he has a 60.9 completion percentage with 11 touchdowns and two interceptions, with a 105.1 passer rating. For as good as the Bills are, and they are really good a win like this cements them as a team to beat. They made a statement in Week 1 when they stomped the Rams, they made a statement when they came back to beat the Ravens, this could be their next statement. Defensively they will have to slow down Travis Kelce who scored the game winning touchdown in that Divisional game has scored a touchdown in every game against the Bills. A lot of people anointed the Bills as the team to beat in the NFL, if they win this game on the road that is a big step forward and will give them a ton of confidence. 

The Eagles are the only remaining undefeated team in the NFL. They have been very impressive on both sides of the ball. Jalen Hurts has been great to start as has the receiving duo of AJ Brown and Devonta Smith. The Eagles defense has also been sensational to start the season. Now here comes a big test, the Dallas Cowboys come to town. Last year in the two meetings the Cowboys outscored the Eagles 92 – 47. Jalen Hurts against the Cowboys had a 59.5 completion percentage, three touchdowns, four interceptions with a passer rating of 78.9. This is a big game for Philly because it is a divisional game against probably your biggest threat in the NFC East and after last year’s beatdowns show you are not a pushover. They also need to take advantage of the possibility of playing Cooper Rush who is undefeated as the Cowboys starter. 

This could be a signature win for both the Bills and Eagles. Both are looking at the bigger picture, but they can’t look past this weekend’s game.