Seahawks Clinch NFC West, Top Seed; Rams Lose Control

What a way to win the NFC West Championship.

BETTINA HANSEN / THE SEATTLE TIMES

The Seattle Seahawks were able to finally clinch the NFC West and the #1 seed out of the NFC in their last game of the season. The 27-9 victory over the St Louis Rams was full of all the stuff you see in a good division rival game, besides coming down to the wire thanks to another terrific outing for the Seattle Seahawks #1 ranked defense. A huge part of that effort has to go to LB Bobby Wagner, who tallied up 12 tackles Sunday, his most on the season and was able to take the #1 spot on the entire team with 120 total tackles all season, 2nd was Earl Thomas with 105.

The Rams did have a great defensive outing of themselves, sacking QB Russell Wilson 4 times and a total of 11 on the season (7 sacks in week 8). DE's Robert Quinn and Chris Long each recorded another sack against Wilson, for a total of 4 sacks for each in both games.Quinn finished 2nd in the NFL with 19 sacks this season, Colts LB Robert Mathis was the league leader with 19.5. Both Quinn and Long were major problems in their last outing, but this time it was LB James Laurinaitis who was attempting to be the trouble maker on defense, racking up a total of 10 total tackles. Besides the decent play by the Rams defense, their offense played a sorry game.

Rams QB Kellen Clemens would throw 2 INT's, that's 4 INT's to SEA in both meetings this year, and only gain 157 yards thru the air, Wilson was not too much better with 172 yards, however the game plan in Seattle was Run, Run, Run in St Louis Clemens was just trying to make a play. The first INT thrown by Clemens was early in the 1st qtr when he threw a pick-6 to LB Malcolm Smith, Smith's 2nd INT in as many games.

Seattle seemed to finally make progress with their offense, which has struggled lately. WR Golden Tate had a career day with his 8 catches for 129 yards with 1 TD and was destroying the Rams secondary all day long. RB Marshawn Lynch also had a better game compared to his recent slump, gaining 97 yards on 23 attempts.

The main thing that will be remembered about this game was the total self-destruction by the Rams, who were penalized 12 times for 87 yards. Seattle still had their own penalty issues, this time only 7 penalties for 65 yards. The Rams really let the situation get the best of them in the 3rd qtr where they were flagged 4 times in the span of 2 plays. One flag ended up getting DE Kendall Langford ejected out of the game, it looked like he inadvertently hit a ref when trying to explain himself to another, but ejected nonetheless and to really who the refs he threw his helmet to the ground on the way out, penalizing his team one more time but hey he got his point across right?

(AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Prediction:

SEA over STL 24-18

Final Score:

SEA over STL 27-9 (NFC West Champions, #1 seed NFC)

The Seahawks are now headed down the road to Super Bowl XLVIII and if they are just lucky enough to make it to the Meadowlands, they will at least have the satisfaction of sleeping in their own beds until then. As for any team in the NFC who will have to come out to Seattle, you got a tough challenge in front of you.


Also here is another special video. This one here is special, you can almost feel the emotion when you watch the video.



For a couple more quick recaps and all the final scores from week 17, check out my other post "NFL Week 17 2013 Mayhem". 



Follow me on Twitter - @therealrikrok89
I hope you enjoyed my posts because I enjoy writing them. 
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NFL Week 17 2013 Mayhem

The NFL Playoffs are now finally set and we have some great match-ups to look forward to. It was a weekend of excitement for some, bitterness for others, but a lot of great games in between all of the emotions.

As for me, I spent most of my day worrying about how my championship game was going in my fantasy football league.

Let me tell you a little bit about how many fantasy season played out this year, I started the season off on an alright start considering my first pick of the draft was Ray Rice. That was almost my downfall for this year, with Rice putting up similar numbers to his rookie season in 2008, averaging less than 50-yards per game and only gaining 660 yards rushing total, as in All Season! However, I would get a pretty solid team after that. Solid in every other position but the QB because I decided to grab Mike Vick, who was supposed to be perfect in a Chip Kelly run offense, and I went with RG3 who I had the year before. Griffin had a great rookie year at QB and brought me to an 11-2 season before the playoffs. Yeah so I started out my season on a 2-game win streak and thought I would be alright considering how bad my first pick in the draft was. Then I would lose 3 of my next 4 and was sitting at .500 with my season spinning in the wrong direction.

And that is when the fantasy god's opened the doors and said, "Ricky do not worry I have given you Josh Gordon, Eddie Lacy, the Panthers D/ST and oh no that is not all how about you switch that Vick for a Foles, you can grab them all on the waiver wire. Now do not worry any longer my son.” Next thing you know I'm on a 7-game winning streak and playing for the league championship. 
Well I would go on to win my first fantasy football championship Sunday evening with a final score of 213 to 159.

Anyways, back to real life football.

The Playoff seedings are now all official and the games are set for next weekends Wild Card games. Now in order to make all these seedings official there had to have been games played and we had some great ones Sunday.

Quick Headlines from Week 17:

The NFC Will Have to Go Thru Seattle. 

(AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Click Here for Recap
Prediction:

SEA over STL 24-18

Final Score:

SEA over STL 27-9

Packers Win NFC North In Rodgers Return

Charles Rex Arbogast, ASSOCIATED PRESS 

The Green Bay Packers were not supposed to make the playoffs this year. They lost their QB in Week 9 and went 0-4-1 in the first 5 games without their starting QB. To make matters worse, the Detroit Lions seemed poised to make the playoffs since both the Bears and Packers were without their starting QB's and Minnesota never even found a QB. That's when things started to turn around and they started getting great play from multi-released QB Matt Flynn, who won 2 of his last 3 before being replaced by Rodgers in the final game. The Packers weathered the storm throughout the middle of the season and stayed close enough to have a final shot in Week 17, but not against those Lions who couldn't have asked for a better scenario to win the division, no instead they played their most historic rival in the NFL, Chicago Bears. The Bears had their own problems this season, especially when it came to who should start once Cutler was healthy and backup QB Josh McCown was rolling. The Packers would win on a 48-yard TD pass to WR Randall Cobb, who was also returning this game from a fractured tibia he suffered against the Ravens in week 6. The late TD was enough to get the win over the Bears, 33-28, and end the Bears season just in time for more QB controversy and the Packers back into the playoffs for a home game against the San Francisco 49ers in a Wild Card game.
Prediction:
GB over CHI 38-28
Final Score:
GB over CHI 33-28

San Diego Chargers Sneak Into Playoffs

AP

The San Diego Chargers snuck into the playoffs by the hairs of their chin this year. They were 2 spots behind the last AFC Wild Card spot with Miami and Baltimore ahead of them with the Steelers hot on their trails. Miami would lose at home to division rival NY Jets and Baltimore would get smacked around by the Bengals and set up a win-or-go-home game for the Chargers. The Chargers got a break early in the day when the Chiefs decided to bench their starting QB Alex Smith and RB Jamaal Charles. You would think the Chargers would take full advantage of a situation where the other team is already locked into their playoff spot and nothing to really play for on Sunday. Well you would think wrong if that's the case, the Chargers could not capitalize on the situation and end up trailing the Chiefs 21-14 going into halftime! Phillip Rivers would need to throw 3 TD's and set up 2 field goals just in order to get into overtime and have a last chance at their playoffs dreams. Albeit their was an iffy no-call at the end of the game on a field goal by the Chiefs but it is what it is and the game went on. The Chargers would still need to convert a 4th and 2 on their own 28 with a fake punt in order to score a field goal and wait to see if the Chiefs could reciprocate the score. The Chiefs would try and match the field goal to keep overtime going, but would not get past the Chargers 41, failing on a 4th and 15 and ending the game. The Chargers are playing great on all cylinders right now and are looking like a tough match-up for anybody in the playoffs.
Prediction:
SD over KC 31-25
Final Score:
SD over KC 27-24

Eagles Win NFC East Championship in JerryWorld 

(Matthew Emmons / USA Today)

Kyle Orton sure did look similar to the guy he is replacing. Now I am not saying they are on the same level, because their not, Romo is bad but he is not Kyle Orton bad. So anyways what I mean when I say they looked similar is the stat line from the game. Orton had eerily similar numbers to Romo's regular production, throwing for over 350 yards, scoring 2 TD's including a late one in the 4th to bring his team within 2 points, 22-24. The Cowboys would fail on their 2-point conversion attempt on a pass attempt to Dez Bryant. Ok so as you can see Romo-itus is in full affect right, well if you're not sold yet then just wait here comes the kicker. Dallas is trailing by the same 2 points as earlier and get the ball back with 1:49 left in the 4th qtr after the defense did something uncharacteristic and hold the Eagles to a 3-and-out. Orton would start his final drive on the Dallas' 32-yard line and by now hopefully you can guess what the very next thing to happen was. Interception! Yep, on his very first throw on this do-or-die drive he threw a horrible pass towards WR Miles Austin that Eagles CB Brandon Boykin intercepted to ice the game and send the NFC East champion Philadelphia Eagles and 1st year coach Chip Kelly to the Playoffs.  
(SIDE NOTE: Pete Carrol, Jim Harbaugh, and Chip Kelly each won their division in their first year coaching after leaving the PAC-12, I wonder which will be the next coach out of that conference to move on up)

Prediction:
PHI over DAL 45-24
Final Score:
PHI over DAL 24-22

So as I was saying those are just some of the bigger headlines from Week 17, now here are all the rest of the final scores from the final games of the regular season, hopefully your team is moving on to the post-season but if not don't worry theirs always next year.

Sunday Afternoon Games:

Prediction: CAR over ATL 26-13; 
Final Score: CAR over ATL 21-20

Prediction: CIN over BAL 24-20;
Final Score: CIN over BAL 34-17

Prediction: TEN over HOU 27-24;
Final Score: TEN over HOU 16-10

Prediction: IND over JAX 34-13;
Final Score:IND over JAX 30-10

Prediction: NYJ over MIA 27-24;
Final Score: NYJ over MIA 20-7

Prediction: DET over MIN 31-27;
Final Score: MIN over DET 14-13

Prediction: NYG over WSH 35-31;
Final Score: NYG over WSH 20-6

Prediction: PIT over CLE 34-24;
Final Score: PIT over CLE 20-7

Prediction: DEN over OAK 48-24;
Final Score: DEN over OAK 34-14

Prediction: NE over BUF 27-20;
Final Score: NE over BUF 34-20

Prediction: NO over TB 26-17;
Final Score: NO over TB 42-17

Prediction: ARI over SF 25-24;
Final Score: SF over ARI 23-20

That is all the final scores from the final week of the regular season and now on to the post-season.

2013-14 NFL Playoff Scenario

I hope you all enjoyed my analysis throughout the season and stay tuned because their is still a lot of Sports to come in 2014!

Happy New Year!

Follow me on Twitter - @therealrikrok89
I hope you enjoyed my posts because I enjoy writing them. 
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2013-14 NFL Playoff Scenario

Alright so it is finally official and all the teams are set. In just a few more weeks we will be down to the last two teams meeting at MetLife Stadium for Super Bowl XLVIII.

Here are the official seedings for this years playoffs.

NFC:

1. (13-3)Seattle Seahawks

2. (12-4)Carolina Panthers

3. (10-6)Philadelphia Eagles

4. (8-7-1)Green Bay Packers

5. (12-4)San Francisco 49ers

6. (11-5)New Orleans Saints

AFC:

1. (13-3)Denver Broncos

2. (12-4)New England Patriots

3. (11-5)Cincinnati Bengals

4. (11-5)Indianapolis Colts

5. (11-5)Kansas City Chiefs

6. (9-7)San Diego Chargers

The top 2 seeds in each conference will have next week off and the playoffs will start next weekend with all of the Wild Card match-ups.

Saturday, January 4th:

(#5) Kansas City Chiefs @ (#4) Indianapolis Colts

(#6)New Orleans Saints @ (#3)Philadelphia Eagles

Sunday, January 5th:

(#6)San Diego Chargers @ (#3)Cincinnati Bengals

(#5)San Francisco 49ers @ (#4)Green Bay Packers

The lowest seed out of all the winners from Wild Card weekend will then play the #1 seed in each conference and the top seed winner in from each conference will take on the #2 seeds in each conference.

I will be doing my end of the week Preview and Predictions for each game that you should check out. Last weekend I predicted the winner of every game but 2 in Week 17, (2 straight weeks of going 14-2). Come back later this week and see who I got winning this weekend in the Wild Card games.

As for now just sit back and relax, the Road to Super Bowl XLVIII is upon us!

Be sure to check out my NFL Week 17 recap since your already reading this one.

Follow me on Twitter - @therealrikrok89
I hope you enjoyed my posts because I enjoy writing them. 
Thank you for reading and come back for more Sports News & Analysis. Also check out more of my other posts for some more great insight into the mind of a Sports Fanatic.
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Seahawks Look to Secure NFC West Title

With only 1 week left in the season, the Seattle Seahawks can clinch the NFC West title and home field advantage throughout the playoffs with a win at home this Sunday.

Home field advantage would be huge for the Seahawks, who have only lost one game at Century Link field in the last 2 years. The St Louis Rams will be looking to be the spoiler of the party and end an 8 year drought in Seattle, highly unlikely.

The Seahawks are averaging roughly 138 yards per game, good enough for 4th in the league, and their secondary has held opponents to about 173 yards per game, making the Legion of Boom the greediest backfield in the NFL. The Rams are no slouch on the defensive end either, they're only allowing just over 102 yards per game on the ground and have had the best run defense in the league since week 10. That should make Seahawk fans a little nervous after the way Seattle played against another strong run defense last week.

Michael Thomas/Getty Images North America

You can be looking forward to Seattle's defense to continue their dominance this upcoming Sunday against St Louis' backup QB Kellen Clemens. Clemens is only averaging a little over 187 yards per game since being named the starter 8 weeks ago in these two teams first meeting of the season. Clemens was held to 158 yards and 2 INT's in that first game. The running game got going for the Rams in that one, gaining 200 total yards on the ground with Zac Stacy earning 134 of those on 26 carries. Unfortunately for the Rams that wasn't enough to get a win against the Seahawks.

The Rams were held to field goals only in that first meeting with the Seahawks defense holding it down on their side of the field and were only backed into their own 20 on the final possession of the game. The closest field goal was a 27-yarder. When the Rams offense finally got inside the Seahawks redzone on their last possession of the game they failed to convert on a final 4th-and-1 attempt, with Seattle's defense strapping down and sealing the win 14-9.

Andy Lyons/Getty Images North America

The Rams were able to disrupt the shot-handed offensive line of Seattle and sack QB Russell Wilson a season high 7 times. Seattle's offensive line is back to full health as long as OT Russell Okung suits up Sunday, but he has been practicing this week and is looking good to go for Sunday according to ESPN. The Rams DE Robert Quinn and Chris Long each had 3 sacks in that first meeting, and Quinn is currently leading the entire NFL earning his 18th sack in last week's win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The offensive line troubles also lead to a weak game by RB Marshawn Lynch who was only able to run for 23 yards on 8 carries. Lynch has struggled recently only averaging 57.8 yards per game in his last 5 games, but the low rush numbers have not kept him out of the endzone,breaking the goal line 13 times this season (11 rush,2 rec).

QB Russell Wilson has been great all season long and is currently the all-time most winning QB in his first 2 seasons, overall record 22-9, and should be coming into this game with a lot of focus after the horrible show the offense displayed the last time they took the field.

As long as Wilson's line holds up we can expect to see this team conduct business as usual this Sunday.

Prediction:

SEA over STL 24-18

Seahawks on top of the world!

Follow me on Twitter - @therealrikrok89
I hope you enjoyed my posts because I enjoy writing them. 
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NFL Previews and Predictions Week 17 2013 + Playoff Picture

We have made it to the regular season finale with only 3 teams left to be determined in the NFC and only 1 spot open in the AFC.

After spending most of my day looking into all the standings I got a picture of how the playoffs are looking, this is what how they're looking at the moment, check it out.

NFC

1. (12-3)Seattle Seahawks

2. (11-4)Carolina Panthers

3. (9-6)Philadelphia Eagles

4. (8-7)Chicago Bears 

5. (11-4)San Francisco 49ers

6. (10-5)New Orleans Saints

The Seahawks, Panthers and 49ers have already clinched a playoff spot. The Eagles will be playing the Cowboys for the NFC East championship with the loser going home. The Chicago Bears are in the exact same situation with the Green Bay Packers for the NFC North championship. The Arizona Cardinals are the last team vying for a spot into the playoffs and they will need to get a win over San Francisco and if the Saints lose to the Bucs then the Cardinals would make the playoffs.

AFC

1. (12-3)Denver Broncos

2. (11-4)New England Patriots

3. (10-5)Cincinnati Bengals

4. (10-5)Indianapolis Colts

5. (11-4)Kansas City

6. (8-7)Miami Dolphins

All but the 6th seed in the AFC is up for grabs this weekend. The Dolphins will get the spot if they win and Baltimore loses to the Bengals. Baltimore will need a win and a Dolphins loss to secure the 6th seed in the playoffs. The San Diego Chargers will have to get a win over the Chiefs and will also need the Jets to beat the Dolphins and Bengals to beat the Ravens in order to make the playoffs. The Pittsburgh Steelers still have an outside shot at making the playoffs, but would need a win over the Browns as well as all the other teams stated above to lose out as well in order to make the playoffs.

Anyways lets get to the best part, my NFL Previews and Predictions Week 17 2013:

Sunday Afternoon Football:

CAR @ ATL - The Panthers defense have been terrific all season, including my fantasy football season, and were in mind control of Matt Ryan in the first meeting when they picked him off 3 times including a 38-yard INT returned for a TD.
CAR over ATL 26-13

BAL @ CIN - The Bengals will be wanting to win to get a first round bye, the Ravens will be wanting to keep their playoff chances alive, advantage to the division rival home team
CIN over BAL 24-20

HOU @ TEN - The last time Houston won was against the Titans in Week 2, they are not the same team as week 2 as we have seen all season.
TEN over HOU 27-24

JAX @ IND - The Jags found something going there for a second, but they're still the Jags and are playing the Colts who are getting back on track and hitting a stride just in time for the playoffs, oh and they already put a beating on the Jags in week 4 in Jacksonville, 37-3.
IND over JAX 34-13

NYJ @ MIA - The Dolphins are looking to make the playoffs for the first time since 2008 and need this win to make it, the Jets may be losing their coach Monday morning but not if he has anything to say about it, I think the team steps up for their coach with his job on the line and keep the drought going for the Miami Dolphins
NYJ over MIA 27-24

DET @ MIN - Hardest game to wrap my mind around because both teams have been dreadful all season and  both will probably be losing their coach Monday morning, you would think Detroit as a team would want to at the very least finish .500.
DET over MIN 31-27

WSH @ NYG - Cousins hasn't really been the backup we got to see last year but he has kept it close, losing his first 2 starts by 1 point each, but the Giants have a well disciplined squad and will want to close out the home finale and last game in MetLife stadium before the Super Bowl with a win.
NYG over WSH 35-31

CLE @ PIT -The only thing the Browns have to look forward to is a full season with Josh Gordon next year and hopefully a QB somehow in the offseason, the Steelers get an easy win in this one.
PIT over CLE 34-24

GB @ CHI -Check out my Preview of 188th meeting of these two teams and the return of Aaron Rodgers here! 
*NFC North Championship Game*
GB over CHI 38-28

DEN @ OAK - The soon-to-be 5 time MVP will be locking up the #1 seed in the AFC and home field advantage, and now the Raiders are having an issue going on with Pryor's agent and the team that will be sure to cause distraction for the already plagued Raiders.
DEN over OAK 48-24

KC @ SD - Andy Reid will probably want to rest some of his injured starters on defense this week since they are already locked into the #5 seed in the AFC, that's great news for the Chargers who have already got a win over the Chiefs at Arrowhead a couple weeks ago.
SD over KC 31-25

STL @ SEA - The Seahawks will have one more chance to clinch the NFC West at home on Sunday and will more than likely be the battleground for a couple Playoff games in January.
SEA over STL 24-18

BUF @ NE - Belichick and Brady haven't lost at home all season and if their is one game to feel good about betting on who to win it would be this one, Buffalo hasn't won in New England since Bill Belichick's rookie season as the head coach, in the year 2000
NE over BUF 27-20

TB @ NO - The Saints can guarantee a playoff spot with a win but if they lose and the Cardinals are able to pull out a win against division rival San Francisco then the Saints would miss the playoffs with a 10-win season.
NO over TB 26-17

SF @ ARI -As stated above the Cardinals will need this win and a Saints loss to make the playoffs and will give it their all to make it happen, however the 49ers have plans of their own and that is the possibility of the #1 seed in the NFC and will bring their A-game to Arizona.
ARI over SF 25-24

Sunday Night Football:

PHI @ DAL - The ball is in Philly's court and will have a chance to claim the NFC East championship and end the Cowboys season a week after the ending of Romo's with Dallas now relying on backup QB Kyle Orton to put an end to a 3rd straight season of losing the NFC East title on the final game of the season.
*NFC East Championship Game*
PHI over DAL 45-24 


Follow me on Twitter - @therealrikrok89
I hope you enjoyed my posts because I enjoy writing them.
Thank you for reading and come back for more Sports News & Analysis. Also check out more of my other posts for some more great insight into the mind of a Sports Fanatic.
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Bears Beware, Rodgers is Back in Time for NFC North Championship

The NFC North will come down to one of the most storied rivalries in NFL History. This will be the 188th meeting between these two teams and what better way to end the season than to have this rivalry be for the NFC North title with the winning team having another week to play while the loser will be have the rest of year off.

The (7-7-1)Green Bay Packers have been playing the (8-7)Chicago Bears since 1921, let me paint a picture of how the world looked at the time, Albert Einstein received his Nobel Prize in Physics that year and Babe Ruth was hitting his 139th record-breaking home run in his 8th season, yeah it was that long ago.

Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

The Green Bay Packers will be getting MVP QB Aaron Rodgers back after being out since the first meeting between these two teams back in Week 9. Rodgers went out on his first series of the game, backup QB Seneca Wallace came in after that, throwing 11-for-19 with 114 yards and one INT. The Packers just lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers at home last week, 38-31 with backup QB Matt Flynn starting for the Packers, going 2-1 since being put in as the QB. Getting Rodgers back will be help their playoff hopes tremendously this Sunday, since Rodgers has been out with an injury his replacement QB's have thrown over 3 pick-6's while Rodgers entire career he has only thrown 1 INT that was returned for a TD. Before Rodgers went out he had thrown for 17 TD's and 4 INT's, his replacement Flynn has already reached the 4 INT mark but he was able to throw in 7 TD's for the Packers during his fill-in time.

The Green Bay Packers will probably be going into the playoffs and with Rodgers back behind center, should be a team to be feared in the playoffs. Since Rodgers has been out the ground game in Green Bay has finally begun to blossom and Green Bay finally has another 1,000 yard rusher again with rookie RB Eddie Lacy, the last time the Packers had a 1,000 yard RB was back in the 2009 season with Ryan Grant. Going against a Chicago Bears defense that is giving up about 132 yards per game on the ground should make for a field day for Lacy as well as the backup RB James Starks.

A big key for the Bears to have a chance in this game will be obviously pressure on Rodgers, but also Jay Cutler will need to make as few mistakes as possible. The Bears had a chance to clinch the NFC North last week but let that game get away from them early and ended up getting abused by the Eagles, losing 54-11.

Prediction:

GB over CHI 38-28

The reason I am picking the Packers is an easy decision since they will be getting one of the best QB's in the league back. The Bears have been to up-and-down to be able to believe they can hold it together enough to win this one, with any luck they Bears will put back up QB Josh McCown back in and really make it a high flying game. (McCown has a 13:1 TD to INT ratio, Cutler has a 17:11 TD to INT ratio)

Check out my Previews and Predictions for every Week 17 NFL game!

Follow me on Twitter - @therealrikrok89
I hope you enjoyed my posts because I enjoy writing them.
Thank you for reading and come back for more Sports News & Analysis. Also check out more of my other posts for some more great insight into the mind of a Sports Fanatic.
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Nets Continue Beginning of Nightmare Season

The Brooklyn Nets were embarrassed at the Barclay's Center bright and early on Christmas morning, losing to the Chicago Bulls 95-78.

The lack of effort from the Brooklyn Nets has been on display all season and once again showed up in this game. The Nets are currently 9-19 and playing some of the worst basketball in the entire league. They gave up 36 points in the 3rd quarter alone to a team who's leading scorer was Taj Gibson for the Bulls with 20 points along with 8 rebounds with Jimmy Butler helping the cause with 15 points of his own. Luol Deng who is only averaging 19.6 points per game and didn't even play in this game because of a left Achilles tendon is the teams leading scorer.

Seth Wenig/AP

The Nets leading scorer was Deron Williams who was able to only rack up 18 points with only 4 assists as well as 3 turnovers. The Nets bench didn't help much either, shooting 4-for-30 from the field! The Bulls are continuing their steps moving forward after losing their best player in Derrick Rose who is out with another knee injury and currently have a record of 11-16, which has them at the 9th seed out of the East. The Nets are currently tied for 11th with fellow empire state team the New York Knicks. Speaking of the Knicks, they were the next game on the Christmas slate.

After the game the reports started swirling around, just as expected when you have the media attention you get when your in the Big Apple, with talks about Jason Kidd ripping his team apart in the locker room after the game. Reports also state that Kevin Garnet backed the first year coach, expressing his displeasure with the way the team has been playing before storming off to the showers. Kidd said that the way his team responds to adversity is hard to stomach, at one point the Nets had a chance to recover a rebound that started to bounce down the court, with Reggie Evans having at least 3 steps ahead of the Jimmy Butler, and Butler beat him to the ball because Evans just quit running and began walking to the ball. Those are the kind of plays that Kidd has been stressing about with his team, and who knows what's coming next for the Nets because I doubt owner Mikhail Prokhorov will let this continue all season.

 Follow me on Twitter - @therealrikrok89
I hope you enjoyed my posts because I enjoy writing them.
Thank you for reading and come back for more Sports News & Analysis. Also check out more of my other posts for some more great insight into the mind of a Sports Fanatic.
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Lakers Can't Withstand the Heat this Christmas

The Los Angeles Lakers were without their leading man this Christmas, with Kobe Bryant still about 5 weeks away from returning to the lineup.

The Lakers played a pretty good game for not having their 15-time All-Star shooting guard. Kobe ended his 16-game Christmas game appearances because of his knee injury. The Lakers bench played great as they have been all season, putting up 37 points to the Heats 16 points from the bench, midway thru the 3rd quarter. The so-cal kid Nick Young has been trying his best at his Kobe impersonation in the meantime, he was the Lakers leading scorer with 20 points and also the Lakers leading shot taker going 7-for-18, which was also 4 more shots than anybody else on the team (Pau Gasol and Jodie Meeks each had 12 shot attempts). Young put up 12 points in the 3rd quarter, and the Lakers at one point held a lead of 10 points and never trailed by more than that. With this being the 14th different starting lineup for the Lakers in 29 games they actually are playing a lot better than one would think just from looking at their record.

FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images

Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh were the leading scorers for the Heat, with both putting up 23 points, LeBron had 19. Bosh was the only Heat player to gain a double-double with 23 points and 11 rebounds, he was also the leading shot taker for the Heat, going 9-for-18. The game was pretty close throughout but you could kind of tell that the Heat were not taking the game as serious as the Lakers. The Heat were in complete control of the game and finally pulled away in the final 5 minutes or so.

Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images

This was the Miami Heat's 6th straight win and their 5th straight Christmas victory, going back to the pre-LeBron/Bosh era, during Michael Beasley's first stint with the Heat. LeBron also seemed to miss having the Lakers star on the court, saying after the game, "It's not as special when Kobe's not out there".





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NFL Week 16 2013 Mayhem

Just when you thought you knew football, you get hit with a weekend of Mayhem. This weekend we had some playoff races go down the drains while some are kept alive when you thought for sure it was over.

 

Cowboys Live Another Day but Lose Romo

Getty Images

The Dallas Cowboys have been at the butt of many peoples jokes over the past month and a half now, and for good reason, but all that seems to be water on a ducks back for Tony Romo and crew. The Cowboys were able to hang on for a win Sunday against NFC East rival Washington Redskins, who were starting Kirk Cousins at QB for his 2nd start of the season. Dallas was barely able to withstand the Redskins attack, with Romo throwing a late TD to rally the 'Boys past the Redskins and keep their shot at the NFC East title alive. They will be be hosting the Philadelphia Eagles next week for the NFC East title with the winner moving on to the playoffs and the loser getting sent home for the offseason. According to ESPN Romo would suffer a herniated disk in the lumbar region and will need to have season ending back surgery.
Prediction:
DAL over WSH 42-35
Final Score:
DAL over WSH 24-23

Dolphins Playoff Race Takes Major Hit in Buffalo

CHARLES TRAINOR JR / STAFF PHOTO

The Miami Dolphins were in control of their own playoff destiny before Sunday. The Buffalo Bills would play the Grinch this Christmas season, shutting down the Dolphins for a huge win Sunday over their AFC East rival. The Dolphins had to win out the rest of their games to be able to make the playoffs and now with this loss, must win next week against another AFC East rival, (7-8)New York Jets and the Chargers, and Ravens must both lose as well. The Bills defense was able to hold 2nd year QB Ryan Tannehill to only 82 yards the entire game. Back-up QB Matt Moore made an appearance for the Dolphins when Tannehill went out with an injury and winded up throwing 2 INT's before it was all said and done. The Bills swept the Dolphins this year for the 1st time since 2007.
Prediction:
BUF over MIA  21-20
Final Score:
BUF over MIA 19-0

Detroit Gets Eliminated from Playoff Race

The Detroit Lions were eliminated from playoff contention this year, losing in overtime to the dwindling New York Giants. The Lions were poised for a perfect playoff scenario, the other two elite QB's in your division missed most of the season to injuries (Bears Jay Cutler, Packers Aaron Rodgers) and the Lions were still unable to grab control of the NFC North. This was their 5th loss in 6 games, before all theses losses they were in the lead in the NFC North, and came to a Giants team that is only playing for showmanship at this point. The Lions had a chance at the end to seal the deal but were unable to keep momentum on their side and lost a tough home game in overtime to keep them out of the playoffs and a chance at their first division title since 1993. The Giants, who were playing with nothing to lose, proved it in overtime when they were on a 4th and 7 on the Lions 42-yard line and Eli Manning was able to convert a 15-yard pass to keep their drive alive and set up a game winning field goal to end the Lions post-season before it even had a chance to begin.
Prediction:
DET over NYG 30-20
Final Score:
NYG over DET 23-20 

Arizona Stuns Seattle with Late TD

Check out my recap from this game here!

Prediction:

SEA over ARI 37-16

Final Score:

ARI over SEA 17-10

Those are just some of the bigger headlines to grab my attention from the NFL Week 16 2013 Mayhem.

Here are all the rest of the final scores from Week 16 of the NFL:

Sunday Afternoon Games:

CIN over MIN 42-14
IND over KC 23-7

STL over TB 23-13

NYJ over CLE 24-13

CAR over NO 17-31

TEN over JAX 20-16

DEN over HOU 37-13* Side Note: Peyton Manning has thrown a new NFL-record 51 TD passes in a season with one game still to go!
PIT over GB 38-31
SD over OAK 26-13
NE over BAL 41-7

Sunday Night Football:

PHI over CHI 54-11

Monday Night Football:

ATL @ SF

Final Score:

SF over ATL 34-24

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Cardinals Stun Seattle, Keep Playoff Hopes Alive with Late TD

The Seahawks were unable to clinch the NFC West, while Arizona took all the necessary steps to stay in the playoff race. Seattle was +2 in the turnover differential and still came out with a loss at home to the visiting Cardinals.

AP

Carson Palmer was the 2nd QB to throw for at least 4 INT's on the road and still get out alive with the win. The win snapped Seattle's 14-game home win streak and was the first home loss for 2nd year QB Russell Wilson. Probably the biggest surprise for me during this game was the fact that the Seahawks were able to bring in 3 INT's in the 1st half but come out with only 3 points.

The Cardinals defense was a like a buzz-saw, shredding anything the Seahawks tried to bring their way. QB Russell Wilson may have had the worse game of his 2 year career, throwing 11-of-27 for 108 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT. Penalties were another major factor for the Seahawks, who were penalized for 102 yards on 9 penalties, which is unfortunately about their average per game.

Both teams were only able to muster up 1 TD the entire game, with both TD's coming late in the 4th quarter. The first quarter was more of an INT-fest for the Seahawks, intercepting 3 of Palmer's passes but they were only able to capitalize on one of them, converting one for a field goal early in the 2nd quarter. The Cardinals would respond with a field goal of their own in the 2nd quarter, but after sending Seattle 3-n-out (one of seven times the Seahawks went 3-n-out Sunday), Palmer would give away another INT late in the 2nd quarter that LB Malcolm Smith would return to the ARI 3-yard line with 42 seconds left. Seattle would fail to convert this drive into any points as well, with K Steven Hauschka missing a 24-yard field goal, ending his 22-made in a row streak. In the 3rd quarter the Cardinals would score another field goal to give them the lead 6-3. They would also recover a Seattle fumble on a punt return at the end of the 3rd quarter, but would end that drive early thanks to another Palmer INT to CB Richard Sherman. That would be Richard Sherman's second INT of the day but the Cardinals defense would again force another 3-n-out and score another field goal on their next drive to give them the lead 9-3. Seattle would finally respond to punches with a TD on their next drive, capping off their 6 play 25 yard drive with an 11-yard TD pass to TE Zach Miller. The Seahawks had finally regained the lead 10-9 with 7:26 remaining in the game and it would now be up to the defense to shut the Cardinals down and walk out alive. Well the Cardinals had something to say about that ending, and would go on to direct a 10 play, 80 yard drive capped off not only with an amazing catch by WR Michael Floyd, but also to really put a stinger on it, the defense allowed RB Rashard Mendenhall to walk right into the endzone for a 2-point conversion to give the Cards the lead 17-10 and give the ball back to the Seahawks with 2:13 remaining. Russell Wilson would go on to throw a very controversial INT that may or may not have bounced on the ground before LB Karlos Dansby caught it and iced the game for the Cardinals.

Getty Images

Prediction:

SEA over ARI 37-16

Final Score:

ARI over SEA 

This is the 2nd game in 3 weeks that the Seahawks lost, losing by a combined score of 9 points. This was Arizona's first win in Seattle since their last playoff run in the 2009-10 season and Seattle's first home loss since December 2011, in which they lost to another division rival, San Francisco.

Up next for the Arizona Cardinals will be a win or go home game against another division rival, the (10-4)San Francisco 49ers, in Glendale. The Cardinals lost earlier in the season to San Francisco, at Candlestick, final score 32-20. The winner of this game will punch their playoff ticket and could send the other team home packing depending on how the Saints and Panthers finish out.

The Seattle Seahawks will be staying home next week to take on a (7-8)St Louis Rams team that is coming off 2 big wins including the shocker over New Orleans back in Week 15. The Seahawks won the first meeting between these two at Edward Jones Stadium in a close, low scoring game 14-9. The Rams will be looking to spoil any winnings the Seahawks had their eyes on, however the last time the Seahawks lost 2 home games in a row was back in the 2011 season.

CHECK BACK LATER FOR A MORE RECAPS FROM A FEW GAMES AROUND THE LEAGUE AND ALL THE FINAL SCORES AS WELL, WILL BE UP LATER THIS EVENING.

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NFL Week 16 2013 Preview and Predictions + Playoff Picture

With only 2 games left before the playoffs start their is still a lot of teams trying to make a playoff spot. With only Seattle, Denver, Indianapolis, and Kansas City clinching a playoff berth so far there is still room for 8 teams to punch themselves a playoff ticket.

Here is a look at what the playoffs look like going into Week 16:

NFC

1. (12-2)Seattle Seahawks

1. (10-4)New Orleans Saints

1. (8-6)Philadelphia Eagles

1. (8-6)Chicago Bears

1. (10-4)Carolina Panthers

1. (10-4)San Francisco 49ers

With Seattle being the only NFC team to clinch a playoff spot thus far, we are in for a wild ride for the end of the season. There is currently the (9-5)Arizona Cardinals, (7-6-1)Green Bay Packers, (7-7)Detroit Lions and (7-7)Dallas Cowboys who are still hoping to have a shot at making it into the playoff picture.

AFC

1. (11-3)Denver Broncos

1. (10-4)New England Patriots

1. (9-5)Cincinnati Bengals

1. (9-5)Indianapolis Colts

1. (11-3)Kansas City

1. (8-6)Baltimore Ravens

The AFC is a lot more clear cut with 3 teams already clinching a playoff spot prior to Week 16. There is still a few teams who are hoping one of these teams slip up and that is (8-6)Miami Dolphins, (7-7)San Diego Chargers and the (6-8)Pittsburgh Steelers.

So let's take a look at who is playing who and who I predict will come out with a win and a step closer to the post-season.

Thursday Night Football:

Thursday Night Football has finally come to an end, this past Thursday was the first since Aug. 1st that we did not get to watch any football on Thursday and is over for the rest of the season.

Sunday Afternoon Games:

MIA @ BUF - EJ Manuel is coming off his best game as a pro, and the Bills have already beat Miami once this season, in Miami; Thad Lewis was the QB in their Week 7 match-up.
BUF over MIA  21-20

MIN @ CIN - The Bengals are working on clinching the AFC North this weekend and Minnesota is working on their 3rd winless road record in franchise history.
CIN over MIN 27-14

IND @ KC - The Chiefs have been a mirage all season, facing the weakest strength of schedule all season and losing to teams with a winning record, lucky for Luck.
IND over KC 31-28

TB @ STL - With the way St Louis just handled the Saints, I'm guessing Tampa Bay gets some of the same treatment.
STL over TB 23-20

CLE @ NYJ - Cleveland is coming in on a 6-game losing streak and Coach Rex Ryan has a job to save
NYJ over CLE 27-24

DAL @ WSH - The Dallas defense is disgusting right now and have lost to 2 consecutive backup QB's, but against a Washington defense that makes Dallas look respectable, Romo should be able to manage that right?
DAL over WSH 42-35 

NO @ CAR - The Saints have been very well contained against good defenses on the road, and against a division rival who has one of the best defensive squads in the NFL.
CAR over NO 24-14

TEN @ JAX  - Jacksonville surprised the Titans at home earlier this year for their first win of the season, but Titans should be coming a little more prepared now.
TEN over JAX 30-24

DEN @ HOU - Atleast the Rockets are doing good.

DEN over HOU 34-20

NYG @ DET - The Giants are terrible this year and Detroit needs this win to stay in the playoff race.
DET over NYG 30-20

ARI @ SEA - The 12th man is a bad mamajama. Check out my preview here!
SEA over ARI 37-16

PIT @ GB - Green Bay has another week without Rodgers, Flynn has 2 straight comeback victories, but he is bound to make a mistake sooner or later this is the same guy cut by the Oakland Raiders and Buffalo Bills earlier this season.
PIT over GB 27-22

OAK @ SD -Classic AFC West showdown that will be business as usual for the Chargers, who have won 3 of the last 4 meetings.
SD over OAK 26-20

NE @ BAL - This will be the 4th meeting between these two teams in the last year and a half with Baltimore winning 2 of the 3, but New England survives this weekend.
NE over BAL 20-17

Sunday Night Football:

CHI @ PHI - QB controversy has begun in the Bears locker room and it came at the worse time, while Philly is on fire and looking to grab control of the NFC East title on Prime Time.
PHI over CHI 33-30

Monday Night Football:

ATL @ SF - Atlanta is really bad, easy win for San Fran.
SF over ATL 30-18


I hope you all enjoy a Merry Christmas and enjoy Week 16 of the NFL, see you next week.

Follow me on Twitter - @therealrikrok89
Thank you for reading and come back for more Sports News & Analysis as well as Fantasy Football advice throughout the week. Also check out more of my other posts for some more great insight into the mind of a Sports Fanatic.
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NFL Week 16 2013 - Arizona Cardinals vs Seattle Seahawks - Preview

There's a chance for one team to clinch the NFC West title, while another is fighting to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

The Seattle Seahawks having their best start in franchise history and could very well have the best home-field advantage with a win this Sunday.The last time the Seahawks had home field advantage throughout the playoffs they made it to the Super Bowl, but got robbed out of that opportunity. The Arizona Cardinals on the other hand, they have a chance at making the playoffs for the first time in 4 years.

AP Photo/Rick Scuteri

These teams have already played once this season with Seattle coming out with a win in Glendale, 34-22. The Hawks defense was able to get 2 INT's and 7 sacks in that game, the offense did give up two fumbles inside their own 20 that led to points for the Cardinals. The Cards have only lost one game since that first meeting in the middle of October but if they suffer a loss in Seattle this Sunday, they will be a long shot to make the post-season this year.

The last time the Arizona Cardinals won in Seattle was in 2009, which was also the last time the Card's made the playoffs.The Arizona Cardinals have the best run defense in the league only allowing only about 83 yards per game on the ground, but haven't faced anybody similar to Marshawn Lynch since, Marshawn Lynch, who was able to gobble up 91 tough yards and a TD on 21 carries. The Cardinals recently lost rookie S Tyrann Mathieu, who was leading NFC rookie defensive backs with 65 tackles, and gave up 34 points in their first game without him last week, although they did get a tough win over the Tennessee Titans in overtime. If they want a shot at winning in Seattle they are going to have to try to keep the score lower than that.

The Seattle Seahawks have the best pass defense in the league, holding opposing QB's to an average of about 174 yards. Coming off a dominant performance over the New York Giants, where the Hawks were able to get themselves a little more familiar with sight of Super Bowl XLVIII. Seattle as a team is 2nd in the league in rushing yards with 1,974 thru the season so far, with Marshawn Lynch running for 1,089 of those along with 11 TD's and should be able to break the goal line at home even tho he will be stacking up against the best rush defense in the league.

I think the key to this game for Arizona to have a shot is going to be containing QB Russell Wilson, who was able to dissect the Card's secondary pretty well last time around, throwing for 235 yards and 3 TD's. They will also need to load the box for Lynch as well who should get a heavy dose of carries since the weather is calling for cold and rainy game. Stopping Lynch is no easy task, he has been held to a meager 54 yards per game since the Bye week in Week 12, but is still averaging over 18 rushes a game. LB Karlos Dansby is leading the Cardinals with 105 tackles on the year, the next closest to him on his team is the rookie Mathieu with 65, who is out for the season. They also have LB John Abraham, who is in his first year in Arizona, who leads the team with 11.5 sacks and will be looking to get after Wilson throughout the game. The real problem for Arizona will be getting the offense moving, with the L.O.B. holding their top WR Larry Fitzgerald to only 3 catches for 19 yards in their last two meetings.

The key for the Seattle Seahawks will have to be there penalties. They have improved a little bit but are still one of the top most penalized teams in the league. Some of the penalties are coming just because the L.O.B. is so physical, which is fine because you want to set up a game like that where the WR's are worried about you getting physical with them at the line of scrimmage and it messes up their routes, but the offensive pass interferences they have been getting and of course OT Breno Giacomini, who was one of the most penalized players last season, has improved slightly but is still making some of the same mistakes as last season like offensive holding and false starts. He isn't the only person on the time that has racked up penalties for the Seahawks, but it is something that can set themselves up for failure and the way its looking the Seahawks seem to be the only team that is capable of  beating the Seahawks. As long as the penalties are under control and the run game gets going, as it always does, then the Seahawks will be in good shape to run away with the NFC West title and Home-Field Advantage throughout the playoffs.

Rob Schumacher/azcentral sports

Prediction:

SEA over ARI 37-16

Now my thoughts on division rival games is that they are always going to be a tougher match-up than one would assume just because they play each other twice a year and can prepare for their rivals a lot more thoroughly because of it. The Seahawks demolished the Cardinals last season, shutting them out 58-0 at home. This is a different Cardinals team but something tells me that this game will be a lot more similar to last years blowout. Sorry Card fans don't take it personal, its just that when the 12th Man shows up, opponents feel the noise, literally.

Follow me on Twitter - @therealrikrok89
Thank you for reading and come back for more Sports News & Analysis as well as Fantasy Football advice throughout the week. Also check out more of my other posts for some more great insight into the mind of a Sports Fanatic.
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