Tyrod's Return to Baltimore

Week one is finally here! After a tumultuous offseason that saw countless suspensions, injuries, and other distractions, the 2016 Buffalo Bills are ready to try and end their 16 year playoff drought.  For quarterback Tyrod Taylor, it's his first game against his old team on the road against the Baltimore Ravens.  Taylor was the back up for Joe Flacco for four seasons including the Ravens Super Bowl championship back in 2013.  Getting off to a 1-0 start is crucial for two teams who figure to be big players in the AFC playoff picture.  So without further or do, lets take a look at Buffalo's week one opponent.

Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens are coming off a very disappointing 5-11 campaign in 2015.  In large part, that five win season was due to a number of injuries at key positions.  Joe Flacco had offseason ACL surgery, and number one wide receiver Steve Smith missed most off the season along with outside linebacker Terrell Suggs. Coming into 2016, most of the team is healthy with the exception of Elvis Dumervil who will sit out of this game.  

It is a team that is expected to be in a tough AFC North race along with the Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers.  Both the offense and defense should be very average by NFL standards.  Flacco is surrounding by very solid weapons, but they certainly aren't great.  His wideouts include Smith, newly acquired Mike Wallace, Breshad Perriman who sat out his whole rookie season, and Kamar Aiken.  Justin Forsett is the starting running back with Terrance West serving as his back up.  Dennis Pitta also returns from injury and will be the starting tight end.  It's an offense that shouldn't kill the Bills, but if they fail to stop the run, Baltimore has the potential to put up 30 plus points.  

As for the defense, the Ravens are a team that was near the bottom of the league last year in getting pressure to the quarterback.  Another thing they struggled with was defending the pass so that can be an area in which the Bills look to attack.  

Buffalo Bills

As the Bills enter year two under Rex Ryan, the sense is that communication has improved at One Bills Drive.  Another year to play with Ryan's defensive schemes should help big time.  Plus, the additions of Rob Ryan and Ed Reed are huge for that defense.  This is also year two for Tyrod Taylor.  The quarterback got paid this offseason and will make $9 million this season. If all goes well and Taylor improves on his 2015 output, he will get paid franchise QB money in the seasons to come.  Even though top draft picks Shaq Lawson and Reggie Ragland will miss much of this season, the defense should improve on its 19th overall ranking in 2015.  

Sammy Watkins and LeSean McCoy are fully healthy to start the season and if they can keep it that way, it gives Buffalo a realistic playoff chance.  Tight end Charles Clay is someone who needs to be used more in this offense.  Robert Woods comes back once again as the number two receiver with Marquise Goodwin and Greg Salas as the next ones in line.  

This team will have no problem running the football, but their main focus needs to be protecting Tyrod Taylor and keep him away from big hits.  

Three Keys to the game

1. Ronnie Stanley v.s. Jerry Hughes   Stanley is a rookie defensive tackle and he is faced with quite the challenge in his first NFL game.  Hughes is Buffalo's best end rusher so if Hughes is able to get to the quarterback, it could be a long day for Flacco and the Ravens offense.  The battle at the line of scrimmage is always crucial, but this is a match up that should favor the Bills.  

2. Reggie Bush: X Factor   Make no mistake: Mike Gillislee is the back up running back with Bush as the No. 3.  However, with Bush likely serving as punt/kick returner, he has the potential to make a major impact on this game.  Bush will also receive looks in the passing game as well.  A few explosive plays from him can make the difference in a game that I expect to be decided by one possession.  

3. Middle of the Field   A major criticism of Tyrod Taylor from last year was how he refused to throw the ball over the middle of the field.  It's an area of his game he has addressed and showed improvement on in the preseason.  With Sammy Watkins expected to receive the bulk of the attention from the defense, I expect Charles Clay, Robert Woods, and Marquise Goodwin to get many looks over the middle of the field.  If Taylor is able to do this, it will open up the possibility of taking a shot deep (something Taylor really excels in).  

My Prediction

Bills 24         Ravens 17

In the end, the defenses are very similar in this match up, but I like Buffalo's playmakers better than Baltimore.  M and T Bank Stadium is a tough place to play, but I expect LeSean McCoy and Sammy Watkins to have huge games to open the year.  

Season Prediction: 8-8

If everything goes right, there's no reason this team can't win 10-11 games.  If everything goes wrong, then 6-10 looks very realistic.  I don't see either of these scenarios taking place so I'll split the gap and say .500 football.

Fun Facts: 

-The Baltimore Ravens have never had back-to-back losing seasons in franchise history. 

-Bills Offensive Coordinator Greg Roman is undefeated as an NFL coordinator in Week One games

Cubs continue to coast

August has been very hot and humid, but that pales in comparison to the status of baseball’s best team, the Chicago Cubs. At 81-45, the lovable losers are seven games clear of the rest of the MLB and 13.5 ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals for the division.  

They are currently an MLB-best 28-10 since the All-Star break and continue to provide a ton of excitement to the North Side of Chicago.  With just over one month left in the regular season, I wanted to take a look back at what got the Cubs to this spot.

Pitching Staff

In my opinion this is the biggest difference from a season ago.  Sure, the staff was solid during the regular season, but on the biggest stage they crumbled under pressure in the NLCS. Even Jake Arrieta who had an historic second-half seemed to wear down in late October v.s. the Mets.

Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer made the conscience decision to add veteran experience this offseason in the form of John Lackey.  Lackey, a proven playoff performer with the Angels, Red Sox, and Cardinals, figures to be a huge part in how the Cubs fare in two months time.  He is currently on the DL, but is expected back for the start of September.  

The rest of the staff features Arrieta, Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks, and Jason Hammel.  All five guys have an ERA under 3.50 and everyone has double digit wins except for Lackey.  Hammel struggled mightily down the stretch last year but he seems to be getting stronger with each start this time around.  

Lester and Arrieta have been so consistent that you can basically expect at least 7 innings and two or fewer runs just about anytime they step on the hill.  That leaves us with Kyle Hendricks. If you told me at the start of the year that he would be a Cy Young candidate I would have probably laughed in your face.  But that is exactly what he has become by pitching late in games and leading the league in earned run average.  

With this embarrassment of riches, one of the main topics of conversation amongst fans has been what the rotation should look like for a playoff series? This could go a number of different ways, but if it was up to me, I would go Lester game 1 then Hendricks for game 2 just because of how much better he is at Wrigley Field.  Sending Arrieta and Lackey for games 3 & 4 on the road is ideal due to their playoff experience.  Then that leaves Lester for a game 5 if necessary with Hammel being the odd man out.  

We will see how it plays out but don’t be surprised if Joe Maddon looks to conserve his starters by pulling them earlier in these games.  Having such a huge divisional lead allows him to do this.  

Starting Line-up

Opposing pitchers must dread facing this team mainly because there are no breaks in it.  One thru eight can all hit and a lot like the pitching staff, their depth allows Maddon to play around with different line-ups.  Fowler is a great leadoff hitter who continues to set the table for the power hitters.  

Then you get to MVP (and should be presidential candidate) Bryzzo. Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo have been the best two players in the National League in 2016 and both bring more than just power.  They both have great eyes at the plate drawing a great number of walks.  Bryant does strike out a lot, but his totals are down from last year and even still he more than makes up for those K’s with his defense and baserunning.  Having two guys on pace for over 30 HR’s and 100 RBI’s is such a luxury to have.

Ben Zobrist and Jason Heyward were the big offensive acquisitions this offseason and they have not disappointed.  Heyward hasn’t had the year at the plate that he wanted to, but he is the best defensive outfielder on the team and that alone is good enough to keep him in the line-up most nights.  Zobrist has cooled off since hitting .350 earlier in the season but make no mistake, he has still been very productive.  

Then you look at the top infielders on the Cubs: Addison Russell and Javier Baez.  Probably my two favorite players on the team, they are the present and future middle infielders for this organization.  Russell, the starting shortstop in the All-Star-Game was widely criticized for his “pedestrian” first half numbers, but has quickly shut up those doubters early in the second half of the season.  He has 19 HR’s and 80 RBI’s (By the way, he’s 22 year’s old!).  Baez will never hit for average, he strikes out a lot, and isn’t very patient at the plate, but he gets on base, brings a lot of pop in his bat, and makes the kind of defensive plays that will make your jaw drop. I full heartedly think he’s the best fielder I’ve ever seen.  

With Miguel Montero struggling and David Ross serving as a backup who catches on Lester starts, the organization has given the catcher reigns to Willson Contreras.  The 24-year-old from Venezuela was called up this year and has played exceptionally well.  Everyone knew what he could do at the plate and the power he has, but now people are starting to see what he does behind the plate and as a Cubs fan, I’m giddy to see this young stud for the next decade plus.  

Sure, this team is more than capable of getting to the World Series this year, but they are set up to be in contention with this core of talent 10 years down the road.  

In conclusion, I’ll leave you with one little tidbit that I find simply amazing.  My 23rd birthday is on Monday, October 31st.  Game 5 of the World Series is the night of Sunday, October 30th, hopefully in Wrigley Field.  Talk about potentially the best birthday present ever!

Cubs poised for monster second half

It takes a lot to be a sports fan of the Bills, Cubs, Bonnies, Knicks and Sabres.  I’ve been used to nothing but losing and disappointing seasons for the better part of my life and now there is finally a sense of optimism.

I’ve only seen the Cubs make the postseason five times in my life.  That includes the heartbreaking NLCS loss to the Miami Marlins in 2003, a first round sweep at the hands of the Dodgers in 2008, and last season’s magical run to the NLCS in a year most people were surprised to see them even make the playoffs.  

After jumping out to a 25-6 start, it was hard to think of anything other than the World Series.  After all, the Cubs were in fact the favorite to win it all in the pre-season and into the regular season.  But then again, they are called “the lovable losers” for a reason. We have seen in the last month that this level of success can’t sustain itself for an entire 162 game season.  The drought was bound to happen eventually, but I don’t think anyone thought Chicago would close the first half going only 6-15.  

It went from paradise at Wrigleyville to the sky falling in a matter of weeks ( And that is still with a 7.5 game lead in the NL Central! ). Now with the All-Star game in the rear view mirror and the second half upon us, it is time to take a look forward.  As many fans know, the trade deadline is coming up in a few weeks and there is an intense amount of pressure on the organization to trade for relief pitchers.  

The first move was made today when the Cubs traded with the Seattle Mariners for left-handed relief pitcher Mike Montgomery. They gave up their best Triple A prospect in first baseman Dan Vogelbach, but the move makes sense because he was never going to get playing time with Rizzo manning that position. According to team President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein and GM Jed Hoyer, the Cubs might not be done making moves before the August 1 deadline.  

The big names that virtually all other 29 teams want come from a certain team in the Bronx that still hasn’t figured out if they are buying or selling.  “The Big Three” of Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller, and Aroldis Chapman, have been untouchable at the back end of that Yankees pen. The Cubs will be asked to give up a ton in order to obtain one of them and frankly, it is NOT worth it.  

With relief pitchers Joe Nathan and Brian Matusz working their way up in the minor leagues, Chicago should have enough in place to piece together a playoff caliber bullpen come October.  And if they don’t, getting one more lefty arm in that pen could be very beneficial for the playoffs as well to face the powerful lefty hitters like Daniel Murphy and Bryce Harper.  

Cubs fans will also be thrilled to hear that outfielders Dexter Fowler and Jorge Soler are close to coming back. Once they get their complete starting line-up, I fully expect the Cubbies to run away with this division.

However, it should be very interesting to see how the rest of the National League stacks up.  Both Washington and San Francisco have comfortable leads in their respective divisions and both hover right around the same record as Chicago.  If all three hold on to win these divisions, it’ll be interesting to see who ends up having the best record and gets home field until the World Series.  

Then you look at the Wild Card spots and there are five realistic teams who have a chance other than the division leaders.  Right now, the Los Angeles Dodgers hold the first spot, with the Miami Marlins and New York Mets tied for the final playoff spot.  NL Central foes, St. Louis and Pittsburgh, sit just a few games behind them.  

With about 70 games left in the season, a lot can happen and it should be noted that all of these teams have issues of their own to deal with.  Kershaw is hurt for the Dodgers, Harvey is out for the season in New York, the Marlins are the cinderella team no one expects to be here come late September, and the Cardinals and Pirates have had to deal with a number of issues in its starting rotations.  

It’s a very wide open National League in the months that lie ahead.  My question is who will seize control of it? Chicago has the pitching, hitting, defense, depth and closer all squared away. As long as they touch up the bullpen come playoff time, then a magical October run might be in the forecast.  

And if the unthinkable happens? If they reverse the curse? Expect to see me taking off from work with a spot on Addison Street in a parade that will surely make Cleveland’s celebration look like a small family gathering.  

All Hail The King

When talking about the best players in the world, legacy is a word that often comes up.  A person’s legacy can be determined in multiple ways based on off-court actions, respect/likability, but most importantly, it is based on postseason performance.  

LeBron James has often been criticized for his NBA Finals record in his career since he is currently 2-4. However, what some people fail to realize is that his teams were underdogs in just about every Finals matchup.  

The 2007 Cavs were just happy to be there with San Antonio.  Out of the four times James went in Miami, he won twice.  Once against a Spurs team they had no business beating, and the other against an OKC team that features two of the current top-five players in the world.  

Case and point, LeBron has been very successful in the postseason even if he has a losing finals record.  This is his sixth straight finals appearance, which hasn’t been seen in over 65 years! The man has absolutely dominated the Eastern Conference and people should expect that to continue.  

Even without the other two thirds of the big three, he managed to carry last year’s Cavaliers into Game 6 of the NBA Finals against the Warriors.  The case was made for him to win the Finals MVP award even though he was apart of the losing team.  

I’m here to tell you that as great as last year was for LeBron, nothing can top what he is doing right now.  Back-to-back 40 point games, while dishing out a bulk of the assists, leading rebounder, shot blocker, steals leader, what doesn’t this guy do?  

Facing arguably one of the greatest teams in NBA history in the Golden State Warriors is hard enough, but putting yourself in a 3-1 hole seems nearly impossible to overcome.  A team that won 73 games in the regular season, the defending NBA champs, a team who only lost consecutive games once all year, and here we sit waiting for Sunday night’s winner take all game 7.  

If the Cavaliers can pull out a victory in Oakland, not only would it be one of the greatest comebacks in NBA history, but in the history of all four major sports.  Golden State pummeled Cleveland in the first two games, making this series appear early on to look more like a sweep than a seven game series. Not on the King’s watch. The Cavs have since rattled off three of the last four games to pull even in this best-of-seven series.  

Games 5 & 6 were dominated by LeBron in all facets of the game: Offense, defense, rebounding, and yes…. Perimeter shooting.  An area of James’ game in which he struggled much of the season has suddenly come alive at the perfect time for Cleveland.  If LeBron has a similar performance at Oracle Arena, it’s hard to imagine him not holding the Larry O’Brien trophy postgame.  

It truly is a special time in the NBA.  With the ever increasing dependability of the 3-point shot, the Cavaliers and Warriors are proving to the rest of the Association just how great both teams are.  Just when you think one of them is down, they get right back up.  As an avid supporter of the Knicks, I haven’t had much to cheer about lately, but these last two NBA Finals have been thrilling while leaving me on the edge of my seat.

As most of my close friends and family know, I’ve been labeled as a “LeBron hater” throughout his career and that is correct.  However, I respect him more than anyone in the game of basketball and our generation is currently seeing a once in a lifetime player.  

Curry can be characterized in the same way, but for a totally different reason.  We will never see a shooter come close to the level that Steph is at right now.  The difference with LeBron, is that we will never see someone dominate every other facet of the game the way “The King” has done it.   

Is he Michael Jordan? No. He is already one of the best of all-time though and he’s in the prime of his career.  So my suggestion is to sit back and watch Sunday night because chances are something special is about to happen.  

Last Hoorah

I am currently sitting on a bus going to Boston, Massachusetts for my last cross country race ever.  Eight years.  Eight years of XC all comes to an end Friday November 13th at roughly 1:35 p.m. ET.  I’ve spent these last two weeks or so reflecting on my time running.  Whether it is reminiscing with teammates, going through high school pictures, or reliving everything with the best two people in my life: My Mom and Dad.  My Parents have seen nearly  every one of my races over my career.  As far as I know, there was only one race in my collegiate career that both of them couldn’t attend, and it was over 8 hours away.  No other parents have even come close to the amount of support they have shown not only to their eldest son, but the Bonnies XC program as a whole.  It is no surprise to anyone that they will be out in full force at Franklin Park Friday with my Dad probably pretending to be our head coach!  

I can vividly remember my first ever captains practice the summer before my freshman year of high school.  The captain’s Mike Thielman and Joe Seitz went around asking people why they came out for cross country and I answered with, “Because I love to run.”  Now that got a couple of laughs from the guys because who really does love to run?  Well, eight years later I can honestly say I love running even more than I did back then.  I only joined XC to get in shape for my #1 sport, basketball.  As a young 14 -year old, basketball was the only sport I cared about.  Well.... that was all about to change.  I was quickly sucked in and fell in love with it right away.  I had some natural talent, nothing crazy though.  I now understand that me getting to this point in my career took all of the cards falling into place, and those cards, were all of my captains.  

First, I was blessed with the best captains of all-time.  Freshman year, like I mentioned previously, Seitz and Thielman, then Ryan Perry and Tom Calandra, junior year was Don Seitz and Carl Copeland.  Then my senior year was me alongside the kid who got me into this wonderful sport, Brian Dobmeier.  When he first asked me to join XC, I flat out told him, “well, I’ve never skied before but I’ll give it a shot!”  I also need to thank Ted Langlois and Josh Lewis because the “fresh four” will always live on and I love those guys.  The good fortune continued into Bona where I was blessed with a number of great role models.  Between Terence Petty, Harley Thompson, Nick Masiello, and Steven Kibbe, I had not only the nicest guys ever, but people I truly looked up to and missed so much this year.  Along with these great upperclassmen, the guys who came up in my class were just as impactful on my life.  Joe Ferencik, Caleb Lecker, and fellow-captain Ben Collins all influenced my life more than they could ever imagine.  

I’m going to soak up every moment on that line Friday afternoon because this is really it.  Sure, I’ll run marathons, various other road races, play basketball intermurals, but it won’t be quite the same.  Competing for the team, working towards a common goal is what I will miss more than just about anything.  I called my parents and they were upset because this was the end.  This may be true, it is the end, but all good things must come to an end and it is time to go out on a great note.  LAST ONE, FAST ONE!  

The Ultimate Trap Game

Anyone who watched Buffalo's defense dominate the league's top offense last week would tell you that the Bills should steamroll the lowly 2-12 Oakland Raiders.  That would ultimately put the Bills playoff hopes on the line for one game next week at Gillette Stadium against the New England Patriots.  However, Buffalo will need to do more than just show up to get out of California with their ninth win of the season.  Although it hasn't shown in the win column, Oakland is a young team that has been very competitive in defeat.  Their biggest win of the season came on Thursday Night Football against the Chiefs.  Rookie quarterback David Carr has been the Raiders starter for all fourteen weeks and has shown signs of improvement, even with limited offensive weapons.  Running back Latavius Murray has put together some big games late in the season and he is the guy Buffalo needs to put most of their attention on.  Oakland's offense might be near the bottom of the league, but the defense has shown how good they can be.  It starts with rookie linebacker Khalil Mack.  He has put together a great season and is up for defensive rookie of the year.  Buffalo's O-line held up against Green Bay last week and the same needs to happen this week if they want to win.  The Raiders are susceptible in the run game so with CJ Spiller back, and with Fred, Bryce Brown, and Boobie Dixon, expect the Bills to keep the ball on the ground a lot today.  

Three Keys to the Game: 

1. Punch the Ball in the Endzone:  The offense only produced four field goals last week and got bailed out with a Marcus Thigpen punt return touchdown.  This time, the Bills can't let an inferior team hang around, so scoring touchdowns instead of field goals is big for this struggling offense.  

2. Carr Can't be Calm:  Derek Carr has been pressured a lot throughout the season and today figures to follow that trend.  The best defensive line in the league needs to get pressure and put Oakland in 3rd & long situations.  

3.  No Scoreboard Watching:  Since today's game is at 4:25, the other impactful games will already be decided.  Focus on this game and if Buffalo gets the help they needed, then great.  

My Prediction: I expect Oakland to keep it tight for awhile before a much more talented team in the Bills pulls away in the fourth quarter.  

Buffalo 26    Oakland 14

Say Cheese

Playing on the road against Peyton Manning is bad enough, now the Bills must face their second straight future hall-of-famer in Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers.  The Packers come in to this matchup as arguably the hottest/best team in the league.  The explosive Green Bay offense is led at receiver by Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb and by Eddie Lacy at running back.  Lacy is questionable for today's game, so if he can't go, UB product James Starks should receive a lot of carries.  With the Bills stout defense, this figures to be a big matchup of heavyweights.  The Green Bay Packers have a very average defense based on the numbers.  Their main offseason acquisition was defensive end Julius Peppers and along with Clay Matthews, they have a very solid front seven.  The secondary is where they can be exploited, like what Atlanta showed on Monday Night Football last week.  Kyle Orton needs to show great improvement and get the ball out of his hands early if the Bills want to have a chance.  Woods, Watkins, and Hogan should be able to find openings in that porous Packers secondary.  

With the Packers trying to put a strangle hold on the NFC North division, the Bills are teetering on the edge of the playoff picture with just three weeks to go.  Here are my three keys to the game.

1. Apply Pressure With Four:  Aaron Rodgers not only can beat a defense with his arm, but he can do so with his feet.  The Bills defensive line failed to bring Manning to the ground at all last week, so in order to keep the Green Bay offense on the sideline, Buffalo must get to Rodgers without having to blitz.  

2.  Take Some Deep Shots:  Green Bay throws more 20+ yard passes than any other team in the NFL.  The Bills should take a similar approach to last week and establish the run, then take a shot off of play action.  Keeping Rodgers and that offense off the field is the best way to beat Green Bay.  

3. Special Teams: The Packers have a clear offensive advantage and the Bills have a clear defensive advantage.  Whoever can gain an edge in field position, get a big punt return, or win the turnover margin could be the difference in this one.  

My Prediction:  

The Bills are 3-0 this year against the NFC North, but the Packers are the class of this division.  The hottest team in the NFL should continue to roll offensively even on the road, ending any possibility of Buffalo reaching the postseason.  

Green Bay 31  Buffalo 20