There was some great football played this weekend. And then there was the performance by Brock Osweiler.
Let’s look at some of the biggest takeaways we learned this past weekend.
Keep reading for more on my thoughts from this weekend’s NFL playoff games.
This is the time of year that it is fun to take a look that prospects who may make a big jump in the coming season. It’s not so much a time to question whether or not Eloy Jimenez will be baseball’s best prospect by the years end (which he will), nor is it a time to wonder if Brent Honeywell is actually the most exciting pitching prospect (which he is).
No, this is the time to look a little deeper in the farm systems at several guys who had a big 2016 and wonder if in fact they are for real, ready to make their presence known in the Top 100. Guys like those who I have looked at in the past, like Carson Kelly and Joe Jimenez who seem ready for the big break, and other guys like Cornelius Randolph who are still climbing the ladder.
So, who is the first in the 2017 Prospect Watch?
Keep reading for the first of my prospects to watch in 2017.
When we looked at the finalists last season for the NFL Hall of Fame I said I was not envious of the voters. This year, it doesn’t get any easier.
The 15 finalists have been announced and the 46 members of the selection committee are anxiously awaiting until Super Bowl Eve to vote on their next class to enter the hallowed walls in Canton. That, of course, is the tricky part.
It takes 80 percent to earn enshrinement. No less than four people will be inducted per season, while no more than eight will ever be in a new class. When you add on sure-fire bets Jerry Jones and Paul Tagliabue as contributors, and Seattle Seahawks safety Kenny Easley as the senior finalist, you are looking at five former players possibly getting their chance this season.
Five of these 15 finalists:
LaDainian Tomlinson, Terrell Davis, Alan Faneca, Joe Jacoby, John Lynch, Terrell Owens, Kurt Warner, Morten Anderson, Tony Boselli, Kevin Mawae, Isaac Bruce, Jason Taylor, Brian Dawkins, Ty Law, and Don Coryell.
Good luck with that.
Mallex Smith was once the Atlanta Braves prized centerfielder of the future. The speedy centerfielder became expendable with the Gold Glove season of Ender Inciarte and the emergence of Ronald Acuna and Ray-Patrick Didder in the lower minors. The Braves would send him to Seattle for more pitching — as the Braves have become accustomed to doing — only to see Seattle send him to Tampa for pitching and prospects an hour later.
And then there were eight.
Despite the world over complaining about the Brock Osweiler and Connor Cook matchup in the first game of this year’s NFL Playoffs, none of the three remaining games on the weekend were all that competitive. There were no upsets as all four home teams advanced, setting up this coming weekend’s Divisional Round.
For four teams, the season came to an end. They are locked in slots nine through twelve as we inch closer to our final Power Rankings of the season.
So how does the Top 12 look this week?
I woke up this morning and still couldn’t believe what I watched. It was riveting, exciting and arguably the single best college football championship game of my lifetime. It’s at least up there, but man, what a game.
It took 59:59 for the victor to be decided (minus the three-hour referee conference on deciding how to play out the final second, but how about those now legendary guns on Referee McBiceps). At the end of the day, Hunter Renfrow saw his draft stock soar up the charts, as early rumors were Deshaun Watson had a Cleveland Browns jersey awaiting him in his locker after the game (DISCLAIMER: that’s fake news people, I made it up. Please don’t quote me on the Intraweb).
The play that will go down in Clemson history: https://t.co/rALrFWi4LW pic.twitter.com/2IQyPjiXXX
— NCAA Football (@NCAAFootball) January 10, 2017
We’ll conclude “The Search For My Home Team” Saga in next Sunday’s exam results from the Divisional Round. For now let’s breakdown the first part of your Sportsbook 102 Final, with the results from this Wildcard Weekend.
Yesterday’s intriguing battle between two third-string quarterbacks ended in the Houston Texans favor. For the second consecutive week, Brock Osweiler looked good (that’s not a typo) en route to the Texans third playoff victory in the history of the franchise.
What can we, as Texans fans, walk away with from this victory?
Click here for the 3 biggest takeaways from the Wild Card win.
Every year, as the Hall of Fame inductions roll around, the Chipper Jones debate begins. Perhaps it is heightened living in the Atlanta area as I do, but each and every year as Larry Wayne Jones inches closer to possible enshrinement, the debate arises.
Is Chipper Jones a Hall of Famer?
(For the second time this season, our fantasy guru better known as Saucy T has left his confines of fantasy football analysis to drop some quarterback knowledge on us. Last time, we argued if the Cowboys should stick with Dak or turn the keys to the car over to Romo. This time, he looks at the three-horse MVP race consisting of three quarterbacks.
I specifically asked Tim to write this piece as a Falcons fan. To see the debate through a Falcons fans eyes really presses the issue, because the numbers speak for themselves. So without further ado…)
THE 2017 NFL MVP RACE
Tim Mason | Fantasy Football/ NFL analyst
As a Falcons fan, this season has been a pleasant surprise. The Falcons have surpassed my optimistic expectations, and the biggest reason why is the MVP-level play of their quarterback, Matt Ryan. For me he should be the clear cut winner of this year’s award, and the stats back it up.
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