Quarterback
MVP: Eli Manning (Giants)
Eli Manning channeled his brother Peyton this week as he dismantled the Redskins defense with a preposterous 300-yard, five TD performance (four passing, one rushing). Manning is finally starting to get a hold of offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo's system and its paying dividends on the field. Manning hasn't looked this comfortable or been this productive under center since his nearly 5,000-yard season in 2011. Manning is still too inconsistent to trust as a weekly starter, but he's well worth a pickup as a QB2 right now.
Honorable Mentions: Andrew Luck (Colts), Eli Manning (Giants), Aaron Rodgers (Packers)
LVP: Nick Foles (Eagles)
For the first time in a long time, Nick Foles had a terrible game. Foles couldn't get a damn thing going on Sunday against the 49ers as he was under duress for most of the game and had practically no help from his receivers getting open downfield. Because of this, Foles ended Sunday with less than 200 yards passing and zero touchdowns. In Chip Kelly's offense, Foles is still as strong of a QB start as there is out there, so don't bench him due to this performance.
Dishonorable Mentions: Kirk Cousins (Redskins), Cam Newton (Panthers), Tom Brady (Patriots)
Running Back
MVP: Jammal Charles (Chiefs)
Jammal Charles owners can officially rejoice now because he has officially woken up from his offseason hibernation. After missing the last two weeks with injuries, Charles returned to the field for his first dominant performance of the season against the Patriots in primetime on Monday night. Charles was all over the field getting a combined total of 21 touches, 108 yards and three TD's (two receiving, one rushing). After the early season injury, Charles looks to be back to his dominant RB1 form.
Honorable Mentions: DeMarco Murray (Cowboys), Matt Forte (Bears), Matt Asiata (Vikings)
LVP: LeSean McCoy (Eagles)
Who would've thought LeSean McCoy would be the worst fantasy running back play two weeks in a row? McCoy once again stuffed as he managed just 17 yards on 10 carries against the 49ers stiff run D on Sunday afternoon. While McCoy hasn't looked as fluid in space or with his cuts than usual over the past couple of weeks, he can't absorb all of the blame for these poor performances. The Eagles line is currently riddled with injuries, so the rushing lanes just haven't been there in the last two games. McCoy has a strong chance to return to from against the weak Rams run D in Week 5.
Dishonorable Mentions: Donald Brown (Chargers), Rashad Jennings (Giants), Arian Foster (Texans)
Wide Receiver
MVP: Steve Smith (Ravens)
As most people-myself included-expected, Steve Smith had a huge game in his first meeting against his former team-the Carolina Panthers. Smith just could not be stopped as he reeled in seven receptions for 139 yards and two TD's in the Ravens blowout victory on Sunday. Smith, 35, has once again proven to be an ageless wonder this season and if he keeps up at this rate, he'll a guaranteed top 10 fantasy WR at year's end.
Honorable Mentions: Antonio Brown (Steelers), Randall Cobb (Packers), Jordy Nelson (Packers)
LVP: Calvin Johnson (Lions)
Even robot overlords like Megatron can play poorly sometimes. Calvin Johnson was visibly hobbled by an ankle injury- which limited his snaps and production substantially-throughout the Lions Week 4 matchup with the Jets. Johnson should return to his typical superhuman form in a couple of weeks, but he's not worth starting as long as his ankle continues to bother him.
Dishonorable Mentions: Pierre Garcon (Redskins), DeSean Jackson (Redskins), Michael Crabtree (49ers)
Tight End
MVP: Larry Donnell (Giants)
If you've watched the Giants play at any point this year, you may have asked yourself "Who the hell is Larry Donnell? The third-year undrafted tight end has become a fixture in the Giants offense overnight thanks to his steady hands and monstrous red zone presence. Donnell easily made his greatest impact of 2014 thus far in Week 4 as he found the endzone three times against the Redskins. Donnell has emerged as the breakout TE of this season and if he's somehow still available in your league, you need to pick him up immediately.
Honorable Mentions: Heath Miller (Steelers), Delanie Walker (Titans), Travis Kelce (Chiefs)
LVP: Greg Olsen (Panthers)
It was a long day for pretty much the entire Panthers offense in their matchup with the Ravens this past Sunday, but no one suffered more in their lopsided loss than Greg Olsen. The typically productive Olsen was basically shut out as he picked up a mere two catches for 30 yards on the afternoon. Even with this setback, Olsen is on pace for a career year and he remains the number two option in this offense behind Kelvin Benjamin, so keeping starting him.
Dishonorable Mentions: Antonio Gates (Chargers), Zach Ertz (Eagles), Jason Witten (Cowboys)
Defense
MVP: Miami Dolphins
After two straight disappointing performances, the Dolphins came back with a vengeance against the Raiders. The Dolphins forced four takeaways (three INT's and a fumble), picked up two sacks and got a defensive touchdown in Sunday's international showcase in London. The Dolphins are still a little sketchy to trust due to their tendency to allow a lot of points, but they have the capability to go off at any time thanks to their strong pass rush and takeaway ability.
Honorable Mentions: Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, San Francisco 49ers
LVP: Carolina Panthers
Now is the time to hit the panic button for the Panthers defense. A week after getting crushed by the Steelers, the Panthers farted once again against allowing 38 points and not registered a single sack or takeaway in Sunday's contest against the Ravens. The pass-rush just isn't the same without Greg Hardy in the lineup and their second-ranked run defense from a year ago is suddenly near the bottom of the league. Things aren't going to get any easier for this struggling unit either as they face the Bears powerhouse offense in Week 5.
Dishonorable Mentions: Chicago Bears, New England Patriots, Atlanta Falcons
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Monday, September 29, 2014
Concert Review: Coheed and Cambria-- Boston, MA-- September 28th, 2014
If you're an active concertgoer, you know that there are certain shows that stand out from the pack. Every once and a while you'll attend a show that feels less like a concert and more like a monumental, can't-miss event. Last night at the House of Blues in Boston was one of those special shows as progressive rock virtuosos Coheed and Cambria played their iconic 2003 album In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 in its entirety.
Opening the show was up-and-coming prog-rockers Thank You Scientist. All I knew about Thank You Scientist prior to the show was that they are signed to Coheed and Cambria frontman Claudio Sanchez's record label and that their 2012 debut album, Maps of Non-Existent Places, was universally acclaimed by critics and fans alike. After seeing them live, I'm downright ashamed of myself for not checking them out sooner. Thank You Scientist is the most experimental and unconventional act to come along in the progressive rock scene since The Mars Volta. The center of their originality comes from their inclusion of a brass section (saxophone and trumpet) and violinist in their full-time lineup. The prominent brass instrument and violin sections gives them a jazz-fueled sound that other bands in the genre simply can't play. It's really awesome to see a band work unconventional instrumentation into their music without it coming off as a cheap gimmick. While the jazzy instruments are a huge part of what makes Thank You Scientist so great, the other members of the band are just as vital to the success of their oddball sound. The soaring falsetto vocals of Salvatore Marrano add a gigantic burst of energy to the already chaotic music and guitarist Tom Monda possesses the versatility to tackle everything from soothing Latin-inspired melodies to metal-esque technicality with ease. Thank You Scientist was the perfect opener for this show and I'll be closely monitoring their career in the future.
After a half-hour wait, Coheed and Cambria hit the stage. In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 has been amongst my favorite albums of all-time since I first discovered it in 2005, so the fact I was going to see it played live from start to finish was incredibly exciting. As I'd anticipated, it was an absolutely surreal and euphoric experience to hear these songs in a live setting. While hearing longtime live set staples like the title track and "A Favor House Atlantic" was awesome, it was the deeper cuts that truly shined. Songs like "Cuts Marked in the March of Men", "The Crowing" and the epic three-part track the "Camper Velourium" were absolutely colossal live. A large part of the appeal of Coheed and Cambria's music to me is how massive every song sounds and the live version of these tracks are prime examples of that. I was actually surprised to see how well-received the non-album singles were. Basically everyone in my vicinity was singing along and generally losing their minds for every single song on the album. It's always awesome to see a group of fans that have the same amount of enthusiasm and passion for the rarities as they do for the singles. After they played through In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3, they returned for two encores that were just as fantastic and powerful as the material from In Keeping Secrets. Newer song "Number City" was the most pure fun song of the night thanks to its infectious hook and rousing horn section courtesy of the guys from Thank You Scientist while fan-favorite "Welcome Home" punctuated the set with the loudest sing-a-longs of the evening and a wild, spontaneous 12-string guitar solo from Sanchez. The only disappointment of the night for me was the fact they dropped "The Lying Lies and Dirty Secrets of Miss Erica Court" from the setlist. "Lying Lies" is one of my favorite tracks in Coheed's discography and I'd never seen them play it live before, so I was pretty bummed when they decided to drop from the setlist in Boston after playing it at all of the previous shows on the tour. Thanks to a spectacular setlist and crowd, this was the most fun I've ever had seeing Coheed and Cambria live.
Side Notes:
-The rush to the stage once the intro riff to "In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth 3" kicked in was the craziest I've seen since The Wonder Years headlining set at the Glamour Kills Tour in March 2012.
-My friend D.J. describe Thank You Scientist as "...an orgy of The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Coheed, Apocalyptica and The Mars Volta"
-Singing along to "Al the Killer" is the only time it's acceptable to yell "Die white girls" in public.
-The crowd was great on the whole, but there were a handful of morons who were trying to push their way up to the front when there was clearly nowhere to go. Seriously, if it's a packed floor at a sold out show, don't be that asshole causing unnecessary disruptions to move a couple of inches closer to the stage.
-Before the show, A cop threatened to put a drunk kid outside of the House of Blues in a "handcuff timeout" if his friends didn't get him away from the venue immediately.
Scores:
Thank You Scientist 8/10
Coheed and Cambria 9/10
Setlists:
Thank You Scientist:
Feed the Horses
Carnival
Little Automatic
In the Company of Worms
My Famed Disappearing Act
Coheed and Cambria:
The Ring in Return
In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3
Cuts Marked in the March of Men
Three Evils (Embodied in Love and Shadow)
The Crowing
Blood Red Summer
The Camper Velourium I: Faint of Hearts
The Camper Velourium II: Backend of Forever
The Camper Velourium III: Al the Killer
A Favor House Atlantic
The Light & the Glass
Encore:
21: 13
Encore 2:
Neverender
Goodnight, Fair Lady
Number City
Encore 3:
Ten Speed (Of God's Blood and Burial)
Welcome Home
Opening the show was up-and-coming prog-rockers Thank You Scientist. All I knew about Thank You Scientist prior to the show was that they are signed to Coheed and Cambria frontman Claudio Sanchez's record label and that their 2012 debut album, Maps of Non-Existent Places, was universally acclaimed by critics and fans alike. After seeing them live, I'm downright ashamed of myself for not checking them out sooner. Thank You Scientist is the most experimental and unconventional act to come along in the progressive rock scene since The Mars Volta. The center of their originality comes from their inclusion of a brass section (saxophone and trumpet) and violinist in their full-time lineup. The prominent brass instrument and violin sections gives them a jazz-fueled sound that other bands in the genre simply can't play. It's really awesome to see a band work unconventional instrumentation into their music without it coming off as a cheap gimmick. While the jazzy instruments are a huge part of what makes Thank You Scientist so great, the other members of the band are just as vital to the success of their oddball sound. The soaring falsetto vocals of Salvatore Marrano add a gigantic burst of energy to the already chaotic music and guitarist Tom Monda possesses the versatility to tackle everything from soothing Latin-inspired melodies to metal-esque technicality with ease. Thank You Scientist was the perfect opener for this show and I'll be closely monitoring their career in the future.
After a half-hour wait, Coheed and Cambria hit the stage. In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 has been amongst my favorite albums of all-time since I first discovered it in 2005, so the fact I was going to see it played live from start to finish was incredibly exciting. As I'd anticipated, it was an absolutely surreal and euphoric experience to hear these songs in a live setting. While hearing longtime live set staples like the title track and "A Favor House Atlantic" was awesome, it was the deeper cuts that truly shined. Songs like "Cuts Marked in the March of Men", "The Crowing" and the epic three-part track the "Camper Velourium" were absolutely colossal live. A large part of the appeal of Coheed and Cambria's music to me is how massive every song sounds and the live version of these tracks are prime examples of that. I was actually surprised to see how well-received the non-album singles were. Basically everyone in my vicinity was singing along and generally losing their minds for every single song on the album. It's always awesome to see a group of fans that have the same amount of enthusiasm and passion for the rarities as they do for the singles. After they played through In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3, they returned for two encores that were just as fantastic and powerful as the material from In Keeping Secrets. Newer song "Number City" was the most pure fun song of the night thanks to its infectious hook and rousing horn section courtesy of the guys from Thank You Scientist while fan-favorite "Welcome Home" punctuated the set with the loudest sing-a-longs of the evening and a wild, spontaneous 12-string guitar solo from Sanchez. The only disappointment of the night for me was the fact they dropped "The Lying Lies and Dirty Secrets of Miss Erica Court" from the setlist. "Lying Lies" is one of my favorite tracks in Coheed's discography and I'd never seen them play it live before, so I was pretty bummed when they decided to drop from the setlist in Boston after playing it at all of the previous shows on the tour. Thanks to a spectacular setlist and crowd, this was the most fun I've ever had seeing Coheed and Cambria live.
Side Notes:
-The rush to the stage once the intro riff to "In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth 3" kicked in was the craziest I've seen since The Wonder Years headlining set at the Glamour Kills Tour in March 2012.
-My friend D.J. describe Thank You Scientist as "...an orgy of The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Coheed, Apocalyptica and The Mars Volta"
-Singing along to "Al the Killer" is the only time it's acceptable to yell "Die white girls" in public.
-The crowd was great on the whole, but there were a handful of morons who were trying to push their way up to the front when there was clearly nowhere to go. Seriously, if it's a packed floor at a sold out show, don't be that asshole causing unnecessary disruptions to move a couple of inches closer to the stage.
-Before the show, A cop threatened to put a drunk kid outside of the House of Blues in a "handcuff timeout" if his friends didn't get him away from the venue immediately.
Scores:
Thank You Scientist 8/10
Coheed and Cambria 9/10
Setlists:
Thank You Scientist:
Feed the Horses
Carnival
Little Automatic
In the Company of Worms
My Famed Disappearing Act
Coheed and Cambria:
The Ring in Return
In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3
Cuts Marked in the March of Men
Three Evils (Embodied in Love and Shadow)
The Crowing
Blood Red Summer
The Camper Velourium I: Faint of Hearts
The Camper Velourium II: Backend of Forever
The Camper Velourium III: Al the Killer
A Favor House Atlantic
The Light & the Glass
Encore:
21: 13
Encore 2:
Neverender
Goodnight, Fair Lady
Number City
Encore 3:
Ten Speed (Of God's Blood and Burial)
Welcome Home
Saturday, September 27, 2014
2014 Rookie QB Watch: Week 4
By Liam Madigan-Fried
So I feel like I had to eat my words a little bit this week. Two weeks ago, I said that Matt Cassel looked like a solid franchise starter which would lead to Teddy Bridgewater seeing maybe two starts this season, and then last week I said that Blake Bortles wouldn’t see his first start until week six. Still, I can’t even say I care, because in my opinion, this season just got really interesting. We went from one rookie quarterback starting in week one to three lacing up for the first quarter in week four. So without further ado, let's get a closer look at how these guys are shaking things up in the league thus far.
Teddy Bridgewater: Well, the Matt Cassel story that might have been is over, and he’s likely seen his last stint as a starter in the NFL. The tenth-year veteran suffered a foot injury last Sunday versus the New Orleans Saints, which forced Teddy Bridgewater into making his first NFL game appearance. After the game, MRI’s revealed that Cassel had fractured a number of bones in his foot, and would not be returning for the remainder of the season. So however the timeline for coach Mike Zimmer regarding his new quarterback may have laid out, they’re going to have to speed things up a bit, because ready or not, Bridgewater’s his man for the remainder of the season. Despite not throwing for a single touchdown, Bridgewater gave the Vikings a little glimmer of hope showing some poise in the pocket and going 12 for 20 through the air for 150 yards. If Bridgewater can click in Norv Turner’s offense like he did in the preseason and he can some help in the running game from Matt Asiata and Jerick McKinnon, there’s no reason why Bridgewater shouldn’t be on his way to a good (or at least decent) rookie season.
Derek Carr: Derek Carr made a big statement on Sunday versus the Patriots when he targeted star cornerback Darrelle Revis’s side of the field a total of six times, completing five of those passes for 63 yards. Carr was obviously not intimidated about testing Revis on Sunday, but unfortunately that could not stop the massive pass rush created by Vince Wilfork and Chandler Jones from affecting him. That relentless pass rush ultimately led to Carr’s first game without a touchdown pass, as well as one interception coming from Wilfork himself. Carr would end the game throwing 21/34 for 174 yards, but it can definitely be argued that Carr got robbed for a score due to a pass interference call on the Patriots on a deep touchdown pass to Andre Holmes. Had Holmes been able to run unobstructed, the tide of the game may have turned in a very different direction for Tom Brady and co. Despite starting their season at 0-3, Carr still continues to improve in some areas-such as his poise in the pocket and defensive reads- yet remains weak in others, particularly when it comes to shoving passes into really, really tight windows, sometimes (and sometimes not) narrowly escaping an interception. Luckily for Carr, other than the whole two-fumbles-in-the-same-play fiasco, James Jones seems to be at least doing his part in contributing to this Oakland offense, leading the team in receptions with 189 yards and two touchdowns. Jones might not be putting up elite receiver numbers, but he has so far proven to be Carr’s best deep threat and red zone option. I still don’t see bright things on the horizon for the Raiders this season, but one thing they’ve got going for them so far is Carr.
Johnny Manziel: Despite their second loss of the season on Sunday to the Baltimore Ravens, the metaphorical scales representing the Browns quarterback debacle seem to be tipping in favor of veteran Brian Hoyer. The Money Manziel package that Browns head coach Mike Pettine has alluded to in numerous press conferences has yet to manifest itself on the field other than a quick three plays two weeks ago versus the Steelers. The Browns last two losses (as well as their one win) have been decided by three points or less, meaning their battling bald man under center has consistently kept them in the game until the very end. Hoyer has looked pretty good so far with a 97.5 passer rating, three touchdowns and no interceptions through the first three games. Like I say week after week, Manziel has talent and he might even belong in the NFL, but Cleveland isn’t looking like the place for him. The reason being, it just wouldn’t make sense to get rid of Hoyer as long as he continues to put up good numbers. If Hoyer can manage to lead the Browns to a winning season this year (unlikely), it’s very possible we could see Manziel offered up to the trading block for a top draft pick in 2015.
Blake Bortles: The Bortles era in Jacksonville is finally here! One of the few things I’m glad to have been proven wrong on is the subject of Blake Bortles redshirt status. Despite what teammates and coaches may have said prior to Sunday, Chad Henne got the boot in the second half on Sunday to make way for the first round pick out of Central Florida. Bortles ended the night going 14/24 for 223 total yards and two touchdown passes in his debut- an impressive showing in what many would call the "garbage pickup" portion of the game. Despite throwing for two interceptions, if you actually watch the game footage you’ll see many of those completions came under pressure and in some pretty tight windows as well (hence the two interceptions). The arm strength of Bortles was also let out of its cage on Sunday, with one particular rocket of a pass hitting Allen Robinson for a first down late in the fourth quarter. Now that Bortles is taking over the starting quarterback job, Henne may have seen his last start in a Jaguars uniform (or any uniform). He may have known it was coming, he probably was just hoping it would be later, rather than sooner. I’m going to make a very bold prediction right now: In two weeks win or lose, Bortles will be in contention for Offensive Rookie of the Year.
So I feel like I had to eat my words a little bit this week. Two weeks ago, I said that Matt Cassel looked like a solid franchise starter which would lead to Teddy Bridgewater seeing maybe two starts this season, and then last week I said that Blake Bortles wouldn’t see his first start until week six. Still, I can’t even say I care, because in my opinion, this season just got really interesting. We went from one rookie quarterback starting in week one to three lacing up for the first quarter in week four. So without further ado, let's get a closer look at how these guys are shaking things up in the league thus far.
Teddy Bridgewater: Well, the Matt Cassel story that might have been is over, and he’s likely seen his last stint as a starter in the NFL. The tenth-year veteran suffered a foot injury last Sunday versus the New Orleans Saints, which forced Teddy Bridgewater into making his first NFL game appearance. After the game, MRI’s revealed that Cassel had fractured a number of bones in his foot, and would not be returning for the remainder of the season. So however the timeline for coach Mike Zimmer regarding his new quarterback may have laid out, they’re going to have to speed things up a bit, because ready or not, Bridgewater’s his man for the remainder of the season. Despite not throwing for a single touchdown, Bridgewater gave the Vikings a little glimmer of hope showing some poise in the pocket and going 12 for 20 through the air for 150 yards. If Bridgewater can click in Norv Turner’s offense like he did in the preseason and he can some help in the running game from Matt Asiata and Jerick McKinnon, there’s no reason why Bridgewater shouldn’t be on his way to a good (or at least decent) rookie season.
Derek Carr: Derek Carr made a big statement on Sunday versus the Patriots when he targeted star cornerback Darrelle Revis’s side of the field a total of six times, completing five of those passes for 63 yards. Carr was obviously not intimidated about testing Revis on Sunday, but unfortunately that could not stop the massive pass rush created by Vince Wilfork and Chandler Jones from affecting him. That relentless pass rush ultimately led to Carr’s first game without a touchdown pass, as well as one interception coming from Wilfork himself. Carr would end the game throwing 21/34 for 174 yards, but it can definitely be argued that Carr got robbed for a score due to a pass interference call on the Patriots on a deep touchdown pass to Andre Holmes. Had Holmes been able to run unobstructed, the tide of the game may have turned in a very different direction for Tom Brady and co. Despite starting their season at 0-3, Carr still continues to improve in some areas-such as his poise in the pocket and defensive reads- yet remains weak in others, particularly when it comes to shoving passes into really, really tight windows, sometimes (and sometimes not) narrowly escaping an interception. Luckily for Carr, other than the whole two-fumbles-in-the-same-play fiasco, James Jones seems to be at least doing his part in contributing to this Oakland offense, leading the team in receptions with 189 yards and two touchdowns. Jones might not be putting up elite receiver numbers, but he has so far proven to be Carr’s best deep threat and red zone option. I still don’t see bright things on the horizon for the Raiders this season, but one thing they’ve got going for them so far is Carr.
Johnny Manziel: Despite their second loss of the season on Sunday to the Baltimore Ravens, the metaphorical scales representing the Browns quarterback debacle seem to be tipping in favor of veteran Brian Hoyer. The Money Manziel package that Browns head coach Mike Pettine has alluded to in numerous press conferences has yet to manifest itself on the field other than a quick three plays two weeks ago versus the Steelers. The Browns last two losses (as well as their one win) have been decided by three points or less, meaning their battling bald man under center has consistently kept them in the game until the very end. Hoyer has looked pretty good so far with a 97.5 passer rating, three touchdowns and no interceptions through the first three games. Like I say week after week, Manziel has talent and he might even belong in the NFL, but Cleveland isn’t looking like the place for him. The reason being, it just wouldn’t make sense to get rid of Hoyer as long as he continues to put up good numbers. If Hoyer can manage to lead the Browns to a winning season this year (unlikely), it’s very possible we could see Manziel offered up to the trading block for a top draft pick in 2015.
Blake Bortles: The Bortles era in Jacksonville is finally here! One of the few things I’m glad to have been proven wrong on is the subject of Blake Bortles redshirt status. Despite what teammates and coaches may have said prior to Sunday, Chad Henne got the boot in the second half on Sunday to make way for the first round pick out of Central Florida. Bortles ended the night going 14/24 for 223 total yards and two touchdown passes in his debut- an impressive showing in what many would call the "garbage pickup" portion of the game. Despite throwing for two interceptions, if you actually watch the game footage you’ll see many of those completions came under pressure and in some pretty tight windows as well (hence the two interceptions). The arm strength of Bortles was also let out of its cage on Sunday, with one particular rocket of a pass hitting Allen Robinson for a first down late in the fourth quarter. Now that Bortles is taking over the starting quarterback job, Henne may have seen his last start in a Jaguars uniform (or any uniform). He may have known it was coming, he probably was just hoping it would be later, rather than sooner. I’m going to make a very bold prediction right now: In two weeks win or lose, Bortles will be in contention for Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Thursday, September 25, 2014
Arthur Avanesov Northlane Audition
Hello all,
My good friend Arthur Avanesov is amongst the thousands of people that are trying out to be the new vocalist for Australian djent/metalcore band Northlane. Check out his audition video below and be sure to spread the word if you like what you hear. He's a killer vocalist and would be a great fit for an up-and-coming band like Northlane.
My good friend Arthur Avanesov is amongst the thousands of people that are trying out to be the new vocalist for Australian djent/metalcore band Northlane. Check out his audition video below and be sure to spread the word if you like what you hear. He's a killer vocalist and would be a great fit for an up-and-coming band like Northlane.
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Album Review: The Contortionist-Language
Language sees The Contortionist further expanding on the more progressive sound they established on their 2012 LP Intrinsic. The deathcore elements that ruled Exoplanet are now all but gone from the equation. The Contortionist's transition from a progressive deathcore band to a straight-up progressive band is relatively seamless in large part due to the presence of new vocalist Mike Lessard. Lessard-who is also the frontman for criminally underrated prog metal act Last Chance to Reason- is a pitch-perfect fit for this band. Lessard is a phenomenal vocalist with a range that allows the band to cover more ground musically than ever before. While previous vocalist Jonathan Carpenter was an excellent harsh vocalist, his middling clean vocals prevented the band from thriving when they entered melodic territory. Lessard's ability to sing as well he screams erases any previous vocal limitations this band had and is one of the driving forces behind the success of Language.
The first half of Language is pretty much prog-metal bliss. The Contortionist is firing on all cylinders out the gate with plenty of energy, emotion and exquisite melodies galore. Droning intro "The Source" is the perfect precursor to the two-part track "Language"-which perfectly embodies everything The Contortionist is about. "Language I" establishes the new, atmosphere-heavy sound with nothing but clean vocals, muted guitar lines and low-key synths throughout while "Language II" reminds the listener that even though this incarnation of The Contortionist is primarily focused on being a progressive band, they can still play heavy material with the best of them. However, "Language I and II" are just a warmup for the brilliance of the two proceeding tracks "Integration" and "Thrive". "Integration" and "Thrive" are two of the absolute best progressive metal tracks to be released in recent memory. The grand scope and complexity of the song structures, beautiful riffing from guitarists Robby Baca and Cameron Maynad, and brief bursts of Exoplanet-esque heaviness make these tracks completely invigorating listens that only grow more striking on repeat plays.
Ironically, just about everything after "Integration" and "Thrive" backfires. The sixth track, "Primordial Sound", comes through and kills all the momentum Language built up in the first half. With a plodding, robotic vibe running through the duration of the song, The six-and-a-half minute runtime of "Primordial Sound" feels like at least twice that. The next track "Arise" briefly gets things back on track, before the lengthy "Ebb and Flow" and "The Parable" end the album with a whimper. The haunting musical landscapes and guitar harmonies that dominate the first half of the record are replaced by repetitive, lifeless riffing that gets really old really fast. Even the vocals of Lessard suffer a dip in quality from the first half. While Lessard's technical chops remain impressive, his reliance on repeated lyrics and delivering the vocal lines with zero emotion severely take away from the strength of his vocals. It's extremely perplexing to see an album that starts off as such a triumph descend into a stilted snoozefest when it approaches the finish line.
Ultimately, Language is one of the most divisive and flat-out strange listens of 2014 so far. It's too great to completely ignore yet far too meandering on the whole to get overly excited about. It's almost like two different bands recorded the two halves of the album. The first five tracks are about as strong as progressive metal can get while the last four sound like low-rent versions of Traced in Air-era Cynic. I'm completely content with the fact that The Contortionist will never put out another record like Exoplanet again, but the fact that they haven't been able to match the quality of that record with their subsequent efforts is agitating. Both this album and Intrinsic have plenty of moments of brilliance that are ultimately squandered by numerous sleep-inducing songs appearing throughout the duration of the album. If they could make a record that's as consistently inspired and efficient as Exoplanet with their new sound/lineup, they would be one of the undisputed torchbearers in progressive metal. Simply put, the first half of Language would've have a brilliant EP, but thanks to a lackluster second half, it's an enjoyable but heavily flawed LP.
3.5/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.Thrive
2.Integration
3.Language I-II
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
2014 Fantasy Football Week 3 Winners and Losers
Quarterback
MVP: Andrew Luck (Colts)
Andrew Luck's early season fantasy dominance continued in Week 3 with his decimation of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Luck played his best game of the year so far putting up 370 yards and 4 TD's through the air and adding another 15 yards on the ground to put a cherry on top of his stellar performance. As long as the Colts to struggle to run the ball, the offense will run through Luck and he'll be a weekly top-tier QB1.
Honorable Mentions: Kirk Cousins (Redskins), Nick Foles (Eagles), Matt Ryan (Falcons)
LVP: Matthew Stafford (Lions)
After a stellar week 1, Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford has failed to deliver. Stafford wasn't able to take advantage of a pretty favorable matchup against the Packers this week, as he failed to get the ball into the endzone and turned the ball over three times (2 INT's and a fumble). Stafford is easily one of the most frustrating QB1 starts in the league because of his inconsistent play and tendency to turn the ball over. Despite his struggles the past couple of weeks, Stafford is a must-start in Week 4 against the Jets weak secondary.
Dishonorable Mentions: Aaron Rodgers (Packers), Tom Brady (Patriots), Ryan Tannehill (Dolphins)
Running Back
MVP: Marshawn Lynch (Seahawks)
All hail Beast Mode. Marshawn Lynch continues to prove the "experts" who claimed prior to the start of the season that he had lost a step and was going to lose a substantial amount of carries to Robert Turbin and Christine Michael wrong with his absolutely ridiculous play to start off the year . Lynch found the endzone twice on Sunday against the Broncos and finished the day with 128 yards from scrimmage (88 rushing, 40 receiving) Barring any bizarre off-the-field incidents and/or injury, Lynch is a lock to be a top five fantasy running back in 2014.
Honorable Mentions: Rashad Jennings (Giants), Giovani Bernard (Bengals), Knile Davis (Chiefs)
LVP: LeSean McCoy (Eagles)
Like all LeSean McCoy fantasy owners on Sunday, I was baffled by just how bad his statline was against the Redskins on Sunday. The combination of the Redskins suddenly stout front seven and the Eagles injury-plagued offensive line led McCoy to rush for a paltry 22 yards on 20 carries on the afternoon. McCoy is too vital to the flow of Chip Kelly's uptempo offense for this performance to set off any major alarms, but it's still a huge disappointment to see a guy who was almost an undisputed top overall fantasy pick this year perform so poorly.
Dishonorable Mentions: Eddie Lacy (Packers), Bobby Rainey (Buccaneers), Matt Forte (Bears)
Wide Receiver
MVP: Julio Jones (Falcons)
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers found out all too well last Thursday the effect a healthy Julio Jones has on a football game. Jones torched the Buccaneers all game long in route to a 161-yard, two TD performance. Jones continues to be Matt Ryan's favorite target and with the freakish numbers he puts up everytime he's on the field, I don't see that changing anytime soon.
Honorable Mentions: Jeremy Maclin (Eagles), Antonio Brown (Steelers), Pierre Garcon (Redskins)
LVP: Brandon Marshall (Bears)
After lighting up the 49ers last Sunday night, Brandon Marshall was practically invisible in the Bears' primetime battle with the Jets on Monday night. The Jets dedicated a vast majority of their attention to shutting down Marshall, and their tactics worked as Marshall ended up with just a single catch for 6 yards on the night. Marshall re-tweaking his injured ankle on a block late in the second quarter certainly didn't help matters as he was clearly in serious pain when he returned to the field in the second half. Marshall's ankle is certainly something to watch moving forward and it wouldn't be the least bit surprising to see him sit out a game in the next week or two to rest it.
Dishonorable Mentions: Larry Fitzgerald (Cardinals) Sammy Watkins (Bills), Randall Cobb (Packers)
Tight End
MVP: Martellus Bennett (Bears)
With the Jets taking Brandon Marshall all but completely out of the game, Martellus Bennett stepped up as the Bears primary redzone target. Bennett hauled in a pair of TD's from Jay Cutler and finished Monday night's contest with 52 receiving yards on five receptions. Bennett has emerged as one of the few consistent TE1 options in 2014 and can now be trusted as a weekly starter in a vast majority of fantasy leagues.
Honorable Mentions: Greg Olsen (Panthers) Rob Gronkowski (Patriots), Dwayne Allen (Colts)
LVP: Zach Ertz (Eagles)
It seems like Zach Ertz was the only receiver on the Eagles that didn't benefit from the team's pass-heavy attack in Sunday's game against the Redskins. Ertz was held to just 14 yards on two receptions while the rest of the Eagles receivers torched the Redskins secondary all game long. Ertz remains a bit of a risk because of his tendency to live and die by the deep ball, but his sky-high ceiling keeps him firmly in the TE1 conversation.
Dishonorable Mentions: Charles Clay (Dolphins), Antonio Gates (Chargers), Jordan Cameron (Browns)
Defense
MVP: Indianapolis Colts
The Jacksonville Jaguars have provided glorious afternoons for opposing defenses this season and this week was no exception. The Colts were the latest defense to pray on the Jaguars horrible offense picking up 4 sacks, 2 INT's, a fumble recovery and a touchdown in Sunday afternoon's blowout victory. Even with promising rookie quarterback Blake Bortles taking over the starting job this week, the Jaguars remain the safest bet to get manhandled by defenses week in and week out.
Honorable Mentions: Detroit Lions, Chicago Bears, Cincinnati Bengals
LVP: Carolina Panthers
I'm still in shock of how bad the Carolina Panthers defense looked this week. This normally dominant unit was anything but as they allowed 31 points and got zero takeaways against the Steelers on Sunday night. Even the best defenses have meltdowns on occasion and I fully expect the Panthers to bounce back against the Ravens in Week 4.
Dishonorable Mentions: Houston Texans, San Francisco 49ers, Arizona Cardinals
MVP: Andrew Luck (Colts)
Andrew Luck's early season fantasy dominance continued in Week 3 with his decimation of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Luck played his best game of the year so far putting up 370 yards and 4 TD's through the air and adding another 15 yards on the ground to put a cherry on top of his stellar performance. As long as the Colts to struggle to run the ball, the offense will run through Luck and he'll be a weekly top-tier QB1.
Honorable Mentions: Kirk Cousins (Redskins), Nick Foles (Eagles), Matt Ryan (Falcons)
LVP: Matthew Stafford (Lions)
After a stellar week 1, Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford has failed to deliver. Stafford wasn't able to take advantage of a pretty favorable matchup against the Packers this week, as he failed to get the ball into the endzone and turned the ball over three times (2 INT's and a fumble). Stafford is easily one of the most frustrating QB1 starts in the league because of his inconsistent play and tendency to turn the ball over. Despite his struggles the past couple of weeks, Stafford is a must-start in Week 4 against the Jets weak secondary.
Dishonorable Mentions: Aaron Rodgers (Packers), Tom Brady (Patriots), Ryan Tannehill (Dolphins)
Running Back
MVP: Marshawn Lynch (Seahawks)
All hail Beast Mode. Marshawn Lynch continues to prove the "experts" who claimed prior to the start of the season that he had lost a step and was going to lose a substantial amount of carries to Robert Turbin and Christine Michael wrong with his absolutely ridiculous play to start off the year . Lynch found the endzone twice on Sunday against the Broncos and finished the day with 128 yards from scrimmage (88 rushing, 40 receiving) Barring any bizarre off-the-field incidents and/or injury, Lynch is a lock to be a top five fantasy running back in 2014.
Honorable Mentions: Rashad Jennings (Giants), Giovani Bernard (Bengals), Knile Davis (Chiefs)
LVP: LeSean McCoy (Eagles)
Like all LeSean McCoy fantasy owners on Sunday, I was baffled by just how bad his statline was against the Redskins on Sunday. The combination of the Redskins suddenly stout front seven and the Eagles injury-plagued offensive line led McCoy to rush for a paltry 22 yards on 20 carries on the afternoon. McCoy is too vital to the flow of Chip Kelly's uptempo offense for this performance to set off any major alarms, but it's still a huge disappointment to see a guy who was almost an undisputed top overall fantasy pick this year perform so poorly.
Dishonorable Mentions: Eddie Lacy (Packers), Bobby Rainey (Buccaneers), Matt Forte (Bears)
Wide Receiver
MVP: Julio Jones (Falcons)
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers found out all too well last Thursday the effect a healthy Julio Jones has on a football game. Jones torched the Buccaneers all game long in route to a 161-yard, two TD performance. Jones continues to be Matt Ryan's favorite target and with the freakish numbers he puts up everytime he's on the field, I don't see that changing anytime soon.
Honorable Mentions: Jeremy Maclin (Eagles), Antonio Brown (Steelers), Pierre Garcon (Redskins)
LVP: Brandon Marshall (Bears)
After lighting up the 49ers last Sunday night, Brandon Marshall was practically invisible in the Bears' primetime battle with the Jets on Monday night. The Jets dedicated a vast majority of their attention to shutting down Marshall, and their tactics worked as Marshall ended up with just a single catch for 6 yards on the night. Marshall re-tweaking his injured ankle on a block late in the second quarter certainly didn't help matters as he was clearly in serious pain when he returned to the field in the second half. Marshall's ankle is certainly something to watch moving forward and it wouldn't be the least bit surprising to see him sit out a game in the next week or two to rest it.
Dishonorable Mentions: Larry Fitzgerald (Cardinals) Sammy Watkins (Bills), Randall Cobb (Packers)
Tight End
MVP: Martellus Bennett (Bears)
With the Jets taking Brandon Marshall all but completely out of the game, Martellus Bennett stepped up as the Bears primary redzone target. Bennett hauled in a pair of TD's from Jay Cutler and finished Monday night's contest with 52 receiving yards on five receptions. Bennett has emerged as one of the few consistent TE1 options in 2014 and can now be trusted as a weekly starter in a vast majority of fantasy leagues.
Honorable Mentions: Greg Olsen (Panthers) Rob Gronkowski (Patriots), Dwayne Allen (Colts)
LVP: Zach Ertz (Eagles)
It seems like Zach Ertz was the only receiver on the Eagles that didn't benefit from the team's pass-heavy attack in Sunday's game against the Redskins. Ertz was held to just 14 yards on two receptions while the rest of the Eagles receivers torched the Redskins secondary all game long. Ertz remains a bit of a risk because of his tendency to live and die by the deep ball, but his sky-high ceiling keeps him firmly in the TE1 conversation.
Dishonorable Mentions: Charles Clay (Dolphins), Antonio Gates (Chargers), Jordan Cameron (Browns)
Defense
MVP: Indianapolis Colts
The Jacksonville Jaguars have provided glorious afternoons for opposing defenses this season and this week was no exception. The Colts were the latest defense to pray on the Jaguars horrible offense picking up 4 sacks, 2 INT's, a fumble recovery and a touchdown in Sunday afternoon's blowout victory. Even with promising rookie quarterback Blake Bortles taking over the starting job this week, the Jaguars remain the safest bet to get manhandled by defenses week in and week out.
Honorable Mentions: Detroit Lions, Chicago Bears, Cincinnati Bengals
LVP: Carolina Panthers
I'm still in shock of how bad the Carolina Panthers defense looked this week. This normally dominant unit was anything but as they allowed 31 points and got zero takeaways against the Steelers on Sunday night. Even the best defenses have meltdowns on occasion and I fully expect the Panthers to bounce back against the Ravens in Week 4.
Dishonorable Mentions: Houston Texans, San Francisco 49ers, Arizona Cardinals
Monday, September 22, 2014
50 Most Underrated Albums of the 2000's (So Far): #17
17.Hatebreed-The Rise of Brutality (2003)
Since their inception, Connecticut hardcore group Hatebreed have been churning out relentlessly heavy and passionate records dealing with themes of depression, substance abuse and overcoming any obstacle life throws at you. Despite all their records following pretty much the same blueprint, none of their records are as inspiring, emotionally resonate and consistently hard-hitting as their 2003 LP The Rise of Brutality. What makes The Rise of Brutality stand out amongst the rest of Hatebreed and the sea of other similar hardcore bands is the anthematic quality that every song has. The massive sound of the album hammers home the power of the messages vocalist Jamey Jasta lays out in the lyrics. While the sheer scope of the songs makes The Rise of Brutality a standout hardcore record, Hatebreed would not be such an earth-crushing force without Jast leading the charge. Jasta is quite possibly the most energetic, passionate and honest frontman in heavy music today. Every time he opens his mouth, it resonates with the listener. He's overcome some serious adversity in his life and uses his platform as a musician to provide hope and spread love to people that are battling serious internal issues. In a genre that is built around honesty and raw emotion, Hatebreed are the gold standard. Some people may write off The Rise of Brutality as generic crap that's exclusively for the hxC-bro crowd, but if you dig beneath the chugging guitars and constant breakdowns, you'll find one of the most profound and unforgettable records to be released since the dawn of the new millennium.
Standout Tracks
1.Doomsayer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccR6hAthfmI
2.Live for This http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTEyp7YHSyM
3.Tear It Down http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmFmESt-j40
Friday, September 19, 2014
2014 Rookie QB Watch: Week 3
By Liam Madigan-Fried
Okay, what the hell is wrong with the NFL right now? The Buffalo Bills are at the top of the AFC East and so far, Ryan Fitzpatrick has proven to be a better fantasy prospect in the first two weeks than both Tom Brady and Drew Brees. In fact, one of the few things I see that has any degree of normalcy to it, is the fact that Robert Griffin III has gotten himself injured...again. Whatever, the rest of the NFL isn’t my problem, but these four guys are:
Derek Carr: Let us get started as we normally do, with the rookie out in Oakland. For the second straight week, Carr demonstrated that he has all the tools and potential to become a first-rate quarterback. Even with his relatively strong performance thus far, people are still questioning whether or not he’s the right fit for Oakland. When you go ahead and look back at the numbers for Sunday, you’ll realize he pretty much had to carry his team through the game versus the Houston Texans. He threw for 263 yards as well as a fourth quarter touchdown, the glory of which was unfortunately marred by two interceptions. Carr also led the team in rushing on the day with 57 yards on just five carries. It seems to me that right now, Carr is the true definition of a workhorse quarterback. Unfortunately for Carr, he's surrounded by a team full of washed-up veterans. I have yet to see any of these guys contribute anything more than a few fluke good plays (mostly thanks to Carr) and some ill-timed lost fumbles. The Raiders management is really grasping at straws now for play-makers on offense, having just signed former San Diego Chargers wide receiver Vincent Brown-whose racked up a lengthy injury history in his three years in the league (boy, just what this team needs!) Brown's addition comes as a result of the Raiders needing to make a move at wideout, after Rod Streater went down with hip-flexor injury last Sunday. So naturally, the Raiders bring in an injury prone free agent who got waived by the team that drafted him this offseason due to a calf issue. Honestly, just what the hell are they smoking in Oakland? The Raiders' season is already heading for a long and turbulent road and it won't get any easier when they face the New England Patriots on the road this Sunday. Despite how poorly the Raiders have played to-date, hopefully they'll keep Carr in at quarterback so that he may be better suited to lead this team more successfully in the future.
Johnny Manziel: All I can say is good for Brian Hoyer. His performance on Sunday (throwing 24/40 with one TD), especially in the second half, impressed me among many others. It wasn’t perfect, but it was definitely a step in the right direction for the sixth-year quarterback. Realistically, there must be at least a few people up in The Browns front office now wondering whether their 22nd overall pick may have been better suited for the deep receiving class presented in 2014, rather than the ball-slinging cowboy out of Texas A&M. With all due respect to Johnny Manziel, the kid has definitely got talent, but like I said last week, if things keep going well for Hoyer this year and possibly next, I could definitely see them pacing him on the trade block. Teams looking for a new possible franchise option such as the Rams -who currently find themselves at a crossroads with Sam Bradford, who suffered a torn ACL for a second straight season- could look at Manziel as an option moving forward. Manziel did make onto the field for a whopping three plays last Sunday against the Saints as the "special" offensive package for Manziel made its long-awaited debut. Two of those snaps came as handoffs to Isaiah Crowell, while the third one was an incomplete pass intended for fullback Ray Agnew. I’ll give it to Manziel, the pass was on target and would have been a completion had Agnew just been able to hold onto it, but on the other hand, he could definitely have made the throw a few seconds sooner without getting so far outside of the pocket. In the fast-paced style of game play in the NFL, those few seconds really count. We definitely haven’t seen the last of Manziel on the field for the Browns, but fans definitely should get more used to seeing Hoyer out there on Sunday. As much as Johnny Football enthusiasts would love to see him take the field, Hoyer gives The Browns' best chance at winning right now.
Teddy Bridgewater: Okay, so maybe I spoke too soon about the whole “Matt Cassel is finally playing like a franchise quarterback” thing. In fairness, Cassel did look the part in the Week 1. Week 2, on the other hand, not so much... His completion percentage was average (throwing 19/36), but what really nailed the coffin shut for Cassel on Sunday was the four interceptions on the afternoon. Cassel's four INT's played a big part in allowing the Patriots to keep possession as long as they did, thus controlling the overall tempo of the game. After he got intercepted for the third time by Logan Ryan the crowd began chanting very audibly “TEDDY...TEDDY”; sending a clear message to the Minnesota sideline “We want to see what this kid can do”. When Cassel's on, can be a very talented pocket passer. But, Bridgewater is somebody who can give them more versatility thanks to his ability to make plays with his legs as well as his arm. The fans obviously want their team to try something different, so don’t be surprised to see Bridgewater make his debut this Sunday versus the New Orleans Saints. Also don’t be surprised to see Christian Ponder starting once again at benchwarmer.
Blake Bortles: I was ready to write how Chad Henne needs to get the boot and make way for the rookie until I read an interview recently with Cecil Shorts III, calling for people to get a better understanding of what it means to be an NFL quarterback and why Henne isn’t the problem down in Jacksonville. This interview made me stop and think how true that is on a lot of levels. After all, Jacksonville’s offensive line could hardly protect the pocket last Sunday against the Redskins- allowing Henne to get sacked a total of 10 times in the game. Can we really expect a quarterback to play up to capacity when he hardly has time to look up field? We also can’t expect a corps of talented young receivers to spread their wings when their quarterback doesn’t even have the opportunity to target them. Henne’s performance overall wasn’t dreadful, but it definitely wasn’t good, as he was 14/28 with a touchdown and an interception on the day. Henne also led the anemic Jaguars rushing attack with 17 yards on a mere three carries. I stand by my prediction that Blake Bortles will end 2014 as the starter for the Jags, but I’m willing to admit that me along with many others may have been a bit too quick to place the blame on Henne. The Jaguars are an absolute mess on both sides of the ball, so it's really unfair to say that the play of the quarterback is the only thing holding them back. My prediction for the foreseeable future, is we might see Bortles take a few snaps to get his feet wet-much like what Mike Pettine did with Manziel in Cleveland- but he most likely won’t get a shot at a start until week six (assuming the Jaguars bad luck continues the way it has).
Okay, what the hell is wrong with the NFL right now? The Buffalo Bills are at the top of the AFC East and so far, Ryan Fitzpatrick has proven to be a better fantasy prospect in the first two weeks than both Tom Brady and Drew Brees. In fact, one of the few things I see that has any degree of normalcy to it, is the fact that Robert Griffin III has gotten himself injured...again. Whatever, the rest of the NFL isn’t my problem, but these four guys are:
Derek Carr: Let us get started as we normally do, with the rookie out in Oakland. For the second straight week, Carr demonstrated that he has all the tools and potential to become a first-rate quarterback. Even with his relatively strong performance thus far, people are still questioning whether or not he’s the right fit for Oakland. When you go ahead and look back at the numbers for Sunday, you’ll realize he pretty much had to carry his team through the game versus the Houston Texans. He threw for 263 yards as well as a fourth quarter touchdown, the glory of which was unfortunately marred by two interceptions. Carr also led the team in rushing on the day with 57 yards on just five carries. It seems to me that right now, Carr is the true definition of a workhorse quarterback. Unfortunately for Carr, he's surrounded by a team full of washed-up veterans. I have yet to see any of these guys contribute anything more than a few fluke good plays (mostly thanks to Carr) and some ill-timed lost fumbles. The Raiders management is really grasping at straws now for play-makers on offense, having just signed former San Diego Chargers wide receiver Vincent Brown-whose racked up a lengthy injury history in his three years in the league (boy, just what this team needs!) Brown's addition comes as a result of the Raiders needing to make a move at wideout, after Rod Streater went down with hip-flexor injury last Sunday. So naturally, the Raiders bring in an injury prone free agent who got waived by the team that drafted him this offseason due to a calf issue. Honestly, just what the hell are they smoking in Oakland? The Raiders' season is already heading for a long and turbulent road and it won't get any easier when they face the New England Patriots on the road this Sunday. Despite how poorly the Raiders have played to-date, hopefully they'll keep Carr in at quarterback so that he may be better suited to lead this team more successfully in the future.
Johnny Manziel: All I can say is good for Brian Hoyer. His performance on Sunday (throwing 24/40 with one TD), especially in the second half, impressed me among many others. It wasn’t perfect, but it was definitely a step in the right direction for the sixth-year quarterback. Realistically, there must be at least a few people up in The Browns front office now wondering whether their 22nd overall pick may have been better suited for the deep receiving class presented in 2014, rather than the ball-slinging cowboy out of Texas A&M. With all due respect to Johnny Manziel, the kid has definitely got talent, but like I said last week, if things keep going well for Hoyer this year and possibly next, I could definitely see them pacing him on the trade block. Teams looking for a new possible franchise option such as the Rams -who currently find themselves at a crossroads with Sam Bradford, who suffered a torn ACL for a second straight season- could look at Manziel as an option moving forward. Manziel did make onto the field for a whopping three plays last Sunday against the Saints as the "special" offensive package for Manziel made its long-awaited debut. Two of those snaps came as handoffs to Isaiah Crowell, while the third one was an incomplete pass intended for fullback Ray Agnew. I’ll give it to Manziel, the pass was on target and would have been a completion had Agnew just been able to hold onto it, but on the other hand, he could definitely have made the throw a few seconds sooner without getting so far outside of the pocket. In the fast-paced style of game play in the NFL, those few seconds really count. We definitely haven’t seen the last of Manziel on the field for the Browns, but fans definitely should get more used to seeing Hoyer out there on Sunday. As much as Johnny Football enthusiasts would love to see him take the field, Hoyer gives The Browns' best chance at winning right now.
Teddy Bridgewater: Okay, so maybe I spoke too soon about the whole “Matt Cassel is finally playing like a franchise quarterback” thing. In fairness, Cassel did look the part in the Week 1. Week 2, on the other hand, not so much... His completion percentage was average (throwing 19/36), but what really nailed the coffin shut for Cassel on Sunday was the four interceptions on the afternoon. Cassel's four INT's played a big part in allowing the Patriots to keep possession as long as they did, thus controlling the overall tempo of the game. After he got intercepted for the third time by Logan Ryan the crowd began chanting very audibly “TEDDY...TEDDY”; sending a clear message to the Minnesota sideline “We want to see what this kid can do”. When Cassel's on, can be a very talented pocket passer. But, Bridgewater is somebody who can give them more versatility thanks to his ability to make plays with his legs as well as his arm. The fans obviously want their team to try something different, so don’t be surprised to see Bridgewater make his debut this Sunday versus the New Orleans Saints. Also don’t be surprised to see Christian Ponder starting once again at benchwarmer.
Blake Bortles: I was ready to write how Chad Henne needs to get the boot and make way for the rookie until I read an interview recently with Cecil Shorts III, calling for people to get a better understanding of what it means to be an NFL quarterback and why Henne isn’t the problem down in Jacksonville. This interview made me stop and think how true that is on a lot of levels. After all, Jacksonville’s offensive line could hardly protect the pocket last Sunday against the Redskins- allowing Henne to get sacked a total of 10 times in the game. Can we really expect a quarterback to play up to capacity when he hardly has time to look up field? We also can’t expect a corps of talented young receivers to spread their wings when their quarterback doesn’t even have the opportunity to target them. Henne’s performance overall wasn’t dreadful, but it definitely wasn’t good, as he was 14/28 with a touchdown and an interception on the day. Henne also led the anemic Jaguars rushing attack with 17 yards on a mere three carries. I stand by my prediction that Blake Bortles will end 2014 as the starter for the Jags, but I’m willing to admit that me along with many others may have been a bit too quick to place the blame on Henne. The Jaguars are an absolute mess on both sides of the ball, so it's really unfair to say that the play of the quarterback is the only thing holding them back. My prediction for the foreseeable future, is we might see Bortles take a few snaps to get his feet wet-much like what Mike Pettine did with Manziel in Cleveland- but he most likely won’t get a shot at a start until week six (assuming the Jaguars bad luck continues the way it has).
Thursday, September 18, 2014
50 Most Underrated Albums of the 2000's (So Far): #18
18.All That Remains-The Fall of Ideals (2006)
Metalcore became the hot shit genre in metal in the mid-2000's. While they were a number of bands responsible for the genre's breakout success, Massachusetts acts Killswitch Engage, Unearth and Shadows Fall were at the forefront of the movement. In 2006, All That Remains followed the path laid out by their Massachusetts counterparts and became the next big thing in metalcore with their second full-length, The Fall of Ideals. The Fall of Ideals offered up similar thrills as other metalcore albums with plenty of affective melodic choruses, breakdowns and quality riffage, but what made this record really stand out is the heavy melodic death metal influence throughout. Phil Labonte's screams are absolutely beast-like on tracks like "The Weak Willed", "Become the Catalyst" and "Six"- which is easily the most well-known track on the album thanks to Guitar Hero II. There is practically no one in the genre that can match up to the sheer power of Labonte's growls and high-screams. Adding to the melo-death influence here is the remarkable drumming of Shannon Lucas. Lucas-who went onto drum for The Black Dahlia Murder and Battlecross after he left All That Remains in 2007-steals the show from the other talented musicians in the band. There is no doubt in my mind that the drumming on this record was the primary reason The Black Dahlia Murder hired him almost immediately after he quit All That Remains . Unfortunately, All That Remains music took a huge nose dive in quality after this record came out; which is a damn shame because this record seemed like the perfect launching point for the band to become metalcore juggernauts.All That Remains may descended into the wasteland of radio hard rock with their recent material, but the impact and brilliance of The Fall of Ideals will never be forgotten.
Standout Tracks
1.The Weak Willed https//www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2RUU-AVvlQ
2.Whispers (I Hear You) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nzv9MV79qSU
3.Six http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0pYWGjECLE
Metalcore became the hot shit genre in metal in the mid-2000's. While they were a number of bands responsible for the genre's breakout success, Massachusetts acts Killswitch Engage, Unearth and Shadows Fall were at the forefront of the movement. In 2006, All That Remains followed the path laid out by their Massachusetts counterparts and became the next big thing in metalcore with their second full-length, The Fall of Ideals. The Fall of Ideals offered up similar thrills as other metalcore albums with plenty of affective melodic choruses, breakdowns and quality riffage, but what made this record really stand out is the heavy melodic death metal influence throughout. Phil Labonte's screams are absolutely beast-like on tracks like "The Weak Willed", "Become the Catalyst" and "Six"- which is easily the most well-known track on the album thanks to Guitar Hero II. There is practically no one in the genre that can match up to the sheer power of Labonte's growls and high-screams. Adding to the melo-death influence here is the remarkable drumming of Shannon Lucas. Lucas-who went onto drum for The Black Dahlia Murder and Battlecross after he left All That Remains in 2007-steals the show from the other talented musicians in the band. There is no doubt in my mind that the drumming on this record was the primary reason The Black Dahlia Murder hired him almost immediately after he quit All That Remains . Unfortunately, All That Remains music took a huge nose dive in quality after this record came out; which is a damn shame because this record seemed like the perfect launching point for the band to become metalcore juggernauts.All That Remains may descended into the wasteland of radio hard rock with their recent material, but the impact and brilliance of The Fall of Ideals will never be forgotten.
Standout Tracks
1.The Weak Willed https//www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2RUU-AVvlQ
2.Whispers (I Hear You) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nzv9MV79qSU
3.Six http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0pYWGjECLE
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Album Review: Lana Del Rey-Ultraviolence
Ultraviolence remarkably manages to be darker than anything Del Rey has recorded in the past. The trippy, hip-hop-inspired beats that ruled Born to Die sounded downright cheery compared to the somber guitar and string arrangements that make up Ultraviolence. Unlike Born to Die- which had a few brief moments of sunshine permeate through darkness- the vibe on Ultraviolence is all gloom all the time.
The darker, understated musical landscapes of Ultraviolence really bring out the power of Del Rey's voice. Del Rey may not be the most gifted singer in terms of pure vocal talent, but the rawness and emotional power she has in her voice is something to behold. It's evident that Del Rey is pouring every ounce of her soul into each one of this songs and her haunting and often tortured vocal delivery hammers that point home to the utmost degree. With the level of transparency Del Rey shows on Ultraviolence, you'd have to look long and hard to find another major modern artist that's even half as introspective and honest in their music.
Even with a noticeably darker atmosphere than her previous material, Del Rey is still able to craft a bunch of wildly catchy tracks. Despite the dreary nature of her music, Del Rey displays a skill for hook writing that puts pretty much every other modern pop star to shame. "West Coast", "Shades of Cool" and "Cruel World" all feature top-notch hooks that get instantly embedded into your memory. Some may write off her constant refrains of the chorus as lazy, but I found the repetition to really reenforce the emotional power of each song. It's no coincidence that the most emotionally resonate songs on this record are the ones with the strongest hooks. Songs with this much pessimism and perpetual darkness in them shouldn't have hooks that are this affective, but Del Rey defies the odds and makes it happen.
Ultraviolence is an immensely haunting record that simply can not be forgotten. The more experimental and depressing nature of this album makes it a bit more of an uneven listen than the consistently brilliant Born to Die, but the number of phenomenal songs here heavily outweigh the amount of filler. In a time where synth/EDM-tinged pop rules the Top 40 landscape, Del Rey is the bold, bleak voice that was needed to shake things up. As long as she continues to be honest in her music and avoids adhering to traditional pop formulas, she'll remain one of the most intriguing artists in the entire music industry.
3.5/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.West Coast
2.Shades of Cool
3.Brooklyn Baby
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
2014 Fantasy Football Week 2 Winners and Losers
Quarterback
MVP: Aaron Rodgers (Packers)
After getting suffocated by the Seahawks in Week 1, Aaron Rodgers returned to his typical dominance in Week 2 against the Jets. Rodgers got off to a rocky start, but ended up taking up over in the game late in the second quarter as the Packers rallied from an early 18-point deficit to defeat the Jets on Sunday afternoon. Rodgers 346- yard, 3 TD performance was pretty much par for the course for one of the most reliably dominant fantasy players in recent history. Expect similar domination in Week 3 as Rodgers faces the weak Lions secondary.
Honorable Mentions: Jay Cutler (Bears), Phillip Rivers (Chargers), Peyton Manning (Broncos)
LVP: Tom Brady (Patriots)
The Patriots may have crushed the Vikings on Sunday, but Tom Brady had very to little do with it. Brady only attempted 22 passes on the day and a vast majority of them were short dump-offs to Julian Edelman, Aaron Dobson and Shane Vereen. If Brady can't deliver against the lowly Raiders this week, he will firmly be out of the QB1 equation for the rest of 2014.
Dishonorable Mentions: Drew Brees (Saints), Matt Ryan (Falcons), Jake Locker (Titans)
Running Back
MVP: Giovani Bernard (Bengals)
Darren Sproles' dominance against the Colts on Monday night was the most impressive running back performance of the week, but since he wasn't started in a majority of fantasy leagues, Giovani Bernard was the most valuable running back from a fantasy perspective. Bernard showed his two-way capabilities all day long as he gauged the Falcons for 169 yards from scrimmage (90 rushing, 79 receiving) and a touchdown. Bernard is adapting nicely to his role as the workhorse back in Hue Jackson's run-first system and I'd be surprised if he didn't keep putting up solid numbers week in and week out.
Honorable Mentions: Darren Sproles (Eagles), DeMarco Murray (Cowboys), Arian Foster (Texans)
LVP: Matt Forte (Bears)
With Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery nursing injuries, it seemed like Matt Forte would be the focus of the Bears offense in Sunday night's contest with the 49ers. For whatever reason, that wasn't the case. Forte was a complete non-factor as he got stuffed every time he got the ball and finished with a mere 36 total yards (21 rushing, 15 receiving) on the night. The road doesn't get any easier for Forte as he's up against the top-ranked Jets run defense in Week 3.
Dishonorable Mentions: Toby Gerhart (Jaguars), Montee Ball (Broncos), Eddie Lacy (Packers)
Wide Receiver
MVP: Jordy Nelson (Packers)
No one benefited more from Aaron Rodgers' explosive performance on Sunday than Jordy Nelson. Nelson-the longtime favorite target of Rodgers- finished with a career-high 209 yards and a touchdown on the day. Nelson is just a straight-up beast and as long as Rodgers is in the lineup, he'll be a perennial top 10 wideout in fantasy football.
Honorable Mentions: Brandon Marshall (Bears), Randall Cobb (Packers), Sammy Watkins (Bills)
LVP: Pierre Garcon (Redskins)
The Redskins went off for an offensive explosion against the Jaguars on Sunday. Oddly enough, top wideout Pierre Garcon was not invited to join in on the fun. Garcon finished with only a single catch for 12 yards on the afternoon. Even with number two wideout DeSean Jackson getting knocked out of the game in the first quarter with a shoulder injury, Garcon could just not produce. Garcon is still one of the focal points of the Redskins offense, so I'll chalk up this performance as nothing more than an off-week.
Dishonorable Mentions: Cordarelle Patterson (Vikings), Torrey Smith (Ravens), Marques Colston (Saints)
Tight End
MVP: Antonio Gates (Chargers)
Remember before the season when all the so-called experts said Antonio Gates' days in the NFL were numbered and Ladarius Green was going to severely cut into his playing time in 2014? Gates silenced any skeptics this week with a 96-yard, 3 TD performance against the revered Seahawks defense. Gates is showing no signs of slowing down and is a no-brainer weekly TE1 start moving forward.
Honorable Mention: Jimmy Graham (Saints), Delanie Walker (Titans), Julius Thomas (Broncos)
LVP: Rob Gronkowski (Patriots)
Rob Gronkowski is still blatantly hobbled by his torn ACL in 2013 and it's shown in his production thus far in 2014. Based on how sluggish he looked, he was fortunate to finish with 32 yards on 4 receptions in Sunday's contest with the Vikings. With his limited snap count and explosiveness at the moment, Gronkowski is borderline useless he gets in the endzone. Gronkowksi is a borderline TE1 with a relatively low ceiling until he's back at 100%.
Dishonorable Mentions: Jason Witten (Cowboys), Dennis Pitta (Ravens), Charles Clay (Dolphins)
Defense
MVP: New England Patriots
What a difference a week makes. After their Week 1 collapse against the Dolphins, the Patriots wreaked havoc on the Vikings in Week 2. The Pats D allowed a mere 7 points on the day and sweetened the pot with 6 sacks, 4 INT's, a blocked field goal and a defensive touchdown. This type of suffocating play is what people expected from the Patriots this year and with the amount of question marks they currently have on offense, this is the way the defense needs to play every week. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if they duplicated this success again this Sunday in their home opener against the Raiders.
Honorable Mentions: Buffalo Bills, Arizona Cardinals, Baltimore Ravens
LVP: Seattle Seahawks
Even defenses that are dominant as the Seahawks have off-days. The Seahawks defense was on-the-field for an exorbitant amount of time on Sunday in 100+ degree heat against the Chargers and that level of fatigue played a major factor in the result of the game. The Seahawks allowed 30 points and finished with zero takeaways for the first time since Week 11 last year. The Seahawks will be returning to the friendly confines of CenturyLink Field this Sunday, so they should be able to return to form right away.
Dishonorable Mentions: Miami Dolphins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Green Bay Packers
MVP: Aaron Rodgers (Packers)
After getting suffocated by the Seahawks in Week 1, Aaron Rodgers returned to his typical dominance in Week 2 against the Jets. Rodgers got off to a rocky start, but ended up taking up over in the game late in the second quarter as the Packers rallied from an early 18-point deficit to defeat the Jets on Sunday afternoon. Rodgers 346- yard, 3 TD performance was pretty much par for the course for one of the most reliably dominant fantasy players in recent history. Expect similar domination in Week 3 as Rodgers faces the weak Lions secondary.
Honorable Mentions: Jay Cutler (Bears), Phillip Rivers (Chargers), Peyton Manning (Broncos)
LVP: Tom Brady (Patriots)
The Patriots may have crushed the Vikings on Sunday, but Tom Brady had very to little do with it. Brady only attempted 22 passes on the day and a vast majority of them were short dump-offs to Julian Edelman, Aaron Dobson and Shane Vereen. If Brady can't deliver against the lowly Raiders this week, he will firmly be out of the QB1 equation for the rest of 2014.
Dishonorable Mentions: Drew Brees (Saints), Matt Ryan (Falcons), Jake Locker (Titans)
Running Back
MVP: Giovani Bernard (Bengals)
Darren Sproles' dominance against the Colts on Monday night was the most impressive running back performance of the week, but since he wasn't started in a majority of fantasy leagues, Giovani Bernard was the most valuable running back from a fantasy perspective. Bernard showed his two-way capabilities all day long as he gauged the Falcons for 169 yards from scrimmage (90 rushing, 79 receiving) and a touchdown. Bernard is adapting nicely to his role as the workhorse back in Hue Jackson's run-first system and I'd be surprised if he didn't keep putting up solid numbers week in and week out.
Honorable Mentions: Darren Sproles (Eagles), DeMarco Murray (Cowboys), Arian Foster (Texans)
LVP: Matt Forte (Bears)
With Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery nursing injuries, it seemed like Matt Forte would be the focus of the Bears offense in Sunday night's contest with the 49ers. For whatever reason, that wasn't the case. Forte was a complete non-factor as he got stuffed every time he got the ball and finished with a mere 36 total yards (21 rushing, 15 receiving) on the night. The road doesn't get any easier for Forte as he's up against the top-ranked Jets run defense in Week 3.
Dishonorable Mentions: Toby Gerhart (Jaguars), Montee Ball (Broncos), Eddie Lacy (Packers)
Wide Receiver
MVP: Jordy Nelson (Packers)
No one benefited more from Aaron Rodgers' explosive performance on Sunday than Jordy Nelson. Nelson-the longtime favorite target of Rodgers- finished with a career-high 209 yards and a touchdown on the day. Nelson is just a straight-up beast and as long as Rodgers is in the lineup, he'll be a perennial top 10 wideout in fantasy football.
Honorable Mentions: Brandon Marshall (Bears), Randall Cobb (Packers), Sammy Watkins (Bills)
LVP: Pierre Garcon (Redskins)
The Redskins went off for an offensive explosion against the Jaguars on Sunday. Oddly enough, top wideout Pierre Garcon was not invited to join in on the fun. Garcon finished with only a single catch for 12 yards on the afternoon. Even with number two wideout DeSean Jackson getting knocked out of the game in the first quarter with a shoulder injury, Garcon could just not produce. Garcon is still one of the focal points of the Redskins offense, so I'll chalk up this performance as nothing more than an off-week.
Dishonorable Mentions: Cordarelle Patterson (Vikings), Torrey Smith (Ravens), Marques Colston (Saints)
Tight End
MVP: Antonio Gates (Chargers)
Remember before the season when all the so-called experts said Antonio Gates' days in the NFL were numbered and Ladarius Green was going to severely cut into his playing time in 2014? Gates silenced any skeptics this week with a 96-yard, 3 TD performance against the revered Seahawks defense. Gates is showing no signs of slowing down and is a no-brainer weekly TE1 start moving forward.
Honorable Mention: Jimmy Graham (Saints), Delanie Walker (Titans), Julius Thomas (Broncos)
LVP: Rob Gronkowski (Patriots)
Rob Gronkowski is still blatantly hobbled by his torn ACL in 2013 and it's shown in his production thus far in 2014. Based on how sluggish he looked, he was fortunate to finish with 32 yards on 4 receptions in Sunday's contest with the Vikings. With his limited snap count and explosiveness at the moment, Gronkowski is borderline useless he gets in the endzone. Gronkowksi is a borderline TE1 with a relatively low ceiling until he's back at 100%.
Dishonorable Mentions: Jason Witten (Cowboys), Dennis Pitta (Ravens), Charles Clay (Dolphins)
Defense
MVP: New England Patriots
What a difference a week makes. After their Week 1 collapse against the Dolphins, the Patriots wreaked havoc on the Vikings in Week 2. The Pats D allowed a mere 7 points on the day and sweetened the pot with 6 sacks, 4 INT's, a blocked field goal and a defensive touchdown. This type of suffocating play is what people expected from the Patriots this year and with the amount of question marks they currently have on offense, this is the way the defense needs to play every week. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if they duplicated this success again this Sunday in their home opener against the Raiders.
Honorable Mentions: Buffalo Bills, Arizona Cardinals, Baltimore Ravens
LVP: Seattle Seahawks
Even defenses that are dominant as the Seahawks have off-days. The Seahawks defense was on-the-field for an exorbitant amount of time on Sunday in 100+ degree heat against the Chargers and that level of fatigue played a major factor in the result of the game. The Seahawks allowed 30 points and finished with zero takeaways for the first time since Week 11 last year. The Seahawks will be returning to the friendly confines of CenturyLink Field this Sunday, so they should be able to return to form right away.
Dishonorable Mentions: Miami Dolphins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Green Bay Packers
Sunday, September 14, 2014
2014 Rookie QB Watch: Week 2
By Liam Madigan-Fried
Derek Carr: As most analysts and fans alike predicted, Derek Carr didn’t show the poise of an All-Pro right out of the gate despite ending the game with a 94.7 QB rating. However, Carr showed good judgement and flashes of passing brilliance by going 20 for 32 with two touchdown passes in his first game as a pro against the New York Jets. Unfortunately, Carr just couldn’t keep up the consistency much past the first quarter. After throwing for his first NFL touchdown, he went scoreless through the second and third quarters, before finding James Jones in the endzone during the fourth quarter, for his second and final touchdown of the night. It wasn’t a great night for Raider fans who expected to see a revamped offense. Instead, the performance left many people, including myself saying “what the hell happened with Maurice Jones-Drew?” Jones-Drew only ran for 11 yards on 9 carries in his first game for a franchise that he’s supposed to be helping ‘rebuild’ (and I use that term loosely). To make matters worse for the Raiders, Jones-Drew injured his hand late in the Jets game, and is questionable for the upcoming game against Houston. While the Raiders offense underwhelmed, they were not solely to blame for the loss against the Jets. Jets running backs Chris Ivory and Chris Johnson put up a combined 170 yards on the ground- included a 71-yard touchdown run by Ivory that clinched the victory for the Jets. Safe to say the flurry of offseason moves the Raiders made on defense don’t appear to be working as planned. If things continue like this, Carr could find himself on the bench in a week or two. The Raiders have Matt Schaub waiting in the wings and may sit Carr with the blind hope that Schaub can revert back to whatever got him and the Texans to the playoffs in 2012. My prediction is the same as last week, Schaub will give an amatuer-esque performance in his last few chances of being a starter, before the Raiders decide to ditch the vet and develop the rookie instead. Johnny Manziel: One team whom I think has remained very clear about their intent to develop their star rookie (despite what everybody else has been saying) is the Cleveland Browns with Johnny Manziel. Despite last Sunday’s loss to Pittsburgh, Brian Hoyer and company did not make it easy for the Steelers defense come the second half, garnering 24 unanswered points in total, ending the game at a respectable score of 30-27. There were whispers and rumblings before the game and in the weeks leading up to it, that head coach Mike Pettine would want to use some sort of package to utilize Manziel; well that didn’t happen. As he said before the start of training camp, and I respect him for sticking by it, is that the Browns are not going to let jersey and ticket sales determine their depth chart. If those things are truly not going to be factored into any decisions, Hoyer has made a pretty good case right off the bat as to why he should be the starter- as those 24 points came as the result of four straight scoring drives right after the start of the second half. Hoyer also showed great confidence and production in the up-tempo offense, completing 80.0 percent of his passes from the no-huddle (NFL.com). In closing, don’t expect to see Mr. ‘Money’ Manziel starting anytime soon. I think it’s true that The Browns believe him to be the future of the franchise, but in that regard I don’t think they want to push their baby bird out of the nest just yet. But, Manziel fans beware, this is Cleveland we’re talking about. Hoyer didn’t come to the city as a rookie, therefore he may have some sort of immunity to the the QB curse of the city. So if he plays well over this and maybe even next season, Manziel might get the boot in Cleveland. Teddy Bridgewater: 32nd overall pick Teddy Bridgewater is patiently waiting for Matt Cassel to step aside and give him his moment in the very small amount of sunlight that Minnesota has to offer. The only thing is, Matt Cassel seems to be hogging it all. Last sunday against the St. Louis Rams, Cassel was 17 for 25 with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson managed to run for a total of 102 yards on three carries, throwing off a Rams defense who had honed in on Adrian Peterson. Peterson by his usual standards had a pretty tame night, putting up only 75 yards on 21 carries with no touchdowns. Still, Peterson is going to remain the biggest weapon for the Vikings offense this year, and with this revelation of talent on the ground rushing for Patterson last Sunday, the Vikings may have found their bread and butter for the 2014 season. As long as Cassel can stay consistent in his game play and decision making, there’s no reason why he can’t utilize the weapons to make a convincing run at the playoffs this season. As for Bridgewater, I just don't see him getting a lot of playing this time season. As as long as Cassel continues to play like a franchise quarterback, Bridgewater will remain on the bench. Only thing I can be sure of at this point, is that Bridgewater will definitely see more time than Christian Ponder in 2014. Blake Bortles: I’ve made no secret that Bortles is my favorite rookie quarterback, and based on last Sundays outcome in which the Jags gave up a 17-0 lead at halftime, it’s looking more and more like we might see him coming off the bench sooner than later. Chad Henne is nothing more than an average game -manager, and despite the fact that sources say the team rallied around him this offseason, his play may end up putting the team in danger of another disastrous season. The points scored in the first half were much more an attribution from spectacular plays made by undrafted rookie Allen Hurns, rather than the skill of the plain bagel quarterback Henne. With wide receiver Cecil Shorts III being held up with injury and Toby Gerhart failing as the work-horse back (42 yards on 18 carries), it seems like any kind of veteran support on the offensive side of the ball is unreliable thus far. What could the Jags do to turn it around? Simple, give it to the rookies. Bortles showed way more prowess in the offseason than any other rookie QB, so much so in fact that had it had come from Johnny Manziel, the anchors of ESPN may have jizzed themselves more than when Lebron won his second straight title. Then there’s rookie wide receivers Hurns and Marqise Lee, who together put up 172 yards receiving and two touchdowns. If veteran tight end Marcedes Lewis gets going, the Jaguars receiving corps could become a big threat to defenses this season. All the Jaguars need to turn things around is a quarterback with a big arm that can make plays and I firmly believes that Bortles is that guy. |
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Ray Rice and Domestic Violence: The NFL's Colossal Failure
Even if you don't pay attention to the NFL, you're more than likely well aware of the current situation involving former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice. A video of Rice knocking out his then-fiancée, now wife Janay Palmer in an Atlantic City casino elevator in February surfaced on Monday courtesy of TMZ. Rice had previously been suspended two games for the incident in July, but once the video surfaced on Monday, the Baltimore Ravens terminated his contract immediately and the NFL suspended Rice indefinitely. Without further knowledge of the situation, it seems like the NFL and the Ravens acted swiftly and handed Rice an appropriately harsh punishment. However, any fan that's fully immersed in the NFL, realizes just how bad Rodger Goodell and the Ravens organization screwed up the handling of this situation and how truly pathetic their attempt to cover their asses is.
Goodell is someone I've been critical of for quite some time. Since he took over as commissioner in 2007, the league has taken a pretty significant dive in quality. Goodell has put an insane emphasis on cutting down recreational drug use amongst players and instituting rule changes that only benefit the offense and make physical, smashmouth play all but impossible. Goodell's become known for his harsh punishments and zero-tolerance polices, doling out suspensions at will to anyone that violated the rules. Goodell's history of being a stickler makes his intial soft ruling in the Rice case extremely ironic. This was the first time he's been dealt a case that called for serious discipline and he hands out a suspension that's less than what guys like Josh Gordon (one-year suspension) and Wes Welker (four games) got for testing positive for marijuana and MDMA respectively. Even without the visual confirmation of Rice knocking out his wife that this week's TMZ video provided, there was enough evidence to suspend Rice indefinitely back in February. The trusty folks at TMZ gained access to a video of Rice dragging an unconscious Palmer out of the casino elevator a mere four days after days the incident took place and a number of eye-witnesses saw them hitting one another prior to getting on the elevator. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what happened on that elevator yet Goodell still felt like a two-game suspension was sufficient enough. The kicker in all of this is that everyone knows Goodell saw this damning video of Rice knocking out Palmer that caused him to dole out the indefinite suspension well before it was leaked to the public on Monday. Peter King of Sports Illustrated and Chris Mortensen of ESPN wrote articles describing the video in full detail back in July and just yesterday, a law enforcement official told the Associated Press that he gave the NFL the tape in April.
Despite the wave of additional evidence that all but confirms Goodell and other NFL officials saw the video long before this week, Goodell continues to play dumb with the media. All week long, Goodell has been trying to convince the general public that he knew nothing of this tape prior to the TMZ leak with absolutely no success. His interview with CBS News that aired Wednesday morning was cringe-worthy to say the least. The interviewer was clearly coached to pitch Goodell's softball questions yet he still looked flustered and you could tell he wasn't even buying the horseshit that was flying out of his mouth. It's no coincidence that Goodell gave his exclusive interview to CBS. CBS is the NFL's top partner and is premiering the league's 2014 Thursday Night football series tonight. In a culture that's more media-saavy than ever, it's honestly comical that the Goodell thought he could get this detail past the audience. The American people aren't nearly as dumb as Goodell thinks they are and if Goodell thinks a majority of the population is falling for his bullshit, face-saving PR tour; he's sorely mistaken.
The Goodell bullshit tour started a couple of weeks when he unveiled a new domestic abuse policy. The policy states the any first time offender of the domestic abuse policy will be suspended for six games and any repeat offender is subject to a lifetime ban. While it's great that there is a policy in place to punish any player who commits domestic abuse, the motives behind it are completely wrong. This policy was only put into place because Goodell faced a strong wall of backlash and didn't want to travel down that road again. Goodell's previous actions have proved that he doesn't take domestic abuse seriously. He only cares about his and the league's image, and this policy was only created to try and salvage his reputation in the court of public opinion. The loose nature of this policy is already at work as there is currently two players- Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy and 49ers defensive end Ray McDonald- have been arrested for domestic abuse in the past few months and have not yet faced any discipline from the league. The McDonald incident admittedly is loaded with sketchy details and he very well could end up being innocent, but Hardy was found guilty of assaulting and threatening to kill his ex-girlfriend in July, yet neither the league or the Panthers have suspended him. Both McDonald and Hardy played in last week's season opener and barring any sudden changes, will be playing once again this Sunday.
While Goodell and his colleagues in the league office deserve a majority of the blame for the downplaying of the domestic violence case against Rice, The Ravens certainly played their role. Where the NFL flexed their corruption muscles trying to cover up their mistakes in their handling of the Rice situation, The Ravens spent the 2014 offseason making it seem like Rice was the victim in this case. While the whole team and front office was publicly supporting him and sweeping the whole incident under the rung, there was no greater form of ignorance to the situation than from the Ravens' PR department. Right after Rice received his two-game suspension from the league, Ravens Vice President of Public Relations Kevin Byrne wrote a blog post on the official team site entitled "I Like Ray Rice" (which can be read here: http://www.baltimoreravens.com/news/article-1/Byrne-Identity-I-Like-Ray-Rice/f618f957-e03f-4fc6-919e-638552b14c2b) in which he professes his love for Rice and essentially defends his actions and integrity as a human being. This piece is legitimately disgusting to read. I understand that it's the job of a PR guy to do damage control and protect the image of this organization, but this was just ridiculous. This is a piece of propaganda that not only wants the reader to forget about the case, but manages to shift the blame away from Rice completely. It's fine if people in the Ravens front office have a positive opinion of Rice outside of this case, but to write off his actions as a non-issue is despicable. There was only one victim here and her name is Janay Palmer. Rice is not in a position to be defended by anyone. His contributions on the football field and to the Baltimore community at-large are irrelevant in this situation- he committed a violent act against a woman that just can't be excused no matter how hard the Ravens or anyone else in the league tries.
What makes this Ravens actions with Rice that much worse is the fact that this isn't the first time they've had one of their players involved in a major criminal case. Inside linebacker Ray Lewis was linked to a 2000 murder outside of an Atlanta nightclub after two large groups of people- including Lewis and his entourage- got into a scuffle that resulted in the stabbing deaths of two men. The Lewis case may be different as there was no concrete evidence that proved Lewis committed the murder, but just like they did with Rice, the team stood behind him and didn't discipline him in anyway during the legal proceedings. The Ravens organization has been one of the most successful organizations on-the-field since their inception in 1996, but they are arguably the worst franchise in the league at handling adversity and reprimanding players that break the law.
Goodell and the Ravens should be absolutely ashamed of the way they handled this situation. They completely downplayed the severity of domestic abuse and will continue to lie about their respective stances to protect the "integrity" of the league. There is nothing that can be said or done that will fix the injustices the league has committed since the initial video of Rice dragging Palmer out of the elevator surfaced in February. Domestic violence is one of the most horrible things one human being to another, and the NFL needs to start channeling their energy towards this issue instead of bringing the hammer down on guys that smoke weed. As much as I would love to see Goodell and the Ravens brass be fired because of this, I know the odds of that happening are pretty much zero. Goodell and the Ravens' front office have too much power to be outright ousted, which means nothing will be done to prevent something like this from happening again in the future. Rice will eventually be forgiven by the general public and return to the football field, but the appalling indifference and gross negligence the NFL showed during the Rice case will never be forgotten.
Goodell is someone I've been critical of for quite some time. Since he took over as commissioner in 2007, the league has taken a pretty significant dive in quality. Goodell has put an insane emphasis on cutting down recreational drug use amongst players and instituting rule changes that only benefit the offense and make physical, smashmouth play all but impossible. Goodell's become known for his harsh punishments and zero-tolerance polices, doling out suspensions at will to anyone that violated the rules. Goodell's history of being a stickler makes his intial soft ruling in the Rice case extremely ironic. This was the first time he's been dealt a case that called for serious discipline and he hands out a suspension that's less than what guys like Josh Gordon (one-year suspension) and Wes Welker (four games) got for testing positive for marijuana and MDMA respectively. Even without the visual confirmation of Rice knocking out his wife that this week's TMZ video provided, there was enough evidence to suspend Rice indefinitely back in February. The trusty folks at TMZ gained access to a video of Rice dragging an unconscious Palmer out of the casino elevator a mere four days after days the incident took place and a number of eye-witnesses saw them hitting one another prior to getting on the elevator. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what happened on that elevator yet Goodell still felt like a two-game suspension was sufficient enough. The kicker in all of this is that everyone knows Goodell saw this damning video of Rice knocking out Palmer that caused him to dole out the indefinite suspension well before it was leaked to the public on Monday. Peter King of Sports Illustrated and Chris Mortensen of ESPN wrote articles describing the video in full detail back in July and just yesterday, a law enforcement official told the Associated Press that he gave the NFL the tape in April.
Despite the wave of additional evidence that all but confirms Goodell and other NFL officials saw the video long before this week, Goodell continues to play dumb with the media. All week long, Goodell has been trying to convince the general public that he knew nothing of this tape prior to the TMZ leak with absolutely no success. His interview with CBS News that aired Wednesday morning was cringe-worthy to say the least. The interviewer was clearly coached to pitch Goodell's softball questions yet he still looked flustered and you could tell he wasn't even buying the horseshit that was flying out of his mouth. It's no coincidence that Goodell gave his exclusive interview to CBS. CBS is the NFL's top partner and is premiering the league's 2014 Thursday Night football series tonight. In a culture that's more media-saavy than ever, it's honestly comical that the Goodell thought he could get this detail past the audience. The American people aren't nearly as dumb as Goodell thinks they are and if Goodell thinks a majority of the population is falling for his bullshit, face-saving PR tour; he's sorely mistaken.
The Goodell bullshit tour started a couple of weeks when he unveiled a new domestic abuse policy. The policy states the any first time offender of the domestic abuse policy will be suspended for six games and any repeat offender is subject to a lifetime ban. While it's great that there is a policy in place to punish any player who commits domestic abuse, the motives behind it are completely wrong. This policy was only put into place because Goodell faced a strong wall of backlash and didn't want to travel down that road again. Goodell's previous actions have proved that he doesn't take domestic abuse seriously. He only cares about his and the league's image, and this policy was only created to try and salvage his reputation in the court of public opinion. The loose nature of this policy is already at work as there is currently two players- Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy and 49ers defensive end Ray McDonald- have been arrested for domestic abuse in the past few months and have not yet faced any discipline from the league. The McDonald incident admittedly is loaded with sketchy details and he very well could end up being innocent, but Hardy was found guilty of assaulting and threatening to kill his ex-girlfriend in July, yet neither the league or the Panthers have suspended him. Both McDonald and Hardy played in last week's season opener and barring any sudden changes, will be playing once again this Sunday.
While Goodell and his colleagues in the league office deserve a majority of the blame for the downplaying of the domestic violence case against Rice, The Ravens certainly played their role. Where the NFL flexed their corruption muscles trying to cover up their mistakes in their handling of the Rice situation, The Ravens spent the 2014 offseason making it seem like Rice was the victim in this case. While the whole team and front office was publicly supporting him and sweeping the whole incident under the rung, there was no greater form of ignorance to the situation than from the Ravens' PR department. Right after Rice received his two-game suspension from the league, Ravens Vice President of Public Relations Kevin Byrne wrote a blog post on the official team site entitled "I Like Ray Rice" (which can be read here: http://www.baltimoreravens.com/news/article-1/Byrne-Identity-I-Like-Ray-Rice/f618f957-e03f-4fc6-919e-638552b14c2b) in which he professes his love for Rice and essentially defends his actions and integrity as a human being. This piece is legitimately disgusting to read. I understand that it's the job of a PR guy to do damage control and protect the image of this organization, but this was just ridiculous. This is a piece of propaganda that not only wants the reader to forget about the case, but manages to shift the blame away from Rice completely. It's fine if people in the Ravens front office have a positive opinion of Rice outside of this case, but to write off his actions as a non-issue is despicable. There was only one victim here and her name is Janay Palmer. Rice is not in a position to be defended by anyone. His contributions on the football field and to the Baltimore community at-large are irrelevant in this situation- he committed a violent act against a woman that just can't be excused no matter how hard the Ravens or anyone else in the league tries.
What makes this Ravens actions with Rice that much worse is the fact that this isn't the first time they've had one of their players involved in a major criminal case. Inside linebacker Ray Lewis was linked to a 2000 murder outside of an Atlanta nightclub after two large groups of people- including Lewis and his entourage- got into a scuffle that resulted in the stabbing deaths of two men. The Lewis case may be different as there was no concrete evidence that proved Lewis committed the murder, but just like they did with Rice, the team stood behind him and didn't discipline him in anyway during the legal proceedings. The Ravens organization has been one of the most successful organizations on-the-field since their inception in 1996, but they are arguably the worst franchise in the league at handling adversity and reprimanding players that break the law.
Goodell and the Ravens should be absolutely ashamed of the way they handled this situation. They completely downplayed the severity of domestic abuse and will continue to lie about their respective stances to protect the "integrity" of the league. There is nothing that can be said or done that will fix the injustices the league has committed since the initial video of Rice dragging Palmer out of the elevator surfaced in February. Domestic violence is one of the most horrible things one human being to another, and the NFL needs to start channeling their energy towards this issue instead of bringing the hammer down on guys that smoke weed. As much as I would love to see Goodell and the Ravens brass be fired because of this, I know the odds of that happening are pretty much zero. Goodell and the Ravens' front office have too much power to be outright ousted, which means nothing will be done to prevent something like this from happening again in the future. Rice will eventually be forgiven by the general public and return to the football field, but the appalling indifference and gross negligence the NFL showed during the Rice case will never be forgotten.
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
50 Most Underrated Albums of the 2000's (So Far): #19
19.The Story So Far-Under Soil and Dirt (2011)
Pop punk has seen a serious resurgence in the past few years. After fading away in the late 2000's, the genre has picked up a ton of momentum recently with a wave of new energetic, passionate bands that have connected with the audiences that made the likes of blink-182, Sum 41 and Fall Out Boy phenoms over a decade ago. There's a lot of great bands in this pop punk revival, but no one comes even close to touching California's The Story So Far. Their debut album, Under Soil and Dirt, is a large part of why I feel back in love with pop punk in early 2012. Upon first hearing Under Soil and Dirt, I could tell this band was special as they immediately brought be back to the my early teenage years and the glory days of the genre. Under Soil and Dirt checks all the boxes that are required to make a pop punk album and then some: The riffs have the perfect balance of clean pop and punk crunch, Parker Cannon is an elite vocalist who pours his heart and soul into every note, and every single song is wildly infectious. This is expertly crafted pop punk that sticks with you and only gets better as time goes on. Under Soil and Dirt is a pop punk classic that not only equals the genre's landmark albums of the 90's and 2000's, it surpasses them in every possible way.
Standout Tracks
1.High Regard http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVB_CIplD14
2.Roam http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2E0Qz3WIqc
3.Swords and Pens http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbM51XeL1Dg
Standout Tracks
1.High Regard http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVB_CIplD14
2.Roam http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2E0Qz3WIqc
3.Swords and Pens http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbM51XeL1Dg
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
2014 Week 1 Fantasy Football Winners and Losers
Quarterback
MVP: Matt Ryan (Falcons)
In my humble opinion, Matt Ryan is the most underrated quarterback in the NFL and his performance on Sunday reminded people just how great he is. Ryan threw for a career-high 448 yards and 3 TD's on Sunday against a Saints secondary that finished in the top 5 in the league in 2013. Having a healthy Julio Jones and Roddy White does wonders for Ryan's play and if they stay healthy, he is going to continue dominate opposing defenses. Ryan's average draft position of the 6th-7th round could prove to be a huge steal if he stays this sharp all season long.
Honorable Mentions: Matthew Stafford (Lions), Andrew Luck (Colts), Peyton Manning (Broncos)
LVP: Tony Romo (Cowboys)
Tony Romo reverted back to his old turnover-ridden self on Sunday against the 49ers after a great season in 2013. Romo threw 3 INT's-which is already just shy of a third of the INT's he threw in 2013- and looked completely out of sync with his receivers for most of the game. This performance may been ugly, but this is by no means a kiss of death for Romo's 2014 season. Romo puts up some horrid performances every year that make him look like a far worse quarterback than he actually is, and this game against the 49ers was just that. Romo tends to bounce back nicely from terrible performances, so I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if he came out and played great against the Titans this Sunday.
Dishonorable Mentions: Robert Griffin III (Redskins), Tom Brady (Patriots), Drew Brees (Saints)
Running Back
MVP: Le'Veon Bell (Steelers)
A majority of the alleged stud second-year running backs underwhelmed in Week 1, which makes Le'Veon Bell's performance that much more impressive. Bell absolutely annihilated a pretty solid Browns defense for 197 total yards (109 rushing, 88 receiving) and a touchdown. Bell opened a lot of eyes with this performance and showed improvement in every aspect of the game from his solid 2013 rookie campaign. Time will tell if this production will hold up for the entire year, but Bell looked like a serious contender to become the next big-impact running back in the NFL on Sunday.
Honorable Mentions: Marshawn Lynch (Seahawks), Knowshon Moreno (Dolphins), DeMarco Murray (Cowboys)
LVP: Jammal Charles (Chiefs)
Of all the underwhelming performances in Week 1, none surprised me more than Jammal Charles. The Chiefs offense typically runs through Charles, but for whatever reason he only touched the ball 11 times (7 carries, 4 receptions) for a whopping 34 total yards in their lopsided loss against the Titans on Sunday. I fully believe Charles' poor performance against the Titans is a fluke. Charles lays more eggs than any other star running back in the league and when he disappoints, it seems to always be against teams that are very favorable matchups on paper. Unless something drastic happens, this performance should be considered to be just a bump in the road for Charles. He should be back to his usual high volume of touches and top-tier RB1 form in no time.
Dishonorable Mentions: Doug Martin (Buccaneers), Eddie Lacy (Packers), Zac Stacy (Rams)
Wide Receiver
MVP: Calvin Johnson (Lions)
Calvin Johnson never ceases to amaze me. Megatron came out on Monday Night and was his typically superhuman self shredding the Giants secondary for 164 yards and a pair of TD's. Johnson is already in midseason form and his fantasy owners should continue to reap the benefits from his inhuman play.
Honorable Mentions: A.J. Green (Bengals), Cordarrelle Patterson (Vikings), Steve Smith (Ravens)
LVP: Demaryius Thomas (Broncos)
What the hell happened to Demaryius Thomas? Thomas dropped numerous passes and got flat-out outplayed by just about every other receiver on the Broncos roster in their victory over the Colts on Sunday night. Thomas' 48-yard non-factor performance is especially shocking considering the fact that Wes Welker-the Broncos other top target in the passing game- was out of the lineup. Thomas had the perfect opportunity to have a huge game with less facets to the Broncos offense available than usual, it just didn't come to fruition. Thomas should be fine in the long run thanks to his chemistry with Peyton Manning, it was just shocking to see him play so poorly after being so consistently dominant over the past two seasons.
Dishonorable Mentions: Larry Fitzgerald (Cardinals), Vincent Jackson (Buccaneers), Victor Cruz (Giants)
Tight End
MVP: Julius Thomas (Broncos)
While Demaryius Thomas failed to produce for the Broncos on Sunday, Julius Thomas absolutely flourished. The other Thomas brother (Before anyone bitches at me, I know that they're not actually related) picked up where he left off last year with 104 yards and 3 TD's on the night. Any skepticism as to whether or not he could repeat the success of his 2013 season was erased with this performance. Thomas was easily the centerpiece of this offense on Sunday and with his ability to haul in all but one of his targets for the whole game, I expect that trend to continue for the entire season. With his consistently improving rapport with Peyton Manning and nose for the endzone, Thomas has the potential to be the top fantasy tight end in 2014.
Honorable Mentions: Vernon Davis (49ers), Greg Olsen (Panthers), Zach Ertz (Eagles)
LVP: Jason Witten (Cowboys)
No one suffered from Tony Romo's poor performance on Sunday more than Jason Witten. The grizzled veteran tight end was held to 14 yards on 2 receptions in Sunday's ugly loss to the 49ers. Witten remains Romo's favorite target behind Dez Bryant and if Romo can get back on track ASAP, I expect Witten to reclaim his role as one of the most reliable tight ends in fantasy football.
Dishonorable Mentions: Jordan Cameron (Browns), Jimmy Graham (Saints), Ladarius Green (Chargers)
Defense
MVP: Houston Texans
The Texans defense came back with a vengeance this week. The unit returned to their dominant form of 2012 with 3 sacks, 2 fumbles recoveries, 2 blocked punts and a defensive touchdown in their 17-6 beatdown of the Redskins on Sunday. It will be interesting to see how this defense fares without rookie phenom Jadeveon Clowney out for at least the next month, but for now the Texans defense looks damn good and is definitely worth a start every week.
Honorable Mentions: San Francisco 49ers, Carolina Panthers, Buffalo Bills
LVP: St. Louis Rams
Wow, I didn't see this coming. The very talented Rams defense were almost complete non-factors on Sunday in a blowout loss against the Vikings on Sunday afternoon. They don't deserve all of the blame as the offense played horrible, which forced them to be on the field a lot and get fatigued really fast. That being said, their lack of pass rush (just a single sack for the game) and no takeaways on the game was extremely disappointing for a unit that's as loaded with talent as the Rams are. With all the uncertainty on offense, it will be interesting to see how the Rams defense hold up in 2014. There's too much talent on this defense to drop them right now, but I wouldn't be shocked if they end up underwhelming for most of the season.
Dishonorable Mentions: Kansas City Chiefs, Chicago Bears, Arizona Cardinals
MVP: Matt Ryan (Falcons)
In my humble opinion, Matt Ryan is the most underrated quarterback in the NFL and his performance on Sunday reminded people just how great he is. Ryan threw for a career-high 448 yards and 3 TD's on Sunday against a Saints secondary that finished in the top 5 in the league in 2013. Having a healthy Julio Jones and Roddy White does wonders for Ryan's play and if they stay healthy, he is going to continue dominate opposing defenses. Ryan's average draft position of the 6th-7th round could prove to be a huge steal if he stays this sharp all season long.
Honorable Mentions: Matthew Stafford (Lions), Andrew Luck (Colts), Peyton Manning (Broncos)
LVP: Tony Romo (Cowboys)
Tony Romo reverted back to his old turnover-ridden self on Sunday against the 49ers after a great season in 2013. Romo threw 3 INT's-which is already just shy of a third of the INT's he threw in 2013- and looked completely out of sync with his receivers for most of the game. This performance may been ugly, but this is by no means a kiss of death for Romo's 2014 season. Romo puts up some horrid performances every year that make him look like a far worse quarterback than he actually is, and this game against the 49ers was just that. Romo tends to bounce back nicely from terrible performances, so I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if he came out and played great against the Titans this Sunday.
Dishonorable Mentions: Robert Griffin III (Redskins), Tom Brady (Patriots), Drew Brees (Saints)
Running Back
MVP: Le'Veon Bell (Steelers)
A majority of the alleged stud second-year running backs underwhelmed in Week 1, which makes Le'Veon Bell's performance that much more impressive. Bell absolutely annihilated a pretty solid Browns defense for 197 total yards (109 rushing, 88 receiving) and a touchdown. Bell opened a lot of eyes with this performance and showed improvement in every aspect of the game from his solid 2013 rookie campaign. Time will tell if this production will hold up for the entire year, but Bell looked like a serious contender to become the next big-impact running back in the NFL on Sunday.
Honorable Mentions: Marshawn Lynch (Seahawks), Knowshon Moreno (Dolphins), DeMarco Murray (Cowboys)
LVP: Jammal Charles (Chiefs)
Of all the underwhelming performances in Week 1, none surprised me more than Jammal Charles. The Chiefs offense typically runs through Charles, but for whatever reason he only touched the ball 11 times (7 carries, 4 receptions) for a whopping 34 total yards in their lopsided loss against the Titans on Sunday. I fully believe Charles' poor performance against the Titans is a fluke. Charles lays more eggs than any other star running back in the league and when he disappoints, it seems to always be against teams that are very favorable matchups on paper. Unless something drastic happens, this performance should be considered to be just a bump in the road for Charles. He should be back to his usual high volume of touches and top-tier RB1 form in no time.
Dishonorable Mentions: Doug Martin (Buccaneers), Eddie Lacy (Packers), Zac Stacy (Rams)
Wide Receiver
MVP: Calvin Johnson (Lions)
Calvin Johnson never ceases to amaze me. Megatron came out on Monday Night and was his typically superhuman self shredding the Giants secondary for 164 yards and a pair of TD's. Johnson is already in midseason form and his fantasy owners should continue to reap the benefits from his inhuman play.
Honorable Mentions: A.J. Green (Bengals), Cordarrelle Patterson (Vikings), Steve Smith (Ravens)
LVP: Demaryius Thomas (Broncos)
What the hell happened to Demaryius Thomas? Thomas dropped numerous passes and got flat-out outplayed by just about every other receiver on the Broncos roster in their victory over the Colts on Sunday night. Thomas' 48-yard non-factor performance is especially shocking considering the fact that Wes Welker-the Broncos other top target in the passing game- was out of the lineup. Thomas had the perfect opportunity to have a huge game with less facets to the Broncos offense available than usual, it just didn't come to fruition. Thomas should be fine in the long run thanks to his chemistry with Peyton Manning, it was just shocking to see him play so poorly after being so consistently dominant over the past two seasons.
Dishonorable Mentions: Larry Fitzgerald (Cardinals), Vincent Jackson (Buccaneers), Victor Cruz (Giants)
Tight End
MVP: Julius Thomas (Broncos)
While Demaryius Thomas failed to produce for the Broncos on Sunday, Julius Thomas absolutely flourished. The other Thomas brother (Before anyone bitches at me, I know that they're not actually related) picked up where he left off last year with 104 yards and 3 TD's on the night. Any skepticism as to whether or not he could repeat the success of his 2013 season was erased with this performance. Thomas was easily the centerpiece of this offense on Sunday and with his ability to haul in all but one of his targets for the whole game, I expect that trend to continue for the entire season. With his consistently improving rapport with Peyton Manning and nose for the endzone, Thomas has the potential to be the top fantasy tight end in 2014.
Honorable Mentions: Vernon Davis (49ers), Greg Olsen (Panthers), Zach Ertz (Eagles)
LVP: Jason Witten (Cowboys)
No one suffered from Tony Romo's poor performance on Sunday more than Jason Witten. The grizzled veteran tight end was held to 14 yards on 2 receptions in Sunday's ugly loss to the 49ers. Witten remains Romo's favorite target behind Dez Bryant and if Romo can get back on track ASAP, I expect Witten to reclaim his role as one of the most reliable tight ends in fantasy football.
Dishonorable Mentions: Jordan Cameron (Browns), Jimmy Graham (Saints), Ladarius Green (Chargers)
Defense
MVP: Houston Texans
The Texans defense came back with a vengeance this week. The unit returned to their dominant form of 2012 with 3 sacks, 2 fumbles recoveries, 2 blocked punts and a defensive touchdown in their 17-6 beatdown of the Redskins on Sunday. It will be interesting to see how this defense fares without rookie phenom Jadeveon Clowney out for at least the next month, but for now the Texans defense looks damn good and is definitely worth a start every week.
Honorable Mentions: San Francisco 49ers, Carolina Panthers, Buffalo Bills
LVP: St. Louis Rams
Wow, I didn't see this coming. The very talented Rams defense were almost complete non-factors on Sunday in a blowout loss against the Vikings on Sunday afternoon. They don't deserve all of the blame as the offense played horrible, which forced them to be on the field a lot and get fatigued really fast. That being said, their lack of pass rush (just a single sack for the game) and no takeaways on the game was extremely disappointing for a unit that's as loaded with talent as the Rams are. With all the uncertainty on offense, it will be interesting to see how the Rams defense hold up in 2014. There's too much talent on this defense to drop them right now, but I wouldn't be shocked if they end up underwhelming for most of the season.
Dishonorable Mentions: Kansas City Chiefs, Chicago Bears, Arizona Cardinals
Saturday, September 6, 2014
50 Most Underrated Albums of the 2000's (So Far): #20
20.Sylosis-Monolith (2012)
Despite the fact I listen to and review a ton of music, there are still plenty of seasoned bands that manage to slip by me. British melodic death thrashers Sylosis is a prime example of this. It wasn't until they landed a spot opening for Lamb of God in fall 2012 to promote their third full-length, Monolith, that I decided to finally check them out. After hearing Monolith, I immediately hated myself for sleeping on them for years. Monolith takes the speed and blistering solos of thrash metal and combines it with the stunning melodies of progressive metal. Vocalist/lead guitarist Josh Middleton is the driving force behind the success of Monolith. Middleton's vocals perfectly fit the melting-pot tone of the album as his screams borrow from Gothenburg melo death and 80's thrash metal with a handful of really affective clean vocals lines thrown in for good measure. While his vocals are excellent, Middleton's guitar work is even more impressive. Middleton lays down a barrage of amazing heavy and melodic riffs and dizzying solos that serve as the backbone for the album. Monolith is a complex and diverse listen that serves as immensely rewarding listen to thrash, melodic death and progressive metal fans alike.
Standout Tracks
1.Out from Below http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_qf_fc7GDY
2.What Dwells Within http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xoj66CSdCzg
3.A Dying Vine http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2dFG7-09P0
Standout Tracks
1.Out from Below http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_qf_fc7GDY
2.What Dwells Within http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xoj66CSdCzg
3.A Dying Vine http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2dFG7-09P0
Friday, September 5, 2014
Which Rookie Quarterback Will Reign Supreme In 2014?
By Liam Madigan-Fried
Since the day of the NFL Draft, the question has remained in the heads of every one of us football fans: “Which rookie quarterback will reign supreme in 2014?”.
The first four quarterbacks selected in May's draft are all entering unique situations and for the first time in years, there will be one rookie quarterback starting in Week 1. First up we have Blake Bortles, who was selected by his hometown team-the Jacksonville Jaguars-with the third overall pick in the draft. It ended up being a long wait for the next quarterback to come off the board and that QB was the one and only Johnny Manziel, who was selected 22nd overall by the Cleveland Browns. "Money" Manziel, will be taking his talents and party boy gimmick to a team that is essentially a graveyard for young quarterbacks (just ask Tim Couch, Brady Quinn and Brandon Weeden) since the franchise returned to the league in 1999. At the tail end of the first round and start of the second round, the next and final two heavily hyped quarterbacks came off the board. The Vikings landed Teddy Bridgewater with the 32nd overall pick and the Raiders selected Derek Carr-brother of retired NFL quarterback David Carr-with the 36th overall pick. Below are my projections of how each of these young guys and their respective teams will fare during their 2014 campaign
Derek Carr:
Carr is the lone starter of the bunch, which is a bit surprising considering that the Raiders traded for Matt Schaub in the offseason with the intent of him being their starting quarterback. I hadn’t given Carr much thought before a few weeks ago, until the whispers started about whether or not he might be stepping in for Schaub intensified amidst concerns about the veteran’s elbow. Personally, I like this kid’s chances of having a successful rookie season. He's got versatile, veteran weapons in Maurice Jones-Drew and James Jones at the skill positions and the Raiders offensive line appears to be in better shape than it was last year. Unfortunately, the Raiders defense was 27th in the league against the pass last season, which caused them to consistently give up a lot of yardage. Admittedly, the Raiders made a great step in improving this problem over the offseason with several free agent acquisitions in the secondary including Tarrell Brown and Carlos Rodgers and the drafting of Khalil Mack. However, even with all these moves, I don't see them getting much better on defense in 2014. I don’t see any playoffs for the Raiders this year despite what could be a promising rookie season by Carr.
Projected record for the Raiders in 2014 :7-9 with at least two upsets in their favor.
Johnny Manziel:
Manziel is easily the most hyped quarterback in this class and to be honest, I can't see why. I just don’t see him as the phantom superstar the media and the general public makes him out to be.The guy is indecisive and impatient as he demonstrated in the pre-season- many times overlooking a wide open receiver and deciding to finish plays with his feet. It’s that kind of recklessness that has cost many a quarterback their health and status as a starter. Coach Mike Pettine made a good call in naming Brian Hoyer the starter. The guy spent time learning under Tom Brady and Bill Belichick for god's sake, which gives him a pedigree that Manziel can't even come to touching at this point in his career. My prediction is that Pettine will have a little back and forth with his quarterbacks until about week six, when he eventually decides that Manziel's accuracy and presence in the pocket needs more development before becoming an NFL starter, and goes with Hoyer for the rest of the year.
Projected record for the Browns in 2014: 5-11. The absence of Josh Gordon is just too much for their weak offense to compensate for. No disrespect to Jordan Cameron, but he can't carry this offense the way that Gordon did in 2013.
Teddy Bridgewater:
In a draft full of quarterbacks who's stock slipped at the last minute, no one fell harder than Bridgewater. Months ago before the draft, everybody was saying that this guy was the most pro ready quarterback in this draft class. A combination of poor pre-draft workouts at scouting combine and his pro day and negative media reports- which I feel were blown way out of proportion- Bridgewater went from being in consideration for the number one pick to possibly falling out of the first round completely. Luckily for Bridgewater and his fans, the Minnesota Vikings called his name with the last pick of the first round. I still think Bridgewater may be one of the most pro ready quarterbacks in this draft carss, but I don’t see 2014 being his breakout year. Between Matt Cassel starting to play like an actual NFL starter and Christian Ponder yelling and screaming that he actually still exists, Bridgewater is going to have to continue to demonstrate progression if he hopes to be the future of the franchise. My prediction is that both Bridgewater and Ponder will see at least one start a piece this season, with Bridgeater's ending in moderate success and Ponder's ending in the type of misery he's served up in the Twin Cities since he was drafted in 2011. Let's face it, the dude was a bust ,and this will be his last season in a Vikings uniform.
Projected Record for the Vikings in 2014: 9-7 unless Adrian Peterson really kicks into gear...again.
Blake Bortles:
Of these four rookie quarterbacks, Bortles is without question my favorite. The Jaguars in my opinion got away with two of the best draft picks in 2014 in Bortles and wide receiver Marqise Lee. The Jaguars current starter, Chad Henne, is a decent quarterback, but to quote South Park, “He’s about as interesting as a wet carrot”. The Jags have it tough going into the first few games of the season, with the Eagles, Redskins and Colts being their first three opponents. So realistically, I can see the Jaguars going 1-2 within their first three games-assuming they pull the upset over RG3 and the Redskins-before Henne gets the hook for the rookie. Bortles isn’t completely alone behind the ball. In addition to his fellow rookie Lee, he has veteran receiver Cecil Shorts III and a potential workhorse running back in Toby Gerhart to help him smoothly transition to the NFL. Bortles has all the tools to be a starter in this league for a long time and he should play a pivotal role in turning this oft-troubled franchise around.
Projected Record for the Jaguars in 2014: 8-8
Since the day of the NFL Draft, the question has remained in the heads of every one of us football fans: “Which rookie quarterback will reign supreme in 2014?”.
The first four quarterbacks selected in May's draft are all entering unique situations and for the first time in years, there will be one rookie quarterback starting in Week 1. First up we have Blake Bortles, who was selected by his hometown team-the Jacksonville Jaguars-with the third overall pick in the draft. It ended up being a long wait for the next quarterback to come off the board and that QB was the one and only Johnny Manziel, who was selected 22nd overall by the Cleveland Browns. "Money" Manziel, will be taking his talents and party boy gimmick to a team that is essentially a graveyard for young quarterbacks (just ask Tim Couch, Brady Quinn and Brandon Weeden) since the franchise returned to the league in 1999. At the tail end of the first round and start of the second round, the next and final two heavily hyped quarterbacks came off the board. The Vikings landed Teddy Bridgewater with the 32nd overall pick and the Raiders selected Derek Carr-brother of retired NFL quarterback David Carr-with the 36th overall pick. Below are my projections of how each of these young guys and their respective teams will fare during their 2014 campaign
Derek Carr:
Carr is the lone starter of the bunch, which is a bit surprising considering that the Raiders traded for Matt Schaub in the offseason with the intent of him being their starting quarterback. I hadn’t given Carr much thought before a few weeks ago, until the whispers started about whether or not he might be stepping in for Schaub intensified amidst concerns about the veteran’s elbow. Personally, I like this kid’s chances of having a successful rookie season. He's got versatile, veteran weapons in Maurice Jones-Drew and James Jones at the skill positions and the Raiders offensive line appears to be in better shape than it was last year. Unfortunately, the Raiders defense was 27th in the league against the pass last season, which caused them to consistently give up a lot of yardage. Admittedly, the Raiders made a great step in improving this problem over the offseason with several free agent acquisitions in the secondary including Tarrell Brown and Carlos Rodgers and the drafting of Khalil Mack. However, even with all these moves, I don't see them getting much better on defense in 2014. I don’t see any playoffs for the Raiders this year despite what could be a promising rookie season by Carr.
Projected record for the Raiders in 2014 :7-9 with at least two upsets in their favor.
Johnny Manziel:
Manziel is easily the most hyped quarterback in this class and to be honest, I can't see why. I just don’t see him as the phantom superstar the media and the general public makes him out to be.The guy is indecisive and impatient as he demonstrated in the pre-season- many times overlooking a wide open receiver and deciding to finish plays with his feet. It’s that kind of recklessness that has cost many a quarterback their health and status as a starter. Coach Mike Pettine made a good call in naming Brian Hoyer the starter. The guy spent time learning under Tom Brady and Bill Belichick for god's sake, which gives him a pedigree that Manziel can't even come to touching at this point in his career. My prediction is that Pettine will have a little back and forth with his quarterbacks until about week six, when he eventually decides that Manziel's accuracy and presence in the pocket needs more development before becoming an NFL starter, and goes with Hoyer for the rest of the year.
Projected record for the Browns in 2014: 5-11. The absence of Josh Gordon is just too much for their weak offense to compensate for. No disrespect to Jordan Cameron, but he can't carry this offense the way that Gordon did in 2013.
Teddy Bridgewater:
In a draft full of quarterbacks who's stock slipped at the last minute, no one fell harder than Bridgewater. Months ago before the draft, everybody was saying that this guy was the most pro ready quarterback in this draft class. A combination of poor pre-draft workouts at scouting combine and his pro day and negative media reports- which I feel were blown way out of proportion- Bridgewater went from being in consideration for the number one pick to possibly falling out of the first round completely. Luckily for Bridgewater and his fans, the Minnesota Vikings called his name with the last pick of the first round. I still think Bridgewater may be one of the most pro ready quarterbacks in this draft carss, but I don’t see 2014 being his breakout year. Between Matt Cassel starting to play like an actual NFL starter and Christian Ponder yelling and screaming that he actually still exists, Bridgewater is going to have to continue to demonstrate progression if he hopes to be the future of the franchise. My prediction is that both Bridgewater and Ponder will see at least one start a piece this season, with Bridgeater's ending in moderate success and Ponder's ending in the type of misery he's served up in the Twin Cities since he was drafted in 2011. Let's face it, the dude was a bust ,and this will be his last season in a Vikings uniform.
Projected Record for the Vikings in 2014: 9-7 unless Adrian Peterson really kicks into gear...again.
Blake Bortles:
Of these four rookie quarterbacks, Bortles is without question my favorite. The Jaguars in my opinion got away with two of the best draft picks in 2014 in Bortles and wide receiver Marqise Lee. The Jaguars current starter, Chad Henne, is a decent quarterback, but to quote South Park, “He’s about as interesting as a wet carrot”. The Jags have it tough going into the first few games of the season, with the Eagles, Redskins and Colts being their first three opponents. So realistically, I can see the Jaguars going 1-2 within their first three games-assuming they pull the upset over RG3 and the Redskins-before Henne gets the hook for the rookie. Bortles isn’t completely alone behind the ball. In addition to his fellow rookie Lee, he has veteran receiver Cecil Shorts III and a potential workhorse running back in Toby Gerhart to help him smoothly transition to the NFL. Bortles has all the tools to be a starter in this league for a long time and he should play a pivotal role in turning this oft-troubled franchise around.
Projected Record for the Jaguars in 2014: 8-8
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
2014 NFL Playoff+League Leader+Year-End Award Predictions
The NFL season officially starts tomorrow and I couldn't be happier about it. The past seven months without football have been absolutely agonizing to sit through. In the spirit of the season, here are my picks for the 2014 playoff teams, league leaders, year-end awards and other miscellaneous football-related stuff.
AFC Playoff Teams:
1.Denver Broncos
2.New England Patriots
3.Indianapolis Colts
4.Baltimore Ravens
5.Cincinnati Bengals
6.New York Jets
Wild Card:
Colts over Jets
Ravens over Bengals
Divisional Round
Broncos over Ravens
Patriots over Colts
AFC Championship Game:
Patriots over Broncos
NFC Playoff Teams:
1.Seattle Seahawks
2.New Orleans Saints
3.Chicago Bears
4.Philadelphia Eagles
5.Green Bay Packers
6.San Francisco 49ers
Wild Card:
Bears over 49ers
Packers over Eagles
Divisional Round:
Seahawks over Packers
Saints over Bears
NFC Championship Game:
Seahawks over Saints
Super Bowl:
Seahawks over Patriots
Projected League Leaders:
Passing Yards: Drew Brees (Saints)
Passing TD's: Drew Brees (Saints)
Rushing Yards: LeSean McCoy (Eagles)
Rushing TD's: Marshawn Lynch (Seahawks)
Receiving Yards: Antonio Brown (Steelers)
Receiving TD's: Julius Thomas (Broncos)
Sacks: Robert Quinn (Rams)
Tackles: Patrick Willis (49ers)
INT's: Joe Haden (Browns)
Forced Fumbles: Tamba Hali (Chiefs)
Projected Award Winners:
MVP: Drew Brees (Saints)
Offensive Player of the Year: LeSean McCoy (Eagles)
Defensive Player of the Year: Earl Thomas (Seahawks)
Offensive Rookie of the Year: Bishop Sankey (Titans)
Defensive Rookie of the Year: Ryan Shaizer (Steelers)
Comeback Player of the Year: Julio Jones (Falcons)
Coach of the Year: Marc Trestman (Bears)
Miscellaneous:
AFC Team Most Likely to Surprise: New York Jets
AFC Team Most Likely to Disappoint: Kansas City Chiefs
NFC Team Most Likely to Surprise: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
NFC Team Most Likely to Disappoint: Carolina Panthers
Top 10 Players That Need to Prove Themselves in 2014:
1.Robert Griffin III (Redskins)
2.Trent Richardson (Colts)
3.Jake Locker (Titans)
4.E.J. Manuel (Bills)
5.Brian Hoyer (Browns)
6.Dee Milliner (Jets)
7.Eric Fisher (Chiefs)
8.Lamar Miller (Dolphins)
9.Jeremy Maclin (Eagles)
10.Geno Smith (Jets)
Top 10 Draft Order for 2015
1.Jaguars
2.Raiders
3.Browns
4.Titans
5.Rams
6.Vikings
7.Cowboys
8.Dolphins
9.Chiefs
10.Redskins
AFC Playoff Teams:
1.Denver Broncos
2.New England Patriots
3.Indianapolis Colts
4.Baltimore Ravens
5.Cincinnati Bengals
6.New York Jets
Wild Card:
Colts over Jets
Ravens over Bengals
Divisional Round
Broncos over Ravens
Patriots over Colts
AFC Championship Game:
Patriots over Broncos
NFC Playoff Teams:
1.Seattle Seahawks
2.New Orleans Saints
3.Chicago Bears
4.Philadelphia Eagles
5.Green Bay Packers
6.San Francisco 49ers
Wild Card:
Bears over 49ers
Packers over Eagles
Divisional Round:
Seahawks over Packers
Saints over Bears
NFC Championship Game:
Seahawks over Saints
Super Bowl:
Seahawks over Patriots
Projected League Leaders:
Passing Yards: Drew Brees (Saints)
Passing TD's: Drew Brees (Saints)
Rushing Yards: LeSean McCoy (Eagles)
Rushing TD's: Marshawn Lynch (Seahawks)
Receiving Yards: Antonio Brown (Steelers)
Receiving TD's: Julius Thomas (Broncos)
Sacks: Robert Quinn (Rams)
Tackles: Patrick Willis (49ers)
INT's: Joe Haden (Browns)
Forced Fumbles: Tamba Hali (Chiefs)
Projected Award Winners:
MVP: Drew Brees (Saints)
Offensive Player of the Year: LeSean McCoy (Eagles)
Defensive Player of the Year: Earl Thomas (Seahawks)
Offensive Rookie of the Year: Bishop Sankey (Titans)
Defensive Rookie of the Year: Ryan Shaizer (Steelers)
Comeback Player of the Year: Julio Jones (Falcons)
Coach of the Year: Marc Trestman (Bears)
Miscellaneous:
AFC Team Most Likely to Surprise: New York Jets
AFC Team Most Likely to Disappoint: Kansas City Chiefs
NFC Team Most Likely to Surprise: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
NFC Team Most Likely to Disappoint: Carolina Panthers
Top 10 Players That Need to Prove Themselves in 2014:
1.Robert Griffin III (Redskins)
2.Trent Richardson (Colts)
3.Jake Locker (Titans)
4.E.J. Manuel (Bills)
5.Brian Hoyer (Browns)
6.Dee Milliner (Jets)
7.Eric Fisher (Chiefs)
8.Lamar Miller (Dolphins)
9.Jeremy Maclin (Eagles)
10.Geno Smith (Jets)
Top 10 Draft Order for 2015
1.Jaguars
2.Raiders
3.Browns
4.Titans
5.Rams
6.Vikings
7.Cowboys
8.Dolphins
9.Chiefs
10.Redskins
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
10 Most Anticipated Films of Fall/Winter 2014
The last four months of the year marks the time where studios pack the schedule to the brim with new releases. With everything from blockbusters to comedies to awards contenders on the docket, September-December offers up the largest and most diverse crop of movies of the entire year. Here are the 10 films I'm looking forward to the most this fall/winter.
10.Exodus: Gods and Kings (12/12):
Ridley's Scott recent filmography has been hit-or-miss, but that won't stop from getting really excited about Exodus: Gods and Kings. Scott is back in the sword-and-sandals subgenre where he hit his last home run with 2000's Gladiator, and with a cast featuring the likes of Christian Bale, Aaron Paul, Ben Kingsley and Joel Edgerton and a script penned by Steve Zaillian (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Moneyball), this has the potential to be Scott's next masterpiece. Hopefully this doesn't turn out to be another film like Prometheus- which looked and sounded great on paper, but was ultimately underwhelming- for Scott.
9.A Walk Among the Tombstones (9/19):
Liam Neeson has reinvented himself as a certified badass, one-man killing machine with movies like Taken and Non-Stop over the past few years. A Walk Among the Tombstones is a bit of departure from his recent work as it's more of a crime drama than a straight-up action film. All of the ad's for this give off an eerie, gritty vibe that is reminiscent of last September's brilliant thriller Prisoners. The seemingly deeper narrative should allow Nesson to show off his deep acting chops without sacrificing the action he's become known for of late. A Walk Among the Tombstones has a lot going for it and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if this ends up being Nesson's finest work in years.
8.Kill the Messenger (10/10):
In my eyes, Jeremy Renner is one of the criminally underrated actors working in Hollywood today. His abilities has been kind of buried thanks to his recent forays into major action films such as The Avengers, The Bourne Legacy and Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. Kill the Messenger seems like a project that will remind audiences of how great of an actor he is. Kill the Messenger tells the fascinating story of a journalist (Renner) who uncovers that the Regan administration was giving guns to rebels in Nicaragua and the CIA was importing cocaine on government airplanes. The presence of Renner in the lead role paired with the plot and a strong supporting cast including Michael K. Williams, Michael Sheen, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead makes Kill the Messenger easily one of my most anticipated films of last quarter of 2014.
7.Whiplash (10/10)
Whiplash got a ton of buzz out of Sundance earlier this year as it went onto the win the audience award for best film of the entire festival. Considering my favorite film of 2013(Fruitvale Station) took home the audience award last year, that's a great sign for Whiplash's quality. The film also features one of my favorite up-and-coming actors in Miles Teller and the king of character actors in J.K Simmons. Based on the early reviews, both Teller and Simmons are serious contenders for Academy Award nominations. In short, there's basically no shortage of reasons for me to get really excited about Whiplash.
6.Fury (10/17)
I'm a sucker for a World War II films and Fury is no exception. What makes Fury standout from other WWII films on paper is the fact that's it centers around a five-man tank team. Tank operators are pretty much the only position in the military that have never been the subject of a film before. With a first-rate writer/director in David Ayer (End of Watch, Training Day) at the helm and an extremely gifted cast led by Brad Pitt, Michael Pena and Jon Bernthal, Fury could very well be the next classic in the war genre.
5.Interstellar (11/7)
Modern sci-fi wizard Christopher Nolan is back at it this year with his first original film since 2010's Inception. Admittedly, the marketing material for Interstellar hasn't been particularly great so far, but it's not doing much to deter from my anticipation for this film. Nolan has pretty much no blemishes on his resume so far and I'd be really surprised if now was the time where he suddenly crapped out. In typical fashion for Nolan, the premise for Interstellar is very vague at this point in time. Basically all that's known about the plot of Interstellar is that the Earth is dying and a team of explorers led by Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway embark on a mission to space to try and find a new place for the citizens of Earth to live. Even with a lack of specific details, there's nothing about a film involving space travel with McConaughy and Hathaway that doesn't sound very intriguing. Nolan's a master of not disclosing a lot of details about his films prior to release and consistently captivating the masses with his work. Let's hope that Interstellar continues that streak.
4.The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part I (11/21)
Last year's second installment of The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, turned me into a fan of this series. With Francis Lawrence back in the director's chair and Juliane Moore, Natalie Dormer and Toby Jones joining the already great cast, Mockingjay very well could recapture the magic of Catching Fire.
3.Horrible Bosses 2 (11/26)
Horrible Bosses is one of my favorite comedies of the past five years, so I'm absolutely giddy about a sequel. Charlie Day, Jason Bateman and Jason Sudekis have a remarkable chemistry together and the writers of the original are also returning for the sequel, which all but ensures the biting dark tone and constant laugh-out-loud moments the original had will be back. In a pretty good year for comedy so far, Horrible Bosses 2 is in good shape to end up being one of the best.
2.Gone Girl (10/3)
David Fincher is back with another adaptation of a celebrated novel in Gone Girl. I haven't read the book that it's based on, but Gone Girl looks to be an especially disturbing and unique take on the murder mystery genre. Fincher is a master of bleak storytelling and the trailer makes this look like can't-miss cinema. Out of all the Oscar-bait films scheduled for release in the next four months, Gone Girl is by far the one I'm looking forward to the most.
1.The Interview (12/25)
Seth Rogen and James Franco play a moronic entertainment show producer and host that land an interview with North Korean dictator Kim Jung Un, the pair then get approached by the United States government to assassinate Un after they conduct the interview. With a concept like this, there's practically no way this film can be anything short of genius. Rogen and writing partner Evan Goldberg have been behind a number of my favorite comedies of the past decade (Superbad, This is the End, Pineapple Express) and with a premise that has comic gold written all over it, The Interview is likely to join that camp.
Also Interested In:
The Drop (9/12)
The Skeleton Twins (9/12)
This is Where I Leave You (9/19)
The Maze Runner (9/19)
Tusk (9/19)
The Equalizer (9/26)
Men, Women & Children (10/3)
Anabelle (10/3)
The Judge (10/10)
Birdman (10/17)
Dear White People (10/17)
White Bird in a Blizzard (10/24)
Laggies (10/24)
Horns (10/31)
Nightcrawler (10/31)
Rosewater (11/7)
Dumb and Dumber To (11/14)
Foxcatcher (11/14)
American Sniper (12/25)
Big Eyes (12/25)
Hot Tub Time Machine 2 (12/25)
Selma (12/25)
10.Exodus: Gods and Kings (12/12):
Ridley's Scott recent filmography has been hit-or-miss, but that won't stop from getting really excited about Exodus: Gods and Kings. Scott is back in the sword-and-sandals subgenre where he hit his last home run with 2000's Gladiator, and with a cast featuring the likes of Christian Bale, Aaron Paul, Ben Kingsley and Joel Edgerton and a script penned by Steve Zaillian (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Moneyball), this has the potential to be Scott's next masterpiece. Hopefully this doesn't turn out to be another film like Prometheus- which looked and sounded great on paper, but was ultimately underwhelming- for Scott.
9.A Walk Among the Tombstones (9/19):
Liam Neeson has reinvented himself as a certified badass, one-man killing machine with movies like Taken and Non-Stop over the past few years. A Walk Among the Tombstones is a bit of departure from his recent work as it's more of a crime drama than a straight-up action film. All of the ad's for this give off an eerie, gritty vibe that is reminiscent of last September's brilliant thriller Prisoners. The seemingly deeper narrative should allow Nesson to show off his deep acting chops without sacrificing the action he's become known for of late. A Walk Among the Tombstones has a lot going for it and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if this ends up being Nesson's finest work in years.
8.Kill the Messenger (10/10):
In my eyes, Jeremy Renner is one of the criminally underrated actors working in Hollywood today. His abilities has been kind of buried thanks to his recent forays into major action films such as The Avengers, The Bourne Legacy and Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. Kill the Messenger seems like a project that will remind audiences of how great of an actor he is. Kill the Messenger tells the fascinating story of a journalist (Renner) who uncovers that the Regan administration was giving guns to rebels in Nicaragua and the CIA was importing cocaine on government airplanes. The presence of Renner in the lead role paired with the plot and a strong supporting cast including Michael K. Williams, Michael Sheen, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead makes Kill the Messenger easily one of my most anticipated films of last quarter of 2014.
7.Whiplash (10/10)
Whiplash got a ton of buzz out of Sundance earlier this year as it went onto the win the audience award for best film of the entire festival. Considering my favorite film of 2013(Fruitvale Station) took home the audience award last year, that's a great sign for Whiplash's quality. The film also features one of my favorite up-and-coming actors in Miles Teller and the king of character actors in J.K Simmons. Based on the early reviews, both Teller and Simmons are serious contenders for Academy Award nominations. In short, there's basically no shortage of reasons for me to get really excited about Whiplash.
6.Fury (10/17)
I'm a sucker for a World War II films and Fury is no exception. What makes Fury standout from other WWII films on paper is the fact that's it centers around a five-man tank team. Tank operators are pretty much the only position in the military that have never been the subject of a film before. With a first-rate writer/director in David Ayer (End of Watch, Training Day) at the helm and an extremely gifted cast led by Brad Pitt, Michael Pena and Jon Bernthal, Fury could very well be the next classic in the war genre.
5.Interstellar (11/7)
Modern sci-fi wizard Christopher Nolan is back at it this year with his first original film since 2010's Inception. Admittedly, the marketing material for Interstellar hasn't been particularly great so far, but it's not doing much to deter from my anticipation for this film. Nolan has pretty much no blemishes on his resume so far and I'd be really surprised if now was the time where he suddenly crapped out. In typical fashion for Nolan, the premise for Interstellar is very vague at this point in time. Basically all that's known about the plot of Interstellar is that the Earth is dying and a team of explorers led by Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway embark on a mission to space to try and find a new place for the citizens of Earth to live. Even with a lack of specific details, there's nothing about a film involving space travel with McConaughy and Hathaway that doesn't sound very intriguing. Nolan's a master of not disclosing a lot of details about his films prior to release and consistently captivating the masses with his work. Let's hope that Interstellar continues that streak.
4.The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part I (11/21)
Last year's second installment of The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, turned me into a fan of this series. With Francis Lawrence back in the director's chair and Juliane Moore, Natalie Dormer and Toby Jones joining the already great cast, Mockingjay very well could recapture the magic of Catching Fire.
3.Horrible Bosses 2 (11/26)
Horrible Bosses is one of my favorite comedies of the past five years, so I'm absolutely giddy about a sequel. Charlie Day, Jason Bateman and Jason Sudekis have a remarkable chemistry together and the writers of the original are also returning for the sequel, which all but ensures the biting dark tone and constant laugh-out-loud moments the original had will be back. In a pretty good year for comedy so far, Horrible Bosses 2 is in good shape to end up being one of the best.
2.Gone Girl (10/3)
David Fincher is back with another adaptation of a celebrated novel in Gone Girl. I haven't read the book that it's based on, but Gone Girl looks to be an especially disturbing and unique take on the murder mystery genre. Fincher is a master of bleak storytelling and the trailer makes this look like can't-miss cinema. Out of all the Oscar-bait films scheduled for release in the next four months, Gone Girl is by far the one I'm looking forward to the most.
1.The Interview (12/25)
Seth Rogen and James Franco play a moronic entertainment show producer and host that land an interview with North Korean dictator Kim Jung Un, the pair then get approached by the United States government to assassinate Un after they conduct the interview. With a concept like this, there's practically no way this film can be anything short of genius. Rogen and writing partner Evan Goldberg have been behind a number of my favorite comedies of the past decade (Superbad, This is the End, Pineapple Express) and with a premise that has comic gold written all over it, The Interview is likely to join that camp.
Also Interested In:
The Drop (9/12)
The Skeleton Twins (9/12)
This is Where I Leave You (9/19)
The Maze Runner (9/19)
Tusk (9/19)
The Equalizer (9/26)
Men, Women & Children (10/3)
Anabelle (10/3)
The Judge (10/10)
Birdman (10/17)
Dear White People (10/17)
White Bird in a Blizzard (10/24)
Laggies (10/24)
Horns (10/31)
Nightcrawler (10/31)
Rosewater (11/7)
Dumb and Dumber To (11/14)
Foxcatcher (11/14)
American Sniper (12/25)
Big Eyes (12/25)
Hot Tub Time Machine 2 (12/25)
Selma (12/25)
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