2015 NFL Recap: NFC East

My Preseason Predictions:

1.Philadelphia Eagles (10-6)
2.Dallas Cowboys (9-7)
3.New York Giants (7-9)
4.Washington Redskins (5-11)

Actual Standings:

1.Washington Redskins (9-7)

2.Philadelphia Eagles (7-9)

3.New York Giants (6-10)

4.Dallas Cowboys (4-12) 

Dallas Cowboys:

Team MVP's: T Tyron Smith, G Zach Martin, C Travis Fredrick, ILB Sean Lee, RB Darren McFadden

-The demise of the 2015 Cowboys completely stemmed from the injuries to quarterback Tony Romo and to a lesser extent, wide receiver Dez Bryant. The Cowboys simply didn't have the depth or overall talent to make up for the loss of their two most productive offensive players and the entire team crumbled because of it. 2015 might've been a thoroughly disappointing season for a Cowboys team that was looking to build upon their improbable playoff run in 2014, but they can at least be thankful that they have a good shot at being competitive again if Romo and Bryant can return at full health in 2016.

-On the topic of Romo and Bryant, neither of them should've rushed backed from their injuries. The season was pretty much lost the minute the Romo went down with a broken clavicle in Week 2 and it was 100% lost by the time Bryant returned to the field in Week 8. Bryant was clearly still hampered by the major foot injury he suffered in Week 1 once he returned to the lineup and it made him a non-factor for a majority of the season while Romo was similarly restrained by his clearly unhealed injury as evidenced by his wild inaccuracy and re-breaking of the clavicle in just his second game back. That type of complete and utter disregard for your health is dangerous and the Cowboys better hope that the recklessness Romo and Bryant showed this season doesn't hurt them in the long run.

-On top of being a despicable human being, Greg Hardy also proved in 2015 that he's a gigantic moron. After the Cowboys handed him an opportunity at a comeback after a domestic violence incident nearly derailed his career, Hardy spat in their faces with his awful attitude and lack of dedication to the team. Hardy was repeatedly late to meetings, frequently disrespected his teammates and further confirmed that he's a classless hothead with his violent shoving of special team coach Rich Bisaccia on the sidelines in their Week 8 game against the Giants. Even with his undeniable talent as a player, I don't think another team will be willing to give Hardy a chance after the shit he pulled in Dallas this season.

-The lone bright spot for the Cowboys offense this season was veteran running back Darren McFadden. After Joseph Randle was released following a well-publicized meltdown at the team facility in early November, McFadden took over as the starter and shocked the football world with by being incredibly productive right out of the gate. McFadden was able to stay healthy for the whole year for the first time in forever and showed a level of burst and elusiveness that's been missing from his game since at least 2010 and it allowed him to finish fourth in the league in rushing with 1,089 yards. The pairing of his age (he'll be 29 in August) and lengthy injury history makes you leery of whether or not he'll be able to repeat this success in the future, but at the very least, McFadden deserves a lot of credit for the highly improbable comeback he made this season.

-Defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli continues to be the most underrated coordinator in the league. What he's been able to in his two years as the Cowboys defensive coordinator with no true blue-chip talents at his disposal is pretty damn remarkable. The play of the Cowboys defense this season kept them competitive while the offense struggled to points up on the board (only four of their 11 losses without Romo starting were by more than 10 points) and they managed to finish fifth in the league in pass defense, 16th in points per game allowed and 17th in total defense. The unit still has its struggles with getting to the quarterback and stopping the run on a consistent basis, but this overachieving unit is headed in the right direction under Marinelli's guidance.   

New York Giants:

Team MVP's: WR Odell Beckham Jr., QB Eli Manning, C Weston Richburg, CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, G Justin Pugh

 -Lady luck was not on the Giants side in 2015. Five of their 10 losses came in games in which they had the lead with less than 2 minutes to go and three of their other five losses were by five points or less. The strangest thing about they're late-game misfortunes is that just about every one of their losses can be chalked up to something different. Everything from defensive lapses to bad clock management/playcalling to boneheaded penalties to just general tough breaks caused the Giants to suffer last-minute, gut-wrenching losses in 2015. It's kind of crazy to think that this 6-10 team could've easily been a 10-12 win team if they had just been able to hold on late in games.

-Odell Beckham Jr. followed up his unreal rookie season with an equally-impressive sophomore season. Beckham Jr. once again served as the primary playmaker for the Giants offense, picking up 1,450 yards (fifth in the league) and 13 TD's (tied for fourth in the league) in 15 games this season. 2015 provided proof that Beckham Jr's record-breaking rookie season wasn't a fluke and that he is currently in line to be one of the NFL's most lethal receivers for the foreseeable future.

-Despite being held back by a below-average receiving corps (aside from Beckham Jr.) and a crowded running back committee that failed to produce most weeks, Eli Manning still managed to put together a very impressive season in 2015. A greatly improved offensive line prompted by 2013 1st-rounder Justin Pugh being moved from left tackle to left guard and a breakout campaign from second-year center Weston Richburg gave Manning the time to sit back in the pocket and go through his progressions and not rush his throws, which is a luxury he hasn't had since 2011. The solid protection Manning received in 2015 paid off handsomely as he finished the year with career-highs in TD (35) and QBR (93.6). A lot of things prevented the Giants from being a winning football team this season, but the play of Manning sure as hell wasn't one of them.

-Bringing back Steve Spagnuolo- the architect of their menacing 2007 Super Bowl champion defense- as defensive coordinator did not reverse any of the Giants recent defensive misfortunes. To be completely honest, they might've actually been worse than they were in 2014 under Perry Fewell. Their pass-rush was practically non-existent, their rushing defense fell apart once defensive tackle Jonathan Hankins was placed on injured reserve after suffering a torn pectoral muscle against the Buccaneers and their entire secondary (aside from top corner Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, who was once again exceptional) was so consistently terrible that it was hard to believe how any of them were able to make an NFL roster. Based on their collective ineptness, it's hardly surprising that they finished near the bottom of the league in almost every defensive category. With the exception of rush defense and takeaways where they ranked 24th and 7th (tied with the Broncos) respectively, they were in the bottom three in the NFL in every single major category (sacks, passing defense, yards allowed per game and points allowed per game). If the Giants want to avoid falling short of the playoffs for a fifth straight season, they're going to need have to an outstanding draft and free agency period to rebuild this defense.      

Philadelphia Eagles:

Team MVP's: DE Fletcher Cox, S Malcolm Jenkins, ILB Jordan Hicks, T Jason Peters, S Walter Thurmond

-The Chip Kelly GM experiment was a spectacular failure. Just about every one of Kelly's drastic personnel moves backfired and caused this team to become substantially worse than they were in his first two years as head coach. His big-ticket free-agent signings (running back DeMarco Murray and cornerback Byron Maxwell) were amongst the worst players in the league at their respective positions this season, just about all of his draft picks failed to make impact, the quarterback he traded for (Sam Bradford) was every bit as pedestrian as Nick Foles and Mark Sanchez were in 2014 and the guys he entrusted to takeover for departed veterans Jeremy Maclin and Evan Mathis (Jordan Matthews and Allen Barbre) weren't even half as productive as the guys they were replacing. While the friction between him and his players and the string of blowout losses in the middle of the season certainly didn't help, Kelly's failure as a general manager is the primary reason why the Eagles let him go.

-The Eagles were arguably the most erratic team in the NFL this season. Every impressive win (their 39-17 victory over the Saints in Week 5 and their improbable 35-28 upset over the Patriots in Week 13) they picked up where their defense was aggressive and their offense was efficient was balanced out by a lopsided loss (their back-to-back losses 45-17 and 45-14 losses to the Buccaneers and Lions in Week 11 and 12) where they looked helpless and undisciplined on both sides of the ball. Their inability to consistently perform ruined any chance they had at winning the tightly-contested NFC East this season.

-For the first time in a long time, The Eagles look like they're in big trouble at the wide receiver position. Jordan Matthews was well below average in his first season as the top wideout, fellow second-year player Josh Huff continues to show little value outside of the occasional random touchdown or splash play, Riley Cooper was basically invisible yet again and 2015 first-round pick Nelson Agholor's rookie campaign was nothing short of a disaster with his terrible route-running and inability to adjust to the speed of the game at the pro level. There's precisely a zero percent chance that they don't regret letting Jeremy Maclin leave in free agency after watching their current group of WR's stink up the joint in 2015.

-While their defense was wildly inconsistent as a whole in 2015, the Eagles had a number of players that were outstanding the entire season. Defensive end/tackle Fletcher Cox further solidified his standing as one of the most disruptive and well-rounded defensive players in the league, safety Malcolm Jenkins was a force in the middle of the secondary and rookie inside linebacker Jordan Hicks (aka the only good decision Kelly made as GM) proved to be a certified two-way playmaker from the jump. There's still huge gaps at cornerback and some depth problems at linebacker, but the Eagles nucleus of dynamic young players makes them one of the most exciting defensive groups in the league moving forward.   

Washington Redskins:

Team MVP's: T Trent Williams, TE Jordan Reed, CB Bashaud Breeland, QB Kirk Cousins, DT Chris Baker

-The Redskins were clearly the best team in the NFC East, but their winning record and division title has to be taken with a grain of salt. They did not beat a single opponent with a winning record this season (the best team they beat was the 8-8 Bills) and the three times this season where they faced an opponent with an above .500 record (the Patriots, Jets and Panthers), they got outscored 105-46. If this Redskins team wants to be taken seriously in the future, they're going to need to fare much better against quality opponents. 

-The biggest storyline that came out of Washington this season was the sudden emergence of fourth-year quarterback Kirk Cousins. The decision to finally bench to bench Robert Griffin III for Cousins was initially met with a lot of scrutiny, but it proved to be the most intelligent decision Jay Gruden has made in his brief tenure as the Redskins head coach so far. With Cousins under center, the Redskins offense found the spark it had lacked since Griffin III's terrific rookie year in 2012. After a bit of a rough start with four multi-INT games in his first six starts, Cousins found his way and became one of the league's most dependable and productive quarterbacks for the rest of the year, posting 23 TD, a 73.4 CMP%, just 3 INT and a 7-3 record in the last 10 games of the regular season. Personally, I was stunned by Cousins' sudden transformation from raw young backup to viable starting quarterback in less than a year's time. Cousins' hadn't shown much potential in his previous nine career starts and after his terrible display in 2014, I was ready to write him off as another bust for the Redskins. The accuracy, poise and genuine playmaking ability Cousins displayed in 2015 proved me wrong and I now believe he has what it takes to be a successful long-term starter in the league.

-2015 was a reminder of just how good tight end Jordan Reed can be when he's healthy. When he returned to the field in Week 7 after being forced to miss two games with a concussion and minor knee injury, Reed went on an unreal tear for the rest of the season, gathering 63 receptions for 674 yards and 10 TD's over the final 10 games. Reed is the most exciting young tight end in the NFL right now and if he can manage to stay healthy in the future, he could turn into a truly elite player.

-The generally poor play of the defense played a pivotal role in the Redskins' struggles against quality teams this season. As a collective unit, they just weren't very good as they ranked 26th overall in yards allowed (25th against the pass, 26th against the run) and 17th in points per game allowed. Free-agent pickups Terrence Knighton and Stephen Paea underperformed and failed to bring stability to the defensive line, their secondary led by the aging DeAngelo Hall and colossal free agent busts Chris Culliver and Dashon Goldson was once again ranked in the bottom half of the league and the typically-excellent outside linebacker Ryan Kerrigan and defensive tackle Jason Hatcher surprisingly failed to play up to their potential. The play of their young guys (cornerback Bashaud Breeland, outside linebackers Preston Smith, safety Kyshoen Jarrett) inspires some hope for the future, but until they reach their full potential, the defense will continue to be the Redskins Achilles heel.

The Best and Worst of Woody Harrelson

The "Best and Worst" series profiles the best and worst work of an actor starring in one of the week's new theatrical releases. This week I take a look at the filmography of "Triple 9" star Woody Harrelson.

Film starring Woody Harrelson that I've seen:
White Men Can't Jump
Kingpin
The Thin Red Line
Anger Management 
No Country for Old Men
Semi-Pro 
Zombieland
Friends with Benefits
Seven Psychopaths
The Hunger Games
Now You See Me
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Out of the Furnace
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay-Part 1
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay-Part 2

Best Performance: Zombieland (2009)
Even though the strongest praise he's received in his career have been for his dramatic turns in No Country for Old Men, The People vs. Larry Flynt and the first season of HBO series True Detective, I found  Harrelson to be at his scene-stealing best in the horror/comedy Zombieland. Harrelson tears up the screen as demented, Twinkie-loving Florida-based zombie killing expert Tallahassee and manages to generate the biggest laughs in a film that is full of non-stop gut-busting moments.    

Worst Performance: N/A
This may seem like a cop out, but I've put a lot of thought into it since I selected Harrelson to be focus of this week's piece last Wednesday and I couldn't find a single one of his performances I didn't enjoy. Harrelson is one of the dozen or so actors working right now that is seemingly incapable of turning in a bad performance.  His versatility and dedication to each role he tackles allows him to thrive every time he's on screen, even when he's given less-than stellar material to work with (Semi-Pro, Friends with Benefits, Kingpin). Harrelson has brought his A-game to the table in every single project he's starred in his 30-year career so far and hopefully that won't change anytime soon. 

Best Film: No Country for Old Men (2007)
Historically, films that win Best Picture are heavily scrutinized due to the prestige surrounding them. When a film wins the Academy Award for Best Picture, audiences expect to be blown away when they see it. However, often times this isn't the case. In just the last decade, there have been numerous Best Picture winners (Slumdog Millionaire, Crash, The Artist) that a majority of the moviegoing public (myself included) felt weren't worthy of the prestigious honor that had been bestowed upon them. The 2007 winner, No Country for Old Men, is one of the rare instances (in recent memory at least) where the Academy actually got it right. From the complex, perfectly constructed script to the top-notch acting ensemble to the stunning cinematography that perfectly matches the dreary nature of the story, No Country for Old Men is a bona fide masterpiece that proves exactly why the Coen Brothers deserve to go down as two of the greatest filmmakers of all-time.

Worst Film: Semi-Pro (2008) 
On paper, Semi-Pro had all the ingredients to be great: a cast full of gifted comedic actors headlined by Will Ferrell, Harrelson and Andy Ritcher, a fantastic premise (a terrible ABA (American Basketball Association) team owned by a one-hit wonder disco singer has to put together a winning season and establish a loyal fanbase in order to be one of the four ABA teams to not be dissolved once the league merges with the NBA) and a script from the co-writer of Old School  and Starsky & Hutch. Unfortunately, Semi-Pro didn't come anywhere close to living up to its impressive comedic pedigree. While its not without its moments, Semi-Pro is a pretty average comedy that committed the ultimate sin of unveiling a majority of its best jokes in the trailers.

Thank you for reading this week's installment of "The Best and Worst of". Next week, I'll take a look at the best and worst work of "London Has Fallen" star Morgan Freeman.

2016 NFL Mock Draft (Pre-Combine Mock #2, Updated 2/22)

1.Tennessee Titans: Joey Bosa, defensive end/outside linebacker (Ohio State)
2.Cleveland Browns: Carson Wentz, quarterback (North Dakota State)
3.San Diego Chargers: Laremy Tunsil, tackle (Mississippi)
4.Dallas Cowboys: DeForest Buckner, defensive end (Oregon)
5.Jacksonville Jaguars: Ronnie Stanley, tackle (Notre Dame)
6.Baltimore Ravens: Jalen Ramsey, cornerback (Florida State)
7.San Francisco 49ers: Laquon Treadwell, wide receiver (Mississippi)
8.Miami Dolphins: Myles Jack, outside linebacker (UCLA)
9.Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Vernon Hargreves, cornerback (Florida)
10.New York Giants: Jaylon Smith, outside linebacker (Notre Dame)
11.Chicago Bears: Jack Conklin, tackle (Michigan State)
12.New Orleans Saints: Eli Apple, cornerback (Ohio State)
13.Philadelphia Eagles: A'Shawn Robinson, defensive tackle (Alabama)
14.Oakland Raiders: Mackensie Alexander, cornerback (Clemson)
15.Los Angeles Rams: Jared Goff, quarterback (California)
16.Detroit Lions: Taylor Decker, tackle (Ohio State)
17.Atlanta Falcons: Shaq Lawson, defensive end/outside linebacker (Clemson)
18.Indianapolis Colts: Kevin Dodd, outside linebacker/defensive end (Clemson)
19.Buffalo Bills: Reggie Ragland, inside linebacker (Alabama)
20.New York Jets: Darron Lee, outside/inside linebacker (Ohio State)
21.Washington Redskins: Jarran Reed, defensive tackle (Alabama)
22.Houston Texans: Ezekiel Elliott, running back (Ohio State)
23.Minnesota Vikings: Corey Coleman, wide receiver (Baylor)
24.Cincinnati Bengals: Vernon Butler, defensive tackle (Louisiana Tech)
25.Pittsburgh Steelers: Kendall Fuller, cornerback (Virginia Tech)
26.Seattle Seahawks: Le'Raven Clark, tackle (Texas Tech)
27.Green Bay Packers: Andrew Billings, defensive tackle (Baylor)
28.Kansas City Chiefs: Sheldon Rankins, defensive tackle (Louisville)
29.Arizona Cardinals: Emmanuel Ogbah, defensive end/outside linebacker (Oklahoma State)
30.Carolina Panthers: Shon Coleman, tackle (Auburn)
31.Denver Broncos: Cody Whitehair, guard (Kansas State)

2015 NFL Recap: AFC West

 My Preseason Predictons:

1.Denver Broncos (10-6)

2.San Diego Chargers (8-8)

3.Kansas City Chiefs (7-9)

4.Oakland Raiders (6-10) 

Actual Standings

1.Denver Broncos (12-4)

2.Kansas City Chiefs (11-5)

3.Oakland Raiders (7-9)

4.San Diego Chargers (4-12)

Denver Broncos:

Team MVP's: OLB Von Miller, ILB Brandon Marshall, CB Chris Harris Jr., DE/DT Derek Wolfe, S Darian Stewart

-After pondering over it since the end of the Super Bowl, I can now say with absolute confidence that the 2015 Broncos are the most dominant defense I've seen in my lifetime. If you sit back and break down this defense on film or paper, you won't be able to find a single hole. Their pass-rush was suffocating, their linebackers were fast and versatile and their secondary was full of guys that can cover and tackle with equal proficiency. It's honestly kind of astonishing how much talent general manager John Elway has brought in over the years and I imagine they'll be using a majority of their available cap space to bring back as many of the free agents as they possibly can (defensive end Malik Jackson, inside linebackers Brandon Marshall and Danny Trevathan and Super Bowl MVP Von Miller are all set to hit the open market this offseason).

-The Broncos defense has been great for a few years now, but their sudden ascent to dominance can be directly linked to the presence of first-year defensive coordinator Wade Philips. Philips installed a system that allowed their plethora of gifted pass-rushers more freedom to rush the quarterback and made their secondary damn near impossible to throw on. Phillips' creative and aggressive scheme allowed the Broncos to finish first in the league in sacks (52), forced fumbles (25) and defensive TD's (4). Phillips was the best coordinator in the NFL this season by a wide margin and it'll be very interesting to see if they maintain this insanely high level of play in the future.

-Peyton Manning needs to hang it up. The man that took the field in 2015 was not the five-time MVP, 14-time Pro Bowler we've come to know all too well over his 18-year career, it was a physically-drained old man that couldn't do a vast majority of the things he was able to do in the past. All of the injuries that have plagued him over the years finally caught up with him in 2015 and it caused him to throw with next-to-no-velocity or accuracy. Watching the shriveled-up ghost of Manning play was more than enough to confirm that his days in the NFL were numbered, but perhaps the strongest indicator of his ineffectiveness is the fact that he threw almost twice as many as interceptions (17) than touchdowns (9) in the 10 games he played this season. This was the first time since his rookie year in 1998 that Manning threw more INT's than TD's in a season and it was by far the worst TD: INT ratio (0:5) he's posted in his career to-date. If Manning decides to come back next year after winning his second Super Bowl Ring in a decrepit state this season, he's officially lost his mind.

-The whole "C.J. Anderson is a workhorse stud running back" movement can officially be put to rest. While Anderson had a few impressive performances over the course of the season (his 113-yard, 2 TD performance against the Patriots in Week 13 was the clear highlight), he was a mostly average back that struggled to break through defenses on a consistent basis. To be fair, minor injuries and porous offensive line play put a bit of a damper on his effectiveness, but I still firmly believe that this season proved that Anderson doesn't have what it takes to be an uncontested starting running back in the league.

-The Broncos need to do everything in their power to retain Brock Osweiler. The fourth-year quarterback finally saw the field in 2015 when Manning went down with plantar fasciits in Week 10 against the Chiefs and he looked pretty comfortable leading the offense. His athleticism and arm strength provided their offense with the spark it sorely lacked with a physically-limited Manning running the show and that ability to orchestrate a legitimate vertical attack allowed the Broncos to go 5-2 with him as a starter. It's hard to tell if Osweiler is a surefire franchise quarterback after just seven starts, but his familiarity with the system and the four years he spent under the tutelage of Manning make him the clear choice to be the Broncos next starting quarterback.
 

Kansas City Chiefs:

Team MVP's: S Eric Berry, OLB Justin Houston, ILB Derrick Johnson, WR Jeremy Maclin, TE Travis Kelce

-I don't think there has been a better comeback story in the history of sports than that of Eric Berry. Less than a year after being diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, Berry returned to the field and put together the best season of his thoroughly impressive career so far. I admire Berry so much for his tremendous courage, dedication and perseverance and he deserves every penny of the huge contract he's going to receive in free agency this offseason.

-It got a decent amount of attention once they clinched a playoff berth, but I think a lot of people are downplaying just how impressive of a mid-season turnaround the Chiefs made in 2015. This was a lifeless squad that looked like they're were on the brink of being one of the worst teams in the league after six games and they somehow managed to right the ship and become the first team in NFL history to make the playoffs after starting the season 1-5. Pulling off a 10-game winning streak full of huge statement wins after starting off the season on such a lackluster note is a huge testament to the resiliency of their players and the strength of head coach Andy Reid and his coaching staff.

-Ever since he took over as the full-time starter in 2010, it seemed like the Chiefs offense would be helpless without Jammal Charles. This year, the Chiefs proved that longstanding theory to be false. After Charles went down for the with a torn ACL in their week 5 contest with the Bears, the tandem of Charcandrick West and Spencer Ware kept the Chiefs entrenched as one of the most potent rushing attacks in the NFL. While neither have of them have the elusiveness or burst that has made Charles one of the best running backs of the past decade, West and Ware came out of nowhere in 2015 to prove they're rock-solid backs who could easily start for just about any team in the league.

-As expected, the addition of wide receiver Jeremy Maclin dramatically improved the Chiefs passing offense. Maclin's numbers may have been down a bit from his career season with the Eagles in 2014, but he was still able to give the Chiefs the legitimate vertical threat they've lacked since Dwayne Bowe's last productive season in 2011 and helped Alex Smith set new career highs for passing yards and yards per attempt (Maclin's 1,088 yards accounted for 31.2% of Smith's passing yards, only Julio Jones and Odell Beckham Jr. accounted for a higher percentage of their starting quarterback's passing yards this season). If the Chiefs can acquire one more valuable asset to throw alongside Maclin and tight end Travis Kelce, their passing game could turn into something really special.

-While there's no denying that he put together a solid season, cornerback Marcus Peters did not deserve Defensive Rookie of the Year. If you simply looked at the flashy stats (INT's and passes defensed), Peters seems like a worthy candidate given his high totals in both of those categories (8 INT's and 26 passes defensed, both league highs). However, Peters also surrendered 8 TD's (second most of any corner in the league) and got burned almost every time he played a top-tier wideout (A.J. Green, DeAndre Hopkins, Emmanuel Sanders) during the season. Peters appears to be on the right track for a successful career, I just feel like some of the hype surrounding him is being inflated due to his gaudy INT numbers.     

Oakland Raiders:

Team MVP's: OLB/DE Khalil Mack, QB Derek Carr, T Donald Penn, G Gabe Jackson, DT Dan Williams

-Second-year quarterback Derek Carr quietly put together one hell of a season in 2015. The young signal-caller made huge strides in every facet of his game and was able to parlay his growth as a passer and leader into a 3,987 yard, 32 TD season. Carr hit a bit of a rough patch in the last five games of the year (2-3 record, 55.8% CMP PCT, 72.2 QBR 7 of his 13 INT for the season), but he was still mightily impressive in 2015 and I firmly believe that the Raiders have found their quarterback of the future.

-The breakout campaigns of Carr and running back Latavius Murray can directly be linked to the Raiders excellent offensive line play. Center Rodney Hudson proved to be well worth his massive free agent deal with his stellar debut season as a Raider, guard Gabe Jackson built on his impressive rookie campaign to become one of the most punishing run-blockers in the league in his sophomore season and after a second straight productive season with the Raiders, grizzled veteran Donald Penn has officially proved his disastrous 2013 season with the Buccaneers was a fluke. This Raiders have the most underrated offensive line of the league and I don't expect them to be slept on for much longer. 

-He may have become the 16th wide receiver since 1970 to put up over 1,000 receiving yards as a rookie, but I still don't know what to think of Amari Cooper. For every highlight reel-worthy play he made, he would ruin a chance at another one with a poorly-ran route or an ugly drop (Cooper was tied for second-most drops in the league with 10). Cooper clearly still has a lot of time to develop and none of the flaws in his game are things that can't be corrected over time, I'm just not sure if he's going to transform into the transcendent receiver he was touted to be prior to the start of this season.

-The jump that outside linebacker/defensive end Khalil Mack made from his rookie year to his second season was simply ridiculous. Mack was unstoppable as both a run-stuffer and pass-rusher in 2015 as he picked up 77 tackles and 15 sacks (second-most in the league) and ended up becoming the first player to ever make the Associated Press All-Pro first team at two different positions. With Mack's emergence as a superstar and a talented, young supporting cast anchored by nose tackle Dan Williams and promising rookie defensive end Mario Edwards Jr., the Raiders front seven could become one of the best in the league within the next couple of years.

-As good as Mack, Williams and the rest of the front seven were, the Raiders horrendous secondary prevented them from being one of the league's best defenses. Third-year cornerback and colossal draft bust D.J. Hayden continues to be a major liability in coverage, slot corner T.J. Carrie showed some serious growing pains in his first season as a starter and strong safety Larry Asante regressed tremendously after a decent season in 2014. With another hole opening up in the secondary with the retirement of Charles Woodson, the Raiders need to make obtaining secondary talent a priority in the draft and free agency this season. 

-I couldn't do a Raiders recap without giving props to the great Charles Woodson, who announced his retirement from the league after 18 seasons at the conclusion of 2015. The 39-year old Woodson continued to deify Father Time in his final season in the league by being an aggressive safety with field-stretching speed and a knack for creating takeaways (his 5 INT's were tied for sixth most in the league). Woodson is the rare all-time great player to go out with a bang instead of a whimper and the consistent high level of play he exhibited throughout his career further solidifies his place as one of the greatest defensive backs to ever play the game.

San Diego Chargers:

Team MVP's: QB Phillip Rivers, CB Jason Verrett, WR Keenan Allen, OLB Melvin Ingram, RB Danny Woodhead 

-You have to feel for Phillip Rivers. Despite playing at a consistently high level and throwing for a career-high 4,792 yards in an offense that was almost completely devoid of playmakers, the Chargers still ended up finishing 4-12 on the year. Rivers' 2015 season is the perfect foil to the widely-accepted notion that good quarterback play is guaranteed to translate into wins in the NFL.

-Aside from the Ravens, no team in the NFL suffered more crucial injuries on offense than the Chargers this season. Star wide receiver Keenan Allen and center Chris Watt both suffered season-ending injuries in Week 8 against the Ravens while their starting left guard Orlando Franklin, wide receiver Stevie Johnson and left tackle King Dunlap all missed between six and 10 games on the season. These injuries led to a severe lack of continuity on an already talent-deprived offensive line group and a complete lack of weapons in the passing game. The sheer number of impact players that went down on a unit that was already relatively strapped for talent ruined any chance of the Chargers offense being effective in 2015.

-Unlike fellow first-round rounder Todd Gurley, rookie running back Melvin Gordon's transition to the NFL was not even close to being seamless. Gordon was indecisive and sluggish as a runner and had a major issue with ball security, fumbling six times in the 14 games he appeared in. Gordon's play was so bad that he ended up losing a significant amount of touches to veteran pass-catching specialist Danny Woodhead, who surprisingly emerged as one of the few reliable contributors on the Chargers 26th-ranked scoring offense this season. While the offensive line woes very well could've very impacted his development, Gordon's weak rookie year should still be a cause for major concern for the Chargers organization.

-With the exception of a All-Pro/Pro Bowl caliber season from second-year stud cornerback Jason Verrett and a breakout campaign from fourth-year outside linebacker Melvin Ingram, the Chargers defense was flat-out awful this season. The defense finished in the bottom half of the league in every major category except pass defense, where the strong performance of Verrett, slot corner Patrick Robinson and the ever-reliable veteran free safety Eric Weddle allowed to them finish in 14th. This unit's overall ineffectiveness can be linked  to a number of different players, but the biggest culprits by far were defensive end Kendall Reyes and cornerback Brandon Flowers. Reyes' below-average pass-rushing and complete inability to stop the run made him one of the weakest starting defensive end's in football this season while Flowers reverted back to his atrocious 2013 form after an excellent 2014 where he was one of the most consistently dominant shutdown corners in the league. This Chargers D may have been less than stellar in 2015, but the organization and its fans can be happy that this is a very young unit (seven of their 11 starters have been in the league for four years or less) full of players that don't appear to have come anywhere close to reaching their respective ceiling's yet. 

NBA Trade Deadline Predictions

The NBA Trade Deadline is approximately three hours from now at 3 P.M. EST. Here's a quick look at the most buzzed about players on the trading block and the odds they'll be moved by the deadline.

High Possibility:
-Pau Gasol, power forward (Current team: Chicago Bulls Potential landing spots: Sacramento Kings, Charlotte Hornets, Miami Heat)
-Iman Shumpert, shooting guard (Current team: Cleveland Cavaliers Potential landing spots: Sacramento Kings, Indiana Pacers, Houston Rockets)

50/50:
Ryan Anderson, power forward (Current team: New Orleans Pelicans Potential landing spots: Cleveland Cavilers, Indiana Pacers, Toronto Raptors)
Jared Dudley, small forward (Current team: Washington Wizards Potential landing spots: Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Clippers, Cleveland Cavaliers)
Randy Foye, shooting guard (Current team: Denver Nuggets Potential landing spots: Los Angeles Clippers, Golden State Warriors, Oklahoma City Thunder)
Channing Frye, power forward (Current team: Orlando Magic Potential landing spots: Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, Cleveland Cavaliers)
Ty Lawson, point guard (Current team: Houston Rockets Potential landing spots: Utah Jazz, New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets)
Thaddeus Young, power forward (Current team: Brooklyn Nets Potential landing spots: Toronto Raptors, Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks)  

Unlikely to Be Traded:
Al Horford, center (Current team: Atlanta Hawks Potential landing spots: Boston Celtics, Houston Rockets, Toronto Raptors)
Dwight Howard, center (Current team: Houston Rockets Potential landing spots: Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Portland Trail Blazers)
Blake Griffin, power forward (Current team: Los Angeles Clippers Potential landing spots: New York Knicks, Denver Nuggets, Chicago Bulls)
Kevin Love, power forward (Current team: Cleveland Cavaliers Potential landing spots: Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, Sacramento Kings)
Greg Monroe, power forward/center (Current team: Milwaukee Bucks Potential landing spots: Sacramento Kings, Toronto Raptors, Atlanta Hawks)
Jeff Teague, point guard (Current team: Atlanta Hawks Potential landing spots: Utah Jazz, Orlando Magic, Dallas Mavericks)

The Best and Worst of Jason Sudeikis

 The "Best and Worst" series profiles the best and worst work of an actor starring in one of the week's new theatrical releases. This week I take a look at the filmography of "Race" star Jason Sudeikis.

Films starring Jason Sudeikis that I've seen:
The Rocker 
The Bounty Hunter
Going the Distance
Hall Pass
Horrible Bosses
A Good Old Fashioned Orgy
The Campaign
Movie 43
We're the Millers
Horrible Bosses 2
Sleeping with Other People

Best Performance: Sleeping with Other People (2015)
Sudeikis has starred in numerous successful films over the past five years, but he didn't solidify himself as a true movie star until Sleeping with Other People. With his magnetic presence, spectacular line delivery and flashes of legitimate dramatic acting ability, Sudeikis proved here that he has what it takes to be a juggernaut in the world of Hollywood comedies.

Worst Performance: The Bounty Hunter (2010)
When Sudekis was in the middle of his eight-season tenure at Saturday Night Live, it was clear that he was still trying to finding his way as an actor. His early uneasiness with acting got a very prominent showcase in the Jennifer Aniston/Gerard Butler-led romantic comedy The Bounty Hunter. It's borderline painful to watch Sudekis fumble his way through this stupid movie as a socially-awkward man who stalks Aniston's character. Thankfully, this film proved to be the last hiccup for Sudeikis' acting career and he's gone onto become a very solid comedic performer. 

Best Film: Horrible Bosses (2011)
When I was researching for this piece this morning, I was suddenly reminded of how much I love Horrible Bosses. Aside from This is the End and the Jump Street series, I can't think of another movie that's been released in the 2010's so far that has made me laugh as hard as Horrible Bosses did. The humor is the perfect balance of stupid and morbid, the entire cast is comprised of top-notch comedic actors who have an excellent chemistry with one another and the ending wraps up the film's story in the most beautiful and insane way possible.

Worst Film: Movie 43 (2013)  
I've ramble enough about my disdain for Movie 43 in previous entries of this series, so I'll keep it brief this time. Movie 43 manages to waste a phenomenal ensemble cast on a series of moronic short skits that are only enjoyable if you enjoy literally any joke that involves poop and genitalia references.
 
 Thank you for reading this week's installment of "The Best and Worst of". Next week, I'll take a look at the best and worst work of "Triple 9" star Woody Harrelson.

2015 NFL Recap: AFC South

My Preseason Predictions: 
 1.Indianapolis Colts (12-4)
2.Houston Texans (9-7)
3.Jacksonville Jaguars (5-11)
4.Tennessee Titans (3-13)

Actual Standings:
1.Houston Texans (9-7)
2.Indianapolis Colts (8-8)
3.Jacksonville Jaguars (5-11)
4.Tennessee Titans (3-13)

Houston Texans:

Team MVP's: DE J.J. Watt, WR DeAndre Hopkins, CB Jonathan Joseph, OLB Whitney Mercilus,  T Duane Brown
-I never thought I'd say this, but the Texans should've never gotten rid of Ryan Fitzpatrick. Every single sad quarterback they trotted out this season (Brian Hoyer, Ryan Mallet, T.J. Yates, Brandon Weeden) has no business starting in the NFL. The Texans may have been able to make the playoffs with this conglomerate of below average QB's leading the charge, but they won't be serious contenders until they find a competent quarterback.

-After two solid seasons to start his career, wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins became a superstar in 2015.  Hopkins put together a ridiculous season (111 receptions, 1,521 yards, 11 TD) with a revolving door of quarterbacks and went onto secure the first Pro Bowl and All-Pro selections of his career. Hopkins is the type of player you build an offense around and if the Texans can bring in a legitimate starting quarterback, he could end up being the best receiver of his generation.

-2015 further confirmed that the Texans do not have a viable replacement in place for injury-prone star running back Arian Foster. Once Foster went down for the year with a ruptured achilles in their Week 7 loss against the Dolphins, the Texans rushing game officially went out the window. Aside from the occasional splash play or short-yardage touchdown run, the combination of Alfred Blue, Jonathan Grimes and Chris Polk failed to provide a consistent spark in the running game and made the Texans already talent-strapped offense almost completely one-dimensional. Foster's extensive injury history, age (he'll be 30 in August) and huge cap hit ($7 million) make him a prime contender to be cut before the start of the new league year, so it'll be imperative for the Texans to find a new starting running back in the draft or free agency this offseason.

-Romeo Crennel deserves a ton of credit for what he was able to do this with his defense this season. I was highly critical of him and the effectiveness of his scheme in the beginning of the year after they allowed 40+ points to the Falcons and Dolphins, but he was able to fix a majority of the issues after the Dolphins game in Week 7 and turn this defense into one of the most productive and stout units in the league for second half of the season. Crennel is still one of the best defensive coordinators in the league and this defense will perennially be among the league's best as long as he's around.

-The Texans front seven might be the most underrated in the league. The cyborg otherwise known as three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Player J.J. Watt may be the undisputed face of this defense with all of the accolades and media attention he receives, but he's hardly the only difference maker the Texans have up front. Whitney Mercilus continued his trend of steadily improving every single season by picking up a career-high 12 sacks and 2014 number one overall pick Jadeveon Clowney made a remarkable recovery from microfracture surgery to become one of the team's most consistent run-stuffers. They still lack a true nose tackle (Vince Wilfork did not work out nearly as well as they had hoped) and the inside linebacker duo of Brian Cushing and Beanrdrick McKinney is a bit inconsistent, but this is a productive, young unit that hasn't even come close to reaching their full potential.  

Indianapolis Colts:

Team MVP's: G Jack Mewhort, ILB Jerrell Freeman, DE Henry Anderson, ILB D'Qwell Jackson, T Anthony Castonzo
-Everyone and their brother was quick to criticize the Colts for their mediocre 2015 season. While some of the criticism is undeniably justifiable as the team failed to make the playoffs a year after reaching the AFC Championship game, it's actually kind of a miracle that the Colts were even able to finish .500 given all of the adversity they faced this season. Starting quarterback and offensive catalyst Andrew Luck missed nine games with assorted injuries, the team switched offensive coordinators halfway through the season and a parade of injuries and an uncharacteristically subpar play from cornerback Vontae Davis made their already weak pass defense even more vulnerable. Some blame needs to be handed out to the coaching staff for the play-calling and utilization (or lack there of) of certain players on both sides of the ball and general manager Ryan Grigson for interfering with head coach Chuck Pagano's on-field personnel decisions, but the Colts under-performance in 2015 can mainly be tied to key injuries and lack of continuity.

-Speaking of Grigson, the Colts made a HORRIBLE decision keeping him on board. This is a man who over the course of the past 12 months has made the following moves: 1. Used a first-round pick on a position (wide receiver) that's already a strength on his team when his defense and offensive line are riddled with holes. 2. Handed out numerous massive free agent deals to well past their prime veterans including wide receiver Andre Johnson, outside linebacker Trent Cole and guard Todd Herremans (who got cut in December). 3.Regularly prevented Pagano from setting the roster/starting lineup he wanted. Retaining a toxic presence and terrible personnel guy like Grigson doesn't make sense for a team that isn't that far away from being a serious title contender.

 -Anyone that said Andrew Luck is finished and that his "first three years were a fluke" during the 2015 season needs to have their head examined. If you watched the Colts play for more than a few minutes in 2015 and/or aren't a sadistic Patriots fan that goes to extreme lengths to make fun of the Colts and their misfortunes, you would know that Luck wasn't healthy from the jump this season. Luck's shoulder issues prevented him from being able to make the throws he's accustomed to making and it ended up causing an uptick in the accuracy and turnover issues that have been Luck's Achilles' heel since he entered the league. It's nothing short of ridiculous to doubting Luck's status as a franchise quarterback because of one injury-plagued season and I'll be flabbergasted if he doesn't return to the dominant form he displayed in 2012-14 next year.

-Amidst all of the miscues in the secondary and poor performances against just about every high-powered offense they faced, the Colts can at least take solace in the fact that their front seven looks likes it's finally starting to come together. Inside linebackers Jerell Freeman and D'Qwell Jackson played at a Pro Bowl-caliber level all season long, ex St. Louis Ram-defensive end Kendall Langford proved a lot of doubters wrong by emerging as the Colts most consistent pass-rusher in 2015 and rookie defensive end Henry Anderson was a highly disruptive presence before going down with a torn ACL in Week 9 against the Broncos. They still need to add a pass-rusher or two, but for the first time since the start of the Freeney/Mathis-era in 2004, the Colts seem to have the foundation for a productive front seven in place.

Jacksonville Jaguars:

Team MVP's: WR Allen Robinson, WR Allen Hurns, QB Blake Bortles, RB T.J. Yeldon, C Stefen Wisnewski

-Don't look now, but the Jacksonville Jaguars seem to be becoming a legitimate offensive force. Behind the combination of quarterback Blake Bortles, rookie running back T.J Yeldon and the absolutely lethal receiver tandem of Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns, the Jaguars were able to go from the league's bottom ranked scoring offense (15.6 points per game) in 2014 to 14th (23.5 points per game) in 2015. The scariest part about this QB/RB/WR combo is that none of them have more than two years experience in the league. If all of these guys continue to make steady year-to-year progress, the Jaguars should be one of the most explosive offenses in the league for a LONG time.

-Blake Bortles' 2015 season is one of the more interesting ones I've seen in all my years of following football. If you were to simply look at his numbers (4,428 YDS, 35 TD, 7.31 YDS per attempt), you would conclude that he had a sensational season. However, due to the Jaguars bad habit of playing from behind, Bortles did a fair amount of his damage through the air in garbage time situations. Along with his somewhat inflated stats, the combination of bad offensive line play and his gunslinger mentality forced him to throw a league-high 18 interceptions. While his numbers weren't as impressive as they appear to be on paper, it's not to say that Bortles didn't have an impressive season. His throwing mechanics and poise in the pocket were greatly improved from 2014 and that allowed him to hit the intermediate and deep throws he missed in his rookie campaign at a much higher rate. His game is still very much a work in progress, but Bortles is starting to look like the polished, rocket-armed, franchise quarterback he was touted to be when he came out of Central Florida University.

-While the offensive line wasn't as inept as it was the past two seasons, they still weren't particularity good in 2015. They surrendered 51 sacks (4th most in the league) and regularly forced Bortles to run for his life and/or make ill-advised throws downfield. Aside from center Stefen Wisnewski-who served as an effective, stabilizing presence in the middle of the line- this entire unit was well below average. Left tackle (and former top five overall pick) Luke Jockel further solidified his status as a catastrophic draft bust, free-agent pickup right tackle Jeremy Parnell struggled mightily in his first season as a full-time starter and a season-ending shoulder injury in Week 4 against the Colts prevented second-year guard Brandon Linder from building on his impressive rookie campaign. If the Jaguars want their offense full of young, gifted skill-position players to reach their full potential, they're going to need to solve their offensive lines woes as soon as possible.

-The massive strides the Jaguars have made on offense in 2015 did not translate to the defensive side of the ball. Outside of a few standout performers (defensive tackle Roy Miller, outside linebacker Telvin Smith, cornerback Davon House), this defense was a grade-scale mess in 2015. Their pass-rush was below average (they were tied for 20th in the league with 36 sacks), they failed to create takeaways with any sort of regularity (18, tied for 26th in the league) and their lack of talent at cornerback and (especially) safety made them one of the most easily beatable secondaries in the league (their pass defense was ranked 29th in the league). The return of vastly underrated defensive tackle Sen'Derrick Marks and 2015 first-round pick Dante Fowler Jr. from injury should help this unit improve in 2016, but they're still a long way away from even being a serviceable defense in this league.

-In an era where it seems no head coach is given time to properly assemble and develop a team, I can not applaud Jaguars owner Shad Khan enough for keeping Gus Bradley around to see the rebuilding process through. The Jaguars have gotten better in each of Bradley's three seasons with the team and there's no denying that the development of their many young players are directly correlated to his presence. I have a feeling Khan's patience with Bradley is going to pay off in the very near future.

Tennessee Titans:

Team MVP's: TE Delanie Walker, DT Jurrell Casey, S Da'Norris Searcy, OLB Brian Orakpo, T Taylor Lewan

-Quarterback Marcus Mariota's rookie season was a very mixed bag. On the positive end, he had a much smoother transition to running a pro-style offense from the spread he ran in college than most people expected and was able to put up decent numbers with a one-dimensional offense that has next-to-no weapons and a horrendous offensive line. On the other side of the coin, he was a little too desperate to prove that he wasn't just a running quarterback and often remained stationary in the pocket when he could've extended a play with his legs and regularly struggled with reading defenses and going through his progressions. It's still unclear whether or not Mariota will be a successful quarterback at the professional level, but Titans fans can at least be happy that he didn't set off any of the significant red flags that previous Heisman-winning, spread-system quarterbacks Robert Griffin III and Johnny Manziel did in their rookie years.  

-Delanie Walker is the latest example of an excellent player not getting the credit he deserves because he plays on a terrible team. Walker was nothing short of sensational in 2015, putting up 1,088 yards and 6 TD's on 94 receptions and emerging as the only player Mariota could trust on the entire offense to deliver every week. It's nothing short of a travesty that he was snubbed from the AP All-Pro and initial Pro Bowl squad.

-While the Titans defense is still a long way away from being good, it was clear that the pairing of defensive coordinator Ray Horton and defensive assistant Dick LaBeau got through to them. Even though the talent was suspect, they played with a lot more aggression and heart than they did during their disastrous 2014 campaign. Even though Horton just left the team on January 22nd to take the defensive coordinator position with the Browns, I expect their improvement to continue in 2016 with LaBeau running the show by himself .

-The Titans quietly had one of the best free agent hauls of 2015. Every single one of their major signings (Da'Norris Searcy, Brian Orakpo, Wesley Woodyard) came out and made an impact this season. While 2015 was another thoroughly underwhelming season for the Titans, at least recently-fired general manager Ruston Webster was able to formerly apologize for four years of bad drafts with one solid free-agent class.

-The decision to get rid of head coach Ken Wisenhunt in the middle of the season was the right one. Outside of improbable blowout victories in both of his season openers, he had won just one game in his two years with the team and it became clear that he just wasn't the right guy to turn this team around. However, I'm baffled by the team's choice to promote interim head coach/tight ends coach Mike Mularkey to full-time head coach. The Titans performed only marginally better under his watch than they did with Wisenhunt as head coach and it didn't seem like the team really bought into whatever he was selling. I understand that their ownership didn't want to completely shake up the culture of the team in the middle of a major rebuilding phase, but tapping a man whose two previous NFL head coaching gigs have gone horribly wrong to try and turn things around seems like a decision that will keep the Titans in the basement for at least the next couple of years.