Ten Things I Think
1. I think the quarterback position in the NFL has never been more loaded. Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Eli Manning, Cam Newton, Phillip Rivers, Aaron Rodgers, Ben Roethlisberger, Matthew Stafford and Russell Wilson are all either surefire Hall of Famers or on the path to Canton. Then there is the grouping of Kirk Cousins, Matt Ryan, and Alex Smith who have proven to be dynamic passers. But perhaps why I feel the quarterback position is deeper than it has ever been is because of the young, budding talent that will soon come to fill the shoes of the signal callers near the end of their careers. Jimmy Garoppolo, Jared Goff, Patrick Mahomes, Dak Prescott, Deshaun Watson, and Carson Wentz all appear to be can’t miss franchise cornerstones. All of these names and I did not even mention Andrew Luck. The quarterback position in the NFL is in very, very good hands.
2. I think the Yankees are still in a good spot. Yes, they’re six games back of Boston in the AL East, but the Red Sox are having a historic season. Despite losing Gary Sanchez for two months, Aaron Judge for a month (and counting), and Aroldis Chapman for God knows how long, Aaron Boone’s squad still has the second-best record in the majors. Hey Yankee fans, R-E-L-A-X.
3. I think Doug Pederson picked a poor time to release a book. Here are the Eagles, trying to recreate their magical run from last season, and their head coach is on every sports program under the sun relentlessly promoting his book. Do I think that’s why his team got shutout by the Browns in their third preseason game? No, but the optics certainly aren’t great. How can a coach expect his players to be selfless and locked in and laser focused when he isn’t even fully there himself?
4. I think Zion Williamson is one of kind. At 6’7” and 285 pounds, the Duke freshman phenom is built like a brick house yet moves like a gazelle. I am concerned, at that weight, about the pounding that will be put on his knees, but Zion certainly makes the Blue Devils must-watch television.
5. I think Chris Davis has gone from a prolific power hitter to the worst hitter in all of baseball. In 2013, the Orioles first basemen clobbered 53 home runs and drove in 138 runs. Then in 2015, he hit 47 long balls and drove in 117 runs which led to him inking a 7 year/$161 million contract extension with Baltimore. Since then he has been abysmal, and that may be putting it kindly. He is hitting .169 this season. Yes, he does still have some pop, but he will strike out more than 200 times this season. It will be the third time in four years he has done so. Quite the fall from grace for Mr. Davis.
6. I think nobody has had it better than Boston sports fans since the turn of the century. Think about it: between the Patriots, Celtics, Red Sox, and Bruins I cannot remember over the course of history a single city having such a run. The Patriots are in the midst of a run under Brady and Belichick in which they have completely dominated the AFC East while also staking claim to eight Super Bowl appearances; claiming five victories. The Celtics won a title in 2008, made it to the Finals in 2010, and appear to be the favorites in the Eastern Conference for the foreseeable future. The Red Sox have won three World Series since 2004 and are currently on track for the best record in baseball history this season. And the Bruins won the Stanley Cup in 2011. It’s a good time to be a sports fan in Boston.
7. I think the Dodgers are in trouble. After going all in and trading for Manny Machado at the deadline, Los Angeles trails both the Rockies and Diamondbacks in the NL West. This is all not to mention that Kershaw (along with Machado) will be a free agent at the end of the season. It is not out of the equation that the Dodgers miss the postseason and then have a complete roster turnover come 2019.
8. I think there will be five fifty win teams in the East. Which five teams? I expect the Celtics, Raptors, 76ers, Pacers, and Bucks all to win at least 50 games this season. The Celtics, Raptors and 76ers are all 50-win caliber teams and I expect the Pacers and Bucks to benefit from the mediocrity at the bottom of the Eastern Conference. There will still be a great disparity between the two conferences, but it will just be masked a bit because the top teams in the East will beat up on the conference’s cellar dwellers.
9. I think Matt Carpenter is the most underrated player in baseball. After a miserable April, the Cardinals first basemen has firmly inserted himself into the NL MVP discussion. He has hit 34 home runs and driven in 69 runs to help catapult the Cardinals into a Wild Card spot and I bet not many people outside of St. Louis have ever heard of the left handed slugger.
10. I think the Ravens have the most intriguing quarterback situation in all of the NFL. Joe Flacco has been a scrub for essentially his entire career, outside of his Super Bowl run in 2013 which has seemingly granted him immunity. Should he struggle at all this season, I would expect Lamar Jackson to get an opportunity to run John Harbaugh’s offense. Jackson has impressed this preseason. In the third game – the dress rehearsal per se – he started and was 7 of 10 for 98 yard and a score while also running for 39 yards and a touchdown. This is not to mention that the Ravens third string quarterback is Robert Griffin III, who is looking to revive his career and this preseason he has appeared to be a solid quarterback still capable of playing, and perhaps starting, in the NFL.
