Robert Allen Dickey Becomes 20-Game Winner

For the first time since 1990 a pitcher for the New York Mets has won 20 games in a season. His name is Robert Allen (R.A.) Dickey. Win number 20 on the season was picked up yesterday in the final home game of the 2012 season a 6-5 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. With the win Dickey joins some pretty elite company as only the sixth Mets pitcher to ever win 20 games and only the tenth Knuckle Ball Pitcher to win 20 games in a season in baseball history. In Mets history Dickey joins Tom Seaver (who did it four times in his career), Jerry Koosman, Dwight Gooden, David Cone, and Frank Viola as the only ones in team history to ever win 20+ games in a season. Seaver did it in 1969 (25 wins), 1971 (20 wins), 1972 (21 wins) and 1975 (22 wins). Koosman won 21 games in 1976, Gooden won 24 gaomes in 1985, Cone won 20 games in 1988 and Viola was the last to do it winning 20 games in 1990. As for Knuckle Ball pitchers, Dickey becomes only the 10th in history to do it. The other nine: Eddie Cicotte (1917 and 1919), Jesse Hains (1923, 1927, 1928), Ted Lyons (1925, 1927, 1930), Dutch Lenoard (1939), Gene Bearden (1948), Bob Purkey (1962), Phil Niekro (1969, 1974, 1979), Wilbur Wood (1971, 1972, 1973, 1974) and Joe Niekro (1979, 1980). So that right there is in a class by itself. Its one of the true bright spots and major accomplishments in an otherwise down season for the Mets, who are going to finish the year with an under 500 record.

Now here comes the big question: With Dickey winning 20 games does he have a chance to win the NL Cy Young Award this year? Only two players in Mets history have every won the Cy Young Award; Tom Sever won it three times, 1969, 1973 and 1975. The other winner was Doc Gooden who won the Award in 1985. I still contend that based on his statistics Dickey should draw strong consideration for the award if not win the award. Here is what makes me say this. He is one of two guys (at time of this writing) with 20 wins this year, the other being Geo Gonzalez of the Nationals who has 21 wins. His 2.69 ERA is second best in the National League, behind only the 2.68 ERA of Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers. His 227.2 innings pitched this year is tops in the Nation League, as is his 222 strikeouts. Opposing Hitters are hitting 225 off Dickey which is fourth best in the NL behind Geo Gonzalez of Washington, Matt Cain of San Fransisco, and Clayton Kershaw of Los Angeles. And the best part about all of this is that Dickey has put up these incredible numbers playing for a Mets team that is under 500 at 72-84.

There are 13 pitchers in the National League this year that have at least 15 wins to their credit. Of those 13 guys only two have that total for teams under 500; RA Dickey and AJ Burnett of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The only other one who is close to that is Wade Miley of the Arizona Diamondbacks who is 16-11 for the Diamondbacks who sit right at 500 with a 78-78 record.

The fact that Dickey has lost only six starts all year really helps his chances at winning the Cy Young this season. He has a .769 winning percentage this year, 2nd best in the National League and 4th best in all of baseball. The only National League pitcher with a better winning percentage then Dickey is Kyle Lohse of the St. Louis Cardinals. yes the Cardinals are going to have a winning season and yes they have a great chance of making the playoffs but Lohse has only 16 wins compared to the 20 by Dickey.

The numbers don't lie. RA has been by far the Mets best pitcher this year and deserves a better than even chance of winning the Cy Young. Only time will really tell but my vote is the Cy Young Award will be returning to Queens for the first time since 1985!

Another Day Another Mets Record for David Wright

Since joining the Mets on July 21st 2004, David Wright has been a fan favorite in Queens and has been setting out on re-writing the the team record books. Most of the team records David has set have come this season.

The first record to fall this year came on April 25, when Wright hit a two run home run in a 5-1 victory against the Miami Marlins, giving him 735 career RBIs, passing Darryl Strawberry for the most in Mets franchise history. Wright broke another franchise record on June 5, when he hit a solo-shot off of Washington Nationals pitcher Jordan Zimmermann, driving himself in and reaching 736 runs. The previous record holder was José Reyes at 735 runs. He hit his 200th career home run in a loss on August 24 to the Houston Astros. That made him the third player in team history to hit 200 or more home runs in their time with the Mets. As of writing Wright sits 3rd on the all time team list in home runs with 203. He trails only Mike Piazza (220 home runs) and Darryl Strawberry (252 home runs) on the Mets all time list.

On September 25, 2012, Wright tied the all time hit record with the Mets Ed Kranepool with 1,418 hits in a game at home against the Pittsburgh Pirates. On September 26th 2012, David broke the Mets all-time hit record with an infield single, putting him past Ed Kranepool and in sole possession of the club record. After taking over the all time team lead in hits, David now has club records in hits, RBI's, runs scored, doubles, walks, strikeouts (sadly), total bases, runs created, extra bases, and times on base. Currently David sits third in games played, second in at-bats, 14th in triples, third in home runs, fifth in stolen bases, second in batting average, fourth in on-base percentage, and third in slugging percentage.

He also either holds outright or is tied for a few more single season records as well. He has the single season record for total bases with 334 that he set in 2008. Also he is tied for the most RBI's in a season with 124 in 2008. The only other time somebody drove in 124 runs in a season in a Mets uniform was Mike Piazza back in 1999. Another milestone David has to his credit is he has the most hits in baseball since his debut in July of 2004. He is now one of four active players who have their team's all-time hits record, joining Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, Colorado first baseman Todd Helton and Texas infielder Michael Young (thanks to ESPN.com for this surprising stat).

Since joining the Mets in 2004, David has driven in 100 RBI or more in every year except for four, 2004 2009 2001 and 2012. Otherwise he has driven in 100 or more in every other year. Another surprising stat is that the Mets have had winning records in Davids tenure in New York only three times, 2006, 2007 and 2008. So for the most part it seems David has had a good and mostly successful tenure here in the Big Apple. His numbers offensively during the start of his career were better than what it has been as of late but there might be a few possible explanations for why that may be.

From my perspective the reason Wright's numbers have gone down slightly over the last few years are due to injuries, and trying to do too much. With injuries, there really isn't much of an explanation that needs to be given. Injuries happen to everybody and it affects there performances differently, and of course David is no different. But there is one other big factor as to why he may have had the drop in production over the past few years, and that would be he might be trying to do too much from having a lack luster supporting cast around him. 2009 was the year, if you look at his statistics year by year, was the year his numbers started to drop off if you will. So between 2004, when he came up with the Mets, and 2009, when his numbers slowly started going down, he had great numbers. The reason being I feel was he had plenty of support in the Mets lineup, and he didn't have to try and carry the load on offense. Think about this for a second. between July of 2004, when David came up, and October of 2008 when that season ended, David was playing in a lineup that had the likes of Jose Reyes, Cliff Floyd, Mike Piazza, Mike Cameron, Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado. Most of those guys were expected to contribute in big ways to the offense and they did. This allowed David to play more relaxed and not try to do to much. It showed by him putting up good numbers ever year. But then in 2009, the injury bug and lack of a supporting cast in the batting order sort of forced David to almost take on the load of carrying the offense. He still puts up average to pretty good numbers every year but they aren't the same as say four to six years ago.

Despite not having a great supporting cast in the Mets lineup, David Wright is still putting up numbers and continues to be a big star in Queens. by the time his career is over, it won't surprise many people if he has most to all of the Mets offensive career records by the time he is done!

(Some of the stats for this article provided by mets.com)

Frustration Over the Replacement Refs in the NFL Grows

As of June 2012, the league and the NFL Referees Association had not yet come to terms on a new collective bargaining agreement, thus failing to resolve a labor dispute. Accordingly, the NFL has locked out the regular NFL game officials, and thus have opened the 2012 season with replacement referees. This, as most NFL fans can attribute to, has caused a lot of problems in NFL games this year. If anybody needs proof that the replacements refs have been doing a sub-par job, look no further than Monday Night's game between the Packers and Seahawks. The following story comes to us from ESPN.com:

The furor over the work of replacement officials reached a fevered pitch during Week 3 in the NFL, especially Monday night when Seattle beat Green Bay on a desperation pass that many thought was an interception.

Seahawks receiver Golden Tate was awarded a touchdown on the final play after a scrum on the ground in the end zone. Packers safety M.D. Jennings appeared to catch the ball against his body, with Tate getting his arm around the ball.

After a few seconds, one official indicated a stoppage of play, but another signaled touchdown for a conclusion that former NFL coach Jon Gruden, working the game for ESPN's "Monday Night Football," called "tragic" and "comical."

Tate clearly shoved cornerback Sam Shields to the ground on the play, but as Gruden noted, offensive pass interference almost never is called on desperation passes.

"Very hard to swallow," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. "I have never seen anything like that in my time in football.

Wisconsin State Senator Jon Erpenbach was so upset with the call that he tweeted NFL commissioner Roger Goodell's office phone number.

Erpenbach said in a separate tweet that if Monday night's ending did not spark an end to the lockout of the regular officials, "this season will be a joke."

One day after New England coach Bill Belichick was confused about a decisive field goal he thought was off-target and Detroit's Jim Schwartz couldn't understand a 27-yard penalty walk-off for unnecessary roughness, things had gotten even more chaotic.

"These games are a joke," Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman tweeted. McCarthy was measured in his postgame remarks.

"Most unusual football game I have been a part of," he said. "I know it's been a wild weekend in the NFL and I guess we are part of it." Packers guard T.J. Lang was more emphatic, tweeting that the Packers were robbed "by the refs. ... Thanks NFL."

In Sunday night's Patriots-Ravens game, shoving matches followed even insignificant plays. One TV analyst called it the substitute-teacher syndrome: See how much you can get away with before the real thing returns.

"Nature says for us that we're going to go out there and push the limit regardless," Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway said. "If they're calling a game tight, if they're calling a game loose, it's going to be pushed to the limit. You are pushing it to the brink. If things are going to be called easier, and in some situations I feel like they've been less lenient, too, you've just got to play and see how (it's being called)." If you can figure it out. 

Broncos coach John Fox was fined $30,000 on Monday and defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio $25,000 for verbal abuse of the officials during a Monday night game against Atlanta on Sept. 17.

More fines are likely for Belichick and Redskins offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, and perhaps for others.

Fox and Del Rio were hit for their sideline histrionics, particularly when Fox was told he couldn't challenge a call of 12 men on the field -- he was correct that he could challenge, although replays showed the Broncos were guilty.

Before grabbing the arm of an official, Belichick wanted to know why Justin Tucker's field goal was called good in Baltimore's 31-30 victory Sunday night. He couldn't tell from his angle on the sideline, he said.

"So when the game was over, I went out, and I was really looking for an explanation from the officials as to whether the play was under review," he said. "And I did try to get the official's attention as he was coming off the field to ask that, but I really wasn't able to do that." Most confusing was the mark-off for a Lions penalty in overtime at Tennessee. Officials wound up penalizing Detroit from its 44-yard line rather than from the original line of scrimmage, the Titans' 44.

Soon after, Rob Bironas kicked a go-ahead field goal. Schwartz noted that the alternate official who helps the replacements with administering penalties was on the Detroit sideline.

"We said, 'You're enforcing it from the wrong spot.' He was adamant that they weren't doing so," Schwartz said. "At that point, we just needed to play."

They didn't play well enough to avoid losing 44-41, and Titans coach Mike Munchak wasn't apologizing for how his team won.

"I don't feel any guilt," Munchak said. "For us, really the obvious answer is there's nothing we can do about who's officiating games. It's the same for everybody, so go out and don't get caught up in all that."

The league and the officials' union met Sunday without reaching any agreement on ending the lockout that began in June. The players' union also called on the 32 team owners to end the lockout because it is compromising the integrity of the game.

While most of the coaches are being careful with what they say about the replacements, the players and broadcasters are less inhibited.

"Unfortunately, I feel like that it's like changing an intersection from a stop sign to a red light," Browns kicker Phil Dawson said. "You have to have so many car wrecks before they deem that intersection to be dangerous enough -- and we're heading that way. Someone's going to lose a game, if it hasn't already happened, to get both sides to a pressure point to get a deal done. It's sad."

Certainly not holding back on the criticism are some of the NFL's broadcast partners. NBC analyst Cris Collinsworth was forthright in his evaluation of the officiating problems Sunday night, as were ESPN's Mike Tirico and Gruden during the Sept. 17 flag-fest in Atlanta.

"We don't want to talk about the officials, trust us," Tirico said. "But it's affecting the game. When we meet with teams and coordinators, frustration boils out into limited on-the-record statements. Off the record, what guys are saying -- it's a nightmare. It is impacting the game.

"It hasn't burned a team to cost them a playoff spot yet. But you should go back and watch the film. There are so many little things that players are getting away with that is absolutely impacting the game to the detriment of the product." Yet some players aren't completely down on the performances of the replacements.

Patriots receiver Deion Branch noted all the controversy about officiating throughout the league. "But I think the bigger picture is that we've all got to understand that, hey, they're making those calls on both sides of the ball," Branch said. "Us as players, we need to remove ourselves from what the refs are doing and just go out and play our game."

Rams defensive end Chris Long offered, apparently with no sarcasm, that the game "hasn't changed at all with the replacement officials because officials don't care about defensive linemen, replacement or first-tier officials."

Then he admitted taking the regular officials for granted. "The NFL could really use them back," Long said

Now here's my take on the matter. I can't fully take a total dump on these replacement refs because they were thrown into a bad situation with what went down between the league and the regular refs. The NFL as a whole is at fault here for not being able to work out a deal with their refs so the games could be called properly. Now there was one good point made in this story by Mike Tirico of ESPN in that the refs officiating hasn't cost a team a shot at the playoffs yet, as its only week three of the season. But if the NFL and Roger Goodell better get this whole thing resolved and fast otherwise the replacement refs could end up costing a good team a playoff spot it should have deserved. We shall see how things play out the rest of the season!

NFL Week Two Recap

Week Two of the NFL Season has already come and gone and there were a few more shocks in Week Two this year then their were back in Week One. Easily the biggest surprise of week two was the Arizona Cardinals upsetting the New England Patriots in New England 20-18. Backup quarterback Kevin Kolb threw for one touchdown and ran for another, and Stephen Gostkowski missed a potential winning field-goal attempt in the final seconds as the Arizona Cardinals upset the New England Patriots 20-18 on Sunday. The Patriots took over when Vince Wilfork recovered a fumble at the Cardinals' 30-yard line with 1:01 left. A 30-yard run into the end zone by Danny Woodhead was nullified by a holding penalty against Rob Gronkowski. New England then moved to the 24 before Tom Brady spiked the ball to stop the clock with six seconds remaining. But Gostkowski, who had made his other four field-goal attempts, sent a 42-yard try wide to the left. The Cardinals (2-0) won behind Kolb, filling in for John Skelton, who missed the game with a sprained right ankle. The Patriots (1-1) lost tight end Aaron Hernandez to an ankle injury in the first quarter. Easily the biggest upset of the first two weeks of the year.

The other big surprise coming out of the AFC East at least was the Jets wide receivers lack of ability to catch passes from Mark Sanchez. In the Jets 27-10 loss to the Steelers, Sanchez went 10 for 27 for 138 yards and a touchdown. Now this morning on WFAN's Boomer and Carton, they reported rumblings that Mark Sanchez might be ousted from the team by somebody within the organization, and it may have something to do with the way Sanchez played Sunday in Pittsburgh. Now from my perspective that is total garbage. There is no way possible this loss can be placed on Sanchez. It's not Sanchez's fault he was getting no protection from his offensive line and his wide receivers couldn't catch a pass. Also to blame was the Jets spotty defense who allowed the 27 points to the Pittsburgh offense in the first place. This is the same Jets defense that gave up 33 points to the Buffalo Bills in week one. So Sanchez isn't at full blown fault for the loss to the Steelers.

A disappointment for sure from week two was the play of the Dallas Cowboys in their 27-7 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Dallas had surprised everybody in week one with the opening night upset of the Giants. Now they come into week two and, no disrespect intended, played a lower quality team in the Seahawks and got whooped. Now the Seahawks aren't a horrible team, but lets be honest here, we can't really put them on the same level as say the Giants or the Patriots here. Seattle and Dallas both showed me something in week two. Dallas apparently didn't have anything left in the tank after upsetting the Giants and Seattle showed a nice bounce back after the four point loss to the Cardinals in week one. Both teams are going to be tested in week three to prove this wasn't a fluke as Dallas hosts Tampa Bay and Seattle plays host to the Green Bay Packers.

Eli Manning had an unreal week this week in leading the comeback victory for the Giants over Tampa Bay going 31 of 51 for 510 yards three touchdowns and three picks easily having the best week of any quarterback in the NFL in week two. Out of all the top rookie's in the NFL at QB Robert Griffin III has the best passing numbers for rookies in the NFL. In the loss to the Rams he went 20 for 29 for for 206 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

As for the Rushing leaders Reggie Bush topped all NFL runners with 172 yards rushing on 27 carriers. But not to be overlooked is C.J. Spiller of the Bills who had 13 carries for 123 yards, and both guys ran for two touchdowns. Marshawn Lynch, Willis McGahee, Arian Foster, Pierre Thomas, and Trent Richardson also ran for over 100 yards in week two.

Finally as for receiving, nobody had bigger days then Hakeem Nicks, and Victor Cruz. Nicks caught 10 passes for 199 yards and a touchdown, while Cruz caught 11 passes for 179 yards and a touchdown in the Giants win over Tampa Bay. Danny Amendola of the Rams (15 catches for 160 yards) and Brent Celek of the Eagles (8 catches for 157 yards) also had big weeks for receivers in the NFL in week two.

Looking at records of teams after the first two weeks showed some surprising stats. Six teams, the Cardinals, 49ers, Falcons, Eagles, Chargers, and Texans are all undefeated at 2-0. Six teams, the Saints, Chiefs, Raiders, Titans, Jaguars, and Browns are all winless at 0-2. everybody else in the NFL after week two are at 500 with identical 1-1 records. If the first two weeks of the season have been any indication, this is going to be a highly entertaining season and going to have a few wild finishes in division and wild card races

For the 2nd Time in Ten Years NHL is Locked Out

For the 2nd time since 2000, the NHL has locked out the players due to the expiration of the last Collective Bargaining Agreement. The lockout took effect this past Saturday at 11:59pm. Before the pointing of fingers begins at who is at fault for this lockout, lets take a look at some of the issues that are in place here.

At issue for the owners is a desire to reduce the players' guaranteed share of 57% of hockey related revenues (HRR), a desire to introduce term limits on contracts, eliminate salary arbitration and change free agency rules. The union's initial offers have focused on increased revenue sharing between owners and a fixed salary cap that is not linked to league revenues. As the deadline for a work stoppage approached, the union challenged the league's ability to lock out players of three Canadian teams - the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames (in the jurisdiction of the Alberta), and the Montreal Canadiens (in the jurisdiction of Quebec).

The owners identified their key issues in their first offer, presented July 13, 2012. Their offer retained the framework established following the 2004–05 NHL lockout but made numerous changes to player salary and movement rights. Particularly: Reduce the players' share of HRR (Hockey Related Revenue) from 57 percent to 46 percent. Proposed modifications to HRR itself would actually reduce the players' share to 43 percent as defined by the expired CBA. Set a maximum term of five years on all new players contracts. Eliminate signing bonuses and set a uniform salary for each year of a contract, thus eliminating "front-loading" of contracts. Extend entry level contracts for players entering the league from three years to five. Extend qualification for unrestricted free agency from seven years in the league to ten. The players waited a month to offer a counter-proposal as it requested additional financial data from the league. When the union tabled its counter on August 14, it retained a salary cap, but de-linked it from revenue. It proposed a fixed cap for three years, followed by a player' option to return to the terms of the expired CBA in year four. NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr suggested their proposal could save the league as much as US$465 million and would feature an enhanced revenue sharing system that would help lower revenue teams.

Now then after looking at the numbers at stake here are some thoughts. The players in this regard are, to a degree, in the wrong. From the player point of view I can understand being angry over not having the long term contracts because you want to guarantee being able to stay and play in one place for you're entire career. But yet at the same time the players are in the wrong here too when it comes to the length of contracts. Look no further then the 15 year contract Rick DiPietro signed back in 2006. After having a good first year of the deal, he has been injury plagued every season since and its starting to cost the Islanders and make them look bad. Granted the Islanders had no idea this would happen to DiPietro when he signed, there are no guarantees that players are going to be able to stay healthy for a long contract and fill their obligations to the deal they signed. Look the owners are in the right by wanting contract length capped it makes it easier for them to do business. Also think about it this way. If a player has a contract for about five years he will still keep playing in order to keep a contract. If you sign a guy for 8, 10 15 years there is no guarantee that the organization will get his full effort every single night, and there is no promise he will be healthy the entire length of the deal. Doing this capped contract would save both the owners and players a lot of headache and worry I feel.

One of the other things I think really needs to get worked out is hockey related revenue sharing. It should be split right down the middle 50-50 no matter what. This would definitely help keep a competitive balance between all teams and help everybody out across the board.

Now I understand that the NHLPA and the NHL Owners are trying to get this thing right and get a system in place that works for everybody for a long time. But here's the thing I don't think anybody really involved with the situation really gets. The longer this debate and lockout takes the more money and more importantly fan support the league is going to lose. You can't have a league run without fans. No way you will be able to play in empty arenas and make money, it simply will not happen. The people who are getting screwed over in this whole situation aren't totally the owners and players. Its the people who rely on NHL games for their source of income. It's the people who work in the arena as security and ticket takers and at the concession stands. They need the NHL to be playing in order to make money. All this right now comes down to money and if the NHL Players and Owners don't come to an agreement soon and save at least part of this season everybody involved in Hockey from owners to players to people who work in the arenas to the fans are going to lose. And at the end of the day that's what really matters not how much a player makes. Players only get payed if they play. Owners only make money if the players and teams are on the ice. Nobody will be making anything if both sides continue to argue over small petty stuff. They really need to get their act together and get this figured out or the NHL will die off and be a lost sport.

NFL Week One Surprises and Dissapointments

With week one of the 2012 NFL Season in the books, we figured it would be the perfect time to take a look back at the biggest surprises and disappointments of the opening week of the season. Of course we will be doing this by teams and individual players if the situation calls for it. First we start it off with looking at teams as a whole.

There were more real disappointments from week one from from teams then real surprises. First off their was the Giants play against the Dallas Cowboys on opening night. New York is the defending Super Bowl Champions and they beat the Cowboys to get into the playoffs last year. Dallas has had trouble handling the Giants lately and Cowboy Quarterback Tony Romo has had some big problems in the fourth quarter either winning games or holding leads. And Eli Manning has been really clutch for the Giants the last few years in leading fourth quarter comebacks. But the Giants didn't have that magic in week one and Tony Romo and the Boys were just better. I expected to see more life out of the G-Men to start the year then what I saw.

Another slight disappointment from week one was the Green Bay Packers. Green bay was coming off an awesome year last year going 15-1 before being upset by the Giants in the playoffs. I think the sting of losing that game to Big Blue in the playoffs got to the Packers and they haven't fully recovered. Granted they were playing a very very good San Fransisco 49ers club who last year went 13-3. Don't get me wrong the 49ers are a very good football team, but I was expecting a hot start from Rogers and the Packers then what actually happened. The Packers showed life near the end of the ball game but by that point it already seemed too late.

Those were some big disappointments from week one but there were also so big team surprises from week one as well. Aside from what the Cowboys did to the Giants on opening night, another surprise came out of New York, and it was the offensive explosion that came out of the Jets. Now I've said this in the past that pre-season games don't really amount to much except getting role players figured out and getting the starters somewhat familiar with the new offense. The fact that the Jets didn't score a touchdown in pre-season didn't bother me because the games really don't count. You're best players won't be playing full speed in games that don't count. When game time against the Bills rolled around, the Jets showed up and played their game. The offense and defense did what they were supposed to do in shutting down the Bills. What surprised me the most about the Jets win was the fact that they put up 48 points on the board, setting new franchise records for most points in a home opener and most points scored in opening weekend. Now the question is going to be can the Jets do that again next week against Pittsburgh in the Steele City.

Another pleasant surprise coming from the opening weekend was the victory by the Denver Broncos over a tough Pittsburgh defense. It showed me that the switching of quarterbacks in Denver has actually made the team better. Now Tim Tebow is now slouch by any means, but it goes to show you how much better a quarterback Payton manning is and how the year off due to injury hasn't hurt his game at all.

Now lets take a quick look at the surprises and disappointments from individual players from the opening week of the NFL season. Biggest surprises from quarterbacks in week one were Matthew Stafford of the Detroit Lions and Robert Griffin III of the Washington Redskins. Stafford went 32 of 48 for 355 yards and one touchdown. Only downside to Stafford was he was picked three times in the Lions win over St. Louis. As for RG3 he went 19 of 26 for 320 yards and two touchdowns in the Redskins win over New Orleans. In that same game Drew Brees went 24 of 52 for 339 yards three touchdowns and two interceptions.  Payton Manning was also a surprise in week one leading his new team in the Broncos to a victory despite missing all of last year with the neck injury and having to learn the new system in Denver.

The big question marks I have going into week two are Michael Vick and Eli Manning. manning had a down night against the Cowboys in the sense that he wasn't able to really lead his team late in the game like we have seen from him in the past. As for Michael Vick I'm worried about the number of passing plays he has to run. Vick attempted 56 passing plays on Sunday and only completed 29 of them for a 51.0 passer rating. In order for the Eagles to be successful Vick has got to try and find a working groove in order to really run the offense. Vick threw too many passes for my liking and he was also picked four times and sacked twice which doesn't really help his cause. Philly got the win but they beat a much weaker Browns team. The Eagles need to come up with a slightly different offensive strategy for next Sunday when they play a much tougher Baltimore Ravens. And this is the same Ravens club who just lit up the Bengals like a cheap cigar on Monday Night Football so the Eagles and Michael Vick are gonna have a tough fight on their hands.

As for the running game last Sunday there were a few surprises. For the opening week of the season only five guys cracked the one hundred yard mark in rushing yards. C.J. Spiller led the pack with 169 yards in the loss to the Jets. DeMarco Murray ran for 131 yards in the win over the Giants. Stevan Ridley had 125 yards in the Pats win over the Titans. Frank Gore had 112 in the 49ers win over the Packers. Finally LeSean McCoy had 110 yards for the Eagles in the win over Cleveland.

Finally we look at the biggest surprises from the receivers from this past Sunday. The biggest winner was Reggie Wayne of the Colts who had nine catches for 135 yards. This proves to me really that Reggie Wayne can still be a top flight receiver in the NFL no matter who is throwing the ball to him. Another big surprise from the receivers from week one was Kevin Ogletree of the Dallas Cowboys who had eight catches for 114 yards and two touchdowns in the Cowboys win over the Giants opening night. Here's a guy in Ogletree who has been in the NFL since 2009, all with Dallas, but has mostly been a bench player. He finally gets a chance to get some regular reps during the regular season with the Cowboys and has a good showing with the eight catches in his first game. Will this be a sign of things to come who knows.

Oh and one final stat to throw out at you from week one. David Akers the kicker for the San Fransisco 49ers tied an NFL Record Sunday in Green Bay by nailing a 63-yard field goal at the end of the first half against the Green Bay Packers. Here's the video proof of the kick:

Akers tied the NFL record for the longest field goal, by kicking a 63 yard field goal off the crossbar. The record was originally set by Tom Dempsey, and is shared with Jason Elam and Sebastian Janikowski.

So there you have it, the hot and not so hot from week one!

2012 NFL Season Preview and Predictions

Yes that time of year has fallen once again. Football season is finally upon us and after the year the NFL had last season, this year looks to be just as promising if not more so, then last years was. So now for you're reading pleasure here are my predictions for how each team will do this year and why that will happen. We start with the ever popular NFC.

NFC

NFC West

1. San Fransisco 49ers: 12-4
- The 49ers will end up going 12-4. Alex Smith was dangerous enough last season. Now throw into the mix new targets for him to throw to in the form of Mario Manningham and Randy Moss, the 49ers look to possibly make a repeat appearance in the NFC Championship game.

2. Seattle Seahawks: 8-8
- The Seahawks will finish the season around 500, but the tougher opponents look to come from the AFC this year having to play both the AFC East and NFC South. The Seahawks still have weapons on offense in Marshawn Lynch, Braylon Edwards, and Sidney Rice. The only problem is the Hawks really don't have much in the way of a Quarterback. Matt Flynn and Russel Wilson are peg as the QB but there is no true defined #1 thrower in Seattle and that will make it hard for the Seawhawks to win games.

3. Arizona Cardinals: 5-11
-After having two great years in 2008 and 2009 the Cardinals have fallen off the last two seasons finishing last year 8-8. The Cardinals still have plenty off firepower on offense with Beanie Wells running the football along with Larry Fitzgerald and Todd Heap to catch the passes. The Cards also have a revamped and improved defense. The only problem is they don't have a quarterback. John Skelton and Kevin Kolb are going to be under a microscope all year and with neither one holding down the starting job its gonna be a tough year in Cardinal Country.

4. St. Louis Rams: 3-13
- The Rams are going to have a tough year ahead of them, facing all teams who were around 500 or better last season. Quarterback Sam Bradford has Steven Jackson to hand the ball off to but otherwise he has nothing really to work with on offense and will again be involved in a losing season for the Rams.


NFC South

1. New Orleans Saints: 10-6
-After all that happened to the Saints in the offseason with the suspension of players due to the bounty scandal, the Saints and Quarterback Drew Breeze still have enough firepower to work with to get into the playoffs.


2. Atlanta Falcons: 9-7
-Atlanta is poised to have a decent year this year. Matt Ryan is back as the starter and still has the full set of weapons to run with in the forms of Michael Turner, Roddy White, Julio Jones, and new addition Tony Gonzalez. Only question mark I have with the Falcons is how good their defense is going to be.


3. Carolina Panthers: 7-9
-Cam Newton is back in charge of the Panthers offense again this year. It doesn't hurt his case that he as DeAngelo Williams to hand the ball to, and can throw it off to Steve Smith and Greg Olsen, but that's really about it. The Panthers will have a good season don't get me wrong, but it won't be good enough to get them into the playoffs.

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 4-12
-Quarterback Josh Freeman is gonna have a lot of rookies to work with on offense. He has some solid proven vets to work with as targets such as Dallas Clark, Vincent Jackson, and DJ Ware but not much hope coming out of Tampa this year.


NFC North

1. Green Bay Packers: 13-3
-For Quarterback Arron Rogers and the rest of the Packers this year is going to be another statement. They have a moderately tough schedule. The only team I really see possibly beating the Pack would be the 49ers and Bears but that may be about it. Last years Packers team is still together and in tact so expect another big year in Green Bay.

2. Chicago Bears: 12-4
-Jay Cutler and Jason Campbell have the weapons and firepower to work with to be a very good football team this year and I can see them challenging the Packers for the Division Title.

3. Minnesota Vikings: 7-9
-The Vikings don't have anything to really run with in this division and won't go too far. They will surprise a few people and manage to win a few games but they simply don't have enough on offense to get to the playoffs.

4. Detroit Lions: 7-9
-Matthew Stafford will have a good year for the Lions but they will fall just short of 500 because the opponents they play are just too good.


NFC East

1. New York Giants: 10-6
-Eli Mannaing and the rest of the Giants are coming off last years Super Bowl Victory. The only major loss for the Giants was the departure of Manningham to the Niners. Other than that this team is still in tact and should be able to take the Division this year.

2. Philadelphia Eagles: 9-7
-Michael Vick is going to be tested this year as Eagles QB. The only thing that isn't for certain is the Eagles Defense and possible receiving Core. The offense should be good enough but the defense looks spotty. All in all they will be at or over the 500 mark all season.

3. Dallas Cowboys: 8-8
-Tony Romo and the Boys are in for a decent to moderately tough schedule ahead. Dallas has the offense to be able to hang in the division but the question mark again with the Cowboys is can their defense hold up.

4. Washington Redskins: 7-9
-Quarterback Robert Griffin III will turn a lot of heads in his first year at Quarterback in Washington. He has enough talent around him on offense to help keep the team around 500 but the NFC East is too good a division right now.


AFC

AFC West

1. Denver Broncos: 11-5
-Last Season Denver was good enough to get a wild card spot and get into the playoffs. This years team may actually be better than last year. The defense hasn't changed much but the offense sure has with Payton Manning at Quarterback. Manning as we all know missed all of last season after undergoing neck surgery so he may not look like the Payton of old but he is still good enough to get the Broncos to another winning season.

2. San Diego Chargers: 9-7
-Philip Rivers is still one of the top Quarterbacks in the NFL and he can find ways to win games for his team. Only suspect part of this team is the Defense.

3. Kansas City Chiefs: 5-11
-Kansas City did a good job this offseason of upgrading the weapons on offense, adding Kevin Boss and Jamal Charles to an already decent offense. The two question marks I have with the Chiefs is who is the true number one Quarterback and how good is the offensive line gonna be. If the line, which right now appears filled with rookies, can't hold up then the Chiefs go down. Gonna be a tough year in KC this year.

4. Oakland Raiders: 5-11
-The Raiders still have a lot of holes to fill.; The line is suspect and the receiving core looks weak. Plus it isn't clear who will be the man at quarterback in Oakland, is it Matt Leinart or Carson Palmer. I guess only time will tell.


AFC South

1. Houston Texans: 10-6
-The Texans have a talented team but they need to figure out who will lead them at Quarterback. Based on what happened last year I don't think Schaub has it in him. IF Schaub starts they are going to be worse, if  Yates is the man at Quarterback then they have a shot to finish 500.

2. Tennessee Titans: 6-10
-Tennessee doesn't have enough talent around Jack Lockhart to get the team to 500. The defense will keep them in a lot of games but they simply don't have enough firepower to get to 500.

3. Indianapolis Colts: 6-10
-This is a rebuilding year for the Colts in the post Payton Manning Era. Andrew Luck has some big shoes to fill at Quarterback much the same way Arron Rogers did with the Packers after Brett Farve. Give Luck time and he possibly will make people in Indy forget about Payton but this is gonna be a tough year for the Colts.

4. Jacksonville Jaguars: 5-11
-Going to be another long season in Jacksonville. Outside of running back Maurice Jones-Drew the Jags have nothing. Another losing season for sure.


AFC North

1. Baltimore Ravens: 12-4
-Just like the Steelers the Ravens Defense will be a big reason again they make the playoffs. Baltimore hasn't tinkered with the D at all and its going to be their best asset all year. Quarterback Joe Flacco will have plenty of help on the offensive side of the ball this year and the Ravens look like they may take the North this year.


2. Pittsburgh Steelers: 11-5
-Nothing much has really changed in the Steel City. Pittsburgh still has one of the best defenses in all of football. The only question I have going into this year are what possible options Big Ben has to throw to. The Steelers still have a solid running game but the receiving core doesn't look all that impressive. still good enough to get to the playoffs though.

3. Cincinnati Bengals:  5-11
-Again the Bengals are another case of having nothing really to work with on offense. BenJarvus Green-Ellis will do just fine carrying the load for the running game. But without enough talent at the receiver position Andy Dalton is gonna have a tough time throwing the ball. The defense MIGHT be able to keep the Bengals around in some games but this really isn't fair.


4. Cleveland Browns: 4-12
-Colt McCoy is in for another long season in Cleveland. The Browns defense might be able to hold them in games but with McCoy not having much of a supporting cast to work with on offenses this will be a long year for the Browns and the Dog Pound.


AFC East

1. New England Patriots: 12-4
-No real explanation needed here. Tom Brady and his bunch are back at it again and without having lost a whole lot of anything from last season. The Pats will once again be one of the top tier teams in the AFC.

2. New York Jets: 10-6
-This will be a real good test year for the Jets. last year was a bad year and this season Tim Tebow is brought into the mix. The Defense last season looked human at best and Mark Sanchez look a little below average on some nights. Adding Tebow may be the thing needed to light the fire in Sanchez to get him going and with new changes made to the coaching staff I see the Jets bouncing back nicely this year.

3. Buffalo Bills: 8-8
-Buffalo will have a way better defense this year with the addition of Mario Williams to that front line. The Bills defense has improved a lot this offseason and will be a big reason they hang around in the divisional talks. The running game is solid but the depth just isn't really there yet at receiver for Ryan Fitzpatrick. The Bills are headed in the right direction though.

4. Miami Dolphins: 8-8
-Miami is another one of those teams that looks average on paper and is still searching for the right mix. They will get there eventually.

So there you have it my predictions for the 2012 NFL season. Check back often for recaps and NFL updates as much as possible.