Players under the MOST pressure this NFL Season

5. Carson Palmer, Oakland Raiders

Probably a surprise to some that he's on this list, but when a team gives up (possibly) multiple 1st round picks for you and you have a ton of speed on the outside mixed with arguably the top RB in the game, the pressure is on. I can give Palmer some what of a pass for that poor excuse for QB play he displayed last season as he was "retired" trying to get the Bengals to trade him and then had to come to Oakland with a bunch of young receivers, learn the offense, etc. However, that 80.5 QB rating (62.3 QBR for the ESPN heads) to go with 2700 yards, 13TD 16INT in 10 games will not cut it. The Raider fanbase is dying for their first playoff berth since Jon Gruden and will not be ok with Palmer's mediocrity. Not only does Palmer need to live up to that trade hype, but he also has to prove the naysayers wrong as so far in his career he looks more like a flash in the pan then a franchise QB. 

4. Mark Sanchez, New York Jets

I remember it like yesterday, Kyle Orton (better than both Sanchez and Tebow) and the Denver Broncos having a rough start to the season and Orton struggling in another game. The entire crowd in Denver chanting "We Want Tebow!!" which brought us the ugly but thrilling stretch which became known as "Tebowtime!" Kyle Orton was coming off of a career season in Denver when his job was STOLEN from him by the fans. It did end up going well for Tebow as he led the then 1-4 Broncos on a winning streak, into the playoffs, and even overcame the vaunted Pittsburgh Steelers in his first career playoff game before getting beatdown, bumrushed and embarrassed by the Patriots the following week. Mark Sanchez is in a far worse situation. He's coming off a season where all Jets fans including myself second guessed him every step of the way and he looked like nothing more then a bottom tier QB which isn't what he was drafted for. Rex Ryan wanted Tebow personally, is a run-first kind've offensive mind, and brought in another like minded coach in Tony Sporano to give the offense some direction, which points to a Tebow Takeover as he did lead the best running offense in the league last year. If you've watched any sports TV over the past few days you'd know the Jets haven't scored a TD in preseason which is more a product of a terrible O-line and bad receiver in my opinion but Sanchez isn't doing much to solidify his spot. Opening the season home vs Buffalo, @Pittsburgh, @Miami, home to San Fran, and MNF  home vs Houston, will not be easy as a 1-4 start is very possible and just like Kyle Orton that 5th game is at home on MNF, the fix is in.




3. Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys


The man everyone seems to love to hate, Tony Romo coming in at #3 on this list and I think it's pretty self explanatory. The Dallas Cowboys have entered the last 3 seasons as favorites to win it all and each season they come up short. Whether it's through fluke plays, terrible Romo decisions, or injuries there's always something stopping this team from making their progression. Now this season, with the worst team Romo has had in the last 5 seasons the pressure is completely turned up as owner Jerry Jones has even acknowledged the closing window of the Cowboys as currently constructed. Injuries haven't been Romo's friend so far this preseason as his favorite targets Witten and Austin are already hurting (Witten narrowly dodging season ending surgery), and Dez Bryant continuing to be Dez Bryant (arrested for allegedly beating his mother, as crazy as that sounds) and the offensive line has proven to be troublesome in the preseason as well. However I do believe Romo will take himself off this list this season, I don't think they'll win a ring but in an all of a sudden considerably better NFC I still believe they can be a playoff team behind the much underrated arm of Tony Romo. How he performs down the stretch and in the crunch time moments of this season will ultimately make or break his career from this point forward and I believe he will finally rise to the occasion.

2. Mike Vick/Andy Reid, Philadelphia Eagles

This list is about players but I believe the gun is being held to Andy Reid's job, and Mike Vick is on the other side of that gun, because it's up to him and his performance whether that trigger will be pulled. Mike Vick coming off the "dream team" season that didn't yield a playoff berth, knows the pressure has risen as he agreed with that stance in a recent ESPN interview. The pressure shouldn't all fall on Vick and Reid as Vick has already exceeded most people's expectations as A QUARTERBACK since coming from prison, especially coming off of a season where an offensive line coach was promoted to defensive coordinator (????) and their key free agent signing Nnamdi Asomuagh struggled in a new defensive scheme. However, when the teams flourish the QB gets the credit and when the team fails the QB gets the blame, whether fair or not it's true. On the other side of this team coming up short, Vick's 100mil contract and his proneness to injury aren't a very good mix. Not much to garner a #2 spot on a most pressure list eh? Well add to the equation that the Eagles have a loop hole in his huge contract where they can get out of it after this season and only take a $4mil cap hit, yea I'd say that puts the feet to the fire.

1. Peyton Manning, Denver Broncos


On pace to break every formidable QB record known to man, including the infamous Brett Favre most games played without missing a start streak, it all came to a screeching halt last season. As a complete Peyton Manning fanatic I held out hope that it was all a facade and somehow he'd be back in time to start last season which obviously didn't happen. Peyton not only missed the 1st game of his career, but missed the entire season with an injury to his neck which eventually caused nerve damage, and required surgery. Peyton's loss to the Colts led them to the worst record in the NFL, the opportunity to start over with a new franchise QB in Andrew Luck and allowed Peyton to test the free agent waters for the first time in his career. To my surprise (and heartbreak) Manning eventually signed to the Broncos. The questions have already began swirling about whether Peyton will be able to get up after "the big hit", will Peyton be the same Peyton we know and love? Can Peyton lead this team with all it's young receivers to the playoffs, after Tebow did it last season? (yes I went there) Can Peyton catch his younger brother Eli who now has 2 superbowl rings to Peyton's 1? The NFL did the Greatest QB alive (my humble opinion) no favors with an opening schedule of Pittsburgh, @ Atlanta, Houston, Oakland, @ New England, and @ San Diego before what would be a much needed bye week. A 10 win season and playoff berth would be a remarkable accomplishment all things considered, and I believe if anyone on this list can live up to the pressure it's Peyton Manning.

Honorable Mentions: Tom Brady (coming off another superbowl loss), Andrew Luck (replacing Peyton Manning), Robert Griffin III (Redskins gave up the house and car for him), Adrian Peterson (Did he come back too soon?)

8 Things I Hate About Sports Fans

It’s been a while since any material has come from this blog but with the football season upon us as well as a live 4^th quarter of boxing, it seems necessary to get the creative juices flowing yet again. This is a slightly humorous, very factual piece to get you prepared for our work in the fall.

A lot of things about fans are media induced but a lot of this ridiculousness comes  directly from the mind of the fan, uninfluenced. Here we go..

When A Player Holds Out…

And the fans after loving a player’s production for their team, instantly become at odds with him. “How dare he do such a thing! We need him to get in sync with the team and he’s sitting out the offseason. What a selfish player!!” Never mind the fact that this same player has produced at an all pro level for the past couple of years while being severely underpaid e.g. Darrelle Revis, Chris Johnson and many others. Oh shame on these greedy players for wanting to get bigger contracts in a non fully guaranteed league, a league in which players literally face season ending injuries almost week in week out. The same league where these players can get cut at any period by the team after poor play or injury. Poor billionaire owners. They don’t deserve these insubordinate players making life hard for them.

Why Do These Athletes Make So Much Money???

I don’t know. Why do owners pay them so much? No seriously. Do you watch your teachers on the tv or stream? Would you pay to watch your friends fight on ppv? If the answer is yes, you may quite possibly be a twisted individual. High level athletes who generate tons of revenue for their teams most certainly deserve to be paid a ton of dollars. I appreciate teachers, doctors, etc contributions to the world just as much as the next man but cmon.  I know it sucks when your team signs a player to that huge contract and they under perform you get a little pissed off. That's too bad. A lot of these contracts are based off what the player has done previously. I’m sure when Gilbert Arenas was offering 100 billion dollars while having a bum knee he didn’t think “maybe I should be kind and save the team some money”. No.  He knew there was a chance that might be his last big pay day. Was he really wrong? He outplayed the initial contract he signed with the Wizards anyways. Blame the players? Nah b. Blame the gms for giving undeserving (your opinion) players these idiotic contracts.

Consistently Injured…I mean, “Lazy” players 

 

There once was a superstar in the NBA named Tracy McGrady. He was one of the top 3 players in the league and arguably the best player. As the years went by, Tmac began to get injured constantly degrading the quality of his play until he was no longer the superstar we all came to know, but a  veteran just trying to maintain a spot in the league. For some reason, though, Tmac got the label “lazy” from Houston Rockets fans who were disappointed by his declining play. It was revealed at some point by Tmac himself, that he had scoliosis and his doctor years back didn’t expect him to last very long in the NBA. Tracy managed to become a household name for almost a decade. But hey, don’t let facts get in the way of deriding these lazy players. Slacker! All he had to do was his pushups and weights to stay healthy.

He’s…So….Humble! 

There once was a player named Marvin Harrison, who was one of the best receivers in the NFL. Beyond his great hands, timing and route running, he was also seen as one of the most humble players in all of the NFL. He was very quiet and didn’t celebrate much after scoring touchdowns like the other “Diva” receivers in the league. Little did we know , underneath the humble exterior, he was a stone cold…nah I’m kind of exaggerating. But you know what happened with Marvin and the shootings. But how could a humble player do such a thing! He played the game the right way! How? Because you don’t actually know who these people are aside from the persona they give out. Humble is mostly code for boring. Would we want every superstar to have a dry personality. Sports wouldn’t be enjoyable without the celebrations…the arrogance..etc. And besides…being humble means nothing on the court/field(see supposedly arrogant Lebron beat supposedly humble Durant in 5 games in the finals).

Man….Jordan would average 50 in this era!!

If you ever have someone try to convince you of this, just mention that Wilt himself said he would average 50 in the 90s, or simply ask them if they understand anything about pace and possessions. The most annoying thing might be fans that automatically disregard their own era and big up past athletes as if they can’t be surpassed or defeated. The Lebron “The Decision” backlash describes this to a tee. The nostalgia blinders “Jordan, Bird or Magic would never leave and team up!!”. Lol. Sure, but their teams would also have multiple hof’ers to surround them in the first place. This happens often in boxing when fighter vs fighter comparisons are made. The older fighter will automatically win every fight regardless of the logic brought to the table. No matter the matchup.  “Duran would whoop Floyd and Pacquiao with an arm tied behind his back!”  “Roy Jones?? Hagler would rock him to sleep in 3 rounds!”  My advice if you encounter one of these people: stay calm and keep a clear mind. Don’t allow their fanaticism to infect yours. 

Look at his Per! His Win Shares! He’s so efficient!!! FIP, ISO, BABIP…OMG

These are typical internet sports fans that most of the time either barely played any sports or just enjoy pretending their knowledge of sports is superior because they read the stats. Advanced stats in particular are the new craze of late. It allows people to pretend like they know sports without actually watching games. Players like James Harden are lauded because of their gaudy advanced stats, but does anyone (who watches games) actually believe he’s as good as his stats indicate? (*cough finals cough*)? If you looked at his advanced stats alone you would assume he was a great player, not a 6^th man playing with the safety net of 2 other superstars. Kevin Love is another internet sensation. Listen..everyone acknowledges Love is a very good player, but for all his win shares he hasn’t managed to lead a team to a winning record in any of his seasons. Don’t tell his fans that, though. Stats are cool…when you combine em when actually viewing and understanding what you watched. Just don’t condescend me, dun.  

Perceived Scapegoat

This often happens when a team has had a rough history. The fans often resemble victims suffering PTSD. It’s tough being a fan of a team that hasn’t ever won a superbowl or hasn’t done so in a couple decades. A team that has been close to getting there lately, only to squander these opportunities. Fans get frustrated, yo. A good example might be the New York Jets. The Jets in the 21^st century have been a relatively successful team, with multiple playoff appearances and 2 afc championship appearances. But all of that is irrelevant when fans have had to endure decades of almost being there to not even being close since their only Superbowl(won some time around when the Civil Rights Act was passed). There is that one player everyone hates(Mark Sanchez), that regardless of the Jets accomplishments, will always get flack for something. No matter the offensive line, bad playcalling, inconsistent receivers. NOPE. None of that matters because it’s perceived as just excuses for the poor or inconsistent play. The perceived scapegoat was Brian Schottenheimer, who for years has been derided by Jets fans for his up and down playcalling. After reaching 2 straight afc championships and then a setback 8-8 season he was fired. It was the moment a lot of rational Jets fans were anticipating for a long time. But there is still that little sect of fans that believe he was a scapegoat. Newsflash: he wasn’t a scapegoat, just a mediocre offensive coordinator, and it was time for him to go. Every moment that Sanchez persists as starter proves them right. In their minds.

Good Effort, Good Job. 

This is mostly focused on tennis fans. If you don’t really watch tennis you can learn a little something about how their fans act. The current pantheon is Federer, Djokovic and Nadal. They have dominated the Grand Slams over the past..who knows how many years(feels like forever).  These are the top 3 then the rest of the top 10 consists of good to great players. To make a long story short, whenever certain fan favorites manage to give a good effort and make the match kind of tough for one of these greats, they get a ton of love for it. Even when they lose. Good Effort, Good Job. Wait..what? You’re telling me if a player is leading then chokes (choking happens too frequently) when they have an opportunity to beat a great, it’s ok? It’s ok sometimes when it’s a young player who is bringing it to one of these greats, but when established top 10 players have a chance to make an imprint(in any kind of tournament, major or minor) and fail to do so, that shouldn’t be lauded. I’m sure if you asked the players, they themselves wouldn’t be fine with just getting to the brink. WIN DAMNIT! We’re tired of the same old players doing the same old thing. Thank you Lukas Rosol for blasting Nadal out of Wimbledon. Or del Potro being the ONLY one to break the stranglehold of grand slams by the top 3. Even if it was only once. 

Looking over my 8, I acknowledge there could at least be 5 more but if I kept going I may never end!