Tag: Sports Illustrated

Bills land in top-10 of SI’s power rankings

In their latest power rankings released this week, S/I pegged the Bills as their No. 10 team in the NFL: 

Good news and bad news from Sports Illustrated.

In their latest power rankings released this week, SI pegged the Bills as their No. 10 team in the NFL:

The Bills have been trying to get a top receiver since they (very fortunately, in retrospect) missed on Antonio Brown last year. The trade for Stefon Diggs will help Josh Allen—though they paid a very steep price for a receiver who made no secret of the fact that he wanted out of Minnesota—and the Bills also made moves to beef up their defensive line and secondary. But the success of the Bills is contingent on whether or not Allen can take the next step, which is no certain thing.

The bad news comes in at nine. SI placed the Patriots there, stating they’re “not ready to send the Patriots plunging just yet.” Fair, but the writing seems to be on the wall that the Pats are finally going to take a step back. At least currently.

Without Tom Brady, the Patriots only have Jarrett Stidham as their quarterback. Now, if the Patriots signed a Cam Newton or traded up for a top prospect? This could make more sense. But as things sit now, not so much.

Having said that, the Jets and Dolphins are much further away at 24 and 26, respectively, in terms of the rest of the AFC East.

Leading the way in the power rankings for SI is the Chiefs. The defending champs are followed by the Ravens and Saints.

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Sports Illustrated has the Badgers in its way-too-early top-25 for the 2020-21 season

Much has been written about the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team’s impressive finish to the 2019-20 season and what could…

Much has been written about the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team’s impressive finish to the 2019-20 season and what could have been had the team gotten the chance to play postseason basketball.

These queries are warranted, as the team’s No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament and potential No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament had them in a great position to achieve the postseason success we haven’t seen from the program in the past two years.

Nevertheless, the team ending the season with a 21-10 record after an eight-game winning streak, paired with Brevin Pritzl being the team’s only notable departure and head coach Greg Gard getting ready to welcome in a stellar freshman class, has Badger fans’ hopes high as we enter the long offseason.

Well, Sports Illustrated’s released a way-too-early top-25 for the 2020-21 season yesterday and their ranking is enough to continue that optimism as they have the Badgers pegged in at No. 14.

For context, if Gard’s unit was to start the season at No. 14 it would be their highest preseason ranking since 2016-17 and their fourth-highest in the history of the program.

Furthermore, of the five times the team has received a top-15 preseason ranking they have made the tournament and won at least one game every single time, with one of those trips ending in the national championship defeat to Duke in 2015.

Other Big Ten teams included in Sports Illustrated’s early rankings include Iowa at No. 8, Michigan State at No. 11, Ohio State at No. 16, Michigan at No. 20 and Rutgers at No. 24.

The Big Ten-winning Badgers will have a long time to wait until that preseason ranking becomes official and the 2020-21 season tips off.

 

Watch: A Day in the Life Notre Dame Quarterback Ian Book

Ever wondered what it’s like to spend a day as Notre Dame’s starting quarterback? Find out now then see what we liked best about QB1’s day.

How many people are the right age to remember the show “The Life” on ESPN?  It was on when I was in high school and the show was pretty much ten minute segment following around your favorite and some of the most interesting athletes around and just seeing what a day in their life is like.

Alright, ESPN didn’t bring the show back but Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book sort of did Monday as he had a high school buddy film what a day is like in QB-1’s life.  Watch it here:

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A few quick thoughts:

  1.  How bad-ass would it be to wake up and have a Sports Illustrated cover with yourself on it hanging over your bed?  Not a photoshopped one but a real one.  Hat-tip for that, Ian.
  2. I’m impressed with his ability to make quality eggs.  I don’t think I made my first scrambled eggs until at least three or four years later in my life.
  3. Does anyone not have spend time on Zoom right now? Really missed the boat on that stock.
  4. Great job using the hand-sanitizer although I’m sure some would worry about the social distancing skills at the restaurant.
  5. I really want to see what one of Tommy Rees’s quarterback quizzes is like.  Nerdy but sounds awesome.

So there it is – now you know what it’s like to be the starting quarterback at Notre Dame during a national epidemic.

SI names Bills’ Josh Allen ‘winner’ & ‘loser’ in free agency

Sports Illustrated’s Conor Orr named Allen a winner from the Diggs acquisition.

The Buffalo Bills made a splash at the start of the league’s new year by trading four draft picks for wide receiver Stefon Diggs. The move gives quarterback Josh Allen the closest thing to a No.1 wide receiver during the signal caller’s time in the NFL.

It’s easy to see how Allen will be a winner from this move. The Bills starting receiving corps of Diggs, John Brown, and Cole Beasley will present matchup options for defenses that will benefit Allen. Add in the athleticism of Dawson Knox at tight and Devin Singletary out of the backfield, and the collection of skill position players give the Bills a great chance at seeing the postseason once again. But one outlet, while calling Allen a winner, also called him a loser in this deal.

Sports Illustrated named Allen a winner from the Diggs acquisition because:

This is part of a two-sided point, but Allen now has a legitimate No. 1 playmaker on offense—Stefon Diggs—at which to direct his cannon. Last year was a victory for scheme design in Buffalo, which allowed Allen to take a statistical leap forward. Just take a look at his 2018 and 2019 ratios in intended air yards per pass and actual air yards. This past year, the offense broke in a way that allowed him to find the target with a much higher upside without the risk. The completion percentage goes up, the interceptions go down and the quarterback rating rises to “OK we can win with this.”

In his third season, it seems that Allen is primed to take off with this offense. Buffalo has removed any barriers for him to succeed.

However, there’s the flip side. SI tabbed Allen the “losers” in free agency. Even with the upgrade at wide receiver, the outlet suggests the marriage of Allen and Diggs could backfire:

Here’s the other side of the coin for Allen, listed as both a winner and loser. Should he flounder this season, it may be an indication that his time is coming to an end in Buffalo. I know that sounds drastic, but coaches are becoming less and less patient with draft picks. The stigma associated with moving on from high draft choices has largely dissipated thanks to the Cardinals and Josh Rosen. Allen now has a legitimately good coordinator and legitimately good surrounding pieces. The leap from year two to year three must be more significant than year one to year two.

Another downside to the Diggs trade: Are we sure it is a good idea to pair Diggs, a receiver who has been vocal about his target share in the past, with a quarterback who has the fifth-worst completion percentage above expectation rating? Could anything go wrong there?

Now, it’s a bit hyperbolic thinking that the Bills will grow impatient with Allen. When they drafted him, the team knew that Allen would be a bit of a project. After being thrust into the starting role during his rookie season, Allen took some lumps and continued to show promise. His sophomore season was better, as he made progress with limiting mistakes. It wasn’t the ideal season, though. However, Allen’s second year was not the performance for which the Bills drafted him seventh overall in the 2018 draft.

Buffalo expects Allen to make a major step forward in Year 3. They have found additional pieces to upgrade the defense, offering a strong complementary unit to work with Allen’s offense.

It would be more surprising to see Allen regress this season, as he enters his third year working with offensive coordinator Brian Daboll. The Diggs transaction elevates the Bills offense into a more productive and explosive unit.

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New Notre Dame Duo Among Sports Illustrated’s Top Ten

I really want there to be a college football version of NBA JAM now.  

In an almost NBA Jam style discussion, Sports Illustrated rated the ten best quarterback and running back duos that have signed their letters of intent this winter.  It simply takes who they think are the ten best, not putting them in any order 1-10.

Notre Dame was represented as quarterback Drew Pyne and running back Chris Tyree drew praise.

Pyne looks like the immediate depth the Irish needs at the quarterback position coming off of a prep career in which he tallied 125 total scores (20 rushing) as a four-year starter. Tyree is one of the fastest and quickest incoming players at any position when healthy. Don’t let either undersized talent fool you heading into their time in South Bend.

The only real takeaways I have from this list are three things:

  1. The most-elite programs mostly make up this list with Clemson, Ohio State, Alabama, Georgia, Texas, Texas A&M and Oregon appear on it.  The only surprises really are Tennessee and South Carolina.
  2. This is built a lot on repuatation and Notre Dame appearing on the list speaks highly of how the Fighting Irish are at least preceived in that regard.
  3. I really want there to be a college football version of NBA JAM now.

On that last point, what would Notre Dame’s most-lethal pairing of a quarterback and running back be all-time?

Mirer and Bettis or Brooks in the early-nineties?

Tony Rice and Ricky Watters?

Brady Quinn and Darius Walker?

SI tabs Bills as free-agency fit for Yannick Ngakoue

Sports Illustrated on Yannick Ngakoue fitting with the Buffalo Bills.

The Bills need playmakers. On offense it’s more of a glaring need since overall defensively, the Bills have thrived in recent seasons.

But Buffalo’s defensive playmakers in the trenches could use a bit of an improvement, too. Shaq Lawson is slated to be a free agent this offseason and he led Buffalo’s edge defenders in sacks. However, he only had 6.5 which… isn’t great.

With free agency before the 2020 NFL Draft and plenty of cap space, could the Bills dip into free agency for the boost they need? If they did so, Yannick Ngakoue could be the guy. The Jaguars’ pass rusher is looking like he’s hitting free agency and the Bills were named one of four teams that could be a fit for him by Sports Illustrated recently:

The Bills’ defense led them to a postseason berth in 2019, so it is only logical to think the Bills would be open to improving upon the strength and identity of their team. While Buffalo was good in nearly every area on defense last year, nobody would blame them for upgrading a pass-rush that finished with 44 sacks. Defensive end Shaq Lawson, who was second on the team in sacks with 6.5 last season, is an impending free agent who isn’t a lock to resign in Buffalo, and the team has the cap space ($82,186,963 million) in 2020 to spend big on his replacement. Ngakoue would fill a big need as a dynamic edge rusher for Buffalo, while also serving as a solid fit in Sean McDermott’s defense.

Lawson trailed only Jordan Phillips’ 9.5 in sacks on the Bills last season and he too could be gone as he’s also a pending free agent. In Ngakoue, the Bills would land a former pass rush who has a 12.5 sack-season in his back pocket. In fact, 6.5 is Lawson’s single-season career high while Ngakoue’s career-low is eight in a single season.

And not only would Ngakoue be an upgrade, he’d still be a bit of a youthful player, too. He’s potentially entering free agency at only 24. A long-term deal for him could make plenty of sense for a lot of teams, including the Bills.

Along with Buffalo, SI named the Giants, Seahawks, and Colts as potential fits for Ngakoue as well.

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Aaron Murray to miss Week 2 of XFL

Georgia football legend Aaron Murray of the Tampa Bay Vipers in the XFL will not play in Week 2.

Tampa Bay Vipers quarterback Aaron Murray struggled in his XFL debut last weekend against the New York Generals.

The former Georgia Bulldog went 16/34 for 231 with two interceptions and two fumbles in a loss to New York.

The Vipers, now 0-1, announced on Friday that Murray will be sitting out this weekend’s contest, springing former Oklahoma State quarterback Taylor Cornelius into the starting role.

In the first half of last week’s game, Murray apparently suffered a foot injury that has since held him out of practices.

Murray returned back to his hometown of Tampa to play for the Vipers this season. After breaking numerous SEC and Georgia records, Murray attempted to play in the NFL, where he did not find much success. He then went on to work for CBS as a broadcaster in addition to playing a single season for the Atlanta Legends, a member of the Alliance of American Football in 2019.

Notre Dame’s Highest “Top Early Top 25” Ranking We’ve Seen

The Irish also come in one spot behind Florida who is fresh-off an Orange Bowl victory and 11-2 season.

We tend to react when national college voices weigh in on Notre Dame gets mentioned, whether it’s good or bad.

This week you’ve seen us post a few different “Too Early Top 25” rankings that various college football writers have offered.  We reacted to one by considering firing it into the sun while the other we dissected, we pretty much fell in line with.

Now we have one that has ranked Notre Dame higher than any we’ve seen this week.

From Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde:

9. Notre Dame

There are two attractive but difficult additions to the schedule: Clemson at home and Wisconsin at Lambeau Field. Those are in addition to games at USC and Pittsburgh. But with Ian Book and most of the offensive line returning, Brian Kelly has some building blocks. There are a lot of good players to replace on defense. The recruiting consistency of the Fighting Irish will come into play there.

Notre Dame coming in at nine placed them a spot ahead of national champion LSU which may come as a shock to some.  The Irish also come in one spot behind Florida who is fresh-off an Orange Bowl victory and 11-2 season.

Three 2020 Notre Dame opponents show up on the list with Clemson being top-rated in the nation and Wisconsin checking in at 13 and USC at 16.  Simple logic leads you to understand why the November 7 showdown with Clemson could very easily be the biggest game at Notre Dame Stadium since The Game of the Century versus Florida State in 1993.

Oklahoma’s CeeDee Lamb, Jalen Hurts named All-Americans by Sports Illustrated

CeeDee Lamb and Jalen Hurts are off to a great start to college football’s award season.

CeeDee Lamb and Jalen Hurts are off to a great start to college football’s award season.

Arguably one of, if not the best wide receiver in the nation, Lamb received first-team All-American honors. Lamb’s production has still been electric, despite rumors of him being unhappy with the lack of touches he has received.

Lamb has over 100 yards receiving in six of the 12 games he has played in this season. Catching 58 passes for 1,208 yards and 14 touchdowns, Lamb has shown what he is fully capable of without Marquise ‘Hollywood’ Brown lining up opposite him. Two huge performances against Texas in the Cotton Bowl and Baylor in the Big 12 Championship showed the nation that Lamb is going to be electric on Sunday’s in the near future.

Jalen Hurts was awarded second-team honors behind Heisman Trophy favorite and semifinal opponent, Joe Burrow.

Hurts has made the most of his lone season as a Sooner, making the College Football Playoff and heading to New York City for the Heisman Trophy presentation.

Hurts is the team’s leading rusher with 1,255 yards on 219 carries and 18 touchdowns. Through the air, Hurts has slung the rock 309 times and connecting on 222 throws for a 71.8% completion rate. His 3,634 yards of passing and 34 passing touchdowns rank among the nation’s best.

Oklahoma faces LSU in the Peach Bowl as part of the College Football Playoffs on Dec. 28. Kickoff is set for 3:00p.m. CT on ESPN.

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