Every Premier League club’s best January transfer

Transfer deadline day was more than two weeks ago, but it feels like just yesterday with the winter break. If you are not aware already, the Premier League is the best soccer league in England. Every year, lots of deals go through at the end of January kind of like a trade deadline in the United States. Another transfer window just slammed shut and I compiled a list of the player from each team that will be the most influential to the team.

Arsenal: Pablo Mari

Arsenal signed defenders Pablo Mari and Cedric Soares in January, both of which will help repair Arsenal’s depleted defense. Mari gets the choice in this list, mostly because he’s younger and I thought the Soares signing was a little bit odd. The 26 year old played for Flamengo in 22 matches last year, helping them win the Brazilian league, Copa Libertadores and helping them finish second in the FIFA Club World Cup.

Aston Villa: Pepe Reina

Just like in the summer, Aston Villa spent big again in January. They signed five players who play all over the field. Their marquee signing was Pepe Reina from AC Milan. After their main goalkeeper, Tom Heaton went down vs. Burnley, Aston Villa quickly needed to find a goalie. They found a really great player in Reina and he will play a lot for Aston Villa. Shoutout goes to Mbwana Samatta from Genk, but Reina will make a bigger difference.

Bournemouth: no one

Bournemouth was one of three clubs who didn’t bring in anyone in January. They probably could have signed someone because they were in the relegation zone in January. But they didn’t.

Brighton: Tariq Lamptey

Brighton made two signings in January 2020. They permanently signed Aaron Mooy from Huddersfield and signed Chelsea youngster Tariq Lamptey as well. Lamptey has been highly sought after by some big Premier League clubs and it’s huge for him to sign for Brighton. He has played mostly for the Chelsea and England under 23 teams and has played 31 minutes for Chelsea’s first team.

Burnley: Henri Ogunby

Burnley didn’t do a lot in January, but they did sign Henri Ogunby. The 19-year-old Man City winger played two seasons for the Man City youth side, playing four total times. His time is certainly not now, but he is one for Burnley’s future.

Chelsea: Hakim Ziyech

This signing technically shouldn’t count. Ziyech wasn’t signed in January; he was actually just signed two days ago. I had to pick him anyway because he was the only signing. Despite appealing a transfer ban that said that Chelsea couldn’t sign anyone in January, they didn’t sign any one until Ziyech arrived. Ziyech played eight seasons in the Netherlands on three teams with over 200 matches played. In his last four seasons for Ajax, Ziyach scored 38 goals and had 51 assists. What must have impressed Chelsea especially would have been Ziyech’s five goals and seven assists in the past two seasons in the Champions League. He won’t actually start playing for Chelsea until next season. In any event, this is a huge signing for Chelsea and a huge signing for Ziyech.

Crystal Palace: Cenk Tosun

A wonderful signing from Everton who scored a huge goal for Palace against the champions Man City at the Etihad. Crystal Palace will expect more goals like that from the Turkish striker and hopefully he can help Crystal palace finish in the top half.

Everton: Jarrad Branthwaite

A simple decision for me for Everton. They only signed one player and it was Jarrad Branthwaite from Carlisle United. The 17-year-old midfielder has played for the League Two side for the past two seasons and will be part of Everton’s future.

Leicester City: Ryan Bennett

In January, third-place Leicester City brought defender Ryan Bennett from Wolves. The Premier League veteran has made over 100 Premier League appearances, 34 of those last year for Wolves. This year, however, Bennett has only made 11 appearances, four of those off the bench. Bennett will fit in better at Leicester at maybe make some appearances if Leicester defenders get hurt or on the bench.

Liverpool: Takumi Minamino

The 25-year-old Japanese striker from RB Salzburg fits perfectly with Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool. Klopp has a certain place in his heart for versatile forwards that can play anywhere across the front line. Minamino has proven he can do this and will be perfect for the league leaders. In six seasons, Minamino has scored 42 goals and has 20 assists. He will hope to keep up those numbers for Liverpool, even with a rock-solid front line.

Manchester City: no one

Another team that didn’t sign anyone. Unlike the other teams, Man City doesn’t need to sign anyone. They have a lot of depth and they don’t need anyone, especially since they just got suspended from the Champions League and fined by UEFA after breaching FFP rules.

Manchester United: Bruno Fernandes

A promising young Portuguese attacker signed by Manchester United from Sporting CP for a high fee. Sound familiar? Well, if it doesn’t, the last player to fit those constraints was none other than Cristiano Ronaldo. That’s the player that Fernandes could become. In 83 matches for Sporting, Fernandes scored 39 goals and got 28 assists.

Newcastle: Nabil Bentaleb

The only team to bring in more players than they sent out, Newcastle were willing to spend big. The 25-year-old Algerian defensive midfielder spent three years at Spurs before playing three more at Schalke. Bentaleb started 38 games in 46 matches for Spurs and started 59 in 73 matches for Schalke. He’ll be great player and key signing for Newcastle and hopefully he can save them from relegation.

Norwich: Ondrej Duda

From one Bundesliga signing to the next. Duda was brought in as another athletic player that fits in to Norwich’s system which is very German. Brought in from Hertha Berlin, Duda definitely had his best ever season last year. In 32 games, Duda scored 11 goals and had five assists. This year, Duda had a significant drop off. He played in seven games and only had one assist. Norwich will hope to get Duda up to last season’s form if they want the slightest chance of surviving.

Sheffield United: Sander Berge

Sander Berge is one of the world’s brightest stars and was sought after by lots of big European clubs. Before this season, Sheffield United were a team coming from the Championship with not a lot to look forward to in the Premier League. Now their in fifth in the league and they’ve signed an exciting player with a bright future.

Southampton: Kyle Walker-Peters

Before the season started, Walker-Peters was supposed to take over as the regular Spurs right-back and be part of England’s depth in that position. After Mourinho was brought in, Serge Aurier was considered Mourinho’s right defender and Walker-Peters didn’t play a lot. A loan move away was the best option for him and that’s what he got. He’s a player that could another defender for Ralph Hasenhuttl to use and is pretty much a replacement for Cedric Soares.

Spurs: Steven Bergwijn

What a goal Bergwijn scored on his debut and what a player he could be. A beautiful volleyed goal against Man City to lead to a huge two to zero win is an amazing way to announce yourself at the club. Bergwijn wasn’t actually the only arrival in January either. Spurs also brought in Portuguese midfielder/winger Gedson Fernandes from Benfica and made the Real Betis loan for Giovanni Lo Celso permanent, but the Bergwijn signing will be most influential. In six seasons for PSV Eindhoven, Bergwijn scored 29 goals and got 30 assists. What is probably more impressive for Tottenham manager Mourinho is the fact that he scored 14 and assisted on 12 last year. Now I just need to learn how to do his celebration!

Watford: Ignacio Pussetto

Another signing from the long stretch of deals between Udinese and Watford, two friend clubs. Pussetto will be another attacker that Nigel Pearson can trust to get goals for him. Last year with Udinese, Pussetto scored four goals and got four assists. The year before that, he scored nine and had five assists.

West Ham: Jared Bowen

Bowen is another player who has a bright future. Multiple big clubs were reported to want him, but no one got the Hull City player. That is, of course, until the hammers snatched him up, and now Bowen is at a club he’s happy to play for. In four seasons for Hull, he scored 53 goals and got 10 assists. In all three seasons in which he scored, he reached double digits in goals and consistency was one of his strengths. He is a very exciting player and he’ll hope to get West Ham out of the relegation zone.

Wolves: Daniel Podence

It wouldn’t be a complete transfer window without Wolves signing a Portuguese player. This time they went for Olympiacos midfielder Daniel Podence, who scored five and assisted on seven last year while helping Olympiacos win the Greek league. Rochdale youngster Luke Matheson almost made it on this list, but the defender is too young to judge. Regardless these are big signings for a relatively new Premier League club.

Sources:

  • fbref.com
  • premierleague.com

Yankees Minor Leaguer Sues Derek Jeter for $34 million

Yes, you read that correctly. Former Yankees minor league shortstop Garrison Lassiter sued the Yankees, among other organizations, for preventing him from having a professional sports career. This is probably the wackiest story of the MLB offseason, but it’s been swept under the rug by the Astros’ cheating scandal. Yankees fans and front office staff must be smiling after two of their rival’s managers (Mets and Red Sox) were fired. Now they have to deal with a new problem. His name is Garrison Lassiter.

Lassiter was born on December 22, 1989, in High Point, North Carolina. His brother, Landon, was born on June 14, 1993 in Thomasville, North Carolina. We don’t have a lot of information about his life before high school, but we do know that he grew up around his birthplace of High Point.

Lassiter started high school at Ledford High School in Thomasville. In his freshman and sophomore years, he played quarterback in football. Before his junior year, Lassiter transferred to West Forsyth High School in High Point, his birthplace, to play baseball. There, he was coached by long-time baseball coach Randy Pope, who retired in 2019. His team was ranked nationally and he played so well his number was retired in 2009. Lassiter also was a preseason All-American in 2007 and 2008 and played in the 2007 AFLAC All-American Game. It is even reported that he played for the US at the Pan-American Games, even though though there is no record of him being on the team.

As a talented high school star, the next step naturally was to play in college. In 2008, when he was ranked No. 1 player in North Carolina by Baseball America, Lassiter signed a letter of intent to play at the University of North Carolina. Instead, Lassiter got drafted by the Yankees in the 2008 MLB Amateur Draft and was set to play in the minors for them.

As an 18 year old rookie, the Yankees probably didn’t know what to think about Lassiter. So they assigned him to play in the Gulf Coast League, for the Staten Island Yankees. Oddly enough, there were 22 future MLB players on that team, including big names like Francisco Cervelli, Kyle Higashioka, Dellin Betances, Ian Kenedy and Arodys Vizcaino. That season, Lassiter played in only six games and had 24 plate 553 on-OPS appearances. He had six hits in that span (all of them singles), a stolen base, a walk and six strikeouts. He had a 261 batting average and a 553 OPS.

Lassiter moved up a league before 2009. He was assigned to the Charleston Riverdogs in A. He didn’t play with as talented players this season, although he did play with the legendary switch-pitcher Pat Venditte. Being in a higher division in 2009, you could tell the Yankees had more faith in him to be a big player and he showed he could. He played in 75 games in 2009, only one of those in Rookie League. He had 30 RBIs in 2009 and had a 669 OPS. You could tell his stock was rising.

Lassiter played for two teams in 2010. In the first half of the season, he stayed on the Riverdogs in A. This season, he was teammates with 2019 MLB All-star Shane Greene. After playing just 27 games and racking up only a 102 batting average, Lassiter was moved down to A lower class. He played for the Staten Island Yankees alongside current Yankees players Gary Sanchez and Tommy Kahnle. Once he moved to A-, he improved a lot. In 39 games, he hit for 285 average and a 714 OPS . After the 2011 season, Lassiter could have been on the brink of a career revival, and the Yankees probably hoped so too.

Because of his performances in A- the year before, Lassiter was moved up to A, playing again in Charleston. In 64 games, Lassiter had a pretty average season with no outstanding stats. Getting a lot of games and plate appearances was probably a good sign that his stock was rising.

It turned out that he was getting better and in 2012, he got moved to A+, his highest level yet. He was playing for the Tampa Yankees alongside major leaguers Austin Romine and Eduardo Nunez as well as a 36 year old A-Rod as he was trying to build his career back up. Lassiter played only 24 games and had his worst year since his rookie season. The future for him looked grim.

In June of 2012, Lassiter’s baseball career was over. He was finally cut from the Yankees. He had had a 242 career batting average and was described by his Riverdogs coach Aaron Ledesma as “below average. Not much power, didn’t really hit for a high average.”

Lassiter’s athletic career wasn’t over yet. In 2013, he enrolled in the University of Miami. He wanted to play quarterback on the football team because he had experience in high school. His football career didn’t go as planned. He didn’t play a single snap and was cut in 2014 after trying to rally up the team to having him take the starting role.

After his sporting life was over, we didn’t hear much from Lassiter. In 2016, he wrote a letter to the Yankees former head of development complaining about he was underpaid and undervalued. In January 2018, he sent a letter to the Rangers GM saying that the Yankees were “a team that doesn’t understand the importance of giving respect to the players” and referred to the GM as “big dawg.”

In May, Lassiter launched the lawsuit representing himself as his own lawyer. He sued the Yankees for $34 million. Lassiter, who calls himself a mix between Corey Seager and Brandon Weeden, had many factors that went into making up the $34 million. He got about $17.5 million from what Seager makes, $11.6 from what Weeden would have made and $5.6 for basketball, which there are no records of him playing.

On December 30, he added $1.6 million dollars on. This was a suit for the Reds for not being able to pick him up on waivers. You could tell Lassiter was trying anything he could.

The reason for all these suits? Lassiter claims the Yankees cut him “to protect the career of Derek Jeter.” I’m not sure that the Yankees were afraid of Lassiter overtaking Jeter. What do you think? Is Lassiter just a minor league scrub looking for money or does he have a case?

Sources:
  • NJ.com
  • baseballreference.com
  • hurricanesports.com
  • Girrafeneckmarc on Youtube

NFL Championship Round Preview

I apologize for not getting a preview article out for last week’s Divisional Round. My preview for this week is going to be a little bit different than my Wild Card preview. Since I already did a 2019 season recap for the Titans and I’m too lazy to do one for the other teams, you will only get a preview, players to watch and predictions. So with that, let’s go over Titans vs. Chiefs and Packers vs. 49ers.

6 Titans @ 2 Chiefs

An unexpectedly good matchup in AFC Championship at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. The Titans have history in their favor and the Chiefs have quality. The Chiefs have bad luck in big games and have choked in the playoffs on multiple occasions. These teams met earlier in the year in week 10; a Titans win at Nissan Stadium.

Titans player to watch: Ryan Tannehill. In the Wild Card round, I picked the leading rusher, Derrick Henry. This time around, I’m going to pick the Titans best player in the second half of the season, their main Quarterback, Ryan Tannehill. In 2019, he had the league’s best passer rating and fifth best completion percentage. Tannehill also lead the league in yards per catch and yards per attempt.

Chiefs player to watch: Travis Kelce. a huge part of their comeback win last week against the Texans. He had 134 yards and three crucial touchdowns in their 51-31 win. He wasn’t bad during the regular season either. He had 97 catches, 1,229 yards and five touchdowns in 2019.

Score Prediction: Titans 28, Chiefs 23

2 Packers @ 1 49ers

A classic two seed versus one seed matchup at Levi’s Stadium. This is another redemption game, but this time it is at the same stadium as the first. The Packers will hope to get the Niners back for the 37-8 thrashing in week 12. The 49ers have been an interesting team because they are one of the only teams to balance a great offense with a great defense. The key for the Packers this season has been consistency, which they haven’t had mush of in recent years.

Packers player to watch: Davante Adams. Huge for the Packers last week with 160 yards and two touchdowns. He has been the Packers main go-to this season with 83 catches. In 12 games, he had 997 yards with five touchdowns.

49ers player to watch: George Kittle. There are so many options we could choose here, but we’re going with Kittle. He had 129 yards and a touchdown versus the Vikings. In 2019, he caught 85 passes for 1,053 yards as well as five scores. The Packers are going to have a tough time stopping him.

Score Prediction: 49ers 35, Packers 21

Sources:
  • NFL on Youtube
  • teamrankings.com
  • espn.com

A Look Back at All the Big College Basketball Upsets

There have been an unprecedented number of upsets this year in college basketball. Especially, upsets where top five teams lose to unranked teams. There have been 10 of these kinds of upsets this season already compared to the mere six that last season produced. So what caused these upsets? Why are there so many just this season? Let’s take a look back and answer these questions.

Evansville 67 @ 1 Kentucky 61
November 12, 2019

The upset that kickstarted it all. Kentucky, the preseason number one, probably thought this was going to be an easy win to improve their record to 3-0. Evansville, a small Indiana school now last in the Missouri Valley Conference did not let that faze them.

Evansville kept it close in the first five minutes. They took their first lead almost six minutes in, leading ten to eight. Kentucky somewhat let Evansville into the game at the start. At one point they had missed six of their last seven field goals; that streak only ending after a Johnny Juzang three-pointer that gave Kentucky a one point lead. After both teams traded baskets for awhile, Evansville broke away to an eight point lead. With 1:46 left in the half, they tied this biggest lead title, now winning 32-24. The Purple Aces led 34-30 at the end of the half and the Wildcats needed to make some changes in the second half if they wanted to get back in the game.

Evansville started off the half strong with a Noah Frederiking three pointer and didn’t look like they were going to let up that lead. A seven-two run by Kentucky, though, cut that lead to two. With 12:22 left to go in the game, Kentucky finally tied up the game at 46, their first time with a share of the lead since when it eight to eight. The second half was similar to the first, but much closer. Evansville led barely, but neither team was going to go down easily. With under a minute to go, Evansville led 65-60. With eight seconds left, Kentucky made their second layup in a row, making the score 65-64. After two made Evansville free throws, Kentucky had a chance to send the game to overtime with a three. Tyrese Maxey’s three pointer was a foot short of the basket and Evansville had pulled it off.

This game was Kentucky’s first loss in 40 games at home ranked number one against unranked nonconference teams. This also snapped a streak of 52 home wins against unranked nonconference teams. At the time, it was regarded as a huge upset, but no one knew what would transpire.

Virginia Tech 71 @ 3 Michigan State 66
November 25, 2019

This upset shouldn’t really count because it was in a pre-season tournament in Hawaii, but it’s an upset regardless. It was 3 Michigan State’s second preseason tournament loss of the season, and it was also a game that improved Virginia Tech to 6-0.

Michigan State were the more convincing team in the first half, with Virginia Tech just lingering around. The thing that kept Tech in it was their three point shooting. They made six threes in the first half. This three point shooting led them to a 32-28 halftime lead.

Two and-ones and even more threes led to as big as a ten point lead. But 3 Michigan State wouldn’t go down without a fight. Down 63-56, they made a huge three to cut the lead to four. Aaron Henry made a layup for Michigan State, but Virginia Tech fired back. A Landers Nolley layup gave Virginia Tech more control expanding their lead to four. Michigan State were not done, though. A clutch Aaron Henry three made it only a one point game. Landers Nolley broke Michigan State hearts again with Virginia Tech’s 11th three pointer. Michigan State’s Kyle Ahrens made a layup and the Michigan State press was on. After that, the game tampered down. Wabissa Bede made three foul shots late on for Virginia Tech. The final score was 71-66. Virginia Tech had upset Michigan State.

Stephen F. Austin 85 @ 1 Duke 83
November 26, 2019

The upset that shocked the world. It’s hard enough to beat Duke ranked number one. It’s even harder to beat number Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Stephen F. Austin managed to do it as a lowly unranked school in the Southland Conference.

Five minutes in, Duke was winning 11-7; a lead that was too close for comfort, but a lead regardless. Ten minutes in, Duke was winning by 12. That lead grew to 15, capping off a 12-3 run. Stephen F. Austin came back and got the lead all the way down to four with three minutes left in the half. At halftime, Duke was winning, 45-40.

Duke might not have won the game, but they won the would-be dunk contest. Cassius Stanley pulled the ball back and then threw it down off of a pass in, making it a 49-42 game. Duke had a comfortable lead throughout the first part of the second half. SF Austin withered away this lead and they finally led with 8:09 left to go in the game, 63-62. The teams traded leads right down into the last minute. With a minute to go, Vernon Carey made a layup to give Duke a 79-78 lead. After Stephen F. Austin made a free throw and Duke made two, the game was 81-79 with under a minute left. The Lumberjacks’ Gavin Kensmil made a clutch layup, tying the score. Duke could still have won it with 20 seconds left to play, but Duke missed a lot of shots. 40 minutes wasn’t enough, so they would settle it in overtime.

In overtime, both teams traded layups to keep the game tied. The Blue Devils looked for a winner with 10 seconds left in OT. As if this came couldn’t get any more dramatic, Stephen F. Austin stole the ball and were on the fast break. As time expired, Nathan Bain made a layup to surely give the players of Stephen F. Austin a memory they’d never forget.

5 Virginia 40 @ Purdue 69
December 4, 2019

Who would have predicted this blowout? The first upset involving the defending champs and this one reminded you of that loss to UMBC. This one was probably tough on Virginia, after not much was expected out of them when many of last year’s starters went to the pros.

Purdue started out great. They got out to a 26-9 lead early, part of a 17-0 run. Virginia only scored 17 the entire half, with just over a 30% shooting percentage.

Virginia weren’t as bad in the second half as in the first, but the still had a lot of ground to make up.

Texas Tech 70 @ 1 Louisville 57
December 10, 2019

The biggest win of all the upsets came Texas Tech’s way at Madison Square Garden. Last year’s March Madness finalists knocked off the number one ranked team, although that’s not to say Louisville was particularly good.

The game was close in the first couple of minutes, but before long Lousiville had jumped out to a 12-5 lead. Texas Tech fought back with an 11-0 run and they had the lead. They kept a small lead until halftime when they led by three.

Consistency was key for the Red Raiders as they kept the sort of lead they had in the first half. After two Davide Moretti three pointers, Texas Tech had an 11 point lead. Louisville had an 8-1 run after that to come back into the game. Texas Tech than took even more control, erasing any Louisville thought of coming back. A game that was supposed to prove whether Louisville could be the one ranked team actually proved the opposite, proving Texas Tech could win big games.

4. Maryland 69 @ Penn State 76
December 10, 2019

The second home upset in this list, having the crowd at their back definitely helped Penn State pull off this blockbuster upset. Having one of these upsets is rare, as we’ve learned, but December 10 had two.

Penn State started the game really well with an alley oop leading to a monster dunk. Maryland recovered well and got their first lead at 8-7. Penn State were the first team to start to pull away getting out to a 18-7 lead. Myreon Jones made a three at the first half buzzer to make the score 40-30 at halftime.

Penn State sustained about a ten or eight point lead throughout the first part of the second half, until Maryland finally made it a two point game. That didn’t last long because Penn State got their comfortable lead back, helped out by the fans. Maryland never found a way back and Penn State knocked off Maryland.

5 Michigan 62 @ Illinois 71
December 11, 2019

Mid-December was a big time for upsets as we had another Big 10 one, this time involving Michigan and Illinois. Michigan is the second of two five seeds to get upset in this list. Illinois is also the fifth Big 10 school to upset a top five team.

Early on, Illinois was mostly contained as every time they tried to get a big lead, Michigan stopped them. All 16 points Illinois scored in the first 10 minutes were in the paint. This first half must have been really exciting for the Illinois fans as it stayed a one-score game throughout most of the first half.

Illinois finally started to mount a big lead in the second half, when they led 45-37. They kept this lead throughout most of the second half, without much of a protest from Michigan. After a hard fought game, Illinois had done it. They won 71-62.

3 Ohio State 71 @ Minnesota 94
December 15, 2019

Ohio State was the only top five team this season to be upset twice. This was the first of the two. Minnesota, on the other hand, scored the most points out of any of the teams on this list.

Minnesota did not let a big opponent faze them at home as they quickly got out to a 9-6 lead. Unlike other losing teams, Ohio State led for a little bit. Minnesota first looked convincing when they got out to a 19-14 lead. After a layup in the closing seconds, Minnesota led 38-29.

In the second half, Minnesota showed anyone who thought they couldn’t come back and led 55-37, finishing a 10-1 run. They kept playing like they had been and knocked off Ohio State.

4 Oregon 65 @ Colorado 74
January 2, 2020

The first west coast upset in Colorado against Oregon. Huge for Colorado, bad for Oregon.

A fairly low scoring close encounter in the first half. Colorado got their first lead at 11-10. Oregon kept making baskets, but Colorado kept pushing back. Colorado finally started to pull away near the end of the half and led 28-22 at half.

It was in the second half that the Buffaloes really found their stride and started to lead. Oregon tried to cut the lead down with a 17-6 run, but they couldn’t make it all come together. It was close at the end, but Colorado ended up winning it by nine.

Wisconsin 61 @ 5 Ohio State 57
January 3, 2019

This upset caused both these teams to go in opposite directions. Right now, Wisconsin are ranked 21, while Ohio State are unranked. Poor old Ohio State, who have know been upset twice in this list after they once were the number three team. This game was also the second time that there were two of these upsets on back-to-back days.

Ohio State must have thought this was going to be like any game when they quickly got out to a 7-0 lead. Wisconsin fought back a little bit and made the score 15-15. The game stayed close, but Ohio State kept their lead until the last minute of the half. Two threes in the last minute made the score 29-25 at the interval.

Ohio State came out really well in the second half. They got their lead up to seven and looked like they were going to pull away at home. But Wisconsin were not done. They had a good period as well and got the game tied at 47. They finally got a lead with under two minutes to go. They led 52-51. A Brevin Pritzl three pointer capped off a huge 8-0 run for the Badgers. Ohio State were never able to respond, but did hit a three at the buzzer. That shot made it 61-57 Wisconsin and gave them the upset win over the Buckeyes.

Sources:
  • espn.com
  • Victor Valient on Youtube
  • Big Ten Network on Youtube
  • ACC Digital Newtwork on Youtube
  • Big 12 Conference on Youtube
  • Highlight Nation on Youtube

NFC Wildcard Round Preview

Vikings (10-6) @ Saints (13-3)

A matchup of two double-digit win teams at the Mercedes Benz Superdome in New Orleans. These two teams balance potent rushing and passing attacks leading to strong offenses. They also both have good pass rushers. Minnesota will try to remind the Saints of their 2017 matchup and last minute touchdown, while the Saints will try to shake off their past.

Saints:

Player to Watch: Michael Thomas. This season, Michael Thomas broke the all-time NFL record for most catches in a season with 149. He also isn’t bad outside of catching the ball with 1725 receiving yards and nine touchdowns.

Success of 2019: Quick offense. The Saints ranked third in yards after catch, second in snap to throw speed and were tied for third in terms of sacks allowed. This helped them in having the league fourth most efficient offense, and led them to 13 wins.

Struggle of 2019: Just like the Texans, the Saints were masters of the art of close games. Six of their wins were by one score and nine were by two scores. when your season’s on the line, all you want to do is prevent the game from getting close.

Vikings:

Player to watch: Danielle Hunter. One of the most feared defensive ends in 2019, Danielle Hunter racked up 14.5 sacks, 50 tackles and forced three fumbles. His sack tally was the same as last year and he was tied for fourth in the NFL in that category.

Success of 2019: Pass defense. Though not great on all cylinders, the Vikings pass defensive has been pretty solid in 2019. The ranked third in interceptions, fourth in yards per catch and eighth in yards per attempt.

Struggle of 2019: Pass offense. There have been some great passing plays for Minnesota, however, they just haven’t spent a lot of time on offense, ranking 26th. This is probably the cause of a passing offense that ranks 23rd, not good for a playoff team.

Score Prediction: Saints 28, Vikings 10

Seahawks (11-5) @ Eagles (9-7)

A rematch of the week 12 game which the Seahawks won at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. In terms of record, you could say that the Seahawks should host this game, but the Eagles won a tough division and the Seahawks came in second in a tough one. Regardless, both bird teams will come out flying.

Eagles:

Player to watch: Miles Sanders. A candidate for Rookie of the Year, Sanders led all rookies in scrimmage yards, with 1327, 509 of those being receiving yards. He was on the injury report this week with a sprained ankle, but he’s expected to be back healthy for the game.

Success of 2019: Run Defense. In 2019, the Eagles ranked third in rushing yards per game and 11th in yards per carry. This could be crucial to stopping a lethal running back like Chris Carson.

Struggle of 2019: losing games they could have won. For a season in which they played only five teams with winning records, nine wins is nothing to cheer for. They even lost to two teams with less than six wins (the Lions and Dolphins). If they can’t beat the bad teams, how are they going to play against the big boys?

Seahawks:

Player to watch: Bobby Wagner. He’s a bright spot in defense that’s lacking bright spots. In 2019, he led the NFL in tackles with 159. He also has some playoff experience, providing 2 interceptions and 125 combined tackles in six years for the Seahawks in the playoffs.

Success of 2019: Passing Offense. The Seahawks ranked fourth in passer rating sixth in yards per attempt and eighth in yards per catch. This contributed to a complete offense, which ranked eighth in yards per game.

Struggle of 2019: Injuries. At one point in the season, it looked like the Seahawks were going to take the NFC West division crown. They stumbled at the end, though, losing three of their last four games. This was mostly because of their injuries. It got so bad that in week 16, they had to start their fifth-string running back, Marshawn Lynch.

Score Prediction: Seahawks 27, Eagles 13

Sources:

  • NFL on Youtube
  • pro-football-reference.com
  • nfl.com
  • foxsports.com
  • teamrankings.com

AFC Wildcard Round Preview

Bills (10-6) @ Texans (10-6)

A classic defense vs. offense matchup @ NRG Stadium in Houston. With all due respect to the Bills offense and Texans defense, this game is mostly worth watching to see how the Bills defense deals with the Texans offense. The Bills boast the 2nd best team defense, while the Texans are blend a great rushing and passing game, especially when it matters. Statistically speaking, this might be the most intriguing Wildcard Weekend matchup.

Texans:

Player to watch: JJ Watt. JJ Watt makes his triumphant return after being sidelined since week 8. The 3-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award winner could help to stop the Bills offense, which could change the game drastically.

Success of 2019: Darren Fells. he made a big impact in tight games for the Texans. He has 341 yards and 7 touchdowns this season. They are 5-0 when he scores a touchdown.

Struggle in 2019: Close games. The Texans have an expected record of 7.8 and 8.2, a losing record. That’s not good for a playoff team. 8 of their 10 wins have been one-score games. They haven’t looked extremely convincing at all this season and they might come up short here in the postseason.

Bills:

Player to watch: Tre’Davious White. This season, Tre’Davious White has become one of the biggest shutdown corners in the league. He has 58 tackles, 6 interceptions, and a 45.1% passer rating allowed, adding to the second best team defense in the NFL.

Success of 2019: Running game. At the beginning of the season, the Bills were not expected to have a very good offense. Their offense has been pretty OK this year; especially with running the ball. They are ranked 8th in yards per game and 13th in yards per carry, pretty good for an offense we expected nothing out of.

Struggle of 2019: Rush defense. The Bills give up the NFL’s 18th best yards per carry. The also tie for the league’s 19th best pass defense to running backs, which could cost them against the Texans, who rely a lot on Duke Johnson on passing plays.

Score Prediction: Bills 30, Texans 17

Titans (9-7) @ Patriots (12-4)

Another AFC East vs. South match up, this time at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro. Just like Buffalo, the Patriots have a somewhat sluggish offense, but a killer pass rush. The Titans have a respectable offense, but the story has been the offense, especially the running game. The Titans will look to built off of the momentum they gained after clinching a playoff spot, while the Patriots will look to get back on track after a tough loss last week to the Dolphins. Either way, both teams are in it and this game should not be passed up on.

Patriots:

Player to watch: Stephon Gillmore. He was probably the Defensive Player of the Year in 2019. He locked down some of the league’s best receivers. He had 53 tackles, 6 picks, and 20 passes deflected; the last two stats he led the league in.

Success of 2019: Best defense in the league. First in points allowed, touchdowns allowed, yards per game allowed, points per game allowed, etc. I could go on, but you get the picture.

Struggle of 2019: The passing game. After it seemed like the Patriots had a lot of great receivers in the beginning of the season, that simply isn’t true anymore. Julian Edelman has been the only consistent receiver for the Patriots. He was the only Patriots to get over 1,000 yards receiving and the next closest with 645 was a running back, James White. The next closest receiver to 1,000 yards was Phillip Dorsett with 397.

Titans:

Player to watch: Derrick Henry. Henry surprised everyone this season by becoming the NFL’s leader rusher. He also led the league in touchdowns. The Titans were 6-0 when he rushed for more than 100 yards, helping the Titans clinch a playoff spot.

Success of 2019: Ryan Tannehill. Ever since taking over for Marcus Mariota in week 6, Ryan Tannehill has been the story of the Titans. He has the highest yards passer rating, yards per catch and yards per attempt in the league since week 6.

Struggle of 2019: Protecting Ryan Tannehill. It’s fair to say that the Titans have one of the worst offensive lines in the league. They are third worst in sacks allowed. This could be an edge for the Patriots as their pass rush isn’t bad.

Score Prediction: Patriots 28, Titans 20

Sources:

  • NFL on Youtube
  • pro-football-reference.com
  • nfl.com