Category: NFL

Dont’a Hightower Done for the Season. Suddenly Improving Patriots Defense is Now in Trouble

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SI – New England Patriots linebacker Dont’a Hightower has a torn pectoral muscle and will miss the rest of the season, reports NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport.

This Patriots team is falling apart at the seams. First it was Julian Edelman blowing his knee out and now its our defensive captain in Hightower. In the first year of his new contract too, what a goddamn bummer. This will be the first time that Hightower, who has a reputation for missing time, will miss more than 2 games in a row as a Patriot. So now the Pats will have to scramble to shore up yet another hole on their roster.

If theres any silver lining at all its that this injury happened a few days before the trade deadline. Not like theres a Pro-Bowl linebacker out there to be had for cheap, but it gives the Patriots way more options than if this injury happened next week.

I think Belichick secretly strokes it to situations like this though. He fucking HATED every minute of this pre-season when people saying the Pats could go 19-0. But, take away his best receiver and his best defensive player?  Now we’re cooking with gas. People are doubting us now, saying we don’t have the personnel. Stephon Gilmore’s a bum you say? MEET JOHNSON BADEMOSI! Oh Hightower’s hurt? BRING IN CASSIUS MARSH! Edelman went down? I HAVE FIVE RUNNINGBACKS ON THIS ROSTER!

The guy just loves playing checkers especially when its on All-Madden mode with an injury plagued team. Belichick loves being in the trenches just putting out fires; thats where his genius really comes into play. If we’re being honest, anyone could have fell ass backwards into Tom Brady in the 6th round or known to take Vince Wilfork in the first round. Most guys though aren’t able to craft an entire roster and keep the train moving down the tracks while the engine’s on fire. As fictional Miami Dolphins GM Larry Siefert once said in Ballers: anyone can fill the top or the bottom of a roster, its those guys in the middle that set you apart.

Apparently Jon Gruden’s Son, Deuce Gruden, is the Goddamn Hulk

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Look at that picture! Just solar eclipsing the human gun show himself, Ed Hochuli. Incredible. I don’t know how I missed this, but the NFL is just littered with Grudens and last night we got all 3 on one screen.

We got the OG Jon Gruden up in the booth on Monday Night Football of course, we got his brother the former Arena Football legend Jay Gruden coaching the R-Words and then to my utter dismay we have Jon Gruden’s son, Deuce, working as a strength coach for Washington. Plot twist though; he is the goddamn hulk.

How was this 5’6″ bodybuilder with the last name Gruden not on my watch list? I feel like I should get an internet demerit for missing this. But, make no mistake I am all in on Deuce Gruden now. I am fascinated by this kid. Imagine growing up with Chucky as your dad back in his prime as the Raiders coach? No wonder this kid is a machine.

NBC Goes All-Madden Mode for Camera Angle in Patriots Falcons Game

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The fog came into Gillette fast last night and after a while you really couldn’t see a damn thing on TV, which must have sucked for the poor sap who dished out $200 bucks to sit in the 300s and couldn’t see shit.

As soon as NBC switched to that Sky Cam angle though I got a sudden rush of dopamine and I had no idea why. This new camera angle they finally switched to after an hour of trying to watch the game through the clouds just seemed right. And then it dawned on me. This is Madden. This is the same angle I’ve been playing football with for 15 years. This is the view I had when I first learned what Spider-2-Y-Banana was, or just how many clickers I could get my roommate to smash by running the perfectly timed HB Screen. Spread em out and go No Huddle for an entire game. This just feels right. NBC, do yourself a favor and get this angle worked into every game as much as you can. Subliminal advertising at its finest because right now I am jones-ing for some Madden.

 

Is Jimmy Garoppolo Insane for Asking for this at Dunkin Donuts?

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So Patriots All Access teased an upcoming segment about Jimmy Garoppolo’s first trip to Dunkin Donuts, which can border on a religious experience for a lot of people in Boston. Welp, swing and a miss for ya boy.


A vanilla long-john? A what? Is that code for drugs? Are you trying to score some smack at Dunkies, Jimmy?

I remember going to school down in CT where it was a mashup of New England, New York, and New Jersey kids so there was plenty of occurrences like this. People would look at me like I was having a stroke when I said “lets go to the packy.” So I get it, but Jimmy my man, this is nonsensical stuff. We’re gonna have to get the heads of Chicago together and talk about this. Grab Kanye, Chance, and Carl Winslow so they can put a stop to this before it goes too far.

Mr. Kraft Does It Again! Makes Fire Flames Sneakers Out of Super Bowl LI Footballs

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My goodness. Just when I think Robert Kraft has outdone himself with his footwear, he does it again. He’s created maybe the greatest sneaker of all time. Forget Yeezys, Bobby Kraft is the hottest footwear designer on the streets. JUST LOOK AT THESE.

The man has taken actual footballs from the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history and turned them into fire flames footwear. Incredible. I still need to get me a pair of RKK Air Forces, but at least those are available for purchase. These things are like a rare Pokemon; I know I’ll never get a pair yet I need them. It’s like acid in my mouth. Hook a blogger up, Mr. Kraft.

Prettyyyy Sure You Can’t Do That, Marshawn Lynch

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Little bit of extra curricular activity from the Chiefs defensive line on Thursday Night Football and Marshawn Lynch was NOT having it.

Pretty sure leaving the sideline to rough house with the refs is frowned upon, but we’ll see how the Ginger Hammer feels about it.

Thursday Night Pick Em: Chiefs vs Raiders (Bonus: Color Rush Breakdown)

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As always, all our lines come from the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook so blame them if the numbers change. Tonight we’ve got the Kansas City Chiefs (-3, 47) at Oakland Raiders.

Derek Carr still doesn’t look right, not surprisingly, just a couple of weeks after breaking his fucking back. So the Raiders are hard to trust here. Especially with the hottest team in the NFL coming to town in the Kansas City Chiefs. Travis Kelce is back, allegedly, to 100% after a concussion, Kareem Hunt is still the most electric RB in the league, and Tyreek Hill is still on this team. Not to mention Alex Smith is FEELING himself for the first time in a long time. No more checkdown Alex safe throw Smith. Dude is letting it fly. Sure being in a contract year with a QB drafted in the 1st Round behind you probably doesn’t hurt, but the guy has some legit weapons around him in KC for the first time. KC is a (-3) point favorite and that is easy money. That is nothing. Slap your money down on the table confidently and sit back and watch the Chiefs make us all rich.

Now, onto the unis.

I’ve heard a lot of Raiders fans complaining about the Color Rush jerseys, with Oakland going white on white tonight. It does seem like a missed opportunity to have a total blackout. Just go old school villain, make everything black, but nay. The Chefs are going red on red, which is a good look, but they’re both wearing the same uni combos when they played each other last year. Should’ve been Raiders decked out in black with the Chiefs rocking all yellow with red highlights. Now thats a Color Rush I can get excited about. And if you complain about that because you’re colorblind well then tough shit; Thursday Night Football just isn’t for you then.

The Packers Aren’t Signing Colin Kaepernick Because Teams Don’t Sign New Starting QBs Mid-Season, Not Because of His Political Views

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Yahoo – The Green Bay Packers might have lost franchise quarterback Aaron Rodgers for the season, but coach Mike McCarthy is definitely not interested in adding free agent Colin Kaepernick. McCarthy was posed the question by a reporter Monday and his answer was an emphatic “no.”

You want the truth?

You weep for Kaepernick and you curse the Packers. You have that luxury. Mike McCarthy has neither the time nor the inclination to explain himself to you.

And the truth of the matter is Colin Kaepernick is a middle of the pack QB, who has not taken so much as a practice snap in months. We’re heading into Week 7. Regardless of who is available as a free agent, teams never sign street free agent QBs this far into a season to be their starter. It just doesn’t happen. Especially not when McCarthy, who fancies himself a strong developer of QBs, has two backup QBs on the roster that he brought in.

So bringing in Kaepernick, regardless of his off the field headlines, isn’t a realistic option. Not to mention, the guy wanted CAKE to sign with any team; not backup money.

Take a local example with the Patriots. Last year, with Brady suspended and Jimmy Garoppolo hurt, the only healthy QB the team had on the roster was 3rd string rookie Jacoby Brissett.

The Pats worked out a couple of guys but instead of bringing in someone like TJ “Yates of Hell”, the Pats opted to go with NO ONE. They legitimately preferred nobody over signing a street free agent at QB. They literally had Julian Edelman as their emergency QB as a better option over a guy who had zero grasp of the Patriots playbook. Its the same thing here. You think McCarthy would rather bring in Kaepernick and just throw him out there like its a goddamn game of Madden than play one of the guys he’s groomed behind Rodgers over the years? Its nonsense to even suggest that as a realistic option.

Now, I hope Kaepernick gets a shot somewhere because there are definitely worse QBs in the league, but there are also QBs in the league who aren’t rocking the boat with their employer and aren’t demanding top line starter money. Fair or not, thems the facts.

Richard Deitsch Ranks the Top 25 PxP Broadcasters: The 300s Reacts

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Image result for al michaels

Sports Illustrated – We live in a great era for play-by-play voices. The list of quality game-callers is deep and sports broadcasting has become far more inclusive than ever as evidenced by women (Tiffany Greene, Beth Mowins, Kate Scott, etc…) regularly getting play-by-play assignments that have traditionally been the domain of men only.

Given the quality of talent among play-by-play voices, I thought it would be a fun parlor game to list the 25 best working play-by-play broadcasters in the business. This list is entirely subjective. It is entirely based on my likes when it comes to professionalism, preparation and quality of broadcast. I expect to be told on social media that the list sucks.

While Deitsch admits that his list is subjective and that he expects to get pushback on social media, he won’t get much pushback from me. His list is more than fair and includes a wide range of broadcasters from a wide range of sports. Still, I’ll add my two cents.

23. Phil Liggett, NBC Sports

The soundtrack for the Tour de France in the United States…

22. Mary Carillo, The Tennis Channel and NBC Sports

A play-by-play caller who is unafraid to deliver truths while calling a match…

A cycling announcer and a tennis announcer right out of the gate had me concerned about the direction of this list. Where’s the Boston Marathon announcer going to be ranked?

18. Sean McDonough, ESPN

McDonough continues to be criminally underrated. While he currently handles Monday Night Football and college basketball broadcast duties for the worldwide leader, he was also a terrific college football and Major League Baseball broadcaster. Arguably the best Boston play-by-play announcer of all time.

17. Brad Nessler, CBS

Love listening to Brad Nessler. I feel like my dad watching an Oilers/Bengals game in 1990.

14. Chris Fowler, ESPN

The best tennis match caller working today. There are better on college football but he’s improved each year at that gig, too.

I’ll give Deitsch credit, he is showing more respect to non-Big 4 sports than I would on my list. But I still miss listening to Brent Musburger on big-time college football games. Fowler is ranked too high for my tastes.

13. Gus Johnson, Fox Sports

Would probably be higher on this list if he stilled called NCAA Tournament games. It’s a shame we don’t get to hear him on CBS (or TBS) in March any more.

10. Joe Buck, Fox Sports

Perennially underrated as a baseball voice and he’s self-deprecating on the mic, which is welcome.

I agree with this statement 100%. Not the best in the business, but not deserving of much of the criticism he receives.

9. Kevin Harlan, CBS, Turner Sports, and Westwood One

I respect a broadcaster who will do play-by-play of a drunk fan on the field during the fourth quarter of a lousy Monday night game.

4. Ian Eagle, CBS Sports, Westwood One, Tennis Channel, YES Network

The highest ranked Sunday afternoon NFL broadcaster on the list and I don’t disagree. Though his partner, Dan Fouts, might need to be the next analyst to get pushed out the door when Peyton Manning decides to get back in the game.

2. Al Michaels, NBC Sports

Still the gold standard for the NFL—and still going strong at age 72. He’ll call his 10th Super Bowl on Feb. 4, 2018.

From the Olympics to the World Series to the Super Bowl and everything in between, Michaels is perhaps the best of all time.

1. Mike Emrick, NBC Sports

I did not expect to see a hockey broadcaster at the top of this list but it is well deserved for the Doc. No other sport and broadcaster go together better than Emrick and hockey. Hell, Emrick does minor league and college games when the NHL goes into lockouts. That’s dedication. I can’t imagine Mike Tirico announcing a Northeastern basketball game the next time the NBA has a lockout.

What are your thoughts? Tweet at us @The300sBoston

 

Tom Brady Now Holds the Record for Most Wins in NFL History

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With his 187th regular season win, Tom Brady passed Peyton Manning and Brett Favre to become the NFL’s All-Time wins leader.

Normally after years of deep playoff runs I wouldn’t take too much solace in regular season records, but with 5 Super Bowls on top of that its more than acceptable to stop and smell the roses on this one. Tom Brady, by just about every statistical metric, has no equals.

Thats right, this guy:

went from the 199th overall pick to the all-time winningest player in NFL history. The goddamn GOAT. Not too bad.

Over the years theres been plenty of stories about Tom Brady’s rise and all the work he’s put in, but its hard to beat the gigantic Fuck You to the 6 QB’s taken ahead of Tom Brady that was The Brady 6.

And why is Tom Brady the Greatest Of All Time? This is why.