By John Sarianides The Tampa Bay Bucs are en vogue in 2017. That’s right. The once fledgling franchise is a sexy pick to surprise teams in the NFC in 2017. The excitement over this team is warranted. General manager Jason Licht has put together a talented roster. Tampa Bay has high end, young talent on both sides of the ball. Quarterback Jameis Winston is a superstar in the making. He…
By John Sarianides After years of handing out ambiguous, random suspensions, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell finally got it right suspending by Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliot for six games. The league couldn’t afford to butcher this situation the way they did the Ray Rice situation in 2014. It is obvious that Goodell learned from that case and he wasn’t going to make same mistake twice. Pictures emerged yesterday showing the…
By John Sarianides The Buffalo Bills made two major trades on Friday afternoon. The Bills traded Sammy Watkins to the L.A. Rams and got wideout Jordan Matthews to replace him from the Philadelphia Eagles. The Bills announced the trade of Watkins and a 2018 sixth-round pick for cornerback E.J. Gaines and a 2018 second rounder. Minutes later, the Bills made official the acquisition of Matthews and a 2018 third-rounder from…
By John Sarianides The Atlanta Falcons signed running back Devonta Freeman to a five year, $41.25 million dollar extension on Wednesday. The deal guarantees Freeman $22 million and he is scheduled to make $8.25 million per season. Freeman is one of the most productive running backs in the league. He finished with 1,500 yards of total offense and 13 touchdowns. Freeman is a three down weapon who makes big plays…
Featured image courtesy of David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports By John Sarianides The Patriots lost their pre-season opener to the Jacksonville Jaguars 31-24 tonight at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots played well offensively, particularity Brandon Bolden and rookies Austin Carr and Jacob Hollister. The defense on the other hand was putrid. They gave up big plays, took bad angles and missed tackles all over the field. Bill Belichick and Matt Patricia are…
By John Sarianides The wait is over! The 2017 season kicks off tonight with the first pre-season game of the season. After three days of joint practices, the Patriots will host the Jacksonville Jaguars at Gillette Stadium tonight. Here are three things to look for in terms of the offense, defense and special teams. Offense: Tom Brady is sitting out tonight so the Patriots will start Jimmy Garoppolo and play Jacoby Brissett….
By John Sarianides The Carolina Panthers went 15-1 and made it to Super Bowl 50 in 2015. They followed that up by going 6-10 last season. It is hard to figure out why Carolina regressed so much considering there weren’t many changes to the roster. Changes were made to the roster this off-season. Thanks to the infusion of some young talent on offense, an improved offensive line and the addition…
By John Sarianides Former Syracuse and Patriots coach Dick MacPherson passed away yesterday at the age of 86. MacPherson was named the 11th head coach of the Patriots in January of 1991 and served as head coach for two seasons (1991-92). MacPherson came to New England after a successful ten year run as head coach at Syracuse. MacPherson was the Patriots first big time hire. Sure, they had hired Ron…
By John Sarianides The Patriots have become the first team in NFL history to purchase their own planes. According to ESPN. Bob Kraft has acquired two planes. One will be the “main” plane that will carry the team and personnel. The other plane will be used for other personnel and family. The planes cost between $5-$65 million, used. A new plane could cost $200 million. The main plane is designed…
By John Sarianides Let’s be honest. The New Orleans Saints are an after thought in the NFC. They did make some headlines this off-season when they traded wide receiver Brandin Cooks to the Patriots and signed aging running back Adrian Peterson but other than that, it was a quiet off-season in the French Quarter. On paper, the Saints don’t have the look of a contender. They do have sleeper potential…