Hard Knocks Preview

Apologies pillow talkers, O’leary and myself have been out of town for the past couple days and were unable to get any posts up. Please forgive our absence. We are back in town and back in action today.

Anyway…HBO’s Hard Knocks debuts August 6th. Can’t effin wait. This preview gets me jacked.

http://www.hbo.com/video/video.html?view=grid&vid=1330729&autoplay=true

Every year Hard Knocks is one of my favorite shows. HBO does an unreal job showing the hardships of training camp through multiple perspectives. Hard Knocks covers the bottom of the roster guys that are grinding hard every day in hopes of making the final cut, the veterans who are relaxed and can coast through training camp, the guys who are in position battles, coaches, and more. It’s very cool to see  how training camp can differ so much from individual to individual.

Hard Knocks has provided some of my favorite quotes and moments in football. Here is a look at just a few of the legendary moments from over the years:

Who can forget Rex’s rant 3 years ago, that he so eloquently closed out with, “Let’s go eat a goddamn snack.”

That shit is gold.

Seeing Joe Philbin address the team, followed by the exact conversation that took place when Ochocinco was cut? That was incredible to see.

By the way, cheers to the greatest Hard Knocks personality of all time, Chad Ochocinco. Everything that came out of his mouth was funny.

What about Cro’ naming his kids?

Hard Knocks has provided some great moments over the years. But what can we look forward to this year? Here are some of the things i’m excited to see:

–  Does the Red Rider really command respect amongst the team? Solid quarterback, but i’d be willing to bet that Andy Dalton gets ripped on here and there in the locker room.

– How will James Harrison adapt to his first training camp under Marvin Lewis?

– I know AJ Green is a filthy talent, but i don’t know much about his personality. I’m pretty pumped to see what he’s like.

– The Bengals have some pretty interesting personalities in Geno Atkins, Vontaze Burfict, Carlos Dunlap, Andrew Hawkins, Pacman Jones, Domata Peko, Reggie Nelson and more. This should make for a pretty entertaining year. Head Coach Marvin Lewis isn’t the most entertaining guy in the world, but it is always cool to see how coaches run things.

– Aside from all of that, it is always cool to see the daily grind that these players go through. Getting an inside look at these players battling in the grueling hate day in and day out really makes me respect them even more. I went through training camp in high school and it was the worst week of the year, every year. These guys do the same thing but for weeks at a time. It really makes people realize that it’s not all fun and games for these pro athletes. Yeah they’re getting paid unreal amounts of money, but it’s not like they don’t work for it. Hard Knocks is a great way to see how these guys really earn their paychecks.

 

– Steve Butabi

Training Camp is around the corner, 8 teams to watch

It’s time to start brushing up on your NFL knowledge and bring out your jerseys, because the season is rapidly approaching, and it looks like this one is going to be epic. All across the league, rookies will report to camp as early as Monday(21st) and no later than Friday(26th), with veterans arriving a few days after. Let’s get right into the thick of things. A successful training camp can jumpstart a team and possibly be one of the main factors in a great season.  Every team has to execute during the preseason, but here are 8 that might interest you a little more.

(in no particular order)

1. RAVENS – the defending champs completely remodeled their roster weeks after they took home the lombardi. No Ray Lewis.. who is going to step up as the emotional leader, who is going to inspire the rookies to keep pushing? I guess we will find out.  No Ed Reed.. thats two first ballot hall of famers not on the roster anymore, who is going to be the field general and teach the new guys how to ball-hawk in this pass happy league? Can first round pick out of Florida Matt Elam fill the void of the most dynamic safety of our decade? These two guys pretty much started the Ravens franchise, but now they are gone and the Ravens are looking to do the hardest thing in sports…. Repeat as world champions.  Rookies report the 21st, Veterans the 24th.

2. TEXANS – Arian Foster, JJ Watt, Andre Johnson, Brian Cushing, Matt Schuab… Just a few reasons why the Texans have a legit shot at winning this thing this season.  The Texans were on the winning end of one of the most talked about off-season moves, the signing of Ed Reed.  It seems like everyone always says the Texans are loaded with a bunch of talented players who don’t know how to get it done… Well adding a two time superbowl champion and an annual all-pro veteran might be the missing piece of the puzzle.  The Texans also addressed another key position they have been missing for years, a legit threat opposite Andre Johnson.  DeAndre Hopkins broke the fuck out last year, he took full advantage of Sammy Watkins being hurt and suspended and lit up the NCAA.  Can he have a good camp and work his way into his projected number 2 role by week 1? Only time will tell…. But if all pieces fall in the right places, the Texans will be scary good if they can get it going early. Rooks- 21st Vets- 25th.

3. CHIEFS – 

Andy Reid. Whether you like his methods or not, you can’t deny that he is a great coach, and a players coach as well.  Jamaal Charles has already came out and said that playing for coach Reid makes players want to succeed much more than they previously did.  With the addition of an actual QB in Alex Smith, and No. 1 pick in the draft Eric Fisher, the Chiefs have pro-bowl talent out the wa-zu.  Andy does things a little differently, and it will be very interesting to see how the Chiefs react to his methods.  Look for the Chiefs to work on very fundamental things throughout the training camp and getting back to basics, but don’t be surprised if the Chiefs make early noise with how well and crisp camp is going. Rooks- 22nd Vets-25th.

4. Jets – this year’s jets camp might as well be called Sanchez vs. Geno camp, but there is much more the Jets need to accomplish this summer.  Rex Ryan.. some people say he has lost his mojo as a dominating defensive mind.. I think he made the right move running with bulls in Spain and hopefully for Jets fans it meant that he’s ready to run over the AFC East again. Revis being gone wont be as big of a deal as most of the media will make it out to be.  They have been through portions of camp without Revis before, so don’t look too much into that story.  Leadership is the main prize the jets are hoping to find in the next couple weeks.  Whether it is #6 or #7 calling the signals at the line, will they be able to demand respect during pre-season.  The Jets along with many other NFL teams are running out of time with the current roster they have. Sooner or later house will be cleaned and it will be new-look, but can Rex get GangGreen back to the powerhouse, grind it out, hit you in the mouth kind of squad we saw just a few years ago? we will find out soon enough. Rooks- 22nd Vets- 25th.

5. Broncos – Expect to see nothing but all business from Peyton Manning and company this upcoming week (and lets not forget, shoutout to Frank Tripucka for letting Peyton rock number 18).  Mr. Manning has weapons, and he is as good as ever right now.  The Broncos are definitely on numerous lists as the favorite to win it all this year, and with a solid camp, there is no reason why it isn’t possible. On the defensive side of the ball the Broncs need to gel this camp.  Every rookie needs to hang out with Von Miller and learn how to have a motor like he does, possibly maybe even learn how to mimic his wardrobe.  Denver isn’t in any rush to get things done, but a solid camp could help them jump out to top dog right out of the gate. Rooks and Vets- 24th.

6. Eagles –

 

no one knows what Chip Kelly has in store for the NFL, all we know is that he has not named a starting quarterback going into camp. It seems to be a 2 man race but don’t be surprised if Barkley and Dixon make some noise at camp.  The birds are coming off one of the most disappointing seasons in recent years. Two years removed from the dream team, and finally out of the media for the most part, can the Eagles pull it together and get back to the playoff regulars they used to be?  The offensive line is back together so there is no excuses for whoever plays QB this year to take hits the way Vick did last year. Defense will potentially be changing to a 3-5 and they got rid of Nnamdi and DRC.. it could be a whole new look.  Overall, the Iggles are another team that is STACKED talent wise, but excuses and non execution has got them into back-to-back losing seasons, what does Chip Kelly bring to the table? Lets find out. R- 22nd V-25th.

7. Seahawks – this one is simple.  The hawks were the surprise of last season come late in the game.  Russell is a total success story, Richard Sherman is the punk personality every thug defense needs to keep it coming back for more, and now Percy Harvin might be the weapon that makes Seattle elite. Pete Carroll seems to know what he is doing in the league.  Hawks camp should be fun, prepare for a lot of tweeting and such about how good they are looking. Richard Sherman is leading the hype-brigade, can he lead the training camp? 24th for all.

8. Patriots – Belichick hates the media, and everyone hates Belichick. Well the haters are going to be very happy because all eyes are going to be on Pats camp.  With Aaron Hernandez going public with his gangbangerness, and DUI after DUI, the oh so classy Patriots are starting to look like they play in Oakland.  Brady is one of GOATs, but now he lost Airnandez and Welker, who is going to step up.  This camp will be successful if Bill can keep all his players focused on the task at hand not on the cameras. Also, if your a pats fan id start praying for tebow to be cut, dude is starting to bring nothing to the table but, well, nothing. R- 21st V- 25th.

Let the games begin.

– Throc Morton

Selfish Salsa

It’s going to be hard for me to bash on a Northern Jersey boy, but sorry kiddo.

Victor Cruz has been in the news a lot lately, but most recently it has been for his tweet about the Zimmerman trail which pretty much said “your gonna get killed bitch” (okay I might have put my own spin on that.) Now that Victor Cruz has retracted his tweet and apologized to the public, which obviously means everything is okay and back to normal, he thought it was time to complain about his contract. Cruz was just quoted saying “I’m not going to lie, it’s tough. It’s tough. When you understand from a numbers standpoint, and the numbers you put up you feel like deserve a certain amount of money … and you want your team to owe that to you.” Later in the same interview he stated that there were plenty of NFL receivers making more $$$ than him, and he believed he was more talented than a handful of them. Don’t get me wrong here, Vic can ball, and even though I personally do not think he’s nearly as good as the public makes him out to be (let alone Giants fans) he deserves a nice payday. What I have a problem with is that only 12 receivers are currently sitting on more comfortable contracts than Mr. Cruz.

I’ll start with a couple that everyone and their mothers know deserve 100x more money than Vic. Megatron, Larry Fitz, and Andre Johnson, I’m not even gonna explain myself for those three. Thats 3/12. Next lets talk about the vets who have posted more than two good years statistically, because that is all that he’s done so far. Brandon Marshall, Greg Jennings, Miles Austin, Dwayne Bowe, V-Jax, and Santonio. These guys have thrown up #s for years now, they deserved their fat paydays. Thats 9/12. Lastly, the big play threats. Yes, Victor busted a 99 yarder against the Jets once and it was soooo sick, honestly he got good portion of that contract because he’s a home run hitter. Well DeSean Jackson can hit the long ball too, and he’s done that time and time again, also, he is more versatile (cough, walk-off punt return). Mike Wallace is considered the fastest straight away receiver in the game right now, well he just signed with a shit team, and suprise, he got the payday he deserved. 11/12. Percy Harvin is the last person that I haven’t mentioned who makes more money than Vic, I also haven’t mentioned that I think he is overpaid a little bit, but the upside for Percy Harvin can’t be measured. I mean Percy Harvin’s name was thrown around in the MVP race last year until he got hurt, the man is one of the most versatile players in the league, and by far the most productive.

That makes 12 players who get paid more than Victor Cruz, and I believe you can make a case that they all deserve it. Good luck to you Vic, I hope you play balls out and fight for more money in the future, but for now sit on your 17 mil guaranteed and focus on not tweeting dumb shit.

-Throc Morton