2019 NFC Preview, with Awards & Super Bowl Pick

Yesterday I covered the AFC so today I'm going over my predictions for the superior conference, awards, & the Super Bowl. Let's get to it. 

Is Doug Pederson the best coach in the NFC? (Jeff Fusco) 

NFC Preview

NFC East
1. Eagles         13-3 (1)
2. Cowboys      8-8
3. Giants          6-10
4. Washington 4-12

Last year Philadelphia lost more games due to injury, including five by Wentz, than any other team in the NFL. They made the playoffs & if not for a single Alshon Jeffery drop they could've made the NFC Championship. With Foles in Jacksonville their margin for error is smaller, however if Wentz stays healthy there may not me a more loaded team. With the return of DeSean Jackson no team can switch more effectively between 11 & 12 personnel (three wide receivers to two tight tends), first round pick Andre Dillard gives them key depth at offensive tackle, & their defensive line rotation remains the envy of the league. Corner is the only position that isn't an obvious strength, yet when compared to the injury decimated unit that finished out last year it'll be hard to complain about. Throw in head coach Doug Pederson & defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz as the best coaching combo outside New England & the Eagles are the team to fear in the NFC. 

2019 AFC Preview

The NFL is back for it's 100th season, finally giving me the chance to redeem myself after last year's Falcons over Chargers Super Bowl prediction. This year I've split the preview into AFC & NFC sections, the latter of which will run Sunday & include awards & the Super Bowl, because otherwise this would be way too long. Now let's get to it before Antonio Brown switches teams again.

One hundred years of CTE! (Bill Feig / Associated Press)

 AFC Preview

AFC East

1. Patriots   13-3 (1)

2. Jets           8-8

3. Bills           5-11

4. Dolphins   3-13

A month ago New England's biggest weakness appeared to be a less than stellar receiving corps, now they have Josh Gordon &, somehow, Antonio Brown. There may be no guarantees either is still playing in January, but if anyone can keep them on the field & productive it's the Brady/Belichick duo. They've also got a strong line, good stable of running backs, a steal from the draft in end Chase Winovich, & a defense built around the best cover corner in football, Stephon Gilmore. The only question in the regular season is if they'll be the one or two seed in the AFC.

These guys on the same team? That seems unfair. (USA Today)

2018 NFL Preview

Football is back! As is my annual, slightly late preview. Let's not waste any more time & just get to it.

AFC

AFC East

1. Patriots   12-4 (1)

2. Jets          6-10

3. Dolphins 5-11

4. Bills        3-13

There are definitely questions about the talent level on this Patriots team (Chris Hogan is there #1 receiver for the first four weeks!), but they still have the best coach & QB, & the easiest schedule -- that's good enough for a 1 seed. Sam Darnold gives the Jets some liveliness on offense that they haven't had since... Chad Pennington? Couple that with Jamal Adams & Trumaine Johnson giving Todd Bowles the type of DBs to fully run his blitz heavy scheme & the Jets aren't a team to be overlooked. I like Adam Gase but there just isn't much to love about this Miami team. They jettisoned a lot of their elite talent & they're not exactly the deepest team either, it's gonna be a long season. Then again, nothing will be as brutal as this Bills season. Tyrod Taylor carried them to the playoffs for the first time this century last, . so naturally they ditched him for pick machine Nathan Peterman & Josh Allen, the least accurate QB in this draft class. I'm sure that'll work out. 

"Black Panther" Was Headed for Best Picture History but the New Popular Film Category Could Stop It

Ryan Coogler's Black Panther was primed for a Best Picture nomination.

Black Panther was going to be nominated for Best Picture. Ryan Coogler’s film was going to be the first superhero movie to be nominated for the film industry’s highest award, a lesser writer might even have proclaimed it the Jackie Robinson of superhero films. Then the Academy announced this year would feature a new award to honor the best popular film, & this breakthrough has been thrown into doubt.

2017 NFL Preview

As per tradition I'm posting my NFL preview during opening Sunday, so I won't waste your time with some expanded prelude discussing the greatness of the NFL, or its shittiness, or my past success with predictions (Half of the Super Bowl teams the last 8 years, & 3 of the winners). Let's get to it...

Will Tom Brady be celebrating again this season?

AFC

East

1. Patriots (1) 13-3
2. Dolphins      7-9
3. Bills            4-12
4. Jets              2-14

The Patriots may have lost their opening game, but their balance across all three facets of the game, plus their coach & QB, remain the envy of the league. That, & this terrible division, should allow them to grab home field advantage. Tannehill to Cutler doesn't make any difference in my feelings about the Dolphins, they simply aren't going to go 8-2 in one score games again. They were a mediocre team that got lucky last year, they'll just be mediocre this year. Ah, the Bills. A few months ago I might've taken them as a wildcard, now they've traded away half of their good players. Tyrod & LeSean will keep them competitive in a number games, but only for so long. The Jets are going to be so so so bad, two wins might be optimistic. 

Baby Driver: You Don't Want to Miss this Ride

We're now midway through the summer movie season &, with all due respect to the original Princess Diana, Baby Driver has sped past the competition to stake its claim as the best film thus far.

The poster is pretty kick-ass too.

Edgar Wright is one of those directors that film critics & aficionados hold in high esteem, but that the American public hasn't fully caught onto. Of his four previous films released in the U.S. none scored lower than 81% on Rotten Tomatoes or 69 on Metacritic, yet none of them made more than $32 million or finished in the top 90 in yearly domestic box office. Whether it's because of the overt Britishness (& R ratings) of his Cornetto Trilogy, or the consistent lack of star power* in his films, Wright's been unable to break through with mass audiences the way he has in the industry. Ant-Man was meant to provide that opportunity, but creative differences led to his leaving that film. Perhaps that was for the best, Baby Driver is more distinctively Wright than any Marvel film could ever be, & if things go well it will have exceeded the domestic box office office of any of his previous works by the end of the weekend. 

*With Brie Larson, Chris Evans, Anna Kendrick, Aubrey Plaza, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, & others, "Scott Pilgrim" has a lot of retroactive star power but at the time only Evans might've been a bigger draw than Michael Cera, crazy as that sounds.

And, by God, it should. Ansel Elgort, Lily James, Jamie Foxx, & Kevin Spacey, have all had major roles in $100 million hits, with the latter two having three Oscars to their names, & between his Emmy win & overwhelming handsomeness Jon Hamm's no slouch either. It's easily Wright's most high profile cast. Sony has ensured the film has had plenty of publicity & it's received the best reviews of Wright's career. More to the point, it's a ton of fun.

Wonder Woman: DC Finally Gets One Right

Wonder Woman's success this weekend was blinding.

Being the first female led (of the MCU/Justice League era), & directed, superhero movie makes Wonder Woman a great leap forward, but the actual film fits squarely within the confines of the genre -- with all of the strengths & the flaws that entails (most notably a listless CGI finale against a less than compelling villain).

Thankfully Wonder Woman is more reminiscent of the MCU than DC's previous oppressive slugfests. The film boasts a strong sense of humor throughout, with Gal Gadot & Chris Pine both showing off expert comedic deliveries, & the casting of the two leads proves to be the best move the film makes.

Holiday Movie Preview: A Dozen Movies to See in the Next Six Weeks

Brie Larson could look a little more excited to see these movies.

For the last several years my one New Year's resolution has been to see fifty-two movies released in that given year. That means catching up on older movies I haven't seen doesn't count, & I go off the Oscars' calendar, meaning movies like Selma & American Sniper that didn't have a wide release until this year still count as films from 2014 as they had already been released in Los Angeles. Those may seem like unnecessary hurdles, but if a resolution is easy what's the point? With six weeks to go in 2015 I've downed forty movies*, with that in mind this holiday movie preview will list the dozen movies I'm most excited for from today till the clock strikes twelve on January 1, 2016.

*Of those forty, four have clearly stood above the others. "Inside Out," Pixar's latest masterpiece, "The End of the Tour," a beautifully nuanced two man show between Jesse Eisenberg & Jason Segel, "It Follows," already one of my favorite horror movies, & "Ex Machina," a clever sci-fi thriller that was my introduction to the astounding Alicia Vikander as well as a reminder that Oscar Isaac is the best actor working today. All of these films can be found on DVD or some form of streaming.

A few notes about this list. All of the movies listed have yet to debut in Tucson, if you live in a larger city you may have already seen a couple of them. The list, also, only includes movies that will play in Tucson before the New Year, so The Revenant & The Hateful Eight didn't make the cut as their wide releases aren't until January 6. Lastly, if a film's release date includes the "limited" qualifier it means that unless you live in L.A. or New York you'll have to wait a little longer to see it, for Tucson you generally need to add two to four weeks, & if you don't live in a city you may not get the opportunity to see such films in theaters at all. As always, if you click on a film's title you can see its trailer. Now, without further ado...

Arizona vs. UCLA: Can the Wildcats Exorcise Their Demons?

44-41 2OT

In this life, or the next, they will all pay for their sins.

Current students at the University of Arizona may not recall the score that still haunts the football program to this day, but those of us who were at the last Wildcat game to host ESPN's Game Day crew will never forget it. Arizona had Oregon on the ropes when many in the Zona Zoo prematurely jumped onto the sidelines in preparation of rushing the field, angering the football gods with their hubris*, & bringing the team's Rose Bowl hopes crashing down. More rational people may argue that the students didn't really cause the team to lose that day, & that the existence of football gods is a ridiculous attempt to bring order to an inherently chaotic sport. The Ducks quarterback, Jeremiah Masoli would agree with, at least, the first half of that sentiment, saying in regards to the students crowding the field, "I saw it and I actually smirked. It was kind of funny. I wasn't really worried about it." But football, with its Hail Mary's, Immaculate Receptions, & touchdown celebrating deities, is clearly a place of the spiritual, if not the downright supernatural, & Masoli was an asshole. Thus there is no doubt in my mind that the loss belongs squarely on those students who attempted to celebrate early, & the rest of my feelings regarding those kids can best be summed up by the great Samuel L. Jackson:

The players, coaches, & students at today's game are not the least bit responsible for that tragedy, but it is a legacy that they are tasked with putting to rest for the sake of the Arizona fan base, less that anguish follow us the rest of our lives.

*Less anyone accuse me of only chastising the students' actions because of the end result I want to be clear that I was at that game, I refused to leave the stands, & I warned my friend not to jump onto the sideline. I would never claim to fully understand the will of the football gods, but I knew that claiming victory before it was bestowed upon us could only have calamitous consequences. 

The Good & Bad of this Year's Emmy Nominations

For the seventh consecutive year Emmy voters failed to give Nick Offerman a nomination for his inspired work as Ron Swanson on Parks and Recreation, to say nothing of Chris Pratt, Aubrey Plaza, & the rest of the cast, yet I feel like voters did a better job than they have in years. For one, they gave Parks & Rec its second nomination for Outstanding Comedy Series! There were still some weird choices–Jeff Daniels got another nomination for his OK work on the mediocre, at best, Newsroom–& I'm going to criticize those, but when the good outweighs the bad at the Emmys it's cause for celebration. Without further ado a breakdown of the best, & worst, of this morning's Emmy nominations. We'll start with the worst so as to end on a high note. For a full list of the nominations click here.

2015 Summer Movie Preview: 20 Films to See from June through August

We’re off to a solid start to the summer movie season with the first five weeks gifting us a pair of solid sequels (Avengers: Age of Ultron & Pitch Perfect 2), The Rock defeating earthquakes/tsunamis in the wonderfully outrageous San Andreas, &, most notably, Mad Max: Fury Road which somehow managed to integrate themes of feminism & the dangers of religious fundamentalism into two hours of crazed action. That George Miller’s return to his Mad Max franchise would be both a worldwide hit, it’s grossed over $283 million to this point, & the best reviewed mainstream movie released this year gives some perspective on his accomplishment. While those who keep an eye on the indie scene have had a variety of interesting, & well reviewed, fair to choose from. There’s been an impressively cast period romance (Far From The Madding Crowd), an Ethan Hawke led examination of the drone war (Good Kill), another offbeat Kristen Wiig film (Welcome to Me), a gym comedy starring Cobie Smulders & Guy Pearce (Results), & an inventive western featuring Michael Fassbender & the Hound from Game of Thrones (Slow West).* Granted it hasn’t all been good. Poltergeist looks to have been another needless remake. Hot Pursuit was hot trash. The much hyped, by me anyway, Tomorrowland, was solid but never quite equaled up to the sum of its parts, while Aloha put an exclamation mark on Cameron Crowe’s decade long slump.  But misses are inevitable, what matters are the good ones & there are plenty left to come.

* If you’re in Tucson you can still catch “Slow West” at the loft & “Madding Crowd” at el con, where you can also still see the excellent “Ex Machina.” You might also try on demand for these smaller films.

Super Bowl XLIX Preview

Who will win this battle of football titans*?
*Obviously I don't mean the Tennessee Titans, they suck. 

I don't want to toot my own horn* about correctly predicting this Super Bowl five months ago so let's just get straight to talking about this fascinating game.

*Actually, I do. I'm 8-2 against the spread (Naturally, I haven't been betting), & straight up, in these playoffs. Only 6 of 64 ESPN experts correctly predicted this Super Bowl at the start of the year. In seven years of making preseason predictions I've got at least one Super Bowl team right in all but one year. I've now nailed 8 of the 14 teams during that span. King Kong ain't got s*** on me!
 
I know a lot of people aren't thrilled this game is between the Seahawks & the Patriots, the two most hated teams in the league, give or take the Cowboys & Steelers, but who cares what the haters think. The further this season went on the more apparent it became that this was the most interesting potential matchup. Sure, Denver fans would've loved a rematch, until it ended in another double digit loss. It was always a matter of time before the Colts got blasted by a better team, better for it not to be in the big game. Dallas... F@#$ that. Green Bay would've been fun though. Rodgers vs. Brady, a rematch of one of the few marquee matchups of the regular season that lived up to the hype, no one would've objected to that. This is even better though. Pete Carroll's shot at revenge on the team & owner that fired him. Tom Brady versus his successor in the clutch category, Russell Wilson (Who's 10-0 against Super Bowl winning quarterbacks, though that has a lot to do with the defense). The two best cornerbacks in the league demonstrating just how good they are. The Seahawks can become the first repeat champions since the Patriots. Belichick & Brady* can become only the second coach/QB combo to win four Super Bowls (Chuck Noll & Terry Bradshaw were the first). Brady gets a shot at beating the team that massacred his rival the year before, & in doing so cement himself as the best quarterback of his generation. They're also just the two best teams in football.** That's a lot of great storylines, & it's going to be awesome getting to see which ones play out.

*Listen, if you want to always see an asterisk next to those two names because of spygate & deflategate go ahead. You're being either extremely stupid, or biased if you do, because neither of those was A. exclusive to the Patriots or B. that big a deal, but go ahead & let your Patriot hate flow.

**Certainly some Packers fans will take exception to that claim what with Rodgers being hurt & Seattle needing a miracle comeback to win on their home turf. I'd counter that Russell Wilson quite possibly played most of that game with a concussion & the Seahawks turned the ball over 5 times & the Packers still couldn't beat them. You don't get better opportunities than that & if you can't capitalize you're simply not good enough –– at least not with your coach asleep at the wheel.