2013 NFL Season Preview: NFC

Now that my NFL Predictions and AFC preview for this year are complete, it's time to try to make some sense out of a crazy and confusing NFC. While with the AFC this year, you pencil in two or three teams and then sit and stare blankly at who to fill in, the NFC is the exact opposite. I can literally make a good case for every NFC team as to why they will make the playoffs and thus I don't think there is one standout favorite to win either of the four divisions. That means making predictions is almost like pulling random records out of a hat, but I do it anyways because it is fun and I just love talking about football.

NFC East:

It's easy to pick defending division champs Washington Redskins this year. However, I'm not so sure about them. The main question with them is how soon will RG3 be ready to play? And even when he plays, will he be able to stay healthy? Andrew Luck I can predict a bright future, but RG3 I'm not so sure. I appreciate his boldness and lack of fear as he runs, but he needs to learn to protect himself better and perhaps stay in the pocket more as running quarterbacks always get hurt. If RG3 is healthy the whole season than this is a great team, but that's a big if.

Never count out the New York Giants in this NFC East. Yes last season was a bit of a disappointment, but don't forget that just two years ago they won the Super Bowl. The Giants always seem to find a way to bounce back after a disappointing season and with Eli Manning as their quarterback they are always a team to watch out for.

Is this the year that Tony Chocko and the Dallas Cowboys finally make it over the hump? Or are they going to once again get so close and almost play really good, but then drop it in the end? Romo just got a huge contract extension for some odd reason and he does have good weapons to throw to, led by Dez Bryant, so I wouldn't count them out. However, history of this team also tells me not to bet on them either.

The wild card in this division this year is the Philadelphia Eagles. Last year they came up last and they didn't necessarily change up their roster that much, but what they did is they switched coaches, letting Andy Reid go and picking up Chip Kelly from Oregon. Great college coaches don't always turn out to be great NFL coaches, just look at Nick Saban as an example, but I personally believe in Chip Kelly. I think the Eagles have great talent on their roster that he can work with and turn into a real force in this division again.


NFC North:

This could be the most competitive division this year, but my money for the division will once again be on the Green Bay Packers. Aaron Rodgers lost receiver Greg Jennings, but he shouldn't miss a beat as he still has Randall Cobb, Jordy Nelson, James Jones, and Jermichael Finley. Also there's a possibility that the Packers might actually have a running game this year with rookie running back Eddie Lacy joining the crew. And of course as long as Aaron Rodgers is still with the Packers, they will be right up there at the top.

Last year Adrian Peterson almost single handedly took the Minnesota Vikings to the playoffs on one of the best years in a long time for a running back, considering that some didn't even know if he would play at all. Well, with him back again, the Vikings should have no problem being back again, but in order for them to win the division or make a playoff run, Christian Ponder needs to step up to the plate and provide the Vikings with a passing game. If he does so, this will be a scary team this year.

Last year was a big disappointment for the Detroit Lions, but this is a team with a lot of talent on their team and shouldn't be counted out. Matt Stafford and Calvin Johnson will do their job of course and if other receivers around Megatron can step up, opposing defenses will have a lot of trouble stopping this offense. Added this year in the running game is Reggie Bush and him teamed up with Mikel Leshoure should be able to provide good balance to this offense. The problem with the Lions is they need to figure out this thing called defense. Teaming up Ziggy with Suh and Fairley should make for a great defensive line, but a defense needs a bit more than that to be successful.

Finally we have the Chicago Bears. The Bears were on a good track last season until the sputtered and died at the end, barely missing the playoffs. That led to the odd decision to can Lovie Smith. What was even more puzzling was the decision to hire Marc Trestman as their new head coach. Trestman has NFL coaching experience in the past as a quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator for various teams, but was most recently working as head coach of a Canadian Football League team upon hire and I don't know if this was a good decision. The Bears do have talent on their team, but in a tough division and a tough conference, the lack of a good coach could hurt them.

NFC South:

The NFC South is the most confusing division this year in trying to predict where teams end up, but I will start with defending division champs Atlanta Falcons. Last year the Falcons ended up with an impressive 13-3, but in my opinion they were the most overrated team in the NFL. They made it to 13-3 on the league's easiest schedule and struggled to win tons of games that they should've won by a large margin. This season they will be graced with a much harder schedule and I think they will struggle through it. They do have one of the best receiving duos in the league, but those thinking that Stephen Jackson will be their savior at running back might be disappointed. As a long time Rams fan and a huge Jackson fan myself, I can say that the man's best running days are behind him.

Saying last year was a rough season for the New Orleans Saints is definitely an understatement. With Sean Payton back in command and Drew Brees running the show on offense, I think this could be a bounce back year for them. As always, the offense will be on fire, but the big problem last year for them was defense and I don't know if they fixed that problem this offseason. If they can somehow figure out how to play defense, then I say they win the division, but that might be a pretty big if.

A sleeper team in this division I would say is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Last season the Bucs started out great with a 6-4 record, but then fell flat and ended the season 1-5. However, they have tons of talent on their team. They found a gem last year in Doug Martin at running back and have Vincent Jackson, Mike Williams, and Kevin Ogletree at receiver. Josh Freeman compiled a great stat sheet last year and if he can learn to better discern between his team and the opposing teams and not throw so many interceptions, this offense will be on fire. Also lets not forget that the Jets decided they no longer needed the league's best cornerback in Darelle Revis and shipped him off to the Bucs, so this Tampa defense could also be a force to be reckoned with. Don't be shocked if the Bucs wind up on top of the NFC South when all is said and done.

Finally we have the Carolina Panthers. With Cam Newton as head of this team, they have potential to breakout and be a great team, but the problem is that they have been stuck in the middle of the pack since they drafted him and apparently they are fine with mediocrity because they really didn't do anything this offseason to improve their team and thus in a competitive NFC, I really don't see them doing a whole lot. I expect them to once again land around .500 or just below.

NFC West:

It was only three years ago where the NFC West was the worst division in football as the Seattle Seahawks won the division at only 7-9. Now the tides have turned and the division is one of the best. It will be a hard battle between the Seahawks and Niners for the division title, but I am giving the edge to the Seattle Seahawks. I actually think the Seahawks are the best team in the NFC, but they may not end up with the best record as they do have a fairly challenging schedule. So they will be challenged, but all that talent on offense as well as the league's best defense will carry them through. Losing Percy Harvin to injury did hurt them, though.

I wasn't pleased with how Jon Harbaugh handled the Alex Smith situation last season, but it worked out in their favor as the San Francisco 49ers made it to the Super Bowl and now the future of the 49ers is in the hands of Colin Kaepernick. I think this makes for a very bright future, but it will also make for a very fun rivalry between them and Russell Wilson's Seahawks for years to come. The current problem this year for them which ultimately may hinder their progress a bit is that the injury bug hasn't been very nice to them, specifically in their receiving corps as both as Michael Crabtree and Mario Manningham will start the year on the PUP list. As division champs last year, the Niners get an even harder schedule than then the Seahawks and in Kaepernick's first full year as starter, I could see him going through a bit of growing pains. But I still think they will be playoff bound.

Meanwhile in the NFC West, while the Seahawks and Niners battle it out for the top, the other two teams aren't just going to lie down dead. In fact, they might provide an annoying challenge to them. Starting off, my own team, the  St. Louis Rams. In his first season as head coach, Jeff Fisher did a great job of leading this team to a 7-8-1 record and with all the attention the Niners and Seahawks were deservedly getting, the Rams took control in divisional games, ending with a 4-1-1 record. The Rams also did a great jobbing of building their team in the offseason. They scored big by grabbing Jake Long from the Dolphins. They also grabbed tight end Jared Cook to team up with Lance Kendricks and drafted speedy receiver Tavon Austin, potentially giving the Rams something they haven't had since Tory Holt left -- a true number one receiver. The defense also improved by adding Alec Ogletree to a unit that was already built up pretty good by Fisher. Two big questions for the Rams lie at two of the most important positions. First off, it's step up or shut up time for Sam Bradford. He needs to take his game to the next level or else the Rams need to start bringing in people that could potentially replace him. Second is running back. Stephen Jackson served this team very well, but he has started to decline and it was time to move on. The problem is the Rams didn't really replace him and thus hope that either Daryl Richardson or Isaiah Peed steps it up to fill the gap as both are coming into their second year. Richardson was the late round pick but actually showed potential to possibly be the man while Peed was the second round pick who didn't really do anything. Whether or not the Rams make a surprise run and sneak into the playoffs is up for debate, but they are at least headed in the right direction.

Now after ranting on about my team, it's time to finish up with a cursed franchise in the Arizona Cardinals. A few years back, Kurt Warner pulled off some big time magic by making this team great and even leading them to a super bowl. However, before Warner it seemed that no matter who was on the team or who was coaching the team, the Cardinals would lose. And now after he's left, the Cardinals seem to have gone back to that curse. They have great talent, they just don't win games. However, Carson Palmer is now the quarterback and his story is similar to Warner's. Palmer was a great quarterback whose career was suddenly slowed down and almost ended. After a failed stint in his next stop, he is here with the Cardinals. This is exactly what happened to Kurt Warner and he led this team to great heights. Can Palmer do the same? He has the pieces around him to do so. Also, new head coach Bruce Arians pulled off some big time magic last season with the Colts, so who knows. But I'm not betting on it right now.

2013 NFL Season Preview: AFC

Recently I posted my 2013 NFL season predictions and when I do those I go game by game, week by week instead of pulling random records out of the air based on how I think things are going to happen. In doing so, I often surprise myself with the actual records I come up with, but now that that is all done, it's time to follow that up with the actual explanations behind those picks. I will begin with the AFC. In the past decade, the AFC has been the more dominant conference, but recently that has changed and in looking forward, it seems almost certain that the AFC will be the weaker conference again this year. With the NFC this year, you can make a case for every team to make the playoffs. With the AFC, it's hard to determine which six teams will make the playoffs. So let us begin!

AFC East:

With all that has happened to the New England Patriots this offseason, it would be an easy prediction to say that they will struggle and drop the division. Wes Welker is in Denver. Aaron Hernandez is in prison. Gronk's injury status is still in question. They still have Tom Brady, but who the heck is he going to throw the ball to? The hope is for Amendola to be the next Wes Welker and I actually think that he will have a huge year, but I have no idea about anyone else. However, in the end I think the Patriots will still pull off the division title mainly because I don't quite trust the Dolphins and that is their only competition.


Like I just mentioned, the Miami Dolphins are the only competition for the Patriots. They do have a decent defense that added Dion Jordan in the draft. Then they made the biggest offseason acquisition by grabbing Mike Wallace to team alongside Brian Hartline. One big question comes with who is playing runningback. Also, can Ryan Tannehill step up his game in his second season. This team could challenge the Patriots, but I don't see them overcoming them.

The Buffalo Bills have been stuck in the basement of this division for a long time now and I don't see that changing this season, especially with how they handled the draft. EJ Manuel in the first round? And now with Kevin Kolb's career apparently in question, he'll have to be the man. And if he's not... the Bills have Matt Leinart now? New coach Doug Marrone will have to pull some serious magic out his hat to make this work.

And finally the New York Jets. Last year I thought the Jets would be awful  and they somehow managed six wins. Now it seems like they are depleted as ever and neither Sanchez nor Geno Smith is looking good at all in the preseason. The Jets could be headed for the top of the draft next season. Or they could pull out a handful of wins since they do have the Browns, Raiders, Bills (x2), Titans, and Panthers on their schedule. They could also sneak a win from the Dolphins and Patriots without surprising me.

AFC North:

Normally the defending Super bowl champs would be considered as the favorite to win the division, but that is not the case this year for the Baltimore Ravens. It seems everyone jumped ship. The Ravens did a decent job of replacing people, but the enormous contract they were pretty much forced to give Joe Flacco didn't give them much breathing room. Flacco has proven that he's a winner in the playoffs, but outside the playoffs he is nowhere near the likes of Brady and Manning and he may have a hard time carrying a depleted Ravens team back to the playoffs.

Some say that the Cincinnati Bengals are the team to beat in this division. Honestly, I'm not ready to crown just yet. Sure they've made the playoffs two years in a row and they do have a good young team, but all they've proven the last two years is that they can sneak into the playoffs but when they get there they just lay over and play dead. If they as a team take their game to the next level, then I can see them winning the division, but if they don't, it could be a rough ride as they face a really hard schedule this year as four of their first five games are against the Bears, Steelers, Packers, and Patriots. Around that comes road games against the Browns, Lions, and Bills, which all should be winnable, but yet they are on the road. We are going to learn very quickly if this Bengals team is for real or not.

My personal favorite to win the division this year is the Pittsburgh Steelers. Yes their situation is very much like the Patriots in that talent in the skilled positions is a bit sparse, but also like the Patriots they have a great coach and quarterback and as long as Mike Tomlin and Big Ben are a part of this organization, you can never count this team out. And if the Bengals and Ravens struggle a bit like I think they may, this will be the Steelers division to lose.

The Cleveland Browns could be the sleeper team this year. Unfortunately for the Browns this is the case every year and mostly they just stay asleep. But they do have a pretty good defense put together and with Trent Richardson just waiting to break out as a stud, their offense could surprise, especially because they quietly put together a decent receiving corps. I don't really trust Brandon Weeden, but if he steps up, they could do some damage.

AFC South:

Houston Texans are one of the surefire teams in the AFC. I'd say it's between them and the Broncos for homefield advantage in the AFC playoffs. The Texans started last season looking like the team to beat in the NFL, but kinda sputtered and died towards the end of the season. However, they still have a killer team that they improved in the draft by selecting receiver DeAndre Hopkins in the first round to play alongside Andre Johnson. If Arian Foster can get to full speed, this team will roll.
The

Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts were probably the best story in football last year and I think that Andrew Luck has a really bright career ahead of him. However, I'm not so sure that the Colts will match their record from last year as teams from the AFC West and NFC West that they will be playing will most likely give them greater challenges than what they faced on their schedule last year.

In Jake Locker we trust? No, I didn't think so either. But if the Tennessee Titans are going to provide even some bit of challenge this season, they need him to step up his game. The positive thing is that CJ2K is on the roster and if he turns back the clock a few years, he could make this team dangerous. However, I just think there are too many holes in this roster and ultimately they will sputter and fail.

I don't know quite what the Jacksonville Jaguars are thinking with their team. They had a pretty bad team last year and for some reason they still think that Blaine Gabbert is the answer at quarterback when he has already proven that he is not. But they didn't even draft a 2nd or 3rd round quarterback when there were plenty available at that time. They have Blackmon as a good receiver, but he is a proven trouble maker and will miss the first month of the season. They also have MJD, but that is about it. Sometimes I think that this team just enjoys losing.

AFC West:

The other team that is a surefire pick for the playoffs is the Denver Broncos. I already would've considered them a contender before they signed Welker, but with him that offense looks unstoppable. Peyton Manning, Wes Welker, Demaryius Thomas, and Eric Decker? Yeah, that sounds scary. And adding to the mix is Montee Ball, Ronnie Hillman, and Knowshon Moreno at running back. They just need to make their way through Von Miller's six game suspension and they are set!

Is it possible that the league's worst team from last year, the Kansas City Chiefs, could be fighting for a playoff spot this year? You bet! Despite the awful record, the Chiefs did have multiple pro bowlers on their roster which means the team was talented. Add in Andy Reid as head coach and Alex Smith as quarterback and I think this team actually has a lot of promise.

The San Diego Chargers don't look like they have much on paper but Phillip Rivers is still a good quarterback and they have a lot of players around them that have potential. The key here will be new head coach Mike McCoy. I honestly believe that he is a guy that can make the best out of this team. Also the Chargers do have a somewhat favorable schedule that could help them become a surprise team.

The Oakland Raiders are a confusing franchise and their lack of patience in recent years with head coaches I think killed any potential they had to be good. And this year their preseason quarterback battle is Matt Flynn vs Terrell Pryor. It's pretty sad when those are your only two options. Add to the fact that their only talented player they have on their roster is one that can't stay healthy. It's going to be a long season for Raider fans.


*CONTINUE WITH NFC PREVIEW RIGHT HERE*

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones Review

Books to movies has always been something that has happened ever since movies started to happen, but ever since Harry Potter and Twilight became huge sensations, Hollywood has been trying its hardest to find more teenage/young-adult book series' that can become huge hits and more often than not they have failed. While The Hunger Games was a massive hit, Percy Jackson, I Am Number Four, Beautiful Creatures, The Host, and now The Mortal Instruments all have failed. In terms of The Mortal Instruments, the marketing and advertising is at full blame. But while the studio who released it seemed to have given up on it long before it came out, I decided to give it a shot and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it.

First off I should mention that I have not read the books, but I've heard mixed things from those who have. Some liked it and some didn't, which is about normal. Personally I expect book adaptions to stray from the book so as long as they entertain me and don't butcher the books, making a sequel impossible (like with Eragon), I don't mind changes. But like I said, I haven't read the books so no comparison will happen. 

The Mortal Instruments is labeled as fantasy, but to me it felt like fantasy combined with supernatural. We had supernatural elements like vampires, werewolves, and demons added to fantasy elements like magic, witches, and warlocks. We also have new terms like shadowhunters, which are half-angel warriors who protect the world from demons. On top of this, we are in New York City, but all these fantasy/supernatural elements are in a city right inside New York City that is hidden from the common eye. And before you start comparing this to Twilight, stop it. Yes there are vampires, werewolves, and teen romance, but that's where the comparisons end. And it didn't really feel like Harry Potter either. In fact, it reminded me more of the TV show Supernatural than anything, with added fantasy twists to it.

Our story line centers around a girl named Clary who starts seeing weird symbols and people that her friends can't see. Shortly after she is horrified when she sees one of these people only she can see murder a person, who later she learns was a demon and the man was a shadowhunter. Following this event, her mother disappears after their apartment gets ransacked and Clary learns that she is in fact a descendant of these shadowhunters and her mom has just been getting her memory blocked and so she joins these shadowhunters and thus enters this dangerous hidden world. 

I thought this story was brilliant. It was very suspenseful and very entertaining. The world itself was visually amazing as well. The demons were insane and awesome and so were the shadowhunters, werewolves, and vampires. As far as the cast goes, I thought the movie was well cast. No, the acting wasn't always superb, but it was good enough  for most of the movie. Lilly Collins was our main star and she was great. Her eyebrows still bother me, but outside that Phil Collins' daughter is quite amazing. Her character went through the most progression out of anyone and I was impressed with that. Outside Lilly, the rest of the cast is fairly unrecognizable. The biggest name for me was Kevin Durand from the TV series Lost who is excellent at playing the idiot in whatever he is in. Other main characters are played by Jamie Campbell Bower, who showed up in both Harry Potter and Twilight, Kevin Zegers, who was the kid from Airbud, and a few others that no one has heard of, but they all did a decent job.

Yes, there were flaws. I don't mind romance in movies at all, in fact I expect it and even love triangles can be done well despite the fact that Twilight has put a sour view on them, but the romance in this is just not done well and the movie would've been better without it. Specifically there is one scene with Clary and Jace that is done so bad it is painful to watch. Also they had this idea that Bach was a shadowhunter and learned to discover demons by playing certain piano chords and that to me was just dumb. Just be classic and do the holy water thing or something like that. There were also a few other minor things, but overall the rest of the movie was good enough that it made up for these parts.

In conclusion, if you like fantasy and supernatural themed books and movies, I would suggest giving this one a shot because it deserved to be a huge summer blockbuster and deserved to have the whole series turned into movies and now it has failed so bad that the second one, which they have already started to make plans for, probably will never happen. This means that in order for me to get more Mortal Instruments like I want, I will be forced to turn to the books. As far as the movie goes, I give it an 8 out of 10.

Blue Jasmine Review

Woody Allen is probably one of the best, or at least most accomplished directors in movie history as he's been directing and starring in movies since the late 60's. His directorial debut came in 1966 with "What's Up, Tiger Lily?" and has since then has just about directed a movie per year, starring in a lot of them. At nearly age 80 now, he is still going strong and even had one of his most successful movies two years ago with "Midnight in Paris". This year's movie of his is called Blue Jasmine and has been in limited release for several weeks now and just now got put into wide release. In fact, at 1200 theaters, it is one of his widest releases ever and with that it showed up this weekend in several of my local theaters, so I decided to give it a shot. Woody Allen is often hit and miss, but despite the great reviews, this one is more of a miss for me.

Blue Jasmine is a character drama about a crazy woman named Jasmine that is a real mental case and because of that has more or less screwed herself over. After a string of unfortunate events, which we find out in more depth as the movie goes on, she goes to live with her sister in San Francisco to try straighten her life out. Just like our title character, this movie is a real mental case and I don't mean that in an artistically done way at all. The movie is all over the place. Like literally. It doesn't really go in chronological order and bounces back and forth from past to present to future. Now doing things flashback style like this is something I am not opposed to. My favorite TV series Lost does it this way and I think that is a brilliant show. However, this time around is really confusing because it transitions real smoothly from present to past and back. In fact, it does it so smoothly that a lot of the times I almost missed the transition and thus throughout the movie I get confused as to whether we are in the past, present, or future. One second we are with Jasmine in San Francisco and the other second we are with Jasmine in New York. And on top of all that, I never really got too invested into the story which is just about the relationship problems of two sisters and thus I found myself really bored rather quickly.

Despite the confusing, disconnected, uninteresting story, I really have to applaud the cast in the movie, especially Cate Blanchett who plays our title character Jasmine. By goodness she does an amazing job of being this crazy, psychotic woman. She currently has a lot of Oscar buzz surrounding her after this performance and I am all in for that. And actually as I was watching this movie, her performance reminded me a lot of Vera Farmiga as Norma Bates in the new TV series Bates Motel. Vera does an amazing job of playing Norman Bates' crazy mother in the very good Psycho prequel series that is only one season in so far. Cate is definitely on the same level. But Cate isn't the only brilliant one. Jasmine's sister Ginger is played by Sally Hawkins who does a great job of being pretty much the exact opposite of Jasmine. As both go through multiple guys, all those guys do a pretty good job and the biggest name is Alec Baldwin, but my favorite performance out of all of them is Bobby Cannavale, who plays one of Ginger's guys.

Overall, despite the fantastic acting that almost makes up for the poor story, I left the theater feeling unsatisfied. The movie wasn't anything fantastic or original and although I didn't fall asleep in it, I almost did a few different times because of how confusing and boring it is. If you want to give the movie a shot, I wouldn't say it would be the worst decision you could make, but there's also plenty of better options and I would advise you to pick something else and wait till this movie is a bit cheaper. Cate Blanchett's performance is definitely two thumbs way, way up, but I would give the movie itself a 6 out of 10.

2013 NFL Predictions: Preseason

Predicting the NFL season is like predicting the weather. You can look at patterns and trends and based on that try to predict exactly what's going to happen, but in the long run you aren't going to get everything right because it is so unpredictable at times. So despite this, why do I do season predictions? Well, the answer is simple. It's fun. Even if I end up being wrong, I just enjoy putting thought and energy into the NFL in trying to determine what is going to happen and of course I enjoy the discussion that ensues after doing so. If you don't know my system, I copy down every team's schedules and then predict everything game by game. In doing so I sometimes surprise myself just as much as anyone. In addition to what I have for you in this post, I will be doing a season preview where I discuss my thoughts on each team, division by division, so stay tuned for that. But for now here is the numbers and predictions for what I have come up with in what should be a fantastic season!

And now after looking over this, don't just look at the numbers I came up with, read my explanations with my AFC PREVIEW and my NFC PREVIEW linked to you right in this sentence.

Regular Season Predictions

AFC

AFC East
z-New England Patriots - 9-7
y-Miami Dolphins - 8-8
New York Jets - 7-9
Buffalo Bills - 6-10

AFC North
z-Pittsburgh Steelers - 10-6
Baltimore Ravens - 7-9
Cleveland Browns - 7-9
Cincinnati Bengals - 6-10

AFC South
z-Houston Texans - 10-6
Indianapolis Colts - 7-9
Tennessee Titans - 6-10
Jacksonville Jaguars - 6-10

AFC West
*-Denver Broncos - 12-4
y-Kansas City Chiefs - 10-6
San Diego Chargers - 7-9
Oakland Raiders - 4-12

NFC

NFC East
z-New York Giants - 10-6
Philadelphia Eagles - 8-8
Dallas Cowboys - 8-8
Washington Redskins - 7-9

NFC North
*-Green Bay Packers - 11-5
y-Minnesota Vikings - 9-7
Detroit Lions - 8-8
Chicago Bears - 6-10

NFC South
z-Tampa Bay Buccaneers - 10-6
New Orleans Saints - 8-8
Carolina Panthers - 8-8
Atlanta Falcons - 7-9

NFC West
z-Seattle Seahawks - 10-6
y-San Francisco 49ers - 9-7
St. Louis Rams - 8-8
Arizona Cardinals - 7-9

x-Clinched Playoffs
y-Clinched Wild Card
z-Clinched Division
*-Clinched Division and Homefield Advantage


Playoff Predictions

Wild Card Round
3- Pittsburgh Steelers - W
6- Miami Dolphins - L

4- New England Patriots - W
5- Kansas City Chiefs - L

3- Seattle Seahawks - W
6- San Francisco 49ers - L

4- Tampa Bay Buccaneers - L
5- Minnesota Vikings - W

Divisional Round
1- Denver Broncos - W
4- New England Patriots - L

2- Houston Texans - W
3- Pittsburgh Steelers - L

1- Green Bay Packers - W
5- Minnesota Vikings - L

2- New York Giants - L
3- Seattle Seahawks - W

Championship Round
1- Denver Broncos - W
2- Houston Texans - L

1- Green Bay Packers - L
3- Seattle Seahawks - W

Super Bowl XLVIII
1- Denver Broncos - W
3- Seattle Seahawks - L

SUPER BOWL XLVIII CHAMPIONS
DENVER BRONCOS


Predicted Draft Order (Based on Predicted Standings)

1- Oakland Raiders
2- Jacksonville Jaguars
3- Cincinnati Bengals
4- Buffalo Bills
5- Tennessee Titans
6- Chicago Bears
7- New York Jets
8- Indianapolis colts
9- Cleveland Browns
10- San Diego Chargers
11- Arizona Cardinals
12- Baltimore Ravens
13- Atlanta Falcons
14- Washington Redskins
15- St. Louis Rams
16- New Orleans Saints
17- Detroit Lions
18- Carolina Panthers
19- Dallas Cowboys
20- Philadelphia Eagles
21- Miami Dolphins
22- San Francisco 49ers
23- Kansas City Chiefs
24- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
25- New England Patriots
26- Minnesota Vikings
27- Pittsburgh Steelers
28- New York Giants
29- Houston Texans
30- Green Bay Packers
31- Seattle Seahawks
32- Denver Broncos

Lee Daniels' The Butler Review

Originally titled "The Butler," a legal dispute over the last couple months made it so the makers of this movie had to add in the director to the title, and thus you see that the official title is "Lee Daniels' The Butler." But please don't expect me to type that every time. I'm just going to refer to it as "The Butler." As the summer is ending and the box office starts to slow down, award season is about to begin. The Butler gives that season an early kick-off before it gets into full swing in the next few months. Historical dramas are usually good Oscar bait and although the mixed reviews for this will hold it back a little in terms of awards, I still thought it was an excellent movie.

Perhaps The Butler is closer to historical fiction, but it's still a great look at the civil rights movement. The movie is about a butler named Cecil Gaines who serves as a butler in the White House for eight different presidents spanning from the 1950's to the 1980's. Now this movie is based on a true story, but the real butler's name is Eugene Allen, so that's why I am going to play it safe and say that certain elements may be a bit fictionalized because I really don't know how accurate to this family's story it is.

That aside, the Civil Rights movement was a tough part of history and it's hard to portray that whole period in one movie, but I'd say The Butler does a pretty good job and tells the story from an interesting angle. While Cecil is working in the White House, his son Louis graduates High School and moves down south, becoming fully involved in the Civil Rights movement and the movie gets quite intense as we move forward through the 60's, touching on various aspects like the restaurant sit-ins, the freedom riders, the KKK, the martyrdom of Martin Luther King Jr., and the black panthers. Cecil and his wife Gloria become really nervous as all they are seeing is that their son is constantly putting his life on the line and getting thrown in jail multiple times and as concerned parents this really upsets them. On top of this, their other son Charlie decides to go fight for his country in Vietnam and through all this you really feel for all the people that had to go stuff like this. Love or hate Barak Obama, but the fact we now have a black president means that we as a country have come a long way and there are a lot of people we should be considering heroes from the 60's that got us to the point where we are now.

The cast in this movie is rather incredible as their are tons of supporting actors and actresses that are huge name actors. Robin Williams plays President Eisenhower. James Marsden is President Kennedy. Liev Schreiber plays President Johnson. John Cusack plays President Nixon. Alan Rickman plays President Reagan. Also scattered throughout the movie is Mariah Carey, Alex Pettyfer, Vanessa Redgrave, Terrance Howard, Cuba Gooding Jr., Lenny Kravitz, and Jane Fonda amongst others. However, despite all those big names, their are four stars in this movie that really make it work and those are the four people playing the Gaines family. Forest Whitaker plays Cecil Gaines. I always liked Whitaker and he does possibly his best role yet in playing Cecil Gaines. Playing his wife Gloria is the beloved Oprah Winfrey. Yes she started her career as an actress in The Color Purple before gaining huge popularity with her show and now this is her first role back as an actress in quite some time and by golly that lady is talented. She can definitely still act. Now I know it's still way too early to make Oscar predictions and in what is looking like a crowded market this year it will be tough to get nominations, but I think Forest Whitaker and Oprah definitely deserve nominations for this. Also, I do have to mention the two sons played by the lesser known actors in David Oyelowo and Elijah Kelley. While Whitaker and Oprah did an excellent job, without their roles as the two sons, specifically Oyelowo as the son Louis, this movie would not have worked as both of them did great.

In conclusion, if you like historical dramas like Lincoln, Amazing Grace, The King's Speech, and Luther, I would definitely recommend that you give this movie a shot. It may not be the best one ever made and may not get a ton of respect from the Oscars, but it does a great job at doing what it was made to do and that would be to give us as the audience a greater appreciation for the people that were involved in the civil rights movement. It's beautiful and inspiring. Definitely worth your money. I give Lee Daniels' The Butler a 9 out of 10.

Paranoia Review

 August is the month that summer movies slow down and although there are a lot of movies that come out, it is usually more of a dumping ground and it is easy for a movie to get lost or ignored. It is looking like that for Paranoia, but I thought it actually looked super interesting so I gave it a shot and found it rather entertaining. I actually went into the movie without having read any reviews for it. When I came home I was literally dumbfounded at how low the reviews were. Rottentomatoes had it at 4% fresh and since it has gone down to 2%. Sometimes I think critics are afraid to give a good review when they know that the movie is going to make nothing in the box office. This is a movie that I would recommend you ignore everything the critics are saying and give it a shot. It won't be  your favorite movie of the year, but you may walk out entertained.

Paranoia is an espionage thriller starring Gary Oldman, Harrison Ford, and Liam Hemsworth. Oldman and Ford play two corporate billionaires that are bitter rivals and have been. Hemsworth plays a young man named Adam Cassidy that gets caught in between the two of them. In the beginning of the movie, he pitches an idea to Wyatt (Oldman) who turns him down. Frustrated, he goes and takes his friend to an expensive bar and blows the rest of the money that Wyatt had allotted him in one night. Not being too happy with this, Wyatt brings him back in and forces him to spy on Goddard (Ford). Adam accepts because he is offered a ton of money by Wyatt and is threatened with prison if he rejects. This gets Adam quickly trapped in a very sticky situation and thus we have our movie.

Yes, if I'm being honest, the plot of the movie is nothing special. It's fairly predictable and also nothing new or unique, but it's an entertaining thriller that is carried by a super good cast. Harrison Ford is one of those actors that just keeps on acting and always seems to do a great job. It's interesting looking at him in this and then reflecting back on Star Wars. He's definitely aged and looks especially old in this with his buzzed hair. And as always, he does an amazing job. Even in times where the story isn't strong, Ford still does a great job. Everyone else does a good job, too. Acting opposite Ford is Gary Oldman and he also seems to do a great job in whatever he's in and the two of them together are just entertaining to watch. The two of them could probably be put in any movie together and still entertain me. Outside the two spectacular older leads, younger audiences, both male and female, are given some eye candy to look at in this. On my side of things, Amanda Pead was gorgeous. On the girls side, I'm sure girls will love looking at Liam Hemsworth as the makers of this movie seemed to take every chance they can get to shoot him without his shirt on. Finally, I do have to give a Lost shout-out to Josh Holloway in this movie. I loved him as Sawyer in Lost and it is always great to see him around. He's a super talented actor and I wish that he was cast more often.

Yes, the movie is mostly cliche and doesn't have the greatest plot, but it is good enough for you to give it a shot. One of the main themes it does bring up is that of privacy. One line said in the movie by Harrison Ford was that "privacy is a myth" and the movie plays off of that a lot. While this idea can be alarming to a lot of people, in our modern age of technology, whether we like it or not, this is actually a true statement. Thus it is always a good idea to make sure you are super careful. I'm not going to dive into that in depth, but if you want to fire off your opinions on the subject, feel free to use and abuse the comments section below. I give Paranoia a 7 out of 10.