A Look Around the League (The NFL on REO)

We take a quick trip around the league. (1, 061 words)

“Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow”

Colts vs. Bills

How amazing was the Colts vs. Bills game on Sunday? The records didn’t matter. The actual game-play didn’t matter. All that mattered was the snow. It was an ugly game for on-field execution, but is was a beautiful game for aesthetics. Seeing giant, super-human type athletes slog through the snow was about as fun as it gets. Seeing clouds of snow explode after every tackle or diving catch was mesmerizing. And even though Adam Vinatieri missed two field goals, watching him nail the game-tying extra point from over 40 yards away was one of the greatest kicks I have ever seen.

I hope we get a few more of these types of games this season. They make some of these less interesting matchups much more enjoyable.

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Stream of Consciousness (The NFL on REO)

I am on drugs. I am sorry. (604 words)

I’m all hopped-up on pain meds so you will have to excuse this week’s installment. At least you are getting one, as I came this close to not writing anything.

I had my gallbladder removed on Friday and I am still in the recovery phase. I have to eat bland food for a bit and rest and take it easy. And I have to take the aforementioned pain meds. They are nice pain meds. They make me feel warm and fuzzy. Mostly fuzzy. But with less pain. So it’s a good fuzzy. The surgery went well and my recovery seems to be going well also. I thought about ending that sentence with another “as well” but quickly realized that was a bad idea. But I can’t really trust my judgment since I am currently on drugs so maybe it wouldn’t have been a bad idea.

Frankly, I don’t care. Moving on.

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Quarterback: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (The NFL on REO)

Highlighting some of the most interesting Quarterback stories in Week 6 of the NFL. (796 words)

The Good

Carson Wentz

I will readily admit that I did not expect Carson Wentz and the Philadelphia Eagles to be this good this quickly. Wentz burst on the scene last year and had all the East Coast media hyperventilating. He came crashing back to earth in the second half of the season but the buzz had been built and the media declared him one of the up-and-coming Quarterbacks to watch in 2017. For once, the media was actually correct. At least, the signs appear to be pointing in that direction.

Through six games, Wentz has thrown nearly 1,600 yards, 13 touchdowns, and only 3 interceptions. He has a passer rating of 99.6. If you look a little more closely at his numbers, his improvement seems to be pretty easy to pinpoint: He protects the ball better than last year and he is making his completions count more. His completion percentage is actually almost 2% points lower than his rookie season, but he is throwing for a much higher TD% and a much lower INT%. Also, his Yards Per Attempt is substantially better in 2017. Eagles’ fans have to be excited about the future with the growth they have seen in year two for Wentz.

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The Blame Game (The NFL on REO)

We talk Titans, referees, and the incompetence of the commissioner. (1,342 words)

Titans Talk

Sunday’s game in Miami was brutal to watch. The Titans were never able to find any offensive rhythm under backup QB, Matt Cassel. It is no surprise, that after a 16-10 loss to a painfully bad Miami Dolphins’ team, many people in the Titans’ organization are getting blamed. And there is plenty of well-deserved blame to go around. Unfortunately, most of the local writers, radio talkers, and fans are pointing their fingers in the wrong direction. That is where I come in. Consider this the official Blame Index for the debacle in South Florida.

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The NFL on REO: Game Time!

The Regular Season is here! We rank all 16 games and we give our staff predictions for the Tennessee Titans’ record. (947 words)

It’s game time baby!

The NFL season kicks off tomorrow with the defending Super Bowl champions, the New England Patriots, facing off against the Kansas City Chiefs. I am so excited, even if this first game includes my most hated team in the history of all sports – the Patriots. It’s real NFL football for the first time in over half a year! What is better than that?

To commemorate this momentous occasion, here is my interest level for each game this week. We’ll start at the bottom.

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The NFL on REO: Dominance

This week’s column contains more Gowdy Cannon zaniness and our first Power Rankings of the season. Number 3 will blow your mind! (1,741 words)

The Insane Ramblings of Gowdy Cannon

On to 2017…

Yes, I’m the guy who wrote a 2500-hundred word counseling session on how Tom Brady is the most overrated quarterback of all-time. But don’t let that keep you from reading what I’m about to write. You should appreciate it primarily because I wrote the Brady article.

While players can be overrated or underrated to team success I do not think there is any way to get around claiming team superiority in an objective way. For example, we could argue all day whether Brady, Aaron Rodgers or Matt Ryan was the best QB in the NFL last year, but we cannot argue that New England was the best team. That was objectively settled on the field.

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Titans Tuesday: “It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.”

We saw the best and the worst the 2016 Tennessee Titans have to offer. What does it all mean?

The Tennessee Titans’ loss to the San Diego Chargers was a microcosm of the 2016 Titans’ season. There was a lot of good. There was a little more bad. As I have said many times before, the Tennessee Titans are a team that is playing with very little margin for error. They cannot afford to make mistakes; especially not big mistakes as they did on Sunday. When the Titans play a clean game, they can beat almost any team in the league. Unfortunately, they do not seem to be capable of playing mistake-free football in consecutive games.

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Titans Tuesday: Run Like the Wind!

The Tennessee Titans are on a one game winning streak!

Welcome to the new and improved Titans Tuesday. From this point on, these articles are going to be quick and easy little numbers and will be spotlighted on the sidebar of the website. I took last week off because I was on vacation and unable to watch the game. I’ll sum it up: The Titans lost because they turned the ball over too much. That seems to be a common theme with this team.

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Titans Tuesday: Win All the Games!

The long, dark winter (offseason) is over. Football is back! God bless us, everyone!

The Preseason is over. The regular season is about to begin. Words cannot express the joy I am feeling. Perhaps this video can do what my words cannot.

That is how I feel every year the week leading up to the first kickoff in the NFL season. As I’ve asked before, if you are a fan, why would you approach the new season with anything other than enthusiasm and optimism? Let us all take a few moments and just enjoy this moment when everything is great, because it won’t be long when many teams and their respective fans realize that they are going nowhere in 2016.

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Titans Tuesday: A Call To Arms

Can the Titans build a home field advantage again?

I am sitting here in one of my favorite places to eat in Nashville, Thai Phooket, right next to Nissan Stadium, home of the Tennessee Titans. In the past few years, eating here has provided many more great memories than watching the Titans play. I find that to be almost unspeakably sad.

The first Titans’ game I ever attended was in 2003.

A good friend invited me to go to the season opener against the defending AFC champion Oakland Raiders. A Sunday night game, which meant it was a nationally televised affair. It was my first exposure to the sights, the sounds, and the buzz of a real life NFL game.

It was amazing.

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