From Stewwie
For the bag, who would you say is the best player on every NFL team right now? Some are obvious, but others are kind of tough to pick.
FILE - This Aug. 9, 2014 file photo shows an NFL logo on a goal post padding before a preseason NFL football game between the Detroit Lions and the Cleveland Browns at Ford Field in Detroit. In a two-year content and advertising deal announced Monday, Aug. 10, 2015, Twitter is huddling with the National Football League as it tackles the challenge of attracting a broader audience to its short messaging service. (AP Photo/Rick Osentoski, File) Stewwie -
It is tougher than you think. And rightly or wrongly, almost everything is skewed to offensive stat producers more times than not. And yes, there are going to be a lot of quarterbacks on this list.
(Some of these are the obvious. We felt some needed some expiation.
AFC East
Buffalo - Mario Williams (Just a touch ahead of Shady McCoy.)
Miami - Ndamukong Suh
New England - Tom Brady
New York Jets - Darrelle Revis
AFC North
Baltimore - Terrell Suggs (But C.J. Mosely will be the Ravens best player sooner rather than later.)
Cleveland - Joe Thomas
Cincinnati Bengals' A.J. Green (18) tries to avoid Houston Texans' A.J. Bouye (34) as he runs with the ball during the first quarter of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 23, 2014, in Houston. (AP Photo/Patric Schneider) Cincinnati - A.J. Green
Pittsburgh - Antonio Brown
AFC South
Houston - J.J. Watt
Indy - Andrew Luck
Jacksonville - Julius Thomas (Jacksonville has the second-least dazzling option out there, ahead of only..)
Tennessee - Marcus Mariota (OK, who is better? Taylor Lewan? Seriously, on ESPN.com's list of best 100 players in the NFL, the only team without a representative was the Titans. Seattle had nine for crying out loud. In truth maybe you pick Andy Levitre or Blidi Wreh-Wilson, but at that point you are just splitting hairs.)
AFC West
Denver - Peyton Manning (Demaryius Thomas is a great young player, but he's no Manning.)
Kansas City - Justin Houston
Oakland - Khalil Mack
San Diego - Phillip Rivers
NFC East
Dallas - Dez Bryant
New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. (13) makes a one-handed catch for a touchdown against Dallas Cowboys cornerback Brandon Carr (39) in the second quarter of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 23, 2014, in East Rutherford, N.J.New York Giants - Odell Beckham (We struggled here since Beckham is only in his second year.)
Philadelphia - DeMarco Murray
Washington - DeSean Jackson (This may be the worst roster in the NFC.)
NFC North
Chicago - Matt Forte (Although that Bears roster is in shambles.)
Detroit - Calvin Johnson
Green Bay - Aaron Rodgers
Minnesota - Adrian Peterson
New Orleans Saints tight end Jimmy Graham (80) leaps over Chicago Bears free safety Brock Vereen (45) after receiving a pass from quarterback Drew Brees (9) during the second half of an NFL football game Monday, Dec. 15, 2014, in Chicago.NFC South
Atlanta - Julio Jones
Carolina - Luke Kuechly
New Orleans - Drew Brees
Tampa Bay - Gerald McCoy
NFC West
Arizona - Patrick Peterson
St. Louis - Robert Quinn
San Francisco - Navarre Bowman
Seattle - Earl Thomas (Does way more than Richard Sherman and does it way less loud.)
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From Jomo
Jay- for the mailbag and discussion on here : Bowling Green last year gave up 59 to Western Kentucky, 68 to Wisconsin and 51 in their last regular season game to Northern Illinois. . .not a very good team. If the UTK Vols don't put at least 50 on Bowling Green would this be a source of concern for the season ?
Jomo -
We can see you point and your reasoning, which normally when it comes to UT is normally negative and frequently sarcastic.
And that's OK. That back and forth is what helps generate so much passion that makes college football in the south so much fun.
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Sean Renfree (12) works with Atlanta Falcons center Joe Hawley (61) during their preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens , Thursday, Sept. 3, 2015, in Atlanta. Yes, the Falcons were exploited late in the season, and we believe Tennessee will put six-plus TDs on the board, setting a random number as a cause for concern - especially in the season opener when teams are always a little rusty out of the gate - is hard to do.
Should a Tennessee offense - one that we believe has more big-time playmakers than any UT bunch since Fulmer's heyday - have its way with Bowling Green? Of course. But would a 42-10 win that started 35-0 be a disappoint? Under your scenario, you think so. I'm not so sure.
Plus, with an Oklahoma game on the horizon that could serve as monumental statement win, we're pretty sure Butch is going to leave a lot in the playbook and go very vanilla.
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From T. Thomas
Did I miss your college football predictions on press row? Did you and David pick playoff teams, Heisman, stuff like that?
What's the craziest thing you think will happen this year?
T. Thomas -
Thanks for listening to the show, and it feels like we have been making predictions all summer.
But now that you mention it, we have not made a formal list.
TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin (2) throws to an open teammate during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Oklahoma at Amon G. Carter Stadium, Saturday, Oct. 4, 2014, in Fort Worth, Texas. (AP Photo/Brandon Wade) Here's the 5-at-10's five fearless predictions for the 2015 college football season:
5. UTC will make it to Frisco to play for the FCS national title.
4. Trevone Boykin wins the Heisman over a supremely talented field of New York invites that include Clemson's Deshaun Watson, Georgia's Nick Chubb, Auburn's Jeremy Johnson and USC's Adoree' Jackson.
3. Notre Dame (which finishes 11-1) and Boise State (12-0) make a lot of noise about being left out of the college football playoff.
2. Ohio State, TCU, Auburn and Clemson are the four teams in the playoff.
1. Ohio State repeats by beating Auburn in the title game.
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From a lot of you
What do you think about the Brady decision? Is this going to cost Goodell his job?
Gang -
First, we don't think this will cost NFL commissioner Roger Goodell his gig. According to ESPN business reporter Darren Rovell, using his current salary, the buyout to end Goodell's contract would cost the NFL close to $150 million.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell speaks to reporters during the NFL's spring meetings in San Francisco, Wednesday, May 20, 2015. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu) There could be some changes in the organizational flow chart at NFL HQ though. It would not shock us if there was a new position or something along those lines put in to give Roger a sounding board or even a person who has a little bit of say in big-time decisions about discipline.
In the majority of his bosses' eyes - the NFL owners - Goodell did his job. He suspended Tom Brady and levied heavy fines against the Patriots for what a lot of teams in the league thought was at worst organizational cheating and at the very least gaining a rogue employee giving them an unfair advantage.
The judge overturned that.
Now the way the investigation unfolded and the way the punishment was delivered seems to be in high question and that could fall on Goodell, who likely will blame it on someone within the league office (and that dude will be out of work by the end of business Wednesday).
Still, Goodell is on quite a losing streak in the eyes of the public.
The wishy-washy domestic debacles of last year and now this. It's been a while since he's looked like a leader of an $8 billion-a-year operation.
That said, there's a decent argument that the league as a whole won with this verdict.
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) tosses a pass during a joint practice with the New Orleans Saints at the Saints' NFL football training camp in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2015. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) First, the season-opening game between the Patriots and the Steelers will be the most-watched regular-season sporting event ever.
Second, even as the league has surged in popularity over the last decade, there has not been a true love-to-hate team since the 1990s Dallas Cowboys. The Patriots now become one of the most polarizing team in sports, and gives the NFL that team that everyone has an opinion about that all sports crave.
Third, this - discipline and enforcement - will become the league's most important concern in the next CBA.
Whether Roger Goodell's around to be part of that, though, is anyone's guess.
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From Al
What did you think about the Thursday night games?
Al -
Great question.
Let's do a top-five list shall we? Deal? Deal.
1. Vandy is in real trouble. Vandy's over/under win total was 3.5, and boy we'd like to have an under ticket on that after Thursday's 14-12 loss to Western Kentucky. On the bright side, Vandy was a 2.5-point underdog so, they covered.
2. South Carolina's defense is much better AND North Carolina's play-calling is simply atrocious.
3. Minnesota may have won the night by taking No. 2-ranked TCU to the brink before falling 23-17. The Gophers could very well win the Big Ten West.
4. Georgia Tech does what it does and they do it very, very well. Tech scored 69 points - granted it was against an overmatched Alcorn State bunch - but that's a ton of points. Did we mention that the Jackets threw five passes. Five.
5. It was a tough night for Arizona, which struggled with UTSA and had its best player - All-American linebacker and first-team all-name team member Scooby Wright III - hurt his knee.
Thoughts? (Also we thought it was interesting that Chuckie Keaton is still at Utah State. That dude has been in college longer than Bluto.)
Happy college football everyone.