Making Sense with Mike and Tom

HERE’S WHAT WE HAVE SO FAR

HERE’S THIS WEEKS 3 STARS AND HONORABLE MENTION

TOM HELLES—trhelles3@gmail.com

THIS ONE WAS TOUGH BUT WE FINALLY ADDED A KICK RETURNER

The NFL is back in September and it is back in full force. To help get revved up for the season, I will be picking the game of the week in all 17 weeks!!

Week 1: Tampa Bay Bucs @ New York Jets: The biggest FA this season gets a chance to come back and prove the organization wrong on moving him. We always want to see things play out like this. This is by far the leading storyline entering week 1.

Week 2: Denver Broncos @ New York Giants: Manning Bowl III. Peyton has gotten the best of little brother Eli and with this one being a Nationally Televised Game on CBS, will Eli try to get one on the board in the Bowl of Brothers.

Week 3: Kansas City Chiefs @ Philadelphia Eagles: Coach Andy Reid comes back to the city of brotherly love. What kind of reception will he get by the fans? Coach Reid has done so much for this city and will always be revered. Thursday Night folks, it will be electric!

Week 4: Seattle Seahawks @ Houston Texans: Smash mouth Run D vs. Head on Rushing attack. The Seahawks great and aggressive defense will put on the cleats against one of the better rushing teams in the league. This will surely make for a great game in the trenches.

Week 5: Seattle Seahawks @ Indianapolis Colts: Russell Wilson and Andrew Luck lead their respective teams in this one. This classic draft class of 12’ will be nothing short of classic. Both unexpected playoff teams from a year ago are in this one, will the sophomore jinx hold up in their 2^nd season as starting QBs?

Week 6: Washington Redskins @ Dallas Cowboys: NFC East battles are always GREAT TV. RG III and Romo will meet up for the 1^st time this season. No playoff implications just yet but, we all know what happened last time these 2 teams met up….

 Week 7: Denver Broncos @ Indianapolis Colts: Peyton Returns back to the Drum(Lucas Oil Stadium) in what will be the most emotional game of the 2013 NFL Calendar. Sentiments will be running wild on Sunday Night as storylines galore fill the air. Look for a lot of people who are considered intricate in the Peyton-Indy years to be at this game and for the 1^st time ever we may see calm Peyton Manning shed a tear. We also can’t forget about Manning’s air apparent in Andrew Luck he’s alright too.

Week 8: Washington Redskins @ Denver Broncos: So many storylines in this one, where do I start? The one that I’m looking at is Shanahan coming back to Mile High and he is bringing his new toy into town in RG III and he is most certain looking for a win. This will be a great game to watch! Oh and Peyton vs. Orakpo will be a great matchup to see!

Week 9: Chicago Bears @ Green Bay Packers: MNF, Early November, Lambeau Field and a NFC North matchup….What more do you want?? The NFL normally puts divisional games at the latter portion of the regular season and this one is in the prime of the season. There is a new coach in CHI and a lot of lineage between these 2 teams. Excited isn’t the word.

Week 10: Cincinnati Bengals @ Baltimore Ravens: The 2 best teams in the AFC North over the past 2 seasons have been the Red Rifles’ Bengals and Joe Cools’ Ravens. You will see a lot of All Pro  players and Pro Bowlers in this one. This should set as the climax for a stretch of great football from this particular division. Cincy and their explosive offense meets a new look Ravens D and AFC North supremacy is hanging in the balance.

Week 11: Minnesota Vikings @ Seattle Seahawks: Two blistering defenses and a pair of the league’s best backs will turn this one into a barn burner. Oh and Percy Harvin is playing for the opposition this year. This should make for a potential wild card matchup in the Playoffs. I’m big on SEA this year and if the offseason is any clue on how they will perform this year then I think we are all in for a treat. Plus Richard Sherman vs. Greg Jennings should be fun to watch. 

Week 12: Denver Broncos @ New England Patriots: Manning v. Brady again folks. Should be snowy Foxborough and it should come down to the final 2 minutes of the game. We know this is the all-time greatest QB dual of NFL History. Plus Wes Welker comes to face the team that he thrived with the most. It will be interesting to see how his play will affect the outcome. Also, at this point of the season these teams will be jocking for the #1 seed in the AFC and every game down the stretch is important. Of the games I have selected this is up for top consideration because Peyton and Tom will give you a show.

Week 13: Pittsburgh @ Baltimore: Ok the two most dominant teams in football do battle on everyone’s favorite holiday…Thanksgiving. Football, Family and most importantly…Food! These two teams will have you up in your recliner even forgetting all the tryptophan you doused yourself in 2hrs earlier. This should be a classic matchup as Joe Flacco goes up against a Pittsburgh team that has one word on their mind “redemption”.

 Week 14: Seattle Seahawks @ San Francisco: 49ers: The NFC West is no more the laughing stock of the NFL. A revamped division has most people licking their chops at this matchup. These 2 teams have been now crowned the best rivalry in football. This will have heavy division ramifications involved and you don’t want to be that player to make that mistake that will cause your team to fall 2^nd in the West. These squads match up very well and this is another showdown I will be anticipating.

Week 15: Houston Texans @ Indianapolis Colts: This is the 4^th divisional game since week 10 that I have selected as the game of the week to watch. You know what we are talking about here? Playoffs??Playoffs! That’s right the AFC South division had 2 reps in the Post Season last year. This game will be crucial to who wins AND to who loses.

Week 16: Atlanta Falcons @ San Francisco 49ers: If this game is anything like how the NFC Championship game is then for Monday Night we are in for a real treat. This game may decide who has Home Field Advantage in the National Football Conference. Matt Ryan and the Falcons can supplant themselves as the crème of the crop with a win vs. a Super Bowl contending 49er team. By the way, thank the football Gods for this week 16 slate. Great Games galore!

Week 17: Washington Redskins @ New York Giants: I chose this game because I felt this stood out as far as what two teams will be vying for a division title in the last week of the regular season. The NFC East is a conundrum that no one has been able to figure out. That’s why in week 17 these divisional matchups are on tap for every game. THEY MATTER MORE.

Please, chime in on the games that I have chosen! If you have your own or want to agree, just leave a comment!

Mike

Making Sense with Mike and Tom

Patrick Ewing retired in 2002. He’s been coaching ever since, but has never been a head coach. Brian Shaw retired in 2003 and coached under the legendary Phil Jackson for 8 year but still is not a head coach. Somehow, someway, Jason Kidd retired last week and is now the head coach of the Brooklyn Nets. Jason Kidd was a great player for the Nets: he led them to two NBA Finals appearances, he ranks 3^rd all time for triple-doubles in the regular season and he is the Nets all-time leader in assists. Does this mean he’s cut out to be a good head coach though? There are former players in every sport who have turned out to be championship caliber coaches but to step into the head coaching role a week after retiring and expecting to win may be too much.

Kidd has the intangibles. He’s been a leader for every team he’s played for. His veteran presence was a huge factor in the Dallas Mavericks’ 2011 championship season. The fact that he expressed interest in the job on Monday and was hired two days later shows you that he did a great job of convincing the Nets front office that he is the man for the job.

Kidd definitely has the basketball IQ. In his meetings with Nets GM Billy King and owner Mikhail Prokhorov, Kidd reportedly drew up plays and detailed his offensive philosophy. Kidd isn’t just a retired player looking for something fun to occupy his time. He has a wealth of basketball knowledge and he is ready to put it to use with the Brooklyn Nets.

The biggest selling point Jason Kidd has is his relationship with Nets point guard Deron Williams. Williams and Kidd are good friends and with Kidd as a mentor, the Nets are hoping that Deron Williams can play to his potential and lead the Nets deep into the playoffs. This relationship ultimately is what gave Kidd the edge over Brian Shaw. Now the Nets are hoping it will pay off. Otherwise, the franchise will look really bad for hiring a former player who isn’t even eligible for the Hall of Fame yet.

Jerome Singletary