I have no teams at stake in this 2022 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs. The first round has some powerful match ups to get the Stanley Cup playoffs in gear. Playoffs in every sport are always the best as teams try to rise up to the challenge. You see unsung heroes come up with the clutch play and possibly profit off that performance down the road in a big way. May be worth it or may not for your team’s salary cap in the future. The Stanley Cup playoffs is always one of the best post-seasons played out in the sports landscape. I make some predictions. I have some teams that sparked my interest who I’m rooting for. Sometimes you have to adopt a team here and there for only a few weeks, as I’m not a bandwagon jumper. My hockey predictions pretty much stink at all costs each season. With no teams I like involved, maybe I have a clearer mind and will come away looking like a genius. Just don’t count on that logic I’m feeding you.

ROUND ONE PREDICTIONS (DING !!!!!)

EASTERN CONFERENCE

FLORIDA PANTHERS VERSUS WASHINGTON CAPITALS

Could this Panther team have been Joel Quenneville’s masterpiece team as a head coach? Will the natives get restless over Superstar Alex Ovechkin being buddies with the new Hitler lurking in Russia? The Florida Panthers come into post-season with the best record in regular season play. The Capitals probably have the best player in the NHL, but Ovechkin will play banged up dealing with injuries. Panthers have dominated the Caps throughout regular season as well. Panthers roll out 4 solid lines. Then add the solid goal tending the Panthers have especially with their Russian Sergei Bobrovsky in the net. The Capitals will need a few healthy Ovechkin’s to win this series.

PREDICTION: PANTHERS ARE A LOCK IN 4 GAMES

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS VERSUS TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING

Can the Lightning win three Stanley Cups in a row? Can the Maple Leafs make it out of the first round of the playoffs? How long do we have to wait, you hosers?

Toronto has a Superstar on the rise. Can Auston Matthews be the rise of the Bat Man and take his play to the next level and knock out the champs in the first round?

Matthews has had a great month closing out the regular season and tallied up 60 regular season goals for the Leafs. Can Jack Campbell hold up in net for the Leafs if the series, you know, should go 7 games? The Lightning have an all-star team that has did this, done that. Andrei Vasilevskiy in my opinion is one of the best goalies in the game. Vasilevskiy’s playoff experience alone gives the Lightning a shot at escaping the first round. Look for my sleeper of the series, Brandon Hagel, to make some noise in this series for the Lighting. He’s a guy they got from the Blackhawks at the trade deadline.

History will repeat itself.

PREDICTION: LIGHTNING IN SIX GAMES

CAROLINA HURRICANES VERSUS BOSTON BRUINS

If you’re a Hurricanes fan, the Boston Bruins would be the last team you want to play in the first round action. Boston and Carolina have squared off in two recent post-seasons and the Bruins made the Hurricanes feel like a light drizzle on a sunny day. Bruins won both series tallying 8 victories to one defeat. The Hurricanes like to shoot the puck at the net. More shots the better. The Bruins have the personnel to keep the good shots from hitting and giving the Hurricanes tougher shots most of the series with a stellar defense. Watch Bruins Captain Defenseman, Patrice Bergeron, on the ice if you don’t believe me.

Hurricanes are another team with an injury to their starting goalie. When will Hurricanes goalie Frederik Andersen return to action? I have to go with the history in this series.

PREDICTION: BRUINS IN SIX GAMES

NEW YORK RANGERS VERSUS PITTSBURGH PENGUINS

The Penguins and the Rangers may be the best series of the entire first round. The Penguins have one of the all-time greats in Sid the Kid Crosby. The Rangers have a goalie.

The rise of Igor Shesterkin has the Rangers playing solid hockey especially coming into the tournament. New York has been one of the hottest teams. Penguins have played solidly all year and have a group of guys besides Sid that can get the biscuit in the basket. Rangers defense as a whole only gives up 2.49 goals per game. Penguins will not have their starting net minder as Tristan Jarry is dealing with a lower body injury. Penguins back-up Casey DeSmith gave up 5 goals in a game versus the Rangers earlier in the year. I like to see the Penguins knock off the Rangers. Penguins post-season play of late has been one and done. I’m a firm believer that a great defense beats a great offense.

PREDICTION: RANGERS IN SIX GAMES

WESTERN CONFERENCE

COLORADO AVALANCHE VERSUS NASHVILLE PREDATORS

I wonder if Nashville Predators ownership has banned fans from wearing Avalanche jerseys for this series in home games? Avalanche come in as one of the best teams in the NHL and one of the teams that is favored to win the entire thing. The Predators showed they are a scrappy bunch. Avalanche are loaded with fire power.

The Predators will be playing without their top goalie, Juuse Saros, who is injured and will miss the entire series. This is a David versus Goliath series.

No hope for David in this one.

PREDICTION:AN AVALANCHE SWEEP

MINNESOTA WILD VERSUS ST. LOUIS BLUES

The Blues and the Wild should be a battle to the death. This is a series that should be decided in game 7 in double overtime because both teams are evenly matched. The Wild have not been very successful in the post-season. The Blues historically always came out on the losing end of post-season but they finally won the cup in 2019 as some would say they overachieved. The Blues had hot goal-tending. Blues come in with a group of well-balanced players that can rush, attack the net, and defend. No big names in the Blues roster, but just a group that works well together. The Wild have good goal-tending and play sound defense around the net.

The X-Factor in a series that can go either way, I give the edge to the Wild. Marc-Andre Fleury has that post-season experience a team like the Wild needs. Fleury, who was acquired at the trade deadline from the Blackhawks by the Wild, has won cups with the Penguins. Fleury came close to helping the Golden Knights of Vegas achieve a Stanley Cup early in their existence. Fleury is playing with a chip on his shoulder. Vegas did not want him anymore and was dealt to the Blackhawks. The Golden Knights did not make it into the playoffs. Perfect time for Marc-Andre to Fleury his stuff.

PREDICTION: WILD IN SEVEN GAMES

CALGARY FLAMES VERSUS DALLAS STARS

The Flames you can always count on not making a huge splash when trying to add a piece to their puzzle. The Stars still rely on old-fashioned defense to win games on the ice. Both these things have been going on for years for the Flames and the Stars.

HERE’S JOHNNY!!! The Flames’ Johnny Gaudreau had the second most points in the Western conference. The Stars have one solid line with Jason Robertson, Joe Pavelski, and Roope Jintz. Can the Flames contain it? This series could turn into a goalies duel for both teams. Flames have the stronger roster. Let’s not forget about left winger Matthew Tkachuk who lit the lamplight 42 times this season. I think the Flames coach will get Belichick-like and come up with a plan to take out that top line for the Stars.

PREDICTION: FLAMES IN 5 GAMES

EDMONTON OILERS VERSUS LA KINGS

The LA Kings should pass on the secret of making it into the post-season to Lebron James and the Lakers. Will Evander Kane’s X-wife put a bounty on the gambler’s head?

The Oilers have star power as they have one of the biggest superstars in the NHL, Connor McDavid. The Oilers ownership has added lots of pressure to this team in terms of winning now. Oilers went out and signed a shady character in Evander Kane, former Shark. The Kings played some of the best 5 on 5 hockey in the entire NHL. Phillip Danault plays the center position very well for the Kings, both offensively and defensively. That can change the game in an instant to their favor. Oilers over the past few seasons are another team in Canada that fail miserably in the first round of the playoffs. It’s good to be King.

At least they eat well.

PREDICTION: KINGS IN 6 GAMES

The Chicago Bears have released the last dark cloud polluting the skies of Halas Hall from the last regime. It was like the Jack and the Beanstalk tale in March of 2020 when the Bears traded the cow which would be draft capital to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a washed up Nick Foles. The Bears could not trade the highest paid third string quarterback this off-season, so instead of taking him to back of the shed to put a bullet in between his eyes, they released Foles into the wild. The same Nick Foles who is a legend like the Rocky statue in the Philadelphia sports landscape. Rocky is make-believe, and Nick Foles was like Luke Skywalker taking down the death star with his arm versus Tom Brady and the Evil Empire Patriots in Superbowl LII. Eagles won their first ever Superbowl. Eagles eventually had to let Foles go because they already were paying Carson Wentz who they thought was going to be their franchise quarterback for years to come. Jacksonville then came along & paid the huge money to Nick Foles as they thought they had their guy. After the first game in a Jacksonville uniform, Foles would not last the game due to an injury. When Nick Foles came back from his injury, he did not have the magic he did in Philadelphia. Thank God the Bears came along because Foles was going to be the answer for Matt Nagy’s offense. General Manager Ryan Pace then would have finally admitted his number 1 pick for Mitch Trubisky was a bust. if Foles succeeds in the Bears offense…

The NFL had no pre-season games due to the pandemic, so Mitch Trubisky started the 2020 season and had the Bears with a winning record. At the first sign of struggle, Head Coach Matt Nagy knew he had his chance to take Trubisky out of the game and replaced him with his guy, Nick Foles. Foles would rally the team and the Bears would prevail over a poor Falcons defense. Foles would then slay Tom Brady this time when he was behind center for the Buccaneers. Foles would finish 2-5 as the starter for the Bears in the 2020 season before he went down with an injury. Foles’ play behind center started off hot, but he went cold and the Bears’ makeshift offensive line probably did not help. Matt Nagy’s play calling with that makeshift offensive line did not help as most of the coaches’ plays take too much time to develop and Foles did not have it. Last season the Bears would sign veteran quarterback Andy Dalton as Nick Foles became the third string guy after the Bears drafted Justin Fields. Foles would make one start late in the season for the Bears and guide the team to victory over the Seattle Seahawks. Foles would make ten appearances behind center for the Bears of which 8 of them were starts. Foles completed 65% of his passes in a Bears uniform as he threw 11 touchdown passes but had 8 interceptions. Bears signed Trevor Siemian this off-season to back up Justin Fields as Andy Dalton left in free agency. Nick the Dick Foles is now free from his Siberia habitat exodus in Chicago where quarterbacks go to die.

Nick Foles has played ten seasons in the NFL for 5 different teams. Foles is 29-27 as a starter in the NFL. Foles has thrown for over 14,000 yards with 82 touchdown passes in 68 games in his career. Foles is a back up quarterback who can get hot and carry your team to the promised land like he did in his Eagles days. Foles is very injury prone as to get to the season with the most games he has played behind center, you have to go back to 2013 where he appeared in 13 games. Then in 2015 he appeared in 11 games. Foles has not played in double digit games since. Foles will land another job in the NFL with somebody. Foles could get you through 4 to 5 games if your starter goes down. At the end of regular season it seems like Nick Foles rises his play level to the occasion. Nick Foles turns into the closer of football. In baseball Nick Foles would pitch the 9th inning with the lead. I don’t like Nick Foles playing in the first ten games of the season. Game 11 and beyond is the only time Nick Foles became a legend.

The Bears finally can lay to rest the Matt Nagy and Ryan Pace regime. The ghost of Nick Foles will live on during the Bears 2022 season as the team will take a 7.66 million dollar dead cap hit by releasing him now. By failing to trade Foles, the Bears had to pay him a 4 million dollar bonus in March of this year to him, and Nick was set to make another 4 million in base salary. To get Foles, the Bears gave up draft capital and restructured his contract to pay him 3 years worth of a total 24 million to make 8 starts, one as a third string quarterback. Then the Bears go out and sign another veteran quarterback in Andy Dalton. Bears obviously did not know they would get Justin Fields in the draft and lost faith in Nick Foles that quick. Let’s not forget Nick Foles beat the Bears playing in an Eagles uniform in the first round playoff game that ended in a double doink kick off the foot of Cody Parky to try to win that game for the Bears in 2019 at the end of regulation. It was Mitch Trubisky as the starter in that one. Mitch Trubisky, the first quarterback picked in the 2017 draft by Ryan Pace, left town as the scapegoat of this regime’s failure. Then Nick Foles and Andy Dalton did nothing with Matt Nagy’s miserable play calling or war and peace style playbook. Justin Fields was drafted by Ryan Pace and played for Matt Nagy. Let’s just hope that one season did not ruin Fields for good. Getting rid of Nick Foles should help fans recover from the tom foolery of who’s on first skit as in who’s the quarterback that is tainted in everyone’s mind like the buffoons running the operation from 2017-18 until the end of last season. Foles may have one more legendary run behind center because he is very streaky. Matt Nagy and Ryan Pace will be fetching the coffee in someone’s organization for years to come. Mitch Trubisky hopes he will drag Matt Nagy’s reputation deeper in the mud as we wait to see what he will do being a regular starter in the NFL. Justin Fields playing well should heal all of the wounds that Bears fans have suffered from the last regime. The terrible regimes before pills and alcohol still work.

The rebirth of the USFL rolled out their league last week in a grand fashion in their safe pace in the state of Alabama. The quarterback play, as we expected, was weak. The play on the field in general was worth watching. Interesting rules. Flying drones. On the field interviews. The announcers drawn out by the coaches’ play calling in the headsets that are heard on the television. Universal cheerleaders. Every team had a nightmarish-looking mascot. Hide the kids & put your mom in the trunk when they take the field. Chicken Salad or Pizza?

You know food can be a touchy subject. Stay away from the politics and you have yourself a deal.

WEEK TWO USFL POWER RANKINGS ROLLING OUT

#1.

NEW ORLEANS BREAKERS (1-0) UP 1 SPOT

The Breakers really impressed me week one with a top notch defense. They are a two-headed monster backfield and a quarterback that is going to get better. Even the Breakers special teams blocked a punt. First the defense front seven led by former University Georgia Bulldog Davin Bellamy had three sacks. Bellamy may be the best defensive player in the league.

In the NFL the Bills and Cowboys have themselves a Diggs. With the last name Diggs, you must be expected to make big plays. The Breakers’ Diggs did that.

Vontae Diggs stole the show with 7 solo tackles and an interception pick six. The running game was electric for the Breakers. Both running backs had a touchdown. Jordan Ellis averaged 4.9 yards a carry as he rushed for 89 yards. TJ Logan Jr. had 56 yards on the ground and also chipped in on a two point conversion that went through the hands of a Philadelphia Stars defender. He caught it and converted. In his first professional coaching debut, Breakers Head Coach Larry Fedora’s team gets the win.

#2.

TAMPA BAY BANDITS UP 1 SPOT

Tampa Bay seems to be the sports landscape capital of the World. The Lightning in the NHL have won two Stanley Cups. Tom Brady’s Buccaneers won the Superbowl in his first season in Tampa Bay. The Rays are a great team but lost in the World Series two seasons ago. Last year the Rays were knocked off early in the MLB post-season. So now the experts have the Tampa Bay Bandits as the best team in the rebirth of the USFL. I think the Bandits have the best quarterback in the entire USFL league, named Jordan Ta’amu.

Is Ta’amu the best quarterback in the league? The Bandits played a great first half versus the Maulers last Monday night. In the second half, the Bandits did nothing. Maulers quarterback play was not very good as the eye test tells me that and on the scoreboard they put up 3 points. Maulers had 3 more points than the Bandits in the second half. Jordan Ta’amu had a great day mostly in the first half as he finished 20-32 for 185 passing yards with 1 touchdown pass. Ta’amu however had two interceptions. Not crowning the Bandits the championship automatically, because they are from Tampa Bay and have a quarterback that threw two interceptions and disappeared in the second half. I need to see more from the Bandits, but they should be one of the better teams in the league. Right now they are behind the Breakers.

#3.

BIRMINGHAM STALLIONS UP 1 SPOT

The Birmingham Stallions coming in, we know have the home field advantage as all games of the USFL are being played in Alabama. Stallions being the first game on the docket drew the biggest crowd on Saturday night. Stallions made it interesting as they had to fight back and made a comeback and secured the win at the last minute. Stallions had the dueling quarterbacks to find out that perhaps the second one was better than the first one. Alex McGough looked good early on as he threw a touchdown pass. Early on J’mar Smith looked bad and got better during the game filling in for perhaps an injured McGough. Smith led the comeback as he finished off the Generals going 11-21 for 156 yards with one touchdown pass. Quarterback controversy? Maybe. I like the Stallions defense as one of the better units in the league. Scooby Wright lived up to the hype.

Scooby forced a turnover as he forced a fumble in a key situation of the game. This was a turning point for the Stallions. The Stallions uniforms look very similar to the ESU Timberwolves in the movie The Program.

#4.

HOUSTON GAMBLERS UP 3 SPOTS

I was not really impressed with the Gamblers. Offensively the Gamblers quarterback situation was not very good. I thought former Northwestern star quarterback Clayton Thorson would have gave me more. Thorson started off well with a touchdown pass to wide receiver Isaiah Zuber. Thorson, a duel threat, only had 4 yards with his legs. Thorson finished his Houston debut hitting 9-17 passes for 73 yards with the touchdown pass and an interception. Houston still won the game because….

Jeff Fisher and the Panthers gave the Gamblers an early Christmas gift. Gamblers found the scoreboard with a defensive score with the ole scoop and run on a fumble. Maybe Fisher’s team had the chicken instead of the pizza as the Panthers quarterback could not grasp the ball on a shot gun formation as he fumbled more than once. Thought it was finger licking good. Gamblers scored all their points in the first half. Panthers fumbled the ball on a chance at a game winning drive at the end. A special mention is Donald Payne Jr., the heart and soul of the Gamblers defense, had 15.5 tackles with 13 of them solo. He’s just a beast on the Houston’s defense.

#5.

MICHIGAN PANTHERS Down 4 spots

The Michigan Panthers were unlike any of the coached teams of Jeff Fisher of the past. Panthers showed no discipline on the field as they were fighting each other.

I thought from the beginning the Panthers would be one of the best teams in the USFL as I had them number one in the power rankings coming in.

I thought the quarterbacks for Michigan would be their strength. Former number one draft pick for the Denver Broncos, Paxton Lynch, was hot garbage. The Panthers gave him a series or two. Lynch completed 2 passed out 5 attempts for 1 yard with an interception. Then Shea Patterson, who will and should be a top quarterback in this league, completed 68% of his passes. He had a 104.1 rating as he passed for 192 yards while throwing one touchdown pass. However Patterson had chicken grease on his fingers or something, fumbling three snaps in shot gun formation. Plus took three sacks. The Gamblers to me were waiting to give the game to the Panthers but they would not accept the win.

#6.

PHILADELPHIA STARS Same

The Philadelphia Stars played well in their first game. The Stars did some great stuff in all phases of the game. Bryan Scott behind center is definitely one of the better quarterbacks in the league as he finished 25-26 for 202 passing yards throwing 1 touchdown pass with one interception. Stars generated a nice running game to go along with Scott at quarterback. Chris Rowland was a nice security blanket for Bryan Scott as he caught seven balls for 74 yards doing his best Wes Welker imitation.

The Stars defense played well and are no slouch as New Orleans earned their points in the first week against them. I think when I see more, the Stars will be in the top half of the league.

#7.

NEW JERSEY GENERALS (0-1) UP 1 SPOT

I thought the Generals should have won on Opening night of the USFL as the team led the entire game only to lose to the Stallions in the last minute. The Generals were using dueling quarterbacks in the opener. That and the kicking game cost them a victory. Luis Perez may be the best bowler quarterback behind center all-time in any Spring football league ever established. Head Coach Mike Riley did not need to give De’Andre Johnson playing time when Perez was doing well as he finished the day going 13-18 for 143 yards & two touchdown passes. Perez had a nice thing going on with with his wide receiver Randy Satterfield who had 5 catches 100 yards and a score. Back up De’Andre Johnson had a rushing touchdown and had 98 yards on the ground. I think the Generals should ride with the hotter hand instead of mixing and matching. Generals defense can be scored on as the Stallions mounted a comeback in the first ever game of the rebirth of the USFL. Shalom Luani, one defender from that Generals defensive, stood out with 8 solo tackles and an interception.

If the USFL has an All-Madden team of some kind, Luani is one of my guys.

#8.

PITTSBURGH MAULERS (0-1) Down 3 spots

Maulers running back De’Veon Smith wanted pizza over the team’s choice of chicken salad at the team dinner.

Smith may have pulled a Jeff Spicoli in the movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Spicoli’s teacher Mr. Hand did not like it. Head Coach Kirby Wilson of the Maulers did not like Smith’s pizza idea either.

De’Veon Smith would end up being cut from the Maulers after that incident. I think Head Coach Kirby Wilson needs to pick one man behind center. Either Josh Love or Kyle Lauletta. One has to be pizza and the other chicken salad. The Maulers were committed to the run. With dueling quarterbacks, it kills drives and any kind of momentum waiting for a guy to knock off the rust. Kyle Lauletta went 2-11 in passing attempts for 8 yards. Why Lauletta get 11 pass attempts is baffling. Maulers have a nice defense as Bandits scored only 17 points in the game; all in the first half of the contest.

I remember playing football in the front yard of the house as a little lad. Those words, “Go deep I hit you,” as I break out of the blocks like track star after hearing the word hike like a starter’s pistol. I’d be sprinting on a go route, a fly pattern grammar school football called it in the play book. My father, brother, or one of my friends would heave the ball in the air trying to hit me in stride. Sometimes it looked the way it was drawn up in the dirt of the grass or diagramming the play from the quarterback’s fingers on his shirt. Sometimes the ball would be off or a dropped pass occurred. Even running into a tree may have ended the afternoon of fun. As a kid I’d be watching the Bears’ Jim McMahon on a broken play chuck the ball down the field hitting wide receiver Willie Gault, who had blazing speed on a big play. Before the 1980’s, and probably still the best in the business at throwing the bomb maybe of all-time in the professional football game, was quarterback Daryle Lamonica who wore the Raiders bonnet and played in the 1960’s early 1970’s.

Daryle Lamonica played college ball at the University of Notre Dame who was Fresno, California native. In 1963, Lamonica was drafted by two teams to play professional football. The Green Bay Packers of the NFL (National Football League) and the Buffalo Bills of the AFL (American Football League.) Lamonica chose Buffalo out of the two coldest places to play in both leagues. This was before the NFL and AFL merged in 1970. Lamonica played in the cold for the fighting Irish so he would adapt. In Buffalo, Lamonica’s talents were wasted as the back-up QB to one of the Bills greats in Jack Kemp. In 4 seasons, Lamonica would go 4-0 as a starter for the Bills as he did play in 56 games and threw 16 touchdown passes but had 23 interceptions. Bills would eventually trade Lamonica to the Oakland Raiders in 1967. After 4 games in the black and silver in 196,7 Lamonica would earn the nickname of the Mad Bomber.

The Raiders would use Daryle Lamonica’s strength which was his arm in their offense to create a passing attack style instead mostly running the ball while relying on the defense. The Mad Bomber would strike on 30 touchdown passes in 1967. Daryle Lamonica’s powerful arm would lead the Raiders to a 13-1 regular season record as he completed 220 passes out of 425 attempts for 3,228 yards which earned him his first MVP award. In 1969 Lamonica threw 34 touchdown passes which today is still a Raider record. In the same year, the Mad Bomber led the league in every notable quarterback stat category and earned his second MVP award. The Mad Bomber led the Raiders to their first ever Superbowl when the NFL and AFL emerged into one league. Lamonica would face the team he did not pick in 1963 as the Raiders would lose to the Green Bay Packers in Superbowl II, 33-14. The Mad Bomber would never make it back to another Superbowl. The Mad Bomber did have the Raiders making the playoffs 7 out of the 8 seasons behind center in Oakland. Five of those seasons for Head Coach John Madden.

Everyone will remember the famous Heidi game that Daryle Lamonica was a part of. Many would not see the Heidi game. In 1968 the Mad Bomber led one of the best comebacks at the time as he threw 4 touchdown passes versus the Jets. The game went longer than expected, and NBC switched over to the movie, Heidi, with one minute remaining in the game. The Raiders and Lamonica would win that game and many viewers would not able to see the ending. Like a cliff hanger, ‘tune into the same time next week same bat channel same bat television’ for the conclusion of the Mad Bomber and the caped crusader.

Daryle Lamonica would play in 151 games behind center for the Bills and Raiders in 12 seasons. The Mad Bomber played when you could hit the quarterback without drawing a flag. During the time where defenders could clothesline you to bring you down. Hit you high & hit you low. Lamonica only completed 49% of his passes for his entire career which these days of the NFL would be frowned upon. The Mad Bomber was a gunslinger. No question about that as he threw 164 touchdown passes while getting intercepted 138 times. The Mad Bomber passed for 19,154 yards during those 12 seasons. Lamonica can be compared to Justin Herbert because both can throw the deep ball well. These days in the NFL it’s yards after the catch hitting receiver in stride and hoping he breaks it for a big gainer. The Mad Bomber would launch a pass in the air that went 30 to 40 yards before hitting the target down the sideline in stride. Former Bengal Jeff Blake threw a nice long ball in his days playing for the Bengals.

“Go deep, I hit you,” is not done very often any more in the game of football. Many quarterbacks don’t even attempt that kind of pass in present times. The Mad Bomber perfected this pass play. Lamonica did win games so you can compare him to Jimmy Garoppolo as a guy who found a way to win the games at the end of regulation. Lamonica’s winning percentage behind center was very Garoppolo-like as he finished with a 66-16-6 record as a starter. Maybe not always pretty, but effective. I was not alive to watch Daryle Lamonica play. Only when watching the highlights and reading about him did I become a fan. The Mad Bomber unfortunately passed away this week at the age of 80. Daryle Lamonica may have one of the best nicknames of all-time in the sports world as the Mad Bomber. Just a perfect nickname for a guy who wore the silver and black most of his career. I think the Mad Bomber’s stats would have been better if he played during present times. I like the fact that he stayed on the field during the time where defenses were out for blood. Daryle Lamonica will always be a legend as fathers and son’s to this day still say, “Go deep, I hit you” in the front yard on a brisk autumn day with the leaves changing colors.

Here we go again as we welcome another Spring Football league into already a crowded sports mix. It is football, so like a flaming car wreck found on the highway we have to watch. The USFL has resurrected and they will be playing their first week on Easter weekend… how fitting. We have seen the Covid-19 Virus invasion shut down the XFL part two in the middle of their season. Part two of the XFL was way better than part one in the 1990’s. Then the American Alliance (AAF) ran out of money in 2019 and that league folded like a house of cards being put up in a windstorm. All’s the USFL has to do is complete the regular season just to do better than these leagues from the past. I will get invested and perhaps the USFL can have post-season play with a championship, which sounds like a novel idea. This USFL has money. This USFL has their games on television just like the others. This USFL has a green glowing football.

It’s Fox, who brought you the glowing puck in their NHL games, what do you expect? The USFL has no Donald Trump in this go around. This league may work. It was a fun league to watch in the 1990’s and gave the NFL a run for their money. The NFL took a lot of genius ideas from the original USFL. We expect the NFL to be watching once again to take the new genius ideas this USFL will impose. I will throw out my first edition of the USFL power rankings. This is before the season even begins so I’m expecting to be wrong on most things. Maybe once I warm up by week 4 like the quarterbacks of the USFL, I should be able to razzle and dazzle you with my weekly power rankings.

#1.MICHIGAN PANTHERS

They say history intends to repeat itself so the Panthers get my number 1 ranking coming in because in the original USFL they won the very first championship. Head Coach Jeff Fisher always has a pretty good defense backing him in all those teams he was head coach of in the NFL. Fisher has assembled a nice defensive unit from experienced players of Spring leagues past. The Panthers could use soft Cam Newton, former Carolina Panther, as their quarterback. Panthers of the USFL and Panthers of the NFL had very similar uniforms and pretty much the same helmet logo. Fisher has his quarterback room looking good which is the biggest key. Shea Patterson, a 25 year old former Wolverine, has plenty of experience in the CFL. Patterson clung on to multiple NFL camps before Canada, soaking in intelligence. Back up quarterback has the Panthers signing Paxton Lynch former Bronco of the NFL.

Fisher has himself a 1-2 punch behind center if needed. Paxton Lynch could actually find out if this quarterback thing is worthwhile in years to come.

#2. NEW ORLEANS BREAKERS

The Breakers have assembled a nice defensive front to KILL THE QUARTERBACK!!! Breakers have former Bulldog Davin Bellamy with a nice front seven on the defensive front, including a rag tag bunch with names like Andre Saint-Amour, Christopher Okoye and James Folston Jr. Breakers might have found a group like the Ukraine Red Dawn unit giving the Russian military fits.

At quarterback the Breakers have Kyle Sloter from Northern Colorado. Sloter may not be the best quarterback in this Spring football league, but the man has some big weapons to throw to. Johnnie Dixon and Shawn Poindexter, to me, might be the best 1-2 point in the entire league at the wide receiver position.

#3.TAMPA BAY BANDITS

When the Bandits played back in the 1980’s, Burt Reynolds was part owner of the team. Bandits need a celebrity mustache in present times.

I nominate Mr. Blue Bloods, the original Magnum PI, Tom Selleck. The Bandits have some NFL experience on the defensive side of the ball. The Bandits probably on paper have the best quarterback in the league. Jordan Ta’amu is a duel threat who was impressive for the St. Louis Battlehawks of the XFL remake in 2020. My only problem is Todd Haley is the head coach and gets my vote for biggest dirt bag in the entire league. Can Todd Haley manage his big ego and keep it in check before he arrives at the field.

#4. BIRMINGHAM STALLIONS

The Stallions have the home field advantage the entire year as all the games in the USFL will be played on-site in Alabama. The Stallions have built one of the best defenses in the entire USFL. I think defense will be able to take advantage of bad quarterback play for at least the first few weeks of play. The Stallions are very Scappy-like and may have the best linebacker in the league.

Dish out the Scooby snacks in the stands in Birmingham. Scooby Wright has played in the NFL. Scooby has been a raving dog unleashed in Spring Leagues of the past such as the AAF and the XFL.

#5. PITTSBURGH MAULERS

Maulers by far have the best logo in the entire USFL reboot.

Maulers have somewhat of a quarterback controversy brewing. Josh Love or Kyle Lauletta?

Kyle Lauletta has the NFL experience playing for the New York Giants. I love the WAC Conference in College sports. Josh Love showed me the love at San Jose State University, a young gunslinger just lighting up the skies with missiles, hitting his receivers in stride. Maulers have that insurance policy if something goes wrong with one of their guys.

#6. PHILADELPHIA STARS

The Stars, back in the 1980’s, was the best franchise if you are counting victories and championships of which they won two of those. Stars made some great finds back then.

Short and stout linebacker Sam Mills wrecked havoc on opposing teams in the USFL. Mills then went on to the NFL and did the same thing for the Saints and the Panthers. Could the Stars quarterback Bryan Scott be that next Sam Mills to show the world his talent behind center?

Bryan Scott was tabbed the name of Aaron Rodgers of the division three of College Football. Scott could be the sleeper quarterback in this years USFL.

#7. HOUSTON GAMBLERS

No Jim Kelly and the run and shoot offense this go around in the USFL for the Gamblers. Houston will rely on instead a duel threat quarterback, former Big Ten star from Northwestern, Clayton Thorson.

Thorson has been in the huddles in the dreaded NFC East with the Eagles, Cowboys and Giants. Thorson is the only Big Ten quarterback ever in history to throw for over 10,000 yards while rushing for 20 touchdowns. Maybe the Josh Allen of the USFL. Gamblers wide receiver Isaiah Zuber caught some passes for the Patriots’ Evil Empire.

At least I did not think of all those Stormtroopers for the Evil Empire being Wes Welker look-a-likes.

#8. NEW JERSEY GENERALS

The Generals are X-EL-Presidente Donald Trump’s former team back in the 1980’s. Generals have the worst odds in the entire USFL. Maybe Las Vegas Nevada is a Blue State.

I thought Randall Flagg was still Mayor of Las Vegas. The Generals in my opinion have the best head coach of this Spring Football league in Mike Riley, just because of all the experience he brings from the Canada league and other Spring leagues past. The Generals had to settle on Luis Perez as their starting quarterback, former professional bowler and a guy who resurrects from all these last few Spring leagues, such as the AAF and XFL. Perez has never been the guy from the start either; a guy that learned the quarterback position from watching YouTube videos. I like Perez and his story, but he may not be the guy to lead the Generals to the promised land.

On Friday night, the St. Peters Peacocks became the first ever 15th seed to advance to the elite 8 in the Men’s NCAA March Madness Tournament. Out of all the tournaments that have been played throughout the years and turn of the century, it took a 15th seed this long to get this far. In 2018 we saw UMBC, a number 16 seed, win their first tournament game in the history of the March Madness Tournament versus University of Virginia. Many thought a 16th seed would never be able to win as the odds were so much stacked against them. I had never even heard of UMBC, which stands for University of Maryland Baltimore County. It sounds like the local DMV or local government offices. Have you ever heard of St. Peter’s until this year? Maybe a local grammar school. Every year this tournament has schools I have to look up. St. Peter’s is the definition of a Cinderella team in this tournament. The underdog Peacocks have taken out bigger Universities as they started with the University of Kentucky, a number two seed, in the very first round. Beating that slime-bag head coach, John Calipari, who would be a used car salesmen or selling snake oil out the trunk of his car if not coaching hoops. Then the Peacocks took out number 7, Murray State, to move into the Sweet 16. Friday night Daryl Banks III led all Peacocks in scoring as St. Peter’s would knock off the final big ten team in the tournament beating Purdue, a number 3 seed, with a score of 67-64 in a classic game.

St. Peters is located in the state of New Jersey. Across the Hudson River from the University is lower Manhattan, New York. St. Peter’s is a commuter college with religious aspects of the Jesuits. St. Peter’s is a school that has been on the fringes of Division 1 sports for years. Last time St. Peter’s made the NCAA tournament in March, was in 2011. This is the Peacocks’ 4th tournament appearance. Their first was in 1991, then 1995, 2011, and this year. The Peacocks have played in the consolation tournament, the NIT, 12 times. This season the Peacocks went 22-11 which was good enough to earn the 15th seed in the tournament. It’s been a great year as you go back to the Peacocks home opener that only had 434 fans show up in their own building, which they call Run Baby Run Arena, to see them play LIU. It did not look like that in Wells Fargo Arena in Philadelphia where many Peacocks fans made the trip to see history unveil by the thousands.

Last night, Duke advanced to the final four for the millionth time as we’ve been there done that. Before that, another powerhouse school, Villanova, would prevail over Houston. Can St. Peter’s knock off another god of the basketball hardwood floors in North Carolina who’s standing in their way for the final four? Then the other game features University of Miami and University of Kansas. You suddenly sense how this will all play out as North Carolina will end St. Peter’s magnificent run. Then the Jayhawks led by Billy Selfish will once again find a way to the final 4. The networks will want North Carolina versus Duke, an instant hard on for them. Since it is Mike Krzyzewski’s last season coaching the Tar Heels, it spoiled his last home game earlier this month. The story lines are just too much too pass up with old rivalries meeting in the final 4. Then Villanova versus Kansas, the other match up, would set everything back to the norm in these March Madness tournaments that had a bracket-buster team like St. Peter’s disrupt everything except at the very end.

If St. Peter’s Peacocks do prevail over North Carolina, this will be one of the best stories in sports history. Even though they have not won the entire thing, the final 4 would be even a greater story line. It would have that feel like USA beating the Russians in the early 1980’s Olympics in Ice Hockey. Perhaps you could compare St. Peter’s to Ukraine hanging in there versus one of the world’s greatest militaries in Russia in that horrific conflict. Imagine the school budgets St. Peter’s has in their basketball program over all these other schools. St. Peter’s has some volunteers on their coaching staff. The leaky roofs that can’t be fixed immediately that have flooded the gymnasium or the coaches’ offices. The gym is used for bake sales and other things beside the basketball team having full reign. St. Peter’s visiting locker room is a joke. I remember playing basketball in grammar school in an old old bomb shelter, and that is what I picture. Schools like St. Peter’s getting to the Elite 8 is a magic season. Head Coach for St. Peter’s, Shaheen Holloway, building a nice team with an inspired defense and playing with the eye of the tiger. You like to see Coach Holloway and the Peacocks advance now because there is no tomorrow as all the other schools in the nation are watching. They want to poach Holloway away from the Peacocks like the vultures they are when this story book ends. Then it would be like thieves leaving a stolen car in the middle of nowhere on blocks. They’d be just skeletons of their former self. Look at Loyola of Chicago. They are a smaller school, Oklahoma, and they pried Porter Moser from the Ramblers last season. Moser coached Loyola to the final 4 in 2018 and his team knocked out number one seed University of Illinois last season. Despite Moser taking his coaching talents to a new level in the basketball world, Loyola did make the tournament this year without him. What about guys like Richard Rinaldi? The former St. Peter’s alum and player for the Peacocks went on to the NBA to play for the Baltimore Bullets and New Jersey Nets. He is watching & hoping to see his ole stomping grounds prevail against all the odds. It’s now or never for St. Peter’s. You would think a small school if they could just ride it out playing red hot sizzling basketball, would win the entire thing at some point. I hope the Peacocks do it. The ending could be it was a great try and great season just falling short. Then we will all wait until that next magical ride from yet another small school we never heard of. If the Cubs can win the World Series in 2016, why not St. Peters? It is in the back of my mind. Cross your fingers and toes. I’ve had enough of these big monopoly schools winning the entire thing every single year. It’s the Peacocks turn. I believe in miracles.

The Indianapolis Colts’ search for their Spock behind center has them turning over every stone in the entire league. Their horrible ending of a regular season taking a loss to the bottom of the barrel of a team called the Jacksonville Jaguars, have set things in motion for Indianapolis. The Colts should have been in the playoffs, but they lost their final two games of the season. One more win & they would have been in. The Colts scapegoat was Carson Wentz as they dealt him to the Washington Commanders. The Colts brass had balls to call up division rival Houston Texans to see what the asking price on Deshaun Watson was. I think we know what Houston said as the phone disconnected without saying goodbye. The Colts found a stone to overturn with another team that was going hot and heavy in their pursuit of Deshaun Watson, the Atlanta Falcons. The Colts get Matt Ryan an upgrade at the quarterback position while the Falcons are left scratching their heads over what happened.

Matt Ryan will be 37 years old in the month of May, but is still a bonafide starter in the NFL. Last year Matt Ryan went 7-10 as the starter of the Falcons while completing 67 % of his passes for 3,968 yards with 20 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions. It was a season when Ryan saw the Falcons trade his favorite guy, Julio Jones, to Tennessee and then his other favorite receiver, Calvin Ridley, had personal issues. Ridley had to step away from the game and then turned to gambling as he bet on football. Ryan, nicknamed Matty Ice, plays the game of football cool, calm, and collected in all situations, & was former MVP of the league and 4 time Pro-bowler. Ryan led the Falcons to a Superbowl only to see the 28-3 lead at halftime evaporate quickly as Tom Brady and the Patriots had a historical comeback win in that one. Ryan was the 3rd overall pick in 2008. He played 14 seasons in Hot Atlanta & had a regular season record of 120-102 while in post-season he had a 4-6 record. Ryan in a Falcon uniform passed for 59,735 yards with 367 touchdowns and 120 interceptions. In the end, the Falcons only get a 2022 3rd round pick from the Colts for Matt Ryan and end up paying 40.5 in dead money from his contract that will be on the team’s salary cap.

The Falcons have been in salary cap hell the last few seasons. Most of the money the Falcons had invested was on the offensive side of the ball. The defense was like a turnstile as opposing offenses had their way with those units like whores in a whorehouse giving out free stuff. Not sure what the Falcons had planned if they did get a trade done with the Houston Texans to bring Deshaun Watson to Atlanta. Paying Watson 230 guaranteed money would mean every player on the Falcons roster would have had to rework their contracts. I think when the Falcons could not get the deal done to go back to their old reliable gal as was not in the cards, Matt Ryan had to go. Seattle Seahawks show some interest in Matt Ryan, but their offer was not revealed. Now the Falcons brought in veteran Marcus Mariota, the former Titan who been running some wild cat formations the last few seasons in Vegas. Mariota probably just bridges the gap behind center for now as the Falcons might find their next Matty Ice in the upcoming NFL draft. The Falcons should have hit the reset button years ago. They would have gotten more than a 3rd round pick for the face of their franchise.

Meanwhile the Colts have been trying to find the solution for years at the quarterback position. Things unraveled when Andrew Luck called it a career early and stepped away from the game years ago. The Colts had tried Jacoby Brissett which started off good but fizzled quickly. Then the Colts turned to Phillip Rivers in free agency. Rivers would only play one season as he guided the Colts to the playoffs and loss in first round to Buffalo. Rivers was needed at home to drive the Partridge family bus with all the kids he has assembled over the years. Last season the Colts thought they had their answer at quarterback, trading for Carson Wentz from the Eagles as that experiment went bad at the end of regular season. Colts would have Matt Ryan for two seasons at 54 million total. About the same type of money they would have paid Wentz. Colts have a solid team in place. Jonathan Taylor emerged as one of the best running backs in the league last year. The Colts defense is one of the top ten units in the game. I think this is a great trade for the Colts. The Colts can’t suddenly go Falcon like. The Colts lost some offensive linemen to retirement and free agency. Colts need to solidify the line even though Ryan has been mainly healthy his entire career, but to keep him protected while making holes for Taylor. Colts need to add some more play-makers in the receiving cores for Ryan. Maybe Julio Jones, they may get him on the cheap side as the Titans cut ties with one of the best receivers in the league until last season. . The AFC is a loaded conference of power houses and this move by the Colts bringing in Ryan, I have them at the top of the AFC South. Ryan is better than the Ryan in Tennessee. Ryan Tannehill relies heavily on the play action pass in Tennessee. Matt Ryan can win games with his arm alone if needed. Even with Ryan in the middle of his 30’s, he still has plenty in the gasoline tank to take the Colts, an established team, to the playoffs. This is a move that gives the Colts two years with their team’s window open to do something in the playoffs. Let’s not forget the tough schedule the Colts started off with last season. They lost some close games to very good teams and dug themselves a hole early on in the standings. The Colts had a streak towards the end of the season when they looked like one of the scariest teams to play if they made it to the post-season. Then the bottom of the car fell out for the Colts as their roll came to a sudden halt.

The city of Cleveland just added another questionable character to their sports landscape. If you don’t like your mother, girlfriend, or your wife, you may be excited about what the Dawg pond added behind center. The Cleveland Browns make a block-buster deal with the Houston Texans acquiring Deshaun Watson from the Houston Texans. The Browns will give up up three number one draft picks to get a guy who has 22 civil lawsuits alleging sexual assault misconduct. The Browns are giving up on one of their own guys they drafted, Baker Mayfield who is the face of Cleveland football. Mayfield turned around a very bad Browns franchise that had a parade for a perfect season after not winning one game in the 2018 season. Mayfield guided the Browns to a playoff win over the archrival Steelers in 2021. This is the same town that welcomed King Lebron James back with open arms after the DECISION when he left the Cavaliers to take his talents to South Beach. Let’s not forget the rise of the dirt bag from Indians baseball, Trevor Bauer. Bauer who has criminal minds types of ideas in the bedroom.

Cleveland is a great sports town. It’s a deprived sports town. Many years of losing teams. Cleveland is a hard working town that deserves better. When your team in one of the 4 major sports in your town wins a championship, you would love to be proud of the collection of teammates that came together to work like a well-oiled machine to get the job done. When one of your owners sneaks your football team out of town in the wee hours of the night like a cat burglar fleeing the Police with the loot. Art Modell moved the Browns to Baltimore, who then became the Ravens. Ravens would go on, not very long after the move, to win a Superbowl. Cleveland would get the Browns back as an expansion team would play meaningless football for decades with deadbeat quarterbacks in and out behind center. Then Lebron James wins his first championship of his career with the Miami Heat in a plot that would blacken the NBA. The sinister ways of assembling the big three in the starting 5 by fleecing other teams. Then Indians at the Cubs in the World Series in 2016, a championship involving two teams with the longest drought of not winning it all. Indians would blow a 3 games to 1 lead in the best of seven series.

Cavalier fans would burn their Lebron James jerseys after his hour long special when he made his decision to head to the Miami Heat. King James would then come back to the Cavaliers after his run in Miami. The Cavaliers would win their first ever NBA Championship versus the Golden State Warriors in 2016. Then King James would once again bolt Cleveland for greener pastures. James would go one and win a championship in LA for the Lakers. Was it worth winning one championship with having to deal with Lebron James?. Do you forgive and forget because the King helped your city capture a championship in something after all the Browns and the Indians have not done anything good for the city of Cleveland when it comes to championships. Indians did lose in a few World Series chances.The Indians are not even called the Indians any more. At least those Indians had good guys like Jim Thome, Corey Kluber, Sandy Alomar Jr., and Jose Ramirez. These guys offset bad personality guys like the Indians had in Trevor Bauer, Alert Belle, Manny Ramirez and Roberto Alomar. The Indians did deal Trevor Bauer at the right time which could be a dark cloud right now as they are changing the team name to Guardians.

Baker Mayfield was drafted by the Browns in 2018. Cleveland developed Mayfield as a player and he became the face of the franchise. Mayfield is a well-liked guy in the locker room and has a face with a winning personality that can sell you insurance with his awesome advertisements. Mayfield played last season with many nagging injuries as he tried his best to win games and get back to the playoffs. Deshaun Watson is plain & simple the better quarterback as the Browns will be upgrading. The Browns will be paying a dear price for this devil in draft capital that could hurt putting talent around Watson. Then paying Watson 5 years of guaranteed money worth 230 million as an extension. I guess someone has to pay off all the girls he has fondled into going away. Free agents could be tricky for the Browns to add since you have to pay Watson all this money to come to Cleveland, a team he turned down once before this deal even came back to the Browns brass to get done. This will not be the first time the Browns have signed a dog. Odell Beckham Jr. comes to mind. Kareem Hunt is on the roster after knocking out a woman in a hotel hallway a few years back after getting cut by the Chiefs. Watson may be the ultimate DAWG the team signed. This trade has mixed feelings in Cleveland. Many women fans in Cleveland are upset bringing this kind of guy to their city. Some Browns fans are jumping ship and switching their allegiances to the Bills Mafia. The league is still investigating Watson. Watson will not face Criminal charges which is why teams were suddenly interested in his services. Once again Cleveland’s landscape of sports will be rooting for a bad dude. If Watson does the unthinkable, get the Browns to the Superbowl and wins it, is everything OK then? Everything is forgiven. Browns have never even made it to the Superbowl. I know every team has some questionable personalities but the main guy on the squad? It’s just sickening. What do you say to the women in your life supporting a toxic cat like Deshaun Watson? If your closet has a James jersey, a Bauer Jersey, & now a Watson jersey… what does that say about your thought process?

The Buffalo Bills land a premiere pass rusher in free agency. It’s Miller time for the Bills Mafia as in Von Miller. I know Von Miller did not invent the strip sack, but he sure has mastered it. Miller, 32 years old, signs a six year deal to come to Buffalo at a hefty price of 120 million. Miller has plenty of tread left on the tires as the lifetime Bronco was traded during the last season to the LA Rams. Miller responded with 31 tackles and 5 sacks in 8 games of regular season in LA. In the playoffs, Miller played at an even higher level as he had 4 sacks in 4 games & one of them was Bills old nemesis Tom Brady. Last time the Bills had this kind of presence, a one man wrecking machine, you’d have to go back to the 1990’s with Buffalo legend Bruce Smith.

The last time the Buffalo Bills had a guy on their defense that had double digits in sacks in one season, was in 2016 with Lorenzo Alexander. Sean McDermott’s defenses over the last few years have been stout and last season was one of the top units in the league. Bills were also able to get pressure on the quarterbacks but bringing them down was a different story. In the playoffs during the loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, how many times did Patrick Mahomes look like a magician in the pocket collapsing from all directions and just vanish? Then you see Mahomes running down the field getting chunks of yards. When the Bills were able to be the King of the AFC in the 1990’s, they had Bruce Smith who destroyed quarterbacks. Those great 1990 Bills teams that went to 4 straight Superbowls. Smith had 19 sacks in the 1990 season. In 1992 and ’93 Smith had racked up 14 sacks each of those seasons. We all know Bruce Smith is the sack king with 200 quarterback heads in 279 NFL games. Smith had 171 in a Buffalo uniform.

Von Miller has played in 150 games in ten regular seasons in the NFL mostly with the Broncos until last season after he was traded to the Rams. In 15 games last season Miller had 9.5 sacks and has 115.5 to his credit during regular season play. In 2016 Miller was MVP of Superbowl 50 where he exposed Cam Newton for how soft he was when Broncos beat the Panthers. Miller now has two Superbowl rings with two different teams, his second being a rental for the Rams. Can Miller get the Bills one? Last two seasons Bills playoffs hopes have fallen to the Kansas City Chiefs. Look at how the Bengals were able to when they brought Patrick Mahomes down to the turf in the AFC Championship game. Advance to the Superbowl. This is a move by the Bills not only to get through the AFC but to win it. The Bills have a talented roster up and down on both sides of the ball. Offense has Josh Allen & now the defense has its name… Miller. The Bills failed to win four straight Superbowls with Jim Kelly, a Hall of Fame quarterback and the King of sacks, another Hall of Famer in Bruce Smith. Josh Allen is a different animal than Jim Kelly and has not gotten the team there yet. It took Kelly a few seasons to get the Bills to their first Superbowl. Bruce Smith obviously went 0-4 in all those Superbowls. Von Miller is two for two in the Superbowls when he is on the field. If the Bills can bring back Jerry Hughes somehow, I would feel even that much better. Bills mafia I bet this St. Patrick’s day are going to enjoying Miller Time in more ways than one.

Who is the scapegoat of the last Bears regime collapse? Head coach Matt Nagy, General Manager Ryan Pace, quarterback Mitch Trubisky, or kicker Cody Parky? If the Chicago Bears had a do-over in the 2017 NFL draft and knew what they know now, how do you think they’d rank the top three quarterbacks in the war room? Pretty easy to put Patrick Mahomes at number 1. He has been to two Superbowls and won one. Deshaun Watson is number two even though he is hands on when it comes to massage therapists. Then the Bears selection from back then, Mitch Trubisky. Back then not knowing what you were getting yourself into you have to go Watson, Mahomes, & then Trubisky from just college experience. After one season in Buffalo backing up Josh Allen, the Bills coaching staff had nothing but great things to say about Trubisky. Trubisky showed you what he learned in pre-season when he came back to Chicago in a Bills uniform. Rumors had it that Trubisky would be sought out by a few teams this off-season. On day one of the free agency period in the NFL, the Steelers signed Trubisky to a two year deal. Former Bears head coach Matt Nagy has crawled back to Andy Reid’s staff of the Chiefs. The Bears have started their own tear down of the former Matt Nagy/Ryan Pace stench. If Trubisky is the starting quarterback in Pittsburgh, who will suddenly have egg on their face? Trubisky, former General Manager Ryan Pace or Matt Nagy?

Mitch Trubisky will make 14.2 Million dollars and he also can earn incentives that totals up to 26.2 Million over two years. Steelers could draft a quarterback; that is not out of the question. With Big Ben Roethlisberger calling it a career and hanging up the spike,s the Steelers have assembled a group of hodgepodge guys behind center. Not sure if you cut off limbs, removed brain cells, and tried to make one superior work of art behind center with these guys, it might not improve the quarterback room. Mason Rudolf is the guy that got his helmet ripped off his head years ago as Browns defensive line-man Myles Garret used it as a weapon to hit the Steelers Quarterback in the head. Rudolf gives the Steelers the most experience before they signed Trubisky. Rudolf in 17 games in the NFL has a record of 5-4-1at the age of 26 years old. He has completed 61.5 % of his passes for 2,366 yards while throwing 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. At the age of 27, Joshua Dobbs has only played in six games & completed 58.8 % of his passes for a whopping 45 yards with 1 interception and no starts. Then at 24 years old, Dwayne Haskins should be playing in the XFL or the USFL because in 16 games he has 3-10 record as he completed 60.1% of his passes for 12 touchdown passes and 14 interceptions. Haskins has broken Covid protocols with teams and has taken selfies with fans when the game is not quite over. We know Big Ben Roethlisberger’s arm looked like it was falling off and just a statue behind center waiting to crumble on any given Sunday. Trubisky with these guys assembled around him should win the starting job in Pittsburgh.

When players leave Chicago, in all sports, they seem to get better outside the Windy City. Ryan Pace has not drafted well in the first two rounds. When the draft picks go bad, then the Bears cut ties with them and other teams somehow find the best out of these guys. Defensive lineman Leonard Floyd now has a Superbowl ring playing for the Rams with a contract extension. Mitch Trubisky made the pro bowl in Matt Nagy’s first year in Chicago. Trubisky in 2018 threw 24 touchdown passes with 12 interceptions and led the Bears to the playoffs where the Eagles would prevail as the double doink off the goal post off Cody Parky’s leg sent Chicago home. The next season Matt Nagy wants to open up his play book. This is when Mitch Trubisky struggled. Trubisky would end up being benched by Nick Foles. Foles was the quarterback for the Eagles that beat the Bears in 2018 in that first round of the playoffs. Then came Andy Dalton as it seemed Nagy’s playbook after the first page was hot garbage. It seemed like Matt Nagy never wanted Trubisky and every replacement did not work out. When Nagy eventually then went back to Trubisky’s strengths, the Bears went on a roll and found the back door of the playoffs in the 2020 season. The league expanded the post-season that year. You can say Trubisky saved Nagy’s job and gave him another year of life only to ultimately fail and finally be shown the door of Halas Hall.

Mitch Trubisky has the most experience right now on the Steelers roster. Trubisky is 29-21 as a starter as he has completed 64.1% of his passes and has passed for 10,652 yards while tossing 64 touchdown passes with 38 interceptions. I guarantee the Steelers organization has been ten times smarter than the Bears organization, which they run worse than a lemonade stand. Trubisky will have a better offensive line than he had in Chicago. In preseason versus the Bears, for Trubisky the Bills had him set up not to fail with that line. Plus the Steelers have something called playmakers on their team. Bears had a lack of them. Still do. In the grand scheme of everything, watch the Steelers run an offense tailored to Trubisky strengths. Watch how Trubisky will show his improvement from watching Josh Allen for one season in Buffalo. Then Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daball last season, who worked with Trubisky and helped Josh Allen take the next step in his career now with the Giants as their head coach. That relationship with Daboll has to help. Steelers had a great defense the last two seasons. All these things in play mean the ultimate revenge of the Biscuit will go down in Steel City. Trubisky will never be better than Patrick Mahomes or even the Bill Cosby of the NFL, Deshaun Watson. Trubisky got a raw deal in Chicago. Ryan Pace’s, the GM, downfall might be meeting Matt Nagy in the first place. The scapegoat as in this part of Chicago Bear history who we blame, will be that weasel Matt Nagy. Nagy will hide behind the wide load in Kansas City and “fetch the man another cheeseburger” will be his present playbook. Where is the closest place to get the hottest burger. The man the Bills called a marry your daughter type of guy & a good dude should get the last laugh, as in Mr. Trubisky. Maybe Trubisky can knock off the Chiefs in post-season while Nagy is looking through his coupons’ playbook for the mega free fry with the number two. If Trubisky suddenly takes off in Pittsburgh, Matt Nagy will never get a head coaching job in this league. Where are the torches and pitchforks Bears fans?