Sak Sports Blog

If you're not an overly optimistic New York Giants fan, or Odell Beckham Jr, I probably don't have to tell you this: but the Giants are't going to win out and sneak into the playoffs at 9-7. On paper, of course it's possible. The Giants have only lost two games this year by more than a touchdown, and their second half schedule isn't too menacing. And I can't knock Odell for believing this, it's the kind of motivation and drive that is rarely seen on a 2-7 squad. But this team just can't do it. Over the past two seasons, the Giants are 5-20. Only once in every five games have they been able to pull off a victory in this span. Even amid Beckham's injury, among others, last season, the Giants haven't had a horrible roster over these 25 games. Yet, time and time again , every time the team takes one step forward or seems to find some consistency on offense, it takes two steps back. I do credit the defense for keeping the ...

This week's picks theme is Eyes on the Playoffs. At the rough halfway point in the 2018-19 NFL season, the playoff standings are beginning to take shape. The Rams, Chiefs, and Patriots lead the pack, and after that, there's plenty of intrigue. Can the Redskins maintain the NFC East with the Eagles and Cowboys on their backs? Can the Chargers challenge for the AFC's best seed? And in a loaded potential NFC Wildcard playoff race, the Packers, Panthers, Falcons, Seahawks, and Bears/Vikings could all be competing for just two spots. Week 9 Recap Through Week 8, I held a 59-45-2 record picking games. I was unable to publish my Week 9 picks, so you'll have to take my word for who I went with. Overall, it was a pretty strong week, where I went 8-5 to improve to 67-50-2. Correct Picks 49ers over Raiders Bears over Bills  Chiefs over Browns Vikings over Lions Falcons over Redskins Panthers over Buccaneers Texans over Broncos Patriots over Packers Inc...

The standings are beginning to take shape, and bring us some pivotal matchups in Week 6. The NFC East is muddled, and all four teams could be in play with a win this week. The Falcons are fighting for their lives in the NFC South, while the Panthers are fighting for a share of first. And New England looks to establish AFC dominance, but can the Chiefs beat the conference's de facto favorite to improve to 6-0? Week 5 was my strongest of the season so far, going 9-6. The tally brings my total record to 39-37-2, above the .500 mark for the first time. This week does bring a few difficult games but I'm confident in another winning week. (Header photo courtesy of NBC Sports) Thursday Night Philadelphia Eagles (2-3) at New York Giants (1-4) New York has been pretty bad about half this season, and in the other half, the offense has shown signs of aptitude. The loss to the Carolina Panthers was a heartbreaker that sent the Giants to 1-4: but no one in the NFC East has ...

Week 2 isn't even completely in the books yet, so naturally it's never too early to judge which teams will hold the worst records and the top picks in the 2019 NFL Draft. At time of writing, ten teams are without a win (which will drop to nine after the Seahawks or Bears win on Monday Night.) But they don't all make this list, these teams have a distinct possibility of finishing with few wins after a slow start. Buffalo Bills (0-2) The Bills hold a -55 point differential through two weeks, the worst in the league. And their opponents, the Baltimore Ravens and Los Angeles Chargers, are both only 1-1. There is much tougher competition on the way. Between Nathan Peterman and rookie Josh Allen, Buffalo's offense has a ways to go, putting up a whopping 23 points through two weeks. With AFC East rivals still on the gauntlet, wins could be few and far between for Buffalo. Until the end of the season where they'll win some meaningless games or spoil a rival's s...

The 2018-2019 NFL season is underway, and through one week we've seen the usual contenders, some hot rookies, some disappointing team performances, and an incredible primetime comeback from Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers. Before looking to Week 2, let's see how I made out in Week 1: I still need to get my NFL record predictions out, but I work all day 😥For tonight’s game though, I’m locking in my pick of #Eagles over #Falcons . — Sak Sports Blog (@SakSports) September 6, 2018 While I didn't predict a score here, the Eagles ultimately won this Thursday night slugfest 18-12 behind two touchdowns from Jay Ajayi. 1-0 #Ravens 24 #Bills 9 Buffalo struggles in the season opener while Joe Flacco and company start off a productive year — Sak Sports Blog (@SakSports) September 9, 2018 The Ravens won and the Bills offense definitely struggled. I correctly predicted no Buffalo touchdowns, but they only mustered three points in an abysmal quarterback ...

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are hoping the picture above is just one of many sacks defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul will land on quarterback Cam Newton. The New York Giants agreed to send 29-year-old defensive end to Tampa Bay in exchange for a 3rd round draft pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. The teams will also swap positions in the fourth round of the draft, favoring the Buccaneers. Pierre-Paul has been a member of the Giants for his entire eight year career. After 16.5 sacks in a monster sophomore season, which helped the Giants win their 4th Super Bowl, Pierre-Paul seemed poised to be the next Justin Tuck or Lawrence Taylor. While he was still solid for the next six years, he only reached double digit sacks one more time (12.5 in 2014). 2015 saw Pierre-Paul play half a season after his infamous fireworks incident on July 4 that left his hand in a cast for months. Luckily for the Buccaneers, he's returning to form, with 15.5 sacks over the last two seasons. The Bu...

The Green Bay Packers sent their fans through a rollercoaster of emotions of the eve of the official new league year. Just minutes after agreeing to terms with superstar tight end Jimmy Graham, the Packers announced they would be parting ways with longtime wide receiver Jordy Nelson. The 33-year-old pass-catcher has already indicated he wants to keep playing in the NFL, so in this wild era of NFL free agency, he should have no shortage of suitors. After three straight elite seasons of production, in which he caught at least 85 passes, surpassed 1,250 yards and 8 touchdowns each of the three seasons, Nelson had a down year in 2017. In 15 games he caught 53 passes for 482 yards and 6 touchdowns, seeming to have lost just a step at times. Of course, Aaron Rodgers was absent for much of the season as well, but still, teams have to be realistic bout their expectations for Nelson. With that being said, here are some potential suitors for the 2016 NFL Comeback Player of the Yea...

Eli Manning has only played for the New York Giants in his career, leading them to two Super Bowls. While rumors have swirled around his future in New York with the Giants struggling, Manning does have a no-trade clause. Still under contract along with Odell Beckham Jr, Manning will likely be back with Big Blue next year. But if the two sides decide it's time to part ways? At 1-7, the Giants could draft a quarterback in next year's draft and hit the reset button. If Manning complied, he could finish his career with another team, perhaps with a shot at one last title. Again, I think there's an overwhelming chance Manning is still the starting quarterback for the Giants in 2018. But if he were to move on, where could he go? What teams would take the veteran quarterback for his last NFL years? Jacksonville Jaguars I actually already wrote about the hypothetical idea of the Jaguars trading for Manning earlier this season.  The obvious connection is his fo...

Let's be clear: New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning isn't going anywhere despite the team's 1-5 start. But that doesn't mean we can't think about a trade that NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah posed. (Note: This post was written prior to New York and Jacksonville’s Week 7 NFL matchups, all stats and records reflect the team’s first six games) On October 9, Jeremiah posted this tweet, sparking conversations about the hypothetical trade: If you're Tom Coughlin/David Caldwell, would you make a call to Giants & ask what it would cost to acquire Eli Manning? — Daniel Jeremiah (@MoveTheSticks) October 9, 2017 Manning already responded to the rumors, saying he doesn't want to leave New York at all.  The longtime Giants quarterback also has a no-trade clause in his contract that we would have to waive to even make the deal possible. This is the sports world, where "what if's?" can be debated endlessly, so let's like a...

After years of underachieving, the New York Giants went 11-5 in 2016, losing to the Green Bay Packers in the Wildcard round. With head coach Ben McAdoo entering his second season, the addition of wide receiver Brandon Marshall, and the core of the playoff team intact, the Giants were expected to make another run for the playoffs this year, maybe even the Super Bowl. Defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul has been quoted, now infamously, for saying he didn't see a reason why the Giants wouldn't go 16-0. Fast forward to October. The Giants are 0-4 and alone at the bottom of the NFC East. Forget the NFC East, they are tied for the NFL's worst record and are more likely to win a top draft pick than a playoff spot. Week One was a tough loss to the Dallas Cowboys, as the Giants fell 19-3 and couldn't sustain any offense without Odell Beckham. Week Two featured an embarrassing loss, as there are many ways the Giants could have managed to defeat the Detroit Lions on t...