NFC South: Biggest Questions

        Now we take a look at the NFC South, a division that could possibly be one of the NFL's weakest. But that shouldn't deter these teams for vying for a playoff spot in the upcoming season.

Atlanta Falcons: Will the Falcons' defense get better? The Atlanta Falcons' defense altogether was simply anemic. They had allowed the most combined yards on defense in 2014 at 6,372 yards. One promising thing to note for the Falcons was Paul Worrilow, who had 143 combined tackles last year, good for 5th in the NFL. The Falcons did add the likes of LB Justin Durant and DT Paul Solali, so the defense should have nowhere to go but up.
Carolina Panthers: How badly will the Panthers be affected by the loss of Kelvin Benjamin? Kelvin Benjamin emerged as one of Cam Newton's top receivers last season, breaking out for 1,008 yards and nine touchdowns. However, Benjamin will miss the entire 2015 season with a torn ACL, leaving the Panthers without many viable targets for Cam Newton aside from Greg Olsen. Devin Funchess should be a decent receiver, but can he fill the void that Benjamin has left?
New Orleans Saints: Are the Saints transitioning? New Orleans was one of the most popular picks to win the Super Bowl going into the 2014 season. They had a high-profile passer in Drew Brees (who went on to throw for 4,952 yards, 33 touchdowns, and 17 interceptions) and a great tight end in Jimmy Graham. Now that Graham has gone to Seattle, things look a lot different for the Saints. They still have Marques Colston (59 receptions, 902 yards, five touchdowns), but not much else in terms of receivers. Brandin Cooks (53 receptions, 550 yards, three touchdowns) needs to play a bigger role in the offense along with other receivers in order for the Saints to be taken seriously in the NFC South discussion.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Can Jameis Winston truly be a star quarterback? So far, Jameis Winston has looked decent for the Bucs sans the preseason opener versus the Vikings. But one thing he really needs to do is keep his character in check. That means no more making a ruckus in the cafetaria. No more stealing crab legs. No more unsolicited sexcapades. Jameis must keep it together now that he's in the pros.

NFC North: Biggest Questions

        Now that we've covered the NFC East (Always an interesting cover), it's time to cover the NFC North. This might be one of the NFL's deepest divisions with the Packers and Lions being last year's playoff teams along with an under-the-radar team in Minnesota and perhaps a revamped team in Chicago. Here are the biggest questions surrounding the NFC North.

Chicago Bears: Is this Jay Cutler's last stand? There has been great concern for QB Jay Cutler in the past few years in the Windy City. In 2014, Cutler threw for 3,812 yards, 28 touchdowns, and 18 INT. He also had a completion percentage of 66, 4.3% above his career average. He's faced criticism from his former teammate, Brandon Marshall; Marshall said that he was the only one who held Cutler accountable. Already in his 10th season, this is do-or-die for the Vanderbilt alum to make something of his big contract.
Detroit Lions: How big of a void has Suh left on the defensive line? It isn't really Ndamukong Suh that the Lions will miss. It's also Nick Farley and C.J. Mosley that are gone from the Lions' D-Line. But the Lions did get Haloti Ngata (32 combined tackles, 2.0 sacks, 2 INT) from the Baltimore Ravens. The Lions only allowed 1,109 rushing yards in 2014, which was tops in the NFL. It'll be a bit of a tall order for the Lions to duplicate that sort of production this season.
Green Bay Packers: Does the absence of Jordy Nelson hurt the Packers' Super Bowl chances? Going into this season, the Packers were the favorites to win the Super Bowl. However, Jordy Nelson (1,519 yards, 13 TD) was lost for the season with a torn ACL. Granted, I still believe that the Packers will make the playoffs and still be a viable threat. However, their Super Bowl chances do take a bit of a hit. Considering how Green Bay was only a successful onside kick away from making the Super Bowl, it just burns them up even more to make it there.
Minnesota Vikings: Can this team make noise this year? Teddy Bridgewater (2,919 yards, 14 TD, 12 INT) looks to break out this season, but he'll need some help. He was sacked 39 times last season. In fact, Minnesota quarterbacks were sacked 51 times last year, which is ten more than the number of times that the opponents have been sacked by Minnesota's defense. If the Vikings are to make noise and be the NFC dark horse, they'll need to improve their blocking upfront.

The Curious Case of Donald Trump

        If you've watched the news lately, you've probably have seen a lot of this man.

        This man is none other than Donald Trump, real-estate developer, billionaire, and GOP presidential candidate. He's making a lot of noise in the GOP field, much to the chagrin of Democrats, the GOP establishment, and the news media. With the perfect storm of Hillary Clinton taking a huge hit in the polls and Donald Trump's meteoric rise in the polls, it's now become a viable vision that Trump becomes not only the GOP candidate, but that he becomes President of the United States. 

        The reason for Trump's uprising is a simple reason. As Ohio Governor John Kasich said, "He's hit a nerve in this country." His main focus of his campaign so far has been on immigration. Donald Trump has established that he wants to build a wall around the U.S.-Mexico border. Not only that, but he wants Mexico to pay for the wall. He's also stated that he wants to repeal the 14th amendment and end birthright citizenship. Other issues that he's talked about is bringing back jobs to the United States that China (and other countries) keep taking. He also wants to make sure that China doesn't cheat and would appoint Carl Ichan to oversee any trade deal made. He's even said that "he'd hit ISIS so hard, it'd make your head spin." Some of these issues have resonated with particular voters while it has turned off the other voters or left them confused.

        Aside from stating his political intentions if he's in the Oval Office, Trump has also bashed the hell out of ex-Governor of Florida Jeb Bush. From calling him "weak" to saying that he "has no energy", Trump has not shied away from his attacks on Bush. He's also taken aim at other candidates like Carly Fiorina:

I just realized that if you listen to Carly Fiorina for more than ten minutes straight, you develop a massive headache. She has zero chance!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 9, 2015

        He's also taken shots at Bernie Sanders and the incident involving the #BlackLivesMatter protestors in Seattle.

How is Bernie Sanders going to defend our country if he can't even defend his own microphone? Very sad!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 22, 2015

        And then there's this memorable moment at the GOP debate:

        As grandiose and egotistical of a candidate as Trump can be, there's no denying that he's had success with his campaign (at least so far). A new Reuters poll shows Trump polling at 32%, making him the front runner of the GOP field. So if Trump does win the GOP nomination or even the White House, I'd like for him to do us all a favor(?). I want him to play this at his inauguration or at the GOP convention:

NFC East: Biggest Questions

        The NFL season is quickly growing near and the excitement for the sport's return is also growing by the day. With that being said, it's time to begin our NFL preview. We're starting off in the NFC East, a division where every divisional team hates one another. With that being said, let's take a look at some of the biggest lingering questions that each team has for this upcoming season.

Dallas Cowboys: How will the running game be without DeMarco Murray? With DeMarco Murray defecting to the Philadelphia Eagles, the Cowboys now have some intriguing answers at the running back position. They were rumored to be in play to get Adrian Peterson from the Vikings, but those rumors were quickly shot down.They have Darren McFadden, who ran for 534 yards and two touchdowns with the Raiders last season. They have Murray's backup from last season in Joseph Randle, who ran for 343 yards and three touchdown with the Cowboys last year. They have Lance Dunbar, who ran for 99 yards last year with the Cowboys. They also have one of the most highly touted offensive lines from last season, which helped Murray rush for 1,845 yards (4.7 a game) and 13 touchdowns.
New York Giants: Is Eli Manning worthy of one of the biggest contracts in the NFL? Eli does have two Super Bowl rings at his disposal (One more than his brother Peyton). So on paper, he looks like he deserves to be paid big bucks. However, if it weren't for David Tyree's circus catch in Super Bowl XLII and a great defensive line and set of linebackers for both Super Bowls, then Eli wouldn't have those Super Bowls. Eli did have a better year last season, throwing for 4,410 yards, a 92.1 rating, 30 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. But he has a career completion percentage of 59% and 185 interceptions in 11 seasons to boot. His 82,4 career rating is marked by a few good season of ratings above 90 as well.
Philadelphia Eagles: Is Chip Kelly a toxic figure? Out went Nick Foles and in went Sam Bradford. Out went LeSean McCoy and in went DeMarco Murray. But the biggest issue stemming from the Eagles front is whether or not head coach Chip Kelly is driving players away. McCoy accused Kelly this summer of driving away all of the good black players after McCoy was traded to Buffalo. This season will be an indication of whether or not Chip Kelly is the cause for distress in Philadelphia.
Washington Redskins: Is RGIII damaged goods? Robert Griffin III suffered an apparent concussion in yesterday's preseason game against the Detroit Lions. This caused the plethora of questions concerning RGIII's future to rise once again. Griffin has had a notorious history of injuries; he had a concussion in 2012 and suffered a knee injury that same year. He re-aggravated the knee in a playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks and suffered a dislocated left ankle in a 2014 game against the Jaguars. Of course, the knee injury against the Seahawks wasn't his fault; Dr. James Andrews didn't clear him to play that game. But the injury history of RGIII could become too overwhelming for Griffin to get past.

Watch This: Backwards Swing for a Home Run

        You're usually accustomed to seeing-or hitting-a home run (or any type of hit) with a forward swing. But never has anyone seen a home run swung backwards. This play has been featured on SportsCenter and ESPN on numerous occasions and it ceases to amaze. Check out the amazing display for yourself.

Worst Owners in Sports (Football Edition)

        This edition of Worst Owners in Sports takes us inside the NFL. The NFL is one of America's most popular sports, but some fanbases aren't so fortunate to have competent owners. Here's a look at some of the worst owners in the entire NFL.

1. Dan Snyder, Washington Redskins: It's not really the whole name debacle that I have a problem with. It's having a 108-148 record through the 2014 season during his tenure that I have a problem with. It's also bad signings like Albert Haynesworth along with rising prices, suing season ticket holders who couldn't pay (In spite of saying there were over 200,000 on their waiting list), and banning signs from FedEx Field that have Redskins fans seeing red. In fact, Snyder was named the most hated owner in all of sports this year.
   
2. Jimmy Haslam, Cleveland Browns: Right out of the shoot and he's already one of the more hated owners in the NFL. He's the owner of the Cleveland Browns in spite of admitting that he's a Steelers fan. That's akin to the owner of the Red Sox (John Henry) admitting that he's a fan of the Yankees. But that's not all. During his tenure, Browns players such as Johnny Manziel and Josh Gordon have either checked themselves into rehab for alcoholism or had substance-related problems which led to a suspension by the NFL. To top it all off, their general manager Ray Farmer was suspended for the first four games of the 2015 season for texting members of the Browns coaching staff during the 2014 season. The team was also fined $250,000 for the incident. Oh, and don't forget the federal probe into alleged fraud at Haslam's Pilot Flying J.
   
3. The Ford Family, Detroit Lions: Although the Lions did make the playoffs last year and were a game away from home field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs, the Lions have had a woeful history under the Fords. The Lions have had ONE playoff win (Coming in 1992 against the Cowboys) since 1957. They're also the only NFC team to have never reached the Super Bowl and the only NFL team to go 0-16. They once had Matt Millen as their general manager as well and Lions fans will tell you how bad he was. Don't forget that they don't have cheerleaders on the sidelines, in spite of their team not being a family-friendly product. 
   

        Honorable (Or Not) Mentions: Mark Davis (Oakland Raiders), Stan Kroenke (St. Louis Rams), Stephen Ross (Miami Dolphins), Woody Johnson (New York Jets)

Food "Buy"

         Here's another edition of Food "Buy"! This is the blog post where we take a look at some delicious and delectable foods from around the parts. Check it out and I hope you get some food ideas! Because this shit will eventually kill me.

Food "Buy": This edition is brought to you all the way down south, where the cooking is fried and delicious. From the Copper Penny in Wilmington, North Carolina comes the BBQ Burger. This burger contains actual fried onions, lettuce, tomato, American cheese, and everyone's favorite food item: BACON!! I tried it for myself and found this burger to be not only wholesome, but tangy. It's a fairly sizable burger, but it's not too grotesque. Overall, I loved the burger and would recommend that anybody down in the Wilmington area give this a try.

Some of the Worst Owners in All of Sports (MLB Edition)

        Owning a sports team is serious business. It requires hiring the right guys for the right job, getting a sports stadium/arena built, and trying to bring a winning team to a city. Now this edition revolves around Major League Baseball and concerns the worst owners in MLB. Some of these choices you might question, some of them you'll say, "Yeah, they suck." Anyways, here's the list of the worst MLB owners right now.

1. Jeffrey Loria, Miami Marlins: No list of incompetent MLB owners is complete without Jeffrey Loria, the king of terrible MLB owners. This is his second time owning a Major League Baseball team; he bought a 24% stake of the Montreal Expos in 1999 and eventually sold them in 2002. That stint didn't go over well when the Expos weren't able to reach a television agreement and English-speaking radio rights during the 2000 season. His stint with the Marlins hasn't gone over as well as his Expos stint, either. He built a new park in Miami called Marlins Park, requiring taxpayers to pay at least $2.6 billion for the stadium. His team also acquired many marquee players in 2012 that included Jose Reyes and Mark Buehrle, a season that was so disappointing that they eventually traded those players to the Toronto Blue Jays a year later. The Marlins had a lot of promise this year with Giancarlo Stanton heading a loaded outfield (at least on paper), but have faltered to 24 games below .500 at the moment, further bolstering the call for Loria to step down and resign. 
   
2. Nintendo (Howard Lincoln), Seattle Mariners: No, that's Don Imus, radio personality. But Lincoln does look a lot like Don Imus (He might be as old as Imus). Anyways, the M's haven't been to the postseason in 13 years (The last time they made the postseason was during the Hiroshi Yamauchi years) and are in danger of being the MLB team with the longest playoff drought. That's mainly due to many disappointing signings/acquisitions that include Richie Sexson, Kendrys Morales, Chone Figgins, Milton Bradley, Jason Bay, Jack Cust, Mark Trumbo, and many others. In fact, M's ownership might've nixed a deal with Nelson Cruz before the 2014 season, the season where they fell a game short of the 2nd wild card spot. Other problems include hiring Jack Zduriencik as General Manager in spite of being accused of lying on his resume. It's really hard to have a winning playoff team on the field when your ownership cares more about the non-baseball experiences of the field than a playoff team.
   
3. Fred Wilpon, New York Mets: Yes, the Mets are leading the NL East at the moment by 2.5 games. But Mets fans have called for Wilpon's head for quite some time. From paying Bobby Bonilla $1 million every year through 2035 to investing a lot of money in Bernie Madoff, i.e. the Ponzi Scheme (And losing millions from this investment), there's good reason for Mets fans to be pissed off at Fred Wilpon. Mets fans have even taken to Twitter to tweet to MLB commissioner Rob Manfred about the incompetence of Fred Wilpon. Maybe a World Series appearance will wash away all the woes? 
   

Honorable (Or Not) Mentions: David Glass (Kansas City Royals), Peter Angelos (Baltimore Orioles), Rogers Communications (Toronto Blue Jays), John Monfort (Colorado Rockies).

On the Playlist

        Here's another edition of "On the Playlist!" This is where I show you some songs that are on my playlist and the songs that I jam to. Check them out if you like 'em!

Bored...

        I'm incredibly bored right now. The only thing going on right now is this goalkeeper eating a cheeseburger thrown by a fan. It's majestic, yet comical to watch. Check it out as this is just another bizarre moment in the world of soccer.

        Don't you just love international football? It's an amusing world of characters, rich players (and clubs), and funny moments. As for the cheeseburger, I hope it was good. Bon appetit!