Wilson and Kaepernick – Why the Better QB is More at Risk

Wilson and Kaep

By Jim Bearor

Every football fan is pretty familiar with Russell Wilson and Colin Kaepernick, and how similar they seem to be.

Almost everyone has seen the Madden 25 commercials, where the two young stars are made out to be lifelong pals who are always competing in a buddy-buddy way. To clear things up, that was just a commercial and there is no real-life relationship between the two outside of their budding rivalry.

There is no doubting their parallels on the field, though. Both are young, very talented quarterbacks who were lucky enough to fall into the situations they have.  There might not be any better surrounding casts in the NFL than the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks – both teams are stacked across the board, so the developing quarterback doesn’t have to be the hero all the time.

Wilson is about 5 inches shorter than Kaepernick, and doesn’t have the same incredible arm strength, but he has this innate understanding of the game of football that helps him compensate for that physical advantage – for example, he is a bit less trigger happy to tuck the ball and run, he instead uses his legs to create plays in the passing game. Kaepernick is a hair faster than Wilson, but not enough to set him apart (Wilson’s 40-yard-dash at the Combine: 4.55; Kaepernick’s: 4.53).

            They lead different personal lives as well, although they are made out to be different versions of the same person by much of the media.

 Russell is married, leads a low-profile lifestyle, and is very humble and grounded (just watch how he acts when he isn’t taking the snap). 

Colin seems to have a very different persona, he is single and often out with friends and just doing what one might expect from a young celebrity.  He is more energetic and outgoing with his emotions (he has his own touchdown celebration, if that says anything), but – to this point – has stayed out of trouble.

            What I take from all of this is that Russell Wilson – appearing to be the more focused and mature of the two – has the mental makeup of a successful NFL quarterback more so than Colin Kaepernick does.  If you haven’t noticed by now, if I had my choice between the two, I would go with Wilson.  However, if I had to pick the team that is more conducive to the success of a young quarterback, I’d definitely go with the 49ers.

            Although the Seahawks and 49ers are not so different in their makeup – both great defensively and in the running game – I would argue that Kaepernick is in a better situation, because it’s tougher for opposing teams to put pressure on him. 

San Francisco’s offensive line is what really sets them apart from most other teams in the league.  I’m not talking in terms of pass protection necessarily, but the holes that are opened up for Frank Gore do wonders in slowing down the pass rush of the opponent.  San Fran runs more than any team in the NFL, and because of this, the defense makes stopping the ground game its primary focus. Now, when Kaepernick works the play action – something he does very well – the defense is more off-balance than usual. Another advantage for Colin is a talented group of pass-catchers, especially now that Crabtree is healthy. With Crabtree, Boldin, and Davis all on the field, anyone could be the primarty target on any given play.

While the “Legion of Boom” will likely handle this trio effectively, they will be put at a disadvantage by the mismatches created by the running game.

Russell Wilson is handing the ball off to the more talented running back, but he doesn’t have the same caliber line as that of Kaepernick.  Also, his best receivers are currently Golden Tate and Doug Baldwin, instead of Sidney Rice and Percy Harvin – assuming Harvin is still concussed.  It also should be mentioned that this depleted Seahawks offense has to deal with the best front 7 in football, so the pressure will always be on.

Wilson has been vulnerable as of late, and his stats have suffered. In Seattle’s last 5 games, Wilsons Total QBR has fallen from 67.5 (above average) to 30.4 (significantly below average) and on average, he is holding on to the football for nearly a half-second more than usual.  Even though Wilson is a quarterback who tends to extend plays longer than most, this statistic shows that he is having difficulty finding open receivers.  You can only draw a play out for so long before the defense catches up to you.

So what I think I’m trying to get at here is that if the two were in a vacuum, I would pick Russell Wilson. But that isn’t the case, and Kaepernick is more set up for success with all things accounted for.  It is going to be much more difficult for Wilson to have a standout performance than his counterpart, but who knows, this is the NFL we’re talking about and the avid fan knows to expect the unexpected.

 

Some links I reference about the two quarterbacks:

http://espn.go.com/blog/seattle-seahawks/post/_/id/3661/some-revealing-stats-on-russell-wilson

http://mashable.com/2014/01/13/kaepernick-wilson-instagram-comparison/

http://blog.seattlepi.com/football/2013/09/12/colin-kaepernick-i-have-no-relationship-with-russell-wilson/

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AHS Coven: Blood Ties – Episode 11 Summary and Review

ahs coven episode 11

By Jim Bearor

This post is broken down into two segments, a summary of the episode and then my review.  If you already watched it and are confident you didn’t miss anything, feel free to skip to the second part of the article.  Oh, and this is absolutely FULL OF SPOILERS, SO HERE IS YOUR WARNING.

Ok, enjoy.

 

Summary

This episode opens with a flashback to 1830.

Delphine calls over one of her daughters and asks her to behead a chicken for her.  Her daughter replies that Delphine should do it, as she has never had to do such a thing herself; somebody else is always doing her dirty work. 

Of course, this prompts Delphine to chop off the chicken’s head after a minute of self-reflection and she finds that she enjoys the spray of blood coming from the dead fowl’s neck.  In the next scene, Delphine walks into a barn of hers and finds a slave with a nasty gash across his leg.

Naturally, she is fascinated by his blood, and feels compelled to knock him unconscious so she can feed her sick sense of curiosity.  The scene ends with her muttering “I think I’m going to like this place” as she looks upon the screaming, bloody slave who has been tied up and tortured.

After the opening sequence, the members of the coven and Marie LaVeau are shown at Nan’s funeral, when Queenie shows up with a newly-assembled Delphine.  Queenie shows some sass, but says she will return to the coven with Delphine.

Back at the house, Delphine is shown doing her slave-work about the house. She goes about her duties with different kind of look on her face, one that shows she has had enough of this.  Then something clicks in her head, as a black man walks in the door with a cut on his hand.  The blood provokes her – the same way it did in the show’s opening – and so she brings him into a room where they’re alone, and ties him up when she has him all alone.  She is talking to him (but more to herself), yet pays no attention to his muffled screams.  The scene ends with her cutting off his toes in a horrible fashion.

Zoe and Kyle are alone in the bathroom, as Zoe prepares a bubble bath for the two of them.  Madison walks in and sparks a confrontation over their Frankenstein-sex-slave, claiming that he should be shared. They leave the bathroom and head to Kyle’s room. Madison tries to prove a point by getting on her knees to pleasure Kyle, but Kyle pushes her away violently and announces his love for Zoe.  As one might guess, Madison is not happy about this, and she uses her powers to create a bit of a mess with the mirrors and pictures in the room.  After making a few remarks about being the next supreme (typical), she storms out.

We come back from commercial and the Axeman is wooing Fiona with his saxophone.  Fiona is sprawled out on the bed in front of him and the two are happy. Finally after some small talk, Axeman says that Fiono will not be truly happy until the next supreme is killed. They kiss and the scene ends.

Back to Delphine, who has finished her gruesome torture of the slave and is covered in his blood.  She is observing her work like the psychopath she is when Spalding appears.  He plants the idea that she should kill Marie, for her sick pleasure, and because he believes it is for the good of the coven. Spalding explains that Marie can be killed through the use of magic, even though she is immortal.  He can provide the means, for a price.  He sends Delphine off to retrieve some vague “item.”

Queenie is unpacking her things, and Cordelia tries to welcome her, but Queenie wants none of it.  Queenie tells her that she shot herself to kill Cordelia’s husband and now she believes herself to be the next supreme. 

In the following scene, Cordelia is in front of a mirror and her plants with a strange expression on her face. She starts to rub what appears to be blood on her eyes, and she seems very stressed.   After one last short, intense look at herself in the mirror, Cordelia suddenly stabs herself in both eyes and screams.

Fiona rushes up the stairs to find Cordelia, but finds Myrtle instead.  Myrtle explains that Cordelia has done this to herself so she can regain her “second sight” and benefit the Coven in a greater way.  Obviously frustrated, Fiona storms downstairs instead going to see her daughter, supposedly to “grab a drink.” The scene ends.

Delphine summons Spalding after she has retrieved his item, which turned out to be a very rare doll (what a creep).  He rewards her with Benadryl, and convinces her that it is a magic solution that will make Marie vulnerable for a short amount of time.

Myrtle tells Zoe that Kyle and her are in grave danger, and should flee the coven immediately.  She hands Zoe a small box of jewels, and sends her off to pack her bags.  Zoe hugs her, apparently heeding her advice.

In the next scene, the witch hunters are hosting a meeting with Marie and Fiona.  The head witch hunter proposes a deal that will repair damages to Marie’s home in return for an undoing of whatever curse the witches have placed on the company.  Fiona, who is not the slightest bit enticed by this offer, replies shortly: “you can all just die.”

Out of nowhere, Axeman appears behind the witchhunters and violently kills them all, with the exception of their leader.  The leader pours a cup of tea and walks calmly around the room, and approaches Fiona with a smile.  He knows his end is near.  Axeman tosses Fiona his axe and she hacks at his throat with a satisfied grin on her face. The scene ends with Fiona, Marie, and Axeman smiling.

Marie and Fiona are celebrating their victory in the kitchen with drinks, and Delphine is lurking in the background, watching Marie sip at her “poisoned” champagne.  Afterwards, she follows Marie to her bedroom and stabs her, but to no avail. Marie apparently didn’t like being stabbed, and chases her down the stairs.  Spalding comes out of nowhere again – as only Spalding can do – and knocks her on the head as she runs by, knocking her out. He explains to Delphine that Marie cannot be killed, but she should be dealt with anyway.  He proposes the idea of burying her in such a way that she cannot escape. We are then shown a disturbing shot of Spalding in his baby get-up, this time with a “living doll” of his own – the child that Marie recently stole to satisfy Papa Legba (I could be wrong here).

Zoe is packing up to leave and trying to persuade Kyle to come with her, but surprisingly, Kyle says that this decision isn’t hers to make. This surprises Zoe, and everyone else watching the show, because prior to this show, Kyle has shown little to no free will.  However, after a brief moment of inner confrontation, Kyle decides to go with Zoe, and they board a bus before the screen cuts to black.

Review

All things considered, this was a hell of an episode.  There was a little bit of something for everyone; we had the stylish funeral sequence at the beginning of the episode, the unexpected twist of Cordelia going blind for a second time, entertaining dialogue, and my favorite – over-the-top blood and gore in the meeting scene.

But as it always is at the end of a Coven episode, I am left confused.  It’s not that I can’t understand what happened in the episode, or what the characters plan to do next, I just have difficulty understanding what the show’s endgame is. 

I think at this point, it’s safe to assume that Fiona is the antagonist.  But who is the next supreme, and when a character dies in one episode, are they really dead, or should the audience expect them to be resurrected by the following Wednesday?

There are always a lot of moving parts with this show, and they are all moving so fast and in so many different directions that it’s not always easy to read through everything and find the core of it all.  Maybe that’s a good thing, and the show will keep us all guessing until the grand finale that ties all of this together in a way that is exciting and satisfying.  But part of me is a little afraid it won’t come together so perfectly.  I feel this way because I found the way this season is wrapping up very similar to the first season, where there were also many characters and storylines to keep track of, and the ending wasn’t what I was mentally preparing myself for.  I enjoyed the ride as a whole, but I was expecting a better ending. Maybe I’m just a critic and expect too much.

This show brings up a lot of questions that I don’t think I can answer before things start to come together more.  I could speculate what I think to be the lesson or underlying message of this show, but without an ending, I’m not ballsy enough to take a stab at it.

As far as where I think the story is going? Well I have a couple of hunches – partially thanks to the sneak peek at next week’s episode – but again, nothing I’m too confident in.

 Here’s a hunch for you:  there is no one upcoming supreme, but together, all of the witches are the next supreme.  Everyone feels their powers growing stronger, but as of now, nobody is setting themselves apart from the pack.  So maybe they all must work together to take down Fiona and then live happily ever after, as one big happy family?

If this is the case, then what happened when Nan died, was her piece of the “supreme puzzle” destroyed, or did another witch gain those telekinetic powers?

Who knows? Not me.  As speculative as I am, I’m sucked in and I’m excited to see how this all plays out.  Comment with any theories you may have, and thanks for reading.

 

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McAdoo Signing Signals New Era for Giants Offense

McAdoo 1

by Jim Bearor

     Eli Manning and the Giants offense were very, very bad last season.  The Giants just signed Ben McAdoo to a two-year contract to become the team’s offensive coordinator.  Ben McAdoo has been the Quarterbacks Coach of the Green Bay Packers for the past two years, and has been working under Mike McCarthy for the past seven years.  Despite injuries at the position, the quarterback play for the Packers this season was very good.  Aaron Rodgers is a very, very good quarterback.

     These are all facts.  But anything that is said or heard about the move before McAdoo and the Giants take the field is merely projection or speculation.

     That being said, I have a very good feeling about this.  Like, a REALLY good feeling about this.

     Those who know me know how much I despised the play calling of Kevin Gilbride.  Since 2004 – so, since Eli Manning has been in the NFL – Kevin Killdrive has been pulling the strings on an offense that was conservative, predictable, and most irritating of all, underperforming.  No other playcaller that I know of would consistently call a run on first down, second and long, and then call a draw on third and long.  As a Giants fan, Gilbride’s offense was the most frustrating thing I’ve ever had the displeasure of watching – and that includes the Tiki Barber fumbling years, the tipped ball interceptions, and Bill Sheridan’s defense (if you can even call it that).

     But finally, the pain is gone.  Even if the Giants don’t come close to resembling the offensive juggernaut that Green Bay has been in these past few years, us fans can rest easy knowing that we won’t always know what play is coming – and hopefully opposing defenses won’t either – before the huddle even breaks.

     McAdoo has already said that he wants to completely change how the offense operates.

     “We’re going to be an up-tempo, attacking-style offense,” he said. “We’re going to play with good energy. And we’re going to rely on fundamentals.”

     Everything in that statement is reason for excitement among New Yorkers, even though no tangible results have been produced yet. For years and years, I know many of us have been waiting to see what Eli can do in a more aggressive offense.  Excluding this atrocity of a season, the offense looks like a completely different animal when Manning is working the 2-minute offense and calling the plays at the line. And of course, relying on fundamentals – like the quarterback and wideouts being on the same page about how a route is supposed to be run – is an obvious need for this team.

     I wouldn’t go as far as to say that Eli needs “fixing”, but he sure as hell needs something.  I can’t put this disappointing season solely on his shoulders, because his line was practically non-existent, and the lack of chemistry with his receivers is a shared problem.  That being said, something didn’t seem right with Eli this year, he didn’t look like the same player he has been throughout his career, whether it is a mechanical issue or a problem with reading defenses.

     Whatever it is, I have to believe that Coach McAdoo will bring something to the table to help.  After all, he is a quarterbacks coach, right?  I’m not going to be naïve and assume that this change will answer all the problems for the New York Giants, but it’s nice to know that whatever we see on the field in 2014-15, it isn’t going to be the same stale, ineffective product as years past.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/giants/giants-bring-mcadoo-new-offensive-coordinator-article-1.1579830#ixzz2qU9OPdnT

 

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