Empire Sports Media

Cardinals

New York Jets Record Predictions for the 2020 season

by
New York Jets, Mekhi Becton

We are hours away from New York Jets football. In honor of the season, I have decided to give my official game by game predictions for the Jets season.  I will mark each game with a win or a loss prediction and then, at the end, give my final thoughts on how I predict they finish for the 2020-21 NFL Season.

Week 1: vs. Bills

Then Jets kick off the season in Orchard Park. With Josh Allen gaining new toys this offseason, and Sam Darnold gaining coal, I expect Allen to have success early. Especially after locking down Tre White, this Bills team is riding high, so I’ll say they probably ride out with a W.

PREDICTION: LOSS

Week 2: vs. 49ers

The 49ers have one of the best defensive lines in all of football. You can rebuild any offensive line, but it will be hard for this new one to stop the wrecking crew that San Fran brings. I don’t expect a big offensive game, so the defensive game favors the 49ers immensely.

PREDICTION: LOSS

Week 3: at Colts

The Colts have had an overrated offseason. The defense will take a big step this year, but the offense is not where it needs to be. Pittman and Campbell will have success at some point, but not with Rivers throwing a medicine ball-style pass time and time again. I think the Jets have the edge here.

PREDICTION: WIN

Week 4: vs. Broncos

A few weeks ago, I would have predicted Denver outright. Now, Von Miller is out, and Courtland Sutton is struggling to stay healthy. Without two of their biggest weapons on both sides of the ball, Denver may have a tough day. 

PREDICTION: WIN

Week 5: vs. Cardinals

The Arizona offense is next level. Kingsbury is an underrated leader as a coach, and with all that talent, I expect them to steamroll the Jets.

PREDICTION: LOSS

Week 6: at Chargers

The Chargers will toll in mediocrity this year. Tyrod Taylor is nearly a place holder, and it’s going to take a little for Herbert to be up to par. Tyrod will play well, but I’m going with Gang Green.

PREDICTION: WIN

Week 7: vs. Bills

The Bills sweep the Jets in the season series. The Bills may have some hiccups, but particularly against the Fins and Jets, I expect them to play really good football.

PREDICTION: LOSS

Week 8: at Chiefs

Do I even need to explain this one? 

PREDICTION: LOSS

Week 9: vs. Patriots

Cam Newton has not played too well against Gregg Williams led defenses in the past, and I don’t expect that to let up any time soon. The Jets win a close one against the Pats.

PREDICTION: WIN

Week 10: at Dolphins

Coming off a surprise win, I expect the juices to be flowing, and if the Jets can’t at least win one of the two games, they will be in for a tough AFC East record.

PREDICTION: WIN

Week 11: Bye

Week 12: vs. Dolphins

Coming off a bye, expect Too to debut if he isn’t already. This should be the game a good coach wins, and that’s where Flores outshines Gase.

PREDICTION: LOSS

Week 13: vs. Raiders

The Raiders are a year out from contention. This next offseason needs to be a big one for both the Jets and Vegas to take steps forward. For now, though, the Jets are just a smidge better.

PREDICTION: WIN

Week 14: at Seahawks

The Hawks are my team to watch in the Super Bowl. I expect wild card type noise from Seattle and a deep run, the likes of which the Jets can’t keep up with. 

PREDICTION: LOSS

Week 15: at Rams

The Rams offense is mediocre, but their defense is top-notch. With two of the best in the game, the Rams defense will give Sam nightmares all day long.

PREDICTION: LOSS

Week 16: vs. Browns

Odell likes some weird things, but those won’t help his relationship with Baker. Baker needs to take a big jump, or else the Browns could move on. I think that the Jets’ new brass is devoted to Sam, unlike the Browns to Baker, so I’ll roll with Gang Green to win this one.

PREDICTION: WIN

Week 17: at Patriots

I firmly expect the Pats to be in the playoffs by this point, so this should be a light day for the Pats, which could skew the outcome of this contest.

PREDICTION: WIN

Final record: 8-8

Middle of the road seasons never hurt anyone except the Jets fanbase. This would be significant growth, though, and set the Jets up nicely for a 2021 run at the playoffs.

Should the New York Giants take a flier on physical receiver Hakeem Butler?

by
Could the New York Giants go after Hakeem Butler in the 2019 NFL draft?

The official deadline to set a 53-man roster in the NFL is tomorrow at 4 p.m. With this deadline rapidly approaching, NFL teams have begun cutting players to shrink their roster sizes. The New York Giants have yet to make their round of cuts, but they will soon.

Other teams around the league have already started chopping away at their roster. The Arizona Cardinals made a surprising move today, cutting Hakeem Butler, a second-year wide receiver that they drafted in the fourth round last year. Butler was a solid prospect coming out of college. Could the Giants look to take a flier on Butler before the start of the regular season?

Why Butler Might Make Sense For New York

Wide receiver depth is crucial. The position is one that faces plenty of injuries every year, as the Giants know all too well. Darius Slayton, Corey Coleman, Sterling Shepard, and Golden Tate were all injured at one point or another last season. New York had to start backups on multiple occasions at the wide receiver position.

In 2020, there is a chance that the Giants find themselves in a similar situation. It is important to be prepared for the worst, and the Giants can prepare by acquiring as much wide receiver talent as possible. Hakeem Butler is the latest talented wide receiver to be made available for acquisition.

In college, Hakeem Butler was an excellent player. But after being drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft, Butler never got to see the field in the regular season. Hakeem broke his hand in the preseason and missed the entirety of the 2019 season. Now, healthy, he was unable to earn a spot on the Giants’ roster.

Admittedly, the Cardinals have an abundance of wide receiver talent. From DeAndre Hopkins to Andy Isabella, the Cardinals might have liked Hakeem Butler but just not had the room to house him.

Butler was a workout warrior at the 2019 NFL Scouting Combine. He stands tall and strong at 6 feet 5 inches, 227 pounds, while also having the speed to run a 4.48 forty-yard dash. Butler was a legitimate deep threat in college, racking up 1,318 receiving yards and 9 touchdowns on only 60 receptions in 2018. Butler could be a solid addition as an outside receiver for the New York Giants.

Why The Giants Might Not Be A Landing Spot For Butler

The Giants already have a pretty crowded room of wide receivers. Sure, Hakeem Butler is very talented. After all, he was drafted in the fourth round last year, and many of the Giants’ backup receivers went undrafted. But these undrafted receivers have been impressive during training camp with the Giants. They have worked hard to earn their potential roster spots. Additionally, the Giants have been able to evaluate these receivers first-hand in camp. Any evaluations they might have of Hakeem Butler will be based on his college game tape.

The Giants and Butler’s mutual unfamiliarity with each other will likely prevent the team from using a roster spot on Butler. He was an exciting prospect in 2019, so he will find a home somewhere. But with the Giants’ crowded group of receivers on the current roster, it is unlikely he will find that home in the Big Blue side of New Jersey.

Should MLB make teams forfeit games missed to poor decisions bringing coronavirus into league?

by

Less than two weeks into the 2020 MLB season, we’ve seen two coronavirus outbreaks with two different teams. The Miami Marlins had 20 positive tests, while the Cardinals are at 13.

The unfortunate thing is that both outbreaks could have been prevented. It’s believed that both outbreaks were the result of players leaving the team hotel and then catching the virus, exposing teammates and coaches.

“We did have a couple of individuals leave the hotel,” said Marlins owner Derek Jeter. “We had guys leave to get coffee, to get clothes. A guy left to have dinner at a teammate’s house. There were no other guests on site”.

However, with the Cardinals, it’s reported that some players went to a casino, possibly catching the virus and bringing it back to the team. Since the outbreaks, players and staff are prohibited from leaving the hotel, unless it’s to go to the ballpark.

So, with two MLB coronavirus outbreaks that could have been prevented, should the league punish teams for the decisions of players? Should the league force teams that make irresponsible decisions to forfeit games? There might not be time to make up all the games that the Marlins and Cardinals have missed, so in my opinion, those teams should have to forfeit games that can’t be rescheduled.

Doing that would show players that the MLB is serious about their coronavirus policies, and it will give players an incentive to comply. Are positive cases going to still happen? Yes. But teams should be punished if the cases or outbreaks could have been prevented.

If an outbreak starts because a player needs to get necessities, then that’s one thing. But teams shouldn’t get games rescheduled if an outbreak starts because someone goes to a casino or to a club. They should be automatic wins to the team that complied with the rules.

The Marlins are set to return on Tuesday, while the Cardinals won’t return any earlier than Friday.

 

 

 

 

New York Giants Miss Out On Great Kick Return Man In Waivers

by

On Tuesday, it was announced that the Los Angeles Rams had waived their return man, Pharoh Cooper. Cooper was an all-Pro special teams player in 2017, but he was injured earlier this season. The 11-3 Rams waived Cooper in order to sign C.J. Anderson to add depth to their backfield. Multiple teams put waiver claims on Cooper, and the Giants were one of them.

Who Was Awarded Cooper?

On Wednesday, it was announced that the Cardinals had claimed Pharoh Cooper. The former all-Pro has gone from an 11-3 super bowl contender to a 3-11 first overall pick contender. Three other teams put in a claim for Cooper, including the Jaguars, Titans, and Giants. The Cardinals were awarded Cooper because they have the worst record.

What Does This Mean For The Giants?

The Giants putting in a claim for Cooper should not come as much of a surprise. General manager Dave Gettleman has been active on the waiver wire this season. The Giants also have room for improvement regarding their kick returners. Corey Coleman has been productive on kick return, but there still has not been much improvement on punt returns since the beginning of the season. Jawill Davis is currently averaging only 8.1 yards per return this season.

The Giants front office has certainly noticed this lack of production on special teams. Cooper could have been the solution for the Giants, but instead he will field kicks in the desert with the Cardinals.