T.O. Finally Put In His Place!!

February 6, 2018February 6, 2018 ~ Dave Ettinger ~ 1 Comment

The 3rd time’s the charm.

While that expression may not always apply in business, or marriage, it applies to the NFL Hall of Fame.

When you’re in, you’re in.

Terrell Owens is finally in!! As of Saturday, Owens will join Randy Moss, Ray Lewis, Brian Urlacher, Brian Dawkins, Jerry Kramer, Robert Brazile, and Bobby Beathard in the 2018 Hall of Fame Class.

Terrell Owens, WR, 49ers, Eagles, Cowboys, Bills, Bengals (1996-2010)

There’s no doubt Terrell Owens is overjoyed to be in the Hall of Fame, but he refuses to use this accolade as validation of a tremendous career. Listen in here. Like, love, or hate T.O., his accomplishments on a football field are undeniable:

Receiving Yards: 15,934 (2nd All-Time)

Receiving TDs: 153 (3rd All-Time)

Receptions: 1,078 (8th All-Time)

You don’t have to know anything about football to know those are Hall of Fame numbers. The NFL Hall of Fame Voting Committee should be ashamed of themselves. To keep T.O. out because he didn’t play nice in the sandbox was ludicrous.

T.O., however, should probably thank Randy Moss. I believe, as much as the committee doesn’t like T.O., they recognized they couldn’t simultaneously elect Moss and leave T.O. on the outside looking in — again.

Randy Moss, WR, Vikings, Raiders, Patriots, Titans, 49ers (1998-2012)

Randy Moss was an electrifying, deep-threat receiver, who glided behind defenses with his long legs. While he made a name for himself with the Vikings, he etched his name in history with the Patriots. In 2007, he broke Jerry Rice’s record for most TD receptions in a single season (23). Moss became the 1st receiver to be elected in his 1st year of eligibility since Jerry Rice (2010).

Ray Lewis, LB, Ravens (1996-2012)

If you’re at the gym, and you can’t seem to find energy for a workout, just throw some Ray Lewis on. Have you ever listened to Ray Lewis hype up his team?! It’s something to behold. Click here to relive one of Ray Lewis’ pregame speeches. He played a little football too….

Lewis led the Ravens to 2 Super Bowls, in 2000 and 2012. He was named Super Bowl MVP in 2000 and also won Defensive Player of the Year Awards in 2000 and 2003. Lewis’ induction is no surprise, as he stands as one of the best defensive players of all-time.

Brian Urlacher, LB, Bears (2000-2012)

The rock. The staple. The foundation of the Chicago Bears. That’s how Brian Urlacher will be remembered. The Bears ranked in the top-5 in defense 5 times during Urlacher’s 13-year career. He was named Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2000, as well as Defensive Player of the Year in 2005. Like Moss and Lewis, Urlacher was inducted in his 1st year of eligibility.

Brian Dawkins, S, Eagles, Broncos (1996-2011)

Brian Dawkins had to wait 1 year to achieve his dream. Known as “Weapon X”, Dawkins’ versatility set him apart from other defenders. Dawkins was a ball hawk from the safety position. Ray Lewis may be infamous for his motivational speeches, but Dawkins’ pre-game ritual was nothing to sneeze at. Click here to check out Dawkins’ raw emotion.

Jerry Kramer and Robert Brazile were inducted to the Hall of Fame by the Senior Committee. Kramer will be remembered as one of the best guards in NFL history, as he helped lead the Green Bay Packers to back-to-back Super Bowls in 1967 and 1968. Brazile played his entire 10-year career with the Houston Oilers from the linebacker position. He was named Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1975 and never missed a game throughout his career. Bobby Beathard was inducted as a contributor to the game. He helped orchestrate the Washington Redskins’ Super Bowl Victories in 1982 and 1987.

Did the NFL Hall of Fame Committee get it right this year?? Post your thoughts in the comment section below.

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I’d Ask, But I Know You Are Ready For Some Football!!

September 5, 2013September 6, 2013 ~ Dave Ettinger ~ Leave a comment

Your birthday? Nope. Your anniversary? Nah. That day you randomly find a $20 in your jacket that you haven’t worn in 3 months? Almost, but no. So what is the best day of the year? It is today; Opening Day of the NFL Season. It is the day you’ve been waiting for ever since the unbelievably annoying Ray Lewis hoisted The Lombardi Trophy over is head in February. Well, the wait is over. You can have a snickers bar and you can watch some football. You can finally see how your fantasy picks will pan out. And, you all have a reason to sit on the couch and do nothing. Enjoy what should undoubtedly be made a National Holiday.

The 2013 NFL Season kicks off tonight, Thursday September 5th, with the defending champion Baltimore Ravens taking on the Denver Broncos (I think we all remember what happened the last time these teams met). To say The Broncos will be looking for revenge would be an understatement. The Broncos enter the season with extremely high expectations. Some have them in or winning The Super Bowl this year thanks to the additions of Wes Welker and others. Even with their best defender, Von Miller, suspended for the first 4 games of the season they are still looked at as the favorites in the AFC. On the other hand, the defending champion Ravens enter the season with a handful of question marks. How do they replace Ray Lewis and Ed Reed? Will Joe Flacco live up to the astronomically high contract he was given last year? Can you really win with just 1 wide receiver? That last one was a joke, but seriously how are you going to win with Torrey Smith and me at wide receiver? Despite his impressive Super Bowl performance and his wonderful (haha) showing on Dancing With The Stars, Jacoby Jones is actually not very good at football. These are some of the questions that will certainly be answered once the season gets under way. You can catch tonight’s opening game on NBC at 8:30 P.M. Who do you like to win this game? I have Denver (at home) winning a relatively close game 24-17.

The rest of Week 1 will be played on Sunday and Monday. So, clear your schedules for the weekend, find that ass groove in the couch that has missed you so dearly, and lets get ready for some football. I am now ready to give you some of my thoughts and predictions on the upcoming season. Everyone has an opinion on their own favorite team and who they think will win, but football more than any other sport is incredibly unpredictable. Players get injured at a very high rate, and every year we seem to have a completely unknown player climb out of the woodwork and land right in the limelight. Nonetheless, lets make some predictions. I shall start with my favorite “team”, The New York Jets. Their team can be summed up in one word: Joke. They are a complete and utter joke. I see them winning 4 games at most, but most likely will only pull off 3 lucky victories. With that being said, I still believe it is not fair for ESPN to rank the Jets as the worst team in the NFL. That distinction clearly should be held by The Oakland Raiders (Chris Berman voice). Anyway, I see the Raiders, Jets, and Jaguars all being very very bad, and I wouldn’t be surprised if any of these teams wound up as the worst team in the league. And now, I will provide you with the Division winners, Wild Card teams, and Super Bowl Champion that will make up the 2013 playoffs.

In the AFC East, I don’t see how any other team will come out of that division than The New England Patriots. Everyone can talk about how much better The Miami Dolphins will be, but I’m sorry Ryan Tannehill, I’m just not buying it. The AFC West is also a pretty easy division to figure out. The Denver Broncos will handily win this division. Most people are eager to hop on the Kansas City Chiefs bandwagon, but I’m also not prepared to do that either. Will they be in a hunt for the Wild Card with 3 games to go? It’s very possible, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if they were 4-9 by then either. Oh, they have Alex Smith? Well then, that changes everything, they’ll probably win The Super Bowl. What was I thinking? The AFC North and South are a little tougher to figure out, and will probably provide the playoffs with the other 4 teams in the AFC this year. The AFC North will be a tightly contested division, but I feel that The Cincinnati Bengals will prevail. I also believe that The Ravens, not The Steelers will land a Wild Card spot this year. The Steelers have no running game, and Big Ben just isn’t good enough to win without a good supporting cast and top 10 defense. The AFC South is a fun division and should also bring 2 playoff teams to the mix this year. The Indianapolis Colts will win this division behind the strong play of Andrew Luck (he is the real deal and will be the best 2nd year QB in the NFL this season). The Texans will land the other Wild Card spot this year.

AFC Playoff Picture

1.) Denver Broncos
2.) New England Patriots
3.) Indianapolis Colts
4.) Cincinnati Bengals
5.) Baltimore Ravens
6.) Houston Texans

I envision The Denver Broncos beating The New England Patriots in the AFC Championship (and giving everyone that one last Peyton Vs. Tom showdown everyone was looking for last year).

As for the NFC, I see this as the much harder conference to predict. The NFC East by itself is like flipping a 4-sided coin. But, here goes nothing. In the NFC East, as much as I hate them and love watching them crumble under pressure, I see the Dallas Cowboys narrowly pulling out the division title this year. I think The New York Giants will be in the fight for a Wild Card spot all season but will fall just short of the playoffs yet again this season. The NFC West, which is seen as the strongest division in the NFL should definitely bring 2 teams to the playoffs this year. I have The San Francisco 49ers winning the division, and The Seattle Seahawks winning a Wild Card spot. The NFC North should be a battle between 2 long time rivals; The Packers and Da Bears. I see The Packers edging out the Bears for the Division while Jay Cutler will once again be watching the playoffs from home this season. Last, but certainly not least, there is my favorite division in football, The NFC South. This division should also produce 2 playoff teams this season. The Atlanta Falcons will once again win the division while the New Orleans Saints will land the final playoff spot this season.

NFC Playoff Picture

1.) San Francisco
2.) Atlanta Falcons
3.) Green Bay Packers
4.) Dallas Cowboys
5.) Seattle Seahawks
6.) New Orleans Saints

Let me repeat how unpredictable the NFC is going to be this season. Don’t be surprised if the Wild Cards consist of The Bears, Redskins, Giants, or Redskins. However, based off my predictions, I see The San Francisco 49ers beating the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC Championship in a rematch of last year. As for the Super Bowl, I see Peyton Manning prevailing to win his 2nd Lombardi Trophy, while Colin Kaepernick suffers his 2nd straight defeat in the Super Bowl. And that my friends, is how I see the NFL season playing out this year. It is a long road, and it all starts tonight. However it plays out, enjoy it!!

Please leave me your predictions for the upcoming NFL Season below in the comment section. Thank you.

If you enjoy my writing, follow me over to intheneutralzone.com where I am a contributing author there as well. Also you can follow me on twitter @DaveEttinger2 or like me on Facebook at http://www.Facebook.com/DaveTalksSports. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it!

Out of Darkness(Super Bowl Recap)

February 4, 2013February 4, 2013 ~ Dave Ettinger ~ 4 Comments

The Super Bowl was certainly worth the wait this year wasn’t it? It had a little bit of everything. There were offensive explosions, big plays, a little bit of controversy, and definitely a whole lot of drama. Let me start by saying congratulations to The Baltimore Ravens for becoming Super Bowl Champions. This was a team victory that took every member of the Ravens to bring the Lombardi Trophy to Baltimore.

Just as I expected the Ravens jumped out to a lead, I just didn’t know they were going to grab that big of a lead. Did anyone really expect them to dominate that much in the first half? Now, I myself have underrated Joe Flacco up until this point. I always thought he had a great arm, and physically he is built like your standard pocket passer. However, I just never thought he was a guy who would take his game to the next level, and play as well as he did on the grandest of stages. Boy did he ever, and prove all of his naysayers wrong in the process. Joe Flacco in his 5th NFL season, outplayed 2 Canton bound QB’s on the road en route to his first Super Bowl appearance. He played mistake free football throwing 11 TD’s to 0 INT’s in these playoffs. His stellar play culminated in his first Super Bowl victory and the honors of being named Super Bowl XLVII’s MVP. While Flacco continued to impress and quiet the critics, this was a team effort and we must give credit to all 53 men on the Ravens roster. Flacco was the MVP of the game, but the two most crucial plays of the game were made by Jacoby Jones(a dazzling 56 yard receiving TD and a 108 yard kickoff return for a TD). Anquan Boldin has played like a men possessed, matching his regular season TD total(4) in these playoffs. The defense that everyone was calling too old to compete was able to contain Kaepernick when it mattered most. Kaepernick did get his yards on the ground and a rushing TD, but it was the pressure applied from the outside that forced Kaepernick into traffic and caused rushed throws. Once again the Ravens definitely outplayed their competition, but I saw the better team on paper(the 49ers) make numerous little mistakes throughout the entirety of the game; and that ultimately cost them. Their long list of inexcusable mistakes began right from their first drive. On the first play from scrimmage, Kaepernick threw a beautiful ball to Vernon Davis for a 20 yard gain. On a delayed flag, it turns out that Davis was called for an illegal formation negating the completion and backing them up 5 yards. This was a sign of things to come. On the Ravens first possession, it appeared that the 49ers defense made a stop on a 3rd and 9, however Ahmad Brooks had jumped off-sides. This gave the Ravens another shot at a much more manageable 3rd and 4. What happened on the very next play? You guessed it, a touchdown pass from Flacco to Boldin.

On to the 2nd quarter we go with a score of 7-3(Baltimore). The 49ers started with the ball on their own 20 yard line. Four plays and a quick two and half minutes later, they found themselves all the way down to the Baltimore 24 yard line, primed and ready to score. On the very next play Lamichael James(doing his best Michael Vick impression), while attempting to turn a run for a loss into a small gain, FUMBLES THE BALL back to the Ravens. They proceed to charge down the field and score another TD to make it 14-3. At this point that score could easily be flipped had the 49ers taken care of the ball and avoided silly mental mistakes. Now at the time I really hated the fake field goal try by the Ravens, and while I still don’t know if I would have done it, I only slightly dislike it after having time to think about it. In hindsight it worked perfectly. John Harbaugh kept the pressure on the great Kaepernick and challenged him to demonstrate his ability to overcome adversity in a 2-minute drill from his own 6 yard line. He went 3 and out and gave the ball back to Baltimore with a short field. You’ll never guess what happened next; oh wait yeah maybe you can, touchdown Flacco(am I sensing a theme here?). I think you all know what happened next. After what I thought was a pretty decent halftime show(we get it Beyonce, we think you’re hot, and you think you’re really really really really hot), Jacoby Jones returned the opening kickoff of the 2nd half 108 yards for a spectacular TD. This made the score 28-3 and most of the sports world thought that was the nail in the coffin, but it wasn’t.

The 49ers came out for their first offensive possession in the 2nd half and what came next was exactly what everyone was expecting, right? Eh probably not. There was a power outage throughout the ENTIRE STADIUM. This unprecedented turn of events caused a delay that lasted 34 minutes!! This occurring on the biggest stage in the world is uncalled for, embarrassing, and down right inexcusable. Needless to say I’m sure heads are rolling today. Now all you conspiracy theorist out there can blame the power outage for the swing of momentum in the game, but the 49ers are way too talented to get blown out. You are probably the same group of people blaming karma for Chris Culliver’s horrid performance last night. For those of you who don’t know, Culliver is taking a great deal of flack for his anti-gay comments from media week. Psssssst, Culliver isn’t very good, and the better Harbaugh knew that and took advantage of his opponents weakness. Which brings me to my next point. John Harbaugh clearly out-coached his little brother, Jim. When it came to clock management, play calling, and overall scheme I found Jim to be outmatched in all areas. Jim did give it his all though in pleading to the referees after Kaepernick’s 4th down try fell to the ground incomplete. I’m not one to blame the referees for “costing” someone a game, but even my Grandma could see that was a hold. The Ravens defender must have been childhood friends with Crabtree and really wanted to give him a huge; that’s all. In retrospect the 49ers should only look at themselves for missed opportunities, not at the referees.

In the end, the play of Flacco, Jones, Boldin, and the Baltimore defense proved to be too much for San Fransisco. It’s not all bad news for San Fran though. If you saw that Jell-O commercial you’d know that the city of San Fransisco is getting 10,000 free cups of Jell-O’s chocolate pudding from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. today. So keep your heads up guys, you get to have pudding today!! In all seriousness, the 49ers should take the positives from last nights game. I know it’s heartbreaking to be that close to victory and then have it snatched from you at the last moment. However, this was a great experience for a young team led by a great young quarterback. From what I’ve seen from Colin Kaepernick I believe that the sky is the limit for him and his squad. Don’t be surprised if you see the 49ers being fitted for rings a year from now. Finally, let us all be thankful there will be another NFL season next year, so Ray Lewis definitely doesn’t get the last word.

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