The AFC WILD Card picture gets even more Wilder!!!!!

The AFC wildcard race is so tight that it will come down to the end.

As we prepare to wrap up week 12 of the NFL season, the one conference that has people excited about is the AFC.  It will look like in order for any team to get to the Superbowl, it will have to go through New England; as the Patriots are sitting atop of the AFC with record of 10-1. Then the second place team is the Cincinnati Bengals who are at 9-2 after coming up with a good win against the St. Louis Rams. Then in third place you have the Denver Broncos at 8-2 who face a tough task against the New England Patriots. In fourth place is the Indianapolis Colts, sitting at 6-5 with a victory today over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who are as well in the playoff hunt in the NFC. The AFC seems to be very competitive this year in such a long time. These wild card teams are playing their better football at the right time. The four teams were struggling early and mid way through the season but have changed that. The New York Jets, Kansas City Chiefs, Houston Texans, and Pittsburgh Steelers can all make a case in why they should be included in the playoffs. The only thing is that all four of these teams  will not make it, when the dust clears only two will claim the final two spots.

The Kansas City Chiefs have made a tremendous push to get themselves into the playoff picture. The Chiefs were at one point sitting at 1-5, and were not even looking like they would have any chance in making the playoffs. The way they have been playing the last few weeks have many changing their look on this team. They had lost many key players due to season ending injuries, and looked down and out. With the veteran pryesence of the players on the team, and future hall of fame coach these players buckled down. The turn around came when they had beaten the Pittsburgh Steelers. Since that game the Chiefs are playing strong on both sides of the ball. I think they will be tested against there next few opponents, especially against the Raiders who are playing much better football. The San Diego Chargers will be a tough test as well. These next two games are huge ones because of them being a divisional opponent.

The Houston Texans have been the biggest surprise this year because of how many holes they have on this team. No one except those who are part of the Texans Organization thought this team would compete this season. The season took a big turn when they went into Cincinnati and beat an undefeated team. After that game the Texans gained a lot of confidence, and are now right in thick of the playoff race. The next two weeks will be a true test for them when they have to play the Buffalo Bills who are desperately trying to stay in the playoff picture, and the New England Patriots who are the biggest test for this team. The defense is a veteran team that has been playing lights out. The defense will be truly tested for those two games. I think the offensive side needs to be established. The Quarterback situation is like a carousel there is someone new each week. Whom ever starts these two weeks coming up will have to play there best without any mistakes.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are no surprise to be in the playoff picture it seems like they are always in it. The Steelers organization is  one that everyone in the league wants to be in winning numerous championships. This year was a slow start for them in suffering a tough loses against their rivals the Baltimore Ravens and losing to the Kansa City Chiefs. They have struggled this season with opponents in the AFC division. They have a big game today against the Seattle Seahawks who are fighting for the playoffs in the NFC. If the Steelers were to loose today then they would fall behind the Texans and Jets who have a better winning record within the AFC. There next two opponents are very crucial against the Colts and Bengals who are both ahead of them in the playoff picture. It will be a true test to see if they can come up with the big wins as they will be needed to hold off others.

The New York Jets are a team that are surprising many this year just because of them having a new coach, and new General Manager. This team has been having an up and down year but have kept themselves within reach of the Wildcard. The team has established themselves as one of the top defenses in the league, but the offense has been at a struggle in not being able to score many points. In order for the Jets to obtain the Wildcard they will need to play with the physicality like they did in the beginning of the season. There win today against the dolphins was a huge win especially against a division rival in the Miami Dolphins. There next two opponents are a big matchup they will play crosstown rivals New York Giants, and the Tennessee Titans. Both matchups are from the NFC so they will be tested. If they play like they did today they will grab the wildcard.

Overall, The AFC playoff picture is to hard to determine in who will make it just because of how many games are left. These four teams are quality playoff caliber teams, and will give other playoff teams problems. The two teams that I think will take the Wildcards will be the Kansas City Chiefs and the New York Jets. These two teams seem like they are playing with a chip on their shoulder and want to prove there doubters wrong. This will be an exciting ending to the season in how everything shapes out to be. Either way, the AFC will win this years superbowl. There are other teams still within reach in making the playoffs, but they will need a lot of things to happen in order to jump ahead of these four teams.

Disappointing ending to a Miracle Run !!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

The New York Mets end the season with a bad taste in their mouths!!!

 

 

The New York Mets season ended this past weekend in a way they didn't want to. The team that most thought wouldn't be in the World Series practically gave the championship away. Looking back in the Series three areas of the game stood out to me with them not hitting, or playing defense, and not having there pitchers perform well on the big stage. The Mets had the chance in being up in the series but they did not get the outs when they needed. When the Mets had made the mistakes the Royals jumped on the chance and took advantage of it. Three out of the five games the Mets made very costly errors and were leading late in the games. If they didn't make these errors the Mets would be leading the series or could have won the Championship. Now they have to wait out the winter to get that bad feeling out of there stomachs. These players need to come back next year with a purpose, and get back to the World Series. The organization now has to set this team up for the future, and not take a step back.

 

The Mets hitting was on fire during the NLDS, and NLCS against the Dodgers and Cubs who have incredible pitching. When it came to the Royals the New York Mets hitting disappeared and started to look like the old Mets team in the beginning of the season. Give Credit to the Royals for the incredible pitching performances by Edison Volquez, Johnny Cueto, and Yordano Ventura, and Chris Young along with their bullpen.  The biggest disappointments  were Daniel Murphy, and Yoenis Cespedes who's bats did not produce in getting runs in for the team. The Royals had an incredible game plan going into the series by pitching the both of them inside which lead them to feeling uncomfortable and couldn't get set in the box. David Wright, and Lucas Duda and Travis d'Arnaud also didn't perform well there averages were at  200. Michael Conforto, Curtis Granderson,  and Juan Lagares did all they can do but it was to much to handle.

 

The Mets defense didn't make the crucial plays to help themselves out in securing the wins for the team. During the first two rounds of the playoffs they were flawless in making the plays for the pitchers but during the World Series it was a different story. When they committed the errors it made the pitchers feel the pressure and throw pitches that they did not want to. The Biggest error occurred in Game 4 when Daniel Murphy let a routine groundball go under his glove which allowed the Royals to tie the game up. Cespedes also made a big error in Game 1 when he let a fly ball drop in between him and Conforto which Cespedes kicked the ball away, and it allowed Alcides Escobar to run around the bases for an inside the park homerun. Another Crucial error in Game 1 is when David Wright threw the ball in the dirt which Lucas Duda misplayed and it allowed the runner to be safe. These type of things can not happen when playing in the World Series. The Mets need to look into getting a veteran second baseman as well as maybe switching Wright to another position. They have plenty of  prospects in the minor leagues who can help out but they should look into adding depth to this team.

 

The pitching staff for the Mets is going to be consider the best for years to come. This World Series was a learning experience for them, and they now know what to expect in the near Future.  Jacob DeGrom, Matt Harvey, Steven Matz, and Noah Syndergaard, all four of these guys have dominant stuff  and will be big time starters for this team. All four have fastballs that clock in an average of 90 plus miles per hour. They need to learn to mix more of there offspeed pitches in. When they were trying to throw the Fastballs the Royals jumped all over it, and hit the ball hard.  When the Mets Pitchers used there offspeed pitches they made the royals hitters looked confused and had them striking out more than they every had. They need to add a veteran pitcher to help out the staff. They also they need to build a dominating bullpen that will secure the game for the team.

 

Overall, this season was unforgettable for the New York Mets players as well as there fans. It has been a tough time for the fans to get excited about this team but now the future is here and this team will be an excitement to watch. Next Year, Daniel Murphy along with Yoenis Cespedes will be gone and the Mets will need to fill these holes. If they can get a player like Jason Heyward it will boost this teams offense. They will need to find a consistent player at first along with a player at shortstop. The Front office has a lot of work to do in tuning up this team. If they can get good players in free agency for the bench then it will make it easier for Manager Terry Collins to bring in a good player incase of an substitution. If they build there bullpen like the Royals then it will make this team even a bigger threat. Next season will be interesting in how the Mets respond for this incredible run they had this postseason. Mets Fans get ready you have a team that is ready to make their presence felt for the future.