Category: Behind The Sticks

Blitzed Barkeep's Midseason Awards

10/30/2019

The 2019 season is half-way done (already?) and two teams remain undefeated. Green Bay and New Orleans remained part of the one-loss club while Buffalo may have shown its true colors. Chicago has a QB issue to deal with and apparently still can’t find a kicker while Kirk Cousins once again shows he’s really no good on national TV (regardless of the Vikings win). The Blitzed crew put on a great show highlighting all things scary in the NFL, which was surprising since Stats Guy was in charge of it. I’m happy to report that your Barkeep is back in their good graces and gave them a winning drink. I’m also two for my last two on game of the week predictions but have put that streak at risk with a doozy below. If you missed the guys' show this week and what I gave them to drink, you can catch it here:

Alright enough chit chat. Let’s get into Your Barkeep’s Mid-Season Awards

MVP

Aaron Rodgers (GB)
It's hard to argue with making Rodgers the MVP of the league this year considering what he’s done with who’s he’s done it with. Various injuries have taken his top one, two and three receivers out at any given time (who’s heard of Jake Kumerow, Allen Lazard or Darrius Shepherd before this year?), while also losing one of his backfield mates, Jamal Williams to a scary concussion for several weeks. All Rodgers has done is put his team on his back and led them to a 7-1 record, which is good for 1st place in the competitive NFC North. Rodgers has proven time and again that he is king of the NFL in terms of being able to get it done, no matter who’s on the field with him.
Blitzed Stats: 185-283 (65.4%), 2,324 yds 16 TDs 2 INTs with a 106.7 QBR

Honorable Mentions:
Russell Wilson (SEA), Christian McCaffrey (CAR), DeShaun Watson (HOU)

Offensive POY

Christian McCaffrey (CAR)
McCaffrey is a human wrecking ball that is the Carolina offense. 1,000 yards rushing and 1,000 receiving is not entirely out of the question at some point in his career. This year he is on pace for the second highest yardage total from scrimmage in NFL history (2,464 total yards behind on Chris Johnson in 2009). He can run, he can catch, he can block and he can protect his quarterback. He can probably play quarterback too if you asked him. Hell, he can probably throw the ball and run under to catch it himself the way he’s going this year. The scariest part of all this? He’s only 23 years old and will most likely have multiple Offensive Player of the Year awards when his career is all said and done.
Blitzed Stats: 141 car, 735 yds, 8TDs; 39 rec, 343 yds, 2 TDs

Honorable Mentions
Dalvin Cook (MIN), Lamar Jackson (BAL), Aaron Rodgers (GB)

Defensive POY

Myles Garrett (CLE)
Cleveland’s defense as a whole has not been entirely impressive, but Garrett has been. He is disruptive in both the passing and running game and leads the league in sacks. Additionally, he’s forced two fumbles to help keep Cleveland in the games that they’ve actually been competitive in. Unfortunately, their offense hasn’t been helping much so the defense has had to spend quite a bit of time on the field, protecting a short field at that. A physical specimen of a human being, he’s fun to watch and hopefully gets the chance to showcase his abilities to a national audience sooner than later. He’s my mid-season pick for Defensive Player of the Year.
Blitzed Stats: 24 tackles, 10 sacks, 2 FF

Honorable Mentions
Stephon Gilmore (NE), Nick Bosa (SF)

Offensive ROY

Josh Jacobs (OAK)
Most NFL experts will probably go with Kyler Murray because he plays the most important position on the field. To be fair, he has performed admirably and deserves the votes that he will most definitely garner come the end of the season. However, Josh Jacobs has my vote. When the Raiders released Antonio Brown, the question arose where will the offense come from? Looking at his body of work, he has helped the Oakland offense remain relevant this season and has given his quarterback a reliable running back with which to keep defenses honest. Jacobs is a dual threat player that has finally been given the opportunity to be a bell cow back. Its paid dividends for Jon Gruden and especially David Carr. Jacobs should continue to produce this season and beyond and has my vote for Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Blitzed Stats: 124 car, 620 yds 4TDs; 11 rec. 102 yds.

Honorable Mentions
Kyler Murray (AZ), Terry McLaurin (WAS)

Defensive ROY

Nick Bosa (SF)
I was fortunate to actually watch the 49ers games these past two weeks and this is a no brainer. This kid is GOOD. Against Carolina (who I thought would put up a little bit of a fight but didn’t), he single-handedly disrupted the Panther backfield, had 3 sacks and picked off Kyle Allen from basically two yards away. When he isn’t sacking the quarterback, he’s either in the backfield causing a problem or being double teamed allowing his teammates to have a clear path for the sack. There’s a very good reason San Francisco is 7-0 and its because of their defense. Being fortunate enough to have Arizona give up on a first round QB from last year, select another QB first overall this year and allow Bosa to slide to them with the 2nd pick is not just a stroke of luck. It may end up being franchise altering. He’s the clear-cut Defensive Rookie of the Year.
Blitzed Stats: 24 total tackles, 7 sacks, 1 INT

Honorable Mentions
Devin Bush (PIT), Darnell Savage (GB),

Coach of the Year

Sean Payton (NO)
First Drew Brees went down. Insert Teddy Bridgewater. Then Alvin Kamara went down. Insert Latavious Murray. Then Jared Cook went down. Bring on Multi-tasker Taysom Hill. Payton has masterfully navigated the injury waters and directed his team to a 5-0 record regardless of all these injuries. That speaks volumes to the coaching job he’s done this year. That defense is legit and the offense did just enough in the absence of all their stars to remain in 1st place in the NFC South. Payton again has them in position to make a Super Bowl run and a lot of it has to do with how well coached they are. At this point, he’s my choice for Coach of the Year over several very worthy candidates.

Honorable Mentions
Matt LaFleur (GB), Sean McDermott (BUF), Kyle Shanahan (SF)

10 Things I THINK I Think

1: The NFC will come down to the Saints and the 49ers. Both are really, really good. I’m still waiting to see the 49ers get challenged.
2. The Patriots defense is one of the best I have ever seen and it makes me sick.
3. I told you Buffalo was not really a 5-1 team. Philadelphia brought them back to earth. Is that the loss they needed to wake up or are they really an 8-8 team with a kosher schedule?
4. Fitztragic showed up in game 3 against Pittsburgh. Its all downhill from here.
5. I didn’t even realize LA and Cincinnati were playing in London this week. Did you?
6. Speaking of Cincinnati, I think they’re worse than Miami without deliberately trying to tank. Yikes.
7. Jameis Winston continues to turn the ball over way too much. He’s done in Tampa.
8. Matt Schaub is still in the NFL? And he threw for 400 yards? How about that!
9. I can’t believe Mitchell Trubisky was a top 3 MVP candidate by Vegas odds at the start of the season. Even worse, Patrick Mahomes and DeShaun Watson were both picked after him.
10. Who needs the 1st overall pick worse? The Dolphins or the Bengals? And will they actually take Tua? Chase Young is making a strong case to be picked over him.

My Drink of the Week: Purple Rain Cocktail

Looking ahead to Week 9, I had one game circled from a while back that interested me. The reason why is that I figured this could be a game that the 7-0 New England Patriots lose as they travel to the 5-2 Baltimore Ravens. So, the guys this week will be drinking (happily or heavily depending on the outcome) a Baltimore Ravens Purple Rain Cocktail.

1 oz. pure Pineapple Juice
2 oz. vodka
1/2 oz. triple sec
1/4 oz. blue curacao
3/4 oz. concord grape juice
1/2 lime, juiced
Blitzed Build: Combine pineapple juice, vodka, triple sec, blue curacao, grape juice, and lime juice in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a sugar-rimmed cocktail glass.

The idea behind the name of the drink is that I’m hoping the Ravens bring the rain down on the Patriots and hand them their first loss of the season. Baltimore, and in particular Lamar Jackson, have the tools necessary to beat New England. You aren’t going to beat them through a heavy passing attack with the secondary they have in place. You have to run the ball. Ironically, Baltimore has that quarterback that everyone has downplayed as a running quarterback. It may just come in handy this weekend. Add in the human bowling ball Mark Ingram and Baltimore may have enough to keep Brady off the field and put up enough points to ruin the aspirations of their perfect season. Its time for Lamar Jackson to show his worth and have the game of his life. America is depending on it. I may have already sampled one too many Purple Rains, but your Barkeep is going out on a limb and picking the Ravens in an upset this week.

Blitzed Barkeep’s VERY BOLD Prediction:
Baltimore 24 New England 23

That’s all for now Blitzers. I’ll be back again next week with my Week 9 review of the guy’s show and what they’ll be drinking next. As always, remember to always take Brady’s name in vein, tip your bartenders on the way out and if you’ve had too much to drink, give your keys to a friend.

Author

The Blitzed Barkeep is a Buffalo Bills expert, an accomplished podcaster and the official bartender of Blitzed Football. You can follow him on Twitter here.

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My Drink of the Week: 49ers Bottom's Up Cocktail

10/23/2019

1 Comment

Week 7 has come and gone. Still undefeated are the guys by the Bay and those cheaters from New England that we hate to mention here at Blitzed. The Saints continue to march along without their captain, while Green Bay and Buffalo keep pace with 1 loss a piece. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Miami and Cincinnati still have no wins while Atlanta picked a really bad year to suck as well. Speaking of sucking, the guys opinion of my drink last week was not too kind and that’s ok. The drink was still better than your producing abilities while Clippy was out, Stats Guy. Everyone is allowed to mess up once in a while so I’ll own up to this one. Perhaps it wasn’t my best cocktail but I’m still 14 for 15 on the year for great drinks which isn’t too shabby. I will admit though, the rest of the show was great, and I found their conspiracy theory especially intriguing this week. If you didn’t see it, you can catch it here:

Let’s get into Your Barkeep’s Week 7 in Review:

Aaron Rodgers (GB)
Holy sh*t. The quarterback that many consider one of the best in the game had his best performance ever as a pro at the expense of the Oakland Raiders. Unbeknownst to me, this was also his first ever game with a perfect quarterback rating (really?). He was so good that he had the same number of incompletions in this game that he did touchdowns (5 passing and 1 rushing). The real reason I’m buying his tab this week? He actually got a former 1st round pick traded from Oakland after game because he made him look so bad (not really but that the story we’re sticking with). Very nice Mr. Rodgers. Very nice indeed. Allow me to take care of your tab this week.

Blitzed Stats: 25 for 31, 429 yds 5 TDs, 1 rush TD

Marvin Jones (DET)
As a rule, I’ve only bought drinks for players who’s teams won that week but this week I’m making an exception. Why, Barkeep, is this the exception you ask? Well, Jones joins an exclusive company of being only the third receiver in the history of the NFL to catch four (4) touchdowns in one game on two separate occasions. Additionally, he actually dropped a 5th touchdown pass in this game, which would have tied the single game record. His other numbers don’t jump off the page at you: 10 receptions for 93 yards, but when you consider that 40% of those catches went for touchdowns? Wow. By the way, the other two players to catch four TDs in a game twice? Jerry Rice and Sterling Sharpe. Shots on me, Mr. Jones.

Blitzed Stats: 10 rec, 93 yds; 4TDs

Jacoby Brissett (IND)
Andrew Luck? Who’s that? Brissett put on his best Luck impression as the Indianapolis Colts took over sole possession of the AFC South behind Brissett’s impressive performance against a strong Houston defense. Brissett isn’t flashy. Normally the Colts lean on a strong running game. However, the Colts needed to air it out and Brissett’s arm capably took over. He showed why he was a coveted free agent (albeit a backup QB free agent) and why Indy promptly gave him an extension shortly after their franchise QB hung them up back in August. Indianapolis is confident in Brissett under center and he’s quietly led the Colts to a surprising 4-2 record. Colts Nation, welcome to the bar, your tab is on me this week.

Blitzed Stats: 26 of 39, 326 yds; 4 TDs

Honorable Mentions
Latavious Murray (NO), 49er Defense, Kirk Cousins (MIN), Kansas City Defense

Sam Darnold (NYJ)
Last week, I took care of your tab. Apparently, I over-served you because this week you were “seeing ghosts” and throwing up prayers for your wide receivers to try and catch. This week’s performance was simply pathetic. I had hopes that the Jets would show up against the Patriots to give them a run for their money. Instead, you go 11 of 32, for 86 yds with no TDs, 4 INTs and a lost fumble. Please leave my bar. Now.

Melvin Gordon (LAC)
What do you get when you hold out for the first four games in order to be paid like a top 3 running back? 36 carries, 81 yards (2.3 avg) with 2 fumbles, 0 TDs to go along with 9 rec for 34 yds and 1 TD. Your team has also lost all three games you’ve been a part of. You fumbled trying to score from the one-yard line to win the game with :20 seconds left this past week and couldn’t score on two separate occasions. Yeah, those numbers SCREAM top-flight running back. Show me the money! As in, pay for your own tab and get out of my bar you bum.

Joe Flacco (DEN)
Watching that game on Thursday night, I couldn’t believe how bad Flacco looked. Part of it was his offensive line. Part of it was how long he held onto the ball. Most of it was that he simply just looked so disinterested in being a part of that game. He was sacked nine (9) times by a porous Kansas City defense and only managed to put up six points and 205 total yards against a defense that gives up an average of 21.4 points and 377 yards a game. Even though you need a drink, you can’t have one here. See ya, Mr. Flacco.

10 Things I THINK I Think

1: 49ers are going all in by trading for Emmanuel Sanders. Its still not enough to beat New England who also just traded for Mohammed Sanu.
2. Welcome back to relevancy, Los Angeles Rams. Ramsey is going to make that defense scary again.
3. 5-1 Buffalo has a Super Bowl-caliber defense but that offense just isn’t ready to take the next step. Playoffs? Yes. But they need more.
4. How many games will Fitzpatrick be amazing before he turns into Fitztragic again? The norm is 4. (Did you know he went to Harvard?)
5. Kirk Cousins is back. But can he win a big game?
6. I told you last week the Chargers were worse with Gordon. Now I think its time to cut ties with him. Someone will take him with all the injuries (hello, Detroit?)
7. What other quarterback can do what Rodgers did, without his number 1 receiver? I can think of maybe 2 others.
8. The Falcons have never really recovered from that Super Bowl loss, have they?
9. Either Baltimore is better than I thought, or Seattle isn’t as good as I thought. Either way, Lamar Jackson keeps on running.
10. What a difference an offensive line makes in Dallas, right? All right in Big D for the time being.

Drink of the Week: 49ers Bottom's Up Cocktail

As I peruse the Week 8 schedule, two games stick out to me: Carolina visiting San Francisco and Green Bay travelling to Kansas City. The more interesting game WOULD have been the Packers going to Arrowhead had Mahomes not dislocated his knee. Since there is no Mahomes/ Rodgers showdown, I think Kansas City is a shell of a team without him so I’m going to put that game on the back burner. Instead, my game of the week will be the 4-2 Carolina Panthers going west to visit the undefeated 6-0 San Francisco 49ers.

Drink Recipe
2 oz Disaronno
2 oz Triple Sec
2 oz Goldschlager
4 oz Cranberry Juice
Splash of Ginger Ale
Ice
Blitzed Build: In a shaker add Disaronno, Triple Sec, Goldschlager, Cranberry Juice and Fresh Ice. Shake and Pour into a high ball glass. Serve on rocks. Top with splash of Ginger Ale.

So, this week, I chose a drink that infused some gold flakes into the cocktail since the 49ers are, of course, named after the California gold rush of 1849. Carolina comes streaming into San Fran hoping to strike gold of their own with undrafted free-agent Kyle Allen at the helm on a 4-game winning streak. He’s currently undefeated himself as a starting quarterback in the NFL and may very well unseat Cam Newton permanently as the Panthers QB. On the other side, San Francisco would love to stay undefeated and has a defense that is unrelenting in their pressure on opposing QBs. Offensively, they bring one of the top-rated rushing attacks to the table with Matt Breida and Tevin Coleman that wears down defenses while Jimmy G uses play action fakes to make the most of his opportunities down the field. I just don’t think Carolina has enough to overcome the stingy defense the 49ers will throw at them. I like San Fran to move to 7-0 on the year in a game that will be close at first but will separate towards the end.

Blitzed Barkeep’s Prediction:
San Francisco 27 Carolina 13

That’s all for now Blitzers. I’ll be back again next week with my Week 8 review of the guy’s show and what they’ll be drinking next. As always, remember to always take Brady’s name in vein, tip your bartenders on the way out and if you’ve had too much to drink, give your keys to a friend.

Author

The Blitzed Barkeep is a Buffalo Bills expert and the official bartender of Blitzed Football. You can follow him on Twitter here.

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My Drink of the Week: Dallas Cowboys Midnight Cowboy Cocktail

10/18/2019

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Well that was an interesting Week 6. The Rams got manhandled by an impressive 49er defense. The Jets appear to be competitive with Darnold behind center (while the Cowboys continue to struggle), the Chiefs dropped another game as Mahomes looked relatively human, the Redskins and Dolphins decided someone had to actually win, the Chargers look worse with Gordon back and Kirk Cousins decided to finally show up to the 2019 season. My apologies for missing Week 5 as your Barkeep was on the IR with a bit of a bug. I couldn’t mix up a drink of the week for the guys this week, so they decided to do some vodka and rum shots. You know how that turned out. If you didn’t see it, or your imagination is turned off for the day, you can catch it here:

Kirk Cousins (MIN)
Apparently being called the weakest link is exactly what Kirk Cousins needed to prove he is worth $88 million. It may have taken 6 weeks but Cousins finally showed up to the 2019 season. Stud wide receivers Adam Thielen and Stephon Diggs (and an entire Minnesota fanbase) breathed a sigh of relief for at least a week as Cousins delivered his best game of the season. Over the past two weeks, Cousins has thrown for 639 yards, 6 TDs and 1 INT while the Vikings have scored 69 points. I’ll gladly take care of your tab, but I have a feeling I’m not the first in line for that this week.
Blitzed Stats: 22 of 29, 339 yds, 4 TDs, 1 INT

Stephon Diggs (MIN)
On the receiving end of Cousins day was one disgruntled star pass catcher, who blew up in a serious way. Trade rumors flying, Diggs played street ball and had a field day against a loose Philadelphia secondary that forgot just how good Diggs can be. Time and again the Eagles secondary left Diggs wide open to the tune of 7 catches for a whopping 167 yards. For Vikings fans, I hope this is just the beginning. Shots all around for Vikings fans this week, on me.
Blitzed Stats: 7 rec, 167 yds, 3 TDs

Sam Darnold (NYJ)
0-4. 23 points combined in the games he missed with mononucleosis. Laughing stock of the NFL. Back comes Darnold and promptly 21 points are put in the first half alone. Not only that, but the Jets come away with their first victory of the season against a team that many considered to be a Super Bowl contender just a week or two ago (not so sure at this moment). Regardless, Darnold had arguably one of his finest games of his young career and drove his team to victory, which is exactly what the Jets had in mind when they drafted him 3rd overall last year. Welcome to the club Mr. Darnold. Your drinks are on me. Just don’t share them with anyone. You’re probably still contagious.
Blitzed Stats: 23 of 32, 338 yds, 2TDs; 1INT

Honorable Mentions:
New Orleans Saints Defense, 49er Defense, Kyler Murray (AZ), Matt Ryan (ATL)

Marcus Mariota (TEN)
When Mariota was drafted 2nd overall in 2015, he came in as a highly decorated college QB out of Oregon and was expected to take the Titans to the next level. He has never gotten to that point. He was benched this past week after going 7 for 18 for just 63 yards and 2 INTs. His passer rating was an embarrassing 9.5 while his team was shut out. He’s not the answer in Nashville and it appears they may be kicking him out of their bars too. Permanently.

Jameis Winston (TB)
2015 was not a great year for quarterbacks. The only QB taken before Mariota is making his second appearance on my ‘Duds’ list by throwing 5 INTs and fumbling once across the pond in England. If you’re counting, that’s six turnovers by one person. They’ve seen enough American football now to know that’s not how you’re supposed to be a good quarterback. Arians may give him a vote of confidence on the surface, but Winston has done this far too often now for anyone to really say that his job is secure past this season. In less than five full seasons, he now has 68 career picks. That’s entirely far too many to give your team a chance to win. You’re out of my bar. Again.

NFL Referees (AGAIN)
I said it last week and I’ll say it again. This has got to stop. I was appalled watching the game be taken out of the players hands in the Monday night game. Games are taking longer because there’s a flag on EVERY. SINGLE. PLAY. On top of it all, Pass interferences were supposed to be reviewable and only 7 out of 40 (17.5%) total have been overturned this year. 1 out of 21 since week 3 have been overturned. I personally have watched at least 10 that should have been reversed. The game has become less enjoyable to watch. At this point, no referees are allowed in my bar until this changes. No matter how well you tip.

10 Things I THINK I think

1: Want a conspiracy? The NFL is run by Vegas and gambling. Outcomes are determined ahead of time and games are called as such. (It’s the only explanation I can come up with for how bad the refs are at this point)
2. What the hell happened to the Rams?
3. The NFC is really competitive while the AFC is really not. Don’t believe me? Go look at the standings from top to bottom.
4. That “2-point-attempt” was laughable by the Dolphins to win the game. Tanking is fun.
5. The NFC North is the best division in the NFL. The NFC East is shaping up as possibly the worst.
6. The Chargers are worse now that Melvin Gordon is back.
7. Kyler Murray has a chance to be really good. Give him some talent around him.
8. The Buffalo Bills quietly are the 2nd best team in the AFC. They need some confident, offensively-charged wins to quiet the naysayers about them being true contenders.
9. Lamar Jackson is a freak athlete, however defenses will eventually figure out how to contain him. Just like Michael Vick.
10. That 49ers team is starting to look really good, don’t you think? One of four teams ever to start 5-0 after winning four games or less the previous year.

My Drink of the Week:
Dallas Cowboys Midnight Cowboy

Going into Week 6, I did not expect the NFC East to be so, how shall we say it kindly? Up in the air? I’ll stick with that. The Eagles and Cowboys meet this week sitting at 3-3, meaning that one of these teams will move to first place at 4-3 while the rest of the division will fall below .500 (assuming they don’t tie). So, this week I’m having the guys drink a Midnight Cowboy Cocktail in honor of my Game of the Week.

DRINK RECIPE
2 oz Basil Hayden’s Bourbon
1 oz Myer’s Dark Rum
½ ounce heavy cream

Blitzed Build: Fill a low ball or rocks glass with ice. Add each ingredient and stir until the cream is mixed. Serve with a plate of cookies if desired.

Dallas is a team that some WERE picking for the Super Bowl. They are talented on both sides of the ball and but have not been playing well of late. They’re coming off a bad loss to the Jets while the Eagles are coming off a tough loss themselves at the hands of the Kirk Cousins-led Vikings (see above: Cousins, Kirk and Diggs, Stephon). This was already going to be an entertaining game but now, with Philly coach Doug Pederson providing bulletin board fodder for the Cowboys by guaranteeing a win, it should be even more interesting. I expect an angry Cowboys team to come out guns blazing, pun totally intended.

Blitzed Barkeep’s Prediction:
Dallas 36 Philadelphia 23

That’s all for now Blitzers. I’ll be back again next week with my Week 7 review of the guy’s show and what they’ll be drinking next. As always, remember to always take Brady’s name in vein, tip your bartenders on the way out and if you’ve had too much to drink, give your keys to a friend.

Author

The Blitzed Barkeep is a member of Bills Mafia and Blitzed Football's official bartender. Every week he gives the guys a drink to try out on the show. You can follow him on Twitter here.

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My Drink of the Week - Green Bay Packers Apple Cocktail

10/3/2019

2 Comments

Holy Week 4. Down go Buffalo, Green Bay, Los Angeles (Rams) and Detroit from the ranks of the unbeatens with all four making the case to win the game. New England and Kansas City remained unbeaten (both rather luckily in this Barkeep’s opinion) while San Francisco couldn’t lose as they didn’t play. Clippy is back so the guys show is back on point. Thank God. In case you missed this week’s edition which included a riveting chugging beer contest, you can catch it here:

Let’s get into Your Barkeep’s Week 4 in Review:

Nick Chubb (CLE)
Have a week, Nick Chubb. Your drinks are on me. After Baltimore delivered some bulletin board material to Cleveland this week about who the best team in the AFC North was, Chubb planted the Browns firmly on his back and galloped his way to what should be AFC Player of the Week honors. Additionally, it moved Cleveland to the top of the AFC North standings after a quarter of the season, which is where I expected them to be. As I said three weeks ago Browns fans, it’s a long season. Cleveland is going to ride or die not only with Baker Mayfield but also with Nick Chubb. Seems like both are hitting their stride at the same time.
Blitzed Stats: 20 carries 165 yds, 3 TDs; 3 rec 18 yds

Jameis Winston (TB)
Two weeks ago I was kicking Jameis out of my bar and making jabs at him for stealing crab legs. Today, I’m buying his drinks. He put an absolute thrashing on what is “supposed” to be one of the best and most talented defenses in the league to the tune of 55 points. In their house. I’m as shocked as anyone to see that Jameis led them to the win even though a pick six late in the game nearly derailed his otherwise superb outing. Is this finally the Jameis Winston the Buccaneers expected when they drafted him 1st overall? Perhaps Bruce Arians is a QB whisperer after all. I’m sorry Jameis. This week’s tab is on me.
Blitzed Stats: 28 for 41, 385 yds, 4 TDs 1 INT

Buffalo Bills Defense
I know Buffalo lost but check out these stats. 18 for 39, 150 yards and 1 INT for a QB rating of 10.3 (or 48.9 depending on which you use). Include one intentional grounding that was actually called and an additional three or four more that weren’t. You just experienced one of the worst games ever, if not THE worst ever, for Tom Brady. Buffalo’s defense showed up and made TB look bad. They made the entire New England offense look bad. If it weren’t for the five turnovers and the blocked punt returned for a touchdown, the Bills would be sitting atop the AFC East. I can tell you this though- that loss was not on the Buffalo defense who no longer is flying under the radar as one of the league’s best. What a waste of a brilliant defensive effort. The Bills will be a scary team if the offense ever figures it out.
Blitzed Stats: 11 first downs, 5 of 18 on 3rd down, 224 total yards, 9 points given up

Josh Allen (BUF)
The expectation was that Allen was a guy who needed to develop and grow. This is year #2 for a quarterback that seems to have sky-high potential. But this was simply not a good game. His decision-making cost the Bills this game, and nearly two others (NYJ and CIN). There comes a point when the growing needs to stop and the fine-tuning needs to begin. This is a talented Bills team and he doesn’t need to win the game by himself. Simply put, he was awful when all he needed to be was OK and the Bills would have won. That being said, if he wasn’t injured, I still think he would have somehow pulled out a miracle on that last drive for the win.

Kirk Cousins (MIN)
27 for 36 for 233 with no TDs and no INTs doesn’t necessarily scream for someone to be kicked out of my bar. However, if you watched that game you cringed at Cousin’s performance the same way you probably have for the first four weeks of the season. Mr. Guaranteed Money isn’t performing up to standards and Skol Fans are getting restless. 13-3 two years ago seems like forever ago, doesn’t it? I hear Case Keenum is back on the market.

NFL Referees
How do you eject a player from one game for a helmet to helmet hit, while allowing a player in a different game to stay in for the very same thing? There is clear favoritism towards certain players in the NFL and it’s become egregious in nature as to how blatant the favoritism is. If you want to create rules to protect players and the integrity of the game, it needs to be called fairly across the games for everyone. Its been getting worse and worse for some players while others are protected at all costs. This has to end.

10 Things I THINK I Think After This Week

1: There is a distinct difference in who is protected and who isn’t in calls by NFL referees. See: Tom Brady and Josh Allen. See above.
2. Another week, another several injuries to sideline big names in the NFL. Trubisky being the biggest name this week. Teddy Bridgewater, Mason Rudolph, Luke Falk and Chase Daniel are now NFL starting QBs.
3. If other teams were watching, the Bills gave every team in the NFL the blueprint on how to beat New England. Follow it. Now.
4. I still feel bad for Dolphins fans.
5. I’m starting to change my mind about the Colts. They’re really inconsistent.
6. Melvin Gordon shouldn’t automatically be given the starter’s role. Eckler has earned it through commitment.
7. I’ve been spelling Mahomes with an L in his name for the past three weeks. I’m sorry. Its Mahomes. He’s still the best quarterback in the league and KC still doesn’t have an L either.
8. New Orleans has proven they are not just Drew Brees. They have that Kamara guy and their defense is really good too.
9. Nick Chubb makes the Browns run. Literally and figuratively.
10. There’s a lot of really bad teams this year. Too bad for the Redskins, Bengals and Cardinals that the Dolphins are really REALLY bad.

My Drink of the Week:
Green Bay Packers Apple Cocktail

The past couple weeks I’ve been picking on the teams that could use a drink based on their performance from the previous week. This week I’m choosing a game from Week 5 that piques my interest as being a Game of the Week. The 3-1 Packers travel to Dallas to take on the 3-1 Cowboys and this game always promises to be entertaining. Both teams were undefeated but suffered their first losses of the season. Neither team wants to go to 3-2 so this game should be competitive on both sides of the ball. Seeing as the NFC North is a little more competitive, the Packers need this win a little more so this week the guys will be drinking a fall-inspired whiskey cocktail- the Green Bay Packers Apple Cocktail.

2 ounces Irish whiskey (Michael Collins)
1 ounce sour apple schnapps
2 ounces white cranberry juice
Garnish: apple slice
Blitzed Build: Shake all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and strain into a martini or rocks glass filled with ice. Garnish with an apple slice.

Dallas is a team that some are picking for the Super Bowl. They are talented on both sides of the ball and play especially well at home. That being said, the NFC North is a competitive division. Detroit is better than people expected, Chicago is the reigning division champs and returns that stingy defense and Minnesota is still a very talented team, if they can actually figure out their offensive mess. Green Bay needs this win to stay afloat in the division. Hopefully, some of the cheeseheads out there in Blitzed Nation can enjoy this delicious cocktail before, during or after (if necessary) this big matchup in Dallas during Week 5.
Blitzed Barkeep’s Prediction: Green Bay 30 Dallas 27

That’s all for now Blitzers. I’ll be back again next week with my Week 5 review of the guy’s show and what they’ll be drinking next. As always, remember to always take Brady’s name in vein, tip your bartenders on the way out and if you’ve had too much to drink, give your keys to a friend.

Author

The Blitzed Barkeep is the official Blitzed Football bartender and a huge Buffalo Bills fan. Find him on Twitter and ask for a drink recommendation here.

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My Drink of the Week: New Orleans Hurricane

9/18/2019

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Happy Week 2 Blitzers. A lot happened this week and just like the guys on the show said, there was a perspective adjustment for some teams. We lost Drew Brees and Big Ben to injuries, which could potentially derail their seasons. The Dolphins managed to lose even worse and trade their best player for another 1st round pick in the process. The Packers, Bills and 49ers all moved to 2-0 while the Browns appear to have righted the ship. Kansas City continues to churn out wide receivers while neither fake New York team can find an offense outside of their running backs. One thing that didn’t need a perspective adjustment is that we still miss Clippy. Stats Guy, I love you but a show producer, you are not. In case you missed this week’s show, you can catch it here but again, you didn’t miss much:

Demarcus Robinson (KC)
I could easily have put Patrick Maholmes here but he does what he did, Every. Single. Week. Instead, another Kansas City wide receiver exploded for one hell of a week. Patrick Maholmes is quickly becoming the new quarterback guru in that he can take any Joe Shmoe off the street and turn him into a stud wide receiver capable of shredding any defense. Demarcus Robinson was fresh off a one game absence and turned what was easily the best game of his career- 6 catches, 172 yards and 2 TDs. Perhaps it was that he was so well rested, or that the defense focused so much coverage over to Sammy Watkins. Whatever it was, Robinson went off. Personally, I chose the wrong KC wide receiver to roll with in fantasy (I picked Mercole Hardman) but moving forward I think it’s a crap shoot which one will go off on any given week.
Blitzed Stats: 6 rec, 172 yds 2 TDs

Russell Wilson (SEA)
All Russell Wilson did was go into Pittsburgh and come out victorious with a 28-26 win (no easy task whoever is at QB). He was vintage Russell Wilson evading the pass rush, getting out of the pocket and only missing 6 passes all day. His QB rating of 130.9 was nearly perfect and he added an additional 22 yards on the ground, picking up key first downs with his legs. Seattle is 2-0 and without Wilson under center, I don’t believe they’re undefeated and tied atop the NFC West with the suddenly resurgent 49ers. This Barkeep was impressed with Wilson’s performance on Sunday and was even angrier to see him sitting on the bench in favor of Carson Wentz in his fantasy league.
Blitzed Stats: 29 for 35, 300 yds, 3 TDs, 22 yds rushing

Lamar Jackson (BAL)
How do you not put the quarterback who put up 274 yards passing and 120 yards rushing into your players of the week? Baltimore is 2-0 and is one of the top offenses in the league. Lamar Jackson is the reason for that. Baltimore traded Joe Flacco- Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco- because they believed in Jackson so much and its paying gigantic dividends thus far. He’s electric and I’ll be the first to eat my words and say that I was wrong about him being a complete quarterback. I, for one, would not want to have the job of game-planning for Lamar Jackson.
Blitzed Stats: 24 for 37, 272 yds 2 TDs, 16 car, 120 yds

Honorable Mentions:
Odell Beckham Jr. (CLE), Patrick Maholmes (KC)

Mitchell Trubisky (CHI)
For a guy that was touted as a potential MVP candidate, Trubisky has been awful. Yes, I know he led them to the game winning FG but that doesn’t change his 16 of 27 for 140 yard performance while averaging 4.4 yards. His QB rating of 29.9 also doesn’t scream #2 overall pick. Chicago’s defense deserves better.

Miami Dolphins
We don’t really need to beat a dead horse here but how does a professional team honestly tell its fan base with a straight face that its “trying to win” when it puts this product on the field? Its not fair to the players, the fans, the city and anyone that’s ever had to do with the organization. The ’72 perfect team must be pissed.

New England Patriots
Word on the street is that Robert Kraft and the Patriots organization “were not aware of the allegations of sexual misconduct against Antonio Brown” prior to signing him. You were, however, aware of them after and not only did you allow him to play but you made him a focal point of the offense against the worst team in the league. Additionally, you didn’t make him available to the media after the game was over, which is also against league rules. I’m not surprised. Neither is anyone else. Now get out of my bar.

10 Things I think I think after Week 2

1: I refuse to acknowledge the New England Patriots anymore in this column until I have to come playoff time. I’m disgusted that Antonio Brown stepped foot on the field this week.
2. The Bears may not be as good as I thought they were. The defense is still great. I’m worried about that offense.
3. Josh Allen is going to be really, really good when he puts it all together and he gets a true #1 WR. He doesn’t get enough credit.
4. I don’t care for the Dolphins but I feel bad for their fans.
5. Told you the Colts would still be pretty good.
6. Cam Newton’s shoulder is done. He may pull an Andrew Luck.
7. Patrick Maholmes will break every record Brady ever has. And I’m rooting for him to do so.
8. Drew Brees has been the epitome of health. You know it was a weird week when both he and Ben Roethlisberger go down at the same time.
9. Baker Mayfield to OBJ could be a very scary duo.
10. When’s the last time someone in the NFL missed a game for mono?

My Drink of the Week: New Orleans Saints Hurricane

In 15 seasons, Drew Brees has been the constant of health. He never misses games. Due to a freak accident, Brees is out at least six weeks after undergoing thumb surgery to repair a torn ligament. Not only is a great, record-breaking quarterback for the Saints, but he’s a better human being for the community in New Orleans. That’s why this week, the guys will drink to the Saints and have a traditional New Orleans cocktail, a Hurricane.

2 oz. light rum
2 oz. dark rum
2 oz. passion fruit juice
1 oz. orange juice
½ oz. fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon simple syrup
1 tablespoon grenadine
Garnish: orange slice and cherry
Blitzed Build: Shake all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and strain into a hurricane or pint glass filled with ice. Garnish with a cherry and an orange slice.

The Saints are a talented team and Bridgewater is a capable backup who can hold the ship afloat until Brees returns. With games at Seattle, then home against the Cowboys and Bucs, on the road to Jacksonville and Chicago and finally back home against the Cardinals before their bye week, the Saints are more than capable of winning three, possibly four of those games that Brees will miss. If they can go 4-2 they will be in good shape. Don’t stress out Saints fans. I have faith in you.

That’s all for now Blitzers. I’ll be back again next week with my Week 3 review of the guy’s show and what they’ll be drinking next. As always, remember to always take Brady’s name in vein, tip your bartenders on the way out and if you’ve had too much to drink, give your keys to a friend.

Author

The Blitzed Barkeep is a Buffalo Bills fan Blitzed Football's official bartender. You can follow him and suggest a drink for the guys on Twitter here.

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My Drink of the Week: Cleveland Browns Burnt Orange Old Fashioned

9/12/2019

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Well Blitzers, I for one am very happy that we have football back. Sunday was once again spent creating my ass groove on the couch, eating wings, drinking booze and thinking about all the ways that my beloved Buffalo Bills were screwing up their game, only to pull it out in the end. Funny it was eerily similar to the Blitzed Guy’s show this week produced by Stats while Clippy was out. It was a rough go only to come out with the W in the end. In the guy’s case, the W is that the show was produced and made it to air. Clippy, I miss you. Come back. In all seriousness, if you missed their “show” you can catch it here:

The guys got one thing right- it is Over-Reaction Monday. Browns and Bears fans- relax. Rookies and marginal players who blew up in Week 1 may not produce again all year and superstars that were held in check will figure it out. It’s a long season. Let’s get into Your Barkeep's Week in Review:

Sammy Watkins (KC)
Finally, Sammy Watkins showed why he was a first draft pick all those years ago when the Buffalo Bills traded a ransom to move up to draft him 8th overall. He’s never quite reached his potential simply because he’s never really been able to stay healthy. Watkins certainly looked healthy this past Sunday. He torched the “vaunted” Jacksonville defense to the tune of 9 catches, 198 yards and 3 TDs. More importantly, he came out unscathed and will enter week 2 as the potent Kansas City offense’s #1 wide receiver after Tyreek Hill went down with a significant injury. This Barkeep had Watkins on his Draft Kings roster but left him sitting on his bench in his Yahoo Fantasy league. How dumb.

Blitzed Stats: 9 rec, 198 yds, 3 TDs

Lamar Jackson & Hollywood Brown (BAL)
Yes, it was the Dolphins. Yes, they’re clearly “Tanking for Tua”. But holy crap did they connect on another level. Tanking or not, Jackson was critiqued as being a running back at the quarterback position and he proved his critics wrong. Jackson connected on 17 of 20 for 324 yards and 5 TDs. His QB rating was 99.4 and overall rating was 158.3. His newest toy out of the garage is Hollywood Brown who he connected with 4 times for 147 yards and 2 TDs. I was impressed with the blazing speed and Dolphins or not, those passes were pretty. Their reward for putting up 59 points in week 1? An outing at home against Arizona. I expect much of the same from Jackson and Brown.

Blitzed Stats: Jackson: 17 for 20, 324 yds, 5 TDs; Brown 4 rec, 147 yds 2 TDs

DeSean Jackson (PHI)
Welcome home DeSean Jackson. Its like you never left. Down 17-0, Carson Wentz decided to open up the offense and find his deep threat. Jackson still has the speed to get behind the defense and his Philadelphia reunion resulted in 8 catches for 154 yards and 2 very important TDs. Additionally, it opened up the offense for Philly and they scored 32 unanswered points to win the home opener against division foe Washington. That would have been a very bad loss if they didn’t figure it out. Jackson is certainly buying shots at the bar today.

Blitzed Stats: 8 rec, 154 yds 2 TDs.

Honorable Mentions:
Marlon Mack (IND), Austin Eckler (LAC), John Brown (BUF), Josh Jacobs (OAK), Dalvin Cook (MIN)

Baker Mayfield (CLE)
High expectations, a home game and lots of talk does not equal the play that was produced on the field. 25 for 38 for 285 yds does not scream terrible week. 1 touchdown with 3 INTs does. So does a 43-13 thrashing. Cleveland did not see that coming.

Jared Goff (LAR)
Ultimately his team won, but it wasn’t because of him. He was inconsistent with some very ugly passes to the tune of 23 for 39, 186 yds with 1 TD to go along with 1 INT. That doesn’t scream big new contract. The Rams won the game despite Goff’s performance. Does LA have buyer’s remorse after that lucrative contract?

Jameis Winston (TB)
At what point does Tampa move on from Winston? You get a home game against a west coast team traveling 3,000 plus miles on Week 1 and turn in a performance like that? 20 for 36, 194 yds with 1 TD and 3 INT doesn’t cut it for a former #1 overall pick. Personally, I’d get more satisfaction from some crab legs.

10 Things I think I think after Week One

1: The Patriots cheated again and told Antonio Brown before he was released they were signing him. Notice you haven’t heard a peep from Brown since?
2. The Bears are better than how they played Thursday night.
3. The Packers actually have a defense?? They were impressive.
4. How do the Buffalo Bills turn over the ball 4 times and still win the game? Defense. Really, really good defense.
5. The Indianapolis Colts will still be competitive without Luck. Not great, but competitive.
6. Did I mention the Patriots cheated?
7. I will literally give anything in the entire world for the Patriots to not make a 4th straight Super Bowl but after watching them Sunday night, I don’t know how that doesn’t happen.
8. Lamar Jackson is the real deal. Yes, I said it. Baltimore always known for their defense now has a scary offense.
9. I’m as confused as anyone by the Browns, but I think they’ll be alright. But they never should have gotten rid of Gregg Williams.
10. Oakland played lights out. Releasing Antonio Brown gave them a big sigh of relief and they played their game. They’re young, talented and hungry.

My Drink of the Week

Cleveland Browns Burnt Orange
Old Fashioned

It would be too easy to pick the Dolphins as my team and fan base that needed a drink of the week. I feel sorry for their fan base to have to go through what their organization is putting them through. That being said, there was no team this week that came into the season with higher hopes than the one who laid the biggest egg- the Cleveland Browns. I myself picked them as my AFC North division winners this year and well, they just did not look good. Therefore, the guys this week are going to be drinking to all our Browns Blitzed fans because hell. You need it. I give you, the Cleveland Browns Burnt Orange Old Fashioned. *Pay attention to the preparation* I’m talking to you Coach and Stats.

2 oz of a Bulleit Bourbon
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
3 teaspoons sugar
1/2 cup fresh-squeezed orange juice
Orange Rinds

Blitzed Build: In a small sauce pan, brown the sugar and orange juice. Don’t cook it too long or it will become very thick. Rub an orange peel around the edge of the glass you’ll be serving the drink it, so it gives it an orange flavor. In a shaker, add one slice orange rind, and 1 teaspoon burnt orange sugar. Muddle the orange rind and sugar together. Add 2 dashes bitters and stir, then add in 2 ounces bourbon whiskey, stir again. Pour over ice in a rocks glass.

This is a little more involved and I’ve given the guys a week to prepare and practice how to make it. I’m sure they will try on Monday night for the first time and completely screw it up. If made correctly, this is an absolutely delicious twist on an original drink. Either way, Browns fans, I feel for you this week. You had high hopes and by the looks of your stadium mid-way through the 4th quarter, the majority of the dog pound was not pleased with the product that was put on the field to begin the 2019-2020 season. But as I said above, it’s a long season so relax. It will get better and I have faith in you.

That’s all for now Blitzers. I’ll be back again next week with my Week 2 review of the guy’s show and what they’ll be drinking next. As always, remember to always take Brady’s name in vein, tip your bartenders on the way out and if you’ve had too much to drink, give your keys to a friend.

Author

The Blitzed Barkeep is a huge Buffalo Bills fan and Blitzed Football's official bartender. You can follow him on Twitter here or come back every week for his tasty articles.

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Barkeep's 2019 Season Preview

9/2/2019

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It's officially football season Blitzers and I’m back as your weekly Blitzed Barkeep to give you all the insight from the week’s action in the NFL. Basically, which players had too much to drink, which ones should have gotten drunk and which fans are going to need one of my cocktails in the coming week. The guys have been busy figuring out life in front of a camera. I’m sure the blame falls squarely on the production manager, Clippy. It’s nice for them not to blame to the one feeding them the booze for once. If you’ve been under a rock or just didn’t care to watch them in person (which I don’t blame you since none of the guys are exactly ‘eye candy’), you can catch their latest podcast here to wet your whistle until this week’s edition comes out:

I wanted to wait as long as I could until all of the dust settled, the injuries occurred, the rosters were cut to 53 and the last-minute trades were made before doing my season preview. Clearly, the fans down in Miami are going to be frustrated with this year while Houston is making trades like its Madden ’20 (Madden declined that Clowney trade according to multiple twitter users just so everyone knows) and gearing up for a potential XLIII run. So, who do I have winning it all? Let’s dive into that here.

AFC East

Who can take down the Evil Empire and prevent them from winning their 100th division title in a row? It only seems like its been that long, or that Brady has been playing that long but seriously, when are the Bills or Jets going to man up? Clearly this isn’t the Dolphins year. The Patriots look primed and ready to repeat as division champs yet again although Buffalo and the Jets are gaining ground. This Barkeep may be a little biased towards his Bills (and maybe had one too many cocktails before writing this) but until someone proves they can beat Brady, the division is theirs to keep.

Blitzed Bartender Prediction:
New England 12-4*; Buffalo 10-6*; New York 7-9; Miami 2-14

AFC North

Going back to the realignment in 2002, Pittsburgh (8), Baltimore (5) and Cincinnati (4) have been the division winners in the North. Traditionally, this division is a beast and they beat the hell out of each other. This year should be no different, with the exception that there’s a new dog in this race who might have something to say come January- the boys on the lake in Cleveland. Pittsburgh lost Bell and Brown. Baltimore got younger with Jackson and two rookie wide receivers. They also lost some key defensive players. On paper, Cleveland’s the best team in the division talent-wise. I do believe they are still lacking in the OL department which could affect their offense to an extent, but if their talent can overcome that, they are an extremely scary team to prepare for. When it’s all said and done, I think this is the year they get over the hump and finally win their first division title since 1989.

Blitzed Bartender Prediction:
Cleveland 11-5*; Pittsburgh 9-7*; Baltimore 9-7; Cincinnati 6-10

AFC South

No division has undergone bigger changes than the AFC South. I originally had the Colts all over this division after a hell of a finish to the ’18-’19 season but with the shocking retirement of Luck, its hard to put them back atop the division. Jacksonville has a new man at the helm in Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles, but is he the man for the job? History may prove not so much (see: lacklustre career outside of Philadelphia). Tennessee is still meandering somewhere in the middle of the pack, annoyingly not playing up to the talent level they have on the field. Is this Mariota’s last shot? Finally, there’s Houston who has Watson, Watt and Fuller back (yes they lost Lamar Miller to a torn ACL, but traded for Duke Johnson, who I think will be just fine if not better utilized as a 3-down back), just pulled off two very big trades to get rid of a player causing a distraction and to protect their franchise QB. Seems to me, the direction to lean here is Houston taking the division.

Blitzed Bartender Prediction:
Houston 10-6*; Jacksonville 9-7; Indianapolis 7-9; Tennessee 7-9

AFC West

The West is always a fun division to watch and man do these teams really hate each other. Every team is this division did something or things to improve themselves, with Oakland making the biggest splashes. The San Diego of Los Angeles Chargers have really been hit by the injury bug and then there’s that Melvin Gordon thing. Kudos to the Chargers for sticking to their guns. Denver has a new man in Flacco and that defense.

Oakland, as mentioned above, improved a lot but we will have to wait and see how all those personalities mesh. Antonio Brown continues to crave attention in any way possible and that may be too much of a distraction to overcome. He should have been building a chemistry with his new quarterback and I still think even with their talent, they’re still the 4th best team in the division (sorry Raider fans, I hope you prove me wrong). I still have to go with Kansas City and reigning MVP Patrick Maholmes. Gone is Kareem Hunt. Doesn’t matter. They’re reloaded, improved their defense and ready to go the distance this year.

Blitzed Bartender Prediction:
Kansas City 13-3*; Los Angeles 9-7; Denver 8-8; Oakland 6-10

NFC East

The Giants unloaded Odell Beckham Jr. and everyone laughed at them drafting Daniel Jones with the 6th pick in the draft. Golden Tate is suspended. Washington is starting now-journey-man Case Keenum under center with hopes he can return to his Minnesota glory (Haskins will be starting before long). Dallas currently has a Zeke problem but does return a talented roster that will contend for the division. However, no team has repeated as NFC East division winners since ’02-’04 Philadelphia Eagles and I believe that the even more talented Eagles fly to the top of the division again this year, as long as Wentz can stay healthy.

Blitzed Bartender Prediction:
Philadelphia 11-5*; Dallas 10-6*; Washington 7-9; NYG 5-11

NFC North

Detroit has an exciting young running back in Kerryon Johnson that I like a lot, but I’m one of the guys who thinks Matthew Stafford is overrated. Detroit always seems to find ways to just mess it up, so I don’t seem them taking too many steps forward, if at all. Green Bay still has Aaron Rodgers and one of the top wide receivers in the league in Davonte Adams. I also like Aaron Jones to have a great year, but will their defense actually show up? For once? Minnesota still has Kirk Cousins who can’t seem to win a game when it counts on national TV but they have a great defense, one of the best wide receiver duos in the league and Dalvin Cook seems to be healthy.

Their problem this year is their schedule is absolutely brutal so I’m expecting a tough go, especially with their road schedule. If they can overcome that, they can be poised for a long playoff run. They may however be too beat up from the regular season. For the North though, I have to go with Chicago again. Trubisky started to put it together last year, they have an exciting new running back in David Montgomery, and a human wrecking ball with Khalil Mack that makes the league’s top defense just go.

Blitzed Bartender Prediction:
Chicago 11-5*; Minnesota 9-7; Green Bay 9-7; Detroit 6-10

NFC South

Tampa Bay has a new coach with new hopes of getting Jameis Winston to reach his full potential. There are questions still in a bunch of places in their roster that need to improve. Carolina’s biggest question mark is how will Cam Newton hold up? Christian McCaffery will be a stud this year and the offense should go through him. Their defense is always well prepared but Newton’s health will be the biggest reason for Carolina’s success or failure this year. The division will come down to Atlanta or New Orleans and I believe that New Orleans wins it once again. Atlanta is much improved (and healthy again) but New Orleans still has Drew Brees, Kamara, Thomas and a much-improved defense. Plus, that pass interference penalty from less than a year ago may be a driving point for revenge this season.

Blitzed Bartender Prediction:
New Orleans 13-3*; Atlanta 10-6; Carolina 7-9; Tampa Bay 5-11

NFC West

Arizona shipped off one new toy for another in Kyler Murray and I think he will surprise some people. I just don’t think it will be this year. They have a long way to go in a tough division. San Francisco gets Jimmy G back but how will he hold up and will he return to form pre-torn-ACL? His health is a big factor in how the team does this year but there’s still some holes that need to be filled on that roster as well. Seattle just acquired Ja’Daveon Clowney for what I believe is a steal, and now gets to add him to a perennially stout defense. Russell Wilson will do Russell Wilson things but I still think the division belongs to the Rams. They’re just too good across the board, have three really good wide receivers, the league’s best defensive player in Aaron Donald and as long as Gurley’s knee holds up, one of the top five running backs in the league. Its going to be hard to stop them from repeating.

Blitzed Bartender Prediction:
Los Angeles 12-4*; Seattle 11-5*; San Fran 7-9; Arizona 3-13

AFC Playoffs

Wild Card: Buffalo over Houston; Cleveland over Pittsburgh
Divisional Round: Kansas City over Buffalo; New England over Cleveland
Championship Round: Kansas City over New England

NFC Playoffs

Wild Card: Chicago over Dallas; Philadelphia over Seattle
Divisional Round: New Orleans over Chicago; Los Angeles over Philadelphia
Championship Round: New Orleans over Los Angeles

Super Bowl LIV

Kansas City over New Orleans

My Drink of the Week

There you have it folks - your Barkeep’s season preview. Don’t shoot the messenger. I’m just looking at the schedules, the byes, the injuries and what the booze is telling me to say. Speaking of booze, here’s this week’s cocktail of the week that the guys are drinking on the show. I give you the Seelbach Cocktail. In honor of the official start to the NFL season, I wanted to have the guys pop a bottle of champagne to celebrate and since they love bourbon, this week’s drink will mix the two. Different but delicious.

The Seelbach Cocktail
1 oz Old Forester bourbon
½ oz triple sec
7 dashes Angostura bitters
7 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
5 oz Korbel Brut, chilled
Orange twist, for garnish

Blitzed Build: In a mixing glass three-quarters filled with ice, combine the bourbon, triple sec and bitters. Stir until chilled, about 30 seconds. Strain the mixture into a Champagne flute. Top with the sparkling wine. Rub an orange twist around the rim of the cocktail and let it hang off the side of the flute for a garnish.

That’s all for now Blitzers. I’ll be back next week to talk all things Week 1. It feels so good to say that! As always, remember to always take Brady’s name in vein, tip your bartenders on the way out and if you’ve had too much to drink, give your keys to a friend.

Author

The Blitzed Barkeep is a Buffalo Bills fan and a weekly columnist for Blitzed Football. You can follow him on Twitter and often hear him on the Blitzed Bills show on Buffalo Rumblings.

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My Drink of the Week: The BIGPLAY Kentucky Buck

8/12/2019

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2 oz Bulleit or Buffalo Trace Bourbon
2 med strawberries
1/2 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 oz simple syrup
Angostura bitters
Ginger beer

Muddle strawberries and lemon juice in a shaker glass. Add 2 dashes of bitter, simple syrup and the bourbon, shake until mixed and strain over rocks in a collins glass. Top with ginger beer. Garnish with lemon wedge or strawberry wedge.

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My Drink of the Week: Strawberry Whiskey Smash

6/24/2019

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Happy Summer Team Blitzed. My apologies for being away for so long. I missed everyone… except the Coach. I’m just kidding. I even missed him too! Congratulations are in order for the Rookie and the newest addition to Team Blitzed, his baby girl, Emma. I’m sure however, that Emma has been showing the Rookie some interesting blitz packages in her diaper at times that are most certainly not convenient for either parent. But keep up the good work, Rookie- we’re all pulling for you!

In other news, just a friendly reminder that you can find all our blogs at Blitedfootball.com/blogs now since we aren’t allowed to use the term NFL on anything anymore. I think we should send one of Blitzed Baby’s “gifts” to Roger Goodell to thank him for that!

Since it’s been a while since I’ve seen you all at Team Blitzed, I figured I would use my blog to catch up on all things that have happened since I’ve been gone. I haven’t written since free agency, the draft and OTAs have either happened or been completed so let’s take a look at what teams or players have been winning the offseason so far.

Barkeep's Offseason Studs

Kyler Murray (Cardinals)

What do you do when you get drafted 9th overall by the Oakland Athletics of the MLB and receive a signing bonus of $4.6 million? That’s right, you play your ass off at Oklahoma and win the Heisman Trophy, get drafted 1st overall (becoming the first person ever to be drafted in the top 10 in two major pro sports) by the Arizona Cardinals, make last year’s #10 pick get traded to Miami and then sign a fully guaranteed 4-year deal worth $35.1 million, which includes a $23.59 million signing bonus. Oh yeah, and immediately be installed as the team’s day one starter by a coach who has coveted you for years. Pretty sure Kyler Murray is the answer James Holzhauer would have said when Alex Trebek asked the question “Which player won the 2019 sports world off season?” on Jeopardy before his luck ran out.

Oakland Raiders

In 2018, the Raiders traded away Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper (both former first round picks), fired GM Reggie McKenzie, continued to have stadium issues in the midst of a planned move to Las Vegas, were riddled with injuries while limping to a 4-12 record and were the first team officially eliminated from the playoffs in the AFC. Additionally, coach Jon Gruden’s game planning and personnel moves were being questioned on a weekly basis.

Turn the clocks forward to 2019. The former first rounders they traded away netted them 3 first round picks in return that they turned into Clelin Ferrel, Josh Jacobs and Johnathan Abraham. All three should be week one starters this season. The Raiders also acquired the much-maligned Antonio Brown from the Pittsburgh Steelers for next to nothing (see the 3 first-round picks above as evidence of not giving up much for AB), signed a hopefully-still-effective (albeit certifiably insane) OL in Richie Incognito and picked up Vontaze Burfict. At the very least, the Oakland Raiders final season in the Coliseum should see them improve on the 4-12 record if all those personalities can fit into one locker room. That’s a big IF, but they certain did a nice job acquiring enough talent to surround David Carr with to succeed. Fortunately we will get to see it all first hand thanks to HBO’s Hard Knocks series this summer.

2018 QB Draft Picks

The 2018 QB draft class may rival the ’83 draft class as one of the best in NFL history. The 2019 off-season saw each of the first round QB’s team’s build their respective teams around them in order to help them succeed.

Baker Mayfield (Browns)

He got a bonafide stud WR in Odell Beckham Jr. and continued to shore up an already decent defense by drafting Greedy Williams, Sione Takitaki and signing Sheldon Richardson. Mayfield knows he doesn’t have to win games on his own.

Sam Darnold (Jets)

He got a new ‘QB guru’ coach in Adam Gase, got a new backfield battery mate that teams have to game plan for in Le’Veon Bell (he also doubles as an excellent receiver out of the backfield too) and an underrated WR in Jamison Crowder (if he can stay healthy). They also revamped their defense in hopes that Darnold will have the same ‘good problem’ that Mayfield has in that he won’t have to win games on his own. The one glaring weakness the Jets failed to address is that OL and that may hinder Darnold’s progress come the 2019 season.

Josh Rosen (Dolphins)

He was booted out of AZ for this year’s top draft pick (see: Murray, Kyler above) but this Barkeep thinks he’s in a better situation in Miami where he’s wanted and the team can do a full rebuild around his skill set. The only problem I see is - does he get booted out of Miami again next year when Tua Tagovailoa becomes the top draft pick in the 2020 draft? Rosen needs to prove he’s the man for the job in Miami or he may get shipped out again.

Josh Allen (Bills)

2018’s 7th overall pick was given a ton of support by the Buffalo Bills this offseason. They signed two WR in John “Smokey” Brown (to extend the field with his blazing speed) and Cole Beasley (to be a security blanket out of the slot). They drafted Dawson Knox to give him another weapon out of the TE spot. They signed Mitch Morse, Quinten Spain, La’Adrian Waddle, Ty Neshke, John Feliciano for the OL as well as drafted Cody Ford out of Oklahoma to revamp the league’s worst OL from a year ago so Allen no longer has to run for his life. If Allen reaches his full potential, Buffalo will be a sleeper team to watch as soon as this year.

Lamar Jackson (Ravens)

Lamar gets a new running back in Mark Ingram, two new WR in rookies Hollywood Brown and Miles Boykin and a returning OL that was good last year for Jackson who went 6-1 down the stretch to help Baltimore win the AFC North. The question surrounding Jackson has always been, can he develop as a passer in the NFL? Having two rookie WR will be tough as that is the most difficult position to acclimate to in the NFL so the jury is out on how year two will go for Mr. Jackson. Either way, Baltimore did what they could to surround him with talent.

So while the guys and teams above were busy improving their teams this summer, I figured I would help you improve your summers with some drinks you could toss back while you wait for the NFL season to start. I know I’m patiently waiting for that first game in August to start, even if it is only a meaningless pre-season game. It’s still football.

That being said, welcome to the first of my summer cocktails. This week I’m having the guys drink a Strawberry Whiskey Smash. It’s a refreshingly potent drink that’s great for sitting outside on the back porch with friends, enjoying the evening while tossing back a few delicious drinks. Knowing the guys love for whiskey, I decided to start my summer drink series off with a whiskey inspired libation. Gentlemen, enjoy this kick off to summer. Please drink responsibly. That’s right - I’m looking at you Stats Guy.

Strawberry Whiskey Smash

3 Medium to large strawberries
4-6 mint leaves
1.5 oz fresh lemon juice
1.5 oz simple syrup
3 oz Jameson
Club Soda (optional)
Ice

Blitzed Barkeep Build: Add strawberries, mint leaves simple syrup and lemon juice to a shaker bottle. Muddle together well. Pour in Jameson and shake well. Add rocks to a rocks glass and pour contents of shaker bottle over rocks. Garnish with lemon wedge or strawberry wedge. Top with club soda if necessary (optional).

Well Blitzers, that’s all from your Blitzed Barkeep for now. Remember to drink responsibly, take Brady’s name in vain and always give your keys to a friend if you’ve had too much. Tune in to the Blitzed NFL podcast this Tuesday to hear the guys review this week’s drink of the week and talk all things off-season football. I’ll be back sooner than later with more of my off-season NFL.

Author

The Blitzed Barkeep is a #TeamBlitzed All Pro from Bills Mafia. Check out his brand new podcast: 716 Mafia Unplugged or you can follow him on Twitter.

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My Drink of the Week: Oakland Black Magic Cocktail

3/25/2019

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Welcome to the offseason Blitzers. I’m back after a couple weeks off to recover from the massive hangover that the Super Bowl gave me. I refuse to mention the word Champions and New England in the same sentence that refers to them as the best team so hopefully mixing up the order of the words accomplishes that. It's been a few weeks since the guys have put out a show so there’s nothing new for me to report. Coach probably still is on an epic rant about Tom Brady and the %^$&# Patriots (or all the other teams who couldn’t beat them). Seriously, thanks Chargers, Chiefs and Rams. Stats Guy is still drinking in the corner from his team’s recent acquisition of the former Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco, while poor Rookie is lost in the shuffle of having to deal with both of them at the same time. Since it's been a while, you can catch their latest podcast here to wet your whistle until this week’s edition comes out:

Free Agency took the NFL world by storm recently and just at the right time. We needed a boost of football and the whole Antonio Brown/Le’Veon Bell drama just wasn’t doing it for me. Scouring the waiver wire and recent signings, I’ve decided to highlight some of the best signings that may make the biggest differences for their new teams in 2019 and beyond.

Free Agent Studs

Nick Foles QB (JAX)
4 years, $88 Million

Finally, Nick Foles is free from the Carson Wentz shadow and is back as THE man of an NFL team. Jacksonville desperately needed to upgrade the quarterback position after suffering through too many years of the Blake Bortles experiment. Nick Foles is an instant upgrade that brings a much-needed offensive leader with playoff exerience to an extremely talented team that severely under performed in 2018, mostly due to the offensive ineptitude. The question remains, however, is if Nick Foles is up to the task to succeed for an entire year in a quarterback-driven league. Foles’ best year came back in 2013 with Philadelphia where he passed for 2,891 yards with 27 touchdowns and only 2 interceptions in 13 games. While taking care of the ball is great and all, those stats don’t exactly jump off the page. The reality is, it’s his most recent success with Philadelphia while filling in for the oft-injured Carson Wentz that finally landed him that big payday. Beating New England in the Super Bowl will do that for you. The NFL will see if he’s truly up to the task.

Blitzed Bartender Prediction: 3,800 yds, 32 TDs 12 INTs

Mitch Morse C (BUF)
4 years, $44 Million

Quick, raise your hand if you know who lead the league in rushing for quarterbacks last year? Anyone? It was Josh Allen. He ran for 631 yards while only starting in 11 games (that ranked 31st for the entire league). That’s not something you want out of your franchise quarterback who’s biggest asset is his cannon for an arm. The majority of those yards came because of the breakdown of the offensive line in front of him and Allen running for his life. Brandon Beane and company needed to fix the worst offensive line in the league and they targeted a young, talented center out of Kansas City from the get go. In 11 games played last year, Morse was in for 739 snaps and over 530 of those snaps were passing protections. He was credited with giving up only 5 pressures on the quarterback all year, flagged only 5 times for penalties and gave up zero (0) sacks. Plus word on the street is the guy loves wings. So this was a tremendous signing and great way to start rebuilding that wall in front of the face of their franchise.

Blitzed Bartender Prediction: (effect on Josh Allen stats) - 3,650 yds, 600 yds rushing 28 TDs, 16 INTs

Dee Ford DE (SF)
5 years, $85 Million

Seen above here checking in on how Andrew Luck's surgically repaired shoulder is holding up. Everyone says the same thing- “He only had one good year, which was this past year and he cashed in on it.” A- that’s wrong. In 2016, he actually had 12 sacks and pressured the quarterback 42 times. He had a down year in 2017 but didn’t receive starter snaps while dealing with some injuries. This past year, Ford went off. He had 13 sacks and a ridiculous 69 quarterback pressures. His greatest strength is his quickness and speed to the quarterback. He averaged 3.74 seconds to the quarterback per sack last year. That’s generally not enough time for a quarterback to snap the ball, drop back and find an open man before Ford is on top of him. Now San Francisco has paired him with Deforest Buckner on the defensive line and offensive coordinators are going to have an unbelievably difficult time stopping both players from getting to their quarterbacks. This was another great free agent pick up and this bartender believes he will be well worth the money the 49ers ponied up to pry him away from KC.

Blitzed Bartender Prediction: 58 TKL, 16 sacks, 3 FF, 1 FR

Honorable Mentions:
Le’Veon Bell (NYJ), Mark Ingram (BAL), John Brown (BUF), Jesse James (DET), Trent Brown (OAK)

The teams above made a big splash the past couple weeks with free agents deciding to play in their new homes respectively. Oakland was making waves all over the place, signing free agents (not to mention linebacker and CTE poster child Vontaze Burfict) but also by landing the mercurial Antonio Brown via trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers. What amazed me most was that Oakland was able to land one of the best wide receivers in the league for only a 3rd and 5th round draft pick. That means they still were able to keep all three of their 1st round picks acquired this past season for Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper. I may have thought Jon Gruden was a bit loose in the head making these moves but he is beginning to look like he is putting together quite the team in Oakland before they head over to Vegas. Because of that, I have decided to give the guys a rather different drink this week called the Oakland Black Magic Cocktail. Lets face it, they’ve definitely performed some sort of magic to turn over that roster thus far.

Oakland Black Magic Cocktail
3 ½ oz. Guinness Stout
1 ½ oz Bulleit Bourbon
2 tsp Grenadine
1 tbsp Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice
Blackberries

Blitzed Build: Add the blackberries, bourbon, grenadine and lime juice into a cocktail shaker. Muddle the blackberries thoroughly. Half fill the shaker with ice and shake hard for 30 seconds. Pour into a rocks glass filled with ice. Stir in the Guinness. Enjoy.

The key to all this magic Gruden seems to be pulling off lies within those three 1st round picks. If they nail them and pick players that develop into all pros, Oakland comes out on top. Between Trading for Antonio Brown, signing Trent Brown and having three top 32 picks in this April’s draft, things are certainly looking up for the Oakland-soon-to-be-Vegas Raiders.

That’s all for now Blitzers. I’ll be back again soon with another drink for the guys and more offseason chatter. As always, remember to always take Brady’s name in vein, tip your bartenders on the way out and if you’ve had too much to drink, give your keys to a friend.

Author

The Blitzed Barkeep is a #TeamBlitzed All Pro from Bills Mafia. Check out his brand new podcast: 716 Mafia Unplugged or you can follow him on Twitter.

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