It’s finally here. In less than 24 hours, the NFL postseason will have officially started. Wild Card weekend normally packs a few surprises so we’ll have to see if this year brings us a shocker. Today’s “No Huddle” will look at every game and I will give my picks for each game and against the spread. Let’s take a look at how every game stacks up.

AFC Wild Card: Oakland vs. Houston (Sat. 4:35 PM, ESPN)

This isn’t exactly the best game to kick off the playoffs but its still playoff football nonetheless so beggars can’t be choosers. Oakland limps into this one having lost its star quarterback Derek Carr two weeks ago and Houston edged out Tennessee in the weak AFC South. In my opinion this game will ride on the arms of the quarterbacks here. Oakland has the firepower and offensive line to deal with Houston’s defense while the Texans offense can theoretically handle the Raiders defense.

Your starting quarterbacks will be third string rookie Connor Cook for Oakland and Brock Osweiler for Houston. Now we’ve all seen the disaster that Osweiler has been for the Texans this season. He was benched a few weeks ago in favor of Tom Savage, but as fate would have it, was injured in the regular season finale. Osweiler is forced back into the starting role, and I can still feel the collective shudder all the way from Houston while typing this sentence.

We don’t exactly know much about Cook as an NFL quarterback since he was the practice squad QB in Oakland until last week. I will say this about him though; Cook was a capable starter on some really good Michigan State teams in college. The question here is can he pull out a win in his first NFL start? It is the first time a rookie QB made is first start in the postseason.

In games like this where the quarterback play might be mediocre at best, you tend to look at the kicking game to see who has the edge. I’ll take the hefty-lefty Sebastian Janikowski over Nick Novak just about every time.

Game Pick: Oakland            ATS Pick: Oakland (+4)

 

NFC Wild Card: Detroit vs. Seattle (Sat. 8:15 PM, NBC)

The nightcap on Saturday night features a matchup of strengths between the Seattle defense and the Detroit offense. Much has been made all week about whether or not the Lions actually deserve to be a playoff team. Eight fourth-quarter comebacks and a couple of late-season collapses by Tampa Bay and Washington helped punch a playoff ticket for Detroit. Its reward is a trip to Seattle to deal with the Legion of Boom the infamous 12^th Man.

Seattle is near impossible to beat at home, but this Seahawks team is not nearly as strong as it has been in the past. The Legion of Boom is already without safety Earl Thomas, which opens up the deep part of the field, and safety Kam Chancellor has been banged up all season. Then on the other side of the ball, Seattle’s offensive line has been an issue all season and will make or break this team in any given game.

That being said, Detroit isn’t devoid of talent and has been able to hang around in games all season so you can’t exactly count them out of this game. Matthew Stafford has been great all year and can move the ball in the passing game. I would have felt a lot better about Detroit’s chances to pull off an upset had running back Theo Riddick not been placed on IR earlier this week. That leaves Zach Zenner to assume the majority of the carries in the backfield. Regardless, this is still a playoff game in Seattle and home-field advantage should be enough to get the Seahawks through this game.

Game Pick: Seattle               ATS Pick: Seattle (-8)

 

AFC Wild Card: Miami vs. Pittsburgh (Sun. 1:05 PM, CBS)

We now move onto the action on Sunday and the second of three regular season rematches. Miami trounced Pittsburgh in the first game between these two. Don’t expect to see a similar outcome in this one though. The Steelers are in peak form right now while the Dolphins are shorthanded.

With Ryan Tannehill officially out of this game, there is no way the Pittsburgh will allow Jay Ajayi to run wild on them once again. If you recall, Ajayi ripped off a 200-yard performance in this first matchup. The Steelers defense is going to key on Ajayi and force backup quarterback Matt Moore to beat them.

The question will be whether or not Miami can score with this high-powered Pittsburgh offense. Pittsburgh’s Killer B’s are lethal especially when Le’Veon Bell gets going in the running game. Bell can control the flow of this game out of the backfield because he is as effective running between the tackles as he is in the passing game. That will allow Antonio Brown to work in single-coverage, which is like taking candy from a baby. Big Ben should be able to shred this average Miami secondary, especially in the friendly confines of Heinz Field.

Game Pick: Pittsburgh       ATS Pick: Pittsburgh (-10.5)

 

NFC Wild Card: New York vs. Green Bay (Sun. 4:40 PM, FOX)

Okay folks, this is the game I think we are all waiting for this weekend. The two teams that most experts think can steal the NFC away from Dallas square off in the best matchup of the Wild Card round. It’s also the final regular season rematch of the round. We also get the added bonus of the playoff history between these teams. The Giants have won the last two postseason meetings before these teams, both of which were at Lambeau Field. Those wins also helped propel New York to a pair of Super Bowl wins. That definitely adds some fuel to an already fantastic matchup.

This game is all about the red-hot Green Bay offense against the incredibly stout New York defense. Aaron Rodgers has been on fire since making his “run the table” guarantee six weeks ago. He’ll face a defense that allows the second-least amount of points in the league.

Personally, I absolutely love this matchup between the New York secondary and the Green Bay receivers. With the way that Rodgers extends plays when under pressure, that will only put a bigger spotlight on this battle all day long. Jordy Nelson might not as fast as he was a couple of years ago, but the wily vet knows how to get himself open on these scramble plays.

A big x-factor in this strength-on-strength matchup will be the dual-threat ability of Ty Montgomery. He’s listed as a receiver, but Green Bay has used him almost exclusively as a running back during the second-half of the season. Montgomery adds a dimension to this offense that most teams just don’t have at its disposal. Granted this only started as a small package of plays until Eddie Lacy and James Starks got hurt (Starks had since returned, but Montgomery had won this job by then). Keep an eye on #88 in this game.

I really do have concerns about this New York offense coming into the playoffs. 26^th in the NFL in points scored and 25^th in yards gained. That is pretty bad for an offense that sports some serious talent at wide receiver. There are two issues that I’ve seen this year with the Giants offense.

The first is the running game. It is almost non-existent at this point, ranking near the bottom of the NFL in all of the key statistics. Rashad Jennings is really only in there for pass protection purposes, which diminishes the true value of rookie Paul Perkins. The Giants really only run the ball to keep defenses honest at this point.

My second issue with the Giants offense is more important than the lack of a running game. Eli Manning’s numbers might be in line with some of his better seasons but just watching this offense there is something seriously wrong with his game right now. He needs to be on his “A” game because there is a good matchup to take advantage here.

Green Bay’s pass defense has been okay at best this season, but still ranks near the bottom of the NFL in passing yards allowed, passing touchdowns, and net yards gained per attempt. The offensive line for New York will have to keep Manning upright because this front-seven has been much better since Clay Matthews has come back into the lineup.

I’m expecting on hell of a football game, and should set the bar for the level of play for the rest of the postseason. It’s a true toss up game here so sit back and enjoy this one.

Game Pick: Green Bay        ATS Pick: New York (+5)

That’s it for me this week. Have a great weekend everyone and enjoy all of the playoff action. I’ll be back on Monday to recap the NFL action and anything big that breaks during the weekend. Follow me on Twitter @thereal_jmooney and go like the Shooting the Moon page on Facebook.

What a ride. The 2016 fantasy football season was another interesting year. Twists, turns, and tons of heartache or jubilation (depending on how you finished in your league) were hallmarks of another great year for fantasy. Today I bring you the final “Reality of Fantasy” for the 2016 NFL season. I’ve got year-end awards, final takeaways, and some tips for anyone doing playoff challenges. So let’s jump right in since there is a lot to get to today.

We’ll start with my awards for the 2016 season. I’ll be handing out a few different awards ranging from fantasy MVP, dud of the year, and the all-important “Mr. Consistency.” Here are my year-end awards for 2016.

Fantasy MVP: David Johnson, RB, Arizona Cardinals

This was a no-brainer for me, especially in PPR scoring formats. Johnson was the definition of a fantasy stud all season long. After bursting onto the scene in late 2015, he earned his spot in the top ten rankings coming into this season. Turns out a top ten ranking was underselling Johnson’s potential in 2016. He was the top player in fantasy this season due in large part to his versatile skill set in the Arizona offense. His stat line for this season was gaudy. 1,239 rushing yards, 16 rushing TDs, 80 catches, 879 receiving yards, and four receiving TDs. A literal dual-threat out of the backfield, and made a strong case for “Mr. Consistency.” Johnson avoided a disastrous end to his season by not suffering an ACL or MCL tear in his knee so his future outlook is solid. He will likely be the consensus #1 pick next season regardless of your scoring format.

Honorable Mention: Ezekiel Elliot (RB, Dallas Cowboys)

 

Fantasy Dud of 2016: Cam Newton, QB, Carolina Panthers 

There are quite a few options for this one, but when you are the top player drafted at your position and don’t even come close to producing that type of value that is a quick way to land this award. Cam Newton went from being the top player in fantasy in 2015 to the top ranked QB coming into 2016 to the 17^th ranked QB by season’s end. Yikes.

Now there are a ton of factors that were at play, but Newton was just not the same player this year (o-line injuries, etc.). Newton definitely regressed following an MVP season in 2015. He went from 35 passing TDs to 19 passing TDs. The scariest part of his season was his rushing numbers literally being cut in half from 2015 to 2016. Granted the rushing performance was due likely to the concussion concerns after he suffered a scary looking concussion mid-season that forced him to miss a game.

Newton is still one of the most physically gifted players in the NFL, and there will be better days ahead. I just worry if he peaked already.

Honorable Mentions: Todd Gurley (RB, LA Rams), Allen Robinson (WR, Jacksonville Jaguars)

 

Breakout Player of 2016: Melvin Gordon, RB, San Diego Chargers

Injuries at running back forced a bell-cow workload on Gordon this season and he absolutely delivered for the Chargers, and your fantasy team. You likely snagged Gordon around the ninth round in your fantasy drafts and performed like a top-ten back until a hip injury ended his season during the fantasy playoffs. 997 rushing yards, 10 rushing TDs, 41 catches, 419 receiving yards, and two receiving TDs is an impressive stat line for a guy that had fallen into the ranks of the fantasy irrelevant following a dismal rookie campaign in 2015. He is a no-brainer for keeper and dynasty leagues in 2017 especially considering where you got him in the draft this year.

Honorable Mentions: Jordan Howard (RB, Chicago Bears), Jay Ajayi (RB, Miami Dolphins), Davante Adams (WR, Green Bay Packers)

 

Comeback Player of 2016: DeMarco Murray, RB, Tennessee Titans 

2015 was a year to forget for Murray in Philadelphia. A change of scenery and more importantly, a change in offensive scheme rejuvenated the former rushing champion in 2016. Murray was a beast for the Titans this season and made that dismal season in Philly look like just a bump in the road for his career rather than the roadblock like many thought in preseason. He took full control of the backfield in Tennessee despite having the presence of former Heisman winner Derrick Henry.

Murray was as consistent as he was lethal for your fantasy team, especially snagging him in the draft at a considerable discount (3^rd to 5^th rounds). In standard scoring, he topped double-digits in 14 out of 16 weeks. Now, long term I do have some concerns because of Henry and the workload Murray received this season (293 carries) but this was one hell of a comeback season in 2016.

Honorable Mention: Jordy Nelson (WR, Green Bay Packers)

 

Mr. Consistency: Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Dallas Cowboys

Death, taxes, and Zeke. That is how consistent this rookie sensation was in fantasy this year. Elliott took the league by storm this season running behind the best offensive line in football. He led the league in rushing by a wide margin (1,631 yards for Elliott, almost 400 yards more than 2^nd place). His 51-yard performance in Week 1 was just a blip on the radar because for the rest of the season, Elliott gained at least 80 yards rushing in every single game the rest of the way (rested in Week 17). Elliott topped 100 yards seven times during that 15-week stretch and likely won you a number of games singlehandedly in the process. Outside of David Johnson, I don’t think I am higher on any player in fantasy football in 2017 and beyond.

Honorable Mentions: David Johnson (RB, Arizona Cardinals), Le’Veon Bell (RB, Pittsburgh Steelers)

Those are the first-ever “Reality of Fantasy” awards; let’s now get into my final takeaways from the fantasy season. I had a few of these following the fantasy regular season so I’ll try not to repeat myself, but the final three weeks of fantasy definitely reinforced a lot of the things I have talked about all season.

(1) Roster Flexibility Will Always Be The Path to Success

This takeaway kind of goes off of my takeaway from a few weeks ago, but definitely is something that was reinforced during the fantasy playoffs. “Zero RB” and other off-kilter roster building theories may have worked in previous years (especially 2015), but 2016 reminded us that being deep in multiple positions will always bring you success.

While there were a number of injuries this season at the position, running backs came back in a big way. Receiving stats came back to earth following a ridiculous 2015. Quarterbacks are still a dime-a-dozen in fantasy. So what does that mean? You need an even dispersal of talent across your fantasy roster. The rainy days aren’t far off in fantasy so building a strong, deep roster early and regularly maintaining that strength and depth throughout the season will get you to the promised land.

(2) A Youth Movement is Taking Over Fantasy

More than most years in recent memory, game changing players in fantasy were some of the youngest in the league. Rookies and sophomore players were among the top players in fantasy in 2016. Guys like Ezekiel Elliott, David Johnson, Devonta Freeman, Davante Adams, Michael Thomas, Jordan Howard, Jay Ajayi, and Mike Evans were dominant players but aren’t even in their primes yet. 2017 could mark a shift in fantasy where we can now put solid stock in the younger generation of players in the league as the fantasy elite. The talent pool is ripe with young players ready to takeover the NFL.

(3) The Tight End Position Was a Wasteland

If there was one position that really underwhelmed this year, it was tight end. There was very little consistency overall and even the top guys weren’t the most reliable (Gronk, Kelce, Olsen, and Reed). Injuries definitely didn’t help the position but if there is one thing I am taking with me into 2017, this position is razor-thin right now. Streaming is a popular strategy in this week-to-week game. You can stream quarterbacks because you can play a matchup and still get solid production. Defenses get streamed because unless you have a top defense, you want to pick on a bad offense. In 2017, tight end streaming could become an option due to the horrific lack of solid talent outside the top four or five guys.

Before I wrap things up, let’s talk a little bit about playoff challenge pools. If you are doing one for the first time, I’ll quickly run down the way these work. First, these aren’t like your usual fantasy game where you go head-to-head with another player in your league. These are huge pools where the goal is to score the most points through the Super Bowl.

You pick your team based on who you think will make the Super Bowl because there are multipliers that are applied as you go on with a player (4X multiplier in the Super Bowl for example). In most of these pools, you do have to be careful since the common rule is you can’t replace a guy that is eliminated. So here are some of my picks for the fantasy playoff challenge.

QB: Tom Brady (Patriots), Aaron Rodgers (Packers), Ben Roethlisberger (Steelers)

RB: Le’Veon Bell (Steelers), Ezekiel Elliot (Cowboys), Spencer Ware (Chiefs)

WR: Antonio Brown (Steelers), Jordy Nelson (Packers), Julio Jones (Falcons), Dez Bryant (Cowboys), Julian Edelman (Patriots), Tyreek Hill (Chiefs)

TE: Martellus Bennett (Patriots), Travis Kelce (Chiefs)

Good luck to all of you in these playoff challenges, and remember that you are basically trying to figure out who plays in the Super Bowl. Don’t get too crazy with your picks because trying to ride a Cinderella could likely mean you just made a donation to the person that wins.

Thank you so much for reading “Reality of Fantasy” all season. It was a ton of fun writing these all season long in my first full season covering fantasy football. I’ll bring back this column following the NFL Draft in May. In the meantime, enjoy the playoffs.

 

That’s it for me today. I’ll be back tomorrow with “No Huddle” to breakdown and pick the Wild Card games this weekend. Follow me on Twitter @thereal_jmooney and go like the Shooting the Moon page on Facebook.

Brace yourselves, the NFL postseason is finally here. 17 weeks of attrition has left us with 12 teams vying for the coveted Lombardi trophy on that first Sunday in February. I’ll have my postseason predictions as part of my matchup/pickem column, so today’s “No Huddle” will feature my power rankings of the playoff teams. Before I reveal my rankings, let’s set the table a little bit.

The round-trip road to Super Bowl LI begins on Saturday in Houston and it should be a bit of a bumpy ride. While all signs would point to a Dallas-New England showdown in the Super Bowl, I wouldn’t lock that one in just yet. The AFC is shaping up to be a three-team race while the NFC seems like it might be up for grabs (Dallas is still the favorite though).

Injuries certainly hampered much of the intrigue in the AFC with Derek Carr out indefinitely and Ryan Tannehill’s status for this week up in the air. The top three seeds get a clear advantage with guys named Brady, Roethlisberger, and Smith at quarterback. All while the bottom three seeds are stuck playing Connor Cook (Oakland), Matt Moore (Miami), and Brock Osweiler (Houston). It definitely saps some of the juice out of wild card weekend with one almost meaningless game (Oakland @ Houston) and another game that could be lopsided (Pittsburgh @ Miami).

It could all come down to which team earns the right to play New England for the AFC Championship. Pittsburgh (assuming they beat Miami) and Kansas City are polar opposites of each other, which should make for a fun game if they do play each other in the Divisional round. Pittsburgh touts a gun-slinging QB with a coach who plays the role of the gambler while Kansas City plays things conservative and close to the vest.

Things are definitely a little more compelling over in the NFC with everyone jockeying to take down the upstart Cowboys. Luckily for Dallas, the two teams with the best chances of defeating them play each other this weekend (New York @ Green Bay). Unlucky for Dallas, a Detroit upset of Seattle is the only thing keeping both teams away from them in the Divisional round.

Then on the other side of the NFC bracket things really go up in the air because we still have questions about the legitimacy of Atlanta, the consistency of Seattle, and the serendipity of Detroit.

Atlanta has the top-scoring offense in the NFL, but a sub-par defense. The Falcons can score with Dallas or Green Bay but can they stop anyone in the clutch? Playoff games rarely resemble a day at the OK Corral, so the jury is still out on whether or not Atlanta can get into a defensive battle.

Injuries to the defense and a poor offensive line have been the impetus a rollercoaster season for Seattle. Without the 12^th man behind them, can Seattle make a deep run? Inconsistency cost Seattle a first round bye, which means the road to Houston would likely mean stops in Atlanta and Dallas for a team that is 3-4-1 away from home.

Then we have Detroit, who has played with fire all season. Short of Matthew Stafford setting the NFL record for game winning, fourth quarter touchdowns, this team wouldn’t have come close to the postseason. The Lions may have gotten a dose of karma receiving a trip to Seattle in the Wild Card round after failing to hold off the Packers for the NFC North title.

Like I said, the road to Houston could get a little bumpy since there are a few teams that could legitimately make the long run into February and a bunch of teams that are true wild cards. Without further ado though, here are my playoff power rankings. I would like to point out these rankings used Super Bowl potential as one of my prime considerations.

(1) New England Patriots (14-2) – #1 Seed in the AFC

What more can be said about Tom Brady and this Patriots team? New England rightfully earned the top spot in my power rankings with an impressive end to the season despite the loss of Rob Gronkowski and the surprising performance of a star-less defensive unit. Earning the top seed is a nice feather in the cap, but has also been a key component of the playoff success during the Belichick-Brady era. Five out of the six Super Bowl appearances for New England have come when the Patriots were the AFC’s top seeded team.

(2) Dallas Cowboys (13-3) – #1 Seed in the NFC

If it weren’t for the Cowboys taking the season finale off against Philadelphia, I may have considered them for the top spot. That being said though, this is going to be a difficult team to beat. Dak Prescott has done a good job protecting the football, which has allowed Ezekiel Elliott and this offensive line to dominate games. Plus, this defense has been impressive all year with linebacker Sean Lee and company holding its own. Am I worried about that self-imposed bye week? A little bit, because the last thing you want to do is take Prescott out of his rhythm. Now he’ll have been out essentially two weeks before facing either the Giants or Packers.

(3) Pittsburgh Steelers (11-5) – #3 Seed in the AFC

With the Killer B’s in tact heading into the playoffs, I think that the Steelers are in position to be the most dangerous team for New England in the AFC. Le’Veon Bell is the x-factor for the Steelers because he seems almost incapable of accounting for less than 120 all-purpose yards per game. That production is what unlocks the full potential of this offense, because that means teams can’t sit back and try to stop Antonio Brown. Versatility is an important thing to have this time of year and Pittsburgh’s offense has that in spades.

(4) Green Bay Packers (10-6) – #4 Seed in the NFC

Regardless of the sport, postseason success usually is all about getting hot at the right time. I present to you the hottest team in the NFL, the Green Bay Packers. Aaron Rodgers has this offense rolling right now despite injuries all over the unit. Jordy Nelson started slow, but might be one of the most dangerous pass catchers left in the playoffs. With the way this team has played over the final six weeks of the season, they can go play with anyone. Unfortunately, the Packers drew the toughest matchup of the Wild Card round so that sentiment will be put to the test right away.

(5) Kansas City Chiefs (12-4) – #2 Seed in the AFC

Just because the Chiefs barely make the top five, doesn’t mean I don’t respect their game. Toughness is a hallmark of past Super Bowl champions, and Kansas City is far from a cupcake. Stingy defense, ball-control on offense, and the x-factor of Tyreek Hill give the Chiefs a solid case to make a deep run in the postseason. Stealing the #2 seed from Oakland was a massive boost to Kansas City’s Super Bowl hopes ensuring that they get a home game at the vaunted Arrowhead Stadium. This offense will be under the spotlight, as past seasons’ failures have come from the inability for this offense to generate production against the NFL’s elite teams.

(6) New York Giants (11-5) – #5 Seed in the NFC

The Giants get the boost over its remaining NFC counterparts due to this defense. New York has put together a defensive unit that can carry a team to a Super Bowl. Now why aren’t they higher on this list you ask? It’s because I think this offense holds them back. At some point the Giants will have to be able to do more than throw the occasional slant to Odell Beckham Jr. hoping he breaks a big play for a touchdown. The downfall of this Giants team will be this offense if they can’t iron out the inconsistencies of this offense.

(7) Atlanta Falcons (11-5) – #2 Seed in the NFC

I already laid out my biggest questions about this Atlanta team, so I’ll get a little more positive here. Matt Ryan is having a career season, Julio Jones is healthy once again, and the Devonta Freeman/Tevin Coleman backfield combo is a game-changer. It’s not hard to see why this offense ranks so highly this year. Playing at home will be huge coupled with the prospects of avoiding Green Bay or New York in the Divisional round. Atlanta could easily make it to the NFC Championship game, I just question if they have what it takes to make the Super Bowl.

(8) Seattle Seahawks (10-5-1) – #3 Seed in the NFC  

Losing out on a first round bye and the subsequent later round home games is a crushing blow to the already dim Super Bowl chances for the Seahawks. On any given week you just don’t know what team you are going to get. This offensive line has killed the potential for this offense all season, but we all know how things can be when things are going well. Defensively, the loss of All-Pro safety Earl Thomas might be even more of a negative factor than any inconsistent play. He was the “eraser” for this defense and opens the deep passing game up against a shorthanded Legion of Boom. Can they put it together for three games and make it to the Super Bowl? Sure, but based on what we’ve seen, it’s a slim chance that happens.

(9) Detroit Lions (10-6) – #6 Seed in the AFC

(10) Miami Dolphins (10-6) – #6 Seed in the NFC

Both teams are really similar in my eyes. Detroit pulled off a record amount of fourth-quarter comebacks while Miami reeled off a big winning streak during one of the easiest stretches of games in the league. Each team does a few things well, but the chances of them pulling off an upset in the first round are pretty slim. Matthew Stafford for the Lions, and the potential Miami has in its weapons gives both an edge over the bottom two teams.

(11) Houston Texans (9-7) – #4 Seed in the AFC

Houston’s defense has certainly held up this season without J.J. Watt, but that isn’t this team’s problem. Brock Osweiler is the issue here. He has been dismal all season, holding back this offense at every turn. Then just when Bill O’Brien makes the move to Tom Savage and this offense finally showed some signs of life, Savage gets hurt. So it looks like Osweiler gets the nod against Oakland. Houston could win that game, but they will have no shot against New England.

(12) Oakland Raiders (12-4) – #5 Seed in the AFC

The minute Derek Carr went down for the rest of the year that was it for the Raiders. A buddy of mine asked me to give him three reasons why Oakland was so good this year. I jokingly asked him if Carr could be all three reasons. In reality I could have said the offensive line, easy schedule, or the weapons on offense. The more I thought about it, the more I believed that this team needs Carr at quarterback to have a legitimate chance to make any kind of run in the playoffs. Even if they get past Houston, the Patriots will make short work of them without its star quarterback. Last week alone showed why Derek Carr would have been a serious contender for the MVP this season had he not gotten hurt. It was such a shame to see happen to a team with such promise this season.

 

That’s it for me today. I’ll be back tomorrow with my year-end awards and fantasy playoff picks in the final “Reality of Fantasy” of the season. Follow me on Twitter @thereal_jmooney and go like the Shooting the Moon page on Facebook.

Welcome back! Happy New Year to you all! 2017 is here and the holiday weekend has given us plenty of things to talk about around the water cooler today. The first “Weekend Recap” of the year has you covered. I’ve got my thoughts on the national semifinals in college football, the rest of the New Year’s Six bowls, and a little NFL coaching carousel for today.

Alabama-Clemson National Championship Rematch Set 

We’ll start the recap going back to “Semifinal Saturday” which saw the Peach Bowl and Fiesta Bowl go the way of chalk. Alabama dominated Washington in the Peach Bowl 24-7 on the strength of its top ranked defense in the nation. I tweeted it at the time and I still believe it a few days out, Alabama looked like a boa constrictor in this game, slowly choking the life out of the Huskies.

Washington came out with a lot of energy on offense, opening up the scoring with an impressive touchdown drive to take the early lead. It was all Tide after that though. Bama marched down the field going almost exclusively with its running game to tie it up. The Huskies were moving swiftly but fumbled at midfield, which sucked the air out of the Washington offense. The rest of the game was seemingly played entirely on Washington’s side of the field.

Credit to the Washington defense though, watching the game you never would have guessed that it was a ten-point game for much of the second half. That deficit could have been a lot worse given the way Alabama controlled field position and shut down the Huskies offense.

I do have to admit that I totally blew my prediction for this game, probably my worst game pick of the season. The first ten minutes of that game went the way I thought it would but once Alabama started to lean on Washington, the momentum never left the Tide’s possession. That’s football for you, especially picking against the overwhelming favorite.

The real surprise of the day came in primetime with the Fiesta Bowl. Clemson opened up a serious can of you-know-what on Ohio State en route to an impressive 31-0 blowout win. I really do wonder how the Buckeyes were even favored in the game, but I did not see them just getting rolled by the Tigers. Penn State fans were likely very happy with that result though.

Urban Meyer suffered his first shutout loss as the Ohio State coach as his team ends its year with a whimper, although the biggest loser of the night might have been the selection committee. Twitter was set ablaze with hot takes from all across the sports world about how wrong the Ohio State seeding, and even selection had been for these playoffs.

What is set up though, is one hell of a national championship game. The first game between these two last season was a classic, so the rematch will have a ton of juice leading up to Monday night. This is probably the best possible outcome for the national championship game in terms of storylines and the on-field matchup.

Mixed Bag in the Rest of the New Year’s Six Bowls 

While the semifinal games were kind of “meh” the rest of the major bowl games delivered its fair share of excitement. We’ll start with yesterday’s Rose Bowl between USC and Penn State. What a game in what will go down as one of the best Rose Bowl’s in the history of the game (doesn’t touch the ’05 title game between Texas and USC but its up there).

This game was rich with exciting twists, turns, and huge plays. USC controlled the game for much of the first half but looked left for dead once the second half started. Penn State closed the first half with a touchdown to make it 27-21 at the break. The Nittany Lions then opened the half with an offensive onslaught rarely seen on the big stage. Three plays for three touchdowns. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Penn State ripped off a pair of 70+ yard touchdowns and then turned a Brandon Bell interception into a short touchdown. Boom! Just like that, the Nittany Lions were up 42-27 within the first five minutes of the third quarter. Penn State carried a 14-point lead into the fourth quarter with USC reeling and looking defeated.

All of a sudden though, USC came alive in the late stages of the fourth quarter. Redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Darnold looked like a cold-blooded killer leading the comeback charge. A star-making performance for the young USC QB brought the game all even with just over a minute left in the game.

Penn State still had its chance to salvage a victory out of a blown fourth quarter lead until quarterback Trace McSorely threw his third interception of the night on his own side of the field. With USC on the fringe of field goal range they only needed a few yards to give kicker Sam Boermeester a chance to kick the game-winner, which he would do from 46-yards out as the clock expired. This was easily the game of the weekend.

The early “game of the weekend” in the clubhouse before Sunday was Friday night’s Orange Bowl between Florida State and Michigan. The Seminoles upset the Wolverines in a 33-32 thriller. Granted, Michigan was without star defensive player Jabrill Peppers, who was a late scratch from the game with a hamstring injury.

Florida State running back Dalvin Cook took home Orange Bowl MVP honors capping off his collegiate career with a monster night against a tough Michigan defense. Cook rushed for 145 yards and touchdown while adding another 62 receiving yards. While Cook will be playing on Sundays next year, much of this Florida State team will be back next season and will make them one of the favorites in the national title chase.

For Michigan, it was a very disappointing end to a promising season. The Wolverines finished the year losing three out of its last four games by a total of five points. That is certainly a tough way to go out, but Michigan will be locked and loaded next season. We’ll have to wait and see whether or not Peppers will be back in the fold though. His intentions to enter the NFL draft will be one of the top situations to keep an eye on in the coming weeks.

While the Rose Bowl and Orange Bowl delivered some compelling action, the same can’t be said for the Sugar Bowl and Cotton Bowl. Wisconsin picked up the only New Year’s Six victory for the Big Ten conference, taking down Cinderella story Western Michigan 24-16 in the Cotton Bowl. The Badgers were in control all game long making short work of the previously undefeated Broncos.

The MAC champions weren’t exactly outclassed in this game but just didn’t have the talent to overcome a very tough Wisconsin team. I’m still in shock that Western Michigan coach PJ Fleck didn’t get poached by a Power Five school, because the job that he has done with the Broncos has been impressive to say the least. He will be a name to keep an eye on down the line.

Finally, we get to last night’s Sugar Bowl, which saw Oklahoma dominate Auburn 35-19. The Sooners overcame an early flurry from the Tigers, and reeled off 21 unanswered points in the second half to take a 35-13 lead. Auburn would add a late touchdown but by then Oklahoma had already gave Bob Stoops his Gatorade bath. This was a case of one team knowing whom it was while the other team figuring out what the future holds. Oklahoma is getting ready to contend for a national championship next season while Auburn was left figuring out what this team will look like next year. Hopefully the national championship game can erase the memory of this clunker from our collective memory.

NFL Postseason is Set, And the Coaching Carousel Begins

The last Sunday of the NFL regular season lacked the drama of past years but regardless the field is set for the postseason. New England, Dallas, Kansas City, and Atlanta all secured first round byes (New England and Dallas have home-field advantage throughout the postseason). Aside from figuring out the final wild card in the NFC, there wasn’t much to be decided on Sunday. I’ll have more on the playoffs this week, starting with tomorrow’s “No Huddle.”

Sunday’s games were overshadowed by the litany of coaching and GM vacancies that opened throughout the day. The real shocker of the beginning of the coaching carousel was the abrupt retirement of Denver head coach Gary Kubiak. Citing health and family reasons, the Super Bowl winning coach is hanging up his clipboard. Kubiak’s sudden retirement certainly turned many heads and opens up a juicy spot with the soon-to-be former Super Bowl champions.

Two West Coast teams swiftly cleaned house prior to the beginning of the Sunday night game. One move was a mild surprise while the other move had been coming for weeks. San Diego fired coach Mike McCoy following another season that will find them drafting the in top-ten in the upcoming NFL draft.

I do think McCoy got the short end of the stick considering all of the injuries that the Chargers have endured over the past two years. That is the nature of the beast though. Keep an eye on this situation because with Philip Rivers and a good amount of talent on this roster, the Chargers could be primed for a quick turnaround if the right coach gets the job (Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia would be a great hire for this team).

Now the move that should have come as no surprise to anyone that follows the NFL is San Francisco’s firings of coach Chip Kelly and GM Trent Baalke. The 49ers had to hit the reset button on the front office/head coach following a meteoric collapse that saw this team go from a Super Bowl appearance four seasons ago to the 2-14 season this year. There are a ton of factors that led to this, but the fact remains that Baalke needed to go having failed to retool this roster following the shocking rate of retirements/departures and that meant Kelly was out the door as well (which all but ends the Chip Kelly experiment in the NFL).

As it stands now, there are six head coaching vacancies across the NFL and potentially more by the end of the season. It should be very interesting to see who ends up where, but this is always intriguing part of the offseason. Also, nothing is set in stone until the guy signs on the dotted line so be wary of the countless rumors you will see in the next few weeks.

That’s it for me today. I’ll be back tomorrow with my power rankings of the playoff teams in “No Huddle.” Be on the look out for my fantasy football awards later this week in the final “Reality of Fantasy” of the season. Follow me on Twitter @thereal_jmooney and go like the Shooting the Moon page on Facebook.