Midwest Sports

Sounds like Kirk Cousins is regretting signing with the Atlanta Falcons last year. Kirk said he was misled by the Falcons and didn't know they were going to draft quarterback, Michael Penix Jr. The Falcons severely overpaid for Cousins to start 14 games for them. Cousins was 7-7 with only 18 passing touchdowns and 16 interceptions. He also had 13 fumbles and lost 2 of them. The Falcons still have to pay Cousins for this season and $10 million next year. They paid Kirk Cousins $100 million for 7 wins. Maybe he should of taken the one year deal Minnesota offered him. At least they were up front with him about plans to draft a quarterback. Cousins playoff record is 1-4 so I doubt he would of been an upgrade over Sam Darnold against that Rams defense.  Cousins has made $331.6 million throughout his NFL career. Only fou players have made more money than Cousins:  Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Matthew Stafford, and Russell Wilson. Those four quarterbacks all have at least one superbowl ...

The Indianapolis Colts Running Back, Jonathon Taylor has had a very productive first six seasons in the NFL. Taylor has 6,013 rushing yards, a 4.9 yards per carry average, with 51 rushing touchdowns, and 5 receiving touchdowns.  Compared to Adrian Peterson's first six seasons in the NFL (all with Vikings): 8,849 rushing yards, a 5.0 yards per carry average, had 76 rushing touchdowns, and 4 receiving touchdowns.  Remember Adrian Peterson had 2,097 rushing yards in 2012 and was the last non quarterback to win NFL MVP that year.  Taylor isn't as productive as Peterson, but even being in the same conversation is impressive. Look for more exciting games with Jonathan Taylor this year with the Colts. 

I heard on the radio that the top NFL franchises for setting themselves up to win now and for the future were:  The Kansas City Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers, LA Rams, and Detroit Lions. The Lions have been irrelevant up until a couple years ago. The 49ers have had Kyle Shanahan as their head coach since 2017. They have missed the playoffs four of the eight years. Yes he's taken them to four NFC Championship games and two Superbowls, but they didn't win either. I think they forgot a couple franchises that are set up well to win now and for the future: the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings.  Matt LaFleur and Kevin O'Connell are both very good head coaches and play callers. Brian Gutekunst and Kwesi Adofo-Mensah have constructed very competitive rosters. 

Remember when quarterbacks were actually given time to develop and weren't recycled every couple years. Aaron Rodgers sat for three years behind Brett Favre. Jordan Love also sat behind Rodgers for three year before starting. Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady were backups their first years and they both have won multiple Superbowls. Steve Young sat behind Joe Montana and Young went on to win a Superbowl. Kirk Cousins sat behind Robert Griffin. Even Drew Brees was a back up in San Diego before being the starter. Look at some of the quarterbacks recently that were either traded or cut still on their rookie deals and then went on to play better. The Browns traded Baker Mayfield and he has been much better in Tampa Bay than Cleveland. Jared Goff was alright with the Rams, but he played significantly better in Detroit. Sam Darnold and Geno Smith both left the Jets and have resurrected their careers. I know a lot depends on the team that drafts them, the surrounding players, and coaches, but...

The Denver Nuggets may be the team that can take out the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Nuggets did bring the Thunder to seven games in the Western Conference Semifinals this past post season.  They resigned Bruce Brown, signed Tim Hardaway Jr., Aaron Gordon will be healthy heading into the season, and Nikola Jokic will be a top three MVP player. Losing out on Jonas Valanciunas sucks, but maybe they'll be able to sign Bradley Beal if he becomes available?

What the heck are the Indiana Pacers doing? This team was three quarters away from winning game 7 of the NBA Finals less than two weeks ago! Tyrese Haliburton is out with a torn achilles, they were too cheap to resign Myles Turner, they didn't have a first round pick in the draft, and they didn't sign any free agents. Saying the Pacers fans are disappointed is an understatement. They'll be lucky to make the playoffs next year.

The Minnesota Timberwolves were abke to resign Naz Reid and Julius Randle. They lost Nickeil Alexander-Walker to the Atlanta Hawks, but they're still a good team. Starters are Mike Conley, Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, Julius Randle, and Rudy Gobert. Possibly have Naz Reid in starting lineup instead of McDaniels. Then Donte DiVincenzo, Rob Dillingham, Jaylen Clark, Terrance Shannon Jr.  Imagine Damien Lillard coming back healthy towards the end of next season and signs with the Twolves?! That might be interesting. 

It seems like a long time ago the Milwaukee Bucks were NBA champs. They won four years ago (2021). Now Jrue Holiday is in Boston, Kris Middleton is in Washington, Brooke Lopez is in LA, PJ Tucker is in New York (and 40 years old), and Pat Connaughton is in Memphis. The only two players left are Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis. The Damien Lillard trade did not go as expected and now they waived him. The Milwaukee Bucks waived Damien Lillard. I never thought that would happen. Some people are upset because he still gets his salary for the next two years (now it is spread out throughout five years). Lillard wouldn't have played much if at all this coming season so this paved the way to the Myles Turner signing.  The Bucks are getting younger and better. I think the future is bright and hopefully we will see Giannis and company compete for another title.