Option 1, Week 15’s Burning Question: Will Drew Brees return to Pro Bowl form? Drew Brees has earned his reputation as a generational quarterback, but with his team reeling off four straight wins with Taysom Hill at quarterback after Brees went down with an injury, his absence didn’t seem to be the worst thing in … Continue reading Week 15 Read Option: Josh Allen lifts Buffalo to first AFC East title since 1995
Option 1, Week 14’s Burning Question: How will the AFC Wild Card race shake out? The addition of a seventh playoff team for each conference has made one of the best parts of the NFL season, the playoff hunt, even better. And with multiple games between playoff contenders on the slate, Week 14 promised to … Continue reading Week 14 Read Option: Lamar’s return helps Ravens edge Browns
Option 1, Week 13’s Burning Question: How does the weekend shake up the MVP race? I don’t believe the MVP award means all that much. I was thrilled when Lamar Jackson became the first Raven to take home the honor last year, but I would trade it in a heartbeat for playoff wins. And it’s … Continue reading Week 13 Read Option: Mayfield downs Titans with near-perfect performance
Option 1, Week 12’s Burning Question: What does a post-quarterback NFL look like? The marquee afternoon matchup pitted the NFL’s greatest quarterbacks, all-time legend Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers against MVP favorite Patrick Mahomes and his Kansas City Chiefs. The lesser afternoon matchup pitted two teams who weren’t starting quarterbacks. A couple years … Continue reading Week 12 Read Option: Denver Welcomes Fans to a Post-Quarterback NFL
The last time that March Madness crowned a Big Ten team as champion, I had not even been born. Now, I’m covering the league. Sure, they’ve been close — Michigan as runner-up in 2018, Wisconsin in 2015 and Michigan State in 2009 — but no Big Ten squad has taken it all the way since … Continue reading 2020-21 College Basketball Preview: Big Ten has its share of contenders, but they’ll have to survive the sport’s deepest conference first
Option 1, Week 10’s Burning Question: Who comes out on top in Tennessee-Baltimore? One of the most significant results of last year’s playoffs was the 1-6 matchup out in the AFC, with the visiting Tennessee Titans upending the 14-2 Baltimore Ravens and MVP Lamar Jackson. Back in Baltimore but in the day time slot and … Continue reading Week 11 Read Option: Taysom Runs (And Passes) Wild
Option 1, Week 10’s Burning Question: Do the Patriots of old show up in primetime? Cam Newton’s New England Patriots barely escaped the winless Jets with a victory. Going up against Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens? Simply put, the game did not look worthy of a primetime slot, but when the New England Patriots … Continue reading Week 10 Read Option: Alex Smith lights it up
The following essay is part of an upcoming Riker Scale project. Enjoy! The distinction of favorite movie is a subjective one. Each person is entitled to their own taste in film, and the variety in film opinions is part of what makes talking about movies so fun. At the same time, I firmly believe that … Continue reading Why The Incredibles is the Greatest Movie of All Time
Option 1, Week 9’s Burning Question: Can the Ravens’ offense get on track? After a 14-2 campaign and the NFL’s top record in 2019, Baltimore has struggled to find its unstoppable rhythm. Even when the Ravens doubled Pittsburgh’s offensive yardage output and tore the Steelers apart on the ground, Lamar Jackson racked up four turnovers … Continue reading Week 9 Read Option: Mack Hollins a Hero as Fins Slide By Kyler Murray
Option 1, Week 8’s Burning Question: How will Tua Tagovailoa perform against Los Angeles? A rookie quarterback relegated to the bench the first seven weeks of the season was primed to kick off his career in his debut and launch a Hall of Fame career. No, I’m not talking about Dallas third-stringer Ben DiNucci. It’s … Continue reading Week 8 Read Option: Steelers Stay Undefeated in Baltimore
