NFL Recap Pod: Wk.3

The Chiefs keep being the Chiefs, the Steelers offense continues to struggle, and more Antonio Brown drama, here's week 3's recap.

2019 Emmy's Preview

(of note, for any prospective Game Of Thrones picks, the videos won't be from this season....because I personally haven't gotten to that season yet)


Variety Sketch Series:
At Home With Amy Sedaris
Documentary NOW!
Drunk History
I Love You, American With Sarah Silverman
Saturday Night Live
Who is America?

One can argue about the quality of the last season of Saturday Night Live (not bad, but just a step back from its prior season), but this seems like a given.

Winner: Saturday Night Live

Supporting Actor In A Limited Series Or Movie:
Asante Blackk (When They See Us)
Paul Dano (Escape At Dannemora)
John Leguizamo (When They See Us)
Stellan Skarsgard (Chernobyl)
Ben Whishaw (A Very English Scandal)
Michael K. Williams (When They See Us)

Just in general, it is going to be fascinating to see how these limited series awards play out with When They See Us going up against Chernobyl. In this case, Asante Blackk should take this. His portrayal of Kevin brings so much realism to it.

Winner: Asante Blackk

Supporting Actress In A Limited Series Or Movie:
Patricia Arquette (The Act)
Marsha Stapleton (When They See Us)
Patricia Clarkson (Sharp Objects)
Vera Farmiga (When They See Us)
Margaret Qualley (Fosse/Verdon)
Emily Watson (Chernobyl)

Honestly, based on the fact that I don't see a clean sweep from either limited series titan this year, I'm going with Chernobyl's Emily Watson.

Winner: Emily Watson

Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series:
Alan Arkin (The Kominsky Method)
Anthony Carrigan (Barry)
Tony Hale (Veep)
Stephen Root (Barry)
Tony Shalhoub (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)
Henry Winkler (Barry)

It was a long time coming last year when Henry Winkler got his first emmy award. I'd say he deserves another one or two.

Winner: Henry Winkler

Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series:
Alex Borstein (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)
Anna Chlumsky (Veep)
Sian Clifford (Fleabag)
Olivia Colman (Fleabag)
Betty Gilpin (GLOW)
Sarah Goldberg (Barry)
Marin Hinkle (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)
Kate McKinnon (Saturday Night Live)

With the rude, yet comedic timing that she brings to her character, this should go to Olivia Colman.

Winner: Olivia Colman

Supporting Actor In A Drama Series:

Alfie Allen (Game Of Thrones)

Jonathan Banks (Better Call Saul)

Nikolaj Coster-Waldeau (Game Of Thrones)

Peter Dinklage (Game Of Thrones)

Giancarlo Esposito (Better Call Saul)

Michael Kelly (House Of Cards)

Chris Sullivan (This Is Us)

Just how many awards will Game Of Thrones get in its final season? It got mixed reviews, but like we'll see later with Veep, I think it'll get rewarded in his swan song. In this instance, Peter Dinklage should take this. He brings so much substance to Tyrion.

Winner: Peter Dinklage 

Supporting Actress In A Drama Series:

Gwendoline Christie (Game Of Thrones)

Julia Garner (Ozark)

Lena Headey (Game Of Thrones)

Fiona Shaw (Killing Eve)

Sophie Turner (Game Of Thrones)

Maisie Williams (Game Of Thrones)

Welcome to the award for Best Supporting Actress in Game of Thrones. All kidding aside, I could theoretically see an instance where the Game Of Thrones nominees cancel each other out. That being said, I'm going with Maisie Williams. How she transformed Arya throughout the years, she should get this as a sort of achievement award on that alone. 

Winner: Maisie Williams

Variety Talk Series:

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah

Full Frontal with Samantha Bee

Jimmy Kimmel Live

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

Late Late Show with James Corden 

Late Show with Stephen Colbert

This award is becoming almost as predictable as SNL's reign over variety sketch series. But this should still be a much deserved win for Last Week Tonight. John Oliver just does something so different from the rest.

Winner: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

Competition Program:

The Amazing Race

American Ninja Warrior

Nailed It

RuPaul's Drag Race

Top Chef

The Voice

The Voice has long been a favorite and mainstay here, but I'm going with RuPaul's Drag Race. Over the last couple of years, since moving to VH1, Drag Race has really leaped in the mainstream.

Winner: RuPaul's Drag Race

Lead Actress In A Limited Series Or Movie:

Amy Adams (Sharp Objects)

Patricia Arquette (Escape At Dannemora)

Aunjanue Ellis (When They See Us)

Joey King (The Act)

Niecy Nash (When They See Us)

Michelle Williams (Fosse/Verdon)

It was tough deciding between Aunjanue and Niecy. I ended up going with Niecy Nash. 

Winner: Niecy Nash

Lead Actor In A Limited Series Or Movie:

Mahershala Ali (True Detective)

Benicio Del Toro (Escape At Dannemora)

Hugh Grant (A Very English Scandal)

Jared Harris (Chernobyl)

Jharrel Jerome (When They See Us)

Sam Rockwell (Fosse/Verdon)

There were a lot of fantastic performances in When They See Us, but in my opinion, the MVP was Jharrel Jerome. Seeing him throughout the years as Korey provided the series with an extra element.

Winner: Jharrel Jerome

Lead Actress In A Comedy Series:

Chrstina Applegate (Dead to Me)

Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)

Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep)

Natasha Lyonne (Russian Doll)

Catherine O'Hara (Schitt's Creek)

Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag)

If it wasn't for Veep's final season, I'd give this to Phoebe Waller-Bridge for her brilliat work in Fleabag, but I see Julia Louis-Dreyfus getting her final Emmy for Veep.

Winner: Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Lead Actor In A Comedy Series:

Anthony Anderson (Black-ish)

Don Cheadle (Black Monday)

Ted Danson (The Good Place)

Michael Douglas (The Kominsky Method)

Bill Hader (Barry)

Eugene Levy (Schitt's Creek)

I could easily see Barry replacing Veep as the comedy awards powerhouse down the line.

Winner: Bill Hader

Lead Actress In A Drama Series:

Emilia Clarke (Game Of Thrones)

Jodie Comer (Killing Eve)

Viola Davis (How To Get Away With Murder)

Laura Linney (Ozark)

Mandy Moore (This Is Us)

Sandra Oh (Killing Eve)

Robin Wright (House Of Cards)

Given the various different sides she's shown, this should go to Emilia Clarke.

Winner: Emilia Clarke

Lead Actor In A Drama Series:

Jason Bateman (Ozark)

Sterling K. Brown (This Is Us)

Kit Harrington (Game Of Thrones)

Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul)

Billy Porter (Pose)

Milo Ventmiglia (This Is Us)

I'm going with a bit of a wildcard here. Billy Porter provides such an exuberance to Pose, while still bringing an earnestness to his character. 

Winner: Billy Porter

Television Movie:

Black Mirror: Bandersnatch

Brexit

Deadwood:The Movie

King Lear

My Dinner With Herve

Being well over a decade in the making, this should go to Deadwood.

Winner: Deadwood:The Movie

Limited Series:

Chernobyl

Escape At Dannemora

Fosse/Verdon

Sharp Objects

When They See Us

In any other year, this would be an easy win for Chernobyl, but this has got to go to When They See Us. What Ava Duvernay did here is nothing short of extraordinary, how she wound this story out. Its a tough watch (seeing the injustice involved), but an important watch (as cliche as that sounds). 

Winner: When They See Us

Comedy Series:

Barry

Fleabag

The Good Place

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Russian Doll

Schitt's Creek

Veep

Its been such a good year in comedy, from Fleabag and The Good Place to Barry. But like we'll see with Game Of Thrones, I see Veep getting rewarded in its final season.

Winner: Veep

Drama Series:

Better Call Saul

Bodyguard

Game of Thrones

Killing Eve

Ozark

Pose

Succession

This Is Us

Given its buzz, I think we'll be seeing Succession receiving plenty of awards attention in the future. But this is going to Game Of Thrones. Yes, its final season was mixed, but given all that went behind the series in general, I still think its deserved this final award.

Winner: Game Of Thrones

NFL Recap Pod: Wk. 2

Recap of NFL week 2, featuring QB injury news, Lamar Jackson & Mahomes, and the Dolphins tanking

NFL Preview: 2019

Its that time of year again, and with a fairly busier than usual offseason, it will be interesting to see how things shape up this season.

As I always tend to state for the AFC East, the more things change, the more things stay the same. The Patriots may have a question mark at TE without Rob Gronkowski, but they still look like clear favorites in the East.

The question for the Bills will be how does Josh Allen look like in his 2nd year, and will he stay healthy?

And the same sort of question for the Jets in how will Sam Darnold look in his 2nd year.

And as for the Dolphins, riding with Fitzpatrick ahead of Josh Rosen, "fish-tank" is in full effect.

1) Patriots (12-4)
2) Bills (8-8)
3) Jets (7-9)
4) Dolphins (4-12)

This is where things could get interesting, with the revamped Browns and Odell Beckham Jr. There will certainly be a lot of expectations in Cleveland (for the first time in decades if we're being honest).

 The Steelers, finally free of lockeroom headaches Antonio Brown and Bell, will try to get back into their usual playoff position. The thing to watch for Pittsburgh will be their defense, Devin Bush in particular. A lot is riding on this 1st round draft pick to help shore up the middle of that defense and essentially take on the role that's been missing since Ryan Shazier.

The Ravens are looking to shake things up with Lamar Jackson in his first full year starting.

Despite a good-enough offense on paper, its very possible that the Bengals will be the basement dwellers of this division.

1) Steelers (12-4)
2) Browns (10-6)
3) Ravens (8-8)
4) Bengals (5-11)

Speaking of interesting divisions, the South got turned on its head with the sudden retirement of Andrew Luck (following a laundry list of injuries, and a calf/ankle injury he was trying to work back from). I don't think things are as bleak necessarily for the Colts as some think with Jacoby Brissett leading the team. Where the problem could come is what happens if Jacoby goes down.

But the division is certainly wide open, and the Texans seem to be going for it following a run of trades just before the start of the season, trading Clowney to the Seahawks for LB Barkevious Mingo. They also added WR Kenny Stills and T Laremy Tunsil from the Dolphins. They lost RB Lamar Miller for the season in preseason, and will look to replace him with the addition of Carlos Hyde. The Texans seem to be throwing a lot at this season in particular, and for Coach Bill O'Brien, its a boom or bust kind of season.

The Jaguars are looking to turn things around, moving on from QB Blake Bortles with Nick Foles. They saw a big drop-off on defense from 2017 to 2018, so can their defense get back on track?

And the consistent mediocre Titans will see what they can do with Marcus Mariota on the last year of his contract.

1) Jaguars (9-7)
2) Texans (9-7)
3) Colts (8-8)
4) Titans (6-10)

The Chiefs will see if they can repeat their success of last season into this year. Their main concern will be their defense, which was fairly spotty. They added Frank Clark from Seattle, so they'll hope to see more from their pass rush. The Chiefs made a very interesting move just prior to the season, adding RB LeSean McCoy (who was released from the Bills among roster cuts).

 The Chargers had a fairly strong 2018, and will be looking to carry things over. Who knows how big the window is with Philip Rivers?

The Broncos are rolling with yet another QB, Joe Flacco. John Elway has cycled through QB after QB since Peyton's retirement, and something tells me Flacco won't be the starter for long (whether via injury or lack of performance).

The "Hard Knocks" Raiders should be the bottom feeders of this division. Sure, they added and signed Antonio Brown, but if August is any indication, there's likely more drama to come for AB and the Raiders.

1) Chiefs (13-3)
2) Chargers (10-6)
3) Broncos (6-10)
4) Raiders (5-11)

Playoff Field:

1) Chiefs

2) Steelers

3) Patriots

4) Jaguars

5) Browns

6) Chargers

Will Carson Wentz have a healthy season, and lead the Eagles on a deep playoff run? That's what the expectation is following the extension that Wentz signed.

There's been plenty of August drama for the Cowboys with Ezekiel Elliott's holdout. He finally signed an extension just prior to the season. The Cowboys see their window as now, but its a tough conference and division with the Eagles being a cohesive group.

 As for Washington and the Giants, its almost the same question, when will we see the rookie QBs (Dwayne Haskins & Daniel Jones).

1) Eagles (12-4)
2) Cowboys (9-7)
3) Washington (5-11)
4) Giants (5-11)

Its a new era for the Packers with head coach Matt LaFleur. All eyes will be on how Aaron Rodgers works with his new coach.

There were high expectations for last year that weren't met with Kirk Cousins and the Vikings. The Bears' success in 2018 was largely created by their defense.

I think there's a chance we see the Bears' defense see a similar decline like what we saw with the Jaguars last season.

 The Lions have kind of been like the NFC's version of the Titans...though not as good. I sense the same kind of mediocrity this season.

1) Packers (11-5)
2) Vikings (9-7)
3) Bears (8-8)
4) Lions (7-9)

Following their controversial loss to the Rams in the NFC Championship Game, the Saints will be looking to hit the ground running this year.

The Panthers had a very up and down 2018. Success in 2019 depends on Cam Newton's health.

A couple years back it looked like the Falcons were going to go on a run, but they've been in a rut, despite solid play from Matt Ryan.

Time could be running out on Winston's tenure in Tampa Bay.

1) Saints (12-4)
2) Panthers (10-6)
3) Falcons (9-7)
4) Buccaneers (6-10)

Following a contract extension, Jared Goff will be looking to carry over and improve down the stretch this season. There are obvious questions at RB, specifically regarding the health of Todd Gurley.

The Seahawks had an interesting offseason, trading away Frank Clark at his peak value, and acquiring Clowney. Clowney will surely be looking to prove himself following his fallout with the Texans. An x-factor for Seattle on offense could be 1st rd draft pick D.K Metcalf.

As for the 49ers, eyes will be on QB Jimmy Garoppolo, returning from a season-ending knee injury.

The Cardinals were a garbage fire last year, but there's at least some sense of mystery this season with new QB Kyler Murray.

1) Rams (12-4)
2) Seahawks (10-6)
3) 49ers (6-10)
4) Cardinals (5-11)

Playoff Field
1) Eagles
2) Saints
3) Rams
4) Packers
5) Panthers
6) Seahawks

AFC Playoffs

WC: Chargers v. Patriots

        Browns v. Jaguars

Div: Browns v. Chiefs

        Patriots v. Steelers

Championship: Steelers v. Chiefs

The Chiefs were an overtime away from making it to the Super Bowl last season. And the fact that they were that close with how spotty their defense looked, I think they'll see improvement there in 2019. And I don't foresee any sort of significant drop-off from Mahomes, he's just too talented.

NFC Playoffs

WC: Seahawks v. Rams

         Panthers v. Packers

Div: Panthers v. Eagles

        Rams v. Saints

Championship: Saints v. Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles just look like such a complete team. I'm buying into the idea that Carson Wentz will have a complete and healthy season. He'll be motivated seeing the playoff runs that were led these last 2 years with Nick Foles down the stretch.

Kansas City Chiefs v. Philadelphia Eagles

I think Carson Wentz gets his super bowl, I'm calling it for the Eagles.