Super Bowl Preview

Its almost time to watch who will win it all at "The Big Game". Will Brady + Belichick get yet another title, continuing this unprecedented run? Or will Atlanta get just its 2nd major championship as a city and see Matt Ryan enter the ranks of one of the top QBs today with a ring? Time for my position by position breakdown

QBs

Patriots - Tom Brady

12 Games/starts, 67.4 compl%, 3,554yds 28TDs/2INTs

Falcons - Matt Ryan

16 Games/starts, 69.9 compl%, 4,944yds, 38TDs/7INTs

A pretty even QB match-up. On one hand, you have Brady and his prior super bowl experience. Missing the first 4 games of the season due to suspension didn't seem to slow him down, as he threw only a pair of INTs on the year. But with Matt Ryan, you have a top MVP candidate as he put up a personal best kind of season. 

edge: Even

RBs

Patriots - LeGarrette Blount

16 Games/8 Starts, 299rushes/1,161yds 18TDS,   7rec/38yds

Falcons - DeVonta Freeman

16 Games/starts, 227rushes/1,079yds 11TDs, 54rec/462yds 2TDs

Freeman is the better receiving back in this matchup, but Blount gets the overall edge. Blount set the standard this season when it comes to rushing TDs. A major key for the Falcons on defense will be trying to control him.

edge: Patriots

WRs

Patriots- Julian Edelman

16 Games/13 starts, 98rec/1,106yds 3TDs

Chris Hogan

15 Games/14 starts, 38rec/680yds 4TDs

Falcons - Julio Jones

14 Games/starts, 83rec/1,409yds 6TDs

Justin Hardy

16 games/3 starts, 21rec/203yds 4TDs

The Patriots have a good 1-2 combo with Edelman and Hogan (the latter who had an explosive game in the AFC title game). But there's just no matching Julio Jones. Much like with Blount, the big ask for the Patriots' defense will be trying to figure out Jones.

edge: Falcons

TEs

Patriots - Martellus Bennett

16games/12starts, 55rec/701yds 7TDs

Falcons - Austin Hooper

14games/3starts, 19rec/271yds 3TDs

Both teams have been hit with TE injuries, the Pats with Rob Gronkowski and the Falcons with Jacob Tamme. Luckily for the Pats, they have Bennett who is a solid target for Brady in his own right.

edge: Patriots

DEs

Patriots - Chris Long

16games/7starts, 1FF/1FR, 4scks 22tckls

Trey Flowers

16games/8starts, 2FR, 7scks 23tckls

Falcons - Brooks Reed

15games/7starts, 1FF, 2scks 14tckls

Tyson Jackson

16games/7starts, 5tckls

With the veteran Chris Long, along with Flowers and his pass rush moves, the Patriots have the edge in this matchup.

edge: Patriots

DTs

Patriots - Alan Branch

16games/15starts, 1.5scks 26tckls

Malcom Brown

16games/13starts, 1FF, 3scks 24tckls

Falcons - Jonathan Babineaux

16games/6starts, 14tckls

Grady Jarrett

16games/14starts, 1FR, 3scks 21tckls

Branch and Brown provide the Patriots with a nice balance in the trenches.

edge: Patriots

LBs

Patriots - Shea McClellin

14games/4starts, 2FR, 1sck 16tckls

Dont'a Hightower

13games/starts, 1FF, 2.5scks 31tckls

Rob Ninkovich

12games/11starts, 2FF, 4scks 17tckls

Falcons - Vic Beasley

16games/12starts, 6FF/1FR, 15.5scks 32tckls

Deion Jones

15games/13starts, 3INTs/2TDs, 1FF 75tckls

De'Vondre Campbell

11games/10starts, 1INT, 1FF 35tckls

The Patriots LBs collectively put up a strong effort, but the Falcons featured more playmakers, especially with sack leader Vic Beasley and Deion Jones and his takeaways.

edge: Falcons

CBs

Patriots - Logan Ryan

16games/13starts, 2INTs, 1FF, 1sck 73tckls

Malcolm Butler

16games/starts, 4INTs, 1FF, 1sck 48tckls

Falcons - Robert Alford

16games/starts, 2INTs/1TD 50tckls

Jalen Collins

8games/6starts, 2INTs 28tckls

Malcolm Butler makes the difference here, paired with Logan Ryan

edge: Patriots

Safeties

Patriots - Patrick Chung

16games/starts, 1INT, 1FR, 1sck 48tckls

Devin McCourty

16games/starts, 1INT, 1FF 64tckls

Falcons - Ricardo Allen

16games/starts, 2INTs 61tckls

Keanu Neal

14games/starts, 5FF/1FR 72tckls

Chung and McCourty have both been solid, but Keanu Neal (in his rookie year) has been quite the presence for the Falcons secondary. (sidenote: I profiled him during my steelers draft prospect series a year ago). 

edge: Falcons

Kickers

Patriots - Stephen Gostkowski

16games, 27/32FGs, 53long

Falcons - Matt Bryant

16games, 34/37FGs, 59long

Two quality kickers. He may have been added by playing his home games in a dome, but I'll give the slight edge to the longtime vet Matt Bryant.

edge: Falcons

Punter

Patriots - Ryan Allen

16games, 72punts, 58long 44.7avg

Falcons - Matt Bosher

15games, 44punts, 68long, 46.8avg

With how active the Falcons offense was this season, they didn't have to use much of Bosher. That being said, both Allen and Bosher seem fairly even

edge: even

Now time for my ultimate pick. I expect we'll get a close contest, going down to the wire. You never want to bet against Brady, but one item that popped out to me was the fact that Matt Ryan threw receiving TDs to 13 different players. That's right, 13. That amount of depth could be enough for the Falcons to pull this off.

31-27 Falcons

SNL Season 42: Aziz Ansari

Another big show, coming off of the inauguration. How would Aziz do his first time hosting? Onto the review

Vladimir Putin Cold Open: A bit of a surprising cold open, with Beck Bennett as Putin talking to America following Trump's inauguration. He tries to assure that everything will be fine, while also trolling Trump for his inauguration crowd size and the women's march the following day. There was also a nice cameo by Kate McKinnon's Olya, who has her eyes on Putin and Trump. SNL continues to find inventive ways to cover Trump without having to always use Alec Baldwin. (9.0)

Monologue: Much like Dave Chappelle's stand-up following the election, this was an important opening for Aziz Ansari. He discussed the rise of the "lower case kkk" following Trump's candidacy, and the amount of people resisting Trump. (9.4)

Monologue

Beat The Bookworm: (5.6)

La La Land Interrogation: Beck and Cecily Strong play police officers interrogating Aziz over his indifference to La La Land. This was a good twist, getting to fandoms and how defensive they can get when the movie or show that they like gets critiqued. They closed with defending 'Westworld'. As a fan of La La Land, even I'll admit that this sketch was pretty perfect. (8.5) 

Kellyanne Conway (short): We get Kate's Kellyanne Conway back, where she performs 'Chicago' style of why she joined Trump's campaign. The production value (along with the performance itself) was fantastic. SNL finally moved on from their portrayal of a Conway that was reluctant being connected to Trump to what she's really after, name recognition. I mean, why else does she constantly go on the main news shows despite her supposed distaste of the media? (8.8)

Attorney Ad: (7.3)

(Big Sean): (5.5)

Weekend Update: Another solid Update. It seems the new Trump administration will be causing Update to be more politically front-loaded long past the election. 

Leslie Jones appeared to talk about her fascination with "Hidden Figures". She goes on to talk about a few other notable African-American figures and inventors in history that aren't as known. This was one of the best Leslie features I thought. It was both informative, along with her typical solid lines.

The second guest saw "Jake Rocheck" (Mikey Day) talk about being friend-zoned. Don't think this will be a recurring guest, really forgettable. (8.0)

Bedroom: Melissa Villasenor finally gets a starring sketch, and she showed why she was hired. She tries to talk dirty to her boyfriend Aziz, but struggles to find the right lines. Her delivery makes this work so well, from her "6th grader" line to her Owen Wilson impersonation.The audience was eating this up, so here's hoping for more big roles for Melissa. (8.9)

Bedroom

Five Stars (short): A more topical piece, dealing with Aziz and Bobby Moynihan both struggling to obtain five stars on Uber as a passenger and driver (respectively). They come to bond with one another, moving past stereotypes. The closing gag is the typical twist, but this was a well put together short. (8.0)

Pizza Town: (7.5)

(Big Sean): (6.7)

To Sir With Love: This was a nice tribute to outgoing President Obama. Cecily Strong sings "To sir with love", joined later by Sasheer Zamata. (8.5)

To Sir With Love

The back half original work lifted this show to one of the season's best. It was benefited from strong political pieces, including the Putin cold open (which was a pretty genius way of handling the heavy news-filled weekend). (7.82)

Dave Chappelle: 8.83

Tom Hanks: 8.03

Aziz Ansari: 7.82

Lin Manuel Miranda: 7.74

Felicity Jones: 7.62

Emma Stone: 7.56

Casey Affleck: 7.40

Margot Robbie: 7.38

John Cena: 7.19

Kristen Wiig: 7.09

Emily Blunt: 7.07

Benedict Cumberbatch: 6.60

SNL Season 42: Felicity Jones

SNL returned for their first show of 2017. The last show before the inauguration, how would their political coverage evolve into the new year and administration? Onto the review.

Donald Trump Press Conference - Cold Open: What a wild week in politics. An unverified dossier on Russia and Trump was released by Buzzfeed in whole, and reported by CNN. It included some wild accusations.....such as,,,well....."golden showers". Lets just say this has been a gold-mind for comedy, SNL included. The lines were "flowing" so to speak, as it dominated the Trump presser in this cold open. There were some other good lines as well, including how he'll replace "obamacare" with "The Affordable Care Act", and how healthcare doesn't matter because we're all doomed under Trump. But maybe the most underrated portion of this cold open was Cecily Strong who played Trump's lawyer who was present. Her dead-pan delivery was spot on. (8.5)

Monologue: The monologue was fairly standard. Felicity played off her nervousness on her hosting gig, and then we got a hologram Tina Fey to guide her along. She brought along such messages, including how SNL is reviewed "far too much"........sorry I guess? Haha. (6.7)

Beard Hunk: Another Bachelor parody. Seems the formula for these sketches are the same, with the women of SNL just cycling through with awkward one-liners. Never really hits home. (5.0)

Shondra & Malik (short): Leslie Jones and Kenan Thompson had great chemistry in this short. They played rivals, but car trouble brought them together. Maybe it didn't provide laugh out loud moments, but it was just well made (with a particular dark ending. Think "Farewell Mr. Bunting" a bit). (8.1)

Theater Donor: Mikey Day made this work. He plays an elderly man who's a top donor to a theater. Sitting through a play (featuring Beck Bennett and Kate McKinnon), he constantly gets attended to by his nurse (Felicity). This was great physical comedy. A stand-out moment for Day. (8.3)

Theater Donor

The Princess and The Curse (short): (5.7)

Susan B. Anthony: (7.0)

(Sturgill Simpson): (9.0)

Weekend Update: Update has been on a roll in regard to political coverage. Its when Colin Jost and Michael Che shine the brightest. Che in particular had a pretty good moment when talking about the Jeff Sessions confirmation hearing.

The first guest was Pete Davidson, providing his first impressions on Trump's cabinet picks. I'll admit, he made some good observations.

Beck Bennett then saw a guest spot, trying out his pop vocal abilities. (8.4)

Movie Interview: This was a good take on how pretentious directors and the like can get with trying to make political points in promotion for movies that really don't have anything to do with anything. That was the case here, as Felicity, Beck and Kyle Mooney did a faux interview for "Hot Robot 3: Journey To Boob Mountain". The seriousness they take in this makes this work.

Movie Interview

(Sturgill Simpson): (9.2)

Corporate Retreat: (7.5)

SNL did relatively well getting back into the swing of things for the new year. It'll be interesting going forward to see how they handle the new administration. As far as this show goes, Felicity Jones did a decent job. I think her nerves did show however throughout the episode. Sturgill Simpson on the other hand was an amazing music act. (7.62)

Dave Chappelle: 8.83

Tom Hanks: 8.03

Lin Manuel Miranda: 7.74

Felicity Jones: 7.62

Emma Stone: 7.56

Casey Affleck: 7.40

Margot Robbie: 7.38

John Cena: 7.19

Kristen Wiig: 7.09

Emily Blunt: 7.07

Benedict Cumberbatch: 6.60

2017 Golden Globes

Awards season is upon us, with this Sunday's Golden Globes. One of the more fun and easy-going award shows with drinks abound; but the awards themselves could give us a glimpse into how the Oscars will shape up. And with that, here's my best take (accuracy not included).....

Best Supporting Actor, Limited Series, or Motion Picture for TV:

Sterling K. Brown - The People v. O.J Simpson

Hugh Laurie - The Night Manager

John Lithgow - The Crown

Christian Slater - Mr. Robot

John Travolta - The People v. O.J Simpson

As visually striking as Travolta's performance was, I think this goes to Sterling K. Brown. He really shined as Christopher Darden and  brought him to the forefront.

Best Supporting Actress, Limited Series or Motion Picture for TV:

Olivia Colman - The Night Manager

Lena Headey - Game Of Thrones

Chrissy Metz - This Is Us

Mandy Moore - This Is Us

Thandie Newton - Westworld

This could easily go to Lena Headey, but I'm going out on a limb with Chrissy Metz. She burst onto the scene on NBC's new hit This Is Us, portraying real-life struggles. 

Best Actor, Limited Series or Motion Picture made for TV:

Riz Ahmed - The Night Of

Bryan Cranston - All The Way

Tom Hiddleston - The Night Manager

John Turturro - The Night Of

Courtney B. Vance - The People v. O.J Simpson

Gotta give this one to Courtney B. Vance. He really brought Johnnie Cochran back to life in this astounding performance.

Best Actress, Limited Series or Motion Picture made for TV:

Riley Keough - The Girlfriend Experience

Sarah Paulson - The People v. O.J Simpson

Charlotte Rampling - London Spy

Kerry Washington - Confirmation

Felicity Huffman - American Crime

Another TV category, another People v. O.J win. Sarah Paulson brought out a side of Marcia Clark than we didn't know.

Best TV Limited Series or Motion Picture made for TV:

American Crime

The Dresser

The Night Manager

The Night Of

The People v. O.J Simpson: American Crime Story

I don't think there's any doubt, in a year of looking back at the O.J Simpson case, The People v. O.J Simpson brought us a look inside it all (along with the ESPN documentary). I wasn't sure how this series would play out leading up to it, but it was truly must-see TV.

Best Actor Television Series, Musical or Comedy:

Anthony Anderson - Black-ish

Gael B. Bernal - Mozart In The Jungle

Donald Glover - Atlanta

Nick Nolte - Graves

Jeffrey Tambor - Transparent

The Globes love new TV, so last year's winner Bernal may already be an old thing in the HFPA's eyes. I think they're going to go with Donald Glover and his new FX hit.

Best Actress Television Series, Musical or Comedy:

Rachel Bloom - Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

Julia Louis-Dreyfus - Veep

Sarah Jessica Parker - Divorce

Issa Rae - Insecure

Gina Rodriguez - Jane The Virgin

Not sure Bloom will repeat here. I'm going with another rising star in Issa Rae.

Best Television Series, Musical or Comedy:

Atlanta

Black-ish

Mozart In The Jungle

Transparent

Veep

Could easily go Veep (especially with the 2016 election making it seem more fact than fiction), but I'm going with the hot new FX show Atlanta.

Best Actor Television Series, Drama:

Rami Malek - Mr. Robot

Bob Odenkirk - Better Call Saul

Matthew Rhys - The Americans

Liev Schreiber - Ray Donovan

Billy Bob Thornton - Goliath

I was leaning towards Thornton, but with The Americans winding down, I think they give it its due with Matthew Rhys. Seems to be a show that gets under-appreciated when it comes to awards. 

Best Actress Television Series, Drama:

Caitriona Balfe - Outlander

Claire Foy - The Crown

Keri Russell - The Americans

Winona Ryder - Stranger Things

Evan Rachel Wood - Westworld

Could see this going to either Foy or Wood, but I think they recognize a familiar name in Winona Ryder for the Netflix hit  Stranger Things.

Best Television Series, Drama:

Game Of Thrones

Stranger Things

This Is Us

Westworld

The Crown

I'd love for This Is Us to take this, but I think Stranger Things is going to win. It just burst out there, becoming a major hit for Netflix and a buzz-worthy show.

Best Original Song, Motion Picture:

"Can't Stop The Feeling" - Trolls

"City Of Stars" - La La Land

"Faith" - Sing

"Gold" - Gold

"How Far I'll Go" - Moana

This could go a number of ways. While "Can't Stop The Feeling" was the song of the summer, and "How Far I'll Go" produced another top Disney song, I'm going with "City Of Stars". The musical of the group gets recognized.

Best Original Score, Motion Picture:

Nicholas Britell - Moonlight

Justin Hurwitz - La La Land

Johann Johannsson - Arrival

Dustin O'Halloran, Hauschka - Lion

Hans Zimmer, Pharrell Williams, Benjamin Wallfisch - Hidden Figures

Could go a number of ways here. Some major players in this field from Zimmer to Johannsson. But I'm going with the musical here and Justin Hurwitz.

Best Screenplay, Motion Picture:

Damien Chazelle - La La Land

Tom Ford - Nocturnal Animals

Barry Jenkins - Moonlight

Kenneth Lonergan - Manchester By The Sea

Taylor Sheridan - Hell Or High Water

Could be a fierce battle, and a tell for how the best picture race will shape up (among other categories). I'm going with Kenneth Lonergan.

Best Director, Motion Picture:

Damien Chazelle - La La Land

Tom Ford - Nocturnal Animals

Mel Gibson - Hacksaw Ridge

Barry Jenkins - Moonlight

Kenneth Lonergan - Manchester By The Sea

Much like Screenplay, this field could be unpredictable. Hedging my bets a bit, I'm going with Barry Jenkins. This would make the race between Manchester By The Sea and Moonlight fairly even, no matter who takes Best Picture Drama, leading towards the Oscars (both will rival La La Land of course).

Best Supporting Actor, any Motion Picture:

Mahershala Ali - Moonlight

Jeff Bridges - Hell Or High Water

Simon Helberg - Florence Foster Jenkins

Dev Patel - Lion

Aaron Taylor-Johnson - Nocturnal Animals

This seems fairly locked in. I'm going Mahershala Ali.

Best Supporting Actress, any Motion Picture:

Viola Davis - Fences

Naomie Harries - Moonlight

Nicole Kidman - Lion

Octavia Spencer - Hidden Figures

Michelle Williams - Manchester By The Sea

Another acting category that seems fairly settled, a win for Viola Davis, hopefully on her way towards an Oscar.

Best Motion Picture, Foreign Language:

Divines

Elle

Neruda

The Salesman

Toni Erdmann

The only thing I know here is that it'll probably come down to Elle or Toni Erdmann. So with a wild guess, I'm going Toni Erdmann.

Best Motion Picture, Animated:

Kubo And The Two Strings

Moana

My Life As A Zucchini

Sing

Zootopia

What a year it was for animated movies. You had all of these, along with Finding Dory which didn't get nominated. I'm going with the film that came out of the gate as a favorite, Zootopia. There were so many good lessons in there, with a unique way in showing them.

Best Actor Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy:

Colin Farrell - The Lobster

Ryan Gosling - La La Land

Hugh Grant - Florence Foster Jenkins

Jonah Hill - War Dogs

Ryan Reynolds - Deadpool

Writing here seems to be pointing towards Ryan Gosling

Best Actress Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy:

Annette Bening - 20th Century Woman

Lily Collins - Rules Don't Apply

Hailee Steinfeld - The Edge Of Seventeen

Emma Stone - La La Land

Meryl Streep - Florence Foster Jenkins

A little more unpredictable now. This seems to be down to Bening, Stone and Streep. If this ends up being a big night for La La Land, then I think it goes to Emma Stone, and that's what I'm going with.

Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy:

20th Century Woman

Deadpool

Florence Foster Jenkins

La La Land

Sing Street

As close as Best Drama could be, this seems like it should be a runaway win for La La Land, propelling it towards the Oscars.

Best Actor Motion Picture, Drama:

Casey Affleck - Manchester By The Sea

Joel Edgerton - Loving

Andrew Garfield - Hacksaw Ridge

Viggo Mortensen - Captain Fantastic

Denzel Washington - Fences

Maybe Denzel pulls off an upset, but I'm going with Casey Affleck.

Best Actress Motion Picture, Drama:

Amy Adams - Arrival

Jessica Chastain - Miss Sloan

Isabelle Huppert - Elle

Ruth Negga - Loving

Natalie Portman - Jackie

This could go to Huppert or Negga, but I think they won't be able to resist going with Natalie Portman for the biographical piece Jackie. Much like Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady, the awards circuit seems to love roles like that, no matter how deserving or undeserving they may seem.

Best Motion Picture, Drama:

Hacksaw Ridge

Hell Or High Water

Lion

Manchester By The Sea

Moonlight

Looking like this will go down towards Manchester By The Sea or Moonlight. I've been going back and forth on this one. Initially leaning towards Manchester, I'm going to ultimately pick Moonlight. It has a growing buzz, plus its content is something that the movie landscape needs.