2017 NFL Season Preview

 

AFC East

 

The Jets and Bills have both showed signs of tanking (Jets even more-so), and the Dolphins are rolling with Jay Cutler for the year at QB. So things look like they'll mostly be the same.

1) Patriots (12-4)
2) Dolphins (7-9)
3) Bills (5-11)
4) Jets (2-14)

 

AFC North

 

 This could be a competitive division (browns aside). The Ravens offense has been very hit or miss, and you never know what version of Andy Dalton you're going to get from week to week with the Bengals. Meanwhile, the Steelers will have WR Martavis Bryant back for the year, along with a few added pieces on defense that'll make all the difference.

1) Steelers (11-5)
2) Bengals (9-7)
3) Ravens (8-8)
4) Browns (3-13)

 

AFC South

 

 The Colts have some major question marks on the status of Andrew Luck. Will he be slowed down/hobbled by injuries throughout the year? The Texans have a solid defense (depending on J.J Watt), but some questions at QB as well. Meanwhile, the Titans look to be a young team on the rise.

1) Titans (10-6)
2) Colts (9-7)
3) Texans (8-8)
4) Jaguars (4-12)

 

AFC West

 

 Who knows how far the Raiders could have gone if not for Derek Carr's injury down the stretch last season. But they'll face some competition from the Chiefs, who aren't all that flashy usually, but seem to get things done and wear a team down. The Broncos offense looks like it'll still be sluggish like last year, and the Chargers will see what they can do in their new L.A home.

1) Raiders (12-4)
2) Chiefs (11-5)
3) Broncos (8-8)
4) Chargers (5-11)

Playoff Seedings:

1) Patriots

2) Raiders

------------

3) Steelers

4) Titans

(WC)

5) Chiefs

6) Bengals 

AFC Wildcard

 Bengals vs Steelers

 

Chiefs vs Titans

AFC Divisional

 

Titans vs Patriots

 

 Steelers vs Raiders

AFC Championship

 

Steelers vs Patriots

NFC East

The jury's still out on how the Cowboys offense will respond to a possible 6 game suspension of RB Ezekiel Elliot. With both Dallas and Philadelphia, there's the question if QB's Dak Prescott and Carson Wentz will suffer a sophomore slump. The Giants offense got an added boost with WR Brandon Marshall, and Washington could be seeing their last season with Kirk Cousins.

1) Cowboys (10-6)

2) Washington (9-7)

3) Giants (9-7)

4) Eagles (8-8)

 

NFC North

The Packers needed a late season run to reach the postseason last year. Will Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay be more primed from the start? Matthew Stafford recently got a massive contract extension, will he live up to that contract? And how will the Vikings respond without Adrian Peterson?

1) Packers (13-3)

2) Lions (9-7)

3) Vikings (7-9)

4) Bears (4-12)

 

NFC South

The NFC South tends to fluctuate from year to year, but we could see some stability this time around. Matt Ryan and the Falcons will be determined, looking to bounce back from that brutal Super Bowl collapse. The Panthers will be looking to stay healthy all year long, and the Bucs are looking to progress.

1) Falcons (11-5)

2) Panthers (10-6)

3) Saints (8-8)

4) Buccaneers (7-9)

 

 NFC West

 

 

The NFC West could be a very one-sided division. The Seahawks look poised, and with the Cardinals, you don't know how much more they'll get from Carson Palmer.

1) Seahawks (12-4)

2) Cardinals (7-9)

3) Rams (5-11)

4) 49ers (4-12)

 

Playoff Seedings:

1) Packers

2) Seahawks

---------

3) Falcons

4) Cowboys

(WC)

5) Panthers

6) Lions 

NFC Wildcard

 

 Lions vs Falcons

 

Panthers vs Cowboys

NFC Divisional

 

Cowboys vs Packers

 

Falcons vs Seahawks

NFC Championship

 

 

 Seahawks vs Packers

 

 

 Steelers vs Packers

Meet The 13th Doctor

 

A little late on this, but since my preview post, the 13th Doctor has been announced, Jodie Whittaker. She's most recently been in Broadchurch, so indeed the doctor comes from a Chris Chibnall project. In this post, I'll give a brief summary of Whittaker's prior work, and also illustrate how exiting showrunner Steven Moffat paved the way for a female doctor, from the very start.

One of Whittaker's first top roles was alongside Peter O' Toole in 2006's Venus. A comedy-drama, it centered around O'Toole as a veteran actor falling for his new housekeeper/friend's grand-niece (Whittaker).  

 Jodie was able to not only show off her comedic skills, but demonstrated her ability for drama.

She's also got a sci-fi film under her belt with the underrated Attack the Block, which with Jodie Whittaker, along with John Boyega (Star Wars) and Franz Drameh (CW's the Flash/Legends of Tommorow), has now been a pretty good launch point for top sci-fi/superhero roles.

And then there's the role she's probably been most known for, Broadchurch, where she's put on a tour de force, along with Olivia Coleman and David Tennant.

With just this brief snapshot, she seems more than ready to take on the role of the 13th Doctor.



Moving on, the announcement of a female doctor brought up a lot of fanfare (and deservedly so). Personally, and no offense to him, but I was dreading a Kris Marshall reveal, who'd been among the rumor mill. While hoping they would do a female doctor, I still found myself in a bit of shock that they actually did it. When you think about it though, Moffat had paved the way for a female doctor...starting from the very first lines of Matt Smith.


Upon his remarks of "I'm a girl", while feeling his hair, its an early sign that in the Doctor Who universe, it's indeed possible to have a female timelord. And the clues go on from there.

In the 6th season episode "The Doctor's Wife", The Doctor mentions a timelord that goes by 'The Corsair'. Its revealed that the Corsair had been female, with the line "she was a bad girl".

One of the biggest hints of an upcoming female doctor, was of course 'Missy'.

 If The Doctor's best "frenemy" The Master could regenerate female, then why not the Doctor?

In the Season 9 finale "Hell Bent", we even witness a timelord regenerate female, with the general.

The 10th season dropped a good amount of hints, with the most blatant one in the first part of the finale "World Enough & Time". In a flashback scene, The Doctor talks with Bill about how timelords don't stand by human gender stereotypes.


So with all this being said, I don't quite understand why some people have a problem with a female doctor? Its been sketched out throughout the Moffat era that it indeed is possible.

I'm not going to dive into their criticisms, but I think its important that after 50+ years, girls now have a doctor that they can look up to. Steven Moffat tends to get a love/hate level reaction from fans, but one of his biggest successes in his legacy is paving the way for this to finally happen.

 

The 13th Doctor: Potential Candidates

With the 13th Doctor being revealed soon, I thought I'd briefly rundown some of the notable candidates that have popped up among the rumor mill. Who it'll actually be is anyone's guess, but who knows, maybe the next doctor is among this list.

Kris Marshall

Kris Marshall, known for his role in the British sitcom My Way, as well as Love Actually has seen his name frequented about in the casting rumor circuit. Lately he's been in the British-French crime comedy/drama Death In Paradise (quite a lot of genres jumbled in there), but left during its 6th season this past February, opening up an availability. Lately he's been involved in theatre.

Now as for my personal take, I think this would be somewhat of a bland casting. It'd be a little like a blend of David Tennant and Matt Smith. Now granted, I'm really not all that familiar with Marshall, so who knows how he'd do in the role, but it seems like Doctor Who has been setting up a bit of a shakeup in terms of the next doctor. 

Olivia Coleman

 Next up is award winning actress Olivia Coleman. A BAFTA and Golden Globe winner, she's been among the fan favorites in the Doctor rumor mill. 

She actually played a guest role on Doctor Who in the Season 5 opener "The Eleventh Hour". That's not her only connection though, as more recently she's been in Chris Chibnall's Broadchurch (who of course is the next Doctor Who showrunner), starring opposite former Doctor David Tennant. She also was in the much acclaimed series The Night Manager, so I think she definitely would have what it takes to become the 13th Doctor.

David Harewood

David Harewood is a Royal Academy trained actor. He's frequented a lot of top TV series, such as Homeland, Supergirl, and The Night Manager. Like Coleman, he also had a guest spot on Doctor Who  in "The End Of Time".

Personally I think he'd fit in well as The Doctor, but the problem is that as of now, he's still in Supergirl, so availability could be a question.

Phoebe Waller-Bridge

 

  

Actress, writer, playwright and director, Phoebe Waller-Bridge has been another fan favorite pick for the next doctor. She broke out in the British comedy series she created, Fleabag, which has started to gain a following stateside.

There could be another availability problem though, as she's currently filming in the Untitled Han Solo Film. Her role is unknown at the moment, so its unclear how big the part is.

Andrew Buchan

 

(Sidenote, we're starting to get into the candidates that I'm really not all that familiar with)

Andrew Buchan is a stage and television actor, who has worked alongside Tennant and Coleman in Broadchurch, so there's that Chibnall connection. He's also starred in the drama series The Fixer, as well as the period piece Garrow's Law.

In terms of availability, it doesn't look like he has anything in the works in the near future that's been announced.

Natalie Dormer

 

Natalie Dormer would be a pretty big get as the next Doctor. She's well known for starring in the Showtime series The Tudors, along with playing Moriarty/Irene in CBS' Elementary and  Game Of Thrones.

She also played the role of Cressida in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Parts 1 & 2. She has a pair of movies currently filming.

Anna Chancellor

 

Anna Chancellor is a BAFTA and Oliver Award nominated actress. She was famously a part of BBC's 1995 adaption of Pride & Prejudice. She's also appeared in Penny Dreadful and Downton Abbey.

From the looks of things, she'd be available for the role.

Suranne Jones

 

Suranne Jones is another candidate who had a prior guest role on Doctor Who, playing the Tardis personified in "The Doctor's Wife".  Recently she's been in Doctor Foster, where she won a BAFTA TV award for Best Actress. Prior, she starred in the British drama series Scott & Bailey.

Sacha Dhawan

Sacha Dhawan would be an interesting choice as the next Doctor. He's recently appeared in Marvel's Iron Fist, and had a role in the recent Sherlock season.

Maxine Peake

Maxine Peake came onto the scene with the British sitcom Dinnerladies. Since, she's appeared in the BBC legal drama Silk, and The Village. She's also a renowned stage actress, in Hamlet and A Streetcar named Desire.

Andrew Scott

Andrew Scott is most well known for playing Moriarty in Sherlock, where he won a BAFTA TV award for Best Supporting Actor. He also won a BIFA award for Pride. 

Michaela Coel

We wrap it up with Michaela Coel. Much like Waller-Bridge, she's broken out in her British sitcom Chewing Gum, where she won a BAFTA. She also appeared in the Black Mirror  episode "Nosedive". Her name popped up soon after Kris Marshall was mentioned  in the rumor circuit.