Tag Archive | Arizona

NY Jets vs Denver Broncos Week 6 Preview

By Jack Allen

Well this could be a huge turning point, turn around or a constant when we look at the Jets schedule at the end of the season. The 1-4 New York Jets will play host to the defending AFC champions Denver Broncos at 1:00 at MetLife this Sunday. The Broncos are coming off a 41-20 victory over the unbeaten Arizona Cardinals in which Peyton Manning threw for nearly 500 yards, and four touchdown tosses. Denver is unbeaten, aside from their loss week 3 at Seattle in OT. The Broncos have picked up right from where they left off in the last regular season. As for New York, they’re coming off of their worst loss all season to the San Diego Chargers who completely annihilated them 31-0. Jets made a QB change in the 2nd half and finally put in Vick, but he couldn’t do much at all either.

This Sunday, everyone around the NFL is predicting a game in which Denver is going to beat the Jets really badly, but let me tell you why they won’t. If the Jets lose this game and fall to 1-5, ultimately it’d be very difficult to recover. This team is as desperate as possible to hang in there and win this football game. Also, Head Coach Rex Ryan is on the hot seat, and losing will only make it look worse on him. Lastly, the crowd could be a deciding factor in this game. Peyton Manning operates his offense based on audibles and signals (examples are “52 is the Mike” & “Omaha”). Jets nation needs to get loud and do their best to disrupt Peyton Manning and his audibles, and play calls. Hopefully, they didn’t give up on the team already.

With Rex Ryan’s job up in the air, the Jets will face Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos (Via AP)

Here now are the keys to the game. It is imperitive that the Jets score early touchdowns. Not Field Goals…touchdowns. Finishing an early drive would be huge for Quarterback Geno Smith’s confidence. If they’re on defense early, they must not let the Broncos get more than even one or two first downs. Getting off to a good start will be huge, in ways of confidence and getting the crowd in the game early. Another thing, NO TURNOVERS! The Jets must attempt to establish a running game early so that the clock runs, taking the ball out of the hands of Peyton Manning. By running the ball, it allows Geno Smith to have a much easier time passing the ball. One last thing, do not do anything to give Denver momentum and take the crowd out of the game. Do not go for it on fourth and one, punt the ball (obviously there will be a few punts but keep it to a minimum) or kick the field goal. No onside kicks unless needed, and lastly no big plays for Peyton Manning. They’ll need to keep Manning and his receivers contained. Arizona couldn’t do that with Demaryius Thomas, and see what happened? Over 200 receiving yards and two touchdowns! The Jets don’t have the offense to afford that, so they better keep Denver in check. I’m going to stay extremely optimistic headed into this game because I think the Jets will come around. My final prediction for this game is the Jets kick a game-winning field goal as time expires and pull of a stunning upset 20-17.

Jack Allen is a writer for dabuzzza.com. He is a fan of the New York Mets, New York Islanders, New York Knicks, New York Jets, Seattle Seahawks, Seattle Mariners, Queens Park Rangers, and West Virginia Mountaineer football and basketball. His favorite athletes are David Wright, John Tavares, Geno Smith, Allen Iverson and Charlie Austin. He is a very passionate and determined fan. You can follow him on twitter @JackAllen99.

10/08/14

Pacific Division 2014-15 Preview

By Brett Malamud

Wednesday is finally here! All day long, Dabuzzza will be bringing you the NHL coverage as we approach tonight’s games. If you missed the Metropolitan Division Preview, click here. If you missed the Atlantic Division Preview, click here. If you missed the Central Division Preview, click here. Arguably the league’s top division, the Pacific Division will be highly contested and is currently filled with goaltender stories. Let’s take a look:

Anaheim Ducks

Dany Heatley and Ryan Kesler come into a high octane offense that led the league in goals per game. Cam Fowler, Sami Vatanen and Hampus Lindholm represent youth that will lead the defense that ranked ninth in the league in goals against. John Gibson is expected to get the bulk of the playing time in goal but Frederik Anderson will battle him for starts.

Arizona Coyotes

Sure they changed their name from Phoenix to Arizona but the Coyotes will still face the same struggles. The departure of Mike Ribeiro and Radim Vrbata does not bode well for this offense. They brought in Sam Gagner, but the team ranked 20th in goals per game and it’ll be a tough task trying to improve that. The Coyotes ranked 23rd in the league in shots against. Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Keith Yandle will attempt to plug that hole in the sinking ship that is the Arizona Coyotes. In goal, Mike Smith and Devan Dubnyk will try to stop the many shots that we know they’ll face this season. It could be a long season in the Desert.

Calgary Flames

Losing Mike Cammalleri to the New Jersey Devils was a tough one to swallow, but the addition of Mason Raymond was an intriguing one. Raymond comes in after his one year in Toronto. Speaking of additions, Jonas Hiller will take the reigns as the starting goaltender for Calgary after signing a two year deal back in July. Mark Giordano and T.J. Brodie will take first line defensive pairing. The Flames ranked 24th in the league in goals against and for good reason. They’re really not that good. A midseason trade could change that (Tyler Myers?).

Edmonton Oilers

Edmonton looked more like Dead-monton last season. They ranked last in the league in goals against and 24th in goals for. These aren’t the kind of stats that you want to see from a team that had a top five draft pick in four out of the last five years. Benoit Pouliot and Teddy Purcell age huge additions, yes, but will it change the landscape of the team? I’m not so sure about that one. Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle will take over the first line, with Leon Draisaitl and Nail Yakupov taking the second line alongside Pouliot. The defense isn’t really worth mentioning, but Justin Schultz and Andrew Ference will lead the back line. A goalie dilemma is inevitable as Ben Scrivens and Viktor Fasth will take the duties. The pair isn’t stellar and could help in leading to their downfall.

Los Angeles Kings

The champs are back! The Kings come off of a magical season that was capped off by a goal from Alec Martinez in overtime to win the Stanley Cup. This year they’ll look to defend their title and it’ll have to begin with the offense. The addition of Marian Gaborik at the trade deadline proved to be the move that the Kings needed to send them over the top and into a deep journey through the playoffs. Kings Captain Dustin Brown will lead the offensive unit, which includes Jeff Carter and Anze Kopitar, in trying to put the puck in the net. After watching the offensive attack in the playoffs, it should come as a surprise that the Kings ranked 26th in the NHL in goals per game in the regular season. However, they led the league in goals against average. That’s what carried them last season to the playoffs. Led by Drew Doughty, the defense will look to stop the rest of the league from scoring. Plus, it helps when you have arguably the best goalie in the NHL playing for your team. Jonathan Quick is just that and comes off of a year in which he finished fifth in goals against average and finished second in the league in shutouts. It’ll be a tough task, but the Kings can still be considered as royalty in the NHL.

Jonathan Quick is one of the league’s top goaltenders (Via AP)

San Jose Sharks

Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau remain with the team for now, but could be on their way out via trades at any point this season. The Sharks would like to trade both sooner rather than later, as tensions will mount each game that the pair is not traded. While they are still in San Jose, the two veterans will be able to teach second year player Tomas Hertl, along with the 25 year old Logan Couture, who still can learn a lot. The team lost Dan Boyle to the Rangers, and the top line now has Marc Edouard Vlasic paired with Justin Braun. Brent Burns is another notable name on the defensive end, a season after scoring 22 goals. In goal, Alex Stalock is going to push Antti Niemi to the brink for starts. Expect a heavy timeshare between the two.

Vancouver Canucks

Oh Vancouver. A few years ago, this team was at the top of the West. Now they’re a team that missed the playoffs last season. Well can they get back there the season? Willie Desjardins comes in as the new head coach, replacing John Tortorella. The big addition to the club comes in goal, after the Canucks added goaltender Ryan Miller. Miller will have Alexander Edler and Chris Tanev as the first defensive unit protecting him. The Ryan Kessler trade to Anaheim sent back Nick Bonino and Luca Sbisa, who will certainly contribute. The Sedin brothers come off of their worst season in a decade, and will look to return to the dominance that we’ve previously seen from them. Everyone should take notice of Radim Vrbata. The 33 year old will sit on the Sedin line and that should put him in the scoring sheet on a regular basis. This season will be a journey, but one that might end with the Canucks back in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Brett Malamud is a Computer Science Major at Binghamton University. He is the co-founder of dabuzzza.com. His favorite athletes are Derek Jeter and Todd Bertuzzi. You can follow him on twitter at @brettnyy

10/07/14

Studs and Duds: NFL Week Five

By Brett Malamud

This week, Peyton Manning came back in full force and the Jets ended their day with zero points on the scoreboard. Here’s week five’s edition of Studs and Duds:

Stud: Peyton Manning, Denver Broncos

Although he threw 2 interceptions, he finished with 479 yards and 4 touchdowns against a tough Arizona Cardinals defense. Next week, Manning heads into MetLife stadium for the first time since losing last season’s Super Bowl. The only difference? He’ll be facing the awful New York Jets defense rather than the Seattle Seahawks.

Dud: Alfred Morris, Washington Redskins

The Redskins just couldn’t get anything going on the ground against the Seattle Seahawks, and Alfred Morris’ stat line reflects that. Morris finished the day with 29 on 13 carries. Washington will take on the tough defensive team in Arizona, when they face the Cardinals.

Stud: Demaryius Thomas, Denver Broncos

Thomas set a franchise record against the Arizona Cardinals when he racked up 226 receiving yards on eight catches. Thomas will face the Jets and their weak secondary next week. Expect big points, fantasy owners.

Demaryius Thomas had a lot to celebrate this week after setting a franchise record this week (Via AP)

Dud: Chris Johnson, New York Jets

Johnson disappointed many this week, gaining just 24 yards on seven carries, and losing a fumble. Next, he’ll face the Denver Broncos and that doesn’t pose well for him.

Stud: Arian Foster, Houston Texans

Foster came off of a week in which he had six yards on eight carries, and impressed. He finished the day with 157 rushing yards on 23 carries and two touchdowns. In addition, he also had two catches for 15 yards against the Dallas Cowboys.

Dud: Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jacksonville Jaguars are still winless, falling to the Pittsburgh Steelers this past week by the score of 17-9. They dropped to 0-5 with the loss. Their schedule becomes much easier over the next three weeks, facing the Tennessee Titans at LP Field in Nashville, before coming home to face the Cleveland Browns and Miami Dolphins. I’d like to think they’ll compete and escape one of these matchups with a win, but with the football that they’ve been playing lately, it’ll be a tough task.

Stud: Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks

Playing on Monday Night Football, Wilson completed 18-of-24 passes for 201 yards and two touchdowns. Normally that would be ok and could help to win a football game. But the ground game from Wilson added to his great performance. In addition to the passing game, he had 11 carries for 122 yards and another touchdown. He had two more touchdowns that were taken away by penalties.

Dud: New York Jets

The New York Jets thought that they were escaping from this studs and duds list, however they are not. The Jets were shut out 31-0 by the San Diego Chargers in a complete letdown out west. They’ll host the Denver Broncos next week, and I’d be shocked to see them compete with them after watching this week’s performance in San Diego.

Stud: Branden Oliver, San Diego Chargers

Coming in for the injured Donald Brown, Oliver had 114 yards on 19 carries with a touchdown in the Chargers’ rout of the New York Jets. In addition, he had four catches for 68 yards and another touchdown. He plays the Oakland Raiders next week in another favorable matchup.