Das Forum » Each NFL season comes with unpredictable twist and turns

August is here Josh Allen Jersey , which means training camp and preseason football is here, which means that the NFL is on the verge of returning! such as Washington winning their division and the Cowboys winning four games following a year they nearly made the NFC championship game. Did anyone expect Doug Martin to finish 2nd in rushing? Or Peyton Manning finishing as the worst qualified quarterback by passer rating? The relatively short season (16 games compared to 82 in the NBA and 162 in MLB) allows for football to develop unique storylines that we talk about for years to come and this season is sure to produce just as many memorable moments.If you need any further proof of how hard predicting the NFL can be, look no further than NFL.com and their panel of experts' Super Bowl picks last year. The panel included 13 writers and the results weren’t….great. Nine of the 13 picked the Colts, who would finish 8-8 and miss the playoffs. Six of the 13 also picked the Packers, who didn’t even end up winning their division. There was even Eagles hype! Marc Sessler, who picked the Eagles to win the title after beating the Colts http://www.jaguarsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-jawaan-taylor-jersey , explained his reasoning: “Indy's less-than-stellar defense won't have the men to slow Chip Kelly's offense. This game won't be close.” The experts also never once predicted either of the two teams that would make the Super Bowl. Of the NFL’s final four; Arizona, Carolina, Denver, and New England, only New England was picked to be in the Super Bowl and only one person made that prediction! I’m not trying to ridicule these writers. They are great football analysts who know more about the sport than I’ve forgotten. I’m just trying to highlight predicting the NFL is hard, even for experts. Regardless, people LOVE to act like they know what is going to happen. It’s human nature and I’m no different. So please Josh Oliver Jersey , enjoy my 15 bold NFL predictions that I guarantee will be right and won’t be embarrassing to look back on in March
MIAMI — The New York Mets have their staff ace, at least for the next few weeks. The Miami Marlins hope they begin finding their next ace Friday night.

Rookie Sandy Alcantara is scheduled to make his season debut and his first major league start Friday night when the Marlins host the Mets in the opener of a three-game series between the two teams battling to stay out of the National League East basement at Marlins Park.

Both teams are coming off losses in their most recent games. The host Marlins fell Thursday afternoon to the Arizona Diamondbacks 4-0. The Mets were off Thursday after suffering a 5-3 loss Wednesday night to the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates.

The present is pretty bleak for the Mets (32-46) and the Marlins (32-50), who have the two worst records in the NL.

But both teams may get a glimpse at things to come when the 22-year-old Alcantara steps to the mound against perhaps the best pitcher in baseball, New York ace Jacob deGrom (5-3, 1.69 ERA).

For the Marlins, who acquired Alcantara from the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for outfielder Marcell Ozuna last Dec. 14 as part of the organization’s latest teardown, Friday marks the latest step in the development of a pitcher believed to have upper-rotation potential.

Alcantara http://www.jaguarsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-quincy-williams-ii-jersey , who entered the season as Baseball America’s 70th-ranked prospect, throws in the high 90s and also offers an above-average curveball, slider and changeup. He was 5-3 with a 3.71 ERA in 14 starts with Triple-A New Orleans, for whom he exceeded 95 pitches in each of his final six appearances.

“He’s got all the weapons, so for him it’s just being able to sequence (pitches), stay ahead in counts and then the other part is managing the game holding runners, things like that Ryquell Armstead Jersey ,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly told reporters Thursday.

Alcantara didn’t get a decision and posted a 4.32 ERA in eight relief appearances last season with the Cardinals.

As for deGrom, the next month should determine whether or not he becomes the Mets’ building block for the future, or the player whose trade sparks the organization’s rebuilding efforts.

John Ricco, who became one of the three men filling the general manager’s role with the announcement Tuesday that Sandy Alderson is taking an indefinite leave of absence to focus on his cancer treatments, said Wednesday that moving deGrom and/or Opening Day starter Noah Syndergaard is not something the club is necessarily looking to do. But he also admitted that he, Omar Minaya and J.P. Ricciardi need to entertain all possibilities as the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline approaches.

The Mets have a bottom-five minor league system and deGrom, who turned 30 earlier this month http://www.jaguarsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-gardner-minshew-ii-jersey , has a 2.81 ERA in 123 career starts and does not become a free agent until after the 2020 season, would likely bring back the biggest haul of any pitcher on the market over the next month.

“For me, everything has to be on the table,” Ricco told reporters. “But you have to look long and hard before you move a game-changing, top-of-the-rotation pitcher.”

Alcantara has never faced the Mets. DeGrom is 4-4 with a 3.62 ERA in 14 career starts against the Marlins.