NFC Preseason Predictions

With the 4th week of the preseason wrapped up, it's time for another year of The Sports Vibe's annual NFL Preseason Predictions. Today, we'll predict the results of the NFC:

NFC East:

1. Washington Redskins

2. New York Giants

3. Philadelphia Eagles

4. Dallas Cowboys

In one of the tightest divisons to predict, I chose the Redskins. Honestly, you could make a case for any of these teams, but I'm picking the 'Skins in the hopes that RGIII avoids a sophomore slump. If his knee recovers in time and he remains healthy, the Redskins will probably win the division. Otherwise, the experienced Giants will be nipping at their heels. 

The Beard in Dodger Blue

Oh no. No way. This can't be happening. Brian Wilson to the Dodgers?!?!?!

Our beloved Beard. The one who won us the first World Series in San Francisco history. The closer who won over the hearts of fans everywhere with his quirky, charismatic personality. Even when he wasn't playing, he still kept us entertained and made our Giants fun to watch.

And now he's with the enemy, in that hideous Dodger Blue. Giants fans everywhere, myself included, have no idea how we're going to root against him. But we will. We did it to Juan Uribe and we'll do it to Brian Wilson. We have no choice. He's a Dodger now.

I don't blame him of course for switching sides. It makes sense. The Dodgers are in the playoff hunt. The Giants are not. I'm sure anybody would choose to sign with the Dodgers in this situation.

But it still hurts to see a fan favorite switch allegiances like that. We as Giants fans have so many memories of this guy. I remember his strange spandex suit at the ESPYs. And his shoes controversy where he had to color his shoes with a Sharpie. And that 2010 Giants slogan, "Fear the Beard."

It'll be tough to see Wilson as a Dodger. But at least we can remember all the memories he gave us as Giants fans and not hate him too much. Go Giants!

Sellers

The All-Star break is nearing, and many believe it ridiculous that the last-place Giants have 3 All-Stars in the game. What's more ridiculous? The Giants' belief that they should be buyers at the trade deadline. They should not.

Let's start with the obvious. The Gants suck right now. They just got swept by the 4th place Mets. They've lost 16 of their last 19 games. Brandon Belt can't hit, Matt Cain can't pitch, and Jeremy Affeldt just admitted that right now, he stinks. Injuries have caused this team to crumble. Ever since Ryan Vogelsong went down, it's been a spiral of injuries, with extended absences from Angel Pagan and Pablo Sandoval as well. Right now, the team we're putting out on the field feels very much like a minor league team, having seen the likes of Juan Perez, Cole Gillespie, Jake Dunning, Mike Kickham, Nick Noonan, and Tony Abreu all get significant playing time as the starters succumb to the injury bug. The Giants are in reverse right now, and there's no stopping it until Sandoval, Pence, and Belt get out of their slumps and Zito, Lincecum, and Cain get back on track. By the time everything starts clicking again, the Giants will probably be out of the running for the NL West crown. Which is why I'm advocating selling.

Dwight to Golden State? No Thanks!

It's been ages since I posted, but I did promise that the blog would be back up by summer, so here we go.

And I have the perfect topic for The Sports Vibe's return: the Dwight Howard Saga 2013.

After a disappointing season with the Lakers (some would say he tore the team apart), Howard is once again a free agent. And once again, there is significant interest from several teams. The favorites are the Houston Rockets (the most likely destination), Dallas Mavericks (who always like their veterans), Atlanta Hawks (Howard's hometown team, but one with literally no fan base), and the Los Angeles Lakers (absolutely no idea why he'd want to return to that disaster...or why they'd want him).

But wait, this just in, there's one more suitor: THE GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS.

That's right, the same Warriors who overpaid David Lee in 2010 - and then watched as he blossomed into an All-Star in 2013 before getting hurt in the playoffs and watching the Warriors play better in his absence. The same Warriors who struggled through Andris Biedrins as their starting center for the better part of the last decade and then chose to amnesty Charlie Bell instead of him in 2011, leaving the Warriors burdened by the Biedrins contract. The same Warriors who traded franchise icon Monta Ellis to Milwaukee for Andrew Bogut, a player so adept at appearing as if he has never played basketball in his life that when he dunks, the crowd goes wild. Alright, that one was unfair, but you get the point.

Ode to Kaep

I haven't posted in a long while, so I apologize. I've been extremely busy, and the blog will definitely return to full swing by this summer.

But, regardless of how busy I am, there is no way I can ignore the performance that Colin Kaepernick put up on Saturday against the Packers. It was simply phenomenal.

From the start, when Jim Harbaugh switched QBs, I was a Kaepernick skeptic. I honestly preferred Alex Smith. I preferred his cautiousness and consistency over Kaepernick's daring and volatility. Alex Smith is not a bad quarterback. He can make the necessary throws, and occasionally can even scramble effectively.But now, my eyes have been opened: Kaep can do all that - and more.

Colin's performance last Saturday was powerful, to say the least. I remember the beginning, when he threw that ill-advised interception to Sam Shields. I was watching the end of the Ravens-Broncos game while keeping an eye on the start of the Niners' game. And as soon as he threw that pick, my immediate reaction was, "Alex Smith wouldn't do that." I was worried.