Calvin Johnson 'A Wonderful Beast'

The new album from Calvin Johnson, is as much a collaboration as a solo album. Recorded at the Audio Eagle Studio in Nashville, Tennessee, Johnson with producer Patrick Carney and chief engineer Marc Whitmore, used the motif 'Rock and Roll will Never Die' as a premise honoring the electric guitar, modern synthesizer and trap drum kit circulating around the chords of A, C and Dm. The results is a creation unlike any rock and roll album before.

The name Carney may well be familiar to musos, as one half of Ohio's rambunctious The Black Keys, a band who were built around not setting itself limits by its own mere limitations of two musicians performing.

Johnson has released an album which is an amalgamation of invention and creation, one bursting with promise looking towards the future as well as being respectful of the past and where they have come from.

His drawl is reminiscent of early Johnny Cash and yet there is a vibrancy to the work, he may not sound infused when singing 'Kiss Me Sweetly' but there is a resilience coursing through the album

NFL Week 15 preview

Week 14 reminded us of many things. Yes Peyton can still play in the cold, the Seahawks are a very different team on the road and the Saints are a much better team in a dome.

The NFL also reminded us of the joy of participation, when you couple that with a snow blizzard that the Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles played in and through.  It did not stop LeSean McCoy running up 200 plus yards of rushing with two touchdowns to enhance the Eagles playoff potential and again put questions on the Lions' who are now tied with Chicago Bears atop the NFC North with three games to go.

Week 15 predictions

Chargers (6-7) at Broncos (11-2)
The Chargers are still maintaining hopes of making the playoffs but they need to win this tough Thursday night battle on the road at Mile High.  The Broncos are rolling, as they scored 51 last week versus a tenacious Tennessee.  Wes Welker will likely miss the game due to a second concussion in a month, yet Peyton Manning has more than enough weapons at his disposal. Watch out for Julius Thomas back to full health at tight end to have a big day.
Prediction: Broncos by 10

Redskins (3-10) at Falcons (3-10)
This could have been a battle between two playoff bound sides instead bad on-field decision making and injury crises have led to this basement battle fodder. Atlanta are not playing awfully, yet could end up with the overall No.1 pick and get Jadaveon Clowney to shore up a battled defence.  They have played hard without sucking, and they should have more than enough to oppose a Washington side who have flattered to deceive pre-season expectation, built around the hopeful return of RG3 that has never materialised.
Prediction: Falcons by 7

Bears (7-6) at Browns (4-8)
Da Bears are rolling with Josh McCown at the helm making few mistakes and scoring more touchdowns.  The Browns are not as bad as their record suggests and in Josh Gordon have one of the most dynamic playmakers in the NFL currently.
Prediction: Bears by 6

Texans (2-11) at Colts (8-5)
If the Colts win they wrap up the division and a home playoff game, that will likely be versus the Kansas City Chiefs though.  The Colts will not fancy that match-up as their offensive line is woeful and is failing to protect the franchise Andrew Luck. In that same breathe, the Texans have enough defensive lineman to maybe trouble Luck on Sunday. However, the Texans cannot seem to win games presently and it cost Gary Kubiak his job after the most recent loss on Sunday.
Prediction: Colts by 7

Patriots (10-3) at Dolphins (7-6)
The Dolphins were one footstep from being 6-7 and out of the playoff picture, yet Antonio Brown's errant metatarsal (sideline karma is a bitch Tomlin) means the Dolphins got a big road win in the cold of Pittsburgh.  The Patriots will secure the AFC East with victory in the warmer climate of Miami; however, they will have to proceed without Rob Gronkowski who ruptured both his ACL and MCL due to a low but legal tackle.  Tom Brady will still find targets and head to Shane Vereen to benefit the most as the Pats will find a way to win.
Prediction: Pats by 3

Eagles (8-5) at Vikings (3-8-1)
The Vikings lost out to the Baltimore Ravens in a frankly bizarre game on Sunday when five touchdowns were scored in the last 2:03 of regulation. Adrian Peterson may be out this week so Toby Gerhart will get more of the workload.  The Eagles however, will want to win and keep up their momentum thanks to the work of McCoy and Nick Foles who has looked more and more secure of late.
Prediction: Eagles by 8

Seahawks (11-2) at Giants (5-8)
The Seahawks travel East for another road trip, however, unlike last week on the road in San Fran with a team close to their equal this is against the woeful New York Giants who since getting back to 5-6 cannot wait for this season to end and rebuild appropriately.
Prediction: Seahawks by 10

49ers (9-4) at Buccaneers (4-9)
The 49ers will want to maintain their momentum following the vital home win over Seattle, whilst the Bucs  suffered their first lose in five games last week.  The 49ers have Michael Crabtree back and offers a different dimension to their wideout threat, the Bucs will be competitive but cannot see them pulling off the upset.
Prediction: 49ers by 6

Bills (4-9) at Jaguars (4-9)
The Jaguars are on a roll, four wins in five and been impressive with how they have conducting themselves following an 0-8 start. Chad Henne and a returning MJD has helped along with the reliable Cecil Shorts.  The Bills were my tip for a .500 record but the injury to EJ Manuel was something they never recovered from.
Prediction: Jaguars by 7

Chiefs (10-3) at Raiders (4-8)
The Chiefs properly beat up the Washington NFL team last week, if the ref from the Froch-Groves fight was in charge he might have stopped it after six minutes of the second quarter.  The Chiefs still maintain hope of winning the AFC West however they need to continue winning and hope the Broncos come unstuck. The latter is unlikely, but a win over the Raiders is possible. The Raiders have played better than their record suggests but will they have any answer to Jamaal Charles this week.
Prediction: Chiefs by 12

Jets (6-7) at Panthers (9-4)
The Panthers bandwagon came unstuck in the New Orleans dome last week as Rob Ryan's defence had an answer to the play action, run plays of the Panthers. The Jets are suffering behind the so-so play of Geno Smith who is finding out how tough and intense an NFL season is in comparison to the College set-up.  The Panthers will need to bounce back, with Greg Olsen and Steve Smith going to have good days against the Jets secondary.
Prediction: Panthers by 7

Packers (6-6-1) at Cowboys (7-6)
The Cowboys blew up in windy and cold Chicago, luckily they are back at home and facing a Packers team who will still be without Aaron Rodgers whose collarbone and neck injury has not been cleared. Cowboys are one game behind the Eagles atop the NFC East, they need to win desperately.
Prediction: Cowboys by 7

Cardinals (8-5) at Titans (5-8)
The Cardinals have been the biggest surprise of the NFL season, and the most pleasant as man for man they are lesser than some other more vaunted teams. Considering the division they are in, it is a surprise they have 8 wins already and usually that would be good enough for a playoff spot.  However, they are sitting in 7th position behind the 49ers (9-4) and Panthers (9-4), they need to hope one of those teams slips up in due course especially Carolina who they beat earlier in the season 22-6 at home.
After the Titans they go to Seattle, then host San Fran on the last weekend of regular season. The Panthers host the Saints next week, so the Cardinals are not done yet, but most definitely hopeful.  Carson Palmer has two great receiving targets; Larry Fitzgerald and Malcolm Floyd, and two established running backs in Rashard Mendenhall and Andre Ellington.
Prediction: Cardinals by 7

Saints (10-3) at Rams (5-8)
The Saints are close to wrapping up the #2 seed in the NFC, but they have to avoid this potential banana skin on the road at St. Louis although being indoors in December will surely be a home away from home for Drew Brees and his high scoring offence.
Prediction: Saints by 8

Bengals (9-4) at Steelers (5-8)
Good old fashioned AFC North slugfest in most likely freezing conditions, this will be a big test of the Bengals intentions as they need to win this game to stave off the Ravens revival.  The Steelers will be gutted having been so close to an unlikely last minute victory at home to the Dolphins, nevertheless they will still play hard in spite of not being able to finish better than .500 this year.
Prediction: Bengals by 2

Ravens (7-6) at Lions (7-6)
Two evenly matched teams on paper and record, but indoors the Lions will want to put on a show.  Oddly, rookie Safety Matt Elam has just called Calvin Johnson 'pretty old', which for a 27 year old physical specimen is an odd thing to say.  Whilst no respect was surely meant, where else is Matthew Stafford going to throw on Monday night. Reggie Bush will hopefully be back from an ankle injury to lend his rushing and receiving skills to the Lions party.  The Ravens are doing well to stay in the playoff picture, partly due to the woeful nature of the AFC competition - apart from the top 3 of Denver, New England and KC - however, Ray Rice is getting better numbers and Denis Pitta is back from injury and provides Joe Flacco with a safety blanket of a receiver like Jason Witten for Tony Romo in Dallas.
Prediction: Lions by 4

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Lets Talk About Dez

The Dallas Cowboys still claim to be America's Team despite them not winning a Super Bowl this millennium, despite Tony Romo only ever winning one playoff game. The Cowboys have been an exciting team this season in a sub-par division, well they have been involved in two exciting regular season games.  Two of the most exciting games in recent memory, and they have lost both of them.

They scored 48 points in a game, and lost to the Denver Broncos on a time expiring Matt Prater field goal at JerryWorld thanks to a Tony Romo interception that negated his entire 500 yards he threw for previously to the one costly reception to a Bronco.

On Sunday, they succumb on the road to the Detroit Lions as they allowed a Matthew Stafford one yard rushing touchdown when Stafford jumped over his offensive line to break the plain and give tie the game before an added on point gave them the 31-30 scoreline with 12 seconds remaining.

Stafford's touchdown led to a very volatile shouting and shoving match between Cowboys wide receiver, Dez Bryant and tight end Jason Witten as they jawed about how the team has somehow lost from a winning position of 30-24 whilst in possession of the ball with 84 seconds remaining.  This was Bryant's second spat of the game as he earlier was seen being volatile towards Tony Romo on the sideline following another unsuccessful drive.

Bryant's comments and behaviour is thought to stem from some professional jealousy as Bryant was on the sideline watching Megatron Calvin Johnson gain 329 receiving yards from Stafford off of 14 receptions and 16 targets.  Stafford-Johnson cemented their reputation as the best QB-WR combo in the NFL currently, as Stafford's ability to get the ball to Johnson and Johnson's sheer skill in grabbing the ball out of the air sometimes in triple coverage.

Bryant shares an element of that faith and belief with Tony Romo, yet Bryant's ability is sometimes blown aside by his downbeat demeanour which makes people question his skill level but not his talent.  Bryant has all the ability in the world, yet his head is sometimes not there.

On Sunday in Detroit, Bryant had 3 receptions for 72 yards for 2 TDs off of 6 targets.  On the opposite side, Terrance Williams had 2 receptions for 64 yards for 1 TD off of 10 targets.  In comparison to Johnson's record setting day these numbers are pitiful and in the shoot-out that this game became you would expect Bryant to break three figures.  Yet this is indicative of the Cowboys unwillingness to take a game by the scruff of the neck and conspire to mess up from a winning position.

Whereas in the Broncos game they were always playing catch-up against the Manning machine, here they were ahead for most of the game until the last 12 seconds.  They were sitting on the threshold of a 5-3 record a two game lead over the others in the division, instead they sit at .500 (4-4) and a one game lead over the Eagles whom they embarrassed last week on the road.

The Cowboys defence gave up too many points to the Broncos and in spite of the sterling effort of Sean Lee who picked off Stafford twice on Sunday, they could not shutdown Johnson when he was the only person Stafford was aiming at.  Whilst Johnson had 329 the next best receiver Kris Durham had 64 yards only.

You cannot begrudge Bryant's behaviour, he could tell something was going wrong and that the Cowboys were not taking advantage of the situation they were in. Whilst teams like Denver and San Francisco (against Washington and Jacksonville) went for the jugular on Sunday, the Cowboys showed a lack of a killer instinct.

Against poor teams they are very good, wins versus Rams, Redskins and Eagles attest to that but they have lost to four playoff bound teams in Kansas, Denver, San Diego and now the Lions. 

Their defence now ranks last in passing yards, allowing 315.4 and they still have to face Drew Brees, Jay Cutler (if back from his groin injury), Aaron Rodgers and Eli Manning on the run-in. If they get to 8 wins they should win the NFC East and have a home playoff game but that might be against the 49ers or Seahawks which they will be no match for.

Bryant made have made a lot of noise on Sunday, but maybe he was saying the right things, unfortunately for him no-one in Dallas is choosing to listen.

NFL 2012 Week 1 picks

Okay another season, another chance to remove egg from your face and give you my picks for the first Sunday of the NFL season.

This season promises to be good with all teams enjoying a full off-season with no CBA strike and bargaining occuring.  The players asked for less physical practices, yet injuries are still happening.  Some teams have been affected by such injuries such as Minnesota Vikings with Adrian Petersen; yet some teams like Kansas City have those returning like Jamal Charles who will change the balance of a side.

Some teams have been affected by contract hold outs like Maurice Jones-Drew of Jacksonville; or a new star on a new team; Peyton Manning starts for Denver, whilst the man he replaced Tim Tebow lines up in a supposed wildcat offence with the New York Jets.

All in all though I cannot wait for the season to start, and having wrongly predicted a New York Giants victory on opening night, I hope my picks are a bit better this weekend

Week 1, Sunday 9th September
Colts @ BEARS - a baptism of fire for the new star rookie QB Andrew Luck facing a tenacious defence of Chicago even without the questionable Brian Urlacher.  Jay Cutler rekindles his partnership with Brandon Marshall and Matt Forte with his new contract will want to get off to a winning start.  Double digit victory, though Luck should still throw 2 TDs

EAGLES @ Browns - Michael Vick v Brandon Weedon; like John Wayne v Randolph Scott. Who you going to pick? But Eagles have too many other weapons, and Andy Reid has won 63% of his road trips, too much experience for the Browns, though will be good to see how Trent Richardson's knee holds up

Rams @ LIONS - personally I like the Rams and think they will improve to maybe 6-10 this season, although on Detroit's home turf it is asking a lot.  Although Jeff Fisher v Megatron will be good; how will the League combat the best receiver in football. Double digit victory.

PATRIOTS @ Titans - the reigning AFC Champions return with more weapons against a quietly rebuilt Titans with Jake Locker at the helm.  Might be closer than people may think, but on paper the quality shines through.

Falcons @ CHIEFS - this is a great opening match-up; Atlanta are one of the better regular season teams yet have no play-off win yet for Matt Ryan. The Chiefs have rallied for Romeo Crennel, and with a 1-2 punch of Charles and Peyton Hillis at running back, and Dwayne Bowe still at wideout, expect an upset in Kansas.

Jaguars @ VIKINGS - not the most mouth watering of encounters but in terms of quarterback play, Christian Ponder is better than Blaine Gabbert right now, and the Viking will win if Petersen starts.

Redskins @ SAINTS - following the news that Johnathn Vilma and Will Smith will be eligible to play this season, this will give the Saints extra motivation to get off to a winning start.  They may not have Sean Payton, but Drew Brees is this team's true leader.  RG3 debuts and expectations are high.

Bills @ JETS - this one has flipped and flopped for weeks, but I nudge it to the Jets as they have the Tebow option for short yardage and wildcat.  Ryan Fitzpatrick is okay but the Jets sometimes know how to win and have not shown us their full hand yet.

Dolphins @ TEXANS - Ryan Tannehill goes on the road for his rookie start at AFC South favourites Houston.  Houston have weapons on offence, yet in spite of losing defensive options will still have too much for a team very much in transition.

49ers @ PACKERS - what a great game for the first week,the two best regular season teams from NFC face off.  The 49ers are better with more weapons at receiver and added Brandon Jacobs, yet this is still Aaron Rodgers at Lambeau, home field advantage still counts for a lot nowadays.

SEAHAWKS @ Cardinals - Russell Wilson is an explosive QB, he will excite people and Pete Carroll has put his neck on the line; Arizona have one of the best receivers in football in Larry Fitzgerald yet they still cannot find a man good enough to throw to him, they have chosen John Skelton.

Panthers @ BUCCANEERS - the Bucs have changed coach, they traded well getting Vincent Jackson from San Diego, drafted well in getting Doug Martin and have a decent QB in Josh Freeman.  The Panthers do have Cam Newton, but again the home team for me on this occasion. The momentum is in Tampa Bay.

Steelers @ BRONCOS - a great contest with Rothliesberger v Peyton Manning in his regular season debut for Denver.  I fancy Manning to come out of the gate here, throwing to numerous and unheralded receivers (hello Eric Decker) who will become household names.

Bengals @ RAVENS - a tasty divisional rivalry match up for Monday Night Football's opener; expect the Ravens and their new no-huddle offence to create even more points and targets for Ray Rice, under the leadership of Joe Flacco.

CHARGERS @ Raiders - whilst the nudge for the AFC West has been given to the Broncos and Chiefs; the Chargers have flown under the radar whilst the Raiders are in turmoil.  If the Chargers can halt Darren McFadden they win the game.