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NFC Divisional Round: Seattle Seahawks at Green Bay Packers Preview
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NFC Divisional Round: Seattle Seahawks at Green Bay Packers Preview

by Ryan Cole
written by Ryan Cole

NFC Divisional Round: Seattle Seahawks at Green Bay Packers Preview

The Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs will wrap up on Sunday in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Green Bay Packers will play host to their bitter rival Seattle Seahawks at 6:40 eastern time, live from Lambeau Field. Despite being in different divisions, the rivalry between these two foes is nothing short of enticing. From the “Fail Mary” to the epic NFC Title Game back in 2015. And oh yeah, can’t forget the infamous Matt Hasselbeck guarantee. To add to the excitement of this rivalry, fans get a playoff match-up between elite NFL quarterbacks. It all goes down Sunday afternoon.

Seattle-

The Seahawks qualified for this match-up after escaping a road battle with a 17-9 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card Round. Their ground game led by “Beast Mode”, Marshawn Lynch, was the difference. According to Coach Pete Carroll, Lynch will have a larger workload against the Packers. Quarterback Russell Wilson had an MVP caliber regular season and continued his surge last week against the Eagles. He completed 18 of 30 passes for 325 yards and one touchdown pass. It was actually only his fourth game of 300+ yards on the season, but it’s his lack of turnovers that have really made the difference for him this season. The Hawks went 7-1 away from Century Link Field and are no strangers to playing in the cold.

Seahawk to Watch- D.K. Metcalf

This rookie wideout quietly had a fantastic season for the Seahawks. D.K. hauled in 58 passes for 900 yards and 7-touchdowns. What did he do for an encore in his playoff debut? Just went off for 160 yards while snagging 7-passes, including one for a touchdown. If this kid can repeat his performance against a Packers defense that ranks 14th in passing yards allowed at 232.6 yards per game, then he will be the key to victory.

Green Bay- 

The Packers won the NFC North for the first time since 2016. They also qualified for a bye week with a comeback win over the Lions in Week 17. When you think of the leader of this team, Aaron Rodgers comes to mind. However, he wasn’t the only one that led this team to a tie for the second-best record in the NFL at 13-3. It was the other Aaron, Aaron Jones, their elite running back that led this team while Rodgers kind of took a back seat to the running game for once. Aaron Jones finished the regular season with a beastly 16 touchdowns from the line of scrimmage while rushing for 1,084 yards. While there was a significant emphasis on the running game this season, Rodgers had a solid season himself. He threw for 4,002-yards, and 26-touchdown passes.

Packer to Watch- Brian Bulaga

Brian Bulaga cleared concussion protocol on Wednesday, and that’s great news for Aaron Rodgers and the rest of the offensive line. If he can stay healthy, that will be key to keeping Rodgers upright the entire game against a feisty Seahawks defense. While I emphasize Bulaga as the key to this game for the Packers, the rest of the offensive line needs to do the job they have all season. A great running game and a mobile Rodgers will not happen if Bulaga and company don’t do what they are supposed to.

Prediction-

Both of these teams love to play in the cold. The Seahawks are 7-1 on the road while the Packers are 7-1 at home, so something has to give. Something about this match-up in the playoffs has the feeling of epic once again. Will time off for Green Bay help them or hurt them? While Seattle is playing great football and hasn’t had a week off since Week 11. Nonetheless, Wilson versus Rodgers for a spot in the NFC Championship definitely shouldn’t disappoint. I give the slight edge to the Packers since the game is being played at the Frozen Tundra, 24-21.

Ryan Cole is a Writer for Couch Rider Report. Follow us on Facebook or twitter

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WWE Draft to return July 19th

by Ryan Cole
written by Ryan Cole
Wwe_logo_Wikimedia_commons

Wwe_logo_Wikimedia_commons

WWE Draft to return July 19th

It’s back! A few weeks ago, it was announced that the WWE Draft would be returning for the first time since 2011.

Now there is an official date for it. Monday night it was announced that the draft will be taking place Tuesday, July 19th, at 8/7 central time on USA, when WWE Smackdown goes live for the first time EVER.

There had been many rumors surrounding the possibility of the draft returning and now that we have confirmation and a definitive date, speculation can begin on who will end up where?

The belts…

Looking at how things are currently after the Money in the Bank pay-per-view, Dean Ambrose is the WWE World Heavyweight Champion, The New Day is still the WWE Tag Team Champions, Charlotte is the Women’s Champion, Rusev is the United States Champion and The Miz is the Intercontinental Champion.

After hearing rumblings of what could happen with a draft, that begs the question, where will the different champions end up? Not only that, but it’s been heard by former wrestler and WWE broadcaster himself, Booker T, that there will be two different World Heavyweight Champions and two different sets of Tag Team Title belts.

I’d really like to see what happens with the tag team division that at times throughout the past year has really been hurting due to injury.

The Champ is…where?

As far as the WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Dean Ambrose goes, will he go to Raw or Smackdown or will he float back and forth to both brands? Same goes for the second World Heavyweight Champion whomever that may end up being. Lots of questions still remain about the two different shows leading up to the draft on July 19th.

Draft means more Stars!

The WWE will need to also bring in some more talent when the brand split draft occurs. But who are some of the candidates that could be considered to either be brought in or possibly return to the company? Well, let’s look at a few names of people that are most likely to return while some that have floated around but probably won’t be returning.

  1. The Hardy Boys (Jeff and Matt) – Currently they are both in TNA Wrestling, but if the money was right and with TNA having issues, I could definitely see them signing a deal and returning to WWE. (Possibly, but not likely)
  2. Bobby Lashley – His first stint in WWE wasn’t very successful and like the Hardy Boys, he is signed with TNA and is currently the TNA Champion right now. That said, I don’t think WWE would bring him back at the time of the draft, but don’t count him out for the future. (Not likely, but maybe)
  3. Kurt Angle – The Olympic Gold Medalist retired a few months ago from TNA and has been wrestling shows here and there for other companies as a free agent. He would be the perfect candidate to return for the draft and have one final run with WWE before calling it quits for good. Only thing that would stop him from signing with the company is the fact that he doesn’t want to work a full schedule and the company wants full time workers. (Likely, if the two sides can agree on a schedule that works for both)
  4. Drew Galloway – Galloway, the former TNA champion just recently lost his championship to Lashley at Slammiversary. With that in mind, he could possibly return to WWE for a second stint after his first attempt in the brand failed as Vince McMahon’s “Chosen One” Drew McIntyre. (Possibly)
  5. Ethan Carter III (EC3) – Ethan Carter III used to be part of the WWE a long time ago, but didn’t get very far. Now that he’s done wonders in TNA, he would be a huge addition to the roster if he were to jump shit and he could work with the younger talent while also focusing on a World Heavyweight Championship run of his own. (Not likely, but don’t rule it out)
  6. Goldberg – He’s no stranger to WWE. In fact, in his first run with the company which was exactly a year long spanning from March 2003 to March 2004, he debuted against The Rock, captured championship gold against Triple H and had a feud with Brock Lesnar including a match at Wrestlemania. If he were to come back, he’d want a lot of money and one more Wrestlemania match. Question is if he will get the kind of money that he would want. (Likely, if the money is right. BOOK IT.)

These are just a few names of former wrestlers that have grazed the surface of WWE wrestling who are elsewhere right now that WWE could look at bringing back for the new brand split.

It will definitely be interesting to see come Tuesday, July 19th, who gets drafted where. If you want to find out the results of the 2016 WWE Draft, tune in to the first ever Live edition of Smackdown, on the USA Network at 8/7pm central time. Like what you read? Leave a comment below.

Ryan Cole is a Writer for Couch Rider Report. Follow us on Facebook or twitter

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Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers: Everything you need to know before kickoff

by Ryan Cole
written by Ryan Cole
Brian Giesen - Flickr

Brian Giesen – Flickr

Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers

Location: Lambeau Field, Green Bay, WI

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m.

Line: GB -10

TV: NBC (Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth)

Radio:

Chicago: WBBM/WCCS-FM (Jeff Joniak, Tom Thayer and Zach Zaidman)

Green Bay: WTMJ (Wayne Larrivee and Larry McCarren)

 

Gobble, Gobble, Gobble! Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! Especially to football fans around the world. On Thanksgiving night 2015, the oldest rivalry in the NFL will be renewed once again as the Chicago Bears travel to Lambeau Field up in Green Bay, Wisconsin to take on their hated rival Green Bay Packers. This will be the 192nd meeting between these two teams after they met the first week of the season with the Packers winning that match-up 31-23. This put Green Bay within one victory of tying up the all time series which Chicago currently leads 93-92-6. With the Packers sitting as generous 10 point favorites, that looks like a good possibility right now. We’ll see if that holds true on Thursday night.

 

KEYS TO THE GAME: CHICAGO BEARS

Will Matt Forte be able to return from injury? If not, will Jeremy Langford keep up his strong play since taking over the starting position? Either way, Chicago will need to be able to run the ball consistently against the Packers defense like they did successfully in week one when these two teams played.

Jay Cutler has been playing great football the last few weeks, with the exception of last week against a stout Denver Broncos‘ defense. Although if you were to compare the production of him versus what Peyton Manning would have done if he would have played last week, I’d take Cutler’s performance any day. He will need to bounce back against Green Bay and lead the Bears offense up and down the field, if they want a chance of winning against Rodgers and company.

Last key for the Bears is obviously their defense against Aaron Rodgers and the Packers offense. Yes, the Packers haven’t been playing like everyone is used to seeing them play the last month, but last week against the Minnesota Vikings, they looked like themselves again. That’s not a good sign for the Bears this week.

 

KEYS TO THE GAME: GREEN BAY PACKERS

 

Aaron Rodgers needs to follow up his solid performance against Minnesota with another great showing against the Bears who he destroys on a yearly basis. If he can do that, the game will be completely one sided.

The running game of the Packers finally got back on track last week and by the running game, I mainly mean Eddie Lacy. Lacy has been a huge disappointment this year and last week against a good Vikings defense, he eclipsed the 100-yard mark. Look for him to continue that dominant running against the Bears along with James Starks.

The Dom Capers led Packers defense has finally shown up the last two weeks. They will need to again this week against Jay Cutler who has been one of the hotter quarterbacks in the NFL as of recently.

 

IMPACT/FANTASY PLAYER: CHICAGO BEARS

JEREMY LANGFORD – This kid has stepped up huge for the Bears in the absence of Matt Forte accumulating 250-yards and five touchdowns. He will need to be the x-factor for the Bears Thanksgiving night.

 

IMPACT/FANTASY PLAYER: GREEN BAY PACKERS

JAMES JONES – James Jones has had a fantastic season for the Green Bay Packers and their offense already this season. He’s hauled in 30 passes from Aaron Rodgers for 592-yards and seven touchdowns. Two of those touchdowns came in the first meeting against the Bears in week one. Look for Rodgers to look for Jones again Thursday.

 

PREDICTION:

The line on this game currently has the Packers favored as ten points. Myself as a die-hard Packers fan, I feel that’s too high. The Packers finally redeemed themselves last week with a big win over the previous NFC North division leader Minnesota Vikings and even now they still are tied at 7-3. They only are in first by a tie-breaker. On the Chicago side of things, Jay Cutler and company have been playing much better football as of late even though they lost to the Broncos last week. This game could be much closer than most people think. This is going to be a good, fun Thanksgiving night game. Packers will win, but it will be close.

CHICAGO – 24              GREEN BAY – 34

Ryan Cole is a Writer for Couch Rider Report. Follow us on Facebook or twitter

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