Happy Martin Luther King Day!

 

Today is the 3^rd Monday in January, and has since 1986 been observed as a federal holiday in the United States of America after the actual legislation passed in 1983. Under the Uniform Holidays Act, Martin Luther King’s birthday was finally recognized as a federal holiday. Even though, he was actually born on January 15, 1929. The day is a day used to honor, commemorate, and celebrate Dr. King’s legacy, and accomplishments. The famed Reverend, and Civil Rights leader, who led peaceful protests since the 1950s up until his assassination in 1968, for the equality and basic civil rights for Americans of brown skinned, and black skinned African descent, that are supposed to be guaranteed to all Americans of every race, creed, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic background, and physical stature under the Declaration of Independence, and United States Constitution. Some of his accomplishments of significance to name a few: organizing the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955, the marches beginning in Selma, Alabama, and ending in Montgomery, Alabama between March 7th-March 25th, 1965. And most significantly, the famous “I Have a Dream” speech in front of the Great Emancipator-and-Chief Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC on August 28th, 1963.

Brad Freeman’s All-Time Lifetime NFL Football Team

As promised, here is my all-time football team during my 35 years of life.

Offense:

QB1: Brett Favre (Green Bay Packers)

QB2: Drew Brees (San Diego Chargers/New Orleans Saints)

RB1: Barry Sanders (Detroit Lions)

RB2: Emmitt Smith (Dallas Cowboys)

RB3: Marshall Faulk (Indianapolis Colts/St. Louis Rams)

RB4: LaDanian Tomlinson (San Diego Chargers)

WR 1: Marvin Harrison (Indianapolis Colts)

WR2: Jerry Rice (San Francisco 49ers)

WR3: Randy Moss (Minnesota Vikings/New England Patriots)

WR4: Terrell Owens (San Francisco 49ers/Dallas Cowboys/Philadelphia Eagles)

WR5: Isaac Bruce (St. Louis Rams)

TE1: Tony Gonzalez (Kansas City Chiefs/Atlanta Falcons)

TE2: Shannon Sharpe (Denver Broncos/Baltimore Ravens)

TE3: Rob Gronkowski (New England Patriots)

LT1: Jonathan Ogden (Baltimore Ravens)

LT2: Orlando Pace (St. Louis Rams)

LG1: Nate Newton (Dallas Cowboys)

LG2: Randall McDaniel (Minnesota Vikings)

OC1: Bruce Matthews (Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans)*can double as a guard for depth

RG1: Larry Allen (Dallas Cowboys)

RG2: Will Shields (Kansas City Chiefs)

RT1: Jon Runyan (Tennessee Titans/Philadelphia Eagles)

RT2: Walter Jones (Seattle Seahawks)

Special Teams:

K1: Adam Vinatieri (New England Patriots/Indianapolis Colts)

P1: Shane Lechler (Oakland Raiders)

KR1: Devin Hester (Chicago Bears)

PR1: Devin Hester (Chicago Bears)

Defense:

DE1: Reggie White (Philadelphia Eagles/Green Bay Packers)

DE2: Bruce Smith (Buffalo Bills)

DE3: Neil Smith (Kansas City Chiefs/Denver Broncos)

DE4: Dwight Freeney (Indianapolis Colts)

DE5: Jason Taylor (Miami Dolphins)

DT1: John Randle (Minnesota Vikings)

DT2: Warren Sapp (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

DT3: Bryant Young (San Francisco 49ers)

DT4: La’ Roi Glover (Dallas Cowboys)

OLB1: Lawrence Taylor (New York Giants)

OLB2: Derrick Thomas (Kansas City Chiefs)

OLB3: Junior Seau (San Diego Chargers)

OLB4: Derrick Brooks (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

MLB1: Ray Lewis (Baltimore Ravens)

MLB2: Jeremiah Trotter (Philadelphia Eagles)

MLB3: Zach Thomas (Miami Dolphins)

MLB4: Brian Urlacher (Chicago Bears)

CB1: Deion Sanders (Atlanta Falcons/San Francisco 49ers/Dallas Cowboys)

CB2: Rod Woodson (Pittsburgh Steelers/Baltimore Ravens) *Played Safety with Ravens

CB3: Darrell Green (Washington Redskins)

CB4: Charles Woodson (Oakland Raiders/Green Bay Packers)

CB5: Champ Bailey (Washington Redskins/Denver Broncos)  

FS1: Ronnie Lott (San Francisco 49ers) *Played Corner 1^st 5 years in SF.

FS2: Ed Reed (Baltimore Ravens)

FS3: Brian Dawkins (Philadelphia Eagles)

SS1: Troy Polamalu (Pittsburgh Steelers)

SS2: Rodney Harrison (San Diego Chargers/New England Patriots)

*I also liked a lot of 90s Pittsburgh “Blitzburgh” Steelers defensive players, as well as the 2000 Baltimore Ravens, ’85 Chicago Bears, 2010 Green Bay Packers/Pittsburgh Steelers, 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers,  1999 Tennessee Titans, and 2004 Philadelphia Eagles. Couldn’t fit everybody. Defense is my preferred side of the ball. 

Brad Freeman's All-Time NFL Football Legends Team

With this year being the 100^th anniversary of the NFL, and 150^th anniversary of college football, as a student of the game, here is my list of the legends of the game if I was to create a team.

I was born July 1984, and will create a separate list for the players I grew up watching. Therefore, as the historian I am, I feel it only right to do a list for the players before my lifetime, and then during my lifetime.

Legends Team

Offense:

QB1: Otto Graham (Cleveland Browns)

QB2: Bart Starr (Green Bay Packers)

RB1: Jim Brown (Cleveland Browns)

RB2: Walter Payton (Chicago Bears)

RB3: Eric Dickerson (Los Angeles Rams)

RB4: Gayle Sayers (Chicago Bears)

WR1: Fred Biletnikoff (Oakland Raiders)

WR2: Lance “Bambi” Alworth (San Diego Chargers)

WR3: Paul Warfield (Cleveland Browns/Miami Dolphins)

WR4: Steve Largent (Seattle Seahawks)

WR5: Raymond Berry (Baltimore Colts)

WR6: Don Hutson (Green Bay Packers)

WR7: Elroy “Crazy Legs” Hirsch (Los Angeles Rams)

                                                                                                                                   

TE1: John Mackey (Baltimore Colts)

TE2: Mike Ditka (Chicago Bears)

TE3: Kellen Winslow, Sr. (San Diego Chargers)

LT1: Roosevelt Brown (New York Giants)

LT2: Art Shell (Oakland Raiders)

LG1: Jim Parker (Baltimore Colts)

LG2: Gene Upshaw (Oakland Raiders)

OC1: Mel Hein (New York Giants)

RG1: John Hannah (New England Patriots)

RG2: Dan Fortmann (Chicago Bears)

RT1: Forrest Gregg (Green Bay Packers)

RT2: Cal Hubbard (Green Bay Packers)

Special Teams:

K1: Jan Stenerud (Kansas City Chiefs)

P1: Ray Guy (Oakland Raiders)

KR1: Gayle Sayers (Chicago Bears)

PR1: Gayle Sayers (Chicago Bears)

                

Defense:

DE1: David "Deacon" Jones (Los Angeles Rams)

DE2: Gino Marchetti (Baltimore Colts)

DE3: Doug Atkins (Chicago Bears)

DE4: Bill Hewitt (Chicago Bears)

DE5: Lee Roy Selmon (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

DT1:”Mean” Joe Greene (Pittsburgh Steelers)

DT2: Alan Page (Minnesota Vikings)

DT3: Merlin Olsen (Los Angeles Rams)

DT4: Junious "Buck" Buchanan (Kansas City Chiefs)

DT5: Bob Lilly (Dallas Cowboys)

MLB1: Joe Schmidt (Detroit Lions)

MLB2: Dick Butkus (Chicago Bears)

MLB3: Jack Lambert (Pittsburgh Steelers)

MLB4: Willie Lainer (Kansas City Chiefs)

OLB1: Chuck Bednarik (Philadelphia Eagles) *Doubles as your backup Center on offense

OLB2: Bobby Bell (Kansas City Chiefs)

OLB3: Jack Ham (Pittsburgh Steelers)

OLB4: Ted Hendricks (Oakland Raiders)

CB1: Mel Blount (Pittsburgh Steelers)

CB2: Dick "Night Train" Lane (Detroit Lions)

CB3: Willie Brown (Oakland Raiders)

CB4: Michael Haynes (New England Patriots/Los Angeles Raiders)

FS1: Emlen Tunnell (New York Giants)

FS2: Paul Krause (Minnesota Vikings)

SS1: Ken Houston (Houston Oilers/Washington Redskins)

SS2: Larry Wilson (St. Louis football Cardinals)

Happy New Year!

I just want to take the time to wish everybody a Happy New Year! With every new year comes a chance to start over, new adventures, new opportunities, and a reason to forget the past, and be optimistic about the future. It’s a chance for new endeavors to blossom, and future goals to become reality!

Happy Brad Freeman Death, Resuscitation, and Gaining Cerebral Palsy Day!

Happy Brad Freeman Death, Resuscitation, and Gaining Cerebral Palsy Day! (December 5th AKA becoming a rock star)...lol. If you read my post from 2018, you'll get my humor.

2019 Projected NFL Standings, Playoff Results, and Super Bowl

Here’s my 2019 projected NFL standings, playoff results, and Super Bowl matchup, as well as the winner in my opinion.

NFL Standings

AFC East:

New England Patriots

Buffalo Bills

New York Jets

Miami Dolphins

AFC North:

Baltimore Ravens

Pittsburgh Steelers

Cleveland Browns

Cincinnati Bengals

AFC South:

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Tennessee Titans

Jacksonville Jaguars

AFC West:

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

Denver Broncos

Oakland Raiders

NFC East:

Dallas Cowboys

Philadelphia Eagles

Washington Redskins

New York Giants

NFC North:

Chicago Bears

Minnesota Vikings

Green Bay Packers

Detroit Lions

NFC South:

New Orleans Saints

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

NFC West:

Los Angeles Rams

Seattle Seahawks

San Francisco 49ers

Arizona Cardinals

NFL Playoffs

AFC Playoff Picture:

1. New England Patriots

2. Kansas City Chiefs

3. Baltimore Ravens

4. Houston Texans

5. Los Angeles Chargers

6. Pittsburgh Steelers

NFC Playoff Picture:

1. New Orleans Saints

2. Los Angeles Rams

3. Chicago Bears

4. Dallas Cowboys

5. Philadelphia Eagles

6. Seattle Seahawks

AFC Wildcard Playoffs:

3. Baltimore Ravens defeat 6. Pittsburgh Steelers

4. Houston Texans defeat 5. Los Angeles Chargers

AFC Divisional Playoffs:

2. Kansas City Chiefs defeat 3. Baltimore Ravens

1. New England Patriots defeat 4. Houston Texans

AFC Championship Playoff:

2. Kansas City Chiefs defeat 1. New England Patriots

NFC Wildcard Playoffs:

6. Seattle Seahawks defeat 3. Chicago Bears

4. Dallas Cowboys defeat 5. Philadelphia Eagles

NFC Divisional Playoffs:

1. New Orleans Saints defeat 6.Seattle Seahawks

4. Dallas Cowboys defeat 2. Los Angeles Rams

NFC Championship Playoff:

1. New Orleans Saints defeat 4. Dallas Cowboys

Super Bowl

Kansas City Chiefs defeat New Orleans Saints

*I picked a Saints/Chiefs Super Bowl in 2018 as well, and at the very least we should have had Saints/Patriots last year. However, a certain infamous pass interference call put a wrench in the works towards that.

*And in 2017, I picked Saints/Patriots, but a certain Minneapolis Miracle killed that.

Brad Freeman's All-Time Lifetime College Football Team

So with this August being the start of the 150th anniversary of the start of college football, here’s my all-time team of college football players during my lifetime. I was born in July 1984, so I know the guys from the eighties, nineties, and 2000’s onward.

In college football there are 85 players on the team under scholarship. Then every year, somebody graduates, transfers, or there’s walk-on’s. Walk-on’s are guys that show up for an open tryout as a student-athlete in the spring and summer, and if they are really good that player gets a full scholarship to pay for all his academic expenses like the other players who are on full scholarships, and recruited by the coaching staff straight out of high school.
 
College has no preseason, so they start the very last week of August and finish the season with the national championship game between the 2 best big state schools around New Year’s.
 
Note: As you will notice, I’m a much more defense oriented person.

Offense:
QB1: Michael Vick (Virginia Tech)
QB2: DeShaun Watson (Clemson)
QB3: Tim Tebow (Florida)
QB4: Peyton Manning (Tennessee)
 
RB1: Eddie George (Ohio State)
RB2: Reggie Bush (USC)
RB3: Adrian Peterson (Oklahoma)
RB4: LaDainian Tomlinson (TCU)
RB5: Christian McCaffrey (Stanford)
 
WR1: Peter Warrick (Florida State)
WR2: Bobby Engram (Penn State)
WR3: Desmond Howard (Michigan)
WR4: Randy Moss (Marshall)
WR5: Calvin Johnson (Georgia Tech)
WR6: Larry Fitzgerald (Pittsburgh)
WR7: Roy Williams (Texas)
WR8: Lee Evans (Wisconsin)
 
TE1: Dallas Clark (Iowa)
TE2: Jason Witten (Tennessee)
TE3: Todd Heap (Arizona State)
TE4: Heath Miller (Virginia)
TE5: Jeremy Shockey (Miami FL)

LT1: Orlando Pace (Ohio State)
LT2: Johnathan Ogden (UCLA)
LT3: Tony Boselli (USC)
 
LG1: Steve Hutchinson (Michigan)
LG2: Rodney Hudson (Florida State)
LG3: Mike Iupati (Idaho)
 
OC1: Dominic Raiola (Nebraska)
OC2: Ben Wilkerson (LSU)
OC3: Maurkice Pouncey (Florida)
 
RG1: Will Shields (Nebraska)
RG2: Alex Barrett (Alabama)
RG3: David DeCastro (Stanford)
 
RT1: Kory Stringer (Ohio State)
RT2: Jon Jansen (Michigan)
RT3: Chris Samuels (Alabama)
 
Special Teams:
K1: Kris Brown (Nebraska)
K2: Sebastian Janikowski (Florida State)
 
P1: Shane Lechler (Texas Tech)
P2: Brad Wing (LSU)

KR1: Desmond Howard (Michigan)

PR1: Desmond Howard (Michigan)

Defense:
DE1: Grant Wistrom (Nebraska)
DE2: JeVon Kearse (Florida)
DE3: Julius Peppers (North Carolina)
DE4: JeDeveon Clowney (South Carolina)
DE5: J.J. Watt (Wisconsin)
DE6: Chris Long (Virginia)
DE7: David Pollack (Georgia)
DE8: Terrell Suggs (Arizona State)
DE9: Lamar Woodley (Michigan)
DE10: Jon Abraham (South Carolina)
 
DT1: Warren Sapp (Miami FL)
DT2: Corey Simon (Florida State)
DT3: Aaron Donald (Pittsburgh)
DT4: Ndamukong Suh (Nebraska)
DT5: Vince Wilfork (Miami FL)
 
LB1: LaVar Arrington (Penn State)
LB2: Derrick Brooks (Florida State)
LB3: Peter Boulware (Florida State)
LB4: Boss Bailey (Georgia)
LB5: Jessie Armstead (Miami FL)
LB6: Michael Barrow (Miami FL)
LB7: Ray Lewis (Miami FL)
LB8: Lawrence Timmons (Florida State)
LB9: Ian Gold (Michigan)
LB10: Al Wilson (Tennessee)
LB11: Jonathan Vilma (Miami FL)
LB12: Derrick Johnson (Texas)
LB13: James Laurinaitis (Ohio State)
LB14: Von Miller (Texas A&M)
 
CB1: Charles Woodson (Michigan)
CB2: Champ Bailey (Georgia)
CB3: Patrick Peterson (LSU)
CB4: Antonio Cromartie (Florida State)
CB5: DeAngelo Hall (Virginia Tech)
CB6: Quentin Jammer (Texas)
CB7: Malcom Jenkins (Ohio State)
CB8: Antoine Winfield (Ohio State)
CB9: Morris Claiborne (LSU)
 
FS1: Ed Reed (Miami FL)
FS2: Sean Taylor (Miami FL)
FS3: Earl Thomas (Texas)
 
SS1: Troy Polamalu (USC)
SS2: Roy Williams (Oklahoma)
SS3: LaRon Landry (LSU)