49ers vs. Cowboys Preview

Returning to the playoffs for the first time since the 2018 season, the Dallas Cowboys will be hosting the San Francisco 49ers. This is the first time these two franchises have met in the postseason since the NFC Championship in 1995, where Steve Young led the 9ers to a 38-28 victory enroute to an eventual Lombardi Trophy. This time, we hope the result is different.

Both teams enter this playoff matchup with momentum following victories against divisional rivals. In Week 18, San Francisco was able to claw their way back from a 17-0 deficit to come out victorious against the Los Angeles Rams in a 27-24 overtime victory. On the other hand, Dallas humiliated the Philadelphia Eagles, displaying the potential of their high-powered offense in a 51-26 victory. The 49ers ended the regular season with a 10-7 record, while the Cowboys ended up at 12-5, their first 12 win season since 2014.

San Francisco is one of the best running teams in football, a philosophy that their head coach Kyle Shannahan believes strongly in. The 49ers ran a staggering 499 rushes during the regular season, which ranks them for the fifth most in the entire NFL. Part of this is due to Shanhan’s love for his outside zone running scheme. However, it’s also an attempt by the coach to hide the team’s number one deficiency: their quarterback. Jimmy Garoppolo is a very mediocre signal caller, and he happens to be the true weak spot on this 49er offense.

The biggest difference between these two franchises, and what I believe will be the biggest difference in this Wild Card matchup, is at quarterback. Jimmy G finished the season with 3,810 passing yards, while throwing 20 touchdowns compared to 12 interceptions. These numbers on their own are not terrible, resulting in a 98.7 passer rating. However, they don’t highlight his obvious deficiencies, which include attacking the middle and deep parts of the field. Additionally, when comparing Garoppolo to Cowboys’ quarterback Dak Prescott, the 49ers seem to be at a huge disadvantage. Dak recovered from the brutal ankle injury he suffered in 2020 and finished his 2021 season with impressive numbers, throwing for 4,449 yards and 37 touchdowns. He only threw 10 interceptions, giving him a strong passer rating of 104.2. When comparing the two quarterbacks, it’s very easy to see Dallas has a clear advantage, as Dak ranks near the top of the league in almost every relevant quarterback statistic.

Offensively, both teams are stacked with weapons. The 49ers trout out Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, George Kittle, and Elijah Mitchell at their skill positions. Samuel is one of the most talented players in the league, with flexibility to play both receiver and running back. He finished his 2021 season with over 1,400 receiving yards and 365 rushing yards. He posted a remarkable 18.2 yards per reception, showcasing how much of a big play threat he is. Aiyuk and Kittle can also give defenses fits due to their impressive athleticism and skill in the open field. Finally, Elijah Mitchell had nearly a 1,000 yard season on the ground, while only appearing in 11 contests.

For Dallas, they have surrounded their franchise quarterback with a plethora of options. Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard are a formidable duo at the running back position, while Amari Cooper and CeeDee Lamb make up one of the most talented duos at wide receiver. Dalton Schultz has had a breakout year for Dallas at tight end, recording career highs in receptions, yards, yards per catch, and touchdowns. The Cowboys have the talent to beat teams through both the ground game and airing the ball out, which was evident through their league leading offense in both yards and points scored.

While both teams possess massive amounts of talent on the offensive side of the ball, there are also a ton of studs on the defensive side. As has been the case for multiple years now, the 49ers are absolutely stacked with talent in their front seven. Nick Bosa is known to all football fans, and he delivered another splendid season in 2021, finishing with 15.5 sacks. Alongside him, the 9ers possess Arik Armstead, Samson Ebukam, and D.J. Jones. At linebacker, the duo of Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw ranks up there with any other tandem in the league. The weakest spot of the San Fran defense is their secondary, as they have allowed over a 68% completion percentage and a 97 passer rating against them.

One of the biggest stories of the 2021 season has been the turnaround of the Dallas defense, initiated by the hiring of defensive coordinator Dan Quinn. Highlighted by rookie sensation Micah Parsons and league leading interception leader Trevon Diggs, the Dallas defense finished the regular season with 34 takeaways, earning the number one spot in the league in that category. On the defensive line, Dallas is able to rush the passer with a plethora of options that include DeMarcus Lawrence, Randy Gregory, Micah Parsons, Neville Gallimore, Trysten Hill, and Osa Odighizuwa. Outside of Trevon Diggs, the secondary is made up of Anthony Brown, Jourdan Lewis, Jayron Kearse, Malik Hooker, Donovan Wilson, and Damontae Kazee. Quinn has used his safeties in the box a lot this season, playing next to former first round pick Leighton Vander-Esch at linebacker.

Both the 49ers and the Cowboys rank among the top of the league with talent on their respective rosters. This has the makings to be one of the best and most highly anticipated playoff games this weekend. It should be a great game with all the talent that will be on the field. I believe the difference at quarterback will be the deciding factor in this game, with my prediction of the Dallas Cowboys winning their Wild Card matchup against the San Francisco 49ers.

SPORTS ARE OUR UNIVERSE

Carlos Beltran Should Be the Mets next Bench Coach

Author: Frank Caggino

The New York Mets hiring of Buck Showalter as their next manager got positive reviews across all of baseball. However, the Mets still have multiple vacancies on their coaching staff. One of the most glaring ones, is bench coach. While the bench coach does not have an impact on wins and losses, this is still an important decision for the team to make. The Mets are in a unique position since they hired an older manager, they are going to need another new manager in the not too distant future. This is a perfect opportunity for a candidate that is young and does not have any coaching experience.

There were some Mets fans that wanted Carlos Beltran as the manager after Luis Rojas’ team option was declined. As the search went on, fans wanted a manager with experience and credibility which made Showalter the best candidate. The Mets could not take the risk of hiring a third straight rookie manager. Former players such as Mark Texiera have talked about how Buck is one of the smartest coaches in all of baseball. It would be great for Beltran to learn from someone with as much knowledge as Showalter. Carlos can still help some of the Mets players without being the manager.

The player that can benefit the most from having Beltran in the dugout on a daily basis, is Francisco Lindor. Obviously Lindor’s first season as a Met was disappointing, since he did not put up the same offensive numbers he did in Cleveland. The most frustrating part of Lindor’s season was that he showed flashes of the player the Mets traded for. His three home runs in an important national television game against the Yankees showed that Francisco still has the talent. Most of his struggles were mental and at multiple times during the season, mentioned how being booed affected him. Playing in New York is very different than playing in Cleveland and Lindor could use someone that can relate to him to help with his struggles. Beltran is very relatable since both players are switch hitters, Puerto Rican, and great players before arriving with the Mets. Carlos can talk to him about playing in New York and help get him back to the player he used to be. If somehow Lindor can perform close to the player he was before the Mets, it would make a huge difference. Lindor is not the only player Beltran can relate to.

There are several Spanish speaking players on the Mets. Beltran speaks Spanish fluently and can be able to communicate with all these players on a daily basis. If the Mets do not want to have clubhouse issues again, the coaches and players need to communicate better. Adam Jones played for Showalter for years and said that fights on the team would not happen with him in the dugout. Buck would be able to keep the team under control, but he will not be the manager for that many years.

Even if Buck Showalter does an amazing job with the Mets, he will not be the manager for 15 years no matter how well he does. When he retires, the Mets will have to find a new manager again. It would be ideal if the Mets had the answer immediately and can promote Carlos Beltran. By the time Buck does retire, Beltran will have learned under Showalter for years and will be much more equipped to be the manager. Alex Cora has done a great job as a manager for the Red Sox and his coaching experience was as a bench coach. If the Mets can have two straight good managers, they may finally have sustained success which is what all Mets fans dream of.

Sports Are Our Universe

Fanatics Makes their 2nd Biggest Acquisition in a Decade

Author: Spencer Reyes

Fanatics is one of the biggest sports retailers in the world, having the rights to produce and sell merchandise for the NFL, NCAA, MLB, NBA, NHL, NASCAR, MLS, US Soccer, and the Champions League.

This sports powerhouse purchased their old competitor, FansEdge, for $183 Million in 2012, and as of January 4th, 2022, Fanatics bought out Topps for $500 Million. Topps was founded in 1938 and started selling trading cards with pieces of bubble gum. They unintentionally started the sports card industry by promoting the game with their bubble gum sales. Topps has been known as the card producer for all major sports and movie franchises like Star Wars and have even continued their Garbage Pail Kids and Wacky Packages trading card sets.

Just this past August, Major League Baseball has decided to not renew their contract with Topps and has given their right to make trading cards to Fanatics. Roughly four months later, Fanatics bought out Topps, and it seems as if the cards will look the same, but they will most likely include the Fanatics logo as well.

This purchase will help accelerate the sports trading card community as now MLB cards made before the 2022 season will increase in value as the only way to acquire any of these cards will be through resale. Card collectors will see a similar bump in the community in the next year, just as we all experienced in 2020. This time, retailers will be ready and prepared to limit how many cards or boxes a customer can buy per transaction or day. Hopefully, this will bring more sports fans to the trading card industry and not scare them away. Do not be surprised when Fanatics/Topps becomes the only card company available to purchase sports cards in the future.

SPORTS ARE OUR UNIVERSE