Lohensports

 When I was in Pittsburgh last weekend the trend amongst the citizens was pretty funny to witness. Every Uber driver we had was absolutely not buying the 3-0 start. George Pickens was mentioned by each of them as a guy with an attitude problem who will start to sulk when the going gets tough. They claimed going 3-0 would only get the fans hopes up for when they start losing again. Sports fans are funny aren't they? They love to hate their team. Anyway, hopefully now they can rest easy knowing we don't have the pressure of being undefeated anymore. Lets get into it:  Critical Errors I actually think the Steelers played pretty well in this one. It was probably the best offensive showing from the team since Ben Roethlisberger was still playing. They had 404 total yards including a QB actually passing for 312 yards, something a QB didn't do a single time last season. The game really came down to some critical mistakes in key moments that were just too hard to overcome. It sucks...

 Anyone who knows me knows that I am beyond hyped for the Raptors season to start again. We're getting closer and closer to training camp and so I thought today would be a good day to dream big, then dream small on the 5 guys projected to start for the Raptors this season. With Bruce Brown's knee injury looking like it will keep him out until at least November, it would appear the starting 5 is set as: Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, Gradey Dick, Scottie Barnes, Jakob Poeltl. We'll carry this assumption throughout the post. All stats are in points/assist/rebounds format with shooting splits in FG%/3pt%/FT% Immanuel Quickley  Bull Case: 22/7/4 on 45/40/85 Quickley comes out of the gates with his jumper on fire! His chemistry with Scottie Barnes builds as the season goes on and the Raptors incorporate IQ moving off ball with Scottie orchestrating the offense, improving his shot quality and percentages from deep. IQ has to go through practices with Davion Mitchell and Jamal She...

What a week in football again! 3 weeks in you can start to see the formation of who's real and who's fake. Obviously a long way to go in the season but on this blog we overreact to small sample sizes and nobody can stop me.  The Ravens are not Contenders Ok this is the hater in me talking and I know it. Even in a win though, the Ravens did not look impressive. Watching this one at a bar in Pittsburgh after the Steelers game was a good time. As I was hoping for the Cowboys to come all the way back, a Cowboys fan came up to us and apologized prematurely for not getting it done claiming he's seen enough Cowboys games to know that they won't be finishing the comeback. Still though, exciting game and almost another embarrassment for the Ravens. The game featured this season's first recovered onside kick, something analysts say has a 5% chance of success under the new rules.  End of the day, the Ravens had trouble holding on to another big lead going down the stretch. Der...

 Lets go 3-0! I was at this game this week, my first ever Steelers game and it has made me glad that I decided to start with writing instead of a podcast because my voice is absolutely cooked from screaming the entire game. Also special shout out to Quin who came down to Pittsburgh with me, dream come true! I am going to try my hardest to break this one down, I did watch every snap, but I also made sure to tailgate pretty hard as one does. Still, I had such a great time at the game and I have a lot to say! The Defense Keeps Rolling I think we can officially say that the Steelers defense is an elite unit. Starting off a little shaky allowing the first touchdown of the game before settling in and shutting down a high powered offense. As the game went on, the pass rush really came alive. What's more encouraging is it appears the Steelers have found yet another star pass rusher at the OLB position. The last couple seasons TJ Watt has been one of, if not the best pass rusher in all of f...

 I truly can't wait for basketball to begin again. I hope that my girlfriend is enjoying all this free time I have in the evenings because in about a month I will be once again consumed by the wonders of NBA basketball. My favorite team of course, the Toronto Raptors, has a big question to answer coming into the next season: who should be their fifth starter? The first 4 starters should be fairly set in stone for the season, barring injuries or crazy unexpected breakouts. The foursome of Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, Scottie Barnes and Jakob Poeltl played great together last season, albeit in only 234 minutes. The 4 listed above had a net rating of 10.8, proving they can hang with anyone in the league. The fifth last season in most of those lineups was typically Gary Trent Jr. With Gary now in Milwaukee, the Raptors have multiple options they can go to that can fill that slot. The Favorite Option: Gradey Dick I've written before about Gradey Dick's up and down rookie seaso...

 You kind of had to have a feeling that something like this would happen. Koloko had a pretty promising rookie season with the Raptors. He didn't show much offensively outside of dunks and putbacks, but defensively he was long, mobile and a fantastic rim protector. Unfortunately for Koloko last season was lost due to a blood clot issue. The Raptors had every roster spot filled this season, yet the fans still held out hope for a return. That obviously is now over and here is what it means:  What it Means for the Raptors The Raptors spent last season in desperate need of a backup big to the always solid and reliable Jakob Poeltl. With Jak healthy, the team had a not-so-great defensive rating of 117.8. Without Jak, it slid to an absolutely disgusting 122.5. The Raptors simply did not have another rim protector on the roster for all of last season, a role Koloko could have filled well. This year looks slightly different. The Raptors signed 25 year old rookie Branden Carlson to a 2...

 I'm thinking this will be a series this NFL season. As you know though dear readers, this is my blog that I made for fun so if writing this series becomes not fun or I can think of a more fun thing to write, I reserve the right to cancel it and go with my heart. That being said, football is so back and I have thoughts about it! The Running Game is Back Through 2 weeks this season the NFL as a whole is averaging 193.6 passing yards per game and 124.9 yards per game on the ground. The NFL is on pace currently for its lowest passing yards per game output since 1992 and its highest rushing yards per game output since 1985. Personally as a Steelers fan I've always appreciated a hard nose football game and it seems like across the league that's what we're getting. I believe that the shift teams have made towards QBs who can run has a lot to do with the rise in rushing production. Offenses with a rushing QB have become more creative running option plays where the QB can eithe...

 Ok guys, I have be honest with this one. I was only able to actually tune in to the game in the 3rd quarter this week. I was at a cottage with my lovely girlfriend and I figured a few more hours of quality time with her was mor important than football. It was really awesome to be honest and I have no regrets. That being said, my reaction is going to be a bit slim today. Next week's will be late, and hopefully awesome as I am going to be at the game! Lets get into it.  The Steelers Scored a Touchdown! Finally the Steelers got one across the goal line this week! Ironically, this week they scored even less than last when Bos hit 6 field goals but still it feels good to see them punch one across. Justin Fields' first passing TD as a Steeler and hopefully just the first of many. He's looked comfortable back there and now we know that he is capable of leading a touchdown drive in the NFL.  The Defense is Awesome Maybe this is more of an indictment on Bo Nix and the Broncos tha...

 The NFL schedule makers are undefeated. I thought the Thursday nighter was the game they like to stuff something like Jags vs Colts into. The NFL has elected to only play exciting games to start the season, all but guaranteeing that I don't get any sleep and my evenings are consumed by football. It's hard to love sports sometimes. I kid, who doesn't love exciting football games on a week night? I am hyped! Ok lets get into it. I am a closet Bills fan and have been ever since Josh Allen took over there. Something about the big bodied giant arm QBs that really draws me in. Add to that Allen's ability to run and we've got ourselves an elite player. The Bills this year entered the season with a shaky wide receiver room. Rookie Keon Coleman had a decently promising start, but relying on a rookie week in and week out is going to be a difficult task for the Bills. That didn't end up mattering as Josh Allen took things into his own hands dragging the team to a victory ...

As you all know, football is back so there's SOME sports to talk about again. I've gotten all my NFL thoughts out the past 2 days though and other than that it's pretty quiet out here so I thought I'd give a shout out to the person who is currently my one and only reader, Puneet.  Puneet if you're reading this, I love you! Thank you so much for supporting me in this passion project. I know I am not taking it super seriously just yet and I know that I am writing exclusively about topics that you do not care about, you are reading these purely out of love. I am so lucky to have found someone like you to support my dreams no matter what they may be. You love me for who I am, not the job that I have, the money that I make or my stunning good looks, just for being me. I don't deserve a girl as awesome as you, I am so grateful to have found your sweet head! This was really also just a little nugget to see if you find it without me telling you about it hehe. I hope you...

 I am just so excited that football is back! I was pretty locked in on the Steelers game this week as I will be most weeks. I don't want to speak too much on the other teams because I admittedly didn't lock in as hard watching their games. That being said, I am tuned in to the discourse and I was able to watch some other games in bits and pieces and gosh dang it I have some thoughts! We'll try to keep these away from the Steelers since I will likely be writing a ton about them. Wouldn't want you readers getting bored now would we? Baker Mayfield is a Franchise QB Oh man this one is pretty delicious. I've always liked, even feared Baker Mayfield. It was kind of annoying to watch the Browns get good again. He had his flaws with that team but he always showed up in the clutch when it mattered and played with one of the biggest chips on his shoulders I've ever seen. He went into Pittsburgh in the Browns first playoff appearance that I can even remember and delivered...

 Hi readers! I said last week that I would try to do a reaction article after the Steelers games. I'm still not sure what these are going to look like so bear with me here but I plan on having fun doing them! Football and sports to me right now are still just my favorite hobby. I considered watching the game diligently and taking notes to write a comprehensive article today, but I thought to myself: why? I wanted to have fun watching the game, and I certainly did! I watch the Steelers pretty diligently anyway. Alright, enough rambling time to get to it!  What a week 1! I won't get in to the other games as I'll save that for a different article (gotta spread the love). The Steelers though, looked awesome! I have seen a lot of complaining online about the lack of touchdowns but I think we're underrating how much better the new offense looked. This was a ridiculously unlucky game for the Steelers from an officiating standpoint. The pass interference call on George Pickens ...

 Here we go! All summer long I think a lot of North American sports fans start to feel the itch for football. Today the wait is finally over with the Baltimore Ravens going into Kansas City to take on the defending champion Chiefs.  Can I just say, the NFL schedule makers are always so good at their jobs. I can't think of a more exciting opening day matchup than KC vs Baltimore. Lamar Jackson has his playoff woes for sure but goodness if he isn't one of the more exciting regular season players of all time. The Ravens also always promise to have a great defense, something that should challenge the Chiefs early. KC is absolutely no slouch of course, Patrick Mahomes is the best player in the world and he looks to defend his title starting this week. The game could be Panthers vs Patriots and I still would be tuning in, but the fact that they packed a game of the year candidate into day 1 means it's all I'm going to be thinking about all day.  The season should be fantastic...

 Short one today, I am feeling lazy. When I was doing my little bit of research that I do yesterday for my top 5 QBs article, I came across a stat that I found interesting. The all time single season leader in interceptions thrown is George Blanda. Upon looking at his Pro-FootballReference page, I have determined that this man is my hero.  In 1962 with the Houston Oilers, George Blanda threw 42 interceptions. In a 14 game season that works out to exactly 3 per game. This is simply an inconceivable stat in today's game. If a QB today had 9 interceptions in 3 weeks, he'd be riding the pine with very little chance he gets to play again. The closest thing I can think of is when the Bills decided to start Nathan Peterman in 2017 and he immediately threw 5 picks. He got 1 more chance the next week then found himself glued to the bench.  This isn't the crazy part of George Blanda's season though. He was a pro-bowler that year. Yes, he threw 3 picks a game and made the pro-bowl...

 Football is back this week! I couldn't be more excited. I have been bothering my girlfriend talking her ear off about the upcoming season, as one does, and I thought why not use this blog as an appropriate outlet. Today I am doing another classic listicle format article, the top 5 QBs entering this year. As always, this is pretty much just my uninformed opinion and I would welcome some pushback in the comments.  5. CJ Stroud Woah! A second year player on the top 5? Honestly making these lists has got me feeling old, and I'm still in my 20s. The QB era of my childhood will be officially over when Aaron Rodgers hangs them up, and there's a good argument to have him in this spot. Rodgers however, is coming off a serious injury and we'll have to see him play before ranking him. Now to the guy in the headline, CJ Stroud. Stroud was nothing short of awesome in his rookie season. He's back this year with no shortage of receiving targets with newcomer Stephon Diggs, as wel...