 I've been to Notre Dame, I've been to Sabres games and I've been to Sabres playoff games(really to only two teams I genuinely care about) but there was something about this night that made it more special than all the other ones put together. Something about seeing Ryan Miller, the greatest USA goaltender in the history of the NHL, he was our guy....Buffalo claimed him as our own and to seem him come back on the KeyBank center ice, not as an opponent but as our guy? It sure had my eyes swelling up. Yes I know Hasek was one of the greatest goalies ever and he is a Hall of Famer but Miller was my guy, he was Buffalo. To see all of his teammates come back to salute him, names like Vanek, Pominville, Roy, Kaleta(my guy), Stafford, Dumont and so much more showed how respected he was in the locker room. Everyone outside of Tim Connolly seemed like they had a great time, side not I know Connolly came out on crutches but god damn he could have at least clapped for Miller from time to time. Miller much like Hasek was the sole reason the Sabres made deep playoff runs, when he was on his game we knew the other team had no fucking chance to win the game, Millsy was locked in? Then it was an easy dub for Buffalo. Not only was Miller a stud on the ice but off the ice too, doing much work for the Courage for Carly fund which worked with pediatric cancer patients. Miller made it a point to always go to Roswell Park, even after his playing career in Buffalo was over. He truly is the saying of "he's not just a great player he's a great human being." RJ even came out to give the crowd one last "MILLLLLLLLLLLEEEERRRRR" and holy shit the tears rolled down my cheek like a bitch. I'm not embarrassed or ashamed to admit that I love Ryan Miller, he is my favorite Buffalo Sabre of all-time and to be in attendance when his jersey got raised to the rafters alongside of legends like LaFontaine, Hasek, RJ, Gare, The French Connection and Tim Horton....it was long overdue for a guy like him. For the game? It was everything the Sabres stand for now. Fighting back, never giving up and getting the win to cap off an amazing night. Sorokin was on his game for the Isles that night for sure but that wasn't going to stop the Sabres from capping one of the most memorable nights in Sabres history. Goals by Tuch and Olofsson in regulation had the game tied 2-2 going in to OT. Dahlin, Thompson and Cozen came out to start overtime. Twelve seconds is all it took to send New York back to the Isle with an overtime loss. Dahlin made an incredible hail mary pass to Cozens who on this night, you just knew.....you just knew Cuzzy wasn't going to miss on this night. Cozens made a little move on Sorokin and buried it to send the crowd into an absolute frenzy. I for one yelled so loud and hard that I had to sit down for a second because I was dizzy. Then I stood back up and clapped and I yelled and I cried, literally cried. I don't know where this team is going to end up this year but god damn it are they fun to watch. There wasn't a single chance the Islanders were going to win on this night, something about the arena felt different, almost as though we were untouchable that night. Me being the big Killers fan I am, they played Mr. Brightside right before we went to OT, I looked at my fiance and said "this games over, we got it" and boy we had it for sure. Thank you to the Buffalo Sabres for an amazing night and one I won't forget for a long time. I wish I had more words to say but I still can't put into words how incredible it was to be apart of that crowd. Hope, is the one thing I can take from this team and that night.....Hope, something us Sabres fans haven't felt for a long time now Relive it all here:
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 Ok, I did a Mock Draft for the first time in 2021 I believe it was, sure I was awful and probably got the majority of the picks wrong. I mean give me a break I'm not Todd McShay or Mel Kiper Jr, so get off my ass. I'm going to give it another shot this year to figure it all out. I'll probably be wrong on the majority of this draft too but what the hell I might as well have some fun. A lot of teams have a lot of needs, when I say a lot of needs I mean the team needs to be a whole new team. There are for sure some teams picking early who desperately need a QB but if I'm being honest, I personally don't think any of the top QB's are the answer for any franchise in need of a QB, I could be wrong though it's happened before, just look at my first marriage. It's a deep draft for the front 7 on the defensive side of the ball for sure, O-line isn't as deep as previous years but don't sleep on some of these dudes. Defense is much deeper in this draft than offense and it's not even close, but I'll shut the fuck up now and show you how wrong I get this.....
1) Indianapolis Colts, Bryce Young, QB Alabama I don't think there is any chance the bears keep the #1 pick in this draft, Again, like I said before I don't think any QB in this draft is going to be a star in the NFL but Bryce Young is the #1 QB in this draft and the Colts need a QB, along with a lot of other things. I think the Colts trade the #4 pick, next years first round and a couple later round picks in this year and next years draft to the Bears for the #1 pick 2)Houston Texans: Will Levis, QB Kentucky The Texans are an absolute train wreck, I think Levis is the pick here, he's coming off a dreadful year at Kentucky, I personally think he is going to be Zach Wilson 2.0 but we will see. I can't see the Texans being relevant at least for another 4 years. 3) Arizona Cardinals: Will Anderson, EDGE Alabama Anderson is a monster coming off the edge, the Cardinals defense is awful and this will definitely give them a boost of athleticism. I think if Anderson was in the 2022 Draft he would have went #1 to Jacksonville. 4)Chicago Bears, Jalen Carter, DL Georgia Perfect for the Bears, Carter is a monster and a big time run stopper as apart of the back-to-back National Champion Georgia Bulldogs. He will be a great scheme fit for Chicago moving forward and a star tackle in the NFL. 5)Seattle Seahawks: Bryan Breese, DL Clemson Breese is an absolute UNIT, 6 foot 5 and 300lbs and not an ounce of fat on this dude. He can help Seattle's awful run defense and can also line up as a defensive end to put some heat on opposing QB's. 6)Detroit Lions: Myles Murphy, DE Clemson Lions had no problems scoring this year, it was defensively they struggled. Murphy is another Clemson guy known for stopping the run. Murphy is a great edge rusher which is a big need here for Detroit. 7) Las Vegas Raiders: CJ Stroud, QB Ohio State With the news that Derek Carr won't be a Raider next year, this means they need a QB. Stroud could be that guy because I doubt the organization thinks Jarrett Stidham is the future in Las Vegas, Stroud could be good if McDaniels doesn't ruin him. 8)Atlanta Falcons: Nolan Smith, EDGE Georgia I think the Falcons are in big trouble going forward, I don't think they are set up well at all anywhere and I don't think Desomnd Ridder is the answer in Atlanta but Nolan Smith is a 6 foot 3 235lb edge rusher who plays sideline to sideline and can maybe help ease the pain of Atlanta fans who have seen just awful defenses over the last decade. 9) Carolina Panthers: Peter Skoronski, T Northwestern Yeah, I know I'm a Panthers fan, yeah I know we need a QB but I refuse to think we take a(In my opinion) HUGE reach here on Anthony Richardson from Florida. Skoronski is a freak in the pass protection game and he can keep whatever QB we have back there upright. Maybe we just sign a QB, suck next year and draft Caleb Williams(who I hate) #1 overall next year? EH? 10)Philadelphia Eagles: Cam Smith, CB South Carolina Philly had a big problem it seemed staying healthy in the secondary last year, QB's avoided throwing at Smith this year, he had 3 interceptions and 9 pass breakups this season. He allowed just 9 catches on 22 targets. 11) Tennessee Titans: Paris Johnson, OT Ohio State: Taylor Lewan, odds are will not be back with the Titans next year. Johnson would be a nice fit to replace Lewan if they decide to split with the former Michigan tackle. 12)Houston Texans: Quentin Johnston, WR TCU Drafting Levis at #2 why not give him a big play threat like Johnston? At 6 foot 3 Johnston can really extend the field for a young QB like Levis. 13) New York Jets: Broderick Jones, T Georgia Whoever the QB is in New York next year they have to make sure he doesn't get murdered like the other 45 starting QB's the Jets had this year. Jones may not be the best offensive lineman in the draft but the Jets don't need defense so this is the route I think they go. 14)New England Patriots: Brian Branch, S Alabama The Patriots need to bolster there secondary, there front 7 isn't bad but their secondary needs work so I think they go with Branch here from Alabama. He's good and sound in every facet of the game. 15) Green Bay Packers: Michael Mayer, TE Notre Dame With the emergence of Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs, I think the Pack are confident in those two as their 1 and 2 wideouts. So why not add THE GREATEST TIGHT END IN THE COUNTRY. NOPE! I didn't stutter, Mayer is an absolute beast. His blocking has become absolutely tremendous and he has some of the best hands on a tight end I've ever seen. To be honest I for sure think he can go higher, if Kyle Pitts went #4 then Michael Mayer should be the #1 pick 16) Washington Commanders: Kellee Ringo,CB Georgia Ringo is a big corner who plays with a lot of physicality on the outside, Georgia just keeps racking up 1st round picks, seems to be a theme lately. 17) Pittsburgh Steelers: Tyree Wilson, Edge Texas Tech Wilson is a 5th year senior from Texas Tech and is a big boy. At 6 foot 6 and 275lbs with a 7 foot wingspan, Wilson made the right call coming back for his senior year, big time upping his draft stock. 18)Detroit Lions: Christian Gonzalez, CB Oregon Gonzalez is a big, speedy and lengthy corner that can help the Lions defense tremendously, he could very well be a day 1 starter for Detroit. 19) Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Bijan Robinson, RB Texas With Blake Corum from Michigan staying in Ann Arbor, Robinson is without a doubt the consensus #1 running back in this years draft, in my opinion I don't think it is really close. Leonard Fournette isn't getting any younger and I think this would be a great pick at 19 for the Bucs. 20) Seattle Seahawks: Joey Porter Jr, CB Penn State It's time for Seattle to get back to their roots and build a strong defense. I have them taking Breese from Clemson at #5 now I have them re-building their secondary with this pick at #20 with Joey Porter Jr from Penn State. At 6'2 and 198lbs Porter is disruptive to wideouts at the line of scrimmage and is just the corner Seattle needs. 21) Los Angeles Chargers: O'Cyrus Torrence. OL Florida At 6'5 and 347lbs Torrence is an absolute mammoth of a man and is not easy to push off the ball, Torrence will most likely be a guard in the NFL and there is nothing wrong with bolstering the o-line for the Chargers to keep Justin Herbert upright. 22) Baltimore Ravens: Devin Witherspoon, CB Illinois Witherspoon is an absolute dog on the defensive side of the ball and plays with a ton of intensity, another team who needs to get back to what made them successful, play good defense and win games. 23) Minnesota Vikings: Lukas Van Ness, EDGE Iowa Van Ness is a prototypical power rusher who can just bull over any offensive lineman. Now that being said he did that at the college level, let's see what he can do in the pro's because for once it was he Vikings defense that sucked this year, offensively they still have Kirk Cousins under center so that sucks too though. 24) Jacksonville Jaguars: Anton Harrison, OT Oklahoma Harrison a left tackle who's started ever since he was a freshman in Norman, great pass protector and we've seen they need to keep Trevor Lawrence protected to be successful. 25) New York Giants: Jaxon-Smith Njigba, WR Ohio State It looks like Danny Dimes is the guy in New York, why not get him a real wide receiver, I wouldn't say Njigba has break away speed but his route running is tremendous and his hands are the best in college football, you can't teach that. 26) Dallas Cowboys: Andre Carter III, EDGE Army Now I don't know if Carter III will even be drafted in the first round but something about this kid I love. He's 6'7 and 260lbs, just an absolute freak. With his length he can really give tackles some problems. 27) Cincinnati Bengals: Dalton Kincaid, TE Utah Dalton Kincaid is just like any new age tight end, you can line him up at tight end or wide out. Second best tight end in the draft, I mean it's a huge gap for me between him and Mayer but Kincaid has come up big on the big stage as he was a huge part of Utah beating USC twice because he absolutely torched them. 28) Denver Broncos: Anthony Richardson, QB Florida I don't know about this dude, Richardson is a freak athlete and can ball out in college. He has a decent upside but I do think he will definitely be a project in the NFL. Good thing is Russel Wilson is signed for another 55 years for 1.2 billion dollars so he has someone to sit behind until he's ready. 29) Buffalo Bills: Isaiah Foskey EDGE, Notre Dame This might be a pipe dream for Foskey to even go in the first 2 rounds, but this guy I feel no matter where he gets drafted he's going to have a real good pro career. He's ND's all-time leader in sacks and with the bills defensive woes and injuries why not get an EDGE rusher. 30) Kansas City Chiefs: Zay Flowers, WR Boston College Flowers in an absolute burner, racking up of a thousand yards and 12 TD's for a terrible BC team is saying something for sure. 31) Philadelphia Eagles: Laiatu Latu, EDGE UCLA Another monster athlete on the edge with a lot of speed and power. The big weakness if any for Philly is the defense and more specifically the front 7. Adding some pressure to the QB will help them solidify them as one of the top 3 teams in the NFL.  Welp, this was a wild year for the Irish to say the least. To be honest with you, I didn't know what was going to happen week to week, whether we played the #1 team in the country of the worst football team ever assembled. I genuinely at no point knew what was going to happen or where this season was going to go and how it was going to end, all in all? Not to mad about Marcus Freeman's first season.
Let's start with the bad, Notre Dame lost 4 games this year and some were not pretty...not pretty at all. We start the season against Ohio State, at the Shoe....not the easiest game for the start of the Freeman Era. Tyler Buchner started at QB and looked pretty capable going 10/18 for 177 yards, the Irish ran the ball well at times and the defense played well in the 21-10 loss to OSU, so yeah we lost wee one but fuck Ohio State is real effin good so, we should be Marshall next week.....right? RIGHT?!?......FALSE! We in fact did not beat Marshall, we lost to Marshall and to very blunt we looked awful. Buchner had 2 awful picks and got hurt for the rest of the year, Drew Pyne came in after the Buchner injury and looked just as bad. Yeah sure Pyne threw a TD but shit if Michael Mayer was my tight end I probably could too. So yeah, we start off the season 0-2 and I will be honest, I'm mildly proud of myself because Yeah, My hand was hovering over the Panic Button HARD but I never hit it. Before I jump into the rest of the schedule chronologically, let me first touch on our only other losses this year. After hitting a bump in the road we get better, then we hit a big speed bump when Stanford comes to town, now this to me was the worst loss off the year. Is Stanford better than Marshall? Probably but we had every single fucking chance to win the Stanford game and offensively we were just bad, real fuckin bad. Pyne was 13/27 for 155 yards.....13/27 for 155 yards, against a terrible Stanford defense. Diggs and Estime were running at over 5 yards a clip but we still kept passing the ball, why? No idea, but if memory serves me correctly this was during Estime's 3 game fumble streak so we may have steered away from the run game then. We lost 16-14 and we just had no fight at all, Pyne looked awful and I thought this was it, really I didn't know if we would win another game all year. Last loss of the season, which was actually our last game of the regular season was to USC. All I am gonna say from this game is Drew Pyne played maybe the best game of his career 23/26 for 313 yards and 3 TD's, unfortunately Drew threw 1 pick and that pick was absolutely back breaking for our comeback, gave USC a short field and they punched it in. Also. despite being a giant douchebag Caleb Williams is just real real real fucking good, OK, finally we can get to the good, gooder and goodest parts of the season. After starting 0-2 we pick up a dub against Cal at home, yup we battled from behind most of the game, it wasn't pretty, we looked average at best, but Coach Freeman got the proverbial monkey off his back and got his first win. Next we go into UNC who's undefeated at the time and I don't care what the score line says (45-32) we kicked their ass I mean kicked their ass. We ran up and down the field on them with Estime and Diggs, Pyne was flawless throwing or 289 and 3 TD's, this was the first real sign of life for me from Coach Freeman and the boys. BYU was next, the Cougars were ranked in the top 20 I believe and this was a good opportunity for the Irish to show something here and for me they did. Estime, Diggs and Tyree again put on a clinic and ran up and down the BYU defense just absolutely gashing them, Mayer did his thing per usual with 11 catches, 118 yards and 2 TD'S. Drew Pyne also put in a solid performance to get the Irish the dub and move them to 3-2, this is where my concerns stared with the Irish closing out games though, BYU was hanging in, hanging in and almost stole it from the Irish. Then after the loss to Stanford were back home against UNLV, a game I attended. When I say I've never been more pissed at a 44-21 win in my life I truly mean it. Logan Diggs was an absolute work horse carrying it 28 times for 130 yards, Isaiah Foskey was the man though, huge on defense and adding 2 blocked punts which you'll soon see became a theme for the Irish this year. But as far as the game goes it was just blah, you'd think a 44-21 game you'd see huge plays, big chunk yards and nope, none of that at all. Mayer was Mayer again with 6 catches for 115 yards and a TD all while making one of the best catches of the season for ND. Then we walk in to play Syracuse, who's riding high off the strength of a big performance against Clemson the week prior, Cuse hung in with Clemson the entire game eventually falling to at the time the #3 ranked team in the country. I had an opportunity to go to this game with it being just an hour away from my house but I said "nah, if I spend the money to go to this game and they get their asses kicked I'm gonna be super pissed". By the end of this I wasn't pissed. I wasn't pissed at all. Frist play off the game was a pick 6 by Brandon Joseph, easy money. Again the Irish dominated with Diggs and Estime, 208 rush yards combined for these two including 3 TD's. Like I said before the Irish did it again, blocking a punt to set up and easy TD for the Irish to put the game away. At this point the Irish have blocked 5 punts on the year. We move on to #3 Clemson and holy boner city, population me. Notre Dame absolutely decimated Clemson. The defense was tremendous, the corners shut down and edge the wideouts had, the front 7 were relentless and I hate Dabo. Different game same story, Diggs and Estime combine for 218 yards rushing, Pyne didn't have to do much but he didn't need to....he just didn't make a mistake. This game was the emergence of Freshman corner Benjamin Morrison who was all over the place including 2 picks, one being a pick 6 that sure up the game essentially for the Irish. I would be remissed if I didn't mention the BALLS on Coach Freeman, knowing that we ran all over Clemson all game, then calling a pop pass to Mayer to absolutely shit all over Clemson's chest. Then Navy, what the fuck happened here? Notre Dame was up 35-13 at the halg absolutely dominating Navy. The second half comes we couldn't do diddly dick, we get outscored 19-0, we had about 7 total yards and almost lose but escaple with the 35-32 win. Then we absolutely destroy Boston College 44-0, the game was never in doubt and freshman sensation Benjamin Morrison had a 3 INT day. The three headed monster of Estime, Diggs and Tyree ran for 243 and just murdered BC it was an absolute blood bath. Then we come to maybe the game of the year, the Gator Bowl against the Gamecocks. What a game this was, we had the return of Day 1 starter Tyler Buchner after Drew Pyne had recently announced his decision to enter the transfer portal. This was a fun and holy shit frustrating game. Buchner looked ok, he had 5 total TD's but at the same time threw 3 terrible interceptions and 2 were taken to the house. Again the running game was tremendous and adding Buchner to the mix was great to see. The Irish win an absolute thriller 45-38 and give Marcus Freeman his bowl win as a head coach. FINAL THOUGHTS: I think the Irish are in good hands with coach Freeman. The recent transfer of Wake Forrest QB is absolutely huge. Some key losses may hurt the Irish but good teams don't re-build, the re-load. I don't think It's crazy to say, especially given the new 12 team format that will come into play next college football season that the Irish have a very realistic shot at the CFB playoffs. |
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