Our trip around the NFL continues as we end the week with a look at the top four signal callers in the NFC North. Aaron Rodgers is probably the easy pick for the NFC North crown for many (if not all), since he is also a clear favorite for the best quarterback in the entire league, as well. That isn’t to say the division doesn’t have it’s fair share of talent, however, while ranking the other three quarterbacks is a chore all on it’s own.

2015 could switch things up considerably, as Teddy Bridgewater enters his second year in the league, Jay Cutler may be on shaky ground with a new regime in Chicago and Matthew Stafford is coming off of a down year. What’s the right order when ranking the four starting NFC North quarterbacks? Let’s find out:

4. Teddy Bridgewater (Minnesota Vikings)

Bridgewater was thought to be a reach by some in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft, but it looks like the Vikings knew better than most. Instead of looking like a bust, Bridgewater looked professional, prepared and comfortable. He had some moments with turnovers and decision-making, but even without Adrian Peterson and a band of reliable receiving weapons, he still produced solid numbers and got some wins. Entering year two, it’s not going to take much for him to rise up in these rankings, but he still has to prove what we saw last year both wasn’t a fluke and is only the beginning, and not a plateau.

3. Jay Cutler (Chicago Bears)

Cutler has been an interesting case his entire career, as no one could ever knock his powerful arm and effortless release, nor his confidence, moxie, athleticism or creativity. Consistency, efficiency, work ethic and accuracy have all been tough and go, and despite now being over 30, he’s made it to post-season play just once. He gets the nod over Bridgwater because he’s an established veteran, has put up some great numbers and has even appeared in an NFC title game. But if he’s ever to make it to even #2 in the NFC North, he’ll have to finally realize his potential. So far, he simply hasn’t.

2. Matthew Stafford (Detroit Lions)

Despite having a woeful showing on a regular basis against winning teams, Stafford has been to the playoffs more times (twice) than the two guys he’s ranked ahead of. He’s also been the better player from a statistical perspective, as he still owns the towering 41-touchdown and 5,000+ passing yard season of 2011 and also has produced at least 4,000 yards and 20 touchdowns in each of the past four seasons. Once considered a fragile gunslinger thanks to an injury-marred first two seasons, Stafford has rapidly turned into a gamer who can freely connect with Calvin Johnson. He’s benefited from great talent and a nice system, but Stafford has always displayed a cannon arm and a willingness to chase the big play. Reported improvement in his footwork and accuracy this summer cement him right behind Rodgers, although it’s safe to say he’ll never make it to the top spot in this division as long as Rodgers is an active player.

1. Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay Packers)

A-Rod is the best passer in the NFC North, hands down, and he just might be the best quarterback in the NFL, too. While the latter is very arguable either way, the former isn’t. Rodgers is the only quarterback in this division to win a Super Bowl and he’s far and away been the more productive, efficient and consistent performer. He also did everything he’s done under the shadow of a legend in Brett Favre and he’s managed to play turnover free football for much of his career. Rodgers is already a legend in his own way and is only building on that with each successful run. After barely missing out on a trip to his second ever title game a year ago, Rodgers and the Packers are slated to take the NFC North and once again give it a go at a deep playoff run in 2015.

Disagree with our NFC North quarterback rankings? Let us hear your order in the comments below!

The Atlanta Hawks brought a new sense of energy and team play to the 2014-15 NBA season, as they ascended to the top of the Eastern Conference with the second best record in the entire league. The return of center Al Horford was a big reason why, and the Hawks made their way to this year’s Eastern Conference Finals before bowing out to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

As a small reward for their efforts, the Hawks have given their players new “mix and match” uniforms for the upcoming 2015-16 NBA season.

“I was talking with Al Horford,” Atlanta Hawks CCO Peter Sorckoff told SI.com, “and walking him through this idea of mix-and-match uniforms. Horford asked ‘When are you going to have us do that?’ I’m not going to have them do it. The reason I built this is so the guys, as a team, can decide if they ever want to mix and match. It is cool to put it back in the hands of the athletes.”

There just might be a tiny snag. It’s debatable whether or not the uniforms, mix or match, go together at all.

On the surface the new Hawks uniforms look refreshing and somewhat current, while the idea of mixing and matching the jerseys and shorts depending on the mood is at worst interesting and a little creative. However, the Hawks boast an arguably ugly neon green numbering, in addition to a a questionable triangle pattern littered across the jersey.

The red jersey is passable, but the NBA’s first gray jersey may leave something to be desired. Atlanta may have nailed it with the shorts, as the colors are solid with limited patterns. But that neon, though.

While the new look isn’t all bad, it’s at least curious and many Hawks fans will admit the old uniforms were plenty fine. That being said, Sorckoff said that the team kept the players involved in the discussion the entire way, so if the players love the new uniforms, fans might in time, too.

Think the new Hawks uniforms are awesome? Terrible? Let us hear about it in the comments below.

The 2015 NFL season is now just two months away from starting, as we can smell the preseason and before long we’ll be talking Super Bowl predictions and getting serious about fantasy football. As we count the days, a fun exercise is to break down rosters by ranking the top players at the most important positions. To get the ball rolling, we’ll break down the top four quarterbacks by division and rank them.

We’ll get started with the AFC East, where the defending Super Bowl champs reside, along with three very interesting teams that just might be able to challenge them for the first time in a long time. They all seem to have the defenses, coaching and/or supporting cast on offense to mix things up, but do they have the quarterbacks? Let’s break them all down and see how the four starting quarterbacks rank in the AFC East for 2015:

Tom Brady (New England Patriots)

Tom Brady is currently slated to serve a four-game suspension to start 2015, but he’s still New England’s main man under center and that ban could end up being overturned or reduced. That puts Tom Terrific atop the AFC East, even at almost 38 years old (in August). Brady had a slow start to 2014, but after tight end Rob Gronkowski returned to full strength he was borderline unstoppable. He capped a solid year with an MVP performance in his fourth Super Bowl win and despite his age, has lost very little when it comes to his skill-set. If this suspension sticks, he could come back angrier than ever with a serious chip on his shoulder. That’s the last thing the AFC East or the league in general needs.

Ryan Tannehill (Miami Dolphins)

It’s Brady and then Tannehill in this division, and it’s not even close. Tannehill has done well to improve in each of his three seasons, as the once raw passing prospect has developed into a very solid NFL starter. Tannehill put up career numbers in 2014, got a win against the Pats and just got paid this summer. With no real obstacles in his way, a good offensive system and a solid band of receivers around him, Tannehill could soar to new heights in year four. That could very well make the Dolphins New England’s top competition inside the division and everything rolled together makes Tannehill the locked-in #2 quarterback behind Brady.

Geno Smith (New York Jets)

Smith gets the third spot in these AFC East quarterback rankings pretty much by default, while he does have the talent, upside and weapons to rise to second if he finally figures everything out. A big quarterback with a solid arm and good athleticism, Smith’s real knock over his first two years has been decision-making. Smith has had some gem performances (vs. Falcons in 2014 and season finale in 2015), but he’s had a litany of poor showings, as well. He now has Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker as more than suitable weapons in the passing game and he’s running out of excuses. The talent is there for him to make a huge jump in year three, but only time will tell if Smith is the answer under center for the Jets.

Matt Cassel (Buffalo Bills)

Being worse than Geno Smith isn’t fun, but the Bills don’t really have a quarterback. You could pick from Cassel, E.J. Manuel or Tyrod Taylor and none of them make you think “yep, he’s better” when you compare then to Geno Smith. Cassel is a solid game manager but better suited as a backup, Manuel is too raw and Taylor has zero experience. Taylor could possibly be a hidden gem that shocks the league this year, but for now it looks like this is Cassel’s job to lose. With the Bills fully expected to lean heavily on the rushing attack and a good defense, Cassel could work well as the starter if he doesn’t make mistakes and plays within the offense. He offers almost no upside, though, and could end up being replaced at some point this year. Because of all that, there’s no way we can rank Cassel or any other Bills quarterback higher in this four-man totem pole.

Think these rankings are all jacked up? Re-rank them for us in the comments below!

The Cleveland Cavaliers dropped game one of the 2015 NBA Finals on Thursday night, as the Golden State Warriors pulled away in overtime to win 108-100. Cleveland had the Warriors on the ropes late in the game, but two last second shots by LeBron James and Iman Shumpert fell short.

Those two shots were part of an ugly 1-13 stretch to close the game, as the Cavs ran cold to end the fourth and didn’t make another basket in the extra period until James made a meaningless layup with just 15 seconds to go. As dispiriting as the game one loss was, there might not be anything worse than seeing Kyrie Irving exit the game after re-injuring his knee.

Irving had been dealing with a lingering knee issue throughout the playoffs, and even sat out two games during the Eastern Conference Finals. With a long lay-off after sweeping the Atlanta Hawks in that series, Irving and the Cavs seemed to think his knee woes were behind him. For the most part in game one, that indeed seemed to be the case, as Irving overcame a slow start to look very much like his explosive self. Irving contributed 23 points and eight assists, playing scorer and playmaker as needed as Cleveland dictated the pace for much of the game.

Too Many Minutes?

Irving looked to be fully healthy, but now that we know he sustained a knee injury, the debate opens up if the Cavs were far too liberal with his run in his first game back. After all, head coach David Blatt knew Irving wasn’t completely 100% before the Finals started, yet he decided to keep him in for 43 minutes, anyways. It’s an interesting move, especially considering how well backup point guard Matthew Dellavedova has played in Irving’s absence. In addition, Blatt could have slid James to the point for stretches to give Irving’s knees a break. He then could have had Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith both on the floor if he for some reason didn’t feel confident in Dellavedova playing big minutes on such a big stage.

In that same breath, Blatt probably rode Irving as hard as he did for two very good reasons: first, because Irving wasn’t complaining and felt good. Second, and probably the biggest one, is because he needed him. While the Cavs seemed to be in control and running the pace for much of the game, a huge reason why was because of Irving. With Irving playing less minutes, it’s highly possible, if not likely, Cleveland would have lost steam on the road in a hostile environment. Irving even ended up proving key on the defensive end, as he blocked a late Stephen Curry layup that in hind sight probably would have won the game in regulation.

Game 2 Availability?

The Cavs and Warriors play again on Sunday, which means Irving truly has two full days of rest and then will have to test his knee on Sunday at the latest. Considering he was limping visibly, left the stadium on crutches and seemd to be in a good deal of pain, Irving should be doubtful for game two. Irving is expected to get an MRI on Friday to see if there is any serious damage to the knee and if not, he would still have a chance to suit up for game two. The two main problems will be pain tolerance and Cleveland’s fear of seriously hurting one of their best players. There is no better time to risk injury than when you’re competing for a world title, but it’s possible Irving and the Cavs won’t want to chance it.

Impact

There’s the old saying “next man up” but losing Irving for the entire series or even a couple games could be catastrophic for the Cavs. LeBron James proved in game one that he can get his if he’s focused, but that actually played into Golden State’s plan. They preferred to play James straight up and take whatever points he got, rather than free up James by doubling him or focusing too much on him defensively to the point that it allows wide open shots from his teammates. Keeping James locked in offensively limits his play-making, which in turn keeps his teammates ill prepared and naturally cold from outside.

That was the game plan when Irving was around and it worked, even with Irving having a solid impact. Just imagine what Cleveland’s offense will have to try to do to compensate for Irving going forward if he’s out. There is no guarantee Irving is going to miss any time, but even if he doesn’t he could be severely limited or further his current injury. The Cavs were probably already playing with their backs against the wall and they let a winnable game one get away from them. Now they march ahead in these NBA Finals and it could be without their second best player. That’s bad news for my NBA Finals pick and it’s definitely bad news for Cleveland.

Think the Cavaliers are fine without Irving if he misses time? Let us hear your side in the comments below!