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Fives Fubtol South Africa Montage Video🇿🇦🇿🇦⚽️⚽️

#youtube

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Kansas City Chiefs Win The Superbowl

"The Colin Kaepernick curse is real"

The 49ers, had a 10-0 lead at half, and no doubt they they were the better team in the 1st half.

I'm definitely not a fan of the Kansas City Chiefs, but it was inspiring watching Chris Jones on the sidelines rallying the players together for a pep talk, when both the offense and the defense were looking frustrated and how they would rally at half time.

The fumble on special teams in the 3rd quarter was a massive gash after a 3rd quarter where the Chiefs stopped making the mental errors of the 1st half, and that touchdown pass by Mahomes to Valdes-Scantling to put take the lead at 13-10 was the beginning of a cascade for the 9ers.

The 9ers would manage to get a touchdown, but the issue was having the extra point blocked on the next play, and boy did that turn out to be costly, because that 1 point was the reason the game had to go into overtime with the score at 16-16.

It may have takeb until the last drive of OT but Mahomes' pass to Mecole Hardman ultimately gave KC the Superbowl and congrats to KC but I want to dedicate the last part of this blog to the San Francisco 49ers.

See, I'm a big believer in karma. I'm a big believer in what goes around comes around, even if you have to make it come around.

While I am not a Chiefs fan, I do get to revel in the moral victory of no having to listen to 9er fans tell me that "Brock Purdy is elite because he just is".

Among the annoying most annoying narratives going in to this Superbowl, was the one that surrounded Brock Purdy, and whether he is indeed an elite NFL quarterback, and this one really irritated me to no f******g end.

Brock Purdy getting to an NFC championship game and then losing the Superbowl the following year, basically puts his resume on par with Colin Kaepernick, but do you think 9er fans are willing to accept that line of reasoning?

Of course not, because the elephant in the room with 9ers is that they wanted a starting quarteback that not only plays traditionally, but also reminds them of themselves, and as little of Colin Kaepernick as possible.

A few weeks ago, former NFL MVP Cam Newton was verbally abused when he made the distinction between game-managers and game changers.

Anybody that watched that Superbowl in overtime will know exactly what Cam Newton meant.

Mahome's ability to run, is what set him apart from Purdy, and it's the reason he got his team in to the endzone when it mattered the most and for 9er fans, they have to face the disparity and difference between what they believe, and what's actually true.

And lastly, boy-wonder, and poster child for NFL nepotism, Kyle Shanahan, has lost a 2nd Superbowl as head coach of the 9ers, and I expect plenty of criticism about his play calling, but how long can the San Francisco media continue to cover for this guy?

For now, I'll revel in both the moral victory and the real one on the field.

#sports #nfl #national football league #superbowl #kansas city chiefs #san fransisco 49ers #taylor swift #colin kaepernick #Youtube

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The NFL No Longer Wants It's Core Audience

I think a lot of news and information has slipped throught the cracks regarding this upcoming Superbowl, and even more so are things that concern the NFL as a business.

While many in the audience and online were moaning and whining about Taylor Swift being heavily featured during Chiefs games, a few things have made the NFL change course as far as the paying audience and who they would like that to be.

If you remember a few months ago, there was a story about a fan that unfortunately passed away after a fight in the crowd of an Patriots game, and I believe that has prompted the NFL to start thinking differently. 

Starting with recent crackdown on sharing of NFL content, and effectively making it impossible for NFL content creators to use game clips particularly on youtube.

Since then, it's been reported that tickets for games this season have sky rocketed with the cheapest tickets often starting out at 500 dollars or more.

What's happening here is a culling of the NFL's core audience, and I can't say I feel bad about it.

When Colin Kaepernick was protesting police brutality, among the common quips from NFL fans was that "the NFL is a business", and to that I say, "it is".

So when the NFL begins to seek an increase in revenue by increasing the price of a ticket, and leaving out what was once thought to be thier bread and butter fan base, I can't help but remind everyone that the NFL is a business, first and foremost.

Is there some schadenfreud going on here with me? Sure, a lot of it actually, but I have to ask why did game attending, loyal fans think they would be the exception to the rule?

Is it because of the NFL's obvious conservative leanings, thier pro-military marketing, or NFL fans largely sharing Donald Trump's views on key issues? 

None if that mattered when the NFL saw the dollar signs that could be made by bringing Taylor Swift's audience to the game, and good for them.

Bring in more women that like NFL and let the NFL have to figure out the trick bag of how to navigate an audience that won't tolerate even half the shite that the male audience did.

I for one, am glad this is happening, because I know those 9er fans that booed Colin Kaepernick, got thier comeuppance.

Oh yeah, they feelin' it now.

#sports #nfl #national football league #superbowl #kansas city shiefs #travis kelce #taylor swift #Youtube

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NFL SuperBowl Preview: Chiefs vs 49ers Keys To Victory

I'm not gonna lie, a Chiefs-9ers SuperBowl matchup is by far the least interest ing we could have ended up with, but the winning teams are the ones that make it to the big game.

I've been very curious at some of the pre game talk by some of the San Francisco media going in to this week.

The unit to watch for me, is the Chiefs defense. I have massively undersold how good these guys are and have been through this season, and after what thier linebackers did to the Ravens, they will like thier chances of holding the 9ers to a decently low score.

The 9er defense is widely regarded as one of the best in the league, but as 9ers beat reporter, Grant Cohn, has stated throughout this post season, they have not been doing a good job stopping the run, so no doubt the Chiefs will want to test the waters with Isiah Pacheco.

Even with Brock Purdy having overcome the percieved inability to lead the team to a comeback win, I think that among the most important factors, will be which of these teams plays with a lead, and they're both far more comfortable playing from ahead.

Both the 9ers and the Chiefs defenses boast great secondary units, and while the 9ers had thier hiccups against the Bucs and the Lions, niether team wants to be a position where they have to press the passing game to catch up.

That being said, if you have to pick based on who can lead a comeback, you have to give the nod to Patrick Mahomes, and Kadarius Toney's online interactions with Cam Newton, have solidified that the Chiefs recievers have overcome thier problems, they have definitely identified him as a problem child of this reciever group, and since the, they have configured a new offense that is less explosice but still effective.

The prevailing thought going in to this, is that if the 9ers are to win, they will likely need Chrisitian McCaffery to give them a MVP level performance, and I tend to agree.

On the flip side of this for the Chiefs, is Tight End Travis Kelce, and it's been pretty hilarious watching the reaction from NFL fans any time Taylor Swift is on the screen, but I've talked about that earlier. Kelce was incredible against the Ravens, a repeat of that performance will likely tip the game in the Chief's favor.

Last but not least, is what happense in the trenches, and it is a little bit concerning looking at the 9ers defensive line against the Chiefs offensive line, and what 9er fans will hope is that this resembles the Chiefs and Bucs Superbowl in 2020, where the Bucs d-line wrecked the game for the Chiefs.

Patrick Mahomes has only been sacked 27 times this year, as compared to Brck Purdy's 28, so these teams have kept thier qb's clean and it's the 9ers job with Nick Bosa and Chase Young, to give them an edge in this department.

One last factor of comparison is comparing the specialty position groups, like tight end, running backs and recievers, and pound-for-pound, the 9ers have more talent as far as player-for-player.

Based on everything I've read, watched and seen from both teams, I am going to pick the Chiefs to win the Superbowl, I think they proved against Baltimore that they can stop the more explosive offensive teams, and more importantly, they will make the adjustments as the game goes.

MY PICK: Chiefs win 24-21

#sports #nfl #national football league #kansas city chiefs #san fransisco 49ers #patrick mahomes #brock purdy #travis kelce #jayson tatum #taylor swift

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NFL Championship Weekend Review and Reactions

1. Kansas City Chiefs 17-10 Baltimore Ravens

About as anti-climatic as a game could be, but you can't argue that the Chiefs didn't deserve to win.

It didn't start well, but you always felt like the Ravens offense had it in them to come up with a td, but that damn Zay Flowers fumble at the goal line was simply brutal, and I mean literally the WORST moment of the entire NFL post season.

Lastly, for Lamar Jackson, who will unfairly bear the brunt of the criticism for this post season collapse, did not play well, and a lot of that has to do with play calling, because the Ravens, who were the number 2 rushing offense, abandoned the run on Sunday night.

A fair bit of credit needs to go to Steve Spagnuolo and the Chiefs defense, they were big time and every blitz they sent, felt like it could scupper the Ravens offense.

It was a cold, hard, brutal game for any Lamar or Ravens fan, and one we'd surely like to forget more soon than not.

2. San Francisco 49ers 34-31 Detroit Lions

This game pretty much summed up the theme of this weekend's games, anti-climatic, and utterly intolerent of any kind of optimism of novelty.

I know I picked the 9ers to win 24-21 but I am never happy when my picks are good but the teams I have to watch later are teams I can't stand. It's turned personal with me wanting to see the 9ers crash, I will let ever let the grudge go.

For the 2nd week in a row, Brock Purdy led the 9ers offense to a comebac win, once agains recovering from a shaky start to lead the 9ers to a win.

I always felt, that the 9ers would eventually find a way to slow the Lions offense, and that fumble by Gibbs, will go down as a heartbreaker to a what was an optimistic season.

#sport #nfl #championship weekend #national football league #baltimore ravens #kansas city shiefs #san fransisco 49ers #detroit lions #Youtube

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NFL Conference Championship Weekend Preview And Predictions

1. Baltimore Ravens vs Kansas City Chiefs

I am shocked as all hell that this game didn't get the later Sunday timeslot, which is typically reserved for America'game of the week, because this game here deserves that billing. The Detroit Lions ownersip may have more pull in the league, but this game highlighta thia weekend's games.

You know, I'm going to keep saying it aloud untile it manifests itself because at some point the Chiefs recievers from early in the regular season need to show back up, and the Ravens just so happen to have the best db's in the league.

Chiefs running back Isaiah Pachecho is the extra tool in Andy Ried's kit, 15 carries for 97 yards and a touchdown, I think a big part of the Chiefs game will have to depend on what kind of yards they get from Pachecho early in the game.

For as much I have taken solace in the Chiefs issues this season, the one thing they've been great at is thier defense. A miseading stat is that they've only gotten 17 takeways this season because they have been among the league's top defense in 2023.

Baltimore's defense has been so dependable this year and i fully expect them to play a lot of press coverage on the Chiefs wideouts.

Last week, I picked against Mahomes and paid for it dearly, but I;m a sucer for punishment, and I reall wanna see someone finally vanquish the beast that is the Mahomes-monster.

And finally, the biggest x-factor and the guy that I think will have the biggest impact on the outcome of this game, Lamar Jackson. He's been at an MVP playing level, and his passing ability, is so much more improved, basically, I believe that if Lamar plays well to dominant, all bets are off, and it will pretty much give Baltimore an open pathway to the Superbolw

Look, I'm gonna be straight, I'm going to pick the Chiefs to win, but that's only so I can jinx them, because I need a Ravens-Lions Superbowl, this year.

MY PICK: Chiefs win 26-23

2. San Francisco 49ers vs Detroit Lions

Kyle Shanahan's 49ers are in the Conference Championship game for like the 4th time since he became head coach.

As of writing this, the 9ers are favored by a touchdown,I think this is correct, and the biggest reason, is that the 9ers have one thing that taes Jared Goff and every other quarterback off thier game, and that's a pass rush.

Goff has only been sacked 30 times this season, and as good as that is compared to other quarterbacks this year, I expect Chase Young, Nic Bosa and company to dial up the pressure.

If there's one thing about the Lions that concerns me is how they may tend towards abandoning the run, Jahmyr Gibbs only had 9 carries against the Bucs, but if the Lions intend to play with a lead, this is something that will need to change.

Another reason that the Lions need to score early is thier defense, which gave up over 350 yards to Baker Mayfield and the Bucs, so the Lions secondary maay be something for the 9ers to zero in on, and that mean Brock Purdy and his recievers have to use any matchup they have.

All told, I have to stick with what works and hope the Lions can pull it off one more time, but I'll pick with my head and go with the 9ers to make a 2nd Superbowl under Kyle Shanahan.

MY PICK: 49ers win 24-21

#sports #nfl #national football league #nfl playoffs #baltimoreravens #kansas city chiefs #san fransisco 49ers #detroit lions #ingraven vids #grant conh #Youtube

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Videography VS Filmmaking VS Content Part 2

I feel the need to go more in depth after my last about this topic because there is a need to get specific, because the market as far as filmmaking has changed so much, that understanding the differences between these things.

Filmmaking:

I have spent some time in the TV industry and I've seen how some big budget productions happen, and the big difference between filmmaking and everything else, is controlling every element of what the audience sees.

At it's simplest, that's what it comes down to.

Very little of anything happens without set designers, art directors, prop co-ordinators moving, painting, finding the right props, arranging this things in to the scene and touching up what they can to enhance a scene. They walk in to a mundane room, talk to the director, and in what is prefereably a short amount of time, turn that room into the optimum space to compliment the scene and story.

It's all about control and executing it in the absolute optimum amount of time.

Every part of what you see on screen, from the hair styles, to the clothing, down to the smallest prop, has been either edited or made specifically for the scene, and that's without getting in to lighting and cinematography and such.

A director's control and serving the story are the difference, and I would venture to say music videos are the same, no matter what end of the financial scale thier happening on.

Videography:

Essentially what separates videography from all the other types of content is that videographers do not control the action much.

For the most part a videographer shows up, sets up camera and captures the action as it happens no matter how that occurs.

More akin to sports broadcasting and process documentaries, and even some news reporting, videography implies not always controlling the blocking, lighting, wardrobe, art direction and production design.

Content Creation:

This is where the definition of what people do needs to be redfined and even expanded to accomodate more of what were seeing as a result of content.

Content exists mainly for the sake of being used on social media, I would even include certain kinds of copy or graphic styles, and certainly memes, in this category too.

Things like podcast, youtube-style videos, videos where the creator talks straight to the camera, are the types of content that don't exist on any other platform than a social media platform.

CONCLUSION AND WHAT THIS ALL MEANS:

I would venture to say you can do 2 of the 3 at the same time but never all 3.

For example you can use filmaking techniques to create a piece of content but then it's not videography. You have examples in movies, where the script breaks the fourth wall, and you're venturing in to videography territory, but that would be happening in the context of the story, so I would say that it's not just content at that point but still filmaking.

In keeping with this 2 but never all 3 type logic, visual content can also exist to market a product and other than television advertising where there would be script, content can also exist to market a business or product, hence the use of the 76ers fitted above, or any myriad of content you can find on social media now.

If it's a television ad then both filmaking and content creation principles apply, while videography is out.

But if you are an influencer creating content to help sell a product, then at that point it's both videography and content, and the same applies for a lot of influencer-product/brand collaborations, and the content they make.

All told, as the years go and more people have the technology to produce thier own content, many of the learning materials and textbooks that were written regarding filmmaking and/or videography, are going to have to be broadened in order to incorporate more of these concepts.

All I'm saying.

#filmmaking #videography #content creation #youtube #podcasting #Youtube #south africa #south african

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NFL Divisional Round Review, Recap And React

1. Baltimore Raven 34-10 Houston Texans

Yeah, Baltimore made this look good at the end but according to my guy, Lamar Jackson, there was a bunch of expletives exchanged at halftime, after the Raven only managed 10 points in the 1st.

Still it was a more than notable performance by the Ravens defense, they absolutely blanketed the Houston recievers and Stroud holding on to the ball until eventually pressured.

However, the 2nd half basically came down to the reason I thought the Ravens would win in the first place, and that's Lamar's otherworldy level of play which is what pushed them over the hump. 2 passing touchdowns, and 15 yard russing touchdown put Lamar's stamp on the game and gave the Ravens the dub.

2. San Francisco 49ers 24-21 Green Bay Packers

Okay, so for like the 4th year in a row, Kyle Shanahan's team made me look bad once again. My vendetta against the 49ers, has really cost me dearly over the years, as far as picking games is concerned, and if you've ever lost money because of me, I'm sorry.

The thing with this game that nakes it bad, is how the 9ers actually won this game.

The 9ers were down by a touchdown, going in to the 4th and they were confronted by a Green Bay defense that were not going to make this easy, holding them to just 2 touchdowns for the game up to that point.

But Brock Purdy's slow start and the fact that he never found a rhythm all game, will have the Packers feeling like they let this one go. Christian McCaffery's touchdown run to take the lead was followed by agut wrenching incerception on the Packers final drive of the game, and that was it.

The 9er defense should pat themselves on the back for yet another memorable playoff performance, that 21-0 halftime lead would have bee worse had it not been for some key early defensive stops.

3. Detroit Lions 31-23 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Ladies and gentlemen, dreams do come true.

The 2023 Detroit Lions story continues and will see them play in this year's NFC Conference Championship game , and this is the greatest year in the history of thier franchise since 1991, which was the last time they won a playoff game.

For the Bucs this will be remembered as a game of missed opportunities, because Baker Mayfield played about as well as you can possibly expect out of him, but the idea that Rachaad White only had 9 carries for 55 yards is a wild stat definitely shows how the Bucs lost control of this game, because they were tied goin in to the 4th quarter.

But in the end Jared Goff attempting 43 passes, and literally having 0 interceptions or turnovers, will be the most memorable offensive stat of the game.

Jahmyr Gibbs had the td run that gave the Lions the lead in the 4th, but Goff's td pass to Amon-Ra to seal the game, was emblematic of who he has been all season and the calm that he's brought to this offense.

4. Kansas City Chiefs 27-24 Buffalo Bills

I picked the Bills to win this game because I'm a sucker for pain, and because I forgot that Patrick Mahomes is literally immortal.

At this point, I don't know what the Buffalo Bills have to do to beat the Kansas City Chiefs.

They had a stellar defense. They had the running back, and more importantly the run game itself to provide needed balance, but the biggest thing they had was Josh Allen playing at a near MVP level, which he woud surely win in any other season if not for Lamar.

It was just a cascade of everything going wrong for the Bills. The fake punt was another moment that just foreshadowed and this was all cruelly ended by the missed field goal that would have tied the game and sent it in to overtime.

To have the Chiefs come in to Buffalo and even have a narrow 4 point lead going in to the 4th only to watch it evaporate and the Bills scoring exactly 0 points for the entie 4th quarter.

Tough break for the Bills.

#sports #nfl #nfl playoffs #divisional round #reaction #review #recap #Youtube

[defensefilms]

Dricus Du Plessis Is The New UFC Middleweight Champion

Yeah dawg!!!!!!! Yeah dawg!!!! What's good dawg!!!!!! How you livin dawg!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My country is in raptures, and there are jokes flying around everywhere about the close nature of the fight and comparing this win to the Springboks in the world cup.

Rightly so, and I cannot lie, I was really nervous at the start of the fight.

Much like I had mentioned in my preview, whoever controlled the distance would likely control the fight, and for stretches it looked like Sean Strickland was doing that.

Sean's awkward Philly shell was just that.

It bothered Dricus at times, but again as I had said in my preview Dricus had much better success in the takedown department, and was coming forward and controlling the cage with Strickland mostly going backward, and I mentioned in my preview how much that would matter.

It took Dricus a while to breakdown Sean's defensive stance, but once he realized that Sean didn't have the best footwork, he realized he could get him to put his guard up and shoot takedowns.

The mere threat of the takedown meant Sean couldn't always resond the same way to Dricus' pressure, and eventually Dricus was finding those straight rights down the middle and blitzing Sean, throwing power shots in 2's and 3's where one would always get through, causing a cut to open over Strickland's eye.

When he wasn't bombing Sean's face, he was finding roots to the body, where Dricus landed a total of 32 body shots for the fight and landed 6 total takedown to grind out a heroic win!!!

I was nervous about Dricus' strategy because, blitzing and lunging was something he was doing before his nose surgery, and was thought to be a result of fatigue, but Strickland forced him in to that strategy by boxing well from outside.

In the end it was as close of a fight as you coud imagine. I knew Sean likely won the 1st round, but the 2nd, 3rd and 4th rounds, felt like Dricus rounds and the judges saw it the same way.

I couldn't be happier for Dricus, he has been an ambassador for South African MMA for years, and also a very cool guy if you meet him.

South Africa!!!!!!!!!! This is for YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!

#sports #mma #mixed martial arts #ufc #ufc 297 #dricus du plessis #sean strickland #south africa #Youtube #Instagram

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NFL Divisional Round Preview And The NFL Is Blocking Everything

The Divisional Round is upon us and we are now in the part of the season that matter an with som

But before I do my preview, I want to address something that's been happening with the NFL, and more specifially, with content creators who talk about the NFL.

Lately the NFL has been blocking links to thier content being shared on all social media platoforms, going so far as to even block anyone sharing a highlights video on Tumblr via a link, as well as every other type of sharing.

The NFL is a business, and they have the right to do what they want, and looking at their ratings, they appear happy to hedge all thier bets on the television market, even if it is somewhat outdated.

I'll say this, it may feel like they have a huge lead in television audience numbers, and television is the medium that the NFL was created for, but times are changing.

Today you're the industry leader in live sports television, tomorrow you're a step behind every other past time because in 10 years, no one will own a television, and the streaming audience is notoriously anti-advertising.

Meanwhile every other major sport has been taking the free advertising and marketing that content creators provide and built a lead in the emerging platforms of the 21st century.

Anyway, I should really reconsider doing another one of these, given last week's 3-3 total, but here goes. Keep reading to see my picks and predictions.

1. Baltimore Ravens vs Houston Texans

The Texan roll in to this one knowing full well what their offense is capable, but to beat this Ravens team in Baltimore will be a different level altogether.

Starting with Baltimore's defense, they are surely among the best secondary units in the league, and they will need to show it in this game, CJ Stroud threw 3 touchdowns to 3 different recievers last week against the Browns.

For the most part, I expect this game to be a high scoring shootout, but there is a twist because Baltimore are the 3rd best rushing attack in the league, so I think they are more layered than the Texans, and will be able to control time of possession.

But the biggest reason to pick the Ravens is thier quarterback.

Lamar has been awesome all season, I fuly expect him to be crowned MVP because nobody has been better this year, he is simply the best player in the NFL in 2024.

Give me Baltimore to win.

MY Pick: Baltimore Ravens Win 35-30

2. San Francisco 49ers vs Green Bay Packers

The 1-seed 9ers host a plucky Greenbay team lead by a young quarterback and I really wonder how much the recent playoff history between the two teams will matter in this one.

The 9ers defense had turned into specialists at stopping Aaron Rodgers, and wonder if thier defensive co-ordinator, Steve WIlks, has figured anything out from Jordan Love's virtuoso performance last week.

The Pacers defense should com in to this game witha wave of momentum, they may have given up 32 points in the win against Dallas, but they stonewalled Dak Prescott and his offense for the first half while building up a lead.

However, even with the 9ers being the favorites, and rightly so, there is still the one boogeyman they have yet to overcome, which is Brock Purdy bringing them back when they are trailing, which has never happened.

If the 9ers are able to play with a lead, it'll be business as usual, but I feel like there is a sting in the tail, and you know, if I'm going to mae a risky pick, it may as well be against my least favorite team in the league.

MY PICK: Green Bay Packers Win 27-20

3. Detroit Lions vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Bucs travel to Detroit as underdogs and will play in an atmosphere that only the Detroit crowd can provide, and they will be hyped for this.

The Bucs defense was really good against the Eagles, but the Lions will pose a different threat in the pass game, where they were really good last week in the 1st half, Goff had 227 yard on 27 pass attempts.

Add to that, Baker Mayfield has been sacked more times than any quarterback remaining in the playoffs, at 40 times, and that's something for the Lions to ponder in thier game plan.

I expect to see the Bucs feeding Rachaad White a lot more in this game and establishing the run, how the Bucs execute play-action, will be all important for Baker and the recievers.

I think Detroit are rightly being favorited, but I'm worried about Detroit's offense only scoring a single field goal last week against the Rams.

Still, I feel I have to ride the hot hand, and Detroit still had a better quality victory and perfomance over a better team in the Rams, so I'll take Detroits

MY PICK: Detroit Lions Win 28-17

4. Buffalo Bills vs Kansas City Chiefs

This will be the 3rd time that Josh Allen and Patrick Mohames will play in the playoffs, and for the first time, the Chiefs will likely be underdogs, and they'll have to go on the road.

Here's where this gets tricky, the Bills teams of the past did not have the same balance between running and passing as they do right now, they averaged 130 yards per game for the regulars season, and both the Chiefs and the Bills hold opposing teams to 110 yards rushing per game.

However to me, the most fascinating part of this duel will be the defenses of both teams, and how both team's secondaries have been among the best in the league this year, both are in the top 10 for passing yards allowed.

The Chiefs were among the top teams in total defense but the Bills aren't far off in 3rd place, and for what it's worth I believe the Bills have to get a slight nod, they nabbed 18 interceptions in the regular season.

The quarterback comparison is where this get interesting, both Allen and Mahomes are top 10 in total touchdown passes and in total paasing yards, but its the mood around both offenses that's most telling.

The Bills really found thier rhythm toward the end of the regular season where they had a 6-1 record to claim the 2nd seed, but it's the Chiefs offense and those wide recievers have changed how the Chiefs offense approaches games.

Simply put the Chiefs in 2024 cannot win a high scoring shootout of as they would have in years past.

What this comes down to, is that this is arguably the most conservative, and also the least offensively potent Kansa City Chiefs team since Mahomes was drafted.

Give me Buffalo to win.

MY PICK: Buffalo Bills Win 29-24

#sports #national football league #nfl #nfl playoffs #nfl 2024 #no fun league #chiseled adonis #content creators #nfl blocking

[defensefilms]

UFC 297 Preview: Dricus Du Plesis vs Sean Strickland

I was really worried about how this one would unfold in the build-up, but I'm glad the two fighter have more or less decided to stop talking personal issues, and Dricus' press conference on Thursday shed some light on how the two have decided to proceed with promoting the fight.

Sean Strickland appears to have made the decision to be more composed for the most part and shout out to Sean, for liking my Instagram reel

All told, I believe I have narrowed down the key variables that will swing this fight, and have the break down for you, if you keep reading.

More than anything, this fight could be decided by who is able to pressure forward more.

Sean Strickland showed the value of going forward and controlling the centre against Adesanya at UFC 293, however this fight against Dricus, is going to be contested at a different pace.

If there is a stat that I think matters, it's strikes landed per minute, both Dricus and Strickland are at well over 5 strikes per minute, and that is an indicator of a high-volume, blow-for-blow fight and two guys trading heavy shots.

Sean Strickland's philly shell style is as awkward to deal with as anything you'll see in MMA. it allows him to manage distance and it'l be interesting to see how he deals with Dricus' in and out footwork, and again, whoever has the better execution will likely lead on the scoredcards for most of the fight.

According to UFC stats, Sean Strickland has a takedown defense percentage of 84%, which is outstanding, and stats do indicate that Dricus is sneaky good at takedowns, and he lands an average of 2.72 every 15 minutes, executing atleast one in 4 of his 6 UFC fights,so thats an area that looks like swinging either way.

If numbers are your chosen indicator, the Dricus appear to be more likely to win by knockout, with only one of his UFC fights having ever gone to decision, and Sean Strickland has a history of winning on the judges cards.

According to most bettors and Chael Sonnen, Sean Strickland is the favorite to win this fight, but I would be hard pressed to take this advice seriously.

In conclusion, I'm looking forward to UFC 297, to have my country represented on the UFC stage by someone from my local MMA scene, right here in Pretora, South Africa, baby!!

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#sports #mma #ufc #ufc 297 #dricus du plessis #sean strickland #mixed martial arts #south africa #Youtube

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Rec Centre Ballers!!!!!

Chris cooking people again!!!!!!!!!

#sports #basketball #videography #Youtube

[defensefilms]

NFL WildCard Round Reaction

1. Jared Goff Lives!!!

Detroit Lions 24-23 Los Angeles Rams

I may have picked the Rams to win 27-24 in this one, but I'm actually glad to have been wrong here, and the Lions get to keep thier cinderella season going for another week of playoff ball.

First I gotta give props to the job that the Lions did to stop the run.

Among my predictions, was that the Rams would rely heavily on Kyren Williams, and instead he had a measley 13 carries for 61 yards.

Instead this was a duel to see who could throw the ball and both teams gave a healthy amount of opportunities to multiple pass catchers, and really relied on thier passing game, and as I said in my prediction, that if it came down to which roster has more talent at a given position, the Lions would win out.

Congratulations to the city of Detroit, for thier years of dedication, they fully deserve to bask in this for a little.

2. A Sobering End To A Somber Season

Philadelphia Eagles 9- 32 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

You know, I really thought that just for one game, the Eagles defensive co-ordinators and thier db's alike, would get it together for long enough to win just one playoff game, against an opponent they should be better than.

Alas, I really did not understand/account for just how much better Tampa's recievers are than the Eagles db's. My prediction of a low scoring 21-17 victory for the Birds, was but mere fodder to the NFL gods.

Tampa scored a touchdown via rookie reciever Trey Palmer to take a 25-9 lead, the game was over.

Sad how this season unfolded for the Eagles.

Jalen Hurts was valiant but playing from behind from s early in the game meant he was never going to get a chance to play his game and allow the Eagles to establish the run, instead he threw the ball 35 times for 250 yards.

It wasn't what many would have hoped for but the Eagles are back to the drawing board and in desparate need of someone who can fix that defense.

3. Frozen Tuna

Kansas City Chiefs 26-7 Miami Dolphins

Outside of how big of a lead the Chiefs were able to build, this game went pretty much the way I expected and Miami have to wear the hat of being the warm weather team that can't go on the road in the cold come January.

I expect Chris Broussard to bring out the break dancers come Monday night.

My score predictions was the Chiefs winning 21-17, so I am not to unhappy about my accuracy there.

What I will say, is that in the next round, unless the Steelers pull off the mother of all upsets, the Chiefs are actually going to have to play a team with healthy recievers, a real quarterback and in all likelihood have to go on the road.

Well done Kansas, but a tougher test awaits next weekend.

4. The Bills And The Balance

Buffalo Bills 31-17 Pittsburgh Steelers

This went pretty much how I expected, and I had the score almost exactly.

Originially, this game was meant to be played on Saturday, but due to weather conditions that literally looked like Sylvester Stallone's "Detox".

The Steelers offense was never going to give them a shot at competing against a Buffalo Bills team that seem to have perfected the art of balance at just the right time, and while James Cook's 78 yards on 18 carries doesn't jump out as a stat, it's a very necessary part of this Bills offense.

Josh Allen was great today, and he spread the ball around, threw to 7 different teammates, and even when the Steelers looked like they were mounting a comeback, the Bills offense killed that off with Khalil Shakir's touchdown.

All well and good, but next weekend, the Bills will be at home to Kansas City, and that will be the real litmus test for thier season.

5. Above The Clouds, CJ Stroud

Cleveland Browns 14-45 Houston Texans

This to me, is the biggest upset of the weekend and as good as the Browns were in the regular season, this will feel lie a big time let down because of how they lost, and my prediction of a 27-20 win for the Brown couldn't have been more off.

First off, I think a healthy chunk of blame should go to defenseive co-ordinator Jim Schwartz, he did not read the scouting report on CJ Stroud, gave the Texans wide recievers single high safety and man-coverage on key downs.

Then there was the absolutely aenimic performance by Browns qb Joe Flacco, and to be fair, long time NFL fans would have seen that coming, and that his rejuvination could not hold up forever.

But the biggest reason the Browns lost is because CJ Stroud is a legitimate NFL quarterback, point blank, end of story. This guy is showing a lot of signs of being next in that Mahomes/Rodgers tier, as far as his throwing ability.

CJ Stroud has arrived.

6. Aaron Who?

Dallas Cowboys 32-48 Green Bay Packers

While I am more upset about the Browns, this result is the one that would have lead the sports talk shows on Monday and what I first predicted would be a 34-27 win for the Cowboys, has turned out to be the most facrica and shambolic of all the weekend's results.

The Dallas Cowboys are a ship with no paddle. A rudderless vagabond wondering through the sands of time.

As far as the Packers are concerned, my only question is "Aaron who?".

Aaron Jones, that is. 3 touchdowns, 118 yards on 21 carries and the Packers rusher had himself a momentous day, at times making the Dallas Cowboys defense look undersized, as was pointed out by Richard Sherman on Undisputed.

However this will be remembered as Jordan Love's announcement on the national stage and 3 touchdowns, 272 yards on just 21 pass attempts, is the type of thing that represents a building block for the Packers future.

The Packers will go on to face the 9ers next week, but Dallas will provide the offseason's annual comedy.

#sports #national football league #nfl 2023 #nfl playoffs #nfl wildcard #reaction

[defensefilms]

Basketball, TV Ratings And The Value Of Numbers-Based Thinking

"From NBA, to television ratings, to social media analytics, how numbers affect decision-making and how to teach this language"

Over the last 4 years or so, while watching any number of NBA games, I have often wondered aloud whether the NBA and basketball as a whole is a better medium though which to teach an appreciation of numbers.

At the heart of this article/post, and the reason for it's writing, is the question of whether the sport of basketball, or sports in general, is more effective at teaching numbers-based decision-making than anything else.

Years ago, the idea of using your phone to place a prop bet, would have seemed liked farfetched nonsense, and yet this is what the combination of time, technology, and the need to share and access information have given us.

The above video is one of the most important, and most informative videos regarding NBA and the culture of analytics and the video above, sheds light on a massive trend that has taken over the NBA since 2015.

Basketball players as young as 14 are talking about what thier field goal make and miss numbers are, and which part of the court their made shots came from, because the sport by it's nature motivates analytical thinking, and that's important.

This is how the flow of information affects decision-making in real time, or affects strategies and decisions in the long term, and it's the type of thinking that definently translates to other fields.

When a creator takes a look at thier social media analytics, a similar kind of process starts to happen.

If a specific kind of content is getting a better response in the form of impressions, likes, engagement or things like that, then the creator is incentiveized to make more of that content.

What we're talking about extends to areas as broad as diverse as sales, marketing, the concept of supply and demand, and also the type of data that has been relied on for decades by the television industry, and in particualr, advertisers that rely on the television industry.

The above image is a kind of mock image I created from printscreens of the free document that the website allows you to download each month, and my favorite number from the month of October, is the near 3 million people that tuned in to SABC 2 to see the Springboks in the 2023 Rubgy World Cup Final.

On a channel that rarely pulls over 1 million viewers, SABC 2 managed to do this 6 times in the span of October and 4 of those was when the Springboks were playing live.

However, the holy grail of sports television advertising in America, is the Nielsen television ratings, and according to my due dillagence upon typing this article, the NFL is still king of the sports hill, taking more spots in the top 10 than any other major sporting event in the USA, and that's been the trend going back several years.

So even with the recent complaints about the quality of Monday and Thursday night games, the NFL maintains it's dominance as a televisual product, with a Bears-Chargers Sunday night game being the most watched in the month of October.

Streaming numbers are the future as far as advertising dollars and people's attention is concerned, and notably Across The Spider-Verse, Grey's Anatomy and Suits, all top the list for the most streamed shows, as can be seen in the image below.

However that's not my favorite thing about Nielsen's ratings.

If you scroll down through their website, you will notice a different category of information near the bottom, where Nielsen's go the extra step of showing who, or rather which companies, are spending the most on advertising and how much they're spending.

Amazon, Walt Disney, Warner Bros, along with pharmaceutical giants like Novo Nordisk, manufacturing juggernauts like Procter & Gamble and food retailers like Pepsico, are all still, very heavily invested in the television industry and it's advertising power.

This is a level of disclosure that is kind of foreign to South African media, and if I had to guess, is likely a result of US regulatory policies, and I'll keep hunting for the South African equivalent of this, but for now, it is safe to assume that similar types of advertisers are doing the same thing in the South African television industry.

The point of this post, is to discuss new and improved ways of communicating information, and importantly how to teach a new type of information language in a country that will be well served finding ways to cut that learning curve.

Just a thought.

#nba #data #data analytics #stats #social media insights #social media analytics #television ratings #youtube analytics #youtube #springboks #nfl #netflix #advertisers #nielsens ratings #the economist #south africa

[defensefilms]

NFL 2024 Wildcard Round Preview & Predictions

While I haven't posted any NFL blogs this season I have been sure to keep an eye on the happenings throughout the league, and we're finally in the part of the season that matters.

So lets dive in to the full plate of nuggets and preview this weekend's games.

1. Detroit Lions vs Los Angeles Rams

Of all the games that will be played on this weekend, this one has the most storylines and subplots.

Starting with quarterbacks who traded places 3 years ago and now face off. Fortunately, this matchup will likely be decided by more than just the quarterbacks.

The Rams appear to have found a remedy to thier run game through Kyren Williams, who is 3rd in total rushing yards, and in contrast the Lions have a more balanced attack with David Montgomerry leading their run game and Amon-Ra St. Brown leading thier pass catchers.

This is a situation where I am opting to pick with my head over my heart, and while I'll actually be rooting for the Lions to win the game because thier story in 2023 has been phenomenal, I am going to pick the Rams and Sean McVay to win in Detroit and upset the team with a better record.

MY PICK: Rams Win 27-24

2. Tampa Bay Buccanneers vs Philadelphia Eagles

I am in a state of near-catastrohic horror at what has happened to the Philadelphia Eagles in 2023.

What started out as a promising season and Philly repeatedly executing the greatest play ever executed in NFL history, has turned into a late season collapse that started with that really bad loss to the 9ers in week 13.

Thier defensive back issues have now spiralled in to a team that leak points so badly, they lost to the New York Giants in week 17, and it's crept it's way on to the offense, and the Eagles were shutout and put up 0 points.

Then you have to factor in Philly's history against Tampa Bay itself. Flashbacks to 2002 when Gruden's defensive juggernauts domniated Donovan McNabb and the Eagles, as well as the more recent 15-31 demolition at the hands of Tom Brady's Buccaneers in the 2021 playoffs.

I will say this, I am glad that Bruce Arians isn't calling plays in Tampa because he'd air it out on these Philly db's.

My biggest concern though, is that Jalen Hurts has 9 fumbles this season and Tampa safety Antoine Winfield, is joint-leader in forced fumbles with 6, and Tampa have been good at that as a team with 18 on the season.

I'll pick the Eagles to win here, only because I still think the Eagles offense has some life left in it and I am a Jalen Hurts believer.

MY PICK: Eagles Win 21-16

3. Kansas City Chiefs vs Miami Dolphins

Honestly, I don't root for the FIns and I don't even enjoy watching them play neccessarily, but I do enjoy the schadenfreud of watching Tua Tagovailoa, lead the league in passing yards and quarterback a team in the playoffs.

The Chiefs are different story and to be honest with I have enjoyed watching the Chiefs more this year, than any other season of the Mahomes era, at times it's been kind of comical.

The Dolphins are dealing with a bunch of injuries. Jaylen Waddle, Bradley Chubb, Xavien Howard, Raheem Mostert were all out in week 18 and likely in the Wildcard round too.

The Chiefs have to like thier chances and thier recievers can breath a little bit easier, knowing the Dolphins won't be thier usual high-scoring selves. I fully expect the Chief's recievers to drop passes, but this particular opponent can't make them pay them when they do it on 3rd down.

The only issue I see, is Kansas City are not a high scoring team in thier own right either, and while the Fins'injuries are worse.

I want the Fins to win but their too injured and will likely lose a close low scoring game in Arrowhead on Tyreke Hill's return.

MY PICK: Chiefs win 21-17

4. Buffalo Bills vs Pittsburgh Steelers

I honestly think that the Pitburgh Steelers are doing is winning games via witchcraft because just as recenty as week 14, the entire state of Pennsylvania wanted him fired.

The Bills for thier part, started the first 10 weeks of the season with a 5-5 record and have since ripped off a 6 game winning streak that sees them in the 2 seed.

The Steelers offense sputtered badly midway through the season, but since week 16 and putting Mason Rudolph on the field, things have been looking up.

It sucks that TJ Watt won't play, he leads the league in sacks and that matters because the Bills are the best team in 3rd down percentage this season with 49%.

Buffalo finally appear to have found some balance between Josh Allen heroics and establishing the run. To make matters worse, Buffalo also rank as one of the best pass defenses in the league, ranking 7th in opponent passing yards.

What this comes down to, is that the Bills have Josh Allen and the Steelers are quarterbacked by Mason Rudolph, and in contrast to most of the weekend's games, you can't convince me that the favorite isn't winning this.

MY PICK: Bills Win 28-16

5. Cleveland Browns vs Houston Texans

The Browns have been my guilty pleasure all season long, and those sideline-to-sideline videos on thier Youtube channel are honestly awesome.

A team whose defense has been lead by Myles Garret, and has had to find thier identity on the offensive side of the ball becasue of injures to 3 different quarterbacks this season, and while I don't love Kevin Stefanksi's play calling, he does deserve credit for the circumstance he was in this year and how his team kept winning.

The Houston Texans have undergone a rejuvenation in thier own right with newly drafted CJ Stroud under center.

While Deshaun Watson will have to watch his current and former teams from the sidelines as a result of a shoulder injury, Joe Flacco will quarterback the Browns and has since week 14, and with him has come a new confidence to the Browns' offense.

I'll gladly take the Browns and thier newly minted Joe Flacco offense, alongside the best defense in the NFL to win this one.

MY PICK: Browns Win 27-20

6. Dallas Cowboys vs Greenbay Packers

The Packers are in a unique position because of how quickly they've gotten back to playoff contention.

I get that Jordan Love has been given the mantle as appears to have been the plan since he was drafted, and I don't know what to make of him getting the Packers to the playoffs in his first season. It's kind of unreal that the Packers got over Aaron Rodgers this quickly, add to that Love isn't the finished article yet.

The other major storyline is Cowboys head coach, Mike McCarthy playing host to his former team and that will surely dominate the headlines and previews going in to the weekend.

Dak Prescott leads the league in passes completed, as well as passing touchdowns, and CeeDee Lamb leads the league in passes caught.

Plus I like the idea of Dallas' defense against a young quarterback, playing in thier home building and Dallas corner DaRon Bland leads the league in interceptions.

I'm picking Dallas to win, but beware because anyone who picks the underdog is not crazy. Jordan Love is completing 64% of his passes and the sneaky Packers, always seem to come up with something from special teams through Keisean Nixon.

MY PICK: Cowboys win 34-27

#sports #national football league #nfl #nfl 2023 #nfl playoffs #super wildcard weekend #wildcard weekend #predictions

[defensefilms]

Anthony Joshua And Francis Ngannou Fight Deal Nearing Completion

"Since Francis first began his negotiations in the run-up to his last UFC bout against Cyril Gane, everything he has done has been sound business."-Defense Films July 2023

I cannot help but smile in glee at every bit of Francis Ngannou news over the last 2 years or so, and not it's looking more and more likely that Ngannou will secure yet another payday, this time in a bout versus my favorite British heavyweight, Anthony Joshua.

All I see are dollars and pounds gently falling on AJ and Francis' heads like the palm of an angel.

The idea that this deal and the fight are being proposed for March of this year (literally two months away), shows the eagerness with which both fighter's camps are trying to get the deal done, and most importantly, get the money counted after the fight.

I am as excited as can be for this fight. It is a bonafide dream match. It is the kind of event that anyone in the combat sports business wants to be a part of, and the kind of once-in-a-lifetime event that pits the number 1 heavyweight in MMA against, arguably the number 1 heavyweight in boxing.

However, with that said, I can think of one guy that definitely won't be part of the business and profits of this very special, and very marketable exhibition

My New Year's Resolution in 2024 is to stop picking on Dana White.

So as to spread my energy around more evenly, I have decided that 2024 MMA coverage on this blog will be dedicated to Chael Sonnen and the absolute hatchet job that he is doing in lying to the MMA community by spewing a bunch of bias, pro-UFC, pro-Dana White garbage.

I used to like the guy, but I fear that he is a massive issue for the sport and it's growing media culture as a whole.

Chael Sonnen has repeatedly found ways to cast doubt, aspertions, and sometimes outright lies regarding Francis Ngannou for the last 2 years, and unsurprisingly his coverage or takes on the Fury-Ngannou fight were a joke.

In the above video, Chael Sonnen is questioning the logic behind this Joshua-Ngannou bout taking place.

It's really silly, and Sonnen follows it up with another video questioning when Francis will finally make his PFL debut.

It'obvious what Sonnen is doing and whose side he takes with this coverage, but it's part of a much bigger problem and speak to the issues within MMA media as a whole.

MMA media is still in a relatively amateurish space. It's not like creating NFL or NBA content where there are platforms that will pay independant creators for articles, videos and such.

MMA doesn't attract the top sports journalists, there are no beat reporters like the other mainstream sports and the top journalist in the MMA space, Ariel Helwani, is largely a self-made guy, who currently operates independantly of any major sports platform.

That's why a guy like Joe Rogan, Chael Sonnen or Jess On FIre, or any other pro-UFC content creator, is creating an imbalance that allows Dana White and the UFC to control narratives and unduly influence the careers of fighters, and it's not a new thing.

He's certainly not the only one, given the ham-fisted approach to which Dana takes to granting and denying access to UFC press conferences, but it is becoming troublesome enough to where it can fuel my blog.

I'll eagerly anticipate more news and the official announcement of the fight, but I fully expect more hijinx and nonsense from the MMA media regarding this fight.

#sports #boxing #mma #ufc #francis ngannou #anthony joshua #dana white #chael sonnen #joe rogan #ariel helwani #mma media #Youtube

[defensefilms]

A Guide To Shooting In Natural Light

A Guide On Using The Sun As A Light Source:

The first and most important thing, is that you must always be aware of your own postition in relation to the sun, because it's the only thing you can actually control.

You won't ever be able to control how hot the sun is, or when it goes behind clouds but you'll always be able to control you're own positioning.

To understand the reason for this, you must understand the difference between diffused and direct light.

Meet Chantel. She's our model photographed below, and she was kind enough to pose for us.

Observe in the image below how the direct sunlight completely covers Chantel and she is completely exposed with realy only the shadow under her neck and the shadows of the soccer net falling over her.

Now in the image below, with Chantel photographed in a medium close-up, we no longer have the sun light falling over her face and covering her completely, and more darkness and shadow completely covering the right side of her face.

Her hair and her positioning provide some diffusion in this case and because the sun is to her left, light is almost completely blocked off.

Now observe in the picture below is very different because her face is exposed with no shadow falling over it.

In this case, we used a reflector to fill out all the shadows that would otherwise be present on her face, and because I used the gold side of the reflector, you can see the kind of golden glow brought on by the reflector reflecting the sunlight.

By utilizing a reflector we are taking more control of what we are looking at and the lighting situation that we are in as well as using our positiong relative to the sun.

This is a thoery that get way more in-depth the deeper in to photography you go, more especially in studio lighting situations, but even in you favorite television shows, an intense amount of thought and gear is needed to capture what you may percieve as an ordinary scene outdoors.

This video above is from Crimson Engine and he's one of the best youtubers I've watched as it pertains to all things film and video.

Because he is working in video and not stills, and becasue he is primarily shooting actors, Crimson Engine utilizes c-stands, flags, reflectors, large diffusion filters and other equipment that is quite heavy but sometimes completely necessary.

Another really informative piece of video about this top is from In Depth Cine, and he has a guide on lighting scenes without lights at all, and to do this he advises bouncing reflectors.

So in a situation where you cannot control your lighting, say like a sporting event, your best hack is to always understand where you are in relation to where the sun is.

Understanding this well enough will allow you to get good well exposed photographs even though your are in the outdoor with no equipment.

Just a hack I wanted to share.

#photography #natural light #outdoor photography #portrait photography #direct light #diffused light #lighting #reflector #south africa #south african #rsa #Youtube