Gäste Forum » 8.79 ERA) to the mound for the four

Trust is tough to find and tougher to hold in this crazy, unpredictable world, but with the Seattle Seahawks, I really thought we were good.Coming off three straight wins -- one of which was in Foxborough -- with Russell Wilson looking healthy, Thomas Rawls back and the offensive line showing signs of coming together, the Seahawks looked like the rare NFL team we could trust. Fire em up in Tampa: Start all of your Seahawks in fantasy, feel good about it. They lost 14-5.Its like going away and leaving your teenager to watch the house. Youve done it before for a night here or there, because hes a good kid and you feel sure hes ready for the responsibility. Then you come home and there are beer cans everywhere, the garage has a chunk out of it at the exact height of the cars rear bumper, and somehow, someone managed to put a whole toilet on the roof.Im not mad, Seahawks. Im just ... disappointed.Are the Seahawks one of the best teams in the league? I think so. Will they be better when Earl Thomas and Michael Bennett are back? Of course. Though I fail to see how that excuses the offenses performance Sunday against a bottom-10 defense. Does the win against the New England Patriots in Foxborough prove they can beat anybody, anywhere? Absolutely. But this is the third time in six road games this year that theyve failed to score a touchdown.The Seahawks get the benefit of the doubt because of what theyve done in past years. They could end up winning it all. But the fact is, theyve put as much hot garbage on tape this year as any other contender. And when it comes to the issue of trust, that puts the 2016 Seahawks in the wrong bucket.Heres what else we did and didnt learn in Week 12 -- on the question of trust:We can trust the Cowboys offense.The latest knock on the Dallas Cowboys, if Twitter is my guide, is that they havent beaten anybody good. This is unsupported by facts. Dallas past three wins have come against teams that have winning records. Two of those teams would be in the playoffs if the season ended today, and the other was a popular preseason Super Bowl favorite.Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Washington all looked like tough matchups for the Cowboys for different reasons. Could they come back if the Steelers got ahead of them? Could they figure things out if Baltimore made it tough for them to run? Could they outscore Kirk Cousins and Washingtons quick-strike pass offense? Check, check and check.Dallas may have question marks on defense, but its offense is identically efficient each week, devouring the clock and opponents souls with a relentless parade of first downs. That offensive line travels, and so by extension does that running game. Dallas might not win it all, but its offense is the most trustworthy unit in the whole league.We cannot trust Brock Osweiler.Which is trouble for the Houston Texans, who shelled out big bucks for Osweiler after Brian Hoyer betrayed their trust by choking away a playoff game with five turnovers. Osweiler was supposed to solidify things for Houston at the most important position, but he has played worse, statistically, than the gaggle of quarterbacks they dragged through the 2015 season. After throwing three interceptions in Sundays loss to San Diego, Osweiler is tied with Ryan Fitzpatrick and Blake Bortles for the league lead in INTs. Only six teams in the NFL have more turnovers this year than the Texans 19, and those teams have a combined record of 15-52. The state of the AFC South gives Bill OBrien time to turn Osweiler around, but if he doesnt, can we still trust OBriens reputation as a quarterback whisperer?Can we trust the Giants are as good as their 8-3 record?According to ESPN Stats & Information, the New York Giants victory in Cleveland was the first time in the past three seasons a team punted at least nine times in a game and still won by 14. The Giants have won six in a row, and they own the second-best record in the NFC.? But Sunday was the first time this year they won by more than a touchdown, and their offensive players admitted after the game that they need to be better. Already ensured of their best season since 2012, the Giants have Pittsburgh, Dallas, Detroit, Philadelphia and Washington to finish the season, and three of those games are on the road. Its easy to like what the Giants have done this year, but we may need a few more weeks before like can graduate to trust.The Patriots cant trust Rob Gronkowskis availability moving forward.It was very weird for the New England Patriots to put Gronk in Sundays game against the Jets after they were so concerned all week about exposing him to contact, and he didnt last long. He went into the game with what they said was a chest injury, left it with what they said was a back injury, and after a clear setback in a game he probably would have done well to miss, you have to think the Patriots play it safe this week and sit Gronk out until hes healthier. What that means going forward, as New England works to fight off the Raiders and the rest of the AFC West for the conferences top seed, is anyones guess. But Gronk does matter. Since Gronkowski entered the league in 2010, Tom Bradys touchdown-to-interception rate is 5.1 when Gronk plays, 2.6 when he doesnt. Bradys Total QBR drops from 80 to 65 when Gronk does not play.The Buffalo Bills are easier to trust when Sammy Watkins plays.Tyrod Taylors 114.6 passer rating and 82.2 Total QBR on Sunday were both season-high marks, and its no coincidence. Watkins was back in the lineup for the first time since Week 2. His presence frees things up for the rest of the offense, as LeSean McCoys huge game showed, and this is the first time Anthony Lynn has had Watkins available to him since becoming offensive coordinator in Week 3. Buffalo may have too rocky of a road ahead to reach the playoffs, but theyre going to be a tough team to play the rest of the way if -- and yes, thats a big IF -- Watkins can stay healthy.No team trusts any player more than Arizona trusts David Johnson.If the Arizona Cardinals were a playoff contender, their second-year running back would be a leading MVP candidate. Johnson has scored 13 of the Cardinals 28 offensive touchdowns and has accounted for a league-high 37.8 percent of his teams total yards from scrimmage. (Ezekiel Elliott has accounted for only?33.5 percent of Dallas total yardage.) Johnson has at least 100 total yards in every Cardinals game this year. No one has ever had 16 such games in a season. Marcus Allen (1985), Edgerrin James (2000) and Barry Sanders (1997) are the only ones whove had 15. The Cardinals may be going nowhere, but its not for lack of Johnsons effort. He has been everything they imagined hed be and more.Rowland Office Braves Jersey . -- Charlie Graham stopped 67 shots as the Belleville Bulls edged the visiting Guelph Storm 6-5 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. Nick Markakis Braves Jersey . Kozun faked to the forehand and beat Monsters starter, Calvin Pickard, pad side in the second round for the winner. Spencer Abbott also scored in the shootout for the Marlies (25-13-4). https://www.cheapbraves.com/ . The 26-year-old Ireland striker, who has four goals this season, has signed a three-and-a-half year contract with his new club. Bobby Cox Braves Jersey . Hey!" The lower tier of the School End of Queens Park Rangers Loftus Road was packed solid with a very festive-sounding Chelsea choral section in this particular part of South Africa Road London, W12. Grant Dayton Jersey . Newcastle dominated in the early stages but City weathered the storm and then raised its game in extra time. Negredo broke the deadlock from close range after a simple move in the 99th minute before Dzeko took the ball round goalkeeper Tim Krul to seal the victory in the 105th.CHICAGO -- The Philadelphia Phillies will visit Chicagos South Side for the first time since 2004 when they open a two-game series against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night.Much has changed in the 12 years since the teams last met at U.S. Cellular Field. The White Sox won the World Series in 2005 and the Phillies won it in 2008, but neither team has sniffed the postseason as of late.The Phillies (58-67) are hoping to avoid a third consecutive last-place finish in the National League East. They have lost four of their past six games and have been outscored 41-19 during that span.The White Sox (59-64) have not fared much better, as they are on pace for their fourth straight sub-.500 season. However, home games are proving to be a different story. Back-to-back wins over the weekend against the visiting Oakland Athletics pushed Chicagos home record to 31-27, compared with its road record of 28-37.Home games, away games, it doesnt matter, White Sox outfielder Adam Eaton said. I dont know what our splits are right now, but I think we enjoy playing on the road just as much as playing at home.The rivalry of going into someones house and winning has been fun for us. We enjoy winning at home, as well. All games matter, especially in the position were in as a unit right now.Left-hander Carlos Rodon (3-8, 4.26 ERA) will start for the White Sox. The 23-year-old never has faced the Phillies during his career, and he is 2-2 with a 5.96 ERA in five career interleague matchups.Lately, Rodon has shown glimpses of the talent that led to him being the No. 3 overall selection in the 2014 draft. He has not allowed more than two earned runs in any of his past three starts against the Baltimore Orioles, Miami Marlins and Cleveland Indians.dddddddddddd He is 1-0 with a 2.00 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 18 innings during that span.The Phillies will send rookie right-hander Jake Thompson (1-2, 8.79 ERA) to the mound for the fourth start of his big-league career. The 22-year-old was a second-round draft choice by the Detroit Tigers in 2012 before they shipped him to the Texas Rangers in 2014 for right-handed relief pitcher Joakim Soria. One year later, the Rangers dealt Thompson to Philadelphia as part of a package to acquire left-hander Cole Hamels.In his first three starts, Thompson has not made it past the fifth inning. He has allowed 14 earned runs in 14 1/3 innings, including five runs in five innings in his most recent outing against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Command has been a problem for Thompson, who has issued nine walks to go along with 11 strikeouts.The one thats putting me in the most amount of trouble is my sinker, Thompson told the Delaware News Journal. Not commanding it down in the zone, falling behind and trying to use four seams to get back in pitchers counts. Just struggling with it a little bit.Phillies manager Pete Mackanin expressed confidence in the rookie pitcher. Before his promotion, Thompson was 11-5 with a 2.50 ERA in 21 starts for Triple-A Lehigh Valley.Pitching is all about repeating your mechanics and making good pitches, Mackanin told the News Journal. In time, hell get there. ' ' '