Army Football

The Army Black Knights football team has dropped its "God Forgives, Brothers Don't" slogan and the accompanying black skull-and-crossbones flag after an internal investigation into the origins of the saying revealed ties to white supremacist gangs.

ESPN's Dan Murphy reported Friday that West Point officials and members of the school's athletic department were alerted of the issue in September, which led the team to stop using the GFBD slogan for the 2019 season.

It's now been removed permanently following the probe.

"It's embarrassing, quite frankly," Lt. Gen. Darryl Williams, the superintendent of the United States Military Academy, told ESPN. "... We take stuff like this very, very seriously. Once I found out about this goofiness, I asked one of our most senior colonels to investigate."

Army traced the origins of its football team using the slogan to the 1990s and made contact with the cadet who helped establish it, but he told investigators he was unaware of the phrase's background, per Murphy. School officials declined to name the former cadet.

Athletic director Mike Buddie told ESPN that head coach Jeff Monken was "mortified" after being alerted of the background information and attempted to use it as a "teaching moment" for his players.

The investigation's final report deemed the team's use of the phrase as "benign," stating there was no evidence there was knowledge of its origins within the program, and it wasn't established to align with the beliefs of "white supremacist groups or any other disreputable organizations," per Murphy.

Army holds a 5-7 record in 2019. The Black Knights finish the campaign Dec. 14 with the annual Army-Navy game. The Midshipmen are 9-2.

Navy also dropped its slogan for the 2019 season, "Load the Clip," in August after concerns were raised it was insensitive toward people who've suffered from gun violence. It was replaced by "Win the Day."

It is two days before the Army Black Knights will silence 107,601 Michigan fans at The Big House and nearly pull off the biggest college football upset of 2019. Army linebacker Amadeo West and cornerback Jaylon McClinton are inside Thayer Hall on the banks of the Hudson River in West Point, New York.

A former horse stable for the U.S. Cavalry, Thayer is now a United States Military Academy academic building frequently compared to Hogwarts thanks to the heavy wooden doors and 1800s gothic architecture. In Room 355, Col. Archie Bates begins his Social Psychology class. The lesson this day? Social cognition, a subtopic of psychology focused on how people process and apply information in social situations.

Bates leads his class of 15 cadets—almost all of whom are West Point athletes—through a thought experiment about how they would handle an increasingly problematic, potentially criminal situation within their battalion. With work piling up and a barrage of incomplete information flying at you, how do you make sound decisions?

"We can handle more than most people," McClinton tells the class, confident that he and his fellow cadets are capable of managing a greater burden than the average civilian.

"That's what you like to think," Bates says. "But have you studied that?"

There's no right answer, nor does it mean the cadets can avoid any damage in real-world applications—a lesson they will soon learn as Army officers. Toward the end of the 75-minute discussion, Bates shares an emotional truth: This "experiment" is based on a series of real events that led to two of Bates' battalion members being discharged and another killing himself after a sexual harassment investigation by the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command.

In an era of seemingly endless wars, West, McClinton and the rest of their teammates understand that they haven't just signed up to understand the managerial stresses of one day leading a 40,000-person battalion you can't completely control. They've signed up to serve the country in whatever way the country sees fit. Even in early September, with a massive opportunity to play the University of Michigan just days away, that responsibility is always on the mind. At least during non-football hours.

"It's concerning, for sure," says West, a senior sociology major who hopes to join the Field Artillery Branch after graduation. "I know we're talking about real death and real bullets flying, but it's kind of a similar feeling to football practice. We're doing all this practice just in case we go to war."

A day later, West and his teammates fly to Ann Arbor, Michigan, at 8 a.m. That Friday afternoon, they have a walkthrough at Michigan Stadium. Practice for a much simpler battle, and a chance at making history in one last season before real life, and potentially real war, comes calling.

"I can't wait to run out of that tunnel in front of all those fans," West says, shooing a bee away from his second breakfast—or first lunch—after psychology class. Between football, school and military training, it's tough to keep weight on at West Point. With four NFL draft prospects on the Michigan offensive line, West needs all of the fuel he can get.

"Aside from Navy, this is our biggest game of the year."

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For two-and-a-half quarters on Sept. 7, the Black Knights dominated the first Top 10 opponent they had played since they lost to Oklahoma in overtime last season. With Army leading 14-7 at halftime—the vaunted triple-option producing 107 first-half rushing yards to Michigan's 47—the mostly silent Big House booed the Wolverines off the field as they jogged to the locker room. With 10 straight wins entering the weekend, the possibility of Army pulling off an 11th felt real. Until it didn't.

Ultimately, Army wasn't perfect in the second half. After forcing three turnovers in the first half—including two fumbles by Michigan quarterback Shea Patterson—Army gave two back in the second half. Still, Army had its chances. After Michigan tied the game at 14-14 in the third quarter, Army freshman kicker Cole Talley missed his first career field-goal attempt (a 50-yard try) as time expired in the fourth. While Army briefly took a lead in overtime, it couldn't keep pace and wound up losing.

It might have felt like a moral victory to outsiders—Army proved that it can play with anyone—but it didn't feel that way to a Black Knights team that had aspirations of an undefeated season.

Since taking over as Army's head coach in 2014, Jeff Monken has preached ball control, toughness, field position and fundamentals. The strategy has worked. After two early losing seasons, Monken's Army teams won 29 games from 2016 through 2018. But against a program like Michigan, where 5-star recruits dot the roster, Army needed perfect execution to pull off an upset win.

"I don't know if there's a single position on the field where we have a talent advantage over Michigan," Monken says during an interview in his office, overlooking the south end zone at Michie Stadium, days before the game. "But that's not as important to me as having good football players who protect the ball.

"Unless somebody hits you with a sledgehammer—which they're not allowed to do—you don't have to fumble the ball."

Monken learned the triple-option offense as an assistant coach under Paul Johnson at Georgia Southern (1997-2001), Navy (2002-07) and Georgia Tech (2008-09). Johnson retired after 10 years at the helm of Georgia Tech, but not before winning Tech's first ACC championship in more than a decade and spawning a small coaching tree of triple-option devotees like Monken and Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo.

"That's why Army hired me, because I'm a Paul Johnson guy," Monken says. "This offense has worked everywhere I've been, so we're doing what we need to do to win here."

The reason why the service academies run the triple-option, and why a program like Georgia Southern became a FCS powerhouse under Johnson and Monken, is simple. Without the benefit of top athletes on your offensive line, you have to avoid turnovers and create opportunities for your skill players. In the triple-option, that means rarely throwing the ball (fewer interceptions and sack-fumbles) and using double-team blocks and misdirections to create points of attack for the ball-carrier.

Since hiring Monken, Army leads the nation with an average of 312 rushing yards per game. In a sport where teams that win the rushing battle emerge victorious more than 70 percent of the time, the triple-option is a program-changer.

When Monken took over at Army, he joined with an understanding that the university was committed to upgrading every aspect of a program that had gone 35-84 in the 10 years before his arrival. That meant scheduling games against College Football Playoff contenders like Ohio State (2017), Oklahoma (2018 and 2020) and Michigan. It also meant getting a commitment for the upkeep and modernization of the program's training center as well as a comprehensive nutritional program—Army has a full-service food counter inside the weight room—to help cadet athletes manage the grind of the academy.

According to new athletic director Mike Buddie, Monken has embraced the characteristics of West Point and become a tone-setter on campus. He's even become an early-morning regular—we're talking 5:30 a.m. early—in the Kimsey Athletic Center weight room beneath the football offices.

"We're trying to give these kids the successful student-athlete experience they deserve,"  Buddie says. "In 10-12 months, they might be in Afghanistan."

"That was the [recruiting] pitch," West says, looking back on why he chose Army as a 17-year-old high school linebacker from California. "Play big-time football and be a part of something bigger than yourself. You could go to Navy or Air Force, but they were already good."

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Following the close call at Michigan, Army bounced back with a win over UT-San Antonio in Week 3. However, the Black Knights have struggled since, losing four of their last five.

But the biggest remaining game on their schedule is the last one.

"The first thing people ask you around here is, 'Did you beat Navy?'" Buddie says. "They kicked our butt for [14] straight years."

Army and Navy will meet for the 120th time in Philadelphia on Dec. 14, a clash of cultures that appear similar to outsiders but are noticeably distinct to anyone within the academies.

"There's a very real culture of toughness here," says Monken, noting that every West Point graduate leaves as an officer. "But also an emphasis on supporting. We've got a lot of equipment that you drive and fly and shoot, but nothing more valuable than the personnel. These soldiers are heading into very real life-or-death situations."

As non-uniformed members of the West Point community, Monken and Buddie know that athletics have to work in concert with the rest of the academy to be successful. They're helping to mold young men who will ultimately hold high-ranking positions in the military.

Part of their job is to mentor players who are struggling to decide which military branch to pursue, and visiting with them during the monthlong Cadet Field Training in which the cadets undergo extended field-operations training deep in the wilderness. It also means making sure that football meets the academy's accountability standards.

"Coach Monken has realized that if these kids come up here feeling like this is the easiest part of their day, they're going to want to stay [at the athletics facility] and not go fulfill their duties as soldiers," Buddie says from the sideline at practice as Monken screams at a special teams player for missing his assignment. "Some days are better than others, but he kicks their butts. ... He's the perfect fit for West Point."

Athlete or not, most cadets struggle to adjust to West Point culture early on. Being tough is one thing, but figuring out how to efficiently manage your time and balance the overload of football, school and military responsibilities is another.

In an effort to find the right players, Monken focuses on recruiting selfless, team-first athletes who he believes will embrace the cadet brotherhood.

"Nobody wants to go to a service academy," Monken says. "Certainly some people do, but they're rarely D-1 football players."

Most players at Army are under no illusion of a future in the NFL. But Monken targets overlooked recruits who have played high-level high school football in hotbeds like California, Texas and the South.

At West Point, players that otherwise would have ended up on Division III campuses have the chance to play big-time college football. Once Monken gets a recruit on campus and can show him the program's culture and the benefits of attending one of the top public universities in America with a passionate alumni base, it becomes an easier sell.

Then reality sets in.

To a man, every player on the roster said that, yes, they almost reached a breaking point during Plebe Year. On top of adjusting to life in the barracks, maintaining an unrelentingly rigid schedule and completing all individual responsibilities, first-year cadets—or "plebes"—are required to complete plebe duties. That includes cleaning the barracks, serving food in the mess hall and "calling minutes"—a daily routine when plebes across campus bellow long, loud synchronized blurbs to alert upper-class cadets of the required uniform and time remaining before formation or inspection.

Coupling all of this with the anxiety of meeting West Point's high academic standards and juggling football responsibilities is enough to make a young cadet second-guess his decision.

"It's a very independent experience—some people get it right away, but for some people, it takes longer," Army quarterback Kelvin Hopkins Jr. says.

For the North Carolina native, time management and the ability to separate the three worlds—academics, football and military—took longer than anticipated.

"It started to click halfway through sophomore year," he said. "Separating the lives as much as possible while still learning the playbook."

West, meanwhile, went home for Thanksgiving during Plebe Year and almost never came back.

"The toughest part is going from being the best in high school to the lowest man on the totem pole—in football and the military," he explains.

But after sitting down with his mother, Maria LoMedico, to review transfer options closer to home, West had a change of heart. In so many ways.

"[My mother] told me my options were unacceptable," West laughs, as he speedwalks from his room in the MacArthur Barracks across The Plain to golf class near the West Point tennis courts.

Yes, cadets do get to enjoy classes in the "lifetime sports" like tennis, skiing and golf. With all of their other duties on campus, the few hours spent weekly at golf class, and the more grueling time spent at the football facility, is where these student-athletes find reprieve. They don't have much free time, but at least they can shank some irons and win ballgames like any other college athlete.

"Coming back was the best decision of my life," West says. "But they never go easy on you."

West says that a newfound confidence and pride was evident around the program when he returned. Monken's "control what you can control and never flinch" mantra was producing results, and by Monken's third year at the helm, the program had its first winning season (8-5) since 2010.

"Guys cared more about the little things," West said.

Now a senior, West hasn't had an easy go of it at the academy. After appearing in five games as a freshman, he tore his ACL during fall camp in 2017 and missed his entire sophomore season. He then blew out his right Achilles the following spring.

The cycle of injuries, which kept West sidelined until the final five games last season, presented another brutal hurdle for the linebacker. There's no leniency given to cadets, not even those that are hobbling through formation on crutches.

"No one goes easy on you," West says. "You have to fulfill all the same responsibilities as any other cadet, even when you're drugged up on Percocet."

Now, the winningest senior class in Army history is focused on the end. There are showdowns with Air Force and Navy and trip to Hawaii ahead. After that, of course, are plans with far more serious consequences ahead.

The path to this point hasn't been easy, and it has forced them to confront obstacles no one would relish (even losses to a storied Big Ten program). But that's no reason to look back on what could have been. There's too much to do ahead.

"We really love each other," says senior running back Malik Hancock, "so that helps us get through."

   

Matt Foley is a writer based in New York. His freelance work has been featured in SLAM, the New York Times, Ozy and theScore. Follow him on Twitter: @mattyfoles.

President Donald Trump wants athletes at service academies to have the opportunity to play professional sports before their active-duty service requirements start. 

According to Tom Schad of USA Today, Trump said as much Monday while the Army football team was visiting the White House to celebrate its 2018 Commander-in-Chief Trophy win. He called it "a great idea" and suggested it would help Army coach Jeff Monken on the recruiting trail.

However, Schad noted the Pentagon announced it will maintain its policy that requires graduating athletes from military service academies to serve at least two years of active-duty military service.

That Trump came out in favor of allowing service-academy athletes the chance to go pro and delay their active duty is ironic because the current policy was implemented during his presidency.

The Department of Defense instituted a rule under President Barack Obama in 2016 that allowed service-academy athletes to do exactly what Trump advocated for on Monday. However, then-Defense Secretary Jim Mattis reversed that policy a mere four months after Trump's inauguration.

Army may not need much help on the recruiting trail after a 2018 campaign that saw it finish 11-2 with a convincing victory over Houston in the Armed Forces Bowl.

It won the Commander-in-Chief Trophy with victories over Air Force and Navy and has won a bowl game three straight years for the first time in program history.

The Army Black Knights football team capped off an epic season with a historic bowl win. Army defeated Houston 70-14 in the Armed Forces Bowl, tying records for points scored and margin of victory in a bowl game. This gave them the most wins in school history. Watch the video above for more about how this Army team made history.

   

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For the 119th time, Army and Navy will play one of the biggest rivalry matchups in college football. The Black Knights and Midshipmen are set to play the only FBS game on Saturday's schedule at 3 p.m. ET at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, with the game airing live on CBS.

Army (9-2) is looking to win its third straight matchup against Navy, while also vying for its second consecutive 10-win season.

The Black Knights have had another strong year. Their only losses so far were to Duke and Oklahoma, which is one of the four teams that were selected to play in the College Football Playoff. The Black Knights took the Sooners to overtime before falling, 28-21, on Sept. 22.

Army has won seven straight games since its loss to Oklahoma, which helped earn the Black Knights a selection to the Armed Forces Bowl. They will play Houston on Dec. 22.

Meanwhile, Navy has struggled this season. After beginning the year 1-2, the Midshipmen have lost eight of their last nine games. It is their first losing season since they went 5-7 in 2011, and it's only their second losing season since Ken Niumatalolo took over as head coach before the 2008 campaign.

Navy dominated the series against Army from 2002 to 2015, winning 14 straight meetings between the two teams. While 2018 has been a tough year for the Midshipmen, an upset win over their biggest rival would be a positive way to end their season.

Although Army has won the past two years, Navy still leads the all-time series, 60-51-7.

                                  

Predictions

One thing is certain—there will be a lot of running plays from both teams, as Army and Navy both utilize option offenses. In last year's game between the two teams, there was only a total of three pass attempts.

But the Black Knights have had more offensive success this season, and that shouldn't change. Led by senior running back Darnell Woolfolk (823 rushing yards, 14 touchdowns) and junior quarterback Kelvin Hopkins Jr. (783 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground), Army will likely continue to thrive against Navy's defense.

The Midshipmen are allowing 6.7 yards per play, which ranks 122nd out of 130 FBS teams.

Meanwhile, Navy could have trouble moving the ball against Army's defense, which is allowing only 19 points per game.

Army should continue its strong season with another win over its biggest rival, while Navy's tough year will end on a disappointing note.

Score: Army 27, Navy 17

The 119th Army-Navy game is set for Saturday, and after a decade-plus of Midshipmen dominance, the Black Knights have a chance to start a strong run of their own.

Army seeks its third straight win over Navy when the two teams face off at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. The Black Knights have beat the Midshipmen each of the past two seasons after losing the previous 14 meetings.

Navy beat Army every year from 2002-15. The Black Knights have never had a similar run of dominance against the Midshipmen, as their longest winning streak in the series is five games.

This season, Army has been the better team. The Black Knights enter Saturday at 9-2—their only losses came against Duke and Oklahoma—and later this month, they will face Houston in the Armed Forces Bowl.

Navy is 3-9 and has lost eight of its last nine games. The Army-Navy game is the final contest of the Midshipmen's season.

    

TV: CBS
Start Time: 3 p.m. ET
Live Stream: CBS Sports app
Odds (via OddsShark): Army (-6.5)

Army is on its first winning streak in the series since the mid-1990s. However, recent Army-Navy games have been close contests.

Each of the past four years, the margin of victory in the series has been seven or fewer points.

Last season, Army beat Navy, 14-13. Ahmad Bradshaw scored a go-ahead 1-yard touchdown run with five minutes, 10 seconds to go in the fourth quarter to lift the Black Knights to victory.

Much like last year, both teams have run-heavy offenses this season. In the 2017 Army-Navy game, only three passes were attempted.

Senior running back Darnell Woolfolk is leading Army's rushing attack this year, compiling 823 yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground. Junior quarterback Kelvin Hopkins Jr. also has solid rushing numbers—788 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Navy's offense is again led by Malcolm Perry, a junior quarterback, this season. He has 1,035 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground. Perry had 250 rushing yards and the Midshipmen's lone touchdown in last year's loss to Army.

The Black Knights can secure their second consecutive 10-win season with a victory. Before last year, the only other time Army won 10 games in a season was 1996.

If recent history is any indication, Army and Navy could play another close game on Saturday. But overall, the Black Knights have been the better team all season, and it's likely they'll extend their winning streak against the Midshipmen.

Adidas released each side's uniforms for the 2018 Army All-American Bowl, an annual showcase of the nation's premier high school recruits.

According to Adidas' release, the compression jerseys contain ribbed knitting on the chest and shoulder pads. The West squad will wear gold, while the East team dons black.

The Army All-American Bowl will take place at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, on Saturday, Jan. 6. A game that has previously featured future stars such as Andrew Luck and Odell Beckham Jr. will boast a talented crop of prospects led by Trevor Lawrence, a highly touted quarterback committed to Clemson.

[Adidas]

Looks like Army went with the camo uniforms today…#ArmyNavyGame pic.twitter.com/hBU2Nu3OFx

— Bleacher Report CFB (@BR_CFB) December 9, 2017

Army wore "Climb to Glory" uniforms for Saturday's annual matchup against Navy to honor its 10th Mountain Division, which was trained to handle harsh conditions during World War II.

The uniform choice proved prescient when it snowed at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. The flurries turned the turf white, and TV viewers needed to squint to track the Black Knights in their all-white attire.

Army uniforms being camouflage in the snow isn’t a joke. pic.twitter.com/CGRgeMrKYN

— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) December 9, 2017

#Army in camo after all! #ArmyNavyGame @CBSSports pic.twitter.com/uWPHCGRKzH

— Adam Zucker (@AdamZuckerCBS) December 9, 2017

The players even fooled CBS' first-down line.

The 1st down line on television is a problem with Army's all-white uniforms.#ArmyNavyGame pic.twitter.com/nLHBDhUvb8

— Funhouse (@BackAftaThis) December 9, 2017

And yes, it's too late to make another camouflage joke.

[Twitter]

The United States Military Academy released a statement Saturday that said an investigation determined 2014 rape allegations against Army quarterback Ahmad Bradshaw were "unfounded."

ESPN.com passed along the comments, which were released after Brandy Zadrozny and James Laporta of the Daily Beast provided details of former West Point cadet Madeline Lewis' allegations Friday:

"The Army takes all allegations of sexual assault seriously, and every allegation of sexual assault is thoroughly investigated. The Army and The U.S. Military Academy are aware that sexual assault allegations from a single incident were made against Cadet Bradshaw in 2014 and that the allegations were thoroughly investigated by the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command. The investigation concluded that the allegations against Cadet Bradshaw were unfounded and the case was closed."

The Daily Beast obtained internal files about the case from an unnamed West Point source, who told the outlet Bradshaw's "documented honor code and behavior violations, negative observation reports and below-average performance shows he does not have the integrity to lead men and women into potential combat or wear the uniform of a U.S. Army officer."

Maj. Damon M. Torres led an investigation that concluded a consensual sexual relationship occurred between the cadets. However, Bradshaw denied any sexual contact occurred after Lewis said she was raped by the Black Knights quarterback in her room after returning from a shower, according to the Daily Beast.

Following the alleged assault, Lewis said she underwent an "invasive" rape test at the Army medical hospital and was then put on suicide watch.

"If you can think of someone holding a vial of poison, and handing it off to another person because no one wanted to touch it. That's how I was treated," Lewis said about how the situation was handled.

Zadrozny and Laporta also tried to speak with Bradshaw about the allegations but were told by West Point it was a "really busy time given the classroom environment and the upcoming Army-Navy activities."

Meanwhile, a second investigation into the matter involving the Army Criminal Investigation Division and the staff judge advocate determined there was "insufficient evidence" to file sexual assault charges against Bradshaw.

The ESPN.com report included comments Army head coach Jeff Monken made on College GameDay on Saturday morning:

"As an academy and as a football program, we take all allegations seriously. It's something that we as an academy are committed to. We're committed to every one of these young people in our programs and as a university.

"[Bradshaw] is a great kid. The facts are the facts, and we are going to treat him, and everybody else, exactly the same. It's important to do that and not favor any one cadet over another."

Army will take on Navy in the teams' annual rivalry clash Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

The only game to take place in the FBS on Saturday is one of the most storied rivalries in all of sports.

Army and Navy will square off at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia with every eye in college football on them before the bowls take center stage. 

Army broke a 14-game losing streak in 2016 with a 21-17 victory, and the Black Knights have a good chance of winning back-to-back games in the rivalry for the first time since a five-game winning streak from 1992 to 1996.

Although Army enters with the better record at 8-3, Navy is no slouch at 6-5, and the side will have a hunger to reverse the course of the rivalry and halt Army from gaining bragging rights once again. 

         

TV: CBS

Start Time: 3 p.m. ET

Live Stream: CBS Sports App

Odds: Navy -3

          

With the two service academies in the spotlight of the college football universe, they'll be playing in uniforms specific for the contest.

ESPN's Darren Rovell gave us a look at both jerseys: 

Uniform Matchup This Weekend:

Army vs. Navy pic.twitter.com/Ja3eQYhnhM

— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) December 4, 2017

Army comes into the game with a better record, but Navy enters as a slight favorite, which is a bit confusing given the recent form of the Midshipmen. 

Navy, who plays a tougher schedule in The American, has lost five of its last six games, with its only victory during that stretch coming over SMU on November 11.

The Midshipmen started the season with five consecutive wins in which they scored over 30 points on four occasions. 

Quarterback Zach Abey is the catalyst of the Navy offense, as he's recorded 1,322 rushing yards and 803 yards through the air. Navy's other threats in the triple option are running backs Malcolm Perry and Chris High. 

Army is led by quarterback Ahmad Bradshaw, who scored the game-winning touchdown in last year's 21-17 streak-ending conquering of the Midshipmen. 

Just like his counterpart Abey, Bradshaw is the only 1,000-yard rusher on his team's roster. The Chicago native has totaled 1,472 rushing yards as well as 259 passing yards. 

You should expect plenty of running since both teams play a similar offense, but if a pass needs to be completed, Abey is probably the better option to make the big play instead of Bradshaw. 

Bradshaw has only completed 12 of his 39 passes for 259 yards in 11 games, while Abey has seven touchdowns through the air to accompany his 803 passing yards. However, Abey isn't incredibly accurate, as he's completed 42.9 percent of his passes. 

The Army-Navy game is expected to be close as both defenses are familiar with the opposing offensive style. Abey and Bradshaw should be the biggest stars, and it could come down to who has the ball last in Philadelphia. 

        

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

Odds obtained via Oddsshark.com.

All statistics obtained from ESPN.com.