Could Marvin Lewis Be The Downfall Of Marvin Lewis?

 

The Cincinnati Bengals suffered a tough loss, Sunday, at the hands of the defending Super Champion Denver Broncos 29-17, falling to unimpressive record of 1-2. On the same day that Les Miles was fired from, I question if this start could jeopardize the job of, Bengals head coach, Marvin Lewis. 

Lewis, hired in 2003, has the second longest head coaching streak with one team of all the active coaches in the NFL, only Bill Belichick has been remained with one team longer.

The Bengals have been one of the most impressive organizations for nearly a decade. Coach Lewis has a record, in the regular season, of 113-94-2; In the playoffs, he has yet to get a win carrying the record of 0-7. Before Marvin Lewis arrived, the Bengals were one of the leagues worst organizations for half of a decade or so. The Bengals had a record of 16-48 between 1999-2002, prior to hiring Lewis. In his first few seasons; 2003-206, the team had a record of 35-29. It's been a very interesting career that coach Lewis has had in Cincinnati. I've witnessed the attitude of Bengals fans change in the city drastically, and it's been for the better. The organization and team went from one of the worst in the league to being, now, one of the most well-ran in the league.

But when we look around the league, we can look and see that Lewis has a trusted system that he's built over the years. Over the past four seasons, he has put out three coordinators into head coaching positions - Hue Jackson, Mike Zimmer and Jay Gruden - it's hard to ignore that. I think the way that fans really feel about Marvin Lewis stems from what he's done in the regular season not being able to translate in the playoffs. Bengals fans and the city of Cincinnati haven't seen a playoff win since 1990. I believe that a lot of Bengals fans think that Lewis can get the team any further than he already has, and that's an early exit from the playoffs, with the Bengals being 0-7 with him as the head coach.

One thing that the Bengals have been successful at during the Marvin Lewis era has been developing and drafting talent. There have been quit a few players to sign with the Bengals and "revive" their career or become more successful than they did on a previous team. A few examples are guys like: John Kitna, Adam "Pacman" Jones, Tank Johnson and Reggie Nelson just to name a few.

The Bengals are currently 1-2 through the first three weeks of the 2016-17 season, currently in third place in the AFC north, only the Browns (0-3) have a worse record in the division. The Bengals have made the playoffs for five consecutive years now, hoping to make it six this season. But, in order to achieve that, the Bengals have to overcome early season struggles and get back on a winning path.

The Bengals will have a challenge in front of them this Thursday night, as they play the Miami Dolphins (1-2) who are looking to turn around their season as well. This game will tell a lot about which direction the Bengals season will go, it's statistically unlikely the Bengals will make the playoffs if they lose in the game against the Dolphins and go 1-3. However, this could be the game the Bengals need to get back into the early playoff conversation.

Can the Bengals turn things around? or will the Bengals end their playoff streak at five consecutive years?

You can watch the Bengals-Dolphins game on NFL Network, Thursday at 8:25 PM ET.   

How Long Will The Wentz Wagon Roll?

 

Carson Wentz on draft day (Left)

The Eagles are one of the biggest topics in the NFL right now. Young, hot quarterback. First-year head coach and a new-look Jim Schwartz defense. The Eagles were suppose to be at the bottom of the NFC east all season, according to projections, but they find themselves atop of the division at 3-0. But how long will people be on the "bandwagon" of the rookie quarterback Carson Wentz? What early success could potentially lead too? I tell you why I don't really care for early success by Wentz and the record you should expect. 

There Is Hope For The Browns, Just Watch

The Cleveland Browns are having another, yet unfortunate, rough start to a season that was suppose to show a lot of promise. They lose their starting and back-up quarterback, first-round draft pick Corey Coleman and a few other key pieces.... But there's a bright spot in it all. 

What an 0-2 Start Means For the Buffalo Bills

  The Buffalo Bills suffer a second straight loss to open the season, coming off a short week, falling to the division foes the New York Jets 37-31. The Bills coming into the game had the Jets' number, as they swept them last season, beating them 22-17 in both games.

The Bills opened up the season, Sunday, losing to the Ravens 13-7. The Buffalo Bills are in a very tough AFC east and an 0-2 start isn't a great way to start your season, especially when you're expected to compete for your division and you haven't even played the best team in your division. It's obvious that there's a lot of talent on the Bills' roster but it's about it coming together. Quarterback, Tyrod Taylor looked very impressive in a disappointing loss, throwing for 297 yards, three touchdowns on 18 pass completions. There are some concerns though when looking at this team. former first-round selection Sammy Watkins seems to be nursing an injury; LeSean McCoy hasn't had an 100-yard rushing game since 12/6/2015 and he's only rushed for 100 yards in one of his last eight games.

It seemed like head coach Rex Ryan had finally gotten this Bills team to be playoff contenders in the AFC and a lot of people thought they could be a team to dethrone the division champion New England Patriots.

The Bills have their bye-week on week 10 and heading into it, based on the way their schedule looks, this could easily be a 2-7 team. The next three games for the Bills: Arizona, @ New England, and @ Los Angeles. If the Bills don't get it turned around and get back to a competitive state by mid-season, the Bills could make a head coaching change.

Rex Ryan is currently 8-10 as the Bills head coach; he hasn't coached a team into the playoffs since 2010 (Jets).

Will Fuller Impresses In Debut

In his very first game in the National Football League, Texans rookie, Will Fuller has an exceptional game that he'll probably never forget reeling in five receptions for 107 yards and a touchdown.

Fuller, the no.21 draft selection in the 2016 NFL draft, was the second receiver taken in the draft (Corey Coleman was drafted at no.15). Coming out of Notre Dame Fuller was known for being a speedster and a big-play threat, but his route-running ability was still an unknown. In his last two seasons at Notre Dame, Fuller had back-to-back seasons with 1,000-yard and double-digit touchdown seasons. He has done something that not even players like A.J. Green, Dez Bryant, Julio Jones or Antonio Brown have done in their first game.

It's obvious that Fuller has the chance to be special and it's even more obvious that the Texans noticed this during the NFL draft when they selected him in the first round. The Texans start off their season at 1-0 with the huge 23-14 victory over the Chicago Bears and Fuller was one of the big reasons they walked away with the victory. Fuller and the Texans have a bigger test in week 2 as they take on the Kansas City Chiefs, a rematch from the playoffs last season. The Chiefs won in convincing fashion the last time these teams met on the field. However, Fuller hopes to be the difference-maker and help the Texans get off to a 2-0 start and maybe even more...

AJ Green Goes To A New Level

  In the opening game of the 2016 season, the Cincinnati Bengals traveled to face the New York Jets, one of the better defenses in the NFL in 2015 and projected to be even better this season. One of the spotlights of this game was Darrell Revis going against AJ Green.

Green, entering his sixth season, came out and showed why he's one of the league's best. There's was a lot of talk about how Revis, who has been one of the premiere defensive backs since he entered the league, and how his physicality could be too much for Green's style of play. Green proved that would not be the case, having one of the best days as a receiver in the NFL with 12 receptions for 180 yards and a touchdown, as the Bengals rallied back after trailing late in the fourth quarter, winning 23-22.

Green has faced-off against Revis just one time, thus far, in his NFL career, prior to today. The first time Green went up against Revis was in 2014, during Revis' very short stint with the New England Patriots. In that game Green had five receptions for 81 yards and a receiving touchdown. However. what was more notable about the battle is that Green also had a fumble, also the Bengals and Green were on the losing end of the game that day 43-17.

There has been a lot of speculation and question about what the Bengals "new " offense would look like after the departure of former offensive coordinator Hue Jackson, Wide receivers Marvin Jones and Mohamad Sanu... as all three are on new teams. There was a lot of turnover, as far as the roster goes, this off-season. Now, more than ever, there's a lot of pressure on Green to perform and show sumptuous leadership on the field as he's the most veteran in the wide receiver group, as far as experience with the team. The Bengals next game is Sunday, September 18 as they travel to take on the division rival Pittsburgh Steelers at 1;00 PM ET on CBS.

Melvin Gordon: Charged Up For His Second Year

Melvin Gordon, the 2015 first-round draft pick for the San Diego Chargers seems to be primed for big second year after a lack-luster rookie campaign.

The Chargers have been searching for a franchise running back since parting ways with their franchises rushing leader and future hall-of-famer LaDainian Tomlinson, famously known as "LT", in 2010.

 Gordon, the former no.15 overall selection, was the second running back taken in the 2015 draft and one of the two running backs selected in the first round (Todd Gurely was the other, drafted no.11 by the Rams). After rushing for 641 yards on 184 attempts, 3.5 yards per carry. One thing that stands out even more than a very sub-par ypc is that Gordon, who had 45 rushing touchdowns at Wisconsin, failed to find the end zone in 2015. During the preseason it looked like Gordon has become more comfortable in this Chargers offense, in the limited time that we saw him, rushing for 81 yards on 13 carries and adding a rushing touchdown. With the reserved back Brandon Oliver out for the 2016 season, due to injury, expect for Gordon to touch the ball a lot more.

The San Diego Chargers open the season on Sunday, September 11 at Kansas City. It'll be a good first test for Gordon. The Chiefs, a division foe, was the 8th best team against the run in 2015, allowing just 92 yards per game on the ground and only 7 rushing touchdowns the entire season. Can Gordon show that he was worth taking with the no.15 pick? Can he prove that he's the franchise running back that the Chargers have been looking for? This will be a big year for Gordon. 2016 could be the year to show what Gordon is going to be. Beast or bust. 

NFL: 10 Fantasy Sleepers You Need To Look For During The Season

We're less than one week away from the start of the NFL regular season. You know what this means, right? People are starting to get their fantasy drafts underway. Every season when preparing for your drafts, one of the most common thoughts is who will be the fantasy "sleeper" or steal that I can either get off waivers or draft in the later rounds. It's bound to happen especially with roster moves, rookies coming into the league, and also injuries.
For the 2016 NFL season, I have 10 players that are sure to make an impact from a fantasy standpoint.

1. Sammie Coates - With the Steelers having Martavis Bryant out for the season, due to suspension and I don't really think Markus Wheaton is going to improve more than what he is. The Steelers will be looking for a big-play receiver and I believe that Coates will be that person. With the type of vertical offense that they like to run, it fits Coates skill set perfectly; he's a tall, fast, athletic receiver. With Antonio Brown bound to draw double-coverage almost every play, expect to see Coates get open for some big plays and many of those plays could end up in the end zone. 
2. James White - The New England Patriots always seem to get the most out of their players in some way. For nearly the past two decades people have been trying to figure out if it's the system or the players that makes some of these players so great. But, none the less, I expect a new player to emerge in this offense. Running back James White, since coming into the league hasn't made much noise. With the news breaking of Dion Lewis having knee surgery that is bound to have him out for the entire '16-17 season, they'll be looking for another change-of-pace back to couple with heavily talented LeGarrett Blount, and I really think that White will be that player. He was one of the great University of Wisconsin running backs and in the Patriots system, he should thrive; he doesn't have to be an "every down" back and he looks like he's become a much better pass-catcher as well. I see James White ending up in the end zone a lot this season. 
3. Chris Moore - The Baltimore Ravens offense is looking for a consistent target for quarterback Joe Flacco after Steve Smith Sr. retires. They drafted Brashard Perryman in the 2015 NFL draft in the first round, his health is still at question. Last season wide receiver Kamir Aiken stepped up big for the team when they had no other targets and he finished the year strong, but I don't know if he's the guy that is going to be a consistent target. Rookie wide receiver, Chris Moore from the University of Cincinnati could be that guy. He's a long, fast, deep-ball threat and he fits the offense perfectly. One of the best things about Moore is that he goes up to fight for the ball on all of the 50-50 passes and he wins majority of those battles. With Perryman's health being at question and Steve Smith Sr. being on, what seems to be, his final stretch, I believe that we see Moore get a lot of playing time this season and I see a lot of passes going his way and I believe we'll see him in the end zone through the year. In four years of playing at Cincinnati, Moore had 119 receptions, 2,300 yards receiving and 26 touchdowns, not to mention there was an increase his receiving production every season.
4.  Tevin Coleman - In 2015 there were very high expectations for Coleman in Atlanta. However, an injury sidelined him for the early part of the season and teammate DeVantae Freeman's miraculous start to the season made Coleman the permanent second-string running back for the remainder of the season. The bright side is that Coleman will be entering the season with another year in the system, he's got a chip on his shoulder and he finished the 2015 season strong - he averaged 4.5 yards per carry on the season and showed he can carry the load when he's called on, as he rushed for 118 yards on 18 carries against a very good Minnesota Viking's defense - Coleman and Freeman can be a great tandem and I see Coleman getting majority of those carries around the goal line, that screams FANTASY GOLD! 
5. Kevin White - The Chicago Bears offense is full of young skill players. White, the first-round pick by the Bears in 2015 will hope to be healthy this season and get his first taste of NFL action after being sidelined for his rookie season with injury. He has all the tangibles to make him a great receiver - he's fast, has a big body frame and is a very good route-runner - not to mention he gets to play along side of a pretty good receiver in Alshon Jeffery. Everyone knows that Jay Cutler lets the ball fly and with the departure of Matt Forte and Martellus Bennett, there will be plenty of opportunities for White in this offense to make plays. 
6. Willie Snead - There are three things in life that are guaranteed: Death, taxes and Drew Brees, if healthy, will put up at least 3,500 passing yards in a season. The Saints offense looks a lot different than it did just three years ago, it's full of young, inexperienced receivers. In 2015, Sneads rookie season, he had 69 receptions for 984 yards and three touchdowns. Those are great numbers, but i expect these numbers to increase in 2016. Snead looked like one of the more dependable receivers in the Saints offense and earning the trust of Brees could help him get more red zone targets and that leads to more fantasy points. I think Snead has the potential to be a top 15 fantasy receiver. 
7.  Ameer Abdullah - The Detroit Lions lost a major staple of their organization and offense with the unexpected retirement of Calvin Johnson after last season. We don't know who Matt Stafford's go-to guy will be now. But one thing that I do know is that their are now some opportunities for other players to emerge in the offense and make plays. Former first-round pick Ameer Abdullah was drafted to do just  that, make plays. Even though he isn't list as the starter, I still think that his big-play abilities will help this offense to perform at a high level. 
8. Tajae Sharpe - Not only is this receiver a sleeper in fantasy, he was a sleeper in the NFL draft; Sharpe was drafted in the fifth-round, with the no.140 overall pick. In 2015, at the University of Massachusetts, he led the NCAA in receptions (111), 12th in receiving yards (1,319) and caught 5 passes for touchdowns. I expect Sharpe to add a lot to a receiving core that has been fairly mediocre for nearly half of a decade, especially because it looks like he's the clear number one option in the group of receivers on the roster.   
9. Matt Jones - The Washington Redskins no longer have Alfred Morris, he signed with the division rival Dallas Cowboys and there could be an open competition through the first couple of weeks; right now, Matt Jones is listed as the no.1 running back on the depth chart and Chris Thompson is listed as the no.2 option. I think that, if he can stay healthy, Jones can make a huge impact on this Redskins team. As a rookie, in 2015, Jones rushed for nearly 500 yards and three touchdowns in a part-time role. The only concern I would have about Jones is he did have more fumbles than he did rushing touchdowns in his rookie campaign. 
10. Alex Collins - Surprisingly, this running back not only fell in the draft, he fell to the one team that you don't want to give a running back with the power and speed that Collins possesses. Even though he's a rookie and he didn't win much while at Arkansas, he still put up very impressive numbers on some very mediocre offenses. In 2015, Collins had nearly 1,600 rushing yards and 20 rushing touchdowns. He's listed as the last RB on the depth chart but I believe that he could see a lot of snaps this season. second-year running back Thomas Rawls is coming off of an injury and I'm not sure how much Pete Carroll is sold on his as the starter. Last season, when Lynch went out, Rawls stepped up and provided a much needed spark for the offense and helped a lot in the running game. However, I believe this will be a "running back by committee" year to determine who will be the starter going forward, I expect Collins to be in the conversation by week four of the season and should be able to get a decent amount of carries on the season.