NFL: We Made It through 8 Weeks.

We're now at the half-way mark in the NFL season. We know a lot now. Who are the best teams, worst teams and who isn't meeting our expectations. I talk about the trade the Patriots made that could work out for the team he went to. Also, I think he can be the MVP but his name and game has raised our expectations. I give you my Super Bowl Predictions, I think we'll get a rematch of a recent Super Bowl. 

Bengals Talk: With Derek Forrest

The Bengals are traveling to London to take on the Washington Redskins. With the way the season has been going for both teams this game could go either way. Can Andy Dalton and AJ Green go across the pond and get a win or will Kirk Cousins and company spoil their trip?

I am joined by sports anchor/reporter Derek Forrest of WLWT to talk about this weeks game. 

Brock Osweiler Needs One More Thing Before I Can Tell If He's A Franchise Quarterback

 

 

Houston Texans quarterback Brock Osweiler hasn't looked too impressive through the first quarter of the NFL regular season. With the Texans atop a very mediocre-looking AFC south at 4-and-2 through the first six weeks, it's really a miracle, that record could easily be 2-and-4; they had two victories where they came from behind in the fourth quarter and won (Colts and the Bears). Even with the team being in first place in the division, you can't really say it's been because of the quarterback play. 

Osweiler signed with the Texans this off season, leaving the Denver Broncos, after winning a Super Bowl as the teams backup quarterback; he was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the second-round of the 2012 draft (57th overall)

Osweiler, who will be 26 this season, is in his fifth season in the NFL and this is his first as a full-time starter. After signing a franchise-player-like contract with the Texans and going to a team that has been longing for stability at the position for nearly five years, it's almost certain to say the pressures on. In his first four seasons, before joining the Texans, he only had 305 pass attempts, 2,100 yards passing and 11 touchdowns (95 percent of these stats came in 2015). 

Coming into the season it was looking as if the Texans were putting the relatively inexperienced quarterback in a comfortable situation. The team already had an all-pro caliber receiver in DeAndre Hopkins. And in the 2016 draft they added former-Nortre Dame receiver Will Fuller and quarterback-turned-receiver Braxton Miller from Ohio State University. Both of these players are speed receivers and have uncanny play-making ability. 

Through the first six games of the season, Osweiler has 1,400 passing yards [24th], 59-percent completion rate, with his touchdowns being locked for a tie with interceptions with 8 each. 

One thing that we fail to really look at, honestly, Brock is in a new system with new players. He turned down the opportunity to remain in Denver with the Broncos, the team his had familiarity with and the team that drafted him.  After being benched heading into the playoffs for a quarterback, who he out-performed, named Peyton Manning; the Broncos won the Super Bowl, the Media had praised Manning and the games that Osweiler had helped them win in the regular season were an after-thought. 

One thing that we have to give any player in a new system, not matter of the pieces around him, is TIME!  With things being the way that they are in this day-and-age, it seems like that the one thing that we don't have to give. Every team is in a "win now" mind state. Is that how struggling teams become successful? or do they get young players, groom them, watch them develop after providing them with the tools to be successful for a handful of years? The goal for any struggling franchise or organization shouldn't be to "win now" it should be for long-term stability and a winning culture. 

 In 2015, the Texans played musical chairs with quarterback, going through several starters throughout the season -- Brian Hoyer, Ryan Mallet, T.J. Yates and Brandon Weeden -- And they couldn't find one worthy enough to hold the position. In 2016, they're hoping Brock Osweiler can sit in the seat permanently for years to come. 

Do You Really Think The Bengals Should Fire Marvin Lewis?

Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis has been mentioned to be on the "hot seat", early, after a slow start to the season. I've been hearing a lot of media outlets and fans saying that Marvin Lewis is one reason for the Bengals 2-and-4 start. However, is firing Lewis something that Bengals fans should really want? I explain why firing Lewis would be a terrible decision for the Bengals organization.

The 2016 NBA Season Will Be Fun, But It's Missing Something.

The 2016 NBA season was really close to becoming the 1999 season, but there's something that saves it. We always hope that players walk away from the game while they're still able to with some respect. These players walked away after giving us everything they had for nearly 20 years. 

I Like The New Kaepernick Deal, Here's Why

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick was just awarded his job back after the team suffered it's fourth loss of the season, now to 1-4. He was also awarded something else this week, control over his future. After the 2016 season he can opt out of the two-year deal that he just signed and sign with another team. There are a few teams that could use his talent and I think that he still has a lot left in the tank. 

The Dallas Discussion: The Rookie vs The Relationship

The Dallas Cowboys are in prime position to take the NFC east and they're doing it with a rookie quarterback, Dak Prescott. Now, we know everything sounds good right? Veteran quarterback, Tony Romo might have a problem with this and there's been a lot of discussion as of late. One question everyone has been asking: Who do you play when Romo is healthy? ... I have the answer for you and it could be a no-brainer.

Can Kaepernick Return to Glory?

  The San Francisco 49ers quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, was named the starter going into week 6 by head coach Chip Kelly, after the team suffered another loss behind Blaine Gabbert. The 49ers just suffered a loss to the division opponents, Arizona Cardinals 33-21, dropping their record to 1-4 which is good enough for last place in a very tough NFC west division.

Colin Kaepernick on the QB change: Click here

Kaepernick has been the headline of the NFL media, thus far through the NFL season. Not because of his play, but because Kaepernick has started a civil, peaceful movement throughout the NFL that has had a lot of backlash that has come along with it; starting in the preseason, Kaepernick began to kneel during the National Anthem before every game so far this season. This protest has gotten a lot of media attention, both in a positive light and negative. However, the one thing that people haven't been talking about is the 49ers football. After beginning the season with Gabbert as the starter in San Francisco, they find themselves in somewhat of rough spot to compete for their division.  It was surprising, originally, because you would've expected Chip Kelly to want more of an athlete to run his offense. A quarterback like Kaepernick you would think is the ideal fit, with his dual-threat capability to run and pass.

Kaepernick will be making his first start since November 1, 2015. It was originally said that he was benched due to a "bad shoulder", according to former head coach Jim Tomsula.

Through the first five weeks of the season, the 49ers rank near the bottom [26th] in yards per game, second-to-last in passing yards per game, they also are ranked towards the bottom in 3rd-down percentage [20th]. ... On the season, Gabbert has only 890 yards passing with 5 touchdowns, 6 interceptions and  impressively has over 100 yards rushing and 2 rushing touchdowns.  ... They currently have the third fewest passing yards on the season, only the Bills and Packers have fewer; Gabbert has only surpassed the two-hundred-yard mark, through the air, in one game this season.

San Francisco are obviously light-years away from the Super-Bowl-hopeful team that they were just a few years ago, even though it feels like decades, under former-head coach Jim Harbaugh. However, maybe Colin Kaepernick can show that he is still a serious threat at quarterback, and could possibly help turn things around and even make the 'Chip Kelly offense' a respectable thing again.

San Francisco travels to Buffalo to take on the Bills Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.  

Is Luck Running Out For The Colts?

The Indianapolis Colts traveled to London to face their division rival the Jacksonville Jaguars in week 4 of the NFL season. The Colts struggled to move the ball in the first half of the game, trailing at the half 17-6. The Colts did find ground in the second half, out-scoring the Jaguars 21-13 (all 21 points coming in the fourth quarter), but it ended up being too late. They came up short losing 30-27.

The Colts have fallen to 1-3 on the season and have found themselves at the bottom of the AFC South early in the season.

There has been something missing in Indy, or maybe there's something missing from their star-quarterback Andrew Luck.

Now don't take this post the wrong way, I'm a big fan of Luck and I think that his talent could make him a top-5 quarterback in the league.

Early in his career, Luck was somewhat a hero for Indianapolis. He was drafted first overall in the 2012 NFL draft and was giving hope to a fan base that had just lost one of the greatest professional athletes that town has ever had, and one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history, Peyton Manning just a few years earlier. Through his first three seasons, Luck had over 10,000 passing yards, 86 passing touchdowns and 12 rushing. And most impressive, he helped lead the Colts to the playoffs all three years and in 2014 they made it to the AFC championship game, but ended up losing to the New England Patriots. However, even though they didn't win, that gave the city a lot of hope and even Super Bowl dreams for the near future.

2015 was a very down year for Luck and the Colts. Not only did the team not make the playoffs, Luck didn't finish the season due to injury. Injuries were bound to happen for Luck, though he's never really suffered any major injuries prior to this in his short career. If this team doesn't want a repeat of the 2015 season, for Luck, they need to do a better job in pass-protection; he has been sacked 15 times through the first four games, leading the NFL.

I think the major problem for this Colts organization is that they're trying to continue to build in places they don't need to. Since drafting Luck in 2012, the Colts have drafted one offensive lineman in the first round and have only drafted one the defensive player; they drafted Bjoern Werner in 2013 (Werner was recently released) with their first-round selection, the very next player drafted was defensive back Xavier Rhodes and five selections later linebacker Alec Ogletree was selected - both are showing that they're pro bowl-caliber players.

The Colts are giving up 31.3 points per game, through four games, this season; they're near the bottom of league in yards given up, also, allowing 383 yards per game. 

I wouldn't give up on this Colts team just four games in. A 1-3 start isn't the ideal start for any team, especially one who has one of the best quarterbacks in the league in Andrew Luck. And I don't think it's time to start pointing the finger at him, he's not responsible for a lot of the recent hiccups on the team. It is time to start looking at the head coach, Chuck Pagano, who was on the hot-seat all of last season and maybe even the people in the front office.

Week five could dictate the remainder of the Colts' season, as they are 1-3, which is tied for second place in a woeful AFC south. Can Luck and the Colts prevail in a game against a Bears team that looks to be depleted on both sides of the football, or has luck run out for Andrew & company in the 2016 season?