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?

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...