If there's one thing we've learned about the Philadelphia Eagles, it's that coach Chip Kelly has an interesting way of doing things. See his busy and unpredictable offseason for example. The offensive mastermind has raised quite a few eyebrows on his way to making the Eagles the talk of the offseason after dealing 3-time Pro Bowl running back LeSean McCoy to the Buffalo Bills in exchange for former Oregon Duck -- Kiko Alonso, who missed all of last season with a torn ACL. Kelly then looked to fill the void left by McCoy with the acquisition of Frank Gore who after agreeing to terms with Philadelphia, chose to sign with the Indianapolis Colts instead. Kelly didn't panic, however, and instead countered by finding his man in the much younger DeMarco Murray who he managed to snag from the rival Cowboys with the help of a college teammate. However, the biggest head-scratcher is what Kelly has done with the Eagles' quarterback position.
Two days after re-signing Mark Sanchez who won over the Eagles' starting QB job following an injury to Nick Foles midway through the season, Philly shipped Foles to the St. Louis Rams in return for the often injured Sam Bradford. Murray and Bradford spent three seasons together at the University of Oklahoma which played a role in Murray jumping ship in Dallas to sign with the Eagles. Not to mention the 5-year, $42 Million contract offer that Philadelphia proposed to the league's top rusher in 2014 which had to have made the decision a bit easier. But just when you thought Kelly's madness had come to an end, he makes yet another questionable decision. The latest reports have the Eagles expected to sign 27-year old QB Tim Tebow to a deal just in time for the start of the team's offseason program which begins on Monday. The former Heisman Trophy winner at the University of Florida is more than two years removed from appearing in his last regular season game with the New York Jets after spending a brief and unsuccessful stint with the New England Patriots who cut him after the 2013 preseason. After being asked by coach Kelly to workout for the team in March, Tebow will now join a crowded QB roster which includes Matt Barkley as well as the aforementioned Bradford and Sanchez.
For Tebow, who is still in search of the respect of an NFL quarterback with a playoff win under his belt while a member of the Denver Broncos, teaming up with an offensive genius in Kelly could very well benefit him and help revive his career in the same way it did for his former Jets teammate Mark Sanchez a season ago. That's assuming Tebow can make the squad of course, something his deal does not guarantee. The signing of Tebow is one of low risk and high reward as Kelly hopes to groom one of college's most decorated QB's into a more well-rounded player at the professional level. But after speculation began to swirl regarding the Eagles reportedly being interested in moving up in this month's NFL Draft to land another former Duck, could Kelly's latest move be an indication that he's throwing in the towel on trying to acquire the reigning Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota whom he recruited at the University of Oregon? While it doesn't exactly shoot down the possibility, it has to at least put a dent in those chances. The signing of Tebow would give the Eagles two Heisman Trophy winning quarterbacks and three QBs taken in the first round. Unfortunately, it would also give them three of the five worst QBs in the league over the last five years from a Quarterback Rating standpoint with a minimum of 30 games at the position. Lets see if Chip Kelly can work his magic with this new batch of Quarterbacks as the Eagles look to rebound from a disappointing season in which they failed to make the playoffs after a 7-2 start before ultimately finishing the year with a record of 10-6.
After a loss on the road during Week 3 to Minnesota in which the 49ers were downright outplayed on offense, defense and special teams, Jim Harbaugh and company would use just about anything as a springboard, but would much rather prefer a shutout. Facing a New York Jets team which features a number of question marks on both sides of the ball, the 49ers would get just that. Similar to last year's trip out east when coach Harbaugh decided to keep his team in Youngstown, Ohio where the squad trained following back-to-back games in Weeks 3 and 4 against the Cincinnati Bengals and Philadelphia Eagles, the man at the helm chose to setup camp in Youngstown for a second time rather than make the flight back to the west coast only to fly back east a few days later. Allowing the team to focus a bit more on the task at hand, the remedy worked once again as the team showed up on Sunday looking like an entirely different team than the one that fell to the Vikings, 24-13 the week before despite not playing to their full potential.
With a combined 246 yards passing between San Francisco's Alex Smith (143 yards) and New York's Mark Sanchez (103 yards), it would be the running game that ignited all the fireworks on offense. Thanks to a number of contributions, most notably from running backs Frank Gore (62 yards) and Kendall Hunter (56 yards) as well as backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick (50 yards), the 49ers ran for a combined 245 rushing yards compared to the Jets' 45 yards rushing, with each player finishing with one rushing touchdown including the first touchdown of Kaepernick's career. The 245 rushing yards allowed by New York marked the most ever for a Rex Ryan coached team. Equally as bad as their defense was at stopping the run, the Jets offense had nothing to show for either as Mark Sanchez entered the game with the worst completion rating in the league at 49.2%. After early indications of a lackluster offense during the preseason which saw the Jets fail to score a single touchdown on offense, things would only get worse for the Jets.
Having lost their best player on defense the week before in Darelle Revis, the bad news for Rex Ryan's squad would continue as they would wind up losing wide-receiver Santonio Holmes to a serious foot injury in the fourth quarter, adding to the nightmare that has been the Jets' season. Tim Tebow who was brought in during the off-season and was due for his first snaps in a Jets uniform according to Rex Ryan, saw limited action under center as his first and only pass attempt of the season was a 9-yard reception to wide-out Dedrick Epps who was met by Dashon Goldson before fumbling and losing the ball, the first of four New York turnovers including two other fumbles and an interception. Since last season, winning the turnover battle has been vital to the 49ers' success under second year head coach Jim Harbaugh and has almost always decided the victor. Sunday was no different as San Francisco's stingy defense was +4 in the turnover department as the 49ers bounced back from their Minnesota debacle by trampling the Jets by a final score of 34-0. The 34-point shellacking was also the Jets' biggest shutout loss at home since falling 37-0 to the 1989 Buffalo Bills.
Week 5 Preview & Prediction: With the 49ers returning home for the first time since their Sunday night affair against the Detroit Lions in Week 2, Jim Harbaugh's squad will host the 2-2 Buffalo Bills. Led by QB Ryan Fitzpatrick who leads the league with 12 touchdowns and is tied for second with the most interceptions (7), the Bills have been just as dangerous through the air this season as they have on the ground. But with the Bills nursing not one, but two star running backs in Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller, Buffalo's offense might be in store for a long day as the 49ers D looks to impress and prove that last week's slaying of the New York Jets was no fluke. And with Fitzpatrick coming off a 4 touchdown, 4 interception outing at home against an off and on New England Patriots defense, the Harvard alum will have his hands full with one of the best defenses in all of football. Expect to see Alex Smith rebound from his dismal 143 yards passing, 0 touchdown performance against the Jets with his biggest numbers yet as he and running back Frank Gore lead the 49ers to a 30-17 win at home.
Manning continues to rewrite the records books - Similar to the NFC Conference Championship, the battle for the AFC Conference Championship hosted the number 1 seed, the Indianapolis Colts. They're opponent however was one nobody expected to be there -- The New York Jets. But after already defeating both the Cincinnati Bengals and the San Diego Chargers in the postseason, the Jets were just as confident as anyone. Led by a strong defense and a ground game that led the the league in rushing, the Jets started the game like they were destined to win. But it wasn't long before Peyton Manning began to work his brilliance and lead the Colts to their second Superbowl appearance in four seasons.
Although Mark Sanchez and the Jets failed to make it to the Superbowl, they almost did it in the opposite way many thought they could. For as much as the team depends on it's defense, the offense seemed to be what was keeping them in the game to almost pull off the upset. After an 11-point lead with under 2 minutes remaining in the first half, Manning would bring the Colts to within 4-points heading into the lockers, after connecting in the end-zone with WR Austin Collie. With momentum on their side, the Colts then came in during the second half and did what needed to be done, as the Jets were shutout for the remainder of the game, resulting in a final score of 30-17. With the win, the Colts got their revenge on the team that put an end to their potential undefeated run just several weeks ago.
Regardless of the outcome, I've gotta tip my hat to Mark Sanchez for proving everyone that doubted him wrong and that said he wasn't experienced enough to start in his first year in the NFL. Instead, the former USC Trojan developed into one of the more promising arms for the future as both he and Jets head coach Rex Ryan should work wonders in New York for many years to come. Sanchez finished the day throwing for 257 yards and 2 touchdowns on 17 of 30 passing attempts, giving him an overall stellar performance. But the game ball would have to go to Peyton Manning of coarse.
After the first half, Manning found his groove and shredded the best defense in the league, finishing with a total of 377 yards and 3 touchdowns on 26 of 39 passing. With Jets Pro-Bowl CB Darrelle Revis covering Colts WR Reggie Wayne, Manning completed 18 of his 26 passes to WR's Pierre Carcon (11 catches, 151 yards) and Austin Collie (7 catches, 123 yards). The 300+ passing yard performance marked Manning's 7th 300-yard playoff game of his career, passing Kurt Warner and Joe Montana for the most all-time. It's no wonder Peyton Manning was rewarded this year's league MVP. But will he be able to add another Lombardi Trophy to his already crowded trophy case?
Aside from the game itself, my favorite part had to be the award ceremony after the game. With the earthquake that hit Haiti just weeks ago, no one on the field was affected more by the tragedy than Colts WR Pierre Garcon. Garcon who is of Haitian descent, had a big day on the field and broke the record for the most receptions in an AFC Championship game and was seen celebrating after the game with teammates and holding a Haiti flag up high (as seen in the photo below). It definitely served as one of the more touching moments of the NFL season this year.
After last weeks upset loss the Oakland Raiders gave the Philadelphia Eagles at McAfee Stadium, Raiders Defensive end Richard Seymour made a bold statement by saying the Raiders are making the playoffs this season. As soon as I heard those words come out of Seymour's mouth I was expecting the Raiders to duplicate last week's performance and give the New York Jets a run for their money. Instead New York snapped a 3-game losing skid and handed the Raiders their 5th loss of the season, by a score of 38-0. How bad was it? Aside from the lopsided score, Mark Sanchez had enough time to sit on the sideline and eat a hot dog.
If the game's going that bad & there's enough time for the opposing quarterback to kick back and eat a hot dog instead of watch the game, then you know there's something wrong. Sanchez later apologized and said he "wasn't feeling well." I'm sure the veteran Seymour didn't approve of it. & If Seymour plans on living up to his word, his team will have to step it up with a tough remaining schedule. Week 8 @ San Diego, Week 9 BYE, Week 10 vs. Kansas City, Week 11 vs. Cincinnati, Week 12 @ Dallas, Week 13 @ Pittsburgh, Week 14 vs. Washington, Week 15 @ Denver, Week 16 @ Cleveland, & Week 17 vs. Baltimore.
Jets rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez is making a strong case for this year's Rookie of the Year award if he hasn't already. Although we're only 2 weeks into the NFL season, Sanchez has already made some big steps forward. Not only has he proved analysts and scouts that doubted him wrong, but he's already beat Jets rival Tom Brady and the Patriots on his first try. & With Michael Crabtree still being a bitch and 'holding out', Sanchez won't have too much competition to worry about. Then again Matt Stafford and the Detroit Lions who currently own a 19-game losing streak, could also make a worthy case for Rookie of the Year considerations... That's if they ever get into the win column this season.
