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.
Follow me on Twitter: @FraserKnowsBest
Attention football fans and bible thumpers alike, everyone's favorite Christian -- Tim Tebow has found a new home! After appearing to be dead in the water with no place to go following his unfortunate release from the New York Jets in April which couldn't have come at a worse time given most teams that needed a quarterback this offseason likely acquired one in the NFL Draft, a surprise team emerged. That team? The New England Patriots who agreed to sign Tebow to a 2-year deal with no money guaranteed. With arguably the most successful quarterback-coaching tandem that's ever stepped foot on a playing field in Tom Brady and Bill Belichick in place, it's unlikely Tebow will receive many snaps at the quarterback position if any at all this season. From a QB standpoint, New England was both the best and worst possible destination for Tebow. But that's not to say neither party will benefit.
Playing in New England under coach Belichick and alongside Brady will do wonders for Tebow's knowledge of the game even if it means watching from the sidelines while holding a clipboard. For Tebow, a former Heisman Trophy winner, the move to Foxborough will reunite him with some familiar faces including Pats offensive-coordinator Josh McDaniels who was at the helm of the head coaching position in Denver when the Broncos traded up to draft Tebow in the first round in 2010. Another is tight-end Aaron Hernandez whom Tebow won a BCS National Championship with at the University of Florida. Despite being listed at quarterback as mentioned by Belichick on Tuesday when addressing the media at minicamp, if Tebow does see playing time it'll likely be at another position. And though he's made it clear that quarterback is his ideal position where he's listed at third behind Brady and backup Ryan Mallet on the depth-chart, there won't be any complaining or bickering coming from Tebow regarding his role albeit as a fullback or at tight-end where New England will likely need help in place of the ailing Rob Gronkowski.
Having already undergone a plethora of mechanical throwing adjustments from coaches and former players alike, moving to another position might be the only way Tebow will see playing time this season. Few teams relied on the run in short-yardage situations last year more so than the Patriots which would be right up Tebow's alley. And granted no coach likes to mix it up quite like Belichick when it comes to milking his players for their versatility, it's definitely a possibility. But while his role remains a mystery, one thing that we all know already is that Tebow, who spoke highly of the franchises recent success and thanked the organization numerous times for giving him the opportunity, will give it his all and will do everything possible to help his team win if called upon. But not all players seeking success come to New England and leave having flourished. While Randy Moss and Danny Woodhead were both gambles that paid off, Chad Ochocinco and Albert Haynesworth are just an example of a few recent experiments that Belichick and co. rolled the dice on to no avail. During his nightmare season with the Jets last year under coach Rex Ryan, Tebow threw for a whopping 39 yards while completing 6 of 8 pass attempts and ran for another 102 yards on 32 carries while seeing limited action.
Follow me on Twitter: @FraserKnowsBest
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.
Follow me on Twitter: @FraserKnowsBest
Since inheriting the reigns at the quarterback position for a Denver Broncos team that's been absent from the Playoffs since 2005, Tim Tebow has played the role of a miracle worker by breathing life back into the franchise. Following their dismal 1-4 start which resulted in Kyle Orton losing his job to Tim Tebow in week 6 before later being traded to the Kansas City Chiefs, the unconventional wiz kid would lead the team on a journey which saw the former Heisman Trophy winner pull out victory after victory in storybook fashion by winning 7 of his first 8 games. Unfortunately for Tebow and the Mile High faithful, the magic show would eventually come to a screeching halt.
Losers of their last three games heading into the Playoffs, the Broncos limped into the Postseason and were once again underdogs, this time to the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers who featured a depleted roster, most notably a hobbled Ben Roethlisberger. Coming into the game, Denver was the subject of a possible quarterback change with speculation swirling around head coach John Fox and the rumor of him potentially going with backup QB Brady Quinn who hasn't played a down all season long. Those rumors would be just that come game day however, as coach Fox stuck with Tebow which would prove to be his best decision at helm since deciding to promote Tebow to the starting role back in October. Having been criticized all season long for his mediocre passing accuracy despite remodeling the team from pretender to contender, Tebow would log his best game at the NFL level yet, once again proving the doubters and naysayers wrong.
Entering Sunday's match up, the Steelers had not allowed an opposing quarterback to throw for 300 yards all season long. That mark would soon be vanished as Tebow torched the NFL's number one ranked defense for 316 passing yards as well as another 50 yards rushing. At the end of the first quarter, Tebow and the Broncos faced a 6-0 deficit before Tebow threw the first of his two touchdown passes to take the lead, connecting with wide receiver Eddie Royal from 30 yards out for the go-ahead touchdown. Denver would tack on 13 more points before the end of the half to make it 20 to 6, Broncos. Denver's 20 unanswered points would be highlighted by two Matt Prater field goals and an 8-yard rushing touchdown by Tim Tebow.
But just when you began to rule them out, Big Ben and the Steelers fought back to overcome a 14-point deficit and send the game into overtime where football fans would get to see their first glimpse of the newly changed overtime rules. Unfortunately for Pittsburgh who lost the coin toss, those rules wouldn't work in their favor as the Wild Card thriller came to an early end just one play into overtime when Tebow connected with WR Demaryius Thomas for an 80-yard touchdown on a play-action slant route to win it in stunning fashion by a final score of 29-23, sending both the Broncos faithful and the Twitter feed into a frenzy. The game-winning touchdown pass from Tebow to Thomas netted 80-yards, making it not only the longest play in overtime history, but also the shortest overtime in NFL history at just 11 seconds. Broncos wide-out Demaryius Thomas who hauled in 204 of Tebow's 316 passing yards proved to be a match up nightmare for Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor who was exposed, getting burned time and time again before eating a stiff-arm by Thomas on the final play of the game.
Though Sunday's game with the reigning AFC Champions wasn't exactly a walk in the park, Denver's next opponent won't be any easier as Tim Tebow and company get set to fly out to Foxborough where they'll be facing Tom Brady and the number one seeded New England Patriots who several weeks ago in mid-December handed the Broncos a 23-41 loss in their own venue. Broncos head coach Jim Fox will hope to re-write the script in the rematch to once again overcome the odds. Coincidentally, the Patriots just hired former Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels to the staff to serve as an offensive assistant. Adding to the already intriguing storyline will be that McDaniels is gearing up to go up against Tim Tebow and Demaryius Thomas, both of whom he drafted in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft when at the helm in Denver. One thing that's certain is that Tebow has shined brightest when all eyes are on him. And whether or not his team gets eliminated this coming weekend, his success this year should do wonders for his confidence and an even stronger Tim Tebow should be expected next season. Be sure to catch the action on Saturday @ 5 p.m. on CBS and see if Tim Tebow can pull the upset and add another chapter to his remarkable run.Follow me on Twitter: @FraserKnowsBest
