Donovan McNabb Looking Foolish After Blasting Washington Redskins, Shanahans

Donovan McNabb stands with head coach Mike Shanahan after signing with the Washington Redskins in April of 2010 (Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)

On Thursday, Donovan McNabb blasted Washington Redskins coaches Mike and Kyle Shanahan. He claimed that they will put their egos ahead of what’s best for the Redskins and force quarterback Robert Griffin III to fit into their system instead of accommodating to his strengths.

On ESPN’s First Take, McNabb said, “Are you going to cater the offense around his talent and what he’s able to do?”, directing the question to the Shanahan’s. McNabb, a six-time pro-bowl selection and Syracuse star, went through a list of quarterback’s that he says weren’t successful under Mike Shanahan. On his list he included John Beck, Rex Grossman, Jay Cutler, Brian Griese and Jake Plummer.

Now lets face it, McNabb’s short time in Washington was never a good fit from the start. McNabb spent the better part of his career playing in Philadelphia, leading the Eagles to five NFC Championship Games.

However, the Eagles only advanced to the Super Bowl one time and fell victim to Tom Brady and the New England Patriotsin 2005. McNabb’s move to Washington was as unpopular as Brett Favre’s move to Minnesota, and common sense tells you that choosing to play for a rival team will never win you many supporters.

McNabb’s play in Minnesota last season was even more embarrassing than the catastrophe in Washington. His ridicule of the Shanahan’s only comes across as an excuse for his own poor play at the end of his career, blaming it on the ‘egos’ of the father-son coaching tandem. Let’s not forget that Mike Shanahan won two Super Bowls in Denver, something McNabb has failed to do in his career.

The Shanahan’s know how to win and they will find a way to both fit RG3 into their system and build off of his strengths, despite what McNabb’s own ‘ego’ has to say about it.

Tebow Allowed Us to Believe

Tim Tebow prays before a game at Sports Authority Field at Mile High (Peter Emerick, Senior Analyst)

After observing a week of celebrations in Broncos Country like they just won the Super Bowl, it’s safe to say that the Broncos’ win over the Steelers on Sunday may be the most exciting thing that has happened to Bronco football since John Elway won back-to-back Super Bowls. Other than a 2005 conference championship game appearance (in which they ironically lost to the Steelers), the Denver Broncos franchise has been nothing else but mediocre since John Elway brought home a second Lombardi trophy to the Mile High city, announcing his anticipated retirement shortly after. From there the team struggled, especially when it came to finding a quarterback. There were four pitiful seasons led by Brian Griese, and four tolerable seasons led by Jake Plummer, until he gave the middle finger to a fan. Then came Jay Cutler, who was later jettisoned to Chicago by the notorious Josh McDaniels. While the trade sent Cutler to Chicago, it brought Kyle Orton to Denver. Orton started off strong in Denver with a 6-0 record, but went 7-24 from that point on until October 9th, 2011, the day he was benched by head coach John Fox. I don’t think it was all Orton’s fault. He did have one of the most polarizing football players in history on the bench waiting to take his spot. When it came down to it, Orton just couldn’t handle the pressure. Who can blame him? But neither the fans nor coaches saw him as a long-term answer. Fans had their eyes set on one guy by the name of Tim Tebow.

Five years ago you probably would have never heard his name unless you either lived in

TIm Tebow walks off the field after defeating the Pittsburg Steelers in overtime on January 8th, 2012 (JimRome.com)

Florida or you were an avid college football fan, but today his name has circled the globe. He is currently the most popular athlete in the world. If you haven’t heard of Tim Tebow by now, you would be living on a different planet. Win or lose, he’s bound to be one of the most popular athletes in our decade. But for now, he keeps winning, and that makes him one of the most popular athletes of, well, all time. I mean seriously, try to think of an athlete that is or has been this popular. Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, the Williams sisters, Muhammad Ali, Lance Armstrong… the list runs short. There are very few athletes in the history of sports that have captured an audience the way Tebow has. And I’m not just talking about Denver Bronco or Florida Gator fans. Many people from around the world are becoming Tebow fans, people who were before completely unaffiliated with either of his current or former teams.

The most shocking thing about this story is that Tebow really hasn’t done a whole lot yet. Of course winning against Pittsburgh was incredible for Broncos fans everywhere, and his many comebacks this season has been nothing short of miraculous. He’s sparked a new excitement in sports fans all across the Denver area. But lets compare him to the great quarterbacks of this decade. Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, Eli Manning: they’ve all been to the big dance and won it all. Tebow hasn’t even gotten there yet. But yet he remains more popular than all of them… combined. Perhaps the fans

Tim Tebow points towards heaven in a game at Sports Authority Field at Mile High

deserve the credit. They never gave up on Tebow. They continued to chant his name as he sat on the bench as Kyle stunk it up on the field. They continued to stand behind him even after three straight losses. But when Tebow ran down the field at the end of overtime last Sunday to rejoice with teammates, something happened. Not just Broncos fans, but sports fans all across the country started to really believe. The miraculous win-streak that they thought had ended suddenly had a new flicker. And then it began. People started to sincerely believe this time. “Tebow can actually win in the playoffs! He just did it!” And fans everywhere are now picking the Broncos to upset the Patriots, and it’s because they believe. They believe that Tebow brings something that surpasses the dramatic mid-season win-streak. His play and determination has brought hope to fans everywhere. Watching a person achieve something when there were so many doubts is an inspiration to all walks of life. The fans were right. Maybe they don’t always know all the tangibles to look for in a quarterback, but perhaps they sense something more, something that coaches and football analysts can’t. Whatever it is, Tebow has it. And sports fans everywhere now believe.

Broncos Bust Through the Steel Curtain

Tim Tebow points towards heaven after pulling out a 29-23 overtime win against the Pittsburg Steelers (Ron Chenoy, US Presswire)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No one gave them a chance. Even Broncos fans were just hoping for a competitive game and a chance at the end to steal a win. But instead it was the Pittsburg Steelers who were trying to play catch-up on the Broncos all game. The Broncos held or shared the lead for the majority of the game and Tim Tebow had maybe the best game of his career, throwing for 316 yards and two touchdowns. He also added 50 yards rushing with another touchdown.

On a day where it seemed like the Broncos were fighting the Steelers just as much as they were the referees, they were able to pull out their first playoff win since the 2005 season. In the 3rd quarter, Roethlisberger threw a backward pass that was dropped and ruled an incomplete pass. The play was reviewed and replay showed that it was indeed a backward pass, which would make it a fumble. The Broncos recovered the ball inside the Steelers’ 20-yard line, but since the referees blew the whistle the call could not be overturned to a fumble. Instead, the Steelers drove down the field and scored a touchdown that cut their deficit in half, only down 13-20.

With less than four minutes in the 4th quarter, cornerback Champ Bailey dropped a potential interception in the end zone. On the next play, Roethlisberger connected with Cotchery for a touchdown, evening the score at 23 a piece. Neither team could score in the final three minutes and the game moved into overtime. On the first play of the game, Tebow connected with Demaryius Thomas for an 80-yard touchdown run and catch that sealed the win. Thomas was huge, catching four long balls and totaling 204 yards, including the game-winning touchdown.

Tebow was seen “tebowing” in the end zone after he threw the game-winning touchdown. Even Shannon Sharpe and the rest of the sports casters were tebowing on their desks at the Post-Game Report following the game. Tebow is now going to have the rest of Bronco Nation tebowing, if they haven’t been already.

Tim Tebow Mic’d Up vs. Bears

Tim Tebow leaves the field after leading another miraclulous finish, winning in overtime against the Chicago Bears (Joe Amon, The Denver Post)

If you are or want to become a leader in sports, the work place, school, etc, you need to watch Tim Tebow mic’d up vs. the Bears. Watching and listening to Tebow during this game is a great example of how a leader should encourage, inspire, lead, and never stop fighting against adversity. The video is a 10-minute clip of all the top moments of the Broncos vs. Bears game. When finished, share a comment below on your favorite part of the video!

BenFletcherSports

Tebow: The Long-Term Solution for the Denver Broncos

Tebow points up toward heaven after throwing for a touchdown against the Minnesota Vikings (Kyle Vassalo, The Bleacher Report)

Another Tim Tebow start, another 4th quarter comeback, another big play by the Broncos defense at the end of the game, and another win for the 7-5 Denver Broncos. You can’t argue with the fact that Tim Tebow is a winner and has his team believing. He continues to keep you on the edge of your seat, and then allows you to let out a big sigh when the clock winds down to zero and the Broncos record yet another win. How does he do it? That’s the question everyone is asking right now, and none more than Broncos Chief Executive of Operations, John Elway.

“There were a lot of questions on the outside. Sometimes it gets built up like they were on the inside, but the one thing I will say is the guy wins,” Broncos head coach John Fox said. “He does it with his feet. He does it with his arm. He’s young. He’s just going to get better.”

Tebow has his head coach, along with the other 52 players on the Broncos roster, sold on the fact that he is the answer for this team. But does he have hall of fame quarterback John Elway convinced that he is the long-term answer? When Elway was questioned two weeks ago whether Tebow was the long-term answer, he paused and then replied, “No”. But if asked that question today, his answer may be different after a 5th straight road win with Tebow, something the Broncos haven’t done since they won 5 straight on the road in Elway’s’ last season as a Denver Bronco, continuing on to win their 2nd straight super bowl at the end of the 1998 season.

Tebow proved a lot today to everyone, and most importantly, John Elway. I’m not talking

Tim Tebow scrambles as Broncos LT Ryan Clady knocks the helmet off Minnesota's DE Jared Allen in the second half. (Morry Gash, The Associated Press)

about wins. He already proved he can win, under pressure, late in games. Today he confirmed something entirely different. He proved he can be the pocket passer that the NFL talks so wildly about, and something John Elway was very successful at during his extraordinary career. Tebow completed 10 of 15 passes versus the Minnesota Vikings, and if you watched the game you know that Bronco receivers should have caught 2-3 of Tebow’s 5 incompletions. Let’s not forget that John Elway completed about 57% of his passes during his career, but is still revered as one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game.

One thing is for certain. If Tebow continues to win games, and continues to improve as a quarterback as he’s done the last 7 games, he will eventually (if he hasn’t already) win over the respect and trust of John Elway. Despite all of the criticism and disapproval Tebow has received over the past few months, he will be the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos for years to come if he can continue to win.

“I was sure enough hoping we were going to get him, but I’ve been on his teams,” Vikings receiver Percy Harvin said, adding: “He’s a winner. He’s a leader. All of the things you hear about, you may think it’s too much, but that’s what he is.”

BenFletcherSports

All quotes taken from ESPN:
(http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/recap?gameId=311204016)

Denver Broncos: Playoffs Within Reach

Tebow leads a game winning 95-yard drive against the NY Jets (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

Do you believe it now? If you watched the game on Thursday you saw the undeniable magic that Tim Tebow brought to Sports Authority Field at Mile High. I’m starting to believe that Tebow really does have his own ‘angel in the end zone’, something I inquired about in my article It’s Tebow Time, Finally! The Denver Broncos started the season at 1-4 and far outside playoff contention through the first five weeks of the season. Then Tebow took the reins and the Broncos now find themselves at 5-5 and in the midst of the playoff race. With a big win Thursday night, the Broncos moved within a half game of the AFC West leading Oakland Raiders. While the Raiders took care of business Sunday and beat a struggling Minnesota team, the Broncos still found themselves gaining ground in the AFC playoff race.

Thanks to losses by Tennessee and Buffalo, the Broncos moved into 7th place in the conference and only one game back from a wild card spot. Although it would be ideal to beat out Oakland and win the AFC West division, it may not be the only road the Broncos can take to the playoffs. With a mediocre AFC conference this season, most teams find themselves alive in the tight playoff race.

1    Baltimore           7    3    AFC North Champ
2    Houston             7    3    AFC South Champ
3    New England    6    3    AFC East Champ
4    Oakland         6    4    AFC West Champ
5    Pittsburgh         7    3    Wild Card
6    Cincinnati         6    4    Wild Card
7    Denver            5    5
8    Tennessee         5    5
9    NY Jets              5    5
10    Buffalo             5    5
11    Kansas City      4    5
12    San Diego        4    6
13    Cleveland        4    6

The Denver Broncos are atop the 5-5 teams due to the best conference record among all

Tebow protects the ball as he runs against the Raiders defense (Bob Carr - sbreport.net)

four .500 teams. I believe the Broncos will continue their success due to two main reasons: Tim Tebow and the defense. Despite Tebow’s low completion percentage, he has been successful at two things that many other quarterbacks struggle with in the NFL. First, Tebow has kept his turnovers down, only throwing 1 interception and giving up 2 fumbles in the last five games. Winning the turnover battle is always a good indicator of who is going to win games, and due to Tebow’s good decision-making, the Broncos have only lost the turnover battle once in their last five games.

Second, Tebow has proven that he plays well under pressure. He makes plays when they really matter, and that’s what Broncos fans remember most about the last five weeks. The 2 touchdowns with 5 minutes left in Miami, the 56-yard bomb to Decker at Kansas City to seal the win, or the 95-yard winning drive at home against the NY Jets are all examples of how Tebow executes at the end of games. Many quarterbacks crack under the pressure when the game is on their shoulders, but Tebow seems to embrace it. It’s extraordinary, and an attribute that everyone needs to remember when they are assessing Tebow’s quarterback ability. The 4th quarter of games is quickly becoming ‘Tebow Time’.

Von Miller sacks Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez after a bad snap (Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

The Broncos defense has been exceptional the last five weeks, other than the thumping they received from the Detroit Lions. In wins against Miami, Kansas City, Oakland and the NY Jets, the Broncos defense allowed an average of only 15.5 points per game. Much of their success can be accredited to rookie linebacker Von Miller, who is tied for 3rd in the NFL with 9.5 sacks. He has proven himself worthy of the #2 draft selection he received and has brought pride back to the Broncos defense. If the defense continues to make plays and Tebow maintains his magic at the end of games, the Broncos may very well find themselves in the playoffs come January.

BenFletcherSports

The Wild Wild West

Here we are, 10 weeks into the season and the AFC West is as unpredictable as Rocky Mountain weather. Blindly throwing out a forecast of who is going to win the division is just as much of a guess for you and me as it is for any expert sports analyst. The truth is we can make an accurate assumption that the Green Bay Packers are going to win the NFC North, and the San Francisco 49ers are going to win the NFC West. However, other than that, every other division in the NFL is up for grabs, and by a number of teams. This is the season of the Green Bay Packers… and a lot of mediocre teams. Forget the 49ers for now. You’ll be reminded they’re around when they’re playing the Packers for the NFC Championship. But for now lets take a look at the AFC West. With Denver, Kansas City, and San Diego all at 4-5, and Oakland at 5-4, the AFC West is, in my opinion, the most competitive division in the NFL right now.

Kansas City Chiefs:

Matt Cassel injured his throwing hand against the Broncos on Sunday and is likely out for the season (Charlie Riedel/Associated Press)

The Chiefs started off the year with a clobbering from Buffalo and Detroit. It looked as if the Chiefs began the year with their sights already on Andrew Luck. Nevertheless, the Chiefs won four in a row and amazingly found themselves atop the AFC West. But with losses to Miami and Denver, the Chiefs now find themselves in the middle of the pack in the AFC West, a rather familiar position for every other team in the division. Nonetheless, when the season is over with, the Chiefs are going to find themselves at the bottom of the division. Of their remaining seven games, the average winning percentages of the teams they play is over 65%. Just take a look at their upcoming schedule: @New England, Pittsburg, @Chicago, @NY Jets, Green Bay. And to make matters worse, the Chiefs likely lost their starting quarterback Matt Cassel for the rest of the season. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Chiefs finish the season 6-10 and in the basement of the AFC West.

San Diego Chargers:

Philip Rivers has struggled this season and has accumlated 21 total turnovers (Jeff Gross/Getty Images North America)

‘Norv November’ surely isn’t turning out the way it has in the past. The Chargers have lost four straight after starting the season 4-1. What’s worse is that Philip Rivers is not looking like his old Pro-Bowl self, already throwing for a total of 15 interceptions, accompanied by 6 fumbles. Chargers’ majority owner Alex Spanos must be kicking himself in the rear for letting Darren Sproles go, who is blossoming in New Orleans’ high-powered offense. Rivers no longer has that quick and easy screen pass to throw to Sproles for a big gain. He has been forced to throw it over the middle more often and it has resulted in a bundle of turnovers and a 4-5 record. Their last three games are also brutal, finishing at home against Baltimore, and then going on the road to face Detroit and Oakland. The Chargers will definitely be relevant come December, but whether or not they can win the division may be far-fetched.

Denver Broncos:

Tim Tebow is 3-1 as the Broncos starter this season and has his team playing for the divisional lead

Four weeks ago you would think I was crazy to say the Denver Broncos have a chance of taking the division. But something (Tebow) has brought the Broncos back into contention. Say what you like about the guy, but he has this team winning games. Since Tebow took over at starting quarterback the Broncos are 3-1. During that stretch they pulled out wins in the infamous “Black Hole” and at Arrowhead stadium, in back-to-back weeks. That is impressive for any team in the NFL and it deserves to be recognized. The Broncos also have the easiest remaining schedule of all the teams in the AFC West, with opponents having an average winning percentage of only 51%. Something tells me that the Broncos are going to be around in late December and they could even shock the NFL world by making the playoffs.

Oakland Raiders:

The Oakland Raiders currently have the only winning record in the AFC West at 5-4

The Raiders looked solid last Thursday beating the Chargers in San Diego. Carson Palmer is starting to look like his former self by throwing for 300 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Raiders are one of the most physical teams in the NFL and have proven that they can compete with anybody. They still have to visit Green Bay, which will most likely be a loss, but their schedule is rather favorable other than that game. The Raiders are also the only team in the AFC West that currently has a winning record, and therefore, are presently in the best position to win the division. Lets not forget that the playoff tiebreaker is head-to-head wins, and the second tiebreaker is division wins. Either could play a big factor in determining who wins the AFC West.

Denver Broncos Run Away with Win at Arrowhead

Quarterback Tim Tebow runs the ball into the end zone against the Kansas City Chiefs (John Leyba, The Denver Post)

The Denver Broncos (4-5) took care of business by knocking off the Kansas City Chiefs (4-5) at Arrowhead stadium with a final score of 17-10. The game was full of run plays and punts, which seemed to fall right into the game plan of the Denver Broncos. The Broncos ran the ball an NFL season-high 55 times and only made 8 pass attempts. However, their success in the run game led to their 4th victory of the season and a spot right in the middle of a wild AFC West divisional race.

Tim Tebow threw the ball only 8 times, completing merely 2 of those pass attempts, despite a few catchable balls that were dropped by his receivers. Tebow also added 43 rushing yards and 1 touchdown, which came in the 1st quarter. For the majority of the game, Tebow was handing the ball off to Willis McGahee, Knowshown Moreno, Lance Ball and Spencer Larson.

McGahee and Moreno were both injured in the 1st half of the game and did not return.

Tim Tebow fights off linebacker Derrick Johnson at Arrowhead Stadium (John Leyba, The Denver Post)

However, the Broncos didn’t stumble in their absence as they continued to run the ball effectively with 244 total rushing yards. In spite of the criticism of Tebow’s passing ability, he was able to show up big in the 4th quarter and complete the biggest pass of the game. Tebow’s perfect 56-yard throw to Eric Decker for a touchdown virtually sealed the win.

Matt Cassel found the ground more times than he found receivers, being knocked all over the place by the relentless Broncos defense. He was sacked 4 times and knocked on the ground another 12. Rookie linebacker Von Miller was all over Cassel for the entire game, making contact with the 7-year pro a number of times. Cassel only completed 13 passes for 93 yards and a touchdown, which wasn’t enough to beat a thriving Broncos team.

After a 1-4 start with Kyle Orton, the Broncos now find themselves in the middle of the pack in the AFC West and a 3-1 record with Tim Tebow as the starter. They are currently tied with Kansas City and San Diego, all with a 4-5 record, and are only one game back from the 5-4 Oakland Raiders, who beat the Chargers on Thursday night to take the outright lead in the division. The Broncos have a very short week as they travel back to Denver to play the New York Jets on Thursday night @ 6:20 PM Mountain Time.

 

Fun Fact: Tim Tebow has thrown for a TD pass in all 7 of his NFL starts.

BenFletcherSports

 

 

 

 

* All stats taken from http://www.espn.go.com

Team Effort Gives Denver Broncos Big Win in Oakland

Tebow threw for 2 touchdowns against the Oakland Raiders on Nov. 6 (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos outscored the Oakland Raiders 31-7 in the second half and pulled off an impressive win at the Oakland Coliseum with a final score of 38-24. The Broncos had players from all elements of the team contribute to pull off their third win of the season (3-5), and second with Tebow starting at quarterback.

Cornerback Chris Harris of the Denver Broncos had an impressive game with a team high 11 tackles and an interception. On the next play after Harris’ interception, Tebow handed the ball off to Willis McGahee who carried for a 60-yard touchdown run, evening the score at 24 going into the 4th quarter. Champ Bailey had 2 interceptions (49th and 50th of his career), each impeding a driving Oakland team led by quarterback Carson Palmer. Palmer, playing only his 2nd game with the Raiders after being traded by the Bengals a couple of weeks ago, threw for 332 yards, 3 touchdowns and 3 interceptions.

The Broncos pulled away in the 4th quarter when Eddie Royal returned a punt

Eddie Royal returns a punt for 85 yards to give the Broncos a 4th quarter lead over the Raiders on Nov. 6 (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

85 yards to put Denver up 31-24, finishing the play by ‘Tebowing’ in the end zone in front of an unruly Oakland crowd in the teeth of the notorious Black Hole.  The Denver defense held Oakland to a punt, which gave the Broncos offense the opportunity to seal the win. McGahee ran for his second touchdown of the game, a virtually untouched 24-yard run, and put the Broncos up 38-24.

Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow seemed to quiet the doubters once again for now. Although his completion percentage was poor (48%), he did show flashes of greatness and played his most complete NFL game thus far. Tebow only threw for 124 yards but ran for another 117. He threw for 2 touchdowns, no interceptions and had a quarterback rating of 98.1. Tebow spent much of the game on the ground but managed to only get sacked one time, which was a big improvement from the last two games where he was sacked 13 times during that stretch.

With losses today by Oakland, Kansas City, and San Diego, the Broncos now find themselves in a tight divisional race. They will travel to Kansas City next week to face the Chiefs at Arrowhead stadium. With a win in Kansas City, the Broncos would find themselves tied for 2nd in the AFC West since the Chargers and Raiders go head-to-head Thursday night.

Top Denver Broncos performers:

Tim Tebow – 241 total yards, 2 TD
Willis McGahee – 20 rushes, 163 yards, 2 TD
Chris Harris – 11 tackles, 1 INT
Champ Bailey – 2 INT

BenFletcherSports

* All stats taken from http://www.espn.go.com

NFL Quarterbacks: Most Impressive, Most Surprising and Most Disappointing

MOST IMPRESSIVE

1. Aaron Rodgers –

(Photo taken from: http://www.jbowmancantsleep.blogspot.com)

Without a doubt the most impressive quarterback this season has been Aaron Rodgers. The Green Bay Packers and Rodgers have started off right where they left off last season. Rodgers is currently the most dominant quarterback in the league according to statistics, and most importantly, wins. The Packers are the only undefeated team left in the NFL and much of their success is due to Aaron Rodger’s impressive play. Rodgers’ quarterback rating is 125.7, 20 points over any other quarterback in the league. Rodgers has also been remarkably good at his turnover to touchdown ratio, throwing three interceptions through seven games, while adding 22 total touchdowns (2 rushing). If he continues this play he may be looking at a repeat of last year’s ending.

2. Drew Brees –

(Photo taken from: http://www.onlyaguy.com)

Although both Tom Brady and Eli Manning have a slightly higher quarterback rating, I put Brees in the number 2 spot because of his accuracy. He along with Rodgers are the only two quarterbacks who are completing over 70% of their passes. Brees has also thrown for the most yards of any quarterback this season, averaging 343 yards/game. Brees is looking more and more like the quarterback who led his team to their first Super Bowl win two years ago.

 

3. Tom Brady –

(Photo taken from: http://www.itsonmytv.com)

It seems like Brady has been at the top of this list for years, and rightfully so. Brady is having just an average season for his career, but that still puts him at the number 3 spot on my ‘Most Impressive’ list. Brady has the second best quarterback rating behind Rodgers and is third in the league in both passing yards/game and completion percentage (both behind Rodgers and Brees). Brady continues to lead his team into what looks like will be another playoff run. Will this be the year Brady wins his 4th Super Bowl?

 

 

MOST SURPRISING

1. Cam Newton –

(Photo taken from: http://www.dubsism.wordpress.com)

This one was a no-brainer. Although I could put several players onto the “Most Surprising” list, only two stick out to me. Newton is obviously the most surprising quarterback in the NFL this season. He has the height of a Peyton Manning and the weight of a linebacker. His style of play and size are said to be a new breed of quarterbacks. He dazzled the league by throwing for over 400 yards in his first two games as a pro. Cam has thrown for 11 touchdowns and ran for 7 more in eight games. He is by far the most surprising quarterback and one of the biggest stories in the NFL this season.

2. Andy Dalton –

(Photo taken by: Brett Mock)

The success and flashy play of rookie Cam Newton has certainly overshadowed the other talented rookie quarterback this year. Dalton has taken the reigns of the Cincinnati Bengals and has led the team to a 5-2 record so far this season, something Cam hasn’t been able to do. Dalton is completing nearly 63% of his passes, has thrown for 9 touchdowns and only 7 interceptions. Although his numbers aren’t astonishing, he has possessed the composure of a 5th year pro in how he’s led his team. Look for Dalton to become an elite quarterback in the near future.

MOST DISAPPOINTING

1. Michael Vick –

(Photo taken by: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images North America)

The pre-season was filled with stories about the so-called ‘Dream Team’ in Philadelphia led by Vick. However, other than a dominating win over the Cowboys, this season has been a complete disappointment. Vick has only thrown for 11 touchdowns and has totaled 16 turnovers in only seven games. Although he’s been known for throwing picks and getting stripped of the ball in the pocket, he’s also been known for running the ball into the end zone. The most surprising stat in possibly all of football this season is that Vick has yet to record a rushing touchdown.

2. Kevin Kolb –

(Photo taken from: http://www.bloguin.com)

The 6-year, $65 million contract that sent Kolb to Arizona this summer was thrilling for Cardinals fans. However, seven games into the season and a 1-6 record are now making that contract look dreadful. What’s even worse are Kolb’s numbers through seven games. Kolb has completed less than 57% of his passes, ranked 27th among active quarterbacks this season. Kolb has only thrown for 8 touchdowns and has matched that with 8 interceptions. Arizona fans can only hope that his season in Philadelphia wasn’t a fluke, but his current numbers are not reassuring.

BenFletcherSports

*All Stats taken from: http://espn.go.com/nfl/statistics