Category: 2014 NFL Season

Tim Tebow is back in football. The former Heisman winner tried and failed to cut it in professional football, but he’s being handed an opportunity to prove his worth to the NFL.

The former Broncos and Jets QB had a workout with the Philadelphia Eagles last month and it appears that Chip Kelly liked what he saw. Tebow is expected to sign for the Eagles today and will join in the offseason program.

He becomes the fourth quarterback on their roster this offseason and he gives the NFC East team three First Round QBs in their squad.

“Tebow Mania” has followed this player wherever he’s been. So why does he get so much hype? He struggled to make an impact for the Denver Broncos and New York Jets, so what’s the big deal?

TEBOW TIMELINE

He was home educated.

2007 – He won the Heisman Trophy. That season he threw 32 touchdowns for the Florida Gators. He also rushed 23 TDs, which is an SEC (South Eastern Conference) record.

2008 – He finished third in the Heisman voting. His new team mate, Sam Bradford, won the honour that year.

2009 – Turned down the NFL Draft to complete his senior year with Florida Gators.

2010 – First Round draft pick for the Denver Broncos (25th overall). He set an NFL Draft record for jersey sales.

On October 31st he appeared at Wembley and ran in a touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers. Denver lost 24-16. His first start came on December 19, which was a 39-23 road loss to the Oakland Raiders. He completed eight of 16 passes for 138 yards, including a 33-yard touchdown pass. He also rushed for 78 yards, 40 of which came on a touchdown run in the first quarter of the game. It was the longest touchdown run for a quarterback in Broncos history and the longest touchdown run in NFL history for a quarterback in his first start.

Tebow’s first career victory came in his second start on December 26. The Broncos defeated the Houston Texans, 24-23, in Denver. He helped rally the Broncos from a 17-0 deficit at halftime, as he finished the game with 308 passing yards and one touchdown pass. He also added a fourth quarter rushing touchdown, which capped the comeback.

He became the first quarterback in NFL history to rush for a touchdown in each of his first three career starts.

2011 – He began the season as the Broncos’ backup quarterback, behind Kyle Orton. After a 1-4 start and some poor performances, Orton was replaced by Tebow at halftime during a home game against the San Diego Chargers in week five.

Tebow nearly led the Broncos back from a 16-point deficit, as he passed and ran for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. The Chargers ultimately won the game, 29-24. The Broncos went on to make the play-offs with him behind centre.

After the three consecutive losses, Broncos vice president and former quarterback John Elway said Tebow was playing tentatively and needed to “pull the trigger.”

In the wildcard round the Broncos hosted the Pittsburgh Steelers. Tebow threw for a career high 316 yards and two touchdowns, including an 80-yard TD to Demaryius Thomas on the first play of overtime, as the Broncos won 29-23.

The Broncos were then handed a 45-10 defeat by the New England Patriots the following week, knocking them out of the playoffs. Tebow completed 9 of 26 passes for 136 yards and was sacked five times; he also rushed five times for thirteen yards.

After the season, John Elway confirmed that Tebow would be the Broncos starting quarterback going into training camp in 2012.

Despite on-field successes by the Broncos under Tebow, he finished the season with the lowest passing completion rate in the NFL which led many to question his potential as a quarterback at the professional level.

2012 – The Broncos signed Peyton Manning and traded Tebow to the Jets, along with the Broncos’ 2012 7th round pick, in exchange for the Jets’ fourth and sixth round picks.

The Jets struggled that season and the fans and media called for Rex Ryan to bench the inconsistent Mark Sanchez in favour of Tebow.

Tebow suffered two broken ribs during a road game against the Seahawks, however, this was not confirmed until two days prior to the Jets’ Thanksgiving contest against the New England Patriots. Tebow was active despite the injury which was publicly revealed after the game.

He was subsequently inactive during the Jets’ following contest against the Arizona Cardinals in which Sanchez was benched in favour of Greg McElroy.

2013 – Tebow was released by the Jets having only thrown eight passes and run 32 times in his single season. He signed with the New England Patriots and played two preseason games. He failed to make the cut.

He presented for ESPN last season, but now Tebow Mania returns and the spotlight falls on Philly. Despite being out of the league, the 27-year-old Tebow remains one of the most popular players around. He has a legion of fans who follow him because of his strong Christian beliefs.

We’re all guessing what Chip Kelly’s next move will be this offseason, with speculation rife that he will trade up for Marcus Mariota in the draft next week. One thing’s for sure, Chip’s given us plenty to talk about.

The NFL held its annual owners’ meeting in Phoenix this week. Ahead of that event the league’s commissioner, Roger Goodell, hinted to the Monday Morning Quarterback website (mmqb.com) that we will be seeing even more games at Wembley in the 2016.

The International Series returns this year with three more games. All of them have sold out. We would have had more but the Rugby World Cup has two games being played at Wembley Stadium in the autumn.

When the 2015 London fixtures were originally announced there were grumblings from some quarters about the calibre of teams heading over here. The UK fans proved that there’s a real passion for football on these shores when they snapped up the tickets within weeks.

“Yeah we’re looking at more games”, said Goodell. “I think every year we’ve learned something from our experience, which is the objective. First and foremost is the passion of the fans – they want more”.

Sunday October 4, 2:30pm kick-off (Week 4)
New York Jets vs Miami Dolphins

Sunday October 25, 1:30pm kick-off (Week 7)
Buffalo Bills vs Jacksonville Jaguars

Sunday November 1, 2:30pm kick-off (Week 8)
Detroit Lions vs Kansas City Chiefs

For the first time, this year, we have two games back-to-back on consecutive weekends. Next year we’ll most likely get at least four games at Wembley – that’s a quarter of the league’s teams heading ever over here. It’s also half of a season in terms of home games.

Goodell will continue to test the market to see if the demand for football in the UK isn’t just a flash in the pan. The International Series has gone from strength-to-strength since that first game eight years ago. The NFL won’t give us a franchise until they’re absolutely certain that we can continue to support the game and sustain it.

The next couple of years could shape the future of gridiron in this country.

It’s been more than a week since Malcolm Butler intercepted Russell Wilson’s pass. We all know what happened.

The criticism of Pete Carroll’s and Darrell Bevell’s decision-making still rages. The hatred they’ve received is unnecessary.

Sport is made up of ifs and buts. It’s those what ifs that keep us coming back for more.

Those nearly moments are just as important as the glorious occasions when things go our team’s way.

So, what if Ricardo Lockette clutched that ball with 20 seconds to go? Pete Carroll would be a genius. He would have been the coach who fooled us all, even the great Bill Belichick. With the ball on the 1-yard line you expected nothing but to see Marshawn Lynch barging through two or three defenders on his way into the endzone.

Carroll tried and failed. But what if he ran it? What if Belichick had called a timeout? The result would probably be different. We don’t know. All we know is what happened happened. That’s sport.

What if Carroll had chosen to go for a field goal against the Packers in the Championship game instead of faking it? The Seahawks would probably have not been in Arizona last week. But he went for it and everyone raved about it.

What if Brandon Bostick had done his job and let Jordy Nelson receive the onside kick in that same game? The Packers would have definitely been in the Super Bowl instead of Seattle!

Sport is won and lost on split-second decisions. Those decisions are what separate superstars from us mere mortals. If Dick Fosbry hadn’t broken from the norm the high jump would be completely different.

Every game in the NFL is won and lost by decisions made on the field. Carroll, Bevell and Wilson got it wrong, but they gave it a go. What if Jeremy Lane didn’t break his wrist after picking Brady’s pass in the first quarter? His replacement, Tharold Simon, got torched by the MVP the rest of the game. Would the outcome have been different? We assume it will, but we will never know.

Super Bowl XLIX was a fantastic game that was filled with drama. The drama was created by those wonderful coaches, players, decision-makers. Let’s not forget that we’re all fallible. Even the great get it wrong at times, but what if they get it right next time? We don’t want to miss it for the world and that’s why our love for the game will never wane.

What does the defensive MVP do during his time off? He heads into the woods!

Houston Texans defensive end, J.J. Watt, has retreated to a secluded cabin in the Wisconsin woods.

“It’s just an empty space and a log cabin and snow”

It sounds like a storyline from Rocky IV when Balboa chopped wood and lifted sacks of stones somewhere in Siberia before defeating Ivan Drago.

“It’s really minimalistic”, said Watt. “The only thing I have to focus on is training and that’s the way I like it. There’s no frills, there’s nothing to distract you up there.” So how does he describe his offseason home? “It’s just an empty space and a log cabin and snow”.

Just how good could an improved Watt be? He’ll be striking fear into opponents before a ball’s even been kicked. With a few adjustments on offence, the Texans could be a big threat to the Colts in 2015.

Was that the best Super Bowl ever?

It was a game which had everything. Bill Belichick and Pete Carroll went toe-to-toe in this classic chess match. These were two heavyweights weighing each other up in the opening rounds.

The first score didn’t come until New England’s first drive of the second quarter. By the end of the quarter it was 14-14.

When Brady threw his interception in the middle of the third quarter, and Seattle went 24-14 up in the resulting drive, you began to question whether Brady had enough to bring the Patriots back. No team had ever come back from a double digit scoreline in the Super Bowl before!

The fourth opened with a three and out for both sides. And then New England drove for 68 yards in 9 plays and closed the gap to three points. When the Patriots’ D had to stand firm they held the Seahawks to another three and out. The ball was handed back to Brady and he threw eight consecutive completions, including the touchdown pass to Julian Edelman.

As we entered the two minute warning, the game was far from over. The Seahawks charged 79 yards in just 1min and 52secs. It looked like the footballing gods were on Seattle’s side as Jermaine Kearse made a 33 yard catch on his back. Some defensive back named Malcolm Butler looked to have prevented the pass, but Kearse somehow made that miraculous catch. Marshawn Lynch rushed the ball to the one yard line and it looked like game, set and match.

Everyone expected Lynch to bulldoze his way over the line. Instead, Russell Wilson threw the ball to Richardo Lockette and saw it intercepted by Malcolm Butler. Game over.

Tom Brady was jumping for joy on the sideline. The Super Bowl MVP broke Joe Montana’s pass record and joins the QB with four rings. Debates will run for years to come about where this game ranks in the archives and whether Brady is the best we’ve seen.

Super Bowl XLIX kicks off at 11:30pm (GMT) this Sunday. Here’s where you can watch/listen to the big game in the UK:

TV: Channel 4 (coverage starts at 10:30pm) & Sky Sports 3 (coverage starts at 10pm)

Radio: BBC Radio Five Live (Coverage Starts at 11pm)

We’re finally into Super Bowl week, but one story still dominates the NFL – the size of Brady’s balls. This story will not go away.

The New England head coach, Bill Belichick has become a physics professor in the last seven days. He’s even resulted to name checking characters from My Cousin Vinny when discussing ballsgate.

Nobody plays the media better than Belichick. He knows how ridiculous this storyline is, especially during the biggest week of the year for the NFL. Both the Patriots and the Colts had the same size balls in the second half – New England blew Indy away 28-0 in that final half hour.

If there’s any team that can bottle up this negative energy and use it to their advantage it’s the Patriots. Nothing seems to phase them. They seem to relish adversity. Tom Brady looked like he was ready to choke during his press conference last week, but when it comes down to business he’ll step up to the plate and perform. He’s a winner and he’s hungry for that fourth ring.

There’s always a lot of media hysteria around Super Bowl week. Professional footballers are excellent at uniting together and blocking out the outside world. It’s what they do. Both Seattle and New England will be quietly going about their business and using ball pressure to their advantage.

The full line-up of kickoff times for the 2015 International Series is:

October 4: New York Jets at Miami Dolphins, 2:30 p.m. UK (9:30 a.m. ET)

October 25: Buffalo Bills at Jacksonville Jaguars, 1:30 p.m. UK (9:30 a.m. ET)

November 1: Detroit Lions at Kansas City Chiefs, 2:30 p.m. UK (9:30 a.m. ET)

This marks the first time that all three International Series games in London will occupy a stand-alone breakfast time slot in the US. The first and only previous International Series game to be staged as an early afternoon kickoff in the UK was when the Atlanta Falcons hosted the Detroit Lions on October 26, 2014.

NFLUK Managing Director Alistair Kirkwood said: “Our fan research has shown overwhelming support for early kickoffs. It has been a complex process to get that agreed for all three games but we are delighted to have done so. It means that the London games all have their own timeslot and also allows the teams to get home a day earlier to begin their bye weeks. I’m sure the fans will be excited about having four live game windows on those three Sundays.”

The championship games failed to disappoint. There can be no better advert for the sport than the game we saw in Seattle.

The Seahawks were down and out going into the final quarter. Their fans, regarded by some as the best in the league, had given up on them. Hundreds of “The Twelves” had already left the stadium by the time their quarterback, Russell Wilson, led the team down the field and ran in a touchdown moments before the two minute warning.

Cue the onside kick. The Seahawks kicker, Steven Hauschka, was 1&4 for onside kick-offs as he ran up to the ball. The pigskin hung in the air, arching its way to Green Bay’s number one receiver. But it never made it never landed in the arms of Jordy Nelson. His blocker, tight end Brandon Bostick, sensed his moment of glory as he reached to pick the ball from the air. Rather than clutch it in his hands, he dropped the ball and handed possession to Seattle. The Seahawks scored and completed the two-point conversion which meant a Packers field goal in the remaining 1:25 would take the game into overtime.

Rodgers led the charge with a limp, set up Mason Crosby’s 48 yard field goal and added time ensued. The Seahawks won the toss and the rest is history. Jermaine Kearse caught the championship-winning touchdown for the second season in a row.

Russell Wilson proved why he’s set to become the league’s highest paid QB. Despite struggling for three quarters, throwing four picks, he rallied his troops when they needed him. A lesser team would have rolled over, but these defending champions have forgotten how to lose and they won’t give up their crown without a fight.

If Seattle are going to win back-to-back Super Bowls they’ll have to stop the greatest-ever post season quarterback. Tom Brady broke Joe Montana’s play-off record for touchdowns thrown against the Ravens last week. He led the Patriots in their AFC championship thumping of the Indianapolis Colts, beating Andrew Luck & Co 45-7.

The Patriots are heading to their sixth Super Bowl of the Brady-Belichick era. They rarely ran the ball last week, but it was a different story in this championship game. LeGarrette Blount rushed for 148 yards and two touchdowns in this drubbing. This Pats team can mix it up when they have to, offensive lineman Nate Solder even caught a touchdown.

Super Bowl XLIX has all the hallmarks for a classic. Tom Brady vs the Legion of Boom. Russell Wilson vs the best Patriots defence for eight years.

The Seahawks defend their crown in Arizona, the scene of the Patriots’ toughest loss under Belichick. Expect to read plenty more plots over the coming fortnight as we gear up for a spectacular season finale between the two best teams in the league.

Sunday – 7:30pm: Green Bay Packers vs Seattle Seahawks (Sky Sports 1)

Sunday – 11:30pm: Indianapolis Colts vs New England Patriots (Sky Sports 1)

Monday – 11:35pm: The American Football Show (highlights on Channel 4)