Wednesday Morning QB (Week 5)
The NFL has been a quarterback driven league for a while now with the league turning towards pass-happy attacks.
With the new focus on the most important position in the game teams are constantly looking to find the man who can lead them on the field.
It is the most watched position in the league and the biggest need for most teams.
Some will find their quarterbacks through development of young quarterbacks while others look to sign big name quarterbacks when they come available.
The best way for many though is through the draft where it seems like every few years a new crop of young quarterbacks enter the draft as the solution to plenty of team’s problems.
Yet not every teams can figure out no matter who they sign or draft as certain teams are still trying to find a true leader.
They draft a player who they believe can lead only to see that player crumble under the pressure.
They find a young player and try to develop him only to see their own franchise crumble under the pressure to start that player too soon.
They find a free agent that shows promise only to find out why he became a free agent in the first place.
These are the issues that the issues that so many teams have continued to see under centre.
This year has been much of the same for a number of teams after five weeks of the 2015 season.
With some teams struggling through these first few weeks they are looking for answers and trying to find solutions.
Not all of these teams are struggling thanks to their quarterbacks and even if the QBs are not playing at their usual level they are solid in their starting spots.
Players like Matthew Stafford and Colin Kaepernick have not been great this year but they are in no danger of losing their starting roles.
Other teams do not have as easy a decision to make as their seasons continue to be shaky and they continue to try to find a suitable starter.
Many of these quarterback battles began before the season even began but some have come out of nowhere this year.
The Dallas Cowboys are one of the latter as they were a team that was expected to compete for the Super Bowl.
With Tony Romo leading the way and Dez Bryant to throw to the Cowboys were expected to be good this year.
Then Bryant was injured and perhaps more importantly Romo followed. That left the Cowboys with Brandon Weeden to lead the team until Romo could lead the Cowboys until Romo returned.
It has not worked out well as Dallas has lost all three games that Weeden started and are beginning to fall too far behind for Romo or Bryant to help.
So after a loss to the New England Patriots this week in which Weeden only threw for 188 yards and led the team to only 6 points the Cowboys are making a switch.
Shortly after losing Romo Dallas signed Matt Cassel as a back-up but now they will go to him to lead the way for the next few weeks in hopes that they can find some kind of success.
They are far from the only team trying to find answers though as the Cleveland Browns spent most of the off-season trying to decide if they would go with the future or insurance at QB.
Johnny Manziel seemed to be a different person in his second year while Josh McCown was brought in to help Manziel develop.
McCown got the starting role but when he was hurt for a week Manziel came in and had plenty of success.
This week McCown led the Browns to a win, thanks in larger part to some great plays by his teammates, but before the comeback began chants for Manziel came from the crowd.
That will continue every time McCown struggles and the Browns will need to be strong if they want to stay with their original plans.
Otherwise they will crumble, like so many before, and start a young QB in a move that could do more damage than good.
The Houston Texans were also looking to find a quarterback when they signed Ryan Mallet and Brian Hoyer in the off-season.
Throughout training camp Hoyer won the starting role but after a bad start to the season all of that has changed.
In Week 6 the Texans will start Mallet under centre after only one win all year.
It is yet another team trying to figure things out at the most important position on the team before it is too late to go back.
Teams will continue to try to figure things out while other teams are already looking ahead to the potential crop of signal callers in the NCAA.
To have success in the NFL the QB is essential and unless one of these quarterbacks steps up in a big way QB controversies in the middle of the season rarely solve much with the season approaching halfway.
Fifth Quarter:
(Thoughts on Week 5 in the NFL)
Freeney to Arizona
Dwight Freeney was once one of the most feared pass rushers in the NFL but he has been far from that as his career begins to close out and injuries hamper him, he will get one more chance though with a new one-year deal with the Arizona Cardinals
Charles on the Sidelines
Jamaal Charles was a key for the Kansas City Chiefs as he was the steady force in the backfield but that steady presence is gone after he tore his ACL in Week 5 and will miss the rest of the season
Williams Fight for Pink
DeAngelo Williams has a special connection to this month as his mother passed away from breast cancer but he apparently is not allowed to honour her memory as he claims that his request to wear pink all year was denied, the NFL denies he made the request
The 100 TD Club
Antonio Gates may be slowing down as his career winds down but he is still adding to his long hall of fame resume after scoring his 100th career touchdown this week and continuing to put his name among the best tight ends in NFL history
Key Scores:
Cincinnati Bengals 27 – 24 Seattle Seahawks
– The Seahawks seemed to finally be starting to climb out of the hole they created at the start of the year but this week they ran into a tough spot taking on the Bengals who climbed back into this game and remained undefeated
Atlanta Falcons 25 – 19 Washington
– The Falcons might not have had the easiest time against Washington this week but an overtime interception changed things and kept the Falcons among the undefeated in the league and kept them on top in the division
Cleveland Browns 33 – 30 Baltimore Ravens
– It wasn’t great at the start for the Browns but eventually they found their groove and thanks to a spectacular catch by Gary Barnidge were able to push the Ravens into overtime and eventually take the win with a field goal
Pittsburgh Steelers 24 – 20 San Diego Chargers
– The Steelers are just looking for Michael Vick to lead the way until Roethlisberger can return and although it wasn’t easy he did just that keeping the Steelers in the game and allowing Le’Veon Bell to score a last second touchdown for the win
Next Week:
Atlanta Falcons vs. New Orleans Saints (Thursday October 15th; 8:25 pm ET)
– This division rivalry was born out of both teams consistently playing for the top spot in the South but this year it will take on a new form as the Saints are just looking to get a win and end the undefeated season of the Falcons
Arizona Cardinals vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (Sunday October 18th; 1:00 pm ET)
– The Steelers are still trying to stay afloat with Vick under centre and they will get a tougher test than in Week 5 when they take on the Cardinals who will try to recover from their first loss of the season
Carolina Panthers vs. Seattle Seahawks (Sunday October 18th; 4:05 pm ET)
– The Panthers are still undefeated and they are hoping to keep up in the only division with two undefeated teams as they take on the Seahawks who are not the same team that won two straight NFC Championships
New York Giants vs. Indianapolis Colts (Sunday October 18th; 8:30 pm ET)
– The Giants looked terrible to start the season but they are beginning to show some fight moving to the top of the division and they are hoping to stay there when they take on the Colts who are in the same situation this year
The Sport Addiction 