What We Learned in Football this Weekend

What we learned this week in the NFL:

-The Chicago Bears have weapons on offense. Martellus Bennett, Brandon Marshall, and Matt Forte give the Bears a solid tandem of explosive play makers for Jay Cutler. Impressive win by the Bears in a tough divisional game against Minnesota. There defense always creates turnovers and with the improvement of the offensive line, the Bears seem like a threat in the NFC.

-Washington will take a step back this year. Robert Griffin III just isn’t what he was last year. The threat of his running the football is no longer there and his terrible mechanics throwing the ball will have to be something he overcomes.

-The Dolphins can contend in the AFC East. Going into Indianapolis and pulling out a win was big for quarterback Ryan Tannehill. With all the new pieces the Dolphins brought in this offseason the Dolphins roster is talented enough to win the AFC East. If the Patriots continue to struggle, Miami will be nipping at its heels all season.

-Having a solid back up running back in the NFL are much more important than people may think. Ben Tate, Bernard Pierce, James Starks and Knowshon Moreno all had breakout games this week. Each of these running backs were the difference makers and helped there team win on Sunday.

-The New York Giants do nothing but turn the football over. The lack of running game for the Giants, which is pathetic to say the least, has led to Eli Manning throwing over 40 passes the last two games. This just isn’t the identity of the New York Giants. If the Giants can’t run the ball effectively, it will be a long year for the Eli Manning and the Giants.

- The Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers game Sunday night was nothing but sloppy. Penalties and turnovers were the story of the game. Colin Kaepernick looked tentative to run the football and the wide receivers failed to win one-on-one with the Seattle defensive backs. Seattle got the better of the Niners at home, I expect the Niners to return the favor later in the year when Seattle travels to San Francisco.

What We Learned in College Football:

-Texas A&M defense is still a Big 12 type defense. Johnny Manziel needed maybe 3 or 4 stops on Saturday from his defense in order to beat the Tide. Manziel was sensational as well as Mike Evans, answering anything Saban and the Alabama defense threw at him. With a win in College Station, Alabama only has LSU to beat before it plays for another SEC Championship.

- UCLA is a threat this year. After being down 18, UCLA scored 31 unanswered points to defeat Nebraska in Lincoln. Brett Hundley is only a sophomore but is developing into a prime time player for Jim Mora.  We will see how serious UCLA’s Rose Bowl chances can be after they have back to back road games at Stanford and at Oregon later in the season.

- Mack Brown won’t make it through the season. The program has fallen off since their title match with Alabama a couple of years ago. They are horrific on defense, making tackling look near impossible for their defense. Inconsistent play at quarterback since Colt McCoy left and not many explosive players on offense leaves Texas with no choice but to move in a new direction, with a new head coach at the end of the season.