Fragen und Antworten » times this season. Tom Brady and Nick Foles ha

Some fans are shaking their heads in wonderment at the performances of some first-year head coaches who keep on losing. Others are campaigning to get rid of an incumbent.Yet there’s an impressive number of men doing terrific jobs who deserve to be praised as we approach the halfway mark of the NFL schedule.Try Pete Carroll in Seattle. Jay Gruden in Washington (while his older brother’s return has been a fiasco in Oakland). Ron Rivera in Carolina. Anthony Lynn in Los Angeles. Matt Nagy in Chicago. And Bill O’Brien in Houston.The key measurement with that half-dozen is talent. More specifically Tyler Ervin Jersey , none of those six has a ton of talent at his disposal, though all have some star players.But Gruden has a first-place team. So does O’Brien.Rivera’s Panthers look like a solid bet for the playoffs. Lynn’s Chargers are 5-2 and in good position to be in the postseason. Nagy’s Bears are vastly improved over John Fox’s group of 2017, and Carroll — the only Super Bowl winner in this group — might be doing his best job in a highly distinguished career with the Seahawks.In a year when so many coaches are being lambasted, from newcomers Pat Shurmur in New Jersey to Steve Wilks in Arizona to newcomer/oldtimer Gruden in Oakland, it’s worthwhile and refreshing to take a look at some jobs well done. Very well done.PETE CARROLLWhile the Seahawks aren’t in full-blown rebuild mode, they are remaking the roster and reaffirming themselves as a hard-hitting, run-first (and effectively), aggressive squad that doesn’t back down. Their victory at Detroit was their best in a 4-3 season during which they started 0-2.Carroll is fitting in new parts, particularly in the secondary and at running back. He’s getting strong leadership from Bobby Wagner, Russell Wilson and Doug Baldwin, but lots of credit needs to be thrown his way for doing quite a bit with less than usual.BILL O’BRIENWhen the Texans dropped their first three games, people were placing O’Brien on a Lone Star hotseat. Now, he’s sitting atop the AFC South with a club that should win that division of underachievers.Not that Houston is underachieving. The poor start had much to do with returning players such as the Texans’ best Benardrick McKinney Jersey , J.J. Watt, and quarterback Deshaun Watson not being back to full strength. Now they are.This is a balanced team when all the parts are available. O’Brien doesn’t panic, he instructs well, and his is a team on the rise.JAY GRUDENIs Washington the most-talented team in the NFC East? Nope.Is it the most consistent? Nope.What the Redskins do is protect the ball (just five giveaways, trailing only Atlanta’s four), stymie opposing offenses, and rely on some excellent veterans such as Ryan Kerrigan, Josh Norman and Alex Smith. Plus, Gruden was willing to reach out to Adrian Peterson, who has shown he has plenty left — so much so he might be the front-runner for Comeback Player of the Year.While there’s turmoil in Dallas and New York, and rumblings fostered by the mediocre performance by the defending champion Eagles, all is going smoothly in D.C. Credit GrudenRON RIVERAYes, in 2015 he guided the Panthers to the NFC title. He still has Cam Newton and Greg Olsen and Luke Kuechly.But these Panthers Bradley Roby Jersey , who have beaten the Eagles, Bengals and Ravens, aren’t at the level of the team that fell to the Broncos in the Super Bowl 2 ½ years ago. Their offensive line is shaky, their receivers are inconsistent, and they’ve shuffled their secondary.They’re also 5-2 and Rivera has one of the best relationships, on and off the field, with his players of any coach in football.ANTHONY LYNNLynn’s best defensive player, Joey Bosa, has been sidelined all year. The Chargers have relied on rookies — safety Derwin James is among the top defensive newcomers in the league — and a few other youngsters, and it’s working to the tune of nine picks to three allowed, 18 sacks to 10 allowed.Philip Rivers is having one of his best seasons of a borderline Hall of Fame career, in great part because Lynn gives his quarterback lots of freedom.You hear criticism that the Chargers haven’t beaten anyone good. Well, a large number of teams would love their 5-2 record.MATT NAGYEvery week Tashaun Gipson Jersey , the Bears play an opponent tough. Their defense is rugged, particularly if Khalil Mack is healthy. Their offense is developing, not rapidly but steadily. Where Mitchell Trubisky has progressed in his second season and first under Nagy is where the Jets, Cardinals, Bills and Browns hope their first-rounders of this year get to in 2019.He’s aggressive with the ball and without it, playing to win rather than playing not to lose. Whether he can keep the Bears in contention in the rough NFC North is problematic, but they certainly are headed in the right direction — and in an entertaining fashion. Are these bold predictions or delusions?"We are three weeks removed from a Super Bowl that was for people in Boston and Los Angeles. Here the Texans sit, preparing for the offseason with issues of their own to address. With that in mind, here aare three out-of-the-box predictions for the 2019 Texans as they enter the dead time of the NFL calendar.Deshaun Watson will lead all NFL quarterbacks in rushing yards in 2019. This is the hot take that doesn’t seem so crazy when you analyze it. Last season, the 23 year old finished third in rushing yards among quarterbacks behind Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen. DW4 did this despite playing with arguably the worst offensive line in the NFL. The safe bet would be to predict Lamar Jackson as the rushing leader since he is basically a running back who occasionally throws the ball. The Ravens will try to develop a more pass-centric offense and develop Jackson’s passing abilities, though. The same can be said for the Bills as Allen, like Jackson, enters his second season in the league. Cam Newton and Alex Smith Zach Fulton Jersey , other quarterbacks who usually top the quarterback charts for rushing yards, are likely to either miss games or enter the season at much less than full strength. Smith is coming off a gruesome leg injury in a game that happened to be against these Texans. Newton will be coming off a shoulder operation for an injury he suffered in Week 10 at Pittsburgh. Owner David Tepper speculated that he could be down for the entire 2019 season. Bill O’Brien seemed to grow more confident in Watson’s rushing ability down the stretch this season as more running plays were designed for him. The Texans’ offensive line is also likely to see vast improvement after the position is addressed in both the draft and free agency. The stage should be set for Watson to pull this off in 2019.2. The Texans will finish with a better record than last season, yet will finish second in the AFC South division. This is about how well the Colts have rebuilt their team. Andrew Luck is coming off an MVP-caliber season; he was not healthy for the first six or seven games. Now Indianapolis will have Luck at full strength for an entire season. The Colts have the most cap space in the league, although the Texans sit at fifth most. Indianapolis also has nine picks in the 2019 NFL Draft. General manager Chris Ballard and head coach Frank Reich have done an impressive job giving Luck a stellar offensive line and a defense that was one of the best in the league over the second half of the season. They are also on the short list of candidates to land the soon-to-be former Steelers prized possessions, Le’veon Bell and Antonio Brown.The Colts are in prime position to put themselves among the elites of the NFL.The Texans have opportunities to improve in many areas themselves, but the Colts are the ideal rebuild model. The Texans and Colts will both finish 12-4 in 2019 and will split their season series. The difference will come in strength of schedule. Both take trips to Kansas City to take on the reigning top AFC seed Chiefs. The Colts will win their game at Arrowhead, but the Texans will fall short. Predictions mean nothing without the specifics. Take that for data.3. Houston will either trade for Jalen Ramsey or sign Earl Thomas as a free agent. Yes, that’s right. The Texans have an enormous weakness in addition to their offensive line—their secondary. Despite Pro Football Focus rating Houston as the fifth best secondary unit in the NFL, they were easily picked apart by good quarterbacks for most of the season. They allowed the fifth most passing yards per game with 279.8. Quarterbacks against the Texans this year had a rating of 92.5, which was 15th in the league, but when you look at the list of average or subpar quarterbacks the Texans played, this statistic is misleading.Andrew Luck had his way with them three times this season. Tom Brady and Nick Foles had huge games against Houston as well. The Texans were fortunate enough to not have the other AFC elite signal-callers on their schedule, a list that includes Philip Rivers Nick Martin Jersey , Ben Roethlisberger, and Patrick Mahomes. They instead were able to rack up wins against Blake Bortles, Case Keenum, Brock Osweiler, and Nathan Peterman. The Texans’ front office knows that they have a window right now with their core players still in their primes (DeAndre Hopkins, J.J. Watt, Jadeveon Clowney) and their soon-to-be-rich quarterback on his rookie contract. Aggression wins, and the Texans will make a big splash this offseason. As far as what they have to give up for a Jalen Ramsey or how much they have to pay for an Earl Thomas...both are up for debate. But nonetheless, as wild of a take as it is, one of these transactions will happen and the Texans’ secondary will be much better in 2019.