Bump N’ Run w/ KT: Eagles In Trouble, NFL In London And Montclair State Celebrates Homecoming

Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

After the bust that was Hurricane Joaquin this past weekend, the football weekend went off without a hiccup as we move ever closer to determining the contenders in college football. The NFL season is also in full effect as the Jets went to London and the Giants traveled to Western New York to take on the Bills. Let’s get started with the Jets trip to England.

Can We Please Stop The NFL London Games?

Don’t get me wrong, I love football. Waking up on a Sunday and watching an NFL game at 9:30 in the morning is a dream come true especially when it includes a local team like the Jets over the weekend. Unfortunately it’s not as simple as just early football for fanatics. The NFL still has this pipe dream of having a Super Bowl in London or even worse, having a NFL franchise in London someday. They continue going over to England, now twice a year, to gauge fan interest in a possible Super Bowl and/or a team over there full-time.

The league wants this to happen but the travel issues for both the other NFL teams and the London team would be disastrous. Having a Super Bowl there would mean that the game would have to take place live at about 1 or 2 p.m., which the owners most likely wouldn’t like because of the ad revenue they would lose in not having a five hour pre-game show all afternoon. If a Super Bowl in London does happen, then what’s next? Will a Super Bowl next take place in Qatar? Maybe we could get a regular season game in Russia?  I understand that the NFL is trying to make the game global but if it hasn’t happened yet after all these years, it’s not going to happen ever.

Update: The NFL announced that a game will be played in Mexico during the 2016 season. The finalists for the game next season were Mexico…and Germany. Really?

Penn State Is Not A Good Team

Yes the Nittany Lions are 4-1 but they are a flawed team and it starts on the offensive side of the ball. You have a stud quarterback in Christian Hackenberg and yet he only threw for 156 yards against Army on Saturday? Coach James Franklin can attempt to be positive about his team and their performance so far this season but he is scared to throw the ball downfield and those four victories came against the Army (which should not have been a close game), Rutgers (who is mess right now), Buffalo and San Diego State. Going into Big Ten play for the remainder of the season, they are a middle of the pack team who should be looking at a return trip to the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium as a successful season.

Montclair State Wins Big On Homecoming Weekend

We are now in October and that means Homecoming at colleges around the country. Montclair State University had their Homecoming over the weekend as they took on William Paterson University and to say it was a successful day would be an understatement. The Red Hawks jumped out to an early and dominated the Pioneers 64-7 at Sprague Field in front of a crowd of over 4,000. Wide receiver Aaron Williams had a big day as he caught two touchdowns and gained 109 yards for Montclair State. Willie Barr added two touchdowns rushing as the Redhawks won their first game of the season. William Paterson was held to just 84 yards of offense the entire game as they fell to 1-3.

Around The Country

• I am still not sold on TCU or Baylor as legitimate National Championship contenders. I love the offenses of both teams but both the Bears and Horned Frogs defenses are not good enough to win a championship. It takes a strong defense and that is why I think Michigan State will beat Ohio State when they play on November 21 and they will win the National Championship.

• Are we all in agreement that the Philadelphia Eagles are in a tailspin? They defeated the Jets and everyone assumed that all was well at “The Linc” but it’s still somewhat a cluster-you know what. Sam Bradford still doesn’t look comfortable in the offense and the defense has more lapses than great plays. I know Chip Kelly’s career record is 20-12 before this season but if the Eagles don’t end the season with a winning record and a playoff appearance, Kelly will not be back in 2016.

• After watching “Hard Knocks: Training Camp With The Houston Texans”, I felt like the Texans would take a huge step forward after seeing their preparation and coaching from head coach Bill O’Brien. I was terribly mistaken as they are now 1-3 after losing to Atlanta and they once again swapped quarterbacks as Ryan Mallett was benched for Brian Hoyer, the original starter when the season started. Just because Mallet and Hoyer backed up Tom Brady and took second string snaps in O’Brien’s offense in New England, does not make them good starting quarterbacks. Looks like another top ten pick for the Houston Texans.

• I went to school there so I will talk about Monmouth University football once again. The Hawks defeated Bryant 31-24 for their second win of the season this past Saturday. Reggie White, Jr. caught a 50-yard touchdown from Cody Williams with 1:16 left in regulation to put Monmouth ahead for good. Williams finished with 210 yards passing and 70 yards rushing, which included a 22-yard touchdown run to open the scoring. Monmouth (2-3) next goes on the road to Charleston Southern in their Big South conference opener on Saturday at 1 p.m. Yes, I’m a homer.