This week’s Kaepernick Rankings are a bit heavier than the first two weeks. I would be remiss to ignore the namesake of these rankings. So, let’s cover that before we jump into quarterback play for Week 3.
As you are certainly aware of, controversy erupted after President Donald Trump called players SOB’s and called on them to be fired for kneeling during the national anthem.
To no surprise, it caused an uproar. In my opinion, the intent to raise awareness about police brutality against brown and black people was lost and so was the original focus of the issues at hand. The focus was not uniting the people vs. the NFL vs. the President. The focus was not about kneeling, locking arms, or taking off your hat. The focus was, is and remains on police brutality and the system-wide injustices against men and women who look like Kaepernick, Von Miller, and, yes, even the leader of the sunken place, Ray Lewis.
We can go on for days about the said issue (like we’ve done between football Sundays), but let’s focus on why we are here and that’s to talk about bad quarterback play.
On the field, guys like Brian Hoyer, Blake Bortles and Case Keenum morphed into formidable quarterbacks, and for the first time this season none of them are on the list. In my first edition, I stated that I would not place accomplished quarterbacks such as Cam Newton and a host of others on the list, but after this past Sunday, nobody is safe.
This week’s edition low-lights quarterbacks who played miserably, to say the least. Let’s take a look at Week 3 of “What in the hell happened to this guy?”
The Player: Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers
The Box Score: 17/26, 167 Yards, 3 Interceptions, 7.2 QBR
Cam Newton's pregame outfit 👀 pic.twitter.com/g9PS9caUji
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) September 24, 2017
There are several things to take into consideration in evaluating Cam’s performance against the New Orleans Saints. As you might expect, his daring wardrobe warrants some blame. It also doesn't help that he is missing his No.1 target, Greg Olsen. As a result of that, he was slated to take a step back, and things became worse when Kelvin Benjamin left the game due to injury. His three interceptions were untimely, and it was a key reason why the Panthers lost the game.
Is Cam healthy? That’s a legit question given that he didn’t play most of the preseason after nursing a shoulder injury that limited his throwing reps during the off-season. Cam is clearly better than Kap, but let’s hope he doesn’t grace this list any other time this season.
The Player: Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers
The Box Score: 20/40, 237 Yards, 3 Interceptions, 16.1 QBR
Philip Rivers might officially be... pic.twitter.com/utrbsVVbQH
— Sports Fan Journal (@theSFjournal) September 24, 2017
This tweet explains everything you need to know about Mr. Rivers. All jokes aside, did Stan Humphries suit up, or nah?
The Player: Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens
The Box Score: 8/18, 28 yards, 2 Interceptions, 0.8 QBR
Photo Credit: NFL.comLookin at the jig like........
The ghost of Miami Dolphins great Cleo Lemon in Wembley Stadium haunted Joe Flacco as he had one of the worst performances in the past decade. Ten years ago, Lemon was able to throw a touchdown against the New York Giants in the United Kingdom, and I’m sad to say, Flacco couldn’t do that. His performance was so bad, he made Blake Bortles look like a star in the making. Anytime Bortles outplays you, it warrants trouble.
Flacco's QBR was the fifth-lowest total since 2007. Flacco had a whopping eight yards passing in the first half, giving the fans in London a treat for the ages. If Flacco is a stand-up guy, he needs to issue an apology to those in attendance in the UK.
