Jason Bell NFL Blog: Staley And Belichick Are In The Hot Seat!

Staley and Belichick in the hot seat

Brandon Staley is in the hot seat for real! The Chargers just haven’t been performing and he will be held accountable for that.

There isn’t a lot of confidence in him from outside the building, both in the media and the general narrative. Owners hear that talk!

They spent money and he is still underperforming. It would be different if he could say that he wasn’t given the proper resources, but he has been. It just isn’t working for him.

Another one I’d be thinking about on the chopping block is Bill Belichick, because I’ve been hearing a lot of rumours and it seems like it might be heading in that direction.

He is going to be sought after and somebody is going to really want him in their building. Something is brewing there and I think he’ll be out of the job come next year.

Panthers owner is actively trying to win!

I think the norm is to wait until the end of the season before firing you head coach, but I do think Carolina’s owner wants to do things his own way.

He wants to win regardless of how people feel about his decisions. Regardless of the decisions he makes, you can’t question the fact that he is trying to win.

He is actively trying to figure things out and sometimes the first thing you have to do is get into the cycle of hiring and firing coaches. 

Mac Jones is done at the Patriots

With Zappe being named as a starter on Sunday, I think it is over for Mac Jones at the New England Patriots.

I don’t know if he can make things right. He’s lost confidence in them, and they’ve lost confidence in him. I don’t feel like they are fully invested in him. 

I don’t think it is over for him in the NFL at all. He has played well before and if you play well in this league then you get another chance.

It is so hard for a backup quarterback to come in and play well, so I don’t think his NFL career is over. 

Kyle Shanahan supposedly likes him, so he could even go and be the backup at the San Francisco 49ers. He could definitely go in there and be Brock Purdy’s backup.

Jaguars are finally the real deal

Having beaten the Texans last weekend, I think the Jags are the real deal.

I always believe in the philosophy that teams have to go from bad to good, then from good to great. It has to be a step-by-step progression. That is exactly what has happened in Jacksonville.

We saw them go from bad to good and everyone was thinking that they could be great, but they weren’t really ready. Now they are right there and everything is lining up for them. I think this duel they have with the Texans is going to be something we enjoy for years. 

The Jaguars defence is just amazing. Josh Allen is out there hunting and closing out games when they need him to make it happen. They have all the ingredients – I think they’re finally there. They just have to continue to learn how to play as the hunted rather than the hunters.

CJ Stroud versus Trevor Lawrence is going to be amazing in years to come… and we get to see it twice a year!

Rodgers return is down to himself

I think in Aaron Rodgers mind it is realistic to think we will see him playing again this season. It feels like this is his mountain to climb and everything about it seems like him wanting to prove he can do it.

When someone like Aaron Rodgers is determined to do something, then I think there is always a chance that they’ll pull it off. 

It all seems to be about what Aaron himself wants to do. Regardless of whether they make the playoffs or not, you still have to ask why he is coming back, and it can only be because he wants to be back. 

Defence and Wilson the key behind Broncos form

I think the two key components behind the Broncos upturn in from has been their defence, and the connection between the head coach and Russell Wilson. 

The head coach came in and did what he said he was going to do. They had a rough start, but the shift has occurred and that is what you want to see out of a guy who is supposed to come in and do just that. He hasn’t even really had time to change the whole makeup as much as he’d want to.

The defence is playing really well and that is a huge factor. 

Sometimes it can take a while to adjust to a new coordinator, but Russell Wilson and Sean Payton see the game the same way.

Wilson is doing exactly what Sean Payton wants him to do, which is great. He’s playing like somebody who is being coached very well. 

The linkup between Wilson and Courtland Sutton has been really good in the past couple of games and it’s always a positive when you see trust starting to build. You know Russ will throw it up there, so it’s important for him and Sutton to have that trust.

49ers at Eagles - the game of the year

There is only one real pick for the game to watch this weekend and that is the San Francsico 49ers at Philadelphia Eagles.

It is probably the game of the year. Winning a game like this helps a lot when looking at the teams pushing for the Super Bowl.

The key will be getting the home field advantage in the playoffs and that is what makes this such a huge game.