Yardbarker

Sam Robinson

Writer

Sam Robinson is a sportswriter from Kansas City, Missouri. He primarily covers the NFL for Yardbarker. Moving from wildly injury-prone sprinter in the aughts to reporter in the 2010s, Sam set up camp in three time zones covering everything from high school water polo to Division II national championship games. He has since settled in as the husband of a track and field coach, concentrating on the NFL. Boasting an unhealthy interest in the league’s history and fashion trends, Sam is the lead writer for Pro Football Rumors and has written about the sport for Yardbarker since 2018. In addition to working as a writer/editor for a few newspapers – the Cleveland Plain Dealer and St. Joseph (Missouri) News-Press, to name two – in a former life that included some awkward awards-show hosting gigs thankfully inaccessible online, Sam has written about the Olympics for The Athletic.

EXPERTISE:

NFL, track and field, boxing

The 'NFL players with the most yards from scrimmage in their second seasons' quiz

In NFL history, 37 players have topped 1,600 or more yards from scrimmage in the second seasons in the league. How many of those 36 can you name in five minutes?

Best remaining games on the NFL schedule

Although the NFL features a handful of teams that fell far out of contention in the first half, the league has a slew of compelling playoff races. And most teams' second-half schedules will feature several key games.

The biggest disappointments in the NFL at the midway point

This has been a strong year for the NFL. But plenty of letdowns have occurred as well. Here's a wide-ranging list of them.

Most electric players in the NFL

Whose ability to impact games stands out most in today's NFL? Here are the players who jump off screens, some having displayed their world-class gifts for years and others set to have a major stake in the future of the league.

Why the 2017 draft will haunt the Jaguars

The offseason decision to extend Blake Bortles' contract has drawn rampant mockery, and now a would-be AFC power is paying for its choices made a year earlier.

The most overpaid players in the NFL

Some teams have made poor decisions in signing players. Some players have seen bad injury luck sidetrack their careers. There are several reasons for bad contracts, but here are the league's most overpaid performers.

Super Bowl ceiling should prompt Chiefs to bolster defense at deadline

The Chiefs are much closer to a Super Bowl berth than just about anyone (probably even the Chiefs themselves) envisioned before the season. If it takes future draft capital to ensure the AFC playoffs go through Missouri, the Chiefs need to be buyers.

The best bargains in the NFL

The NFL's financial side is nearly as interesting as the on-field product, with free agency and franchises' roster-building moves generating widespread interest.

The 'Most receiving yards after 5 NFL seasons' quiz

In NFL history, 29 players have reached 5,000 or more receiving yards through their first five seasons in the league. How many of the 29 can you name in five minutes?

NFL players who should be traded before the deadline

Prior to the Oct. 30 NFL trade deadline, a few key players will change teams. A handful of teams have already shown they're well off contention pace this season and may look to unload veterans as a result.

The 'Most sacked quarterbacks in a single season' quiz

How many of the NFL quarterbacks who have been sacked the most in the "sack era" (1982 to present) can you name in five minutes?

Each NFL team's most glaring flaw

The first quarter of an NFL season is usually the strangest, and that probably will end up being the case in 2018. But after five weeks, teams' deficiencies start to emerge.

Bengals poised to see if strange resurgence is legitimate

The next five games will be pivotal in determining if Cincinnati’s offseason caution was correct.

A superior offseason has the Rams in a stronger position than the Chiefs

Positioned next to one another atop most major pre-Week 5 power polls, the Rams and Chiefs arrived at these destinations differently. Los Angeles moved aggressively this offseason, forming a team most expected to vie for the NFC’s slot in Super Bowl LIII.

Which NFL QBs had the all-time best second years of their careers?

Many passers have used their second seasons to display signs of greatness, with a few of those coming over the past few seasons. Here are the best sophomore QB efforts of the Super Bowl era.

Should the Packers sit Aaron Rodgers before it's too late?

A point of emphasis caused by a hit on Aaron Rodgers last season is benefiting quarterbacks league-wide. But Rodgers himself, interestingly, hasn’t been able to benefit much from the roughing-the-passer tweak.

Which of the seven 2-0 NFL teams are for real?

Cincinnati Bengals  Given little respect coming into the season, Cincinnati’s suddenly a player in an AFC North that may no longer have a home-field advantage contender like it did in 2017.