Our experts weigh in on four of the biggest questions in NASCAR:Turn 1: Whose performance was the most surprising in the first Chase race?Ricky Craven, ESPN NASCAR analyst: Jimmie Johnson, as crazy as it seems. Few if any would have predicted that much muscle from Johnson considering how poorly the last several months have gone, and few would have expected a mental mistake from the six-time champ on the final green-flag stop of the race. Its been a head scratching season for the 48 team.Ryan McGee, ESPN.com: Hendrick Motorsports. Chase Elliott and Johnson didnt end up where they wanted to be, in Victory Lane, but all four HMS cars were in the top 10 for a nice chunk of the day. Thats a far cry from where they were all summer. And its good to see Alex Bowman earn a top-10 in Earnhardts ride. Ive believed he should have been behind the wheel of that car all along. Im eager to see what he can do with some reps.John Oreovicz, ESPN.com: Johnson. Yeah, hes a six-time champion and until the last year or two, many people automatically considered him the favorite heading into the Chase. That hasnt been the case recently, which is why it was surprising to see the No. 48 out front for so many laps in Joliet.?Bob Pockrass, ESPN.com: Elliott. A 20-year-old dude didnt crack under the pressure of the Chase opening race while several veterans did.Turn 2: What are your thoughts on NASCARs revised postrace penalty system?Craven: Its the correct decision at the correct time! Its critical we capitalize on the momentum created during the regular season (quality competition) and parlay it into a strong Chase. We have all the ingredients with the 16 personalities involved, parity as well balance as good as we have ever seen. The moment to pivot from tolerances to talent was now! Bravo.McGee: Its the right call in that its correcting a wrong call and its a good sign that NASCAR is admitting a mistake and fixing it. I dont know if you know your NASCAR history, but such actions havent really been their forte. Complicating stuff is never a great idea, but doing it just as the postseason is getting started is a horrible idea. History -- and very recent history (Talladega, October 2015) says that changes like that will be sniffed out and exposed in an instant. More than any other time of the season, the Chase is when we should be talking about racing and race winners and stories like Martin Truex Jr.s comeback from extinction and his girlfriends comeback from cancer to becoming a victor and a legit Cup contender. Instead, I feel like were talking about Deflategate-ish stuff all the time. Wednesdays move should help us get away from that.Oreovicz: Given the number of violations that are turning up, teams are obviously attempting to manipulate the rules during the race and/or the cool down lap. These competitors are going to push every tolerance to the limit, and that means NASCAR needs to test cars both before and after each event. Any time there is coaching over the radio (Dont forget to swerve!), you can be fairly certain there is something fishy going on. Given NASCARs philosophy of not taking away a win from a cheating team, I am waiting with bated breath to see if the penalty for an encumbered win ever happens.Pockrass: NASCAR did the right thing. If you are cheating, you get a big penalty with none of these soft gray areas that are difficult for at least some fans to understand the impact of the infraction. The only thing that could have made this better would have been if NASCAR had put this policy in place during the season and Ryan Newman had entered Richmond with a much better shot of making the Chase.Turn 3: Should Hendrick Motorsports be encouraged by its Chicagoland performance?Craven: Absolutely. They needed a boost, and they got it from all four cars in Chicago. Its encouraging for the organization and it appears very timely.McGee: Yes! See my answer to Turn 1. However, the baffling self-inflicted issues with the 48 car are still troubling. They are good enough to stumble through stuff like pit miscues and speeding penalties and still make it out of the Chases first round. That wont work as the funnel gets smaller toward November.Oreovicz: Yes. HMS hasnt been close to consistently competitive over the summer, and seeing Johnson lead so many laps and Elliott in the mix at the front of the pack has to be an encouraging sign for NASCARs original superteam.Pockrass: Yes. It showed four solid cars capable of top-10 finishes until the Johnson speeding penalty.Turn 4: Who is your pick to win the Xfinity Series Chase? How about the Camping World Truck Series?Craven: Erik Jones will be a Chase driver in his rookie season next year after winning this years Xfinity Series title. Im going with the veteran Matt Crafton in Trucks.McGee: Its hard not to go with Jones in Xfinity, but Im not. Elliott Sadler has been a top-10 machine since May. Theres a consistency there that Jones is lacking and despite popular belief, consistency is still key in the Chase format. Over on the Trucks side give me William Byron. Saturdays wreck at Chicago was his first DNF since March and just his second of the year. The numbers say he wont have another between now and seasons end.Oreovicz: Im going with the youth movement: Jones in Xfinity and Byron in Trucks. With the likes of Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart going away and a host of other top drivers in their 40s, NASCAR needs to create a new generation of stars and its going to happen quicker than anyone anticipates.Pockrass: Sadler and Crafton. Experience wins in this system. Nike Air Max Womens 90 Blue . 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HOUSTON -- Five games into the Brock Osweiler era and Houston Texans coach Bill OBrien has been cornered into defending a quarterback who, despite the hefty free-agent price tag, has performed no better than the collection of mediocre signal callers the Texans employed after running Matt Schaub out of town on the nearest rusty rail.With Osweiler underperforming again in a road loss to the Minnesota Vikings last Sunday, an effort that included his seventh interception this season, the chorus of discontent only swelled. The Texans (3-2) invested $37 million guaranteed in Osweiler over two seasons hoping that hed offer an improvement over the Ryan Fitzpatrick-Brian Hoyer-Ryan Mallett hodgepodge working under center in recent seasons.Instead, the Texans have received more of the same at a greater cost. With the Indianapolis Colts (2-3) coming to town on Sunday and first place in the AFC South up for grabs, the Texans offense ranks among the worst in the NFL. Osweiler is part of the issue.Only two quarterbacks have thrown more interceptions than Osweiler: Fitzpatrick (10) with the Jets and Buccaneers second-year quarterback Jameis Winston (eight). With Osweiler taking every snap this season, the Texans passer rating (70.6) ranks 30th in the league, as does their yards per pass play (6.0). Their 208.6 passing yards per game is 29th in the NFL.I think Brock is working very hard, said OBrien, who relieved offensive coordinator George Godsey of play-calling duties two weeks ago. Hes very prepared. I think all of us, including himself, we all have to do a better job. Im sure hed be the first one to tell you. Look, hes got to improve in this area, that area, you know all those things.I think overall Ive been happy with the way the guy prepares. Not happy with the way the offense has played. Not blaming it on anybody. Really taking responsibility for it here, right here because thats where the responsibility lies when youre the head football coach.With Osweiler as the focal point offensively, the Texans ranks 27th in yards per game (310.4), 30th in scoring offense averaging 16.4 points and 31st in yards per play (4.7).And while Osweiler has struggled with ball security, the Texans issues offensively extend to the running game where another free ageent, Lamar Miller, has yet to score despite 101 rushing attempts.dddddddddddd His 371 rushing yards are fifth in the AFC and ninth in the league, but Miller is averaging just 3.7 yards per carry, well below expectations given his speed and past reputation as a constant threat to score.The Texans have struggled with injuries on their offensive line -- three-time Pro Bowl tackle Duane Brown made his debut against the Vikings -- but averaging 3.8 yards per carry represents woes greater that health and getting Miller acclimated.I can promise you the way we study the tape as an offense, the way our coaches prepare us, the way our coaches coach us up throughout the week, especially after games when we break down that film, I can promise you were getting better every single week, Osweiler said.The Colts have dealt with their own issues on the offensive line, both in terms of health and productivity. They invested four draft picks in the line this past spring and three of those draftees -- center Ryan Kelly, guard/tackle Joe Haeg and tackle Austin Blythe -- have started for the Colts this season.With right guard Denzell Goode returning from a back injury last week against the Bears, the Colts trotted out their optimal offensive line, relegating right tackle Joe Reitz to the bench. Yet they surrendered five sacks en route to a shootout victory.Colts quarterback Andrew Luck has been sacked a league-high 20 teams for a league-leading 126 yards. He still ranks among the top five in the league in completions (second, 131), attempts (third, 205), yards (fourth, 1,469) and touchdown passes (tied for fifth, 10).The Colts are fifth in the NFL in scoring at 27.4 points per game, but keeping Luck upright has been a problem and is a priority.I think maybe a bit too much is being made out of that, Luck said of the number of hits he has taken. I think just go out, play football. Getting hit can be part of the position and part of it.Colts coach Chuck Pagano said, You dont want your quarterback hit. Period. Were trying to do everything possible to make sure that doesnt happen and limit that. He knows that and everybody knows that. China NFL Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap Basketball Jerseys Online Stitched Hockey Jerseys Wholesale Baseball Jerseys Football Jerseys Outlet College Jerseys For Sale Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale Soccer Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys For Sale Wholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '