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On Our Way Home: Chapter Thirty-two
I pulled into the driveway. The sky was blue. The air was crisp. Christmas once again was only three days away.
We’d settled into a routine. Instead of knocking on the door or blowing the horn or calling anyone, I’d send a one-word text to Linda. Here. That was the code, the signal, the trigger that would result in one or more of the kids emerging from the front door and making their way to the car. The Subaru had been traded for an Audi. I spent more than I should have on it. But it had been a good year.
Financially, that is. The divorce was finalized quickly, and so it had been a good year for Linda, too. That was fine by me. I didn’t fight any of it. When I decided to stay, I decided to accept whatever would happen. And it was my fault. I accepted that, too. Everything was my fault. She didn’t fall out of love with me; I pushed her there. I had to live with that, and I would never be upset with her for a natural reaction to the way I’d behaved for all those years.
Could I have gotten a better settlement if I’d told my lawyer to go full-blown, razor-toothed barracuda? Probably. I didn’t care. I wanted Linda and the kids to have more than enough. They deserved it.
I’d finally decided to start advertising on TV, to start taking on injury cases. Someone needed to do it. Why not me? I’d already settled several of them, and the money was strong. As usual, Linda had been right.
Sally Matherson’s case remained caught in the gears of the appellate process. The verdict would continue to generate more interest than the money would have earned in any low-risk investment, so that was fine by me, too. U-Sav-Plentee threw the Hail Mary pass after losing at trial, because the company always did. Because it could. Barring something completely unexpected, I’d be entitled to forty percent of $2.4 million. But for my divorce—and but for Earl being a gratuitous jerk—I would have cut my fee. Not this time. I had earned every penny. And then some. Plus, I needed whatever I could get for the monthly nut I had to surrender, by decree of the family court judge. Again, I didn’t mind any of it.
We technically had joint custody of the kids. But I didn’t want to disrupt their routine. I’d swing by whenever, wherever. Sometimes with not much notice. Linda was grateful I didn’t push to have them spend the night more often at my new place, so she never resisted any of my requests to pick up the kids for a few hours. I tried to spend more and more time with them individually, in order to have a strong relationship with each child. I realized by November that I’d done more actual parenting over the past year than I had during all of their lives combined. Maybe this really was a good thing.
And I didn’t have a brain tumor, after all. The CAT scan and the MRI were clear. Blood tests were fine. The doctors concluded it was something called Meniere’s disease. I’d never heard of it, one of the many conditions there isn’t one specific test to diagnose, that they just conclude that’s what it is after ruling out everything else it could be. Inner ear situation. It was causing the sudden bouts of nausea. The doctors were surprised I didn’t have vertigo. I didn’t tell them about the hallucinations, if that’s what they were. I took some medication for a while and it got better.
The hallucinations had stopped, if that’s what they were. I didn’t see my father, my mother, or my brother again. And nothing else unusual occurred. Time passed, other issues intervened, and the memory of whatever had happened those few days in late December of the prior year began to fade.
But not completely. Macy came skipping down the walkway from the front stoop a few minutes after I’d sent the text. She was bigger, but not by much. Her hair was longer and slowly getting darker. It seemed destined to land on a shade somewhere between mine and Linda’s, just as the boys’ had. She climbed into the back seat of the car, behind the front passenger seat, so that she could see me more easily when we talked. She badly wanted to be old enough to sit up front, but she accepted the rules.
“Hi Daddy,” she said. “I can’t believe it’s going to be Christmas in only three days.”
“It always flies by,” I said. “Wait until you’re old like me.”
“You’re not old, Daddy.”
“I’m old enough.”
“Old enough to what?”
“To feel old,” I said. “And to know I’m old. But that’s fine. We all get old, if we’re lucky.”
“Nothing,” I said, thinking of Michael and trying not to wonder what it was that made him choose to go without getting the same choice I’d had (if any of that was real), regretting that I didn’t ask him when I had the chance. Our conversation happened so fast that night (if it happened), and it really wasn’t about him. It was about me and my decision. It wasn’t real, I reminded myself. So even if I’d asked him about it, whatever he would have said wouldn’t have been real, either.
“Earth to Daddy,” Macy said, smiling. Her catchphrase from a year ago had morphed into an inside joke we would always share. I looked back at her. She was looking more and more like Linda, but I was starting to see something emerging that was going to make her even prettier, more passionate, more complicated. Maybe someone whose husband would know what he had and not screw it all up.
“So where are we going, Daddy?”
The lisp was gone. Linda finally agreed to prioritize it, maybe because I didn’t fight any of the divorce stuff. A couple months of speech therapy, and it was gone. Like it was never there.
“We’re going to my hometown. We’re going there for the afternoon.”
“Is it far?”
“About a hundred miles. Is that OK?”
“Can we listen to Christmas songs on the way?”
I turned up the volume on the radio. The Little Drummer Boy happened to be playing.
“Pa-rum-pum-pum-pum!” she squealed, with a little laugh that reminded me of my brother, just like every other time I’d heard her laugh since the first time I’d noticed it last Christmas.
We drove and talked and listened to Christmas songs. She sang the ones she knew, and she pointed out to me the ones she didn’t. She asked me questions about growing up, about my parents and my brother. When we weren’t talking I was trying to think of the right way, if there was one, to ask her about the old man and his wife. I didn’t want to say too much, but I was also curious about what she remembered, if she remembered anything. If she actually saw them at all or whether it really was an extremely elaborate hallucination.
After nearly an hour in the car, I blurted it out.
“Macy, do you remember those people we sat with at church last year?”
“The Alexanders?”
“Yes,” I lied. “The Alexanders. What do you remember about last year?”
“We saw them at the store, right? When we were buying all the stuff for the tree.”
“Weren’t they supposed to come to the house for Christmas dinner?”
“You invited them,” I said. “I definitely remember that.”
“I can’t remember why they didn’t come,” she said.
I stole a glance in the rearview mirror. I could see her scrunching her face together, same as she always did when thinking hard.
“They ate with us at Christmas Eve breakfast, too. Right?”
I nodded. I could feel my eyes getting wet, just a little bit.
“They came and sat with us at church,” she said. “I sat between them. They were so nice.”
“Yes. They were.” I turned my head a bit to the left as I drove, hopeful she wouldn’t notice I was getting emotional, something I didn’t expect and something I didn’t want to explain.
“You know how I know you’re not old, Daddy?”
“How’s that, Sweetie?”
“You remember things. Old people don’t remember things.”
“Well,” she said, “they’re old. When I saw them at church the next time and I said hello to them, I don’t think they remembered me.”
I sat quietly for a few miles of the drive, thinking about that one. About what it potentially meant to whatever it was I’d experienced, starting exactly one year ago that same morning.
“It was weird, Daddy. I went up to them and started talking to them. They looked the same, but they didn’t act the same. That’s when I knew old people sometimes don’t remember things.”
I nodded without saying anything.
“So you’re not old, Daddy. Because you remember things.”
We went back to singing Christmas songs for the rest of the drive, until I took the exit that led to the neighborhood where I’d grown up. We drove by our house. It seemed smaller than I remembered, and some of the others had gotten a little run down. But the neighborhood had that same familiar feel. I caught myself looking around to see if maybe they were wandering the streets, or if that big Chevy was parked somewhere. I was both happy and sad to not see any sign of them.
I drove around town to show her the places I knew so well. The small Catholic school where I’d spent so many days. The church next to it. She wanted to see it. I took her inside. It felt, it looked, and it smelled exactly the same as it always did. Two distinct phases of my life intersected, without incident. They coexisted, not collided. I kept looking for them. I saw nothing. I felt nothing. They were gone.
We’re on our way home.
They were home. Whatever had happened last year, they were home.
I checked my phone. It would be dark in less than an hour. I thought about skipping the last stop. Once we were in the car and back on the road, I decided to go there. For the first time since they buried my brother across from my parents.
I hadn’t told Linda I’d been thinking about taking Macy to the cemetery. Maybe Linda assumed we’d stop there. She knew me well enough to know I wouldn’t go back there without visiting their graves. But I didn’t want to traumatize Macy so close to Christmas. So I decided I’d simply explain to her where we were going, and to give her a chance to say she didn’t want to do it.
She didn’t object. She seemed curious. And it’s not as if kids never go to a place like that, I told myself. She needed to go there someday. Today was the right day to do it.
The Audi rolled through the entrance. The front of the cemetery contained the many graves that no one ever visited. The dates on some of the stones were jarring to see. They’d been there a hundred years or longer. I thought back to last year. I wondered where all those people were.
As the car rolled deeper into the field of granite markers or various shapes and sizes, the dates became more recent. I saw a few other cars parked, with one or two people cleaning stones and adorning them with holly or leaving a potted poinsettia. I struggled to remember exactly where they were, but as we got closer, it came back to me. There was one particularly unusual headstone, a large black marker turned into a diagonal that always served as the reminder to me of the right location. I parked the car and popped the trunk.
“You don’t have to come with me, if you don’t want to.”
“I do, Daddy. I want to see where grandma and grandpa are. And Uncle Michael.”
Hearing her say those words caused my eyes to well again. I got out of the car and went to the back. I removed the small box I’d tucked inside and waited for Macy. She didn’t ask me what I had.
She recognized that it was a place for quiet, for solemnity and respect. It made me proud. It made me think that, someday, maybe she’d be bringing her own child to visit me in a place like that. Maybe in that exact same place. I’d never really thought about where I’d be buried. I’d considered cremation. In that moment, I decided not to deprive her of the chance to have a specific place where she could see me, whenever she wanted to. Even if she rarely ever did.
She reached for my hand as we moved slowly over the ground. The grass was softer than it should have been in late December. It allowed us to move in silence toward the destination.
I noticed that someone had been buried that same day, a few rows over. Two men were dismantling the tent that had been erected for the service. They were carrying the pieces toward a truck that had the name of the cemetery painted in block letters on the side.
I turned back and saw the stone, with my parents’ names next to each other under our last name, in all capitals.
Macy pointed with her free hand and said, “Grandma and grandpa.”
We stopped in front of it. I was crying. I noticed that Macy was, too.
“It’s OK, Macy. They’ve been gone a long time.”
“But why do they have to be in the ground? In the dark? Are they scared?”
“They’re not. They’re not down there. That’s just who they used to be.”
Tears rolled over her cheeks, spilling out from behind her glasses.
“They’re home, Macy. They’re home.”
I turned to the other side of the row, where Michael was buried. I saw the year he was born. I remembered clearly when they brought him home from the hospital. I saw the year he died. I tried not to remember anything about that part of it.
I pulled the box open. It was the picture I’d gotten last Christmas. I bent over and placed the frame at the base of his stone, propping it up and making sure it stayed firmly in place.
Macy smiled when he saw it. She then looked confused.
“Don’t you want to keep it?”
“This is a different one. I still have the other one.”
“Is he home, too, Daddy?”
“He is,” I said to her.
“Was he nice?”
“He was. He would love you so much. You remind me of him.”
“Do you think he sees me?”
“I know he does. They all do. Every day.”
“I wish I could see them.”
“Someday, you will. A long, long time from now.”
She seemed to be happy about that, despite the implication. We stood there for a while, not saying anything. I said a silent prayer. I asked him to forgive me for not coming sooner, for forgetting about him for all those years.
We walked back to the car, hand in hand. We’d both stopped crying.
“Where are we going next, Daddy?”
“We’re going home, Macy. And you’re going to have a great Christmas.”
“Not like last year, when you lived with us.”
“It will still be great. I promise.”
I helped her inside the back seat of the car, and I got in front. The men were still working, carrying the pieces of the tent back to the truck. One of them was skinny, with scraggly hair and a ratty mustache.
The setting sun caught something above his eyebrow. It glistened. I could see what it was.
I smiled at him.
He smiled back at me and waved. | 2022-12-20T05:13:33Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | On Our Way Home: Chapter Thirty-two - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/19/on-our-way-home-chapter-thirty-two/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/19/on-our-way-home-chapter-thirty-two/ |
Entering Sunday, Tom Brady was 89-0 when his team led 17-0. Now? Not.
So what happened to Brady and the Bucs, as they saw a 17-0 lead become a 34-23 loss? Brady addressed the subject during the latest episode of his Let’s Go! podcast.
Gray then asked a very pointed and probing question: “You’re so used to winning and now you find yourself in this circumstance. You’ve gone from GOAT by winning that game against New Orleans. Everybody’s saying, ‘How does he keep doing this? He’s just incredible.’ To now what’s happened in the last two weeks. It’s like, ‘Why is he still playing this game?’ Can you talk about just the emotional aspect? Forget about what outsiders think. What’s going on with you internally?”
“It’s a good question,” Brady said. “And it’s interesting because you would think, ‘Oh, well, why is he still playing? Because all you want to do is win, and that’s all sports should be about is winning.’ And I agree it should be about winning, but it’s also, I’m looking at it like, no, what am I learning? What am I learning from putting a similar amount of energy in over the last couple years and not winning? What is that teaching me? You know, why should we feel like we’re just entitled to win all the time? We’re not. That’s not what life’s about. And I think anyone who’s gone through life and struggles at their job or struggles in other aspects of life, when you do put effort and energy into it, you know, what are you learning from that as opposed to, you know, why is that happening to you and for you? You’re not a victim of that. We’re not a victim of losing games. The sun came up today. We’ve got something to do about it. We woke up, we have a chance. This is not the time to feel sorry for yourself. So get up, go into work and make it better, and improve it and work harder and work more determined.”
That sounds a lot like Brady’s comment from three weeks ago, when he said after an overtime loss to the Browns that he’d rather play and lose than not play at all. And it makes it harder not to wonder whether he’ll keep playing in 2023.
Previously, the thinking was he’d only play if he thought he was likely to win. Maybe he’ll finish his career by playing simply for the joy of playing — win, lose, or tie.
3 responses to “Tom Brady: You can’t win when the quarterback turns it over four times”
Looks like you can’t win without Belichick or Arians either.
#LosingRecord
Alot of truth in those comments
YIKES!! If Brady feels he’d rather play and lose than not play at all means he’s never retiring. | 2022-12-20T15:39:56Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Tom Brady: You can't win when the quarterback turns it over four times - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/20/tom-brady-you-cant-win-when-the-quarterback-turns-it-over-four-times/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/20/tom-brady-you-cant-win-when-the-quarterback-turns-it-over-four-times/ |
3 responses to “Matthew Stafford says he isn’t retiring”
I am sure he feels that way now and that is what he should say. However, his neurological system may say differently in the off season. Remember, should he comeback he is not protected by the best offensive line in the league.
Think of your long term health and family first. Chances are you’ve banked enough $$$ to be set for the rest of your life and you’ve won a Super Bowl. Spending your later years in a wheel chair just isn’t worth it.
Whoever has their first round pick next year is happy to hear that news. | 2022-12-20T16:38:28Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Matthew Stafford says he isn't retiring - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/20/matthew-stafford-says-he-isnt-retiring/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/20/matthew-stafford-says-he-isnt-retiring/ |
Linebacker Andre Carter II is the most heralded pro prospect to come out of West Point in many years and an obstacle to his pursuit of an NFL career has been eliminated.
As we noted last week, the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act closed a loophole that allowed athletes from service academies from deferring their five years of service in order to play professional sports. A provision clearing the way for Carter and others to play immediately has been included in the Omnibus Appropriations Measure that is expected to be passed by Congress and signed by President Biden this week, however.
Pete Thamel of ESPN.com reports that the Omnibus Appropriations Measure includes language saying that the new policy governing professional sports “shall only apply with respect to a cadet or midshipman who first enrolls in the United States Military Academy, the United States Naval Academy, or the United States Air Force Academy on or after June 1, 2021.” Carter and others who were enrolled ahead of that date would then be eligible to play while deferring their service.
Carter is expected to take part in the Senior Bowl and most draft analysts expect him to be selected somewhere in the first two rounds of the draft. Only two Army players have been drafted since 1969 and both of them were selected in the seventh round. The last Army first-round picks were Glenn Davis and Tex Coulter in 1947.
2 responses to “Bill allowing Army’s Andre Carter II to play in NFL right away is expected to pass this week”
So a football player gets special consideration but any other student who also may have another option doesn’t? He isn’t the only one with another option in those academies and some could make millions in private business but they have to keep their commitment, so should the jocks.
Good. He is an ambassador to the branch and West Point. Him playing in the NFL will do more good for our Armed Services than bad. | 2022-12-20T16:38:40Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Bill allowing Army's Andre Carter II to play in NFL right away is expected to pass this week - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/20/waiver-could-allow-armys-andre-carter-ii-to-play-in-nfl-right-away/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/20/waiver-could-allow-armys-andre-carter-ii-to-play-in-nfl-right-away/ |
The Panthers can win the NFC South by winning their final three games of the season and kick returner Andre Roberts could be part of that push.
Roberts was designated for return from injured reserve on Tuesday. He can be activated at any point in the final three weeks, so he could be in the lineup against the Lions this weekend.
Roberts injured his knee in the season opener and has not played in the last 13 games. He returned one punt for 10 yards and two kickoffs for 35 yards in that game.
While he’s made a modest contribution to the Panthers, Roberts is a three-time Pro Bowler and one-time All-Pro as a returner and having him in the lineup would give the Panthers a chance of making a big play in the kicking game before the season is over. | 2022-12-20T17:43:20Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Panthers designate Andre Roberts for return from IR - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/20/panthers-designate-andre-roberts-for-return-from-ir/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/20/panthers-designate-andre-roberts-for-return-from-ir/ |
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts is dealing with a right shoulder sprain as the team moves toward Saturday’s game against the Cowboys and he said on Tuesday that he’s not getting ahead of himself when it comes to his availability for that divisional matchup.
Hurts told reporters on Tuesday that there is “definitely a chance” that he’ll be well enough to play against Dallas, but that he’s going to go through the full practice week before any determination is made about his status. Taking that time will also allow Hurts to be sure that he won’t be playing at less than full strength because that could hurt the team’s chances of winning.
“Ultimately, I want to do what’s best for the team,” Hurts said, via Ed Kracz of SI.com. “It’s a thing where you take it one day at a time. I think the best thing for me is being ready to play and being of best health and that’s a day-by-day thing.”
One win in the final three weeks of the season will clinch the top seed in the NFC playoffs for the Eagles, so there’s little reason for them to push things with Hurts this weekend unless there’s no doubt that he’s fully ready to go.
8 responses to “Jalen Hurts: I want to do what’s best for the team”
Get well soon, Jalen.
This fan of the 13 – 1 Philadelphia Eagles continues to be impressed with the maturity of our young QB.
Don’t think he will see the field Saturday but certain he will be available in the Divisional Round to provide the traditional early ending for the overhyped Dallas franchise, assuming Dallas makes it past Tampa!
As much as I want to see Philly and Dallas go at it full strength, I’d rather see Jalen lift the Lombardi in February.
Minsue mania is back in action baby!
Im rooting for the Eagles big time in these next 2 so that they can take the day off vs my Giants in the season finale. Something tells me that the Giants will need that last game to get into the playoffs.
When the playoffs start I’ll be rooting for Philly to get knocked out in the divisional round.
I would think that they would not start him this week. Let him rest and heal. They will dominate the last two games.
He’s absolutely playing. Put it in the book and press it. | 2022-12-20T22:14:56Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Jalen Hurts: I want to do what's best for the team - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/20/jalen-hurts-i-want-to-do-whats-best-for-the-team/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/20/jalen-hurts-i-want-to-do-whats-best-for-the-team/ |
Ravens wide receiver Devin Duvernay is out for at least four weeks.
Duvernay, who suffered a foot injury in practice today, was placed on injured reserve today. That means he has to miss at least four weeks, which would mean he’s out through the wild card round of the playoffs.
Given that the Ravens made the determination to put Duvernay on injured reserve so quickly after the injury, it seems like a long shot that he’ll be back no matter how deep into the postseason the Ravens go.
Duvernay is third on the Ravens in both catches (37) and receiving yards (407) this season, and he’s second on the team with three receiving touchdowns. The Ravens claimed Sammy Watkins off waivers today, but there’s no way to fully replace Duvernay at this point in the season. | 2022-12-20T23:15:04Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Ravens put Devin Duvernay on injured reserve - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/20/ravens-put-devin-duvernay-on-injured-reserve/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/20/ravens-put-devin-duvernay-on-injured-reserve/ |
Garbage time of the Monday night game between the Rams and the Packers included a conversation between the members of the broadcast booth that was anything but.
On Tuesday, Packers coach Matt LaFluer vaguely confirmed the accuracy of comments made on the air by Joe Buck and Troy Aikman of ESPN.
They said LaFleur had told them things began to change when the offense started watching practice film together, and not in individual groups. A reporter asked LaFleur about it.
“Yeah that’s something that just thinking back in previous years, we had done that, most of the time together and then after that first year, again we had a more veteran group of wideouts and we allowed it to, just from an efficiency standpoint and a detail standpoint, allowed the position groups to meet independently of one another in some instances,” LaFleur said, via Kalyh Kahler of TheAthletic.com. “Now, I would say, I can’t remember what week it was, but we decided to start watching . . . every practice together as a whole unit.”
Asked why it took so long, LaFleur said, “That’s just the way it transpired.”
And that directly contributed to the sluggish manner in which the season transpired.
Buck said, via Kahler, that the practice of watching film as an offensive unit helped make an overdue connection between quarterback Aaron Rodgers and rookie receivers Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs.
“LaFleur said it changed when we all started watching tape of both our Wednesday and Thursday practices together as a group, so we could talk and Aaron can hear what Christian Watson is thinking and Romeo Doubs, and not only that but get to know them as people which maybe humanized him and took a little bit of the pressure off,” Buck said.
“When LaFleur said that, I was shocked that they hadn’t been meeting all along,” Aikman replied. “I’ve been on both sides of it, I have had [offensive coordinator] who had it where you always met with your individual position coach and not as a group and I have had others where the whole offense, excluding linemen, met and that worked best. I think that’s the way to go and my guess is LaFleur will do it that way the rest of his time as a head coach. . . . The more time you can have with the skill players, the more you can be in the room watching the practices together and even the opponent film, the better off you are going to be, especially when you are talking about young receivers like Watson and Romeo Doubs.”
It’s obviously right. And it’s amazing that Rodgers wasn’t insisting on it — or (if true) that he was resisting it.
Then training camp started, Rodgers showed up with his Arthur Shelby haircut, and Watson and Doubs had to try to perform while also being naturally in awe of their new quarterback — and also probably a little (or more than a little) intimidated and even afraid of him. Especially after he started calling them out generally for making mistakes or not going above and beyond the call of duty and working when not at work.
It’s a jarring failure of Rodgers either to understand the importance of making a real human connection with his new teammates or to take steps to improve a situation that he actually knew would make it harder for Watson and Doubs to get as comfortable, and in turn as effective, as they can be.
The good news is that it’s finally working. So, better late than never. Unless it was so late that they’ll never make it to the playoffs this season. | 2022-12-21T11:42:30Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Matt LaFleur confirms, vaguely, that offense wasn't watching practice film together - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/21/matt-lafleur-confirms-vaguely-that-offense-wasnt-watching-practice-film-together/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/21/matt-lafleur-confirms-vaguely-that-offense-wasnt-watching-practice-film-together/ |
The Seahawks have lost four of their last five games. But Kansas City knows Seattle will still pose challenges, particularly at quarterback this week.
Head coach Andy Reid had plenty of good things to say about what head coach Pete Carroll has accomplished with Geno Smith when asked about the Seahawks first year post-Russell Wilson.
“I’ve always been a Geno fan,” Reid said in his Tuesday press conference. “I like his game. I like the kid. We brought him in here, smart kid. He’s had this career that’s been up and down, but he’s in a good place now. I know Pete is using him and he’s doing very well.”
Smith leads the league with his 71.4 percent completion rate. He’s thrown for 3,671 yards with 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was also asked about Smith’s 2022 on Tuesday.
“First off, every throw he throws is like a perfect spiral,” Mahomes said in his press conference. “I know that gets taken for granted in this league. But, he throws a perfect spiral every throw. He’s getting those receivers going. They have two great receivers with a lot of other guys too that have a lot of speed. And so, he’s able to get those receivers going and take the shots from there, but take the underneath. And they’ve had a lot of young guys step up. And so, Geno’s done a great job of taking advantage of what’s there. And that’s why he’s had such a great season.”
The Chiefs have won the AFC West to guarantee themselves a home playoff game. But with the conference’s No. 1 seed still up for grabs, Kansas City still has plenty to play for through the last three weeks of the regular season.
3 responses to “Andy Reid: I’ve always been a Geno Smith fan”
Andy is very very sneaky. Nothing to see here. Looking for bulletin board material, check with the Patriots…
Sounds like Andy’s getting his mustache marker out…
Sure you were. You were the only one until this year, if so. | 2022-12-21T16:09:42Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Andy Reid: I've always been a Geno Smith fan - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/21/andy-reid-ive-always-been-a-geno-smith-fan/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/21/andy-reid-ive-always-been-a-geno-smith-fan/ |
There was a lot of attention paid to the weather heading into last Saturday night’s game between the Dolphins and Bills in Buffalo, but the impact of snow on the game was mainly limited to fans throwing snowballs from the stands.
Snow did start falling again in the fourth quarter without having any real impact on play, so Bills offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey didn’t have to alter the game plan in order to adapt to the conditions. Dorsey had made contingency plans for the weather during the week, however, and he’s doing the same thing ahead of this Saturday’s game in Chicago.
A “bomb cyclone” storm is expected to unleash snow, wind, and freezing cold temperatures over much of the country in the coming days. That’s led Dorsey to put together another set of plans to make sure the Bills can handle anything Mother Nature throws their way.
“It’ll be kind of similar to this week. We’ll do the same thing just so we’re not putting ourselves in tough situations,” Dorsey said, via the team’s website. “We always try and make sure we’ve got those contingency plans.”
The Bills are currently in the No. 1 spot in the AFC playoff picture and finishing the year in that spot would set them up for more home games during the postseason. January in Buffalo could bring more snow, wind and cold, so Dorsey will be hoping he’s factoring the weather into his plans for gameday several more times this season.
2 responses to “With “bomb cyclone” storm looming, Bills OC Ken Dorsey developing “contingency plans” for Chicago”
“Bomb Cyclone” is a new term for me. Sounds like it would be the name of a hip hop album from the late 80’s.
The latest is that the snow is not going to be that bad.
However, subzero temps and high winds will make it brutal.
Soldier Field is right on the lake so it is going to be a tough day for players, coaches, refs, and fans. | 2022-12-21T16:10:13Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | With "bomb cyclone" storm looming, Bills OC Ken Dorsey developing "contingency plans" for Chicago - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/21/with-bomb-cyclone-storm-looming-bills-oc-ken-dorsey-developing-contingency-plans-for-chicago/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/21/with-bomb-cyclone-storm-looming-bills-oc-ken-dorsey-developing-contingency-plans-for-chicago/ |
The late Franco Harris, who died Wednesday at 72, became iconic for his role in the greatest play in NFL history. Franco caught the ball that became the Immaculate Reception, and he scored the game-winning touchdown against the Raiders.
Franco appeared Tuesday on SiriusXM Mad Dog Radio with Chris Russo. The Hall of Famer explained his thought process of the play.
“When the ball is in the air, I tell myself, ‘Go to the ball. Go to the ball,'” Harris said. “That’s what Joe [Paterno] preached to us all, all four years at Penn State. Always go to the ball. And when he threw that ball, automatically, my mind said, ‘Go to the ball.’
“And so I start taking some steps to the ball, and I remember nothing after that. Which is — it blows my mind that I have no visual, no recollection, no memory of anything until I’m stiff-arming Jimmy Warren going into the end zone.”
Franco said he was amazed at how quickly it all happened. Those who saw it are even more amazed that nearly 50 years have gone by, and that Franco is so quickly and suddenly gone. | 2022-12-21T16:34:30Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | In final radio interview, Franco Harris sums up Immaculate Reception: "Go to the ball" - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/21/in-final-radio-interview-franco-harris-sums-up-immaculate-reception-go-to-the-ball/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/21/in-final-radio-interview-franco-harris-sums-up-immaculate-reception-go-to-the-ball/ |
The Browns face the Saints on Saturday in what’s expected to be frigid conditions on the shores of Lake Erie.
A few of Cleveland’s key players remain out of practice on Wednesday.
According to multiple reporters on the scene, running back Nick Chubb (foot), defensive end Myles Garrett (illness), defensive end Jadeveon Clowney (concussion), and safety John Johnson (thigh) did not practice for the second consecutive day.
Receiver Amari Cooper (core muscle) and offensive tackle Jack Conklin (likely rest) were working off to the side during the session.
The Browns have won two of their three games since Deshaun Watson became QB1 after his 11-game suspension. If the club is to win its final home game of the season, having at least Chubb and Garrett available will likely be critical to defeating New Orleans. | 2022-12-21T19:48:24Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Nick Chubb, Myles Garrett remain out of practice on Wednesday - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/21/nick-chubb-myles-garrett-remain-out-of-practice-on-wednesday/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/21/nick-chubb-myles-garrett-remain-out-of-practice-on-wednesday/ |
Bills quarterback Josh Allen was listed as limited on Buffalo’s Tuesday injury report with his right elbow issue.
Allen has said that he’ll have to manage the elbow injury throughout the rest of the season. But apparently, a little rest was exactly what Allen needed.
“It feels good,” Allen said of his elbow during his Wednesday press conference. “I think yesterday was more just a — obviously, it was a walk-through so just trying to limit the throws and be smart with that. But, it felt really good today — it felt really good. So, I’m glad the training staff decided to kind of keep me limited yesterday. I haven’t felt that good in a long time.”
While Allen’s elbow may privately be affecting him, his performance has not diminished since suffering the injury in the Week Nine loss to the Jets. The quarterback was named the AFC offensive player of the week earlier on Wednesday after throwing for 304 yards with four touchdowns and rushing for 77 yards in the 32-29 victory over the Dolphins.
Overall this season, Allen has completed 63.7 percent of his passes for 3,857 yards with 30 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He’s rushed for 705 yards with six TDs, though he also has 12 fumbles.
The Bills will take on the Bears this weekend, apparently with Allen’s arm feeling as good as ever. | 2022-12-21T20:45:32Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Josh Allen: Elbow felt "really good" after limiting throws yesterday - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/21/josh-allen-elbow-felt-really-good-after-limiting-throws-yesterday/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/21/josh-allen-elbow-felt-really-good-after-limiting-throws-yesterday/ |
Commanders edge rusher Chase Young tore his ACL on Nov. 14, 2021, but also ruptured a his patella. Dr. James Andrews used a graft from the tendon in Young’s left knee to repair Young’s right knee. That made his recovery longer than normal.
More than a year later, Young still has not returned to game action.
“I wish it was a faster process, but it is what it is,” Young said, via video from Ben Standig of TheAthletic.com. “. . . Just being patient. Got to be patient.”
Young has taken criticism from fans who don’t realize why it has taken longer for his return than an ACL typically takes. Young said “eventually” everyone would know the full extent of his injury.
He returned to practice Nov. 2 and has limited practices in every practice since his activation to the active roster Nov. 21.
“Every day I feel like I’m getting better. Every day I feel like I’m getting stronger, more comfortable,” Young said. “Just got to keep going, continuing that.”
Young didn’t offer any idea about when he might return to game action, saying he continues to take it “day by day.”
“We’ve got a good plan. I’m just sticking to that,” Young said.
3 responses to “Chase Young on staying patient: I wish it was a faster process, but it is what it is”
No fans are upset by the constant cat and mouse he/the team keep playing. If he wasn’t going to be ready why was he activated in November? He basically will have taken up a roster spot for 2 months without stepping on the field. That’s the issue.
If I had a dollar for every time an athlete said “it is what it is” I would have enough cash to buy an NFL franchise.
This guy’s career is on a Da’Quan Bowers trajectory. Not encouraging. | 2022-12-21T21:34:17Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Chase Young on staying patient: I wish it was a faster process, but it is what it is - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/21/chase-young-on-staying-patient-i-wish-it-was-a-faster-process-but-it-is-what-it-is/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/21/chase-young-on-staying-patient-i-wish-it-was-a-faster-process-but-it-is-what-it-is/ |
Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett had already announced the plan for Russell Wilson to be back behind center as the starting quarterback in Week 16.
He reiterated that plan for Sunday’s game against the Rams in his Wednesday press conference, saying Wilson will be “‘full go.”
“He’s full go, we’re full go, he’s full go,” Hackett said, via Troy Renck of ABC7 Denver. “It’s about winning the football game.”
As for what Hackett would like to see from the quarterback, the head coach said he wants Wilson to continue to build on what he was doing against the Chiefs before he suffered a concussion late in the contest.
“We want to see him execute, get the ball out of his hands when that’s there,” Hackett said. “And if something happens, yes, we don’t want him to stay in the pocket and take a hit – we want him to use his legs and protect himself.”
Wilson’s 2022 has been forgettable, but there were a bunch of flashes from him in that game against the Chiefs. He finished the contest 23-of-36 for 247 yards with three touchdowns. He also had a season-high four rushes for 57 yards.
in 12 games this season, Wilson has passed for 2,805 yards with 11 touchdowns and six interceptions. His 2.8 percent touchdown rate and 85.0 passer rating would easily be the worst marks in those categories in his career. | 2022-12-21T21:34:30Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Nathaniel Hackett on Russell Wilson: He's full go, it's about winning the football game - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/21/nathaniel-hackett-on-russell-wilson-hes-full-go-its-about-winning-the-football-game/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/21/nathaniel-hackett-on-russell-wilson-hes-full-go-its-about-winning-the-football-game/ |
2 responses to “Report: Ryan Tannehill “very likely” out for the season”
With tannenhill getting injured, the jags will probably overtake TEN to win the south. Presuming the current WC teams hold, the AFC playoffs are gonna be a dogfight. However, the Jags are gonna be the team no one wants to face in the first round. The first round bye will matter big time.
The Titans are going to move on from the Tannehill experiment. Us Dolphins fans know he is good enough to keep his job for a while but not good enough to get you to the post season or go deep into the playoffs. | 2022-12-22T02:20:57Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Report: Ryan Tannehill "very likely" out for the season - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/21/report-ryan-tannehill-very-likely-out-for-the-season/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/21/report-ryan-tannehill-very-likely-out-for-the-season/ |
The Cardinals will start their third quarterback in four weeks. Trace McSorley gets the starting nod with Kyler Murray out for the season with a knee injury and Colt McCoy out with a concussion.
McSorley has played seven career games in four seasons, but he has never started.
“Having a few years under my belt, knowing how the NFL operates, how a week of practice goes, it’ll be my first start but being in my fourth year,” McSorley said, via Darren Urban of the team website. “There are things that come with my first start, but [experience] helps me a little bit.”
He has completed 15 of 29 passes for 166 yards and three interceptions this season with 34 yards on five rushing attempts in three appearances.
“I hate to use the term gamer, but he’s got a lot of moxie,” Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury said. “Teammates respond to that well.”
The Cardinals have lost four in a row and six of seven with Tom Brady and the Bucs up next. Brady, 45, is one of only three quarterbacks to throw every pass for his team this season, along with Jared Goff and Geno Smith.
Brady will make his 331st career regular-season start Sunday in McSorley’s first start.
“He’s the GOAT, no other way to say it,” McSorley said. “But I’m going against their defense, not him.” | 2022-12-22T02:21:09Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Trace McSorley: It will be my first start, but I've been in the league four years - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/21/trace-mcsorley-it-will-be-my-first-start-but-ive-been-in-the-league-four-years/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/21/trace-mcsorley-it-will-be-my-first-start-but-ive-been-in-the-league-four-years/ |
Former Broncos running back Ronnie Hillman has died at the age of 31.
Hillman’s family announced his death late on Wednesday night. The family said in a statement earlier this week that Hillman was diagnosed with renal medullary carcinoma in August and that he was in hospice care in Atlanta. The statement said, via TMZ, that it is “rare but highly aggressive neoplasm form of cancer that primarily affects young African Americans with sickle cell trait.”
Hillman was a 2012 third-round pick by the Broncos and he spent four years with the team before wrapping up his career with one year split between the Vikings and Chargers. Hillman was part of Denver’s Super Bowl 50 championship team during his time with the Broncos and he led the team with 863 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns during the 2015 regular season.
He had 494 carries for 1,976 yards and 12 touchdowns and 74 catches for 524 yards and a touchdown in 56 career regular season games. He also had 56 carries for 145 yards and four catches for 27 yards in the postseason.
Our condolences go out to Hillman’s family, friends, and loved ones on their loss. | 2022-12-22T13:04:19Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Former Bronco Ronnie Hillman dies at 31 - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/22/former-bronco-ronnie-hillman-dies-at-31/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/22/former-bronco-ronnie-hillman-dies-at-31/ |
On Thursday, the NFL announced an agreement with Google that will make Sunday Ticket exclusively available on YouTube TV and YouTube Primetime Channels starting in 2023.
In the announcement, the league said only that it was a multi-year agreement. PFT has learned, via a source, that the deal runs for seven years.
Google is reportedly paying $2.5 billion per year for the rights to Sunday Ticket, which will now be available to a broader set of customers than have been able to access it through DirectTV.
The service will be an add-on for YouTube TV and a standalone option for YouTube Primetime Channels. Pricing for those options has not been announced, but a significant change from current prices is not expected due to existing deals with CBS and Fox.
1 responses to “Source: Sunday Ticket, Google/YouTube deal runs for seven years”
I have YTTV and it works just fine. Works better than Prime and their worthless ability to record and then to try to navigate through the game. YTTV is superior with that regard. | 2022-12-22T16:08:15Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Source: Sunday Ticket, Google/YouTube deal runs for seven years - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/22/source-sunday-ticket-google-youtube-deal-runs-for-seven-years/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/22/source-sunday-ticket-google-youtube-deal-runs-for-seven-years/ |
Patriots coach Bill Belichick isn’t willing to say that starting quarterback Mac Jones‘ job is safe.
Asked directly whether the plan is for Jones to start the final three weeks of the season, Belichick didn’t answer, instead just saying they’re focused on this week’s game against the Bengals.
“Yeah, the plan is to try to beat Cincinnati,” Belichick answered Wednesday.
Jones had perhaps the worst game of his career in Sunday’s loss to the Raiders, completing just 13 of 31 passes for 112 yards. The Patriots lost in spectacular fashion at the end, but it’s surprising that the game was even close with Jones completing just 41.9 percent of his passes and averaging just 3.6 yards per pass.
Belichick has acknowledged that the Patriots’ passing offense needs to improve, but he isn’t saying whether that improvement will come in the form of benching his quarterback.
“There’s always things that everybody can improve on every week,” Belichick said. “Just point those out on the film and try to correct them. That’s players, coaches, every position, that’s what it always is.”
Rookie backup quarterback Bailey Zappe started two games while Jones was injured this season, and the Patriots won both of those games, and some fans want to see Zappe get another chance. Belichick isn’t giving those fans what they want just yet, but he isn’t ruling it out, either.
3 responses to “Bill Belichick did not answer directly when asked if Mac Jones will start final three games”
ejvyas says:
Season is over. Test the bench strength and try out new things to see if something works.
However, BB is super conservative – unless Pats are mathematically eliminated (and he has time to think) he would not change the offense or defense or ST.
Jones tantrums and hysterics isn’t helping his cause. I think odds are better than 50-50 the Patriots have a new starter next year.
Hopefully it’s not Crappe unless the Patriots are aiming for the top of the 2024 draft.
kayes says:
Belichick isn’t the greatest when it comes to drafting players. Drafting Jones in the first round was a mistake. Move on and continue to search for that guy.
We’ve seen enough from Jones, he stinks. | 2022-12-22T16:42:31Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Bill Belichick did not answer directly when asked if Mac Jones will start final three games - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/22/bill-belichick-did-not-answer-directly-when-asked-if-mac-jones-will-start-final-three-games/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/22/bill-belichick-did-not-answer-directly-when-asked-if-mac-jones-will-start-final-three-games/ |
1 responses to “David Bakhtiari may return to practice on Friday”
Love Bakh, great player, seems to be a great teammate. However, his being in and out of the lineup has contributed to the unsettled nature of the offensive line. Next year it may time to roll with Nijman and Tom as the tackles. | 2022-12-22T18:53:22Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | David Bakhtiari may return to practice on Friday - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/22/david-bakhtiari-may-return-to-practice-on-friday/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/22/david-bakhtiari-may-return-to-practice-on-friday/ |
The Chiefs have a pair of players who may be activated off injured reserve for Saturday’s game against the Seahawks. But at this point, one looks more likely to play than the other.
In his Thursday press conference, head coach Andy Reid made it seem like he’s anticipating tight end Blake Bell being available for this weekend. But the outlook isn’t as clear for receiver Mecole Hardman.
“I feel pretty good about Bell,” Reid said, via Pete Sweeney of ArrowheadPride.com. “Mecole, I’m not sure he’s where he needs to be, but we’ll talk to him and just see.”
Reid added he’ll check with the training staff and Hardman and make a decision on whether or not to activate him. Hardman has been dealing with an abdominal injury and is trying to put back on the weight he lost.
“Yeah, he’s working at it like crazy,” Reid said. “I wish I could do that and just eat whatever I wanted. He’s working on that. He’s getting better there, but we’re just going to see.”
Bell is set to make his season debut after undergoing hip surgery. His return has some urgency this week as Jody Fortson is out with an elbow injury. He did not practice all week.
Defensive tackle Khaled Saunders (illness) is doubtful after he didn’t practice all week. Defensive end Mike Danna (illness) is questionable. He didn’t practice on Tuesday and Wednesday but was a full participant on Thursday. Safety Deon Bush (illness) is also questionable, though he was a full participant on Thursday. | 2022-12-22T21:23:00Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Chiefs unsure if Mecole Hardman will return, plan to activate Blake Bell - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/22/chiefs-unsure-if-mecole-hardman-will-return-plan-to-activate-blake-bell/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/22/chiefs-unsure-if-mecole-hardman-will-return-plan-to-activate-blake-bell/ |
Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett is set to play against the Panthers on Saturday after missing last Sunday’s game with a concussion and he will be sporting a new look in his return to action.
The concussion was the second of the season for Pickett and he said on Thursday that doctors recommended he wear a different helmet with additional padding in the back in hopes of better protecting him if he hits his head on the turf as he did in Week 14. Pickett was initially cleared to keep playing after that hit, but left after three plays because he reported issues with his vision and “not feeling good” when he came off the field.
Pickett’s helmet will also feature a visor that he has not worn in the past because it offered more protection than the face mask by itself.
“The face mask gap is too wide,” Pickett said, via Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com. “I don’t know who designed this one, but it’s just a little too wide where a fist can literally go through it. I don’t wanna get punched in the face on Saturday, so I was like, ‘You know what, I’ll probably wear a visor, and we’ll be good to go.'”
Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth wears a similar helmet after suffering multiple concussions and the team will be hoping both players can avoid further head injuries this season. | 2022-12-22T21:23:30Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Kenny Pickett wearing different helmet, adding visor after second concussion of the year - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/22/kenny-pickett-wearing-different-helmet-adding-visor-after-concussions/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/22/kenny-pickett-wearing-different-helmet-adding-visor-after-concussions/ |
Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson plans to play through a broken wrist on Saturday, but he says that’s just part of the job.
Hendrickson said doctors have told him that he won’t make his wrist injury any worse by playing through it, the only issue is that he’s going to feel a lot of pain.
“Just about pain. It’s going to be painful,” Hendrickson said, via Paul Dehner of TheAthletic.com.
So why is Hendrickson willing to tough it out with a painful broken bone? He says that’s what teammates do for each other.
“At this point in the season we have spent more time together than we have with our family and we are a family. They would lay it on the line for me and there are guys whose livelihoods are at stake,” Hendrickson said.
Hendrickson would be within his rights to say he can’t go, but with the Bengals fighting for a playoff berth and eager to return to the Super Bowl, it would take more than a broken wrist to keep him off the field.
2 responses to “Trey Hendrickson: Playing with broken wrist will be painful, but we lay it on the line for our team”
Trey you’re a stud for doing this, but every work a day jerk that has to go into the “office” and is salary or overtime spends more time with their co-workers than their families…likes for a 4 day work week.
What’s not to love about this guy! Seems like the Bengals have a locker room full of guys like this, who have bought into Zac Taylor’s leadership. | 2022-12-22T22:11:27Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Trey Hendrickson: Playing with broken wrist will be painful, but we lay it on the line for our team - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/22/trey-hendrickson-playing-with-broken-wrist-will-be-painful-but-we-lay-it-on-the-line-for-our-team/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/22/trey-hendrickson-playing-with-broken-wrist-will-be-painful-but-we-lay-it-on-the-line-for-our-team/ |
Sam Williams transported to hospital after a car crash
Cowboys defensive end Sam Williams was transported to the hospital Thursday after a car crash, CBS 11 reports.
The crash happened at 2:15 p.m. after practice and not far from the team facility
A black Infiniti heading northbound was trying to make a left turn and hit Williams’ black Corvette, which was headed southbound.
Williams and the other driver had minor injuries but were taken to the hospital “mainly as a precaution,” Plano police told the news station.
Police were uncertain whether the driver of the Infiniti would receive a ticket, a Class B misdemeanor.
Williams, a rookie, has 20 tackles, three sacks and a forced fumble in 13 games this season. | 2022-12-22T23:42:45Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Sam Williams transported to hospital after a car crash - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/22/sam-williams-transported-to-hospital-after-a-car-crash/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/22/sam-williams-transported-to-hospital-after-a-car-crash/ |
Christmas season is in full and complete bloom, with Christmas Eve just two days away. If you’re in the Christmas spirit or if you need some help getting there, we’ve got something for you.
A new Christmas story, one that hopefully lands somewhere at the intersection of A Christmas Carol and It’s A Wonderful Life.
I wrote it last December. I spent some time refining it this year. I decided before Thanksgiving to post it on PFT as a very minor token of appreciation for the time you’ve spent here over the years. So we started loading it up, one chapter (sometimes two) per day.
Obviously, I had concerns about how it would be received. Any type of creative endeavor invites criticism, perhaps relentless. Possibly deserved. What has amazed me about this one is that, at a time when I’m constantly sifting through good and not good feedback in the emails I get on a regular basis (and I welcome your input on anything), everyone who has read the book and who has opted to contact me about it has said they enjoyed it.
That’s ultimately what I wanted to do. The stuff we write here is temporary, fleeting. Today’s posts are tomorrow’s digital fish wrap, to be replaced by a new crop of stories that will become obsolete just as quickly. I wrote Playmakers to have something with a little longer shelf life. I drifted into fiction because I like reading, I realized I like writing, and I was surprised to realize that, contrary to my own expectations, it’s not complete and total crap.
Today’s the perfect day to decide for yourself whether On Our Way Home is or isn’t complete and total crap, because the story starts on December 22 and it continues through December 26.
So grab you phone. Pull up the landing page. And start clicking on chapters. Try Chapter One. If you’re intrigued by how it ends to go to Chapter Two, do it. It will likely entice you to take a look at Chapter Three.
If you make it that far, you’ll possibly be hooked. Rip through all of them. If you get there by Christmas morning, it may enhance your appreciation of everything you have, and it may renew your commitment to the relationships in your life that mean the most to you. And to properly honor the memory of those who are no longer with us.
Again, it’s all free. If you read it, let me know what you think. Let me know if you have questions. Let me know if you want me to making something else like this available, or whether I should stick to my day (and night and weekend) job of covering the NFL.
Hell, some of you may prefer that I write books in lieu of covering the NFL. Unfortunately, that’s one Christmas wish that won’t be filling up your hand as quickly as something else will. | 2022-12-22T23:42:51Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | This is the best day to start reading On Our Way Home - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/22/this-is-the-best-day-to-start-reading-on-our-way-home/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/22/this-is-the-best-day-to-start-reading-on-our-way-home/ |
The Seahawks listed running backs Ken Walker and DeeJay Dallas as questionable to play in Saturday’s game against the Chiefs because of ankle injuries, but that doesn’t sound like the best label for their chances of being in the lineup.
Head coach Pete Carroll discussed the status of the two backs after Thursday’s practice and he indicated that both of them are going to be in the lineup. Walker is dealing with back spasms in addition to his ankle issue, but Carroll said he’s on track to play.
“He’s OK,” Carroll said, via the team’s website. “I’ve got to wait and see. He had something, little spasms or something today, but he looked good yesterday, so he should be ready to go.”
Carroll said Dallas was limited in Thursday’s practice because he’s “done enough to show us he can play” after missing the last two games. Tight end Noah Fant (knee) and wide receiver Marquise Goodwin (wrist, ankle) were also listed as questionable and were given similar outlooks by Carroll heading into a game the Seahawks need to have to keep their playoff hopes percolating. | 2022-12-23T13:55:11Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Seahawks expect to have Ken Walker, DeeJay Dallas on Saturday - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/23/seahawks-expect-to-have-ken-walker-deejay-dallas-on-saturday/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/23/seahawks-expect-to-have-ken-walker-deejay-dallas-on-saturday/ |
Bradley Chubb: I want to be more dominant
The Dolphins traded for Bradley Chubb before the deadline in the hope that he’d boost their defense to a higher level over the second half of the season.
Chubb has provided 12 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 10 quarterback hits and a forced fumble in six games for the Dolphins, but the team has gone 3-3 and Chubb made it clear on Thursday that he thinks there’s still a lot more he can be doing to boost his team’s fortunes.
With a playoff berth within reach for the Dolphins over the final three weeks, they’d certainly take a more dominant Chubb against the Packers on Sunday and for the rest of the regular season. | 2022-12-23T14:29:51Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Bradley Chubb: I want to be more dominant - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/23/bradley-chubb-i-want-to-be-more-dominant/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/23/bradley-chubb-i-want-to-be-more-dominant/ |
The Bengals will have to wait at least another week for tight end Hayden Hurst to return from his calf injury.
While Hurst was initially listed as questionable for Saturday’s matchup against New England, Cincinnati has now downgraded Hurst to out.
Hurst was limited in all three days of practice this week. He said that he was preparing as if he were going to play against the Patriots. But now the team has decided to keep him sidelined.
Hurst has not played since the Week 13 win over the Chiefs.
In his first year with the Bengals, Hurst has 48 receptions for 400 yards with two touchdowns in 12 games. | 2022-12-23T18:24:58Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Bengals downgrade Hayden Hurst to out - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/23/bengals-downgrade-hayden-hurst-to-out/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/23/bengals-downgrade-hayden-hurst-to-out/ |
The mall was locked down for roughly an hour.
The Giants, in town for Saturday’s game against the Vikings, stayed in a hotel adjacent to the Mall of America. Giants executive V.P. of communications Pat Hanlon told the Associated Press that he believes some players were in the mall when the shooting happened.
The shooter remains at large. Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges had some tough talk for the perpetrator, and for anyone who may provide assistance to the guilty party.
“We are going to catch you, we are going to lock you up and you are going to get an orange jumpsuit,” Hodges said, via the AP. “It’s just a matter of when it’s going to happen. . . . If anybody helps these people — I mean so much as buy them a Happy Meal, give them a ride . . . . We’re going to lock you up with them.”
The Mall of America has no metal detectors or other obvious devices to deter the bringing of guns onto the premises. When the NFL made the mall the site of radio row in the week before Super Bowl LII, the absence of any obvious measures of that nature was jarring, frankly.
Hodges told the AP that the mall continuously evaluates security measure, such as placing metal detectors at all entrances.
“If we have an incident where someone decides they want to pull out a gun and shoot somebody with a complete lack of respect for human life, then I still don’t know what we can do to stop that,” Hodges said.
In theory, I suppose you can’t. But you can keep it from happening inside the mall, where hundreds if not thousands of people routinely gather — and where bystanders can get caught up in what otherwise would be an isolated incident of violence.
The question is whether the mall and its various businesses are willing to spend the money necessary to properly secure the premises. If/when people stop going there because of it, those metal detectors will be installed the very next day. | 2022-12-24T12:06:40Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Giants believe some players were in Mall of America during Friday night's shooting - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/24/giants-believe-some-players-were-in-mall-of-america-during-friday-nights-shooting/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/24/giants-believe-some-players-were-in-mall-of-america-during-friday-nights-shooting/ |
If you’re stuck at home in the cold, settle in with On Our Way Home
It’s currently miserable in much of the country. There’s no reason to leave the house. There’s every reason to find a way to stay warm, relax, and enjoy the imminent arrival of Christmas Eve and Christmas morning.
We’ve got something for you to help pass the indoor hours, and to help enhance the holiday mood. It’s On Our Way Home, the Christmas story I wrote last December and decided to post, one chapter at a time, this year.
All chapters are available here. I continue to get feedback from those who ripped through it. One specific email that arrived last night made it clear that every single minute spent writing, revising, revising, and writing was worth it.
The story has relevance to many, for a variety of reasons. It could provide the inspiration to repair a broken relationship or to enhance a relationship that could be inching toward the breaking point or to more fully embrace the memory of a lost loved one during this holiday season, and beyond. If nothing else, you will be (or at least should be) entertained by it.
If you’re not entertained, you can always stop. But I continue to believe that, if you get through Chapter Two or Chapter Three (most are in the range of 2,000 words), you’ll keep going through all thirty-two.
Again, it’s free. I’m not making a penny from it. I just want people to read it and hopefully enjoy it and possibly be moved by it.
1 responses to “If you’re stuck at home in the cold, settle in with On Our Way Home”
Thanks florio, some free Christmas reading was a nice free gift for us all. Along with all the NFL news and info we get all year. Been coming here forever, have a good Christmas Mike. | 2022-12-24T12:06:46Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | If you're stuck at home in the cold, settle in with On Our Way Home - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/24/if-youre-stuck-at-home-in-the-cold-settle-in-with-on-our-way-home/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/24/if-youre-stuck-at-home-in-the-cold-settle-in-with-on-our-way-home/ |
A lawsuit filed earlier this year against Cowboys owner Jerry Jones continues to move forward, with a new requirement that he submit to a paternity test.
Alexandra Davis, 26, initiated the case in March against Jones, seeking among other things to establish that he is indeed her father. A motion with the court to compel him to be tested was filed in October, and a hearing occurred on Tuesday.
Via the Dallas Morning News, the court issued the ruling on Thursday. By Friday, lawyers representing the 80-year-old multi-billionaire had already initiated the process of appealing the ruling.
The lawyers argued that, because Davis was born during her mother’s first marriage, the presumed father should be her mother’s husband. Her lawyers argued that, based on a court ruling from Arkansas, she does not have a presumed father.
Although the lawsuit has been characterized as an effort to extort money from Jones, attorney Andrew Bergman insists that Davis merely wants to establish that Jones is her father.
“We’re not asking anything,” Bergman said Friday, via the Dallas Morning News. “It’s just a legal right to have a parent. I think this has been a very emboldening endeavor for her. . . . The irony is I think Jerry Jones would be really proud of her if he really knew her.”
Regardless of how it all plays out, it’s sad — especially during Christmas week. Maybe someone will be visited by a trio of ghosts tonight, and the whole thing will be resolved on Sunday morning. | 2022-12-24T12:06:58Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Judge orders Jerry Jones to submit to paternity test - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/24/judge-orders-jerry-jones-to-submit-to-paternity-test/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/24/judge-orders-jerry-jones-to-submit-to-paternity-test/ |
The conditions in Cleveland are frigid cold, with temperatures in the single digits and the wind chill at -14.
The Browns have taken a lead with what could be one of the very few scores in Sunday’s game against the Saints, with quarterback Deshaun Watson running in a 12-yard touchdown.
Cleveland got the ball for an extra possession on an interception. An Andy Dalton pass intended for Juwan Johnson went off the receiver’s hands and into the waiting arms of safety Grant Delpit. Delpit returned the ball all the way to the New Orleans 30-yard line, setting up Cleveland with great field position.
The home team took advantage of it with Nick Chubb rushing for a first down. Then on third-and-3, Watson took a designed run to the left and went into the end zone untouched for his first rushing touchdown for the Browns.
Cleveland has just 40 yards of offense and is 1-of-4 on third down, whereas the Saints have 61 yards and are 2-of-6 on third down.
Offense is going to be hard to come by, but it’s not going to be easier for New Orleans. The club may not have left guard Andrus Peat for the rest of the game as he’s questionable to return with an ankle injury. | 2022-12-24T19:04:45Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Browns take 7-0 lead with Deshaun Watson 12-yard touchdown run - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/24/browns-take-7-0-lead-with-deshaun-watson-12-yard-touchdown-run/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/24/browns-take-7-0-lead-with-deshaun-watson-12-yard-touchdown-run/ |
Move over Randy Moss because Justin Jefferson is now holds the Vikings record for single-season receiving yards.
Jefferson broke the mark with his second catch of Saturday’s home game against the Giants. The 25-yard pickup moved Jefferson up to 1,649 yards on the season, which leaves Moss’ 1,632 yards in second place.
Jefferson added a 13-yarder later in the drive, so he’s continuing to make progress toward Calvin Johnson’s NFL record of 1,964 yards for a single season.
Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins capped the record-setting drive with a 12-yard touchdown pass to tight end T.J. Hockenson. The Vikings now lead 7-0 with just over three minutes left to play in the first quarter.
1 responses to “Justin Jefferson sets Vikings single-season receiving yard record”
I’m going to borrow an oldie but goodie from my friend Mike. “Another year, another loss in the divisional round.” Got to go back in time for that one! | 2022-12-24T19:04:54Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Justin Jefferson sets Vikings single-season receiving yard record - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/24/justin-jefferson-sets-vikings-single-season-receiving-yard-record/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/24/justin-jefferson-sets-vikings-single-season-receiving-yard-record/ |
The first quarter of Saturday’s game against the Patriots has gone very well for the Bengals with a couple of exceptions.
Kicker Evan McPherson hasn’t been able to make his extra points and right tackle La'el Collins has been carted to the locker room.
Collins went down after players rolled up on his left leg during a play on the Bengals’ third offensive possession and several of his teammates frantically waved to the sideline for help. Collins was able to walk off the field on his own power, but was carted to the locker room after a sideline evaluation.
The Bengals were able to keep driving after losing Collins, but had a Joe Mixon touchdown run waved off due to a holding penalty. McPherson was able to hit his first field goal try of the day and Cincinnati leads 15-0 early in the second quarter.
UPDATE 1:51 p.m. ET: Collins has been ruled out with a knee injury. | 2022-12-24T19:05:01Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | La'el Collins carted to locker room, Bengals up 15-0 - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/24/lael-collins-carted-to-locker-room/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/24/lael-collins-carted-to-locker-room/ |
Derrick Henry’s 48-yard touchdown run gives Titans an early lead
The Texans-Titans was delayed by an hour because of the bitter cold being a strain on the power grid in Tennessee. It didn’t take long to Derrick Henry to heat up.
Henry already has three carries for 55 yards.
He scored on a 48-yard touchdown run with 8:48 remaining in the first quarter.
The Titans lead 7-0.
The Titans went three-and-out on their first drive, losing 9 yards, but they then held the Texans to a three-and-out.
Tennessee went 60 yards on only five plays on its second drive.
Malik Willis is 2-for-2 but for only 3 yards. | 2022-12-24T20:33:41Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Derrick Henry's 48-yard touchdown run gives Titans an early lead - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/24/derrick-henrys-48-yard-touchdown-run-gives-titans-an-early-lead/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/24/derrick-henrys-48-yard-touchdown-run-gives-titans-an-early-lead/ |
The Giants can wrap up a playoff berth with the right set of results this weekend and all of them require them to beat the Vikings.
They got off to a slow start on that front, but they’ve finally gotten on the scoreboard. Daniel Jones hit wide receiver Isaiah Hodgins for a seven-yard touchdown in the second quarter to cut the Vikings’ lead to 10-7.
Jones had the Giants moving well on their previous drive as well, but tight end Daniel Bellinger coughed the ball up on a hit by Vikings linebacker Brian Asamoah and Asamoah was able to recover it for a Vikings takeaway. That set up a Greg Joseph field goal.
Jones is 12-of-16 for 109 yards so far. Hodgins has been his favorite target and is now up to four catches. | 2022-12-24T20:33:47Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Giants cut Vikings lead to 10-7 - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/24/giants-cut-vikings-lead-to-10-7/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/24/giants-cut-vikings-lead-to-10-7/ |
3 responses to “Panthers running over Lions with 203 yards, 3 TDs on the ground before halftime”
The Lions Super Bowl was 2 weeks ago
Same old Lions….
Hmmm, here was my comment on the Lions last week……
What have I been telling the world?! The FUTURE of FOOTBALL is The DETROIT LIONS!!
You can see this coming, can’t you? Lions fans thrilled to be at 7-7. Guaranteeing a wildcard. Somehow, some way, it will all come crashing down before the end of the regular season. | 2022-12-24T20:34:17Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Panthers running over Lions with 203 yards, 3 TDs on the ground before halftime - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/24/panthers-running-over-lions-with-203-yards-3-tds-on-the-ground-before-halftime/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/24/panthers-running-over-lions-with-203-yards-3-tds-on-the-ground-before-halftime/ |
Vikings lead Giants 10-7 at halftime
The Vikings won’t need a furious second half comeback to win this week.
Minnesota scored the first 10 points of this Saturday’s game against the Giants and they went into the locker room with a 10-7 halftime lead at home. The Giants will get the ball to start the second half and it looked for a moment like they might have a chance to add some more points before the half.
An apparent interception and return into field goal range by cornerback Fabian Moreau was wiped out by a pass interference penalty that gave the Vikings the ball near midfield with one second left on the clock. Kirk Cousins was sacked while trying to load up for a Hail Mary, so the half ended without further incident.
Cousins hit tight end T.J. Hockenson for the only Vikings touchdown of the first half and the quarterback finished the half 15-of-20 for 142 yards. Five of the completions went to wide receiver Justin Jefferson, who now has 116 on the season. The Vikings’ single-season record is 122 catches by Cris Carter, so that could change in the second half. If so, it will be a double record day for Jefferson as he passed Randy Moss for the franchise record for the most receiving yards in a single season earlier in the half.
Daniel Jones is 14-of-19 for 146 yards and a touchdown to Isaiah Hodgins, but a Daniel Bellinger fumble and a couple of Vikings sacks have helped keep them from putting any more points on the board. | 2022-12-24T20:34:43Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Vikings lead Giants 10-7 at halftime - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/24/vikings-lead-giants-10-7-at-halftime/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/24/vikings-lead-giants-10-7-at-halftime/ |
Bills stay atop the AFC with big second half in win over Bears
It wasn’t an easy win, but after trailing at halftime the Bills dominated the second half on a cold and windy day in Chicago with their AFC lead intact.
Winning 35-13 in Chicago clinched the AFC East for the Bills, and it ensured that they’ll be the No. 1 team in the AFC heading into Week 17. If they win their final two games, the road to the Super Bowl in the AFC will go through Buffalo.
Bills quarterback Josh Allen didn’t look like an MVP today, throwing two interceptions against a bad Bears pass defense, but he did enough, including a rushing touchdown with 3:45 left in the fourth quarter that sealed the win.
The loss drops the Bears to 3-12 on the season. It hasn’t been a good year in Chicago, but Justin Fields has given the Bears reasons for optimism, and a high first-round draft pick along with the most salary cap space in the NFL could mean good things for the Bears in 2023.
The Bills, however, aren’t ready to think about next year. They’re all-in for the Super Bowl this year, and another win today puts them another step closer.
1 responses to “Bills stay atop the AFC with big second half in win over Bears”
Someone let the NFL and Bills know that the Dolphins and Jets actually won the AFC East in September and the first week of November. Silly NFL. | 2022-12-24T21:33:58Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Bills stay atop the AFC with big second half in win over Bears - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/24/bills-stay-atop-the-afc-with-big-second-half-in-win-over-bears/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/24/bills-stay-atop-the-afc-with-big-second-half-in-win-over-bears/ |
Titans linebacker Bud Dupree can’t catch a break.
He left Saturday’s game early with a chest injury and is questionable to return.
Dupree threw his gloves into the stands as he departed for the locker room, which probably isn’t a good sign for his return.
The Titans also list offensive lineman Nicholas Petit-Frere (ankle) as questionable to return.
Tennessee leads 14-13 with 7:25 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Titans took the 14-10 lead on a 14-yard run by rookie quarterback Malik Willis, who now has four carries for 28 yards.
Derrick Henry has run for 108 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries. | 2022-12-24T21:34:04Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Bud Dupree questionable to return with chest injury - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/24/bud-dupree-questionable-to-return-with-chest-injury/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/24/bud-dupree-questionable-to-return-with-chest-injury/ |
Don’t look now, but the Carolina Panthers might host a playoff game in three weeks.
The Panthers steamrolled the Lions 37-23 today, keeping their hopes of winning the NFC South alive. With a very big game looming next week against the Buccaneers, the Panthers just need to keep winning and they’ll clinch the division title.
For the Lions, the loss was a huge disappointment: After starting 1-6, they had clawed their way back into the wild card race by winning six of their last seven. But today’s loss makes it very unlikely that Detroit can make the playoffs.
The Panthers’ running game was dominant, with running backs Chuba Hubbard and D'Onta Foreman both topping 100 rushing yards before halftime. And Panthers quarterback Sam Darnold has been surprisingly effective in the last month.
It’s to the credit of Panthers interim head coach Steve Wilks that he has this team in contention: When the Panthers fired coach Matt Rhule and traded running back Christian McCaffrey, many people thought they were tanking on the season. Instead, they’re two wins away from a playoff game in Carolina. | 2022-12-24T21:34:34Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Panthers stay alive in NFC South race with dominant win over Lions - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/24/panthers-stay-alive-in-nfc-south-race-with-dominant-win-over-lions/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/24/panthers-stay-alive-in-nfc-south-race-with-dominant-win-over-lions/ |
The Patriots looked like they were on to their offseason vacation in the first half of Saturday’s game against the Bengals, but they’re showing some life in the second half.
Mac Jones hit Kendrick Bourne for a five-yard touchdown to cut Cincinnati’s lead to 22-12 with 12:58 left to play. The Bengals were up 22-0 at the break.
The Patriots’ two-point try was not successful, however, so they’ll need two more scores to tie or take the lead.
New England’s first touchdown came on the latest big play by rookie defensive back Marcus Jones. He picked off a Joe Burrow pass and returned it 69 yards for a score to put the Patriots on the board in the third quarter. Jones has also scored on a reception and a punt return this season.
Jones hit Bourne for 32 yards to set up the touchdown pass and he is now 14-of-21 for 126 yards on the day. If the Patriots defense can hold up, he’ll have a chance to add to those totals while trying for an improbable comeback win.
5 responses to “Patriots close within 22-12 early in fourth quarter”
Patriots benefit from another shady looking interception.
Great idea Bill keeping your best receiver on the bench until today. He’s really productive there I can tell.
Patriots get another benefit of an awful call. That’s a fumble & then get even luckier with the TD on an immaculate reception play
Serves them right missing the XP
I’m up from my Xmas eve nap, did i miss anything? | 2022-12-24T21:34:40Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Patriots close within 22-12 early in fourth quarter - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/24/patriots-close-within-22-12-early-in-fourth-quarter/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/24/patriots-close-within-22-12-early-in-fourth-quarter/ |
The Ravens closed in on a playoff berth, doing their part with a 17-9 victory over the Falcons. They officially clinched when the Patriots lost to the Bengals.
The Ravens are 10-5, and the Falcons fell to 5-10 and were eliminated from playoff contention after losing six of their last seven.
Baltimore ran for 184 yards and gained 299 total yards.
Gus Edwards led the way with 99 yards on 11 carries. J.K. Dobbins ran 12 times for 59 yards, and Tyler Huntley went for 26 yards on 11 carries and ran for a two-point conversion.
Huntley also completed 9 of 17 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown, a 6-yard pass to Demarcus Robinson.
The Falcons had 327 yards, but they couldn’t find the end zone. They settled for Younghoe Koo field goals of 32, 34 and 37 yards in going 0-for-4 in the red zone.
The Falcons also turned it over on downs and lost a fumble in Baltimore territory.
Desmond Ridder went 22-of-33 for 218 yards, and Tyler Allgeier had 18 carries for 74 yards. | 2022-12-24T21:34:46Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Ravens hold off Falcons 17-9 with 184 rushing yards to clinch playoff berth - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/24/ravens-hold-off-falcons-17-9-with-184-rushing-yards/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/24/ravens-hold-off-falcons-17-9-with-184-rushing-yards/ |
The Saints are a dome team that doesn’t often have to play in frigid cold conditions.
But with sub-zero wind chills on the shores of Lake Erie in Cleveland on Sunday, the Saints came away with a 17-10 victory over the Browns to stay alive in the chase for the NFC South title.
New Orleans was down 10-0 midway through the second quarter. But the team scored 17 unanswered points to come back and win.
Wil Lutz got the Saints on the board with a 23-yard field goal as time expired in the first half. Then on the first drive of the second half, New Orleans drove down the field and scored on an 8-yard run by Taysom Hill to tie the game 10-10.
Safety Dan Sorensen intercepted a Deshaun Watson pass late in the third quarter, which led to Alvin Kamara putting in the go-ahead score with a 4-yard run.
The Browns had a chance to tie the game late in the fourth quarter with four plays from New Orleans’ 15-yard line. But three Watson passes fell incomplete before Watson was sacked on fourth down to seal the loss.
Watson ended up throwing 31 passes — far too many for a game in those conditions. He completed only 15 of them for 135 yards with an interception. He had three carries for 24 yards, including a 12-yard touchdown run.
Nick Chubb had 24 carries for 92 yards, but Kareem Hunt had just 8 yards on seven carries.
Hill was particularly effective running it and he didn’t attempt a pass. He finished with nine carries for 56 yards. Kamara had 76 yards on 20 carries plus a pair of catches for 34 yards.
Andy Dalton was just 8-of-15 passing for 92 yards with an interception.
With the victory, the Saints have won back-to-back games for the first time in 2022 and stay alive in the NFC South race.
The 6-9 Browns have been eliminated from postseason contention with their loss.
1 responses to “Saints beat Browns 17-10, stay alive in NFC South”
Fire Stefanski TODAY | 2022-12-24T21:34:52Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Saints beat Browns 17-10, stay alive in NFC South - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/24/saints-beat-browns-17-10-stay-alive-in-nfc-south/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/24/saints-beat-browns-17-10-stay-alive-in-nfc-south/ |
Jaguars defensive lineman Dawuane Smoot is out for the rest of the season.
Smoot left Thursday night’s win over the Jets late in the fourth quarter and word on Friday was that the team feared he tore his Achilles. Smoot confirmed that diagnosis in an Instagram post on Saturday.
Smoot’s injury came at MetLife Stadium and the turf at the home of the Jets and Giants has come in for much criticism over the years. There are plans to change the surface before the 2023 season, but that’s likely of little consolation to Smoot. | 2022-12-24T23:57:37Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Dawuane Smoot confirms he tore his Achilles - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/24/dawuane-smoot-confirms-he-tore-his-achilles/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/24/dawuane-smoot-confirms-he-tore-his-achilles/ |
Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson has been one of the most productive offensive players in the league since his rookie year and he set a pair of franchise records in Sunday’s 27-24 win over the Giants.
Jefferson’s second catch of the day went for 25 yards and pushed him past Randy Moss for the most receiving yards by any Viking in a single season. His final catch set up Greg Joseph‘s game-winning field goal and gave him 123 catches on the year.
Cris Carter had 122 catches twice during his time in Minnesota, so Jefferson now owns each of those records. He’s also broken Moss’ franchise record for catches by a rookie and his NFL record for the most receiving yards through a player’s first three seasons, but he said after the game that he’s still chasing the Hall of Famer.
“It’s a blessing,” Jefferson said, via Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press. “It’s an honor to break his record, to be in the conversation. But he has the golden jacket. That’s what I want at the end of my career, so I’m still chasing him for sure.”
Carter also has a gold jacket and the two former Vikings might not be the only record holders that Jefferson passes before the season is over. Jefferson is now No. 7 in a single season with 1,756 receiving yards and 209 more yards in the final two weeks would push him past Calvin Johnson for the top spot. If he could get them all next weekend, Jefferson would set the mark in the same 16 games that were available to Johnson in 2012.
6 responses to “Justin Jefferson: Randy Moss has the golden jacket, so I’m still chasing him”
It’s great to have the face of the franchise be a likeable classy person.
Whats really scary is if the Eagles would gave drafted him. There all ready a dam good team.how unstoppable they could be?
Jefferson, Hockenson, Darrrisaw, O’Neal, and Cook are what’s driving this team.
Cousins seems tough and passes well with protection, but his inability to move in the pocket is crazy bad.
Yeah, so far this kid is way more likeable than Diggs OR Peterson.
first class act !
JJ’s just doing his job.
He does it very well. | 2022-12-24T23:57:55Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Justin Jefferson: Randy Moss has the golden jacket, so I'm still chasing him - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/24/justin-jefferson-randy-moss-has-the-golden-jacket-so-im-still-chasing-him/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/24/justin-jefferson-randy-moss-has-the-golden-jacket-so-im-still-chasing-him/ |
There are a few games left in Week 16 and two full weeks left in the regular season, but 49ers tight end George Kittle thinks one award race has already come to an end.
49ers defensive end Nick Bosa had two sacks, four quarterback hits, and a forced fumble in Saturday’s 37-20 win over the Commanders. He now has 17.5 sacks, 42 quarterback hits, and two forced fumbles during a season that Kittle believes should end with his teammate taking home the defensive player of the year award.
“I think today secured his defensive MVP,” Kittle said, via Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com. “I don’t know how it doesn’t. If you look at what he does every Sunday compared to everyone else around the league whether it’s offense or defense, I don’t know why he’s not in the MVP conversation, too . . . Every single day he’s just an absolute monster. All the sacks, they’re earned and deserved. He’s fantastic. He’s never not good.”
Bosa needs two sacks to tie Aldon Smith’s franchise record and said he’s “kind of eyeing” that number and said he feels “like I’m kind of living out my dream” by producing at this level for a team with Super Bowl aspirations.
Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons is likely his top competition for defensive player of the year, but it feels like Kittle is right about where things are headed with the final stretch of the season left to go. | 2022-12-25T13:16:52Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | George Kittle thinks "absolute monster" Nick Bosa secured defensive player of the year Saturday - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/25/george-kittle-thinks-absolute-monster-nick-bosa-secured-defensive-player-of-the-year-saturday/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/25/george-kittle-thinks-absolute-monster-nick-bosa-secured-defensive-player-of-the-year-saturday/ |
It’s Christmas morning. All is calm. All is bright. Or something.
Eleven football games were played on Saturday. Three are coming today, for the first time ever on an NFL Christmas.
The first game has significant postseason implications, with the very-much-alive (thanks to Saturday’s results) Packers facing the less-alive-than-three-weeks-ago-but-still-in-good-shape Dolphins. The second game, well, we won’t mention that one.
The third game features the Cardinals hosting a Buccaneers team that is under pressure to remain a game ahead of the Saints and Panthers in the NFC South. And it could be the last time we ever see Tom Brady in a nationally-televised game, especially if they fail to win the division.
The NFL isn’t the only one with gifts today. We’ve brought back the Playmakers free signed and personalized bookplate promotion, for a very limited time. Buy the book, follow the instructions, and your bookplate will arrive, for placement inside your copy of Playmakers. (If you’ve purchased it since December 21, you qualify for the free bookplate.)
Finally — and you just knew I was going to squeeze this in — you can read at no charge whatsoever On Our Way Home, a Christmas novel I wrote last year and decided on a lark to post, one chapter at a time throughout late November and December. (Currently, all of it is available.)
On Thursday, I heard from a reader who suffers from severe PTSD. It prevents him from feeling anything, happiness, sadness, or anything in between. He read On Our Way Home, and he said it “touched me emotionally in a way that I have not felt in years.”
Even if no one else ever reads it, that one message was worth every minute spent working on it. Hopefully, more of you will give it a try. It will remain available through the holidays.
Above all else, we wish you a safe and happy holiday season, and a great 2023. We appreciate the time you spend here, especially as more and more options for your attention are constantly emerging.
4 responses to “Merry Christmas, now go get your gifts”
Merry Christmas Mike. Thanks for providing such great content over the years.
You guys are the only ones keeping football fans Alive during the off-season. Thanks for your hard work, and Happy Holidays!
I’m inspired that despite your numerous responsibilities you made time to pursue this writing passion and produce a novel. Bravo! | 2022-12-25T15:34:17Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Merry Christmas, now go get your gifts - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/25/merry-christmas-now-go-get-your-gifts/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/25/merry-christmas-now-go-get-your-gifts/ |
Cam Heyward leads the team onto the field with a #32 flag to honor Franco Harris. (Justin Berl / Getty)
News from a holiday weekend:
Dak Prescott got tired of throwing pick-sixes, and he told me memories of getting whipped by his brothers toughened his hide so the Cowboys could delay Philly’s clinching party Saturday in Texas.
No way Miami’s not worried about Tua. In the Dolphins’ four-game losing streak, Tua Tagovailoa’s a 52.7-percent passer, and his inaccuracy was shocking on his three fourth-quarter interceptions to lose to Green Bay Sunday. How will he recover if he blows a playoff spot that seemed such a lock when Miami was 8-3 a month ago?
Tennessee, the AFC’s top seed last year, is 10th in the AFC this morning. Every bit of 10th, actually. And the Titans, on a five-game losing streak for the first time in Mike Vrabel’s tenure, will likely have to win at Jacksonville to make the playoffs this year.
The Vikings can’t play a game that’s a rout. They’re 12-3, and their last 11 wins have been one-score games, including the 27-24 win over the spunky G-Men that required a 61-yard field goal at the gun.
New England is kaput, and the Pats are 24-25 since Tom Brady flew south.
Justin Jefferson’s average game: 8.2 catches, 117.1 yards. Jerry Rice never averaged 117.1 yards a game in his life.
Justin Herbert makes the playoffs for the first time with a win at Indianapolis tonight. How cool would Justin Herbert at Joe Burrow in the Wild Card round be?
Justin Tucker, again, outscored the Baltimore offense. Amazing the Bengals still feel the hot breath of the Ravens on their necks. It’s because Tucker is not bad at his job.
I have no more Justin nuggets. Sorry. Three’s my limit.
Josh Jacobs of the 6-9 Raiders leads the NFL rushing race by 110 yards over Derrick Henry of the 7-8 Titans with two games left. Jacobs didn’t sound happy about much as he parka-ed up in Pittsburgh Saturday night. “It’s bull—-,” he said of another Raider loss, and then repeated it in case those of us in the back didn’t hear.
“We’re not sexy,” Carolina coach Steve Wilks tells me. I’ll tell you what the Panthers are: two wins from hosting a playoff game in three weeks.
Much admiration for the Texans, who lost one-score games to Dallas and Kansas City and then went to Nashville and held the paper-tiger Titans to 14 points.
Niners-Bengals Super Bowl? They’re each on at least a seven-game win streak; the Niners’ eight is the best in the league. Factoid That Will Make Sean McVay Vomit: On Oct. 17, the Rams and Niners both woke up with 3-3 records. Since that day, San Francisco is 8-1, the Rams 1-7.
Man, those poor Bills. Buffalo’s reward for winning its sixth straight: spending Christmas Eve in a Chicago hotel, unable to get home because the Buffalo airport’s closed till Monday morning.
When Patrick Mahomes scraped the pylon with his diving rushing TD against Seattle, it was the latest example of The Talented Mr. Gumby showing us why he deserves his second MVP.
R-E-L-A-X. So Aaron Rodgers said there was a chance. There was, and is. After the upset of the Dolphins Sunday, Green Bay makes the playoffs by beating the Vikes and Lions at home, and Washington losing to either Cleveland or Dallas. Rodgers at the Vikings on Wild Card Weekend, getting comfier with his rookie receivers by the week, is a prospect the Purple World would dread.
Russell, Russell, Russell. Found myself thinking of this after Russell Wilson’s second pick put the Broncos in a 17-0 hole at SoFi Sunday: If the Broncos cut him after the season, they’d incur a $107-million cap charge. I jest, I jest. I think. By the way, the Broncos being down to this cut-to-the-quick version of the Rams 31-6 at the half might be the biggest and most damning indictment of the Hackett/Wilson regime, and that is saying something.
More now from Pittsburgh, a team that won’t soon forget the night the franchise retired the third Steelers number ever.
“For Franco”
(Justin Berl / Getty)
Games of the Weekend
1. No good team needed a huge win more than Dallas. The Cowboys were down 10-0 early, tied it at 17-17 before halftime, then got down 27-17 in the third quarter, tied it at 27-27 to start the fourth quarter, then scored 13 points in the last six minutes. So: Dallas 40, Philadelphia 34. Most impressive to me was Dak Prescott throwing a pick-six on his second straight drive (closing the loss at Jacksonville last week, and on the opening Dallas drive in this game), then coming back in the last 54 minutes to complete 78 percent of his throws with three touchdowns and no picks while getting beat up pretty consistently. Loved Prescott hanging in there. After the game, I asked him about his mental state after throwing the 42-yard pick-six to Josh Sweat that put the Cowboys in a 10-0 hole.
2. Running can be sexy, to some. The Panthers rushed 43 times for 320 yards, a 7.4-yard average, and the result was predictable: Carolina 37, Detroit 23. Talk about bursting the bubble of all the good feels for the Lions, who came in on a 6-1 roll. It’s the 6-9 Panthers who exited this game looking like much more of a playoff threat than the Lions. And, of course, Carolina can win the NFC South by sweeping games at the Bucs and Saints. Pretty crazy, after starting 2-7.
3. The Bengals won fairly ugly, but in this stretch, who really cares? Cincinnati bolted to a 22-0 lead at Foxboro and hung on, thanks to one of my Goats of the Week, Rhamondre Stevenson, getting the ball punched out by safety Vonn Bell inside the Bengals’ 10-yard line to clinch the game late. Cincinnati 22, New England 18.
Think of what the Bengals have done in their seven-game winning streak. Every one of those wins except Cleveland at home has come against a team currently fighting for the playoffs, or a team that’s qualified for the playoffs. Amazingly, the Bengals might have the toughest last two games too: Buffalo and Baltimore, both at home. They may need wins in both to win the AFC North. The Bengals, 11-4, are a game up on 10-5 Baltimore, but the Ravens own the tiebreaker after a week five win over the Bengals.
A Giant Anniversary
Fifteen years ago this week, on Dec. 29, 2007, the 15-0 New England Patriots traveled to New Jersey to try to finish an undefeated season against the New York Giants, who, in a playoff sense, had nothing to play for. They were locked in as the fifth seed in the NFC playoffs, due to play at Tampa Bay in the first round of the playoffs, win or lose in Week 17.
It’s one of the best regular-season games I’ve covered as a football writer, which is paradoxical. Why was a game with two teams locked into their playoff positions so good? The Patriots had clinched home-field advantage through the AFC playoffs entering that night, yet played like it was a playoff game because of the potential for an undefeated season. The Giants, after beating Buffalo the previous weekend, also had nothing to play for.
Tom Coughlin doesn’t play meaningless games, however. I’m glad to see the Giants’ coach that day has written a book now, A Giant Win (written with Greg Hanlon, Grand Central Publishing) to commemorate that championship season for the franchise—with special attention paid to the Saturday night game on the final weekend of that regular season.
Coughlin on the game, and on his decision to play his full team against the Patriots:
“As soon as we won the previous week, you know how this goes because it’s scripted somewhere for the writers. ‘OK, coach, you gonna play your starters against New England?’ It started right away. I listened to that a little bit. I thought to myself, ‘We are the New York Giants. We are the flagship team of the National Football League. We are red, white and blue. I am not going to allow that future historians would look back upon this game, where the Giants would play the Patriots, the Patriots having a chance to have an undefeated season, and the New York Giants do not put their best foot forward. We are going to play our starters. We are going to play to win.’
“When I told our team that on Monday, they rallied. They wanted to play against the 15-0 New England Patriots. If you remember, we’re leading in the fourth quarter. We got the lead. It’s one of those games where, they beat us, but when we walked off, we knew we could play with them.”
In the eyes of many, it was a 35-38 Giants’ victory over New England. Coaches hate moral victories, but this was one for the Giants. It was also memorable for New England, of course, finishing a perfect 16-0 regular season by beating back a gallant bid for a big upset by a heavy underdog. I remember Tom Brady and Randy Moss in the New England locker room post-game. They couldn’t stop smiling. Brady was downright giddy.
He wouldn’t be giddy five weeks later, but that’s another story. When I spoke to Coughlin recently about the game, it was a pre-dawn memory the next day that stood out.
“I gotta tell you one more story because this is what will be most meaningful,” he said. “It was a great performance. I’m really proud of my team. That’s a team that’s 16-0, we know we can play with them. All that stuff. Next morning at 5 o’clock I come into my office and I see the red light’s on the phone. A voicemail. I pick up the phone and it’s John Madden. He’s saying, ‘Tom, I just wanted to call. Because I want you to know that is the greatest thing that’s happened to the NFL in the last 10 years.’ He said, ‘This is the National Football League—we don’t not play our players. We owe a responsibility to our fans to perform every day. That’s what you did. I’m just so proud to be a part of that. I’m so proud of what you’ve accomplished and what your team has accomplished.’ He said, ‘I’m very emotional right now. But I want you to know how I felt.’ I played it for my team in our next team meeting. It was moving. Very moving.”
The two teams met in the Super Bowl. The Giants beat the previously 18-0 Patriots, 17-14.
Chuba Hubbard and D’Onta Foreman, running backs, Carolina. They would have shared the award had this been a 30-minute game. The Panthers outrushed the red-hot Lions 240-21 in the first half alone, with the job-share Panther backfield-mates each gaining 109 yards. That’s a ridiculous thing to think about, two backs with 100-yard games by halftime. Hubbard and Foreman are making it very possible for Panthers at Bucs next Sunday to be a huge playoff factor.
Joe Burrow, quarterback, Cincinnati. Speaking of ridiculous first-half performances, Burrow had the most damaging half a Bill Belichick defense in New England ever allowed. In building a 22-0 halftime lead in Foxboro against the team that used to be the Patriots, Burrow was 28 of 36 for 284 yards, with two TDs and one pick. Without the pick, deep in Pats’ territory, the boos would have been louder in New England.
Nick Bosa, edge, San Francisco. Despite injuries just about everywhere, including at quarterback, the 49ers have won eight straight, are 11-4, and have the NFC West locked up with two games to go. Bosa had two sacks in Saturday’s win against Washington, bringing his total to an NFL-best 17.5. Bosa also brought down Carson Wentz on a Commanders two-point conversion attempt in the fourth that would have made it a one-score game; it won’t count towards his stat line, but it certainly impacted the game. “That’s a dream,” Bosa told reporters about potentially winning Defensive Player of the Year. “I’ve played this game since I was 7 and played D-line the entire way through and I’ve watched guys throughout the years and wanted to be in that position. I finally feel I’m living out that dream.” The dream is two games away.
Roy Robertson-Harris, defensive lineman, Jacksonville. There are vital moments of a game when a player takes control, and that time Thursday night at the rainy Meadowlands happened with three minutes left in the first half and the Jaguars up 13-3. The Jets had to get something going with a dormant offense before halftime. First down: Robertson-Harris stormed through the line for a sack of Zach Wilson. Second-and-18: Robertson-Harris batted down a Wilson pass. The Jets never seriously threatened after that. Robertson-Harris, even when he wasn’t getting stats, was pushing the pile back into the QB’s face much of the night.
Greg Joseph, kicker, Minnesota. Kick a game-winning 61-yard field goal at the gun to beat the Giants 27-24 and get your team to 12-3, win Special Teams Player of the Week. Hitting all 19 of your field goals inside the 50- for the season is a nice consolation prize too.
Sam Martin, punter, Buffalo. For one punt, really: Late in the second quarter in Antarctica (aka Soldier Field) in minus-6 wind chill, with a 20-mph crosswind in front of him, Martin lined up with his feet in the back of his end zone, ball on the Buffalo four-yard line. He boomed a 46-yard punt to midfield. What a display. He averaged 53.7 yards on three boots—long of 62.
Cameron Johnston, punter, Houston. Needing to pin Tennessee back with 75 seconds left and nursing a 19-14 lead in Nashville, Johnston, the ex-Eagle, placed the ball at the Tennessee four-yard line with a 34-yard nine-iron shot. That was crucial, particularly with the struggling Malik Willis unable to move the Titans. The perfect punt was key in Houston breaking its nine-game losing streak.
Doug Pederson, head coach, Jacksonville. When a coach gets fired 35 months after leading his franchise to its first-ever Super Bowl win, that coach is going to have a stain on him. How bad did this coach let it get in three years for him to be fired? Luckily, Jags GM Trent Baalke didn’t let that overly influence his search. Baalke (plus Shad and Tony Khan) saw a coach who is a teacher, who is a leader, who is very good for a young team that had just been battered by the failed Urban Meyer experiment, and who would be great for Trevor Lawrence. His leadership helped when the Jags were 2-6 and flying home from London in what looked like a lost season. They’re 5-2 since, with wins over Vegas, Baltimore, Tennessee, Dallas and the defensively stout Jets in a monsoon. “We’ve got a smart coach and coaching staff,’’ safety Rayshawn Jenkins said. “We lose in London, we’re 2-6, but there was no panic—just the attitude of, ‘We’re a good team, and we’re going to fix it.’ And at this time of year, he (Pederson) is playing it smart as far as the schedule. He gets us off our feet, he takes care of us, and he makes sure our mental is right. He’s been a player. He knows.” Who would have ever thought we’d be saying 15 games into Pederson’s tenure: You do not want to be playing the Jaguars in January. Pederson and his staff, and Baalke’s personnel decisions, have made that happen.
Goats of the week
Tua Tagovailoa, quarterback, Miami. Tagovailoa’s shocking regression continued in a game the Dolphins needed badly, a 26-20 loss to Green Bay. With the score tied 20-20 early in the fourth quarter, Tagovailoa threw interceptions on Miami’s last three drives of the game—and every one of them was an awful throw, way off target. Green Bay converted the first two picks into field goals, resulting in the last six points of the game.
Russell Wilson, quarterback, Denver. Just when you thought things couldn’t get worse, the roof falls in. Wilson threw three picks in the first 35 minutes of a battle of 4-10 titans in Los Angeles, and the Rams turned the three picks into 17 points. Wilson has had the most disastrous season of any prime-time player in 2022, and it’s not close for second place.
Rhamondre Stevenson, running back, New England. The Patriots had first-and-goal at the Cincinnati five-yard line with 1:05 left in the fourth quarter, down 22-18. Crowd was back in the game after being down 22-0. Here came Stevenson, trying to make up for his lateral that started the nightmarish Chandler Jones miracle runback to cook New England last week in Vegas. He took a handoff from Mac Jones, got smothered, and got the ball popped out by Bengals safety Vonn Bell. Bengals ball. The Patriots got the ball back, though, with 41 seconds left … and on third-and-10, Stevenson dropped a pass that might have given the Patriots a fresh set of downs. Right now, Stevenson’s just not a trustworthy player. The Patriots are 7-8 and will need help—and wins over Miami and Buffalo—to make the playoffs.
Zach Wilson, quarterback, N.Y. Jets. At this point, it’s almost pitiable to watch Wilson try to be competent. In Wilson’s 40 minutes of football Thursday night, he led the Jets to 44 net yards in 28 plays. Embarrassing. Chris Streveler drove the offense 73 yards in his first possession as a Jet. The Jets can’t play Wilson again this year. They’ve got to get him to the offseason and try, try, try to work on his accuracy and confidence. I don’t see it working, but it’s hard to whack the guy you drafted second overall 20 months ago.
You hear [from players], ‘Man, I hate losing.’ I hate losing, too, so maybe we should love preparing and love focusing before the game and doing as much as we possibly can so that we don’t make mistakes in critical times or mental errors. It’s just, how much are we doing outside of the time that we’re at the facility?
–Tennessee coach Mike Vrabel, whose Titans are on a five-game losing streak and are in danger of losing the AFC South to Jacksonville.
It’s hard to be away from your family. You don’t get that time back with your kids, Christmas morning with your kids. But there is a silver lining in there somewhere, and we’ll find it.
–Buffalo coach Sean McDermott, on the Bills being forced to stay in Chicago on Christmas Eve because the Buffalo airport was closed due to the blizzard. The Bills flew to Rochester Sunday and bused back to Buffalo.
His career here is done.
–Amazon Prime Video analyst and former Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick on the struggling (to put it mildly) Zach Wilson, at MetLife Stadium Thursday night.
From one quarterback about another, that’s an amazing statement. But I appreciate Fitzpatrick’s honesty.
A couple of nights before the draft, I had a dream that Pittsburgh drafted me. I called my agent and told him, ‘I had a dream. Can you please call Pittsburgh and tell them not to draft me?’ He didn’t do it. Well, I’ll be doggone. The morning of the draft, I got a call: ‘Congratulations, you’ve been drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers.’ How lucky was I that the football gods didn’t listen to me when I said I didn’t want to come to Pittsburgh? Talk about coming to the right place at the right time.
—Franco Harris, in a recent interview with Ron Cook on 93.7 the Fan in Pittsburgh.
We really don’t know what we’re going to do until we know who we have week to week. I wish I was joking.
—Sean McVay, about the travails of this year’s battered and lost-at-sea Rams.
There’s a reason why Joe Greene and Art Rooney (the late owner) said the Steelers started winning the moment Franco Harris arrived in the first round of the 1972 draft.
Per Gene Collier of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
Steelers in the 100 games before Harris arrived: 26-71-3.
Steelers in the first 100 games with Harris as a Steeler: 74-25-1.
Rust of the Week:
In his four games back as quarterback of the Browns, after 100 weeks away from live football, Deshaun Watson has led three touchdown drives on 43 offensive possessions.
Two passing, one rushing. Average offensive yards per game for the Browns with Watson: 295.
Weather conditions at kickoff for NFL outdoor games Saturday:
New Orleans at Cleveland, 1 p.m. ET: 6 degrees, 26-mph winds, minus-16 windchill.
Buffalo at Chicago, noon CT: 9 degrees, 26-mph winds, minus-12 windchill.
Las Vegas at Pittsburgh, 8:15 p.m. ET: 8 degrees, 16-mph winds, minus-10 windchill.
Seattle at Kansas City, noon CT: 12 degrees, 15-mph winds, minus-4 windchill.
Atlanta at Baltimore, 1 p.m. ET: 17 degrees, 16-mph winds, 2 degrees windchill.
Cincinnati at New England, 1 p.m. ET: 17 degrees, 12-mph winds, 4 degrees windchill.
Houston at Tennessee, 1:02 p.m. CT: 20 degrees, 10-mph winds, 6 degrees windchill.
Detroit at Carolina, 1 p.m. ET: 20 degrees, 10-mph winds, 9 degrees windchill.
Washington at San Francisco, 1:05 p.m. PT: 62 degrees, 1-mph winds, 61 degrees windchill.
Philadelphia-Dallas and Giants-Minnesota had closed roofs.
I'm not sure which Wilson is worse, Russell or Zach.
Michael David Smith, managing editor of Pro Football Talk, after Russell Wilson threw his second interception of the first quarter in Broncos-Rams Sunday, leading to an early 17-0 L.A. lead.
Now, this is an arrival.
pic.twitter.com/BzdiWftHYV
Matt Maiocco covers the Niners for NBC Sports Bay Area.
Saleh we ain’t buying it
The Hall of Fame DB, questioning Jets coach Robert Saleh saying he benched Zach Wilson for a fourth quarterback Thursday night because Chris Streveler could spark the running game.
No one is, Charles.
Classy of the Raiders.
Yesterday on the longest night of 2022, more than 60 of the world's most famous locations turned off their lights in solidarity with Ukraine ❤️
Bless you 🙏🙏🙏 pic.twitter.com/PazDWAVDcX
Mendel is the former spokesperson for Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky.
On Franco. From Rich Simmons: “His death got me thinking about the last time I saw him play—Oct. 28, 1979, Dallas at Pittsburgh. It was not a great game as I recall but Franco had both Steelers scores in a 14-3 win. I have the SI cover on that game framed in my office and got to wondering about how many Hall of Famers were on the field that day. By my count:
Steelers—Mel Blount, Terry Bradshaw, Joe Greene, Jack Ham, Franco, Jack Lambert, Donnie Shell, John Stallworth, Lynn Swann, Mike Webster.
Cowboys—Cliff Harris, Drew Pearson, Jackie Smith, Mel Renfro, Randy White, Rayfield Wright, Roger Staubach, Tony Dorsett.
Plus both coaches, Chuck Noll and Tom Landry, and Art Rooney and Tex Schramm. Didn’t realize I was witness to so much talent!”
Fantastic note Rich. And you forgot Dan Rooney, Gil Brandt and Bill Nunn. Amazing, really, that 25 Hall of Famers were in Three Rivers Stadium that afternoon in 1979.
Tom was at the Immaculate Reception game. From Tom Black, of Kinnelon, N.J.: “Things I remember from the game: Cold, dreary day sitting in the upper deck. Sideline seats. In the pre-game a guy walks up the steps about three sections over from us carrying a platter on which rested a steaming roasted whole pig. (Think we could get that through security today?) The catch: I say, to this day, if anyone says they saw Franco catch that ball they were either watching on TV and/or lying. Safe to say that everyone at the game pretty much looked away when the ball went flying from the Jack Tatum hit. I know I did. Fun being at the game, but glad it ended in regulation. We were cold.”
The steaming pig. Tom, that’s something I will not forget. Email of the month! Thanks a lot.
Angry about my Matt Ryan comparisons in blowing a 25-point lead (in the Super Bowl) and a 33-point lead (last week). From Jim Osterman: “This whole load of (expletive deleted) about Matt Ryan bearing major responsibility for failing in two of the greatest collapses in NFL history is lazy journalism. In neither case did Ryan call the defenses, design the defenses, or play defense. His team’s defense – from the coordinator down to the players – surrendered all those yards and points. Matt Ryan was the quarterback on two TEAMS that suffered epic collapses. He is not the cause of both.”
I didn’t say he was. A reader suggested he wouldn’t make the Hall now, and I said it’s something I thought about, and it’s something that will be part of his Hall of Fame case. I got 20 or so emails with similar sentiments saying it’s outrageous to blame Ryan for the losses. Great guy, great teammate, has had a very good career. But there are facts that cannot be ignored about these two games. Ryan, in 12 series in the Super Bowl loss and the loss to the Vikings, accounted for three points, averaged 4.7 plays and 13.6 yards per drive, and ate up just 2:01 of clock time per drive. That matters. It shouldn’t be everything about his Hall case, and it won’t be. But it does matter.
Jefferson for MVP. From Jeff Johannsen: “If Justin Jefferson finishes with 2,090 yards (breaking 2,000 and Calvin Johnson’s per game average), is Jefferson the MVP?”
I doubt it, Jeff. Not impossible, but MVP is not an award for the player who has the most outstanding season. I know it frustrates some people that what might be the best statistical season a receiver has ever had (if indeed that’s what happens with Jefferson) doesn’t get rewarded with the biggest individual award of the year. The word “valuable” makes it hard for a quarterback not to win it because the position is so vital in the game.
Mark doesn’t like part of my MVP reasoning. From Mark T., of Shaolin, N.Y.: “It just boggles my mind how you keep insisting there can never be two MVP candidates on the same team. Just to be preposterous, what if you had a 60-TD quarterback, a 3,000-yard receiver and a 35-sack rusher, and everyone else in the league is solid, but not exceptional. By your own reasoning, two of those players should be excluded from your top-five ballot. If every voter was like yourself, there’s a decent chance those three individuals would all receive some first-place votes and the other two not on the ballot, opening the door ever so slightly for an underserving player.”
Three thoughts, Mark.
One: I am one voter out of 50. The other 49 have the option to vote however they wish, and every one could vote for two or three from the same team.
Two: Under your scenario, I would certainly vote for more than one of those players, because they would have had the three greatest seasons in NFL history and the other candidates (per your scenario) would not have done anything outstanding and perhaps not valuable either.
Three: Because the vote is weighted, and a first-place vote is worth 10 points and second-place five, the quarterback who threw for 60 touchdown passes on (presumably) the best team in football would have to get fewer than 25 first-place votes to win, and one of the players who is “solid, but not exceptional” would have to get 25 or more first-place votes. Do you think that’s realistic? Probably not.
Basically, Mark, it’s just hard for me to imagine many years when the second-most valuable player on one team is one of the five most valuable players in football—but as I say, I am one voter, and the other 49 may feel differently.
1. I think there are a few things to keep in mind about the impact of the NFL moving its “Sunday Ticket” package to YouTube TV for at least the next seven years beginning in 2023. For those not familiar with the streaming world, YouTube TV gets all the major channels and charges homes about $64 per month for most of what can be purchased on cable TV … and there’s no hardware involved. There will be an additional charge to get Sunday Ticket; the price point has not been determined, but one TV person estimated it would be in the neighborhood of $300 for the season. Other points:
The NFL had no choice but to move away from DirecTV. The league has wanted out of the DirecTV partnership for a couple of years at least. Putting a big dish on the side or roof of a home is pretty yesterday, and the numbers reflect that. DirecTV had 25.4 million subscribers in 2015; just seven years later, per Fitch Ratings, the company has 13.3 million subscribers. Conversely, anyone with a smart phone, computer/tablet/laptop or smart TV can get YouTube TV.
Look what’s happened to the connected-TV world. Ten years ago, almost 100 million Americans had cable or satellite TV. That is forecast to be cut in half by 2025. To get YouTube TV, all you need is internet access and a device. It’s just far easier as a user experience.
The moolah. The NFL will make at least $2 billion a year, on average, from the deal. That’s up at least $500 million per year from DirecTV’s rights fee. There will be escalators for the NFL over the deal’s seven years, much of that related to how many streamers YouTube can attract. One thing about rights fees. Keep in mind that most media rights deals escalate over the years. So the league could get significantly less than $2 billion in early years, and significantly more in year seven. But the average of all the TV deals will pay the league about $13.2 billion per year. That means each team would be due an average of $412 million per year in TV fees. That’s up from $250 million per team per year under the old TV deals.
The salary cap. Players get 48.5 percent of most team revenue, including TV. So in the average season from 2023 to 2029, the TV rights deals will raise the salary cap $78 million per team.
International broadcast rights. Forgot those. They’ll be going up. All are short-term deals. Particularly in countries with football fever like Germany, it’s not a pittance—though that German TV contract does last through the 2025 season.
Seven years. Every one of these TV/media deals either expires or the NFL can opt out of after seven years—after the 2029 season. By design by the NFL.
YouTube TV is likely to innovate. Expect better graphics, with analytics and new ways to see the game—though nothing’s been finalized yet.
FOX and CBS, the Sunday afternoon homes of NFL games, have to be nervous. If a viewer pays for the new YouTube package, that will supply every game in the 6.5-hour window on either smart TVs or phones or computers. So it’s another pull away from needing cable to be able to see NFL games. (NBC, ESPN/ABC and Amazon Prime Video are not affected because their games are not on Sunday Ticket.)
One option YouTube TV should strongly consider: the single-team option. It’s common sense: Would a Browns fan but marginal full-NFL fan in Salem, Ore., pay $250 or so to get every NFL game? Why not offer a Browns fan all 13 or 14 of Cleveland’s games not on Sunday Ticket for, say, $75? I know the NFL has thought of this in the past, and it’s time the league and YouTube TV agreed to implement it.
2. I think my MVP Watch top 10 stands like this through 16 weeks:
One through five: 1) Patrick Mahomes, 2) Jalen Hurts, 3) Josh Allen, 4) Joe Burrow, 5) Justin Jefferson. Mahomes and Hurts are still jockeying for position in my eyes. It’s really close. The last two weeks will matter.
Six through 10: 6) Nick Bosa, 7) Justin Herbert, 8) Trevor Lawrence, 9) Micah Parsons, 10) Saquon Barkley. Bosa is one dominant dude right now. I expect him to be the heavy favorite for Defensive Player of the Year.
3. I think I owe a few people at NBC thanks for their help with this Christmas gift story I did for Football Night in America last night … Matt Casey for the idea, Vinny Costello for the production, producer/idea person Annie Koeblitz for being with me in Denver and Oregon to talk to Peyton Manning and Dan Fouts. You may want to see it if you missed it last night:
4. I think the suspension of Jets receivers coach Miles Austin for a year is absurd. It’s beyond absurd. Per Mike Florio, Austin was suspended for betting $50, occasionally, on basketball games—nothing on NFL games. Why would we care if Miles Austin bet 50 bucks on the Warriors to beat the Suns? How possibly does that impugn the dignity of professional football? But no—coaches can’t bet on anything, while players can bet on sports other than football. Senseless. Just senseless. And we’ll see 600 commercials this week begging fans to bet on football games, during the football games themselves. Does anyone in the NFL office say to Roger Goodell: Taking tens of millions from gambling companies, then suspending an assistant coach for betting on a non-football game defies logic, and we shouldn’t do that? Maybe someone with a conscience should.
5. I think this passage from veteran Patriots scribe Karen Guregian interested me the other day. It’s about the dynamic between New England owner Robert Kraft and coach Bill Belichick, involving the de facto offensive capos, Matt Patricia and Joe Judge. Guregian wrote: “It just seems incredibly obvious that Belichick can’t keep his pals in their current posts. He can’t have Patricia and Judge anywhere near the offense next year. Kraft has to make it clear that Belichick needs to come up with real solutions, as opposed to getting his friends on the cheap with their former teams still paying them. Even though all the evidence hasn’t been gathered, it still has to be obvious to Kraft that Belichick needs to bring in a legitimate offensive coordinator. Not some coaching experiment with fired head coaches. And changes might also have to extend to the coaching staff beyond the offense, but getting [Mac] Jones experienced offensive coaches has to be the priority and first order of business. If Belichick isn’t willing to budge, then Kraft has to decide whether it’s worth it to keep the status quo, or move on from his sure-fire Hall of Fame head coach and clean house.”
6. I think that was prescient of Guregian to write. I don’t know if it’s going to play out that way, but Kraft is not a bystander as an owner. I’ll be curious how he reacts to this season.
7. I think I made a big deal about the Packers’ addition of Rich Bisaccia as special-teams coordinator before the season. They paid him a reported $2-million-a-year, the highest salary ever paid to a special-teams coach, in the wake of their poor play in the kicking game last year, including the blocked punt returned for a touchdown in the narrow playoff loss to San Francisco. So let’s see Bisaccia’s impact though 15 weeks compared to last year’s group through the full season.
Kick returns. Much improved, from 30th last year (17.7 per return) to 10th this year, six yards per return better.
Punt returns. One yard better this year, from 8.0 to 9.0 yards per return.
Opponents’ kick returns. Two yards worse this year, at 23.5 yards per runback.
Opponents’ punt returns. Slightly worse: 9.5 yards per return last year, 10.0 this year.
Net punt: 0 yards last year, 39.6 this year. Not great, but there is a plus: Pat O’Donnell has just one touchback, versus 23 placed inside the 20-yard line. The Pack, however, did not have a punt blocked in the regular season last year, and O’Donnell had one blocked this year. Deflected actually, against Baltimore. And he has faced consistent pressure to avoid others.
Conclusion: Where’s the great impact of Rich Bisaccia? Overall, the Pack is slightly better in the kicking game this year, but it hasn’t been the overhaul the franchise had hoped for.
8. I think you won’t read about the Pro Bowl in this column for a couple of reasons. I’m a Pro Bowl curmudgeon; it’s been a meaningless event for years, and at least the league recognizes that such a phony game should no longer be played, and they’re transitioning into some sort of flag-football event. But also, the voting doesn’t necessarily honor the best players, for a variety of reasons. Anyway, in case you wondered why I wasn’t outraged about Pro Bowl snubs or the like, the basic reason is there has been nothing concerning the Pro Bowl that is worth a scintilla of outrage, other than the fact that it actually had been played every year until now.
9. I think this was my favorite Franco Harris story of the Week—Dave Bennett of the Los Angeles Times on the meaning of Franco Harris to Pittsburgh. The photos are classic. And Bennett on what happened late in Harris’ rookie year is just great:
a. Happy Boxing Day!
b. I got introduced to Boxing Day on one holiday trip to England (my brother Ken married an English gal), and it’s celebrated in countries of the British Commonwealth—originally to give gifts to the less fortunate but more recently as a shopping holiday. It’s also a bank holiday in many countries.
c. Human Factoid That Should be Bigger Than it is Story of the Week: Yuki Noguchi of National Public Radio on the life expectancy in the United States being down more than two years over the past two years—to the lowest average age in almost 20 years.
d. Reported Noguchi:
Deaths from COVID-19 and drug overdoses, most notably synthetic opioids like fentanyl, were the primary drivers of the drop in life expectancy.
e. Man, 106,000 drug-overdose deaths. Wish I could say that’s unbelievable.
f. This might be the funniest pot-calling-the-kettle-black comment in sports history. It’s from Yanks owner Hal Steinbrenner, on Mets owner Steve Cohen’s spending spree and whether baseball should look into having a harder salary cap: “I think it’s something to be looked at. Nobody should have to go into spring training thinking their team has no chance of making the playoffs.”
g. I mean.
h. Someone with a good baseball salary database could tell you that the Yankees outspent the Orioles by 10 kazillion dollars in the last 10 years.
i. Of course it’s absurd that the Mets will have a salary commitment plus luxury tax of $495 million—at least—in 2023. But that’s the fault of the owners in Major League Baseball, for allowing this luxury tax loophole that tells Richie-rich guys like Steve Cohen that if they’re willing to pay an $111-million fee (or more), they can pay players whatever they want.
j. Speaking of Yankee hubris … Here’s club president Randy Levine rebuffing any talk of the Yankees not being the gold standard of MLB:
k. “There’s no doubt the Yankees have been, are today, and will continue in the future as the flagship of Major League Baseball.”
l. Said the president of a team that has won one of the last 22 World Series. Thirteen straight years without a title.
m. Cool Lifestyle Story of the Week: Alex Vadukul of The New York Times on teens who don’t want smartphones.
n. Alex Vadukul, you’re a great and observant reporter. This story shines because Vadukul immersed himself into the lives of young people who eschew smartphones, and he illuminates why, and it makes total sense.
o. Vadukul writes:
On a brisk recent Sunday, a band of teenagers met on the steps of Central Library on Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn to start the weekly meeting of the Luddite Club, a high school group that promotes a lifestyle of self-liberation from social media and technology. As the dozen teens headed into Prospect Park, they hid away their iPhones — or, in the case of the most devout members, their flip phones, which some had decorated with stickers and nail polish.
They marched up a hill toward their usual spot, a dirt mound located far from the park’s crowds. Among them was Odille Zexter-Kaiser, a senior at Edward R. Murrow High School in Midwood, who trudged through leaves in Doc Martens and mismatched wool socks.
Some drew in sketchbooks. Others painted with a watercolor kit. One of them closed their eyes to listen to the wind. Many read intently — the books in their satchels included Dostoevsky’s “Crime and Punishment,” Art Spiegelman’s “Maus II” and “The Consolation of Philosophy” by Boethius. The club members cite libertine writers like Hunter S. Thompson and Jack Kerouac as heroes, and they have a fondness for works condemning technology, like “Player Piano” by Kurt Vonnegut.
Arthur, the bespectacled PBS aardvark, is their mascot.
p. Now that is one incredible detail, Arthur as a high school club’s mascot in 2022.
q. The club’s founder, Logan Lane, has a flip phone. No internet access. “I still long to have no phone at all.”
r. RIP Tom Browning, author of a 1988 perfect game for the Reds.
s. The Reds have been playing baseball for 153 years, and it’s their only perfect game. Let that marinate for a while.
t. Browning actually pitched it after a two-hour rain delay, and it took just 1 hour, 51 minutes. Struck out seven, including Kirk Gibson twice.
u. Journalism Project of the Week: “The Lives They Lived,” The New York Times Magazine’s annual look at notable deaths of the previous year. This year, the magazine profiles 12 children who were victims of gun violence in America in 2022.
v. “Since 2020, gun violence has surpassed car accidents as the leading cause of death for American children,” the magazine reported.
w. Here’s a link to a podcast the writers of these stories did. Powerful.
x. What a lovely Celebration of Life for the late Grant Wahl last Tuesday in Manhattan. Multiple speakers—from his professional, personal and collegiate lives—spoke lovingly of Wahl in a two-hour service. I was blown away by the eloquence, composure and love of his brother, Eric Wahl, and also by the grace of his widow, Dr. Celine Gounder.
y. After the initial shock, I have never seen anyone handle the death of a beloved husband and family member and friend better than the family and close friends of Grant Wahl, led by Dr. Gounder. A masterclass in love and grief, if there can be such a thing.
z. RIP, Vicki Czarnecki. The wife of one of my best friends, former sportswriter and FOX editorial consultant John Czarnecki, died in Riverside, Calif., last week after being ill for some time. Vicki and Czar have been such great friends to our family, and as I told Czar after she passed, Vicki had such a great gift for conversation. We could talk about anything for long periods of an evening or several evenings. Such a good and genuine person she was. My sincere condolences to Czar, his three girls and their families.
L.A. Chargers 30, Indianapolis 15. The Chargers, facing teams with a combined record of 12-29-1 entering the weekend, will be a road Wild Card team—barring a Chargers-type run of bad fortune. If Mike Williams and Keenan Allen play all three games, they won’t be losing more than one against the Colts, Rams, Broncos.
Miami at New England, Sunday, 1 p.m., CBS. Somewhere along Route 1 between Boston and Providence, at one of the well-worn pubs, the Eagles will be warbling “Desperado” as game time approaches. The Patriots are on the verge of their fourth straight season without a playoff win, which I don’t believe ownership will receive kindly. This game, essentially, is a playoff game for both teams, with Miami struggling mightily too.
Pittsburgh at Baltimore, Sunday, 8:20 p.m., NBC. This game got flexed to Sunday night, replacing Rams-Chargers (as it should have) and beating out Dolphins-Patriots as the sub game. The Steelers’ recent play, going 4-1 to get in the playoff neighborhood at 7-8, made this game attractive. As did the rivalry, which is basically this: Happy New Year, and now I’m going to sock you right in the jaw. The one NFL constant is Steelers-Ravens as the league’s most physical game. Last time they played, both quarterbacks got concussed. The Ravens need Lamar Jackson to come back, and soon.
Buffalo at Cincinnati, Monday, 8:15 p.m., ESPN. Nice Monday-night closer for ESPN. It’s the best Monday matchup this year, with the 12-3 Bills at the 11-4 Bengals. If the Bills want to avoid a late January game in Kansas City—and really, how amazing would it be for Buffalo to play at Arrowhead on Jan. 24, 2021, Jan. 23, 2022 and Jan. 29, 2023, which is on the line next Monday?—they probably need to win this game.
Russ asked for one thing
this Christmastime: his skill back.
That too much to ask?
The Leads of Week 16 What to expect in the column this week, plus some other notes “For Franco” Steelers honor the late hero in the best way possible 10 Games of the Weekend The good, the sexy, and the ugly A Giant Anniversary One of my favorite football memories, 15 years ago this week 20 The Award Section Carolina's running backs thrive, several QBs struggle Quotes of the Week On losing, travel woes, and Franco Harris' fateful dream 30 Numbers Game Franco Harris' numerical impact in Pittsburgh Factoidness Notes on Watson and weather 40 Tweets of the Week Wilson woes, remembering Harris, and Santa in San Fran Newman! Readers on Franco Harris, Matt Ryan, and the MVP 50 10 Things I Think I Think Sunday Ticket on YouTube, MVP watch, and stories of the week Monday, Monday An MNF prediction for Chargers-Colts 40 Games of Week 17 The league's most physical rivalry and the best MNF this year The Adieu Haiku 5-7-5 forever 30 | 2022-12-26T07:42:28Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | FMIA Week 16: Christmas Magic in Pittsburgh (Again); Dak Prescott Channels Childhood for Comeback - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/26/steelers-dak-prescott-peter-king-fmia-week-16/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/26/steelers-dak-prescott-peter-king-fmia-week-16/ |
The 2022 Broncos season has been a series of lows and it may have hit rock bottom on Sunday in Los Angeles.
An underpowered Rams team throttled the Broncos 51-14 with Russell Wilson throwing three interceptions to continue the worst season of his professional career. With two games left, there’s no real way to end things on a positive note, but Wilson vowed to keep working as hard as it takes to push things in a better direction.
Change is needed, but the Broncos sacrificed a lot of draft capital and cap space by trading for Wilson and giving him an extension. That may mean the most significant moves to push the Broncos in a different direction involve head coach Nathaniel Hackett and/or General Manager George Paton.
We’ll find out the answer to that and much more about the Broncos plans once their season finally comes to an end in a couple of weeks. | 2022-12-26T13:54:49Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Russell Wilson: All I know how to do is keep fighting - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/26/russell-wilson-all-i-know-how-to-do-is-keep-fighting/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/26/russell-wilson-all-i-know-how-to-do-is-keep-fighting/ |
Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury says he is unsure when quarterback Kyler Murray will have surgery to repair his torn ACL.
Melissa Stark reported during Sunday night’s game that Murray, who tore the ACL in his right knee on December 12, will have surgery to completely replace the damaged ACL on January 3, and that the typical recovery time would be nine months, which would mean Murray would return to the field in October of 2023.
“I have not heard that,” Kingsbury said.
Kingsbury may not be giving a lot of thought to when Murray is having his surgery because Kingsbury may not even know whether he’s ever going to coach Murray again. There’s been increasing talk that Kingsbury could be on the way out in Arizona, and that the Cardinals, less than a year after announcing contract extensions for both Kingsbury and General Manager Steve Keim, could be preparing to clean house.
So while Kingsbury’s team is out of playoff contention, there’s no real reason for him to be thinking beyond the final two games of this season. | 2022-12-26T14:06:36Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Kliff Kingsbury hasn't heard when Kyler Murray will have his ACL surgery - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/26/kliff-kingsbury-hasnt-heard-when-kyler-murray-will-have-his-acl-surgery/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/26/kliff-kingsbury-hasnt-heard-when-kyler-murray-will-have-his-acl-surgery/ |
The Jets’ playoff hopes remain alive despite their Week 16 loss to the Jaguars and it looks like Mike White will be back at quarterback as they try to advance to the postseason.
Brian Costello of the New York Post was the first to report that White has been cleared to return to action by doctors. White missed the last two games due to a fractured rib that doctors were concerned could become displaced and puncture his lung if he took a hit to the wrong spot.
White’s absence meant 2021 first-round pick Zach Wilson returned to the lineup for the last two games. He had ups and downs in a Week 15 loss to the Lions and was a disaster before being benched in favor of practice squad call-up Chris Streveler in the 19-3 loss to the Jaguars.
The Jets will advance to the playoffs if they beat the Seahawks and Dolphins in their final two games while the Patriots lose one of their final two games. | 2022-12-26T17:53:36Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Mike White cleared to play in Week 17 - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/26/mike-white-cleared-to-play-in-week-17/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/26/mike-white-cleared-to-play-in-week-17/ |
Raiders running back Josh Jacobs wasn’t shy about sharing his feelings about the team after last Saturday’s loss to the Steelers.
Jacobs said their latest close loss was “bullshit” and was critical of the team for not running the ball more on a cold night in Pittsburgh, calling it “a factor on everybody involved, top to bottom.” Jacobs went on to say he’s “tired of dealing with” coming in and busting “my ass and I see the guys busting their ass and the result is not there.”
Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels was not around for the first three years of Jacobs’ run with the team, but the nature of Jacobs’ criticism meant that he was asked about the comments on Monday. McDaniels said he had no issue with Jacobs’ airing of grievances.
“I love the guy. He stands for the right things. He wants to win,” McDaniels said, via Vic Tafur of TheAthletic.com.
The Raiders didn’t pick up Jacobs’ fifth-year option and he’s responded by setting a career high with 1,539 rushing yards already this season. Given the way he feels about how things have gone in Vegas, it seems likely that he’ll be trying to top that mark for another team next season.
6 responses to “Josh McDaniels on Josh Jacobs: He stands for the right things, he wants to win”
Is josh McDaniels the new norv turner? Nothing wrong with being a great OC.
Good luck to you next year, whatever team you are with.
Hopefully Buffalo tries to sign you.
Honestly I don’t blame him
Fire the coach. That is all Thanks.
He can’t win with you there Josh. | 2022-12-26T20:57:26Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Josh McDaniels on Josh Jacobs: He stands for the right things, he wants to win - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/26/josh-mcdaniels-on-josh-jacobs-he-stands-for-the-right-things-he-wants-to-win/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/26/josh-mcdaniels-on-josh-jacobs-he-stands-for-the-right-things-he-wants-to-win/ |
When the Chiefs started to game-plan for their Week 17 matchup with the Broncos, they were preparing for Nathaniel Hackett.
But then came word that the Broncos had fired the now-former head coach, which potentially changes some things for Kansas City as the team gets ready to host Sunday’s matchup.
“The fact that there could be some changes that take place offensively, defensively, [on] special teams, I’m not sure who they put in that position to determine what goes on and does not go on but there’s always that chance that there’s a sudden change that’s going to take place here, so you’ve just got to be aware of anything and everything,” head coach Andy Reid said in his press conference.
When Reid was conducting his press conference, the Broncos had not announced they were turning to Jerry Rosburg to be the club’s interim head coach for the next two games.
Though the Chiefs have clinched the AfC West, they/ are still in contention for the AFC’s No.1 seed. So, Sunday’s game will still carry plenty of significance for Kansas City and the club will want to be doing everything it can to win.
The Chiefs escaped with a 34-28 victory in Denver back on Dec. 11. | 2022-12-26T22:54:24Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Andy Reid: You've got to be aware of anything and everything after coaching change - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/26/andy-reid-youve-got-to-be-aware-of-anything-and-everything-after-coaching-change/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/26/andy-reid-youve-got-to-be-aware-of-anything-and-everything-after-coaching-change/ |
3 responses to “Nathaniel Hackett joins small club of coaches who didn’t finish first year, since merger”
raiderapologist says:
Hackett almost made Josh McDaniels look competent. Almost.
I’m not one that relishes seeing a man lose his job and especially over the holidays… that said, in this case it was time. I’ve watched football for 45 years and I have never seen as visibly dysfunctional “professional” football team as I saw yesterday. Christmas Day, national audience, perfect weather, and the Broncos weren’t even trying to hide that they didn’t want to be there, or with each other.
Hackett is clearly not cut out to be a HC (at any level), but he will be well paid by the new owners not to work and potentially double dip with an OC gig somewhere else next season… so I don’t think we need to feel too bad for him.
Todd Bowles will be number six pretty soon. | 2022-12-26T22:55:00Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Nathaniel Hackett joins small club of coaches who didn't finish first year, since merger - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/26/nathaniel-hackett-joins-small-club-of-coaches-who-didnt-finish-first-year-since-merger/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/26/nathaniel-hackett-joins-small-club-of-coaches-who-didnt-finish-first-year-since-merger/ |
6 responses to “Reports: Ejiro Evero turned down Broncos interim head coaching job”
There’s 2 games remaining. They waited too long to fire Hackett.
Smart man.
Smart move by him. HC for 2 games on a sinking ship why bother.
In other words The Denver Broncos don’t have a head coach.
Evero is going to have to prove he’s qualified for his current job after giving up 51 points to Baker Mayfield three weeks after he arrived in NFL to join the depleted Rams.
This development indicates how bad things are in Denver. Clearly, Evero already has plans to move on because he knows that being the head coach in Denver is untenable for the next 2 (or more) years. | 2022-12-26T22:55:24Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Reports: Ejiro Evero turned down Broncos interim head coaching job - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/26/reports-ejiro-evero-turned-down-broncos-interim-head-coaching-job/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/26/reports-ejiro-evero-turned-down-broncos-interim-head-coaching-job/ |
The Chargers clinched a playoff berth with Monday night’s win over the Colts, but coach Brandon Staley says that’s nothing to celebrate.
Staley said after the game that the Chargers have only accomplished the first of their goals by making the postseason and have more to come.
“It’s just the beginning,” Staley said. “This is not our final goal. We expected to be at this point. I’m really proud of how this season has gone for our football team and what we’ve been able to demonstrate in order to make this postseason. That’s probably what I’m most proud of, not just being in the postseason but how we made it, what it took for us to get in, but this is just the beginning for us.”
It’s the Chargers’ first playoff appearance since 2018.
2 responses to “Brandon Staley: Chargers expected to make the playoffs, this is just the beginning”
MTLighthouse69 says:
The Chargers need to find a way to get Kelley and Spiller more involved. If Ekeler gets hurt the Chargers are done. | 2022-12-27T12:27:32Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Brandon Staley: Chargers expected to make the playoffs, this is just the beginning - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/27/brandon-staley-chargers-expected-to-make-the-playoffs-this-is-just-the-beginning/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/27/brandon-staley-chargers-expected-to-make-the-playoffs-this-is-just-the-beginning/ |
There was a point this season when it looked like running back Cam Akers had played his final snap for the Rams, but attempts to trade him didn’t go anywhere and Akers eventually returned to the lineup.
That’s been a positive for the Rams offense in recent weeks. Akers has run 64 times for 285 yards and six touchdowns over the last four games, including a 118-yard, three-touchdown performance against the Broncos in Week 16.
On Monday, Rams head coach Sean McVay cited that recent success in response to a question about whether the Rams would consider dealing Akers this offseason.
“Oh, no,” McVay said, via Gary Klein of the Los Angeles Times. “I think right now, with what he’s done continuing to build on that momentum, I think it’d be silly based on what a great job he’s done to think of it anything differently than him being a big part of what you want to be able to do moving forward. But you just take it a day at a time. But that certainly, I think, is something that we’ve worked through. There’s totally a different trajectory in terms of what he’s done. And the way that he’s handled himself and the way that he’s playing the way like we know he’s capable of and hopefully you just continue to see him build on it these last couple weeks and into next year with the Rams.”
Someone could bowl the Rams over with an offer for Akers, but that didn’t happen earlier this year and that makes it all the likelier that the running back will be back for the fourth and final year of his contract. | 2022-12-27T15:46:43Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Sean McVay: Cam Akers a big part of what we want to do moving forward - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/27/sean-mcvay-cam-akers-a-big-part-of-what-we-want-to-do-moving-forward/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/27/sean-mcvay-cam-akers-a-big-part-of-what-we-want-to-do-moving-forward/ |
41 responses to “At some point, NFL’s doctors and/or teams may keep Tua Tagovailoa off the field”
Invest in best line or Tua is done. You have to protect him.
Shut Tua down for the season. If he has concussion issues next year it is time to call it a career. In the offseason Tua needs to speak with guys like Chris Miller, Troy Aikmen, and Steve Young; QB’s that have retired due to concussion issues.
Yank him. Too bad Miami. The NFL IS NOT going to getting sued millions and millions if he gets hurt one more time in 2022. Some players are too fragile to play in the NFL and he is one of them.
looking back, it’s pretty clear something was wrong. i mean, he literally could not get the ball within 3 yards of his target on the last three drives. no, i wasn’t saying “he’s obviously hurt” at the time, this is pure hindsight.
i think i have seen more clips of tua bouncing his head off the ground this year than of all other qbs ever. is there a reason he seems more prone to wind up getting tackled like that? seems odd
And, yes, Tua should be put on IR and unable to return this year for his safety.
I mean, you’re extrapolating a lot from the very little we know about what his parents think. For me, I think he should probably hang them up. Super dangerous situation he’s in.
He’s 24. He’s got a lot of money and a long life ahead of him.
Collusion would require a team to actually want to sign a guy and other owners pressuring them not to. I don’t see that happening. He’ll keep being given roster spots until he proves that he’s too unreliable to keep playing.
“Some point” was week 3 when he stumbled like drunk trying to get back to the huddle.
I hope the kid’s career was worth it!
What is cleared ? The idea that a person can get 3 concussions in 3 months and everything is fine because he has no headaches. It’s a brain bruise, and we have no idea what it does long term to a person. If he plays I fear for his longterm well being. Brian Hoyer got a concussion in week 4 and has not returned yet. Yeah he’s older ready to retire. However Tua could ruin his life and someone in the Dolphins organization has to have the guts to not let that happen.
70dolphinfan says:
Tua is 6’1″, 211 lbs. which means that he’s exactly average, not small.
hornedhell says:
Why doesn’t the NFL increase roster sizes and the cap? Having two solid QBs on a roster along with some positional depth will only benefit the competitive balance of their sport.
Tackle football should be banned by law. Paying someone to risk their mental health is barbaric, and should not be allowed to exist in this day and age where we know hits to the head do irreversible harm to people.
All organized football leagues from Pop Warner to the NFL should have to either go to flag football or be shut down. There, I said it.
As the #1 Dolphins Fan I want them to shut him down for the rest of the season and let him heal and bring him back in training Camp with competition.
I love Tua not a Tuanon but a true diehard fan since 1970….I want what’s best for Tua and this team. I love Mike McDaniel and what he brings to this team and can’t wait for season II.
At a minimum, he needs to take the rest of the year off and get thoroughly checked out.
Dude shouldn’t have been playing since that last concussion
As a Dolphins fan don’t want him too however realize the best thing is for him to retire before something tragic happens on the field.
Remember this is only a game folks.
I want to be careful here because we have no access to his medical files, I only play a doctor on TV and there’s just a lot in general we don’t know.
BUT… I was wondering the same thing Mike after I saw the headline yesterday on Tua being in the concussion protocol again, especially after that terrible performance against a middling team on Sunday. Very concerning for a young man to have so many concussions already, especially in such a short period of time.
And how many times have we seen this year where a player misses a game or two from a concussion, passes the protocols and immediately goes out with a concussion his first game back. The current protocols are simply not lengthy enough in many cases.
Hopefully the Dolphins wisely shut him down for the rest of the year, as painful as that might be for the franchise. More importantly, here’s hoping that a full off season of rest for Tua results in his brain healing properly and he’s not concussion prone in the future. I know a lot of people are skeptical of the kid’s talent, but we’ve seen a lot of impressive play out of him this season when he’s been healthy. The league is better with Tua/Hill/Waddle lighting it up out there.
After Mike McDaniel’s horrific handling of Tia’s first concussion, his statement saying how much he cares for his player’s safety rings eerily hollow.
Every concussion leaves you more vulnerable to the next concussion. This is his 3rd one of the season. The Dolphins need to shut Tua down for the rest of the season and give his brain a chance to heal.
You confuse collusion with common sense. If Tua continues to have concussions, and can’t be relied on to be healthy, at the most important position on the team, what owner in their right mind would give him a contract?
It’s not collusion if 32 people independently conclude signing someone is bad for the team or bad for their business. Just because you don’t like it doesn’t mean it’s wrong.
Cue the head trauma specialists.
He should sit and make sure he isnt doing irreparable harm to his body.
And also, the dolphins might have a better shot with the backup in anyway. Not throwing shade, just saying, hes not playing well.
Why don’t I hear the Dolphins announcing some kind of helmet change for all their QBs to prevent concussions? Seems the current selection is failing them. Dolphins are sitting on their hands rather than doing something.
This makes me wonder if Daniels is cut from the Shanahan cloth that simply does not worry about QB injuries: next man up!
Sure, I’m theory this is great. But how do you expect each team to have two solid QB’s when some (Denver for example) don’t even have one? Don’t you think most teams try to have two solid QB’s as is? Increasing roster sizes or salary cap isn’t suddenly gonna make there be such an abundance of quality QB’s
Goodell cheated
All of this is bad for Bryce Young. Another undersized QB.
Where are the concussion spotters ,how do they not see him smack his head on the turf ?
Tackle football is no longer viable. They really are playing knock down football and thus all the head to head hits as defenders are trained to lead with their shoulders to know the ball carrier off his feet.
Couldn’t the players helmets be fitted with an impact sensor of some kind? That technology is out there already in other applications, so instead of spotters watching the field, they can receive a wireless notification and immediately audit a replay? Maybe you start with the QB, but in the future why not all players?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………I remember a few years ago the packers drafted a Wisc kid who had a lot of serious concussions in college. He had the same thing in the NFL and now was finally cut and is out of football. These things are recurring and each time are easier to happen.
Perfect opportunity for Miami to get out from under this QB situation and not extend him. He’s not the guy.
He is in the protocols it doesn’t mean he has one
Tua needs to stay off the field before it’s too late. Save this young man’s life.
let’s face it, even healthy he was never that good a quarterback;
coming from Caretaker U. he was never properly trained or developed for the pro game;
given those impediments he’s gone about as far as he can so it’s foolhardy to risk further injury;
terminalmancer says:
Just because he’s cleared doesn’t mean he’s healed. You’re writing as if the medical community knows how to treat concussions the way they know how to treat sprained ankles, and they don’t! Someone’s concussion risk is higher months after having suffered a previous concussion. It can take up to a year to get back to normal.
“If he’s cleared, he’s cleared” doesn’t mean anything.
oshguy says:
Compare his play vs GB before and after the hit that probably caused the concussion (a clean tackle that did not look unusual at the time). The three odd interceptions and mediocre (at best) offense came after. I’m not blaming anyone, but given the nature of concussions and his history this season, wouldn’t it be prudent/wise to sit him the rest of the season, at least, and get some indepth diagnosis and treatment? That would also give the players whose lives have been diminished or destroyed to speak with Tua and his family to let them know what happened to them. He’s only 24.
Kenny Pickett had 2 concussions in 8 weeks. Where’s the call for his retirement?
Should have drafted Herbert in the first place. Three concussions in one year!?! Dude, pick up your ball and go home. Stop having to deal with this and the ramifications you’ll have for the rest of your life. It’s not like your good enough to ever win anything in the NFL so don’t lose at life too.
Tua may or may not be back this season, but the bigger problem for the Dolphins is how can you build around a QB that gets a concussion basically every time his head hits the ground. When I played in high school and college I can’t tell you how many times that happened, and the helmets were supposedly not as good as what they have now. Never was a problem. And its not a problem for most other players either. Its a shame because he made progress this year, and if healthy he will get even better, but at this point how can you continue with him. Your roster is stacked on offense for the next 3-4 years, you have to probably go in another direction.
Maybe they need to change his helmet . | 2022-12-27T18:43:24Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | At some point, NFL's doctors and/or teams may keep Tua Tagovailoa off the field - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/27/at-some-point-nfls-doctors-and-or-teams-may-keep-tua-tagovailoa-off-the-field/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/27/at-some-point-nfls-doctors-and-or-teams-may-keep-tua-tagovailoa-off-the-field/ |
When Broncos CEO Greg Penner issued a statement on Monday regarding the firing of Nathaniel Hackett, he mentioned that the team’s General Manager George Paton would be involved in the search for a new head coach.
But as Paton mentioned in Tuesday’s joint press conference with Penner, Paton was the one who picked the coach and most of the players on the roster. Paton went as far as saying, “There is no one to blame but me.”
So why keep Paton around? Penner was asked exactly that.
“George and I have had a chance to get to know each other,” Penner said during Tuesday’s press conference. “We’ve talked every day since we purchased the team a number of months ago. And he acknowledged right up front, there were a couple of decisions that haven’t worked out as he expected. But I understand his thought process.
“He understands the work that needs to be done in this offseason. And I’m going to rely on him heavily as we go through and make these changes.”
Given that the Walton-Penner group is still in its first few months of team ownership, it does make some sense to have continuity within the football operation as the group gets more comfortable running the franchise. But one can’t imagine that Paton will get many — if any — more chances to make significant decisions if the next coach doesn’t produce more wins. | 2022-12-27T18:43:36Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Broncos CEO Greg Penner: I'm going to rely heavily on George Paton as we make changes - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/27/broncos-ceo-greg-penner-im-going-to-rely-heavily-on-george-paton-as-we-make-changes/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/27/broncos-ceo-greg-penner-im-going-to-rely-heavily-on-george-paton-as-we-make-changes/ |
Posted by Charean Williams on December 27, 2022, 10:56 AM EST
Angels and wise men come in all shapes and sizes. This one stands 6 foot 2 and weighs 310 pounds.
Texans defensive tackle Maliek Collins provided a family he had never met with an unexpected, once-in-a-lifetime Christmas. Collins’ gift to Courtney Luhrs and her 17-year-old son, Ethan, is an all-expenses-paid trip to Houston to see the Texans play the Jaguars on New Year’s Day.
“It feels good to be able to surprise a family who obviously supports us on Sundays,” Collins said. “It’s just about bringing light to somebody else’s life. It’s the holiday season, but it’s always the season of giving.”
Luhrs, a single mom and full-time student working toward an associate degree in cyber security, reluctantly asked for help before Christmas with a post on the NextDoor app serving her Torrance, California, neighborhood. Ann O’Dell saw the post, and her family adopted the Luhrs.
The first thing Luhrs texted O’Dell was: “Ethan said he wanted signed Christmas cards. It’s just the two of us, and so I am thinking to him that symbolizes family. Ethan wants Christmas cards to have displayed and that would make his Christmas. He is an amazing son.”
“That’s so simple and basic,” O’Dell said. “That really was the genesis of it.”
While O’Dell and her family filled the base of the Christmas tree with gifts, O’Dell set out on a mission to load the Luhrs’ mailbox with Christmas cards. She texted friends and family, who not only sent cards but forwarded the request. I asked O’Dell, a friend, to ask Ethan his favorite football team, and surprisingly, he said the Texans.
The public relations staffs of the Chargers, Rams and 49ers and the Cowboys and Texans fulfilled my request to send Ethan a Christmas card. Some threw in a gift, including a 49ers’ division championship hat that ended up topping the family’s Christmas tree.
Texans football communications manager Evert Geerlings took a card into the locker room last week for some players to sign. The defensive linemen had just returned from a community event at Isaacs Elementary, an inner-city school in Houston, which Collins said put him in a giving spirit.
Before he signed the card, Collins asked Geerlings who the card was for and what the story was. What happened next stunned even Geerlings.
“I’ve been around the league nine years now and had the opportunity to work with some amazing people,” Geerlings said, “and I told Maliek, ‘The fact that you are the first person that I’ve seen do something like this to this extent says a lot.’ I’ve seen a lot of great people do a lot of nice things, but I’ve never worked with someone who just literally out of the blue said, ‘I want to take care of this kid. Can we make it happen?’ It was in the blink of an eye.”
Collins initially declined a request from PFT to write about his generosity, but he finally agreed.
The story is too good to be left untold.
“I’ve done some other stuff, but I’m a fly-under-the-radar type,” said Collins, who spent four seasons with the Cowboys, one with the Raiders and now is in his second season in Houston. “I’m really just a normal person, but I look at it from perspective. When I was Ethan’s age, something like this probably would have changed my life, so I would love to have that impact on someone else.”
Geerlings and O’Dell arranged a surprise FaceTime call between Collins and Courtney and Ethan last Friday night. When Malik introduced himself, Ethan started crying, and Courtney kept repeating, “Wait, what?” when they learned of the offer. Courtney, who is from Houston, still has family there she hasn’t seen in several years.
The Luhrs will fly into Houston on Saturday and go directly to NRG Stadium to meet Collins for the first time as he guides them on a tour.
“I totally whole-heartedly believe this whole thing is a God moment,” Courtney said. “I really wrestled whether to post something, and just getting so many Christmas cards, knowing somebody out there cares, has changed Ethan. It’s just been amazing, and it shows you just how amazing people can be.”
14 responses to “Maliek Collins gives kid who asked only for Christmas cards a lot more”
I bet not one single person would be upset if you posted one story like this every week. There are players changing lives for the better, I love reading about it.
An amazing and generous act of kindness. Much respect for him and what he did.
Tom Greig says:
Love it,, way to go Maliek! Class Act
God Bless this man for his amazing act of kindness.
These are the things that helps spread God’s love and he uses us as his tools.
I am forever a Maliek Collins fan now!
Nice to read about one of the good guys in the NFL. The “bad guys” usually get all the headlines.
The true spirit of Christmas exemplified.
Texts are nice but, Christmas cards always are a nice gesture.
billymutt says:
What a great story. Kudos to Mr. Collins, for going above and beyond to make a difference in this family’s lives.
That’s a good man right there.
Great man.
Great player.
Great gesture on his part.
Great job Mr. Collins. The bad guys get the headlines but the good guy pro athletes outnumber the 100 to 1.
Good stuff. I hope the family has a blast at the game.
youbettercallsaul says:
That’s great to read. Better than reading about someone’s antics in da club getting them arrested, or whatever else.
I got something in my eye. No… no… it’s just some dust… I swear. | 2022-12-27T18:44:12Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Maliek Collins gives kid who asked only for Christmas cards a lot more - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/27/maliek-collins-gives-kid-who-asked-only-for-christmas-cards-a-lot-more/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/27/maliek-collins-gives-kid-who-asked-only-for-christmas-cards-a-lot-more/ |
As Commanders prepare to reveal “Hogs” mascot, the original Hogs threaten suit
Dale Carnegie made millions from his self-help book, How to Win Friends and Influence People. Commanders owner Daniel Snyder could write the bizarro version of Carnegie’s classic.
Working title: How to Make Enemies and Piss Everyone Off.
Snyder’s latest effort at mass alienation comes in the form of the franchise’s plan to unveil a new mascot on Sunday. Apparently, the team is adopting the “Hogs” for that purpose. Or, as those pursuing a trademark of the nickname for the team’s offensive line of the 1980s and early 1990s would say, co-opted.
The original “Hogs” are threatening to sue the team for trying to use a name on which they have squatted.
“Dan Snyder and the Washington Commanders are trying to profit off the original HOGS legacy by taking
that trademark and associated goodwill and brand equity of the original HOGS,” the players said in a statement. “The Commanders are using the original HOGS brand for commercial purposes with NO compensation to the men who’s [sic] blood & sweat equity built the original HOGS brand 40 years ago.”
The statement suggests that O-Line Entertainment, LLC will be suing the Commanders. The group includes
Joe Jacoby, Mark May, John Riggins, Fred Dean, and Doc Walker.
“The newly created Washington Commanders are a different franchise with a completely different team
name that we believe has no legal claim to the original HOGS legacy and brand created 40 years ago,” the statement explains. “On January 1, the Commanders are going forward with a ‘celebration’ of the HOGS. The original HOGS have tried to amicably resolve this dispute for many months now but to no avail with the Commanders before the January 1 event. Without substantial control and compensation, the original HOGS do not want to be associated with the Commanders under its current ownership and management and require that their legacy and brand is protected.”
The group says that it expects to secure a federal trademark in early 2023.
It’s just the latest self-inflicted embarrassment from ownership. Earlier this year, the Commanders unveiled a Sean Taylor memorial that looked like a poorly-dressed mannequin. (The mannequin has since been upgraded.)
So maybe the best move for the Commanders at this point will be to make no further moves, beyond assessing the bids that were submitted last week to buy the team, pick one of them, and move on. | 2022-12-27T19:01:48Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | As Commanders prepare to reveal "Hogs" mascot, the original Hogs threaten suit - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/27/as-commanders-prepare-to-reveal-hogs-mascot-the-original-hogs-threaten-suit/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/27/as-commanders-prepare-to-reveal-hogs-mascot-the-original-hogs-threaten-suit/ |
Commanders defensive end Chase Young made his much-anticipated season debut on Saturday and by the sounds of it, things went well.
Young, who was on a pitch count, ended up playing 30 defensive snaps against the 49ers in Week 16. He recorded a pair of tackles and a pass breakup.
On Tuesday, head coach Ron Rivera said Young is on track to play more in Sunday’s game against Cleveland.
“I thought Chase came out really well. He did some really good things on tape,” Rivera said in his video conference. “We exceeded what we thought — we were shooting for 12 to 16 [snaps]. But we did tell him that I would check with him to see where he was, I would check with the trainers to see how they felt about him. And when we got to that point, he was still anxious, ready to go. And I did tell him, ‘Hey look, we want to be smart. We’ll play you a few more, but we don’t want you to get fatigued. The last thing we want is for you to get hurt again.’ He just kept saying, ‘Coach, I’m in great shape. That’s one thing I kept up.’ And he showed us. He did a nice job.
“So, next week, the expectation is to see if he can go a little bit more. I think we’ll put a little more on him in terms of playing him earlier in the downs, playing him a few more reps in a row before we rotate him out. So, I’m pretty excited and anxious to continue to watch him continue to develop.”
As the Commanders pursue a playoff berth, Young’s presence should be a benefit to everyone defensively, particularly those also along the line.
“Well he’s a high-energy guy,” Rivera said. “When things are going we land he’s doing the things he’s capable of, he can be a high-impact kind of guy. I think what it’ll do, too, is he can get himself quickly up to form. People will have to start paying attention to him a little more as well and that, I think, will help offset some of the stuff that Montez [Sweat] has been having to deal with all season.”
The Commanders enter Week 17 No. 4 in yards allowed and No. 12 in points allowed. Young rounding back into form should only help the unit in the season’s last two games.
1 responses to “Ron Rivera on Chase Young: The expectation is to see if he can play a little more next week”
Chaseless Young is Vaporware with too much money spent on hair. He is really overrated. | 2022-12-27T21:23:10Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Ron Rivera on Chase Young: The expectation is to see if he can play a little more next week - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/27/ron-rivera-on-chase-young-the-expectation-is-to-see-if-he-can-play-a-little-more-next-week/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/27/ron-rivera-on-chase-young-the-expectation-is-to-see-if-he-can-play-a-little-more-next-week/ |
HBCU lost a Hall of Fame defensive back turned head coach when Deion Sanders left Jackson State to go to Colorado. A few weeks later, another Hall of Fame defensive back is starting his head coaching career at a HBCU.
Ed Reed has accepted the job at Bethune-Cookman, the school announced Tuesday. He will become the 16th head coach in the Wildcats’ history.
Bethune-Cookman, which is located in Daytona Beach, Florida, is a member of the SWAC. The Wildcats finished 2-9 last season, including 2-6 in conference play.
Reed’s alma mater, the University of Miami, hired him in 2020 to serve as the football team’s chief of staff, an advisory role to head coach Manny Diaz.
He played for the Ravens from 2002-12 and finished his career in 2013 with the Texans and Jets. The Pro Football Hall of Fame inducted him into Canton in 2019 in his first year of eligibility.
3 responses to “Bethune-Cookman hires Ed Reed as its next head coach”
That’s fantastic! Good luck to you Ed Reed
He’s going to be an excellent coach! I listed to his analysis here in the D.C. are for years about our horrible defenses in Washington and he was ALWAYS spot on! I wish we could have hired him years ago! I wish him nothing but success!
He didn’t really do anything at the U, now he’ll have to work! | 2022-12-27T23:43:36Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Bethune-Cookman hires Ed Reed as its next head coach - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/27/bethune-cookman-hires-ed-reed-as-its-next-head-coach/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/27/bethune-cookman-hires-ed-reed-as-its-next-head-coach/ |
Derrick Brown: We want Steve Wilks to be our head coach
When the Panthers named Steve Wilks their interim head coach in the wake of Matt Rhule’s firing early this season, team owner David Tepper said that Wilks could hold onto the job on a permanent basis if he does an “incredible job.”
Tepper didn’t specify what would qualify as an incredible job, but going from 1-4 to NFC South champs would make for a pretty good case. The Panthers can do that with wins in the final two weeks of the regular season, but defensive tackle Derrick Brown said on NFL Network that Wilks has already convinced the locker room that he’s the right man for the job.
“I’ll speak for everybody in that locker room and say that we want coach Wilks to be our next head coach,” Brown said. “That’s for sure. I think every single week when we come in, he’s gonna tell you exactly how it is. He doesn’t sugarcoat nothing. He keeps it plain Jane, per se. He lets you know exactly what’s going on. You can be one of the best players, but you walk into that building on Monday and he’ll tell you exactly how he felt about how you played. That level of clarity — that’s exactly what we want.”
Tepper has given no indication about his thoughts regarding Wilks’ chances of retaining the job into next season, but they should be pretty good if the players’ belief in their coach translates to a couple more wins. | 2022-12-28T13:22:49Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Derrick Brown: We want Steve Wilks to be our head coach - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/28/derrick-brown-we-want-steve-wilks-to-be-our-head-coach/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/28/derrick-brown-we-want-steve-wilks-to-be-our-head-coach/ |
Panthers running back D'Onta Foreman was handed a big opportunity when the team traded Christian McCaffrey to the 49ers and he’s made the most of it.
Foreman has run for at least 113 yards in five of the team’s last eight games and he set a season-high in last Saturday’s win over the Lions. Foreman ran 21 times for 165 yards and a touchdown to help Carolina to a 37-23 win that kept them in position to win the NFC South with two more wins.
The NFL named Foreman the NFC’s offensive player of the week on Wednesday. It’s the first time he’s taken that prize.
Foreman has 178 carries for 811 yards and five touchdowns overall this season. All three of those are single-season bests for him and his production should ensure he continues getting chances to lead a backfield in 2023. | 2022-12-28T14:51:10Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | D'Onta Foreman named NFC offensive player of the week - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/28/donta-foreman-named-nfc-offensive-player-of-the-week/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/28/donta-foreman-named-nfc-offensive-player-of-the-week/ |
2 responses to “Doug Pederson: Jaguars’ starters will play this week because there is never a meaningless game”
Very different situation here. The previous ones they where in the playoffs or where tanking, here they are in the middle of a push to make the playoffs for the 1st time in a long time. I wouldn’t let up either.
Philly situation is completely different. The Eagles were a winning org at that point, the Jags have been floundering for 20 years and are trying to establish that culture Andy Reid did before Pederson took over. | 2022-12-28T17:12:32Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Doug Pederson: Jaguars' starters will play this week because there is never a meaningless game - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/28/doug-pederson-jaguars-starters-will-play-this-week-because-there-is-never-a-meaningless-game/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/28/doug-pederson-jaguars-starters-will-play-this-week-because-there-is-never-a-meaningless-game/ |
NFLPA initiates joint review of latest Tua Tagovailoa concussion
Another Tua Tagovailoa concussion, another joint NFL-NFLPA review of the circumstances.
Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the NFL Players Association has initiated a joint investigation of the latest Tagovailoa concussion. It happened at some point in Sunday’s game between the Packers and Dolphins; during a play late in the second quarter, Tua’s head struck the turf.
The union exercised its prerogative to conduct a joint review of the events surrounding the decision to clear Tagovailoa to return to a Week Three game between the Bills and Dolphins. That review resulted in changes to the concussion protocol aimed at ensuring players who show signs of ataxia will be prevented from returning to play. (It also resulted in the union exercising its prerogative to terminate the Unaffiliated Neurotrauma Consultant assigned to the Dolphins that day.) Tua had been clearly unstable and wobbly after striking his head on the ground during that game.
This time around, the review undoubtedly will focus on the failure to connect Tua’s head striking to the turf to the potential need for a concussion evaluation, along with the question of whether he was demonstrating any behaviors that would suggest the possible existence of a concussion.
Yes, the league has already said that there were no signs or symptoms of a concussion during the game. The league also insisted then (and would still insist now) that Tua had only a back injury during the game against the Bills.
Others would strongly disagree with the latter; it makes sense, then, to at least remain a little skeptical about the former. | 2022-12-28T17:12:44Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | NFLPA initiates joint review of latest Tua Tagovailoa concussion - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/28/nflpa-initiates-joint-review-of-latest-tua-tagovailoa-concussion/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/28/nflpa-initiates-joint-review-of-latest-tua-tagovailoa-concussion/ |
Wide receiver Mecole Hardman has been back at Chiefs practice for the last couple of weeks, but he has not been activated from injured reserve yet.
Head coach Andy Reid suggested on Wednesday that Hardman is likely to take that step this week. Hardman has been sidelined by an abdominal injury and Reid said a setback on that front is the only thing that would keep him from making it back into the lineup against the Broncos.
“Now it’s a matter of getting him in the game. Unless there’s a setback, I expect him in there,” Reid said, via Nate Taylor of TheAthletic.com.
Another injured offensive player isn’t quite so close. Reid said running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, who is returning from a high ankle sprain, is “not ready yet.” | 2022-12-28T19:39:04Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Andy Reid on Mecole Hardman: Unless there's a setback, I expect him in there - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/28/andy-reid-on-mecole-hardman-unless-theres-a-setback-i-expect-him-in-there/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/28/andy-reid-on-mecole-hardman-unless-theres-a-setback-i-expect-him-in-there/ |
Commanders head coach Ron Rivera has decided to go back to Carson Wentz as the team’s starting quarterback and he explained the rationale behind that decision at his Wednesday press conference.
Taylor Heinicke led the team to wins in five of his first six starts after Wentz went on injured reserve with a finger injury, but the team has gone 0-2-1 the last two weeks. Heinicke has five turnovers over that span, including a pair against the 49ers last Saturday before Rivera pulled him in favor of Wentz.
Wentz was able to lead the team to a touchdown and Rivera said that the change was made because the team is looking for “a little bit of a spark, a little something different” at quarterback against the Browns this weekend.
With a postseason berth on the line over the final two weeks of the season, the Commanders will need Rivera to be right about Wentz providing them with a push in the right direction because any stumble could lead them to miss out on the tournament. | 2022-12-28T19:39:28Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Ron Rivera on Carson Wentz: We're looking for a little bit of a spark - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/28/ron-rivera-on-carson-wentz-were-looking-for-a-little-bit-of-a-spark/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/28/ron-rivera-on-carson-wentz-were-looking-for-a-little-bit-of-a-spark/ |
A day after announcing his retirement, Cardinals edge rusher J.J. Watt said he was “very” at peace with his decision.
He called this season the right time to call it quits.
Watt will retire without a Super Bowl ring, assuming he doesn’t unretire, and having never played in even a championship game.
Watt said he doesn’t know what’s next. | 2022-12-29T04:35:13Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | J.J. Watt "very" at peace with decision to retire after the season, even without a ring - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/28/j-j-watt-very-at-peace-with-decision-to-retire-after-the-season-even-without-a-ring/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/28/j-j-watt-very-at-peace-with-decision-to-retire-after-the-season-even-without-a-ring/ |
Per multiple sources, the league has aggressively imposed fines during the 2022 for violation of the electronic device policy. In all, 12 teams and three players have been fined this year.
“As a result, clubs have been fined the minimum amount of $50,000, and players have been fined the minimum amount of $5,305,” the league explained in the December 2 memo. “Clubs are strongly encouraged to put pregame processes in place to ensure compliance. This should include verifying that each individual with bench area, locker room, and coaches’ booth access are not wearing or possessing a prohibited electronic device (e.g., cell phone, Apple Watch, Fitbit, etc.) at kickoff.”
Football operations staff and team medical personnel may have a cell phone to address other duties, but they must “step out of the coaches booth or away from the bench area to use their cell phone.” They are at all times prevented from using or wearing an Apple watch or similar wearable device that has data transmitting capabilities when in the bench area or the coaches booth. They also are prohibited from communicating competitive or strategic information. | 2022-12-29T04:35:16Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | NFL cracks down on use of electronic devices during games - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/28/nfl-cracks-down-on-use-of-electronic-devices-during-games/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/28/nfl-cracks-down-on-use-of-electronic-devices-during-games/ |
A report last weekend indicated that former Texans head coach Bill O’Brien is a leading option to join the Patriots as their offensive coordinator after the end of the season, but O’Brien gave no hint about his plans on Wednesday.
O’Brien said that he hasn’t been in contact with the Patriots since visiting the team in the spring and that any potential conversations with NFL teams “will take place when they take place.” For now, he says getting Alabama ready to face Kansas State in the Sugar Bowl is his priority.
O’Brien was on Bill Belichick’s staff in New England from 2007-2011 and then moved on to become the head coach at Penn State. After two years in State College, he became the Texans head coach and went 52-48 with four playoff appearances before being fired in 2020. His two-year deal with Alabama is up after the bowl game.
2 responses to “Bill O’Brien: I wish Patriots well, but “very focused” on Sugar Bowl”
tiredofwinning says:
I don’t understand the fascination with BO. Belichick can’t keep hiring past coaches, players and friends, he will run out. What is so great about BO anyway? Alabama is teetering on the precipice, ready for a decline of their own Houston was in perhaps the weakest division next to the AFC East at the time he coached there. Penn State had nowhere to go but up. The only thing to be said for sure is that he would be an improvement over Matt Patricia, but who wouldn’t be? Time to move on.
“I wish Patriots well”
Meaning, he will not come to Patriots. | 2022-12-29T15:08:01Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Bill O'Brien: I wish Patriots well, but "very focused" on Sugar Bowl - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/29/bill-obrien-i-wish-patriots-well-but-very-focused-on-sugar-bowl/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/29/bill-obrien-i-wish-patriots-well-but-very-focused-on-sugar-bowl/ |
Derek Carr‘s benching will have some long-term consequences for the Raiders. But the team still has two games to play and Jarrett Stidham is now slated to be behind center for both of them.
The 26-year-old quarterback has been in head coach Josh McDaniels’ system since the Patriots selected him in the fourth round of the 2019 draft. He’s never started a game in his career, but has made 11 appearances between his time with New England and Las Vegas. He’s completed 32-of-61 passes for 342 yards with two touchdowns and four interceptions.
Tight end Darren Waller has been catching passes from Carr for the last five seasons. But he realizes what he has to do for the Week 17 matchup against San Francisco.
Waller noted that during training camp, Stidham displayed an understanding of McDaniels’ offense that made players confident he could step in at QB if needed.
Waller, who has missed much of the season due to injury, has 23 catches for 281 yards with a pair of touchdowns in 2022. We’ll see if he can reach 100 yards receiving for the first time this season with Stidham throwing passes on Sunday.
3 responses to “Darren Waller: The only productive thing is to support Jarrett Stidham going forward”
Horrible QB. Just horrible.
Cutler, Brady and Carr will have walked away from McDaniels …
barber1094 says:
At this point I’ll take anybody over Carr. No hate it’s simply time for change. | 2022-12-29T15:08:07Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Darren Waller: The only productive thing is to support Jarrett Stidham going forward - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/29/darren-waller-the-only-productive-thing-is-to-support-jarrett-stidham-going-forward/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/29/darren-waller-the-only-productive-thing-is-to-support-jarrett-stidham-going-forward/ |
Center Ryan Jensen is back on the practice field for the Buccaneers, but a return to the lineup for a game isn’t going to happen in the immediate future.
Jensen has been out since hurting his knee at the start of training camp and Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said the team does not “have any expectations” for him to be a factor during games at the moment.
“We’re not even thinking about him getting in pads [on a game day] at this point,” Bowles said, via Joey Knight of the Tampa Bay Times. “He’s day-to-day. As it progresses, we’ll have more to report, but right now he’s just happy to be out there running, doing something, and that’s good for him. It’s a good lift for him, it’s a good lift for the guys.”
That outlook could change depending on how Jensen looks at practice, especially if the Bucs win this weekend to clinch the NFC South and the home playoff game that comes with it.
3 responses to “Todd Bowles: We’re not thinking about Ryan Jensen playing in a game at this point”
Need a better QB.
So let’s just say Ryan Jensen comes back and is playing like Ryan Jensen, Wirfs is healthy and Brady magically decides that he’s going to actually step in to the pocket for once and be willing to take a few hits and go down field. Would you rather play them in the playoffs or that weak sauce Minnesota defense and Kirk Cousins for example. Just saying, you see it in basketball all the time, veteran teams all of a sudden turn it on when it matters
The increasing likelihood that Jensen will play in the post-season — if there is one for this perplexing team — should energize the Buccaneers Sunday. God knows they need some energy. | 2022-12-29T15:08:44Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Todd Bowles: We're not thinking about Ryan Jensen playing in a game at this point - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/29/todd-bowles-were-not-thinking-about-ryan-jensen-playing-in-a-game-at-this-point/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/29/todd-bowles-were-not-thinking-about-ryan-jensen-playing-in-a-game-at-this-point/ |
6 responses to “Kyle Shanahan on Nick Bosa: It would blow my mind if he’s not the defensive MVP”
The fact that Bosa has played so many games this year is a miracle.
Micah Parsons feels otherwise.
And yet that would require it to be literally based on a feeling rather than thinking because there’s no way anybody can think that Bosa is not the defensive player of the year.
I wouldn’t worry too much about awards and things you can’t control. Bosa is the best defensive player, and Shanahan is the best coach. There’s a good size gap between one and two. I am not a 49ers fan. Just stating the obvious.
As long as I don’t have to hear from Myles Garrett about how it should be him. I dont like nick bosa but his game is so much more complete than myles. He takes over games, and makes huge plays in the run game. Myles sells out for sacks leaving huge run lanes. Then has a low motor and doesn’t chase backs
Cowboys fan here. I agree, Bosa is the DPOY. Hope he stays healthy for the remainder of the season, including the playoffs. | 2022-12-29T17:51:30Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Kyle Shanahan on Nick Bosa: It would blow my mind if he's not the defensive MVP - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/29/kyle-shanahan-on-nick-bosa-it-would-blow-my-mind-if-hes-not-the-defensive-mvp/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/29/kyle-shanahan-on-nick-bosa-it-would-blow-my-mind-if-hes-not-the-defensive-mvp/ |
Sunday’s game against the Ravens will be Kenny Pickett‘s second chance to face Baltimore, but his first one came to a premature end.
Pickett went for a concussion evaluation after the opening drive and was cleared to return to the game, but he only returned for one series because he began experiencing further concussion symptoms. Pickett missed the next game before returning for last Saturday’s win over the Saints and Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith said he’s looking forward to a longer look at the Steelers rookie this weekend.
“It will be nice to get out there and really get to see him for a full game,” Smith said, via the team’s website. “I’m excited about the challenge, and what he’ll bring to the table. I know he likes to pull it down a little bit. So, we’ll see.”
If things go as planned in Pittsburgh, the Ravens will be seeing plenty of Pickett in the years to come and a win on Sunday night would be a good way to perk up the rivalry heading into next season.
3 responses to “Roquan Smith: Will be nice to see Kenny Pickett for a full game”
I think that is dangerous talk coming from a dirty player and should be expected from a Raven.
I’m sure Smith does want to see Pickett more.
It’s tough on defenses when you game plan for a QB all week and then they leave midway with a concussion. Totally messes with your game plan.
Yeah it kinda comes off as he’s looking to concuss Pickett, once again. Maybe got away w/ a little roughing the passer in the last game, don’t you think, Roquan? | 2022-12-29T17:51:52Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Roquan Smith: Will be nice to see Kenny Pickett for a full game - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/29/roquan-smith-will-be-nice-to-see-kenny-pickett-for-a-full-game/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/29/roquan-smith-will-be-nice-to-see-kenny-pickett-for-a-full-game/ |
Trevor Lawrence on Jags starters playing in Week 17: That’s what we want
Though the Jaguars technically don’t have anything to play for in their Week 17 matchup with the Texans, head coach Doug Pederson made it clear that he doesn’t plan to rest any starters.
Quarterback Trevor Lawrence said on Wednesday that is just fine with him.
“We know at this point in the season that’s what we expected. That’s what we want,” Lawrence said in his Wednesday press conference. “You’ve got to finish strong, and that’s the main message, and these are two division games we have left. That doesn’t always work out that way where you get to finish with two division games. It’s a great opportunity for us.
Lawrence noted the whole team feels that way. Plus, as winners of four of their last five games, the Jaguars feel like a much better team than the one that lost 13-6 to the Texans back in Week Five.
“It’s another opportunity just to show who we are, to put our best foot forward, to play another complete game, to keep this momentum that we have,” Lawrence said. “If you go out there and lay an egg, no one is feeling good about that, especially heading into the last week.
“For us, this game is as big as any game we’ve played all year, and that’s the mindset, and it’s a division game, and we’re treating it just like that.”
No matter the result of Sunday’s game, the Jaguars will host the Titans in Week 18 for the AFC South title.
1 responses to “Trevor Lawrence on Jags starters playing in Week 17: That’s what we want”
Get him all the reps you can. He is coming on strong, had Urban not wasted a year of prime development and rookie QB wages, who know how good he is. At least get him a few Qtrs | 2022-12-29T17:51:58Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Trevor Lawrence on Jags starters playing in Week 17: That's what we want - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/29/trevor-lawrence-on-jags-starters-playing-in-week-17-thats-what-we-want/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/29/trevor-lawrence-on-jags-starters-playing-in-week-17-thats-what-we-want/ |
Report: Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren a finalist for Bears president
The Bears’ search for a new president has dipped into the college ranks.
Pete Thamel of ESPN.com reports that Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren is one of the final candidates in the search process for a new president/CEO in Chicago. Warren has been in his current job since 2020.
Before taking the job with the Big Ten, Warren was the COO of the Vikings from 2015-2019. He worked for the Vikings for 15 years overall and also worked for the Rams and Lions earlier in his career.
The Bears are looking for a replacement for Ted Phillips, who is retiring after spending more than 20 years as the team president in Chicago.
1 responses to “Report: Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren a finalist for Bears president”
Well I don’t know much about him except he obviously has knowledge of football. Massive step forward from Phillips. | 2022-12-29T19:39:23Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Report: Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren a finalist for Bears president - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/29/report-big-ten-commissioner-kevin-warren-a-finalist-for-bears-president/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/29/report-big-ten-commissioner-kevin-warren-a-finalist-for-bears-president/ |
Giants safety Xavier McKinney has returned to the practice field.
The Giants announced that McKinney has been designated to return from the non-football injury. He went on the list in early November after suffering injuries to his fingers in an ATV accident during the team’s bye week.
McKinney can be activated at any point in the next 21 days, so he could provide the Giants with a boost in one of their final regular season games or in the postseason. If he isn’t activated in that window, he won’t be able to return this season but the Giants would have to win in the Wild Card round to keep their season going that long.
McKinney had 38 tackles, a sack, a forced fumble, and four passes defensed in eight starts before his injury. | 2022-12-29T19:39:48Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Xavier McKinney returns to practice for Giants - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/29/xavier-mckinney-returns-to-practice-for-giants/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/29/xavier-mckinney-returns-to-practice-for-giants/ |
With the changes to the procedures in 2022, there’s a decent chance receiver Justin Jefferson could receive some votes for MVP this season.
There’s a much lower shot of that happening for the person who throws him the ball.
Jefferson may set a new single-season record for receiving yards in the next two games, as he has 1,756 on 123 catches to lead the league. But Jefferson is seen more as an asset to Cousins than the other way around.
This year, Cousins has completed 65.7 percent of his passes for 4.117 yards with 27 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He’s had three multi-interception games, including the wild 39-36 comeback victory over the Colts in Week 15.
But after posting his support of Cousins to Twitter late on Wednesday night, he reiterated the same while talking to reporters on Thursday.
“Everybody wants to make jokes about him. Always want to talk about him. But his numbers are showing differently,” Jefferson said, via Kevin Seifert of ESPN. “I don’t really want to talk too much on it, but he’s doing whatever he needs to do in order for his team to win and we’re definitely standing behind him.”
Cousins does lead the league with eight fourth-quarter comebacks and game-winning drives. But he’ll likely have to do a lot more in the postseason to fully change the national perception of who he is as a quarterback.
11 responses to “Justin Jefferson on Kirk Cousins: Everyone wants to make jokes; we’re definitely standing behind him”
That’s my quarterback
I wouldn’t worry too much about what anyone outside their building thinks. When you win Super Bowls everyone in the organization is a genius or a HOF player. When you lose it’s the opposite. Many of us out here with a pen or a keyboard know absolutely nothing about football. The players and coaches realize that. It’s fairly obvious. I’m a prime example. I’m an expert on everything, but I’ve never played or coached.
You like that?!
ghost says:
They are having a magical season. The real test will be when/if the whole run turns into a pumpkin when the playoffs begin…..
“……….he’ll likely have to do a lot more in the postseason to fully change the national perception of who he is as a quarterback.”
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Postseason? How about next Sunday evening?
I like teammates who don’t point fingers at each other, teammates who support each other
Unfortunately their line is still average. When they play a good defense, their line can’t get the job done. Cousins will have no time to work through his progressions. Then when their horrendous defense puts them in the hole, Cousins will have to force throws and possibly turn the ball over multiple times… fans will blame him for the loss and ignore the fact that every qb is bad behind a bad line. Cousins hasn’t been the problem for years. Their bottom 10 pass blocking has been the issue.
I like teammates who win super bowls.
Some people weirdly are incapable of giving Cousins any credit. Like before the season when Derek Carr was ranked as the 65th best player in the NFL and Cousins was 99.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzz
Cousin just has to win one playoff game to double the wins of Lame from Baltimore in the playoffs. | 2022-12-29T22:38:23Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Justin Jefferson on Kirk Cousins: Everyone wants to make jokes; we're definitely standing behind him - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/29/justin-jefferson-on-kirk-cousins-everyone-wants-to-make-jokes-were-definitely-standing-behind-him/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/29/justin-jefferson-on-kirk-cousins-everyone-wants-to-make-jokes-were-definitely-standing-behind-him/ |
2 responses to “With half of his life spent in the NFL, retirement is “furthest thing” from Tom Brady’s mind”
Brady has become a sad warning about players who won’t quit their NFL career.
As I said in another post Brady will be with the Dolphins next year, book it. Tua has shown he is not durable enough to play an entire season. Citing health concerns, The Dolphin’s front office can walk away from Tua without facing too much scrutiny.
Miami has an ownership stake on the table for Brady, he lives in Miami and would jump at the chance to throw the ball to Hill and Waddle. Add to that a progressive offensive minded, young coach and the opportunity to stick it to Belichick twice a year. I am not saying I want it to happen, but it is going to happen. | 2022-12-29T22:38:47Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | With half of his life spent in the NFL, retirement is "furthest thing" from Tom Brady's mind - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/29/with-half-of-his-life-spent-in-the-nfl-retirement-is-furthest-thing-from-tom-bradys-mind/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/29/with-half-of-his-life-spent-in-the-nfl-retirement-is-furthest-thing-from-tom-bradys-mind/ |
Charles Leno Jr. named NFLPA Community MVP for Week 17
The NFL Players Association named Commanders tackle Charles Leno Jr. their Community MVP for Week 17 of the 2022 NFL season.
Leno spent the month of December playing “Leno Claus” for people in the Washington D.C. area as well as those around his native Northern California. Over 25 days, Leno and his wife helped families dealing with cancer, donated money to libraries, provided gift cards for grocery shopping, supported anti-gun violence initiatives and more.
It’s the third year in a row that Leno has been named an NFLPA Community MVP and he is also the Commanders’ Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee for this season.
“Being honored for the third year in a row as a NFLPA Community MVP is an honor for my wife and I,” Leno said in a statement. “In life, I believe that you are not defined by what you accomplish but by the impact that you make on others’ lives. By receiving this honor and award, it allows for my organization to continue to grow and expand our reach within the community. One day, this game of football will be over, but the impact that we can make on people’s lives will last forever.”
The NFLPA will donate $10,000 to a charity or foundation of Leno’s choice. He will also join the other weekly honorees in being eligible for the Alan Page Community Award at the end of the season. | 2022-12-30T16:46:02Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Charles Leno Jr. named NFLPA Community MVP for Week 17 - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/30/charles-leno-jr-named-nflpa-community-mvp-for-week-17/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/30/charles-leno-jr-named-nflpa-community-mvp-for-week-17/ |
It was only a matter of time before the question was posted Jerral Wayne Jones.
Before Thursday night’s game in Nashville, Clarence E. Hill Jr. of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram asked the Cowboys’ owner about a claim from agent Greg Daniel that he had been talking regularly to “Jerry Jones’ office” about 49-year-old receiver Terrell Owens returning to the team for which he last played in 2008.
“I don’t know where that’s coming from,” Jones told Hill. “I have no idea. But I haven’t spoken a word to him or is his agent.”
It felt likely a publicity stunt. The comments from Jones seem to confirm that potential explanation.
Owens reacted angrily to the claim that the opportunity fell apart because of his financial demands. He did not specifically say whether any talks had occurred with the Cowboys.
The whole thing was weird. The initial report containing Daniel’s comments expressed not an ounce of skepticism about the notion that Dallas would sign a player who is nearly 50 years old, even though the quotes had a difficult time passing the smell test. The notion that it all fell apart because Owens wanted too much money also made no sense, since why would he be in a position to ask for a penny more than the league minimum?
Far too often, reporters pass along whatever someone hands to them without bothering to run the information through the most basic of filters. The most important filter goes like this: Does it make any sense?
In this case, neither the initial report nor the claim that it imploded over money make an ounce of sense. And the story now seems to be over and done.
1 responses to “Jerry Jones on supposed Terrell Owens return: “I don’t know where that’s coming from””
It felt likely a publicity stunt.
Because it was a publicity stunt. Thanks for giving TO just what he wanted. | 2022-12-30T16:46:15Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Jerry Jones on supposed Terrell Owens return: "I don't know where that's coming from" - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/30/jerry-jones-on-supposed-terrell-owens-return-i-dont-know-where-thats-coming-from/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/30/jerry-jones-on-supposed-terrell-owens-return-i-dont-know-where-thats-coming-from/ |
Blaine Gabbert “just trying to do the right thing” in water rescue after helicopter crash
Buccaneers backup quarterback Blaine Gabbert expressed surprise that he was being labeled a hero today after using his jet ski to reach the passengers in a helicopter that had made an emergency water landing near Tampa Bay.
Gabbert said he didn’t think the media would find out about the incident and that he and his brothers just happened to be on their jet skis in the water near the scene of the accident.
“I was just trying to do the right thing – help them out,” Gabbert said. “Clearly they were in need, and I’m happy they all made it out alive. I honestly wanted to stay anonymous. I just thought I was doing the right thing at the right time. I’m not much of a guy to be in the limelight; I kind of just wanted to stay under the radar.”
The helicopter pilot and three passengers were in the water when Gabbert and his brothers arrived, pulled them onto their jet skis and brought them to shore. Gabbert, who spoke at a press conference today with representatives of the police and fire departments, said first responders were there just moments afterward.
“I called 911 and tried to remain as calm as possible,” he said. “It all turned positive. They were healthy, scared nervous. It was a pretty crappy situation that turned good in the end. I was just ‘right place, right time,’ I guess. The credit really goes to Tampa PD – you guys, the fire department, the Sheriff’s department – because they were there within, like, five seconds. It was pretty remarkable.”
All four people aboard the helicopter made it to shore safely and were not seriously hurt. | 2022-12-30T21:43:51Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Blaine Gabbert "just trying to do the right thing" in water rescue after helicopter crash - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/30/blaine-gabbert-just-trying-to-do-the-right-thing-in-water-rescue-after-helicopter-crash/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/30/blaine-gabbert-just-trying-to-do-the-right-thing-in-water-rescue-after-helicopter-crash/ |
Two years ago, by a margin of only six yards, Buccaneers receiver Mike Evans became the first player with seven straight 1,000-yard seasons to begin his career. Last year, Evans extended his record to eight, by 35 yards.
Despite the widespread perception that this season hasn’t gone well for Evans and that perhaps he has migrated beyond the boundaries of his prime, Evans is only 83 yards away from his ninth straight 1,000-yard season.
He missed one game due to a suspension for coming off the sideline and knocking Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore off his feet. In the 14 games during which he has played, Evans has 917 receiving yards.
That said, seven of quarterback Tom Brady‘s nine interceptions have come on throws to Evans. On Thursday, Brady was asked about that fact.
“I think everything has been a little — this year, it just hasn’t been as good as we would have probably all hoped from the beginning of the year, but that’s the reality of where we’re at,” Brady said. “I love Mike. I love playing with Mike, I love being out there with him. He’s a fighter, he’s a warrior, he’s so tough, he’s talented and I’ve got to make better throws. At the end of the day, I’ve got to do a better job getting him the ball.”
In Tampa’s most recent game, a come-from-behind win over the Cardinals, Brady had two interceptions. Both came on throws to Evans.
It’s been an issue throughout the year, with the duo not clicking the way they have in the past. But it’s still a productive relationships; Evans has 67 catches on 115 targets.
His touchdowns are way down, from 14 last year to three this year. The team’s wins are down, too. But the Bucs remain viable in the playoff chase. And if they make it to the postseason, the Brady-Evans connection is still potent enough to be dangerous. Despite the enhanced risk (this year) of the ball ending up with the wrong guy.
Or the risk that, for example, Evans will drop a walk in touchdown against the Panthers, like he did when the two teams squared off in Charlotte earlier this year. That catch alone would have Evans only 19 yards away from his ninth straight 1,000-yard season.
2 responses to “Mike Evans is only 83 yards away from his ninth straight 1,000-yard season”
That one he dropped early in the year was good for about 80 yards, wasn’t it? LOL.
Mike Evans doesn’t get enough national attention. Quietly he has been one of the best receivers in the league. True professional too. | 2022-12-30T21:44:27Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Mike Evans is only 83 yards away from his ninth straight 1,000-yard season - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/30/mike-evans-is-only-83-yards-away-from-his-ninth-straight-1000-yard-season/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/30/mike-evans-is-only-83-yards-away-from-his-ninth-straight-1000-yard-season/ |
Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson indicated that the team will not be resting any of his starters for this Sunday’s game against the Texans despite the outcome of the game not having any bearing on their bid for the AFC South title, but not all of them are sure things to play.
The team’s final injury report shows a handful of starters are considered questionable to play. That group includes rookie linebacker Travon Walker, who has missed the last two games with an ankle injury.
Pederson said Friday that he’s optimistic about the chances of having Walker for the game and that’s likely the view for quarterback Trevor Lawrence as well. He’s been dealing with a toe injury for several weeks, but has not missed any game action and there’s been no sign of concern that will change this weekend.
Right guard Brandon Scherff (abdomen, ankle), defensive lineman Foley Fatukasi (ankle), safety Andrew Wingard (shoulder), and long snapper Ross Matiscik (back) are also listed as questionable. | 2022-12-30T21:44:52Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Trevor Lawrence, Travon Walker questionable for Jaguars - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/30/trevor-lawrence-travon-walker-questionable-for-jaguars/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/30/trevor-lawrence-travon-walker-questionable-for-jaguars/ |
Ole Miss running back Zach Evans announced Friday he will forgo his remaining college eligibility to enter the 2023 NFL draft.
“I’ve had an unforgettable experience at Ole Miss, and I am forever thankful for the opportunity to play here,” Evans wrote on social media. “After much prayer, I have decided to forego my remaining year of eligibility and declare for the 2023 NFL Draft.”
He rushed for 936 yards and nine touchdowns in his only season at Ole Miss. Evans rushed for 130 or more yards four times this season, including a career-best 207 against Arkansas on Nov. 19.
Evans transferred to Ole Miss from TCU, where he rushed for 1,063 yards in two seasons in Fort Worth. | 2022-12-31T01:07:11Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Ole Miss running back Zach Evans declares for NFL draft - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/30/ole-miss-running-back-zach-evans-declares-for-nfl-draft/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/30/ole-miss-running-back-zach-evans-declares-for-nfl-draft/ |
David Blough will become the fourth starter for the Cardinals in four games. Kyler Murray started Week 14 before a knee injury ended his season; Colt McCoy started Week 15 before being diagnosed with a concussion; and Trace McSorley started Week 16.
McCoy was expected to return to the starting lineup this week but was scratched when concussion-like symptoms returned Thursday.
The Cardinals could have gone back to McSorley, but after he threw for 217 yards with an interception in a 19-16 loss to the Bucs last week, the team wants to see what Blough can do. It’s time for them to evaluate and look ahead to 2023.
Blough signed with the Cardinals off the Vikings’ practice squad the same day Murray was placed on injured reserve Dec. 14.
“Learning a new offense anywhere you go is the first goal of a quarterback,” Blough said Friday, via Tyler Drake of Arizona Sports. “You come in and pride yourself on studying it and working it, and I feel comfortable. They have done a good job at getting me ready.”
Blough has not started a game since he started five in 2019, his only career starts. He has not thrown a pass in a regular-season game since Week 16 of the 2020 season.
“To be standing here before you, I’m blessed,” Blough said. “I’m thankful for everybody who have helped me stand where I’m standing right now with this opportunity this week. I hope they all know I’m just going to cut it loose and are proud. I’m just thankful.”
Blough has nothing to lose except a game, of course, with the Cardinals already out of postseason contention.
“He’s a sharp kid, knows some of the base concepts, and the game plan stuff he’s done a nice job picking up this week,” Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury said. “We’ll make sure we tailor the script to stuff he feels good about and let him go try to play fast and execute at a high level.” | 2022-12-31T02:31:20Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | With nothing to lose, David Blough ready to "cut it loose" - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/30/with-nothing-to-lose-david-blough-ready-to-cut-it-loose/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/30/with-nothing-to-lose-david-blough-ready-to-cut-it-loose/ |
The NFL’s effort to avoid potential problems related to gambling has extended to policing people present in the bench areas.
Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the NFL informed all teams earlier this month that “several” clubs have been fined the minimum amount of $150,000 for violating the Field and Bench Area Access policies.
It’s part of the broader effort to ensure that only the proper people are in position to see and hear the things that happen in the bench area — and to potentially communicate that information to others or to act on it themselves.
As one team source explained it to PFT, the league has an official on every sideline during games, looking for violations of this policy and other similar rules, such as the electronic device policy.
Again, the goal is to ensure that people don’t take advantage of information uniquely available to those who are in position to know exactly what has happened and perhaps what will happen during games. | 2022-12-31T04:42:18Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | "Several" teams have been fined at least $150,000 each for bench-area violations - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/30/several-teams-have-been-fined-at-least-150000-each-for-bench-area-violations/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/30/several-teams-have-been-fined-at-least-150000-each-for-bench-area-violations/ |
Arizona’s best receiver won’t be available to catch passes from their fourth starting quarterback of the year.
The Cardinals have downgraded DeAndre Hopkins to out for Sunday’s game at Atlanta, with a knee injury.
Hopkins had been listed as questionable. He first appeared on the injury report this week on Friday, after not practicing at all.
The Cardinals are currently playing out the string. It’s possible Hopkins has played his last game as a Cardinals. He has a $19.45 million salary for 2023, and a cap number in excess of $30 million.
3 responses to “Cardinals won’t have DeAndre Hopkins on Sunday”
theweedsthruthetrees says:
Trade coming.
See ya D-hop we never even had a chance to know you. On to the next team | 2022-12-31T21:33:26Z | profootballtalk.nbcsports.com | Cardinals won't have DeAndre Hopkins on Sunday - ProFootballTalk | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/31/cardinals-wont-have-deandre-hopkins-on-sunday/ | https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/31/cardinals-wont-have-deandre-hopkins-on-sunday/ |
ODESSA, Texas (Nexstar)- The Odessa Police Department is asking for help from the community to identify a man who robbed a store at gun point.
According to a Facebook post, around 12:57 p.m. on March 14, officers with OPD were dispatched to N-N-Out Convenience Store at 3226 W 10th Street to investigate. Police say a man robbed displayed a firearm and demanded money from a clerk. The man left with an undisclosed amount of money.
If you recognize the suspect, you are encouraged to call Sergeant Caid at 432-335-4952 or Odessa Crime Stoppers at 432-333-8477 and reference case number 22-0004161. If your Crime Stoppers tip leads to an arrest, it could be worth a cash reward. | 2022-03-15T15:49:48Z | www.yourbasin.com | OPD investigating armed robbery | Yourbasin | https://www.yourbasin.com/news/opd-investigating-armed-robbery-3/ | https://www.yourbasin.com/news/opd-investigating-armed-robbery-3/ |
For more Permian Basin weather…check here on https://www.yourbasin.com/weather/forecast/. After some blowing dust and an elevated risk of fire danger over the past couple of days, much more pleasant conditions return for today! Despite a chilly start, Meteorologist Ryan DePhillips is tracking high temperatures in the 60’s and 70’s today with sunny skies. While temperatures will rise even more for tomorrow, stronger winds will return. | 2022-03-15T15:50:13Z | www.yourbasin.com | Warming Back Up! 3-15-2022 | Yourbasin | https://www.yourbasin.com/weather/forecast/warming-back-up-3-15-2022/ | https://www.yourbasin.com/weather/forecast/warming-back-up-3-15-2022/ |
ARTESIA, NM (Nexstar) – A news release issued by the Eddy County Sheriff Mark A. Cage, reported that deputies with the Sheriff’s Office had been conducting an investigation which led to information of individual(s) possibly making Improvised Explosive Devices (IED’s) at a residence, on the 400 block of 42nd Street. Area residents were evacuated as a precaution as the deputies obtained a search warrant for the residence.
The New Mexico State Police, Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) Squad, was present to assist during the execution of the search warrant. During the search investigators found evidence of IED manufacturing.
The incident is still under investigation. We will update the story with new information as it becomes available.
Anyone with information about the case is encouraged to contact Deputy William Marion at 575-887-7551. | 2022-03-15T18:45:34Z | www.yourbasin.com | Evidence of improvised explosive devices located in Eddy County residence | Yourbasin | https://www.yourbasin.com/news/evidence-of-improvised-explosive-devices-located-in-eddy-county-residence/ | https://www.yourbasin.com/news/evidence-of-improvised-explosive-devices-located-in-eddy-county-residence/ |
ODESSA, Texas (Nexstar)- Today, the University of Texas Permian Basin announced the details of a program called Promise Plus that will cover the tuition for more UTPB students.
UTPB’s previous tuition assistance program for students covered tuition and fees for students whose adjusted gross family income was $60,000 or less a year. The new Promise Plus endowment, which will make distributions to institutions annually, is expected to generate about $1 million for UTPB this year, making it comparable to a $22 million endowment that will distribute tuition-relief funds in perpetuity.
It also means the new Falcon Free program can raise its family income threshold to $100,000 and make it possible for 700 additional students to have their entire tuition covered. In West Texas, more than 70% of households have an average income below $100,000.
Falcon Free is available to Texas residents pursuing their undergraduate degree either on campus or online. Students are automatically considered for Falcon Free funding simply by applying to UTPB and filling out the FAFSA/TASFA.
In 2019, the Board of Regents created a $167 million endowment to support students at UT Austin. At the time, Regents Chairman Kevin P. Eltife said he and the Board were committed to developing a similar program for all UT academic institutions.
“Ensuring that more students have access to a higher education and won’t be burdened with debt when they graduate is the single most important investment we can make in UTPB and West Texas,” Eltife said. “We want to expand educational opportunities by making it possible for more students to earn a degree at no cost.”
The Promise Plus endowment is expected to grow in value over time, increasing the allocation to UT Arlington and benefiting more students year after year.
“This will be a wonderful addition to the Falcon Free program and help eliminate barriers that keep many Texas families from accessing high-quality education,” UT System Chancellor James B. Milliken said. “Financial challenges should never stand in the way of any student who wishes to earn a UT degree, and I’m grateful to the Board of Regents for this new and important investment in our students.”
Funding from the Board of Regents is critical in helping UTPB improve opportunities for teaching, learning and research, UTPB President Sandra Woodley said.
“I am thankful for the generous endowment from UT System which will make earning a degree from UTPB more obtainable than ever before,” Woodley said. “Falcon Free will remove the debt and loans barrier for so many students in West Texas and our region. Students will now have the opportunity to earn a UT System degree for free, which will ultimately transform their lives. We cannot wait to see the impact this initiative will have on our community for years to come.”
Construction of the Kinesiology Building to house classrooms, faculty offices, and labs for kinesiology and athletic training majors.
Construction of an Engineering Building to provide space for classrooms, instructional labs, research endeavors, administrative offices and student support services.
Improvements and repairs to numerous other facilities including the STEM Academy Charter School.
Regents have also allocated $8 million in the past decade to recruit and retain 25 notable UTPB faculty members through the successful STARs (Science and Technology Acquisition and Retention) program. Historically, STAR recipients have generated additional research grants and support for UTPB that amounts to more than four times the Regents’ initial investment.
The UT System also has the full partnership of the Texas Legislature, which has approved $92.9 million in capital construction assistance (formerly called Tuition Revenue Bonds) for the Engineering and Kinesiology buildings and the MESA building renovation.
Funding for the Promise Plus endowment was generated from a series of investments by UT System financial officers that produced higher than expected returns this past fiscal year.
The other institutions who will benefit from the UT System’s new Promise Plus endowment include UT Arlington, UT Dallas, UT El Paso, UT Rio Grande Valley, UT San Antonio and UT Tyler. | 2022-03-15T20:06:32Z | www.yourbasin.com | UTPB to offer free tuition to anyone earning less than $100K per year | Yourbasin | https://www.yourbasin.com/news/utpb-to-offer-free-tuition-to-anyone-earning-less-than-100k-per-year/ | https://www.yourbasin.com/news/utpb-to-offer-free-tuition-to-anyone-earning-less-than-100k-per-year/ |
ODESSA, Texas (Nexstar)- An Odessa man is behind bars after an early morning situation at an apartment complex. Leroy Wallace, 50, has been charged with Possession of Child Pornography.
According to a news release, around 9:30 a.m. on March 15, the Texas Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigations Division, with assistance from the Texas Rangers, executed a search and arrest warrant at Wallace’s home at the Springwood Apartment complex in the 1200 block of Harless Avenue.
While executing the warrant, Wallace barricaded himself inside his apartment. Texas Ranger negotiators and an Ector County Mental Health Services counselor were able to communicate with Wallace, who was eventually taken into custody without injury.
Wallace was taken to the Ector County Jail where he remained as of Tuesday afternoon, his bond had not yet been set. A mug shot for Wallace has not yet been provided. | 2022-03-15T23:50:48Z | www.yourbasin.com | Man arrested after standoff in Odessa | Yourbasin | https://www.yourbasin.com/news/man-arrested-after-standoff-in-odessa/ | https://www.yourbasin.com/news/man-arrested-after-standoff-in-odessa/ |
MIDLAND, Texas (Nexstar)- Midland College said a “major” gas leak was detected on the north side of the campus Tuesday afternoon.
As of 5:45 p.m. the dormitories, as well the Fox Science Building and the Todd Aaron Medical Science Building are closed. Students have been asked to report to the Scharbauer Student Center.
The cause of the leak is unknown at this time, we are working to gather more information. | 2022-03-15T23:50:54Z | www.yourbasin.com | MC dorms evacuated amid gas leak | Yourbasin | https://www.yourbasin.com/news/mc-dorms-evacuated-amid-gas-leak/ | https://www.yourbasin.com/news/mc-dorms-evacuated-amid-gas-leak/ |
(Nexstar)- If you are a Whataburger fan headed to the beach for a little rest and relaxation this Spring Break, you may be interested in this “essential” gear. In an Instagram post, the burger brand loved by Texans teased a host of new items just in time for Spring.
With more than 8,000 likes, the post garnered the interest of Whataburger fans from all over.
One Instagram user wrote, “I need it all.” Another said she is “patiently” waiting for the company to release a bathing suit for women.
The branded items now available in the online store include swim trunks, a water bottle, flip flops, and a t-shirt for every day of the week. The store even offers free shipping if you spend more than $100. You can find all the new Spring merchandise here.
Courtesy: Whataburger Instagram | 2022-03-15T23:51:19Z | www.yourbasin.com | Whataburger offering Spring Break ‘essentials’ | Yourbasin | https://www.yourbasin.com/news/whataburger-offering-spring-break-essentials/ | https://www.yourbasin.com/news/whataburger-offering-spring-break-essentials/ |
Abandoned truck found on CR 313
WINKLER COUNTY, Texas (Nexstar)- The Winkler County Sheriff’s Office is asking for help to locate a missing man from Florida whose truck was found abandoned on County Road 313.
According to a Facebook post, 48-year-old Alexis Sanchez Azcuy, was last heard from via the telephone on March 13. Deputies found his commercial vehicle abandoned and unlocked on County Road 313 earlier this week. According to the Sheriff’s Office, Azcuy’s phone has not yet been located and calls go straight to voicemail.
Azcuy has no known contacts in the area, other than the people who reported him missing. Additionally, he has no other known local address, transportation, or means of communication.
Anyone who sees this man is asked to call 432-586-5508. | 2022-03-16T15:55:59Z | www.yourbasin.com | WCSO searching for man missing under ‘suspicious circumstances’ | Yourbasin | https://www.yourbasin.com/news/wcso-searching-for-man-missing-under-suspicious-circumstances/ | https://www.yourbasin.com/news/wcso-searching-for-man-missing-under-suspicious-circumstances/ |
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