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National Football League

Page 678 - Get up to date with the latest news, scores & standings from the Cycling News Community.
We won't know until probably Friday or Saturday just how serious of an injury Lawerence sprain is. There are also "grades" of sprain. Last year both Mahomes and Tannehill suffered a high ankle sprain and neither missed a game. But Kenny Pickett apparently badly stretched or tore his ligaments enough in his recent high ankle sprain that he'll have surgery and miss about a month.

Completely unreal. Not only did they sign Rypian, they cut Boyle! And Boyle actually made a few good throws, in between missing easy ones. But Boyle didn't look much better or worse than Wilson. The Jets are delusional if they think Rypian is going to come in there and turn that offense around. There's a report that Wilson isn't that interested in playing anymore, which Saleh disputed. My guess is this: Zach can see the dumpster fire burning and isn't interested in hopping back in and getting hurt. This will allow him to be jettisoned after the season, and hope to start his career anew somewhere else, even if as a back-up. His interview with another team should be easy "Hey, I did my best. You saw how bad that offense was no matter which one of us they shuffled in and out of there. At least I won a few games." So, whatever situation that ends up being can't be much worse for him than being stuck on the Jets.

I'm wondering if the Eagles, or the league, will come down on Eagles security guy Dom DiSandro. He's the guy that got heavily into it with Greenlaw in Sunday's game. The Eagles and their fans love Dom, very loyal Eagle, but he had no business getting into it with Tre, at all. If the team or league doesn't suspend him to some degree - even if just keeping him off the field for a game and then behind the benches in the future, away from the sideline, it could set a bad precedent. What I mean is this: A team could decide to sacrifice sideline personnel in order to get a key player ejected by telling that person to go out on the field and rile up some player so both can get ejected. The team can win a game without a security guy (trainer, 3nd assistant coach, etc.) but far less so with a player of Greenlaw's caliber.

Anyone remember this?

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeZ-Of_j_yI
There was a guy who complied a shocking number of similar incidence. A quick goog didn't get me what I was looking for so I'll try again later when I have time...if I remember.
 
We won't know until probably Friday or Saturday just how serious of an injury Lawerence sprain is. There are also "grades" of sprain. Last year both Mahomes and Tannehill suffered a high ankle sprain and neither missed a game. But Kenny Pickett apparently badly stretched or tore his ligaments enough in his recent high ankle sprain that he'll have surgery and miss about a month.
Some of medical analysis is suggesting a grade-1 or mild grade-2 sprain. Great point on Mahomes playing on a high ankle sprain last season. It was heavily wrapped & he was clearly in discomfort but like you said he didn't miss any time.

Pickett is having the "Tightrope" procedure that's been a medical game changer for torn ankle ligaments (I believe Tua had that procedure at Bama after the last game of the season & he played in the semi-finals a month later!).

If it's grade-1 for Lawrence, I bet he'll be out there Sunday. It's a matter of a heavy tape job which will stabilize the ankle & something to control the pain. Lawrence is a tough Hombre. Remember he sprained his knee in week #6 - and just 4 days later, he played on TNF against NO (he was fitted with an unloader brace - first time he's ever played a game with a knee brace).

I figure a 75-80% Lawrence is better than a 100% C.J. Beathard. The Jags are in the hunt for the #1 seed & they have two huge games coming up: @ Cleveland & home against Baltimore. Plus they're holding only a one game lead over Indy & Houston in the division who are breathing down their necks playing some good football late in the season.

View: https://youtu.be/XR8pRSUuuk8?si=6XA3AOHBcnDPkLai

Too Funny:


View: https://youtube.com/shorts/UfXWlaOryF0?si=vLL7RyWD84O4K8j2
 
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Von Miller to practice...
I'm honestly not certain what to make of this at this point in time, or what decision should be made. On one hand it's an ugly part of sports (society) that cannot be ignored, or swept under the rug, 1950's style, that the NFL did for years. On the other hand, you can create a list of players who either committed or were strongly accused or suspected of domestic violence, and the majority of them kept their nose clean since. Ray Rice may be the most shining example. The NFL completely botched his suspension and judgement of him, and he and his wife are still married, focusing on educating others about domestic violence. Then you look at someone like Josh Brown, who it really took the Giants, not the NFL, to get rid of, but his entire life appears to be messed up (molested as a boy, bad anger problems, beat his wife, beat a previous girlfriend, etc.) problems bigger than football, bigger than sports.
 
For some reason I thought tonight was the Chargers and Raiders. No such luck, that's next week. We have the Pats playing the Steelers. There's a chance the Patriots won't score, and be shut out for the second game in a row, and third time this season. But I have little faith of Mitch Trubisky leading the Steelers offense. Could be another 6-0 game.

Zappe starting again for Pats, and possibly the rest of the season. I read reports that Mac Jones psyche is just shattered. Whatever chance he ever had of being a good QB are basically gone. Blame whomever you like - Jones himself, Belicheck, Patricia, O'Brien, Judge. All of them. As lousey of a HC Josh McDaniels was, as an OC he made Jones look like a good QB with real potential. Someone will hire Josh as an OC next year, either NE again, or if Belicheck goes somewhere else, and I can't Jones playing under any other OC, but who knows?
 
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Bill B as GM and coach hasn't worked out. Since Brady left and some of their good players retired, their drafting has been mediocre and they have struggled to build a decent roster.

If rumors are to be believed, the 49ers may have drafted Jones instead of Lance but they still would have needed to spend picks to move up the draft order. In hindsight spending those picks to get either player looks bad but their greatest or luckiest decision was in drafting two QB's and getting Purdy in the last round. Purdy would have been undrafted unless one of the 49er's scouts hadn't brought him to the attention of the QB coach Brian Griesie as he was way down the draft depth charts and the fact they were confident he would still be there as the last pick just shows how lucky they were or canny !

Would Jones have done better at the 49ers than Lance ? Probably but probably not as well as Purdy. If the Patriots hadn't selected Jones I wonder how far down the draft he would have tumbled and if Purdy wasn't picked in the last round he may not have even be in in the league at the moment !
 
Decent win for the Patriots. Terrible loss for the Steelers.

As to the Jones/Purdy comparison, I see no way Jones as a 49er does as well as Purdy. Purdy simply makes way, way, better decisions, he's more accurate without question, he is more mobile, in and out of the pocket, he goes through progressions better, he's more calm under pressure, he rarely forces balls, he has a stronger arm without question and excellent accuracy down field. Brocky Purdy is the most underrated QB in the league playing at MVP level, leads the league in every meaningful stat, and is routinely dismissed by "experts" who often don't even list him in their top 10 QB list.

I do agree with what McCourty said though: "I have no problem if someone, in their opinion, says: ‘Hey, I just don’t think the guy is that good, I don’t see it. He had a good rookie year but I don’t think he’s the guy they made him out to be.'”

I think that's basically it. Jones is who he is, a limited QB. I just listed his shortcomings in a roundabout way above. Even if we compare him to Zach Wilson, it's clear Zach is more mobile, has a much stronger arm, and even when pressured both during a play and when the team is faltering, he doesn't get as flustered. I can see Zach perhaps landing somewhere, sitting a year or longer, and having a good veteran career, maybe even a Geno type resurgence. I'm not so sure about Jones, no matter where he plays.

Comparing Jones to Lance is interesting, because Trey has barely played.
 
“Tanking? Never heard of her.” Bill Belichick probably


Whoever NE goes with at quarterback they need some weapons and an oline to work with. Steelers look to be circling the missed playoff drain each week that goes by.

I hope this Bills at Chiefs game is reallly good to meet the hype.

Dolphins hopefully keep their train rolling to fight for the one seed. It’s been a long while for a cold weather team having to travel somewhere warm during the playoffs.
 
Decent win for the Patriots. Terrible loss for the Steelers.

As to the Jones/Purdy comparison, I see no way Jones as a 49er does as well as Purdy. Purdy simply makes way, way, better decisions, he's more accurate without question, he is more mobile, in and out of the pocket, he goes through progressions better, he's more calm under pressure, he rarely forces balls, he has a stronger arm without question and excellent accuracy down field. Brocky Purdy is the most underrated QB in the league playing at MVP level, leads the league in every meaningful stat, and is routinely dismissed by "experts" who often don't even list him in their top 10 QB list.

I do agree with what McCourty said though: "I have no problem if someone, in their opinion, says: ‘Hey, I just don’t think the guy is that good, I don’t see it. He had a good rookie year but I don’t think he’s the guy they made him out to be.'”

I think that's basically it. Jones is who he is, a limited QB. I just listed his shortcomings in a roundabout way above. Even if we compare him to Zach Wilson, it's clear Zach is more mobile, has a much stronger arm, and even when pressured both during a play and when the team is faltering, he doesn't get as flustered. I can see Zach perhaps landing somewhere, sitting a year or longer, and having a good veteran career, maybe even a Geno type resurgence. I'm not so sure about Jones, no matter where he plays.

Comparing Jones to Lance is interesting, because Trey has barely played.
Boggles the mind to think that Lance has still only had four starts with one win over the Texans and three injuries in four games.
Purdy : 21 starts for 17-4 win/loss including 36 TD's with 10 intercepts.

Mac Jones 42 starts for 46-36.

Zac Wilson 32 starts for 21-25.

Justin Fields 35 starts for 36-27,

Tua 48 starts for 73-33.
 
The hype that Jones received would have been from that monstrous senior season he had at Bama throwing for 4500 yds, 41/4 & a 203 Rtg! His pre-draft scouting prospect grade was only 6.33 (" Will eventually be plus starter"). The NFL uses the premier "Prospect Grading Scale" which goes from the highest rating possible of 8.0 ("The Perfect Prospect") to the lowest rating of 5.50 ("Priority Undrafted Free Agent").


C.J. Stroud had two monstrous seasons at Ohio St throwing for 8500 yds, 85/12 & a 182 Rtg. His prospect rating was 6.70 (Year 1 Starter). The $64k question is: Why hasn't Jones panned out to his potential while Stroud is playing magnificently in his rookie season? Is it coaching? Is it the system? Is it luck? They both had incredible college careers in top Power-5 conferences.


Purdy would be another paradox because his prospect grade was the lowest on the scale at 5.51 ("Priority Undrafted Free Agent"). He has a litany of weaknesses listed on his scouting report, and though he had a solid 4 seasons at Iowa St, it was nothing on the scale of what Stroud & Jones had. So, how in the hell can Purdy be the starter at SF, performing at MVP levels & looking like thee franchise QB with that dismal prospect rating? (for comparison Brett Rypien received a 5.60: "Candidate For Bottom Of The Roster Or Practice Squad" - right where he's been in his NFL career).


Interestingly, Wilson, who also had an eye-opening career at BYU, was surprisingly rated at 6.50 ("Boom-or-Bust Potential"). The Jets would have known this ahead of time nonetheless taking him 2nd OA & gambling that he'd be a "Boom" & the second coming of Broadway Joe. They gambled wrong & look like fools now. Lol.


IM0, it's risky drafting a QB in the 1st round these days. Owners are paying out these colossal signing bonuses and not only expecting a year 1 starter, but for that QB to immediately step in & start winning games. The days of having the 1st rounder sit a year or two & learn under a season veteran QB are long gone (no more patience for that I guess).

Owners hype up these 1st rounders paying them ridiculous salaries & signing bonuses (for not playing one effin down of football!) & expecting them to jump right in as a week #1 starter & perform like an experienced veteran (that's tremendous pressure on these kids just coming out of college). And when things go wrong - or not up to expectations - like with Bryce Young, there's panic with finger pointing resulting in unmerciful media criticism, friction between the GMs & ownership, coaches/GMs fired, hostile fans, etc. Lol
 
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The hype that Jones received would have been from that monstrous senior season he had at Bama throwing for 4500 yds, 41/4 & a 203 Rtg! His pre-draft scouting prospect grade was only 6.33 (" Will eventually be plus starter"). The NFL uses the premier "Prospect Grading Scale" which goes from the highest rating possible of 8.0 ("The Perfect Prospect") to the lowest rating of 5.50 ("Priority Undrafted Free Agent").
Remember a guy name Aaron Donald? These geniuses had him pegged: Rating? 5.9. "Average backup, or special teamer".

Maxx Crosby, clearly the best player on the entire Raiders team also rated just 5.9.

And don't forget Josh Rosen. 6.7. "Year 1 starter".

Not to top Mitchell Trubisky. 7.0 "Pro bowl talent"!

But he wasn't as highly touted as Sam Darnold, at 7.1. Another "Pro Bowl talent".

You'd think these guys would be ripping up the league about now, and Arnold and Crosby's careers would be over.


It's risky drafting a QB in the 1st round these days. Owners are paying out these colossal signing bonuses and not only expecting a year 1 starter, but for that QB to immediately step in & start winning games. The days of having the 1st rounder sit a year or two & learn under a season veteran QB are long gone (no more patience for that I guess).

Owners hype up these 1st rounders paying them ridiculous salaries & signing bonuses (for not playing one effin down of football!) & expecting them to jump right in as a week #1 starter & perform like an experienced veteran (that's tremendous pressure on these kids just coming out of college).
Great post. But it doesn't even apply to top drafted QBs, which is a real crap shoot. Take a look at the Raiders. Aiden O'Connell was drafted in the 4th round (about correct), he's played so-so for such a rookie thrown into the fire. Well, there's talk about how the Raiders have seen enough of him to know he's not the guy, and are looking to maybe move up in next year's draft to find their guy. As if the rookies coming into the NFL next year are a total guarantee to be immediately successful against NFL defenses. Its total madness. Like a bad corporate American CEO, zero patience, expecting instant results, always. Let's not also forget a great deal of these players are coming out of the NCAA after their junior season. Some are just 20 years old.

You talk about contracts, while I agree some of the way they are crafted is absurd. But these rookie deals are more balanced than the old days. Not even Bryce Young's contract, with inflation and cap increases, has matched what Sam Bradford got after he threatened to hold out. 6 years, $78m, with $50m of that guaranteed ($110m in today's money). I'm not here to bash Sam, who has since been a humble guy, but in those six years he only made it through 2 full seasons, missed an entire season, half of another. Only played 8 seasons, and never once threw for more than 3,800 yards. This deal, along with Jamarcus Russell taking the Raiders money and then not caring, killed these insane deals.

Bryce Young's deal is 4-years, $37m, with a ridiculous $24m as a bonus up front, with all $37m guaranteed.

Unless I read it wrong, I believe $80m of Lamar Jackson's current deal goes to him this year. Incredible.
 
Some make or break games this week mainly for the mid teams but the top teams still need to win re the number one seed :
Hawks like the Rams need to win or at least lose and win their last four. Geno may not play. Walker might be back. 49ers have some injuries : McCloud out, as is Armstead, Burford and Mitchell are in doubt. Also a must win for the 49ers to stay in the hunt for the one seed. 49ers still have to play the Ravens, and the Rams which is always a competitive game even though the Rams have lost most of them lately.

Rams need to beat the Ravens to keep their playoff hopes alive otherwise they need to win their last four and depend on other results. I think it could be a good game. Rams are playing better lately.

Chiefs and Bills offenses have had their struggles. Chiefs improved defense might end up being the difference.

Everyone and his dog are picking the Cowboys to beat the Eagles. Last week the 49ers helped out the Cowboys now they need the favor returned ! With the 49ers having defeated both teams, the tiebreaker could end up being important. A win to the Eagles and a loss for the 49ers would clinch the one seed for the Eagles you would think with only four further games and the Eagles last three games should be wins against lowly teams. They have the Hawks next week. A loss for the Cowboys and a win for the 49ers would keep it alive just while killing the Cowboys one seed hopes.

Denver should beat the Chargers and pretty much need to. Chargers have been looking very average. Colts and Bengals should be a hard fought game as will the Jags and Browns. GB should be too good for the Giants.
 
This week and next are the few times I’ll be rooting for Bills and Patriots in order to beat the Chiefs. Though I always root for the Chiefs to lose, now it has the added benefit of increasing the Dolphins one seed chance after they squandered it in Germany. For the Bills I feel like offensively they will be superior but be making too many mistakes that allow the Chiefs to stay in the game. Though to their credit they have a great record after the bye, Chiefs are reeling from some tough loses, and Bills have gone to Arrowhead in the regular season and won. wish it was the night game but Cowboys and Eagled should live up to the hype. Then I'm excited for the Monday game due to being able to watch it.
 

Good article. The league has gone insane already with a 17 game schedule and now an 18 game schedule forthcoming? The injuries are astronomically high - not just to QBs but to all positions (excluding kickers & punters).

Having an 18 game season becomes a safety issue for the players, IMO. Football wasn't meant to be a 17 or 18 game season. It's so ridiculous now that the regular season starts in late summer and ends in the middle of winter. Lol.

It seems to be all about the $$$.
 
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It's definitely all about money. I've advocated going back to the 16 game schedule (and old playoff schedule) ever since this 17 game notion was mentioned. I'm sure the league will go to 18 games, figuring there will be a way to get backup players more reps.

The other "solution" the NFL likely has, but this is long term, and obviously takes a lot more capital risk, is to expand the league, perhaps by as many as 8 teams. Four in Europe, and 4 more in the US (St. Louis, San Antonio, Portland, and San Diego most likely). The other problem with this is you need more full 53 man rosters. And finding that, let alone 8 quality quarterbacks (really about 15 considering likely injuries) seems almost impossible. Or teams will be starting QBs like Josh Rosen, Jacob Eason, Ian Book, Easton Stick, Chris Oladukun, etc. who could prove to be really good at throwing interceptions.

The third solution would be for the NFL to basically buy the XFL/USFL and turn it into a quality minor league football program. Pumping enough marketing money and hype into it to get enough football junkies to watch. This somewhat solves the problem of poor play, as anyone who watched last year saw generally good play from both leagues. I've posted before that Alex McGough (USFL MVP, now on the Packers practice squad) looked quite impressive in the USFL, and decent in his second game he played in the NFL pre-season. So a league with good play and exciting enough games is certainly possible. I just don't know how much the owners in the NFL can agree on anything, let alone buying the UXFL, even if the price were cheap. They are all just too greedy, too selfish I fear. I mean, imagine what happens when David Tepper, Michael Bidwell, Jerry Jones and Dean Spanos get into a disagreement on who should control which team, have access to which players, etc.
 

Good article. The league has gone insane already with a 17 game schedule and now an 18 game schedule forthcoming? The injuries are astronomically high - not just to QBs but to all positions (excluding kickers & punters).

Having an 18 game season becomes a safety issue for the players, IMO. Football wasn't meant to be a 17 or 18 game season. It's so ridiculous now that the regular season starts in late summer and ends in the middle of winter. Lol.

It seems to be all about the $$$.
It's a shame that this makes no sense.. An 18 game season is too long.. Too much but all these injuries are well before getting close to an 18 game season.. And there is every effort to make defensive players less violent and all the rules are an utter failure. Defensive players are faster and stronger and more determined than ever to break the quarterback into pieces and that can't be officiated out of the game... If you want to protect the Quarterback.. Change the game.. Add a lineman ( ineligible) on offense.. It's the obvious solution to protecting the QB..add protection.
 

Good article. The league has gone insane already with a 17 game schedule and now an 18 game schedule forthcoming? The injuries are astronomically high - not just to QBs but to all positions (excluding kickers & punters).

Having an 18 game season becomes a safety issue for the players, IMO. Football wasn't meant to be a 17 or 18 game season. It's so ridiculous now that the regular season starts in late summer and ends in the middle of winter. Lol.

It seems to be all about the $$$.
Not to mention wanting more international games, an international team, and a football game every day of the week.
 
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I don’t know the article or interview this was said in, just saw it on Facebook.

“ Former NFL TE Kyle Rudolph shared a few insights about his team around Tom Brady on the Bucs last season.

Rudolph says that Brady had an empty locker next to him, where other players would put helmets, jerseys, pictures, footballs, all the stuff they wanted Tom to sign for them.

"There’d be notes on the stuff, a post-it note on a football—‘Sign this for Jimmy, it’s his birthday.’ At the end of the day, almost every day, he’d sit there and sign everything."

"My experience with Tom was incredible. First, the way he treated people. The way he treated the Glazer family [Bucs owners] is exactly the way he treated the janitor at 6:30 at night when he and maybe one or two other guys were the last players in the building."”


Crazy the drive he kept for his whole career and signing everything for the team.
 
It's definitely all about money. I've advocated going back to the 16 game schedule (and old playoff schedule) ever since this 17 game notion was mentioned. I'm sure the league will go to 18 games, figuring there will be a way to get backup players more reps.

The other "solution" the NFL likely has, but this is long term, and obviously takes a lot more capital risk, is to expand the league, perhaps by as many as 8 teams. Four in Europe, and 4 more in the US (St. Louis, San Antonio, Portland, and San Diego most likely). The other problem with this is you need more full 53 man rosters. And finding that, let alone 8 quality quarterbacks (really about 15 considering likely injuries) seems almost impossible. Or teams will be starting QBs like Josh Rosen, Jacob Eason, Ian Book, Easton Stick, Chris Oladukun, etc. who could prove to be really good at throwing interceptions.

The third solution would be for the NFL to basically buy the XFL/USFL and turn it into a quality minor league football program. Pumping enough marketing money and hype into it to get enough football junkies to watch. This somewhat solves the problem of poor play, as anyone who watched last year saw generally good play from both leagues. I've posted before that Alex McGough (USFL MVP, now on the Packers practice squad) looked quite impressive in the USFL, and decent in his second game he played in the NFL pre-season. So a league with good play and exciting enough games is certainly possible. I just don't know how much the owners in the NFL can agree on anything, let alone buying the UXFL, even if the price were cheap. They are all just too greedy, too selfish I fear. I mean, imagine what happens when David Tepper, Michael Bidwell, Jerry Jones and Dean Spanos get into a disagreement on who should control which team, have access to which players, etc.
Agree.

More teams would certainly thin out QBs, but it would also thin thin out the guys coming after them, and the guys protecting them, and catching balls...It would drop the level of play overall IMO.