Monthly Archives: October 2017

Bruce Arians: No plans to step down as Cardinals coach after season

Cincinnati Bengals,

Arizona Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said his focus is on this week, not on a report that this will be his final season with the team.

The Panthers can’t afford to lose another game they are favored to win. Next Sunday at Tampa Bay is an opportunity that can’t be wasted.

After having just seven carries — all in the first half — Sunday against Pittsburgh, Bengals rookie Joe Mixon expressed frustration on the part of the running back group, pointing to the Steelers’ success handing the ball off to Le’Veon Bell 35 times.

Lewis pointed out that the Bengals did throw two second-half passes to Mixon on Sunday, and one turned into a fumble (which the Bengals recovered).

It’s worse than this. The Browns have lost 32 of their past 34 games dating back into 2015. Hue Jackson is 1-22 as their coach, and he seems to have no idea how to handle his (admittedly brutal) quarterback situation. If you’re Cleveland, all you want to see is progress. But you’re not. Only three of their remaining nine games are at home.

Marqise Lee, WR, Jacksonville Jaguars (41.0 percent): In the past five games, Lee has accumulated 30 targets. He and Allen Hurns are perhaps best described as the co-No. 1 pass-catchers in Jacksonville. I’d prefer Lee, whom I view as a low-end WR4, as the Jaguars wide receiver to add and use in a deeper PPR league.

DeAndre Washington, RB, Oakland Raiders (3.0 percent): With Marshawn Lynch set to sit out this week because of a suspension, someone is due to take over lead back duties in Oakland. Washington and Jalen Richard each had nine carries in Week 7, with Washington finding the end zone. chargers_046

Cowboys’ Ezekiel Elliott Jersey eligible to play vs. Redskins

Cincinnati Bengals,

New York judge Katherine Polk Failla denied the NFL’s request to expedite Ezekiel Tyler Johnson Jersey Elliott’s suspension appeal Monday, meaning the Dallas running back will be eligible to play against the Washington Redskins in Week 8.
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Elliott’s hearing will remain on its originally scheduled date of Oct. 30. He was granted a second temporary restraining order against the league last week to prevent the start of a six-game suspension.

The NFL suspended Elliott after it determined he violated the league’s domestic-violence policy when he was accused of assaulting a woman last year. Police dropped criminal charges because of insufficient evidence, but Elliott was still subject to punishment by the league.

Limited Mike Adams Jersey Elliott has played in all six Cowboys games this season during the appeal process and set a career high with 219 total yards (147 rushing, 72 receiving) with three touchdowns in the Cowboys’ 40-10 win over the 49ers in Week 7.
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The matchup, along with his recent quiet production, makes Ed Dickson a tough play as anything other than a touchdown-dependent TE2. … One of the Redskins’ pass-catchers will have a good game. I just don’t know who it will be, as Kirk Cousins spreads the ball around. So other than Jordan Reed, it’s hard to trust Terrelle Pryor Sr. or Jamison Crowder. I do like Josh Doctson, but until we see it, he’s hard to trust blindly. … What can I say? Very bleak week.

We weren’t able to get there because our time was cut short. I think I could have gotten better at the things he’s talking about if we’d continued. Shanahan was fired at the end of the 2013 season, a move several people in the organization believe happened because he wanted to let Cousins compete for the job. Shanahan concedes that he felt Cousins had the potential to be the next Drew Brees.

It may not be red carpet treatment for Jamaal Charles Jersey, but there is still magic in the ride.

Cincinnati Bengals,

Something splendid in it about hope and a singular chance to look forward, not backward.
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Winston may be medically cleared to play despite spraining the AC Joint in his throwing shoulder, however he’d be facing a Bills team that has allowed just two passing TDs to QBs while intercepting them eight times. Winston has been shaky even when healthy, ranked 20th among QBs for total fantasy points scored.

I think this year I feel like we are a more complete team, all three phases, Smith said. I feel like we can win a game a lot of different ways.

That means Smith could go to Charcandrick West, who had just 12 receiving yards but punched in two touchdowns, instead of Kelce or Hunt. West’s first score of the day, an 8-yard pass from Smith, came on a third-and-4. Smith extended the play with his legs Womens T.J. McDonald Jersey to avoid pressure, set his feet, and delivered a perfect strike.

Smith finished the game with just 19 rushing yards on five carries, but each one seemed to come at a crucial moment. At age 33, Smith hasn’t lost his mobility that has been a hallmark of his career.

The Raiders were bailed out, however, because Broncos kicker Brandon McManus then missed a short field goal. It was a dark few moments for the Slipper Syndicate indeed.
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Brett Hundley in his first NFL start supplants Rodgers. The Saints defense will gleefully embrace that switch. So does the entire NFC and especially the rest of the Packers’ NFC North brethren Minnesota, Detroit and Chicago.
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Luke Kuechly Jersey is in the concussion protocol after leaving Eagles vs. Panthers with head injury

Cincinnati Bengals,

Luke Kuechly suffered an injury against the Eagles late in the first half of Carolina’s Thursday night matchup. Kuechly was being evaluated for a concussion, did not come out for the second half of the game, and would later be ruled out.

Broncos coach Vance Joseph said wide receivers Emmanuel Sanders and Isaiah McKenzie suffered right ankle sprains. Both injuries were significant sprains and Joseph called both players week to week, before he then ruled them out of next Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Quarterback Trevor Siemian, who briefly left the Giants game with a left shoulder injury just before halftime, was also sent for an MRI on Monday. Joseph called the results good news for the team and said Siemian will start against the Chargers.

Wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, who had his right lower leg X-rayed in the third quarter before he returned to finish out the game, also went for an MRI. Joseph said it’s a bruise, he’s fine.
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Peterson incredibly broke his personal record of 224 yards rushing later that season. He ran for 296 yards against the Chargers, setting the NFL’s single-game rushing record, which still stands.

Hester was first-team All Pro. Peterson was 2nd team. They were both Pro Bowlers. They will both be Hall of Famers.

On October 14, 2007, Hester couldn’t care less.

I don’t pay attention to records, he said quietly at his locker after the game, his team a disheartening 2-4 and facing an uphill road to the playoffs. At the end of my career, I’ll look back at all that.

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NFL evaluators pick Week 7’s best games

Jacksonville Jaguars

ESPN senior writer Mike Sando asks league insiders to pick winners in selected games each week. Three evaluators joined the panel for Week 7. This week’s selected games: Chiefs-Raiders, Jets-Dolphins, Broncos-Chargers, Falcons-Patriots and Redskins-Eagles.

This could just be the start. Get this orange-haired fan a few friends and you have the makings of a small fan base that could compete with the Raiders’ Black Hole in a few years. Also, this Raiders-Titans game should exclusively take place in October and/or my nightmares if this actually happens (which it won’t).

Drew Brees, QB, Saints: Likewise, Brees’ 11.54 fantasy points on Sunday might not have ruined his fantasy managers’ chances, but they certainly didn’t help matters much. He was the third-most-started quarterback in ESPN leagues, active in 81.0 percent, and he delivered his worst score in a home game since 2016 Week 13 (7.04), that one also against the Detroit Lions. Fortunately for Brees, he’s now done with the Lions (at least during the regular season), and he’ll get a more favorable matchup in Week 7 at Green Bay.

The New England defense adopted a bend-don’t-break philosophy in the second half to pull away in a narrow victory. The Patriots got a little help from a questionable reversal that turned a Jets touchdown into a touchback when Austin Seferian-Jenkins was ruled to have fumbled through the back of the end zone. New York had the opportunity to tie the game with a last-minute drive, but McCown’s 4th-and-16 prayer fell to the turf to push the Patriots to the top of the AFC East with a 4-2 record.

Next, Trent Williams, Kirk Cousins’ blind side protector, gets a blind side block on a bootleg by Cousins. Trent goes down to check his gap on the zone run, then bounces out to protect Cousins. Zombo has no idea what’s coming.
steelers_013

Le’Veon Bell Jersey got a celebration penalty for boxing up the goalpost

Cincinnati Bengals,

Le’Veon Bell has the Steelers in good shape against Kansas City after accumulating 74 rushing yards and a touchdown through the opening minutes of the second quarter. He ended Pittsburgh’s first touchdown on a sour note, however, after referees deemed his use of the goalpost as a punching bag to be a bridge too far and flagged him for 15 yards.
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The Rams opened up the game with a Pharoh Cooper 103-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

I wasn’t a math major in college or anything. I got into journalism and blogging so I wouldn’t have to do a lot of math. But I can tell you this — if they keep up that pace of scoring, there will be a lot of points.

Take that for data.
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I include this because one of the best things SB Nation makes is a show called Will You Be My Friend? and you should watch the episode with Gordon. Here, I’ll embed it and you can watch it right now. Go ahead, kick your shoes off and luxuriate on this webpage a little longer.

My son is up from his nap. He sleepily staggers over and throws his arms around me in a big hug. I know that doesn’t really pop off the screen as anything special, but trust me when I say my brain is FLOODED with dopamine from his carefree smile and chubby arms.

After an easy drive down the field, an apparent Todd Gurley touchdown is wiped off the board when replay shows that Earl Thomas’ goal-line chop knocked the ball loose short of the goal line, resulting in a touchback for the Seahawks (it’s the second time Thomas has done this against the Rams). The end zone fumble/touchback foible remains the most inexplicable rule in football, and I love it very much in this moment.

Ezekiel Elliott Jersey suspension drama looms, and with their defense struggling so much

Cincinnati Bengals,

They went into the bye with a reeling offense, but their surprising start has been anchored by a defense playing better on every level under Sean McDermott. Tyrod Taylor and LeSean McCoy need to put the team on their backs.

Ezekiel Elliott’s suspension drama looms, and with their defense struggling so much, his absence would put even more pressure on Dak Prescott. The ‘Boys need to get going after the bye or they can soon say goodbye to any big NFC hopes.

This week: at 49ers, back up the road from training camp

Elite Youth Brandon Bollig Jersey Joe Flacco is getting nothing done in the passing game, and when opponents shut down the Ravens’ running game early, there’s not much of a chance for them to be competitive. John Harbaugh’s team is in danger of a free-fall.

Television viewership of NFL games is down significantly this season, and the trend is affecting the outlook on media companies’ stocks.

According to Nielsen data cited by ESPN.com, an average of 15 million people have watched NFL games this season, down about 7.5 percent from the 16.2 million average through Week 6 last year.
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While some will blame national anthem protests or the declining quality of the product, there are countless factors that can affect television viewership of sports. Whatever the reasons, though, the ratings trend is one the league and its television partners want to figure out soon.

The Cardinals got a big boost in the running game from Adrian Peterson, well timed right before a game against a Los Angeles run defense vulnerable to giving up explosive plays to power backs. In a high-scoring affair that London fans will appreciate, veterans Bruce Arians and Carson Palmer will produce more points than youngsters Sean McVay and Jared Goff.

Tom Brady Jersey sets record for regular-season wins with controversial victory

Cincinnati Bengals,

Tom Brady was already the winningest quarterback in NFL history. Now he has the most regular-season victories as well.

The Patriots quarterback broke a tie with Brett Favre and Peyton Manning Sunday as the Patriots held on for a 24-17 victory over the Jets. The win was the 187th regular-season win for Brady, who has 212 total victories, including the playoffs.

Elite Mens Daniel Sedin Jersey Favre and Manning each had 186 wins in the regular season with Favre holding 199 victories, including the postseason, at the time of his retirement. Manning retired following Super Bowl 50 with 200 total wins.

New England’s seven-point win Sunday was not without controversy as Jets tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins had a touchdown taken away by a questionable call.

Aaron Rodgers suffered a significant injury in the game, McCarthy said. It will require surgery. He’ll be out minimum of a significant amount of time. Potentially, his season can be over. He’ll have surgery here in the near future. After we see how that goes, focus on getting better and healthy 鈥?that’s all that really matters right now.

The focus right now is for him to have surgery and from that there will be more information. Our focus is on his health, not really focused on the roster right now.
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The injury occurred in the first quarter Sunday’s game when Rodgers was hit by Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr as he threw a pass that was dropped by tight end Martellus Bennett. Barr drove Rodgers into the turf onto his right shoulder in what was a legal hit.

During Monday’s Celtics-Sixers rematch at TD Garden, Smart put his grown-man strength on display again.

Jacksonville Jaguars,

But the allure of the grinding at-bat faded. Partly it was because bullpens got so deep, and pitcher usage patterns changed so much, that it was no longer deemed worthwhile to get to the “soft underbelly” of a team’s bullpen. There hardly is a soft underbelly in the game anymore. Every team has five relievers with better ERAs than most of the best starters. With occasional exceptions, knocking the other team’s starter out doesn’t do anything except bring in the other team’s dominant seventh, eighth- and ninth-inning guys. And because these seventh-, eighth- and ninth-inning guys are used in such a rigid, one-inning way, there’s little chance of exhausting them before the three-game series is over and they become somebody else’s opponent.

In the span of six days, Shaw went from the practice squad to Cleveland’s starter for the 2014 season-finale following injuries to Josh McCown and Johnny Manziel.

What happened? Davis was released during the 2016 preseason when the Browns decided to keep Robert Griffin III, rookie Cody Kessler and McCown on their roster. He was signed ahead of fellow free-agent Colin Kaepernick during the 2017 offseason to serve as Russell Wilson’s backup in Seattle.

“I definitely laughed at that,” said Smart. “I’ve been guarding bigger guys ever since I was in college, same weight I am now when I was in college. That’s never going to change; my strength is never going to change. Just because I slimmed down, that’s to my advantage. I can move a lot faster now, in addition to my strength.”

During Monday’s Celtics-Sixers rematch at TD Garden, Smart put his grown-man strength on display again. Sixers rookie Markelle Fultz, the No. 1 pick in June’s draft, drove hard down the right side of the lane and tried to spin into the paint. A backpedaling Smart ripped the ball out of Fultz’s hands as he went up for a shot and, balancing on the end line, Smart flipped the ball to a teammate to start a break the other way.ravens_007

Adrian Peterson Jersey on trade to Cardinals: ‘Thank you, Jesus’

Cincinnati Bengals,

While it may not have been a trade that Adrian Peterson was actively seeking, it was one that he was praying for. On Tuesday, his prayers were answered as news broke that the former All-Pro running back was traded to the Cardinals.

It was like, ‘Thank you, Jesus, Peterson told reporters Wednesday during his first news conference as a Cardinal.

Peterson’s time in New Orleans was short-lived after playing four games for the Saints with only 27 carries for 81 yards and no touchdowns. He signed a two-year, $7 million contract with the Saints this offseason, but after just a month he was ready for a change.

Defensive tackle Fletcher Cox was a big reason why. The six-year veteran returned from a calf injury and had an immediate impact Thursday, stuffing Jonathan Stewart for a 1-yard gain on Carolina’s first play from scrimmage.

I pushed the gas pedal from the first play, Cox said following the win. That way I knew where I was physically.

Cox also created the first of three Cam Newton interceptions, hitting the Panthers quarterback as he threw the ball from his own 14-yard line. The hit resulted in a fluttering pass that was picked by Eagles rookie Rasul Douglas.

Limited Kids Noah Spence Jersey The Eagles answered with a field goal of their own, a 48-yarder by Elliott with 8:02 remaining in the third quarter.

The Eagles did not run with much consistency against the Panthers and it was Wentz carrying them. He completed 16 of 30 pass attempts for 222 yards with three touchdowns and zero interceptions. He also ran for 25 yards on six carries as Blount ran for 67 yards on 14 carries.
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Thursday’s clincher was Wentz’s dart to a wide-open Nelson Agholor, who sprinted untouched into the end zone for a 24-yard score.