NFL - NEWS & NOTES

For all his records in the post season Bradys 4.8 TD% is rather pedestrian

 

Most of Bradys Post season records have to do with the number of games he has played. Dont get me wrong playing in 34 games in itself is impressive but its going to inflate his other numbers just by being in the games. Its like when comparing rushing leaders and yes Emmit Smith is king but he also has 571 more carries than the next person when it comes to attempts. Or how Kareem leads all basketball players in points but he also played more minutes than anybody else in the game (over 2600 more minutes than number 2 on the scoring list Karl Malone).

 

and pete rose and his at-bats compared to ty cobb's. cobb got to 4000+ hits faster than rose.

 

Panthers fire Mike Shula, Ken Dorsey

The Panthers may lose defensive coordinator Steve Wilks to a head coaching job with another team and they announced on Tuesday that they’ve lost offensive coordinator Mike Shula by choice.

The team announced that Shula has been relieved of his duties. Quarterbacks coach Ken Dorsey has also been let go in major changes to the team’s offensive coaching staff.

Shula has been with the Panthers for the last seven years and spent the last five as the offensive coordinator. Carolina finished 12th in points scored and ranked fourth in rushing, but their passing attack landed near the bottom of the league. That’s been a regular occurrence under Shula and Dorsey, who has been the quarterbacks coach for the last five seasons, and it seems likely that shortcomings in that area led to the decision to make a change.

Tuesday’s move means that someone else will get the chance to get better results when quarterback Cam Newton puts the ball in the air and that the status quo will have little place around the Panthers this offseason as they prepare for a change in ownership to go with big changes to their coaching staff. (PFT)

 

Rose played against better ball players than Ty Cobb. Faced more tough pitchers than Cobb faced. Cobb probably faced maybe 5-10 top-notch pitchers back then. Ty Cobb had a very mortal-like batting average in the post-sesason (.266). Rose faced the likes of Seaver, Carlton, Ryan, Koufax and Gibson, plus fresh "Relief Specialists". When interviewed, Ty Cobb himself, said that his career BA would be lower than it was, if he had played during more recent baseball times.

 

Ravens promote Wink Martindale to defensive coordinator

The Ravens promoted Don “Wink” Martindale to defensive coordinator, Mike Macdonald to linebackers coach and Sterling Lucas to quality control defense, coach John Harbaugh announced Tuesday.

Martindale, 54, enters his seventh year with the Ravens. He served as linebackers coach the past two seasons after coaching only the inside linebackers from 2012-15.

C.J. Mosley has become one of the league’s top defenders, earning three Pro Bowls in his four seasons, under Martindale’s tutelage.

Martindale replaces Dean Pees, who retired.

“Wink has earned the promotion to defensive coordinator,” Harbaugh said, via quotes distributed by the team. “His aggressive mentality will serve to take our defense to new levels. He is obviously respected by players, many of whom have already benefited from his direct coaching at the linebacker position. He knows the ins and outs of what we have been about on defense and has been an important contributor to our success on that side of the ball. This is an exciting day for Wink and his family, and also one for the Ravens.” (PFT)

 

Great.

Let's play Tic-Tac-Dough.

 

When I think "top defenders" I think Top Ten, maybe Top 25. I don't know anyone that thinks Mosley falls in that range. Lazy journalism.

 

Darrell Bevell fired as Seahawks offensive coordinator after seven seasons

The Seattle Seahawks have parted ways with offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell after seven seasons, sources tell PFT.

Bevell was told of the decision Tuesday night according to a source informed of the decision. The Seahawks missed the playoffs for the first time since Bevell’s first year in Seattle in 2011.

Despite Russell Wilson leading the league in touchdown passes, Seattle’s offense struggled to find consistency all season. Wilson was the team’s leading rusher as Seattle’s structured rushing attack was ineffective for most of the season. The Seahawks ranked 23rd in rushing overall, but 586 of their 1,629 rushing yards came from Wilson. Over 400 of those yards by Wilson came on scrambles.

The Seahawks had some of their most offensively prolific seasons in franchise history under Bevell. They led the league in rushing in 2014 and were in the top five in rushing offense in four of Bevell’s seven seasons in Seattle.

However, the rushing offense fell apart in 2017 and the final play of Super Bowl XLIX cast a large shadow on Bevell as well, despite head coach Pete Carroll saying repeatedly the decision to throw from the 1-yard line was his call.

It will be the first coordinator change of Seattle’s own doing since Jeremy Bates was fired as offensive coordinator after one season with Carroll in 2010. Bevell replaced Bates in the job for the 2011 season. Dan Quinn and Gus Bradley both left their defensive coordinator positions with Seattle to take head coaching jobs with Atlanta and Jacksonville, respectively. (PFT)

 

I've got buzz here in NYC that Patriots' coach Matt Patricia could be heading for The Meadowlands (NYG).

 

good luck with that.

 

Seattle Seahawks...

The changes to the Seahawks coaching staff keep on coming.

Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times reports that the team has fired assistant head coach/offensive line coach Tom Cable. That report comes a day after the Seahawks dismissed offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell and hours after word that they may also be parting ways with defensive coordinator Kris Richard. Quarterbacks coach Carl Davis has also reportedly been relieved of his duties.

Cable has been on the Seahawks staff since 2011, which was the last time that the Seahawks didn’t make the playoffs before this season. The play of the offensive line has been subpar in recent seasons and the Seahawks have tried high draft picks, free agent signings and a trade for left tackle Duane Brown in hopes of perking things up without finding much success. (PFT)

 

The totally unfounded, knee-jerk reaction hot rumor down here is that Pete Carroll will try to get (current Falcons OC) Steve Sarkisian as the replacement for Bevell.

That's purely because Carroll and Sarkisian are pretty tight, with Carroll being one of the key people who had recommended Sarkisian to Falcons coach Dan Quinn.

 

Maybe they should have kept Max Unger

 

Vikings/Cardinals...

Vikings offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur is reportedly the favorite to be the next head coach of the Arizona Cardinals.

Shurmur has emerged as the frontrunner for the job, Craig Fouhy of ABC15 reports. Fouhy was the first to report that Bruce Arians planned to retire at the end of the 2017 season, so he has a good track record of reporting on the Cardinals’ coaching situation.

Although he can’t be hired while the Vikings are still in the postseason, multiple teams have shown interest in Shurmur. The Giants and Lions reportedly like him as well. It’s possible that he’ll have more than one offer.

Panthers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks, who also has had multiple interviews, is considered No. 2 on the Cardinals’ list, according to the report. Wilks has an advantage over Shurmur in that his season is over and he can be hired immediately, so a team that’s worried about waiting too long and missing out on all its favorite candidates might want to hire Wilks now instead of waiting for Shurmur later. (PFT)
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Just when things start gelling in Minnesota, there might be a key piece removed... hope it doesn't happen. I really like what Pat has done.

 

Chicago Bears...

Bears hiring Mark Helfrich as offensive coordinator...

The Bears dipped into the collegiate ranks to hire offensive line coach Harry Hiestand and they are doing the same at offensive coordinator.

Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that the Bears have hired former University of Oregon head coach Mark Helfrich the offensive coaching staff for Matt Nagy.

Helfrich was the offensive coordinator of the Ducks from 2009-2012 and moved into the head coaching spot after Chip Kelly left for the Eagles. He won 33 games in his first three seasons and went to a national title game before being fired after going 4-8 during the 2016 season.

Those Oregon offenses were known for being fast-paced and Nagy comes from running a Chiefs offense that featured a fair amount of the spread formations Helfrich favored in Eugene matched with West Coast concepts, so it seems a fair bet that the Bears are going to have Mitch Trubisky running an offense that melds those things in 2018. (PFT)

 

Pittsburgh Steelers...

Le’Veon Bell threatens to sit out next season if Steelers franchise him...

Le'Veon Bell played on the franchise tag in 2017. The Steelers star running back said he won’t do it again.

Bell threatened to sit out, or retire, if the Steelers franchise him again in 2018.

“I hope it doesn’t come to that, but I would definitely consider it,” Bell told Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.

He wants a long-term deal in Pittsburgh or elsewhere, leaving the Steelers with a decision.

Bell earned $12.1 million on the franchise tag in 2017. That number projects to around $14.5 million for next season. Bell, who, in the offseason, turned down a deal worth up to $30 million in the first two years, via Fowler, said the Steelers need to “value” him.

“Just get the numbers straight, exactly where we want them,” Bell said. “I’m not going to settle for anything. I know what I do and what I bring to the table. I’m not going out here getting the ball 400 times if I’m not getting what I feel I’m valued at.”

Bell, 25, earned first-team All-Pro honors after rushing for 1,291 yards on 321 carries and catching 85 passes for 655 yards. He scored 11 total touchdowns.

Bell told Fowler if he sits out the 2018 season, he is unlikely to return.

“It will eventually come down to me playing on the tag or not,” Bell said. “They tag me again, it will be me [saying], ‘OK, do I want to play on the tag or do I not want to play on the tag?’ That’s what it comes down to. If I was a free agent and they let me go, be a free agent, then yeah, I’m going to go explore free agency, test the market.” (PFT)

 

Atlanta Falcons...

Julio Jones (ankle) returns to practice

Julio Jones returned to Atlanta Falcons practice Thursday after sitting out Tuesday and Wednesday's workouts because of an ankle injury.

The star wideout, despite the ailment, is expected to be ready for the Falcons' Divisional Round tilt with the Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday, as coach Dan Quinn told reporters after practice the Falcons have no injuries to report.

Jones led all Atlanta receivers with 88 catches and 1,444 yards in the regular season, and paced the Falcons with nine grabs for 94 yards and a touchdown in last week's wild-card win over the Los Angeles Rams. (NFL.com)

 

Really wish he would have just answered that question with "We are still in this season, don't ask about next season, it hasn't crossed my mind yet." Just another distraction that is not needed at this time.