NFL - NEWS & NOTES

No matter how you slice it and dice it, I refuse to take credit or be assigned credit for the “Halo” play call. That’s on Coach Pete. Personally, I would’ve gone “beast mode” until the fucking wheels fell off.

 

NFL to allow teams to wear alternates three times

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2018/07/02/nfl-to-allow-teams-to-wear-alternates-three-times/


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“Color Rush” as a gimmick might be dead, but that doesn’t mean the uniforms are going away.

In fact, they might become more prevalent in some precincts.

According to Albert Breer of SI.com, the NFL has decided to allow teams to wear their color rush jerseys or alternate/throwback jerseys three times per season.

The old rules allowed throwbacks twice and color rush once, and in some places that was two or three too many. The league has ditched the requirement that teams wear them for Thursday night games, and teams may now wear the alternate uniform(s) of their choice up to three times, total.

But it’s also a marketing opportunity for teams which actually like the monochromatic look, or have alternates that people actually like (like the Rams).

 

NFL suspends Reuben Foster two games for gun, marijuana offenses



The NFL has suspended 49ers linebacker Reuben Foster two games for his recent arrests on gun and marijuana charges.

The league announced the suspension today and said that the suspension falls under both the league’s personal conduct policy and substance abuse policy. Foster will participate in training camp and the preseason but miss the first two games of the regular season. He will return to the team on Monday, September 17.

“I accept the League’s decision and am sorry that my mistakes have hurt my team,” Foster said in a statement. “I have a responsibility to the 49ers, our fans and our community, and I am committed to learning from this situation and making better choices in the future. The support I have received over the last five months has been humbling, and I do not take it for granted.”

The 49ers initially banished Foster from offseason work when he was accused of domestic violence, but he was welcomed back to the team after his accuser testified under oath that she had lied.

“Our organization understands and supports the League’s decision,” General Manager John Lynch said. “Although we are disappointed that Reuben will not be with our team for the first two games of the season, we will continue to work with him on making better decisions and eliminating unnecessary distractions. We are encouraged to see Reuben take responsibility for his mistakes, and hopeful that he has learned from them as well.”

A first-round draft pick last year, Foster started 10 games as a rookie. (PFT)

 

Rams' Jamon Brown Suspended 2 Games for Violating NFL's Substance Abuse Policy
The Los Angeles Rams will be without guard Jamon Brown for the first two games of the regular season. The NFL announced Tuesday that Brown was suspended without pay for violating the league's substance abuse policy...

 

Report: Aaron Jones Suspended 2 Games for Violating Substance Abuse Policy
Green Bay Packers running back Aaron Jones reportedly has been suspended without pay for the first two games of the 2018 season. Per ESPN's Adam Schefter , Jones' suspension stems from a violation of the NFL 's substance abuse policy...

 

Edelman's 4 game suspension upheld. Cheatin little bastad.

 

Find it funny how the NFL throws all these ruling out the afternoon before a major holiday while the news cycle isn't being paid as much attention to as usual. They really think they're cute....

 

They should suspend more Patriots.

 

Don't worry they will. However, you should be more concerned about the Jaguars at this point.

 

The jaguars can’t do anything real.

 

When I read this post, I swear it was Coach Tomlin in my ears.

 

Maybe it was the picture of Tomlin in my AV?

 

Speak of the Jaguars...

Last season the Jacksonville Jaguars had the second-easiest schedule and it appears that 2018’s won’t be that much harder. According to Paul Gutierrez of ESPN Stats and Info, the Jaguars came in with the third-weakest schedule for 2018 when tallying up all of their upcoming opponents.

In looking at the Jags’ 2018 opponents, they didn’t even crack the .500 mark and came in with a combined record of .477. However, despite those figures, there is more than meets the eye with the Jags’ schedule. That combined record was aided by the Houston Texans, who went 4-12 due to sustaining a lot of key injuries. Without a doubt, they’ll be back and stronger than ever in 2018. The Jags overall strength of schedule was also helped by the records of the New York Giants (3-13) and Washington Redskins (7-9), who could be improved teams in 2018.

Additionally, the Jags will face the Super Bowl champions in the Philadelphia Eagles, the AFC champions in the New England Patriots and the Pittsburgh Steelers among notables. That said, the argument could be made that the Jags’ schedule will be anything but easy. (Jagswire)
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They have a few tough games on paper, but you really cant say any game is a gimme, but the Jags do have a favorable schedule to be in the mix again this season. How Bortles goes... the Jags go.

 

The King might have left Cleveland this week, but Christian Kirksey thinks his Browns are primed to assume his vacated throne.

Entering his fifth season in Cleveland, the Browns linebacker has seen his fair share of losing rosters. But Kirksey gushed to NFL Network on Tuesday about the differences between this year's unit, refurbished at nearly every position by new general manager John Dorsey, and those bumbling Browns sides of seasons past.

"Being one of the longest tenured players on the team, I've seen the teams come through Cleveland," Kirksey prefaced. "I'm going on to my second head coach, my third general manager, my third defensive coordinator, so I've seen players and front office people come in and out the building, and this is just a different feel."

Kirksey cited the leadership and competitiveness of one of Dorsey's major acquisitions, former Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor, as a culture-changer.

"He's our guy to take the field and finally have a competitive attitude on the offensive side of the ball," Kirksey said of Taylor. "Jarvis Landry, Josh Gordon, all those guys just have a swagger about themselves. In all my years I've never had that on the offensive side of the ball. Those guys are telling us, 'We're working today.'"

Kirksey isn't the only Brown this offseason to be publicly optimistic about Cleveland's chances in 2018. Gordon boasted that Cleveland employs the "best receiving corps in the league," a statement Landry seconded. Browns coach Hue Jackson said earlier this month that Cleveland has upgraded with talent "everywhere" and that the roster features a "great blend of young talent and veteran talent." (NFL.com)

 

Ridley has agreed to terms with the Falcons, Will McFadden of the team's official site reports. Per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the 23-year-old's four-year contract (with a fifth-year option) is projected to be in the $10.9 million range.

Ridley, who the Falcons selected 26th overall in April's NFL Draft, will serve as a complementary option to star wideout Julio Jones, who is coming off an 88-catch, 1,444-yard season. Mohamed Sanu, who served as the Falcons' No. 2 receiver in 2017, is back with the team, but is not hard to imagine the promising Ridley overtaking him before long. In any case, the 6-foot-1, 190-pound rookie should carve out a role of import in the Atlanta offense from the get-go, thanks to his nice combo of speed and polished route-routing.

 

Fifteen draft picks remain unsigned, including seven of top 10

With Calvin Ridley signing his four-year deal with the Falcons, 15 drafted players remain unsigned.

Eleven of those are first-round choices, including the top four overall picks. In fact, only three of the top-10 picks have signed.

The 49ers, Browns and Giants all have two players left to get under contract.

49ers

OT Mike McGlinchey (1st round, 9th overall)

WR Dante Pettis (2nd round, 44th overall)

Bears

LB Roquan Smith (1st round, 8th overall)

Bills

QB Josh Allen (1st round, 7th overall)

Broncos

RB Royce Freeman (3rd round, 71st overall)

Browns

QB Baker Mayfield (1st round, 1st overall)

CB Denzel Ward (1st round, 4th overall)

Colts

LB Darius Leonard (2nd round, 36th overall)

Giants

RB Saquon Barkley (1st round, 2nd overall)

DL RJ McIntosh (5th round, 139th overall)

Jaguars

DT Taven Bryan (1st round, 29th overall)

Jets

QB Sam Darnold (1st round, 3rd overall)

Patriots

RB Sony Michel (1st round, 31st overall)

Steelers

S Terrell Edmunds (1st round, 28th overall)

Vikings

CB Mike Hughes (1st round, 30th overall)

 

New catch rule includes more than third step, reaching with ball



The NFL’s most recent effort to fix the catch rule included the crafting of an objective test for satisfying the all-important third element of the rule. Subjectivity, though not entirely eliminated, has been enhanced by objective examples of satisfying the requirement that the ball be possessed for a specific amount of time.

The two examples cited by the league in passing the catch rule were taking a third step or reaching or extending the ball toward the line to gain. But the final rule identifies other concrete ways in which the player will be deemed to have possessed the ball long enough to complete a catch.

They are: Tucking the ball away; turning upfield; or avoiding or warding off an opponent.

The subject aspect of the catch rule remains, allowing the official to award a catch if the official simply believes that the player had the time to do something that he actually didn’t attempt to do. With five specific “acts common to the game” now listed in the rule as automatic devices for satisfying the time element, there isn’t much else a pass catcher could do short of stand still or immediately fall down during whatever time is deemed to be necessarily to have the ball long enough to complete the act of catching the ball. (PFT)

 

Addition of Brandin Cooks has Rams excited about their receiving corps



The Rams don’t just like their receiving corps. They love, love, LOVE it.

Los Angeles lost Sammy Watkins, but they added Brandin Cooks. The team expects that Cooks, paired with Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp in the starting lineup, will prove tough to stop.

The Rams also have Josh Reynolds, Pharoh Cooper and Mike Thomas competing for jobs and playing time.

“We’ve got a lot of fast guys; we’ve got big guys; we’ve got guys that can run the third-level of the route, the second-level, the first-level,” passing game coordinator Shane Waldron said, via Kristen Lago of the team website. “I feel good that if any of the guys — the guys that were the starters last year, [and] competing to be the starters again this year — if they get tired, we feel good about those spots and hopefully we don’t miss a beat.”

Cooks averaged 16.6 yards per catch last season in New England. He has 27 touchdown catches in his four seasons. He developed some chemistry with quarterback Jared Goff in the offseason program.

“I think you’ve just liked what you’ve seen overall,” head coach Sean McVay said. “He’s got a great rapport already with Jared, and he feels really good with the receiver group. I think he’s done a nice job kinda fitting into that room and really endearing himself to his teammates. We sure like him as coaches, too.” (PFT)

 

Another tweak to the kickoff rule promotes more touchbacks



With so many changes to the kickoff, it’s possible that some were never noticed or, as the case may be, never disclosed. Which makes the task of picking through the new official 2018 rulebook for any/all specific changes to the 2017 edition even more important.

Here’s one that I’d previously missed — or that the league previously hadn’t mentioned: Kickoffs that hit the end zone without being touched by a member of the receiving team automatically become touchbacks.

For years, the automatic touchback rule has applied to punts that enter the end zone, with or without being touched. For kickoffs, the touchback becomes automatic only if it strikes the ground in the end zone without being touched by a member of the receiving team; the player can still catch the kickoff and choose to return it.

It’s not a change that will come into play very often, but it’s another example of the league’s broader effort to encourage touchbacks on kickoffs. Indeed, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the NFL eventually adopts the rest of the rule that applies to punts, making it a touchback whenever the kickoff enters the end zone, regardless of whether it’s caught by a member of the receiving team. (PFT)

 

Whoever wrote this is a moron. That was mentioned in the original article about the new kick off rule.