NFL - NEWS & NOTES

will he be the starter ??

 

Not according to Jay Gruden - he says it's Robert Kelley's job.

 

ugh. a mess to avoid for fantasy drafts. thanks axe for the info. happy z. martin is not hurt too badly. he's a ND guy.

 

https://247sports.com/nfl/oakland-r...ture-jail-and-courtroom-per-report-120874158/

move over Vet Stadium, the new Raiders stadium is getting a courtroom and jail !

 

Happy he's not hurt, and ultra happy Jaylon Smith has been looking like the beast he was his final year in South Bend.

 

With Zeke having a fresh start and his head screwed on better, with a healthy O-line and play some defense... The Cowboys could really be a force to be reckoned with and put up big numbers and wins. Its all on Dak...

 

Agreed there. I think Dallas is going to be better defensively than folks realize, but there's no denying there's a void of skill-position play makers on offense. Aside from running Zeke (and running him, and running him some more), it's going to be a by-committee offense, and Dak is going to have to be patient enough to spread the ball around.

 

Happy for Jaylon Smith too. His injury was freakish and didn't even look that bad but it was.

 

that's the big question. can he lead this team and be patient enough to spread the ball around to his wrs?

 

I think I mocked him to a team when he was a rookie and it got me thinking maybe we should start going back and grading some of our older mocks in here? I don't expect to be one of the better participants but it would be cool to see anyway.

 

lol... it would accomplish one thing with me. It would show how little I know.

Seriously, that's a good idea. I think quite a few of the regulars on here know there stuff and have nailed some of these picks down. It would be interesting, but would take some research by someone who has the time.

 

Went back to my 2015 draft here - had a couple nice hits in Melvin Gordon and Jamison Crowder, a decent pick in Mario Edwards, Jr., and a big miss in Jeremiah Poutasi and JaCorey Shepherd.
2017's still early to call: Jabrill Pepers, Ador'ee Jackson, Jake Butt, although Tarik Cohen looks like a nice late-round gem.

 

Hue Jackson: Josh Gordon will practice “very soon”...

The Cleveland Browns are about to get a major boost to their offense.

Receiver Josh Gordon, who rejoined the team three days ago, will return to practice “very soon.”

That’s the word from coach Hue Jackson, via Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com.

The league office clearly has a hand in the final approval for Gordon to practice and to play. By all appearances, the league has been cooperating with Gordon, and not looking for ways to keep him out of the league.

A second-round pick in the 2012 supplemental draft, Gordon had 1,646 receiving yards in 2013 — more than Terrell Owens or Randy Moss ever had in any season of their Hall of Fame careers. Gordon accomplished the feat in only 14 games.

In the four seasons since then, Gordon has played in only 10 total games. (PFT)

 

Mike Zimmer: Helmet hit rule will cost people 'jobs'...

Saturday's preseason game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Minnesota Vikings wasn't a pretty affair.

There were plenty of injuries on both sides of the football, but penalties dominated the game as the two teams combined for an eye-popping 20 penalties for 200 yards. For perspective, the Vikings totaled 238 yards of offense.
Some of the penalties were obvious, of course, but the game had its share of controversial calls.

One of the infractions to draw the spotlight and stir debate occurred late in the fourth quarter. Vikings linebacker Antwione Williams came off the right edge and sacked Jaguars quarterback Cody Kessler for an apparent 7-yard loss, capping it off with what appeared to be a shove on Kessler before Williams jumped up to celebrate.

Then, the flag flew and Williams was penalized for roughing the passer.

The penalty immediately drew angst from the Vikings sideline, but coach Mike Zimmer ultimately agreed with the call upon reviewing the tape.

"After I calmed down a little bit, I looked at it and he was, his head was to the side and he was going to the side and if he would've just rolled, but he kind of pumped him into the turf," Zimmer said Monday, via Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. "I actually think that was a good call."

The confusion over the new helmet rule around the league and how it is called raised its head yet again when Jaguars cornerback A.J. Bouye drew the yellow flag. That play, which occurred early in the first quarter, prompted Zimmer to send a video clip of the penalty to the league requesting clarification, according to The Athletic.

"It's going to cost some people some jobs," Zimmer said. "Playoffs, jobs, the whole bit, I guess.

"We haven't had any called on us so far. It's just hard to figure out. No one has ever said to me, 'Hey. Don't worry about it, we're going to call it less or we'll get it straightened out in the regular season. Or we're going to come up with a revised rule.' No one has ever said that."

League officials spent time at each team's training camp to review the new rules with players, coaching staff and members of the media. The league even released a fact sheet on the new helmet rule after some players publicly expressed confusion.

Through two weeks of preseason action, however, there are more lingering questions than there are answers.

In the meantime, there are two remaining preseason games on the schedule before the NFL kicks off the regular season.

And for the players, it is a matter of adjusting to the new policies with hopes to prevent infractions, which ultimately hurt their teams.

"We're getting used to the rules," Williams said. "It's all still new. You've been playing for so long. They're trying to make the league safer, so we're just trying to get used to everything. It's a learning process for everybody." (NFL.com)

 

I've been very confused about the league's role in Gordon's return so I did a fair amount of research.

• He is NOT currently suspended as he was reinstated last season and, in fact, actually appeared in games starting in week 13.
• He has been repeatedly tested leading up to his reinstatement continuing on through the present time.
• He apparently has NOT failed any tests because, if he had, he would have been immediately placed back on the suspended list.
• The only list he is currently on is the "Non-football Injury" list which is generated by the individual teams . . . Not the league office. The league office only consolodates the team lists into a master list in the event a player on the list is traded.

The only league involvement I can determine is when the Browns remove his name from the Non-football Injury list, the league rubber stamps it, so to speak, and removes his name from the league master list.

I may have missed something here so, if any of you have additional information, please share it.

 

Not until after the appeal process and while sometimes these things leak they don't always. Sometimes it doesn't come out until after the appeal has been heard and adjudicated.

Obviously there is more to this than meets the eye. We'll find out soon enough I'm sure.