NFL - NEWS & NOTES

I'm at 15-6 on the year (I only pick 3 games a week).

 

I change it up depending on how I feel. I've got a bunch of weeks without any picks actually. First time I bet since that last big one I hit a few weeks ago.

 

I can't even pick 2

 

Former Carolina Panthers WR Rae Carruth has been released from prison after 17 years. He was convicted of mudering his pregnant girlfriend.

 

Kareem Hunt leads Chiefs to rout...

It’s hard for the league’s leading rusher from last season to get overlooked.

Somehow, that happens with the Chiefs.

Sunday night against the Bengals, however, Kareem Hunt made sure everybody knew his name during a 45-10 win over the Bengals.

Hunt scored three touchdowns and had 141 yards from scrimmage during the rout, exerting his own influence on the box score.

He’s surrounded by skill-position talent there, which isn’t his fault. But after what he did last year, you’d think he’d be higher on the list of things people rave about when discussing their offense.

Hunt has 542 rushing yards this season, and his 77.4 yards per game average isn’t far off last year’s numbers. He ran for 1,327 yards as a rookie, or 82.9 yards per game.

He’s not catching passes at the same rate (53 receptions last season, 15 so far this year), but they don’t always need him to. But Sunday was a reminder that he can make plays on his own, making tacklers miss in the open field, hurdling others, and getting himself into scoring position.

Often.

Here are five more things we learned during Sunday Night Football:

1. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw an incomplete pass. With his left hand. He’s now 1-of-2 with his non-dominant hand this season, making it just about the only thing he’s not perfect at.

Mahomes finished the night 28-of-39 for 358 yards and four touchdowns.

He threw an interception into triple coverage in the third quarter, but it was just his fifth of the season. He has 22 touchdowns now, so I think they’ll take it.

2. The Chiefs aren’t exactly what you’d call great at defense. Or even good.

But at least one of their players on that side is probably looking at a considerable payday this offseason.

Outside linebacker Dee Ford picked up his fifth sack of the season in the first half, and is entering his free agent year on a bit of a roll.

Ford had 10.0 sacks in 2016, before injuries cost him most of last season. Any time a pass-rusher of any grade gets close to the market, the numbers get big in a hurry. He’s playing out his fifth-year option and making $8.718 million this year, but should do far better than that in 2019.

3. Maybe Vontaze Burfict was worried about getting fined.

Or maybe he was just struggling against the Chiefs.

Burfict didn’t have a chance to unnecessarily rough anyone, because he was missing tackles far too often.

Again, the Chiefs deserve credit for a lot of that, as they make plenty of people miss. But Burfict’s night was embarrassing, after he was fined over $112,000 for last week’s shenanigans against the Steelers.

He limped off in the third quarter with a hip injury, and didn’t return.

4. The Chiefs piled up 319 yards and 24 points in the first half, which isn’t necessarily unusual.

What was interesting was how diverse the stat sheet was. With Hunt scoring twice and tight end Demetrius Harris getting the other touchdown, it was a continuation of the kind of fantasy football they’ve been playing all year.

But being able to be that productive with only moderate production from Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins and Travis Kelce (nine catches for 125 yards between them in the first half) was impressive.

5. You knew things were out of hand when the Chiefs defense began scoring points.

Safety Ron Parker‘s interception return from a score effectively ended this one, and was the kind of play they’ll need occasionally.

Parker has filled in well for their injury-stricken secondary. Of course, he’s a known commodity for their staff, as he had spent the previous five seasons with the Chiefs. They let him go for cap reasons this offseason, but were happy to bring him back after the Falcons released him at final cuts. (NBC's PFT)

 

I'm not sure injury settlement is required if there isn't specific language in the contract concerning injuries, or if he were not on the active list..I.E. IR or Pup. He is basically just going through one of those in season injuries, it doesn't keep him from being added to another roster, so I don't think they need an injury settlement. It actually gives him an opportunity to sign elsewhere if he doesn't agree with their injury assessment.

 

need a wr and cb too. rumors they and new orleans will be big before the trade deadline next week !

to me coaching and clock management cost the eagles. need 2 yrs for a first down with time outs left and needing a td to win. why pass? run the ball. 4th down now and they get a qb sack bc they were passing. no idea what pederson was thinking. fans too to twitter and facebook to vent their frustrations. not good for the reigning champs. and wentz looks at a wr way too long. seems like they read his eyes a lot even though he hasn't had a int in a long time. he missed clement on 3rd and 2 for a first down. he was wide open. he only looked over the middle of the field.

 

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/rae-ca...-conviction-murder-sons-mother-122154354.html

Rae Carruth released from prison !

 

Week Seven sets another scoring record, with one game left to play...

The NFL didn’t need to wait for Week Seven to end before touting the spike in offensive production and performance.

With one game left to play (a Monday night game between the Giants and Falcons that could feature plenty of points), the NFL already has set a record through seven weeks for scoring, with 5,103 total points.

The 577 total touchdowns and 372 passing touchdowns also are the most through seven weeks of any season.

The scoring continues to be matched by excitement. For the first time since the NFL adopted regular-season overtime in 1974, each week has featured at least one overtime game. (The Browns, with four overtime games out of seven played, are one short of the single-season single-team record of five.)

Despite plenty of lopsided scores in Week Seven, 60 games have been decided by one score, which is tied for the second most in league history through seven weeks. Of those 60, 32 have been decided by three points or fewer, also second most in league history through seven weeks.

Perhaps that best news is that slightly more than two of three games have been within one score in the fourth quarter.

Here’s hoping the trend continues through the final 10 weeks of the regular season. (NBC's PFT)

 

Reports are out there that the Cowboys just traded their 1st round pick to the Raiders for Amari Cooper.

 

Raiders GM: Cowboys’ first-round pick was too much to pass up for Amari Cooper...

Raiders General Manager Reggie McKenzie says the decision to trade wide receiver Amari Cooper came because the Cowboys made them an offer they couldn’t refuse.

McKenzie said a first-round draft pick is so valuable in today’s NFL that the Raiders had to do it.

“We made a trade today to the Dallas Cowboys. It’s a trade that we feel it was an opportunity that I couldn’t pass on to get a first-round pick. In this business here, I thought that was invaluable for me. It was something I felt like I had to do,” McKenzie said, via Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
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Although Raiders head coach Jon Gruden and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones are the final decision-makers on the respective teams, McKenzie said he handled the deal with Cowboys executive Stephen Jones, Jerry’s son.

“He wanted the player, and he gave me the pick. That’s what it came down to,” McKenzie said.

The Raiders now have three first-round draft picks in 2019: Their own, the Cowboys’ pick, and the Bears’ pick from the Khalil Mack trade. The Raiders also have two first-round picks in 2020, their own and the Bears’ pick. Time will tell if Gruden and McKenzie use those picks wisely.

 

^^so much for Cooper going to Philly. Howie Roseman still hasn't made a move. No idea if he will or not. Bell, Johnson, Landry, Cooper ? No mas. CBS Sportsline reported the Eagles and Saints will be heavily involved at the trade deadline. well take Cooper off the board and he didn't go to Philly.

 

Raiders are laughing. They think this pick is going to be relatively high.

 

Still think it'll be middle of the 1st...and that's probably too high for Cooper. Like having Coop, but have to question whether that deal couldn't have been done for a #2. If he returns to his 2015-2016 form (80-1100-6) then I'll feel a little better.

 

Of course it is. Dallas isn't a WR away from being a playoff team. At worst, the pick will likely be in the teens.

I don't usually get to watch the Raiders play. For anyone who does, has Cooper been struggling as much as people seem to say?

 

I think it'd be a different matter if he were under contract for longer. Either he doesn't play well enough to warrant a big deal, and that's a bummer, or he does and you've got to give it to him ASAP, and that's a bummer.

 

Falcons hold on for 23-20 victory over Giants...

In his first game with the Atlanta Falcons after signing earlier this week in place of an injured Matt Bryant, Giorgio Tavecchio converted a 56-yard field goal with 1:55 left to play to seal a 23-20 victory over the New York Giants on Monday night.

After a 2-yard Saquon Barkley touchdown run brought the Giants with eight at 20-12 with 4:47 remaining, the Falcons bled nearly three minutes off the clock and Tavecchio’s career-long field goal gave the Falcons the 11-point cushion they needed to hold the victory.

Sterling Shepard caught a 58-yard pass on the following possession and Odell Beckham Jr. caught a 1-yard touchdown from Eli Manning with five seconds remaining to pull within three after a successful two-point conversion, but the Falcons recovered the onside kick to officially put the game away.

Tavecchio’s previous career-long was a 53-yard field goal with the Oakland Raiders last season.

Matt Ryan threw for 379 yards and a touchdown and Tevin Coleman rushed for 50 yards and a score in place of an injured Devonta Freeman to lead the way for the Falcons.

Ryan hit Marvin Hall for a 47-yard touchdown to give the Falcons a 7-0 lead with just under five minutes remaining in the first half.

Aldrick Rosas and Taveccho traded field goals over the next two quarters as the game remained within a single score until the midway point of the fourth quarter.

Tevin Coleman broke a 30-yard touchdown run to cap a nine-play, 65-yard drive that gave Atlanta a 20-6 lead with 7:47 left to play.

The Giants finally managed to mount a touchdown drive of their own. A nine-play, 78-yard drive ended with Barkley pushing into the end zone from two yards out to make it a 20-12 game. New York would go for a two-point conversion instead of kicking an extra point, but Manning’s pass for Beckham was incomplete leaving it an eight-point game.

Barkley was limited to just 43 yards on 14 carries on the ground for the Giants, but did catch nine passes for 51 yards on the night.

Shepard (167) and Beckham (143) each went over 100 yards receiving on the night as Manning threw for 399 yards and a touchdown on the night for the Giants. (NBC's PFT)

 

Not sure I agree totally with that assessment. NFC East is no great shakes.

 

don't they have 3 first rd picks now? 1 from the mack trade, the dallas pick and their own for 2019 ? sounds good to me.