MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK

If the Steelers are right about Mason being first round talent they have their replacement for Ben already on the Roster. If they are wrong they likely dont get a replacement until after he is done and they slide into the top 10 to nab one.

 

This is an interesting take. The Steelers aren't the only team with an aging QB on the roster with (what they hope) is a replacement already in the fold. If they're right, it will only amount to a small blip on the record. But, if they're wrong . . .

Then, as Tim alluded to, take the teams that have a young QB on the roster who they hope develops into an elite QB. If he does, great! But, if he doesn't . . .

 

Blake Bortles 'couldn't care less' about critics, has eyes on SBLIII...

JACKSONVILLE -- He may be an All-Pro when it comes to blocking out the noise, but Blake Bortles is not tone-deaf. As the universally maligned quarterback -- for now, at least -- of a Jacksonville Jaguars team best known for a playmaking defense and a power running attack, Bortles knows his role is to keep taking hits, on and off the field, and he's not running away from his fate.

"I'm totally at peace with that," Bortles told NFL.com in an interview last week, four days before he was benched in the second half of a 20-7 home defeat to the Houston Texans, only to be reinstalled as the starter for Sunday's showdown with the Philadelphia Eagles at Wembley Stadium in London. "I totally understand that I'm like the scapegoat for this team. When we play good, 'The defense played well, the running back did good, the receivers made great plays.' And when we play bad, 'Blake Bortles is the worst quarterback on the face of the planet.'

"And I get it. Obviously, that's not what I would have chosen for myself. And I'm sure it'll never stop. But I couldn't care less. I just want to win football games with this team."

Bortles, the fifth-year passer who has been the Jaguars' starter since early in his rookie season, won 12 times last season, including a pair of playoff contests, before being edged by the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game. That 24-20 defeat at Gillette Stadium last January featured an impressive performance by Bortles, who was even better against the Pats in Week 2 of this season, outdueling the great Tom Brady in a 31-20 Jacksonville triumph.

The Jags (3-4), however, are currently mired in a three-game losing streak, adding significance to Sunday's game against the similarly struggling defending Super Bowl champs. While the Eagles (3-4) are all in organizationally with third-year quarterback Carson Wentz, an MVP candidate before tearing his ACL last December, Bortles spent last Monday morning not knowing whether he or backup Cody Kessler would get the call in London.

For now, Bortles will get at least one more start for the team that drafted him third overall out of Central Florida in 2014. Getting respect from people outside the Jags' locker room is another matter. Bortles, who quit social media sometime after the 2016 season, doesn't just absorb a steady stream of criticism from fans and media members. He is also clowned on semi regularly by some of the NFL's most decorated defenders. (NFL.com)

Link to full story... just click it.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...nt-care-less-about-critics-has-eyes-on-sbliii

 

Deshaun Watson ties career-high with five TDs in Texans 42-23 victory over Dolphins...

Injuries to his ribs, sternum and lungs that forced hm to take a bus to and from last Sunday’s game in Jacksonville didn’t stop Deshaun Watson from ripping through the defense of the Miami Dolphins on Thursday night.

Watson completed 16-of-20 passes for 239 yards and tied a career-high with five touchdowns as the Texans notched their fifth-straight win in a 42-23 victory over Miami.

Watson also tossed five touchdowns against the Kansas City Chiefs in his fifth career start last year. (NBC's PFT)

 

Jimmy Garoppolo is in pain. It has nothing to do with his surgically repaired knee. Instead, the 49ers quarterback is pained not to be on the field with his teammates.

“This isn’t something I want to get used to,” Garoppolo said Friday, via Daniel Brown of The Mercury News. “I want to be out there with the guys battling and preparing for the week. We’ll get back there next year.”


Garoppolo will remain on crutches for another two weeks, but his stitches are out, his scar has healed and he’s progressing toward the pool stage of rehab. He tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left leg in a Sept. 23 game against the Chiefs.

“It sucks,” Garoppolo said. “The overall acceptance of it was tough, initially. I’ve never had a serious injury like this, so it’s different.”

Garoppolo, 26, signed a $137.5 million contract with the 49ers in the off-season. He and they entered the season with high hopes. But Garoppolo’s season now is over, and for all intents and purposes, so is the 49ers at 1-6.

“It’s disappointing that I didn’t get to see this year all the way through,” Garoppolo said, “but coming back stronger next year is the main thing now.” (NBC's PFT)

 

Jimmy G is a pussy and his choice of off season porn star association is suspect at best(she was like his moms age.) That is why Krafty told Billy boy SHIP HIM....because we have Mr. Durable and he dates/marries classy chicks.(other then that whole Tara Reid thing)

 

Watson joins Mahomes in a rare feat: More touchdowns than incompletions...

Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson and Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes are two of the NFL’s top young quarterbacks, and they’ve been the only two quarterbacks this season to do something incredibly difficult: Finish a game with more touchdown passes than incompletions.

Watson completed 16 of 20 passes with five touchdowns in Thursday night’s win over the Dolphins, while Mahomes completed 23 of 28 passes with six touchdowns in the Chiefs’ Week Two win over the Steelers.

Before this year, the last starting quarterback to finish a game with more touchdown passes than incompletions was Teddy Bridgewater, pre-knee injury, who completed 17 of 20 passes with four touchdowns in a Vikings win over the Bears in 2015.

Whole NFL seasons go by without a quarterback managing to finish a game with more touchdown passes than incompletions, but we’ve already seen it twice this year. Not a bad accomplishment for a couple of 23-year-olds in their second NFL seasons. (NBC's PFT)

 

Brees has done it at least twice and one other time where he had equal 5tds with 5 incompletions

 

It was costly losing Fuller late. They need to sign somebody with speed.

 

NFL fines Jordan Whitehead $26,739 for hit on Baker Mayfield...

The league has handed down discipline to Buccaneers safety Jordan Whitehead for his hit on Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield on Sunday.

The league confirmed that Whitehead was fined $26,739 for unnecessary roughness.

That hit has been a subject of controversy this week after one official threw a flag on Whitehead, but another official overruled him. The NFL later said the flag should not have been picked up, and Whitehead should have been penalized both for lowering his helmet and for hitting Mayfield after he had already gone into a slide.

There was also talk that Mayfield should have been flagged for taunting Whitehead afterward, but he was not penalized and the NFL did not fine Mayfield for taunting. (NBC's PFT)

 

Patrick Mahomes is off to a torrid start that rivals any in NFL history.

Through eight games in 2018, the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback has thrown for 26 touchdowns, 2,526 yards, and a 115.3 passer rating.
Let's put some of his stats into perspective with the help of the indefatigable NFL Research team:

» Mahomes became the fourth QB in NFL history with 25-plus passing TDs in the first eight games of season, joining Peyton Manning (2013; 29 TDs), Tom Brady (2007; 30 TDs) and Peyton Manning (2004; 26 TDs). Previous three set the all-time, single-season pass TD record and won MVP.

» Mahomes is on pace to throw for 5,051 pass yards and 52 pass TD this season -- would be second-most TDs in NFL history.

» Mahomes has 300-plus passing yards in seven straight games, tied for the fourth-longest streak in NFL history (Drew Brees twice got to 9 games; Andrew Luck, 8; Peyton Manning, 7).

» Mahomes as many pass TD in eight games this season (26) as Alex Smith had during the 2017 season (26).

» With Mahomes helming the crew, the Chiefs have scored the most points (290) through the team's first eight games of a season in franchise history.

In just nine career starts, Mahomes has put his name next to some of the best ever to play.

» Mahomes has 26 passing TD in his first nine career games, the most in a player's first nine games in the Super Bowl era (next closest: Kurt Warner with 24).

» Mahomes has the second-highest passer rating (111.1) by a player in his first nine career games in the Super Bowl era (Warner sits No. 1 with 116.1)

» Since 1950, no quarterback has thrown for more completions (209), yards (2,810) and touchdowns (26) in the first nine games of his career.



(NFL.com)

 

Everyone scolded me when I said I wanted the Steelers to find a way to get Mahomes. He would’ve been a nice transition from Ben after next season. Hopefully Rudolph will be a great transition too.

 

Fear the Beard!

Ryan Fitzpatrick will start for Buccaneers this week...

The Fitzmagic is back.

Buccaneers head coach Dirk Koetter announced on Monday that Ryan Fitzpatrick will start at quarterback against the Panthers in Carolina this week. Fitzpatrick, who started the first four games of the season, replaced Jameis Winston in Sunday’s loss to the Bengals.

Winston threw four interceptions, including one that Jessie Bates returned for a touchdown to put the Bengals up 34-19 late in the third quarter. Fitzpatrick led three scoring drives that forced a tie before the Bengals drove for a game-winning field goal at the final whistle.

Koetter said the Bucs are “just looking at this week” when asked about the permanence of this change and that Winston could wind up back in the lineup this season, but it is hard to see much of a future for him in Tampa beyond this year given the way things have played out this season.

As bad as Sunday was, it probably wouldn’t have led to a change if the Buccaneers still saw him as a franchise quarterback. If they don’t, they have to consider the risk that comes with playing him as an injury that keeps Winston from passing a physical early next year would force them to guarantee him more than $20 million in 2019.

What kind of future Koetter and General Manager Jason Licht have is another question the Bucs are going to have to answer sooner rather than later, so there’s much to sort out in Tampa between now and the end of the season. (NBC's PFT)

 

Cam Newton closing in on his eighth straight season with five rushing touchdowns...

Panthers quarterback Cam Newton scores rushing touchdowns like no other quarterback in NFL history. And like few running backs in NFL history.

Newton ran for at least five touchdowns in each of his first seven NFL seasons. And in 2018, his eighth NFL season, he’s at four rushing touchdowns. Which means with his next touchdown run he’ll have eight straight years with five rushing touchdowns, something only a handful of players in NFL history have accomplished.

Here’s the full list of NFL players who have scored at least five rushing touchdowns in at least eight consecutive seasons:

10-Marshall Faulk, 1994-2003
10-LaDainian Tomlinson, 2001-2010
9-Jim Brown, 1957-1965
9-Ricky Watters, 1992-2000
8-Eddie George, 1996-2003
8-Thurman Thomas, 1989-1996

That’s the entire list. No quarterbacks on it, of course, and not many of the great running backs. Not Emmitt Smith, not Barry Sanders, not Walter Payton, not Marcus Allen, not John Riggins, not Adrian Peterson.

Newton, with 58 career rushing touchdowns, has reached the end zone more consistently than almost anyone in NFL history. (NBC's PFT)

 

Aaron Rodgers: Tom Brady’s five titles end most discussions about GOAT...

Tom Brady said Wednesday that debate about the greatest quarterback — and ultimately greatest player — in NFL history is “a hypothetical question that is truly impossible to answer.” Aaron Rodgers respectfully disagrees.

“I let you guys worry about those types of conversations,” Rodgers said, via Rob Demovsky of ESPN. “I think that’s end-of-career conversations. . . . I’m just worried about winning right now. He’s got five championships, so that ends most discussions, I think.”


Brady and Rodgers have met only once previously. The Packers won 26-21 at Lambeau Field as Rodgers completed 24 of 38 passes for 368 yards and two touchdowns, while Brady went 22-of-35 for 245 yards and two touchdowns.

The Packers and Patriots are not scheduled to meet again for four years. Thus, the only way they meet again before 2022 is in the Super Bowl. (NBC's PFT)
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Rodgers is right. TB = GOAT, period.

 

I was making the same claims to Giants fans that they needed to get on the Maholmes train. Rumor has it the HC at the time was all in as well but the GM wasn't willing to trade up to secure a QB at that point. It has been fairly obvious to anyone paying attention Eli hasn't been a "franchise" guy since about 2014. But it was Chris Baker that hit him week 3 of the 2016 season -- Eli is still afraid Baker is barreling down on him every snap since then -- that was the end for him. I think Baker knocked his soul right out of his body.

 

Nick Mullens shines in NFL debut against Raiders...



Making his NFL debut on the national stage, undrafted quarterback Nick Mullens tossed a trio of touchdown passes to lead the San Francisco 49ers to a 34-3 victory over the Oakland Raiders in the kickoff to Week 9. Here's what we learned on Thursday Night Football:

1. An otherwise underwhelming West Coast matchup featuring one of the lowest combined winning percentages in prime-time history was given an immediate jolt by an unlikely hero. Presented with multiple options after breaking several of Brett Favre's records at Southern Miss, Mullens wisely chose to align himself with 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan, one of the brightest quarterback gurus in football. With starter Jimmy Garoppolo out for the season and backup C.J. Beathard too banged up to throw effectively, Shanahan had Mullens fully prepped and ready to embrace the moment despite a short week's worth of practice time.

2. Bolstered by Shanahan's scripted play calls, Mullens came out firing, nailing his first six passes for 76 yards and a touchdown. After finding Pierre Garcon wide open on a 24-yard, boot-action score, Mullens tossed a 4-yard touchdown to a slightly less open Kendrick Bourne to take a 14-3 lead on the Niners' Bay Area rivals. San Francisco's third-string quarterback joined Tennessee's Marcus Mariota as the only players this century to unfurl touchdown passes on each of their first two NFL possessions. Throwing into a much tighter window to open the second half, Mullens was the beneficiary of a spectacular effort by George Kittle on an improbable 71-yard catch-and-run that set up a 5-yard scoring toss to the star tight end. Raheem Mostert broke the Raiders' backs on the next possession, racing 52 yards to pay dirt against a defense that appeared to have packed it in for the evening.

Mullens finished his debut 16 of 22 for 262 yards (11.9 YPA) for three touchdowns and a near-perfect 151.9 passer rating. How fanciful was this dream come true? Before the game, he was virtually unknown to the greater NFL world. By the start of the fourth quarter, he had become a household name... (NFL.com)

 

Cardinals cut Sam Bradford...

The Sam Bradford era in Arizona is over.

Bradford, the quarterback who got a whopping $15 million guaranteed this offseason, has been released by the Cardinals today.

It was always obvious to most people outside the Cardinals’ facility that the signing was a mistake. The Cardinals drafted Josh Rosen in the first round, which made it clear that Bradford was only a short-term stopgap starter, and there are a lot of veteran quarterbacks who could have been cheaper short-term stopgap starters. The Cardinals would have been smarter to spend that money on putting better offensive talent around Rosen.

But the mistake is done with now, and Bradford is gone. Because it’s after the trade deadline, Bradford will go on waivers, where any team that wants a quarterback can claim him. It’s possible that some quarterback-needy team could want Bradford, but it’s more likely that he’ll pass through waivers unclaimed. He would then become a free agent.

Cutting Bradford now helps the Cardinals in the NFL’s complex compensatory pick equation, and hurts the Vikings, who will no longer benefit from having Bradford signed away.

Mike Glennon is now the only other quarterback behind Rosen on the Cardinals’ depth chart. (NBC's PFT)

 

Nick Mullens says he will start Monday night...

The 49ers still haven’t announced their starting quarterback for Monday night, but Nick Mullens beat them to the punch.

Mullens told reporters Tuesday that 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan informed Mullens that he will start against the Giants.

Mullens took first-team reps in practice Tuesday, followed by C.J. Beathard and Tom Savage.

It does not come as a surprise.

Beathard has won one of 10 career starts, and Mullens completed 16 of 22 passes for 262 yards and three touchdowns in a victory over the Raiders last week in his NFL debut.

Jimmy Garoppolo went 1-2 as the team’s starter this season before his ACL injury against the Chiefs; Beathard is 0-5; and Mullens is 1-0. (NBC's PFT)