NFL - NEWS & NOTES

I hope that everyone has enjoyed the first week of the NFL today. Some awesome games, some blowouts (sorry Lyman), and some nail-biters. I just hope our regular posters find their way back here, with all this virus and rioting going on, this year has been one of the most strange, ridiculous and crazy years in my 48 years.

 

I couldn’t watch the Browns @ Ravens game but I really have to wonder why the Browns didn’t take advantage of their two RBs averaging 5.74 a carry between the two of them

 

One of the best catches all day...

 

That was a sweet catch. Probably will be one of the top three of the season.

 

Colts RB Marlon Mack out for season with torn Achilles

The expected bad news came down for Indianapolis Colts RB Marlon Mack.

NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported that an MRI confirmed the RB tore his Achilles, per a source informed of the situation. The injury will end his season.

The test verified there was little hope for good news for Mack and the Colts after he left Sunday's loss against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the second quarter.

Mack earned four carries for 26 yards and three catches for 30 before leaving with the injury. The starting running back is coming off a 2019 campaign in which he rushed for 1,091 yards. In four years, the RB has never played a full 16-game slate. He'll make it just one tilt in 2020.

Mack is set to be a free agent in 2021. The injury could spell the end to his run in Indy.

Sans the starter, Nyheim Hines and rookie Jonathan Taylor each had 15 touches, with Taylor earning 89 scrimmage yards and Nines 73 scrimmage yards and two TDs (1 rush, 1 receiving) while getting much of the red-zone work.

NFL.com

 

DENVER (AP) The Denver Broncos are Derrick Henry's kryptonite.

In two games against them, the Tennessee Titans star has averaged 2.5 yards a carry, about half of his 4.8-yard average across four NFL seasons.

When the teams meet Monday night, Henry will line up against former teammate Jurrell Casey, who's clogging up the running lanes in Denver following his offseason trade from Tennessee.

Even with Casey on his side last year, Henry was stifled in a 16-0 loss at Denver, gaining just 28 yards on 15 carries. That was easily the low point in a season in which Henry ran for an NFL-best 1,540 yards.

''Really not dwelling on last year,'' Henry said. ''We know what type of game it was last year and move on from that. We're preparing for this week, ready to travel to Denver, play against a good team, a good defense, a physical team, a pretty sound team and just compete this week.''

 

When do people start talking about Mayfield the way they talk about Trubisky?

 

We have. Just under our breath.

 

Correction:

Most of us have.

 

Leighton Vander Esch out 6-8 weeks with broken collarbone



Shortly after he broke his collarbone on Sunday night, Cowboys linebacker Leighton Vander Esch was expected to miss four to six weeks. After further testing, it appears a bit worse than that.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports that Vander Esch will have surgery and miss six to eight weeks.

The Cowboys’ 2018 first-round draft pick, Vander Esch was excellent as a rookie but has struggled with injuries since. Last year he missed seven games with a neck injury, and now it appears he’ll miss about that many with the broken collarbone.

Cowboys linebacker Sean Lee is already on injured reserve, so the team is thin at the position. Joe Thomas replaced Vander Esch at middle linebacker after he left the game on Sunday night.

NBC

 

I think Mayfield's situation is really heating up... Browns need to get it in gear ASAP or it will get brutal.

On the other hand, though... Playing the Ravens would and will be tough for anybody and its 1 game, not time to blow it all up just yet.

 

Adam Gase 'mad' at himself for allowing injured Le'Veon Bell to return to loss vs. Bills

During training camp, Le'Veon Bell and Adam Gase had a mild misunderstanding about the running back's hamstring. In Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills, that hammy took center stage again, this time with potentially more serious results.

Bell was hurt late in the second quarter as he fell awkwardly while drawing a holding penalty on an incomplete pass. Instead of holding the star back out -- as he had during training camp -- Gase allowed Bell to return in the second half with his hamstring wrapped. The comeback lasted five plays before Bell was sidelined for the rest of the tilt.

"I'm mad at myself that I let him go back in there in the second half," Gase said after the 27-17 loss, via ESPN.

The severity of the injury is not yet known.

"That play looked bad," Gase of the play in which Bell was injured. "I'm watching, and I thought it was going to be a touchdown, then he got grabbed. And kind of the way he planted and torqued, it looked really bad.

"I saw him grab his hamstring and he wouldn't come out. We come in at halftime. I let him go back in there. I was worried about it, and we were eventually like, 'I can't put you in there. We can't take a chance on getting more hurt than you already are.'"

Bell finished the game with six rushes for 14 yards and two catches for 32. Ageless wonder Frank Gore took over after Bell's injury, taking just six carries for 24 yards. If Bell is sidelined for next week's game against San Francisco, Gore would get the bulk of the carries against the team with which he started his career 16 seasons ago.

NFL.com

 

Eagles expect Vinny Curry, Craig James to be out a while



The Eagles have a couple more injury issues to deal with after their Week One loss to Washington.

Defensive end Vinny Curry hurt his hamstring during the game and did not return to action. Head coach Doug Pederson said on Monday that it will be some time before Curry is back.

Pederson said that Curry and cornerback Craig James are dealing with “significant” injuries that will keep them out of the lineup for a while. It’s not clear what injury James picked up in the game.

The Eagles were already short on the defensive line with Derek Barnett and Javon Hargrave inactive. They also saw defensive end Brandon Graham depart with a head injury on Sunday and he is now in the concussion protocol.

Running back Miles Sanders and right tackle Lane Johnson were also inactive on Sunday. Pederson said the plan is to increase their practice reps this week with the hope of getting them in the lineup against the Rams.

NBC

 

The Packers’ shuffling on the offensive line is going to continue, thanks to a major injury.

According to Tom Pelissero, right guard Lane Taylor‘s right knee injury yesterday will require season-ending surgery.

Taylor was carted off yesterday and immediately ruled out, in a game that saw both starting guards leave with injuries.

Left guard Lucas Patrick wasn’t able to finish the game because of a shoulder injury. They were already without right tackle Billy Turner, who was inactive, and they were down to their last active lineman when rookie Jon Runyan had to sub in late.

Taylor suffered a season-ending biceps injury last September, but came back to win a starting job.

Now, the Packers line will remain in a state of flux.

NBC

 

Saints WR Michael Thomas suffered high-ankle injury vs. Bucs

If he can go, Michael Thomas is going to go.

The Saints star suffered a high-ankle injury in New Orleans' Week 1 win over Tampa Bay, but it's something Thomas believes he can play through, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport and NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported, per sources informed of the situation.

New Orleans next plays on Monday night at the Las Vegas Raiders, giving Thomas another day for rest and treatment, and increasing his chances of playing.

Thomas suffered the injury during the game but still played 80.3 percent of New Orleans' offensive snaps in the victory, at least providing a small sample size of how he could play through the injury. High-ankle issues tend to be troublesome and can result in increased time on the sideline, but it sounds as if Thomas' ailment is on the milder side.

That's obviously good news for New Orleans, which targeted the single-season receptions record-holder just five times Sunday. Thomas recorded a career-low 11 yards on three receptions (which tied for his lowest reception total in a single game in his career), a total that might have been influenced by his ankle ailment.

Going back to Week 17 of last season and including the playoffs, Thomas has had three straight games of 70 or fewer receiving yards, averaging less than five receptions and 42 yards per game, per NFL Research.

Hurt or not, defenses are going to key on Thomas. Playing through an injury won't help, but it should still aid others in finding opportunities to make a difference. On Sunday, those "others" were Alvin Kamara and Emmanuel Sanders. We'll see if Thomas can suit up for the national stage in a week.

NFL.com

 

Browns swap kickers, place TE David Njoku on IR following blowout loss

The Browns' season-opening blowout loss has produced a flurry of Monday personnel activity.

Out is kicker Austin Seibert, who was waived Monday following an empty performance in which he missed his lone field goal attempt and only extra-point try. In is Cody Parkey, signed to the 53-man roster from Cleveland's practice squad to replace the former fifth-round pick just in time to prepare for Thursday night's game against the Bengals.

Also out, at least for the rest of September, is tight end David Njoku. Cleveland placed him on injured reserve Monday with a knee injury, but Rapoport reported Njoku is expected to return sooner rather than later.

With the league's shift to unlimited injured reserve-to-return candidates and its shortening of the timeline to return from eight weeks to three, Njoku could be back on the field by October. The tight end made the most of his opportunities Sunday, catching the Browns' only touchdown of the day and making an acrobatic grab over Baltimore defensive back Tavon Young for a 28-yard gain.

Njoku finished with three receptions for 50 yards and the touchdown, a nice start to a season that will now meet an interruption.

The news is a bit disappointing for Njoku, who suffered a broken wrist and concussion in Week 2 of 2019, all but washing out the remainder of his season. After Cleveland invested in the tight end room in the offseason -- signing Austin Hooper and drafting Harrison Bryant -- Njoku needed to prove something to management in his fourth NFL season.

It sounds as if he'll receive such a chance at some point following a strong start to 2020.

NFL.com

 

Oh shit... a muffed punt and the Giants catch a huge break.

 

Tough defense by the Steelers, settled by a FG. 3-0, Giants

 

Ben Roethlisberger throws three TDs in 26-16 Steelers win



It took a little bit of time for him to get going, but Ben Roethlisberger will likely be pleased with the final results of his first game since Week Two of last season.

Roethlisberger went 21-of-32 for 229 yards and three touchdowns and the Steelers cruised to a 26-16 win in his return from an elbow injury. The first touchdown came on a throw to JuJu Smith-Schuster in the second quarter and he snuck in a second to James Washington just before the half to give the Steelers a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

While Roethlisberger was making his return to the lineup, running back Benny Snell was doing his part to ensure he becomes a bigger part of it. Snell ran 19 times for 113 yards and made James Conner‘s departure with an ankle injury an afterthought given how little success Conner had before getting hurt.

Smith-Schuster added another touchdown in the fourth quarter and Diontae Johnson also had several key catches in what wound up being a solid night all around for the Steelers Offense.

There were some good flashes from the Giants Offense as well, including a 19-play drive in the third quarter with the Steelers up by six. The first 18 plays featured Daniel Jones making smart throws and running for gains when nothing was there, but he made a terrible decision to try a throw with edge rusher Bud Dupree bearing down on him on play No. 19. The ball popped into the air and down into Cam Heyward‘s mitts.

Jones hit Darius Slayton for a 41-yard touchdown in the first half and the duo hooked up for another score in garbage time, but Saquon Barkley was rendered totally ineffective by the Steelers Defense. He ran 15 times for six yards and found himself getting swarmed in the backfield on a healthy number of those touches. Pittsburgh also pressured Jones most of the night and got to him for three sacks in a strong overall defensive performance.

The Giants will have to figure out a way to get Barkley going in Chicago next Sunday. The Steelers will hope for some good injury news on Conner and right tackle Zack Banner before their home opener against the Broncos.

NBC