NFL - NEWS & NOTES

I would take LeVeon on the Steelers the rest of the season. He would have to take a contract of about 5 million, but he got paid by the jets already this season. He would probably want to go for the ride to have a chance for a SB.

 

So much for the COVID-19 outbreak and layoff affecting the Titans.

Tennessee, playing for the first time since Sept. 27 and after little practice, dominated the Bills from start to finish, winning 42-16. The Titans remained undefeated at 4-0, while the Bills suffered their first loss after four wins to open the season.

The Bills were their own worst enemy with three turnovers and 10 penalties. Josh Allen threw an interception on his first attempt, with Malcolm Butler getting the first of his two picks on the night. Butler had 97 yards in returns.

The Titans scored 21 points off the Bills’ turnovers, with scoring drives of 16, 12 and 18 yards.

Allen finished 26-of-41 for 263 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

Ryan Tannehill ran for a touchdown and threw three others. He went 21-of-28 for 195 yards, throwing scoring tosses of 16 yards to A.J. Brown, 4 yards to Jonnu Smith and 7 yards to Smith.

Tannehill’s touchdown run was 10 yards.

Derrick Henry had 19 carries for 57 yards and two touchdowns and stole the night on social media with his stiff arm of Josh Norman.

Brown, in his return from a knee injury in the season opener, made seven catches for 82 yards and the touchdown.

NBC

 

NFL’s goal remains playing all 256 regular-season games in 17 weeks

Eleven AFC teams have had their schedules affected by coronavirus outbreaks. Three games have moved to different weeks. Other games have moved to different days in the same week, including Tuesday night’s Titans-Bills contest.

The NFL, though, is nearing a dead end in the amount of shuffling it can do. A Week 18 is looming with any more COVID-19 postponements.

“I think if there was one consist theme to our season it is flexibility and adapting,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said Tuesday. “It went all the way back to the start of our league year. . . . Flexibility is going to be critical. We evaluate, obviously, many different areas that we think will be at least helpful. Fortunately, we haven’t had to use many of the things that we have discussed and thought about. But we will have flexibility to be able to complete our season with the Super Bowl. That’s the goal. We are all focused on that. But to do it safely, and that’s a critical component. We want to make sure that every decision we’re making is made for safety.”

Six teams have had their bye week already. Four teams have it this week.

That makes flexibility more difficult if/when the next outbreak occurs.

“The focus has been on playing the 250-plus games in the 17-week window schedule,” Troy Vincent, the league’s executive vice president of football operations, said. “We’ve been consistent with that. But we lose that flexibility as the weeks go on and we have to adjust, and that’s what we have to avoid is, as the season progresses, the byes become less and less. The commissioner did reference [the 18th week] in his opening remarks, but the focus is playing the 256 games in the 17-week window, knowing that potentially, if the season continues to progress and things happen, the 18th week potentially could be an option there for him.”

The NFL’s chief medical officer did allow that “all options are on the table” when asked about “trigger points” that would prompt a suspension of the season. But Dr. Allen Sills downplayed the possibility of Goodell pressing the pause button.

“At this point we’re really focusing on compliance with our protocols,” Sills said.

NBC
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A week 18 seems necessary, but we shall see.

 

The 'stiff arm' everyone is talking about...

 

Who could've seen the Jets being a dumpster fire under Gase, and the massive Bell signing being a complete waste of everyone's time and money? Anyone? Oh, that's right - everyone. My bad. If there's one thing about 2020 that was never in doubt, it was this.

 

Walter Payton is smiling somewhere.

 

Cardinals defensive end Chandler Jones will miss the rest of the season.

Arizona coach Kliff Kingsbury confirmed this morning that Jones will have season-ending biceps surgery. Jones had hoped to find a non-surgical treatment for his biceps injury that could have allowed him to play this season, but the surgery has been deemed necessary.

Jones has been one of the best pass rushers in the NFL for Arizona. Last season he had 19 sacks and an NFL-high eight forced fumbles. He’ll be hard to replace.

The 30-year-old Jones has one season remaining on his contract, with a $15.5 million base salary in 2021.

NBC

 

Broncos running back Melvin Gordon has been cited for driving under the influence by the Denver Police Department.

Gordon was cited late Tuesday night per court and police documents obtained by Mike Klis of KUSA. He was also charged with going between 25 and 39 miles per hour above the speed limit.

Neither the team nor Gordon has commented on the incident yet. Gordon is subject to league discipline in addition to anything that happens via the legal system.

Gordon is set to be arraigned on Friday, November 13. The Broncos play in Las Vegas two days later.

The running back is in his first season with the Broncos and has run 65 times for 281 yards and three touchdowns through four games.

NBC

 

Falcons shutting down facility due to Covid19.

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/10/15/...s-football-close-facility-spt-trnd/index.html

 

The league needs to consider a bubble approach

 

Yeah but how do you put more than 3000 people in a bubble?

 

That’s a good question. But the season needs to be played all the way through

 

Le’Veon Bell chooses the Chiefs



Last year, the Chiefs had interest in trading for running back Le'Veon Bell. This year, they’re signing him as a free agent.

Albert Breer of SI.com reports that Bell will sign with the defending Super Bowl champions. It’s a one-year deal, heavy on incentives.

PFT has confirmed that the Chiefs will sign Bell, who was released by the Jets on Wednesday.

Bell provides a potent weapon for the running and passing game, one that complements rookie Clyde Edwards-Helaire. The first-rounder started strong for the Chiefs, but his rushing numbers has dropped since gaining 138 yards in the season opener.

The Chiefs hadn’t replaced Damien Williams, a Super Bowl hero who opted out due to the pandemic. They tried to sign Adrian Peterson, but they wanted to wait until after Week One to do so. He chose the Lions instead.

If Bell can play like he did in Pittsburgh, he can be a real difference maker for an offense that already has plenty of strong pieces.

Bell reportedly was considering the Chiefs, Bills, and Dolphins.

NBC

 

Doesn’t need to be. We all just want it to.

 

The Colts are the latest team to close their facility after receiving word of positive COVID-19 tests.

The team issued a statement on Friday morning announcing that they will be working remotely as they work to confirm that those tests are true positives.

“This morning, we were informed that several individuals within our organization have tested posted for COVID-19,” the statement said. “The team is currently in the process of confirming those tests. In the meantime, the practice facility will be closed and the team will work remotely while following NFL protocols. We are in communication with the NFL and will have more information when available.”

Indianapolis is scheduled to host Cincinnati on Sunday, but any plans for that game are going to be tentative until the confirmation process comes to an end. The Bengals have a bye in Week Nine and the Colts have a bye in Week Seven, so any move from this Sunday would take some schedule shuffling by the league.

The Falcons closed their facility on Thursday after a positive test, but are expected to be back in the building Friday as long as no other positive results come back from the latest round of tests.

NBC

 

The Cleveland Browns (Colts' last opponent) have reported that no players or team personnel have tested positive in the aftermath of last Sunday's game.

So far . . .

 

It’s weird how one team can have positive test results the day or two after a game and the opponent doesn’t have any at all.

 

Not really, Gid.

1. I don't think anyone knows for sure how long it takes for someone to initially contract the virus and then subsequently test positive. That's why I ended my post with . . . "So Far"
2. Contact tracing only shows where a person could have contracted the virus or who they may have passed it on to. It's not a proof positive smoking gun.
3. In the case of the Colts/Browns game - it's unclear if any of the Colts personnel who tested positive were players. (Typically, if it's a player, the news article will say.) "Team Personnel" don't normally mingle with the other team whereas "Players" definitely do.

 

Side note...

OBJ who was sent home ill has tested negative for Covid19.

 

. . . So far.