MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK

We don't need Brees this week. Let those ribs heal. Remember Aaron Rodgers and his collar bone a few years ago ?

 

Wow. NBC should, at least, attempt to exhibit a modicum of linguistic integrity by avoiding those types of anagrams.

 

#TightEndProspect

 

Daniel Jones is on track to face Cardinals on Sunday



The two quarterbacks taken in the top 10 of the 2019 draft will square off on Sunday, after all.

Giants quarterback Daniel Jones, who suffered a hamstring injury 13 days ago against the Bengals, has been cleared to return, per multiple reports. He’s expected to start.

He’ll face Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray, the first pick in 2019. Jones went sixth overall that year to the Giants.

The game will end up being more than a late-season, box-checking reunion of one-time NFC East teams. The Cardinals have lost three in a row since the Hail Murray, putting them at 6-6 and in danger of missing the playoffs. The Giants, in contrast, have won four in a row. They’re tied with Washington atop the division at 5-7, with New York holding the tiebreaker by virtue of a head-to-head sweep.

Although Jones is far more mobile than veteran backup Colt McCoy, McCoy helped the Giants score arguably the biggest upset of the year to date last Sunday, when the Giants beat the Seahawks in Seattle.

McCoy could still end up playing. Hamstring injuries easily become aggravated if not given sufficient time to heal. If Jones pulls it again, McCoy will be called upon to finish the job as the Giants try to get within a game of .500.

NBC

 

Drew Brees remains on injured reserve for Sunday’s game at Philadelphia



Saints quarterback Drew Brees has missed the minimum number of games for a player on injured reserve. He’ll now miss a fourth.

The Saints did not activate Brees from injured reserve on Saturday. As a result, and as expected, he won’t play on Sunday at Philadelphia.

Brees suffered multiple fractured ribs and a collapsed lung in Week 10, against the 49ers. The team placed him on injured reserve on Friday, November 20. He was eligible to return to practice as of Friday, December 11.

He can remain on IR indefinitely. Once activated for practice purposes, the team has three weeks to return him to the active roster.

The Saints host the Chiefs next Sunday. Given the different styles between Brees and backup Taysom Hill, expect the Saints to try to keep their plans secret as long as possible, forcing the Chiefs to prepare for both players.

New Orleans made three roster moves in advance of Sunday’s game. Defensive back Justin Hardee was designated for return from IR, and receivers Juwan Johnson and Tommylee Lewis were elevated from the practice squad.

NBC

 

Patrick Mahomes breaks another record. He takes a 30-yard sack breaking the shared record of 29 yards by Bob Griese in Super Bowl VI (sack by Dallas Cowboys DT Bob Lilly) and Tim Tebow (sack) by Patriots LB Rob Ninkovich.

 

Was 28 yards honestly but the refs got lazy. Forward progress at the 5 for sure, not the 3.

 

Maybe one of the refs had a bet on Mahomes breaking the longest sack record

 

Report: Steelers have “serious concern” about Ben Roethlisberger’s knee



Officially, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger‘s knee currently is fine. Unofficially, it’s not.

“There’s serious concern in the Steelers organization about Roethlisberger’s knee,” Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reported on Sunday. “It’s been bothering him for weeks and sources say it’s not getting any better, an issue in practices and in games.”


It wasn’t an issue in practice this week, based on the injury report. “Knee” did not appear on any of this week’s practice reports. As he often does, Roethlisberger skipped Wednesday’s session with the “not injury related” designation. He then fully participated in practice on Thursday and Friday.

Technically, the Steelers don’t have to disclose the knee issue if Roethlisberger fully participates in practice and if he doesn’t receive treatment for it. And maybe they’ve realized that there’s nothing they can really do to make the knee any better, if for example Roethlisberger has something like arthritis in the knee.

Regardless, there’s a clear disconnect between La Canfora’s report and the team’s injury report. La Canfora says the knee is an issue in practice. The practice report for Week 14 suggests that it’s not.

NBC

 

Washington quarterback Alex Smith‘s injury does not appear serious. At least judging by Ron Rivera’s postgame comments.

The Washington coach said X-rays of Smith’s calf were negative.

“He strained the calf, basically,” said Rivera.

Rivera said Smith could have returned if Washington had needed him.

“What happened was Alex developed some tightness and muscle soreness as he was pushing off that right leg,” Rivera said. “As we ended the half, they took him to get X-rays. The X-rays were fine. There was no issue there. But he had the soreness, and it was tight, so we decided not to have him go back out there in the second half. We had him there in case of emergency. He stayed on the sideline and stayed loose and tried to loosen it up. It just stayed tight. He said he couldn’t get it loose. Out of an abundance of caution, we went ahead and went with Dwayne in the second half.”

It is Smith’s right calf, which is the same leg that Smith underwent 17 surgeries on after his gruesome knee injury in 2018.

Dwayne Haskins took a knee to end the first half and then stayed in the game in the second half. Smith went 8-for-19 for 57 yards and an interception, while Haskins was 7-of-12 for 51 yards.

Washington held on for a 23-15 victory and is in sole possession of first place in the NFC East.

NBC

 

Jalen Hurts will start in Week 15



Eagles head coach Doug Pederson resisted naming a starting quarterback for Week 15 after Sunday’s win over the Saints and again during a radio interview on Monday morning, but he has put an end to whatever suspense surrounded the decision.

Pederson said on a Monday afternoon video conference that second-round pick Jalen Hurts will make his second straight start. Hurts was 17-of-30 for 167 yards and a touchdown and ran 18 times for 106 yards in the 24-21 win over the Saints.

Pederson tempered his praise for Hurts on Sunday by emphasizing that “it took everybody in uniform to win this game.” He had more positive things to say abut Hurts on Monday morning and said in the video conference that he was think about the feelings of many players, including Carson Wentz, when he made his first comments after the game.

“I was thinking of Carson and I was thinking of the rest of the team,” Pederson said, via 97.5 The Fanatic. “After looking at the film, Jalen played well. But there were a lot of great individual performances on both sides of the ball.”

Hurts’ second start will come in Arizona and he’ll be on the opposite side of the field from Kyler Murray, who was the starting quarterback at Oklahoma before Hurts took over the job last season.

NBC

 

Gardner Minshew is back as the Jaguars’ starting quarterback.

Jaguars coach Doug Marrone confirmed today that Minshew will start on Sunday against the Ravens.

Minshew became the Jaguars’ starter as a rookie sixth-round draft pick last year and opened this season as the starter as well. But since Minshew suffered a thumb injury, Jake Luton started three games and Mike Glennon started three more.

None of the Jaguars’ quarterbacks has played particularly well this season, but Minshew has been the best of the bunch, and now they’ll put him back on the field, giving him one more chance to show what he can do before the Jaguars decide whether to draft his replacement in the offseason.

NBC

 

Sam Darnold: I want to be a Jet for life



The Jets don’t have a win this season, making them leaders for the No. 1 overall choice in 2021. They will have an opportunity to draft a quarterback, and it would rank as a major surprise if they did anything else.

But what does that mean for Sam Darnold‘s future?

The Jets drafted Darnold with the third overall choice in 2018, and he has one year left on his rookie deal.

Darnold was asked Monday whether a change of scenery could benefit him.

“I love it here. . . . I love living here,” Darnold said, via Connor Hughes of TheAthletic.com. “I’ve always said I want to be a Jet for life, but that decision isn’t up to me.”

Darnold hasn’t done anything to convince the Jets he is their franchise quarterback. He is 11-24 in 35 starts, throwing for 7,449 yards with 41 touchdowns, 37 interceptions and a 77.8 passer rating.

Darnold said “I don’t know” when asked how he would evaluate his three years with the Jets. He added that it’s a “big-picture thought” better answered after the season.

But Darnold, 23, still believes he is the long-term answer.

“I believe in myself as a quarterback and a player in this league,” Darnold said, via Greg Joyce of the New York Post. “Obviously, that decision isn’t up to me, but I’m always going to believe in myself.”

NBC

 

Sorry Sam but you are done with the Jets unless you can pull a W out of your ass and not get the #1 overall pick. Even then you might be replaced with a QB not named Lawrence.

 

Giants plan to start Daniel Jones again, even if he’s limited



It was clear Giants quarterback Daniel Jones wasn’t 100 percent Sunday. It’s also clear the Giants have no regrets about starting Jones.

“The way he moved in the game is what we expected,” Giants coach Joe Judge said, via Tom Rock of Newsday. “What we expected to see we pretty much saw.”

Jones played through a hamstring injury, taking six sacks and not having a single rushing attempt for the first time in his career. The Giants lost to the Cardinals 26-7 a week after the Giants beat the Seahawks 17-12 with Colt McCoy starting at quarterback.

Yet, Judge doubled down a day after saying he had no regrets starting Jones. Judge said Monday that Jones will start Sunday, even if he is limited physically.

“If Daniel is healthy to play and he looks the way he did in practice last week, I’d have no hesitation playing Daniel at all,” Judge said. “All options are always on the table in terms of what we are going to do about our game plan, but to answer the question directly and simply, yeah, if Daniel is healthy enough to go out there and we think he’s not at [risk] to be hurt, then we’ll play him.”

Judge said Jones did not aggravate his leg injury, but the second-year quarterback clearly wasn’t close to 100 percent. The Giants’ 159 net yards was their lowest output since 2013.

“We knew there were things that would come up in the game and some limitations he was going to have,” Judge said. “We were willing to live with those.”

And apparently willing to die with those, too, considering the outcome, which now has Washington in the driver’s seat for the NFC East.

NBC

 

Is it time to name Oklahoma QB University? With the announcement that Jalen Hurts will get his second start following the win over the Saints, that means OU’s last three starting QBs are now bonafide starting NFL QBs. The juries still out in all three as they are still young and unpredictable, but at least Baker and Kyler are starting to consistently have good games and cementing themselves as starters for their teams.

I think the biggest debate would be if Spencer Rattler is next... that debate might heat up after the rematch with Iowa State this weekend.

 

Sean Payton: We won’t “just hurry” Drew Brees back



The Saints designated quarterback Drew Brees for return from injured reserve on Wednesday, but that doesn’t mean he will be back in action when the team hosts the Chiefs on Sunday.

Saints head coach Sean Payton sent that message after the team practiced on Wednesday. Brees has missed the last four games after broken ribs and a punctured lung, and that layoff has Payton wanting to see quite a bit from the team’s longtime starter before he gets the green light to play again.

“We haven’t ruled anything just because we don’t have to,” Payton said, via Mike Triplett of ESPN.com. “He’s got a ways to go still, and he’s someone we’re not gonna just hurry back and just put him in the game. I think the significance of the injuries are such that you’ve gotta make sure he can function and feel confident.”

Taysom Hill has started while Brees has been out of action and the Saints have gone 3-1 in their last four games. After facing the Chiefs, they will have another game against the Vikings a week from Friday.

NBC

 

Absolutely. Its amazing what has come from that University regarding the QB position. I think Rattler will do no less and keep the streak alive. Going to be a good one vs Iowa State.

 

That doesn't sound good. I guess our road to the Super Bowl leads thru Green Bay now. Don't put Brees back in too soon. I've said this before, remember Aaron Rogers and his collar bone?

 

Drew Brees is back.

Brees, the Saints quarterback who has missed the last four games with broken ribs and a punctured lung, will return to the starting lineup for Sunday’s game against the Chiefs.

The Saints signaled that Brees was on the mend this week when they cleared him to return to practice from his stint on injured reserve, and he has apparently looked good enough in practice that they’re confident he’s good to go.

Without Brees, the Saints turned to Taysom Hill and won three of the four games Brees missed. Hill will presumably still be a part of the Saints’ offense on Sunday, but he’ll be back to his role of playing running back and receiver and getting snaps on special teams in addition to occasionally taking snaps at quarterback.

With the 12-1 Chiefs and 10-3 Saints both competing for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs in their respective conferences, this may be the biggest game of the regular season, and a potential Super Bowl preview.

NBC