NFL - NEWS & NOTES

The Packers have lost David Bakhtiari for the remainder of the year. That's a tough loss.

 

New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara is hearing from the NFL after his cleat show on Christmas Day.

The NFL is fining Kamara $5,000 for wearing one red cleat and one green cleat during his six-touchdown day against the Minnesota Vikings, NFL Media reported. He became the first player to score six in a game since Gale Sayers did it in 1965 with the Chicago Bears. The Saints also clinched the AFC South division title in the Christmas matinee.

It’s a historic feat that usually results in a piece of game-worn apparel — commonly cleats — being sent to a Hall of Fame and shown to visitors. Awkwardly enough, the NFL is imposing a fine on that exact thing even though the league allowed Kamara to wear the cleats the entire game since it didn’t pose a safety risk.

 

The Steelers will reportedly be without cornerback Joe Haden for their next two games.

Dan Graziano of ESPN reports that Haden has tested positive for COVID-19. He’ll miss Sunday’s game against the Browns as a result and the 10-day isolation period means that he will also miss the team’s home playoff game on Wild Card weekend.


Shortly before the report, Haden tweeted that “I’m so pissed and sad at the same time. . . . . stay safe out here.”

Haden has started all 14 games he’s played for the Steelers this season. He has 52 tackles, two interceptions, and an interception return for a touchdown this season.

Steven Nelson, Mike Hilton, and Cam Sutton will be the top corners in Pittsburgh with Haden out of action.

NBC

 

Reports: Doug Pederson will return to the Eagles in 2021



It’s time to check another box.

Eagles coach Doug Pederson will return to the team in 2021, according to multiple reports.


Why wouldn’t he? Crazed Eagles fans and over-the-top bitter Philly media notwithstanding, Pederson won a Super Bowl trophy in 2017 and took the team to the playoffs in 2018 and 2019. Yes, 2020 went sideways for the team. Surely, that’s not enough to run off a head coach who has shown he knows how to win.

According to ESPN, Pederson is due to meet with owner Jeffrey Lurie on Tuesday to discuss plans for the 2021 season.

The plans will include, at a minimum, hiring a new defensive coordinator. Jim Schwartz reportedly won’t return.

And regardless of whether Lurie says it, the mandate for next year will be to return to the postseason. Lurie fired both Andy Reid and Chip Kelly after two straight non-playoff years.

NBC

 

THIS. This is why I don't talk much about this crap. Most of it is a bunch of BS being sourced to pump the next article all from hot takes. Philly is full of fucking idiots and the Media feeds into it and are dumb as well. All this talk of a QB in the first round too from Philly media. The fans are so fucking stubborn that if you ever say anything they jump on you. I had people criticize me online from both sides over the same comments from things about the coach, Wentz, GM, etc. It's comical. I may be a fan of the team but I have yet to meet an Eagles fan in Philly that has a brain and it gets harder when they keep getting fed shit from the media there.

Reid left because it got stale after so long. Chip got canned because the control and locker room situation was complete cancer. Doug isn't in the same boat and after a championship he has a bit of a leash considering all the injuries. The injuries aren't his fault. IT's the GM/trainers and trainers have been replaced so it's the GM. Roseman hasn't done any "genius trades" since the SB and has drafted like shit. I can respect the cap hell being from trying to stay competitive but this is supposed to be the last hellish offseason. Any new moves that hurt the cap should be in terms of the future and not the past. This IMO is Roseman's last chance to stick around but I do wonder if it shouldn't be a new GM that takes care of the all important financials now that they are going to be centred on the future direction of the team and not past cap moving forward.

 

Marrone and Gase are on their way out. It's not official yet but it seems like the teams are letting them finish the season.

 

A lot of this reminds me of my view of Bills and Sabres fans over the years. I think the big distinction is that there are 1) media-parroting fans in a bad mood and 2) media-parroting fans in a good mood.

Right now Bills fans are in a very good mood, and that does make them more tolerable. I sense that the whole underdog thing in the national consciousness about Buffalo - fueled by Bills Mafia antics - have made the Bills somewhat of a sentimental favorite. Twenty years after the Music City Fiasco - I’ll take what I can get.

But I know what’s coming down the pike. In a year or so the obnoxious overbearing Bills fans will turn the rest of the country* off and they’ll be lumped with the despised. (* There’s no adequate replacement term for “national” or “country” that applies to the USA and Canada. I am not trying to be exclusionary with someone who is in Canada.)

With Buffalo’s sports history, when they’ve been media-parrots in a bad mood, they are at least justified for their foul outlook. But, I wish fans of every team would remember this:
When your team is winning it does not make you smarter, stronger, or faster. And, it doesn’t make your dick any bigger. When your team is losing it is not a personal indictment of your lot in life.

 

A blast from my past has passed... RIP Mr. Little.



Hall of Fame running back Floyd Little has died. He was 78.

Little died on Friday, according to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The former Broncos standout, who spent nine seasons with the team, was diagnosed with cancer in May.

He entered the Hall of Fame in 2010. Little generated 6,323 rushing yards, and he racked up 2,418 receiving yards. Little also scored 54 total touchdowns, including a pair of punt returns. He also threw a touchdown pass, in 1972.

Little’s best season came in 1971, when he gained 1,133 rushing yards.

In November, the Broncos sent Little a game ball following the team’s upset win over the Dolphins.

NBC

 

Que the Urban Meyer rumors.

 

Titans RB Derrick Henry could make NFL history vs. Texans

It's a long shot – or perhaps better yet, a long run – that the Tennessee Titans' star running back will hit one of the league's most storied marks this regular season. But the setting is definitely right for the outstanding to happen.

Derrick Henry 's 223 yards away from becoming the eighth player to rush for 2,000 yards in a single season.

Steep as that hill might appear to climb, Henry's facing the perfect opponent to make that history in the Houston Texans.

A season ago in Week 17, Henry ran through the Texans defense for 211 yards and aided in the Titans clinching a playoff berth in the process. In Week 6 this season, Henry rumbled past Houston defenders for 212 yards.

With Tennessee vying for a postseason spot and Henry hoping for a milestone, the Titans locomotive is also on track for more history, as no player in the Super Bowl era has had 200-plus rushing yards in three games against one opponent, per NFL Research.

With Henry leading the league with 1,777 yards rushing and the Texans defense 31st in the NFL against the rush, it would appear there's at least a chance for some history.

Should Henry hit 2,000, he would become the first NFL player to do so since Adrian Peterson with the Minnesota Vikings in 2012 and the Titans would become the first franchise with two 2,000-yard rushers, as Chris Johnson tallied 2,006 rushing yards in 2009.


History has already been made by Henry for all intents and purposes, as it's a formality that he will become the first back-to-back rushing champion since Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson with the Chargers in 2006-07.

Henry's 1,777 yards – which is already 23rd all-time in a single season – is 220 yards more than the closest runner, Minnesota's Dalvin Cook. With Cook set to miss the season finale due to a family tragedy and Henry having routed the rest of the rushing field, a consecutive rushing crown for King Henry is all but assured.

Gaining 2,000 yards certainly is not.

Averaging a league-best 105 yards per game, Henry needs to more than double that. Henry's churned out four 200-yard regular season games in his career, including the aforementioned pair against the Texans. The other two were against the Jaguars – one this season and another in 2018 in which he galloped to a career-high 238. So, he's done what he needs to get done for 2,000 before.

And the Titans are 4-0 when Henry hits 200 yards in a game. With a victory over Houston ushering Tennessee back into the playoffs, a big day for Henry and the Titans could be upon the horizon.

NFL.com

 

Que the dline rant.

 

lol! My thought exactly. Lyman beat me to it. Well done sir.

How has this not happened yet? I just assumed it was a mandatory thing that appears whenever Urban Meyer's name is mentioned on these threads....Dude is off his game evidently.

I think it goes something like: "Urban is the worst human being that was ever born. In fact, he barely qualifies as one. He's a liar and a con-artist and a thief, and there's reason to believe he's a serial killer who's likely left behind a string of bodies from Bowling Green to Utah to Florida and back to Columbus".....

...or something to that extent. Hopefully dline will be along soon to clear up anything I might have missed.

 

Lions’ ability to hire John Schneider won’t be quite so simple



One of the Week 17 Sunday Splash! reports is a cannonball. But it may have landed in the shallow end of the pool.

The NFL Media report that the Lions will try to hire Seahawks G.M. John Schneider paints a picture that it would be easy and automatic for the Lions (or any other team) to snatch Schneider away from Seattle.

Here’s the key passage from the article appearing on the league’s official website: “Schneider doesn’t have primary authority over all personnel decisions in Seattle — [coach Pete] Carroll does. That hasn’t really mattered, since Carroll and Schneider are in lockstep, but under the NFL’s anti-tampering policy, the Lions or another team could try to interview Schneider if it offered him full control.”

It’s not nearly that simple, and the characterization quite possibly is inaccurate.

The 2020-21 NFL Anti-Tampering Policy defines at pages 19 and 20 the term “High-Level Club Employees,” who cannot be hired away by other teams while under contract absent compensation. A “High-Level Club Employee” is: (1) a person with primary authority and responsibility for the organization, direction, and management of the day-to-day operations of the club and reports directly to the controlling owner; (2) a person who is the primary football executive for the club, with primary authority over all personnel decisions related to signing free agency, drafting players, trades, and related decisions, along with primary responsibility for coordinating other football activities with the head coach.

Here’s the key phrase from the definition: “Final authority regarding the composition of the 53-player roster is not a requirement.”

The NFL.com article uses the phrase “primary authority,” but quite possibly confuses that term with “final authority.” Schneider is the General Manager; even if Pete Carroll can overrule Schneider via “final authority,” Schneider most likely possesses the “primary authority.” (The fact that the Anti-Tampering Policy uses both “final authority” and “primary authority” means that there’s a tangible difference between the terms.)

At the absolute bare minimum, the situation isn’t nearly as simple and clean as the NFL.com article suggests. Indeed, the Packers sought permission to interview Schneider in 2018 for the G.M. job, and the Seahawks declined. If it was simple enough to offer Schneider final authority over personnel to get him away from the Seahawks, Schneider possibly would be the Packers G.M. right now.

Indeed, Schneider’s contract at one point included a clause allowing him to become the G.M. of the Packers. If it was as easy to pilfer him from the Seahawks as the NFL.com article implies it is, Schneider (a Packers shareholder) never would have needed that type of a clause.

The Lions could still get Schneider, but they’d have to first negotiate compensation with the Seahawks before negotiating a contract with Schneider. And Schneider’s contract may be at the root of this one.

As one league source explained it to PFT, Schneider isn’t paid at the top of the G.M. market. He’s believed to be prepared to become a free agent in 2022, if he doesn’t get a market-value deal from the Seahawks.

The Lions may have caught wind of that, and they may be thinking about pushing the issue. Schneider, for his part, may not object to having his name thrust into the conversation, at a time when he’s trying to get top dollar from the Seahawks — and, if not, positioning himself to get top dollar elsewhere next year.

Regardless, unless the Seahawks are willing to let Schneider walk away now, they can decline permission and force the Lions either to fight the issue via the “administrative review” provision of the Anti-Tampering Policy or to essentially trade for Schneider.

To summarize, the notion that it’s open season for Schneider is not accurate. But truth sometimes takes a back seat to filling the quota of Sunday Splash! reports.

NBC

 

All week 17 games are a go.

 

First playoff appearance since 2002.

 

And it wasn't as a "7 Seed".

 

CONGRATULATIONS CLEVELAND!

 

Patriots close out the season with a win



The Patriots ended a disappointing season on a high note Sunday.

Cam Newton threw three touchdowns and caught another to lead the Patriots to a 28-14 win over the Jets. The win leaves the Patriots with a 7-9 record at the end of Newton’s first season with the team.

He’s not expected to have a second season, but Sunday provided a glimpse of how things would have gone for Newton and the Patriots in a best-case scenario this season. Newton was 21-of-30 for 242 yards and he set up his first touchdown pass with a 49-yard run. The touchdown catch came on a throw from wide receiver Jakobi Meyers and was the first of Newton’s NFL career.

That effort is one that could help Newton when he’s looking for a job this offseason, although the total package was far less attractive than what he put together on Sunday.

The Jets’ total package this season was more or less what they showed on Sunday. There were flashes of promise in the passing game as Sam Darnold threw a pair of touchdowns, but he also threw two interceptions that offered more flashes of caution about his propensity for turnovers.

With Darnold and the second overall pick, the Jets join the Patriots with decisions to make about the quarterback position. Unlike the Patriots, they are expected to make a head coaching change before they get to any calls on that front.

NBC

 

@KilkennyDan do the Colts make you nervous? They are for me. And if it's the Titans it didn't end well earlier in the season. I would have loved the Dolphins again. I don't see the Colts losing today.