MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK

They used it as a reason to protest the OTAs entirely. It has given them the platform. They are NOW arguing that the shortened offseason in 2020 is the cause for a lower injury rate in this past season. Not sure there is any merit in that.

 

Jimmy Garoppolo hints he considered requesting a trade but decided to “go out there and ball”



The phone call from Kyle Shanahan came March 26. The coach told Jimmy Garoppolo the 49ers were trading up in the draft to take a quarterback — Garoppolo’s replacement.

Garoppolo didn’t know what to think, he said Tuesday. He hints he briefly thought of requesting a trade.

“When it initially happened, there’s a million emotions that go on throughout your head, and you think of all the possible scenarios and things like that,” Garoppolo said, via Matt Maiocco of NBCSportsBayArea.com. “But at the end of the day, I want to play football. I want to go out there and win games. That’s what I do. And so it wasn’t anything too crazy. It took a little while to process everything. But once I did, it was just, ‘Go out there and ball.’ You got to go out and attack it. The NFL is a crazy business. Things happen, but you have to attack it day by day and make the best of it.”

High-ankle sprains limited Garoppolo to six games last season. He has missed 23 games since the 49ers made him their full-time starter.

Now, for the first time since the 49ers traded for him, Garoppolo isn’t the man. The 49ers didn’t draft Trey Lance third overall to sit him for long.

Despite the uncertainty about his future, Garoppolo vows to “keep pushing.” He took all the first-team reps in the team’s organized team activities Tuesday.

“Being in the NFL for as long as I have, you kind of get used to it,” Garoppolo said of criticism. “It kind of comes with the job. It’s one of those things that it keeps pushing you, though.

“When you hear those critiques and you hear those little things out there, it pushes you to take your game to the next level. We’re all competitors out there. We all want to go [play] the perfect game, and at the end of the day, that’s what we’re trying to do. I’ll keep pushing myself.”

NBC

 

Cowboys QB Dak Prescott: 'I'm pretty much full-go' in OTAs

Dak Prescott isn't full-go quite yet. But he's feeling like it.

The Cowboys quarterback was an active participant for the second straight day of organized team activities.

"Today was a great day coming off of yesterday," Prescott told reporters.

Wednesday is a planned rest day for Prescott, who noted he is moving well without pain. He is still being held out of drills involving a pass rush to avoid the chance that a defender trips near him. Still, the ever-competitive QB wouldn't concede being compromised in these light workouts.

"I wouldn't say necessarily limited," Prescott said. "I would just say we are being cautious. ... I'm pretty much full-go."

His involvement is promising after he missed most of the 2020 season with a fractured and dislocated ankle. Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy noted previously that Prescott should be fully cleared for training camp, which is still two months away. On Tuesday, McCarthy reiterated that the plan is to keep Prescott out of team drills until then.

The two-time Pro Bowler seems to be doing everything possible to get there. That now includes warming up a bit more before practice so that his legs are loose.

"Just to get the leg going," Prescott said. "I wouldn't be surprised if you guys continue to see me do that long after this injury."

NFL.com

 

Ryan Fitzpatrick: It’s easier for me to switch teams because I’ve done it so many times



Ryan Fitzpatrick has been the starting quarterback for the Rams, Bengals, Bills, Titans, Texans, Jets, Buccaneers and Dolphins. Now he’s with the Washington Football Team, and he says he’s having no trouble fitting right in on his ninth team.

“There are certain things that maybe it is easier for me to switch teams than other guys because I’ve done it so many times,” Fitzpatrick said, via ESPN. “I’ve been through the process.”

Fitzpatrick said he’s quickly learning the language of his new offense and serving as a leader in Organized Team Activities.

“Communication is a huge thing,” Fitzpatrick said. “When that communication gets crisp, you can play faster and that puts a lot of pressure on the defense. I have a lot of discussion with the guys up front. I’m the one having to catch up right now with what they’re doing.”

On eight different teams, Fitzpatrick has figured out how to communicate with new teammates. On Team 9, he knows how it’s done.

NBC

 

I think if he unretires the packers would still have the rights to him

 

Sean McVay has “been very pleased” with what Matthew Stafford has done so far



The Rams agreed to acquire Matthew Stafford from the Lions back in January and now the club has finally seen him on the practice field.

Los Angeles is keeping things light for OTAs. But when Stafford has thrown passes, he’s made a strong impression on his new head coach.

“It looked good. I think we’re in the early phases of it, but certainly the way he’s handled things up to this point, been very pleased,” Sean McVay said this week. “He’s a joy to be around every single day, the consistency that he comes in to work with is definitely something that, he makes it really fun. And I know [I’ve] been pleased with what he’s done up to this point.”

Stafford seems to be enjoying McVay’s presence just as much, saying this week that he’s liked collaborating with the head coach on the playbook. If things go as intended for Los Angeles, Stafford could be in for one of the best seasons if his career in 2021.

NBC

 

A good Stafford, which he is, could really make that Rams team special... especially if they can run the ball with success.

 

IMO he's always been a decent QB he was stuck on à so so Lions team which could be very good at times,but they found amazing ways to lose

 

I'm not as interested in seeing how much better their offense is with Stafford, I think it's an improvement, but I'm not convinced it's a leap.

I'm more interested in seeing if their defense is the same without, John Johnson, Michael Brockers and Troy Hill. It doesn't seem like much, but they are filling 3 starting positions with:
Brockers, a guy that couldn't beat out Brockers to start last year and has only had 1 year out of 5 with double digit starts... or a 5th round draft pick as his backup.
Troy Hill, a guy they picked up on waivers from Baltimore last year and has 13 starts in 3 years.
Josh Johnson, a college free agent in 2020 that has never started a game.

I think the Rams are going to miss these 3 more than anyone is letting on. All the media wants to talk about is the addition of Matthew Stafford who only led the Lions to 3 playoff seasons (one was 9-7), all of which they lost first round.

Tutu Atwell in the second round really has me scratching my head...

This will NOT be the best defense in the NFL in 2021, that's my prediction.

 

I agree. The offense shouldnt be the problem as compared to the defense and you raised some good points.

Maybe the media is missing the point about the Rams in general. I was on record last season as thinking they were overrated to begin with.

But, looking back to last season that defense was the stingiest in the NFC... if they can be close to what they did last season then they will be alright, but Seattle looks like the team to beat out West. Dark horse = Cardinals, in my opinion.

 

2 words about the Rams D:
Aaron Donald

Unless he gets injured or falls off a cliff expect the rams D to be in the top again. Yes they lost a lot in the DB side of the D but when you are getting pressure up front then your DBs can be substandard. As long as Darnold is on the line they are going to be able to get pressure on the QB. Now with Stafford at QB the rams should be able to score more consistantly. If they can get leads and build on them the pressure from Darnold is only going to increase.

 

I get that you disregard everything Browns, but..

Two words Myles Garrett

No single player has ever made an entire defense/offense the top in the NFL. Aaron Donald is no different.

Losing 3 top contributors without replacing them adequately will make a big impact. Not trying to say they will suddenly become one of the worst, but if they become middling, then they won’t be contenders. They NEED that defense to be great in order to succeed.

 

I love defense probably more than the next guy - being a Chicago fan, I kind of have to. So I get what you're saying.

But Aaron Donald and Myles Garrett are not comparable. For one, the position Donald plays is much more important - a disruptive 3-tech will beat a disruptive DE all day. Secondly, Donald has simply been more productive than Garrett. You could make the argument that he's getting old, but I haven't seen him slowing down.

I'm not arguing on the larger point of the Rams - rather, that a comparison between Donald and Garrett just isn't applicable.

Edit: Also, I've been a Browns supporter since I was young. So there's no anti-Browns bias, here.

 

I wasn’t really comparing the two technically, what I am saying is that the top players on either side of the ball are not going to elevate a team to a top 3 defense or offense all on their own. Arguably the best QBs elevate and make the players around them better, but there are so many game plans an offensive team can employ, there isn’t a single player that will shut down an offense.

Garrett is at the top of his position group, I don’t think that is arguable, yet the Browns defense in 2020 sucked. They had holes and the holes were exposed. Unless these unknown players are the secret sauce, the Rams now have holes. Offensive coordinators will expose them.

 

Gee ii didnt realize we had to mention the browns when we talk about the rams D. Next time i will make sure to mention them so browns fans dont feel neglected.

 

Just trying to help here, don’t make yourself sound like a dumbass just so you can make an extra post. If you don’t understand the content, ask a question or just move on. The example was relevant to the conversation.

 

Look, replace with TJ Watt or Reggie White or Lawrence Taylor. It doesn’t matter the name, no one can do it by themself. That’s the point being discussed. No great defensive unit has EVER been great because of a single player.

 

I agree with that completely. Just don't agree with the comment I quoted.

 

Patrick Mahomes wants to go 20-0



Plenty of NFL records should fall now that the league has expanded to 17-game seasons, but Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has his eye on one particular record that he’s like to see the Chiefs accomplish.

Mahomes wants to go 17-0 in the regular season, then win three games in the postseason, culminating in the Super Bowl, for a perfect 20-0 mark.

“The only record I have my eyes set on breaking, which would be new this year, would be going 20-0,” Mahomes said, via BleacherReport.com. “It’s not really a record to be broken I guess you would say—19-0 is the record right now—so being able to go 20-0 and being the first one to do that, that would be awesome.”

No team ever went 19-0 when the NFL was playing 16-game seasons. The 2007 Patriots came the closest, going 16-0 in the regular season but falling to 18-1 with a Super Bowl loss. The only undefeated, untied team in NFL history was the 1972 Miami Dolphins, who went 17-0 after a 14-game regular season.

Mahomes has a 38-8 record as a starter in the regular season and a 6-2 record in the playoffs. At 44-10, his combined record is impressive. But this year he wants to improve it to 64-10.

NBC