NFL - NEWS & NOTES

What a dirtbag. He should be suspended for a good amount of time. At least 6 games and no pay. It wasn't a fight on the field, which I get happens, but just a guy doing his job.

 

lol, probably going to be more than a suspension and fine from the league.. this guy has filed a police report and was taken to the hospital with what was called non-life threatening injuries. He’s ambulance chasing, but in this case I can’t say I blame the guy.

 

New England Patriots running back Damien Harris is likely to be out multiple games after injuring his hamstring in Sunday's win over the Detroit Lions, NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero reported Tuesday.

Harris is still undergoing tests to determine the severity of the injury, but the expectation is the fourth-year back will miss time, a source informed of the situation told Pelissero.

The running back played six snaps in Sunday's 29-0 win before exiting due to the injury, earning 11 yards on four carries and catching one pass for one yard.

On the season, Harris has 57 carries for 257 yards and three TDs.

With Harris sidelined, Rhamondre Stevenson, who galloped for 161 yards on 25 carries Sunday, figures to get the bulk of the workload out of the Pats' backfield in Week 6 against the Cleveland Browns.

NFL.com

 

Dameon Pierce authored one of the most enraged runs you'll ever see, bulldozing over Jacksonville Jaguar defenders like they were pawns on a chess board to set up the Houston Texans' game-winning score on Sunday.

After a quiet Week 1, Pierce has lived up to the preseason hype, leading all rookies with 412 rushing yards in 2022 (third most overall in NFL). Sunday, he earned 26 carries for 99 yards and the game-winning score and three catches for 14 yards. The 113 scrimmage yards were 46 percent of the Texans' offense in the win.

The chatter in Houston has already turned to Pierce's chances of being Offensive Rookie of the Year.

"It's a little early. He's a rookie and he's playing well," head coach Lovie Smith said Monday. "I haven't seen all of the rookies out there. I just know that our rookie, we've loved him from the start. It's not a bandwagon-type thing. We believed in this guy and what he can do. He's letting other people kind of see it a little bit. Again, for us to be talking that way, the offensive line and the guys that are blocking for him, they have to be doing their job. I just know after a quarter of football, we like where he is. Much more to go, but I like the way he's trending."

Pierce deserves mention for ORY, but he's got company in the likes of Breece Hall, Chris Olave, Drake London and others. As Loive noted, we're far too early for separation.

But if the Texans are to keep winning with this roster, Pierce will be a big reason why.

The running back is a broken tackle machine. He loves the spin move and batters his way through defenders like a demolition derby winner clearing out trashed clunkers.


Sunday's highlight run is one that should be played before every Texans game this season.

"We watched it a few times and some of the other plays too," Smith said of the Pierce run. "How can you not if you're a football fan, to just see one word, finish late in the game. I'm always excited too. We go to a lot of different places and some places just means a little bit more to guys than others. Playing his college ball, 70 miles from there, seems like most of his hometown was there watching him play. So for him to perform that way the first time he comes back to his home state is pretty neat."

Pretty neat and pretty nasty.

NFL.com

 

Roughing the passer to be discussed at ownership meetings next week



Fans and media aren’t the only ones talking about the roughing the passer situation, after Monday night’s controversial call in the Raiders-Chiefs game and Sunday’s game-altering decision in Falcons-Buccaneers. Owners are talking about it, too.

More specifically, they’ll be talking about it next week.


Rob Maaddi of the Associated Press reports that the subject will be discussed when owners convene next week in New York for quarterly meetings. However, there’s no guarantee they’ll do anything more than talk about it.

Many think that the owners and the league want it this way, in order to ensure that quarterbacks are more likely to stay healthy. Beyond each specific team’s interest in seeing its own quarterback play, nothing craters prime-time ratings like one or both teams trotting out backup quarterbacks.

Maaddi reports it’s unlikely that roughing the passer will become subject to replay review. He cites the 2019 debacle involving replay review of pass interference. That was a failure of execution by the league, however, not a failure of concept.

As Maaddi also notes, the rulebook requires referees to err on the side of protecting quarterbacks: “When in doubt about a roughness call or potentially dangerous tactic against the quarterback, the referee should always call roughing the passer.”

While this leads to outcomes that frustrate observers, what are we going to do, quit the game? The NFL surely believes folks will huff and puff but never stop watching over something like this.

The primary concern should be legalized gambling, as explained in Playmakers. Roughing calls that reside in the discretion of one person can influence outcomes, creating a clear and easy path for potential conversion of an otherwise straight shooter into the NFL’s version of Tim Donaghy.

If an NBA-style officiating scandal is ever going to happen in football, it’s going to happen with someone who has the power to turn losses into wins and/or to help the favorite cover or not cover the spread by simply pulling out a flag and shrugging his shoulders, claiming that he was only erring on the side of protecting quarterbacks.

PFT

 

League office will turn attention to Davante Adams situation on Wednesday



If the Raiders didn’t have a Week Six bye, the league office likely would have decided whether to impose a suspension on receiver Davante Adams today, so that there would be enough time to conduct an appeal as soon as possible. With the Raiders off this weekend, the league has some extra time to process the matter.

Per a league source, the NFL will take up on Wednesday the question of whether Adams should be suspended for his post-game actions.


Adams shoved to the ground a man carrying equipment, while Adams walked toward the tunnel. Various opinions have been articulated in the 24 hours since it happened, which really isn’t a surprise. Some say he should be suspended. Others say he shouldn’t.

Regardless, what happened shouldn’t happen. The league needs to send a message to Adams and all other players that this kind of thing can’t occur.

The man allegedly was injured. He filed a police report. The injuries don’t seem to be serious, this time. Next time, who knows? The league’s overriding goal should be to avoid a next time.

PFT

 

Call the police, he got
https://youtube.com/shorts/VdIhvrqAI6U?feature=share

 

George Pickens is the best receiver in the league.

 

No he's not

 

Nope, hand doesn’t count as an inbound point of contact. The elbow or some other body part would have to be inbounds for it to count.

 

The Commanders limp into Soldier Field having lost four straight after the comeback victory against Jacksonville in Week 1. The futures of Ron Rivera and Carson Wentz could be put under the microscope with a fifth straight loss.


Meanwhile, the Bears don’t exactly come in scalding hot either. They’ve dropped three of four games, even if all three came on the road. The Bears are 2-0 at home this season, however, with two stronger defensive efforts in those wins over the 49ers and Texans.


The spotlight is on Justin Fields to capitalize after a terrific second-half showing in the loss to the Vikings last week. Bears fans would love nothing more than to see their QB stay hot, even if injuries at virtually every other offensive position have held everything back.


And if the action is sub-par, we can always fall back on some good old uniform chatter. For the first time in franchise history, the Bears will be brandishing orange helmets -- you read that right -- along with orange jerseys.


Perhaps allow extra time to adjust your screens for the monochromatic brightness.


“It’s pretty sweet,” Bears linebacker Roquan Smith said. “It’s a helmet. It’s orange. It’s different. But I think it (will be) pretty cool just to go out looking like a highlighter, or something.”


Here are four things to watch for when the Commanders visit the Bears on Thursday night on Prime Video:

1. Is Justin Fields ready to break out? The Week 5 loss at Minnesota was actually the most encouraging sign we’ve seen from Fields yet this season. In the first four games, Fields completed 50.7% of his passes, averaged 117.8 pass yards and was taking four sacks per game. Against the Vikings, he hit on 71.4% of his passes for 208 yards, taking only two sacks and turning in his first zero-turnover game of the year. Even with a slow start in Week 5, it was the first time this season Field has looked poised, controlled and -- dare we say -- dangerous. This is the kind of game where he must be efficient at the very least. The Commanders have been a mixed bag defensively, limiting yards and third-down conversions but allowing 25.6 points per game and forcing a single turnover -- back in the waning moments of Week 1. Perhaps Chicago can attack Washington’s vulnerable secondary downfield. They may get wideout N’Keal Harry back after he was activated this week from injured reserve, and rookie Velus Jones Jr. could see more action after scoring his first TD last week.
2. Ron Rivera feeling some heat during his Chicago reunion. With Matt Rhule the first head coach to be fired during the 2022 season, who moves up a hot-seat slot? Rivera is at least in the discussion, whether he deserves to be or not. This is a Commanders franchise that has been cloaked in controversy and a losing culture in recent seasons, and the 1-4 start -- with four straight losses -- hasn’t helped ease the tension any. Rivera is 15-23 with one playoff appearance but no winning seasons. He’s typically been a better second-half-of-the-season coach, and Washington dug itself out of early holes the past two years. But it’s getting late earlier this year in an NFC East division that has just two losses among the remaining three teams. This game almost feels like a must-win game for the Commanders … but couldn’t you say that about the Bears, too? Rivera is well-liked in Chicago, where he was a linebacker on the 80s juggernaut and later the team’s defensive coordinator during the Lovie Smith heydays. But with so much tension around Rivera’s current team, this might not feel like a class trip.
3. How long a leash does Carson Wentz have? The Commanders have scored 35 points combined the past three games. Rivera might have thrown his QB under the bus inadvertently this week, saying “quarterback” was the difference between his struggling team and the other three thriving NFC East clubs. Even if the comment was misconstrued, there’s an elephant in the locker room: Wentz has made plenty of mistakes. He’s had one or more interceptions in four of five games; the one game he didn’t, he was sacked nine times. Wentz also has fumbled six times, lucky only to lose one of them. Adding injury to insult, Wentz has a banged-up shoulder. He’ll play Thursday but will be without impressive rookie WR Jahan Dotson (hamstring) and TE Logan Thomas (calf). They’ve already cycled through three centers this season. So getting back on track against Chicago in a short week won’t come easy. If that doesn’t happen, the talk of how long Wentz should be the starter will crank up during the mini-bye that follows.
4. Bears defense needs to check when kickoff time is. There has been a strange dichotomy with Chicago’s defense. First halves have been a problem. Second halves have been mostly lights out. In first halves, the Bears have allowed 6.0 yards per rush, seven rushing touchdowns, a 4-1 TD-INT ratio and 8.2 yards per pass play. After halftime, they’ve given up 3.9 yards per rush, one rush TD, a 0-4 TD-INT ratio and 6.4 yards per pass. What gives? It’s hard to find consistent explanations, but coordinator Alan Williams has done a good job adjusting as games go on. The Bears will get back their top corner, Jaylon Johnson (quad), back after he missed three straight games due to injury. That would help out a secondary that has had some rough patches recently. The third-down defense has been a problem all season -- and not just relegated to first halves. Last week, the Vikings converted 12 of 15 third downs in a one-score game that came down to the wire.

NFL.com

 

Jeezus, these uniforms are going to be hideous. Nike and the Bears' brass are about as creative as an insecure teenage boy. What's fashion? Oh, just invert the helmet colors and then wear as much of that same, bright primary color as possible. Fucking awful.

 

It's amusing that they saved it for the Amazon game. Hey Amazon, you thought last week's game was painful to watch? Check out these uniforms!

 

In video to teams, NFL defends roughing the passer rule



No, the rule regarding roughing the passer likely isn’t changing. At least not if the league office has a say in the matter. And it most definitely does.

Kalyn Kahler of TheAthletic.com reports that the league office sent a video on Wednesday to all 32 teams regarding the situation. In the video, NFL senior V.P. of officiating administration Perry Fewell “defended” Monday night’s controversial roughing call on defensive end Chris Jones in the Raiders-Chiefs game.



“The Kansas City defender executes his rush plan in his effort to sack the quarterback,” Fewell said in the video, per the report. “He lands with his full body weight on the drive to the ground. A quarterback in the pocket, in a passing posture, gets full protection until he can defend himself. This was a properly called foul for roughing the passer.”

As Kahler notes, Fewell doesn’t address in the video the fact that Jones actually takes the ball from Raiders quarterback Derek Carr with one hand or that Jones braces himself with his left hand. Which necessarily means Jones did not land with his full body weight on Carr.

Frankly, that’s emblematic of the type of two plus two equals five explanations that have become all too typical when the league tries to explain how the rules apply to a given situation. Alas, long gone are the days when the likes of Mike Pereira and Dean Blandino, former officiating czars within the league office, provided transparent and accurate explanations that meshed with the clear and obvious visual evidence.

The video also included examples of proper techniques when striking or tackling quarterbacks. The video inexplicably omitted the controversial (and potentially game altering) roughing call made Sunday on Falcons defensive lineman Grady Jarrett against Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady.

The better explanation as to any of these supposedly close calls is that they flow from this rulebook-based directive to officials: “When in doubt about a roughness call or potentially dangerous tactic against the quarterback, the referee should always call roughing the passer.”

When in doubt. So if there’s doubt as to whether a hit was legal, throw the flag. That’s probably why referee Carl Cheffers threw a flag on Jones, and it’s probably why referee Jerome Boger threw a flag on Jarrett.

These are human beings who are trying to understand with the naked eye a series of blurs and flashes playing out in front of them. How often will it be clear that a defensive player did or didn’t commit roughing the passer? Doubt will abound, but the officials are expressly expected to resolve doubt in favor of throwing the flag.

That would have been the more accurate explanation from Fewell. Cheffers had doubt, so he threw the flag. Boger had doubt, so he threw the flag.

Games shouldn’t turn on whether the referee had reasonable doubt about whether roughing occurred. Too much rides on the outcome of those calls. There has to be a better way to ensure accuracy in these situations.

The simplest solution would be to remove “when in doubt” from the rulebook, and to expect the referee to call roughing only when the referee actually sees roughing. If there’s concern that the referee hasn’t clearly seen it, then the league should assist the referee with replay review.

But the league doesn’t want to embrace replay for roughing, primarily because the league so badly screwed up replay review three years ago for pass interference. And that’s perhaps the saddest statement of all. The NFL won’t try to make things better when it come to replay review of roughing the passer because the NFL fears a repeat of its own proven incompetence when trying to make things better with replay review in the past.

PFT

 

The article hits the solution quite well - remove the "when in doubt, throw the flag" instruction to the refs.

You don't know if a penalty was committed or not, so you automatically throw what will likely be a game-altering flag? Yes, we want to protect the players, but calling a personal foul on a player who didn't necessarily do anything wrong is just stupid.

 

7 minutes left in the Thursday night game and in spite of a couple of touchdowns (one following a muffed punt return), we still need one more score to reach the total points of last week's game.

If you like punters and kickers, Amazon Prime football is for you !

 

true story
Saints vs Cards next week surely that will be better

 

Saints vs Cardinals will be a 5-3 game

 

New civil lawsuit vs Watson. The story was on cbs sports here are the points
Halfway through suspension can now access browns facilities
Happened while he was with the texans
25th lawsuit overall
She is a masage therapist
Filed in harris county district court
Was not filed by Buzbee who represented the previous 24 women

 

Question: which was the worse game to watch, Broncos v Colts, or Commanders v Bears?