NFL - NEWS & NOTES

After a rookie season with historical production, Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts seemed to be a certainty for a stellar sophomore campaign.

That's hardly been the case, as Pitts' numbers have paled in comparison to expectations -- most notably from Falcons fans and fantasy football managers.

Quarterback Marcus Mariota believes he can improve Pitts' production going forward.

"Well, first and foremost, I can do a better job of giving Kyle more opportunities with the ball," Mariota told reporters this week ahead of the Falcons' Thursday Night Football matchup on Prime Video against the Carolina Panthers. "I think sometimes I've been a little too safe, a little too conservative where I'm putting the football, so giving him a chance to go get it. I think that'll help some of his target numbers."

As a rookie playing with QB Matt Ryan, Pitts joined Hall of Famer Mike Ditka as the only rookie tight ends to tally 1,000-yard receiving seasons. He finished his first campaign with 68 receptions on 110 targets for 1,026 yards, and just one touchdown.

Pitts' second-season numbers have seen him double his TD anomaly, but beyond that, they've been sub-standard to what was expected.

The former No. 4 overall pick has caught just 23 balls on 46 targets for 285 yards. In comparison, he had 36 catches for 546 yards at this time last year.


Last week's 20-17 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers might well have been a glaring example of what's gone wrong. Pitts had two catches for 27 yards, but it came on seven targets. Clearly, he and Mariota just aren't connecting, perhaps most evident on Mariota missing on a deep ball to Pitts that seemed destined for six points.

The 2022 Falcons' identity is also a running team -- the fourth-ranked rushing squad in the league, as a matter of fact. Mariota is a running quarterback, Cordarrelle Patterson is back and Tyler Allgeier has been a pleasant surprise.

Pitts had arguably his best game of the season in a Week 8 win over the Panthers in which he had five catches for 80 yards and a TD. Granted, the Panthers have the 21st-ranked pass defense, but they also have the 28th-ranked run defense.

Will this be the week in which Mariota focuses on doing a better job getting the ball to Pitts? Thursday night will answer that question.

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I sure hope it turns into a game for the offenses. Atlanta's sudden obsession with low percentage deep routes last week combined with the subpar play by the Carolina QBs could make for a punt-fest.

I also hope Arthur Smith and Dave Ragone have realized how that shift in focus killed the offense's performance last week. They had two straight scoring drives based on runs and short passes. Mariota was 6-8 for those two drives. Then in the second quarter they suddenly went crazy on the deep ball. Mariota was 1-5 for 4 yards on three possessions in the second quarter. Three of the incompletions were deep balls, and there were also two sacks that lost 15 yards. So... for the team's three drives in that quarter, the passing game actually LOST a total of 11 yards. The entire quarter was basically run, incomplete deep pass, sack, punt, repeat.

Get it together, Smith and Ragone. This division is yours for the taking, but not with that kind of play calling.

 

It's Nicole.

The outer bands from Hurricane Nicole are already sweeping their way through South Carolina and will reach Charlotte by game time. Meanwhile, the heart of the storm is passing through Tampa right now, and one of the heavier outer bands should be hitting Atlanta in about an hour. So 75% of the NFC South is getting hit by the same storm today.

 

Means it will be a turnover fest. I’ll have an apple one.

 

Good choice. Northern GA / western NC is definitely apple-growing country, and the later varieties are still in season.

 

Good thing that the Bradys will be freezing their asses off in Germany this week.

 

Raiders coach Josh McDaniels recently said tight end Darren Waller‘s body will tell the team how much time off he needs. Apparently the amount of time will be at least four weeks.

Waller will go on injured reserve with a hamstring injury, according to multiple reports.


Under NFL rules, that means he’ll be out at least the next four weeks. That hurts Waller financially because his contract calls for him to get a $75,000 roster bonus for each game that he’s on the active roster.

Waller has had a disappointing and injury-plagued season, appearing in five games and catching 16 passes for 175 yards.

PFT

 

Falcons combined the worst aspects of their play-calling from the Bengals game with the worst aspects of their play-calling from the Chargers game during the first half.

They DESERVE to lose this one.


And it's been wild to hear the pregame crew and announcers taking shots at the secondary - someone before the game said this secondary "can't cover anybody", and while the announcers did go into detail on the injuries, they also pointed out that Atlanta currently has the worst pass defense in the NFL as a result. (Key point: that wasn't the case a month ago.)

Fortunately they're getting Rashad Fenton into the action. He'll make mistakes and be limited in his assignments while they get him fully into the scheme, but it's a start. Of course, his presence simply means the opposing QBs will pick on Darren Hall more since Cornell Armstrong isn't on the field. Get healthy soon, A.J. Terrell !

 

Thursday Night Football: D’Onta Foreman runs Panthers to 25-15 victory over Falcons



The Panthers were able to shake off a poor performance against the Bengals on Sunday to defeat the division-rival Falcons 25-15 on Thursday night.

While Atlanta narrowed Carolina’s lead to three at one point in the third quarter, the Panthers were in control throughout the contest. On a rainy night in Charlotte, the Panthers held a 13-0 lead late in the second quarter before a Falcons field goal made the score 13-3 going into halftime.


Rookie receiver Drake London caught a 7-yard touchdown midway through the third period to make the score 13-10. But from there, running back D’Onta Foreman scored a 12-yard touchdown on Carolina’s ensuing drive to keep his team in the game.

Foreman led the way for the Panthers offensively, netting 130 yards on 31 carries.

Eddy Pineiro hit a 40-yard field goal with 9:22 left in the game. And while Falcons receiver KhaDarel Hodge caught a 25-yard touchdown from Marcus Mariota, another Pinerio 37-yard field goal with 10 seconds left in the contest produced the final margin.

Generally, the Panthers ran all over the Falcons. They finished with 232 yards rushing on 47 attempts. That includes a 41-yard touchdown by receiver Levishka Shenault on a backward pass in the second quarter.

On the other side, Mariota finished 19-of-30 for 186 yards with a pair of touchdowns and an interception. But he looked particularly poor, firing errant passes throughout the night. While he was intercepted once, there were at least two other instances where the ball could’ve been picked off.

Rookie receiver Drake London caught five passes for 38 yards with a touchdown. Tight end Kyle Pitts was held to just two catches on eight targets for 28 yards.

Defensively, the Panthers racked up five sacks — including a pair by defensive end Marquis Haynes on Atlanta’s final drive.

But there could be a significant injury concern within Carolina’s secondary, as cornerback Donte Jackson had to exit the game with an Achilles injury.

With Carolina’s win, the NFC South remains wide open. The Buccaneers lead the division at 4-5, as Atlanta is now 4-6. The Saints, who play the Steelers this weekend, are 3-6.

The Panthers are now 3-7, with a 3-1 record in the division.

PFT

 

1. Panthers made their offensive intentions clear early on. The Falcons entered the game ranked 31st against the pass defensively. So what did the Panthers do? They ran the ball on 17 of their first 23 offensive plays. Carolina was averaging 105.3 rush yards per game coming in, but it had 128 by the half and finished with 232 on the ground. Is it strange that they traded Christian McCaffery and then declared, “We are a running team!” Why, yes! But with Steve Wilks on QB3 now with P.J. Walker – and Wilks sticking with him after he easily could have made a switch on Monday – it’s clear the interim coach knows he needs to pound teams with D’Onta Foreman (31 carries!) and his friends, sprinkle in a Laviska Shenault carry and a Walker keeper now and again and shorten games. If he wants to win games, that’s the formula. It worked pretty well Thursday night.
2. The Falcons’ offensive identity is unknown at this point. Atlanta entered the game second only to the Chicago Bears in rushing attempts. Running the ball is the Falcons' (temporary) identity, and it’s been pretty effective this season. Yes, there’s a clarion call for Kyle Pitts and Drake London to get the ball more – and we’re in favor. But after running the ball 37 times (to only 30 pass dropbacks) in the last meeting against the Panthers 11 days ago, the Falcons started throwing the ball early. In the rain, no less. No, it wasn’t offensively out of whack – a 50-50 split, not counting penalties, on the first two drives. So then Arthur Smith overcompensated on the third drive with three straight runs backed up against his own end zone. Who doesn’t love a handoff on third-and-4 from your own 9-yard line? It was just a strange offensive night early for the Falcons, who fell in a 10-0 hole and couldn’t dig out of it.
3. At some point, the Falcons need to have a Marcus Mariota discussion. It would be unfair to completely throw Mariota under the bus, as he’s had some good moments this season – the 49ers game, for one, and most of the second half and overtime in the first meeting against the Panthers. But he really hasn’t been great most of the season, was a liability in Week 9 and struggled Thursday night. And it wasn’t just struggling -- it was making rookie mistakes: throwing across his body, taking awful sacks instead of throwing it away, overthrowing a wide-open Kyle Pitts (who is 6-foot-6), throwing from his back without looking, etc. Carolina dropped at least two would-be interceptions in the game. The Falcons have had a few spots where they theoretically could have given Desmond Ridder a shot. Are we seeing a Kellen Mond-type of situation here? Or does Arthur Smith not trust his offensive line to hold up for the rookie? Does he still fancy his team a contender? Some other factor? We’d love to know. The longer Ridder doesn’t play this season, the more we wonder whether Smith wouldn’t prefer a different starting QB next year.
4. Ikem Ekwonu could be a gem for Carolina. Very quietly, Ekwonu has put together a nice rookie season in what has been a pretty forgettable one for the Panthers in general. But if what we’re seeing the past few games from Ekwonu continues, they’ll have knocked out the all-important left tackle position for the next several years. Early this season, there were signs that he had some real work ahead of him and, to be fair, there were a few rookie moments Thursday night, too – most notably back-to-back penalties when the Panthers were backed up, plus two more flags we can’t overlook. Those absolutely must be cleaned up for him to take the next step. But his highlights demonstrate what kind of player the Panthers might have. Ekwonu has made big strides as a pass protector and is exactly the nasty run blocker he was advertised to be coming out of school, leading the way in that department all game. We think general manager Scott Fitterer and his staff might have a really nice player when Ekwonu cleans up his mistakes and hits his peak over the next few seasons.
5. Is P.J. Walker the guy? When Wilks came out Monday morning and declared that Walker would be his starting quarterback, it came as a mild surprise to some. After all, he had a brutal first-half performance against the Bengals Sunday (two picks, three completions) before being benched and far outperformed by Baker Mayfield. Even with Mayfield’s damage coming in garbage time, no one would have been shocked had Wilks gone back to Mayfield. But Wilks has very much tacked against the wind from everything seemingly backed by his former boss, Matt Rhule. Several of Rhule’s assistants are now gone. The offensive identity has changed. And now Wilks seems to like what he has with Walker. From his view, there’s an easier path to running the kind of offense (see item No. 1) he seems to be leaning into. It begs the question what’s next for Mayfield and Sam Darnold, of course, but it’s not as if Walker should be starting next year. But could he stick as a fine backup for a young QB? Absolutely. So there’s some thought behind this, even if it comes with a risk: Wilks isn’t guaranteed to be back as coach.

Next Gen stat of the game: On Laviska Shenault’s 41-yd TD run, he reached a top speed of 20.29 mph, the fastest speed of his career as a ball carrier. He was only expected to gain 18 yards on the play, which had a TD probability of only 6.0%.


NFL Research: The Panthers converted a season-high six third downs on 15 attempts.

NFL.com

 

I was surprised at this. You have to remember what worked and what didnt, learn from your mistakes and adapt... They didnt and thats too bad. Not really fair to the players.

And of course that wasnt what the Panthers attacked anyway. They chose to run the ball and in those conditions, in my opinion, it was the necessary thing to do. So, bad-mouthing a teams secondary was moot... wasnt the case at all early on especially.

Just about everybody on this site picked the Falcons (myself included) as they were playing decently and seemed to be on a roll... very disappointing. Time to regroup and forget, learn and move on. Falcons fans are rooting for another kind of bird this season on Sunday!

 

Did the media writer who wrote up the synopsis of the game watch the game? The Falcons never pulled within three points, they missed the extra point making it a four point difference.

 

Well, the comments on the secondary were mainly before the game and early in the game, before the rain got too heavy.

Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit noted the injuries and their standing at the bottom of the league in pass defense after specific plays when Darren Hall got beaten on the outside and Fenton gave up a first down giving a soft cushion on what turned out to be a pass in the backfield. That one was mainly an opportunity for the announcers to bring up that Fenton was a new acquisition and why the team needed him.

 

I don't know if the "revenge game" thing was a factor for D'Onta Foreman, as we had him here for training camp and preseason in 2021 and chose not to keep him in spite of some solid preseason perfomances. Instead the team signed Wayne Gallman for RB depth and kept Qadree Ollison on the practice squad.

Foreman ended up going back to the Titans later in the year and had a good stretch to end the season, then signed a 1-year deal with Carolina for this year. The way he's played since the McCaffrey trade, he should be able to cash in after this season and get a better contract.

It has been cool to see him rebound and do well, but it obviously sucked watching him do it against Atlanta.

I've been saying since preseason that the Falcons need more help up front on the interior defensive line. They have two solid players in Grady Jarrett and Ta'Quon Graham. Jarrett is obviously a beast, and Graham (fifth round pick last year) is developing very well.

The catch is that if you play a base 3-4, you need three guys to start, not just two. And you need competent guys for depth behind them.

The Falcons had all that before training camp. But in a span of about three weeks (camp and the first preseason game), they lost free agent signing Vincent Taylor to injury, free agent signing Eddie Goldman to a sudden retirement decision, and 2020 second round pick Marlon Davidson to injury. So now they're filling out the line and the rotation with a UDFA rookie and two former UDFAs / practice squad journeymen - with one of them playing the very first regular season games of career in these last three weeks.

You can easily gash this line for big chunks in the run game. That was obvious even in preseason, and D'Onta Foreman just made it PAINFULLY obvious.

I'm optimistic for 2023, as the defense has a solid young core that should be ready to shine. But they aren't there yet up front.

 

Falcons only ran the ball 25 times with 3 of those coming from the QB and Patterson only had 5 touches, wtf, 5? It was raining and they needed to run, have ball control, which would have kept their beaten up defense off the field, but they didnt pound the ball as I expected. Poor coaching? Or is the Panthers front 4 that damn good? Someone has some 'splainin' to do for the coaching decisions, if you ask me.

 

T.J. Watt expects to return to action Sunday against the New Orleans Saints.

The Pittsburgh Steelers pass rusher has been out since suffering a pectoral injury in Week 1, but he told beat reporters Friday he plans to play and doesn't expect to be on a pitch count.

"It's been a long time coming. I feel very, very good about the week that I've had," Watt said, via Brian Batko of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

The move was expected after the Steelers opened the practice window for Watt late last month. The Steelers have yet to activate the edge rusher off injured reserve, a move they could wait until Saturday to make official.

Watt's return should be a big boost to a Steelers defense that has struggled to consistently rush the passer sans the Defensive Player of the Year. Pittsburgh generated seven sacks in Week 1 with Watt on the field. In seven games since, it has eight total sacks. The unit's 15 total sacks ranks 26th in the NFL.

The Steelers are allowing 24.6 points per game (23rd in the NFL) and 395.1 total yards (29th) in 2022, both the worst in the Mike Tomlin era. Pittsburgh is also averaging just 1.9 sacks per game.

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Watt is a spark plug and should get the D fired up and playing better, hopefully.

 

David Njoku, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah out this weekend



The Browns are back from their bye week, but tight end David Njoku is not back from his ankle injury.

Njoku has been ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Dolphins. It will be the second game that Njoku misses as a result of the injury he suffered against the Ravens in Week Seven.


Harrison Bryant and Pharaoh Brown are the other tight ends on the 53-man roster in Cleveland.

The Browns have also ruled out linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah with a knee injury. His last game was also the matchup with Baltimore.

While Njoku and Owusu-Koramoah remain out, the Browns are set to have cornerback Denzel Ward and guard Wyatt Teller back in the lineup. Offensive lineman Michael Dunn is questionable due to a back injury.

PFT

 

Report: MRI confirms torn Achilles for Donte Jackson



An MRI confirmed Panthers cornerback Donte Jackson tore his Achilles on Thursday night, Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports.

It comes as no surprise as Achilles’ injuries are easily diagnosed, but it brings an unfortunate end to Jackson’s 2022 season.


Jackson exited the fourth quarter of the team’s 25-15 win over the Falcons.

He finishes the season with 35 tackles, two interceptions, an interception return for a touchdown and three passes defensed in eight games this season. Jackson signed a three-year, $35 million contract to remain with the team this offseason.

Jackson’s absence will lead to bigger roles for CJ Henderson and Keith Taylor alongside Jaycee Horn.

PFT

 

Week 10 of the 2022 NFL season kicked off on Thursday with a win by the Panthers and it continues with 12 more games on Sunday, which means that the 22 teams in those games submitted their final injury reports of the week on Friday.

The Commanders and Eagles play on Monday and their final injury reports will be released on Saturday.


Seahawks vs. Buccaneers (in Munich)

Seahawks WR Marquise Goodwin (groin) is listed as questionable and LB Cullen Gillaspia (knee) has been ruled out, but the rest of the team is ready to go in Munich.

S Antoine Winfield (concussion) is set to return for the Buccaneers, but WR Russell Gage (hamstring), G Luke Goedeke (foot), and LB J.J. Russell (hamstring) did not make the trip to Germany. TE Cameron Brate (neck) is listed as questionable.

Broncos at Titans

The Broncos will play without LB Baron Browning (hip), WR KJ Hamler (hamstring), and FB Andrew Beck (hamstring) this weekend. S Justin Simmons (knee), T Cam Fleming (quad), CB Darius Phillips (illness), LB Nik Bonitto (illness), and WR Kendall Hinton (illness) are all listed as questionable.

Titans head coach Mike Vrabel said the team will see how QB Ryan Tannehill (ankle) progresses over the weekend and he was officially listed as questionable later on Friday. DT Jeffery Simmons (ankle), LB Bud Dupree (hip), S Amani Hooker (shoulder), LB Zach Cunningham (elbow), and defensive back Josh Thompson (knee) have been ruled out. CB Kristian Fulton (hamstring) and DL Kevin Strong (ankle) join Tannehill in the questionable group.

Vikings at Bills

CB Cam Dantzler (ankle) and DL Dalvin Tomlinson (calf) are out for the Vikings.

The Bills listed QB Josh Allen (elbow) as a limited participant in Friday’s practice and then tagged him as questionable for Sunday. S Jordan Poyer (elbow) and DE Greg Rousseau (ankle) have been ruled out while CB Kaiir Elam (ankle) is listed as doubtful and LB Tremaine Edmunds (groin, heel) is listed as questionable.

Texans at Giants

Texans WR Brandin Cooks (wrist) is listed as questionable after sitting out last weekend. DT Maliek Collins (chest), WR Nico Collins (groin), and LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin (groin) drew the same tags.

WR Kenny Golladay (knee) is listed as questionable for the Giants, but the expectation is that he’ll play. T Evan Neal (knee) and TE Daniel Bellinger (eye) have been ruled out. LB Oshane Ximenes (quad) and CB Cor’Dale Flott (calf) join Golladay in the questionable group.

Jaguars at Chiefs

Jaguars S Rayshawn Jenkins (concussion) is listed as questionable and no other players have injury designations.

WR Mecole Hardman (abdomen) is out for the Chiefs and RB Jerick McKinnon (shoulder, knee, hamstring) is the team’s lone questionable player.

Lions at Bears

The Lions ruled WR Josh Reynolds (back) out and T Matt Nelson (calf) is set to miss the game after being listed as doubtful. S Kerby Joseph (concussion), CB Chase Lucas (ankle), S Ifeatu Melifonwu (ankle), and LB Malcolm Rodriguez (elbow) make up the team’s questionable contingent.

Bears CB Kindle Vildor (ankle) is out for Sunday. DE Al-Quadin Muhammad (knee) is listed as doubtful while G Teven Jenkins (hip) and CB Jaylon Johnson (oblique) are considered questionable.

Browns at Dolphins

TE David Njoku (ankle) and LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (knee) are out for the Browns. OL Michael Dunn (back) is listed as questionable.

Dolphins T Terron Armstead (toe, calf), OL Austin Jackson (ankle, calf), TE Tanner Conner (knee), and QB Teddy Bridgewater (knee) are listed as questionable. TE Hunter Long (concussion, illness) is the only Dolphin that’s been ruled out.

Saints at Steelers

WR Jarvis Landry (ankle) is set to return for the Saints, but RB Mark Ingram (knee), CB Marshon Lattimore (abdomen), C Erik McCoy (calf), G Andrus Peat (triceps), and LB Pete Werner (ankle) are all going to miss Sunday’s game. DE Marcus Davenport (calf), S Marcus Maye (abdomen), DE Tanoh Kpassagnon (illness), and S P.J. Williams (illness) are listed as questionable.

The Steelers will be missing CB William Jackson III (back) and CB Ahkello Witherspoon (hamstring). LB Malik Reed (personal reasons) and OL Kevin Dotson (abdomen) are listed as questionable.

Colts at Raiders

The Colts ruled RB Deon Jackson (knee), LB Shaquille Leonard (back, ankle), and TE Jelani Woods (shoulder) out and Leonard is heading for injured reserve. The Colts will have QB Matt Ryan (shoulder) back in the lineup. TE Mo Alie-Cox (ankle) and DE Kwity Paye (ankle) are the team’s only questionable players.

LB Denzel Perryman (hip, ribs) is the only Raider with an injury designation. He’s listed as questionable.

Cowboys at Packers

RB Ezekiel Elliott (knee) is listed as questionable and the Cowboys have expressed confidence that he’ll return to action after a one-game absence. LB Anthony Barr (hamstring) is not going to play.

LB De'Vondre Campbell (knee), WR Romeo Doubs (ankle), CB Shemar Jean-Charles (ankle), and CB Eric Stokes (ankle, knee) are all out for the Packers with Stokes expected to miss the rest of the season. T David Bakhtiari (knee) and WR Amari Rodgers (hamstring) are listed as questionable while LB Krys Barnes (concussion) is set to sit out after being listed as doubtful.

Cardinals at Rams

Cardinals QB Kyler Murray (hamstring) and S Budda Baker (ankle) are set to be game-time decisions. WR Greg Dortch (groin), G Cody Ford (illness), LB Dennis Gardeck (ankle), T D.J. Humphries (back), CB Christian Matthew (hamstring), CB Byron Murphy (back), and K Matt Prater (right hip, illness) are also listed as questionable. G Max Garcia (shoulder) and C Rodney Hudson (knee) are not going to play.

QB Matthew Stafford (concussion) is questionable to play for the Rams. RB Malcolm Brown (hamstring) and LB Travin Howard (hip) have been ruled out while T Greg Gaines (elbow) and T Alaric Jackson (knee) drew doubtful tags. C Brian Allen (knee) and CB Robert Rochell (illness) join Stafford with questionable designations.

Chargers at 49ers

WR Keenan Allen (hamstring), K Dustin Hopkins (right hamstring), and WR Mike Williams (ankle) are out again for the Chargers. LB Chris Rumph (knee) is listed as doubtful and the team calls G Brenden Jaimes (shoulder) and T Trey Pipkins (knee) questionable to play this wekeend.

DT Arik Armstead (foot, ankle) and CB Jason Verrett (knee, Achilles) are out for the 49ers, but WR Deebo Samuel (hamstring) is set to return. Verrett will miss the rest of the season after tearing his Achilles. DE Samson Ebukam (quad, Achilles) is their only questionable player.

 

In other words, the whole damn League is questionable.