NFL - NEWS & NOTES

Tyler Lockett pushes back against criticism for avoiding a hit



Seahawks receiver Tyler Lockett is taking flak for not taking a hit on Sunday. On Friday from Germany, Lockett hit back.

The issue arose in the second quarter of the game against the Cardinals. On third and 16, Lockett caught a pass from quarterback Geno Smith. Lockett was 10 yards short of the line to gain. He ran toward it, deliberately falling a yard or two short as multiple defenders converged.


Fans who don’t have to deal with the consequences of, for example, moving in one direction while being hit by two players moving in the other direction, criticized Lockett.

“This was like one of the first times I fell short of a [first] down and everybody just thinks I always fall short,” Lockett said, via Brady Henderson of ESPN.com. “I just think, for me, people don’t understand how physical the game of football is or how physical it can be. Yeah, you can take hits or you can choose not to take hits. When I was in college — I told you guys this before — one of my coaches, Andre Coleman, was like, ‘Look at Torry Holt. Look at Isaac Bruce. They catch what they can, they get what they could get and then they get down.’

“A lot of people could call you soft or whatever the case is, but they don’t understand the things that we see when you’re done playing football. When people talk about CTE or people talk about injuries and having to get all these different surgeries after they’re done. Everybody wants you to put your body on the line. For what? Your entertainment? Your amusement, whatever? For us, we put our bodies on the line every single day and so just because you don’t make a first down doesn’t mean whatever the stuff is that people say.”

He’s absolutely right. But he also said that, in this specific case, he didn’t take the hit because he believed he’d gotten as far as he needed to get.

“I thought I had the first down, you know what I mean?” Lockett said. “I don’t see the yellow line like everyone else gets to see. So on TV, I get it. But they make TV easier for anybody to know. What’s the first down? They’ve just got to get to that yellow line. For me, I just made a mistake. I didn’t get the first down. I should have got the first down. Things could have been different, but I did it, you learn from it, you keep it moving. But this game is also about durability and if you’re not able to go because you’re not healthy, then it’s the next man up. So I try not to get too caught up in it because people don’t know the injuries I’ve been dealing with, like when we talked about the last couple of weeks and all that type of stuff. They’re just like, ‘You should have done this, this and this.’ So you’ve just got to take it with a grain of salt, but you can’t please anybody, especially the Internet.”

It’s a shame that Lockett had to defend himself. But he’s right. Fans want to be entertained, amused, satisfied, etc. And that’s before considering the impact of a given play on someone’s fantasy team.

If we’ve learned nothing else over the last decade, it’s that supposed “business decisions” made by players are also “medical decisions.” A player has to make a quick assessment in real time as to whether to risk taking a hit and getting injured or live to play another down.

And it’s definitely not a matter of courage. Anyone who puts on a uniform and steps onto the field has more of it than 99.99 percent of the population.

Maybe that’s the first question those who choose to criticize players for passing on getting blasted should ask themselves.

Would I take that hit?



PFT

 

This article kinda ticked me off or rubbed me the wrong way... Lockett looked like a QB out there. Im sure he has his reasons, which I read and dont agree with, but the comment about the fans was too much for me to take without adding my own comment. He said; Everybody wants you to put your body on the line. For what? Your entertainment? Your amusement, whatever? ... Um yes, Tyler, we do, thats why we, the fans, pay hundreds of dollars a game to watch some of you guys play. Lockett is a multi-millionaire because he's paid to play the game... he signed the contract knowing that the NFL is a tough n rough sport that has risk involved, so own up to the fact that you slid because you were afraid of being hit, lol.

I wasnt only miffed at Lockett, but the author of the article as well. Fans have every right to criticize any damn thing they want, right or wrong... we pay their damn salary.

I can just hear Dick Butkus and it isnt pretty what he's saying, lol.

 

Been snowing like the devil here... good football weather.

Stroud to Harrison Jr... is a deadly combo, both should go high in this upcoming draft.

 

I believe Harrison is only a sophomore.

 

wow... i think your right, going to be a stud!

 

Yeah, Egbuka too!

 

Minkah Fitzpatrick out, T.J. Watt in for Steelers vs. Saints



The Steelers are getting T.J. Watt back on Sunday against the Saints, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be at full strength on defense.

Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick has been ruled out of Sunday’s game because he has appendicitis, the team announced.


Meanwhile, the Steelers officially activated Watt from injured reserve, meaning he’ll play for the first time since suffering a pectoral injury in Week One. Watt, one of the NFL’s best pass rushers, said this week that he expects to be at full strength and good to go against the Saints.

The Steelers also placed cornerback William Jackson III on injured reserve and elevated safety Elijah Riley to the active roster for Sunday’s game.

PFT

 

The schedule makers likely had no idea just what they were cooking up for Germany’s first-ever regular-season NFL game back in May, but the people of Munich are getting a doozy.


Sunday will mark the first time that two division leaders -- both surprising in different ways -- face off on the international stage. It will also be the first non-soccer event in Allianz Arena history.


The Seahawks were all but pronounced dead before the season started after trading away franchise cornerstone Russell Wilson. Thanks to Geno Smith’s career revival and what appears to be a slam-dunk rookie class, Pete Carroll’s squad is thriving in sole possession of first place in the NFC West.


The Buccaneers also sit atop their division. The twist is that they entered Week 10 sharing the lead with the Falcons before Atlanta lost on Thursday night, have a 25th-ranked scoring offense in disarray and currently have a losing record through nine games for the first time in Tom Brady’s career.


It’s been anything but easy for the Bucs thus far, but they have an opportunity Sunday to return to .500 for the first time since mid-October while simultaneously knocking a fellow division leader down a peg. For the Seahawks, a triumph in Munich would be a fifth straight victory and yet another step toward ending a two-year postseason hiatus.


Here are three things to watch for when the Seahawks and Buccaneers meet Sunday in Germany on NFL Network and NFL+:

1. Does Smith continue to outplay Brady? It’s getting to the point where the league might have to start making up records for Brady to obliterate. Last week, he became the first quarterback to ever throw for 100,000 yards (including playoffs) and surpassed Peyton Manning for most game-winning drives (55). This week, the 45-year-old is just 258 yards away from attaining the record for passing yards in international games and is set to become the first QB to start a game in three different countries outside the United States, per NFL Research. Those achievements are predicated on both massive successes and unparalleled longevity, but Brady has been finding the former hard to come by as of late. The seven-time Super Bowl champ has stumbled through the season’s first half to career worsts in passing touchdown percentage (2.5) and passing TDs per game (1.1), plus his second-worst passing yards per attempt mark (6.4). Meanwhile, Smith has been the surprise of the season in a year that’s been full of them. He leads the NFL with a 73.1 completion percentage, a 14.3% jump from his career percentage before 2022. He currently sits third in the league with a passer rating of 107.2. Brady’s 90.5 rating is his lowest since 2019. Only three other QBs have ever squared off against Brady when entering the game with a rating 15-plus points higher -- Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers and Peyton Manning. That's impressive company to be in, even if their combined record is 2-4 in those showdowns. Can Smith continue his revelatory season and add a win to the tally?
2. You can only hope to contain Kenneth Walker. As much as Seattle’s fourth-ranked scoring offense is about Smith’s resurgence, Walker’s introduction to the starting lineup has turned the excitement factor up to 11 for the 12s. The rooking running back has proven to be the perfect combination of speed and tenacity, with a knack for gaining an extra couple of yards after it looks like he’s ready to go down. He’s had over 50 rushing yards and one-plus touchdowns in each of his last five games. That’s the longest streak by a Seahawks runner since Shaun Alexander in 2006-2007. He’s also joined LaDainian Tomlinson, Eric Dickerson and Julius Jones as the only rookies since 1970 with 400-plus rushing yards and six or more rushing TDs in their first four starts. In other words, the Seahawks found a good one with their second-rounder. They know it, too. He’s averaged 23.5 touches during Seattle’s four-game win streak with him as a starter. Expect to see another heavy dosage of Walker in Germany. The Bucs defense has developed a reputation for snuffing out opponents on the ground, but that’s one of the many elements of Tampa Bay’s struggling club that has slipped in 2022. The defense has allowed 4.6 yards per carry, which is all the room a talent like Walker needs.
3. Get ready for the Mike Evans-Chris Godwin show. Brady finally showing cracks has taken the heat off some other faulty pieces in Tampa Bay’s bizarro offense. For one, the running game has been historically dreadful behind a patchwork offensive line. The Buccaneers are last in the league with 60.7 rushing yards per game, the worst average by any team in a single season since 1950. The passing game has warts, as well, such as the 19 dropped passes through nine games, but it remains the path of least resistance in terms of sustaining drives. That’s why Tampa Bay has aired it out 40 or more times in every game since Week 3. Playing behind his worst O-line since relocating to Florida, Brady will continue getting the majority of those throws out fast and to his most-trusted pass catchers: Evans and Godwin. The two wideouts have combined for 71 targets in the last three games -- 47% of Brady’s ridiculous 151 attempts. It’s not unthinkable that every other throw goes to one of them in Germany. What's less certain is whether they can do damage against a revitalized Seattle defense. The Seahawks have tightened up to allow only 16.5 points per game during their winning streak, compared to 30.8 PPG through the season's first five weeks.

NFL.com

 

Geno Smith and Walker on the offensive side of the ball is going to be interesting/fun to watch... curious how the Bucc's decide to attack them defensively.

Seattle has won 6 of 9, losing to some of the teams they should have beaten and winning against some teams they should have lost too...

Dont care for either of these teams, but im glad there is a game on at 930 eastern. Even tho I cant stand either, there will be plenty of storylines to follow.

Maybe Tom will blow-up... hell, that will make my morning and set the tone nicely for the rest of the day.

Good Morning to you all... Enjoy your Sunday, football and stuff!

 

Buccaneers beat Seahawks in NFL’s first game in Germany



21-16

 

So far, this is what we got...

 

Gee Tyler lots of us put our bodies through the wringer in shitty jobs every workday (which is a lot more often then 17 games) that don't pay us millions of dollars a year. If you don't want to get hit go play tennis

 

Watson for 3 touchdowns today

Alex give me things in the NFL nobody saw coming for 1000

 

Justin Jefferson on one-handed catch: Unreal, it felt like a movie



Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson has had a lot of highlights during his three-year NFL career, but he topped them all in Buffalo on Sunday.

The Vikings had to convert a 4th-and-18 while down four points in the fourth quarter and quarterback Kirk Cousins looked Jefferson’s way while he was well guarded by Bills defensive back Cam Davis. Jefferson grabbed the ball with one hand to take it away from Davis for a 32-yard gain that kept the Vikings alive in one of the most entertaining games of this and any other season.


After the Vikings finished off their 33-30 overtime win, wideout K.J. Osborn called Jefferson’s catch “one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen” and head coach Kevin O’Connell said it was “one of the more remarkable catches I’ve ever seen.” Jefferson’s own take was that a catch like that was a sign of things to come for him and the Vikings.

“It felt like it was unreal, felt like a movie,” Jefferson said, via Andrew Krammer of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. “I told everybody this means, this is our season, for us to win out, go to the Super Bowl. We just got to keep working.”

If the Vikings do make that kind of run, Jefferson, who had 10 catches for 193 yards on Sunday, is likely going to be adding a lot more clips to his highlight reel before the year is out.

PFT

 

Report: Cooper Kupp avoids “worst-case scenario”



For the second time this season, it appears Rams receiver Cooper Kupp has avoided serious injury to his right ankle.

Rams coach Sean McVay said after the Rams’ loss to the Cardinals that he didn’t have an update on Kupp’s injury but added that “it didn’t look good; it didn’t sound good.”


The news appears better than that.

Jourdan Rodrigue of TheAthletic.com reports that initial testing has brought a sigh of relief as “he appears to have avoided a worse-case scenario with the injury.” That doesn’t mean Kupp won’t miss time.

He will undergo an MRI on Monday to determine the full extent of the injury.

Kupp was injured in the fourth quarter Sunday after catching three passes for a career-worst minus-1 yard while playing with backup quarterback John Wolford.

He left the Rams’ Week 8 game with a right ankle injury after taking a hit late in the fourth quarter. Kupp was on the Rams’ injury report the following week but played in their Week 9 game.

He has 75 receptions this season, putting him on pace for 142. The NFL single-season record is 149 by Michael Thomas for the Saints in 2019.

PFT

 

Did you see this? This was stupid on Greenlaw's part.



I except the fact that Herbert was running the ball, obviously, but you cant hit the QB or anybody like that in todays NFL... He ought to draw a hefty fine , in my opinion.

 

Sunday Night Football: 49ers dominate Chargers in second half to win 22-16



It wasn’t as easy as many thought it would be as the banged-up Chargers put up a fight on Sunday Night Football. But the 49ers held the Chargers to 52 yards in the second half and outscored them 12-0 after trailing at halftime to win 22-16.

Both teams now are 5-4.


The Chargers trailed 19-16 when they forced a punt with 2:12 left, but Mitch Wishnowsky‘s punt landed at the 1-yard line. Samuel Womack downed it but eventually stepped into the end zone.

Officials marked it at the 1, though NBC rules analyst Terry McAulay argued it should have been a touchback.

Justin Herbert threw two incompletions, completed a 7-yard pass to Tre McKitty and then threw another incompletion on fourth-and-three. The 49ers, though, couldn’t score the clinching touchdown, settling for a 20-yard Robbie Gould field goal with 1:00 to play to give the Chargers one last comeback try.

On the first play from scrimmage after the ensuing kickoff, Herbert had his arm hit by Charles Omenihu and Talanoa Hufanga intercepted the duck for his fourth pick of the season.

The Chargers partially blocked a punt, forced a Brandon Aiyuk fumble, had six tackles for loss and held the 49ers to two touchdowns in five red zone trips. They also did a decent job on Christian McCaffrey, who had 38 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries and four catches for 39 yards, and Deebo Samuel, who had four carries for 27 yards and two catches for 24 yards.

But Los Angeles had to settle for three Cameron Dicker field goals in the first half after reaching the San Francisco 29, 7 and 21.

Herbert went 21-of-35 for 196 yards with a touchdown and an interception. The Chargers, who were missing leading wideouts Keenan Allen and Mike Williams, had 238 yards.

Jimmy Garoppolo completed 19 of 28 passes for 240 yards, and Aiyuk had six catches for 84 yards. Elijah Mitchell returned to gain 89 yards on 18 carries as the 49ers rushed for 157 yards.

PFT

 

This is an example of why I rant at the media from time to time. It's all in the framing and construction of the article. The writer dropped the ball so badly on this one that he owes Lockett an apology for throwing him under the bus and making him come across as a whiny jackass.

Based solely on what I see in the actual article, here's how the writer SHOULD have constructed his piece. (1) Kick it off with the part that came after what you quoted above:

But he also said that, in this specific case, he didn’t take the hit because he believed he’d gotten as far as he needed to get.

“I thought I had the first down, you know what I mean?” Lockett said. “I don’t see the yellow line like everyone else gets to see. So on TV, I get it. But they make TV easier for anybody to know. What’s the first down? They’ve just got to get to that yellow line. For me, I just made a mistake. I didn’t get the first down. I should have got the first down. Things could have been different, but I did it, you learn from it, you keep it moving.”

Key: Lockett knows he hit the deck too soon. If he gets it right and gets that first down, no one would be talking about it and there wouldn't even be an article. Make it clear right off the bat that he knows he made that mistake and has that in mind for future plays.

(2) Go into how college coaches are emphasizing the need for safety. Lockett handed the writer that one on a silver platter by naming his college coach. The writer completely fumbled that one. That particular coach (Andre Coleman) was also a long time NFL player as a WR and return man. He understands the game and the importance of self-preservation, so when he point blank tells receivers like Lockett to look at stars like Torry Holt or Isaac Bruce (both also specifically named by Lockett as examples) and avoid contact when possible, that should carry some pretty serious street cred.

(3) Throw in that Coleman understands the impact of CTE all too well, having been a teammate of Junior Seau during the Chargers run to the Superbowl. Use that as the segue to lead into some fun stats showing how WRs have more concussions than any other position group. Maybe throw in some examples of players whose careers were cut short by frequent concussions.

(4) Get back to some Lockett quotes...

“A lot of people could call you soft or whatever the case is, but they don’t understand the things that we see when you’re done playing football. When people talk about CTE or people talk about injuries and having to get all these different surgeries after they’re done. Everybody wants you to put your body on the line."

Since the writer actually used the "business decision" reference, he should keep that. But he should also point out that phrase goes back to Deion Sanders - when he was still playing. Key: the idea of avoiding unnecessary contact is nothing new, and it was regularly practiced by Hall of Fame players. And follow that up with more Lockett:

But this game is also about durability and if you’re not able to go because you’re not healthy, then it’s the next man up. So I try not to get too caught up in it because people don’t know the injuries I’ve been dealing with, like when we talked about the last couple of weeks and all that type of stuff. They’re just like, ‘You should have done this, this and this.’ So you’ve just got to take it with a grain of salt, but you can’t please anybody, especially the Internet.”

I did a little sleight of hand and left out the "for what? Your entertainment?" part. I get his point and the writer's point, but unless the writer puts it in exactly the right context AND does a great job of driving the thesis home, that part will do more harm than good. (Confession: as a younger writer, I would have been arrogant enough to think I could pull it off. Now that I'm older, I'm arrogant enough to say I don't need to use that line just to get attention for my article, and I would make the "business decision" to leave it out.)

Nope... instead the writer emphasized Lockett reacting to fan criticism and framed the whole thing in a way that put Lockett in a bad light, when all the pieces were there to do a much, much better job with the article without needing to throw the guy under the bus as a cheap way to draw attention to the article.