NFL - NEWS & NOTES

Wonder if they wished him Happy Birthday on the teams Twitter account. That happened to a player cant remember who or the team but he got cut on his birthday and the Twitter or media account had been pre set to send him happy birthday wishes

 

Might not be all about money either sure KC would love to get him if he'll sign for a discount. Bears will likely be interested as well. Tee Higgins will also be a hot commodity ( I think his contract is up).

 

They gave him the
On his birthday

 

Part of me wants to say that being free of THAT organization is actually a pretty nice birthday present.

 

Only Arthur Smith has been let go so far. It will be up to the next head coach to determine the rest of the staff.

One huge thing from the Monday press conference = the owner knows quite well that the roster is oh-so-close to being a top team. The way the Falcons choked away so many games they shouldn't have lost this year was a key part of the decision to move on from Smith. The owner felt they should have won a LOT more in 2023, and the point of making the change is to win in 2024.

That will be a key thing any candidate will have to consider. This will not be a rebuild. If you're the next coach, you're expected to come in and crank it up immediately. You're on a three month plan, not a three year plan.

I fully expect that Ragone will be gone. For his sake, I hope his agent is working to find him a college job right now rather than wait for the next Falcons coach to be named.

I want the defensive staff to be left alone. The defensive roster too, for that matter. Blank's expectation to win immediately gives me hope that they won't see too much turnover on defense. That part of the team is already good, with a lot of solid young players who gained great experience in 2023. They're probably one or two players away from being top five. If the next head coach knows he's under the gun to win immediately, he'll be more likely to leave the D alone and focus on getting the offense going.

I don't really know yet who I would want as head coach. The main thing for me is choose an offensive scheme, get the right OC to implement it (my top name is Bill Musgrave, currently a senior offensive analyst for Cleveland), and then get the right QB to execute it. I'd be fine with Ron Rivera as head coach - as long as we got a good OC to implement the offense and he didn't mess with Ryan Nielsen and the defense.

 

So, I get up early to prepare to get kids off to school and there is a 2-hour delay.......... for lite rain, lite freekin rain!!! (they thought we were going to have a blizzard, I guess). Im not making this up. When I was a kid I walked up hill (both ways) in 4 foot drifts, 100mph winds, in my Vikings rain coat of course, and I never got a day off. Society is raising a bunch of Sissy's.

 

Colts owner Jim Irsay is being treated for a “severe respiratory illness.” The team issued a statement on Tuesday morning regarding the situation.

The team added that Irsay is receiving “excellent care.”

“We’ll have no additional information at this time and we ask that you respect the privacy of Jim and his family as he recovers,” the Colts said.

As noted by Stephen Holder of ESPN.com, Irsay has not been seen publicly “in weeks.” Holder adds that the team had been receiving “numerous questions” about Irsay’s whereabouts in recent weeks.

Irsay, 64, became owner of the Colts in 1997, inheriting the team from his late father, Bob.

PFT
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I was alarmed when I read he was 64... the guy looks 100. I wish him the best.

 

Vrabel to Atlanta seems like a solid move, IMO.

 

Vrabel to Atlanta seems like a solid move, IMO.


Breaking News........Amy Adams just Fired Mike Vrabel.....DAMN I liked him and he only made the playoff's twice.

That's a good call Tim going to the Falcons....But I think he goes to The Commanders ?....we will see

He will not be Unemployed for very long....BUT Damn I liked the team he built in Nashville.

 

How about Vrabel to replace Belichik

 

Lawsuits thats the reason there are more delays and cancelations in todays world vs when we were kids.

 

Titans Owner, Strunk knows zero about football. Vrabel was/is a good coach. Apparently, Strunk thinks HC's are a dime a dozen and hiring someone else, again, will make the Titans win.

On the other hand, Vrabel might have wanted out, I dont know. Vrabel can just about pick between a half dozen teams to go to and thats a good thing for him.

 

Steelers HC Mike Tomlin rules out OLB T.J. Watt (knee) for playoff game vs. Bills

The Pittsburgh Steelers will trek to Buffalo for Sunday's Super Wild Card Weekend matchup against the Bills without the NFL's leading sack artist, T.J. Watt.

Head coach Mike Tomlin ruled out Watt for Sunday with the knee injury he suffered in Week 18.

The news was expected after Watt suffered a Grade 2 MCL sprain, considered a multi-week injury, but the expectation doesn't soften the blow.

"Playing without T.J. is significant," Tomlin said to reporters on Tuesday. "But to be quite honest with you we've played without a lot of people this year, it's just another opportunity for us to strike a blow for the team.

"It's going to be a committee approach. We better strengthen our output in other areas because T.J. is one of a kind."

Watt led the NFL with 19 sacks in 2023, leading the league for the third time in his career. The edge beast also finished with the most QB hits (36).

Facing a surging Bills squad sans Watt will be a tall task for Tomlin's club, but the Steelers could be getting star safety Minkah Fitzpatrick (knee) back. Tomlin noted that Fitzpatrick will be limited in practice, but he's optimistic the safety will be able to play.

On the offensive side, Tomlin will continue to ride with Mason Rudolph under center, sticking with the hot hand after the QB led the Steelers to three straight wins to close the season.

Tomlin noted he wanted to "not disrupt the apple cart" after the offense found success under Rudolph.

In three starts, Rudolph has completed 74.65% of his passes for 716 yards and three touchdowns. Rudolph's three passing touchdowns of 60-plus yards in 2023 are tied for second in the NFL with C.J. Stroud. Only Tua Tagovailoa (four) has more such TDs in 2023.

Pittsburgh will need another big day from Rudolph and the offense to upset the Bills without Watt.

NFL.com

 

A lot of people in the area felt like Vrable wanted out but why you wouldnt try to trade him to a team he wants to go to is beyond me.

 

Hey that's one handsome man ❤️ the avatar it's so cool

 

Every time I see that commercial, I cannot keep from laughing out loud.

 

This fits another hot rumor that's building steam... Panthers owner David Tepper is allegedly making overtures to get Belichick as the next head coach in Carolina. Bringing Vrabel back to the organization as his successor feels lilke something Kraft would do.

 

From Titans beat writer Terry McCormick: GM Ran Carthon said that league mandates and rules were involved regarding a potential trading of Mike Vrabel. Said #Titans would have had to have an opening before they could begin the process, and trading Vrabel would have set them back.

Carthon also wanted to make clear that there was no beef at all between Vrabel and himself, that they worked together very well and he still sees Vrabel as a friend.

When asked why Vrabel was fired, he simply deferred to the press statement released by owner Amy Adams Strunk. The ONLY thing that her statement made clear was that she made the decision on her own. Here's the text:


Earlier today, I spoke with Mike Vrabel and told him about my decision to make a change at head coach. As I told Coach Vrabel, this decision was as difficult as any I’ve made as Controlling Owner. I appreciate Mike’s contributions to the Tennessee Titans both on and off the field. Anyone who has ever met him knows how passionate and genuine he is, and he’s been a strong supporter of the Nashville community. We wish Mike, Jen, and the Vrabel family nothing but the best in the future.

As the NFL continues to innovate and evolve, I believe the teams best positioned for sustained success will be those who empower an aligned and collaborative team across all football functions. Last year, we began a shift in our approach to football leadership and made several changes to our personnel to advance that plan. As I continued to assess the state of our team, I arrived at the conclusion that the team would also benefit from the fresh approach and perspective of a new coaching staff.

I believe the Tennessee Titans can and will be a premier National Football League franchise. It’s what our fans deserve, and there will be hard decisions along the way. My decision today is not only a reflection of my disappointment in our past two seasons, but also my recognition that further changes are necessary to fully achieve our vision.

I will never shy away from acknowledging that I have unapologetically high expectations for the football team and every aspect of the Titans organization. Our vision is not simply to produce more wins than losses, it is to regularly compete for championships. While this season was disappointing, I see early signs of progress taking shape. Last year we added a promising young quarterback and several other talented players to our roster. With a coaching search, enviable cap space, and top-10 draft position, this offseason is as important as any in our history. I’m excited for the weeks and months ahead. We will meet the moment.



Ummm.... who wrote this press release for her? Philomena Cunk?

 

Browns expect “bigger challenge” from Texans with C.J. Stroud set to play

The Browns and Texans faced each other in Week 16 of the regular season and Cleveland won 36-22, but there’s only so much they can take from the Christmas Eve matchup as they prepare for Saturday’s game.

Quarterback C.J. Stroud is the biggest reason for that. The Texans’ rookie star missed the regular season game with a concussion, which linebacker Sione Takitaki believes made things much easier on the Cleveland defense than they will be this time around.

“His ability to run and pass is what is going to make a difference in preparing for the Texans,” Takitaki said, via the team’s website. “He’s a rookie, but he proved he is special. He’s a front-runner for offensive rookie of the year. You can learn from your mistakes since they didn’t have Stroud the first time around. Having their guy will make it a bigger challenge for us.”

The Texans were also without defensive end Will Anderson and linebacker Blake Cashman in that game, so there are significant differences on both sides of the ball as the two teams head into their elimination game in Houston.

PFT
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Im confident the Browns know this and will plan accordingly... this is a great matchup also.

 

PFT’s 2023 NFL coach of the year: Kevin Stefanski



In past years, we’ve determined our awards with input from the writers and then, in the end, yours truly would make the final call, even if it went against the weight of the other contributors to PFT. This year, I respected the process of a full vote of all five PFT writers, even if it went against my own assessment.

For most awards, it didn’t matter. For this one — and without disclosing my own personal AP awards ballot as to coach of the year — I’ll just say it might have.

Regardless, the internal voting process resulted in Browns coach Kevin Stefanski narrowly surpassing Texans coach DeMeco Ryans for PFT coach of the year.

A strong case could be made for either coach. Ryans did the unthinkable, taking a team no one truly believed would make it to the playoffs and winning the AFC South. Stefanski’s Browns entered 2023 as a wild card, and Stefanski led them through a wild ride to the No. 5 seed.

The Browns had five different starting quarterbacks this season. They lost quarterback Deshaun Watson at first for a few games and then, after a stirring win at Baltimore, for the rest of the season, with a shoulder injury. On November 20, they signed Joe Flacco to the practice squad — and he led the Browns to 11 wins, fueling the passing game that became more important after the Week 2 torn ACL suffered by running back Nick Chubb.

It helped to have a dominant defense, led by veteran coordinator Jim Schwartz. It was obvious from Week 1 that the defense would be dominant. And it is. And Stefanski hired him.

Along the way, the Browns beat the Texans in Houston. But the Texans didn’t have quarterback C.J. Stroud for the game. On Saturday, when Cleveland returns to Houston for a wild-card game, Stroud will play. The outcome could be different.

Based on the regular season alone, however, Stefanski got just enough support to win the award, with Ryans the clear No. 2.

Others who received votes include 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan, Lions coach Dan Campbell, Bills coach Sean McDermott, Rams coach Sean McVay, and Packers coach Matt LaFleur.