NFL - NEWS & NOTES

Gabe Davis, Taylor Rapp ruled out for Sunday

The Bills will be missing one of their top receivers for Sunday’s home game against the Steelers.

Head coach Sean McDermott said on WGR 550 on Friday that wide receiver Gabe Davis has been ruled out of the team’s playoff opener. Davis has a PCL sprain and the knee injury has kept him from practicing this week.

Khalil Shakir, Trent Sherfield, and Deonte Harty will be receiver options to go with Stefon Diggs.

Safety Taylor Rapp has also been ruled out with a calf injury. McDermott said cornerback Rasul Douglas (knee) and linebacker Tyrel Dodson (shoulder) will both be considered questionable heading into the weekend.

PFT

 

The forecast for Saturday night in Kansas City started bad, and it has gotten worse.

The kickoff temperature and the potential wind chill keeps dropping and dropping for Dolphins-Chiefs. Currently, the high for Saturday (per Weather.com) is 8 degrees, with a low of -9. The kickoff at temperature, according to the iPhone weather app, is below zero.

The wind chill will be in the neighborhood of 25 below.

It will be one of the coldest games in league history. As noted by Joe Schad of the Palm Beach Post, it will be the coldest game ever for the Dolphins.

Multiple Dolphins players have vowed to go sleeveless for the game.

“Well, it’s a mindset,” Hill said, via Schad. “I feel like if you believe it’s going to be cold, then you’re going to freeze your ass off. But if you go into this game not even thinking any of that, you’ll be fine.”

He’s right, but there’s a point where it’s so cold that mind over matter doesn’t matter. And it could be so cold that it’s dangerously cold — for players, coaches, fans, anyone.

Which raises a fair question, given that the NFL is so concerned about health and safety. Are there weather conditions where it’s unsafe? Is there a temperature or a wind chill that is regarded as unacceptable for anyone to be out in the elements?

We’ve asked the league if there is a minimum temperature below which a game won’t be played. There should be. And, frankly, if there’s ever a game played that results in multiple cases of severe frostbite for fans, players, anyone, there will be.

PFT

 

T.J. Watt ruled out for the Wild Card game versus the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.

 

Ive heard they may move the Bills-Steelers game (apprently has since been shot down)

The should bump the KC game to earlier in the day they could flip it and the browns texans-game

 

These NFL football players are tough Mother Fuckers and conditioned beyond conditioning, besides, they make millions. Play the game, weather be damned!

 

Not just the players you have to consider though. Theres the fans, the refs, the stadium employees, and the security forces that have to work.

 

but but but... Its the NFL. Bundle up. Back in my day they played all the time in rough weather, outdoors always.

In 1967, the Cowboys and Packers played the NFL championship at a temp of -13, the wind chill was -36.

In January of 1982, the Freezer Bowl took place. -9F at kickoff with a -59 windchill.

I say, lets see what these mamby pambys are made of.

 

Remember why i said they cancel school more often now.

 

Breaking:

The New England Patriots have hired Jerod Mayo as their next head coach and he will be formally introduced at a press conference next week, a source tells Adam Schefter.

 

Congrats to him but he going to have a Real Tough time following BB

 

Is he going to name his practices the Mayo Clinic?

 

I did not make this up.

Bills are hiring shovelers. They will be paid $20 an hour and provided with food and breaks. They’re asked to bring their own shovels.
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Sorry, Im on IR. "food and breaks" ?... Id consider it if it were, "food and drinks". Cheap assed Buffalo!

 

$20 an hour, you "get breaks", and you bring your own shovel? Man, the economy is hitting these billionaire owners hard, huh?

 

I've done this at Lambeau a few times. It's fun. Start at the top and work down. It was pretty laid back

 

Awesome. How did you get that gig?

 

Report: Denzel Ward is expected to play

Browns cornerback Denzel Ward received a questionable designation for Saturday’s game against the Texans after injuring his knee in practice this week.

Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reports Ward is expected to play.

Ward was injured in Thursday’s on-field work, putting his availability in doubt.

He is a key member of the league’s No. 1 defense, totaling 34 tackles, two interceptions, 11 passes defensed and a forced fumble in 13 games this season.

Ward posted a hype video Friday with audio stating “let’s get it,” possibly an indication he intends to play.

Ward will be charged with helping cover Nico Collins, who had a 1,000-yard season and is rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud’s top target.

 

Forecast goes from bad to worse for Buffalo on Sunday

The NFL has not one but two potential weather issues for wild-card weekend. And the situation in Buffalo keeps getting worse.

The National Weather Service has warned that "[h]eavy lake effect snow bands with gusty winds will occur east of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario Saturday through Sunday night,” and that snow bands will impact Buffalo.

“Travel will be difficult to near impossible within snow bands,” the NWS said.

Meanwhile, New York governor Kathy Hochul has declared a state of emergency for the region.

The NFL has previously said there are no plans to move the game. Plans might have to change, if they hope to get the game played.

And if the game isn’t moved, the conditions could make it hard for the cameras to capture the action, according to Jim Cantore of The Weather Channel.

We’ve asked the NFL again whether plans have changed. At some point, it could be too late to change them.

PFT

 

Flacco was asked about the importance of playoff experience.

“I’m sure there’s a level of importance to it in terms of letting the football game come to you,” he said. “Not necessarily riding too high and riding too low when things happen, realizing that it is another football game, but ultimately the most important thing in playoff games is executing your fundamentals to the highest degree. And I don’t think that that necessarily takes experience to do. It just takes you staying levelheaded and playing within yourself.”

Houston’s first-year coach DeMeco Ryans, who turned 39 in July, balked when a reporter called Flacco old before joking about it.

“It’s impressive that Joe is still operating at a high level," Ryans said. "There is no let-up in the arm strength, the decision making - it’s all still elite, at a high level. ... So, it is impressive to see a guy as young as he is making plays, but he’s the reason why that team is in the position they’re in right now, because he has that experience, he’s been there before, and I know that those guys believe in him.”

 

While the Dolphins are in the postseason in consecutive years for the first time since 2001, the Chiefs will be playing their 15th straight home playoff game, not counting three Super Bowl appearances. It's a streak that dates to Jan. 15, 2017, back when Hill was wrapping up his rookie season and Mahomes had yet to take the reigns of one of the NFL's most dynamic offenses.

“We play a lot of big games - games on short rest, night games - and having that experience will help,” Mahomes said. “A lot of guys on this team have done that, so the step up you see going into the playoffs, we make it a little smaller, because we've been in games like this. We can rely on our experience and be the best team we can be.”

“The team will be fired up to go and embrace the challenge,” McDaniel said, “and there's many layers to why it's a challenge. For us in-house, we all believe in each other and want to get a losing taste out of our mouths. That's the only objective.”

The Dolphins experienced the same losing taste in November, when the Chiefs beat them 21-14 in Germany.

“Previous games, wins, losses - they mean nothing. That has absolutely no bearing on what's going to happen,” Chiefs safety Justin Reid said. “The best team is going to come out on top.”

 

Im fired up for these 2 games today. The weather here is frightful, winds blowing 40+ with 55MPH predicted. Power-outages are in the area here, so Im hunkered down today and will dig seeing some Playoff action baring any power failures.