NFL - NEWS & NOTES

Probably won’t happen, but damn would love it if the Lions knocked out the 49ers. Don’t like Cam Sutton on Deebo or Aiyuk, and that’s without taking McCaffery into account. Would be kind of cool to end the season the same way it started with Chiefs vs Lions. My head is telling me it’ll be Ravens vs 49ers though.

 

Not 100% that Deebo will be available, or at the very least at the top of his game.

I would love to see the Lions make it. It's an uphill battle for the Chiefs to beat the Ravens, but if anyone can, it's them. Their defense is playing better than it has in years and they still have the tools on offense.

 

The Chiefs receivers have been inconsistent outside of Kelce and Rice, and Rice looked like he was quite beat up. Cant count out the Chiefs as long as Mahomes is healthy though. That Ravens defense is going to be tough. Should be a good game

 

Veteran tight end Zach Ertz is heading to Detroit in his quest for a second Super Bowl ring.

Ertz is signing with the Lions, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.

He will initially sign with the practice squad, but if he’s ready to go after only a few days of practice, the Lions could elevate him to the active roster against the 49ers in Sunday’s NFC Championship Game.

The 33-year-old Ertz is a three-time Pro Bowler who was on the Eagles’ Super Bowl LII-winning team. Most recently he started seven games for the Cardinals in 2023, but he asked them to release him while he looked to sign with a contender.

Lions backup tight end Brock Wright suffered an injury yesterday against the Buccaneers and is expected to miss the NFC Championship Game, so if Ertz can learn the offense quickly and get to work on Sunday in San Francisco, he could prove to be a valuable presence for the Lions.

 

Gronkowski can’t pass Kelce in celebrity girlfriends

 

I find it completely stupid how people slam Swift. I also find it out fucking outrageous how people throw snowballs at a player when they kick your ass and walk off the field... classless. Im not a Swifty, but i have respect for others and their opinions.

 

Havnt seen Gronks girlfriend or 3 or 5 or 10... maybe they are bombshells. He could probably date any celeb he wants.

 

Kyle Shanahan: 49ers will know more about Deebo Samuel’s shoulder on Wednesday

San Francisco wide receiver Deebo Samuel left Saturday’s game with a shoulder injury, and the team doesn’t know yet whether he’ll be ready to go for the NFC Championship Game.

Coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed today that X-rays on Samuel’s shoulder showed nothing was broken, but said Samuel was in a lot of pain.

Shanahan says the 49ers expect to have a better idea on Wednesday whether Samuel can play on Sunday against the Lions.

If Samuel can’t go, that would be a major blow to the 49ers: He had 60 catches for 892 yards and seven touchdowns, and added 225 yards and five touchdowns rushing. He’s one of the 49ers’ most important players, and they’ll be hoping his shoulder is healthy enough for him to go on Sunday with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.

 

To be fair, factoring out bankroll and recognizability, Camille Kostek clears Taylor easily

 

Its quite funny how many of them are acting of course a large majority of them hating on her belong to one certain party. They used to show shots of Montana's noxzema gorl quite a bit but nobody went nuts back then.

Umm no

 

Kyle Shanahan: No quad injury for Christian McCaffrey

For the 49ers, the good news is that running back Christian McCaffrey had another great game in the divisional round against the Packers, with 98 rushing yards on 17 carries, 30 receiving yards, and two touchdowns. The better news is that he’s healthy, even though some thought he might not be.

On Monday, coach Kyle Shanahan was asked about TV images showing running back Christian McCaffrey getting his quad worked on. Is there an issue with it?

“No, I heard about that on the TV [broadcast] because some of my family members asked me about it,” Shanahan said. “But that’s just what Christian to me always does. He’s always working on his body and stuff. I was told nothing about his quad.”

The 49ers desperately need a healthy McCaffrey if their offense is going to be the best it can be in the conference championship and, beyond that (if they win), the Super Bowl. He’s the heart and soul of the entire team.

 

Travis Kelce is six catches away from tying Jerry Rice’s all-time NFL postseason record

Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is one good game away from being the NFL’s all-time leader in catches in the postseason.

Kelce has caught 145 passes in the playoffs in his career, second in NFL history only to Jerry Rice, who retired with 151 postseason catches. With six catches in the AFC Championship Game, Kelce will tie Rice. With seven catches, Kelce will have the all-time postseason receiving record all to himself.

Rice had such an incomparable career — the best receiver ever, who played the longest of any receiver ever, on some of the greatest teams — that his postseason receiving records were viewed as unbreakable when he retired. But Kelce has a great chance to break one.

Kelce is also second only to Rice in postseason receiving yards (1,694) and postseason receiving touchdowns (18). Rice had 2,245 yards and 22 touchdowns in the playoffs in his career. Kelce won’t break the yardage record and probably won’t break the touchdowns record in this postseason, but with another good year or two with the Chiefs, Kelce could have all of the NFL’s postseason receiving records.

 

Bill Vinovich has been selected as the referee of Super Bowl LVIII.

The NFL announced today that Vinovich got the Super Bowl assignment, which the league awards based on a combination of the referee’s grade during the season, his seniority and his past postseason assignments. Vinovich previously refereed Super Bowl XLIX and Super Bowl LIV.

The 63-year-old Vinovich became an NFL side judge in 2001 and was promoted to referee in 2004. In 2007, Vinovich suffered an aortic dissection during the offseason and was no longer medically cleared for on-field work. For the next five years, Vinovich worked as a replay official. In 2012, after surgery to replace part of his aorta, Vinovich was again cleared for on-field work, and he has been a referee since.

Joining Vinovich on the Super Bowl officiating crew will be umpire Terry Killens, down judge Patrick Holt, line judge Mark Perlman, field judge Tom Hill, side judge Allen Baynes, back judge Brad Freeman and replay official Mike Chase.
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Good for Bill.

 

Nick Sirianni: We got stale on offense, new coordinator is meant to take that away

There was plenty of speculation about whether the Eagles would make a coaching change after their late-season collapse, but Nick Sirianni remains the head coach heading into next season.

Sirianni met with the media Wednesday for the first time since that decision was made and said that he feel he needs to “reprove” himself in his fourth season with the Eagles. Part of that process will include bringing in an outside voice as the offensive coordinator after dispatching Brian Johnson after one year as the offensive coordinator.

Sirianni said on Wednesday that the offense got “a little bit stale” during the 2023 season and that “this new person coming in is meant to take away the staleness” that contributed to six losses in the final seven games of the year. Given Sirianni’s offensive background has been the backbone of what the unit has done the last three years, a new voice is a significant change and he said the offense will wind up being “our scheme” even though he doesn’t know exactly “what that will look like yet.”

“We’re bringing in a guy to bring in new ideas, to do the things that he’s done in the past,” Sirianni said. “We’re going through an extensive search to get that right person. But it would be crazy not to add some of the things that we’ve done in the past here, as well. I don’t know if it’s going to be 95 percent this, 95 percent that — we’re not there yet. We’re working on getting the best guy in here for the job and a guy who has a vision, a guy who’s going to call the plays, a guy who’s going to be able to coach the quarterback in the same sense there. It’s just about getting the right guy, and then we’ll decide where that goes, but I’m hiring him to do a job and to be in charge of the offense.”

Former Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury and Texans offensive coordinator Jerrod Johnson have already met with the team about the opening and Sirianni’s answer suggests more meetings to come before the Eagles settle on where they want to go offensively in 2024.

PFT

 

Andy Reid can join exclusive company with his fifth Super Bowl appearance as head coach

Chiefs coach Andy Reid is one win away from joining the very short list of head coaches who have led their teams to the Super Bowl five times.

Reid took the Eagles to the Super Bowl once, and if the Chiefs beat the Ravens in the AFC Championship Game, it will be Kansas City’s fourth Super Bowl with Reid as head coach. Five Super Bowls is a rare feat in coaching.

Previously, only three NFL head coaches have gone to the Super Bowl five or more times: Bill Belichick went to nine with the Patriots, Don Shula went to six (five with the Dolphins and one with the Colts) and Tom Landry went to five with the Cowboys.

Reid has already done enough to ensure he’ll have a bust in the Pro Football Hall of Fame some day, but he can add another significant accomplishment to his Hall of Fame résumé on Sunday in Baltimore.

PFT

 

Finalists announced for MVP, other 2023 NFL awards

The NFL will announce the Most Valuable Player and other award-winners for the 2023 season on Februray 8 and the finalists for those awards were announced by the Associated Press on Thursday.

Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson is considered the heavy favorite to be named the MVP for the second time in his career and he is officially a finalist for the award. He is also a finalist for offensive player of the year and he’s joined in both categories by 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey and Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott.

McCaffrey is the only non-quarterback in the running for MVP. His teammate Brock Purdy and Bills quarterback Josh Allen round out the finalists for MVP.

The list of finalists for the other awards are listed below:

Defensive Player of the Year
Cowboys cornerback DaRon Bland
Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby
Browns defensive end Myles Garrett
Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons
Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt


Offensive Player of the Year
Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson
Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb
49ers running back Christian McCaffrey
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott

Offensive Rookie of the Year
Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs
Lions tight end Sam LaPorta
Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua
Falcons running back Bijan Robinson
Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud

Defensive Rookie of the Year
Texans defensive end Will Anderson
Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter
Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr.
Rams defensive tackle Kobie Turner
Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon

Comeback Player of the Year
Browns quarterback Joe Flacco
Bills safety Damar Hamlin
Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa

Coach of the Year
Lions head coach Dan Campbell
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh
Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan
Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski

Assistant Coach of the Year
Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson
Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald
Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken
Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz
Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik

 

MVP McCaffrey
Opoy McCaffrey
DPOY Watt
Oroy Stroud
Droy Porter Jr
That’s who should win the awards
Jackson will probably wins the offensive awards
And for some wack reason they want to steal the defensive award from Watt.