NFL - NEWS & NOTES

100% agree. With the addition of the enhanced ever more prevalent passing attacks, these officials cover a lot more than the ol' "3 yards and a cloud of dust" type plays. They are continually getting more stuff shoved on their plates to observe and interpret. Player safety was just another scoop on their plate for them to think about in game action and what even makes it more difficult is the 'personal discretion' they have to implement. Maybe 2 more peeps on the field might help, I dont know, even eyes in the booth with cameras could do more also... kind of a sky judge booth to aid the zebras on the field.

This is extremely important in todays NFL with the inclusion of legalized gambling. With the gambling mixed in with what SEEMS as blatantly missed calls or non-calls, I cant blame the fans/gamblers for beginning to wonder just what in hell is going on.

Something needs to be done, exactly what Goodell/owners/GM's do remains to be seen. Nothing on this planet is ever going to be perfect, but it seems it could be a whole lots better.

 

Just paying some props to an NFL guy from the past.



Former Jets TE Richard Caster dies at 75

Former Jets tight end Richard Caster died Friday after a battle with Parkinson’s Disease, J.T. Keith of the Mississippi Clarion Ledger reports. Caster was 75.

The Jets made Caster a second-round pick in 1970 out of Jackson State.

He helped revolutionize the tight end position at 6 foot 5 and 228 pounds and with 4.5 speed in the 40. He earned three Pro Bowls in eight seasons with the Jets and went on to play for Houston (1978-80), New Orleans (1981) and Washington (1981-82).

Caster made 245 receptions for 4,434 yards and 36 touchdowns in his time with the Jets, and he finished his career with 322 receptions for 5,515 yards and 45 touchdowns, averaging 17.1 yards per catch.

He appeared in 161 games with 119 starts.

 

Did anyone see Alex Anzalone's "Letter to Detroit"? One of the best things I've ever seen from a player. Seriously gotta love this guy.

Here's the link to the original source, which also has some photos:
To the City of Detroit | By Alex Anzalone

And here's the text. I'll have to split it into two posts since it's a bit longer than 10,000 characters (the max for a message post):

Dear Detroit,

We were all behind Dan on the 4th down call. Let’s get that out of the way first. If you could rewind time, we’d all do it again. A hundred times out of a hundred. The offense. The defense. Everybody. If you have been following this team’s journey for the last three years, then you know how we play football. You know the mentality that got us here.

It was the right decision — and I’m not talking about the right decision for analytics or talk radio or whatever. It was the right call for us, especially in that moment. When you’re in that situation, 20 games into an NFL season, it’s not like a video game. You’re not playing Madden. You had guys out there playing with bum ankles. Guys playing with MCL sprains. Guys taking nerve injections and toradol. Guys who could barely get out of bed that morning. It’s a battle of wills at that point in the season. You’re just running on pure belief and adrenaline. I feel like if you shy away from your identity in that moment, then you’re betraying the very thing that got you there.

On 4th down, in that situation, we’re always going for the kill. That mentality took us from 0–10–1 to the NFC Championship game in just a few seasons. Honestly, if anything, when we decided to kick the field goal in the first half, I was more surprised then.

When the chips are down, Detroit is always going to bet on Detroit.

To a man, I think we’d all do it again.

 

(continued)


With that said … does it hurt? Hell yeah, it hurts. What day is today? I’ve been in a daze. My phone says it’s Saturday. Well, it still hurts on Saturday. The only way that I can really express my emotions, a week after the NFC Championship, is through my son Cooper’s eyes.

He summed it up best, and he’s only three years old. He took his first steps at our old townhouse here in Detroit, right before Christmas 2021, after we had gotten our first win of the season against the Vikings. We were 1-10-1 and I was on a one-year contract. Fun times. If you would have told me back then, when Cooper was stumbling around our Christmas tree, that we’d be here in Detroit three years later, and we’d be just one game away from a Super Bowl…. Man, I’d have been the happiest guy on the planet.

Fast forward to six o’clock in the morning as I’m pulling into my driveway the morning after the 49ers game, and I was devastated. A few tears were definitely shed in the locker room. A few more on the plane home. When I got into the house, it was a surreal feeling. You have to know a bit about our family’s story to understand. My wife, Lindsey, she’s my absolute rock. There’s nothing I can say here that would sum up how much she means to me, and how emotional the last three years of our lives have been. In 2021, Cooper was born. In 2022, right before our second training camp in Detroit, as we were preparing to welcome our second child into the world, we had a miscarriage. The toll that kind of nightmare takes on a mom is always so so hard, but when you have a one-year-old at home and your husband is always on the road or at work ….. Well, it’s just amazing to me how she was able to be so strong for us all.

I tell guys all the time — especially the young guys — nobody loves football like I love football. But it’s still just football. There’s things that will happen in your life, good and bad, that will make what happens between the white lines seem very small in comparison.

The way that this city and all the fans lifted me and my family up during those dark days added a whole other dimension to this season. When our daughter, Carter, was born right before the holidays, and we were playing such great football, and all the Christmas lights and the Lions flags were going up all over the city, it was such a special time. Probably the happiest I’ve ever been. The only thing that could have possibly made it any better?

You already know …… I don’t even want to say those two words.

So when I got home from San Francisco and walked in the door, I had a quiet moment with Lindsey to kind of process all the emotions and leave them at the door, because I always try to “be where my feet are,” no matter what’s going on at work, for the sake of my kids. I tried to get a few hours of sleep before the little monsters woke up and the madness started. I was lying in bed for probably two hours when I felt something small and warm crawling on top of me.

Daddy, you’re hoooooooome!!!! Wooohooooo!!

Lindsey tried to do the whole “Daddy’s very tired from his game” routine, but Cooper wasn’t having any of it. He literally pulled my eyelids open like in a cartoon.

Daaaaaaaaaadddd.

It took me another 30 minutes to roll myself out of bed, and then I think I just slumped on the floor while Cooper played with his toys all around me.

Dad, I wanna tackle!

“Dad’s got cracked ribs, buddy. Don’t tackle Dad today.”

He’s clearly got my DNA, because his preschool teacher has been sending home reports that are like, “Cooper is extremely energetic and helpful in the classroom. However, he tends to get a little over-excited with his friends at playtime.”

When I pick him up after school, it’s like….

“Cooper, what’d you do today? The teacher said…”

“Daddy, I was tackling. I was tackling!!!!!”

“OK, buddy. We need to talk about personal space.”

When they’re three, you never know what’s going on in their minds. He’s got his little Lions jersey and I take him to work with me sometimes and he loves it, but I can never exactly tell how much he understands. After the 49ers, I wondered if he was disappointed in me.

So when we were hanging out, I finally asked him, “Hey buddy, did you watch the game?”

He said, “Yup!!”

I said, “Are you sad that we lost?”

He said, “Mmmmmm …… (long pause) …… Nope!!”

If you aren’t a parent, you probably won’t understand, and it will seem like nothing, but that moment meant so much to me. It kind of re-centered me for a few days. But you know how kids are….

A couple days later, we’re all hanging out in the living room. The whole gang. Cooper just woke up from his nap. I’m holding Carter in my arms. My wife is next to me on the couch. Out of the blue, Cooper turns to me and innocently asks, “Daddy, did you go to the Super Bowl?”

Oooofff.

I looked at Lindsey, and I almost lost it. It hits you right in the heart. Everything kind of came back in that moment, you know? I mean the whole journey. Coming here to Detroit because Dan took the coaching job and believed that I could be a leader on our defense. All the heartbreaking losses in 2021, when the world was laughing at us, and Dan was telling us: F the world. It’s about the guys in this room.

Thanksgiving 2022 when we played Buffalo down to the wire and lost another heartbreaker and were sitting at 4–7, and we got to practice the next Tuesday and our linebackers coach Kelvin Sheppard looked us all in the eyes and said, “Hey, just so you all know, we’re winning out. We’re winning out. That’s our expectation now.”

Opening night this season against Kansas City, when we spoiled their big banner raising party. A lot of young teams would have seen that schedule come out in the summer and thought, “Awwww man. Kansas City???”

Our guys thought, “Awwww man. Kansas City!!!!!”

The Wildcard game. Stafford and the Rams coming into Ford Field with all the buzz around them. Pundits picking against us, thinking we’d blow it. Running out of the tunnel with three fractured ribs, feeling absolutely no pain. Eminem in the building with 65,000 people singing “Lose Yourself.” Jared Goff with ice water in his veins in such a big moment for the whole city. Banishing all the ghosts of 1991, which is about 10 years before a lot of our young guys were even born.

Then after the game, seeing the incredible video of that Lions fan crying in the stands, and just how much it meant to him. Learning his story, and how his late father was a life-long Lions fan who actually helped build Ford Field…. It’s just Detroit, in one image.

The Tampa game. You thought we were done? How about Amon-Ra fighting for the first down with three guys on his back on third and 15. Derrick sealing it with an unbelievable read. The random lady coming up to David Montgomery at the gas station and giving him a hug and breaking down into tears.

All of it. That’s what I thought of when Cooper asked me so innocently….

“Daddy, did you go to the Super Bowl?”

No, buddy. We didn’t. But don’t worry. We’ll get there.

What we’re building here is extremely special. You can talk about it all day, but the proof is in the pudding, as they say. It’s one thing to say that a city, and a team, and a culture is unique. It’s a whole other thing to actually turn down the cheddar. (Great to have you back, Coach Ben and Coach AG.)

We will get there.

I look at this roster and I see so much to be excited about. Jared. Aidan. Amon-Ra. Penei. Jahmyr. David. Frank. Sam. Dogs everywhere, up and down the roster. But it goes beyond talent. It’s not like a catchy saying you put up on the walls of the facility. It’s not something you can put into words.

It’s something we feel in our bones. We want to make history next season. Anything less is failure.

So, to all the Lions fans out there…. Before I go … I have a final question for you….

Are you going to watch it on Sunday?

It’s funny…. When we had our exit meetings with Dan the other day, he actually asked the same thing. I didn’t know how to answer. I honestly hadn’t even thought about it yet, and it kind of made me sick thinking about going to some Super Bowl party and standing around like an idiot, trying to pretend to be happy.

But Dan said, “No, you gotta watch it, man. Use every second of it as motivation. I’ll sure as hell be watching.”

I can’t help but have this image of Dan sitting in a dark room this Sunday, all by himself, gripping his coffee cup for three hours straight, staring daggers at the TV, just counting down the milliseconds until training camp starts and we can run it back.

You’re gonna have 53 dogs out there doing the exact same. You’re gonna have a whole coaching staff doing the same. You’re gonna have a whole city doing the same.

This year, it sucks.

Next year, it’s us.

Believe,

Alex

 

It could be a hell of a lot better. I believe Goodell/the owners will bring great power to the matter. The power to do nothing.

 

I really enjoyed this read, one of the better things ive read in a while football related. He has his head screwed on straight in my opinion and he's one hell of a writer. His usage of words painted pictures in my mind as I read it. Always interesting to see inside someone's head about the game of football on and off the field. Thanks for posting that.

 

Goodell came out of his closet a few days ago and said we have to do something and we have to utilize the current technologies... then he proceeded to fall way short by saying nothing further or even hinting as to possibilities to rectify the situation.

The beat goes on.

 

Torgo, that was an incredibly uplifting read. The frailty of humans huh? It shows the indomitable spirit of man rising up, over and over again, no matter the outcome. Thank you for posting that.

 

Lions center Frank Ragnow said after the NFC Championship Game that he needed some time to figure things out, leading to concerns in Detroit that Ragnow might retire. But at the NFL Honors event on Thursday night, Ragnow said he’s figured it out: He’s playing in 2024.

“I’m not retiring,” Ragnow told the Detroit Free Press.

Ragnow was playing through several injuries in the playoffs and said at the end of the season that the physical pain was taking a toll on him, but he looked happy at NFL Honors and indicated that none of his injuries are going to significantly impact his offseason.

“I just need a few weeks to get healthy,” Ragnow said.

The 27-year-old Ragnow is one of the best centers in the NFL and is under contract to the Lions for three more years. He appears to have a bright future in Detroit, and his comments amid the frustration of losing in the playoffs don’t dim that bright future.

 

This was kinda funny...

 

Eagles give LB Haason Reddick permission to seek trade

The Eagles' sack leader two years running might find himself a new home.

Philadelphia has given linebacker Haason Reddick permission to seek a trade, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported, per sources.

Reddick, a Pro Bowler in both of his seasons with Philly, is coming off an 11-sack campaign in which he added 23 quarterback hits, 13 tackles for loss and a pass defensed.

The year before, Reddick broke out as one of the league's most underrated free-agent signings. He finished the 2022 season with 16 sacks, tied with Myles Garrett for second-most in the NFL, and he led all defenders with five forced fumbles while spearheading a tenacious Eagles defense that made a run to Super Bowl LVII.

Those efforts helped him earn second-term All-Pro honors and a fourth-place finish in Defensive Player of the Year voting.

His production tapering off in 2023 aligned with the trajectory of the rest of Philadelphia's D, which went from second in yards allowed and eighth in points allowed to a turnstile at 26th and 30th in those categories, respectively.

There are a number of incoming changes that could contribute to Reddick potentially finding a change of scenery.

For a third straight season, the Eagles are enduring a switch at defensive coordinator, having lost Jonathan Gannon to the Cardinals' head-coaching gig a year ago and fired Sean Desai in January. Vic Fangio is now set to install his defense going forward, and another transition of power lends itself to roster shuffling.

Reddick's base salary in 2022 and 2023 was also a pittance compared to stars producing similar numbers. His base salary was $1.04 million in his first year as an Eagle and jumped up only to $1.08 million the following year -- and his cap number never eclipsed $7 million.

That won't be the case for the 2024 season, though, as Reddick is set to make $14.25 million in base salary and count $21.88 million against the cap.

A post-June 1 trade would be more palatable for Philly than one made official before then, as the difference in dead money is nearly $15 million, per Over the Cap.

There's sure to be a number of suitors for the 29-year-old Reddick. After starting off the first three years of his career in Arizona with 7.5 sacks combined, he's amassed four consecutive seasons in the double-digits.

He's put up those numbers for three different squads -- the Cardinals, Panthers and Eagles -- proving beyond a doubt he can contribute in a new setting.

NFL.com

 

A day after his third Super Bowl victory, Andy Reid’s answer hasn’t changed. He will return to the Chiefs for a chance to threepeat, a feat that has never happened in the Super Bowl era.

The Chiefs coach had a one-word answer, and repeated it, when asked to confirm he was returning for 2024.

“Yep,” Reid said at the day-after news conference. “Yep.”

Reid then was asked why, at almost 66 years old, he didn’t want to walk off into the sunset.

“I actually haven’t even thought about [retiring],” Reid said. “I get asked it. I’m still kind of in awe of the game and what went on there, so, I really haven’t thought why or what or anything else. But people keep asking me. I keep saying, ‘Why did [Bill] Belichick and Pete [Carroll] retire?’ Ask those old guys that question. I’m the old guy now, so I guess I’m going to be asked that. And I really haven’t gone there. I really haven’t thought about it. “

Belichick and Carroll actually didn’t retire. Both have made clear they want to keep coaching, but both are out of work because they couldn’t keep winning after losing their Super Bowl-winning quarterback.

Reid knows how good he has it with Patrick Mahomes. The Chiefs are a well-oiled machine, who, even in a “down” year, won another Super Bowl.

It wasn’t so long ago that there was debate about Reid’s Hall of Fame candidacy. He has left no doubt with back-to-back Super Bowl championships.

Reid ranks fourth all time in regular-season wins with 258, trailing only Don Shula (328), George Halas (318) and Belichick (302). His 26 postseason wins are five behind Belichick.

PFT

 

Reid also is the all time leader in wins for two different franchises. It's been mentioned before I think but figured it's worth mentioning again.

Leads KC with 128 wins Hank Stram.is second with 124. Reid will of.course add to that total next season.

Leads the eagles 130 wins Greasy Neale second with 63

 

Chiefs sign defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo to extension following Super Bowl LVIII win

Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, who became first coordinator with four Super Bowl victories on Sunday, has signed a contract extension with Kansas City, the team announced on Wednesday ahead of its Super Bowl parade.

Spagnuolo, 64, has guided a vastly improved Chiefs defense since 2019, which coincided with the Chiefs' run of three Super Bowl championships in a five-year span. His work with this past season's unit, which ranked second in points and yards allowed and held the San Francisco 49ers' offense down late in K.C.'s 25-22 overtime win in Super Bowl LVIII, put him in the discussion of being one of the best coordinators in league history.

Spagnuolo previously served as Rams head coach from 2009 to 2011, and he was the Giants' interim head coach in 2017 after Ben McAdoo was fired, accruing a combined record of 11-41. But since joining the Chiefs, building one of the league's best defenses this past season, Spagnuolo hasn't received much in the way of head-coaching interest -- something Rams executive Kevin Demoff believes should change.

The Chiefs certainly have benefitted by Spagnulo's continued stay in Kansas City.

There will be key decisions to be made on free agents-to-be L’Jarius Sneed and Chris Jones, but Kansas City figures to be one of the leading NFL contenders in 2024. Especially now that their celebrated defensive coordinator will be back for at least another season.

NFL.com

 

Kansas City mayor “heartbroken” after Chiefs celebration is marred by shooting

Two people are in custody after a mass shooting in Kansas City today, at the conclusion of a parade to celebrate the Chiefs’ Super Bowl title.

One person is confirmed dead, and authorities say 10 to 15 are injured. Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said the Chiefs told him all players, coaches and staff are accounted for and safe.

“We went out today, like everyone in Kansas City, looking to have a celebration. That celebration was marred by a shooting,” Lucas said. “This is absolutely a tragedy, the likes of which we never would have expected in Kansas City,”

The parade included 600 Kansas City police officers and 250 officers from other agencies in the area. Lucas said he was nearby and personally saw officers running toward the shooting to apprehend the suspects and thanked them for their courage.

“Officers ran toward danger,” said Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves.

“I’m heartbroken,” Lucas said. “I was there with my wife, I was there with my mother, we never would have thought that we, along with Chiefs players, along with fans, hundreds of thousands of people, would be forced to run for our safety.”

PFT
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Tragic.

 

800 cops around. Didn't faze them.

 

Kansas City Police now say at least 22 shot at Chiefs’ parade

Kansas City Police now say one person has died and at least 22 others were shot during the Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade on Wednesday. At least eight children were among those shot.

At the latest news conference on the shooting, Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said three people were detained and under investigation in the shooting.

University Health reported it was treating eight shooting victims, two of whom are critical and six stable. The hospital also was treating four people for other injuries from the chaos that ensued after the shooting. Children’s Mercy Kansas City said it was treating 12 patients, including 11 children, and nine of those people had gunshot wounds. St. Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City received one gunshot patient in critical condition and three walk-in patients with non-life-threatening injuries.

“I’m angry at what happened today. The people who came to this celebration should expect a safe environment,” Graves said, via the Associated Press.

PFT
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__________________

Unfucking real!