NFL - NEWS & NOTES

Before my time, but I'd say Dick "Night Train" Lane set the tone for the hardest hitting DB's in NFL history...When you watch his highlights, it's pretty obvious that he was head hunting on about every play. Some of the shots he dealt out on the football field were borderline criminal...

Gary Fencik and Chuck Cecil were trying to hurt people on every play too, as was John Lynch....In fact, many will remember when Lynch knocked his own brother in-law out in a MNF game....

They just don't allow that type of play anymore. It's a flag and a stiff fine every time....

 

Browns had a couple Safeties to be feared as well.....Thom Darden and Eric Turner come to mind immediately.

First NFL game I ever attended was in Cincinnati in the late 70's. Thom Darden hit Bengals WR Pat MacInally so hard I thought he might have killed him. The sound that echoed through old Riverfront Stadium was unreal.. It was scary...

Edit: Ask Lyman about Thom Darden...He got a dose of that once.

 

Extremely underrated player, IMO.

 

May he rest in piece...Tremendous player. Huge hitter. One of my all time faves.

^^^Look at those shoulder pads! lol!

 

I get that he feels like they got screwed. And they did, as many other teams have in many other games, including postseason games. But the whining from this one has gone over the top.

I guess the best way to put it is that the incessant whining by their coach, players and fans implies that the Saints want perfect officiating - but only as long as it goes their way.

When they get away with uncalled penalties week after week, that's fine because "it's an imperfect game officiated by imperfect people". When their face mask against the opposing quarterback goes uncalled in another massive game-altering situation in the same game, hey, no need to talk about THAT one. It happens. It's just part of the game.

But when the call goes against them, now it's time for the organization and fan base to blast the entire officiating crew publicly, call out the commissioner, sue the league, and even rent billboards at the site of the Super Bowl to make sure the whole world never stops hearing about the injustice that has never happened to any other team ever before (and definitely did NOT happen to the opposing team five minutes earlier).

 

and tons of fine and suspensions.

 

Some of those guys from the '70s would have ended up paying to play, on the rare weeks that they were allowed back on the field.

 

agreed.

 

Josh Gordon remains in inpatient drug treatment facility...



While the Patriots are in Atlanta preparing for Super Bowl LIII, suspended receiver Josh Gordon remains 331 miles away at an inpatient drug treatment facility, Doug Kyed of NESN reports.

The NFL handed Gordon an indefinite suspension Dec. 20 for what NESN reports was triggered by diluted drug test samples. It violated terms of his reinstatement.

The Patriots are paying for Gordon’s treatment in Gainesville, Florida, according to NESN, with the NFL and Players Association also working with Gordon to treat his addiction.

Gordon will receive a Super Bowl ring if the Patriots win, having caught 40 passes for 720 yards and three touchdowns in 11 games with New England this season.

According to NESN, Gordon’s return to the Patriots in the future is possible. The question is: When?

Gordon, who turns 28 in April, has played only 52 games in seven years because of multiple suspensions. He missed all of the 2015 and 2016 seasons, returning for five games in 2017 and now is suspended again.

 

Zac Taylor: “Not hard at all” to focus on present...



Patriots linebackers coach Brian Flores wasn’t the only assistant coach dancing around questions about an impending step up the coaching ladder on Monday night.

Rams quarterbacks coach Zac Taylor is expected to be named the Bengals head coach after the Super Bowl, but NFL rules preclude him from acknowledging that in any way before he’s officially hired in Cincinnati. The elephant is in the room, though, and Taylor said from Atlanta on Monday night that is “not hard at all” to keep his focus on the task at hand with a big step up the ladder looming in the near future.

Taylor’s rise to a head coaching job has come while working for Sean McVay and talk about finding the next McVay was popular during this year’s head coaching searches. Taylor said that McVay’s best trait is his ability to make everyone feel valued and that extended to affording opportunities to climb the ladder.

“Sean has been great,” Taylor said, via Paul Dehner of the Cincinnati Enquirer. “It is something all coaches strive to do at some point in their career. The important thing is to not allow it to be a distraction. Sean has been very up front and honest if any coach on our staff has been put in that position to let us take our day to kind of handle all that business then put it to rest and move on … we have 24 hours to do what we need to do then have to refocus.”

Taylor has more than 24 hours to go before he will shift his focus to getting the Bengals back on track and he was adamant that the Rams will have all his attention until that point. (PFT)

 

he truly is his own worst enemy what a waste

 

Get ready for an outbreak of Overtrained Athlete Syndrome in Houston next year...

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2019/01/29/texans-hire-brian-cushing-as-assistant/

 

NFL to consider limited coaches’ challenges for judgment calls...



The NFL is expected to consider allowing limited coaches’ challenges for judgment calls, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. It would include a penalty or time run off if the coach is wrong to discourage abuse of the challenge.

The addendum is designed to get those against the use of coaches’ challenges for judgment calls on board, per Schefter.

This goes against what Competition Committee members John Elway and Stephen Jones have said publicly. Both expressed skepticism in allowing review of penalties.

But Sean Payton also is a member of the Competition Committee and is pushing for change. He said again Wednesday that he hopes the mistake in the NFC Championship Game leads to a rules fix.

Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman hit Saints receiver Tommylee Lewis before the ball arrived, with officials missing both the interference penalty and the hit on a defenseless receiver.

Officials did not penalize Robey-Coleman, but the league docked him $26,739 for an illegal hit.

The play and aftermath will take center stage this afternoon at Commissioner Roger Goodell’s state of the league address. (PFT)

 

Doug Plank would probably be arrested.

 

Give me a break there still complaining this talk of it being a tainted SB,should Saints SB victory in 2010 be a tainted win after the game with the Vikings in 2009

 

or the Brady tuck rule ? The game was 2 weeks ago. you lost. you got screwed. it sucks. it happens. it's over.

 

Since they're still beating it to death (constant coverage in Times-Picayune, Senator detailing the play and calling for Goodell to appear before Congress, "Blow Whistles Not Games" shirt at Pro Bowl, "Super Bowl LIE", SB boycott parades, etc, etc), I'll just throw something else out there for consideration.

You know how we like to say there's holding on pretty much every play? New Orleans got away with illegal hands to the face on the same play as the PI no-call, as Peat (#75 on the left side of the pic below) had grabbed Aaron Donald's face mask:





Funny how the distinguished Senator from Louisiana didn't bother to put this shot on any of the posters he displayed when making his seven minute long rant about that play on the Senate floor.

Missed calls works both ways. You really can't bitch about just the one that went against you without considering the other two that would have negated yours and would have helped the other team.

Five minutes on the game clock earlier, the Saints got away with a face mask that would have given L.A. first and goal at the one yard line. That missed call potentially cost the Rams four points - which would have forced the Saints to score a touchdown to retake the lead. And the missed PI call would have only made it offsetting penalties when paired with the missed hands to the face call, so the Saints would not have had a first down on that play.

The Times-Pic has never mentioned that the Saints might have gotten away with a no-call or two themselves. You won't see "Offsetting Penalties" on any of the billboards that New Orleans fans are renting near the SB site, and I'm guessing there won't be any Face Mask or Illegal Hands To The Face floats in any of their three (yes, three) Super Bowl Boycott parades.

 

The problem is people think there’s a way to get every penalty call/non call right. Ain’t gonna happen. They need to at least get the ridiculously obvious ones right.

A false start where someone started half a step early isn’t one that should be reviewed, one where the player took multiple steps should be.

Pass interference, to challenge a missed call would have to have clear visual evidence that the that the WR/DB had his path altered by the opposition or their arm being held to stop him from catching the ball. The ref should be able to view the Jumbotron to see if it warrants him going under the hood. The home team should be flagged for delay of game If the Jumbotron operator doesn’t promptly provide the instant replay every play.

No minor infractions can be reviewed. If a defender’s hand brushes over someone’s face mask, unreviewable, grabs the mask 100% reviewable.

Someone touches while blocking the opponent in the back, unreviewable, knocks the crap out of someone from behind, reviewable.

The coaches players need to understand minor crap happens on every play. Reviewable penalties are only the ones that are too ridiculous to not have been called.

 

I forgot about that one now that was really bad cause IMO it was a fumble

 

you didn't see the Raiders cry foul and want the game replay or the ref's decision overturned. they accepted it and moved on. the saints fans and players are waiting on a miracle that is never coming.