MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK

The Raiders are in line to start their third different quarterback of the season when they face the Falcons on Monday night.

Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that Desmond Ridder is expected to get the start. Aidan O’Connell is listed as questionable to play after hurting his knee last Sunday and he will work out before the game, but the current feeling is that Ridder will get the nod.

Carter Bradley is on the roster as a third quarterback.

The Raiders signed Ridder off of Arizona’s practice squad in October and he has appeared in four games in a reserve role. He is 28-of-44 for 239 yards and a touchdown in those appearances.

PFT

 

That haircut is a cry for help, but otherwise it did turn out to be a good display for Ridder in spite of the raw numbers. And he very nearly did end Atlanta's season - it came down to the final Hail Mary, which was intercepted.

Cousins was playing tentative, not being Captain Kirk. He looked like the second best QB on the field.

 

Id be curious what your personal assessment is regarding Cousins. Is he still sub-par from the achilleas or what? I really thought he'd compel that offense with all those A+ weapons into something good, but I cant figure out what went wrong.

Morris had his back throughout, but the tone Im detecting from him is he is quite concerned also.

 

What went wrong was they ain’t JJetts and Addison lol

 

Cousins himself openly said it before Morris did. Right after the end of the game Cousins told the sideline reporter that he needed to play better. Morris is saying it now as well, but he isn't talking about putting in Penix yet. According to other writers, some of the Falcons players are allegedly wishing he would make the switch, thinking that at this point Penix is already the better quarterback.

I don't think it's the Achilles, because about six weeks ago he was letting it rip far better than he is now. He seems more tentative, not always taking the shots that are there. I've heard that was an occasional issue with him in Minnesota as well, that he would suddenly get way too conservative with his target selection and would check down unnecessarily.

Watching the Raiders mishaps made me wonder how the two QBs would have done with the other teams. Ridder for Atlanta would have had mostly the same teammates as he actually did have here last season - better #2 and #3 WRs now, but otherwise the same cast. The big difference for him would have been Zac Robinson's play calling as opposed to Arthur Smith's scheme. Cousins playing behind that Las Vegas line? He'd be in the locker room (or perhaps already in an ambulance) before halftime.

Fun fact to put it in perspective: DeAngelo Malone had 2 sacks for the Falcons last night. He had 1 sack in his previous 45 career games.

 

IMO, Cousins would rather not compete with a rookie. I think he has the built in injury excuse and he is going to demand a trade this offseason. Kirk has always looked out for Kirk. Cousins will be 39 when his contract ends. If he wants one last hurrah, it probably needs to be in a different city to get it.

 

Even though the Falcons forked over billions it seems for Cousins, I cant blame Morris for at least trying something different with Penix. Cousins has thrown one touchdown pass and nine interceptions in the last five games. His passer rating landed under 80 in each one... so something happened prior to that stretch which is a mystery to me or it was just a matter of time because prior to that, Cousins 5 wins were all 1 score games. Isnt too much fun watching your Playoff hopes fly out a window, so now is the time to do anything possible to shake up this team.

 

I said it previously, but his arm simply does not have the pop it did early in the year, and he looks like a passer that no longer trusts that he can get the ball where he wants to.

 

And benched. After barely more than a dozen games

A train wreck of a FA signing for the Falcons, one that is going to be hard to get out from under in the shortish term.

You really have to hand it to Cousins, contractually he's played the league by their rules every step of the way and come out on top. Every. Single. Time.

Will be interesting to see what Pennix does. He's in one of the best spots he could be in to succeed imo and he gets a cupcake at home first up(no doubt played into the timing). Teams have been running all over the Giants this season, the Falcons can maul them with Bijan & Allgeier and ease Pennix in.

I mean its a QB driven league so never say never, but i dont know who would take on that contract. Cousins has looked seriously washed the last few weeks.

 

JUSTIN HERBERT - has no injurt designation for TNF...

GENO SMITH - practices today... “Geno feels good,” Macdonald said, via Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. “We’ll see how many reps [he gets]. We have a plan for practice, we’ll see how it kind of alters his practice reps, but he’ll be out there for a significant capacity today. We’ll see how many reps he takes.”

PATRICK MAHOMES - full practice, ankle be damned... Quarterback Patrick Mahomes continues to trend toward playing in Saturday’s game against the Texans.
For the second consecutive practice, Mahomes was a full participant despite suffering an ankle sprain during last Sunday’s win over the Browns.

With Mahomes practicing fully for the first two days of the week, it appears that barring a setback, he will be on the field to start in Week 16.

 

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts remained a full participant at practice despite a fractured left ring finger.

Hurts wore a splint on his left hand, covered by a glove, during Sunday’s win over the Steelers. He claimed it affected his performance despite completing 25 of 32 passes for 290 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 45 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries, though he did lose a fumble on a strip-sack by T.J. Watt.

The Eagles listed Hurts on the injury report last week as a full participant all week with his injury.

 

Thats funny right there... you'd think it was broke. He needs to incorporate some props, like a stretcher or something.

 

Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow was listed as a limited participant in Wednesday’s practice.

Burrow is dealing with a knee injury in addition to the right wrist issue he’s dealt with all year.

But with Burrow addressing the media on Wednesday, it doesn’t appear it’s going to keep the quarterback off of the field for Sunday’s game against the Browns.

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Joe has quietly put together a really good season.

 

Titans benching Will Levis: Where Tennessee goes from here with team reportedly making QB switch for Week 16

For the Tennessee Titans, one of the main objectives of the 2024 season was to evaluate second-year signal-caller Will Levis. That evaluation may be complete, as the Titans are planning to make a switch at quarterback ahead of Week 16, per ESPN. Mason Rudolph is the likely candidate to replace Levis as the starter for the remaining three games of the regular season.

This comes after Levis was benched for Rudolph in the third quarter of Tennessee's 37-27 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. The Titans' former starting quarterback completed 8 of 12 passes for 89 yards, three interceptions and one fumble lost before being pulled. One of those interceptions was returned for a touchdown -- a common sight for Titans fans. Levis leads the NFL in pick-sixes with four. No other quarterback in Titans/Oilers history has thrown four pick-sixes in a season.

Levis has completed 63.7% of his passes for 1,916 yards, 12 touchdowns and 12 interceptions this season. Turnovers have defined his 2024 campaign, as Levis racked up 17 total giveaways -- second only to Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins. For reference, there are 15 NFL teams that have yet to commit 17 turnovers.

Titans head coach Brian Callahan had long stood by Levis, but the unfortunate truth is that his unit ranks bottom five in the league in both total offense (301 yards allowed per game) and scoring (18.1 points per game). Levis was viewed as a reason for optimism in Tennessee entering this season. He threw four touchdowns in his first NFL start last year in an upset victory over the Falcons, and overcame a double-digit deficit in the final minutes against the Miami Dolphins on the road in what was one of the most improbable comebacks in NFL history. Callahan, who came to the Music City after spending the past five years as the offensive coordinator for the Bengals, even said Levis was one of the reasons he wanted this job.

CBS

 

Losing 'really affects me,' says Bears QB Caleb Williams

"Losing is one of those things that really affects me," Williams said. "It's tough. But I do have the understanding of where I'm at in my career and where I'll be at. Having that [understanding] is important for me, myself internally, because internally it's tough. Internally, when tough times happen, just human nature is to do the opposite of what you're doing or what you've been doing and all these different things. The toughest part is fighting yourself, especially when there's tough times."

During tough stretches, Williams said he writes down specific things he plans to work on in the offseason, a list that currently has "five to eight" items he will focus on at the culmination of his rookie season.

"I would say all from pre-snap stuff to even post-snap, whether it's footwork, whether it's pre-snap and recognizing what they're in, if they rotate to here, how fast can I get to this, how fast can I get to that route, this alert, that alert," he said. "So, I got a good amount of stuff that I'm planning on going over."

The quarterback has also relied on positive self-talk to stave off the discouragement that comes with each loss.

"This is going to sound crazy, but you talk to yourself, to be honest," Williams said. "You motivate yourself, you encourage yourself. You have positive affirmations, is the word, that you say to yourself. With that, it makes the days better, it makes when you're going through a tough patch, it makes those days a little bit easier rather than pulling yourself down, telling yourself you're this and that.

"Like I said, it sounds kind of crazy, but I tell myself certain things: 'I am great. I will be great.' All these different things. So, I think that's one of the biggest things, is not pulling yourself down and being gracious with yourself."

One of Williams' main frustrations has been his accuracy issues. The rookie has been off-target on 21.4% of throws this season, which ranks 32nd out of 34 qualified QBs (Anthony Richardson, 25.5% and Bryce Young, 22.8%).

"It's frustrating," Williams said. "I hate missing passes, especially ones that I've been pretty consistent on for a good amount of time. That's coming. The progress has, over this football season, it's been growing for myself and things like that of routes and combinations of routes put together and seeing all these different defenses and throwing all these footworks together. The progress has been on a steady trend upwards, but I would say it is pretty frustrating on missing some of these passes that I've missed."

Williams is also the most sacked quarterback (58) through 15 weeks of the season. During "Monday Night Football," cameras captured the quarterback in visible pain on Chicago's bench after being hit three times and sacked twice.

ESPN (in part)

 

Jalen Hurts is in concussion protocol; Kenny Pickett undergoes X-ray on ribs

The Eagles are hurting at quarterback as they seek to clinch the NFC East.

Eagles coach Nick Sirianni offered no updates on Jalen Hurts (concussion) and Kenny Pickett (ribs) in Monday’s news conference.

Hurts will have to go through the league’s concussion protocol this week, so there is no way to tell whether he will clear it in time to play against the Cowboys on Sunday.

“When that happens, we just lean on the doctors to let us know on a daily basis where he is,” Sirianni said, via the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Pickett had X-rays after Sunday’s loss to the Commanders, which kept the Eagles from clinching the division title.

Tanner McKee is the only other quarterback on the roster.

PFT