NFL - NEWS & NOTES

Mitchell Trubisky wants Bears' offense to 'open it up a little bit' vs. Saints

Mitchell Trubisky wants to fight fire with fire Sunday afternoon against the New Orleans Saints.

Heading into the postseason matchup, the Chicago Bears quarterback said the offense needs to stack points against an excellent defense to put pressure on the Saints.

"I think we definitely need to open it up a little bit," Trubisky said, via the Chicago Sun-Times. "As far as staying aggressive, I like going for it on fourth down. That's just a mindset, but I think, more importantly, we've got to score more touchdowns in the red zone. ...

"Our special-teams unit is doing incredible, and we gotta keep that going. But we gotta help our team and put our defense in better positions by finishing with touchdowns. That just makes you a better offense and better team, so I think that's the main improvement we want to see this week."

In the Week 17 loss to Green Bay, the Bears converted five of six fourth-down attempts as they sustained long drives that ate up clock and kept Aaron Rodgers on the sideline. Yet, Chicago stalled time after time in the red zone (1/5), leading to the blowout loss.

In the past few weeks, Matt Nagy has handled Trubisky with care -- not unlike how we've seen play-calling from Sean McVay with Jared Goff or Kyle Shanahan with Jimmy Garoppolo -- giving the QB quick reads, mostly short tosses, putting him on the move, and playing dink-and-dunk instead of home-run ball. Getting the ball out quicker lessens the tight-window throws for the QB.

Trubisky in Weeks 1-3: 2.9 Time to throw; 10.2 air yards per attempt; 2.6 average target separation; 22.6 pressure rate.


Trubisky in Weeks 12-17: 2.56 Time to throw; 7.0 air yards per attempt; 3.4 average target separation; 14.0 pressure rate.

Nagy has called play-action for Trubisky at a 35.2 percent rate, highest in the NFL, per Next Gen Stats. Expect it to continue Sunday. The Saints allowed 11 TDs on play-action passes this season (T-6th most in NFL) and allow a 100.6 passer rating with it compared to 77.8 without play-action.

In the Bears' meeting against the Saints earlier this season, with Nick Foles at the helm, Chicago did take some shots, with 10 of 41 attempts generating 10-plus air yards -- including 3 of 4 on 20-plus yard attempts, per NGS.

While Trubisky might want Nagy to call more shots Sunday, the coach will have to pick his spots -- and they should almost certainly come off play-action. Trubisky has the lowest completion percentage (32.4 percent) and averages the fewest yards per attempt (3.1) under pressure in 2020. The Saints pressure the opposing QB on 31.2 percent of dropbacks (second-highest rate in NFL) and have allowed the second-lowest completion percent (39.2) and passer rating (51.1) to quarterbacks under pressure this season.

Trubisky believes the underdog Bears have nothing to fear in facing the NFC South Champs Sunday.

"We got nothing to lose," Trubisky said, per the team’s official website. "We know everybody is overlooking us. They have the back half of the season. I think we've been just playing with that edge, that chip on our shoulder. We don't have anything to lose. We should go out there and play free."

The Bears-Saints wild-card game kicks off Sunday at 4:40 p.m. ET and can be viewed on CBS, Nickelodeon, Amazon Prime Video, CBS All Access.

NFL.com

 

Bears defense needs to really step up the pressure on Brees. Brees has had the least amount of pressure and blitz's on him in the entire NFL... make him hurry and think twice.

 

Offensive player of the year: Derrick Henry



While the MVP award has become a quarterback award, the Offensive Player of the Year has become the best running back or receiver of the year.

Titans running back Derrick Henry clearly was that player this year.

He iced the award in the Week 17 game against the Texans with 34 carries for 250 yards and two touchdowns, carrying the Titans on his back to the AFC South title.

Henry beat out Packers receiver Davante Adams, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and Saints running back Alvin Kamara for the award.

Henry rushed for 2,027 yards for the season, the fifth-most in NFL history. Eric Dickerson was worried the Titans’ game against the Texans would go to overtime, giving Henry a chance to top the record 2,105 yards Dickerson rushed for during the 1984 season.

Henry won the rushing title for the second consecutive year, rushing for 470 more yards than Vikings running back Dalvin Cook.

Now, the Ravens are tasked with stopping Henry yet again. He rushed for 195 yards on 30 carries against them in the postseason a year ago and had 28 carries for 133 yards and the game-winning, 29-yard touchdown run in overtime in Week 11 this season.

In the three postseason games last year, Henry had 83 carries for 446 yards and two touchdowns.

The Titans are going to ask Henry to carry them again this postseason.

NBC

 

The Browns play their first playoff game since 2002 in three days. The game remains on, but the NFL surely is holding its breath after two more Browns players — safety Ronnie Harrison and practice squad linebacker Montrel Meander — went on the COVID-19 reserve list Thursday.

The league has maintained it will not reschedule any game, including a postseason game, for competitive reasons, only medical. However, Dr. Allen Sills, the NFL’s chief medical officer, raised a red flag with his comments Thursday afternoon.

“There was some spread from one individual to another,” Sills said of the Browns on NFL Network.

The Browns’ positive COVID-19 tests previously were considered community spread, which is less concerning than an outbreak within the team facility.

The Browns have seven players from the 53-player roster on the COVID-19 reserve list and two others from the practice squad on it. They also have had coaches, including head coach Kevin Stefanski, test positive.

The team facility is closed with contact tracing ongoing. The Browns will find out later Thursday whether they will be allowed to practice.

Baker Mayfield revealed during his conference call earlier in the day that he has yet to throw a football this week.

NBC

 

JuJu Smith-Schuster: “The Browns is the Browns”



JuJu Smith-Schuster is no longer literally dancing on the opponents’ logo. He did so figuratively on Thursday.

“I think they’re still the same Browns teams I play every year,” the Steelers receiver said Wednesday, via Tom Withers of the Associated Press. “I think they’re nameless gray faces. They have a couple good players on their team, but at the end of the day, I don’t know. The Browns is the Browns.”

Yes. And the Bengals was the Bengals. But the Bengals, stirred by Smith-Schuster’s pre-game dance, managed to beat the Steelers on a Monday night last month.

The Browns have plenty of issues to deal with, so many that an actual or perceived diss by Smith-Schuster may not make a difference. Regardless, there’s no reason to throw gasoline in the general direction of a fire, no matter how small it may be.

NBC
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lol... JuJu keeps this up and somebody is going to go all Dick Butkus on him!

 

Tomorrow its on! Triple-Header time...

 

Coach of the year: Kevin Stefanski



Compelling arguments can be made this year in favor of many NFL head coaches for the official coach of the year award, for two reasons. First, there were many very good NFL head coaches this year. Second, the standard for this award continues to be very loose and vague.

What does it mean to be coach of the year? From 2001 through 2018, Bill Belichick could have been coach of the year almost every year. The rough understanding seems to be that the award goes to the coach whose team most exceeds it generally accepted expectations for the year.

Under that standard, which we’ll borrow for our own coach of the year award, Browns coach Kevin Stefanski deserves to be the PFT coach of the year. Without the benefit of an offseason program or preseason games, Stefanski gradually, deliberately, and inevitably crafted a winning program from a team that grossly underachieved in 2019. The effort started simply by winning the games that they should. It culminated in winning multiple games that they should have lost, first against the Colt and most notably against Titans.

Stefanski fixed the various flaws in quarterback Baker Mayfield‘s game. When the Browns lost receiver Odell Beckham, Jr. for the season, the Browns (after initially struggling against the Raiders without OBJ) didn’t miss a beat. And they took full advantage of their bye week to address flaws, to focus on strengths, and to keep pushing toward a grossly unexpected 11-5 record in one of the toughest divisions in football.

The latter days of the season have been marred by COVID-19 infections that began as community spread and became a full-blown outbreak. Stefanski won’t be available for the playoff game, which undoubtedly will prove his value to the team.

He’ll continue to prove his value in the coming years. This isn’t an aberration or a blip on the radar screen. This is the arrival of the Browns as a force to be reckoned with. They should improve, not regress, in 2021 and beyond.

Others who merit consideration for the award include, most notably, Packers coach Matt LaFleur. He walked two years ago into a jambalaya of dysfunction and he has steered the team toward consecutive 13-3 records. He won’t get the votes that he should for the official award, because we’ve already come to expect LaFluer to thrive.

Ditto for Bills coach Sean McDermott, who has turned the Bills into, currently, the best team in the NFL. A playoff berth was presumed and a division title was likely. The ascension to dominance was not. McDermott deserves credit for that.

Others who did much better than the expectations would have suggested include Saints coach Sean Payton, Dolphins coach Brian Flores, and Chiefs coach Andy Reid, whose team consistently faced the best that every opponent had to offer — and consistently won.

In the end, there can only be one winner, however. In a year with several impressive coaching performances, Stefanski stands out.

NBC

 

Browns will practice on Friday afternoon



The Browns will be able to practice on Friday.

The team’s facility remained closed on Friday morning as the team waited for the latest round of COVID-19 testing results, but multiple reports say that the team has been cleared to get on the field for the first time this week. The practice is scheduled to take place at 4:30 p.m. ET.

According to reports, assistant offensive coach Scott Peters tested positive. He was already isolated from the team as a high-risk close contact.

Acting head coach Mike Priefer will run the practice. Head coach Kevin Stefanski tested positive on Tuesday, which was the first of three days that the Browns kept their facility closed. They have held virtual walkthroughs the last two days.

Stefanski will not be back for Sunday night’s game in Pittsburgh. Left guard Joel Bitonio, tight end Harrison Bryant, safety Ronnie Harrison, wide receiver KhaDarel Hodge, cornerback Kevin Johnson, linebacker Malcolm Smith, and cornerback Denzel Ward remain on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

UPDATE 2:44 p.m. ET: Safety Jovante Moffatt was added to the reserve/COVID-19 list on Friday afternoon. It’s not known if he tested positive or was a close contact of someone who did.

NBC

 

Trey Hendrickson out for Saints on Sunday



The Saints will be without their sack leader against the Bears on Sunday.

Defensive end Trey Hendrickson has been ruled out of the game. Hendrickson has a neck injury and went from limited participation on Wednesday to being out of practice Thursday. He remained on the sideline for Friday’s session.

Hendrickson also missed Week 16 because of his neck, but returned to play last weekend and had a sack. He finished the year with 13.5 sacks and 25 quarterback hits.

Guard Nick Easton is the only other player with an injury designation. He will not play because of a concussion.

Wide receiver Michael Thomas remains on injured reserve, so he is not on the team’s injury report. He must be activated by Saturday afternoon in order to play in the game.

NBC

 

Friday's NFL injury and roster news ahead of Super Wild Card Weekend

Despite not practicing all week, it appears Roquan Smith has a chance to play Sunday afternoon in New Orleans.

The Chicago Bears linebacker is questionable to play against the Saints on Super Wild Card Weekend after missing practice this week with an elbow injury.

Also questionable to play are receiver Darnell Mooney (ankle), defensive back Jaylon Johnson (shoulder) and linebacker Josh Woods (toe/glute). Defensive back Buster Skrine (concussion) will not play.

Receiver Allen Robinson, who did not practice Thursday, was limited Friday with a hamstring injury. He has no injury designation for Sunday's game.

Here are the other injury and roster newswe're tracking Friday ahead of Super Wild Card Weekend:

• Seattle Seahawks running back Rashaad Penny (knee) was added to the injury report Friday and is not questionable to play against the Rams on Saturday.
• The Los Angeles Rams activated defensive tackle Michael Brockers from the reserve/COVID-19 list.
• Washington elevated receiver Dontrelle Inman to the active roster from the practice squad.
• The New Orleans Saints ruled out defensive end Trey Hendrickson (neck) and guard Nick Easton (concussion) vs. the Bears.
• Cleveland Browns right tackle Jack Conklin (illness) will not practice Friday. Receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones cleared concussion protocol and will practice. The Browns placed safety Jovante Moffatt on the reserve/COVID-19 list and activated center Javon Patterson from the practice squad/COVID-19 list.
• The Indianapolis Colts elevated running back Darius Anderson to the active roster from the practice squad as a COVID-19 replacement and elevated tackle Jared Veldheer to the active roster from the practice squad.

NFL.com

 

Matt Stafford is the guy Im hoping for.


Stafford to the Pats ???.........No Way Matty

 

More points and touchdowns were scored in 2020 than in any season in NFL history.

Over the league’s 256 regular-season games, teams scored 12,692 total points and 1,473 touchdowns, both new NFL records. The previous record for points was 11,985, set in 2013, and the previous record for touchdowns was 1,371, set in 2018.

Far more games are played in 21st Century seasons than were played in 20th Century seasons, but scoring per game was also at a record high. The average team scored 24.8 points a game in 2020, well ahead of the previous record pace of 23.6 points a game, set in 1948.

Never before in NFL history had more than three teams averaged 30 points a game, but this year five teams did it: Green Bay (31.8), Buffalo (31.3), Tampa Bay (30.8), Tennessee (30.7) and New Orleans (30.1).

The NFL has consistently promoted offense with its rules and its enforcement of those rules, and the result is more points scored in 2020 than ever before. And the nine highest-scoring teams all made the playoffs, so we’re probably in for a high-scoring postseason.

NBC

 

Taylor eating up yardage.

 

damn nice catch by Diggs.

 

It just dawned on me . . .

Why are the Seahawks playing the Rams in Los Angeles? Didn't the Seahawks win the NFC West?

 

Its in Seattle as far as I know.

 

10-7, Colts... 2nd Quarter

 

Oh my... Colts came to play!

 

BIG goal-line stand by the Bills, still, 10-7 Colts... late first half.

 

The end zones say Los Angeles and the Rams logo is on the 50 yard line.