NFL - NEWS & NOTES

There was a player that was fined more than Rodgers was fined for having an untucked jersey during a game.

 

This guy should immediately be removed from the association and never allowed to step on a NFL game field again.

 

I thought he would be reprimanded in some fashion but instead the NFL is backing him up.

I don't see how anyone could watch that and not come away with the opinion that deliberate, unnecessary contact was made.

 

He had made up his mind as he was approaching him. Instead of bracing himself, he stepped backwards into him.

Unless there is a clause that you must not breathe the air of the referees that I don't know about, this contact is DEFINITELY on the referee and not the player. Inexcusable.

 

DeSean Jackson says Raiders were perfect fit



DeSean Jackson said the Las Vegas Raiders provided what he was looking for in a new team after asking for a trade from the Los Angeles Rams before an eventual release last week.

“The Raiders matched perfect,” Jackson said, via Vic Tafur of TheAthletic.com.


So what made the Raiders the right landing spot for Jackson? He said that a confidence in Derek Carr to give him chances downfield were a part of that equation and it’s an ability he saw in Carr watching Nelson Agholor last year.

“(Agholor) had a lot of success here and just seeing that vertical threat, and having a quarterback that can get the ball down the field is huge,” Jackson said. “I had other options but I was very confident in Carr’s ability to get the ball down the field.”

Jackson had just eight catches in seven games played for the Rams. However, those eight catches went for 221 yards and a touchdown. He’s still got an ability to stretch a defense even if he isn’t the consistent threat he was earlier in his career. Jackson isn’t looking for a substantially increased role with the Raiders but wants to fill the role they need after the departure of Henry Ruggs III because of a fatal car accident earlier this month.

“I will do whatever it is I am asked to do,” Jackson said. “Coming in midway through the season … unfortunately the situation with Ruggs, it kind of just … I am not saying I am filling that role, but just trying to be the spark that I have been my whole career. You know, deep threat, vertical threat and (forcing) a defense to have to account for that.

“If it’s being a decoy and opening things up for (Darren) Waller or Hunter (Renfrow), whatever I need to do to be a spark is what I am here for. … I’m not asking to get the ball 100 times.”

PFT

 

Fined more than Aaron Rodgers for uniform violations, CeeDee Lamb is confused



The NFL fined Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers $14,650 for violations of the COVID-19 protocols for unvaccinated players. The NFL fined Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb $15,450 for his most recent uniform violation.

Lamb is confused, too.


“Annoy me? Nah. Confuse me a lot? Very much so yes,” Lamb said when asked about Rodgers’ fines. “I just don’t understand why I’m always the one getting fined for some reason. Untucked jersey. I don’t know.”

He lost $5,150 for a first infraction of the league’s ticky-tacky uniform rules after the Eagles game in Week 3. Lamb didn’t have his jersey tucked into his game pants. After the Week 4 game, Lamb saw his paycheck dockeed $15,450 for a second violation.

The NFL also fined him $10,300 for waving at Patriots cornerback Jalen Mills after Lamb’s game-winning touchdown catch in overtime in Week 6.

Teammate Amari Cooper recently questioned whether Lamb likes money.

“I would say that too just considering all the money I’ve been giving up at that time, six games, six weeks in a row, just consistently getting fined,” Lamb said Wednesday, via Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News. “I would kind of think the same thing, but I do love money. For those that don’t know, I do like money. It’s kind of just critiquing myself a lot more on what they’re expecting and be better.”

Lamb said the league has not fined him the past two weeks. A third infraction for not having a jersey tucked in will cost Lamb $46,350.

He doesn’t understand the rules.

“Like I don’t know what I need to do honestly. I just know for sure I’m more conscious of it,” Lamb said. “Whenever . . . post tackle or anything, I guess I got to look down, pull my jersey down. Stuff like that. It’s weird. It’s very weird, considering the next time I get caught with my jersey untucked, I heard I get fined like $50,000 or something. That’s weird.”

Lamb was fined by the league for taunting Mills, but even that was perplexing because the NFL tweeted a video of his wave on its social media account. The caption read: CEEDEE SAID CEE-YA. The tweet later was deleted.

“They tweeted and deleted it, and after that I got fined,” Lamb said. “So there’s that. A week after, I did see a couple of people waving, but I’m not going to get into that.”

To top it off, Lamb complained that safety Harrison Smith choked him during the Cowboys’ win over Minnesota in Week 8. Harrison avoided a fine because the NFL said it appeared Smith’s thumb accidentally got caught in Lamb’s chin strap.

Lamb expressed surprise that Smith got off without being penalized or fined.

“Yes, considering I got fined, what was that for waving?” Lamb said. “I don’t know. It was something crazy and then for me to get choked on the sideline and the ref said his thumb was stuck in my helmet. That’s crazy. That’s nonsense.”

PFT

 

Report: Ravens expect Sammy Watkins to play against Dolphins



Wide receiver Sammy Watkins is officially questionable to play Thursday night against the Miami Dolphins. However, the Ravens are anticipating Watkins will be in uniform for the game, according to Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com.

Watkins is expected to play against Miami after missing the last three games due to a thigh injury.


Watkins was a full participant in practice for Baltimore on Wednesday.

If Watkins does play, it will be the first time all season that Lamar Jackson has had his top three wide receivers active for a game. Rashod Bateman missed the first five games of the season on injured reserve due to a groin injury while Watkins has missed the last three.

Watkins has 18 catches for 292 yards in his five games played for Baltimore this season.

PFT

 

Ravens-Dolphins Preview


MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) The previous time Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson came back to play in his native South Florida, he put on an absolute show.

Miami can only hope this trip goes differently.

It's a big weekend for Jackson, who gets his number retired at Louisville on Saturday - but first, he'll be leading the Ravens against the Dolphins on Thursday night. Jackson grew up in a poor neighborhood about a half-hour north of Hard Rock Stadium, and like many others who found their way from the Miami area to the NFL, he said coming home to play the Dolphins is of enormous personal significance.

''We know what we've faced down there,'' Jackson said. ''We know what we've seen. We know how it is down there. We like to put on for where we come from and let other guys and little kids see us and have them wanting to do the same things we're doing in a positive way.''

Jackson is chasing something that no quarterback has done in a long time. He's currently ninth in the NFL in passing yards, sixth in rushing yards. No player has been in the top 10 of both categories for a single season since Randall Cunningham - sixth in passing, ninth in rushing - did with Philadelphia in 1990. Before that, it was Bobby Layne - third in passing, ninth in rushing - with Detroit in 1952.

''He's dynamic, explosive,'' Dolphins coach Brian Flores said. ''There are a lot of words like that you can use to describe Lamar.''

On Sept. 8, 2019, they were probably bad words.

Ravens 59, Dolphins 10 was the final score that day, the first game of Flores' tenure in Miami ending with a resounding thud. Jackson had a perfect passer rating, the Ravens ran out to a 42-10 lead at halftime and stayed on cruise control from there.

It was a one-sided game, and for the past few years, it's been a one-sided rivalry. Baltimore won by 32 in 2016, 40 in 2017 and then 49 in 2019. No other current NFL team has ever lost three games in a row to the same opponent by at least 32 points.

''I tried to not remember much from it,'' Miami tight end Mike Gesicki said when asked what he remembers about 2019.

A win would ensure Baltimore (6-2) stays at least one game clear of the pack in the AFC North with Pittsburgh (5-3), Cleveland (5-4) and Cincinnati (5-4). That division is one of two where all four teams have winning records to this point; the AFC West - where two 5-3 teams are leading two 5-4 teams - is the other.

A win would also give Jackson another happy homecoming.

''Any time you play in the NFL, it's a great place to play football, no matter where you're at,'' said Ravens defensive end Calais Campbell, a former University of Miami standout. ''But when you play in places that you have some history, some friends, it adds a little extra.''

CLOSE THURSDAYS

The NFL has already seen a historic number of close Thursday games in 2021. Of the nine Thursday games played so far, five have been decided by three points or fewer. That's the most such games in a single season in league history. There were four games decided by three or fewer points on Thursdays in many other seasons, most recently 2019 and 2016. In all, seven of the nine Thursday games this season were single-digit affairs; the exceptions were Carolina's 15-point win over Houston in Week 3, and Indianapolis' 15-point win over the New York Jets last week.

BIG PLAYS WANTED

Baltimore and Miami are the only two teams in the NFL without a 50-yard play this season. The Ravens' longest pass play this season has gone for 49 yards, done twice (Jackson to Marquise Brown in Week 4 against Denver, and Jackson to Sammy Watkins in Week 1 against Las Vegas). Baltimore's longest run so far is a 35-yarder by Ty'Son Williams against the Raiders.

Miami's long play in 2021 is a 42-yard pass from Jacoby Brissett to DeVante Parker against Indianapolis in Week 4. The Dolphins' long run was a 24-yarder by Malcolm Brown against the Raiders in Week 3.

IMPROVEMENT TREND

Last weekend's win over Houston continued a trend of success in the season's second half for the Dolphins under Flores. Midway through his third season, Miami is 4-17 in games played in September and October; that's the second-worst record in that span in the NFL, ahead of only the Jets (3-18). But the Dolphins are 13-7 in games played in November, December and January - the seventh-best record in the NFL over those months.

BALTIMORE BLOWOUTS

The Ravens are one of two franchises with three wins of at least 32 points over the Dolphins. Kansas City is the other.

Technically, a team from Baltimore has topped Miami by such a lopsided margin four times - the Baltimore Colts beat the Dolphins 35-0 on Nov. 1, 1970. That game was notable because it was the first time a new Miami coach named Don Shula coached against his former club.

TIES THAT BIND

Baltimore has four players with deep ties to South Florida. Jackson, Brown and RB Devonta Freeman are all Miami-area natives, and Campbell played his college ball at Miami. That doesn't even include Watkins, who grew up about two hours away in Fort Myers.

 

Clyde Edwards-Helaire designated for return from IR



The Chiefs may be adding wide receiver Odell Beckham to their offense around the same time that they get another key member of their offense back from an injury.

Running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire has been designated for return from injured reserve. He was on the practice field Wednesday and can be activated at any point in the next three weeks.


Edwards-Helaire has missed the last four weeks with a sprained MCL. He hit 100 rushing yards in the last two full games he played and the Chiefs have met that total as a team in two of the four games they’ve played without him. He has 65 carries for 304 yards on the season.

The Chiefs emerged as a leading contender for Beckham’s services on Wednesday, although nothing has been signed and Beckham may have designs on taking a little longer before making any decision about his football future.

PFT

 

Cowboys DE Randy Gregory to miss multiple weeks after injuring calf in practice

Dallas' banged-up pass-rushing unit has sustained another significant blow.

Cowboys defensive end Randy Gregory injured his calf during the team's Wednesday practice and is set to miss multiple weeks, according to coach Mike McCarthy. Injured reserve remains a possibility for Gregory, per McCarthy.

Dallas is already playing without premier rusher Demarcus Lawrence, who appeared in just one game (the Cowboys' Week 1 loss to the Buccaneers) before heading to injured reserve with a foot injury. Lawrence underwent surgery on the injured foot and has since been rehabbing the injury.

The Cowboys have managed to still get effective pass-rushing from its defense thanks to the performance of Gregory, who has recorded five sacks in 2021 and 29 quarterback pressures on just 177 pass-rushing snaps, good for a QB pressure rate of 16.4 percent, per Next Gen Stats. Tarell Basham has played in place of Lawrence, recording 13 pressures and one sack on 167 pass-rushing snaps.

Dallas could potentially move rookie linebacker Micah Parsons to an edge-rushing role to replace some of the production generated by Gregory, although there's a legitimate question of whether that would be best utilizing the standout defender. Parsons has proven to be a sideline-to-sideline defender capable of making plays on every down, though he's also been a very effective pass-rusher, matching Gregory's sack total and currently standing at 22 QB pressures despite only playing 118 pass-rushing snaps.

As they have with Dak Prescott, the Cowboys will again look internally to address a key injury with the hopes they can continue forward as the NFC East leaders.

NFL.com

 

James Robinson back on the practice field



The Jaguars won last Sunday without running back James Robinson, but they’d prefer to have him on hand as they try for their third win of the season against the Colts this week.

Thursday brought some good news on that front. Robinson was on the field with the rest of the team for practice.


Robinson did get in a limited practice last Friday before being ruled out of the matchup with the Bills due to a heel injury. Getting two days of work in this week would likely be a good sign for his availability on Sunday.

Quarterback Trevor Lawrence is practicing again on Thursday. He hurt his ankle in the win over Buffalo, but was a limited participant on Wednesday and appears to be on track to play.

PFT

Linebacker Myles Jack remained out of practice. He’s dealing with a knee injury.

 

Odell Beckham a Ram. I don’t think this is a fit for him.

 

Ravens fans must really feel bad,the Dolphins beat them and the refs.

 

Agree this feels like a ring grab and not him looking for the best team for him.

How bad was that second roughing call? While the first one was text book video for what a defender should not do the second one should be used to train refs what is not roughing the passer.

 

Thursday Night Football: Big defensive night for Dolphins in 22-10 win over Ravens



A 49-yard fumble return touchdown by cornerback Xavien Howard was the exclamation point on a standout effort from the defense of the Miami Dolphins in a 22-10 victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night.

Howard stripped Ravens wide receiver Sammy Watkins and picked up the loose ball, zigging his way through the Baltimore offense for the highlight of Miami’s night.


The Dolphins held Baltimore to just 10 points and sacked Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson four times on the night. The Ravens had managed just 153 yards of total offense through three quarters until they were playing from behind late. Baltimore scored on their opening drive of the game on a 46-yard Justin Tucker field goal and would not score again until 4:12 left in the game.

The Dolphins started the night with Jacoby Brissett at quarterback before a knee injury sidelined him early in the third quarter. Tua Tagovailoa, who was in the backup role only Thursday night because of a fractured finger, was forced into the lineup because of the injury to Brissett. But whether it was Brissett or Tagovailoa at the helm, the Dolphins offense was unable to provide much support on the scoreboard until late.

Three times on the night, the Dolphins moved the ball inside the Baltimore 5-yard line only for drives to stall. The only Dolphins offensive player to find the end zone in the first 57 minutes of action was right guard Robert Hunt, who caught a screen pass from Tagovailoa intended for Myles Gaskin and rumbled for a 6-yar score. However, Hunt was an ineligible receiver and the score would not count.

Jason Sanders converted field goal tries from 31, 22 and 29 yards as the Dolphins grabbed a 9-3 lead with 12:34 left to play.

The Howard touchdown gave the Dolphins a 15-3 lead after a failed two-point conversion attempt. Baltimore would finally find the end zone with just over four minutes left to play when Jackson hit Mark Andrews for a 5-yard touchdown. The Ravens were the beneficiaries of 35 yards in penalties on the drive with two roughing the passer penalties and a defensive holding call helping the efforts.

A 65-yard completion from Tagovailoa to Albert Wilson on a busted coverage from Baltimore was the catalyst for Miami to ice the game away. The fourth time proved to be the charm for the Dolphins offense inside the Ravens’ 5-yard line as Tagovailoa scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak to seal the victory for Miami.

Justin Coleman intercepted Jackson in the end zone with 43 seconds left to cap the defensive effort for Miami.

Tagovailoa finished the night completing 8 of 13 passes for 158 yards and his 1-yard touchdown run. Brissett had completed 11 of 23 passes for 156 yards before exiting the game on the opening drive of the third quarter.

Jackson completed 26 of 43 passes for 238 yards with a touchdown and an interception for Baltimore.

PFT

 

The Rams’ receiving corps has taken a major blow.

Robert Woods suffered a torn ACL during Friday’s practice, according to multiple reports.


Woods apparently hurt his knee during the session but was able to finish practice. It wasn’t until after practice that tests were run and the full extent of the injury was discovered. That’s likely why Woods did not appear on the team’s Friday injury report.

Already with a thin receiving group, Los Angeles had just signed Odell Beckham Jr. Now the club will likely have to accelerate the process of getting Beckham involved. Aside from Beckham and star receiver Cooper Kupp, the Rams currently have Van Jefferson, Ben Skowronek, and J.J. Koski on their roster.

Woods has been with the Rams since signing as a free agent in 2017. This season, he recorded 45 receptions for 556 yards with four touchdowns. He also took eight carries for 46 yards with a TD.

Originally a Bills second-round pick in 2013, Woods has caught 570 passes for 7,077 yards with 35 touchdowns in his nine seasons.

The Rams play the 49ers on Monday night.

PFT

 

Titans put Julio Jones on injured reserve



It’s been a rough first season with the Titans for Julio Jones, and it’s not getting any better.

Jones was placed on injured reserve today with a hamstring injury. He’ll have to miss at least the next three games.


The 32-year-old Jones has already missed three games this year and hasn’t been the same kind of player he used to be when he is playing. Jones is averaging a career-low 56 receiving yards per game.

The Titans also put safety Dane Cruikshank on injured reserve, activated cornerback Kristian Fulton from injured reserve, signed receiver Dez Fitzpatrick from the practice squad to the active roster and elevated linebacker Dylan Cole and defensive lineman Kyle Peko from the practice squad to the active roster.

PFT

 

Nooooo yet another fantasy blow.

 

Now they have doubled down Marsh was fined by the nfl

 

Denzel Perryman fined $55,000 for hit on Jalen Hurts



Raiders linebacker Denzel Perryman was hit with what is believed to be the biggest fine of this NFL season for a hit on Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts.

The NFL fined Perryman $55,000 for unnecessary roughness/use of helmet on Hurts in Week 7, according to ESPN.


The hit in question did not draw a penalty flag at the time, and the fine wasn’t reported at the time. The NFL does not announce all fines but will answer reporters’ specific questions about whether a player was fined. That Perryman’s fine hadn’t previously been reported indicates that none of the reporters who watched the game thought Perryman’s hit was extraordinary enough to ask about — let alone that it would lead to the biggest fine of the year.

It is possible that the NFL hit Perryman harder than usual because he is a repeat offender. It is unclear how many times Perryman has been fined in the past. Perryman is appealing this fine.

Perryman makes a base salary of $990,000, so his fine is the equivalent of one game check.

PFT