NFL - NEWS & NOTES

I wouldn't be surprised if the league does take action over this one. That's more than the average practice scuffle.

 

Thats using a 'weapon' in my book.

 

Correct.

 

Denzel Mims’ agent requests a trade for the receiver



The Jets used a second-round choice on receiver Denzel Mims in 2020. Heading into his third season, Mims has not broken into the starting lineup.

He is listed as the backup to Corey Davis.

That prompted his agent, Ron Slavin, to put out a statement Thursday, requesting the Jets trade Mims.

“It’s just time,” Slavin wrote. “Denzel tired in good faith, but it’s clear he does not have a future with the Jets. Denzel vowed to come back better than ever this season and worked extremely hard in the offseason to make that happen. Still, he has been given no opportunities with the starting offense to get in a groove with them. We feel at this point, a trade is our only option since the Jets have told us repeatedly they will not release him. Joe Douglas has always done right by Denzel, and we trust he will do everything in his power to find another team where Denzel can be a contributor.”

Mims received 15 snaps in the first preseason game, sixth among the team’s receivers, and caught two of five targets for 25 yards. He saw 27 snaps, which was second among the team’s wideouts, in the second preseason game and caught three of four targets for 43 yards. Mims did not start either game.

He has played 20 games with 11 starts since the Jets drafted him 59th overall and has caught 31 passes on 67 targets for 490 yards with no touchdowns.

The Jets have drafted receivers in the first two rounds each of the past two years, and Elijah Moore and Garrett Wilson are listed as starters along with Davis.

PFT

 

CHIEFS: We know what Patrick Mahomes can do, and this spreading-the-ball-around thing is working well so far. But what’s the deal with the run game? And more specifically, the run blocking. The starting unit produced 14 yards on seven carries last week against Washington. The backups weren’t much better in this department. But will the Chiefs’ starters even get much work (if any) in this one? That’s the rub. Still, backup OL jobs are there for the taking. One blocker who needs a strong showing: fifth-round OL Darian Kinnard, who isn’t guaranteed a roster spot.


PACKERS: Green Bay seems to be tempering expectations for recently activated David Bakhtiari and Elgton Jenkins to be available as soon as Week 1. So with the early-season starting line in flux, every rep matters for players such as Yosh Nijman, the likely left tackle replacement for Bakhtiari. Could he also get reps at right tackle in case Jenkins isn’t ready? There’s also a battle at right guard between Royce Newman, Jake Hanson and rookie Zach Tom. How much -- and when -- they play versus Kansas City could tell us a lot.

NFL.com
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49ERS: Is running back Trey Sermon guaranteed a roster spot? Not everyone is convinced he is. Sermon was a disappointment as a rookie, with the 2021 third-rounder struggling early to grasp the offense while sixth-rounder Elijah Mitchell took the lead role. But Sermon was believed to be in the running for expanded duties this season; so far, it just hasn’t happened. An ankle injury can explain some of that, likely sapping him of some juice. But Sermon might need to get healthy quickly -- and perhaps for this game. Ty Davis-Price is believed to have a spot locked up, while fellow rookie Jordan Mason has looked good, too. So if Mitchell, Jeff Wilson Jr. and Davis-Price are in, we could see JaMycal Hasty, Sermon and Mason possibly battling for one or two of the final RB spots.


TEXANS: Can the Texans show more up front -- specifically in the run game? Granted, last week they ran without rookie RB Dameon Pierce and two starting offensive linemen (Laremy Tunsil and rookie Kenyon Green), but the results weren’t great. That might have been more about the offensive line than the running backs, but if we assume Rex Burkhead, Marlon Mack and Pierce make the opening roster, Houston could end up with Dare Ogunbowale and Royce Freeman fighting for the final backfield spot in this game.

 

Im watching me some football tonight!

 

1. A new TE in KC? They love their tight ends in Kansas City, and the Chiefs might have seen the emergence of another target Thursday as Matt Bushman had himself a night, hauling in two touchdown catches. Halfway through the second quarter, Bushman sprinted downfield and split the two defenders, leaving himself wide open for a pass from quarterback Shane Buechele, which he took all the way to the end zone for a 54-yard touchdown. And Bushman did it again on the opening drive of the second half, managing to snag the ball out of the hands of Packers safety Micah Abernathy and turn a would-be interception into a 2-yard TD reception. While Travis Kelce is the obvious No. 1 TE, the depth chart beyond him is a little more murky, as backup Blake Bell is currently out after having surgery to address a hip flexor injury. With Bell's timetable for return unknown, tight ends like Bushman might get more touches in the meantime. The 26-year-old ended up leaving the game with a shoulder injury, but if it doesn't end up being serious, he could have a chance to follow up this performance with snaps in the regular season. (Editor's Note: Chiefs head coach Andy Reid announced after the game that Matt Bushman fractured his clavicle.)
2. Goodson makes case for No. 3 RB. Behind running backs Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon, who obviously have the top two spots in the depth chart locked up, there's still a competition in Green Bay this preseason to see who can claim the third spot. Tyler Goodson made his case for taking on the role Thursday, as the undrafted rookie led the Packers with seven carries. One of those carries went for a touchdown, as Goodson took the handoff and wove through the defense with ease, capping off the 24-yard run with a spin move to avoid one last Chiefs defender and make his way into the end zone. In addition, Goodson also showed his ability to pull double-duty as an occasional receiving target, hauling in five catches for 26 yards. The Packers haven't decided on who the third running back on the squad will be, but Goodson's looking good for the role based on Thursday's performance.

NFL.com

 

1. Pierce puts finishing touches on sterling preseason. If you're not on the Dameon Pierce bandwagon yet, jump on! In his final preseason showing, Pierce somehow added to all the preseason excitement and hype he'd already generated. Showing all the bruising might he offered up in his preseason debut against the Saints, Pierce pillaged the 49ers defense with runs of 9, 12 and 7 yards during the Texans' opening drive. Houston's opening salvo ended with Pierce scoring on a 1-yard run through the heart of the San Francisco defense. He ended the game and the drive with six carries for 37 yards. Though it is only the preseason, Pierce has been impressive and has breathed life into a Texans offense dormant throughout 2021. All aboard! The Dameon Pierce hype train is running strong into the 2022 season.
2. Not the way Trey wants to go into 2022. In the Niners' last preseason outing before the Trey Lance era truly takes shape, the second-year quarterback got three series and generated no points. Of course, it's not all on the 22 year old. The offensive line play was shaky at times, Deebo Samuel looked to have drawn a big pass interference flag that wasn't called and the Texans defense looked good. Still, Lance is taking the reins of a 49ers squad coming off a run to the NFC Championship Game, and the belief has to be he'll provide the team with better play than Jimmy Garoppolo could. Going 7 of 11 for 49 yards, no points and a 73.7 rating isn't the type of showing you want going into the regular season. Nonetheless, the Lance era in San Francisco gets going for real on Sept. 11. And after that, uninspiring performances such as Thursday's will be seen as foreshadowing what was to come or as insignificant blips in a burgeoning career.

NFL.com

 

TONIGHTS NFL ACTION...

 

Cam Heyward on joint practices: “Guys do things they would never do in a game”



With the shrinking of the preseason from four games to three, some have regarded joint practices as a supplement for the lost work in an exhibition setting. It’s not.

As demonstrated yesterday (and numerous times before it), a free for all can unfold during joint practices. With the league washing its hands of direct jurisdiction over players, there’s no disincentive to engage in behavior that wouldn’t occur during a game.


Steelers defensive lineman Cam Heyward made that point on Twitter yesterday, in response to the question of why joint practices even occur.

“In theory it sounds cool to see you team compete in a practice setting but it’s basically a 2 and half hour wrestling match with no rules or technique which puts everyone on edge,” Heyward said. “Guys do things they would never do in a game that could lead to injury. Players fight for their team.”

For some coaches, joint practices will happen only if there’s sufficient confidence that things won’t get out of hand. When the Texans were slated to be the Hard Knocks team, the Saints canceled joint practices due to concerns that Houston players would act up for the NFL Films cameras. And in 2015, as the Saints prepared to face the Patriots in joint practices, coach Sean Payton had a clear message for his players: “If you decide to fight, pack your bags.”

Given that coaches surely know what can, and what does, happen at joint practices, it’s fair to wonder whether some of them are willing to expose players to injury risk in the hopes of awakening that raw aggression and physicality that is harder to activate in modern training-camp practices. Although Rams coach Sean McVay can’t say it out loud, he has to be happy to know that Aaron Donald, who considering retiring in the offseason, still has a raging fire in his belly. It will serve the Rams well, week in and week out.

Will it sometimes bubble over during games, as it has for Donald numerous times in the past? Probably. But McVay can view that as a small price to pay to have a player who is both incredibly effective and thoroughly intimidating.

That’s all the more reason for the league to step in, for this case and every future joint practice. The circumstances are conducive to players crossing the line. Someone needs to be ready to police that. If the teams won’t, the NFL should.

PFT

 

Offensive line jobs still on the line heading into Bears’ preseason finale



There’s a lot on the line heading into the Bears’ preseason finale against the Browns on Saturday. Not only are there players making one final push for a roster spot, but there are starting jobs still up for grabs.

That includes the offensive line, which has seen a number of different combinations since the start of training camp. While the Bears starting offensive line has started to become clearer with just a couple of weeks left until the Week 1 opener, head coach Matt Eberflus said that this competition is still open heading into Saturday’s game.

“We’re still in that evaluation mode with the offensive line,” Eberflus said. “We’re still looking at a lot of guys. We’re still looking at the combinations. I know we’re kind of solidified as of late, the recent one that’s been out there. But this thing is still open. So everybody’s got to put their best foot forward. They’ve got to perform this Saturday. They’ve got to get it done on the field.”

It’s a safe bet to assume rookie Braxton Jones, Cody Whitehair and an injured Lucas Patrick will be your starters at left tackle, left guard and center. But it’s the right side of the offensive line that’ll be the focus this weekend.

For the last week, it’s been Teven Jenkins and Larry Borom at right guard and right tackle, and it certainly seems like those are their jobs to lose. But they still need a strong showing in the preseason finale if they hope to hold off veterans Michael Schofield and Riley Reiff, respectively.

BEARS WIRE

 

Report: Panthers have called Jets about Denzel Mims



Denzel Mims and Matt Rhule could be headed for a reunion.

According to Joe Person of TheAthletic.com, the Panthers have called the Jets about potentially trading for Mims.


Mims, whose agent put out a statement on Thursday publicly requesting a trade, played under Rhule at Baylor. He caught 66 passes for 1,020 yards with 12 touchdowns in 2019 — the year before the Panthers hired Rhule. Mims also had 1,000 yards in 2017.

Mims has not been productive in the league since the Jets selected him in the second round of the 2020 draft. He caught just eight passes for 133 yards in 11 games last season. He had 23 catches for 357 yards in nine contests as a rookie.

The Panthers have DJ Moore and Robbie Anderson at the top of their receivers group, but could likely benefit from more depth for new quarterback Baker Mayfield.

PFT

 

It's true that losing the preseason game is a major reason for more teams having joint practices, but the CBA reducing the number of practice sessions and limiting the number of sessions with contact even further is also a huge issue. The players need preseason reps and the coaches need opportunities for evaluations.

Thinking back about 20 years or so, teams used to have scrimmages against other teams the week before the first preseason game, and I'm guessing it might have been the 2006 CBA that morphed those into the joint practices like we have now. Teams would also be able to have scrimmages or simulated games between their own offenses and defenses. The 2011 CBA took that away as you were no longer allowed to have sessions long enough to simulate a game.

Here's one suggestion for future seasons: bring back the ability to have a scrimmage practice session. During the same weekend as the Hall of Fame game, the other 30 teams not involved in that game can each have a simulated game. Full contact is allowed but not required. Make it a big time fan event, like NFL-N did with the opening weekend of training camp.

That way every team will have four preseason "game" opportunities. The 30 teams with scrimmages will have more total reps since the offense and defense are both in for every snap, while the 2 teams in the Hall of Fame game will have the extra opportunity to face other competition.


Beyond that, the coaches simply need to do a better job of planning out the sessions ahead of time and then emphasizing to the players that fighting will not be tolerated. And maybe the league should consider imposing fines. The cameras are there, so the incidents are all captured on film. It's tough to do because the players aren't even getting paychecks yet, but the fine could be delayed until their next game check - whenever and with whatever team that might be.

 

This is key to me... Coaches need to do a better job and i still believe the NFL also needs to get involved. Afterall, it's their commodities out there battling. Fines , suspensions, what ever it takes to get this right... or just simply eliminate 'joint' practices altogether.

 

Im streaming 2 NFL games at the moment.

Baker Mayfield looked sharp, 14-0 Panthers over the Bills.

3-0, Raiders over the Patriots.

 

Saints 14-0 over the Chargers Beginning of the second.

 

Rams: Any discipline for Aaron Donald, others who fought will be addressed internally



The NFL does not issue disciplinary rulings for behavior during joint practices, which means it will be up to the Rams to determine if defensive tackle Aaron Donald or any other players will be penalized for their actions in Thursday’s practice with the Bengals.

Video showed Donald swinging a helmet at members of the Bengals during a melee that broke out during a drill. Browns defensive end Myles Garrett was suspended six games for doing the same to Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph in a game, but the Rams said that any disciplinary decisions they make this week will remain inside the organization.

“The incident will be addressed internally, and any discipline will remain in-house,” a Rams spokesperson said, via Sarah Barshop of ESPN.com.

The team did not say whether any disciplinary decisions will be made public, although a suspension of any length would become apparent with or without a formal announcement.

PFT

 

Im guessing Jameis looked good?

 

OH HELL YES!

 

Fridays Scores...