NFL - NEWS & NOTES

Purdy played pretty well. Baker might be subtraction by addition. I’d let him be somebody else’s distraction.

 

Seahawks could use a backup.

 

Off the top of me head, I dont think so. Even if the 49ers land Bake's, he dont scare me and I wouldnt want him as a GM on my Seahawks team with the way Geno is playing.

I could be full of 'it'... but thats the way i see at the moment.

 

True, but Baker is going to try and sign himself into a clipboard free zone.

 

re: Mayfield

You guys are looking at the wrong end of the standings . . . perhaps.

Both the 49ers and Seahawks are way down the waiver wire list. If everyone above them on the list passes on Mayfield, do you really want him?

 

Excellent point.

 

But you don't know who's going to get him until after the deadline to make a claim. So if you're in the position of the Seattle GM, the only way to guarantee without a doubt that SF doesn't get him is to put in a claim yourself.

That's the question I'm throwing out to the group. If you're Seattle's mock GM, would you do it?

 

The goat does it again.

 

Monday Night Football: Tom Brady leads Bucs to unlikely, last-second comeback win over Saints



For most of the game, Tom Brady didn’t look anything like the GOAT. In the final 5:21, Brady did what Brady always has done.

He directed his 44th career comeback win in the fourth quarter or overtime, the most in NFL history to break a tie with Peyton Manning.


The Bucs rallied from a 13-point, fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Saints 17-16. Tampa Bay moved to 6-6 and remain atop the NFC South, while New Orleans fell to 4-9.

The Bucs had only 220 yards in the first three quarters against a Dennis Allen defense that has their number. But Tampa Bay rolled to 130 yards in the final quarter, wearing out the Saints.

Brady went 15-of-21 for 125 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

On third-and-goal from the New Orleans 6, Brady hit rookie Rachaad White for the touchdown. It came with three seconds left.

Ryan Succop‘s PAT was the game-winner.

Brady’s heroics came three plays after the cannons first fired signaling a touchdown.

Brady threw what everyone thought was a touchdown with 16 seconds left when, from the 5-yard line, he hit Chris Godwin in the end zone. As the Bucs celebrated, the Saints pointed to the flag that was at the line of scrimmage. Left tackle Donovan Smith was cited for holding.

Still, it just delayed the inevitable as Brady put a dent in the Saints’ hopes of winning the NFC South.

It took nearly the entire game for the Bucs to get in the end zone for the first time.

The 10-play, 91-yard drive was aided by a 44-yard defensive pass interference penalty on Paulson Adebo, who was trying to stay with Mike Evans on a second-and-20 play. That got the Bucs to the 1-yard line, and Brady hit Cade Otton for the score with 3:00 remaining.

It cut the Saints’ lead to 16-10 and woke up the Bucs.

The Tampa Bay defense did its part with a three-and-out. Carl Nassib had a sack of Andy Dalton on second down, and on third-and-17, Bucs safety Keanu Neal drilled Taysom Hill with a legal hit to force Hill to drop the perfectly placed pass. It stopped the clock and forced a New Orleans punt, giving the ball back to Brady with 2:29 left.

Brady finished 36-of-54 for 281 yards with two touchdowns and an interception with Godwin catching eight for 63 yards.

Dalton went 20-for-28 for 229 yards and a touchdown, a 30-yarder to Hill.

The Saints, though, settled for three Wil Lutz field goals as they went 0-for-3 in the red zone.

PFT

 

WEEK 13... ITS IN THE BOOKS!

 

Here is the latest Playoff picture...

 

Timely win by Brady's Buccaneers. (that hurt to admit that)

With the 17 game schedule and the added playoff spot... its a tight race for quite a handful of teams.

 

Chiefs, Eagles, Vikings can clinch playoff spots this week

No teams have booked a postseason berth yet this season, but there are three teams that could sew up their spots before Week 14 is over.

Two of those teams could end the week with a division title. The Chiefs will win their seventh straight AFC West title if they win in Denver while the Chargers lose at home against the Dolphins.


For the second straight week, the Vikings have a chance to win their division. A win or tie against the Lions will seal the NFC North for the Vikings after three straight years with the Packers taking the divisional crown.

The Eagles can’t put the NFC East to bed this week, but they can book at least a Wild Card slot by beating the Giants. They’ll also be in the playoffs with a loss to the Giants as long as the 49ers lose to the Bucs and the Seahawks lose at home to the Panthers.

PFT

 

Baker Mayfield ends up with the Rams. Interesting landing spot.

 

I don’t know why the Rams are worried about QB now? Never mind Detroit has their first pick this coming draft. Detroit must be salivating over the pick. It’s better than theirs. When you look at it from a different perspective, both sides won the trade, Detroit gets a great pick and the Rams won a Super Bowl. That’s worth losing a good pick for. Detroit better get a QB in the draft.

 

The cap says the Rams are going with Stafford as the starter for 2023 and probably 2024, but if Mayfield can't land a starter's contract in free agency (which might be the case since nobody else put in a claim) and has to settle for a backup role somewhere, the Rams would be a good choice of team/coach for him to step back and revive his career. This way they're getting a month to check each other out before Mayfield hits free agency. His remaining cap cost is dirt cheap for a backup QB with starting experience.

I'm 80% sure Snead had that in mind as part of the reason for putting in the waiver claim. Their other backups are the mighty John Wolford and Bryce Perkins. If getting dumped by Carolina turns out to be the wake-up call Mayfield needed and he devotes himself to learning McVay's offense, they're getting an early preview of a potential major upgrade at QB#2 for next year. Snead is giving McVay a chance to kick the tires and find out if Mayfield is going to be a jerk about being a backup.


Flip side... we all know Mayfield wants a starter's contract if he can get it. Snead knows it too. And if some team out there does sign Mayfield for starting money, the Rams would potentially land a 3rd round comp pick in the 2024 draft.

I'm 100% sure Snead had THAT one in mind when he put in the claim. Roughly $1.4 million to rent a QB now AND get a late 3rd rounder in the future? That's the essence of his game. Snead would jump on that deal 11 times out of 10. For that matter, I'm surprised that no other GM put in a claim for that same reason.

To put it another way, the Dolphins gave up Devante Parker for a future third round pick - and had to give up a future fifth to make it happen. The Steelers gave up Chase Claypool to get a future second rounder. With this move, Snead might get a future third rounder without giving up anybody.

And if Mayfield is a jerk about being released and his L.A. teammates and coaches don't like him, no problem - he'll be gone in just a couple of weeks.

 

When I first started writing this I forgot that the Rams traded their first pick next draft for Stadford. Then I lazily corrected it. The Rams might find mayfield to be a good fit , who knows? I just can’t see how they benefit besides the third round pick you mentioned.

 

Fully agree that the comp pick is likely to be the only real benefit, as it seems extremely unlikely that Mayfield settles for a backup contract and returns to Los Angeles.

But the draft pick alone is enough for GM Les Snead to bite on Mayfield at that price. The fact that he has a roster void with Stafford on IR is certainly justification, but Snead is probably doing it for the chance at the comp pick more than anything else.

 

Mike Tomlin: George Pickens is a competitor, I laugh at anyone making it a negative story



Steelers wide receiver George Pickens was seen during Sunday’s game yelling on the sideline about how he wasn’t getting the ball a lot, and there’s been some commentary since then that the sideline outburst was poor form. But Steelers coach Mike Tomlin had no problem with it.

Tomlin said Pickens was upset that he only caught one pass for two yards, and that it’s good to have players who want the ball more.


“I want a guy that wants to be a significant part of what it is we do,” Tomlin said. “Now the appropriate and professional and mature way to express that, we’re growing and working on, and we will continue. But that spirit, that competitive spirit, that guy that wants the ball? I want that guy.”

Tomlin said Pickens yelling on the sideline was no different than what he has seen from a lot of great players going through frustrating games.

“We’ve got competitors. This is professional football,” Tomlin said. “These guys know they have to deliver. For a guy who wants to do that, I’m not going to make that a negative, no matter how silly I think the commentary is, or people talking about him expressing frustrations, and trying to make it a negative story line. I laugh at that. That’s one of the reasons we’re continually progressing, because we’re capable of tuning that B.S. out.”

PFT