NFL - NEWS & NOTES

Thanks but it was confusing whats was with all the passing it was like they forgot the run game i didn't get it

 

This is impressive...



Ravens have 14+ point wins against seven teams with winning records

The Ravens’ dominant win over the 49ers on Monday night was the latest in a string of big wins that has them on the verge of an unprecedented accomplishment.

Baltimore has won seven games by at least 14 points against teams that currently have winning records. According to StatsPerform.com, no team in NFL history has had more than five regular-season wins by 14 or more points against teams that finished the season with a winning record.

The Ravens could add to that total with 14-point wins against the Dolphins this week or the Steelers next week. They could also see their wins against winning opponents decline if the Texans, Seahawks, Bengals or Jaguars lose their last two games, as the Ravens beat all four of those teams by 14+ points, and all of them are 8-7 and not guaranteed to finish with a winning record.

So whether they accomplish something unprecedented or not remains unclear, but what is very clear is they’re dominating good teams like no one else in the NFL. They stand atop the league by a large margin.

NBC

 

David Njoku, Kareem Hunt move up to limited practices on Tuesday

Tight end David Njoku was one of the Browns players estimated to be a non-participant in practice on Monday, but he took a step in the right direction on Tuesday.

Njoku was listed as limited in practice. Njoku has a knee issue, but he’s also been listed as resting so it would seem that he’s got a good chance of playing against the Jets on Thursday night.

The same is true of running back Kareem Hunt. Hunt has a groin injury and joined Njoku in making the move from out to limited.

Punter Corey Bojorquez (left quad), wide receiver Amari Cooper (rest, heel), kicker Dustin Hopkins (left hamstring), defensive end Ogbo Okoronkwo (pectoral), and linebacker Anthony Walker (knee) were listed as out for the second straight day. Quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson (hip) was also listed as out on Monday, but he went on injured reserve Tuesday,

Guard Joel Bitonio (back, knee), tackle Geron Christian (shoulder), cornerback Martin Emerson (ankle), wide receiver Marquise Goodwin (knee), linebacker Jordan Kunaszyk (calf), center Ethan Pocic (stinger), guard Wyatt Teller (ankle), and safety Juan Thornhill (calf) were listed as limited again on Tuesday.

 

Free agent linebacker Jaylon Smith has signed with the Steelers, his representation, Doug Hendrickson, announced on social media.

Josina Anderson of CBS reports that Smith is joining the Steelers’ practice squad.

The Raiders waived Smith on Nov. 22, and he had remained a free agent since. Las Vegas signed him off the Seahawks’ practice squad No. 2.

He appeared in the Raiders’ victory over the Giants on Nov. 5, making two tackles in 25 defensive snaps.

The Cowboys made Smith a second-round pick in 2016, and he played 68 games for Dallas from 2017-21. He appeared in 13 games for the Giants last season, totaling 88 tackles, three tackles for loss and two quarterback hits.

PFT

 

HERE'S A LOOK AT WEEK 17

 

Browns and their fans will go crazy on Siemian and the Jets Thursday. Jets have a good defense, but the Browns is still better, #3 vs #1 in that regard. I actually dont even think it will be close.

Another intriguing game for me is the Lions @ Cowboys on Saturday. I thinks we will see just who these Lions are. Are they the 'real deal' or posers? Its an excellent test for both teams with the Playoffs looming in just a couple weeks.

Dolphins at Ravens is a cool matchup to kick things off on Sunday. Extremely important to protect both QB's in this one or one of these teams season will end early. Its ironic/weird/strange and totally surprising to me that with all the big-named QB's going down this season, Lamar and Tua are still standing... both teams better ensure thats the case by 430 that afternoon.

Steelers will have to steal their game in Seattle. I loved what Tim wrote about them (Steelers) on another post. Rudolph and the Steelers played well, but against one of the worst secondaries in the NFL, in Seattle thats a bit different. Seattle at home is a tough way to go, but thats why they play the games. IMO, its one of the more interesting matchups for Sunday.

Bengals at Chiefs might be fun also, especially if the Bengals take control early and get the emotionally overdosed Chiefs playing with other things on their minds than execution and football. (lets hope)

 

It's going to be another fun weekend of football! Two weeks to go and it already has a playoff feel. So many games have impact level ramifications involved. A couple teams here and there can clinch this or that, but with that extra spot now, there are a lot of teams "on the bubble".

Miami winning against the Ravens is the best case scenario for the NFL (and the Browns obviously). If the Ravens win, it closes out the #1 seed, it closes out the AFC North and the only thing left to decide depends on the Bills winning as well, which would make the Bills / Dolphins game more meaningful week 18. If Miami wins, it makes that game meaningful, the Ravens / Steelers game meaningful and the Bengals / Browns game meaningful, all division implication AND #1 seed implications between THREE teams.

Although, if the Browns lose to the Jets, that would also take away any AFC North drama.

All the games above though, week 17 is going to be a lot of fun!! starting tomorrow! If you look at the schedule though, every game in week 17 has playoff and/or division implications. There isn't a single throw away game due to timing, except for the possibility of the Broncos being eliminated if either the Texans or Colts win their 1:00 est games.. either win and the Broncos vs. Chargers game will have no implications... If both teams lose, they are still alive for another week with a win and losses in the 4:00 pm slot by the Bengals and Steelers... AND the Raiders are still alive as well....

Raiders vs Colts BIG game!! If the Raiders pull it out, it opens that final spot up for a lot of teams, including themselves and the Broncos if 3 more teams lose tough matchups.

We haven't even begun talking about the NFC yet....although, if the Rams and Seahawks win, the NFC wild card has already been decided and week 18 will only matter in terms of the NFC East and NFC South division winners... that too might be decided in week 17...with Tampa and Philadelphia wins and a Cowboys loss, there will no longer be any division implications in week 18 either... The entire NFC playoff picture could be decided, with the exception of some seeding between 6th and 7th place, by the end of the day Sunday.

Actually looking a little closer, as long as Minnesota wins this week, they cannot be eliminated in week 17... They would move ahead of Seattle on tie breakers if the Vikings win and the Seahawks lose week 18...


Have I mentioned how much fin this weekend is going to be?


GO BROWNS!!

 

This is gonna be wild so many teams what if this happens or that and it's hard to believe as bad.as the Vikings have stumbled they still have a shot kinda torn here between winning the last two games or losing them for a better position in the draft GO VIKINGS

 

You shouldn't be torn... Get to the playoffs and you never know what could happen. A 7th seed has yet to win a playoff game since it was added... Be the first!!

 

Broncos reportedly benching Russell Wilson for rest of 2023: Can Denver get out of QB's contract?

I imagine Wilson is on the market in 2024.

 

Why? what did he do to piss off the HC or did he get hurt

 

Oh I see now it's about the injury money the Broncos would be on the hook for yeah I would sit him I doubt he will be with the Broncos next year

 

Week 17
Thurs Dec 28
New York Jets vs Cleveland Browns----------------BROWNS
Sat Dec 30
Detroit Lions vs Dallas Cowboys--------------------COWBOYS
Sun Dec 31
Miami Dolphins vs Baltimore Ravens---------------RAVENS
New England Patriots vs Buffalo Bills--------------BILLS
Atlanta Falcons vs Chicago Bears------------------BEARS
Tennessee Titans vs Houston Texans-------------TEXANS
Las Vegas Raiders vs Indianapolis Colts-----------COLTS
Carolina Panthers vs Jacksonville Jaguars--------JAGS
Los Angeles Rams vs New York Giants------------RAMS
Arizona Cardinals vs Philadelphia Eagles---------EAGLES
New Orleans Saints vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers--BUCS
San Francisco 49ers vs Washington Commanders-9ERS
Pittsburgh Steelers vs Seattle Seahawks----------SEAHAWKS
Los Angeles Chargers vs Denver Broncos---------BRONCOS
Cincinnati Bengals vs Kansas City Chiefs----------CHIEFS
Green Bay Packers vs Minnesota Vikings---------VIKINGS
SNF
GB vs Min-------------------------------24-21 VIKINGS

 

I don't get this at all... It is vested come March anyway, so injury or no injury, they aren't finding a trade partner and they can't afford to cut him until after the 2024 season. They have a very slim chance, but they are still in contention for a playoff spot. Now, after this week, they will most likely be eliminated, so make the decision at that point if you like. This is an irresponsible move for the franchise. They have hurt the integrity of the game by benching their best chance to win a game. It has implications for playoffs and the only reason for doing it is for draft capital/positioning.

Edit: At least start the guy and if the early games eliminate you, then it makes a little more sense.

 

This is a quote from HC Payton earlier in the day. If you read between the lines, Payton is not happy, maybe even pissed at Wilson... so much that they will go with Stidham instead. Payton knows the facts of still being in the hunt and the 'brass does too, but they have seen enough. To go even farther and this is purely speculative, they are trying to protect Wilson as a viable trade piece, because if he gets injured, which is always looming, no one will bite, so by benching him now they are basically drawing insurance on Wilson to get the greatest return. He's gone, Wilson that is, so they might be thinking, ok, he stinking the place up and the last thing we need is an injury... hence the early benching. Another facet involved, IMO, is, since Payton came out and said what he said, there is more to the picture than meets the eye. Wilson may not be a team player or a follow orders type guy and he is in Payton's dog-house, so he gets the axe now instead of later. Who knows, there could be a mutiny on the bounty attitude in the locker room where the players dont gel with Wilson, so lets go Stidham?.. who knows. Its odd... one thing for certain, Wilson is gone from Denver, another example of throwing a gazillion dollars at someone without knowing the future... this all looks like a Watson 2.0.

“So many times, when we look at some of that stuff, it’s self-inflicted problems,” Payton said. “That has to get cleaned up. That’s communication. That might be having to reduce — is there too much in? Right now, we’re average to below average in a lot of things offensively, and it’s not good enough.”

“I think the ongoing step is understanding how not to lose games before you learn how to win them,” Payton later said. “Two-thirds of the games we see each weekend are lost before they’re ever won. We’re still learning that the hard way.”

“We haven’t played well at home, or at least to the expectations certainly from Broncos fans and then from my experience of playing at home,” Payton said.

It is twilight zone material to bench a gazillion dollar QB when your in the hunt, but that to me says there are 'red flags' that havent been disclosed.

 

Ignoring ties in most scenarios to keep it simple.

AFC

BALTIMORE RAVENS
Clinched Playoffs
Clinch Division: Win/Tie OR CLE Loss/Tie
Clinch Bye: Win

MIAMI DOLPHINS
Clinched Playoffs
Clinch Division: Win/Tie OR BUF Loss/Tie

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
Clinch Playoffs & Division: Win OR DEN Loss/Tie + LV Loss/Tie

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
Clinch Playoffs & Division: Win + HOU Loss + IND Loss

CLEVELAND BROWNS
Clinch Playoffs: Win OR a BUF/PIT/JAX Loss OR HOU Loss/Tie + IND Loss/Tie

BUFFALO BILLS
Clinch Playoffs: Win + a CIN/PIT Loss + a CIN/PIT/HOU/JAX Loss

BONUS
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS
Have a ridiculously high chance of clinching in final week with a WIN + HOU Loss + CIN Loss. Essentially as high as the Chiefs now.


NFC

DETROIT LIONS
Clinched Playoffs & Division

DALLAS COWBOYS
Clinched Playoffs

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
Clinched Playoffs & Division
Clinch Bye: WIN + DET Loss + PHI Loss

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
Clinch Division: Win + DAL Loss/Tie OR Tie + DAL Loss

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS
Clinch Playoffs & Division: Win OR Tie + ATL Loss

LOS ANGELES RAMS
Clinch Playoffs: WIN + SEA Loss OR Win + GB-MIN Tie

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS
Clinch Playoffs: Win + GB-MIN Tie

BONUS
GREEN BAY PACKERS
If I'm not mistaken, they control their own destiny if the Rams AND/OR Seahawks lose this week.

 

He’ll probably be released before the next $37 million in injury guarantees become fully guaranteed, on the fifth day of the league year (2024). He wont be traded as he has a no-trade clause. Im pretty sure Denver is eating some cashola, but saving $37M, by outright cutting him.

Whats mind-blowing, they gave up two first-round picks, two second-round picks, a fifth-round pick, tight end Noah Fant, defensive tackle Shelby Harris, and quarterback Drew Lock to get Wilson — and only 15 months after giving him a massive deal that will have paid out $119 million over two years (with the Seahawks paying another $5 million)... he's gone. Incredible how some folks kick moneys around like its nothing, I cant relate or comprehend.

 

Regime changes typically come with the head coach/GM getting to hand pick their passer.

Wilson likely has more action for a new contract than what some are thinking.

If you’re running the Falcons, would you be willing to pay him the bottom end of top 10 starter money on a 3 year deal? Would Washington consider it? What about a Patriots team with a new head coach?

Does the potential pool of suitors grow if he is willing to take money less than that low side of the top 10?

This should be one of the more interesting things to track this offseason, unless Russ has let them know inside the building that he is planning to retire.

 

100% agree.

Hers a tid-bit from Florio at PFT just breaking...

If it wasn’t already clear that the Broncos and Russell Wilson have crossed the proverbial Rubicon, a nugget buried in last night’s article from Mark Maske of the Washington Post removes any and all lingering doubt.

Maske reports that the Broncos “previously threatened to bench Wilson for the rest of the season if he did not agree to rework his contract to address the injury guarantee.” Maske adds that one such threat was made after the Broncos upset the Chiefs on October 29.

The NFL and the NFL Players Association “became involved,” per the report. Which suggests that Wilson, not the Broncos, sought intervention. Ultimately, however, there’s nothing the league nor the union can do to force a team to play a player. The Broncos have the absolute right to put Wilson in bubble wrap in order to preserve their ability to cut him before a $37 million injury guarantee becomes fully guaranteed.

The fact that the Broncos didn’t make good on the threat until this week is surprising. As the team started winning games, however, they apparently decided to let it ride with Russ.

It’s also surprising that they’re benching Wilson while still alive for a playoff spot. Yes, they need a spark. They also need to be sure that they don’t set themselves up to owe Wilson another $37 million, if he can’t pass a physical before his $37 million in 2025 salary flips from guaranteed for injury to guaranteed for everything.

Still, the report of a lingering tussle between the Broncos and Wilson over his guaranteed money provides further proof that it’s over and done. He’ll be cut. He’ll become a free agent. He’ll go wherever he wants, and wherever he’s wanted.

And if he’s willing to play in 2024 for the veteran minimum of $1.21 million (with the Broncos paying the rest), Wilson should have many suitors.
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Raiders, Patriots, Steelers, Commanders, Falcons, Vikings and Seahawks are probably all in the mix. it's interesting to contemplate why and when GM/Owners will realize these contracts are ludicrous. The Broncos are in cap hell over this with or without Wilson... seems to me like they started with a knee-jerk reaction and got burned.

Back in the day everybody was criticizing the Cousins deal in Minnesota, then the Haslam's Browns thing happened, Wilson followed and the Eagles took their time with Hurts and Tua in Miami. You gotta be smarter in my opinion and some how some way these contracts have to be more compliant with these QB's that turn into duds or get injured. Maybe contracts should be back-loaded with incentives based on productivity, then the big-shots will have to earn their bazillions. The owners seemed to target running backs and their contracts, when will they realize, QB contracts with gazillions involved guaranteed is all just the same thing. Injuries are happening at a ridiculous pace in key positions and a lot of the highly touted are not panning out. Its almost comical to see owners eat their own money all in the name of gambling on a player.