NFL - NEWS & NOTES

I did and I think its a dolphins themed wrestling mask

 

Mike Zimmer may not be on the sidelines Thursday.

The Vikings coach will have emergency eye surgery on Wednesday night, the team announced, and his status for Thursday night's game is uncertain.

"Mike Zimmer is having emergency eye surgery tonight," general manager Rick Spielman said in a statement. "His status for coaching tomorrow's game is uncertain. I have met with the coaches and players and we have a contingency plan in place if Mike is unable to coach against Dallas."

Earlier this month, Zimmer underwent a minor medical procedure for a torn retina in his right eye after the coach said he scratched his eye during a Monday night loss to the Bears.

"The doctors, after the game, they checked and had me get in for an appointment, and I found out that I had a torn retina," Zimmer said, per the team's website. "Dr. Scott Sanderson and Dr. David Williams performed a procedure on my eye, fortunately.

"They said if you don't take care of those things that you have a possibility of going blind."

At the time, Zimmer added that he was watching game film with one eye and was, at times, forced to wear reading glasses.

The Vikings coach had a second procedure one week later on Nov. 8, per multiple reports, after which he told reporters, "I told (the players) if I can get six needles stuck in my eye the last two weeks, then they can suck it up for me." Wednesday's surgery will be his third in less than one month.

If Zimmer is to miss Thursday night's vital matchup with the Cowboys, the Vikings will likely turn to newly promoted offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur or offensive line coach Tony Sparano.

Both coaches have head coaching experience -- Shurmur with the Browns and Sparano with the Dolphins. Shurmer also acted as interim coach for one game in Philadelphia in 2015 following Chip Kelly's exit. Sparano was the interim coach in Oakland in 2014 following the midseason firing of Dennis Allen.

 

Prayers going up for Coach Zimmer.

 

back to back Thursday games for the Cowboys? That's odd?

 

Vikings too.

 

Shurmer. The useless moral W that made the Eagles have a lower initial draft pick and be matchup up with the Falcons and Seahawks this year instead of the Saints and Rams (neutral away game).

 

i thought so. yeah that's odd. i think someone had 3 thursday games last year. steelers maybe?

 

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer will not be handling Thursday night?s game against the Cowboys, a day after undergoing emergency surgery to repair a detached retina.

According to G.M. Rick Spielman, special-teams coordinator Mike Priefer will serve as the interim coach.

?We have the utmost confidence that Mike Priefer will be able to handle the interim head-coaching duties for tonight,? Spielman said on a media conference call.

Spielman said the Zimmer?s health is being assessed one day at a time, and that no decisions have been made regarding his availability for the next game, Week 14 at Jacksonville.

The decision to go with Priefer arose from a desire not to disrupt the offense or the defense. Spielman said that, because the situation arose after the week of preparation had been completed, the players are ready.

 

Gronk had back surgery and will return no sooner than the Super Bowl.


Well I just loaded up on TEs in fantasy with Gronk out. My next two weeks is an audition as I have a meaningless game and bye.

 

get well soon Coach SImmer and Gronk....

 

Former USC, Jets, Chiefs, Eskimos & Roughriders RB Joe McKnight was murdered in Terrytown, Louisiana in what appears to be a case of road rage.

 

Refs miss blatant blow to the head by a Cowboy on Bradford during the 2-point conversion attempt at the end of the game. However his errant throw was released before any contact so it's not really like they deserved another chance, but by rule he should have got it.

 

Dallas streak continues... 17-15 win over Vikings.

 

The Vikings were not pleased with the officials after Thursday night?s loss to the Cowboys.

Sam Bradford was hit on the helmet by Cowboys defensive tackle Cedric Thornton while throwing the ball away on an attempted game-tying two-point conversion, the kind of hit that often draws a roughing the passer penalty. But there was no flag.

Bradford immediately turned to referee Tony Corrente to point out he?d been hit but said after the game that Corrente told him that Thornton only touched his shoulder pad, not his facemask. Bradford may have been upset, but by far the most upset Viking was defensive end Brian Robison, who ripped the officiating.

?I?m just going to say it right now: I?m sick and tired of the reffing in this league,?? Robison said. ?I?m sick and tired of it. You?ve got holding calls all over the place that people don?t want to call it. Bradford gets hit in the face at the end of the game, and you don?t call it. I?m not laying this loss on reffing, but at some point it?s got to be better.?? (PFT)

 

The problem with refs is that they seem to always have one team in every game that they are helping and one that they are screwing. Like the 11-1 Cowboys really need the refs help to beat the Vikings.

 

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Get ready for some full-time NFL officials to start throwing yellow flags next year.
Troy Vincent, the league's vice president of football operations, told The Associated Press on Thursday that he expects the NFL to hire as many as 17 full-time officials this offseason.

The additions are allowed under the collective bargaining agreement and would increase the size of officiating crews from seven to eight, Vincent said during a visit to Buffalo.

"This is a topic of discussion daily," he said, noting the league will need to consult with the NFL Referees Association.

Vincent said, the league is already receiving input from coaches, general managers and owners. And, he said, hiring full-time officials and discussions to expand replay reviews top the agenda of the NFL's competition committee, which is scheduled to meet in February following the Super Bowl.

Currently, NFL officiating crews are part-time staff and hold jobs outside of football.

Vincent says full-time officials would allow the NFL to spend more time on training and consultation on a year-round basis.
What has yet to be decided is where the additional official would line up on the field. One proposal is introducing a middle sideline judge to monitor interior defensive line penalties. Another is to oversee hits to the quarterback. (NFL.com/AP)

 

Dallas was penalized more than Minnesota, so it wasn't like one side got jobbed and the other didn't.

 

Dallas got away with one there, but by the same token, TJ Clemmings moved way early on that play and didn't get flagged. Probably should have been off-setting penalties, re-play the down.

 

Thursday night's Cowboys-Vikings tilt moved Dallas one step closer to a postseason berth and also moved the needle for Thursday Night Football.

A record 21.8 million viewers tuned in to watch the Cowboys outlast Minnesota, 17-15, on NBC and NFL Network, the most-viewed Thursday Night Football game of all-time, according to NFL public relations. The game also earned an overnight TV rating of 14.1, the second-best ever for 'TNF' behind last season's Denver-Kansas City Week 2 thriller.

The Dallas-Minnesota game was up 22 percent from last year's Packers-Lions game that ended in Aaron Rodgers' unforgettable game-winning Hail Mary.

Viewership peaked at 23.5 million viewers from 10:45 to 11 p.m. ET before the Vikings' final fated drive. (NFL.com)

 

Not too hard to imagine. Didn't Dallas' Thanksgiving game break records too? All the old bandwagoners from when Dallas became "America's Team" are taking the time to watch them again.