NFL - NEWS & NOTES

Former NYJ DE Kony Ealy signs with Dallas.

 

The Patriots have agreed to terms with wide receiver Jordan Matthews on a one-year deal, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

New England obviously had a need for receiver help after trading Brandin Cooks to the Rams.


Matthews, 25, also visited the Packers and Cardinals.

He spent an injury-plagued season in Buffalo, catching only 25 passes for 282 yards and a touchdown in 10 games before going on injured reserve.

 

Cowboys’ coaches think Dez Bryant is slipping physically



Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant is 29 years old, and may already be past his prime.

That’s the word from Albert Breer of SI.com, who reports that the Cowboys’ coaches began to see Bryant slip physically in 2015 and now think he just isn’t the same player he was when the Cowboys signed him to a five-year, $70 million contract. That physical decline is measurable, as Bryant has lost inches on his vertical jump.

“Based on last year,” one member of the Cowboys’ staff told Breer, “he does very few things really well.”

Bryant was averaging 1,312 yards a season in the three years before he signed his contract. In the three years since signing his contract, Bryant has averaged 678 yards a season. Given that Bryant is owed $12.5 million, it’s easy to see the Cowboys cutting him.

However, Jerry Jones has always liked Bryant, and it’s Jones’s team. It’s possible that Jones will decide to give Bryant another year to prove himself. But it’s also possible that Bryant, who once looked likely to be a Cowboy for life, could be gone before turning 30.

 

Titans have new Uni's... here is the new-look helmet.

 

Bring on the TETONS!

 

They wanted to sign him last year. Good signing, good depth for the line.

 

Sounds like they're paving the way to release him if he doesn't agree to a salary cut.

 

That's what I was thinking too, or at least I attempted to think.

That's a lot of coin to invest and then turn around and sorta slam him. Maybe just motivational too, I don't know. Hell, he aint that old... maybe just needs a quick kick in the ass.

 

Think they're playing a little "good cop/bad cop." The new WR coach says together they can make good things happen, plus Jerruh likes him. But Stephen Jones is the one saying it's all a business and everyone has to be accountable.

 

Thomas Davis announces he tested positive for banned substance



Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis‘ 2018 season is going to start with a suspension.

The NFL has not announced a ban yet, but Davis has announced that he has tested positive for a banned substance in a video posted to Twitter on Friday afternoon. Davis said in the video that he will serve a four-game suspension after being “completely caught off guard” by the league telling him that he tested positive.


Davis said the substance was an “estrogen blocker” in a supplement that he’s used for the last seven or eight years without triggering a positive test until now. Davis said he did not and would not “intentionally” do anything to “cheat the game” and that his “conscience is clear.”

He also acknowledges that NFL rules about players being responsible for what they put in their bodies is clear and that he’s run afoul of them as a result of the test. That will leave Davis unavailable to start the year and leave the Panthers looking for another solution at linebacker for a quarter of the 2018 season.

 

QB musical chairs continues in Cleveland...



Kizer, Kessler, both gone... and now Hogan has been shipped off to Washington in exchange for 6th round draft picks.

 

Ndamukong Suh will play nose tackle in Rams’ base defense

Ndamukong Suh has never played the nose in a 3-4 defense, but Rams defensive coordinator Wade Phillips expects Suh to adapt just fine.

“Last year when I came in, they said, ‘Gosh, you’re going to play a 3-4 and Aaron Donald, he’s not going to be able to play in a 3-4,’” Phillips said, via Rich Hammond of the Orange County Register. “So . . . it’s all about matchups.”

Suh questioned Phillips on his visit, asking how the Rams intended to use him. They watched film together, so Suh “could see how they see me fitting in.”

Suh, 31, joins Donald and Michael Brockers on the defensive line. He and Donald will spend the next five months figuring each other out.

“First and foremost, it’s going to start in OTAs and practices — understanding how [Donald] likes to rush, how I like to rush, how we play the run together,” Suh said, via Myles Simmons of the team website. “And that’s when it’ll all unfold from there, to see how we’ll mesh together. And I think it’ll be an exciting time and process to get through that.” (PFT)

 

2018 NFL draft may tie 1983 with six first-round quarterbacks



The 1983 NFL draft ushered in a new era in the NFL, with six first-round quarterbacks. That had never happened before and has never happened since. But it may happen now.

The 2018 NFL draft has four quarterbacks who are certain to go in the first round, in USC’s Sam Darnold, Wyoming’s Josh Allen, UCLA’s Josh Rosen and Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield. Louisville’s Lamar Jackson appears likely to go in the first round as well, and Oklahoma State’s Mason Rudolph has visited with several teams in need of a quarterback and may find himself going in the first round as well.

That would match the record of six quarterbacks set in 1983, when John Elway went first overall to the Colts (and then was traded to the Broncos), Todd Blackledge went seventh to the Chiefs, Jim Kelly went 14th to the Bills, Tony Eason went 15th to the Patriots, Ken O’Brien went 24th to the Jets and Dan Marino went 27th to the Dolphins.

This year’s draft will certainly see more quarterbacks drafted at the top of the first round. It’s possible that Darnold, Allen, Rosen and Mayfield will all go within the top half dozen picks. In 1983, teams would wait for a quarterback to fall to them, but these days teams will move up to take a franchise quarterback. When it’s all said and done, six teams may get their man in the first round this year. (PFT)

 

In 1999 Tim Couch, Donovan McNabb, Akili Smith, Daunte Culpepper, and Cade McNown went in the top 12 picks.

 

Sounds like the possible story of this draft, where they are drafted and quality.

 

Maybe this is a lesson to be learned. Again we have a plethora of QBs who could be good or even great, but which ones are going to be the next Marino (great) or just McNabb (good) for that matter? Otherwise, they’ll be forgotten. If history is any indicator, only 2 or 3 will pan out most likely. Place your bets.

 

Well I’ll go on record since Frank dared me. Lamar will bust. I’m sure it won’t be obvious year 1, but by the end of year 3 the team will be looking for a new plan. He’s the closest comparatively to Cam Newton. And the only reason it’s worked with Newton is because he’s big enough to be a true dual-threat, and take the hits. That won’t be the case with Lamar.

Darnold will succeed. As long as he goes anywhere other than Cleveland or NYJ, he’ll succeed. Those two franchises are QB killers. Sorry fans, not trying to be rude. Just if Darnold busts in Cleveland I don’t want to be told “but you said...”.
He has the skill set and pedigree that if there’s anything around him he’ll make the team better.

I think Allen busts as well. Against lower competition he isn’t a 60% completion guy, and he hesitates. He waits to make sure guys are open. In the NFL, that’s what we call an interception-maker.

The other 3 I won’t speculate, except to say Rosen is the next most likely to succeed after Darnold. I’m not certain. I’m just betting he has enough.

 

ALDON SMITH BACK IN JAIL...

Former 49ers, Raiders edge rusher Aldon Smith arrested yet again
Scott Bair,NBC Sports BayArea 5 hours ago

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Trouble keeps coming for former 49ers and Raiders edge rusher Aldon Smith and this time it has landed him in jail.
Former Raiders and 49ers edge rusher Aldon Smith is back in trouble again, and it has landed him in jail. He was arrested for allegedly violating conditions of his bail, according to TMZ.

Inmate records show Smith is currently in custody in San Francisco County and has been since Friday evening, and has not posted $500,000 bond. His next court date is scheduled for Wednesday.

Smith doesn't have any new charges attached to his name. He was charged with domestic violence, assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury, false in imprisonment and vandalism less than $400 stemming from a March 4 incident with his then fiancé.

He was later arrested for violating terms of a protective order, and now faces two counts of that charge.

TMZ reports his latest arrest and current incarceration stems from Smith allegedly violating conditions of electronic monitoring program placed upon hum during a Thursday court day. Smith was ordered to wear a GPA and a device that measures alcohol in sweat.

Shawna McKnight, who was recently engaged to Smith and is the alleged victim in the March 4 incident, told TMZ she and Smith are no longer in a relationship.

The NFL banished Smith indefinitely as a repeat violator of the league's substance abuse policy in 2015. He has not played since. The Raiders kept him on the reserve-suspended list until the aforementioned Marh 4 incident. They released him the following day. Smith, a former 49ers first-round draft pick who played four seasons with the club and one with the Silver and Black, is no longer affiliated with an NFL team.

 

Calais Campbell: We’re starting back at zero

After the Jaguars lost to the Patriots in the AFC title game in January, veteran defensive lineman Calais Campbell said that he wanted his teammates to “use this as fuel” as they got ready for the 2018 season.



The loss is the only thing from last season he wants to be part of the team’s mindset this year. The Jaguars made a big jump from the bottom of the barrel to a division title last year, but Campbell wants the team to realize that those gains don’t carry over into the next season.

Campbell said Jacksonville’s success now “means nothing” and spoke from experience about what happens when you act differently.

“You start back at zero, so everybody’s equal,” Campbell said, via Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com. “You have to earn the right to have the opportunity to make it to the playoffs. When people start picking you as the favorite and [predicting] what you should do, it’s kind of poison. You’re kind of relaxing and start believing you’re better than you are. I experienced that back in ’15 in Arizona. We went to the conference championship, and everybody next year predicted us to win the Super Bowl. I think it kind of affected the way we played. I think we kind of believed it instead of earning it.”

The Jaguars earned their spot in the NFL’s final four last year and the talent is on hand for another run. Campbell’s words are a reminder that talent alone doesn’t decide who survives and advances come January. (PFT)
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I find them intriguing... What they did last year was really impressive and workman-like. Still don't believe they won the Division. They are a football team that I wont mind watching this season to see what they come up with. Years past, if the Jags were playing, I would switch games. Now they are fun to watch.

 

I won't go on record for predicting any prospects success, the draft is a crap shoot. While I do agree that the team you go to does help determine your success, it isn't a career killer. You can be part of the problem or part of the solution. I don't see any of these guys, currently (you never know what type of growth a player will have once exposed to professional coaches), that are franchise savior type players. The closest one to matching that is Baker Mayfield, but I have reservations based on his maturity level to date.

I will address your ignorance on the Cleveland or NYJ comment. The franchise doesn't kill the QBs, well, other than Tim Couch. They have had bad teams in place for 2 decades, but it isn't the players fault, it was the previous owner and hiring a different front office every 2.5 years and a different coach every 1.5 years. With the backing of Hue Jackson, this owner seems to have turned the corner. With any semblance of continuity and consistency, the Browns will finally turn the corner. The QB that is present when it happens will go down as the guy who turned it around. With Dorsey choosing the players that Sashi Brown gave him the ammunition to get, I am confident they are turning a major corner. I think Tyrod Taylor gives them the stable type guy to take a major step forward in 2018. I don't have complete confidence he is the player that can take, even a revamped team, to a Super Bowl. I base that solely on the lack of confidence the Bills organization had in him. I haven't actually studied his film or anything. But the limited success he has had the past few years, gives this QB room in Cleveland a major boost. Having a QB room with a total of 2 years experience between 3 players, and only 8 starts, 0 wins is a recipe for an 0-16 season...Especially when you choose the one guy that had 0 years to add to that 2 year total.

Cleveland or New York (Jets) will not "kill" any of these prospects career based on their past. That is not a well thought out statement. The fact that only about 10% of QBs drafted do succeed is an better indicator that some of these guys just won't make it. Every given year, at least half the league is looking to upgrade the QB position..This year's class will have an opportunity to make it in the league. It's easy to call them out, but the truth is QBs fail every where they go...even New England...when they leave the nest, how many have shown success elsewhere? Garoppolo might end up being the first, we'll see now that the league has some film on him.

My short sided thoughts on the subject is that the league is more inept at finding qualified offensive coordinators than finding capable players. Why a OC won't change their offense completely to match personnel has always left me wondering how the players are constantly being blamed for failure.

Regardless, the Browns now have Todd Haley who is a proven OC in two different places, which leads me to believe he may have traits to adapt to his roster. We will see...