Pats Notes: QBs, McDaniels, Defense, Kickoffs
With Tom Brady amid a suspension and Jimmy Garoppolo too injured to play Thursday, the Patriots made the risky decision of entering their game against Houston with third-string rookie Jacoby Brissett and wide receiver Julian Edelman as their only options at quarterback. It ended up working out, as the Pats shellacked the Texans, 27-0, and didn’t have to turn to Edelman. Brissett had an uneventful night through the air in his first NFL start, going 11 of 19 for 103 yards, but he rushed for 48 yards on eight attempts and added a 27-yard score.
Before the game, team president Jonathan Kraft explained why the Patriots didn’t sign a free agent signal-caller earlier in the week, telling 98.5 The Sports Hub (via Phil Perry of CSNNE.com), “If you were to sign another quarterback, you’d have to cut a player that’s on your 53-man roster that you like. Odds are he’s going to have to clear waivers, and odds are if he’s leaving our organization, he very well might not. And we like the 53 men on this team, the 46 that are dressed tonight, and we understand the things that might happen. It’s football, and I think everyone feels like this gives our team the best chance of winning the football game.”
The Pats worked out free agents T.J. Yates and Sean Renfree on Tuesday, but they opted against signing either. Now, with extra time to prepare for its Week 4 game against Buffalo, New England could get Garoppolo back from a sprained AC joint in his right shoulder. Brady will then come off the suspended list in Week 5.
More on the NFL’s first 3-0 team of 2016:
- Head coach Bill Belichick has gotten the lion’s share of the credit for Brady-less New England’s undefeated start, but Ryan Hannable of WEEI posits that offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels might deserve just as much praise. McDaniels has had two QBs, Garoppolo and Brissett, make their first career starts this year, and he had to get the latter ready on a short week. Nevertheless, both Garoppolo and Brissett have held their own this year. “He ultimately gets everyone ready to play. It’s fun,” receiver Danny Amendola said of McDaniels, who’s seemingly on the fast track to another head coaching job, as Hannable writes. McDaniels’ first try, in which he went 11-19 in Denver from 2009-10, failed, but the 40-year-old has further established himself as one of the league’s top assistants since.
- The Patriots’ defense might be even more terrifying for the rest of the league than Brady’s forthcoming return, argues Lorenzo Reyes of USA Today. The unit embarrassed the Brock Osweiler-led Texans, holding him to 196 yards and an interception on 24 of 41 passing. Additionally, running back Lamar Miller totaled a subpar 3.8 yards per carry on 21 attempts, while elite receiver DeAndre Hopkins recorded only four catches for 56 yards. “We were shocked. We couldn’t get anything going,” said Texans tight end Ryan Griffin.
- Belichick is among the coaches who have exploited the league’s new touchback rule this year, writes Reyes. Moving the ball from the 20 to the 25 on touchbacks was done to limit kick returns, but the Patriots’ Stephen Gostkowski intentionally booted two kicks short of the end zone. The Texans fumbled on both returns, and New England recovered deep in Houston territory on each occasion. “Our kickoff guys are doing a great job. It would be dumb just to kick it out of the end zone every time right now,” stated Gostkowski. Said Belichick, “It seemed like (the Texans) had to go 90 yards every time they had the ball. Our kickoff team, once again, came up big with field position; two turnovers. That’s a very aggressive unit.”
Austin Seferian-Jenkins Facing Two Misdemeanor Charges
8:35am: In a series of tweets, Auman offers further details on Seferian-Jenkins’ arrest. He’s actually facing two misdemeanor charges – one for DUI and another for violating the Ignition Interlock Device restriction from his 2013 arrest. Prior to being pulled over, Seferian-Jenkins was driving between 75 to 80 mph in a 55 mph zone and cut off a state trooper, per Florida Highway Patrol. He was also “agitated” and declined a breath sample.
7:50am: Buccaneers tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence around 4.a.m. ET Friday, according to Greg Auman and Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. Seferian-Jenkins has been in jail since 6 a.m. ET.
Seferian-Jenkins previously pleaded guilty to a DUI charge in 2013 while at the University of Washington. A year later, the Buccaneers used a second-round draft pick on him. Seferian-Jenkins has since amassed 45 receptions for 603 yards and seven touchdowns in 18 games (12 starts). The 23-year-old started the Bucs’ first two games this season and picked up three catches for 44 yards and a score.
Latest On Injured Adrian Peterson
THURSDAY, 9:32am: The Vikings announced “there were no additional injuries or issues noted in or surrounding the knee joint,” during Peterson’s surgical procedure.
WEDNESDAY, 4:44pm: Vikings running back Adrian Peterson is set for surgery to repair the torn meniscus he suffered in the Vikings’ 17-14 win over the Packers on Sunday, and there’s now question as to whether the 31-year-old also has a torn LCL. Adam Schefter and Jeff Darlington of ESPN report that he does (via Twitter), while both Vikings officials and Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press have shot down that notion (Twitter links). Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that Peterson has a mild LCL sprain, one that won’t require surgery.
There’s already a chance Peterson’s meniscus issue will keep him out for the rest of the season, so an LCL tear would make a comeback all the more difficult. If Schefter and Darlington are wrong, it seems Peterson and the Vikings have dodged a potentially significant problem.
For however long Peterson is out, the Vikings will turn to Jerick McKinnon, Matt Asiata and the newly signed Ronnie Hillman at running back. Their track records pale in comparison to Peterson’s, of course, but he didn’t resemble his seven-time Pro Bowl self during the Vikings’ first two games. Peterson racked up 31 carries and amassed just 50 yards, good for an average of 1.6 per tote.
Despite Peterson’s lack of production and having to use two starting quarterbacks in as many games, defending NFC North champion Minnesota has begun 2016 with back-to-back victories. The team will head to Carolina this week to face the reigning NFC champion Panthers.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Extra Points: Cards, Falcons, Fins, 49ers
The Cardinals made an under-the-radar move in sending a 2018 seventh-round pick to Kansas City for cornerback Marcus Cooper on Sept. 2. Cooper failed to register a tackle in his Week 1 Cardinals debut, but he racked up seven and intercepted two passes, one of which he returned for a touchdown, in the team’s 40-7 win over the Buccaneers last Sunday. As a result, Cooper earned NFC defensive player of the week honors.
Cardinals general manager Steve Keim spoke to Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic earlier this week about acquiring Cooper, saying, “We liked him coming out of Rutgers (2013) and he fit what we did schematically. He’s longer. And from Quentin Harris to Terry to all of our pro scouts, to Adrian Wilson to Malik Boyd, they all loved what he did on tape in the preseason. He was a guy we focused on. We weren’t sure if he was going to be released or not but liked him enough to call John Dorsey (Chiefs general manager) to see if he’d be willing to move Marcus for a conditional pick.”
Cooper’s picks Sunday were his first since his rookie year, 2013, when he hauled in three. In three seasons with KC, he made 38 appearances and totaled 11 starts.
More from around the NFL:
- Falcons linebacker Paul Worrilow suffered a groin injury and will miss three to four weeks, his agent told D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Worrilow has been the Falcons’ leading tackler over the past three seasons. Prior to Worrilow’s injury, second-round rookie Deion Jones knocked him out of the starting lineup.
- Dolphins running back Arian Foster is a long shot to play Sunday, but there is a chance he’ll play in two weeks, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Foster is dealing with a groin injury on top of his hamstring issue.
- The 49ers worked out linebackers Curtis Grant, Kyrie Wilson and Josh Kaddu on Wednesday, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN (Twitter link). Grant ended up joining their practice squad.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Lions Uninterested In Ray Rice
After the Lions placed running back Ameer Abdullah on injured reserve Wednesday, Jason McIntyre of The Big Lead reported that the team was considering signing free agent Ray Rice (Twitter link). That won’t happen, however.
“We are NOT signing Ray Rice, never have even discussed him. 1000% false,” a Lions executive told ESPN’s Adam Schefter via text message (Twitter link).
The 29-year-old Rice is familiar with Lions head coach Jim Caldwell, who was the Ravens’ offensive coordinator from 2012-13. Those were Rice’s final two years in Baltimore, where he spent six seasons and rushed for over 1,100 yards in four individual campaigns. Rice has been out of the league since the Ravens released him in September 2014, when video of him knocking out his then-fiancee in a hotel elevator surfaced. Rice has seemingly cleaned up his act off the field since, leading Schefter to report on opening weekend that the three-time Pro Bowler could receive another chance sometime this year.
Rice’s potential next opportunity won’t come with the Lions, who are wary of adding any figures with controversial pasts to their team, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes. Rookie general manager Bob Quinn said during the offseason that Detroit wanted no part of players connected to “domestic violence and dangerous weapons,” but he then went against his word in signing tight end Andrew Quarless in August. Quarless previously earned a two-game ban for discharging a gun in public in July 2015. That suspension is now over for Quarless, whom the Lions released this week.
Without Abdullah, the 1-1 Lions are set to rely on Theo Riddick, Dwayne Washington and Zach Zenner at running back. They did work out one of their former backs, Joique Bell, on Tuesday, though no deal has materialized. Aside from Rice and Bell, other notable rushers who are currently unemployed include Karlos Williams, who’s halfway through a four-game suspension for substance abuse, and C.J. Spiller.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Latest On Raiders’ Potential Relocation
The relationship between Las Vegas-based businessman Sheldon Adelson and Raiders owner Mark Davis hit a snag when Adelson expressed a desire to buy a piece of the team last week, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link). Davis subsequently called Adelson’s office in anger, per Cole, who adds that other NFL owners are wary of Adelson. Commissioner Roger Goodell, who works for the owners, expressed doubt Sunday that casino-filled Las Vegas would be a proper market for the league.
Alienating Adelson could cost the Raiders a chance to relocate to Vegas, as the 83-year-old casino owner is willing to contribute $650MM to a proposed $1.9 billion football stadium in the city. Previously, Adelson threatened to withdraw financial support without the approval of a record $750MM in public money going toward the venture. The Southern Nevada Tourism and Infrastructure Committee did approve that total last Thursday, thereby clearing one major hurdle. The next step is for the $1.9 billion plan to receive a thumbs up from Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval and state Legislature.
Sandoval said Wednesday that he intends to begin a special session of the Legislature no earlier than Oct. 7 and no later than Oct. 13, reports Michelle Rindels of the Associated Press (Twitter link). Sandoval also revealed that he has recently spoken with Davis, who is eager to go forward with the plan.
“Just as I have met with the top leaders prior to those announcements, this week I met with the owner of the Raiders, Mark Davis. He was committed and resolute in the team’s interest in relocating to our state,” said Sandoval (via KTVN).
Given that Davis is still on board with Las Vegas, it seems his relationship with Adelson isn’t ruined. Assuming the Legislature signs off on the high-priced stadium, Davis would still need 23 approval votes from the league’s other 31 owners to move his franchise. If they’re not comfortable with Adelson, it could dash Davis’ hopes.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Poll: Which 0-2 Team Is Likeliest To Rebound?
Three-quarters of NFL teams have picked up at least one win this season, leaving eight stragglers that have begun 2016 with back-to-back losses. Historically, clubs that have lost their first two games haven’t rebounded to make postseason trips often. In fact, since the league expanded and reorganized its divisions in 2002, only 12 of 116 teams that have started a season 0-2 have gone on to earn playoff berths. Two of those occurrences came last season, with the Seahawks rallying to finish 10-4 and the Texans going 9-5 over their final 14 games.
Of the teams that are currently 0-2, Cleveland stands out as the one with no realistic chance to recover. As a club in a full-blown rebuild, the Browns were completely written off entering the season, and they’ve since lost their top two quarterbacks – Robert Griffin III and Josh McCown – and No. 1 receiver Corey Coleman to significant injuries.
Elsewhere, the Bears, Bills, Dolphins and Saints faced long odds to contend coming into the year, and their chances have worsened during the first two weeks.
The Bears are stuck in a tough NFC North with the Vikings and Packers, both of whom made the playoffs in 2015. Of greater concern, perhaps, is that injuries are hampering Chicago, which will go without quarterback Jay Cutler, linebacker Danny Trevathan and nose tackle Eddie Goldman for multiple weeks. Meanwhile, linebacker Lamarr Houston is out for the season with a torn ACL.
Buffalo, which has gone a league-worst 16 straight seasons without a playoff trip, is seemingly in shambles in Year 2 of the Rex Ryan era. Ryan fired offensive coordinator Greg Roman last Friday, the same day Bills ownership had a Ryan-less meeting with several of the team’s players. Previously, the Bills dropped winnable games against the Ravens and Jets, which doesn’t bode well for a team whose next two opponents – the Cardinals and Patriots – are elite.
The Dolphins, who are among the Bills’ AFC East rivals, began with an unkind schedule over the first two weeks. They had to go to Seattle and New England, where they lost close affairs. Miami’s next opponent is the aforementioned Browns, who are primed to start third-round rookie Cody Kessler under center. On paper, the Dolphins look likely to win their home opener, but few expect rookie head coach Adam Gase & Co. to make any real noise in the standings this year.
Like the Dolphins, the Saints have started 2016 with back-to-back one-score losses, including a 35-34 opener that the Raiders won with a late two-point conversion. New Orleans hasn’t necessarily played poorly, and it still has a high-powered offense, but a defense that already had issues coming into the year has since lost starting cornerbacks Delvin Breaux and P.J. Williams to major injuries.
In the AFC South, there were preseason cases made for both the Colts or Jaguars to contend for a divisional crown, but things haven’t gone according to plan for either.
Indianapolis moved the ball with ease through the air in Week 1 against the Lions, but its defense was woeful in a 39-35 loss. Then, in last week’s 34-20 defeat in Denver, quarterback Andrew Luck was ineffective. After missing most of last season with various injuries, he has been dealing with a shoulder issue throughout this season.
The Jaguars made several hyped offseason moves and entered the season with high expectations for a franchise that hasn’t won more than five games in a season since 2010. They played the Packers to the wire in Week 1, losing 27-23, but looked like the same old Jags on Sunday in a 38-14 defeat in San Diego.
Of this year’s winless crop, only the Redskins made the playoffs last season. Washington went 9-7 en route to an NFC East title, and the division once again looks like anyone’s to win, but the team won’t have a chance without quarterback Kirk Cousins regaining something resembling the form he showed in the second half of 2015. The Cousins-led Redskins will go on the road Sunday to face the division-rival Giants, who are 2-0. It’s foolish to use the phrase “must-win game” in Week 3, but Washington’s matchup with Big Blue comes close.
As mentioned, the Browns and Dolphins play each other this week. Barring a tie, then, one will break into the win column. The other six face teams that have gone 1-1 or better, and all could remain without a victory through Week 3. Notably, no club has started 0-3 and made the playoffs since the 1998 Bills. First things first, though, which of these eight stands the best chance to make a playoff run this season?
Browns’ Corey Coleman Breaks Hand
The bad news keeps coming for the Browns: Rookie wide receiver Corey Coleman suffered a broken hand in practice Wednesday, according to Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com. It’s unclear how much time Coleman will miss, but he’ll join quarterbacks Robert Griffin III and Josh McCown as key members of the Browns’ offense who have landed on the shelf in the early going this season.
Coleman, a first-round pick in this year’s draft, was an obvious bright spot for the Browns during their 0-2 start. The ex-Baylor Bear racked up seven catches for 173 yards and a pair of scores, both of which came in the Browns’ 25-20 loss to the Ravens on Sunday. Coleman also had his first 100-yard showing in Week 2, totaling 104 on five grabs.
Prior to selecting Coleman in the draft, the Browns traded down multiple times, going from second to eighth and then to 15th, where they chose the 5-foot-11, 190-pounder. The decision to exit the No. 2 spot cost the Browns a chance to draft ex-North Dakota State quarterback Carson Wentz, who has been a standout with the Eagles thus far.
With both Griffin and McCown injured, the Browns are set to start another member of their 2016 draft class, third-rounder Cody Kessler, at quarterback in Miami this week. The fact that that the Browns will have to force Kessler into action ahead of schedule without their best receiver should only make his debut a more difficult undertaking.
Besides Coleman, Terrelle Pryor and Andrew Hawkins are the only other Browns wideouts who have caught passes this year. Pryor has impressed, having hauled in six throws for 100 yards, while Hawkins has posted more modest totals (three catches, 28 yards).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
LeGarrette Blount Had Interest In Dolphins
There were at least two instances in the past two years that running back LeGarrette Blount had interest in signing with the Dolphins, but they didn’t pursue him, an associate told Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Blount, the No. 1 back for the AFC East rival Patriots, rushed for 123 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries in the Pats’ 31-24 win over the Dolphins on Sunday.
The 29-year-old Blount, a Madison, Fla., native, didn’t encounter much of a market for his services as a free agent during the offseason. As a result, he took a one-year deal with a minimum base salary to return to the Patriots a month after free agency opened. The Dolphins lost previous starter Lamar Miller to the Texans and signed his Houston predecessor, Arian Foster, in July, but only after striking out on multiple other options – including the Broncos’ C.J. Anderson. Miami signed the then-restricted free agent to a four-year, $18MM offer sheet, which Denver matched.
The Dolphins’ 27th-ranked rushing attack hasn’t done them any favors during their 0-2 start this year. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill has driven up their yards-per-carry average with a team-leading 4.7 mark on 11 attempts, and he also paces the Dolphins in ground yardage (47). Foster hasn’t been nearly as effective, having totaled 47 yards on 16 carries in his first action since tearing his Achilles last October. The 30-year-old is now dealing with a groin injury that limited him to three carries in Week 2 and could keep him out against the Browns on Sunday. If it does, Miami has far less proven options in third-round rookie Kenyan Drake and second-year man Jay Ajayi, who has been in head coach Adam Gase‘s doghouse this year.
In theory, the bruising Blount would have been a useful weapon for a Miami team that hasn’t established a respectable ground attack yet in 2016, but the rest of the league also passed on the inexpensive seventh-year man during the offseason. Blount is once again scheduled for free agency next winter, when the Dolphins and 30 other teams could have another chance to sign the 245-pounder if New England doesn’t lock him up by then.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
East Notes: Redskins, Garoppolo, Romo, Revis
With the Redskins off to an 0-2 start, some of quarterback Kirk Cousins‘ teammates have reportedly expressed dissatisfaction with his early season output. That doesn’t surprise former Redskins linebacker Keenan Robinson, who spent the first three years of his career with Washington before signing with the Giants over the winter. “When I was there, three out of four years, it was the same thing,” he said Tuesday (via Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com). “Once they get down, they start pointing fingers. And that is true. That is what happens. And for the Redskins — I’ve only been on one team before I came here, and that was them — and all I saw was not the right way to handle it. I feel like they didn’t handle it the right way when I was there.”
Robinson is glad to have left the Redskins in favor of the Giants, saying, “I like it here better. I would say that for sure.”
As we wait for this Sunday’s tilt between Robinson’s ex-team and his current one, here’s more from the East divisions:
- The Redskins’ offseason decision to place the franchise tag on Cousins in lieu of signing him to a lucrative long-term deal looks prudent now, opines John Keim of ESPN.com. But if Cousins is unable regain something resembling his 2015 form, it’ll leave the team looking for a quarterback again, Keim notes. Ideally, he’ll emerge as a legitimate franchise-caliber passer and prove himself worthy of a major commitment for the foreseeable future.
- On one hand, it’s possible quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo will be the successor to Tom Brady in New England. On the other, Ryan Hannable of WEEI writes that Garoppolo might never play a meaningful snap as a Pat again once Brady returns from his four-game Deflategate suspension in Week 5. Brady is signed through the 2019 campaign, his age-42 season, and Garoppolo is only under contract through the end of next year. The best-case scenario for the Patriots would include retaining both, but that will look unrealistic as long as Brady continues as one of the league’s elite signal-callers.
- Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo had a back exam and a brief pregame throwing session in Washington, D.C., over the weekend, Ed Werder of ESPN.com tweets. One observer was surprised by Romo’s velocity and lack of restrictions. The 36-year-old is hoping to return sometime in October and it seems he is on track to do just that.
- While Brian Costello of the New York Post expects cornerback Darrelle Revis to rebound from his early season issues, his $13MM salary for 2017 will still be an anvil, Costello opines. Cutting the 31-year-old Revis after the season would leave the Jets on the hook for $8MM in dead money, which means he’s likely to remain with the club, per Costello. In the Jets’ first two games this year, the five-time first-team All-Pro has given up 10 catches and 152 yards to Bengals receiver A.J. Green and allowed an 84-yard touchdown to a far less formidable wideout, the Bills’ Marquise Goodwin.
Zach Links contributed to this post.