NFC Notes: Keenum, Floyd, Fitzgerald, Vaccaro
After stopping a surging Rams team in their tracks today, the Vikings stand at 8-2 and clearly are one of the best teams in the NFL, thanks in large part to the play of third-string quarterback Case Keenum. The 29 year-old backup has performed past all reasonable expectations when he was needed to hold down the fort for the injured Sam Bradford just until former first round pick Teddy Bridgewater returned from injury. However, Keenum has impressed throwing for 280 yards or more in the last three games, including seven touchdowns and just three picks in that span. His recent play has called for Chip Scoggins of the Star Tribune to say that the debate for who should be Minnesota’s signal caller for the remainder of the season should be put to rest.
Scoggins opines that Bridgewater’s return has been emotional and uplifting, but Keenum puts the team in the best position to win now and in the playoffs. In his mind, Keenum is playing with too much confidence to make a change at this point, and in his opinion reporters should stop asking the question of who’s going to start after every game the team plays.
- Talented Bears pass rusher Leonard Floyd was carted off the field in today’s loss to the Lions, and it seems like the linebacker has suffered a “really serious” knee injury, according to Jeff Dickerson of ESPN.com. Dickerson notes that Floyd collided with cornerback Kyle Fuller‘s knee on a play in the fourth quarter and stayed on the ground for a long time before getting taken off the field. “Leonard Floyd left with what looks like a really serious knee injury,” Bears coach John Fox said. “I hate to speculate, but usually when you get taken out on a cart, it’s not great. We’ll evaluate it. I’ll talk to our doctors more today and tonight, and we will continue to evaluate tomorrow.” Floyd has not graded out all too well by Pro Football Focus this season, accumulating a mediocre 74.8 grade so far this season. But the 25-year-old showed much promise in his rookie campaign in 2016 when the edge defender tallied seven sacks in the 12 games he appeared in.
- Despite recently signing a contract extension for next season, Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald continues to dodge questions about his future in the league, reports Kent Somers of AZCentral.com. “I’m only focused on Jacksonville,” Fitzgerald said of next week’s opponent. “We lost a tough one today. We’ve got a really, really, really good defense coming in at home this weekend and two good defenses following them (Rams, Titans). We’ve got to focus on that and that’s where all my attention is focused.” This can be expected from Fitz considering that he’s never been one to reveal much to the media, but it’s still notable because of the trying season Arizona is going through for the second straight year. The 34-year-old pass catcher can still clearly play and is putting up numbers to prove it, but football is a tough game and it remains to be seen what he will decide to do moving forward when he has no more games to look to after Week 17.
- The Saints pulled off a tremendous comeback win when they came back from 15 points down to beat the Redskins in overtime to win their eighth straight game. Safety Kenny Vaccaro made a note of the winning streak on his personal Twitter account today and also made the proclamation that he would be ready to return for the team’s game vs. the Rams next Sunday (Twitter link). The news should be taken with a grain of salt considering the team’s doctors haven’t cleared him to return, but it’s certainly a positive development for New Orleans who have had to be without their starting safety for the past two weeks as he’s been recovering from a groin injury.
Poll: Who Takes The Final AFC Playoff Spot?
While the NFC is crowded with a bunch of playoff caliber teams, the AFC only has five teams above .500. The Steelers and Patriots are the clear favorites at 8-2, while the Chiefs, Jaguars and Titans look like solid bets to make the postseason. The intrigue stems from what AFC team will win that sixth and final playoff spot, despite the franchises in the hunt looking mostly average to put it nicely. At the moment, the Ravens are second wild card at 5-5. The Bills are also .500 with the Chargers, Bengals, Raiders, Dolphins, Jets and Texans all trailing by a game at 4-6. It looks like nine wins could be enough to sneak into the postseason, with even eight wins being a distinct possibility when looking at the remaining schedule.
Baltimore Ravens (5-5): The Ravens are clearly led by their defense. The team has collected 16 interceptions over the first ten games of the season, with the unit led by the likes of Jimmy Smith, Eric Weddle, Terrell Suggs, C.J. Mosley, Michael Pierce and Brandon Williams. The secondary is very strong and deep and the front seven has been much better at stopping the run since the aforementioned Williams returned from injury. The offense on the other hand, has trouble moving the football to say the least. Joe Flacco ranks as the 31st QB in the league so far this year with the team having to overcome injuries from many of their best offensive players including Marshal Yanda, Ronnie Stanley, Mike Wallace, Jeremy Maclin and Danny Woodhead among others. It goes without saying that this type of offense will struggle to keep up with the likes of the Pats and Steelers in the playoffs, but Baltimore seems to be best positioned to make a run at the second wild card when looking at their schedule and current roster.
Buffalo Bills (5-5): The Bills have taken a nosedive since what was a promising early season start. Head coach Sean McDermott has turned to rookie Nathan Peterman to take over for veteran signal caller Tyrod Taylor, which led to horrible results. The team appears to be in shambles after being blown out by the likes of the Saints and Chargers over the past two weeks. LeSean McCoy is still dynamic and gives them a clear identity on offense, and the defense has playmakers all around. But this has not been winning franchise this past decade and without a clear signal caller to lead the way, their playoff prospects are clearly not looking as good as they were when this month started.
Miami Dolphins (4-6): The Dolphins 2017 season is going downhill fast after dropping four games in a row since opening the year 4-2. The team already got rid of a main component of their offense in running back Jay Ajayi, and while the team’s ground attack hasn’t suffered too much, the defense has been plagued by inconsistent play in the secondary with two inexperienced corners on the outside. Neither Matt Moore or Jay Cutler look like playoff quarterbacks right now and Adam Gase seems to be losing control of the team. The second AFC wild card from a year ago has so much negative momentum going for them at the moment, it seems difficult to envision them going on a run with the roster they have. There is offensive and defensive talent to build around for the future, but it’s going to take some extra magic to get this team turned in the right direction after what has transpired over this past month.
New York Jets (4-6): The Jets were a pleasant surprise early on, proving a lot of people wrong who said they were clearly tanking for a young quarterback when the season began. However, New York has come back to earth with the team showing obvious flaws, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Josh McCown has performed admirably with many unproven players that surround him, however you wouldn’t say the passing game is a real threat. The running game is inconsistent and the passing game has been mediocre apart from a few big plays per game from either Robby Anderson or Jermaine Kearse. The defense has a lot more talent, but I think much of the Jets success stems from an easy early season schedule. Their slate gets much more difficult after the bye they just had, so it’s going to be tough to hang around when you haven’t proved to be able to beat playoff caliber teams this season. It’s an encouraging year for Todd Bowles for sure, but a playoff berth does not seem likely.
Cincinnati Bengals (4-6): Despite the team looking lost at many points through the first 11 weeks of the season, the Bengals did enough to win an “elimination” game in Denver. Andy Dalton is on the better end of the QB spectrum when looking at this list and A.J. Green is still on of the best receivers in football. Joe Mixon hasn’t broken out as many thought, but he’s still a very talented runner that is getting more and more experience. The defense has been opportunistic, but isn’t a great unit. The team is really just mediocre, but that type of roster may have a place in the postseason this year because of the evident drop off in talent in the conference. Cincy has already lost to Baltimore at home, which puts them in a hole, but they have a playoff pedigree and the talent to separate themselves from the teams in the hunt.
Houston Texans (4-6): Houston looked primed for a playoff spot with the way Deshaun Watson was playing in his first stint in the NFL. Unfortunately, thanks to a knee injury, the former Clemson QB is out for the season and the team’s postseason outlook looks much worse because of it. Tom Savage led the Texans to their first win of the season since Watson went down when they beat the Cardinals today, but it’s tough to see the them consistently win games with Savage at the helm. The team has taken hits all season long in regards to injury with J.J. Watt, Whitney Mercilus, Will Fuller and Watson all missing time, plus they had to deal with Duane Brown holding out early in the season. It’s a credit to Bill O’Brian for keeping them relevant at this point in the season, but without their key playmakers, it’s going to be tough to win at least the four games they need to in order to sneak into the playoffs.
Los Angeles Chargers (4-6): Philip Rivers and co. could be in a much better position if they had solved their field goal kicking problems earlier in the season, but the newly located franchise still makes a solid case for being that final AFC playoff team. Rivers’ play has dropped off in his 14 year in the NFL, but he still ranks way above most of the quarterbacks in this race. The offense also have two of the better players at their positions in Keenan Allen and Melvin Gordon to go along with breakout candidates in the second half of the season like Austin Ekler and Mike Williams. The defense is led by two great pass rushers in Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram who are always capable of making a game altering type play. The offensive line and defensive backfield have their weaknesses, but the Chargers are more talented than many teams vying for this second wild card.
Oakland Raiders (4-6): Despite being blown out of Mexico City at the hands of the Patriots, the Raiders still have a path to getting to the postseason. On the glass half full side, the team has the best QB of this group in Derek Carr, who is a true playoff caliber signal caller with weapons all around. We’ve seen them put it together at times, although it’s nothing like the system they had moving in 2016. The offensive line is still a strength and Marshawn Lynch has been better in recent weeks too. The defense and schedule is the big question here. With a well below-average secondary makes it tough for the team to limit big plays, so they’re going to have to win a lot of shootouts if they hope to win this final postseason spot. The schedule is much tougher than others in the race, so upsets are going to have to be pulled, but the talent is notable and they should remain in the hunt considering the general lack of quality football that’s been played by team’s hoping to overtake them in the final six weeks of the regular season.
AFC Notes: Dolphins, Jets, Rosen, Darnold, McDermott, Bills QB’s, Kizer, Broncos Offense
The Dolphins dropped their fourth game in a row when the Bucs broke away in the fourth quarter of today’s contest, which has James Walker of ESPN.com saying that the team will start have to turn their attention to 2018. While Walker does note that the coaches and players will say that they’re still in the wild card hunt, the reality is that the team is showing no signs of making a run during the remaining weeks of the regular season. It’s a sobering thought for second-year head coach Adam Gase, who led Miami to a playoff birth during his first season as the Dolphins leader.
In addition to the defeat, the team also lost starting quarterback Jay Cutler to a concussion during today’s game. Cutler has already missed time earlier in the season, but the Dolphins continue to have an identity problem at the position, according to Adam Beasley of The Miami Herald. Although Matt Moore was effective in relief of Cutler in Week 11, the team did not signal what they intend to do at the quarterback position a week from now.
Gase told Beasley after the game that, “I want to get to tomorrow first, see how [Cutler is] feeling.” These situations usually get more light shed on them as the practice week goes on, however the Dolphins find themselves stuck in an unassuming gray area of the league with two veteran signal callers that can’t be relied on to deliver in the future. Miami still has Ryan Tannehill signed to a long-term deal when he fully recovers from his season-ending knee injury, but he hasn’t truly grabbed the reigns of the franchise since the team took the quarterback in the first round back in 2012.
- Another team definitely looking ahead in regards to the QB position is the Jets, who had their general manager Mike Maccagnan, vice president of personnel Brian Heimerdinger and area scout Brian Shields on hand for the USC-UCLA game on Saturday to watch two of the best 2018 NFL Draft QB prospects in Josh Rosen and Sam Darnold square off, reports Rich Cimini of ESPN.com. Cimini notes the interesting behavior of Maccagnan in particular, who he saw writing a “copious” amount of notes and decided to watch the game from behind the sidelines instead of in the press box, where most of the NFL scouts were sitting. The Jets are likely to cast a wide net in their search for their next franchise signal, but it would seem that the front office has a significant amount of interest in two of the best college quarterbacks in the country.
- The Bills have produced themselves a tremendous QB controversy when they shockingly decided to bench starter Tyrod Taylor for rookie Nathan Peterman. However, after Peterman threw five interceptions in the first half of today’s loss at the hands of the Chargers, head coach Sean McDermott is confident and says that he is not second guessing his decision, according to Mike Rodak of ESPN.com. The head coach didn’t reveal his intentions for who will start next week, even though Taylor did finish out the game today. The coach just said, “I’m going to evaluate.” when asked about his QB questions in his postgame media session, reports Vic Carruci of the Buffalo News (Twitter link).
- On the other hand, Browns head coach Hue Jackson committed to his rookie signal caller for the rest of the season after today’s game, reports Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. Jackson has turned to both Kevin Hogan and Cody Kessler throughout the season, but he seemed very set on DeShone Kizer after his team suffered their 10th straight loss of the 2017 season. “Where we are right now, I need to continue to see him,” said Jackson. “Let’s let him play. Let’s let him play this thing out. As long as he’s healthy, let’s keep putting him out there. I want to walk away from this season knowing exactly what DeShone Kizer is top to bottom. He deserves that. I know this is all tough for him. Week in and week out, it’s the consistency he has to keep chasing. He just has to keep working at it.” While seeing how Kizer reacts to this adversity seems like the franchise’s main priority, they’re quickly running out of chances to not fall into the same breadth as the 2008 Lions, who were the first team in league history to go 0-16 in a season.
- The Broncos suffered their sixth straight loss at the hands of the Bengals after starting out 3-1 to start the season. The team has shifted to backup Brock Osweiler and could be looking to implement second-year quarterback Paxton Lynch at some point in the remaining six weeks of the season. However, apart from the QB problems, the team is apparently dealing with pushback from players regarding their current offensive scheme, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Sources tell the reporter that players are starting to show frustration with the way the offense is running. The team does have two very good receivers in Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders, but there are a ton of holes throughout the unit that schemes won’t hide. We’ll see how first-year head coach Vance Joseph reacts to the losing streak, but it’s turning out that this is a lost season for the Super Bowl 50 champions.
League Notes: Goodell, Anti-Tampering, Mexico, NFLPA
The issues regarding the current Roger Goodell contract negotiations have been well documented over the past few months. From problems stemming from power over the league to the notable grievances Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has brought up throughout the process, the efforts towards a deal have not been without a lot of public mud throwing. However, a deal is still expected to be reached during or right before the Owners Meeting kick off in Dallas on December 13, according to sources talking to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com.
Schefter also adds that attempts to delay the contract agreement has dissipated “meaningfully”, according to one league source. There’s always been a belief that ultimately both sides would agree on the terms, it was more of a question of when those final talks would take place. The insider relays that Goodell is expected to be paid up to $40 MM a year from 2019-2023 if all his bonuses come to fruition. This would make the commissioner a whopping $200 MM if these reported numbers are correct. The reported base salary would still be in the single-digit million dollar range, but his extra compensation would push his pay up to those higher-end rates.
It remains to be seen what type of impact this public dispute will have on Goodell’s power in terms of moving forward even after a deal is reached, but that’s probably a separate issue for the commissioner who’s looking to maintain his hold on the league for another five years.
- Schefter also passed along that the NFL sent out a league-wide email last week reminding teams of new anti-tampering rules in regards to general manager interviews. The new rules allow for less strict guidelines for potential interviews for candidates on opposing teams. Schefter notes that one of the changes allows for teams to interview people even if they have control of their current team’s 53 man roster during the interview process. A anonymous NFL executive told Schefter that the new rules will have a “big impact” on front office movement during the offseason. While fans are used to seeing team personnel changes every year, this new adjustment should increase the amount of rumors that swirl in terms of what front office executives will be coming and going from franchises across the league.
- Today, the NFL and the Mexico Ministry of Tourism announced a new deal that will keep the league playing in Mexico from 2019-2021. The NFL’s Vice President of Football Communications Michael Signora posted a tweet of the agreement, which states that there will be a regular season game played in Mexico City for the next three years after the current contract ends next season. The move clearly indicates that the league is still looking to maintain and even gain more of a presence internationally. The Raiders have played in both contests in Mexico so far, so you would think that the NFL will continue to give international fans a chance to keep seeing them even after they relocate to Las Vegas.
- In NFLPA news, a former challenger of current head of the union DeMaurice Smith, attorney Cyrus Mehri is being open about his concerns with how the organization is being run. Apparently, Mehri sent a report to players across the league accusing Smith of spending “excessive” amounts of money on legal fees in order to fight off challengers, including himself, according to Mark Maske of the Washington Post. Maske reports that the remarks from Mehri stated that the Players Union spent over $113 MM in legal fees when a league like the NBA was only spending about $1.5 MM in a similar amount of time. While Smith did end up holding onto his current job, this news opens up questions about some of the inner workings of the union under the control of Smith. We’ll see what defense the NFLPA comes out with because they have yet to comment on this situation and they will likely need to address these shady reports if Smith hopes to stand on firmer ground with his players in the months to come.
AFC Notes: Jets, Darnold, Rosen, Fuller, Broncos TE’s, Williams
While the game probably will not effect the College Football Playoff, USC vs. UCLA will certainly have a ton of NFL Draft implications. Both starting quarterbacks, Sam Darnold and Josh Rosen, are considered two of the best QB draft prospects eligible for the 2018 NFL Draft, and will try to outshine each other during Saturday’s contest. The hyped matchup will be attended by 20 teams in some form, including the QB needy Jets, according to Rich Cimini of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The Jets were most recently connected to Wyoming signal caller Josh Allen, although Allen’s draft status has taken a big hit because of some early season struggles vs. top level collegiate defenses. New York’s season has gone a bit better than many expected, but they still have a long-term need at the QB position with Christian Hackenberg and Bryce Petty not looking like the long-term answer. The Jets, along with many other scouting departments will definitely get a good comparison of two of the top signal callers in all of college football in Los Angeles this weekend.
- The Texans have faced a number of injuries to key players including J.J. Watt, Whitney Mercilus and most recently quarterback Deshaun Watson. Now another playmaker who missed time early in the season will be forced to the sidelines again. Big play receiver Will Fuller will miss Sunday’s game with a rib injury, according Houston’s official injury report released on Friday afternoon. This leaves the team without another weapon for now starter Tom Savage and puts added pressure on DeAndre Hopkins to make contested plays due to increased attention from the defensive backs. Fuller missed the Texans first three games with a broken collarbone, but has since caught an impressive seven touchdowns in the past six games. Bruce Ellington is the next man up on the depth chart to try and replace Fuller’s downfield threat ability.
- The Broncos have just one tight end on the roster entering the weekend for this Sunday’s game against the Bengals. Both A.J. Derby and Jeff Heuerman have been ruled out, which leaves Virgil Green as the lone name left on the depth chart, according to Mike Klis of 9news.com. Derby is recovering from a shoulder injury that he suffered this past Sunday night and Heuerman is dealing with a knee injury. It should be noted that no Broncos tight end has been a huge factor in the team’s offense, with Denver mostly relying on the receiving combo of Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders to move the football through the air. Klis does note that the team is expected to call up practice squad tight end Austin Traylor to take snaps as the team’s number two, adding that interestingly an unknown offensive lineman could work as the Broncos number three option if need be.
- In order for the Browns to activate wide receiver Corey Coleman, they opted to waive fellow wideout Kasen Williams. The team has learned that Williams has passed through waivers and is free to sign with any practice squad he chooses, tweets Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times. The 25 year-old receiver first latched on with the Seattle back in 2015, but appeared in seven games with Cleveland so far this season.
NFC Notes: Winston, Wilson, Lane, Saints O-Line
We now know that the NFL is investigating an incident regarding Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston and an uber driver from last year. The female uber driver claimed that the former number one overall pick groped her during a ride, but Winston has denied those allegations. but adding onto this story, Steve Wyche of NFL.com reports in a Twitter video, that the 23 year-old signal caller will not go on the exempt list because no charges have filed as of yet.
However, it might not be long until the quarterback faces suspension from the league, according to Roy Cummings of Florida Football Insiders. Cummings says that while Winston may avoid suspension for the rest of the year because the investigation could take some time, but notes that sexual assault allegations have resulted in missed time in the past. The writer points to when Ben Roethlisberger was suspended for four games back when he faced similar charges in 2010.
The story is still unfolding, so while Winston’s playing outlook is in flux given his current injury, this situation adds an unexpected twist to his 2017 season and perhaps even in 2018.
- Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson shed some light on the jaw injury that he suffered vs. Arizona last Thursday in a session with the media today. The signal caller said that while he wasn’t concussed in the game, his jaw injury forced him to undergo some drastic treatment in the days after, according to Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times. Condotta relays that Wilson was forced to wear a mouthguard and could not eat solid foods for the three days following the midweek contest. “Basically, the game was on Thursday, so Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, I was pretty sore,” he said. “Tons of ice and treatment and all of that, so I feel good now. … the first two-and-a-half, three days, I couldn’t really eat anything. I was just doing smoothies and all that kind of stuff.” While the injury does sound painful, it looks like Wilson is going to tough it out for Monday night’s game vs. the Falcons.
- While Wilson will remain in the starting lineup, another team leader in Richard Sherman will miss the rest of the season. With that news finally settling in for Seahawks fans, Condotta also passes along that cornerback Jeremy Lane will replace him in the defensive backfield (Twitter link). Lane was notably rescinded in the Duane Brown trade because he failed the Texans physical, and now finds himself as a key cog to Seattle staying afloat in a competitive NFC playoff picture.
- The Saints have been one of the hottest teams in football winning their last seven games after dropping their first two at the start of the regular season. A big reason for this has been the emergence of arguably the league’s best 1-2 backfield punch that includes veteran Mark Ingram and rookie Alvin Kamara. However, Joel Erickson of the New Orleans Advocate notes that the team has been helped by some notable early returns on their offensive line. Erickson states that three of the team’s starting lineman have returned sooner than expected, including guard Larry Warford, center Max Unger and left tackle Terron Armstead. Warford returned this past Sunday from an abdominal strain, missing only two games, Unger progressed ahead of schedule from offseason Lisfranc surgery and Armstead’s return was premature after suffering a torn labrum. All three lineman have helped the Saints offense change it’s identity to a more ground and pound style, which has been on full display in the past seven weeks.
Philip Rivers Cleared To Play On Sunday
The Chargers will have their franchise quarterback when they face the Bills at home on Sunday. The team has announced that Philip Rivers has cleared the league’s concussion protocol and will be active for the team’s 10th game of the season, according to Eric Williams of ESPN.com. The soon-to-be 36-year-old veteran signal caller hasn’t not started a regular season game since 2005, when he was the clear backup to then starter Drew Brees in San Diego.
Rivers has been progressing on schedule throughout the past week and it seemed more and more likely that the all-star QB would play as the week went along. While the not the same player he was in his prime, the former fourth overall draft pick back in 2004 has maintained low-end starting caliber numbers in his 14th year in the league. Rivers has passed for over 2,250 yards in nine games in 2017, throwing 15 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. His QBR stands at a meager 43.1 through 10 weeks with him ranking as just the 24th best quarterback in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus.
Nevertheless, Rivers is a much better option than backups Kellen Clemens and Cardale Jones to roll out on gameday. Jones only appeared in one game for the Bills during his rookie season, while Clemens has only attempted 10 passes since 2014. At 3-6, the Chargers seem to be on the outside looking in of the postseason pitcure, even with what looks to be an underwhelming race for the final wild card spot in the AFC. Still, Los Angeles must beat Buffalo this weekend if the team hopes to have any shot in pushing for a playoff spot during the final two months of the regular season, which now looks like much more manageable task with Rivers expected to play in Week 11.
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/17/17
Here are today’s minor transactions:
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
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Waived: WR Bernard Reedy
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Signed from practice squad: WR Freddie Martino
Today’s practice squad updates:
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: TE Braedon Bowman
- Waived: OT Jake Rogers
AFC Notes: Dolphins, Grimes, Gordon, Hali, Ford, Stanley, Pats Injuries
The Dolphins season has taken a dive in recent weeks. After starting the year 4-2, the team has lost control of the final AFC Wild Card spot, losing their past three games by a combined 67 points, thanks to blowout defeats at the hands of the Ravens and Panthers. However, while their reliance on Jay Cutler and midseason trade of Jay Ajayi have’t helped, Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald opines that the secondary has been one of the major reasons why the Dolphins are not in position to be playoff contenders, particularly in regards to loss of Brent Grimes when the franchise opted to cut him before the 2016 season.
Beasley explains that the front office decided to move on from the veteran cornerback because his age, salary, 2015 performance and even his wife’s antics, but in hindsight the team misses Grimes’ steady contributions. The 34 year-old corner will face his former team for the first time since they let him walk this Sunday. Since his release, the Dolphins have failed to rectify the position with the likes of Byron Maxwell, Tony Lippett, Xavien Howard and Cordrea Tankersley. While Howard and Tankersley are still young, both aren’t guys you can lean on during a playoff run. In comparison, Grimes has played more like a middle of the pack corner this season , grading out as the 60th best corner in the league, according to Pro Football Focus. Still, in Beasley’s opinion the way the team has handled their defensive back situation has been a dud all around over the past few years.
- Josh Gordon is back at the Browns practice facility and he has made a positive impression on head coach Hue Jackson, according to Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal (Twitter link). Ulrich passes along that the second-year Cleveland head coach has stated that the wideout has been “involved” and is a “pleasure to be around”. The Browns reporter also states that Jackson expects the talented reciever to be back on the practice field on November 20. Still just 26 years old, Gordon last played for the team in 2014, and has since been suspended from the league for multiple drug violations. The former high supplemental draft pick will be a restricted free agent in 2018, so he needs to make the most of every opportunity to impress the coaching staff if he wants a real chance to continue his playing career.
- The Chiefs will be without two key pass rushers when they travel to New Jersey to take on the Giants this Sunday. Both Dee Ford and Tamba Hali have been ruled out for the contest, according to Adam Teicher of ESPN.com (Twitter link). This is particularly interesting development in the case of Hali because the team took the cautious approach to resting him by putting him on the PUP before the start of the regular season. However, he remains on the sideline despite being placed back on the active roster. Kansas City will lean on Frank Zombo with these pass rush specialists unavailable. Getting to the quarterback has been an issue for the team, as the Chiefs currently rank in the bottom half of the league in terms of sacks, racking up just a combined 19.0 through ten weeks.
- The Ravens have already lost their best offensive lineman for the year in Marshal Yanda and have another troubling injury situation unfolding regarding left tackle Ronnie Stanley. Even after a bye, the second-year lineman is doubtful to play with a concussion, tweets Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. Obviously, all concussions should be taken seriously, but his absence should be a concern considering that Baltimore has really had to shakeup their protection for Joe Flacco with the injuries to Yanda and second-year guard Alex Lewis. James Hurst would likely get the start in place of Stanley, which is a significant downgrade for a team that is looking to gain momentum in securing the final AFC wild card spot over the last seven weeks of the regular season.
- The Patriots will be without two starting offensive lineman of their own when they travel to Mexico City to take on the Raiders on Sunday afternoon. Both center David Andrews (illness) and right tackle Marcus Cannon (ankle) have been ruled out, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Backup lineman Ted Karras got some snaps at center during last week’s blowout of the Broncos and the team has reserve tackles in Cameron Fleming and LaAdrian Waddle who could fill in at right tackle. Bill Belichick and co. will also be without Chris Hogan and special teams ace Matt Slater, so the team has to overcome more than just new surroundings to get out of Mexico with their eighth win of the year.
AFC Notes: Jackson, Kizer, Claiborne, Hurns
It seemed for a few moments on Sunday that the Browns may in fact snap their eight-game losing streak, but it was not to be. One of the key turning points of the game came when the Browns ran a quarterback sneak deep in Lions territory with just seconds left and no time outs. QB DeShone Kizer was stuffed at the line and the clock ran out before Cleveland could get any points on the board. While it looks like the play may have been an audible from the rookie second round pick, head coach Hue Jackson told Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com and the rest of the media that the mistake fell squarely on him.
“Doesn’t matter (if he audibled),” said Jackson. “It’s on me. To go ’round and ’round about it, I’m not going to do that. Anything that happens with our offensive football team is my responsibility, so that’s on me.”
The second-year Browns head coach didn’t budge when describing what went wrong at the end of the half, continuing to put on the focus on him being the decision maker of the offense when his football team has the ball.
“It’s on me,” Jackson continued. “I’m mad at myself. Nobody else. period. I’m taking the fall on everything. We’re an 0-9 football team right now.”
- Despite the negativity surrounding the now only winless team in the NFL, Kay Cabot did also pass along in another article that Jackson felt his young quarterback played his best game of his young professional career. Kizer himself also focused on how he’s improving as the year has gone on. “Yeah, every game so far I’ve felt pretty confident that I was getting better,” Kizer said. “I was able to play the whole game, wasn’t benched, wasn’t in a situation in which I was turning the ball over earlier in the game. Got a little rhythm going, so yeah, I think this was my best outing yet.” It’s encouraging to see Kizer put a solid game together, especially given the circumstances surrounding the franchise. He’ll likely have the keys to starting QB job for the rest of the season, so if the rookie can continue to build off his solid performance today, it may make the team think twice about whether they want to bring another young signal caller into the building next season.
- Jets cornerback Morris Claiborne left today’s game vs. Tampa Bay in the first quarter because he aggravated a previous foot injury, according to Rich Cimini of ESPN.com. The former sixth overall pick told Cimini that he wasn’t 100% going into the contest, but wanted to try and tough out the injury. “Wanted to give it a shot to see where it was, to see if I️ could make it through the game. But I also didn’t want to go out and put bad film out there and get beat where you lose the game.” We’ll just have to see how whether the Jets hold out their 27 year-old defensive back in practice this coming week. The team has the likes of Rashard Robinson and Darryl Roberts ready to go if this turns out to be a multi-week issue, the former was brought to the Jets in a trade from San Francisco last month.
- The Jaguars could lose another wide receiver after Allen Hurns went down with a knee injury during today’s comeback win over the Chargers. The wideout was injured on his 26th birthday when he was hit directly on his knee and was forced to leave the game. The former starting receiver was seen on crunches in the locker room, unable to put any weight on his right leg and is set to undergo an MRI on Monday, according to Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com.