Category: NFC West Team

NFC West Team

They’ve apparently found one via trade.

The Titans also re-signed defensive end David King, who was set to be an exclusive rights free agent after finishing his first year with the team.Vikings trading for Trevor Siemian to back up Kirk Cousins

The Vikings spent a pile of money on a starting quarterback, but all three of theirs left in free agency so they needed a backup.

After years of searching for capable on the interior of the offensive line, the Dolphins could use someone with prime years left in his tank. If they feel Sitton is that guy, he may not take a second visit before agreeing to a deal.

The question is: Are we seeing the league overproducing and overkilling its product again Just as important, will it make a difference

We all make money. We all cover the draft. I’ll be writing about it. My site will cover it extensively. We all love the draft.

But this isn’t about coverage. This is about the NFL’s desire to monetize everything, to get every little drop of cash and viewers.

It can’t just let something exist. It needs to drain it to the core.

According to Adam Caplan of SiriusXM NFL Radio, Eagles tight end Brent Celek is visiting with Detroit.

The significance of the Cousins deal comes from the absence of non-guaranteed years on the back end, which allow the team to both spread the cap hit into more than three years and permit the team to keep the er around at a time when salary figures that looked good when the contract was signed suddenly become not so impressive in relation to the growth of the salary cap and increases to the market at the er’s position.

It’s understandable.It also came with his father, Wille, town and the two toasted the victory and the New Year after the game.It won’t be Week 8, however.If the Patriots are ever going to get something for Garoppolo via trade, it would be this offseason.For athlete to make the kind of commitment has made, it alters his life.

Lead with his helmet every time.In some cases, like our first player below, it hurt them rankings-wise.Since signing for just $3MM effort to rebuild his career, Latos has spun 18 3 innings which he’s allowed just six hits and one earned run.49ers_110

Falcons G Ben Garland signs RFA tender

Falcons guard Ben Garland has signed his second-round restricted free agent tender, according to D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Garland will now be paid $2.914MM for the 2018 season.

Garland was one of 14 NFL restricted free agents to be tendered at the second-round level, and he’s the first to officially sign his tender. Atlanta also tendered safety Ricardo Allen at the second-round level, but he’s yet to sign his contract. There’s no rush for Allen or any restricted free agent to sign his tender, as RFAs have until April 20 to work out offer sheets with other clubs.

McKinnon’s contract is essentially a one-year deal that bloats to a salary he’s unlikely to justify, but he can line up all over the field and is a weapon. These moves will provide a jolt for a unit that didn’t need massive additions.

It’s brilliant theater for a franchise that has gone sideways since we took one small step for man and one giant leap for mankind.

Maccagnan, the plodding dyed-in-the-wool scout, finally put his well-traveled foot on the accelerator by making an aggressive move to jump up to secure one of the top quarterbacks in this class. There’s no turning back now: Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen, Josh Allen or Baker Mayfield will be a Jet in exactly 41 days (April 26).

Maccagnan parted with precious draft capital — two second-round picks this year (Nos. 37 and 49) and a 2019 second-rounder — but it simply had to be done. The Jets might have technically “overpaid” to slide up three spots, based on the league’s draft value points system, but don’t pay much attention to this deal on paper. The value chart doesn’t factor in real-life dynamics at play.patriots_035

NBA Draft watch: Mikal Bridges, Jalen Brunson give Villanova serious pro potential

Defense, though, is Bridges’ calling card, and it forms the foundation of his profile. His long arms are disruptive to opponents as evidenced by the 2.3 steals and 1.7 blocks he averages per 40 minutes. Those are only slight upticks from his career averages of 2.2 and 1.3. His length pops on film:

As a junior, Brunson is averaging 24.4 points per 40 minutes on a 68.7 true shooting percentage. He is a capable scorer from all three levels. He has the strength to create separation for his midrange jumper using his shoulder, enough craft to get to the rim despite not much top end speed and impressive 3-point numbers. From an NBA perspective, his career 40.6 3-point percentage on 318 attempts is noteworthy.

A long-term NBA backup can still lead an NCAA Tournament champion. Alongside Bridges, one of the sport’s best two-way players, Brunson and Villanova have positioned themselves to make another March run. No one-and-dones necessary.

All statistics in this article are current as of Jan. 16, 2018. Unless otherwise noted, they are pulled from Sports-Reference.

Snubs: Chris Paul has missed too many games; Lillard is on the cusp, but can’t beat out Green’s overall value; Jokic has not really made strides this year; Jordan (and teammate Lou Williams) would make a nice story representing the scrappy Clippers in LA, but the numbers have not been there consistently.

But Friday morning, Walker found himself in a situation he had never encountered during his seven years with the Hornets. The All-Star point guard has become available on the trade market with Charlotte looking at a potential teardown ahead of the Feb. 8 deadline, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

“I’ve seen [the rumors],” Walker said to a tight circle of media members after Friday’s practice. “This is the first time I’ve really been in this kind of situation. What can I do? I’m still here, and I’ve been here for the last seven years. I’m gonna do what I gotta do to help my team win games. All I can do. I have no control over those kinds of things.”indians_014

The offensive line is obviously one of the Cowboys’ strengths, but it’s also not without its weak spots.

Super Bowl “Quarterback Comparisons,” yet again, were almost invariably presented as head-to-head, as if the game starts and the opposing QBs both run on to the field to play one-on-one, defense versus offense, then switch. As Ben Roethlisberger wisely counseled, “It’s not tennis!”

If MSG’s New Devils studio/rinkside man Bryce Salvador — who spent the final six-plus seasons of his NHL career with New Jersey — wants to be heard as a valued contributor, he has to drop this “we” stuff. Salvador’s pleasant and enthusiastic, eager to please. But the audience’s sensibilities should supersede that of the team.

As one NFC pro personnel guy told me via text: “$30M puts you at a huge cap disadvantage and he’s not the guy that’ll lift a franchise by himself.” Devoting too much in the way of cap space and resources to a quarterback who is unable to do more with less can seriously hamstring a franchise going forward.

Orlando Brown, OT, Oklahoma. La’El Collins struggled at the right tackle spot this year, and bringing in an excellent right-tackle prospect would allow him to kick inside and improve the two weaker spots on an otherwise outstanding line. Brown might not be able to handle the best speed rushers in the league, but he should serve as a long-term starter at right tackle and give the Cowboys line the boost it needs to get back to dominance.

General Manager David Gettleman loves his defensive linemen. Just ask Washington Redskins star cornerback Josh Norman, who had his franchise tag rescinded in 2016 as Gettleman bet on his pass rush instead of the mercurial star corner. This offseason, Gettleman traded defensive end Kony Ealy to New England with the hopes he could add a chaos-inducing star like Thomas at No. 8. Whether Thomas aligns outside on early downs or transitions inside on third down, this feels like the right value and spot for Thomas.

What’s wrong with Cam Newton? The Panthers are 2-1 entering Sunday’s game against at 3-0 New England, but Newton continues to struggle.

He threw three INTs last week against the Saints, who are not known as one of the more stout defensive teams in the league, and has just two TDs and four INTs this season while averaging fewer than 200 passing yards per game. Newton, one of the most mobile quarterbacks in the game, has been sacked 10 times already.

Newton, who’s had offseason shoulder surgery, has run less often than he has in the past, when he’s been most dangerous.nike-youth-cardinals-053

What you saw from the Eagles on Sunday was high-level stuff from Pederson, who schemed guys wide open for Foles.

Meanwhile, Teddy Bridgewater, who has been out since suffering a gruesome knee injury in training camp in 2016, may be close to returning, according to Glazer, with a physical scheduled for Monday. In the meantime, Case Keenum is the QB.

The Eagles backup quarterback, who was 2 for 12 on passes over 20 yards in the regular season according to Pro Football Focus, was slinging bombs down the field all game long against one of the best secondaries in football.

Second, the Eagles are loaded with talent. Even after losing those players, Philadelphia has a star wideout in Alshon Jeffery, a star tight end in Zach Ertz, two dangerous downhill runners in LeGarrette Blount and Jay Ajayi, one of the best right tackles in football in Lane Johnson, an excellent center in Jason Kelce and a defensive line that is the best in football, with Fletcher Cox, Timmy Jernigan, Brandon Graham, Vinny Curry, Derek Barnett and Chris Long providing wave after wave of pressure for opposing quarterbacks.

Brown had his work cut out for him against an assailing Georgia pass rush that boasts the long and ferocious duo of Davin Bellamy and Lorenzo Carter. The Oklahoma tackle was his usual self paving lanes for the run game but was shockingly knocked off his block a few times with swipe moves. It wasn’t an abysmal game, as he only moves down one spot.

The Jets are the very best NFL team in all of East Rutherford, N.J. That’s not exactly high praise at the moment. But it’s more than anyone had a right to expect from them this season.

The Cowboys took care of business Thursday night against the Redskins and get to play the Giants this Sunday. They’ve endured four of the six games of RB Ezekiel Elliott’s suspension. But time is running short and they’re simply too far behind some very good teams in the NFC playoff chase.

By the time Aaron Rodgers is ready to play, the Packers probably won’t have realistic playoff hopes. The top-heavy NFC just has too many good teams ahead of them. There might not be any good reason for Rodgers to come back this season.
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Bengals fans donate to Blake Bortles’ charity for beating Steelers

Bills fans flooded the Andy & Jordan Dalton Foundation with donations after Andy Dalton’s last-minute touchdown pass to Tyler Boyd not only secured a Bengals win at Baltimore, but also sent the Bills to the playoffs for the first time since the 1999 season.

Lakers coach Luke Walton saw better results when he removed his starters while trailing by four points early in the third quarter against New York and inserted rookies Alex Caruso and Kyle Kuzma with Corey Brewer, Larry Nance Jr. and Jordan Clarkson. They led the Lakers to their fifth straight home victory.

During our home winning streak, we have been really, really good defensively, Walton told reporters after the game. I was searching out a group that was willing to play that type of defense. … We got a group in there that was committed to that end of the floor, and then we just stuck with them because they were playing hard and playing the right way.

That wasn’t a given for the Bills’ standout center. Leslie Wood was due to deliver around the same time Buffalo was heading to Jacksonville for its Jan. 7 postseason road matchup against the Jaguars. Complicating matters further, Leslie was in Louisville, where the couple lives in the offseason.

Considering his importance to Buffalo’s offense and the fact that this was the first playoff opportunity of his nine-year NFL career, Wood faced a difficult choice for which he was trying to find a solution. Wood said one option was a courtesy extended by Bills owners Terry and Kim Pegula and New Era Cap, which is the title sponsor of the franchise’s home stadium.

It was kind of a crazy time preparing for a game and the birth of my first son coming, Wood said.

As it turned out, Wood had nothing to worry about. Garrett was born last Thursday with his dad in attendance.patriots_173_2b5dcac6ad38ecca-180x180

Ginn gets plenty of yards after the catch, but Brees puts the deep throw right where it needs to be.

After shaking off years of 7-9 jokes with the firing of Jeff Fisher, the Los Angeles Rams have made the postseason with an 11-5 record and will face the Atlanta Falcons at home in the NFC Wild Card Round on Saturday at 8:15 p.m. ET on NBC (live stream).

Despite retaining much of the same talent, the Falcons’ offensive production saw a steep dropoff compared to last season’s Super Bowl run. A big change was losing offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, who became the head coach of the 49ers, with former USC head coach Steve Sarkisian taking over the play calling.

With a full season of learning how to utilize the bevy of offensive talent that the team boasts, Sarkisian should find more success next season, but a big statement in the playoffs would do much to quell the offseason chatter about the safety of his role on the coaching staff.

But as a rule, day in and day out, they are a part of the club, they’re a key asset, and the more you can communicate, the better. … I have a good relationship with the Jaguars players. I normally wouldn’t have a relationship with players on other teams. The big difference now, whatever the head count was at the meeting, that many more players, I now know their viewpoint, and they know us. And that’s good. I think our focus has to be on the players.”

Not only is his arm strength still there, his accuracy is, too.

Pitch Jake Arrieta on staying in the division and on the benefits of all-you-can-eat bratwursts. Try to get a better second baseman than Eric Sogard. See if Jonathan Lucroy is interested in coming back to catch. Learn from the Pirates, who let their window close with nothing but three wild-card games and a Division Series appearance to show for it. Act now, knowing that the future is still bright.?

Gabriel Baumgaertner: The Giants look like they’re trying to remedy the problems that sunk them in 2017, but they shouldn’t be investing their future in Giancarlo Stanton. Instead, they should try and figure out third base by engaging Tampa Bay for Evan Longoria, see what the Reds want for Billy Hamilton and what Toronto would need for Kevin Pillar. wings_1024

Texans promote David Quessenberry first time since cancer diagnosis

The Texans may have a lost season but they’ll receive an emotional boost Monday with David Quessenberry on the sideline for his first regular season game in three years following a battle with non-Hodgkin T-lymphoblastic lymphoma.

If the former first-round pick remains Philadelphia and the Eagles bring another receiver, he”ll be ready to show up to work and give it his all for playing time.And buoyed by strong pitching, the retooled group created big expectations when it started 23 for first place the division.If there are any positives to this newfound injury concern for the 22-year-old, it’s that the team doesn’t deem the injury serious, and Bodner mentions that this may be a condition Embiid has dealt with prior to his scary fall against the Trail Blazers.They’re obviously very talented, but the Red Sox were very talented, and the Blue Jays are very talented, too.7, missing 30 over that stretch.

Riddick, 48, also played in the NFL after being selected by the 49ers in the ninth round of the 1991 NFL Draft. He didn’t play for San Francisco, but ended up appearing in all 16 games for the Falcons the following year and played in the NFL through the 1998 season with later stops in Cleveland and Oakland. He also played in the short-lived XFL.

Riddick is among those vying to replace longtime Giants GM Jerry Reese, who was fired Dec. 4 along with coach Ben McAdoo.

Ference joins her brother leading runners up and down narrow aisles of stairs at Commonwealth Stadium.While ‘s career numbers are impressive, he feels that the continuous evolution of the passing game and the big numbers todays receivers are racking up may weaken his Hall of Fame chances going forward.put on a show the second half of the game and won his 4 th Super Bowl MVP trophy, .Following a back and forth series, the Rangers met the Flyers for Game 7 at Square Garden.Briere thanked Flyers owner Snider, team president Holmgren and former executive Luukko.

The 63-year-old has been working at a much lower level recently, spending 2015-16 as a high school coach in his native Massachusetts before resigning in the spring.

He most recently worked in the NFL as offensive coordinator for the Dolphins in 2012-13 on the heels of a mediocre four-year stint as head coach at Texas A&M, where he compiled a 25-25 record.

Scully’s call: a year that has been improbable, the impossible has happened.Aon offered plaintiff a severance package totaling $105 if he signed agreement not to sue, but he did not accept the package.But during the telecast, analyst Sean was experiencing technical difficulties with his microphone.Bosher is steady but punted only 44 times this and only five times two playoff , which says a ton about the offense., I’m unsure if is really an RFA, as he is supposed to be with the team for three years.

He was the one who kind of took me under his wing when I first got out here.Hughes mentions Tolbert and Reece, but neither is a great lead blocker.What’s great about it though, is that Sowell doesn’t panic when this happens, he looks very comfortable.And she has worked tirelessly to help low-income children have more choices of better schools.packers_160_199c48632ee44f17-180x180

Smith-Schuster and Iloka were suspended one game each. The Steelers won 23-20.

“I believe it’s even better,” Trammell said. “For my peers to recognize [my career], that’s very much appreciated.” Trammell hit .285 and collected 2,365 hits during his 20-year career, and won four Gold Gloves at shortstop, all with the Tigers. He teamed with second baseman Lou Whitaker for nearly all of those years, making the duo the longest-running double-play combo in baseball history. Trammell hopes that Whitaker will someday join him in Cooperstown.

Boone does not have a definitive plan yet, but he foresees Stanton DHing, playing right and possibly playing in left field at times. The same goes for Judge.

“Today is a celebration for the New York Yankees, for our fan base, and a celebration of one of the great players in our sport: Giancarlo Stanton,” Boone said.

Stanton, who was joined by Boone, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and managing partner Hal Steinbrenner, said he’s not worried about the pressure of playing in the Big Apple.

The Giants reverted to something different, unfamiliar and unwelcome this time. That throws everything about their replacement plan up in the air.

Even the simple task of replacing Jerry Reese as general manager is not as simple as it sounds. The Giants have never fired a GM in midseason … in fact, they had never technically fired a GM ever. They’ve only had three since 1979: George Young for 19 years, Ernie Accorsi (who Mara said will consult on this hiring) for nine, then Reese for nearly 11.

I’m not going to let somebody disrespect me and throw a beer on me. Just because I’m playing football, I’m still a human being.” Jefferson is understandably aggrieved, but that situation would not have come to pass had Seattle not started scuffling with Jags players during kneeldowns. We’re a long way into the Pete Carroll era in Seattle, but it seems like the Seahawks still don’t know how to lose.eagles_083_2f6783d2790ec35e-180x180

Devin Hester announces retirement: ‘You can put the kickoff back at the 30’

Hester holds 10 records in the NFL, including most punt return touchdowns (14), most punt return touchdowns in a season (4) and most non-offensive touchdowns (6, 2006, 2007).

“This is not the time for the League to undertake massive contractual obligations which are inconsistent with the League’s performance,” he said in the letter.

His request was denied, and owners will use their regularly scheduled Dec. 13 meeting to discuss the issue.

If he can successfully get a delay on finalizing Goodell’s contract, it gives him more time to push his case before the commissioner’s current deal expires in March 2019.

In the most aggressive response yet from the NFL’s compensation committee, Jones got a cease and desist letter on Monday, Nov. 13, threatening him with punishment if he doesn’t drop his effort to block Goodell’s contract extension. Possible punishments include fines, loss of draft picks and a suspension for Jones.

The NFL could punish Jones on the basis that his conduct is detrimental to the league. And, yes, that’s fitting given that personal conduct fueled this fracas in the first place.

The Saints lost star rookie running back Alvin Kamara on their first drive of Thursday night’s clash against the Falcons with a concussion.

Kamara took a vicious helmet-to-helmet hit in the red zone after accumulating 27 yards on four touches to start the game. Kamara entered the game as a Rookie of the Year candidate with over 600 yards rushing and receiving.

Mark Ingram, who was questionable with a toe injury, handled the Saints’ backfield by himself after Kamara’s departure. The hit on Kamara did not receive a penalty.

The Saints also watched guard Senio Kelemete, rookie defensive end Trey Hendrickson, linebacker A.J. Klein and safety Kenny Vaccaro leave with injuries.

I’ve got sunshine on a cloudy day. When it’s cold outside, I’ve got the month of May. I guess you’d say, what can make me feel this way? My girl, my girl, my girl …chargers_004