NFL News

[Futureshock]

Ugh... Be prepared for dumb fouls. Subjective fouls.

Last year I thought it refreshing to see them just play. Now they're going to inject themselves in the game play because the numbers aren't as bad as the past? I would think the fans, players and teams should be the ones requesting the change.

My goodness

[Futureshock]

Frank Reich: Stephon Gilmore is definitely challenging us all to get better

Posted by Myles Simmons on August 8, 2022, 9:14 AM EDT

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While the Colts’ most notable offseason addition was quarterback Matt Ryan, the team also made some significant moves to improve its defense.

One such signing was cornerback Stephon Gilmore.

The 2019 defensive player of the year, Gilmore signed a two-year deal with the Colts in mid-April. Gilmore has played just 19 games over the last two seasons, dealing with a quad injury in New England. The Patriots traded him to the Panthers last October and he recorded a pair of interceptions in eight games with three starts.

But Gilmore has been turning heads in this year’s training camp. According to multiple dispatches from Sunday’s Colts practice, Gilmore got a pick-six off of Ryan in 7-on-7 drills.

“I can just tell you from a quarterback’s perspective, he’s the kind of cornerback you fear because [of the] way he sees the game,” head coach Frank Reich said in his Sunday press conference. “He knows what’s coming before it’s coming. He’s so quick to recognize routes, concepts, and then he has the ability to make plays on the ball and turn it over. That’s what we’ve seen from start to finish.

“Love him. Love the player, love the person, love how he’s fitting in with this team. I really feel like he’s helping our defense and helping our secondary to kind of elevate it to a new level for us.”

Reich added that Gilmore’s presence has also benefitted the team’s receiving corps.

“[T]hat is just a universal principle, right? The more you are challenged, the harder it is and the more you have to figure out how to win,” Reich said. “This game ultimately — like we always say — comes down to one-on-one matchups and how am I going to win my one-on-one matchup? So, when you go up against a guy like Gilmore, you’re just challenged.

“Half the time he knows what you are doing and you still have got to find a way to win. So, I think the receivers have been doing a decent job at that and we won our shares versus ‘Gilly’, but he’s definitely challenging us all to get better.”

[Futureshock]

Week 1 victim...


Nick Sirianni hints at two series for starters in Friday night’s preseason opener

Posted by Mike Florio on August 8, 2022, 6:19 AM EDT

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The beefed-up Eagles roster, with the passing game adding receiver A.J. Brown, will make its debut on Friday night against the Jets. So will we see Brown, receiver DeVonta Smith, quarterback Jalen Hurts, and other starters?

“Still sorting through all that,” coach Nick Sirianni told reporters on Sunday. “We don’t have to make that decision until Friday. We’ll probably make it a little bit sooner than that, but still sorting through that.”

Sirianni set a precedent last year, his first with the team.

“Last year we played them, I want to say two series each,” Sirianni said. “We felt like that was a good formula. I’m not committing to that yet. But we’re still thinking it through at this time.”

Veteran Eagles sideline reporter Howard Eskin posed a great follow-up question: “What’s to think about?”

“Well, how they feel today or where we are as a team today is going to change in the next three days, right?” Sirianni said. “We’re constantly in the business of getting better, and we will see how things change in the next three days. There are so many things that can change in those days; I’m trying to take it one day at a time.”

He’s possibly saying that, in the next three days of practice, there could be an injury or a close call that freaks him out just enough to put his starters in bubble wrap for the preseason. Barring that, expect to see the starters for two drives against the Jets.

[Futureshock]

Chiefs cut Deandre Baker

Posted by Charean Williams on August 7, 2022, 1:01 PM EDT

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Cornerback Deandre Baker is looking for a new team again. The Chiefs cut Baker on Sunday, Adam Teicher of ESPN reports.

The Chiefs upgraded at the position this offseason by drafting Trent McDuffie, Josh Williams and Jaylen Watson and trading for Lonnie Johnson. Baker had signed an exclusive rights tender to return.

The Giants made Baker a first-round choice in 2019, and he played all 16 games his rookie season, including 15 starts. The team cut Baker after he was charged with four counts of armed robbery, and the Chiefs signed him to their practice squad after the Broward County (Florida) Attorney’s office dropped charges against Baker.

The Chiefs elevated him to the active roster for two games in 2020, and Baker appeared in eight games with one start for Kansas City in 2021. He totaled 16 tackles and a pass defensed last season, seeing action on 211 defensive snaps and 50 on special teams.

[Futureshock]

The Raiders seem to be showcasing Josh Jacobs for a potential trade

Posted by Mike Florio on August 7, 2022, 11:48 AM EDT

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Running back Josh Jacobs is listed as a starter on the team’s preseason depth chart. It’s fair to wonder how much longer he’ll be on the team.

Jacobs, the only skill-position player to start for the Raiders in Canton on Thursday night, had five carries for 30 yards. He added two catches for 14.

Coach Josh McDaniels downplayed the decision to use Jacobs in the bonus preseason game, explaining that running backs need to get used to being hit and tackled before the games that count. Still, it’s entirely possible that Jacobs has fallen out of favor with the new regime in Las Vegas.

The first clear indication came when the Raiders didn’t pick up his fifth-year option. Jacobs, surely aware of the manner in which McDaniels deployed running backs in New England, knows that his trio of 250-plus-touch seasons likely has ended.

So in a contract year, Jacobs may not get the kind of regular-season workload that would help him secure the kind of second deal he assumed he’d eventually find, with the Raiders or another team. He’d be more likely to get it with another team.

The decision to use Jacobs so extensively in the preseason opener becomes a signal to the rest of the league. Jacobs is available. Given that the position entails car-crash contact that inevitably results in injuries, it’s just a matter or time before a starting tailback with another team exits for weeks or months or the rest of the season. That’s when the Raiders quite possibly will get a call. And when Jacobs quite likely will end up in a place where he can get more chances to show what he can do.

Jacobs has a fully-guaranteed salary of $2.122 million. The Raiders have no reason to rush to move him. They can wait for the right moment — even if it doesn’t come until the season starts. At some point between now and the Tuesday after Week Eight, an opportunity to trade Jacobs will arise.

He has more than 3,000 rushing yards in three seasons, with a pair of 1,000-yard campaigns. Even if he doesn’t have much of a future with the Raiders, he’s done enough to get another chance somewhere. And he’s good enough for the Raiders to get value for the final year of his rookie deal.

[Futureshock]

Here you go Jaadam. Get your coins together...


A Joe Namath mink coat from the 1970s is available at auction

Posted by Mike Florio on August 7, 2022, 10:53 AM EDT

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Here’s a piece of memorabilia that Colts owner Jim Irsay may not be inclined to purchase.

A Joe Namath mink coat from the 1970s is available from Heritage Auctions. The current leading bid is $5,250.

The coat, which has the initials JWN on the inside, comes with a signed football and a signed Esquire magazine with Namath on the cover.

Namath became a living legend when he guaranteed that the Jets would beat the Colts in Super Bowl III, despite Namath’s team being double-digit underdogs.

His on-field exploits were matched by his swagger and style. From mink coats to TV commercials to a temporary decision to quit football after Commissioner Pete Rozelle ordered Namath to sell his interest in a restaurant frequented by bookmakers and gamblers and others of the type the NFL shunned — until the NFL realized how much money it could make from legalized sports betting.

How much money will Namath make from his mink coat? That remains to be seen. The bidding remains open until August 27.

And it really would be perfect if Irsay bought the thing.

[Futureshock]

NFL quietly tweaked lowering of helmet rule for 2022

Posted by Mike Florio on August 7, 2022, 10:14 AM EDT

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When the NFL first adopted the rule regarding the lowering of the helmet in 2018, no one knew it was coming. This year, the NFL has made a tweak to the controversial rule that no one knew had happened.

The change appears in the official 2022 rulebook, which the NFL has posted online. The rule now reads as follows: “It is a foul if a player lowers his head and makes forcible contact with his helmet against an opponent.”

The rule has changed in two ways. First, the NFL has removed the requirement that the player initiate contact. Second, the word “forcible” has been added to the rule.

Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the word “initiate” was erased from the rule because it became a sticking point in connection with fines imposed on players for violating the rule. It was commonplace for players to argue that they did not “initiate” the contact, and it was making it harder for the fines to stick via the internal appeals process.

Of course, the addition of the word “forcible” will give players a different defense. The league apparently thinks it will be easier to show that a player made a forcible blow with the helmet than it was to prove that the player had initiated the contact.

It’s possible that many players have been fined for violating this rule since its inception four years ago. The NFL does not announce the weekly fines imposed on players. Instead, the league will respond to specific questions about specific fines that were or weren’t imposed on specific players. If no flag is thrown for lowering the helmet, it requires reporters to watch every snap of every game and search for instances of a player potentially violating the rule.

The league no longer has to do that. It uses an artificial intelligence program developed with Amazon to identify all instances of player helmets making contact with anything. Starting this year, the league no longer has the added burden of showing that such contact was initiated by the player who is fined.

The rule originally was developed as another safety measure. The full story as to how it happened is one of more than 100 essays contained in Playmakers. I could re-tell the story here, but I’m still trying to move a little merchandise.

[chemiclord]

NFL really loves making rules and interpretations harder than they need to, huh?

[Futureshock]

The mark of featherbedding. Some people try to show their worth by putting forth things no one wants,

[Topweasel]

NFL really loves making rules and interpretations harder than they need to, huh?

Yeah. In the end I think they want to give wiggle room so whether by action or Inaction on giving flag, their Refs are right. I mean this one isn't even really trying to hide its intention. They want defenders to absolutely afraid of their helmets making any contact. This erases the question marks. Instead of figuring out if the hit was avoidable (because the Offensive player did something after the Defender committed) they can be like well your helmet made significant contact, no ifs or buts. The significant contact being a judgment call by the refs, so they can be right on any call after the hit. Basically if the defenders aren't turning their head around exorcist style and tilted in the opposite direction when hitting someone, there is a decent chance a ref can penalizing them. This will be the whole, there is holding on every play if you are looking for it, for tackles.

[chemiclord]

Well, I am of the mind that if a player commits in a way that is reckless (launching yourself like a human missile, for example) then they SHOULD be on the hook regardless of what an opponent does.

[jaadam4]

Here you go Jaadam. Get your coins together...


A Joe Namath mink coat from the 1970s is available at auction

Posted by Mike Florio on August 7, 2022, 10:53 AM EDT

Getty Images

Here’s a piece of memorabilia that Colts owner Jim Irsay may not be inclined to purchase.

A Joe Namath mink coat from the 1970s is available from Heritage Auctions. The current leading bid is $5,250.

The coat, which has the initials JWN on the inside, comes with a signed football and a signed Esquire magazine with Namath on the cover.

Namath became a living legend when he guaranteed that the Jets would beat the Colts in Super Bowl III, despite Namath’s team being double-digit underdogs.

His on-field exploits were matched by his swagger and style. From mink coats to TV commercials to a temporary decision to quit football after Commissioner Pete Rozelle ordered Namath to sell his interest in a restaurant frequented by bookmakers and gamblers and others of the type the NFL shunned — until the NFL realized how much money it could make from legalized sports betting.

How much money will Namath make from his mink coat? That remains to be seen. The bidding remains open until August 27.

And it really would be perfect if Irsay bought the thing.

I'd totally pay 5k for that..

[Topweasel]

Well, I am of the mind that if a player commits in a way that is reckless (launching yourself like a human missile, for example) then they SHOULD be on the hook regardless of what an opponent does.

Agreed. But the Refs have been penalizing every hit that looks bad no matter who initiated it and why it happened. Now they don't have to care.

[Iron Lion]

So is this rule emphasis going to punish man or zone?

[Futureshock]

IL have those sneaky funny jokes