NFL News

[whatever_gong82]

If Rivera has control over personnel, what are the responsibility of the GM?

I'm happy that Martin Mayhew is now Washington's problem and not ours.

He didn't learn anything while he was the General Manager for the Lions from 2009-15, and to think that Brad Holmes in 3 years has already drafted more high quality starters than Mayhew did in 7 says all I ever want to know about Mayhew.

[-Deborah-]

[mason reese]

I wonder how Sweat feels about his contract now?

[ghandi]

Reminds me of when Lions signed Flowers....Huge money for a guy that has never had double digit sacks.

[whatever_gong82]

[whatever_gong82]

NFL power rankings: Detroit Lions 1 of 9 legitimate Super Bowl 58 contenders


Dave Birkett
Detroit Free Press




The NFL has long been and probably always will be a quarterback league.

The Detroit Lions are one of the best teams in the NFC because they’ve gotten some of the best quarterback play in conference, and the nine teams with a legitimate chance to win Super Bowl 58 — the top nine in this week’s NFL power rankings — have, for the most part, some of the most competent players at the game’s most important position.


The Cincinnati Bengals moved into the No. 9 spot this week after some early season struggles that were directly tied to quarterback Joe Burrow’s calf injury.



Burrow has looked healthy in recent weeks, and the Bengals have been a different team. They’ve won four straight, including back-to-back games against fellow playoff contenders the San Francisco 49ers and Buffalo Bills since the bye, and are well positioned to navigate the league’s most difficult remaining schedule with eight of their final nine opponents currently .500 or better.


Good quarterback play has elevated some teams like the Houston Texans to playoff contender status, while poor quarterback play — or injuries at the position — has doomed the playoff hopes of others.

The New York Giants looked nothing like last year’s nine-win team even before losing Daniel Jones to a season-ending knee injury. The New York Jets have one of the league’s best defenses and one of the league’s worst starting QBs in Zach Wilson, though Aaron Rodgers keeps hinting at a late-season return. Rodgers’ old team, the Green Bay Packers, has floundered with his replacement, Jordan Love. And the New England Patriots have been a mess since Tom Brady left town.

Jared Goff has played well in last 18 games.jpg

The vast majority of the game’s best quarterbacks — Patrick Mahomes, Burrow, Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Trevor Lawrence, Tua Tagovailoa, Justin Herbert and C.J. Stroud (?) — reside in the AFC, while the few NFC teams with stability at the position have separated themselves from the pack.

There’s hope for an infusion of quarterback talent in the NFC, though, as the top four picks in next year’s draft (and seven of the league’s 10 worst records) currently belong to teams in that conference. If USC's Caleb Williams and UNC's Drake Maye and whichever other quarterbacks populate the top 10 next spring pan out, the quarterback imbalance could soon level out.



NFL power rankings entering Week 10


1. Philadelphia Eagles (8-1)

2. Kansas City Chiefs (7-2)

3. Baltimore Ravens (7-2)



4. Detroit Lions (6-2)

5. San Francisco 49ers (5-3)

6. Dallas Cowboys (5-3)

7. Miami Dolphins (6-3)

8. Jacksonville Jaguars (6-2)

9. Cincinnati Bengals (5-3)



10. Seattle Seahawks (5-3)

11. Buffalo Bills (5-4)

12. Cleveland Browns (5-3)

13. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-3)

14. Minnesota Vikings (5-4)

15. Los Angeles Chargers (4-4)

16. New Orleans Saints (5-4)

17. Houston Texans (4-4)



18. New York Jets (4-4)

19. Las Vegas Raiders (4-5)

20. Indianapolis Colts (4-5)

21. Washington Commanders (4-5)

22. Atlanta Falcons (4-5)

23. Tennessee Titans (3-5)

24. Los Angeles Rams (3-5)

25. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-5)



26. Green Bay Packers (3-5)

27. Denver Broncos (3-5)

28. New York Giants (2-7)

29. New England Patriots (2-7)

30. Chicago Bears (2-7)

31. Arizona Cardinals (1-8)

32. Carolina Panthers (1-7)




Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him @davebirkett.

[whatever_gong82]

[jaadam4]

That ending was awesome. She’s really good

[jaadam4]

Reminds me of when Lions signed Flowers....Huge money for a guy that has never had double digit sacks.

Fair assessment. I think Sweat is much more talented but he hasn’t had gaudy sack totals for that kind of scratch

I personally think the Bears are dumb for giving up that kind of pick but that just helps us.

[jaadam4]

A few peeps were wondering why we didn’t trade for him. Looks like BB wants his crappy draft pick back



The Patriots will not have J.C. Jackson when they travel to Europe for their international matchup against the Colts on Sunday. New England has decided to leave the cornerback stateside as he is not expected to accompany the team to Germany this week due to questions about his reliability, according to NFL Media. The decision was made to have Jackson stay home, get through the Week 11 bye, and return to the team in a better place.

This reported decision by the Patriots comes just days after the club's Week 9 loss to the Commanders. In that game, New England seemed to bench both Jackson and fellow corner Jack Jones for the first few defensive series. Jones missed the entire first quarter, while Jackson sat out the first two series. Bill Belichick declined to acknowledge that it was a benching, but Sports Illustrated reports that Jackson was late to the team hotel on Saturday before that game. That contributed to his benching in and now has him not making the Germany trip in Week 10.

Jackson is in his second stint with the Patriots after the team traded for him last month in a deal with the Los Angeles Chargers. The 27-year-old signed a lucrative five-year, $82.5 million contract with L.A. back in the spring of 2022 and his tenure was a disappointment. So much so that the franchise was willing to cut ties with Jackson just a year into the deal in a trade with New England that was merely a swap of Day 3 draft picks.

Since the trade was executed, it has been reported that Chargers GM Tom Telesco joined the defensive backs meeting and apologized to the group for the Jackson acquisition, calling the signing a "swing and a miss." That report also included notes about Jackson's poor worth ethic with Los Angeles, so these latest concerns about his reliability do seem to be the latest chapter in Jackson's fall from grace.

During his first stint with the Patriots, Jackson, an undrafted free agent in 2018, ascended to become an All-Pro caliber corner in Belichick's secondary. In his final season before departing in free agency, he was a second-team All-Pro and led the NFL with 23 pass breakups and also recorded eight interceptions. Since then, Jackson has struggled. In his five games since returning to New England, Jackson has allowed a passer rating of 102.6 when targeted by opposing quarterbacks. That play coupled with reliability concerns seems to be the crux of why he's staying put in Foxborough instead of going aboard.


The question now becomes whether or not the Patriots ultimately decide to keep Jackson on the roster. After all, they did not give up much to bring him back and his contract is constructed in such a way that it would have little to no financial impact to them whatsoever. Jackson is also likely to be released (or restructured) at the end of the season anyway with his cap hit at $14.3 million with zero dead cap left. He wasn't worth bringing to Germany and with the Patriots at 2-7 on the year, it stands to wonder if Jackson is worth keeping around at all.

[-Deborah-]

[whatever_gong82]

https://www.boltsfromtheblue.com/2023/11/12/23958243/lions-chargers-final-score-41-38-justin-herbert-brandon-staley-keenan-allen-quentin-johnston

[whatever_gong82]

Should Brad Holmes kick the tires and check him out?

[Mainevent]

Yeah, not going to happen. He went in the 4th round for some character stuff and NE just dumped him for a string of non-football things. Can't see Holmes and DC bringing in a guy with his track record.

[whatever_gong82]