NFL News

[Futureshock]

Saints win appeal, Cameron Jordan blasts lack of investigation before fine for fake injury

Posted by Michael David Smith on January 20, 2023, 4:20 AM EST

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The Saints have been exonerated in their appeal of NFL discipline after defensive end Cameron Jordan was accused of faking an injury, and now Jordan is questioning the league’s process on the matter.

Jordan won the appeal of his $50,000 fine, and according to Katherine Terrell of ESPN, Saints defensive line coach Ryan Nielsen won the appeal of his $50,000 fine, head coach Dennis Allen won the appeal of his $100,000 fine and the Saints franchise won the appeal of its $350,000 fine.

Jordan told the Associated Press that the NFL reviewed his medical records during the appeals process, but that should have happened before the fines were issued.

“There should be due process before they announce a fine,” Jordan said. “They announced they’d fine me $50,000 and my team $500,000 in total before the appeal process or even investigating the situation.”

The incident in question took place during the Saints’ loss to the Buccaneers in December. After the Buccaneers were stopped on third down, their offense appeared to be rushing to the line of scrimmage to try to quickly go for it on fourth down. Jordan fell to the ground, causing an injury timeout, after which the Buccaneers punted. The league thought Jordan was faking.

But the Saints said when Jordan went to the sideline he immediately sought treatment from a trainer for a foot injury, and that Jordan went to the team facility every day that week, even though the players were off because the Saints were on their bye, to get treatment on his foot.

[edindetroit]

Froot is looking at Brady through his MSU colored glasses. I guess we can forgive him for that. It is not that the team is mediocre, and yes, they are that at best, but that Brady just can't get it done anymore and he thinks he should be able to.

He should have stayed retired.

The great ones always seem to stay for a year too long

[Futureshock]

On fateful play, Patrick Peterson thought Kirk Cousins didn’t know what down it was

Posted by Mike Florio on January 19, 2023, 8:12 PM EST

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A special season for the Vikings had an abrupt ending, with quarterback Kirk Cousins throwing five yards short of the sticks on fourth and eight in the closing moments of the playoff game against the Giants. Vikings cornerback Patrick Peterson addressed the moment during the latest episode of his podcast, All Things Covered.

“Going into that final play, when I saw it, the only thing I could think about, I was like, ‘He must have didn’t know what down it was,‘” Peterson said, via Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. “I haven’t heard his explanation about it as of yet. But on the sideline it just took me back because I was just shocked that we threw the ball three yards when we needed eight.”

Cousins and coach Kevin O’Connell addressed the situation after the game. Some would say Cousins should have thrown the ball to receiver Justin Jefferson, even though he was double covered. Others would say Cousins should have held the ball a bit longer, until receiver K.J. Osborne broke open, which he did. Still others would say Cousins had no choice but to throw, because he had Giants defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence in his face.

“I really don’t know what went into that, how that decision came about, him throwing the ball that short,” Peterson added. “But as far as his overall performance in that game, I thought he played solid. I thought he was one of the top 10 quarterbacks all year long. He’s a guy that you can win with, for sure.”

Still, through five years in Minnesota, Cousins has one playoffs win and two playoff appearances. He’s been just good enough. At some point, just good enough isn’t good enough.

[Futureshock]

Vikings fire defensive coordinator Ed Donatell

Posted by Michael David Smith on January 19, 2023, 6:37 PM EST

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The Vikings have fired defensive coordinator Ed Donatell.

Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell announced the move today, a day after declining to answer whether Donatell would return.

“Today I informed Ed Donatell we will be going in a different direction at defensive coordinator in 2023,” O’Connell said in a statement. “While this was a difficult decision because of the tremendous respect I have for Ed as a person and coach, I believe it is the right move for the future of our football team. I want to thank Ed for his commitment to the vikings this past season, for the positive impact he had on our players and coaches and for his role in helping me as a first-year head coach lay this foundation.”

The 65-year-old Donatell is a longtime NFL defensive coordinator who will surely have offers if he wants to join another coaching staff, but his one year in Minnesota ended up with a disappointing playoff loss and a pink slip.

[Futureshock]

Tom Telesco: Brandon Staley’s job was never at stake

Posted by Josh Alper on January 19, 2023, 4:46 PM EST

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The Chargers made some changes to their coaching staff this week, but Brandon Staley remains their head coach after last Saturday’s collapse against the Jaguars knocked the team out of the playoffs.

The nature of the loss led to plenty of speculation that the Chargers would look elsewhere for a head coach, but Staley said this week that he wasn’t worried about his future. On Thursday, Chargers General Manager Tom Telesco confirmed that there was no reason for Staley to be concerned about the axe dropping after the loss.

“No. That was probably more [media] discussion than ours,” Telesco said, via Lindsey Thiry of ESPN.com. “The front office’s belief in Brandon hasn’t changed. He’s got our belief. Our players believe in him. He’s a tremendous leader.”

Firing offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi and quarterbacks coach Shane Day gives Staley and Telesco a chance to move the team to greater heights in quarterback Justin Herbert‘s fourth season. If that fails to happen, there may be a need to revisit the belief that they are the right men for the job in Los Angeles.

[Futureshock]

Dolphins fire Josh Boyer

Posted by Myles Simmons on January 19, 2023, 3:12 PM EST

USA TODAY Sports

Miami’s defense will have a different look in the team’s second season under head coach Mike McDaniel.

The Dolphins announced they’ve fired defensive coordinator Josh Boyer, safeties coach Steve Gregory, outside linebackers coach Ty McKenzie, and assistant linebackers coach Steve Ferentz.

“I am grateful for Josh’s contributions this year and throughout his tenure with the Dolphins,” McDaniel said in a statement released by the team. “The defense made strides through the season, so coming to this decision was not easy, but ultimately I feel it is in the best long-term interests of the Miami Dolphins and the continued growth of our players and team.”

Boyer came from the Patriots to the Dolphins with head coach Brian Flores back in 2019. He was first the defensive pass game coordinator and cornerbacks coach before being promoted to defensive coordinator in 2020.

He was retained for the first year of McDaniel’s tenure. But the Dolphins were No. 18 in yards allowed and No. 24 in points allowed in 2022. The club was also No. 27 against the pass.

[Futureshock]

John Harbaugh: OC job will be highly sought after, Lamar Jackson will have input

Posted by Josh Alper on January 19, 2023, 2:56 PM EST

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The Ravens parted ways with offensive coordinator Greg Roman on Thursday and that opening was one of the leading topics of conversation at a press conference with head coach John Harbaugh and General Manager Eric DeCosta later in the day.

Harbaugh called Roman a “great coach” who accomplished some “pretty historical” things during his four-year run with the team, but called his departure the end of an offensive era in Baltimore. Anyone who considers replacing Roman in Baltimore will likely be curious about quarterback Lamar Jackson’s status with the team and both Harbaugh and DeCosta were adamant that the team’s only plan is to have Jackson back for the 2023 season.

Harbaugh also said that Jackson will be involved in conversations about where the team is going offensively.

“I did ask Lamar about it and he will be involved in it. I’ll keep him abreast of what’s going on and I’m sure he’ll have some input along the way,” Harbaugh said.

Roman is the sixth offensive coordinator to work under Harbaugh, but the coach doesn’t think that history or the Jackson uncertainty will have an impact on the quality of candidates for the job.

“This is gonna be a highly sought after job. This is one of the top football coaching jobs in the world. Everybody’s going to want this job. I’m looking forward to getting started. It won’t just be me. It’ll be other coaches and scouts involved in it. We’re gonna cast a wide net. We’re gonna look far and wide and close. We’ll get the best fit for what we’re trying to accomplish and it’s going to be a highly qualified candidate.”

Harbaugh said that he does not expect the identity of the offense to change, but that nothing is “set in stone” because he wants to hear ideas for how the unit can grow under a new leader.

[Futureshock]

Eight coaching staff departures suggest Tom Brady won’t be back in Tampa

Posted by Mike Florio on January 19, 2023, 2:25 PM EST

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Seventeen days after Tom Brady ended his 40-day retirement last year, Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians stepped down. Three days after the team’s 2022 season ended, the Buccaneers announced that eight assistant coaches are leaving.

With the departures led by offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich (who was fired) and quarterbacks coach Clyde Christensen (who retired), it seems as if Brady won’t be back in Tampa for 2023.

This could change, of course. If Bill O’Brien (for example) becomes the next OC, that could catch Brady’s eye.

Still, the overall quality of the roster in Tampa Bay likely will have a much bigger influence on Brady than the coaching staff. It feels as if the team’s window has closed. It feels as if major roster changes are coming.

It feels as if, if Brady chooses to keep playing, he’ll take advantage of a fresh start elsewhere.

[froot loops]

Froot is looking at Brady through his MSU colored glasses. I guess we can forgive him for that. It is not that the team is mediocre, and yes, they are that at best, but that Brady just can't get it done anymore and he thinks he should be able to.

He should have stayed retired.

It has nothing to do with MSU. My point was his team sucked and he hasn't been on sucky teams very much. Lots of good quarterbacks look subpar when the team sucks,.look at the Lions all during Stafford's career. It's the whole quarterback messiah complex people have. The Patriots over Brady's career there had an excellent defense. Their scoring defense was generally, over his career they averaged 7th in points scored. They always had great special teams. They could also run the ball most of the time. He rarely ever had a game where he couldn't rely on the defense.

He could retire or not, I don't care, but if he was on a better team people would still be laud him. Nick Pappageorgio thought Brady would be a good replacement for Goff less than a month ago.

[Futureshock]

It has nothing to do with MSU. My point was his team sucked and he hasn't been on sucky teams very much. Lots of good quarterbacks look subpar when the team sucks,.look at the Lions all during Stafford's career. It's the whole quarterback messiah complex people have. The Patriots over Brady's career there had an excellent defense. Their scoring defense was generally, over his career they averaged 7th in points scored. They always had great special teams. They could also run the ball most of the time. He rarely ever had a game where he couldn't rely on the defense.

He could retire or not, I don't care, but if he was on a better team people would still be laud him. Nick Pappageorgio thought Brady would be a good replacement for Goff less than a month ago.

Man I always think about Stafford and the guys he had to throw to, and most of the time their fame resided solely with Lions fans. The best crew I can remember him having to throw to was the Golladay/Tate/ crew. Maybe I'm missing a year. But at the times his distractors resounded with the "MOAR WEAPONZ" complaints. And I won't begin with the OL. As soon as he got hurt those guys would struggle to get open and everything fell apart. And as soon as he got with really good WRs in LA, coupled with a great D?

Every QB needs more weapons. As soon as you think you're there and sit on what you have in an off-season, you fall behind the next year. TB in 2021/2022 and LA (though injuries plagued them) 2022 fell to the same fault.

[chemiclord]

The amount of pushback I got from Lions fans when I noted Stafford's #1 receiver immediately became a bench warmer in Philly...

[Futureshock]

A year after making a disastrous hire, the Jaguars made a great one

Posted by Mike Florio on January 20, 2023, 4:20 PM EST

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In 2021, the Jaguars made one of the worst hires in recent NFL history, naming Urban Meyer the team’s head coach. In 2022, the Jaguars made one of the best.

A Super Bowl-winning coach was available, in Doug Pederson. He was a coach who won a championship under unique circumstances. His starting quarterback was lost for the season in December, turning the NFC’s No. 1 seed into an underdog to win it all. But win it all they did, riding Nick Foles to a highly unlikely Super Bowl win over Tom Brady and the Patriots.

But only the Jaguars hired Pederson. Others interviewed him. There was never a land rush for his services, however. No Sean Payton-style clamoring. Several teams with openings didn’t even talk to Pederson, including the Texans, Broncos, Raiders, Giants, and Dolphins.

The Broncos, at a minimum, may be wondering what might have been.

After a fast start followed by a sluggish run in the middle of the season, the Jaguars under Pederson found their groove. Coinciding with a collapse by the Titans, Pederson and the Jaguars pushed their way to the front of the AFC South line. Last weekend, they scored one of the most memorable comebacks in league history to land in the divisional round.

The ride quite possibly ends this week, at Arrowhead Stadium. Unless it doesn’t. Last year, both No. 1 seeds lost in the divisional round. It’s not as rare as you’d assume. The lower seed throws a lucky punch early, catches the favorite flat-footed, and all of a sudden we have a real fight.

Pederson knows what he’s doing. He learned it from Chiefs coach Andy Reid. Now, with the season on the line and an AFC championship berth in the balance, Pederson has a chance to turn the tables on Big Red, and to complete a turnaround even more stunning than Jacksonville’s post-2017 disintegration.

[Futureshock]

Patrick Peterson hopes to remain with Vikings in 2023

Posted by Michael David Smith on January 20, 2023, 2:47 PM EST

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Vikings cornerback Patrick Peterson is set to become a free agent in March, but his hope is that he’ll remain in Minnesota.

Peterson said on his podcast, All Things Covered, that Minnesota, where he has played the last two seasons after playing his first 10 seasons in Arizona, has come to feel like home.

“I would love to be there in that purple and gold again and give it a run again just because I love the community there,” Peterson said, via Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. “I love the organization. I love the new regime that [the Wilf ownership group has] brought into that building, the trainers, the strength and conditioning staff. It’s just amazing. I truly believe it felt like home for me. I felt like it was a place that I belonged. But we all know it’s a business.”

Peterson, who will turn 33 in July, is the oldest starting cornerback in the NFL. But after starting all 17 games in the regular season as well as the Vikings’ playoff game, he’s healthy and ready to go for another year.

[Cody_Russell]

If the Texans were smart (this is asking a lot), they would hire DeMeco Ryans while providing a Dan Campbell-like contract. I wouldn’t take that job unless provided surety in the contract due to the Texans last two HC firings. Pairing an offensive minded HC with a young QB makes sense too, but Ryans is a rising star.

[Futureshock]

I thought about that yesterday. That guy (Ryans) deserves a shot. In the AFC!