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32: Team-by-team NFL notes
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[November 06, 2018]
AFC EAST
Buffalo Bills: Bills fans know their
quarterback situation is bad. Maybe they didn't know it was quite
this bad, though. The Bills' offense ranks last in the league in
scoring at 10.7 points per game, and their three quarterbacks are
the worst in the league, too. This season, 44 quarterbacks have
thrown at least 10 passes to receive a passer rating. In 44th place
is current starter Nathan Peterman at 30.7. Injured quarterbacks
Derek Anderson (56.0) and Josh Allen (61.8) are 43rd and 42nd,
respectively. Throw out No. 1 on the list -- that's Nick Mullens,
who has started one game for San Francisco -- and the top passer is
Drew Brees at 120.6. Peterman threw three more interceptions in a
41-9 loss to Chicago on Sunday, giving him 12 in eight career games,
but his coach said he still thinks Peterman is an NFL-caliber
quarterback. "I believe he is," Sean McDermott said.
Miami Dolphins: Coach Adam Gase told reporters Monday that there's
been no change to the status of quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who has
a capsule injury in his throwing shoulder and has missed four games.
The Dolphins will start Brock Osweiler this weekend against Green
Bay, then the Dolphins have a bye in Week 11. "I think we're just
trying to get to the point where he feels good throwing and then
we'll go from there," Gase said. "It'll be interesting to see what
happens the next few days and then when we make a decision, whatever
it is, what's the bye week do for us? Those type of things." Gase
said he will talk to the team trainer to assess Tannehill's progress
and decide if they're better off waiting until after the bye week to
test his arm again. Osweiler is 2-2 in place of Tannehill.
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New England Patriots: Add another superlative to quarterback Tom
Brady's career. He reached a milestone Sunday night in the team's
31-17 defeat of the Green Bay Packers when he became the first NFL
player to gain 80,000 total yards. That's a combination of passing,
rushing and receiving in both the regular season and postseason. He
gained the record in the fourth quarter on a 17-yard pass to Phillip
Dorset. In doing so, he passed Peyton Manning (79,978) on the total
yards list. Brady, 41, now has 80,062 yards in his career.
New York Jets: To a couple of players, the Jets (3-6) have hit rock
bottom. After a 13-6 loss to the Dolphins on Sunday -- their third
in a row -- Jamal Adams and Robby Anderson released their
frustration in the locker room. "We got to find an answer," wide
receiver Anderson said. "It's got to change. It's my third year. I
understand the emphasis on restructuring, rebuild but I think
everyone is tired of that. I think that's an excuse. We got to
challenge ourselves and improve and make it happen." Adams, a
second-year safety, agreed. "I'm sick of losing," he said.
"Honestly, I'm sick of losing. I'm fed up with losing. ... It pisses
me off every time. I'm not a loser. I want to get back on the
winning track. We've lost three straight? Come on, man."
AFC NORTH
Baltimore Ravens: The numbers don't lie when it comes to putting
rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson on the field. Head coach John
Harbaugh said as much Sunday and repeated at his Monday press
conference that the Ravens are turning their gears to attempt to
find ways to use Jackson. "I would like to find more of it,"
Harbaugh said, adding the Ravens' running game has been far better
with the 2016 Heisman Trophy winner on the field. "I would like to
see him out there more and find ways to get him on the field more,
if we can." Jackson played 13 snaps and was wide open for a
touchdown pass, but quarterback Joe Flacco didn't see him. Harbaugh
said he's confident Jackson will be a starting quarterback, but now
is not the time.
Cincinnati Bengals: A.J. Green jammed his toe on the turf on a
fourth-quarter catch in the Week 8 game against the Buccaneers that
set up a game-winning field goal. After the bye, Green continued to
experience inflammation and he consulted a specialist before
deciding to rest the injury. While head coach Marvin Lewis did not
rule out Green for Sunday's game against the Saints, ESPN reported
Green could miss two or more games. He sat for three games and part
of a fourth with a similar injury in 2014. "A.J. will continue to do
what A.J. does and bust his tail to get back out there as soon as he
can," Lewis said.
Cleveland Browns: Rookie cornerback Denzel Ward left Sunday's loss
to the Kansas City Chiefs with a hip injury and might not be back
when the Falcons visit this week. Interim head coach Gregg Williams,
who had an active role in the team selecting Ward as the No. 4
overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, said the defense would miss him
-- and might not yet understand just how badly. "We'll see how long
he's out. People see how good you are when you're not around, too,"
Williams said. Injuries have hit hard at cornerback. E.J. Gaines and
Terrance Mitchell were already out for Cleveland.
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Pittsburgh Steelers: There is no disadvantage to playing on Thursday
night in the opinion of head coach Mike Tomlin. After a win Sunday
at Baltimore, Tomlin said he returned and stayed in his office to
study the Carolina Panthers. Players were given the day off to
recover unless they needed medical treatment, affording coaches a
day to build the gameplan for the Panthers. "I really don't care. As
long as it's a short week for the opponent, I don't care," Tomlin
said of the short week.
AFC SOUTH
Houston Texans: Star defensive end J.J. Watt is tied for third in
the NFL with nine sacks during a terrific comeback season. Watt
played just eight total games the previous two campaigns due to
season-ending injuries before bouncing back in a big way. "Very
impressed," Houston coach Bill O'Brien said during a press
conference. I know he probably doesn't want to talk about it too
much, but I've never seen anything like it. To come back from what
he's been able to come back from, some really serious injuries, and
to be able to play at the level that he's playing at, it just says
all you need to know about him and how much he cares about the team
and how much he wants to help this organization win."
Indianapolis Colts: Running back Marlon Mack didn't participate in
practice Monday after the team returned from a bye. Mack has been
nursing an ankle injury but is coming off back-to-back big rushing
performances -- 126 yards against the Buffalo Bills on Oct. 21 and
132 vs. the Oakland Raiders the following week. Wednesday will be a
telling day per how healthy Mack is as the team prepares for a
Sunday game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. However, Robert Turbin
(shoulder) appears ready to return after missing the past two games.
Turbin has just four carries (all in one game) for 10 yards as he
missed the first four games while serving a suspension for violating
the NFL's policy on performance-enhancing substances.
Jacksonville Jaguars: Quarterback Blake Bortles was throwing Monday
after having the bye week to rest his aching left shoulder. Bortles
was injured in the fourth quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles on
Oct. 28 when he took a hard hit to his non-throwing shoulder.
Jaguars coach Doug Marrone observed Bortles' throws and termed them
normal. "Your eyes are just as good as mine," Marrone told
reporters. "You guys saw him out there throwing. It's early in the
week and we'll just see how it goes. Your evaluation on how he looks
will be the same as mine. I just saw he took the normal throws
during practice."
Tennessee Titans: The Titans played the Dallas Cowboys on Monday
night.
AFC WEST
Denver Broncos: Riding a 1-6 stretch following a 2-0 start, the
Broncos are hitting the bye at the right time. The same can't be
said about the season-ending broken leg suffered by center Matt
Paradis. Speaking to the media, Denver head coach Vance Joseph
explained the loss of his center will now put much more on the plate
of his quarterback, Case Keenum. "(Paradis is) like a coach on the
field and you can't replace that. ... You won't replace Matt's
football IQ or his play but we have to adjust." As for his
quarterback, Joseph said Keenum "has to identify the (linebackers)
more, and the protection calls and adjustment go through Case --
most of them go through Case now."
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Kansas City Chiefs: There isn't much his team has done wrong through
nine games, but coach Andy Reid does know one thing his 8-1 Chiefs
must improve upon: their league-high 76 penalties. "You've got to
keep disciplining yourself, whether it's tight hands or whatever it
might be," Reid said at his news conference. But he also
acknowledged that quarterback Patrick Mahomes' scrambling can make
linemen more susceptible to holding calls as defenders peel off
blocks to chase Mahomes. And Reid said he isn't going to try to
teach his linemen to block differently. "I try to look at the things
you can coach guys up on to try to make them better so it doesn't
happen again, but some of (the calls) are jump balls"
Los Angeles Chargers: His team is 6-2 and coming off a 25-17 win in
Seattle, but Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn began his news
conference talking about his club's biggest problem: kicker. Earlier
Monday, the Chargers cut Caleb Sturgis after he missed his only
field-goal try and two point-after attempts on Sunday. "We feel like
we gave him a fair shot and we stayed with him as long as we could,"
Lynn said of Sturgis. "It just came down to performance." Mike
Badgley will replace Sturgis. "I'd like to give (Badgley) the keys
to the car ... but we've talked about bringing in another kicker
maybe to kickoff." The team has used six kickers since the beginning
of last season. "We have to solve this problem," Lynn said.
Oakland Raiders: Another day, another round of roster moves for the
Silver and Black, as the team announced the signing of free-agent
defensive ends Kony Ealy and Jacquies Smith on Monday. Two days
earlier, the club released veteran defensive end Bruce Irvin. And,
of course, before the season began, Oakland traded disgruntled
All-Pro pass rusher Khalil Mack to Chicago. But don't expect the
players to get caught up in who's here and who's not. "Each week it
seems like there's something new we gotta get over -- a new
obstacle, a new adverse situation," said 12-year veteran Frostee
Rucker, himself in his first season as a Raider. "But that's part of
pro sports. ... The key to our whole season is about next man up."
NFC EAST
Dallas Cowboys: The Cowboys faced the Tennessee Titans on Monday
night.
New York Giants: Do the Giants have an interest in recently released
quarterback Sam Bradford? According to an ESPN report, Bradford has
history with Giants head coach Pat Shurmur, who was his offensive
coordinator with both the St. Louis Rams and Philadelphia Eagles,
and Bradford enjoyed his best years while working with Shurmur. The
Arizona Cardinals released Bradford, whom they had signed to a
one-year, $20 million contract over the offseason. He lost the job
to rookie Josh Rosen in Week 4 of the season. For their part, the
Giants are sticking by struggling Eli Manning, for now, and have not
soured on rookie Kyle Lauletta, despite his arrest last week on a
number of traffic-related charges plus resisting arrest.
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Bills quarterback Nathan Peterman (2) is tackled by Chicago Bears
defensive end Roy Robertson-Harris (95) and inside linebacker Roquan
Smith (58) during the third quarter at New Era Field. Mandatory
Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports
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Philadelphia Eagles: Wide receiver Golden Tate apparently already
got his holiday gift when he was traded from Detroit to the Eagles.
Monday was his first official day with the Eagles -- he was traded
Tuesday during the team's bye week -- and reporters lined up to ask
him what he thought about the trade. His response was simple: "It
was like Christmas." Now 30, Tate had 44 catches and 517 yards with
three touchdowns for the Lions, putting him on pace to surpass 1,000
yards receiving for the fourth time in his career.
Washington Redskins: Head coach Jay Gruden clearly was frustrated
with some of the penalties called against his team Sunday in a 38-14
loss to the Atlanta Falcons, and he didn't place all the blame on
his team. The Redskins were flagged 10 times for 147 yards. After
the game, Gruden questioned the legitimacy of some of the flags,
according to the Washington Post. "It's impossible. You might as
well just give them the ball and give them the game. I have to check
the tape to see what these penalties are all about. It's very
frustrating. We got a couple of token penalties (called on the
Falcons) late. I have to look at the tape, and if they are legit, we
have to get them corrected." The Falcons were penalized seven times
for 50 yards.
NFC NORTH
Chicago Bears: Being flexed to Sunday Night Football against the
Minnesota Vikings in Week 11 is another sign of progress head coach
Matt Nagy refuses to let his team overlook. While Nagy said he will
never utter the word "playoffs" until the Bears have earned a spot
in the postseason, he's asking the team to pay attention to the
signs around them. That includes being elevated to a showcase NFL
game on Nov. 18. "The goal is to have a lot of those throughout the
season ... That means you're doing well."
Detroit Lions: Matthew Stafford was hit 17 times, sacked 10 and his
teammates were left "embarrassed" by the turn of events in Sunday's
loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Entering Sunday, Detroit had allowed
the least quarterback pressures in the NFL. But after a deluge,
Detroit can expect teams to turn up the heat in the pocket. "You
have a day like that, it's a little bit on everybody, obviously,"
Stafford said. "I've got to get the ball out faster. Got to find
checkdowns a little bit faster, get the ball out." Up next for the
Lions is a Sunday date with the Bears at Soldier Field. Detroit and
Chicago play twice in the next three weeks. "It comes down to
winning your one-on-one matchups, and we got to do a better job of
that," left tackle Taylor Decker said.
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Green Bay Packers: Hiding emotion is not a strength of quarterback
Aaron Rodgers, who said Sunday night after a loss to the New England
Patriots that he let the team down by not getting the ball to his
No. 1 target, Davante Adams, in pivotal moments. "That's what I'm
most disappointed in myself about is (missing) him a couple times,"
Rodgers said, after targeting Adams nine times in the game. "Davante
is a tough cover, and I expect to play great every week. I've got to
keep finding ways to get him the ball, I've got to keep moving him
around. We did a good job tonight of moving him around (to) No. 2,
No. 3 (spots in the formation). But I've got to keep looking his
way."
Minnesota Vikings: A preservation plan for running back Dalvin Cook
on Sunday was never abandoned, but the second-year back did test his
balky hamstring with a 70-yard run down the left sideline. On the
play, Cook was clearly unbridled, reaching an NFL-high top speed of
more than 22 miles per hour on the breakaway according to NFL
advanced statistics. "He actually said that he was thinking about
his hamstring and only kept it in fourth gear," head coach Mike
Zimmer said Monday. Zimmer said both running backs will continue to
play, with Cook's snap count plan being reduced as he gets
healthier. Latavius Murray is likely to remain the short-yardage
back even after Cook is at 100 percent.
NFC SOUTH
Atlanta Falcons: The Cleveland Browns are a franchise in disarray.
They are also Atlanta's next opponent, and Falcons coach Dan Quinn
is worried. "What I do know, from the little bit of studying that
I've done, is the talent," Quinn said at a press conference. "And
their ability, defensively, to create takeaways. If I'm not
mistaken, I believe they're the league leader in forcing turnovers.
They're somewhere in the neighborhood of 23, which is a big number
for nine or 10 games. That part jumped off the tape for me." Quinn
was correct about the NFL-best takeaway number -- Cleveland has 13
interceptions and 10 opponents' fumbles recovered. The Falcons have
just eight takeaways.
Carolina Panthers: It is a short week for Carolina with a game
looming on Thursday against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Making matters
more challenging is that the Steelers have won four consecutive
games and that the contest is in Pittsburgh. "It's tougher to do it
on the road, for sure," Carolina running back Christian McCaffrey
said of playing games four days apart. "But our guys don't blink.
Our guys come to play wherever we are." McCaffrey is coming off a
solid all-around performance Sunday in a win over the Tampa Bay
Buccaneers. He rushed for 79 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries
and also caught five passes for 78 yards.
New Orleans Saints: The club is flying high after knocking the Los
Angeles Rams from the ranks of the undefeated on Sunday. The Saints
have won seven straight games and are 7-1 at the halfway point of
the schedule, but coach Sean Payton isn't interested in doing a
midseason progress review. "Nope. No halfway report cards or any of
that. None of that," Payton told reporters. "The point is, though,
and it is a good point, there's eight games left. In other words,
there is a ton of football left. There are a ton of things we have
to improve on and we need to improve on, or it is going to hurt us
later. And I mention one of them right now -- red-zone defense. That
has to get better."
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers: The defense has been a big problem all season,
and it was again an issue Sunday in a 42-28 loss to the Panthers.
Tampa Bay fell behind 35-7 in the second quarter en route to
allowing 40 or more points for the third time this season. The team
ranks last in the NFL in scoring defense (34.4 points per game).
"It's very frustrating," longtime standout defensive tackle Gerald
McCoy told reporters. "I could go into all the negatives, but I'm
not a negative person so I will speak on the positive. The positive
is, it's only halfway through the season. We have a chance to turn
this thing around. We've just got to come out and play, man. We've
got to be more disciplined all of us, myself included -- especially
me -- and we've just got to tackle better."
NFC WEST
Arizona Cardinals: With Arizona coming off a bye week, head coach
Steve Wilks spent part of his Monday news conference talking about
the team's decision to release quarterback Sam Bradford on Saturday.
"When you look at ... need, position-wise throughout the year,
particularly this time with guys getting hurt, we did what we though
was best for the team," Wilks said. "We needed that position to be
able to add quality depth at different positions on the team." He
then sang the praises of his former starter, who was benched for
rookie Josh Rosen before Week 4. "No. 1 I'll say Sam is an ultimate
pro, the way he handled the situation. ... He did everything he
could to help mentor that (quarterback) room." Bradford cleared
waivers Monday and is a free agent.
Los Angeles Rams: At 8-1, the Rams are recuperating from a loss for
the first time this season ahead of Week 10, when the Seahawks visit
Los Angeles. "Our players continue to fight and battle, they don't
flinch they don't blink," McVay said. "Can't wait to get back to
work." McVay said the Rams failed to limit the big plays until
making a few critical stops in the second half. "We came in trying
to get the win, expecting to get the win," McVay said. "I know that
everybody in that locker room is going to respond the right way. The
motivation, the desire to be able to move forward in a positive way
is something we challenge everybody in our building to be able to
do. It's a setback. We're going to respond the right way."
San Francisco 49ers: Without a day off since July 18, head coach
Kyle Shanahan said he would do his best to not worry about football
for a few days following the 34-3 win over the Oakland Raiders last
Thursday. When the team returns after an off-day Tuesday, Shanahan
is likely to be ready to share his decision at quarterback. "I don't
need to decide yet," Shanahan said Friday before the four-day
respite. He doesn't speak to the media again until Thursday because
of the off-kilter schedule ahead of a "Monday Night Football" game
with the New York Giants. However, all signs point to Nick Mullens
making his second start. C.J. Beathard (wrist) might not even be
healthy enough to be considered. "I'd like the whole team in here,
too, when I decide that," Shanahan said.
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Seattle Seahawks: With starting running back Chris Carson's status
for Sunday's game in Los Angeles up in the air due to a hip injury,
rookie first-round pick Rashaad Penny could be in line for a heavier
workload against a stout Rams' front in Week 10. "I think he's a
little tentative," head coach Pete Carroll said of his rookie Monday
in a radio interview with 710 ESPN in Seattle. "I just think he
needs more turns and he's going to be OK." Penny had only four
carries for 11 yards and three receptions for 13 yards on Sunday.
Carson leads the team in carries (111) and rushing yards (497), and
has two rushing touchdowns.
--Field Level Media
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