Five things you never expected to see at the start of the 2020 NFL season in the first week of December:
The Giants take first place in the NFC East without Saquon Barkley and Daniel Jones, winning 4 in a row in Seattle. . . and other people are starting to think, you know, that you might not need to play against the Giants in January.
The Browns look like playoff padlocks and Baker Mayfield looks like the first pick in a draft.
The race for Most Valuable Player, however, is clarified with almost 75% of the season on the books, and Russell Wilson outside hunting.
Two defensive family coordinators for analysts, Brandon Staley (Rams) and Patrick Graham (Giants), who make their way through a blurry symbol of head coaching candidates.
There are four weeks left in the normal NFL season the day after tomorrow, and none of the first 192 games in the first thirteen weeks were postponed after the season. COVID-19 is a fatal scourge. Actually, there would be six, eight, 10 games postponed to “week 18,” and it’s quite imaginable that some groups play 12 or 14 games instead of 16. Making the sausage 2020 was infrequently ugly, occasionally, but, formica, the normal season may end in time.
There’s something no one has probably noticed coming, a user no one has noticed as a Week 13 star.
KORNACKI MANIA!
Steve Kornacki, the khakied, knows the voting trends in Ashtabula County and the ultra-red counties of Florida and the left-wing suburbs of Philadelphia. He knows football, too. So NBC put him on the big playoff on Sunday night at Football Night in America. Using Pro Football Focus’s playoff probability statistics, Kornacki broke down playoff races at any of the conferences, and did so in his inimitable inflated innings.
Kornacki on the NFL Big Board raged on Twitter, along with the latest news from Cardi B and Rudy Giuliani hiring COVID. “Steve Kornacki will have to be here every Sunday night,” tweeted Judy Battista of NFL Digital Media.
That’s the plan, Judy.
Exactly a month earlier, Kornacki was on the most sensible forums on NBC and MSNBC, making the political edition of the playoff prediction. Political things may have been a little more important . . . unless browns enthusiasts fainting for their team were nevertheless respectable enough to get the seal of approval for Kornacki’s playoffs. On his return from NBC’s studio on Sunday night, Kornacki said it looked like Maricopa County would transfer to Biden.
“Looks like the Way to 270, it’s for the playoffs,” Kornacki said. “We did a segment tonight where we were talking about the Cardinals falling to eighth place in the playoffs and Minnesota climbed to seventh place, but he still likes Arizona’s chances over Minnesota. It’s like seeing, you know, in Michigan right now, Trump has a 12-point lead, but if you look at the ballots that still need to be told, where they come from, that’s what Biden says. “It’s very similar to election night. I felt it right away.
Giants, browns, COVID, Brandon Staley, Steve Kornacki, what a long adventure it has been.
Eight weeks ago, the Giants lost 37-34 in Dallas to fall to 0-5. It was very similar to a lost season, even in the desert which is the NFC East. But that’s not how head coach Joe Judge saw it. At his post-party press conference, he said without resignation: “All that matters, to be fair to you, is the progress we are making now. The record will come in time. Obviously, we’re not happy with defeats, that’s not what we’re doing here; However, I have noticed many advances on all fronts and on all units».
The next day, he was the same, professional and didn’t seem involved in the 0-5. “I’m not the rainbow and sun type, ” said Judge. “I’m not a guy who shakes his eyebrows and rubs his nose is, “That’s what it is. Understand what we are doing well and what we can depend on. But this, since 12 October, is the most vital thing the trial opinion has said, and what his team has heard since he was hired. “last winter: “You hear a lot about this phrase: “Learn to win. “Do a lot of things in the 60th minute of the game, when it starts in the first 59 minutes of the game. You will be informed to win by doing your project consistently. “
And in fact, the procedure is what Judge learned during his years of training with Nick Saban in Alabama and Bill Belichick in New England. No one needs to hear about the endless procedure because it is boring and does not give magic and fast results. Brees once told me when I asked him for his recommendation for the young quarterbacks. He thought for a few minutes, then answered me seriously in a way that the most productive coaches would really appreciate. What Brees said: “A lot of our league is about results, is it rarely?We’re in a results-oriented business. But actually, it’s about the procedure. If you concentrate on the procedure, the result will take care of yourself. Expand your procedure. Focus on this procedure. Too occasionally we are frustrated because the result is not compatible with the procedure, but if you concentrate only on the procedure, you will eventually get to the point where an intelligent procedure will be equivalent to an intelligent result ».
This is what we are seeing now with the Giants. Since that 0-5 start, the Giants are 5-2, with agonizing losses to turnovers. In the seven games, in the middle of one of the biggest offensive seasons in NFL history, New York gave up 18. 9 problems consistent with the game, led by defensive coordinator Patrick Graham. On Sunday, opposite 11-point favorite Seattle, the Giants defended Russell Wilson on one of the most frustrating days of their nine-year career. He has had no peace all day, being stalked through a Giants forward seventh with questionable and forgotten veterans (Leonard Williams, Jabaal Sheard) and rookies (rookie linebackers Carter Coughlin and Tae Crowder). Really interesting, that public enemy number one for Giants fans, GM Dave Gettleman, has worked well with Judge and given him the caliber of player that Judge wants. You could criticize Gettleman’s acquisition of Giants players and choose Barkley’s timing overall, but being critical this year is dishonest. Gettleman’s drafts, especially on defense, have been very good.
On Sunday, the often magical Wilson was not a big factor, nor was his favorite receiver, DK Metcalf. Game after game when Wilson made a trumpet he left a supporter there. Williams, in particular, did not allow Wilson enough time to locate Metcalf or Tyler Lockett with the kind of exciting passes that had led Seattle to an 8-3 record.
“Creating that web around Russell Wilson,” Leonard Williams said after the Seattle game, “was huge. Don’t let him out of his pocket, don’t let him run freely, do whatever he wants. Put some shots on it. Make him uncomfortable. Don’t let him go too far. He’s obviously a smart player. But this is where this courage, solidarity and being locked up are useful.
“I think a lot of things have to do with the scheme, obviously. I think Pat Graham is a perfect coordinator. But I think most of that has to do with how many people were bought into this team. ” The overall power of the team from how we get to paint each and every day, how we train, how we suffer losses and how we win, it’s like we don’t pay attention to any noise outside. to paintings. We don’t read any pat on the back. We have no doubts about it. We know who we have in the building and we get to the paintings each and every day and I think that over time such a smart culture of hard paintings and courage is created.
Two about Judge:
He believes in normal sleep. Most NFL teams, on trips from west to east or east to west, leave the city as fast as they can and pass from home at strange times. If the Giants had left Seattle on Sunday night, they would have gone back to bed in New Jersey. Maybe at 4:30 am ET after the flight house. The Giants spent the night in Seattle on Sunday. They slept on a Sunday general night, then woke up and probably had a small team reunion, virtually at their hotel, they would move from home and players would come home around 7:30 p. m. and then, on Tuesday, and another night of general sleep, then go back to the paintings on Wednesday to get ready for the next game. Instead of two nights of dubious sleep and a recovery Tuesday night, the Giants wouldn’t, in theory, have a bad night. sleep until next week of play.
He believes in listening to his players. Most NFL groups have turned to virtual groups and position assemblies throughout the week, a nod to doing everything imaginable to restrict the internal spread of coronavirus. Face-to-face meetings two days a week. The Giants have changed part of their cavernous rural space in East Rutherford, New Jersey, to a huge face-to-face meeting room. Recently, he asked his captains what they thought, he might have expected them to say, Let’s keep meeting almost from home, but they said they were looking for face-to-face meetings twice a week. That’s how the Giants do business every Wednesday and Friday, masked and scattered. in the huge rural area.
“When we first had Judge, honestly, we learned how hard he was with us,” Williams said. And then some guys said ‘Ugh, it’s so hard. ‘But we learned how much he cares about winning and that he cares about our success. It just does a very clever task of convincing the boys to come in. It’s hard to be a leader and convince so many people in such a short time. And I think he did a wonderful job of doing it even when we were consuming and we could just collapse. “
The new Giants have a difficult fourth quarter (Arizona, Cleveland, Baltimore, Dallas), but the defensive will keep them in each and every game. Surprising, really, that New York has two more victories than Philadelphia and Dallas in the last four weeks. In the NFL, nothing is eternal. Even the football of the bad giants.
So: Kornacki is a patriotic fanatic. ” But not a recent one,” he says. “I’ve been a Pats fan since I was 1-15. “But he has a developing political nerd in a political hotbed in east Massachusetts, and this control of NBC’s electoral boards, of course, is best for him. He likes everything about the procedure of understanding electoral trends and learning the voting behavior of counties and “I took my dad to Ohio for a two-week drive tour in 2018,” Kornacki said. “I was just looking to know the state. ” Now it’s the determination to work.
Shortly after this year’s election, NBC Sports called NBC News to see if Kornacki, who would have a sensation in the presidential election, might need to make football predictions. “I got a call from my boss, I mean, a week after the election, just saying that, because NBC Sports had ideas, he sought to talk. I would say that in the last two weeks, we have implemented it. “
Once the playoff race was defined, Kornacki would be doing several segments at NBC’s studio on Sunday night. He made his debut on Sunday night, taking the knowledge of Pro Football Focus (Cris Collinsworth is the majority owner of the research site) to screen the playoffs. Kornacki did it in the same way he did politics, tapping on a giant board to demonstrate his knowledge of the AFC and NFC playoffs, and throwing, spinning and tapping enthusiastically to defend his case.
Minnesota vs. Arizona – The playoffs placed the Vikings 6-6 as the seventh seed in the NFC this morning, with Arizona 6-6 in eight-man silver, but PFF knowledge suggests Arizona has a 52% chance of reaching. to the playoffs and Minnesota 32%, basically because the Vikes are betting their last 4 road games in Tampa and New Orleans. “When I saw the unit numbers,” Kornacki said, “I did a double take. I went back to Pro Football Focus. ” Are you sure? “In my mind, I would even put them right now. ” I agree, in component because a Game that seemed sweet a couple of weeks ago, Arizona on the Giants this weekend, now proves tough for the Cardinals.
Chicago is collapsing. PFF has the Bears, 5-7, with a 6% chance of reaching the playoffs. And with the next 3 games opposed to Array500 or less – Houston, Minnesota, Jacksonville – the Chicago offensive makes 6% “sound good” to Kornacki, he said.
Rise of the Giants. New York entered the day 4-7 and with a 32% chance of reaching the playoffs, which rose to 45% with victory over the Seahawks, and will accumulate extra if Washington (4-7) loses tonight in Pittsburgh. “Assuming Pittsburgh defeats Washington, I think the Giants’ odds would move north of 50 percent,” Kornacki said.
Kornacki flows on TV and with me. I may have a long history in this business.
What I like about the Browns this morning:
Baker Mayfield was valid in a big game. I was negative about Mayfield, especially his inaccuracy downstream. He was glorious with Sunday’s deep balls that built a huge advantage. His TD pitches to Donovan Peoples-Jones (45 yards in the air) and Rashard Higgins (33) were perfect. Forget the numbers, which were very good. It was Mayfield hitting the open receivers calmly, which is important to the Browns in the process. Cleveland is now the fifth seed AFC at 9-3. Seeing that they might have to beat explosive groups like Buffalo, Pittsburgh and Kansas City, maybe. in that order – if they qualified for the playoffs with a big offense it is almost essential for the January success.
The mental state of a team that doesn’t feel too smart about itself. Coach Kevin Stefanski has been a maniac with the philosophy of “pass 1-0 this week”, and players are buying. Really, what else does it matter?” No one plays for the stats,” defensive punchline Myles Garrett told me after the game. “We’re just looking to be 1-0 and win the day. It’s not just on Sundays, it’s in the practice of competing, making sure we’re there with that project in our brains. We’re just going on to play. Don’t think too much, just play outside.
I don’t like the defense to slightly complete the job, but I must thank the D for keeping Derrick Henry 60 yards on the ground. Cleveland won 28-3 in the middle of the moment, but did not allow Henry to take over. Garrett said he hasn’t taken an arm yet” to show himself violently opposed to him and grab a part of the frame. You have to pick it up and throw it on the ground. At the top, we did a smart job. “
Garrett (10 games, 10. 5 catches) made an effective two-week comeback with COVID-19. He had a catch and three tackles, he didn’t feel as strong as he used to be. “Having COVID,” he said, “is a sense of helplessness, and not only to be powerless to help my team, but also to be so weak, so tired. So painful I don’t need to move. My body hurts for no reason. Just random framing parts, headaches, eye pain, and you’re just looking to fight as long as this happens. I asked him how he felt. ” Pretty tired,” Garrett said. “But come home, get some recovering, get in the Platoon, start collecting my air. “
You’d better hurry. Baltimore arrives in Cleveland on Sunday and the Ravens will have some hope, needing three or four wins in the final leg to qualify for the playoffs. “We’re Cleveland, ” said Garrett, “and we’ll check to make them proud. “
COVID Scores: This morning, 189 of the 256 regular season games were played. If the last 3 games of the weekend are played (Washington-Pittsburgh and Buffalo-San Francisco tonight, Dallas-Baltimore tomorrow), that means 75% of the schedule is up, or 192 games out of 256. In the last 4 weekends Weekdays of the season, with no byes, there are 16 games scheduled according to the week. Now the challenge: get the last 64 games as the pandemic spreads and other people move inside.
2. One day, we’re going to find out how, in a game the Patriots won with forty-five points, their starting quarterback pitched for 69 yards and the New Englander with maximum receptions (James White, 3) received a yard. . Man, football is weird.
One day, we’re going to find out why Miami coach Brian Flores let defensive coordinator Patrick Graham leave after a season. Whatever happens, the Giants are grateful.
4. No know how the Vikings won that game, but Dan Bailey (his two failed PAT forced the Vikings to oppose the Jags a little bit) scares me, and I’m sure it’s also scary for Mike Zimmer.
5. Much better for the Raiders to have figured out a way to win, but the Jets without a win and Derek Carr hit 3 out of 11 and missed some shots he needed in the last 4:50 before locating Henry Ruggs The Exciting Winner. They gave 71 numbers to the groups with a combined 4-20 record on the last two Sundays. It’s pretty far-fetched that the Falcons and Jets have beaten raiders 34 in the last two weeks, and the Raiders have beaten the Chiefs in their two games this year.
Just 35 months ago, the Jaguars had a 20-10 lead with 10 minutes to play in the AFC name game at Foxboro. I’m surprised the Jaguars have been 12-33 ever since.
7. The long run is not so brilliant for Anthony Lynn, New England 45, Chargers 0, and yes, it was so ugly. Your team is imploding before our eyes. Following a 5-11 season in 2019, going 3-9 (with four, 3 and two missed streaks) in some other lost season is bad enough for Lynn. not being able to be unwavering with him by entering an intense sale of low-season tickets in a massive market that was not welcoming.
I mean, Lynn has three wins: against the Bengals with two wins, the Jags with a win and the Jets with 0 wins, and that’s with an explosive quarterback who came out of the box betting like a young Dan Fouts. .
9. The Bears last won seven weeks ago with that defense!Two years after winning coach of the year, Matt Nagy may fall victim to the Save Mitchell Trubisky crusade that went wrong.
Not that this week is the most productive for interim coaches (1-2, with the two defeats overdue and the dying Houston and Atlanta), but it’s a smart year for the headlines. Dan Quinn, Bill O’Brien and Matt Patricia combined to finish 4-16. Raheem Morris, Romeo Crennel and Darrell Bevell are 9-7.
11. So for Derrick Henry’s Most Valuable Player campaign.
12. Excellent player not talked about enough: Miami tight end Mike Gesicki. Productive, almost acrobatic, charming hands As two Bengals pounded him in the area in the third quarter, Gesicki dug his long right arm into the sky and one-handed hit a pass from Tua Tagovailoa that 95% of the league’s smugglers didn’t. would have achieved. I see a lot of Gesicki’s, the ex-Nittany Lion at 6 feet 6 inches. “Like they gave him a catcher’s glove to hang up,” James Lofton rightly said on CBS.
?: #CINvsMIA on CBS?: NFL app // Yahoo Sports app: https://t. co/nO8DOddpx2 pic. twitter. com/Lf2cm2mkeB
– NFL (@NFL) December 6, 2020
13. The more I see Justin Jefferson in front of the Vikings (61 receptions, 1,039 yards, 17. 0 consistent with the catcher), the more I think we’re in the next NFL suconsistant with the star.
14. It was a year for NFL coverage, staying home every week instead of being on the big game instance; I haven’t traveled on NFL business since a four-camp swing in mid-August. The settings of my space have a TV on my desktop, I broadcast a game on this computer and I use a third screen from 1 p. m. at 7:20 p. m. , which remains at NFL RedZone, the NFL Network exhibition hosted by Scott Hanson, who had his 200th exhibition on Sunday. Thanks for that, Scott Hanson. Su exhibition is priceless.
15. Me like hanson’s football team call: the Iron Bladders. The owner will have to spend 8 hours without leaving the set of his screen ad-free. Now, maybe you’ll get the call.
16. No’s no idea how many opportunities Zane Gonzalez has in Arizona, but that’s too much. If you can’t make a 48-yard basket in weather conditions, after a series of failures in important places, it’s time to look for a new kicker.
17. And in the third inning, Taysom Hill played quarterback. Thirty-seven pitches, 0 options. In relief of Drew Brees’ return, Hill went 3-0. Looks like Brees’s coming back to impose more punishments in Philadelphia next week.
18. My story celebrating Hail Murray has the elderly good. It has a 0-3 mark since the Sacred Pass of DeAndre Hopkins beat Buffalo, with 61 yards on the court and a touchdown of 204 yards per game. And now the cards will fly east to Meadowlands on Sunday to face the super cunning (ask Russell Wilson) Giants Defense. The race to the giants puts a web-shaped net around the pocket. Murray’s not going to like being surrounded.
19) Coach 74% of the season: 1) Mike Tomlin, 2) Kevin Stefanski, 3) Brian Flores.
20. In recent days, Buffalo has traveled twice: to Arizona to play the Cardinals and Arizona to play against the Niners.
Each NFL team has a COVID-related story, or two or three, to tell in 2020. Reigning NFC champions can have the most engaging story.
When the 49ers plane was about to take off nine days ago, on its way from San Jose to Los Angeles for a major game in front of the Rams, general manager John Lynch took the cockpit microphone from one of the flight attendants. On their way to the airport, they learned that Santa Clara County would necessarily evict the Niners for at least 3 weeks and probably during the season, due to the ban on all public gatherings and team sports. Phones of players, coaches and staff – Seriously, do we all have to move in for Christmas and New Year’s?”And Lynch felt the desire to soothe the murky waters.
“I asked the main flight attendant who is still with us on our charter flights: “Can I stop by and make an announcement?Lynch said Sunday morning. I said, “This is the scenario. We will all be informed in real time. There’s a lot of ramifications of that, but we’ll focus on that. We always support others. We work all the time, concentrating on what we can control. This is the last check of that. Here’s our commitment to you: we’ll locate a scenario that works and works well. We’ll examine it in depth and in depth. We’ll examine them and locate the best. I don’t have the answers, however, you focus on managing the business in this game and this will make the next few weeks much more fun for everyone. “
As Lynch spoke Sunday, he may just look through the windows of the new 49ers’ home away from the house, the Renaissance in Glendale, across the parking lot, and see State Farm Stadium. Sunday afternoon before tonight’s Niners-Bills game, a home game in San Francisco 717 miles southeast of Levi’s Stadium.
This game will have postseason implications for the 49ers due to what happened last weekend, when the Niners, possibly distracted/controlled, won their biggest win of the year, 23-20 against the Rams. “He’s the proudest I’ve ever been to, our organization after each and every game we’ve played, watching each and every one since we’ve been here,” Lynch said Sunday. At 5-6, San Francisco now has a playoff sentence.
The county had been in talks with the Niners that week to create a comfortable bubble, an agreement that everyone in the organization would move from home to the stadium and football area and vice versa. Don’t visit restaurants, department stores or anywhere else. The players weren’t excited, but they understood that the choice stopped. Then the closure was “a general surprise,” Lynch said. There were initial considerations about gambling in Oakland and San Diepass, but not knowing if an imminent state of closure would make one or the other impractical. The fact that the Cardinals were in a position to welcome their department rivals and had a forged configuration was the decisive factor. The Cards organize an educational camp between the Renaissance and the stadium. Everything is within walking distance. There has been no confrontation with the remaining house games for the Cardinals and 49ers. And the team brought with it 4 of its COVID BioReference Labs testers, so daily tests have been conducted on site since the team arrived in Glendale on Wednesday.
Inside the hotel there is a 15,000-square-foot meeting space, which the Niners have changed similarly to a weight room, changing room and master’s room. The Niners won the stadium’s outdoor education floor to be used, and their hosts, driven by Arizona owner Michael Bidwill, laid the red carpet (Cardinal).
“My respect for Michael Bidwill is already immense,” Lynch said. “We are apartment rivals at the heart of the playoffs. But what did he do? Amazing. The first day we were here, I looked to go for a walk through it’s 7:15, and his boxing purpose [Cards Sports Lawn Manager Andy Levy] is on his knees with two other people placing our purpose posts. And they trained that day [in the middle Card education in Tempe]. I said, “You have to take care of your own team! We’re passing by to perceive that. “Andy said, “Mr. Bidwill said to treat you like you were our team. “It’s comforting. “
Here’s the craziest thing about this party in Arizona: Santa Clara County said it would reconsider lifting the lockout from December 21, if it got up and the Niners would just pass the house, it would mean the team would be home for 4 days and then we have to return to a plane on Christmas afternoon for the game on the road scheduled for December 26 , in Arizona.
Check this out.
“One of the things that came here from our players,” Lynch said, “is that they were talking in groups. We told them, let’s see after the 21st about this county order. We told them, in lugar. es, Arizona or at home, they’ll be with their families at Christmas. We’re committed to them. Our players said, basically, can you call him now?Instead of waiting for our county, can we just call now to stay here so we can make plans?I said, “Of course, absolutely. ” I was proud of them for understanding that. “
Wait, there’s something that’s crazier. ” There’s a positive aspect to all this,” one Niners player told me over the weekend.
State tax.
The source of the state’s income tax in California is 13%, while in Arizona it is 4. 5%. Let’s say the Niners play their last three house games in Glendale. Players pay taxes where they exercise and play. This would mean that 3/17 of players’ weekly salary would be taxed at Arizona rates instead of California. Williams has a base salary of $12. 5 million, representing 17 weekly bills of $735,294. Each week of a home game would mean Williams would have $95,588 deducted from California taxes, but that figure would drop to $33,088 per week in Arizona, so the savings of 3 games for Williams, in fact one of the team’s highest-paid players, would be $187,500. It’s not a bad comfort prize for uncomfortable players.
“It was all a monumental company, and our organization treated logistics very well,” Lynch said. “But you can’t revel in that. We have a proper team that comes here on bills. I think our minds are right,” place, though.
Darren Waller, closed-wing Las Vegas. The Raiders were stored through Derek Carr’s rainbow pass to Henry Ruggs, but Waller was the lifeline for four Las Vegas quarters: 8 receptions for 123 yards and two touchdowns in the first half. five out of 77 and none in the middle of the moment. What a game challenge he’s been with the Jets all day.
Baker Mayfield, quarterback, Cleveland. No the top 20 productive minutes for Mayfield, but 4 landing passes, adding two very productive pitches to lead the receivers in coverage, helped the Browns win 41-35 over Tennessee. Mayfield’s four landings arrived here in thirteen minutes in the first half, in passes of 2, 1, 17 and 75 yards. Equally vital, Mayfield’s drive to throw high-level balls did not provide the Browns’ ultimate vital victory of the year. finished 25 out of 33 pitches for 334 yards without interceptions. More games like that and the Browns will not only reach the playoffs, but they will also be a factor. First Cleveland quarterback to launch 4 landings in the first half since the wonderful Otto Graham in 1951.
Kenny Moore II, cornerer, Indianapolis. When the Texans entered Indy territory at the end of the third quarter, 24-20 down, Deshaun Watson, who had not launched an interception in 8 weeks, did not launch one. No more. Watson discovered Brandin Cooks for what looked like a transparent termination. It’s a problem. On the way to the Cooks on the lawn, Moore, a 2017 Waiver Patriots van, stole the ball. It’s a choice, but extraordinarily strange.
Leonard Williams, defensive tackle, New York Giants. After being a lost sheep for much of his first five years in the league, Williams rein revitalized defensive coordinator Patrick Graham’s plan with the Giants this fall, but Russell Wilson simply couldn’t help it in Seattle. Williams added 2. 5 catches for 25. 5 yards and three more pressures in the Giants’ surprising 17-12 victory.
– Alex Wilson (@AlexWilsonESM) December 7, 2020
Supporter Kyle Van Noy Miami doubled his overall catch for the season, from 3 to six, with dominant functionality in Miami’s 19-7 victory over the Bengals, and added eight tackles and two more tackles for the loss. Almost every week, the Dolphins will want more defensive features like Sunday’s in South Florida.
Tyrann Mathieu, security, Kansas City, concluded the narrow 22-16 victory over Denver with an interception in the Broncos’ first series and one in the last. The first reached 10 yards from KC’s in-goal zone, and the moment in On a day when the Chiefs didn’t get the same long-time offensive power from Patrick Mahomes, Mathieu gave them the big moves they needed to win.
Devin McCourty, Security, New England. Bill Belichick loves key special equipment holders; Normally, you wouldn’t see a veteran defense on the clearing team. McCourty was in the right position at the right time, as the clock at the time the fourth went down to: 00 in Los Angeles. After teammate Cody Davis blocked a Charger-area goal, McCourty picked him up and ran 44 yards for the landing that put out the Chargers, 28-0.
Gunner Olszewski, backer/clearing/clearing receiver, New England. Su clearing 70 yards back to land gave the Patriots a 14-0 lead at the beginning of the fourth moment. a few millimeters from the direct band line for the last 16 yards of the reverse, but controlled to stay within limits. A huge game in a game that, at the time, offensively pathetic.
Jason Sanders, kicker, Miami. More than one Season Pass Award for Sanders, who is the most productive in the league with 96. 6% accuracy in box goals (28 out of 29). 4 out of 4 in the 19-7 win over Cincinnati, 25, 48, 23 and 19 yards.
Patrick Graham, defensive coordinator of the New York Giants. What a game plan Graham invented in opposition to Seattle’s head chef, Russell Wilson. I saw almost every blueprint of that game and Wilson never felt comfortable. Not in a room. Seven-year-old Graham built a trap around Wilson and never let him breathe, sending him back five times for four7 yards (some very large losses between catches of one), keeping Seattle at four out of 15 in the third and fourth chances, and holding Wilson to one. More than 60 meters. Think about how crazy it is: The Giants went to a team that competes for the most sensible screening of NFC and played without Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley. . . and won, much of this because of a defense that aligns new players each and every one. week and discover a way to suffocate enemies.
Nick Martin, center, Houston. With 1:28 to pass in front of Indianapolis, the Texans are sweeping Colt’s 2-yard line, the Texans six yards down, the unthinkable: Martin returned the shotgun to Deshaun Watson. The Colts attacked the pocket and supporter Anthony Walker threw himself for the ball, beating Watson. Incredible turn of events. A smart player’s error dump, Martin. “I hit that click, ” said Watson. Perhaps, but it was a lousy click at a very important time.
I
“Every time I’m about to do something, I think, “Would a fool do that?”And if they did, then I wouldn’t. “
Baker Mayfield, after one of his most productive professional games, won 41-35 in Tennessee. If you don’t know the appointment, it comes from Dwight Schrute, the beet grower.
ii
“I think we could have been better placed in this situation. “
“Protection against jet Marcus Maye, after New York ran 8 times and left corner rookie rookie agent Lamar Jackson in bachelor coverage, allowing the winning TD to move five seconds from Sunday’s end.
Ⅲ.
“It’s one of the worst football games I’ve ever played in my 30th year in the NFL as a player and coach. “
– Chargers coach Anthony Lynn, after New England 45, Chargers 0.
Ⅳ
“Do you think you’ll be the Chargers coach tomorrow?”
“Reporter after Lynn’s game on Sunday.
For the moste all, Lynn did, she did.
Ⅴ
“In their early years, they’re like a fart in a frying pan. They’re everywhere, like popcorn. “
– Randy Fichtner, Steel’s offensive coordinator, describing his own of young open recipients.
I must say, I’ve never heard this analogy in 63 years on the planet.
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Gregg Williams has been the defensive coordinator of the Browns and Jets since 2017 (he was DC in 2018 for Cleveland for 8 games and interim head coach for 8 games).
What looked like Sunday, but much like Williams, was the Raiders’ winning touchdown. The Jets were leading 28-24 with thirteen seconds to play, and the Raiders came third and 10 in New York 46. The Raiders’ maximum probably had two games left. , at most, no downtime. So Williams called an eight-man race, 0 deep down. Dangerous, More Dangerous: Henry Ruggs, the fastest guy in this year’s draft, broke up in front of an undraxed corner of Nebraska loose agent Lamar Jackson. It wasn’t a fair fight, Ruggs, against the un recruited recruit. A double shot later, Ruggs took two steps over Jackson, Derek Carr dropped a better shot at Ruggs and the Jets suffered one of the maximum losses in the franchise. recent history.
That says something.
ii
The Bengals, in their 20 road games, are 0-19-1.
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Pittsburgh final adjusted Eric Ebron was angry last week because the Steelers game had been postponed several times and Pittsburgh is expected to play consecutively from Wednesday to Monday through Sunday. On the Uninterrupted 17 Weeks podcast, he said of this year’s NFL calendar: “No one idea would play 3 games in 12 days. Think about it. C’s us. Oh, my God, they’re waiting to see us fail, brother. “He insinued that he would lose a game check to play 3 times in 12 days.
Ebron wants to renew himself. This is the sixth time in his seven-year NFL career that has played 3 games in 12 days:
In 2014, 2015 and 2017 with Detroit, all annual Lions Thanksgiving games.
In 2018 and 2019 with the Colts.
Most NFL players play 3 games in 12 days in peak seasons, as more than a portion of NFL players play one game on Thursdays a year. the average is 12 days. This means that players would have six days off between games one and two, three days off between games two and 3. Thursday’s games were negotiated jointly between the owners and the players; The Ebron syndicate approved the concept of 3 games in 12 days.
Steelers, in this case, will have a roster of Wednesday, Monday and Sunday: 4 days off between games one and two, five days off between games two and three.
Another point: Steelers, in 12 days, will play at home in Buffalo (49 minutes flight).
Green Bay this year, in 12 days, in Houston-home-in San Francisco. This is a 3:18 flight to Houston and 4:33 a. m. San Francisco (in a short week).
Denver this year, in 12 days, at Pittsburgh-home-to-New York Jets. This is a 2:50 flight to Pittsburgh and 3:32 a. m. Newark (for a short week)
In line about the third games in 12 days for the Packers and the Broncos: Green Bay, after the long journey west, beat the Niners to the 17th, Denver, after the long journey east, beat the Jets to nine.
In 2018, the Jets played 3 games in days. Also the Titans. They both had blackboards Monday through Sunday and Thursday.
I don’t see any player from the groups who play 3 games in 12 days or 3 out of 11 and say, “They are looking to see us fail.
ii
The Chicago Cubs have appointed Craig Breslow vice president of Pitching.
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– MarkMaske (@MarkMaske) December 7, 2020
Maske covers the NFL for the Washington Post.
Hmmmmm. See.
ii
– Sage Rosenfels (SageRosenfels18) December 7, 2020
Rosenfels, a former NFL quarterback, covers him for The Athletic.
Ⅲ.
– Rich Hammond (@Rich_Hammond) December 7, 2020
Rich Hammond is an editor and works at The Athletic Los Angeles. “Bone” is the whitish color of some Rams uniforms.
Ⅳ
– Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) December 4, 2020
Thamel, who covers school football for Yahoo Sports, explains how Saturday’s game for mid-American East Conference superiority was canceled due to COVID issues.
Ⅴ
Edinburg #txhsfb #rgvfootball pic. twitter. com/FF1DP3z7SV CISD Stream Video
– KRGV Sports (@KRGVSports) December 4, 2020
KRGV is a television station in Weslaco, Texas, that covers this terrible attack on a referee in a high school game.
Contact me on peterkingfmia@gmail. com or on Twitter.
No asterisks. If there were no asterisks in the nine-game season in 1982, or in the 15-game strike season in 1987 (each team played 3 games with pickup teams), then one season affected by coronavirus, unless it cannot be played. to the end, I probably wouldn’t have one.
What a wonderful point, Don, thank you for doing it. Mahomes is such a player, and your vision of him betting the ball as a wonderful base is so perfect.
Thank you, Andrew, last week’s Markus Paul segment was something I felt stressed about doing. You knew him, but I didn’t know him, at least until I read coaches, players, public relations and other people over and over again, all of whom were deeply affected by Paul’s loss. It motivated me to get in touch with those whose lives were replaced through this man.
I don’t worry about the images from the chain gang. He’s cute and aware of football’s old smart times. But the game is too advanced, with too much on the whims of close calls in first-run bars, to use the channels as the ultimate referee to find out if a team made a big overdue first outing in the game.
Thank you, this story was Koeblitz from start to finish; she was the engine that did it. What I really appreciate knowing a little bit about those players and learning more about their collective ethics is that those older adults have made the decision that it’s us. don’t go out this way and we’re going to do nothing about it. Good for them. They took control of their lives. I also appreciate the fact that the coach, Bob Surace, is dealing with things coaches don’t have to deal with very often: mentally debilitating things like loneliness and kids who would be in school this year having to have part-time and full-time schedules to help their families. That’s what I appreciate from the players in this program, how they treated such a different world.
I think, despite everything, there’s some clarity about the 2020 Most Valuable Player race. Aaron Rodgers was his typical great self and Patrick Mahomes survived. He would also have Ben Roethlisberger in the race, for the undefeated Steelers and for the Steelers, depending on the difference with and without Big Ben, 2019 compared to 2020, but probably third place last month.
When you look at the value, it is very difficult to decide between Rodgers and Mahomes, since Rodgers has a slight merit in precision (. 689 to Array683), a differential of TD to pick (plus 32 compared to more-29) and an advantage in annotations (118. 5 to 113. 8). Mahomes has a smart pass advantage, 3,815 vs. 3,395. Mahomes leads Rodgers’ most productive team (11-1 vs. 9-3), some would say Rodgers deserves more credits because he has fewer weapons. There are four weeks left, and I think it’s Mahomes-Rodgers-Roethlisberger, with Mahomes-Rodgers still a race.
2. I think Rodgers had the reaction when asked after the Packers’ victory over Philadelphia what his next step is after preparing the quarterback to get the 400 fastest landing passes in the world. NFL history. (He has 400 TD assists in his career and 88 interceptions). “I’m going to see if I can get to 500 before I pitch a hundred selections,” he said. I mean, who would be surprised if I did that?
Je thinks tonight’s twinbill is fascinating. I rested in Washington, Pittsburgh, then Buffalo in San Francisco, Arizona, if you know what I mean. Buffalo is better, especially as a quarterback, but Niner’s defense resurrects with Richard Sherman back and Kerry. Hyder making his imitation more productive of Bosa. And San Francisco feels like a team opposed to the world. The first game would probably be a goal, but moment one will be a gem, I think.
4. I think the NFL will miss LeGarrette Blount, one of the most productive runners you’ve ever liked. LeGarrette Blount retired on Saturday, on his 34th birthday, in a long Instagram post. Blount has had one of the most attractive and varied racers of an NFL runner. I saw him in the patriots playoff locker room after the game, and how satisfied he was. I saw him hug the Pats president, Jonathan Kraft, and he sincerely thanked him for bringing him to the team. There was the firing of a Boise State player from school who probably prevented him from being drafted, and the marijuana use incident probably led him to his short career (11 games) for the Steelers. But think of these strengths:
He played 100-yard race games in four of the five he played, tying Frank Gore, the number three of all time, who did exactly the same thing.
As Buc, Blount beat Seattle by 164 yards in 2011; as Patriot, ran for 189 Bills in 2013; as Steeler, hit Carolina for 118 yards in 2014; like Eagle, ran for 136 chargers in 2017.
Are you a playoff? In the 2013 playoffs for New England, he ran for 166 yards and four touchdowns in a departmental game opposite Indianapolis. In the 2014 playoffs for New England, he ran for 148 yards and three touchdowns in a championship game opposed to Indianapolis.
Three Super Bowl rings: two for the Patriots and the third in the Eagles clash with the Patriots. Remember your TD for the Eagles that day? The 21-yard TD race that gave Philadelphia its biggest lead of the day, 15-3, over the Pats.
In 2016, season and playoffs, he played 19 games for New England, with 19 touchdowns.
5. I think last Wednesday, before one of the great rivalry matches in football, Baltimore-Pittsburgh, that’s what I’m thinking: just start the game, no, excited about the game and one of the most productive rivalries in sports bothers me. That’s one of the risks this season: the league is struggling to break the 256 games of the normal season without the hassle of an 18th week, and the byproduct is not to enjoy some of the great games. The joy of the game is a victim of the pandemic. The two Baltimore-Pittsburgh games are football holidays. Last week, Baltimore-Pittsburgh felt like a burden to overcome.
6. I don’t think I’m alone. A senior team official told me Friday, “Are we going to enjoy the games the rest of the time, or just tiptoe through the butcher shop and end it?”
7 I think it’s the nine most productive seconds of the nfl zoom press convention week, starting at Pittsburgh 19, Baltimore 14 after the game:
8. Je those facts are pretty silly about voting in the Pro Bowl:
You can’t vote for a player in IR, even in a season with the three-week IR generated through Pandemic that was invented in 2020.
You can vote for six quarters (because, I guess, there are six Pro Bowl quarterbacks named). When I reviewed the Pro Bowl poll for 2020 on Friday night, I 30 eligible quarterbacks.
Have you seen anything strange? You can vote for Jake Luton or Nick Mullens or Tua Tagovailoa. You can’t vote for Drew Brees.
Drew Brees, who has thrown more yards than any quarterback in his 101-year history of professional football, and who is in his final professional football season before retiring, is not on the ballot.
Of the 30 quarterbacks on the ballot, none play for NFC’s most sensible seed, New Orleans, but Jags’ shots 0-12 and 1-11 are represented.
The Pro Bowl is silly anyway; voting has been a joke for years, but in a year when the NFL is inventing regulations as it progresses, why the hell would it maintain a book rule designed to fight voting for a player who gets injured early and absent during the year?The rule has been completely rejected. Drew Brees started nine games, pitched 298 passes and will most likely be activated for the last 3 or 4 games of the year, meaning he will likely throw more than 400 passes, easy.
There’s no Pro Bowl game this year. It is played in Madden. C is a fake game. And the NFL would rather see Brees off the ballot so that in what’s probably his last season of one of the wonderful NFL careers history, enthusiasts can’t vote for him for the ceremonial Pro Bowl. The vote ends next Saturday. Brees may not be out of IR until maturity this week or the following week.
Is he home? Do we have to pay attention?
9. I think the high school that produced Peter Lucas of the Lowell Sun is very proud of his intensity of thought. Read this set of insightful words published in an American newspaper. Lucas suggested, if Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts gets a task in The Biden Government, that the governor of Massachusetts appointed Bill Belichick to upgrade Warren. Belichick recently spoke about an occasion of foreign importance for two minutes. Ergo, be a senator.
10. Je those are my other mind of the week:
A. Matthew Berry! Get it soon!
b) How is Tom Allen from Indiana NOT the coach of the year in school football?
c. Wow! The end of the BYU-Coastal Carolina game is fantastic. YYU goes the duration of the field, minus 4 feet, to lose to: 00 of the 4th quarter, 22-17. What’s crazy is that this game was played last Thursday, a 9-0 game away from the Final Four teams. How much exploration and preparation could there have been?And the Coastals are 10-0 against a valid team and a valid quarterback. Great scene. Brigham Young Quarterback Zach Wilson will be a first-round selection, and I think he’ll be smart.
Re. Disappointing Anniversary of the Week: John Lennon outdoors murdered his new York, Dakota apartment building (later also John Madden’s part-time home), 40 years ago tomorrow. Michael Kaplan, in the New York Post, wrote about Lennon’s last days The guy who photographed Lennon best in his New York years, Bob Gruen, with a beautiful line in the play:
Did you know that millions of people found out about Lennon’s murder through Howard Cosell? They shot him at 10:50 a. m. Monday night, and Cosell announced the news in the fourth quarter of a Patriots-Dolphins game.
e. The Great British Baking Show is incredibly good. I know I’ve rented the screen several times in this space, but in case you haven’t noticed, we live in a crazy world, and if you have the means and time to miss for 55 minutes in an organization of other smart people with British accents preparing things, you probably wouldn’t know how to do it. Baking, well, it’s a wonderful TV. These other people are invariably satisfied and helpful, and you just left the series (last Friday we saw a double name of series 10, with Steph dominating the Star Baker competition) feeling satisfied and more wonderful than when you clicked on it.
F. C it’s wonderful to feel those days.
g. Speaking of attractive British exhibits, I have some bones from the fourth season of ‘The Crown’. Like the other people who live in Britain, according to Christine Boyle of the Los Angeles Times. She writes a London story about the screen through British eyes: “”Very entertaining” or a lie with a big L. “
h. ‘The Crown’, which covers Queen Elizabeth’s 68-year reign in the UK in 4 incredibly realistic seasons, is a glorious television. I enjoyed the ancient seasons, training opportunities we had never experienced, such as the turn of mining destiny in Wales so that the queen and the government were completely useless in responding, and Prince Philip’s reaction to the Americans who landed on the moon, and his surprise that they were not noble with worldly goals, but men who performed one task after another that fascinated the world. the story, although it was actually polished and/or embellished, was educational.
I. What I don’t like about the current season is that we have no idea how genuine it is when we see the Queen and Margaret Thatcher halfway, or Charles and Diana living in separate worlds. that Chuck and Di were fighting each other. But the infighting, like the time the queen called them to act as marriage counselors, I mean, did it happen?Is it totally false? I like the show I’m just not crazy to wonder what’s close to the truth and what’s absurd, Boyle wrote:
j. Football Story of the Week: Daniel Brown of The Athletic in a 49ers retired defensive stalwart, Patrick Willis, helping retired 49ers defensive stalwart Lawrence Pillers lead his war opposed to COVID-19.
k. Willis did not know who Pillers was a few months ago (Pillers was a key defensive detail for San Francisco at the beginning of the Niner dynasty in the 1980s). But when Willis found out it was happening, he felt he had to help. Brown:
l) Beautiful story of what teammates do, even when they are on the same team at the same time.
m. Good news of the week: Chad and Dana Akenhead have a Christmas tree farm in Corrales, New Mexico ABC News has told how the Akenheads have replaced their business style this year in a way that will surprise you.
N. Steve Serby is amazing, do you know the Serb, prolific sports columnist and for the New York Post. On Sunday, he had four articles in the paper: a QA with Wayne Gallman (in which he says Eli Manning once walked past his locker and sneaked into his face); an advent at Colt McCoy, QB of Giants week; a deep dive into the story of red balloon bearer Derrick Henry; and Raiders-Jets Day, an old play (with an interview with Joe Namath) about the Raiders-Jets rivalry, which was one of football’s greatest. I really appreciate Serbia’s pastime for its work.
o. Speaking of Talented Posties, Andrew Marchand’s engaging story about solving ESPN radio programming to place a local morning screen opposite the WFAN morning screen starring Boomer Esiason. ESPN’s local show will run from five to . m. 8 a. m, and ESPN’s national program (including Keyshawn Johnson) will air from 8 a. m. Who are they programming for, farmers?
P. I had some negative reactions, maybe a dozen, to this line in the top sensible column last weekend: “In a country that has never taken the raging virus seriously enough, and with a full-throttle philosophy. From the commissioner, what were you waiting for? Most readers found this incredibly negative, like: What do you mean, we don’t take the virus seriously? let’s say, we haven’t taken the virus seriously enough. Some have, but not most. I said last spring that our country does not have the will to solve this problem, and the evidence is all around us. Where I live in New York, 80 to 90% of the other people I know wear masks; This is a sign of smart citizenship and fear for your neighbor (and you (even). However, in some parts of the country and parts of Congress, wearing a mask is considered a robbery of freedom. Seriously, This is why so many other people have had their family circle stolen on Thanksgiving Day and why so many will be alone in the holiday season.
This story by Hanna Krueger at the Boston Globe perfectly illustrates this point: infectious disease experts face disappointment as the pandemic worsens. Harvard epidemiologist Dr. Caroline Buckee said scientists knew months ago that dressing in a mask was important and that food inside and meetings but citizens are not the only ones who largely forget or minimize advice, regulators, and politicians have also done so. Buckee, after being strident with COVID, gained so many negative reactions and threats on social media from the real anti-COVID that he turned his attention to other scourges, such as malaria, and turned away from the coronavirus study.
R. Krueger quotes Harvard epidemiologist Michael Mina as follows:
Now we move on to vaccines, which look promising. But, of course, millions of Americans may not take them, because of mistrust and no one telling me what to do and, oh, whatever, such a daunting absurdity, because another 2500 people die every day and our fitness professionals cry wild for other people to take the virus seriously. I mean, literally screaming. I saw two nurses screaming on the national news last week, asking for help.
T. On that satisfaction note.
In November, the NFL’s reputed Tyler Dunne diversified after running most popular writing jobs in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Buffalo News and Bleacher Report and founded an extensive site called Go Long, with a fee of $7 a month or $70 a year. Dunne, 33, on his resolution and the long term of our company.
Against the man, thinking of my 33rd birthday in 1990, at my time in Sports Illustrated, and thinking of the prospect of going out alone. Good luck to everyone who has done this in recent years, proceeding to write valuable things and luck to Tyler Dunne, who is doing a great job.
w. RIP, Bill Spanswick, the only major leaguer to come from Enfield, Connecticut. Claiming glory: Only in spanswick’s 1964 major league season did he eliminate Roger Maris. Always the boy of my young people that my young people admired in the sixties, early seventies.
X. Coffeenerdness: It’s so hard to buy a motorcycle in New York these days (four months of waiting is typical) that my brother-in-law in Massachusetts advised a motorcycle repair shop to locate a smart Cannondale. Another day at the Family Bicycle Shop in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts. This meant, of course, a wonderful mix of Dunkin’s Dark Roast on the way home when traffic is heavy. I love that black roast. Magnificent.
and finally, this one-morning tale from last week, when his daughter Laura was driving our grandchildren, Freddy and Hazel, to kindergarten in San Francisco. Laura playing Christmas songs in the car. Frank Sinatra sang: “Santa Claus is coming to town. “Freddy liked the song. He asked Laura who was singing. Frank Sinatra, said Laura. Freddy then asked, “Frank Sinatra is dead?”Laura thinks fast. She advised that a call to Pope Peter (that’s what the kids call me) in order, so here came the call. Laura told me they heard a Sinatra song and Freddy had a question for me.
And that’s the end of the discussion about Frank Sinatra’s death for today.
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