Amazon Aims To Take 'ManningCast' Away From ESPN​

Amazon is interested in taking the “ManningCast” away from ESPN, sources tell Front Office Sports.

As part of its push into live sports, Amazon Prime Video is eyeing Peyton and Eli Manning for a “Thursday Night Football” MegaCast when Omaha Productions’ 3-year deal is up with ESPN.

Under the current deal between Peyton Manning’s production company and the Walt Disney Co., the Mannings are contracted to call 10 alternate “Monday Night Football” telecasts each season from 2021-2023.

As usual in talent situations, ESPN would probably get an exclusive window to renew its deal with the Mannings before Omaha opens talks with other suitors. The talks are expected to kick off sometime in 2022.

Andy Jassy, the new president and chief executive officer of Amazon, is a “huge sports fan” noted one sports TV executive. With 2020 sales of $386 billion, Amazon could pay whatever it takes to land the brothers as it takes over exclusive national coverage of TNF in 2022.

“Amazon could just come in with a ton of money for the show — plus Amazon Prime content deals for Omaha — then move ManningCast over in two years,” said the source.

An Amazon spokesman declined to comment. ESPN also declined to comment.

But shifting the popular “ManningCast” off ESPN2 and the ESPN+ streaming platform would be a big gamble for both Omaha and the NFL.

The Manning brothers have been a huge TV hit, even putting the mania around Tony Romo of CBS in the rear-view mirror.

ESPN produces the ManningCast in conjunction with Omaha. Over their first eight games of this season, the brothers have averaged 1.6 million viewers on ESPN2.

They’ve already generated the seven most-watched alternate telecasts in ESPN history (hitting a high of 1.96 million viewers for MNF’s Week 8 game on Nov. 1).

With their connections throughout sports and entertainment, the Mannings have brought on a nonstop array of celebrity guests, including LeBron James, former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, Tom Brady, Charles Barkley, Russell Wilson and David Letterman.

The brothers will return to the ManningCast twice more during the 2021 season, providing alternate calls of the Cleveland Browns vs. Pittsburgh Steelers MNF game on Jan. 3, then the Wild Card playoff game on Jan. 17.

“Why mess with success?” asked another source. “Don’t forget the NFL would probably have to approve. The league loves what ESPN is doing with the Mannings on TV. Does the NFL want ManningCast to be a streaming-only property?”

Don’t discount the power of Disney. Between them, ESPN and Disney provide massive promotional support behind the ManningCast. Since 2019, ESPN has successfully nurtured a relationship with Omaha.

ESPN+ shows Peyton Manning’s popular “Peyton’s Places.” The franchise keeps growing, with five series in development, including “Eli’s Places” with Eli Manning, “Abby’s Places” with Abby Wambach and “Papi’s Places” with David Ortiz.

But Amazon would likely argue that its 200 million-plus global Amazon Prime customers would counter the loss of ESPN2 and ESPN.

Amazon is making a big push into the NFL. The tech giant is the lead contender to buy up to a 49% stake in league properties such as the NFL Network. It is weighing a TNF announcing “dream team” of Troy Aikman and Al Michaels for 2022.

From a negotiating standpoint, Omaha can’t just sign with the highest bidder either.

If another media outlet wants to take the ManningCast away from ESPN, they would have to be one of the companies that hold live NFL game rights. Namely: CBS Sports, NBC Sports, Fox Sports or Amazon.

CBS is probably out of the picture after agreeing to pay Romo $18 million a year, then shelling out again to retain top announcer Jim Nantz.

NBC Sports is shutting down its NBCSN cable channel as of Dec. 31, although the Peacock could seek to place the ManningCast on a sister NBCUniversal/Comcast network.

With no successor in place, Fox has its hands full trying to retain Aikman as its No. 1 analyst.

Andrew Whitworth will become first left tackle to start an NFL game at age 40 when Rams face Cardinals​

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Andrew Whitworth will get reminders about his age by his teammates from time to time, but last Sunday against the Jaguars, the Rams offensive lineman heard it from the opposing team.

"55 for them, which I can't remember his name right now, but actually during a TV timeout, (he) came up to me and he was like, 'Man,' he gave me a hug. And he was like, 'Hey, man, be honest with me. Like, how old are you?'" Whitworth said during a video conference with reporters Monday. "And I was like, I'm 39 years old. And he was like, 'you've got to be kidding me. You're not.' And I was like 'I am. I'm 39.' And he's like, 'No, it's unbelievable. Like can we please give me some secrets, I need something. Help me out a little bit.' I said I'll get with you after the game, but I ended up seeing him.'"

55 was seventh-year Jaguars defensive end/outside linebacker Lerentee McCray, and no one could blame him for asking. Whitworth, who turns 40 on Sunday, has had impressive career longevity, one that will be marked with another major milestone: When the Rams take on the Cardinals on Monday Night Football at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., he will become the first 40-year-old to start an NFL game at left tackle.

"It's definitely amazing, and something that probably for me, in my career, there's a lot of reflecting, just because it is a pretty huge deal and something that I put as a personal goal almost seven, eight years ago," Whitworth said. "To be here and think of all the things I've been through, through it, it's pretty wild."

Since entering the league as a second-round draft pick out of LSU in 2006, Whitworth has played in 235 out of 251 possible regular season games in his 16-year career. The four-time Pro Bowler and two-time First Team All-Pro selection's 231 career starts are most among active offensive tackles and fourth-most among active players, regardless of position, according to pro-football-reference.com.

This season alone, his 93 percent pass block win rate ranks third among all offensive tackles, according to ESPN – no doubt a component to the Rams' 68 percent pass block win rate as a team, which is second-highest in the NFL behind the Browns (69 percent).

Whitworth attributes that durability to taking care of his body. What he had learned about that, and preparing himself to play, factored into that milestone becoming a personal goal 7-8 years ago, as well as going through a difficult patella injury during his time with the Bengals.

During training camp in 2013, he thought he might never play again, given how much he had struggled through the surgery for that injury and that "it wasn't coming back as much as it wanted to." After a midseason breakthrough where he felt like himself again, Whitworth committed to that goal.

"When I finally came out of what I call that darkness of thinking, that was it, I was like, 'You know what, with what I've learned through this, what I've been through, how I think I can take care of myself, I'd love to see if there's any chance I could play when I'm 40 years old,'" Whitworth said.

That resolve and determination helped him land with the Rams, who have greatly benefitted from his veteran presence over the last five seasons.

Experienced and and young players – on both sides of the ball – lean on him for guidance.

Sometimes, it's coaching up then-rookie outside linebacker Terrell Lewis in practice and giving him the offensive lineman's perspective to help him prepare as Lewis built toward his Week 5 debut last season after spending the first four weeks on the Reserve/Non-Football Injury List.

"Andrew is a special person, special player. He sure has meant a lot to this organization both on and off the field," Rams head coach Sean McVay said. "I think sometimes you take for granted that he's 40 years old. If you didn't know with the bald head and stuff like that, I mean he moves around like he's young and he's got great athleticism."

Other times, it's a simple but effective analogy for the Rams offensive line, like how "really good offensive linemen throughout the game look like they're smoking cigarettes, where they're just here the whole time," offensive lineman Rob Havenstein said on Oct. 18, pausing and moving his right his hand on a flat plane to demonstrate. "There's no up, down, up down."

"It's truly an unbelievable feat. It really is," Havenstein told theRams.com after Friday's practice. "I mean, I'm turning 30 in May, and I think I'm old and just tried to picture 10 more years of that. It's pretty special, especially for him to be playing at such a high level. For him, he's in the Pro Bowl, All-Pro category almost every single year for 16 years. I mean, that's incredible. He's gonna go down as one of the best to ever do it as a left tackle, and it's pretty special to be to be playing with him."

Whitworth has shown no signs of slowing down, either, and isn't shy about occasionally reminding people that age is seemingly just a number for him at this stage of his career.

"He's one of the hardest workers out there," Havenstein said. "Every now and again, he'll go ahead and show that like, 'Hey, I'm turning 40 and I'm still a top dog here,' you know what I mean? He'll just come in and start repping out some bench press, or go hit something for just, one or two or three, sometimes five more reps than anyone else, just to kind of let everyone know, like, 'Hey, I'm still that guy.' And for him to still be doing that and honestly looking just as young as ever for the five years that I've been fortunate to be with him, it's truly a milestone, it really is."

A provider of advice last week, Whitworth also recently was a recipient of it on his own career from none other than Wayne Gretzky while the two were playing golf – a conversation that perhaps provided a peek into Whitworth's mindset.

"Make sure people tear that jersey off of you, and don't walk away until you're ready," Gretzky told him.

Sony Michel: "I was very fortunate to be able to execute on a positive note"​

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Going into last week's game against the Jaguars, Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford could sense the gameplan was setting up a "Sony Michel type of game."

His intuition would be correct.

Sony Michel had 24 carries for 121 yards and a touchdown in the Rams' 37-7 victory, becoming their first 100-yard rusher this season. He also an effective ground game that Rams will need once again this week.

"I didn't really think about them putting it on me, I just kind of thought, 'Any opportunity that I get, I'm going to try to take advantage of it,'" Michel said after Thursday's practice. "Opportunities just kept coming my way, and I was very fortunate to be able to execute on a positive note."

The Rams looked to establish Michel early last Sunday, calling his number on the first three plays of their first drive. Michel had runs of seven and six yards on his first two carries to keep the chains moving on a series that ended with a 40-yard field goal by kicker Matt Gay. After the Rams defense recorded its first fumble and fumble recovery, Michel punctuated the drive following the takeaway with a 5-yard touchdown run to give the Rams a 10-0 lead.

By halftime, Michel was averaging a healthy 4.1 yards per carry and had shown the physical presence Rams head coach Sean McVay expected him to bring in that lead back role. In the second half, he broke off a 25-yard run on his way to those 121 rushing yards.

"He's physical. He's tough. He's got great contact balance and really good vision. He's just strong," McVay said during a video conference with reporters Monday. "When you're just looking at Sony Michel, he's a sturdy, tough back. So, all of those things are really reflective. He's really conscientious, really smart."

Stafford described Michel as "steady, even-keel."

"(He) comes to work every single day. You can tell he's been in New England," Stafford said after Thursday's practice. "He's a grinder. He likes to come in here and work and that's awesome. I think both he and (RB) Darrell (Henderson Jr.) have done excellent jobs when we've asked them to do it this year. Continue to hopefully get the same kind of effort from both those guys."

Heading into Week 14, the Rams will need another strong performance out of Michel – plus Henderson, if he plays.

In the first meeting between the two teams, the Cardinals ran for 216 yards on 40 carries as a team, a factor in them to control the time of possession by more than 10 minutes. If the Rams want to limit the effectiveness of the Cardinals offense, an efficient run game will be critical to winning the time of possession battle, keeping the ball out of Cardinals Murray's hands, and putting together another complementary performance.

Along those same lines, McVay knows the offense is most effective when they can get both Michel and Henderson Jr. McVay said Monday that it was good to get Michel going, but they "definitely" want to find ways to have Henderson be a big part of the offense.

Whatever that carry distribution looks like moving forward, Michel's approach will remain unchanged.

"Hopefully," Michel said, when asked if he thinks last Sunday's performance will lead to more opportunities. "We all wish we'd get more opportunities in our profession. But my mindset is continue what I've been doing – keep working, keep grinding, keep sticking to the root of things, and hopefully I get opportunities."

Sunday, Dec. 12

EARLY GAMES
Atlanta Falcons at Carolina Panthers, 1 pm (FOX)
San Francisco 49ers at Cincinnati Bengals, 1 pm CBS)
Baltimore Ravens at Cleveland Browns, 1 pm (CBS)
Seattle Seahawks at Houston Texans, 1 pm (FOX)
Las Vegas Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs, 1 pm (CBS)
New Orleans Saints at New York Jets, 1 pm (FOX)
Jacksonville Jaguars at Tennessee Titans, 1 pm (CBS)
Dallas Cowboys at Washington Football Team, 1 pm (FOX)

LATE GAMES
Detroit Lions at Denver Broncos, 4:05 pm (FOX)
New York Giants at Los Angeles Chargers, 4:05 pm (FOX)
Buffalo Bills at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 4:25 pm (CBS)

SNF
Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers, 8:20 pm (NBC)

Monday, Dec. 13, 2021

MNF
Los Angeles Rams at Arizona Cardinals, 8:15 pm (ESPN)

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ALREADY PLAYED

Thursday, Dec. 9
Pittsburgh Steelers at Minnesota Vikings, 8:20 pm (FOX, NFL Network, Amazon)

Newbie here. Going to our first game at SoFi next week against Seattle. Can anyone give some guidance as to the parking there? Do we need to buy a parking pass ahead of time? We live in Santa Monica, and it used to be a breeze to take the Metro Rail to the Coli (although that's about the only thing about the Coli that was good!).

Any help appreciated.

What happens if they both get a home game on the same day? Probably move one to a Sat I am guessing?

We got this!

Time to turn it up, starting Monday night!

ESPN Playoff Machine

Really enjoyed this so wanted to share. The music in it alone makes it worth a watch, but it is a rich documentary on some of the great black music (and some white artists too btw) that was created all in one little backwater. Remarkable watch if you haven't seen it enjoy.

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Man - 33 years old

Have they gone to far with this relationship with gambling? Even in the pregame you’re getting the line on who scores the first touchdown.

I don’t mind if you want to put money down, it’s yours to spend.

I don’t like how close they have become and don’t see how they are able to stay above fixing games. You already can’t trust the refs.

I could be way off on this.

It wouldn't be the first time and won't be the last.

I have a hunch this game will be similar to the Lions at Cardinals game last season (2020).

I know it was last year (Cards are much better in 2021) and of course the Rams are not the Lions.

Stafford was the Lions QB though and I thought I would take a "peek" at the highlights today.

I'm not expecting a shootout Monday night.

You have to click the link Watch on YouTube in the black box Video not available below.


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Just got an update on my phone. What's up with Kupp?

So about a week ago we lost water and when it came back it was weak as hell and I spent a day and a half calling the water folks in town (small towns suck for this btw) before realizing there was a big wet spot out in the back acreage next to the garden. Apparently the dickhead who built my beautiful house decided not to put a shutoff valve inline with that water spigot (the other one that did not break of course had a shutoff valve), which effectively left it fully on and open to the main whenever water is turned on to the house.

At that point I grabbed my trusty shovel and started digging immediately, which was made more difficult by weather as well as the roots of a nearby tree. Hour upon hour the maddening roots grabbed at it and the mud stuck to the shovel blade leading to 3 shovelfulls being needed for what would normally be 1. The fucker was deep too, a full four feet under the clay and rock that frequents my property. And then to make things worse of course I strained my back mildly somewhere after which I could barely get out of bed the next morning.

This is when I got desperate and told my wife we're hiring a pro. She of course suspected that this was my plan all along lol. Which was only partially correct for the record. Then it took two days to get a local contractor out here with power equipment which, thank God the owner took pity on my situation and made this a priority because pickins are slim round here for skilled labor.

But anyway I had my first shower in several days this morning and gotta say that I am now fully appreciative of the technology of running water. Do not take this technology for granted people!

Thursday Night Football: Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Minnesota Vikings​

Neither the Pittsburgh Steelers nor the Minnesota Vikings have much time to dwell on either of their dramatic, down-to-the-wire games from last Sunday as they face one another on "Thursday Night Football" in hopes of keeping their respective playoff chances alive for one more week.

The Steelers (6-5-1) were able to hold off the first-place Ravens 20-19 after a would-be game-winning two-point conversion pass from Lamar Jackson went awry and off Mark Andrews' fingertips in the game's closing seconds. The win moves Pittsburgh above .500, giving false hope to a fanbase that should really know better than to believe in such fool's gold.

Meanwhile, the Vikings have officially turned losing at the last second into an art form. At this point, it would be appropriate for every NFL stadium to start blaring Sarah McLachlan or The Smiths over the public address system every time the Vikings have the ball in the fourth quarter, just to set the mood for the inevitable incoming depression. On Sunday, Minnesota handed the Lions their first win of the season, 29-27, as Jared Goff found Amon-Ra St. Brown in the end zone as time expired on fourth down. The Detroit game was the most Minnesota loss of the Mike Zimmer era, which says so, so much.

Both the Steelers and Vikings are similar in many respects. They both have underperforming defenses, struggling rushing attacks, dynamic skill position players, veteran quarterbacks that can be terribly frustrating, and neither can actually beat the Detroit Lions. And both franchises are likely due for major shakeups come this offseason, especially if they fail to make the postseason. But before we get to February, we have to play Thursday night, as each of these squads tries to figure out who they want to be for the rest of the 2021 season.

Thursday Night Football: Pittsburgh (6-5-1) at Minnesota (5-7)

Kickoff: Thursday, Dec. 9 at 8:20 p.m. ET
TV: FOX/NFL Network
Spread: Vikings -3

Three Things to Watch

1. Pass rush vs. pass rush

One thing that both of these teams do well is get to opposing quarterbacks — they rank first (Steelers, 37) and second (Vikings, 36) in the NFL in sacks. Pittsburgh's pass rush is essentially a one-man wrecking crew with linebacker T.J. Watt, the league's leader in sacks (16), coming in strong off the edge. Last Sunday, it was a team effort as the Pittsburgh front seven accounted for seven sacks against Jackson and the Ravens offensive line. Watt leads the way with a career-high 3.5 sacks with defensive end Chris Wormley adding 2.5. The Steelers' front line did a great job of containing Jackson in the pocket and didn't let him get outside the tackle box to make plays with his legs. While Kirk Cousins is mobile (sort-of), I'd expect to see the Steelers blitz more often than their 25.3 percent season average on Thursday night to try and force Cousins into uncomfortable throws, which he is very likely to attempt.

The Vikings pass rush is much more of a group effort compared to that of the Steelers. Defensive end Danielle Hunter is the team leader with just six sacks and is one of 16 different Vikings to record at least a half of a sack this season. Overall, the Vikings actually do a better job of pestering quarterbacks compared to Pittsburgh, as they rank in the top five in hurries (68) and pressures (133), which is all the more impressive considering they are middle-of-the-pack in blitz rate. The Vikings' defensive front is taking on a battered Pittsburgh offensive line and a largely immobile Ben Roethlisberger, who is among the most sacked quarterbacks this season who's made at least 10 starts (25). Roethlisberger is also struggling against teams that get in his face, completing just 40 percent of his throws against pressure (23rd). He also leads the league in "dangerous throws" (37) and is fourth in interceptable passes (30).

Both defensive front lines should have plenty of opportunities to annoy their opposing quarterback and impact this game, even if they go about it in different ways.

2. Speaking of Big Ben…

Let's forget all the retirement talk for just a second. Forget Roethlisberger's age. Forget that he's as mobile as the real Big Ben in the pocket. And forget that his arm strength is long gone. The fact of the matter is that Roethlisberger is still the best shot that Pittsburgh has of playing well enough to make the playoffs.

Last week against Baltimore, Roethlisberger had arguably the best game of his season, going 21-of-31, for 236 yards, 2 touchdowns, only one sack, with a sterling 111.8 passer rating. He was nothing short of wonderful in the fourth quarter, connecting on nine of 10 passes for 129 yards, two touchdowns, and the game-winning two-point conversion. In short, Big Ben won that must-have game for Pittsburgh.

Whether Roethlisberger can play that well again remains to be seen. His numbers this season haven't been awesome. He's 18th in yards (2,758) and touchdowns (16), 19th in rating (90.6), 21st in red zone completion rate (53 percent), 26th in yard per attempt (6.6), and 32nd in air yards per attempt (6.2). However, there may be reason for Steelers fans to be cautiously optimistic. Despite only having four games this season with more than one touchdown pass and a rating over 100, three of those four have come in the last four weeks.

This week, Roethlisberger faces a Vikings defense that gets to the quarterback really well, but that's about it. Minnesota is 17th in points expected from passing defense (-55.15), 23rd in yards passing yards allowed, and 24th in touchdowns surrendered.

3. A lesson in losing

The Minnesota Vikings are magnificent losers. I don't mean that in a Lloyd Christmas "You're one pathetic loser" type of way. It's how they lose that is so entertaining — and who they lose to. Of their seven losses this season, four of them have been on the opposing team's final drive. Three of those opposing quarterbacks have been Goff, Cooper Rush, and Sam Darnold. Admit it, you just kind of chuckled out loud.

The icing on the cake was last Sunday's last-second loss to Goff and the winless Lions. After taking a 27-23 lead with 1:50 left in the game, the Vikings let Goff march 75 yards, with no timeouts, in 14 plays for the game-winning score, a walk-off 11-yard pass to St. Brown on fourth down. The Vikings defense played arguably the softest zone defense of all time and blitzed just once in those 14 plays, allowing Goff to hit underneath and out routes with ease. The Vikings' defense played so bashfully that both Brown and Goff joked about it after Detroit won their first game in 364 days. The Detroit loss was another indictment of a defense that has been the worst at preventing scores in the final two minutes of games for the last two seasons. At this point, it's who they are.

So now, the Vikings, especially their defense, have to decide what they are playing for because Mike Zimmer is most definitely coaching for his job. How do they rebound after yet another crushing loss — another loss that moves them further and further away from a playoff spot? Does Zimmer's voice still carry any weight in the locker room? Do the players believe that he is putting them in the best position to win games? A win on Thursday keeps their hopes alive, albeit barely. But a loss almost assures that the Vikings will look much different come 2022.

Final Analysis

With both teams struggling to run the football, that puts added pressure on both Kirk Cousins and Ben Roethlisberger to make throws. The Steelers' line is an absolute mess as they're down to their fifth-string left guard, so I'd assume the Vikings will bring a lot more pressure on Big Ben than they did against Goff last week. Give me the Vikings by a field goal, in dramatic fashion, of course.

Prediction: Vikings 21, Steelers 18

he deserves his own thread.

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Interesting, In each of the past three seasons, he has eclipsed the 100 total tackle mark, including an NFL-leading 164 tackles in 2020.
Cunningham, a second-round pick in 2017, signed a four-year, $58 million contract extension in 2020. The linebacker has 67 tackles and one forced fumble this season.

​

5 potential landing spots​

5. Los Angeles Rams​

The Rams' linebacker situation in 2021 has been inconsistent, but Cunningham could fix that easily. There's been a big hole since they traded Kenny Young earlier this season, a hole that neither Troy Reeder or Ernest Jones have been able to fully fill. But if you add Cunningham to that mix, things could get a whole lot better.

"Better" is the key word. The Rams have been decent against the run this season, but they're in a division with the bulldozing Cardinals. While right now they have by far the highest win percentage of any team not currently leading an NFC division, they need it to stay that way in order to take one of the wild-card spots. They can't rest on their laurels, so if there's a chance for them to improve their team, they need to take it.

Saw this breakdown of worst player for each NFL team, while getting my morning news on.

Rams "winner"?

"Lawrence Phillips was drafted by the Rams with the 6th overall pick in 1996. He was a terrific football talent but his off the field issues led some to wonder whether he would be able to cut it in the NFL.

He rushed for just over 600 yards in both of his first two seasons before abruptly being cut by the team in November 1997. The Rams had finally figured out he wasn’t worth all the headaches he caused."

Allen2McVay said:

Reminded me of the Sunday night game against the Cowboys that opened last season.

Cris Collinsworth going on and on about the impact Aldon Smith would have on the Dallas defense.

Click to expand...

By the way, I read where NBC is going to pay Collinsworth $12.5M per year so that we can continue the honor of enjoying his expertise.

**MODERATOR CREATED NEW TOPIC

CGI

I think @GB in the playoffs is way way way more difficult to win than any other team we might play. What are your thoughts?
Let's say hypothetically before our last game of the season, GB is #3 seed, and we're sitting at #6 seed, the seed which would go play GB in January in Wisconsin.
Do you think there's any chance whatsoever that McVay makes unseen, under the table game decisions, purposely, that cause us to lose our last game, so that we instead get the #7 seed and go anywhere but GB for our first playoff game?

Good times!

I've been accused before of being "full of shyte".... but man, that is NOT true today. That laxative prep stuff will clean you OUT.

I think I'll pass on posting pics for this lil adventure

Spelunking....onward!