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GDT: Raiders@Chiefs
- By Prime Time
- RAMS / NFL TALK
- 45 Replies
This should be one of the better Thursday night games.
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Temperatures are expected to be below freezing in Kansas City tonight. Derek Carr has never played an NFL game with a kickoff temperature below freezing. He's 0-2 in his career with a 17.8 Total QBR in games where the kickoff temperature is 40 or below, including a loss at Kansas City in Week 17 last season. - ESPN Stats and Information
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Tonight's game in Kansas City will be the coldest the Raiders have played since at least 2007. Back then Latavius Murray was at Onondaga Central High School in upstate New York, which means he's played in plenty of cold games. Murray said you just stick to your routine and "don't let yourself think it's any different." - Bob Holtzman/ESPN
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http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...-derek-carr-no-longer-lining-up-under-center/
With injured finger, Derek Carr no longer lining up under center
Posted by Michael David Smith on December 8, 2016
Getty Images
Two weeks ago, Raiders quarterback Derek Carr dislocated his right pinkie finger while taking a snap from under center. He briefly left the field to get his finger checked out, and hasn’t taken a snap from under center since.
Carr operated exclusively out of the pistol and shotgun formations after returning to that game two weeks ago and all of last week, and Bob Holtzman of ESPN reported today that the Raiders are expecting to operate exclusively out of the shotgun and pistol tonight against the Chiefs.
There was a time when a quarterback playing a full game without taking a single snap from under center would have been unthinkable. In today’s NFL, that’s actually not all that noteworthy. It’s not at all unusual for a quarterback to take most of his snaps out of the shotgun, and Carr taking all of his snaps out of the shotgun won’t dramatically affect the offense.
When Carr hurt his finger two weeks ago, he returned to the game wearing a glove on his throwing hand. Last week he didn’t wear a glove but did have the pinkie heavily taped. Given tonight’s freezing temperatures, Carr might go back to wearing a glove, and it’s worth keeping an eye on his injured hand. But the shotgun formation probably won’t have a huge effect on the Raiders’ offense.
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http://www.sbnation.com/odds/2016/12/7/13862970/chiefs-raiders-odds-2016-betting-preview
Raiders vs. Chiefs odds: Oakland an underdog at Kansas City for critical Thursday night matchup
The Oakland Raiders are looking to win their ninth straight game against the spread on the road when they take on the rival Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday night.
by OddsShark
The Oakland Raiders are 7-1 straight up and 8-0 against the spread in their last eight games on the road. The Raiders can extend their road winning streak to six games with a win over the Kansas City Chiefs this Thursday night.
Oakland is a 3-point road underdog at Arrowhead Stadium at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. The team's last loss on the road came in the final game of the season last year against the Chiefs as a 6.5-point underdog.
With an MVP candidate at quarterback in Derek Carr and a Defensive Player of the Year candidate in Kahlil Mack at linebacker, the Raiders have one of the best young cores in the AFC. After years of going off as a laughingstock around the league, the Raiders are the ones doing the laughing now with a 10-2 SU and 8-4 ATS record. The team's only loss over its last 10 games was a 26-10 dud at home to these Chiefs back in October.
The Raiders are 6-3 SU and 7-2 against the spread in their last nine road games against Kansas City, per the OddsShark NFL Database. Kansas City has had the upper hand of late, however, with a 3-0 SU and 2-1 ATS record in its last three home games against Oakland.
Betting Line / Total: Kansas City -3 / 46 Points
Trend: The Raiders are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games on the road against the Chiefs.
Trend: The total has gone OVER in six of the Raiders' last eight games in December.
The Chiefs have quietly been one of the NFL's best teams this season, reeling off a 7-1 SU and 5-3 ATS record since starting the season off just 2-2 SU and 1-3 ATS. Five of Kansas City's last six wins have come by six points or fewer, including an interception return for two points giving the Chiefs a 29-28 upset win over Atlanta last Sunday. Kansas City is just 1-5 SU and ATS in its last six night games.
Thursday night's total is set at 46 points. The UNDER is 9-2 in Kansas City's last 11 games as home favorites.
The winner of Thursday night's game will take control of first place in the AFC West. The Raiders and Chiefs both have the makeup of legitimate playoff contenders, but the difference between making the postseason as a division champion or a wild-card team could have a huge impact this January.
Oakland Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs
When: Thursday, Dec. 8, 8:25 p.m. ET
Where: Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Kan.
Raiders at Chiefs OddsShark Matchup Report
******************************************************
Temperatures are expected to be below freezing in Kansas City tonight. Derek Carr has never played an NFL game with a kickoff temperature below freezing. He's 0-2 in his career with a 17.8 Total QBR in games where the kickoff temperature is 40 or below, including a loss at Kansas City in Week 17 last season. - ESPN Stats and Information
-------------
Tonight's game in Kansas City will be the coldest the Raiders have played since at least 2007. Back then Latavius Murray was at Onondaga Central High School in upstate New York, which means he's played in plenty of cold games. Murray said you just stick to your routine and "don't let yourself think it's any different." - Bob Holtzman/ESPN
-----------
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...-derek-carr-no-longer-lining-up-under-center/
With injured finger, Derek Carr no longer lining up under center
Posted by Michael David Smith on December 8, 2016
Two weeks ago, Raiders quarterback Derek Carr dislocated his right pinkie finger while taking a snap from under center. He briefly left the field to get his finger checked out, and hasn’t taken a snap from under center since.
Carr operated exclusively out of the pistol and shotgun formations after returning to that game two weeks ago and all of last week, and Bob Holtzman of ESPN reported today that the Raiders are expecting to operate exclusively out of the shotgun and pistol tonight against the Chiefs.
There was a time when a quarterback playing a full game without taking a single snap from under center would have been unthinkable. In today’s NFL, that’s actually not all that noteworthy. It’s not at all unusual for a quarterback to take most of his snaps out of the shotgun, and Carr taking all of his snaps out of the shotgun won’t dramatically affect the offense.
When Carr hurt his finger two weeks ago, he returned to the game wearing a glove on his throwing hand. Last week he didn’t wear a glove but did have the pinkie heavily taped. Given tonight’s freezing temperatures, Carr might go back to wearing a glove, and it’s worth keeping an eye on his injured hand. But the shotgun formation probably won’t have a huge effect on the Raiders’ offense.
---------
http://www.sbnation.com/odds/2016/12/7/13862970/chiefs-raiders-odds-2016-betting-preview
Raiders vs. Chiefs odds: Oakland an underdog at Kansas City for critical Thursday night matchup
The Oakland Raiders are looking to win their ninth straight game against the spread on the road when they take on the rival Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday night.
by OddsShark
The Oakland Raiders are 7-1 straight up and 8-0 against the spread in their last eight games on the road. The Raiders can extend their road winning streak to six games with a win over the Kansas City Chiefs this Thursday night.
Oakland is a 3-point road underdog at Arrowhead Stadium at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. The team's last loss on the road came in the final game of the season last year against the Chiefs as a 6.5-point underdog.
With an MVP candidate at quarterback in Derek Carr and a Defensive Player of the Year candidate in Kahlil Mack at linebacker, the Raiders have one of the best young cores in the AFC. After years of going off as a laughingstock around the league, the Raiders are the ones doing the laughing now with a 10-2 SU and 8-4 ATS record. The team's only loss over its last 10 games was a 26-10 dud at home to these Chiefs back in October.
The Raiders are 6-3 SU and 7-2 against the spread in their last nine road games against Kansas City, per the OddsShark NFL Database. Kansas City has had the upper hand of late, however, with a 3-0 SU and 2-1 ATS record in its last three home games against Oakland.
Betting Line / Total: Kansas City -3 / 46 Points
Trend: The Raiders are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games on the road against the Chiefs.
Trend: The total has gone OVER in six of the Raiders' last eight games in December.
The Chiefs have quietly been one of the NFL's best teams this season, reeling off a 7-1 SU and 5-3 ATS record since starting the season off just 2-2 SU and 1-3 ATS. Five of Kansas City's last six wins have come by six points or fewer, including an interception return for two points giving the Chiefs a 29-28 upset win over Atlanta last Sunday. Kansas City is just 1-5 SU and ATS in its last six night games.
Thursday night's total is set at 46 points. The UNDER is 9-2 in Kansas City's last 11 games as home favorites.
The winner of Thursday night's game will take control of first place in the AFC West. The Raiders and Chiefs both have the makeup of legitimate playoff contenders, but the difference between making the postseason as a division champion or a wild-card team could have a huge impact this January.
Oakland Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs
When: Thursday, Dec. 8, 8:25 p.m. ET
Where: Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Kan.
Raiders at Chiefs OddsShark Matchup Report
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Poll
Who will be on the cover for 2017
- By MTRamsFan
- RAMS / NFL TALK
- 3 Replies
Okay, let's talk about something way, way, way more important than the current state of the Rams. I want to know who you think will don the cover of Madden in 2017? It's not too early to start thinking about it. 
The NFL’s 10 best pass-rushing duos
- By Prime Time
- RAMS / NFL TALK
- 3 Replies
*No Rams players included on this list.*
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https://theringer.com/nfl-best-pass...hiefs-oakland-raiders-fb7c261748a9#.s8k29qcqt
It Takes Two to Terrify a Quarterback
Meet the NFL’s 10 best pass-rushing duos
Danny Kelly
Staff Writer, The Ringer
(Getty Images/Ringer Illustration)
In the past 10 years, a quarterback has won the MVP award eight times. Sure, you’ll hear coaches talk about how important it is to stop the run, or to play a certain way at linebacker or in the secondary, but if a defensive staff’s no. 1 priority isn’t trying to hit, sack, move, hurry, or simply scare the heck out of the most important player in all of sports, they should all consider taking up another profession.
Today, pro passers are just too good; even the most average of the bunch can pick apart a zone or throw it over man coverage if they’re given three or four seconds to throw. That’s why defenses have to throw the kitchen and bathroom sinks at opposing lines.
Defenses will use stunts — where one pass rusher loops behind one of his teammates to get up field. They’ll blitz — send an extra linebacker or defensive back upfield to slip through the offensive line. They’ll zone-blitz — drop one defensive lineman in coverage and send a rusher from somewhere else. They’ll move their best rushers around and let them attack from different angles.
They’ll stand all of their defensive linemen up and walk them around prior to the snap — and at times, they’ll even walk every single one of their defenders up on the line of scrimmage prior to the snap. It’s all in the hopes of making it near impossible for the offensive line to assign protections.
Login to view embedded media View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G91KsSoAreY
But some teams don’t need to do all of that to get the quarterback off his spot or onto his back. Some pass rushers are just consistently better than the guys in front of them. And if you’ve got two of these guys? An offense can double-team two different rushers on every snap, but the more players it leaves in to pass block, the fewer receivers it can release downfield as options in the passing game. It becomes a Catch-22: Does the offense keep the quarterback upright, or give him somebody to throw to?
Having two dominant pass rushers on a defensive line can not only get you into the postseason, it can win you a Super Bowl. Regardless of scheme, regardless of opponent, there are a select few teams that can count on their elite pass-rush duos to get to the quarterback early and often. Here are the top 10.
1. Denver Broncos: Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware
An elite pass rush can take over a game. Just ask the Super Bowl 50 champion Broncos.
In three playoff games last season, Denver racked up 14 sacks and 36 quarterback hits — the only two stats you need if you’re still wondering how a basically offense-less team ended up beating the Steelers, Patriots, and Panthers en route to a championship. According to The Boston Globe, they hit Tom Brady an unthinkable 19 times in their win over New England (the most in a single game since 2006), then racked up seven sacks in the Super Bowl, including Miller’s strip-sack of Cam Newton that led to a touchdown on Carolina’s second possession.
Denver’s ability to relentlessly harass, hit, and sack opposing quarterbacks laid out a new blueprint for how to win late in the year. And it’s the same blueprint they’re using this year.
The Broncos might’ve lost Malik Jackson in free agency over the offseason, but they still own the most dominant pass rush in football. They still lead the NFL in sacks (36). And they’re still tops in the NFL in total pressures (261 sacks, hits, and hurries combined), per Pro Football Focus. (All pressure stats are courtesy of PFF.) Von Miller, with his league-best 12.5 sacks, is still one of the game’s unstoppable defenders.
The 34-year-old Ware, a future Hall of Famer, isn’t shabby as a bookend rusher (three sacks in seven games), and he’s back after missing five games with a broken arm. Even if Denver makes it into the playoffs only as the second wild-card team in the AFC, it’ll be a nightmare matchup for every offense.
2. Kansas City Chiefs: Dee Ford and Justin Houston
The Chiefs’ numbers don’t jump out at you. They’ve grabbed 26 sacks on the year (tied for 14th) and don’t crack the top 10 in quarterback pressures, but they’ve played most of the season without their most dangerous pass-rushing threat, Houston.
The powerful outside linebacker missed the first nine games this year with a knee injury, but has already racked up four sacks in his first three games back. We haven’t seen it yet because right after Houston got back onto the field, Ford got hurt, but Thursday night’s matchup with the Raiders should give us a good preview for the havoc this duo can create when both are fully healthy and on the field together.
In his third season after being drafted 23rd overall by Kansas City in 2014, Ford’s production has begun to match his talent. Filling in for the injured Houston, he’s racked up 10 sacks (tied for third in the NFL).
He’s been nursing an injured hamstring the past two weeks, though, and the Chiefs are bringing him along slowly to avoid reaggravating it. (He played just 26 snaps on Sunday against the Falcons.) Once Ford’s back to full speed, though, Kansas City’s pass rush has the potential to challenge Denver as the league’s best.
3. Oakland Raiders: Khalil Mack and Bruce Irvin
The Raiders pass rush is heating up. Mack started out the season slower than anyone expected — one sack in Oakland’s first five games — but he’s back to being one of the most terrifying edge rushers in the league, with nine sacks over the past seven games. On the year, in addition to his 10 sacks, he’s picked up seven quarterback hits and a league-high 50 quarterback hurries, and trails only Miller in total pressures.
Mack’s impact is best summed up by what happened against Carolina in Week 12: Not only did he grab a pick-six, but he ended any hope the Panthers had for a comeback win when he beat a triple-team to sack and strip Cam Newton with a minute left.
A week earlier, Irvin’s sack of Brock Osweiler had a similar close-out-the-game effect. It forced Houston into a third-and-long, which it couldn’t convert, and Oakland was able to run out the clock in a 27–20 win. Paired together, Irvin (five sacks and four forced fumbles this season) and Mack can really put opposing quarterbacks into a vise when they come around each side of the line.
As we’ve seen recently, they’re never more dangerous than late in the game with Oakland protecting a lead, when they get the green light to do whatever they can to put pressure on the passer.
4. Seattle Seahawks: Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril
Avril might get out of his three-point stance quicker than any player in the NFL not named Von Miller. Like Miller, Avril rushes from the right in Seattle’s scheme and is consistently off the ball a full beat or two faster than opposing tackles.
He has 10 sacks on the year, and he’s also collected 12 quarterback hits and 34 hurries to place himself seventh among all edge defenders in pressures. Avril is also a specialist in hitting the passing arm of a quarterback as he goes back to throw. Since he came into the league in 2008, only one player has more forced fumbles than Avril’s 29. (That would be punchout artist Charles Tillman.)
Whether it’s next to Avril, opposite him, or wherever else he lines up on any particular snap, Bennett — who just returned to the Seahawks lineup after missing five games with a knee injury — is another terror for offensive lines. Bennett’s sack numbers (three in seven games) are never incredibly impressive, because he lines up both inside and on the edge, but the stats don’t tell the true story of just how disruptive he is.
He’s one of the most technically proficient hand-fighting defensive linemen in the league, using lightning-fast swats, punches, and club moves to easily push offensive linemen aside as he bears down on the quarterback.
5. Tennessee Titans: Brian Orakpo and Derrick Morgan
The Titans have quietly built an imposing pass rush, and currently are behind just the Broncos in total quarterback pressures (256). Their two deadliest rushers come off the edge, with longtime veteran Orakpo sitting ninth on the NFL’s sacks list with nine, and Morgan not far behind with eight. The duo is fifth in the NFL in combined sacks.
6. Baltimore Ravens: Terrell Suggs and Elvis Dumervil
Suggs has eight sacks and three forced fumbles, showing few ill effects from his Achilles tendon tear last season and his biceps tear earlier this year. Baltimore has played in plenty of close contests this season, and Suggs has been most disruptive later in games. His six fourth-quarter sacks were tied for the league lead before Week 13.
Meanwhile, the Week 12 return of Dumervil from a foot injury is a boon to Baltimore’s playoff hopes. In his first game back, the 11th-year pro grabbed a strip-sack of Andy Dalton to end the game, preserving a 19–14 win over the Bengals. This might be the oldest tandem on the list, but while both Suggs (34) and Dumervil (32) may have lost a step or two, they make up for it with veteran savvy and brute strength.
7. Miami Dolphins: Cameron Wake and Ndamukong Suh
Wake just keeps on producing. A little over a year since tearing his Achilles tendon, the 34-year-old has 8.5 sacks and three forced fumbles in a limited pass-rush role. Wake is 11th among edge rushers with 51 quarterback pressures, including 36 hurries and five quarterback hits.
Next to him, Suh has quietly had an amazing season of his own, with five sacks and 45 total pressures (eight quarterback hits and 31 hurries), tied for third among interior defenders. With this duo leading the way, Miami’s defense is third only to the Broncos and Titans in quarterback pressures (254).
8. Minnesota Vikings: Everson Griffen and Danielle Hunter
The Vikings are fourth on that list with 236 total quarterback pressures, and Griffen and Hunter have brought the heat off the edge. Hunter, a 22-year-old second-year pro, has been a revelation, and his 9.5 sacks are eighth best in the NFL.
Griffen, meanwhile, has added six sacks and ranks eighth among edge rushers with 56 total quarterback pressures (37 hurries, 13 hits). While Minnesota’s defense has fallen off from its dominant performances early in the year, it’s by no fault of these two.
9. Arizona Cardinals: Chandler Jones and Markus Golden
The Cardinals haven’t had the season they’d hoped for, but one area they improved greatly over last year is their pass rush. As a team, Arizona registered just 36 sacks last year, and through 12 games, they’re already at 31. Trading for Jones (eight sacks) has been a big boost in that area, and second-year breakout rusher Golden (seven sacks) has emerged as a legit threat on the edge.
10. Chargers: Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram
Can you imagine being a quarterback in the AFC West? The Chargers are the fourth team from that division to make this list, and they round out the top 10 on the shoulders of an incredible explosion of production from rookie pass rusher Bosa. The third-overall pick in the 2016 draft, Bosa burst onto the scene starting in Week 5 and has registered more quarterback pressures in his first eight games than anyone since 2006. He’s up to 5.5 sacks, 11 quarterback hits, and 25 hurries on the year.
Opposite Bosa, Ingram is having a strong year rushing the passer as well. The fifth-year pro is 10th among edge players with 52 total pressures, with nine quarterback hits and 37 hurries to go with his 6.0 sacks. Playoff-bound quarterbacks can rest easy, as San Diego is all but eliminated from the postseason, so we’re left to imagine where the Chargers would be if Bosa had played during the first four weeks of the season.
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https://theringer.com/nfl-best-pass...hiefs-oakland-raiders-fb7c261748a9#.s8k29qcqt
It Takes Two to Terrify a Quarterback
Meet the NFL’s 10 best pass-rushing duos
Danny Kelly
Staff Writer, The Ringer
(Getty Images/Ringer Illustration)
In the past 10 years, a quarterback has won the MVP award eight times. Sure, you’ll hear coaches talk about how important it is to stop the run, or to play a certain way at linebacker or in the secondary, but if a defensive staff’s no. 1 priority isn’t trying to hit, sack, move, hurry, or simply scare the heck out of the most important player in all of sports, they should all consider taking up another profession.
Today, pro passers are just too good; even the most average of the bunch can pick apart a zone or throw it over man coverage if they’re given three or four seconds to throw. That’s why defenses have to throw the kitchen and bathroom sinks at opposing lines.
Defenses will use stunts — where one pass rusher loops behind one of his teammates to get up field. They’ll blitz — send an extra linebacker or defensive back upfield to slip through the offensive line. They’ll zone-blitz — drop one defensive lineman in coverage and send a rusher from somewhere else. They’ll move their best rushers around and let them attack from different angles.
They’ll stand all of their defensive linemen up and walk them around prior to the snap — and at times, they’ll even walk every single one of their defenders up on the line of scrimmage prior to the snap. It’s all in the hopes of making it near impossible for the offensive line to assign protections.
Login to view embedded media View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G91KsSoAreY
But some teams don’t need to do all of that to get the quarterback off his spot or onto his back. Some pass rushers are just consistently better than the guys in front of them. And if you’ve got two of these guys? An offense can double-team two different rushers on every snap, but the more players it leaves in to pass block, the fewer receivers it can release downfield as options in the passing game. It becomes a Catch-22: Does the offense keep the quarterback upright, or give him somebody to throw to?
Having two dominant pass rushers on a defensive line can not only get you into the postseason, it can win you a Super Bowl. Regardless of scheme, regardless of opponent, there are a select few teams that can count on their elite pass-rush duos to get to the quarterback early and often. Here are the top 10.
1. Denver Broncos: Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware
An elite pass rush can take over a game. Just ask the Super Bowl 50 champion Broncos.
In three playoff games last season, Denver racked up 14 sacks and 36 quarterback hits — the only two stats you need if you’re still wondering how a basically offense-less team ended up beating the Steelers, Patriots, and Panthers en route to a championship. According to The Boston Globe, they hit Tom Brady an unthinkable 19 times in their win over New England (the most in a single game since 2006), then racked up seven sacks in the Super Bowl, including Miller’s strip-sack of Cam Newton that led to a touchdown on Carolina’s second possession.
Denver’s ability to relentlessly harass, hit, and sack opposing quarterbacks laid out a new blueprint for how to win late in the year. And it’s the same blueprint they’re using this year.
The Broncos might’ve lost Malik Jackson in free agency over the offseason, but they still own the most dominant pass rush in football. They still lead the NFL in sacks (36). And they’re still tops in the NFL in total pressures (261 sacks, hits, and hurries combined), per Pro Football Focus. (All pressure stats are courtesy of PFF.) Von Miller, with his league-best 12.5 sacks, is still one of the game’s unstoppable defenders.
The 34-year-old Ware, a future Hall of Famer, isn’t shabby as a bookend rusher (three sacks in seven games), and he’s back after missing five games with a broken arm. Even if Denver makes it into the playoffs only as the second wild-card team in the AFC, it’ll be a nightmare matchup for every offense.
2. Kansas City Chiefs: Dee Ford and Justin Houston
The Chiefs’ numbers don’t jump out at you. They’ve grabbed 26 sacks on the year (tied for 14th) and don’t crack the top 10 in quarterback pressures, but they’ve played most of the season without their most dangerous pass-rushing threat, Houston.
The powerful outside linebacker missed the first nine games this year with a knee injury, but has already racked up four sacks in his first three games back. We haven’t seen it yet because right after Houston got back onto the field, Ford got hurt, but Thursday night’s matchup with the Raiders should give us a good preview for the havoc this duo can create when both are fully healthy and on the field together.
In his third season after being drafted 23rd overall by Kansas City in 2014, Ford’s production has begun to match his talent. Filling in for the injured Houston, he’s racked up 10 sacks (tied for third in the NFL).
He’s been nursing an injured hamstring the past two weeks, though, and the Chiefs are bringing him along slowly to avoid reaggravating it. (He played just 26 snaps on Sunday against the Falcons.) Once Ford’s back to full speed, though, Kansas City’s pass rush has the potential to challenge Denver as the league’s best.
3. Oakland Raiders: Khalil Mack and Bruce Irvin
The Raiders pass rush is heating up. Mack started out the season slower than anyone expected — one sack in Oakland’s first five games — but he’s back to being one of the most terrifying edge rushers in the league, with nine sacks over the past seven games. On the year, in addition to his 10 sacks, he’s picked up seven quarterback hits and a league-high 50 quarterback hurries, and trails only Miller in total pressures.
Mack’s impact is best summed up by what happened against Carolina in Week 12: Not only did he grab a pick-six, but he ended any hope the Panthers had for a comeback win when he beat a triple-team to sack and strip Cam Newton with a minute left.
A week earlier, Irvin’s sack of Brock Osweiler had a similar close-out-the-game effect. It forced Houston into a third-and-long, which it couldn’t convert, and Oakland was able to run out the clock in a 27–20 win. Paired together, Irvin (five sacks and four forced fumbles this season) and Mack can really put opposing quarterbacks into a vise when they come around each side of the line.
As we’ve seen recently, they’re never more dangerous than late in the game with Oakland protecting a lead, when they get the green light to do whatever they can to put pressure on the passer.
4. Seattle Seahawks: Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril
Avril might get out of his three-point stance quicker than any player in the NFL not named Von Miller. Like Miller, Avril rushes from the right in Seattle’s scheme and is consistently off the ball a full beat or two faster than opposing tackles.
He has 10 sacks on the year, and he’s also collected 12 quarterback hits and 34 hurries to place himself seventh among all edge defenders in pressures. Avril is also a specialist in hitting the passing arm of a quarterback as he goes back to throw. Since he came into the league in 2008, only one player has more forced fumbles than Avril’s 29. (That would be punchout artist Charles Tillman.)
Whether it’s next to Avril, opposite him, or wherever else he lines up on any particular snap, Bennett — who just returned to the Seahawks lineup after missing five games with a knee injury — is another terror for offensive lines. Bennett’s sack numbers (three in seven games) are never incredibly impressive, because he lines up both inside and on the edge, but the stats don’t tell the true story of just how disruptive he is.
He’s one of the most technically proficient hand-fighting defensive linemen in the league, using lightning-fast swats, punches, and club moves to easily push offensive linemen aside as he bears down on the quarterback.
5. Tennessee Titans: Brian Orakpo and Derrick Morgan
The Titans have quietly built an imposing pass rush, and currently are behind just the Broncos in total quarterback pressures (256). Their two deadliest rushers come off the edge, with longtime veteran Orakpo sitting ninth on the NFL’s sacks list with nine, and Morgan not far behind with eight. The duo is fifth in the NFL in combined sacks.
6. Baltimore Ravens: Terrell Suggs and Elvis Dumervil
Suggs has eight sacks and three forced fumbles, showing few ill effects from his Achilles tendon tear last season and his biceps tear earlier this year. Baltimore has played in plenty of close contests this season, and Suggs has been most disruptive later in games. His six fourth-quarter sacks were tied for the league lead before Week 13.
Meanwhile, the Week 12 return of Dumervil from a foot injury is a boon to Baltimore’s playoff hopes. In his first game back, the 11th-year pro grabbed a strip-sack of Andy Dalton to end the game, preserving a 19–14 win over the Bengals. This might be the oldest tandem on the list, but while both Suggs (34) and Dumervil (32) may have lost a step or two, they make up for it with veteran savvy and brute strength.
7. Miami Dolphins: Cameron Wake and Ndamukong Suh
Wake just keeps on producing. A little over a year since tearing his Achilles tendon, the 34-year-old has 8.5 sacks and three forced fumbles in a limited pass-rush role. Wake is 11th among edge rushers with 51 quarterback pressures, including 36 hurries and five quarterback hits.
Next to him, Suh has quietly had an amazing season of his own, with five sacks and 45 total pressures (eight quarterback hits and 31 hurries), tied for third among interior defenders. With this duo leading the way, Miami’s defense is third only to the Broncos and Titans in quarterback pressures (254).
8. Minnesota Vikings: Everson Griffen and Danielle Hunter
The Vikings are fourth on that list with 236 total quarterback pressures, and Griffen and Hunter have brought the heat off the edge. Hunter, a 22-year-old second-year pro, has been a revelation, and his 9.5 sacks are eighth best in the NFL.
Griffen, meanwhile, has added six sacks and ranks eighth among edge rushers with 56 total quarterback pressures (37 hurries, 13 hits). While Minnesota’s defense has fallen off from its dominant performances early in the year, it’s by no fault of these two.
9. Arizona Cardinals: Chandler Jones and Markus Golden
The Cardinals haven’t had the season they’d hoped for, but one area they improved greatly over last year is their pass rush. As a team, Arizona registered just 36 sacks last year, and through 12 games, they’re already at 31. Trading for Jones (eight sacks) has been a big boost in that area, and second-year breakout rusher Golden (seven sacks) has emerged as a legit threat on the edge.
10. Chargers: Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram
Can you imagine being a quarterback in the AFC West? The Chargers are the fourth team from that division to make this list, and they round out the top 10 on the shoulders of an incredible explosion of production from rookie pass rusher Bosa. The third-overall pick in the 2016 draft, Bosa burst onto the scene starting in Week 5 and has registered more quarterback pressures in his first eight games than anyone since 2006. He’s up to 5.5 sacks, 11 quarterback hits, and 25 hurries on the year.
Opposite Bosa, Ingram is having a strong year rushing the passer as well. The fifth-year pro is 10th among edge players with 52 total pressures, with nine quarterback hits and 37 hurries to go with his 6.0 sacks. Playoff-bound quarterbacks can rest easy, as San Diego is all but eliminated from the postseason, so we’re left to imagine where the Chargers would be if Bosa had played during the first four weeks of the season.
Jared Goff: The next Matt Ryan?
- By Prime Time
- RAMS / NFL TALK
- 36 Replies
http://www.dailynews.com/sports/201...t-a-best-case-scenario-for-rams-qb-jared-goff
Does Matt Ryan represent a best-case scenario for Rams QB Jared Goff?
By Jack Wang, Los Angeles Daily News
Photo by Hans Gutknecht/SCNG, file
If Angelenos need a reason to head to Exposition Park, consider this weekend a potential glimpse into the future. On Sunday, the Rams will try to beat the Falcons (7-5) and quarterback Matt Ryan, the most oft-cited pre-draft comparison for rookie Jared Goff.
Last October, NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah — a former scout — polled five personnel executives around the league about Goff’s pro potential. All five picked Ryan as the most analogous example.
Executive 1: Matt Ryan
"He's a pure, tall pocket passer. I liked (Sam) Bradford a little better coming out (of college), but he reminds me a lot of Matt Ryan."
Executive 2: Matt Ryan
"He has a tall, skinny frame and plays with a gunslinger mentality. He's not as reckless as Jay Cutler, but I do see a lot of similarities to Matt Ryan at Boston College."
Executive 3: Matt Ryan
"Everything that I find out about him background-wise reminds me of Matt Ryan. They're both very accurate passers with good size."
Executive 4: Matt Ryan
"He reminds me of Matt Ryan, but has much better arm strength. Watch his touchdown throw against Washington. It was a big-time throw."
Executive 5: Matt Ryan
"This might seem like it's out of left field because they come from totally different offenses, but (Goff) reminds me of Matt Ryan. Ryan was coming out of pro system at Boston College and Goff is in a pure spread system. Because of that, the transition will be a little tougher for Goff. Talent-wise, they're very similar."
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...ts-best-nfl-player-comp-for-cal-qb-jared-goff
The same man played a role in scouting both. By 2008, when the Falcons took Ryan third overall out of Boston College, current Rams general manager Les Snead had spent over a decade in Atlanta’s personnel department. A year later, the team promoted him to director of player personnel, a job he held for three years before jumping to St. Louis.
After the Rams (4-8) selected Goff first overall in April, Snead pointed out the former Cal star’s “natural instinct to anticipate,” and to make the progression to his second and third reads.
“People who can do it as fast as he can,” Snead said then, “I don’t want to say you are born with it, but mom, dad, God — somehow there is a DNA that comes natural.”
The Rams took their time trying to incubate that natural ability, sitting Goff for the first nine games of the season. He has since started three games, losing all of them by 48 combined points but showing flashes of his promise along the way.
Goff has a career passer rating of 70.0, completing 53.7 percent of his passes for 509 yards, four touchdowns, and three interceptions. These are not impressive numbers, but they hew closely to what Ryan did in his first three career starts: 511 yards, two touchdowns, and two picks on a 53.1 completion rate — good for a passer rating of 77.0. (Unlike Goff, those starts came at the beginning of the season.)
Now in his ninth season, Ryan appears on track to make his fourth Pro Bowl, boasting a 112.3 passer rating that beats his previous career high by 13.2. He leads NFL starting quarterbacks in yards per pass attempt (9.2) and ranks third in touchdown passes (27), all while throwing just seven interceptions.
Dan Quinn, the Falcons’ second-year head coach, didn’t watch Ryan’s early development up close, but noted similarities in his and Goff’s tough, competitive natures.
“I like the athleticism, where he can get outside the pocket to go create,” Quinn also said of Goff. “I saw strength in the arm on some of the deep balls, the touch to go underneath — those are the first things that jumped out to me.”
Fisher mentioned some of those same traits when asked about the Ryan-Goff comparisons.
“But Matt’s played a lot of years,” he added. “Won a lot of games.”
Eighty-two, to be exact. Goff, meanwhile, is still looking for his first.
Does Matt Ryan represent a best-case scenario for Rams QB Jared Goff?
By Jack Wang, Los Angeles Daily News
Photo by Hans Gutknecht/SCNG, file
If Angelenos need a reason to head to Exposition Park, consider this weekend a potential glimpse into the future. On Sunday, the Rams will try to beat the Falcons (7-5) and quarterback Matt Ryan, the most oft-cited pre-draft comparison for rookie Jared Goff.
Last October, NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah — a former scout — polled five personnel executives around the league about Goff’s pro potential. All five picked Ryan as the most analogous example.
Executive 1: Matt Ryan
"He's a pure, tall pocket passer. I liked (Sam) Bradford a little better coming out (of college), but he reminds me a lot of Matt Ryan."
Executive 2: Matt Ryan
"He has a tall, skinny frame and plays with a gunslinger mentality. He's not as reckless as Jay Cutler, but I do see a lot of similarities to Matt Ryan at Boston College."
Executive 3: Matt Ryan
"Everything that I find out about him background-wise reminds me of Matt Ryan. They're both very accurate passers with good size."
Executive 4: Matt Ryan
"He reminds me of Matt Ryan, but has much better arm strength. Watch his touchdown throw against Washington. It was a big-time throw."
Executive 5: Matt Ryan
"This might seem like it's out of left field because they come from totally different offenses, but (Goff) reminds me of Matt Ryan. Ryan was coming out of pro system at Boston College and Goff is in a pure spread system. Because of that, the transition will be a little tougher for Goff. Talent-wise, they're very similar."
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...ts-best-nfl-player-comp-for-cal-qb-jared-goff
The same man played a role in scouting both. By 2008, when the Falcons took Ryan third overall out of Boston College, current Rams general manager Les Snead had spent over a decade in Atlanta’s personnel department. A year later, the team promoted him to director of player personnel, a job he held for three years before jumping to St. Louis.
After the Rams (4-8) selected Goff first overall in April, Snead pointed out the former Cal star’s “natural instinct to anticipate,” and to make the progression to his second and third reads.
“People who can do it as fast as he can,” Snead said then, “I don’t want to say you are born with it, but mom, dad, God — somehow there is a DNA that comes natural.”
The Rams took their time trying to incubate that natural ability, sitting Goff for the first nine games of the season. He has since started three games, losing all of them by 48 combined points but showing flashes of his promise along the way.
Goff has a career passer rating of 70.0, completing 53.7 percent of his passes for 509 yards, four touchdowns, and three interceptions. These are not impressive numbers, but they hew closely to what Ryan did in his first three career starts: 511 yards, two touchdowns, and two picks on a 53.1 completion rate — good for a passer rating of 77.0. (Unlike Goff, those starts came at the beginning of the season.)
Now in his ninth season, Ryan appears on track to make his fourth Pro Bowl, boasting a 112.3 passer rating that beats his previous career high by 13.2. He leads NFL starting quarterbacks in yards per pass attempt (9.2) and ranks third in touchdown passes (27), all while throwing just seven interceptions.
Dan Quinn, the Falcons’ second-year head coach, didn’t watch Ryan’s early development up close, but noted similarities in his and Goff’s tough, competitive natures.
“I like the athleticism, where he can get outside the pocket to go create,” Quinn also said of Goff. “I saw strength in the arm on some of the deep balls, the touch to go underneath — those are the first things that jumped out to me.”
Fisher mentioned some of those same traits when asked about the Ryan-Goff comparisons.
“But Matt’s played a lot of years,” he added. “Won a lot of games.”
Eighty-two, to be exact. Goff, meanwhile, is still looking for his first.
Goff misses practice due to illness
- By Prime Time
- RAMS / NFL TALK
- 24 Replies
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...ue-to-illness-considered-probable-for-sunday/
Goff misses practice due to illness, considered probable for Sunday
Posted by Zac Jackson on December 7, 2016
Getty Images
Rams rookie quarterback Jared Goff was sent home Wednesday due to an illness and did not practice.
Rams Coach Jeff Fisher told reporters that Goff was part of the team’s usual meetings and participated in a pre-practice walkthrough before leaving the team facility. As long as Goff gets healthy, he’ll make his fourth start Sunday against the Falcons.
The Rams are still trying to get Goff his first win. He had his worst game last in a blowout loss at New England, completing 14-of-32 passes for 161 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. The Patriots sacked Goff four times.
Rams wide receiver Tavon Austin, who missed last week’s game with a chest injury, was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice. Defensive end Robert Quinn, who missed last week’s game with a concussion, was a limited participant.
Goff misses practice due to illness, considered probable for Sunday
Posted by Zac Jackson on December 7, 2016
Rams rookie quarterback Jared Goff was sent home Wednesday due to an illness and did not practice.
Rams Coach Jeff Fisher told reporters that Goff was part of the team’s usual meetings and participated in a pre-practice walkthrough before leaving the team facility. As long as Goff gets healthy, he’ll make his fourth start Sunday against the Falcons.
The Rams are still trying to get Goff his first win. He had his worst game last in a blowout loss at New England, completing 14-of-32 passes for 161 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. The Patriots sacked Goff four times.
Rams wide receiver Tavon Austin, who missed last week’s game with a chest injury, was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice. Defensive end Robert Quinn, who missed last week’s game with a concussion, was a limited participant.
The 10 Most Misguided Moves Of The NFL Season
- By Prime Time
- RAMS / NFL TALK
- 35 Replies
https://theringer.com/nfl-10-most-m...ff-fisher-josh-norman-a83937d0a771#.lez51bbdq
’Tis the Season … to Fire Up the NFL Hindsight Machine
Ten 2016 moves that have proved to be utterly misguided — and the decisions that teams should have made instead
Kevin Clark
Staff Writer, The Ringer
https://theringer.com/@Kevin.Clark?source=post_header_lockup
(Getty Images/Ringer illustration)
NFL teams make mistakes. With thousands of transactions taking place across the league each year, no team can get everything right, just as no team can get everything wrong. Well, except for the Browns.
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There are two ways to view the mistakes that do occur. (1) Be charitable, because teams don’t have the benefit of hindsight when they’re making moves. (2) Acknowledge that being charitable is boring, and that since we dohave the benefit of hindsight, we should use it to ruthlessly judge decisions.
Some calls look smart when they’re made and only emerge as head-scratchers with the passage of time; others instantly appear misguided — hello, Brock Osweiler signing! — and unsurprisingly turn into universal punch lines. Since there are a lot of the latter this season (none funnier than Osweiler, of course), it’s time to put the 2016 moves that ultimately proved wrongheaded through the Hindsight Machine to determine what teams should have done instead.
Specific draft picks are not eligible for inclusion unless they stemmed from trades for kickers. What’s more: Appearing on this list does not guarantee that a mistake will remain a mistake for all of time. At the moment, though, hindsight judges these 10 decisions poorly.
The Jaguars Signing Malik Jackson for $90 million
The initial assessment was: Split. Jackson was one of the heroes of the Broncos’ Super Bowl upset of the Panthers last season, but the six-year deal he signed this spring was worth up to $90 million, making him the NFL’s fifth-highest-paid defensive player at the time.
The Hindsight Machine says: He’s been decent for Jacksonville, collecting 4.5 sacks in 12 games, but he certainly hasn’t performed like a $90 million man. More concerningly, he’s ripped Jaguars fans and wistfully discussed his time with a better team.
And the Jags might not have even needed him. When they decided to bolster their defensive line, they probably weren’t counting on being able to find a rookie in the third round who would wind up being a force. But Yannick Ngakoue has six sacks and has emerged as the game changer the Jaguars needed on the line, and with a $664,044 cap number, he’s a hell of a lot cheaper than Jackson.
Jackson’s contract is spread out so that $15.5 million of his salary will count against the cap next season, with a similar hit in the three seasons after that. Plus, no one else on the Jags will count more than $8.5 million against the cap in 2017. There are similar cap discrepancies elsewhere in the league — but those involve franchise quarterbacks, not decent pass rushers. At least Blake Bortles is still cheap?
The 2–10 Jags need a lot of help, and cap space will get tighter as some of their talented young players sign extensions in the next few years. The money they’re spending on Jackson could have gone to three solid veterans capable of helping the young players mature instead of one big-ticket item.
The Panthers Renouncing Josh Norman’s Franchise Tag
The initial assessment was: Poor. Norman was a key cog in the Panthers’ 2015 NFC championship defense and was due to make $13.95 million this year if he had signed the Panthers’ initial franchise tag offer. Some argued, flimsily, that Norman would have been a dreaded “distraction,” and that having him play out the season without a long-term contact would have risked disruption in a locker room that prizes strong culture (and wearing ties).
Well, do you know what else proved to be a disruption? Not having a dependable veteran cornerback despite playing in a division featuring a slew of talented receivers and quarterbacks.
The decision to part ways with Norman was even more puzzling in light of the fact that Norman reportedly offered to sign the tag and play for the Panthers this season after learning that Carolina was going to rescind it. He wanted to stay!
The Hindsight Machine says: Norman signed a $75 million deal with Washington shortly after leaving Carolina and has played well in D.C. The Panthers opted to rely on cheap, rookie cornerbacks, and after giving up an astounding 500 yards of offense twice over the season’s first six weeks, Carolina’s defense essentially eliminated the franchise from contention by midseason.
Rookies James Bradberry and Daryl Worley both show promise, but they were forced into action too soon; if Carolina had let Norman play out the season on the tag and then let him walk, the rookies would have gotten time to properly develop. Plus, Norman would have worn a tie.
The Packers Letting Casey Hayward Walk
The initial assessment was: Positive. After focusing on the secondary in recent drafts, the Packers didn’t make Hayward an offer to stay, so the cornerback signed a three-year, $15.3 million contract with the Chargers.
The Hindsight Machine says: He’s now leading the NFL in interceptions, with seven — one fewer than the Packers have as a team. Green Bay’s pass defense is below average across the board, including allowing 24 passing touchdowns, 29th in the NFL. While interceptions can be a misleading statistic, Hayward is playing well overall.
And with Green Bay’s thin secondary losing leader Sam Shields to a season-ending concussion in Week 1, there’s no doubt that Hayward, who wasn’t particularly expensive, could have added depth to a young secondary that has needed help all year.
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The Rams Giving Jeff Fisher a Two-Year Extension
The initial assessment was: FIRED UP, BRO!
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The Hindsight Machine says: Whoops:
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The Eagles Signing Fletcher Cox to a Huge Extension
The initial assessment was: Approval. The cap is rising every year, and getting a star at a fixed price is smart business. It’s also something on which the Eagles have always prided themselves. They rarely let their guys hit the open market, which is why they usually have a great cap situation. And Cox fit the mold, having shown flashes of being a game-changing force on the defensive line and thus giving the franchise the confidence to offer him a six-year, $102.6 million extension.
The Hindsight Machine says: Paying stars only makes sense if they keep playing like stars, and Cox hasn’t.
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The Philadelphia media has noticed the slump, forcing new coach Doug Pederson to spend significant time defending the player who has become a scapegoat for the team’s recent slide.
No one thinks that the Eagles should have ditched Cox, but they had options, including franchising him twice before committing long term. As the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Zach Berman noted, the deal “relieved the acrimony that would have come if Cox did not have a long-term contract,” but while that may be true for the team and player, the words from fans and media are as pointed as ever.
The Bucs Trading Up for Roberto Aguayo
The initial assessment was: Befuddlement. The Bucs traded third- and fourth-rounds pick to Kansas City to move to no. 59 to draft Aguayo, the Florida State kicker. Though Aguayo had yet to attempt an NFL kick, the prevailing opinion was that even if he became a top-10 kicker, he’d be extremely unlikely to justify that draft position, especially in a league in which decent kickers are routinely available on the open market.
The Hindsight Machine says: That “even if” hypothetical hasn’t mattered so far, because Aguayo has not performed anything like a top-10 kicker. He’s hit 68 percent of his field goals, 32nd in the NFL this year. For comparison, Blair Walsh, whom the Vikings cut last month, hit 75 percent of his attempts.
With decent players like safety Vonn Bell and cornerback Bradberry going soon after Aguayo, it would have made sense for the Bucs to acquire literally anyone else at that spot and then get a kicker off the scrap heap. That’s where New Orleans found undrafted free agent rookie Wil Lutz, and he’s making more kicks than Aguayo.
The Seahawks Entering the Season With This Offensive Line
The initial assessment was: Optimism.It’s not impossible to see why the Seahawks thought they could get away with again fielding such a crappy offensive line. Throughout his career, Russell Wilson has shown an ability to operate well in the pocket and evade pressure. Seattle rolled into the season with the cheapest offensive line because it hoped the rest of the team could patch up the holes, as it had in previous seasons.
The Hindsight Machine says: The line is playing down to its price tag. Wilson has been sacked nine times in the past two games and has been banged up all year because of the hits he’s taken. Russell Okung, whom the Seahawks let walk in the spring, had his limitations, but he was better than this.
I consulted Seahawks fan, Ringer staff writer, and Seattle celebrity Danny Kelly, who agreed that the team should have kept Okung, who signed a bizarre non-guaranteed deal with Denver. Kelly deems Okung “better than some rando.” A rando like George Fant, the basketball player turned NFL lineman, who has struggled:
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The team also could have saved money by signing a veteran tackle instead of bringing back cornerback Jeremy Lane (who signed a four-year, $23 million deal) or receiver Jermaine Kearse (three/$13.5 million).
The Colts Retaining Coach Chuck Pagano and GM Ryan Grigson
The initial assessment was: Bad. Really bad.
The Hindsight Machine says: Uh. Still really bad.
The Bengals Letting Mohamed Sanu and Marvin Jones Leave
The initial assessment was: Understanding. Sanu and Jones were a nice two-three punch behind A.J. Green, who sucked the life out of the opposing defense. Jones delivered 816 yards last season, while Sanu registered 11 touchdowns in his first three years with the Bengals before a down 2015.
But almost anyone can look good when Green is drawing the best corners, and at $2.4 million, Brandon LaFell was a cost-effective replacement with Jones commanding a $40 million deal from Detroit and Sanu grabbing $32.5 million from Atlanta.
The Hindsight Machine says: Andy Dalton had already taken a slight step back this season without one of the league’s best supporting casts. When the Bengals lost Green to a hamstring injury last month, it doomed the offense to failure. LaFell has been decent, amassing 552 yards thus far, but the Cincy offense lacks both the depth and the zip it showed in 2015.
Meanwhile, Sanu has 521 yards and three touchdowns as a role player in Atlanta, while Jones has 730 yards and four touchdowns for the Lions. Keeping either would have helped make Cincy’s offense more potent early in the year and then softened the blow of losing Green late.
The Texans Signing Brock Osweiler to a $72 Million Contract
The initial assessment was: Laughter. Osweiler played well in seven starts with Denver, throwing 10 touchdowns and six interceptions and looking positively competent in a league where good young quarterbacks are damn near impossible to find. On the other hand, $72 million with $37 million guaranteed is a hell of a lot of money.
The Hindsight Machine says: Wow. This is bad. Osweiler has 14 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. The Texans are 6–6 and have scored more than 20 points just once in the past six games. His 5.8 yards per attempt ranks dead last among starting quarterbacks, 0.3 yards per attempt less than Blake Freakin’ Bortles. Oh! And Osweiler has a $19 million cap hit next year that’s sort of impossible to get out of.
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What should they have done? Found the most average quarterback they could, even if he wasn’t particularly tall or good looking. Someone with two arms, some feet, and the know-how to put on a helmet. With that, they could have received the same production, kept a more flexible salary cap, and kicked the quarterback problem down the road a few years until there was a better passer worth investing in.
There are plenty of stop-gap, league-average passers out there. There are, like, nine McCowns, plus plenty of serviceable backups in the Mike Glennon and Drew Stanton mold. The Texans could even have let Denver re-sign Osweiler, then traded for Trevor Siemian. Sure, at that time, no one knew that Siemian was decent. But mercifully, that doesn’t matter once you fire up the ole Hindsight Machine.
’Tis the Season … to Fire Up the NFL Hindsight Machine
Ten 2016 moves that have proved to be utterly misguided — and the decisions that teams should have made instead
Kevin Clark
Staff Writer, The Ringer
https://theringer.com/@Kevin.Clark?source=post_header_lockup
(Getty Images/Ringer illustration)
NFL teams make mistakes. With thousands of transactions taking place across the league each year, no team can get everything right, just as no team can get everything wrong. Well, except for the Browns.
Login to view embedded media View: https://twitter.com/NFLRT/status/802953728311463936
There are two ways to view the mistakes that do occur. (1) Be charitable, because teams don’t have the benefit of hindsight when they’re making moves. (2) Acknowledge that being charitable is boring, and that since we dohave the benefit of hindsight, we should use it to ruthlessly judge decisions.
Some calls look smart when they’re made and only emerge as head-scratchers with the passage of time; others instantly appear misguided — hello, Brock Osweiler signing! — and unsurprisingly turn into universal punch lines. Since there are a lot of the latter this season (none funnier than Osweiler, of course), it’s time to put the 2016 moves that ultimately proved wrongheaded through the Hindsight Machine to determine what teams should have done instead.
Specific draft picks are not eligible for inclusion unless they stemmed from trades for kickers. What’s more: Appearing on this list does not guarantee that a mistake will remain a mistake for all of time. At the moment, though, hindsight judges these 10 decisions poorly.
The Jaguars Signing Malik Jackson for $90 million
The initial assessment was: Split. Jackson was one of the heroes of the Broncos’ Super Bowl upset of the Panthers last season, but the six-year deal he signed this spring was worth up to $90 million, making him the NFL’s fifth-highest-paid defensive player at the time.
The Hindsight Machine says: He’s been decent for Jacksonville, collecting 4.5 sacks in 12 games, but he certainly hasn’t performed like a $90 million man. More concerningly, he’s ripped Jaguars fans and wistfully discussed his time with a better team.
And the Jags might not have even needed him. When they decided to bolster their defensive line, they probably weren’t counting on being able to find a rookie in the third round who would wind up being a force. But Yannick Ngakoue has six sacks and has emerged as the game changer the Jaguars needed on the line, and with a $664,044 cap number, he’s a hell of a lot cheaper than Jackson.
Jackson’s contract is spread out so that $15.5 million of his salary will count against the cap next season, with a similar hit in the three seasons after that. Plus, no one else on the Jags will count more than $8.5 million against the cap in 2017. There are similar cap discrepancies elsewhere in the league — but those involve franchise quarterbacks, not decent pass rushers. At least Blake Bortles is still cheap?
The 2–10 Jags need a lot of help, and cap space will get tighter as some of their talented young players sign extensions in the next few years. The money they’re spending on Jackson could have gone to three solid veterans capable of helping the young players mature instead of one big-ticket item.
The Panthers Renouncing Josh Norman’s Franchise Tag
The initial assessment was: Poor. Norman was a key cog in the Panthers’ 2015 NFC championship defense and was due to make $13.95 million this year if he had signed the Panthers’ initial franchise tag offer. Some argued, flimsily, that Norman would have been a dreaded “distraction,” and that having him play out the season without a long-term contact would have risked disruption in a locker room that prizes strong culture (and wearing ties).
Well, do you know what else proved to be a disruption? Not having a dependable veteran cornerback despite playing in a division featuring a slew of talented receivers and quarterbacks.
The decision to part ways with Norman was even more puzzling in light of the fact that Norman reportedly offered to sign the tag and play for the Panthers this season after learning that Carolina was going to rescind it. He wanted to stay!
The Hindsight Machine says: Norman signed a $75 million deal with Washington shortly after leaving Carolina and has played well in D.C. The Panthers opted to rely on cheap, rookie cornerbacks, and after giving up an astounding 500 yards of offense twice over the season’s first six weeks, Carolina’s defense essentially eliminated the franchise from contention by midseason.
Rookies James Bradberry and Daryl Worley both show promise, but they were forced into action too soon; if Carolina had let Norman play out the season on the tag and then let him walk, the rookies would have gotten time to properly develop. Plus, Norman would have worn a tie.
The Packers Letting Casey Hayward Walk
The initial assessment was: Positive. After focusing on the secondary in recent drafts, the Packers didn’t make Hayward an offer to stay, so the cornerback signed a three-year, $15.3 million contract with the Chargers.
The Hindsight Machine says: He’s now leading the NFL in interceptions, with seven — one fewer than the Packers have as a team. Green Bay’s pass defense is below average across the board, including allowing 24 passing touchdowns, 29th in the NFL. While interceptions can be a misleading statistic, Hayward is playing well overall.
And with Green Bay’s thin secondary losing leader Sam Shields to a season-ending concussion in Week 1, there’s no doubt that Hayward, who wasn’t particularly expensive, could have added depth to a young secondary that has needed help all year.
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The Rams Giving Jeff Fisher a Two-Year Extension
The initial assessment was: FIRED UP, BRO!
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The Hindsight Machine says: Whoops:
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The Eagles Signing Fletcher Cox to a Huge Extension
The initial assessment was: Approval. The cap is rising every year, and getting a star at a fixed price is smart business. It’s also something on which the Eagles have always prided themselves. They rarely let their guys hit the open market, which is why they usually have a great cap situation. And Cox fit the mold, having shown flashes of being a game-changing force on the defensive line and thus giving the franchise the confidence to offer him a six-year, $102.6 million extension.
The Hindsight Machine says: Paying stars only makes sense if they keep playing like stars, and Cox hasn’t.
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The Philadelphia media has noticed the slump, forcing new coach Doug Pederson to spend significant time defending the player who has become a scapegoat for the team’s recent slide.
No one thinks that the Eagles should have ditched Cox, but they had options, including franchising him twice before committing long term. As the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Zach Berman noted, the deal “relieved the acrimony that would have come if Cox did not have a long-term contract,” but while that may be true for the team and player, the words from fans and media are as pointed as ever.
The Bucs Trading Up for Roberto Aguayo
The initial assessment was: Befuddlement. The Bucs traded third- and fourth-rounds pick to Kansas City to move to no. 59 to draft Aguayo, the Florida State kicker. Though Aguayo had yet to attempt an NFL kick, the prevailing opinion was that even if he became a top-10 kicker, he’d be extremely unlikely to justify that draft position, especially in a league in which decent kickers are routinely available on the open market.
The Hindsight Machine says: That “even if” hypothetical hasn’t mattered so far, because Aguayo has not performed anything like a top-10 kicker. He’s hit 68 percent of his field goals, 32nd in the NFL this year. For comparison, Blair Walsh, whom the Vikings cut last month, hit 75 percent of his attempts.
With decent players like safety Vonn Bell and cornerback Bradberry going soon after Aguayo, it would have made sense for the Bucs to acquire literally anyone else at that spot and then get a kicker off the scrap heap. That’s where New Orleans found undrafted free agent rookie Wil Lutz, and he’s making more kicks than Aguayo.
The Seahawks Entering the Season With This Offensive Line
The initial assessment was: Optimism.It’s not impossible to see why the Seahawks thought they could get away with again fielding such a crappy offensive line. Throughout his career, Russell Wilson has shown an ability to operate well in the pocket and evade pressure. Seattle rolled into the season with the cheapest offensive line because it hoped the rest of the team could patch up the holes, as it had in previous seasons.
The Hindsight Machine says: The line is playing down to its price tag. Wilson has been sacked nine times in the past two games and has been banged up all year because of the hits he’s taken. Russell Okung, whom the Seahawks let walk in the spring, had his limitations, but he was better than this.
I consulted Seahawks fan, Ringer staff writer, and Seattle celebrity Danny Kelly, who agreed that the team should have kept Okung, who signed a bizarre non-guaranteed deal with Denver. Kelly deems Okung “better than some rando.” A rando like George Fant, the basketball player turned NFL lineman, who has struggled:
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The team also could have saved money by signing a veteran tackle instead of bringing back cornerback Jeremy Lane (who signed a four-year, $23 million deal) or receiver Jermaine Kearse (three/$13.5 million).
The Colts Retaining Coach Chuck Pagano and GM Ryan Grigson
The initial assessment was: Bad. Really bad.
The Hindsight Machine says: Uh. Still really bad.
The Bengals Letting Mohamed Sanu and Marvin Jones Leave
The initial assessment was: Understanding. Sanu and Jones were a nice two-three punch behind A.J. Green, who sucked the life out of the opposing defense. Jones delivered 816 yards last season, while Sanu registered 11 touchdowns in his first three years with the Bengals before a down 2015.
But almost anyone can look good when Green is drawing the best corners, and at $2.4 million, Brandon LaFell was a cost-effective replacement with Jones commanding a $40 million deal from Detroit and Sanu grabbing $32.5 million from Atlanta.
The Hindsight Machine says: Andy Dalton had already taken a slight step back this season without one of the league’s best supporting casts. When the Bengals lost Green to a hamstring injury last month, it doomed the offense to failure. LaFell has been decent, amassing 552 yards thus far, but the Cincy offense lacks both the depth and the zip it showed in 2015.
Meanwhile, Sanu has 521 yards and three touchdowns as a role player in Atlanta, while Jones has 730 yards and four touchdowns for the Lions. Keeping either would have helped make Cincy’s offense more potent early in the year and then softened the blow of losing Green late.
The Texans Signing Brock Osweiler to a $72 Million Contract
The initial assessment was: Laughter. Osweiler played well in seven starts with Denver, throwing 10 touchdowns and six interceptions and looking positively competent in a league where good young quarterbacks are damn near impossible to find. On the other hand, $72 million with $37 million guaranteed is a hell of a lot of money.
The Hindsight Machine says: Wow. This is bad. Osweiler has 14 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. The Texans are 6–6 and have scored more than 20 points just once in the past six games. His 5.8 yards per attempt ranks dead last among starting quarterbacks, 0.3 yards per attempt less than Blake Freakin’ Bortles. Oh! And Osweiler has a $19 million cap hit next year that’s sort of impossible to get out of.
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What should they have done? Found the most average quarterback they could, even if he wasn’t particularly tall or good looking. Someone with two arms, some feet, and the know-how to put on a helmet. With that, they could have received the same production, kept a more flexible salary cap, and kicked the quarterback problem down the road a few years until there was a better passer worth investing in.
There are plenty of stop-gap, league-average passers out there. There are, like, nine McCowns, plus plenty of serviceable backups in the Mike Glennon and Drew Stanton mold. The Texans could even have let Denver re-sign Osweiler, then traded for Trevor Siemian. Sure, at that time, no one knew that Siemian was decent. But mercifully, that doesn’t matter once you fire up the ole Hindsight Machine.
REMEMBER!! And NEVER Forget!!
- By DaveFan'51
- OFF TOPIC
- 2 Replies
Today is "December 7th!" "Pearl Harbor Day!" As they used to call it! A day that always has and always will bring back Sad Feeling!! God Bless all that perished that Day, and they Years that Followed in WWII!!
My Father and 4 Uncles served in the Army and Marine Corps in WWII, and I always remember them on this day!!
The Arizona Memorial.
The Missouri- Arizona Memorial.
As a personal side note, I was also Honorably Discharged from the USMC on Dec.7th! 1967!
My Father and 4 Uncles served in the Army and Marine Corps in WWII, and I always remember them on this day!!
The Arizona Memorial.
The Missouri- Arizona Memorial.
As a personal side note, I was also Honorably Discharged from the USMC on Dec.7th! 1967!
Offensive line
- By Merlin
- RAMS / NFL TALK
- 14 Replies
Couple articles I came across this a.m.
http://realfootballnetwork.com/2016-top-5-offensive-lines/
2016 Top 5 Offensive Lines
December 07, 2016 by Pat Kirwan
I get asked all the time which team has the best offensive line. Of course, there are many facets to that question that have to be considered in order to come to a reasonable answer. Talent is certainly always the number one consideration, but depth is a close second considering all the injuries we have seen this season. The coach and the scheme are factors, as well as the quarterback and the running backs. A quick decision maker under center can make all the difference in the world, as well as a talented runner that reads the scheme properly and can break tackles.
In order to create a comprehensive top five list, I considered all of the above issues and took a serious look at sacks given up, total rushing yards gained, ten-play drives, and goal-to-go rushing production. Here’s how my top five offensive line groups finished up with a month of football left to play.
1. Dallas Cowboys
2. Oakland Raiders
3. New England Patriots
4. Washington Redskins
5. Tennessee Titans tie with Pittsburgh Steelers
The Cowboys were far and away the top group but I was pleasantly surprised to see a few of the teams that made it to the top five.
Have a different opinion? Let us know @realfootballtv
http://realfootballnetwork.com/2016-top-5-offensive-lines/
2016 Top 5 Offensive Lines
December 07, 2016 by Pat Kirwan
I get asked all the time which team has the best offensive line. Of course, there are many facets to that question that have to be considered in order to come to a reasonable answer. Talent is certainly always the number one consideration, but depth is a close second considering all the injuries we have seen this season. The coach and the scheme are factors, as well as the quarterback and the running backs. A quick decision maker under center can make all the difference in the world, as well as a talented runner that reads the scheme properly and can break tackles.
In order to create a comprehensive top five list, I considered all of the above issues and took a serious look at sacks given up, total rushing yards gained, ten-play drives, and goal-to-go rushing production. Here’s how my top five offensive line groups finished up with a month of football left to play.
1. Dallas Cowboys
2. Oakland Raiders
3. New England Patriots
4. Washington Redskins
5. Tennessee Titans tie with Pittsburgh Steelers
The Cowboys were far and away the top group but I was pleasantly surprised to see a few of the teams that made it to the top five.
Have a different opinion? Let us know @realfootballtv
